Episode 4 - Detour
ACT FOUR
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT.
From where we left off. Vincent is about to bite
Sasha.
Suddenly, from behind them, the white-haired vampire
(Skeet's companion) crashes in and immediately dusts
two vampires with a stake. From downstairs, Solomon
dusts another with a crossbow.
Vincent turns around to face the intruder. He attacks
but is no match. The girl is blindingly fast, dusting
Vincent with ease.
The Scoobs are a little stunned, not having any time
to react.
Giles runs up the stairs to see to Sasha, still curled
up in a ball
Giles kneels over Sasha, trying to look for the wound.
GILES
Are you okay? Where are you hurt?
Sasha is looking at the white-haired girl. We slowly
see a smile cross Sasha's face.
SASHA
(to the girl)
What took you so long?
The girl starts laughing. Sasha starts laughing. Giles
backs off, confused.
WILLOW
What's going on?
Sasha turns to Giles, smiling.
SASHA
Oh Rupert. You're such a gentleman.
Who said chivalry was dead.
She swings with her arm and knocks Giles back down the
stairs. Willow, Anya and Xander immediately rush to
Giles. He's a little groggy but okay.
Sasha stands up confidently and she and the girl walk
down the stairs. She signals to Solomon.
Solomon knocks Tara aside and grabs Dawn, holding her
in front of him.
TARA
Dawn!
GILES
Let her go!
Giles begins to reach for his weapon. Solomon
threatens to break Dawn's neck. Giles stops.
SASHA
I would drop your weapons if I were
you. Solomon may be the strong,
silent type but he also has a
particular fondness for killing.
We see Xander and Anya dropping their stakes. We see
Willow hiding a blue vial in the palm of her hand.
Sasha and the girl have reached the floor. Xander,
Anya and Giles have backed away to the centre with
Willow and Tara. Solomon pushes Dawn away into the
group. Willow and Tara go to Dawn.
GILES
Who are you?
SASHA
Oh. Where's my manners? You already
know me and Solomon.
(she indicates to the
girl)
This is Flix.
Suddenly, the front door comes crashing open. In steps
Tarwin with his poleaxe.
SASHA
And that's Tarwin.
GILES
What are you?
SASHA
Oh come on Rupert. Haven't you
figured it out by now? It's night..
and look around, see any mirrors?
WILLOW
But you killed those other vamps.
SASHA
Well, they were about to kill me.
Anyway, they are inconsequential. We
only needed them to help us get you
all into our little warehouse..
(walking to Giles)
and to help convince people of my
sad little story of a little girl
lost in this cruel world.
Sasha laughs in Giles' face.
SASHA
Oh, poor Rupert. You've seen so many
vampires..
(vamps out)
but you can't see one that's right
in front of your face.
GILES
There was no attack, no van?
SASHA
Oh that there was. We had to put on
a little show for our friends. Only,
your council members were already
dead before they got anywhere near
Sunnydale. We even left a few bodies
in the van, just to be safe.
GILES
What are you going to do to us?
SASHA
Nothing. Well, by nothing, I don't
mean that you'll still be alive by
sunrise. Just nothing, for now. You
see, we couldn't convince the slayer
to stay. So, we wait, just like
before.
I do hope she comes back though.
This party just wouldn't be the same
without her.
INT/EXT. COUNCIL VAN - NIGHT
Buffy is facing Skeet. Out of the corner of her eye,
she sees Christopher starting to crawl towards the
driver's seat. Buffy steps over to block Christopher
from Skeet's view.
SKEET
I told you we'll meet again. But
this time, I will have the last
laugh. As we speak, your little
friends are surrounded by my men.
They will die, as will you.
Skeet is about to signal his vampires to attack.
BUFFY
Wait! Tell me. How did you manage
this? I mean, this was all a trap?
SKEET
(smiling broadly)
That's the spirit. I'll tell you.
You see, your fatal mistake was
believing that you are...
Skeet's voice trails off in Buffy's mind and in our
hearing. She is listening to Christopher behind her.
ANGLE : CHRISTOPHER
as he crawls behind the driver's seat, grabbing some
wires, trying to start the van.
ANGLE : SKEET
as he continues to ramble on silently about his trap.
ANGLE :BUFFY'S CROSSBOW
behind her back, her trigger-finger tensing up, ready
for action.
CLOSE ON : WIRES
As Christopher brushes them together. We hear the
sparks.. once, twice. Then the engine starts with a
roar. (Normal sound resumes)
ANGLE : SKEET
SKEET
What the..
(yelling)
Kill her!
Christopher slams his hand on the gas pedal and the
van begins to take off, running over a couple of vamps
in front of the van. Buffy immediately grabs the
steering wheel with one hand, steering the van.
A few vamps are hanging on to the windows, beginning
to climb in. Buffy shoots them with her crossbow and
dusts them.
ANGLE : SKEET AND TEDDY
as they watch the van dissapear, heading back into
town.
TEDDY
Boss. That wasn't the plan.
SKEET
(looking disdainfully at
Teddy)
You think?
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT.
The Gang are sitting in a corner, surrounded by the
vamps. We now see that all the vamps, except Flix,
have changed into some kind of battle dress; a heavy
vest and beneath that, some sort of iron mesh which
covers them from the chest up. The mesh has been
unravelled to cover their necks. Flix isn't wearing
any armour but instead is dressed in a full-length
bodysuit.
The vamps break open some crates, grabbing the weapons
hidden within them.
We see the Gang's weapons now on the table, being
guarded by Tarwin.
Flix looks longingly at Xander's neck.
FLIX
I'm hungry.
Anya reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a
wrapped sandwich.
ANYA
(to Flix)
Peanojam?
SASHA
(to Flix)
We feed later. Come.
Sasha and Flix walk towards Solomon at the door.
SASHA
We're going to check out back, just
in case she decides to sneak in that
way. Keep an eye on the skylight.
Sasha and Flix depart.
XANDER
(whispering to Giles)
We have to do something. Buffy's
just going to walk into a trap.
ANYA
But what can we do? We don't have
any weapons. They're not just going
to let us walk out the door.
WILLOW
I have this.
She carefully opens her hand to show the vial to
Giles. Tara, who is holding on to Dawn, looks at
Willow with concern.
Giles looks over to the door where Solomon is
stationed.
GILES
(re Solomon)
We'll have to move him.
Willow sees Solomon and then looks at Tara. She
motions to a crate in a corner of the warehouse. Tara
turns to see the crate and nods.
Tara gently releases Dawn and whispers in her ear.
TARA
Ready to be brave?
Dawn looks up at Tara behind her and nods.
TARA
When Willow throws down the vial,
start running to the door. We'll be
with you all the way.
The group readies themselves. Tara and Willow checks
that everyone is ready. They then reach behind Anya,
who is sitting between them, and join hands. They are
both focused on the large crate.
The crate moves, producing a scraping noise. Solomon
and Tarwin both turn to the noise, weapons readied.
Solomon checks that the group is still there and heads
towards the crate.
Solomon reaches the crate. Willow stands and throws
the vial down at Tarwin's feet. Smoke billows out and
engulfs him.
The group rushes to the door in the confusion. Solomon
turns back quickly and manages to grab Willow.
Dawn and Anya are out the door. Tara turns around to
see Solomon throwing Willow against the back wall.
TARA
Willow!
Xander and Giles start to head towards Willow but is
blocked by Tarwin. They fight. Solomon heads towards
Willow with his sword.
TARA
(angrily to Solomon)
No!
A furious Tara looks hard at the heavy table and it
lifts and flies towards Solomon, smashing into his
back, throwing him to the ground and knocking his
sword away. He turns and glares at Tara.
Meanwhile, Giles and Xander are fighting Tarwin. While
Xander ducks as Tarwin swings his poleaxe, Giles grabs
a stake which has fallen from the table and stakes
Tarwin in the back. The stake cannot pierce the vest
and the iron mesh Tarwin is wearing.
ANGLE : TARWIN
as he spins around and knocks Giles down.
ANGLE : SOLOMON
as he starts walking towards Tara, glowering.
ANGLE : TARWIN
as he lift his poleaxe, ready to strike Xander.
ANGLE : TARA
as she concentrates, staring at something.
The poleaxe flies from Tarwin's hands and flies
towards Solomon but Solomon parries it away
confidently.
With a burst of speed, Solomon reaches Tara and grabs
her by the neck, slowly choking her. There is a
strange look on his face as he stares at Tara. He then
smiles.
Willow sees Solomon and Tara. She scrambles to pick up
a crossbow, aims and fires. The bolt bounces off
Solomon's armour.
Suddenly, someone knocks Solomon off his feet and into
the centre of the room. Tara is freed.
ANGLE : BUFFY
BUFFY
Touch her again and you'll lose the
hand.
Both Tarwin and Solomon are now completely focused on
the slayer. Willow runs to Tara. Xander and Giles
follow.
BUFFY
(to the Gang)
Get out of here. I'll handle this.
GILES
There's another two out there.
Christopher enters the room.
CHRISTOPHER
We have it.
Giles looks at Buffy with concern but relents. The
Gang head off to join Anya and Dawn. They exit and
head for safety.
CUT TO:
Wide shot as the four combatants spread out and
prepare to fight. The two vampires attack.
ANGLE : TARWIN AND CHRISTOPHER
Christopher is a lot faster and more agile than
Tarwin, confidently avoiding his poleaxe. He tries
staking him but cannot pierce his armour. Tarwin hits
him with great power and sends him flying into some
crates in a corner.
ANGLE : SOLOMON AND BUFFY
An even fight. Solomon with a sword and Buffy with her
stake. They both get good shots in. Buffy goes in for
the kill but Solomon manages to deflect her thrust
from his heart. However, the stake does manage to
pierce his armour, stabbing him but missing the heart.
Tarwin joins in the fight with Buffy. Buffy is
managing quite well against the two opponents,
knocking them to the ground against the back wall.
Suddenly, from behind her, Buffy hears clapping. She
spins around to see The General. A pale, white
vampire, distant cousin of 'the Master' but shorter
and stouter. Like 'the Master', he is permanently
vamped but unlike him, though he is bald on top, he
still has some medium-length white hair flowing down
from both sides of his head. Like most of the other
vamps, he is wearing protective armour. He is flanked
by Sasha and Flix.
THE GENERAL
We knew you were good, but this..
You've surprised us all.
BUFFY
Do I know you?
The General grabs something from his pocket and throws
it at Buffy's feet. It is a green, glowing ring.
THE GENERAL
We've been watching.
The General smiles and walks towards Buffy.
THE GENERAL
We know all about you, and about
your friends. We know where all of
you live. By the way, how's Dawn
doing? Is she managing without her
mother?
BUFFY
Leave her out of this.
THE GENERAL
I'm perfectly happy to leave you all
out of it. I'm a reasonable
creature. We're going to be in this
charming town for a while and all we
ask is that you stay out of our way.
BUFFY
Never gonna happen.
THE GENERAL
Do you honestly think you're ready
for us? You haven't seen the likes
of us.
The General begins to pace and posture.
THE GENERAL
You and your friends have been
living in this cocoon all this time.
What have you seen, really? Your
local vampires and demons? They're
nothing. We're what's been waiting
for you just outside your little
world and believe me slayer, you're
not ready.
Buffy takes action. She lunges at the General with her
stake but is blocked by Sasha who flings her back to
the centre of the room.
Sasha, Solomon and Tarwin fight with Buffy while the
General and Flix watch on, smiling.
Buffy isn't doing quite as well this time, with three
vampires to fight with, Sasha and Solomon with swords
and Tarwin with his pole-axe. But she is putting up a
little resistance, acrobatically avoiding their
weapons and getting a few blows in.
The General turns to Flix and nods. Flix smiles. She
takes a few steps back, and then somersaults into the
fray, over Solomon and Tarwin, and into Buffy, kicking
her to the ground.
Buffy is now clearly outmatched. Flix is a blur of
spins and kicks while the other vampires attack in
unison. Buffy gets knocked to the ground.
Buffy looks defeated. The vampires start to toy with
her. They move in.
Suddenly, the lights go out. There is darkness and we
hear the sound of running footsteps.
SASHA
(in the darkness)
The door!
EXT. OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE.
We see Christopher, holding on to Buffy, supporting
her as they run away from the warehouse. Buffy turns
to look back at the warehouse.
CHRISTOPHER
You can't win this.
They run out of frame just as we see Skeet and Teddy
enter, looking surprised at seeing the slayer running
away. They head to the warehouse.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT.
There is darkness. Then the lights come back on. Sasha
is at the light switch.
SOLOMON
They've gone.
TARWIN
We can still catch them.
Tarwin and Solomon start to head to the door.
THE GENERAL
No. It matters not. She knows that
she cannot defeat us. She will not
stand in our way. Remember, she is
not why we are here.
Skeet and Teddy enter.
SKEET
What the bleedin' hell's going on
here?
(to Tarwin)
You let the slayer get away?
THE GENERAL
(to Skeet)
Leave us. We have no time for you.
SKEET
Oh! Is that right. Well you better
make time for me mate. Do you know
who you're talking to?
THE GENERAL
(smiling)
Dust.
Flix picks up a stake and starts walking to Skeet,
slow and deliberate. Skeet is a little unnerved.
SKEET
(to Tarwin)
Kill her,
(then, pointing to the
General)
then do him.
Tarwin just stands and smiles.
SKEET
(to Teddy)
Do something.
Teddy walks forward to meet Flix, towering over her.
He swings but misses badly. Flix knocks him to his
knees and stakes him. A troll doll falls from his hand
to the floor, dust settling on top of it.
Skeet looks petrified. Tarwin starts to approach him,
poleaxe in his hand.
SKEET
(backing away and panicky)
Wait. We can be bloody sensible
about this can't we? C'mon, let's go
feed on someone and we can toast to
our brotherhood.
Tarwin nears. He lifts his axe.
SKEET
(dropping to his American
accent)
Come on. I'm not even British, see?
It's all a stupid act. I'm nobody.
Tarwin swings back his axe.
SKEET
Please. I'm from North Dakota.
ANGLE : TARWIN
from Skeet's POV. Tarwin swings the axe towards the
camera and we BLACKOUT.
INT. WILLOW AND TARA'S ROOM - DAY (DAY 2)
They are both on the bed. Willow is lying on her
stomach, going through some notes with different pens.
Tara is sitting cross-legged, reading a book.
WILLOW
You know, somehow, revising your
Chem notes just doesn't seem quite
as important anymore after almost
being killed by a crazed vampire.
TARA
Why don't you take a break? I'm sure
you could..
WILLOW
Are you crazy? Because, I mean Hey!
Patented Willow studying system
here.
TARA
(smiling)
No, we wouldn't want to derail the
Willow Express.
Willow smiles and goes back to her notes, going over
them with her different coloured pens.
Tara stops her reading and just looks at Willow with a
smile. Willow notices.
WILLOW
What? Is it the pens thing? Because,
I don't have to. I mean, I could
stop..
TARA
No. Don't ever stop.
They share a moment. Tara then coughs a little, trying
to clear her throat.
WILLOW
(concerned)
You okay? Can I get you some water,
maybe?
TARA
No, I'm just a little hoarse..
(then smiling)
or maybe a really big pony.
Willow smiles a little. She looks at Tara's neck which
is still a little red and sore from Solomon's attack.
Willow reaches out with her hand and gently touches
Tara's neck, concern etched on her face. Tara leans
her head on Willow's hand, then takes it and kisses it
softly.
TARA
I'm okay.
A beat, then..
TARA
(noticing something)
You're leaking.
WILLOW
What?
Willow looks down and sees that her red pen is indeed
leaking over her notes.
WILLOW
Oh no! My hydrogen chloride notes...
It's turning red!
TARA
So's your hand. I'll go get
something wet and wipy.
Tara exits the room. Willow grabs her notes and walks
over to the table.
She grabs a piece of paper and dabs at the red ink on
her notes. It doesn't work. She looks at the ink
stain.
ANGLE : INK STAIN
as the red ink slowly spreads on the white paper.
CLOSE ON : WILLOW'S EYES
WHITE OUT
Flashing images, some too fast to discern but we do
see these images - Willow and Tara's room - Close-up
of Tara's eyes closing - Blood slowly spreading on a
piece of cloth.
WHITE OUT
ANGLE : WILLOW
as she stands there transfixed.
OLD WOMAN (V.O.)
Witches two will become one.
Willow breaks out of her trance, shaken. She stands
there and looks at the red ink on her hand.
She looks up at the shelf in front of her where the
magic books are kept. Her eyes focus on the magic
books.
ANGLE : WILLOW
as she darts her eyes at the door, checking for Tara,
then focusing back on the books, looking conflicted.
INT. MAGIC BOX/TRAINING ROOM - DAY
CLOSE ON : PUNCHING BAG
as someone is punching the hell out of it.
WIDEN :
to reveal Buffy, sweating and totally focused on the
bag, hitting it hard.
Christopher walks in, a little surprised at seeing
Buffy. He walks next to her and watches her for a
beat.
CHRISTOPHER
Buffy?
Buffy stops. She turns over to look at Christopher,
her eyes cold and determined.
BUFFY
I want to be ready.
BLACKOUT
END OF SHOW
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