8 INT. THE PARAGON FACTION UNDERGROUND BASE 8
Typical dark, unused warehouse, the centrepiece being the
grizzly looking vampire CROW, pacing up and down and not
looking like a happy bunny.
CROW
An abomination to both the mortal
and demon worlds. That Slayer
should not be alive today.
He moves to three robed figures (not bringers) and looks at
them in disgrace.
CROW (cont'd)
She isn't the one we're after but
she killed Glint, my main player,
and so she'll pay. Her and the
other one.
The robed figures nod and bow.
CROW (cont'd)
They will suffer un-imaginary pain
and torture. Their flesh will be
ripped off layer by layer until-
(beat)
Now I'm hungry. Bring in the food.
The robed figures rush to the door and reveal a woman, tied
up and crying. They throw her before him.
CROW (cont'd)
You look tasty.
Crow leers down at her. Evil. Sinister. A look only an evil
and sinister type thing could have.
BLACK OUT
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
FADE IN:
9 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - LOUNGE - DAY 9
Buffy is sitting on the sofa watching TV. Andrew comes in
with his laptop. He sits in the armchair. There's a brief
silence. Then he speaks.
ANDREW
It's a work in progress.
BUFFY
What now?
ANDREW
My novel. I'm calling it "The Boy
Who Became A Man Through Slaying
The Demons."
She rolls her eyes.
BUFFY
Andrew, you need a job.
ANDREW
I have one. At "Peachy's."
BUFFY
Then why aren't you there?
ANDREW
Day off.
(beat)
So anyway. The story is about a guy
called Andy, who has no connection
to anyone here, and a girl called
Sunny, who are both destined to
fight the good fight. Only, Sunny
doesn't realise Andy's true
potential until he saves her life.
But even then, she refuses to see
the power right in front of her-
BUFFY
Okay, so you killed a vampire. You
stopped it from biting me.
Congratulations. Will you drop it now? Silence.
ANDREW
(continuing)
Until one day when they come up
against the worst kind of evil.
Sunny.
She becomes so consumed by the
power that was put in her
predecessors that in the end, it's
Andy who is the only one who can
kill her.
Again with the silence.
ANDREW (cont'd)
You like it?
BUFFY
Uh...
The door opens and in walks Willow.
WILLOW
Hey.
BUFFY
Oh, thank God!
WILLOW
Not interrupting am I?
BUFFY
No! Please, no!
The door pushes open once again to reveal Jackson. He shoots
Buffy a smile.
WILLOW
Look who I picked up.
ANDREW
But you're gay.
Willow is a little shocked by his comment and chooses to
ignore it. She looks back to Buffy.
WILLOW
I invited him to dinner.
BUFFY
Oh... right.
(to Jackson)
Hi. Hey.
JACKSON
Good to see you again.
BUFFY
Yes. Again. Good.
(to Willow)
We need to do a Kitchen thing.
She quickly rushes through the Kitchen door. Willow exchanges
a look with Jackson before following. Andrew turns to him.
ANDREW
You wanna be in my novel?
CUT TO:
10 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - KITCHEN 10
The door opens and in walk Buffy and Willow.
BUFFY
What's with the what, Will?
WILLOW
He decided that it would be good to
come back round now that the house
isn't evil and I didn't push the
subject at all.
Buffy gives her a "don't give me that one" look.
WILLOW (cont'd)
Okay, so there might have been a
slight case of persuasion.
BUFFY
But you invited him for dinner.
What are we gonna feed him, cookie
dough? Cos, that's all we've got!
WILLOW
Seriously, Buffy, it's been a week
since you moved in. You really
should stock up the cupboards.
BUFFY
I'm getting around to it.
WILLOW
Look, just order a takeaway. He
won't mind. He's only here for one
thing.
BUFFY
Willow!
WILLOW
I meant to talk to you.
BUFFY
Oh. Really? He said that?
WILLOW
Yep. More or less.
BUFFY
Okay. I can do this. I'm Buffy. I'm
not a shy little woman. I'm the
Slayer. I'm a dating machine.
(beat)
He's hot, right? It's not just me?
WILLOW
In pre-gay days I woulda snapped
him up straight away.
(beat)
You know, if I'd been confident.
And also not in a relationship with
a pocket size werewolf.
CUT TO:
11 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - LOUNGE 11
Andrew and Jackson are in mid-conversation as Buffy and
Willow enter.
JACKSON
So you see, if you explain more
about the source of her power, and
how Andy is the only one who can
stop her, it will make for a better
read.
(sees them)
You're back.
ANDREW
(to Buffy)
This guy is a genius.
He hurries off out the door.
BUFFY
So, we have a lot of takeaway
options. I haven't had time to
cook.
JACKSON
That's cool. I'm easy.
Willow gives Buffy a "you hear that?" look.
BUFFY
Okay. So, we'll just order that and
then all do... something.
WILLOW
Actually, I have to go.
BUFFY
What?
WILLOW
I promised Kennedy I'd see her at
work.
(pats her)
But you have fun!
She quickly leaves. Buffy looks to Jackson and smiles, a
little awkwardly. There's a long silence.
CUT TO:
12 EXT. STREETS 12
Dawn is walking through the streets, her bag on her shoulder.
She looks and sees Jody.
DAWN
Hey. Again.
JODY
So was your first day as good as
you thought it would be?
DAWN
It was... school. I can't actually
use any other words to sum it all
up.
JODY
Boring. Lame. Z-Fest.
DAWN
Those would explain it.
JODY
You wanna hang?
DAWN
Hang what?
She quickly realises what he meant.
DAWN (cont'd)
Oh, with each other? Cos that would
make sense.
(beat)
Um, I've actually gotta get back.
My sister goes a little insane when
she doesn't know where I am.
JODY
Okay but I was planning to hit the
arcades and maybe get a little
drunk.
DAWN
(hesitates)
Count me in.
XANDER
(calls out)
Dawn!
She turns to see Xander approaching.
DAWN
Busted.
XANDER
Where are you going?
DAWN
Nowhere.
XANDER
(eyes Jody)
Who's this?
JODY
I'm Jody.
XANDER
Right.
(to Dawn)
You ready to go home?
DAWN
Not yet. Jody said he'd... um...
show me around a few things.
XANDER
Mhm. Well don't be long.
DAWN
Aye, aye, Capn'.
She suddenly realises what she has said. She doesn't say
anything tough as Xander walks away.
JODY
Hey, that guy's got an eye patch.
DAWN
Yeah, he's only got the one eye.
JODY
Cool.
CUT TO:
13 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - LOUNGE 13
Buffy and Jackson are sitting on the couch, lights dimmed,
wine glasses topped up. They are laughing.
BUFFY
And so we were all singing and
dancing and there was this song
coming from outside the shop. Turns
out they were singing about the
launderette getting the mustard out
of their shirts!
They both crack up laughing.
JACKSON
The whole town was like a musical!
Wish I coulda been there for that one.
BUFFY
Well it wasn't all hugs and
puppies.
JACKSON
How could it not be?
BUFFY
Well, there was this whole thing
where you spontaneously combusted
if you sang too much.
JACKSON
Oh.
(beat)
Not good.
BUFFY
Plus the songs made you reveal the
whole truth... it wasn't all that
funny.
JACKSON
So what did you sing about?
BUFFY
No. I'm not going through that
again. That part of my life can
stay well in the past.
JACKSON
I'd like to know about your past.
BUFFY
Maybe. You think you could deal
with it?
JACKSON
Not sure. Won't be until you tell
me.
They stare at each other as Xander walks in.
XANDER
Hey, I just saw Dawn-
(sees them)
Whoa. Hello.
BUFFY
Xander. This is Jackson.
XANDER
Yeah. We met. Not in the best
circumstances I'll grant you. I can
see you two have hit it off though.
BUFFY
We found some common ground.
Xander sees the wine glasses.
XANDER
Alcohol?
The phone rings. Xander answers it.
XANDER (cont'd)
(into phone)
Hello?
Buffy turns back to Jackson.
BUFFY
He gets a little protective of me.
JACKSON
You? A Slayer?
BUFFY
Ironic, huh?
XANDER
Buffy, it's Giles.
He passes the phone to her as she jumps up.
BUFFY
(into phone)
Giles.
(beat)
Yeah, it has.
(beat)
You can do that?
(beat)
No, that's great. Did you find
anything on the Paragon Faction?
(beat)
Oh. Okay. Thanks.
(beat)
Bye.
CLICK! She puts the phone down and turns back to Xander.
XANDER
Well?
BUFFY
I have references.
XANDER
What?
BUFFY
Giles has falsified some of my
documents, worked some sorcery to
make it look as though I'm a fully
qualified counselor.
JACKSON
He can do that?
BUFFY
He has.
XANDER
That's great, Buffy, but what about
the Paragon Faction?
BUFFY
Oh, right, yeah. Cos that is
actually more important.
(beat)
Giles said they're like a demon
cult who do lots of evil things.
But he used more English words like
"conduct" and "effectuate." Anyway,
word is they've got a price on my
head and another Slayer.
JACKSON
Suddenly thinking I'm way out of my
depth here.
(to Buffy)
Maybe we should reschedule.
BUFFY
Oh. Okay. You can help with the
research or...
JACKSON
No. I've got to work it in slowly.
Fully adapt to the whole
demon/monster thing.
(beat)
I'll call you tomorrow.
She nods and watches him leave. She pauses, thinking. Then
back to Xander.
XANDER
So you're dating again?
BUFFY
Xander.
XANDER
Right. Not important. So, why are
this Faction cult out to kill you?
BUFFY
I'm a Slayer. I kill their kind.
(beat)
Oh, and I killed one of the vamps
that was joined with them last
night... I think.
XANDER
You think we should get Willow on
the research wagon?
BUFFY
No. She's spending quality time
with Kennedy. I don't really wanna
get her involved in it.
SMASH CUT TO:
14 INT. NO MAN'S LAND 14
The club is packed full of people. "So Confused" by 2Play is
playing in the background as we zoom in on Kennedy and Willow
sitting in a corner talking.
WILLOW
Finally got you alone.
KENNEDY
Hey, someone's gotta get the money
to pay for our new place.
WILLOW
I'm working on it. Was thinking
about applying at the Cyber-Cafe
downtown.
KENNEDY
Willow, no. You're better than
that. You should finish college and
get yourself a proper career.
WILLOW
Finishing college on a Hellmouth,
doesn't seem likely.
KENNEDY
I mean it, Will. You deserve to
have everything you want.
WILLOW
I have everything I want.
(beat)
Right here.
As they lean in to kiss the place is suddenly STORMED by
robed vampires.
Willow sees the doors BURST open and an almost army of
vampires rush through. She and Kennedy jump up and prepare
for battle.
WILLOW (cont'd)
Does this happen every night?
KENNEDY
Nope.
WILLOW
So this isn't the entertainment?
KENNEDY
Nope.
WILLOW
Okay.
The vampires surround them. They're seriously outnumbered.
Kennedy takes her fighting stance.
KENNEDY
Any tricks up your sleeve?
WILLOW
I'm thinking.
(beat)
Legare i nostri corpi e tenerloro
sicuro. L'Expell tutto il malvagio
da questo luogo-
Two robed vamps come forward, holding books. They are
chanting and an unseen force THROWS Willow against the wall.
She's not knocked out but she's groggy.
Kennedy jabs a vamp in the neck and kicks another in the gut.
She grabs a chair and SMASHES it over another's head. The
chair breaks.
She grabs a stake-like piece of wood and impales three of the
vampire's in their hearts. Two of the vampires charge her but
she flips over them and kicks them forward.
She tries to stake them but a group of them overwhelm her and
hold her back. They drag her back, kicking and shouting,
through the fire exit door.
Willow is slumped against the wall, looking dazed and hurt.
She searches for Kennedy but can't find her anywhere within
her sight range.
BLACK OUT
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE IN:
15 EXT. PARK - NIGHT 15
It's dark. Only a few street lamps light the way through the
eerily looking park. Dawn and Jody walk casually through,
although, they both look a little tense.
JODY
So what was the deal with that
Sunnydale place?
DAWN
Huh? What?
JODY
It wasn't just an epidemic, right?
I mean, what destroyed that whole
town?
DAWN
I have no idea... we were... um...
evacuated before it did that whole
destruction thing.
JODY
Huh. Strange.
DAWN
Yeah...
(beat)
So how long you lived here?
JODY
Couple of years. We lived in LA for
a while but I guess my mom didn't
think it was too safe.
(beat)
Did you hear about the sun being
blocked out? It was like an eclipse
or something.
DAWN
Yeah, it was Angel and-
(quickly)
The Angels or the... skies... or
something like that and I sound
like a babbling idiot.
JODY
Well I'm not disagreeing.
She playfully hits him on the arm but stops suddenly, seeing
something move in the trees. He looks to her, wondering
what's going on.
JODY
Something wrong?
DAWN
No. I think we should head back
though.
JODY
Why? Are you scared or the big bad
dark?
DAWN
No! It's just... I don't think it's
really that safe out here.
JODY
Admit it, you're scared.
DAWN
I am not scared!
They both suddenly jump back as a FIGURE jumps from the trees
and lands before them. It's a VAMPIRE, we'll call him DEREK.
He snarls at them, blood stained teeth and everything.
DAWN (cont'd)
Okay, now, a bit.
JODY
What is that?
Derek grins.
DEREK
Children shouldn't be out in the
dark, there's monsters all around.
DAWN
That's okay. We were just heading
home.
She turns but he is right there in front of her, so close she
can feel his breath on her.
DEREK
You're not going anywhere.
JODY
Hey, back off, pal.
He pushes the vamp back a little, which only makes him laugh.
Dawn steps back a little.
DAWN
That wasn't... wise.
JODY
This guy is deformed. Can you see
his face?
DEREK
(growls)
Hungry now.
DAWN
(shouts)
Run!
She grabs Jody's arm and they make a dash for it down the
path, near the sidewalk.
DEREK
I love it when they run.
He gives chase.
CUT TO:
16 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM 16
Xander and Buffy are sitting at the table, with books
scattered across it. Andrew enters with his own book.
ANDREW
Now. Do you think Sunny should be
blonde or brunette? Britney or
Christina? Buffy or Faith?
XANDER
Andrew, we have a big bad cult on
the loose who are out to get Buffy.
BUFFY
And she should so be blonde.
Xander shoots her a look. She shrugs. The door swings open
and in FALLS Willow. Everyone rushes to her.
XANDER
Willow!
BUFFY
God, Willow, are you okay?
(beat)
No. You're really not. What
happened?
WILLOW
(dazed)
Kennedy... they took her...
BUFFY
Who?
WILLOW
Vampires...
Buffy and Xander pull her up to her feet. She sits down by
the table and holds her head in her hands for a moment.
WILLOW (cont'd)
I have to get her back.
XANDER
Will, you're tired.
BUFFY
What happened?
WILLOW
We were sitting and talking and
these... vampires burst in and
started attacking everyone.
XANDER
So it's a random thing. You know,
your average every night vampire raid.
WILLOW
No... they were after her. It was
like they knew who she was. What
she was.
Andrew suddenly realises.
ANDREW
Kennedy's the other one.
Everyone looks to him.
ANDREW
I mean. That vampire I staked. He
thought Buffy was someone else,
someone who angered the Faction.
BUFFY
Andrew's right.
XANDER
Whoa. Wait a minute. Can we talk
about what you just said?
BUFFY
Xander.
XANDER
Right. Inappropriate humor.
WILLOW
Buffy... there were a lot of vamps.
I mean, lots.
BUFFY
I'll deal.
She grabs her jacket. Willow stands, regaining her strength
and heads her off at the door.
WILLOW
You need backup.
BUFFY
It's okay, Will-
WILLOW
No. I'm not letting Kennedy die. I
have to be there.
Buffy takes this in, realising that she is referring to
Tara's death and the circumstances in which she died.
BUFFY
Will... are you sure you can? I
mean... you were near death a
moment ago.
WILLOW
I'm better.
(beat)
Lets go kick some ass.
XANDER
Hold on for the love of purple and
green grapes. We don't even know
where the Paragon Faction are.
Willow moves to the table and scatters the books. Buffy,
Xander, and Andrew are looking at her in a cautious way.
BUFFY
Willow, I think we should-
WILLOW
(to the ceiling)
I poteri Del Cerchio, sente la mia
difesa. Me ha condurto a dove mio
desidererà.
A beam of light SLAMS down on Willow from the ceiling and
absorbs her. The others look on in shock, Andrew falling back
on his chair.
Willow GLOWS for a while, taking in the information that is
being given to her.
Suddenly she DROPS to the floor as the light shimmers away.
Xander gets to her side as she lifts herself up.
XANDER
What was...
WILLOW
(catching her breath)
I know where she is.
Buffy nods and they go to exit.
XANDER
Wait, I'm coming with.
BUFFY
Xander, someone needs to be here
for Dawn when she gets back.
XANDER
Andrew's here. He can explain the
weekly madness.
ANDREW
I'm more of an observer now.
BUFFY
Look. We'll get Kennedy and we'll
be back. Promise.
Xander accepts this as Buffy and Willow leave. He turns back
to see Andrew sitting in the chair, book in hand.
ANDREW
Willow's like a super witch now.
Kennedy even said she was a
Goddess.
XANDER
She's definitely getting stronger.
ANDREW
You sound... less happy for her.
XANDER
I know her power's evolving. I just
hope she can control it.
CUT TO: