buffy8x20
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11 EXT. YARD - OUTSIDE OFFICES. MORNING. 11
Xander and Faith race outside, through the thick plume of
smoke leaving the open door of the office.
XANDER
Shouldn't we call the fire service?
FAITH
I ain't exactly in the Feds' good
books, Xand. Someone else can pick
up the call for this one.
Faith is about to race away when Xander hears something and
grabs her arm.
FAITH (cont'd)
What? Hey, Xander, we really need
to be somewhere else, like, now.
XANDER
Quiet, I think I heard something..
He listens again, the crackling of the fire almost drowning
it out, but there it is – a woman's voice, distant, but
definitely yelling for help.
And it seems to be coming from back inside the flaming
offices. Xander throws a look at Faith – they both know what
needs to be done now.
Without a word, the two of them race back inside, taking a
deep breath of clean air before disappearing into the smoke.
12 INT. CHARLESTON & SMITHE - BUFFY'S OFFICE. MORNING. 12
Buffy is just closing the door as her last client leaves and
heading back to her desk as her intercom buzzes.
BUFFY
Yes, Anya?
ANYA
(filtered; through
intercom)
Your Guardian is here to see you
now.
BUFFY
Huh?
(beat)
Oh, you mean Jackson?
ANYA
Yes, that's it. The one you have
all the sex with.
BUFFY
(snaps)
Would you just send him in already?
She turns off the intercom and rests against her desk as
Jackson walks in, a bemused smile on his face.
JACKSON
And that little encounter told me
all I'll ever need to know about
what it's like working with Anya..
BUFFY
Oh, she's not so bad.
(beat)
She's terrible. If one of the
clients doesn't kill her, I think
I'm going to have to. It's the only
humane thing to do.
Jackson grins again and moves over, the two embrace and kiss.
Buffy sighs happily.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Okay, done with the warm fuzzies
from the surprise visit. Now what's
up?
JACKSON
Well.. after that premonition I had
that I didn't tell anyone about
until it was.. until it was too
late, I decided I was gonna come
straight to you in future whenever
I had a dream, or vision, or even a
hunch about anything.
BUFFY
Good plan. So, bad dreams again?
Jackson takes a seat and Buffy sits back down behind her
desk. Jackson opens his mouth to speak, but Buffy smiles.
JACKSON
Something I'm missing? A
counselling in-joke?
BUFFY
No, sorry, I just..
(shakes head)
Just thought of what I'd be
thinking if you were an actual
client and you came in telling me
all this..
JACKSON
Heh, I guess I'd be scrawling on
the walls of a rubber room with a
crayon held between my toes by now!
BUFFY
I think most of us would. So, tell
me about your dreams, Mr. Shaw.
JACKSON
Chaos. Destruction. The ruin of the
Earth.
BUFFY
(face drops)
Oh.
JACKSON
It's dark, wherever I am. All I can
see for miles around me are
mountains, volcanoes too, just big
chunks of blackened earth floating
in rivers of lava.
BUFFY
Sounds like Andrew's room.
(beat)
Sorry, go on.
JACKSON
I'm just there, standing in the
middle of all this madness, feeling
like I've wandered onto the set of
'One Million Years B.C.' when this
voice speaks to me. It's a little
girl, I'm pretty sure it's Emmily,
and she's saying.. Jackson's voice
trails off, his eyes far away.
BUFFY
(prompts)
Saying..
JACKSON
She's saying 'this is how it was,
and this is how things could be
again. It is free, it is here.'
Buffy sits back in her chair - she
knows exactly what he means, it's
the same vision that Emmily showed
her a while ago.
Jackson watches her reaction.
JACKSON (cont'd)
Any ideas?
BUFFY
I've seen it too.
JACKSON
You have?
BUFFY
Yeah, it was.. it was Emmily who
showed me. It was around the time
we made Anya human again - Emmily
asked me out to go see her, and
when I got there she showed me a
vision, a world in flames.. exactly
what you just described to me.
JACKSON
So what do you think it means?
BUFFY
I think she was trying to show us
what'll happen if we lose.
13 INT. YARD - MOBILE OFFICE. MORNING. 13
Faith and Xander are fighting their way forward through the
smoke, Xander with his shirt sleeve held up over his mouth,
and Faith just grimacing as she tries to hold her breath.
The girl's voice calling for help can still be heard as they
stumble forward, the smoke from the burning back half of the
office rapidly filling the room, causing both our heroes to
cough.
We see a crudely tunnelled hole in the floor, as though
something has clawed its way up from underneath the ground.
Xander taps at Faith's arm and points at the hole. She nods
and follows him as he jogs up to it and lowers himself down.
Faith is just halfway through when we hear a creak overhead.
Faith looks up.
Part of the roof of the mobile is on fire and falling away
from the roof, heading straight for Faith.
With a yelp, she drops straight through the hole and down out
of sight, as the flaming piece of panelling crashes over the
hole.
14 INT. PEACHY'S CAFÉ. DAY. 14
Andrew is at work, or what passes for it, zipping between
tables and scribbling down orders on his pad with his novelty
Star Trek pen.
JODY appears in the doorway and waves to him, but Andrew
doesn't register any real look as he sees him. Jody looks a
little confused but tries to brighten up again as Andrew
heads over.
JODY
Hola, Captain! Busy day?
Andrew looks round to check no-one is watching them.
ANDREW
Uh, yeah, so I can't stop and talk
right now. Bye.
Andrew turns to go, but Jody reaches out and grabs his arm to
turn him back round.
Andrew looks down at the arm and then around at the rest of
the café, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable.
JODY
Hey, are you okay? Past few days,
you've seemed kinda.. off.
ANDREW
I can't talk about it now, okay?
I'll call you later. Right now I
gotta get back to work.
Jody lets him go and Andrew bustles off back towards the
kitchen. Jody watches him, looking hurt, before turning and
walking back out of the restaurant.
15 INT. SEWER TUNNEL. DAY. 15
We're looking up from inside the sewer as Xander watches
Faith splash down onto the murky water.
XANDER
Ah, dammit! Clean shirt..
FAITH
(picks herself up)
Hey! I just about managed to avoid
getting flame grilled up there,
forget about your damn shirt!
Xander opens his mouth to complain but Faith just splashes
more of the muddy water up his clothes.
FAITH (cont'd)
There. Now all of you is just as
dirty.
She looks back up at the blocked off hole overhead, then down
either end of the tunnel they're in.
XANDER
So. In the sewers again.
Marvellous. Remind me to tell the
next demon we bump into about the
wonders of above ground real
estate..
FAITH
(holds up a hand)
Ssh!
There it is again – the cry for help, but much closer now, as
though it's just round the next bend in the tunnel. There is
a sudden roar like an angry vampire yelling, and the voice
goes quiet. Faith glances back at Xander, who nods to confirm
he heard it too.
16 INT. SEWER TUNNEL. DAY. 16
Faith and Xander creep along the darkness of the tunnel, lit
by occasional fixed bulbs and stray specks of light filtering
down from the drains overhead, staying out of the filthy
water running down the centre.
Xander follows, far less graceful, making a lot of noise as
he shuffles along until Faith stops, rolls her eyes and turns
back round to him.
FAITH
(whispers)
Xander, will you try to keep quiet?
You're making enough noise for
vamps in the next state to hear
us..
Xander holds up his hands and nods to say sorry. Faith turns
back round and pauses, as beyond the next bend in the tunnel
we can see the light of an opening, some sort of chamber up
ahead.
17 INT. SEWER - CHAMBER. DAY. 17
A distant clunking noise can be heard as the duo enter the
chamber through the crudely bashed opening, and Faith draws a
stake on reflex, but looks at it, chuckles and puts it away,
retrieving a serrated knife instead.
XANDER
Where the hell do you keep all
those things? I swear, it's like
you Slayers inherit pouches that
can hold a variety of weapons..
FAITH
Aw, you feelin' left out?
XANDER
Truthfully? Yes.
FAITH
Here.
She tosses him the knife. Xander catches it, but by the time
he looks up Faith has already retrieved another, and with a
grin she walks on, following the noise.
18 INT. SEWER – JUNCTION. DAY. 18
Walking behind Faith as she makes her way through the shadows
and towards a junction of several pipes just ahead. The
clunking noise is now much louder, and as Faith pauses,
crouched in the mouth of the tunnel, Xander almost bumps into
her.
XANDER
(whispers)
What is it?
FAITH
(points; whispers)
Up there.. what the hell is that?
We're scrolling upwards, looking closer to surface level when
we see it – some sort of huge cocoon, like an egg of some
sort, covered with slime and strands of green webbing, glued
to the wall somehow.
At ground level, we see what was making all the noise – a
vamp and a young GIRL, late teens, struggling against the
vamp as it tries to haul her towards a ladder leading up to
the cocoon.
They watch the struggle for a few moments before Faith grips
her knife more tightly, coiled like a panther and ready to
pounce from the shadows n attack.
XANDER
(whispers)
Let me guess. The plan is – jump to
the attack and save the day?
Faith looks back, and with a grin springs out of the tunnel.
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE UP:
19 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - FRONT DOOR. DAY. 19
There is a knock on the door, and after peering out through
the bay windows in the door, Giles opens it. Willow stands
there, looking full of sunshine, with Doodles squirming in
her arms.
GILES
Willow! Ah, hello. Ah, Xander told
us you were feeling much.. well,
better now.
WILLOW
You betcha! And Doodles says 'hi'
too.
Willow waves one of the puppy's paws at Giles, who is by now
noticing Willow's oddly good mood.
GILES
Would you, er, like to come in?
WILLOW
Thanks, Giles.
She steps inside and heads for the front room.
WILLOW (cont'd)
Oh, and by the way? If I was a
vampire, you'd be dead by now.
(grins)
I think you're slipping..
20 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - FRONT ROOM. DAY. 20
Marie is sitting on the floor, in amongst a heap of different
books and texts, reading glasses on and engrossed in a
translation.
She looks up and beams at Willow as the wicca flops down on
the sofa, releasing Doodles to sniff around and explore the
room.
GILES
(joining them)
So, what can we do for you?
WILLOW
Well, in a nutshell, I made a
decision last night, and it seemed
kinda important. Thought I'd better
scoot over and tell you two about
it.
Giles sits down and removes his glasses, concentrating.
GILES
Sounds.. sounds rather serious,
Willow. What did you decide?
WILLOW
It's pretty weird, but stick with
me, it gets better. Oh, and I
realised something about Ulithios
too.
Giles and Marie exchange a look. Marie puts down the pad
she'd been translating on.
MARIE
So have we, actually. Giles and I
have been at it all night..
Willow raises a cheeky eyebrow at Giles, who coughs.
GILES
At the books. We've been at the
books all night.
WILLOW
(whatever you say!)
Right..
MARIE
(oblivious to her double
entendre)
We've translated a passage that
refers to Ulithios, and manners in
which it has been known to manifest
itself in the mortal world.
GILES
What it basically requires is some
kind of massive imbalance in the
natural order, a tipping of the
scales between 'good' and 'evil' if
you will. If evil manages some
great triumph, then the forces of
good have to level things out
somehow.
MARIE
But if good takes too much, evil
can claw the difference back any
way it can.
Willow looks distant for a moment, which Giles and Marie pick
up on.
GILES
Willow? Is everything alright?
WILLOW
It was the spell.
GILES
Spell? Which one?
WILLOW
You know, The Spell. The Potentials
into-Slayers mega mojo switcheroo
upgrade spell. We woke up a long,
long series of brand new Slayers
that day, and that counts as a big
tick for the good guys if you ask
me.
MARIE
So this could have given Ulithios
the power it needed to manifest
again?
WILLOW
Uh, yeah, I guess so. I mean, if
you're looking for something that
'tips the scales,' then creating
thousands of Slayers all over the
world would do the trick!
The exaggerated humour is lost on Giles and Marie.
WILLOW (cont'd)
Anyway, so, uh, basically, yeah. So
from the sounds of things, it was
my spell that gave it a chance to
sneak back in. I guess this whole
mess is all my fault!
GILES
Now, Willow, you know better than
to entertain thoughts like that..
WILLOW
(still cheerful)
Oh, don't worry about me, we've got
more important things to worry
about. We may have thought we'd
saved the world by using that
spell, but all it looks like we did
was postpone it! This thing is
strong. And evil. And it's going to
be looking for me.
MARIE
(concerned look)
For you?
WILLOW
It knows I had the power to
'release' it, so first thing it'll
want to do is suck that power right
out of me. It'll come looking for
me, and it'll kill anything that
gets in its way.
(long beat)
So.. I've dome something that means
I'll be out of the way. Out of
Cleveland, away from all of you.
Somewhere safe. Somewhere I can
help.
(beat; smiles)
I'm going to be the new Teach!
Giles and Marie share a puzzled look.
21 INT. SEWER - JUNCTION. DAY. 21
Faith blasts onto the scene, straight for the vamp trying to
manhandle its captive up the ladder.
Before the vamp has time to react, Faith slams into him,
sending the two of them splashing into the murky sewer water.
Xander darts into frame, holding out a hand to the terrified
looking girl on the ladder.
XANDER
Come on, honey, we've got you. Time
to go.
She holds out a shaking hand which Xander gathers up, helping
her down and moving her back out of harm's way.
Punching the vamp, sewer water splashing around as the two
struggle. The vamp kicks out and knocks Faith back, and she
crashes back into the water, stunned.
The vamp leaps up, sees Xander and the girl and snarls.
VAMP
And where d'you think you're going?
FAITH (O.S.)
Can't tell you that..
The vamp spins – faith is there, stake ready.
FAITH (cont'd)
.. but it ain't where you're going.
SLAM! She stakes the vamp, who howls as he dusts, his ashes
sprinkling down onto the knee-deep sewer water.
FAITH (cont'd)
(smirks)
Best place for ya.
XANDER
Are you okay?
FAITH
'Course I'm okay! How's the victim?
XANDER
(to Girl)
That'd be you.
GIRL
I-I.. I'm.. I'm..
FAITH
(rolls eyes)
Oh great, we got a stutterer.
GIRL
(coldly)
I'm fine. My name's Polly.
XANDER
Good to hear it. Well, Polly, I
think you'd better stick with us
till we figure how to get back out
of here, the way we came in is
probably a bit too toasty by now..
(examines dirty clothes)
I can just hear her now.. 'Xander,
how did you manage to get ground-in
sewage filth on all your best new
work clothes?' And then I'll have
to go 'Well, honey, I was saving
some girl from a vamp and we found
ourselves in the sewers, so-
He stops as he bumps into Faith, who hasn't moved. Xander
follows her gaze.
She's looking at the huge cocoon, which appears to be
pulsating slightly.
Faith is scanning the room, trying to work out what to make
of it all.
XANDER (cont'd)
Did you ever see 'Gremlins?'
Faith shakes her head, still looking up.
XANDER (cont'd)
Rats. I think it would have told us
what to do right now.
FAITH
(off cocoon)
Let's start this again. What the
hell is it?
XANDER
Why that vamp seemed about ready to
feed our little P.O.W. to it is a
more pressing question, Faith. I
can't imagine it's particularly
friendly.
POLLY
(quietly)
There was someone else..
XANDER
What's that?
POLLY
I heard someone here.. they were
telling the.. the vampires what to
do. They held someone up and just..
it opened up, and they just pushed
them right into that thing.. I.. I
think I heard them screaming..
She starts to sob. Xander puts a comforting arm round her and
glares at Faith, prompting her to say something sympathetic.
FAITH
Uh.. it's alright now, we're here.
We deal with this sort of thing.
POLLY
Who.. who are you?
FAITH
(looks at cocoon; sighs)
Chosen.
Faith takes a deep breath, then heads for the ladder and
starts to climb it, up towards the cocoon.
XANDER
(hisses)
Faith, what are you doing? I don't
fancy waking up whatever's in there
without a few more hands on deck
down here..
FAITH
Relax, Xander. I'm just gonna pull
the plug.
Faith gets up close to the cocoon at the top of the ladder,
and is able to reach out a tentative hand to touch it. She
frowns as she runs her hand over its surface, then jumps back
a little as the cocoon convulses - whatever's in there is
about ready to come out.
XANDER (O.S.)
Well? What's the diagnosis?
FAITH
It's warm.. and I think there's
something moving in here. Maybe we
should-
THUD! Something slams against the inside of the shell, and
Faith is nearly startled off the ladder. She regains her
balance and watches, drawing her knife again.
Almost like an egg breaking, a slim crack starts to form
along the cocoon, a clear fluid leaking out from inside it.
Something is definitely moving in there..
She grips her knife and waits for whatever's inside to show
itself.
The movement stops suddenly, and the shell stays slightly
broken up, the fluid dripping down.
She's poised and ready, but after a long beat she starts to
lean forward to see what's in there..
XANDER
Faith, that's really not a good pl-
SMASH! The cocoon bursts open, and a big, angry looking DEMON
head is suddenly inches from Faith's face, a long, black head
leading to a mouth that slowly slides open, revealing many,
many rows of teeth inside.
Faith freezes as the demon leans in to take a close look at
her, hissing slightly as first two, then four arms extract
themselves from the ooze inside the cocoon.
FAITH
(eyes fixed on demon)
Xander.. Needing a backup plan..
22 INT. SEWER TUNNEL. DAY. 22
Faith races along the tunnel, dodging falling bricks as we
can see the demon, howling as it chases them through the
tunnels behind.
FAITH
This is a plan?!?
XANDER
The only other one I had was 'don't
move!!'
Polly is in front, screaming in fear as she scrambles along
the slippery tunnels, Xander pushing her on and Faith
throwing frantic glances over her shoulder as the monster
charges after them.
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