 |
 BTVS Season
8 (PG) Warning Intense spoilers for So, I just got
done bawling my eyes out. *L* Yeah, it didn’t hit me until after Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Written by:
Heather Martin Episode 1: The
Break of Dawn Prologue It was the
dawning of a new day. The sun was waking up, making the shadows fade away. With
its rays it cleansed the world of uncertainty and doubt, clearing a path that
was straightforward and true. The light crept through the bus window, hitting
Buffy’s face. She shut her eyes, letting the intensity of it seep into her
skin. A smile made
its way onto her lips. She felt as if she were sleeping beauty, just now
awakening from a deep slumber. Everything was new and promising. She was truly
alive, rejuvenated, and free. She was ready for whatever might come her way. In the seat
next to her, Dawn stirred. She opened her eyes and groggily sat up. Moaning she
muttered, “Is it morning already?” Her sister
turned toward her, still smiling. “Yeah, it’s morning.” Dawn took a
hand and began to massage the side of her neck. “God, we better find a motel
soon cause these seats not very cushiony.” “Not muscle
friendly, huh?” “That would be
a no.” Dawn glanced
around the bus. She took in the sleeping people occupying the seats. “So we won?”
Dawn asked. “Looks like,”
Buffy answered. There was a
span of comfortable silence. Finally Dawn
said, “So, what now?” Buffy looked
down at her grungy attire. “Well, I’m gonna need a
new wardrobe and a shower. No, make that a bubble bath.” “No, Buffy, really. Where are we going?” Buffy took a
few seconds to ponder that question. Then she replied by saying,” That’s the
amazing thing. Wherever we want.” __________________________________________ Scene 1 Two beings
resided in the upper plane. The entities knew all: everything that had been and
everything that would be. They were sometimes referred to as the higher powers.
They had no form at the moment and spoke telepathically. “The world is
one step closer to the balance,” one said. “Yes,” the
other agreed. “They fought
bravely and won honorably.” “They have won
a battle. But the war is far from over,” the second power told the first. Scene 2 The bus had
stopped to get gas. Andrew had been given the job to pay to his delight. He
felt important because of the menial task, grinning as he went into the
mini-mart. Buffy stood by
the bus entrance, breathing in the fresh air. The slight breeze blew through
her hair. Giles sat in
the driver’s seat. He shifted himself so that he could face the slayer.
“Buffy?” he asked, addressing her through the door. She turned her
head. “Huh?” “I need to
know what direction to go,“ he informed. “Oh,” she said
softly. Her ex-watcher
removed his glasses. “I know this is difficult for you. Your home was just
destroyed. . .” She surprised
him by smiling. “Some part of me will miss Sunnydale,
but another part, a much larger part, finally is free. I have choices now,
Giles.” Nodding, he
showed his understanding. “And I ask that you make a choice now. Where do I
drive?” She took a
moment to think. Then she said, “Why don’t we head toward LA? I think I owe it
to Angel to inform him that I’m still alive. Oh, and thank him for the
necklace.” “Yes, Buffy,
that would be a wise decision. It will also give you time to decide on what to
do next.” “Yeah.” “Also, Buffy .
. .” Giles sighed. “You should inform Angel on . . . uh, Spike.” A faraway look
crossed Buffy’s face. “I’ll do that,” she responded in a monotone. ____________________________________________ Scene 3 They pulled up
to the Hyperion Hotel hours later. The group filed out of the bus, to be
confronted with the huge structure. Faith supported Robin Wood as he made his
way down the stairs. The former potentials clamped together. Except for
Kennedy, who clasped “Wow,”
commented Andrew. “This is like Wayne Manor.” “Except for
the fact that this is a hotel,” Xander said. “Oh, yeah,
except for that.” Buffy took a
deep breath. She began to walk towards the door without saying anything. “Well, troops,
shall we press on?” Xander said. They stepped
inside the lobby. Rona and Vi lingered behind everyone
else. Uncertainty fell over them. “So, this is
where the other souled vamp lives?” Vi whispered. “No, this is
where the ‘only’ souled vamp lives,” Rona clarified. A woman came
into the room. She had long dark hair, and was carrying a box. She noticed the
people gathered and smiled. “Welcome to Angel Investigations. We are in the
process of moving. Uh, I can give you our new address and in a day or so we can
work on your case.” “Actually
we’re here to see Angel. I’m Buffy and . . .” the slayer began. The woman’s
eyes widened. “Buffy Summers? The
slayer? Oh my gosh!” She became flustered. She
came over and shook Buffy’s hand. “It is an honor to meet you. I’m Fred.” Buffy was
about to tell Fred that she wasn’t ’the slayer’, but just a slayer among many,
when Angel exited his office. “Fred, have
you seen my pencil sharpener?” the vampire inquired. Fred held up
her box. “I packed it.” “They have
everything we need there.” “Y-Yeah, but
we should have some of our own things.” Angel saw
Buffy, the scoobies, and the former potentials. “Buffy?”
he said in surprise. “Hey,” his ex
greeted. “You’re all
right,” he observed. “Yep. We saved the world again.” Buffy glanced around at the others.
Then she went on, more flatly, asking,” Can I talk to you alone?” He nodded in
reply. “In my office.” She followed
him into the side room. He shut the door and then stood in front of her. There
was a span of silence. “So, you’re
moving?” Buffy asked, breaking the quiet. “Oh, yeah. Not my living arrangements, but the agency. We’re moving
into a law firm.” She looked at
him curiously. “Okay.” She didn’t know why he would be moving into a law firm,
but that was his business not hers. “We were
offered a deal that we couldn’t refuse.” “Oh, good.” Tension filled
the room. “Buffy, why
are you here?” Angel asked. She fingered
the hem of her shirt. “I thought it would be only right that you knew I wasn’t
dead.” “So, the
necklace worked then?” “Yeah.” Her voice came out strained. “Can I have it
back?” Buffy blinked.
“Huh?” “Can I have it
back?” Angel repeated. “It is rightfully mine, me being the champion and all.” Astonishment
came over Buffy. “No, you can not have it back.” Angel breathed
in deeply. “Spike lost it didn’t he? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him with
it.” Something
kindled in her green gaze. “Spike didn’t lose it! He used it to save the world.
He stayed until the very end as Sunnydale crumbled to
dust. He sacrificed himself to save us. Have you ever saved the world, Angel?
Sure, you’ve killed your share of demons. But have you ever been willing to die
for the sake of others?” Angel stared
at her with shock. “So, tell me
what your definition of a champion is!” Buffy said loudly. She wasn’t
aware of the tears that streamed down her face as she spoke. Or
the fact that she was shaking with emotion. Angel did, however. He felt
sympathy for her grief, but also anger toward Spike for creating it. His grandchilde didn’t deserve her sorrow. “Would you
like a room, Buffy? You can stay the night. Maybe you should go calm down,” he
suggested. Buffy shook
her head. “I don’t need to calm down!” “Okay,” Angel
stated. “If you want to scream and cry in here go right ahead.” Buffy realized
she was crying and furiously wiped the wetness off her cheeks. She deflated
then, her strength leaving her. “Maybe I should go rest,” she reluctantly
agreed. The vampire
gave her room 22. It was nice, with a large bed and a table. There was a
bathroom down the hall for convenience. “Thank-you,”
she told Angel. He noticed her
appearance then. “Fred could show you a nice place to buy some clothing
tomorrow. Do you want me to ask her?” Buffy nodded.
“That’d be nice.” “Goodnight,
Buffy.” “Night,
Angel.” He turned
around and walked out of the room. Buffy looked at the room blankly. She went
over to the bed and crawled onto the mattress. Not bothering to get underneath
the blankets, she lay on her side and curled up into a ball. At that moment she
allowed herself to banish the slayer in her and be only Buffy. She cried
herself to sleep. _______________________________________ Scene 4 It was late,
when everyone was supposed to be asleep. Dawn sat on the bottom step of the
hotel, her chin resting on her hands. She was so lost in her thoughts that she
didn’t hear or see Xander come up behind her. “Dawn?” She jumped.
She turned to see the man, who seemed so much like an older brother. “Xander. Can’t sleep either?” He settled on
the stairs beside her. “Nah. Tried, but my mind had
other ideas.” She nodded. “I
didn’t even try. Thank God the school went cablooey.
There is no way I would be able to concentrate for class.” A sigh came
from Xander. “I keep thinking about her,” he told
her. “Me too,” Dawn
said. “All of them, but mostly Anya and Spike. And I
feel kinda bad, ya know. Like I should have gotten to know the others.” He touched her
arm. “I understand.” “I wish I
would have talked to Spike before. . . I forgave him and I never told him.” “I think he
knew.” She shook her
head. “I said something horrible to him. I told him I would come after him when
he was sleeping if he did anything to Buffy. I think I scared the shit out of
him. We used to be really close and could have been again if I had only talked
to him.” Their
conversation took a pause. Then Xander said,” I
should have married her. You only have so much time in this world and we should
push fear aside and do the things that matter.” Dawn looked
over sadly at him. “She knew you loved her.” “Yeah,” he
replied softly. A minute went
by. Dawn’s mind was trying to remember everything she could about each person
that died. There was very little she could recall about any individual
potential. She always liked Anya. She wasn’t afraid
to express herself and was often funny. Spike . . . Spike was her friend. He
hadn’t treated her like a child and told her the truth. Why hadn’t she told him
she forgave him? Now he would never know. Dawn stood up.
“We should have a memorial service.” Xander raised his head. “Now?” “Why not?” “Oh maybe because it is five in the morning.” “Does it
matter? I betcha no one is sleeping soundly anyways.” Xander got to his feet as well. “All right, let’s gather everybody.” Scene 5 Everyone was
gathered outside in the garden. Even Angel had joined them. It was the perfect
temperature and the sky was clear. A gentle breeze rotated through the air. They had already
spoken for the fallen SIT and had begun to speak about the two people closest
to their hearts: Spike and Anya. “I loved Ayn,” Xander addressed. “I don’t
really know why exactly, I just did. I wish I had married that girl. I should
have never broken her trust. I lost a lot of time because of that. Time we
could have spent together. I’m really sorry for that and I’m going to miss her
terribly.” He stepped over next to Andrew took Xander’s place in the middle. “I uh. . . Anya saved my life. I hadn’t expected to live. I don’t
deserve to. Anya did. We both used to be evil, but
she was different. I’m just a big nuisance, while she actually did stuff to
make up for her wrongs. If I could go back and take her place I would.” Dawn came
forward. “Anya was often annoying. I’d roll my eyes
at what she had to say. But that was just Anya, ya know.” She gave a small smile. “I actually enjoyed her
outbursts. She would talk about taboo things like orgasms. She was like no one
else. I’ll miss her.” “Anya was a very remarkable young woman. She embraced the
world and all it had to offer. I enjoyed watching her muse over simple things,
such as commerce,” Giles stated. “I can not think of a better person than her
to mind my store.” It was Buffy took a
step before them. She glanced over her friends. “I’m going to be honest. In the
beginning Anya wasn’t on my Christmas card list. She
would say the worst things at the worst times. She was very ignorant and
annoying. But Xander went back up. “I guess it is time for Spike. The peroxide and I
weren’t the best of pals. We exchanged insults like crazy. We did it so often
in fact that it became expected. After awhile, when Spike got
his soul, I actually started to like him. God, I hate admitting this,
but it is true. We still bantered some, but it no longer had the same impact.
We both knew it too. Anyway, the guy saved the world and I’m grateful. I hope
he ended up somewhere without fire.” “Spike told me
never to tell anyone this,” Andrew began. “He said he’d kill me. But he isn’t
here to show his fangs so I’ll take my chances. Spike was a cool guy. Giles
sent us on a mission together. I don’t think he wanted me along, but that’s
okay. The point is we talked. We talked about the blooming onion and stuff like
that. We got along. I think maybe we were even friends.” Dawn took the
speaking position. “Spike was my friend. I don’t think I ever told him that. He
understood me and treated me like an important person. When I found out what he
did to Buffy I wanted to hate him. I made myself believe that I did. Later I
realized I didn’t, but was only hurt and angry. I forgave him because he really
felt sorry and was trying to be a better man. I never told him, though. With
everything going on I didn’t. I’m so sorry I didn’t. I wish Spike could have
known that I cared.” Giles cleared
his throat before talking. “I once told Spike that he might have a higher
purpose. I had been inferring to him killing a ten foot monster with horns. I
never expected his part to go to these magnitudes. He was a one of a kind. He
was willing to go against everything he was to change. There will never be
another like him.” “I was Red to
Spike,” Buffy
hesitated before taking her turn. She stood there without opening her mouth for
a moment. “I didn’t treat Spike very well. He loved me and I kept rejecting it
because he was a vampire- a demon. But that isn’t the truth. I didn’t see it
until after I hurt him. Spike was a man. A good man. A champion.” Her voice broke. “I made myself believe that I
hated his smirks, his nicknames, his duster, his rude remarks, his smoking. I
was fooling myself. I. . .” She took a deep breath. “I loved those things about
him. Everything about him. Well, except for the
smoking. I. . .” She looked down, mustering the courage to continue. “I loved
Spike. I loved everything about Spike.” She raised her head again. Her green
eyes swam. “And I’m not ashamed.” After saying
that, Buffy fled into the Hyperion. The tears multiplied, falling down her face
and blinding her vision. She fell to her knees on the lobby floor, sobbing. “I loved him.
I loved him,” she repeated over and over. She didn’t
know how much time passed before she felt the hand on her shoulder. It was
Dawn. Through the water, Buffy could see that the teen was crying also. “Buffy, it’s okay. You can let yourself love him,” Dawn told her. Buffy reached
out and embraced her sister. They clung to each other, struggling for comfort. Scene 6 Buffy stood
near the window of her room. She gazed out into the lightening sky. She touched
the glass. “Goodbye, William,” she whispered as the sun peeked over the
horizon. __________________________________________ End of Episode
1: The Break of Dawn. Next week on
Buffy . . . Episode 2:
Champions The powers
that be make an offer that a certain vampire can’t refuse. Buffy is plagued by
disturbing dreams. A slayer has a death wish. And the future of the scoobies is decided. |
