|
Conversations With Dead People September 29, 2002 (WHITE) Written by: Jane Espenson & Drew Goddard Directed by: Nick Marck | ||
| Teaser | ||
|
OVER BLACK:
Episode title appears on screen. "Conversations With Dead
People." Title fades away.
Now, another inscription appears and then fades - "November 12, 2002"
And the last inscription - "8:01 pm."
Now we FADE UP for a TEASER MONTAGE.
EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT
Buffy wanders the dark cemetery, searching for a particular grave. Is
possible, this should be a real cemetery, not styrofoam city. We should
get a sense of depth here, with Buffy small and alone amidst the sea of
headstones.
Buffy stops at a fresh grave. It's the one she's been looking for. She
crouches next to it - watching it.
Under this scene we hear the sounds of a BAND as they set up and
prepare to play. A guitar is tuned... A microphone checked...
INT. BRONZE - NIGHT
Now we see the source of the sounds from the previous scene. On stage,
a BAND starts to play a mournful tune. It's full of loneliness. Pain. You
know, season six stuff.
We move slowly from the band, through the crowd, finally resting on
SPIKE, who sits by himself.
It's clear as we move closer that the music reflects Spike's inner
state. He's lost, hurting.
MUSIC CONTINUES UNDER:
INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE LIBRARY - NIGHT
The library is sparsely populated. We find WILLOW alone, studying at a
table tucked between the stacks. It's a private, cozy alcove.
Willow is hunched over her book, clearly fighting fatigue. After a
beat, she gives in and lays her head down on her book. Closes her eyes...
INT. SUMMERS HOUSE - ENTRYWAY/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Dawn comes in the front door. Only a single light is on in the living
room. The rest of the house is dark. Dawn moves to the desk in the living
room and finds a note with a twenty dollar bill clipped to it.
The note reads "Will and I are out until late. Here's money for the
store. NOT PIZZA! Love you, Buffy."
Dawn takes in the note. Then smiles. Tosses herself onto the couch. A
night alone. Cool.
EXT - GRAVEYARD - NIGHT
We find Buffy - still crouching at the fresh grave. Still watching it
intently. A beat. Then a HAND SHOOTS OUT OF THE GRAVE.
CLOSE ON BUFFY
Who takes this in impassively.
Here we go.
| ||
| Act One | ||
|
INT. JONATHAN'S CAR - NIGHT
JONATHAN and ANDREW, both dressed in black, drive in an El Camino along
a dark, lonely road. Jonathan's at the wheel.
You keep circling around -- just drive straight in. JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW EXT. SUNNYDALE ROAD - JONATHAN'S CAR - NIGHT The El Camino drives away, headed for the lights of Sunnydale. EXT - GRAVEYARD - NIGHT The VAMPIRE attacks. Buffy fights the vampire (HOLDEN WEBSTER) for a spell. He's her age, not prepossessing but not nerdy either - the kind of guy, with a nice, open face when it's not in vamp mode. Right now it is, and he fights with a ferocity, and some finesse. Should be an easy dispatch for Buffy, but his strength is surprising, and she's not giving it her all. As they continue to fight... INT. SUMMERS HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT Dawn stands at the kitchen counter, eating an anchovy and pineapple pizza from a delivery box. She sings a made-up song with her mouth full.
(singing) Anchovies, anchovies, you're so delicious / I love you more than all other fishes... INT. SUMMERS HOME - BUFFY'S BEDROOM - LATER Dawn stands in front of Buffy's closet, pulling out clothes and holding them up in front of her, admiring. The box of pizza now lies open on Buffy's bed. Dawn holds a piece of pizza in one hand. She realizes she's just got pizza sauce on one of Buffy's tops.
She'll think it's blood. She puts the item back in the closet. INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - LATER The CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE DARKENED ROOM LIKE A STALKER, finding Dawn... Lit by a small lamp that throws a tiny circle of pale light in the dark room, Dawn sits on the floor next to the CD player, drinking soda, listening to music (something youthful and popular), and reading liner notes. She has open CD cases and loose CDs all around her. She spills her soda on some of the CDs and, unconcerned, wipes them with her sleeve. She hears... A SINGLE LOUD THUMP. Is it at the door? She turns down the music...
Hello? Nothing. INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - LATER We start in blackness, then it becomes clear our POV is from inside Buffy's weapon chest. We get a view looking up at Dawn as she lifts the lid and peers in. Series of quick shots: - Dawn tests a knife blade against her thumb. Winces and puts her thumb in her mouth. - Dawn swings an axe.
(play-acting) Taste my blade, spawn of evil! - Dawn loads a lethal-looking crossbow... using all her strength to pull it back, muscles shaking, an accident waiting to happen. - Dawn sights along the crossbow bolt. - Dawn tugs at the crossbow bolt, which is now embedded in the wall on the other side of the room. She pulls it free, leaving a chunk missing from the wall. - Dawn nudges a plant into place to cover the damage to the wall. EXT / INT. SUMMERS HOME - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS ANGLE FROM OUTSIDE LOOKING IN AT DAWN THROUGH THE KITCHEN WINDOW OR BACK DOOR -- we hear muted music and see Dawn moving around.
CUT TO:
Now we're inside. The kitchen radio is on, playing Mariachi-style music. Dawn dances a little cha-cha type thing as she puts a single marshmallow into the microwave. This room is also dark -- Dawn's face is lit by the internal light from the microwave. Dawn peeks through the little window at the cooking marshmallow. (if it's possible to actually get a shot into a working microwave we could actually see the marshmallow swell to massive proportions... they do that.)
Cool. Another THUMP. Dawn JUMPS and glances toward the back door... no one there. INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - LATER CLOSE ON THE TV... a horror movie. A MAN MENACES A WOMAN. ANGLE ON DAWN: On her tummy in front of the television, which is emitting creepy horror-movie music, lit by the TV light and licking marshmallow goo off her fingers as she talks on the cordless phone. She kicks her bare feet in the air behind her.
(into phone re: TV) Are you seeing this, Kit? She is so dead, even just talking to this guy. Oh, he's clearly a psychopath... is so... what? That is not Tom Hanks. What are you talking about? (long beat) Well what channel are you on? A SINGLE THUMP.
There it is again. I keep hearing this, like, thumping... Dawn MUTES the television. A single THUMP. Dawn gets up and heads for the door.
No, I can't tell if it's at the door or... Dawn is approaching the door when it FLIES OPEN VIOLENTLY and a blast of wind hits her. No one is there. Dawn closes the door against the wind and stands in front of it.
(into phone) Kit? Is there a storm... are you there? THE DOOR BLOWS OPEN AGAIN -- MORE INSISTENT, MORE VIOLENT -- this time it hits Dawn, making her drop the phone. Suddenly the TV starts BLARING (horror movie music). The CD player is suddenly on loudly too, and the radio can be heard from the kitchen. In the cacophony, Dawn runs to the TV and tries to turn it off (at the main unit, not with the remote.) It stays on. She grabs the cord, yanks it... unplugs it. It stays on. EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT Buffy and the Vampire are still fighting. They get in the clinch, and he's starting to bear down when he stops, looks at her...
Buffy?
Buffy Summers? BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY INT. SUMMERS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN - NIGHT The cacophony continues: TV over CD over (o.s.) radio. Dawn stands in the middle of the living room, looking around, confused. (by the way, the plant that she put into place to cover the wall damage is all black and dead now, but we call no special attention to this.)
CUT TO:
The axe we saw earlier hits the television screen, smashing it. The light and noise from it stops.
CUT TO:
This time we get to see Dawn swing the axe as it hits the CD player. It gets crushed along with the shelf it rode in on. It stops playing.
CUT TO:
Dawn, still carrying the axe, enters the kitchen and heads for the kitchen radio, which is still playing Mariachi music. Before she gets there she sees... The microwave is on, HUMMING LOUDLY, smoke oozing out around the door.
Oh god, oh god... The HUM GETS LOUDER AND HIGHER... Dawn lunges for it, but doesn't get to it before... The microwave EXPLODES, the door blasting outwards in fragments of glass. Dawn yelps and runs for the back door, stepping on glass. On the way, she passes near the radio. Just for a moment, the Mariachi music dissolves into static and through the static:
Dawn? Dawn freezes and stares at the radio. It reverts to music.
(soft) Mom?
| ||
| Act Two | ||
|
INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE LIBRARY - NIGHT
CLOSE ON WILLOW
Who still sleeps on her book. But something rouses her. Her eyes
flicker open. She sits up, sensing that she's not alone. Then her eyes fix
on something. Stop.
REVEAL TARA, sitting on the table, across from her. Willow just takes her in,
too stunned to speak. Tara smiles.
EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT
Holden is still trying to explain who he is.
Okay. Junior year, spring production of "Pippen"... I did the lighting design... BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN They both laugh.
No, but, other stuff, too... Majoring in psych, really loving that... And I was taking a year off to do an internship at the Sunnydale Mental Hospital. BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN It's a bit of a dampener. They smile wanly. HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY As this last couplet is spoken, we pan over to Buffy's unheard, ringing phone in the grass. HOLDEN BUFFY INT. SUMMERS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT It's later. The lights are on. Dawn is sitting on the living room floor, picking glass out of her foot and wrapping cloth around it. She has the radio on the floor in front of her and the phone to her ear. The axe lies on the floor next to her.
(shaky) Buffy, come on... pick up... I don't know what to do... She gives up. Hangs up. Stands up, shakes the radio.
(to the radio) Do it again. I heard you! Behind her we get a glimpse of Joyce, dead on the sofa. Dawn turns that way as if she sensed something there, but the sofa is empty. The lights go out. Pitch black. They instantly come back on... In the time the lights are on we get a number of quick cuts as Dawn pilots around to see: - The weapons' chest is on end. - The research table is upside down. - The sofa cushions are piled into a tower. - And the wall is splashed with the bloody words "MOTHER'S MILK IS RED TODAY" The lights go out again. In the darkness, we hear Dawn's panicked breathing. Then, we hear a slow, steady, wall-shaking THUMP. THUMP THUMP THUMP -- The lights come back on. Everything is back just like before. No blood, no rearrangement. -- THUMP THUMP THUMP -- Dawn's becoming unhinged. She's breathing hard.
Why are you doing this? The thumping becomes more insistent, erratic. THUMP THUMP THUMP. THUMP. THUMPTHUMP THUMP --
Why are you -- I don't understand. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMPTHUMPTHUMP --
Stop... I don't understand. Stop it. Stop it... THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP --
(terrified) STOP IT! Silence. Dawn looks around, surprised it actually stopped. A beat, then:
Hello? THUMP.
(whispered) Mom? THUMP. THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP --
Wait -- wait wait wait wait -- I don't -- THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP --
Slow down -- (thinks; to herself) Once for yes... (to the walls) Once for yes, twice for no. Silence.
Mom? THUMP.
Mom, it's you? THUMP.
Are you okay? THUMP. THUMP. Dawn starts breathing harder.
You're not -- do you need help? THUMP. The lights dim, brighten. The pictures shake on the walls.
You need my help. THUMP.
What do you want me to do? Should I go get Buffy? BANG -- some of the light bulbs explode. Dawn cries out. The walls SHAKE, pictures fall.
Stop it. Why are you -- Then it hits her.
Mom... are you alone? THUMP. THUMP. Dawn's eyes go wide. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP -- The house SHAKES violently, rocking on its very foundation. The rest of the lights EXPLODE. Dawn screams. Pitch black. THUMPTHUMPTHUMP -- INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - NIGHT SPARKS rain down as a miniature buzzsaw cuts a large hole in the window (the one above that Leadership/Followers sign.) The glass is removed from the outside. Two large black backpacks come flying in, followed by a rope, followed by Jonathan. He rappels down. Hits the ground, rights himself. Takes a step forward, looks around. We see the rope in the background (but not the window or the floor.) A beat, then Andrew comes CRASHING DOWN -- sideways -- falling free, somehow missing the rope entirely. He cries out in pain. Jonathan turns around.
Oh, get up you wuss. ANDREW INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - LOBBY AREA - NIGHT Jonathan and Andrew walk out into the dimly lit lobby. They're both wearing their backpacks and carrying flashlights. Andrew carries a map.
Wow. They really rebuilt it. ANDREW He smells the air, intense concentration on his face.
It's weird -- it's a different building and all... (looking around) I mean, on one hand it's totally different... but it sorta feels exactly the same... ANDREW Jonathan looks around. Fear begins to creep over him. JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN They hear a CREAK. Jonathan jumps. He shines his light in the direction he thought it came from.
Maybe we should just go get Buffy. ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW Jonathan considers this. JONATHAN ANDREW Jonathan gets a romantic look on his face. JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN Andrew holds up the map. ANDREW Jonathan studies the map, then looks around. JONATHAN ANDREW They each pull out a walkie-talkie and speak into it. JONATHAN ANDREW
JONATHAN Satisfied, Jonathan nods, walks down the hall. He gets about twenty feet away, then turns back towards Andrew. He speaks into his walkie, even though they're still close enough to hear each other just fine. JONATHAN (cont'd) ANDREW JONATHAN Andrew looks at him. Shrugs. Jonathan nods, sad, and then slowly walks around the corner. Andrew watches him go... and doesn't notice WARREN walk up behind him.
Nice job. Andrew does a frightened triple-take. Then he realizes it's Warren. ANDREW WARREN ANDREW WARREN ANDREW WARREN ANDREW WARREN ANDREW WARREN Andrew looks down the hall after Jonathan. ANDREW Warren immediately goes with it. WARREN Beat. Andrew frowns. ANDREW WARREN INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE - LIBRARY Back to Willow's stunned face. Tara still sits across from her, still looking at Willow lovingly.
TARA Willow blinks. WILLOW TARA Willow smiles a little regretfully. WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW Now the emotion of it all really penetrates. Dream or not - Tara is near her. Talking to her. Loving her. Willow fights tears.
Oh... Oh God, Tara... Tara gets emotional as well. TARA Willow reaches out to take Tara's outstretched hand, but Tara gently moves it away. Willow looks stricken. WILLOW TARA Tara shifts on the table, like she's about to stand up. WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW Willow leans over. Tries to catch her breath. Disappears behind the table. WILLOW (cont'd) Tara walks around to her. Willow practically has her head between her knees. Tara kneels and meets her eyes, despite the awkward, crouchy positions. TARA Willow is crying now. Like her heart is breaking. WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA Willow sits up now. Almost panicky. WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA Willow can't help but smile a tiny rueful smile through her tears. WILLOW TARA They hold each other's gaze - connecting. INT. BRONZE - NIGHT Spike sits at the counter, drinking and smoking, lost in lonely thought. An attractive, nice twenty-something GIRL comes up to him, asks to bum a cig. Like all the Spike scenes, we are too far away to hear any dialogue, but the beats play out clearly. He gives her a cig. She indicates the seat next to him. Is it taken? He shrugs. She sits, awkwardly trying to think of something to say.
You meet someone, you form a bond. EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT Buffy lies on a horizontal crypt (single bed sized) with a stone book open at one end serving as a pillow. Holden sits on a gravestone near her head, listening. It should read as a classic old school psychoanalysis session.
BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY She's a little quiet. Holden realizes: HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN She thinks about it a moment. BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY She's getting a little emotional here... BUFFY (cont'd) HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY She's fighting back tears... BUFFY (cont'd) HOLDEN He swings a small statue of the Virgin Mary into her face, sends her flying back. She lands on her back, dazed, and he lands on her, vamped out. HOLDEN (cont'd) He bites. BLACK OUT.
| ||
| Act Three | ||
|
EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT
Buffy pushes Holden off her, slams him with a punch and away they go.
Fighty McFightenstein. After a few blows:
You son of a bitch. HOLDEN BUFFY More blows. HOLDEN He kicks her, high, again catching her a bit off guard. HOLDEN (cont'd) She plows into him and they head towards a crypt, go crashing through the stained glass window -- INT. CRYPT - NIGHT -- and land in a shower of glass and noise, locked in struggle -- INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Very dark. The only light is the moonlight from outside. Dawn is just a tense dark shape in the middle of the room. We HEAR HER BREATHING. Then we hear SOMETHING ELSE BREATHING... out of sync with her, slower, deeper, with a hint of a SNARL TO IT on the inhale, like the breathing of a wild animal.
I hear you. The thing that's breathing? I hear you breathing. More breathing.
Are you hurting my mother? Are you keeping her from coming back to me? There is a sudden FLASH OF LIGHT, just fast enough for our eyes to register that JOYCE IS ON THE COUCH again, lying there in the position where Buffy found the body. Joyce looks as dead and corpsy as she did that night, only her head is up, her eyes are open and they're looking right at Dawn. The eyes are blank white. And then the light is gone from the room. In the darkness again, Dawn gasps.
Mom. I... I see you. I'm coming toward you, okay? Dawn takes a little shuffly step toward the sofa in the dark, and another. Another momentary FLASH OF LIGHT and we see that something big and dark is hunched over Joyce, pressing her into the sofa. (I'm thinking the Gnarl suit, painted black, and seen only from the back for less than a second.) Joyce's face is visible behind it... her mouth is stretched into a silent scream and her hand is reaching out imploringly toward Dawn. Her eyes are still blank. The Flash ends. Blackness. Dawn stands motionless in the dark.
She's trying to talk to me. My mother has something to tell me. (louder, stronger) Get off her and let her talk to me! Dawn gropes for something on the floor.
(to herself) The axe... A THIRD FLASH OF LIGHT. Dawn's POV, the axe swinging right at her head (we can't see who's swinging it.) She SCREAMS AND DUCKS. She runs for the front door, RIPS IT OPEN. But then she freezes in the doorway. On Dawn's back, we hear:
No. She turns toward us, back into the room.
(soft, calm, determined) She's my mother. I'm staying. INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - BASEMENT - NIGHT Jonathan and Andrew walk through the dark, creepy hallways of the basement. Andrew tries to make heads or tails of his map and compass. ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN Andrew's becoming unhinged. ANDREW JONATHAN BOOM. A loud thump echoes from elsewhere in the basement. The boys grab each other in fright. ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN They hear some CREAKING. ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW Jonathan thinks about this. Makes a decision. He lets go of Andrew. JONATHAN He walks forward. Strength in his step. JONATHAN (cont'd) Andrew doesn't move. JONATHAN (cont'd) Andrew and Jonathan walk around another corner. Andrew is becoming noticeably more anxious. Jonathan is calm. JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN He takes the map. They keep walking. JONATHAN (cont'd) They walk around another corner... JONATHAN (cont'd) Andrew looks up. At the far end of the hall, standing in the middle of a side room, is Warren. He stares at Andrew. ANDREW Jonathan looks up. His POV -- we see only the room at the end of the hall. No Warren. JONATHAN Andrew's POV -- Warren, staring. ANDREW INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT Andrew and Jonathan enter (Warren can't be seen.) The room is old, dark, and creepy. It looks like it's been here for quite some time. It has one of those old, hard clay floors. Jonathan consults the map. JONATHAN Andrew tosses his pack on the ground. He pulls out a pick-axe (which should be easily accessible.) JONATHAN (cont'd) He looks at Andrew, who's ready to dig. He looks at the ground between them. JONATHAN (cont'd) Andrew swings the pick axe. Just as it breaks the floor, we CUT TO: INT. CRYPT - NIGHT Mid fight. Buffy gets Holden on the ground, whips out a stake, holds it up high... BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY She gets up, not killing him. Pacing with anger and emotion, she circles back and kicks him in the head really hard as he's lying there. Walks away again as he rises, winded. BUFFY (cont'd) HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN A beat as Buffy considers it. BUFFY HOLDEN Off her look: EXT. STREET - NIGHT Spike is walking that same girl home. Again, they are far away, and there are people and cars between us and them, so we don't hear them, but they seem to be getting along. There's a sweetness to the way they are together, both talking, laughing a bit... INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE LIBRARY - NIGHT We're back with Willow and Tara, who continue their conversation where they left off. WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA Willow nods. Accepts this. Then- WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA OFF WILLOW'S STUNNED REACTION.
| ||
| Act Four | ||
|
INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The room is lit with candles now.
We HEAR the ANIMALISTIC BREATHING AGAIN.
Dawn sits on the ground, calmly crushing something in a mortar and
pestle.
(to the breathing) I hear you, filth. I know you're there. (casually) Demon filth. I will cast you out. My mother needs to talk to me. And she reaches into the potion and flings it off her fingers like a priest scattering holy water- AN ANIMAL SCREAMS.
(re: screams) And I haven't even started to chant yet. I learned magicks from a kick- ass witch. Something unseen KNOCKS DAWN back against a wall. She recovers fast. Starts chanting:
I cast you from this place. It is your poison and your bane... Dawn FLINGS more of the potion. THE ANIMAL SCREAM SOUNDS AGAIN.
A LOUD WIND begins, whipping Dawn's hair. The wind SCREAMS.
ALL THE PICTURES AND DECORATIONS FALL OFF THE WALLS.
ALL THE WINDOWS BLOW OUT.
INT. CRYPT - NIGHT
Buffy and Holden are talking. It's very casual, almost intimate, as
they sit in the corner. Buffy is really opening up.
BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY She looks at him, understanding a bit better.
BUFFY (cont'd) HOLDEN BUFFY A beat as he takes this in.
HOLDEN She looks down as he smiles kindly.
HOLDEN (cont'd) BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY They go to their corners, preparing.
HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DOORSTEP - NIGHT
Spike and the girl, as she gets out her keys, clearly indicating he can
come up if he wants to. He takes a step back, reluctant...
INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT
Andrew and Jonathan have made considerable progress excavating the room
(we'll see the full extent in a bit.) They've also set up a few work
lights (but not so many that we lose creepiness.)
The boys are busy digging. They're tired, sweaty, but in relatively
good spirits.
JONATHAN Andrew thinks about this very hard. He nods.
JONATHAN (cont'd)
They laugh. Cool.
JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW JONATHAN ANDREW Jonathan stops digging, leans on his shovel.
JONATHAN ANDREW'S POV. Warren is standing there, staring at Andrew and listening
intently.
ANGLE: JONATHAN
JONATHAN (cont'd) ANDREW'S POV again. He glances up at Warren. Warren stares directly at
him.
ANGLE: JONATHAN (and we don't see Warren again for the rest of the
scene)
JONATHAN (cont'd) ANDREW Jonathan thinks about this for a while. A peacefulness washes over him.
He shrugs. There's an almost Zen-like clarity about him when he says:
Andrew shakes his head: you're crazy. Jonathan goes back to digging.
And we crane up and finally get a good look at what they're uncovering:
The Seal of Danzalthar. A large, intricate metal SEAL -- not unlike a
Presidential seal, if the President was Satan. It's about six feet in
diameter, with a big evil ornate symbol carved into it.
It was buried almost two feet underground, and the boys have uncovered
almost all of it.
INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Dawn is huddled in a corner. Her clothes are torn, her face and body
are bloodied -- more LASH MARKS ALL OVER HER.
The wind is howling and whipping everything around the room.
She has been chanting over this noise for a long time.
She flings more potion.
ANOTHER SCREAM, MORE ANGUISHED.
Something unseen GRABS DAWN'S HEAD AND SLAMS IT BACK INTO WALL, OVER
AND OVER, as she continues:
DAWN SPITS BLOOD FROM HER MOUTH...
The WIND BLOWS LOUDER!
And she THROWS the entire container of potion.
WE HEAR HORRIBLE DEATH NOISES.
THE WALLS ARE SUDDENLY SPLASHED, EXLODED-ONTO WITH BLOOD, THICK CLOTS
OF IT UP TO HEAD-HIGH. THEN IT VANISHES, SUCKED AWAY, AS THE DEATH-SCREAMS
RATTLE AWAY TO NOTHING.
And it is QUIET. The wind has stopped. Everything stops blowing around.
Dawn, realizing she's won, collapses to the ground.
The LIGHT CHANGES... suddenly there's a golden glow. Dawn looks up,
blinking into the light. We see that Dawn's wounds have healed, but her
hair is tangled, her face is wet with tears and streaked with blood.
DAWN'S POV: IT'S JOYCE...
She's ethereal, glowing from the inside, translucent even. She's
wearing something flowy and white.
Dawn starts to cry and shake with the relief of everything.
JOYCE DAWN JOYCE Joyce is FADING AWAY, leaving Dawn in darkness.
But Joyce is gone.
BIG WIDE SHOT OF DAWN on the ground, rumpled and tangle-haired,
tear-and-blood-streaked, in the dark and devastated room - broken TV,
smashed CD player, broken lamp, broken windows, and a big heap of
disturbing advice.
INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE LIBRARY - NIGHT
Willow still looks completely stunned. The way you would if your dead
lover just told you you were going to kill everybody. Tara looks regretful
- she hates to be the bearer of such tragic information.
WILLOW TARA Willow starts to grow increasingly agitated and tearful.
WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA WILLOW TARA Willow is in a full blown panic now. Tara also looks scared. The fate
of the world hangs in the balance.
WILLOW TARA WILLOW Tara thinks... A horrible beat. Then-
TARA WILLOW TARA A beat as Willow comprehends what Tara is saying.
Her expression shifts. Distrust and anger darken her features.
WILLOW INT. CRYPT - NIGHT
Buffy and Holden are pretty much where we left them.
BUFFY HOLDEN BUFFY HOLDEN EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DOORSTEP - NIGHT
Spike is massively biting the girl, blood dripping down her neck as he
feeds, vamp-faced and ravenous.
INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT
The boys have completely uncovered the Seal. Jonathan happily packs up
his backpack, eager to go tell Buffy.
A shadow falls over him. He turns around, sees Andrew, looking solemn.
And further back, behind Andrew, he sees Warren.
This has barely time to register on Jonathan's face before...
Andrew STABS him, plunging a large ceremonial dagger deep into
Jonathan's stomach. Shock, pain on Jonathan's face.
INT. U.C. SUNNYDALE LIBRARY - NIGHT
Now Willow and Tara (who is really The First, natch') face off.
TARA/FIRST WILLOW TARA/FIRST WILLOW TARA/FIRST WILLOW TARA/FIRST Now Tara/First moves in on Willow, seething with malevolence.
TARA/FIRST (cont'd) Willow is chilled to the bone.
WILLOW TARA/FIRST With that, Tara/First smiles... And her smile stretches wider and wider
until it becomes grotesque, like a macabre horror mask (CGI). The smile
engulfs the entire face as the rest of TARA'S BODY seems to get sucked in
by it. In an instant - The First is gone.
Off Willow, shaking and terrified.
INT. SUMMERS HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Dawn sits, confused and upset by her mother's message.
INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL - ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT
OVERHEAD SHOT
Jonathan's body collapses on the ground, his head and upper body
landing on top of the Seal. He's facing up -- his lifeless eyes stare up
at us.
A beat, then a pool of blood comes GUSHING out from under his shoulders
and head, filling the crevasses of the Seal.
We slowly PULL up, away, and as the symbol fills up with blood it
begins to ILLUMINATE.
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DOORSTEP - NIGHT
Spike rears back with a bloody mouth as the girl's body drops to the
ground.
INT. CRYPT - NIGHT
Buffy stands amidst the crumbling skeleton of a falling Holden,
disbelief and pain on her face.
BLACK OUT.
|