BUFFY So what's the big deal? If it's going to cure me, it'll -- Buffy doesn't finish, now she realizes. KAREN (pointedly) Right. We've come this far, I just need a little more time. WHISTLER We're running out of time -- Whistler hops off from his stool and moves over to a computer. He taps at the screen, showing replays of the ritual we saw in Pearl's Lair. WHISTLER You saw what was on that disc. At that moment, the lights in the workshop flicker, then go out. Buffy looks around the room, alarmed. BUFFY What happened to the power? WHISTLER (concerned) I don't know, but the back-up generator should've kicked in. A few seconds pass. The back-up generator still hasn't activated. Whistler moves to the window -- WHISTLER UV floodlights are down too. As Whistler reaches for a flashlight we hear the sound of GLASS SHATTERING coming from the other end of the workshop. Whistler shines the flashlight in that direction. We hear more sounds now -- footsteps. Whistler reaches up into the lamp and pulls out a 12-gauge street sweeper shotgun. WHISTLER Get out of here! Karen pulls out a handgun. Buffy grabs her .40 Smith and Wesson and scans the shadows, eyes alert. We hear a WHISPER, then a teasing, GIGGLE. Whistler moves the flashlight in a slow circle, shining the beam over every inch of the room. And just as he's about to complete his circuit -- SOMEONE rushes at them! BUFFY Whistler!! Buffy fires off a couple of shots. They go wide but one bullet manages to catch the leg. The figure groans and Whistler spins and levels his shotgun. BANG! The figure falls into the light. A MAN. A familiar. More FOOTSTEPS. Karen looks up and sees one of them on top staring down. She fires, the man SCREAMS, and falls off down onto the ground. Whistler spots one coming from the shadows and fires, repeated blasts. It was a vampire and explodes into bone and black oil. He turns to the two women. WHISTLER I said get out of here! Suddenly, a shot rings out, and a bullet catches Whistler right in the leg. He instantly drops down to one knee in pain. VOICE (O.S.) Nice place -- Whistler tries to spin, eyes wide. He knows that voice. DEACON FROST steps into the pool of illumination thrown off by the flashlight, followed by Quinn and several vampires. FROST Took us awhile to find it! Frost throws a bone crunching hard right into Whistler, spinning him to the floor. ON KAREN AND BUFFY Mercury emerges from the shadows nearby and grabs Karen from behind, disarming her and twisting her arm painfully. Buffy tries to turn and fire but Riven hops in and kicks it away from her hand. Buffy tries high kicking, low kicking and punching and whatever maneuver she could think of to throw him off. Riven blocks with his legs and hands at deft speed. Buffy, with what she's learned from Jehonas, sees an opening, feints and lands a pretty hard kick to Riven's chest. He staggers, angry and SNARLS. Riven realizes that Jehonas has taught her some new tricks. No need for the usual restraint. Riven strikes quickly, using vampire speed to aid, grabs her arm, and twists it behind her. Mercury shoves Karen forward to Frost and the others. ON WHISTLER He's struggling vainly on the floor. Blood gushing from his bullet wound. WHISTLER Bite me and get it over with. Frost leans in with a sneer of contempt. FROST I ain't gonna bite ya, you're not worth it. Frost kicks him, stomps him to the floor, and kicks him again with all of his strength. Karen looks away, sobbing. Frost finally stops, leans over, and spits at Whistler's still body. FROST Get her out of here! Riven and Mercury drag Buffy away as Frost approaches Quinn and the rest of his vampires. FROST Don't be long. Quinn chuckles with malicious intent as he eyes the doctor. He signals and the vampires to move forward. EXT. LANDFILL GHETTO - MIRACIA'S CABIN - NIGHT Jehonas is led to a plywood cabin crowded with candle-lit altars -- garish pictures of Saints and demons abound, alongside bottles of roots and herbs steeped in alcohol, human bones, voodoo dolls. MIRACIA sits on a sagging couch outside, clutching a deck of well-thumbed Bicycle playing cards. She's ancient, with a mouthful of gold-capped teeth and cataract-clouded eyes. Blind. MIRACIA Is something wrong, my friend? JEHONAS You're blind -- MIRACIA There are other ways to see. Sit. Jehonas approaches, cautious. Miracia deals out the playing cards on a rickety table, setting them in nine piles which take on a cross formation. MIRACIA Perhaps you have brought me something -- an offering for the orishas? Jehonas tosses a handful of bills on the table. Miracia nods, then flips over the first card in the center pile -- a one-eyed Jack. She sighs, grave -- MIRACIA Hold out your hands. JEHONAS I didn't come here to get my palms read. I need something translated. MIRACIA Show me. Jehonas removes parchment fragment from his jacket and sets it on the table. Miracia traces her fingers over the ancient paper, touching her fingertips to her lips. MIRACIA Sangre. Written in blood. She runs her hands over each line as if it were written in Braille. Some of the candles gutter, then extinguish themselves as the wind around them rises. MIRACIA This is an old tongue, from an old world. It concerns LaMagra. JEHONAS Who is LaMagra? MIRACIA A powerful vampire god. This speaks of his return. Miracia's fingers search the parchment again. MIRACIA -- there will come a Day-Walker. (reading) His blood will call the Sleeper from beyond the Veil of Tears. Jehonas stares at Miracia, unmoved. JEHONAS His blood -- ? The old woman nods, reaching for a smoldering cigarette. MIRACIA The Day-Walker's blood is a disparador - a trigger, you see? For LaMagra's return. One need only consume it and the spirit of his twelve ancestors will settle upon him. (reading) And the Sleeper will rise from the shadows anew, cleansing the world in a Tide of Blood. JEHONAS (recalling the phrase) The Blood Tide. MIRACIA (nodding) Yes. It is said that all who feel its taint will succumb to the Thirst. JEHONAS That won't happen. Miracia shrugs, spreading her hands. MIRACIA The Great Wheel turns, my friend. The Dark is rising. How would you fight a shadow? Miracia sits back, slumping into her chair. The candles have burnt themselves down to nothing. MIRACIA I am tired. JEHONAS That's it? MIRACIA I've told you what I could. What happens comes from who you want to leave behind. Miracia gestures behind him. Jehonas rises, looking to the horizon. As he stands there, the wind picks up, sweeping the parchment fragment out of his hand. He tries to snatch it back, but the fragment is quickly borne away. He watches it disappear into the sky, then turns back -- Miracia is gone. Jehonas glances around him, but she's nowhere to be found. WE PAN BACK, isolating Jehonas amidst the ghostly squalor. From our vantage point, he looks like any other homeless phantom. INT. ABANDONED FACTORY - INDUSTRIAL ELEVATOR - DAY The Olds pulls to a stop in front of the elevator. Jehonas steps out, cautious, SEES none of the outer lights on. No power anywhere. He pulls aside his long coat, feels something on his leg. He looks down, pulls out the small device that was placed on him earlier. He SNEERS, crushes it and rushes towards the elevator. INT. WHISTLER'S WORKSHOP - DAWN Jehonas steps out from the elevator into the workshop -- The place has been trashed. It looks like a tornado touched down in his absence. JEHONAS WHISTLER?! KAREN?!! -- and then he stops dead in his tracks. A dead body, slumped over, rests on the floor. Jehonas walks up and pulls down the collar of his jacket. A glyph. Deacon Frost's glyph. Jehonas moves into the main lab area. Another dead body, sprawled, resting on the floor. Jehonas turns to the lab and sees something. Instantly, he takes off his sunglasses. HIS POV: Karen lying face down on one of the lab tables, tortured, assaulted, and left for dead. Bleeding scratches ravages her body as blood drips over the sides of the table. Jehonas rushes to the table, picking her up, gently lowering her to the floor with him. As he cradles the woman in his arms, Jehonas sees the primary wound -- two ragged puncture marks along her throat. Jehonas buries his head in her hair. Kissing her forehead, and inhaling deeply. Jehonas fights back tears as he lays her once more to the floor. He pulls a stake from his bandoleer then with a wretched moan, drives the stake into her chest. CUT TO: Jehonas walks through the lab area. His emerald eyes in a flux of sheer anger and heavy sadness. He comes across his restraint chair. A body is occupying it, with a large white cloth soaked with blood covering its entirety. Near it, A SHARP VIEW-CAMCORDER resting on a handcart, labeled, "PLAY ME". Jehonas stops, pushes the cart aside, and pulls the cloth off. Whistler is there, prone. Tortured and beaten beyond recognition. Jehonas also sees multiple bite wounds around his body. Jehonas looks away and closes his eyes to hold off what feels like a hundred degrees of boiling rage wanting to be released. Then a voice -- WHISTLER (weakly) Frost took the Slayer -- Whistler opens his eyes, struggling to speak. Jehonas turns, sees him, and goes over. Whistler spasms and coughs, wincing from the pain. Jehonas grinds teeth. JEHONAS Frost -- WHISTLER The disc. We decoded it. Frost is trying to trigger a vampire apocalypse. There some kind of vampire God he's trying to resurrect. JEHONAS LaMagra. Jehonas grabs a couple of tissues and wipes off some the blood from Whistler's face and neck. WHISTLER You're the key. He needs your blood. Listen to me, Jehonas. You can't go after him. JEHONAS Don't talk nonsense. WHISTLER If Frost gets his hands on you, it's all over. There will be armies of the motherfuckers. Whistler GROANS loudly in pain. JEHONAS Frost won't get away with this. He killed Karen. He hurt you. WHISTLER The doctor? Karen? She's dead? (off Jehonas' nod) Ah shit. JEHONAS Don't move too much -- WHISTLER Listen to me, Jehonas. Take Karen's research, get out of here, and finish it. JEHONAS That's a hell of a thing for you to say to me, Whistler. The old man tries to talk, has trouble breathing. Time starting to run out for him. JEHONAS I'll treat your wounds. But Whistler is shaking his head. WHISTLER No. Too far gone, you know that -- Jehonas' at a complete loss. WHISTLER (CONT'D) -- you'll have to finish me off. Don't want me coming back. JEHONAS I should have stayed behind -- Whistler clutches at Jehonas' arm, his eyes burning with conviction. WHISTLER Don't you start being weak on me. You've been doing this for centuries. Longer than my fucking ancestors' been on this country. Allies come and go, you know that. (beat) Give me your gun. Jehonas watches in sadness and still stubborn. WHISTLER What are you waiting for? Give me the goddamn gun! Instantly, the MAC comes right out of his hip holster. Jehonas places the gun gently in Whistler's hand, gripping it tight. WHISTLER Now walk away -- Jehonas watches him with pleading eyes. WHISTLER Walk the fuck away -- old man. Jehonas spins around and walks off, unflinching as a loud single shot rings off from behind him. INT. JEHONAS' CELL - LATER Jehonas cues the tape on the camcorder -- Frost's face appears on the tiny built-in screen. FROST Hello, Jehonas. By the time you watch this, Whistler will no doubt be winging his way to Heaven, thanks to your capable hands. If it makes any difference to you, he put up quite a fight. Jehonas stares. Quinn's face slides into view. QUINN Hey, man. Your doctor gave us the royal nurse treatment. I got to tell you, she's got a great mouth. But then you probably -- FROST Shut up, Quinn. Quinn disappears from the screen. FROST I'm sorry about your doctor, Jehonas. I'd figured you had a thing for older woman. However, if you want your other significant other alive -- (pulls Buffy to the screen) well, whether or not she remains so is entirely up to you. I'll make this as easy as possible for you, Jehonas. You can find us at the Edgewood Towers. We'll be waiting with baited breath. The tape cuts to static. Jehonas throws the camcorder against the wall. It shatters into a dozen pieces. INT. JEHONAS' CELL - EQUIPMENT RACK - EVENING Jehonas is pouring liquid silver into a bullet-welding apparatus. The silver cools quickly, Jehonas pulls back a lever and a silver bullet is there. Jehonas pulls it out and sets it aside to an already impressive amount. He starts again -- CUT TO: INT. JEHONAS' CELL CORNER - DAY Jehonas is kneeling, eyes closed, meditating in front of the large portrait. Becoming in tune with his inner soul, in preparation for another fight. SCENES CUT BACK AND FORTH NOW between his equipment and his meditation. Jehonas loads the newly created silver bullets into several magazines. Slaps them in each of his pistols and MAC and cocks them. MEDITATION Jehonas turns now, his eyes falling on the medical equipment Karen brought from the hospital. He moves to the refrigerator, removing a canister labeled "SODIUM CITRATE". We can practically see the wheels turning within his mind -- moments later, pours the liquid into several tubes, fitting each of them with a cork like stopper, plugging them into metallic syringe-like darts. An effective new stake. CLOSER TO JEHONAS, MEDITATION Jehonas pulls away the covers of his custom motorcycle. A remake of an old Harley Softail Custom. CLOSER TO JEHONAS, MEDITATION Jehonas pulls out several boxes from a cabinet, opens them. We SEE blue-covered shotgun shells with a special crucifix design etched into the cartridge. He loads his shotgun, PUMPING it each time. Slides two stakes into the shooting mechanism. CLOSER TO JEHONAS as his eyes open suddenly. He stands up, grabs his longcoat and MOVES OFF from the screen. INT. FROST'S PENTHOUSE - INNER CHAMBER - DAY Sparse decor in a Neo-Japanese vein. Minimalist lighting. The walls are glass. Recirculating pumps send a constant stream of water cascading down them. Mercury is lying casually on her couch, biting her nails, catching a glimpse at the others. Frost is lounging on his own chair with a cigarette in hand, admiring his view of two ladies. Buffy, meantime, agitated in her own seat. Frost leans forward to Buffy, and smiles. Buffy sneers back and looks away. FROST You seem a bit tense -- a bit pent-up maybe? Like you wanna release something. Buffy makes a face and shakes her head. FROST No? Jehonas not giving it to you, maybe? He is somewhat human, you know. I kind of think that slayers tend to stick together like that. You know what I mean? Mercury giggles and watches Buffy's reactions. FROST I don't know, I just -- I see such a beautiful young woman -- great skin, great form. Hard to believe there's a killer instinct under all of that. I like to see you happy, that's all. BUFFY Is this the part where you offer to turn me? FROST Well it's either that or a body bag. BUFFY (pointedly) Go ahead, bite me -- FROST'S eyes widen, not the kind of response he was expecting. BUFFY I'll just cure myself. Karen's done it before. I know the cure. I can do it, too. FROST There is no cure, baby. BUFFY There is, if you've been bitten. If you were once -- human. Frost looks away and takes another long drag from his smoke, in doing so, Buffy can see his entire face more clearly. Notices a scar. BUFFY What's up with the scar, Deacon? Any vampire would regenerate from his wounds overnight. Maybe you decided to keep it as a pitiful reminder of who you once were. Isn't that right? You didn't want to become one, but you were made into one. You're all the same. You're an infection, a virus, a sexually transmitted disease -- Frost suddenly springs forward to the edge of his seat, mean and borderline insanity. FROST I'll tell you what we are, little slayer. We're the top of the fucking food chain. The Blood God's coming and after tonight you people are fucking history. He's a hurricane. An act of God. Anyone caught in his path will instantly be enslaved to him. Everyone you've ever known. Everyone you've ever fucking loved. It won't matter who's vampire and who's not. How are you gonna cure the whole fucking world, huh? Frost gets up and leaves Buffy to her silence. FROST And Jehonas' blood is the key. What appears to be a decision suddenly to let humanity go, the skin on his cheek ripple and the scar heals itself. An armed goon rushes into the room.
