buffy8x07
Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
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TEASER
FADE IN:
1 EXT. CLEVELAND STREET. NIGHT. 1
Buffy is out on patrol, eyes scanning the streets and
alleyways as she listens out for trouble. She passes a fenced
off tennis court, and hears the noise of running feet. Her
head snaps round.
She sees figures moving at the far side of the court, it's
dark but the floodlights overhead illuminate most of the
ground.
Buffy looks up at the wire fence surrounding the court. It's
pretty high.
BUFFY
Up, up and away...
She hops up and grabs hold of the fence and climbs over.
She's down on the other side in moments, but as her feet hit
the ground, the door leading in to the courts next to her
swings gently open - it wasn't locked. Buffy rolls her eyes
and races over to the other side of the court.
2 EXT. TENNIS COURT. NIGHT. 2
We see a small girl, EMMILY, about six years old, in a
tattered dress and covered with cuts and scratches, as she
rattles the door on the other side of the court, trying to
get out.
There is a snarl behind her, and she spins round to see two
DEMONS, green skin, fins running along the tops of their
heads and mouths filled with fangs, dressed in black hooded
robes.
The first demon chuckles as he takes a step towards the
trapped girl, who seems oddly calm despite the impending
doom.
BUFFY (O.S.)
Hey!
The demons spin round to see Buffy facing them down, hands on
hips.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Now I know I don't need to tell you
boys to go pick on someone your own
size..
Demon #1 growls and leaps to the attack, Buffy blocks his
swinging punch and spins to elbow him in the gut. He wheezes
and is knocked to the floor.
Demon #2 charges in with a kick, Buffy ducks underneath it
and jabs him twice in the fast, dazing him and sending him
stuttering backwards.
Buffy looks down at Emmily, keeping one eye on the demons.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Hang on! I'll get you out of here!
The girl nods, and Buffy steps over to the locked door to the
courts, and with one punch of Slayer strength blows the lock
out.
She swings the door open and Emmily runs out, but as Buffy
turns back to the demons she's hit by one of them, stunning
her for a few seconds while they run out after the girl.
CUT TO:
3 EXT. CLEVELAND STREET. NIGHT. 3
Emmily keeps on running but the demons are gaining on her.
Emmily turns a corner and round the side of a building, as
Demon #1 closes in a rubbish bin lid swings out from round
the corner and CLANG! Straight into the demon's face.
He stumbles to the ground as ELLEN steps out, a middle-aged
woman with shoulder-length dark hair. She drops the lid as
the second demon catches up.
ELLEN
(smirks)
Sorry, just taking out the trash.
The demon growls and takes up a fighting stance, Ellen does
the same, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face. We
can tell she's not a fully trained fighter, but she's doing
her best.
Buffy is still racing to catch up.
The demon feints to the left then punches out from the right,
hitting Ellen across the jaw. She staggers back but spin
kicks back at the demon, catching it in the upper chest.
She follows this up with a flurry of jabs, finally
shoulderbarging the thing to the ground. Jumping on top of it
to pin it down, she grabs its robes and lifts its head up to
her.
ELLEN (cont'd)
Chasing after little girls is..
(punch)
not..
(punch again)
nice!!
Her third punch knocks the monster out. There is a growl
behind her as Demon #1 gets back up.
Buffy turns a corner and up to the street where the demons
were, in time to see Ellen putting the smackdown on the first
demon. She's yelling, as though she isn't sure how she's able
to fight, but the speed and power of her attacks are taking
care of the opponent.
In a few moments, she's punched and kicked him to the ground,
picking Demon #1 up by the front of his robes and slamming
his head down to knock him out. Buffy runs up to them both,
breathless. Ellen is looking down at her hands in disbelief.
BUFFY
Are you okay?
ELLEN
Yeah.. yeah, I'm fine.
(beat)
Always does surprise me when I do
that.
Buffy looks down to Emmily, who has poked her head back round
the corner, and Emmily nods and smiles at Buffy, looking up
at Ellen.
EMMILY
(off Ellen)
Chosen.
Buffy looks confused, then looks back to Ellen, and the penny
drops.
BUFFY
Hey, wait a minute.. you're a
Slayer!
ELLEN
I'm a what?
CUT TO BLACK.
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
4 EXT. ROCKWELL AVENUE. NIGHT. 4
Buffy and Ellen walk down Buffy's street, Ellen is carrying
the sleeping Emmily in her arms while Buffy looks after the
shopping.
BUFFY
So in a nutshell, Ellen, that's the
way it works round here.
ELLEN
Monsters and vampires and things
run amok around the city unless you
stop them?
BUFFY
Not just me, I have a posse. Well,
they're more like my A-Team,
really.
ELLEN
Would that make you Hannibal?
BUFFY
Yeah. Except without the cigars. Or
the cool truck.
The girls share a smile. Ellen takes a deep breath - she's
having to take a lot in.
ELLEN
I've been feeling.. strange for a
few months now, I wasn't sure what
to put it down to. I got a clean
bill of health last time I was at
the doctors, which I knew was weird
because I smoke and I can barely
run half a mile without needing a
ventilator, and now..
(looks at the sleeping
Emmily and sighs)
One day, I found little Emmily
here. She'd been kidnapped from her
family and was being chased by two
more of those things we bumped into
tonight. As soon as I saw them
after her that first time,
something inside my just told me I
had to stop them, and told me that
I had the power to do it. Was that
what it was like for you?
BUFFY
Kinda. The frantic feeling of panic
followed by a brief bout of
violence.. yeah, sounds about
right.
They arrive at Buffy's place. She gets her keys out and looks
round at Ellen.
BUFFY (cont'd)
You'd best come inside for a bit,
meet the rest of the guys. We can
help fill you in.
Ellen shifts the weight of Emmily round and examines the
knuckles on one of her hands.
ELLEN
Thanks. I skinned my knuckles a bit
too so I should probably get that
looked at.
BUFFY
Nah, we Slayers heal fast. You'll
be okay.
ELLEN
'Slayer' huh? I've been called a
few things in my life, but that's a
new one on me..
She opens the door and they step inside.
5 INT. SUMMERS' RESIDENCE. NIGHT. 5
Buffy and Ellen walk in and head for the kitchen, where we
find Dawn, Xander and Andrew.
ANDREW
And so that's why we know that
Childs wasn't a monster at the end
of 'The Thing.'
XANDER
Andrew, my friend, despite your
constantly irritating presence
around here, you certainly have
your uses.
DAWN
(sees Buffy)
Oh, hey! We have guests!
BUFFY
Everybody, this is Ellen. She's
playing for Team Slayer.
ELLEN
(bemused)
Hello..
Xander throws her a mock salute.
XANDER
Xander Harris, the artist formerly
known as 'One-Eye,' at your
service, ma'am.
BUFFY
That's our live-in repair guy
Xander, that's my little sister
Dawn and this.. well, that's just
Andrew.
ANDREW
Uh, hi. Is that your daughter?
ELLEN
(looks at Emmily, smiles)
No, this is the damsel in distress
who, in a roundabout sort of way,
introduced me to Buffy here. We
ought to get her a bed somewhere
till we can find out where her
parents are.
BUFFY
Dawn, your bed's the best in the
house.
DAWN
I wouldn't know, I never get to use
it!
Ellen turns and heads out the kitchen. As she does, Emmily's
eyes flick open and fix Dawn with a stare. Dawn blinks, not
sure if she just saw that happen or not.
XANDER
What's the skinny on the new girl
then? Or new woman, even.
BUFFY
Her name's Ellen, she's a local who
started feeling 'strange' a few
weeks back..
DAWN
Which would fit in with when Willow
did the Goddess of Mojo thing,
right?
BUFFY
Uh-huh. I'm not sure yet why
someone older than usual would
still get upgraded to Slayer power,
but I'm sure we'll figure it out.
ANDREW
Are you sure she is one? A Slayer,
I mean. She is kind of.. well, old.
BUFFY
She took down two tough demons in
about six seconds flat, short of
being a major league kickboxing
champion I think it's safe to say
she's one of us.
(beat)
Or, one of, er, me.
CUT TO:
6 INT. DAWN'S ROOM. NIGHT. 6
Ellen tenderly lays Emmily down in Dawn's bed and tucks her
in. Emmily wakes up and looks up at Ellen with sleepy eyes.
EMMILY
Thank you.
ELLEN
That's okay, honey, that's what I'm
here for, remember?
EMMILY
Knew you could protect me.
(pops Ellen lightly on the
nose with her finger)
Chosen.
Ellen hasn't realised the significance of the word yet.
ELLEN
(sighs)
Yep, so it would seem.
(beat)
Emmily, honey, you told me that
your parents were here in
Cleveland, that's why we came here.
Can you tell me where I can find
them now?
EMMILY
(shakes her head)
Gone.
ELLEN
Gone? Gone where?
EMMILY
Lost. A long time ago. But it's
alright again now.
ELLEN
And why's that?
EMMILY
You came to save me. Ellen isn't
sure what to make of this.
ELLEN
Emmily, sweetheart, why did you
tell me your parents were here if
they're..
(beat)
If they're gone?
EMMILY
Needed to keep moving. From the bad
things.
ELLEN
You didn't have to lie to me,
Emmily.
EMMILY
I know. I'm sorry.
Ellen sighs, smiles and kisses Emmily on the forehead. She
can't stay mad at her angelic face for long - not after
they've been through so much together already.
ELLEN
Now get some sleep, we'll talk
again in the morning.
Emmily nods and turns on her side to curl up and go to sleep.
Ellen walks out, stops in the doorway to throw a last look
down at her and then heads out and back downstairs.
We stay watching the sleeping Emmily for a few more moments.
CUT TO:
7 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - KITCHEN. NIGHT. 7
Ellen walks back into the kitchen to join the others. Buffy
is sat up on the kitchen surface, eating a slice of toast
while Dawn throws a few packs of food in the microwave.
BUFFY
(to Ellen)
Oh, hey. You hungry?
ELLEN
(rests against the
surface)
I think I need a drink.
DAWN
We have juice and lemonade?
ELLEN
(grins)
Something a little stronger than
that, honey.
ANDREW
Sunny Delight?
ELLEN
Could someone get me a gin and
tonic or something? I just need a
little kick to try and pull all the
different bits of my brain back
together.
XANDER
Coming right up.
Xander heads for the drinks cabinet in the front room.
ELLEN
So, you live here?
BUFFY
Yeah. We just moved. We used to
live in Sunnydale, but there was a
bit of a situation down there, and
we had to pack up and move out.
(beat)
Very rapidly.
ELLEN
Oh yeah, that epidemic, I heard
about that.
Buffy and Dawn exchange a knowing look.
BUFFY
Yeah, that's the one. We moved up
here and got a good deal on this
place.
ANDREW
Because of the ghosts.
Ellen raises and eyebrow. Buffy sighs and glares at Andrew.
BUFFY
Thank you, Andrew.
(to Ellen)
Yes. We had a slight alternate
dimensional ghost problem, but
Willow fixed it.
ELLEN
Have I met Willow?
BUFFY
Not yet, I'll get her over later.
Willow's our resident Charmed One,
she does all the magicky stuff.
DAWN
(smiles proudly)
And I'm her apprentice.
BUFFY
(big sister voice)
You're Watcher Junior, Dawny,
you're not Willow mark two.
Dawn opens her mouth to retort but one look from Buffy cuts
her dead. Ellen chuckles as Xander walks back in with the
drink, which Ellen gratefully takes and knocks back in one
shot.
With an intake of breath, she puts the glass back in the sink
and turns to the others.
ELLEN
That's much better. Now, keep
talking, I can tell I've got a lot
to catch up on.
CUT TO:
8 INT. WILLOW & KENNEDY'S ROOM. NIGHT. 8
Willow is sat on the bed in their modest apartment bedroom,
typing away on her laptop. The door opens and Kennedy walks
in from work, throwing her coat off as Willow guiltily closes
the laptop. Kennedy notices.
KENNEDY
Hey, whatcha doin?
WILLOW
Uh, nothing, I was just, uh, doing
some, uh, typing.
KENNEDY
(grins)
Oh yeah? Typing what?
WILLOW
Oh, it's nothing, really, just, uh,
Scooby stuff, you know.
Kennedy joins Willow on the bed, still grinning.
KENNEDY
Willow Rosenberg, you are without
doubt the worst liar in the whole
world. Now lemme see!
Kennedy grabs for the laptop and opens it with a half-hearted
effort from Willow to stop her. Kennedy reads what's on the
screen.
KENNEDY (cont'd)
A wicca chat room?
Willow nods and manages half a smile, trying not to look as
guilty as she feels.
WILLOW
(guiltily)
It's just, uh, something to pass
the time till you get home from
work, you know, and when I don't
have any, uh, proper things to be
doing..
Kennedy smiles at Willow and kisses her on the forehead.
KENNEDY
Nothing to be ashamed of, Wil. If I
could find a gay Slayer chat room
when you're out and I'm home alone,
I'd be on that all the time!
Willow smiles as Kennedy heads for the bathroom.
WILLOW
Oh, you had a phone call while you
were out.
KENNEDY
(from bathroom)
Yeah?
WILLOW
Yeah, I think it was your uncle,
uh, Uncle Keith?
Kennedy steps out of the bathroom, a blank look on her face.
Willow looks up and sees it and twigs that something's up.
WILLOW (cont'd)
Kennedy?
KENNEDY
Huh?
WILLOW
What is it? Is something the
matter?
KENNEDY
Oh, nothing, nothing. It's fine.
Did he say what he wanted?
WILLOW
(forgets suspicion)
Yeah, he's coming by to visit
tomorrow with your dad. I think
your dad's remembered about that
trust fund you're owed.
(smiles)
And I think it's about time we got
chance to splash out a little!
KENNEDY
(still distracted)
Yeah, yeah..
She heads back into the bathroom and closes the door. Willow
looks puzzled, but then opens up the laptop again and starts
typing.
CUT TO:
9 INT. SUMMERS' RESIDENCE - LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. 9
Ellen is sat on the sofa next to Buffy. Xander, Dawn and
Andrew occupy the other chairs.
ELLEN
It was about six weeks ago when I
found Emmily. She was running
through the streets on the other
side of town late at night, I'd
just come back from an evening out
with my girl friends, and then
there's this six year old kid
running across the road with two
ugly looking guys in black hoodies
after her. Something just clicked.
(snaps her fingers)
I still can't explain it, it was
like some kind of Spider Sense or..
BUFFY
I prefer 'Slayer Sense.' The two
share a smile.
ELLEN
I took off after her, took down the
two things after her without
realising I had any control over
it, and then there she was. She
told me she'd lost her parents and
these men were after her, so I
wrapped her up and brought her back
to my apartment. I'm fairly new
here myself.
DAWN
This is a pretty strange town at
times..
ELLEN
I'm finding that out. So, the past
few weeks I've tried everything to
find her parents again - missing
persons, library records, heck, I'd
use satellite surveillance photos
if I could get them.
ANDREW
I could probably-
A sharp look from Buffy tells him to stop talking.
ELLEN
(changing the subject)
So anyway, to recap, this Hellmouth
place went boom and took your
hometown with it, right?
XANDER
Fire, brimstone and lots of smoke.
It looked great as we watched
through the back window of the bus
we were rapidly escaping in.
ANYA (O.S.)
Someone mention the Hellmouth?
Anya walks through one of the walls and into the room. Ellen
jumps, but Buffy puts out a hand to relax her.
BUFFY
It's okay, that's Anya. She's, uh..
ANYA
I'm a ghost. Hello. I'd shake hands
but I can't, because I'm dead.
(points to Andrew)
I died saving him.
ANDREW
Uh, yeah, she did.
ELLEN
Sounds like a regular little Addams
family you've got here.. any more
monsters I should know about? You
don't keep a crocodile in the
basement, do you?
BUFFY
No, we don't. Although there was
that time in our last house with
the demon I left in the basement..
ELLEN
You did what?
XANDER
Long, long, long, long, LONG story.
ANYA
Well, nice to meet you anyway,
strange new person, I'm going to go
walk through some more walls now
until they find a way to make me
solid again.
(beat)
Although.. it does make me tingle
in all sorts of interesting
places..
Anya walks out. Ellen throws a look at Buffy who just shakes
her head.
BUFFY
Dawn, why don't you go grab some
books, we need to identify
tonight's goons and find out what
they're doing here, and what they
wanted with that little girl.
Dawn nods, gets up and heads upstairs to fetch the reference
books Giles left behind for them all.
ELLEN
They're pretty persistent, they've
been showing up every few days
since I found Emmily. They don't
seem to want to kill her, they're
just trying to take her away.
ANDREW
A sacrifice, maybe?
BUFFY
Could be.. Dawn!
DAWN (O.S.)
Yeah?
BUFFY
Cross reference the demons with
cults, anything that makes a
mention of needing children for
anything.
DAWN
(walks back into the
living room with an
armful of books)
No problem. One night of trawling
through barely readable arcane
books, coming right up.
ELLEN
What about Emmily?
BUFFY
What do you mean? Dawn looks up.
ELLEN
I asked her where her parents were
again, but this time she just said
they were 'gone, lost a long time
ago.' Do you think those things
killed them?
BUFFY
Maybe. We'd better keep an eye on
her till we know more. Those things
might have tracked us.
ELLEN
I've been doing that by myself for
six weeks so far, a few more hands
on deck can only be a good thing.
Ellen and Buffy share a smile.
ELLEN (cont'd)
Well, I'll leave you to it.
(gets up)
I'll sleep in Emmily's room
tonight. There's only a cat waiting
for me back home, and Jones can
take care of himself for one night.
BUFFY
No problem, we'll see you in the
morning.
Ellen heads upstairs.
XANDER
She seems okay, in an ass-kicking
hot older woman kind of way.
ANDREW
Yeah, very, er, motherly.
BUFFY
She saved that kid tonight. If she
hadn't been there, I wouldn't have
caught them before they got to her.
XANDER
Now all we need to do is figure out
why they wanted her, and make sure
that you and Ripley up there can
take care of them before they make
an entree out of the kid!
CUT TO:
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