Title: Maleficium
Author: Frawley
Date: 24th September 2001.

Category: Script Format, Post-Resurrection, Season Six.
Spoilers: Minor, but up till and including "The Gift".

Summary: Some time after Buffy's resurrection, and after the casting of a powerful spell by Willow (in "Schism", though it's not necessary to have read that fic to understand "Maleficium"), an ancient cleric comes to Sunnydale in search of what he sees as malevolent witches. His goal – the continuation of a witch hunt carried out over hundreds of years, the end result being dozens of dead witches – with Willow and Tara next on the list.

Comments: Written as the script of a possible Buffy episode. Inspired by the work of the REAL Mutant Enemy staff, and the thoughtful posting of shooting scripts by the team at The Buffy Shooting Script Site (http://www.mustreadtv.com/buffyscripts/). May that site rest in peace.

"Maleficium" is not a sequel to "Schism", my first BtVS fic in script format, but it is an extension of sorts. You don't need to have read the prior work to understand it, although some of the events of "Maleficium" are foreshadowed in my first piece. Some interesting bits of research (or incredibly dull, depending on your definition of "interesting"): Maleficium was indeed the medieval term for malevolent magic (actually, all magic was considered malevolent and evil, stemming from the Devil himself). The character Grillandus is based – in name only – on demonologist Paulus Grillandus, an Italian inquisitor who wrote in the sixteenth century. Father LeVack is named after modern author Brian Levack, whose text The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe was extremely helpful in research on the topic. Again, this is simply the source of the name – it's not intended to reflect upon the character of the actual Brian Levack. The Malleus Maleficarum was an inquisitors handbook of sorts, featuring questions that should be posed to an accused witch during his or her trial and questioning (and, likely, torture). The result of this "guide book" and its leading, biased questions were a stream of similar answers from persons entirely separate from one another – giving credence to the actual existence of witches and covens in the middle ages. These strikingly similar confessions – brought about by Malleus Maleficarum – led to the deaths of thousands of innocents, the majority of them women. Finally, King James of Scotland & England did in fact write several important tracts, including the interesting work Daemonologie. If you're a history buff, it's worth a read – although the dialect is a bit tricky.

Disclaimer: Joss owns most of it, I lay claim to the scraps. FOX can sod off.

*** FANFICTION.NET UPDATE: "Maleficium" was originally scripted over the summer of 2001 and finished up in September... at which time it was posted on my website (http://frawley.cjb.net). I wrote it in part because I was inspired by the Buffy Shooting Script Site, for at the time I hadn't seen but a few of the episodes prior to season five and was thus reading all the scripts I could find, and also because I really wanted to see some standalone episodes with Buffy alive again. So I wrote "Schism", "Maleficium", and "Tainted Love" as loosely related possible six season scripts. "Schism" and Maleficium" were finished at roughly the same time, in fact "Maleficium" was written because I had scenes I couldn't use in "Schism" and they started to become a tale of their own. "Tainted Love" was written for other reasons, but only the first three acts were finished over the summer. The final act was finished in early January 2001 (about the time of this posting) and will hopefully be online soon.

At this point these fics might seem a little AU, but they are't too far gone from the course of the season. I haven't updated them at all just to "mesh", I really don't like altering works from their original form in that way. So yeah, my addiction comment was already in the teaser long before I'd heard of "Wrecked". Xander and Anya are alright - though Xander is a bit worried about the wedding. Willow & Tara are very much together. And B/S are still a pair, but not "together" in the Smashed sense, or even the Once More, With Feeling sense. It's never really brought up though... so I don't think it hurts anything.

As mentioned this isn't a sequel to "Schism"... or it's a sequel that's not a sequel. Or something. It takes place sometime in the near future after it... but my little cliffhanger ending from that fic is never resolved. Simply because I really wanted to leave it open ended, and because that was the one element I knew would be AU.

/RAMBLE MODE OFF. That's it, I'm done with the long-winded intro. Oh wait. A HUGE THANKS!!! to all those leaving feedback, via mail, ff.net, or the atbvsc newsgroup.


MALEFICIUM – by Frawley



TEASER

INT. BRONZE – NIGHT

Welcome once again to the Bronze.

Mellow rock music pumps in the background – no one's on stage, it's merely the sound system tonight. Running the show is a lone DJ, on whom we open. He's got a small TURNTABLE and a STACK OF RECORDS that looks pretty thin. As he moves to switch tracks (and yes, this is vinyl we're talking about, a real turntable, although this kid looks anything but "oldschool") he knocks them onto the floor and quickly dives down after them. From DJ klutz we move onto the dance floor.

ANGLE DOWN from above onto the mass of SHIMMYING, GYRATING bodies on the dance floor. At least one or two are looking horribly out of place – is that dancing or convulsing? Unfortunately, it's dancing. Even more unfortunately, one of these rhythm victims is XANDER.

ON XANDER for just a second now, as he makes his exit. He had been dancing solo, or better yet, with whoever came along – a mass communal dance. Ritual. Reminiscent of jumping around a bunch of flames crying war chants and shaking spears. Well maybe not so much the spears…

All this in just a few seconds, and now we're on WILLOW and TARA. They're dancing together, obviously into each other. A bomb could go off, they'd still be in each other's eyes.

CLOSE ON the two of them now, to illustrate this.

Only the music changes, and the moment is lost. Over the P.A. we hear:

D.J.
Let's pick it up a little shall we?

As the obligatory hard rock anthem sets in, Tara cuts out with a yell that comes out as more of a whisper over the noise of the crowd and the music.

TARA
I'll be with the gang.

And she exits, weaving and bobbing through the packed dance floor, only we don't follow her, we remain with Willow, who is taking a page from Xander's book and dancing with anyone around.

ON WILLOW for a bit as she dances. This is a genuine moment of FUN. In capitals.

WIDEN and retreat back to find Tara. She's found Xander, Anya, and Buffy grouped around a table with DRINKS. No notion as to what – lets leave Spike as poster boy for bad influences. Just assume cold and wet.

XANDER
She just keeps going.

CUT TO Willow quickly, for just a second.

And we're back.

TARA
My feet feel like they're still
going.

XANDER
Anyone else picturing
the Energizer Bunny on
the dance floor?

ANYA
Don't say such a thing!
It's bad enough, rabbits,
with the teeth and the eyes…
but that battery bunny?
It won't stop. It's like
a Terminator Bunny.
(shudders)
And don't get me
started on those bludgeons
it carries.

BUFFY
His drum sticks?
I don't think they'd
make good weapons.
Not blunt enough to be
that sort of object.

XANDER
Sharpen them and you've
got pointy stakes.

BUFFY
I'm down with those.

She smiles, and they all check out the dance floor again. Willow is lost in the crowd.

XANDER
Now that rabbits are forgotten-

ANYA
Hey!

XANDER
Sorry. Hard to forget
when I remind. Got it.
Anyhow, who's up for a
change of scenery?

BUFFY
I dunno…

TARA
I'm game but…

BUFFY
Willow seems pretty into it.

CUT TO:

Willow, who's completely into it. Only as soon as we hear Buffy finish her sentence Will seems to have picked up on it, despite being thirty or so feet away.

From the group's P.O.V. we watch Willow work her way through the crowd. She arrives at the table with a healthy coat of sweat.

WILLOW
Wow.

XANDER
Danced out?

WILLOW
I'm good. It's nice
to get a healthy dose of
normality now and then.

BUFFY
I'm definitely enjoying the
normality of now.

WILLOW
(with a slight pout)
But you want to leave?

XANDER
There had been some discussion
of scenery changing. Though for
the record, I was vehemently set
against any such action.

BUFFY
Uh-huh. Way to stick to your guns.

TARA
I think everyone's looking for something
a little more relaxed.
You ok with that sweetie?

WILLOW
So long as we stick together
for a bit. Fun shouldn't
have to go home so early.
Let it stay out just a bit
longer.

ANYA
So then.
Destination?

BUFFY
Huh?

ANYA
Where are we going?

BUFFY
Coffee?

WILLOW
Coffee's good.

XANDER
It is. Very.
Did I just say that?
I definitely need caffeine.
Sweet, nourishing caffeine –
So less dangerous than other
addictive drugs. I mean-

And we're rising, and exiting, as Xander finishes his rambling.

EXT. BRONZE – NIGHT

ANGLE DOWN from the rooftop across from the Bronze, taking in the exit and the alley where Spike and Buffy had their first confrontation back in "School Hard".

CLOSE ON the door. It SWINGS OPEN, and the Scoobies file out. Anya, Xander, Willow, Tara, Buffy brings up the rear.

ON BUFFY who glances side to side. Stealthy. Slayer instincts, despite no noticeable danger.

XANDER
Java Hut?

ANYA
You lead, I follow.

BUFFY
Sounds good to me.
Java Hut, I mean.

ANYA
Sounds like they'd have coffee.

WILLOW
And possibly donuts and
danish-like objects as well.

ANGLE DOWN again, on Buffy. It's clear this time – someone is watching her, and despite her innate vigilance, she is completely unaware of it.

From the watcher's (no not Giles, just whoever is watching) P.O.V. we see the group exiting the scene. Buffy takes the lead, Willow follows behind her. The witch's red hair blows in the wind, it's a sharp contrast to Buffy's blonde locks.

REVERSE ANGLE/P.O.V. – we're low to the ground looking up on the rooftop across from the Bronze. Here, dressed completely in black, stands the unmistakable figure of a VAMPIRE. GRILLANDUS, we will come to discover. White in the face; long black hair; black shirt, loose; black pants – not leather or anything Spike might wear. Neatly dressed, but sinister. His coat, cut short, blows just slightly in what little wind there is on the rooftop. He is morphed into his VAMP FACE, but has just the slightest traces of demon in it. In fact, this is his only true face – like the Master, he has been around long enough to have seen the change become permanent. He's far better off than the Master in the looks department however – just a slight RIDGING around the eyes.

Around his neck flashes a GLINT OF GOLD – hard to tell from what – and as the Scoobies wander off in search of Java, he turns and vanishes into the night.

BLACK OUT

END OF TEASER

I think I'll be posting an act per day... or check my website (http://frawley.cjb.net).