Inca Mummy Girl
Prelude
In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand
against
the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the
Slayer.
Outside the museum. Buffy,
gardens toward the building.
Buffy: This is so unfair.
Buffy: It's the
Ueber-suck. Mom could've at least warned me.
Xander: Well, a lot of
parents are doing it this year. It's part of
this whole cultural exchange magilla. The exhibit, the dance...
Buffy: A complete
stranger in my house for two weeks. I'm gonna be
insane! A danger to myself and others within three days, I
swear.
Xander: I think the
exchange student program's cool. (gets a look from
Buffy) I do! It's a beautiful melding of two cultures.
Buffy: Have you ever done
an exchange program?
Xander: My dad tried to
send me to some Armenians once. Does that
count?
They climb the steps to the building entrance and the cultural
exchange
exhibit. Cut inside. Cordelia and two other girls are looking
over the
pictures of the exchange students.
Cordelia: Ooo! There's
mine! Sven. Isn't he lunchable? Mine's
definitely the best.
She walks past Buffy.
Buffy: What're you
lookin' at?
Cordelia: Pictures of our
exchange students. Look. 100% Swedish, 100%
gorgeous, 100% staying at my house! So, how's yours? Visually, I
mean.
Buffy: I don't know. Guy
like?
Xander: By guy-like we
are talking big, beefy, guy-like girl, right?
Buffy: I was just told
'guy'.
Cordelia: You didn't look
at him first? He could be dogly. You live on
the edge. (walks off)
Xander: Hold on a sec.
So, this person who's living with you for two
weeks is a man. With man parts. This is a terrible idea.
Xander: There's no
melding, okay? He better keep his parts to himself.
They stop at the end of a row of display cases, and Buffy
notices Rodney
scraping a mask.
Buffy: What's he doing?
Xander: Uh, that's Rodney
Munson. He's God's gift to the bell curve.
Another student goes up to Rodney and gets growled at.
Xander: What he lacks in
smarts he makes up in lack of smarts.
every day for five years.
Buffy giggles to herself.
Xander: Yeah. I'm
irrational that way.
Buffy: (smiles) I better
stop him before he gets in trouble.
(goes over to Rodney)
Buffy: I wasn't gonna use
violence. I don't always use violence. (looks
up at Xander) Do I?
Xander: The important
thing is *you* believe that.
Cut to Rodney. He's still scraping the mask.
Rodney: What're you...
(looks up) Oh. Willow, hi.
could get in trouble.
Rodney: (facetiously) Oh,
no. And they might kick me outta school?
Rodney: Yeah. I think I
got almost all fourteen natural elements
memorized.
Rodney suddenly looks worried. Cut to the museum guide.
Guide: Welcome, students.
We shall now proceed into the Incan burial
chamber. The human sacrifice is about to begin.
Cut to the entry to the Inca exhibit. They all walk in.
Xander: Typical museum
trick. Promise human sacrifice, deliver old pots
and pans.
Guide: Five hundred years
ago, the Incan people chose a beautiful
teenage girl to become their princess.
They take the steps up to a platform where the Incan stone
coffin and
mummy are on display.
after.'
Xander: (looks into the
coffin) No, I think it ends with, 'And she
became a scary, discolored, shriveled mummy.'
Guide: The Incan people
sacrificed their princess to the mountain god
Sebancaya, an offering buried alive for eternity in this dark
tomb.
bandages, like in the movies?
Guide: The princess
remained there protected only by a cursed seal
placed there (points to the plate in the mummy's hands) as a
warning to
any who would wake her.
Cordelia and a few other girls are still looking at the exchange
student
pictures and laughing.
Xander: So, Buffy, when's
exchange-o boy making his appearance?
Buffy: His name's Ampata.
Gonna be at the bus station tomorrow night.
Xander: Ooo. The
Sunnydale bus depot. Classy! What a better way to
introduce someone to our country than with the stench of urine.
Guide: Now, if you'll
follow me this way, please.
They all walk past the coffin and follow the guide to the next
destination on the tour.
Cut to later. The exhibit is deserted now except for Rodney, who
cautiously looks around and makes his way back up to the mummy.
He looks
into the stone coffin and sees the plate with the seal.
Rodney: Aha. Cool.
He reaches in and yanks at the plate, trying to wrest it from
the
mummy's grip. He gets it out of one hand, and yanks it hard to
get it
out of the other. It comes loose, and he pulls it up too fast,
breaking
it against the side of the coffin.
Rodney: Oh! Damn!
He reaches in to collect the pieces. The mummy's arms reach up
and grab
him by the neck. Its eyelids open to reveal empty sockets as it
pulls
him in closer.
Opening credits roll. Buffy's theme plays.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale High. Students are arriving for school. Cut to the
library.
Buffy and Giles are training. Xander is studying at the table.
Buffy: So, can I go?
Giles: I think not.
Buffy lands four hard hits on the training pad Giles is holding.
He
flinches at her blows, and after she's done puts the pad down in
favor
of a much thicker one.
Buffy: (pouts) How come?
Giles: Because you are
the Chosen One.
Buffy: Mm. Just this once
I'd like to be the Overlooked One.
Giles: Well, I'm...
afraid that is not...
Buffy kicks the pad hard, making Giles stagger back a few steps.
Giles: You have
responsibilities that other girls do not.
Buffy: Oh! I know this
one! Slaying entails certain sacrifices, blah,
blah, bity blah, I'm so stuffy, gimme a scone.
Giles: (sarcastically)
It's as if you know me.
Buffy continues kicking. Xander winces at each blow.
Giles: Your secret
identity is gonna be difficult enough to maintain
while this exchange student is living with you.
Xander gets up and separates them.
Xander: Nooot... *with*
her. In the same house as her. Am I the only
one who's objective enough to make that distinction? (goes to the
counter)
Buffy: So! I think going
to the dance like a normal person would be the
best way to keep that secret. Giles, come on, budge! No one
likes a non-
budger.
Giles doesn't say a word. She steps back and comes at him for an
especially hard kick.
Giles: FINE!
Buffy stops her kick at the last instant.
Giles: Go.
Buffy: (smiles) Yay! I
win.
Giles: I'll just go and
introduce my shoulder to a, an icepack.
Xander: (hops off of the
counter) So, I guess we're dance-bound. Cool.
I think I can get my mom's car, so I'm wheel man.
Buffy: I thought you were
taking
Xander: Well, yeah, I'm
gonna take
everybody's safe. Without you, we're two.
Buffy: Ah, and we enter
dateville. Romance, flowers...
Xander: Lips.
doesn't see her. Buffy pretends not to notice her.
Buffy: Oh, come on. In
all the years you've know
thought about her lips?
Xander: Buffy, I love
Xander: And she's my best
friend. Which makes her not the kind of girl
who I think about her lips that much.
Xander: She's the kind of
girl that... I'm best friends with.
Xander:
things.
He puts his arm around her and pulls her over to Buffy at the
table.
Xander: Like the three of
us going to the dance together. See? (laughs)
Happy!
Xander: Not happy.
Giles: (comes out of his
office with an ice pack) Trouble with Mr.
Munson again? (puts it on his shoulder)
Buffy: Y'know, I don't
think I remember seeing Rodney on the bus back
from the field trip.
Xander: (chuckles) Hey,
maybe he awakened the mummy.
Buffy: (smiles) And
attacked him. (nods)
Their smiles fade as they all realize that that may not be so
far-
fetched.
Cut to the Inca exhibit at the museum. They all come walking in.
Xander: For twenty-one
hours?
Giles: We'll deal with
that when we've... ruled out evil curses.
They climb the steps to the platform where the coffin is on
display.
Buffy: One day I'm gonna
live in a town where evil curses are just
generally ruled out without even saying.
Giles: There was a seal?
Buffy steps up to the coffin and looks in.
Buffy: It was right here.
And it's broken. (picks up the largest piece)
Buffy: No, comfy as ever.
(hands the piece to Giles)
Giles: Look at this
series of pictograms.
A man comes out of nowhere and yells, jumps up behind Xander and
swings
at him with a knife. Xander ducks the blow and gets behind him.
The man
swings back the other way again blindly, looks into the coffin
and is
surprised by what he sees there. Xander jumps onto the man's
back. He
knocks Xander off, and runs off of the platform and away. Xander
quickly
gets up.
Xander: Okay, I just
saved us, right?
Buffy: Something did.
Giles: Well, we'll fret
about the details later. Let's just get out of
here before he comes back.
They all hurry down the steps to leave except
something about the mummy.
Giles: Yes, yes, very.
Cut to the mummy. There are metal braces on its teeth.
Cut to the library. They all come in.
could that be?
Xander: Maybe we should
ask that crazy man with the big old knife.
Buffy: I don't think he
seemed overly chatty.
as we were.
Giles: My resources on
this subject are extremely limited. I-I gather
that this particular mummy was from the Sebancaya region of
eastern
locked in the...
Buffy: ...in the seal.
Giles: (looks at the
seal) It's gonna take me weeks to... translate
these pictograms. Well, we'll start tonight with...
Buffy: Ampata!
Giles: I was gonna
suggest hunting.
Buffy: No, I'm late. I
told my mom I'd pick him up.
Xander: Uh-uh-uh, Buffy?
Where are your priorities? Tracking down a
mummifying killer or making time for some Latin lover whose
stock in
trade is the breakage of hearts?
Buffy: Ampata's there
alone. And I-I don't know how good his English
is. He's here from South A...
translate the seal.
Xander: Oh, yeah. Fall
for the old 'let me translate that ancient seal
for ya' come on. Tsh. D'ya know how many times I've used that?
Cut to the bus stations. Ampata is standing there alone waiting
and
looking around for his ride. He hears a whisper.
Mummy: Ampata...
He starts walking in the direction of the voice, passing several
parked
busses. He hears the voice again, louder this time.
Mummy: Ampata...
He walks between two busses, looking around for whoever it is.
Ampata: Hello?
He sees the mummy come toward him, and is surprised and
frightened but
doesn't scream or yell. The mummy reaches out, grabs him by the
neck,
pulls him in and kisses him. Ampata begins to shrivel and dry up
as the
mummy draws his life force from him.
Cut to later. Buffy,
look for him.
Buffy: Forty minutes
late. Welcome to
Buffy: (calls out)
Ampata? Ampata Gutierrez?
Xander: So, do we have to
speak Spanish when we see him? 'Cause I don't
know anything much besides Doritos and
Buffy: Ampata?
Ampata: Here!
The mummy had regained her appearance of a young teenage girl.
She comes
walking out from between two busses.
Ampata: Hello.
Xander is instantly taken with her beauty. She comes over and
stands
before them.
Ampata: I am Ampata.
Xander: Ay caramba! I can
also say that!
Buffy and
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 2 ~~~~~~~~~~
The Summers house. Buffy is showing Ampata around the house.
Buffy: Dining room...
They come into the kitchen from the dining room.
Buffy: And this (turns on
the light) is the kitchen.
Ampata: (amazed) It's
very good!
Buffy: Yeah, you got your
stove, your fridge, it's fully functional.
We're very into it.
Xander: (slow and
over-pronounced) Would you like a drink? (gestures)
Buffy: (opens the fridge)
Uh, let's see, we've got milk, and, uh, oh,
older milk... Juice?
Ampata: Please.
Ampata: Yes. For many
years now.
are in a girl way!
Xander: It's just one of
those crazy mix-ups, Will.
Buffy: So, have you ever
been to
Ampata: Uh, I, I have
toured.
Xander: (slow English
again) Where did... you go?
Buffy gives Willow a look, and goes to get something to munch on
as
Ampata: I was taken to
Ampata: I did not see so
much.
Xander: Your English
is... very bueno.
Buffy and
speech.
Ampata: I listened much.
Xander: Well, that works
out well, because I talk much. (they laugh)
Cut to later in Buffy's room. Ampata sits down on her bed,
surprised at
the springiness of it.
Buffy: Hey! Sorry about
the teeniness of the room.
Ampata: My old one was
much smaller.
Buffy: (sits on her bed)
What's it like back home?
Ampata: Cramped, and...
very dead.
Buffy: Well, you'll feel
right at home in Sunnydale.
Ampata: Oh, no! Ohhhh!
(gets up) But... but you have so *much* here!
(picks up a picture)
Buffy: How 'bout friends?
Ampata: They are... (puts
the picture down) It is just me.
Buffy: I've been there.
But, hey! You'll meet lots of people tomorrow.
Ampata: Thank you. (goes
back to her bed) You must teach me everything
about your life. I want to fit in, Buffy. Just like you. A
normal life.
Buffy: One normal life.
Comin' up.
She reaches over to turn off her light. Cut outside. The man
from the
museum is hidden there looking in through the window from the
bushes.
Cut to outside the school the next morning. Cordelia and
some stairs to Oz's van.
Cordelia:
one of your little groupies. I won't be all doe-eyed looking up
at you,
standing at the edge of the stage.
Cordelia: So, I'll see
you afterwards?
Cordelia: I'll be
standing at the edge of the stage.
Cordelia: (looks also)
Sven! Momento! Needa! (to
student exchange thing has been a horrible nightmare. They don't
even
speak American. So, I'll see you later? (she allows him a kiss
on the
cheek) Bye!
She starts back up the stairs toward the school. She turns back
when she
notices that Sven isn't following.
Cordelia: Sven! Come?
Sven starts to follow her.
dealing with their equipment.
Oz: Of what?
Oz: She's a wonderland
tour.
Oz: Yeah, she's a hot
girl.
impress you?
Oz: Well, it involves a
feathered boa and a theme to 'A Summer Place'.
I can't discuss it here.
have? You're lead guitar, Oz. It's currency!
Oz: I'm not picky. You're
just impressed by any pretty girl that can
walk and talk.
Oz just smirks.
Cut to
Xander: Okay, but what
about me? I've gotta think.
up alternatives.
Xander: And a corresponding
equal number of mocking alternatives. All
aimed at me.
Xander: Okay, no shirts
with ruffles, no hats with feathers and
definitely no lederhosen. They make my calves look fat.
That came out wrong.
Xander didn't take offense because he's too busy looking at
Buffy and
Ampata arriving for school.
and Ampata.
Buffy: Your first day of
school. Nervous?
Ampata: It is just more
people than I have seen in a long time.
Buffy: Ah, don't worry.
You will have no problems making friends. As a
matter of fact, I know someone who's dying to meet you.
Cut to the library. Giles gets right to it.
Giles: (shakes her hand,
smiles) How do you do?
Ampata: Hi.
Giles: I was, I was
wondering if you could, um, translate this? (shows
her the seal)
Buffy: That was in no way
awkward.
Ampata takes it and looks at it in disbelief.
Buffy: Something wrong?
Ampata: Uh, No! Uh, it
is... Uh, why are you asking me?
Giles: Well, uh, uh...
(coughs) It's, well, it's an artifact... from,
from, uh, your... region. I-it's, uh, from the tomb of a-an
Incan mummy,
a-a-actually. We were trying to translate it, uh, um, as a-a
project for
our, um...
Giles: (impressed with
her quick thinking) Very good.
Ampata: It is broken.
Where are the other pieces?
Buffy: That's all we
found.
Ampata: Hmm. It is very
old and valuable. (to Giles, holding the seal
out to him) You should hide it!
Giles: Is, is, uh,
anything you recognize here? Um, um, this, this,
um... this ch-chap here with the knife, for instance?
Ampata: Well, I-I do not
know exactly, but... I-I-I think this
represents, I believe the word is... 'bodyguard'?
Giles: (takes the seal)
Bodyguard? Interesting.
Ampata: Legend has it
that he guards the mummy against those who would
disturb her.
Giles: Well, uh, yes,
well, that's, um, that's a very good starting
point for our, um... club. (looks at Buffy) Um...
Buffy: Oh, and, uh, a-as
club president, I have, um, lots to do. Lots
of... stuff. Dull stuff. Uh, oh,
Xander: Stay with Ampata
for the day. I'd love to. (bows slightly and
smiles)
Ampata: (smiles) Yes!
That will be fun.
Xander gestures for Ampata to go ahead of him. As she walks out
he turns
to Buffy and
them go.
Giles: Right. I'll, uh,
continue with the translation. Buffy, you
research this, uh, bodyguard thing, and, uh, Willow... (turns
around)
Cut to the bleachers on the football field. Xander and Ampata
are
sitting about two-thirds of the way up.
Xander: And this (reaches
into his satchel) is called a snack food.
(holds up a Twinkie)
Ampata: Snack food?
Xander: Yeah. It's a
delicious, spongy, golden cake stuffed with a
delightful creamy, white substance of goodness. And here's how
you eat
it.
He stuffs the whole thing into his mouth. Ampata laughs at the
sight.
Xander: Mm-hm.
Ampata: Oh, but now I
cannot try it.
Xander: (with a full
mouth) That's why you bring two.
He produces another one from his bag and hands it to her.
Ampata: Oh! (studies it)
Here goes!
She pulls her windswept hair back from her face and proceeds to
stuff
most of the Twinkie into her mouth. She laughs with delight.
Xander: (mouth still
full) Good, huh? And the exciting part is that
they have no ingredients that a human can pronounce. So it
doesn't leave
you with that heavy... food feeling in your stomach.
She squeals with laughter.
Ampata: (mouth full) You
are strange.
Xander: Girls always tell
me that. Right before they run away.
Ampata: I like it!
Xander: I like you like
it!
She can't help but laugh more at that.
Xander: Please, don't
learn from my English.
Cut to the library. Buffy is inspecting the seal under a
magnifying
lamp.
Buffy: Ha! Or possible
ha. (to
Buffy: Hey!
Buffy: Ampata's only
staying two weeks.
obsess about. At least with you I knew he didn't have a shot.
Well, you
know, I have a choice. I can spend my life waiting for Xander to
go out
with every other girl in the world until he notices me, or I can
just
get on with my life.
Buffy: Good for you.
Giles: (inspecting the
seal) Good Lord! (to Buffy) Good work!
Buffy: My work?
Giles: Yes. This is most
illuminating. It seems Rodney's killer might
be the mummy.
Giles: Well, here. It
implies that the mummy is capable of... feeding
on the life force of a person, effectively freeze-drying them, you
might
say. Extraordinary.
Buffy: So, then we just
have to stop the mummy. Which leads to the
question: how do we a) find, and b) stop the mummy?
Giles: Well, the answer
to that is somewhere still in here. Or in the
rest of the seal.
Cut outside to the bleachers. The bodyguard attacks Xander with
his
large knife. Ampata screams as she and Xander quickly move apart
and the
knife hits the seat between them.
Bodyguard: You stole the
seal! Where is it?!
He swings again, but Xander scoots back more and then rolls down
two
levels of seats. The bodyguard comes at him again and tries to
stab him,
but Xander catches his arm and stops him. Ampata screams again.
The
bodyguard looks back at her and recognizes her.
Bodyguard: It is you!
Xander kicks him off, and he rolls down the bleachers and to the
ground.
Ampata grabs Xander's satchel, helps him up and they run away.
Cut to the library. Giles comes out of his office with a cup of
tea, and
sets it on the table in front of Ampata.
Giles: Here you are.
Ampata: Thank you.
Xander: He said, 'Give me
the seal.'
Giles: Apparently this is
more popular than we realized. I just don't
know what we, we should do with it.
Ampata: Destroy it. (gets
a surprised look from Giles) If you do not,
someone could die.
Giles: I'm afraid someone
already has.
Ampata: You mean the man
with the knife killed someone?
Buffy: Uh, no. Well, not
exactly.
Ampata: You are not
telling me everything. (looks at them all)
Xander: You're right,
Ampata. (takes her hand) And it's time we do.
We're not an archeology club. We're in, uh...
Giles interrupts by clearing his throat. Buffy gives him a stern
look.
Xander: We're in the
crime club. Which is kinda like the chess club,
only with crime, and, um... no chess.
Ampata: Please understand
me. That seal nearly got us killed. It must
be destroyed!
She gets up and runs from the library. A moment later Xander gets
up and
runs out after her.
Xander: Ampata!
Buffy and Willow look at each other a bit surprised and
confused.
Cut to the hall. Ampata is sitting on a bench. Xander crouches
down
beside her.
Xander: Ampata, listen to
me. Nobody's gonna hurt you. I won't let
them.
Ampata: Your
investigation is dangerous. I do not want that. Just
normal life!
She gets up and goes over to the drinking fountain. Xander
stands back
up and follows her, but stays back and lets her drink. Willow
comes out
of the library.
Willow: Is she okay?
Xander: Wigged. I'm
tryin' to convince her that our lives aren't just
danger and peril around here.
Willow looks over at Ampata sympathetically, then back to
Xander.
Willow: You should take
her to the dance.
Xander: That's a good
idea! We'll all go!
Willow: No, I mean just
you.
Xander: But you were
psyched! And your costume!
Willow: I'll see you
there.
Xander: You know what,
Willow? You're my best friend.
He goes over to Ampata.
Willow: I know. (walks
off)
Cut to the library.
Buffy: I don't get it.
Why would the bodyguard have such a jones for a
broken piece of rock?
Giles: Well, um,
perhaps... he needs to put it together with the other
pieces.
Buffy: If he has them. I
mean, we didn't find them.
Giles: And if he didn't
then, then they'd still be at the museum.
Buffy: So, maybe we
should go there and find them. And odds are he'll
show up, too, right?
Giles: And hopefully
we'll be ready.
Buffy: Hey! Look at us!
We came up with a plan. A good plan.
Giles: Alright. We'll
meet there tonight after it closes.
Buffy: No! Bad plan. I
have other plans. Dance plans. (gets a stern
look from Giles) (exhales) Canceled plans.
Cut to the stairs in the halls. Xander and Ampata are coming
down.
Xander: Okay, I have
something to tell you. And it's kind of a secret,
and it's, um, a little bit scary. I like you. A lot. And I want
you to
go to with me the dance.
Ampata: (laughs) Why was
that so scary?
Xander: Well, because you
never know if a girl's gonna say 'yes', or
if... she's gonna laugh in your face and pull out your still
beating
heart and crush it into the ground with her heel.
Ampata: Hmm. Then you are
very courageous. Can I tell you a secret?
Xander: Hmm.
Ampata: I like you, too.
Xander: Really?
Ampata: Really!
Xander: That's great!
Really?
Ampata: Really!
Xander: That's great!
You're not a praying mantis, are you? (gets a
confused look from her) Sorry, someone else.
Ampata: I will return to
you. (starts away)
Xander: Where're you
going?
Ampata: Where you cannot
follow.
He's confused but smiles when he sees her open the girls'
restroom door.
Xander: I'll wait
outside. (smiles)
He sits down on a bench to wait.
Cut inside the restroom. Ampata touches up her lipstick. She
steps back
from the mirror and sees the bodyguard standing behind her.
Ampata: I beg you...
(turns to face him) Do not kill me.
Bodyguard: You are
already dead. For five hundred years.
Ampata: But it was not
fair. I was innocent.
Bodyguard: The people you
kill now so that you may live, they are
innocent.
Ampata: Please! I am in
love!
Bodyguard: You are the
Chosen One. You must die. You have no choice.
He takes a swing at her with his knife. She grabs his arm and
twists,
forcing him around and pulling him in to her. He looks up at her
as she
puts her arm around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss.
Ampata: Yes, I do.
She kisses him and he mummifies in her arms as she draws out his
life
force. Cut to the hall. Xander is waiting patiently. Ampata
comes back
out smiling, and Xander stands up.
Ampata: I have thought.
The dance?
Xander nods expectantly.
Ampata: I will go with
you.
Xander breaks into a big smile and laughs delightedly.
Ampata: Gladly!
Xander takes her by the hand, and they start walking down the
hall.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 3 ~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy's room. Ampata comes in wearing her Inca Princess costume.
Ampata: Buffy, I do not
have any lipstick.
She sees a trunk, a large suitcase and a backpack in the room.
Buffy: Oh! You can borrow
one of mine. There should be some on the
desk.
Ampata: What is that?
(indicates the trunk)
Buffy: The station sent
the rest of your stuff.
Ampata: Oh. Of, of
course. I, I forgot all about it. Uh, I will unpack
it later.
Buffy: No worries. I can
do it.
Ampata: Uh, but... you
must get ready for the dance!
Buffy: I'm not going.
Ampata: Why not?
Buffy: I have work to do.
Crime club work. It's really nothing for you
to worry about. (sits on her bed)
Ampata: Oh, I am not
worried, thanks to Xander. (goes to the desk)
Buffy: He seems very
happy around you.
Ampata: (sits at the
desk) I am happy, too.
She opens a lipstick and holds it up for an opinion.
Ampata: Mm, this one?
Buffy: Ooo, no, that
clashes. There should be a gold one in there
somewhere.
Ampata: Thank you. You
are always thinking of others before yourself.
You remind me of someone from very long ago: the Inca Princess.
Buffy: Cool! A princess.
She gets up from her bed and opens Ampata's backpack while
Ampata tries
out a lipstick.
Ampata: They told her
that she was the only one. That only she could
defend her people from the nether world.
Buffy pulls out a pair of boy's briefs and looks at them in
confusion.
Ampata: Out of all the
girls in her generation...
Buffy looks over at Ampata and sees she's about to open the top
left
drawer where she keeps her Slayer stuff. She rushes over. Ampata
pulls
open the drawer and looks in curiously.
Ampata: ...she was the
only one...
Buffy quickly pushes the drawer closed.
Buffy: ...chosen.
Ampata: (looks up at
Buffy) Do you know the story?
Buffy: It's fairly
familiar. (hands her the gold lipstick)
Ampata: She was sixteen,
like us. She was offered as a sacrifice and
went to her death. Who knows what she had to give up to fulfill
her duty
to others? What chance at love?
Buffy: Who knows? (goes
back to Ampata's trunk) I'll just unpack the
rest of your stuff for you. (lifts the lid)
Ampata: No, really, let
me...
The doorbell rings and distracts Buffy, so she doesn't see the
mummified
corpse in the trunk.
Buffy: Oh!
She lets the lid fall back down as she gets up to get the door.
Buffy: That's Xander and
Willow. I'll get it.
Ampata kneels down and puts the lock back on the trunk.
Cut downstairs. Buffy hops down and opens the door. Xander comes
in
dressed as Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western.
Xander: I've come for the
dance.
Buffy: And, uh, what
culture are you?
Xander: I'm from the
country of Leone. It's in Italy pretending to be
Montana. (looks Buffy up and down) And where are you from? The
country
of White Trash?
Buffy: Mm. New line-up.
You and Willow are taking Ampata. Giles and I
are hunting mummies. Where's you and Willow?
Xander: She's not
coming... with us.
Buffy: Oh! On a date.
Romance, lips...
Xander takes off his hat when he sees Ampata appear on the
stairs. She
smiles down at him.
Ampata: Hello, Xander.
Xander: Hho hee ze thee
ai uh...
Buffy: I can translate
American salivating boy talk. He says you're
beautiful.
Xander: (to Buffy) Hyav
su.
Buffy: You're welcome.
Ampata reaches the bottom of the stairs and stands next to
Xander,
beaming a huge smile. Joyce comes in to have a look.
Joyce: Ampata, don't you
look wonderful! Oh, I wish you could talk my
daughter into going with you.
Ampata: I tried, but she
is very stubborn.
Joyce: Well, I'm glad
someone else sees that.
Buffy gives her mother a look and gets it right back. She turns
back to
Xander and Ampata, smiling.
Ampata: Well, good night,
then.
Buffy opens the door to let them out. Xander pauses a moment.
Xander: Be careful.
Buffy: I will. (Xander
turns to go) Hey! (he turns back) You look good.
Xander gives her a smile and then leaves. Joyce comes over to
the door
to watch them go, too.
Joyce: Look at that. Two
days in America, and Ampata already seems like
she belongs here. She's really fitting in. Hmm! (turns and heads
up the
stairs)
Buffy: Yeah. How 'bout
that?
Cut to the Bronze. Devon and Oz's band Dingoes Ate My Baby (Four
Star
Mary) are playing "Shadows".
Lyrics: She's in ecstasy
/ Her hollowed sky / Pours down heavenly /
Fakes desire
A group of girls enters the Bronze. Cordelia comes in behind
them and
stops to look around.
Lyrics: I've been living
here / In the red / I've been feeling I'm /
Dead again
She spots Willow wearing her Eskimo costume.
Cordelia: Oh! Near faux
pas! I almost wore the same thing.
She continues on her way, leaving Willow standing there alone.
Lyrics: We've been bored
before
Cordelia finds her friend Dawn.
Cordelia: Hey!
Dawn: Where's Sven?
Cordelia: Ohhh, I keep
trying to ditch him. He's like one of those dogs
that you leave at the Grand Canyon on vacation? It follows you
back
across four states. (Sven finds them) See? My own speechless,
human
boomerang.
Lyrics: I have never felt
/ So alone
Dawn: He's kinda cute.
Maybe it's nice skippin' all that small talk.
Cordelia: Small talk? How
'bout simple instruction?
Lyrics: Since the time we
left ourselves / Half past gone
Cordelia: (to Sven) Get
punchy. (points at him) You! Fruit drinky!
Lyrics: We've been living
here / Up against the red
Dawn: He can follow me.
(takes Sven's hand and leads him away)
Lyrics: I've been feeling
I'm / Dead again / We've been bored before
Xander and Ampata arrive. He takes her hand.
Lyrics: We'll be bored
again / We've been bored before and again
Ampata looks around and sees Willow in her Eskimo outfit as
Xander leads
her to the dance floor. Willow is heartbroken to see them
together like
that.
Willow: I think I
should've worn something sexy.
Xander spots her and leads Ampata over to her table.
Willow: Wow. You guys
look great.
Ampata: I-I love your
costume. It's, it's very authentic.
Willow: Thanks.
Xander: Yeah, you look,
um... snug.
Willow: That's what I was
going for. Where's Buffy?
Lyrics: She's in ecstasy
/ Her hollowed sky
Willow looks around stiffly. She can hardly move in her outfit.
Cut to the Summers house. Buffy opens the door for Giles.
Giles: Thank heavens
you're home. (walks in)
Buffy: Yup! Not at the
dance. Not with my friends. Not with a life.
What are you doing here? I thought we were gonna meet at the
museum to
find the bodyguard.
Giles: No, he's already
been found. In a school restroom. Mummified.
Buffy: Okay, I don't get
it. Why would the mummy kill her own
bodyguard?
Giles: Well, I've
cross-referenced, and, uh, I've looked at the
pictograms anew. He was a guard alright. But it was his job to
insure
that the mummy didn't awaken and escape.
Buffy: So, Ampata
translated wrong.
Giles: Perhaps.
Buffy: Hold on a sec. She
was wiggy about the seal from minute one.
Giles: Yes, I suppose she
was.
Buffy: Her trunks! (runs
up the stairs)
Giles: I beg your pardon?
Cut to Buffy's room. Giles goes through Ampata's things.
Giles: It's certainly all
boys' clothes. Why would a girl pack these?
Buffy tears open the lock on the trunk and lifts the lid.
Buffy: How 'bout this
one? What kind of girl travels with a mummified
corpse? And doesn't even pack a lipstick?
Cut to the Bronze. The band is playing a new song,
"Fate".
Lyrics: Time's healing,
I'm ahead / Find a reason once again / Take a
moment outta time / I'll be standing back behind
Cut to Xander standing by the stairs with Ampata.
Xander: Do you, um...
Would you like to, uh... you know...
Lyrics: On a wing / So
outta line
Ampata: I'd love to
dance.
He removes his hat and poncho, takes her hand and leads her onto
the
dance floor.
Lyrics: Mm, taken in / So
outta time
Willow watches longingly as they walk by her. On the dance floor
Xander
and Ampata touch hands and slowly intertwine their fingers. Xander
smiles at her. Ampata lets go of Xander's hand and slowly moves
it
around his neck. Cut to the stage. Oz notices a girl in the
crowd and
stares intently.
Oz: Hey.
Devon comes over to him.
Oz: That girl. Who is
she?
Devon thinks he means Ampata.
Devon: She's an exchange
student. I think she's from South America.
Oz: No, not her. The
Eskimo!
Devon goes back to continue singing. Oz is enamored of Willow.
Lyrics: Sound the season
in my head
Cut to Giles' car.
Buffy: Come on! Can't you
put your foot down?
Giles: It is down.
Buffy: One of these days
you're gonna have to get a grownup car.
Giles grinds the gears. Buffy shakes her head.
Cut to the dance floor. Xander is looking deeply into Ampata's
eyes as
they slow dance.
Lyrics: ...so outta time
/ All it takes is living / I want to fly
Ampata leans her head onto his cheek for a moment.
Lyrics: I've never known
fate
She pulls her head back and looks back into Xander's eyes.
Lyrics: I've never known your
name
They move in to kiss.
Lyrics: I've never known
fate
As they are about to meet, Ampata notices her hand begin to
mummify
again and pulls back. Xander looks at her in wide-eyed
confusion. The
song is almost over. She quickly takes her arms off of his
shoulders and
rushes off. Xander stares after her, thoroughly confused.
Xander: Okay, at least I
can rule out something I said.
Lyrics: Someone take me
home / Get me outta here
Ampata reaches the edge of the crowd and looks round. She sees
Jonathon
sitting alone on the stairs.
Cut to Giles' car.
Buffy: I should've
guessed. Remember Ampata wanted us to hide the seal?
Giles: And then she
wanted us to destroy it becau... Oh wait!
Buffy: Uh, waiting...
Giles: Well, we already
know that the seal was used to contain the
mummy. If breaking it freed her...
Buffy: ...reassembling it
will trap her.
Giles: I'll go to the
museum. I'll drop you off. I'll try to piece
together the fragments there.
Buffy: Okay, I'll still
get Xander. Before he gets smoochy with Mummy
Dearest.
Cut to the Bronze. Xander comes off of the dance floor and stops
by
Willow.
Xander: Have you seen
Ampata? (Willow shrugs) What was that?
Willow: I shrugged.
Xander: Next time you
should probably say 'shrug'. (walks off looking)
Willow: (watches him go)
Sigh.
Sven and Dawn walk by in front of her.
Sven: I thought this
exchange student thing would be a *great* deal.
But look what I got stuck with! 'Momento!' 'Punchy fruity
drinky!' Is
Cordelia even from this country?
Cut to a back room. Ampata has led Jonathon backstage. She takes
off his
hat and strokes his hair and cheek.
Jonathon: Your hands feel
kinda... rough.
More of her skin is reverting to its mummy form. She moves in
for a
kiss.
Jonathon: Aren't you with
Xander?
Ampata: (whispers) Does
it look like I'm with Xander?
They move in to kiss. Xander calls out, looking for her.
Xander: Ampata!
Jonathon pulls away from her and grabs his hat.
Jonathon: That's my cue
to leave.
He runs from the room. She stands by the window, looking out.
Xander
finds her.
Xander: There you are.
Why'd you run away?
She slowly turns to face him.
Ampata: Because... I do
not deserve you.
Xander: What, you think
that you don't deserve me? (laughs) Man, I love
you!
She sheds a few tears and looks up at him sorrowfully. His smile
fades.
Xander: Are those tears
of joy? Pain? Revulsion? (comes closer)
Ampata: (crying) I am
very happy. And very sad.
Xander: Then talk to me.
Let me know what's wrong.
Ampata: I can't!
She hugs him and cries into his shoulder.
Xander: Hey, I know why
you can't tell me. (pushes her away to look at
her) It's a secret, right? (she nods) And if you told me, you'd
have to
kill me. (smiles)
She doesn't think it's funny, and hugs him again, crying even
harder.
Xander: Oh! That was a
bad joke. And the delivery was off, too. I'm
sorry. (pushes her away again) I, uh...
He strokes her hair and face gently.
Xander: I'm sorry.
They kiss gently yet tentatively. She reaches her arm around his
head
and pulls him closer for a harder kiss. His eyes go wide with
shock and
surprise as he feels his life force begin to drain.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 4 ~~~~~~~~~~
The back room at the Bronze. Xander's life force continues to
drain.
Suddenly Ampata breaks off the kiss, letting Xander fall to the
floor.
Ampata: No! I can't.
Xander is drained of strength and takes quick, short breaths.
She kneels
down and pulls him around, laying his head in her lap.
Ampata: Xander, I'm so
sorry.
Cut to the museum. Giles is reading from a book while assembling
the
seal.
Giles: 'Incan Cosmology
unites the bird head with its paler twin.'
(looks around for the proper piece) Um... Oh! Here. Its paler
twin.
He tries the fit of the piece, and it's a match.
Cut to the back room at the Bronze. Ampata senses something is
wrong.
Ampata: The seal!
She lets Xander fall to the floor and runs out of the room.
Cut to Willow. Buffy finds her.
Buffy: Where's Xander?
Willow: He's looking for
Ampata.
Buffy: We need to find
him. Ampata's the mummy.
Willow: Oh. (absorbs the
information and smiles) Good. (realizes its
implication) Xander!
Buffy: Where'd they go?
Willow: Backstage, I
think.
They rush off to find Xander just as Oz comes up to them.
Oz: Hey, I... (watches
them go in surprise, then smiles) Who is that
girl?
Cut to the hall backstage. They find Xander on the floor leaning
against
the wall.
Buffy: Are you okay?
Xander: (weakly) I think
so. Boy, that was some kiss!
Buffy: Where's Ampata?
Xander: She said
something about the seal.
Buffy: The seal! Giles!
C'mon.
They help him up.
Xander: What's goin' on?
Willow: He doesn't know?
Buffy: We'll tell him on
the way.
Cut to the museum. Giles is trying to put the last pieces of the
seal
together. Ampata sneaks a peek in from the exhibit entryway and
sees him
there. She quietly makes her way over to him.
Giles: There, that's it.
(sniffles) Just one more piece.
Ampata reaches around his shoulder from behind and pulls him up.
She
takes the seal from his hand and throws it to the floor,
smashing it to
pieces. She grabs him by the neck and lifts him onto the rim of
the
stone coffin. Buffy arrives.
Buffy: I'll say one thing
for you Incan mummies. (Ampata looks at her)
You don't kiss and tell.
She makes a long, high leap onto the platform and adopts a
fighting
stance.
Ampata: Looks like you've
been keeping secrets from me! (shoves Giles
into the coffin) You're not a normal girl.
Buffy: And you are?
She does a roundhouse kick to Ampata's face and another kick to
her
side. She throws a punch, but Ampata is strong, too, and catches
Buffy's
fist and swings her around onto the rim of the coffin. She grabs
Buffy's
neck and tries to choke her. Buffy headbutts Ampata, making her
stagger
back. She tries to kick but Ampata ducks it. Buffy lunges for
her, and
Ampata grabs her by the shoulder and diverts her into the
coffin. She
closes the stone lid on the two of them. Willow comes running in
as
Ampata starts to leave. She grabs Willow by the neck and picks
her up.
Ampata: This won't hurt!
Willow begins to choke. Ampata moves in to kiss her.
Xander: Let her go!
(calmly walks in) If you're gonna kiss anybody, it
should be me.
Ampata: Xander, we can be
together. (looks at Willow) Just... just let
me have this one.
Xander: That's never
gonna happen.
Ampata: I must do it. I
must do it now! Or it is the end for me and for
us!
She tries to kiss Willow again, but Xander jumps in to stop her.
Xander: NO! (pulls Willow
away from her) You want life? You're gonna
have to take mine. Can you do that?
Ampata looks into his eyes as she considers. Her skin has
mummified up
to her neck.
Ampata: Yes!
She grabs his neck and tries to pull him to her as he holds her
away by
her arms. Buffy kicks at the lid of the coffin and gets it open.
Xander
keeps holding Ampata at bay and watches as she turns back into a
mummy.
Buffy comes up behind Ampata and pulls her off of Xander. His
grip on
her arms is so tight that they are torn from their sockets.
Xander is
freaked out and drops them. Buffy looks at Ampata's body and
drops it,
too. The head breaks off of the body as it hits the floor. Buffy
is
grossed out. Willow just stares at what's left, then looks at
Xander and
comes over to him. She crouches down next to him, holding his
arm and
rubbing his shoulder. He looks up at her a moment, then back
down at his
hands. Giles is out of the coffin now, and he and Buffy collect
them to
go. Giles looks back briefly as they leave the exhibit.
Cut to school the next day. Buffy and Xander walk along the
colonnade.
Xander: (exhales) I'm
really the Fun-Talking Guy today, huh? Sorry.
Buffy: That's okay. You
don't have to talk.
Xander: I just, present
company excluded, I have the worst taste in
women of anyone in the world, ever.
Buffy: Ampata wasn't
evil. At least not to begin with, and... I-I do
think she cared about you.
Xander: Yeah, but I think
that whole sucking the life out of people
thing would have been a strain on the relationship.
Buffy: She was gypped.
She was just a girl, and she had her life taken
away from her.
They stop and look at each other.
Buffy: I remember how I
felt when I heard the prophecy that I was gonna
die. I wasn't exactly obsessed with doing the right thing.
Xander: Yeah, but you
did. You gave up your life.
Buffy: I had you to bring
me back.
They give each other thin smiles for a moment before continuing
on.