The next scene has Willow and Xander walking outside of Sunnydale's "Historical Museum," disconsolate because they can't find the ward of Valios. Spike, on the other hand, is cheered up by the fact that he's "one step closer to melting in a sea of molten hellfire." Willow says that Spike shouldn't say things like that, and that he'll "adjust." Spike doesn't want to "adjust" and "end up like the two of you." In Spike's opinion, they should be happy to see the end of the world too, since they aren't doing much with their lives anyway. He bags on Xander for living in a basement and on Willow for losing Oz. Willow says that she sees through him, that he's just trying provoke them into staking him. Spike denies this, saying he doesn't want sympathy from "geeks more useless than [he is]." Willow says they aren't useless because they fight the good fight, and Spike corrects her by saying that, in fact, Buffy is the one doing the fighting and they are just "groupies." Xander pitches in with, "We're part of the team. She needs us." Spike: "Or you're just the same tenth-grade losers you've always been and she's too much of a softie to cut you loose." Willow and Xander have no reply to this, and Spike walks off towards the camera sporting the cutest little sadistic smile at the psychological torture he's inflicted.

Giles sits at his desk paging through a book; he comes across an illustration of the ward of Valios, which he studies intently. "Oh, as usual, dear," he mutters as he goes to a chest under the clock and unearths the talisman from a junk box. Geez, how many relics does Giles have just lying around? This reminds me of an episode of Antiques Roadshow in which a woman brought in some little bauble that had been collecting dust in her kitchen drawer that turned out to be some rare whatnot from the fourteenth century valued at approximately $75,000, and in the most deadpan voice the woman drawled, "I wish we'd found that before we lost the farm." Anyway, Giles grabs his coat, but before he gets out the door he is accosted by three horned demons, some of whom came from the back of the apartment. Might I suggest that Giles invest in an alarm system or put bars on his windows? As the camera changes to a street-side shot we hear sounds of Giles being pummeled inside.