Written by: Dean Batali
& Rob Des Hotel
Directed by: Ellen
Pressman
Transcribed by: AleXander
Thompson
~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer ~~~~~~~~~~
I do not own the characters
in this story, nor do I own any rights to
the television show "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer". They were created by
Joss Whedon and belong to
him, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Television, Kuzui
Enterprises, 20th Century
Fox Television and the WB Television Network.
This is not a novelization
or a script. It is a straightforward and dry
transcript of the episode
"The Puppet Show". It also includes
descriptions of the settings,
action scenes and camera movements where I
felt they were needed.
I made every effort to accurately
transcribe the dialogue from this
episode. If you notice anything
that is transcribed incorrectly, please
let me know and I will post
an update.
rev 98.09.28
This episode was originally broadcast on May 5, 1997.
Copyright (c) 1997 Alexander Thompson
~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~
In every generation there
is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against
the vampires, the demons
and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.
Backstage in the Sunnydale
High School auditorium. Emily is doing ballet
stretching exercises. The
camera shows her from the demon's point of
view as he observes her
from low to the floor.
Demon: (exhales) I will be whole. I will be new. (exhales)
The camera moves through
the backstage area. A number of students are
practicing their acts. Among
them are Lisa playing her tuba and Marc
rehearsing his magic act.
The camera eventually reaches Morgan and his
dummy, Sid. Morgan rubs
his temples a moment and then looks around. Cut
to the stage. Cordelia is
singing "The Greatest Love of All" off key.
Cordelia: Learning
to love yourself is the greatest love of all. I
decided long ago...
Cut to Giles in the seats. He does *not* want to be there.
Cordelia: ...never
to walk in anyone's shadow. (cut to Cordelia) If I
fail, if I succeed, at least...
Giles: (interrupts) Thank you, Cordelia. Tha-that's going to be lovely.
Cordelia: But I didn't do the part with the sparklers!
Giles: Um, w-we'll,
um... save that for the dress rehearsal. (anxious
to get rid of her) Uh, Lisa!
Please!
Cordelia: Uhhh!
She puts the microphone back
on its stand and leaves the stage as Lisa
sets up with her tuba. Cut
back to Giles as Lisa begins her solo. He
rubs his eyes. Buffy, Willow
and Xander come down the center aisle.
Buffy: (draws a breath) If it isn't the great producer!
They go into the seats and sit around Giles.
Xander: Had to see this to believe it.
Giles: Oh. You three.
Buffy: The school talent
show. How ever did you finagle such a primo
assignment?
Giles: Our new Fuehrer, Mr. Snyder.
Willow: I think they call 'em 'principals' now.
Giles: Mm. He thought
it would behoove me to have more contact with the
students. I did try to explain
that my vocational choice of librarian
was a deliberate attempt
to (draws a breath) minimize said contact, but,
uh, he would have none of
it.
Buffy: Giles, unto
every generation is born one who must run the annual
talentless show. You cannot
escape your destiny.
Giles: If you had any
shred of decency, you would have participated, or
at least, um, helped.
Buffy: Nah! I think I'll take on your traditional role... and watch!
Xander: And mock!
Willow: And laugh!
They all laugh.
Buffy: O-kay. I think
maybe we better leave our Mr. Giles to this
business he calls a show.
The three of them get up
and start back up the aisle. Principal Snyder
is waiting there for them.
Buffy: Principal Snyder!
Snyder: So. We think
school events are stupid, and we think authority
figures are to be made fun
of.
Buffy: No! No, we don't. W-unless you do.
Snyder: And we think
our afternoon classes are optional. All three of
you left campus yesterday.
Buffy: Yeah, but we were fighting a demon...
Snyder: Fighting?
Buffy: Not fighting.
Xander: No, we, uh, left to *avoid* fighting.
Snyder: Real anti-social
types. You need to integrate into this school,
people. (crosses his arms)
I think I just found three eager new
participants for the talent
show.
Buffy: What?
Xander: No!
Willow: Please?
Snyder: I've been watching
you three. Always getting into one scrape or
another.
Buffy: Well, we're
really, really sorry, but about the talent show,
pleeease, you can't make
us...
Snyder: (interrupts)
My predecessor, Mr. Flutie, may have gone in for
all that touchy-feely relating
nonsense, but he was eaten. You're in
*my* world now. And Sunnydale
has touched and felt for the last time.
He starts past them down toward the stage.
Xander: Can I just
mention, that detention is a time-honored form of
punishment?
Buffy nods vigorously in agreement.
Snyder: I know the
three of you will come up with a wonderful act for
the school to watch. And
mock. And laugh. At.
He continues down to the
stage. Xander can't believe this. He points up
with both index fingers
and sits down in a seat.
Xander: No!
Buffy spaces out and moans.
She goes back into Giles' row, sits next to
him and looks to him for
sympathy. He has none to give, and tries to
hide a smirk. The tuba solo
is over. Willow just stands there with a big
frown on her face.
Giles: (to Lisa) Thank you!
The next act sets up. It's Morgan with his dummy, Sid.
Buffy: Ewww, dummy!
Xander: (sees a mime and jumps in his seat) Dyow! Mime!
Willow: (sits behind Buffy) I think dummies are cute. You don't?
Buffy: Uuuhhh. They give me the wig. Ever since I was little.
Willow: What happened?
Buffy: I saw a dummy.
It gave me the wig. There really wasn't a story
there.
Morgan: (on stage)
Hi. I'm Morgan. (moves the dummy's head) And I'm
Sid!
He is an awful ventriloquist,
and Giles winces. Buffy raises her
eyebrows and stares in disbelief.
Morgan: (as Sid) Hey
Morgan, would you like to tell some jokes? (as
himself) Would I! (as Sid)
As a matter of fact, it is! It's also a wood
nose, and a wood mouth!
Willow can't believe his
act either. Morgan laughs nervously for Sid.
Buffy looks at Giles. He
takes off his glasses.
Morgan: (as Sid) I didn't sleep at all last night.
Sid: Alright, time
out. Let's stop this before someone gets hurt. (to
Morgan) Kid, you are the
worst. Even I can see your lips move.
Buffy starts to giggle. Giles
looks up again and puts his glasses back
on, intrigued now that he
sees he may have at least one good act.
Morgan: C'mon, Sid.
You're spoiling my act. I worked on these jokes for
weeks.
Sid: You call those
jokes? My jockey shorts are made out of better
material.
A few students have gathered
at the edge of the stage to watch Morgan's
act and laugh.
Sid: And they're edible!
More laughs from the students.
Buffy, Willow and Xander are into it now,
too.
Giles: There, you see?
I'm sure you three can come up with something...
equally exciting.
Sid smiles.
Cut to the girls' locker
room. Emily is changing back into her regular
clothes. She puts her ballet
outfit and shoes into her locker and closes
it. She hears a noise.
Emily: Is anybody there?
She walks to the end of the row of lockers and peeks around the corner.
Emily: Hello?
She walks around to the next
row of lockers. No one's there. The demon
exhales as it watches her
from low to the floor.
Emily: Hello?
She continues down the row
toward the showers. The demon comes up behind
her. Emily turns and screams.
Fade to black.
Demon: I will be flesh!
Opening credits roll. Buffy's theme plays.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~
The talent show tryouts.
Marc: I reach into the hat, and out... comes...
He lifts the hat and looks around frantically.
Marc: Has anybody seen a rabbit?
He begins to search along
the floor. The camera follows Elliot as he
juggles and walks past Marc
toward Lisa, then it follows her for a few
steps. The camera pulls
back to Xander, Willow and Buffy practicing a
dramatic scene. Xander poses
with his right arm in the air to begin his
line.
Xander: I can't do this!
Buffy: Xander, come on.
Xander: I, I can't!
I have my pride! Okay, I don't have a lot of my
pride, but I have enough
so that I can't do this!
He goes over to the steps
at the side of the stage to sit. Willow
follows him.
Willow: A dramatic
scene is the easiest way to get through the talent
show, because it doesn't
require an actual talent. (sits above him)
Xander: But we have talent. We can do stuff. Buffy, uh...
Buffy: (also sitting now) What am I gonna do? Slay vampires on stage?
Willow: Maybe in a funny way!
Xander: Willow, you can do stuff. Uh, the piano...
Buffy: You play?
Willow: A little.
Buffy: Well, that's
cool. You can accompany us and we can *attempt* to
sing.
Willow: Oh, i-in front of other people? Then, no, I don't play...
Xander: Whatever happened to corporal punishment?
Sid whistles at the girls.
Xander, Buffy and Willow look at him and
Morgan.
Sid: Mm, mm, mm. Look at the goodies!
Morgan looks embarrassed. Willow gets up and goes over to him.
Willow: Morgan, you're
really getting good! Where did you come up with
that voice?
Morgan: It's kind of an imitation of my dad.
Buffy: Sounds real!
Sid: It is real. I'm
the one with the talent here. The kid's dead
weight. (to Willow) How
about you and I do a little rehearsin' on our
own, honey?
Xander: Uh, hey!
Sid: You know what they say: once you go wood, nothin's as good!
Buffy: Okay, Morgan.
We get the joke. Horny dummy, ha, ha, it's very
funny, but you might wanna
consider getting some new schtick. Unless you
want your prop ending up
as a Duraflame log.
Morgan and Sid exchange a look.
Cut to a view of the seats
from above. Principal Snyder and Giles come
in through the doors at
the back of the auditorium. The camera slowly
pans down to them as they
walk down the aisle.
Snyder: Kids today
need discipline. That's an unpopular word these
days, 'discipline'. I know
Principal Flutie would have said, 'Kids need
understanding. Kids are
human beings.' That's the kind of woolly-headed,
liberal thinking that leads
to being eaten.
Giles: I, I think perhaps it was a little more complex than, um...
Snyder: This place
has quite a reputation. Suicide, missing persons,
spontaneous cheerleader
combustion... You can't put up with that. You've
gotta keep an eye on the
bad element.
They reach the stage and
stop. The camera has closed in on them. Snyder
nods up towards the stage.
Snyder: Like those three.
Cut to Buffy, Willow and
Xander practicing their dramatic scene. Cut to
Snyder.
Snyder: Kids. I don't
like them. From now on you're gonna see a very
different Sunnydale High.
Tight ship, clean, orderly, (faces Giles) and
quiet.
Cut to the girls' locker
room. A girl screams loudly when she discovers
Emily's body.
Cut to later as the paramedics
prepare the body for transport. Giles
comes out of the locker
room into the hall. He ducks under the yellow
police tape and goes over
to the team.
Giles: (clears his throat) It was Emily.
Willow: Emily. Dancer Emily?
Xander: Oh, man! I hate this school.
Giles: Uh, it must
have happened just after, uh, dress rehearsals.
There was a cross-country
meet at Melville. She, she, she never showed
up for it.
Buffy: Vampire?
Giles: Um, I think not.
Buffy: Giles, share! What happened?
Giles: (exhales) Her heart was removed.
Willow: Yikes!
Buffy: Does that mean anything to you? Besides (shudders) ooooooo?
Giles: Uh... (exhales)
There are various demons which, which feed off
human hearts, but...
They look back and see the knife being put into an evidence bag.
Buffy: But demons have claws. And teeth.
Xander: They got no use for a big old knife.
Giles: Which more than likely makes our murderer...
Buffy: Human.
Xander: Did I mention that I *hate* this school?
Willow: So Emily was killed by a regular human person.
Giles: The evidence certainly points that way.
Buffy: No, wait. I-I'm
not buying, you guys. Remember the Hellmouth?
Mystical activity is totally
rife here. This to me says demon.
Giles: I'd like to
think you're right. A demon is a creature of evil,
pure and very simple. A
person driven to kill is, is, um, it's more
complex.
Willow: The creep factor
is also heightened. It could be anyone. It
could be me! (gets looks
from them all) It's not, though.
Giles: Uh, demon or
no, we have some investigating to do. I suggest we
start with your... your
talent show compatriots. One of them may have
been the last to see her
alive.
Cut to the band room. Buffy is interviewing Lisa.
Lisa: I didn't know
her too well. There's that whole dancer/band
rivalry, y'know?
Buffy: I've heard about that.
Lisa: But I did speak to her a little the day that... yesterday.
Buffy: How did she seem?
Cut to outside, where Giles
is interviewing Marc as he shuffles a deck
of cards.
Marc: She was happy.
I guess. She was psyched to be doing the show. She
was a really good dancer.
Here, pick a card.
Giles: Uh, um... (reaches for a card)
Marc: No, wai-wai-wai-wait. Not that one. Pick this one.
Giles: (takes the card) Do you remember the last time you saw her?
Marc: She was talkin' to someone.
Giles: Who?
Cut to a classroom. Willow and Elliot come in.
Elliot: That smart guy. The one with the dummy. What's his name?
Willow: Morgan?
Elliot: Yeah, that's it. He was actin' kinda strange.
Willow: Strange how?
Cut outside to cheerleader practice. Xander is talking to Cordelia.
Cordelia: It's just
such a tragedy for me. Emma was, like, my best
friend.
Xander: Emily.
Cut to the band room.
Lisa: Well, Morgan's
just strange. He's always rubbing his head a lot
and moaning. Especially
the other day.
Cut outside.
Marc: He seemed kinda paranoid... Lookin' around at everyone...
Cut to the classroom.
Elliot: And I think I saw him arguing... with his dummy.
Cut outside.
Cordelia: All I can think is, it coulda been me!
Xander: We can dream.
Cut to the auditorium. Buffy
comes in through the front side door. She
looks around and walks over
to the stage. She sees Sid on a stool,
facing the curtain.
Sid: (to Morgan offstage)
Right now you and me gotta be on the lookout.
Figure out who's gonna be
next.
Morgan: (comes on stage) How are we supposed to... (sees Buffy) Oh, hi.
Buffy: Hello.
Morgan: I was just working on throwing my voice. (walks upstage)
Buffy: Uh, Morgan,
did you notice anything weird going on around here
yesterday?
Morgan: (gathers Sid
up) Weird? What d'you mean? (goes down the steps
from the stage)
Buffy: With Emily.
Did she say anything to you, was she arguing with
anyone?
Morgan: (goes over
to Sid's case) No. She was dancing. (opens the case)
Sid and I were talking.
Buffy: Talking.
Morgan: Rehearsing.
Buffy: So, you didn't notice anything weird at...
He holds his hand to his forehead in pain and sits down.
Morgan: Ohhh!
Buffy: Morgan, are you okay?
Sid: Look, sweetheart! He answered your question. Now leave him alone!
Morgan's pain has subsided, and he looks up at Buffy.
Buffy: Okay, Morgan, how 'bout talking to me yourself now?
Sid: He said all he's gonna say.
Morgan looks nervously between Buffy and Sid. He gets up.
Morgan: It's okay, Sid. We're done. (puts Sid in his case)
Buffy: I'm sorry. Look, I didn't mean to make you mad.
Morgan: No! I'm...
(quietly) It's him! (indicates Sid) He's... (closes
the case) We have to go.
(grabs the case and leaves)
Buffy: (taken aback) Cute couple.
Cut to the library. Willow, Buffy and Xander come in.
Xander: Okay, next
time we split up someone else is on Cordy detail.
Five more minutes with her
and we woulda had another organ donor.
Willow: I think I had
a bit more luck. Everyone I talked to seemed to
point their fingers at the
same person.
They all come into Giles' office.
Buffy: Morgan?
Willow: Morgan.
Xander: We have a winner!
Giles: I fear I was led to the same conclusion.
Xander: Well, what
do we do? We don't slay him, right? We wanna bring
him to justice.
Willow: We could set
up a complex sting operation where we get him to
confess!
Xander: Uh, I should wear a wire!
Buffy: Whoa, hey, you
guys, all we know is that Morgan is a grade A
large weirdo. That doesn't
lead directly to murderer.
Xander: Guy talks to his puppet!
Willow: And for his puppet.
Buffy: Well, yeah, but what about the whole 'it's a demon' theory?
Giles: I'm looking
into that, but, uh, my investigation is somewhat...
hampered by our life in
the theater.
Buffy: Uh, priority
check, Giles? (weighs the two with her hands)
Talent show, murder.
Xander: Yeah, we can't
do the talent show, it's unthinkable. I'm not
able to think it!
Giles: Principal Snyder
is watching us all very closely. Now, if he
chooses, he can make all
our lives extremely difficult. A Slayer cannot
afford that! We will find
this murderer, but in the meantime... the show
must go on.
Buffy: This is so unfair.
Giles: Buffy, you,
uh, watch Morgan. Check his locker, see if there's
anything there.
Willow: Like a heart?
Giles: Or something.
Buffy: Alright.
Willow: I'll pull up his locker number. (goes to the PC)
Xander: Can I still wear a wire?
Cut to the hall after school.
Buffy quietly comes through the doors from
the stairwell, looking around
to see if anyone's there. She passes a
door. It opens, but Buffy
doesn't see it, only hears the sound. Cut to a
shot of her through the
door from low to the floor. She twists around to
look behind her toward the
sound, but doesn't realize it was the door
that's now ajar. She goes
back to looking for Morgan's locker and finds
it. She starts to work the
combination.
Buffy: Okay... Two to the left, three to the right...
She looks in both directions
again, and then slams her palm into the
lock. When she takes her
hand away there's a clean hole. She reaches in
with her fingers and undoes
the latch. She looks around in the locker,
and is about to take Sid's
case out when Principal Snyder grabs her hand
from behind, startling her.
Buffy: Principal Snyder!
Snyder: What are you doing?
Buffy: Uh, looking for something.
Snyder: School hours are over. You, therefore, should be gone.
Buffy: And I'm going any minute now. (laughs nervously)
Snyder: There are things
I will not tolerate: students loitering on
campus after school, horrible
murders with hearts being removed. And
also smoking.
Buffy: Well, I don't do any of those things. Not... ever.
Snyder: (suspicious)
There's something going on with you. I'll figure
it out sooner or later.
(Buffy smiles) Do you need something here?
Buffy: Oh! (looks into
the locker) Yeah! Right! Um, a friend wanted me
to get something... out
of his case!
She pulls the case partially
out of the locker, opens it and is
surprised to find it empty.
She quickly closes it and looks at Snyder.
Buffy: He must've taken it and just forgotten to tell me.
Snyder: Mm-hmm.
Morgan and Sid see what's going on from behind the door.
Snyder: Get along home now. It's late.
He turns and heads down the hall. Buffy watches him go.
Cut to the stage. Sid is in the chair. Morgan paces.
Morgan: No, I can't do it!
Sid: It's the only way.
Morgan: I don't want...
Sid: She's the one.
Morgan: But...
Sid: You saw what she did, how strong she is.
Morgan: I know, but...
Sid: She's the last! Just this one more, and I'll be free.
Morgan: I won't.
Sid: I will!
Cut to Buffy's room at home. Her mom knocks on the door and comes in.
Joyce: Hi, hon. How's it, uh, going with the talent show?
Buffy: It'll be over soon.
Joyce: (lets out a
laugh) It can't be that bad! I, for one, am looking
forward to seeing your act.
Buffy: Seeing? I-in the sense of actually attending?
Joyce: Of course!
Buffy: Uh-uh! No, Mom,
y-y-you can't! And, I mean, if I know you're
out there watching, I'll
freeze up, stage fright.
Joyce: But I wanna support what you're doing!
Buffy: Look, Mom, if
you really love me, and wanna show your support,
you'll stay away. Far away.
Joyce: Honey, is there,
uh... Is there something bothering you? I-I
mean, besides your fabulous
debut.
Buffy: Nothing. There's just a lot going on right now.
Joyce: Well. Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning.
Buffy: Good plan.
Joyce leaves the room and
closes the door behind her. Buffy gets into
bed. The camera follows
her hand as she reaches over to turn off her
lamp in front of the window.
When it goes out Sid is there looking in.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 2 ~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy's room. She's sleeping.
She wakes to the sound of quick, light
footsteps and sits up. More
footsteps. She sees something go under her
bed and leans over the edge
to look underneath. Nothing. She comes back
up and sees Sid there, screams,
and knocks him off of the bed. Sid runs
away. Buffy quickly gets
out of bed as her mother rushes into the room
and turns on the light.
Joyce: Honey, what is it?
Buffy: (comes over
to her mom, frightened) In the bed, in the covers
there's something!
Joyce: Where?
They go to the bed to investigate.
Buffy: There's something there.
Joyce grabs the covers and goes through them.
Joyce: Well, well,
there, there's nothing there now. Are, are you sure
you didn't have a nightmare?
Buffy: No! There's
some... There is... (exhales and puts her hands on
her head) Yeah... You're
probably right. (exhales and drops her hands)
I'm sorry I got you up.
Joyce: Don't worry
about it. I was dreaming about bills. (kisses
Buffy's forehead) Sweetheart,
you shouldn't (points) go to sleep with
the window open.
She touches her daughter's
cheek, then leaves the room. Buffy looks at
her window.
Buffy: (confused) I didn't.
Cut to Sunnydale High School.
Marc: And my lovely assistant steps into the box...
Cut to the stage in the auditorium.
Marc's assistant steps into the box.
He closes the door and turns
it around.
Marc: And... behold!
He opens the box, but his assistant is still there.
Marc: You were supposed to leave!
Xander and Willow are in
the seats watching and laughing. Marc closes
the door to the box and
butts his head against it. Giles comes out from
backstage with Cordelia
close behind.
Cordelia: I don't understand
why I... why I have to follow Brett and
his stupid band.
Giles: Because we have
to clear their equipment before the finale. I
told you.
Cordelia: But the mood!
It'll be all wrong! (gets in front of him and
stops him) My song is about
dignity and human feelings and personal...
hygiene or something. Anyway,
it's sappy, and no one is gonna be feeling
sappy after all that Rock
and Roll.
Giles doesn't want to hear
it. He gives Cordelia a look like something's
wrong.
Cordelia: Uhhh, what?
Giles: Oh! I'm sorry. Um, your hair, uh...
Cordelia: There's something
wrong with my hair? (pulls it behind her
ears)
Giles remains silent, but continues to stare.
Cordelia: Ohmigod! (quickly leaves)
Giles: (to himself) Xander was right. It worked like a charm.
He sees Buffy come down the aisle and goes over to her.
Giles: Hello. You look a bit worse for, uh...
Buffy heads into the seats to Willow and Xander. Giles follows.
Giles: What exactly are you the worse for?
Buffy: Where's Morgan? (sits)
Giles: Uh, I, I... haven't seen him.
Xander: Did he do something to you?
Buffy: No, it was his... Sid, the dummy.
She suddenly has Giles' full attention.
Buffy: Okay, everyone
look at me like I'm in a bunny suit, 'cause
that's how stupid I feel
saying this... I think Sid was in my room last
night.
Willow: With Morgan?
Buffy: No. He was alone. And alive.
Xander: Did you see him?
Buffy: Well, I saw
something. I-it ran across my floor, under my bed
and then it attacked me.
Giles: Attacked you? How?
Buffy: It was like it pounced on my face.
Xander: Like a cat.
Buffy: Yeah, exactly!
But when I turned the lights on it was already
gone. I-I think it went
out my window.
Xander: Like a cat.
Buffy: Yeah! No! It was Sid, the dummy.
Giles: Or possibly
the nightmare of somebody who had... dummies on her
mind.
Willow: You did say they creep you out.
Buffy: Excuse me? Can
I have a *little* support here, please? I'm not
just some crazy person,
I'm the Slayer.
Xander: The dummy Slayer?
(gets a look from Buffy) There's nothing
funny about that.
Willow: Well, on the
side of the 'Morgan's just crazy' theory there is,
(sees Morgan go by carrying
Sid) well, Morgan.
Morgan opens Sid's case.
Buffy: I'd like to
see Morgan without his better half for a few
minutes. Bet he could tell
me something.
Morgan sits down with Sid on his lap.
Giles: Oh, uh, i-if
it's any consolation, I... I may have found a
possible demon culprit.
(holds up a book) The-there's a reference in
here to a brotherhood of
seven demons who take, uh, the form of young
humans. Every seven years
these demons need human organs, a-a-a brain
and a heart, to maintain
their humanity. Otherwise they, they, they
revert back to their original
form, which is, uh, uh, slightly less
appealing.
He hands Xander the book open to a sketch of one of the demons.
Willow: So Morgan could
still be the guy, only demon Morgan instead of
crazy Morgan.
Morgan fusses with Sid's shoes.
Giles: It's said that
these demons are, are, are preternaturally
strong, and, and, and...
Morgan is, is... Well, he seems to be getting
weaker every day.
Morgan puts his hand on his head. Buffy observes him.
Cut to history class. Mrs.
Jackson lectures as she walks around the
room.
Mrs. Jackson: It was
as a result of this that President Monroe put
forth the eponymous, meaning
named after one's self, Monroe Doctrine,
which in one sense established
the U.S. as a local peacekeeper.
She walks behind Buffy, who
is intently watching Sid. Sid turns his head
back to look at her and
lowers his brows. Buffy is creeped out and looks
down at her desk. A moment
later she looks back up at him. Sid just
stares back. Cordelia notices
and leans over to comment.
Cordelia: Looks like
someone digs you. That's adorable. You and the
dummy could tour in the
freak show!
She smiles smugly as she
leans back into her chair. Buffy says nothing.
She just looks back at Sid,
then down at her desk again.
Mrs. Jackson: Okay, who can tell me how Spain responded to this policy?
Sid is whispering to Morgan. Mrs. Jackson notices.
Mrs. Jackson: Morgan? Morgan?
Morgan: (looks at Sid, then up) What?
Sid: Morgan has other things on his mind.
The students laugh. Mrs. Jackson approaches Morgan.
Mrs. Jackson: Give me your puppet.
Morgan: I'll put him away.
Mrs. Jackson: (takes Sid) You'll get it back after school.
She opens a cupboard, puts Sid in and closes it.
Mrs. Jackson: Okay,
then. In the first part of the nineteenth
century...
Sid: (from inside the cupboard) I'm still watchin' you.
Buffy looks at the cupboard.
Mrs. Jackson: Morgan, that is enough!
Xander and Buffy look at
Morgan. He looks back at Buffy, then at Mrs.
Jackson.
Cut to after school. Morgan
comes back into the classroom to retrieve
Sid.
Morgan: Mrs. Jackson.
Mrs. Jackson: Morgan.
Morgan: You said you'd give me...
Mrs. Jackson: Oh, of course.
She gets up and goes over
to the cupboard. Morgan follows her
expectantly. Before she
gets Sid out she stops and faces Morgan.
Mrs. Jackson: Y'know,
I wanted to ask you, is everything okay? At home,
here at school?
Morgan: Yeah, it's great.
Mrs. Jackson: I feel like you've become... a little detached.
Morgan: Mm! (rubs his head in pain)
Mrs. Jackson: You're
one of the brightest kids I've seen in a long
time, but lately it seems
like you're not all there.
Morgan has both his hands on his head now, rubbing.
Mrs. Jackson: Try not to let other things get in the way.
Morgan: (takes his hands down) Okay! Can I get Sid now?
Mrs. Jackson: Sure.
She goes over to the cupboard
and opens it, but Sid is gone. She turns
back to Morgan.
Mrs. Jackson: It's gone!
Morgan: Gone? Whadaya mean, gone? Where could he have gone?
Mrs. Jackson: I put it right here.
Morgan: He knew to wait for me. He knew I'd be back.
Mrs. Jackson: What do you mean 'he'?
Morgan: What did you do with him? Where is he?
Cut to the library. Xander
has Sid and is playing with him. Buffy,
Willow and Giles come in.
Willow and Giles have their arms full of
costumes. Buffy sees Xander
holding Sid.
Buffy: Where did you get that?
Xander: Oh, I, uh,
took it out of Mrs. Jackson's cupboard. I thought
you said you wanted to be
able to speak to Morgan alone, and uh... well,
Morgan's alone, and, uh...
Sid's with me.
Buffy stares at Sid uncomfortably.
Xander: (manipulating
Sid) Hi, Buffy! Hi, Willow! Would you like to
hear some off-color jokes?
Buffy: I really don't think you should be doing that.
Xander: What? C'mon... (as Sid) I'm not real!
Buffy: (wigged) Xander, quit it!
She turns and walks a few
steps away. She stops and looks back when she
hears Xander pounding Sid's
head into the table.
Xander: He's... not...
real! (picks Sid back up) I think our
demonstration proves that,
uh, Sid (knocks on Sid's head several times)
is wood. Now, why don't
you go and find Morgan and prove he's...
whatever he is?
Giles: I imagine he's looking for his puppet.
Buffy: I'll go find
Morgan. (starts to leave, but stops and gives
Xander a look) You watch
the dummy.
Xander: (as Sid) Bye-bye, now. I'm completely inanimate.
Buffy gives Xander another look and goes out the door.
Xander: (as Sid) Redrum! Redruuum!
Willow: What do we do with him?
Xander: Eh, I'll keep him company.
Giles: Willow, we have some hunting of our own to do.
Willow: Once again
I'm banished to the demon section of the card
catalog.
Xander looks at Sid and goes
over to the table with him. Giles and
Willow go up into the stacks.
Giles: You concentrate
on re-animation theory. I'll peck about in organ
harvesting. Unless, of course,
you prefer...
Willow: That's okay, you can have the organs.
Xander puts Sid in the chair at the end of the table.
Xander: So, I guess
it's just... you and me, huh? (turns Sid's head
away and pats him) That
looks more comfortable.
He leaves Sid there, and the camera closes in on him.
Buffy: Morgan?
Cut to the auditorium. Buffy
walks along the front and then up the
stairs to the stage.
Buffy: Morgan?
Cut backstage. Buffy draws
a curtain aside, but no one's there. She
takes the steps down to
the makeup area and tries a door. It's locked.
She hears another door close
and turns toward the sound. A gust blows
through another curtain.
Slowly she walks toward it. She quickly turns
her head when she senses
something behind her, and sees Principal Snyder
at the top of the steps
to the stage.
Buffy: Principal Snyder!
Snyder: Looking for something?
Buffy: Have you seen Morgan Shay?
Snyder: (comes down
the steps) You know, with everything that's been
going on recently, I'm not
sure how safe it is for a girl like yourself
to be here... alone.
Buffy: Well, I was just leaving. And I know how to take care of myself.
They stare at each other a moment.
Snyder: Alright, then.
He goes back up the stairs and leaves.
Cut to the library. Xander
looks over at Sid in his chair, then turns
back to his homework. Cut
to the stacks.
Willow: (to Giles)
Look what I found in the section on toys and magic:
(reads) 'On rare occasions
inanimate objects of human quality, such as
dolls and mannequins, already
mystically possessed of consciousness,
have acted upon their desire
to become human by harvesting organs.'
Giles: Emily's heart.
Willow: Morgan's dummy.
Giles: Mm.
Cut to Xander. He gets up
to get a reference book. When he gets back to
the table Sid is gone, but
Xander doesn't notice. He slams the book on
the table, sits down again
and begins to read. After a moment he glances
at Sid's chair and jumps
up frightened when he sees it empty.
Xander: Whoa!
He climbs onto the table.
Giles and Willow come running out of the
stacks.
Giles: What is it?
Xander: He's gone! (indicates the chair) Sid's gone!
Giles: What? Oh!
Willow: Uhhh!
They're both frightened and look around themselves.
Cut backstage. Buffy continues to look around. She hears some creaking.
Buffy: Morgan?
She backtracks a bit and
goes toward the noise. She pushes some clothes
on a rack aside, but sees
nothing. She continues and eventually stumbles
on something. She looks
down and sees Morgan's body lying there.
Buffy: (whispers) Morgan!
(slowly backs away) Demon's got himself a
brain.
She keeps backing through
a bead curtain and hears a snapping noise
above. She looks up and
sees a wrought iron chandelier falling on her.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 3 ~~~~~~~~~~
Backstage. Buffy is unconscious
under the chandelier. She wakes and
moans. Her vision is a bit
blurred. She hears quick little footsteps and
immediately becomes alert.
She sees Sid run across the catwalk above
her. She tries to lift the
chandelier off of herself, but it's very
heavy. Sid has come down
now, and Buffy sees him in the shadows.
Buffy: Who's ever out
there, I'm gonna hurt you! Badly! If you'll just
gimme a minute...
She tries lifting again,
but to no avail. She looks back to where she
saw Sid and sees his knife
poised above her. She turns her head just in
time to avoid being stabbed
in the face. Sid lifts the knife and tries
again, but misses. Buffy
flails out with her left arm and knocks him
away. She tries lifting
again, and this time she shifts the chandelier
enough to get out from underneath
it. Sid attacks her from behind as she
slides out, but she knocks
him away and into a wall. His knife goes
sliding across the floor.
Buffy gets out and jumps over on top of Sid,
pinning him against the
wall with her arm.
Sid: You win. Now you can take your heart and your brain and move on.
Buffy: I'm sure they would have made great trophies for your case.
Sid: That woulda been justice.
Buffy: Yeah, except
for one thing: you lost, and now you'll never be
human.
Sid: Yeah, well, neither will you.
They are both confused.
Buffy and Sid: What?
Cut to the library. Giles
and Xander stare at Sid in wide-eyed and open-
mouthed amazement. Willow
and Buffy just stare and listen.
Sid: This is what I
do. I hunt demons. Yeah, you wouldn't know it to
look at me. Let's just say
there was me, there was a really mean demon,
there was a curse, and the
next thing I know I'm not me anymore. I'm
sitting on some guy's knee,
with his hand up my shirt.
Willow: And ever since then you've been a living dummy?
Sid: The kid here was
right all along. I shoulda picked you to team up
with. But I didn't because...
Buffy: Because you thought *I* was the demon.
Sid: Who can blame
me for thinking? Look at you! You're strong,
athletic, limber... (goes
off into his own world) nubile... (shakes his
head) I'm back! In any case,
now that this demon's got the heart and
brain, he gets to keep the
human form he's in for another seven years.
The tea kettle is whistling. Giles gets up to tend to it.
Giles: I must say,
it's a welcome change to have someone else explain
all these things.
Sid: There were seven
of these guys. I've killed six. If I can get the
last one, the curse will
be lifted and I'll be free. I'm sure it's
someone in that stupid talent
show.
Buffy: Yeah, but now that demon has what he wants. He'll be moving on.
Sid: So, once we know who's missing from the show...
Buffy: We'll know who our demon is!
Giles: (remembering) The show!
Buffy: What?
Giles: It's gonna start! I'm supposed to be there!
Buffy: (to Willow)
Okay, um, start pulling everyone's addresses in the
talent show. I-if they're
not there, maybe we can catch them at home.
Sid: (to Giles) And
you, get 'em all on stage, form the power circle.
Then we can see who's a
no-show.
Giles: Um, uh, the what?
Sid: The power circle.
You get everyone together, you get 'em, you
know, revved up.
Giles: Right. (still confused, but goes)
Sid: How'd *he* ever get that gig?
Cut backstage.
Giles: Fifteen minutes to curtain, everyone! Uh, fifteen minutes!
He turns to go back out. Cordelia chases him down.
Cordelia: I, I can't
go out there. All those people staring at me and
judging me like I'm some
kind of... Buffy! What if I mess up?
Giles: Cordelia, there,
uh, there-there's, uh, uh, an adage, uh, that,
uh, if you're feeling nervous
then, uh, you should imagine the entire
audience are in their underwear.
Cordelia: Eww! Even Mrs. Franklin? Uhhh!
Giles: Perhaps not.
Cordelia: Yeah.
Giles: (to everyone)
Um, alright, um, we'll assemble on the stage in
five minutes for the, um,
uh, power thing.
Cut to the catwalk. Sid and
Buffy are sitting and waiting to see who's
missing from the circle.
Sid: So, what's your deal, kid? I don't figure you for a demon hunter.
Buffy: I'm a Vampire Slayer.
Sid: (surprised) You?!
You're the Slayer? (Buffy nods) Damn! I knew a
Slayer in the 30's. Korean
chick. Very hot. We're talking *muscle* tone.
Man, we had some times.
(gets a look from Buffy) Hey, that was pre-
dummy, alright? Now, I was
a guy!
Buffy: So, you kill the demon and the curse is lifted, right?
Sid: That's the drill.
Buffy: You don't actually
turn into a prince, do you? I-I mean, your
body...
Sid: Is dust and bones. When I say free...
Buffy: You mean dead.
Sid: Don't get sniffly
on me, sis. I've lived a lot longer than most
demon hunters. Or Slayers,
for that matter.
Buffy looks down, depressed about her lot in life.
Sid: (puts his hand
on her knee) Of course, if you want to snuggle up
and comfort me...
Buffy: (takes his hand
off of her knee) So, that horny dummy thing
really *isn't* an act, is
it?
Sid: Nope!
Buffy: Yuk!
Sid and Buffy look down onto the stage.
Giles: I-is everybody here?
The talent gathers on the stage.
Sid: Okay, here comes our line-up.
Giles: Quickly, everyone! Uh... um, power circle.
The students arrange themselves
in a circle and hold hands. Sid and
Buffy scan the group for
any missing members. Giles looks around as
well. The camera follows
his gaze.
Giles: Well, that's that, then. Um, everybody, uh, get ready!
Some of the students don't
get it, but the circle breaks up quickly as
they scramble to get ready.
Giles scratches his head, confused. Buffy
bends down and slips underneath
the catwalk railing.
Buffy: (to Sid) Hold on.
She drops to the stage below.
Sid watches her fall. She lands squarely
on her feet and goes over
to Giles.
Giles: No one's missing.
Buffy: So the demon isn't in the show.
Giles: It seems not.
Uh, tell the others. Look, it's nearly curtain. I
must get the show rolling.
Buffy: Right.
Giles: Right.
She looks for Sid up on the catwalk, but he's gone.
Buffy: Sid?
Cut to Principal Snyder nosing
around backstage. Giles sees him, and
Snyder faces him. Giles
isn't sure why he's there. Snyder puts his fist
into his palm and walks
away. Giles follows him.
Cut to Buffy, still looking for Sid.
Buffy: Sid?
She stops next to a workbench.
Something drips onto her arm from above.
She shakes it off and looks
up. She reaches up to a shelf to see what's
dripping, and Morgan's brain
falls down and into her hands. She lets out
a startled yelp and drops
the brain. It jiggles when it hits the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 4 ~~~~~~~~~~
The library. Willow is at
the PC. Buffy walks up to her staring at her
hands.
Buffy: I'm never gonna stop washing my hands.
Xander: So, the dummy
tells us that he's a demon hunter. And we're,
like, fine, la la la la.
He takes off, and now there's a brain. Does
anybody else feel like they've
been Keyser Soze'd?
Buffy: Sid's on the
level, I'm sure of it. But why would the demon have
rejected the brain? I-I
mean, I thought Morgan was the smartest kid in
school.
Willow: He was, look
at his grades: all A's. He was even taking college
classes. Wait a second.
Buffy: What?
Willow: All these sick days.
Xander: He was off for, like, half the year!
Buffy: Check the school nurse's file.
Willow: (types) Look
at this! 'In case of emergency, contact Dr. Dale
Leggett, California Institute
of Neurosurgery, Cancer Ward.'
Xander: Brain cancer?
Willow: That's why he had all the headaches.
Buffy: This means that
whatever's out there still needs a healthy,
intelligent brain.
Xander: In other words, I'm safe! (smiles)
Buffy: And it's gonna be looking for the smartest person around.
She and Xander look at Willow. She looks back and forth between them.
Willow: What?
Cut backstage. Giles is helping
Marc set up, and has a pair of weights
in his hands.
Giles: Yes, if you,
you calibrated the units of weight then you could
calculate the, uh, specific
maximum velocity achieved before the point
of impact.
Marc: Gee, Mr. Giles, you're really... smart! Could you do me a favor?
Cut to the library.
Willow: What could a demon possibly want from me?
Xander: What's the square root of 841?
Willow: 29. Oh, yeah.
Buffy: Don't worry,
Willow. As long as you're with us there's
absolutely no way that demon
is gonna get what he wants.
Cut backstage. Marc tests
his guillotine on a honeydew melon. Giles
picks up a half melon.
Giles: Oh, my!
Marc: Pretty cool, huh?
Giles: Are you sure there's no one else who could help you out?
Marc: My assistant
got sick. You won't have to say anything. I'll, I'll
show you. Lie down.
Giles: (inspects the guillotine) Uh, uh, how, how exactly does it work?
Marc pulls the blade back up by its rope and ties it down.
Marc: A good magician never tells his secrets.
He sees his hand and arm
begin to revert to demon form, and shakes his
sleeve to get it to cover
up better.
Marc: C'mon. We haven't got much time.
Cut to the library. Buffy is pacing nervously.
Buffy: This is ridiculous.
We can't just sit here and wait for him to
come to us. We have to figure
out who we're dealing with.
Xander: I still vote dummy.
Buffy: No. Okay, so we ruled out all the people in the talent show...
Willow: That's because
they were all there. But that's before we found
the brain.
Buffy: Right. So it
probably *is* one of them. And, and Giles doesn't
know! He's with them all
right now!
Xander: Uch! Giles
can handle himself. I mean, he *is* really...
(clicks in his mind) smart!
Cut to the hall outside the
library. Buffy slams the door open and runs
out and down the hall.
Buffy: GILES!
Xander and Willow are hot on her trail.
Cut backstage. Giles is strapped down to the guillotine bench.
Giles: Sh-sh-shouldn't it be aimed at my neck?
Marc: No. No, this
way your scalp gets sliced off and your brains
just... come pouring out.
He slides the head restraint
down onto Giles' forehead. He reaches over
and locks it down with a
padlock.
Giles: What exactly is the trick?
Marc: Trick? (pulls the chest restraint tighter)
Giles: Marc?
Marc goes over to the block
where the rope holding the guillotine blade
is tied down. He grabs his
hatchet and takes a swing at the rope. Giles
is terrified. Marc takes
another swing. The rope is half cut now.
Giles: M-Marc?
A third swing, and the rope
is almost cut through. The blade slips a
bit. Giles looks up at it
in terror. Another swing, and the rope hangs
by a thread. Marc raises
the hatchet for the final cut. Buffy lunges at
him and tackles him to the
floor. She leg sweeps Marc, kicking his legs
out from under him as he
tries to get up. She stands up and adopts a
fighting stance. As Marc
tries to get up again, she throws an inverted
crescent kick to his face,
and he goes down again. Marc growls as he
starts to get up, and Buffy
sees that the skin on his face is beginning
to turn back into its demon
state.
Buffy: Ewww!
Marc takes advantage of her
distraction and jumps up and punches her,
then follows up with a backhand
fist to her face. She spins around and
falls to the floor. The
rope stretches and snaps, and the blade begins
to fall. Giles yells out
and clamps his eyes shut. At the last instant
Xander grabs the rope from
midair and stops the blade. Giles hears it
stop and opens his eyes.
He sees it go back up as Xander pulls on the
rope. Buffy gets up, but
is punched by the demon and falls again. Willow
goes to Giles and begins
to undo the restraints.
Willow: Where are the keys?
Giles: Marc's got it!
Xander: Willow!
He kicks the hatchet over
to her. She picks it up and begins to hack at
the lock.
Giles: Hurry!
Buffy gets up again and runs
over to Marc. She grabs him and falls
backward, pulling him down
with her and flipping him over onto his back.
She flips up to her feet
and turns to face him in a front stance. When
he gets up she punches him
in the face and kicks him in the stomach with
a hopping front snap kick.
He staggers backward and stumbles into his
disappearing-act box, and
the door closes on him. Willow keeps hacking
at the lock on the guillotine.
Buffy: How do you lock this thing?
That wouldn't have made any
difference because Marc just punches through
the box and reaches for
her. She quickly backs away as he kicks and
shoves his way out of the
box. He has completely reverted to his demon
form now. He comes at her,
grabs her by the neck, and lifts her from the
floor.
Giles: (yells) What's happening?
Willow keeps hacking. The
demon slams Buffy up against a wall with his
hand around her throat.
He pulls her away and slams her into the wall
again. Xander can only watch
as he holds on to the rope. Willow gets the
lock to break and quickly
pulls it off. She and Giles push the head
restraint up, and he gets
out as fast as he can. He reaches down to undo
the restraint at his feet.
Sid finally shows up, jumps onto the demon's
back and begins stabbing
with his knife.
Sid: I found you!
The demon ignores Sid and
continues slamming Buffy into the wall. Giles
gets himself loose. Sid
has forced the demon to let go of Buffy and has
jumped off. She hits the
demon in the face with an open hand punch
followed by a backhand punch.
Giles gets off of the bench as Buffy does
a full spinning side kick
to the demon's gut, making him stagger back
onto the bench and land
with his neck in the guillotine.
Buffy: (to Xander) Let go!
Xander lets go, and the blade
falls, chopping off the demon's head. Its
body slumps lifeless on
the bench. Willow cringes at the sight. They all
stare at what's left of
the demon.
Giles: Uh... I must say, all of you... Your t-timing is impeccable.
Sid: And now for the big finish.
He has positioned himself over the demon's chest with his knife.
Buffy: What are you doing?
Sid: It's not enough.
He'll come back. You have to get the heart. Then
all of this'll be over.
She holds out her hand for the knife.
Buffy: Let me.
Sid: I got it. Thanks.
He wields back with the knife
and plunges it into the demon's heart. He
pulls back to do it again,
but his aim was true the first time, and he
just slumps over onto the
demon with the knife still in his hands, now a
lifeless puppet. Buffy looks
at Sid sadly and lets out a deep breath.
Giles takes off his glasses.
Buffy gently lifts Sid from the demon and
holds him in her arms. She
starts to walk off stage.
Buffy: (to Sid) It's over.
She stops as the curtain
is drawn and looks out at the audience. Giles
puts his glasses back on
and stares out as well. Willow is still holding
the hatchet as she stands
there looking out at the audience with a
nervous look on her face.
Buffy and Xander look out, too. Principal
Snyder doesn't understand
what he is seeing.
Snyder: I don't get it. What is it? Avant-garde?
~~~~~~~~~~ Epilogue ~~~~~~~~~~
The stage. Xander, Willow and Buffy are doing their act.
Willow: (stiff with
fear) Oh, ruler of my country, Oedipus, you see our
company around the Altar,
and I, the priest of Zeus!
Xander: (nervous) Ha,
ha! They prophesize that I should kill my father.
But he is dead. (kneels
down and gestures like he's grabbing a handful
of dirt) And hidden deep
in the soil. But surely I must fear my mother's
bed.
Buffy: (bored) (walks
around Willow to Xander) Oh, Oedipus, Oedipus,
unhappy Oedipus, (briefly
puts her hand on his head) that is all I can
call you, (goes back to
her place) and all that I ever shall call you.
(faces away from the audience)
Xander: (gets back
up) Darkness! And horror of darkness. Unfolding,
restless, visitant, sped
by an ill wind in haste.
Willow is frozen in fright.
Buffy has turned back around and rolls her
eyes at Xander's fumbling
of his lines.
Xander: Madness, and...
Madness a-and stabbing pain, and, a-and, uh...
oh... oh... memory of, uh,
i-ill deeds I have done.
Buffy nudges Willow to cue
her. She is too terrified to say her next
line and runs from the stage.
Xander and Buffy step together to fill the
gap left between them.