Synopsis of Pangs


Written by Bone

The story opens with a lone student walking at night. He hears a sound and turns. Nothing. He continues and hears another sound. He turns again and it's the Slayer. She strikes him. He vamps and says that they had no trouble until she arrived. (What does he mean by this? The campus isn't that far from the city.) A fight begins but he is clearly no match for the Slayer and she dispatches him quickly. Buffy seems to sense something after the fight. She looks around and sees nothing else to fight. She leaves. Hidden in the bushes, Angel is watching over her.

The next day Buffy, Willow and Anya (put your tongues back in your mouths guys) are watch a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Cultural Center building. Xander has a new job working construction with this crew. Anya is ogling him and says the outfit is better than his last job. Willow says she liked getting the free hotdog on a stick. Anya is imagining doing the wacky with Xander and this does not amuse Willow. The speaker goes into a talk about it being close to Thanksgiving and how this center will show the results of the blending of two cultures. Willow rants about the fact that Native Americans were slaughtered and there was no blending. Buffy thinks Willow is channeling her mother but agrees even though she celebrates Thanksgiving. But since Buffy's mom is at her aunt's for the holidays, Buffy will be by herself for the first time during this time of year. Anya says it's a shame and that she likes ritual sacrifices. They thought she misunderstood the holiday until she explained it as killing a small animal and eating it in celebration of a past event, with pie. As the head of the department goes to turn over the ceremonial first shovel, Anya remarks that she came to see Xander dig and get sweaty. She is imagining having doing the wacky with him again. As the crew begins to dig, Xander crashes through the ground into an area that was and old mission. He is ok but can see very little in the darken room.

Later that night, Angel is out side of Buffy's dorm. Inside she again senses something and is looking out the window as Willow is discussing the archeological find of the old Sunnydale Mission. Apparently it was buried in the early 1800's by an earthquake similar to the church that the Master was buried in. Willow started wondering what else could be under the ground waiting for them. Buffy thinks it's just a sewer full of demons. The dorm is rather noisy as students are preparing to go home for the holidays. Willow says that many parents will get baskets full of dirty laundry as gifts. Buffy is upset that she has no family to go home to. Willow thinks it's a turvy-topsy world. At this moment Buffy decides to have her own Thanksgiving. Willow still is on the "it's all about death" trip and calls it a sham. Buffy says it's a sham with yams. The stupid rhymes get and Buffy saying the smells turn her into an 8-year-old again gets Willow to relent. She says she will do it at Giles' place. Buffy says that Xander would be looking for an excuse to get away from his family and Willow doesn't want to invite Anya. Buffy says that every one should have a place to go to on Thanksgiving.

Spike is wondering around wrapped in a tattered blanket. Riley, Forrest and Graham are out looking for Hostile17. Forrest wants to get the night over with so he can go home for Thanksgiving. Riley wants to continue the search by the numbers. Forrest makes a cough sound as he says "Mama's Boy". (Riley is Walsh's son????? Or just more friendly ribbing of the teacher's pet. I still think Parker might be.) Riley threatens to quarantine him and they agree to continue the search.

Xander is preparing to go to work when Any comes to his room. She went to see him digging and he wasn't there. He says he is having a hard time getting started. She touches his forehead and believes he is sick. She pushes him down on his bed and starts undressing him. She says as an avenging demon she gave lots of sickness to men and looks like Xander had them all. Xander wants her to leave so she won't get sick. She says they could get suck and die together. It would be romantic. As she is undressing him he says she is a strange girlfriend. She is startled and smiling as she realizes he called her girlfriend. Xander says he might be delirious. She says she likes his sickness (because of what he said).

A green cloud emanates from the ruins of the old Sunnydale mission and goes out into the world. The anthropology head is talking on the phone to someone about the find. She puts a vase under a display case that has some of the artifacts from the find. The green cloud streams in unknown to her as she sees a hand form around an old knife in the case. A warrior appears and slits her throat with the knife. (This was not a pretty scene. This bothered me more than the Willow/Spike thing. I did not see it as a rape scene as some others did)

Buffy and Willow are investigating the scene of the murder. Willow thinks it is a witch because of the great spells that can be cast with a human ear. Buffy comments that Willow has a great little hobby. Willow also thinks it could be some thing that wants to make a demon out of ears. She then thinks the college Pro. cut off her own ear like Van Gough. Buffy berates her about this since the lady was dead. Willow then says that she cut off her ear, killed herself then dumped her body and then realized she was not having a good day thinking about clues. Buffy notices that something was missing from the display case. Its card said it was a knife of a Chumash (Sp.?) Indian. She believes this is the murder weapon.

At Giles', Buffy is complaining about how hard it was shopping for Thanksgiving groceries. She wanted to take out a lady who was hoarding pie fillings. She tells Giles about the knife and the Chumash connection. Giles seems to know something about them as Buffy is upset that he doesn't have a turkey pan. Giles thought the knife might have been just a weapon of opportunity. Buffy says a scissors was there and believes the knife was used on purpose. He wants to know why the Thanksgiving dinner isn't being done at her mom's place. Buffy tells him that as the patriarch, he has to host the festivities and must embrace some American traditions. Giles thinks he is getting stuck with cleaning up afterwards. Buffy changes the conversation back to the knife and Giles says he would look into the removing of ears by the Chumash. Buffy is about to leave and senses something again. She says its nothing to Giles and heads out for more goodies. Angel comes out and says he Still doesn't know what Doyle's vision about Buffy meant but still wants to be there to protect her. Giles reminds him that she can take care of herself and doesn't need him to watch over her. Angel reminds Giles that she no longer needs a watcher but Giles is still there. He asks Giles if he is going to walk away from her. The point is well taken by Giles but he does not like not telling her about Angel being there. Angel tells Giles about a Father Gabriel who is in town. The Father should have knowledge about the Indians. Angel then goes to watch over Buffy. Giles again tells him it's not fair and that is what Buffy would say. Angel says that it is very hard for him to be around her and wanting to be with her and that this is not fun for him either.

Spike sees other vamps chowing-down on a poor helpless guy. He can't do anything but watch.

Buffy and Willow are discussing whether or not to use canned whipped cream or to hand whip it (I got chills from this line too). Willow sarcastically says they should churn their own butter and knit sweaters from wool. Buffy says she still has to go see Father Gabriel about the Chumash Indians. Riley shows up and Willow goes to get coffee so Buffy and he can talk. Willow sees Angel and he keeps her quiet and wants to ask her if anything stranger than normal is going on but can only ask who the guy is that Buffy is talking to.

Riley is invited to the Thanksgiving dinner but is meeting his folks at the grandparents' home somewhere in Iowa. They have a nice exchange and at the end they say that home is where, when you go there, they have to take you in.

Switch to Harmony telling Spike to get out of the lair. He gives her some stupid line about her not meaning that and she lets him hug her. He picks her up and carried her to the bed ( and seems a bit winded after this) and says he knew she would welcome him back with open arms as he starts stroking her leg. She gets her resolve back and tells him to leave. She pulls a stake from under the covers and scares him off. She threatens to stake him and he thinks she won't until she says he did it to her. He says he'll go but wants her to feed someone to him. She chases him out.

At the church, Buffy is looking for the Father. She finds the Father hung up by the neck and a Chumash warrior cutting off his ear (Another not so nice scene). The Slayer attacks as the warrior fights back. He says she cannot stop him and that he is vengeance for his people. She tells him he is wrong and proceeds to kick his butt. She tries to get the knife out of his hand but he holds on to it. She then kicks his leg to bring him to his knees and bring his own knife to his throat. As she is about to end this. He says that, "You slaughtered my people and now you kill their spirit." This makes the Slayer hesitate. She throws him to the ground and the warrior gets up in a fighting stance with the knife. But he then brings his arms down and changes into a flock of birds (crows maybe?) and scatter.

Giles says that they are dealing with an Indian spirit as they can take animal form. Buffy is upset that she let him get away and tells Giles to use Native American instead of Indian. He says he is behind on terms and still refers to us as bloody colonials. Buffy says she likes her demons like she likes her men, evil. Except this spirit is not all evil and she doesn't want to slay it. Giles reminds her that innocent people are getting killed. Giles doesn't have a ricer and Buffy panics. Giles asks if she has one at home and she doesn't know what it is. Giles tells her they will mash the potatoes with a fork and about innocent people dying as Willow rings the doorbell. She has peas and many books. Buffy grabs the peas and is upset that they are frozen and not fresh. Willow says she was reading about the Chumash War when Giles says they were peaceful. Willow says they were until we came along. Buffy says the peas will get mushy and Giles says he likes them that way. Buffy says the British were the reason for Pilgrims.

Willow explains the atrocities done to the Chumash. Forced labor, exposure to European diseases, hangings of those who rebelled and the death of any accused of a crime with the ears brought back to the accuser to prove they were dead. Buffy realizes the spirit was doing to the victims what was done to his people. Willow wants to help him right the wrongs done to his people by saying something about it, giving back land and more. Giles thinks this is silly and doesn't want to do anything except stop it. She calls him unfeeling guy and makes a sarcastic comment about slaying demons and singing songs. A fox outside is watching this go on as Buffy goes to baste the turkey.

Giles takes Willow aside and tells her he believes Buffy may be in real danger from this spirit and she tells Giles because Angel is here. He was surprised Angel let Willow know of his presence. He feels that's why they should keep a level head. Willow says things would roll off of Giles' head. A knock at the door brings Xander and Anya. Xander looks like death warmed over and is practically being held up by Anya.

The spirit warrior is in a museum type place stealing bows and other ancient weapons.

Xander is lying on Giles' couch as Anya is tending to him. Buffy reminds Willow that she said the Chumash got diseases. The textbook says they got malaria, smallpox (which Anya thought Xander had) and syphilis. Xander is very upset now.

Willow is thinking there is some sort of spell to cure Xander she saw in one of the books. It is Buffy's stuffing recipe. Xander wants to know why did the spirit attack him. Giles believes he was just the person who released it. Xander is still upset. He says he did nothing to the spirit or his people. Willow says he is just doing what was done to his people. Anya starts to show Xander pictures of festicles (not sure of this word) and pustules that will form on him. Anya says the syphilis will only make him go blind. The smallpox will kill him. He is hoping everything will be ok when Buffy kills the spirit. She says they haven't decided to kill it yet. As the representative from syphilis, Xander says a slayer should kill a vengeance demon. This upsets Anya. He says he didn't mean her. They argue. Giles and Willow again start arguing over if they should kill the spirit or not. Buffy stops them all by saying that the pie mixture she was whipping needed more condensed milk. Giles follows her to try to explain that Xander is in real danger, along with everyone else, as this thing will keep on killing for revenge. A knock at the door again. It's Spike. He asks for help as the Slayer knocks him back out into the sun. He starts to smoke and gets to the shade and covers himself with the tattered blanket. He again asks for help and wants to be invited in. Giles says no and gives Buffy a stake and she says she could end it quicker for him instead of letting him burn in the sunlight. He tries to come in and can't. He tells them he is harmless and asks Willow to tell them about him not being able to bite. Willow says that Spike wanted to kill her and then Buffy. She also told about the fact that he couldn't "perform". Spike makes a reference to being neutered. He tells them he has information about the "solider boys", as he calls them.

The spirit is spreading out the weapons he stole earlier and saying a prayer for vengeance. A raiding party of Chumash warriors appears. They are ready for battle.

The Scooby gang let Spike in but ties him to a chair. He says that Buffy is cutting off his circulation. She reminds him he has none. He says it hurts. She asks about the info and he says he remembers more after eating. She slaps his head. Anya is cooking now and Buffy gives her directions and says they have to add brandy to the mix. She asks Giles if he had brandy while he is deep in thought. He comes out of it and tells Buffy the brandy is on the bookshelf. He also says that aside from Xander the two people killed were authority figures. Buffy thinks the dean of the school might be next. They are about to go warn him and Buffy wants Willow to come up with away to kill the spirit in a "non-judgmental way." Willow starts arguing with Buffy about wanting to kill the spirit as she directs Anya on how to input the brandy to the mix. Spike cries out for some one to stake him. He is getting annoyed at all the Politically Correct talk about the Chumash. Xander thinks everyone there would. Spike does say something of import. He says that we won. That is what conquering nations do. Caesar didn't say I came, I conquered but I felt really bad about it. Buffy was about to say something about what the Spaniards did but backed off in a PC mode. Spike says she can't fight anyone with that attitude. Willow says if they could just talk to him. Spike says that they exterminated his race. What could you say to him. It is kill or be killed. Xander thought it was the syphilis talking but he, and Giles, agreed with Spike. Willow and Anya go to warn the dean. Xander wants to go with them. Spike wants him to stay because he thinks he can feed off of a dead body. Xander leaves with the others. Buffy reminds them that dinner is in an hour.

As Buffy is setting the table, Spike tells them that a vamp who doesn't feed starts to look like a famine victim like the ones you see on the plains on news reports. . She says the gravy has blood in it. Spike says blood has blood in it. She threatens to gag him and says she wants a nice quit civilized... an arrow just misses her and hits a little pilgrim doll on the table. She sees the warrior and tries to talk to him. He says nothing as he begins to load another arrow. The other warriors start breaking out windows and firing arrows. Buffy and Giles are pinned down. Spike is tied to the chair in the open is trying to move the chair to cover. He gets hit with an arrow.

At the dean's place everything is ok. Willow says she thinks they thought the 3 of them were crazy. Anya started off the conversation by asking if everyone had both ears. Anya liked the wife. She gave Anya a pie. Angel appears and Xander thinks he is evil again. Angel's exasperated that they think he is evil. Anya thinks he large and flowery. They tell him about warning the dean but that there were no problems there. He tells them about the missing weapons. Angel surmises that the warrior would go after the strongest of the tribe. Xander believes, rightly so, it's Buffy they want. Angel breaks loose some bikes and the gang starts peddling back to Giles', while he calls to warn them.

Giles answers the phone and tells Angel he knows about the Chumash attack since they are right in it. While dodging arrows Buffy asks who called at a time like this. Giles says its no one. Spike, who looks like a pincushion now, tries to apologize to the Chumash. They aren't listening. Buffy goes for the weapons chest and gets an arrow in the forearm. Giles tends to her wound as they survey their situation. They need help.

Xander, Anya and Willow are peddling their way back like the Calvary to the rescue. Buffy and Giles get some weapons from the chest and start a counter offensive. Buffy misses the leader with the hand bow. Giles has a mace.

The Calvary arrives. Xander hits one warrior with a flowerpot. Willow and Anya are hitting another with shovels.

The leader breaks in and he and the Slayer are fighting again. Two other warriors come in also. Giles hits one and is grabbed by the other. Spike gets hit with another arrow. Buffy quickly gets the upper hand on the leader, tosses him across a couch and stakes him. He cuts her are. The stake didn't kill him. The fight continues. Outside Anya and Willow are still hitting one warrior with shovels. He won't go down. Xander goes to help. The warrior he hit comes from behind him and those two crash though the front door. Angel comes and breaks the neck of the warrior Anya and Willow was fighting. Anya wondered what he was like when he was evil. Buffy and the leader continue their fight. She pins him against the wall with a chair but the one Giles hit with the mace earlier is coming at her from behind. Angel sees this and throws a stake into him knocking him down again. The one whose neck he broke is up again and on him. He tells Anya and Willow to help inside as he flips the warrior. They go help Xander. Buffy and the leader continue their battle and both lose their weapons. Giles' head is being smashed against a wall (another concussion thread).They get their weapons back but now Buffy has his knife. She cuts him with it and he bleeds. He can be killed with his own weapon. He shape-shifts into a bear. This scares Spike as he yells "You made a bear. Undo it." His chair falls over. The bear attacks Buffy knocking her across the room. Xander gets its attention and starts throwing food at it. Buffy knifes it from behind and it and the other warriors turn to the green smoke and disappear. Angel sees that Buffy is ok through a window and then leaves. She looks but too late to see him. Spike, from the floor, asks if they won.

They have their Thanksgiving meal and are discussing the day's events over desert. The arrow is still in the little Pilgrim doll. Buffy wanted it to be perfect. Willow is upset at herself for fighting against the spirits. Self-preservation won out. Spike is upset that no one bled enough for him to feed. (Didn't Buffy get an arrow through the arm. Couldn't they let him suck the rag?) Old silver tongue Xander says he thinks his syphilis has cleared up as he touches Anya (the lucky bastard). Willow thinks this could be a new tradition. Buffy thinks not. They all agreed that it was like old times: all of them working together. Xander mentions that even Angel was there. "Oops!"

The End


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