| DISCLAIMER: The characters are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Television and Kuzui Enterprises. While this is an original storyline, it is borne from the events and storyline/episodes owned by the aforementioned parties. (SEASON 6 �: The following takes place after the events of Season 6 �Grave� and prior to the upcoming season 7 episodes)FADE UP INT. WELLNESS SPA, DANCE ROOM--DAY It is a meditation class filled with men and women in sporty clothing sitting on mats in comfortable positions. Some are in yoga positions. In the middle of the room is BUFFY SUMMERS and WILLOW ROSENBERG. They sit side by side. The MEDITATION INSTRUCTOR walks around the room, her quiet pacing feet are rhythmic and add to the relaxing environment the music, atmosphere and her voice attempt to provide. She speaks slowly and breathes deeply between each sentence. MEDIATION INSTRUCTOR I AM�accepting all good things that come to me. I AM�ready for renewal. I AM...clear of mind. BUFFY (giggles as she mutters to Willow) She sure is clear of something, like a brain. WILLOW (eyes closed) Shh, I actually think this is working. MEDIATION INSTRUCTOR I AM�whole. I AM�free in spirit. BUFFY Sorry it�s just not my cup of tea. (sighs) Cup of tea! Now I�m missing Giles again and all of that Englishness. MEDIATION INSTRUCTOR I AM�an intelligent, responsible human being. I AM ready to confront a challenging future. Suddenly, there is a loud crash and a huge demon monster bursts through the wall and into a spot right in front of Willow and Buffy. The demon is about 10 ft high and almost bat-like in its appearance, yet it stands on two legs. It opens its expansive wings making its appearance even more looming. The outstretched wings flap incessantly creating an intimidating flutter of a sound that is quite frightening. It opens it mouth and shrieks; its red beady eyes are bulging. The instructor remains surprisingly calm while the fellow classmates let out the usual screams, completely losing their inner focus as they clutch to their yoga mats and pillows. The demon�s extremely bulging eyes focus specifically on Buffy and Willow. It speaks in a loud and shrilly voice that sounds like screeching brakes. Its wings flap and tiny hands protrude from the sides of its broad body. DEMON You are responsible. You must pay the price for your merciless deeds. Willow is frozen in her spot, in shock and unable to do anything. Fear plays across her face and paralyzes her. Buffy is up on her feet immediately in a fighting stance. The huge demon waves a tremendous wing at her and she blocks it with her fist. Another comes flying and she ducks and jabs the demon in its gut with a powerful fist. DEMON In this universe, no deed will go unpunished� The incessant flapping continues as intermittently, an unexpected wing stretches across the room. Buffy ducks and jabs, drawing the attention of the beast when suddenly a foggy haze begins to form and it begins to metamorphisize into a different form, its voice continues as its form and sound shifts. DEMON Responsibility will come to claim you� The demon form shrinks, and hair can be seen at the top of its head. Its wings disappear as it turns into the shape of a human, about the age of 25. It is barely visible, almost ghostlike and Buffy hesitates in fighting. Its voice changes to that of a soft, human one--indistinct, but clearly human. DEMON You will be held accountable. The form fizzles out as its last words are spoken. The classmates are shattered and scattered. Buffy stands only slightly unnerved, but more confused by the sudden appearance and disappearance. CU on Willow�s eyes. They grow slightly wide. OPENING CREDITS/Nerf Herder music UP COMMERCIAL BREAK INT. MAGIC BOX�DAY XANDER HARRIS and Buffy sit at the round table in the Magic Shop pouring over books and looking at pictures, trying to identify the demon. ANYA JENKINS in the middle of a major re-vamp (pun intended) of the Magic Shop, mills around elsewhere cleaning various displays, etc. XANDER So what was it like? BUFFY Kinda scary actually, and there was a lot of gibberish, but it didn�t make much sense to me. XANDER And you say Willow wasn�t freaked out about it? BUFFY No actually, I think she kind of enjoyed it. XANDER Really, that doesn�t sound like her. She usually wouldn�t sit still for that kind of new fangled mysticism. BUFFY No, she said it was working. She�s definitely trying to deal with things and that�s good, but I don�t know what the answer is really. I mean she�s been jumping at her own shadow lately. XANDER And then that demon popped in? BUFFY Bat demon. Bad bat demon. XANDER (shudders) Bats give me the creeps. Makes me think of my Master...Dracula BUFFY And that�s when Willow got all freaky. She did like nothing or not nothing, or is it just nothing? I�m no good with the double negatives. XANDER Well you know that 2 negatives make a positive and a positive and a negative make the uh-sparkage. BUFFY But there was no sparkage. Just freakage, and anyway it was all just a big NADA. XANDER Nadia? Was that the instructor�s name? BUFFY No Nada, zilch, zippo! XANDER It�s like she�s in reverse assertiveness mode now. BUFFY Well thankfully I was there to kick its demon butt, which I was doing before it turned into a ghost-type thingy. XANDER See now that�s the part that pisses me off. I mean, can�t you just know what you�re dealing with and just be able to kick its ass? But no, demons have to make it harder and change on us. Anya appears with a feather duster in hand from behind a bookcase where she has clearly been eavesdropping. ANYA A changeling demon. Oh, those are the wiliest of all demons. BUFFY So, I take it you�ve been associated with them? ANYA I�ve been known to be in the company of 1 or 2 in the past. Though maybe it was the same one? You never know with a changeling demon. (off of Xander�s slightly disturbed look) But you know that was in the way past. When I was a demon. Not when I was not-a demon. BUFFY And hence the double negative problem resurfaces. ANYA It was a really long time ago. But here�s what I do know. No changeling is the same. XANDER Well, that�s overstating the obvious. ANYA No. What I mean is that each changeling has many forms, but one pure form of the changeling is unique to its host. BUFFY So you�re saying that Mr. Bat demon can only be the only Mr. Bat changeling demon. ANYA (proudly) Exactly, and my Mr. Green Toad changeling demon was the only Green Toad changeling demon. So I�m pretty sure you�re dealing with the only Mr. Bat demon changeling �cause when it first appears to you, its original visage is its pure form. XANDER Great, so we know what we�re dealing with. Now we Just need a �name� and to figure out why it�s here. ANYA Of course we live in Hellmouth-ville. BUFFY Again with the obvious, but Mr. Batty�s appearance seemed really specific. It was all big talk about about� (mocking tone) ��one needs to be responsible.� XANDER Maybe it�s a Watcher demon? That would make sense coming after you. (Buffy cocks her eyebrow at him in retort.) And we don�t have to worry about Willow �cause she�s the most responsible girl I know. EXT. MAGIC BOX, ACROSS THE STREET--LATE DAY POV of something is in the shadows. We do not see what it is. It watches as Willow enters the store. Her arms are full. We hear the footsteps of the thing that watches as it approaches slowly. INT. MAGIC BOX The Magic Box�s bell rings as Willow enters carrying a stack of books which she then promptly drops all over the floor. Anya scurries over to her and begins to help her pick them up. The books are all Self-help ones with titles like �Transition: Making Sense of Life�s Changes�, �How to Stop Worrying and Start Living�, �Working On Yourself Doesn�t Work: A Book of Instantaneous Transformation�, �Changing for Good�. We clearly see that one book is �Women who Run with the Wolves� by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Xander and Buffy get up and approach the two women and try to assist with the commotion. BUFFY Hey Will. Whatcha up to? (Buffy looks around noticing that something is missing.) And weren�t you gonna have Dawn tag-a-long with you today? WILLOW (regaining her composure and stature) Oh Dawnie! She puts a free hand to her head, smacking it and promptly dropping the books again. Xander moves near Anya as they pick them up. Their hands reach for the same book and his slightly grazes hers. Their eyes meet. She catches herself gazing at him, then quickly pulls her hand away, continuing on her task WILLOW I was supposed to go to the house to meet her at 3:00, but I was at the bookstore and kinda lost track of time. It�s only 2:30 though right? I still have time to catch her. BUFFY (looks down at her watch) Actually more like 3:30. You know what, it�s ok. I�ll give her a ring and just tell her to come on by. We�ll just have to cram in a training session before patrol. XANDER (back on his feet and wiping the dust from his hands on his pants) And might I add that it is very progressive of you to be teaching her your Slayer moves. Go Summers! Wonder twins power activate! Buffy smirks then moves to the back to make the call. Anya finishes her tidying up of the store. Xander grabs Willow�s books and moves them over to the table, carefully closing the research books, but Willow sees them open and knows instantly the gang�s in research mode. WILLOW (she seems slightly nervous) So what are you doing, looking up that demon we saw? XANDER Yeah, no big. We got a line on it. Only a matter of time before we send it back to one of the gazillion hell dimensions it came from. WILLOW No but Xander, it is a BIG big. (she gently touches his arm and leans in to whisper). Xander, did Buffy tell you? I couldn�t move. I couldn�t do anything. XANDER Well that�s �cause your body was so relaxed from the mystic mediation. I�m sure that�s all. WILLOW Ya think? XANDER Willow Rosenberg, survivor of� (he counts on his fingers) �at least 6 major apocalypses. Though I�m not quite sure if I should include your version in there too. WILLOW (smirks) Ya think we cannot bring that one up for once. XANDER Sorry Will, you know me. Always making with the light; laughing with the heavy. WILLOW But seriously Xand, there was something about that demon. XANDER Maybe you�re just being a little paranoid, part of like TSS syndrome or something. WILLOW Toxic shock syndrome? XANDER Oh no. You know what I mean. Shell shock from all that�s happened with you. WILLOW Maybe. XANDER Tell ya what, why don�t you take a break from the Scooby thing for awhile. Let Buff, Dawn and I handle this one. You know what you really need? You need a vacation. Go to Disneyland or something. WILLOW Maybe, yeah. You know what? It wouldn�t hurt to get away for a while. But no with the Mickey. I wanna feel better, not go re-crazy. I mean remember that time we went and got stuck on the boat in �It�s a Small World�. XANDER (shudders at the memory.) And it�s time we�re aware NOT to re-visit that memory. WILLOW Ooh! I got this! (she shuffles through her bags and pulls out a flyer) Look I can get back to nature. Go into the woods on a spiritual quest or something. See, I got this from the yoga lady before the�well before, you know. (reads from the flyer) �The Program: A retreat dedicated to finding your true self and coping with change.� XANDER Huh. Could be time-worthy or slightly cult-like. WILLOW No, it doesn�t say anything about Jell-O. (serious) You know, I think that it might be exactly what I need. EXT. WOODS--EVENING It is a dark and clear night. There is a campfire and a circle of people around it chanting a mantra: �Forego, forbear, forget, forgive�.� The people-- a mix of old and young-- sit mostly with their eyes closed and aware only of their inner surroundings. We see the face of a woman who seems to be leading the group Camera POV is low and of a creature. Breathing is heard and it moves stealthily through the forest approaching the campfire. It begins to move faster and all that is heard is the breathing and the heavy footsteps. Suddenly the campers become aware of its presence and scatter as it leaps toward them, but it leaps more directly toward the GROUP LEADER who is the same woman as the Meditation Woman from the yoga class. COMMERCIAL BREAK INT. MAGIC SHOP TRAINING ROOM--EARLY EVENING Buffy and DAWN SUMMERS are in the training room. Buffy stands, her legs apart, her hands covered with protective gear. Dawn throws punches at her, hard and on target. BUFFY That�s good Dawnie. Keep it up. Encouraged, Dawn hits harder and harder, actually knocking Buffy back a step or two. BUFFY Ok, why don�t we take a break from that now. The girls throw off their gear and stretch out their muscles. It�s clear it�s been a grueling work out. DAWN So, I did good, right? BUFFY Yeah, you�ve definitely improved. Next time we just have to work on your aiming skills. You might actually get to use the crossbow. DAWN So that mean you�re gonna let me patrol alone sometime? BUFFY (hesitating) We�ll see. (She senses Dawn�s disappointment.) Dawn, you have real power. More than I could ever imagine, but you�re only just beginning. I wouldn�t, I couldn�t let you out there by yourself. I don�t even know if I�m training you right. DAWN But I�ve learned so much BUFFY I know, and you ARE strong. But you�re no Slayer, and I�m no Watcher. Dawn turns her head away, feeling a bit dejected BUFFY I need your help, but I�m trying to be responsible. You can come out with me tonight. DAWN Really? Oh, but I forgot, I�ve got that thing. BUFFY What thing? DAWN You know, sleepover at Janice�s. I told you about that. BUFFY A sleepover? That�s your priority? But, you need to go patrolling� (catching herself and laughing). Help! Someone get the Giles out of me! Maybe I am Watcher material. You know what, just go. Go! Be a teenager, have fun and don�t worry about the creepy crawlies. I can handle the shift by myself. Dawn smiles and flies out of the room. MS of a smiling Buffy, pan down to her stomach, where a low grumbling is heard. Pan back to her face. BUFFY Boy am I in need of a Scooby Snack. EXT. SUNNYDALE GRAVEYARD--NIGHT MUSIC UNDERSCORE IS PLAYFUL Buffy is alone in the graveyard. She smiles as she strolls. She looks up at the clear night, at the quarter moon and the clear stars. It is glorious. She is quite content with herself at the moment and with the way life seems to be getting better. BUFFY (she breathes deep) Ah nothing like the smell of the fresh night, graveyard air. She sees a headstone with fresh flowers in front and picks one up to smell it. She scoops it up, inhales the feminine scent, and bends to place it back down neatly. As her back is turned, a random VAMP X appears and grabs her from behind. BUFFY Oh just in time, I�m feeling all energized and renewed. She spreads out her arms to break the vamps grasp and hurls it backward. VAMP X Slayer�what�s with the happy attitude? Word below is that you have a death wish. The Vamp attacks full frontal. Buffy blocks the attack with her arms, getting in a few punches to its face. BUFFY Boy, are you behind on things. Don�t they ever let you out of the crypt? She bends down to grab the vamp�s feet and flips it over onto its back. The vamp lands with a thud and Buffy grabs a sharpened stake from her waist. BUFFY I�m all with the making of the hap these days. Buffy moves to strike a final blow, but the vamp is quick on its feet and running away fast. BUFFY Running, great! I missed my morning jog today. Buffy dashes quickly after the vamp. The vamp twists and turns through headstones in a real serpentine run. Even though Buffy knows this graveyard like the back of her hand, she gets a little lost, but is not too far behind. Suddenly, the Vamp turns a corner and Buffy loses sight of it. She stops short looking around, but then realizes where she is�in front of Spike�s crypt. She moves toward the entrance, almost unconsciously, and puts her hand to the cold door. She runs it down the length of the door, much like a hand running over the flesh of a body and she laughs to herself. BUFFY You�re not even here and you still find a way to pull me in your direction. As Buffy is momentarily distracted, the vamp seizes the opportunity to come from its hiding place for a rear attack. Buff�s eyes are downcast and reflective, but her senses are as sharp as ever. The vamp attempts to sneak behind her, but with one quick motion, the stake is up, out and through the heart. Ashes fly. EXT. GRAVEYARD�NIGHT A distance away from where Buffy stands. POV of an unseen person. Someone watches the Slayer as she stands outside the crypt. All we see is a shadow of a form, but it cannot be determined who or what it is. COMMERCIAL BREAK |
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| Part 1 |
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| by Mazzy |