The characters in this story belong to Joss Wheadon and the concept is his creation, but this script is my work and mine alone. I have not mooched ideas from anyone and I do not want anyone to mooch ideas from me. Any questions or comments should be sent to me, Dena Karson, at DKone007@aol.com. I apologize if I sound rude, but I worked my butt off to create this story.
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(Show opens at the Bronze. Buffy, Xander, and Willow are sitting at a table.)
BUFFY
Do you guys ever wonder what death would be like?
XANDER
Oh, all the time. I think he's a tall guy, black cape, really big sickle...
WILLOW (ignoring him)
Why the question, Buffy?
BUFFY
Oh, I don't know. I just keep having these dreams lately...it's strange. Being a slayer I'm always faced with death but I never really thought about it before.
XANDER (glancing at his watch)
I think it's about time I started thinking about it.
BUFFY and WILLOW
Huh?
XANDER
Math. Remember, Willow? You promised to help me study?
WILLOW
Oh, that's right. Let's go. See you later, Buffy. (Both exit)
BUFFY
Bye.
(Buffy is sitting, playing with her drink, when she looks up and sees Angel just entering the room, apparently looking for something. She goes over to him.)
BUFFY
Looking for me?
ANGEL
Actually, yeah. We need to talk.
BUFFY
Okay, talk.
ANGEL
Not here. Someone else has to discuss this.
(As they exit, the camera focuses in on the background and a blonde girl glaring at them from the shadows. The next scene begins with Giles in the library, looking through books. Angel and Buffy enter.)
GILES
Good, you're here.
ANGEL
I thought she should hear this too.
GILES
Right. It will involve her eventually.
BUFFY
Hello? I'm in the room. No need to go third person on me.
GILES
I'm sorry. I've been preoccupied lately.
BUFFY
Really? Boy, that's a shocker.
ANGEL
So have you found anything?
GILES
No, nothing more than what I already knew.
BUFFY
Could you take a moment and tell me what you know cause I'm drawing a blank.
GILES
Have you noticed anything strange lately? I mean, from a slayer's point of view?
BUFFY (thinking a moment)
Yeah, I have. The last couple of times I went out hunting, I haven't seen any vampires.
ANGEL
They've been around, just not feeding.
GILES
And there have been no reports of strange attacks or missing persons.
BUFFY
So what's up? Why the sudden Utopia?
ANGEL (looking from her to Giles)
The turning point.
(Scene switches to Xander and Willow walking in the darkness near the school.)
WILLOW
Do you have some kind of cerebral leak or something? Why can't you ever remember anything?
XANDER
Hey, I just left my bookbag at school. It's not like I forgot to wear underwear or something.
(Suddenly, a band of vampires appears in front of them. They look back and forth to one another in panic. Then a blonde girl dressed in black jumps from above and lands easily. She glares at the remaining vampires, who disappear into the darkness. She then turns to Xander and Willow.)
XANDER (turning to Willow)
I should of thought of that.
WILLOW (sarcastically)
I'm sure it would have worked as well for you.
DELILAH (turning to them)
Don't worry; they weren't going to attack anyway. Come on.
(They exchange confused glances but follow, and she leads them through the school and into the library, where Giles, Buffy and Angel are talking. Xander and Willow appear first.)
XANDER (caustically)
Angel, I think you left some of your friends outside.
ANGEL (confused)
What?
WILLOW
We ran into some vampires on our way over here.
XANDER (swinging his arm)
I would have been able to handle it, but this darn shoulder of mine...
WILLOW (ignoring him)
But they didn't try to eat us. Then she came out of nowhere.
BUFFY
She?
DELILAH (coming forward)
Me. Angel, long time no see.
ANGEL (taken aback)
Delilah.
BUFFY (to Angel, slightly jealous)
You know her?
DELILAH Of course he knows me. We go back a while, don't we?
ANGEL (softly)
A long while.
BUFFY (her eyes darting between them)
How long?
DELILAH About two centuries, wouldn't you say, Angel?
ANGEL
About that.
XANDER (jumping away from Delilah)
You're a vampire?!
ANGEL
No, she's a witch.
(Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Willow all exchange looks. Angel and Delilah continue to stare at each other, Angel looking shaken and Delilah appearing cynical.)
WILLOW (amazed)
Wow, can you put spells on people and stuff?
GILES
Wait a minute. There are no such things as witches. Those who practice wicca, yes, but no true witches that can live forever as it appears you do.
DELILAH For someone who claims to be so well versed in the occult, you're pretty clueless, huh?.
BUFFY (to Delilah)
How is it that you know Angel?
DELILAH (laughing)
Why don't you tell her how we met, Angel? Actually, why don't you tell her about how we parted? Or don't you remember? It was a long time ago, I know. (Pause, then looks at him sadly.) But I remember, every day that I'm alive. I know it wasn't that significant for you, seeing as though you've killed thousands and that's just one. So, can you recount that night for everyone, or shall I refresh your memory?
ANGEL (right as she finishes)
Don't you think I remember what I did? Don't you think I feel it every day? Of all the things I've done to people, I feel the most guilt for what I did to you.
DELILAH (laughing satirically)
Gee, that makes it all better, doesn't it?
BUFFY
Look, I'm majorly stumped here. How do you know each other?
DELILAH (somberly)
He killed the only man I ever loved.
XANDER
Way to go!
WILLOW
Ouch.
DELILAH (faraway, but to Angel)
I swore I would make you pay for what you did to me, and now I finally have that chance. You're going to walk a mile in my shoes, Angel, and you're going to know what it feels like to lose what you treasure most. (Exit.)
BUFFY (shuddering)
Isn't she Little Mary Sunshine?
GILES
Someone had better follow her. (To Angel) Is she a danger?
ANGEL
Only to me.
(Buffy gives him a look, a mixture of concern and jealousy. Giles turns to Xander and Willow.)
GILES
Xander, will you and Willow tail her? I need you to find out any information you can get about her and what she is doing now. I'm sure Angel can give us a history lesson, but it has been two hundred years since you last met, correct?
ANGEL (looking down)
Yeah.
GILES
Well, a lot can change in a couple of centuries, and I want the low-down on her. It's best to know the enemy before engaging in battle.
ANGEL
This is my problem, not yours.
GILES
Yes, well, if she is in fact a witch and immortal, I'm sure she'll be our problem sooner or later. Xander, Willow?
WILLOW
We're going. (Both exit)
GILES (to Angel)
I suppose we had better start at the beginning. How is it possible? Witches don't exist, at least not in the classical sense. Even then, they are not immortal. Who is this Delilah person and why is she a 'witch?'
ANGEL
I'm not the only one around with a curse. I don't know exactly how it happened or why, but I know it was late 17th century in New England, and it wasn't of her own choosing.
GILES (quietly)
Salem Witchcraft Trials.
ANGEL
Yeah, that's what I got from it.
BUFFY
Look, I know my history stinks, so correct me if I'm wrong. Weren't the trials based on the false accusations of some bratty little girls?
GILES
Yes, that's exactly what it was. There were no real witches in Salem, at least not that were tried.
BUFFY
But there could have been, right?
GILES
I suppose so. You said there was a curse on her. Was it cast by a witch or was she a witch and was cursed by her coven?
ANGEL (shaking his head)
She never told me. Then again, I don't think she trusted me very much.
BUFFY
Truth. She made you out to be a monster.
ANGEL (looking at her)
That's what I was then. It was before my curse.
GILES (after a pause)
Well, I had better hit the books. I'd like to read up on curses and witches as much as possible before we meet up with her again. (Exit to his office.)
BUFFY
So, are you going to explain this whole Delilah thing to me?
ANGEL
Yeah. Come with me. (Both exit.)
(Xander and Willow are following Delilah. They are watching her ahead of them when Willow stops.)
WILLOW
We're following her to close.
XANDER
We are not. She doesn't know we're back here.
WILLOW
Xander, she's a witch. I think she knows.
XANDER
No, she doesn't.
DELILAH (jumping down from above, and dropping directly in front of Xander)
Yes, I do.
XANDER
Agh!
WILLOW (quietly)
Told you.
XANDER (trying to cover up)
We were, uh, just on our, um, way to the Bronze. Yeah! It's Disco Night. Got to love the Bee Jees.
WILLOW
Why don't you join us?
DELILAH (fully aware of what they were doing)
Sure. And I'll explain why I am the way I am, since you're dying to know.
XANDER (blowing it off jokingly)
Us, dying to know? (Laughs, then realizes the pun.) Oh, please don't kill me.
DELILAH (rolling her eyes)
I'm not going to kill you. (To Willow, gesturing at Xander.) What do you see in him?
WILLOW (shaking her head)
I'm not sure.
(Scene advances to the Bronze, where Delilah, Xander, and Willow are seated at a table.)
DELILAH I grew up in New England in the middle of the 17th century. My parents were good people, prominent in the town, and very modest like most people back then were. My father was a land merchant; bought and sold land, and repossessed land people couldn't make payments on. Well, he happened to retrieve some land from an young couple, and a few weeks later the husband died. His wife blamed my father for his death, as land was a man's lifeblood in those days and loosing land was essentially loosing life. So this woman, who was mega-frightening from what I understand, burst into church one Sunday and declared a plague upon my father's house. She, being the so-called Christian she was, would not commit any evil herself, but her blood would fuel the revenge she had lit. Then she declared that the next child to be born into my father's house would be the damned one, the one on which her hex would fall. Unknowingly and unintentionally, this child would do the devil's work.
WILLOW
Creepy.
DELILAH After my eighteenth birthday, the curse went into effect. Back in the day, girls were married off by the time they were sixteen. I didn't want to marry, so I was still unattached. That was when one of the townswomen accused me of leading her husband into adultery. I, of course, was innocent. Trouble was, the woman was a sorceress, a true witch. If a woman could seduce men with her beauty, she was called a witch. So the sorceress decided to make me one, a true witch like her, only with a twist: she would make it eternal. I would become an immortal and live forever with what I was.
XANDER
Okay, this is all real informative, but what's it got to do with Angel?
DELILAH Chill, will you? About a quarter of a century after I became a witch, I met Angel and his crew and I decided to ally myself with them. Mortals were the only other company I had known, and they seemed to died very quickly after awhile, so I joined with others like me. Forever is a long time to spend alone, and I would have rather been around those I loathed than no one at all. They weren't exactly the brightest candles in the cathedral; always grabbing people off the streets and feeding. They needed me along to cover up their tracks, and I needed them.
XANDER
For what? Their witty banter?
DELILAH Their blind killing. I gave them a buffet to choose from, all descendants of the woman who had cursed me. I no longer valued human life; after all, I had no attachment to it any more. Everyone I had ever known was long since dead and buried, and it made no sense to make friends when they would grow old and die and I wouldn't. But then I met Ethan...
WILLOW
Ethan?
DELILAH (sad)
The man Angel killed, and the reason I am going to kill him.
(Xander and Willow exchange glances)
WILLOW (surprised)
You can't kill him. I'm sure he didn't mean it; he's a good vampire. Oh, I guess that's kind of an oxymoron, huh? Anyway, you can't kill him.
XANDER (elbowing her)
Of course you can. He did kill your guy after all. An eye for an eye, right?
(Xander smiles back and forth between the two girls, while Delilah gives him a incredulous stare. Switch scenes. Angel and Buffy arrive at his place.)
BUFFY
Nice. I'd like the name of your decorators so I know never to go to them.
ANGEL (laughing)
Well, I didn't think anyone but me would ever be here.
BUFFY
So explain this Delilah to me. What's her deal?
ANGEL
Sit down. (She sits.) I met Delilah a few decades after I became a vampire. I had tried to feed on her but she nearly killed me. At first I thought she was a slayer, but she had powers.
BUFFY (interrupting)
What kind of powers?
ANGEL
Psychic. She could move stuff with her mind, read minds, foretell the future, that kind of thing. And she's strong, like a slayer. She said she was a witch, so I took her word for it. I was with the family then, and she came with us. It was great having her around; she brought us right to fresh blood and found places for us to hide out. Then we went to New England, and she met a man named Ethan.
(Scene switches to Bronze.)
DELILAH (reflective)
I met Ethan one night when I was taking a walk. He said that a young woman like me shouldn't be outside at night by myself. So he walked me back to my house. The next day he came back to check on me, and we talked. He never once commented on the way I looked. (She laughs.) And the way he looked at me; it was like no one else's gaze. I think that was the moment I fell in love with him. He was the first man who ever saw beyond my face.
(Scene switches to Angel's.)
ANGEL
Darla found him one night and brought him to this old barn we were hiding in, intending to feed on him. Delilah showed up and stopped her, only by that time Ethan knew that we were vampires. When Delilah walked in and stopped us, the look on his face, and on hers, was just...amazing. He was afraid of us, and for a moment, of her too. She was horrified, disgusted at what we were, and probably what she was too.
(Scene switches to the Bronze.)
DELILAH He just stared at me. I walked toward him, and he jumped away. He was afraid. I promised him that I would never hurt him, but he just looked at me, like I was...a vampire. He kept backing away from me, and I kept swearing I wouldn't hurt him. And I wouldn't have, ever. Finally he let me get close enough to talk to him. I had to explain what I was, the curse, why I was with vampires, everything. I didn't expect him to want to be around me anymore, so I let him go past Angel and the others. But then he stopped...
(Scene switches to Angel's.)
ANGEL
He turned back to her, and she stood there so alone. Then he walked away, and she cried. I couldn't understand it then; I had no conscience, no heart. It wasn't until...you don't realize how you feel when someone you care about finds out what you really are. (Stares at Buffy, who smiles and lowers her head.)
BUFFY
So he left her?
ANGEL
But he came back a few nights later, asking where she was. I was amazed that he didn't fear us, but he really had no reason to. She made us promise not to hurt him. She didn't care who else we fed on, so long as we left him alone. She had threatened to kill us if we laid a hand on him, and we knew she could do it. So he found her, and said that he didn't care what she was.
(Scene switches to the Bronze.)
DELILAH It didn't matter to him at all. He said I was a good person nonetheless, and he loved me. He came to see me every night after that. But one night he was early...
(Scene switches to Angel's.)
ANGEL
I couldn't resist. He was standing there alone, waiting for her with these flowers, white roses I think. They fell on the ground when I fed, and that's when she showed up.
(Scene switches to the Bronze.)
DELILAH (tears in her eyes)
Ethan's body just fell to the ground. Angel just stood there in his way, like he totally justified, like it was just another meaningless human life. I wanted to kill him.
(Scene switches to Angel's.)
ANGEL
She would have killed me, but I ran. She did come after us, though. Killed everyone but me, and nearly got Darla, too. I had never seen anyone with so much hate in their eyes. That was the last I saw of her, until today.
(Scene switches to the Bronze.)
DELILAH Because of Angel, I will live forever. At least vampires can rest with the thought that they can die; I never will. I spent the next two hundred years getting stronger, preparing myself for the next time I would meet him. Now I'm ready.
XANDER
For what?
DELILAH (smiling)
Revenge.
(Scene switches to Angel's.)
BUFFY
So what's she been up to these last couple of centuries?
ANGEL
Planning her revenge. You heard what she said; she plans to make me walk a mile in her shoes.
BUFFY
Whatever it is, we'll get through it. She can't possibly take on a vampire and a slayer, can she?
ANGEL
You don't know Delilah.
(The next night. Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Willow are in the library, talking before Buffy goes out slaying.)
BUFFY
Apparently this Delilah chick has a whole vengeance thing to get over with, and that's why she came here.
XANDER
Yeah, I'd say that's rather obvious.
WILLOW
She's angry, even after two hundred years?
GILES (pouring over books, not even looking up)
Well, true love never dies.
BUFFY
What'cha looking at there, Giles?
GILES
Witches' lore. Old spells, curses, etc. I'm trying to find out what kind of hex this woman put on her to make her an immortal witch. Did she tell you two anything of significance? Perhaps about this Ethan?
XANDER
Nothing, other than the fact she's going to drop kick Angel.
WILLOW
She did say that he was the only one who ever saw past her face. Oh, and something about the fact that because of Angel she's going to live forever?
GILES (slams book shut)
That's it! Psyche's Curse.
BUFFY
Huh?
GILES
One of the previous watchers mentioned something about it in their diaries. That's what he called it, because it reminded him of the story of Psyche and Cupid. (They give him blank stares, and he sighs.) In Roman Mythology, Psyche was the most beautiful woman on Earth; they said that she rivaled Venus in appearance. But because of her beauty, no man ever saw her as a person, just an object, a prize to be won. The only one who ever did was Cupid. Because of her jealousy of Psyche, Venus gave her a set of trials and hoped that by the end of them she would no longer be beautiful. But Cupid stepped in and saved Psyche, the gods made her one of them, and they essentially lived happily ever after.
WILLOW
So what's that got to do with the witch?
GILES
Like Psyche, men are only attracted to her body.
XANDER
And you blame them for this because...? (Gets a look.) What?
GILES (paging through book)
Here, it states something about a young woman who travels among the vampires and yet is not one. The curse fell upon her in the late 1600s, making her immortal and causing her to live forever with the knowledge that she is only admired and never loved. Her pain will not cease until she falls in love with a mortal who, in turn, falls in love with her for more than her beauty. The curse will be lifted only when the mortal asks for her hand in marriage and she can live amongst humans as one of them.
WILLOW
Like Psyche became a goddess.
GILES
Exactly. Apparently there is also one chance for this, as only true love could break the spell. And this goes with the belief that true love occurs only once in a lifetime, if one is that lucky.
BUFFY
Kind of like a fairy tale.
GILES
Yes, in a macabre sort of way.
BUFFY
So what do we do now?
GILES
Wait, I suppose. And talk to Angel, if you see him tonight at the Bronze.
BUFFY (looking at her watch)
Oh, that's right. We'd better get going if we want to get in before the crowd gets too thick.
XANDER (sarcastically)
Right, wouldn't want to lose sight of Angel amongst all those people.
(Willow elbows him, but the comment went unnoticed by Buffy. The three exit. Scene switches to a little later, with Giles going through his books.)
GILES (stumped by the books, to himself)
I hope they find Angel.
ANGEL (emerging from shadows)
Find me where?
GILES (startled)
Must you always do that?
ANGEL
I have to talk to you. It's important.
GILES
Yes, well, I've been meaning to talk to you as well. I'm assuming this is about Delilah?
ANGEL
What else? Listen, she wants revenge, but I don't know how. That's why I need your help.
GILES
Well, she said something about it earlier, didn't she? Something about walking?
ANGEL
She's going to make me walk a mile in her shoes, and I'll know what it's like to lose what I treasure most.
GILES
She probably intends to kill you. Your life is what you treasure most, isn't it?
ANGEL
Yeah, but what about walking the mile in her shoes?
GILES
Perhaps she wants you to feel the pain that she felt. (Realizing the significance.) Oh God, no.
ANGEL (concerned)
What is it?
GILES
You killed her love, correct? What she treasured most. She wants you to walk a mile in her shoes, to feel that same kind of pain.
ANGEL (realizing what he is saying)
Buffy. She's not going to kill me; she's going to go after Buffy.
(Next scene begins at the Bronze.)
BUFFY (joining Xander and Willow)
Have you seen him?
WILLOW
No, we've been sitting here the whole time and he hasn't been around.
XANDER
Look, let's not worry. Maybe he went after her.
BUFFY
That makes me worry.
XANDER
Angel's a big boy; I think he can take care of himself.
BUFFY
She kills vampires like they're spiders under her shoe. And two hundred years of hatred under the belt can make a person real beastly.
WILLOW (looking away)
I think I see him.
BUFFY (glancing over, and seeing Angel in the shadows signaling her to follow him)
There he is. I'll be back, maybe.
(Buffy goes in the direction Angel walked, outside into the darkness of an alley.)
BUFFY (looking around)
Angel?
(He steps out of the shadows, saying nothing.)
BUFFY
God, you scared me half to death. I thought you had gone after that witch yourself.
(Suddenly Angel morphs into Delilah.)
DELILAH Really, Buffy, that's not a very nice thing to call me.
BUFFY (confused)
Where's Angel? What have you done to him?
DELILAH Nothing, yet.
BUFFY (realizing what happened)
Cute prank. Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat, too? Oh, I've got one. Why don't you make yourself disappear?
DELILAH (laughing)
Funny, funny, funny! But you haven't seen anything yet.
BUFFY
Well, it's going to take a little more than a few parlor tricks to fool me.
(Delilah vanishes, and Buffy looks around frantically. She then appears behind Buffy, who doesn't know she is there until she speaks.)
DELILAH I'm a witch, not a magician.
BUFFY
So says you. Personally, I've seen better at kids birthday parties.
DELILAH You really are snippy, aren't you? Fine, you think I'm a joke; why don't we play this your way?
BUFFY
Works for me.
(The two fight, and Buffy soon realizes that she is not going to beat Delilah. But she bounces back and steps back from Delilah.)
BUFFY
If you're going to kill Angel, why are you here? Why aren't you out stalking him?
DELILAH Haven't you been paying attention? God, mortals are so stupid. Revenge isn't about killing (pauses, and thinks about what she said); well, not entirely anyway. It's about giving the grief that you received.
BUFFY
Gee, that made it all so much clearer. Thanks for the explanation, but I really have to go and find Angel.
DELILAH You won't find him.
BUFFY
Why is that? Have you killed him already?
DELILAH (exasperated)
You don't get it, do you? I'm not going to kill Angel. (Pauses while Buffy looks confused.) I'm going to kill you.
(Scene switches to Xander and Willow exiting the Bronze.)
XANDER
Okay, where would she go?
WILLOW
Maybe she and Angel went back to the library to find Giles.
(They begin walking away when Angel appears and stops them.)
ANGEL
Where's Buffy?
XANDER
With you.
ANGEL (immediately concerned)
No she's not.
XANDER
Yes, she is.
ANGEL
Look, is she anywhere around me?
WILLOW
So where did she go?
ANGEL (to himself, whispering)
Delilah.
XANDER (panicked)
The witch has her?
ANGEL (to himself)
She's going to kill her.
XANDER
What? Can we rewind for a minute? I thought she was after you.
ANGEL
It's a long story. I'll explain on the way.
WILLOW
Way to what?
ANGEL
The library. (Begins to walk away.)
(Xander and Willow follow him. The next scene is shown, Giles laying unconscious on the floor of the library. Angel, Xander, and Willow walk in, see Giles and help him up.)
WILLOW
What happened?
GILES (groggy)
Delilah...came in...Buffy...
ANGEL
Where are they?
DELILAH I'm right here.
ANGEL (standing)
What have you done with her?
DELILAH Oh, she's in a safe place.
ANGEL
Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.
DELILAH On the contrary: she has everything to do with this. Did you really think I was going to kill you? Come on, Angel, you know me better than that. What would be the revenge in that?
ANGEL
Where is she?
DELILAH (laughing)
How does it feel, huh? Is your heart beating faster? Your stomach in knots?
GILES
Stop this. Just tell us where Buffy is.
DELILAH Nope, sorry. Can't do that. I haven't had my fun yet.
ANGEL
You're mad.
DELILAH Perhaps. Would you blame me? You took the one thing that I valued most in the world. Wouldn't that make anyone a little crazy? Oh, well. You'll know soon enough.
ANGEL
I'm sorry for what I did, and I know I can never make it up to you. But don't make it worse by taking another life.
DELILAH Sorry, too late. She's already dead.
(The others look around in a panic. Angel stares at her. Suddenly someone bursts through the closet behind Delilah. It is Buffy.)
BUFFY
Wrong. The only dead one around here is you.
DELILAH Very funny, Buffy, but it shows what you know. I can't ever die. Ever. And you thank Angel for that one. He took away the one chance I had at becoming mortal again. If you could have waited a day, just one day, I would have been human again.
ANGEL
If I could take it back-
DELILAH (angry)
You can't! You can't take it back. He's gone, and so is my one chance at ending this stupid curse.
BUFFY
Well you mustn't be a very good witch anyway. After all, you weren't powerful enough to see that Ethan was in danger.
DELILAH (laughing reminiscently)
That's because the spell was beginning to break. I was slowly losing my powers. If he had asked me to marry him that night, which he was planning on doing, the curse would have been totally over. But it never got that far. Angel murdered him, and I permanently lost some of my psychic ability.
GILES
Apparently some of your sanity went with it.
DELILAH You could say that. Then again, is it insane to want to repay a favor?
ANGEL
Let's end this here. Now.
DELILAH (smiling at the challenge)
You called it. Don't you want to say goodbye to her first?
BUFFY
You're the only one who is going to say goodbye.
DELILAH Do you have any idea what you're dealing with here?
BUFFY
A complete psycho?
DELILAH At least you have a sense of humor. Something to leave behind for them to remember you by.
(Buffy attacks her, and she knocks her to the ground. Buffy is out of it for a minute. Angel then begins to fight Delilah, but she throws him back. Giles gets up and starts to cross the room towards her.)
DELILAH This isn't exactly fair, is it? Five against one? Let's even it up a little.
(Delilah raises her hand, and Giles freezes. He, Xander, and Willow are trapped where they are in some kind of invisible box. Buffy then realizes what she is dealing with. She pulls a stake from her back pocket, hoping that it will put Delilah out of commission. Angel gets up from where he was thrown. Buffy comes at Delilah, but she lifts her up by the neck, strangling her and causing her to drop the stake. Angel rushes over and knocks them to the ground. While Buffy is trying to catch her breath, Angel fights Delilah, who once again pushes him away, this time encircling him in a ring of holy water/fire/crosses (something that will trap him). Delilah goes back, grabbing the stake off the floor. Buffy gets up and tries to fight her again.)
DELILAH (whispering to Buffy)
It's over. Give up. You're going to die.
BUFFY
I don't think so.
DELILAH Think again.
(She plunges the stake into Buffy's heart, who looks shocked. She glances up at Angel, who stares back at her in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and sadness. The others look on in amazement.)
DELILAH Isn't it ironic? Killed by the very thing you use to kill. Well, it's done now. Have a nice afterlife, Buffy.
(As Delilah finishes talking, Buffy drops to her knees, her hands covered in blood. She falls over, takes one last look at Angel, mouths his name, and dies. Angel looks sad for a moment, but then glares at Delilah in anger. She releases him from the circle, and he rushes to Buffy.)
ANGEL (looking up from the body)
Why? She was innocent. Why didn't you kill me? (Slight pause, then shouts) Why didn't you kill me?!
DELILAH (smiling)
Because now you get to live with what I have lived with for two hundred years. You've lost the single most important thing to you, and it's because of you and what you are.
ANGEL
Two wrongs don't make a right, Delilah.
DELILAH (pondering)
No, but they make it fair.
ANGEL
Fair? This is fair? The only crime she ever committed was knowing me.
DELILAH That's a crime in itself. (Crouching beside Buffy's body, opposite Angel.) Why don't you do it, Angel? Drink her blood, like you did Ethan's. There it is, right in front of you. Come on, you know you want to. (Looks down at Buffy's white shirt.) Look at it, turning white red. Just like the white roses he had for me were stained red with the blood you didn't drink. Go ahead, give in to what you are.
(Angel hits her, knocking her to the ground. He lays Buffy's body back to the ground and prepares to fight Delilah.)
ANGEL
I'm not one of them.
DELILAH No? Angel, your curse doesn't nuke the fact that you're a vampire. But I have to admit, it made my revenge a whole lot sweeter. I'm glad I didn't kill you when I had the chance.
ANGEL (suspiciously)
What do you mean?
DELILAH Your curse made this whole night possible. I'll have to thank the Romany.
ANGEL
How did you know-
DELILAH I've been following you Angel, these past couple of centuries. When I learned about your curse, I knew I'd be able to get my revenge.
WILLOW
Huh?
DELILAH (to the others)
You see, when Angel's soul was restored, so was his heart. And with a heart, a person can love. I figured that whenever he did find the perfect girl, I'd be there to destroy her. (To Angel) Took you long enough, though. I didn't think I'd have to wait this long, but I guess it takes awhile to find true love. And you picked a good one, too: a slayer.
GILES
Don't you see what you've done? By killing the slayer, you are letting other vampires, just as evil as Angel once was, roam the Earth, destroying all that you wanted to save. Without her, hundreds of Ethans will die at the hands of vampires.
DELILAH There was only one Ethan, and what do I care about anyone else? Mortals don't understand love as much as they believe they do. But when you've lived a few centuries, you learn to take it seriously. That and death. Right, Angel?
ANGEL
You talk about death, why didn't you kill me? Condemn me to eternal damnation.
DELIAH That wouldn't have been nearly as painful as letting you live with the knowledge that she died because of you.
ANGEL
Be glad Ethan can't see you now. Why would he ever love a monster?
(Delilah's eyes flash with anger. She fights Angel.)
ANGEL (pinned to a wall by Delilah)
Do it. Kill me. (Wanting to die.) Kill me!
DELILAH (tears in her eyes)
You want to die, don't you? Like I did that night, lying over his body praying to God to take me too.
ANGEL
So kill me, take out your anger on me!
DELILAH Do you feel it? The way it feels to lose what you treasure most?
ANGEL (quiet)
Yes.
DELILAH (suddenly serious and melancholy)
Then you've walked the mile. I've had my revenge.
(She lets Angel go, and gestures to Buffy. The stake vanishes, and the blood disappears. Angel rushes to her as she slowly comes back to reality. Delilah smiles and begins to walk away.)
ANGEL (looking up at Delilah)
Why? Why did you do all this?
DELILAH I told you. I just wanted to make you walk a mile in my shoes, not live in them.
ANGEL
You never intended to kill her?
DELILAH (smiling)
No. But making you believe she was dead, and that I killed her: that was my revenge. Perhaps now you can understand what I went through.
ANGEL
But why didn't you do it? You had the perfect opportunity.
DELILAH Then I would have become what you were, a cold-blooded murderer. There's no revenge in that. Besides, I've seen the way you look at her. It reminds me of...of the past.
BUFFY (quietly, groggy)
Angel?
ANGEL (smiling at her)
Yeah, I'm right here. (Looks up at Delilah with an expression of gratitude.)
DELILAH (looking sadly at them and nodding)
I've given you the chance I never had. Don't waste it.
(He nods and turns back to Buffy. Delilah begins to walk away.)
XANDER
Um, yoo-ho! Could you let us go please?
DELILAH (turning back to them)
Whoops. Sorry. (She lets them free and exits.)
(Giles, Xander, and Willow rush over to Angel and Buffy. Angel is helping Buffy to her feet.)
GILES
Buffy, are you all right?
BUFFY
Yeah. Feels kind of strange to have died, though.
WILLOW
That was so sweet of Delilah (they all look at her), well, not the killing part. The fact that it was just a trick. I mean, she could have killed you and didn't.
BUFFY
You're right. I'm just trying to figure out if she's just plain nice or totally schizo.
XANDER
I'll choose what's behind door number two.
GILES (to Angel)
Well, she completed what she came her for. She made you walk a mile in her shoes.
WILLOW
So what's she going to do now?
BUFFY
I don't know, and I don't care. I just want to get out of here.
(They exit. When the next scene comes back, it daylight, and school the next day. Buffy, Xander, and Willow are walking through the hallway talking. They walk into the library, seeing Delilah talking to Giles. Delilah rises.)
DELILAH I was just about to go...
BUFFY (still wary of her)
Why are you here?
DELILAH (looking at Giles)
Just visiting. What about you? What are you guys anyway? Last time I checked, the library wasn't exactly the town hot spot.
BUFFY (sarcastically)
Well, I know it's no cave with a cauldron, but it's home.
DELILAH (laughing)
I'm not that kind of witch.
XANDER (muttering under his breath)
Yeah, but I can think of a word that rhymes with witch... (Willow elbows him)
DELILAH (looking from Xander to the others)
Look, I'm here to make peace, okay? You've got far worse enemies than me.
BUFFY
Like who?
DELILAH (walking out past them)
You'll see. Talk to Giles. He give you a clue. But I can tell you one thing: we're on the same side now. (Exit.)
XANDER
Hm. Could that girl be any more shady?
BUFFY
What's her beef?
GILES
For what she is, she's quite...amicable. Apparently something is brewing, some kind of supernatural activity.
XANDER (sarcastically)
Wow, that's nice and vague.
BUFFY
Isn't this what you were on to a few days ago?
GILES
Yes, but we were, uh, a little distracted.
BUFFY (chuckling)
You could say that. But anyway, what were you talking about? What kind of activity?
GILES
I'm not quite sure. But I know it's bad. Very bad. And we need her and her powers in our corner.
WILLOW
So we're on the same side as a vengeful witch.
XANDER
Ooh, it's good living at the Hellmouth.
(Scene changes to Angel's apartment. A knock on the door. He answers it; it's Delilah.)
DELILAH You wanted to see me?
ANGEL
I have something for you.
(He leads her across the room, to where a sheet covers something. He uncovers it to reveal a large painting of a young man.)
DELILAH (catching her breath)
Ethan. (She runs her hand over the painting, tears in her eyes. Then she looks up at Angel.) How did you...where did you find this?
ANGEL
A few decades ago I was over in New England and spotted it in an old warehouse. I figured that if I ever ran into you...
DELILAH (mesmerized by the portrait)
Thank you.
ANGEL
It's rightfully yours. It would have just collected dust where it was anyway. No one else would have appreciated it.
DELILAH (sighing)
I'll never forgive you for what you did, Angel. But I respect you for what you've become. Maybe now we can go back to being allies. We do share something, you know.
ANGEL
What's that?
DELILAH Our curses, even though they really weren't anything of the kind. Mine brought me to Ethan, and yours brought you to Buffy. (Pauses) I saw her at the library today; didn't seem very happy to see me.
ANGEL
You went to talk to Giles.
DELILAH Yeah. I figured we should conference. And I told him I'm with you guys.
ANGEL
We're going to need all the help we can get.
(Fade out. Show ends.)
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