'End of Days' Story Code '7ABB21' by Douglas Petrie and Jane Espenson

Caleb watches in shock as Buffy pulls the scythe from the rock. While the priest and the First argue about letting Buffy go, the Slayer in question simply walks off - now that she has the weapon, she is too powerful for them to stop. In the sewers, Faith shouts a warning to the Potentials - but she is too late, and the bomb explodes. Some time later, the survivors help the others out from the wreckage; they find Faith unconscious, having taken the full brunt of the explosion. Hearing something growling, Kennedy tries to lead the others out, but they are confronted by a Turok-Han. Kennedy orders the girls to form a circle around Faith, but as they prepare to fight the monster, the uber-vamp is joined by two others. Back at the Summer’s house, the remaining Potentials feast on the junk food that Andrew has taken from abandoned grocery stores. Xander, Willow, Dawn and Anya return home, unable to find Buffy. Meanwhile, Kennedy and the Potentials are surrounded by the monsters; but as one of the Turok-Han grabs Kennedy, Buffy crashes down through the ceiling, armed with her new scythe. Using the weapon she dusts the Turok-Han in seconds, and then leads the girls back to her house. Once home, the gang try to cope with all the wounded, but there are not enough medical supplies. While Faith is taken upstairs to recuperate, Buffy shows the scythe to Giles and Willow; she tells them that she can feel that it belongs to her, and asks them to research what it is, and what its significance is. Andrew and Anya decide to go to the abandoned hospital for more supplies. Meanwhile, Buffy asks Xander to so something for her, but he is clearly unhappy at being taken out of the final battle. Giles and Willow are unable to find out anything about the scythe, but then, looking at a website Willow has found, Giles recognises an ancient symbol as the sign for scythe. After instructing Willow to find out what the vineyard used to be, they discover that it was once used as a pagan temple. Giles theorises that the pagans may have buried their dead there, and this might be how to find out about the power of the scythe. Outside, Dawn helps Xander search his car for her missing weapon, but he suddenly renders her unconscious using chloroform, bundles her into the vehicle and then drives off. Elsewhere, Caleb is furious that Buffy got away from them, and reminds the First that is has been a while since they merged. The First then takes its real form, that of a giant, horned demon, and merges with Caleb. The demon’s power flows through the priest, and his eyes turn black. At the Summers house, Faith wakes up; she too can feel the scythe’s power, and has the sense that it belongs to her. She tells Buffy that she feels guilty for leading the Potentials into a trap, and the two Slayers finally begin to bond. Buffy heads downstairs, just as Spike comes in; the vampire seems to understand why Buffy left him sleeping, and they talk about how much of an impact the previous night had for both of them. Buffy thanks Spike for believing in her, and for giving her the strength that she needed to go after the scythe; Spike confesses that it was the best night of his entire life, and Buffy replies that it meant something to her too, but has left her emotionally confused. As Andrew and Anya raid the hospital for supplies, they discuss the impending apocalypse; Andrew has realised that Anya loves humans, and admits to her that he does not expect to survive the coming battle. To relieve their gloom, they try to have some fun playing at wheelchair races and crutch fights. Willow discovers some information on the scythe, and directs Buffy to a tomb that lies on unconsecrated ground. Buffy enters the crypt, finding it lit by flaming torches, and is surprised when an old woman emerges from behind a curtain. The woman tells Buffy that she was once one of many, one of the group that created the scythe hundreds of years ago; the weapon was made without the knowledge of the Shadowmen, which is why the Council and Giles had no records of it. She tells Buffy that as there was no-one to watch the Watchers, she became a guardian of the Slayer. However, just as the old woman tells Buffy that the end is near, and that perhaps the Slayer can win the battle, two hands appear behind her and break her neck - and Caleb emerges from behind the curtain. Dawn regains consciousness as Xander drives down the highway; he hands her a note from Buffy, which explains that she wanted the two of them to be safe. Dawn immediately shocks Xander into unconsciousness using a stun-gun, then takes control of the car and heads back to Sunnydale. Caleb has now regained his strength after joining with the First, and is able to block Buffy’s attempts to kill him with her scythe. The priest manages to throw the Slayer about the crypt, and is able to wrestle the scythe from her grasp. But just as he is about to kill her, an arm comes out of nowhere and knocks him to the ground. Angel helps Buffy to her feet. She tells him that she can do this without him, and, as Angel happily watches, Buffy slices Caleb in the gut, and the priest falls to the ground. Buffy slides into Angel’s arms, and they share a passionate kiss - unaware they are being watched by Spike, who is accompanied by the First in the form of Buffy.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), James Marsters (Spike), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Nathan Fillion (Caleb), David Boreanaz (Angel), Tom Lenk (Andrew), Iyari Limon (Kennedy), Sarah Hagan (Amanda)
Directed by Marita Grabiak

TX (US): 13th May 2003

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

*Working title: 'Pipe Dream'