[Transcript of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" episode Grave at buffyology.com.]
Resume. Buffy and Anya come to simultaneously and stare in shock at Giles, standing in the threshold staring hard at Willow.
Giles?
Giles!
Uh-oh... daddy's home! I'm in wicked trouble now.
You have no idea. You have to stop what you're doing.
Oh, sorry. Can't do that. I'm not finished yet.
She starts to stand up.
Neither am I. Stay down.
He waves his hand and Willow collapses back to the floor.
How'd you do that?
Willow chuckles.
That's borrowed power. No way is it gonna be strong enough--
I'm here to help you.
Thanks but I can kill a couple geeks all by myself. But hey, if you'd like to watch... I mean, that's what you Watchers are good at, right? Watching? (hard) Butting in on things that don't concern you.
You concern me, Willow. Stay on this path and you'll wind up dead.
Willow, listen to him. I don't want to fight you anymore.
I don't want to fight you, either. I want to fight him.
She rises up and Giles waves his hand again.
Stay down!
No.
This time Giles' power has no effect on her.
Remember that little spat we had before you left? When you were under the delusion that you were still relevant here? You called me a rank, arrogant amateur. Well, buckle up, Rupert...
Willow's eyes go jet black and her voice deepens, becomes guttural and menacing.
...'cause I've gone pro. (chants) Asmodea bring forth--
Vincire!
A glowing ring of green energy shoots from his palm and wraps itself around Willow, binding her.
No! Get it off! Solvo... libero--
Her head suddenly snaps back and she loses consciousness. The binding energy changes hue from green to a deep blue and lifts Willow off the floor. She hangs, suspended in mid-air, unconscious and bound.
Buffy and Anya look uncertainly from Willow to Giles.
What did you do?
Contained her and her powers within a binding field. It puts her in a kind of stasis for the time-- you cut your hair.
Buffy smiles at him, then hugs him, tears in her eyes. Anya watches for a moment, then runs over to him as well.
I'm blonde. I colored my hair. Again. I'm blonde.
Yes, I noticed.
He pulls her into a hug as well. After a moment, he lets them both go and walks over to Willow.
I'm very sorry about Tara.
Willow stirs and comes around. Her speech is halting, fragmented, as if she's fighting against a heavy anesthetic.
This... won't... hold me forever.
Giles and Buffy stand together in her training room.
I came as soon as I heard.
Council?
The Council haven't a clue-- about much of anything, really. No, there's an extremely powerful coven in Devon. They sensed the rise of a dangerous magickal force here in Sunnydale. A dark force fueled by grief.
Willow.
I'd so hoped it wasn't her. And then a seer in the coven told me about Tara. That's when the coven imbued me with their powers.
And sent you here to bring Willow down?
Buffy, what's happened here?
God... I don't even know where to start.
Well, Willow's clearly been abusing the magicks.
She has. She was and I barely even noticed. Giles, everything's just been so... (sighs) Xander left Anya at the altar and Anya's a vengeance demon again. Dawn's a total klepto. Money's been so tight that I've been slinging burgers at the Doublemeat Palace... and I've been sleeping with Spike.
She looks up at Giles, gauging his reaction. He stares at her for a moment, then bursts out laughing.
I'm sorry...
Buffy is taken aback, shocked at his reaction, but it's not long until the absurdity of it all hits her and she's laughing hysterically as well.
Anya cleans the mess while Willow floats in the air nearby. Willow is conscious now but still immobilized. She calls out to Anya with her mind.
Anya...
Anya turns around, confused.
Willow?
I need you, Anya. I need you to do something for me.
I know what you're trying to do. I hate to burst your bubble but that mind-control mojo doesn't work on vengeance demons so why don't you just--
Stop talking and listen.
Okay.
You need to free me.
No.
Anya shakes her head and heads for the back room.
You don't want to call out to them.
Anya instantly stops.
You want to take away this binding spell.
I don't know how.
I do. Do you want me to tell you?
Giles and Buffy are still laughing hysterically.
Duct tape?
On their mouths, so the demon could eat them.
Because they were figments?
All of it. You, Sunnydale... and I was just some nutcase in L.A.
Of course. Why didn't we see it before?
Their laughter gradually subsides and Giles takes Buffy's hand.
Can you forgive me?
For what?
I should never have left.
No. You were right to leave. We're just... stupid.
I know you're all stupid. (smiles) I should never have abandoned you.
No, Giles, you were right about everything. It is time I was an adult.
Sometimes the most adult thing you can do is ask for help when you need it.
Now you tell me. I guess... I wasn't ready before. It took a long time for that feeling to go away. The feeling that I wasn't really here. It was like... when I clawed my way out of that grave, I left something behind. A part of me. I just don't understand why I'm back.
You have a calling.
But it was my time, Giles. Someone would have taken my place. So why?
Giles has no answer for her.
Right. What's going to happen to Willow?
Well, the coven's working on a way to extract her powers without... killing her. And should she survive... you ought to know, Buffy, that there's no guarantee she'll be as she was. Willow has killed a human being. How will she be able to live with herself?
I wouldn't worry about that.
Buffy and Giles turn to find Anya in the doorway, suspended in air, unconscious.
Willow steps out from behind Anya and releases her. She collapses to the floor.
Willow doesn't live here anymore.
Resume. Buffy looks to Giles, then charges Willow. The witch merely raises her hand and blasts Buffy back across the room where she slams into the brick wall and drops to the floor.
Giles extends his arm and casts his binding spell again.
Vincire!
The green energy shoots from his hand and encircles Willow. She waves dismissively and dissolves it with a single word.
Solutum. Fool me once...
She looks at the knives and throwing stars hanging on the wall near her and a dozen blades spring to life and hover in the air.
...shame on you.
With a nod of her head, the blades whip across the room directly at Giles.
Tego!
Giles' spell pulls the sparring dummy from across the room. It stops in front of him just as the knives slam into it.
Willow waves the dummy aside just as another ball of green energy forms in Giles' hand. He winds up like a baseball pitcher and hurls it at her.
Excudo!
The plasma slams into Willow with tremendous force hurling her backward and through the brick wall of the training room and out into the store proper.
The four refugees walk along the darkened streets.
Where are we going?
I have no idea.
What?
I don't know, okay? I can't even run away well and that's something I'm usually good at.
Maybe we should go back and help.
Yeah, 'cause I've been such a big help already. Standing around like a monkey while Buffy gets shot. Tara's dead and Willow's... losing.
Well, standing around feeling sorry for yourself isn't helping either, Xander. Okay? You know if Spike were here, he'd go back and fight.
Sure, if he wasn't too busy trying to rape your sister.
What?
Forget it.
I don't believe you!
Fine.
He wouldn't do that.
Is this blind spot like a genetic trait with the Summers women? The only useful thing Spike ever did was finally leave town.
Hideous screams and snarls emanate from the shadows of the cave. The severed head of a horned demon flies out of the darkness and rolls to stop along the cave floor. Spike emerges after it, beaten, burned, bruised and bloody.
Well, that was a bloody doddle and a piece o' piss. You got any more ruddy tests for me, you ponce? I'll take anything you can throw at me if it'll get me what I need to take care of the Slayer. Give her what's coming to her. You just bring it on. Bring on the whole...
He stops at the sound of thousands of legs skittering across the cave floor.
Bloody hell...
A swarm of beetles covers his chest, neck, then his head. He grunts in pain and one scampers up his nose and down his throat.
The store is in shambles. The furniture shattered, the merchandise broken and littering the floor. Walls torn asunder and support beams cracked and leaning drunkenly. Broken electrical lines hiss and spark. Small fires burn here and there. Willow stands among the wreckage, covered in dust, a gash across her cheek. She smirks at Giles who stands across from her, head bowed, beaten and bruised.
Is that all you got, Jeeves? 'Cause I could stand to go another ten rounds. Whereas... you can barely stand.
Your powers may be undeniably great... but I can still hurt you if I have to.
Boy, you just don't get it, do you? Nothing can hurt me now.
She points to the laceration on her face.
This? Is nothing.
She waves her hand and the cut disappears leaving her cheek unmarked.
It's all nothing.
Buffy peers through the shattered wall at Willow and Giles.
I see. If you lose someone you love... then the other people in your life who care about you become meaningless. I wonder what Tara would say about that.
You can ask her yourself.
She hurls a burst of plasma at Giles but Buffy dashes into the room and pushes him out of the way.
The bolt strikes the support beam holding up the loft. Buffy and Giles tumble to the floor as the entire loft collapses and crashes down around them.
You're always saving everyone. It's kinda pesky.
She reaches down to a pile of burning books and lifts a ball of fire out. It hovers in her hand.
You probably even think you're buying escape time for Jonathan and the other one. Well, I got a little secret for ya. I can kill them from anywhere I want. With this. It'll find them... it'll bury them. Along with anyone else helping those dead men walking.
Buffy gets to her feet.
Don't...
Unless somebody, somehow, can get there in time to save them. Oh, well...
She tosses the fireball up and it shoots through the ceiling and out into the night.
Fly, my pretty, fly! (smiles; to Buffy) See what I did there?
Go.
Buffy shares a look with Giles, then runs out after the fireball.
Good luck! (to Giles) Thought she'd never leave. Now I finally have you all to myself.
Buffy exits the store and looks up as the fireball climbs into the night sky.
Willow paces, circling Giles.
You're such a hypocrite. Waltzing in here with your borrowed magicks so you could tell me what? "Magicks bad. Behave. Be a good girl." Well, I don't think you're in any position to be telling me what to do. Do you?
She looks up at Giles who is pinned to the ceiling. She releases him and he crashes down to the floor.
I used to think you had all the answers, that I had so much to learn from you.
Willow...
She gestures at him and he shoots back up to the ceiling again.
You were jealous. Still are. Just couldn't bear that I was the one with power. That's why you ran away. That's why you--
Incurso!
A wave of power shoots out of Giles' mouth and knocks Willow backward. He drops back down to the floor with a thud.
That was rude! (beat) Now I forgot what I was saying.
Giles struggles to sit up.
Perhaps you're not as strong as you think you are. You're expending way too much of your mystical energies to maintain your powers. At this rate, you'll burn out... and up.
Blah, blah, blah
Willow, you need to stop.
She teleports across the room and is instantly right in his face.
What I need is a little pick-me-up.
She attaches her hand to Giles chest and starts draining his power. Giles utters a deep shuddering groan of agony as Willow drains his energy.
After a moment, she breaks contact and staggers backward, leaving Giles to topple over onto the floor. Willow backs up against the counter and slides down to the floor, her head spinning.
Whoa... head rush. Who's your supplier? This is... wow. It's incredible. I'm so juiced. Giles, it's like no mortal person has ever had this much power! Ever. It's like I'm connected to everything. I can feel... it feels like... I can feel... everyone. Oh... Oh, my god. All the emotion and the pain. No! It's too much. It's just too much!
Willow, it doesn't have to be like that. You... you can stop it.
Willow staggers back to her feet.
Yeah. I can. I have to stop this. I'll make it go away.
Willow...
Oh, you poor bastards! Your suffering has to end.
Willow rises off the floor and disappears in a flash of energy.
No...
Xander kicks at the door to a crypt with little success. Jonathan and Andrew use their swords to pry at the door of a second crypt nearby. The sword slips and jams Jonathan.
Son of a bitch!
Butt wipe.
I wasn't talking to you.
Oh. Reflex.
Man, they've really tightened security up here lately. One too many squatters from the Hellmouth.
Hide out in the cemetery... what a fantastic idea.
Yeah, I'm working on a whole shut-the-hell-up pitch you might like, too.
Xander?
I've had just about as much as I can stand baby-sitting a couple of social retards who don't appreciate--
Xander!
What?
What is that?
They all turn and follow her gaze into the night sky.
Willow's fireball streaks through the darkness directly at them, Buffy running and vaulting the headstones right behind it.
Get out of there! Move!
She closes the last few feet and tackles Andrew and Jonathan to the ground just as the fireball slams into the earth where they were standing. The impact and
explosion knocks Xander and Dawn off their feet. Xander slams into a gravestone, unconscious.
As Dawn struggles to her feet, the ground beneath her starts to fall away. She starts to slip backward into the hole.
Dawn! Dawn, hold on!
Buffy reaches for her but it's too late. Dawn drops backward and falls into an underground chamber. She lands on her back with a thud. Caskets line the walls all around her, embedded in and protruding from the walls of the cave.
Seconds later Buffy herself falls in and lands next to her sister. She looks up and rolls to the side as Jonathan's sword falls straight for her head. The sword misses her with inches to spare and embeds itself in the ground. Andrew's sword slides in after it and lands at Buffy's feet as well.
The girls look around warily, not sure what to make of the cave and its bizarre contents. The hole the fell through yawns above them, 50 feet overhead.
Above, Andrew and Jonathan get to their feet and peer down into the hole, then look over to where Xander lies unconscious.
Mexico, huh?
They share a look, then run off into the night.
Anya makes her way through the wreckage out onto the main floor of the store. She finds Giles lying unconscious and runs to him.
Giles!
His eyes open.
Anya...
I'm so sorry! Willow forced me to free her with her brain. Are you okay?
I can see.
Oh. It's a... miracle.
Willow... I can see her. She took the magick I had and now I know where she is. I can feel what... oh, god.
Giles, you have to rest.
Silly girl. I'm dying.
No, you're not!
It was... it was the only way. I thought there'd be a chance but... I know where Willow is. She's going to finish it.
Finish what?
The world.
The sun rises, bathing the cemetery in a golden light.
Using roots as handholds, Buffy climbs the walls of the cave toward the hole in the ceiling. One of the roots pulls free and Buffy crashes back down onto an old casket, shattering the lid.
Buffy!
Buffy gets up, nearly panicked, looking around desperately.
Are you okay?
We have to get out of here. (yells) Xander!
I think I saw him hit his head.
Xander!
No response. Buffy turns to one of the caskets embedded in the wall and starts working it free.
This looks a little like Spike's place. You know, under his crypt? What are you doing?
If we can pull these out, we can use the coffins for height. Maybe get out of here.
She picks up one of the swords and starts hacking at the dirt around the edge of the coffin.
Maybe one of the tunnels Spike uses is around here. We can use it to get to his place.
That's the last place on earth we need to be.
Oh. But it was good enough to take me there after what he did to you?
What he...?
Tried to do. Whatever.
Xander...
So it's true?
Dawn, you may not have noticed but we're in really big trouble here.
Why did you not tell me?
Because you didn't need to know.
Yes. I do. I need to know. I'm not a kid anymore.
Dawn, I'm trying to protect you.
Well, you can't! Look around, Buffy. We're trapped in here. Willow's killing and people I love keep dying. You cannot protect me from that.
Dawn...
Hello!
Xander!
Buffy, you okay? Where's Dawn?
Here. Are Jonathan and Andrew up there with you?
Xander looks around.
Nah, they must have skedaddled when I was out. Weasels.
He leans farther over the edge and the dirt beneath his hands collapses. He barely saves himself from falling also.
Xander, you got to find some kind of rope or something and get us out of here!
Right! Okay, I'll take a look around.
And hurry up before--
Anya suddenly appears in the cave with Buffy. She looks around herself, shocked.
Holy frijole.
Anya, what are you doing here? Where's Giles?
Giles?
He's still at the magick shop.
Giles is back? You didn't tell me that.
Xander listens from above.
Did he stop Willow?
No. And things just got a whole lot worse.
How worse?
End of the world worse. Willow's going to destroy it.
She can do that?
She can and she will when she gets to where she's going.
Where is she going?
Big old Satanic temple-- Kingman's Bluff?
There's no temple on Kingman's Bluff.
A cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly the ground splits open and a spire topped with an inverted Pentagram rises out up and into the daylight. Willow stands a distance away, arms raised, bringing the temple out of the ground toward her.
Proserpexa? Who's she?
Way up there in the hierarchy of she-demons. Her followers intended to use her effigy to destroy the world. They all died when the temple got swallowed up in the big earthquake of '32.
So now 70 years later Willow's gonna make their dreams come true?
She's going to drain the planet's life force and funnel its energy through Proserpexa's effigy and burn the earth to a cinder.
Not if I can help it.
You can't. Something else Giles said. No magick or supernatural force can stop her.
What does that mean?
I don't know. He said, "The Slayer can't stop her" and then he said a bunch of other stuff. He really wasn't too clear.
Anya, what are you--
Look, I should get back to him. He's alone.
Is he okay?
I don't think he has a lot of time left. I'm sorry.
Anya disappears. Buffy and Dawn stand speechless for a moment, then Buffy looks up and yells.
Xander! Where is that rope?
Buffy...
Xander! Where is he?
You heard what Anya said. You heard what Giles said.
I heard and I don't care. I have to try.
She bends down and lifts a coffin.
The effigy of Proserpexa is mounted to the temple's spire. Willow stands before it, her arms raised as she starts the doomsday spell.
From the Pit of Forgotten Shadows, awaken sister of the dark...
I'm not gonna just sit here while Willow incinerates what I'm chosen to protect. I have to stop her.
Always the Slayer... right to the last.
Buffy and Dawn drop the casket and look up, hearing Willow's words.
Willow?
And it is the last, you know? For all your fighting, thinking you're saving the world...
Buffy?
Buffy holds up a hand to silence her.
...and in the end, I'm the only one who can save it.
By killing us?
It's the only way to stop the pain.
Giles listens to her as well, Anya leaning over him, tending to his injuries as best she can.
I can't take it anymore. But I know you, Buffy.
You're a warrior. You won't go out without a fight.
I don't really have time for one.
But you should go out fighting.
Willow, what are you--?
It was me who took you out of the earth. Well, now... the earth wants you back.
The cave walls start to tremble around Buffy and Dawn. Suddenly the tree roots lining the walls spring to life, fully formed creatures with pincers for hands. The rip themselves free of the dirt and attack the two girls from all sides.
Resume. Buffy picks up the sword and attacks the creatures, hacking, slashing, punching and kicking. She manages to beat them back and stands guard over Dawn as five more creatures awaken and pull themselves free of the cave walls.
They'll just keep coming. I can't take them all. Dawn... will you help me?
Buffy hands the sword to her sister who nods and accepts it.
I got your back.
Buffy smiles at her reassuringly, then picks up the second sword and charges, Dawn right behind her.
With Buffy occupied, Willow is back to her doomsday spell.
Proserpexa, let the cleansing fires from the depths burn away the suffering souls and bring sweet death.
Magickal energy starts to arc around Willow and between her and the idol. Within seconds, the idol starts to glow white hot. The ground begins to tremble and a vortex of black magick springs up around Willow. She stands at center of the maelstrom, drawing in life energy from the earth and focusing it into the idol in front of her.
Anya sits with Giles as the store shakes and rumbles all around them.
Buffy dispatches another root creature, then ducks as chunks of the cave rain down on her and Dawn.
Willow...
Anya shields Giles from the raining debris. The rumbling stops for a moment and she looks down at him. His eyes are closed and he's very still.
Giles! Giles, don't die. Not yet. There are things I want to tell you. Thanks a lot for coming. It was good of you to teleport all this way--
The store starts shaking violently again.
Though in retrospect it would have been better if you hadn't come and given Willow all that magick that made her like ten times more powerful. That would have been a plus.
Energy streams from Willow into the idol as she drains the earth of its life force.
Suddenly Xander steps into the energy stream, interposing himself between Willow and the idol. The interruption causes Willow's energy vortex to dissipate.
Hey, black-eyed girl. Whatcha doing?
Get out of here.
Oh, no. You're not the only one with powers, you know. You may be a hopped-up žber-witch but this carpenter can drywall you into the next century.
I'm not joking, Xander. Get out of my way. Now!
She hurls a bolt of plasma at him and throws him backward into the temple spire.
Giles' eyes open.
There.
What?
It's not over.
Dawn and Buffy fight for their lives. One of the creatures knocks Dawn's sword from her hand and slashes her arm with its claw. Buffy sees her sister go down and calls out to her.
Dawn! I'm coming!
Before Buffy can get there, Dawn leaps up, fire in her eyes, and backflips under the beasts flailing arms. She rolls to her feet, sword in hand and with one fluid motion, impales the creature with her blade. She rips the sword free and swings it around in a deadly arc, separating the creature's head from its body.
Buffy stares at her younger sister in shock.
What? You think I never watched you?
All around them the walls come to life again as a new round of creatures pull themselves free of the dirt. Buffy and Dawn stand back to back, swords flashing as they fight side by side.
Willow's energy vortex swirls to life again and she funnels it into the idol in a great glowing stream.
Xander comes to at the base of the spire and stands up, his body cutting off the energy stream once again.
You can't stop this!
Yeah, I get that. It's just where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end... where else would I want to be?
Is this the master plan? You're going to stop me by telling me you love me?
Well, I was gonna walk you off a cliff and hand you an anvil but it seemed kinda cartoony.
Still making jokes.
I'm not joking. I know you're in pain. I can't imagine the pain you're in. And I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid and hey, I still wanna hang. You're Willow.
Don't call me that.
The first day of kindergarten you cried because you broke the yellow crayon and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You've come pretty far-- ending the world not a terrific notion-- but the thing is, yeah, I love you. I love crayon-breaky Willow and I love scary-veiny Willow so if I'm going out, it's here. If you want to kill the world... well, then start with me. I've earned that.
You think I won't?
It doesn't matter. I'll still love you.
Shut up.
She rakes her hand through the air and deep bloody gashes appear in Xander's cheek.
I love you.
She does it again, this time ripping through his shirt and digging deep lacerations across his chest. He doubles over, gasping in pain. With great effort, he straightens up and faces her again.
I... love you.
Shut up!
She extends her hand and shoots a plasma bolt at him but it dissipates almost instantly, barely affecting him. He staggers toward her as she looks down at her hands, confused and panicked.
I love you, Willow.
Stop!
She tries to blast him again but this time the result is nothing but a few feeble sparks.
I love you.
Stop!
Tears stream down her face as Xander reaches her. She beats against his chest as he wraps her up in a hug. She collapses to the ground with great heaving sobs as Xander holds her.
I love you.
As she cries against his shoulder, a wave passes over her. Her hair shifts from black to its normal red, the black veins disappear from her skin and her eyes shift back to their natural state. Xander's own injuries disappear as well.
The root monsters surrounding Buffy and Dawn crumble to dust.
What happened?
Willow clings desperately to Xander, crying so hard she can barely breathe.
Anya sits on the counter, head in her hands, waiting for the inevitable. Giles suddenly sits up, his injuries healed. Anya runs over to him in shock.
Giles! You're not dead!
No...
He gasps as she throws her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.
However I'm still in some pain.
Well, why aren't you dead? Why aren't I dead?
The threat's gone. Willow's been stopped.
Oh. You mean she's...
No, she's alive. The magick she took from me, it did what I'd hoped it would do.
Oh... you dosed her. You knew she'd take your powers all along.
The gift that was given me by the coven was the true essence of magick. Willow's magick came from a place of rage and power.
And vengeance. Don't forget vengeance.
No. How could I? In any case, the magick she took from me tapped into the spark of humanity she had left, helped her to feel again. Gave Xander the opportunity to reach her.
Xander?
Yes. It was he who got to her in time. He saved us all.
Despite herself, Anya can't help but smile.
Buffy sits down, the implication sinking in.
I... think it's over, Buffy. We're all still here.
Buffy breaks down into tears.
Sorry to disappoint you. (beat) Wait. Is that happy crying?
Yes, dummy! You think I wanted the world to end?
I don't know. Didn't you?
Dawn... I'm so sorry.
She stands up and hugs her sister.
I'm sorry.
It's okay, Buffy. It's okay.
No, it hasn't been. It hasn't been okay. But it's going to be now. I see it.
See what?
You. Things have really sucked lately. That's all going to change and I want to be there when it does. I want to see my friends happy again. I want to see you grow up, the woman you're going to become. Because she's going to be beautiful. And she's going to be powerful. Dawn, I've got it so wrong. I don't want to protect you from the world. I want to show it to you. There's so much that I want to show you.
Dawn and Buffy embrace again, both of them crying now.
Buffy hauls herself out of the hole up into the daylight, then reaches down and pulls Dawn up after her.
Xander continues to comfort a sobbing Willow high up on the bluff overlooking the blue water of the Pacific.
Anya helps Giles to his feet and they both make their way out of the wreckage of the store into the daylight.
The driver of a semi-truck looks over at Jonathan and Andrew sitting in the cab next to him and smiles at them suggestively.
Buffy and Dawn walk through the cemetery, arm-in-arm, taking in the beauty of the day and the flowering trees all around them.
Spike lies unconscious on the floor of the cave as the demon's footsteps approach.
You have endured the required trials.
Spike's eyes open and he rolls over and sits up with a groan.
Bloody right I have. So you give me what I want. Make me what I was so Buffy can get what she deserves.
Very well. We will return your soul.
The demon places his claw against Spike's chest as a flash of blinding white light illuminates Spike's body from within and he screams in agony.