WARNING: The following script contains strong scenes of violence and mild references to sexual violence that may be disturbing to some people. If you feel that you are one of these people, you probably shouldn’t read it. Kids: If filmed, this script would probably be classified as a fifteen certificate, but (in Britain at least) there is no certification for literature. If your parents don’t mind what you read, and *you* aren’t easily disturbed, then read this by all means. If you know that after reading this script, a nasty email from an annoyed parent will be winging its way to me, don’t bother continuing.

DISCLAIMER: The following script features characters and situations owned by Tony Luke, Bruce Attley, Alan Grant and Yasushi Nirasawa, as well as a couple of original characters that I own. No copyright infringement is meant by this. No money will be made from this. Ask me for permission before reposting anywhere.

(Black Screen: Caption and VO)

Due to the discovery of Doctor John Churchill’s base of operations by the Anti-God Baal, Doomshield is being relocated to the underground vaults of St Paul’s Cathedral. The last of the equipment will be moved tomorrow. For now, John translates the Necronomicon, hoping that somewhere within will be some clue on how to defeat the demon that has laid waste to London.

COME UP FROM BLACK to the previous location of Doomshield, the all but empty interior of the abandoned church. John writes on a tablet of paper in front of him, reading from the Necronomicon next to it. Occasionally, he looks at a third book, beyond the tablet. In the background, Rob Cainer is supervising various workmen as they move the last of the cyberweb equipment out of the building. In the background, a couple of black suited Doom Guards stand silently, holding their guns to their chests.

As the workmen leave, carrying large piece of equipment, Rob walks over to where John is sat, and picks up the third book.

ROB: (reading the cover) The Bible. Never figured you for a religious man, chief. (John puts his pen down, displeased at his work being disrupted, and looks witheringly at Bloke) I mean, sure we’re in the middle of the Apocalypse, and giant demons are tearing down the city, *but* . . . somehow, it’s not very biblical is it? It’s more like . . . King Kong! Or Independence Day, or something.

JOHN: And your frame of reference is . . . ?

ROB: Well, I obviously haven’t lived through anything like this before. But I *do* watch a lot of films. Or, at least, I used to. A regular movie buff, I am; *was*. My mates at school used to call me Barry Norman.

JOHN: (witheringly) That must have made you very proud.

Rob thinks about this for a second, then discards it.

ROB: What are you writing?

JOHN: I’m translating.

ROB: Read it out then.

John look tiredly up at him, then picks up the tablet and begins reading. As he reads, the camera ZOOMS in on his face as he gets deeper and deeper into the words. Images of the Anti-God Baal’s minions overlay his face as he speaks; people running and dying in the destruction they create.

JOHN: "Then I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a name that was insulting to God. The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet and a mouth like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole Earth was amazed and followed the beast. Everyone worshipped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshipped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?"

"Who can fight against it?" is also spoken by Rob, simultaneously. John looks up at him, the spell broken.

ROB: (Bible open in his hand, he points to it) Revelations 13. Just because you’re not so religious, doesn’t mean that I’m a heathen. (smiles) Mum came from Irish stock (in appalling Irish accent) "To be sure". Why are you translating this anyway? This is English. Corresponding ‘cross the Channel, are we?

JOHN: No. I’m not translating it. I’m translating this. (he taps on the Necronomicon)

ROB: (knowing) Ah. The Necronomicon. The source of all our powers. (his face creases. There’s something he doesn’t understand) Hang on. You just read something from the Bible, didn’t you?

JOHN: No. It’s *in* the Bible . . .

ROB: At the back.

JOHN: Yes. But it’s also in here. The opening words of the Necronomicon are the Biblical descriptions of the end of the world. All of this (he waves his arms to indicate the empty Doomshield base, and beyond that, the whole of London) is just the beginning. Look . . .

He points out an illustration in the Necronomicon. Rob looks over his shoulder to see it.

We see a crude but never-the-less terrifying drawing of the seven headed monster described.

RUN TITLES

COME UP FROM BLACK to the previous location of Doomshield. The church’s interior is now empty of Doomshield equipment. John is standing alone in the hall. In his hands he holds the Necronomicon. Rob enters, and stands silently behind him for a few seconds, unsure of whether to disturb him or not. Eventually he walks to John and taps him on the shoulder, waking him from his reveries.

ROB: That’s it then. Everything’s gone - we’re moving on.

JOHN: Yes. Everything except this. (he holds the Necronomicon up)

ROB: Hell. Can’t forget that. (goes to take it) I’ll just take it and dump it in the back of one of the lorries, shall I?

JOHN: (abruptly) No! This is too valuable to let out of my sight. I’ll take it with *me*.

ROB: Come on! I’m security, and I know that *you* are not secure. But those trucks - we’ve got the very best of the military, the elite. Put it in the back of one of those, and there’s no chance that Baal or one of his minion will get their claws on it.

JOHN: They’re too conspicuous. Baal could see them coming a mile off.

ROB: Then why did you allow me to put all your computers and stuff in them? (scornfully) Why don’t you transport *all* the equipment yourself?

JOHN: Because that would be impossible, wouldn’t it? If there was some way I could transport Doomshield without causing any suspicion; I would, no matter how long it took me. But this (weighs the book in his hand), this is do-able. Besides, it doesn’t matter about all that equipment if this one component doesn’t make it to our destination. *This* is Doomshield. *This* is our salvation. Without it, nothing else matters.

ROB: (looks unconvinced) I still say that it’d be better off on one of the trucks, but if that’s how you want it - fine. I’ll just go off and do a last minute security check, see if we’ve left anything behind, or if there are any goblins spying on us, or something.

He leaves the hall, taking the steps up to the surface. John looks at the book for a moment, then turns to face a corner of the hall that is thrown into shadow by the bad lighting.

JOHN: Miki? It’s time to go.

In the dark, a pair of eyes flash like high wattage light bulbs. It is Miki Manson, the living component of the Doomshield project. Her body still courses with the power of the Archangel Thunderbird, but she displays her weak personality, and her voice is listless.

MIKI: Doctor Churchill. I don’t want to leave, John. This is our home.

JOHN: (walks over to the shadow and squats down. Miki’s form can barely be seen) (gently) We have to go, Miki. Baal knows where we are. He will destroy us, if we stay here.

MIKI: While I was in the machine, I could fly. But now . . . I can’t.

JOHN: The cyberweb ran out of power. You’ll fly when we reach our new home.

MIKI: Will it be nice? Will it have my toys?

JOHN: Come on. Let’s go home. (he reaches into the darkness to try and help her up, but she stays where she is)

MIKI: I just want to stay here a moment longer. Can I have my book please, John?

JOHN: (debates with himself for a moment, then relents) Yes. (he hands her the Necronomicon) I’ll be just outside, if you need me. (he stands and leaves the hall)

MIKI: (she hugs the book to her chest for a moment, then leans forward out of the shadow and opens the book)

SCENE: EXT The outside of the church, Night. POV, Rob.

We see a high angled view of John walking from the church to where the final Doomshield parts are being loaded on to one of three military trucks. One of them leaves, complete with an armed guard of military and Doomshield "Suits", the black suited soldiers from the Pilot.

SCENE: EXT Church window, night.

Rob is watching the scene from a high church window. He is carrying a standard issue automatic plasma rifle (as seen in the Pilot). He turns to leave the window.

SCENE: INT Bell Tower. Rob leaves the window and walks between the church’s bell pulls, running a hand along the ropes. He looks about the tower, then opens a door and climbs a stairway to the bell rack.

SCENE: EXT The outside of the church, Night. POV, Seeing Eye.

We see a higher angle of the churchyard, but it is distorted due to the seeing eye. Overlaying the image is the distorted face of the anti-God Baal.

BAAL: I see you, Churchill. Moving house, playing at hero. My seeing eyes watch, note, record. There is no hope for you. This world is mine.

SCENE: EXT Countryside near the church, Night.

The nearby countryside is peaceful, but as we watch, a ball of light dances over the fields.

BAAL: (OS) A destroyer is needed. Come Infection. Liss, you do my will. Destroy them. Destroy them all. Destroy them utterly. There shall be no more angels.

As he speaks, the light flies over London, eventually landing on a demolished road near to the church. Here it becomes a large black skinned demon. It has no face, the head is large and spiked. A vicious, toothless mouth opens in the centre of it’s ridged chest. It rests on four, thick spider like legs that are at each corner of it’s bulky frame. Two large, sharp, downward curved tusks hang from it’s shoulders. It stretches, shrieking terribly, before staggering toward the church, though at the moment it is too far away to be seen or heard by the Doomshield crew.

SCENE: INT, Bell Rack, NIGHT. As Rob finishes climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the bell tower, he stops and cants his head. The organic hum of the Seeing Eye can be heard faintly in the background. He opens the door to the bell rack, where the church bells are hung from. We see a Seeing Eye, hovering at the opening of the tower. After a beat, the thing revolves, and we see Rob from it’s POV. It flies towards him.

ROB: (shouting) Christ!

He tries to level his gun at it, but it swoops and knocks him - and his gun - flying. He stands and staggers towards the gun, and turns as the Eye returns, knocking him through the rack.

SCENE: EXT Church, Night.

Behind one of the remaining trucks stands a "Suit", leaning against the truck, having a quiet smoke. This man is Dave Holburn. We see John approach him from around the truck. Dave sees him and, startled, hides the cigarette behind his back and stands to attention.

DAVE: Sir, I . . . .

JOHN: (amused) Having a little break, were we?

DAVE: Sorry, it’s just not much was happening. I was waiting for the signal to go.

JOHN: Don’t worry about it. We all need a break. Here, pass me a fag, will you?

Dave smiles sheepishly, and offers John the box. John takes a cigarette and Dave lights it. John takes a drag and looks at the cigarette burning in his hand.

JOHN: You know . . . .

He is cut off by the peal of church bells. They both look up towards the bell tower. Worry passes over John’s face.

SCENE: INT CHURCH.

At the sound of the church bells, Miki looks up from the Necronomicon. He personality shifts to a much more aggressive alternative.

MIKI: Baal!

She jumps up and runs to the staircase, leaving the Necronomicon lying face down on the stony ground, forgotten.

SCENE: Bell Tower.

Rob is hanging awkwardly from one of the bell pulls by one arm. With the other, he is pulling another bell rope.

ROB: (angrily) Come on! Get the bloody message!

SCENE: EXT Church, Night.

John turns from the church to Dave.

JOHN: (excited) Something’s wrong. Take the truck and get out of here!

He runs forward and yells to all of the soldiers gathered.

JOHN:(shouting) Get out! Get the equipment away! Get it as far as possible away from here!

The soldiers jump into the trucks and their vehicles, some souped up jeeps and heavy off-road trucks with guns mounted on them, a la Terminator. One of them grabs John and bustles him towards an armoured transport car.

SOLDIER: Come on, sir! We have to get you to somewhere safe!

JOHN: (protesting) No, wait! Miki!

As if invoked, Miki comes running from the church.

MIKI: (growling) Let’s *KICK*, doctor!

She leaps into the car.

JOHN: But Rob! He’s got to be in the bell tower!

As he and the soldier look up at the bell tower, they see the seeing eye swoop out from the opening.

SOLDIER: (yelling) It’s too late for him! Let’s go!

John reluctantly gets into the car and the soldier slams the door after him. Suddenly he realises that the Necronomicon is nowhere to be seen.

JOHN: (screaming, deranged) The Necronomicon! I have to get the book!

SOLDIER: Someone sedate him!

The car drives away at speed, with John yelling all the while.

SOLDIER: Open fire on that thing! I want it out of the air!

As most of the vehicles drive out of sight, the remaining soldiers - suits and military - open fire at the Eye, plasma filling the air as they try to bring it down.

SCENE: Bell Tower.

Rob is still hanging on a rope, but now lets go of the other bell pull.

ROB: That’d better be enough. (looks down at the floor) Can’t hang around here all day.

He laughs at his bad joke in spite of his situation, and begins to slowly climb down the rope.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

SCENE: EXT London, Night.

The patrol of vehicles splits up into squads as they drive through the deserted wreckage of London. We hear a soldier giving commands to the rest of the convoy through a radio system.

SOLDIER2, VO: (effect, radio)Burke, take White Lane; Phibbs, Larson you go with them. Anything approaches: shoot it. I mean *anything*. Holburn; how’s it coming on your end?

SCENE: EXT Suburbia, Night

We see Holburn in the passenger seat of the truck, as it and the armed guard drive through the deserted suburbs.

DAVE: Our patrol’s split, as ordered. God knows where Hatter is; he’s gone into radio silence again.

SOLDIER2, VO: (effect, radio) Do you see anything? Any demons?

SCENE: EXT Suburbia, Night. Angle on Liss

From behind the hulking form of Liss, the demon summoned by Baal. It blindly watches Dave Holburn’s squad pass by on a road leading out into the countryside, before scuttling after it with amazing speed.

DAVE, VO: The coast is clear. Going into radio silence now. Over and out.

SCENE: INT Car, Night.

We are on the inside of the car containing Miki and John. Also in here are the commanding soldier and a medic.

SOLDIER 2: (switches off radio set) That’s that, now. We’re on our own. (gestures towards John, who is spread out on the floor, muttering in a stupor) How’s he?

MEDIC: He’s fine. He’s overworked; God knows when he last got some sleep. The sedative should have knocked him out already.

John reaches towards Miki and pulls her close, mouthing and wheezing as he tries to stay awake.

JOHN: (whisper) The book . . .

John falls unconscious, and we see Miki’s face. Despite being in an aggressive personality, a look of worry passes over her face as she realises what she has left behind.

SCENE: EXT Countryside, Night.

At this time of night, the countryside is deserted. The one road is empty apart from Dave Holburn’s truck and is accompanying patrol.

SCENE: INT Truck, Night.

The truck is silent. Dave holds a plasma rifle in front of him, looking out the window and windscreen, his eyes darting fearfully.

SCENE: EXT Countryside, Night.

The patrol follows the lane as it turns to the right, the road becoming smaller as they head further into the country. A dark shape is moving behind them, galloping forward behind a hedge, and passing the vehicles one by one.

SCENE: INT Truck, Night.

Dave is looking out the window again. Suddenly he sees the shape galloping past him through a gap in the hedge. He raises his gun and aims out the window into the darkness.

DAVE: Christ!

DRIVER: What? What is it?

DAVE: (peering out into the darkness) I thought I saw something. Behind that hedge. (shakes head) It was probably . . .

His words are cut off by an inhuman shriek as Liss spears the car in front with a long leg. Before anyone can react it scoops up the car and turns it over onto the bonnet of the truck, scuttling to stand on top of it. Dave screams and opens his door, diving from the truck as it still moves, pushing the car and Liss along in front. A spear-like leg shatters the windscreen and drives into the head of the driver, kebab-ing it to the seat.

SCENE: Countryside, Night.

The rear car pulls up and unloads its soldiers, but the second truck fishtails into the first, shunting it along some more. Suits climb out the back, and all start firing in the direction of Liss. Dave runs in a crouch, trying to avoid the hail of fire.

Liss - so far untouched - pulls free its legs and crouches, scuttling sideways into the stream of fire. It screeches in pain as the searing plasma shot catches it, then it lowers its tusks. The tusks glow white for a second, before shedding glowing spines in the direction of the attacking troops. The spines fly past Dave, barely missing him, to strike two of the troops. The spines rip through their bodies, sending them flying backwards. Tears in his eyes, Dave turns and stands straight, firing his own weapon into the beast while walking backwards.

ANGLE: Behind truck.

The remainder of the troops are running behind the first truck, being waved forth by one of the suits. As the last of them passes, he follows, and they round the front of the overturned car, catching Liss in a pincers movement. They open fire, catching Liss from behind.

Liss shrieks and turns towards the rear troops, only to be caught in fresh fire from behind. It turns from one set of troops to another, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Baal’s face overlays the scene.

BAAL: Liss, my pet, my sweet. Have I not given you gifts? Adapt.

Energy surges through Liss’s body as it writhes in the pain of adaptation. The distance between its shoulders grows, and they each split into two new tusks, so two are on the front and two are on the back of its body. The spined head grows obscenely, bubbling with life until it explodes, sending a tar like substance flying around it. A fifth and a sixth leg grow outwards.

Where the discharge lands, it sticks. Almost immediately, threads of the tar still linked to the top of the creature start to recoil, dragging back the troops that it landed on screaming. As we watch, one of the new legs spears a tar-trapped soldier. His hand become lifeless, dropping his gun.

Dave finds a thread of tar on his gun. He lets go instantly, staggers backward, and falls over. Instead of getting back up, he rolls beneath the car.

The few troops that are left continue fighting to no avail, as the tar either catches them up or a limb breaks them in two. One of Liss’s arms takes up a suit and presses it on it’s chest, between two tusks. The tusks swivel, and start to coat him in a thick, corrosive liquid that eats away at his body. Bored of its new toy, Liss throws him down.

The body hits the road next to where Dave is lying. The body bursts, send spatters of liquid under the truck and onto Dave. He stifles a scream of pain and rolls out from under the truck away from the body.

From here, he is hidden from sight by the fishtailed truck. His body smoking with the liquid, he heads towards the hedge and manages to get over it, before hobbling away across a field.

Liss is finishing the last remnants of the troops, crushing the life out of them. Finally, it sends a hail of heated tusk shards through each of the vehicles, and scuttles about them, crawling over the top.

Baal’s face overlays the scene.

BAAL: Where is the Necronomicon? I feel no halo.

Liss crawls over the remains of the second car, and hauls it up. Underneath it is the melted body of the troop that Liss liquefied.

BAAL: The infected . . . a child perhaps?

As we watch, the body splits open. From within comes a creature that looks like a white four foot long woodlouse. It scuttles around, opening a pair of claws at the front. Liss scoops it up lovingly and holds it close to its torso.

BAAL: Devour it Liss. We will find the book later.

Liss holds up an arm, and watches unseeingly as the larva scuttles along it. It then crawls into Liss’s open mouth, which now closes.

BAAL: Come home.

Liss becomes a tiny star of light, which flies across the countryside, leaving the dead patrol alone.

SCENE: EXT St Paul’s, Night.

Since the coming of Baal, St Paul’s Cathedral has become a wreck. The building is mostly rubble, and the dome has a wide crack in it. There is no sign of life.

SCENE: INT Doomshield.

Inside the vaults of St Paul’s, The Doomshield computer equipment is being set up by soldiers and suits. Rob, an arm in a cast, is trying to supervise, reading from a clipboard.

SCENE: INT Doomshield Living Quarters.

Inside a bedroom in the new Doomshield building, Miki and John are asleep. John’s sleep is dreamless, due to the sedation, but Miki’s face is creased into a frown, and under her eyelids her eyes move fitfully. We ZOOM into her eyes.

SCENE: Miki’s Bedroom.

Miki is standing in a large bedroom. The room is decorated in pink and white, but there is a distinct lack of frills. To her right is an enormous cabinet, upon which stands a statuette of each incarnation of the Archangel Thunderbird, and behind them is a large mirror. To her left is a large window that almost takes up the entire wall. A set of heavy curtains are drawn across it. In front of her is a large square bed, upon which is a solitary soft toy. The room is lit by a light bulb in a shade, hanging from the ceiling. The light is a little dim. At the end of the room, on the right of the bed is a closed door.

Miki whirls around, looking at the room.

Miki: (disbelieving) My . . . room.

She walks over to the bed and picks up the toy, holding it up to her face. She then notices a bedside cabinet next to the bed, upon which is a large, old book. She puts the toy back and picks up the book.

POV Miki.

The book is a replica of the Necronomicon, except on the cover, engraved in gold leaf are the words "Alice Through The Looking Glass". She lifts the book closer to her face, and the title changes to "A Midsummer Night’s Dream". She opens the book and flips through the pages - only to find that they are all blank.

ANGLE: Miki.

She sets the book back down on the bedside cabinet, and wanders over to the window. Just as she’s about to open the curtains, the door opens and a girl walks in.

This is Miki, aged 15, or thereabouts. She is dressed completely in black, and carrying a small black bag on her shoulder, which she slings onto the floor. She jumps on the bed and takes the book. She takes a pen from the spine of the book and starts writing, reading aloud as she does so. The older Miki slowly walks towards the bed, staring as if she cannot believe her eyes.

YOUNG MIKI: Fifteenth of April. Went with Rob to the cinema. We watched some Stephen Spielberg film - not one of his effects extravaganzas; one of his boring character films. Rob went on and on about how great he thought Spielberg was, and after . . .

She turns her head to look at Miki, who is now quite close to her.

YOUNG MIKI: Hello Miki. Long time no see.

MIKI: This is my room, and you’re me. Why am I here?

YOUNG MIKI: No, this is *my* room, and I *was* you. You’re not me any more.

MIKI: But . . . April the fifteenth . . . that’s the day before . . .

YOUNG MIKI: It’s my last day. Tomorrow’s your first.

She swings her legs around and sits up on the bed.

YOUNG MIKI: Sit down, Miki.

Miki sits.

MIKI: I’m not dreaming, am I?

YOUNG MIKI: Not exactly. See, you are dying.

Miki is visibly shocked by this.

MIKI: But . . .

YOUNG MIKI: Oh, not dying in the traditional sense. *I* didn’t die in the traditional sense. But you buried me, all of you. Put me in a little wooden box in the back of your mind, and dug a hole and put the box in the hole and threw earth on the box and left the box until it was covered in weeds and . . . and now *your* hole is being dug. Right next to mine. And since it’s so close, it’s disturbed my rest, and now, (she smiles) now I’m back to haunt you. Are you scared yet?

MIKI: I remember. You . . . you were raped on the sixteenth of April.

YOUNG MIKI: I will be. I was.

MIKI: . . . and I was born.

YOUNG MIKI: All six of you. "One personality for each incarnation of the Archangel Thunderbird". Sometimes it’s hard for people to think of you as a person, not some component in a machine.

MIKI: Why am I here?

Young Miki stands and goes to the window. She pulls back the curtains and through the window we see the sleeping quarters of Doomshield, with John and Miki both sound asleep.

YOUNG MIKI: (scornfully) Doctor John Churchill. Hah! Do you know what he did before he created Doomshield? They called him a maverick. If they only knew . . .

She closes the curtains and wanders around the bed to the cabinet where the statuettes are.

MIKI: You said that I’m dying. How is that possible?

YOUNG MIKI: When I died, six new personalities were born into you. But when you became the Archangel Thunderbird, six angels started to move into the personalities. Churchill thought that the Thunderbird was under your command. (she laughs) But now, now it’s found a home. Can you feel them, Miki? Can you feel the Archangels moving in your mind?

MIKI: I . . .

Suddenly there are flashes of memory, and she sees each Archangel.

MIKI: (dismayed) . . . yes. How long have I got?

YOUNG MIKI: It’ll take a while. But they’ve got their hooks and claws and teeth into you now. And they won’t let go. (she lifts the statuette of Vaz, and weighs it in her hand) He’ll be the first. He’s already half in. I can feel his foot in the door, as it were. He’s trying to force his way in.

MIKI: How can I stop him?

YOUNG MIKI: You can’t.

MIKI: (rising from the bed) There must be some way . . .

YOUNG MIKI: (snaps) Of course there is a way! I wouldn’t have been killed if Rob hadn’t decided to go out with his mates, instead of his girlfriend. You could have stopped the Archangels from worming into you if you hadn’t become the Angel Core, if you hadn’t wanted that book to yourself!

MIKI: (confused) I had no idea.

YOUNG MIKI: Of course you did! But you ignored the signs. You had to have the Necronomicon. Well, now you have it. And you’re paying the price.

MIKI: But I don’t have it! Tell me: why am I here?

Young Miki smiles, and walks out the door, shutting it behind her. Miki tries to follow, but no matter how hard she tries, the door will not open. She walks away from the door and sees the Vaz idol on the floor, where Young Miki dropped it. She picks it up . . .

SCENE: INT Doomshield Living Quarters.

The now awake Miki opens her eyes. In the darkness, twin beams of light project upon the walls, the ceiling. She sits up in bed and stands, moving like a sleepwalker towards the door. As she walks behind a stone pillar, she changes into Vaz, seemingly scaled down to human size. His eyes glitter and cast fire on the walls. He reaches the door.

SCENE: INT Doomshield Hallway.

A door in the hall opens, and Miki walks out in human form, her eyes still pulsing with light. She walks down the hall and through an old stone archway, where we loose sight of her.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

SCENE: INT Doomshield Living Quarters.

John is still asleep, but the sedative has worn off. His slumber is uncomfortable and disturbed, and suddenly his eyes snap open and he sits bolt upright in bed.

JOHN: (near shouting) The Book!

There are footsteps and scuffling outside the room, and Rob and a couple of suits run into the room. When they see nothing out of the ordinary, they relax a little. Rob walks over to John’s bed.

ROB: Rough night, boss?

JOHN: I . . . what happened?

ROB: One of those seeing eye jobs. I found it in the bell tower. It attacked me . . . but I escaped. Rang the bells as a warning, something I thought was a pretty good idea at the time. (rubs cast) Hurt my damn arm, though . . .

JOHN: (cutting in) The book, the Necronomicon; do you have it?

ROB: No. You wouldn’t let me stick it in with the rest of the equipment. You said that you’d take it.

JOHN: (confused) Yes. I kept the book . . . (remembers) Miki: I gave the book to Miki. Does she have it?

Rob looks at the guards, who shrug.

ROB: (turning back) I haven’t seen her with it. She *might* have it. (thinks) Where is she, anyway?

JOHN: (starting to get angry) You don’t have the book - and you don’t know where it is. (he gets out of bed and squares up to Rob, who takes a step backwards) (furious) You are *SECURITY*! You keep the Book *SECURE*!

ROB: (anxious) But you wouldn’t give it to me . . .

JOHN: I don’t need your excuses! The world is *dead* without that book. We need the Necronomicon. *YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT IT SECURE*! oh . . .

John doubles over and clutches his head, before collapsing on the floor.

ROB: (tries to catch him) Christ H Christ! (yells to guards) Get me a medic!

SCENE: EXT London, Night

We see the buildings surrounding the former HQ of Doomshield, the church. They are deserted except for one figure who stumbles along the middle of an unlit road towards the church.

ANGLE: Dave Holburn.

It is Dave Holburn, and he doesn’t look well. From this angle we can see the side of his body that was untouched by the liquid that spewed out of the dead soldier, but even this looks dead. His clothes are muddy and torn, his hand is emaciated and his face is pale and fever ridden, his short hair soaked with sweat.

ANGLE: Road.

Dave continues his way down the street, staggering from side to side, until he collapses, sprawled out on the tarmac.

ANGLE: Dave Holburn.

His head at the bottom of the angle, his feet at the top, he looks like and inverse crucifixion. The hair on the previously hidden side of his head is sparse, letting through glimpses of flaking white scalp. The clothes are burnt and still smouldering a little. The only remnants of his hand are vestigial fingers that flex weakly against the road. There is only a little dead flesh on what now looks more like an insect’s leg.

Medium Close Up On Head.

Wearily and painfully, Dave pries himself up on his arms. The head lifts up and we see that although the left side of his face is pale and burned, the eye swollen shut and his ear and part of the cheek hanging off, he doesn’t look so bad. But his neck is a gaping hole through which two mandibles flutter, and his chest looks like a suit of plate armour made from bone.

ANGLE: Road.

Dave gets up again and continues down the road to the church, though it is clear that walking on two legs is becoming a chore. With some effort, he climbs through the door of the church.

INT: Church.

Inside, the church is almost pitch black, lit only by the clouded moonlight let in through a window. We see the bulky form of Dave Holburn struggle across the floor, only to collapse again. He lifts his head and looks about the church hall.

POV: Dave

The view from Dave’s eyes is certainly bizarre. As his human sight vanishes, smell, hearing and motion sensing move in to take it’s place. The result is a flickering sensation, mixing the view of the empty church with flashes of colour where people stood hours before, and the swirls of night creatures and the wind blowing through the deserted building.

ANGLE: Dave

He lies flat again, as nothing he sees is of interest to him. Then his head lifts again. He cants it at an angle and stares at the floor.

POV: Dave

In the empty space below the hall, something shines. The luminescence forms a halo that penetrates all of Dave’s senses, and at the centre of the halo lies a small fiery rectangle.

ANGLE: Dave

Dave kneels on all fours now, the lower half of one of his legs bent at an impossible angle. He kneels up, and claws at the top of his chest and neck, first with the broken hand, then with both. The final wraps of his uniform are cast aside, and then folds of skin and muscle. When he is finished, the mandibles are well exposed, as are a second set, which is harder and serrated. He falls onto the stone, and from our view above him, we see the body start to convulse as we hear a loud susurration.

SCENE: INT Church, Lower Level.

The lower level of the church is even darker than the higher level; there is just enough light to trace the outlines of objects. In the silence we hear a ringing gnawing sound, which grows louder, and is accompanied by a susurration and the fall of small pieces of stone. The camera TRACKS in the darkness, and comes to rest on a small rectangular object. Soon there is enough light for us to see that this is the Necronomicon, still sprawled where Miki left it. A short while after this, the sound ceases. There is a heavy thump, as of something falling onto stone, a scuttling sound that come nearer and nearer, and then an insectoid leg, with pieces of flesh still hanging on to it snakes out and grabs the book.

SCENE: INT Doomshield Living Quarters.

John is laid out on his bed, his eyes half open. He looks pretty ill. A medic is checking him over, looking at his eyes, feeling his pulse etc. He stands straight and writes something down on a clipboard. Rob is also standing here.

ROB: (to medic) So, doc. What’s wrong with him?

MEDIC: Nothing much. I thought at first that the sedative had disagreed with him, but now I’m pretty sure that he’s suffering from exhaustion. He’s been working hard, hasn’t he?

ROB: Hard and a half.

MEDIC: What about sleep; has he been sleeping regularly?

ROB: Apart from just now . . . I don’t know. I only came down here yesterday. Until then, I’d been working with Doctor Churchill through the Internet. Miki’d know, though.

MEDIC: Miki?

ROB: She’s . . . part of the project. From what John told me, I’d guess that they’ve been working together pretty intensively. I haven’t seen her since before they left the Church.

MEDIC: I see. How is your arm?

ROB: It’s still there. It’ll probably bend as well, in a decade or two.

The medic laughs, and John groans weakly. Rob and the medic both turn to him.

ROB: Hi, Doc.

JOHN: (weak) Rob . . . I’m sorry.

ROB: Nah, don’t worry. We’re all under pressure.

JOHN: Where’s Miki?

ROB: I don’t know. I can go and find her, if you like.

JOHN: No . . . no . . . Is all the equipment here, yet.

ROB: (looks a little uneasy) All but one of the patrols have arrived. No one knows where the last one is. We think it may have been . . . lost.

JOHN: Was there . . . was there anything important on that patrol?

ROB: Some energy conversion equipment and a power relay. We’ve got backups for all of the missing apparatus. The Thunderbird can be started up at any time.

JOHN: No. No. (looks at the medic, and back at Rob) Could you send him away please?

Rob looks at the medic, who shrugs.

MEDIC: Just rest, okay? Take it easy. (to Rob) I’ll be back in three or four hours to see how he’s doing.

The medic leaves.

ROB: What did you want to say, Doc?

JOHN: The Archangel Thunderbird . . . how it works. Think of it as a car. Miki is the driver. Her personalities shape the make of the car, the performance. Each personality has different strengths, like a sports car has speed, a four wheel drive has stamina. The cyberweb is the steering wheel. But unlike the car, the Archangel Thunderbird runs on many types of energy. Heat, light, kinetic . . . many different kinds. The converters take in electricity - the petrol, if you want - and use a mixture of modern and Old One technology to change it into the required energy. And just as different cars use different fuels, the computer regulates the energy so that the specific amount of the specific energy can be use to power the generation of the Archangel.

ROB: I’m with you so far. I think. So what’s that book used for, then?

JOHN: The Necronomicon is both an instruction manual and an ignition key. Miki reads from the book and follows the instructions - it’s a little like playing a piano from sheet music. And the book channels the energies from the converter to the realm where the Archangels hibernate.

ROB: The book *is* important.

JOHN: Yes.

Rob sighs, and thinks for a while.

ROB: I know it flies in the face of all sanity, but I’m taking a unit back to the Church. We need the book.

JOHN: (falling asleep again) I knew you’d think of . . . an . . . answer.

John’s soundly asleep.

ROB: (mutters) Yeah, I’m a regular superhero.

He leaves the room, and for a moment all is still. Then Miki appears at the door. Her eyes glitter furiously. She walks up to John’s bed, and lowers her head, sniffing at the air. Her eyes spark.

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) The book. The Church.

She turns and walks away, leaving us looking at John’s sleeping form.

SCENE: INT Doomshield Hall.

A selection of military is stood in the hall, carrying plasma rifles and wearing body armour. Before them stands Rob, briefing them on the mission. Beside him is a small table, upon which are two boxy devices, HALO VISORS.

ROB: The church should be empty. I say should, but once there, be prepared for anything, and I *mean*, anything. You should all know your way around the building, having worked there for a good month or so. Check the halls, the vaults, the bell tower, and both entrances. As some of you may know, there is a public house near by that is still pretty much intact. It’s possible that someone might have found the book and be sheltering there. Some of you should check that place out, but if anyone is caught drinking *anything* you’ll be slung back into the rubble and the demons can eat you up for all I care. This is not a pub crawl. This is the end of the world we’re talking about here. Do I make myself clear?

There is a chorus of ‘yeses’

ROB: Good. These (here he picks up one of the visors) are halo visors. They’ll pick up psychic emanations from the book, *and* from your fellow soldiers. The book will be depicted in a large yellow corona, where as you will be shown as being red on the display. The visors are extremely new, extremely rare. There are only three of them in existence, and we have two with us today. If they are lost, or they are broken, you can say goodbye to Doomshield and goodbye to your career.

We see an IMAGE of two transports driving across town towards the church. Rob’s speech continues in a voice over.

ROB, V/O: Now, are there any questions?

SOLDIER, V/O: If we find an eye, or a demon, shall we attack it?

ROB, V/O: Yes. Take it down as soon as possible, and fire from a distance.

SOLDIER2, V/O: What if we find a hostile civilian, sir?

(a beat)

The image changes as the soldiers enter the church through the doorway, four miving away from the group to the Pub.

SOLDIER2, V/O: Sir?

ROB, V/O: Take him or her out, as swiftly as possible.

SCENE: INT Church, Night.

A group of soldiers walks into the hall of the church. The one in front is wearing the bulky halo visor, while the others are wearing more streamlined nightvision goggles. The soldiers are covering the hall with their rifles, making quick steps as they move about the hall.

POV, Visor Soldier.

The view of the hall is pretty nondescript through the visor. The soldier turns his head and we see an amorphous mass of red blobs as the soldiers spread out. He turns his head again, and this time spots a large black hole on the blueness of the halovision.

ANGLE, Soldier.

The soldier jogs towards the hold made by Dave Holburn. He kneels by it and runs a gloved hand over the jagged edge.

SOLDIER: Looks like I’ve found something.

SCENE: INT Church, Lower Level.

A second squad of soldiers is exploring the vault of the Church, where the book was last seen. The group splits up, but the camera follows one soldier in particular, one that is wearing a halo visor. After examining the hall, he walks towards an arched doorway.

SCENE: INT Church hallway.

Through the arch comes the barrel of the gun, then the whole man. His head whips back and forth, trying to keep an eye on both his front and his back as he walks carefully down the hallway. The roof gets lower and lower, and the tunnel slopes downward.

FLASH to the twisted form of Dave Holburn as he did the same earlier, scurrying along the tunnel with the book cradled in his arms.

FLASH back to the present.

The tunnel ends in a doorway. The soldier reaches out to push the door open, but it is hanging from a breaking hinge, and with this final motion it falls to the floor.

Before it hits the ground, FLASH to Dave rattling the door, trying to open it. He takes the book in his good (better) hand, and thrusts the other hand so hard into the old door that it is flung back into the room, one of the hinges coming free.

FLASH back to the present, where the door slams into the ground with a resounding crash that reverbs into the room.

The Soldier enters the room and looks about it. Apart from the door he just entered through, there appears to be no other exit. He’s about to leave, when he notices something on the ground.

POV Soldier, Halo vision.

The room is dark blue, but on the floor is a circle of darker colour. As the soldier bends closer to it, we see a rectangle of yellow to the side of it.

FLASH to Dave setting the book down next to a manhole cover. He feels the edge of the cover with his bad hand, and levers the thing up with some effort, making it look as if his limb is a crow bar.

FLASH back to present.

The soldier feels around the cover, and jams the barrel of the rifle into the crack in the centre. He manages to get enough leverage to pry the thing up.

SCENE: INT Church, Catacombs.

The Catacombs below the church are pitch black - there is no light whatsoever. As the manhole cover is pryed up, a circle of light falls onto the dry ground and the soldier drops through hole, falling heavily. He pulls out a wide beamed torch and turns it on. The torches beam plays over the curved brick walls as the soldier tries to get his bearings. Suddenly he spots something and approaches it.

ANGLE: Leg.

As he walks away from the manhole, the object in the beam gets nearer. As the soldier realises that it’s a human leg, he pulls back a little and shudders.

FLASH to Dave Holburn falling through the manhole. He lands awkwardly on one leg, which promptly snaps at the knee, causing Dave to fall flat onto his face. He pulls himself into a sitting position, and reaches behind him to the dismembered leg, which he picks up and looks at. He gives off a terrible wet buzzing sound that barely resembles the laugh that it is meant to be - and hurls the leg some way down the tunnel.

FLASH back to present.

The soldier backs away towards the opening in the roof, and calls out.

SOLDIER: Hey, over here!

There is no reply. Sighing, he straps the still lit torch to his waist, and crouches with his arms in the air, ready to leap back up the hole. There is a scuttling in the distance.

ANGLE: Soldier, medium long shot.

We see the soldier, still crouched, looking away from us down the tunnel in the direction of the scuttling sound.

SOLDIER: Who’s there?

There is no answer, but his curiosity is piqued. He takes up the torch again, and warily heads away from us down the tunnel, his rifle raised. As he gets further away, the head of some flat insectoid creature comes into shot, startlingly close to the camera. A pair of feelers wave in the air, and it runs away from us, effortlessly climbing the side of the tunnel. A second, similar creature follows it, and they converge on the manhole.

SCENE: INT Church, Hallway.

ANGLE: Manhole Cover.

We see only the occasional feeler or leg as the two creatures pull the cover back into place. The room is still for a second - and then a thick slime folds up around the cracks around the cover, hardening to a resin.

SCENE: INT Church, Catacombs.

The soldier walks along the tunnel, unaware that he is trapped. In the distance, the skittering sound of an insect running ahead of him reverberates along the tunnel.

The light from his beam just clips the rear end of a white creature, but before he can get a shot at it, it is gone again.

POV Soldier, Halo Vision.

The Halo visor is useless in this tunnel, with only the beam of the torch showing up as a dull red glow. Whatever his quarry is, it doesn’t cast a halo.

ANGLE: Soldier.

The soldier paces on a little while longer, and then stops.

POV Soldier, Halo Vision.

In the distance is a door. The torch beam picks out the angles of it through the visor.

ANGLE: Soldier.

The soldier looks back along the tunnel, debating whether he should go and get some help. He decides against it, and heads towards the door.

SCENE: Cutter’s Nest.

ANGLE: Close up on door.

The door slowly creaks open. From this angle we can not see anything of this room but the door, and the Soldier’s face as he sees the room. Shock, then horror registers on his face as he sees something terrible beyond the camera. Almost stumbling, he backs swiftly away, and turns his head to look back along the tunnel.

POV: Soldier, Halo Vision.

The outline of some black and ominous creature is just visible in the halo vision, and we see it leaping towards the camera.

FADE OUT

Over the black screen, we hear a vicious tearing sound and the Soldier’s frantic screaming, which is abruptly cut off by a loud crack.

FADE IN

SCENE: EXT Suburbia, Dawn.

The suburbs we saw last night are bathed in the grey light of dawn. If anything, this place looks more desolate by day. A light wind whips up a cloud of dust. A crumpled newspaper rustles by the gutter. A dog asleep on the streets wakes and stretches, then runs off camera, limping a little. And in the distance, a solitary figure stalks down the centre of the road. As it gets nearer, we see that it is Miki Manson. She walks stiffly, her head held high. As she passes the paper, it is thrown up in the air by some invisible force, and whisked down the street away from us. Miki comes closer, and we see that even in daylight her eyes are shining brightly with energy.

The camera seems to go straight into her eye, and we see Miki in her bedroom, looking out of the window at a scene from the Doomshield base. There is a rushing sound, like a cross between blood flowing and a train passing by, and we are in the scene watching John standing by the set up Doomshield equipment, talking to Rob.

JOHN: (flatly) The men you sent out didn’t find the Necronomicon.

ROB: I told you, they checked all over the place. It was cleaner than when we left it.

JOHN: Who was the man who deserted?

ROB: We’re not sure that he *did* leave. I mean, Bob said he was at the front of the patrol; they all saw him. Unless he doubled back, somehow . . . (he shakes his head) Elliot Flynn.

JOHN: What about those manholes?

ROB: Still in place; still glued down. I don’t know what they’ve got hidden down there, but they made certain that looters and the like wouldn’t get their hands on it.

JOHN: It doesn’t really matter. Miki’s gone, the book’s gone. God! How are we supposed to win?

ROB: It’s not over yet. Not until the fat lady sings. You weren’t this pessimistic when you burst into the UN. I mean, sure, you predicted the end of the world, but you seemed to know exactly what to do then. Now . . . if you don’t mind me saying it, chief, you’re like a completely different person.

JOHN: (a touch sarcastic) Forgive me Rob, but when the only weapons we’ve got to prevent the world from being destroyed go missing, I tend to get a little depressed.

ROB: Hey, sorry. Anyway, we’ve got those rifles. They’re in mass production now, aren’t they? They’ll do *some* damage.

JOHN: I suppose. But it’s not enough. The Archangel Thunderbird means . . . *meant*, that we could take on Baal’s demons one on one. Who knows how many men with plasma rifles it would take to bring down just *one* demon. We’ve already lost one patrol.

ROB: How many demons are there, anyway? I saw Bob Friend on the news, when we could still get cable. Weren’t there five of those egg, comet things?

JOHN: Fifteen, at last count. Five in a batch. The newscasters, they either thought or they were told that there were five; that’s the number that was broadcast. Maybe someone thought that reducing the number would reduce some of the hysteria. The second wave crashed quite a bit south of London, and worked their way here. The third crashed in the heart.

ROB: Fifteen. But where do they come from? They’re from another planet, right? So how come they aren’t aliens?

JOHN: They *are* aliens. But they’re also in the Necronomicon, and various other pre-Biblical texts, where they are referred to as Demons - the name stuck.

ROB: So. What now?

JOHN: I guess . . . that this place will become a centre of operations for the military. They’ll take over where Doomshield left off, I suppose. Maybe there will be a resistance, of sorts. The whole thing can be co-ordinated from here.

ROB: (gives a half hearted smile) There you go. This isn’t a big loss, after all.

He leaves the hall. After he leaves, John looks at the two guards in the room.

JOHN: Could you leave, please. I’d like to be alone for a little while.

The guards look at each other and shrug. They leave the room by the same exit as Rob, and John is now alone in the hall.

He looks around the hall, looking at the pieces of equipment, some of which are under large canvas covers. After a short time, he walks over to one of the covered pieces of machinery.

POV: Machine.

The view is blurred, cream. It becomes clear as John takes the canvas cover from it. He looks into the camera, grins a little, and shakes his head.

JOHN: My backup plan. I didn’t think that it would come to this so soon; did you? No, of course not. Baal thought that you would take us out straight away. We surprised him. But now . . . now the Archangel Thunderbird is gone. It’s down to you and I, Dygon. I’ll complete you without the Necronomicon. (serious) Earth *will* survive.

POV: John.

The machine that John is looking at is built around a glass cabinet. There are various switches and lights on it, but the most striking feature is inside the case itself. The space inside the case is pitch black, and appears deeper than it actually is. It sucks at the light. Suspended in the middle of the cabinet is the mask-like head of the witch wife Dygon, last seen being held by the Archangel Marigon at the end of the Pilot. It is around two feet long, and seems completely without life.

POV: Machine.

JOHN: (he bends towards the camera) Well, my friend. I’ll be seeing you later.

He reaches forward and presses a button at the base of our view. A large shutter slowly rolls down the screen, cutting of the light and our view until we are in darkness.

SCENE: INT Church, Lower Level.

The darkness becomes that of the Church’s Vault, and is soon interrupted by a soft white luminescence. Then twin streaks of harsh white light spear the darkness. Miki walks on screen - still with that odd, stiff gait. The light from her eyes swings as she turns her head, looking for something. The soft backlight sometimes forms a silver lining or halo around her form as she walks across the floor. Her view strays upwards, and we see the hole cut by Dave Holburn earlier, then it returns to the level. She walks across the room, through the arch, and into the hallway.

SCENE: INT Church Hallway.

HIGH ANGLE

From our view, we see Miki walk into the hallway, and her eye light straight in front of her. She turns and heads towards the room with the manhole.

ANGLE: Manhole.

Miki’s feet (in black boots, of course) come into view at the edge of the screen. There is little sign of the gunk that glued the cover into position. Miki squats next to the cover, and runs a hand around the rim of it. Suddenly she seems to go into some sort of seizure; her eyes flicker, her head rolls back, and she screams. Vaz’s angular head overlays our view, and his mouth opens wide, spewing white fire. Miki’s head snaps downward and she opens her mouth, letting a stream of orange fire mingle with Vaz’s, and strike the cover. As it does, it glows red, then orange, white, and finally blue, before it bubbles, turns to liquid and melts through the hole.

SCENE: INT Church Catacombs.

As the metal cools noisily, Miki drops through the hole and lights the tunnel up. She straightens up and walks swiftly down the tunnel. Behind her we glimpse large, flat white creatures skittering along the walls of the tunnel.

SCENE: INT Cutter’s Nest.

ANGLE: Door.

Our angle is on the door, which has swung shut since the arrival of the soldier. Once more, the door creaks open and Miki walks through, until she is standing just inside the entrance of the room. Slowly, the camera PULLS BACK, and Miki walk forward until she is in the centre of the floor.

As the camera PULLS BACK, the room is slowly revealed to us. The nest is a nightmare. There is something reminiscent of the interior of a smoker’s lung, with the tar white instead of black. Wisps of webbed resin coat the walls, so that none of the original brick can be seen. Even the floor is wrapped in drops of secretion, like the paving under an overhang where pigeons spend their days.

On this, sometimes partly submerged in it are the white insectoid creatures we have seen. They are flat, armoured, wide and their shells have sharp edges. Creatures of all sizes from six foot downwards hang off the walls and ceiling, quivering and squirming over each other. A thousand feelers twitch at Miki’s arrival. She looks over the walls with something akin to mild amusement, her view passing over the remains of the soldier, a clutch of foot-long creatures nesting where his stomach once was.

Finally her view rests on a large organic build-up in one corner of the room. It is a pulsing mass, with creatures constantly running all over it. As Miki turns to face it, there is a deep, booming laughter.

A nodule on the mass moves, rotates, and is projected from the mass on a neck that looks like a long, many jointed skeletal finger. After the finger has finished unfurling, the nodule looks up - it is the deformed head of Dave Holburn - now known as The Cutter.

CUTTER: The Angel Core. To what do I owe the pleasure?

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) What are you?

CUTTER: I am Earth Demon. My name is the Cutter.

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) Why are you?

CUTTER: I am - shall we say - of mixed parentage. My father was human. My mother . . . was not. What are *you*?

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) I am Angel Core. My name is Miki Manson.

CUTTER: And *why* are you?

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) I am fusion. I am confusion. I am the Archangel Vaz, and his soul.

CUTTER: (laughs for a time) *YOU*? You are not Archangel. You are a frightened little girl who has lost her way. Leave now, and I will not harm you today.

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) Disbelief. I feed on truth and untruth.

CUTTER: There are no more Angels! There were no more Demons, until now. The off planet plague of Mother Liss has arrived, whether she knows or not. Whether she likes it . . . or not. Now go!

MIKI: (in Vaz’s voice) I care not for your thoughts. Give me the Necronomicon.

CUTTER: No. The Necronomicon is my cook book. I feed from it , and I grow strong, and I give birth. Earth once more belongs to its demons.

The Cutter looks at Miki triumphantly, and as he holds her attention, a large creature scuttles towards her, mandibles opening, approaching her leg, getting ready to bite . . .

There is a burst of light as Miki lifts her leg and stamps it down onto the creature’s back. At first, nothing much happens, but slowly, light streams from it as Miki’s foot is driven through the shell, shattering it and crushing the soft body beneath. For a moment there is stillness as every feeler stops moving.

CUTTER: *DESTROY* *HER*!!

Suddenly, the walls seem to up and move towards Miki as the creatures converge on her, biting and tearing at her. The Cutter watches, glee etched on his face.

Light streams between the thriving bodies, and the pieces of Miki we can see shimmer, alternating between their normal form and some new incarnation. A leg stomps, a hand crushes, white fire burns. Soon, the mass of creatures is lifeless. From beneath the bodies comes Vaz, in a scaled down human form.

CUTTER: (shrieks)

More creatures charge, but they are killed so quickly it is as if they are dead before they reach Vaz. He walks forward, towards the now unprotected belly of the Cutter. The head ducks down on it’s neck, but Vaz sweeps it aside. He reaches the pulsing belly and breathes fire on it, tearing his hands through the scorched skin, ripping out the pale flesh. Finally, at the centre of it is a barrier of bone, Dave Holburn’s recycled ribcage. Vaz splinters it with a hand, and reaches into the goo. He pulls out the Necronomicon.

ANGLE: Necronomicon.

It is wrecked, dripping with mucous, and matter, but with a discharge of yellow light from within, it is clean.

ANGLE: Cutter.

The gasping head of the Cutter lies among the carcasses of his minions. Behind it, Miki’s boots walk past. It’s gasps grow further and further apart as it dies, and it’s last breath forms a word.

CUTTER: (gasping) Adapt . . .

It exhales, and doesn’t move. After a while we hear a ripping sound, and something, white and horrible moves in the background kicking the head as it moves away.

SCENE: INT Doomshield John’s Office.

It seems odd, but there is some kind of office set up in what once have been a minister’s study. Empty bookshelves line the walls, and there are some large cardboard boxes here and there. In the centre of the room is a desk with a computer and some files on it. John Churchill is sat at the desk, gazing at the unseen screen of the monitor, while tapping the occasional key and using the mouse. There is a knock at the door, and John turns the monitor off.

JOHN: Come in.

The door opens and Rob enters, escorting Miki. Her clothes are in shreds, she is bleeding in several places, and she is hugging the book to her chest.

JOHN: Good God!

ROB: My sentiments exactly. She’s just turned up. We tried to take her down to the infirmary, but she said she had to give you this. First things first.

John stands, and Miki gives him the book.

JOHN: The Necronomicon. Miki, what happened to you?

MIKI: I . . . I don’t remember.

She turns and leaves before John can say anything. He looks at Rob, who shrugs and follows her out. John looks at the book, then looks at the door, bewildered. He sits back in his seat, still looking at the door.

SCENE: INT Doomshield Hall Outside Office.

Miki is leaning on a wall, thinking to herself. Rob walks over to her.

ROB: Are you okay? You look like Hell.

MIKI: I . . .

FLASH to Miki picking up the statuette of Vaz.

FLASH back to present.

MIKI: . . . I think I’m all right.

ROB: You’ll be going to the infirmary now, then?

MIKI: Yes.

ROB: Well . . . I’ll see you later, then.

He turns to go, stops, thinks, and turns, and gives her a brief hug. He then walks away.

Miki looks after him as he leaves.

FLASH to Miki looking at the statuettes.

FLASH back to present.

Miki’s docile shifts to a much more mischievous one. She grins evilly and starts after Rob.

MIKI: (seductively) Oh, Rob. You still owe me a little something. At least, I hope it’s not *too* little.

SCENE: INT Doomshield John’s Office.

John looks at the door, and smirks when he hears this. He shakes his head, and places the Necronomicon on the desk to one side of the computer. He switches on the monitor, and his face grows grave as he looks at it.

ANGLE: Monitor.

On the screen is a wire frame diagram of what looks to be a giant robot. To one side of it is Dygon’s mask, with ray lines indicating where it goes on the model.

ANGLE: John.

He sighs, and begins to type.

FADE OUT

END CREDITS.