Original Air Date: May 4th, 1999

Written by David Fury
Directed by James A. Contner

Summary

The Mayor give Faith a gift for running an errand that he has planned for her. The gift is a lethal double edged knife that entrances Faith immediately. The errand is to pick up a package from the airport that is arriving from Central America tomorrow. The contents of the package are vital to the Mayor's ascension. Meanwhile, that same night, Buffy and Angel dispatch two vampires in the cemetery. Buffy feels that they're stuck in a rut and that Angel never takes her anywhere new.

The next day, Buffy is studying at the kitchen table when her mom walks in and congratulates her on getting accepted to North Western University, a private school in Illinois. Buffy tries to tell her that she can't go anywhere because of her slaying but Joyce barely hears her. Joyce continues to tell her how proud she is and then goes to phone their relatives in Illinois.

At school during lunch, Buffy and Willow are discussing their college futures. Willow proudly got accepted to Oxford but is a little hesitant about going to school in a foreign country. Cordelia drops by for her usual round of insults; she trashes the universities that Willow got accepted to and tells Buffy that she has no future. The gang tries to console Buffy but the comment from Cordelia really hit home with Buffy.

Later in the library, Buffy tells Wesley that eventually she'd like to leave Sunnydale. Buffy then tells Giles that she got accepted to North Western and he's really glad for her. Wesley doesn't want to hear anything about her leaving. Buffy tries to convince them that if she captures Faith and stops the Ascension they'll only have to kill the run-of-the-mill vampire while Buffy is away at university. Buffy then suggests that they take the fight directly to the Mayor, Wesley refuses but Giles agrees and says they should find out immediately what the Mayor is up to.

Later, at night, an airplane pulls into the airport. A man steps out carrying a large box. A vampire waiting by a limo greets him. The man gives the vampire trouble because the Mayor was supposed to show up in person. Faith dissolves the argument by shooting the man in the chest from behind with her long bow. She then makes quick work of him with her new knife.

Later on, the limo pulls up to City Hall and Faith gets out with the box. Buffy's hiding in the bushes and sees Faith with the box. Up in his office, the Mayor congratulates Faith on her excellent work. Faith tries to open the box but the Mayor surprises her by slamming his hand down on the lid and advises her not to open it.

The limo, with the vamp still driving it pulls up to a stop sign. Buffy smashes the glass of the window and asks the vamp what's in the box.

Later at the library, Buffy informs everyone that the box is called the Box of Gavrock and that it contains great demonic energy. Xander brings in the layouts to City Hall and they make their plans to break into the Mayor's office, where the box is being kept. Wesley feels that they're being too hasty but he's ignored by the group and Xander runs off to collect ingredients for Willow's spell that will be needed. Xander sees Cordelia in the window of a fancy dress store and decides to go in to talk to her. Xander tells her his theory that she's so bitter because she didn't get accepted to any universities. She corrects him by showing him acceptance letters to four top notch schools. Xander says that the people at the universities must have seen a great deal of her father's money. Cordelia quickly tells him to get lost.

That night, the crew pulls up to the side of City Hall. Giles warns them to be careful. Willow, Buffy and Angel climb up the fire escape ladder at the side and make their way over to the skylight in the roof. Meanwhile, Xander and Oz are at the library working on the spell to destroy the box. Back at City Hall, Willow casts a spell to make the supernatural forces guarding the box disappear. The sell is successful and Buffy tells Willow to get out of their quickly. Angel sets up a cable and pulley system so that he can lower Buffy down to grab the box. Buffy is lowered through the skylight and grabs onto the box but as soon as she touched the box, an alarm is set off and two vampire enter the Mayor's office. The pulley system has jammed and Angel jumps down to help Buffy fight the two vampires. Buffy and Angel make it out of the fight with the box and run out of City Hall. The vampires try to follow a car passing by (because they think that Buffy and Angel are in it) but obviously can't keep up with it. The Mayor is displeased with the two vampires but shows interest when Faith walks in with Willow as her captive. Back at the library, the gang is extremely upset that Willow got caught. Buffy suggests that they trade the box for Willow, Giles agrees but Wesley tries to make them see that they'll be saving thousands of lives if they destroy the box immediately. They all begin to argue loudly and Oz silences them by breaking the ceramic pot needed to destroy the box. Giles goes to make the phone call.

Back at City Hall, Willow tries to get out of the closet she's trapped in. She pulls some drawers out and one of them is filled with pencils. A vampire comes in to check on her. He tries to take a bite out of her but she kills him by levitating a pencil with her mind. Willow leaves the closet and hides behind a door when the Mayor and Faith pass by on their way out of his office. Willow goes into the Mayor's office to look around. She opens the cupboard filled with skulls and herbs. She looks around and discovers a button that opens a secret shelf in the cupboard. In it are the Books of Ascension. She leafs through the five volumes until Faith catches her. After a heated discussion between the two of them, Faith punches Willow and pulls out her knife. The Mayor walks in and tells her to put the knife away. Then he tells the two about the phone call he just got from Giles.

Later, in the school cafeteria, the whole gang is assembled and have barricaded every exit but one. The lights suddenly go out and the Mayor followed by Faith with Willow and two vampires. They talk a bit, the Mayor tells Buffy and Angel that he doesn't really see a future for them and that they have a bumpy road ahead. After his hurtful speech, Angel trades the box for Willow. As the Mayor begins to say something, Snyder and two cops burst in. The cop takes the box from Faith expecting to find drugs inside it. The Mayor steps out of the shadows and Snyder apologizes profusely for interrupting them. Meanwhile, the cop opens the box, despite the Mayor's shouting, and a large spider-like thing jumps out and clamps onto the cop's face. He dies quickly and the spider-thing jumps off the cop's face and moves out of sight. everyone is shocked and the thing attacks the Mayor next. Faith pulls the spider-thing off his face and his face regenerates itself. After another thing gets out of the box, Buffy closes the lid loudly. The thing then lands on Buffy's back but she crushes it by rolling over onto her back. Faith kills the other one by throwing her knife at it while it was climbing up the wall near Wesley. The Mayor and Snyder leave and Faith follows, without her knife. Later in the library, Willow tells of her escapades and gives Giles some pages she ripped out of the Books of Ascension. Wesley is incredibly displeased with everything that just occurred and makes them all aware that they're right back where they started.

The next day at school, Willow joins Buffy who's contemplating her future by a tree. Willow tells Buffy that she wants to stay in Sunnydale with her. She wants to help out other people and fight demons. Buffy is excited that they'll both be going to UC Sunnydale. They go off together to get off on a sugar rush.

Cordelia is looking at a dress is a store when the manager comes in and tells her that her break has been over for ten minutes and she wants Cordelia to sweep the store and check through some new shipments. Cordelia says nothing, puts the dress back on the rack and goes back to her work.

Later that night, Buffy and Angel are at the cemetery and Buffy tells him that she doesn't understand what the Mayor was talking about and that they'll be alright in the future together. Angel doesn't say much so she puts her head on his chest and they both go off into their own thoughts.

Written by Nika

Quote of the Week

Willow: (to Faith) You know, it didn't have to be this way. But you mader your choice. I know you had a tough life, you had a lot of bad breaks. Well boo hoo! Poor you!

My Rating

3/5

My Comments

Not a wonderous episode. The thing that hit me most about this episode was the lecture that the Mayor gave Angel. That thing really hit home. We all hate to admit it and none of us want it to happen (Angel haters please remain quiet here) but we all have to realize that Angel is getting his own show. I absolutely hate the way that this is happening though. We know that Angel can't make Buffy happy in the long wrong but it's really painful now that we're having to come to terms with it. I feel so bad for both of them. The Mayor really let loose that "talk" with Angel and it hit hard. I'm surprised that Angel didn't hit the Mayor there but I think if he had Willow wouldn't have lived much longer. Willow's dress by the way, was absolutely gorgeous... I wonder where she got? And just what on earth was Buffy talking about at the end when she said something like "No matter how much you think about something"

Cast