buffy8x16 Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
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21 INT. ENGLISH CLASSROOM - LATER 21
Ms. Collins casually flips through the latest Anne Rice
novel. Paying no attention to her students. The BELL RINGS.
Students quickly flip shut their notebooks and make for the
door. The teacher finally puts the novel down.
MS. COLLINS
Now, I expect three more poems just
like those by the beginning of
class tomorrow!
But most are already out the door. Skye pushes through a few
laggers, trying to make it through -- and fails.
MS. COLLINS (cont'd)
Skye, I thought I told you to stay
behind.
Skye freezes. Then she forces a smile and turns around,
looking at her teacher.
SKYE
I'm sorry. I thought you didn't.
The room is empty. Ms. Collins certainly doesn't look very
pleased.
MS. COLLINS
Not funny. Have a seat.
Skye takes one of the student desks and drags it towards her
teacher. She releases it, then takes a seat in one of the
blue plastic chairs. Ms. Collin's arms are crossed.
MS. COLLINS (cont'd)
What's wrong, Skye?
SKYE
Well... things are quite a bit
different... lately.
MS. COLLINS
What do you mean?
(no response)
I'm your friend here, Skye. I want
to help. Is there something going
on at your house?
SKYE
Like what?
MS. COLLINS
You're constantly late for school --
again today. Your quality of work
has dropped off rapidly in the last
few months. And now this poem you
turned in... are you being abused?
Skye raises her eyebrows. She understands, but she's too
stunned to answer. Ms. Collins reaches her hand out and
gently touches Skye's wrist.
MS. COLLINS (cont'd)
Just remember -- I'm your friend
here, Skye. You can tell me.
SKYE
(laughs)
Wh -- what the hell would make you
think somethin' like that?
Ms. Collins' gaze is steely now. She's still for a beat. A
stack of student papers is right in front of her.
She reaches in and searches for the right paper. The teacher
takes a pair of glasses off the desk and reads:
MS. COLLINS
(reading)
"In every generation a Slayer is
born..."
(to Skye)
Interesting start.
(reading)
"...because a bunch of guys that
died thousands of years ago made up
that rule."
(to Skye)
Very off-beat type of poetry, I
must say.
(reading)
"What if you could have that power?
Now. So I say we change the rules.
I say my power should be our
power."
(to Skye)
There's flow to it, I must say, but
it also comes off like a rather
cliched speech.
(reading)
"From now on, every girl in the
world that might be a Slayer, will
be a Slayer. Every girl who could
have the power, will have the
power. Who can stand up, will stand
up. They will have strength they
never dreamed of."
(to Skye)
And this is the line I find to be
most interesting --
(reading)
"Are you ready to be strong?"
Ms. Collins lets go of the paper and takes off her reading
glasses. She looks at Skye, who sits quietly.
MS. COLLINS (cont'd)
"Are you ready to be strong?" What
does that mean, Skye? This entire
poem reads like it's something you
want. A power your need. Why do you
need that power, Skye?
A beat.
SKYE
It's not power I need.
Skye lowers her head. It's almost as if she's weeping. Ms.
Collins seems to sympathize. She rises from her chair and
walks over to the girl. Puts her hand on Skye's shoulder.
She raises her head... ...and her face is the hideous visage
of a vampire!
SKYE (cont'd)
It's power I already have.
She jumps up and buries her fangs into Ms. Collins' neck. The
teacher doesn't even have time to scream before going limp in
Skye's arms.
CUT TO:
22 INT. SUMMERS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 22
Faith is parked on the couch. Xander sits next to her, glued
to the screen. His hand is stroking locks of Anya's hair --
she SNORES, laid out on the floor.
FAITH
I never thought too much of TV
but... damn. There's some really
good stuff on this.
XANDER
I always thought the TV was great.
FAITH
You have too much time on your
hands, Xand.
XANDER
So you'd like me to turn "Passions"
off, then?
FAITH
Touch the remote and I break your
friggin' neck, boy.
The front door opens. Buffy steps into the house, looking
thoroughly exhausted. She tosses her keys onto the first
stair and closes the door.
FAITH
Back early, B.
BUFFY
Terrible, terrible day. So I took a
few hours off and decided to come
home.
XANDER
Skipping? Buffy, you'd think you
learned your lesson after high
school.
BUFFY
I never skipped -- well, I did. But
I still graduated.
XANDER
Hardly the point. Now sit down and
watch this fine bit of television.
Buffy slowly moves into the living room. She slides her shoes
off and sits next to Xander. Notices Anya snoozing on the
floor.
Buffy shrugs, then lifts her feet and uses Anya as a cushion.
Anya barely even stirs. Buffy stretches.
BUFFY
I swear, no one's had a day this
bad. Ever. I've had the single
worst day on the planet.
23 INT. HIGH SCHOOL - GIRLS' LOCKER ROOM - DAY 23
The female GYM TEACHER enters. The locker room is empty,
though it's obvious it was filled to capacity no more than
fifteen minutes earlier. Gym Teacher prepares to enter the
side office, but something catches her eye.
She makes for the shower room. The shower stalls are composed
in circular fashion -- each "stall" features outward walls,
allowing five people to shower at a time while still being
separated. The teacher approaches the stall...
The dead eyes of Meyers stare out at her. Next to him, we can
just make out the corpse of Parker, throat ripped to shreds.
The Gym Teacher SCREAMS, then runs the other way and out of
the locker room.
We DOLLY around the stall. Myers, Parker... and finally Ms.
Collins, two very large fang marks visible in her neck.
ON her shocked expression, eyes wide open in terror, we --
BLACK OUT.
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE IN ON:
A TOMBSTONE. Polished stone set firmly in the ground. The
inscription reads: "JOHNNY LUCAS. 1986-2003. He Rests In Our
Hearts Forever." We PAN UP from this item and find ourselves
in:
24 EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT 24
Lines and lines of graves set in orderly rows. Oak trees
stand tall, their thick branches hanging downwards towards
the grass. All we need is a howling wolf to complete the
cliche.
A wolf HOWLS. Buffy and JACKSON patrol the area. She holds a
stake but doesn't seem anxious to use it.
BUFFY
You know what I mean, though?
JACKSON
Let me double-check. Vampires,
werewolves, and demons are okay.
But life is terrible when a
teenager doesn't like your skirt?
BUFFY
No, that's not it! It's not!
(beat)
Well, okay, it kinda is. But
there's more to it than that. It's
like I'm completely falling out of
touch with my entire generation.
JACKSON
You're twenty-three, and already
suffering a mid-life crisis.
BUFFY
Well, I have this nasty habit of
surviving. Or, dying and coming
back. Whatever. But what if one day
I'm Granny-Slayer and I have to
kill vampires at the Bingo Hall?
JACKSON
There are plenty of Slayers, Buffy.
That last little encounter kind of
proved it. But I'd like to think
that, eventually, they'll all pick
up the slack and do the right
thing.
He stops. She follows suit as Jackson stands in front of her,
looking Buffy in the eyes.
JACKSON (cont'd)
So eventually, Granny-Slayer can
retire and teach her grandchildren
how to brutally slaughter evil
monsters.
She laughs, then smiles at Jackson. Suddenly the bushes sway
- a VAMPIRE leaps out! He prepares to strike at Jackson, but
Buffy already has her stake poised to kill.
She buries it in his chest, causing an explosion of dust. She
looks at Jackson who collects himself.
BUFFY
Sorry about that.
JACKSON
I would've had him. Buffy turns.
BUFFY
(calling out)
Okay. Who's next?
Behind the bushes, two other vampires -- MAGID and ZAHN --
look at each other. Neither wants to spring after the Slayer.
They point hastily at each other, desperately trying to get
the other to attack. Finally it comes down to a game of
Paper, Rock, Scissors. It begins...
Buffy is waiting. Obviously bored, she taps her foot. Jackson
waits beside her, leaning against a tree. The bushes begin to
shake... and both Magid and Zahn dive out!
They don't stand a chance. Buffy and Jackson stake them
before their feet hit the ground.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Such a romantic evening, isn't it?
KENNEDY (V.O.)
C'mon, Will! We can't be a little
smoochy tonight?
CUT TO:
25 INT. WILLOW & KENNEDY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 25
WILLOW is sprawled out on the bed. She looks out of it --
tired, with her hair all over the place. KENNEDY sits beside
her, touching her arm. Willow enjoys it, but it's obvious she
knows it's a ploy.
WILLOW
No... no smoochies. Tired doesn't
begin to describe how I feel.
KENNEDY
And 'rejected' doesn't begin to
describe how I feel.
WILLOW
Oh -- no! You haven't been
rejected! Just, put on the bench
for a day, y'know? Pretty soon
it'll be all --
(mock-macho voice)
"Kennedy, get in the game! Hustle!
Hustle!"
Kennedy leans in and kisses Willow on the lips.
KENNEDY
Do I have to start the game on the
bench? I was always a quick
learner...
She rubs Willow's stomach.
WILLOW
Woah, time-out on the field.
KENNEDY
You're pretty good with the sports
analogies.
WILLOW
And you're really good at ignoring
them.
Kennedy pauses for a moment. The hint has broadcasted over a
loud-speaker. She backs off.
KENNEDY
Gotcha, Red. I'll just have a night
out on the town by myself, then.
WILLOW
You're leaving?
Kennedy grabs her jacket. Quickly puts it on, never losing
sight of Willow.
KENNEDY
You know the drill -- places to go,
vampires to kill.
WILLOW
But two seconds ago you were --
KENNEDY
I changed my mind. It's okay, Will.
I won't be gone too long.
She approaches the bed and kisses Willow, who returns it.
Then Kennedy is out the door before Willow can get another
word in.
26 INT. SUMMERS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 26
Dawn is stretched out on the floor, nose buried in a school
textbook. Anya sits on the couch, watching the television
with a bowl of popcorn at her side. She MUNCHES anxiously...
the suspense is obviously killing her.
ANYA
How do I do it? I just don't
understand how I do it.
A beat. Dawn skims the text with the aide of her index
finger.
ANYA (cont'd)
Aren't you going to ask what I do
that I can't understand?
Dawn's head shoots up, almost as if noticing Anya for the
first time. She shakes it off, then responds:
DAWN
Oh, well... what is it you do that
you can't understand?
ANYA
Watch these stupid horror movies! I
mean, I know the man in the cute
Captain Kirk mask is going to
murder the girl, and yet I can't
help but be fascinated by it.
DAWN
Murder can be fascinating at times.
Anya sets the bowl of popcorn aside... or more specifically,
out of reach.
ANYA
That's rather a rather disturbing
thing to say. I'm disturbed. What
do you mean?
Dawn closes the textbook.
DAWN
Alright. The movie you're watching.
It's about a guy butchering people.
It spawned more movies about brutal
murders. Yet they all make money,
and the sequels keep coming.
Humans are fascinated by the idea
of death. Always have been, always
will be.
ANYA
I'm not fascinated by it.
DAWN
How often is it that you consider
the possibility that you might die?
ANYA
I don't know... not too much...
only once or twice a day, at most!
DAWN
How else would you define
fascination?
Anya ponders Dawn's rather cryptic response. Then, almost as
if spooked, she curls up with her popcorn and sets her eyes
on the television screen.
27 EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT 27
Buffy and Jackson continue their patrol. The pale moon back
lights overhanging branches. To anyone else -- a nightmare.
For these two, romantic. They move towards a particularly
"lovely" angel gravestone. Buffy sits.
JACKSON
You do realize, of course, that any
vampire still alive after we
disposed of the moronic triplets
back there has probably high-tailed
it for a nicer piece of cemetery
scenery, right?
BUFFY
I'm taking it easy. Just going to
focus on the newbies who can't get
out of their mud-plots for the time
being.
FEMALE (O.S.)
New? New to what?
Buffy spins. There's nobody within twenty feet in either
direction. She stands, not entirely convinced they're alone.
BUFFY
Did you hear that?
JACKSON
Yeah.
BUFFY
Manage to see who said it?
JACKSON
Of course not.
BUFFY
Damn. I hate the eerie playful
ones.
FEMALE (O.S.)
If it's a game, I want to play!
Buffy scans. Once again, nothing. But there's the SOUND of
TREES SWAYING. Branches rubbing against each other... maybe
something hitting them? Buffy reaches into her jacket and
retrieves a stake.
BUFFY
(calling out)
This isn't funny. I'm not kidding --
if you play your spooky little
games, I'm going to have to stake
you by way of your stomach.
FEMALE (O.S.)
Stake me? Stake me?
But now the sound is closer. Both Buffy and Jackson turn.
Standing directly behind them -- almost impossibly close
considering they had no idea she was there -- stands Skye.
She sizes both of them up and smiles.
SKYE
Why would you want to stake me?
BUFFY
I know you...
SKYE
You do? I don't think we've ever
met. I'm Skye, by the way.
JACKSON
Funny that a vampire would be nice
enough to introduce herself.
SKYE
What makes you think I'm a vampire?
JACKSON
The way you smell.
SKYE
That's Chanel, you moron.
BUFFY
So you're skankier than a vampire?
Wow. Guess I have to write Dracula
an apology.
SKYE
What's with the insults? All talk
and no game?
(beat)
I'm not a vampire, Buffy.
Buffy crosses her arms.
BUFFY
Gee, another demon? Maybe an
ancient evil? A Hell God? Been
there, done --
But Skye is gone.
SKYE (O.S.)
Nope...
She's standing right behind Buffy! Buffy tries to spin but
doesn't have time to counter as Skye LAUNCHES her into a
headstone, smashing it to bits.
SKYE (cont'd)
...I'm something else.
Jackson swipes. Skye catches his fist and and grabs his arm
with her free hand. Twists... he tries to break free but
can't... CRIES OUT in pain...
SKYE (cont'd)
Now who are you? My little visions
certainly helped me get up-to-date
with Buffy in the last few hours...
but you weren't involved. Just what
are you, 'cuz she only goes for the
monsters.
Buffy recovers from Skye's attack. She brushes off a few
loose pieces of rubble. Finally manages to stand -- though a
bit groggily -- and catches sight of Skye and Jackson.
SKYE (cont'd)
Angel I know about. Spike I know
about. And boy, are they having fun
these days. But you?
She twists harder... he SCREAMS...
SKYE (cont'd)
I don't know anything.
JACKSON
(pained)
Well, what can I say exactly? I can
give you a nice piece of property
on Josephine...
SKYE
What?
Jackson breaks out of her hold! He kicks his legs under Skye,
sending her to the ground. Without a moment's hesitation he
retrieves a stake from his belt. Buries it into Skye's chest!
JACKSON
Have to warn you though, making the
payments can be a real pain in the
ass.
Buffy runs to Jackson. He smiles at her, hero of the moment.
But she doesn't seem pleased...
Jackson turns... Skye rises, pulling the stake out of her
heart.
SKYE
Like I said...
(tosses the stake away)
I'm something different.
She backhands Jackson, sending him flying across the
graveyard. He hits the ground hard. Alive, but knocked
completely cold.
Buffy slowly circles her enemy. Skye returns the gesture.
Neither seems ready to strike prematurely.
BUFFY
What are you?
SKYE
I'm the Slayer.
Buffy is taken aback.
BUFFY
You're a Slayer?
SKYE
The Slayer. "Into each generation a
Slayer is born..."
BUFFY
I know the drill.
SKYE
And so do I. The weird dreams began
when I was a child. Couldn't make
much of them, of course. Then last
May... wow, the power! It was so
new. So strange.
BUFFY
You're welcome.
SKYE
Why should I thank you? My life
went to hell. School, friends...
who wants to hang with a freak of
nature, right?
(beat)
Maybe I should thank you, though,
for taking out that janitor. Do you
know what it's like to be dying on
the floor, and then having the
first droplet of a new life fall on
your tongue?
FLASH TO:
28 INT. HIGH SCHOOL - NORTH HALLWAY - NIGHT 28
Buffy nails the Janitor hard in the face -- hard enough to
shatter a few teeth, anyway. Blood trickles downward...
Skye is slumped against the locker. Breathing heavily. The
droplet rolls down her forehead and onto her tongue.
A few more drops follow. She actually seems to be enjoying
it.
BACK TO:
29 EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT 29
Skye and Buffy continue to circle each other.
SKYE
It's strange. I know I'm not a
vampire. I just... feel it. But at
the same time it's like I'm
connected to some massive energy
force, beckoning me to hurt others.
BUFFY
That's no different from any other
vampire.
SKYE
But does any other vampire have
that energy source flowing right
back into their head?
BUFFY
(beat)
No. Something else coming at your
head, though.
Skye glances away. A heavy branch CRASHES into her face,
sending her hard to the earth.
Kennedy wields the weapon. Drops it. Skye doesn't have a
chance to recover before the two Slayers take her by the arms
and legs.
KENNEDY
Any ideas?
Buffy notices something OFF-SCREEN.
BUFFY
Just one.
30 EXT. GRAVEYARD - MOMENTS LATER 30
Jackson is finally starting to come to. Buffy and Kennedy
hurry to him. He gingerly places a hand to his aching head.
JACKSON
Damn. Girl can hit, that's for
sure.
BUFFY
Are you okay?
JACKSON
Save the hit my wallet's going to
take for all the Tylenol, I'm fine.
He shakes his head.
JACKSON (cont'd)
Did she really pull a stake out of
her chest, or is that just the
groggy memory thing?
Buffy and Kennedy help him to his feet. It takes a moment for
Jackson to find his balance.
JACKSON
What'd you do with her?
KENNEDY
She's tied up, so-to-speak.
BUFFY
What are you doing? That was so my
pun opportunity.
KENNEDY
Don't be so slow to take advantage
next time.
Buffy, Jackson, and Kennedy hurry off. We HOLD for a
moment... and then finally we DOLLY towards the other
direction.
A grove of large trees stand ominously in the night. And Skye
is among them. A massive branch protrudes from her chest,
welded upwards forming a kind of cage. A crucifix is held
tight to the girl's chest... no visible damage, though Buffy
and Kennedy obviously went all out.
Skye's eyes flutter open. She checks her surroundings... the
graveyard... then finally notices the large wooden object
that impales her.
Without much thought she snaps the branch in two, freeing
herself.
SKYE
Better hurry home, Slayer. Before
Dawn.
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.