Episode 14 - Mousetrap
ACT ONE
EXT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY (DAY TWO)
to establish.
INT. THE MAGIC BOX/TRAINING ROOM - DAY
Where we see Buffy, Dawn and Xander doing a bit of
Spring cleaning. Buffy is putting some weapons away,
Xander is cleaning a window while Dawn sweeps up in a
corner. We catch her mid-prattle.
DAWN
(enthusiastic)
And then I told Lili that Nick was
totally crushing on her, and she
went like, 'Oh my God, that's so not
true', and I went 'Please.. So not
buying your Helen Keller'.
We see Buffy tolerating Dawn's storytelling but she's
close to breaking point.
DAWN
I mean, it's so obvious that he's
like pulled into the long-term
parking spot right next to her
locker and..
BUFFY
Hey.. Ricki? Save your batteries for
the sweeping, okay? You said you
wanted to come along and help
cleanup.. so.. go cleanup.
DAWN
(snarky)
If I do, can I please go to the Ball
with you later tonight? I do so want
to meet the prince.
Buffy lets the comment go. She sees Haffy still lying
in the middle of the floor. She goes over to it and
begins lugging Haffy back to his corner. Xander perks
up and rushes over to Buffy.
XANDER
(happily rolling his
sleeves up)
Need a hand with that little lady?
BUFFY
No. I'm good.
XANDER
(smily, pleady)
Humour me here.
Buffy steps back from Haffy. A 'be my guest' gesture.
Xander happily grabs Haffy under its limp arms and
starts to drag him over to a corner.. very slowly.
XANDER
(straining under the
weight)
Yup.. You gotta leave the luggin' to
us manly construction workers.
(more straining, inching
along)
And I'm talkin' sweaty, ripply
muscly, beer ad types here.. not,
you know, Village People.
Buffy and Dawn watch as Xander struggles with the
weight. Xander stops and takes a breather.
XANDER
(a little out of breath)
Exactly what kind of diet is this
guy on?
DAWN
Well, he's not exactly Lamb Chop.
XANDER
(starts dragging again,
one last mighty effort)
No, it feels like this guy ate Lamb
Chop.. and about five thousand of
his cousins.
Xander finally manages to drag Haffy to the corner. An
exhausted Xander walks over to Buffy.
XANDER
See? No big.
BUFFY
Very impressive.
A happier Xander walks over to Buffy.
XANDER
So, where's the old Gilester? Not
like him to run off schedule.
BUFFY
I told him to play hooky.. you know,
less with the looky.. at the.. um..
bookies. I just think he's been
killin' himself with the research
lately. He needs more down time. We
can totally take care of the store
today.
XANDER
And he went for it?
BUFFY
Uh huh. I even convinced him to
reacquaint himself with the Espresso
Bar.
DAWN
Wow.
BUFFY
Yup. He's totally gonna Caruso that
place up again.
(off looks)
The singer.. not the actor.
DAWN
Oh! Maybe we should like drop in and
give him some support, you know, of
the morally kind.
XANDER
Or we could stick some hot pokers in
my eyes, cause I hear the experience
is roughly similar.
INT. SUNNYDALE MALL - DAY
CLOSE ON : A HAPPY FACE ON A BALLOON.
as someone sticks a long, sharp needle into it,
popping it. A dove magically appears and flies out. We
WIDEN to reveal a magic act at the mall, with children
excitedly watching the magician ply his trade.
We PAN away from this noisy scene to TRACK Giles as he
walks past the children. We see that the mall is a
hive of activity; lots of people, cheery music piped
through speakers in the background.
Giles walks over to a bench and sits down. We see that
he is on the second level of the mall as, from the
bench, he overlooks the main shopping area on the
ground floor.
ANGLE : GILES
as he looks down at the people walking by.
GILES
(as he continues to look
down)
How are you Christopher?
We WIDEN to reveal Christopher sitting on the bench
next to Giles. He is eating a hot dog, mustard all
over it.
CHRISTOPHER
(looking at the hot dog)
You know, it looks like mustard, it
smells like mustard, but let me tell
you, it bloody well isn't mustard.
Christopher takes another bite from his hot dog.
GILES
I certainly hope you're bringing
more to this table than condiments.
Giles leans back and takes a look around, then looks
at Christopher.
GILES
What are we doing here? It's a
little late to shop for my birthday.
CHRISTOPHER
Sometimes, I find that a public
place is the best spot to keep your
conversations private..
(then, looking down at a
store beneath him)
and look, sneaker sale!
GILES
You have something to tell me?
CHRISTOPHER
I just thought you'd be interested
in knowing that our Mr Sandring will
soon be on his merry way back to
England.
Giles looks up, more interested.
CHRISTOPHER
It took a little.. well, a lot of
convincing, but I managed to
persuade him to give you and your
slayer a second chance here.. to
prove yourselves before he
recommended any further action.
GILES
How on earth did you manage that?
CHRISTOPHER
I simply reminded him of how unwise
it would be to cause a stir this
close to the election. Who knows?
Maybe he'll come round to see your
way.
GILES
And you?
CHRISTOPHER
It doesn't matter what I think of
your methods and how you're handling
the sl.. Buffy. But believe me,
Rupert, it'll very much matter what
Mr Sandring thinks. Once he takes
control of the Council, there'd be
nothing stopping him.
Giles turns back to look at the crowd beneath him.
CHRISTOPHER
You should also know that, as soon
as this business with the General is
finalised, I too will be returning
home.
GILES
(flatly)
Really.
CHRISTOPHER
(sarcasm on)
Oh, no need to make a scene! I mean,
we'll still write each other and
talk to each other on the phone like
a couple of old girlfriends.
GILES
Believe it or not Christopher, I do
care about what happens to you. I
always have. I only wish you did.
CHRISTOPHER
You've been up practising those
lines haven't you?
GILES
Look at what's happened to you. What
you've become.. Empty.. hollow. Is
this what she would have wanted?
This last sentence strikes Christopher a little
harder. He regards Giles for a beat, then turns to
look at the crowd beneath them.
CHRISTOPHER
Take a look down there..
Giles looks.
REVERSE ANGLE : CROWD
Many people walking about, shopping, laughing, etc..
CHRISTOPHER (O.S.)
It's not so strange.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
face hardens as he continues..
CHRISTOPHER
Beneath the masks, you'll find that
the world is filled with people who
have simply stopped. I'm just one in
a crowd.
Christopher stands up and throws the remnants of his
hot dog in a bin next to the bench. He begins to walk
away, then stops.
CHRISTOPHER
If I were you, I'd take a closer
look at myself before I pass
judgment on others. You might just
see something that you won't like.
INT. GENERAL'S MANSION/SASHA'S ROOM - NIGHT
ANGLE ON : A PICTURE
an old, tattered black and white picture of Sasha. We
see a hand holding the picture, a finger tracing the
contours of the face in the picture.
ANGLE : SASHA
as she stares at her picture. Her other hand reaches
up to her face as she gently traces the contour of her
face as she looks at the picture.
We hear the door being opened. Sasha hastily puts the
picture away and turns around. The General enters.
SASHA
General!
The General paces around the room, taking a look
around. Sasha waits.
THE GENERAL
Why aren't you out feeding, with the
others?
SASHA
I'm not hungry. Besides, I have to
brief our soldiers on the handover
of the amulet. There will be time to
feed later.
THE GENERAL
There's no need to fret. Take a
night off. Go out and enjoy
yourself. Go feed, go play..
whatever takes your fancy.
SASHA
Really, I don't need to..
THE GENERAL
(a harder tone)
I'm afraid I really must insist.
Sasha shuts up, recognising danger in the tone.
THE GENERAL
You've been such a busy little bee,
you see. Executing plans, giving
orders.. Don't think I don't
appreciate it. You have been most..
effective. But they see more of you
than they do of me. I feel it's time
to take a more active role. So, I
shall brief them on the handover and
I will be the one giving the orders
tonight. Furthermore, I intend to be
present when we receive the amulet.
This is a day I have been working
for all these years.. the glory is
mine alone.
Sasha is about to object, but is cut off.
THE GENERAL
No arguments Sasha. My mind is made
up. An army needs to know who their
true leader is, don't you agree?
No room to disagree in the tone of that question.
SASHA
Yes General.
THE GENERAL
Go out and feed. You look a little
pale.. well, more than usual anyway.
This night is filled with
possibilities. It's crying out for
something to happen.
EXT. SUNNYDALE CEMETERY - NIGHT
We see Buffy patrolling in the cemetery. She wears a
black trenchcoat and carries a stake in her hands. All
is quiet. Buffy looks around but sees and hears
nothing.
BUFFY
Paging all vampires. Please report
to the nice blonde in the black coat
with the stake.
(turning around, calling
out)
Anyone? Come on! I guarantee a dusty
good time.
No one responds.
BUFFY
(grumbly to herself)
So much easier when they jumped out
from the dark at you..
On cue: A large, giant figure jumps out from the dark
at Buffy. Buffy manages to catch the flying figure and
flings it to the ground. She takes a look.
REVERSE ANGLE : GIANT RAT-DEMON
as it looks angrily back up at Buffy.
BUFFY
Right premonition, wrong demon.
ANGLE : GIANT RAT-DEMON
as it begins to snarl, saliva dripping from its mouth,
whiskers a twitchin'.
BUFFY
Wrong, wrong demon.
Suddenly, from behind her, a second rat-demon emerges
from the darkness. Buffy turns to see.
BUFFY
And now with the plurals.
The two rats attack. Buffy expertly kicks one away
while leaping over the second as it rushes her. She
lands lightly back on her feet, flips around and shows
her stake.
The rats notice the stake.
RAT#1
It's the slayer.
BUFFY
Great.. vocalisation. You guys get
yourselves some nice Armani suits, a
framed diploma and you can start
charging by the hour.
Rat #1 attacks Buffy again. Buffy stakes it in the
heart as it leaps towards her. The rat falls to the
ground dead. Rat#2 runs away.
We TRACK Buffy as she chases, sprinting past
gravestones at great speed. She stops next to a couple
of mausoleums. She looks around but cannot see the
rat.
Buffy hears something and suddenly looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE : GIANT RAT-DEMON
on top of one of the mausoleum. It jumps down at
Buffy. Buffy raises her stake as the rat lands on top
of her, staking itself in the process. They both fall
to the ground, the rat lying on top, completely
covering Buffy.
We stay on the motionless rat for a beat as it
continues to lie on top of Buffy. Then.. from
underneath the rat..
BUFFY
I'm so gonna need a bath.
EXT. SUNNYDALE STREET - NIGHT
ANGLE : A FLASHING NEON SIGN
reading 'Barnie's Watering Hole' (ie a bar). We TILT
down to reveal a noisy, drunken scene as a few patrons
drunkenly emerge from the bar, singing. A couple more
are having some sort of argument near the entrance. We
can hear loud music blaring from inside the bar.
We PAN to a couple standing at a corner, next to an
entrance to an alleyway. The guy gives the girl a
single flower. The girl smiles, the two stare deeply
into each other's eyes then passionately embrace each
other and begin kissing. Lots of heavy breathing and
mumblings. The girl drops the flower. We TRACK the
flower as the wind carries it into..
EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT
as we continue to TRACK the flower as it blows along
the ground, carrying it deeper and deeper into the
alleyway which gets darker and darker the further we
travel into it. We slowly FADE DOWN all the outside
noise.. the music, the laughing, the kissing couple
until there is nothing but silence. As if travelling
into a different world. Slowly, we begin to hear the
sound of heavy breathing and soft mumblings, like the
sound of the kissing couple outside. This sounds gets
louder and louder as we continue to TRACK the flower.
We continue to TRACK the flower until suddenly, a hand
violently slams down on top of it. The hand convulses
violently as we continue to move down the body,
revealing the face of a young man, lying face-up on
the ground. His face is filled with fear as we see a
woman's head buried in his neck, her hand on his
mouth. We see him struggling vainly to free himself
but he is held down tight.
The man stops struggling, his body becoming limp. His
eyes stare straight up into the night sky, slowly
blinking. A vamped Sasha stops feeding and looks at
his face. She unvamps. She runs her hand gently down
his face.
We TRACK Sasha's hand as it moves from the face down
to his chest, his pants, then to his feet where we see
that in his struggle, one of his shoes is half off.
Sasha removes the shoe and pulls down the sock. She
looks at a spot near his ankle.
ANGLE : MAN'S FOOT
where we see a faint pulse, throbbing near the ankle.
Sasha watches the throbbing with an almost child-like
wonder for a beat, entranced by the sight. She puts a
finger on the throbbing vein, covering it gently.
SASHA
(quiet and soothing)
Hush now.
ANGLE : MAN'S FACE
as he takes his last blink. He stares straight up into
the sky, motionless.
ANGLE : MAN'S FOOT
as Sasha removes her finger. The throbbing has
stopped.
EXT. WILLOW AND TARA'S DORM - NIGHT
to establish.
INT. WILLOW AND TARA'S DORM/HALLWAY - NIGHT
As we see Tara happily carrying a plastic bag, walking
towards her room. She reaches the closed door when she
hears Willow and Dawn inside.
DAWN (O.S.)
That's so cool. How do you do that?
WILLOW (O.S.)
It's nothing. It just takes a little
practice. It took me a little while
to figure it out but it's totally
easy now. Look, I can make the walls
dissapear again if I just..
Tara's smile dissapears, tension creeping into her
face. She opens the door urgently and enters..
INT. WILLOW AND TARA'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT
ANGLE : TARA
as she bursts through the door, urgently looking..
REVERSE ANGLE : DAWN AND WILLOW
sitting at the table, both huddled over a laptop. We
see some sort of paint/animation program on the
laptop. Willow and Dawn turn around, still smiling.
WILLOW
Hey.
DAWN
What's up?
ANGLE : TARA
A big smile; genuinely happy.
TARA
Nothing.
Tara stares happily for a beat, then remembering her
bag. She lifts it up to show Dawn.
TARA
(to Dawn)
From the nice people at
Blockbusters..
Dawn rushes over eagerly.
DAWN
Leo?
TARA
(horrified)
Oh God! I thought you said Pee Wee
Herman.
Now Dawn's turn to look horrified. Tara holds her
expression for a beat, then..
TARA
(still with same look)
Teasing.
Tara smiles and hands the bag over to Dawn.
DAWN
That's just cruel.
Dawn takes the bag with a half-smile and heads over
towards the TV and VCR set up in the other end of the
room.
Tara heads over to Willow at the table. She places her
hands around Willow's shoulder, hugging her from
behind.
TARA
So, you were showing Dawn something?
WILLOW
(switching the laptop off)
Oh, it's just this animation program
I've been working on. It's nothing
really.
TARA
No, it's great.
The two smile and kiss briefly.
DAWN (O.S.)
C'mon, the FBI Warning is up!
WILLOW
Calm down Dawnie, the boat's not
gonna sink for another three hours.
Willow and Tara start heading for the bed. Willow is
distracted by Amy who seems terribly restless in her
cage. Willow walks over to Amy.
ANGLE : AMY
in her cage, seemingly very interested in a small
container placed next to her cage.
WILLOW
(picking up the container)
No, Amy. I know you love your
yoghurt drops but we just fed you an
hour ago.
(re the container)
Let's just get this away from you so
you can put it out of your mind.
Willow walks over to the other side of the room and
places the container on a table.
ANGLE : AMY
still looking at the container from across the room.
Willow joins Dawn and Tara on the bed. They are all
lying on their stomachs, facing the television screen.
Willow grabs the video boxes to take a look.
WILLOW
The devastating DiCaprio double
feature. Why is it when beautiful
people have twisted, tortured
romances, it ends up being projected
onto a big screen for millions to
watch and love, but when normal
people do it, they end up on
Springer?
In the background, behind the three girls, we see a
small container slowly floating across the room.
DAWN
(to Tara)
So I was thinking, why don't you
have a nickname? I mean, there's
Xander, An, Buff, Will.. but you're
like.. Tara. I think we should give
you a nickname. Maybe just shorten
your name a little.
TARA
Tar? Being associated with bitumen
doesn't really work for me.
Tara smiles, then spots something out of the corner of
her eye. She turns behind her to see the container
floating behind them. She hops up from the bed and
grabs it.
TARA
Will.
WILLOW
Wasn't me.. I swear.
Tara and Willow look at Dawn.
DAWN
Don't look at me, I can't even float
a boat.
Tara looks down at the container. The three girls look
at each other for a beat, then turn to Amy.
ANGLE : AMY
in her cage, looking suspiciously guilty.
EXT. SUNNYDALE STREET - NIGHT
We see Sasha walking along the street, effortlessly
blending in with the crowds. As she passes the
Espresso Bar, she hears singing from inside. She
stops, drawn to the sound. She backtracks and enters..
INT. THE ESPRESSO BAR - NIGHT
As Sasha works her way through the patrons. We hear a
familiar voice singing off-screen. Sasha rounds a
corner and looks.
REVERSE ANGLE: GILES
singing and playing his guitar to an appreciative,
largely female audience.
Sasha smiles.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE ESPRESSO BAR - NIGHT
As we see Giles leaving with his guitar, saying
goodbye to a few people. He heads down a deserted
street by himself, heading towards his car.
As he takes out his keys to his car, he senses someone
behind him. He turns to look.
REVERSE ANGLE: SUNNYDALE STREET
empty. No one in sight.
He turns back and we see Sasha right in front of him,
sitting on the hood of his car. She begins to clap.
SASHA
Bravo! Quite a show. And here I went
and left my harmonica back at home.
GILES
Sasha.. so good of you to crawl out
of your cesspool to join us.
SASHA
I'm glad I didn't hurt your wrist
too much. I mean, I wouldn't want to
deprive the world of yet another
pathetic little man acting out his
mid-life crisis.
Giles puts his guitar in the back seat. As he does so,
we see him reaching for a stake hidden in the pocket
at the back of one of the seats.
GILES
Oh, I'm sure you're above the petty
leisurely pursuits of the lower
species.
SASHA
I happen to be an eager connoisseur
of art and music. Why, just last
week, I fed on an impressionist
painter and a cellist. I am a woman
of wide, varying tastes.
We see Giles hide the stake behind his back when Sasha
isn't looking. Sasha turns to Giles and begins walking
closer to him.
SASHA
Oh, how they must love you. So
proper and dignified, but beneath it
all, there's just a hint of the
seething mass of raw and primal
emotions just waiting to tear itself
out.
(very close to Giles now,
playfully running a finger
over Giles' face)
Why don't you show me Rupert. It's
another thing I appreciate in a man.
GILES
We've been a little quiet lately
haven't we? It's not like vampires
to hide from us, worthless humans.
Sasha smiles, then turns and slowly paces back..
SASHA
You dissapoint me Rupert. Such a
simple little ploy.. trying to
appeal to my vanity to get me to
reveal more of our plans? I realise
humans are such common little
creatures but I would have expected
a little more from you. After all,
you are..
Giles suddenly attacks, lunging at Sasha with the
stake. Sasha, with blinding speed, spins around and
catches Giles' arm mid-strike.
SASHA
(smiling, looking at the
stake)
I spy with my little eye, something
beginning with..
Sasha is knocked down from behind by something heavy.
She falls to the ground. Giles looks down at Sasha,
then back up.
REVERSE ANGLE : GIANT RAT-DEMONS
from Giles' POV, we see three giant rats. The closest
rat looks at Giles and swings at the camera, striking
Giles.
BLACKOUT
END OF ACT ONE
CONTINUE TO ACT TWO