The Long Way Home, Part III

Plot

Buffy’s dreamscape: Buffy discovers who the man with her is – Ethan. She does not want him calling her “my love”; he says it is only a term, like “pet”. She wants to know how he got into her dream, since he certainly has no business in her subconscious. He has hooked in, so to speak – and besides, this is not a dream but Buffy’s dreamscape. Dreams are running there all the time, whether she is awake or asleep; only her wishes decide what she remembers in the morning. In her case the dreamscape also holds all her Slayer memories and prophecies.

Ethan shows her a “dream”: Buffy in an extremely skimpy nurse’s uniform between a naked Angel and a naked Spike (the surroundings are interesting too: in the background a railway tunnel in an exploding mountain, with trains on a collision course from both sides; a little Cupid angel on Angel’s side, a little devil on Spike’s). Ethan tells her that she has been trapped in the dreamscape – not by him – and that she has to hurry if she wants to help outside. Buffy asks what is happening outside…

Willow and Amy fight with magic high above the castle. Amy thinks she is rather weak. Willow, meanwhile, decodes Amy’s magic so that she can use it against her. When she manages it, she lights up with magic (which Xander, at his command centre, comments on with: “Ladies and other ladies, the incredible Rosenberg”). Below, the Slayers are still fighting the undead horde. Willow knows that Amy is working for the army and that everything else was just a distraction. So is the army, Amy replies.

Buffy’s dreamscape: Buffy sees an enormous number of impressions from the past. Ethan says that whoever has hooked into her dreamscape also locks a small part of themselves in with it, which weakens them. Ethan wants to show Buffy an important memory…

Amy and Willow are still fighting. Things are getting interesting for Amy, and she wonders what Willow (now with black eyes) still has up her sleeve. Dawn simply stamps the weakening Amy into the ground. Willow traps her in a magical field and casually asks Dawn what happened. Dawn badly wants to talk to her but is worried that Willow has gone evil again. Willow reassures her: it will pass; Amy just made her furious.

Buffy’s dreamscape: Buffy and Ethan find themselves in Amy’s rat cage, which makes it clear to Buffy who is behind all this. She looks around the far from inviting place. Suddenly Ethan is standing in a kind of cage whose side bars each form an “X” – three X’s. Ethan says he is more of an ancient Roman than a Dane. Buffy does not understand a word. He tells her to simply remember what she has seen here. The twilight is coming, he adds, and she will need all the help she can get. He calls her “pet” again. Then Buffy feels something strange on her lips…

Willow cannot simply lift the spell that has been put on Buffy. Willow thinks Buffy looks tired. A hard year, Xander tells her – and where was Willow? She wants to talk later. Willow explains that Buffy has to be kissed by someone who truly loves her, and someone in this room does. She orders everyone to close their eyes, and whoever it is should simply go ahead and kiss Buffy (in the room are Slayers, Willow and Xander). Everyone does so. Buffy wakes up with the taste of cinnamon on her lips. Then she spots Willow and is delighted.

Giles is with a demon – one of the dinosaur beasts destroyed in issue one. The demons were lured there, the creature tells Giles, and it is angry. Giles knows that someone started this conflict, and that person also killed the two men there. They have to find out who it was. The demon does not know the symbol and reminds Giles that they are enemies. They always will be – but right now it helps both sides to get information.

Xander and Andrew are on the phone. Andrew has pored over books but found nothing. He asks whether Amy’s attack and this mysterious symbol are connected. Xander has no idea, only lots of questions. Andrew seems bored in Italy – they are already having to invent games. Sounds good to Xander, especially as he is watching the hectic activity in the infirmary. Andrew assures Xander that he would only be bored – without mentioning that he is currently playing strip poker with his Slayers.

In the infirmary Xander visits Renee, who has been injured. She blames herself for not seeing the demons coming; they lost girls because of it… Xander reminds her how great she was in the fight. Renee says she finds Xander so manly. He flirts back a little.

In the basement Willow holds Amy prisoner with magic. She knows Amy teleported here and wants to find out where she came from. Willow knows that Amy is working with someone. Buffy asks Willow where she has been. She has had a pretty crazy time. Buffy asks how she has been, how Kennedy is and whether they are still… Willow says she died. Buffy is shocked. Willow always tells it wrong, she adds quickly: Kennedy is fine; it was just a mythical thing that lasted a month. They are just taking it easy for a while – there is enough going on here anyway. Buffy says everything is as usual, except Dawn. Willow asks what happened and whether she had a thing with a thricewise (hitting the nail on the head).

Xander comes down to the basement. He has secured everything as far as possible, he explains. He finds Willow and Buffy laughing in each other’s arms. He wants to join in, but it is a girl thing. Willow asks whether he had an ordinary, boring year. He had plenty of action, he protests. Willow believes it – after all, he was the biggest ladies’ man in Sunnydale if even she wanted to cuddle with him. Buffy remembers that she too spoke of an average year – and her dream comes back to her. Xander tells Willow that his parents are not thrilled about what he does now… Buffy is wondering who kissed her… Willow gets a signal from her locator spell. She looks at the images she receives and explains to Buffy and Xander (calling them “girls”) that it is probably not Britain and some kind of military installation. Buffy remembers a cave… Willow says it is a portal. Amy’s eyes turn black. Then she pulls Willow through the portal with her.

Buffy wants to follow, but the portal has closed and she crashes into the wall. Xander calls for the witches to open the portal again. Buffy realises that someone is playing with them, and she does not like it.

Willow lies magically bound on a metal table in a room. Amy mocks the mighty Willow for falling for the trick. She says they were actually supposed to bring the Slayer, but she is pretty sure Buffy will show up anyway – too late, of course. Willow asks who “we” is. From the shadows a figure says it has been waiting for this for a long time. Killing Buffy Summers will be a party, because she made him really angry. But she – Willow – really and literally got under his skin, says Warren. Still flayed, but alive, he comes towards Willow with a saw, grinning.