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INT. THE LOBBY OF THE LOEWS STATE THEATER - NIGHT The KIR MA'ALESH, slithering like a toad, squeezes out of Angel's grasp and does a quick end run-around Angel. Tito grabs for it and misses badly; the creature literally hops onto Gunn. (grimacing) Ugh! Using him as a springboard, the Kir Ma'alesh SOARS over the rest of the group. Spike follows its trajectory. His POV - The creature lands in front of the popcorn machine and arcs left toward the front entrance of the theater, but before it can hop away, Spike reaches over, grabs it by the leg (flipper?) and tries to reel it in. CLOSE-UP on the demon's leg, as it sloooowly slides out of Spike's grip. The Kir Ma'alesh is just about free when we switch to - THE DEMON'S POV - Angel approaches it, axe in hand. He swings the axe high for maximum impact, and then down. BLACKOUT. FADE UP TO - Anne, in shock and wobbly, staggers toward Rondell's body and drops to her knees. The corpse is badly mutilated from the demon's digestive acids. She reaches out as if to touch him, but can't bring herself to make contact. ANGLE ON Gunn, pacing the carpet and shaking his head. Rondell was the spy? How? For how long? Days, weeks? ANGEL Hours. As Angel explains, we QUICK-CUT TO a series of BLACK-AND-WHITE FLASHBACKS of the school building from Act Two - A solider shoots Alyse Montenegro. Back at the school, the werewolf was hit by a soldier's bullet and ran off. The Kir Ma'alesh darts away from Montenegro's body and skitters down the hallway. So the Kir Ma'alesh needed to find a new body. The demon sees Rondell through the open doorway of room 121, and slithers after him. Dobrynin's spell must have kicked in when it left the host. Angel has his EXCEDRIN HEADACHE in the school corridor. But I couldn't react in time.... CUT BACK TO - Angel. ...and that's when it got Rondell. ANGLE ON Anne, who is covering Rondell's body with a worn blanket. WIDE ANGLE on the entire group, as their attention is captured by a LOW, AMBIENT BUZZ, which quickly changes into the voice of - (urgently; telepathic v.o.) Everybody? We've got trouble. Something's coming. GUNN (telepathic v.o.) Human or demon? CUT TO - INT. LOEWS STATE THEATER SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT We see Brian looking out of a second story window, first in one direction, then in another. We can see fear and concern in his eyes. Demon. Every kind you can imagine. Dozens...maybe hundreds. All directions. INT. LOEWS STATE THEATER LOBBY - NIGHT (to Angel) Pre-emptive strike. ANGEL That's impossible--there's no way it could have relayed our plans back to Hargrove. (pause) Unless.... FLASHBACK - A sepia-toned "photographic memory" of the electronics factory. Spike, Gunn, Illyria, and the Slayers stand victorious in the middle of a loading area full of vamp dust. In the distance, Rondell exits Hargrove's office. QUICK-CUT TO another FLASHBACK - the war room strategy session of a few minutes before; out of the corner of his eye, Angel "sees" Rondell standing near the soda dispenser. Angel walks over to the soda dispenser, examining every inch, then lifts the drainage grate. CLOSE-UP on an electronic "bug" attached to the grate. Angel pries the bug off the grate and fires it at the wall dividing the lobby and the theater. It SHATTERS into a million pieces. CUT TO - EXT. LOEWS STATE THEATER - NIGHT ANGLE ON - The marquee. Brian crawls out of a second story window and onto the top of the marquee. He looks out into the distance. QUICK SHOTS of the DEMON ARMY approaching from north, south, east and west, weapons in hand. (telepathic v.o.) Brian, call the other Slayers and tell them to get all the civilians out of the area. BRIAN (telepathic v.o.; shaky) It's too late. INT. LOEWS STATE THEATER LOBBY - NIGHT Angel, Gunn, Spike, Jacki, and Princess load up on weapons. The camera swings over to Tito and Chain, who confer quietly and briefly, then follows Tito, who walks behind the counter and pulls out an almost perfect replica of Gunn's old HUBCAP AXE. TWO-SHOT - Tito hands the axe to Gunn. Gunn grins, eagerly looking over the weapon. My axe! TITO As close to it as we could get. Gunn tests the grip and gives it a few swings to get a feel for its weight and balance. We were going to varnish the handle, but what the hell--it won't do you any good still in the wrapping. The camera swings again, to Anne. (loudly) C'mon, everyone! Evacuation plan--down into the sewers. Armed and ready, Spike, Angel, Illyria, Jacki, and Princess head for the exits. Gunn and Anne look at each other for a long moment, neither saying anything, each knowing it could be the last time they see each other. Anne turns and heads down the staircase to the basement, Tito and Chain right behind her; Gunn grips his brand new toy tightly and joins the others. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT Angel turns and faces the troops. Keep the demons away from the theater and the residential buildings. Give the civilians time to clear out underground. GUNN Demons could be waiting underground. ANGEL Probably not. Even if they remembered the sewer tunnels, they won't want to split their manpower. We're the threat, and they know we're out here on the street. They're going to throw everything they've got at us. Spike turns to Gunn. Another battle to the death against an unstoppable demon army. GUNN Yeah, it's getting old. Especially for those of us who aren't immortal. QUICK SHOTS of the demon army--coming from all sides, filling the alleys near the theater, leaving no avenue of escape. ANGLE ON Brian, still posted on top of the marquee. (telepathic v.o.) Listen carefully, I want to try something. I won't be able to help everyone pick off individual opponents, because the action will be happening too fast. But I can set up a sort of "peripheral" telepathic link, letting each fighter see everybody else's view of the battlefield with a kind of second sight. If you're in the right position, you'll be able to see opponents coming from any direction. Angel looks up at Brian and nods his approval. The group splits off and take their positions - Gunn and Illyria protecting the LOEWS State; Angel and Princess standing guard outside the apartment building on one side of the street; Spike and Jacki walking down to the end of the block and setting up in front of the apartment building on the other side. QUICK CLOSE-UP of each our main players, all tensing for combat.... The FIRST WAVE hits. The demons hit hard and fast, groups of about twenty striking at each group of our heroes. But Brian's "peripheral" telepathy gives the Fang Gang a huge advantage - Spike and Jacki, fighting back-to-back, pick off opponents from every conceivable direction, slashing and hacking them to ribbons before they can even approach their target. SECOND WAVE - While the Fang Gang is busy in hand-to-hand combat, a mini-squadron of vamps-on-hogs--led by Raef on a custom Harley--ROARS DOWN the length of the street and tosses MOLOTOV COCKTAILS into every entrance. Gunn watches helplessly as a gout of flame shoots out from the doorway of the theater. Anne! Illyria SLICES THE HEAD OFF a demon barely a second before he splits Gunn in half. Focus on the battlefield, human! CUT TO - Angel and Princess fighting on street level. The other baby Slayers in residence--Cali, Susan, Duena, Nyoko, and Christina--lead a group of twenty non-powered "civilian" fighters down the fire escape of their building. WEREWOLVES clamber up to the fire escape to cut them off, but Cali, Duena, and Nyoko whip out the crossbows, and shoot them off the railings. A sextet of VAMPS take their place, but Susan, Christina, and a few of the civilians break out the super soakers and spray them with HOLY WATER. The vamps drop back down to the alley and run for it, screaming in agony. The Slayers and their friends hit the street just in time to meet the THIRD WAVE of the demon horde. It's a madhouse - the entire block is choked with combatants. All the buildings are in FLAMES. Brian, watching from his lonely outpost, winces at every blow and withers from the pain he senses from the telepathic link to his friends. He hears a CACOPHONY OF VOICES yelling warnings, threats, and battle cries. Suddenly a much louder and closer voice drowns out the others. Brian stiffens in fear. Hargrove is standing behind him and bends to whisper in Brian's ear - (silkily) It hurts, doesn't it, boy? Brian nods, terrified. (with mock sympathy) All that pain, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. But I can make the pain go away. Would you like that? CUT TO Angel, fighting below. He glances up and sees - Hargrove grabs Brian by the throat and drags him away from the edge of the marquee roof. Angel crashes through the mini-battles in front of him, and does a patented, AtS TWENTY-FOOT LEAP up to the rooftop. (taunting) You know, Angelus, I have to thank you. Before tonight, I never would have dreamed of an alliance with the demon clans. Hargrove SNAPS BRIAN'S NECK, letting the body drop to his feet. (smiling) But you made it all possible. Angel VAMPS OUT and ROARS with anger, leaping at Hargrove. CUT TO the street fight - Brian's death throes send a TELEPATHIC SHRIEK through the minds of the Fang Gang and friends. Each of them stops in their tracks, grabbing their heads in pain. The demon horde quickly takes advantage of the distraction--Cali is slashed across the back by the swipe of a werewolf claw; a well-thrown hunting knife embeds itself in Duena's shoulder; BUCON, cheered on by his warriors, grabs a civilian fighter, lifts her high into the air, and tosses her through the first floor window of one of the burning buildings. SLOW-MOTION MONTAGE - one by one, the Slayers fall--Christina, Nyoko, Cali, and Duena--bloodied, battered, slashed, and stabbed. In front of Spike's horrified eyes, a vampire sinks his teeth into Jacki; her legs buckle out from under her. Spike, howling, desperately tries to fight his way through the crowd, but he can only watch from a distance as the vamp slings an unconscious Jacki over his shoulder and disappears into the night. Susan, Princess, and a few civilian fighters are still on their feet, but for the most part, it's our main cast against what's left of the demon horde. Gunn and Illyria haven't slowed down at all, taking out demons at a furious pace. Gunn channels his anger and frustration into devastating swings of his axe; Illyria batters her opponents with a cold, inhuman rage. Illyria's POV - the demons attacking her appear as Cyvus Vail, Professor Seidel, and the Pylean magistrate from "Through the Looking Glass." CRANE SHOT (normal speed) - The fight is winding down. Now that there's almost nobody left to save, it's time for the ARMY TROOPS to finally arrive and clean up the mess. Jeeps approach from both ends of the block, and most the remaining demons immediately break rank and retreat into the alleyways. Angel, still in combat with Hargrove, looks down and sees - Spike, Illyria, and Gunn peeling out with the demons. Spike stops, looks up at the marquee, and calls out - Angel! Come on! Angel turns back. Hargrove is gone. Angel leaps down off the rooftop, and weaving around the bodies littering the street, barely makes the alley before the soldiers set up and open fire on the demonic stragglers. EXT. THROUGH THE ALLEY AND TWO BLOCKS EAST - NIGHT Angel reunites with his team. The demons have scattered, but the soldiers are still hot on their trail. The Fang Gang races for the nearest manhole, and quickly slip down into the sewers. FADE TO - INT. MONASTERY BASEMENT - DAWN Spike and Angel crawl out of the underground entrance and collapse into the chairs in the workshop/sitting room without turning on a light. The only light source is from Hobbes' room, and the silent monk materializes almost immediately. His face creases with concern, as if to ask, "What happened?" (to Hobbes) You don't want to know. Spike lights up a cigarette. Tell you what, though--you know that fifteen year-old single malt we found in the pantry? Hobbes nods. We could use it. Hobbes goes to fetch the scotch. Spike and Angel sit alone in the darkness. You all right? ANGEL Couple of cuts and bruises. You? SPIKE Bugger nearly cut my leg off, but it'll heal. Gunn and Illyria? ANGEL Looks like they're not back. (beat) Think Anne and the kids made it out? SPIKE No trace of 'em down there. That's a good sign, innit? ANGEL I think...I hope. (beat) Was that really Fred? SPIKE No. Maybe. Who the hell knows? Awkward silence. God. What happened out there? SPIKE We got a right sound thrashing, that's what happened. Spike struggles to lift his arm, then tosses his sword into the corner of the room, off-screen. Come on--you didn't think it was gonna be all one long march to glory in this Brave New World, did you? It's just like Blue said--sometimes, things just snowball on you, and there's not a bloody thing you can do about it. (pause; thinks for a moment) Still.... ANGEL (muttering to himself) I could swear that was a rhetorical question.... SPIKE Would it've killed you to slow down and listen to Charley for a minute? Or Anne? I mean, you get into these "no quarter, no retreat, no surrender" moods o' yours and we all wind up royally screwed. It is possible that if we concentrated on helping people as much as smiting bad guys, we might get a lot more done. ANGEL Spike--I'm not going to back down to the Senior Partners now. We've accomplished so much, sacrificed so much, we can't start sucking up to the same demons who are dragging humanity towards the apocalypse. SPIKE You can't be sure the Senior Partners had anything to do with this. ANGEL I know they're out there. Testing the waters, searching for allies, waiting to put the world back together the way they want. SPIKE You keep saying that, but how d'y'know? You don't have the visions and the Powers that Be behind you anymore. You don't have any guidelines. ANGEL I don't need the Powers that Be to do what I know is right. SPIKE (sarcastically) Right. Because in the one hundred years before they came for you in that alley, you did so spectacularly well on your own. ANGEL Do you have a point, Spike? SPIKE You're on your own again. And when you came up against it, you went with what got you through before. It's understandable. Nobody's blaming you for that. But it's all right to admit you're not sure what you're doing. Big, scary world out there-- even for monsters. Angel visibly bristles at that last one. "Scared" has nothing to do with this. SPIKE Wait. I wasn't saying that-- ANGEL I don't need this crap from you, Spike. I don't need your condescension and your usual brand of half-assed psychoanalysis, and I'm sick of you spouting off these so-called "insights" like you've got a backstage pass to my brain. Guess what? You don't. (wearily) Just shut up and let me think. Spike takes that in for a moment, then chuckles. Fine. I'll shut up now. That make you happy? ANGEL (acidly) It'll make half the world happy. Hobbes arrives with the scotch. Spike gets up from his chair, grabs the bottle from Hobbes' hand, and storms out. TWO-SHOT - Angel and Hobbes, alone in the shadows of the monastery workshop. The camera DOLLIES BACK, neatly framing the duo in the center of the screen, and - BLACK OUT. |
Comments?
| Written by | CJL, OnM, and Arethusa |
| Executive Producer/Director | Masquerade |
| Senior Script Editor | Anom |
| Main Credits photo credit | Alliterator |
| Angel | David Boreanaz |
| Gunn | J. August Richards |
| Illyria | Amy Acker |
| Spike | James Marsters |
| Anne | Julia Lee |
| Rondell | Jarrod Crawford |
| Chain | Maurice Compte |
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