| ACT ONE FADE IN EXT. SUNNYDALE HIGH - DAY STUDENTS make their way in. Among them is ELLE, a not-so happy-looking young beauty. A calculator falls out of her backpack and hits the ground. She hears and stops. When she turns around, she finds DAWN presenting it to her. DAWN Here you go. Elle takes a moment before actually moving and taking the calculator. ELLE Thanks. Dawn smiles and walks past Elle inside. Elle takes off her glasses and watches intently. CUT TO: INT. SUMMERS BASEMENT - DAY Faith wails on a punching bag as Buffy stretches. Faith's eyes wander over to Buffy periodically. FAITH Aren't ya gonna DO anything? BUFFY Stretching is something. FAITH I stretch when I don't even know I'm stretching. How 'bout somethin' with a little effort? BUFFY Yeah, that bag is really putting up a fight. Faith stops and faces Buffy. FAITH You want some live action? I can give it to ya. BUFFY I'd rather not risk anything. God knows what you'll try. FAITH How's your side? BUFFY Healed. FAITH Are you sure? Maybe I should check--I AM an expert. Buffy glares for a moment before looking away. Faith's eyes drop. BUFFY I'm fine. So, tonight, why don't you go uptown and I'll take downtown. FAITH No problem. (sarcastically) I mean, SunnyD is so drownin' in vamp action that we need to split up to handle it all. BUFFY Why can't you just shut up and do something for once? There's two of us--meaning twice the ground can be covered and my life can be easier. And let's remember, I'm not the one who just got out of prison with nothing else on her plate. I've got a life. FAITH Not much of one as far as I can tell. Buffy heads for the stairs. She intentionally bumps into Faith. BUFFY If I don't see you again until tomorrow, then there really is a God. Buffy and Faith stare coldly at each other before Buffy leaves. Faith becomes enraged and whacks the bag hard enough to send it crashing to the floor. BUFFY (OS) (shouting) You're paying for that. CUT TO: INT. SUNNYDALE HIGH, HALLWAY - DAY Dawn walks up to her locker and opens it up. A few lockers away, Elle struggles with the lock. She bangs the locker in frustration and turns to Dawn. ELLE Is it possible that you could be a safe-cracker? Or, in this case, a locker-cracker? Dawn turns to her and gives a wry smile. DAWN Sorry. But I do have a sister with super-human strength who could break that thing easily. ELLE Superhuman sister--you can make money off of that. DAWN I've tried. I sold her to the circus once...they returned her two days later demanding a refund. ELLE Too freaky for the freaks? Sounds like my kind of girl. DAWN You're definitely not the first person to say that. Dawn walks over and positions herself in front of Elle's locker. She lifts up her right leg. DAWN Lucky for you, I'm a freak too. Dawn kicks downward breaking the lock. She smoothly opens up the locker letting the door swing open. Elle's caught in a mix of awe and fear. Dawn takes a long look at Elle. DAWN You new here? ELLE My brother says I shouldn't think of it as being new but instead like I'm returning to the scene of a former life. Coincidentally, he had just come back from Pip the Pot Guy's office when he told me that. DAWN It's not totally horrible once you've been here a few...millennia. ELLE But I bet hanging with you is a smart thing to do. DAWN Sure...if you're a masochist. CUT TO: EXT. SUMMERS BACKYARD - EVENING GILES reads a book as he walks out into the yard. Willow sits in a lawn chair. Giles looks up and notices her. GILES Good evening Willow. When did you get back? WILLOW Just now. What are you reading? GILES Oh, Anya tracked down this fabulous set on Greek mythology. They must be at least 10,000 years old. Remarkably informative. WILLOW If they're informative, then doesn't that devalue the "mythology" part? GILES Well, that may be correct. Some of this is absolutely fascinating and being that it is not in the mainstream, the myth aspect is essentially removed. WILLOW Does that mean Icarus didn't really build wings and fly near the sun only to have the wax melt? I love that story. GILES Fear not...that one is true. You might be interested to know Glory was a direct descendant of Hades. WILLOW Why would I be interested in that? GILES Because not even HE liked her. Willow laughs. WILLOW Giles, do you ever worry? GILES About...? WILLOW The quiet. I mean, Buffy and Faith are at each other's throats and nothing serious has happened in a long while. At least, not in a non-Buffy-type way. It's like we're being set-up for an explosion of negativity. GILES Living here, I feel that way every day. CUT TO: EXT. UPTOWN APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT No activity. A youngish, average-looking-in-every-way DARK MAN wearing sunglasses and all black, swaggers up to the entrance of the building. He stops in front, face emotionless, and surveys the area. When he's satisfied, he pushes open the door and enters. CUT TO: INT. BRONZE - NIGHT Dawn and Xander hang out by the bar. The TV plays the news nearby. DAWN So I made a new friend today. XANDER Really? All right Dawnmeister! High-five! Xander puts his hand for a fiver, but Dawn doesn't. She stares at him like he's nuts. XANDER You have to give me this...I have no guy friends; Giles is British and Spike is Spikish. I need some masculine love. Dawn gives Xander a high-five. He's thrilled. DAWN Find some guy friends. XANDER Yes sir! I mean ma'am. Dawn glares, but she can't keep the grin off her face. XANDER So what's your new friend like? DAWN Oh she's really cool and funny and smart and great fashion sense and she's from New York! Is that not the bomb? XANDER It does send bomb-like feelings running through me. DAWN And her name is Elizabeth--but I get to call her Elle. XANDER Elizabeth but prefers a nickname...reminds me of someone we know... You seem psyched. DAWN SHE WANTS to be friends with ME! How often does that happen? XANDER Is that a rhetorical question? This time, it's a serious glare from Dawn. Xander backs off a little and turns his attention to the TV where a special report comes up. The BARTENDER turns up the volume. TV REPORTER It's a full-blown massacre here at the Quincy Building--a residential nightmare that has left not a single innocent life spared by whatever monster did this. Xander and Dawn share a look. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY/APARTMENT - NIGHT Faith slowly walks through the dim hallway, eyeing the scattered blood on the floor, walls, and doors. She comes across a door with a note on it. She stops and reads the note. Her eyes narrow and she nudges the already-open door further. She enters. APARTMENT Faith finds two adult dead bodies on the floor. She walks in further and heads down a mini-hallway. She opens one door and finds a bedroom--empty. She opens another: bathroom--empty. She comes to the next door and: CUT TO: INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS The door creaks open, revealing Faith's face. Instantly, her eyes widen. On the back wall, above the bed, a dead TEENAGER. Above the Teen, written in blood: IN DEATH, WE FIND FAITH On Faith's darkening face: END ACT ONE |
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