Fear, Itself: Part Two

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. – Helen Hayes

Previously, on Fear, Itself: the gang has been invited to a haunted house party at Alpha Delt, but a hinky icon painted on the floor infuses the building with serious mojo. Decorations animate and mortal fears manifest. Trapped inside, our crew discovers frat brother Chaz cowering in a closet.

Chaz babbles to himself, rocking frantically. Buffy demands to know what is going on. Chaz flicks a glance at Buffy then screams. The homicidal skeleton looms behind Buffy, stabbing her in the shoulder. She wheels and kicks it in the face. When it lands, it’s a simple dime store skeleton again. Buffy decides she will go upstairs while they find a way out. Willow is astonished: You’re telling us to run away and leave you behind? Buffy yanks a small crossbow from her basket. We need help. We need the only person who can make sense of what’s happening. Giles.

The man of the hour sits alone, deflated by his lack of trick-or-treaters - a ringing metaphor for his diminished role in life. Someone finally knocks on his door. He springs up, poised to launch into a Happy Halloween chorus when Anya bursts in. Xander’s trapped. Giles frowns. Buffy and the others? Oh, they’re trapped too. But we’ve got to save Xander. Giles implores Anya to slow down. She gives him the lowdown on the missing door and disappearing window, leading Giles to hypothesize about matter distortion and summoning spells. Re-energized, he gathers supplies, grateful for a purpose. I shouldn’t worry too much about Xander. At least he’s among friends.

Not for long. Buffy and Willow dispute strategy. Buffy can’t do her job if she has to worry about them. Well, she’s not the only able-bodied person here, is she? Willow can cast a guiding spell to light the way. Let’s be honest, Will. Your basic spells are usually about fifty-fifty. Oops. These high school buddies are experiencing college level friction. Willow huffs off. I’m not your sidekick, she snaps. Buffy stops short while Oz pursues Willow.

Buffy is peeved but also a little dejected. Willow is more independent and self-assured than ever. She loves school, has a steady boyfriend, and a cool developing ability that doesn’t repel men. Slayer strength isn’t exactly an aphrodisiac. Academics – not exactly Buffy’s strength. Her father deserted her, Angel dumped her, and Parker disposed of her. Life was a lot easier in high school. If you ignore the vampires and demons and Hellmouth part. And the fact Angel transformed into a murderous psychopath during junior year. Other than that, life was a cake walk. You bet.

Xander tries to smooth things over – we’re all a little spooked. Willow’s upset. And Buffy has been pushing them away recently. Now’s not the time to fight. I’m still with you. Right by your side. Buffy looks straight at him then spins in alarm. Xander? Xander, where are you? Now Xander’s alarmed. What is she talking about? He’s right here. He yells her name. Nothing. She doesn’t see him. This is so typical of him, Buffy grouses. Typical? Xander is wounded. What does that mean? And why is he suddenly invisible? He pats himself down, looks up, and Buffy is gone. He’s alone. Abandoned.

Willow sheds pieces of her costume as she marches down the hallway. She thinks I’m not ready to be a full blown witch - a rye observation given Willow started the episode with this very worry. I can control dark forces just as good as anyone. Oz suspects they’re not thinking clearly, rubbing his hand in a distracted way. Suddenly it’s matted with fur. His fingernails are yellow and claw-like. He’s changing. B-but, you can’t be. There’s no moon tonight, Willow exclaims. He has to get away. He can’t wait for Giles. He has to leave NOW. He pushes her away, accidentally slashing her. She sees the feral light in his eyes, the dread. He bolts. Oz, she cries. Don’t leave me!

Xander wanders until he finds a mirror. His reflection is there. So why can’t his friends see him? He’s fading away, just as he’s feared. College has opened new avenues closed to him. The odd man out.

Willow chants to the goddess of the lost and conjures light, a dancing firefly dot that hovers awaiting instruction. Tickled pink, Willow asks it to lead her to Oz. The firefly darts to the door, then Willow wavers. Reconsiders. No, they should try to find people trapped upstairs. Objective muddled, the unstable firefly divides in two, then four, then eight, replicating at an alarming rate. Suddenly it’s an aggressive swarm buzzing Willow’s head. She swats at it, calling for help. Some zip into her mouth. She coughs and gags, terrified, and charges off.

On the other side of a wall, Buffy hears Willow’s shouts. Frantic, Buffy surveys a door on the opposite wall. She grips the doorknob. Locked. She charges and crashes through, only to fall two stories to the basement floor. She’s knocked out briefly, but comes to and hears a voice: All alone. Josh shuffles into view, his head cocked at a sickening angle. They all ran away from you. They always will. Josh affirms Buffy’s greatest fear. Open your heart to someone and… His smile is maniacal. Hands burst through the ground and lash at Buffy. Several zombies crawl through to ambush her.

Outside, Giles reads from a text and feels the wall where the front door used to be. They must create a new opening. Unexpectedly, he drops the book and hoists a chain saw, carving a hole into the side of the house. Meanwhile, Buffy fights off zombies and escapes through a small door into the party room. Terrified students in costume quiver at her feet. She finds Oz, who looks normal again. Willow races into the room, slapping at fireflies no longer orbiting. Oz calms her. We need to get out of here, Buffy declares. Sitting to the side, Xander offers his opinion, but you jerks aren’t going to hear it anyway. Not that “didn’t go to college boy” is worth listening to. Buffy walks over and asks, What is wrong with you? She can hear him! He’s not invisible anymore.

The house separated us, Oz deduces. It wanted to scare us. Buffy agrees. They were drawn to this room. Why? They glance down, see the symbol painted on the ground. Xander spies the book from which Chaz took the symbol. Willow translates. It’s the Mark of Gachnar. Somehow the summoning spell was triggered. Gachnar is trying to manifest. The demon feeds on fear - they must stop nourishing it. Giles suddenly kicks in the door. The contrast of Giles brandishing a chain saw while Anya bounces harmlessly through the door to hug Xander is priceless.

Giles informs them the hallways have closed behind them. He takes command of the spell book and explains Gachnar’s presence infects the reality of the house. They can’t let it achieve full manifestation. Can’t Buffy fight it? Buffy, this is Gachnar - Giles shows her its picture. A huge, horrid-looking creature stares back. Buffy shudders. Let’s shut it down. Giles recites: The summoning spell for Gachnar can be shut down in one of two ways. Destroying the Mark of Gachnar –

Buffy drops to her knees and punches through the floorboards, mangling the icon.

-- is not one of them and will, in fact, immediately bring forth the Fear Demon. Whoops. Giles glares at Buffy. A terrible roar shakes the room. Gachnar, in all his hideous glory, rises from below. Dead silence ensues as everyone realizes Gachnar is barely six inches tall. His cartoon helium voice threatens: I am the Dark Lord of nightmares, the bringer of terror. Tremble before me! No one is trembling now, except with laughter. Giles reminds Buffy that size doesn’t matter in slaying. She approaches Gachnar, who tries to redirect her: They’re all going to abandon you, you know. Buffy isn’t buying that. Not today. She stomps him like a grape.

The Scooby gang tackles the speed bumps of college just as they did those of high school: at full speed and head-on. Responsibilities double, friends drift, paths diverge. Though college agrees with Willow, she still suffers bouts of her old self-doubts. Xander’s abandonment issues continue to fester like a wound in need of constant dressing. Buffy sprints towards adulthood, but the inevitability of her vocation weighs more heavily, slowly crushing her secret longing to be normal.

Despite the stability friends and family bring her, Buffy resists. Fate challenges her desire for emotional attachments. She’s an anomaly. Slayers are supposed to be lone creatures, hunters who protect and serve in isolation. None fashion everlasting relationships outside of their watcher. Even there, slayers rarely form the paternal bond Buffy enjoys with Giles. She’s bucked the system since day one. She’s only too aware how precarious her position is.

Buffy’s on borrowed time. Cursed with a job she doesn’t want, blessed with friends she shouldn’t have. She’s condemned to this life. They aren’t. It’s only a matter of time before they realize it and jump ship.

But friendship’s a funny thing. Sometimes it withers and dies. Sometimes it sticks like gum to the undercarriage of life - forever. Noble intentions may drive Buffy to push Willow and Xander overboard, but love and affection anchor them to her. Fear is no match for faith and fealty. The Scoobies are determined to stay together. Through dissension, defection, disaster, and desertion. No matter the odds.