Dream WarriorsTeaser

Story by Susan Carr, CN Winters, DragonWriter17, Chris Cook and David Zahir

Written by CN Winters and Chris Cook (additional writing by Susan Carr)Directed by CN Winters and Chris CookProduced by CN Winters and Chris Cook

Edited by Angie WilsonSound by CSR

Art Direction by Chris CookArtists: Chris Cook, David Zahir, Libbi, Rob, CN Winters

(Note: Due to the uniqueness of WaTchers we ask that you use these for your personal use only. Please do not post them to other sites on the web.

Thanks!)

Fade InInt.Slayer Rec Room – Late Evening

Kennedy strode confidently into the Slayer Rec Room to find Mia playing solitaire on the card table. The Asian slayer looked up and smiled at her girlfriend before waving her over.

"So all the kiddies have gone home for the holiday I see?" Kennedy remarked as she walked over.

"Not all," a voice said and Kennedy turned to see Faith in the doorway before making her way over to them. "You two are still here," she jabbed with a gentle smile.

"Aren’t you going to bed?" she asked the senior slayer as she looked at her watch. "I thought it was past the old folks’ bedtime."

Mia snickered as she counted three cards from the deck in her hand before she looked at the last one.

"Listen up little girl," Faith said as she walked to the sofa and tossed her feet on the coffee table before clicking on the television. "I was slayin’ all night and playin’ all day when you were barely out of your diapers. But I can out party you or any of the girls any time."

"Oh yeah?" Kennedy said with a wicked grin. "Wanna put some money on it? How about one week’s salary for she who stays up longest?"

"I make more than you," Faith pointed out.

"So?" Kennedy taunted. "Afraid you’ll lose?"

"No way, Slick," Faith said. "You’re on."

The two slayers shook on it. Kennedy plunked down on the sofa and waved Mia over before she stole the remote from Faith.

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Living Room – Late Evening

"You better get to bed," Willow said as she came into the living room to see the sleepy blonde head lying on her sofa arm.

"In a few minutes," came the drowsy response.

Willow sat on the edge of the sofa cushion and pushed Marsha’s bangs away from her eyes. "You need a haircut," Willow told her.

"Letting them grow out," the young slayer answered.

A knock at the door brought Willow to her feet and she answered to find Rowena standing there with a smile. "Hey," she said softly. She looked over and saw Marsha’s head pop up from the sofa. "Oh shoot! Sleepover. I forgot. I’ll stop by tomorrow."

"That’s okay. You can come in," Willow told her.

"No, I’ll see you in the morning. I just, uh, I was thinking about you and that indexing project I was going to start but we can talk tomorrow."

Willow hesitated a moment and pushed down a grin. "Okay, tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow," she answered soundly. Rowena nodded and then waved to Marsha. "You two have a good night."

Willow shut the door and walked back to the sofa when Marsha spoke.

"Kinda late to be worrying about indexing, isn’t it?" The girl quirked a knowing eyebrow at her watcher.

Willow took a deep breath and pulled up Marsha’s legs. She sat down on the opposite side of the sofa and let the slayer’s feet rest on her thighs.

"Well, you know, a watcher’s work is never done."

Marsha looked at Willow intently. "Really? That’s all?"

Willow looked away and sighed before turning to look at Marsha for a long moment. "Can you keep a secret?"

"You’re my watcher. You tell me. Can I?" she retorted.

"This is serious," Willow told her.

Marsha sat up slightly to move to her elbows. "What is it Willow?"

The witch sighed again and bit her lower lip a moment. "Rowena and I have been seeing each other – privately. She doesn’t want anyone to know right now because she doesn’t want everyone bugging us. I don’t want to lie to you because I think there’s a sacred trust between slayers and their watchers."

"But what about your friends?" Marsha asked. "Does Xander know?"

Willow shook her head. "No one knows – just me, Ro and now you. So promise me you won’t tell anyone."

"I promise. I’ll take it to the grave."

"I told Ro we have to make a choice here soon so you won’t have to wait that long," Willow told her with a grin before looking serious again. "I don’t like hiding out."

"Sounds more like hiding ‘in’ maybe," Marsha teased with a slight grin.

Willow chuckled. "Yeah, sumthin’ like that."

"So tell me," Marsha began conspiratorially. "Have you two done it yet?"

"Marsha!" Willow exclaimed, her eyes going wide. She got up from the sofa and Marsha followed moving to the chair.

"So have you?"

"No!" Willow answered from the kitchen.

"You two aren’t getting any younger," Marsha told her in a mocking tone.

Willow returned with a glass in her hand and then smiled when she saw Marsha’s playful smirk. "Maybe not but we’re in no rush. Besides it’s kinda better that we go in steps, take things easy."

"Why?"

"Lots of reasons actually," Willow answered after taking a drink. "I think I moved too quick last time, with Kennedy…and Rowena…this is all new for her. That’s why I don’t want you to say anything Marsha. We’ll tell the rest of the gang eventually, just not right now. So promise me okay?"

"I did but in case you need to hear it again, I promise Willow. Heck, after letting me stay here for Thanksgiving to avoid going home, I’d do just about anything."

Willow stood up and walked over to kiss the girl on the crown of her head. "All I need right now is no gossiping."

Marsha made a zipper motion across her mouth and Willow smiled at her.

"Go on," Willow told the slayer motioning her back to the sofa. She covered her with the blanket over the back of the couch. "Get some rest, okay?"

"’Kay. Night Willow."

"Goodnight."

Willow was almost to her bedroom when Marsha’s small voice stopped her in her tracks. "Hey Will?"

"Yeah?"

Marsha hesitated as if she was going to say something but stopped herself. Finally she answered. "Thanks again. I mean it."

Willow grinned at the unspoken love in Marsha’s eyes. "Anytime I can help Marsha. Remember that."

With a nod and a smile Marsha settled down on the sofa as Willow walked into her bedroom, her grin still in place.

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Great Hall

Two of the Lover's servants flanked Imbethit, the Assassin, as he entered the cavernous meeting place. The Lover stood in the center of the room, with the Flayer behind her, to one side. The servants left, and the demon knelt.

"Your master tells me you claim a debt of blood," the Lover said to the newcomer, "owed you by the human slayers." The shadowy Assassin glanced at the Flayer, who nodded slightly, then stood and faced the Lover again.

"For my children, Highness," he hissed, "blood calls to blood. The debt must be repaid in kind." The Lover directed a glance over her shoulder at the Flayer, who remained carefully expressionless, then turned again to Imbethit, glaring slightly.

"You would do well to remember your station," she said quietly, "even one such as you, who has served faithfully, does not come to this place and tell your masters what must be done." The Assassin fell instantly to his knee, his invisible gaze averted.

"Nevertheless," the Lover continued, "your master has spoken on your behalf. You will be granted the opportunity to extract payment for your loss, from those responsible. As

we speak, the Arena is being fashioned, and the slayers begin to arrive. Your place is prepared. Go now."

On cue a servant appeared in the doorway. Imbethit got to his feet and followed her away, while the Lover stalked across to where he had stood, and turned back to the motionless Flayer.

"I mislike that one," she said calmly.

"He is efficient, and loyal," the Flayer noted, meeting her gaze, "and the

Council must be punished for meddling in our affairs."

"Perhaps," the Lover allowed. "But I have fifty Sirra mages crafting the Arena, and over four thousand spell-ciphers lending their assistance in providing it with its guests. I will not extend such an indulgence to you

again."

"Yes, Highness," the Flayer nodded stiffly.

Fade Out

Fade InInt.Slayer Rec Room – Much later

Kennedy raised the remote and the large screen television turned off.

"So how’d you like the movie?" she asked and turned to Faith only to find the older slayer curled up against the armrest and snoring gently. She looked to her right to see Mia sleeping on the other side.

"Wimps!" Kennedy grinned and hopped up to reach for a Post-it note pad and a pen. She peeled the topmost note off the pad and softly placed it on Faith’s forehead. "You Lost!" it read in block letters. Chuckling to herself, she left the room.

Cut to:Int.Watcher’s Kitchen – Moments later

Kennedy grabbed a juice box out of the refrigerator just as Andrew came into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"You’re up early," he grumbled, shuffling over to the coffee machine.

"Never went to bed," she said. "I thought I’d take a short patrol around the neighborhood before I hit the sack. Might be nice to see the sun rising off the lake."

"Ugh," he groaned as if disturbed by the thought.

"Later, Andy," the slayer said as she left the room sipping on her juice.

Cut to:Underground Cell – Moments later

Faith’s head shot up from the straw floor she was lying on, her sleep interrupted by the sound of a large, steel gate clanging open nearby. She watched Mia who stirred beside her rub her eyes. The senior slayer rose to her feet and approached a wall of bars, glancing from side to side. Rows of cells stretched off in either direction, each with its complement of prisoners – some slayers from the Council, looking to Faith for orders, others unfamiliar girls, many still unconscious on the floors. Faith turned to see Marsha and some other slayers in her cell fall in behind her as heavy steps approached, a group of forms moving in the unlit corridor beyond the cell bars. 

Finally, a tall creature dressed in ornate, unearthly armor emerged from the shadows, passing through the bars as if they were a mist. It stepped into the light and faced the slayers, but within its open-faced helmet there was still only darkness.

"Welcome," the creature said in a rasping, hissing voice. "You have entered the Arena. None of you shall leave."

Fade Out

End of Teaser

Act OneStarring: Starring: Norika Fujiwara as Mia, Felicia Day as Vi, Carly Schroeder

as Marsha, Laura Prepon as Lori, and Lindsay Felton as Skye

Guest Starring: Claire Forlani as Cynthia, Alyssa-Jane Cook as Gil and Bianca Chiminello as Jena

 

Fade In:Int.Arena – Underground Cell

The demon took a purposeful stride toward the cell. "You will come with us."

"Like hell!" Faith snarled, advancing on the armored demon. "If you know what’s good for you-."

"Be silent!" the demon rasped, its voice filling the cell, seeming to blanket all other sound.

"Make me!" Faith shot back, regaining herself after a momentary hesitation. The demon waved a hand toward her and she convulsed, bending over half-backwards, her muscles straining against some unseen force. At a gesture from the demon a form coalesced around Faith, a jagged mass of shadows that held her motionless, its dark, gaseous limbs clamped firmly around her neck and shoulders.

At the sight of it the other slayers started forward, only to be halted as Faith cried out in agony, the shadow wrapped around her lifting her off her feet and twisting her body almost to the breaking point.

"Be still!" the demon rasped. "Or she dies. Choose."

Mia, at the front of the group of slayers, glanced to either side, meeting the gazes of the other girls in the cell, then looked at Faith, who was staring at her from where she was held, her eyes narrowed against the pain. Turning a furious glare on the demon, Mia took a small step backwards, unclenching her fists.

"What do you want?" she growled.

"I am Imbethit," the demon said. "I am the master of this place. You have spilt the blood of my children. In return I will exact vengeance upon your kind until the debt is repaid."

"Those assassin demons?" Faith managed to choke out.

"Your ‘children’ were cold-blooded murderers!" Mia added.

Imbethit gestured toward Faith and the shadow form vanished, leaving her to fall awkwardly to the floor, striking her head against the stone. The demon turned its eyeless gaze on her as she looked up, wiping away a smudge of blood from a cut above her eye.

"And you shall be murdered in turn," it said. With that it turned and swept out of the cell, again passing through the bars without effort. Faith sprinted forward, slamming her hands against the bars, but they proved quite solid.

"Damn it," she muttered to herself. Mia appeared at her side, and she glanced at her.

"How’s your head?" the Asian slayer asked quietly.

"Still attached," Faith shrugged, "so, could be worse." She sighed and turned her back on the bars, resting against them and wincing as she gingerly felt for wounds on her head. After a moment she turned to Marsha. "Spread the word to the girls in the other cells back there," she instructed, "make sure everyone knows who Sir Gloats-a-lot is, and what his ‘children’ can do. Get them to pass it on to the other connected cells. Make sure we’re all in the loop."

"On it." Marsha nodded

"Faith," Mia began, "there’re girls here we don’t know. Probably unfound slayers, brought here same as us but…"

"But what?" Faith asked.

"Those guys that went after Becca…All they had to do was touch her and boom she was one of them. If they plant someone in here..." Mia glanced toward the back of the cell, and Faith followed her gaze, to where a young dark-haired woman was sprawled near the wall, unconscious.

"Gotcha. They might do some hocus pocus to make us kill each other." Faith nodded. "Okay, make sure everyone knows what this guy’s kiddies can do: the shapeshifter act, and that trick they did on Becca. No physical contact with anyone we don’t recognize, or anyone we do who starts acting strange, just…ugh," she groaned as she found a sore spot on her head. "Have the girls explain the situation to them, just don’t touch them. We’re in enough trouble already, we don’t need more assassins turning us against each other."

"Faith," Mia said hesitantly, "that shadow thing touched you…"

"Yeah, I know," the senior slayer grimaced, "didn’t look like one of Imbethit’s boys, but you never know…" she glanced around ruefully, "doesn’t look like there’s any handy tubs full of holy water. If I go nuts like Becca did, you take care of it, right?"

"It won’t come to that," Mia said quickly.

"If it does," Faith repeated, "You need to take care of it."

Mia paused but then finally nodded nervously. "I will."

Fade Out.

Fade In:Int.Rowena’s Apartment – Morning

Willow slipped inside Rowena’s apartment to see she was talking on the phone. Rowena turned and smiled at her girlfriend, giving her a short wave.

"No, Mom," Rowena said into the phone. The watcher turned her back to Willow and nervously twisted the telephone cord in one hand. Willow frowned at Rowena’s tense posture.

"No, Mom," Rowena repeated. "I just can’t spare the time away from work right now…No, I’m not dating anyone…that’s not it at all. I’m just real busy."

Willow’s face paled and she just stood there while Rowena said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. As she turned and saw Willow’s hurt expression, her face crumpled up.

"Oh god, Willow," Rowena said. "I’m sorry."

Willow looked at her sternly. "Sorry? How can you be sorry to someone who doesn’t even exist?"

"No, Willow, you don’t understand," Rowena said, moving closer to the redhead. She winced as Willow took a step back. "You exist - you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me."

"How can I be when you won’t even tell your mom you’re seeing someone?" Willow asked. "I mean, okay, my dad still hopes I’ll marry Xander one day, so I try not to discuss things with him if I can but..."

"Like I said, you don’t get it," Rowena explained. "If I even mentioned to my mother I was seeing somebody, anybody, it would become a game of twenty questions. Since I don’t wanna drop the bomb over the phone it’s best that I just avoid it for now…Believe me, this isn’t about you," Rowena answered.

Willow held up her finger. "I realize that you don’t want to tell them about me when you’re like, thousands of miles away. I get it."

"Thank you," Rowena sighed.

"But I gotta be honest here…it hurts…I feel like a shadow."

"You’re not a shadow and if I could prove it I would," Rowena said.

Willow shrugged with a small nod but appeared to be unconvinced. In response, Rowena paused a moment before she strolled purposefully over to the phone again and dialed.

"Hey, Mom," she said. "I uh…I think I can get away over New Year’s…I might be bringing a fellow watcher from the Council if she can get away, okay?"

Willow’s eyes widened as Rowena continued. "No, don’t worry about

the space, we can both stay in my room…Sorry but I refuse to bunk with Mary. She snores too loud…No…Because she wouldn’t get any sleep and would probably no longer be my friend afterward. Trust me. She’ll be fine staying in my bed," Rowena winked at Willow. "No, we’ll rent a car in Halifax – I’d like to show her a bit of the island first. Yeah, I’m sure. Okay, tell Dad I love him. Bye Mom, talk to you soon."

Rowena smiled at Willow as she hung up and then blushed.

"So what do you say? Wanna spend the New Year in the Great White North?" For a moment her expression turned serious. "If you don’t, that’s okay. You might not want to be present when it’s bombs away and I know the thought of going further north in the dead of winter probably has little or no appeal for you but-."

Willow silenced Rowena’s rambling with a kiss. When she pulled away, the blonde’s eyes fluttered open.

"I’d love to go home with you, Ro," she replied.

"Okay then," Rowena said with a touch of nervousness in her voice. "New Year’s. We’ll go. I’ll see them. And I’ll tell them."

Willow ran the back of her fingers over Rowena’s cheeks. "No matter how it turns out, we’ll be okay."

"Promise?" Rowena asked still looking unsure.

"I promise."

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Living Room – Moments Later

Willow walked in to find Marsha still sleeping and she gave her a gentle smile before walking toward the kitchen.

"Hey sleepyhead," Willow called out. "Waffles are on the way so you better get moving."

Cut to:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Same Time

"What’s the count?" Faith asked as Mia and Marsha knelt beside her. On the other side of the bars Faith was sitting against, in the adjoining cell, Vi was crouching nearby, keeping an eye on the other girls as she listened. 

"Final word hasn’t come back yet," Mia said, "more then thirty cells on my side, five or six girls to a cell."

"Same on my side," Marsha nodded. "So that’s…"

"Three hundred thirty approximately," Faith muttered, "plus the six in our cell… what?" she demanded, as Mia and Marsha exchanged a glance, "I can count. How many of our girls?" There was an uncomfortable silence before Vi spoke.

"At a guess, all of them," she said. "We haven’t accounted for everyone yet-"

"But if the cells extend much further," Mia continued where Vi paused, "and they’re full like the ones we’ve got reports back from, they might have got the whole Council."

"But only slayers," Faith mused. She looked up as footsteps echoed through the dark corridor.

"Him again?" Vi whispered.

"Different footsteps," Faith said, "not Imbethit."

On the tail of her words a misshapen demon stepped out of the shadows in the corridor between the cells, glaring through the bars at Faith.

"Slayer leader," it growled.

"Yeah, yeah," Faith grinned, getting to her feet and advancing. "Your boss too lazy to come down here and gloat in person?" The demon ignored her.

"You and your kind are slaves of the Presidium," it said. "They have given you to my master Imbethit, the

Assassin. In payment for the debt you owe for the death of His children, you are sentenced to fight in the Arena until such time as He declares the debt paid, in the blood of your kind."

"Hey, ugly," Faith spoke up, "tell your boss we’re not a traveling circus, and we don’t fight on cue just to give him his jollies. ’Kay?" The demon gazed at her with the darkened pits of its eye sockets. "What, am I speaking too fast?" she asked. "I can dictate a note, if you can’t remember all that."

"You will stand in the Arena," the demon said levelly, "and your kind’s blood will flow. If you choose not to fight, so be it. That is the only choice remaining to you."

Cut to:Int.Slayer Rec Room – Same Time

Robin walked into the Slayer Rec Room to find Faith asleep on the sofa next to Mia. As he rounded the arm he saw the note stuck on Faith’s forehead and read it. He began to grin and removed it. With a shake of his head, disregarding the distraction, he patted her on the knee.

"Faith? Weekly Tuesday meeting, Babe. Gotta get up," he called softly. He looked over to Mia to make sure he didn’t wake her. "Faith?" he said again, this time shaking her leg more forcefully. His face frowned and he took a closer look at her. "Faith, you gotta wake up," he said louder. Not getting a response he moved to Mia and gently shook her but she wouldn’t wake up either.

Robin rose to his feet with a frightened look.

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Living Room – Moments Later

As Willow moved the waffles and bacon to the dining room table she noticed that Marsha still slept on the couch.

"Come on Kiddo," she called over. "Rise and shine." When she got no response she walked over and looked down at the girl. "Marsha?" she said louder.

With a look of uncertainty and fear Willow pressed her fingers to Marsha’s throat and checked for a pulse. After releasing the breath she held Willow gave Marsha a firm shake but still the girl didn’t move.

Cut to:Int.Hallway – Moments Later

Rowena opened her door to see Willow standing in the hallway looking worried.

"What’s wrong?" the blonde watcher asked.

"I can’t wake Marsha."

Without asking more Rowena crossed her threshold and closed the door behind her.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Same Time

"Where the heck are we?" Mia mused, gazing up through one of the barred skylights in the stone ceiling, through which a murky blue light filtered down into the cavernous cellblock.

"Triskelion," Vi said glumly, earning vacant stares from the slayers around her. "Triskel- you know, the brains in jars? Captain Kirk and that girl in the silver bondage outfit…"

"I thought it was Imbethit who possessed people," Marsha said, "not Andrew."

"I showed up for one of his Trekkie nights!" Vi protested. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Option A," Faith said, "brains in jars. What- no, I don’t want to know," she said quickly. "Are we even still on Earth, or did they haul us through a portal somewhere?"

"Maybe you’re just dreaming that we’re all here," Marsha suggested.

"If you’re dreaming," Mia said thoughtfully, "then everyone else here is an extension of yourself."

"What?" Faith asked.

"Freud, Interpretation of Dreams, you know?" Mia shrugged. Faith still appeared confused. "Look, ask someone here a question about you they don’t already know. If they can answer it then you know you’re dreaming."

Faith shook her head as if trying to catch up to the conversation before she turned to Vi. "What in the world is she talking about?" Faith asked Vi.

"Ask Mia what your first boyfriend’s name was," Vi answered. "Or something like that."

"Oh, I get it now." Faith nodded. "Okay, what did my mom get me for my seventh Christmas?"

"I don’t know," Mia said promptly.

"What does that prove?" Marsha asked.

"I don’t know the answer," Mia said, "but if I were just a figment of her imagination I could answer the question."

"What if her imagination knows that you don’t know the answer?" Marsha interrupted. "Wouldn’t that throw off the test?"

"Okay, ya know what, screw Freud," Faith said. "Hands up all those who think they’re real people." All the slayers in the cell, and those in the neighboring cells listening in, raised their hands. 

"Good enough for me," Faith said firmly, "we’re all here, wherever here is."

"What did you get?" Vi asked.

"Huh?"

"Your Christmas present?" Vi asked.

"Oh," Faith grinned wryly, "a boom box she lifted from one of her ex’s. But he took it back on New Year’s, so nothing I guess."

"I think we’re in Vor," Marsha suggested in the ensuing silence. "It doesn’t feel normal – you guys remember the Engineer, when he brought the dimensional walls down for a moment during the battle?"

"I occasionally have happy moments when I don’t remember that," Faith offered.

"It felt like this," Marsha went on. "Don’t ask me how I know, I just…you know, it’s a feeling."

"If you’re right," Mia said, "that means the Presidium kidnapped nearly every slayer on the planet, all at once according to what’s being reported by the cells down the line."

"Could they do that?" Vi asked. "I mean, I don’t remember anything, no one else here does – wouldn’t someone have noticed, raised the alarm before they got all of us? They’d have had to go all over the place, break into every branch of the Council…"

"Maybe they didn’t have to get us," Faith suggested.

"What are you saying?" Vi asked.

"Maybe Mia’s right, and this is a dream – but all of us, in the same dream."

"Wes Craven has a lot to answer for," Marsha frowned.

"So we’re still asleep back home?" Vi asked. "We just have to wait for someone to notice, and wake us up?"

"They might not be able to," Faith said, "if I was in charge, I wouldn’t want to lose prisoners that easily. But it does mean we’ve got our guys on the case – they figured out how to beat Imbethit before, so it’s just a matter of time."

"Unless we’re already dead," Vi said quietly.

"Imbethit threatened to kill me," Faith said quickly, "that means I’m not dead yet. We’re alive – we just have to stay that way until the watchers figure things out."

"Providing that they aren’t captured somewhere too," Mia chimed in.

"Or dead," Vi added again but this time more softly. "With no slayers there to protect the council…"

Faith walked away slowly and looked outside the bars of their cage.

Marsha glanced at the slayers standing around her before she walked up behind Faith. "What do we do then?" she asked.

"Like I said Kiddo," the elder slayer replied. "Just stay alive."

Fade Out.

End of Act One

Act TwoFade In:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Later

Faith looked up as, once more, footsteps sounded in the corridor beyond the bars. One by one a group of identical demons, Imbethit’s assassin children, emerged from the gloom.

"Slaves of the Presidium," their leader said, "the Arena waits." The bars separating the cell containing Faith and the others turned rusty brown, and within a second were eaten away to dust that drifted to the floor. Faith glanced to either side, noting the adjacent cells were similarly open, but those beyond remained intact.

"Vi," she said, getting to her feet, "pass word to Heli, she’s in charge until we get back." Vi nodded and gave a hand gesture to the blonde slayer in the cell next to hers.

"You will comply," the demon insisted impatiently. "Imbethit wishes you to fight of your own will, but we will bend your minds if necessary."

"Yeah, yeah," Faith sneered, "shut your…orifice or whatever that ugly thing is in your face. Girls, let’s show ‘em what we’ve got." The other slayers in the open cells followed Faith into the corridor, sizing up their guards, who kept distance from them, surrounding them.

"Remember, no physical contact with these," Faith whispered, "not unless we commit to a fight." Mia and Marsha, next to her, nodded and whispered in turn to the slayers by them. Behind them the bars of their cell reformed.

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Chorum – Same Time

Tier upon tier of balconies surrounded a central floor, stretching upwards so far the topmost were lost in shadow and mist. Each was filled with Presidium mages, silently mouthing the words of arcane spells and staring blindly at the mages on the tier below with their scarred, empty eye sockets. Row upon row, the magic emanating from them built upon itself as it neared the center. There Imbethit stood, at the center of all the spell-casters, their focus.

The Flayer stalked the perimeter of the chamber, glancing up at the dozens of concentric balconies before returning his gaze to the armored figure at the heart of it all.

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Panopticon – Same Time

Her chamber once again alight with images, the Lover stood at the center, watching Imbethit, the Flayer and the mages through the sphere of vision surrounding her. She lifted a clawed hand and drew a talon through the image of the armored Assassin, revealing waves of magical power leaping up from the mosaic floor beneath him, like hellfire.

The Lover’s sphere of images closed more and more on Imbethit, until he and the magic around him filled the entire Panopticon. Seeming to pass inside his shadowy form, the magical imager revealed a great arena, an expanse of sand surrounded by tall iron walls, huge empty stands, and Imbethit staring down

from a balcony adorned with statues and darkly-colored pennants, surveying the ground far beneath his vantage point.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

Herded up a sloped tunnel by their demon guards, Faith and the other slayers squinted for a moment as they emerged from the near-darkness into the light, and the Arena. Faith was the first to spot Imbethit, high above, staring down with his impassive gaze.

At spear-point the slayers were forced into the center of the Arena, then their guards fell back to its edge, where doorways opened for them in the iron walls, sealing fast behind them as they left, the metallic clangs of their closing echoing around the vast, silent space.

"Aren’t we supposed to have Russell Crowe on our side?" Faith muttered.

"Slayers of the Earth Council," Imbethit rasped, his death-rattle voice amplified around the Arena, "you have been brought here to suffer until your debt is paid. If you refuse to fight, you will die. If you fight poorly, you will die. If you kill, you will live."

"Ave Caesar," Vi murmured.

"We who are going to kick your demon ass salute you," Mia added, giving the distant Assassin a rude gesture, which, if he saw, he ignored.

"Let the games begin!" he intoned, raising his arms. From his vantage point, seeping from the corrugations in the jagged iron walls, a black mist spread through the stands, reaching all around the huge stadium. A deafening roar rose from it, and in its wake it left dark, twisted

creatures, jeering and booing, snarling at the slayers in the Arena beneath them. By the time the mist dissipated the massive stands were filled with nightmarish creatures, baying for blood.

"Tough crowd," Marsha said hesitantly. All the slayers turned as a metallic groan signaled the opening of a huge gate in the iron wall surrounding them.

"Okay girls," Faith raised her voice over the crowd’s derisive clamor, "you know the drill, this is just another demon fight. Watch each other’s backs, whatever comes at you, hit it hard in whatever looks like a weak spot. Pick your targets."

An enraged bellow echoed through the Arena, and from the open gateway a group of demons charged – all manner of demons, from ferocious-looking warriors to bestial creatures with chitin, scales and razor-sharp spines covering their hides — talons and claws ready to strike.

"Take ‘em down!" Faith yelled, leading the slayers in a counter-charge.

Cut to:Int.Meeting Room – Same Time

Robin raced into the room to see Giles on the phone. The watcher held up a finger as he spoke into the phone. "Yes, yes. I will. You call me as well. Goodbye."

"We’ve got a problem," Robin told him.

"Sleeping slayers?" Giles asked.

Robin looked bewildered. "How did you-?"

"Robson just called," he explained as he motioned toward the phone before walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the table. "Seems they weren’t able to wake their second patrol. The doctors examined them and found no signs of coma although that’s what it appears to be."

"Well, Faith wasn’t tired last night and decided to head to the rec room. When I woke up this morning she still wasn’t back so I went looking. I found her and Mia asleep on the sofa down there but neither of them will wake up."

Willow and Rowena walked inside the meeting room short of breath. "We’ve got a problem," the witch announced in a worried voice.

"We’re aware," Giles said as he went to the phone and dialed again.

"Faith and Mia won’t wake up," Robin told them.

"Same with Marsha," Willow said. "We tried just about everything. I was going to get the doctor to check on her…" Willow tapered off and listened in on Giles’s conversation.

"Giles again. Call the Asian council Mr. Robson – they might not have reported in, thinking it’s only them," Giles instructed into the phone. "Tell them what’s going on and keep all the slayers that aren’t asleep awake until we get this figured out. No, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see if Althenea and the coven can look into magical goings-on. Our coven will start researching too…As will we. Thank you Mr. Robson. You too."

"The graveyard shift is going to be coming in any minute," Robin told the room.

"We need to stop them from going to bed," Rowena added.

"The ones that are already asleep let’s move them to the infirmary," Giles instructed. "I want them examined and put on monitors to see if there’s any change in their vitals. We’ll also have to notify the families of the slayers that have gone home for holiday. Understood?" Giles asked.

"I’m on it," Robin said as he quickly left the room.

"Us?" Rowena asked, pointing to her and Willow.

"Willow, assemble the coven," Giles began. "Start looking for any kind of spells that might cause something like this. Also, call Buffy. She’s still in Europe so it’s possible she’s still awake. If you can’t reach her leave a message and have Nancy at the reception desk keep trying the number until she answers." The witch nodded and Giles continued, "Rowena, start with some of the old watcher’s diaries. See if perhaps this has happened before and if there’s a remedy."

"What about you?" Willow asked.

"I’m going to pay Bonnie a visit. This might not be the work of a random caster."

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

Faith broke the neck of the demon facing her with a swift uppercut to its jaw. A leonine creature vaulted over the falling corpse, away from Mia and toward Marsha. Faith lunged at it, catching its tail mid-leap, bringing them both crashing to the sand.

"Thanks!" Marsha yelled above the din of the battle, kicking at the creature’s head, stunning it long enough for Faith to right herself and hammer its spine with both fists, killing it. She took a second to look around, noting slayers methodically surrounding and killing the demons among them.

Another metal groan attracted their attention, drawing their gazes to where another gateway was opening in the wall, releasing more demons.

"Enough already," Faith muttered. She spared a moment to trip a demon, which dodged near her in the midst of its fight with Lori, then tore off a strip of her shirt and wrapped it around her hand. With it protecting her somewhat from the sharp edge she hauled at one of the cat-demon’s sharp dorsal spines until it tore free.

"Here," she said, tossing it to Marsha, "see if you can cut some more out."

The young slayer caught the spine with a frown of distaste at the blood dripping from its blunt end, but quickly started using it to dig the others from the demon’s back.

"Vi, watch your back!" Faith warned, launching herself into the melee as the new batch of demons attacked. Marsha tossed a spine toward her, which she in turn caught and threw to Vi, just in time for her to stab at a charging beast. The crowd let out a great roar as the battle began to rage once more.

Cut to:Int.Slayer entrance – Later that Morning

Kennedy and one of the girls from the other teams walked in laughing when they saw Andrew dart toward them. He pushed the button on the walkie talkie and said, "Red Five here. I’ve got them Gold Leader." Andrew moved swiftly to greet them and announced, "You can’t go to bed."

"Excuse me?" Kennedy asked.

"Something’s happened to the sleeping slayers – we can’t wake them up."

"What?" Kennedy asked.

"You can’t go to sleep until we figure out why the slayers aren’t waking up."

A look of realization washed over Kennedy’s face and she ran toward the rec room.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

Mia launched herself at the demon in front of her, a huge red beast with colossal, muscled shoulders and arms. It reeled back as both her feet hit it in the head, losing its balance as other fighters collided with it.

"Eleven," she growled to herself, before a dark shape thundered out of the press of bodies, knocking her

over. She saw, briefly, a tall form, its skin covered in tiny steel plates wired to its flesh, rearing up above her, its jagged fists held high to strike.

It struck at her, but at the same moment Faith crashed into it. Mia screamed as the metal-plated fists struck her shoulder, but then a bestial dog-like creature lurched toward her and she had to roll out of the way of its claws, switching the broken spine she held to her good hand to fight back.

Faith rolled with the steel demon, her arms and exposed stomach taking cuts from the sharp edges of its metal plates. The creature flung its arms wide, trying to hurl her off, but she held on with one hand and struck at it with the other, aiming the shard of horn in her hand at where its eyes glinted from between the armor on its face. The demon bellowed in pain as blue ichor splashed Faith’s hand. Taking advantage of its distraction she swung herself astride it and plunged her weapon between the plates on its chest, digging deep into its body.

"There!" she yelled into its face, "Welcome to Slayerville bastard!"

"Must kill," the dying creature coughed, "to live…"

Faith stared in confusion at it as its glimmering eyes went black and its head dropped to the sand. Then a creature with a skinless face grabbed her from behind, its claws cutting into her sides, and hurled her away. Without thinking she rolled to her feet and struck at her assailant, burying the shard in her hand beneath its jaw, felling it.

Around her the other slayers were struggling with their opponents, killing one after another. Slowly the melee drew to a close, and the hostile crowd fell silent as only slayers remained standing – grimacing in pain, leaning on each other for support, but standing.

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Panopticon

The Lover watched with vague attention as the Arena guards emerged from their hidden doorways and surrounded the

slayers, herding them back. A scuffle broke out, ending with a guard stabbing a slayer in the arm with its spear to drive her away from the body of a fallen girl. Reluctantly, the slayers fell back.

Other demons emerged to pick up the fallen slayer, and lift her broken body above their heads. The silent crowd erupted in a roar louder than any other. The Lover watched with interest as the remaining slayers bristled fiercely at the crowd’s enjoyment of their comrade’s death, forcing their guards to close shoulder-to-shoulder, only their spears keeping the humans back.

As they were herded out of the Arena, the dead bodies of the demons sunk into the sand and vanished.

The Lover gazed into the distance in thoughtful contemplation, then dispelled the Panopticon’s magical images with a wave of her hand and stalked out of the chamber.

Cut to:Int.Slayer Rec Room – Moments Later

Kennedy came to a halt in the rec room doorway to see Mia being placed on a stretcher.

"Oh god," she muttered and then darted over.

Robin caught her movement from the corner of his eye and came over taking Kennedy by both arms.

"Is she…?" Kennedy asked.

"She’s alive," Robin told her. "They all are. We’re just moving them to the infirmary to keep tabs on them until we can figure out why they haven’t woken up."

"What caused this?" she asked.

Robin took a ragged breath. "We’re working on it."

Cut to:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Later

Faith moved quickly to the side of the bars as several slayers trooped back into their cell, bloodied and bruised, under the watchful eyes of their demon guards. Vi was being carried between them, groaning and stirring slightly as the slayers laid her down and tried to make her comfortable.

"Bandages, now," Faith said to Marsha, who passed the word along to the other cells. Soon scraps of clothing started being passed back from cell to cell, to where they were needed.

"What happened to her?" Faith asked one of Vi’s cellmates who knelt by the bars next to Vi.

"Name’s Cynthia," the slayer replied in an Irish accent as she stuck her hand out to shake Faith’s, "London branch. Same drill as before when your team went out, fifteen of us, a hundred of them – about twenty at a time. Enough to wear us down, not enough to overwhelm us. It wouldn’t be much fun for the audience that way I assume," she added bitterly.

"Vi?" Faith prompted.

"Knock to the head," Cynthia said promptly, "she took on four at once when we had a girl down. I should have gotten to her quicker, I’m sorry-"

"Not your fault," Faith said firmly. "How is she?"

"Eloise has medical training. She says, barring bad luck, she’ll be fine in half an hour. We…we lost one. The bastards got her on her own and- there was nothing we could do. Her name was Hannah she said."

Faith lowered her head. "And the demons?" she asked quietly after a pause.

"Dead," Cynthia said levelly, "every one of them."

"Okay," Faith nodded. "They took some girls from other cells just before you got back, you should have time to rest. They left some water and something to eat in some of the cells, but I’m not sure if we should trust it."

"Okay. We’ll look after Vi for you," Cynthia promised. Faith reached between the bars to clasp her hand briefly, then stood and moved to where Mia was waiting.

"Gwen, the girl from Alaska, she died," the slayer said morosely, "in one of the cells over there…the news just got passed down. They couldn’t stop the bleeding. That’s five, all strangers – not trained like us."

"Six," Faith noted, "a girl named Hannah." She let out a long sigh. "Did those bastards take her body?"

"They didn’t say."

"Send word back," Faith said, squaring her shoulders, "her clothes – we need the bandages." Mia stared at her, then dropped her gaze.

"Right," she said sadly. Faith watched as she spoke grimly to a slayer in the adjacent cell, and returned.

"Anyone have any ideas out of this mess?" Mia asked, nodding toward Vi’s cell.

"Nothing," Faith replied. "We’ve got to keep trying though."

"What for?!" Mia rounded on her, then caught herself and lowered her voice. "There’s no way out of these cages, we can’t climb the walls of the death pit, even if we did convince them to stop killing us there’s no way out. And their demons they’re making us fight-"

"Number one, we have to keep trying!" Faith insisted in a whisper. "And number two, I don’t think these demons are soldiers. One of them said he had to fight or die. I think they’re slaves, just like us."

"What does it matter?" Mia asked. "They’re killing us," Mia pointed out, "they tore that girl open and left her to die!"

"I know!" Faith whispered back harshly. "But what if it was like Clem, or Brell? What if it only fought so it could see its wife and spawn again?"

"Now is not the time to play what if," Mia hissed, "They’re killers, and right now, it’s kill or be killed." Mia grabbed Faith by the arm forcefully. "Don’t go getting soft on the demons here Faith. If these girls are gonna make it out we need a strong leader. Tell me you understand that."

"I do," Faith said. "But that doesn’t make it right."

As she spoke a distant roar echoed through the cell block, the sound of the Arena crowd enjoying a kill.

"What choice do we have?" Mia asked. "Look, I don’t like it, but you know inside this is what we have to do. Our only chance is to stay alive and hope our watchers find us. If staying alive means killing demons, I don’t have a problem with that."

Faith let out a sigh and dropped her gaze to the stone floor with its sparse covering of straw. A groan from the next cell caught her attention, and she gave Mia a sad look and moved over.

Vi was staggering to her feet, supported by Cynthia, who helped her over to the bars.

"Morning sleepyhead," Faith said with a weak grin.

"I made a pass at a demon and it didn’t work," the wounded slayer replied, "figured I needed some beauty sleep." Cynthia held a torn piece of cloth to the cut on her head.

"You shouldn’t be on your feet," Faith said, her grin vanishing.

"I’m not helping anyone lying down," Vi said quietly. "We’ve got girls who haven’t heard of the Council, and young ones – they need to see us up and about or they’re going to lose it."

Mia turned to Faith with a smug expression. "She gets it," she whispered to Faith before she walked away.

"Okay," Faith agreed, as Marsha appeared at her side with more bandages. All four turned as footsteps signaled the approach of more guards.

"You and you," the lead guard said, pointing a claw at Vi and Cynthia, "the Arena waits."

Vi and Faith shared a concerned glance.

"Glad I got that nap," Vi muttered, bracing herself and standing upright, away from Cynthia’s support. Faith reached her hand out and Vi took it in solidarity.

Only a few bars vanished from the front of their cell, just enough to admit one person at a time, and the guards’ spears kept the other slayers back.

Vi looked nervous for a moment but squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Wish us luck," she said before the guards pushed her outside.

Faith and Mia silently watched them leave until Faith searched the floor before picking up a decent sized rock. As the end guard started on his way out Faith threw it, smacking him in the arm to make him face her.

"Two against a hundred demons?" Faith growled at the guard. "Is that a fair match where you come from?"

"One slayer against one slayer," the demon replied. "It could not be fairer."

Fear spread across Faith’s face as the guard walked away.

Fade Out.

 

End of Act Two

Act ThreeFade In.Int.Arena – Same Time

At spear-point Vi and Cynthia emerged from the tunnel into the empty Arena. Upon seeing them the crowd erupted into derisive cheering, yelling their contempt to the two slayers. Their guards made them cross the sand to stand before Imbethit’s ornate platform, then vanished through their doorways.

"You will fight," the demon rasped.

"You want a fight?" Vi shouted up at him. "Get your tin-plated butt down here and I’ll give you a fight!"

"You will fight," Imbethit repeated. "The rules are the same. If you kill, you will continue to live."

Vi and Cynthia looked at each other a brief moment. "We’re not killing each other for you!" Cynthia shouted.

"You refuse?" Imbethit hissed.

"You’re damn right we refuse!" Vi shouted back, stepping in front of the English slayer.

"Disobedience has consequences," the demon said levelly.

Coils of black iron erupted from the sand around Cynthia’s feet. There was a brief impression of chains, tipped with wicked barbed hooks, then they were striking the girl like cobras, again and again. Vi stared in abject horror, frozen – then a spray of blood hit her and she collapsed in a stunned expression. As the screaming slayer began to be dragged beneath the surface of the Arena floor, Vi shook off her shock and lunged for the sinking young woman.

With chains surging beneath the sand, like snakes, burrowing, still striking, the girl slipped further down as Vi tried to get a solid hold on her. Without a firm grasp Cynthia’s hands slipped from Vi’s and the slayer slid below the surface. Then the sand settled, becoming once more smooth and level, it was as if the sudden horror had never happened. But as a red stain appeared, spreading as it welled up from beneath, Vi realized the truth and soon tears streamed down her face.

The demon guards appeared and surrounded Vi, prodding her with their spear-tips until she staggered to her feet.

"From now on," Imbethit said to her, "when two slayers enter this arena, one will die. Tell your fellow humans this."

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Chorum

"You see," the Lover noted to the Flayer, as they walked slowly around Imbethit’s immobile figure, "this way is far more enlightening."

Cut toInt.Infirmary – Same Time

Xander stood beside Dr. Miller as he showed him how to put the last suction cup on the slayer before them. "Got it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Xander said a bit nervous. "Yeah I think so. You’re gonna double check though, right?"

"Absolutely. The nurses will be coming around too but we need to get as many of these girls hooked up as soon as possible."

"Right, okay," Xander said before the doctor walked away. Xander moved to the next girl. He looked down toward the bed and then to the monitor beside her before looking back down at the bed again to reveal Vi.

"You gotta hang in there. I can’t lose my best helper after all." Xander bent down and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. With a heavy sigh, he started to hook up the equipment.

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Coven Room – Later

Willow, Jeff, Dawn, Skye and Andrew all sat in a circle with a host of books.

"Miss Rosenberg?" Everyone sitting in the coven room jumped at the intruding voice on the intercom.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Mr. Robson on line three for you or Mr. Giles."

"I’ll take it," she answered as she walked over and picked up the phone. "Hey Robson. Willow here…What? Oh no, ohhh no…Okay, okay…No nothing yet I’m afraid. We will. I promise…Thanks and, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. You too."

"What was that about?" Dawn asked.

Willow seemed reluctant. "One of the girls in London…She lost all brainwaves."

"She’s dead?" Jeff asked.

"Not technically," Willow answered. "She still has a heartbeat and she’s breathing thanks to a ventilator."

"You mean she’s like…a vegetable?" Skye asked.

Willow nodded sadly.

"And no news from Buffy yet?" Dawn asked.

"I’m sure she’ll be okay Dawnie," Willow said as she tried to reassure her. "Let’s focus on finding a cure for this, okay? There’re a lot of girls out there to save."

They all bobbed their heads in agreement.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

The gateway to the underground tunnel opened, admitting two slayers to the Arena – Faith and Mia. Their guards walked them in front of Imbethit’s platform then stood back. Opposite them another gateway opened, and two more young women were prodded into the open at spear-point.

"I know you…don’t I?" Faith asked as the pair were forced into place.

"Jena," Mia said, wide-eyed, "Gil…"

"They got you too, huh?" one of the girls said dryly.

"They’re Julia’s girls," Mia said to Faith, "at least, last I saw them-"

"Only two of you will leave," Imbethit’s rasping voice boomed out, drawing the slayers’ attention. He raised a glittering dagger above his head, drawing a cheer from the crowd, then tossed it. The weapon landed blade-first in the sand, between the slayers.

"Fight," the demon ordered.

"What the hell is this?" one of the slayers, Gil, asked warily.

"No!" screamed Faith as the sand around the girl erupted. All three lunged for her, trying to reach her, but they were driven back, bleeding from cuts inflicted in passing by the lashing chains. They fell, staring dumbly at the terrified girl as the living metal tore at her, until she sunk out of sight, sand choking off her screams.

"Move," a demon guard ordered, jabbing its spear into Faith’s thigh, leaving a shallow cut. It had to cut her again before she noticed – she whirled to her feet, and only the sight of the dozen guards kept her in check.

"Move!" the guard said again, using its spear to force her away from the remaining pair of slayers. She cast a helpless glance back at them, as their stares moved from the blood-stained sand, to each other, to the knife buried in the sand between them.

"I’m not going to die like that!" Jena wailed, her hands clutching into fists.

"Jena-" Mia began, taking a step toward her. Faith saw the other slayer recoil from Mia, then launch herself forward, lunging for the dagger. Then the guards dragged her into the tunnel, and the gateway closed behind them.

Cut to:Int.Council – Hallway – Same Time

Bonnie opened the door to her quarters to see Giles standing there.

"What do you know about the Presidium and its use of magic?" he asked.

"Fine. Thanks for asking. And how are you Mr. Giles?" she said sarcastically.

"I haven’t time for pleasantries," he told her as he walked inside and shut the door behind him. "Do you know if the Presidium has the powers to induce sleep?"

"Some of them probably could, sure. Why? What’s going on?"

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Coven Room – Later

The phone rang in Willow’s coven room and she and Dawn exchanged a look. As Willow walked over to pick up the phone Dawn closed her eyes and crossed her fingers.

"Hello?" Willow greeted. "Oh thank the goddess," she said in relief. She moved the phone away for a brief moment to address Dawn. "It’s Buffy."

Dawn closed her eyes and appeared to hold her hands up in prayer as Skye and Jeff both rubbed Dawn’s shoulder in support. "Thank you god," she said softly before she began to smile in relief.

Cut to:Int.Bonnie’s Quarters – Same Time

"I don’t know everything but I heard chatter," Bonnie began as she sat on her bed. "A couple of the squirrelly little minions were talking one night about some mystical place called the arena. From what I understand it was a… a Roman coliseum… A place the Presidium could create by their will to hold contests."

"Contests?"

"Well, contest is really not the proper word. It’s kind of like the Romans tossing in Christians to fight with lions – I mean really, it’s not much of a contest. The smart money’s not on the Christians."

"Go on," Giles prompted.

"That’s all I really know. They took enemies there and killed them. Magic wise the Presidium is a powerhouse – well, Miss Rosenberg knows that first-hand. Plus they’ve got a lot of demons working for them, mages as well as warriors. But maybe they can’t physically bring your slayers to the Arena. Maybe they have to do it mystically by sleep? Or maybe the Arena isn’t a place, just a… a spell, it’s only real in the minds of the people it’s cast on. I honestly don’t know, and I doubt the demons I heard talking did either. But if you want my hunch, I’d say they’ve got your girls in this Arena, and are letting the lions loose on them. So if you want to save them, you better find a way to undo the magic they’ve done."

"But how would we even get inside to do that?" Giles asked incredulous.

"Beats the heck out of me but I’d find the answer before you’re left with a handful of slayers to stop a worldwide invasion."

Cut to:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Later

The slayers looked up as their cell opened, and Mia staggered in, collapsing to the ground the moment she was free of the guards’ spears. Faith raced to her side and rolled her over, waving mutely for Marsha, who brought makeshift bandages.

"What happened?" the young slayer asked, surveying Mia – there was a cut on her forehead, a bruise under her left eye, scratches on her neck, sand matted onto abrasions on her elbows and knees.

"I won," Mia said in a distant voice. "They, um…after…they took the knife back. Sorry."

Faith followed Mia’s involuntary glance to a shallow cut across her wrist, and wordlessly reached for a scrap of cloth to cover it.

"Give us a moment," she said to Marsha, who nodded somberly and moved away.

"You want to talk?" she asked Mia quietly.

"No!" Mia said instantly, her eyes blazing.

"Okay," Faith replied calmly, "that’s okay. Not about that. While you were up there, was there…did anything happen different to before? Anything new we could use?"

"Nothing," Mia said, subsiding again, "we’re not gonna get out of this."

"We will," Faith insisted, "our watchers’ll figure it out, we just have to give them time. We just have to…" her voice trailed off.

"Survive," Mia whispered.

Cut to:Int.Library – Same Time

"Hey," a voice said from the doorway making Rowena look up.

"Hey Kennedy," she answered. "The girls all moved?"

Kennedy simply nodded. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if this has ever happened before. So far, no luck."

"Mind if I help?"

"You don’t have to. If you want to sit with Mia you can."

"Sitting won’t help her now but reading might."

"Absolutely then, the more eyes the better," Rowena told the slayer as she slid a book toward her. "Here, take this one and I’ll see if I can find anything in the other texts. Do you speak or read other languages?"

"I’m guessing Spanish doesn’t count," Kennedy answered.

Rowena gave her a small grin before going to the bookshelf. "I was thinking more like Latin and Greek but still that’s good to know in case I come across a Spanish text – the Council had several watchers from around the world."

Rowena pulled down a book, walked back to the table and sat down when Willow came into the room.

"There you are," Willow began. That’s when Kennedy turned around and the witch appeared surprised to see her. "Sitting here. Reading. With Kennedy."

"I can read Will." Kennedy then turned back to Rowena with a smart grin. "In two languages even."

Rowena smiled and tried not to chuckle. "We figured four eyes are better than two."

"Right," Kennedy agreed. "And holding Mia’s hand isn’t going to help anyone at the moment."

"Oh, well, ah…I need to speak to Ro."

"What’s going on Will?" Kennedy asked before Rowena could.

"It’s…" Willow released a deep sigh. "One of the girls in London died. I’m sorry Ken. We’re doing everything we can right now and-."

"Fine," Kennedy told her. "Just gives us the incentive to read quicker then, right?"

"Are you okay?" Willow asked.

"No, but I’ll have time to be scared later. For now…let’s just get them awake." Kennedy turned back to Rowena. "Mind if I take this with me down to the infirmary?"

"No go ahead," Rowena answered.

Without saying more Kennedy walked from the room. Once she was gone Willow turned to Rowena.

"I didn’t want to say anything in front of her and worry her," she whispered.

"No, you made the right choice," Rowena insisted. "But whatever this thing is, it’s killing slayers now and that means…"

"I know what it means. My slayer’s out there someplace too and I can’t help."

Fade to Black

 

End of Act Three

Act FourFade In:Int.Library – Later

"I think I’ve got something," Robin said rising from the table and bringing the Opus Obscurum with him, making Rowena and Giles walk over. "Bonnie called it the Arena, right?"

"Yes," Giles answered.

"It doesn’t mention the Presidium specifically but it does say that mages have been known to create alternate realities and merge the waking world with the sleeping world. Kinda like Freddy Krueger."

"Who?" Giles asked.

"Movie villain - Nightmare on Elm Street," Rowena explained quickly before turning back to Robin. "Is there a remedy?"

"No but there is a reference to something here," he said as he pointed inside the book.

"Okay, let’s get this down to Willow now," she said motioning the three of them toward the door and starting to make her way out.

Cut to:Int.Willow’s Coven Room – Same Time

Willow read the passage as Giles, Robin and Rowena looked over her shoulder. She looked at another book and compared it to the page Robin was pointing to.

"I don’t know if it will work but it’s the only option we have," Willow answered. "We’ll have to be sedated because I don’t think falling asleep is in our plans anytime soon."

"I don’t have to remind you of the risks here," Giles told her. "If you get there we might not be able to wake you if you’re drugged. And if that happens you might become trapped in that arena."

Willow nodded. "I realize all that. But we’ve gotta get those girls out of there Giles. If the only way is for me to hitch a ride inside with a slayer and blow the sucker up somehow…so be it."

"And how are you going to do that exactly? Blow it up I mean?" Robin asked.

Willow shrugged. "I’ll figure it out once I get there. For now let’s go see if Kennedy agrees."

Cut to:Int.Arena – Moments Later

Imbethit raised his arms, drawing a deafening roar from the crowd as four tiny figures emerged from the tunnel into the Arena. Faith, Mia, Vi and Marsha were shepherded at spear-point before the demon.

"Two must die," Imbethit pronounced, "for the other two to live." Once more he tossed the silver dagger down, placing it neatly in the sand in front of them.

"I will not kill for you!" Faith shouted, earning a derisive boo from the crowd. "Yeah?" she challenged them, staring around the towering stands. "Bring it on! Come on, chains and all! You want a Hellraiser moment to get off on, well, here I am! I’ll put this," she said as she snatched up the knife, "through your damn head!"

"That is not for you to choose," Imbethit rasped.

Faith whirled around in horror as Marsha’s shrill, panicked scream filled the Arena. The young slayer slipped slowly into the ground. Already her feet had vanished, then her calves as she fell over and clutched at the sand, trying to drag herself free. Serpentine shapes moved beneath the sand around her.

"Get her out of there!" Faith yelled, leaping for Marsha, clutching her hands and pulling.

"She lives yet," Imbethit said as the other two slayers joined Faith, trying to keep Marsha from sinking any deeper. "If two of you fight, she will live."

Cut to:Int.Coven Room – Same Time

"Are you ready?" Willow asked.

"Let’s get it done," Kennedy said firmly.

Willow and Kennedy both lay down side by side but on opposite ends with their hands linked together. A host of candles surrounded them as Dr. Miller and his nurse each gave Willow and Kennedy an injection in their arms.

Giles and Robin kept a close watch on the events but Rowena looked away as if unable to watch any further.

After the medical staff stepped outside the circle Jeff began to shake holy water around the circle, while chanting softly. Willow and Kennedy both closed their eyes.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

"What do we do?" Vi screamed frantically, heaving on Marsha’s arm with all her might as Mia held the other, and Faith tried to dig her legs free.

The young girl was still sinking inexorably downward, her knees now vanishing. A chain slithered across the sand between the slayers and burrowed down, toward Marsha’s trapped legs. The slayer let out another piercing scream, this time one of agony.

"Fight me!" Faith demanded as she stood up turning to Vi.

"What?" she asked in horror. Faith then turned instead to Mia.

"Come on, fight!" she insisted.

"No," Mia pleaded in a tiny voice, barely audible above the baying of the crowd.

"Do it! Vi, keep trying to get her free. Mia, fight! He wants a fight, let’s give him one! Drag it out as long as you can! Come on!"

"No," Mia shook her head, tears misting her eyes, then she leapt at Faith, driving her off her feet. Vi looked on, shocked, then turned her attention to Marsha, hauling on her arms while whispering to her, trying to calm the terrified, crying slayer.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Underground Cell – Same Time

At the far end of the cavernous cellblock, a skylight dimly lit, casting its murky glow on a new cell containing Kennedy and Willow. The two got up and looked around.

"Are you from the Council?" one of the girls in the adjacent cell asked, startling both of them.

"Yeah, Willow," she said, "and Kennedy."

"Hey, pass it on to whoever’s in charge up there," the girl said over her shoulder. "Willow and Kennedy."

"No need," Willow said, striding up to the bars, "we’ll introduce ourselves."

"Can you zap ‘em?" Kennedy asked.

"Nightmare on Elm Street number four, Grasshopper," Willow grinned humorlessly, gripping the bars. "This place isn’t a physical realm, so real world rules don’t apply."

"I thought four was the one where they showed Freddy the mirror?" Kennedy asked.

"Wasn’t it the one where they put holy water on the grave?" a girl in the neighboring cell asked.

"Whatever," Willow said, "this is the one where a good witch can tear this place to bits." She stood back from the bars, then swept her arm

around. As if she was wielding a scythe the bars were sliced clean through, twisting back away from her.

"Come on," she added, similarly opening the next cell, "jailbreak."

They sprinted down the main corridor as Kennedy yelled for the trapped slayers to stand back while Willow tore open cell after cell.

Cut to:Int.Presidium Citadel – Panopticon – Same Time

"Well?" the Flayer demanded of the Lover as they watched the events unfolding.

"Well what?" she replied calmly.

"Are you going to allow this?" he clarified, frowning.

"Your servant has been given the Arena," the Lover said, her eyes fixed on the images of Willow and the growing force of slayers with her. "The choice of how to wield it, and against whom, was his. If he cannot control it now, he shall not have help from us. He is not powerless."

"Yes, Highness," the Flayer snarled as she turned her back.

As she walked away a small smile graced her leather looking lips.

Cut to:Int.Arena – Same Time

The gateway to the subterranean tunnel erupted outwards, admitting an army of slayers. Imbethit started, staring across the vast Arena floor, then raised both hands. Beneath him dozens of hidden doorways opened in the encircling iron wall, releasing guard after guard.

Willow spotted the demon atop his ornate platform. She ran forward, seemingly immune to the attempts

of the guards to stop her – their spears rebounded, and those that blocked her way were tossed to the ground. Then the slayers were upon them, wresting their weapons from their hands, crushing them.

"You got a plan yet?" Kennedy asked, running alongside Willow.

"Just don’t die," she panted, "That’s Imbethit up there. He must be the focus of the Arena spell. If I take him out we all go home! Injuries shouldn’t matter once we’re out, just don’t die!"

Willow turned her head sharply to the sound of Marsha screaming from inside the pit.

"You stop tall, dark and ugly. I’ll help Marsha." Kennedy nodded and raced toward Vi and Marsha. The young girl was buried to her waist, sobbing in fear and pain, as Vi dug at the sand around her, trying to free her.

Willow paused for a moment looking unsure of which direction she should go but decided to head in the opposite direction of Kennedy toward Imbethit.

Back in the death pit Kennedy raced along dodging the various melees around her.

"Help me!" Vi pleaded as Kennedy fell to her knees beside her, grabbing Marsha’s arms and trying to pull her free.

"Faith!" Kennedy yelled, spotting the head slayer struggling with Mia nearby.

"Nice of you to stop by!" Faith grunted. "Did you bring help?"

"Willow’s up there," Kennedy pointed to the stands.

Faith pushed Mia away and raised her hand to her split lip, wincing as she touched it. Mia caught her by surprise, attacking again with an inarticulate shout, knocking her to the ground and ending up astride her hips.

"Mia!" Faith yelled, before the girl smashed her fist into her face. Kennedy stared at her in shock, then as other slayers arrived to help Marsha she leapt into action. Mia hit Faith twice more, cutting her cheek

and splitting her lip again, then Kennedy drove her to the ground, leaving Faith to roll away, coughing and spitting blood.

"Mia!" Kennedy shouted as the girl in her arms struggled. "Mia, it’s me! It’s over!"

Mia shoved her off with brutal strength and leapt atop her, raising her fist to strike. Kennedy stared up at her, too dazed and confused even to lift her hands to defend herself. Their eyes met, and Mia hesitated.

"Please?" Kennedy said softly. Mia’s arms dropped to her sides, then she simply fell sideways, lying on the sandy ground. Kennedy crawled to her side and hugged her as she started crying.

Pan to:

Guard demons were still streaming out of the gateways beneath Imbethit’s platform, starting to outnumber the slayers. Willow burst through the press of bodies and raised her arms, clenching her fingers into fists. The iron of the Arena wall twisted, caught in an invisible grip, and at Willow’s command the great walls tore, huge slabs of twisted iron crashing down into the open gateways, entombing the guards there.

Above her Imbethit’s grip on the railing in front of him crushed the metal. The demon raised a gauntlet and swung it at Willow, sending several of the huge statues about him toppling toward her. With a wave of her arm she deflected them, sending them flying into the stands where they exploded into fragments among the roaring crowd.

Concentrating hard, Willow raised her hands toward Imbethit. The air rippled between them, and the steel wall leading up to the demon’s platform buckled, twisting to either side, crumpling downwards, leaving the pair facing each other at either end of a chasm of tortured metal.

Imbethit raised his armored fists in defiance, and the Arena’s crowd suddenly wailed in agony as they disintegrated, the remains of their bodies forming a dark mist that swirled back to Imbethit, wrapping around him like a cloak. He aimed his power at Willow, who staggered beneath the assault, the air around her fracturing with an ear-splitting shriek.

Pan to:

Faith, bruised and battered, joined Vi in trying to get Marsha free of her sandy prison, when the whole Arena seemed to lurch. With an anguished cry Marsha sank deeper into the sand, which itself was draining away, revealing patches of oily, writhing chains beneath it. Slayers and guards alike lost their footing as the true face of the Arena was revealed, jagged metal, barbed chains, slick with blood, tatters of flesh still hanging from them. In seconds the battle was reduced to humans and demons alike struggling to stay upright, to keep themselves from falling into the writhing mass of iron.

"F-faith," Marsha sobbed, "don’t…please…"

"I won’t let go kid," Faith assured her. Vi yelled as her leg slipped through a gap, a thrashing chain cutting her thigh before she could pull it free.

"Let go," Marsha pleaded, "just…it hurts, please let go-"

"No!" Faith yelled as Marsha let go of her wrist. "Willow’s here. We’re almost home so hang on!" She and Vi both redoubled their grip on the young slayer’s arms, struggling to pull her out of the mass of metal trapping her. "Willow!" the elder slayer yelled. "Hurry up!"

Pan to:

Willow held a hand out, shielding herself as she glanced quickly back at the struggle to save Marsha, before returning her attention to her opponent.

"Die you son of a bitch!" she snarled, leaning forward as if into a gale, gritting her teeth against the storm of power being directed against her by Imbethit. Around the two of them the Arena was disintegrating, its walls crumbling, great chunks of stone and iron crashing down, forcing the slayers to retreat into the center of the lurching Arena floor as the periphery collapsed. Imbethit fell back a step, driven back by Willow.

Pan to:

With a deafening groan of tearing metal the Arena floor erupted at the center, sending slayers sprawling in all directions. Faith lost her grip on Marsha and fell away, down the sudden slope as the floor moved. She rolled to a halt with a pained cry, lifting her hand to find her palm sliced open. Looking down she saw Imbethit’s dagger, her blood on its blade.

Above, the twisted mass of chain fell in on itself, swallowing Marsha, and threatening to take Vi with her, her arm vanishing into the mass. She screamed in agony and as she fell backwards clutched at her bleeding, mangled hand in shock.

Faith grabbed at the dagger and stood, scrambling up the side of the mountain of broken iron growing from the center of the Arena. She spotted Imbethit, locked in his duel with Willow, and hurled the blade at the demon.

Pan to:

Imbethit’s faceless head turned for a fraction of a second, seeing the weapon flying toward him, and in that moment Willow’s assault broke his defenses, crushing him, his armor twisting and crushing, smoke billowing from beneath it. The knife buried itself to the hilt in his shadowed face. Great rifts opened up in the Arena revealing a black nothingness beyond, and then-

Cut to:Int.Coven Room – Same Time

Willow and Kennedy both darted up from their positions on the coven room floor and looked at each other. The rest of the room closed in around them.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked. "The girls…?"

Willow looked up at Rowena for a moment. "Marsha," Willow mumbled, as she moved to her feet and quickly dashed from the room.

Cut to:Int.Infirmary – Moments Later

Willow stopped at the door and saw the slayers starting to rise…with the exception of Marsha. Dr. Miller and his nurses stood over the young slayer working frantically. As Willow walked inside Vi was examining her hand that appeared normal now and Faith pulled off her monitors before both of them made their way over toward Marsha’s bed.

"Is she okay?" Vi asked timidly as she approached.

"Give us some room," Dr. Miller told the slayer in a short tone as he went back to ordering his nursing staff.

"She’s gonna be okay, isn’t she?" Vi asked again.

"Please," the doctor insisted and pointed her away.

Vi took a few steps back toward Mia and Faith as Kennedy and the rest of the group from the coven room finally arrived and walked inside the infirmary. Kennedy rushed over and pulled Mia into her arms kissing her soundly. The gesture didn’t seem to go unnoticed by Rowena but she made no motion toward Willow to do the same.

Slowly Willow continued moving forward. She looked at Marsha’s monitors to see one in particular that was flatlined. The doctor turned around and then motioned to the door.

"Anyone who isn’t sick I want out of here now!" he snapped. He turned back and the assisting nurse handed him a syringe of some kind.

Xander came over and put his arm around Willow. "Come on. We’ve gotta let him work Will. We can’t be a distraction."

The logic in Willow seemed to take hold and she nodded as the two of them filed out with everyone else, his arm still firmly planted on her shoulder.

Cut to:Int.Infirmary Waiting Room – Same Time

Rowena moved closer to Willow but Giles’s voice stopped her. "Rowena? Please call Robson and see if his slayers have woken. Have him check with the Asian council and advise us."

Rowena looked uncertain and looked back to Willow.

"Go on," the witch told her. "I’ll be okay. Everything will be fine."

Rowena closed the distance and kissed her on the cheek before bringing her into a hug. "I’ll be in the library," she whispered.

Fade Out

Fade InInt.Presidium Citadel – Chorum – Same Time

The many tiers around the central floor emptied as the mages stepped back into shadow. The Flayer alone remained, staring at the buckled, broken form at the center of the chamber.

"Rise," he said harshly. Slowly Imbethit got to his feet, the bent edges of his armor scraping against one another.

"Master…" he said in a rattling hiss.

"Your chance for vengeance is expended," the Flayer said. "Return to your service."

The demon painfully bowed and left the Flayer in the silent, darkened chamber.

Fade Out

Fade InInt.Library – Later that Day

Rowena stood with the phone to her ear. "That’s wonderful news Robson. Yes. I’ll be sure to inform Mr. Giles. I’ll have Willow’s coven look immediately for a protection spell we can cast to guard the slayers. If Al finds it first let me know, ‘kay? You too Robson. Bye."

Rowena hung up with a smile and was startled to find Willow standing silently in the doorway watching her.

"Willow…?" Rowena asked.

The witch paused for nearly three seconds saying nothing. 

"Marsha’s dead," she finally answered in a monotone.

"Oh god," Rowena mumbled as she quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Willow into an embrace.

Silent tears rolled down Rowena’s cheeks as she rested her chin on Willow’s shoulder. The witch however showed no expression as she returned the hug.

 

End of Dream Warriors