Halloween

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Volume 2, October 1998

Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Based on the television character created by: Joss Whedon

Written by: Andi Watson

Penciled by: Joe Bennett

Inked by: Rick Ketcham

Cover by: Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend

Cover color by: Liquid!

Lettered by: Janice Chiang

Interior colored by: Guy Major

Transcript by: The Crying Freeman

The characters of that comics are the exclusive property of Joss Whedon. The story transcribed here, is the legal property of Dark Horse Comics Inc., and of Scott Allie the editor. This work is only a presentation of the dialogue and a narration of the action as displayed in this comic book. This work is for information only, no money can be made out of it. If you sell, or ask a payment for it, it is a violation of copy right laws.

Buffy and Willow are inside Sunnydale high school, standing in front of Willow’s locker.

Buffy: …Another argument?

Willow: Yeah. Mom and dad are giving me such a hard time over Oz. They want me to stop seeing him so much. They claim my grades are slipping.

Buffy: That is such a crock. How can straight "A" ’s be a slip?

Willow: I got a "B" plus in physics last week.

Buffy: *D’oh*! I wish "B plus" was a minor slip on my grade radar. I wouldn’t mind if it was because of

Angel. Now he’s back with the no touchy-feely thing, it’s so… frustrating.

Willow: I don’t understand. Oz makes me so happy, why should I see less of him? I mean, I get great grades, I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs…

Buffy: You did date that internet demon for a while. Ignoring that you’re perfect.

Willow: So what’s the problem?

Buffy: (walking away with Willow) Parents! *Tsk* They house you, feed you, and make you life a misery. Your mom and dad don’t appreciate how easy they have it with you.

Willow: Darn tootin’. If I burnt the school down that would teach ‘em.

Buffy: Trust me, that kind of thing goes on your permanent record.

Willow: (She and Buffy are now on the stairs in front of the school with Xander) What about tomorrow night?

Xander: If anyone asks, you could say you’re backing up your hard drive. But what about me?

Buffy: C’mon. So we baby-sit a bunch of brats for an evening of trick-or-treating. What are the chances of a replay of last year? Oh yeah… hellmouth.

Xander: Let’s get our stories straight. I have that icky rash that could be contagious…

Buffy: Don’t worry Xander, it’s only high school rumors… Oh my Gosh. There’s the principal!

Snyder: (pointing his pencil at Buffy) Staying out of trouble, Summers?

Buffy: We’re just eagerly awaiting another day of learning, sir.

Snyder: Don’t patronize me. I want you all to be occupied on Halloween. So you WILL sign up as "good-kid guides" and supervise a group of children as they trick-or-treat.

Buffy: Y-yes, sir.

Xander: Way to go, Buff. (holding his head in his hands) I never thought I’d regret refusing Cordelia’s invite at a long week-end at the aerobic and hair-care expo.

Buffy is entering in the library. Giles is carrying a big pile of books

Buffy: Finally got those old TV guides you ordered?

Giles: Actually, Buffy, it’s research material concerning the Necronomicon. You do recall my lecture on the subject, I hope .

Buffy: Airport-lounge bestseller? Movie adaptation in development starring Leonardo DiCaprio

Giles: (Buffy takes a deep concentration attitude) Buffy, you must learn to stop scoffing at the darkest secrets of the universe.

Buffy: It’s my ambition to bring a little sunshine to the Slayer profession. Decapitation with a smile.

Giles: (showing some signs of tiredness) *Sigh* Loathe though I am to tarnish your cherry disposition, I hope you remember tonight is a patrol night.

Buffy: I’m afraid your military-precision scheduling has hit a snafu. Tonight is a last-minute-scramble-to-finish-homework-night. Patrol is tomorrow, Halloween. Don’t take it too hard. Even Stormin’ Norman makes the occasional mistake.

Giles: Actually, patrol night has been switched due to Halloween.

Buffy: Not fair! Halloween’s the quietest night of the year, bloodsucker-wise. Angel calls it "Amateur Night."

Giles: Which is why an extra vigilant patrol is in order tonight.

Buffy: Patrol tonight. Good-kid guide tomorrow. Where can I fit decent grades into all this?

Now the action takes place in Willow’s house. It’s dark outside, and we can hear an argument coming from inside the house.

Willow: I’m seeing him tonight and you can’t stop me!

Father: Come back here, young lady!

Mother: When will you be home?

Willow storms out of the house and slam the door. She walks away in the night, crying. Cut to the cemetery. Buffy is leaning against a gravestone, reading a book with a torchlight. She stops reading, and turns her head to the right.

Buffy: No nasties to the right. (turning her head again) No monsters to the left. Cool multi-tasking. How efficient am I?

Willow is still walking alone in the street when a pick-up truck appears behind her. It’s stops next to her. She can see that two men are inside, while two sexy girls are standing in the trunk.

Selke: (a black-haired girl) Hey, are you okay? This is kind of a sketchy area.

Hart: (a blonde girl) Dangerous for a young woman, alone. Where’re you heading at?

Willow: The Bronze.

Norris: (the guy on the passenger seat) We’ll give you a ride. Hop in.

Willow: (smiling and raising her hand) Nah, I’m only a block away. But thanks anyway. (leaving)

Selke: (grabbing Willow by the shoulder and revealing her vampire face) No. We insist.

The truck speed away after Willow is taken in the car. She drops her bag on the pavement. Cut to the kitchen in the Summers’ house. Joyce is leaning against a table, drinking a cup of coffee, as Buffy is just waking up and coming down. She is still wearing her night clothes and pink-bunnies-comforters.

Joyce: Willow didn’t come home last night. Do you know where she might be?

Buffy: *W’oh-oh*, hold on. Willow, WHAT?

Joyce: Her mom called. Apparently they had an argument. Willow stormed out, and hasn’t come back. When will you kid learn to call in?

Buffy: (rushing for the phone) I’ll check if she’s back yet.

Joyce: I just spoke to her mother. She’s out of her mind with worry. Willow doesn’t seem like the runaway type. I pray she hasn’t been abducted or…

Buffy: Mom don’t!

Cut to the library. Giles, Buffy and Xander are sitting around a table. They are all looking at the map of Sunnydale displayed in front of them.

Xander: …Willow wouldn’t run away. She’s too…

Buffy: Sensible?

Xander: …responsible?

Buffy: If I’d kept my mind on patrol and not…

Giles: Don’t punish yourself, Buffy. This is something my books and your skills probably could not have prevented.

Xander: (to Buffy) Like you said, Willow thought her parents didn’t appreciate how great she was… is. Is! She’s hiding out somewhere, making us all sweat.

Giles: (to Oz who just arrived in the library) Do the police have any news?

Oz: No I told’em everything I know. Willow came by while I was at band practice. My parents told her where I was, but they were the last ones to see her. And any creed who’s laid a finger on her…

Giles: If we remain calm and search the route she took last night, me might find some…

Oz: … I’ll rip his freaking head off!

Giles: (remaining focused on the map) Indeed, we’ll split into two groups to search Carpenter, Warren, Craven, and Sixth, Seventh, and Eight avenues. If we hurry we can make the best of the remaining sunlight.

Buffy and Giles are both searching for any trace of Willow. It’s getting dark outside, and they are carefully looking at what’s in the street.

Buffy: (opening a trash can) If her parents hadn’t given her such a hard time about Oz, this would never have happened. I mean, really, Willow’s a dream kid.

Giles: It’s unfortunate for her parents, because they will be thinking exactly the same thing. They’ll also be feeling a thousand times the guilt and worry.

Buffy: May be you’ve forgotten, Giles. High school is hell. Your life is ruled by grades, tests, and scores. You’re constantly being compared to others, with your failure judged and broadcasted. On top of that, your fellow students are putting you in pigeon holes of jock, geek, cheerleader, whatever. And all this will affect the direction of the rest of your life.

Giles: (cleaning his glasses) *Hmmm*. Your thesis of "school as human zoo" does contain a Kernel of truth, if a little over-dramatized. What you fail to mention is that you have the best of friends to share the trials.

Buffy: (finding Willow’s bag behind the trash can) Giles! This is Willow’s bag!

Giles: (bending over marks on the road) It also looks like a vehicle has accelerated away at speed. …so she didn’t run away.

Buffy: She was taken.

Now the scene is taking place in front of the high school. Buffy is wearing a Mike Myers costume (Halloween movies, not the actor…), Xander chose a Dracula (as seen by Coppola), while Oz preferred a Shark ‘look’. A bunch of kids are running around in diverse costume from ninja turtle to devil. Skinner is watching the whole group.

Buffy: (to Xander) Is that costume a stabat irony?

Xander: Hey, vamps seem to get all the chicks. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Oz: If we’re gonna do this, let’s at least be serious about searching Willow.

Buffy: Right, we wouldn’t be doing this without the subtext remember to keep in contact with Giles while he’s out in his car. (everyone then turn to their group).

Oz: All right, kids! Keep close.

Xander: Listen up, little hooligans. I’m the boss, so I get a twenty percent cut of all your candy.

Little hooligans: *Awwww*

Buffy: (walking away with four kids around her) You guys be careful out there. I don’t want anymore of my friends missing. (in front of a door, as a couple give away candies). Say thank you, kids.

Kids: Thank you, kids. *Har Har!*

Man: (to his wife) Aren’t they just adorable.

Buffy: (looking at the sky from behind her mask) Oh, brother. It’s going to be a long night.

Kid 1: Come on Buffy.

Kid 2: We’ll never fill our bags at this rate.

Buffy: Okay, but slow down. I don’t even know where we are. Wait, wait. Where’s Bart? Oh, no, I’ve lost one. Bart. BARRRRRT !

Kid 2: Buffy, he’s over there. At the spook house.

Buffy: Bart, no one lives here to give you candy. Don’t wander away from me again, understand?

Bart: I dare you to knock on the door Buffy.

Buffy: Why’s it called the spook house?

Kid 3: ‘coz it’s where the spooks live, stoopid.

Kid 2: Buffy’s too chicken to knock at the door.

Buffy: I’ll knock at the door if you promise we’ll go straight home afterward. Deal?

Bart: Deal. If you’re not too chicken.

Buffy is going to knock at the door. But she stops as she sees a pick up truck parked next to the house. She goes toward it.

Buffy: Why would a deserted house have a car? (finding Willow’s vest in the trunk) Oh my. (running away and pushing the kids in front of her) C’mon, kids. Party’s over. You’re goin’ home.

Bart: (running too) No fair. You didn’t knock at the door. That was the deal.

Norris: (inside the house, to another at the window) Everything cool?

Vezina: (looking at the group running away) Just some brats. Party’s still on.

Buffy, still wearing her costume, runs back to the house. She has dropped the kids to their houses, and grabbed a belt with couple stakes attached to it. She goes behind the spook house and try to see through a dirty window. She decides to climb the wall, helped by a water-pipe running along the outside wall. As she is climbing, the four vampires from the previous night are all sitting in front of a TV.

Norris: Vezina! You have the attention span of a gnat. Quit fast forwarding the movie.

Vezina: I wanna see the shower scene.

Hart: I hate Halloween. Everyone is so irritable.

Selke: Can’t we watch a movie all the way through just for once? (hearing a noise up-stairs) What was that?

Vezina: The wind, Selke dear? Wooooo.

Hart: Could be our moveable feast.

Vezina: She’s in the basement, Hart. That came from upstairs.

Selke: We could have a bite now.

Vezina: I’m not hungry, yet. Besides we have all night.

Hart: Do I have to go upstairs and check for myself.

Vezina: All right, already, sweetie. I’ll go. It’s probably only a raccoon.

Hart: That climbed in through the upstairs window? What is it? A member of the cactus-burgularus raccoon family?

Vezina: Are we ever gonna watch one of these movies?

Norris: When you’re done, go down and bring us a snack.

Vezina: (going upstairs) I’m not your waiter, Norris. Get it yourself

Selke: So, which one is Luke Perry?

Hart: That show blew it by letting him go. *Hmmm*. I’d love to get my fangs in that boy.

Buffy is upstairs finishing to get through the broken window. She has a stake in her right hand.

Vezina: (entering the room in his demoniac appearance) We have a gatecrasher? Why didn’t you try the door?

Buffy: A little obsessive/compulsive disorder of mine.

The fight starts with Vezina jumping toward Buffy. She avoid the attack, but is off-balance. So she grab his waist with her left hand. He then throws a punch and touches her in the face. She turn the face under the blow, and falls on the ground.

Buffy: (standing up) Never miss with the face! (pulls down her mask on her face).

Selke: (still quietly watching TV downstairs with Hart and Norris) Oooh yeah. I see what you mean.

Norris: (obviously bored by the show) Can we have a little less volume please? I cant’ hear myself think. (finally standing up) I’m goin’ for eats. I’ll be right back.

Hart: Bring her up. Don’t start without us, you pig. (focusing on TV again) This is the good part.

Upstairs Buffy is trashing up the place. She’s punching Vezina around, blasting away the wood decoration. Vezina is then thrown down the stairs.

Hart: (still watching TV with Selke) *Ouch*. That’s gotta hurt.

Buffy: (jumping from the stairs to kick in the hair Vezina, just standing up after rolling down the stairs) I think I have a hand on the situation. (She kicks him with both feet. He crashes through the wall, and ashes in front of Hart and Selke).

Hart: (with her ‘bad’ face) You are sooo…

Selke: (in vampire form too) …rude for not knocking.

Buffy: (shifting her mask on the top of her head). Sor-rrry. Knock knock.

Norris is reaching the basement. As he unsecure the door, cries for help rise. He enters the room, in his demonic form, where Willow and five other victims are squishing in a corner, terrified.

Norris: Supper time!

The fight between Buffy and the two vampires is no raging. She avoid couple attacks, and punch Selke away. The room is an old kitchen and Selke breaks the drawers on which she landed. She is accidentally stabbed by a knife on her left side. She crawls away, badly injured. Buffy and Hart are still fighting. Buffy tears off a stick out of the floor, and stab Hart in the heart has she jumped on Buffy. Once the vampire ashed, she turns around and realize that Selke is not here anymore. She then runs down to the basement, where Norris pulling Willow to the first floor.

Willow: My best friend’s the Slayer, and when she finds out you tried to eat me… you’ll be, skewered!

Norris: Yeah, yeah. When it’s time for the kill, all of a sudden, everyine knows the Slayer. ‘n my dad’s a WWF wrestler.

Buffy: (reaching the bottom of the stairs) Willow are you okay?

Willow: Yes…

Buffy: Kicks Norris away from Willow. He’s covered by all the old stuff he was thrown into. As Buffy approaches for the final blow, he catch her by the neck. He then sends her against the opposite wall. Buffy battles to get out of the wood covering her.

Norris: Clumsy, clumsy! (jumping on Buffy) AIEEEEE!

Buffy: (still on the ground, Lifts a stick with her legs to stops Norris. He’s ashed) Let’s get to the point!

Selke is difficutly walking through the cemetery because of her injurie. She reaches a tomb and enters it. She lays on a grave inside, bleeding a lot after pulling out the knife. She stays in fetal position, a hand against her injured side. Sun now rises over the cemetery. It’s another day, and the gang is in front of the school.

Willow: (smiling) So, yeah, I’m basically grounded for the next ten years. I figure if I work on it, I might get parole early next century.

Buffy: What did you tell your folks?

Willow: That I went to the forty-hour horror movie festival.

Xander: (raising his hand to his mouth) *Urrr…*

Oz: What’s with Xander?

Buffy: Candy overdose.

Xander: *Ugh* Never again.

THE END.