Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The school is decked out in balloons and banners galore, celebrating the start of "Career Week" at at Sunnydale High.

Willow enters the school, looking as though she's stepped into the Garden of Eden. We hear Xander reading questions out loud to Buffy, who is extremely unenthusiastic about answering them. Willows seats herself at their table and comments on their apparent bitterness. Xander points out the ridiculousness of trying to divine one's future career from a multiple choice test, but scholastic Willow is undeterred. She is curious to find out what options lie in store for her. Cordelia approaches them, announcing to her entourage that she "aspires to help her fellow man," as she ticks off a box on her test. Xander acknowledges her as someone always ready to help the rich and pretty, which, as Cordelia points out, excludes him. Twice.

Buffy interrupts, wanting to know what she should think about shrubs, eventually opting for the same answer as Willow gave. She seems uninvested in the test, proclaiming it a moot point, since she already has a career for life. It turns out the only reason she is taking the test is to appease Principal Snyder. Willow is surprised that she isn't the least bit curious about her potential careers, and Xander points out that her fatalist attitude makes her an ideal candidate for a job at the DMV. Buffy is clearly disappointed that she is the only girl in school who doesn't get to dream about the future.

We cut to Spike and Drusilla's lair. Dru is laying tarot cards whilst another vampire attempts to translate an ancient text, with Spike looking over his shoulder. The translation is nonsensical and Spike smacks the translator, obviously displeased with his efforts. Dru asks Spike to dance with her, and he snaps at her to be quiet while he's working. Dru makes a hurt face, and he apologizes saying that the manuscript, which is supposed to hold her cure, reads like gibberish. Even Dalton (the transcriber vampire) can't figure it out. Dru mumbles something about changing Miss Edith and seems to fall ill, holding her head in her hands. Spike is torn up to see her like this, and blames their misfortunes on the Slayer, who always seems to mess up their plans. Dru comforts him, telling him that she's certain he'll make it right. He kisses her and seems to regain his composure. He turns to Dalton, demanding to know what he's learned about the text, and Dalton tells him that it looks like Latin, but isn't. Spike is reaching the end of his patience and grabs Dalton, ready to beat him up, when he's interrupted by Dru. She's looking at her cards and says that they need a key to decode the scripture and that it's hidden in a crypt. This cheers Spike up, and he promises that he will dance with her... right atop the Slayer's grave.



Buffy is out on patrol, when she hears some clinking noises coming from a crypt. She peers in and finds a vampire (Dalton) breaking into a vault and stealing something. She waits for him outside and is attacked by a second vampire. By the time she has staked him Dalton has made a run for it.

Buffy is climbing in through her window and spots Angel lurking in her room. He's hugging Mr. Gordo, her stuffed pig, and is startled by her sudden appearance. She tells him that he needn't whisper as her mother is in LA for a few days. Angel asks why she climbed in through the window and she shrugs, saying it was force of habit. She asks why he's come by, and he says he had a bad feeling and just wanted to be sure she was okay. She cops a sarcastic and slightly mean attitude, implying that he only ever turns up to give her bad news. He takes the not-so-subtle hint and heads for the window when she stops him, apologizing for her rude behavior. She admits she's been in a bad mood all day, because of school. Angel knows about career week (as he says, he lurks…) and she calls it a game of "What's My Line" that she doesn't get to play. She wishes she had a normal life, like she had before, and Angel mistakenly believes she means before him. She refutes his assumption, telling him that he's the only thing in her freaky life that makes sense. She explains that she just wishes that they could be normal kids, which Angel points out that he will never be. She rephrases her wish to one normal kid and her cradle-robbing, creature-of-the-night boyfriend, which brings a smile to Angel's face. He spots a picture on the desk of Buffy as a girl on ice-skates and asks if that was once part of her normal life. Buffy is embarrassed, calling it her Dorothy Hamill phase, explaining that her room was a shrine to her, and she even had her hair-do. Angel shrugs understandingly, saying that she wanted to be like her but Buffy corrects him. She didn't want to be like her, she wanted to be her. She used ice-skating as an escape when her parents fought, which happened a lot, and skating made her feel safe. With a twinkle in his eye, Angel proposes they go ice-skating tomorrow evening as the ice-rink is closed on Tuesdays.



At school the next day, Xander and Cordelia are searching for their aptitude test results on a bulletin board. Cordelia finds hers, which reads personal shopper or motivational speaker. Xander scoffs, asking what she could possibly motivate, other than "10 ways to a more annoying you." Cordelia spots Xander's results and giggles as she leaves Xander to frantically find out what was so funny. Buffy and Willow are discussing Buffy's scheduled skating-date with Angel, both of them slightly doubtful at the thought of Angel on ice-skates. Xander joins them, asking them if they would consider him a potential prison guard, which is apparently the recommendation made to him based on his test. Buffy and Willow find his results amusing, until he mentions that Buffy was assigned to the booth for law enforcement professionals. Buffy is suddenly less amused, as he brings her attention to polyester, donuts and brutality; the trademarks of police work. She spots Giles staggering under a huge pile of books, and mentions that he's been extra efficient lately, expecting her to check in with him every day. As Buffy grudgingly leaves to meet Giles, Willow asks if Xander happened to see which booth she was assigned to, and he tells her that she wasn't on the list, to her great surprise and disappointment.



Buffy catches up with Giles as he's setting down his many books, and he explains that he's been cataloging the Watcher's Diaries going back several centuries. He's amazed at how pompous and long-winded some of them were, and Buffy has a "tell-me-about-it" look on her face as she says "color me stunned." He asks about last night's patrol and she fleetingly mentions the vampire she saw stealing something from a crypt, and that he got away. Giles looks concerned and starts pacing as Buffy, in her own world, contemplates the meaning of the phrase "whole nine yards." Giles berates her for not investigating the theft more thoroughly, criticizing her methods. Buffy, in turn, grows angry and suggests Giles find someone else for the job, if he's unsatisfied. But then, as she says "there can only be one." She sarcastically points out that she doesn't have to be the Slayer... she could be dead. Giles is unamused by her snide remarks, stressing that introspection can wait, and that their main concern is to find out what was stolen and by whom.

Back in Spike's lair, Dru is authenticating the key (which is in the form of a silver cross) by stating that it hums. Spike promises her a parade and a great feast when she is restored to health, with drinking for seven days and nights. Dalton asks what they plan to do about the Slayer, reminding them that she almost caught him the night before, and that she's trouble. Spike is frustrated and concerned that they won't be able to complete their plans with her on the loose. He has a bright idea and decides he needs to bring in the big guns: The Order of Taraka, a group of demonic bounty hunters. The name seems to instill fright in Dalton, and Dru quivers with excitement and fear as she turns over three tarot cards: a one-eyed demon, a giant worm and a leopard.



Back at school, Willow and Xander are attending the career fair. Xander mentions that Buffy and Giles are on some sort of field trip, and a panicked Willow worries that Principal Snyder will notice that she isn't at school. She stops mid-sentence as Snyder appears in front of them. Doing their best to deflect his attention from Buffy's absence, Xander tries to butter Snyder up with talk of going to "Principal School", but ends up calling him a tiny person with little feet and finally stops talking. Snyder can't be fooled and asks where Buffy is, telling them not to bother giving him the "I just saw her a minute ago," routine. Xander tries to add something, but is rudely cut off by Snyder, who points out that he finds Xander to be a pointless waste of space, and leaves. Xander heads towards the stand for prison wards, leaving Willow behind. Two formal looking men in suits seize the opportunity to approach her, asking her to follow them into an adjoining area. Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" plays in the background as Willow is offered a canapé from a tray carried by a waiter. She is informed that she has been selected to speak with Mr. McCarthy, a recruiter for the world's foremost software company. They tell her his jet has been delayed but will be arriving shortly. She finds out that they have been following her progress for some time, which unsettles her a little, and add that only one other Sunnydale student met their criteria. She turns to sit down and we see Oz on the sofa staring intently at a plate of canapés. He doesn't notice her for a few seconds, but when he does, he looks stunned... although with Oz it's hard to tell. Although we know he's been trying to meet her for weeks, maybe months, he stays cool as a cucumber as he offers her a canapé.



We cut to Buffy striding full speed into the graveyard from last night, with Giles hard on her heels, apparently with a side stitch, asking her to slow down. Buffy is in a bad mood, determined to make a point to Giles about not being "thorough and efficient" enough. He accuses her of acting immaturely, and she wholeheartedly agrees, stressing that she is a teenager and is supposed to be immature. She returns to the subject of being "the Chosen One", displaying a good deal of bitterness as she does. Giles tries to convince her that her sacred duty shouldn't prevent her from one day having a normal job, but she cuts him down, challenging him to think of a job that meshes with slayage. He considers the question and then suggests law enforcement, earning a look from Buffy that says he might as well have suggested flipping burgers in a fast-food restaurant… She points him towards the crypt and they take a look inside. They soon find the emptied reliquary and Giles discovers that the owner of the tomb was a man named Du Lac whom he recognizes as part of a sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican about a century ago. Buffy remarks that being excommunicated and sent to Sunnydale are very strong indicators that he was less than saintly. Giles reminds her that a book was stolen from the library some weeks back, and points out that it was written by Du Lac. He explains that it contained rituals and spells of unspeakable evil, but that it was written in archaic Latin, making it impossible for anyone outside the sect to understand it. The fact that two of Du Lac's former possessions have been stolen in such a short space of time indicates something evil is afoot.

We cut to Sunnydale's bus station where a bus has just arrived from L.A. Out steps "something evil," a mean looking, wild-haired man with criss-cross scars across his milky-white right eye.

Cut again, this time to Revello Drive where we see a boring looking man wearing glasses and a suit walking past the Summers' home. He stops at the neighbor's house, and knocks on the door. Mrs. Kalish answers, and he announces himself as Norman Pfister with "Blush Beautiful Skincare" and says that he's offering free cosmetic samples, indicating his briefcase. This raises her interest and she lets him in, shutting the door behind them. Shortly after, we hear a piercing scream.

The scream is drowned out by the noise of a jet landing, as we cut to the airport. A luggage-handler opens up the cargo hold of a jet and seems to notice something is amiss. He calls out to whoever is hiding in there, and we see a shadow move across the inside wall. Out of nowhere someone kicks him several times, and he's out cold. A dark skinned and very pretty, yet slightly sinister girl steps cautiously out of the plane. She's dressed in a small top, silk drawstring pants and large hoop earrings, giving her an exotic look.



Back at school, the Scooby gang is gathered in the library, getting an update from Giles on what is known as the Du Lac Cross... the item he suspects was stolen from the crypt last night. He explains that it is used to decipher texts, which Buffy points out, makes it a basic decoder ring. According to Giles' book, Du Lac destroyed all the crosses except the one buried with him, indicating that he feared what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Giles announces that the only course of action open to them is to discover what is in the book before anyone has a chance to use it, so they can prevent it. Willow is excited at the prospect of a "research party" which Xander finds disturbing. Buffy takes her leave, claiming that her job would mainly consist of providing moral support anyway, and Willow backs her (remembering the skating-date) advising she conserve her strength for the battles to come. Giles hesitantly agrees and as she leaves, he and Xander look dazed at how easily she managed to wriggle out of book-duty.



Buffy is at the ice-rink skating skating beautifully, reliving the memories of her demon-free life. She's so engrossed that she doesn't notice the creepy one-eyed guy from the bus station lurking in the shadows. She glides to the edge of the rink, sitting with her back against the perimeter when Creepy Guy grabs her around the neck from behind and tries to choke her. Angel comes rushing in, game face on, and tackles him which sends Buffy flying. The two men are in a fist-fight when Buffy speeds across the ice, and jumps up to slash Creepy Guys throat with her skates. He falls dead onto the ice.

Overlapping the frame is Dru's tarot card with the one eyed man. She turns it over, back-side up, indicating that he failed. Spike isn't disheartened though: there are still two more, and Dalton is close to decoding the book, so they won't need much more time anyway.

Back on the ice, Buffy is rubbing her sore leg as Angel investigates the body. He tells her she's in danger. Motioning to Creepy Guy's ring, he asks her if she knows what it means. She jokes that she just killed a Superbowl champ, and he snaps at her, saying that he's serious and that she should go home and wait. She limps toward him, and he realizes she's hurt. She brushes it off and is more concerned about the cut he's sustained above his eye. He repeats that they need to get her somewhere safe, and she is surprised to understand that he means to hide his face from her. She's persistent about seeing to his cut, but he turns away ashamed of his vamp face, not wanting her to touch it. Buffy takes off her glove and tenderly strokes his face, claiming she hadn't even noticed. They kiss, and as the camera zooms out we see that "Exotic Jet-Girl" is observing them, unnoticed.



Back at the library, Giles is examining the ring, while Buffy holds an ice-pack to her bruised leg. Giles confirms that the owner of the ring belonged to the Order of Taraka, and that Angel was right to be cautious. He describes the order as a group of assassins dating back to King Solomon's time, and Xander jokingly asks if they didn't beat the Elks in the Sunnydale Adult Bowling League. Giles describes the order's deadly creed, and Xander adds that bowling is a vicious game. This is one joke too many, and Giles snaps at him to be serious for once. Giles' uncharacteristic short-temper seems to worry the others more than the ring itself, and he proposes that they find a safe place for Buffy to hide until they find out more. Buffy is alarmed that both Giles and Angel have told her to hide, implying that the Order are more than she can handle. Giles explains that the assassins have no weaknesses and seek only to claim their bounty, and that they will keep coming no matter how many she kills.

We cut to 1628 Revello Drive where Norman Pfister is sitting in a chair looking through a pair of binoculars. We hear a voiceover of Giles describing the assassins' M.O., saying each of them works alone; some of them human, some not. The camera angle changes, and we see the floor covered in maggots, and a blurry object in the bottom corner of the view that looks like the remains of Mrs. Kalish. We focus on Norman again and see that the maggots are in fact massing together to form his body. As he reaches for a cup of tea, hundreds of maggots congregate to assemble his hand.



We cut back to school where Buffy is walking down the hall as we hear the sound of a heartbeat. Buffy is becoming paranoid and everyone seems suspicious now, their images swimming in and out of focus. A policewoman, there for the fair, seems to eyeball her as she passes, a man pulls what looks to be a gun out of his jacket, but is in fact just a comb. Oz comes up the hall behind her, and she spins around, grabs him by the throat and pins him to the wall, challenging him to "try it!" He looks at her confusedly, and asks what he should try? Realizing she's made a mistake, she mumbles an apology and leaves. Oz, stoic as always, remarks that there went a tense person.

It's after sunset and we see Buffy trudging home, limping slightly as her leg is still sore. She stops outside her house and looks at the darkened windows... no one is home. She reconsiders and continues to walk past it with a wary glance over her shoulder to check for anyone following her.



Back at the library, Giles and Willow are continuing their research to figure out what was written in Du Lac's book. Willow expresses her concern for Buffy who apparently left without a word after their talk earlier. Xander comes in to tell them that Buffy didn't answer the phone and therefore didn't go home, as no 16 year-old-girl is capable of unplugging their phone. Giles considers that maybe his cautioning advice was too harsh, and Willow asserts that she wishes they knew where she was.

We cut back to Buffy and see that she has arrived at Angel's apartment. She knocks but there is no answer. She "unlocks" the door and goes in to take a look around. The room is dimly lit, and the Spartan decor is kept mainly in shades of gray and mahogany. There is a small statuette displayed in a glass case, and several paintings on the walls. All things point towards the owner being an older, cosmopolitan man with well-established tastes and a preference for minimalism. Buffy finds a small, unmade bed (a single) in a corner next to a nightstand. She sits down on it, a look of pain and weariness etched on her face as she curls up to go to sleep.



We cut to an empty bar where a man is sweeping the floor, most likely the owner. A silhouette appears in the doorway, and the sweeper says that they're closed. Angel steps into the light and the man, suddenly fearful, apologizes saying he didn't recognize him in the dark. Angel tells him he needs some information, as he casually walks into the room. Willie, the bar owner, stutters something about "living right" and staying away from "that whole scene" as he backs away from Angel. The skeptical Angel says "sure you are, and I'm taking up sunbathing." Willie tries to reason with Angel, arguing that he treats vampires well, providing them with a place to hang out and that they in turn should leave him in peace. Angel ignores Willie's bad excuses and asks who sent the Order of Taraka. Willie tries to convince him that he has no idea what's going on in the underworld, but Angel isn't fooled. Angel moves closer and menacingly asks if it was Spike. Willie tries to bribe him with pig's blood but this is the last straw, and Angel grabs his face, forcing it down onto the bar. Angel mentions how rusty he is at killing humans threatening that it might take a while, at which point Willie caves. He admits that Spike ordered them to kill Buffy. Angel continues to "interrogate" him and Willie is about to divulge Spike's plan when Angel is kicked in the face by someone off-screen. He is knocked to the floor and looks up just in time to see Exotic Jet-Girl break a broomstick over her knee to stake him. He rolls to the side, jumps to his feet, and they start fighting (this girl has serious skills and strength). He puts on his vamp face, but she continues to pummel him, finally kicking him backwards into a caged, storage area. He asks her who she is, offering not to hurt her if she tells him what he needs to know. She laughs at his offer and locks him in the cage asking him about Buffy, in a distinct pseudo-Jamaican accent. He orders her to stay away from her, but she points out that he's in no position to give threats. She indicates a window across from the cage and tells him that the sun will be coming in a few hours "more than enough time for me to find your girlfriend." Angel can only watch helplessly as Jamaican Jet-Girl leaves in search of Buffy.



We find Giles in the library on the phone to Xander. He tells him that he's increasingly concerned about Buffy and asks him to go to her house immediately to see if she's there. Xander apparently asks how he's supposed to get there and Giles suggests he ask Cordelia for a lift. He exits his office and finds Willow slumped across the keyboard in front of the computer. He gently shakes her, and she wakes up, startled, saying "don't warn the tadpoles!" She's still fuzzy and wonders what Giles is doing there, so he explains that they're still in the library and that she fell asleep. He asks about the tadpoles, and she explains that she has frog-fear and apologizes for falling asleep. Giles will have none of it, saying that she's gone quite beyond the call of duty. Excited he tells her that he thinks he's found something: a description of what he believes is a ritual than can restore a weakened or sick vampire to full health. Willow correctly guesses, as he has, that the vampire in question may well be the frail Drusilla.

In Spike's lair, Dalton closes the Du Lac book with finality and hands Spike several hand-written sheets of paper. Spike smiles as he announces that they seem to have found the cure for Drusilla. Dru cuts him off saying, in a misty voice, that the answer was right in front of them the whole time, and she points to yet another tarot card with a picture of an angel on it.



We cut to Revello Drive where Cordelia and Xander have arrived, Cordelia complaining about being dragged out of bed this early just for a ride and asks if he sees her as mass transportation. This opportunity to ridicule Cordy being too good to pass up, Xander says "that's what a lot of the guys say, but it's just locker-room talk, I wouldn't pay it any mind." Now Cordelia complains that she also has to put up with being his punching bag. Xander calls through the door for Buffy, but there's no reply. They continue bickering as Xander tries to find an open door or window to get in through. Xander jimmy's open a window, climbs through and opens the door for Cordelia. As Xander goes to check upstairs, Cordelia hears a knock at the door and opens. Norman Pfister is outside and offers Cordelia some free cosmetic samples, which she is unable to resist. Mimicking the Mrs. Kalish scenario, she lets him in and shuts the door behind him, but this time there is no scream… Yet.



We cut to Angel locked in his cage, and see that the sun has risen and a shaft of light is slowly nearing his corner. He is still trying to break out of the cage, but without luck, the lock is too solid.



Buffy is asleep on Angel's bed. She stirs slightly, and her Slayer instinct tells her to wake just in time to see the Jamaican girl standing over her with an axe. She jumps up and engages in the fight, stating "you must be number two" assuming that "Jamaican Girl" is a member of the Order. Buffy is thrown to the floor as they wrestle over the axe and she says "come on, don't make me do the chick-fight thing". Jamaican Girl doesn't understand, and therefore isn't ready when Buffy digs her nails into her hand and pulls her hair. Buffy kicks the axe out of her hands and they exchange blows for a while, then take up a defensive stance across from each other, catching their breath. Jamaican girl asks Buffy who she is, and Buffy, confused, asks her who she is. She proudly announces that she is Kendra, the Vampire Slayer, and Buffy's jaw drops as she tries to process this statement.