The Slayer Years
The Slayer Years is my 'virtual' series (a kind'a spin-off from the Buffyverse) and takes place in the year 2170.
Rating: NC-17 because of string language, sexual situations and violence.
THE SLAYER YEARS
’Let The Games Begin’
By
Chosen Twice
Copyright © Chosen Twice
TEASER
NARRATOR: JESSICA BIEL (Raine)
BLACK SCREEN.
RAINE: [voice over] ”Once upon a time there was a girl that dreamt of a normal life; doing all things regular teenagers do. Like shopping at the mall and hanging out with her friends. All that she ever wanted was to love and be loved.” [beat] “But fate had chosen her to fight the forces of evil and so she did. She became a true warrior. She might have been the greatest warrior of all time. Her name was Buffy and she was a slayer just like me.” [beat] “But I am nothing like her.”
FADE IN-
EXT. A ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A CLOSE UP on RAINE as she gracefully ducks form an incoming blow.
RAINE: [v.o] “Unlike Buffy I don’t have any family to hold me back. Not a single soul to distract me from my duties.”
DREW: [off camera] “Raine, help!”
RAINE: [v.o] “Well, except him.”
PANNING OUT to a WIDE SHOT to reveal that a tall and bulky vampire holds the young Watcher’s throat in a death grip.
VAMPIRE: “Back off, bitch, or I make him my next snack.”
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must always protect the weak and innocent.”
DREW: “Give it up, demon. She’s gonna dust you anyway.”
RAINE: [v.o] “On the other hand…”
VAMPIRE: “What’s it gonna be, huh?”
RAINE: “You know what? Just kill him. I can easily get another Watcher.”
FOCUS on the vampire’s stunned face. It’s obvious that it hadn’t counted on a response such as that. This shows as his grip around Drew’s throat loosens. And as soon as it does, Raine whips out a stake and throws it with lethal accuracy. It hits its target and Drew is left swatting away the dust particles on his clothes.
DREW: “I almost believed you for a second there.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Raine walks toward the edge of the roof - looking down at the dark alley bellow.
RAINE: “I meant every word I said.”
And she leaps.
FOCUS on Drew as he looks down. From his POV; Raine walks away from the scene.
DREW: [shaking his head] “Crazy ass bitch.”
RAINE: [v.o] “You see; to be a perfect slayer you must be willing to make the hard choices, the sacrifices.” [beat] “Because the mission is all that matters.”
BLACK OUT-
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN-
INT. A CORRIDOR - UNKNOWN FACILITY - DAYTIME
A SHOT of a long stretched corridor as people scurries off in different direction. Most of them are young girls with backpacks and piles and piles of books.
RAINE: [v.o] “To be a slayer is to be alone. Or it used to anyway. Then Buffy decided to share her power with all the Potentials - creating an army of slayers.”
FOCUS on a brown haired timid girl walking by the CAMERA. In her hands is a thick book with the title ‘Demonology’.
RAINE: [v.o] “For a while there were thousands of them all over the world. Using their powers to do good.” [beat] “But then there was an apocalypse like no other before it. A really bad one. And almost every one of them died. Only a few remained.”
PANNING ACROSS the corridor and ZOOMING IN on a closed door with the sign: ‘CLASS ROOM 201, HISTORY.
Through the tinted glass we can see a bunch of girls sitting behind their desks, listening to a middle-aged man - probably their teacher.
TEACHER: “In the middle of the 1500 century a vicious clan of demons called the ‘Argaukhs’ tried to bring fort an apocalypse by sacrificing a slayer. Her name was…”
ZOOMING OUT and continuing down the corridor, past girls that stand in groups or two by two, talking and laughing.
RAINE: [v.o] “Today there’s only a few hundred slayers left in the world. Seventy-six of them have been located.”
ZOOMING IN on another closed door with the sigh: ‘CLASS ROOM 216, THEORY AND PHYSICS.
FEMALE VOICE: [o.c] “For this particular demon there’s no known ways of killing it. All you can hope for is to incapacitate it by…”
PANNING AWAY and continuing down the corridor.
RAINE: [v.o] “They all go here.”
ZOOMING IN on a metal plate on the wall - that reads:
RAINE: [v.o] “At Giles High.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. DARK ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
RAINE: [v.o] “Every slayer needs her Watcher.”
SPOTLIGHT on DREW lying on the bed, happily snoring.
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s mine.”
RAINE: [o.c] “Wake up, Drew.”
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal RAINE standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed and an inpatient scowl in her face. She’s wearing leather pants and a black shirt with quite the cleavage. Her full lips are pained blood red and her long dark hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail.
RAINE: [harsher] “Wake up!!”
Drew begins to stir, slowly opening his eyelids to focus on the woman in the doorway.
DREW: “Huh?”
RAINE: “You’re late.”
DREW: [blinking] “For what?”
RAINE: “The meeting.” [beat] “You do remember the meeting, don’t you?”
DREW: [hastily] “Of course!”
FOCUS on Drew as he rolls off the bed and quickly begins to dress himself - obviously in great stress.
RAINE: [v.o] “In my opinion Watchers are a thing of the past; outdated.”
ANGLE on Drew as he struggles with his jacket.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not like they’re useful in a fight. They’re not. And especially this one.”
FOCUS on Drew as he trips and falls, landing on the floor with a thud.
RAINE: [v.o] “See what I mean?”
DREW: [muffled] “I’m okay!!”
A SHOT of Raine as she rolls her eyes and turns her back against him.
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must always be patient…”
DREW: [moaning] “I think I stretched a muscle!!”
RAINE: [v.o] “… she also has to control her temper…”
DREW: [whining] “I think I need a massage!” [pause] “You don’t think that you…”
RAINE: [v.o] “One, two, three…”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. A CONFERENCE ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal a huge round table, which is slowly filled with all kinds of people. There’s two young girls, a middle-aged woman, five men in suits and - with her back against the CAMERA, a young slender girl with brown curls and a lab coat. As she turns around we can see that it’s FRED.
FRED: [looking around] “Is everyone here?”
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s Fred. Former all powerful demon king Illyria and now the head of the science and research apartment.”
YOUNG GIRL: “Ms Raine and Mr Giles haven’t arrived yet.”
MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN: “Neither has Spike.”
RAINE: [o.c] “We’re here now.”
RAINE and DREW shows up at the door, the latter looking flushed and generally dishevelled.
DREW: “Sorry that we’re late.”
FRED: [sweet smile] “It’s okay.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred is like the sweetest person ever. So it’s a shame that she’s so unhappy.”
FRED: [cont.] “We’re waiting for Spike anyway.”
And as just as she says that, the said vampire comes walking into the room as if he owns it. Looking very much the same as he always does; with black jeans, black T-shirt and a black coat.
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike; the vampire with a soul and supposed Champion of the Powers That Be.” [as he takes a seat] “And the love interest of Fred.”
FRED: “Good. Everyone’s here. Let’s get starting shall we?”
RAINE: [v.o] “As long as I have known Fred she has been in love with Spike. Only trouble is that he doesn’t love her.”
DREW: [to Raine] “Isn’t she great?”
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh, right. Did I mention that Drew has a huge crush on Fred?” [beat] “Could it get any better?”
FRED: [seriously] “We have a new threat to deal with.”
ANGEL on the blissful expression in Raine’s face at those words.
RAINE: [v.o] “Bingo.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. THE CONFERENCE ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room; everyone, except FRED who’s standing in front of a white board, is seated at the round table - looking at Fred.
FRED: “Has everyone understood?”
SPIKE: [nodding] “Yeah; heightened alertness from now on. Crystal.”
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must be sensitive to things that happen around her.”
FOCUS on the lingering look that Fred sends the bored vampire.
RAINE: [v.o] “But it doesn’t take a genius to see that she’s in for a heartache.”
DREW: [reaching up a hand] “I have a question…”
RAINE: [nudging him with her elbow] “Put the god damn hand away - we’re not in class!”
Drew quickly obeys with a embarrassed smile as Fred turns her attention to him.
FRED: “Yes, Drew?”
DREW: “These ‘Ugug… Uguggu….”
FRED: [smiling] “Ogoungs.”
DREW: “These Ogoungs… aren’t they extremely rare?”
FRED: [nodding] “Yes.”
DREW: [frowning] “Shouldn’t we then capture one alive? For studying.”
SPIKE: [examining his thumbnail] “Already done that, Watcher Junior. No need to worry your little bitty brain ‘bout that.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh, snap!”
DREW: [flustered] “Ah… er… I see…”
FRED: [cold stare at Spike] “Spike.”
FOCUS on the blond vampire as he shrugs and looks innocent. (Like he could ever pull that off.)
SPIKE: “No offends, mate.”
FRED: “Spike…”
SPIKE: [arising and heading towards the doors] “Got places to be ‘n people to see. Ta!”
FOCUS on the door as it shuts closed behind him.
RAINE: [v.o] “Gotta love the atmosphere ‘round here.”
A TIGHT SHOT of the hurt expression in Fred’s face.
RAINE: [v.o] “It never gets boring.”
BLACK OUT-
ACT TWO
EXT. GRAVEYARD - LOS ANGELES - NIGHTFALL
AIR SHOT of RAINE as she’s involved in a fight against a couple of vampires.
RAINE: [v.o] “Vampires can be tricky to kill. They’re deceivers; prefer to lurk in the shadows, waiting for the element of surprise.”
FOCUS on Raine as she dodges a powerful blow.
RAINE: [v.o] “This means that a slayer always have to be prepared. ‘Cause she always gotta reach for her weapon…”
ANGLE on the vampire as he slips into game face.
RAINE: [v.o] “They already got theirs.”
VAMPIRE: [growling] “Die, bitch!”
RAINE: “You first.”
FOCUS on Raine as she whips out her stake and skilfully drives it into the vampire’s chest. And another one bites the dust…
SPIKE: [o.c] “Not bad.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as the blond vampire steps out from the shadows under a great oak tree.
RAINE: “Spike.”
SPIKE: [eying the scene] “Where’s your Watcher?”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Probably sleeping like a pig in his warm and cosy bed.”
A SHOT at the smirk that slowly forms on Spike’s lips.
SPIKE: “Ah, I feel the love there.”
RAINE: [snorting] “As if!!”
SPIKE: “All that built up tension…”
RAINE: “I can’t stand him.” [at his grin] “We fight all the time!!”
SPIKE: “Foreplay.”
RAINE: [harrumphing] “Maybe to you.”
SPIKE: “Of course.”
SILENCE.
RAINE: “How ‘bout you?”
SPIKE: “Huh?”
RAINE: “Anyone that sparks your interest?”
He shrugs and starts to walk. Raine quickly follows.
RAINE: “Well?”
SPIKE: “’s no one.”
RAINE: “But…”
SPIKE: [agitated] “I said there’s no one!”
PAUSE.
RAINE: [v.o] “Did I mention that Spike has issues?”
ANGLE on Spike as he suddenly scowls at her and takes off in a run - disappearing into the shadows.
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh boy, do he got issues…”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
A LONG SHOT of SPIKE as he walks towards the CAMERA; hands tucked into his pockets and a sullen expression in his face.
RAINE: [v.o] “Once upon a time there was a vicious and bloodthirsty vampire called William the Bloody. He got the nickname ‘Spike’ after allegedly torturing his victims with railroad spikes. He was also known as the slayer of slayers, after killing two of our kind. But then he met Buffy Summers.” [beat] “And he fell in love with her.”
ZOOMING IN as Spike comes to a stop and tilts his head as if picking up something.
RAINE: [v.o] “He got his soul back for the love of her and he also sacrificed himself to close the Sunnydale Hellmouth so that she could live.”
FOCUS on Spike as his hands shots out and he drags out a struggling vampire from the shadows under a tree. They engage in a fight.
RAINE: [v.o] “Then he came back. At first he didn’t let his love know that he had returned - but she found out. And after coming to Spike’s aid in the legendary battle against the Senior Partner’s, they became lovers once more. And they lived the happily ever after.”
ANGLE on Spike as he dodges the vampire’s attack and easily stakes it. ZOOMING IN on the blatant expression in the blond vampire’s face as he walks through the dust cloud.
RAINE: [v.o] “’til Buffy died in a car accident.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Spike kicks down a gravestone, silently cursing and letting out a deep sigh.
RAINE: [v.o] “Then the happily ever after went bye bye.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Spike as he walks out of the graveyard and heading down a dark street, coat billowing behind him.
RAINE: [v.o] “For the following two years Spike literally disappeared from the face of the earth.” [beat] “And I mean literally.”
A WIDE SHOT to show us that a silent figure is stalking behind him; following his every move. We also see that it’s Raine. (Maybe she’s curious to see where he’s going.)
RAINE: [v.o] “It was Illyria, the demon god king that inhabited Fred’s body that found him at last. In another dimension.”
Ahead of Raine, Spike comes to a stop; inkling his head to the right as if he’d heard something from the alley.
RAINE: [v.o] “After some…minor…persuasion she brought him back and together with Willow Rosenberg, Dawn Summers and Rupert Giles she and Spike opened up Giles High. And Spike began his new life as a Watcher/Hunter. A Hunter is someone who tracks down slayers and brings them in for training.”
SPIKE: [over his shoulder] “You can come forth, Raine. I can sense you, you know.”
RAINE: [v.o] “He’s very good at his job.”
A WIDE SHOT as Raine steps out from the shadows with a pout as Spike slowly turns around to face her.
RAINE: “How did you…?”
SPIKE: [tapping his nose] “Vampire, luv.”
RAINE: [lamely]: “Oh…”
RAINE: [v.o] “Have I mentioned how gross that is?”
SPIKE: [sighing] “Why are you following me?”
FOCUS on Raine’s face as she’s obviously thinking hard for some explanation.
RAINE: “I was worried about you?”
ANGLE on Spike as he lifts a dubious eyebrow and looks at her as if she’s totally lost it.
SPIKE: “Right.”
Suddenly we hear a sound coming from the dark alley and as the two of them turn in that direction a huge - and it is HUGE, spider comes at Raine with its fangs widely open. It must be some sort of demon, ‘cause no REAL spider is that big. (Three meter high and almost as wide.)
RAINE: [instinctively] “Eek!!”
FOCUS on Spike as he charge at the spider demon, kicking aside one of its many legs and plunging a stake in its side. It let out a piercing scream like sound and doubled over in pain - which the blond vampire quickly takes advantage off. He goes at its black flesh with grim determination, hacking and cutting ‘til the things finally dies with a whimpering sigh and one last shuddering twitch with its massive body.
RAINE: [scrunching up her nose] “Yuck. It smells like a sewer. Like mouldy cheese and vomit.”
SPIKE: [staring at her] “You scream like a girl.”
RAINE: [insulted] “I am a girl.”
SILENCE.
JESSIE: [turning to Spike] “You enjoyed killing that thing. Saving my life was secondary.”
FOCUS on Spike as he grins wickedly.
JESSIE: “Okay, you're supposed to disagree with that.”
ANGLE on Spike as he shrugs and turns his back against her to continue his walk down the street.
RAINE: [v.o] “Issues.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LABORATORY - GILES HIGH - DAWN
A WIDE SHOT of the laboratory; FRED is standing by an examine table, flipping through the pages of a thick journal while she’s absently scratching her nose.
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred is like the smartest person of all time. And one of the strongest.”
FOCUS on Fred as she reaches for a glass of water and breaks the glass in her hand. She turns her head to look down at the pieces of the glass on the floor, and then she shrugs and continues reading.
RAINE: [v.o] “When Illyria withdrew she left some residual powers; making Fred stronger than the average human.” [beat] “A hell lot stronger than your average slayer as well.”
Suddenly Fred tilts her head in a way that reminds all to well of ILLYRIA and she quickly turns around to the CAMERA.
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal RAINE standing in the doorway holding a brown bag with the label ‘Taco Bell’.
RAINE: [holding out the bag] “I brought you offerings.”
Something flares in Fred’s eyes - just for a millisecond, but it’s enough to hint that not everything is alright with her.
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh yeah, sometimes Illyria likes to check in.”
FRED: [lovely smile] “Thanks, Raine.” [taking the bag] “How nice of you.”
RAINE: “I have ulterior motives.”
FRED: “Oh?” [stuffing her mouth full of nachos] “Do tell.”
RAINE: “I was hoping that you could give me something for my… phobia.”
FRED: [swallowing] “Phobia?”
RAINE: [nodding] “Spiders.”
SILENCE.
FRED: “Spiders.” [beat] “How about crushing them under your heel?”
RAINE: [uncomfortable] “But what if I can’t. what if they’re…” [beat] “Bigger than me…?”
FOCUS on the questioning expression in Fred’s face. Then it’s like she decides to not press the issue any further, because she shrugs and turns around to survey a shell of jar and boxes. She picks down a small jar filled with an orange coloured liquid and hands it to Raine.
FRED: “This should help.”
RAINE: [studying the jar] “What is it.”
PAUSE.
FRED: “It’s better if you don’t know.”
ANGLE on Raine as she suspiciously studies the liquid.
RAINE: “Oh.”
There’s a short silence as Fred indulges in her spicy goodies and Raine gazing around the vast laboratory with curious eyes. (She probably doesn’t spend a lot time here.]
FRED: [finishing of the last nacho chip] “Yummy.” [licking her fingers] “Thanks again, Raine."
RAINE: [v.o] “If I weren’t straight…” [beat] “Spike is a moron.”
RAINE: “It was nothing.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. TRAINING ROOM - GILES HIGH - DAY
A WIDE SHOT of the training room to reveal ten young girls standing lined in front of DREW with their posture rigid and resembling a very well drilled group of soldiers.
DREW: “First rule of slayer warfare; you must always be prepared to die for the good cause. Second rule: never falter from your mission. Third rule; do not leave a fallen comrade behind.”
RAINE: [v.o] “You would think that things should be easier with more slayers in the world, helping each other beat back the forces of evil…”
DREW: “It’s your sacred duty to look out for your fellow sisters, to aid them in battle and sacrifice your life for theirs.”
RAINE: [v.o] “It isn’t. All that it means is that you are distracted by them. Your life for theirs? What a bunch of…”
DREW: “A slayer must always be alert to her surroundings. She must have the will and the determination to patrol every night in order to keep the world safe. It’s her obligation to mankind.”
YOUNG SLAYER: [reaching up a hand] “Mr Giles?”
DREW: “Yes, Milla?”
MILLA: “We are like what…? Seventy slayers just in this school, right? Why not take turns with the patrolling?”
SILENCE.
DREW: “Because…”
RAINE: [v.o] “Drew is a product of the old ‘New Watcher’s Council’; a descendent from Rupert Giles himself. For him there’s only one way to travel - the self-righteous one.”
DREW: “Any slacking - in all ways, would lead to lessened focus and agility.”
[beat] “Making her an easy target for the next demon that crosses her path.”
RAINE: [sarcastically] “And there you have it.”
FOCUS on the door as RAINE comes walking in. The dark haired slayer has changed into grey a sweat suit.
DREW: [sighing] “Raine. How nice of you to finally join us.”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Oh well, you know… I was busy patrolling.” [innuendo] “Just doing my obligation.”
ANGLE on the peeved expression in Drew’s face as he follows Raine with his gaze as she walks over to weapons that is displayed on the wall. She picks down a crossbow and examines it carefully.
DREW: [furrowed brow] “And was it a successful patrol?”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Did in a couple of nasties. No big deal.” [looking up] “Is this a class in how to handle different weapons or is it not?”
DREW: [resigned] “It is.” [focusing on the girls] “Let’s begin shall we.”
A WIDE SHOT of the room as the young slayers scatter around, assuming positions and receiving different weapons to train with. The most used weapon seems to be (duh) the stake - in this case without a pointy end, and after that the crossbow.
RAINE: [v.o] “Drew has a lot of knowledge in how to defeat demons.” [beat] “But no one has actually seen him in action.”
ANGLE on Drew as he skilfully throws a knife at the target board. The blade penetrates the wood and the weapon has clearly hit the centre of the board.
RAINE: [v.o] “His a dark horse in all of this.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. CELLBLOCK - GILES HIGH - DAY
A LONG SHOT of a long stretched, rather dark corridor without windows and what appears to be cells on each sides. A quick count makes it eight cells. We can also hear the muffled roars from different sources, all originated from the cells.
PANNING FORWARD: to the left we can see what appears to be a VAMPIRE sitting on a cot with his game face on. In his hands is a bag of blood.
RAINE: [v.o] “Giles High isn’t just a school.”
To the right; a FYARL DEMON holds the bars and roars out into the corridor, clearly unhappy with his place.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s also the headquarters of the ‘New Watcher’s Council’.”
PANNING FORWARD to the end of the corridor, past the occupied cells and ZOOMING IN on a thick iron door with the sign: CAUTION DO NOT ENTER. AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY.
THE CAMERA PANS FORWARD-
--CUT TO:
INT. A LOBBY - GILES HIGH - DAY
A WIDE SHOT of a big round lobby. The walls consist of pinewood and the floor of bamboo. In the middle of the floor is a emblem; a round blue outer circle, a white inner circle with a lightened WC (Watcher’s Council) and the text ‘DEPARTMENT OF WATCHER’S COUNCIL WE SAVE THE WORLD imprinted in the outer circle.
FOCUSING on a lovely young woman with long red hair sitting behind a desk. She’s apparently speaking into a headphone.
WOMAN: “Welcome to the WC, how can I help you?” [pause] “If you want advice on ritual removal of possessing entities you should talk to Mr Grey.”
RAINE: [v.o] “The ‘New Watcher’s Council’ is big on ‘helping the helpless’.” [beat] “Or hopeless as Spike would put it.”
WOMAN: “Welcome to the WC, how can I help you?” [courtly listening] “Oh dear, that sounds awful, miss. I’ll pass you through to the Magic’s Department right away.”
RAINE: “Giles High can also pride itself of having no less than five witches working for time full time.”
FOCUS on one door leading out from the lobby as it opens and a redheaded young woman walks out carrying a stack of books and a pencil stuck behind her left ear. She vaguely resembles someone…
WOMAN BEHIND DESK: “Oh, Ms Rosenberg, wait!” [holding out a piece of paper] “This is the list of items you’ll need for your next assignment.”
RAINE: [v.o] “One of them is a descendent from the great Willow Rosenberg herself.” [beat] “Although it’s widely known that Willow Rosenberg was a lesbian - she had a brief affair with some guy and she got pregnant. Lily Rosenberg is her great granddaughter.”
LILY: [taking the piece of paper] “Thank you, Diane.”
The CAMERA STAYS with Lily as she walks towards a double door with the sigh: TATUM GILES, HEAD WATCHER.
After a polite knock, she opens the door and enters a vast office.
FOCUS on the elderly man that sits behind a huge desk, seemingly busy writing in some sort of journal. He’s dressed in a dark suit and his grey hair is well trimmed and his weather-beaten face tanned. He looks up with a smile as Lily approaches the desk.
MAN: “Ah, Ms Rosenberg! Do you have the spell I asked for?”
Lily nodded and handed him one of the books she had been carrying. The label says: ANCIENT RITUALS AND SPELLS.
RAINE: [v.o] “Tatum Giles is Drew’s father and the senior Watcher. It is he who runs the school as well as the Council.”
LILY: “This is a pretty powerful spell, Mr Giles.” [blinking] “Are you sure it’s okay to cast it?”
TATUM: “Perfectly sure, ms Rosenberg.” [meeting her gaze] “I’ll do anything that’s necessary to protect this building and everyone inside.”
LILY: “Fred was fairly convinced that Team One would be able to take down this threat rather easily.”
RAINE: [v.o] “That would be me and Spike they’re talking about. Yup, Team One; the suicide squad. We’re the ones with all the experience and skills.”
TATUM: [nodding] “Yet, I want this spell to be cast. Just as a precaution.”
RAINE: [o.c] “Don’t want to jeopardize it all by trusting us, huh?”
PANNING OUT to reveal RAINE standing leaned against the doorframe with a dry sneer on her face as she studies the two of them.
TATUM: “Of course not, Ms Harris.”
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s right… I am a descendent from XANDER HARRIS. Didn’t expect that, right?”
TATUM: [cont.] “It’s just that Spike has been known for his reckless behaviour in the past as well as to recent date. I’m not sure he wants to get involved with this particular nasty.”
RAINE: “I see.”
LILY: [hastily] “It’s not that we don’t trust you guys.” [beat] “It’s just that…”
RAINE: “Both of us have a history with this ‘Big Bad’.”
TATUM: [nodding] “The First Evil was after all the one that caused Spike to die in the Sunnydale Hellmouth.” [beat] “And it was indirectly the cause to your mother’s death.”
FOCUS on the pained expression on Raine’s face.
BLACK OUT-
ACT THREE
FADE IN-
EXT. GRAVEYARD - LOS ANGELES - DUSK
ZOOMING IN on RAINE standing in front of a headstone with a grim expression in her pale face. The inscription on the stone says;
SARAH HARRIS
2140-2155
SHE SAW THE WORLD
RAINE: [v.o] “My mother was a Watcher as well as a seer. The latter trait was something she had inherited from her great grandfather XANDER HARRIS. She was the most selfless and gentle person I’ve ever known and she were loved.”
FOCUS on Raine as she leans forward to place a single red rose on the ground in front of the grave.
RAINE: [v.o] “She was researching a way to close the dimension between Hell and Earth when the First sent his subjects after her. A bunch of ferocious vampires that sought out and turned my entire family. My mother, my dad and my two sisters… I was the only one who survived.”
RAINE: [whispering] “I’m so sorry, mum…”
PANNING OUT as Raine begins to walk away from the grave, her coat billowing behind her in the soft breeze.
RAINE: [v.o] “I had to kill them of course; my own family.”
A WIDE SHOT as a VAMPIRE suddenly jumps out in front of Raine. She doesn’t even twitch when she whips out a stake and drives it through the demons heart.
RAINE: [v.o]“’cause I am a slayer and that’s what slayers do; kill vampires.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. RAINE’S BEDROOM - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
SPOTLIGHT on RAINE standing in front of the mirror, slowly undressing. She unbuttons her black shirt, revealing a three inches long scar across her V-line. As she slips out of the fabric we can see hints of tiny scars on her collarbone and arms, as if she’s been clawed by something with small claws. Under her shirt she wears a black bra. Her skin is lightly tanned and shimmers in the light streaming out from a single bedside lamp.
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer could say that her body is a map of all the horrible things she has encountered.”
FOCUS on a particular nasty scar in Raine’s left side.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s a canvas of all the death and mayhem we’re exposed to on an almost daily basis.”
PANNING OUT as Raine begins to unbutton her jeans, slowly pulling them down and revealing trimmed legs - also covered in scars and bruises. Then she stands in front of the CAMERA only wearing her black bra and matching panties. She’s a lovely woman; tall, trimmed and lean.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not a pretty sight, but I’ve learned to live with it.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Raine as she walks through a door and into a bathroom, where she turns on the shower.
As the steam forms in the small room, Raine turns her back against the CAMERA and unhooks her bra. Then she leans down - presumable taking off her panties. When that is done she steps into the shower and places herself under the hot water.
RAINE: [v.o] “You learn to live with the constant sore muscles and stains of cuts and bruises. Hell, you even learn to live with the fact that you probably won’t wear a dress if not necessary.”
We have a SHOT of Raines upper body (no nudity) as she raises her arms to shampoo her hair.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not like there’s someone who I’d want to put on a dress for anyway.”
FLASH.
A SHOT of DREW’S face.
FLASH.
A TIGHT SHOT of Raine as she leans her head back and rinses her hair from the Shampoo.
RAINE: [v.o] “Eew.”
FLASH.
A SHOT of SPIKE’S face.
FLASH.
A CLOSE UP on Raine’s mouth as its corners twist up in a dreamy smile.
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s more like it.”
Raine opens her eyes and turns off the water. She then reaches for a towel and drapes herself in it as she exits the shower and walk into the bedroom.
A WIDE SHOT of the room as Raine walks up to the mirror. Standing in front of it she lifts a hand to examine her features.
RAINE: [silently] “He wouldn’t think of me that way.” [avoiding her reflection] “I am not her.”
PANNING OUT and FOCUSING on a book lying on the bed table. On the cover of it is a picture of BUFFY!
RAINE: “I am not even the other one…”
FOCUSING on another book with ILLYRIA on the cover.
RAINE: [v.o] “As I said; Issues.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. TRAINING ROOM - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
ALL LIGHT on FRED as she pummels on a sandbag. Her blows are powerful and her face set in grim determination. It’s like she’s battling her inner demons or something like that.
RAINE: [v.o] “Before Fred died and Illyria took over her body she was deeply in love with this man called Wesley Windham-Price. But then Illyria came along and the god king only saw the man as a trusted guide. Yeah, she surly grieved him when he died in the battle against the Senior Partner’s - but that didn’t last too long. She had other priorities.”
FOCUS on Fred as she delivers a rather vicious blow to the bag, making it squeak loudly in its hinges.
RAINE: [v.o] “One of them was Spike.” [beat] “In the beginning Illyria simply saw the vampire as her ‘pet’. Someone she could command and push around. But as time went by and he proved to be a true warrior her feelings towards him gradually changed.”
Fred backs a few steps and executes a perfect roundhouse kick that send the bag flying across the room and hitting the wall with a bang.
RAINE: [v.o] “She fell in love with him.”
PANNING OUT as Fred walks over to a chest cabinet and picks out a set of daggers. She starts throwing them at a target board with reckless accuracy.
RAINE: [v.o] “Problem was that Spike already was in love with Buffy.” [beat] “And after Buffy’s tragic death he grieved for years, making it rather hard for Illyria to convince him of her feelings. Instead she had to be satisfied that they at least worked together.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Fred as she suddenly turns her back against the board and leaves the training room.
RAINE: [v.o] “As time passed Spike realized how much she actually meant to him and they finally became lovers.”
We FOLLOW Fred with a STEAD CAM as she walks down the corridor, past the dark classrooms and heading towards a door with the sign: NURSERY.
RAINE: [v.o] “And for over a hundred years they were almost inseparable.” [beat] “’til Fred’s body started to reject Illyria’s essence.”
Fred enters the nursery and we can see that it’s empty. She switches the lights on and walk up to a shell with jars and syringes. She reaches for one of the latter.
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred was reborn within the god king and Illyria… Well, most of her was destroyed.”
A CLOSE UP on Fred’s face as her eye colour shifts, from hard blue to hazel.
RAINE: [v.o] “Something of Illyria still…” [beat] “…resides.”
PANNING OUT as Fred injects herself with the syringe, a painful expression on her face as she does so.
RAINE: [v.o] “But as long as Fred takes this shots of… whatever it is, she is okay.”
ZOOMING OUT more as Fred drops the syringe to the floor and cast her head back, closing her eyes. Then she lowers her head and we can see the clear hazel colour of her eyes as she stares straight into the CAMERA.
RAINE: “Hey, Fred.” [appearing into view] “How are you?”
FRED: [calmly] “I’m fine.”
RAINE: “I, uh… I thought that maybe you would like to fill me in a little bit more about the First.”
FRED: “Sure.”
The two women leave the nursery, closing the door behind them.
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LIBRARY - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - DAWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room and the two women that sits at a round table in the middle of it.
FRED: [all business] “The First Evil is the source and embodiment of all that is evil. It’s older than demons, even the Old Ones.” [frown] “It is older than the written word and transcends all realities and dimensions.”
RAINE: “So it’s pretty powerful.”
FRED: “It’s more than that.”
RAINE: “What?”
FRED: “The First is power. Raw power. It’s ancient, predating almost everything. And it cannot be destroyed.”
PAUSE.
RAINE: [lamely] “Bummer.”
FRED: “Once it was set bet by Buffy and Spike - but that was all that it was; a minor disturbance for the First.” [deep breath] “It has eternities to act.”
RAINE: “Oh.”
FRED: [grimly] “And now it’s back; lord knows what it has in store for us this time.”
SPIKE: [o.c] “Whatever it plans, let’s get one thing straight tough; I'm not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, brooches, beads, pendants, pins or rings.”
FOCUS on the door to reveal SPIKE standing there with a blank expression.
RAINE: “Huh?”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LABORATORY - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - DAY
SPOTLIGHT on the three (SPIKE, RAINE and FRED) as they stand around a desk, looking down at a item on it. As the CAMERA PANS CLOSER we can see that it is the AMULET Spike worn in the destruction of the Sunnydale Hellmouth.
RAINE: [confused frown] “What is this?”
FRED: “It’s the amulet that Spike wore to destroy the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. It channelled his soul and took out the Turok-Hans. It also killed him in the process.”
RAINE: [nodding] “I’ve heard the story.” [studying the amulet] “How come it’s here? I thought it was considered lost in the ruins of Wolfram and Hart?”
FRED: “It was. ‘til Illyria found it.” [avoiding their gazes] “She believed it to have a higher purpose in the future.”
FOCUS on Spike as he frowns.
SPIKE: “Like being important in our upcoming fight against the First Evil?”
FRED: “Er, yeah…” [awkward look] “Like you having to wear it again in order to save the world.” [beat] “Again...”
SILENCE.
SPIKE: “Bugger…”
RAINE: [slowly] “Good thing we like a challenge.”
BLACK OUT-
ACT FOUR
FADE IN-
EXT. A ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - DUSK
SPOTLIGHT on SPIKE as he fights against two vampires; backhanding one of them and kicking the other out of the way.
RAINE: [v.o] “You can say a lot of things about Spike - but you gotta give him some credit for how well he take bad news.”
FOCUS on Spike as he dodges the incoming blow from the first vampire and sliding sideways to avoid getting stabbed by the second one.
RAINE: [v.o] “If I found out that I am predestined to die - again, I would probably act a little different.”
ZOOMING OUT to reveal RAINE busy fighting a single vampire to Spike’s left.
RAINE: [v.o] “For starters I would locate those assholes that call themselves ‘The Powers That Be…” [beat] “And whoop their sorry asses for interfering in my life.”
FOCUS on Spike as he whips put a stake and dusts vampire number one. As soon as the dust is settled he turns around to his other opponent and quickly snaps its neck.
RAINE: [v.o] “But that’s just me.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Spike walks over to Raine and her opponent; surprising the vampire and effortlessly snaps its neck as well.
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike works off his stress in a totally different way.” [beat] “A very violent way.”
SPIKE: “You’re slipping.” [studying her closely] “Whatta ya thinking about?”
RAINE: “Aren’t you concerned? At all?”
SPIKE: [raised eyebrow] “About what?”
RAINE: “Well… That you’re destined to die, for starters.”
SPIKE: [shrugging]”’s not like I haven’t done that before.”
RAINE: “Right.”
SPIKE: [staring behind her] “Vampire.”
RAINE: “I know that you’re a vampire. Duh.”
SPIKE: “Behind you.”
RAINE: “Oh.”
ZOOMING OUT as a vampire lunges for Raine, fangs ready for the kill. Only that it doesn’t get very far. It has just about time to look down at the stake sticking out from its chest before it withers away into dust.
RAINE: “Roast ‘n toast.”
SPIKE: “That’s like what…? The third time I save your life today?”
RAINE: “Yeah? Run a tab why don’t you.”
SPIKE: [smirk] “Maybe I will.”
RAINE: [v.o] “If he wasn’t so hot I’d…”
SPIKE: “You sure do need help a lot.”
RAINE: [v.o] “On the other hand…”
SPIKE: “Or maybe you just hit a bad luck lately.”
RAINE: [resigned] “That must be it.”
SPIKE: [gazing out into the night] “Wonder how it goes for the other team.”
RAINE: “They got Fred with them, so probably a whole lot better than we do.”
SPIKE: “Hm…”
RAINE: “Oh, for the love of…!”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. GRAVEYARD LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A WIDE SHOT of the graveyard, revealing a group of three young slayers and FRED involved in a fight against various demons. They seem to be handling their own pretty good.
RAINE: [v.o] “Ever since Fred returned into her own body Spike has had this uncalled opinion that she’s fragile. That she needs supervision.”
FOCUS on Fred as she gracefully jumps out of range from a huge demon and effortlessly breaks its neck with one swift move.
RAINE: [v.o] “Which is totally unnecessary as Illyria’s powers ad strength still resided within her.”
Fred move son to the next demon and lifts it up in the air and throws it against a tree - breaking its back.
RAINE: [v.o] “I mean; Fred can take care off herself. Probably better than anyone of us.”
YOUNG SLAYER: “Fred!”
ANGLE on the slayer that shouted Fred’s name; she’s been cornered by a massive demon against a mausoleum, and now the beast is closing in for the kill.
PANNING OUT as Fred moves with incredible speed and suddenly stands behind the demon with a grim expression in her face. She lifts her hands and twists the demon’s neck with an audible crack.
RAINE: [v.o] “So, Spike shouldn’t need to worry.”
YOUNG SLAYER: [shallow breaths] “Thank you.”
FRED: “Are you okay?”
YOUNG SLAYER: [nodding] “Yeah.”
Fred turns her back against the girl and continues killing demons without any real effort. She makes it look so easy…
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. THE ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
SPOTLIGHT on SPIKE and RAINE as they stand side by side at the edge of the roof and gaze out over the city down bellow.
RAINE: “Do you think they’ll ever know how close they are to danger every day? That they could die at any moment?”
SPIKE: [shrugging] “They know.” [kicking a pebble down the edge] “They just chose to ignore it.”
RAINE: [nodding] “I guess ignorance really is bliss.”
SPIKE: “The thing is, Raine; that people like to think they’re masters of their own life. Their own destiny. That is ultimately the thing that drives them.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike hates taking about destinies and such. And can you blame him? When he’s a walking proof that your destiny somehow has been preordained by some other dude?”
FOCUS on Spike as he looks out into the night with a hard read expression in his handsome face.
RAINE: “Spike?”
SPIKE: [silently] “Can you feel it?”
RAINE: [frown] “Feel what?”
ANGLE on Spike as he slowly turns his head to look down at the dark haired slayer.
SPIKE: “The world is shifting.” [beat] “Can’t you feel that?”
RAINE: [shaking her head] “No.”
SPIKE: “It’s in the air… Something is coming.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Now what the hell is he talking about?”
Suddenly there’s a loud boom echoing through the night and a PORTAL appears out of nowhere behind them.
PANNING OUT as the two of them turn in surprise and stare at the portal with different degrees of dread.
RAINE: “What the…?”
FOCUS on the portal as a petite young woman steps out off it. She’s dressed in a bluish kind of dress and boots. She’s quite lovely. And we recognize her as RIVER!
SPIKE: “Damn…”
The portal closes behind River with a pop and she stands there; looking at Spike and Raine with a plain expression in her face.
SPIKE: [scrunching u his nose] “A slayer?”
RAINE: “What? What did you say?”
RIVER: [doing the V-sign] “I come in peace.”
RAINE: [baffled] “Huh?”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. THE ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A WIDE SHOT of the roof as the three of them stand positioned almost like a triangle; SPIKE and RAINE curiously studying RIVER.
SPIKE: [frown] “Where did you come from?”
RIVER: “The future.”
RAINE: “That’s impossible.”
RIVER: [tilting her head] “No, it’s not.”
RAINE: “I don’t believe in time travel.”
RIVER: “Well, then you’re an idiot.”
PAUSE.
SPIKE: [smirk] “Oh, attitude. I like that in a girl.”
River fires him a mega watt smile.
RAINE: [staring] “Who the fuck, are you?”
RIVER: “River.”
RAINE: “River?” [grim stare] “Tell us the truth now; where did you come from?”
RIVER: “The future.”
SPIKE: “That’s…”
RAINE: “I already said that’s impossible.” [turning to Spike] “She must work with the First - kill her.”
SPIKE: [incredulous stare] “She’s a slayer!”
RIVER: “I am a what?”
RAINE: [whipping out a stake] “If you’re not going to kill her then I will.”
A WIDE SHOT as Raine makes a move as if to attack River. Only that River moves incredible fast and takes a hold on Spike, pressing a knife to his throat.
RIVER: “This might not kill him, but it sure will leave a mark.”
RAINE: [coming to a halt] “Release him.”
RIVER: [tilting her head] “No.”
And with that she renders Spike unconscious with a blow to the head, and with him in a safe grip she backs against the edge of the roof and leaps.
FOCUS on Raine as she runs to the edge and looks down. And from her POV:
The street down bellow is empty. No sign of either River or Spike.
RAINE: “Damn…”
RAINE: [v.o] “How the hell am I gonna explain this?”
BLACK OUT-
END OF EPISODE
Rating: NC-17 because of string language, sexual situations and violence.
THE SLAYER YEARS
’Let The Games Begin’
By
Chosen Twice
Copyright © Chosen Twice
TEASER
NARRATOR: JESSICA BIEL (Raine)
BLACK SCREEN.
RAINE: [voice over] ”Once upon a time there was a girl that dreamt of a normal life; doing all things regular teenagers do. Like shopping at the mall and hanging out with her friends. All that she ever wanted was to love and be loved.” [beat] “But fate had chosen her to fight the forces of evil and so she did. She became a true warrior. She might have been the greatest warrior of all time. Her name was Buffy and she was a slayer just like me.” [beat] “But I am nothing like her.”
FADE IN-
EXT. A ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A CLOSE UP on RAINE as she gracefully ducks form an incoming blow.
RAINE: [v.o] “Unlike Buffy I don’t have any family to hold me back. Not a single soul to distract me from my duties.”
DREW: [off camera] “Raine, help!”
RAINE: [v.o] “Well, except him.”
PANNING OUT to a WIDE SHOT to reveal that a tall and bulky vampire holds the young Watcher’s throat in a death grip.
VAMPIRE: “Back off, bitch, or I make him my next snack.”
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must always protect the weak and innocent.”
DREW: “Give it up, demon. She’s gonna dust you anyway.”
RAINE: [v.o] “On the other hand…”
VAMPIRE: “What’s it gonna be, huh?”
RAINE: “You know what? Just kill him. I can easily get another Watcher.”
FOCUS on the vampire’s stunned face. It’s obvious that it hadn’t counted on a response such as that. This shows as his grip around Drew’s throat loosens. And as soon as it does, Raine whips out a stake and throws it with lethal accuracy. It hits its target and Drew is left swatting away the dust particles on his clothes.
DREW: “I almost believed you for a second there.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Raine walks toward the edge of the roof - looking down at the dark alley bellow.
RAINE: “I meant every word I said.”
And she leaps.
FOCUS on Drew as he looks down. From his POV; Raine walks away from the scene.
DREW: [shaking his head] “Crazy ass bitch.”
RAINE: [v.o] “You see; to be a perfect slayer you must be willing to make the hard choices, the sacrifices.” [beat] “Because the mission is all that matters.”
BLACK OUT-
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN-
INT. A CORRIDOR - UNKNOWN FACILITY - DAYTIME
A SHOT of a long stretched corridor as people scurries off in different direction. Most of them are young girls with backpacks and piles and piles of books.
RAINE: [v.o] “To be a slayer is to be alone. Or it used to anyway. Then Buffy decided to share her power with all the Potentials - creating an army of slayers.”
FOCUS on a brown haired timid girl walking by the CAMERA. In her hands is a thick book with the title ‘Demonology’.
RAINE: [v.o] “For a while there were thousands of them all over the world. Using their powers to do good.” [beat] “But then there was an apocalypse like no other before it. A really bad one. And almost every one of them died. Only a few remained.”
PANNING ACROSS the corridor and ZOOMING IN on a closed door with the sign: ‘CLASS ROOM 201, HISTORY.
Through the tinted glass we can see a bunch of girls sitting behind their desks, listening to a middle-aged man - probably their teacher.
TEACHER: “In the middle of the 1500 century a vicious clan of demons called the ‘Argaukhs’ tried to bring fort an apocalypse by sacrificing a slayer. Her name was…”
ZOOMING OUT and continuing down the corridor, past girls that stand in groups or two by two, talking and laughing.
RAINE: [v.o] “Today there’s only a few hundred slayers left in the world. Seventy-six of them have been located.”
ZOOMING IN on another closed door with the sigh: ‘CLASS ROOM 216, THEORY AND PHYSICS.
FEMALE VOICE: [o.c] “For this particular demon there’s no known ways of killing it. All you can hope for is to incapacitate it by…”
PANNING AWAY and continuing down the corridor.
RAINE: [v.o] “They all go here.”
ZOOMING IN on a metal plate on the wall - that reads:
RAINE: [v.o] “At Giles High.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. DARK ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
RAINE: [v.o] “Every slayer needs her Watcher.”
SPOTLIGHT on DREW lying on the bed, happily snoring.
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s mine.”
RAINE: [o.c] “Wake up, Drew.”
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal RAINE standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed and an inpatient scowl in her face. She’s wearing leather pants and a black shirt with quite the cleavage. Her full lips are pained blood red and her long dark hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail.
RAINE: [harsher] “Wake up!!”
Drew begins to stir, slowly opening his eyelids to focus on the woman in the doorway.
DREW: “Huh?”
RAINE: “You’re late.”
DREW: [blinking] “For what?”
RAINE: “The meeting.” [beat] “You do remember the meeting, don’t you?”
DREW: [hastily] “Of course!”
FOCUS on Drew as he rolls off the bed and quickly begins to dress himself - obviously in great stress.
RAINE: [v.o] “In my opinion Watchers are a thing of the past; outdated.”
ANGLE on Drew as he struggles with his jacket.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not like they’re useful in a fight. They’re not. And especially this one.”
FOCUS on Drew as he trips and falls, landing on the floor with a thud.
RAINE: [v.o] “See what I mean?”
DREW: [muffled] “I’m okay!!”
A SHOT of Raine as she rolls her eyes and turns her back against him.
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must always be patient…”
DREW: [moaning] “I think I stretched a muscle!!”
RAINE: [v.o] “… she also has to control her temper…”
DREW: [whining] “I think I need a massage!” [pause] “You don’t think that you…”
RAINE: [v.o] “One, two, three…”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. A CONFERENCE ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal a huge round table, which is slowly filled with all kinds of people. There’s two young girls, a middle-aged woman, five men in suits and - with her back against the CAMERA, a young slender girl with brown curls and a lab coat. As she turns around we can see that it’s FRED.
FRED: [looking around] “Is everyone here?”
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s Fred. Former all powerful demon king Illyria and now the head of the science and research apartment.”
YOUNG GIRL: “Ms Raine and Mr Giles haven’t arrived yet.”
MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN: “Neither has Spike.”
RAINE: [o.c] “We’re here now.”
RAINE and DREW shows up at the door, the latter looking flushed and generally dishevelled.
DREW: “Sorry that we’re late.”
FRED: [sweet smile] “It’s okay.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred is like the sweetest person ever. So it’s a shame that she’s so unhappy.”
FRED: [cont.] “We’re waiting for Spike anyway.”
And as just as she says that, the said vampire comes walking into the room as if he owns it. Looking very much the same as he always does; with black jeans, black T-shirt and a black coat.
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike; the vampire with a soul and supposed Champion of the Powers That Be.” [as he takes a seat] “And the love interest of Fred.”
FRED: “Good. Everyone’s here. Let’s get starting shall we?”
RAINE: [v.o] “As long as I have known Fred she has been in love with Spike. Only trouble is that he doesn’t love her.”
DREW: [to Raine] “Isn’t she great?”
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh, right. Did I mention that Drew has a huge crush on Fred?” [beat] “Could it get any better?”
FRED: [seriously] “We have a new threat to deal with.”
ANGEL on the blissful expression in Raine’s face at those words.
RAINE: [v.o] “Bingo.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. THE CONFERENCE ROOM - GILES HIGH - TIME UNKNOWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room; everyone, except FRED who’s standing in front of a white board, is seated at the round table - looking at Fred.
FRED: “Has everyone understood?”
SPIKE: [nodding] “Yeah; heightened alertness from now on. Crystal.”
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer must be sensitive to things that happen around her.”
FOCUS on the lingering look that Fred sends the bored vampire.
RAINE: [v.o] “But it doesn’t take a genius to see that she’s in for a heartache.”
DREW: [reaching up a hand] “I have a question…”
RAINE: [nudging him with her elbow] “Put the god damn hand away - we’re not in class!”
Drew quickly obeys with a embarrassed smile as Fred turns her attention to him.
FRED: “Yes, Drew?”
DREW: “These ‘Ugug… Uguggu….”
FRED: [smiling] “Ogoungs.”
DREW: “These Ogoungs… aren’t they extremely rare?”
FRED: [nodding] “Yes.”
DREW: [frowning] “Shouldn’t we then capture one alive? For studying.”
SPIKE: [examining his thumbnail] “Already done that, Watcher Junior. No need to worry your little bitty brain ‘bout that.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh, snap!”
DREW: [flustered] “Ah… er… I see…”
FRED: [cold stare at Spike] “Spike.”
FOCUS on the blond vampire as he shrugs and looks innocent. (Like he could ever pull that off.)
SPIKE: “No offends, mate.”
FRED: “Spike…”
SPIKE: [arising and heading towards the doors] “Got places to be ‘n people to see. Ta!”
FOCUS on the door as it shuts closed behind him.
RAINE: [v.o] “Gotta love the atmosphere ‘round here.”
A TIGHT SHOT of the hurt expression in Fred’s face.
RAINE: [v.o] “It never gets boring.”
BLACK OUT-
ACT TWO
EXT. GRAVEYARD - LOS ANGELES - NIGHTFALL
AIR SHOT of RAINE as she’s involved in a fight against a couple of vampires.
RAINE: [v.o] “Vampires can be tricky to kill. They’re deceivers; prefer to lurk in the shadows, waiting for the element of surprise.”
FOCUS on Raine as she dodges a powerful blow.
RAINE: [v.o] “This means that a slayer always have to be prepared. ‘Cause she always gotta reach for her weapon…”
ANGLE on the vampire as he slips into game face.
RAINE: [v.o] “They already got theirs.”
VAMPIRE: [growling] “Die, bitch!”
RAINE: “You first.”
FOCUS on Raine as she whips out her stake and skilfully drives it into the vampire’s chest. And another one bites the dust…
SPIKE: [o.c] “Not bad.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as the blond vampire steps out from the shadows under a great oak tree.
RAINE: “Spike.”
SPIKE: [eying the scene] “Where’s your Watcher?”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Probably sleeping like a pig in his warm and cosy bed.”
A SHOT at the smirk that slowly forms on Spike’s lips.
SPIKE: “Ah, I feel the love there.”
RAINE: [snorting] “As if!!”
SPIKE: “All that built up tension…”
RAINE: “I can’t stand him.” [at his grin] “We fight all the time!!”
SPIKE: “Foreplay.”
RAINE: [harrumphing] “Maybe to you.”
SPIKE: “Of course.”
SILENCE.
RAINE: “How ‘bout you?”
SPIKE: “Huh?”
RAINE: “Anyone that sparks your interest?”
He shrugs and starts to walk. Raine quickly follows.
RAINE: “Well?”
SPIKE: “’s no one.”
RAINE: “But…”
SPIKE: [agitated] “I said there’s no one!”
PAUSE.
RAINE: [v.o] “Did I mention that Spike has issues?”
ANGLE on Spike as he suddenly scowls at her and takes off in a run - disappearing into the shadows.
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh boy, do he got issues…”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
A LONG SHOT of SPIKE as he walks towards the CAMERA; hands tucked into his pockets and a sullen expression in his face.
RAINE: [v.o] “Once upon a time there was a vicious and bloodthirsty vampire called William the Bloody. He got the nickname ‘Spike’ after allegedly torturing his victims with railroad spikes. He was also known as the slayer of slayers, after killing two of our kind. But then he met Buffy Summers.” [beat] “And he fell in love with her.”
ZOOMING IN as Spike comes to a stop and tilts his head as if picking up something.
RAINE: [v.o] “He got his soul back for the love of her and he also sacrificed himself to close the Sunnydale Hellmouth so that she could live.”
FOCUS on Spike as his hands shots out and he drags out a struggling vampire from the shadows under a tree. They engage in a fight.
RAINE: [v.o] “Then he came back. At first he didn’t let his love know that he had returned - but she found out. And after coming to Spike’s aid in the legendary battle against the Senior Partner’s, they became lovers once more. And they lived the happily ever after.”
ANGLE on Spike as he dodges the vampire’s attack and easily stakes it. ZOOMING IN on the blatant expression in the blond vampire’s face as he walks through the dust cloud.
RAINE: [v.o] “’til Buffy died in a car accident.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Spike kicks down a gravestone, silently cursing and letting out a deep sigh.
RAINE: [v.o] “Then the happily ever after went bye bye.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Spike as he walks out of the graveyard and heading down a dark street, coat billowing behind him.
RAINE: [v.o] “For the following two years Spike literally disappeared from the face of the earth.” [beat] “And I mean literally.”
A WIDE SHOT to show us that a silent figure is stalking behind him; following his every move. We also see that it’s Raine. (Maybe she’s curious to see where he’s going.)
RAINE: [v.o] “It was Illyria, the demon god king that inhabited Fred’s body that found him at last. In another dimension.”
Ahead of Raine, Spike comes to a stop; inkling his head to the right as if he’d heard something from the alley.
RAINE: [v.o] “After some…minor…persuasion she brought him back and together with Willow Rosenberg, Dawn Summers and Rupert Giles she and Spike opened up Giles High. And Spike began his new life as a Watcher/Hunter. A Hunter is someone who tracks down slayers and brings them in for training.”
SPIKE: [over his shoulder] “You can come forth, Raine. I can sense you, you know.”
RAINE: [v.o] “He’s very good at his job.”
A WIDE SHOT as Raine steps out from the shadows with a pout as Spike slowly turns around to face her.
RAINE: “How did you…?”
SPIKE: [tapping his nose] “Vampire, luv.”
RAINE: [lamely]: “Oh…”
RAINE: [v.o] “Have I mentioned how gross that is?”
SPIKE: [sighing] “Why are you following me?”
FOCUS on Raine’s face as she’s obviously thinking hard for some explanation.
RAINE: “I was worried about you?”
ANGLE on Spike as he lifts a dubious eyebrow and looks at her as if she’s totally lost it.
SPIKE: “Right.”
Suddenly we hear a sound coming from the dark alley and as the two of them turn in that direction a huge - and it is HUGE, spider comes at Raine with its fangs widely open. It must be some sort of demon, ‘cause no REAL spider is that big. (Three meter high and almost as wide.)
RAINE: [instinctively] “Eek!!”
FOCUS on Spike as he charge at the spider demon, kicking aside one of its many legs and plunging a stake in its side. It let out a piercing scream like sound and doubled over in pain - which the blond vampire quickly takes advantage off. He goes at its black flesh with grim determination, hacking and cutting ‘til the things finally dies with a whimpering sigh and one last shuddering twitch with its massive body.
RAINE: [scrunching up her nose] “Yuck. It smells like a sewer. Like mouldy cheese and vomit.”
SPIKE: [staring at her] “You scream like a girl.”
RAINE: [insulted] “I am a girl.”
SILENCE.
JESSIE: [turning to Spike] “You enjoyed killing that thing. Saving my life was secondary.”
FOCUS on Spike as he grins wickedly.
JESSIE: “Okay, you're supposed to disagree with that.”
ANGLE on Spike as he shrugs and turns his back against her to continue his walk down the street.
RAINE: [v.o] “Issues.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LABORATORY - GILES HIGH - DAWN
A WIDE SHOT of the laboratory; FRED is standing by an examine table, flipping through the pages of a thick journal while she’s absently scratching her nose.
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred is like the smartest person of all time. And one of the strongest.”
FOCUS on Fred as she reaches for a glass of water and breaks the glass in her hand. She turns her head to look down at the pieces of the glass on the floor, and then she shrugs and continues reading.
RAINE: [v.o] “When Illyria withdrew she left some residual powers; making Fred stronger than the average human.” [beat] “A hell lot stronger than your average slayer as well.”
Suddenly Fred tilts her head in a way that reminds all to well of ILLYRIA and she quickly turns around to the CAMERA.
A WIDE SHOT of the room to reveal RAINE standing in the doorway holding a brown bag with the label ‘Taco Bell’.
RAINE: [holding out the bag] “I brought you offerings.”
Something flares in Fred’s eyes - just for a millisecond, but it’s enough to hint that not everything is alright with her.
RAINE: [v.o] “Oh yeah, sometimes Illyria likes to check in.”
FRED: [lovely smile] “Thanks, Raine.” [taking the bag] “How nice of you.”
RAINE: “I have ulterior motives.”
FRED: “Oh?” [stuffing her mouth full of nachos] “Do tell.”
RAINE: “I was hoping that you could give me something for my… phobia.”
FRED: [swallowing] “Phobia?”
RAINE: [nodding] “Spiders.”
SILENCE.
FRED: “Spiders.” [beat] “How about crushing them under your heel?”
RAINE: [uncomfortable] “But what if I can’t. what if they’re…” [beat] “Bigger than me…?”
FOCUS on the questioning expression in Fred’s face. Then it’s like she decides to not press the issue any further, because she shrugs and turns around to survey a shell of jar and boxes. She picks down a small jar filled with an orange coloured liquid and hands it to Raine.
FRED: “This should help.”
RAINE: [studying the jar] “What is it.”
PAUSE.
FRED: “It’s better if you don’t know.”
ANGLE on Raine as she suspiciously studies the liquid.
RAINE: “Oh.”
There’s a short silence as Fred indulges in her spicy goodies and Raine gazing around the vast laboratory with curious eyes. (She probably doesn’t spend a lot time here.]
FRED: [finishing of the last nacho chip] “Yummy.” [licking her fingers] “Thanks again, Raine."
RAINE: [v.o] “If I weren’t straight…” [beat] “Spike is a moron.”
RAINE: “It was nothing.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. TRAINING ROOM - GILES HIGH - DAY
A WIDE SHOT of the training room to reveal ten young girls standing lined in front of DREW with their posture rigid and resembling a very well drilled group of soldiers.
DREW: “First rule of slayer warfare; you must always be prepared to die for the good cause. Second rule: never falter from your mission. Third rule; do not leave a fallen comrade behind.”
RAINE: [v.o] “You would think that things should be easier with more slayers in the world, helping each other beat back the forces of evil…”
DREW: “It’s your sacred duty to look out for your fellow sisters, to aid them in battle and sacrifice your life for theirs.”
RAINE: [v.o] “It isn’t. All that it means is that you are distracted by them. Your life for theirs? What a bunch of…”
DREW: “A slayer must always be alert to her surroundings. She must have the will and the determination to patrol every night in order to keep the world safe. It’s her obligation to mankind.”
YOUNG SLAYER: [reaching up a hand] “Mr Giles?”
DREW: “Yes, Milla?”
MILLA: “We are like what…? Seventy slayers just in this school, right? Why not take turns with the patrolling?”
SILENCE.
DREW: “Because…”
RAINE: [v.o] “Drew is a product of the old ‘New Watcher’s Council’; a descendent from Rupert Giles himself. For him there’s only one way to travel - the self-righteous one.”
DREW: “Any slacking - in all ways, would lead to lessened focus and agility.”
[beat] “Making her an easy target for the next demon that crosses her path.”
RAINE: [sarcastically] “And there you have it.”
FOCUS on the door as RAINE comes walking in. The dark haired slayer has changed into grey a sweat suit.
DREW: [sighing] “Raine. How nice of you to finally join us.”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Oh well, you know… I was busy patrolling.” [innuendo] “Just doing my obligation.”
ANGLE on the peeved expression in Drew’s face as he follows Raine with his gaze as she walks over to weapons that is displayed on the wall. She picks down a crossbow and examines it carefully.
DREW: [furrowed brow] “And was it a successful patrol?”
RAINE: [shrugging] “Did in a couple of nasties. No big deal.” [looking up] “Is this a class in how to handle different weapons or is it not?”
DREW: [resigned] “It is.” [focusing on the girls] “Let’s begin shall we.”
A WIDE SHOT of the room as the young slayers scatter around, assuming positions and receiving different weapons to train with. The most used weapon seems to be (duh) the stake - in this case without a pointy end, and after that the crossbow.
RAINE: [v.o] “Drew has a lot of knowledge in how to defeat demons.” [beat] “But no one has actually seen him in action.”
ANGLE on Drew as he skilfully throws a knife at the target board. The blade penetrates the wood and the weapon has clearly hit the centre of the board.
RAINE: [v.o] “His a dark horse in all of this.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. CELLBLOCK - GILES HIGH - DAY
A LONG SHOT of a long stretched, rather dark corridor without windows and what appears to be cells on each sides. A quick count makes it eight cells. We can also hear the muffled roars from different sources, all originated from the cells.
PANNING FORWARD: to the left we can see what appears to be a VAMPIRE sitting on a cot with his game face on. In his hands is a bag of blood.
RAINE: [v.o] “Giles High isn’t just a school.”
To the right; a FYARL DEMON holds the bars and roars out into the corridor, clearly unhappy with his place.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s also the headquarters of the ‘New Watcher’s Council’.”
PANNING FORWARD to the end of the corridor, past the occupied cells and ZOOMING IN on a thick iron door with the sign: CAUTION DO NOT ENTER. AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY.
THE CAMERA PANS FORWARD-
--CUT TO:
INT. A LOBBY - GILES HIGH - DAY
A WIDE SHOT of a big round lobby. The walls consist of pinewood and the floor of bamboo. In the middle of the floor is a emblem; a round blue outer circle, a white inner circle with a lightened WC (Watcher’s Council) and the text ‘DEPARTMENT OF WATCHER’S COUNCIL WE SAVE THE WORLD imprinted in the outer circle.
FOCUSING on a lovely young woman with long red hair sitting behind a desk. She’s apparently speaking into a headphone.
WOMAN: “Welcome to the WC, how can I help you?” [pause] “If you want advice on ritual removal of possessing entities you should talk to Mr Grey.”
RAINE: [v.o] “The ‘New Watcher’s Council’ is big on ‘helping the helpless’.” [beat] “Or hopeless as Spike would put it.”
WOMAN: “Welcome to the WC, how can I help you?” [courtly listening] “Oh dear, that sounds awful, miss. I’ll pass you through to the Magic’s Department right away.”
RAINE: “Giles High can also pride itself of having no less than five witches working for time full time.”
FOCUS on one door leading out from the lobby as it opens and a redheaded young woman walks out carrying a stack of books and a pencil stuck behind her left ear. She vaguely resembles someone…
WOMAN BEHIND DESK: “Oh, Ms Rosenberg, wait!” [holding out a piece of paper] “This is the list of items you’ll need for your next assignment.”
RAINE: [v.o] “One of them is a descendent from the great Willow Rosenberg herself.” [beat] “Although it’s widely known that Willow Rosenberg was a lesbian - she had a brief affair with some guy and she got pregnant. Lily Rosenberg is her great granddaughter.”
LILY: [taking the piece of paper] “Thank you, Diane.”
The CAMERA STAYS with Lily as she walks towards a double door with the sigh: TATUM GILES, HEAD WATCHER.
After a polite knock, she opens the door and enters a vast office.
FOCUS on the elderly man that sits behind a huge desk, seemingly busy writing in some sort of journal. He’s dressed in a dark suit and his grey hair is well trimmed and his weather-beaten face tanned. He looks up with a smile as Lily approaches the desk.
MAN: “Ah, Ms Rosenberg! Do you have the spell I asked for?”
Lily nodded and handed him one of the books she had been carrying. The label says: ANCIENT RITUALS AND SPELLS.
RAINE: [v.o] “Tatum Giles is Drew’s father and the senior Watcher. It is he who runs the school as well as the Council.”
LILY: “This is a pretty powerful spell, Mr Giles.” [blinking] “Are you sure it’s okay to cast it?”
TATUM: “Perfectly sure, ms Rosenberg.” [meeting her gaze] “I’ll do anything that’s necessary to protect this building and everyone inside.”
LILY: “Fred was fairly convinced that Team One would be able to take down this threat rather easily.”
RAINE: [v.o] “That would be me and Spike they’re talking about. Yup, Team One; the suicide squad. We’re the ones with all the experience and skills.”
TATUM: [nodding] “Yet, I want this spell to be cast. Just as a precaution.”
RAINE: [o.c] “Don’t want to jeopardize it all by trusting us, huh?”
PANNING OUT to reveal RAINE standing leaned against the doorframe with a dry sneer on her face as she studies the two of them.
TATUM: “Of course not, Ms Harris.”
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s right… I am a descendent from XANDER HARRIS. Didn’t expect that, right?”
TATUM: [cont.] “It’s just that Spike has been known for his reckless behaviour in the past as well as to recent date. I’m not sure he wants to get involved with this particular nasty.”
RAINE: “I see.”
LILY: [hastily] “It’s not that we don’t trust you guys.” [beat] “It’s just that…”
RAINE: “Both of us have a history with this ‘Big Bad’.”
TATUM: [nodding] “The First Evil was after all the one that caused Spike to die in the Sunnydale Hellmouth.” [beat] “And it was indirectly the cause to your mother’s death.”
FOCUS on the pained expression on Raine’s face.
BLACK OUT-
ACT THREE
FADE IN-
EXT. GRAVEYARD - LOS ANGELES - DUSK
ZOOMING IN on RAINE standing in front of a headstone with a grim expression in her pale face. The inscription on the stone says;
SARAH HARRIS
2140-2155
SHE SAW THE WORLD
RAINE: [v.o] “My mother was a Watcher as well as a seer. The latter trait was something she had inherited from her great grandfather XANDER HARRIS. She was the most selfless and gentle person I’ve ever known and she were loved.”
FOCUS on Raine as she leans forward to place a single red rose on the ground in front of the grave.
RAINE: [v.o] “She was researching a way to close the dimension between Hell and Earth when the First sent his subjects after her. A bunch of ferocious vampires that sought out and turned my entire family. My mother, my dad and my two sisters… I was the only one who survived.”
RAINE: [whispering] “I’m so sorry, mum…”
PANNING OUT as Raine begins to walk away from the grave, her coat billowing behind her in the soft breeze.
RAINE: [v.o] “I had to kill them of course; my own family.”
A WIDE SHOT as a VAMPIRE suddenly jumps out in front of Raine. She doesn’t even twitch when she whips out a stake and drives it through the demons heart.
RAINE: [v.o]“’cause I am a slayer and that’s what slayers do; kill vampires.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. RAINE’S BEDROOM - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
SPOTLIGHT on RAINE standing in front of the mirror, slowly undressing. She unbuttons her black shirt, revealing a three inches long scar across her V-line. As she slips out of the fabric we can see hints of tiny scars on her collarbone and arms, as if she’s been clawed by something with small claws. Under her shirt she wears a black bra. Her skin is lightly tanned and shimmers in the light streaming out from a single bedside lamp.
RAINE: [v.o] “A slayer could say that her body is a map of all the horrible things she has encountered.”
FOCUS on a particular nasty scar in Raine’s left side.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s a canvas of all the death and mayhem we’re exposed to on an almost daily basis.”
PANNING OUT as Raine begins to unbutton her jeans, slowly pulling them down and revealing trimmed legs - also covered in scars and bruises. Then she stands in front of the CAMERA only wearing her black bra and matching panties. She’s a lovely woman; tall, trimmed and lean.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not a pretty sight, but I’ve learned to live with it.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Raine as she walks through a door and into a bathroom, where she turns on the shower.
As the steam forms in the small room, Raine turns her back against the CAMERA and unhooks her bra. Then she leans down - presumable taking off her panties. When that is done she steps into the shower and places herself under the hot water.
RAINE: [v.o] “You learn to live with the constant sore muscles and stains of cuts and bruises. Hell, you even learn to live with the fact that you probably won’t wear a dress if not necessary.”
We have a SHOT of Raines upper body (no nudity) as she raises her arms to shampoo her hair.
RAINE: [v.o] “It’s not like there’s someone who I’d want to put on a dress for anyway.”
FLASH.
A SHOT of DREW’S face.
FLASH.
A TIGHT SHOT of Raine as she leans her head back and rinses her hair from the Shampoo.
RAINE: [v.o] “Eew.”
FLASH.
A SHOT of SPIKE’S face.
FLASH.
A CLOSE UP on Raine’s mouth as its corners twist up in a dreamy smile.
RAINE: [v.o] “That’s more like it.”
Raine opens her eyes and turns off the water. She then reaches for a towel and drapes herself in it as she exits the shower and walk into the bedroom.
A WIDE SHOT of the room as Raine walks up to the mirror. Standing in front of it she lifts a hand to examine her features.
RAINE: [silently] “He wouldn’t think of me that way.” [avoiding her reflection] “I am not her.”
PANNING OUT and FOCUSING on a book lying on the bed table. On the cover of it is a picture of BUFFY!
RAINE: “I am not even the other one…”
FOCUSING on another book with ILLYRIA on the cover.
RAINE: [v.o] “As I said; Issues.”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. TRAINING ROOM - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
ALL LIGHT on FRED as she pummels on a sandbag. Her blows are powerful and her face set in grim determination. It’s like she’s battling her inner demons or something like that.
RAINE: [v.o] “Before Fred died and Illyria took over her body she was deeply in love with this man called Wesley Windham-Price. But then Illyria came along and the god king only saw the man as a trusted guide. Yeah, she surly grieved him when he died in the battle against the Senior Partner’s - but that didn’t last too long. She had other priorities.”
FOCUS on Fred as she delivers a rather vicious blow to the bag, making it squeak loudly in its hinges.
RAINE: [v.o] “One of them was Spike.” [beat] “In the beginning Illyria simply saw the vampire as her ‘pet’. Someone she could command and push around. But as time went by and he proved to be a true warrior her feelings towards him gradually changed.”
Fred backs a few steps and executes a perfect roundhouse kick that send the bag flying across the room and hitting the wall with a bang.
RAINE: [v.o] “She fell in love with him.”
PANNING OUT as Fred walks over to a chest cabinet and picks out a set of daggers. She starts throwing them at a target board with reckless accuracy.
RAINE: [v.o] “Problem was that Spike already was in love with Buffy.” [beat] “And after Buffy’s tragic death he grieved for years, making it rather hard for Illyria to convince him of her feelings. Instead she had to be satisfied that they at least worked together.”
The CAMERA FOLLOWS Fred as she suddenly turns her back against the board and leaves the training room.
RAINE: [v.o] “As time passed Spike realized how much she actually meant to him and they finally became lovers.”
We FOLLOW Fred with a STEAD CAM as she walks down the corridor, past the dark classrooms and heading towards a door with the sign: NURSERY.
RAINE: [v.o] “And for over a hundred years they were almost inseparable.” [beat] “’til Fred’s body started to reject Illyria’s essence.”
Fred enters the nursery and we can see that it’s empty. She switches the lights on and walk up to a shell with jars and syringes. She reaches for one of the latter.
RAINE: [v.o] “Fred was reborn within the god king and Illyria… Well, most of her was destroyed.”
A CLOSE UP on Fred’s face as her eye colour shifts, from hard blue to hazel.
RAINE: [v.o] “Something of Illyria still…” [beat] “…resides.”
PANNING OUT as Fred injects herself with the syringe, a painful expression on her face as she does so.
RAINE: [v.o] “But as long as Fred takes this shots of… whatever it is, she is okay.”
ZOOMING OUT more as Fred drops the syringe to the floor and cast her head back, closing her eyes. Then she lowers her head and we can see the clear hazel colour of her eyes as she stares straight into the CAMERA.
RAINE: “Hey, Fred.” [appearing into view] “How are you?”
FRED: [calmly] “I’m fine.”
RAINE: “I, uh… I thought that maybe you would like to fill me in a little bit more about the First.”
FRED: “Sure.”
The two women leave the nursery, closing the door behind them.
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LIBRARY - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - DAWN
A WIDE SHOT of the room and the two women that sits at a round table in the middle of it.
FRED: [all business] “The First Evil is the source and embodiment of all that is evil. It’s older than demons, even the Old Ones.” [frown] “It is older than the written word and transcends all realities and dimensions.”
RAINE: “So it’s pretty powerful.”
FRED: “It’s more than that.”
RAINE: “What?”
FRED: “The First is power. Raw power. It’s ancient, predating almost everything. And it cannot be destroyed.”
PAUSE.
RAINE: [lamely] “Bummer.”
FRED: “Once it was set bet by Buffy and Spike - but that was all that it was; a minor disturbance for the First.” [deep breath] “It has eternities to act.”
RAINE: “Oh.”
FRED: [grimly] “And now it’s back; lord knows what it has in store for us this time.”
SPIKE: [o.c] “Whatever it plans, let’s get one thing straight tough; I'm not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, brooches, beads, pendants, pins or rings.”
FOCUS on the door to reveal SPIKE standing there with a blank expression.
RAINE: “Huh?”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
INT. LABORATORY - GILES HIGH - LOS ANGELES - DAY
SPOTLIGHT on the three (SPIKE, RAINE and FRED) as they stand around a desk, looking down at a item on it. As the CAMERA PANS CLOSER we can see that it is the AMULET Spike worn in the destruction of the Sunnydale Hellmouth.
RAINE: [confused frown] “What is this?”
FRED: “It’s the amulet that Spike wore to destroy the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. It channelled his soul and took out the Turok-Hans. It also killed him in the process.”
RAINE: [nodding] “I’ve heard the story.” [studying the amulet] “How come it’s here? I thought it was considered lost in the ruins of Wolfram and Hart?”
FRED: “It was. ‘til Illyria found it.” [avoiding their gazes] “She believed it to have a higher purpose in the future.”
FOCUS on Spike as he frowns.
SPIKE: “Like being important in our upcoming fight against the First Evil?”
FRED: “Er, yeah…” [awkward look] “Like you having to wear it again in order to save the world.” [beat] “Again...”
SILENCE.
SPIKE: “Bugger…”
RAINE: [slowly] “Good thing we like a challenge.”
BLACK OUT-
ACT FOUR
FADE IN-
EXT. A ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - DUSK
SPOTLIGHT on SPIKE as he fights against two vampires; backhanding one of them and kicking the other out of the way.
RAINE: [v.o] “You can say a lot of things about Spike - but you gotta give him some credit for how well he take bad news.”
FOCUS on Spike as he dodges the incoming blow from the first vampire and sliding sideways to avoid getting stabbed by the second one.
RAINE: [v.o] “If I found out that I am predestined to die - again, I would probably act a little different.”
ZOOMING OUT to reveal RAINE busy fighting a single vampire to Spike’s left.
RAINE: [v.o] “For starters I would locate those assholes that call themselves ‘The Powers That Be…” [beat] “And whoop their sorry asses for interfering in my life.”
FOCUS on Spike as he whips put a stake and dusts vampire number one. As soon as the dust is settled he turns around to his other opponent and quickly snaps its neck.
RAINE: [v.o] “But that’s just me.”
A WIDE SHOT of the scene as Spike walks over to Raine and her opponent; surprising the vampire and effortlessly snaps its neck as well.
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike works off his stress in a totally different way.” [beat] “A very violent way.”
SPIKE: “You’re slipping.” [studying her closely] “Whatta ya thinking about?”
RAINE: “Aren’t you concerned? At all?”
SPIKE: [raised eyebrow] “About what?”
RAINE: “Well… That you’re destined to die, for starters.”
SPIKE: [shrugging]”’s not like I haven’t done that before.”
RAINE: “Right.”
SPIKE: [staring behind her] “Vampire.”
RAINE: “I know that you’re a vampire. Duh.”
SPIKE: “Behind you.”
RAINE: “Oh.”
ZOOMING OUT as a vampire lunges for Raine, fangs ready for the kill. Only that it doesn’t get very far. It has just about time to look down at the stake sticking out from its chest before it withers away into dust.
RAINE: “Roast ‘n toast.”
SPIKE: “That’s like what…? The third time I save your life today?”
RAINE: “Yeah? Run a tab why don’t you.”
SPIKE: [smirk] “Maybe I will.”
RAINE: [v.o] “If he wasn’t so hot I’d…”
SPIKE: “You sure do need help a lot.”
RAINE: [v.o] “On the other hand…”
SPIKE: “Or maybe you just hit a bad luck lately.”
RAINE: [resigned] “That must be it.”
SPIKE: [gazing out into the night] “Wonder how it goes for the other team.”
RAINE: “They got Fred with them, so probably a whole lot better than we do.”
SPIKE: “Hm…”
RAINE: “Oh, for the love of…!”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. GRAVEYARD LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A WIDE SHOT of the graveyard, revealing a group of three young slayers and FRED involved in a fight against various demons. They seem to be handling their own pretty good.
RAINE: [v.o] “Ever since Fred returned into her own body Spike has had this uncalled opinion that she’s fragile. That she needs supervision.”
FOCUS on Fred as she gracefully jumps out of range from a huge demon and effortlessly breaks its neck with one swift move.
RAINE: [v.o] “Which is totally unnecessary as Illyria’s powers ad strength still resided within her.”
Fred move son to the next demon and lifts it up in the air and throws it against a tree - breaking its back.
RAINE: [v.o] “I mean; Fred can take care off herself. Probably better than anyone of us.”
YOUNG SLAYER: “Fred!”
ANGLE on the slayer that shouted Fred’s name; she’s been cornered by a massive demon against a mausoleum, and now the beast is closing in for the kill.
PANNING OUT as Fred moves with incredible speed and suddenly stands behind the demon with a grim expression in her face. She lifts her hands and twists the demon’s neck with an audible crack.
RAINE: [v.o] “So, Spike shouldn’t need to worry.”
YOUNG SLAYER: [shallow breaths] “Thank you.”
FRED: “Are you okay?”
YOUNG SLAYER: [nodding] “Yeah.”
Fred turns her back against the girl and continues killing demons without any real effort. She makes it look so easy…
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. THE ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
SPOTLIGHT on SPIKE and RAINE as they stand side by side at the edge of the roof and gaze out over the city down bellow.
RAINE: “Do you think they’ll ever know how close they are to danger every day? That they could die at any moment?”
SPIKE: [shrugging] “They know.” [kicking a pebble down the edge] “They just chose to ignore it.”
RAINE: [nodding] “I guess ignorance really is bliss.”
SPIKE: “The thing is, Raine; that people like to think they’re masters of their own life. Their own destiny. That is ultimately the thing that drives them.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Spike hates taking about destinies and such. And can you blame him? When he’s a walking proof that your destiny somehow has been preordained by some other dude?”
FOCUS on Spike as he looks out into the night with a hard read expression in his handsome face.
RAINE: “Spike?”
SPIKE: [silently] “Can you feel it?”
RAINE: [frown] “Feel what?”
ANGLE on Spike as he slowly turns his head to look down at the dark haired slayer.
SPIKE: “The world is shifting.” [beat] “Can’t you feel that?”
RAINE: [shaking her head] “No.”
SPIKE: “It’s in the air… Something is coming.”
RAINE: [v.o] “Now what the hell is he talking about?”
Suddenly there’s a loud boom echoing through the night and a PORTAL appears out of nowhere behind them.
PANNING OUT as the two of them turn in surprise and stare at the portal with different degrees of dread.
RAINE: “What the…?”
FOCUS on the portal as a petite young woman steps out off it. She’s dressed in a bluish kind of dress and boots. She’s quite lovely. And we recognize her as RIVER!
SPIKE: “Damn…”
The portal closes behind River with a pop and she stands there; looking at Spike and Raine with a plain expression in her face.
SPIKE: [scrunching u his nose] “A slayer?”
RAINE: “What? What did you say?”
RIVER: [doing the V-sign] “I come in peace.”
RAINE: [baffled] “Huh?”
FADE OUT-
FADE IN-
EXT. THE ROOFTOP - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT
A WIDE SHOT of the roof as the three of them stand positioned almost like a triangle; SPIKE and RAINE curiously studying RIVER.
SPIKE: [frown] “Where did you come from?”
RIVER: “The future.”
RAINE: “That’s impossible.”
RIVER: [tilting her head] “No, it’s not.”
RAINE: “I don’t believe in time travel.”
RIVER: “Well, then you’re an idiot.”
PAUSE.
SPIKE: [smirk] “Oh, attitude. I like that in a girl.”
River fires him a mega watt smile.
RAINE: [staring] “Who the fuck, are you?”
RIVER: “River.”
RAINE: “River?” [grim stare] “Tell us the truth now; where did you come from?”
RIVER: “The future.”
SPIKE: “That’s…”
RAINE: “I already said that’s impossible.” [turning to Spike] “She must work with the First - kill her.”
SPIKE: [incredulous stare] “She’s a slayer!”
RIVER: “I am a what?”
RAINE: [whipping out a stake] “If you’re not going to kill her then I will.”
A WIDE SHOT as Raine makes a move as if to attack River. Only that River moves incredible fast and takes a hold on Spike, pressing a knife to his throat.
RIVER: “This might not kill him, but it sure will leave a mark.”
RAINE: [coming to a halt] “Release him.”
RIVER: [tilting her head] “No.”
And with that she renders Spike unconscious with a blow to the head, and with him in a safe grip she backs against the edge of the roof and leaps.
FOCUS on Raine as she runs to the edge and looks down. And from her POV:
The street down bellow is empty. No sign of either River or Spike.
RAINE: “Damn…”
RAINE: [v.o] “How the hell am I gonna explain this?”
BLACK OUT-
END OF EPISODE