Act 1
Starring:
Lacey Chabert as Skye Talisker, Michelle Rodriguez as Kadin Van Helsing, Norika Fujiwara as Mia Nakata, Caroline Dhavernas as Grace Hatherley, Alicia Silverstone as Heli Hamalainen and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Guest Starring:
Chiaki Kuriyama as Nozomi, Mia Maestro as Isabel, Gary Oldman as Mr. Jason Felix, Elisabeth Sladen as Dianna Earl, Indigo as Rona, Felicia Day as Vi Joston, Kou Shibasaki as Fumie and Aki Maeda as Satsu (Cat-Ears)
Cut To:
Int.
Warehouse – Night
Kennedy held her forearm in front of her face to block a punch. Three large brown demons surrounded her. Spikes grew from their shoulders and their skin was covered in scales.
There were hardly any furnishings around the place. The walls and the few pillars that held the roof up were peeling with old white paint. Long ago, someone had blacked out the windows, except for a few broken spots.
Kennedy sighed. “You guys think you’ve got me, don’t you?” She received only menacing gurgles in response.
Kennedy grabbed one of the demons around the neck and used it as a pendulum to whip herself around and deliver kicks to the chests of the other two demons. She then snapped the first demon’s neck with a hard twist. She stepped over the two demons on the ground, kicking one in the face as it tried to get up. She walked over to where her sword lay on the dirty concrete floor.
Without hurry, she walked back over and stabbed one of the demons through the chest. She turned to find that the final demon had managed to get to its feet and was trying to run away. With an almost casual flick of her wrist, she sent her sword through the air, straight as an arrow. It entered the fleeing demon through the back and exited through its chest.
“Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
A startled Kennedy whipped around to see a dark-haired girl standing in the center of the warehouse behind her, hands on her hips.
“Isabel,” Kennedy said softly.
“So you know,” the girl replied. Her English had improved remarkably. She took a few steps forward.
“Stay away from me!” Kennedy nearly screamed.
Isabel kept walking towards her. “That was pretty impressive,” she said. “I guess your skills haven’t declined, in spite of everything.”
Kennedy’s eyes were wide, but her feet remained planted firmly in place. “Everyone’s counting on me,” she said. “I’m the only one left.”
Isabel smirked. “In that case, I get the feeling that everyone’s in big trouble.”
Kennedy watched the Spanish girl draw ever closer. “I… I’ve been wondering. Do you take requests?”
“I’m not a karaoke machine,” Isabel told her, “but you’re a peach. And I mean that literally.” She stopped a few feet from Kennedy. The two girls stood directly facing each other in the center of the huge room.
At that point, the entire building began to shake. Kennedy put her arms out for balance.
“Did you do this?” she yelled.
Isabel stood confidently on her feet, unaffected by the debris that had begun to fall from the ceiling. “Don’t look at me. I’m not the one playing the slughorn.”
The cement gave way beneath Kennedy’s feet, opening into a huge chasm. As she fell, she managed to snag the edge of the hole with one hand. Kennedy looked down into the black, and gasped when she saw Heli, standing on what had to be the bottom, grinning back at her. She held a single burning stick of incense in her hand.
“Hurry up,” Heli called. “Your toast is getting cold.”
Panicked, Kennedy looked back up to see Isabel standing over her. The girl reached down towards her.
“Take my hand,” Isabel said.
“No!” Kennedy cried.
“Take my hand!” Isabel insisted.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Slayer Rec Room – Evening
Grace let out a brief scream when Kennedy grabbed her hand. Kennedy’s eyes shot open.
“It was his idea!” Grace yelled.
Andrew popped his head out from his hiding place behind the couch. “No it wasn’t!” Kennedy gave them both a confused look. “I mean…hi!”
Kennedy blinked a few times. “I can tell I’m awake because of the weirdness. Why are you guys here?”
“We were just debating whether to wake you up,” Andrew told her as he rose to his feet.
Kennedy looked very tired. “Why?”
“Just got some new stuff in from Japan we thought you should see,” Grace explained. “But I remembered what happened that time I tried to wake up Mia, and I still can’t rotate my shoulder all the way around, so…”
“Grace…” Kennedy said, in a tone that said she had no patience for this. “What stuff from Japan?”
“Before we do that,” Grace said, “would you maybe mind letting go of my hand? It’s starting to hurt.”
Kennedy looked down to see that she still had a death grip on Grace’s wrist.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, letting go.
“Thanks.” Grace rubbed her wrist gingerly, a sour look on her face.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Willow and Rowena’s Apartment – Evening
Willow, Rowena and Xander were all chuckling as he picked up a wine bottle. In front of them were a pile of pots and pans, along with their plates and silverware.
“Want some more, Will?” he asked as he poured some into his own glass.
“I’m good,” Willow replied.
“Ro?” he said, holding the bottle up.
“None for me, thanks,” she told him. “Actually, I’m not supposed to drink right now,” she added, shooting a glance at Willow.
“You on antibiotics?” Xander asked. as he picked up his fork and took the last bite of the food on his plate.
“No,” Willow answered. “Actually we had an ulterior motive for inviting you to dinner tonight.”
“You’re not under a spell again, are you guys?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows before he started to chew again.
“No,” Rowena giggled.
“Damn,” Xander said seriously, but grinning.
“But it’s funny you should mention that…” Rowena said.
“Yeah, you remember the island trip, right?” Willow asked. Xander gave her a look, as if to say “are you stupid?” “Dumb question. Anyway, the thing is…well, things being what they are…”
“I’m pregnant,” Rowena blurted out, cutting to the chase.
“Yeah, she’s pregnant,” Willow muttered.
The room filled with dead silence.
“And you’re the dad,” Rowena added.
“Yeah, and you’re the dad,” Willow muttered once more.
The sound of Xander‘s fork hitting the china plate echoed through the room. He said nothing at first. He simply stared across the table.
“So,” Rowena said optimistically, as she stood up. “Anyone want dessert?”
Xander held up a hand and motioned her to sit back down. “You’re pregnant and I’m the father?”
Rowena took her seat. “We didn’t know how to tell you, Xander, and…and we don’t expect anything from you. I mean, it would be wonderful if you wanted to be a part of this child’s life, but there are no strings attached. In fact, Willow and I talked about it, and if you don’t want anyone to know we won’t say anything.”
“Absolutely,” Willow told him. “We’ll tell people we went to a clinic o-or something. The point is, we don’t want you to feel put on the spot. It would be wonderful if you did want to be involved.”
“Really wonderful,” Rowena added.
“Right, but…well, we didn’t plan this a-and you didn’t plan this, but we’re looking at it as more of a surprise than an accident. A-and really, out of all the guys we know, you really are tops on the list.”
Rowena nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, at least I’m good for stud, huh?”
“No,” Rowena and Willow both said quickly, then Rowena continued. “Xander, some really bad things happened on the island but…we think something really wonderful happened too. We do want this child to know where it came from, and we’d hope that you’d want to be a part of it. But, on the other hand, we also understand if you don’t want to be…tied down in any way. That’s all we’re saying.”
“And we’re saying it badly,” Willow put in.
Rowena shrugged and gave a slight nod. “Can’t argue with you there.”
“So you guys are gonna be moms, then?” They both nodded. “To my kid?” They nodded again. Slowly, Xander began to grin. “Well, I couldn’t think of two better ladies to do the job.”
“You’re taking this really well,” Willow complimented him
“Well, half of me is doing cartwheels and the other half is still in total shock,” he admitted, before he started to chuckle. “No, this is okay. This is better than okay. This is great. Come here.” He stood up and walked over to Willow, giving her a hug. “You too,” he said, motioning Rowena toward him. After he pulled her into an embrace, he pulled back and put his hand on her belly. “Can you feel anything?”
“Not yet,” Rowena told him, “but in a few months, I’m sure you’ll have lots of chances…if you want them that is.”
“Ha,” Xander let out. “This is…this is pretty cool.”
“Buffy is the only other one that knows right now,” Willow told him. “And possibly Skye.”
“You told Skye and Buffy before me?” Xander asked, sounding a tad wounded.
Willow shrugged. “They knew before me.”
“It was unintentional,” Rowena replied. “Skye noticed the morning sickness. Later, I was spazzing, Buffy noticed and it kind of slipped out.”
“There was much freakage,” Willow admitted. “But we’re keeping things quiet right now.”
“Yeah, the first three months are the most dangerous,” Rowena explained. “The highest chance for miscarriage is in the first trimester so…we’d like to keep this under our hats for now.”
Xander nodded. “So when’s the bundle of joy supposed to arrive?” he asked.
“Beginning of December,” Willow replied.
“Maybe December 2nd?” Xander suggested.
“Well, if it does, it will be the best birthday gift I ever got,” Willow said. She pulled Rowena closer to her and gave her a kiss.
Xander smiled. “I’m so happy for you guys, really. And yes, if the offer is there, I promise I’ll stick around. I’ll do whatever I can to help you guys – all of you.”
“It’s there, Xander,” Willow told him.
“And very genuine,” Rowena added.
Xander smiled and then motioned them back to the table. “You ladies sit down. I’ll get dessert. This calls for double chocolate fudge cake.” With that, he scurried off to the kitchen.
Rowena turned to Willow. “Well, that actually went pretty well.”
“Yeah,” Willow nodded. “Guess this is our lucky day.”
They leaned in and were about to kiss each other when a loud buzzing cut through the moment. They shared a look.
“You are such a jinx!” Rowena exclaimed.
“Am not!” Willow huffed.
“Are too!” Rowena joshed, as she walked over to the intercom unit hanging from the wall. She pressed a button. “Yeah?”
“We know where Heli is,” Kennedy’s voice announced in a business-like tone.
Rowena and Willow shot each other a surprised look.
“Does this mean we’re not having chocolate cake?” Xander asked from the doorway.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Hallway – Evening
Rowena and Willow fell into step on either side of Kennedy as the slayer strode purposefully down a hallway. Xander trailed behind the three women.
“What do we know?” Rowena asked.
“Tokyo Branch found two of its slayers on its doorstep about fifteen minutes ago. Dead. Not pretty.” She handed a manila folder to Rowena, who grimaced at the pictures.
“Tokyo?” Willow asked. “What’s she doing in Tokyo?”
“Wild guess…being an evil psychotic bitch?” Xander offered.
“Where’s Buffy?” Willow asked. “Where’s Faith?”
“Visiting Giles,” Kennedy said. “We’re not waiting.”
Rowena was still leafing through the folder. Among them were several images that looked like extreme close-ups of various objects. “What are these?”
“Photos taken from a disposable camera,” Kennedy said. “She left it on the bodies.”
“You think they’re clues?” Rowena asked.
Kennedy nodded once. “Unless Heli’s taken up abstract photography.”
“Right. Well, I’ll go pack.” Rowena turned and jogged off in the opposite direction.
Willow did a double-take. “Wait…what?” She ran to follow her fiancée.
“Hurry up,” Kennedy called over her shoulder. “Mia’s getting the weapons.”
“Kennedy?” Xander asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Can I talk to you?”
Kennedy sighed and turned to look at him. “Xander, I’m in kind of a hurry right now. Can this wait?”
“Ken, please?”
Kennedy quirked her head and then, after a moment, nodded. The two of them began to walk together down the hall.
“To tell the truth, I’m not sure where I was walking to. It’ll take them at least an hour to clear space at the airport.”
“So it just seemed like a walk-and-talk moment?” Xander asked with a half-grin.
“Pretty much, yeah.” Kennedy nodded.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Willow and Rowena’s Apartment – Moments Later
“You’re pregnant, Ro!” Willow was on the verge of yelling. “With a baby!”
“Yes, a baby, unless, of course, Xander’s not actually a human. But I think we’ve established that he is, so we’re safe there.”
“This isn’t funny,” Willow replied.
A suitcase lay open on the bed. Rowena was rifling through the closet, shadowed by a gesticulating Willow over her shoulder.
“No, it’s not, and you saw those pictures proving how unfunny this is,” Rowena said. “If we’re going to prevent more deaths, we need a watcher on the scene.” She lifted out a bulletproof vest on a hanger.
“They have watchers in Tokyo!” Willow insisted. “We have other watchers here. Watchers that aren’t pregnant!”
Rowena turned to look at her. “You mean watchers who aren’t pregnant with your baby, don’t you?”
Willow paused. “Yes, I’m being biased here, okay? Is that so wrong?”
Rowena grinned and stroked the side of Willow’s cheek. “Honey, I wouldn’t expect anything less. But we need a watcher who knows Heli. And we also need to get something else straight right now. What we do is important. What I do is important. I’m not going to stop working just because I’m pregnant.”
Willow’s expression softened a little…but only a little. “I’m not looking to get you fitted for an apron and a rolling pin here…Heli is a crazy murderer. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go looking for crazy murderers.”
Rowena looked over Willow’s shoulder. “Speaking of…”
“Oh, come on,” Skye said from the doorway. “Like you couldn’t have pulled that with almost anyone who works here.”
Rowena sighed and looked back at Willow. “I’m sorry, Willow, but I have to go.”
“And so do I,” Skye announced. Both women turned toward her, surprised. Skye raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look so shocked. I’m the best tracker you guys have and you know it. Remember that time with the bomb? Besides, I’m feeling all redemption-y tonight for some reason.”
Willow and Rowena gave each other a knowing look.
“How much this time?” Rowena asked.
“Five hundred dollars,” Skye replied.
“What?” Willow and Rowena both exclaimed.
“My anniversary with Dawn is coming up. I want to take her someplace nice…Oh, and did I mention I’m feeling all redemption-y, too?”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Xander’s Apartment – Moments Later
“So it sounds like this might be it – you might actually catch her,” Xander said, as he closed his apartment door behind him and Kennedy.
“We’re gonna try,” Kennedy agreed. “Tokyo’s a big city, but…I have a feeling this time.” She watched as Xander leaned awkwardly on a bookshelf, hands in his pockets. “So, what is it?”
Xander almost looked startled. “Sorry?”
“You brought me here for a reason,” Kennedy said, her voice on the edge of impatience. “What was it?”
Xander scratched his face, eyes down on the floor. “Listen, Kennedy…I know you and Vi were really good friends.”
One could almost see Kennedy’s defenses come up. After a moment, stone-faced, she said, “Yeah. Yeah, we were.”
“I…I wanted to tell you to be careful,” Xander said. “I wanted to tell you to…” He looked up at her. “…to nail this bitch.”
“That’s the plan,” Kennedy said, trying to force a cocky grin.
Xander sized her up for a moment, then motioned for her to follow him. “I have something to show you.”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Xander’s Apartment – Moments Later
Kennedy sat down on the edge of the bed. “Look, I know Vi meant a lot to you –”
Her mouth dropped open when Xander opened his closet doors. Inside were several shelves covered in photos of Vi. In some she was with Xander. In a few others, she was with Kennedy. In most of them, she was smiling broadly. The shelves also held several images and figurines of angels. Around all this, Xander had arranged some of Vi’s possessions, jewelry and knick-knacks mostly.
Kennedy got up and took a few almost involuntary steps toward the display. Her eyes moved swiftly over everything. She reached forward and picked up one of the picture frames, then, after a moment, she hurriedly put it back.
“Xander, I don’t…” She trailed off, unable to put what she was feeling into words.
“I never could find her hat, you know, the one she always wore? She said it was lucky, that her dad made it for her.”
“I remember,” Kennedy breathed.
Xander reached behind one of the photos, pulled out a small box made of polished wood, and handed it to Kennedy. “But I want you to have this.”
She looked up at him, not understanding.
“Open it,” he said softly.
Kennedy put the box down on the bed, unlatched the top of the box and carefully raised the lid. Inside were two carefully carved wooden stakes, silver Vs inlaid at the blunt end. Kennedy removed one from the box and looked at it.
Then, all at once, she fell apart. Tears ran down her face and a loud sob forced its way out from deep inside her chest. She clutched onto Vi’s stake with one hand and tried to cover her face with the other.
“It’s okay,” Xander whispered as he put his arms around her. “It’s okay. Let it out. Just don’t squeeze too hard.” Kennedy leaned on him for support, hardly able to stand up. She buried her face in his shoulder. Sobs continued to wrack her body for several seconds.
After a while, she managed to pull herself together enough to stand back and wipe her nose on her sleeve.
“Xander…”
“Don’t worry,” he smiled. “I won’t tell anyone.”
She tried to smile. “Not what I was going to say.”
“I know.” he smiled back. “Look, we both want to catch this girl. But your welfare is important, too, okay? If things get too hairy, let it go. We’ll get her another time. No matter what happens, I don’t want to see another dead slayer, especially not you.”
“Okay,” Kennedy sighed.
“I mean it,” he admonished.
She put a hand on his dry shoulder. “I will.” She turned to face the closet again. “Has anyone else seen this?”
“Nope,” he said. “I didn’t want them to think I was…I dunno, crazy I guess.”
She faced him again. “We need to have a talk about this, but right now I have a lunatic to catch. Rain check?”
Xander looked sheepish and nodded. Kennedy walked over towards the door. When she reached it, she stopped and said, “I was going to say thanks.”
He smiled. “Get going.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport – Very Early Morning
It was still dark, cloudy, threatening to rain. A jet stood at the ready on the tarmac, the Council coat of arms painted on its tail. A small, somber looking group climbed the stairs from the tarmac to the door of the plane, carrying their baggage with them. Rowena went first, followed by Skye and Mia. Kennedy brought up the rear. She stopped at the top of the stairs and took one last look around, her eyes unreadable. Then she stepped through the door and it shut behind her.
Cut To:
Int.
Council Jet – Moments Later
Kennedy walked into the impeccably clean cabin of the jet. The others were already trying to settle into their seats. Everyone turned in unison when the sound of a toilet flushing came from the back of the plane.
The bathroom door folded open to reveal Kadin, shaking her hands dry.
“Hey,” she said.
She was met with a plane-full of blank looks. Kennedy appeared particularly shocked.
“We’ve got us a crasher,” Mia said ruefully. Then her brow furrowed, and Rowena gave her a look. “Suddenly realizing that’s not the best thing to say on an airplane.”
Kadin spoke directly to Kennedy. “What, like I’d let you go into this without me? Not after…everything.”
After a moment, Kennedy nodded and motioned for Kadin to sit next to her.
“Well,” Skye sighed as Kadin walked past her, “at least now we have the on-again-off-again romantic angst front covered for this trip. Knew we were missing something.” She grinned when Rowena slapped her lightly on the arm.
Cut To:
Int.
Nightclub – Tokyo – Night
Loud rock music blared through a crowded nightclub. Some people danced, while others sat in small groups at little round tables, laughing with each other. Neon lights danced across the ceiling and around the sleek glass bar. A video of clouds moving swiftly across a blue sky was projected onto one wall for no discernible reason. A flashing neon sign above the bar read “ORANGE” in English.
The bartender, a slight Japanese girl with large eyes, wiped off a couple of glasses and put them away. When she turned back to the bar, she found Heli staring back at her.
“American?” the bartender asked.
Heli shook her head. “European. So you speak English?”
“I am learning,” the bartender said. “University. I need to practice.”
“Well, practice girl,” Heli replied, “why don’t you get me a Sprite?”
The bartender quirked an eyebrow. “No alcohol?”
Heli just shook her head.
“What do you think of Tokyo?” the bartender asked as she filled a glass with ice.
Heli thought about this for a moment. Strange lights played over her face. “It’s not what I expected. A lot of…” She motioned around the bar. “…this. Game shows where the hosts dress like clowns. Faceless people crammed onto subway cars. Giant billboards of pink cartoon dinosaurs. Fake.”
The bartender put the Sprite in front of Heli and smiled. “It is not all that way.”
Heli shook her head and took a sip from her drink. “No. No it isn’t. There’s something else. Something ancient and beautiful. Something…sacred. I came to find that. But all this is on top of it.”
As Heli took a longer drink, the bartender gave her a hard look.
“Have I seen you somewhere?” the girl asked.
Heli sat patiently and waited for the realization to hit. When it did, the bartender’s eyes went wide.
“You are…” she couldn’t finish the sentence. Her mouth worked, but her English had gone out the window.
Heli spoke deliberately, in clean Japanese. “I’m not hiding anymore.”
She downed another large gulp of her Sprite.
“Nani … nani ga hoshii desu ka?” the bartender stammered.
Subtitle: “What…What do you want?”
“I’m waiting for an old friend,” Heli replied. “I wonder if she’ll show.”
She downed most of her Sprite, hopped off her stool, and walked away from the bar. In shock, the bartender stared after her for several seconds amidst the din. Then, all at once, she snapped out of it and pulled out her cell phone.
Cut To:
Ext.
Street Outside Nightclub – Moments Later
When Heli exited the front door of Orange, a large, muscled demon was waiting for her in the shadows. She didn’t acknowledge it in any way. Instead, she kept on walking.
“Did you get what you wanted?” it asked, scurrying after her.
“I did,” she said. “We should probably leave now.”
Heli kept walking, completely expressionless as the club receded behind her.
With a huge burst of orange flame, the building behind her exploded. The demon was knocked clean off its feet, but Heli didn’t seem phased. Burning debris rained down on the street in slow motion. Somewhere nearby, a car alarm was going off.
Heli’s face was wreathed by destruction.
Black Out
End of Act One