[Transcript of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" episode Never Leave Me at buffyology.com.]
DAWN, WILLOW, ANYA and XANDER clean up the Summers home in the aftermath of Joyce's visit to Dawn. Xander covers the large picture window behind the couch with plastic while Anya replaces the knickknacks on the mantle.
So the basement was filled with bodies?
Apparently.
And Spike could've sired countless others and buried them around town. And we're waiting for him to do what, exactly? Do something crazy?
It's not that simple.
Shouldn't we stab him through the chest? Isn't that what we do when these things happen?
Look, Buffy knows what she's doing.
Well, Xander, you know what we're all talking about. I mean, you've always been part of the "Spike is evil" faction.
I've got a house to put back together.
Fine. You guys keep your heads buried in the sand but I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that William the Bloody is back.
Black boots purposefully walk along the sidewalk. Pan up to reveal a long black leather trench coat and spiked blonde hair: ANDREW, trying to look tough and menacing. WARREN falls into step beside him.
All right. Looking good. How do you feel?
Good.
Excellent. We've got work to do.
I have to do work right now? Can't I just walk around for a while in my coat?
Don't go soft on me now. We're right in the trench and the exhaust port's in sight.
I thought that was it. I did what you told me. It's not my fault it didn't work. Why do I have to do all the wet works?
Hey! You know the rules. I can't take corporeal form. Here, feel.
Andrew touches Warren's chest and his hand passes right though him.
Cool.
Pretty bitchin', right? I'm like Obi-Wan?
Or Patrick Swayze.
Believe me, I would do this stuff if I could. I can't. I need you. You're my iron fist.
I just don't think I can kill anybody else.
Warren morphs into JONATHAN.
Oh, will you stop whining about that?
I didn't want to kill you. Warren made me.
Hey, I'm glad he did. (chuckles) This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
It didn't hurt too much? I'm not very good at stabbing.
You know, it wasn't that bad. It was like a sharp pain, then a burning, then a general queasiness. It's kinda like when I used to get ulcers in high school, only at the end I became one with light and hope.
I can't do it. I can't do it anymore.
Hey, this isn't your fault, okay. It's my fault the ritual didn't work. I screwed up. I'm little. I don't have as much blood as other people. And I probably should've told someone I was anemic. Don't worry. We're going to fix it. You gotta trust us. We know what we're doing.
I can't kill anybody else.
Okay, calm down. We can work around that.
BUFFY ties SPIKE to a chair in her bedroom.
We're going to get to the bottom of this. We just can't take any chances.
Don't... make it tighter. The knots will give. I get free, someone's gonna die.
Opening credit sequence.
PRINCIPAL WOOD sits at his desk, interviewing HOFFMAN and GRIMES, two surly teenage boys seated before him.
Now, guys, look. We can settle this one of two ways. You can repaint the walls or I can suspend you and report this little incident on your permanent record.
Fine. Do that.
Okay, I was bluffing. I hadn't really thought that one through. Listen, this whole permanent record thing is such a myth, anyway. Colleges never ask for anything past your SAT scores and it's not like employers are going to be calling up to check to see how many days you missed back in high school. So listen, I could suspend you but that would mean calling your parents, alerting your teachers, filling out paperwork, and quite possibly having to talk to the school board-- all of which sounds positively exhausting to me. No. No, I think it would be much easier if I just called the police, let them deal with it. (beat) Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is the part where I'm not bluffing.
We'll repaint it.
Good job.
A knock at the door.
Excuse me. (opens it) Miss Summers. I'm with students.
Dawn smiles at him sweetly.
I just wanted to tell you that Buffy won't be coming in today. She's really sick.
Oh, no.
Yeah, last night she was vomiting and then this morning she was vomiting some more and then just when we thought she was done, she was vomiting again.
Yeah, we've got that stomach flu going around.
Her exact words were, "I've got stuff coming out of both ends."
Thank you. That's very helpful.
Sure. No problem. (to kids) Hey, guys. How's it going?
Pretty good.
Tell your sister not to worry about it. We'll soldier on without her here. Just tell her to concentrate on getting better.
Yeah, she'll be fine. She just needs to get some stuff out of her system.
Buffy is on the phone with QUENTIN TRAVERS and the Watcher's Council in England.
I need to find him as soon as possible. He's not answering any of his numbers.
Travers sits in a large library, talking with Buffy.
Miss Summers, the Watcher's Council does not keep track of our lapsed employees. Ever since Mr. Giles pulled up his stake in Sunnydale, we've not made it our business to follow his every move.
You don't have to get all British and dodgy, Mr. Travers. I know you have ways of finding him.
Reveal Travers is at a long conference table, surrounded by ranking members of the Watcher's Council.
Well, I suppose if you feel the matter's urgent, we can look into it.
I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
Not at all. Good day. (hangs up; to others) The girl knows nothing. And we need to find Rupert Giles. As soon as possible.
Travers stands up and stands before a large world map with notations on every continent.
Spike shivers and gasps, straining at his bonds. Buffy sits on the bed near him.
Can I do something?
I think you should probably go--
Here.
She reaches for a damp cloth; when her back is turned, Spike's eyes roll back and his face shifts, fangs appear. She turns back and he snarls at her.
Buffy talks softly with Willow outside her closed bedroom door.
He's been feasting on humans for weeks. He's having some pretty bad withdrawals. I think we need to get him some blood.
Do you want me to kill Anya?
No, we should probably try to wean him off humans. He'll have to make do with animal blood.
I'll go get some.
You don't mind?
No, I have to get out of the house. Xander's installing the new windows and he keeps giving lectures on proper tool maintenance. Tool talk-- not my thing.
Thank you.
How're you doing in there?
He's in pretty bad shape, past the point where he can tell me anything.
I wasn't asking about him.
I'll be okay.
Andrew stands with a hunting knife in hand, looking down apprehensively. Warren stands behind him, softly urging him on.
She won't feel a thing. Just do it. Fast. Cut her deep. Cut her quick. It'll be over before she knows what hit her.
What if she squeals?
Better go for her throat first.
Reveal a pink piglet on the floor before them.
Babe 2: Pig in the City was really underrated.
Don't think about Babe.
Right.
You're Conan. You're the Destroyer. It's you against nature. You're the hunter, you're primal, you live off the land. You're Andrew. Everyone knows you. You play by your own rules. It's kill or be killed.
That'll do, pig!
He screams and lunges but the pig is quicker and runs off. He tries several times to kill it but it evades him every time.
No... you gotta... you gotta corner it. Stay between it and the hall or it-- that's the worst attempted pig slaughtering I've ever seen.
I'm not very good at stabbing. Isn't there some other way we could get blood?
Andrew nervously approaches the counter and presents his ticket to the BUTCHER.
Number 87.
I'd like 12 pork chops, 2 pounds of sausage, 8 quarts of pigs blood, 3 steaks, halibut and some toothpaste.
This is a butcher's shop, Neo. We don't sell toothpaste.
Okay, just the other stuff, then.
You got it.
Andrew nods to the other customers and wanders to the back of the store to wait.
Hi. Oh, steak sauce.
Later. Andrew pays for his order and heads for the door, his arms full with brown paper bags. As he goes out, he runs into Willow on her way in, spilling his bags onto the floor. Willow and Andrew instantly recognize each other and they both stare in shock.
Andrew dashes out of the shop and into the adjoining alley with Willow in pursuit.
Wait a minute!
He stops and faces her.
Don't kill me!
I'm not going to kill you.
Don't torture me and send me to an eternal pain dimension.
I'm not going to.
Warren killed Tara. I didn't do it. And he was aiming for Buffy anyway.
Not making it better.
And you got your revenge. You killed my best friend. We're even.
Even? You think I get satisfaction from what I did?
Maybe not but let me keep my skin, okay? I'm not bad. I'm not bad anymore. I'm good. I do good things now.
Then why do you need lots and lots of blood?
I am bad. I'm bad, I'm evil, but I'm protected by powerful forces. (false bravado) Forces you can't even begin to imagine, little girl. If you harm me, you shall know the wrath of He That is Darkness and Terror. Your blood will boil and you will know true suffering. Stand down, she-witch. Your defeat is at hand--
Willow shoves him against the wall.
Shut your mouth. I am a she-witch, a very powerful she-witch-- or witch, as is more accurate. I'm not to be trifled with.
But I--
I'm talking. Don't interrupt me, insignificant man. I am Willow. I am Death. If you dare defy me, I will call down my fury, exact fresh vengeance and make your worst fears come true. Okay?
Willow drags Andrew and his "groceries" through the front door. Xander, Dawn and Anya are in the living room where Xander is finishing installing a new window.
Look who I found.
Oh, this can't be good.
Guess who was buying mass amounts of blood at the butcher's shop?
Hey, your hair's not even black anymore.
What are you doing back in town?
You'll get nothing out of me, carpenter.
He slaps a 2x4 in his hand threateningly.
We'll see about that.
Xander pushes Andrew down into a chair and ties his wrists to the arms. Anya goes through his leather trench coat.
Careful with my coat. It's expensive.
Is it new?
She throws it on the floor and steps on it.
Hey! (to Xander) Ow!
Now we can do this the hard way if you want but believe me when I tell you this will go much easier if you just tell us what you know.
Ow. You're barking up the wrong asparagus, man. I don't know anything.
Xander pulls up a chair beside Andrew and sits.
Here's the thing. I don't believe you.
I haven't done anything wrong.
Well, then, you won't mind if we ask you a few questions.
Andrew looks over at Anya's silent glare.
Yeah, okay.
Why were you buying blood at the butcher shop?
I fell in love with a beautiful vampire girl down in Mexico. Now we're trying to make a go of it on the straight and narrow and put our lives back together here in Sunnydale.
Anya grabs his shirt and screams in his face.
You think this is a game, junior? People are dying. Friends lives are in danger.
Hey, Anya.
Now you want to waste time on deceptions? Not on my watch!
She backhands him across the face. Xander grabs her before she can hit him again.
Hey, Anya! Can I talk to you outside for a second?
Buffy holds a bag of pigs' blood to Spike's mouth.
Xander and Anya exit Dawn's room and shut the door. Xander smiles at Anya, who grins back.
Did you see that? I actually made him cry.
You were perfect. I was worried I overdid it with the whole "easy way, hard way" thing.
No, you were great! And I wasn't sure if I should slap him but then he made me want to slap him so I thought, okay, slap him!
He'll be singing in no time.
So what do we do now?
Now we let him stew in his own juices for a bit, then we give him the hard brace.
Right.
Buffy emerges from her room.
What's the status with your guy?
He's not talking yet. We'll get there. How's your guy?
The weasel wants to sing. He just needs a tune.
He's primed. I'll be pumping him in no time. (off their looks) He'll give us information soon.
Buffy goes back to be with Spike and shuts the door behind her.
Better? (Spike nods) Good.
She sits on the bed next to him.
I don't remember anything.
Well, you were having pretty bad withdrawal.
No, not that. I don't remember... what I did.
Nothing?
It's all flashes here and there. It's like I'm watching someone else... do it, kill people. I've been losing time for a while now, waking up in strange places.
When did your chip stop working?
I wasn't aware that it had, you know. Not till now.
And the losing time? How long has that been going on?
Oh, things have been wonky since I got back, ever since--
You got your soul.
Figured that's what it was like, it'd been so long since I had one.
How did you do it? How'd you get your soul back?
Saw a man about a girl. I went to seek a legend out. Traveled to the other side of the world, made a deal with a demon.
Just like that?
No, not just like that. There was a price. There were trials, torture, pain and suffering... of sorts.
Of sorts?
Well, it's all relative, isn't it?
Meaning?
Meaning I have come to redefine the words pain and suffering since I fell in love with you.
How can you say that?
Apparently, I just slaughtered half of Sunnydale, pet. I'm not really worried about being polite anymore.
So that's what this is about? You feeling sorry for yourself, Spike?
I'm feeling honest with myself. You used me.
Yes.
You told me that, of course. I never understood it, though. Not until now. You hated yourself and you took it out on me.
You figured that out just now?
A soul's not all about moonbeams and pennywhistles, luv. It's about self-loathing. I get it. Had to travel 'round the world but I understand you now. I understand the violence inside.
Violence? William the Bloody now has insight into violence?
Not the same. As bad as I was, as evil and as wretched as I was, I never truly hated myself back then. Not like I do now.
Xander enters Dawn's room carrying a glass of water.
How's your face?
Okay.
Xander unties him.
Sorry about that. She shouldn't have hit you. Thirsty? Go on.
Andrew sniffs the water suspiciously, then drinks.
That chick's psycho.
You don't know the half of it. She's a vengeance demon, you know. She's bad news.
This one time I saw her having sex with Spike.
She's killed more men than smallpox.
Does smallpox still kill people?
She's killed a lot of men. She tortures them. Anyone who incurs her wrath. One time she-- no, never mind.
What?
It's not important.
What'd she do?
Well, there was this one guy. He hurt her real bad so she paid him back. She killed him but she did it real slow. See, first she stopped his heart, then she replaced it with darkness, then she made him live his life like that. But he still had to go do his job and see his friends and wake up in the morning and go to bed at night but he had to do it all empty. Without anything to look forward to. Ever.
Sounds bad.
Well, then she tore out his intestines and rubbed them in his face and took pictures of it.
Oh, god...
But she's downstairs now. Don't worry about her.
What if--
Xander takes the water back.
See, the thing is, we've all been a little on edge lately. Some bad things have been happening and the girls-- they're all looking for someone to blame.
I didn't do anything.
You lying son of a bitch!
She storms into the room and topples Andrew and his chair.
You're going to tell us what we need to know and you're going to tell us right now!
Anya, no!
Stop it!
Xander pulls her off of Andrew and restrains her.
Get off me, Harris!
She slaps him, then mouths "I'm sorry" and turns back to Andrew.
Come here, you pipsqueak!
She slams Andrew's shoulders against the floor.
Get her off me! I'll tell you! I'll tell you what you need to know!
Buffy hears the commotion in the next room.
Excuse me.
She leaves the room to see what's happening. The moment the door closes, Spike's double is standing there, smirking.
Well, we've got ourselves a problem.
Somebody help! Ow...
Buffy enters the room to find Andrew on the floor, Anya holding by the collar, her fist poised to deliver a punch. Xander sits nearby, cradling his sore cheek.
Everything okay?
Fine.
Okay.
She turns and leaves the room.
Buffy heads back to her room. She pauses in the hall when she hears voices coming from inside.
What do I do, job half-done? Never send a boy to do a man's job. (laughs; sings) Oh, don't deceive me, Oh, never leave me.
Buffy opens the door and looks around.
Who were you talking to?
What's that?
I heard you through the door. Who were you talking to?
Nobody. I was just... keeping myself company.
Are you okay?
Fine. How are you?
Anya has Andrew backed up against the wall.
Now you can talk or I can keep hitting you. Believe me, I'd love to keep hitting you.
Spike?
I'm fine, Buffy. Really. I'm just... feeling a bit peckish, I suppose. (re: pigs' blood) Do you mind?
Buffy reaches for the blood, keeping her eye on Spike. The moment her back is turned, Spike morphs into the vampire.
With a roar, he snaps the arms off the chair and attacks Buffy. He knocks her to the floor and strides to the far wall.
...we needed more blood to activate the seal of Danthaz--
Spike's arms shoot through the wall on either side of Andrew and wrap around his chest. Andrew screams as Spike yanks him through the wall into Buffy's room. Spike wrenches Andrew's neck back and sinks his fangs into him.
Resume. Buffy pulls Spike off Andrew and hurls him against the wall. Xander and Anya run in and look after Andrew. Spike stands up, confused at what's happening. As Buffy strides toward him, furious, Spike stares at his double standing behind her, shaking his head in disappointment.
Buffy kicks Spike in the face, knocking him out.
Buffy sits with Willow and Dawn on the couch.
He didn't seem to want anything to do with me. I mean, he just pushed me aside and charged at the wall.
Are you hurt?
Xander and Anya come downstairs and join them.
Not really.
How is what's-his-name?
He's got a good chunk taken out of his neck but he'll be all right. Had to tie him up again but mainly just to keep him from scratching at his bandages. (to Buffy) What the hell happened up there?
I don't know. Spike and I were having a conversation and he was fine. I mean, you know, as fine as Spike can be. And then I went to check on you guys and when I got back, it was like he was a completely different person.
Different like "William the Bloody"-type different?
He was talking to someone. I heard through the door, he was having this conversation. And then he started singing.
Maybe it's another musical. (off her look) A much crappier musical.
He mentioned something about a song in the cellar. And he changed there, too. I mean, instantly became another person.
Trigger.
The horse?
No, in his head. It's a trigger. It's a brainwashing term. It's how the military makes sleeper agents. They brainwash operatives and condition them with a specific trigger, like a song, that makes them drastically change at a moment's notice.
Is this left over from your days in the Army?
No, this is left over from every Army movie I've ever seen. But it makes sense. We've had ghosts or something haunting us, right? Well, what if Spike's ghosts have figured out a way to not only haunt him, what if they figured out how to... control him?
Spike said he's been seeing things since I found him in the basement.
So he gets his soul back, he starts seeing spooky things, and he goes extra-extra-crazy.
This trigger... how do we holster, safety or-- I don't know guns-- how do we make it stop?
Well, usually the operative completes his task and either blows his head off or steals a submarine.
All right. I need information. If Spike's a bomb, then I need to know how to diffuse him. (to Dawn and Willow) You two, I want to know what did this to him. Spirits, ghosts, demons-- check the lot of them. Look for anything that could haunt or possibly control like this. I need to know exactly what we're dealing with.
Principal Wood turns off the lights in the office and heads down the hall with his briefcase in hand, going home for the night. He pauses at the basement door, then opens it and heads downstairs.
Wood goes directly to the room where the Seal of Danthazar lies uncovered with Jonathan's body lying atop it. Wood stares blankly at Jonathan's corpse, his face expressionless.
Spike lies on the floor, eyes closed, hands and feet shackled to the cement wall with steel chains. Buffy enters with a bowl of water and sits down next to him. She dips a towel in the water and washes the blood off his face. He stirs and wakes.
Did I hurt anybody?
You took a good bite out of Andrew.
Who?
Tucker's brother.
Oh.
He'll be okay.
I don't remember.
It's okay.
Buffy, I don't know why.
We think we do. Something's playing you. Some ghost or demon has figured out how to control you. Got the gang researching it right now. Xander has this theory that you're being triggered.
Kill me.
What?
Buffy, you have to kill me.
You don't understand. When I left the room earlier, I heard you talking to someone--
Do you have any idea what I'm capable of?
I was in the cellar with you. I saw what you did.
I'm not talking about the cellar. The people in the cellar got off easy. I'm talking about me. Buffy, you have never met the real me.
Believe me, I'm well aware of what you're capable of.
No, you got off easy, too. Do you know how much blood you can drink from a girl before she'll die? I do. You see, the trick is to drink just enough to know how to damage them just enough so that they'll still cry when you-- 'cause it's not worth it if they don't cry.
It's not your fault. You're not the one doing this.
I already did it. It's already done. You want to know what I've done to girls Dawn's age? (beat) This is me Buffy. You've got to kill me before I get out.
We can keep you locked up. Keep you here and we'll figure out--
Have you ever really asked yourself why you can't do it? Off me? After everything I've done to you, to people around you. It's not love. We both know that.
You fought by my side. You've saved lives. You've helped--
Don't do that. Don't rationalize this into some noble act. We both know the truth of it. You like men who hurt you.
No.
You need the pain we cause you. You need the hate. You need it to do your job, to be the Slayer.
No. I don't hate like that. Not you or myself. Not anymore. You think you have insight now because your soul's drenched in blood? You don't know me. You don't even know you. Was that you who killed those people in the cellar? Was that you who waited for those girls?
There's no one else.
That's not true. Listen to me. You're not alive because of hate or pain. You're alive because I saw you change. Because I saw your penance.
He lunges violently at her but the chains hold him back.
Window dressing.
Be easier, wouldn't it, it if were an act? But it's not. You faced the monster inside of you and you fought back. You risked everything to be a better man.
Buffy...
And you can be. You are. You may not see it but I do. I do. I believe in you, Spike.
As Spike looks at her with newfound hope, the lights flicker and go out. A dark hooded figure crashes through the window into the basement and knocks Buffy aside.
All over the house, windows shatter and hooded men in black robes leap inside. They carry a variety of knives and stabbing weapons and their eyes are sewn shut.
Principal Wood digs a shallow grave near an abandoned oil rig. His car headlights illuminate the growing hole in front of him. He stops and rolls Jonathan's body into the grave, then begins to fill it back in.
Fighting rages all over the house. Willow and Dawn fights desperately in the dining room as Buffy races upstairs and joins the fray. Several of the robed men head upstairs as the other keep Buffy and her friends occupied on the ground floor.
Andrew lies tied up on the bed whimpering. One of the robed men enters the room, facing him with a wooden staff. His eyeless and scarred face expressionless as he drops the wooden staff and slides two curved ceremonial daggers from beneath his robe. He lunges at Andrew and narrowly misses as Andrew rolls off the bed and onto the floor. Buffy charges into the room and seizes the acolyte and beats him with several massive blows. As Andrew watches, terrified, a second acolyte runs in and engages Buffy as well.
Dawn gets shakily to her feet and picks a wooden staff up off the floor. One of the acolytes lies still on the floor before her. She inches closer to him, holding the staff defensively. He springs to life sweeps his leg under her, tripping her. He straddles her and takes out a gleaming silver dagger, aiming for her chest. Before he can strike, Xander runs into the room and cracks a wooden staff over the acolyte's head and knocks him off Dawn.
Andrew tries to duck out of the room but Buffy grabs him and uses him as a club; she swings him at the robed acolytes, knocking them backward, before tossing him aside. One acolyte charges her with daggers in both hands. She seizes his wrists, kicks him backward, and yanks the daggers from his grip. She buries one dagger in the belly of the second acolyte as he charges her, then spins and does the same to the first. They both collapse to the floor, dead, as Xander enters.
Buffy?
Dawn?
She's okay. Is this it? I thought there was more of them.
Spike...
They run for the basement.
Xander and Buffy find the shackles empty and Spike gone.
Willow enters with a First Aid kit and joins Anya, Dawn, Buffy and Xander.
They were so fast. And organized.
They were after Spike all along.
And we were just in the way.
Buffy kneels to inspect one of the dead acolytes on the floor.
I know these guys. I've fought them before. We aren't being haunted. This isn't some demon. It's all the same thing. Spike's ghosts, the people you guys saw, from beneath us... it's all the same thing. I know what we're up against. The First.
The Council is abuzz with activity. Watchers talk on the phone, review reports and confer with each other. Travers listens to reports from his assistants, NIGEL, PHILLIP and ELIZABETH.
They took our files, wiped out our records. We've lost contact with operations in Munich, Switzerland and Rome. We've got casualty confirmations coming in from as far away as Melbourne.
Sir, we are crippled.
It's all right, Elizabeth. We are still masters of our fate, still captains of our souls.
Yes, sir.
Ladies and gentlemen, our fears have been confirmed. The First Evil has declared all-out war on this institution. Their first volleys proved most effective. I for one think it's time we struck back. Give me confirmations on all remaining operatives, visuals and tacticals. Highest alert. Get them here as soon as possible. Begin preparations for mobilization. Once we're accounted for, I want to be ready to move.
Sir?
We'll be paying a visit to the Hellmouth. My friends, these are the times that define us. Proverbs 24:6: "For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war."
The building explodes in a massive fireball, killing everyone inside.
Spike is strapped to a set of wooden crossbeams in the shape of a wheel. His double, the First, stands before him, watching while his Harbingers tie him down.
You'll have to excuse the spectacle but I've always been a bit of a sucker for the old classics.
Spike's arms and legs are pulled in opposite directions on the massive wheel. A Harbinger takes out a knife and slices into Spike who moans in excruciating pain.
Oh, don't look at me that way. I wanted to do this more subtle- like. My Harbingers have a tendency to call attention to themselves.
Another cut.
You're the one who couldn't hold his end of the bargain. You're the one who couldn't take care of what's-his-name. You're the one who had to make breakthroughs and learn something about himself.
Another cut.
So now, fittingly, you're the one who gets to do the honors.
The First shifts form and now Buffy stands before Spike.
I have to admit, I'm glad it worked out this way. I was going to bleed Andrew but you look a lot better with your shirt off.
A Harbinger cranks a lever and the wheel is hoisted upward and flips parallel to the ground. Spike hangs face-down over the Seal of Danthazar. He bleeds profusely from the runic cuts in his chest.
To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of subtle. I think it's about time we brought some authority to our presence. Now Spike, want to see what a real vampire looks like?
Spike's blood drips onto the Seal of Danthazar and pools in the grooves on its surface where it's instantly absorbed. After a moment, the seal begin to glow from within. One by one, the pointed tips of the pentagram at its center fold up, forming a pyramid which sinks into the ground.
A withered, clawed hand emerges from the hole, followed by a leather-clad monster. Its face is horribly disfigured; bald, with distinctive vampiric fangs and ridged brow. It raises its arms over its head and howls with rage.