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- Back - Episode 146: " Waking the Dead " - Season 8, Episode 2 Powers to Be: #Disclaimer# I do not own the characters in this story, nor do I own any rights to
~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~ GILES VOICEOVER: Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer... (Scenes from Season Seven) British Country side, Day: (Next Scene) Living room at Buffy’s house, Day: (Next Scene) Living room at Buffy’s house, Day: (Next Scene) Principal’s office at Sunnydale High, Day: (Next Scene) Outskirts of Sunnydale, Day: (Next Scene) Farm House in Ohio, Day: (Next Scene) Farm House in Ohio, Day: (Next Scene) Farm House in Ohio, Day: (Next Scene) Scooby central apartment, Day: (Next Scene) Scooby central apartment, Dusk: (Next Scene) Scooby central apartment, Night:
Camera starts outside the apartment building, goes in the front door, and through the hallways. It follows through to Willow and Kennedy’s apartment, where Willow is staring hard at a shelf, and rearranging two knickknacks. Willow looks tired and ill. WILLOW: Does this look right? (Kennedy walks into the room in a towel, fresh from the shower.) KENNEDY: Does what look right? WILLOW: This. This shelf is bothering me. Does it look right to you? (Kennedy shrugs.) KENNEDY: Looks fine to me. I leave the decorating to you. (pauses) Hey, you feelin alright? WILLOW: Not really. But no worries. (She plants a kiss on Willow’s cheek, then moves to their bedroom,
shutting the door. Willow frowns again at the shelf, WILLOW: Kennedy? KENNEDY: (calling from off screen) yeah? WILLOW: Did you rearrange the kitchen stuff? KENNEDY: (off screen) No. Have you seen my brush? (Willow walks into the bathroom.) WILLOW: No. It’s not on the shelf? (Kennedy starts moving everything around to look for her missing brush.
There’s a knock on the door, and DAWN: Hi. Buffy’s really cranky this morning. We didn’t sleep well. WILLOW: I didn’t either. (Dawn looks up at her.) DAWN: Really? How come? I kept hearing things. I think Andrew and Xander
have wall banging problems (grimaces) (Willow shudders and sits next to Dawn. There is a knock on the door, and Xander comes in.) XANDER: Hey Wills, Dawnie, have either of you seen my tool kit? (The girls shrug.) XANDER: You two look like cra–(the girls glare) I mean, you look... DAWN: We didn’t sleep well. (Turns to Willow) What were you doing at three in the morning anyways? WILLOW: Sleeping? DAWN: Well someone was banging the walls in the place. I didn’t get any sleep. XANDER: Well it wasn’t me. I didn’t hear anything. (The girl’s shrug, and the door opens again, hitting Xander, and he jumps back. Buffy looks in.) BUFFY: Hi guys. Dawn, I thought I told you not to touch my make up. DAWN: I didn’t, Buffy. We so don’t have the same skin tone anyways. BUFFY: Well someone did, I found it in the living room, and who lives with me? Oh yes, you! Just, ask or something next time, ok? DAWN: I swear I didn’t touch it, Buffy. (Kennedy walks into the living room.) KENNEDY: Willow, you’re sure you didn’t use my brush and put it somewhere else? WILLOW: I didn’t see it, Kennedy. (Buffy looks at the two, then sighs.) BUFFY: And guys? I don’t mean to be rude, but could you two keep it down at night? I didn’t get any sleep...hey Wills, you feeling ok? (Willow looks just a touch horrified, and sits up to say something, when out of the nearest wall walks a ghost cat. Everyone jumps, Xander letting out a rather girlish yelp. It walks to the center of the room, lays down, staring up at Willow, and it starts to purr.) Wolf Howl, Buffy's theme plays. Staring. Special Guest Star: Very Special Guest Star: Cut to commercial. Act I: Scene 1 Camera opens turning in their "headquarters" apartment. Everyone
is there. Most of them are staring at the purring Ghostly Cat in Willow’s
lap. WILLOW: This is so neat! DAWN: Well I like it. XANDER: And big plus that it’s not a zombie, since, hey. Been there done that. BUFFY: Uh uh. An appartment totally free of dead-raising masks. ANDREW: Zombies? XANDER: Yeah. Buffy’s welcome home party a few years ago was attacked
by hordes of them. Her mom had a ANDREW: That’s so cool! Were they looking to eat your brains? Were they all slow and jerky and stuff? Did they smell bad and drip puss? DAWN: Eww. BUFFY: They were just dead. I don’t think they were really interested
in brains. Besides. I'm sure there'll be ANDREW: Well, I still say cool. (To willow) Can I touch it? XANDER: You want to touch Buffy's furniture? Is this a crazy fanboy thing? ANDREW: No, the cat dumbass! BUFFY: Dawn, you really shouldn't teach him bad words. (Willow shrugs, and Andrew squats down next to her, reaching out to ‘pet’
the cat. He jumps when it looks at him, ANDREW: That feels, like really strange! WILLOW: Yeah, kind of like your hand’s got pins and needles only not so oogy. BUFFY: Not that I’m saying this is a terrible thing...but, doesn’t anyone else find this really weird? (Everyone nods.) KENNEDY: It doesn’t exactly look like a slayable offence...not that we could slay it. DAWN: Hey, you can’t slay it! It's not an evil demon or anything. BUFFY: No one’s slaying the dead cat, Dawn. (Kennedy moves to reach out to touch the ghost cat too, and it turns and hisses at her. Kennedy jumps back a little.) KENNEDY: Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Andrew can pet it but I can’t? (Willow frowned, reaching up to her forehead, as she feels dizzy.) WILLOW: Woo... BUFFY: Willow, you sure your alright? (Kennedy moves to put a hand on Willow’s back.) KENNEDY: You’re not looking too good, hon. WILLOW: I’m just not feeling too well...(she gives a little nervous laugh) Maybe it’s the building. I just can’t sleep and I’ve been getting dizzy. KENNEDY: You should go lie down. WILLOW: Yeah...you're right...but, I should be in research mode, shouldn't I? BUFFY: Don't worry, Will. We can be pretty confident that she's not Hell Kitty. ANDREW: More like, 'Hello Kitty' --- All turn to Andrew with eyebrows raised -- ANDREW: (in lower voice) Hello Kitty FROM THE GRAVE. All shake heads. (Willow smiles weakly, and gets up to go back to bed. The cat follows her out the door. Andrew looks after her and sighs dramatically.) ANDREW: It’s not fair. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for a Familiar? (Buffy raises an eyebrow at him.) BUFFY: A what? ANDREW: A Familiar. (Sees the blank looks all around, besides Xander,
who’s avoiding looking at Andrew) It’s an animal XANDER: So, like you and Warren, huh? Only you were, like, his over-familiar. ANDREW: I followed Warren because I...was evil at the time and I'm very
sorry now and anyway we were BUFFY: English, Andrew. Most of us, (glances at Xander) with one notable exception, don’t speak geek. XANDER: Hey. DAWN: Just, what do you mean, Andrew? ANDREW: Fine. It’s just that’s what I think Willow’s got now. I mean, she IS a witch. XANDER: But she’s not practicing anymore...at least not much...I don't think. ANDREW: That doesn’t matter. She’s always going to be a witch, even if she never does a spell again. And witches get Familiar sometimes. It’s like, so cool, and maybe if she’s got one now then next it’ll be my turn and I can get a neat bat or something-- KENNEDY: Andrew! ANDREW: What? KENNEDY: What do they DO? ANDREW: Oh! Right, they follow their masters around and do they’re
bidding and stuff. They’re like more BUFFY: Reality, Andrew. ANDREW: Well...they’re real too. Honest. (Everyone let this sink in for the moment.) BUFFY: Oh. Well that sounds relatively harmless. But are they usually dead? ANDREW: Um...no. Not usually. Usually if your Familiar dies it’s
a bad thing. Like you can go into shock and stuff. (Cut to Willow, who is lying down, Camera pans around the bed, and she’s lying there looking very ill. The cat stretches and curls up next to her. Willow’s eyes slip shut, and light tendrils of blue light can be seen wafting off of her as the camera pans back.)
NIGHT. Scooby central. BUFFY and KENNEDY sprawled in chairs after a long
session. Soda cans, paper plates, etc., BUFFY: …So…now all we have to do (she pulls herself up in her chair) is map out the patrol routes for tomorrow. KENNEDY: (looking up to the clock) Look, it's late. We can leave them for the morning. BUFFY: Hmm, no. We really should polish this off tonight. KENNEDY: It's not like we have a deadline. We're not the ones working for an evil law firm. BUFFY: Kennedy, you know how some things aren't relevant? That's a good example. KENNEDY: Ok, but two in the morning? That's really time for bed. BUFFY: It was never time for bed in Sunnydale. And this is the city that never sleeps. KENNEDY: (ever so slight sly grin) Did I say anything about sleep? BUFFY: (gets up, taps KENNEDY on feet) Come on. It'll be like a coloring party. Colored pencils, paper… KENNEDY: I was never much for art hour. Or pyjama party stuff. BUFFY: How about death stuff? Just because our world saving's getting into double figures, doesn't mean we can slack. KENNEDY: I'm always ready to slay. You know that. BUFFY: But being the slayer, it's not just about instinct. You know that too. KENNEDY: If it's too late for route mapping, it's definitely too late
for speeches. I've been training since I was old BUFFY: You think you do. KENNEDY: (alert now) OK. What's the deal, Buffy? BUFFY: The 'deal'? The deal is -- look, Kennedy, you want more responsibility, you want to lead? Help me lead. KENNEDY: OK. I'll help. But I'll do it in the morning. (she starts to get up) BUFFY: Kennedy -- okay, I don't want to go into this. KENNEDY: I think we're already into it. Tell me. BUFFY: You're a good, a really good fighter. A risk-taker. But you cut
corners. If something's inconvenient, you find KENNEDY: And . . . ? BUFFY: And I just want to get through something with you for once without this... KENNEDY: (eyeing BUFFY, takes a different route) Maybe you're right. I want my schedule to be mine. Or maybe it's ... BUFFY: Just what? KENNEDY: It's like you still have an apocalypse-sized chip on your shoulder.
And you want the head mutineers to BUFFY: That's not -- that's not it. KENNEDY: (crosses arms, squares) Fine, it's not it. Then there's no problem, is there? So let's call it a night? BUFFY: (beat) OK. We're both tired. And you'll have it done in the morning,
right? Seven-thirty too early for you? (Kennedy looks angry about this, and walks out, shutting the door hard
behind her. Dawn walks in from the DAWN: Sucks being the grown up one, doesn’t it. (Buffy nods.) BUFFY: I mean, it’s not like I’m a slave driver...I just
want everyone to know where they’re (Dawn smiles.) DAWN: Hey, at least it’s not me you’re lecturing this time. So, when are you going to teach me how to fight, anyways? (Buffy sighs.) BUFFY: Dawn, with all the new Slayers around... (Dawn shrugs.) DAWN: There's always something new around. It's not like our lives'll
magically get less complicated. (Buffy thought, then smiled.) BUFFY: Oh sure, make sense at me. (Dawn smiles.) DAWN: See you tomorrow, Buffy. Goodnight. BUFFY: ‘Night, Dawn.
INT. WILLOW AND KENNEDY'S APPT., MORNING (Willow pads out from the bedroom, stretching, still in her pajamas.
She has her blanket with her and the ghost She flops onto the couch, grabbing a book from the coffee table and opens
it carelessly. The ghost cat hops up onto her After a moment of peace and silence the cat starts hissing. Willow puts
her book aside and looks at the cat on her lap. As Willow turns to look at what’s got her upset, the camera pans to show that the room is full of ghosts, all just standing there staring hard at Willow. Men, women, a couple of kids, too shadowy to make out their clothing, but their eyes are intense. Willow fumbles her book, dropping it to the floor as she practically falls off of the couch, blanket flying.) WILLOW: OH my Goddess!! (she gasps, hand to her chest, then, after a moment, she frowns. The
camera pans back around. WILLOW:Um...Hello? (She glances to the cat, who seems to have calmed slightly, but is pacing
back and forth across the WILLOW: Can I help you? (beat) Or should I be banishing you to the hell
from whence you...(she tails off, her eyes (She waits. The ghosts don’t move. They continue to stare. ) WILLOW: Did you need something? Um...(tentative) Peace of mind? (Still
no answer, and Willow waits, then frowns) (The closest ghost starts to reach out a hand towards Willow, who rears back, but the cat hisses and claws at the ghost’s hand. The ghost flinches back. The ghosts all lean down as one to glare at the cat, who hisses again and stands still, glaring back. Suddenly a phantom wind whips through the room, blowing papers off of
the tables, Willow’s book under the couch, When the wind fades and Willow opens her eyes again again, the ghosts are gone. Except for the cat, who hops back over to her lap, curls up, and starts
purring again. Willow looked down at it, WILLOW:Thanks. Don't know what ya did there but...thanks. (Willow petted the cat for a moment, then frowned, looking like she's got a headache, and lays down to sleep)
Shot of Willow napping. The tendrils can be seen coming off of her again,
but they disappear when Kennedy flips on the light. KENNEDY: Willow...wake up, sweetie. WILLOW: Huh? (Sits up, blinking) What time is it? KENNEDY: Around eight. That was some nap. Come on. WILLOW: Where are we going? (Kennedy grabs her hands and pulls her up, smiling.) KENNEDY: To the roof. It’s really pretty up there and we haven’t had any quality alone time you know. (Willow smiles, and allows herself to be led to the roof. The cat follows.
They get outside, and Kennedy walks Willow over to the edge, WILLOW: Wow. It’s really beautiful. KENNEDY: Yeah. I came up for some air and it was so pretty I thought you’d want to see it. (They smile and look at each other, then kiss. Kennedy pulls back and smiles.) KENNEDY: So, you too sick for some more quality alone time? (Willow smiles.) WILLOW: I think I can handle it. (They turn hand in hand to walk back to their apartment, but Willow gasps
and stops short. Camera pans around to the opposite ledge of the building.
Standing on the edge is a girl no one’s seen before. She’s
wearing a long nightgown, and her arms are WILLOW: Miss! Wait! (The girl glances over her shoulder, and then back over the ledge. She silently falls forward, dropping off the ledge.) WILLOW: NO! (Willow and Kennedy rush to the ledge, and camera pans up at their confused
faces as they peer over the edge.
Cut to ‘headquarters’’ apartment again. Buffy, and
Kennedy are sitting in the living room. Willow stands, staring out the
window, WILLOW: She was just...gone, Buffy. BUFFY: Gone. Like gone how? KENNEDY: Like not there gone. How many forms of ‘gone’ do you know of? She jumped right off the roof. That’s pretty gone. WILLOW: She just disappeared. She didn’t hit...or at least, I’m pretty sure New York isn’t so desensitized that they’d let a splatted girl lie on the sidewalk all night and not call the cops or something. I still don’t see any lights or anything. She never hit. BUFFY: Maybe she...flew away? KENNEDY: I didn’t hear any wings or anything. In fact...I didn’t hear anything. She didn’t say a word, and she never screamed. WILLOW: Do jumpers scream on the way down? BUFFY: Willow... (Willow turns around to face the room.) WILLOW: (quietly) No, really. Do they? I mean you have to really hate
yourself to do something like that. KENNEDY: Jesus, Willow. (Buffy looks down. She shuts her eyes, and the camera closes in on her, and it flashes to The Gift, her running and jumping. She doesn’t say anything, but she clenches her fists and bites at her lower lip. Buffy looks pointedly away from Willow, shaking lightly.) WILLOW: (visibly shakes herself and turns to Buffy, not noticing her
obvious tension) It was just so creepy, Buffy. (Willow’s eyes widen, and the camera pans back to a full room shot,
where we see people starting to ANDREW: Oh god they’re in here too! (Andrew goes to a corner and covers his head with his arms. Willow, Buffy and Kennedy look at him.) KENNEDY: Andrew, what– (They hear screaming, and Willow, Buffy and Kennedy rush to the hallway.
Camera on their wide-eyed reaction, DAWN: Buffy, how do we stop this? (Buffy strides to her, it visibly making her twitch whenever a ghost passes through her. Xander pokes his head in from the hallway.) XANDER: What the hell is going on...(shudders) god that’s freaky! (They exchange looks when suddenly, all the ghosts disappear, and there’s
a loud ‘thump’ heard. XANDER: Willow! (He dashes up the hallway to a fallen Willow. Andrew is standing just
inside the ‘headquarters’ apartment, ANDREW: She just fell. (The others arrive as Xander turns her over.) KENNEDY: Willow! XANDER: (harsh) What do you mean she just fell? (Andrew looks uncomfortable.) ANDREW: I saw her lean against the doorframe when Buffy and Kennedy took
off, and she looked like she (Buffy was feeling her forehead as Xander checked her pulse.) BUFFY: She’s been feeling sick. Maybe this was just too much for her. (She bends closer to Willow’s face) Will? KENNEDY: Out of my way! (Kennedy pushes everyone away from Willow, scooping her up and carrying her back to their apartment without another word.)
Cut to the gang sitting in the headquarters, looking at each other. Kennedy has not come back. DAWN: So...that was...creepy. BUFFY: Yeah... XANDER: I’m getting flashbacks to the frat house jungle...only no you and Riley making like bunnies in the next room. (Buffy sighs and rolls her eyes.) DAWN: Eew. BUFFY: Well, so are we dealing with ghosts? I don’t remember ‘haunted’ being on the building’s specs list. ANDREW: Well they looked like ghosts. XANDER: And how often have you seen ghosts? ANDREW: Well, not very often, but once or twice. I think. XANDER: You think? ANDREW: I didn’t like, stop and ask. (Buffy shakes her head.) BUFFY: Ok, so we’ve got a Casper problem. DAWN: Hey, maybe that’s what was keeping us up all night. (Buffy smiles and nods.) (Dawn smiles back.) DAWN: And maybe they’re the ones who messed with your make up. XANDER: Ghosts these days, always wearing too much makeup. BUFFY: Ok so we think we have randomly manifesting ghosts that like to make noise and move stuff. Didn’t people die in Poltergeist? XANDER: No one died in Ghostbusters. ANDREW: They may have died in the street-crushing scene. There was a big crowd of people– XANDER: Doesn’t count, it wasn’t an on screen death. ANDREW: Oh! And on House on Haunted Hill, like, almost everyone died. XANDER: Only one guy died in The Haunting, though...well...unless you
count the chick too, but she willingly sacrificed ANDREW: That movie makes me queasy...the lawyer in half thing? (thinks) Jack died in The Shining. XANDER: But! He didn't die from the ghosts. It was the hotel the whole
time. He was possessed...er...sort of. ANDREW: But the hotel was possessed BY the ghosts then-- (Buffy clears her throat.) BUFFY: Am I gonna have to point out the difference between reality and the movies AGAIN, boys? (Xander grins) XANDER: To be fair, but, in our lives...not so cut and dried. BUFFY: Ok, that’s true. Well, we’ll just need a research party then. XANDER: I can’t tomorrow. I’ve got a bunch of things to fix
in this building lined up. And let me tell ya. BUFFY: I can’t either; I have to take all the little slayers out and map out our patrol route. (Dawn and Andrew look at each other.) DAWN: You’re sticking us with this, aren’t you. (Buffy smiles sweetly.) BUFFY: Yep! And Willow of course. Have fun! (Everyone heads to bed, muttering about something.) Cut to commercial. Act II: Scene 1. Next day, Camera pans around the room at the new school, lightly reminiscent to the high school library in Sunnydale. Dawn, Andrew and Willow are walking in. ANDREW: Why is it just us again? (Willow turns from gathering books to put on one of the large tables in the center.) WILLOW: Because Giles is in England, Buffy and the other Slayers are
out doing patrol route stuff, and Xander is playing DAWN: And what exactly are we looking for? (Willow looks at them.) WILLOW: Anything to help against sudden ghost invasions. I had a personal
visit this morning, and it wasn't pleasant, and no, DAWN: (hesitates, wanting to ask, then just goes on.) Why were they there,
anyways? I mean, have that many people (Willow thought.) WILLOW: Actually, that’s a good point, Dawn. Why don’t you look up our building’s past? (Dawn looks at Andrew.) DAWN: Remind me not to make brilliant suggestions ever again. (Andrew just ignores her, and sits at the table.) ANDREW: Are we looking for ways to banish the ghosts? And are they really ghosts? I mean, they could just be projections of an insane sorcerer or something. (Gets look from the girls) Not that I know anything about that sort of thing. WILLOW: I think we should work on getting rid of them, yes. I was thinking
maybe a séance to ask them why DAWN: And there’s like a million of them. Do we really want to call and ask so many ghosts what the hell they want? ANDREW: Good point. I don’t want to make them mad. Mad ghosts lead
to smashed things and people getting killed. Or something. But it’ll
be badness, that I know. I mean, hello, I got the wrath of The First.
Badness. (He thinks) WILLOW: Well...I don’t know...my spell last night completely backfired on me. DAWN: What happened? WILLOW: I’m not sure...It was like my magic just... Well it seemed
like it wasn’t there. Like the power well had gone dry. ANDREW: Really? Has that ever happened before? (Willow shook her head, sighed, and sat down, opening up her laptop.) WILLOW: Let’s just concentrate on fixing the ghost problem. ANDREW: So we’re looking for non-magicky things for now? WILLOW: Yeah, if at all possible. (Dawn clears her throat to change the subject.) DAWN: Well, one thing’s good. You look better today, Willow. (Willow smiles at her.) WILLOW: Yeah...I guess I just needed some air or something... I’ve felt just fine sine we got here. ANDREW: Next time you’re going to faint, warn me. WILLOW: Why’s that? ANDREW: It was traumatic. (He doesn’t offer any other explanation, and starts reading. Both girls look at each other, a bit confused, and then start researching.)
(Cut to Xander at the apartment building. He looks a bit ridiculous,
flannel shirt, tool belt, hat on; he’s prepared to XANDER: Miss Parker...Miss Parker...Aunt May? Can Peter come out to fight
evil with us? We could use the (He chuckles at his own joke, and then he checks the list, and looks
up at an apartment door, checking the number on it. Mrs. PARKER: Yes? XANDER: Um...are you Mrs. Parker? Mrs. PARKER: Yes. Are you here to fix my sink, young man? (Xander smiles at her.) XANDER: That I am, ma’am. (Xander gets let into the apartment. Reaction shot first, of him wincing visibly, then cut to the sink, which has brown, thick something with things floating in it filling the sink. There’s water dripping from the cupboard under it, and Xander groans.) Mrs. PARKER: I’ll just be in the living room watching my programs. (Mrs. Parker leaves, and Xander shakes his head, and heads towards the
sink, a disgusted look on his face. XANDER: (off camera) Oh God!
Cut to Buffy, who’s sitting in the ‘headquarters’ apartment, surrounded by the new Slayers. BUFFY: Today we’re going to go and map out our patrol routes. Obviously,
we need more than one. (The Slayers all give Buffy varying degrees of dirty looks.) SHANNON: We want to go shopping! COLLEEN: We have to start school here soon, can’t we take *one day* to go have fun! CARIDAD: I wanted to see some of the sights! (Kennedy sits and gives Buffy a rather smug smile.) KENNEDY: See, Buffy? I’m not the only one. (Buffy fixes everyone with her stern look, crossing her arms.) BUFFY: Look, everyone this is really for your own good and safety... SHANNON snorts and shakes her head. Kennedy stands up. KENNEDY: Buffy, we can do things for our own good tomorrow. We want to
have a little fun, and you (Buffy shakes her head.) BUFFY: After all we’ve been through you still don’t get it... (Kennedy frowns, starting to get angry.) KENNEDY: No, I think it’s you who doesn’t get it, Buffy. We. Need. To. Have. Fun. You know, before we get ourselves back into life threatening situations? Maybe for you life is all work, but for the rest of us, we want to get in some good times before we croak. (Buffy glares hard at Kennedy as the rest of the girls nod and agree.) BUFFY: (voice clipped) FINE. We’ll go out shopping and sight seeing.
But tomorrow I’d better not hear she shouldn't say get it....she should get got it (The girls are all smiling now, and grudgingly agree. They file out, Buffy and Kennedy the only two left in the apartment.) BUFFY: I just want you all to be safe. KENNEDY: No, you want to lead. And you may not want any joy in your life
since your pet vampire died and (Kennedy walks out before Buffy can answer, and Buffy stands there, looking stricken for a few long moments before she follows.)
Cut back to Library. Dawn suddenly sits up, looking at a huge dusty book. DAWN: Hey, found something... (Willow and Andrew look up.) DAWN: Ok, listen to this. Our apartment building is pretty old...like, one of the older buildings in the city old. ANDREW: Looks modern enough to me. DAWN: It’s been re done every...ten years. (She frowns) Yeah...ten years. Apparently it just has a tendency to fall apart... WILLOW: Fall apart? (Dawn nods.) DAWN: Yes. According to this, the building is re-done every decade by the family of the man who built it. (Willow frowns.) WILLOW: That’s strange. Did you find anything about deaths? (Dawn nods, points at her notebook page. It’s got several names written on it. Willow takes the notebook, and frowns at it.) WILLOW: Well there’s certainly been a lot of deaths there...but... DAWN: Not enough to account for all of the ghosts we saw. WILLOW: Oh...that’s horrible. (They all nod.) WILLOW: (shakes her head) Ok, well, good work on the building, Dawnie. You might as well start researching the people who built it. (Dawn groans but doesn’t say anything, and goes to get herself some new books. Willow frowns at her computer screen.) WILLOW: I wish I knew what exactly we were dealing with. It’d be so much easier to figure out how to get rid of them. ANDREW: All of them? Even your cat? Because I think it’s your new Familiar. So...it’d be a bad idea to get rid of the cat too. (Willow glanced over.) WILLOW: Hmm...hadn’t thought about that...it may well be. And well, I do kinda like the cat. She kind of helped me this morning...How are you doing on the ghost busting? (Andrew sighs.) ANDREW: There isn’t much. You know, they made it look *so* easy in the movie. Just a little unlicensed thermonuclear firepower and a light trap and there you go! Ghosts gone bye bye. WILLOW: Well, I'm pretty sure we don't have any of those lying around. ANDREW: You know, I bet War--never mind. I didn't say anything. (He sinks in his seat) don't hit me. (Willow rolls her eyes.) WILLOW: I'm not going to hit you. Just...enough with the movie stuff. We need stuff that'll actually work. ANDREW: Spells maybe? I mean, maybe me or Dawn could, y’know. Do them. Or something. Or not. (Willow thinks.) WILLOW: I'd like to see if we can find something non magical at the moment...if
we can't find anything, (Dawn comes back to the table with more books.) DAWN: I wish Xander were here. I’m in serious need of donuts. ANDREW: Yeah, he’s lucky. Got out of research. (Flashes of Xander fixing things, breaking things, having water squirt
in his eye, things falling on him, him getting (Willow sighs.) WILLOW: You know who I wish was here? Giles. He always knows exactly what and where to research. Act II: Scene 5 (Giles is sitting drinking a quiet pint, obviously enjoying it. He’s
waiting for someone. A young woman, about 21 years old walks in. GILES: You must be Claudia? CLAUDIA: Yes. Giles? GILES nods, they shake hands, slightly awkwardly. GILES: Can I get you a drink? CLAUDIA: Vodka and soda please. (Giles smiles, goes to get her a drink. While he’s away, she’s
fiddling with something under the table – possibly sending a text
message. CLAUDIA: Well, this is odd, isn’t it? GILES: It’s becoming an ever more familiar experience for me. I’ve
been sent to pick up (he realizes what that sounds like as CLAUDIA: So…mine is a high and lonely destiny is it? (She makes a theatrical gesture. There’s something slightly odd about this girl – she’s hiding something. Giles smiles. He’s trying to weigh her up but failing miserably. He’s used to Californian girls who babble away till you know every inch of their brains. This cold fish is confusing him.) GILES: Not so lonely. After all, there are a hundred or so of you, you know. Well, not of you, literally, but, you know…. CLAUDIA: (smiling) How long have you been in California Mr. Giles? GILES: Long enough to sever all links with coherent sentences, apparently. (He takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them.) CLAUDIA: Yah, so it seems. And that tweed's got ex-pat written all over it. GILES: Miss Gorman...I came to England to collect a slayer, not for sartorial advice. (Pause. He's obviously annoyed) GILES: I don't always wear tweed you know. CLAUDIA: I'm sure... (They sip their drinks in silence for a moment. Claudia seems perfectly happy not to make small talk, and it’s not exactly Giles’s specialty.) GILES: Are you able to leave today? CLAUDIA: I handed in my resignation. My suitcases are packed. I’m ready. GILES: Good. Very…efficient of you. (beat) So you are…were…a civil servant? CLAUDIA tosses her hair, very blasé, very dismissive. She doesn’t really want to talk about this, evidently. CLAUDIA: Ya…terribly terribly dull I’m afraid. GILES: I suppose it must be more or less like being a watcher. Only with less weapons training. (Claudia smiles, innocently.) CLAUDIA: No…no weapons training whatsoever. Unless you count burying people alive in paperwork. Though I did fence for Cambridge. Actually, the day…it...happened – when I became a slayer- I was in the fencing salle, fighting this girl I really don’t like… GILES claps his hand over his mouth. GILES: Good Lord! Did you hurt her? (Claudia smiles, mysteriously.) CLAUDIA: Oh yes. I didn’t call her in the morning. GILES: Sorry? I… CLAUDIA: You do remember irony don’t you? GILES harrumphs a bit at this. GILES: America’s not an entirely savage nation you know! CLAUDIA: Oh, I know that. But, you see, winding you up is such fun. And so very easy. GILES groans, smiling GILES: Come back Buffy, all is forgiven! CLAUDIA: Did she tease you too? Wicked! I like her already…so, tell me about my new…shall I call them colleagues? GILES: We generally call them…us…Scooby’s. (off her look) They’re very keen on pop culture references. CLAUDIA: Oh, that’s ok. I watch loads of telly. GILES: You would’ve got on famously with Spike then. CLAUDIA: Who’s Spike? GILES: (sighs) Well, that’s a question I’m still asking myself…but, in short. He was evil. Then he wasn’t. CLAUDIA: Like Satan’s biog backwards! GILES: And he ended up saving the world. CLAUDIA: So…the illegal love child of Satan and Jesus. GILES: Ah. So you’re a Sun reader I assume, from the illegal love children simile... CLAUDIA (mock-annoyed): I read the Guardian too! GILES: So…Cambridge…left wing…civil servant.... (He grins, teasing her back. He's glad that they’re starting to get along.) GILES: You’re not a spy are you? CLAUDIA looks flustered for a moment. CLAUDIA: No! Don’t be silly. (Pause) So, do tell me more about Spike. I’m intrigued. GILES: Well, he recently died saving the world... CLAUDIA: Really? You don't sound exactly grief-stricken? GILES: We weren't exactly friends. (Claudia leans in, interested.)
(Cut back to Library, where Dawn is laying her head down on her arms
on the table. She is obviously not paying DAWN: (softly) Do you think he went to heaven? (Willow looked up.) WILLOW: What? DAWN: Do you think he went to heaven. WILLOW: Who? (Andrew speaks without looking up.) ANDREW: Spike. (Willow thought about that for a long moment.) DAWN: Well? Do you? (Willow sighed and sat back, looking at Dawn.) WILLOW: Dawnie... (Dawn sits up, looking a bit upset.) DAWN: No one wants to talk about it. I haven’t brought it up with
Buffy because I know she’ll either wig on me or just walk away.
(Willow looks a little apologetic at Dawn’s outburst.) WILLOW: I’m sorry, Dawnie. I didn’t forget him either. None of us did...it’s just... DAWN: Just what? No one wants to talk about how he sacrificed himself? What exactly happened to him? (Willow sat forward, putting a hand on Dawn’s arm.) WILLOW: Calm down, Dawn. (Dawn looks down.) DAWN: Just...humor me. Do you think he went to heaven? I mean, he died
for, like everyone. Shouldn’t that balance the scales? ANDREW: Yeah, cuz that's how it works...(shakes his head) once you've
gone evil you just never know if you'll ever be redeemed. (Dawn turns a glare on Andrew, who shrinks back in his seat.) DAWN: I can’t stand thinking of him suffering in some hell dimension after all he did. I just hate it. I miss him and I don’t think I ever got to tell him that I forgave him for everything and that he was my friend and I loved him. How do you not tell someone that? I just didn’t. And now I miss him and I don’t want him to be in a hell dimension. So do you think he went to heaven? WILLOW: Dawn... DAWN: Don’t ‘Dawn’ me. It’s like with Mom. She was just dead one day, and I didn’t get to say I was sorry for being a big brat and that I flipped out a lot and that I loved her so much. I didn’t get to tell her any of that! Then she was just dead. It’s bringing it all up. I hate that I’m here again. In the same position. I...I keep remembering now that he’s gone how we used to be, y’know? He used to tell me stories and watch out for me and call me all those stupid nicknames. And then things were bad and I was so angry with him. But now that he’s gone I just can’t seem to forget about how I felt safe with him and he cared and he was...my friend. (Dawn looks up, tears standing out in her eyes, and Willow hesitates.) DAWN: (whispers) I have to know, Willow. Just...tell me. He wouldn't have lied to me. WILLOW: I don’t know, Dawnie. I’d...like to think so too.
I mean, he was evil for...like ever, but he did do a lot of good too.
But I don’t know how it works. The best we can do is hope that wherever
he is now, it’s a good place. Because you’re right. (Andrew clears his throat, and the girls look at him. He looks sheepish.) ANDREW: So um...since we're on the subject of dead people...I think I thought of something to help with the ghosts. Cut to commercial. Act III: Scene 1. Cut to Buffy and Slayers out in the city. Shot of downtown New York, pans down to follow Buffy and the group of Slayers. SHANNON: Oh, let’s stop here! COLLEEN: Yeah! I need new clothes. (The girls all bound into the shop, Buffy the last to go in. She looks
around first before entering the shop, actually smiling a bit. KENNEDY: I saw that. (Buffy turns to her and smiles.) BUFFY: I told you I wanted to be tourist gal too. (Kennedy smiles at her, then goes to join the other slayers. Buffy walks around the store, looking at things and holding some things up to herself. The other slayers can be heard chattering and laughing away in the background. She picks out a few things to try on, and heads to the dressing room. Inside the dressing room, she hears the Slayers better. Buffy tries on the shirt, listening in on the conversation.) SHANNON: (off camera): More shoes? COLLEEN: (off camera): You can never have too many cute pairs of boots. CARIDAD: (off camera): You’re going to drown in all those shoes. (Hearing this hits Buffy nearly physically, as she flashes to a sleeping
Spike. “I’m drowning in footwear!” The flashes continue,
short flashes of Spike from the time they first met in the alley to them
holding hands before he died. She leans back against the dressing room’s
wall, her smile dying immediately. She gets a sad look in her eyes, hugs
her arms to her chest, and looks down. KENNEDY: Buffy? You gonna buy that stuff? We want to go! BUFFY: (voice a little wavery) I’m coming. Just...give me a minute. Act III: Scene 2 Cut to Library. ANDREW: Well...I mean, it always works in the comics... WILLOW: Comics? Andrew, come on, we really need something here, not comic book stuff. (Andrew looks up.) ANDREW: You know, comics have always copied reality. Haven’t you ever seen Unbreakable? (Willow gives him a hard look) Just hear me out! In Anime and Manga...(off their blank look) Japanese comics, it’s always in there...and it’s a real thing. I even saw one once. It’s a talisman. (He smiles) In this one movie, they put it on dead body’s foreheads and they’d hop around as zombies and... WILLOW: The point? ANDREW: You have no culture. The point is that these Japanese talismans can help us. There are types that can be used as like, spirit wards. So we can like, trap the ghosts, you know, put them on the doors and walls and stuff so they can’t come in. (Willow thought about that.) WILLOW: You can get these talismans? ANDREW: I can make them. (Willow’s eyes widen.) WILLOW: Really? I’m not sure it’s such a good idea... ANDREW: Well you said non-magic was what we were going for, and this is more spiritual than magic. It’s just paper and ink. DAWN: Do you know Japanese? ANDREW: Well, not technically... (brightens) but I do watch a lot of Anime! I had the subtitled collection of Dragon Ball Z... WILLOW: Andrew... ANDREW: Just let me try, ok? I’m pretty sure it’ll work. DAWN: What if the ghosts can’t read Japanese? ANDREW: Um. It doesn’t matter? (The girls give him a look, but don’t argue anymore. He hops up and starts looking for books. Willow suddenly frowns at her laptop.) WILLOW: Hey, that’s weird. (Dawn looks up.) DAWN: What is? (Willow motions, and the two teenagers go to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder. What’s seen on the computer screen is an aerial shot of the city. She points to a building in the foreground. There’s an obvious huge symbol drawn into the brickwork of the building.) WILLOW: That’s our building. DAWN: What’s that symbol mean? (Willow frowned deeply.) WILLOW: I know I’ve seen it somewhere before...Dawnie, what did you find out about the family? (Dawn sits back down.) DAWN: Not a lot. They were really eccentric, and kept to themselves.
Oh yeah and they were disgustingly rich. WILLOW: Does it say they were into the occult? DAWN: Not really. Nothing specific was said, at any rate. Just that they
were really reclusive, and their biggest project was that building, the
K. Swanson Building. But hey, wealthy weirdo’s? With big symbols
on their building? ANDREW: I liked the Adams Family. Cousin It was– (Dawn cuts him off.) DAWN: Oh...but I DID find out who the girl you saw was. The girl, on
the rooftop? Apparently she was a daughter of the family... WILLOW: Oh...that’s...really horrible. DAWN: Yeah, glad I didn’t have to see it. ANDREW: I wonder why she did it? DAWN: I don’t know, but it says here that after the suicide the family fortune went all downhill and stuff, which is why Riley and company got to buy the place. But it’s been on the market for, like ever. Gee, I wonder why no one wanted to buy it? WILLOW: (still frowning at the picture of the building) The first symbol here is for containment. Pretty standard stuff. This one is for Entropy...which would explain why the building needs to be rebuilt every ten years. (Looks up at blank faces) Entropy is like...the theory that everything has energy that breaks down. Like things rust and deteriorate and stuff. It also has to do with probability...it’s hard to explain. ANDREW: Why would you put that on a building? If I were going to put symbols on a building I’d put big dragon calling symbols or oh! The bat signal! Or we could change it! Do Slayers have a symbol? They should. Like, a crossed stake and a fang or something. Then we could put it on the building and be like, superhero central like the big 4 on top of the Fantastic Four's building! WILLOW: (ignores most of what Andrew's said) Anyways. I don’t know
why anyone would put a symbol like that on a building. DAWN: What other symbols? (Willow frowns, shaking her head, then gets up, looking for a book. She
pulls it down and flips through it for a few moments. WILLOW: O-KAY... DAWN: Find what you’re looking for? (Willow nods, and brings the book over to the table. She puts it down, and the symbol is seen.) WILLOW: It’s a Spirit Draw. It’s supposed to call in spirits from the surrounding areas...(shakes her head) but that doesn’t make any sense! Why would you want to in the first place, and second, this would need to be powered up by something...it wouldn’t just work on it’s own. ANDREW: Cool! It’s just like Ghostbusters! That had the crazy building
that was a big spook central! WILLOW: Andrew, work on the talismans. (Andrew sits down, looking sullen.) ANDREW: I was just saying... DAWN: Well don’t say, do. Show us these talisman things are going to work. (Andrew set to work on the books he’d gotten out, and went to get some blank paper to write on. Willow sat back.) WILLOW: Ok. As far as I can tell, this is what the building does. It
calls spirits from the surrounding area, and keeps them there with the
combined symbols. I guess the entropy one would be for the more likely
probability that the spirits would be caught, and since entropy is ultimately
about the degradation of a system, it’s kinda perfect for it. Sort
of Death in a symbol. Wow. ANDREW: A certified genius or an authentic wacko? (He says hopefully) (Dawn groans.) DAWN: Enough with the Ghostbusters stuff! We are very well aware of just how much it’s like our situation. Except without the scientists. We should have scientists. And no funniness. Big lack o funny here. ANDREW: I thought it was funny. WILLOW: Ok, Ghostbusters quote aside...yes. The person was into some serious stuff. Since...well, apparently it works. DAWN: You said it had to be powered. (Willow nods) What’s powering it now? WILLOW: I don’t know. DAWN: Well it’s had to be recent, since I didn’t find anything having to do with even a bump in the night about the building. No one’s complained of ghosts. Just the ever needing to be fixed building. (Andrew glanced up from carefully drawing on a sheet of paper, copying out of a book.) ANDREW: Maybe it was your spell, Willow. (Willow thought.) WILLOW: It started before then, though. We’ll figure it out. Let’s just see if these things work. DAWN: And hey, maybe they won’t come back. WILLOW: We could hope.
(Cut to outside of the building. Willow, Andrew and Dawn walk up the steps, Andrew holding onto a thick pile of papers. They walk inside, and Andrew slaps one up on the door, Dawn pulling out tape to hold it up.) ANDREW: One down... (Willow stumbles and leans heavily against the wall. Andrew and Dawn turn to look at her, and their eyes widen. Shot of Willow, the tendrils now visibly coming off of her in waves.) DAWN: Willow! (Willow collapses, and Andrew sets the talismans down, he and Dawn running to help her up.) WILLOW: G-get me outside... (They bring her out onto the steps, and Willow sits heavily against them.) ANDREW: What were you leaking? DAWN: Are you ok? Should we bring you to the hospital? (Willow shakes her head.) WILLOW: No...I’ll be ok...just go finish putting up the talismans, ok? (Dawn and Andrew hesitate, and then leave to do so. Willow sits on the steps, leaning forward to put her head in her hands. The ghost cat comes out of the building and sits next to her, meowing forlornly. Willow reaches out to pet it. Buffy walks up a few moments later.) BUFFY: Will? (Willow glances up, and Buffy rushes over to her.) BUFFY: Willow what’s wrong? WILLOW: Well...funny, that. You know our ghost problems? I think we’ve figured them out. BUFFY: Willow...why don’t you tell me later...you look really sick.
Let’s get you upstairs so you can lie down. WILLOW: No! That’s a bad plan! We researched the building today...and there’s ghost draws on it and stuff, and I think I’m powering it. (Buffy raises an eyebrow.) BUFFY: You’re what? WILLOW: You know I’ve been sick? Well I think it’s the building
doing it to me. I fainted last night after trying a spell. BUFFY: (frowns) What kind of stuff? WILLOW: My power, I think...I can feel it now. That it’s drained. Or at least it’s partly drained...I got out as fast as I could. BUFFY: Where are Dawn and Andrew? WILLOW: Trying to put up talismans. Where are the others? BUFFY: Still out sight seeing. I’d had enough for one day. WILLOW: Well...why don’t you go help Dawn and Andrew? They’ve got a whole lot of talismans to put up. (Cut to long hallway shot of Andrew and Dawn, gazing down the hall as
ghosts walk around again. DAWN: I think we’re a little late. ANDREW: Um... (Andrew holds up a talisman to one wall, and Dawn puts the tape to hold
it there. Suddenly, the ghosts going in DAWN: Well...that did something. ANDREW: Wow! It worked! DAWN: You said you were sure! ANDREW: No, I said they should work. (Andrew slaps another talisman on the next wall, and Dawn tapes it up.
Now they are stuck staring at the ghosts DAWN: Oh this can’t be good. I liked it a whole lot better when they were ignoring us! ANDREW: We need to put them on the doors too I guess... DAWN: Well let’s hurry! (They run down the hall, trying to avoid the ghosts, but not doing it.
Wind blows up the hall, scattering half of the printed DAWN: I think I’ve discovered a flaw with the plan. ANDREW: Yeah? DAWN: Yeah. It doesn’t get rid of the ghosts, it just stops them wandering around!! ANDREW: Maybe if we herded them all into one room? DAWN: Maybe... (Buffy peeks down the hall from the other end.) BUFFY: Dawn! DAWN: Buffy! Is Willow ok? BUFFY: Yeah, but she thinks she’s powering the Spook Machine. DAWN: Oh...that makes sense then. ANDREW: We still have other floors to put the talismans on. BUFFY: Why don’t you two do that. God...these guys look a lot more
solid today...good thing it’s (Xander walks out into the hallway then, still covered in grime. Buffy runs up.) BUFFY: Xander! Are you ok? XANDER: I’ve just seen the scariest thing. BUFFY: Ghosts? XANDER: Miss Parker’s sink. Never ask me about old women and shoehorns. Hey...who’re all these....oh dear god there’s ghosts again. BUFFY: Thank you, Captain Obvious. Come on! (Buffy and Xander head towards Dawn and Andrew. Dawn thrusts a handful of talismans at Buffy, and a roll of tape.) BUFFY: We’ll get the next floor up, you guys start at the top and work your way down. (Shots of the two teams dodging ghosts, running after papers, and getting
set back by more spooks. WILLOW: Did it work? ANDREW: Yes! The ghosts are now contained. BUFFY: However, they’re just contained wherever the were trapped,
so I’d have to say that it was a WILLOW: Oh...guys, the problem is me. DAWN: Isn’t there some way we could destroy the symbol? ANDREW: Don’t you know never to go destroying powerful symbols? Haven’t you seen any movies? DAWN: (sarcastic) Not many, I’ve been busy fighting for the forces of good for a few years; I’m a bit behind. XANDER: I’m lost. WILLOW: Basically our building was built to be a spirit magnet, and now I’m powering it. XANDER: Oh. (Beat) Well stop it. WILLOW: I wish I could...I’ve been thinking and this is what I
think happened. I got here, and the BUFFY: All by itself? (Willow shrugged.) ANDREW: Wait a minute. (Everyone looks at him) You haven’t been doing magic. WILLOW: I haven’t had time to sort of slowly reintroduce myself to it. ANDREW: But you’re really powerful! I mean, you just radiate with the witch stuff. BUFFY: Point? ANDREW: Well...you can’t have that much power and not do anything
with it. Where’s it supposed to go? XANDER: A leaky bucket o power? (Willow nods slowly.) WILLOW: You know, Andrew, that would make sense...I think. Maybe that’s
why it started at first, and DAWN: So what do we do about it? (Willow looks down again.) WILLOW: I don’t know. XANDER: Well, we have to do something... BUFFY: Yeah, and soon, we can’t bring her back inside until she’s non leaky. ANDREW: I’ve got an idea.
(Cut to Library. Xander, Andrew, Willow, and Dawn are at the table, researching. Buffy stands to the side, on the phone.) BUFFY: Hello, Giles...what, who's this? Claudia? Oh, so he found you
huh...this is Buffy speaking...well, WILLOW: This is a horrible idea. ANDREW: Well, it’s all I can think of, and I don’t see any of you coming up with anything better. XANDER: Maybe it’ll be sexy, Will! (Willow gives him a dirty look.) BUFFY: We’re looking, Will. (To the phone) Thank God. No, no end of the world thingy just Willow power drain stuff and mystical symbolly junk on our building. (Pause) No, I don’t know why this always happens to us. We’re just unlucky. Now what should we do? (Camera pans back to the group, Buffy speaking softly in the background. Dawn tosses her book down.) DAWN: Well, I’m not finding anything. Did you know that every book
I’ve looked at says that destroying the ANDREW: I told you we can’t destroy the symbol. XANDER: (mocking) I told you we can’t destroy the symbol. (Normal) Just because it works for D&D doesn’t mean it works for reality. (Buffy walks back to the table.) BUFFY: Well, apart from this time, apparently. (Sigh) Giles says a big
resounding no to destroying the DAWN: Soul-rending death? BUFFY: That about covers it. (Willow drops her forehead with a clunk onto the table.) WILLOW: But I don’t want to do it! BUFFY: Giles said it was the best idea, Will. But on the up side, it’ll
not only prevent mystical power sucky building things, XANDER: A water dam of power would have been better, Buff. ANDREW: Found it! (Xander and Buffy lean over to look at the open book.) XANDER: That’s it? BUFFY: Well that’s not bad, Will, and hey, Chinese symbols are all the rage. ANDREW: Japanese! BUFFY: Whatever. XANDER: Come on, Willow, At least look at it. (Willow looks over reluctantly. Andrew pushes the book over to her. Shot
of a picture of another paper talisman, WILLOW: But I don’t WANT a tattoo!! Act IV: Scene 1 (Cut to Tattoo parlor outside, neon sign, then inside in the back. Willow is standing with her shirt off, bra on, eyeing the fresh tattoo on the center of her back. It’s very well done. Buffy and Dawn smile at it.) BUFFY: Well I was skeptical, but color me impressed, Will. I like it. DAWN: It’s so cool! Buffy, can I get one? BUFFY: No! DAWN: (pouts) You never let me do anything. (To Willow) Did it hurt? WILLOW: Of course it did! Hello with the needle and the ink! (She smiles) But not nearly as bad as I thought... (Cry from off screen, it’s Xander. Willow pulls her shirt on, and they enter the parlor proper. Xander is getting a tattoo on his upper arm.) BUFFY: (smiling) Wow, Xan. You scream like a girl. (Xander shoots a glare at her.) TATTOOIST: Stop movin, man. (Xander holds himself still with visible effort. Willow smiles.) WILLOW: You didn’t have to get one too, you know. XANDER: Well, I wanted you to feel better. I can handle it–ow!” (The girl’s giggle, and Andrew looks up from a book of tattoo designs.) ANDREW: Can I see it, Willow? WILLOW: No. It looks just like your book only not so photocopyish. (Andrew pouts. Dawn leans in to Buffy and whispers.) DAWN: If it wasn’t Andrew, I’d say he was just trying to get Willow to take her shirt off. (Buffy and Dawn laugh. Then Buffy looks at Xander.) BUFFY: What are you getting, anyways, Xander? XANDER: I told you before you went in to help Willow, you can’t look. You can see it when it’s done. ANDREW: I like it. XANDER: You would. DAWN: Why does he get to see? ANDREW: Because I’m a guy. XANDER: No, because you were standing there when I picked it out. (Willow looks to the Tattooist.) WILLOW: How much do I owe you, mister? TATTOOIST: Your friends already took care of it. (Willow turns to look at everyone, and they are all smiling brightly at her.) WILLOW: Aww, guys! That’s so sweet! DAWN: We figured it was enough that you had to get something you didn’t want. BUFFY: You shouldn’t have had to pay for it too. (Willow smiles, touched, and pulls Buffy and Dawn into a hug. Then she
plants a kiss on Xander’s forehead, ANDREW: Well...I had a little money. TATTOOIST: Ok, all done. Now. Same instructions as for your friend. (Xander pulls his shirtsleeve down a little gingerly and pays the man. They exit, and camera shows them walking home.)
Cut to outside of their building. Everyone enters, leaving Willow just
outside. They eye her expectantly, and then XANDER: Willow? BUFFY: You ok? WILLOW: Oh! That feels...neat! (They look at her, a little shocked. The cat rubs up against Willow’s legs, purring loudly.) ANDREW: What does? (Willow turns.) WILLOW: My tattoo. It feels like...purring, only not a sound, a feeling! (She pulls up her shirt and the tattoo is glowing faintly, a light violet color.) DAWN: Wow! That’s so cool looking! It’s glowing! WILLOW: Really? (The ghost cat rubs more insistently up against Willow’s legs, purring. She smiles and kneels to pet it.) ANDREW: See, I told you it would work. BUFFY: You did. Many, many times. (She sighs) Good job, Andrew. WILLOW: Hey, Lenore. You’re a happy kitty. BUFFY: Lenore? (Willow looks up with a smile.) WILLOW: That’s her name. She told me. XANDER: Funny, all I heard was a vast amount of purring. (Willow shakes her head.) WILLOW: Well, I heard her. ANDREW: It’s a Familiar thing. XANDER: Oh. Right. I knew that. DAWN: By the way, what’s your tattoo, Xander? (Xander grins, and pulls up his sleeve. Camera pushes in to show a Scooby Doo tattoo.) XANDER: (camera still on the tattoo) Figured it fit, bein an original Scooby. Cut to commercial. ACT IV: Scene 3 (Cut to shot of the hallway, following Andrew. He passes Willow and Kennedy’s apartment, where he briefly peeks in.) KENNEDY: So, honey, how was your day? (Andrew continues on, and we hear Kennedy off camera.) KENNEDY: A tattoo!?! (Andrew goes up the steps to the roof, where we see Dawn is standing, looking out at the city lights. He walks up to stand next to her.) DAWN: Hey. ANDREW: Hey. (They stop and stare at the lights for a long time.) (Andrew finally looks over at her.) ANDREW: So, what's up? DAWN: Just thinking. ANDREW: Oh. Um. About...y'know. Him? (Dawn nods.) ANDREW: I miss him too. (Dawn turns to look at him, surprised.) DAWN: You do? ANDREW: Yeah. I mean, he was so cool! He’s the only person ever
to make ‘sod off’ sound like a death threat. (Dawn smiled a little half amused smile, crossing her arms and chuckling a little.) DAWN: I thought so. But then I spent too much time around Spike. ANDREW: Yeah, well, I knew he wouldn’t off me. I mean, he respected me. DAWN: Andrew, where do you live? ANDREW: Huh? Just downstairs... DAWN: No. I mean, where do you live? Because in this reality? Spike never respected you. That’s the one I’m from. ANDREW: Ok, geeze, he didn’t...but we both liked flowering onions! DAWN: (smiles, then she looks away again) But anyways...I miss him. Or...I
miss the way we were. (Companionable silence falls.) DAWN: So that’s my excuse. I was his little nibblet. What’s yours? ANDREW: UH...I mean... (First black credits screen.) DAWN: (giggles) Yeah, I used to have a crush on him too. ANDREW: Hey! (Roll Credits) Grr. Arg. A little ghost cat follows the mutant enemy guy. 'mew' |