The Long Way Home, Part IV

Plot

Warren asks Willow whether she remembers what she said to him back then. He knows she was angry and that it kept building until she finally flayed him. Amy watched her do it. It was Amy who saved him – seconds before he would have died of shock. Her magic keeps him alive.

Dawn is furious that Amy has kidnapped Willow. She punches a castle wall. Buffy reminds her that despite her size she has no superpowers – which Dawn notices when her hand bleeds. She is angry with herself: because she is so big, she is useless. Nothing must happen to Willow – she begs Buffy to bring her back, because Willow is like a mother to Dawn. Buffy tells Xander about it while they wait in the basement for the witches to reopen the portal. That will take a while. Meanwhile Buffy can decide who should help her. Xander is not suited, being neither a fighter nor a magic user, but he will be her eyes and ears via satellite. Buffy picks Satsu.

Willow is magically bound to the metal table. The bonds absorb the power she uses – so the stronger she becomes, the tighter she is bound. Warren hopes she will try to go evil, and he thinks she will.

At the army facility, General Voll hears screams. Amy has also disabled the cameras. She is sorry, but this way Buffy is sure to come here. And they have their mega-weapon aimed at the portal, so in the end they will get their Slayer. But the witch belongs to her friend, Amy makes clear. Satsu gets ready for the fight. She tells the other girls that Buffy should have picked someone else; they just do not want her to embarrass them. Buffy tells Satsu that once they are through the portal she is to kill all the demons and only wound the humans, unless they ask for it. Satsu is to fight with her, not just beside her. And they will get Willow out – if Willow cannot get out, Buffy will not leave either, and Satsu is to go back if Buffy tells her to. Then Buffy asks whether Satsu has a lip balm with her. Satsu gives her hers – and it “tastes” of cinnamon.

Meanwhile some beings pull Willow’s “spirit” onto another plane. There they show her an abyss full of fire in which people are swept along in whirlpools – that is Willow, and these beings control her rage. They redirect it to other things. One of the beings reminds Willow that in the real world Warren is trying to get into her head, and asks whether she has a plan.

The portal is opened again, and on both sides everyone gets ready. The military prepares its weapon; the friends, for their part, a mirror. Xander reminds Buffy that as soon as they are through the portal they will be in the middle of a fight. Then he asks her to bring him back a witch.

The weapon’s beams are reflected by the mirror and devastate the military base. Panic breaks out there. Buffy and Satsu jump through the portal and fight the soldiers. Finally Buffy tells one of the soldiers that they really did try to be nice. The soldiers here are dying, but there is someone on the base with enough power to heal them – so they should tell her where she is.

Xander follows the action on his computers. Buffy asks whether he knows yet where they have landed. Yes: two miles south of Sunnydale. (Well, Buffy did want to go home.)

Buffy finds Amy, while Willow is still on the plane of those beings. Her body in the real world is almost dead, and not even she can come back from death. Willow asks with a smile whether she has told them about her girlfriend.

Buffy believes Willow is somehow a part of her – even when she is not there, a part of her is with Buffy. Buffy’s eyes turn black and she glows with magic. She uses Willow’s magic to fight Amy. Then she reminds Amy that Amy broke into her dreamscape, so Buffy has also seen what Amy’s nightmare is (since a part of Amy was bound there too): her mother.

Amy is distracted by an image of her mom, and Satsu uses the chance to throw a grenade at her. They find the lab and Warren. Amy pulls him through a portal with her, and he promises that it is not over yet. (Buffy does not even know who he is.) Buffy frees Willow. In Scotland, too, everyone is overjoyed (only someone has to tell Dawn to stop jumping around, Xander says).

At the army base Willow says she does not have enough power to heal everyone, but she can at least take care of the worst (if need be she should wrap the soldiers in healing moss, Buffy says, since she promised). Then Buffy sees a door with the number 30 and has a déjà-something: Roman numerals = three X = 30 = Ethan. He has bought himself a ticket to freedom, Buffy says – but if she hears the words “my” or “love”… They force their way into the room and find Ethan dead. General Voll is waiting behind the door, but Buffy takes him out. She sends Willow to help the soldiers; Voll says they are not worth it. The only one who could have helped her was Ethan. Buffy sees the symbol on the general’s chest. He says the twilight is coming – for her, for everyone – soon it will all be over. Buffy angrily asks whether he means all the girls who protect the world from… “Evil? Demons?” the general asks, and then asks where she thinks her power comes from – but Buffy knows that, doesn’t she? She has upset the balance, and they will not sit back and let her carry on. Buffy believes it is not about demons at all. It is about women and power, and he hates hearing those two things in the same breath. Voll asks whether she really believes it is only men who want to stop her. Buffy is not human, he says. She has fought demons and the First Evil, but she is on the wrong side… because if she wins, God help them. If she still does not like the world, the demon inside her will say only one word: hunt. That is why they want to take her out. Now it is no longer only demons she is fighting – the human race will wage war on her.

At first Buffy says “Oh”, then fixes him with a look and adds: “kay.”