Act 5
Resume:
Ext.
City Street – Continuous
The colossal hulking Mi’ke strode past an apartment block as Marsha beat her wings together faster and faster as she closed the distance between her and Mi’ke. The huge monster reared back and sent flames at the dragon. Marsha appeared more like a fighter pilot than a dragon. She lurched to one side, practically flying sideways as the flames shot past her. She took the opportunity to return fire. Demons and slayers alike paused for the briefest of moments as they watched the battle between the two titans unfold.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council Los Angeles – Coven Room – Same Time
At the far end of the Los Angeles branch’s Coven Room, the Coven stood huddled around, their backs to their High Priest as he made his way over.
The group parted to allow Andrew to stand in front of the monitor. He watched open mouthed with a surprised Tracey beside him, and June standing behind. Slowly, he took a seat.
“It is truly unbelievable scenes in Cleveland, Ohio tonight as a…” the news anchor’s words gave way to a male coven member.
“Godzilla…” he muttered.
Andrew winced and began to shrilly whine, but it soon subsided as Tracey put a hand on his chest.
“It’s okay, sweetie, it’s okay,” she comforted and then looked at the fellow coven member. “He’s very sensitive when it comes to Godzilla.”
“It-it’s not Godzilla, Godzilla lives in Japan and in saltwater! Lake Erie is freshwater! FRESHWATER!” Andrew bleated, throwing up his hands.
“Everyone knows that,” June barked back at the man and shooed him away from Andrew. “Give him some space, my God.” The man, now a few steps back, provided June the space he’d occupied for herself. She was now practically on top of Andrew, much to Tracey’s amusement.
“… wait, the-there’s a vehicle! A vehicle has now turned onto the highway between the rampaging lizard and the dragon. Oh, Hank, this is bad. Our thoughts and prayers go out to that poor driver…”
“Wait, look at that van logo…” Tracey leaned forward, pointing and peering at the screen.
“Umm… it’s…” Andrew started, leaning forward and shifting his weight in his canvas chair.
“It’s S.P. – Stoned Platypus,” June said, her voice cracking in disbelief.
Slowly, both Andrew and Tracey turned to her.
“You know Stoned Platypus?” Tracey asked, in such a way that it did not actually sound like a question. “The young indie band that our friends’ kids play in?”
“Hell yeah, they’re cool AF.” June sharply tilted her head toward Tracey. “I’m a Patreon.”
Tracey blinked, shook her head and looked back to the screen, exhaling incredulously.
“Umm, I think we better…yeah…” Andrew said as he started to rise.
“W-wait, what’s happening?” June asked.
“Hey, yeah, sorry, excuse me, thanks,” Andrew said as he waded through the crowd, which filled back in as he went through. “Anyone not a coven member needs to leave this space. Now!”
“What is happening?” June asked again, sounding anxious.
As Andrew walked, he motioned the gathering to follow him. He opened the door and everyone not invited began to file out peacefully. Everyone except one person.
“Andrew, n000000000!” June screamed, shaking her head, her folder clanging on the floor, like a madwoman. “I’m your right hand! You need me!”
Tracey shot her a glare. “He’s my husband!”
Crestfallen, hands now clutched to her chest, June said, sniffing. “He’s my everything.”
Tracey raised and dropped her hands, then said “Jesus” in frustration.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Command Center – Same Time
A young watcher pressed down several times on the switch of a landline phone, its handset still held between his shoulder and his ear. Despite his efforts, there was no dial tone.
“Landlines are down!” he called over to Grace and Rowena. “The big lizard must have stomped on it.”
Grace ran a hand over her face, but said nothing.
Cut To:
Int.
Slayer Spell Staging Area – Same Time
Emma looked out the window of the fifth story, her view partly obscured by the cut power line sputtering and sparking along the side of the building.
Inside the room, Faith and Kennedy were continuing to argue over the knife, but Charlotte was paying enough attention to sign toward her, “Watch out, Emma, it’s dangerous!”
Emma did not pay the girl any heed. Out the window, she saw Marsha lying next to the broken slayer statue, trying and failing to get up. No longer needing to fight the dragon, Mi’ke had turned… directly toward the building where Emma and the rest of the spell group were now. The ground again shook as the enormous lizard came toward them. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw Marsha start to get airborne again although her flight appeared to be a bit labored now.
She stuck her head out the window, completely ignoring the wildly sparking and dancing powerline. Below, Buffy and the rest of the current and former slayers at the foot of the tower were engaged in a desperate battle with attacking demons.
As the two Rosenberg children stayed cross-legged on the floor, Kennedy paced back and forth, while Faith stood, looking exasperated.
“You know I’m right,” Faith said, her tone almost begging.
“Again, we are not killing anyone,” Kennedy insisted. “Including you…As much as I would like to, because you’re driving me nuts.”
“Nuts aside, maybe that’s why I’m back here now.”
This made Kennedy stop pacing. “What?” she asked flatly.
“Maybe it’s not Grace who’s the key to all of this. Maybe it’s my life that needs to be sacrificed. What if…what if that’s why I’m here? What if that’s why the angels brought me back?”
Kennedy, her face very serious, took several steps forward and took Faith by the shoulders with both hands. “Faith, listen to me. I am not onboard with killing anyone. Not you. Not anybody.”
“I am. It’s the least I can do, if it means saving Nikki and Robin and you and them,” Faith said, motioning to the kids before waving her hands around the room, “and everyone else on this crazy marble. We need to stop her. Slick, you’re a slayer. Sometimes, slaying’s what the world needs.”
“‘I’m not a slayer, and neither are you, not yet,” Kennedy said firmly. “That’s the whole point. We just need more time.”
The next shake of the building pushed the children to their sides and nearly took Faith and Kennedy off their feet.
“Time is running short, Slick.”
Kennedy hung her head. “I know.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Downtown Cleveland Highway – Platybus – Same Time
Through the smeared windscreen, the streaking lights illuminated the inside of the Platybus, revealing an intensely pensive Liz in the driver’s seat, furiously chucking the steering wheel from left to right to swerve around the mix of demons and debris.
“Liz is at the wheel,” Martin remarked. “Anybody bring Dramamine?”
In the passenger seat, his petrified mouth hung agape, gripping the grab handle and holding the cooler. Behind, holding onto the backs of both seats, Jen managed to steady herself like a surfer. Further behind still was Alex, bouncing up and down. Beside him sat Nikki, frantically trying to keep the equipment and instruments in their cases and in place.
“Like, I know we’re not the best with the whole following rules thing—” Jen began, the sound of news helicopters overhead only adding to the din.
“No, you guys don’t follow the rules!” Martin belted as Liz took another hard left. “I follow the rules! I love rules! I am pro–”
Jen slapped the back of his head. His annoyed howl was drowned out by the sound of a roar echoing down the street, before she said, “–But can I just say, before you kill us, and then before our parents resurrect us like Aunt Buffy so they can just kill us again…this is a terrible idea, Liz, terrible.”
“Terrible!” Nikki screamed as the hi-hats in the back of the van clashed.
“Come on, Jen, you’re a slayer, you wanted to be at the big fight!” Liz cajoled her friend. “So here we are!”
Liz scrunched her face as she turned her head to see Marsha swoop low over the road in the adjacent main street, hotly followed by of one Mi’ke’s massive front feet, the asphalt erupting out of the ground under his gait.
Liz threw the van into an alley.
“Stoned Platypus never misses a gig. Ever. Except that one time,” Liz said calmly, even as the van violently shook as it barrelled down the alley, taking out several trash cans and cardboard boxes.
“What one time, Liz? Which?!” Nikki shouted as she shoved a trumpet behind a net compartment.
“Oh, stop acting like you don’t remember!” Liz shot back, her eyes briefly darting to the rear view mirror to meet Nikki’s. “Some roadie you are, forgetting my guitar. Deliberately!”
“Don’t steal my eyeliner then!” Nikki howled.
“Hey guys,” Alex interrupted, “we’re not assigned to any team. If we get there, what are we gonna do?!” He yelped as a guitar case fell in front of him, which he then pushed toward Nikki.
“Our thing!” Liz shouted to the back row and swerved into the next street. “And it’s not if we get there, Alex, but rather when we get there. And we’re getting there so help me…” Liz brought the van to screeching halt. “…God,” she finished as everyone in the van leaned forward to look out the front windshield.
Now before them strolled Mi’ke, his enormous tail swinging, his colossal form backlit by the flames Marsha spewed to keep his attention.
“They brought a giant lizard?” Jen exclaimed, “And a dragon? That’s overkill, if you ask me.”
“No,” Nikki said excitedly. “That’s not their dragon. That’s Marsha!”
Liz threw the vehicle in reverse. “I’ll take your word for it, Nik, ’cause we’re not sticking around to find out for sure.” She turned and slammed to a stop at the end of the road before putting the van in drive again.
“So,” Jen began, “What is our thing? I mean, I’m a slayer. That’s my thing. Do any of you have a thing, or am I babysitting here?”
The rest of the group looked annoyed, but Liz grinned. “Now, Jen, don’t sell your brother short. Unlike mine, Alex has a thing—”
“I have a thing,” Martin said meekly, looking offended.
“—Alex can do his bubble thing!” Liz finished.
Martin still looked dejected and muttered, “I read and speak more bloody languages than everyone in this van combined. Human and demon, thank-you-very-much.”
The guitar case had returned, and Alex wrestled with it, eventually throwing it right to the back with Nikki’s help. Free, he glared back toward the front and shouted, “I don’t think Vor has guns with bullets, Liz!”
“Marty, hand me my bag,” Liz asked cooly.
“But you’re driv—” was all Martin got out.
“The bag, Mister Rosetta Stone, my bag!” Liz yelled in a single breath, all the words running together
Reaching down into the leg well of the passenger seat, he retrieved her bag and placed it on her knees begrudgingly.
Eyes still on the road, Liz took one hand off the wheel, veering left and right as Mi’ke’s spiked tail cleaved into the sides of buildings on either side of the street, showering rubble onto the highway. She rummaged through the bag until she found what she was looking for. After a momentary smile, she slung it backwards toward Alex.
“Oww!” Alex recoiled, the item hitting him in the face before falling into his lap. He picked it up, finding a paper cylinder. “Why did you give me this?”
“It’s a tampon,” Liz said dryly. “You’re welcome, I got you.”
Alex held it up. “Is this some joke about my masculinity, ’cause I’m not taking the bait?”
“No goofball, it’s for your nosebleeds,” Liz replied.
“Oh my Goddess! That hasn’t happened since I’ve been totem free,” Alex shrieked and threw it back at Liz with flappy hands and arms. The tampon instead hit Jen right in the ear. She slowly turned to him and snarled, picked it up and threw it back at him. As it reached him, Alex threw up his hands and, with a brief sparkle and a puff of dust, the tampon transformed into a foam finger. It floated into Nikki’s face, and she batted it to one side.
“See! That’s your thing, Alex! That’s what I’m talking about!” Liz whooped. “Quick, get those tampons in, boy!” She threw another back to him.
“Look,” Alex said, pointing to his face. “I’m not bleeding!”
Liz turned to Alex. “I stand corrected.”
“Liz, the tail!” Martin screamed, pointing ahead.
Liz’s head shot back in time to see Mi’ke standing still, his back to them as he launched a concentrated stream of fire at Marsha ahead of him, his enormous tail directly in their path.
Without hesitation, Liz slammed the wheel to one side. The Platybus skidded sideways, narrowly passing Mi’ke’s tail at a ninety degree angle. Liz then flung the wheel all the way in the opposite direction, and the van spun completely around while traveling directly under the hulking beast’s long torso. The vehicle went up on one set of wheels as it spun, just barely avoiding tipping all the way over. Still spinning, the Platybus passed between two redwood-dwarfing front legs, before finally coming to a stop directly facing Mi’ke, directly between him and Marsha.
The building-sized lizard stared down at them, looking slightly confused.
“Oh…” Liz mouthed quietly.
“Liz!” the gang collectively shouted.
“Kids, please, I’ve got my driving hat on. We’re fine!”
“Geez, how many hats do you have?!” Nikki cried.
“Car stealing hat. Sneaking out hat…” Martin began rattling off.
Jen pointed at the helmet. “My hat that Aunt Grace gave me.”
“Hey, I’ve got more hats than Nikki’s mom has convictions and even more than Jen and Alex’s has wigs,” Liz retaliated.
A thunderous clap sent the van up in the air and then falling heavily back to earth, as Mi’ke slammed his foot down directly behind them.
“Liz!” they all screamed.
“Okay, okay, driving!”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Command Center – Same Time
Watchers manned several terminals with laptops and earpieces. Each screen showed a different vantage point of somewhere on the battlefield.
“Gwen?” Rowena’s voice crackled through the earpiece in the woman’s ear. “Can you see the lake monster, copy?”
Her eyes shifted between two side-by-side monitors. One showed Willow and Zorgy trading shots, while the other showed Mi’ke lumbering through Cleveland.
Cut To:
Ext.
Battlefield – Cleveland Street
“Roger that,” Gwen replied as she tried to move through the mass of slayers and demons going toe-to-toe. “Lemme guess? You want me to barbecue this overgrown lizard?”
“Please,” Rowena replied. “And fast. Jeff’s Tarot reading said electricity is key in this fight, so get it done.”
Instinctively, Gwen raised her arm to push a demon away, only to remember too late that it was broken and yelled out, “Son of a bitch!”
“Gwen?” Rowena’s worried voice crackled over the earpiece.
“One sec,” she said as she took off her glove and grabbed the demon, frying him instantly. As he fell, she rose. “On my way,” she told her.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
Demons continued to run from the still-expanding portals at the center of the battlefield. Krog stepped through, his massive sword in hand. His steps were leisurely by comparison to the other demons, as if he was out for a midday stroll, with no sense of fear or urgency. He paused and took in his surroundings. Metal rang on metal, and screams could be heard in all directions. He looked down at the body of a dead red-headed slayer, staring sightlessly up at the night sky. He nodded in approval before taking his first step over the body.
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
“Networking, huh?” Willow replied. “Lemme guess. They have wings, bad tempers…iron deficient?”
“They wanted to join the fun,” Zorgy said and then gave a non-committal shrug. “So I set them up.”
Willow considered her words and then said, “Tidor’s Spell. That’s how you set them up. Okay, but you know what you’ve given can be taken away, right?”
“Yeah,” Zorgy agreed, “but what human or demon magic wielder is willing to die to remove it? You?”
Willow seemed to sincerely consider the question. “No.”
“Exactly. You’re screwed,” Zorgy retorted. “All your virtue signaling doesn’t mean shit when the rubber really hits the road, huh?”
Willow paused again with a look of contemplation. “Maybe. Or maybe I realize I can’t do it all.”
Cut To:
Int.
Council Field Command Center – Same Time
Dawn quickly turned to Skye and Jeff nearby. “I need to do a locator spell. Now,” she shouted. She then looked over at Matthew, Yuze and Ned. “You three!” she yelled at them, pointing. Matthew then pointed, first at himself, then at all of them, asking for clarification. “Yes, come here!”
When they started to walk casually over, Dawn insisted, “Now! Before the end of the world!” and then they started to run toward her. “Teens are so annoying sometimes.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
“Seriously, you aren’t just screwed. You’re…royally screwed,” Zorgy taunted the witch. “Get it? ‘Cause I’m screwing you with an actual royal.” Willow did not reply. “I thought it was pretty good,” Zorgy groused.
Before the demon empress could get back into fight mode, Willow moved fast and, before she knew it, Zorgy was on the pavement, face down, with Willow raising a leg to stomp on her. As she lowered her leg, however, Zorgy disappeared and Willow’s foot smashed into the blacktop. Suddenly, Willow’s back arched as Zorgy materialized behind her in an instant, slamming the redhead in the kidney. Willow dropped to her knees.
Zorgy snapped her fingers, and a black thread appeared and, with several quick stitches, sewed up Willow’s lips shut. She grabbed at her face, her yell smothered. With a few more finger movements from Zorgy, a glowing rope slithered around Willow’s legs like a noose and pulled tight in an instant. The distracted witch pitched forward onto her face on the pavement. Zorgy whistled a jaunty tune, possibly something by Taylor Swift. She casually leaned down, grabbed the end of the rope closest to her, and tugged.
The rope flew through the air, with far greater force than Zorgy apparently applied to it, and wrapped around a nearby light pole. Willow was dragged along the pavement, face down, until she ended up hanging from the pole by her feet.
“Who wants to play with the piñata?” Zorgy asked. She materialized a baseball bat in her hands. “Anybody?” She looked around, fully aware no one would answer. “Okay, just me then?”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Command Center – Same Time
One of the screens at the command center showed Willow suspended from the pole, Zorgy skipping toward her with the bat. Rowena’s terrified eyes were fixed on the screen.
“Where is the slayer guard on Rosenberg?” Rowena demanded.
Jackson turned to her. “We had to reinforce the two spell sites.”
“Get someone there now!” she ordered.
Jackson nodded.
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
Zorgy twirled the bat around as she closed the distance toward the still-upside-down Willow.
“It’s hard to cast when you can’t talk, huh?” Zorgy teased. The demon let loose and slammed the bat into Willow’s back. “Damn, no candy yet, but I got two more tries.”
Willow slapped her palms together as Zorgy took her next swing. Before she could connect a second time, the rope disappeared, and Willow fell toward the street, landing hard on her arm and shoulder. Zorgy raised the bat and swung, connecting with her again. She raised the bat once more, and this time Willow rolled until she was several feet away.
The witch put her hands together and then rubbed her lips. When she opened her hands, the thread was gone, and her lips were free again. Zorgy raced toward her, but when she tried to hit Willow for a third time, the bat rebounded and hit Zorgy in her own shoulder. It had bounced off a glowing aura that now surrounded Willow’s body.
The demon scowled as she dropped the bat and sent a barrage of light blasts toward Willow. Hit after hit, the light around Willow began to weaken until it was gone. Zorgy had raised her hand to strike again when a postal mailbox raced toward the demon. She saw it coming and deflected it with ease. Willow was on her hands and knees, breathing hard as Zorgy circled her.
“Now, where were we?” Zorgy asked as she raised her hands again. “Oh yeah. Beating you into submission so you can watch me kill your family.” She looked at an imaginary watch. “Speaking of…shouldn’t they be here soon?”
An almighty crackle of thunder boomed through the deserted street and square into Zorgy’s side, lifting her off her feet, into the air, and smashing through one of the then-remaining windows of a building opposite.
A block away, Gwen stood with one arm outstretched, her fingers crooked as the electricity fizzled out. “From a distance, bitch.” She blew out a breath. “You got this, Will, get up.” She then resumed running towards the quaking mass of Mi’ke.
Cut To:
Ext.
Street in Front of Spell Staging Area – Same Time
“You feeling anything?” Mia called over to Buffy. She sent off a wild crossbow shot that went far over the heads of the attacking demons, then ducked back down behind a fallen trash can next to Buffy.
“No, nothing,” Buffy said. “I think something’s wrong.”
“You think?!” Mia groaned. She looked over her shoulder at the demons, then back at Buffy. “This is really taking me back, how ’bout you?”
Cut To:
Int.
Spell Staging Area – Same Time
Emma looked over to another part of the battlefield, beyond Mi’ke lumbering toward them, to see the slayers protecting the hellmouth spellcasters fighting their own battle against attackers. Several were running from demons attacking on huge mounts. She watched one girl take an axe in the back from one of the riders and pitch forward onto her face.
The powerline twisted across the face of the window again, forcing Emma back slightly. Down near the statue she saw Kadin and Shannon, doing their best to rally the Council troops against attacking fairies. The opposition moved at incredible speed, however, slicing through the Council forces like butter.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
Now on her own and entirely blue, Kadin fought her way through the battle with blades in both hands. After slashing down one attacking demon, she whipped around, as if sensing something. The warring armies parted before her at that moment, and at the other end of the opening stood the Fairy Queen, her shining sword stained red. The two women looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, then strode toward each other through the battle.
“Your existence is mine by right,” said the Queen. She didn’t seem to be raising her voice, but Kadin had no trouble hearing her. “Should I spare your life and let you serve me for eternity, knowing your family and your species have been eradicated beneath the boots I have you clean with your tongue? Or should I simply cut you in half?”
Instead of responding, Kadin started running toward the Queen, and as she did, she completely transformed into her blue monster form over the course of a few strides. She went from running on two legs to running on four seamlessly.
The Queen shook her head. “Why do I keep giving humans choices?” she wondered out loud. Then she brought her sword around to meet the charging Kadin, who stopped it cold with her claws.
Not far away Shannon was keeping the fairies at bay, but it did little to stop their numbers. She had just kicked a fairy into a hedge behind them when she heard Skye’s voice.
“Can you hear me, Lil Sis?” the vampire asked.
“Go ahead, Skye,” Shannon said.
“Look for some scared rubes who seem outta place. Tell me when ya spot ’em.”
Shannon began to look around the battle as she ducked and weaved around a fairy’s attack. She spotted Matthew, Ned and Yutz inching closer to the battle with trepidation and worried expressions on their faces.
“I see ’em,” she called back.
“Cool,” Skye replied. “You’re gonna help ’em play keep away.”
Shannon punched a fairy square in the face as it flew toward her before asking, “Keep away?”
“Yeah, Dawn has a way to deal with your invincible fairy problem, but she needs the geek squad to bring it.”
Matthew, Ned and Yutz tried their best to duck and weave between the slayers and monsters battling the fairies. When they were a few yards away, Shannon nodded at them. Matthew reached out his hands and closed his eyes as Ned and Yutz stood on either side of him, protecting him from attack.
Shannon had raised her sword to block the Queen’s strike when suddenly the Queen’s sword turned into a snake. The fairy looked at it in confusion, but she didn’t drop it. She looked around the area and that’s when she saw a group of slayers had surrounded the witch trio.
“Stupid mortals,” she chastised them. “You think your parlor tricks will stop me?”
The snake reared back and struck the Queen in the face. In response, she dropped it to the ground.
Immediately, Shannon picked it up and tossed the snake toward Matthew as the Queen wiped her face. The two of them watched it fly through the air. The Queen went to give chase, but Shannon snagged her around the waist, bringing her to the ground.
The snake continued to sail through the air and Yutz raised his hand to make the snake transform into a paper airplane. Ned jumped up, and caught it, as Matthew released a sigh.
Ned held it in the air in triumph, and Matthew screamed, “TRANSMOG, BITCH!” before he pulled Ned into an embrace, dipping him back and planting a long passionate kiss.
Yutz rolled his eyes. “Can we skip the V-J Day celebration until after we win?”
Matthew and Ned pulled away from each other and looked to Yutz before the three of them turned back to see the Queen struggling out of Shannon’s grip in the hopes of getting her footing. Back upright, Ned shoved the paper in his pocket, and they all broke into a run, with three slayers following them for protection.
“Get that parchment from those boys!” the Queen yelled from her knees to any fairy who would listen.
Many fairies were wrapped up in their own battles, but a couple heard the call and gave chase toward where she pointed. The trio worked their way into the battle, bodies and discarded weapons lying all around them. The fairies continued to follow along, watching them in the mass of humans and creatures.
The three of them nodded and pushed off in three different directions, forcing the fairies to split up. After several steps into the fray, the fairies soon found themselves standing face-to-face with each other, no witches in sight. They looked back through the crowd, but the boys were gone. Only slayers and demons filled the area.
Their queen appeared beside them, and they gave a small bow of respect.
“Where are they?” she demanded.
“I-I don’t know, your majesty,” one stuttered.
Without asking, the Queen took the sword from the closest fairy. “Bring back my sword,” she said through gritted teeth. “We have a world to conquer.”
With a quick nod, they scurried off.
Cut To:
Ext.
City Street – Same Time
Taking SlayBae and Anisha’s idea, the team of slayers from The Stake & Crossbow came out in two squares, with twelve women per square for three slayers in four rows each. With trash can lids as impromptu shields, the slayers began their march towards the street.
When the attacking Vor demons began to charge, the first line would push them back with their shields and duck. Then the women behind them stepped forward and drove their swords into their enemies. They continued the practice until mere feet became yards, and soon they found themselves in the middle of the conflict.
“Holy shit!” SlayBae said. “It’s working!”
When they finally found a break in the onslaught of demons coming toward them, they managed to separate into their own sections and take on more of the demons hand-to-hand. Lexi activated her roller blade shoes and began to take down demons as she literally ran rings around them. When a platoon of demons began to run towards them, Slaygirl called out to everyone.
“Regroup!”
Once more they assembled into their squares and, with careful steps, made their way towards the approaching enemy. Within moments, the approaching demons pushed into them, breaking them apart and making them scatter to different directions. While the bulk of the demons snarled, growled and screamed, one creature in particular strolled toward them with purpose and confidence. It was Krog.
Immediately, Slaygirl took notice of him. There was an air about him which didn’t match the other demons as he walked through the chaos looking more like a leader than a foot soldier. As one of the slayers from the bar engaged a demon, the newcomer came toward her with speed and purpose. Slaygirl took a breath and screamed out a warning.
“Shelby! Three o’clock!”
The young slayer turned just in time to see the huge demon at her shoulder. The demons she had been fighting moved away to find other prey as the lumbering giant grabbed her wrist. She tried to bring her sword down on him, but he easily took her arm and snapped it at the wrist.
Shelby screamed out in agony and dropped the sword. She then watched the demon place one hand on her shoulder and one hand on her arm. He gave a yank and separated her limb from her body. In shock, she stood, swaying, with one arm. He then used the appendage in his hand to smack her across the cheek sending her instantly to the ground. He discarded her arm and, with his other hand, took his massive sword and sliced through her abdomen.
Slaygirl, mouth agape, watched as the lumbering giant kicked one half of the slayer’s body to the side so he could walk deeper into the fray. He moved toward SlayBae, whose back was turned as she battled the demon in front of her. Slaygirl quickly reached into her utility belt and threw a knife. She began to run toward SlayBae as the weapon flew through the air.
The knife hit its intended target, but its armor seemed impenetrable and the weapon simply bounced off. Just as SlayBae was putting the finishing moves on the demon in front of her, Slaygirl came in running and slid toward her like a baseball player coming into home, feet first. She took SlayBae off her feet and onto her backside.
“What the hell?” SlayBae said, annoyed. As she looked up, she saw the huge demon swipe at where her head had been moments before the fall. She looked over at Slaygirl, who was laid out next to her. “Oh, thanks,” she added meekly in apology for her outburst.
The conversation was short-lived as the demon raised his sword again to strike them on the ground, but they both rolled out of the way. SlayBae looked like she was going to engage when she came to her feet, but Slaygirl grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.
Cut To:
Int.
Teenage Bedroom – Same Time
Two teens sat with their tablet, watching Lexi’s feed, in shock.
“This is bad. Really bad,” one of them muttered to the other.
Cut To:
Int.
Office at Night – Same Time
The office workers, gathered around a single monitor, watched in silence with growing looks of concern at the screen and each other.
Cut To:
Ext.
City Street – Same Time
The slayers continued to battle against the demon platoon. It appeared they had managed to gain the upper hand, since only ten of the thirty creatures remained standing. Lexi skated behind one demon and used her sword to separate its head from its body. When it fell, though, it tumbled into her path and she found herself jumping in the air to avoid it. She landed and stayed upright, but not before flailing her arms and dropping her sword in the process.
Slaygirl watched as Lexi managed to gain control of her movements. Unfortunately, unarmed, Lexi ended up being only feet from the hulking leader. Speechless, Slaygirl watched as the beast reared his arm back and smoothly sent his sword across the young slayer’s neck. Lexi’s head hit the ground and rolled away from her body. The GoPro affixed to her helmet came loose and bounced to rest on the ground, several feet from her body and her decapitated head.
“Noooooo,” Slaygirl screamed. Then she ran straight toward the giant.
Cut To:
Int.
Teenage Bedroom – Same Time
The two teens with their tablet had wide eyes, not believing what they just witnessed.
“It’s gotta be fake, it’s gotta be fake,” one said as both of them watched the screen intently.
Cut To:
Int.
Office at Night – Same Time
The office workers were completely silent. No one even took a breath as they watched tear, shock and anger emojis flood the still-running feed.
“Is she…?” someone asked, without finishing the sentence.
“…Yeah,” another person said in response.
Cut To:
Ext.
City Street – Same Time
Slaygirl was in a full-on run when she got to the demon. Before she could even strike, he raised his leg and kicked her in the chest, sending her hard onto her back. She was only on the ground for a few seconds when the beast picked her up by the neck, suspending her in the air with one hand. She dropped the sword and immediately latched her hands to his massive wrist, struggling to breath.
“Compery Krog!” a voice called out from behind them in a demon language. “Hilbiv mon cyus!”
Krog looked at Slaygirl. A slight grin came to his lips. “It’s your lucky day,” he told her.
With that, he tossed her like a ragdoll into a group of slayers, and the five of them fell into a pile. He gave a whistle, and the demons still standing looked at him. He pointed behind them and said, “Vopkel! Vopkel!” As soon as the words were spoken, the demons began to run away. Just as casually as he had arrived, Krog left, but not before giving one last smirk over his shoulder at the stunned slayers.
Ani looked over and saw the GoPro. “The feed!” she said, pointing.
Maddie was the closest, so she ran over to the feed that continued to roll.
Cut To:
Int.
Office at Night – Same Time
The office workers were still watching the movements on the screen. They saw a pair of pants and boots come over and stomp on the camera. Seconds later, they heard a crunch noise and the picture went out. As the screen went black, they began to look at one another in sadness and despair.
Cut To:
Ext.
City Street – Same Time
Maddie picked up her foot and then stomped on the camera again. Then again. Then again. She put so much force behind it that the blacktop began to crack. She had started to raise her foot again when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see SlayBae standing there with an empathetic expression on her face. Maddie teared up, but quickly wiped her eyes.
Slaygirl was coughing with a slight wheeze as she tried to regain her breath. She still sat on the ground, surrounded by the slayers that had also hit the ground when they collided. SlayBae jogged back to the pile of slayers lying scattered on the pavement, trying to get their bearings.
Seeing that Slaygirl was in no condition to speak, Crystal told the remaining slayers, “Check the wounded first. Then collect the dead.”
Even though she was the closest, Maddie whimpered to Crystal, “I-I can’t do it. I can’t pick up her… her head, my God, fuck…”
“I got this,” she told the teenager. “Go check on Slaygirl.”
Maddie nodded, and they parted ways to their prospective tasks.
Cut To:
Ext.
Council Field Command Center – Same Time
The sound of tires squealing and a revving engine turned the heads of Jeff, Skye, Dawn and the other spellcasters. The white van came to a sliding halt outside the tent, and before it had even stopped all the way, the sliding door on the side slammed open, and Martin jumped out on the run, carrying the cooler as he raced to meet them. Giles and the group moved to meet them.
“Alex really wanted to be here,” Martin told his dad, “So he hid the liver.”
“I did not!” Alex growled defensively. Jen snickered as the two of them, along with the rest of the group, hopped out of the van.
“You’re so gullible sometimes,” she said with a giggle. “It’s sad. But entertaining, too.”
Alex rolled his eyes while Martin smiled mischievously, but said nothing as he thrust the cooler toward his dad, who took it and handed it to Jeff. He, in turn, immediately ran several feet back to the spell site.
“Thank you,” Giles told him. “Now go home.”
“Really?” Liz pressed him. “You don’t know what it took to get here. I’m pretty sure we’re safer staying here with you guys.”
“You haven’t seen what’s going on on the Memorial Grounds,” Giles replied. “The armies of darkness may be here any moment.”
“You sound like Galadriel,” commented Nikki.
Liz took both her father’s hands in hers and said, “Dad, like you once taught me, a wise man once said, ‘We may lose, and we may win, but we will never be here again.’”
Giles blinked. “I apologize, but I won’t be swayed by quoting the Eagles. So, if you start now, you should be able to make it out ahead of–”
At that moment, along the street, a full-size bus bearing Council insignia tumbled end over end toward them, and the team took cover to avoid any flying debris. With an incredible screeching noise, the vehicle came to rest, upside-down, behind the van, blocking it. Liz peeked out first and gave a sigh of relief.
“Oh, thank god the van’s okay,” she announced.
“That’s the priority?” Dawn asked.
“What? Nobody’s in the bus,” Liz replied defensively. “But a lot of our instruments are in the van, the new van that our parents graciously gave us, and that I promised to take care of.”
Giles closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his temples briefly. “Stay here,” he told them. “Defend the spellcasters.”
“I want to be in the fight,” Jen insisted.
“Trust me,” Giles told her. “At some point very soon, the fight is coming here so be prepared.”
Practically breathless, five slayers arrived. One of them reached into their pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Suddenly, three of them changed into Matthew, Yutz and Ned, who was now holding the Queen’s fairy sword in his hand.
“Brought to you by the powers of transmog,” Ned said as he handed it to Dawn.
She didn’t say anything while she held up the sword, smiling as she admired it.
“Does it please you, High Priestess?” Matthew asked.
“Wonderful work,” she complimented them.
They didn’t have time to celebrate as Jeff motioned them to come back to him. They looked first to Dawn, who just nodded, before they complied and left her behind.
Skye stood behind Dawn as she examined the sword.
“Now what?” the vampire asked.
“Now let’s get rid of some pesky fairies.”
Skye paused a beat. “That’s not a homophobic slur, right?”
“We’re literally fighting for our lives against actual fairies.” Dawn saw the impish grin on her girlfriend’s face and sighed. “Come on, follow me,” she said as she pulled Skye away by the arm.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
Kadin’s long, sharp teeth snapped at the Fairy Queen’s neck, but she easily dodged the attack and kicked Kadin in the side, sending her flying.
“You believe this to be power,” said the Queen. It was a statement rather than a question. “It is not. You are not a beast. You are a human engaged in…what is the word?”
Kadin leaped back on top of the Queen, sending them both sprawling to the ground. The Queen kicked out again with both feet, throwing the blue monster off of her. “Ah, yes,” the Queen continued. “Cosplay. You wear a costume, but you lack the instincts of the beast.”
As if in reply, Kadin roared and jumped at the Queen again. She stepped aside so quickly her edges blurred, but Kadin reached out with her claws and raked them across the Queen’s shoulder. She did not react or show pain, instead momentarily closing her eyes and speaking a few ancient words under her breath. The bloody scratch marks on the Queen’s arm closed, then vanished completely within seconds.
“You cannot hurt me,” the Queen said. Then she raised a sword to fend off Kadin’s latest attack. As she quickly stepped to one side, the Queen slashed out with her sword. Kadin let out a high-pitched yelp of pain and rolled to a stop in a heap. She was bleeding black blood from a deep cut on one arm.
“But you, on the other hand, are like glass,” said the Queen as she strode forward, sword poised. “I need only touch you and you break.”
Cut To:
Int.
Slayer Spell Area – Same Time
Emma watched out the window as Mi’ke grew ever closer, the ground thundering with his footsteps. She turned from this scene to look back at the chaos behind her.
“I’m serious!” Kennedy growled. “No one is killing themselves!”
“Ken, we’re not talking about how depressed I am here, we’re talking about the world!” Faith shot back. “The whole entire world, and I don’t think you get to make that decision.”
“Somebody has to,” Kennedy insisted. Her eyes grew pleading. “Please, Faith. We don’t know if it’ll work.”
Outside the window, Mi’ke’s hulking form now blotted out much of the rest of the scene. The view was only interrupted by the sparking electrical wire. Emma turned slightly to listen to the conversation for a moment.
“We’ve tried everything else,” Faith pleaded. “And we have to do something. I don’t know if you’ve looked out the window lately, but things aren’t going real great for the good guys here. We both have daughters, who need to have a world to grow up in!”
“Um, guys?” Jake tried and failed to get the attention of the two women. His eyes were focused out the window at the enormous monster bearing down on them. “Guys?”
Kennedy’s chin quivered as she talked, tears welling up in her eyes. “Faith, I…I can’t. I can’t.”
Faith reached out for the knife held in her friend’s fingers. “You don’t have to,” she said. “I will.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
Shannon spun to meet an attacking fairy, slashing at it with a sword. She struck home, but this did little, her blade sliding off her foe. Still, she kicked at the fairy, sending him stumbling back long enough for Shannon to resume her fighting stance.
Then she grabbed at her forehead, woozy. She swayed slightly. The tip of her sword fell to the ground. It was suddenly very heavy. Shannon’s eyes went wide in realization.
She turned back to the fairy. It regarded its prey dispassionately. Shannon dropped the sword and stumbled backward. She fell onto her behind, then continued to scramble backward on her hands.
“Shit,” she hissed.
Cut To:
Int.
Slayer Spell Area – Same Time
Emma was sweating now as she watched the battle from her position at the fifth floor window. She turned to see Gwen running down the street toward Mi’ke, and she grinned. She noticed the woman didn’t engage in combat. She continued to run, dodging demons that tried to block her path. She kept running through the melees, trying to get close enough to the huge monster. However, another fight caught Emma’s eye, and she lost her smile immediately.
She watched the scene at the base of the tower as Buffy defended herself against a relentlessly attacking demon five times her size. Her watcher still handled her sword with skill and grace, but without her slayer powers, the sheer lengthy and intensity of the battle seemed to be wearing her down. Her return strikes weren’t coming as hard. She was slowing down when it came to deflecting the blows of her attacker. Emma watched and held her breath as Buffy fell to her knees. As the demon raised its claws to strike her, Gwen came running up and grabbed the demon by the arm, sending bolts of electricity into its flesh. Emma released the breath she’d been holding when the monster toppled to the ground.
Gwen continued on her way toward the huge lizard, but she was only a few yards away from Buffy when a large demon grabbed her by her arm sling, causing Gwen to scream in pain before the demon flung her into the side of the tower. Gwen hit the building hard and immediately slumped to the sidewalk, either dead or unconscious. Emma looked back to Buffy to see her battling another demon as the larger one, finished with Gwen, strode with purpose toward her watcher, his sword in hand.
Looking up, Emma watched as Marsha flew toward Mi’ke, fire streaming from her mouth, but the closer Marsha got to the enormous lizard, the smaller she seemed to be. Emma looked confused at first, but then worry took over.
“She’s shrinking,” Emma muttered out loud to no one.
Marsha beat her wings as hard as she could and managed to get to the top of the building, but she was now her normal size, the spell having worn off. At the other end of the street, Emma saw Shannon. She was on her knees with her palms flat on the ground. Even at her height, Emma could see that her breathing was labored by the way the slayer’s shoulders rose and fell and knew that something was wrong, very wrong. Emma looked back over to Buffy to see that her watcher was already looking at her in the window.
Their eyes locked on each other.
Emma hit her communication link.
“Hang in there, Summers,” she told her watcher. “I got your back.”
“Emma,” Buffy warned. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing–”
“Don’t worry,” Emma told her. “This is gonna be easy-peasy.”
“Em–”
The slayer turned off her link to end the conversation. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she breathed out.
It was then that Emma picked up an office chair and slammed it against the window. The glass broke but didn’t shatter, cracks spider-webbing across it. The spellcasters looked over at the noise. Emma grabbed a second chair and, with all her strength, managed to break the window. Everyone looked on in curiosity and surprise. Through the falling glass, Emma caught sight of Buffy, locking eyes for the briefest of moments before quickly taking several steps back from the window. Charlotte’s eyes, watching her, got very big.
Sophie also realized what was happening and shouted out, “Emma, wait!”
Emma ignored Sophie. Instead, she sprinted forward and launched herself out the window. Just outside, she grabbed the live electrical wire with both hands as she went past. Her fingers firmly grasped it and went rigid around it.
She swung forward on the sparking wire like Tarzan on a vine, directly toward Mi’ke. The creature saw her coming, and roared.
She slammed into the body of the creature and the roar changed from one of anger to one of pain. Arcs of blue and yellow electricity shot out all over its body. Emma went rigid, but held on. The great monster shook, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. All around its feet, slayers and demons alike ran for cover.
Then it was over. For a moment, the creature swayed, then it toppled over next to the building where the spell was underway with an earth-shattering crash. A great cloud of dust obscured everything.
Fade Out
End of Act Five