Another note: Like I said before for the previous scene, in order for the story to make sense, some lines from The Gift were taken. Please don't sue me.
Scene: Meanwhile, on the ground…
Xander: How are we doing?
Anya: So far, it's a tie.
Giles: We haven't gotten up to Dawn, but neither has anyone else.
[Spike is squinting up at the platform.]
Spike: Someone's up there.
[They all look.]
Xander: Okay, we gotta charge or something ...
Anya: We tried that.
[ANGLE: SPIKE trying to figure out what to do... suddenly he freezes.]
Willow (V.O.): Spike...
[Her voice echoes, only in his head.]
Willow (cont'd; V.O.): Can you hear me?
Spike: Loud and clear ...
Giles: Who? What?
ANGLE: WILLOW
[Is looking up at the tower, then towards the others. She and Tara have not moved yet. She continues to speak, but her lips do not move -- it's all telepathic.]
Willow (V.O.): Is someone up there with Dawn?
Spike: Yeah. Can't see who.
Xander: Are you talking to us?
Willow (V.O.): Get up there. Go now.
Spike: Yeah. But --
Willow (V.O.): GO!
[Spike gets up from his squatting position and runs towards the stairs. At that moment, Willow slips her hand into Tara's and an invisible force pushed all the crazy people who were guarding the platform out of the way. Spike runs up the stairs and ladders and ramps.]
Scene: Platform
Doc: [Slips out an antique pocket watch and checks the time.] What do you know?
Just about that time.
Dawn: (seeing) SPIKE!
[Doc turns to see Spike pull himself onto the platform.]
[AJ's wrists were still dripping blood. He was weak and in pain. He was looking around in "The Box" for a way to break himself free. While holding himself up with his legs, AJ found a way to slide his restraints further up on his arms. He began to use the blades to cut at them.]
AJ: [weakly] Spike, help us, please.
Spike: Doesn't a fellow stay dead when you kill 'em?
Doc: Look who's talking.
Spike: Come on, Doc. Let's you and me have a go.
Doc: I do have a prior appointment...
Spike: This won't take long.
Doc: No. I don't imagine it will.
[Spike comes at him -- and he comes forward as well, sidestepping with preternatural grace and suddenly he's behind Spike, driving the knife up into his back to the hilt ;Spike screams.]
Scene: In the hole in the wall called an office
[At the same time, Glory is getting her face bashed in by Buffy and the troll hammer. Their conversation isn't that important. Glory just tells Buffy that she won't understand her pain. Buffy will just have to settle for causing it.]
Scene: The Platform
Spike: You don't come near the girl, Doc.
Doc: I don't smell a soul anywhere on you... why do you even care?
Spike: I made a promise to a lady.
Doc: Oh.
[He opens his mouth, tongue shooting out --]
[Spike dodges it but as it snaps back Doc sweeps his legs out from under him, as Spike gets back up he finds Doc gripping him from behind, they are facing Dawn, Spike struggling bootlessly.]
Doc (cont'd): Well I'll send the lady your regrets.
[Spike locks eyes with Dawn, panic in both their expressions]
Spike: No…
[And Doc hurl Spike off the platform.]
[Spike screams as he falls down from the platform until he hits the ground.]
Scene: Hole in the wall called an office
[Buffy is wailing on Glory with the hammer. Glory's face is bloody, she is dazed. A blow sends her to her knees, an uppercut puts her right on her back.]
Glory: Stop it...
Buffy: You're a god ...
[She slams it into Glory's face.]
Buffy (cont'd): MAKE it stop.
[And again. And again. She raises the hammer -- it has blood on it as well -- and hesitates.]
[Glory, bloody and defeated, morphs into Ben. He is equally battered, and looks up helplessly at Buffy. Can barely get out:]
Ben: I'm sorry ...
Buffy: Tell her it's over. She missed her shot. She goes. She ever -- EVER -- comes
near me and mine again...
Ben: We won't. I swear.
[A moment, and Buffy rises, eyes still on the boy. Then she turns and bolts.
Ben coughs, trying to sit up, despair in his eyes. He lays back down.]
Ben (cont'd): [laughs bitterly] Guess we're stuck with each other,
huh baby?
[Suddenly there is another figure looming over him. He squints to see Giles, squatting over him.]
Giles: Can you move?
Ben: Need... a minute… She could have killed me.
Giles: No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later, Glory will re-emerge and make
Buffy pay for that mercy, and the world with her. Buffy even knows that, and
still she wouldn't take a human life. Because she's a hero, you see. She's not like us.
Ben: Us?
[Giles coldly clamps his hand over Ben's mouth and nose. Ben struggles feebly for a while. Then stops.]
[Giles' expression never changes.]
Scene: Platform
[Tears flow down her face as she screams in pain. Doc is right in front of her, face near hers, grinning...]
Doc: Shallow cuts, shallow cuts... let the blood flow free...
[We can't see much of it, but he is slicing her along the arms and ribs.]
AJ: [Raged and vamped out. He finally breaks through the metal restaints.] If you know what's good for you, you will stop hurting her, now.
[Doc cuts her again. AJ pushes off the metal outline of the opening. He drops through.]
AJ: I warned you…
[He goes to punch him, but Doc moved around him with the knife embedded into his stomach. Doc cuts AJ deeply all around his stomach.]
[AJ bellows out in pain and collapses before Doc]
[Buffy climbs up onto the platform.]
Buffy: Dawn.
Dawn: Buffy...
[She strides toward Doc. He turns and gracefully hurls the knife at her face. She bats it out of the way.]
Doc: Well, this should be interest--
[She reaches him and bats him aside as easily as she did the knife, never breaking stride on her way to Dawn. We hear him scream and hit ground with a wet crunch.]
[Buffy is untying Dawn and helps AJ stand up and lean on the side of the entrance.]
Dawn: Buffy, it hurts ...
Buffy: I got you... You're gonna be okay ...
Dawn: Oh, God, Buffy ...[As blood seeps down her leg, pooling on her foot and finally dripping down into the air... The blood stops in the middle of the air some twenty feet down, clearly suspended by some mystical force. Another few drops join it and they begin to transform into a crackling ball of energy, white with power at the very center.]
[Buffy hurriedly unties Dawn, starts dragging her down the platform. Dawn resists. Finally stops, looking back.]
Buffy: Come on!
[Dawn looks at the ball of energy. The platform rumbles and shakes, wind whipping both girls' hair. Looks back at Buffy.]
Dawn: I can't.
Buffy: What? We have to get down!
Dawn: Buffy, it's started.
[The energy ball grows -- and shoots out a lightning-like tentacle of energy.]
[The walls of the dimensions began to break down. Other beings from other dimensions emerged into ours.]
Scene: Below on the Construction sight
[As a bolt streaks over Xander and Anya's heads, causing an explosion in the far distance.]
[Another rumble and Anya cries out]
Anya: Xander!
[And pushes him out of the way as concrete and metal collapses on her.]
Xander: Anya!
[He digs her out, Giles rushing to his side to help. She has blood on her head.]
Anya: Xander... don't stand there. [Her eyes gently close.]
Xander: Anya... ?
[Willow and Tara clung to each other sensing Armageddon.]
[Spike who is still lying down on the ground, is forced to roll to one side when the ground starts separating.]
[Buffy and Dawn see what's happening.]
[Another rumble nearly shakes them off their feet.]
[AJ who is still leaning on the post of the platform falls down from the rumble.]
Dawn: I'm sorry ...
Buffy: It doesn't matter. Nothing --
[Dawn makes a break for it, tries to run back to the end of the platform. Buffy grabs her, pulls her back, gets between her and the end.]
AJ: Dawn, [His face shifts back to normal. He pulls himself to his knees with help of his leaning post.] What are you doing?
Dawn: I can end this.
Buffy: No!
Dawn: I have to jump. The energy…
Buffy: It'll kill you!
Dawn: I know. Buffy, I know about the ritual! I have to stop it.
Buffy: No!
Dawn: I have to! Look at what's happening!
Dawn (cont'd): Buffy…
Buffy: I don't care! Dawn, I won't lose you…
Dawn: You have to! You have to let me go! Blood starts it, and until the blood
stops flowing it'll never stop. You know you have to let me ...
[Buffy looks at her in despair -- can she really let this happen?]
Dawn (cont'd): It has to have the blood ...
[And realization sweeps over Buffy's face...]
AJ: Buffy, I know what you're thinking [he drags his body closer to the girls] , but don't think about it…
FLASH TO:
Spike in the Magic Box: "It's always blood…"
FLASH TO:
The scene from ep 13 -- Buffy's and Dawn's bloody hands entwining. Buffy speaks of Summers' blood...
FLASH TO:
The scene from act one: Buffy saying, "They made her from me".
FLASH TO:
The Primitive, ep 18: "Death is your gift."
Buffy: Death...
RETURN TO SCENE:
Buffy puts it all together and we hear the Primitive finishing her sentence:
The Primitive (V.O.): ...is your gift.
[At the edge of the platform, the sun begins to rise.]
[Buffy looks at it, uncommonly serene.]
[Another rumble, the apocalyptic noise coming back up, and she turns back to Dawn. Dawn knows without knowing.]
Dawn: Buffy... no ...
Buffy: Dawnie... I have to --
Dawn: NO!
Buffy: Listen to me! There's no time, Dawn, please listen.
[And she brings Dawn close so she can speak in her ear... just as we go back wide, so that we hear nothing of what she says to her. But we see Dawn's tearful reaction. Buffy speaks for a short while, then looks Dawn in the eye.]
[She wipes a tear away, taking the moment to memorize Dawn's face. She kisses her, and --
In extreme slow motion -- she turns and runs toward the end of the platform.]
[AJ goes to grab her ankle, but misses.]
[Buffy swandives into the ball of energy.]
[AJ uses what's left of his strength to stand up and carry Dawn down the ramps. He kind of falls a couple of times while holding her, but she is more fragile than he is and deserves to see her sister one last time.]
[When they reached the ground, Buffy's body hit a pile of rubble. Xander held onto Anya while Willow cried. Spike began to hide from the sun and cried over the death of his love.]
[At the moment AJ put Dawn down, he collapsed and crawled over to where Buffy lied.]
AJ: No, no it can't end this way. I won't let it. [He turns his head towards the sky. AJ knew he didn't have much time, but he had to try.] Please, give me the power to revive her. I promised no one would die [he looks at Dawn] and that is a promise I intend to keep. She deserves to live. From what I've heard, Buffy saved the world…a lot and helped and saved so many innocent people. If she lives, Buffy will probably be able to save even more people. Give her a second chance. If you give me the power to bring them back I'll …I'll go back to hell for as long as it takes… please.
[Dawn was standing over him. She was hysterical from crying and a tear dripped onto his hand. Then, a tear trickled down AJ's face onto the same tear dripped hand.]
[His hand begins to glow and he held his hand over Buffy's body. When she woke up, AJ was blown into the outer wall of the Construction Site office. He laid there unconscious. All of the Scoobies ran over to Buffy. Spike would have done the same, but ran over to where AJ lied and carried him to his crypt.]
The next day…
Scene: Buffy's house, the living room
[AJ was in Spike's wheelchair from the second season. Buffy walked into the room from the kitchen holding a mug. She handed it to AJ.]
Buffy: I can't thank you again for saving my life.
AJ: [He looks into the mug and saw red liquid, blood. He goes to take a sip, but cannot drink with all the humans looking at him. He places the mug down on the coffee table.] You've thanked me enough.
Dawn: [Puts her face close to his.] But I haven't. [She kisses him.] While you are hurt, I will help aid you back to health.
[AJ begins to smile]
Xander: And so will I. And the rest of us
[His smile drops.]
AJ: Oh, dammit. Thanks for ruining my pain, Xander.
[His body begins to glow a light blue. Slowly, he begins to disappear. Suddenly, he was gone.]
[Tears filled Dawn's eyes]
Giles: Where did he go?