Episode 16 - Home
ACT THREE
EXT. SUNNYDALE STREET - NIGHT
From where we left off. The creature and Buffy staring
at each other, stakes raised. Buffy slowly lowers her
stake, watching the creature intently. The creature,
after a beat, lowers hers as well.
Giles comes running into the scene.. out of breath and
carrying a crossbow. Buffy quickly puts away her
stake.
GILES
Ms Summers! You chose a bad night to
go out walking.
BUFFY
(to Giles, re the
creature)
She's the slayer?
Giles doesn't answer, but really doesn't have to
answer as Buffy already knows. Buffy looks at the
slayer for a beat, then..
BUFFY
(to Giles)
Kasey! They took her.
GILES
I'm afraid she's not the only one.
Come, best be on our way.
BUFFY
No! I can't just leave her.
Giles gestures to Buffy to come over to look around
the corner. Buffy does so.
REVERSE ANGLE : TOWN
Demons everywhere, shooting at anything that moves.
Many people trapped in their blue streams of light. A
large group of demons starting to head down their
direction.
GILES
We can't help anyone if we get
caught ourselves.
Buffy looks up pleadingly. Giles takes her arm,
calming her down.
GILES
It's okay. I know where they're
headed. But, we have to leave now.
Buffy thinks for a beat, then nods. He heads off with
Giles and the slayer.
INT. CAVE COMPLEX/GROTTO - NIGHT
In a medium-sized grotto, we see about twenty or so
people huddled together, looking terrified. The grotto
is lighted by a single light-bulb in the ceiling. A
metal door blocks the only exit. The door has a small
window, blocked by metal bars.
The door opens and a vamp shoves the businessman into
the room. The vamp surveys the scene before him.
JAILER VAMP
A nice little catch. Not bad for a
Thursday night.
Businessman gets back up to his feet and takes a few
steps towards the vamp.
BUSINESSMAN
(angry)
Let me out of here, you freak!
JAILER VAMP
You better watch your mouth. There
are ladies present.
BUSINESSMAN
I'm not afraid of you.
Vamp steps up intimidatingly.
JAILER VAMP
You better watch your head.. if you
want to keep your head.
A standoff between the vamp and the businessman.
ANGLE : KASEY
in the crowd of people, sitting down, watching the
standoff.
KASEY
(to the vamp)
He's just freaking. It would help if
you'll tell us what you want with
us.
JAILER VAMP
(smiling)
All in good time.
The vamp leaves, locking the door behind him.
Businessman slams on the door, yelling.
BUSINESSMAN
You can't keep me in here! Do you
even know who I am?
KASEY
(to businessman)
You're scaring the others.
BUSINESSMAN
(turning to Kasey,
angrily)
Well excuse me. Where's my freaking
manners? Let me do the talking here
little girl. I seem to be the only
one in here who's got the guts to
stand up to this freak show.
Kasey turns to look at her right to reveal a
frightened girl sitting next to her, holding on to
Kasey's arm. The girl looks up at the businessman. The
businessman sees the girl and, feeling chagrined,
calms down. He looks out the little window in the
door, looking frustrated.
INT. COLLEGE TAVERN - NIGHT
We see the 'Rhesus Monkeys' on stage, playing their
little hearts out to a small and uninterested
audience. Xander takes a look around, then steps out
to Keith, another guitar player, during a drum solo.
XANDER
Hey! Didn't you say this place was
gonna be packed?
Keith shrugs dismissively.
XANDER
(shrugs..)
..you don't know why this place
isn't packed or..
(shrugs..)
..you don't remember if you said it.
KEITH
(shrugs..)
..get out of my face.
Xander slinks away, smiling.. trying to save whatever
shred of dignity is left. He takes a look around the
tavern. He spots a pretty coed sitting with a friend
at a table. Xander makes eyes at her, acting super-
cool. Seeing this, the coed turns to her girlfriend
and laughs. Xander shrinks back into the background.
ANGLE : WILLOW
sitting at another table in the tavern. She is
flipping through her own wallet, digging out all
manner of papers and pictures. She finally comes upon
what she is looking for, an old crinkled picture of
Buffy, Willow and Xander.. smiling in their gowns and
caps at graduation. Willow stares at the picture for a
beat.
The band finishes their song.. to silence. Xander
shifts uncomfortably for a beat, looking very
embarassed. Xander turns imploringly to Willow who is
still looking at the picture. Willow finally looks up
and spots Xander, then gets the hint.
WILLOW
(clapping, shaking her
fist around excitedly)
Woo hoo! Go Xander!.. You're my love
God!
We CUT to a wide shot, showing Willow is the only one
in the room reacting. All eyes are now set on her. The
band looks at Willow strangely. Xander sidles up to
Keith.
XANDER
(smiling)
Groupies. What can you do?
Xander puts away the guitar and heads down to Willow,
joining her at the table. Keith, left on the stage,
looks on.
INT. GILES' APARTMENT - NIGHT
We see Giles in a weapon chest, grabbing some weapons.
The slayer sits huddled in a corner. Buffy wanders
around the apartment, having a look at the place. The
apartment looks exactly the same.
BUFFY
Like what you haven't done with the
place.
Giles takes a curious look back at Buffy.
BUFFY
No, I mean that as a good thing. I
like that there's a constant, you
know, between realities.
Buffy wanders to stand in front of a particular
hideous looking painting on a wall.
BUFFY
(re the painting)
Well, not so much this.
Giles turns back to the weapon chest.
GILES
Personally, I just think it means I
have good taste, whichever reality I
find myself in.
BUFFY
(taking a second look at
the painting, then quietly
to herself)
Maybe if you find one where
everyone's blind.
GILES
(a little annoyed)
Didn't you say your portal was
reappearing tonight.
BUFFY
Yeah, but that's not for a few hours
yet. Always got time to ruffle a few
British feathers.
Buffy starts to wander over to the slayer, but making
sure to keep a discrete distance. She takes a close
look at her.
ANGLE : SLAYER
huddled in a corner, her dirty hair still covering
most of her face. She is looking at something in her
hands. A miniature sparkling mirrorball. She seems
mesmerised by it, spinning the mirrorball around from
a little string hanging around her finger.
Buffy takes a few tentative steps forward. The slayer
notices, casting her eyes upwards, then hisses.
GILES
Best that you didn't approach her.
She doesn't know you yet.
Buffy sits on a chair opposite, watching the slayer.
BUFFY
What happened to her?
GILES
What do you mean?
BUFFY
I mean, look at her. There's
supposed to be a girl under there.
How can she live like this?
We see a subtle change in Giles' body language. He
looks uncomfortable and defensive.
GILES
She's an effective slayer.. in fact,
I would venture to say, the best the
Council has ever had.
BUFFY
But.. there has to be more to her
than that.
GILES
Like what?
BUFFY
Like, what's her name?
GILES
She is the slayer Ms Summers. She
doesn't have a name.
Buffy gives Giles a look which clearly shows she is
unhappy with all this. Giles notices and comes walking
over to stand next to Buffy.
GILES
(looking at the slayer)
She exists to kill. That is her only
function, her sole purpose.. and she
does it well.
(looks at Buffy)
Isn't that who your slayer is in
your reality?
Buffy looks at Giles for a beat, considering the
question.
BUFFY
Maybe.. I don't know.
(turns back to look at the
slayer)
But I do know that that's a person.
That's a girl.. She has a name.
Giles looks up at the slayer, his countenance
softening.
GILES
I know.
BUFFY
Giles, what did they do to her?
Giles walks forward towards the slayer. The slayer
does not flinch, continuing to look at her mirrorball.
Giles squats down in front of her, looking at her.
GILES
She's a quiet, withdrawn little girl
with an enormous capacity for rage
and anger and a destructive power
that is truly frightening.
(a beat, still looking at
the slayer)
But she's also this quiet, withdrawn
little girl. Sometimes I think I can
understand her, that I can somehow
get through to her. Sometimes I see
the person she was meant to be.
Sometimes, I catch a glimpse of the
girl she must have once been.
Buffy stares at Giles.
GILES
Sometimes..
The slayer notices Giles close to her.. staring at
her. Feeling uncomfortable, she shies away from him.
She springs up and moves over to another corner of the
room where she huddles back down, watching Giles and
Buffy.
Buffy looks at the slayer for a beat, then heads over
to the weapons chest. She digs in and pulls out a
crossbow.
BUFFY
(tossing the crossbow over
to Giles)
Bring this along. I can handle a
crossbow.
Giles catches the crossbow, then looks up at Buffy,
who has returned to digging into the chest.
GILES
What do you think you're doing?
Buffy looks up and gives Giles a strange look.
BUFFY
I'm baking cookies. I'm sure I saw
an Easybake Oven in here somewhere.
GILES
Ms Summers. You are not coming with
us. This is our fight, not yours.
You just sit here and wait for us to
return. If we're not back in a
couple of hours, you'd better head
off by yourself and get to your
portal before it closes.
BUFFY
Sit and wait? What do I look like, a
shitzu? I'm going, okay?
GILES
Look, I'm not even sure how we're
going to be able to do this. We've
staked out Silverback ever since we
found out about him. He's based
himself in a cave complex just
outside town where there's only one
entrance in and that's solid rock.
Even the slayer can't break through
that.
Buffy thinks for a beat, then..
BUFFY
I can get us in.
GILES
How?
BUFFY
William the Bloody.
GILES
Spike? What does he have to do with
anything?
BUFFY
Let's just say we have a history..
apparently, that's something that
follows me wherever I go. He's like
Pepe Le Pew, only, you know, way
less creepy.
GILES
No. It's too dangerous. I'd never
send a slayer in there by herself,
let alone a civilian. Even if you
survive this, you'd risk missing
your portal and getting stuck here
forever. This isn't your world. It's
a false reality for you. Why does it
even matter what happens here?
BUFFY
There are people trapped in there.
Kasey's in there. It matters Giles.
I have to help.
Giles and Buffy stare at each other.
INT. CAVE COMPLEX/GROTTO - NIGHT
We see everyone huddled away from the door. Most
everyone is sitting but we see the businessman pacing
nervously. It is very quiet in the room. Kasey and the
girl next to her watches the businessman as he paces.
Suddenly, the lights in the room dim momentarily.. as
if a sudden surge of electricity. The businessman
stops and joins the rest of the group in looking at
the light bulb.. imagining the worst.
We hear several footsteps approaching the door and the
sound of something heavy being dragged along the
floor. We catch a glimpse of two demons as they pass
the window in the door. The captives looking very
frightened now.
We hear more footsteps approaching the door. A loud
metal clang reverberates around the room as the door
is unlocked. The captives flinch away. The door opens
and in steps the jailer vamp from earlier on and two
demons. The vamp surveys the room, scanning the faces.
He points to a guy.
JAILER VAMP
Him.
The demons enter and pull the guy out from the rest of
the prisoners. Everyone watches in horror but no one
does anything to stop them. The vamp sneers at the
group as the guy is taken away. The door closes.
GIRL
(looking up to Kasey)
Where are they taking them?
KASEY
They're just taking them to a
special place to play a game.
There's nothing to be afraid of. I
promise nothing bad will happen to
you.
The girl thinks about this for a second, then..
GIRL
Why don't they come back?
Kasey has no answer. She shares a look with the now
nervous businessman. The lights dim again.
INT. CAVE COMPLEX - NIGHT
We see the lights dimming here too as we see Spike and
Drusilla standing by a bank of computers. We hear a
screaming, far-off in the distance. Drusilla has her
eyes closed, savouring the screams.. as if a song.
Meanwhile, we see a long procession of demons of
varying breeds passing by Spike. Spike farewells each
of them, as if thanking them for coming to a party.
SPIKE
(patting a demon on the
back)
Good to see you again.
(to another)
We'll do this again soon, yeah? Say
hi to the missus for me.
A particularly fierce looking demon gives Spike a
dirty look as it passes him.
SPIKE
(to the demon)
For the last time, I didn't lay a
bloody hand on your sister. We're
just.. good friends.
The demon continues to stare angrily at Spike as it
exits off-screen.
DEMON (O.S.)
(a deep growl)
Fnarrkll..
SPIKE
(looking off-screen at the
demon)
Oi! I bloody heard that!
The last demon in the procession exits off-screen.
Spike steps into the middle of the room and takes a
look around.
REVERSE ANGLE : CAVE COMPLEX
Still dark and dingy with computer lights blinking
here and there but very much more spacious now with
most of the demons gone. We see a few vamps sitting in
front of various terminals and screens.
SPIKE
(to Dru behind him)
Now, this is more like it. This
place isn't bad is it Luv? Dark,
damp, dingy.. rent-controlled.
ANGLE : DRUSILLA
not listening to Spike, still with her eyes closed and
savouring the screaming off-screen.
SPIKE
(with an evil glint in his
eye)
A vamp could really get used to
living here.
Spike heads over to a wall, then takes a few
deliberate paces towards the opposite wall, trying to
measure the distance.
SPIKE
What do you think Dru? Fifty feet by
fifty?
Spike turns to look at Dru and sees her mind is
elsewhere. Spike turns back to look at the cavern.
SPIKE
Yeah, it'll be a nice bloody change
to set ourselves up somewhere where
there's actually enough room to
swing a cat.
Something catches Spike's eye.
REVERSE ANGLE : A TABLE
where we see a monkey in its cage and next to it,
well.. a cat, cleaning itself.
Spike looks at the cat for a beat, considering
something, then shakes it off.
SPIKE
Later.
The lights stop flickering and the screaming stops.
Drusilla opens her eyes, peeved.
DRUSILLA
The singing stopped. Spike, make it
start again. Pretty, pretty song.
Spike comes over to Drusilla. He strokes her face
gently.
SPIKE
Now, now Dru. Give it a few minutes.
It's just a little intermission in
his hairy majesty's grand
performance there.
Drusilla smiles sleepily, tilting her head towards
Spike's hand.
SPIKE
And after he's done, me and him's
gonna have ourselves a little talk
about giving you an encore the world
won't soon forget.
DRUSILLA
(leaning closer to Spike,
close enough to kiss)
You're my song Spike.. my sweet, red
lullaby.
Spike and Drusilla move in slowly for a kiss but is
interrupted by a warning klaxon sounding off-screen.
Spike breaks away angrily, leaving Drusilla who closes
her eyes and just sways gently, as if caught in his
departing wake.
SPIKE
What now?
Spike heads over to a vamp sitting in front of a bank
of terminals and flashing buttons.
SPIKE
(to vamp on terminal)
What is it?
VAMP ON TERMINAL
The sensors picked up something
outside the cave complex.
SPIKE
Well, I just sent the bloody Noah's
Ark of demons out there..
VAMP ON TERMINAL
No, the reading indicates it is a
human.. just outside the entrance.
SPIKE
A human? Coming to us?
(smiling)
You know, you gotta love this town.
They deliver and everything.
VAMP ON TERMINAL
I'll turn on the camera.
ANGLE : A MONITOR
as it comes to life, bringing up a blurry, green
infra-red image of someone standing in front of the
entrance, looking up at the camera.
VAMP ON TERMINAL
Who is it? Is it the slayer?
ANGLE : SPIKE
smiles widely as we see the green light reflected on
his face.
SPIKE
Better.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE CAVE COMPLEX - NIGHT
ANGLE : BUFFY
from the front, with a cold, steely determined look on
her face.. waiting. We hear a loud rumble as the doors
begin to part. The light from the interior washes over
Buffy's face. She enters as the doors close behinds
her.
BLACKOUT
END OF ACT THREE
CONTINUE TO ACT FOUR