The Faculty. Hee. Oh, come on, it's so bad it's funny.

Buffy waits impatiently as Giles researches. He discovers that to defeat Anyanka, one must destroy her power center, which will "reverse all the wishes she's granted, rendering her mortal and powerless again." I wish they'd written that passage differently, because there's no way all the wishes she granted could be reversed without drastic changes to the original Buffyverse -- it simply defies probability. Plus, I don't think Giles would have gone through with it if he thought it would reverse all the wishes; it would be too risky. Giles: "I'd say that my Watcher muscles haven't completely atrophied after all." He smiles. Aw. Buffy's less than impressed, pointing out that they don't know what her power center is. She suggests staking Anyanka: "You'd be surprised how many things that'll kill." Hmm. I had a sudden flash to Faith staking the Deputy Mayor in "Bad Girls." Giles says he's only interested in reversing the wish. Buffy says she's taking a lot on faith, and calls him "Jeeves." Wouldn't it be cool if that search engine were called "Ask Giles"? Well, I think it would be. She goes on: "World is what it is. We fight; we die. Wishing doesn't change that." First, props to Chyna for correcting me on that first line. Second, Buffy sure isn't whining about her calling in this reality, is she? Giles says that he believes what Cordelia told him, and that the Master sent "his most vicious disciples" to kill her. The mention of the Master gets Buffy's attention. Giles explains that he lives in an old club. Buffy is astonished. "You know where he lives and no one's ever tried to take him out?" Giles, icily: "People have tried." Buffy says she'll take care of him. Giles tries to slow her down, but she won't hear him. "I don't play well with others. Now I'm gonna ask you this once and then I'm gonna get testy. Where's this club?"

Buffy looks around the Bronze, not fazed in the slightest by the carnage. Downstairs, she observes Angel whimpering in his cell. She turns away, but he calls her by name. He stammers that he was supposed to help her. Referring to "The Harvest," he says that the Master rose, and has been torturing him since. Minor point, but I guess we're to assume that Luke and Darla were somehow taken care of in the time since. He continues, "I kept hoping maybe you'd come...my destiny." Buffy: "Is this a 'get in my pants' thing?" Ha! It's nice to know that ToughBuffy isn't into the whole "soulmates" thing. Oops. Sorry for mentioning that verboten word, Sars. She asks where the Master is, and he responds that he's at the factory, and that he could take her there. It seems a little unlikely that Willow or anyone else would have divulged so much information about the factory, but that's a nitpick. She eyes him for a moment, then kicks in the cell door. When she leans over to free him from his bonds, however, her cross dangles close to his face, and he recoils. She's disgusted, and starts to leave, but he tells her he won't hurt her. Standing up, he opens his shirt, revealing his scars. "You don't believe I want to help you. Believe I want him dead." Buffy looks convinced.