Chapter 29: Nightmare Unleashed

Buffy Summers jolted awake, gasping for breath. The remnants of a nightmare clung to her mind like cobwebs. She had dreamt of the Master's lair, his cold hands choking her. Her mother, Joyce, was shaking her gently.

"Buffy, wake up. You were having a nightmare," Joyce said, her voice filled with concern.

Buffy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Yeah, it was just a dream. I'm fine."

Joyce smiled, relieved. "Remember, we're spending the weekend with your dad. Are you excited?"

Buffy nodded, forcing a smile. She was looking forward to seeing her father, but the nightmare had left her unsettled. Later, as she confided in Willow at school, she admitted her fears.

"I sometimes think it's my fault my parents got divorced," Buffy said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Willow gave her a reassuring hug. "Buffy, it's not your fault. Sometimes things just don't work out."

In class, the teacher asked Wendell to read from the textbook. When he opened it, tarantulas poured out, crawling over the desk and onto the floor. The classroom erupted into chaos, and Buffy saw a boy standing in the doorway. He looked at her with sad eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry," before disappearing.

---

The next day, Buffy was nervous about her father picking her up after school. Joyce tried to calm her down. "He's excited to see you, Buffy. Don't worry."

At school, Willow and Xander were discussing the spider incident. "We should talk to Giles about this," Xander suggested.

When they found Giles, he seemed distracted and muttered something about getting lost. Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

Giles had no information about the spiders but suggested they talk to Wendell. Wendell explained that he loved spiders, but his brother had killed his pet spiders while he was at camp. The spiders crawling out of the book were a recurring nightmare for him.

Cordelia approached Buffy with a smug look. "You know there's a history test today, right?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "What? I didn't study!"

She hurried to the classroom but couldn't find it. By the time she arrived, the test was almost over, and she hadn't even filled in her name. She saw the same boy from earlier standing outside the classroom.

During break, Laura took a smoking break in the basement and was assaulted by an ugly man who muttered, "Lucky nineteen."

Buffy and Giles interviewed Laura at the hospital, where they heard about "lucky nineteen." The doctor explained that Billy, a boy in a coma with the same M.O., had been attacked similarly. Outside, they were shocked to learn that Billy had been in a coma for a week, contradicting Buffy's sighting of him. Giles theorized that Buffy might have been seeing Billy's astral projection.

---

Cyrus Knight, usually at the forefront of their investigations, had been oddly distant throughout the day. Buffy noticed him sitting alone in the library, a deep frown etched on his face.

"Cyrus, we could use your help," Buffy said, approaching him.

Cyrus glanced up, his eyes filled with a mix of frustration and something else she couldn't quite place. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I just... I can't deal with this right now."

Buffy was taken aback. "What's going on?"

Cyrus shook his head. "It's personal. I'm sorry, but you're on your own for this one."

Buffy nodded, understanding but worried. "Okay, but if you change your mind, we could really use you."

---

Buffy's father arrived at school, asking to talk to her. He told her that their weekends together were boring and that the divorce was her fault. Buffy was devastated, her tears falling freely.

Xander and Willow arrived in the library, and they realized that everyone's nightmares were coming true. Buffy found Billy's astral body and was confronted by the ugly man who had assaulted Laura. Buffy and Billy ran, with the man in pursuit.

Billy explained that he was responsible for his baseball team losing and that it was bad to lose at games. As they ran, they found themselves in the cemetery at night. Willow found herself starring in the Madame Butterfly opera, overcome by stage fright, and ran away. Xander chased after chocolate bars, only to be assaulted by a knife-wielding clown.

In the cemetery, the Master buried Buffy alive. Still chased by the clown, Xander teamed up with Willow and Giles. He confronted the clown, punching him and feeling liberated. They found Buffy's grave, and Giles claimed it was his nightmare, letting Buffy die. Buffy crawled out of the grave—a vampire.

"We need to wake Billy from his coma to stop the nightmares," Giles said.

---

At the hospital, they found Billy's astral body near his comatose form. The ugly man attacked, but Buffy confronted him. After knocking him out, she forced Billy to face him. Billy woke up, and everything returned to normal.

Billy's Little League coach showed up, and it became clear that he was the inspiration for the ugly man. He had beaten Billy into a coma after they lost the game. Buffy confronted the coach, who tried to run but was stopped by Giles and Xander. The coach was soon put in jail.

---

As Buffy and her father left for their weekend together, Willow asked Xander if he was still attracted to Buffy as a vampire. Xander nervously denied it, then admitted, "I'm sick. I need help."

Willow agreed, laughing. "We all do."

Throughout the ordeal, Cyrus had remained distant, not offering any help. Buffy decided to talk to him about it later, but for now, she was just relieved that the nightmare was over.

Cyrus watched them leave, a shadow of guilt and frustration crossing his face. Whatever was troubling him, it had kept him from being the friend and ally they needed.