We opened the Episode with a "Previously, on Buffy," where we highlighted the elements from the earlier Episode that would have relevance to this one.

Teaser

Interior nighttime shot of a squalid building. Candles and larger fires in tin cans provide what little illumination there is. Many people -- mostly young, Hispanic people -- are inside, concealed to varying degrees by the shadows. Everyone seems to be doing his own thing here. The mood was probably very upbeat when everyone was still sober, but now it's calmed somewhat. There's a lot of blue in the cast's clothing -- the color of the Lobos gang.

A group of four male youths enters the scene and the camera begins to track them as they move from room to room, past all manner of illicit activities that we can only partially see because of the gloom. It's a rough crowd, mostly stoned, and the youths that we're following are cut from the same cloth as the rest of the crowd. They push their way among the squatters, accepting an offer of a joint here, grabbing a feel from an unconscious girl on what was once a stuffed chair there, whispering crude comments into the ears of the guys as they pass through.

They get to a door guarded by a large man in a blue bandana. He opens the door for them and the youths pass through. Immediately behind them, a fifth ruffian staggers along. He's about to mechanically follow the other four through the door when the large man stops him with a hand to the chest, shakes his head, and pushes the intoxicated fifth wheel away. He then closes the door and resumes his post. 

Cut to an interior stairwell leading down into a crude basement. As our four youths descent the stairs, they continue their boisterous banter. They reach the basement, which is lighted by candles. Crates and debris of various kinds are piled along the walls. Someone is already here; his back is to us as he rummages through papers. When he turns toward the four and toward the camera, we see that it's the Lobo who shot the Carmín in the alley -- the one whom Desi and Doug briefly fought. Since he's played by a young Lou Diamond Phillips, we'll refer to him as Young LDP. (Trying to minimize that carpal-tunnel thing again.)

YOUNG LDP: Alright, pay attention. 

The youths quiet down quickly as YOUNG LDP spreads a map of some kind onto a crate in the middle of the group. We can't see what's printed on the map. 

YOUNG LDP: Fortunately, we only have a few locations left to go. The bad news is that these last few are the hardest ones to get to. Tomorrow night, you (pointing to Youth #1) are going to perform the ritual (points to a spot on the map) here. We have to get inside, so give them a call later to find out what time they close. You (pointing to Youth #2) will be in charge here at the house. 

YOUTH #1: Why aren't you going to perform the ritual? 

YOUNG LDP: I have an errand to run. 

YOUTH #1: (sounding a little worried) But… you're really good at that sort of thing. 

YOUNG LDP: There's someplace else I have to be tomorrow night. You'll do fine. Just take your time. The others here will help you if you need it. (gesturing upstairs) Take as much back-up as you need. Just be sure to pick ones that have the stomach for what you have to do. 

YOUTH #1: Can't we wait until the next night, after your errand is done? Then you could perform the ritual. 

YOUNG LDP: Your prattle is becoming tiresome. We can't afford to wait. (glancing to his right) The longer we hold onto that… 

The camera pans to where YOUNG LDP is looking. Slumped on the floor, handcuffed to a metal pole and with a cloth bag over its head, is the motionless figure of a slender person. We can't tell the age or gender of the person, or even if the person is still alive. 

YOUNG LDP: …the more likely that the Carmines will try something.

Cut to black. Roll theme song and title sequence.

The Rest of the Episode (in outline form)

Act 1: The Next Day - With the Carmines

• JD visits the Carmines to find out how bad their casualties were from the Lobo ambush the night before.
• The mood is very somber. Most of the people she sees are in emotional shock, but there are also expressions of outrage. The leadership of the Carmines are locked in a closed meeting.
• JD finds out that as a result of the ambush, the Carmines have suffered two deaths and eight injuries of varying severity. One of the deaths was Raúl Madera. (We later discover Raúl was the Carmín that Desi saw Young LDP kill.) Raúl's cousin is Coyote, the leader of the Carmines.
• What concerns JD most is that there's no sense of remorse from anyone for the stabbing of the old woman outside the church. That was a completely unnecessary act of violence on the part of a Carmín, but no one sounds outraged. Under the old gang rules, collateral damage upon bystanders was considered careless at best, seriously uncool at worst. The old rules don't seem to carry much weight anymore.
• JD has some history that's applicable here:
• There were once about a dozen gangs of various sizes in Allentown. But over the last few years, gang rivalries have turned into outright war.
• Casualties have been high on both sides. In an effort to survive, gangs consolidated. Now there are really only two gangs left: the Lobos and the Carmines. Speaking in martial terms, the Lobos have a decided advantage in both numbers and weaponry.
• As the situation has worsened, both gangs have abandoned some of the rules of gang warfare. Civilians are increasingly getting caught in the crossfire. The Carmines, who are losing the war, seem to be more willing to break the rules than the Lobos. This is distressing for JD because of her (past?) association with the Carmines. Because of this turn of events, even if the Carmines win this war, it will be a victory tainted by foul play.
• The meeting breaks up with Coyote storming out of the meeting room amid shouts and glares from the others who were in attendance. It's clear that the Carmines want revenge -- gang honor demands it -- but the Carmines are seriously outnumbered and outgunned by the Lobos. Judging by the shouts at the end of the meeting, either the Carmines don't know how to exact their revenge, or they haven't reached agreement on how to do it.
• Coyote goes out onto the porch to have a smoke and calm down. Instinctively, everyone knows to leave him alone while he's in this mood.
• JD slips out the back to see if she can find anyone who was in the meeting that she might be able to talk to privately. She discovers Ghost, Coyote's most trusted advisor, is out back for some air. Because of his closeness to Coyote, Ghost must have been in the meeting. He's agitated, but he's willing to engage in conversation. However, JD knows that Ghost will play his cards close to his chest.
• Ghost reveals the Carmines aren't sure what to do next. They'll lose in a head-on assault against the Lobos, but guerrilla tactics won't do enough damage to avenge the ambush and preserve the gang's honor.
• JD further discovers that four of the Carmines are in the hospital because of injuries suffered during the ambush. The full extent of the casualties isn't known yet because of the loose social structure of the gang: some members who may have been in the mob that was ambushed don't have a permanent address and can be difficult to locate under normal circumstances. Coyote is hell-bent on revenge because of his cousin's death. 
• Out of the blue, Ghost asks if JD is on good terms with any farmers. JD replies in the negative.   
• Ghost has no further information for JD, but asks if he can page her if he needs anything. She says OK.
• As JD leaves, she's both concerned and relieved that no one has asked her to paint a memorial to the Carmines who were killed in the ambush. Her concern stems from the realization that this should be a priority for the Carmines, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to them. It's almost as if, on some level, they've already given up. But it's a relief that she hasn't been asked to memorialize a Carmín who stabbed a bystander (the old lady outside the church).

• Desi, busy socialite that she is, has realized that her purse is missing. And in her purse was her planner. She's a busy girl with many commitments, and now she's not sure where she's supposed to be. She must get the planner back!
• Desi and Doug ask Michael Chen (Desi's martial arts instructor and Guest Star) to accompany them to the site of the gang ambush, because that's where Desi tossed her purse and forgot to retrieve it. Michael agrees to go with them and offers to drive. As they approach the neighborhood where the alley is located, everyone notices how bad a neighborhood this is. Michael also observes that the sun will set in a few hours, and he strongly recommends being out of the neighborhood before dark.
• The crew cautiously makes their way on foot to the alley where the Carmín was murdered.
• The site of the ambush is now tagged as Lobo territory.
• JD, having come from the Carmines base nearby, joins up with the crew
• There's a tape outline of the Carmín's body. A pool of dried blood begins near the center of the tape outline and extends out past its edge. This place is very creepy, even in daylight.
• The Cast Members search the alley for Desi’s purse and planner. They find neither. During the search, however, Desi hears something crunch under her shoe. When Desi looks down, at the edge of the tape outline, she finds what at first she takes to be a bone fragment. Upon closer inspection, she realizes that it's a large tooth. This reminds Desi of her dream and she screams. Doug asks for the tooth and she gives it to him. 
• JD is a graffiti artist, and the graffiti on the walls of this alley strike her as very odd. Some of the symbols are crude representations of people, some are gang tags, some of them are... something else. She can't identify this last type, and yet the symbols seem to have some significance.
• What particularly creeps JD out is that she keeps seeing movement in her peripheral vision. Every time she turns her head toward the movement, she finds herself looking directly at one of those weird spray-painted symbols -- the ones she can't identify.
• The shadows are deepening, and the group has had enough. They decide to head back to Michael's car.
• Doug has fallen slightly behind the rest of group as they're heading out. When Doug passes a side alley, he hears a cell phone ring. He stops, picks up a 2x4 that's lying nearby, and peeks down the side alley. There are three guys in Lobo colors down the alley. They haven't seen Doug.
• Doug tries to get the attention of the rest of the Cast Members to stop them from leaving, but he can't do so without also making the Lobos aware of him. The rest of the Cast Members, unaware of what's happening, walk off camera. Doug is left alone. He resumes eavesdropping on the Lobos.
• The Lobo with the cell phone finishes the call he's just received. 
• He then dials Directory Assistance and asks for the number for the Home Depot on MacArthur Road, just north of Allentown's city limits. He calls the Home Depot and asks what their hours are that night, and when they'll open tomorrow morning. When he turns to face the other Lobos, the players see that this is Youth #1 from the Teaser. His companions are also Youths from the Teaser.
• After Youth #1 hangs up, he says to one of the other Lobos, "They close at 11 pm and open at 7 the next morning. They probably stick around for a few hours after closing to clean up, and they get in a few hours before start of business to open. I'd say if we do our business there at 3 am, we won't be disturbed."
• They then depart, unaware that they've been overheard. Doug does not attempt to follow.
• The rest of the Cast Members have gotten to Michael Chen's car. Michael keeps looking around nervously as the shadows on the street deepen with the approach of sunset. He has them check the hubcaps to make sure they're all there (they are) before he realizes Doug is missing.
• On a lark, Doug jumps out of the alley with a "A-ha!", holding his 2x4 like a samurai sword. Instantly, Michael's hand is a blur and the 2x4 is chopped in half.
• The Cast Members leave the neighborhood without further ado.

• After Michael Chen drops the Cast Members off and departs, Doug lets them know what he overheard in the alley. 
• JD gets a page. When she calls the number, Princess (a Carmín -- or I guess more properly, a Carmina) answers. 
• Princess tells JD that Ice is missing. He hasn't been seen since the ambush. 
• Ice is one of the most sympathetic Carmines that JD knows (he got his name because of his powder-blue eyes, not because of his demeanor), so this news concerns her.
• JD asks Princess to tell Ghost that the Lobos are planning to do something at the Home Depot at 3 am. Princess promises to pass the news along.
• During the early evening:
• Desi tells her parents they have to change the locks on all the doors.
• Doug mounts the tooth from the alley on a chain and wears it as a necklace.
• Interestingly, the Cast Members do not agree as a group that they should be at the Home Depot at 3 am to see what the Lobos are up to. And yet:
• At 2 am, JD sneaks out of her house and hops on her bike to head to Home Depot.
• Prior to that , Desi called Doug to find out if he was going to "the thing. You know -- the thing at 3 am?" Doug indicated that, sure, he could go to the thing, and he'd pick up Desi on the way.
• As JD pedals toward the Home Depot, she has to drive through the neighborhood where the Lobo ambush occurred. Up ahead, she sees a figure stumble out of an alley ahead of her and collapse onto the sidewalk. She stops to investigate and discovers that it's Ice. He's been severely beaten and he's unconscious. JD suspects he might be suffering internal injuries.
• JD boosts a car to get Ice to the hospital. She had no points in Driving, and she sideswipes a parked car as she's pulling away from the curb. 
• On the way to the hospital, Ice regains consciousness. He tells JD that he was jumped during the ambush and badly beaten. He managed to crawl to an abandoned car for shelter; once he got inside, he passed out. He came to just before JD found him.
• Ice hasn't seen his sister Nina since he saw a Lobo dragging her away. Nina isn't a Carmina, but she was with Ice when the Lobo pelted the gang house with rocks and she joined Ice when he jumped into the chase. Ice fears that the Lobos might still have Nina.
• JD gets Ice to the hospital at 4th and Chew. Two orderlies are outside the Emergency Room having a smoke when JD pulls up onto the curb. The orderlies are startled, but they rush to the car. 
• As soon as it becomes obvious that Ice is in good care, JD hops back into the car and heads for the Home Depot. On the way, she passes by the spot from which she stole the car she's driving. Pacing up and down on the sidewalk is an Extra played by Ed Asner. His clothes are rumpled as if he put them on over his pajamas (which he did). He has that look about him, like someone who has left something in a particular spot and now he can't find it, but if he keeps searching the same area, he knows it will reappear. JD sinks low in the driver's seat. As she drives by, Ed recognizes his car and waves his fist after her.

• Cut Scene
• External shot of the Lehigh Valley Mall. A service door near a Dumpster opens awkwardly. A custodian is pushing the door open with a cart bearing two large trash cans to be emptied. The custodian and his cargo get free of the door. As the custodian pushes the cart to the front of the Dumpster, a hand emerges from behind the Dumpster and grabs the door before it closes. Young LPD slips unnoticed through the door and begins to prowl the service corridors of the mall.

• Doug pulls his Dad's BMW into the parking lot of the adult bookstore next to the Home Depot's parking lot. Desi is in the passenger seat. Soon after, JD comes weaving down the street in her stolen car. She sees Doug and Desi and stops. Doug parks the car for her next to his dad's car.
• As the Cast Members approach the Home Depot, they can see wavering lights (as from flashlights) through the windows. They enter easily through the door that the Lobos jimmied open.
• There are seven Lobos in the garden center: the four Youths from the Teaser and three heavily muscled thugs. On the floor is a person with a cloth bag over her head. Her hands are bound behind her back and one ankle is chained to a display rack. She's conscious, but helpless. The shelving and walls in this part of the store have been defaced with spray-painted images and symbols similar to the ones that were in the alley.
• Because the Lobos had not noticed the Cast Members, I gave each character the chance to take up a strategic position and, if desired, make a few arrangements for the upcoming confrontation. When positions were taken and all was set, we continued.
• Youth #1 from the Teaser turned to face the figure on the floor. He drew a large knife in preparation to deliver the killing blow. 
• That's when the Cast Members made their moves. An earnest attempt at a distraction failed badly, causing a free-for-all to erupt. But the combat was Buffy-style. Some highlights:
• One of the Youths attacks Desi with a pair of pruning shears. (He didn't seem to pick them up. Suddenly, he just had them.) Desi grabs a shovel and parries the attack by wedging the head of the shovel between the blade of the shears. To the surprised Youth, Desi says, "Spades is trump" as she swings the shovel around and pummels him with the handle. He falls backward into a display of seeds, scattering seed packets everywhere.
• The large knife got dropped during the combat. One of the Youths and JD both made a run for it. JD reaches the knife first and, to keep it from being used on the captive, thrusts it through the wrist of the Youth who had also lunged for it. The Youth stares in disbelief at the knife blade protruding from his wrist. Then things take off in a disturbing and surreal direction when the Youth slashes at JD with the knife -- without removing it from his wrist.
• Desi removes the cloth bag from the head of the figure on the floor, revealing that it is indeed Nina.
• Another Youth lunges at JD with a trowel after she has backed into a shelf of merchandise in an (unsuccessful) attempt to avoid the slash from Knife-Through-the-Wrist Guy. The Youth thrusts the trowel into JD's ribs. He grins fiendishly as blood gushes onto the floor! No, wait... that's not blood. JD looks down to discover that the Youth's trowel is between her arm and her side. JD steps away to reveal the trowel has punctured a bag of potting soil on the shelf behind her. As the Youth withdraws the trowel, potting soil continues to spill from the bag onto the floor at his feet.

• Cut Scene
• A figure in a custodial smock and wearing a baseball cap pushes a mop down the concourse of the Lehigh Valley Mall. He keeps his head down so as to avoid looking into any security cameras, but he glances from side to side constantly. It's Young LDP.
• A security guard stops at the end of the concourse, way in the background of the shot, and looks toward the figure. Young LDP stops, waiting to see what will happen. After a beat, the security guard waves. Young LDP waves back. Strangely satisfied, the security guard continues on his rounds. 
• Young LDP walks past a sign announcing "The King Tut Exhibit."   He moves between the glass cases, peering inside each one. He stops at one of the cases. The contents of the case is out of frame so we can't see what it is, but the expression on Young LDP's face makes it clear that he's found what he was looking for. He raises an elbow and shatters the top of the case.

• Back to the fight inside the Home Depot. More highlights:
• Doug is tossed by one of the muscle-bound thugs. He ends up on his back, draped over one of the riding mowers. He reaches for a large can of something to hit his adversary with, but every time his hand gets close to the can, the thug delivers another blow to Doug's face. He's being severely pummeled when he finally manages to grab the can. He smacks his assailant in the head with the metal container. The thug, having been hit before, spins and goes down. Doug looks closely at the label on the can. "Kills slugs. Industrial strength."
• Desi uses her shovel to chop the chain that binds Nina's leg to the display stand. Nina notices a pair of pruning shears at her feet. She still has her hands tied behind her, but with her legs now free, she struggles to snag the shears with her feet and pull them toward her.
• JD has had enough with Knife-Through-the-Wrist Guy. She kicks him in the groin. The camera has him in a medium shot as he doubles over. When he reflexively grabs his, um, gut, we cut to a close-up of his face. There's a "voice"-over sound effect of something being stabbed -- that knife-into-melon "ffthp" that Hitchcock used so well in Psycho -- as the Youth's eyes get real wide. Seems that when he grabbed himself, he forgot about that knife blade sticking out of his wrist. Ouch! He's down for the count.
• Youth #1, who has been battered severely by Desi, picks up a machete. He's got an assignment to fulfill. He begins limping toward Nina. Desi is still kneeling over Nina. She doesn't see Youth #1 until Nina screams. Desi stands, swings her shovel, and hits Youth #1 in the head just as Nina finally manages to up-end the pruning shears with her feet in an attempt to drag them toward her. Youth #1's eyes flutter and he goes down -- directly onto Nina's shears.
• Time stops for a second. Silence. And then:
• There's a bright flash of white light from all around the Cast Members. All of the Cast Members are knocked to the floor. The sensation is not one of physical impact, yet it feels like the psychic equivalent of getting the wind knocked out of you.
• JD gets up first. She notices that Knife-Through-the-Wrist Guy is getting up, too. He looks at her -- but the face JD sees is not is not human. This face is reptilian, with scaly crests over its ears, and short, tentacly things hanging down almost like a beard. It raises its taloned, webbed hand and looks again at the knife through its wrist. As JD screams, the scaly crests and tentacles retract, and its face morphs back into that of the Youth she was fighting.
• Desi is busy staring at the guy who was going at her with the pruning shears for most of the fight. He's no longer holding shears. Instead, his "hand" is a crab-like claw with vicious-looking serrated edges. The claw so holds Desi's attention that she can't look away, not even to look into this thing's face, so we don't know what its face looks like. Perhaps that's for the better. As Desi stares, the claw morphs slowly into a human hand. Now she can look at the Youth's face. It's the same face she's been fighting. There's no telltale sign of anything inhuman there.
• The muscle-bound goons are out of it, lying on the floor in an aisle. They haven't seen any of this. Youth #1 is dead, transfixed on the pruning shears. The three surviving Youths limp to the exit and leave. No one tries to stop them. 
• Desi, Doug, and JD go to Nina. Aside from having been slightly beaten at some previous point, she doesn't seem seriously hurt. But she's terrified, and a hospital sounds like a good idea. The Cast Members untie her hands and help her stand. They walk her outside.
• As JD is leaving the Home Depot, she notices that some of the graffiti that was spray-painted on the walls and shelves seem to be gone. All of the strange symbols like the ones she saw in the alley have vanished.
• Outside the Home Depot
• The Cast Members stop at a pay phone at the edge of the parking lot. They dial 911 and just drop the receiver. There's no need to talk to anyone on the other end.
• As the Cast Members cross the parking lot to their car, another figure enters the parking lot on foot from the other direction. It's Young LDP, and he's carrying something in a bundle under his arm. He stops when he catches sight of the Cast Members. They haven't seen him. 
• Young LDP looks toward the Home Depot, then back at the Cast Members. There's concern on his face. Suddenly he recognizes Doug by his outrageously spiked hair -- Young LDP tangled with some of these folks in the alley in Episode 1.01 -- and the concern turns to dread. Young LDP sprints into the Home Depot.
• As the Cast Members reach their cars, three cars filled with Carmines come roaring up to them. 
• "Yo, JD, Ghost said you told him there was gonna be Lobos here!" 
• The Cast tells the Carmines that they're too late, but they need help getting Nina to the hospital.
• One of the Carmines expresses his gratitude for Nina's rescue by giving Doug a street hug, which Doug very awkwardly accepts (in the sense that he just stands there and does nothing). They load Nina into the car and the Carmines drive her to the hospital.
• Back inside the Home Depot
• Young LDP stands over the corpse of Youth #1. He looks down at the corpse and the pool of blood in which it lies, then looks all around, surveying the damage. He's furious.
• He gets the muscle-bound thugs to their feet. He directs them to pick up the body of Youth #1. They exit through a back door, carrying the body, as sirens rise in the distance.

Act 4: Wrapping up

• Doug drives Desi and JD back to their homes. 
• JD leaves the stolen car at the adult bookstore in the expectation that it will make it back to its owner. Ironically, she assumes that she will never again see her bike, which she left near the place where she stole the car.
• JD paints a picture of what she can remember of Knife-Through-the-Wrist Guy's reptilian face.
• When Desi gets home, she does a search for the phone number of every Philip Glass in Florida. She gets about a dozen hits. She'll follow up on them later.
• Cut to an exterior scene, daytime. It's the following morning.
• Young LDP is standing over what appears to be a bonfire. As he tends the fire with a stick, he pushes back into the flames what looks like a bone.
• Behind him are the three muscle-bound thugs from the Home Depot. As Young LDP pokes at the fire, he asks them what they saw after the fight. When they say they saw nothing, he responds with, "Good."
• Young LDP makes a call on his cell phone. A male voice answers "Yes?" Young LDP says, "I think we may have a problem." The voice replies, "We?"
• Cut to the interior of a hospital room:
• Nina is lying on a bed. She's tired, but alert. She was probably just kept overnight for observation.
• She looks to her right. On the bed next to hers is Ice, her brother. She reaches out and takes his hand (because on TV, hospital beds are close enough to do that). Ice doesn't wake, but we can tell by Nina's expression that he'll be alright.
• Cut to nighttime scene. Interior of Desi's bedroom. 
• Desi is asleep, but she's tossing and turning. Dissolve to the dream sequence.
• She has the same dream she had before (in Episode 1.01) about chasing the Carmín down the alley.
• Again she sees Young LDP shoot an Alien-like set of fangs into the Carmín's gut. And again the Carmín falls to the pavement. But this time:
• Time stops. Then a white, cloudlike thing billows up out of the Carmín's body.
• Suddenly, Desi is inside the Home Depot. As Youth #1's body lies impaled on the shears, a white, cloudlike thing billows up from it.
• She's back in the alley. With a howl that Desi feels rather than hears, the billowy cloud is shredded into five sections, and each section is drawn in a thread toward one of the strange symbols that are spray-painted on the walls of the alley.
• Back again in the Home Depot: she feels a howl as the cloudlike thing above Youth #1's body is shredded and each fragment is pulled like taffy to one of the symbols painted on the walls or shelves.
• In the alley again. Each symbol draws its cloud-portion into itself. As a cloud-portion is consumed, its symbol momentarily glows white. The glow fades and the symbol remains, normal except that it seems to quiver slightly.
• Home Depot. The symbols draw in their cloud portions. But they don't glow white. They glow a sickly yellow, then begin to writhe as if they're in pain. Then they explode with a blinding white flash as cloud-stuff shrapnel sprays over the room. Everyone falls down.
• And Desi wakes up. Cut to black. Roll end credits.