Episode 17 - Timeless
ACT TWO
EXT. WILLOW AND TARA'S DORM - DAY.
to establish. That would be a frozen exterior, with
students frozen mid-walk.
ANGLE ON : A GROUP OF STUDENTS TALKING
on the lawn outside.. frozen. Completely silent.
ANGLE ON : A GROUP OF GUYS
playing a knockabout game of soccer.. frozen and
silent.
INT. WILLOW AND TARA'S DORM/HALLWAY - DAY.
ANGLE ON : TWO STUDENTS TALKING
at the doorway to the bathroom. One of them is in the
middle of brushing her teeth and the other has her
mouth open mid-speech. Again, they are frozen and
completely silent.
We TRACK away from the two and start to move down the
hallway, passing various frozen students as we do so.
Gradually, as we move along, we begin to hear the only
audible sound in the entire place.. the muffled sound
of someone talking.
We continue to TRACK down the hallway until we reach a
closed door where we can now hear someone talking
inside.
WILLOW (O.S.)
Desino-situm!
We magically DOLLY IN through the door and enter..
INT. WILLOW AND TARA'S ROOM - DAY
where we see Willow frantically looking through a
spellbook. We see that Willow has also moved the orb
to a table by the window. The orb glows an intense
bright white.
WILLOW
(to the orb)
Clausulae!
Willow looks over towards the bed.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE SMALL CLOCK
its second hand still frozen.
Willow flips through a few more pages. Finding
nothing, she closes the book and paces around the room
for a beat, trying to think. She turns to the orb
again.
WILLOW
Let the spell be ended.
Willow turns to look at the clock. Still frozen.
WILLOW
Abracadabra?
Nothing happens. Willow takes a beat to think things
through, trying to figure out what to do next.
Suddenly, she senses something odd happening behind
her. She turns to look.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE ORB
as it begins to become unstable, fading in and out. It
suddenly glows an intense bright white.
ANGLE : WILLOW
looking with concern.. starting to approach the orb.
ANGLE ON : THE ORB
as it suddenly explodes, the glass shattering.
ANGLE : WILLOW
as she instinctively turns away from the Orb, throwing
her hands up to protect her face. We hear the sound of
the explosion is suddenly cut short. We wait for the
shards of glass to arrive but they don't. Willow
slowly lowers her hands to look.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE ORB
shattered, the shards of glass flying out from its
initial position but frozen in mid-air.
WILLOW
That can't be good.
Willow approaches the frozen pieces of glass and
gently picks one out from mid-air. She takes a long
look at it, astonished.. and then a little fearful.
We suddenly hear a loud, low groaning noise from all
around. A strange, scary sound like the sound of a
dying, giant beast. Willow spins around the room,
trying to locate the source. We hear the groan for a
beat and then.. suddenly dissapears.
ANGLE : THE SHATTERED ORB
as time unfreezes and with a loud explosive pop, the
shards go flying through the air.
Willow, hearing this, drops to the floor as the shards
fly past her head and into the wall behind her.
She gets up to her feet and takes a look around the
room. She sees the clock now ticking away and Miss
Kitty pawing at something in the air. She also hears
sounds coming from outside the window.
She walks over to look outside her window. Everything
normal. Students walking, laughing, playing with a
frisbee.. as if nothing has happened.
ANGLE : WILLOW
turning back towards the room, looking confused.
WILLOW
What the heck's going on?
INT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY
ANGLE : XANDER
sitting at a table, surrounded by Buffy, Anya and
Dawn. Giles stands to the side.
XANDER
I'll tell you what's going on.
They're moving up the ritual. Get
your tickets now kids cause
Vampapalooza's coming early this
year.
ANYA
(nervously)
They're moving it up? That hardly
seems fair.
BUFFY
Giles?
GILES
I don't believe they are.
XANDER
(to Giles)
You know, the day you agree with me
on anything is the day I'll put on my
monkey suit and throw bananas at
passing strangers.
ANYA
(interested, to Xander)
You have a monkey suit? Is it here?
XANDER
Focus An.
(to Giles)
Harm said that they were digging up
this guy from the walls? I mean, what
else could that mean?
GILES
The books clearly state that the
ritual can only be performed a
hundred years to the day the
containment spell was first cast.
Only on that day will the spell be
weak enough to be destroyed by the
power of the Amulet of Magas. Only
then can the General release his
army. That should give us a few weeks
yet.
XANDER
(sarcastic)
Well then, we all should just sit
back and relax cause, you know,
you've always been right.
GILES
(quietly indignant)
Well, I have.
BUFFY
I'm gonna go with Giles on this.
ANYA
Watcher's pet.
BUFFY
I mean, he knows all about this..
um.. Watchery stuff. It's his job..
(looking to Giles)
and his big Gilesy brain has never
let us down.
GILES
(smiling proudly)
Thank you Buffy.
BUFFY
(back to Xander and Anya)
And plus.. he can spell 'apocalypse'
without batting an eyelid. And.. and
he's British.. always a plus. I mean,
this is like his life. He spends all
his time with his nose in the books.
When have you seen him doing anything
else with his life?
ANGLE : GILES
smile dissapearing.
BUFFY
It's like he's chained to these
books. Day after day, night after
night. I swear if..
GILES
(please stop)
Yes, thank you Buffy.
BUFFY
Just saying.. you're dedicated.
GILES
(puffing himself up)
Well, I do think there's more to my
life than just books and being a
Watcher.
ANYA
Yes. I'm almost certain he has secret
sex when we're not looking.
(a beat, off looks)
What? Don't tell me you haven't
pictured it.
A beat as the group begin to go into a new, exciting
visual place.
GILES
(noticing)
Let's move on.
DAWN
So, if this isn't the ritual, what is
it?
GILES
Well, the Amulet of Magas does
already have its power, not enough to
raise an entire army of soldiers
maybe but..
BUFFY
(realising)
.. enough to raise one.
XANDER
So, it's like a little test drive.
BUFFY
Sure sounds like somebody couldn't
wait to open their presents.
ANYA
Oh, you know, boys and their toys.
Xander can go practically all day,
locking himself in his room and
playing with his gadgets. It isn't
healthy.
XANDER
(smirks nervously)
You all know by 'gadgets' she means..
BUFFY
Gadgets.
XANDER
(pointing to Buffy)
Right.
GILES
Getting this conversation back to
matters of slightly more import, the
General may not be able to raise his
army just yet but it's quite obvious
that, if things progress as they are,
he will be ready when the time comes.
We simply cannot allow this to
happen.
DAWN
(peppy enthusiasm)
So.. we won't. We'll totally band
together and.. and.. kick some vampy
ass.
(off looks)
What? I'm fifteen. I can say ass.
See? Said it again.
GILES
Well I certainly hope it's as easy as
you make it sound. Make no mistake
about this. The General and his band
of vampires are a vicious but highly
organised group who will stop at
nothing to reach their objective. And
now, with God knows what he has
released into this world.. well, we
just better be prepared for anything.
A few concerned looks shared among the Scoobs at the
Magic Box.
INT. UNIVERSITY OF SUNNYDALE CAFETERIA - DAY
Packed with students.. walking, talking, eating,
general merriment. We TRACK two guys as they carry
their trays towards a table. We let them walk off-
screen to the right to reveal Willow sitting by
herself at a table, an untouched plate of food sitting
in front of her. She looks a little sad, a little
contemplative.. lost in her thoughts and oblivious to
all the people around her.
CLOSE ON : WILLOW'S FACE
as we enter her world, her thoughts. We drown out all
the sounds around her.. nothing but silence. Her face
is a mixture of melancholy, helplessness and self-
loathing. We hold on this shot for a beat, losing
sight of the outside world.
Willow looks up. Her expression changes dramatically.
A look of bewilderment and disbelief. She looks all
around. We PAN out to reveal the entire cafeteria
frozen in time. A room packed with frozen, silent
bodies.. except for Willow in the middle, spinning
around slowly to take it all in.
ANGLE : WILLOW
WILLOW
Not again.
INT. UNIVERSITY OF SUNNYDALE - HALLWAY
as we see Willow walking down it. Dead silence as
everyone and everything is frozen. She looks at a guy
hunched over at a water fountain. Droplets of water
suspended in mid-air. He comes up to another student
and waves her hands across her face, trying to get her
attention. No response.
Willow continues to wander, looking into classrooms,
searching in vain for anything that isn't frozen. But
everywhere she looks, time has seemingly stopped.
Willow sighs and looks up at something.
REVERSE ANGLE : A CLOCK ON A WALL
An analog clock frozen in time. No ticking.
MATCH CUT : A CLOCK
with the same time, also not moving.
We WIDEN to reveal we are looking at a bell-tower
clock and are now at..
EXT. SUNNYDALE STREET - DAY
We PAN down from the clock to the street where we
again see Willow wandering by herself, silently making
her way through a frozen town. People frozen mid-
stroll, cars stopped in the middle of the road..
everything entirely still and quiet.
We see Willow walking around with a stack of books in
her hands, the top one open for her to read. She has
her nose deep into the book, occasionally looking up
to observe the world around her. She stops.
WILLOW
(reading)
By the forces of Hespin, I command
this spell to be ended.
She looks up.. the world still frozen.
WILLOW
Please?
Willow waits a beat to see if that made a difference.
Nothing. She shakes her head and starts walking again,
head back into her book. She starts to urgently flip
through the pages.
WILLOW
There has to be something.
Willow turns and starts to cross the road, still
flipping through the top book. As she tries to switch
books mid-walk, she drops the bundle of books onto the
road.
Willow sighs and gets down to her knees and begins to
pick the books up.
ANGLE ON : THE BOOKS
as Willow starts to bundle them back together, we see
a beetle standing still on the road, next to one of
the books.
ANGLE : WILLOW
as she suddenly notices something about the beetle.
She takes a closer look.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE BEETLE
as it doesn't do anything for a beat. Then.. it moves.
It takes one single step and freezes again.
ANGLE : WILLOW
stunned. She stands back up and takes a look around.
REVERSE ANGLE : A COUPLE ON THE SIDEWALK
as they take a step and then freeze again. After a
short beat, they take another step and freeze. Like
someone advancing a tape frame by frame.
Suddenly, we hear a loud, low groaning noise from all
around. Willow again spins around to try to locate the
sound. She sees the world around her slowly coming
back to life, everyone and everything picking up speed
and approaching normal time.
As Willow watches time unfreezing, we hear the
groaning noise dissapear to be suddenly replaced by
the sound of a loud horn. Willow spins around to see..
REVERSE ANGLE : A CAR
speeding towards her, squealing as the brakes are
applied. The car screeches to a halt just short of
Willow.
GUY IN CAR
(head out the window,
yelling)
What the hell are you doing?
Willow stands there frozen for a beat as the world
moves around her. She then quickly gathers up her
books and scurries away off the road.
GUY IN CAR
(as he drives off)
Where did you come from anyway?
ANGLE : WILLOW
on the sidewalk, trying to take this all in.
EXT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY
where we see the closed front door and a sign clearly
displayed stating 'CLOSED'. People walk by in front of
the store.
INT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY
where we see Anya at the closed front door, glumly
looking out.
ANYA
(still looking out)
Just look at all those potential
customers. Not coming in. Not parting
with their money. Not partaking in
the practise of free enterprise that
has made this country what it is.
ANGLE : BUFFY, DAWN AND XANDER
at the research table.. looking up briefly at Anya,
exchanging looks, then back down to their research.
ANYA
Just imagine. All those people.. all
that money could be mine but for one
tiny, ugly word.. Closed.
ANGLE : GILES
in the corner of the shop, perusing a book by the
shelves. He glances over briefly at Anya.
ANYA
(morose)
Closed.. like our cash register..
Blinky. Shall we never hear his sweet
chime ever again? Closed.. like the
doors to my happiness, forever shut.
ANGLE : GILES
rolling his eyes, unimpressed.
ANYA
Closed.. like the never-ending..
Giles clears his throat pointedly. Anya turns to look.
GILES
In such times, one must think of our
higher priorities. We are on a
mission to avert the destruction of
Sunnydale, and quite possibly, the
world as we know it.
ANYA
Keep throwing that in my face, why
don't you?
A sulking Anya trudges slowly back towards the
research table. She sits herself back down at the
table and grudgingly opens a book.
ANYA
(to Giles)
Every single time there's a little
trouble in town, it's always the same
response. Close the shop! Vampires
are attacking the high school.. close
the shop! A crazy God is on the
loose.. close the shop! A water main
has burst.. close the shop!
BUFFY
I'm sure if a water-main burst, Giles
wouldn't..
ANYA
(to Giles)
You know, there's no reason we can't
do both. I mean, even superheroes
need an income.
(pointedly to Xander)
Right Xander?
Xander flubs for a bit, before offering..
XANDER
Sure. All the cool evil fighty do-
gooders have a cunning day job that
masks their secret identity. Like
Superman.. he was a gung-ho reporter
for the Daily Planet.
DAWN
Oh! And playboy millionaire. Always
cool.
XANDER
There you go!
(to Giles)
You're like the Watcher! By night, a
fearless vanquisher of all evil..
overseer to the slayer. And by day,
you're like.. um..
ANYA
(proudly)
..in retail.
ANGLE : GILES
looking very unimpressed.
ANGLE : BUFFY AND DAWN
letting that title sink in for a second.. similarly
underwhelmed.
GILES
Well then, let us all abandon our
quest to save the world and open up a
chain of stores that sell nothing but
used greeting-cards.
Giles leaves. Anya looks at Giles for a beat, then to
the remaining Scoobs, then back up to Giles.
ANYA
(getting up and following
Giles)
Really?
Anya departs. Dawn, Buffy and Xander resume
researching. After a beat, Buffy looks up to Xander.
BUFFY
So, sewer patrol. All it was cracked
up to be?
XANDER
Well, it's a sewer. So, you know,
right there, we drop five points off
the Xander scale of fun.
BUFFY
But hey! Bonus points for the unique
insight into the sub-terrainian
antics of Sunnydale's rarely seen and
often misunderstood sewer-dwelling
animal life.
XANDER
In other words, rats.
BUFFY
Well, they're just hamsters with an
alternative view on hygiene.
XANDER
I thought I saw Hugo down there
though, you know, whiskering away
with his new ratty chums.
BUFFY
Everything was okay between you and
Harm? No fangy business?
XANDER
It was a little.. I don't know.
(off Buffy's look)
It was fine.
BUFFY
What?
XANDER
It's just.. I don't know if we're not
using Harm a little here.
BUFFY
Xander.. we're talking about Harmony.
You know.. mortal enemy, evil, a
danger to society?
XANDER
Yeah, but.. it's just like, here and
there, I still kinda get a glimpse of
the old Harm in there.
BUFFY
Again.. mortal enemy, evil, danger to
society. Just, you know, without the
fangs.
XANDER
I'm actually kinda serious here. I
mean, what happens after all this?
When this is all over? Do we just let
her go?
BUFFY
(thinks for a beat)
I don't know. I guess she's helping
us and all, but.. you know, she's a
vampire. She could still hurt others.
Xander regards Buffy.. nodding thoughtfully. We hear a
door-bell ring. Xander and Buffy turn to look..
ANGLE : WILLOW
just entering the shop, still carrying her books.
BUFFY
Will! What's up?
Willow stands there nervously, not saying anything.
Everyone is now looking at Willow. Giles advances
slowly.
GILES
Willow?
WILLOW
Something happened.
BUFFY
(standing up)
Good happened? Or our usual bad
Hellmouth variety?
WILLOW
I'm not sure.
Willow suddenly dissapears before their eyes. A few
shocked reactions. Buffy spins to look around the
room.. then spots Willow by the training room door,
all the way across the room.
WILLOW
But I'm thinking the latter.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking concerned.
EXT. GILES' APARTMENT - NIGHT
to establish.
INT. GILES' APARTMENT/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
as we TRACK a pair of hands carrying some books. The
hands plops the books down on the kitchen counter, in
front of Anya who sits there.
ANYA
Great. More books.
(off Giles' look;
placating)
Different books.
Giles ignores this and heads over to the living room,
where he distributes books out to the various Scoobs.
GILES
Take a look in some of these. There
might be something in there on time
displacement.
We see Willow, Xander, Dawn and Buffy sitting on
couches in front of a table in Giles' living room.
They start to sift through some of the books. Some
cups are laid out on the table in a cluster.
BUFFY
(to Willow)
So let me get this straight. Time
just like.. stops?
WILLOW
One big frozen popsicle of a world.
BUFFY
And this only happens to you? I mean,
everyone freezes and you're still
walking, wriggly Willow?
WILLOW
Yup.
ANYA
(under her breath)
Figures.
BUFFY
Well, the important thing is that
you're here.. and you're okay..
Willow dissapears.
BUFFY
.. and currently invisble.
XANDER
Where'd she go?
WILLOW (O.S.)
I'm right here.
Xander turns to see Willow suddenly standing next to
him, now wearing a different oufit. Xander yelps in a
high-pitched voice, startled. Then.. remembering
something from earlier in the day, he lets out a
lower, more manly yelp.
WILLOW
Sorry.
XANDER
Hey, if you're gonna pop out, could
you at least pop back in the same
place? A little time-hopping
etiquette?
WILLOW
I'll try to remember.
DAWN
Is that what you were wearing before?
WILLOW
Well, you guys froze, so I just kinda
popped back to the dorm to get my
sweater, you know, since it was
getting kinda chilly and all.
ANGLE : ANYA
at the counter, head popping up.
ANYA
(suddenly interested)
Oh, could you go get mine too?
(off looks)
What? It's not like she's going to
lose any time over it.. and I'm cold
too. Really, I don't know why
everyone's so worked up about this. I
always say, when something weird and
anomalous happens to you, make full
use of it.
(peppy)
Turn a negative into a positive. Turn
that frown upside down.
(a beat to savour her happy
philosophy, then takes a
look at everyone staring at
her)
You people are just going to ignore
me and move on with your previous
conversation aren't you?
BUFFY
That's the plan.
ANYA
Carry on.
Anya looks back down at her book.
BUFFY
(to Willow)
Where were we?
WILLOW
Um.. sweaters?
BUFFY
Right. Wait, you had time to go all
the way back to the dorm? Do you go
all freezy for that long?
WILLOW
It can be. It's kinda random. It can
last thirty minutes, or just be over
in a second.
XANDER
So, what's it like? To be in the land
of the static?
Willow looks away and ruminates on this for a beat.
WILLOW
Well, it's kinda weird..
She looks back at Xander and realises that time has
frozen again. Everyone striking a still pose in front
of Willow.
WILLOW
..but you kinda get used to it.
Willow sighs and leans back on her chair and waits for
time to unfreeze. Getting bored, she hops out of her
chair and starts to wander around the apartment a
little.
She heads over to a bureau and idly sifts through a
few magazines. Finding nothing interesting, her hand
drops down to a closed drawer. She thinks about
opening it and rifling through the contents for a beat
before taking a look at Giles and deciding against it.
She wanders back towards the living room where all the
Scoobs are striking a frozen pose. She sits back down
in her chair, looking a tad bored. She looks up to see
Xander opposite her, a table between them. Willow gets
up and leans closer to Xander, watching him.
REVERSE ANGLE : XANDER
in a kind of a goofy frozen pose, one eyebrow higher
than the other.
Willow slowly waves her hand across his eyes to check
for any response. Nothing. She then carefully uses her
finger to gently lower one of his eyebrows so that it
is level with the other. She leans back away to check
out her work, like a painter admiring her latest
creation.
WILLOW
Better.
She backs up without looking and kicks her heels into
the couch, causing her to overbalance. In trying to
steady herself, she accidentally kicks the table,
sending one of the cups flying, its contents spilling
onto the table and onto Xander's trousers.
Willow panics for a beat. She rushes over to the
kitchen, grabs a cloth and runs back. She uses the
cloth to quickly wipe up the spilled liquid on the
table. She suddenly hears a low groaning noise. Willow
looks up in dread.
WILLOW
Oh God. Not now!
Willow quickly finishes wiping the table. She takes a
look at the patch on Xander's trousers, makes a motion
to wipe it, then thinks better of it. She starts to
head over to the kitchen but notices time starting to
unfreeze as the groaning sound dissapears. She quickly
throws the wet cloth over towards the kitchen.
ANGLE : THE KITCHEN
as the wet ball of cloth flies into it and lands in
the sink.. 2 points!
Willow sits back down and does some last minute
tidying of the table in front of her. We see the
Scoobs starting to move frame by frame as time
unfreezes.
Satisfied, Willow leans back into her chair and waits.
She then realises she's in the wrong chair and quickly
hops one couch over.. just as time unfreezes
completely and normal time is restored. Willow looks
cool and collected, as if nothing has happened.
XANDER
Well?
WILLOW
Huh?
XANDER
What does it feel like to be frozen?
I guess it would be pretty uneventful
huh?
WILLOW
Oh, you'd be surprised.
Giles comes over and picks up his cup.. the now empty
cup. Willow watches nervously out of the corner of her
eyes.
Giles, while perusing through a book, lifts the cup to
his lips. He starts to take a sip, then notices his
cup is empty. He stares into the cup, a little
confused. He shoots a quick glance over to Willow who
looks the picture of innocence. He heads over to the
kitchen to refill his cup. Willow watches
surreptitiously.
ANGLE : XANDER
who suddenly noticies the wet patch on his trousers.
Mortified, he quickly places a book over it, shooting
nervous glances at everyone around him. Seeing no one
watching, he carefully lifts the book and takes
another peek.
ANYA (O.S.)
(loudly)
Oh.. That's the most disgusting thing
I've ever seen!
Xander slams the book down again.. and winces.
XANDER
(nervously)
Wait. It's not what you think.
ANGLE : ANYA
at the kitchen counter, an open book in front of her.
ANYA
(confused)
What?
XANDER
(confused)
What?
ANYA
(lifting her book and
showing Xander an open page
with a picture of a
paricularly nasty looking
demon)
This Ragopa demon. I'm hoping he's
not the reason Willow's stuck.
(takes a second look at the
picture)
Not someone I'd like to bump into in
some dark, secluded alley.. or for
that matter, some bright, well-
populated field.
GILES
(looking over at the book
from the kitchen.. cup in
hand)
Do you think he's the culprit?
ANYA
I don't know. It says here that they
have some limited time distorting
powers.
(to Willow)
Is this our demon?
WILLOW
(not really looking)
No.
ANYA
(noticing Willow's lack of
interest)
Well, maybe you should take a second
look, because I'm not coming back to
this book afterwards. It's bad enough
I have to go through these the first
time..
WILLOW
(a little testy)
It's not him, okay.
Giles looks at Willow suspiciously and starts to head
over towards her.
GILES
It would help if you could tell us
more about how you've come to find
yourself in this predicament. Help
narrow down our search parameters.
BUFFY
Did you see or hear anything
suspicious? You know.. any swirly
lights.. sudden ominous music?
Willow doesn't answer.
XANDER
Why are we even asking? Of course,
it's an evil demon. It's always an
evil demon and its evil demony ways.
Right Will?
Willow looks down to the ground for a beat, then looks
at Buffy and Xander, then up to Giles who is watching
her with interest.
WILLOW
It was me.
A silent beat as the news sinks in.
BUFFY
You.. did this?
WILLOW
I was just trying to help. I mean, it
seemed like such a little spell. You
know? Freeze the General and his
cronies.. easy slayage.
XANDER
How could you even.. I mean, aren't
you like, neutered.. magic-wise?
WILLOW
(nervous laugh)
Funny thing. You know how we all
thought the Orb of Takanis was
destroyed when Hugo's trash palace
caved in..
BUFFY
You didn't.
WILLOW
It was there. It was just.. there.
So, I took it. I took it, and I used
it.
A silence descends upon the room. Anya watches
proceedings nervously, sensing the change in mood.
WILLOW
(trying to make light of
the situation)
You guys still love me right?
Giles walks up towards Willow, standing above her.
GILES
(in a calm, detached voice)
It really is the worst thing you
could have done.
Willow looks very hurt by this. Another uncomfortable,
silent beat. Anya can't stand the tension any longer.
ANYA
(hopping up from her stool)
Well, let's not overstate the case
here. I'm sure this isn't the worst
thing she could have done. She didn't
end the world.. or turn everyone into
rabbits. Let's all be grateful for
that.
GILES
(ignoring Anya, continuing
to stare down at Willow)
How are we supposed to trust you?
WILLOW
Trust?
GILES
You knew your powers were chaotic and
haphazard. Yet, you married it to
such a powerful force. You don't know
what you could have done.
WILLOW
I'm sorry. I just thought..
GILES
No, Willow. You weren't. You weren't
thinking. That's the problem. You
have power.. more than you know.
But with the power comes a
responsibility. Something I once
thought you possessed.
ANYA
Maybe we should order some take-away?
I'm sure everyone's starving by now.
WILLOW
(to Giles)
I just thought I could help.
GILES
And what a fine job you've done so
far.
WILLOW
Giles, please.
Giles turns and walks away from her, departing into
another room. Willow watches helplessly. She slumps
back into her chair, disconsolate. Buffy comes over to
sit next to her.
BUFFY
Look, Will. I know it must seem like
you're all alone right now.. with
Tara gone. But you're not. We're all
here for you.
XANDER
Yeah Will. The important thing right
now is to get you unstuck.
Willow nods solemnly, still reeling. A pall hangs over
the room.
ANYA
So.. Dinner, anyone?
INT. GENERAL'S MANSION - NIGHT
ANGLE ON : THE HARD, SMOOTH FLOOR
as a bloody piece of meat is thrown onto it. Three
hell-dogs immediately set upon it and rip it to
shreds, devouring it within seconds.
ANGLE : THE GENERAL
on his throne, flanked either side by Flix and Trix.
The General plays with an unattached leash in one of
his hands. A lone guard stands behind the trio,
holding on to a bucket. Flix and Trix watch the hell-
dogs with delight. The General reaches back with an
open hand. The guard reaches into his bucket and hands
the General another slab of meat.
FLIX
Another. Give me another!
TRIX
No! It's my turn.
FLIX
Oh shut up.
TRIX
(shoves Flix)
I said it's my turn you bitch!
(to the General)
Tell her it's my turn!
Flix is about to strike back at Trix, raising a fist
in anger. The General catches Flix's hand and holds it
tight.
THE GENERAL
Now, now you two. You'll both get a
turn.
FLIX
But I want to feed the puppies..
(off Trix's angry glare)
again.
THE GENERAL
Let Trix have her turn.
Trix smiles triumphantly at Flix and happily grabs the
slab of meat from the General's hand. She giddily
flings the meat towards the hell-dogs. The hell-dogs
tear into it.
ANGLE : FLIX
looking on unhappily.
FLIX
Not fair.
THE GENERAL
Life isn't fair my sweet. But soon,
very soon, things will tip in our
favour. Soon, you will both have the
world. You can have anything you
want.
FLIX
No more hiding in shadows?
The General smiles, takes Flix's pale, white hand and
kisses it affectionately.
THE GENERAL
No more hiding in shadows.
Flix smiles happily and snuggles up to the General who
hugs her warmly.
ANGLE : TRIX
watching the two, seething with jealous anger.
ANGLE : THE GENERAL AND FLIX
as they continue their embrace for a beat.
THE GENERAL
(without looking up)
What is it?
ANGLE ON : SHADOWS IN A CORNER
as from it, emerges Sasha.. bowing slightly in
obedience.
ANGLE : FLIX
looking up at the new arrival and smiling.
FLIX
(a playful whisper to
herself)
Sashaaa.
SASHA
General. There's word that a large
shipment of blood is arriving in town
tommorow night. It seems a group of
out-of-town vamps have managed to
hijack two trucks delivering blood
supplies to hospitals.
THE GENERAL
(dismissively)
Amateurs.
SASHA
Well, they're planning to drive the
shipment into town tommorow and
selling the blood off. I presume they
expect to make a tidy profit from
selling the blood to those remaining
vampires in town who have not joined
our cause and are too afraid to hunt.
THE GENERAL
Ahh.. corporate enterprise. How
easily our weaker brothers are
poisoned by humans.
SASHA
Should we make an appearance?
THE GENERAL
Yes. Why not? Our soldiers will need
to be fed after they rise. Go take
care of it. I doubt you will
encounter much resistance.
SASHA
(bows)
I will assemble some men.
THE GENERAL
You do that.
Sasha turns and starts to leave.
THE GENERAL
Wait.
Sasha stops and turns around.
THE GENERAL
(an evil glint in his eye)
Perhaps we should try something
different.
The General lifts the leash up and holds it out to
Sasha.
THE GENERAL
Why don't you take our pet out for a
little walk.
ANGLE : SASHA
looking at the leash, then nodding.
ANGLE : FLIX AND TRIX
smiling.. giddy with delight.
INT. GILES' APARTMENT/GILES' UPSTAIRS BEDROOM - NIGHT
ANGLE : GILES
sitting at his study, reading a book. He looks tired
and dispirited.
We see Buffy coming up the stairs and walk towards
Giles, then leans against a wall.
BUFFY
(quietly)
Hey.
Giles looks up briefly, then returns to reading the
book.. a lot obviously on his mind. Buffy just stands
there for a beat, quietly watching.
GILES
(without looking up)
She doesn't realise how dangerous it
is for her. She simply can't afford
to be reckless with her powers.
BUFFY
I know.
GILES
And borrowing the powers from the Orb
of Takanis? What was she thinking?
The peril she could have put herself
into.
BUFFY
Things are happening to her, to all
of us. Big, scary things. I guess
she's just trying to figure a way to
make things.. better.
GILES
But through magic?
BUFFY
She's learning as she goes. We don't
all know how to fit into these new
bodies we're growing into.
Giles looks up at Buffy.
BUFFY
She'll get it. We'll help.
Giles gives Buffy a faint nod of acknowledgement.
BUFFY
She'll figure it out. After a while,
you'll find you won't have to worry
so much about her.. like with me.
GILES
Buffy, I always worry about you.
Buffy smiles, appreciating the sentiment.
BUFFY
(looks towards the book
Giles is reading)
Any luck?
GILES
Not as yet. I suspect that, given
time, the spell will eventually
dissipate and cease by itself.
BUFFY
So.. we just wait? For how long?
GILES
I'm not sure, but given that we're
dealing with such a powerful magical
energy.. it may take years.
BUFFY
Giles, we have to get her out before
then. I mean, she can't live like
this.. freezing in and out of time?
GILES
I'm afraid there's another, more
immediate danger. The spell isn't
stable.. and it sounds like it's
becoming increasingly chaotic as time
progresses. There's a danger that..
Giles stops, unable to get the words out.
BUFFY
Giles.. what?
GILES
There's a danger that, during one of
her freezes, the spell could
permanently displace her from our
time.
BUFFY
What do you mean?
GILES
She would exist in a permanently
frozen time and space.. unable to
come back. She would be left alone,
lost in that moment of time while the
world moves on, leaving her behind.
To us, she would simply dissapear..
and cease to exist.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking very concerned.
We PAN away from Buffy and halfway down the stairs
where we see Dawn.. sitting on the steps and listening
in. She looks similarly concerned.
EXT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY (DAY TWO)
to establish.
INT. THE MAGIC BOX - DAY
ANGLE : DAWN
looking out the closed shop door.
We PAN over to Buffy at the shelves as she pulls down
a bundle of books and places them on the ground. She
grimaces, feeling at her side. She lifts her shirt at
the side and feels the bandage still around her waist.
She pulls her shirt back down and picks up the books.
Buffy walks past Dawn and heads over to the table. She
places the books down on the table where Anya and
Xander are seated, working their way through another
pile of books. There's a pot of coffee on the table.
Anya pours herself another cup and takes a sip.
BUFFY
Dawn? Come help me with these. We can
get through some of these tomes while
we wait for Giles to return.
Dawn comes over to the table.
DAWN
Where'd he go?
BUFFY
He's gone off to tap some of his
sources.. you know, see if any of
them knows how to break the spell.
ANYA
(excitedly)
You know, I still know a few helpful
people from the good old days. Of
course, by people, I mean demons..
And by helpful, I mean evil, morally
bankrupt beings who'll do anything
for a buck. But let's not quibble
over semantics. I could..
BUFFY
Sshh.. Keep it down.
Dawn looks over towards the closed training room door.
DAWN
Is she still asleep?
BUFFY
Yeah. She's crashed out on the couch.
(looking towards the door)
I think she needs the sleep.
Yesterday kinda took a lot out of
her.. in more ways than one.
Buffy turns back towards Dawn and gives her a
reassuring smile.
BUFFY
(to Dawn)
Here.
Buffy grabs half of the books she brought over and
pushes it towards Dawn who sits down.
BUFFY
Why don't you take these guys..
(reading the spines)
.. from Abiding Spells to.. um..
Necromancy and I'll take the rest of
the way creepy pile.
ANYA
About what I was saying..
BUFFY
Not now Anya. We've got work to do.
(takes a look at Anya's
pile of books)
If you're finished with your pile,
why don't you go and get started on
those books over there.
Buffy turns her attention back to the books. Anya
looks a little cross.
Buffy and Dawn begin to work through the books. Anya
shuts her book, gets up and takes the book in her
hands and heads towards a bookcase. She replaces the
book on a shelf and reaches high up for another. She
can't reach it.
ANYA
(turning towards the table)
Hey! Walks-on-stilts. Little help?
BUFFY
You talking to me?
ANYA
Yes.. and that extra foot and a half
you must have grown since this
morning.
Buffy rolls her eyes and turns back around. Xander
looks at Buffy with an apologetic grin and walks over
to Anya. Anya points up to the book she wants. Xander
stretches up, grabs the book and hands it to her.
XANDER
There you go little missy.
ANYA
(with a glare)
You know you're very unattractive
when you gloat.
XANDER
Whoa.. I'm guessing, caffeine? Not
your friend.
Xander takes a good look at Anya.. who looks tired.
XANDER
You know, maybe you should get some
sleep.
ANYA
Why? You and Buffy didn't get any
more sleep than me.
XANDER
Yeah, but you know..
ANYA
No, I don't know Xander. Why don't
you tell me?
XANDER
(hands up in a submssive
posture)
Okay.. backing up now.. bowing my
head and exposing my belly.
Buffy and Dawn turn around to watch the commotion.
ANYA
I'm tired of not being taken
seriously around here. It's like you
all think I don't care.. like I don't
have any feelings.
BUFFY
(more placating)
Anya.. of course, we know you care.
ANYA
Just not as much as any of you..
right?
A silent beat as Anya stares them down. Buffy is about
to say something else but..
ANYA
Save it.
The doorbell rings. Giles enters the store.
DAWN
Giles. Did you find out anything?
GILES
I'm afraid not. Everyone I've spoken
to thought the Orb of Takanis was a
myth. They don't seem to know a way
to..
Giles stops short as he spots..
ANGLE : WILLOW
just emerging from the training room. She looks a
little disorientated but is dressed to go out.
XANDER
Going somewhere?
WILLOW
I think I'm gonna head out.
Willow starts to head for the door, brushing past
Buffy and Dawn who sit bewildered. Buffy gets up and
rushes to Willow and pulls her around to face her.
BUFFY
Wait. Where are you going?
WILLOW
Nowhere. Anywhere.
Xander, Anya and Dawn come up behind Buffy.
XANDER
Will..
WILLOW
Listen. I got myself into this mess.
I'm gonna get myself out.. okay?
BUFFY
No.. it's not okay. Let us help.
WILLOW
Look, we don't know anything about
how this spell works or what's going
to happen. But.. these time freezes?
They're getting worse. I think the
spell's starting to break down. I
don't want to pull anyone in here
with me.
XANDER
All we want to do is help. I mean, no
one's blaming you for what's
happening.
WILLOW
I blame me. It's my screw-up and I'm
not going to make things any worse by
risking any of you guys.
BUFFY
Kinda think that's our call Will.
WILLOW
(determined)
No it's not! Look. There's nothing
any of you can say or do that's gonna
stop me from leaving. So just.. leave
it.
XANDER
You're not going anywh..
Xander doesn't complete his sentence, suddenly
distracted by something behind Willow. We also see
Buffy and Anya staring behind Willow. Willow turns
around to see..
REVERSE ANGLE : A FIGURE
standing at the door entrance, features slightly
obscured by the strong sun backlit in the background.
ANGLE : WILLOW
straining to see.
ANGLE : THE FIGURE
as she steps forwards. Tara stands looking at Willow,
a bag around her shoulder.
ANGLE : WILLOW
standing speechless.
BLACKOUT
END OF ACT TWO
CONTINUE TO ACT THREE