buffy9x20
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TEASER
FADE IN:
1 INT. JACKSON RESIDENCE - JACKSON'S ROOM. NIGHT. 1
We fade up on the dimly lit bedroom of JACKSON, the man
himself still in bed, looking feverish as he shifts about,
the sheets around him covered with sweat.
He mumbles incoherently to himself, and as he starts to grow
more agitated, a hand reaches into frame, holding a wet
flannel.
The hand gently squeezes a little cold water across Jackson's
brow, which has the desired effect of calming him back down
again.
We follow the hand back to its owner - BUFFY. She looks like
she's hardly slept in days, her eyes ringed with dark bags
and her hair tied up in a messy bun.
She YAWNS, settling back into the chair she's placed next to
Jackson's bed, before going back to her vigil.
JACKSON
(mumbles)
No such... No such thing...
Buffy leans forward, concern in her eyes as she takes
Jackson's hand and shushes him, soothingly.
BUFFY
It's alright, Jackson, it's
alright. I'm here.
JACKSON
No such thing... as original sin..
No such thing...
Jackson trails off again, and Buffy leans back, too tired by
now to look anything other than wiped out.
She hears someone climbing the stairs outside and glances
towards the bedroom door - after a beat, it slowly swings
open and SHANNA peeks inside.
SHANNA
How is he?
BUFFY
Same as last time you checked.
Shanna nods, and starts to close the door again when Buffy
calls out to her.
BUFFY (cont'd)
You can come in if you want to, you
know. I don't have exclusive rights
to Jackson - he's your brother,
after all.
Shanna hesitates in the doorway for a beat, then steps in.
Even in the dim light of the room, Buffy can see straight
away that Shanna's in a bit of a mess.
Her left cheek is bruised, and she has scratches all over her
body, including a large tear in her black, sleeveless t
shirt. She shifts awkwardly as Buffy stares at her.
SHANNA
Yeah, I know. I must look a mess,
huh?
BUFFY
Well, you look like you've had as
rough a night as I have, only in
different ways.
SHANNA
I guess that's what you get for
being a Sl-
BUFFY
(interrupts)
Slayer, yeah, I know.
(off her look)
Your friend AJ told me. How long
have you known?
SHANNA
(shrugs)
Almost two years. It's part of the
reason I ran away. I didn't know
what the hell was wrong with me, so
I did what I always do when trouble
shows up. I took off.
She looks down at Jackson, sorrowful.
SHANNA (cont'd)
I hope he can forgive me.
BUFFY
(reassuring)
He will. Soon as he finishes going
through whatever it is he's going
through, then we'll all be fine.
Promise.
Shanna manages a hopeful smile, then turns to leave, pausing
in the doorway again.
SHANNA
Buffy?
BUFFY
Yeah?
SHANNA
Does it get any easier?
BUFFY
What, slaying?
Shanna nods, and Buffy smiles and shakes her head sadly.
BUFFY (cont'd)
No. Sorry.
SHANNA
(nods)
That's what I figured.
She exits the room, leaving Buffy to stand guard over Jackson
once more. We cut from her to:
2 INT. THE DIVE. NIGHT. 2
Inside TAMMAZEL's rowdy demon bar, loud chatter rattling the
foundations, and human and demon patrons alike packing the
place out. Tammazel looks on proudly, almost seeing the cash
mount up in her till - but as the bar's door swings open, the
entire room suddenly falls silent.
Standing in the doorway is THE KEEPER, the tall, black
cloaked and gold-masked figure all the way from Los Angeles,
two sharply suited Wolfram & Hart FLUNKIES standing behind
him. The Keeper swings his gaze across the room, with people
shuffling away, making sure not to look back. It's clear that
the Keeper radiates power - and it's the sort of power you
don't want to mess with.
Tammazel's jaw is hanging open, but she manages to recover as
the Keeper strides slowly up to the bar, placing his gloved
hands on the counter.
He stares at Tammazel for a beat, before she narrows her
eyes, already on edge with this new arrival, and speaks back
to him.
TAMMAZEL
Can I help you with something?
KEEPER
Summers.
TAMMAZEL
(blinks)
Excuse me?
KEEPER
Where do I find Buffy Summers?
Tammazel pales and takes a step back, finally SIGHING loudly
and rolling her eyes.
TAMMAZEL
Oh, great. There goes the
neighbourhood.
And from Tammazel's resigned expression, we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
3 INT. CIRCLE - 'THE CAGE.' DAY. 3
We find ourselves in the small, sparse cell that WILLOW has
had to call her home for the past few days. She sits glumly
on the edge of the single, flat mattress in one corner of the
room, her chin resting on her knees, deep in thought.
She looks up as she hears footsteps echoing down the corridor
outside, that opens out into the rest of the dungeon-like
bottom level of wherever she's being held, and after a few
moments TATTLES appears at the barred door of the cell, the
normally perky young girl looking downcast.
Willow turns her gaze away from Tattles, not in the mood for
company at the moment.
WILLOW
What do you want this time?
TATTLES
Trinkets sent me. He wanted-
WILLOW
The answer's still no.
TATTLES
You haven't even let me ask you
yet!
Willow turns to glare back at Tattles.
WILLOW
He wants to know if I'll accept
that you guys don't work for the
Powers That Be, and that I'll
promise to help you have 'fun' with
the human world, whatever that
means.
(beat)
So the answer is still 'no.'
Tattles bites her lip, glancing up and down the corridor
outside before she surreptitiously reaches into a brown pouch
slung over her shoulder.
TATTLES
(whispers)
I brought you something.
WILLOW
I'm not interested.
TATTLES
Wait and see!
Tattles produces the collection of diaries that got Willow
into this mess, a clutch of small, leather bound books that
she manages to slide through the bars of the cell door.
WILLOW
(looking over)
Are those...
TATTLES
I thought you might want something
to read while you were down here.
Willow walks over, scooping the books off the dusty floor.
WILLOW
I don't suppose any of these tell
me how to get out of here, do they?
Tattles giggles, but Willow's cold look shuts her up.
WILLOW (cont'd)
That wasn't a joke.
TATTLES
Sorry. Anyway, I have to go.
Trinkets said things are moving
into place down on Earth, so I'd
better go see what's happening. See
you later!
She skips merrily away, and with a heavy sigh Willow returns
to the mattress.
She opens the first book, leafing through it to find her
place, and as she begins reading again, we cut to:
4 INT. CHARLESTON & SMITHE - KANE'S OFFICE. NIGHT. 4
Working late is IRWIN KANE, the sleek businessman sat at his
desk, a collection of glossy black and white photographs in
front of him which he studies, reading glasses on.
Sitting in a chair on the far side of the spacious, lavish
office is JEREKOV, the rogue warlock, still looking battered
and dishevelled after his rescue from the Hellmouth by Kane.
He TAPS his fingers against the arm of the chair, and after a
few moments of the sound echoing round the otherwise silent
office, Kane irritably snatches his glasses away and stares
at Jerekov.
KANE
Do you have to do that? I'm trying
to concentrate!
JEREKOV
(huffs)
I didn't realise it was going to
take so long.
KANE
Do you have any idea what we're
doing? The sheer scale of what
we're trying to achieve here?
JEREKOV
I understand that you seem to be
taking your time to do anything,
and that if I wasn't cooped up in
this office I could be out there,
getting some revenge on that
Slayer!
KANE
(sighs)
I told you, you're not to touch
Buffy again unless I say so.
Kane looks back to the photos, putting his glasses back on.
KANE (cont'd)
She's important. At least, for now.
Jerekov stands, heading over to the drinks decanters near the
chairs and helping himself to a large whiskey.
JEREKOV
Yes, yes, so you keep telling me!
When will she cease to be
important? I have a reputation to
consider, and I cannot let that
impudent wench walk around free,
when she and that witch friend of
hers disgraced me and cast me into
the Hellmouth!
KANE
(without looking up)
I'm sure there are other places I
can find the blood I need for all
this, you know.
That shuts Jerekov up - Kane looks over at him and smiles,
but it's the kind of smile that makes your skin crawl away
and hide somewhere dark.
KANE (cont'd)
So, please, stay quiet and don't
interrupt me again.
Jerekov looks like he's about to answer back - but wisely
keeps it buttoned, knocking back the whiskey.
As Kane returns to studying his photos, we cut to:
5 INT. JACKSON RESIDENCE - KITCHEN. NIGHT. 5
Buffy stands by the kitchen counter, making up two cups of
coffee. As she turns, we see that Shanna is sat at the
kitchen table, along with the young Slayer SOFIA.
Shanna is still cut and bruised, but the medical kit open on
the table before her shows that the recovery operation is
underway.
SHANNA
Are we going back out tonight?
SOFIA
Back out on patrol?
SHANNA
(nods)
There are way too many nasties
running around out there. A lot
more than I'm used to seeing.
BUFFY
They know something's coming.
They're like animals that way.
Buffy walks over to the table, handing out the mugs.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Whether it's to do with Jackson, or
the stuff I saw in my dream, or
something else we haven't figured
out yet, all I know is that
something doesn't feel right.
SOFIA
(grins)
Xander would probably say something
like 'you must be sensing a great
disturbance in the Force' about
now.
BUFFY
(raises eyebrow)
Is he brainwashing you already?
SOFIA
Oh, no, I've always loved 'Star
Wars.' I just notice how he and
Andrew make little references to
things a lot. Mind you, I'm just as
bad - my uncle, George, he makes
horror movies, so I've always grown
up around things that little girls
shouldn't normally know about.
Buffy smiles and heads for the fridge, as Shanna eyes Sofia.
She notices and stares back.
SOFIA (cont'd)
Yes?
SHANNA
Nothin' much, I'm just wondering
how a nice, educated kid like you
ends up as a Slayer.
SOFIA
(sips coffee)
You and me both.
BUFFY
If we knew that, then I'm sure a
lot more things would make sense!
Maybe there's some kind of-
Buffy is interrupted as someone KNOCKS rapidly on the back
door. Buffy glances at Shanna, who shrugs, before heading
over to the door.
She opens it to reveal ANDREW, gasping, out of breath.
ANDREW
Buffy! You... she... we...
BUFFY
Andrew! Stop. Breathe.
ANDREW
(quickly)
She just showed up at your house,
said she had something important to
tell you and only you, but Xander's
with Hope and I don't know
Jackson's phone number, and your
mobile's off, so I had to run, and-
BUFFY
Wait, slow down. Who showed up at
my house?
ANDREW
The demon, the one who owns the bar
in the city centre.
BUFFY
(surprised)
Tammazel? At my house? What did she
want?
ANDREW
She wouldn't say. Said she'd only
speak to you.
As Buffy casts a confused look back round at the other two
Slayers, we cut to:
6 INT. SUMMERS RESIDENCE - FRONT ROOM. NIGHT. 6
Buffy stands before Tammazel, who starts to talk.
TAMMAZEL
So, in a nutshell, this guy is
trouble. And trouble of the old
fashioned kind, in the 'fire and
brimstone, seven levels of Hell'
sense of the word.
BUFFY
And this 'Keeper' guy - did he say
why he wanted to find me?
TAMMAZEL
(shakes head)
He didn't say and I didn't ask.
When someone looking like that
comes walking into your bar, you
know they're either crazy or tough
enough to break the neck of anyone
who looks at them funny.
BUFFY
Where did you send him?
TAMMAZEL
(grins)
I have a few people I don't like,
so I gave him their addresses and
said to try them, see if you were
round there. It won't slow him down
for long, though, so I suggest you
find him first. That way, you can
at least pick the battlefield.
Buffy nods, starting to pace up and down the room, lost in
thought.
Sofia is on the couch, along with XANDER, who shares Buffy's
tired look, although this is because of his baby daughter,
HOPE, who lies asleep in his arms.
XANDER
If it's all the same to you guys,
I'd rather Von Doom doesn't show up
round here.
BUFFY
Don't worry, nothing's going to
come within a square block of this
house while Hope's still here.
SOFIA
Is there any way we can contact
Willow? I mean, perhaps she can
help us, or give us some advice.
XANDER
(shakes head)
I've been trying since she left.
Nothing. Not even a 'Hey!' to let
us know she got to wherever she's
going in one piece. Normally, I
just think about her and she
answers me right back, but so far,
nada.
Buffy strides over to one corner of the room, reaching behind
one of the sofa armchairs to her weapons chest.
BUFFY
Alright, here's the plan. We'll get
Shanna and sweep the city, between
the three of us we should cover it
in no time.
SOFIA
Are we splitting up?
BUFFY
Not exactly.
Buffy tosses Sofia her cell phone.
BUFFY (cont'd)
We've got plenty of those, Andrew
seems to collect them. Maybe he
likes the colours or something -
anyway, point is, we stay in
contact at all times. Anything
shows up, call it in.
Buffy straightens up, holding the Scythe in one hand. It
manages to sparkle a little in the lamp light of the room,
and Sofia looks suitably awe-inspired.
SOFIA
Wow. Is that the Scythe?
BUFFY
The one and only. If you're good,
maybe I'll let you borrow it later.
For right now, choose your weapon.
With a kick of her foot, Buffy knocks open the lid of the
weapons chest, revealing a dizzying array of weaponry inside.
Like a kid in a toy store, Sofia heads over, studying the
contents and making her selection as Buffy walks over to
Xander.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Call Giles, let him know what we're
doing. I may need some backup if
this Keeper guy has any more goons
with him.
XANDER
Got it.
TAMMAZEL
I'd better get back to the Dive, if
he shows up again looking for me
and I'm not there, I don't think
he's going to take too kindly to
it.
BUFFY
(nods)
Alright, go and keep me posted.
Tammazel turns and heads for the door, before a thought
suddenly hits Buffy and she calls out to the demon again.
BUFFY (cont'd)
Wait - why do you care if he finds
me? I thought you hated me?
TAMMAZEL
(shrugs)
I do. But someone like that in town
is bad for business. I'd rather you
found him and killed him than have
him hang around here any longer
than he has to!
BUFFY
(dryly)
How charitable of you.
TAMMAZEL
(grins)
Hey, it's all business.
Tammazel exits, and Buffy turns back to Sofia as she
retrieves a sword from the weapons chest.
BUFFY
All set?
SOFIA
Ready as Ready Brek!
BUFFY
Huh?
SOFIA
It's a British thing. Never mind.
Buffy grins and turns for the door, and as the girls start
moving, we cut to:
7 INT. BLACK MUSTANG. NIGHT. 7
We're travelling along inside a powerhouse of a Mustang, its
engine purring as it speeds through the night. We're looking
at the dashboard at first, but as we pull slowly back, we
take in to very familiar figures - ANGEL and SPIKE.
Angel is driving, his eyes locked on the road ahead as Spike
fumbles with a map, eventually stuffing it onto the back seat
with a GRUNT of annoyance.
SPIKE
Why can't they make maps that
people can actually read?
ANGEL
Simmer down, Spike. I know where
we're going.
SPIKE
Oh, do you? Been sneaking away to
sunny Cleveland at weekends without
telling me, have you?
ANGEL
No, I just...
(beat)
I always made sure I knew how to
get to Buffy in a hurry if she was
in trouble.
SPIKE
Good job, then! If that tip off was
right, she's about to take on six
foot six of trouble with a capital
'trub'!
Angel glances at Spike - the worried look on his face says it
all, and Spike manages to stay quiet for a second.
SPIKE (cont'd)
I still don't know why we didn't
bring any of the others with us.
Skye, Connor - even Sonia and
Taylor, at a push!
ANGEL
I told you why. We can't leave LA
unguarded at the moment, there's
too much going on. The others can
handle things until we get back.
SPIKE
Assuming we make it back, of
course. Stop me if I'm being too
negative, but I could've sworn we
were still at nil points in our
fight history with the Keeper!
ANGEL
And your point is what?
Spike raises his hands defensively, not wanting to get into
too big an argument over this.
SPIKE
Nothing, just saying... I hope that
permanently furrowed brow of yours
is busy figuring out a better
attack plan than 'run in and start
swinging,' because that got us
about as far as a car with a wooden
engine last time.
ANGEL
I'll think of something.
(quietly)
I have to.
Angel drives on, and we cut from the inside of his car to:
8 EXT. CLEVELAND - CITY STREET. NIGHT. 8
It's late at night by now, and as Sofia strolls through inner
city Cleveland, there aren't many people around to notice the
sword slung over her back.
She passes the entrance to Tammazel's bar, and pauses to
reach for the cell phone Buffy gave her, dialling in a number
and waiting as it rings.
BUFFY
(filtered; through phone)
Sofia?
SOFIA
Nothing to report. I've just
finished my sweep round by
Tammazel's bar, no sign of any
mysterious cloaked figures.
BUFFY
Alright. Shanna hasn't seen or
heard anything yet either, so just
keep looking.
Sofia hangs up, tucks the phone away and steps out of frame -
revealing the Keeper! He's stood in the shadows of a nearby
building, watching Sofia intently as she moves away, unaware
of his presence.
One of the Keeper's Flunkies walks into frame, glancing round
as he stands by his boss.
FLUNKY #1
No sign of the one we're after,
sir. What shall we do?
The Keeper points towards the departing Sofia.
KEEPER
Stay with her. She'll tell us where
Buffy is. We just have to ask the
right questions.
The Flunky nods as the Keeper starts to stride after Sofia.
Still unaware of her pursuer, Sofia walks on down the city
street, glancing casually round every now and then. Her
Slayer Sense isn't kicking in for whatever reason.
The Keeper starts to close in on her, his black cloak keeping
him mostly hidden as he draws ever nearer.
Sofia suddenly pauses for half a beat, sensing something, but
carries on walking, trying to look like she's still
oblivious.
Without turning her head, she tries to look as far round
behind her as she can, hearing the Keeper's footsteps at last
as she heads into a quieter street.
She suddenly stops and SPINS ROUND on the spot, drawing her
sword in one cool motion.
The Keeper stops, staring back at her. Sofia's eyes widen as
she takes in her opponent at last, picking up on the aura of
dark power he gives off.
KEEPER (cont'd)
(sinister)
Where is Buffy?
Sofia is at a loss for words, and from the growing fear in
her eyes, we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT ONE
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