Episode 14 - Mousetrap
ACT FOUR
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY - NIGHT
as the Scoobs are met by three further rats who start
to accompany them further into the building. They stop
outside a large door.
RAT#1
Wait here.
The rat heads inside and closes the door behind him.
The Scoobs take the opportunity to look around. Willow
picks at a column next to her. A piece breaks off in
her hands.
WILLOW
I don't even wanna think about how
many building code violations this
place has.
ANYA
Not exactly structurally sound.
TARA
(taking a look at the
piece in Willow's hand)
This whole place is made out of
garbage.
XANDER
(looking off into the
distance)
I think I see last week's dinner. Oh
wait.. lunch.
We hear the door being opened. The rat comes back out
to the Scoobs and faces Anya.
RAT#1
Hugo will see you now.
The Scoobs enter..
INT. RAT'S LAIR/MAIN CHAMBER - NIGHT
In a very large, expansive room with the walls hidden
in darkness. We see the only light in the room comes
from two flaming torches held by two rats standing
guard near the centre of the vast room. Standing in
between them, we see Hugo and Flix. The guards march
the Scoobs a few metres short of Hugo.
HUGO
Bring the slayer closer.
The two guards carrying the torches walk forward and
escort a nervous Anya forward. They stand on either
side of Anya. Hugo inspects Anya.
HUGO
So, you're the slayer. You seemed so
much taller.
ANYA
(a little nervous)
Well, you seemed so much shorter
and.. and so much less like a giant,
deranged rabbit.
Willow clears her throat.
ANYA
I like what you've done with the
place. Really, I don't know many
people who can make a home out of
refuse, although I've known a few
people who've done it the other way
round.. Anyway, it's nice to see
people recycling.. not that you're
people..
The rest of the Scoobs look on nervously as Anya
stumbles through her speech. Hugo and Fink continue to
stare at Anya.
Anya begins to scratch at her wig again. Willow's eyes
bulges as she notices Anya's wig beginning to loosen.
HUGO
(to Anya)
Anything the matter?
ANYA
(immediately stopping her
scratch-fest)
Oh.. lice. What with fighthing
demons all day, sometimes a girl
just doesn't have time to wash her
hair.
The two rats next to Anya look at her and take a step
away.
ANYA
(noticing)
Like you guys are so clean.
HUGO
That's a fallacy you know. Take the
plague for instance. Everyone blames
the rats but the bacterium
responsible actually occured in the
stomach of the fleas which lived in
our ancestors' fur. It was the fleas
which transferred it to humans.
ANYA
I know. People can be so quick to
judge. I mean, just because you just
happen to be there when someone
wished vengeance upon someone and
just because you happen to be able
to grant that wish..
(catching herself)
not that that has any relevance to
me of course, because.. I'm the
slayer. I'm far too busy saving the
world, staking vampires.. or you
know, kissing them.
(clarifying)
Only the cute, broody ones.. and
Spike.
Buffy reaction shot : not impressed.
FINK
You kissed a spike?
WILLOW
Buffy.
Anya turns around to look at Buffy. Buffy gives Anya
an earnest 'don't look at me!' look. Anya turns to
Willow who gives her a 'Yes you' look.
ANYA
Oh! Buffy.
(turning back to Hugo)
That would be me. The slayer.. the
chosen one.. the one girl in each
generation..
TARA
(gently but pointedly)
Buffy.
Anya turns to look at Tara, then getting it.
ANYA
Oh right.
(back to Hugo)
I believe you have something of
ours?
(holding a hand above her
head to approximate Giles'
height)
About yea high, glasses, British,
probably wearing something tweedy,
answers to Giles?
Hugo and Fink does not answer.
ANYA
Comes running if you hold out any
kind of book? If you'd just hand him
over, we'll be on our way.
HUGO
I'm afraid it's not that simple.
ANYA
(turning to Willow)
Told you.
WILLOW
(ignoring Anya, to Hugo)
How do we know you really have him?
That he's okay?
TARA
We need to see him.
XANDER
Yeah rat boy. We're not playing
until you ante up.
FINK
(angrily)
You are in no position to demand..
Hugo raises a paw to silence Fink. Buffy remains quiet
during all this, making herself very small at the
back.
HUGO
I'm afraid we need you here.
ANYA
Look, there's five of us. One of us
can go see Giles while the rest of
us wait.
Hugo considers for a beat, then looks at the group
behind Anya.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE GROUP
Everyone taking fairly confident, aggressive stances
except for Buffy, who looks very small and meek.
HUGO
(pointing to Buffy)
Her, the little one. She can go.
Buffy nods to Anya. Two rats take her back out the
room.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/PRISON - NIGHT
ANGLE : GILES
sitting up on his bed, half in darkness and deep in
thought.
SASHA (O.S.)
(playfully)
Rupie.. Rupie
We PAN over to Sasha on her bed, eyes firmly on Giles.
SASHA
(flirtingly)
Oh, come on Rupert. Let's play.
More silence as Giles ignores her.
SASHA
How's the witch? I hear, she's been
going through a few changes of late.
I hope she's back to normal.
Giles refuses to take the bait.
SASHA
I know someone else who's happy
she's back.
Giles looks up at Sasha.
SASHA
Oh yes. Do you really think he'd
forgotten about her? It's the same
old story really. Boy meets girl,
boy stalks girl, boy bites girl and
turns her into his lifetime
companion. Cue violins.
GILES
That's not going to happen.
SASHA
(shaking her head and
smiling)
I'm afraid my boy's going to get
your girl. It's as inevitable as
nightfall.
GILES
(threateningly, a dark
tone in his voice)
If any one of you touches a hair on
her head..
Giles catches himself, and regains his composure.
Sasha smiles.
SASHA
Why, hello there. Seriously Rupert,
I got chills. It feels good to let
him out for a walk isn't it? It's
wonderfully liberating.
Sasha laughs.
GILES
What?
SASHA
Don't you see? We're not so
different you and I. We are alike,
more than you think. Beneath that
preened and proper suit of yours
lies a heart as black as mine. Tell
me Rupert, what would you do for
them? How far would you go?
Sasha takes a beat to savour her victory.
SASHA
Isn't it funny.. how it all works?
Think about it, If I hadn't decided
to go back past the Espresso Bar, if
I hadn't heard you sing.. you still
wouldn't know the truth about
yourself.
Giles studies Sasha passively.
SASHA
(smiling)
The nature of a human.. it never
ceases to amaze me. The capacity of
a person.. to love, to hate, to
kill? With a kiss or a blow, you
have the power to indelibly change
the lives around you.. as I am an
instrument of change for you.
A silent beat, then from the darkness.
GILES
I know what I am.. Do you?
SASHA
Whatever do you mean?
Giles sits forward into the light, leaning towards
Sasha.
GILES
I see you.
Sasha backs away ever so slightly.
GILES
You're that person I first met, on
that night when all this started.
That scared little girl, wondering
about what life she might have had.
SASHA
Why Rupert, you flatter me terribly.
I never knew I was that good an
actress.
GILES
You're not.
Sasha takes tries to keep her cool, but she is
obviously starting to feel uncomfortable.
GILES
You still have them don't you? Those
ugly human thoughts, those weak
human emotions? I see them.
SASHA
I think you've got me confused with
some other vamp.
GILES
Solomon? No, that's just a vile,
ugly obsession. Like a dog which
craves for a bone, nothing more.
No.. It's you. Somewhere in there,
there's a lingering bit of humanity,
eating away at you from inside.
SASHA
I see someone needs a refresher
course in vampire folklore and
mythology.
GILES
(ignoring)
Somewhere in there, you have a
memory of a life long lost. A life
that must seem so different to the
one you have now.
SASHA
You're wrong.
GILES
But you cannot change what you are,
yet the thoughts and emotions
remain. Why is that? You can't wash
it away or turn away from it.. or
silence them. Oh, if only you could
silence those thoughts.
SASHA
No.
GILES
How far do they go Sasha? Tell me.
What do you feel? Loyalty? Love?
Compassion? Regret?
SASHA
(vamping out, angrily)
Enough.
Giles stares at Sasha for a beat.
GILES
You see. We are alike.. More than
you know.
SASHA
You fear me.
GILES
There's only one word that comes to
mind when I look at you.
SASHA
Oh yes? What is that?
GILES
Pity.
This catches Sasha off-guard.
GILES
It must be hard, going through each
day, knowing what you are. A corpse
in search of a soul.
Sasha snarls angrily, full vamp-mode.
BUFFY (O.S.)
Get away from him.
Sasha turns to see Buffy outside the cell, carrying a
stake. In the background, through the open door, we
see the body of a dead rat.
SASHA
(her composure returning)
Oh look. Here we all are again.
Buffy opens the cell door and throws Giles a set of
keys while keeping a close eye on Sasha. Giles unlocks
his shackles and goes out the cell to Buffy.
GILES
Are you here alone?
BUFFY
The gang's outside playing "I am
Spartacus' with the rats.
GILES
They're in danger. We have to get to
them.
BUFFY
(turning to Sasha)
Wait. What do we do about her? Let
me dust her.
Sasha stands and smiles. Ready for a fight.
GILES
There's no time. Leave her here to
rot. It's what she deserves.
Sasha cocks her head at Giles and smiles. Giles and
Buffy start heading out.
SASHA
Oh Rupert?
Giles turns to look at Sasha.
SASHA
(smiling)
Be seeing you.
Giles exits with Buffy. Sasha watches them go, then
after a beat, and with what seems like a gentle tug,
effortlessly breaks the chain shackled to her wrist.
She walks over to the cell door, kicks at it a few
times, knocking it over. She exits.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/MAIN CHAMBER - NIGHT
We see Anya, Willow, Tara and Xander standing
nervously in front of Hugo and Fink, flanked by more
rats. Quiet silence as they all wait for Buffy to
return.
Xander takes a peek over at two rats standing guard
close to him.
XANDER
So.. you guys seen any good movies
lately..
(smelling the air)
or, you know, bathed?
Hugo leans over and whispers in Fink's ear. Fink nods,
takes a look at the Scoobs, then exits. The Scoobs
look at the departing Fink a little nervously. They
begin to whisper to each other, somewhat animatedly.
HUGO
(noticing)
There's no need to whisper. I can
hear everything.
ANYA
You can?
HUGO
We've spent our entire lives
listening in on conversations. We
know everything that happens in this
town. We know about you and your
friends, the General's plans, the
sale at Miryam's Antique Store on
Tuesday..
ANGLE : ANYA, WILLOW, TARA AND XANDER
reaction shot - 'General's plans?'
HUGO
(launching into a speech)
But we will listen no more. The time
has come for us to be heard. The
world will shudder at our mighty
roar and hell itself cannot stop..
Anya meekly raises her hand. Hugo stops and looks at
Anya.
ANYA
Sorry. I know it's bad form to
interrupt you in the middle of your
big, evil monologue.. I'm sure it
was very well thought out.. but, you
know about the General's plans?
HUGO
Of course. Don't you?
ANYA
Oh. You know, big slayer self-
obsession. Too caught up in the
world of me to notice anything else.
HUGO
So, you don't know that the
General's here to raise his army?
WILLOW
Oh, we know that.
HUGO
His army. The one he lost a hundred
years ago? You see, they're buried
right here in Sunnydale, right under
our feet. Lying dormant, waiting for
him to come and wake them. And when
he does, there will be no stopping
him. He will become all powerful. He
will reign over anyone left alive
after he has blackened this earth.
The blood of all will spill freely
from his sword.
XANDER
Nice imagery.
TARA
It's the little touches that make
all the difference.
WILLOW
(to Hugo)
Wait, if what you're saying is true,
why are you here talking power-
sharing deals with us?
A sound of the door opening from behind. The Scoobs
turn to look.
REVERSE ANGLE: THE GENERAL
as he enters, flanked by Solomon, Tarwin, Flix, Trix
and about a dozen other vampires.
Willow turns back to look at Hugo, panicked.
HUGO
(smiling)
I'm not.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : FIVE RATS
standing guard outside the room. We can see into the
room and see two more rats standing inside, guarding
the bright, shining orb.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND GILES
peeking round a corner.
BUFFY
Okay, that's the orb.. but there's
no way of getting to it.
GILES
I could distract them. Buy you some
time?
BUFFY
No. It's too dangerous. It's time
for Plan B.
GILES
Plan B?
Buffy reaches into her coat and gently takes something
out. We see Amy cradled in her hands. She puts Amy
down in the ground in front of her and feeds her some
yoghurt drops. She then takes out a piece of paper and
unfolds it.
ANGLE : PIECE OF PAPER
A picture of the Orb of Takanis, torn out from a book.
GILES
(slightly snarky)
Is that from one of my books?
Buffy ignores Giles and shows Amy the picture.
BUFFY
Now, Amy. See this? Float.. float.
Amy takes a look at the picture for a beat, then looks
around and scurries off towards the orb room, hugging
the walls as she does so. Giles looks at Buffy
quizically.
BUFFY
WiccAmy. Long, painful story. Just
gotta trust us here. With any luck,
those guards won't be able to see
Amy and won't get suspicious about
smelling a rat.. so to speak.
We see Amy suddenly stop short of the orb room,
smelling a piece of junk on the floor.
BUFFY
(a whispered shout)
God, Amy, this is no time for
shopping. Go float the orb!
(turning to Giles)
Maybe we didn't think this plan
through. I just hope the guys are
okay back there.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/MAIN CHAMBER - NIGHT
as we see Xander, Willow and Tara stand in front of
Anya as the General and his cadre of vampires passes
them.
ANGLE : WILLOW AND TARA
watching as the procession of vamps pass by them.
REVERSE ANGLE: VAMPS
passing by, The General, Flix and Trix and.. Solomon.
Solomon turns and stops and looks at Tara. He smiles.
Willow and Tara look back, not backing away from his
gaze. Willow looks particularly like she means
business.
ANGLE : SOLOMON
still smiling, eyes locked on Tara. He emits a short,
low growl, like a vamp pur.
WILLOW
(quietly but
threateningly)
Get away from us.
Solomon's eyes flick over to look at Willow for a
brief instant, before returning back to look at Tara.
XANDER
(to Hugo)
You tricked us.
HUGO
We're rats. What did you expect?
THE GENERAL
You see, they recognise the real
power in Sunnydale. When they
offered the slayer as an inducement
for talks, well, one could hardly
resist.
The General walks over towards the group, trying to
get a better look at Anya whom he presumes is the
slayer.
THE GENERAL
Now slayer, whatever shall we do
with you? How could you get caught
in such a simple little trap?
Anya tries to hide her face from the General, staying
behind Xander, Willow and Tara. The General gets
closer and closer. The Scoobs tense up, ready for
anything.
HUGO (O.S.)
I'm afraid she's not the only one,
my dear General.
The General stops and turns to look at Hugo, the rat
guards now by his side.
HUGO
You see, power is absolute. I have
no intention of sharing it with
either of you. I'm afraid I won't be
able to stay here and enjoy the
merriment.. but I do abhor the sight
of blood.
Hugo nods. The two guards carrying torches extinguish
them and the room is blanketed in near darkness. It is
now weakly illuminated by moonlight.
The vamps circle the General and the Scoobs, suddenly
very much on their guard. We hear sounds, movement
from all around. A lot of movement.
Everyone looks around them, eyes darting all over the
place, not knowing what to do. Humans and vamps
instinctively close into a tight circle as the sounds
get louder and louder.
ANYA
Is it just me or are the walls
closing in?
TARA
It's not just you.
SOLOMON
General, what do we do?
The General has no answer, as lost as the rest of
them.
Willow reaches into her coat pocket and takes out a
vial. She throws it to the ground.
The vial breaks and illuminates the room with a bright
light. We see the vamps and Scoobs surrounded by many,
many giant rats. Far outnumbering the vamps. The rats
attack.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : BUFFY AND GILES
as they hear a loud sound from behind them, the sounds
of the attack.
BUFFY
They're in trouble.
GILES
Go! I'll look after Amy.
Buffy looks at Giles and nods. She gets up and starts
to go.
GILES
Buffy.. Be careful.
Buffy gives Giles a quick smile and scurries off.
Giles turns back to look at Amy.
ANGLE : AMY
finally moving away from the piece of junk and heading
towards the room. But as she enters, one of the guards
accidentally steps on Amy's tail. She cannot move
further.
GILES
Blast.
Giles gets up quietly to start to move to a new
location. He hears something behind him.
GILES
Buffy?
He turns to see.. Fink. Fink snarls and knocks him
down.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/MAIN CHAMBER - NIGHT
Wide shot: Big fight in progress; rats versus vamps.
A rat fights with a vamp. The vamp stabs it with a
sword and the rat falls down. A second rat leaps onto
the vamp, pulling it to the ground.
We see Solomon, Flix, Trix and Tarwin surrounding the
General, holding the rats off at bay. A rat attacks
Solomon. Solomon blocks the attack and kicks it away.
We TRACK the flying rat as it lands heavily in front
of Anya and the rest of the Scoobs. They are half-
crouching, trying to avoid the fight and find the
exit.
ANYA
(looking at the dead rat
right in front of her)
Okay.. shoes.. click.. Kansas.
Xander looks to his right and sees something.
XANDER
Quick, this way!
They all follow Xander's lead, keeping low amidst the
battle. They head single file towards the exit;
Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara.
A hand reaches out and grabs Tara's arm. Tara looks
behind her.
ANGLE : SOLOMON
looking down at Tara.
Tara struggles to get free but Solomon holds on tight.
ANGLE : WILLOW
turning back to see Solomon and Tara. She starts to
head back.
Solomon continues to stare at Tara.
TARWIN
(to Solomon)
Left flank, left flank!
Solomon turns to see a group of rats coming close to
the General. He turns back to Tara and smiles.
SOLOMON
Remember, you're mine.
With that, he lets her go and turns to fight the
approaching rats.
Willow arrives by Tara's side. She grabs her arm. Tara
nods to indicate she's okay. Willow turns to look at
Solomon; angry.
TARA
(tugging on Willow)
Come on. Let's go.
Willow eventually turns away and follows Tara.
The Scoobs continue to scurry away, keeping low. Anya
now at the front. A rat leaps in front of them, down
on all fours.
Anya stands up, takes out a stake and adopts a slayery
pose. The rat stands on its hind legs, reaching its
full height towering over Anya and snarls.
ANYA
(losing her resolve)
Okay, run.
Anya darts off, followed by the rest of the Scoobs.
The rat turns to follow but is taken down by a vamp.
As the Scoobs depart, we see Flix and Trix expertly
disposing of attacking rats, seemingly enjoying the
fight.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY - NIGHT
Anya, Willow, Xander and Tara exit into the hallway, a
little breathless.
XANDER
(to Anya)
What the heck was that? Remember,
An, you're only play-acting here.
ANYA
It works with bears.
TARA
We have to find Buffy and Mr Giles.
ANYA
(taking a look around,
then..)
This way.
Willow, Xander and Tara follow Anya down a hallway,
only to run into Hugo and two other rats. They spot
the Scoobs.
ANYA
Oops.
HUGO
The slayer! Get them!
Hugo and the rats start rushing towards the group.
Anya looks to her right.
ANYA
(trying again)
This way!
The group look at each other for a brief second before
scurrying to the left instead. Xander drags Anya away
with him.
The Scoobs run down a corridor, chased by the rats.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/ROOM - NIGHT
They duck into a room and close the door behind them.
They back up against the door to block the rats. The
rats run into the door but can't break through.
ANYA
(as the rats continue to
bang at the door)
You know, this wasn't in the
brochure.
The banging suddenly stops. That noise now replaced by
a strange new noise coming from the walls. The Scoobs
back away.
XANDER
Okay, what's that noise?
Suddenly, a piece of the wall falls apart as a pair of
large front teeth bite through it.
TARA
They're gnawing through the wall!
(then thinks about it)
God, the things you get to say when
you live on the Hellmouth.
The four back up against the other side of the room,
just as the rats crash through. Hugo follows, not far
behind. He regards the four.
HUGO
Kill them.
Just as the two rats start heading towards the Scoobs,
one of them is uncermoniously tossed aside. The second
rat turns to see Buffy behind it. It swings but
misses. Buffy flings it through a wall.
BUFFY
(to Scoobs)
Hi guys! Miss me?
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : GILES
as he is thrown against a wall like a rag doll.
Fink stands over Giles, glowering at him.
FINK
Get up human.
Giles looks up to see three of the rat guards have
come over to watch the fight but not the guard
standing on Amy's tail. Giles tries to get to his feet
but Fink kicks him down again.
FINK
So weak.
Fink comes in to kick again but Giles trips him up. He
scampers to his feet and rushes the rat standing on
Amy's tail but is knocked down by a second rat before
he can get there.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/ROOM - NIGHT
Buffy fighting Hugo. Buffy avoids Hugo's wild swings
with ease. She grabs Hugo and tosses him into a
column, which promptly disintegrates. Half the ceiling
caves in.
WILLOW
(looking up)
Uh.oh. I think the sky is falling.
BUFFY
(to Scoobs)
Get out of here.
The Scoobs begin to scamper out of the room as Hugo
gets back up and attacks Buffy.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
We see Giles lying very battered and bruised on the
floor. Fink comes over and picks him up by the collar
of his shirt. Fink smiles and raises his hand, ready
to strike when..
Suddenly something leaps upon Fink, pulling him to the
ground. Giles looks over.
He sees a vamped Sasha over a dazed Fink. Sasha looks
at Giles and smiles. She then leaps up towards the
remaining rats and begins to fight them.
Giles turns to see the guard rat still at his post,
guarding the orb and standing on Amy. He looks around,
then grabs a metal rod lying on the floor. He gets up
and throws it at the guard rat. It strikes the rat and
it falls to the ground. Amy scurries free, entering
Hugo's chamber.
Meanwhile, we see Sasha taking on the rats, expertly
disposing each one ruthlessly in turn. Fink gets up
and attacks Sasha. With great speed, Sasha avoids
Fink's claws, gets behind him and breaks his neck.
Fink falls to the ground as we see Sasha with a very
satisfied smile.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : AMY
scurrying along the floor, pass the feet of the rat
guards inside the chamber. Amy stops and looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE ORB
glowing in its receptacle on a table.
ANGLE : AMY
continuing to look at the orb, whiskers twitching
away.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE ORB
as it moves, ever so slightly at first. It then lifts
out of its receptacle, floating up. The light in the
orb goes out as it falls to the floor.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : SASHA
fighting more rats. All of a sudden, the rats shrink
back to normal size, ending up at Sasha's feet. They
quickly scurry away.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/MAIN CHAMBER - NIGHT
Big Vamp/rat fight still going on. Vamps seem to be
losing, being hopelessly outnumbered. They are
gathered in a tight circle surrounded by rats. We see
Flix, Trix, Tarwin and Solomon still managing to
protect the General, viciously hacking away with their
assorted weapons.
Suddenly, as the spell is broken, the rats seem to
magically dissapear. They all shrink back to normal
size and run away en masse. The vamps take a beat to
absorb this new development, then run towards the
exit, heading out.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/ROOM - NIGHT
As Buffy grabs Hugo and flings him across the room
once more. We see Hugo transform back into a normal
white mouse mid-air. It lands on the ground feet first
and scurries out the door, past the feet of the
assembled Scoobs waiting outside.
XANDER
(looking down at Hugo as
it runs away)
Not so big without your .. um..
bigness now are you?
Buffy goes to the Scoobs. She looks around. The entire
place is falling apart.
BUFFY
C'mon. Let's find Giles.
Buffy heads off-screen, followed closely by the
remaining Scoobs.
INT. RAT'S LAIR/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE HUGO'S CHAMBER - NIGHT
ANGLE : GILES
slowly standing up, looking very weary. He takes a
look around him. No rats to be seen. He smiles and
turns to see.. Sasha.
Sasha grabs Giles and throws him to the ground. She
straddles on top of him and holds him to the ground.
SASHA
Alone again.
GILES
Why? Why help me?
SASHA
I wasn't about to let the others
come in and ruin our game.
GILES
This isn't a game.
SASHA
Why of course it is Rupert. And I
will have my victory over you.
You'll live just long enough to see
my final move.
BUFFY (O.S.)
Giles?
Sasha turns to look at where the sound is coming from,
then turns back to Giles.
SASHA
(smiling)
Trust me Rupert, this is going to be
fun.
Sasha leans over and kisses Giles briefly on the lips,
then hops off and runs away.
Giles gets up slowly as Buffy and the others arrive.
Willow sees something off-screen and heads into Hugo's
chamber.
BUFFY
Giles, are you alright?
Giles nods. Xander looks down at the floor and notices
something. He walks over to it and crumples to his
knees. It is a dead rat. He picks it up mournfully.
XANDER
Oh Amy. Brave little Amy. We hardly
knew you.
Willow reappears from Hugo's chamber carrying Amy in
her hands. She's feeding her a yoghurt drop.
WILLOW
Xander, what are you doing?
XANDER
(still looking at the rat
in his hands)
Amy.. She didn't make it.
WILLOW
Xander, Amy's right here.
Xander turns to look, then looks at the rat in his
hands.
XANDER
Wait, if that's Amy, then what's
this?
TARA
I'm guessing a long shower.
Xander drops the rat and springs to his feet, wiping
his hands on his jeans.
The building begins to shudder as the place starts to
fall apart.
BUFFY
Come on. Let's get out of here
before we end up as landfill.
Everyone exits as we see the orb still lying on the
floor in Hugo's chamber. The roof collapses in on the
room, burying the orb.
EXT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY (DAY FOUR)
to establish.
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - DAY
where we see Dawn, Tara, Anya, Buffy and Giles
gathered. Dawn and Tara are sitting together on the
floor playing with Amy on the coffee table. Dawn feeds
Amy some yoghurt drops while Tara gently strokes the
rat lightly with her finger. Anya sits on an armchair
watching all this while Buffy and Giles sits next to
each other on the couch.
GILES
So, you came up with this plan all
by yourselves?
BUFFY
Well, it's not exactly the
Declaration of Independence but.. I
guess it worked.
Giles smiles proudly.
ANYA
(all enthusiastic,
fishing)
Worked? It more than worked. It was
a glorious victory for the do-
gooders over the ne'er-do-wells. It
was a magnificent plan and, might I
say, brilliantly executed by all
involved.
DAWN
And of course, we had Amy here as
the centrepiece of the whole thing.
ANYA
Yes, and.. what?
TARA
(re Amy)
She really came through. I think she
deserves to be pampered for one day.
ANYA
Wait a minute. I thought I was the
centrepiece. I mean, if it wasn't
for me, that little nibbler wouldn't
even have had her chance to strut
her stuff.
BUFFY
You're feeling threatened by a rat?
ANYA
Well, look at what's happening. I
don't see anyone hand-feeding me
little treats or.. or rubbing me on
my belly.
TARA
(requiring clarification)
Um.. you want me to rub you on your
belly?
BUFFY
(smiling)
I think she meant that
methaphorically..
(then thinking, more
seriously to Anya)
You meant that methaphorically
right?
GILES
Well, I'm just glad we all came out
more or less intact. That was
certainly twenty-four hours I don't
necessarily wish to relive.
BUFFY
So let me get this straight. They
had you locked up with Sasha for all
that time? What exactly did you guys
do? I mean, did you guys talk?
ANYA
Oh yes.. because I love to have
these little chinwags with my meals.
I'll ask the potatoes if they've
brushed up for dinner and the salad
if they're dressed and..
BUFFY
(with an eye roll)
We get it Anya.
ANYA
(dissapointed)
But.. I had more.
GILES
Actually, Sasha had rather a lot to
say.. just nothing I didn't already
know.
TARA
Well, speaking of knowing what was
previously unknown. At least we now
know what the General's plans are..
well, in general.
BUFFY
Yeah Giles. What's with that? The
army of the dead is planning to
raise.. um.. an army of the dead?
GILES
Quite obviously, there's a lot more
to the General's plans than what we
first imagined.
Giles rises from the couch and starts to leave.
GILES
With that in mind, I think I'd
better go and get in touch with our
friends at the Council and see if
they can shed some light on all
this.
(to Tara)
Tara, if I could have a word.
Tara looks at Giles. She and Dawn look a little
worried as just a little tension creeps into the room.
Tara turns to Dawn and smiles reassuringly as she gets
up.
TARA
(to Dawn)
Save my seat. I'll be right back.
Dawn smiles back as Tara leaves with Giles. Dawn
stands, puts the yoghurt drops away on a chair and
takes a few steps over towards the foyer where Giles
and Tara are. Buffy and Anya stand and turn to look
over. Buffy comes up to Dawn's side. They all look
over to the foyer.
REVERSE ANGLE : GILES AND TARA
in the foyer, talking. We cannot hear what they are
saying but it all seems very solemn and serious.
ANGLE : DAWN, BUFFY AND ANYA
Anya has now joined Dawn and Buffy.
DAWN
What's going on?
BUFFY
I don't know. But, I'm sure it's
nothing. I mean, it's all good now.
The rats have been downgraded back
to compact size, Giles is back with
us. Everything's back to normal.
DAWN
You think?
BUFFY
I'm sure of it.
Anya nods happily in agreement. In the background
behind the three, we see a canister of yoghurt drops
slowly floating through the air towards Amy.
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE/FOYER - DAY
We catch Giles and Tara mid-conversation.
GILES
(serious but calm)
So obviously, we're going to have to
take some extra precautions. It
seems he's not going to stop coming
after you.
Tara is silent, taking this all in. Giles puts a hand
on her shoulder.
GILES
Are you alright?
TARA
I'm okay.
GILES
What about Willow? Should we tell
her?
TARA
No. She's already wound up about all
this. This won't help.
Giles squeezes Tara's arm comfortingly and smiles.
GILES
It'll be okay. You'll be protected.
Giles turns and leaves as Tara looks on.
EXT. SUNNYDALE DUMP - DAY
We see a pair of hands, shuffling through the garbage,
searching. Eventually, the hands uncover something..
a large, white, oval-shaped orb which looks a little
dirty and bruised.
We TILT up to follow as the hands lift the orb higher.
We see Willow looking at the orb, staring at it
intensely.
BLACKOUT
END OF SHOW
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