Act 1
Cut To:
Ext.
Willow and Rowena’s House – Back Porch – Morning
Willow’s cup was perched at her lips when she saw Sophie slip out the back door, wiping sleep from her eye. Willow grinned at her arrival.
“Hey, GirlBoss,” Willow greeted her softly before taking a sip.
Sophie gave a slight grin. “You always say that.”
“‘Cause that’s what you are. One day you’ll be runnin’ the joint, well, if that’s what you want. It’s your life, your decision.”
At first, Sophie didn’t say anything. Willow didn’t push. She went back to sipping her drink and looking in the backyard.
“Will there be a one day, Ma? Be honest.”
Willow paused. “Yeah. I-I have to believe that.”
“Still thinkin’ she comes tomorrow?” she asked.
“We do,” Willow replied.
Sophie pointed out toward the woods. “They left. The animals. Even our cats are acting weird. It’s really…quiet. Did they all leave before? I mean, with the other fights.”
“They did. A few stay behind sometimes, but most leave,” Willow answered. “They’re the first ones to know something’s coming. Well, them and earth-connected witches, like us.”
“I think you’re right. I think it’s tomorrow,” Sophie said.
Willow ran her hand over the back of the young redhead. “Are you scared? ‘Cause it’s okay if you are.” Sophie just nodded. Willow continued. “The battle will get loud and noisy. It’ll be scary.”
Sophie was quiet and appeared like she was going to say something, but stopped herself.
“You can say anything to me and your mom, you know that right? If you changed your mind, it’s okay a-and you don’t–”
“No.” Sophie shrugged. “I’m worried about the battle, yeah, but…”
“Go ‘head,” Willow encouraged her gently.
“I need you to make a promise, okay? If something really bad happens to me, you guys’ll take care of Zoe. It’s a nice shelter, but I don’t want her to go back there. She’s an old cat, and she needs our family.”
Willow smiled and bit her lip before she pulled her closer. “Zoe will be cared for no matter what. I promise. We gotta look out for our family, don’t we?”
Sophie nodded and smiled before she rested her temple on Willow’s shoulder.
“She’s old, huh?” Willow said casually as Sophie raised her head up again.
“She’s at least as old as Giles in cat years. He’s old.”
Willow giggled. “You know, the first time I met Giles, I was only about seven years older than you are right now.”
“Really?” Sophie asked. Willow just nodded. “You’ve been doing this a really really long time.”
“Yeah, Ma. You’re ancient,” they heard someone say from behind them. They both turned to see Rowena coming out of the house, also holding a cup.
Willow held up her cup for a moment. “But you’ll always be five years more ancient than me,” she replied. Rowena just smiled in response. “Hey,” Willow addressed Sophie, “Why don’t you get your teeth and hair brushed, and we’ll get breakfast going. Any requests?”
“Pancakes?” she asked hopefully.
“Funny shapes or rounds?”
“Surprise me!” Sophie said before she quickly made her way into the house.
“You got it,” she replied to their daughter’s retreating form. “And she’s off,” she said to Rowena.
Her wife took the spot their daughter had vacated.
“Honest,” Rowena said, “are you ready for it?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve made pancakes since Dawn was a bratty teen.” Willow smiled, and Rowena gave Willow the side eye for the evasive answer. “I am. I have my plan in place. Zorgy’s about to meet the real Willow Rosenberg, totem free.”
Cut To:
Black
“Duffy! No!”
Cut To:
Unknown
Unknown – Unknown
Beneath her billowing hair caught in the breeze, Aurora Winters looked ahead through eyes about to burst with tears, her mouth lightly hung open.
“Rorie, I have to,” Duffy Winters lightly gripped Aurora’s arm as she stood eye level with her sister.
“No!” Aurora furiously shook her head.
The two were oblivious to the fact that a flash of blue light shone past them, illuminating the cavern wall behind them.
“Listen to me.” Duffy gulped and squeezed Aurora’s arms. “Please, there’s not much time, listen…” She leaned in, her brow knitted, her eyes searching her ‘sister’s. She licked her lips. “…The Original Sin is going to burst through the portal behind me at any moment…”
“Then let me stop it!” Aurora pleaded. “I-I can do it! I can lock it away!”
“You’re my clone, Rorie, my sister, but you’re not a slayer.”
“But I—”
“And I am here to slay. Live. Laugh. Love.” Duffy leaned in and softly kissed Aurora on the cheek. As she stepped back, she simply said with a warm smile, “For me.”
In one swift motion, Duffy spun on the spot and launched into a sprint, revealing that she and Aurora were standing in a large cave. Duffy pounded the earth, arms pumping, breathing hard. Tears fell from her eyes and trailed behind her.
“Duffy, no!” Aurora screamed with her whole tear-wracked body.
Cut To:
Int.
Cavern – Same Time
A sharp flash of light and a reverberating gunshot felled a black robed figure, revealing Miles standing with a Colt Python raised.
He stepped forward, looking up, and swiftly removed his glasses, his face aghast.
“Duffy…”
Cut To:
Int.
Cavern – Same Time
Her arms writhing and palms outstretched, more robed assailants fell before Wisteria, her hair now pure white.
Then she looked back over her shoulder, eyes high.
“Duffy…”
Cut To:
Int.
Cavern – Same Time
A dark haired woman wearing a tank top rolled over a robed figure’s back, and then reached behind, grabbing and then slamming them to the cold, stony floor in dubiously performed suplex.
She sprung back to her feet, throwing her hair behind her and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
She looked up.
“Damn, D…”
Cut To:
Int.
Cavern – Same Time
A small blonde woman wielded a sword clearly too big for her. She swung at the robed figure that came for her. She ducked, she dodged, she dispatched.
Another figure crept up from behind her, raised its curved sword and brought it down and… met another sword with an audible clang of metal, which effortlessly swept it from the attacker’s grasp. The second sword then pierced all the way through the torso of the robed slasher and straight into the hard stone.
The woman turned and her face lit up. “Drew!”
“Enya!” the young, handsome blond man cried as he jogged to meet her, pulling her into a tight embrace, his well-coiffed hair bouncing as he did.
Then they quickly pulled away slightly, still holding each other, as they looked above. Together they said, “Duffy…”
Cut To:
Int.
Cavern – Same Time
Duffy reached to her hip with her right hand and produced a stake from her holster. A small smile burgeoned from her lips that gave way to a steely resolve. She planted her boot at the base of a large rock and then leapt.
“Duffy!” Aurora screamed at the top of her lungs, before collapsing to the cold, hard, dusty ground.
Fade To:
Int.
Cavern – Moments Later
Miles, Wisteria, Charity, Enya and Drew slowly approached Aurora as she clawed at the stone earth, on her knees, hunched over and sobbing.
“She… did it…” Miles said. He cast his head down, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“She closed the portal…” Drew, his arm wrapped around Enya, closed his eyes, his bottom lip quivering.
“Is she…” Enya began, looking around and then back up at Drew as he squeezed her tighter.
“No. No, she can’t be,” Charity replied with waning confidence.
“We need to get ready,” Wisteria stepped forward, her voice commanding their attention.
“Ready?” Miles asked, cocking his head all the way to the right, his ear meeting his shoulder.
“Assemble the other branches. We’re going to begin the search,” Wisteria replied. She stopped ahead of the group and bent down to Aurora and gently lifted her head up, her chin resting on her forefinger.
“S-search?” Aurora’s words were hoarse.
Wisteria softly smiled, “The search for Duffy”.” She took Aurora by the hand and they both stood. Then, after a beat, she looked back to the others. “We’re going to Hell…”
She stared the gang down. No one said anything. The most pregnant of pauses fell upon them, and after the longest beat, Wisteria’s eyes darted to Miles, whose eyes in turn went to Charity, who returned the look back to him before he served the glance over to Wisteria.
A furrowed brow appeared momentarily on her forehead, followed by a visible swallow Then, “Uh… c-cut? Cut?” a now out of character Rachel Bloom nervously asked.
“Yeah, cut?” Charity no more, Camila Luddington all but whispered.
“We cutting?” Annie Murphy called out.
Rachel turned to see Annie standing on a vivid blue crash mat before a masking tape line with a green screen backdrop.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Andrew Lincoln tossed Miles’s glasses across the soundstage and dropped his hip as he wiped his face with his hands.
“Wha-what’s happening?” Lucas Till unwrapped his arm from around Kate McKinnon, who stepped away from him and shook her shoulders.
“Who knows, dude?” Kate blew out a large raspberry and rotated her jaw.
“Hey? Hey! Mr. Wells?” Rachel called out, bobbing her head from side to side. “Are we…are we done?”
Whipping his headset off, eyes narrow, Andrew nonchalantly said, “I’ve had enough.” He dropped the headset on top of June’s open binder and marched off set. “Besides, I need to save the world. For real,” he muttered as he continued to walk away.
June stared down at the headset. Her breathing began to increase in frequency. Now hyperventilating, she spun on the spot to see the back of Andrew’s white blazer disappear through the soundstage door. Her eyes bulged, her mouth wide open. Then it closed. She swallowed. “Andrew, you get back here!” she screamed as she launched into a sprint.
The cast and crew just blinked.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial – Day
The towering hulk of the Slayer Memorial statue stood over the park-like cemetery below, her stake at the ready, her great arm outstretched. Toward one end of the park, the white amphitheater with its Memorial Wall fanned out. Each square of the marble wall carried the carved name of a fallen slayer. Rachel Jones. Rona Samuels. Marsha Parsons. Violet Joston. Marissa Stavros. Marie LeBouchard. Aileen Murdoch. Caitlyn Hall. Cindy Loomis.
Xander strode quickly and purposefully in front of this last name, breaking the tranquility of the scene. He was followed by a full team of workers and watchers, listening for his instructions.
“Okay, so we’re setting up the field headquarters in the trees on the west side,” he ordered decisively, without slowing down. “I want a trench all the way around this place, six feet deep, or as deep as we can make it in the time we have. Wide enough that your average demon can’t jump across it. We’re going to need weapon stores all throughout, not all in one place that can be overrun, okay? I want an exact perimeter of where we think the actual Hellmouth is, as best you can give me, and even before that’s done, I want you, Balkovich, to get your Merlin detector set up, and when you do, I want you to run it up the flagpole right away. Hatherley needs to know the moment there’s any spike in the ambient magic here.”
He stopped finally, having reached the top of the stairs from the amphitheater bowl and looking out toward the statue. He put his hands on his hips. Then he turned to the team following him.
“I want to be clear about something. This place is sacred. We’re not digging anything up inside the Memorial. We’re not putting in mines, none of that. These girls are defending the Hellmouth, even… even now, and we owe it to them to step up and help them out.” He paused, then took a deep breath. “And over here, I’m going to want…”
Cut To:
Int.
Kennedy and Kadin’s Cabin – Living Room – Day
Kennedy entered the living room and turned, putting her keys in the small bowl on the nearby foyer table. Kadin called out before she even had a chance to turn around.
“Did you talk to Norm and Shannon about Vanessa?” Kadin asked.
“I did,” Kennedy replied. “They’re still onboard with raising her if…”
Kadin paused. “I know you’re not happy with me at the moment. But I gotta be in this, too.”
“I’m worried. Not unhappy,” Kennedy said, turning around. “Big difference.”
“It’s not our first apocalypse.”
“For you, it’s the same. For me? Not so much.”
Kadin took a small breath as her resolve softened. “Slayer or not, you’re extremely powerful,” she said decidedly.
Kennedy seemed to ignore the remark. “Fine, but if the spell fails…”
“It won’t,” Kadin stressed.
“You don’t know that. Hell, I don’t know that, and it’s my damn idea. Cast with the last slayer in the original line, the first in the new line and the kids of the original caster, we’re kind of throwing everything against the wall and hoping something sticks. I’m giving up my first stake that I swore I would always keep no matter what. I’m sacrificing that part of myself. Faith, the kids and even the slayers assigned to guard us are sacrificing mementos too, just to cover all the possible bases, since they might be considered attached to the spell. So, yeah, in theory, sure, it should work. In real life? Maybe not so much. Maybe the symbolic sacrifices aren’t big enough.” She turned around again to face the door, holding it for support as she took her shoes off. “If those kids die and I survive somehow…I’m not mad. I’m worried.”
Kadin closed the distance and hugged Kennedy from behind. “I hear you. I do,” she said as she tightened her hold. “But I have hope because I know what you’re capable of. Willow knows, too.”
Kennedy leaned her head back so she was touching Kadin’s. “Thank you for trying to keep me grounded.”
Kadin snaked her tongue out and licked Kennedy’s earlobe briefly. “Rowena swears she can make Will more powerful. Need a boost?”
Kennedy began to grin and for the first time since their conversation, her shoulders fell and she let herself relax into Kadin’s arm. “I mean, it couldn’t hurt,” Kennedy said coyly.
She turned while still in her wife’s arms and their lips met. What started slowly began to build with more urgency. Kadin had just started to pull Kennedy’s blazer from her shoulders when the baby monitor went off with Vanessa’s cries. The two women pulled apart with a grin.
“To be continued?” Kennedy asked hopefully.
Kadin smirked and kissed her wife once more. “Most definitely.”
Cut To:
Int.
Apartment – Living Room – Morning
Brian, former Amazon warehouse worker, sat on an Eighties retro floral pattern sofa, just one item in the apartment filled with a hodgepodge of styles. In front of him was a glass coffee table and beyond that a bulky television, its image changing as he flipped through the channels. He tucked his left elven ear back under his emo bob.
“Cleveland is now as empty as it’s going to be,” a newscaster announced. Flip. “The Detroit and Chicago Council branches have placed slayer divisions in Toledo ahead of what they call–” Flip. “If you look behind me as I stand here on I-80 you’ll see the city in the distance and–” Flip. “Six-hundred and eighty-nine dollars! You’re the closest without going over!” Flip. “Area schools and businesses are closed until–” Flip.
Any channel surfing was forgotten as a bright green vortex began to open near the sofa. Brian quickly stood at attention, and seconds later Zorgy stepped through the portal, alone.
“Your highness,” he said with a small bow.
She strolled through the room looking at the decor. “Eighties couch, Nineties TV, Seventies coffee table. Looks like the end of the Twentieth Century threw up all over this place. All you’re missing is a bean bag chair and…” She pointed to the corner where she saw a blue bean bag. “Whadda ya know? There’s the Sixties.”
The young man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Been living off the grid, so the Goodwill down the road is the decorator. Why-What brings you by, Empress, if I may ask?” he asked nervously.
She smiled as she closed the distance between them. “Relax, dude. You did everything as instructed. I’m happy. At any point you could have run off to the Council and you didn’t.” She patted her chest twice with a closed fist. “Respect. You’re totally getting positive non-anonymised feedback.” She put her arm around him and said, “The battle is coming, and I need to know you’ll do whatever it takes to win this.”
“Without question, your highness.”
Zorgy smiled wider. “Good answer. Team player. I like that.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Watchers Council Mobile Command Center – Morning
Watchers, slayers, witches and other Council personnel bustled around the large tent serving as a Mobile Command Center near the Slayer Memorial. Shannon stood at a table, upon which a map of the area had been unfurled. Actually, it was a bunch of printer-size sheets of paper hurriedly taped together to form a larger image of the local survey map of the area.
Shannon stood hunched over the table, her face not showing any emotion. Still, the young watcher also standing by the table appeared extremely nervous.
“This is all we’ve got?” Shannon asked evenly.
“Y-yes, Slayer Matthewson,” the watcher stammered.
“Because the projected real-time display is broken for some reason?”
“Well, there was a required system update, and since then, we haven’t been able to get it to boot up.”
“At least the printers are working.”
“Um, actually, they’re pretty much all jammed. We had to break into the FedEx store on Detroit Avenue and commandeer their printers. Which, um, I was wondering if maybe you had a couple of slayers to spare to guard the…team…over there?” The young watcher started to trail off toward the end under the weight of Shannon’s level stare.
Then Shannon said, “We’ll talk more about the technology situation. So I guess that the plan is to move around little symbol pieces or whatever on the map during the battle.” She waited for a moment, while the watcher remained quiet. “You brought your case you always take to D&D, didn’t you?” The watcher nodded meekly. “Yeah, that tracks.”
As she said this, she turned to see her husband Norman standing at the edge of the tent, holding their son Kelvin’s hand.
“Have fun with all this,” she said to the watcher without turning around, then walked toward her family.
She kneeled down when she reached the two of them, and said, “Hi, Buddy. I thought you two would be on the evacuation bus already.” She shot Norman an annoyed look. “It’s not safe for you here.”
“We wanted to say bye,” Kelvin said, and he reached out and hugged his mom. Her eyes grew large and watery as she hugged him back.
“There are still a few buses left for the workers that are finishing set up. I needed to talk to you,” Norman said. “Hey, you want to go sit on that chair over there and play your game on my phone?” he said to Kelvin as the boy loosened his grip on his mother. The boy accepted Norman’s smartphone eagerly and gave his parents some space.
“Did you remember the extra power packs?” Shannon asked him, still looking at Kelvin. “You’re gonna need ’em.”
“What are you doing?” Norman asked, his voice suddenly hard.
Shannon blinked at him. “What?”
“You could literally lose your powers at any moment, and you’re going to just dive into battle anyway? This is insane, Shan. You…you have a son.”
Shannon’s eyes hardened slightly. “You know the deal. You’ve always known the deal. You know who I am.”
Norman shook his head, looking out at the woods around them. “I get that this is a lot at once for you. You were worried about losing your powers before it turned out the big invasion was going to come on your birthday. Maybe you think that all you have to offer is fighting. But you’re more than that. You’re the general now. Most generals don’t general from the front lines with a weapon in their hand these days.”
“This one does,” Shannon said, anger threatening at the edges of her voice.
“Why?” Norman insisted. “If you do this, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to lose your powers right in the middle of a fight. Why would you take that chance?”
“Because it’s the only way I know how to keep you guys safe!” Shannon raised her voice slightly. ”Then she took a deep breath and said more quietly, “If we lose this fight, it won’t matter how far you evacuate. I need to know that there’s a world where Kelvin is growing up and you’re taking care of him. That’s way more important than whatever happens to me.”
“You doing this doesn’t make that more likely!” Norman shot back.
“It has to! Because otherwise…” she sighed. “It has to. Norm, this is what I have to do.”
“No, it isn’t.” He shook his head again, then walked off toward where Kelvin sat nearby.
After getting most of the way there, Norman suddenly turned around and rushed back toward Shannon. When he got there, she started to open her mouth, but he just put his hands on her cheeks and brought her face towards his in a kiss. The kiss continued for several seconds, a little bit desperate, mouths searching each other, before Shannon pulled back and gradually realized that everyone else in the tent was staring at the two of them.
“Ewwww,” Kelvin commented.
“Be safe, okay?” Norman said. Shannon just nodded.
Cut To:
Int.
Buffy & Xander’s Apartment – Evening
Buffy came through the front door of her apartment, beginning to call, “Hey, I’m…” but stopped when she saw that the living room was empty.
She walked over to the kitchen and found it similarly vacant. She moved over to the hallway and made her way down toward the door of the nursery, which was opened a crack with light spilling out into the hall. She slowed as she neared and heard a voice inside.
She peeked through the crack and saw Emma sitting in a chair next to Joyce’s handmade wooden crib, with a tan book held open in front of her. The baby was quiet and seemed to be listening intently.
“And so when Summers got there,” Emma read from her notebook, in the sort of tone one might use when telling a story to a small child, “she realized what Moloch had been doing. He had built himself a robot body, so he could… well, all the stuff you do with a body, I guess. His technology was surprisingly advanced for the Nineties, but he was a demon so I guess whatever. And she tried to kick him, but she bounced right off because he was made entirely of metal. And then Rosenberg yelled at him, and the robot got really mad. He was going to do bad stuff but then…”
Buffy waited for a moment at the door, watching unseen as the story continued. A far-off look appeared in her eyes.
Cut To:
Int.
Giles House – Living Room – Evening
Many Years Earlier
Buffy sat in an easy chair in the Giles living room, with a toddler-aged Liz sprawled out on her stomach on the floor nearby, her head held up in her hands as she listened raptly.
“But even though it seemed like we had won, I was still worried that Spike had told Glory all about Dawn and who she was. I knew that if I just asked him, he wouldn’t tell me, so I decided that I had to be pretend to be the robot he had made so he would–”
“Aunt Buffy,” the young Liz interrupted, “why did Spike make a wobot you? You were there already.”
“Yes, Aunt Buffy,” Giles said pointedly, as he walked into the room carrying a glass of lemonade in each hand. “Why did Spike build a robot version of you?” He raised an eyebrow at his former pupil as he handed her one of the glasses, and she swallowed nervously. Liz sat up to receive her glass and waited expectantly for the answer as she took a sip.
“I-I am not responsible for what creepazoid dudes…” she attempted, but Giles’s gaze remained level. “Well, what you have to understand is, it was a different time. I hadn’t died yet. 9/11 hadn’t happened yet,” she babbled. “Did you know 9/11 happened while I was dead? I have either the best or the worst ‘where were you’ story, depending on your point of–”
“What’s 9/11?” Liz asked curiously. Giles’s other eyebrow went up.
“Candyland!” Buffy blurted suddenly. Both Giles and Liz stared at her in confusion. “He needed a robot so that he had somebody to play Candyland with. I was always busy patrolling, and he wanted someone to play with who…looked like me.”
Liz considered this for a moment, then nodded in apparent acceptance. Giles continued to stare at Buffy, and she hurriedly took a long swig of her lemonade.
“Where did I leave off?” she asked before taking another drink.
Giles smirked. “Spike needed a playmate.”
Buffy covered her face as lemonade shot from her nose. She began to cough as she said, “Sorry. Wrong pipe.”
Cut To:
Int.
Buffy & Xander’s Apartment – Return to Present Day
“…And that’s why, when you meet a guy on the Internet, always ask them for pics,” Emma continued to tell Joyce. “And then come ask me if the pic is kosher because I can always tell.” She closed her book and said, “I’m gonna look after you, kid. I promise.” The baby cooed in response.
Buffy cleared her throat and then stepped into the room. Upon seeing her watcher, Emma smiled.
“Thanks for watching her, Em. I know you probably have better things to do the night before a battle.”
The younger girl shrugged as she rose to her feet, then said, “Nah, it’s cool.” She looked down at Joyce in her crib. “What would I rather do than be with my family?”
Buffy grinned and said, “They’re calling about setup at the spell site. You ready?”
Emma nodded. “I’m super ready, actually. This is gonna be easy-peasy.”
Cut To:
Int.
Faith’s Apartment – Study – Day
Faith sat behind her desk. She was looking intently at a piece of paper, her eyes scrunched as if trying to concentrate on it. Nearby, Nikki was pacing.
“Liz is pretty hurt,” the teen was saying as she walked. “She wanted in on this one, and Alex, man, he was really upset. I don’t know if it bothers him more that he’s not in this fight or that they picked his kid siblings over him. He was mad and–”
Faith took a deep breath and rolled her eyes.
“Goddamn it, Nikki!” Faith shouted. “Shut the hell up!”
Faith shot to her feet and grabbed Nikki by the front of her shirt. She slapped her across the face. Hard. Then she followed it up with a backhand.
“I don’t have time for your teen angst shit!”
Faith pushed her away, and Nikki fell to the floor with a crash and a bloody nose. She whimpered as she began to scoot away in fear from her mom, who closed her eyes.
Flash To:
Int.
Faith’s Apartment – Study – Same Time
Faith was still seated at the desk, her eyes closed. When she opened them, she found Nikki still pacing behind her and rambling. She released a sigh of relief.
Nikki continued speaking, “All I know is Alex–”
“You need to leave,” Faith told her firmly.
“What?” Nikki asked.
“Get out of here now!” Faith ordered her.
At first, Nikki’s eyes went wide at the angry outburst. Then they narrowed.
“I-I’m sorry. That was mean,” Faith said immediately and apologetically. For a few seconds no one spoke, until Faith continued, “This is really important. I’m trying to memorize it, and it’s hard when there’s distractions around.”
Nikki frowned and moved toward the door. “Don’t worry, I won’t be a distraction,” she said as she left.
Faith rose from the desk but stayed rooted to the spot as she watched Nikki leave. A hurt expression hung on her face. She took a deep breath and began to move her head around, as if trying to release a growing pain or tension. She took another deep breath and reached for the paper. She began to read again as she re-took her seat.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Hallway – Day
Willow quickly approached a dark-haired young man. Behind him stood five others – three women and two men. She extended her hand as she closed the distance. He seemed reluctant at first, but extended his hand nonetheless.
“Ms. Rosenberg,” he began, “thank you for seeing us. We realize you don’t know us–”
Willow pointed directly at him and said, “Dirk Stenson? Right? Faith Lehane spoke very highly of you.” Immediately, he looked more alarmed. “It’s okay. You’re safe. As are the rest of your coven,” she reassured. “She said you might be stopping by since you helped her earlier this year with her, uh, project.”
She motioned them to follow her, which they did, but not without a bit of trepidation.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Gymnasium – Moments Later
Willow walked in first with Dirk, who was then followed by his coven. As he walked inside the large gymnasium, his eyes widened, and he turned around briefly to look at his coven members, who looked equally impressed.
In organized circles throughout the gymnasium were a multitude of other covens. Some appeared in classic goth garb, while others looked like soccer moms and dads. There were also some other young adults like themselves who were casually dressed in T-shirts and denim jeans.
“Welcome to the front line,” Willow told the newcomers, who stood behind her while she faced the room.
Dirk took a step closer and asked in wonderment, “Is this all the other covens in Cleveland?”
“Nah,” she replied as she turned to face him. “This is one gymnasium, but there are other covens in the second gym and outside in the courtyard.”
Dirk continued to look amazed. “I knew there were other witches, but I didn’t know there were this many.”
“Oh, sure there are,” Willow replied. “We…the Council have been following these groups for quite some time. Yours included. While it would be wonderful to bring everyone into the Council, they also understand that you are permitted to practice however you please, as long as you do no harm.”
The witch seemed hesitant at first but then said, “So you’re not going to shut us down after this is all over?”
“Well, first off, I’m not going to do anything,” Willow told him. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news, but I quit the Council. I don’t work here anymore.” The members of the coven stared at her, so she quickly said, “It’s a really long story. But even so, I won’t lie – I’d like to see the Council coven stronger, with more groups across the country, a-and across the globe. That means that while they hope you would strongly consider joining the Council in some fashion, it’s not a requirement. For now, our only focus is survival. That’s why I decided to be here, a-and I assume that’s why you’re here, too?”
Dirk nodded, along with members of his coven.
“Wonderful,” Willow answered. “So it turns out there are some areas none of us are allowed to visit since they’re locked, but I’m told you’re welcome to enjoy any of the public and personnel facilities we…the Council has, like the dining hall, fitness gym or the media rooms. Just please make sure your coven stays together, in case you’re needed immediately. Sound good?”
Dirk was now smiling, as were his other coven members.
“Yes, High Priestess,” he answered respectfully.
Willow grinned and gave him a nod in return. “It’s said an army travels on its stomach, so let’s get you folks fed first, okay?”
Willow didn’t wait for an answer. She just motioned them to follow her.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Dining Hall – Moments Later
Willow walked in and then started to point to all the food stations while she also handed out ID badges to each member who entered. “Food is free. Just let them scan your badge because it helps the Council keep track of supplies.”
“I have a question,” one woman asked as she raised her hand.
“Certainly, Odessa,” Willow replied.
The woman seemed surprised that Willow knew her name, and she grinned nervously. “When will we get our phones back? They took them when we came in.”
“Yeah, it won’t be until after the battle, sorry. Empress Zorgy is tracking the Council’s devices, including mine, so as a precaution we’re not allowing any modern technology outside of our containment room. I promise once this is over, which we guess, hope, will be in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, you’ll have access again. Any other questions?” While Willow’s tone wasn’t rude, she was straightforward, as if she wasn’t going to debate the topic. Odessa and the others simply shook their heads. “Okay then,” she said as she nodded to the two slayers standing by the entrance doors. “See those slayers? Skye Talisker is going to be overseeing your coven during your stay. She’ll address any questions, so just ask those slayers to reach her, and she’ll be in touch as soon as she can.”
“Isn’t Skye…?” Dirk started to say.
“My quasi-sister-in-law, yes,” Willow teased. “And the resident vamp, also yes,” she added. “She’s quite skilled, and even saved my son recently, so you’re in good hands. Anything else?” When they all shook their heads, Willow motioned behind her. “Great! Grab your chow and sit where you like!”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Dining Hall – Moments Later
Dirk and the other coven members all took a seat at the table at the same time with various foods on each of their trays. At first, no one said anything. They just looked at the mountain of food on their plates and then each other.
“Okay,” Odessa said, breaking the silence, albeit in a whispered voice. “Is this place the shit or what? They’ve got everything! I can see why Lehane came back.”
“Then why’s Rosenberg leavin’, huh? Let’s remember,” Dirk told her, “all of this is just temporary.” Some coven members nodded at the comment, while others looked at Odessa for her response.
“But why does it need to be?” Odessa asked. Those coven members who had turned to her started to nod.
“We have our freedom,” Dirk replied.
“We live in a condemned house,” she countered. “We dumpster dive some weeks to eat. So how much freedom do we really have?”
“We don’t have to do the Council’s bidding,” he argued.
“What bidding? Like saving the world? Rosenberg said they need coven members here, and even worldwide. We could go to Europe or Asia or, hell, a two-story that won’t collapse on us on Euclid Avenue.”
“Don’t lose focus,” Dirk stressed. “We need to save the world first. Agreed?”
With that comment, everyone nodded in response.
Cut To:
Int.
Huntington Center Arena – Toledo, Ohio – Evening
The stage area was arranged with the Council’s shield of arms along with several different flags from local, state and national agencies. Behind the podium stood Jim Pollan. The floor, below the stage, was filled with news reporters from local, state and national broadcasters.
Jim listened as a female reporter asked, “It’s been forty-eight hours since the city of Cleveland was evacuated and nothing has happened. Has the plan changed?”
“Patience is a virtue, Patty,” Jim told her with a slight grin. “In all seriousness, we don’t have an exact timetable, but we know it will be soon. As a precaution, the National Guard is still waiting in the larger populated areas outside of Cleveland.”
“Is it true nuclear weapons are going to be used?” another reporter asked.
“No,” Jim replied. “We’re trying to save the world, not destroy it.” He then pointed to someone else.
“Many businesses and community leaders want to know when they will be able to go home and how long you’re willing to wait for something to happen?”
Three other reporters began to speak at once. “This can’t go on indefinitely,” one called out, while a second said, “Lives can’t be put on hold,” as the third said, “Think of the lost revenue you people are causing with this charade.”
Jim didn’t reply to them. He turned to the assistant beside him and softly said, “Is it too late to say I want to battle against the hell goddess instead? That’s probably easier than this.”
She grinned for just a second and then pushed it down.
Cut To:
Int.
Vor – Zorgy’s Palace – Same Time
Zorgy walked through another ebony hallway of her vast palace, Krog just behind her.
“General Gordolak says his divisions are in place,” Krog was saying. “That should mean that your full army is in readiness, Empress.”
“I personally had thought we were all agreed on the readiness happening this morning,” Zorgy said with a sigh, not looking over at her lieutenant. “But hey, all’s well that doesn’t end well, I always say.”
“Empress, are you…” Krog hesitated as the pair kept walking. “Do you remain steadfast in proceeding with your plans regarding your own involvement in the invasion?”
Zorgy finally spared him a glance. “Aww, are ya worried about me, Krogsy? Well, don’t be. This whole thing will be over soon, I deserve to have a little fun while it lasts.”
The pair of them walked into another large room, this one with the reflections of underwater lighting playing over the marble walls. The center of the room was filled with what looked like a large swimming pool. In the center of the pool, one of her large green portals swirled, half submerged. Nearby, one demon mage was clumsily assisting another with putting on a set of diving equipment.
“The Council…they’re acting funny,” she told him. “I know them, I know all about them. I know them too well to think they don’t have something up their sleeves. So I figure, I need something up my sleeve. An ace in the hole.”
Having completed putting on his suit, the demon mage dove into the pool. When he was fully immersed, he kicked forward through the portal. With a flash of green light, he found himself underneath the surface of a much larger body of water. Beneath him were several other mages, all wearing diving equipment. They were setting up contraptions of metal and stone on the bed of the lake, each spaced a few dozen yards apart. The contraptions were arranged in a large circle. A very large circle. It could have fit a football field inside of it.
V.O., Zorgy: “Or an ace under the water, you could say. Or I could say. I’ve got a lot going on, you’ll have to excuse the half-baked banter.”
Above the surface of Lake Erie, the only sign of what was taking place beneath was a faint green glow of a portal. The skyline of Cleveland rose up in the distance.
End of Act One