7.21

Episode 7.21

"Legend"

co-authored by: silver and Doyle

Previously: Angel came to Sunnydale and stayed to help fight whatever it was that was drawing evil to Sunnydale. The Scooby Gang discovered that they're up against the First Evil. Dawn was hurt by the First and in a coma for an episode, before waking up at the end. Giles returned from England with information on their enemy, and those who have gone up against it before. The First brought Xander to a basement room at the Precinct, and is torturing him there through his nightmares.

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The episode opens mere moments after Giles� ominous statement. Buffy looks at him and asks what he means, they�re going to need all the help they can get? Giles cryptically begins by saying that he knows Angel found out the basics already� Dawn, out of the loop, asks �The basics about what?� Giles briefly explains about how they�re up against the First Evil, and that the ghosts they encountered from the original Spanish settlement alluded to a legend. He goes on to say that he was able to gain access to the Council of Watchers� vault, and has discovered nearly the whole story. And based upon his understanding of current events, there are some alarming parallels that lead him to believe that the legend is based on fact.

Flashback: The view is of the opening of the cave we saw in �Mary Celeste��the cave in which the spirits from the original settlement did their ritual to ensure that all humans in Sunnydale would vanish. Only here the cave does not appear to be as overgrown with foliage as it is now. Subtitles tell us that this is the year 1803, and the location is the Spanish Settlement that later becomes Sunnydale, California. Two men stumble out through the entrance, coughing and half-blind. We recognize the younger of the two as the young Hispanic man that went against his fellow spirits in helping Spike and Angel bring all of the humans back to Sunnydale. He is panicked when he asks what happened. The other man is older and appears to be seriously wounded. He�s fumbling at a pocket as he addresses the younger man as Marguese, and answers that la asesina is dead. She died to stop El Primer. Marguese is stricken, and we can see that the older man is upset, too, but he finally pulls a small book out of his pocket with trembling hands. He says it is over for now, but El Primer will return, and the future needs to know. He opens the book.

Back in the present, we cut to the basement of the Police Department, where the First comes into the camera's view, and we see she's still focused on Xander, who is sleeping on the cot. He looks worse for the wear�sweating and trembling and mumbling, not at rest even though he�s asleep. She appears satisfied that her work with him is done. She says that all is ready. Now is the time, and nothing will be able to stop her, at long last.

Opening Credits.

We�re back at the Summers house, and Buffy tells everyone gathered there that Dawn will be released as soon as she passes a few routine medical tests to be sure she's okay now that she's out of the coma. Giles brings everyone up to speed on what he�s discovered. He confirms what Angel found out�that there was a rash of unexplained, violent deaths in this area exactly two hundred years ago. The doctor of the settlement recorded each birth and death in the village, and in his journals he added that speculation pointed toward a mysterious �Primer�, the First, who was responsible. The village elders investigated and found a legend that pre-dated their settlement...before 1803, proclaiming that a slayer will be the only weapon against the Primer. The prophecy was shrouded in mystery, however, and ultimately the doctor recorded the death of their asesina, their slayer. However the deaths stopped with her demise, so Giles can only conclude that she was at least partially successful against the First. Buffy asks how they kill it permanently, this time, and Giles gets a foreboding look on his face. Appearing reluctant, he quietly tells her that the First plans to be �born� into this world in human form. Once it�s here, all is lost. It needs a receptacle to hold its essence until the ritual is complete. �Xander,� Tara realizes. Buffy, not quite getting it, asks �The First wants to make Xander its garbage can?�

Giles, in a mix of exasperation and gentleness, explains that Xander would be �possessed�, after a fashion, by the First. The ritual would kill anything left of the Xander they know. Willow blurts out that he can�t help what�s happening, he�s not in his right mind. They can�t let this happen to him. Giles, always the voice of reason, says they may have to destroy Xander to save the world. Buffy disagrees, and firmly says that they won�t. She refuses to kill Xander to stop the First. There�s a moment where she looks at Angel and says she knows what it's like to have to kill someone she loves, and she's not going to do it again. There's got to be another way. She turns to Giles. �Find it,� she says.

Later, Wesley and Cordelia are out in Sunnydale; it�s daytime. They are heading toward the Museum, Wesley having had the idea that maybe there might be more information on what went down two hundred years ago in one of the excavations that have been done since. He notes that the diary of the Watcher of that time was never found. As they walk along, they pass by the Bicentennial Celebration committee, setting up in the park for that night�s festivities. Cordelia notes how little Sunnydale seems to have changed, but Wesley is pondering what might happen if the First is destroyed�what it might mean for the world. He wonders if this fight might be the one. The apocalypse he�s seen reference to in his own research. He speculates that if they can defeat the First this time around, it might bring about a new world order. Conversely, if they lose, it would be the end of all they know. �That�s what I love about you, Wesley,� Cordelia says, �you�re always so upbeat and fun.�

We cut to the First again, down in the basement of the PD. The Commissioner enters, all decked out for the celebration that night. He complains about how many cops the city has demanded he assign to crowd control there that night, and the First appears mildly interested at the mention of the Bicentennial. While they�re talking, Xander wakes up a bit, over on the cot. He�s confused, dazed. Through his eyes we see the First talking to the Commissioner, and the image of Jenny Calendar seems to phase in and out with one of Anya. Uncomprehending, and in mental agony, Xander fades back into near unconsciousness, unnoticed.

Back at the Summers house, Willow and Tara are talking while researching. Tara picks up on Willow�s melancholy, and asks her what�s wrong. Willow reveals that she�s worried about Xander�what if they can�t save him? Tara assures her that they will. Buffy won�t hurt Xander if there�s any way around it. Willow looks as if she�s not positive, but wants to believe. She brightens, saying that Buffy always comes through, in the end. And so does Xander. Suddenly though, she gasps, in pain.

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After the break, Willow's in a hospital bed. Buffy, Tara and Giles stand around her as she apologizes for going into labor just when the gang needs her most with research and stuff. Buffy reassures her that they�ll be okay. And hey, it�s not even a one-way trip, because they had to pick up Dawn, anyway. Tara makes Willow feel better by dubbing her �command central�, and says she�s rigged their phone to forward all calls to her hospital room, and she�ll keep in touch, too. Buffy�s confused, isn�t Tara going to stay with Willow? Tara and Willow share a glance, and Willow says Buffy will need everyone who can be spared. She assures her friend that she'll be fine without Tara, urges them to go kill the First quickly, so they can hopefully get back in time for the birth.

Down in the basement room of the precinct, Xander comes out of his stupor, a little. The Commissioner is gone. The First�s form solidifies into Anya before his eyes, and he thinks it�s his wife facing him. He�s confused and out of it, still, and says he's been having these horrible dreams where she was dead. The First, in Anya�s form, tells him she is dead; it's Buffy's fault. She didn�t protect her. Xander moans, head drooping under the weight of the force of the First�s will. She smiles, and makes a show of checking her watch. She�s amused when she says he was done right on time, just like a turkey in the oven. She heads for the door, and Xander asks her where she�s going. Believing that her pawn is too weak and confused to understand anything he�s told at this point, anyway, she says she thought she�d check out the celebration. It�s only fitting that she be there, anyway, since she was here two hundred years before. And besides, she says with a chilling smile, she feels like a little pre-game carnage.

Flashback: The subtitles tell us it�s 1802�before the events of the first flashback we saw. The young man we�ve already seen, Marguese, is talking with a young woman. She is the asesina, the slayer. Marguese addresses her as �Isabella�, and they are arguing. Marguese wants her to let him help investigate the deaths of two men found in the forest. It looks as if they murdered each other, but Isabella says her Watcher believes there�s more to it. She turns down his offer of help, saying she must work alone. Marguese just wants to help, but Isabella is firm. She is la asesina. She mustn�t involve others. She walks off alone, leaving Marguese looking frustrated.

Cut to a view of the sun as it slowly descends, as the day wanes on. There�s a montage of shots of the great pilgrimage going on as demons and evil things are drawn to Sunnydale. A group of vampires turn down a large tunnel in the sewers, a trio of furry, gray demons lope through the woods toward the town. In the sky, a well manicured man in a suit pulls his briefcase out of the overhead compartment, and we can see the initials �W&H� on the side. He re-seats himself and opens the briefcase, pulling out a phone. He makes a call, telling the person on the other end of the line that he won�t be in today�there�s an important meeting he�s got to go to.

Back at the house, everyone but Willow, Cordelia and Wesley are gathered for the huge research party. Buffy stops by Giles, who is at the kitchen table with several open books, looking for the alternate method of destroying the First that his slayer has requested. He�s not hopeful, though, and reiterates that all he can find is that the First can only be killed when it�s in that brief, human form. Buffy wants to know why the First wants to be human, anyway, if it�s so powerful in its own form. Giles explains that the human part is almost like a birth�a physical manifestation of pure evil. The body is only a vessel, quickly discarded once the First has attained what it wants: permanent entry into this world. Buffy asks him to keep looking, and then goes into the living room where Angel is alone. She sits on the couch next to him and holds her head as if she has a headache. Angel notices, and can see she's worried about the possibility of having to kill Xander. He senses her extreme reluctance, and says he understands how hard it would be for her. He knows how hard it was for her when it was him, but he tells her that he's glad she did what she did. What was the other option? Letting the world get sucked into hell? He states that if he'd been fully aware of what was going on at the time, he would have wanted her to do the same thing....to save everyone else. He says he knows Xander would want the same thing if he could think clearly right now, but he can't, because the First is poisoning his mind. Buffy appears exhausted at this, seven years� worth of fighting is finally taking its toll on her. Angel remarks on this, telling her that this is what they�ve been fighting for this whole time. This is how they can finally win. It can all end here. He stops talking, noticing Buffy's expression. He asks her what's wrong, and she says nothing...she's just thinking of what it could mean for them, if suddenly they could stop fighting. Angel shares her meaningful look, tempted, and they are both suddenly aware of just how close they are to each other. Buffy looks up at him and they lean slightly toward each other, moving in for a kiss�.when suddenly Dawn runs into the room. She tells them she just heard on the radio that some people are claiming to have been attacked by demons of some kind. It�s all over the news. Buffy looks grim, realizing that their time is nearly up. �It�s starting,� she says.

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Everyone�s in the living room as Buffy prepares to go out and fight the evil being drawn to Sunnydale. Giles is adamant that they can�t really help those people. Fighting the symptoms won�t help. It won�t stop until the First is defeated, and she�s not making the right choice in risking herself before she can even go up against the First. Buffy says she knows, but she can't just let people be out there dying while she's inside reading. She says she�s got to try and stop some of the killing while they look for a way to defeat the First. Angel says he�ll come with her, and she says they should split up, to cover more area. He agrees and they take off, leaving Giles, Dawn and Tara to continue the research. Giles goes back to his books, frustrated that they can�t find out more quickly what they need to know. Tara looks at him, then at her own stack of books. Taking a deep breath, she places her hands over the books and a purple haze emanates from them. Pages start turning quickly as she magically searches for anything having to do with the prophecy of the death of the First. Dawn watches, and gets back to her own books in her more conventional manner.

Wesley and Cordelia arrive at the museum and follow signs to the Sunnydale History section, where they hope the artifacts found during excavations will be located. Cordelia asks what they hope to learn from the Watcher�s diary, even if they do find it, and Wesley says that if they could find out exactly what Isabella did, how she defeated the First, it might help Buffy in her fight. Also, hopefully, they can avoid any mistakes Isabella made, since that slayer did, in fact, die while performing her duty.

Flash back to 1803. There is a meeting going on between Isabella and two of the village elders. The two men are arguing: one says that Isabella�s Watcher wasn�t sure that the legend was true. There�s no real evidence that such a prophecy was ever made, and if they send Isabella off to face El Primer now, they could be condemning her to death. He remembers that the Watcher didn�t truly believe that his slayer was the one in the legend, anyway. The other man is frightened, but still arguing. He thinks they should send her to fight the Primer. She is the only one who might be able to stop it; without intervention El Primer will be born into this world, and then no one can stop it. What choice do they have? Isabella has not spoken until this point, and she appears unusually melancholy. Far more reserved and quiet than she was as we saw her in the earlier flashback. She has much on her mind, and finally tells the elders that she will go to face the Primer. Her Watcher knew the risks, as she does, and she will do what she must. She leaves. The elders go back down a path toward the village, and we see that Marguese has been watching, unseen, from behind a tree.

Present day, Sunnydale. Xander stumbles along, off in his own world. Every once in awhile he looks up to see something that should be familiar to him, but he�s too confused and out of his mind to recognize his surroundings. He�s shuffling along the sidewalk in stops and starts, fighting against images in his head, when a vampire is thrown through the glass front of a store in front of him. The vampire bursts into flame when it comes in contact with the sun, and only dust lands on the pavement. Stopped for the moment, Xander looks up into the store through the hole where the window used to be to see Angel fighting three more vampires. Xander closes his eyes and shakes his head, telling himself it�s not real, but we�re not sure if he�s referring to what he�s seeing, or what�s in his own head. Inside, Angel sees Xander on the sidewalk and starts toward him, calling his name. The sound of his own name seems to spur Xander into a clumsy run, and he flees the store. Angel can�t follow because of the sun, and when he turns around to take the tunnels in the direction Xander is running in, the three vampires attack him again.

Cut to Buffy on the college campus. She saves a couple coeds from being dragged off by four fluffy, pink demons. Before she even gets a chance to rest, however, she hears another scream in the distance and takes off. She runs quickly across a road cutting through, heading off deeper into the heart of the campus. Moments later, Grant drives by in his patrol car and sees the four, fuzzy pink carcasses and looks taken aback, apparently seeing this kind of stuff all over town suddenly.

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In the clearing in the park, the celebration is about to get underway as nightfall approaches. The Commissioner is surprised when the First, in Jenny�s form, joins him on the dais overlooking the preparations. He says he wasn�t expecting her here, and she whimsically replies that it�s fitting that she be here for this. Down on the grass, the citizens of Sunnydale prepare to celebrate the Bicentennial, unaware of the evil in their midst.

Cut to the hospital. Willow answers the ringing phone with a lilting �Command Central!� Suddenly her amused expression fades to one of great concern and urgency. �Xander?!� she exclaims, �Where are you?!� Intercut to Xander on a pay phone, in a booth on the corner somewhere. He mutters about vampires, and Anya, and �she�s not dead.� Clearly, he�s still not able to think straight, though he�s managed to remember Willow�s number and call for help in his besieged state. Now, though, he seems unsure of why he called, or even who he�s on the phone with, when he repeats �Celebration�, after what the First said to him before she left. In her hospital room, Willow repeats the word and tries to get Xander to talk to her, to recognize who he�s talking to. But he�s too out of it, and absent-mindedly hangs up the phone before wandering off again.

Back at the hospital, Wesley and Cordelia find a room featuring items found in an excavation from the original Spanish settlement. Wesley peers into a display case and becomes excited when he sees a small, slim, leather-bound book inside. It�s the Watcher�s Diary, he declares, and he and Cordelia try to figure out how to remove it from the case without attracting attention from any of the other museum patrons, or security. Behind them, unnoticed, a security guard observes them. As he steps toward them threateningly, reaching for his nightstick, his face shimmers slightly.

Cut back to Willow. Buffy calls her, checking in, and Willow excitedly tells her about Xander�s call. Buffy�s all over it, and when Willow tells her that Xander said the word �celebration�, Buffy realizes he must have been talking about the Bicentennial and takes off to find him. Willow hangs up and calls the Summers House to tell them about this latest development. Dawn answers the phone, and while they�re talking a nurse enters Willow�s hospital room. She picks up the IV line and brandishes a syringe. Willow breaks off her conversation for a second, asking what the nurse is giving her. The nurse doesn�t answer, but jabs the needle into the line and begins to depress the plunger. Willow realizes the nurse is trying to hurt her, maybe kill her, and rips the line out of her hand. The nurse comes after her, grabbing the phone away and throwing the unit against the wall, where it splinters. On the other end of the line, Dawn calls Willow�s name frantically. There�s no response, and she realizes her friend is in trouble. She throws the phone down and runs out of the house. Giles sees her sudden departure and calls out to her, but the girl is already gone. He has no clue what�s going on, but a moment later he realizes he�s got his own problems as the house is suddenly attacked by cops. Giles calls out a warning to Tara.

Quick cut to Angel fighting more demons. He dispatches them quickly, but one escapes from the tunnel they were fighting in, bounding out into the fading sunlight where Angel cannot follow. The vampire curses, waiting for nightfall so he can go out and fight properly.

Back at the exhibit, Wesley and Cordelia are still trying to figure out how to get into the display case that houses the Watcher�s diary. They are attacked from behind by the security guard, whose face keeps shimmering as he strives to hold his shape during the fight. Wesley grabs a sword that is part of the artifact display and holds the demon off. It swings its arm at him, and the nightstick rubber-bands out from its hand to hit the former watcher upside the head. The club then returns to the demon�s hand, and he continues his attack. Wesley staggers back, stunned from the blow, and backs into the display case, smashing the glass. He rebounds, attacking the demon with the ancient sword. Pandemonium has broken out around them�museum patrons run screaming from the fight, stampeding toward the entrance. Cordelia stumbles over to the display case, which has been partially broken open. The diary is inside, just past a section of glass that hasn�t been shattered. �Oh well, it�s broken anyway,� Cordelia breathes, and smashes the case the rest of the way. She reaches in and grabs the diary, and yells for Wesley to come with her. As they run out of the room the security demon follows them.

Quick cut to the celebration commencing. The sun has just disappeared over the horizon, and they set off fireworks to launch the festivities. From a distance, Buffy sees the display and continues to run full-speed in that direction. Angel also looks up from his most recent kill, sees the fireworks, and is finally able to venture out under the open sky on his way there, as well.

The hospital: The nurse attacks Willow, who manages to summon enough magic to throw her back against a chair. The nurse stumbles, falls over the chair and Willow rolls out of the bed. Thinking quickly, she grabs the I.V. stand and throws it at the nurse, who has just righted herself from the fall. She goes down again, and Willow runs from the room. Back at the house, Giles and Tara are under siege from a half dozen cops trying to gain entry. There are too many for the two of them to hold off effectively, and so they are forced to retreat upstairs. The front door bursts open and cops file in after them. At the museum, Wesley and Cordelia follow the running patrons toward the exit as the security demon pursues them. At the entry-way, it finally catches up and spins Cordelia off against the wall. Wesley attacks the demon with the sword he grabbed from the display again, slicing straight down through its face. Cordelia and Wesley watch in surprised disgust as the two sides of the face slip off and fall to the floor, revealing a sticky, slimy mouthful of teeth underneath. Quick cut to the outside of the museum as Wesley and Cordelia, now running and screaming like the other humans around them, dash out onto the steps. Down on the street in front of the museum, Grant is driving by and sees the hysterical mass of people rushing out. He brakes hard, spotting the big gooey demon � still wearing remnants of the security guard�s uniform � chasing after Wesley and Cordelia. He shouts out the window for them to hurry up and get in, and they do. Flipping his siren and lights on, he runs over the demon when it jumps in front of his car. He brakes again and all three of the car�s occupants look wildly through the back window at the demon�s corpse. Just to be sure, Grant guns the car in reverse and runs it over again, hitting it a third time after he puts it back in drive. They speed off.

Buffy arrives at the Bicentennial celebration. She looks around...there are a lot of people. She spies the Commissioner up on the dais. And next to him is the familiar form of� Jenny Calendar. Buffy's shocked as she realizes that it�s the First, and that it�s still using the form of the dead teacher. Up on the stage, the First is looking out over the crowd, appearing to be gloating over the planned deaths of all assembled here, and her eyes meet Buffy's. There�s a beat, and then the First smiles, cruelly.

Suddenly a figure staggers into the view of both Buffy and the First, and they see him at the same time. It�s Xander, still confused and uncomprehending of what�s going on around him. Immediately, Buffy and the First simultaneously head for Xander from different directions. Buffy is quickly cut off by a cop on crowd control. She plants a foot in his stomach, and he goes down. Unfortunately, there is another to take his place. Then another, and another as they gang up on her. Buffy faces off against them.

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Back at the hospital, Willow runs down the nearly empty corridors. Nurses and orderlies call out after her, but she just runs past them. It is an awkward run, because she�s so pregnant and in labor, too. In fact, she is forced to stop and rest, panting, against a wall at one point due to another contraction. The nurse follows, intent on killing her. Cut to Dawn bursting through the swinging doors to the entrance of the maternity ward. She runs to Willow�s room, but the witch isn�t there. She can tell there�s been fighting there, though, and she spins and runs off to look for her friend. In the hallways, Willow is running again, holding her swollen belly and gasping. Behind her, around each corner, the nurse continues pursuing her target. Willow thinks quickly, doubling back and hiding in the stairwell until the nurse passes by. Then she comes out and goes back toward her room. Dawn, having just come from her room, runs right into her. Willow gasps out �The nurse!�, and Dawn grabs her and drags her off in the other direction.

Back to the house. Tara and Giles are now barricaded in Buffy�s room. Outside, the bad guys bang on the door, trying to get in. Giles and Tara are holding the door shut, but Giles shouts they can�t hold it forever. Tara suddenly bolts away from it, leaving a confused Giles holding the door alone. Tara tunes him out and calms herself, preparing a spell that might be able to help them. Outside, in the hallway, a battering ram normally used by riot squads is passed up. Two of the cops use it on Buffy�s bedroom door, and Giles is nearly thrown forward from the impact. Tara chants faster, and suddenly opens her eyes, beckoning to Giles. Having no choice � the door will buckle under the next blow � Giles rushes forward just as a gold force field springs up around them both. The cops batter the door again with the ram, and it bursts inward. The police come in shooting and Giles flinches reflexively before realizing that all of the bullets are being harmlessly deflected by the force field. In the center of the gold bubble, Tara sits motionless, quietly chanting to herself to keep the spell going.

Back to the Bicentennial: While Buffy is busy trying to fight her way through the cops without killing anyone, the First heads toward Xander, tossing people out of her way left and right, sending them flying. Xander, for his part, is totally clueless, focused on his own mental problems. When he looks up he sees people being flung off to the side as something comes toward him. Finally, the last of the people between them is thrown away and he sees the form of Jenny Calendar, which shimmers into Anya right in front of his eyes before she grabs him. �Hi, hubby,� she says wickedly. Ten yards or so away, Buffy sees the First claim Xander and stops playing nice with the cops. When they refuse to yield, she begins beating the crap out of them, regardless of the consequences, desperate to rescue her friend. By this point people are screaming and running in fear and confusion at all the fighting going on. From the dais, the Commissioner alternates between trying to calm the crowd, and ordering more men to go after the slayer. Amid the melee, Angel shows up at a run, alerted by the screams. Buffy spots him and shouts that the First has got Xander, and for him to get these cops off her. He does a little cop-flinging of his own on his way to her, and jumps onto the next two cops who were about to attack her. Reprieved, Buffy ducks out of the way and runs toward where the First still clutches Xander.

We cut back to the hospital. Dawn and Willow are still running away from the nurse, but are cut off in front of the elevators. When the nurse makes a move as if to attack Willow again, Dawn reacts with a lightning-quick punch. The nurse falls back, and Dawn follows through with an uppercut, then a sweep of her leg to knock the nurse�s feet out from under her. The nurse goes down, unconscious. Dawn actually grins at the results of all her training time with Spike, but Willow�s in too much pain to be impressed. Remembering that the witch is in labor, Dawn bundles her into the elevator and presses the button for the ground floor.

In the patrol car, Grant recognizes the address Cordelia and Wesley have given him to take them back to. �Hey, that�s where Buffy lives,� he says. �Do you guys know her?� Cordelia snorts, and Wesley explains that she needs their help and they�ve got to get back to the house. Grant�s obliging, and pulls into the driveway just as the radio crackles to life. Over it, the dispatcher calls all available squads to the park to help handle an out of control fight. Grant is astonished when Buffy�s name is mentioned, and makes as if to go to the Bicentennial celebration. Cordelia stops him, though, when she notices the broken front door and windows on the house. They all suddenly hear a slew of gunshots, and jump out of the car as one. Grant leads the charge into the house, his gun drawn. Wesley follows, brandishing his rusty sword. Suddenly there�s a scorching sound from upstairs, followed by several pained cries. A gaggle of singed cops rush down the stairs a moment later, right past Grant and the others, barely affording them a second glance as they run yelling out into the night. Grant takes the stairs two at a time and finds Giles and Tara in Buffy�s room, looking none the worse for the wear. Tara smiles wearily, having been sapped of power by the spell she just did.

Buffy jerks to a halt in front of the First and Xander. Xander doesn�t even look up at her, but the First � in Jenny�s form once again � turns to face the slayer with a cool, evil smile. Buffy commands that the First let him go, but the First says not a chance. Xander�s her meal ticket. She�s not letting him go until it�s over. �And by then you and your friends�hell, the rest of the world, for that matter�will be too busy screaming as your flesh boils on your bones to care much about what happens to poor, sweet Xander, here.� Buffy coldly threatens to kill the First, but the First only appears amused. She says Buffy can�t kill her without killing Xander�and she�s never met a slayer yet who could kill an innocent. Buffy retorts that the First has also never met a slayer she could beat, and Buffy looks forward to joining the long list of women who have kicked the First�s ass. The First looks less pleased at this threat, and leans in close to Buffy dangerously, promising to kill her, her friends, and everyone else in this excuse for a dimension. And she�ll relish it.

With that, the First grabs hold of Xander tightly and spins away. Buffy jumps forward to follow, but cops suddenly surround her and she loses them in the fighting.

To Be Continued.

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