SCENE ONE: ON THE HIGHWAY
They all stand watching the crater which used to be Sunnydale.
Dawn
Yeah, Buffy… What are we going to do now?
Buffy stares out into the future, and smiles. Takes a long time to answer.
Buffy
(delighted by the thought)
Not my call anymore. What do you guys want?
Kennedy enters into frame, and wraps her arms around Willow from the back. They smile at each other, and Willow rests her head against Kennedy's neck. Nobody says anything for a while.
Giles
Maybe we should start with a little more careful battle debriefing? I'm still not quite getting how this went down. You are saying Spike did this?
Buffy doesn't answer. Seems too lost in thought to have heard him.
Faith
Yeah. I saw it. That corny trinket sure delivered its goods. By the time I left, it was channeling sunlight enough to be burning up vampires everywhere.
Buffy
(coming out of her reverie)
I need to go down there. I need to make absolutely certain that the Hellmouth is shut down and closed up for ever. (her voice starts to shiver slightly) I need to see for myself how it ended for… (she chokes up)
Xander looks at her, in perfect grief-full understanding.
Xander
I'm with you on that. Let's go and see what's left down there. (yells) Andrew, are you coming down there?
Andrew
(walking up to them)
Do we need to? It's pretty steep down that hole and the close up really looks good enough from here…
Giles
Do you really find that such a good idea? The Hellmouth does look more well and proper closed than we could ever hope for. And we have so much more pressing business right now.
He looks at Xander and Buffy, catching up with the subtext of their wishes.
Giles
(in a much softer tone)
Buffy, if what Faith tells us is true, about that amulets rate of vampire-burning, you wouldn't be able to tell ashes from ashes anyway…And we have responsibilities. A lot of injured slayers who need a hospital. And a principal who doesn't have slayer healing powers.
Willow
You're injured too. Are you sure you are up to such?
Buffy
Yes, Will. I'm feeling better already. I'm going down there. But Giles is right, the girls, and especially Wood, need a hospital. Take the bus and take them to the nearest town. Then you can come back for us.
Willow
Giles can do that. If you are staying here, I'm staying with you.
Kennedy
Then I'm down there too. Let's go! What are we waiting for?
Xander makes some resolute steps towards the edge of the crater, lays down flat, and slides downwards. And instantly loses his footing in the loose soil, kicks about, and whirls up a haze of sand.
Xander
A safe place to descend, obviously.
Buffy crawls up to him, and give him a hand to get up.
Kennedy
I mean to remember that I saw a rope back in the bus. If we can find a steady rock to fasten it to we can use that.
She goes to get it, along with Faith, Dawn and Giles, who is getting ready to leave. They then walk along the crater till they find a rock solid enough to use. They slide down it one at the time, Andrew only very reluctantly, after being pushed a bit by Xander.
Kennedy gets down first, turns around, and reaches out to support Willow, who is second in line. They stand for a while, watching the burnt out and collapsed ruins, smelling and breathing in smoke and ashes.
Xander
I never thought I'd ask this but: How can we find the way to school?
Willow
Lucky you brought a school loving nerd with you. (laughs) The school is one of those places Ill never forget how to get to.
She starts walking, and the others follow her. They pass ruin after ruin, some barely more than heaps of concrete rocks and kindling wood, others still standing, with an air of not having quite decided whether to collapse or not. At last, they stop in front of the flattest black heap of wreckage there is.
Kennedy
This must be it. The point of arson.
They walk into what once was Sunnydale High. Xander stops in the hallway, and tugs Andrew back with him. Gives him a stern yet sore look, and starts rummaging through the wreckage.
Xander
It was about here, right? This is where she…
Andrew
Yeah, I think so. I didn't see that well. I was so scared.
Xander
But you were there. Can you show me what she did for you? How it went down?
Andrew
(thinking fast)
eeh… those ubervamps came storming up the hallway. We fought, the best we could (makes sword movements), and she killed many of them. One of them was just about to rip my head off, when she came barging into us, and tried to decapitate it. Just then, it turned around, broke her sword arm, and ripped her throat out instead.
Xander listens with attention, nods, and then stares out into the air, with a shivering half-smile, and glistening eyes.
Buffy, Willow and Kennedy continues down the ruin hallway, reaching a spot which is somewhat sunken down compared to the rest of the area, and severely more loaded with dust and ashes.
Willow
Yep. This is it. The Hellmouth clogged up with more sticks and stones and vampire ashes than one could possibly hope for. Nothing will ever pass though here anymore.
As if to prove her wrong, a strong light suddenly shines its way through the wreckage, filing through any slit in the heaps of sticks and stones.
SCENE TWO: THE BUS, OUT ON THE HIGHWAY.
Girls are moaning and whimpering mutely. Wood lays unconscious in his seat. Faith is driving. Giles and Dawn sit next to each other in the back.
Dawn
So, this is it. What Buffy tried to protect me from.
Giles
Pretty much, yes.
Dawn
Back in the car, with Xander, I couldn't stop thinking about what the First said to me, when it came posing as Mum. That when it's bad, Buffy wont chose me. It felt like she was right, that I was being shut out. But that wasn't what she was doing, was it? It was all protection.
Giles
Yes it was. Buffy loves you very much. She'll never stop protecting you.
Dawn
I really wish she would, though. I'm not a kid anymore, I could look after myself just fine today.
Giles sighs, takes her hand in his, and look deeply into her eyes, forcing her to look back at him.
Giles
Who lives and dies in a battle is not a mere matter of being able to look after yourself. Nor is it about being a kid. Anya was a 1000 years old ex demon, and she didn't make it. And Spike was the most competent fighter we had. Buffy simply couldn't bear the thought of losing you.
Dawn yanks her hand out of his grasp.
Dawn
So I'm just supposed to sit tight at some far away safe place!? Did it ever occur to her that I couldn't stand losing any of you either, and needed to be right in the thick of it with you, helping to keep you guys safer and save the world? Buffy died doing my world-saver job once already. If anything, it should have been my turn to die for her.
Giles
Let's just be happy none of you did this time. And hope none of the others does either. I really wish we could reach a hospital soon.
They pause for a moment, and listen to the moans and whimpers around them, trying not to look at any badly injured slayer.
Dawn
I'm sure they'll all make it.
Giles
Yes. They are slayers. But currently mostly slayers without watchers. As soon as we get the chance, I will have to call what's left of the Council, and tell them what we have done and why. They will have to provide watchers for all the new slayers rising everywhere. Or at least as many of them as possible.
Dawn
Huh. I'm almost glad Caleb and the bringers blew up the Council. At full strength they'll have our heads on a platter for this.
Giles
The Council is not that unreasonable. We did save the world.
Dawn
I won't take the bother to argue with you on that.
SCENE THREE: BACK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL RUIN.
Buffy gets down on her knees, and starts shifting aside wreckage, searching for the source of the light. Eventually, she gets up, holding the amulet in her hands. It bursts open, and produces Spike, who falls onto the ground, winches at the sun shining from the open sky above, and dives under a piece of cardboard.
Spike
Bloody hell!
The girls stand back in shock, Buffy still holding the amulet. Willow yelps. Xander and Andrew come in to check out the commotion. See Spike under the cardboard and freezes.
Kennedy
(stares at the amulet)
what… what is that thing really??
Xander
Damn good question.
Buffy walks over, bows down, and puts her hand under the cardboard, and directly though Spikes shoulder. They share a look of mutual shock and disbelief. Buffy then starts looking around for more cardboard pieces, collecting all which is big enough.
Buffy
We shouldn't stay here. Let's get back to the road!
Puts cardboard pieces together all around Spike, like a transportable cage.
Andrew
Do ghost vampires really get harmed by the sun?
Buffy
Don't intend to find out.
Xander steps forwards, and starts fitting together the pieces to a more or less functional box around Spike, and they starts walking out to the road again in awkward silence. There they sit down and wait, for a long time, till long after the sun has set, all casting incredulous looks at Spike. Especially Buffy. Finally, Giles and Dawn arrive, with the bus.
Dawn
Spike?! You're back?!
Spike
Apparently. Or maybe not. Jury's still out on that one, niblet.
They stand and stare at each other for a while. then
Giles
Very peculiar. We all thought you were gone… (to everyone) Sorry about the delay. We couldn't find a near hospital big enough to take them all, so we had to go all the way to LA.
Buffy
LA? Good. Let's go and see Angel.