buffy8x21
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TEASER
FADE IN:
1 EXT. CONSTRUCTION YARD. NIGHT. 1
We fade up on a huge flaming triangle of dark magics, and a
gigantic portal opening up in front of it. Lightning lances
out from the lips of the portal, sparking off the
construction equipment scattered around, latching onto
overhead power cables and feeding off it to power itself.
Nearby lights start to flicker and die as they are drained of
energy, and as we pull back, we pick up DAWN, arms raised,
hair billowing out behind her in the wind, her head thrown
back as she laughs, giddy with power.
With a crack of thunder and a white flash of lightning, the
swirling vortex of the portal flashes once, and from deep
within we hear an unearthly howl – something very big and
just as nasty is on its way through.
Laughing as energy crackles all around, her face lit up by
the flames dancing round her, a victorious smile on her face
as she hears her new minion approaching.
DAWN
(dramatic)
Come.. come to me! A new world
awaits you! A haven of humanity,
ready for you to grind into the
very dust beneath your feet!
Millions upon millions of
sacrifices to your power! Come to
me, great demon, hear your master
and rise again!
Taking in Dawn and the portal as the silhouette of the head
and shoulders of something damn big starts to emerge from it
– a humanoid shape, but a long, reptilian head, covered with
spines and scales. It throws its head back and HOWLS into the
night air, almost free at last.
A thoughtful look crosses her face and she frowns. She looks
to either side of her.
DAWN (cont'd)
And now, my side of the bargain.. a
little smokescreen for your first
steps into this new world.
Dawn snaps her fingers and instantly storm clouds begin to
gather overhead, joining the tempest before her as heavy rain
starts to fall over the scene, and a strong wind kicks up.
Thick fog starts to form in the air over the construction
yard, whipped up by the winds.
Dawn spreads her arms out in front of her and the storm
obeys, rushing out in all directions to fall over Cleveland
once again.
The beast is half free of the portal now – we still can't see
it fully, as the fog is now falling around it, but whatever
it is, it's not looking happy at all.
2 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE – FRONT ROOM. NIGHT. 2
As the storm starts to howl outside, WILLOW'S head snaps up
into frame from where she'd been lying, asleep, on the sofa.
She gasps as though waking from a heavy nightmare.
WILLOW
It's here.. it's here!
3 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE – BUFFY'S ROOM. NIGHT. 3
BUFFY jolts awake as a thundercrack outside her window
rattles the whole room. Bleary eyed, she sits up in bed and
stares out through the window as the rain starts to pelt down
on the streets below. She groans.
BUFFY
Oh, not again..
JACKSON stirs next to her and she shakes him gently.
JACKSON
Mmm.. no.. don't open the box,
Brad..
BUFFY
Huh?
JACKSON
(eyes flick open; beat)
Woah. Weird dream.
(sees Buffy's concerned
look)
Uh-oh, I know that look.. what's
happened now?
BUFFY
More trouble for the Weather
Channel.
A beat while Jackson takes in the heavy storm raging outside
the house.
JACKSON
Another one?
BUFFY
And you know what the least one
spelt – trouble. With a capital
'troub.' Come on, get dressed.
Buffy hops off screen, out of the bed, and throws a pair of
jeans and a shirt at Jackson. He groans.
JACKSON
Look, I know we're jumping at every
little thing these days, but how do
you know this isn't just another
good old-fashioned storm?
As if to answer, the bedroom door is flung open by a frantic
looking Willow.
WILLOW
It's here, it's here!
Buffy throws a 'told you so' look at Jackson before heading
for Willow. Willow is looking all round, jittery.
BUFFY
Willow? Willow! Look at me, calm
down. What's here?
Willow's eyes are darting every which way but ahead.
WILLOW
It's.. it's.. Buffy, I don't know
what it is, but I just felt
something terrible come into our
world!
BUFFY
Sure it's not just Xander cooking a
midnight snack?
WILLOW
(grabs Buffy's arms)
No! No, Buffy, this is real.
Something's here. Now. And it's..
BUFFY
It's what?
WILLOW
It's looking for us.
Off Buffy's rapidly darkening look, we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
4 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE – FRONT ROOM. NIGHT. 4
Buffy is pulling her coat on as Jackson rummages through the
weapons chest for some tools of the trade. XANDER and ANYA
are up, in pajamas and dressing gowns, and a sleepy ANDREW
yawns from the stairs as GILES steps down into the front
room.
There's a beat as everyone takes in the Winnie The Pooh
pajamas he's wearing.
GILES
(off everyone's reaction)
I borrowed these. My usual
nightclothes are in the wash.
BUFFY
Off who?
A cough and a 'who, me?' look from Andrew. Willow emerges
from the kitchen, looking shaken, and the group is completed
by Faith who is pulling a t-shirt over her head and rubbing
her tired eyes. A moment as Buffy looks over all of them.
BUFFY (cont'd)
(smile)
I'd almost forgotten what it was
like having you guys all together..
GILES
(prompts)
Ah, Buffy..
BUFFY
Right. Sorry to wake you all up,
but something's going down and I
wanted you all to be ready for it.
Willow says she felt something just
claw its way into our world, and it
wasn't Barney the dinosaur looking
for some kids to have a sing-song
with.
ANYA
You still have dinosaurs?
BUFFY
(rolls eyes; ignores her)
That's not all. She says it's
looking for us, so Jackson, Faith
and I are going out to look for it
first.
If it finds its way back here, then
there's hundreds of innocent people
in this neighbourhood and we can't
risk getting them mixed up in this.
(to Jackson)
You ready?
JACKSON
I guess so, yeah..
XANDER
Woah there, Marvel Girl, stop for
breath and start again. A big what
is on its way over here?
BUFFY
Well, it's a-
WILLOW
It's big, Xander.
Xander throws a raised eyebrow at Willow who gives him a
serious and worried look back. The gravity of the situation
starts to hit him.
XANDER
What should we do?
BUFFY
Stay here. But get ready to run and
hide if we can't stop it.
ANYA
That's a plan? That's the worst
idea you've ever had!
BUFFY
Oh, I suppose you have a better
one?
ANYA
As a mater of fact, I do. You go
and kill it and we wait here for
you to come back.
A beat. Buffy sighs, then takes the scythe down from the wall
and heads for the door.
BUFFY
If we're not back in an hour, pack
and start running. And if you hear
some 'Jurassic Park' style
footsteps.. run faster.
She leaves, followed by Faith and Jackson. Giles is the first
to speak once the door closes.
GILES
I knew it was going to be one of
those years..
5 EXT. CLEVELAND CENTRE – STREET. NIGHT. 5
Struggling through the strong winds and horizontal rain, the
trio march onwards, arms raised to protect themselves until
Faith pauses and calls to the others.
FAITH
(points)
Hey! Over there.
A gang of four young guys, racing hell for leather down the
street towards them. We can soon tell from their features
that this is a pack of VAMPIRES, heading straight for our
champions.
Buffy tightens her grip on the scythe as the other two take
up stances.
BUFFY
Here they come, get ready to-
The four vamps run straight past them without stopping. Buffy
and Faith exchange confused looks before whirling round.
Faith WHISTLES at the fleeing vamps to get their attention.
They screech to a stop and turn round.
VAMP #1
What? Look, ladies, we really have
gotta bust a move here, we can't
stick around talking!
Buffy raises the scythe a little, and the vamps tense up as
they realise who they're talking to at last.
VAMP #2
Oh, it's you..
VAMP #3
(urgently)
Guys, come on, let's split!
FAITH
(indignant)
Why are you running away? I mean
besides facing down two bad-ass
Slayer chicks.
The vamps exchange a look.
VAMP #1
Well, two things. We're gettin' the
hell out of this one horse town for
good. Things have been getting way
too 'End Of Days' for us vamps
round here lately. First, there's
that Old One turnin' up and putting
the spookies on us, and if that
wasn't bad enough..
(points behind them)
Now we have that.
Buffy slowly turns round. We hear the dull thud of a very
large FOOTSTEP falling close by.
Looking down on the trio as the vamps carry on escaping in
the background, we dolly up into the air so that we're
looking down on them from about fifty feet in the air.
A dark shadow starts to fall across them, accompanied by
another footstep and a low, deep growl.
Looking up from behind the trio now, and between two large
buildings in the skyline ahead, we can dimly make out through
the rain the silhouette of whatever Dawn dragged out of the
portal.
It pauses, its gigantic head looking this way and that before
it takes another step, soon disappearing out of sight behind
another building. We get an idea of its size this time
(around fifty feet high) but we still haven't got a good look
at the thing.
All three wear stunned, shocked faces, scarcely able to
believe what they just saw. The creature's thunderous
footsteps can still be heard.
BUFFY
(meekly)
Oh..
FAITH
(shakes head to clear
thoughts)
Come on, come on! Let's go!
She races off screen, after the dragon. Buffy snaps out of
her trance.
BUFFY
No, Faith, wait! We don't..
She's already gone. Jackson leans across to address Buffy,
his eyes still locked on the space the dragon was just
occupying.
JACKSON
Let me guess, you were going to say
'we don't know what we're dealing
with?'
BUFFY
Oh, no, I think I get the whole
'big dragon thing' angle. I was
about to say 'we don't have any
rocket launchers,' but either way..
She pauses for a moment, then without a word sprints off
after Faith. Jackson follows.
6 EXT. CLEVELAND CENTRE – ANOTHER STREET. NIGHT. 6
We're with Faith as she races through the rain, throwing
glances up and to her right as she runs parallel to the
beast.
Still largely silhouetted in the gloom, the dragon plods
slowly along, past the large buildings making up the city
centre, the rain and fog stopping us from getting a good look
at it.
Faith spots something and darts off to the left, just as
Buffy and Jackson appear in the background of the shot,
running to catch up with her.
BUFFY
Faith! Wait!
7 EXT. CLEVELAND – ROOFTOP. NIGHT. 7
She's climbing up a fire escape running along the outside of
a tall nightclub building, and we stay on her as she makes it
to the roof.
At first, there is nothing around her but more buildings, but
after a moment, with another booming footstep, the head of
the DRAGON finally looms into view.
As if on cue, a flash of lightning illuminates the beast for
us, and Faith stands, frozen to the spot despite the
adrenaline coursing through her, as the gigantic head draws
level with her on the rooftop.
The dragon's head is long and snouted, like a T-Rex but dark
green and scaly, with a thinner jaw and two huge eyes that
slowly swivel in their sockets to regard the Slayer, who
seems tiny by comparison.
The colour drains from Faith and she shivers with barely
contained fear as the dragon's head pulls in for a closer
look.
It's almost twice the size of her, and she tries not to look
at how large its teeth are as its huge nostrils sniff the air
around her experimentally.
With a bassy GRUNT, the snout moves back out of frame,
leaving the shellshocked Faith on the rooftop just as Buffy
and
Jackson finally make it up onto the rooftop with her. They
join her as we hear the dragon's footsteps pound away, off
screen.
BUFFY
(watching the dragon)
Oh.. my.. God..
JACKSON
Faith, are you alright?
FAITH
(dazed)
I.. I.. I..
BUFFY
Faith! Snap out of it!
Buffy slaps Faith across the cheek. She blinks once, then
turns to look at Buffy as she rubs her cheek and grins.
FAITH
Heh, thanks, B.
BUFFY
Are you okay? What happened? What
did it do?
FAITH
It.. it sniffed me.
BUFFY
It what?
FAITH
Yeah.. good job I took a shower
earlier, huh?
JACKSON
I thought Willow said it was
looking for us? Why didn't it
attack Faith?
We can see the creature from the back, a pair of long,
leathery wings tucked against its broad-shouldered back as it
walks away.
It suddenly stops, and lifts its head into the air, sniffing
around, turning slowly back towards the rooftop trio.
Buffy raises the scythe defensively as we pull in close.
BUFFY
Maybe it's not after all of us..
It's eyes narrow and it lowers its head, peering directly
back at us, its thick forearms ending in taloned claws that
flex, glinting in what natural light there is.
The other two slowly turn to look at Buffy, who isn't taking
her eyes off the dragon.
BUFFY (cont'd)
.. it's just looking for me.
As if to answer, the dragon rears its head back and ROARS, a
deafening bellow that rattles every tile and window pane for
half a mile around, accompanied by another flash of
lightning.
We finally get our look at the creature – humanoid in shape,
tightly bunched coils of muscles giving it a squat
appearance, but as its bares its teeth and growls towards us
we can tell it could chew through the Empire State before
breakfast. A long prehensile tail whips round, rearing into
the air like a snake behind it. The creature is still
surrounded by clouds of thick fog and mist, almost as though
they were following it around. Power starts to fail from the
efforts of the storm as streetlights blink out all over.
Buffy starts to step slowly away from the other two.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Maybe I wasn't close enough for
it to smell before.. guess I should
have taken a shower earlier, huh?
FAITH
B, what are you fricken doing? Get
back here!
BUFFY
(eyes locked on dragon)
Faith, get back to the house and
warn the others. Get Willow and
everyone else out of there.
Jackson, go find Dawn and then meet
up with the others too.
JACKSON
What? No, I'm not leaving you!
FAITH
It's okay, I'll get Dawn too.
(beat)
Good luck.
Faith scoots off the rooftop, knowing to trust Buffy's plans
by now. Jackson joins Buffy at her side.
JACKSON
I said I'd never leave you, and I
meant it.
BUFFY
That's sweet, but right now we have
to make sure it doesn't-
SMASH! The rooftop suddenly erupts upwards, throwing Jackson
and Buffy out towards us. We stay on Jackson as he hits the
deck and looks back after Buffy.
The dragon's tail is what shattered the rooftop, and Buffy is
clinging to it for dear life.
We follow the tail as it whips round again, crashing into
another building opposite and knocking a deep trench in it.
Buffy grits her teeth as the dragon's tail lashes back and
forth through the air, trying to shake her off.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Hey! Watch where you're shaking
that thing!
Another flick of the tail and Buffy is thrown off, landing
with a grunt on the ground below.
8 EXT. CLEVELAND – STREET. NIGHT. 8
She's stunned, and we see the dragon start thundering towards
her in the background as she picks herself up, bleeding from
several cuts.
She looks round and leaps out of the way just in time as the
dragon's jaws snap shut around the space she just left.
We follow Buffy as she runs along, the dragon in pursuit, its
head down low to try and scoop her up as she turns a corner
to dodge it again.
Buffy hoofs it down a main shopping row, the huge monster
lumbering after her, its bulk tearing chunks out of the
buildings it barges past as it zeroes in on her. Sensing it's
getting too close, Buffy turns and leaps up into the air.
Buffy flies through the air, past the dragon's jaws to land
on the side of its huge head, clinging onto one of its thick
scales for grip.
As the dragon turns one eye to glare at her, Buffy raises the
scythe, stake point out.
BUFFY
Don't you know how rude that is?
She slams the scythe home, straight into the dragon's eye. It
roars out in pain.
The dragon throws its head back, and we see Buffy lose her
grip as the scythe slips back out of the dragon's bloody eye.
She starts to fall down towards a rooftop off screen as the
dragon rears up on its legs, stretching its wings out and
flapping them twice before leaping into the air, and we stay
on it as it powers up into the night sky, disappearing into
the clouds overhead as the storm covers its exit.
Local lighting and power starts to come back on once the
dragon is gone.
Jackson races into frame, onto the same strip of street Buffy
just fought the dragon on, looking panicked as he sees the
piles of bricks and plaster that the dragon has ripped out of
the buildings.
He runs a little further along before looking up and spotting
something off to his left. His face drops.
JACKSON
Oh, no..
9 EXT. CLEVELAND – ANOTHER ROOFTOP. NIGHT. 9
Soaked from the rain, Jackson scrabbles up onto the rooftop
we saw Buffy falling towards, half of it knocked to rubble by
the dragon's efforts.
He runs towards the foreground and we see Buffy, lying half
on, half off the rooftop, the scythe lying a few feet away
from her.
She's out cold and looking bad, and as Jackson turns her over
to face us, we see a deep gash from the rough landing on her
chest, with blood soaking through her shirt.
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
FADE IN:
10 SUMMERS RESIDENCE – FRONT ROOM. NIGHT. 10
The door is kicked open and Jackson bursts in, carrying the
wounded Buffy in his arms and the scythe in one free hand.
JACKSON
Hey, anyone! Everyone! Help!
Giles, Willow and Xander hurry into frame, take in the
bleeding Buffy and help Jackson lie her on the couch.
WILLOW
Oh, no..
XANDER
What the hell happened?
JACKSON
Willow was right. That thing is
big.
Giles disappears and comes back a moment later with several
rolls of bandage, first aid being a regular occurrence in the
Summers household.
He starts tending to Buffy, lifting up her shirt and starting
to clean her wound as a frantic Jackson starts to pace
nervously up and down.
XANDER
Jackson.. Jackson! Stay frosty,
buddy, tell us what happened.
JACKSON
We found it, whatever 'it' is. Some
kind of huge dragon, or something..
we chased after it, but Buffy
realised it wasn't after us, just
her, and then she managed to stick
the scythe in its eye, but it threw
her off, and.. oh man, oh man.. is
she going to be okay?
GILES
(patiently)
She's sustained a serious injury,
but fortunately Slayers are built
to last. As long as we get this
stabilised and bandaged, her
natural healing ability will do the
rest.
ANDREW
Uh, yeah, she's sort of like
Wolverine, except without the claws
or mysterious past.. or the buff
physique.
Anya smacks Andrew up the back of his head and glares at him
to be quiet.
WILLOW
Where did it go?
JACKSON
It just flew off, it seems to have
its own personal storm following it
around so I don't know if anybody
else saw it. I'm sure plenty of
people heard it, and there's gonna
be some pissed off shop owners when
they see what a mess it made of
main street in the morning..
GILES
Well, the phone lines went down for
a little while, as did electricity,
but they came back on again, which
is probably linked to the
appearance and disappearance of
whatever it was you fought. I think
I'm not making a huge leap of logic
to suggest that Ulithios is behind
this again.. or that it was behind
the last big storm, which seemed to
serve its purposes very well last
time.
(starts wrapping bandages
around)
Anya, could you help me, please?
ANYA
Me?
GILES
Yes, the others are busy, come on.
Anya steps round and lifts Buffy up so that Giles can start
wrapping the bandage round the padding over her wound. Anya
finds herself staring at the wounds, which Giles notices.
GILES (cont'd)
Is something the matter? I hardly
had you down as the squeamish
type..
ANYA
What? Oh, no, it's just.. since I..
since I came back, it's the..
blood.
GILES
Blood?
ANYA
Blood. Death. Horrific battle
injuries. I can't help it, and I
don't know why, but they seem
almost.. interesting.
GILES
Well, please try and stay focused
for now, could you?
Giles finishes up and stands back as Willow lays a blanket
down over the still unconscious Buffy.
GILES (cont'd)
There. The bleeding had already
stopped, so I think her body's
starting to do the rest. Now we
need a chance to-
SLAM! The front door is kicked open again, this time with
Faith holding a bloody Dawn in her arms.
FAITH
Hey, little help?
CUT TO:
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.