Buffy Logo 'Beneath You'
Story Code '7ABB02'

by Doug Petrie
Buffy

In Germany, a young girl is pursued and then killed by mysterious robed figures, and her dying words, “from beneath you, it devours”, come to Buffy in a dream. The next morning, it is Buffy’s first day as school counsellor; as Xander drives her and Dawn to the school, he reminisces about their old days as students, also mentioning that he has seen Anya at ‘The Bronze’ a few times, but she still has not forgiven him for jilting her at the altar. When Principal Wood gives Buffy a pep talk about her new job, she asks why he hired her, despite her having no training as a counsellor; he simply replies that he needs someone like her to connect with the students. Buffy looks for Spike in the basement, but cannot find him. In England, Willow is preparing to return home to Sunnydale, but is worried that her friends will not take her back; Giles reassures her that they will need her help to fight whatever is coming. Back in Sunnydale, a young woman, Nancy, is out walking her dog when it is suddenly sucked into the ground; as something huge bursts up out of the hole, she flees for her life and bumps into Xander. He takes her to Buffy’s house, where she, Dawn and Xander offer to help; Spike appears, and admits that he was crazy when he spoke to Buffy in the school basement, causing Dawn and Xander to be annoyed that their friend failed to tell them that Spike was back in Sunnydale. Spike has come to help Buffy, as something big and bad is coming, and she is connected to it. While Xander takes Nancy home, Dawn stays at home to do her homework and Buffy and Spike go looking for the monster. As they patrol, Spike tells Buffy that the manifest spirits made him mad; Buffy states that although they are working together, they will not get back together. Spike protests that he has changed, but Buffy knows that he is keeping something from her. At Nancy’s home, she and Xander are attacked by a giant worm-like demon, but manage to escape onto some stairs; Nancy reveals that when her ex-boyfriend would not leave her alone, she wished he would go away; Xander is alarmed, and with Spike and Buffy, they go in search of Anya. They find her at ‘The Bronze’, and learn that it was indeed her that turned Nancy’s ex-boyfriend into the giant worm; they ask her to return him to normal. Anya senses a change in Spike, but when she demands to know what is different, he punches her, making her change into her demon form to ward off the attack. Nancy runs away in fear, and Buffy sets off after her; however, the worm demon locates Nancy and pursues her; just in time Nancy is saved by Buffy, but when Spike stabs the demon with an iron bar, the creature reverts back into human form. Buffy calls for an ambulance, while Spike slips in and out of insanity once again; he warns Buffy, ‘from beneath you, it devours’, and then runs off. Later, Buffy finds him rambling incoherently in a church; she offers to help him, and is shocked to learn that he has somehow managed to get his soul back….

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Kaarina Aufranc (Nancy), D.B. Woodside (Principal Wood), Tess Hall (Punk Girl), Benita Krista Nall (Young Woman), Jack Sundmacher (Ronnie)
Directed by Nick Marck

TX (US): 1st October 2002

Notes:
*Featuring Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Anya and Giles