bjciii... my twisted stories

A few years back, my buddy Jim was telling me about a contest he was either entering, saw, or running on a fanfic site about scripting out the 7th Season of the immortal television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since I was a huge fan of all things Joss, I gave the first episode a shot. I wrote this at my old job one day and stopped because I didn't get much feedback on it. So this is how I would have started Season 7 (its final season). Basically, since the high school was being rebuilt, I felt that it would have been cool to kind of echo the first scenes from the pilot where Darla was luring in a stupid human before feeding on him. Granted I chose Dawn to use, but she's not my favorite character and it was more out of necessity than anything else. There's also a reappearance of an old "friend" the no one really saw since the fourth season (I think). Turns out I kinda hit some things pretty close and others I missed completely. Eh, it's my story and I'll thank you not to burst the bubble.

Oh yeah... please note that this was, quite literally, my very first attempt at writing a television script or a screenplay of any sort. For those of you who actually do this, I apologize if it's just not formatted correctly or downright horrible.

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Season 7 – Episode 1 “Begin Again”

INTERIOR – Science Classroom
[The camera pans through what appears to be a classroom laboratory. It’s just a little brighter in the room than the dark of night outside, but still it’s obvious that it’s nighttime and there should be no one there. The camera comes to rest on a window after going from desk to desk showing the newness of everything. The window breaks as a white hand snakes inside and unlocks the latch. Suddenly a head pops up and it’s Dawn Summers. She slides into the room, quickly followed by a boy Charles James. They giggle as they walk to the classroom door. They open and exit.]

INTERIOR – School Hallway
Dawn: I don’t know about this. I mean… we’re forced to be here 5 days a week anyway, why are we sneaking in tonight?

Charles: Don’t you want to be the first to see Sunnydale High: The Sequel?

Dawn: Please… Janet and Miguel snuck in 2 days ago.

[Charles looks like someone just cancelled Christmas for him. Dawn stops and a worried look crosses her face.]

Dawn: Did you hear something?

[Charles strains to listen and is looking down the hall with Dawn behind him.]

Charles: No Dawn… I don’t hear a thing.

[Charles turns around and Dawn grabs him and kisses him deep. As they are clumsily groping, a locker slams shut and they both jump. Dawn looks down the hall at an approaching figure with sheer terror on her face. She fumbles for a stake in her purse as the figure leans against the locker in the mostly dark. Still not bright enough to see who it is.]

Voice: I don’t think big sis would like that li’l bit…

[ROLL OPENING CREDITS]

EXTERIOR – Summers’ Home
[Same house as it ever was, but there are very colorful flowers blooming out front now. It seems brighter and more vibrant than the last few times we experienced it. The front door opens and Buffy Summers walks out in a smart business suit and she bends down to pick up the paper. As she walks back, the camera cuts…]

INTERIOR – Summers’ Home
[Tracking shot of Buffy walking through the front door looking at the paper as she crosses through the living room, closing a desk drawer with her hip while continuing to read the paper. She continues on into the kitchen and grabs a cup of coffee that’s steaming. As she sips the cup and reads the paper, she crosses through the dining room and ends up at the bottom of the stairs. As she crossed through the rooms, we notice everything is well kept and looks very warm (loving). She is standing at the bottom of the stairs, still reading the front page while sipping the coffee.]

Buffy: C’mon Dawnie… we’ll be late!

[Dawn walks down the stairs looking like any high-school girl should look on her first day of school as a sophomore in High School. She appears to be very tired, but is attempting to hide it.]

Dawn: I still can’t believe you’re a telemarketer Buffy. It’s like… you spend all night fighting and then you wake up the next morning, put on a suit, and annoy people more than the things you dust.

[Buffy looks up from her paper with a definite “we are not amused” look.]

Buffy: It beats smelling like DoubleMeat all the time besides… someone needs to do it.

Dawn: Can’t you find something more… respectable though? I just tell my friends you’re an escort. [She smiles a toothy grin]

[Another look from Buffy. This time with a raised eyebrow and a very slight smile.]
Buffy: Car. Now. Move.

[As Dawn scoots past, Buffy swats her on her butt with the paper. She grabs her bag and closes the door behind her.]

INTERIOR – Dawn’s Room
[The curtain parts just a little as the camera catches Dawn and Buffy backing out of the driveway. As they drive away, the camera pulls back and follows the POV shot into the bathroom as we see the shower and a wet towel hanging. As the camera slowly pans around, the edge of the mirror becomes evident and the camera does a 180-degree rotation to show Spike standing in front of the mirror. He has changed a lot since the last time we saw him. His hair is longer and at it’s “natural” color of dirty blonde / light brown. His face is completely speckled with stubble and he has a weariness about him. He looks down at a note he’s holding.]

POV – Dawn’s Note
Note: Spike, Buffy won’t be home until 5, so you can get cleaned up without worrying about bumping into her. I’m sorry I can’t let you stay, but no one would understand. Let me know where you go. Dawn

[He crumples it up and tosses it in the toilet. He starts to disrobe.]

EXTERIOR – A car driving through the streets of a city.
[The camera follows a car driving for a few seconds then]

INTERIOR – Car
[Xander Harris is driving and Willow Rosenberg is in the passenger seat. They are both smiling and gabbing along as they drive.]

Xander: So the flight was okay? Any good movies? Did you get to partake in their lovely vomit scented bag?

Willow: No regurgitation necessary. The flight was good. I think spending time with Giles in England helped a lot. I didn’t think about… well you know… Tara more than once or twice a second.

[Xander reaches over and holds her hand.]

Xander: We’re all here for you Will. Buffy and Dawn can’t wait for you to move back in and…

[Willow has a scared look on her face.]

Willow: I can’t… I just… not in that room… No… I…

Xander: Will. Will… calm down. We take it slow. No one expects you to treat it like it never happened. We’re here. You’ll get through it.

[Willow lost all sense of humour in her face as she stares out the window heading back to the Summers house. Xander is still holding her hand.]

INTERIOR – Credit America
[Buffy sits at her cube wearing a headset. She is leaning against her hand, propping her face up while playing Solitaire on the computer with her free hand.]

Buffy: …and all at an incredibly low rate of… No sir. No sir, I don’t really think I should give you my home number. Sir… would you be interested in… hello? Hello?

[She sighs and rips her headset off as she throws it on her desk. She turns and sees John Marcus, a co-worker smiling.]

John: Another wonderful day in the trenches huh?

Buffy: You know, this morning my sister compared me to an evil, blood-sucking thing that should be killed. I’m beginning to think she might be close.

John: Hey. Telemarketers are the scourge of humanity. On the hate scale we’re just below lawyers and right above umpires. That’s pretty good company!

[Buffy gets up and stretches as John is definitely checking her out.]

John: So, um… what are you doing tonight for dinner… I mean do you… maybe want to grab a drink after work?

[Buffy smiles and sees how hard that was for him.]

Buffy: Thanks John, but my friend Willow is coming home from England today and it’s kind of important that I be there tonight. Maybe some other time.

[John smiles easily.]

John: I’ll hold you to that.

[As he walks away Buffy smiles a little sadly and turns back into her cube to grab her headset.]

INTERIOR – Summers’ House
[The front door opens as Xander carries Willow’s bags inside. He turns to look at her, but she’s standing in the middle of the front walk looking terrified of the prospect of going inside. Xander smiles a little and carries the first wave of baggage upstairs. As he enters Willow’s new room (Dawn’s old room), the closet door closes quietly as he drops the big bags.]

Xander: For such a small girl, you sure do have a lot of crap Will.

[He exits the room and tromps down the stairs to get the next wave as the closet door opens and Spike emerges dressed and cleaned up.]

Spike: Hotel Summers open for business… again. Doesn’t that girl ever want to live alone?

[He slides out of the room and hears Xander coming up again, so he runs into the Master Bedroom (now Buffy’s room) and slides under the bed.]

EXTERIOR – Summers’ House
[Willow is still standing on the front-walk, wringing her hands thinking about everything that transpired.]

FLASHBACK SHOTS – Tara smiling, Tara being shot, Tara dying.

[Willow closes her eyes and begins to fondle a necklace she has. It’s an Egyptian Ankh and it seems to calm her down quite a lot. She looks at the door as Xander exits.]

Xander: So if you give me a day or two I can build you a cozy little tree-house that you can stay in because I don’t think Buffy & Dawn really want you camping out in the middle of the yard.

Willow: [smiling somewhat] I’ll be fine, but not right now. It’s just… it’s the first time I’ve been back since… and it’s just not as easy as I hoped it would be. Xander I wasn’t even here for Tara’s… I don’t even know where she’s… I’m a horrible person.

Xander: Hey… Giles said he thought it would be best to go right then. We all listened. He’s the boss remember? Believe me… everything is going to work out. C’mon… I’ll buy you an ice-cream cone.

Willow: Gee. How can I resist a man who offers dairy products?

INTERIOR – Sunnydale High School Hallway
[The hallway is filled with students as Dawn is smiling and talking to her friends as they pass the Honorable Richard Wilkins III Memorial Auditorium. It’s the end of the day and everyone is slamming lockers, packing books, and leaving the school. Dawn arrives at her locker and begins to pack. Deliberately, she looks to the left at the double doors to the library. With a look of curiosity, she finishes her packing and walks to the double doors. As she opens them we see a library that we’ve never seen before. Instead of the dark, dreary place from Seasons 1-3, there is a full wall of windows that provide adequate sunlight. The remaining walls are painted a light cream and the books take a back seat to the central computing area in the middle of the room. The middle-aged female librarian, Janice Benny, smiles at Dawn as she walks in.]

Janice: Can I help you dear?

Dawn: Um, no. I just heard so much about this place from my sister that I pictured it… well really different.

Janice: Oh, well as you know it was just rebuilt. The architect who designed this library was very insistent on this design. Feung-sheui I take it or something similar. Apparently no one ever came in here before the school was demolished, so they decided to redo the entire structure of it. I am quite fond of it myself.

Dawn: Yeah. I guess it is nice. Just a lot different from the stories I’ve heard.

[Ms. Benny’s face clouds over momentarily and she moves from around the desk.]

Janice: And what stories would those be child?

Dawn: Oh! Nothing. My… uh… older sister graduated from here a few years ago… the last graduating class actually, and she just described the library in great detail. Believe me, it was nothing close to how it is today. I think Giles… I mean the old librarian Mister Giles, would have a fit… from what Buffy said about him of course.

Janice: Buffy? Your sister is Buffy Summers?

[Dawn has a look of questioning and a trace of fear on her face.]

Dawn: Yes. I’m Dawn Summers, Buffy’s younger sister. Why? How did you know about Buffy?

Janice: [Quickly] Some of the older staff told me stories that’s all. Some sort of troublemaker… but that doesn’t mean you’ll fall into the same pattern right dear?

[Dawn backs away slowly.]

Dawn: No, of course not. I… I have to catch my ride. Thanks for the… information.

[Dawn exits the library as Janice Benny walks back into the stacks. She leans against a bookshelf and slides it back into the wall. An ornate grate sits on the floor beneath where the bookcase stood. A low murmuring is heard emanating from that grate.]

Janice: Soon he shall rise again and feed on the blood of the Slayer. Her power will be his and all the world will be under his command.

[Off-screen]

Voice: Miss Benny?

[She smiles malevolently as she slides the bookcase back to it’s original spot.]

Janice: Coming dear!

INTERIOR – Café Diablo
[Xander & Willow are drinking coffee and just then Buffy bounds in behind Willow and grabs her in a tight embrace. As they pull back, both sets of eyes are glistening with tears. Xander just smirks.]

Willow: Hi.

Buffy: [Laughing] Hi. How are you feeling after that long and exciting flight back to this side of the pond… that is what they call it over there right? The pond?

Willow: Yeah… the pond. Ooo… and they say things like ‘the boot’ for a car trunk and ‘a flat’ for an apartment… and… and… chips aren’t chips, they’re crisps because chips are fries and fries… well fries aren’t anything, but…

[Buffy grabs Willow and hugs her again.]

Buffy: Welcome home Will.

INTERIOR – The Summers’ House
[Dawn is sitting on the couch watching TV when Spike walks downstairs.]

Dawn: Spike! I thought… you weren’t… Buffy will be home any minute!!

Spike: It’s okay Dawn. I’m leaving now. That ponce Xander was playing bloody bellhop carrying up all the bags Willow brought back with her. I looked through her things, but she didn’t pack any sweets. What I wouldn’t give for just one good English toffee…

[Lost in thought, he shakes his head and smiles at Dawn.]

Spike: Anyway, while I was waiting for Harris to leave, I must have fallen asleep underneath Buffy’s bed.

[He sees the look on her face.]

Spike: Nothing like that love… I crawled under there to hide and just drifted off. No peeking, no poking, no bloody prying. I know she’ll never forgive me for what I did and I don’t blame her in the least, so I’m not planning on doing anything else that will add to it. Thank you for helping me out Dawn. Keep an eye on your sister.

Dawn: Stay out of trouble Spike.

Spike: Well that was very matter of fact l’il bit… I promise to try. I guess I might go north and rub it in to Angelus that he’s not the only “special” vampire anymore. Oh the look on his face will be priceless.

[Spike looks one last time and leaves the house. Dawn looks almost sad, but turns back to the television.]

EXTERIOR – The Summers’ House
[As Spike is turning the corner, a car comes down the street and he dives behind a bush. The car passes The Summers’ House and he shakes his head, dusting himself off.]

Spike: My how the mighty have fallen…

Voice: They have farther to fall William… much farther indeed.

[Spike wheels around and looks into the face of a man who is smiling, but not with any trace of kindness.]

Spike: Liam…

INTERIOR – The Summers’ House
[About 15 minutes have passed and Buffy enters the house with Xander. Willow is closer to the door than she was earlier, but still looks frightened. Dawn runs to the door and looks out. Willow waves with a half-smile.]

Willow: Hi Dawnie.

EXTERIOR – The Summers’ House

[Without hesitation, Dawn runs out and hugs Willow. They both cry.]

Dawn: I missed you so much Will.

Willow: I’m so sorry for everything Dawn. I’m so so sorry…

Dawn: It wasn’t you Willow. It wasn’t you at all.

[Dawn pulls back and looks at Willow. Tears are flowing freely.]

Dawn: You’re home now and that’s what matters.

[Dawn grabs Willow’s hand and slowly leads her inside.]

EXTERIOR – Credit America
[Buffy & John are leaving work. Many people in suits, all looking very driven, are rushing past them into cabs, cars, etc.]

John: So how was your friend. Did they get home okay?

Buffy: She did. It was really good to see her. I think Dawn is really good for her right now.

John: Dawn being your sister?

Buffy: Oh, sorry. Yes. Willow, my friend, has been having a really rough time of it and she and Dawn are very close, so Dawn is the best thing right now for her. I figured since I promised you that we’d grab a drink, I’d let those two hang out and chat.

John: Sounds like a plan. If you don’t mind, I just have to stop by my aunt’s house before we go. I can meet you at the bar if you’d like…

Buffy: Nah. It’s probably easiest to just tag along with you right now.

[John smiles very broadly.]

INTERIOR – The Benny House
[Buffy & John walk inside and enter the living room where a woman is standing at the window looking out.]

John: Buffy, this is my aunt… Janice Benny.

[Janice turns to greet the two.]

Janice: I’ve heard so much about you Buffy. I even met your sister today.

Buffy: Dawn? Where did you meet Dawn?

John: Aunt Janice is the librarian at Sunnydale High School. Keeper of the Stacks isn’t that right?

[Janice smiles sweetly and nods.]

Janice: You get to meet so many interesting people at my job.

Buffy: Yeah. I remember. Librarians are the social animals of Sunnydale.

John: Has my friend been to see you yet Aunt Janice.

Janice: No, but I have heard from him lately.

John: You just have to meet him Buffy. He changed my life. You always hear these people say this so and so took them from this lowly creature and gave them this purpose or that… well in this case it’s just so true!

Janice: I’m very sure he’ll be ever so pleased to meet you.

Buffy: So, who’s this friend you’re so vocal about?

[Buffy hears footsteps behind her. As she turns to face the newcomer, she is hit across the face with a candlestick. Buffy falls and John looks down in a frenetic trance.]

John: Uncle Ethan. I’m glad you could join us.

[The camera pans up to the newcomer and it’s Ethan Rayne. He stands with a candlestick in his right hand, his face pulled back into a sardonic grin.]

Ethan: The Master will rise again and when he does… he will reward me for bringing him back from the hell this little girl condemned him to.

[END CREDITS]