Buffy faces Count Dracula who has come to Sunnydale to make her one of his concubines. Dracula turns Xander into a Renfield of sorts, before being defeated but not killed.
Act I Fade in on a beach, daytime. Buffy runs into the camera's view and catches a football. BUFFY: Ha! Touchdown! Oh yeah. Go team me. (She does a victory dance) Shot of Riley grinning. Buffy throws him the ball; he catches it with a frown. RILEY: Anybody ever tell team you the quarterback throws like a girl? (Throws the ball back) BUFFY: (catches the ball, frowning) I do? Riley gives a "well, yeah" shrug. Buffy frowns, takes a grip on the ball and throws it. It hits Riley in the face and he falls down. BUFFY: (concerned) Ooh, sorry! Switch to long view. In the foreground we see Willow, Tara, and Anya lounging on beach blankets while Xander is sitting by a fire pit, trying to light it. In the background we can see Buffy and Riley and, beyond them, the ocean. Riley is getting up and running at Buffy. BUFFY: No, don't, no - (shrieks as Riley tackles her) XANDER: I'm exhausted just looking at those two. All the splashing and jumping and running... Shouldn't relaxing involve less exertion? ANYA: Absolutely. Exertion can lead to sweatiness. TARA: Which can cause the pain and heartbreak of stinkiness. Better to just stay put. WILLOW: I think we've just put our finger on why we're the sidekicks. Buffy and Riley approach. WILLOW: Game over? RILEY: Uh, Buffy slayed the football. (Holds up the deflated ball, then tosses it aside) BUFFY: Where's my burger? (Xander is still trying to light the fire) RILEY: Yeah, man, I'm starving. Cow me. (He and Buffy sit) XANDER: The, uh, fire's not cooperating. It's comforting to know that I lack the culinary finesse of a caveman. WILLOW: (gestures at fire) Ignis incende. The logs burst into flame. Xander falls backward onto his butt in the sand. BUFFY: Willow, check you out! Witch-fu. Tara smiles at Willow. WILLOW: It's no big. You just have to balance the elements so when you affect one, you don't wind up causing... A huge clap of thunder interrupts as dark clouds appear out of nowhere and it starts to rain. Everyone jumps up shrieking and starts frantically gathering up their stuff. WILLOW: I didn't do it! I didn't do it! They all grab their stuff and run off. Cut to: Exterior shot of a castle, evening, with the storm still raging. A truck drives up. Two guys get out and go to the back of the truck, where they remove a tarp from something and begin to pull out a large box. GUY1: Come on, hurry it up, I'm getting soaked. GUY2: I'm trying. Geez, this thing weighs- They give a pull and the box falls to the ground, cracking open slightly, leaning at an angle with one end on the ground and the other leaning on the truck. A little dirt leaks out of the cracked corner. GUY1: (annoyed) Nice. Good job. GUY2: (kneels to check out the broken corner) Look at this. Guy's carting dirt around. GUY1: Leave it. We'll, we'll turn it on its side. They begin trying to right the box. GUY2: Dirt. Man, rich people are- A hand bursts out of the box and slashes his throat. He screams and staggers backward. The other guy watches in horror as a body begins to burst out of the box. Cut to: Exterior shot of Giles' building. Cut to inside Giles' apartment. Willow is typing on a computer as Giles looks on. WILLOW: There you go. All set. GILES: Thank you, Willow. Obstinate bloody machine simply refused to work for me. (Walks off) WILLOW: Just call me the computer whisperer. (Stands up, putting something in the scanner) Let's get scannin'. I want to see this puppy go. Giles puts a pile of old books on her outstretched arms. GILES: Start with those. WILLOW: (scowls) Start? Where is finish? GILES: Willow, it's essential that we begin archiving the library. I mean, most of these texts have no duplicates. WILLOW: But ... now? Doesn't winter seem more like archiving season? GILES: (looks surprised) Well, you don't have to, Willow, I mean, you're, you're welcome to leave if, uh... WILLOW: No. It's fine. (Sits back down) It's just, you've been Mr. Project all summer. You know? Labeling the amulets and indexing your diaries. (Giles gives a little smile) I draw the line at making giant rubber band balls. That's when you'll just have to get a life. (Opens the scanner and takes out whatever is in it) GILES: (clears throat) That's what I'm trying to do, actually, is, um, get a life. (Sits down) WILLOW: (not looking at him, doesn't realize he's turned serious) It might go better if you left the house. GILES: Willow, um... you mustn't repeat what I'm about to say. Especially not to Buffy. (Willow looks confused and concerned) WILLOW: Uh-oh. GILES: You promise? WILLOW: Oh, god. Well, I guess. Now that I know there's something to know, I can't *not* know, just because I'm afraid somebody'll know I know, you know? GILES: Did that mean yes? WILLOW: Yeah. GILES: We're doing all this because I, I want you and the others to have everything you need at your fingertips. You see, I'm, I'm going back to England. Willow looks shocked. WILLOW: You're ... what? But you can't! You're ... Buffy's Watcher! Giles sighs. WILLOW: I mean, in a fired way, but... GILES: Well, it's become quite obvious that Buffy doesn't need me. I-I don't say that in a self-pitying way, I'm, I'm quite proud, actually. (Smiles gently) WILLOW: But what about the rest of us? We still need to be watched! Personally, I can't get through a day without a little hairy eyeball. GILES: (laughs softly) I appreciate the sentiment, but it's, it's just not so. You'll be fine. You all will. (Gets up) And you know, we'll, we'll stay in touch. You can always call me whenever you like. WILLOW: When are you gonna tell Buffy? GILES: Soon. It won't be easy, but, um... I know she'll understand. Cut to Buffy eating dinner with Joyce. BUFFY: Thanks, Mom. Everything was yummy. (Put her napkin on the table) JOYCE: Hey, you up for dessert? We could, uh, take a drive, get some ice cream. BUFFY: (stands) You know, I, I would, but I kinda have to get out on patrol. (Begins gathering up dishes) JOYCE: Now? It's 8:30. BUFFY: Well, vamps don't really care what time it is. You know, dark equals dinner bell. (Begins carrying dishes to kitchen. Joyce stays seated) JOYCE: Right, of course. (Look around empty table) You know, I'm gonna have to get used to this place without you again. It gets so quiet. Buffy comes back in. BUFFY: You know, maybe we should make a regular date of this, when school starts. JOYCE: (nods) Mm. BUFFY: I'm sorry. (Kisses Joyce on cheek) Duty calls. It's a total drag. (Leaves) Cut to Buffy punching a vampire in the cemetery, looking like she's having plenty of fun. She punches him several times and then grabs his shoulders and knees him. He gets up and she's on his back. Shot of a bunch of smoke or fog, coalescing into a face. We see just a pair of eyes and a nose. Back to Buffy on top of the vampire. He throws her down. She gets up and charges, ducks a punch, punches and then kicks him. She tries to kick again but he grabs her and lifts her over his head, then throws her down. She gets up again, Jumps on him with her legs around his neck. He throws her down, she flips him over and then stakes him. Buffy stands up looking satisfied, begins to stride away purposefully. She walks between the gravestones and suddenly stops, whirls around. MAN: Very impressive hunt. We see a man walking forward out of the darkness. He's very thin and pale, has long hair, and speaks with an accent. MAN: Such power. BUFFY: That was no hunt. That was just another day on the job. We see that the man is wearing a long flowing cloak and has long flowing hair. He walks toward Buffy. BUFFY: Care to step up for some overtime? MAN: We're not going to fight. BUFFY: Do you *know* what a slayer is? MAN: Do you? (Smirking) Buffy looks intrigued. BUFFY: Who are you? MAN: I apologize. I assumed you knew. I am Dracula. Buffy's eyes widen and she looks delighted. BUFFY: Get out! [SCENE_BREAK] Commercial. [SCENE_BREAK] Act II Fade in on Willow and Xander walking through the darkened graveyard, holding plastic cups of iced coffee. WILLOW: Xand ... what if somebody had a secret, and that somebody promised somebody else that they wouldn't tell anyone. XANDER: (nodding) News flash, Will. Everybody knows. WILLOW: No, thi-this isn't about me and Tara. XANDER: Oh. Well, not that I wouldn't be all ears if you wanted to tell me a secret about you two. Even if it was very, very naughty. WILLOW: (grins) Sorry, this is of the non-naughty variety. And I'm not telling you. (Nods firmly) XANDER: Okay. Want to see if Buffy's hanging around the headstones? WILLOW: Sure. So if I was gonna tell you, which I'm not going to... Cut to Buffy still looking amazed. BUFFY: So lemme get this straight. You're ... (in Dracula's accent) "Dracula." The guy, the count. DRACULA: I am. (We can see his fangs now.) BUFFY: And you're sure this isn't just some fanboy thing? Cause ... I've fought more than a couple of pimply overweight vamps that called themselves Lestat. DRACULA: (looks a little annoyed) You know who I am. As I would now without question that you are Buffy Summers. (Walks toward her, looming over her.) BUFFY: You're heard of me? DRACULA: Naturally. You're known throughout the world. BUFFY: (smiles bashfully) Naw. Really? DRACULA: Why else would I come here? For the sun? I came to meet the renowned ... killer. BUFFY: Yeah, I prefer the term slayer. You know, killer just sounds so... DRACULA: Naked? BUFFY: Like I ... paint clowns or something. I'm the good guy, remember? DRACULA: Perhaps, but your power is rooted in darkness. You must feel it. Buffy frowns and ponders this for a moment. BUFFY: No. You know what I feel? Bored. She lunges at him with her stake. He dissolves into smoke. As she straightens up looking confused, he reappears behind her. She turns, lunges again. He dissolves into smoke again. Buffy looks around. BUFFY: Okay, that's cheating. Xander and Willow walk up. XANDER: Hey Buff, what's up? WILLOW: You look like you just- BUFFY: Get out of here. Now. XANDER: Fine, but I was gonna give you a sip of my double-mint mocha, but.. (We see Dracula reappearing behind him) BUFFY: Behind you. Willow and Xander turn and see Dracula. WILLOW: Hi. XANDER: Nice. Look who's got a bad case of dark prince envy. (Behind him we see Buffy holding her stake, looking concerned) DRACULA: I have no interest in you. Leave us. XANDER: No, we're not going to (in Dracula's accent) "leave you." And where'd you get that accent, Sesame Street? (As the Count on Sesame Street) Vun, two, three -- three victims. Mwa ha ha! Dracula looks annoyed. BUFFY: (whispering) Xander, I'm pretty sure that's Dracula. XANDER: Wow, really? (Hurries to stand behind Buffy) Hey, sorry, man, I was ... just jokin' around. DRACULA: This is not the time. (Locks eyes with Buffy) I will see you soon. He spreads his cape out and moves toward them, turning into a bat and flying over their heads as they all duck and yell. The bat flies away, squeaking. They straighten up and look around. The bat comes back and flies around Buffy's head. She covers her head with her hands. BUFFY: Bat! Ooh, bat! The bat squeaks and flies away again. Cut to: Exterior shot of Giles' building. XANDER VO: And then Buffy's all, "Look out!" Cut to inside Giles' apartment. XANDER: And then frigging Dracula's standing right behind us. (Sits on sofa where Anya and Willow are already sitting. We see Buffy and Riley standing around.) WILLOW: And then, he lunges at us, like whoosh! (With hand gestures) XANDER: He totally looked shorter in person. BUFFY: I told you he'd heard of me, right? I mean, can you believe that? (Shot of Giles nodding patiently) Count Famous heard of me. RILEY: I couldn't believe it the first twenty times you told us, but it's starting to sink in now. BUFFY: I'm sorry. Am I repeat-o-girl? I was just ... blown away. RILEY: It's not that surprising that he's heard of you, Buffy. You are the slayer. BUFFY: I guess. Just - the way he said it, you know, I mean, he made it sound so... WILLOW: Sexy? I bet he made it sound sexy. (Grinning. We see Tara coming up behind her.) BUFFY: Kinda. He of the dark penetrating eyes and lilty accent. (Sits) XANDER VO: I wonder if he knows Frankenstein. TARA: (sits on arm of couch and gives Willow a glass of soda) You thought Dracula was sexy? WILLOW: Oh! No. He, he was ... yuck. ANYA: Right, except for the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing? Yucko. XANDER: How would you know? ANYA: Well, we hung out a few times. (Xander looks jealous) Back in my demon days, you know, once or twice. He's pretty cool. (sighs wistfully, then remembers herself) You know, from, from a whole ... evil thing perspective. XANDER: (scoffs) Please. He was no big whoop. WILLOW: No big whoop? What about that thing where he turned himself into a bat? That was awesome! GILES: It must have been, yes. (Everyone looks at him) I must admit, I'm sorry I missed that. WILLOW: (suddenly realizing) Me too! The whole time I was thinking, 'Gosh, I wish Giles were here, he'd know what to do!' Giles smiles tolerantly; he knows what she's trying to do. WILLOW: (to the others) Didn't you guys ... think that? BUFFY: Actually, I was more thinking, 'Bat!' (Wiggles hands near her head) XANDER: (to Giles) How come he can do that? GILES: I, I have no idea. There's a great deal of myth about Dracula. I imagine the trick to defeating him lies in separating the fact from the fiction. WILLOW: Great point! That is so Giles, to think of something like that, you know? (To the others) That, that we ... would have never... (trails off) BUFFY: So we should take things slow with Dracula. I mean, he said that we would meet again, but I would like to avoid that until we do some serious homework. RILEY: I don't know. I mean, he may have a bunch of swell party tricks, but he's still just a vampire. I say we load up with stakes and crossbows and go after him now. XANDER: Second. ANYA: No, Buffy's right. Dracula's too slick to fall for the usual stuff. BUFFY: So we hold off. No killing until we know exactly what we're dealing with. RILEY: You're not just saying that because of those dark penetrating eyes of his, are you? BUFFY: Noooo, his eyes were -- (Gets up and goes over to Riley) There were - there was no penetration. (Embarrassed) Cross my heart. GILES: All right. Willow, you and Tara find out everything you can about the actual legend of Vlad the Impaler on the Internet, (Willow and Tara nod) and, uh, I'll check the library. (Everyone starts to get up) RILEY: If the Initiative was still around, we'd be able to find everything on this guy in a few hours. BUFFY: We might not be as fast, but we'll find him. You guys, we'll reconvene here in the morning. Everyone says "uh-huh" and goes off. Riley pulls Buffy aside. RILEY: What's your plan? BUFFY: Big sleep. My count encounter wiped me out. RILEY: (nods) I'm kinda wired. Maybe I should just let you get your rest. BUFFY: You sure? I mean, maybe if you just lie down with me... (suggestive look) RILEY: (grinning) Nothing you are about to say will lead to rest. BUFFY: I guess you're right. I'll see you in the morning? RILEY: Mm-hmm. With donuts. BUFFY: Mm. Heaven. (Smooch) See? A little sugar and I'm all yours. Dracula schmacula. Cut to Anya and Xander walking down the street. ANYA: I doubt he'd remember me. I was just a silly young thing. I mean, like seven hundred or so. But he did say that this guy I cursed was doomed forever, which was really sweet, don't you think? XANDER: Adorable. ANYA: It was a great spell. I made this jerk incredibly fat, like a human minivan. The camera pans up to the rooftop of the Espresso Pump, where we see a wolf growling as it walks along the roof following Anya and Xander. ANYA VO: You should just mention my name if you see him again. XANDER: Or better yet, why don't you just go sit on top of a crypt and flaunt your neck cleavage until Dracula shows up? Then you two can talk private. ANYA: Oh please, don't tell me you're jealous. XANDER: Oh no, just because you're panting over the guy. (Stops walking) ANYA: I am not panting. Now stop being silly. I'll see you tomorrow. (Smooch) XANDER: You don't wanna come back to my place? ANYA: It's whites day, remember? The bleach smell makes me nauseous. (Walks off) XANDER: Fine. I suppose Dracula doesn't use bleach, huh? He's a darks-only man. (Walks off. We see the wolf still watching him.) Cut to Xander rounding a corner on the dark street. He jumps in shock when he sees Dracula waiting for him. XANDER: (sighing) Great. Perfect. (suddenly deciding he's not scared) You know what? You're not so big. (Looks Dracula up and down) One round of old-fashioned fisticuffs, you'd fold like a bitty baby. Dracula scowls. XANDER: (rolls up sleeves) Okay, let's do it. And no poofing. Come on, puffy shirt. Pucker on up, cause you can kiss your pale ass- DRACULA: Silence. XANDER: Yes master. (Shakes head) No, that's not- DRACULA: (lifts a hand) You will be my emissary, my eyes and ears in daylight. XANDER: Your emissary? DRACULA: Serve me well. You will be rewarded. I will make you an immortal. A child of darkness that feeds on life itself... on blood. XANDER: (in Dracula's accent) "Blood"? (speaking very quickly) Yes! Yes! I will serve you, your excellent spookiness. Dracula frowns. XANDER: (still speaking too quickly) Or master. I'll just stick with master. DRACULA: You are strange and off-putting. Go now. Xander nods, turns to go, turns back. XANDER: But master, how can I find- (Sees Dracula is gone) Brilliant. What an exit! Guy's a genius! (Giggles crazily and walks off) Cut to Riley opening a crypt door and walking in. Candles are lit everywhere. He walks in, looking around. SPIKE: Well, well. Spike emerges from the shadows holding a crossbow. SPIKE: You can take the boy out of the Initiative, but you can't take the Initiative out of the boy. RILEY: I'd put that down, unless you're bucking for one hell of a headache. Spike hesitates, puts the bow down. SPIKE: I can't be too careful. I got quite a few demons after me these days. RILEY: I'm looking for some information. Might pay a little. SPIKE: (shrugs) I'll play. (Goes over to a couple of chairs) RILEY: What can you tell me about Dracula? SPIKE: Dracula? (scoffs) Poncy bugger owes me eleven pounds, for one thing. (Puts a cigarette in his mouth) RILEY: You know him? SPIKE: Know him? We're old rivals. (Lights cigarette) But then he got famous, forgot all about his foes. (Points at Riley) I'll tell you what. That glory hound's done more harm to vampires than any slayer. His story gets out, and suddenly everybody knows how to kill us. (Sits down) You know, the mirror bit? RILEY: But he's not just a regular vampire. I mean, he has special powers, right? SPIKE: Nothing but showy gypsy stuff. What's it to you, anyway? RILEY: He's in town. Making his presence known. SPIKE: (smiling) Drac's in Sunnydale-way? (Puts feet up on a cassock) I guess the old boy needed closure after all. RILEY: Actually, he's gunning for Buffy. But I'm out to find him before he gets another shot at her. (Sits) SPIKE: Tough talk, cowboy. But you're not gonna catch him napping in a crypt. No, the count has to have his luxury estate and his bug-eaters and his special dirt, don't he? RILEY: So you're saying I should check out mansions, that sort of thing? SPIKE: No. (stands) I'm saying ... you should go home to your superhoney. Have a nice, safe snog. You're out of your depth on this one, boy. (Turns his back on Riley) RILEY: You've helped Buffy before, so she has a problem with killing you now that you're helpless. (Spike still turned away) RILEY: I don't. Spike turns to face him, walks up to him. SPIKE: I'd like to see you try. Riley stands, gets in Spike's face. RILEY: Would you? They stare each other down. Finally Spike looks away. SPIKE: Pfft. Riley walks to the door. SPIKE: (calls out as Riley is at the door) You're never gonna find him. Riley leaves. SPIKE: (to himself) Not before he gets to her. Cut to: Exterior shot of Joyce's house, night. Cut to Buffy in bed, asleep. Pan over to the window. Fog pours in from outside, flows across the floor toward the bed. A breeze comes up, ruffling the sheets. Buffy wakes and sits up with a gasp. Dracula stands at the foot of the bed. DRACULA: You are magnificent. BUFFY: I bet you say that before you bite all the girls. DRACULA: No, you are different. Kindred. BUFFY: Kindred? Hardly, I- DRACULA: Pull your hair back. Buffy looks surprised but pulls her hair back from her neck. Shot of Dracula admiring her. BUFFY VO: This isn't how I ... usually fight. Buffy looks a little self-conscious. Glances at the window. BUFFY: You think you can just waft in here with your music video wind and your hypno-eyes... (trails off) DRACULA: I have searched the world over for you. I have yearned for you. (Sits on the bed next to her) For a creature whose darkness rivals my own. He puts his hand on her chin and moves her head aside. He sees the scar where Angel bit her (episode "Graduation Day") and touches it with his fingertips. DRACULA: You have been tasted. (smiles slightly as he trails his fingers over her cheek) BUFFY: He was- DRACULA: Unworthy. (Buffy stares at him, looks scared) He let you go. (Looks her in the eyes) But the embrace ... his bite ... you remember. BUFFY: (uncertain) No. Dracula caresses her face some more. DRACULA: Do not fight. (Puts his hand behind her neck) I can feel your hunger. He leans down to bite her neck. Buffy gasps but doesn't pull away. [SCENE_BREAK] Commercial. [SCENE_BREAK] Act III Fade in on exterior of Joyce's house, morning. Cut to Buffy asleep in bed. She wakes up. Sits up looking a little confused. Cut to Buffy dressed, looking in the mirror. She fiddles with her hair, notices something, pulls her hair back to expose two bite marks on her neck. She looks at it for a moment, then grabs a scarf and ties it around her neck. Cut to Riley leaning over with a donut. RILEY: Here's a jelly one, you want it? Closeup of Riley's hand holding the donut out. Shot of Buffy on Giles' couch with the donut being held in her face. BUFFY: No. XANDER: Got it! Got it. Mine, mine. (Note: throughout this scene Xander speaks each line very quickly and moves around a lot.) Xander rushes out of the kitchen and grabs the donut. We see Giles in the kitchen. Xander walks in little circles, nibbling quickly at the donut. Riley looks in the box for another donut. We see Willow on a chair in the background. WILLOW: Well, I think we have Dracula factoids. XANDER: (sitting on a stool eating the donut) Like any of that's enough to fight the dark master. Everyone gives him a strange look. XANDER: ...bator. WILLOW: A lot of it we already knew. (Riley walks to another chair opposite the couch) Turnoffs: wood, fire, crosses, garlic. Turnons: nice duds, minions, (wistful) long slow bites that last for days... RILEY: Yeah, I did a little research too. (Shot of Buffy looking distracted) Dracula likes to live in style. Which means we can rule out the usual dumps vampires haunt. XANDER: Ah! But he's smart enough to figure that we probably already know that. I'm guessing he's lying low. (Licks his donut. Giles comes out from the kitchen) WILLOW: Actually, my research backs Riley up. Drac isn't the lay-low type. GILES: (gives Riley a glass of milk) So we can, uh, check out the nicer places. Don't you think, Buffy? Buffy isn't paying attention. We see Xander moving from chair to chair and tapping fingers nervously. GILES: Buffy? Buffy blinks, tunes back in. BUFFY: Yeah. We'll check all the swanky places first. What else did you guys get? GILES: Well, Willow has most of it, actually. WILLOW: (sits up) Only because you gave me super pointers! I never would have... GILES: (puts up hand to stop her) Just go ahead, Willow. WILLOW: OK. Dracula's modus operandi is different from other vampires. He will kill just to feed, but he'd rather have a connection with his victims. And he has all of these mental powers to draw them in. Buffy looks thoughtful. WILLOW: He, he can read and control minds... appear in dreams... BUFFY: (distracted) Uh huh. WILLOW: Makes sense. That stare ... he just kinda ... looked right through you. Didn't you feel it, Buffy? Riley looks at Buffy. BUFFY: (pause) No. (gets up) No, I didn't. XANDER: See! Buffy didn't feel it. I think you're drawing a low of crazy conclusions about the unholy prince. Everyone gives him a strange look. XANDER: ...bator. GILES: The point is, though he goes through the motions of an intimate seduction, the end result is the same. He turns them into a vampire. Buffy looks as if she hadn't considered that. XANDER: Well. That *is* intimate. Dracula's gifting these ladies with his own blood. And blood -- (He notices a spider on the desk next to him, glances around to see if anyone's looking) Blood is life. Everyone looks confused. XANDER: According to them. (Slams his hand down on the spider) GILES: Um ... Just be aware that he, he tends to form a relationship with his prey. (When no one's looking, Xander scoops the spider into his mouth and chews) It's not enough for him to take her. She must want to be taken. She must ... burn for him. (Buffy looks uncomfortable, fiddling with her scarf.) BUFFY: That's ... interesting. I'm gonna go find him. She starts to leave. Everyone gets up. RILEY: You shouldn't go by yourself, Buffy. I mean, this guy's seriously dangerous. BUFFY: It's cool, I got it. (Opens door, leaves.) Buffy walking through the courtyard outside Giles' apartment. Riley comes out after her. RILEY: Hey. (grabs her arm and stops her) Take off that scarf. BUFFY: What? No. (puts hand over scarf) RILEY: (gives an "I knew it" nod) You're under the thrall of the dark prince! BUFFY: (scoffs) I am not under the thrall of the dark prince. RILEY: Then take off the scarf. BUFFY: Oh, let go of me! This is ridiculous. (tries to break arm out of Riley's grasp but he holds on) Riley rips off the scarf as the others come out too. Everyone looks at Buffy's neck. She sits on the edge of the stone fountain and puts her head in her hands. GILES: Why didn't you say anything? XANDER: Cause she didn't want to worry us, right Buffster? It's nothin'. Just a scratch. WILLOW: Two deep, puncture-y scratches. Buffy looks apologetically at Riley. BUFFY: I'm not sure why I tried to hide it. Uh, there was just this voice, and it was, it was telling me to cover it. RILEY: And what did I tell you? (to the others) That's thrall. XANDER: You're saying Dracula has some sort of freaky mind control over her? You're watching too many creature features, man. BUFFY: But it does seem like he has this ... control over me, I ... even though a big part of me is resisting. During this speech we see Xander grab a fly off a nearby leaf and eat it. RILEY: No, that's okay. I shouldn't take this personally. I mean, what with Angel, I mean, it's understandable that there would be transference. I mean, they're both broody immortals. Buffy looks dismayed and gets up to walk close to Riley. BUFFY: (firmly) I am not transfer-y. (quieter) I swear to you. I'm your girl, and I'm gonna stay that way. RILEY: Okay. But you are not going anywhere near him again. GILES: Uh, Riley's right, you should - you should stay out of sight. Let the rest of us look for Dracula. BUFFY: I can't go home. He already got inside once. XANDER: You can come over to my place. I'll make sure you stay put. GILES: Good. Um, Riley and I can, uh, can... search for Dracula, and Willow, you and Tara could uh, could do a protection spell on Buffy's mother's house, and prevent him from returning. WILLOW: (nodding) Got it. How'd he get inside anyway? Cut to Joyce walking through her house. JOYCE: He seemed so nice and normal. A little pale. We see Willow and Tara working magic on the front door. WILLOW: A good Sunnydale rule of thumb? Avoid white-skinned men in capes. JOYCE: I'm not like this. I don't invite strange men over for coffee, it's just ... Oh, when you girls are older you'll understand. (Sits on stairs) It's hard to date. Sometimes you just ... feel like giving up on men altogether. Willow and Tara sneak little looks at each other and try not to grin. Cut to: Shot of the sun setting on the horizon. Cut to Giles and Riley walking through the grounds of a mansion. Riley has a notepad. Giles carries a bag. RILEY: Another bust. (crosses something off on notepad) GILES: And it's getting dark. I should have turned up a better lead. There must be an easier way to find him. RILEY: Too late to worry about that now. If we hurry, we can hit these last places. They leave the estate. Cut to Xander's basement. ANYA: How come I have to be here slayer-sitting while the other guys get to look for Dracula? We see Buffy and Anya sitting on the couch while Xander paces. ANYA: I mean, just because I'm- XANDER: What time is it? ANYA: (checks watch) Uh, almost six. (stands up so she's standing in front of the open closet door) Look, I mean, I'm the one who knows him, I-I'm the one who had a really good look at him, and so, I mean, what- Xander pushes her into the closet and shuts the door. ANYA: Hey! What? Xander puts a chair under the doorknob to hold it shut. We hear Anya banging on the door and yelling. Buffy sits oblivious through all of this. Xander turns to Buffy. XANDER: (still talking too fast) I'm supposed to deliver you to the master now. Buffy looks up at him. XANDER: There's this whole deal where I get to be immortal. You cool with that? BUFFY: Take me to him. She stands. We still hear Anya pounding and yelling. Cut to: Exterior shot of the castle, night. Xander and Buffy walking up to the castle, walking up the steps. Cut to interior of the castle. The typical wooden furnishings. Torches and candles everywhere. Xander leads Buffy in. XANDER: Master? I deliver the slayer. She who you most desire. (Buffy walks in behind him, still looking kind of catatonic. Xander gives a little bow.) XANDER: Sorry, whom. Pan across a long table. Shot of Dracula standing by the fireplace, wearing black pants, red shirt, black vest. He turns slowly. XANDER: So now comes the immortality, right? You do the thing, and- DRACULA: Leave us. Xander stops. DRACULA: We must not be interrupted. XANDER: You bet. (leaves) Buffy and Dracula stare at each other across the long table. DRACULA: I knew you'd come. BUFFY: Why? Because I'm under your thrall? (Whips out Mister Pointy and drops the dazed expression) Well, guess again, pal. DRACULA: Put the stake down. BUFFY: Okay. (Puts it down, then looks at her hand in surprise) Right. That ... was not ... you. (Sounding unconvinced) I did that. I did that because ... I wanted to. Dracula watches her. BUFFY: Maybe I should rethink that thrall thing. (looks around nervously and gives a little whimper) [SCENE_BREAK] Commercial. [SCENE_BREAK] Act IV Exterior of castle. Riles and Giles walk up. RILEY: I've lived in Sunnydale a couple of years now. Know what I've never noticed before? GILES: Uh, a castle? RILEY: A big honking castle. They walk toward it. Cut to Riley and Giles opening the castle door and entering, looking around. Riles points down one hallway. Giles nods and goes down it. Riley goes the other way. Shot of a woman with yellow eyes and vampire teeth peeking out from the shadows, smiling. Cut to Buffy and Dracula in the dining room. BUFFY: Stay away from me. DRACULA: Are you afraid I will bite you? (walking slowly toward her) Slayer, that's why you came. BUFFY: No. Last night ... it's not gonna happen again. DRACULA: (still walking toward her) Stop me. Stake me. BUFFY: (backing up a little) I... (glancing at stake on the table) Any minute now. DRACULA: Do you know why you cannot resist? BUFFY: Cause you're famous? DRACULA: Because you do not want to. BUFFY: (shakes head nervously) My friends- DRACULA: They're here. (she looks at him) They will not find us. We are alone. Buffy looks anxious. DRACULA: Always alone. Buffy continues to look anxious. DRACULA: (begins to circle around her) There is so much I have to teach you. Your history, your power ... what your body is capable of... BUFFY: (shaking head) I don't need to know. DRACULA: You long to. And you will have eternity to discover yourself. (Comes back around in front to face her) But first ... a little taste. BUFFY: I won't let you. DRACULA: I didn't mean for me. Shot of Buffy looking determined. Cut to Riley moving through the dark hallways. He tries a door but it's locked. He turns away, but then the door opens and Xander comes out. XANDER: Nobody harms my master. RILEY: Your master? XANDER: You want him? You come through me. Riley punches him in the face. He falls down. RILEY: Okey-dokey. Steps over Xander and through the door. Cut to Giles in another part of the castle. He tries a door and it opens. He steps into the darkness beyond and falls off a ledge to the floor about eight feet below. GILES: Oh, good show, Giles. Uhh... at least you didn't get knocked out for a change. (Turns over on his back with a groan) GILES: Oh ... oh, ladies. Three vampire women appear and begin crawling over him, GILES: You would ... be the three sisters, yes? They begin kissing his cheek and rubbing his chest. GILES: E-excellent, right. Uh, I'd heard that you were myth ... obviously erroneous. One of them rips his shirt open and begins caressing him. GILES: Aah! Ooh, that's, uh, that, uh... (giggling) tickles! Ooh, uh... oh, dear god. (Panting) Cut back to Dracula. He holds up his arm and rolls up the sleeve. BUFFY: What are you- DRACULA: All those years fighting us. Your power so near to our own... (Cuts his arm with a fingernail till blood wells up) ...and you've never once wanted to know what it is that we fight for? (Holds his arm out to Buffy) Never even a taste? BUFFY: (looks conflicted) If I drink that- DRACULA: I have not drunk enough for you to change. You must be near death to become one of us. And that comes only when you plead for it. BUFFY: (staring at his wrist) I'm not hungry. DRACULA: No. Your craving goes deeper than that. Buffy stares at him. DRACULA: (whispering) You think you know ... what you are ... what's to come. You haven't even begun. Buffy looks at his arm, at his face. Takes his hand in both of hers and puts her mouth on the bloody wrist. DRACULA: Find it. The darkness. Find your true nature. Buffy's eyes are wide. A very quick series of shots flashing by. Most are shots of Buffy fighting, but a few are shots of the First Slayer from episode "Restless." There's also a shot of a vein with blood corpuscles rushing through it. Buffy lifts her head. BUFFY: (softly) Wow. She suddenly shoves out her hand and pushes Dracula away. He lands on the table and slides across it on his back. BUFFY: (normal voice) That was gross. She walks forward as Dracula gets to his feet. DRACULA: You are resisting. BUFFY: Looks like. DRACULA: Come here. Come to me. (holds out hand) BUFFY: You know, I really think the thrall has gone out of our relationship. But I want to thank you for opening up my eyes a little. DRACULA: What is this? BUFFY: My true nature. You want a taste? Dracula growls and lunges at her. She jumps over his head, whirls, kicks him, punches him twice, kicks him into a wall. He spins back, grabs her arm, punches her and flings her across the room. She lands on the table on her back. Cut to Riley walking up to an open door. RILEY: Buffy? Are you in- (stops himself before falling into the pit) Giles! Giles! Riley pulls out a cross and holds it up. The three female vampires hiss and slink away. Riley tosses the cross to Giles, who catches it. RILEY: Come on, come on. Grab my hand. GILES: Thank god you came. RILEY: Come on! GILES: There was no possible escape. Still staring back toward the sisters, Giles takes Riley's hand and Riley pulls him up. Giles notices his foot has only a sock on it. GILES: Oh, my shoe. (Pointing back into the pit) Silly me, I'll just pop- RILEY: No no no, sir! (Pulls him away) No more chick pit for you. Come on. (They get up and move off down the hall.) Cut back to Buffy running across the room. She barrels into Dracula and they fall to the floor, rolling. He's on top. He punches her, she punches him, then she grabs his shirt and flips him over. Now she's on top. She punches him a few times. Then he catches her fist and flings her off him. He's grinning. They both get up, grab each other and fall down again. Buffy's on top. She brings both her hands down but he blocks and flings her away again. She flies backward and hits the wall. She grabs him, he flips her across the table and then jumps onto it. She hits him with a chair and then sweeps his feet out from under him. He punches her. She grabs a torch and he rolls away just as she hits the table with it. They face each other across the table. BUFFY: A guy like you should think about going electric. Seriously. Dracula growls and turns to smoke. Buffy looks around, sees where the smoke is converging, drops the torch and runs toward the smoke. She grabs Mister Pointy off the table as she runs, leaps to the top of the stairs, and is there to stake Dracula just as he appears from the smoke. He looks shocked. BUFFY: How do you like my darkness now? Dracula growls, falls down the stairs and explodes into dust. Buffy saunters down the stairs. Riley and Giles rush in. RILEY: Buffy! You okay? BUFFY: Yeah. Chock full of free will. GILES: And Dracula? BUFFY: Eurotrashed. Xander rushes in holding a torch. XANDER: (back to talking normally) Where is he? Where's the creep that turned me into his spider-eating man-bitch? BUFFY: He's gone. XANDER: Dammit! You know what? I'm sick of this crap. I'm sick of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it's over. I'm finished being everybody's butt-monkey! Giles, Riley, and Buffy nod and try to look solemn. BUFFY: Check. No more butt-monkey. RILEY: It coulda been worse. At least you weren't making time with the dracu-babes like Giles here. GILES: I was not making time! I, I was, uh, just about to kill those, uh, loathsome creatures when Riley interrupted me. (Wrapping his torn shirt around himself) Riley (grinning) You were gonna nuzzle 'em to death? Riley and Buffy grin and start to walk away. GILES: Of course not! I was in complete... (the others have walked off) control. He walks out. Shot of the candles burning in the chandelier. Shot of the stairs. Shot of the bottom of the stairs. The fog appears and begins to converge. As soon as Dracula has fully appeared, a hand appears and stakes him again. He gasps. BUFFY: You think I don't watch your movies? (rolling her eyes) You always come back. Dracula explodes into dust again. Buffy folds her arms and watches. The fog begins to collect again. BUFFY VO: I'm standing right here! The fog dissipates. Exterior shot of Giles' building. BUFFY VO: You wanted to see me? Cut to inside Giles' apartment. Giles gets up as Buffy walks in. GILES: Yes. Thanks for coming. Can I offer you some tea? BUFFY: Oh ... no, thanks. (notices a plate on the table by the sofa) Ooh, cookies. How come I rate the little cookie treatment? GILES: Well, actually, I have something to tell you. (comes over with a teapot. They both sit on the sofa.) BUFFY: Actually, I have something that I'd like to talk to you about, too. GILES: Oh, well, you go first, by all means. BUFFY: No, go ahead. GILES: No, I insist. (pouring tea) BUFFY: (after a moment, softly) You haven't been my Watcher for a while. (Giles stops pouring) I haven't been training ... and I haven't really needed to come to you for help. GILES: (sadly) I agree. (sets down the teapot) BUFFY: (gestures helplessly, gets up to pace) And then this whole thing with Dracula ... it made me face up to some stuff. (Giles looks concerned) Ever since we did that spell where we called on the first slayer ... I've been going out a lot. (Giles looks surprised) Every night. GILES: Patrolling? BUFFY: Hunting. That's ... what Dracula called it. (pacing) And he was right. He understood my power better than I do. He saw darkness in it. Shot of Giles looking very concerned. BUFFY: (sits down again) I need to know more. About where I come from, about the other slayers. I mean, maybe ... maybe if I could learn to control this thing, I could be stronger, I could be better. But ... I'm scared. I know it's gonna be hard. And I can't do it ... without you. I need your help. (pause) I need you to be my Watcher again. Giles stops frowning. BUFFY: (sighs, laughs nervously) Boy, I just, I just keep talking, don't I? I'm sorry, you-you had something you wanted to say? GILES: (smiling) No ... it's nothing. He picks up his teacup. Buffy looks relieved. Cut to Joyce's house. Buffy walks through the halls and peeks into Joyce's bedroom. BUFFY: I'm outta here. (Joyce comes onscreen, in the bedroom. Buffy moves offscreen but keeps talking) Riley and I are going to the movies. JOYCE: Okay. Have a good time. Buffy goes into another room and sees the back of a girl with long brown hair. BUFFY VO: What are you *doing* here? The girl turns around, looks surprised, then gives Buffy a sour look. Buffy doesn't look too pleased either. Cut back to Joyce in her room, calling out. JOYCE: Buffy? If you're going out, why don't you take your sister? Cut back to the bedroom. Both girls turn to look at the doorway, looking annoyed. Buffy and Dawn (in unison): Mom! End.
Buffy vs. Dracula