[Convinced he's going mad, Spike is tormented by The First.]
I had a speech... I learned it all... Oh god, she won't understand, she won't understand...
The First [as Warren]: Of course she won't understand, Sparky. I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl! With sugar, and spice, and everything... useless. Unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh...
The First [as Glory]: ... more than blood... I'm... you know, I honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips. Assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's all right, though. ...
The First [as Adam]: ... I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong.
The First [as Mayor Wilkins]: So, what'd you think? You'd get your soul back, and everything'd be jim-dandy? A soul's slippier than a greased weasel! Why do you think I sold mine? Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man, and I respect that. But you...
The First [as Drusilla]: ...never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me... singing our little song. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them. Right from the beginning. And that's where we're going, ...
The First [as the Master]: ... right back to the beginning! Not the Bang. Not the Word. The true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride, and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you, trying to do what's right - just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right. Not about wrong.
The First [as Buffy]: It's about power.
I doubt we'll even see each other. Assuming I even half understand my fuzzy job description.
It's not fuzzy. You're what, dealing with troubled kids?
At a spanking new Hellmouth High. Please, outside of drugs, violence, and unwanted pregnancy and the unleashing of hordes of Armageddon that comes pouring out of its schools foundation every now and then, what trouble could these kids have?
I dreamed of killing you. I think they were dreams. So weak... did you make me weak? Thinking of you. Holding myself and spilling useless buckets of salt over your... ending. Angel, he should've warned me. Makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here. In me. All the time. The spark. I wanted to give you... what you deserve. And I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.
Bit worse for lack of use.
You got your soul back. How?
It's what you wanted, right? It's... it's what you wanted, right? And-and now everybody's in here... talking. Everything I did... everyone I... and HIM. And it. The other. The thing... beneath... beneath you. It's here, too. Everybody. They all just tell me go. Go... to Hell.
Why? Why would you do that?
Buffy, shame on you. Why does a man do what he musn't? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev... To be a kind of man. And she shall look on him with forgiveness... and everybody will forgive and love. And he will be loved. So everything's okay, right? C-can we rest now? Buffy? Can we rest?
Well, if she's doing that--ducking Giles--then, she's evil, right?
Well, I've avoided Giles tons of times. Just meant I was lazy, not evil.
I hope you're right, because defeating Lazy Willow -- probably less hard.
You feel really responsible? You are really responsible!
I know I hurt you... and everyone... and I'm sorry.
Here's something you should know about vengeance demons. We don't groove with the sorry. We prefer, "Oh, God! Please stop hitting me with my own rib bones!"
Go on. Say whatever you want, rib bones and so forth. I deserve it.
Anya [pouts slightly]: Well then, that's no fun.
It's pretty easy. Spike follows the exciting smell of blood and we follow the fairly ripe smell of Spike.
It's smellementary. Also I'm sure there's tunes like this, you know procedures we can use that don't involve magic spells, just good solid detective work. And we can develop a data base of tooth impressions and demon skin samples and I could wear high heels more often.
Wow, that was so close to being empowered.
Everybody loves a slender ankle.
Oh, I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to interrupt.
That's all I had left in me anyway.
I didn't realize meditating was such hard work.
I'm healing. Growing new skin.
Wow. That's magic, right? I mean, when most people meditate, they don't get extra skin, right? 'Cause, Clem should, like, cut back.
It's magic. I'm drawing power from the earth to heal myself.
We're on the second floor.
[laughs] You know, Giles says everything's part of the earth-- this bed, the air, us.
Explains why my fingernails get dirty even when I don't do anything.
Plus, you stuck your thumbs in a demon.
True. You're wiped out. I-I should go.
No. Please stay. I missed you so much when I couldn't find you.
We missed you too. I missed you. Dawn's working on what caused the mutual no-see-ums, but so far we haven't--
I didn't mean to. I-I just remember, thinking how I wasn't ready to see you guys yet. I was afraid we wouldn't, you know, connect.
So you made it happen just by thinking it?
I guess I have a ways to go before I master my powers, huh?
It's okay. As long as you're all right.
It's nice to be forgiven. Too bad I need so much of it.
I have a confession to make. I thought it might be you, with the flaying.
I wanna be the kind of person that wouldn't think that. Xander never thought it.
He did a little. Heck, I did a little. Xander has the luxury of not saying it. But you're the Slayer. You have to say stuff like that. It's okay. It's okay too if... you still don't think I can recover from this magic stuff. Because honestly, I'm not that sure about it either. [sighs]
I thought you were too tired.
It hurts too much not to try.
And it just takes so much strength, I don't have that much.
Well, I got so much strength, I'm givin' it anyway.
Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail. At the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb.
So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a trade off.
That's actually not a bad analogy. Except, I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts.
