brokenwings_final Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
[bottom]
We make war that we may live in peace.
-Aristotle
BLACK SCREEN
SLOWLY, sounds of intense BATTLE start to FADE IN. Beasts
roaring. Men screaming. Guns firing. Swords connecting.
Explosions. Death-cries.
SUDDENLY: the sound is killed, leaving us in silence before
we -
FADE IN:
1 EXT. L.A. STREETS - NIGHT 1
Buildings in shambles. Freeways torn apart. Cars tossed
everywhere as though they were toys.
Mangled bodies of humans and demons alike littered in every
conceivable spot, and in between the crevasses of the ones
that aren't.
Fire and brimstone, dogs and cats living together. The whole
nine yards. This is the apocalypse if we've ever seen one.
And then we come to rest on a tall, stoic building. It's the
HYPERION. SLOWLY TIGHTEN on the building.
A sudden SCREAM resonates through the neighborhood.
SMASH CUT TO:
2 INT. HYPERION - FOYER - NIGHT 2
ANGEL jumps up from his place on the couch, wearing only a
pair of black pants - no shirt, no shoes - frantically
searching the rooms for any sign of life.
He spins rapidly around in circles, scratching viciously at
his chest the entire time. He seems on the verge of a mental
collapse.
ANGEL
Hello?
Nothing.
ANGEL (cont'd)
Wes?
He still gets nothing for his effort. Panicking, he runs
across the foyer and into his office, slamming the door
behind him.
3 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS 3
He leans up against the door. Breathing heavily, heart
pumping.
Heart pumping?
Just realizing, Angel looks down at his chest where he's
scratched the skin raw. He holds his hand over his heart.
Sure enough, it's BEATING, just as his chest expands with
every breath.
This seems to excite his fear even more. Hearing something
off screen, he jumps back away from the door.
Slowly backing away, he stares warily through the glass. He
reaches his desk, presses up against it as far as he can
before:
A CRASH rings out behind him. The wall behind him literally
FALLS AWAY.
Angel is horrified when he sees, standing before him, the
remaining three HORSEMEN. They say nothing, do nothing.
Only stare.
Angel can't move as fast as he'd like, only backs slowly away
- his heart beating audibly for us to hear. Before he can
get to the door to leave, however, ANOTHER CRASH!
Just like the first, the opposite wall FALLS AWAY, but as it
does, the entire building STARTS TO CRUMBLE.
Angel tries to brace himself, but the building goes all at
once. Tumbling all around him.
A beat as the dust clears around the room. Angel is still
standing (though now outside). So are the Horsemen.
Angel senses something behind him, but he seems reluctant to
turn around. His heart beats faster until, finally, one of
the Horsemen nods in his direction, silently beckoning him to
turn around.
Reluctantly, Angel does so until he's standing face to face
with the SENIOR PARTNERS. In all their horrid glory.
They're BIG. So big, in fact, that all we see of them are
blurs, beings too immense to conceivably fit within the hotel
- and yet there they stand.
Strangely, Angel doesn't seem so scared of them. As a matter
of fact, his heartbeat is quickly calming. His face becomes
somber. It's almost as though he has something planned. And
he does.
When the THUNDER RINGS throughout the scene, he's the only
one who doesn't look up to the sky.
With the Senior Partners' attention diverted, Angel comes out
of nowhere to BURY A SWORD in the body of the closest.
The Elder Demon ROARS IN PAIN, the most horrifyingly alien
sound that forces us to -
SMASH CUT TO:
4 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S ROOM - NIGHT 4
TIGHT ON Angel's eyes as they jolt open from the dream. He
GROANS as he tries to lean up out of bed, but can barely move
his head, much less his body.
SPIKE (O.S.)
Side effect.
Angel can barely turn his head to see SPIKE sitting beside
his bed. Feet propped up on another chair, cigarette in his
mouth, hands resting behind his head.
ANGEL
What?
Spike sighs, takes another drag.
SPIKE
Handy dandy new heartbeat? Lungs
flush and full of air? Searing
pain from a flesh wound that a
vampire would have healed by now?
Are you keeping up, or do I need to
start over?
ANGEL
(as if remembering)
I'm... human.
SPIKE
Yeah, and thanks, by the way, for
letting me in on your little...
(air quotes)
... Shanshu party. It would have
killed you to share the spotlight,
wouldn't it, you git? Well,
luckily enough, you're dying now,
and I get to watch.
Spike crosses his arms and stares intently at Angel. Angel
lies still, eyebrows arched. Trying to remember the details.
SPIKE (cont'd)
Oh, and before you start in, I
don't care how you did it, so don't
bother gloating.
Angel doesn't answer. Spike stares on intently.
SPIKE (cont'd)
(beat)
Alright, fine! How in the bloody
hell did you do it, then?
Spike starts rattling angrily on in the background, as Angel
vexes over the question. PUSH IN on his brow, getting all
the way into his thoughts -
SMASH CUT TO:
5 EXT. STREETS - NIGHT [FLASHBACK] 5
Angel is in full-on-war-mode, the night that the Senior
Partners came into town. He's getting the others ready for
the last hurrah - speaking to KATE.
ANGEL
We've got to get everyone out of
here. There's no stopping these
guys right now, but we've got a
plan.
KATE
What is it?
ANGEL
I'll fill you in when I get the
time.
He's eyeing a van across that's parked just around the next
corner.
ANGEL (cont'd)
Go pick up the others.
He starts to walk off.
KATE
Where are you going?
ANGEL
We're going to need a distraction.
He heads off in the direction of the van as Kate shakes her
head nervously and heads off toward the battle.
Angel is in sprint as he nears the corner of the building.
And as he turns the corner -
A SWORD IS WAITING for him. And it's thrust into his stomach.
Angel is impaled all at once, falling fully onto the sword.
He struggles to move or to speak. To do anything. He's had
at this point. He slowly looks up to find -
LINDSEY staring gleefully back down at him.
LINDSEY
Hey, honey. Miss me?
6 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S ROOM - NIGHT 6
Angel only stares on. He should have guessed it, after all.
ANGEL
Lindsey.
Spike, meanwhile, is still ranting about God knows what, but
Angel quickly shuts him up with:
ANGEL (cont'd)
Spike!
SPIKE
What?
ANGEL
Where are the others?
SPIKE
Out.
ANGEL
(getting annoyed)
'Out' where?
SPIKE
(equally annoyed)
Patrolling.
ANGEL
What the hell does that mean? How
long have I been out?
SPIKE
A day or two. Isn't so easy
healing a sword wound for you wee
mortals, is it?
(beat; cools, sombers)
The city's gone, Angel. Bits and
pieces are still there, of course,
but only bits and pieces.
Some buildings are standing, some
aren't.
(knocks on wall)
We lucked out with this bag of
bricks. You can't tell from the
looks of it, but they barely
touched this neighborhood.
ANGEL
I don't understand. How did it
happen? And why didn't you stop
it?
SPIKE
'Stop it'? You do remember what
happened before you went sleepy
time, right? The demons? Not just
demons plural, but demons as in
hordes. There's no stopping this.
I mean, I'm sure there is, and
we've tried, believe me, but for
the time, we're sitting tight and
picking the fights we can win.
(plainly)
We go on patrol every few hours,
lure out the smaller factions that
we can handle, and we pick them
apart. That's the short term.
(beat)
Gwen's still out cold after getting
zapped by one of the Horsemen, and
Sonia... she's not exactly bouncing
off the walls either.
He stands up and stretches.
SPIKE (cont'd)
Oh, and one of us always stays
behind to take care of your sodding
hide. So I'm obviously not here
because I care.
Angel leans back miserably in bed.
7 EXT. STREETS - NIGHT 7
The streets are desolate. The carnage is still everywhere,
just as we saw it before, but for the time, there's nothing
moving. Nothing on the prowl.
From there, DESCEND THROUGH THE STREET, and all the way to:
8 INT. SEWERS - CONTINUOUS 8
There, below the madness, the sewers are the only thing that
looks relatively normal. It's still a river of human
excrement, but it's normal excrement, at least.
Splashing loudly along, the pitter patter of adult feet near,
signaling:
WESLEY (O.S.)
Are you sure we weren't followed?
WESLEY, KATE and LILAH come limping into view. Obviously
dead tired, obviously banged up. No one's gotten much sleep
lately, and it shows.
Behind them, KIRSTEN comes dashing into view. Just as banged
up, just as tired.
KIRSTEN
I'm not really sure of anything
these days.
WESLEY
You know what I mean.
KIRSTEN
What do you want me to say, Wes?
That, with absolute certainty,
nothing is going to find the
entrance, snake through the sewers
and eat us all in our sleep? I
don't -
Wes stops as the others pass him, turns around to confront
Kirsten.
WESLEY
(very sternly)
What I want you to say whether or
not we were followed. And that's
all I want you to say.
Kirsten glances at him as though it was undeserved, but by
this time, it seems to be commonplace.
KIRSTEN
No.
WESLEY
Good.
He turns around and follows the others. Kirsten hangs back,
shaking her head angrily.
WESLEY (O.S.) (cont'd)
Don't forget to lock the gates
behind you.
KIRSTEN
(quietly; to herself)
Yes, sir.
9 INT. HYPERION - KITCHEN - MINUTES LATER 9
Kirsten climbs up the stairs leading from the sewer, noisily
closing the gates behind her. She reaches down, and fastens
a series of padlocks. She heads for the foyer, but stops
short.
She's still angry about the way that Wes treated her. She
glances around the corner, sees the others. Instead of
following them, she turns around. Heads upstairs.
10 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S OFFICE - SAME 10
The others are lining into Angel's office. Wes has a seat in
his chair, the others sit in chairs around the room.
Kate slowly lets herself down onto the desk, favoring her
wounded left leg.
KATE
Another outing like that, and we're
in trouble.
LILAH
Another outing like that, and we're
that annoying little piece of food
stuck between something's teeth.
Lilah takes off her jacket, revealing a nasty wound on the
back of her shoulder. Kirsten enters the office.
WESLEY
Did you -
KIRSTEN
(weary)
Yes.
Lilah grimaces as she checks her wound.
LILAH
I must have skimmed over the part
in the Team Angel handbook that
mentioned gaping wounds and the
constant threat of painful death as
a fringe benefit.
WESLEY
At least we accomplished our
objective.
LILAH
To kill things? Yeah, you're
right. We killed a few dozen of a
few million demons. Go team!
(rolls eyes)
I hope you're not thinking that the
Senior Partners die of old age.
Because they don't.
Kate looks up from the floor, as if just sensing something.
KATE
Oh, are you still talking?
Lilah gets up from her chair and walks away. Staring Kate
down the entire way.
LILAH
I'm going to take a shower.
Lilah EXITS the room.
KIRSTEN
Don't fall!
The others are only staring at her.
KIRSTEN (cont'd)
That was sarcasm, by the way.
WESLEY
Duly noted.
(checks watch)
So, two hours before the next
scheduled patrol. We should all
try to get some -
KATE
I hate to agree with the Queen of
Nasty, Wes, and you know I'm a team
player and all, but this is
starting to get a little
ridiculous.
Wes wants to argue his point. That's obvious by his
expression. He looks back down to the desk, chooses his words
carefully.
WESLEY
I know that the situation seems
dire right now, but all we need is
the break that we're looking for.
If we give up, we'll never find it,
and our enemies will win by
default.
(beat)
I'm certain that our luck will
change. It has to.
No one looks so convinced.
WESLEY (cont'd)
The powers will step in, or we'll
come upon the answer ourselves.
That one break or chance that no
one sees but us. Or maybe a weapon
that we had all along and didn't
realize -
GUNN (O.S.)
You mean like a Gunn?
The others turn around to find CHARLES GUNN standing idly
behind them. Jaws drop all round.
11 EXT. WOLFRAM & HART - SAME 11
From the skies, slowly PUSH ALONG roofs of neighboring
buildings until we reach a familiar face.
The Wolfram & Hart building is all but torn to pieces. A
skeleton of its former self. It's still standing, but
extensively hollowed out for the most part. From our angle,
we can see the bare innards of the now rickety structure that
looks ready to go.
The other building around it are also either mostly, or
completely torn down. Debris, bodies - you know the story by
now - the aftermath of complete chaos.
As we reach the other side of the building, the familiar W&H
sign is still standing. Still glowing, despite the fact that
no power is on in the surrounding buildings.
Standing beside it, the ant-size outline of a MAN.
Ground level now, we PUSH IN on the sign to find none other
than LINDSEY MCDONALD. Leaning comfortably up against the
sign. Staring indifferently at the building.
LINDSEY
Never were much of one to take a
punch. All show, and not enough
blood and balls.
A SHADOW creeps very creepily across Lindsey's feet. He
looks down, takes note.
LINDSEY (cont'd)
(louder; pointedly)
It's all about the balls, you know.
12 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S OFFICE - SAME 12
Everyone is still staring blankly at Gunn. Gunn stares back.
Giving away very little emotion.
Everyone seems on the verge of saying something. Mouths
open, then close.
Gunn checks his watch, looks indifferent. Before the silence
can be broken by anyone in the room --
SPIKE (O.S.)
He's gone!
Spike comes running into the room, never taking the time to
notice Gunn standing alongside the door.
SPIKE (cont'd)
I nod off for a few blinks, open my
eyes, and the daft bugger's
disappeared!
WESLEY
Ah... Spike?
He nods towards Gunn. Spike turns. Blinks.
SPIKE
You're supposed to be dead.
GUNN
(glances at Lilah)
Lot of that going round. Did you
say Angel was gone?
13 EXT. WOLFRAM & HART - SAME 13
Angel steps further into view, pushing his shadow off of
Lindsey's feet, and into the darkness.
ANGEL
Really? I've never found that.
Lindsey looks back at the building once more. Sighs. He
turns around, his lively again, as he grins at Angel.
LINDSEY
Yeah, well, you were always a
little slow on the uptake.
(beat)
Took you long enough.
ANGEL
Ran into complications.
(impatiently)
So, are we gonna do this or not?
Because, honestly, I could just
kill you and do it on my own a lot
easier.
LINDSEY
Could you? You could read the
ancient language, activate the
seal, turn the entire universe
upside down in a single stoke, and
more or less become emperor of the
world in one fell swoop? Step up,
champ. I'll lob you one.
Angel stares passively.
LINDSEY (cont'd)
That's right. You need me.
Lindsey tosses him a small satchel that Angel catches without
taking his eyes off of him.
LINDSEY (cont'd)
Get your ass to work. We've got a
house call to make.
Lindsey grins broadly, laughing to himself over putting Angel
in his place. Not wanting to drop the tough guy routine in
front of him.
Angel scratches his forehead, looks on the verge of snapping.
But doesn't. Lindsey's right, after all.
14 INT. HYPERION - ANGEL'S OFFICE - NEXT 14
Spike turns back to Wesley, who keeps his gaze fixed on Gunn.
SPIKE
Is he with us or them?
WESLEY
I'm not entirely sure.
KIRSTEN
Uh, sorry to butt in, but who the
hell is this guy?
GUNN
(extends hands)
Charles Gunn. Former champion.
SPIKE
Emphasis on 'former.' As in
'formerly alive.'
WESLEY
That's enough!
(beat)
Are you here to create a problem?
GUNN
Nope. Solve one, actually.
WESLEY
Good. Then you can wait while we
deal with this.
Wes turns to address Kate and Kirsten, but Gunn interrupts:
GUNN
What, none of y'all are going to
ask me how I'm back?
WESLEY
In a moment.
(to Kate and Kirsten)
I need you two to start a full
perimeter sweep immediately. Don't
bother with going through the
sewers.
KATE
What if we're followed back?
WESLEY
It'll take too much time having to
backtrack once you get out. Angel
could be far gone by then so we're
going to have to take the risk.
The girls exchange glances, nod their heads.
WESLEY (cont'd)
We'll be behind you in a moment
after we deal with...
(looks to Gunn)
... a certain situation.
Kate and Kirsten quickly leave the room, grabbing weapons
from the table.
SPIKE
It's got to be Lindsey. Whatever
kind of witchy mojo that he threw
on Angel's got him acting all
loopy. If he's planning on killing
him, now would be the -
GUNN
He's not. Lindsey's not going to
kill Angel. Not yet.
(beat)
He's going to use him to stop the
Partners.
Spike looks around to the others. A bit flabbergasted by the
news.
SPIKE
Well, that doesn't really sound so
bad. Does it?
GUNN
Yeah, stopping the partners is
great. Until Lindsey steps into
their shoes, and plays daddy to the
universe in their place.
WESLEY
As dire as this is - and we're all
painfully aware of how dire it is
dire - Spike's right. You died.
GUNN
(pointed)
Some peoples' friends find ways
around that, though.
SPIKE
And you, Charlie Boy? How'd you
'find your way around it'?
GUNN
I didn't. Lindsey did.
SPIKE
Oh, 'Lindsey did,' he says. That's
just peaches and sunshine, ain't
it?
GUNN
I can explain.
WESLEY
(bitter laugh)
What possible reason would Lindsey
have to bring you back?
(beat; almost threatening)
And more to the point, where's
Angel?
15 EXT. HYPERION - SAME 15
Kate and Kirsten are leaving the premises, both looking
worried. Both looking angry.
KATE
So what do you think?
KIRSTEN
About Angel?
(sighs)
I don't know. Could be anywhere by
now.
KATE
No, about Gunn.
KIRSTEN
Don't know him, but he's kind of
sounding a little evil so far.
Why, you know him?
KATE
Once upon a time.
Kate drifts off. Kirsten changes subject:
KIRSTEN
We haven't seen any activity in
this neighborhood in over thirty
six hours. I think they forgot
about us.
We once again DESCEND through the streets and into the sewer
below, leaving the girls alone -
[top | next]
Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.