6.1 Just Like Old Times
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Tuesday, September 5th, 1995.
It's a new school year, with new living arrangements for our heroes. Joshua traded his junior room draw for a lovely dormer tower room in Houdini House overlooking the science quad. Tori has a single-room cubicle in the newest dorm on the edge of campus, with easy access to the road to the airport. Sam and Drew continue renovating the Brew Pub into a real home. Erik and Juanita have set up housekeeping in her father's basement with their son, Drake, who although only six months old, already appears a toddler. Although some things are new, others seem oddly familiar. Tuesday night, Sam patrols High Acre Cemetery, but instead of the undead, she finds a newly dead body—an attractive Asian girl in a Martense T-shirt and jeans. The back of the girl's head is smashed, and a bloody truncheon lies in the grass, but there's no sign of her killer. Out of the shrubs springs a male vampire in game face, with long, ratty blond hair and shoulder pads right out of the 80s. "Twisted Sister?" The vamp grabs Sam and hisses, "Slayer!" before going for a bite. Sam meets him with a head-butt and the fight is on. This time, she doesn't throw him in the river immediately, but draws it out a little before she swings her axe. Dust flies. When Sam looks around, the girl's body is gone, but there are fresh tracks in the grass. Sam runs after, right into more deja vu: Christine Blackwolf, in a black leather cat suit and her trademark clawed gloves, waves her fingers at Sam and disappears into the shadows. Meanwhile, down at the Sacred Grounds, Ada is reading a thick tome behind the counter. At a corner table, Drew and Erik page through the new comic featuring art by "E. Sorensen". Erik has Drake in a hiking pack on the seat next to him, and the baby's bright yellow eyes miss little going on. Walking up to the front door, Tori is suddenly covered in vampire dust, which misses Joshua walking beside her. Another figure lands nearby and strikes a Slayer pose: Britta Kessler, armed with a pointed stake rather than her sword. Six vampires in game face, all dressed in identical black minion-wear fan out around her. Since they're geared for patrolling, Drew draws his rapier and runs outside. Erik hands Drake to Ada, but Ada has no idea how to deal with children. Tori decapitates two of the vamps, taking two more blasts of dust. This outfit is ruined, but she doesn't whine about it this time. Taking a hit, Britta bleeds thick, white goop from her elbow, but it doesn't seem to slow her down. Drew softens up more vampires for Joshua and Britta to dust. After the fight, Britta gives Drew a little bow and skips off down the street. Credits.
Sam walks down from High Acre and Slayer Club confers. The Kittens are back from the dead? Or is something mimicking them with illusions, or shape shifting? Or, they might all be caught in a time loop, re-living the night Sam was called. The dead girl like Vivian, Twisted Sister, and the Kittens are all compelling evidence. But then, they have Ada, not Hartsdale. Not to mention Drake. Erik offers to go to the library to research shape shifting or illusion making demons that bleed white goop "like in Alien." The rest decide to test the time loop theory by going to the Marshalls' carriage house. If Britta shows up, they'll know a little better what's going on. At the Marshalls', Joshua has no problem picking the lock, but instead of cars and gardening supplies, they find Callie's moved in to get some privacy from her parents, although she's not here now. Hanging on one wall is her seven-foot tall Valkyrie costume. Another wall is covered in newspaper clippings about the Solomon Slayers super-team. A small table holds a picture of Callie, towering over Marcy and Stephie, and another picture of Stephie in her Mesmerix costume next to a votive candle. Slayer Club doesn't disturb her stuff, and Britta doesn't show up. Next: the Paradise Theater, the Kittens' former lair. On the way, they pass the Vastarleys' house, with a moving van in the driveway and Cora, looking forlorn, on the front steps. Sam pulls over and asks what's going on. The Vastarleys heard about an opportunity in Eastern Europe that they can't pass up, so they've already left. Their stuff will catch up with them later. Cora is sad, and a little pissed. She's been living with them for the past two years, training in Wiccan magic and belly dancing with Mrs. Vastarley, and now they're not even renting to her, but to some guy named "Puddle." Drew stifles a laugh, remembering Pundle, the Chronos-Sankara demon, who said he'd be living here "in the future." Apparently, the future is now. Cora has to find somewhere else to live. Sam wishes her luck. Cora turns to one side and speaks with a ghost—Jenny Lu, the dead girl from High Acre. Cora says she can help Jenny find her way on to the next world. It would help if they can find her body. Sam mentions that some of her blood fell on the ground where she died, and Cora decides to take the ghost there. She has a taser, and promises to be careful. Slayer Club continues on to the Paradise Theater.
Joshua climbs up on the roof, remembering how he almost fell through the ceiling and just avoided getting eaten by Kitty. Now, the attic is renovated, clean, and empty. Noises drift up from below—a second-run of 12 Monkeys instead of Silent Screams. Outside the theater, Christine Blackwolf steps from an alley and beckons. Drew follows, and Sam follows him. Blackwolf agrees to talk, but only if the Slayer stays well back. She knows that no Slayer or potential Slayer—not even a psychotic undead one—has anything to fear from Drew. Sam, though, is another matter. Following Drew's hand signals, she keeps her distance, but not so much that she can't still hear everything they say. The Satanic Kittens are nearly all back. Britta and Blackwolf are able to move about, but Gwen and Kitty still have "issues" to work out. Kitty never was the most stable, although now she's "living the dream," according to Blackwolf. Gwen somehow "came back wrong." Vivian is still missing, but will be here soon. Drew's questions: came back from where? And who brought them? Christine won't say, except that it was a dark place where they were, and her outfit was her patron's idea. "He's a fashionista—total flamer." She obviously doesn't think much of him. Drew sets up a meeting the next night at Blaire's to talk to Britta and Gwen. Christine agrees to pass on the invitation and disappears into the shadows. Slayer Club picks up Erik and Drake at the library, and then go to the Sacred Grounds. Erik had no luck on the research, but Drew has another theory. Blackwolf mentioned a 'patron.' If this patron was a mage, then the Kittens aren't demons. They're re-animated, like zombies. Sam figured Blackwolf for a vampire, but there was a strange smell about her, organic, like old fry oil in a bio-diesel engine. Drake pages through Erik's textbooks, looking at the pictures, including "The Death of Koryzoon"—a giant creature like a Krakken, covered in sores and tentacles. Climbing on its back is a figure of a woman with short, blonde hair, carrying a curved blade with a spike sticking out the handle. Drake is delighted. "Monster go ouchy!" Sam sighs. Another picture that could possibly be her, from an ancient manuscript penned by a visionary. Ada says that she's been dreaming about that same scene, Sam fighting the demon that sleeps under Solomon's hill. Either that, or Sam plunging into the Abyss. Either death is harrowing, but Sam isn't daunted. Certainly all last year gave her the ability to laugh a little at death. But not when it strikes her friends. Up in High Acre, there's no sign of Cora. Sam returns to the place where she fought Twisted Sister (twice now) and Jenny Lu died. Just a few graves over, they find Cora's body, her throat punctured and blood on her lips. Sam and Tori are both devastated. Tori berates herself for the lapse in tactical judgment. They shouldn't have let Cora come up here alone, but now it's to late. Like Alex McClintosh, the Scottish exchange student who died before Slayer Club could help him. The blood on Cora's lips is worrying. Sam beheads the body so it will never house a vampire. Jenny's blood is still on the grass. Sam spreads a map and casts a Seeker spell to find her body. A single spot falls on Martense Campus: Buell Hall, the Natural Sciences building across from Joshua's dorm. Sam carefully wraps Cora's body and head in a tarp and drops everyone else off on campus. The Vastarleys are gone, but there are other members of their coven who should be notified. Sam also calls Juanita and the Benandanti to let them know what happened.
In Buell's parking lot is a red Ferrari with the license plate "Bad2Bone" and a small W&H sticker in the back window. Tori spots Gwen perched on the roof like a gargoyle. Joshua runs across to his dorm and up to his own window above the science quad. With a running leap and a summersault, he lands with a roll on the roof of the science building. Gwen turns to face him and smiles. Her red-gold hair gleams in the moonlight and she's wearing a set of armor right out of a fantasy magazine. The torso covers just enough for modesty, if not protection, leaving her well-muscled midriff and thighs exposed. Her knees and shins are covered by greaves, and her arms twined with bands and bracelets. Gwen draws a sword and gives a formal salute. Joshua responds by shooting her in the right knee. But the wound doesn't slow her down and there's no blood, either red or white. Joshua draws his katana, adding a chill to the air. Gwen moves in. In speed and skill, they are almost equal. Almost. While Joshua and Gwen trade cuts and parries on the roof, Drew and Tori walk through the front door. Guessing that any kind of "special" laboratory would be in the basement, they take the stairs. There are two levels below ground. The first is strictly mundane. The second is locked with a card reader. Stymied, they go back and try another staircase. Just as they reach it, the door opens and Kitty steps through. Right hair, right clothes, right attitude, but her eyes are enormous, with huge pupils. Her mouth is very small, and there's something not quite right about her movements. She spots Drew, grins, and suddenly punches him in the gut. Tori draws her sword and slashes Kitty's face, revealing wires. Kitty is completely focused on making Drew her punching bag, so Tori stabs her and sparks fly, giving Drew a chance to decapitate her. Kitty curses in bad Japanese while Drew puts her head in a supply closet, facing the back. Sam returns from meeting the coven and spots the rooftop fight. She notices that while Joshua is fighting all-out, Gwen is not. She's feinting and attempts to disarm him, which Joshua parries easily. Interesting. Joshua calls for a parley and Gwen immediately stops. She seems to think that she is a Paladin, and her "liege lord" made her for a summer project. When asked how he 'made' her, she peels back her right greave. The wound where Joshua shot her is a chip in an otherwise smooth stone leg. Gwen is a statue. Kitty is a robot. Blackwolf is something organic, maybe a flesh golem? Britta bleeds hydraulic fluid. And as for Vivian—the pieces fall together. Jenny Lu's missing body is going to be the new house for Vivian's soul! Gwen breaks down the door from the roof with one blow. Joshua is stunned. He was never going to win that bout, was he? She smiles and leads him downstairs.
Sam meets the others in the basement, in a Frankenstein-esque laboratory with a viewing gallery to one side. Jenny Lu's body is strapped to a table, with electrodes leading to various pieces of machinery. Bradley Rothschild, a handsome boy with perfect blond hair, wearing an immaculate lab coat, rubber gloves, and goggles, is laughing maniacally. In the gallery sit four other young men with Britta and Blackwolf nearby. Gwen points out her "liege lord:" K.C. Santino, a tall, thick-bodied fellow with the look of an art student about him: long, dirty-blond hair, painter's pants, and a D&D T-shirt. Britta's patron, Gary Templeton, is a short, slight boy with curly hair and pale blue eyes, dressed preppie. He squints at Drew with contempt. Blackwolf's "fashionista," Mitchell Ray-Harris, is a painfully slender young man with a long black ponytail, black clothes, and makeup. The anime fan, Byron Ross, has messy hair and a food-stained manga T-shirt. The others give him extra room on the bench. Joshua and Gwen flank Bradley. Tori makes sure Jenny/Vivian doesn't get loose and tips over some of the equipment, starting a fire. Blackwolf vaults the gallery railing. Sam intercepts her. Gary orders Britta to "Defend me!" She moves between him and the rail, but doesn't join the fight. Sam cuts Blackwolf's head off and her dust smells of rancid french fries. Wide, eyeliner-rimmed eyes meet Sam's. Mitchell face plants at her feet and begs for his life. Bradley pulls a gun on Joshua and threatens to call his father and bring down lawsuits on all of them. Joshua laughs and shoots him in the kneecaps. Drew blocks the doorway. Tori leads the questioning as she plays with the fire. Stupid, stupid boys!
Professor Otto Montano gave these five special students their summer project: to bring back the Kittens' souls and instill them into some physical form. K.C. carved the stone body for Gwen, but it seemed she had two sets of memories, the dominant one from this world, and a second set from Nazi-world. Gary breaks down and admits that Britta was originally a complex animatronic toy—"she was a sex doll, okay?" Britta is not pleased. Mitchell gibbers at Sam's feet, explaining how he'd made a homunculus out of Blackwolf's DNA, which he distilled from some hair he found in an abandoned house near campus. That was why she came back as a vampire. He dressed her 'nice and sexy' and gave her gloves like she asked for, but he really couldn't control her. Sam prods the rest of the story out. Earlier that night, Blackwolf killed Cora while Mitchell watched. Afterwards, she evaded him, again, and went to the Paradise Theater where she talked to Drew. Byron quietly asks what became of his robot. Drew brings in the pieces and Byron turns Kitty off. Japanese cursing fades to silence. As for Bradley the techno-necromancer, Joshua wants to shoot him in the head, but the others overrule him. Jenny's ghost has been following Sam around. If Bradley put Vivian's soul in Jenny Lu's body, then he can put Jenny's soul right back, and let Vivian's go free. On threat of Joshua, Bradley complies. Minutes later, Jenny Lu's eyes open. She has a splitting headache and a nasty concussion, but she's alive. Tori quenches the fire and takes Jenny to the campus infirmary. Drew demands K.C. and Gary release their controls over Britta and Gwen. K.C. chisels off the runes that made Gwen obey his commands. With a sigh, Gary re-programs Britta. Byron is resigned to get an "incomplete" on his project. It should have worked, but Kitty's soul was just too fundamentally damaged. Their summer project was very specific. The professor told them which souls to bring back, because they were "available," inside the corpse of the beast under the mountain. Sam groans. The demon isn't dead, just asleep. They'll have to tell the Bricklayers about this. Slayer Club has many questions for Professor Montano, but they want to tell their own faculty advisors first and get their support. Professor Gersham would be especially interested in Gwen-as-statue. From an academic standpoint, of course. If he gets too fresh, she still has her sword. Drew suggests that Bradley and Mitchell be turned over to Michael for trial and incarceration. Gary, K.C., and Byron, whose creations were completely artificial and didn't actually hurt anyone, can go free. Joshua argues that Bradley and Mitchell will just become political pawns, or be released as part of a prisoner exchange. He still wants to shoot Bradley. The others overrule him again. Jenny is restored, but Cora is dead. The best thing is to turn the perpetrators over to the authorities.
6.2 Old Man Jenkins
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Wednesday and Thursday, September 13th and 14th, 1995.
The Sacred Grounds is rocking to the Eco-goth beat of the "Hex Sisters," a trio in green and black leather and lace. The lead singer, Thorn, has black hair with red stripes. The keyboardist, Luna, has curly auburn hair; and the drummer, Dusk, is blonde with raccoon mascara. All three have prominent fangs and bumpy foreheads, but they're also sweating and flushed under the lights. Sam is quite sure that their "game face" is just make-up, but several members of the audience are vampires, and Sam's keeping an eye on them. The music goes quiet. Thorn raises her hands in invocation to "Nancy McNight, the First Witch of Solomon!" A cloud of smoke billows and a witchy silhouette descends from the ceiling. A scratchy, old-woman's voice demands retribution for how she was treated in life, "beginning with you!" the silhouette points at Drew, and one of the vampires standing behind him falls to dust. She points again, and a second vampire disintegrates. That's when the screaming starts and the audience stampedes.
Joshua convinces the band to follow Slayer Club down to the basement to avoid the crush. Once the Sacred Grounds empties, they return upstairs where the Hex Sisters peel off their latex foreheads and plastic teeth. The witchy figure is a mannequin suspended from the ceiling. The band denies that it's theirs, although they wish they'd thought of it; other than the scaring off the audience part, that is. Written on the back of the witch's neck is the name "Jenkins." When he touches it, Drew has a brief vision of being taken out of a box and sold to someone with gnarled hands, who pays with twenty-five two-dollar bills. When asked about the invocation, Thorn claims Nancy McKnight was a distant relative of hers. Sam can tell that Thorn—whose real name is Sally—does have a touch of magical talent. Ada tells about Nancy's life from her research on Solomon's history. If all the stories are true, Nancy McKnight had an exceedingly long life, with more than the usual eccentricities, leading to suspicion of dark powers or demonic association. Although she lived well after the time of the Salem witch-burnings, McNight was supposedly run out of town by a committee of prominent citizens and never heard from again. Her farmhouse still stands outside town and is a popular tourist spot around Halloween. Perhaps the coincidence of ancestry and location caused Thorn's invocation to work, or maybe the scene was a hoax perpetrated by this "Jenkins". It doesn't seem like something Pandora would do, but perhaps one of her relatives is in town. Slayer Club suggests the Hex Sisters not leave Solomon in case they have more questions. They're staying at the "Maroon Roof Inn" until their manager, Carl Ferguson of Wolfram & Hart's entertainment division, can arrange another gig for them.
After the Hex Sisters leave, a blue van screeches up in front of the coffee shop and a familiar figure tumbles out: Graham Diehl, sole survivor of the 1993 Solomon High soccer team. A buxom blonde wearing a snug purple dress and bright purple eye shadow hops down from the driver's seat, and a lanky young man with the beginnings of a ginger beard slides open the side door. Lastly, a sixteen-year old girl with a bobbed haircut climbs out, leading a Great Dane on a leash. Graham greets Slayer Club as long-lost friends and heartily approves of Tori's "smokin' hot!" new look. Tori flicks her lighter on and off with a smile. The blonde, named Violet, looks annoyed at this. The girl, Wendy, Graham's sister, is standoffish until Sam and Tori deny that they're really Graham's friends; classmates, yes, and occasionally rescuers, but not really friends. Wendy nods understandingly. Her parents asked her to keep an eye on her brother, and help him out if he should get in trouble. As if he ever doesn't. She introduces her canine friend Marmaduke, and then takes him for a walk. Ben's bloodshot eyes and case of munchies reveal his profession: junkie and sometime drug dealer. Graham also dabbles in dealing with some "associates" from Kazakhstan, where his parents are still stationed. While Graham and Ben fill up on Andrea Czarbach's brownies, Joshua steals their stash out of the van. Then Slayer Club ditches Graham and goes over to Blaire's. With some monetary grease and Slayer arm-twisting, they thoroughly ruin Blaire's night, but get the names of the vamps who were dusted at the Hex Sisters' performance: Adrian and Eve, members of the Order of Aurielius who arrived in town two nights ago and were staying at the Motel 6. As Sam leaves, one of the demon regulars twists the head off the vampire who talked. No one likes a squealer, and besides, he called himself "Vlad" and wore a cape. At the motel, Drew gets the manager to call up to Adrian and Eve's room, and notes the number. Joshua easily picks the lock. Searching the room, they find a photograph of a craggy-faced old man, wearing a wide-lapel trench coat, black shirt, pants, and combat boots, with a handful of amulets around his neck. His long gray hair is bound back and he appears hale, with a straight carriage and piercing stare. On the back is written "Jenkins, NYC" and a date within a week of Nikki Wood's death. Sam finds in a spiral notebook: "Usually hangs around the Slayer; Extremely elusive; Seems to know we're coming." Whoever Jenkins is, he's evidently no friend of the Order, and he likes dusting vampires, so that makes him a tentative ally, if Slayer Club can find him.
The next day between classes, Drew visits Pandora to show her the photo and ask what she knows about this Jenkins character. It turns out, his picture is featured in her Legends & Lore textbook, from several eras: a Civil War era daguerreotype, to similar paintings going back to the 1600s. "Old Man Jenkins" or "Old Man Parr" is described as a witness to history who is seen near places and times of historical significance. Sam goes to Professor Audley's office hours to find out more about Nancy McNight, about whom Audley has written a book. He's very pleased that Sam is "reading ahead" and waxes eloquent about his research. It's his belief, based on ship itineraries and manifests, that McNight traveled extensively in Europe, shipping home chemicals and equipment useful to both physicians and alchemists. He's skeptical about those who think there were actually two Nancy McNights, mother and daughter, to account for her unusually long life. Audley believes that, rather than consorting with demons or devils, McNight discovered an alchemical method of life extension and that on the night they "chased her out of town," the "good citizens" of Solomon actually killed her and destroyed any notes or samples she might have left. There is no proof of her death, but it is interesting that those citizens who raided McNight's home had abrupt shifts in their fortunes afterwards. Some, including a barrister named Clark, had a run of good luck and rise in community stature, while others succumbed to "hexes" of disease and bad luck. Some of their families died out entirely. Later that afternoon, near the Sacred Grounds, Joshua spots Eve and Adrian's car by its expired California plates. He ransacks the vehicle, taking away two sets of robes and ritual paraphernalia, including black candles, chalk, and vials of strangely colored liquid. Then he calls Samuel Kessler to come tow the car away. Sam, Drew, and Tori check out the costume shop. The cashier remembers the old guy with the $2 bills very well, but doesn't add much, except that he bought the mannequin two days ago. Outside the store, Drew notices two men in dark suits who seem to be watching Sam. Tori notices a third man in a beige trench coat who also doesn't let Sam out of his sight. Joshua follows the man in the beige trench, who leads him into a men's clothing store, and then ducks out the back in a different coat. Joshua isn't fooled and keeps following to an apartment building. The old man enters, but doesn't leave. The two suits follow Joshua, until one of them breaks off to follow the old man inside. Joshua leads the other suit into an ambush and frisks him at gunpoint. He's from Wolfram & Hart's Boston office, and claims that his partner is right now eliminating Mr. Jenkins. Joshua shoots him in the head, takes his weapon and ID, and returns to the apartment building, where he pulls the fire alarm. Once the building empties, Joshua sneaks inside and finds the second W&H suit, dead of a stab wound to the chest, lying in front of door #403. He takes this man's weapon and ID also and ducks out before the fire trucks arrive. The name on mailbox #403 is Sukharayev. Russian, or Kazakh? Maybe Graham's arrival in Solomon isn't a coincidence.
Slayer Club finds Wendy at the library, reading Euripides in the original Greek. She says that Graham and Violet had a fight, so he and Ben went to Peppermints, a dance club on the edge of town, to "find some more chicks." Wendy didn't want to go, so they dropped her off here. Joshua gives Wendy a card with the phone contact for his government associates. She's smart, young, pretty, grew up in Kazakhstan, and her parents put her in charge of keeping an eye on her brother and pulling him out of trouble, when he's dealing drugs for the Russian Mob? Darn right Joshua wants to recruit her! She already has a summer internship, but if that's too boring, he urges her to call the number for something more adventurous. Wendy says she'll think about it, but smiles when she says it. At Peppermints, Graham is half-drunk, and garrulous as long as Tori's asking the questions. Ben is confused over what happened to his stash. Joshua smirks. Like taking candy from a six-foot tall baby with bad teeth. Graham has a number for Sukharayev, but he already owes the man a lot of money. Slayer Club convinces him to set up another buy, and they'll go with him. The meet is set for O'Toole's parking lot. Sukharayev shows up with three armed goons. A rustling in the bushes reveals a giant, hairy figure—a Sasquatch! Sam decks the creature, but soon finds a zipper among the fur, and reveals Ben inside the costume. He'd hoped to scare the Russians into dropping the goods and running. Instead, Old Man Jenkins appears, stabs three of the Russians with a cavalry saber, and runs away. Drew chases him, and Sam chases them both, tackling the old man in a copse of trees between O'Toole's and an apartment complex. Four hooded vampires emerge from the trees and surround them. A sniper on a rooftop opens fire. And, if that weren't enough, in an upper window of the nearest building, an eldritch glow outlines a trio of mages, all pointing wands in their direction. Tori borrows a gun from Joshua and shoots the last Russian mobster, but he's already moving and her first bullet hits Graham in the buttocks. Her second shot hits the Russian between the eyes. Joshua mounts his motorcycle and rides toward the apartment building, getting as close as he can before shooting at the mages. Green ectoplasmic fingers race out from the wands, grasping towards Sam and Drew, but then suddenly are sucked back in. The magic backlash kills the mage-circle instantly and destroys the three-story building they were in. On his way back, Joshua shoots the sniper, who is also from Wolfram & Hart. The four vampires draw curved knives. Drew decapitates two and Sam stakes one. However, the fourth cuts the cord on Jenkins' protective amulet, releasing a flare of magic that weakens the old man like a mortal wound. Sam kills the last vamp and tries to re-tie the amulet, but Jenkins tells her, "Take it. You are the one who comes before. It's good you have the axe. Seek out the Guardians." He gasps, and vanishes to nothingness.
6.3 The Curious Case of Nancy McKnight
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Wednesday and Thursday, October 4th and 5th, 1995.
As the story goes, "it was a dark and stormy night." Hurricane Opal lashes Solomon with gale-force winds and driving rain. Up in High Acre Cemetery, Samantha Kessler still cuts a heroic figure in her black greatcoat as she searches for vampires to slay. Loyally beside her, Drew looks more like the Gordon's fisherman in bright yellow rain hat and slicker. A clawed hand emerges from a grave, thrashing in the mud. Sam reaches down and pulls the vampire out. It hisses "Slayer!" She stakes it and lets the dust wash from her hand. "Pathetic!" An opalescent shape bobs among the tombstones. Cora leads Sam and Drew under a mausoleum overhang to get out of the wet and talk. There's something in the air besides the hurricane. An ancient, powerful spirit is coming to Solomon, soon. Sam should watch out. Sam thanks Cora for the warning. In Drew's blind spot, directly behind him, a long-limbed, knobby humanoid figure emerges from a tomb and lumbers into the woods.
At the Foundry restaurant, Joshua leans on one elbow across a candlelit table from Sally McKnight, "Thorn" of the Hex Sisters. Her Eco-goth look with the red-and-black striped hair works surprisingly well with his moody anti-hero bit. They're talking and actually seem to enjoy each other's company. This is the first date Joshua has been on in a while where his companion wasn't cursed, or turned out to be a vampire. Up in the balcony, Tori's enjoying a meal out with her mother, Marilyn. It's the first time in a while they've been able to have some mother-daughter time without interruption, either. But the night is still young. Over creme brulee and tiramisu, there's a crash of breaking glass, and a seven-foot tall, naked humanoid leaps through the window, straight at Joshua and Sally. Patrons scream and run for the back door. Joshua throws a steak knife, which sticks in its shoulder, but doesn't seem to faze the creature. Sally hides under the table just as the creature swipes at her. The table flies in one direction. Sally flies in another, right through the kitchen door. Tori jumps down from the balcony onto an abandoned table, but mis-steps and sits down in a dish of pasta. Since he left his katana at home, Joshua tries shooting the creature, but the 9mm bullets don't faze it, either. Dodging the huge hands and kicking it in the legs to try and slow it down, Joshua grabs a pair of blacksmith's hammers off the wall (the Foundry's decor runs to ironworks) and clobbers it in the head, which stuns it for a moment. Tori grabs a candle off a table and shapes a rope of flame that she winds around the creature. It shrieks "McKnight!" Sally appears in the kitchen doorway with a book in her hands. She reads a spell from it, and the troll-creature collapses in a pile of greasy ash.
Marilyn beams with pride at how her daughter fought that monster. Of course, Joshua helped, and that spell did something, but Tori was the star! Never mind the pasta sauce on her skirt, it's a good excuse to go shopping tomorrow. But Sally is hurt and dazed about what happened. Marilyn offers to drive her to the hospital to get her broken wrist splinted. Joshua follows on his motorbike. On the way, Tori asks Sally about the book she used. The Hex Sisters' manager, from Wolfram & Hart's entertainment division, gave it to her. She's not sure where he got the book, or how she knew which page to read, but it seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. While Sally gets her wrist tended, Tori calls Sam and Drew at the Brew Pub and asks them to meet them at the hospital. They've just gotten cleaned up from their patrol, but when they hear that Wolfram & Hart is involved, they head right over.
When Drew touches Sally's book, he gets a strong vision of a candlelit room lined with shelves containing small wooden boxes labeled with the Latin names of herbs, glass bottles with body parts or small animals floating in them, pottery jars sealed with wax, and various tools, a mortar and pestle, alembic, and copper tubes, all neat and tidy. A well-organized laboratory. The person whose eyes he's seeing through is sitting at a table, writing in a journal with a quill pen. Her hands are small and soft, with ink stains and writer's calluses. Just as she finishes her entry, the door bursts open. Men crowd the doorway and gunfire smashes the bottles behind her. Drew wakes up in Sam's arms, since she caught him as he passed out. He thinks the woman was Nancy McKnight, "the first witch of Solomon" and that the posse who "chased her out of town" did indeed actually murder her.
The next morning, Joshua goes to the Orchards to check on Sally. Their date was interrupted, so he feels responsible for her. At first, she doesn't want to leave her room. Through the door, he can hear her talking, psyching herself up to go outside. "It's okay. I'll just be gone a little while. It'll be fine." She appears looking rumpled, like she hadn't gotten much sleep, with her hair tied up in a black bandana. Slayer Club meets at the Solomon library to do research on Nancy McKnight and the monster that smashed up the Foundry. The fact that it seems immune to bullets is worrying; but fire hurt it, so that's a plus. Sam sneaks in a bag of donuts and coffee from the Sacred Grounds for breakfast, and everyone hits the books. Drew flips through microfiche of the earliest newspapers he can find. Along with ads for corsets and various kinds of snake oil, he finds reports with sketches similar to the monster that Joshua and Tori fought. In the late 1700s, it was seen periodically outside town, and blamed for killing sheep and even taking a child. Joshua finds Professor Audley's original draft of his book, with more information about Nancy's life that didn't make it to the printers. She was born in 1662 in Danvers, Massachusetts. Her family fled the witch trials and settled in Solomon. When grown to womanhood, Nancy took over her father's import business, travelling to Europe and Asia to find medicinal herbs and chemicals. One of her contacts was Bela Varcoy, a Hungarian gentleman who later raised a boy named Joseph, who he claimed was Nancy McKnight's son. Sally shows them some papers that her manager gave her. A page of genealogical charts details her family's descent from that boy, Joseph, down to her. Joseph was born in 1768. Nancy was either banished from Solomon or killed in 1771, which would have made her 109 years old. According to Prof. Audley's book, most skeptics believe that there were actually two Nancy McKnights, mother and daughter, and Joseph was the original Nancy's grandson. Audley doesn't believe the two Nancy theory because there was no record of a daughter being born, either in America or Europe, and all written materials authored by "Nancy McKnight" have identical handwriting. Audley wrote that he believes Nancy wasn't a witch, but an alchemist, and that she found the proverbial "Philosopher's Stone," an alchemical method of extending life. When she was killed or banished, all her notes and equipment were burned, so they'll never know exactly what she discovered. But Sally has her journal, somehow preserved by Wolfram & Hart for such a time when it would be useful? Drew helps Sally study the book. Parts of it are in Latin and Aramaic, other parts in languages he doesn't know, but he finds a reference to the Codex Apocalyptica, which currently resides with Hartsdale in Jamaica. There are hand-drawn pictures of a monster like the one that attacked Sally and Joshua, and notes on how Nancy McKnight summoned it from the grave of a genetic giant buried in High Acre Cemetery. The lumpy covering was grave wax; very tough and waterproof. She mentions summoning several of them to work for her, doing manual labor on the farm. The last entries mention "cheating death" and four pages in an alphabet that Drew doesn't know, except for one word—Koryzoon.
All this information freaks Sally out. She's just a singer. She never meant to get into any of this occult business. That song about Nancy McKnight was just a wacky idea, you know? She didn't know it would work! But now, there are monsters after her, and the other thing. She tells Joshua that last night, she woke up and there was someone in her room. Someone who looked just like her, but older. She was chanting something over Sally's bed. It seemed like a dream, but in the morning, the woman was still there. That was who Joshua overheard her talking to. That's why she didn't want to leave.
If Nancy McKnight is back from the dead and summoning zombies again, then Slayer Club's taking the fight to her. When they arrive at the Orchards, the front desk clerk and several guests are dead. Sally's luggage has been ransacked, but there's no sign of Nancy. Would she go home? Slayer Club drives out to the McKnight farm on the edge of town. There, they find several more grave-wax zombies in the main house. Sam decapitates and Tori flambes them. While they are busy, a woman wearing an Orchards bathrobe runs downstairs and towards the door. She does bear a striking resemblance to Sally, except her hair is longer and light brown, and she isn't nursing a broken left wrist. Joshua fights Nancy, but she TK blasts him and gets away. He chases her to the river. A bridge spans the water, but Nancy jumps underneath it. Joshua doesn't hesitate, but jumps in after her. After a moment of catching up, Sam and Drew follow suit. Under the bridge is a culvert, which drains water down into a deep cave. An iron ladder set into the wall leads up to a series of caves under the farm, all pitch-dark and dangerous. Echoing footsteps show the way, as Joshua chases Nancy into the dark, with Sam and Drew on his heels.
Topside, Tori decides to stay with Sally, in case any more zombies come after her. They sit in her car, out of the rain, and listen to the radio. Slowly, Sally calms down. Unfortunately, there's another problem—that spell Nancy cast over her last night forged a magical connection between them, so Nancy McKnight's spirit can take over Sally McKnight's body. Just as Joshua catches up to her, Nancy does the switch. Rather than a fight, Joshua finds a sobbing "Nancy" who clings to him and begs him to save her. Meanwhile, "Sally" tries her TK blast on Tori. But Tori's Mars-sense tells her an attack is coming; she diverts the witch's arm, and the blast instead smashes the windshield. Tori tries to knock out "Sally" with a punch, but the witch's spirit flees back to its other body, and Tori hits Sally, instead. Almost instantly, Nancy is back, and jumps out the broken window and runs into one of the farm's outbuildings, down to a sub-basement with a long, dark stairwell down into the earth.
With Sam, Drew, and Joshua chasing Nancy from one direction, avoiding pits with zombies in the cave floor and fighting several more demons as they go, and Tori chasing Sally down the stairs from above, they all arrive in the same cavern at the same time. It's an enormous space, of which their small flashlights barely illuminate a fraction, but Nancy raises a lantern that glows with eldritch green light, showing what she came here for. The room is shaped as a perfect pentagon, with a pentagram engraved in the stone floor. The tunnel from the caverns lets into one corner, and the stairs from the farm building leads to another. In the opposite wall, there is a face: a giant, forty-foot tall, flat, reptilian face, with closed eye-slits and drooping barbells around the mouth. Tori screams and bolts back up the stairs. This reminder of death is just too much for her. Sam, Drew, and Joshua stare and swallow lumps in their throats. They all know what this face is. It looks like a carving in the rock, but it's not. This is the other end of the demon whose belly has a hole in it under the Brew Pub where Sam and Drew now live, several miles away.
Nancy raises her lantern and begins chanting. Drew shakes off the shock first, and notices that the carved pentagram in the floor leads to a groove, running directly towards the demon's mouth. And the floor is slightly tilted that way. Whether it's for blood, or what, he doesn't want to find out. In a deja vu moment, he lines up his crossbow and shoots the lantern out of Nancy's hand. Sam leaps toward the witch, axe raised, while as gently as possible, Joshua knocks out Sally to keep Nancy from switching with her again. Sam intends to knock Nancy out also, but with Slayer strength behind the Slayer's weapon, Nancy McKnight's head flies from her shoulders and her body slumps to the floor. From the caverns behind them, the remaining zombies wail at the death of their creator. Sam and Tori will go back to clear out the catacombs with fire later. The demon under Solomon's hill sleeps on. For now.
6.4 'Tis Better...
Written and directed by Jodi Roosenraad.
The events of this episode take place on Monday, October 30th and Tuesday, October 31st, 1995.
Mischief night in Solomon, Massachusetts means serious mischief, so Slayer Club splits up to do—or prevent—more damage. Joshua tracks the latest location of the floating Kitten Poker game to a warehouse next to the train station. Tori and Erik cover the bus depot to keep any vampires from slipping into town that way. Sam and Drew walk in Greenfields Cemetery, both patrolling and carrying flowers to plant on Sam's mother's grave. Fifteen years ago today, Irene Logan Kessler succumbed to ovarian cancer. Jacen Crowe—last seen summoning comic book characters last season—oblivious to all the vampires' activity tonight, is attending a showing of Dead and Loving It followed by Nosferatu at the Paradise Theater. Before they get to Mrs. Kessler's grave, Sam and Drew run into a giant, bone-plated beast that looks like a cross between a triceratops and a bulldozer. It's busily digging up graves with its long tusks, and eating the skeletons. The thing is so big that Sam calls in the cavalry via walkie-talkie. Everyone gathers at Greenfields as fast as they can get there, except Jacen who's just emerging from the dark theater, but including Michael, taking a welcome break from grading papers. After they destroy the demon, Mr. Tyler appears around the corner of a mausoleum. He applauds their fight, having summoned the demon to attract Sam and Drew to this place, and then demands restitution from Drew for losing the Amulet of Neperkin last spring. They had a deal, and Drew broke it. Drew protests that it wasn't his fault the amulet was drained before he could get it back, but Tyler points a wand at him. Sam steps between them and takes the blast instead of Drew. A ray of pink/gold light hits Sam in the chest and spreads out into a sphere, engulfing Slayer Club (and, oddly, Jacen) in its light.
Drew wakes up in a dorm room; it looks nothing like his, but it's full of his stuff. Drew just sighs—another alternate universe. Good news: his science fiction collection still contains books by Isaac Asimov and other Jewish authors, it's not Nazi World. Bad news: he isn't wearing a wedding ring. Weird news: the view out the window isn't Martense, it's MIT. That's going to make finding the others a lot harder. He checks his closet, hoping to find some of Sam's clothes, but all he finds is a preppie wardrobe he barely recognizes as his. He puts on the most unobjectionable thing he can find—an MIT sweatshirt and khakis and checks his class schedule. After all, this might be an alternate universe like Nazi-world that will go away when he fixes whatever brought him here; but it might be a parallel universe and he's just switched places with his alternate self, in which case it's important not to screw up each other's lives until he they can switch back. But all the schedule says for today is "Halloween Break." Halloween break? That explains the mostly-packed luggage on the floor. But where is he going? A quick search of his room doesn't turn up any airline tickets—or weapons. But what it does turn up is a picture of him and Stephie Newberry in their Solomon High graduation caps and gowns, with their arms around each other's shoulders. Just as the implications of that start to sink in, there's a knock at the door. Stephie. She gives him a quick kiss and asks if he's ready to leave for their weekend trip back to Solomon for Halloween Break. He carefully goes to grab his bag, wondering what to do about her. If Stephie has her Mesmerix powers, it will only be seconds before she realizes he's not her Drew, and only barely longer before she realizes that he might be working erase her universe in favor of an alternate where she's dead. He could never bring himself to hurt her, and her powers make her impossible to con, so what can he do? And she does have her powers. But, for some reason, she's not using them on him. It's going to be a long drive back to Solomon.
Speaking of Solomon, Joshua finds himself already there. Unfortunately, Solomon's county jail, on account of his stealing the deputy's police car and joyriding, drunk; just the kind of crime Solomon's finest can actually solve. His father bails him out, but says it's for the last time, and shows him a flyer for a military academy where Joshua is going to go, right after Halloween Break is over. That's a prospect Joshua would gladly exchange for a root canal, so he's got this weekend to find his way back to his universe, or he's in big trouble.
Tori is flying high over the Atlantic in a Wolfram & Hart private jet. On the table in front of her is a leather portfolio full of clothing designs, signed with Tori's initials. Judging by the other papers lying around her seat, she's just spent a year at the Sorbonne, studying fashion design. Not that that wouldn't be amazing, but she hasn't thought of doing that since junior high. Also, Tori discovers that her year-round tan is gone, and her hair is not highlighted, but jet-black as it was years ago, before she chose to become the Avatar of Mars. She can't sense any conflict in the air. She is no longer the Avatar, embodiment of war, fire, and the 4th planet. Then, who is? Or is anyone? When the plane lands at Solomon's airport, a uniformed demon with tiny horns holds a card with her name, and hands her into a limousine to drive her home, where both of her parents wait to greet her. Tori hasn't seen her father in years, so it's a wonderful surprise that he's there, and her parents are still wearing their wedding rings and seem happy.
Erik wakes up in his parents' basement, surrounded by dirty clothes mingling with congealed plates of food and overflowing ashtrays. Erik isn't sure that all the cigarette butts are tobacco, either. All around the walls stand canvases: finished paintings, and works in progress; dark, moody pieces, as if Hieronymus Bosch collaborated with Jackson Pollack. Depressing. The painting standing on his easel is a cemetery scene with a grave marked "Kessler." In the foreground are a red rose and a bunch of yellow feathers, and a watch like one of Dali's liquid timepieces. Time. Those images are important. Something about time bending, but he can't remember what it was; everything seems foggy. His mother calls downstairs, "Breakfast!"
Jacen wakes up in his own bed, with bacon and eggs aroma wafting in the air, and his dog Pickles, licking him on the face. Whoa! What's this? Pickles has been dead for years. He had bone cancer when Jacen was just a kid. But here he is. Same dog, just a bit more grizzled, and with a small gold disk imbedded in his skin at the back of his neck. Jacen recognizes some of the runes on the disk from his classes—bone, and health, and strength. Cool! He has no idea what is going on, or what happened to him, but strange things happen in Solomon. The last time something like this happened, well, not exactly like this, but weird, you know, like comic book characters coming to life, his teacher Mr. Sayier and these older kids from the college helped him out. Maybe he should go find them, and see what's what. But after breakfast. And maybe a few rounds of fetch with Pickles.
Michael Saiyer doesn't 'wake up' per se, because he never sleeps, but suddenly finds himself face-down in a puddle, somewhere in a torch-lit tunnel, with someone poking him in the back with a gun. "Get up, you lazy djinn! The Slayer needs your help, so go help her!" The person holding the gun is Russell Barrows. Michael feels fishhooks in his mind, a sensation he hasn't felt in centuries: the order of his master, and he must obey. There are rough, iron bands around his wrists, magical bindings, and he's in his natural shape, half-man, half-whirlwind. Per orders, he moves. In a cave ahead, he finds a Slayer fighting a nest of serpentine demons with the Kessler Sword. But the sword is much too big for her to handle. It's not Samantha Kessler. It's Kelly Hargrove; the last-in-her-class student Elizabeth Bathory was going to sacrifice years ago when she was Dean of St. Germain's. If Kelly's the Slayer, what happened to Sam? And how did Michael get bound to anyone, let alone Russell Barrows?
Drew's drive back to Solomon with Stephie is both relaxing and terrifying. It's not just that this is the date with Stephie that he alwasy wanted and never had. It's everything. Stephie's still Mesmerix but, as in his world, the Solomon Slayers have gotten tired of crime fighting; Stephie's studying psychiatry so she can use her powers to help people. This Drew is going to a great school, with great prospects for the NASA career he's always wanted. He's got a beautiful, popular, long-term girlfriend with superpowers that aren't going to kill her. He has, in other words, a future. On the other hand, he might be here to destroy this universe and he's sitting next to a telepath who can pluck that thought out of his head with no effort at all. But she doesn't. And this world's Drew isn't that different from him; it's so, so easy to falll into the role of this Drew, and everything he does appears to seem completely natural to this Stephie. It seems like both forever and not nearly long enough before they arrive in Solomon, just in time to get a good spot to watch the start of the big Halloween Parade.
Drew offers to pick up some hot drinks while Stephie tracks down their friends (i.e., Marcy and Callie), and makes a bee-line to the Sacred Grounds. Fortunately, the others had the same idea. Sacred Grounds may still be a hippie hangout in this universe, but Tori, Joshua, Erik (who's recovered from his unaccustomed drug hangover to develop a sense of urgency about returning to the wife and son he doesn't have in this world), and even Jace are all there. But not Sam. In fact, there's no Sam Kessler in the phone book and no Kessler's Auto Body in the yellow pages. Drew realizes that he has to either ditch Stephie completely or get back before she gets suspicious enough to read his mind, so he leaves the others to continue their investigation. The rest of Slayer Club mingles though the parade crowd hoping to find someone they know. Erik is thrilled to run into Juanita until he realizes she's there with Cora; then he's still thrilled, but in a different way. That ends awkwardly, so there's two potentially-helpful mages who won't be. But they also find Kevin Vastarley, and he's more helpful. He doesn't know anything about dimensional travel, and neither do his parents, but he does know who might be able to help—the town's most powerful wizard, Mr. Tyler.
After an enjoyable afternoon at the Parade, Drew tells Stephie he needs to go meet up with Erik. Sure, Erik's an unemployed stoner who lives in his parents' basement, but Drew's been friends for their whole lives. And how is he ever going to get clean if his friends don't support him? Stephie is proud of him for being such a good friend... but not so proud she wants to come with, which is just fine with Drew. She'll stay with Marcy and Callie and then he'll rejoin them for dinner later. Drew tracks down the rest of Slayer Club and they head off to find Mr. Tyler. He's hosting a Halloween block party with is wife, the long-lost love he's spent years trying to recapture back in the real world... Irene Kessler????? Well, that certainly explains why there's no Sam in this world. Fortunately, Mr. Tyler's spell doesn't seem to have worked quite right and he doesn't appear to have any memory of their world. From Erik's description of the wand, he tentatively identifies the spell—the caster thinks of a great love that they've lost and the spell will transport them to an alternate universe where they still have it. And, indeed, everybody's recovered something they loved and lost—Mr. Tyler has Irene, Drew has Stephie, Jace has his dog, Tori has her family back together, Erik has his freedom from responsibility, and Joshua has seen Cora alive and happier than she ever was with him. To undo the spell, Mr. Tyler helpfully tells them, they need to assemble all those who were affected at the place and time the spell was cast, and perform a certain ritual. That means finding Michael. Fortunately, Mr. Tyler can help with that, too—Grant Barrows, his son, and their pet Slayer have an enslaved djinn; perhaps that's the one Slayer Clubis looking for? If they can liberate him, they'll need to head to Greenfields Cemetery near midnight to cast the spell. Mr. Tyler agrees to teach them the ritual, but extracts one promise— their spell isn't going to be the only thing going on at Greenfields tonight. No matter what they see, they must not interfere. Slayer Club promises, and Mr. Tyler tells them what they have to do.
The first thing they need to do is bust Michael out of of the Barrows's clutches. That could be a problem, since they have to go up against two mages and a Slayer without any of their heavy hitters—Sam doesn't exist in this world, Tori's lost her War powers, Erik doesn't have any of his magic items, and Michael might be fighting for the other side. But Drew has an idea about that. Now that they know it's a parallel universe, rather than an alternate, Drew can come clean to Stephie. And if she still has her powers, then Callie and Marcy must, too. While the rest of Slayer Club heads back to the Sacred Grounds, Drew heads off for his dinner date.
He's late and Stephie's irritated; he's been acting a little strange all day and she wants to know what's going on. She even peeks into his mind for a moment, before catching herself and apologizing. While always thought it would be hot to have a girlfriend who could read his mind, apparently it's not all it's cracked up to be, because Stephie and her Drew have strict rules about personal space. But now Drew wants her in his head, and she's more than happy to oblige. The contact leaves them both drained, especially Stephie as she struggles with his memories of a world where she's dead and he's married to somebody else. Drew apologizes for the deception, but is eager to enlist their aid; it's the chance to fight alongside Stephie that he's always wanted. But only Callie wants to do it; Marcy finds superheoring so four years ago, and even Stephie is reluctant. Drew finally manages to convince her and, out-numbered two to one, what can Marcy do but tag along?
Everybody meets up at the Sacred Grounds and the raid on the Barrows's house goes down at sunset. This proves to be fortuitous tiiming, as sunset on Halloween just happens to be when Grant has to renew the spell that binds Michael to his service for a year. Even with the superheroes, Slayer Club isn't really a match for Grant, Russell, and Kelly, but they manage to distract them long enough for the sun to sink below the horizon without the binding spell being renewed. Suddenly Michael is free! And pissed. The angry djinn makes short work of the Barrows and Grant and company are forced to flee. On a shelf with various other magical artifacts and looted archaeological treasures, Michael finds an urn containing the ashes of Shu, the Egyptian queen he loved 3,000 years ago. Michael says a few quiet words to Shu, who's gave he hasn't been able to visit in millennia, and then Slayer Club burns down the Barrows house, just like they did back in their universe four years before.
With everybody accounted for, it's off to Greenfields Cemetery. Marcy and Callie bow out, but Stephie tags along; after all, someone will need to take care of her Drew if he switches back into his own body in the middle of a cemetery at midnight. Drew leads the group to the spot where Irene Kessler's grave is in their world, and Erik leads the others in preparing the spell. While they're doing that, Drew sees a flickering light in the distance and he and Stephie go to investigate. They see Mr. Tyler and Irene watching a magical duel between Dean Bathory and a girl who looks just like Sam, except for being far more fashionably dressed. Stephie recognizes Janie Tyler, last in her class at St. Germaine's, now fighting for her life against Dean Bathory. The fight is evenly matched; Janie might not have been much of a student, but now she has something worth fighting for—in a pack on her back is a baby who looks disturbingly like Drake. The Tylers can't interfere and Drew promised he wouldn't; but, he points out, Stephie made no such promise. The fight is very close; a tiny mental distraction could make all the difference. Stephie balks; her powers are completely non-combat. Interfering would horribly dangerous and, anyway, what could she do? Drew remembers that first night at High Acre all those years ago, Sam stepping between monsters and people she barely knew... before she even knew she had powers. The other Drew may have a lifetime with a girl with superpowers, but he'll never reach their childhood dream of being married to a hero. From behind them, Tori yells that the spell's ready. Drew makes one last plea for Stephie to intervene. She's not sure. Maybe... There's an awkward goodbye and then Drew turns back toward his friends. But Stephie catchies his arm and pulls him back into the one real kiss he and Stelphie will ever have. It's goodbye, in more ways than one. But Tori's yelling that it's time to go and Drew runs back to his friends and the things they've all loved and kept.
6.5 Terra Tori
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Tuesday, October 31st, 1995.
Directly after Slayer Club arrive back at Greenfields Cemetery, Mr. Tyler takes his leave of Solomon, for the last time. Now that he's back home, he has his memories of his life with Irene in the parallel universe, and there will be no more attempts at vengeance, at least from him. As he walks off through the gravestones, all around Slayer Club appear Venusians, followers of the Venus orb. They are beautiful, androgynous figures armed with recurved bows and short swords. At the same time, a squad of Tori-ites, followers of Mars, appears, forming a defensive circle around Tori (and her friends, since they're standing right next to her). The Venusians accept a moment of parley, but demand to know what Tori is doing. The balance has shifted. The fires at the eternal altar of Mars are burning more than twice as high as they ever have. Tori has no idea what's going on. She certainly didn't mean to change anything, but she promises to find out what happened and redress the balance as soon as possible. The Venusians are grudgingly mollified (for now) and disappear back into the night. Tori dismisses her minions. This is a job for investigative subtlety. Not the Tori-ites' strength.
Sam offers to follow Tori home, in case something is there and she needs backup. When they arrive, Tori finds her mother in the living room, talking to... Tori! But it's the black-haired, pale-skinned, non-Mars enhanced version of Tori from the universe that Slayer club just quit. Now that she's here, Tori 2 discovers that she likes the power! She wants more, and in fact, she wants Tori out of the picture all together. She's contacted her father, brought in Wolfram & Hart goons, and is half way to convincing Tori's mother that there's an impostor who has magically taken her face, and wants to kill her! They confront each other and verbally spar. Marilyn retreats to her bedroom to take a headache pill, and let her daughter(s) work it out between themselves. Tori 2 displays her fashion superiority by sketching out new "Patrolling uniforms" for Slayer Club on a piece of newspaper; and you know, they're pretty good! Even Drew likes his, which is heroic looking enough to appeal to his love of comic books, but not so much that he looks like he's going to a gaming convention. Sam's and Joshua's outfits have a multitude of pockets for holding weapons and ammo. But Tori's choice for herself is a micro-mini and furry boots, a la Paris, 1964.
If Tori didn't want to kill Tori 2 before, she does now.
Tori 2 leaves the Clark house and takes Marilyn's car. Cue chase scene through downtown Solomon, culminating at the Sacred Grounds coffee shop. While Tori confronts her alternate self in the alley out back, Drew calls the Benandanti helpline, to ask their advice on how someone could take orb-power back from an alternate version of themselves. This is a situation that has never happened before. The Benandanti are stumped, but they call Melina, who knows more about the orbs than anyone else alive, to see what she says. It takes a few minutes for them to return his call.
Meanwhile, Tori can feel the ebb and flow of power between Tori 2 and herself. When one of them is aggressive, or thinking tactically, the power flows to that point naturally. So, she simply needs to out-Mars her alternate self and prove that she is the one true avatar. And kick her retro Prada-wearing butt!
Tori knows better than to wear couture on patrol. You can be stylish, and still not mess up your most expensive clothes—or shoes!—In the process.
Cue epic fight scene! In one corner, Tori, with permanent highlights in her hair, wearing sexy, yet sensible boots, black jeans, and a vintage leather bomber jacket for both warmth and protection, vs. Tori 2, wearing an outfit more appropriate to a Parisian boulevard than a Solomon, Massachusetts alley. And that's not her only mistake. Sam and the others stand back to witness the fight, but don't get involved; the Mars power requires the Toris to settle things between themselves. Tori 2 tries to use them as human shields, and that really pisses Tori off. She flicks her lighter and shapes the fire. Tori 2 tries to take the flame away, but doesn't have the years of practice that Tori has. With precise control, Tori engulfs her nemesis in fire, burning off only her outer clothing, leaving her smoldering, plain white undergarments. In shame and disgrace, Tori 2 loses all shreds of Mars power, as well as her dignity. The Wolfram & Hart goons fiinally show up, and Sam and the others chase them off before they can try to interfere. Speaking of late to the party, Drew gets a call back from Melina—single combat is the key to claiming Mars' power.
Well, they figured that out on their own.
Tori lends Tori 2 her jacket, and Slayer Club escorts her back to Greenfields, where Erik and Jace collaborate on a spell to send Tori 2 back to her own universe. It's not all bad for Tori 2—her stint in Tori's shoes has given her a taste of being a hero and a sense of what she's capable of. And, while all this was going on here, in the other universe Drew had been reconstituting the Solomon Slayers, who were, after all, Tori's clique before they were superheroes. With the proper leadership, maybe they could make difference in their world. The walls between the worlds are at their thinnest on Halloween night, and the spell is unexpectedly easy to accomplish. The only thing left on the ground is Tori's jacket, smelling of smoke.
6.6 Gears to Ground
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Saturday, November 11th and Sunday, November 12th, 1995.
Aired January 29, 2011.
6.7 Working Stiff
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on the night of Monday, November 20th, 1995.
Aired July 2, 2011.
6.8 Science Faction
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on the night of Friday, December 1st, 1995.
Aired August 21, 2011.
6.9 Adventus
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Saturday and Sunday, December 9th and 10th, 1995.
Aired September 25, 2011.
6.10 The Ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come
Written and directed by Greg Pearson.
The events of this episode take place on Monday, Sunday, and Monday, December 25th, 24th, and 25th, 1995.
Aired November 19, 2011.
6.11 Web of Destiny
Written and directed by Tim Ballew.
The events of this episode take place on Sunday, December 31st, 1995.
Aired January 28, 2012.