Episode 15 - Sacrifice
ACT THREE
EXT. OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT - NIGHT
ANGLE ON : A FIRE HYDRANT
as we see a car park next to it. An airport employee
comes up to the car.
AIRPORT EMPLOYEE
(leaning in to talk to the
driver; re fire hydrant)
Hey Buddy! Does this look like a
post box to you? You can't park
here.
The car drives off as we see Buffy and Christopher
enter into frame. We track them as they enter..
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/MAIN TERMINAL - NIGHT
As they walk in to a very busy airport terminal,
packed with people. Buffy scans the place.
BUFFY
There's so many people.
Buffy continues to look around, then suddenly sees
something that attracts her attention.
REVERSE ANGLE : BLONDE GIRL AND FAMILY
as they walk towards her, all chatting and laughing.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she watches entranced.
REVERSE ANGLE : BLONDE GIRL
from Buffy's POV as she passes her in SLO-MO. She
looks over at Buffy.
ANGLE : BUFFY
in SLO-MO, from blonde girl's moving POV as she
watches Buffy staring at her.
ANGLE : BLONDE GIRL
from Buffy's POV ,still in SLO-MO, as the girl turns
backs to her parents. She begins laughing again.. in a
seemingly perfect world. We see her slowly walking
away, walking through the exit as the doors
automatically slide apart.
CHRISTOPHER (O.S.)
Buffy.. Buffy.
Buffy snaps out of it. She turns to look at
Christopher, then back behind her.
REVERSE ANGLE : ENTRANCE TO AIRPORT
The girl and her family are gone. All we see is the
night beyond the doors.
Buffy turns back to Christopher, then looks back
around the terminal.
REVERSE ANGLE : TERMINAL
from Buffy's POV as we PAN from one scene to another,
people waiting in line at the check-in; a couple
arguing at the Car rental booth; a baby crying in her
mother's arms. A confusing cacophony of images and
sound.
BUFFY
I'm not sure what I'm doing.
Christopher looks over to Buffy.
CHRISTOPHER
Sure you do.
Buffy looks at Christopher, and smiles a little. She
turns back to the terminal and focuses.
They walk forward and find a monitor displaying the
arrivals. Buffy looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE MONITOR
going down a list of arrivals, we come to one which
shows a flight from Chicago; "Gate 14 - Landed".
BUFFY
Gate 14. Let's go.
The two head off.
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
A sombre scene as we see Willow, Tara, Dawn, Anya and
Xander gathered in the living room. All sitting. Not a
sound but the ticking of a clock.
Tara, wearing a red coat, sits uncomfortably, a
suitcase at her feet. Willow sits across from her. The
two exchange quick, fractured looks. Neither willing
to hold the other's gaze for any period of time. Both
look distraught.
A door knock off-screen. Xander goes to answer. More
silence, more quick looks.
Giles enters the living room with Xander.
GILES
Are we ready to leave?
Tara takes one last look at Willow, then turns to
Giles and nods. Everyone begins to stand up.
GILES
Where's Buffy?
ANYA
We thought she was with you.
DAWN
She said she had one last patrol to
do.
ANGLE : GILES
reaction shot, looking very concerned.
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/ARRIVAL GATES - NIGHT
We see many people gathered at Arrival Gate 14,
waiting for the passengers to disembark. The band
waits, stationed opposite the arrival gate, across the
hallway, waiting for the cue from their conductor to
start playing.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND CHRISTOPHER
watching and waiting a few metres back.
Christopher reaches into the inside of his coat and
surreptitiously passes Buffy what looks like two long-
ish wooden stakes.
CHRISTOPHER
Keep it under your coat until it's
time.
Buffy takes the stakes and hides them in her coat. She
looks just a little nervous.
CHRISTOPHER
(cool and calm)
Remember, we don't have much in our
favour here, but what we do have is
the element of surprise. They won't
be expecting us. We hit them hard,
grab the amulet and run.. before
they know what's happening.
Buffy nods. She turns back to look at the vista before
her.
REVERSE ANGLE : CROWD
Shots of lots of different people, all waiting, with
some looking more suspicious than others.
BUFFY
How will I know who the courier is?
CHRISTOPHER
(supportingly)
You'll know.
Buffy looks at Christopher, then back to the crowd.
BUFFY
(to herself)
I'll know.
CHRISTOPHER
I'll cover the other side. Signal me
when you see him.
Christopher starts to walk away from Buffy, heading
towards the other end of the hallway.
BUFFY
Chris?
Christopher turns.
BUFFY
Good luck.
CHRISTOPHER
(smiling)
You too.
Christopher walks past the crowd to cover the other
exit.
Buffy focuses her attention back on the crowd. We see
some of the crowd get excited as they see something
off-screen, presumably passengers starting to come
down the hallway leading from the plane to the arrival
gate. Buffy repositions herself nearer to the far wall
to try to get a better angle. Her hand reaches inside
her coat.
ANGLE : PASSENGERS
as they begin to emerge from the tunnel, greeting
loved ones or just walking straight past the crowd.
One after another they come, a never-ending stream of
suspects.
ANGLE : BUFFY
frantically scanning the faces as they come into view,
trying to spot the courier.
We see a group of 4 passenger (three men and a woman)
emerge from the tunnel, dressed sharply in suits and
carrying briefcases. The conductor notices them and
turns to his band and cues them. The band starts
playing.
ANGLE : BUFFY
who is standing close to the band, getting a sudden
fright as the band starts playing a rather awful
rendition of the Italian national anthem.
Buffy takes a few steps back from the band and plonks
herself in the center of the hallway, still trying to
spot the courier.
She takes a close look at all the passengers walking
by her. She looks a little lost. She looks up and sees
something.
REVERSE ANGLE : PASSENGER
A large man with a small scar on his face. He looks
like he's hiding something behind his back. He comes
towards Buffy.
ANGLE : BUFFY
again, reaching into her coat as the man approaches..
tensing up.
The man suddenly smiles as he walks past Buffy. Buffy
turns to see the man kneeling down to a little girl
and producing a teddy bear from his back. The girl
smiles and laughs. The man then stands and hugs a
woman standing nearby. All three leave together.
Buffy turns back around, shaking her head. She looks
back up, then stands on her tip-toes to find someone.
REVERSE ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
through a crowd of people, a far distance away, taking
a close look at the passengers passing by his way.
Christopher looks at Buffy and shakes his head.
The band continues to play slightly out of tune as the
four delegates stand to attention, exchanging a few
unimpressed looks between themselves.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she continues to scan the crowd. Her eyes focus on
something.
REVERSE ANGLE : FEMALE PASSENGER
around her mid 30-s, dressed like a businesswoman.
ANGLE : BUFFY
taking an interest in what she sees as she notices..
REVERSE ANGLE : A NECKLACE
around the woman's neck. A silver chain which holds a
red gemstone at the end.
We WIDEN to see the female passenger turn and start
heading away from Buffy. She meets up with two men.
One with a mohawk haircut and the other wearing a long
black coat. They are all standing next to the large
glass observation windows. We see the female passenger
smile and start unclasping her necklace.
ANGLE : BUFFY
starting to tentatively walk forward towards the
three.
REVERSE ANGLE : PASSENGER AND MEN
from Buffy's POV, as we see the female passenger show
the necklace in her hands to the man in the black
coat. We PUSH in, past the two and focus on the glass
window behind them. Against the backdrop of the night
sky and a plane parked outside the arrival gate, we
see the reflection of the female passenger but not
that of the man in the coat.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she speeds up, walking through the crowd. She
reaches into her coat and takes out the two long
wooden stakes. As she does so, she removes her coat
and throws it to the ground. We see Buffy take the two
pieces of weaponry and join them together in the
middle. She twists the two and we hear an audible
click as they lock into place. We now see she is
carrying one long pole with sharp wooden ends on
either side.
ANGLE : BAND MEMBERS
facing the camera, still working their way through the
anthem but we see their attention is drawn somewhere
else. Their eyes dart to the right of screen as they
look at something while playing. We see their eyes
begin to move from right to left as they follow
someone.
REVERSE ANGLE : BUFFY
from their POV as we PAN (l to r) to follow her,
carrying her weapon, as she walks past them. She
dissapears momentarily behind the conductor and
appears again on the other side. She dissapears off-
screen to the right.
ANGLE : BUFFY
from the front as we see her walking towards the
camera, all slayer-like.
The female passenger turns around and sees Buffy
coming towards her. She palms the necklace and signals
to the two men and all three of them head off in the
opposite direction, heading for Christopher.
Buffy struggles to get through the crowd.
BUFFY
(yelling)
Chris!
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
not hearing Buffy over the band. Not seeing the three
strangers approaching.
ANGLE : FEMALE PASSENGER
from in front, walking towards the camera with the two
men in tow. She looks at Christopher in front of her
and smiles.
We CUT to a wide crane shot looking down at the scene.
We see the three strangers, in a triangle formation,
approaching Christopher, getting ever closer.
ANGLE : BUFFY
breaking out into a sprint now.
BUFFY
(yelling)
Chris! In front of you!
Christopher looks up, hearing Buffy's voice.
CHRISTOPHER
Buffy?
ANGLE : FEMALE PASSENGER
her eyes firmly set on Christopher. Walking at a fast,
steady pace.
REVERSE ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
from her POV as she approaches Christopher, the camera
DOLLYING in, closer and closer to Christopher.
Christopher still does not notice her.
ANGLE ON : FEMALE PASSENGER'S HAND
by her side as a sharp talon breaks through the skin
on the back of her hand.
BUFFY
(yelling)
In front of you!
ANGLE : FEMALE PASSENGER
as we see her approach the camera (very close now).
She blinks slowly, raising her eyelids to reveal
lizard-like eyes.
REVERSE ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
from her POV as we walk in, right up to Christopher.
At the last second, Christopher turns to look at the
camera (ie her) and with one sharp movement, raises
his arm and jabs his elbow at the camera (ie her).
The blow sends the demon passenger sprawling back onto
the floor. Her two male companions look down at their
feet at her, then up to Christopher angrily. They vamp
out.
Cue : Fighty music
Right at that time, Buffy arrives on the scene,
introducing herself to the vamps via a flying kick
which sends the mohawk vamp flying past Christopher
towards a far wall. She lands and spins around,
striking the coat vamp with the pole, knocking him to
the ground, next to the female demon.
Christopher takes off his coat and grabs the two pole-
ends from his coat and snaps them together.
The coat vamp and the demon passenger get to their
feet and start scrambling away from Buffy and
Christopher.
Buffy sees them go, then hesitates for a second when
she sees the mohawk vamp approaching Christopher from
behind. Christopher spots the mohawk vamp, then turns
back to Buffy.
CHRISTOPHER
(to Buffy)
Get them!
Buffy turns and starts to chase as Christopher turns
to face the mohawk vamp. The mohawk vamp attacks but
Christopher blocks his swings with his pole.
Christopher counters by sharply striking the vamp on
the chin with the center of the pole (like an
uppercut).
ANGLE : DEMON PASSENGER AND COAT VAMP
We TRACK them as they run back down the hallway,
through the mass of people.
ANGLE : BUFFY
We TRACK her as she gives chase, noticeably running
faster than the demons.
We see the demon passenger and the coat vamp pushing
people aside, trying to get away. They constantly turn
back to look to see where Buffy is.
ANGLE : BUFFY
running with the pole in her hand, then leaping.
We see Buffy leap into the two demons, all three
crashing to the floor right in front of the band which
is still playing. The demon passenger is knocked into
a vending machine and lies on the ground, not moving.
Buffy lands on top of the coat vamp, her pole flying
loose and away from her. People at the arrival gate
see the melee and start running away. We see one of
the four delegates duck for cover under a seat.
End fighty music. Cue : Band playing the anthem.
ANGLE : BAND MEMBERS
from in front as they nervously play and watch the
proceedings in front of them, ignoring the conductor.
REVERSE ANGLE :
from a band member's POV, we see the conductor in the
center of frame (totally oblivious to what is
happening behind him) and in the background, we see
Buffy and the coat vamp standing up and starting to
duke it out. The band continues to play.
Buffy gets the coat vamp in a headlock, spinning his
body around to face the band. We see the vamp's snarly
fully vamped face.
ANGLE : BAND MEMBERS
eyes bulging out, totally freaked out upon seeing
this.. but still playing. Now playing a lot faster,
trying to quickly finish the anthem.
ANGLE : CONDUCTOR
looking a little confused, waving his little baton. In
the background, we still see the fight carrying on.
CONDUCTOR
Tempo.. tempo.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND COAT VAMP
trading blows. Buffy catches the vamp's hand mid-
punch, then wind up for a big punch of her own. We see
the band in the background so we know where the vamp
is going to end up.
ANGLE : BAND MEMBERS
very panicked now but near the end of the anthem. They
rush through the final bars. They are all out of sync
with each other and the noise coming from their
instruments no longer resembles any sort of tune.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND COAT VAMP
as Buffy swings and hits the vamp, sending him flying
into..
ANGLE : BAND MEMBERS
as they finish their last note and all scamper away
quickly as the vamp flies into their seats.
ANGLE : CONDUCTOR
left by himself now, a little stunned. He looks
around, sees the empty arrival gate, sees Buffy behind
him, then looks down at the vamp at his feet. The vamp
snarls up at him. He takes his cue and starts running
away, baton still in hand.
A moment of silence as Buffy and the coat vamp watch
the conductor running away.. footsteps echoing down
the empty hallway.
We start the fighty music up again as the fight
resumes.
Coat vamp begins to stand up. Buffy scampers over to
the pole. She picks it up with one hand while she
reaches around her back with the other.
The vamp attacks. Buffy swings with the pole with one
hand but the vamp catches the pole, blocking it. Vamp
smiles at Buffy. Buffy makes a motion with her eyes to
indicate to the vamp that he should look down. Vamp
looks down.
We see Buffy's other hand, with a stake, rammed into
his chest. The vamp looks up at Buffy, surprised. He
turns to dust.
Suddenly, something smashes into Buffy from behind,
sending her flying into the wall. Buffy turns to see
the demon passenger with lizardy eyes and two long,
sharp talons extending from her hands. She now moves
in a decidedly inhuman manner, very predatory.
Buffy attacks with the pole but the demon knocks it
away from her grasp. The demon grab holds of Buffy and
flings her towards some seats.
Buffy lands right next to the cowering delegate who is
still latching on to his briefcase. The two exchange a
look. Buffy looks up to see the demon right in front
of her, raising one of her talons to strike down.
Buffy grabs the briefcase from the delegate and raises
it above her head. The talon strikes deep into the
suitcase. The demon attempts to pull her talon out but
it is stuck in the case. Buffy stands and pulls the
briefcase hard, dragging the demon closer to her as
the briefcase comes loose of the talon. She then
smashes the demon in the side of the head with an
almighty swing of the briefcase, knocking it to the
ground where it lies semi-conscious.
Buffy looks down at the demon with satisfaction, then
remembers the delegate. She turns and hands him his
now very torn and battered briefcase.
BUFFY
(with an apologetic face)
Grazie.
The stunned delegate looks at the remnants of his
briefcase, nods to Buffy, then scampers away. Buffy
picks up her pole, then looks up and away, towards
Christopher.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
fighting mohawk vamp. He expertly avoids the vamp's
powerful swings, then hits the vamp with a succession
of quick strikes with the pole. The vamp falls back
against the wall, arms wide open. Christopher seizes
his opportunity and stakes the vamp with one end of
the pole. Dust. Christopher turns and starts rushing
over to Buffy.
CHRISTOPHER
The amulet!
Buffy turns and looks down at where the demon lies.
She sees the amulet grasped firmly in its hands. She
uses an end of the pole to try to work the amulet
loose. There isn't much fight left in the demon but it
holds on to the amulet for as long as possible. Buffy
finally manages to pry the amulet from its grasp and
flicks it up to herself. Christopher arrives at the
scene. Buffy looks at the amulet in her hands.
BUFFY
(in amazement)
Got it.
(then to Christopher,
smiling)
We got it!
Christopher smiles.
CHRISTOPHER
Come on. Let's get out of here.
We see the two jog down the now deserted hallway,
running towards the moving walkways. Suddenly we hear
a screaming noise off-screen.
Buffy and Christopher stop at the edge of a moving
walkway and turn around.
REVERSE ANGLE : SCREAMING VAMP
In the distance down the hallway, we see a female vamp
with long, white hair running towards them carrying a
sword and screaming all the way, as if a battle-cry.
Christopher and Buffy turn back and are about to head
the other way when they look up and see..
REVERSE ANGLE : MORE VAMPS
A big, bulky vamp carrying a large spiked mace running
towards them. And behind them, just slowly walking
towards them, we see Tarwin, just letting his axe drag
across the marble floor. It makes a
grinding/screeching sound as it does so.
Christopher looks to his side and spots an empty
hallway.
CHRISTOPHER
Quick! This way!
Buffy looks at the hallway, then at Tarwin, then to
Christopher. She places her hands in his and gives him
the amulet.
BUFFY
Take this. I'll stall them.
Christopher hesitates, not wanting to leave.
BUFFY
Lesson number one. You must never
let your emotions get involved. You
must always focus on your
objective.. Remember?
Christopher stares for a beat.
BUFFY
Get the amulet to Giles.
(then yelling)
Go!
Christopher runs off down the hallway, leaving Buffy
facing up to two vampires running towards her in
opposite directions.
She grabs her last stake from behind her, then looks
to the left of screen..
ANGLE : SCREAMING FEMALE VAMP
as we TRACK her as she runs from left to right.
ANGLE : BUFFY
.. and then to the right of screen..
ANGLE : MACE VAMP
as we TRACK him as he runs from right to left.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she weighs up her options.
BUFFY
(looking to her left at
mace vamp)
Eenie..
(to her right at female
vamp)
Meenie..
(at mace vamp)
Minie..
(at female vamp, raises
stake to throw)
Mm..
Buffy stops, then quickly flips around to face the
mace vamp.
BUFFY
..ost definitely the big vamp with
the mace.
She throws the stake. We TRACK it as it flies through
the air and hits him in the chest. Dust.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as the female vamp leaps at Buffy from behind. Buffy
spins around and blocks the sword with her pole. The
momentum of the vamp knocks them both onto the moving
walkway. They roll on and up, getting to their feet.
The vamp facing the direction the walkway is
travelling and Buffy the opposite, with her back to
the slowly approaching Tarwin.
We TRACK the two as the moving walkway slowly moves
the fight from left to right. The two combatants
exchange blows and blocks with their weapons.
ANGLE : TARWIN
from the front, as he slowly walks up to the fight as
he walks alongside the moving walkway.
ANGLE ON : TARWIN'S AXE
POV from just behind the axe on the floor as it is
dragged along producing a grinding sound. We see Buffy
and the vamp fighting on the moving walkway in the
background.
ANGLE : BUFFY
still fully focused on the fight she's in. She ducks
back and evades the swish of the sword as it passes in
front of her nose. In the background we see Tarwin
looming bigger and bigger, still dragging his axe on
the floor.
ANGLE ON : TARWIN'S AXE
as Tarwin lifts it off the floor. The grinding sound
stops.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as we see her noticing that the grinding sound has
dissapeared behind her. We see her sensing Tarwin is
ready to strike as the moving walkway carries her
closer and closer to him.
ANGLE : TARWIN
lifting the axe and swinging mightily at Buffy's head.
We see Buffy, without looking back, jump up and
somersault backwards and over the swinging axe. The
axe follows through and heads for the head of the
female vamp.
ANGLE : FEMALE VAMP'S FACE
eyes bulging as she sees the axe heading for her.
ANGLE : TARWIN
[medium shot: the female vamp is out of frame] as he
finishes his follow through, the end of the axe
heading out of frame. We suddenly see a headless body
fall into frame towards Tarwin and turn to dust before
hitting the walkway.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she lands on her feet past the moving walkway. She
takes a look back at Tarwin then sprints away.
We TRACK Buffy as she sprints at full speed, heading
for the escalators ahead of her. Suddenly, we hear the
sound of something whooshing through the air. Buffy
grabs at her arm as something strikes her. She spins,
holding her arm, and looks.
REVERSE ANGLE : SASHA
with crossbow raised. She lowers the crossbow and
smiles at Buffy. In the background, we see Tarwin
round a corner and appear behind Sasha. He sees Buffy
and starts to run towards her. Sasha discards her
crossbow and produces a sword from behind her back.
Buffy pulls the bolt out of her arm and struggles on
towards the escalators, pole still in hand.
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/ESCALATORS - NIGHT
As Buffy reaches the top of the escalators which are
now not running. She begins to descend the escalator
on the left. Halfway down, she suddenly stops, seeing
something at the bottom.
REVERSE ANGLE : FLIX AND TRIX
waiting at the bottom, knives in hand.
Buffy looks back up and sees Sasha and Tarwin waiting
at the top. Since the escalators are walled in, she
has nowhere to go.
Trix ascends the right elevator so that she stands
opposite Buffy, separated only by about half a metre
of metal between the two escalators.
Buffy jabs her pole at Trix, keeping her at bay while
keeping an eye at Sasha and Tarwin at the top and Flix
at the bottom.
ANGLE : SASHA
as she looks down at something at her feet, a red
button set in a wall near the escalators. She kicks
it.
The escalators suddenly whirr into life, slowly
carrying Buffy down towards Flix. Buffy, who is facing
Trix, has to sidestep up the escalator to remain in
spot. Similarly, Trix, who is on an escalator going
up, sidesteps down to stay with Buffy.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking very unsteady, trying to keep the four
vampires at bay and still maintain her balance. The
vamps growl menacingly, waiting for an opportunity to
strike.
ANGLE ON : BUFFY'S FEET
as they tentatively sidestep up, as the steps move
down. We see one of her feet trip on the steps.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she loses her balance and falls on the steps.
ANGLE : TRIX
as she sees this and starts to lunge towards Buffy
with her knife. Buffy seeing this, quickly recovers
and jabs out with her pole, stopping Trix in her
tracks. Trix snarls. Buffy gets back up.
SASHA
(to Flix)
Push her up.
Flix nods and smiles, starting to ascend the left
escalator towards Buffy.
Buffy looks down at Flix, across at Trix and then up
at Sasha and Tarwin. She assesses the situation. Flix
comes ever closer.
Suddenly Buffy sprints straight up towards Tarwin
waiting at the top with the axe. We see Trix sprint up
across from her and Flix sprint up towards her.
As Buffy nears the top, Tarwin swings his axe at
Buffy. Buffy ducks and rolls onto the metal gap
between the escalators, avoiding the axe. She starts
sliding down the sharp sloping surface on her back at
great speed. Trix and Flix tries to stab Buffy with
their knives as Buffy slides past them but they miss.
Buffy slides all the way down, hits the ground and
rolls onto the floor.
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/MAIN TERMINAL - NIGHT
Buffy rolls to her feet and immediately looks back
behind her. She sees the four vamps quickly descending
the escalators towards her.
Buffy turns back to the front only to see..
REVERSE ANGLE : SOLOMON
from Buffy's POV, as he swings at the camera with the
back of his hand.
Buffy is sent sprawling to the hard, marble floor. She
looks back up from the floor as she points one end of
her pole towards Solomon.
REVERSE ANGLE : SOLOMON
standing over her with sword in hand. From behind, we
see the General emerge, smiling.
Buffy gets up warily, pole pointed at Solomon. She
spins around to see she is now surrounded in a circle
by Sasha, Solomon, Tarwin, Flix and Trix, all with
their weapons readied.
The General slowly circles Buffy, walking behind the
protective wall of his vampires. The terminal is
deserted and deadly silent. All we hear is the
General's footsteps on the marble floor.
THE GENERAL
Whatever are we to do with you
slayer? Always sticking your nose in
where it doesn't belong. Always
trying so hard. Don't you see the
futility of it all?
BUFFY
This is one round you're not going
to win.
THE GENERAL
My dear slayer. You don't even
realise what game you're playing. We
already have our prize..
(looking at Buffy)
right here.
Buffy looks at the General a little quizzically.
THE GENERAL
Alone against the world.. again.
Tell me, how ever are you going to
get out of this one?
Buffy tenses up as the five vampires around her start
to move in. Then suddenly..
CHRISTOPHER (O.S.)
She's not alone.
The vamps turn. Buffy looks over their shoulders.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
standing behind the group with pole in hand. He starts
to walk slowly towards the group.
THE GENERAL
And who are you?
CHRISTOPHER
I'm with her.
ANGLE : BUFFY
almost smiling.
Flix comes up to Christopher to challenge him. As she
lunges towards him, Christopher ducks and spins round
her, knocking her to the ground with the pole as he
spins past (and inside the circle of vamps with
Buffy).
Trix looks down at Flix on the floor and laughs. Flix
snarls angrily as she gets back up.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND CHRISTOPHER
back to back, poles held aloft to keep the vamps back.
BUFFY
(quietly to Christopher)
What are you doing?
CHRISTOPHER
(with purpose, with pride)
My job.
THE GENERAL
(to his vamps)
Get this done with!
The five vamps close in on Buffy and Christopher who
are still back to back.
CHRISTOPHER
Focus on our training. We fight back
to back.. watch for the blind spots.
One by one, the vamps take turns in trying to attack
but Christopher and Buffy hold them back, blocking
them with their poles, watching each other's backs.
Christopher looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE : EXIT
The doors leading out of the airport.. not far away.
CHRISTOPHER
(indicating with his head)
Buffy.
Buffy looks up at the exits and nods. We see them both
starting to inch forward towards the exit, the vamps
in front backing up as they advance. The General
dissapears into the shadows.
Again, the vamps attack but Christopher and Buffy
expertly knock them back, their poles whooshing
through the air at great speed. They are doing very
well, the vamps not being able to get close to do any
damage. Sasha turns to look behind her to see she is
backing close to an exit.
SASHA
(to Flix)
Separate them.
Flix nods. She backs up away from the fight then takes
a running sprint into it. She leaps and somersaults
over Sasha and Trix in front of her and into
Christopher and Buffy. She leaps into Buffy's back and
knocks her away from Christopher.
The fight breaks into two. Sasha peeling off to join
Tarwin and Solomon to fight Buffy while Christopher is
left to deal with the twins.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she is pushed back away from Christopher by
Solomon, Sasha and Tarwin. The three vamps attacking
more aggressively now with three on one but Buffy
still manages to ward them off.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
keeping Flix and Trix in front of him as they back him
up away from the exits and to a wall to the side. The
twins make some half-hearted attempts to lunge at
Christopher but we get the sense they are simply
playing with him, biding their time.
ANGLE : BUFFY
surrounded by Sasha, Tarwin and Solomon. She
athletically leaps, ducks and rolls to avoid the
slashing weapons and manages to get a few shots in
herself. Buffy looks up to Christopher.
REVERSE ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
fighting the twins, a long way away now.
Buffy ducks quickly to her left, jumping over Tarwin's
swinging axe and then under Solomon's sword. She is
clear for a brief second and starts to run towards
Christopher but is then blocked by Sasha who cuts her
off and then backs her back up.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
expertly holding off Flix and Trix with his pole. Flix
manages to duck one of Christopher's swings and get
close. She slashes Christopher's arm with her knife
before he knocks her away with the pole. Flix hops
back to her feet and smiles as she sees the bright red
gash on Christopher's injured arm. We see the twins
continuing to back him up to a wall. We see an open
doorway behind him which leads to darkness.
The twins spread out a little and slowly close in,
cat-like. Christopher continues to back up, eyes
totally focused on the twins.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
from the front as he continues to back up, sweat
dripping from his brow and his eyes darting from left
to right, watching the twins. In the background, over
his shoulder, we see the dark open doorway, from which
emerges.. the General. Christopher continues to back
up closer to the General.
ANGLE : BUFFY
as she slashes with the pole and knocks Solomon aside.
She looks up to Christopher again.
BUFFY
(yelling)
Chris! Behind you!
We cut out the fighty music.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER (FROM SHOULDER UP)
as he spins around to suddenly find himself face to
face with the General, inches apart. Christopher
winces, stares at the General.
ANGLE : BUFFY
time stopping for her as she watches.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER AND THE GENERAL'S FACES
face to face, not moving. We TILT down to see the
General's hand on a knife and the knife in
Christopher's stomach.
ANGLE : THE GENERAL
as he leans in closer to Christopher's face.
THE GENERAL
Tell me. What do you see?
He pulls the knife out of Christopher.
We see Christopher stagger backward slowly with one
hand over the wound, away from the General. He drops
the pole, loses his balance and awkwardly falls to the
floor. Flix, Trix and the General just watch quietly.
ANGLE : BUFFY
watching in horror.
BUFFY
No!
We start the music up again. Sasha, Solomon and Tarwin
stand in a line, blocking Buffy. Buffy looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE : A LARGE CANVAS BANNER HUNG FROM THE
CEILING.
which reads "Benvenuto! Sunnydale welcomes delegates
from Turin". The banner is attached to a metal rod
which in turn is hung from the ceiling by a single
chain.
Buffy hurls the pole up towards the ceiling. It
strikes the hook in the ceiling which holds the chain.
The giant banner begins to fall.
ANGLE : SASHA, SOLOMON AND TARWIN
looking up, having no time to react before the giant
canvas banner engulfs them.
Buffy starts sprinting past the struggling forms under
the banner and towards Christopher, picking up her
pole on the way.
Flix and Trix turn and start to rush towards Buffy.
Buffy avoids Flix's swing with the knife and smashes
her hard with the pole, sending her flying off-screen
to the left. From that ending position, she swings the
pole back right across her body, catching Trix as she
comes in. Trix is sent flying through the glass of a
shop window. The General discreetly backs into the
doorway, dissapearing into the darkness.
Buffy continues to run forward to Christopher. She
picks up Christopher and puts his arm over her
shoulder. She half-carries Christopher over to the
nearest exit. A doorway with a metal door which leads
into a long corridor.
We see Sasha, Solomon and Tarwin finally breaking free
of the banner and start chasing. They are joined by
Flix and Trix who emerges from the shattered
storefront.
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/CORRIDOR - NIGHT
as Buffy and Christopher cross the doorway. Buffy
closes the door behind them and locks it. We hear a
large banging sound. The door shudders as a vamp rams
into it.. followed by a second, and a third. We see
the door begin to bulge out of shape.
Buffy continues to support Christopher as they hobble
slowly down the corridor.
BUFFY
(straining)
Come on Chris. You have to help me
here.
Christopher crumples to the floor, unable to go on. He
sits up against the wall, breathing hard. Buffy kneels
down next to him.
CHRISTOPHER
Leave me.
BUFFY
No.
Buffy looks around, frantically searching for
something.
BUFFY
No. We'll find a place to hide.
It'll be okay.
Christopher looks down to the floor on his left. We
see a blood trail leading to Christopher.
CHRISTOPHER
Won't work.
Christopher winces again, holding on to the wound.
Buffy gingerly removes his hand to take a look. It
doesn't look good. Buffy winces slightly at the sight,
then recomposes herself.
BUFFY
(unconvincingly)
It's not that bad.
CHRISTOPHER
(half smiling)
No. It's only blood.
We hear more loud banging on the door. Buffy turns to
look. Door looks like it will soon give way. Buffy
turns back to Chris.
Chris stares at Buffy, looking very pale and weak but
a little calmer now. His breathing starting to slow
down. For the first time, we see Christopher look a
little scared.
BUFFY
(as if offering some
comfort, some final words)
You came back.. You came back.
Chris smiles. He reaches out with one hand and takes
one of Buffy's hands. He gently draws her hand to his
mouth and kisses it.
ANGLE ON : THEIR HANDS
interlocked. His hand squeezes Buffy's for an instant,
then drops off to the ground.
ANGLE : BUFFY
just staring quietly at Christopher, glassy-eyed. In
the background we can still hear the banging on the
door. Buffy looks down to her hand.
ANGLE ON : BUFFY'S HAND
as she opens her bloodied hand to see a red gemstone
on a chain.
Buffy looks back up to Christopher. Banging continues
off-screen.
ANGLE : METAL DOOR
two more bangs and on the third, the door flies open
with Tarwin crashing through. The rest of the vamps
spill in behind him.
ANGLE ON : CHRIS' LIFELESS FEET AND HAND (POV FROM
GROUND)
slumped on the floor. From this POV, we see the legs
of the five vamps rushing past the body, chasing.
INT. SUNNYDALE AIRPORT/TERMINAL - NIGHT
as we see Buffy burst through a door and reach another
part of the terminal, pole in hand. She looks around
and spots the exit. She runs for it.
EXT. OUTSIDE SUNNYDALE AIRPORT - NIGHT.
as she rushes through the sliding doors and onto the
kerb. It is deserted. Buffy looks around at the night.
Her face is suddenly illuminated by some headlights.
Buffy turns to look.
REVERSE ANGLE : HEADLIGHTS FROM A CAR
as it rushes towards Buffy at full speed.
BUFFY
(straining to see)
Giles?
We see the car speeding towards Buffy who is standing
at the edge of the kerb. As it nears Buffy, a car door
flies open and catches Buffy flush, knocking her hard
to the ground. She loses her pole. The car continues a
little way past Buffy then skids to a stop.
ANGLE : BUFFY
on the ground, looking dazed and bruised. She staggers
to her knees and reaches out for her pole. We see a
foot come into frame and kick the pole away.
Buffy looks up to see Sasha with her sword with Tarwin
and Solomon behind her. She turns to see Flix and Trix
positioning themselves behind her. Buffy staggers to
her feet.
Buffy takes a wild swing at Sasha which Sasha neatly
avoids. Sasha stabs Buffy in her side with the sword.
Buffy calls out in pain. Sasha pulls out the sword and
pushes Buffy to the ground. Buffy falls next to a fire
hydrant. She tries to stand up again but collapses in
pain. She ends up sitting on the ground, leaning
against the hydrant, a hand holding her wound on her
side.
The General appears from behind Solomon and Tarwin and
walks up to Buffy. He looks down contemptuously at
her.
Sasha walks up to Buffy and, with her sword, attempts
to pry the amulet loose from Buffy's hand. Buffy holds
on for a beat, not letting go. Eventually, Sasha
flicks it loose and scoops the chain up with her
sword. She smiles and holds the sword aloft to her
side. The General takes the amulet from the sword.
THE GENERAL
(smiling, looking at the
amulet)
You really should feel honoured
slayer. All this? This entire night?
It was all for you.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking up at the General, breathing hard and looking
weak.
The General smiles and holds the amulet in his hand,
showing it to Buffy. He then squeezes hard. The amulet
crumbles in his hand, turning to dust.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking stunned.
THE GENERAL
This is how it was always going to
end.
We hear a car door opening off-screen. Buffy turns
wearily to look.
REVERSE ANGLE : A PAIR OF LEGS IN NICE BLACK SHOES
from Buffy's POV on the ground as they step out from
the car and walk across the kerb towards Buffy. We PAN
to follow as they come up to stand right in front of
Buffy. The person kneels and enters the frame. It is
Mr Sandring. He takes a sideways glance at the
General.
MR SANDRING
(to the General)
I told you she'd come.
The General smiles. Mr Sandring turns back to look at
Buffy who is bleeding from her nose. Mr Sandring takes
out his white handkerchief from his top pocket and
gently dabs away the blood on Buffy's face.
MR SANDRING
Such a mess.
He finishes wiping away the blood and drops the
handkerchief on Buffy's lap.
MR SANDRING
You've dissapoint me so.. turning
Christopher against me, my best man.
But not to worry, there will be more
Christophers.. as there will be more
slayers.
Mr Sandring sits back for a beat and takes a look
around, shaking his head.
MR SANDRING
Such a mess. Now I'll have to call
in some people to clean things up..
your watcher, your friends, your
sister.
(looks down at Buffy's
wound)
But at least I don't have to worry
about you anymore.
Buffy stares back angrily.
MR SANDRING
Farewell Ms Summers.
Mr Sandring stands up and walks to the General. He
reaches into his coat pocket and produces something
which he hands over to the General.
ANGLE ON : A RED GEMSTONE
as the General takes it from Mr Sandring. The Amulet
of Magas.
BUFFY
(stunned, looking at the
amulet then at Sandring)
You're the courier.
Mr Sandring takes one last look at Buffy and smiles.
He turns back to the General.
MR SANDRING
Make it quick will you?
Mr Sandring exits off-screen. We hear him get into his
car and drive off.
The General nods to Solomon and he heads off. All the
other vamps turn to follow the General except for
Solomon. He slowly walks forward towards Buffy, sword
in hand.
ANGLE : BUFFY
expressionessly staring at Solomon. She looks very
weak, very much defeated. We see her free hand reach
around her back.
ANGLE ON : BUFFY'S HAND
behind her back, as she strains to loosen the valve of
the hydrant.
ANGLE : SOLOMON
raising his sword and swings.
Buffy falls quickly to her left, and as she falls,
strikes down on the valve with her right elbow. A
stream of high-pressured water shoots out past Buffy
and into Solomon, knocking him backwards and causing
him to drop his sword.
ANGLE ON : SWORD ON GROUND
as we see someone pick it up and run off with it.
ANGLE : THE GENERAL
spinning around to see what is happening.
REVERSE ANGLE :
Solomon slowly getting up, a jet of water spraying out
from the hydrant and no Buffy.
ANGLE : THE GENERAL
angrily looking into the night.
EXT. AN ALLEYWAY - NIGHT
as we see Buffy struggling along, limply carrying the
sword in one hand and holding on to her wound in
another. She stumbles and falls to her hands and
knees. She stays in that position for a beat as she
sobs gently.. finally, letting her emotions out.
We hear a low growling coming from the darkness. Buffy
immediately looks up and around her. She looks to her
left. She sees a figure emerge behind her from the
darkness, followed by another and another. Vampires.
They emerge into the light and we see they look thin,
dishevelled and hungry. They are obviously not part of
the General's army. We hear more noises off-screen.
More figures creeping out from under boxes, from
tattered shelters. They all look weak and slightly
timid.
One of the vamps slowly approaches Buffy. Buffy swings
with her sword to keep him back. We see the entire
group of vamps jolt backwards, preparing to run away.
But they see Buffy grimace in pain and drop the sword
down, pointing to the ground.
ANGLE ON : BUFFY'S HAND
covering her wound, blood still seeping out.
ANGLE : LEAD VAMP
as he sees this and smiles. He makes a signal to the
other vamps and they begin to advance on Buffy.
BLACKOUT
END OF ACT THREE
CONTINUE TO ACT FOUR