.:: Transcript 7x16 - Storyteller ::.

Written by Jane Espenson
Original U.S. Air Date: February 25th, 2003

Transcribed by: CariCranberry
For: http://www.buffyworld.com

NB: The content of this transcript, including the characters and the story, belongs to Mutant Enemy. This transcript was created based on the broadcast episode.

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TEASER (RECAP SEGMENT):
GILES (V.O.)
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

1 INT. ARCADE - NIGHT
Willow and Buffy are facing off against Warren, Andrew and Jonathan.

WARREN
We're your arch nemesises.

Cut to:

2 EXT. WOODS SOMEWHERE IN SUNNYDALE - NIGHT
Warren is strung up between a pair of trees. He is tied at four points, splayed out like the famous DaVinci diagram. Warren calls for help.

WARREN
Somebody! Help!

Willow, in full dark magic splendor (black hair, black eyes), motions her hand toward Warren, and with a twist of her wrist, removes his skin.

Cut to:

3 EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT
Jonathan and Andrew seize an opportunity to escape Xander's custody.

ANDREW
We've got to get out of this town. Mexico.

Andrew and Jonathan run away.

Cut to:

4 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Anya and Dawn are sitting on the couch. Xander's sitting in a cushy chair, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Andrew's sitting on the floor between Xander and the fireplace.

ANYA
Look, I'm not saying it's a happy scenario, but we're dealing with a big bad that can be any dead person it wants.

Cut to:

5 EXT. SUNNYDALE STREET - NIGHT
Andrew, looking tough and menacing, is talking to Warren/First.

WARREN
You know the rules. I can't take corporeal form.

ANDREW
(sticks his hand through Warren/First's chest) I just don't think I can kill anybody else. (shrugs)

Cut to:

6 INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Jonathan is packing up his bag, when Andrew comes to him and puts his right hand on Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan looks up at Andrew, stands, and sees Warren standing behind Andrew. Jonathan's eyes widen as Andrew takes his left hand and stabs him in the belly with a dagger. Jonathan looks at Andrew and Warren, hurt. Jonathan collapses onto the metal object that they unearthed.

Cut to:

7 INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Willow drags Andrew home with her. They come in through the front door, with Andrew carrying the groceries from the butcher's shop. Xander, Dawn, and Anya are in the living room. Xander's finishing installing the new window.

WILLOW
Look who I found. Guess who was buying mass amounts of blood at the butcher's shop.

Cut to:

8 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Buffy and Principal Wood walk through the front door to Buffy's house.

BUFFY
Andrew is our—actually, he's our hostage.

ANDREW
I like to think of myself more as a (makes quote marks in the air with his mitted hands) "guestage."

Cut to:

9 INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Buffy opens the front door to leave, but sees Giles standing there on her front porch when she opens it. Buffy goes to hug Giles, but is cut off when three girls she's never met walk right into her house.

Cut to:

10 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Dawn's standing in front of the three girls Giles brought with him. The three girls are lined up against the wall, and Dawn's inspecting them, arms crossed in front of her.

DAWN
They're all slayers?

Cut to:

11 EXT. BACKYARD AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Buffy leads Principal Wood out to the back porch. Pan out to show that the potential slayers are training in the backyard, being led by Kennedy.

GILES (V.O.)
Potential slayers. There were many more like them all over the world, but, um, now there's just a handful.

Cut to:

12 INT. PRINCIPAL WOOD'S OFFICE AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
While no one is looking, Buffy walks into the office labeled "Principal. Robin M. Wood" on it and closes the door behind her. She looks through files on his desk, then looks around the room. Buffy notices a wall cabinet, and walks up to it. Before she can open it, Principal Wood walks into the office.

ROBIN WOOD
Uh, Buffy?

BUFFY
(turns to face him) Principal Wood.

ROBIN WOOD
I'd like to take you out to dinner, if that's all right with you.

BUFFY
(smiles) I'd be happy to have dinner with you.

ROBIN WOOD
Great.

Cut to:

13 INT. ROMANTIC FRENCH RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Buffy and Principal Wood are sitting across from each other at a small table in a very elegant, romantic restaurant.

BUFFY
How do you know about slayers?

ROBIN WOOD
My mother was one. She was killed when I was four.

BUFFY
A demon—?

ROBIN WOOD
A vampire.

FLASHBACK: A very punk Spike is fighting with a young black woman in a New York subway car. He overpowers her, and, straddling her on the floor, he breaks her neck. Then he takes her leather duster and puts it on. (from episode 5x07 "Fool For Love")

Fade to black.

End Recap.

The Start Of Episode
PROLOGUE:
14 INT. LUXURIOUS STUDY - NIGHT
Classical violin music plays as the camera pans across the room. Show a wall full of shelves stuffed with leather-bound books, a desk full of trinkets of interest, such as skulls, quills, chemical bottles, an hourglass, and a comic book laid open on a pedestal. A Star Wars poster hangs on the wall, with action figures displayed on a shelf in front of it. There's a fire in the fireplace beneath an elaborate mantelpiece, over which hangs an anime poster and tribal masks. Pan over to Andrew who's sitting in a leather wing chair wearing a silk smoking jacket, holding a pipe in his right hand and an open book in his left. He's reading the book.

ANDREW
(looks up from his reading, chuckles) Oh, hello, there, gentle viewers. (closes his book) You caught me catching up on an old favorite. (pats the book) It's wonderful to get lost in a story, isn't it? (puts his hand to his chin) Adventure and heroics and discovery—don't they just take you away? (puffs on the pipe, but it makes him cough, so he sets it down in the crystal tray beside his chair) Come with me now, if you will, gentle viewers. Join me on a new voyage of the mind. A little tale I like to call: Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyrs.

Cut to:

14a EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT
Buffy's patrolling the cemetery, and she hears something suspicious.

ANDREW (V.O.)
It was cold last night, and the wind was crew-ell, but the Slayer had a job to do.

A vampire attacks her from behind, but she flips onto a tombstone and shoots him with a stake from her crossbow. He explodes into dust, but another vampire goes for her.

ANDREW (V.O.)
Unfortunately, vampires have a job to do, too.

She backflips off of the tombstone and lands on the ground, ready to fight him in hand-to-hand combat. He pushes her against a tomb.

Cut to:

ANDREW
Ouch! My goodness! Things look bad for the Slayer, don't they? She didn't see that second vampire, concealed by cover of darkness, ready— (there's a knock at the door; Andrew ignores it) ready to attack and make her his own vampirical spawn.

Cut to:

15 INT. UPSTAIRS BATHROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Andrew's sitting on the closed toilet seat, talking to a camcorder.

ANDREW
Let's rejoin them now to see—

ANYA
(opens the door) For God's sakes, Andrew. You've been in here for 30 minutes. What are you doing?

ANDREW
Entertaining and educating.

ANYA
Why can't you just masturbate like the rest of us?

Andrew stares at her with an uncomfortable smile.

Cut to:

Opening Credits.

ACT I:
16 EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT
Resume the fight between Buffy and the vampire. The vampire charges her, but she has a stake ready. Andrew was filming them from behind a nearby grave.

ANDREW
(runs up to Buffy, video camera in hand) That was great. I completely got you dusting that guy on film. Hey, why do vampires show up on video?

BUFFY
(shown through the camcorder) I told you I didn't want you doing that. It's distracting. (walks away)

ANDREW
(still taping, he walks beside her) OK, I'll cut the footage together and do the intro tomorrow. "She was a woman in danger, or was she?"

BUFFY
Are you still filming me? Stop!

ANDREW
But it's a valuable record. An important document for the ages. "A Slayer in action."

BUFFY
(leans toward Andrew) "A nerd in pain." Would they like that? 'Cause we could do that. (walks away)

Cut to:

17 INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Anya is dragging Andrew out of the bathroom by his collar. Meanwhile, there's at least three girls lined up outside the bathroom door.

ANDREW
But the story needs to be told.

ANYA
(lets go of him) Birds need to fly, and girls need to use the toilet, and why were you video taping yourself, anyway? Sounds like kinky business to me.

ANDREW
The world's gonna want to know about Buffy. It's a story of ultimate triumph tainted with the bitterness for what's been lost in the struggle. It's a legacy for future generations.

ANYA
If there are any. Buffy seems to think that this apocalypse is going to actually be, you know, apocalyptic. I think your—your story seems pretty pointless.

ANDREW
Oh, (looks away) I was gonna interview you later today, (stands close to Anya, looking in her eyes) 'cause, you know, your whole perspective on the whole thing. Give it editorial balance and, uh, (cocks his head to the side, looks at her) glamour...

ANYA
(looks pensive, nods) Oh, well balance is important. People don't always take that into account. I could bring that to you. Absolutely.

Cut to:

18 INT. BASEMENT AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Viewed in "Play" mode on the camcorder, Andrew's in the basement standing in front of the "Big Board" holding the remote control for the video camera. It's propped up on the washer and dryer, and has been erased and redrawn since last episode. Now, it's got a flaming red face in the upper right quadrant, a depiction of a group of 5 harbingers in the lower right quadrant, a drawing of a building in the upper left quadrant, and a fiery mess with a black hole and a brown monster are in the lower left. Andrew comes off as a novice presenter, fidgeting and stuttering frequently.

ANDREW
Let's explore the world of our story, shall we? This—uh, Buffy lives in Sunnydale, California. (moves to the side so the whole board can be seen, uses the remote to zoom the camera in as he points to the building with a marker) Um, this is the local high school.

The video cuts to a zoomed-in shot of the lower left quadrant of the board. It's labeled "HELLMOUTH" and has a depiction of the seal (in black) and the brown monster drawn coming from the seal is labeled "UBERVAMP."

ANDREW
There's a hellmouth—hellmouth—underneath the high school. See, weird things happen on the hellmouth (zoom out) that attracts all sorts of, uh, bad people and demons and vampires. And now there's this thing in the basement of the high school called the-the seal of Danzal—Danzalthar, and it's sort of a door to the hellmouth. (stands in front of the board, nervously) Uh, due to some circumstances it got opened up... a little bit... recently...uh, and this, uh, nasty, nasty vampire thing came out of it. It was, uh, it was just awful, awful. This whole thing— (gestures in a circle with the marker) whole thing—is being orchestrated by something called "The First". It's made up of all the evil in the whole world. Oh, there's also these guys. (points to the harbingers) They work for the First. We don't know much about them except that they're very ugly and they're very mobile for blind people. Is that all clear?

Cut to:

19 INT. KITCHEN AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Andrew, with camcorder in hand, is video taping activity in the kitchen. The room is full of people.

ANDREW
It's morning in Sunnydale—

RONA
(looking in the fridge) Who the hell's got the low-fat milk?

ANDREW
It's morning in Sunnydale, and the women of command central take the time to fortify themselves for the day ahead. (Kennedy and Willow pours themselves each a bowl of cereal)

XANDER
(eating cereal from the box, scowls at Andrew) Hey!

ANDREW
Women and Xander. (puts the camera down for a moment) Hey, I'm gonna do your special intro later. "The man who is the heart of the slayer machine."

XANDER
(smiles) Yeah? The heart? (blushes)

ANDREW
(recording again, walks around the room) Things are tense in command central this morning. Buffy is clearly concerned with some unknown danger, and the air is filled with foreboding.

DAWN
(drying dishes) Oh, um, we're out of Raisin Bran.

ANYA
I'll put it on the list.

ANDREW
That's probably not the unknown danger.

SPIKE
(walks into the kitchen) Look at this place. Damn girls' dorm is what it is. (lights up a cigarette)

DAWN
That's nice. Second-hand stinkiness.

ANDREW
Full house. I think it's a good time to do some introductions, don't you, gentle viewers?

AMANDA
(standing in front of Andrew, she waves and talks into the camera) I'm Amanda, and I grew up right here—

ANDREW
(looks up from the camera) Not you, sweetheart. (mouths "sorry" to Amanda) Let's start from the top.

Andrew narrates while the video shown is in a super-produced ultra-glamorous style.

ANDREW (V.O.)
You've already met Buffy. (Buffy gracefully pours herself a bowl of cereal, and shakes her hair sexily in the breeze that comes from nowhere, and looks directly into the camera) She's beautiful, with a lion's heart and— (Buffy winks) and the face of an Angel. She's never afraid 'cause she knows her side will always win. (a shirtless Spike enters view, walking up to Buffy; they look as if they will kiss, but don't; instead, he touches her waist, and Buffy touches his arms as they nearly embrace) Buffy and Spike have some kind of history—you can feel the heat between them. Although, technically, as a vampire, he's room temperature. (flits sexily into view, crossing in front of Spike and Buffy, twirling and eating from a bunch of grapes, then smiling into the camera) Anya, a feisty waif with a firey temper and a vulnerable heart that she hides, even from herself. (camera pans over to a blonde girl eating from a bowl of cereal) This lovely girl—I don't remember her name—

BUFFY
(to Xander) Oh, for God's sake. Is he doing that again? Can't we make him stop?

RONA
I don't know, if we save the world, it will be kind of nice to have a record of it. (Buffy rolls her eyes)

AMANDA
If we don't save the world, then... nothing matters.

KENNEDY
(pauses in her breakfast, spoon still in hand) That's catchy, Amanda. Let's make that our slogan.

XANDER
Yeah, it is kinda strange, how you keep saving the world, and there's not any proof.

ANYA
Yeah, you know, for future generations.

WILLOW
And it does help the girls with training—you know, viewing the tapes.

BUFFY
Come on. No one else thinks this is idiotic?

XANDER
Or is it important? I mean, Buff, I don't get why this is bothering you so much.

BUFFY
Because it's a waste of time. Come on, someone has to agree with me. Spike?

SPIKE
Long as you're not pointing that thing at me, seems like a fine way to keep the boy busy.

BUFFY
This isn't about keeping busy. This is about war. I'm sorry to jump all over you guys, but... I have to tell you what's really going on. There's something new. (Andrew walks around behind Buffy) Amanda, Dawn—you're gonna stay home from school today. We can survive what's coming, but not like this. (Andrew goes into the dining room, but Buffy continues talking) I had a vision of what's to come—a horrible vision. Hundreds upon hundreds of....

Cut to:

20 INT. DINING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
While Buffy talks in the other room, Andrew sets the video camera on the dining room table and talks to it.

ANDREW
Honestly, gentle viewers, these motivating speeches of hers tend to get a little long. I'll take you back in there in—in a little while, but in the in-between time, I thought you might want to know a little about me, your humble host. You see, I am a man with a burden. A man with a dark past. You see, I was once a super villain.

Cut to:

20a INT. EVIL WORKSHOP - DAY
An chemistry laboratory has been set up on the table, complete with bubbling colored liquids in an elaborate set of interconnected tubes, vials and beakers. Ultra-suave Andrew, in a black suit, black shirt, and black tie, is talking to geeky Jonathan and Warren, who are dressed in jeans and t-shirts and protective eye goggles..

ANDREW
Thus the validity of the Bronsted-Debye-Huckel equation at low ionic strength has been amply tested, and the charges on the reactant ions are well-known, if their reagents are properly characterized.

JONATHAN
(looks at Andrew) It smells funny.

ANDREW
(looks at Jonathan)I know, kinda sweaty. (looks at the camera, squints)

All three men turn around at once. Warren and Jonathan flank Andrew.

WARREN
What'll it do to Buffy?

ANDREW
Make her super magnetic! (gestures emphatically with two fists)

JONATHAN
Wow, she won't be able to get out of her car.

WARREN
And knives and other sharp things will fly at her. (gestures like the knives)

ANDREW
We could walk right by her, and she wouldn't be able to stop us.

WARREN
(takes off his goggles, looks worried) Unless we were wearing metal belt buckles, then we would stick to her.

ANDREW
In my plan, we are beltless.

JONATHAN
(takes off goggles) Wow, you're the best, Andrew.

Andrew looks sexily into the camera as Warren and Jonathan fawn over him.

WARREN
Yep, and good-looking and smart too.

JONATHAN
Yeah, wow.

Cut to:

ANDREW
(looking into the camera) Warren was cool. And wasn't Jonathan just the cutest thing? Well, shall we see if Buffy's still talking?

Points the camera toward the kitchen. Buffy's back is in view, and Willow can be seen facing Buffy. Willow yawns.

BUFFY
I mean mentally. And from what I've seen so far, there's is no way your girls are ready. You have to...

ANDREW
She's not done. Even Willow looks bored, and she usually can take a lot of that stuff. Look at her. (Kennedy walks up to Willow and cuddles while Buffy's talking) Ooh, ooh, do you see that? That-that's important. Willow and Kennedy have been in kind of a bad place lately, but things are looking up. You see, Kennedy pursued the reluctant Willow and won her heart, only to find herself frightened when she glimpsed the darkness that still lies within the witch's mind. Side note—I once had my own personal encounter with Dark Willow.

Cut to:

20b INT. MAGIC BOX - DAY
Andrew and Jonathan are having a face-off with Dark Willow.

DARK WILLOW
Jonathan, Andrew, you boys like magic, don't you? Abracadabra!

Willow holds her hands out toward Jonathan and Andrew, and black light shoots out of her palms toward them. A panicked Jonathan hides behind cool, calm Andrew.

JONATHAN
(screams in fright) Yee!

ANDREW
Haltem!

DARK WILLOW
OK, didn't see that coming.

ANDREW
That's because we have power you can't imagine.

JONATHAN
(still hiding behind Andrew) We do?

ANDREW
You, Dark Willow, wield a force of mighty evil, it's true. But you are new to the game, little one.

DARK WILLOW
You know what they say. If at first, you don't succeed...

JONATHAN
Holy cats! Here it comes again.

ANDREW
(calmly waves his hand) I deflect thy power.

DARK WILLOW
Damn, that is one effective counter spell.

ANDREW
Thank you, little one. Thank you.

Cut to:

ANDREW
She was something. Indeed she was. Hey, I think Buffy stopped talking. That usually means she had to go to work. Let's see what the little locusts left for breakfast, shall we?

Cut to:

21 INT. HALLWAY AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
Buffy walks into the school, talking to herself. There's a lot of commotion in the hallway.

BUFFY
(to herself) Not late. Not late 'til the bell rings. (looks up to see two boys fighting, goes to break them up) Hey! Hey! (stands between them, pushing them apart) Break it up! (bell rings) Get to class. (they go separate ways; Buffy looks down the hall) Uh-oh. (a girl is fading away in front of the lockers, Buffy goes up to her) Hey, shy girl, don't do this. Oh... (Buffy slaps the girl)

SHY GIRL
(astonished) You knew I was there.

BUFFY
Yeah.

SHY GIRL
You noticed me.

BUFFY
It's OK, I promise. It may seem ba— (a girl comes out of the bathroom beside the lockers where Buffy's standing; the girl is sobbing) Wh-wh-what's wrong?

CRYING GIRL
The mirror said I was fat. It said it. (walks off crying)

Buffy watches the crying girl walk off, and her attention is pulled to another conversation where a stressed boy is venting to his friends.

STRESSED OUT BOY
I'm so—I can't take this semester anymore. It's just so much for me to handle. So, not only does Mr. Hildebrand move up the trig exam to today, but he also makes it cover three more chapters. And I've got an English paper due tomorrow. I feel like I'm gonna explode.

BUFFY
(walks up to the boy) Hey, uh, I can help. You just need to relax, you know? (to his friends) You know, um, maybe one of you guys could give him a foot rub?

STRESSED OUT BOY
What?

Cut to:

22 INT. OFFICES AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
Buffy walks into the office area, only to see Principal Wood standing next to the front desk holding an ice pack to his head.

BUFFY
Something bad is going on.

ROBIN WOOD
Oh, is that right?

BUFFY
(sits) Ooh, you're hurt. What happened?

ROBIN WOOD
Someone threw a rock at me as I got out of my car. I didn't really get a good chance to see who.

BUFFY
(takes a bandage from the first-aid kit on the desk and unwraps it) Yeah, well, it could have been any of them. Students, teachers—something is going on today.

ROBIN WOOD
Yes, well, um, that occurred to me as I ducked the other two rocks. Buffy, what the hell is this?

BUFFY
(puts the bandage on Wood's brow) Everything.

ROBIN WOOD
Slowly, I may be concussed here.

BUFFY
(shakes her head) There this thing that happens here, in this school, over the hell mouth. Where the way a thing feels—it kind of starts being that way...for real. I've seen all these things before...just not all at once.

ROBIN WOOD
So, what, it's like hell's a bustin' out all over?

BUFFY
Exactly.

Insert a clip of Andrew standing in front of the "Big Board" tapping a marker against the drawing of the hellmouth and nodding.

ROBIN WOOD
So, what's the worst that can happen?

BUFFY
War, pretty much.

ROBIN WOOD
Oh, I see you're being amusing now with comical exaggeration.

BUFFY
Being in high school can feel like being at war. Now it's true. The students feel like the teachers are out to get them. The Chess Club resents the French Club for taking the activities room, and, well, everybody hates the cheerleaders. If we don't do something about this, we're gonna have a riot on our hands. And a lot of other nasty stuff too.

ROBIN WOOD
Like what?

A boy in the hallway screams, increasingly louder, until he explodes off screen, leaving bloody residue splattered all over the outside of the office window.

BUFFY
(looks sadly out the window) Really should have had that foot rub.

Fade to black.

ACT II:
23 INT. DINING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Andrew's video-taping Dawn, who's sitting at the table, studying, amid a half-dozen pizza boxes.

ANDREW
Dawn is a typical American teenager. Bubbly and sweet with a hunger for fun and a smile that lights up the room.

DAWN
(blushes, waves) Hello.

ANDREW
Dawn used to be a key. (zooms to keys on the table) I don't really know what that means.

Cut to:

24 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Through the camera lens, show Andrew entering the living room. Willow and Kennedy are sitting on the sofa, kissing.

ANDREW
Hey, here's something I think you're going to be interested in, gentle viewers. (zooms in on the window behind the sofa) Look at the fine work Xander did on that replacing that window sash. You can't even tell it's new, it blends in so well. He's extraordinary.

Cut to:

25 INT. OFFICE AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
Buffy and Robin are looking at blueprints of the school that are spread out on the table in front of them. Buffy's seated at the table, and Robin is looking over her shoulder.

ROBIN WOOD
You've dealt with this before? I mean, you've seen stuff like this in a high school?

BUFFY
Sure, you know, swim team monsters or killer prom dogs. Again, not all at once.

ROBIN WOOD
So, what makes now so special?

BUFFY
My guess—it's that seal thing in the basement. It's like all the hellmouth's energy is trying to escape in that one little spot, and it's getting all—

ROBIN WOOD
Focusy.

BUFFY
(looks at Robin) Careful. You're starting to speak like me now.

Cut to:

26 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Andrew's talking into the camera. Anya and Xander are seated on the sofa.

ANDREW
This is Xander and Anya Interview Number 1 for "Buffy, a Slayer of the Vampyrs."

Andrew sits in the chair across from the sofa, and repositions the camera on the chair arm.

ANYA
That's what you're calling it?

ANDREW
Either that or "Buffy, the Slayer Who Knew No Fear."

XANDER
I like that one.

ANDREW
Thank you, Xander. That's sweet of you. (crosses his legs, gets his notepad out) I understand that exactly one year ago today you left Anya at the altar. Any comment on that?

XANDER
Whoa. What the hell?

ANDREW
I just think people will be interested.

ANYA
I know I am. (looks at Xander) What do you have to say for yourself one year later?

XANDER
I've apologized enough, that's what I have to say.

ANDREW
But you think it was something that called for an apology?

XANDER
Well, yes.

ANDREW
So you don't think it was the right thing to do.

ANYA
Of course he doesn't think it was the right thing to do. (looks at Xander)

XANDER
(looks at Anya) It was the right thing to do.

ANYA
What?

ANDREW
Interesting. I think we're getting something here.

XANDER
Look, Anya, if I had married you, it would have been against everything I thought was best. It wouldn't have worked.

ANYA
But we—we still spark. I mean, I get jealous of you. You get jealous of me. You still love me.

ANDREW
Is that true, Xander? Do you still love her?

Cut to:

27 INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
The Seal of Danzalthar is exposed in the dirt floor. Buffy and Robin are walking around the edge of it.

BUFFY
I swear we just covered this thing up.

ROBIN WOOD
It doesn't want to stay hidden anymore. It wants to turn these kids into monsters and victims and who knows what.

BUFFY
It's more than that. Look, Robin, I, um, I had a vision the other day.

ROBIN WOOD
You have visions?

BUFFY
Sometimes. (nods)

ROBIN WOOD
Oh. Well, how do you know that they're not just dreams?

BUFFY
You're running to catch the bus naked? That's a dream. Army of vicious vampire creatures? That's a vision. Also, I was awake.

ROBIN WOOD
A bus to where? I mean, an army of how many?

BUFFY
Hundreds. Maybe hundreds of hundreds. All I know is the last UberVamp I faced crawled out of that very hole. (backs up) It makes me awfully nervous. (Robin walks onto the seal) What are you doing?

ROBIN WOOD
Now, have you ever really studied it? You know, gotten close? (kneels on the seal)

BUFFY
Well, I know it's a goat with its tongue out. Uh, Willow did a search on the symbolic database, but it turns out everybody loves a good goat's tongue. Rock groups, covens and greek cookbooks. She said she couldn't narrow it down.

ROBIN WOOD
(looks at Buffy) And you trust her?

BUFFY
Yes, why wouldn't I trust her?

ROBIN WOOD
I don't know why any of you should trust each other. You've all been evil at some point, right?

BUFFY
(shakes her head) No, that's not true. Yeah, Willow had a bad patch, but I've never been.

ROBIN WOOD
(in a deep voice) Evil is what evil does, and I know what you're doing. (stands, looks at Buffy—his eyes are white) You're with that vampire, screwing that vampire. You filthy whore! (charges at Buffy)

BUFFY
(dodges Robin, who runs into the wall; Buffy goes to his side) Robin, are you OK?

ROBIN WOOD
(panting) Whoa. What happened?

BUFFY
I—I think it was controlling you.

ROBIN WOOD
Buffy, we've got to get rid of this seal. We've got to shut it down before it starts affecting everyone.

BUFFY
I think I have a pretty good idea who we should talk to.

ROBIN WOOD
Yeah, who's that?

BUFFY
The guy that fed it it's first drop of blood.

A pink piglet oinks as it runs across the room in front of them.

ROBIN WOOD
God, I hope that's not a student.

Cut to:

28 INT. BASEMENT AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Through the lens of the video camera, show Spike yelling at Andrew.

SPIKE
(takes the cigarette out of his mouth) I thought I told you to piss off with this bloody camera, yet here you are again with that thing in my face. Would you sod off (flicks the cigarette at Andrew) before I rip your throat out and eat—

ANDREW
OK, Spike. The light was kind of behind you.

SPIKE
(looks around) Oh, right. Uh, what? Is this better then? ( I thought I told you to piss off with this bloody camera, yet here you are again with that thing in my face. Would you sod off—?

Cut to:

29 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - DAY
Anya and Xander are sitting on the couch, talking.

ANYA
(arms crossed) You keep dodging the question.

XANDER
(leaning forward) I don't mean to. It's just—you know how I feel, right? And you were the one who didn't want to keep seeing each other.

ANYA
And here's where we hop on the merry-go-round of rotating knives. I blame you, and you blame me, and we both end up all cut to shreds. Please just tell— Do you still love me?

XANDER
(nods) Yes. I still love you. I always will. I just don't know if that means anything for us anymore.

ANYA
Well, I love you too. I don't know if that means anything either.

XANDER
Well, it's nice to hear. (now show the conversation through the camcorder playback mode) I'm not gonna find anyone out there like you, am I?

ANYA
Doesn't seem likely.

XANDER
I guess I'm more replaceable, obviously.

ANYA
No. (Andrew is mouthing Anya's words as he watches the tape) There's no one like you, Xander. You were willing to stand up to danger, even when your hands had no weapons. You were ready to protect me with your life.

XANDER
Yeah, I guess we fit together pretty good.

ANYA
We fit together great.

XANDER
You know, sometimes, I want to be back in your life.

ANYA
I hope you know you never left my heart.

Practically in tears, Andrew rewinds the tape.

XANDER
I'm not gonna find anyone out there like you, am I?

ANYA
Doesn't seem likely.

Buffy storms in through the front door. Robin Wood is with her.

BUFFY
Heads up, Andrew. We've got to talk.

ROBIN WOOD
We just spent the day keeping a lid on a war.

ANDREW
(stands) Ooh, that would be very exciting on tape.

BUFFY
(crosses arms) The school is out of control with energy from the hellmouth. It's time for you to help, Andrew.

ANDREW
Well, right now, I'm really more about the recording of the—

BUFFY
No! No more watching. The seal thing is your baby, and you gotta get in there before it tears everything apart.

Cut to:

30 INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY
Five students enter the room where the seal is located. They kneel in a circle around the seal, and hold their hands over it, chanting in Latin. The seal glows.

Fade to black.

ACT III:
31 INT. DINGY APARTMENT - NIGHT
TITLE: Somewhere in Mexico, 2002.
Andrew and Jonathan are sharing a bed. They are tossing and turning in thier sleep. As they sleep, a voice speaks in their dreams as images appear, flashing from one to the other rapidly. The whole dream sequence lasts approximately ten seconds.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (V.O.)
Desde abajo te devora. Desde abajo te devora.

The Seal of Danzalthar.
A potential slayer fleeing.
The Turok-Han climbing out of the ground.
A potential slayer fleeing.
Spike's ritiualistically cut body bleeding out, suspended from the ceiling.
Jonathan and Andrew fleeing Sunnydale.
The Turok-Han attacking.
A potential slayer fleeing.
The potential from Turkey being killed.
The Seal of Danzalthar starting to open.
Bringer's murdering a potential.
The Turok-Han attacking.
The Seal of Danzalthar continuing to open.
The potential from Turkey dying.
The cheese man. (from episode 4x22 "Restless")
The Turok-Han.
Cheese slices laid out, neatly in a row on a pedestal (as in Willow's dream from "Restless")
Bringer's murdering the German potential slayer.
The Turok-Han attacking.
The Seal of Danzalthar opening, the points of the pentagram folding in.
The Turok-Han attacking.
Bringer's murdering a potential.
The Seal of Danzalthar opening, the pentagram has folded inward, forming a pyramid that sinks into the ground.

They both wake, visibly upset from the dreams.

JONATHAN
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

ANDREW
(Spanish pronunciation) Jesus.

JONATHAN
(nearly in tears) Did you have it again? I had it again. That voice...

ANDREW
Desme abdo tay deborah. What does it mean? What does it mean?

JONATHAN
Let's try looking it up again in the morning in the dictionario. Holy cats, that was terrifying.

ANDREW
We're fugitives, haunted by our past, tormented by a message we don't understand.

JONATHAN
We're hunted men, driven mad by forces beyond our understanding.

ANDREW
We're men of hidden power, tortured from within by-by a voice from out of nowhere.

JONATHAN
I don't deserve this. I wasn't even that evil.

ANDREW
I thought you were evil.

JONATHAN
(looks at Andrew) Yeah?

ANDREW
(they both sit up) Sure. I respected your ideas for evil projects, and I thought you had good follow-through.

JONATHAN
Oh, well, thanks. It's nice that you noticed.

WILLOW (V.O.)
OK, I think we're getting a little off track here.

Cut to:

32 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Andrew's sitting in a chair, while Willow, Kennedy, Robin Wood, Spike, and Buffy look on.

ANDREW
I don't want to do this anymore. Everyone's staring at me.

WILLOW
(holding a large, glowing, orange crystal in front of Andrew) Just focus on the charm. You have to focus on the charm to pull the memories out.

ROBIN WOOD
Tell us about the seal.

ANDREW
But it tickles, and I'm all tense. Can't I have a cool, refreshing Zima?

BUFFY
No Zima.

SPIKE
Shut your face about the Zima. Just talk.

BUFFY
You were the first one to uncover the seal and feed it blood. How did you know it was there? How did you know what to do?

ANDREW
I-I don't know. Stuff happened. (shrugs) I forget.

KENNEDY
So remember. Look at the charm.

ANDREW
But, I—I'm not a part of this. I document, I don't participate. I'm a detached journalist, recording with a neutral eye.

BUFFY
Andrew! Stop it, or I'm going to smash this camera over your head. Actually, I'm gonna do that anyway, so you might as well talk.

WILLOW
Stop going off topic.

ANDREW
I wasn't off topic. It's gonna get relevant in a second, because Jonathan's gonna go to the bathroom.

Cut to:

32a INT. DINGY APARTMENT IN MEXICO - NIGHT
Resume. Jonathan and Andrew are talking in bed.

JONATHAN
I'm gonna go to the bathroom. (stands and leaves the room)

ANDREW
(singing to himself in bed) La cucaracha. La cucaracha. La la la la la. (turns over, and sees Warren/First leaning over him)

WARREN/FIRST
Did you get the knife?

ANDREW
(gasps, stands) Oh, Gosh. Gosh, I'm glad to see you.

WARREN/FIRST
Me too. You're looking good.

ANDREW
(touches his face and chest bashfully) Am I? I...probably have pillow creases.

WARREN/FIRST
No, no, it's good. You're a man on the run. You got kind of a wild, desperate thing going. (walks closer to Andrew) Did you, uh, did you get the knife?

ANDREW
Yeah. It wasn't easy. I had to meet this demon guy who sells all kinds of weird weapons and stuff.

WARREN/FIRST
Yeah, show me.

ANDREW
Well, I didn't buy them, but there were poison arrows and this sort of collapsible sword—

WARREN/FIRST
Show me the knife!

ANDREW
Oh, right. (chuckles, bends to get a box from under the bed)

WARREN/FIRST
Quick, before the shortcake comes back.

ANDREW
(opens the box and takes out the knife) Oh, it'll be a while. He's got a shy bladder. (calls over toward the bathroom) Jonathan, you OK in there?

JONATHAN (O.S.)
Don't talk to me. I'm fine.

ANDREW
Pretty knife, except the, uh, the stabbing—I don't—I don't think I can do it. Jonathan has been a good friend to me here in Mehico. He said he'll buy me a burro.

WARREN/FIRST
Oh, you can stab him. It's all part of the plan. That boy's blood is a powerful tribute. It's a—it's a gift to something very big, very important, and ultimately, won't even hurt him. We get a reward. You and me and him too.

ANDREW
We live as gods.

WARREN/FIRST
That's right, man. The trio. (snaps and points) Living as gods.

Cut to:

32b EXT. FANTASTIC FIELDS - DAY
Andrew, Warren, and Jonathan are dressed in togas, playing harps, and frolicking in the fields of daisies (oversized black-eyed susans and poppies, to be specific). Butterflies flit around and bars of gold lie around in piles. A unicorn runs by them as they dance and sing.

ANDREW
(singing) We are gods. Oh, we are gods. We are as gods. We are as gods!

Cut to:

32a INT. DINGY APARTMENT IN MEXICO - NIGHT
Resume. Andrew and Warren/First are talking.

WARREN/FIRST
There's power in that knife. Drive the words deep into him. It's the only way for us to get our reward.

ANDREW
Got it. If I kill him with this knife, we live as gods.

Cut to:

WILLOW
Wait a second. Go back. What was that part again?

ANDREW
You mean this part?

Cut to:

32b EXT. FANTASTIC FIELDS - DAY
Andrew frolics in the field of flowers again, dancing and singing with Jonathan and Warren.

ANDREW
(singing) We are as gods!

Cut to:

WILLOW
Not that part. We need to see that knife. There's something there.

BUFFY
Kennedy, search his stuff. Find the knife.

ANDREW
It's not in my stuff. It's in the kitchen, in the cutlery drawer. You didn't have any steak knives.

WILLOW
You put your old murder weapon in with our utensils?

ANDREW
I washed it.

SPIKE
What are you looking for?

WILLOW
He said the First said something about words. "Drive the words deep into him."

ANDREW
There was some carving on the blade. I just thought it was a pattern.

KENNEDY
Found it.

WILLOW
OK, you're Mr. Demon-Summoner. How are you with demon languages?

ANDREW
Whoa, you were right. It's in Tawarick. It's, uh, like proto-Tawarick. It's really, really old.

KENNEDY
But, what's the big?

ROBIN WOOD
We never knew anything about this seal. Now, we know this knife and this language are connected to it somehow.

WILLOW
Andrew, do you speak Tawarick?

ANDREW
Yeah, I'm OK with it. It says, "The blood which I spill, I consecrate to the oldest evil."

KENNEDY
Creepy.

BUFFY
Will, what're you thinking? You think you can do something with that?

WILLOW
(takes the knife from Andrew, looks closely at the blade) I— let me work on it.

Cut to:

33 INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Willow's sitting at the dining room table, using her laptop. Buffy's standing behind her, looking over her shoulder.

WILLOW
I think it's got a shot.

They walk into the living room, where Spike, Robin Wood, and Kennedy are keeping an eye on Andrew.

BUFFY
Guess what, Andy. You just won yourself a free vacation to the beautiful downtown hellmouth.

SPIKE
So he can do what? Yell at it in its own language?

WILLOW
Maybe.

ROBIN WOOD
What? I—I'm not following.

BUFFY
Look, we have to deal with the seal right away. We already might have to just shut the school down, and I'm not losing any more territory to the First. Besides, it's the only thing we've got.

WILLOW
The seal responds to this language somehow, or-or the First wouldn't have needed this knife. Andrew knows the language, can really talk to it, maybe give it commands.

BUFFY
Robin, Spike, let's go.

Cut to:

34 INT. HALLWAY AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Spike, Robin Wood, Andrew and Buffy are standing in the hallway, staring. Spike and Buffy have flashlights, and Andrew has his camcorder. The hall has 55-gallon drums with fires in them. Every foot of wall has been spray-painted with phrases like "DIE CHEERLEADERS" and "MARCHING BAND RULES". Lockers are all hanging open.

BUFFY
Riot that almost happened.

ROBIN WOOD
Looks to me like it happened after all.

Someone throws a glass bottle against a wall, shattering it.

SPIKE
Looks to me like it's still happening.

They all walk further into the school.

SPIKE
Nice way to run a school. (looking around) There's got to be kids injured in here.

ROBIN WOOD
Yeah, easy picking for the likes of you, huh?

SPIKE
(looks at Wood) Hey, here to help, you know.

ROBIN WOOD
Right.

ANDREW
(into his camera) Check out Spike and the Principal. There's something going on there. Sexual tension you could cut with a knife.

The place is completely trashed. Kids are running around the school making noise. One runs by carrying a hockey stick.

SPIKE
(looking around) These kids went nuts, didn't they?

ROBIN WOOD
(sarcastically) No kidding.

BUFFY
Shh, they'll hear you.

ROBIN WOOD
Buffy, they're all the way down—

Some kid hiding around a corner jumps out and hits Robin in the head with a fire extinguisher, but Buffy pulls him away from Robin. Andrew hides as the kids attack. One kid grabs Buffy and carries her off, while another hits Spike over the back with a locker door.

BUFFY
Spike!

SPIKE
The kids are getting stronger.

ANDREW
(running away, still taping) Oh, God. Struck down before I achieve redemption.

Buffy, Spike, and Wood fight the kids off. Buffy trips one boy, while Wood picks up the locker door to knock another boy down. Spike starts punching one of the boys.

BUFFY
Spike! (he turns to look at Buffy) Don't kill them. They're just students.

SPIKE
They'll live. (punches the boy again)

Buffy walks further down the hall and finds the basement entry door.

BUFFY
OK, Spike, Wood. I need you guys to stay here, hold our line of retreat.

ANDREW
So, I'll be staying here with these men, helping out that holding the line thing. (Buffy frowns and grabs Andrew's arm) I'll be with Buffy.

Cut to:

35 INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Buffy and Andrew go down the stairs into the basement.

ANDREW
(videotaping) We make our way down the stairs carefully, alert for any danger.

BUFFY
Oh, stop it.

ANDREW
I was just—

BUFFY
(takes the camera from him) No more. (closes the camera)

ANDREW
But I just—I just want the world to see what you do.

BUFFY
What I do is too important to show the world.

ANDREW
Ooh, I like that.

BUFFY
Be quiet! I don't want a biographer, especially a murderer.

ANDREW
Yeah, well, see, about that—we just keep tossing that word around, but that's not really what happened.

BUFFY
What? You stabbed Jonathan to death. What were you trying to do? Scratch his back from the front?

ANDREW
It was confusing. Jonathan and I were digging, but Warren was there, and only I could see him—

Cut to:

35a INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Andrew and Jonathan are uncovering the seal in the basement while Warren/First watches.

ANDREW
Not one of them cares about you.

JONATHAN
But I care about them. That's why I'm here.

WARREN/FIRST
Do it. Stab him.

ANDREW
No, I can't do it.

JONATHAN
(stops digging) What?

WARREN/FIRST
Do it now.

ANDREW
This isn't right.

WARREN/FIRST
Stab him. Spill the blood.

JONATHAN
Who are you talking to? What isn't right?

WARREN/FIRST
What's wrong with you? Are you a little coward?

ANDREW
No, but did you actually think I could use this? (pulls out the knife)

WARREN/FIRST
That good.

JONATHAN
A knife?

WARREN/FIRST
Just do it. It'll feel good.

JONATHAN
What's going on?

ANDREW
He's making me do it.

JONATHAN
(angrily) You tricked me. Damn you! I'll kill you first. (charges Andrew) I'll kill you!

WARREN/FIRST
Stab him! You have to! If you fail, you'll die a lost soul, and I'll hate you forever!

Andrew and Jonathan fight, and Andrew accidentally stabs Jonathan.

ANDREW
(crying) No! (holds his hands up to the sky)

Cut to:

ANDREW
See, I'm a man trapped by circumstances into paying for a crime I didn't even— (Buffy mumbles) What?

BUFFY
No, I just thought you would say that. I saw the seal possess Wood like that earlier today.

ANDREW
Yes. Yes. See...

Cut to:

35b INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Andrew and Jonathan are uncovering the seal in the basement.

JONATHAN
That's why I'm here.

ANDREW
(turns toward Jonathan, white-eyed, possessed, stabs Jonathan) Die. (stabs him again) Die! (stabs him again) Die! (looks up and sees Warren/First watching them, looks at the bloody knife) What have I done? (screaming) Get out of my brain!!! Aaaah!

Cut to:

BUFFY
You just completely changed your entire story.

ANDREW
Did not.

BUFFY
Uh, ya did too.

ANDREW
Did—uh, hey, here we are.

There's chanting from the room with the seal in it.

BUFFY
There's someone in there. No. We're going in. Just be prepared, OK? The seal could have done anything to them. Go.

Cut to:

36 INT. BASEMENT AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Buffy and Andrew go into the seal room and see the five kids that were chanting there before have now become Bringers, complete with the self-mutilation of the eyes. They all turn to face Buffy.

BUFFY
Nope, they're OK.

Fade to black.

ACT IV:
37 INT. BASEMENT AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Xander and Anya are lying in bed together naked on a cot in the basement. Candles are lit around the room. They both seem out of breath.

XANDER
Wow.

ANYA
Wow, wow.

XANDER
That was nice.

ANYA
Certainly was, you carpenter you.

XANDER
It's too bad Buffy took Spike's chains down, huh?

ANYA
You said it.

XANDER
Mmm, I feel good.

ANYA
Well, yeah. I'm a spitfire in the bedroom.

XANDER
Yeah, I knew we'd always do that again.

ANYA
Yeah, one more time anyway.

XANDER
Is that what that was? (looks at Anya) One more time?

ANYA
Do you think there should be more?

XANDER
I don't know. It was nice. It felt, um—it felt like a one more time.

ANYA
I think maybe we're really over. Which is—it's good, right? I mean, now we can move on.

XANDER
Sure.

Cut to:

38 INT. HALLWAY AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Spike and Wood are still guarding the basement door. Spike's rummaging around through the debris.

SPIKE
Wonder what's keeping 'em. I thought they'd be up here by now. (picks up a 2x4 with a dozen nails sticking out of it) How'd they make this in here, you suppose? (tosses it to Robin)

ROBIN WOOD
Wood shop, I guess. It's nice to know they're paying attention in class.

Some kids jump Spike and Wood, starting a fight. While fighting them off, Wood splinters the 2x4, breaking a shard off of it. Wood picks up the wood fragment and eyes Spike, whose back it toward him as he fights off one of the boys. Wood charges at Spike, wielding the makeshift stake, intending to kill Spike, but one of the boys intercepts Wood and knocks him off balance.

Cut to:

39 INT. BASEMENT AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The seal is glowing. Buffy fights off the new Bringers in the basement. Andrew grabs the camcorder to videotape the fight.

ANDREW
(narrating) She's like a woman fighting for more than life. She fights like fighting is her life. It's like the air she breathes, and she knows she will win because there is no alternative.

BUFFY
(knocks out the last Bringer) It's your turn, Andrew. (pulls out the knife, and walks toward Andrew)

ANDREW
(walks away from Buffy, around the seal) So, you figure, what? I, uh... (puts down the camcorder) I stand on the seal, and hold the knife, and command it to stop glowing in Tawarick?

Buffy and Andrew are opposite each other across the seal. They are walking in circles as Buffy tries to approach Andrew, he tries to maintain his distance.

BUFFY
Or we could do this?

ANDREW
What?

BUFFY
Doesn't really make sense, does it? Bringing you here to talk to it. This thing doesn't understand words, it understands blood.

ANDREW
(nervous) Blood opens it. You don't want to open it. Opening it would be bad.

BUFFY
(flips the knife) Yeah, Willow did a little research. Turns out, the blood of the person that awoke it—you—different kind of deal. It reverses the whole thing.

ANDREW
So, how much blood...are you gonna—

BUFFY
I don't know. Maybe not enough to kill you.

ANDREW
(faces her, but still backs away) So, this is my redemption at last? I buy back my bruised soul with the blood of my heart. But-but not enough to kill—

BUFFY
(standing right in front of him now, pointing the knife at him) Stop! Stop telling stories. Life isn't a story.

ANDREW
(frightened) Sorry. Sorry.

BUFFY
Shut up. You always do this. You make everything into a story so no one's responsible for anything because they're just following a script.

ANDREW
Please don't kill me. Warren said Jonathan would be OK. I trusted him, and I lost my friend.

BUFFY
(angrily) You didn't lose him. You murdered him.

ANDREW
(softly, sincerely) I know, but you don't need to kill me. You said we could all get through this.

BUFFY
I made it up. I'm making it all up. What kind of hero does that make me?

ANDREW
(shakes his head) No, you're doing great. Really. Kudos.

BUFFY
Yeah? Well, I don't like having to give a bunch of speeches about how we're all gonna live, because we won't. This isn't some story where good triumphs because good triumphs. Good people are going to die! Girls. Maybe me. Probably you. Probably right now.

ANDREW
(shakes his head, frightened) Don't! Please! Don't, please!

Buffy pushes him toward the seal; he leans over it, but she's holding the back of his jacket so he doesn't fall. She's pointing the knife at him.

BUFFY
When your blood pours out, it might save the world. What do you think about that? Does it buy it all back? Are you redeemed?

ANDREW
(crying) No.

BUFFY
Why not?

ANDREW
(sobbing, his face is tear-streaked) Because I killed him. Because I listened to Warren, and I pretended I thought it was him, but I knew—I knew it wasn't. And I killed Jonathan. And now you're gonna kill me. And I'm scared, and I'm going to die. And this—this is what Jonathan felt.

As Andrew's tears flow, a tear droplet falls from his face onto the seal below. It immediately stops glowing. Buffy lets Andrew go. He falls to the ground and puts the knife down.

ANDREW
It stopped.

BUFFY
Didn't want blood. It wanted tears.

ANDREW
(stands) Thanks.

BUFFY
Sorry, I had to—

ANDREW
You—you weren't really going to stab me, were you?

BUFFY
I wasn't going to stab you.

ANDREW
What if the tears didn't work?

Buffy walks out of the room. Andrew grabs his camcorder and follows her.

Cut to:

40 INT. HALLWAY AT SUNNYDALE HIGH - NIGHT
Robin and Spike are fighting students, but suddenly the students stop fighting back. Instead, they just walk away.

ROBIN WOOD
She got it done.

SPIKE
Always has.

ROBIN WOOD
So far.

Cut to:

41 INT. UPSTAIRS BATHROOM AT BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Through the camera lens, show Andrew sitting on the closed toilet seat, recording himself as before.

ANDREW
Here's the thing. I killed my best friend. There's a big fight coming, and I don't know what's going to happen. I don't even think I'm going to live through it. (looks down) That's, uh, probably the way it should be. I guess I'm— (looks at the camera, sighs, points the remote control, presses a button, and turns it off)

Cut to:

Closing credits.