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Scene: Some kind of stone-walled monastery. There’s a library, full of ancient books and bookshelf ladders. There’s a skylight through which a beam of pure bright daylight lights up the room, focusing on a dais. Monks are wandering around, looking at scripture and old books. It’s peaceful and serene. A good place. The camera draws in to focus on the entrance: two big wooden doors. They’re big and heavy and elaborately carved. There’s a beat of silence as we view these doors. Then a loud crash.

 

Every monk jumps and turns to look at the door. There’s another crash and suddenly the monks spring into action. Texts and scripts are put down and hidden partitions and chests are opened to reveal weapon after weapon after weapon. It’s a hell of an arsenal and in a moment every monk is armed with something sharp, pointy or blunt and awaiting the next thump on the door.

 

There’s another crash on the door and they explode open in a cloud of shrapnel and dust. Something comes charging out and the monks attack, yelling a religious battle cry.

 

The monks get knocked away as if they were lighter than feathers and every attack is repelled. The figure emerges from the cloud of dust and we see that it’s CONNOR. More monks attack him and CONNOR hurls them about the room, barely troubled, yet fighting with a frenzy not seen since the time of insane-Quartoth-Connor.

 

A MONK charges into him with a pike, which CONNOR deflects, sending the MONK flying into a wall. There’s no-one left to impede him and CONNOR walks up to the dais, where we can now see some kind of pedestal.

 

MONK (defiant): You will never take it vampire! You will burn in God’s own light before your impure fingers ever defile…

 

He trails off as CONNOR steps up onto the dais and is bathed in light. CONNOR turns and gives the MONK a half-smile.

 

MONK: What are you?

 

CONNOR’s smile broadens.

 

MONK: What do you want with it?

CONNOR: I’m looking for someone.

 

He puts out a hand into the beam of light above the pedestal. The light gets brighter, flooding the screen and…

 

 

Scene: An overview of London. Swoop down to alleyways and squatted houses, showing the darker side of London. Then flash to a dark, dingy demon bar. We scan around to get a look at the inhabitants of this bar – they’re scum of the earth demonica.

 

We follow one demon (GARVANESC) in its passage across the bar. It’s tall, broad and gnarly, with leathery skin and a big spiky head and has no care for the other demons in the bar, shoving past them, spilling beer and bruising egos. Several turn to shove back, then stop as they see it. This is a BIG demon and obviously very scary. And it’s heading somewhere.

 

We see where it’s going, a darkened corner with a half-lit figure at a table. We can’t pick any details of this figure, except that he’s wearing a Homburg hat. The GARVANESC pauses, looks, sees the figure and a cruel smile crosses its face. It stalks closer, moving nearly silently, fixated on its prey, which hasn’t noticed it yet. It gets closer and closer.

 

Just as it’s about to reach out and grab the shadowy figure, something small, lithe and Gollum-like (the PITSCHRELL) leaps from the shadows, hurling itself at the shadowy figure. The table falls, the shadowy figure spills onto the floor with the PITSCHRELL on top of its chest, clinging with feet and hands like a monkey. The shadowy figure is now in the light and the Homburg has fallen. It’s a figure in a trenchcoat, dark glasses – it’s LORNE. And he looks absolutely terrified.

 

The PITSCHRELL reaches out with one hand to pulls the shades away from LORNE’s face and  grins, showing a serrated smile. It speaks in a reedy voice (maybe Slavic accent) that is terrifyingly creepy, pronouncing every consonant with particular emphasis, its lips moving exaggeratedly to emphasis every syllable.

 

PITSCHRELL: Pylean.

 

It raises its head to the ceiling and lets out a bone-chilling giggle. LORNE looks petrified.

 

PITSCHRELL: Did Pylean really think it could escape?

LORNE: Look, I left, I was gone before anything went down, I’m innocent…

PITSCHRELL: Would it help Pylean’s whining if Pitschrell removed its tongue?

 

LORNE trembles

 

LORNE: Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it. I’ll do anything. <beat as he grasps at straws> I’ll tell you your future, save your life, anything!

 

The PITSCHRELL lifts its head to the ceiling and giggles again.

 

PITSCHRELL: Pitschrell wants none of its toys, none of its tricks. <singsong> Pitschrell is only here to taste its blood.

 

It smiles, baring its teeth again.

 

PITSCHRELL: And of course to take trophy back for proof. <giggles>

LORNE: I’ll do anything. Please.

PITSCHRELL: Pylean should have thought of this before making such powerful enemy. Now, open wide.

 

It opens its mouth unnaturally wide and snarls, revealing a glittering array of teeth. It goes to bite LORNE’s throat.

 

Fade out/Fade in

 

Then the GARVANESC swings a big arm, lifting the PITSCHRELL from LORNE’s chest and sending it flying into the wall.

 

GARVANESC (roaring): The Pylean is mine!

 

LORNE starts to get up to run, but the GARVANESC stamps a big foot down on his chest, crushing the air out of his body until it moves on. LORNE lies there wheezing.

 

GARVANESC: It is mine!

 

The PITSCHRELL jumps up from its landing place, moving liquidly on two legs or four as terrain depends and jumps onto LORNE’s wheezing chest, causing him more pain. It rips at the neckhole of his shirt, peering inside at LORNE’s chest.

 

PITSCHRELL: I see no mark on it, Garvanesc. It is mine.

 

The GARVANESC takes a threatening step forward and the PITSCHRELL snarls, bending its legs ready to leap.

 

GARVANESC: I will place my mark on your hide if you do not yield my prize!

PITSCHRELL: Garvanesc not bother Pitschrell. <singsong> Too slow, too fat, too dumb.

 

It clicks its teeth together unpleasantly.

 

PITSCHRELL: Maybe Pitschrell take trophy and leave stupid Garvanesc to think how close it come.

 

It giggles.

 

GARVANESC <roaring>: Maybe I’ll pull off your arms and leave you here for carrion!

 

The GARVANESC swings a hamfist, but the PITSCHRELL is expecting it and leaps over the punch, hurling itself at the GARVANESC’s throat, teeth first. They fight, the GARVANESC big powerful and destructive to scenery, hurling the PITSCHRELL around when it catches it and the PITSCHRELL is fighting like Spiderman or Yoda, bouncing from wall to ceiling to floor, using all four limbs to jump and kick and punch, lunging for the throat with its teeth every time.

 

The denizens of the bar are all watching the fight and none are watching the very beleaguered LORNE scrape himself off the floor, grab his Homburg and shades, pull the tattered remnants of his shirt together and stumble out of the fire exit.

 

 

Scene: A cemetery in England at night. A train rumbles by on an adjacent track and we see a pair of girls are walking through it, chatting with each other. They’re about 15 years old and wearing typical 15 year old English clothes and look completely unconcerned that they’re walking through a cemetery at night. These are KATIE and HAYLEY.

 

We focus on a figure lurking behind a tomb – it’s a vampire. As K and H walk past the tomb, it leaps, hurling itself at them. HAYLEY rolls with the dive, propelling the VAMPIRE into a tree and comes up brandishing a stake. The VAMPIRE gets up and snarls, charging at HAYLEY, who blocks its blows with ease. KATIE stands to one side, watching as HAYLEY fly-kicks the vampire in the chest, lifting it off the ground and into the tree again. It slumps down and HAYLEY walks over and stakes it nonchalantly.

 

HAYLEY (completely unconcerned, carrying on previous conversation. Mancunian accent): So you really think Kevin fancies her?

CONNOR (off-screen): You’re slayers.

 

The two girls spin, obviously startled, and we see Connor crouching, perched on top of a tombstone.

 

KATIE (Also Mancunian): Where the hell did you come from?

CONNOR: LA. (as if this answers everything)

 

CONNOR leaps nimbly down from his perch and walks towards H and K. HAYLEY brandishes her stake defensively and CONNOR notices.

 

CONNOR: I don’t want to fight you. I just need the Token of Eigos. You have it in your top pocket. (to HAYLEY)

HAYLEY: Why do you think we got it?

CONNOR: I watched you take it from a nest earlier tonight.

 

KATIE moves protectively in front of HAYLEY

 

KATIE: You been following us?

CONNOR: For a couple of nights now. You took longer than I thought to get it. (takes a step forward and holds out his hand) I really need that token.

KATIE: Get bent!

CONNOR (aggrieved): I’ll bring it back when I’m done.

KATIE (pulls out dagger): You want it, you take it from us.

CONNOR: Okay.

 

His hand whips out, knocking the dagger from KATIE’s hand and she responds with a roundhouse that sends him reeling. HAYLEY watches the fight, as KATIE did for her, but it’s clear that CONNOR is a tougher proposition than the vampire and KATIE is struggling. CONNOR is fighting like crazy-Connor again and KATIE gets thrown across the graveyard, landing painfully across a tombstone.

 

HAYLEY: Katie!

 

She runs at CONNOR, catching him unaware with a flying kick. They fight furiously, punch after punch, each of them taking terrific punishment. Finally HAYLEY sends him flying across the graveyard with a well-placed uppercut.

 

CONNOR falls heavily, gasping for  breath and HAYLEY stalks across the ground towards him, holding her stake up threateningly. KATIE is unsteadily getting up from her prone position. CONNOR turns his head to see Katie’s knife lying on the ground next to him.

 

HAYLEY kneels next to CONNOR and brings the stake down to stab him. CONNOR rolls at the last minute, leaving the stake embedded in the ground and swivels to a kneeling position to whip Katie’s knife into HAYLEY’s thigh. HAYLEY screams and we get a shot of KATIE as she stumbles back towards the fight, still groggy, but looking to help her friend.

 

CONNOR rifles through HAYLEY’s pockets as she lies prone, grabbing some kind of metal token from her jacket pocket – the Token of Eigos. KATIE is approaching fast.

 

KATIE: Get away from her!

 

CONNOR looks down at HAYLEY, who is whimpering slightly.

 

CONNOR: I’m sorry.

 

He then runs like buggery for the edge of the cemetery, closely pursued by KATIE. She chases after him pell-mell as he leaps up onto the top of the ten foot wall with one bound. A train is passing on the nearby train track, going at a fairly decent speed and CONNOR leaps from the top of the wall to catch onto the side of it and is carried away. KATIE skids to a stop, seeing that he’s got away from her and looks pissed off. Then she lopes back toward the prone figure of HAYLEY.

 

 

Scene: A non-descript hotel room. A girl sitting on one of two beds, reading a book. She’s about 14/15 and looks very immersed in whatever she’s reading. This is ELISE.

 

There’s a squeaky-slidey sound of the window being opened and she looks sharply to see who’s there. CONNOR is perched on the window sill, crouched in a squat.

 

CONNOR: Only me sis.

ELISE (relaxing): Connor, you scared me.

CONNOR: Sorry.

 

He drags himself inside the room with none of his usual lithe grace. ELISE gets up off the bed, looking worried.

 

ELISE: You’re hurt.

CONNOR: It’s nothing major.

ELISE: Let me see.

CONNOR: Elise! I’m okay.

 

He limps over to sit on the bed. ELISE sits next to him.

 

CONNOR: Superhero, remember?

ELISE (sibling mockery): Superfreak more like. You shouldn’t be allowed out on your own. To think Mom and Dad thought you came to look after me.

CONNOR: Hey, without me you wouldn’t have been allowed this vacation.

ELISE: Vacation to Manchester to see the wonderful rain.

 

CONNOR lies down laboriously, wincing slightly and closes his eyes.

 

CONNOR: Well we’re going to London tomorrow. You can see your penpal then.

ELISE: And you can get the next piece of your puzzle.

CONNOR: Last piece.

ELISE: Are you sure this is such a good idea?

 

CONNOR opens his eyes and looks at her.

 

ELISE: I mean, all this magic and demons and stuff. Do you think it’s a good idea to get involved in it?

CONNOR: I can’t not know. He’s my f… (baulks at saying it in front of ELISE) He’s important to me.

ELISE: But didn’t he want you to stay out of it? I mean, that’s why you’re with us, right? <looks confused and sighs> When you told me all of this, I thought you were nuts.

CONNOR: But you trusted me.

ELISE (joking again): Don’t know why! It sounds crazy – Your dad isn’t Dad, he’s this vampire thing. <very uncertain> And you’re not really my brother.

 

CONNOR looks at her, concerned.

 

ELISE: We didn’t grow up together.

CONNOR: No.

ELISE (reassuring herself): But you’re still family, right?

CONNOR: Right. I still get to embarrass you when you bring ‘Brian’ <said mockingly> home to meet Mom and Dad.

ELISE: You wouldn’t!

CONNOR (joking): Don’t think I wouldn’t! I know all the secrets.

 

There is a jovial family, side-poking, tickling moment.

 

 

Scene: Rome. None of the campy swirling violin music that was such an atrocity in ‘The Girl In Question’, just a typical Angel flashing overview as we zoom in on an apartment block. For those of you who are deficient in guessing ahead, this is BUFFY’s apartment.

 

Scene: Inside BUFFY’s apartment. BUFFY is sitting around a coffee table in the living room that was seen in ‘The Girl in Question’. GILES is pacing.

 

BUFFY: It’s getting worse, isn’t it?

GILES: We’ve lost five already this month.

BUFFY: Lost? You mean they were…

 

GILES nods tersely. BUFFY reacts.

 

GILES: They’re young, brash and undertrained. Most of them are drunk with this sudden power and we’re spread too thinly to train them.

BUFFY: Can’t we gather them all together? Like one big Slayer Seminar where we can impart the wisdom?

GILES: Buffy, half of them don’t even know what’s happened to them. And a large percentage of the other half don’t want to be trained.

BUFFY: Don’t want to be trained? We’re saving their lives!

GILES: You didn’t always see training that way though, did you?

BUFFY (chastened): I guess not.

GILES: You only accepted my help after you were nearly killed. Many of our new slayers don’t get a second chance and there are too few of us to help them.

 

He sighs and cleans his glasses.

 

GILES: Maybe we should consider…

BUFFY: No. We are not talking to them

GILES: If they can help us, save lives, then it would be worth it.

BUFFY: We can’t. This is a brand new chance, to set up a new Council, one that helps slayers, that treats them correctly. If we let Watchers back in, then they’ll pollute it. They’re not offering to help; they’re offering to take over again.

GILES: They are few in number.

BUFFY: We can’t trust them. <sighs> We just need to train those that we can and send them out to train others.

 

GILES cleans his glasses again.

 

GILES: We may not have much time. The turmoil that Angel’s actions have caused has spread throughout the world. There are powerful forces rising everywhere.

BUFFY: So we’ll stop them. We’ll get everything under control.

 

GILES looks uncertain.

 

BUFFY: Giles, we’ll deal. We always have.

 

A beat of quiet.

 

BUFFY (trying to be casual): So, is there any news?

GILES: Buffy, this shouldn’t be your priority…

BUFFY: Is there?

GILES <sighing>: There’s nothing concrete. Rumours everywhere.

BUFFY: But he could still be alive?

GILES: Angel made powerful enemies when he betrayed Wolfram and Hart. These aren’t the kind of people that just bury the hatchet.

BUFFY: But he could still be alive.

GILES: Yes. It is possible. But it should be the least of your concerns right now. We need to concentrate on these reports of new attacks.

 

BUFFY looks bored. GILES notices, but ploughs on.

 

GILES: A temple of the Monks of Aralias was attacked last week and certain relics were stolen.

BUFFY: Are they white hats, black hats, blue hats?

GILES: They’re good. Something that moved like a vampire broke in, but didn’t burn in sunlight.

BUFFY: So a vampire with really good sunblock?

 

GILES looks disapproving.

 

BUFFY: I’m concerned, I’m concerned. So what do these monks have to do with us?

GILES: I believe the same creature attacked two slayers in Manchester.

BUFFY: Is that in Ohio?

GILES: England.

BUFFY: Right. So how do we know it was the same thing?

GILES: Vi is training these two slayers. It hospitalised both of them and took a talisman they were carrying.

BUFFY (quietly furious): So it’s something I need to go kill.

GILES: Vi believes it would have left the area by now. It has what it came for.

BUFFY: Which was what?

GILES: The Token of Eigos. It’s a focussing talisman, used for summoning spirits of demons. If it’s used correctly, it could call forth the very worst of demons to this reality.

BUFFY: So this demon could summon bigger and badder Big Bads?

 

GILES nods.

 

GILES: The relic it took from the Temple of Aralias was the Pythic Miasma. (off BUFFY’s questioning look) It’s a psychic battery, allowing a witch or a warlock to perform spells well beyond normal human capacity. Theoretically, this demon now has the psychic energy to outmatch even Willow in certain areas. It has more than enough to power the Token of Eigos.

BUFFY: It could outmatch Willow? The same Willow who’s capable of destroying the world if she gets cranky? <beat> How do we know the two robberies are connected though? Couldn’t there be two demons working separately?

GILES: Vi’s slayers described their attacker as, “Moving like a vamp, but faster and stronger. It was hot.”

BUFFY: So they crushed on their attacker?

GILES: Hot as in temperature, Buffy. It was warm-blooded.

BUFFY (sheepish): I knew that.

GILES: The other disturbing thing was that this creature apparently had every chance to kill the slayers, but instead chose to disappear.

BUFFY: So it could be a good guy?

GILES: More likely something that doesn’t feel overly concerned by slayers. And now something that can summon any demon it wishes.

BUFFY: How can we find it and when can I kill it?

GILES: Buffy, you can’t…
BUFFY: Andrew can look after Dawn and I will look after this demon before it does any more damage.
GILES: Buffy, this thing hospitalised two slayers.
BUFFY: All the more reason for me to take it out before it hospitalises any more. We call together all the slayers we can get and we deal with it, once and for all. You just tell me where we’re going.

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