Announcement

**Heather** · 30-07-07, 02:30 AM

ACT I

FADE IN

EXT. KWON'S GARDENS ? ENTRANCE ? NIGHT

We see a large, exotic garden in front of a building with what looks to be Korean symbols and writing etched into the walls. A woman, wearing a long, flowing red dress, passes under the oriental archway that leads into the lobby. She pulls a fan out of her purse and flicks it open, entering Kwon's Gardens.

CUT TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? LOBBY ? NIGHT

A man in formal attire, waiting just inside the front door, moves towards the woman as she breezes into lobby. He links arms with her and they continue moving swiftly and deeper into the building.

FLASH TO:

INT. SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE - DAY

URBAN slams the newspaper down on the desk in front of ANDY. He opens it specifically to the Health section, where several articles are circled ? most with headlines about "Comas" and "Hemorrhages" and "Brain Surgery."

ANDY: What is this?

URBAN: Read the headlines. They're all about "a buildup of blood in the brain" and people being "found comatose in their homes." Recognize any of this?

ANDY: We said it was nothing. There's no possible way that this is the same thing that Brett has.

URBAN: I know we said that, but it we can't rule it out yet.

He flips through the paper to the front page and turns it for ANDY to see. There's a large picture of a house, flanked by the police, paramedics, firefighters, reporters, and general onlookers. The headline reads "Two Found Murdered in Long Island Home." URBAN drums a finger on the picture.

URBAN (Cont'd): Cranial Demons.

ANDY: Excuse me?

URBAN: They were beheaded. The two people found dead ? a woman and a man. The Coroner is saying they were killed by "what appears to be a fingernail or claw of a large animal." Their brains were gone.

ANDY: Cranial Demons?

She rubs her forehead and nods slowly.

ANDY (Cont'd): But what does this have to do with Brett?

URBAN: Possibly nothing. But don't you think it's ironic that these demons showed up right after he fell into a coma?

ANDY: What are you thinking?

URBAN: I'm thinking that the attack at that party last week wasn't just a random attack like we said. They were looking for somebody; for that girl that we helped.

ANDY: She was infected with whatever caused Brett to become comatose. She must not have been far along. She showed no symptoms. But that explains why they wanted her. They must've sensed that she had so much blood in her brain.

URBAN: Extra juicy.

ANDY: So they hunted her down and wanted to feed off her. Oh god?They're using this?this?

URBAN: Master Virus.

ANDY looks up at him, confused.

ANDY: What?

URBAN holds up the health section of the newspaper, his finger resting on the subtitle to an article.

URBAN: "The Master Virus" is what the papers are calling it.

ANDY: Why is it a virus?

URBAN: I don't know.

ANDY: But they do?

She nods to herself.

FLASH TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? RESTAURANT ? NIGHT

The camera pans around in front of the man and woman. It's ANDY and URBAN. They walk confidently through the restaurant, heading towards another hallway ? where two sets of elevators are located. ANDY fans herself with the oriental fan in her hand as URBAN presses the up button near the elevator.

URBAN: How do you know this is gonna work?

ANDY: Trust me, I've done this before.

There's a ding as the elevator doors open.

FLASH TO:

INT. SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE ? DAY

ANDY sits down and begins to type away on the computer. URBAN watches, curiously.

URBAN: What are you looking for?

ANDY: I'm looking for the number to Kwon's Gardens.

URBAN: Why?

ANDY smiles, having found what she was looking for.

ANDY: A reporter I knew from my NYPD days - I busted him four times for lewd behavior and public indecency ? likes to hang out at Kwon's Gardens on a?nightly basis. Something tells me that he knows what's really going on with these coma victims.

She picks up the phone and dials the number.

FLASH TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? HALLWAY ? NIGHT

ANDY leads URBAN down the hall ? which is lined by numbered doors to hotel rooms. Two Korean men and two Korean women, all laughing and having a good time while chatting in their language, breeze past them.

URBAN: Are you sure we weren't teleported to Korea the second we walked in here?

ANDY rolls her eyes and stops in front a set of double doors lined with bamboo. We hear glass shatter inside the room. ANDY takes a deep breath and kicks open the door. URBAN smiles, smug. Both of their expressions fade away as they see a half-naked blonde woman standing over the unconscious body of a man who's surrounded by broken glass. The blonde woman turns around and we see that it is NATALIE.

FLASH TO:

INT. SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE ? DAY

NATALIE is now sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs, legs crossed properly but her face contorted in a "what the hell is going on?" expression.

NATALIE: Oh you're kidding me?

ANDY shakes her head and shrugs.

ANDY: He likes blondes?

NATALIE: And how am I supposed to get into Kwon's Gardens? That place is like Fort Knox of preppy rich people! I am not rich!

ANDY: You'll be invited in. I got your name put on the guest list. (Beat) Well?You stole a name off the guest list.

NATALIE: And what about you two?

ANDY: We'll walk right in.

FLASH TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? HOTEL SUITE ? NIGHT

NATALIE quickly covers her exposed bra with her arm and hurries towards the couch to grab her blouse. She pulls it on and fixes her hair in a mirror hanging on the wall.

NATALIE: I smashed him over the head with a swan.

ANDY: Why?

NATALIE: He touched my happy places! Repeatedly! Trust me, I feel bad for poor Mr. Swan-y, too, but sacrifices had to be made.

The man on the floor moans. URBAN looks down at him nervously.

URBAN: Uhh?He's still conscious?

ANDY looks to NATALIE, disappointed and slightly mad that NATALIE didn't knock him completely unconscious. NATALIE shrugs.

NATALIE: I guess Mr. Swan-y didn't do the trick.

ANDY shakes her head and moves towards the man on the floor. She rolls him onto his back with her foot and steps over him so one leg is on either side of his stomach. We see now that he appears to be very sleazy ? greasy black hair, scruffy face, pale skin, and a very plump physique. He looks up at her and smiles.

MAN: Andrea Sullivan?Long time no see.

He runs a hand up her leg and under her dress. She kicks him and lowers herself so she's squatting over his stomach.

ANDY: Don't touch me, Stu. You remember what happened last time, right?

STU shakes his head slowly and moves an arm up to tenderly touch the bloody cut by his ear.

STU: I guess the blonde's workin' for you?

ANDY looks up at NATALIE and shrugs.

ANDY: Sure.

STU: She's a looker?

NATALIE looks to URBAN, insulted and having misheard STU.

NATALIE: Did he just call me a hooker?

URBAN: No, "a looker."

NATALIE: Oh?

She smiles, her ego officially stroked for the night.

ANDY: We need to talk to you about something, Stu, and you're going to cooperate completely. Got it?

STU smiles.

STU: Still badass after all these years, huh Andy? Damn shame they canned your ass. NYPD could use someone like you again.

ANDY: You are not going to talk me out of my clothes, Stu.

STU: Who said anything about your clothes?

He leans up slightly to get his face closer to ANDY's.

STU (Cont'd): I was only thinkin' ?bout your panties?

He grins. ANDY looks slightly disgusted. She punches him across the face. The camera pans across the room to focus on URBAN.

FLASH TO:

FLASHBACK

EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX ? POOL ? NIGHT

URBAN and AUGUST stumble through the gates and into the center of an apartment complex. In the surrounding buildings, the lights are out ? everyone is sleeping at such a late time. The two seem drunk. They are struggling to walk in a balanced manner and are laughing hysterically at something. This is proved to be true when URBAN pulls a bottle out from beneath his jacket and takes a swig from it before handing the bottle to AUGUST. She does the same and continues to laugh.

URBAN: And?I was just sitting there! Couldn't say anything?I just sat there while this guy just?With his coworker's wife?

He starts laughing as AUGUST takes another drink but this time she has issues swallowing and nearly spits it out. She swallows and the two crack up laughing even harder.

AUGUST: Oh my God?And what did the guy do? Just..

URBAN nods his head and collapses onto one of the chairs by the pool. AUGUST stands over him, running hand through her hair. She hands the bottle back to URBAN and walks over to the pool. The sound of a gun being cocked causes her to freeze. The camera pans around and we see a MAN standing over URBAN, the gun pressed against the back of his head.

MAN: Where is it?

URBAN: I don't know what you're talking about?

AUGUST turns around slowly, her eyes wide.

AUGUST: Joe?Joe, put the gun down?

The man, JOE, laughs and raises it on her.

JOE: You have it, don't you? The junk drive. Give it to me and nobody gets hurt.

URBAN: So Rhys sent a flunkie to do his dirty work, huh? He's getting pretty weak, isn't he?

A second man walks out of the darkness, arms folded across his chest and dressed in black. AUGUST glances at him but remains focused on JOE and his gun.

AUGUST: Rhys?

URBAN: What?

He jumps out of the chair and freezes, making eye contact with RHYS.

RHYS: Not so fast, hot shot. Joe's got the gun and Joe's prepared to fire that gun if you do something stupid. Isn't that right Joe?

JOE laughs to himself and moves closer to AUGUST, who backs away.

RHYS (Cont'd): Where's the junk drive, Urban?

URBAN: What are you talking about?

RHYS: You know what I'm talking about and you're going to give it to me if you want your girlfriend to stay alive.

AUGUST is now standing right on the edge of the pool with JOE no more than a yard away. URBAN glances back at AUGUST who nods, subtely, in his direction. URBAN smiles faintly and spins around, hitting RHYS dead in the jaw in the process. JOE quickly looks back at the scene and turns back around to find that AUGUST is no longer standing in front of him. He turns around, searching for her.

A hand rests on JOE's shoulder and spins him around. We see that it's AUGUST, now completely drenched. She also has a small pocket knife in her hands. She smiles and slashes JOE's throat. His hand flies up to try to put pressure on the gash but he still collapses to the ground.

URBAN kicks RHYS in the stomach and hits him again. When he goes to throw a third punch, it is blocked and RHYS throws his own. URBAN stumbles backwards and picks the bottle of alcohol up off the chair. He goes to smash it on RHYS' head?but it never happens. The bottle seems to phase directly through RHYS' head and he fades into a black cloud of smoke that blows away in the wind.

URBAN spins around in a wide circle, looking for where RHYS went. AUGUST cautiously walks over to URBAN.

AUGUST: Where did he go?

URBAN: I dunno?But we can't stay here.

The two start back towards the entrance to the apartment complex and to their car that's parked on the street.

AUGUST: How did he find us?

URBAN: He knows how we work.

URBAN takes the keys out of his pocket and hits the unlock button?

And the car explodes.

The two are sent flying backwards, slamming into the metal gate and crumbling onto the concrete sidewalk. The camera focuses on URBAN's now scratched face as he watches fiery debris fall to the ground.

END OF FLASHBACK

FLASH TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? HOTEL SUITE ? NIGHT

STU is now sitting on a couch, drinking from a bottle of liquor. ANDY's sitting opposite from him in a chair while URBAN's leaning against a wall, looking out one of the many windows. NATALIE is trying to tend to the bleeding wound on STU's head but his frequent, sudden movements cause her to do more harm than good.

NATALIE: Ok, dude, you don't stop moving and your head's gonna be one big, puss-filled, infected mess.

ANDY gives her a disgusted look and NATALIE nods, dripping a little bit of rubbing alcohol on the rag in her hand.

NATALIE (Cont'd): Yeah, I disgusted myself with that, too?

ANDY (To Stu): So your paper's writing an awful lot of articles about this outburst of coma patients, isn't it?

STU: The Master Virus? Yeah?It's not pretty but it's popular, nonetheless. Gets the readers to buy the paper.

ANDY: Why are you calling it a "virus?"

STU: I'm no briliant scientist or nothin' but I got some guys looking into it. They said there's a foreign body in these people's bloodstreams. It's got the same makeup of a virus. So?it's a "virus."

ANDY: What makes it a "Master Virus?"

STU: The editor of the paper who thinks it'll get more interest?

ANDY: Give me a serious answer, Stu.

STU sighs and leans forward. NATALIE rolls her eyes and puts the rag and bottle of rubbing alcohol on the table.

NATALIE: I'm done. Be puss-y for all I care.

STU (To Andy): It replicates. This?agent replicates extremely fast and dominates all of the body's defense systems. In one guy, we saw it wipe out his immune system in two days.

URBAN: How long has he been infected?

STU: You mean "had." The guy's dead. Got a cold and coughed his last cough. And a little under a week. But the fact that he already had HIV to begin with doesn't help a bit, right?

ANDY: How long would it take to do the same thing in a perfectly healthy person?

STU: Hard to say. Nobody really knows. Nobody knows where it came from, either. There's a theory that it's in the water supply but it's been tested multiple times and?Well?We can't find nothin'.

URBAN: I guess there's no cure, either?

STU: Nope. When we try to develop one it ends up killin' the test subjects.

ANDY: And now what happens?

STU shrugs and takes a drink from the bottle.

STU: We wait until it kills us all.

The group begins to consider that ominous thought

CUT TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? HALLWAY ? NIGHT

ANDY, NATALIE, and URBAN walk out of the hotel suite and down the hallway towards the elevator.

NATALIE: Are we really that screwed?

ANDY: We're not screwed, Natalie?

NATALIE: There's no cure, it could be in the water supply?There's no way to protect ourselves, is there?

URBAN hits the down button outside the elevator. It glows white?and flashes blue quickly. URBAN doesn't notice.

URBAN: We don't know if what that guy said is legit. It could just be overexagerated.

The elevator doors open and URBAN, ANDY, and NATALIE step inside.

NATALIE: I hate knowing more than everyone else about what's really going on in this city.

ANDY: Yeah, so do I.

The doors shut.

CUT TO:

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? ELEVATOR ? NIGHT

The three are in the elevator.

URBAN: What do we do now?

NATALIE: There's nothing we can do?

ANDY: Yes. There is. We'll find whoever created this agent.

NATALIE: How?

URBAN: We'll find everyone Brett came into contact with since that explosion.

NATALIE: Again with the "how?"

URBAN: We know that an ambulance was called to a port where they got Brett's body out of the water.

ANDY: And he was in the water ever since his truck exploded.

NATALIE: How do you know?

ANDY: Oh that's too long of a story for this elevator ride.

URBAN: Continuing with this train of thought; we know that Brett was in the ER and then he was at Slayer Central until Andy found him. Am I right?

ANDY nods.

ANDY: Dead on.

The elevator doors open and NATALIE steps out?and stops.

NATALIE: What the hell??

ANDY and URBAN follow her out of the elevator and stop moving instantly.

ANDY: Oh God?

CUT TO:

INT. ALTERNATE KWON'S GARDENS ? RESTAURANT ? NIGHT

The coloring has taken on a grey-tint. We get a close-up shot of the trio standing outside the elevator as the doors close behind them. Slowly, the camera pulls away, revealing the people dining and moving about the restaurant.

But they aren't moving. They appear to be frozen completely in time.

ANDY, NATALIE, and URBAN are speechless.

FLASH TO:

EXT. KWON'S GARDENS ? ALLEY ? NIGHT

It's raining as STU stumbles out of Kwon's Gardens and into the alleyway. He seems drunk and he's no longer bleeding from the side of his head. He stands in the middle of the alley and looks up at the rainy, night sky. He smiles as the water washes over him, a sort of satisfaction in his eyes.

WOMAN (OS): I love the rain?

STU quickly turns around and sees CAMERON NORMANDY standing in the dark corner, covered by the roof's slight overhang. She smiles.

CAMERON (Cont'd): It's very?refreshing.

She pulls an umbrella out from beneath her long beige trench coat and opens it, holding it over her head as she walks towards STU.

STU: Do I know you?

CAMERON: I don't believe you do.

STU: Can I know you?

CAMERON is now standing almost directly on top of him as she leans in to whisper something in his ear.

CAMERON: Not yet?

She pulls back and smiles at him. He laughs a sort of excited but nervous laugh. He doesn't know what to think of the situation. But she does.

From her pocket she pulls out a needle which she quickly stabs into the side of STU's neck. He tries to yell but all that comes out is a faint moan as he stares at her in shock.

CAMERON (Cont'd): Don't try to make a sound. You won't be able to for at least an hour. (Beat) Which is good enough for us.

His eyes roll up into his head and he collapses to the ground. A black van roars down the alley and stops a yard away from STU's unconscious body. CAMERON watches at four SWAT team members hurry and lift his body off the ground and put him in the back of the van. The doors slam shut and the van speeds back out onto the street. The camera begins to slowly zoom in on CAMERON, who stands alone in the rain, smiling faintly.

CUT TO BLACK

END OF ACT I

**Heather** · 30-07-07, 02:31 AM

ACT II

FADE IN

INT. ALTERNATE KWON'S GARDENS ? LOBBY ? NIGHT

NATALIE taps a frozen woman on the shoulder only to get no response. NATALIE turns around.

NATALIE: What happened this time?

ANDY: Time stopped?

NATALIE: Then how are we still moving?

URBAN: Alternate dimension?

NATALIE: Can we stop asking questions?

ANDY: Alternate dimension makes sense. That's why we're able to move. Because we're not from this dimension. Which means that the elevator was?mysticized?

NATALIE: I don't think that's a word.

ANDY: Enchanted sounds too fluffy. Cursed?Cursed could work. The question now becomes: why would someone curse us here?

URBAN: And who knew what we were doing at Kwon's Gardens?

ANDY and URBAN fall silent in thought and NATALIE turns around to find that the woman she was tapping on the shoulder earlier is gone. NATALIE spins around, looking for where the woman went.

ANDY: Nat?What are you doing?

NATALIE finds the woman, now across the room in a different pose than before, and points at her.

NATALIE: She moved.

ANDY: That's impossible.

NATALIE: No?No she definitely moved.

NATALIE notices a man a few feet away from ANDY who wasn't there before.

NATALIE (Cont'd): And so did he.

ANDY glances back over her shoulder and sees the man NATALIE's talking about.

URBAN: Ok, new theory: this is an exact replica of our dimension but frozen in time and every so often it updates itself.

ANDY: And the people move to where they are in reality.

NATALIE: I'm still all weirded out by the whole "Somebody sent us here," part. Nobody knew that we were coming here, right?

ANDY: Ok, we can't worry about that right now. What we do need to worry about is getting back.

She sighs and walks back to the elevator, hitting the up arrow. The doors open and she enters.

ANDY (Cont'd): If all goes well, I won't be back.

She smiles and hits a button inside. The doors slide shut. There's silence outside of the whirring of the elevator. Several moments later, the doors open.

And ANDY's standing inside.

ANDY (Cont'd): Yeah, I have no more ideas.

URBAN: There's a way in so there has to be a way out.

NATALIE: Ok, so there's a back door out of this place. Where?

URBAN: I have no idea.

ANDY: How much do you know about alternate dimensions?

URBAN puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

URBAN: Enough?I hope.

ANDY: Can we even leave this building?

URBAN: We should be able to. Unless the doors are locked.

ANDY does a fake-laugh and leads the trio to the front doors of Kwon's Gardens. She pushes one?and it opens. The group exits the hotel.

CUT TO:

EXT. ALTERNATE NEW YORK CITY ? STREET ? NIGHT

The three look around at the cars and people, frozen in time. They start to walk down the sidewalk, glancing around occasionally.

NATALIE: Can we?touch stuff?

ANDY: I opened a door, Natalie. We're corporeal.

NATALIE: Just checking.

She reaches out and pulls on the door to a newspaper holder. Without even paying, it opens. She smiles and grabs a paper.

FLASH TO:

EXT. NEW YORK CITY ? STREET ? NIGHT

It's the same street the trio are walking on but people and traffic are moving at normal speed. Suddenly, the door to the same newspaper holder flies open and hits a man in the knee. He yelps in pain.

FLASH TO:

EXT. ALTERNATE NEW YORK CITY ? STREET ? NIGHT

The trio continue walking as NATALIE kicks the newspaper holder shut behind her. It's then that they see something else move. They look over it. It's another person, walking down the opposite side of the street. ANDY steps into the street and moves towards them.

ANDY: Hello? Hey! Over here! Yoohoo! I'm talking to you!

The person looks over at ANDY?and walks into a car. Rather, they walk through the car.

ANDY (Cont'd): Uhoh?

NATALIE: Why "uhoh?"

URBAN: That's a ghost?

ANDY: That's definitely a ghost?

NATALIE stops walking and holds up both her hands, freaking out.

NATALIE: Ok, guys?Where are we?

They exchange nervous looks with each other, all pondering the same, troubling question. Suddenly, a phone rings. ANDY reaches to her pocket and pulls out her cell phone. The caller ID reads "Willow." She answers it.

ANDY: Hello?

WILLOW (On the Phone): Hello? Andy?

ANDY: Hey! I'm here!

The line goes dead. ANDY hangs up.

ANDY (Cont'd): Oh this is great.

She slips the phone back into her pocket and the three remain quiet and still.

FLASH TO:

INT. SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE ? NIGHT

WILLOW hangs up the phone and looks over FAITH, who's lounging in one of the chairs.

FAITH: No answer?

WILLOW: Just static.

FAITH: We don't need them to go to a rave.

WILLOW: It's not a fun thing, Faith. We're doing this to find Amy.

FAITH: What makes you think she'll even be there after the ass kickin' you gave her?

WILLOW looks down.

WILLOW: I didn't give her an "ass kicking?"

FAITH realizes what she said, already knowing exactly what happened and what WILLOW originally meant to do.

FAITH: We can handle her and her cult.

WILLOW: Coven. It's a coven.

FAITH: Whatever, I'm ready for whatever she's got on her side.

WILLOW grabs a bag off the desk and slings it over her shoulder.

WILLOW: We're not doing this for fun, ok? We have a real job to do.

FAITH smiles and nods to herself, cracking her knuckles.

FAITH: Ok, boss.

She flicks a switch and the lights go off in the office as the two leave.

FLASH TO:

INT. ALTERNATE SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE ? NIGHT

The trio is in the office, now wearing new, more comfortable clothes. The lights are still on and a motionless FAITH and WILLOW standing in the door. ANDY is looking through books at the desk while URBAN searches for more on the shelves.

NATALIE: Thank God we can still touch things. I really, really disliked that skirt.

ANDY: You weren't the one in the evening gown.

Suddenly, the lights go off.

ANDY: Son of a?

NATALIE glances back over her shoulder to find that FAITH and WILLOW are gone.

NATALIE: They did it.

She flicks the light switch and the lights come back on.

ANDY: Ok, so according to this book, we could be in either the?the? (Beat ? struggling to pronounce the name) Gorgshmiht dimension or the Clucking dimension.

NATALIE: Clucking? Like?chicken clucking?

ANDY: Like? (Reading from the book) "An astral plane where ghosts walk amongst humans. Often referred to as the ?Haunting Plane.'" It sounds like our current residence but it mentions nothing about people being frozen in time.

URBAN: What about the other one?

ANDY: This one talks about "suspended animation" and that's all that makes me think we could be there.

NATALIE: And please tell me there's a way to get out of this hell hole?

ANDY continues reading the book in front of her?until it is thrown off the desk. ANDY's eyes widen, surprised.

ANDY: Ruhroh...

She is thrown back into the wall behind the desk as if an invisible hand punched her. At the same time, NATALIE is grabbed by the arms by an unseen entity and held in place against a wall. URBAN moves to help NATALIE but only takes one step and stops. One of the invisible beings fades into view.

It's RHYS.

URBAN, shocked, takes a step back. The two beings attacking ANDY and NATALIE become visible much faster. They're JOE and an unknown WOMAN.

RHYS: Urban, long time no see.

That's when he strikes. RHYS throws a punch that sends URBAN smashing up into an overhead light, which comes crashing down to the ground along with him. URBAN painfully looks up at RHYS.

FLASH TO:

FLASHBACK

EXT. COLUMBIA ? BEACH ? NIGHT

URBAN and AUGUST are sitting on the sandy beach, wearing the same clothes as in the last flashback. Both are cut and dirty from the night's events. AUGUST stands up and heads towards the water.

AUGUST: What are we supposed to do, Urban? Run?

URBAN: No?

AUGUST turns around, her voice rising and her tone changes to anger.

AUGUST: Then what are we supposed to do? He knows we have the USB port. He knows we know what's on it.

URBAN: And that makes us a threat. To him and to everyone else that's like him.

AUGUST: So what? We go after him? Kill him?

URBAN shakes his head and picks up a handful of sand, slowly letting it run between his fingers. AUGUST runs a hand through her hair and looks up at the night sky.

AUGUST (Cont'd): I don't wanna die because of this?

URBAN: You won't die.

AUGUST: You can't guarantee that.

AUGUST walks back up the beach towards URBAN but stops halfway.

AUGUST (Cont'd): I want out.

URBAN nods, seemingly having known that this was coming.

AUGUST (Cont'd): And I want you out.

He looks up at her now, surprised by this request.

URBAN: No, I started this. I'm gonna finish it, too.

AUGUST: He will kill you, Urban! It's suicidal!

URBAN: I need to do this.

AUGUST: No. No you don't.

URBAN stands up and begins to walk towards her.

URBAN: The stuff on this USB port? It's what I've been looking for. It will help me end all of this. I can't give up now. I can't hand it over.

AUGUST stares him straight in the eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek.

AUGUST: Then you're doing it without me.

URBAN reaches out to her with one hand?and is thrown across the beach. Standing behind him is RHYS. He smiles at AUGUST.

RHYS: He there, sweetheart.

He grabs her and she screams for help.

And then there's silence.

Across the beach, URBAN slowly rises to his feet and scans the beach for RHYS and AUGUST. Both are gone. He stumbles across the sand.

URBAN: August?? August!

The camera pulls upwards, giving us an aerial shot of the empty beach as URBAN walks across the sand.

END OF FLASHBACK

FLASH TO:

INT. ALTERNATE SLAYER CENTRAL ? OFFICE ? NIGHT

URBAN is slammed into a wall, RHYS' hand gripped tightly around his throat. ANDY throws a punch and catches JOE off guard, striking him across the jaw. ANDY looks shocked that her hand didn't go right through him.

ANDY: Oh thank God?

She opens a drawer of the desk and takes out a dagger. Twirling it between her fingers, and slices through the air towards JOE, who's back is facing her. He slowly turns around, his hand holding his throat as blood gushes out of it. ANDY watches in shock.

JOE: Son of a bitch?

He falls to the ground and vanishes from sight. Shaking her head, ANDY moves towards the WOMAN holding NATALIE against the wall. She kicks her in the back and the WOMAN turns around throwing a punch of her own and hitting ANDY in the gut. NATALIE, after having been let go by the WOMAN, grabs a vase from a shelf and smashes it over the WOMAN's head. ANDY stabs her in the stomach and the WOMAN doubles over, smiling up at ANDY before she vanishes.

ANDY turns around and finds URBAN struggling against RHYS' strength. She hurries over and grabs RHYS by the shoulder.

ANDY: I don't know who the hell you are, but I already don't like you.

She throws him out the door and URBAN drops to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing. ANDY stalks out the door and stands over RHYS, one hand in her pocket and the other holding the knife down at her side.

ANDY (Cont'd): Something tells me that you know your way around this dimension. And something tells me that you're going to share with us how we can get out. Got it?

RHYS smiles and sits up. He laughs.

RHYS: There's no way out of here.

ANDY: Actually, according to the book I was reading before you so rudely through it across the room, there has to be a Gateway out. Every dimension has one. And you know where it is.

RHYS: Just because there's a Gateway, doesn't mean you'll escape. That Gateway has a timer and when the time's up? You're stuck here for good.

ANDY: And how much time is left?

RHYS: Three hours.

ANDY scoffs at his disbelief in their ability to escape.

ANDY: That's more than enough time.

RHYS: Look who's underestimating who, now?

Suddenly, RHYS is back on his feet and suddenly standing behind ANDY. He whispers in her ear.

RHYS (Cont'd): I hope you don't expect us to make your escape any easier.

ANDY spins around but RHYS is gone.

RHYS (OS): The clock's ticking?

In the background, we see NATALIE helping URBAN to his feet as ANDY looks around the warehouse, searching for RHYS. He is nowhere to be found.

CUT TO BLACK

END OF ACT II

**Heather** · 30-07-07, 02:31 AM

ACT III

FADE IN

INT. NIGHTCLUB ? BAR ? NIGHT

On the dance floor, we see a mosh pit of people head banging to heavy metal music and grinding up against each other. The lights are dim and the place is smokey but we can still see fairly clearly. Sitting on a barstool is WILLOW, her face amazed by the way these people are acting at the club. FAITH walks up and taps her on the shoulder to get her attention. When they talk, they have to yell in order to be heard.

FAITH: I can't find Amy!

WILLOW: What?

FAITH: I. Can't. Find. Amy.

WILLOW: Ohhh?I'm not surprised! She could be anywhere in this moshpit!

Strobe lights turn on as colorful lasers of light flash around the room. WILLOW holds up a hand to cover her eyes from the lights but she still looks at FAITH.

WILLOW (Cont'd): These lights are gonna give me a migraine!

She briefly glances over at the crowd of people shaking back and forth to the music.

WILLOW (Cont'd): I think they all of epilepsy!

FAITH laughs and snaps her fingers to get the BARTENDER's attention. It doesn't work. She pounds on the bar with her fist instead, causing the entire countertop to vibrate. The BARTENDER notices and walks over to her.

FAITH: Get me a Bud!

WILLOW turns around, shocked.

WILLOW: You are not gonna drink on the job!

FAITH rolls her eyes and snaps her fingers at the bartender again. He turns around.

FAITH: Make that a shot of Vodka!

He nods and grabs a glass, pouring her shot and then handing it to her. She downs the drink and slides the glass back down to the BARTENDER.

FAITH: Get another!

She turns to WILLOW.

FAITH (To Willow): This is impossible! We're not gonna find her!

WILLOW: I think I have an idea! B-But?It might not go so well?

FAITH: What?

The bartender gives FAITH her second shot. She looks down at it briefly and then hands it to WILLOW.

FAITH (Cont'd): Take it! You need it more than I do!

WILLOW takes the shot, stares at it?and downs the drink. Her face contorts in disgust and she shakes her head.

WILLOW: Make sure nobody's watching incase there're fireworks!

FAITH nods to herself as the bartender gives her another shot.

FAITH: I don't think these guys'll care!

She takes the shot as WILLOW looks back towards the crowd...her eyes now black.

WILLOW (To herself): Guiding Light, I seek your guidance. Help me find who I seek. Help me find Amy Madison.

Her head is thrown back as a wave of invisible energy blows her hair back. When the energy stops flowing, WILLOW looks back at the crowd and we see that her eyes are back to normal.

FAITH: Did it work?

WILLOW doesn't respond at first, and then smiles.

WILLOW: I think it did?

She jumps off her stool and hurries out into the crowd. The camera gets a shot of WILLOW pushing through the crowd and slowly pans up above everyone's heads to show golden strands of light intertwining in a ring above one person. FAITH takes off after WILLOW.

WILLOW stops, looks up, and sees that she is right under the glowing ring of lights. She frowns, scanning everyone's faces. The camera locks onto one face, though, and it's DOUG BARON. Disappointed in her spell's results, WILLOW turns to face FAITH, who has found her in the crowd.

WILLOW: It didn't work...

FAITH: You mean that glowing ring, right?

WILLOW: Yeah! It was supposed to find Amy, but it didn't.

FAITH: Are you sure? ?Cause it's movin' back towards the bar?

They both look towards the bar and, sure enough, the ring is now hovering directly over where they just standing. The two hurry back to the bar and WILLOW cocks her head to the side and what she sees.

The ring of light is hovering over DOUG's head.

FAITH (Cont'd): So is Amy a guy now?

The two look curiously at DOUG. After a moment of silence between them, WILLOW begins to walk towards DOUG.

FAITH (Cont'd): Where you goin'?

WILLOW: To ask him some questions!

FAITH follows WILLOW to the bar. WILLOW sits down right next to DOUG and holds her hand out to him. He looks at her oddly.

WILLOW (Cont'd): Hi! I'm Willow!

DOUG looks down at her hand and then back at her face, realizing which "Willow" she is. He takes her hand.

DOUG: I'm Doug. Nice to meet you.

FAITH glances up at the ring of light, only to find that it has faded away.

WILLOW (To Doug): Do you come to raves often, Doug?

DOUG laughs and shakes his head.

DOUG: No, definitely not. This isn't my scene.

WILLOW: Mine either.

She laughs.

WILLOW (Cont'd): So, may I ask what you are doing here?

DOUG nods.

DOUG: You may, but I'm not gonna give you an answer.

WILLOW: I get that.

DOUG: So what are you doing here?

WILLOW: I'm looking for someone. Maybe you can help me out?

Suddenly, the music stops. The crowd gets angry and looks around for the source of the problem, furious. Suddenly, all the lights go out and the strobe lights come on. The sound of glass shattering can be heard as screams rip through the rave.

FAITH: This isn't good?

A swarm of cranial demons charge into the crowd of people, their talons slicing at whoever's in their way. DOUG, WILLOW, and FAITH begin to panic as a realization hits them all: they're greatly outnumbered.

CUT TO:

EXT. ALTERNATE NEW YORK CITY ? STREET ? NIGHT

ANDY, URBAN, and NATALIE are walking down the middle of the street. URBAN has a book open in front of him, reading it as he walks. NATALIE's holding the knife from before in her hand while ANDY has a gun gripped down by her side.

URBAN: Ok, so it says that this dimension can only be accessed from the outside. Once the door is opened, it remains open for limited period of time. Once that time is up, the door is closed and locked. The only way out after that door closes, is to wait until somebody else accesses the dimension and opens a new portal.

NATALIE: But it doesn't give any kinda description of this door??

ANDY (Correcting Natalie): Gateway.

NATALIE: Whatever.

URBAN shakes his head.

URBAN: No. It changes every time a portal from the outside is opened.

We hear laughter echoing around the trio. They stop walking and look around. There's nobody to be seen.

ANDY: Ok, little ghosty people, feel free to come out and try to kick our asses. See what happens.

The book flies out of URBAN's hands and hits ANDY in the back of the head. ANDY whirls around.

URBAN: Wasn't me!

ANDY: Nope, but it was him.

The camera spins around and we see a young man standing behind URBAN. He smiles and waves before turning and running off down the street, slowly fading away. But he doesn't get the chance to disappear completely. ANDY raises the gun and fires. The shot hits the guy in the leg and he falls, suddenly completely visible again. ANDY walks over to him, gun aimed directly at his other leg. The guy rolls over onto his back, moaning in pain.

GUY: You bitch?

ANDY: I'm gonna ignore your vulgar outburst and cut to the chase.

She grabs him by the shirt and lifts him up off the ground, his feet dangling above the street.

ANDY (Cont'd): Where's the Gateway out of here?

GUY: I don't know!

ANDY waves the gun in front of his face.

ANDY: See, you're already dead so it doesn't matter if I turn you into Swiss cheese. But, fortunately for me, it'll hurt you. A lot. So quit the tough guy act and I'll let you go. Sound good?

The GUY looks down at the ground and nods. ANDY smiles and lowers him back down to the ground but maintains her grip on his shirt.

GUY: It's a store?

ANDY: If you say it's a Gateway computer store, I will sell you in a deli?

GUY: N-No! It's in Macy's. Well?Not in Macy's. But outside Macy's.

ANDY: Can you explain this a little more clearly? Kay thanks.

GUY: The doors. The front doors. You pass through them and it'll take you home.

ANDY: Are you sure?

GUY: Yeah! Yeah I am.

ANDY: Thank you.

She throws him backwards and he fades away before he ever hits the ground. She turns and walks back to URBAN and NATALIE.

GUY (OS): Skank-ass whore?

ANDY whirls around and fires the gun. We hear the GUY scream but he never becomes visible.

ANDY: Shut your face.

She turns around.

NATALIE: Do you think he's telling the truth?

ANDY: I hope he is. But that means we've got quite the distance to cover without getting attacked by these ghost guys.

URBAN: Then we should get moving.

The three begin to walk off down the street and deeper into the city.

FLASH TO:

FLASHBACK

EXT. DESERT COMPOUND ? WAREHOUSES ? NIGHT

URBAN, dressed completely in black, presses himself against a wall and walks deeper into the compound. He has a gun held down by his side. He looks around, double checking that nobody is around to spot him as he pulls out two picks to pick the lock on a metal door in front of him.

CUT TO:

INT. DESERT COMPOUND ? WAREHOUSE ? NIGHT

URBAN slowly and quietly shuts the door behind him and moves deeper into the empty warehouse?and a gunshot is fired. It rips through the silence and blows chunks of the concrete ground up into the air before URBAN. He jumps back, surprised by the attack. From out of the darkness comes a WOMAN (the same woman from earlier at Slayer Central).

She kicks URBAN in the back, forcing him down onto the ground. URBAN pushes himself up onto his feet, squatting, and spins on one foot while the other lashes out and knocks the WOMAN's legs out from under her. She falls and URBAN grabs her by the collar of her leather jacket, lifting her up off the ground and slamming her against the wall. Both are concealed in the shadows, safe from the gunman above.

URBAN: Where is she?

WOMAN: Where is who?

He pulls her back off the wall and slams her against it again, this time even harder. She moans.

URBAN: Where is she, Tabitha?

The woman, TABITHA, laughs and looks down at the ground.

URBAN (Shouting): Where is she?!

TABITHA smiles at URBAN.

TABITHA: She's a Slayer now, Urban. She doesn't need your protection.

URBAN: 6 months ago, I made August a promise. I'm going to keep that promise. And if that means killing you, I swear to God, I will do it in a heartbeat.

TABITHA's smile fades away. URBAN lets her go but she doesn't run.

URBAN (Cont'd): She's your family. Just tell me where Rhys is keeping her.

TABITHA is hesitant. She seems to trust URBAN, as if attacking him was only an order and not something she wanted to do.

TABITHA: He'll kill me.

URBAN: Not if I kill him first.

TABITHA smiles at him.

TABITHA: Underground. There's a door, in the center of the room. It'll take you directly into the sewer system. Follow the lights and you'll find her.

A gunshot rings out through the warehouse. URBAN looks around, panicked. He looks over at TABITHA. She seems just as confused?and then looks down at her abdomen. Blood is pouring out of the bullet wound. She presses a hand against it and and collapses against the wall, slowly sliding down to the floor.

TABITHA (With all her energy): Go!

URBAN backs away slowly.

RHYS (OS): She was right, you know.

URBAN spins around and sees RHYS standing right behind him.

RHYS (Cont'd): I did kill her after all. Looks like you can't save everybody.

URBAN rears back and throws the first punch.

END OF FLASHBACK

FLASH TO:

INT. CELESTIAL CENTER ? ELIZABETH'S OFFICE ? NIGHT

ELIZABETH is sitting at her desk, staring at the computer screen. We see a junk drive in plugged into the computer. She bites her lip and grabs the mouse, clicking a file and opening it. It appears to be a letter. And the letter's addressed to URBAN MCGRATH. ELIZABETH scans the letter.

ELIZABETH: Son of a bitch?

There's a knock at the door and we see DIANNA standing in the entrance.

DIANNA: They're ready.

ELIZABETH doesn't look up at her.

ELIZABETH: Yes, and clearly I'm not. So tell them to wait.

DIANNA: I may be getting paid to be your assistant but don't think that I'm gonna be your messenger. Tell them yourself.

ELIZABETH looks up from the computer.

ELIZABETH (Emotionless): Do you want me to kill you? Because I will.

DIANNA glares at her and leaves. ELIZABETH rubs her eyes and stands up from her chair, heading towards the door. The camera focuses on the computer screen where we see part of the letter. It reads: "There's only one way to kill people like Rhys and Elizabeth. You need one in order to successfully take out the other. There is a set of instructions in another file on this USB port. Follow them perfectly or it won't work. Good luck, R.S."

CUT TO:

INT. CELESTIAL CENTER ? INTERROGATION ROOM ? NIGHT

We see JORDAN standing by the door and STU, bound to a chair, sitting in the center of the room. ELIZABETH breezes inside and slams the door shut behind her.

ELIZABETH (To Stu): Listen, I am not in the best of moods right now so let's make this as easy and painless as possible. Alright?

STU looks up at her, clearly still drowsy.

STU: I've told you everything I know.

ELIZABETH: I don't believe you.

JORDAN steps forward and her we see her eyes glow.

JORDAN: Tell us everything.

STU's eyes glow the same orange color as JORDAN's. His body goes stiff.

ELIZABETH: Now what exactly do you know about the Master Virus?

STU has been staring straight forward since JORDAN put him in this trance but slowly looks up at ELIZABETH. She smiles at him and JORDAN backs into the shadows again.

CUT TO:

EXT. ALTERNATE NEW YORK CITY ? MACY'S ? NIGHT

ANDY, URBAN, and NATALIE make their way down the sidewalk and towards the front entrance to Macy's.

NATALIE: Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Do you think I can, maybe, look??

ANDY: No.

NATALIE: Oh c'mon! It'll only take a minute!

ANDY: No. No looking. We've wasted two hours already. We are not wasting another with you window shopping.

Laughter is heard echoing down the street as a gust of wind blows papers up off the street and blows up their hair.

URBAN: We need to hurry.

NATALIE: Can these guys get out of here, too? You know?Since this is an open doorway or whatever.

URBAN: That's how run of the mill hauntings happen. The book said that if they get out in the spirit form, they are ghosts in the next dimension, too.

ANDY: But what if they get out in corporeal form??

URBAN: Then the rules change?

The three fall into silence.

NATALIE: Well isn't that the happiest thought to ever cause an awkward silence.

Suddenly, a ghost flies directly into ANDY, smashing her into a streetlight. The ghost fades into view and we see that it's JOE. He punches her twice across the jaw. She spits blood out onto the ground and knees him in the crotch. He let's her go.

ANDY: You may be dead, but that doesn't mean your dingdong doesn't have feelings.

She punches him and, while he's doubled over, kicks him in the the head, sending him sprawling across the concrete. He disappears from sight. ANDY smiles confidently?and is hit square in the back. Standing behind her is JOE.

JOE: I really don't like you.

NATALIE's eyes widen in shock as another ghost fades into sight: TABITHA.

TABITHA: Hey there, cutie.

She punches her in the gut and grabs her by the hair, throwing her to the ground. NATALIE glares at her but TABITHA appears emotionless. URBAN hurries up behind TABITHA and hits her over the head with the book. She stumbles forward and turns to stare at him.

TABITHA (Cont'd): You didn't protect me like you said you would and now you're smacking me up with textbooks?

She kicks him. A moment later, RHYS appears standing right next to URBAN.

RHYS: She's a fiesty one, isn't she?

He punches URBAN and grabs him by the back of his shirt. After spinning once, he let's go and sends URBAN crashing up into a traffic light. We focus on RHYS as he walks towards URBAN. Blurry and out of focus in the background, we see TABITHA turn and watch while JOE straightens up and faces the scene as it unfolds. NATALIE and ANDY are still on the ground.

URBAN struggles to lift himself up off the ground.

RHYS (Cont'd): Just like old times, right?

He kicks URBAN.

RHYS (Cont'd): You never should've double-crossed me, Urban. Definitely wasn't the smartest move. And I promised my sister I'd let her kill you.

RHYS reaches to his pocket and pulls out a knife. He squats down next to URBAN, bruised and bleeding.

RHYS (Cont'd): But I don't think I'm gonna keep that promise.

He pulls his hand back, preparing to plung the knife into URBAN's chest, but we see a hand wrap around his wrist. We see that it's TABITHA.

TABITHA: And I don't think you're going to kill him, either.

Swiftly, she pulls his arm backwards, dragging him across the sidewalk. JOE walks over and grabs RHYS' other arm. The two lift and pin RHYS against a wall. He struggles against their stength but can't break free. ANDY and NATALIE watch, surprised by this turn of events. URBAN smiles and gets to his feet. ANDY does the same. NATALIE struggles to get up but URBAN takes her hand and helps her stand up. She smiles at him.

TABITHA (Shouting): Go! Now!

URBAN glances back at TABITHA AND SMILES. She nods and motions her head towards the front doors to Macy's.

TABITHA (Cont'd): Go, dumbass!

ANDY is already heading towards the doors while URBAN helps NATALIE follow.

We see RHYS starting to overpower JOE and TABITHA. He breaks free, sending JOE flying through the air. With his free hand, he grabs TABITHA by the throat.

RHYS: Let's go, sweetheart.

He pushes off the wall and they turn into a blur, moving quickly towards the trio. URBAN opens the door and the three pass through it, a glowing blue light consuming the doorway. It's then, before the door shuts, that the blur that is RHYS and TABITHA become visible. RHYS tosses TABITHA through effortlessly and holds the door open for himself. He glances out at the dimension, seeing JOE fading away on the concrete, and then passes through the doorway. The door shuts behind him and the glowing blue light vanishes.

A gust of wind blows down the street, sweeping up papers again, as people, and traffic, move to their current location as usual.

CUT TO BLACK

END OF ACT III

**Heather** · 30-07-07, 02:34 AM

ACT IV

FADE IN

INT. KWON'S GARDENS ? RESTAURANT ? NIGHT

The elevator doors open?and out steps ANDY, NATALIE, and URBAN. Two black birds fly out before the doors shut.

NATALIE: Ok?Why are we back here? We enter Macy's and exit Kwon's Gardens?

ANDY: This is where the portal was opened so we came out here?? Maybe? I don't know. I don't care, either. I just wanna get out of here.

The three make their way into the lobby. Now that they are wearing different, more comfortable clothes, they look out of place amongst all the dressed up people in the lobby. The front doors are opened for the three of them and they leave.

CUT TO:

EXT. KWON'S GARDENS ? ALLEY ? NIGHT

The two black birds land in the middle of the alley. Smoke consumes both of them and with a flash of light, we see that it is RHYS and TABITHA. He grabs her by the arm and clamps another hand over her mouth. He see blood dripping from TABITHA's gut. RHYS notices.

RHYS: Let's get you fixed up?

He pushes lets go of her and pushes her out of the alley. He stumbles out after her and puts on a show for the civilians passing by.

RHYS (Shouting): Somebody help! Please!

TABITHA collapses to the ground as a swarm of people crowd around them.

RHYS (Cont'd): Call 911! Please!

He stumbles slightly and falls to the ground, having "passed out." We hear sirens in the distance as ambulences rush to their rescue.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHTCLUB ? BAR ? NIGHT

FAITH throws a punch and knocks a cranial demon off its feet. As another moves in to attack her from behind, she flips up into the air and kicks it in the back, landing swiftly on her feet.

Across the room, we see WILLOW throwing blasts of energy at the demons, taking them out one by one. She spins and takes out another before it kills a young woman cowering in the corner.

A few feet away is DOUG, bolts of lighting sparking from his finger tips and striking the demons as they get close to him.

Thoughout the nightclub, people run for safety but many are attacked and slaughtered by the demons.

FAITH: This isn't working!

She's then jumped from behind, falling to the ground with a cranial demon slicing at her back. DOUG notices and throws a bolt of lightning at the demon on top of her, killing it instantly.

WILLOW goes to throw another orb of energy when she's suddenly overwhelmed with energy. Her eyes roll black?but suddenly begin to glow. They become white and she slowly lifts off the ground.

The scene is now in slow-motion as WILLOW is consumed in white light. Bolts of the same energy fly around the room, scaring off many of the cranial demons. DOUG turns and watches the spectacle while FAITH pushes herself up off the ground to stare in awe. The light flashes through the darkness of the club, striking a few demons directly in the back and incinerating them instantly. Once the last of the demons are gone or dead, the light begins to fade. WILLOW lowers to the ground gradually but can't maintain her balance and collpapses to the ground. DOUG kneels down beside her and helps her sit up.

DOUG: Are you alright?

WILLOW blinks once and the light in her eyes disappears. She takes a deep breath and rubs her forehead.

WILLOW: Well that was?ugggh?

FAITH hurries over to them and squats down.

FAITH: New trick?

WILLOW shrugs weakly.

WILLOW: Not mine, though?

FAITH looks at her, confused.

DOUG: We should get out of her. Cops'll be here any second and I, for one, don't wanna answer any questions.

FAITH: Neither do I.

They both help WILLOW to her feet but as FAITH starts to head towards the fron door, DOUG stops her.

DOUG: Wait, there's a backdoor.

FAITH: I like the way you think.

The three of them turn and walk around the bar and into another room.

CUT TO:

EXT. NIGHTCLUB ? ALLEY ? NIGHT

FAITH, WILLOW, and DOUG walk out into the alley.

DOUG: I should really get going. Are you sure you're alright?

WILLOW nods, smiling.

WILLOW: Peachy.

FAITH: I can handle it, buddy. Thanks for the help.

DOUG: No problem. See you both around?

WILLOW: Maybe.

He smiles, turns, and walks down the alley. In a flash of light, he disappears.

FAITH: Guys can be witches?

WILLOW stares at the spot where he disappeared, smiling?and then catches herself.

WILLOW: W-what? Oh?They like to be called "Practitioners" or "Warlocks."

FAITH: He was throwin' some strong stuff. Gotta be workin' with Amy.

WILLOW nods in agreement.

FAITH (Cont'd): But what about you? The disco ball act? What was that?

WILLOW shakes her head and shrugs.

WILLOW: It wasn't me?I mean, it was me but I couldn't control it. It just took over and I was it's?vessel or something.

FAITH: What's "it?"

WILLOW turns and looks at her, fear visible on her face.

WILLOW: The power. Inside of me. It's getting stronger and it's?It's getting to be too much for me to handle and things just happen nowadays without me even really wanting them to happen. This power? (Beat) I think it wants out?

The two stand in silence, that dark thought hanging in the air.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT BUILDING ? HALLWAY ? NIGHT

ANDY, URBAN, and NATALIE are standing outside a door to an apartment.

URBAN: You know where Stu lives, too?

ANDY: I had to pay him many business visits. (To Natalie) Don't get any dirty thoughts.

NATALIE rolls her eyes. ANDY knocks on the door. We here glass smash and swearing come from inside.

NATALIE: I guess he's home?

The door flies open and we see STU standing in the doorway. He's swaying slightly.

STU: What do you want?

ANDY: We wanna know why you set that lovely little trap in the elevator, Stu. Care to explain?

STU laughs and rubs his eyes.

STU: It wasn't meant for you.

ANDY: Then who was it meant for?

STU: A woman who keeps harrassin' me about the virus, too. I wasn't expecting you guys to come knockin' on my door. I'm sorry you stepped into the trap. I really am.

He yawns.

STU (Cont'd): Is that all? I've got spilt beer to clean up, no thanks to you.

ANDY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Thanks for the help, Stu.

STU: Anytime, dollface. Just not too soon, got it?

The three of them turn and start down the hallway. Then ANDY stops, realization suddenly washing over her.

ANDY: The woman who keeps harrassing you?

STU: What about her?

ANDY turns around.

ANDY: What's her name?

STU: I said "not too soon." Two seconds is too soon.

ANDY: What's her name, Stu?

STU leans against the doorjam and huffs. He rubs his jaw, thinking.

STU: Elizabeth, I think her name was. She's a serious bitch.

ANDY's speechless upon learning that ELIZABETH is looking into the Master Virus, too.

NATALIE: Andy, let's go. C'mon.

NATALIE takes ANDY by the hand and pulls her back towards the elevator. STU shuts the door to his apartment and the trio enter the elevator.

CUT TO:

INT. LYNN'S CONDO ? DINING ROOM ? NIGHT

LYNN and ELIZABETH are sitting opposite each other, having finished eating dinner. They seem to be in the middle of a conversation.

LYNN: But that's boring compared to your day, right? How'd the interrogation go? (Beat) It's disturbing that I'm asking you this.

ELIZABETH smiles and wipes her mouth with a napkin.

ELIZABETH: It went well. We found out a lot of things we don't already know and?well?It went well. I'll leave it at that.

LYNN sees that something is troubling ELIZABETH.

LYNN: I've told you not to get personally involved in this and I'm not going to tell you again?

ELIZABETH: I should've married him. I should've?Been there. I should've walked down that aisle and we should've rode off into the sunset. This never should've happened.

LYNN: Elizabeth?

LYNN reaches out to supportively hold her hand but ELIZABETH shakes her head and stands up from the table.

ELIZABETH: Don't say that I couldn't control what happened. I could've. I should've said no when they asked me to kill Ramiro Santiago. I would've made it to the chapel. We would be married right now.

LYNN has suddenly lost track of the conversation.

LYNN: Who's Ramiro Santiago?

ELIZABETH runs a hand through her hair.

ELIZABETH: Our first boss as the Center. He trained us. He made us the people we are today. (Beat) And then he betrayed us. Betrayed me, to be exact. I got a call from the girl that was really pulling the strings back then?What was her name? Kayla Kaas?

LYNN nods.

ELIZABETH (Cont'd): Well anyway, she told me that Ramiro had gone rogue and turned against the company. She told me that he knew how to kill me and my cousin, Rhys, and was getting ready to have somebody do it. We both knew that I couldn't let him do that. So I killed him and ran. Spent a month in Columbia with Rhys.

LYNN (Quietly): That explains a lot, actually?

ELIZABETH: I went back to Columbia. When I faked my death. I found out that Rhys was murdered by Urban McGrath. But I knew that that wasn't possible. So I spent that time investigating what really happened and when I got the answers I wanted, I came back.

LYNN: What answers did you find there?

ELIZABETH looks down at her mother.

ELIZABETH: That you're not really my mother. That you adopted me. That I'm not just some kind of genetic freak like I thought and that Rhys wasn't my cousin after all. Instead I did have a biological family; Rhys being my brother and both my parents having been hunted down and killed by a Slayer.

The two fall silent. LYNN had known this all along.

ELIZABETH: You should've told me.

LYNN: I couldn't have told you. You were too young.

ELIZABETH (Angrily): I was not too young!

LYNN (Shouting): You wouldn't have been able to handle it! (Beat ? Now quietly) I knew your parents. Both of them. That's how I got custody of you. They gave both you and your brother to me when they had to go on the run, but I couldn't take care of two babies. I was young. So I gave Rhys away to a close friend of mine. And when I found out your parents were dead?That's when I wanted revenge. Against the Slayer?against the Watcher's Council?

ELIZABETH leans against a wall and covers her eyes with one of her hands as a tear rolls down her cheek.

LYNN (Cont'd): I was protecting you, Elizabeth. I did it for your own good. I didn't want you to become a vengeful person like I did. You deserved, and still deserve, a better life than that.

The room falls silent. LYNN stands up from the table and heads towards the kitchen.

LYNN (Cont'd): I need a drink?

We hear her get a glass and pour herself a drink in the kitchen but we focus on ELIZABETH as she cries against the wall. She wipes her eyes and heads towards the door. The camera moves back to focus on LYNN as she reenters the room with a glass of liquor?only to find that her adopted daughter is gone.

CUT TO:

INT. CLUB ? BAR ? NIGHT

NATALIE and URBAN are sitting at the bar of a nightclub, music playing in the background while people dance on the dance floor or eat at tables. Both of them are drinking and snacking on an appetizer.

NATALIE: I wish nights like these would just get?easier. I mean, I've been living this life for?over three years now. It just never gets easier.

URBAN: I've been dealing with it for even longer. You can never completely adjust to this stuff. It's always too?

NATALIE: Unnatural and creepy?

URBAN laughs.

URBAN: Yeah.

NATALIE takes a drink from her glass and smiles down at it.

NATALIE: Mmm?Tequila?Magically delicious?

The two laugh.

NATALIE (Cont'd): I never got to say thank you.

URBAN: For what?

NATALIE: For what you did tonight. For?everything, really.

URBAN smiles and takes a drink.

URBAN: I did nothing.

NATALIE: Ah, modesty: a lovely invention.

She smiles at him and he smiles back.

NATALIE (Cont'd): How did you know them?? The ghost people, I mean. They knew you but?how?

URBAN looks out at the crowd of people and then down at his drink, swirling the ice a bit.

URBAN: They were from a different life.

He stares down at his drink for a moment and then looks up at NATALIE, an unreadable expression on his face.

FLASH TO:

FLASHBACK:

INT. DESERT COMPOUND ? WAREHOUSE - NIGHT

RHYS throws URBAN across the room and he slams into a balcony overhead. He smashes back down onto the ground as RHYS moves in for another attack. URBAN blocks this one and sends RHYS sprawling to the floor. Scrambling to his feet, URBAN searches for a weapon to use. He finds it. A metal rod is protruding from the first balcony some ten feet overhead. He jumps up and pulls it free. Spinning it, URBAN lashes out with the weapon and strikes RHYS over the head.

URBAN: Did you hurt her?

RHYS spits blood onto the ground and looks up at URBAN.

RHYS: Not yet?

URBAN spins and hits RHYS in the gut this time. He doubles over and glares up at URBAN, panting.

RHYS (Cont'd): This won't solve anything. She'll be gone before you ever find her.

URBAN drops the metal pole and grabs RHYS by the collar of this shirt.

URBAN: I already know where she is.

RHYS: What a shame?

RHYS grabs URBAN by the throat and the two stumble back into the center of the room and fall, hard onto the floor. The impact is too much for the door in the floor to withstand and it crashes down inside the sewer system. The two men fall inside after it.

CUT TO:

INT. DESERT COMPOUND ? SEWER SYSTEM ? NIGHT

RHYS and URBAN get to their feet and URBAN throws another punch. RHYS blocks it and throws one of his own, only to be blocked, too. Slowly, as they fight, the two move deeper into the sewer tunnel and towards a bright light at the end of the tunnel. URBAN rears back and kicks RHYS in the stomach, forcing him backwards and into the light.
CUT TO:

INT. DESERT COMPOUND ? SEWER DEAD END ? NIGHT

URBAN steps into the dead end tunnel and sees AUGUST dangling in the center of the room over a swirling vortex in the floor. RHYS gets to his feet.

AUGUST: Urban!

RHYS: You take one more step and she's gone.

URBAN stops moving forward.

RHYS: Give me the USB port, Urban. I know you have it. And I know you know that I'll let both of you go if you just hand it over.

URBAN hesitantly reaches into his pocket and pulls out the USB port. He looks down at it and tosses it on the ground a few feet away from RHYS.

URBAN: Cut her down.

RHYS smiles and bends over to grab it?and that's when URBAN kicks him. RHYS loses his balance and falls back into the portal, screaming.

AUGUST: Can you get me down from here? Please!

URBAN spots a knife on the ground on the other side of the portal. He hurries and grabs it, holding onto AUGUST while he cuts the bonds from the ceiling. He catches her in his arms when she falls and puts her down on her feet. URBAN grabs the USB port off the ground. The two then walk out of the tunnel.

CUT TO:

INT. DESERT COMPOUND ? WAREHOUSE ? NIGHT

URBAN and AUGUST step up out of the sewer system and into the warehouse. Quickly, they walk towards the front doors.

URBAN: Do you know where he went?

AUGUST: That portal took him to some different dimension.

URBAN: So it's done?

AUGUST smiles at him.

AUGUST: It's done.

It's then that bullets shower the bottom floor of the warehouse from above. The two take off running?but AUGUST is hit. She falls to the ground.

URBAN: August!

But he realizes it's too late. She's already dead. As he runs, the USB port drops out of his hand but he doesn't notice. Pulling open the door, he escapes. He looks back at AUGUST's body one last time. The camera zooms in on the USB port slowly once the guns stop firing. Out of focus in the background, we see two dark figures pick AUGUST's dead body up off the ground and carry her down into the sewer system. The camera pans around and we see URBAN running out into the darkness.

END OF FLASHBACK

FLASH TO:

INT. NEW YORK GENERAL ? BRETT'S ROOM ? NIGHT

ANDY opens the door to the hospital room and enters the darkness. She flips a switch and the lights come on. We see BRETT lying peacefully on the bed, a new bandage on the side of his head. ANDY is overwhelmed with emotion and sits in a chair at his bedside. She holds his hand.

ANDY: Hi.

She smiles at him and touches the bandage tenderly.

ELIZABETH (OS): They did another surgery, incase you're wondering.

ANDY looks up and sees ELIZABETH standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in her hands. She appears to have been crying. She takes a sip from the cup and smiles. ANDY stands up.

ANDY: What the hell are you doing here?

ELIZABETH takes a couple steps into the room.

ELIZABETH: Visiting my ex-boyfriend, of course.

ANDY: You don't belong here.

ELIZABETH: I have just as much a right to be here as you do.

ANDY: No, you don't.

ELIZABETH: Really? Did you two almost get married?

She notices ANDY's dumbfounded expressions and laughs, putting her coffee cup down on a shelf.

ELIZABETH (Cont'd): He didn't tell you, did he? Well isn't this a classic moment?

ANDY moves towards her quickly and grabs her by the jacket, pushing her out into the hallway and slamming her against a wall.

ANDY: Shut your mouth.

ELIZABETH: So Brett and I?That's still a sore subject? Personally, I take comfort in knowing that you're merely his whore of the moment. You're just a phase. Something he'll grow out of.

ANDY slams her back against the wall even harder.

ANDY: I said shut up.

ELIZABETH grabs one of ANDY's hands and effortlessly pulls it off her shoulder.

ELIZABETH: You're the ex-cop; isn't this considered assault?

ANDY slaps her across the face.

ANDY: That is considered assault.

ELIZABETH grins and looks back into the hospital room.

ELIZABETH: You don't know how to take care of him. He needs real care. Real doctors, real medicine?You're just not cutting it.

ANDY: And I'll assume you'd like to take him back to hell incorporated to let your black magic mystics heal him and do lord knows what else to him? I don't think so.

"Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie begins to play.

ELIZABETH shakes her head and walks back into the room. ANDY follows cautiously.

ELIZABETH: We've already had our mystics do what they could with him. Nothing changed.

She turns back around and looks at ANDY.

The Atlantic was born today and I'll tell you how...
The clouds above opened up and let it out.

I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole.
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean,
Making islands where no island should go.
Oh no.

ELIZABETH (Cont'd): I can get him the best medical attention in the world and you're too self-centered to look at his best interests right now.

ANDY: His best interests don't involve you. I promise you that.

ELIZABETH: And yet they do include a worthless, jealous girlfriend who doesn't know what she's talking about?

ANDY: Do I need to assault you again?

ELIZABETH brushes past ANDY, heading to the door.

ELIZABETH (Emotionlessly): The next time you lay another hand on me, you'll lose a whole lot more.

She grabs her coffee off the shelf and leaves.

ANDY stands alone in the darkness.

The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door have been silenced forever more.
The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before
Oh no.

She begins kneels down at the foot of BRETT's bed and begins to cry. A hand rests on her shoulder. The camera pans up and we see that it's BRETT, again.

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

BRETT: I'm sorry?

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

ANDY looks up at the ceiling, sobbing.

CUT TO:

INT. CLUB ? BAR ? NIGHT

"Transatlanticism" is playing at the bar, too. NATALIE looks up at the ceiling, smiling.

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

NATALIE: I really love this song?

URBAN nods in agreement.

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

NATALIE jumps off her stool and takes URBAN by the hand, pulling him out onto the dance floor.

URBAN: Where are we going?

NATALIE: C'mon! Don't think! Just do it!

So come on, come on
So come on, come on

The two make their way deeper onto the dance floor and NATALIE rests her arms on URBAN's shoulders while he wraps his around her waist. They sway back and forth, awkward at first?but slowly they begin to feel more and more comfortable. They begin to feel happy. They begin to feel free.

So come on, come on
So come on, come on

And they kiss.

FADE TO BLACK

END OF EPISODE

**Heather** · 30-07-07, 02:35 AM

**Please Keep Any Feedback in Spoiler Tags or with a Spoiler Warning, Thank You**

It's Trivia Time!

-The episode was originally going to be Muse-centric. Three songs were planned to be used in this episode, all by Muse. At the last minute, the other two songs were pulled and "Transatlanticism" was used instead.
-The reveal about the Holloways wasn't planned to happen in this episode. It was supposed to happen in 2.01 but was bumped due to it feeling out of place.
-Natalie and Urban. Yes this is the beginning of their relationship. By the time we see these two next (2.08), it will be a couple weeks after 2.06 and, thus we can expect them to be further in their relationship.
-No Amy. Done on purpose.
-Willow's attracted to Doug...? Could it be...? This is the first humerous story arc that's going to be introduced in Season 2...and probably the only one.
-Expect to see Tabitha and Rhys more this season. They'll be healed up and back in action soon enough.
-"Charmed" was a major inspiration for this alternate dimension. "The Courtship of Wyatt's Father," a season six episode, was the specific episode that inspired the idea.
-Different editor for the episode! Lee (Mabus) was so generous enough to edit 2.06. 2.07 will probably be guest edited by Lex.

Announcement

CHOSEN Episode 2.06 "Supermassive Black Hole"

CHOSEN Episode 2.06 "Supermassive Black Hole"

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment