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- Back - Episode 154: " The Wasteland " - Season 8, Episode 10 #Disclaimer# We do not own the characters in this story, nor do we own any rights to the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel the Series". They were created by Joss Whedon and belong to him, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Television, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television, WB and UPN Television Networks.
Previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: ROOFTOP, NIGHT FAITH and BUFFY clutch one another, sobbing, as the camera pans round to the coop, then moves forward through the bars and comes to rest with a brown hand just in shot. Blood is spreading out on the ground like a spilled glass of wine. CUT TO: ANDREW, FAITH and XANDER in Scooby central. ANDREW: Xander that is ENOUGH! XANDER: Got something to add, Mr.-I-wasn’t-there-for-all-the-really-bad-stuff? ANDREW: Yes. Where is all this coming from? What's your problem? XANDER: My problem? [pause] MY problem? Her! CUT TO: INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL, DAY ANYA is fighting BRINGERS, ANDREW beside her. A BRINGER’s sword catches her and slices through. ------------------------------------ --Episode begins-- TEASER INT. DAWN’s BEDROOM We hear the sound of a hammer knocking a steady beat into the wall as the camera moves through the door. XANDER is standing on a ladder hammering a nail into the wall to hang a picture. His face is stubbly, but he’s made a half-arsed effort to dress smartly – he’s wearing a shirt, but it’s crumpled. DAWN’s sitting with a framed Japanese print on her lap and munching cookies. XANDER: You know, you could do this yourself. DAWN: [she holds out a bag of cookies] Cookie? XANDER: [takes one] Buffy has taught you well, my young apprentice. If apprentices just sat on the bed instead of doing the hammering. DAWN waves the cookies at him again. XANDER: So [looks round at Dawn then back at the nail] I hear Oz is dating a demon now. Me and Oz, two of a kind. DAWN: I don't know if they're dating. I think they just talk about werewolf stuff. [beat] That just sounded REALLY naive. XANDER: [smiles as he makes the last hammer stroke] It's good to have Oz back. Even if he is playing fun fur games. DAWN smiles then moves to a more thoughtful face. DAWN It's weird . For me -- I remember him, but he left before I -- before I WAS.[beat] Sometimes that spins me. XANDER What spins me is he left as bassist in a van guy and comes back more Young Obi-Wan. DAWN: [kicking her legs out, relaxing] Maybe you could start on the road to nirvana with a bit of feng shui on your room? Or tidying up as the unenlightened call it. I see pizzas go in, but I never see the boxes leave. XANDER: What’s the one where you just go with the flow, follow nature? DAWN: Dao for bums? XANDER That one -- Bum Dao, the philosopher, right? Hence the term -- "Bum Daout". DAWN glares XANDER: Hey, my first pun in MONTHS. DAWN: It shows. XANDER: OK, thing is, with my, room. I close the door, and let the rubble take care of itself while I'm gone. Then when I come back, I go to sleep, so I don't see it. DAWN: That bad? XANDER Anya used to get out her old vengeance impulses on my debris. DAWN: Maybe you should get your vengence on then. Want me to make you mad? XANDER Go ahead, make my day. DAWN: Buffy said you and Spike used to make out in the basement XANDER [smiling] See, now that just makes me nostalgic. [beat] Don’t you have a study date? That Canadian girl? Anna? DAWN: [shrugs] Yup. She was supposed to be here half an hour ago. But it’s no big. It’s nice to have some time out. XANDER: Maybe she just decided to hit the sack early? EXT. MANHATTAN STREET, NIGHT A tall YOUNG WOMAN with curly blonde hair is grappling with a female vampire in a residential street flanked with brownstone apartments and lined with trees. A bag full of books is lying on the ground. The VAMP has its hands round the young woman’s neck, throttling her. VAMP: I’m gonna suck your brains out through your eyeballs, slayer! I’m gonna open up your skull and -- The SLAYER knees the VAMP in the stomach, shutting her up and sending her staggering backwards. Meantime, the SLAYER’s muttering under her breath, as she whips out a stake. She has a French-Canadian accent. SLAYER: Heart on the left? Heart on the right? Left? [she shakes her head, and reaches into a pocket, pulling out another stake] Screw it. As the VAMP attacks again the SLAYER plunges two stakes into the VAMP’s chest. She crosses her fingers. The VAMP scowls, looking down. She dusts. The SLAYER jumps up and down, squealing happily. She pockets her two stakes with a swagger and does a geeky little dance. SLAYER: Anna contre les vampires! Victoire! Suddenly embarrassed, she dusts herself down, picks up her bag and shuffles the books back into place. She starts walking, humming to herself, no particular tune. She’s relaxed, not paying attention to where she’s going. The street ahead of her shimmers slightly and begins to curve. SFX: A scuttling sound like insects in the dark. ANNA doesn’t notice. Then a streetlamp behind her goes out. She gives it a glance but doesn’t think much of it. But when she looks back, all the lights ahead are out and the street now leads to a piece of waste ground. She turns sharply back to run, her eyes wide with panic. But the street behind her is gone and she’s up against a brick wall. The only way is on across the waste ground. WOLF HOWL, BUFFY’S THEME PLAYS Staring: Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Anne Summers Special Guest Stars: With: With: [for more credits, scroll to end of the ep] Enter myfic challenge: So I said to myself, "self," I said.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03-14-2005, 12:01 AM #2 Join Date: Jan 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT I INT. SLAYER CLASSROOM, DAY GILES is standing at the front of the classroom. Behind him is a PowerPoint presentation projected onto the white board. The first slide says “An Introduction to Ethics”. HUGO is sitting on the desk by a computer. DAWN’s in the back row, SARA next to her. The chair on the other side of DAWN is empty. She glances at the door. A row of slightly socially unfortunate girls – spectacles, spots, pallid skin, the works - are in the front row gazing adoringly up at GILES. SAMANTHA FROST saunters in, carrying a very expensive handbag which looks far too small to contain anything other than beauty products. GILES looks at his watch then glances sternly at SAMANTHA. GILES: Detention. SAMANTHA: What? GILES: It’s a quaint old custom. I believe they also had it at Rodean. HUGO scribbles something on a piece of paper and angles it slyly so only GILES can see. It says: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. You are an absolute bastard.” GILES keeps a poker face. SAMANTHA shoots GILES a look of daggers as she slumps into the only available seat - next to the GILES fan-club. They titter. GILES: Now we’re all here. [he looks up and spots the empty chair] Where’s Anna Fournier? Everyone including DAWN shrugs. But DAWN looks worried. GILES: [frowning] Hm. Well, we can start without her. [he clears his throat. To the class] I know that Miss Rosenburg was supposed to take this class, but she’s been called away on other business. I’d rather avoid turning this into a comedy skit on my lack of technological prowess, [hint of malice] so I’ve brought along my glamourous assistant. HUGO nods to the class and raises a hand. GILES: Hugo, would you mind? HUGO nods and clicks the mouse. A slide appears: Ignorance. The root and stem of every evil. – Plato HUGO clicks the mouse again and another sentence joins the first. School is where you learn – Anon There’s a general titter from the class. GILES: So, as you can deduce, what goes on in this classroom is as much a part of fighting evil as, well, literally fighting evil. Today, I’d like to discuss some of the ethical questions you’re likely to come up against. Miss Rosenburg stressed it was very important that I tell you that when it comes to good and evil, to right and wrong, there is [he glances at a print-out of notes and smiles] a whole big grey area thing going on in between. CUT TO: INT. HYPERION, NIGHT WILLOW is walking through an upstairs corridor of the Hyperion dressed in dark slacks and a short beige leather jacket, shirt underneath - normal clothes WILLOW: Angel? She opens a door that leads through to: INT. ANGEL’S OFFICE, WOLFRAM AND HART WILLOW: Hello? The office is empty and completely silent. The black chair is spinning
GUNN: Big man's out back. WILLOW walks to the door and reaches for the handle, blinking the dust out of her eyes. The door bursts open and ILLYRIA is standing in the doorway. She glares at WILLOW. WILLOW double-takes. WILLOW: Fred? You’re blue? And - - leather? ILLYRIA: You do not belong here!
EXT. ALLEY, NIGHT WILLOW is standing alone in a dead-end alleyway. The dust is gone and
all is WILLOW: This the dimension without umbrellas? Angel steps up closer to Willow, looking at her intently. She smiles. ANGEL: Something's coming. Willow looks around the alley. Facing them is a horde of demons, WILLOW: [looking at the demons] Not coming so fast though. Glaciers ANGEL: Not here. It's coming to Manhattan. WILLOW: It? [smiles] Good to know you've been honing those gnomic ANGEL turns his face upward to the rain, letting it bathe his face. He WILLOW: Any signs we should look for? ANGEL blinks, turns his gaze back to WILLOW. WILLOW: A name? A weakness? ANGEL looks at her, almost as if she were speaking another language. ANGEL: [shakes his head, moves back] It's not my game Red. WILLLOW: [puzzled] You don't call me Red. You never did before. ANGEL: People change. Things fall apart. [he turns to go] WILLOW: Wait . . . Just hold on! ANGEL: Can't. That bell's rung. WILLOW: Bell? What is this, twenty questions? ANGEL: It's goodbye. We focus in on his face. There's a slight smile. ANGEL leans forward,
slow to the brink of slow motion, water on his closed eyelashes. Willow
looks up at him. He kisses her cheek, gently – we hear the soft
parting of his lips - then moves backwards, WILLOW: Shouldn't you be saying this to Buffy? ANGEL: Am I saying it to her? WILLOW blinks and wipes the rain out of her eyes. WILLOW: Astral projection or no, this just opens up a whole new dimension of baffling. Angel smiles and turns away from Willow. ANGEL: Got work to do. So do you. Willow watches as he walks off down the alley, which is no longer a
INT. DIMLY-LIT ROOM BUFFY and WILLOW are in a room with magic symbols on the walls and some
locked glass cases along one wall containing books, gourds and assorted
mystical objects. BUFFY and WILLOW are holding hands in a magic circle,
surrounded by candles. BUFFY breaks the trance first, with an exhalation
of breath, eyes unblinking. Her hands hold WILLOW’s for a moment
then she takes them away slowly. WILLOW: So, that’s all. Unfortunately it wasn’t choose your own adventure. It took a whole week’s hard trancing to follow him that far.. I was gonna tell him something’s always coming, but he made his billowy exit before I could spit it out.
WILLOW: You stand a good chance of becoming the first Slayer to make it to the retirement home. BUFFY: And Angel will come back from some dimension to drop more non-clues. Only I'll be senile and won't be able to tell the difference anyway. BUFFY is still gripping WILLOW's hand. WILLOW: Need to find an alternative to hand-holding if I do this with you again -- Buffy? She watches BUFFY, who is looking off into the distance. BUFFY: He was very far away. But never GONE. WILLOW: [watching with large sad eyes] Dumb-ass gypsies. BUFFY: There are all these things - - I can't believe I did. And didn’t. There's a pause. BUFFY: [testy] Why aren't there different words for gone, like thoes eskimos with the different words for 'snow'? 'Gone-going-away-but-will-be-back-after-who-knows-what' or 'gone-period-gone'? WILLOW: Do you want me to - - try something? BUFFY: [firmly] He didn’t ask for help. And he always knew his own mind. Even if I didn’t. WILLOW: Thank god. Because the interdimensional magicks, not good for the sinuses. BUFFY: [coming back into focus] Can't have you out of action with kleenex up your nose. Our job's here and --
O.S DAWN: Buffy! Something’s happened! It’s Anna, she’s gone! BUFFY: As for example. INT. CORRIDOR, DAY BUFFY, DAWN, A FEMALE TEACHER in her mid-30s and WILLOW are standing in the corridor outside a door that’s ajar, with “Miss Rosenburg” in a little brass plaque on the door. Inside is the magic circle, smudged by a hasty exit. DAWN: When she didn’t turn up for math I got worried, so I called her mom, and she said she didn’t come home last night. I know there could be some totally normal explanation, but, I never knew anyone with a bigger text addiction, and I sent her four texts, she didn’t reply to one. BUFFY: Maybe she lost her phone? GILES comes pacing down the corridor, a grim look on his face. GILES: Ethan Rayne was spotted in New Jersey last night. BUFFY: [suddenly serious] She didn’t lose her phone. [she turns to walk off] Round up the gang. INT. CLASSROOM KENNEDY and WILLOW are standing together near the door. Outside the classroom we see various people bustling past. KENNEDY: Why don’t you whip up a spell? Locate the girl, locate Ethan, job done. WILLOW: [an edge to her voice] WHIP UP a spell? KENNEDY: [reaching out, touching her arm] I’m sorry. I didn’t mean - - I know you can’t be casual woman about the magicks. WILLOW: No one should be casual about magic. [wrinkles her brow] I sound like my mom. KENNEDY: Your mom lectured you on magic? WILLOW: Well, no, on the proper use of gender neutral pronouns to prevent the oppression of the patriarchy. But it was the same nagging vibe. KENNEDY ends WILLOW’s sentence with a kiss. WILLOW’s surprised at first, her arms hang by her side. But then she wraps her arms round KENNEDY and kisses back. After a moment, KENNEDY pulls away, looking at WILLOW. KENNEDY: Are we good? WILLOW: [smiles] Of course. We’re the good guys. Double-plus-good. Minus the Big-Brotheriness. KENNEDY: Best to leave that out. They separate, but keep holding hands. WILLOW: That trance, with Buffy and Angel and many dimensions - - plus an extra special protection for the school mojo - - I don’t think I’ll be doing any spells, casual or otherwise for a while. So, I’m going to help out with the gumshoe side of things. You? KENNEDY: Buffy asked me to stick here for a while. Check the perimeters, secure the area. [half smile] Make sure I only get out in the field once it’s all over so I don’t turn into Evil Xena. WILLOW reaches out a hand and touches KENNEDY’s face. WILLOW: It’s going to be ok. KENNEDY puts her hand over WILLOW’s hand and turns away slightly. The camera moves out into the hall. INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR BUFFY and GILES are talking in serious whispers. GILES: Faith and Xander? Are you really certain that’s a good idea? Given their recent relations, working together, they might hinder the search more than they help it. BUFFY: He won’t talk to me, Giles. I don’t know what’s chewing him up, but when I try to – when I talk to him, he just chews ME up. I don’t like being the chew-ee. [shakes her head] Thank god Andrew’s not in hearing range. GILES: I’m not sure you’ve thought this through properly. A girl’s life is in danger here. If Ethan is behind this - - BUFFY: [cuts across] Then here’s a whole big Scooby dragnet ready to drag him back to prison. GILES looks thoughtful and nods. BUFFY: Look, whatever it is about Faith that’s making him crazy. Xander crazy, not Ethan crazy. Well, maybe it’s her he needs to talk to. Cause, perhaps we should start helping our friends BEFORE they go evil. Hence the unlikely buddy movie pairing. See? GILES: [taking off his glasses and inspecting them] It has a certain distinctly American logic to it. [he pulls a cloth out of his pocket and starts cleaning the glasses] BUFFY: [frowns] You disapprove. GILES: They’re dirty. Sometimes they DO need it you know. [beat] I think perhaps you’re right. They may be able to find the Blitz spirit when they’re working together. BUFFY: Bliss spirit? GILES: How much school DID you miss exactly? CUT TO: INT. SCHOOL BUS The FEMALE TEACHER from earlier is driving the bus. BUFFY is up front with her, pointing at a map. BUFFY: Those are the drop off points Margaret. Thanks for playing driver. MARGARET: [Liverpudlian-English accent] That’s alright. [beat] And you can call me Maggie. [off BUFFY’s slightly uncomfortable look] Iron Lady issues? I get that a lot. BUFFY: Something like it. [smiles] But, Maggie it is. BUFFY turns to the passengers (XANDER, WILLOW, FAITH, DAWN, and CLAUDIA) BUFFY: So, how’re things looking at school? WILLOW: Pretty darn Ethan-proof. Though, are we sure this is Ethan? All we’ve got is a sighting of him near New York New York. Or, in New Jersey. Where Oz has gone to do some literal sniffing around. BUFFY: I’m not sure. But we can’t afford to get assume-y that it’s not him, given the [glances at FAITH] stuff. Ok, so, Dawn, you and Claudia check out Willy’s place. DAWN: Finally. Some actual demon language practice. BUFFY: But no drinking. DAWN: It’s 11 in the morning! And Anna’s my friend. I’m here to help her. BUFFY: All the more reason that the drinking’s a bad thing. DAWN: [laughs] Reason? You SO had that beaten out of you at mom school. BUFFY: [growl] Dawn. DAWN: We’re on it. BUFFY: Willow, you come with me. There’s some abandoned warehouses uptown that are just perfect for a spacious south-facing evil sorcerer’s lair. XANDER: [laughs] Evil sorcerer? Still having issues with the taking Ethan seriously. He of the cowardice and the whole patheticness thing. FAITH: [low] Yeah. He’s a defenceless baby lamb. BUFFY fixes XANDER with a look. BUFFY: Xander, Faith, I want you two to take the area round near Anna’s house. Mid-town. FAITH: Together? MAGGIE: [calling back] Your stop Buffy. BUFFY moves towards the door and WILLOW gets up too. BUFFY: Cellphone’s charged and ready? Good to go? I’m going. [bus doors open] Bye! [WILLOW follows her with a glance at XANDER] XANDER and FAITH exchange a hostile look. INT. GILES’s OFFICE GILES is at his desk. The phone rings. As he hears the voice on the other end of the line his mouth purses into an angry slit. GILES: Buffy’s out. And to you, Riley, she will doubtless stay “out” for some considerable time. EXT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE GILES’s OFFICE KENNEDY walks past and hears GILES’s raised voice. She stops. V.O GILES: I am fully aware that it’s your funds that are supporting this school. Where those funds come from is less of a clear issue. INT. GILES’s OFFICE GILES: Yes, you could cut off that funding at any time. But you haven’t, have you? So my conclusion is that you need us. Until you have something for us other than toothless threats, I suggest you – GILES is holding a dead receiver. GILES hangs up the phone and puts his head in his hands, not having seen KENNEDY. She walks into his office KENNEDY: Money troubles, Giles? GILES starts. GILES: Kennedy -- I'm -- I should have closed the door. Rather embarrassing. KENNEDY: What's embarrassing? Someone twisting your arm because you're dependent on them financially? GILES: It's . . .not an experience I cherish. KENNEDY: [shrugs] It's -- familiar. To me, anyway. GILES: [subdued] I can't say it's new territory as far as I'm concerned. KENNEDY: Willow loves telling that story. [abashed] Not about the GILES: [almost talking to himself] 'The Council'. Never imagined I'd KENNEDY: Better the devil you know -- GILES: [resigned] If only it were only devils. Those can be dealt GILES shakes his head, snaps out of it. GILES [apologetic]: Pardon the ramblings. KENNEDY: I'd take off on my bike. GILES [baffled] What? KENNEDY: When dad would threaten to cut me off for good -- I'd take GILES, surprised, drops his middle-aged worry, gives a short warm laugh. GILES: Very much my reaction at your age as well. [beat] Except mine GILES stands up, unknots his tie with a quick tug and drops it on the desk, then picks up some papers and walks to the door. GILES: Oh -- would you mind -- when you see Andrew, there's some admin KENNEDY: Sure. Throw in a couple of four-letter words while you're GILES flashes an appreciative complicit smile and exits. INT. IDLEWILD BAR, DAY ANDREW and PATRICK are sitting in a booth in a bar that’s designed to look like the interior of a plane. They’re sitting in airplane-type seats, opposite one another with a table spread with lunch in between them. The lighting is low and seductive. ANDREW’s ditched the all-black look. PATRICK’s wearing a comfy but trendy hooded top, hair spiked up manga-not-Angel-style. ANDREW looks around at the décor. ANDREW: This place is weird. [glancing at Patrick] Or maybe cool. ANDREW: [stiffly] I was busy fighting evil. PATRICK raises an eyebrow. ANDREW shuffles. ANDREW: And I was scared. PATRICK: You fight vampires, and you’re scared of phonecalls? [beat] Actually, it’s fair, I’m pretty scary. [he reaches a hand across the table and takes Andrew’s hand, leaning forward] And I could’ve called you. But, Manhattan habit. Always let them call. ANDREW: [frowns] That’s lame. PATRICK laughs PATRICK: So, how come I never noticed that New York is full of spooky evil? ANDREW: Maybe you weren’t looking? And it’s not very evil, like, not as evil as Sunnydale. Though, Sunnydale doesn’t exist any more. So maybe that makes New York more evil? PATRICK: You know, never dated a guy from a town that doesn’t exist before. I have dated guys from nowhere, but not -- really NOWEHRE. [spreading his hands enthusiastically as he speaks in a lazy babble] Pretty metaphysical. I date therefore I - - never stop talking. Your turn. What’re your pupils like? The slayer ones I mean. Normal teenage girls, not interesting. Unless they're Thora Birch, then they're god. But she's probably 25. And yet I talk. Interrupt me already! ANDREW reaches out suddenly and puts a finger over PATRICK’s lips. Then he pulls it back just in case it was rude. PATRICK grabs his hand and kisses it. ANDREW goes rosy-red, then composes himself. ANDREW: Ok. [proudly] My pupils. They’re totally empowered young women, with the strength and skill to fight, and the spirit to face whatever the world throws at them. They’re like amazons. Only with two breasts. PATRICK: Whatever you’re on, I’d like a bulk prescription. [laughing] I LOVE your brain! You have to call me quicker next time. INT. GILES’s OFFICE KENNEDY is standing by GILES’s desk. She glances behind her quickly, then presses last-number redial. V.O. RILEY: Giles -- thanks for calling back, listen, I -- KENNEDY: Sorry soldier boy. It's not Giles. V.O. RILEY: Clearly. [beat] Who am I talking to? KENNEDY: Call me . . . call me Xena. V.O. RILEY: Copy 'Xena'. I take it Giles is . . . indisposed. So . . . .why the callback? KENNEDY: Giles doesn't want to talk with you. But I do. V.O. RILEY: Buffy doesn't want to talk to me either. I assumed that went for her Slayers in general. KENNEDY: We're not 'her' Slayers. V.O. RILEY: [beat, then interested] Whose then? KENNEDY: That depends. Meet me and we can discuss it. V.O. RILEY: Name the place XANDER and FAITH are walking side-by-side in silence, down a road lined with brownstone houses. Both are casting glances from side to side. XANDER: [to FAITH] Maybe she just skipped off. She wouldn’t be the first slayer to leave town when the going got rough. FAITH: That directed at me, because - - XANDER: It wasn’t. I’m sorry. [beat] Let’s just keep looking. FAITH nods. Then she sees something. FAITH: Hey. [she runs up to an object lying on the ground. It’s ANNA’s school bag] XANDER: Wait up! FAITH: [already running] Anna! ANNA! Faith pelts off down the road. XANDER starts off after her then slows, realising he won’t catch her. XANDER: Wait up! Wait! We have to think what - - [he stops, angry]. Or
maybe thinking isn’t your thing. What am I even doing out here?
[beat] FAITH! CUT TO: FAITH She’s running, further up the road, looking around. SFX: The same scuttling sound we heard when Anna disappeared. CUT TO: XANDER XANDER’s panting as he chases after FAITH. XANDER: Where’d she go? He jogs a few more steps then leans down on his knees, getting his breath back. XANDER: How can I be getting old? I’m only 24. It’s immoral! We hear the scuttling sound rising. When XANDER looks up, he has is back
to the wall and the same wasteland is ahead. But there’s no sign
of FAITH. XANDER: Okaaaay! [nervous laugh] Who’d a thought. Prime real estate in the centre of Manhattan, just going to waste. Suddenly there’s a clanking, grinding sound and girders and concrete pillars begin to shoot out of the ground in front of him. Then behind. They twine together, forming the bones of a house, two storeys high all around him. XANDER: Or not-- XANDER starts to run backwards, but he can’t find a way out of the maze of concrete pillars and metal poles. He staggers this way and that, with the building closing round him. Through a gap in the structure we see ANNA. She’s slumped against a pillar, with metal wires wrapped round her. XANDER stops dead when he sees her. XANDER: Anna! Over here. [beat] What the - - He looks down at his feet as metal wires wrap round his legs. Cut to black. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03-14-2005, 12:04 AM #3 Join Date: Jan 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT II INT. EMPTY ROOM XANDER is in a half-finished building, standing in the middle of a concrete floor. He looks around him in confusion. One wall is fully built, and some building works lights are rigged up, partly illuminating the dusty room. But it’s dim and murky. XANDER peers at the wall, where some wooden slats are visible. XANDER: Gotta hand it to spooky invisible builders. Superb joinery. [to the room] Really guys, I’m impressed. Now, isn’t this the part where you come and try to kill me in some way? Because, how about we skip right over that part. You just tell me where our little slayer lost has gone and I’ll leave. I’ll even ask around, see if I can drum up some work for you, what do you say? I won’t even ask commission. Huh? We hear footsteps. XANDER swings round to face the doorway. DAWN is standing there, hair piled up on her head, spray-on-tight pants, cleavage top and a cigarette in her hand. She gives him a come-hither smile and leans on the door frame. DAWN: Got a light honey? XANDER: [shocked] Oh no. [beat] Not this dream again. DAWN: If this was a dream, wouldn’t you be naked? DAWN steps forward, swaying her hips. XANDER steps back. XANDER: You’re not Dawn. DAWN: Is that any way to say hello to a girl? [beat] I could say that you’re not Xander. You’re a shell of a Xander. A Xander-shaped space. XANDER: And you’re a hallucination [beat, points at her] and I’m gonna wake up any moment, and then you’ll be sorry. DAWN laughs. DAWN: See, there’s some Xander in there someplace. Little bits. Maybe the Xander-bits can use some help XANDER just stares at her. DAWN: Ok, the outfit? You think I’m evil because I’m looking hot? What are you, a caveman? XANDER: No, I’m a freaking out man. And you’re smoking. DAWN: Not really. She steps forward again. He steps back. Now he’s up against the wall. She strides up to him and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette lighter. She steps back and lights the cigarette, takes a sensual drag and lets the smoke drift up from her lips into his face. DAWN: Now I am. XANDER pinches himself. XANDER: Ow. He waits. XANDER: What now? DAWN turns and sashays out through the doorway. After a hesitation, XANDER follows her. He glances back. For a moment he sees a dirty-faced girl of about 13. There’s a whispering sound. But then it fades, and XANDER turns to go. INT. PRISON CELL FAITH jolts into awareness of her surroundings. She’s sitting on the lower bunk of a prison cell. As she moves, getting up, the mattress squeaks. She looks around the small cell, then rushes to the door, trying it. It’s locked. She glances back around the cell to see there’s a figure lying on the top bunk. It sits up. FAITH: ANNA?! But it’s not ANNA. It’s a mousy-haired woman in her 30s, wearing soft trousers and a shirt, with her shirtsleeves rolled up to reveal thin but sinewy arms. Her hair is pulled back from her thin face - high narrow cheekbones and pale eyes. FAITH: [quietly] Bridget. BRIDGET hops off the top bunk, landing lightly on her booted feet. This is someone who knows how to move. FAITH holds up her hands defensively. FAITH: OH no. We beat you. [pointing] We buried you under a frickin’ town. BRIDGET: [when she speaks, her accent is posh British] You think I’m the First? Reasonable assumption. But hasty. FAITH looks at her suspiciously. BRIDGET: [smiles gently] Touch me. FAITH: You think you’re the first woman in prison to ask me that? BRIDGET reaches out. FAITH grabs her hand and twists it behind her back, slamming her against the wall. FAITH: Ok [jamming her harder against the wall] so you’re not the First. So what are you? BRIDGET: Please. I can’t fight you, Faith. I’m a watcher, not a slayer. FAITH: You were. [FAITH’s expression softens at ANNA’s pleading tone. She loosens her grip] BRIDGET: Til you failed me. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? FAITH: You’re not giving straight answers. FAITH lets her go, and the two women are facing each other in the middle of the cell. BRIDGET: Nothing’s straightforward here. BRIDGET walks to the door and pulls out a key. BRIDGET opens the door and gestures to FAITH to go through. With a narrow-eyed look at BRIDGET, she goes through. INT. HALF-BUILT BUILDING XANDER is in a corridor. Exposed wires trail above him. There’s a notice on one wall saying “this is a hard hat area”. DAWN has vanished. XANDER scratches his leg nervously then walks on. XANDER: Dawn? Anna? Conveniently illuminated exit sign? [beat] Monsters? The corridor broadens out into a larger room. There’s a long table lit with candles and a group of four people bent over the table, dressed in black tie. We hear growling sucking noises as the figures – VAMPIRES - feast on something. Or someone. XANDER: [gesturing and nodding to himself] Yup. Monsters. The VAMPIRE suddenly look up from their feast. XANDER: [holding up his hands and backing away] Monsters with ears. The VAMPIRES rush him and he turns to run, but he bumps into a workbench. On it are some pieces of wood. He grabs the pointiest. As the first VAMP leaps towards him, he flails with the stake and it dusts. XANDER finds himself spinning round athletically and kicking out at the second, sending it flying. XANDER: Huh? His arm shoots out, slayer-accurate and stakes the third. The other VAMPS back off in terror and run away into the dark. XANDER looks down at the makeshift stake. XANDER: Pretty fly for a white guy with one eye. We hear a moan. XANDER: Hey, the rhyming wasn’t THAT bad. The figure on the table is moving. XANDER runs forward. XANDER: Oh, pain-moaning. Are you ok? As he reaches the table he sees the figure is wearing a white dress stained with blood. It’s BUFFY. She sits up and looks at him. BUFFY: Xander! You saved me! [she looks down] Then why am I still bleeding? On my wedding day! Blood is seeping through the dress. XANDER looks on in horror. INT. PRISON, DAY FAITH is walking along a narrow corridor in the prison center. Most of the lights along the walls are shattered & dark. The light that does fall on the walls shows splotches and smears of dried blood. We hear cell doors rustily squeaking shut in the distance, and sounds of aggresive passion and groaning from the unlit walkway above. V.O FEMALE VOICE: Hey! FAITH looks in the direction of the voice. A female PRISON GUARD is gesturing to her. GUARD: You’re in the wrong place. FAITH looks below her. Under the walkway, there’s a dark black lake. FAITH stops to look for a moment. Something moves under the surface and ripples spread out. V.O BRIDGET: [from behind FAITH] Move on. FAITH: Why’s there a lake there? She turns, but BRIDGET’s not there. FAITH walks on, her footsteps echoing on the metal walk-way.
GILES is bending down to look at a statue in a small white-walled art gallery. There is a large bag by his feet. He turns when he hears the clicking of footsteps. A tall, mature-but-oddly-ageless dark-haired WOMAN is coming towards him. She’s wearing a black dress, very stylish, with black-rimmed glasses. She smiles and GILES gestures to the statue of a many-armed goddess he was admiring. GILES: She looks very pleased with herself. WOMAN: [hint of a European accent, could be from any country] I would too, if I’d given birth to the world. [gestures to the statue] The goddess Novidánis. It’s a new piece. [beat] Can I help you? GILES: [picking up the bag] I have something that I’d like valued, if you have a moment? The woman nods. WOMAN: Follow me. They walk across the gallery floor to a curtain at the back. She pulls
the curtain aside. WOMAN: Well Rupert. It’s been a while. [beat] Please, sit. GILES: [sitting at the table] You look marvellous. WOMAN: I FEEL marvellous. There’s something about New York, it keeps you young. [beat] Can I offer you something? Wine? Tea? GILES: Tea would be lovely. WOMAN: And a little something to go with it? She pulls out an ornate tin from a drawer under the table. GILES nods his head in deference. WOMAN: So, things are rumbling. You never turn up unless there’s trouble. What’s in the bag? GILES: I’ll show you in a moment. But there’s something I’d like to establish first. WOMAN: Yes? [she looks steadily at GILES] GILES: Ethan Rayne. We suspect he’s – WOMAN: He’s not in town. [beat] Yet. [she opens the tin] GILES: That’s a relief. If relief can contain an element of ominous threat. WOMAN: I don’t make the threats. I just feel them. GILES: [nodding and leaning back] See, Ethan’s used to going underground. WOMAN: It’s his element. GILES: - -and somehow evading military capture. I want to find out where before he has a chance to regroup. WOMAN: I will make all enquiries I can. But - - the object to be valued? GILES smiles and nods. He opens the bag. GILES: Objects, really, now. [he pulls out some broken shards of wood. The WOMAN picks one up] There was some – erm – damage in transit. It used to be a box. WOMAN: [peering through her glasses] Well, I have all afternoon. And a few imported delicacies to loosen the conversational muscles. She takes out a little plastic bag of (ahem) magic weed and some rolling papers. GILES: I really shouldn’t. I’m a headmaster now, you know. The WOMAN just raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow. She puts down the rolling paper for a moment. WOMAN: Before we begin our serious business, [she nods to the skins and dope] And looking at these - - pieces. I think I have something you need. She pulls out a velvet drawstring bag and carefully opens it, pulling out a couple of tablets made from ebony, with Chinese letters etched in white. She spreads them on the table. GILES looks at her in curiosity. INT. UNFINISHED ROOM BUFFY is panting, looking helplessly up from the table at XANDER. He takes her hand. BUFFY: Xander! [as she speaks, blood drools out of the side of her mouth] XANDER: What can I DO? BUFFY just shakes her head and moans. He presses his hands on her stomach where the bleeding is. BUFFY gasps. Under his hands comes a faint glow. The blood recedes. BUFFY sits up suddenly, apparently cured. BUFFY: Your hands! XANDER recoils in shock at the healing. Then he looks down at his hands. They’re dripping with blood. BUFFY smiles. BUFFY: You brought me back! XANDER: I did. I -- BUFFY: You -- BUFFY's mouth turns down in disgust. BUFFY: That's MY blood. XANDER: From healing. BUFFY: You -- you violated me -- XANDER pulls back. BUFFY: You can't just save me and expect me to love you. XANDER: I don’t expect - - BUFFY: You're SICK, Xander. XANDER: How does -- BUFFY: God, I knew you could never be trusted -- XANDER: Can't be trusted? What the -- BUFFY: Stay away from me! Get back! You want more, don't you?! You -- oh! XANDER advances, BUFFY backs away, horrified, fearful. BUFFY: I can see your fantasies, -- all of them! XANDER: Buffy no -- BUFFY: Oh god you're so FOUL, you're - BUFFY flees. XANDER: Wait!
BUFFY and WILLOW are walking, BUFFY is on the phone. WILLOW is carrying a bag. BUFFY: Giles, are you sure? [beat] This is an Ethan-free deal? Ok. Get back to me if you find out anything else. Bye. [she clicks off the phone] Giles said he got information from sources. [beat] Since when did people telling us stuff turn into sources? WILLOW: It’s a guy thing. BUFFY: You know, I often forget Giles is a guy. Can you be a guy if you’re British? WILLOW: Well, there was that Fawkes guy. [shakes off the ramble] Girl in danger! [beat] So, we’re not looking at Ethan the slayer-snatcher? BUFFY: [nodding] Next theory, slayer-snatching demon. [BUFFY stops walking and looks down at a drain cover] Which leads me to the fun party notion of sewers. WILLOW: [worried] Or slayer-eating demon. You don’t think she’s - - BUFFY: [grimly] Let’s not talk about eating just yet. BUFFY bends down and pulls off the drain cover. INT. UNFINISHED BUILDING XANDER rushes through a slightly-open door nearly colliding with ANDREW, who wears glove, short tails. ANDREW holds out his right arm barring the way. ANDREW: Xander, please -- you're on time, we haven't given the table away. ANDREW makes a sweeping gesture towards a heavily-laden table, china and dinnerware laid out, dishes steaming with all kinds of food. Dust covers the chairs, and cobwebs on the silver candlesticks that light the spread. On the far wall there is a line of doors. ANDREW: We're just waiting for the main course. XANDER: Buffy? Is she here? ANDREW lifts an eyebrow and gives a slight smirk. TWO WAITERS briskly stride into the dining area carrying two long silver platters with dish covers. Following them, XANDER'S MOTHER, elegant rather than dowdy in an emerald dress. She directs the WAITERS who place the platters lengthwise along the center of the table then turns to XANDER. XANDER'S MOTHER: Well, Alex. She walks slowly towards him and places her hands on his shoulders. XANDER'S MOTHER: At last you've stopped playing games. You fill out that suit well. CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal XANDER wearing a dark grey silk suit, somewhat gangsterish cut, and a knotted dark red tie. XANDER'S MOTHER: Though it was supposed to be black tie. Still an idiot. Blood will tell. XANDER: I'm my mother's son. XANDER'S MOTHER: Yes. [She leans up against XANDER, her palms against his breast, her dark lacquered nails lightly resting like claws] I wanted a real child, a daughter. But giving birth to you tore everything out. You devoured me. I'm a shell too. XANDER'S MOTHER pats his chest reassuringly, steps back and takes her seat next to the empty chair at the head of the table. The chairs are filled -- He looks round the room at the half-finished walls, the girders, the darkness surrounding it and the camera follows his gaze. To the left of XANDER'S MOTHER sits GILES, with his arm around his overweight cousin CAROL. Next to CAROL sits UNCLE RORY, with XANDER's FATHER at the opposite end of the table. DAWN, still in her skanky outfit sits to XANDER'S FATHER's left, and then JOYCE, blue-pale in death but otherwise smiling and looking sociable. By her is an empty chair, and next to XANDER's chair sits FAITH. WILLOW, wearing an elegant sheath, walks up beside XANDER, smiling, and takes his arm. WILLOW: [nodding towards JOYCE] I can't believe she wore that HERE. XANDER: I can't stay here Willow. Buffy -- WILLOW: [interrupting] You're the host, Xander, you can't leave. Don't worry about Buffy. Sit. XANDER runs a hand through his hair, nervously, beads of perspiration on his forehead. ANDREW looks at XANDER contemptuously. ANDREW: Strike while the iron is hot. WILLOW: Everyone is staring. Don't disappoint me. You remember what happens when I'm -- disappointed. WILLOW's eyes go black and large as she continues to smile. WILLOW: All our friends are here. XANDER: Our friends. Oh yes. Them. [he looks at FAITH] WILLOW leads him to an empty chair beside her. FAITH is eating ravenously. FAITH: Hey, this is prime chow. [she digs her fork in again] You should try some. XANDER disengages from WILLOW, who takes the empty seat to FAITH's left. XANDER slowly lowers himself to the chair at the head of the table, which is lower than the others. His shoulder and head show above his plate. GILES: [looking along the table] Slouching again. Shame to waste the cuisine. It’s exquisite. [to CAROL] As are you, love. [he kisses her then licks her face, slowly] XANDER winces. WILLOW: [ignoring GILES, addressing XANDER encouragingly] He's jealous. He never got to -- you know, with his dead girlfriend. GILES smiles coldly, holds his hands to his neck, as if strangling himself, then twists his hands as if snapping his neck. GILES: Kkkkkk!! EVERYONE at the table laughs and breaks into light applause, except FAITH who continues to shovel the food in. GILES modestly smiles, accepting it. XANDER stares palely. GILES: [sighing] You never did get the joke, did you Xander? At least my Jenny's death had some relevance. WILLOW: [handing a small plate to XANDER]: Never mind sweetie. Try the paté. XANDER absently scoops some onto his plate. WILLOW gestures to a WAITER. WILLOW: Mr. Harris could use some wine. XANDER looks up helplessly while the WAITER pours a STICKY LIQUID with small white FLAKES in it into XANDER's goblet. WILLOW raises her glass. WILLOW: L'chaim!! ALL: L'chaim!! XANDER reaches for his glass and drinks it, slowly, savouring it. WILLOW: And the main course -- The SECOND WAITER removes the dish cover from the long platter near XANDER and places two slices on XANDER's plate. WILLOW: The host first. XANDER: No, Faith and I have to -- FAITH: Yo, let me FINISH, geez!! She continues to eat. XANDER: I guess a bite. XANDER sniffs at the plate, picks up a knife, cuts a piece off, and places it in his mouth. XANDER's face fills with delight. XANDER: Ahhhhh . . . this is . . . tender . . . so sweet . . . What is it? WILLOW turns and whispers to FAITH, who nearly chokes. FAITH puts her napkin up to her mouth and begins laughing silently. WILLOW turns to JOYCE who turns to DAWN and the whisper goes round the table and all are smiling condescendingly and mildly laughing at XANDER. XANDER: I don't get it. WILLOW: We wanted to surprise you. [beat] It's BUFFY!! XANDER chokes and spits, then pushes back his chair and backs away. XANDER: Oh god! XANDER'S POV: A quick glimpse of roast meat slinging to the skeleton of a torso, shoulders and skull. JOYCE [distantly]: You'd think all that fighting and she'd be -- oh, stringier. FAITH: The pounding makes you tender. DAWN [to GILES]: 'Pounding' -- is that a double entendre for -- GILES: Of course. She was dear as a daughter to me, but she was shameless, tawdry and -- XANDER: [clawing at his mouth] Shut UP!! ANDREW: [standing by XANDER and nodding sagely at XANDER] Eating people is wrong. You have no room to talk, Rupert. GILES shrugs and continues eating. ANDREW: I'll call the chef. ANDREW makes an urgent motion with his head. One of the doors opens to a white-aproned CHEF brandishing a meat cleaver: LARRY. with a cheery smile. XANDER is stuck rigid to the spot. He wants to run, but all around the edges of the room is dark. He eyes the door. WILLOW: What’s wrong Xand? You couldn't get inside her, so why not the other way around? XANDER puts his hands over his face. XANDER: I don't hear this. I don't see this. V.O DAWN: C'mon Xander, get the story straight. DAWN stands behind XANDER, hands on her tight-pants-clad hips. He turns to her. DAWN: What are you going to do about it? XANDER: Do? DAWN: "Do". A verb. To act. You used to. Or are the privileges of symbolic castration too enjoyable? XANDER: Stop using Dawn's voice! She'd never say that! DAWN: Maybe.[her voice changes, becomes higher] But you also agree. XANDER’S MOTHER: [angry] Just like his father! And everything started so well. XANDER looks round at the scene, paralysed. Then he turns to DAWN, a light going on in his face. He looks at her, pleading. XANDER: [to DAWN] OK, what, you're a guiding spirit, right? [hopefully] Here to get me out of this? DAWN shakes her head. We hear the sound of someone tapping a wineglass with a knife. It’s JOYCE, her face bluish, waxy. JOYCE: Everyone ready for dessert? The chef's preapring his specialty. Everyone claps and cheers. LARRY steps forward, draws his thumb along the blade, and places his arm around XANDER's shoulders. LARRY [gently, encouraging, earnest, for XANDER's ears only] Don't worry, Harris. Relax and I'll be gentle, I promise. XANDER: [sideways to DAWN] How about we skip dessert? XANDER turns to DAWN, but she's disappeared, as has the dining table, and everyone but WILLOW, who wheels TROLLEY towards XANDER. On the trolley is a rotting corpse in a hospital gown. But under the decay, we can still recognise – ANYA. She sits up. ANYA: Did you miss me? CUT TO COMMERCIAL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03-14-2005, 12:10 AM #4 Join Date: Jan 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT III INT. UNFINISHED BUILDING XANDER is staring at ANYA. They’re now alone in the room. XANDER: No! He starts to back away. ANYA gets up off the trolley and crosses her arms. ANYA: NO?! No you didn’t miss me?! XANDER: [his face has lost all its colour] You’re dead. ANYA starts to pace. ANYA: And maybe you have a hilarious sarcastic joke about that? XANDER follows her. XANDER: Ahn, please. [quieter] I don’t understand. What am I supposed to do? What is this? ANYA gestures to the table, around the room. ANYA: THIS? This is nothing. [she looks up at him, scorn and hurt mixed in her eyes] What about ME Xander. You’re straining every cell of your puny little lizard brain not to think about ME. XANDER looks in horror at her face. ANYA: You only loved my body. Perhaps not even that. Her skin shifts and she’s looks normal and alive, still in the hospital gown. Her lip is trembling and tears prick at her eyes. ANYA: Satisfied now? XANDER: How can you ask that? [he touches her arm, she flinches back and shoves his arm away] ANYA: [snarls] I’m not asking you anything. I think you’ve talked just about enough for one lifetime. You’ve talked through every second of every day so you don’t have to think. [ANYA steps up close to him, menacing, and prods him in the chest with her finger] You’re not a man. And, whatever feminist claptrap Buffy might fill you with so you pick up her scraps like a little dog, a MAN would have protected me. XANDER: How, Anya? Please. [he begins to cry, softly] ANYA: Worms are eating me, you’re a worm. And again, I’m sure you have some deeply inappropriate joke connecting those two things. [in his face] You’re crying? Well HA freakin HA! ANYA bends down quickly, leaving XANDER standing shocked. He sobs in a breathe then goes silent. As ANYA bends, we can see the naked skin of her back through the gown. Her spine shows she’s very thin, it’s protruding from under her skin. Something crawls across her back, under the skin. She reaches under the table, crawling under the cloth, speaking from underneath. ANYA: You can’t even protect yourself. And you won’t ask for help, for whatever idiotic reasons. [we can see her naked feet as she looks for something under the table. She starts shuffling out from under the cloth] And maybe, just maybe, you’ve gone too far and pushed everyone away so they can’t possibly help you even if you ask. She emerges fully from under the table, holding a sword. ANYA: Even if you scream. She thrusts the sword through his stomach. INT. PRISON CELL We hear the sound of someone crying in pain. A heavily pregnant Korean girl of about 17, wearing prison uniform, is slumped against the wall, clutching her stomach. She cries out again. The cell door FAITH enters. She sees the girl and rushes to her side. FAITH: Min! The girl looks up as FAITH kneels beside her. MIN: It hurts! They did it. In the yard. IT HURTS! FAITH: I’m – I’m sorry. MIN: No you’re not. You forget. You forget about me! [looking up, angry] You said you’d HELP! FAITH is suddenly yanked backwards then the camera jerks round to show she’s being held down by two women, both in prison uniform. One of them punches her in the face. WOMAN 1: You think you’re so tough? You think you’re better than us. FAITH gathers her strength to throw them off. She can’t. Another punch comes, to the other side of her face. FAITH’s eyes open in helpless shock as she tries to push them off again, but they’re too strong for her. FAITH: What the f- - O.S MIN: [yelling] No cursing! Not in front of the baby! In an instant, MIN and the women are gone. There’s a bundle of rags on the floor. FAITH walks towards it. We hear a baby crying. FAITH reaches out to the bundle, pulling the rags away, violently. Underneath is a young boy – it’s ROBIN WOOD as a child. He’s dead. FAITH drops to her knees, looking at the body. Not crying, just raw-eyed and staring. O.S XANDER: Why didn’t you stay here, where you can’t do any more harm? FAITH looks round and XANDER’s standing over her, looking terrible, unshaven, straggly hair, dirty clothes. He has no eye patch, just a blank space on his face where his other eye should be. XANDER: All your strength, all that power. It doesn’t mean anything. Or, well, it does. It means death. [XANDER looks down at the dead child] He’d be a living breathing pillar of the community if it wasn’t for you. FAITH: [reaching out to touch the child] It’s such a waste. XANDER grabs her wrist and pulls her to her feet. XANDER: WASTE!? [grabbing her shirt] You did this. [he pushes her away then starts to walk backwards away from her. He covers the space where his eye should be with his hand, then takes the hand away. There’s now an eye there] Willow made it all better. Who’s going to do that for you? XANDER takes another step backwards and is swallowed up by shadows. FAITH glances back at the ground, but the child is gone. XANDER: Robin! O.S ROBIN: Shh baby, I’m here. Kinda. She turns to see the adult Robin beside her. She tries to throw her arms around him but he won’t let her, pushing her gently away while helping her up. ROBIN: That’s not the way to solve it. You can’t grope your way better. FAITH: [looking at him, reaching out to him] I love you. ROBIN: And that’s not going to cut it either. Plus, I don’t think they allow that kind of talk in here. [puts a hand on her shoulder] You never deserved me. You know this. We hear a dripping sound. FAITH looks down and the ground of the cell is covered in water. ROBIN starts to sink. FAITH grabs for him, trying to pull him up. But she can’t. He sinks out of sight. FAITH’s on her knees in the water. FAITH: NO! [furious, slamming her fists down on the ground. It’s now solid and she recoils, nursing her bruised hands] CUT TO: INT. UNFINISHED BUILDING ANYA is standing over XANDER. She steps back, pulling out the sword from his chest. She drops it with a clatter. XANDER groans. His vision is blurry, then clarifies. XANDER: Anya? We look up from XANDER’s point of view. A girl - about thirteen, dark eyes and hair, dirty face, is staring down at him, curiously. XANDER grabs at her but can’t reach her. XANDER: Who are you? WHO ARE YOU!? XANDER’s vision blurs again. When it clears up, the girl is gone. XANDER looks down at his chest. The wound is gone. He staggers to his feet. XANDER: [shouting] ANYA! The doors on the other side of the room start to bang, as if in a wind, but to a steady rhythm. XANDER glares at them. DAWN appears in one of the doorways. She smiles at XANDER, then she’s gone. Then he looks back at the table where the feast was taking place. The food that covers it is now totally rotten. Horror and anger floods XANDER’s face. He grabs the table cloth and tugs, violently. The whole lot comes crashing down. XANDER: Who’s DOING this! DAWN!!? Where have you taken her? [furious, unleashing a big anger without any holding back] Bring her BACK! He begins to run. INT. PRISON CELL FAITH is sitting on the bunk, staring at the floor, which is no longer wet. There’s a knock on the door and BRIDGET enters. BRIDGET: You can’t stay here alone. FAITH: It’s not like I wanted it this way. I didn’t get to choose. BRIDGET: I’m afraid you’re wrong, Faith. You’re hiding. Nonethless, it’s visiting hour, and you have visitors. FAITH: [flatly] Who? BRIDGET nods to the door. FAITH follows her, glancing backwards. The GIRL that XANDER saw is sitting on the bunk. FAITH: [to BRIDGET] Who’s that? BRIDGET: She’s not your concern. CUT TO: INT. PRISON WALKWAY, DAY FAITH walks behind BRIDGET over the walk-way. She glances down at the lake below, then up as we hear footsteps approaching. Ahead on the walkway is a woman - straggly-haired, bottle-blonde, showing too much cleavage for her age, chipped pink nail polish - arm in arm with THE MAYOR. BRIDGET nods to them, then walks on past them as they approach FAITH. WOMAN: You know Richard, don’t you? FAITH: [whisper] Yes. Mom. FAITH’s MOM holds out her hand to show FAITH. She has a big sparkly ring on her finger. FAITH’S MOM: No one’s ever gonna give you one of these. The MAYOR chucks FAITH’s MOM under the chin. MAYOR: She’s so proud. Not of you though. THE MAYOR walks over to the rail and leans on it, looking at FAITH. MAYOR: Well Faithy. Isn’t this a sad place to see my little girl. You had such a bright future. And now you’re here. Trapped. [he straightens himself and takes out a tissue, wiping his fingers] Filthy place. FAITH’s MOM: - - for a mucky little girl. [coming closer to FAITH] Useless little bitch. Still nothing to say to me? She comes closer still. We see her face is deeply lined, but covered in thick make-up. Under the make-up, you can see a large bruise on her cheek. FAITH’s MOM: Maybe if you’d been good, he wouldn’t have given me this [she touches her cheek] THE MAYOR smiles. MAYOR: That’s right, Faithy. You were always there, mewling and crying. You never learned that silence is golden and children are seen and not heard. But you know now, don’t you. You’re ever so quiet now, that’s my good girl. FAITH lashes out, punching the MAYOR in the face. He carries on smiling, not moving an inch. FAITH stares at her fist. MAYOR: You’re not strong, Faithy, you need to rest. FAITH’s MOM: Come on ****ie, let’s show her what she’s missing. FAITH’s MOM tugs on THE MAYOR’s tie, pulling him into a kiss. MAYOR: [to FAITH, as her mom kisses his neck] You’re in deep now, Faithy. Looks like there’s no way out. Maybe you should just accept it and set up home? Go back to bed. It’s the only place you’re worth a damn, now, isn’t it? Animal. FAITH shivers and as she looks down she sees dark hair growing out of her arms and on her hands. V.O ROBIN: Come back to bed. ROBIN is standing at the other end of the walkway, beckoning to FAITH. ROBIN: That’s not a request. [he marches up to her and looks at her in disgust] Animal. INT. UNFINISHED HOUSE XANDER is running along a seemingly endless corridor. We hear the sound of laughter, getting louder and louder. XANDER’s face is concentrated in fury. XANDER: Where are you! You’re not getting away like that! We’re not finished! XANDER comes to steps and runs down them. The steps don’t seem to have an end. They broaden out as XANDER runs, like the steps at the front of a church. Out of the dark we see figures coming slowly up the stairs like a procession. The laughter is deafening now. The figures come into focus. BUFFY, GILES, WILLOW, XANDER’s MOM and DAD – all wearing black, taking one step at a time. We hear laughter still but none of their mouths are moving. The ground flattens out as XANDER approaches them. They’re now in a dark empty room flanked with twisted girders. Things move in the shadows – scuttling shapes, shadows. The procession comes to a halt and they begin to circle round him. They draw weapons. BUFFY looks at her sword. Blood drips down it. She dips a finger in the blood and licks it. BUFFY: She tastes so sweet. XANDER: [moving round as they circle] What have you DONE to her! She’s MINE! GILES: We did nothing. We sat back and watched. BUFFY: We enjoyed it. WILLOW: We’re killers. But you get the blame. The circle parts and the stairs stretch down behind them. At the bottom is an operating table lit with a harsh white light. ANYA lies on it. FAITH stands behind her holding a dagger. She looks up at XANDER and raises the dagger. A slow smile spreads over her face. XANDER: [his voice is strange and low and gravely] NO! The camera moves round and we see XANDER’s face has the red veins of a vengeance demon. CUT TO COMMERCIAL __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03-14-2005, 12:17 AM #5 Join Date: Jan 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT IV FAITH and ROBIN are back in the cell, standing close. The light is bright and raw. But FAITH’s not looking at her surroundings. She’s just looking at ROBIN. FAITH: You came back. ROBIN brushes her hair away from her face. He runs his hands down her arms. The hair there is white now. ROBIN: It’s over. We’re too late. Nothing to do but set up home here. [he kisses her on the forehead] You trust me? FAITH nods. WOOD pulls out a length of rope from his pocket. FAITH looks over to the bunk. But it’s now a large double bed with bed-posts, taking up nearly the whole room. FAITH lies down on it, and puts her hands above her head. WOOD ties her up, gently. WOOD: That’s exactly the position I was in when I died. And it took a long time. Hours. ROBIN climbs onto the bed, straddling her. FAITH closes her eyes. V.O ROBIN: And oh god it hurts. FAITH’s eyes open. XANDER is over her in ROBIN’s place. His vengeance-face is pressed close to hers. FAITH gasps. XANDER: [a grin spreading over his face] Surprise. [he presses her arms back against the bed] Time for bed. FAITH’s chest heaves. She can’t look at him. Her face crumples and she’s crying. XANDER: Open your eyes and LOOK AT me! You don't get my PITY! You can't have THAT!! Poor Faith, can’t get over losing her man - - losing her self -- forget how HAPPY it made her, taking lives, taking bodies, taking my -- . Let’s wipe it all away, because, oh, she’s crying now. [beat] Guess what? You're going to cry a hell of a lot more. FAITH: Please - - XANDER: That’s a new word for you. V.O ANYA: Do it! What do you have to lose? You’ve lost me. XANDER looks up. ANYA is standing by the door in vengeance face. XANDER flinches, looks back to FAITH. She’s looking up at him. He grabs her face, his fingernails digging into the skin, bringing up a bead of blood under his nails. XANDER: It’s not that easy. Someone needs to pay. FAITH: [hollow] Do what you want. XANDER: You have to pay. XANDER narrows his eyes and puts his hands round FAITH’s THROAT. He starts to press. FAITH starts to choke. Underneath his hands, FAITH morphs into ANYA’s rotten face. Her voice comes out in a growl. ANYA: This is who you are. This is where you keep coming back to. This is at the center of you, Xander. We hear FAITH’s troubled breath but still we look at ANYA. Noises rise up – the noise of creeping insects, of scuttling, the rising noise of strings on the soundtrack and – underneath it all, the rush of water. ANYA: [louder] This is all that’s left. This is you. And me. Forever. The noises cut to sudden silence and XANDER sits back, the camera on him. His face is human. XANDER: This isn’t me. INT. PRISON WALK-WAY All is slient. The light is bright but natural. XANDER straddling FAITH on the metal mesh of the walkway. He staggers back and falls. The noise echoes through the hall. FAITH looks at her hands, which are untied, then at XANDER. ANYA is nowhere to be seen. FAITH gets up slowly, stepping backwards. XANDER looks at her in horror. XANDER: Oh god! Faith! I’m - - There’s a silence. XANDER: I’m - - [he shakes his head, then slowly, quietly] Sorry. FAITH: [looking directly at him] No sweating it. She reaches out to him, to help him up. He takes her hand. XANDER: I was going to ... FAITH: Back up that sentence. It wasn't you. She drops his hand, gently. FAITH: You weren't -- you didn't have the look [jerks her head away and back reluctantly] Remember how I looked when it was me on top? You weren't nearly anywhere there. XANDER looks at her, then round at the prison, then back at her. Every movement is raw, as if just being there stings. XANDER: [deliberate gaze] Now we are - very very uncomfortable - here FAITH: Tell me over a drink. XANDER: And, before this place does any other crazy stuff to us - - FAITH: Let’s get out? ‘Bout time! XANDER nods. They stand on the walkway for a moment, looking down at the lake beneath. XANDER: Are you thinking what I’m thinking? FAITH: If it involves a long drop and icy water then, yup. [beat] Though, jury’s still out if you’re a figment of my imagination, so, what you’re thinking might be [her brow furrows] Way too complex. She scrambles over the hand rail and stands on the ledge on the other side. FAITH: C’mon. XANDER follows suit and clambers over. They glance at one another, FAITH slips a hand into XANDER’s, and they jump. INT. DARK SPACE XANDER and FAITH are lying side-by-side against a wall, holding hands. XANDER: Anna! Wake up! We have to get you out of here. ANNA stirs, curling up as one comfortably asleep. XANDER: Anna! FAITH: Xander - - XANDER looks up and follows FAITH's gaze. The dirty-faced GIRL from XANDER: You?! FAITH: You saw her too huh? XANDER nods. Then, to the girl: XANDER: Who ARE you? GIRL: [simply] I live here. XANDER: [to the girl] We have to get out. We can help you. If you'll The GIRL just looks at them, curious but wary. ANNA stirs again and moans. XANDER runs to her side. XANDER: Anna, can you hear me? [XANDER puts his hand on ANNA's arm and GIRL: Hold it -- the juice is still running. Feel it, moron? XANDER takes his arm away and looks enquringly at the girl. GIRL: Sorry. Miss Manners I ain’t. XANDER: Is something keeping us here? You have to tell us. We're here to help. The GIRL just shakes her head. FAITH: She's waking up. ANNA stirs again, and this time she opens her eyes. ANNA: Mph. [looking round, bleary-eyed] I just had the saddest dream.
Where are we? [looks down at the cobwebs, her eyes widen with fear] FAITH: Sh, it's ok. We're going to get you out. XANDER: OK, it's okay. [striding towards the GIRL] What's with you? And what kind of a hell place is this? He goes to pull the cobwebs away. The GIRL pushes him away hard. As XANDER gets his balance back a strange scuttling noise starts - metal supports start pushing up from the ground in a tight circle. GIRL: Jeez -- you're spinnin' it up again! [the supports retract] FAITH: [quietly] It's not hell. GIRL: [looking at her] You're good. This is my place. It needs me. You're XANDER automatically reaches to his eyepatch, frowning. XANDER: [mutters] Still on Cycloscope here. GIRL: But you're SEEING. It's like you wake it up, you get She turns to go. XANDER: Wait - - But she's gone. FADE TO BLACK
XANDER, FAITH and ANNA are standing in the street where they started. ANNA: [staring around herself] Merde alors! [beat, looking down] Oh, my bag. XANDER and FAITH look at each other. XANDER: [to FAITH] You getting a Matrix feeling? FAITH: Widescreen. There’s a long pause. XANDER: [looks at ANNA] Well. Mission accomplished. Are you ok Anna? ANNA: I’m fine. [putting her bag on her shoulder] But that, that was so strange! FAITH jerks her head in a “let’s go” motion. XANDER nods and they start walking. FAITH pulls out her phone and dials. FAITH: I’ll just check in. [into phone] Giles, Hey. we found her [beat] yeah. We’ll be back soon. Uh huh. Bye. [she snaps the phone closed] XANDER: [to ANNA] So, what did you see? ANNA: Oh, it was scary. Really - - XANDER: I hear ya. So - - ? ANNA: [chatty] I had this pony, you know, when I was at home, before I became - - slayer. He was very sweet, really kind. But I forgot to put his blanket on, one night, and he – XANDER: Died of pneumonia and you felt guilty ever since? ANNA: [scornful look] Don’t be stupid! He got a cold. But grandmere, she was so cross. And - - I saw here [nods head to the way they’ve come] And she was shouting, and Tati – my pony – he was sneezing, and the – sneeze came out like a big wind and blew me over. But then I said I was sorry, and I gave him an apple, and then he licked my face and, and gave me a ride. [beat] And then I woke up. XANDER and FAITH exchange glances. FAITH: Pony, huh? ANNA: Yes! It was horrible. [beat] But, it’s ok now, isn’t it? XANDER: I think it is. To coin a phrase - - five by five. INT. GILES’s OFFICE He’s looking at the Chinese tablets that he’s spread out on the table. There’s a knock on the door. It’s OZ. His nostrils flair slightly. GILES: Oh, come in. Thanks for making the trip. OZ: No worries. [entering, with a slight smile] That’s some special stuff you’ve got there. GILES: Yes, I think they might be rather important in our - - OZ: I mean the - - aroma. GILES looks guilty. GILES: [sheepishly] Perhaps this would be the moment to say I didn’t inhale? OZ: Now that would be a waste. [taking a seat at GILES’s desk] You wanted me to translate? GILES nods. OZ looks at the tablets. OZ: Might take a while. These are old. GILES: Take your time. I’d rather have them correctly translated than quickly. Since, in my limited knowledge of the language, one consonant wrong might mean the difference between Armageddon and dolphins. .OZ: And boy do we not want dolphins. [off Giles’s look] the high-pitched clicking - - it’s a wolf thing.
BUFFY and WILLOW are splashing through the sewers. They’re both now carrying weapons, while WILLOW has the bag in one hand, BUFFY’s carrying a flashlight. BUFFY: Can I help you with that? WILLOW: No, I’m good. It’s better if you’re hands-free for fighting. Though, no demons so far. Maybe we should be uptown girls? BUFFY: I just want to - - VOICE: Buffy BUFFY swings round, getting into fighting stance. WILLOW: What? What is it? BUFFY: That voice. I heard it before. Sh. WILLOW: Voice? [off Buffy’s look] Sh-ing now. BUFFY steps forward slowly. A red mist creeps round her feet and rises. BUFFY looks into the dark. BUFFY: Angel? VOICE: I am the ghost of Christmas past BUFFY starts, with a “what the f-” look on her face. WILLOW looks at her, worried. BUFFY glares at the darkness. BUFFY: Ok, if this is ghosts then - - VOICE: [fainter] See you later alligator BUFFY: Alligator ghosts? [to WILLOW] Those alligator demons we killed - can you get demon ghosts? WILLOW: Possibly - - but- - What did you hear? BUFFY: [gesture of exasperation] I’ll tell you on the way oops upside the sewer. [beat] I am SO sick of intangible evil. They splosh back the way they came, out of sight. O.S VOICE: Evil? Certainly not. We hear a man laughing. INT. CAR KENNEDY is driving. ANNA is in the front, XANDER and FAITH in the back. The radio’s on, something loud and punkish. KENNEDY: I phoned round, the others are just heading back to the school for a debrief. They know Anna’s ok. But I’ll take you back to Scooby central. XANDER: Scooby Central GOOOD! [makes a face] But, wait, debrief? Has someone been watching the military channel? ANNA: There’s a MILITARY channel? My mom TOLD me Americans were different. KENNEDY: It’s a joke. [smiles at ANNA] Maybe there’s another cultural difference we have? ANNA sticks out her tongue. XANDER: I can see why you and Dawnie get on. ANNA: Dawn rocks. [beat] Oh, I should text her. [gets out her mobile and lapses into texting-trance] FAITH: [leaning forward on the driver’s seat] So kid sis’s been cruising the demon joints with the double Agent Gorman? KENNEDY: Claudia’s alright. FAITH: Never said she wasn’t. KENNEDY: [smiles, little tightly] Her and Dawn found out some good info on a few vamp nests. Maybe I’ll check them out later. XANDER: Me, I’m planning on a long hot bath. The cold water, might’ve been mystical but, still cold. FAITH: Count me in. [XANDER grins, she gives him a playful slap round the head] My OWN bath, dumbass. INT. GILES’s OFFICE BUFFY and WILLOW are sitting in GILES’s office. GILES is leaning against the wall, while OZ is at the desk, puzzling over the Chinese tablets. GILES: So I beat the demon into a bloody pulp until it cried for mercy, tentacles flailing, and it gave me those [nods to the desk] BUFFY: [raised eyebrows] Ok, you had me up til tentacles. GILES: Oh alright. I had tea with a friend and she gave me them. But I forgot my wallet and it was a bloody long walk! BUFFY: Maybe you’re going senile? [GILES frowns, but a friendly frown] WILLOW: How’s the translation coming, Oz? Any ancient Chinese mystic titbits? OZ: So far I’m getting a “something’s coming” vibe. BUFFY: [half smile] I could’ve told you THAT. And what about my voices? GILES: Perhaps we should save the voices for another day? I’m sure Faith and Xander have some tall tales of their adventures. INT. XANDER's APPT, BATHROOM, NIGHT XANDER is lying in a deep foamy bath. He's taken off his eye-patch and
FAITH: Hi. XANDER slips further down, realises this has dislodged crucial foam and FAITH: [coming closer, smiling, hand on one hip] We just bared our damn XANDER: [deep, careful breathing] So, you were thinking, hair washing?
With FAITH: [bringing her other hand up, with rubber-nozzled shower attachment] XANDER: I'm a bit uncovered [beat] with the eye. Patch is somewhere ... FAITH comes to the bath and crouches down, bringing her gaze on a level with XANDER's deeply uncertain face. Without moving her eyes from his, she leans over and flips foam at him. FAITH: No problem looking at you [she gets up gracefully] I'll go use the apartment's sink. As FAITH reaches the door she turns and they smile at each other. She
goes XANDER sinks in further, relaxing. The camera pulls back as he splashes We got tongue-tied, after all the best fights The music fades. INT. SCOOBY CENTRAL WILLOW, BUFFY are sitting on the couch, with OZ crosslegged on the carpet between them, leaning back against the couch. DAWN in one of the comfortable chairs, ANDREW standing nearby. BUFFY: [looking around at the others] So. What was the thing that ate Xander and Faith? Do we need to go and stake -- or dismantle -- or whatever, its dark, mindgamey heart - construction office? So very happy they didn’t agree with its digestion. The door opens. XANDER enters, followed by FAITH, both now dressed. XANDER: My ears are burning. And so are my shoulders but - - just not enough cold tap. What did we miss? There’s a general murmur of “hey” from the Scooby group. WILLOW: Buffy was just saying you were spit up by a building demon. BUFFY: Stool pigeon! [beat] comfy sofa pigeon. FAITH: There weren’t any demons. That I saw. [glances at XANDER] XANDER: Not real ones. Just a place. ANDREW: [official mode] So, in my report, I’m going to say it was like - - part of Manhattan decided to go in for -- wall to wall psychoanalysis. [OZ looks up with rare approval] I mean, it’s got that whole, ‘You stay here till your deepest needs are laid -- nude.’ DAWN: [staring at XANDER] Did you have to actually? XANDER: That’s between me and my clothes. ANDREW: So, is my report correct? I need to type it up for Giles if it is. FAITH: Pretty much. [beat] Giles makes you do reports? ANDREW: It’s for my own files. XANDER: But, the why’s and wherefores - - anyone’s guess is more than or equal to mine. Plus, my brain is rapidly shutting down for the night. XANDER sitts on the floor by the sofa. FAITH pauses a moment, then sits too, by DAWN’s chair. BUFFY: [to XANDER] So, will there be slaying? XANDER: I’m hoping for cookies. OZ: [thoughtfully] Not until the good or evil issues are clear. It could be an occult community service. WILLOW: It’s worth that many words? [OZ tilts his head back and smiles slightly at her] There aren’t that many words in my whole sources for this. I have big zero, zilch. DAWN: I know what it is. I think. ANDREW: [nodding carefully] From the mouth of babes ... The others turn to her. DAWN: There’s this urban myth? Or maybe better just to call it a myth. But, new myth. A girl turned into the spider at the centre of a web, but the web is a construct, generated by -- by unresolved issues in the people who fall into it? [to ANDREW] This is where you say, ‘Neo meets Spiderman in spooky Psych 101 environment?’ ANDREW: Except I am in a fulfilling relationship and I don’t need to interrupt people. DAWN: Two dates are a relationship now? [beat. BUFFY mouths “relationship?” to XANDER, who shrugs. Dawn gets back to it] So, the girl is more organic to it, and sort of Oracle, like, ‘Watch the vase ...’ BUFFY: So keeping it simple, I don’t stake it. XANDER shakes his head. XANDER: Tonight, we can be slayless and fancy free tonight I think. FAITH: The man’s never said a better thing. XANDER leans back and the camera pulls back on the Scooby scene. EXT. STREET – FIFTH AVENUE, NIGHT Satellites break up in the atmosphere Camera’s moving at walking pace down Fifth Avenue, through the evening crowds. It stops at the door of ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL and pans up to take in the building – impressive, gothic, a strange sight among the skyscrapers, but that’s New York for you. We move through the heavy wooden doors as someone opens them, slowly. The music fades again as we cut to: INT. CATHEDRAL All we hear is the sound of footsteps. Camera moves, still at walking pace, up the aisle. The place is dim, candlelit. A woman is praying in the corner. Or she appears to be. As we move closer, we see she’s slumped in the pew, her body limp. Camera moves to show another angle. ETHAN is standing, looking curiously at the dead woman. He smiles. ETHAN: Seems I’ve come to the right place then. ETHAN walks to the side of the church and – after looking around – gets into a confessional booth. INT. CONFESSIONAL ETHAN is sits facing the grille, peering through, but he can’t make out if anyone’s in there. ETHAN: Hello? You’re there, aren’t you? WOMAN’s VOICE: [hushed] Hello my child. ETHAN: [nervous] Oh…yes. [pulls himself up in his seat, regaining
his cool. He tries a smile] It’s been twenty years since my last
confession. [beat] I have done..such terrible things. [drops his head
as if in prayer] And I offer them up to you. [beat, then in a voice of
incantation] Each abomination, each perversion of love and truth. Each
broken soul, each moment of torture. [beat] Each of my acts of chaos—I
offer them to you..[smiles] lord. DRUSILLA. A smile flickers on her lips as she puts her long thin hand up against the grille, palm flat on the metal web. DRU: Mummy’s VERY pleased. BLACK OUT (Roll Credits)
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