Act Three

The Bronze. Buffy struggles with the arm. Angel tries to pull it off of her. Between them they get it off, and Angel stuffs it back into the box while Buffy steps back and tries to catch her breath. Giles slams the lid shut. Buffy coughs as Angel helps her aside.

Xander: Well, clearly the Hellmouth's answer to 'what do you get the Slayer who has everything?'

Giles: Good heavens. Buffy, are you all right?

Buffy: Man, that thing had major grip.

Willow: W-what was that?

Oz: It looked like an arm.

Angel: It can't be. She wouldn't.

Xander: What, uh, vamp's version of 'snakes in a can', or do you care to share?

Buffy: Angel?

Angel: It-it's a legend... (Giles looks at the box) way before my time... of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity... separate the righteous from the wicked... and to burn the righteous down. They call him the Judge.

Giles: The Judge? This is he?

Angel: Not all of him.

Buffy: (raising her hand) Um, still needing backstory here.

Giles: Um... He, he, he couldn't be killed, yes? Um, a-an army was sent against him. Most of them died... but, uh, finally they were able to dismember him, but, uh... not kill him.

Angel: The pieces were scattered... buried in every corner of the Earth.

Jenny: So all these parts are being brought here.

Buffy: By Drusilla. The vamps outside were Spike's men.

Angel: She's just crazy enough to do it.

Willow: Do what, reassemble the Judge?

Angel: And bring forth Armageddon.

Cordelia: Is anybody else gonna have cake? (goes to the pool table)

Giles: We need to get this out of town.

Jenny: Angel.

Buffy: What?

Jenny: (to Angel) You have to do it. You're the only one that can protect this thing.

Buffy: What about me?

Jenny: What, you're just gonna skip town for a few months?

Buffy: 'Months'?

Angel: She's right. I gotta get this to the remotest region possible. (goes to Buffy)

Buffy: But that's not months.

Angel: (gestures grandly) I gotta catch a cargo ship to Asia, maybe trek to Nepal...

Buffy: You know, those newfangled flying machines really are much safer than they used to be.

Angel: I can't fly. There's no sure way to guard against the daylight. I-I-I don't like this any more than you do, Buffy. But there's no other choice.

Buffy: When?

Angel: Tonight. As soon as possible.

Buffy: But it's my birthday.

Jenny: (comes over) I'll drive you to the docks.

Cut to Spike's warehouse. Drusilla is confronting Dalton. He has his eyes lowered.

Drusilla: You lost it? You... lost my present.

Dalton: I know. I'm sorry.

Spike: It was a bad turn, man. She can't have her fun without the box.

Dalton: The Slayer. She came out of nowhere. I didn't even see her. She...

Drusilla cuts him off by putting her finger to his lips. She stares into his eyes. She lifts off his glasses and drops them to the floor. She stomps on them and grinds them into the concrete. She lifts her head with her eyes closed.

Drusilla: Make a wish.

Dalton: What?

She holds two fingers up to his eyes.

Drusilla: I'm going to blow out the candles.

Spike: You might give him a chance to find your lost treasure. He is a wanker, but he's the only one we've got with half a brain. If he fails, you can eat his eyes out of the sockets for all I care.

Dalton: I'll get it. Please. I swear.

Drusilla thrusts both hands at him and pulls them back at the last instant and up into raised fists, and smiles at him evilly. She bends down and picks up his glasses.

Drusilla: Okay.

She unfolds them and sets them back on his nose.

Drusilla: Hurry back then. (pats his head)

She steps over to Spike and sits in his lap. Dalton breathes a sigh of relief and leaves to begin his task. Cut to the docks. Buffy and Angel make their way to a ship. Angel has the box on his shoulder. They walk arm in arm. Buffy leans into him, and he kisses her on the head. When they reach the gangplank Angel sets the box down. They take a few steps away from the box.

Angel: I should go the rest of the way alone.

Buffy: Okay.

Angel: But I'll be back. I will.

Buffy: When? Six months, a year? You don't know how long it's gonna take or if we'll even... (looks down)

Angel: Hey... (raises her chin) If we'll even what?

Buffy: (tears in her eyes) Well, if you haven't noticed, someone pretty much always wants us dead.

Angel: Don't say that. We'll be fine.

Buffy: We don't know that.

Angel: We can't know, Buffy. Nobody can. That's just the deal. (reaches into his pocket) I have something for you. For your birthday. I... I was gonna give it to you earlier, but... (shows her a ring with an intricate design)

Buffy: It's beautiful.

Angel: My people -- before I was changed -- they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty... and the heart... Well, you know... Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody. Like this.

He shows her his own ring on his finger. She touches his hand, leans over and kisses the ring.

Angel: Put it on.

He takes the ring from her and slips it onto her finger.

Buffy: (sobs) I don't wanna do this.

Angel: Me either.

Buffy: So don't go.

They kiss. She puts her arms around him. After several kisses they stop and look at each other.

Angel: Buffy... I...

Two vampires suddenly jump at them from some cargo netting. One pulls Buffy off of Angel and throws her back. The other begins to fight with Angel. Buffy rolls to her feet. The vampire swings at her, but misses. She grabs him and starts pummeling his gut. Angel flips the other one over onto his back. He gets up, and Angel swings at him three times, but he blocks all of them. Angel's next punch lands on the vampire's face. Buffy ducks a swing, lifts herself up on the dock railing and kicks her assailant in the chest with both feet, sending him staggering back into the gangplank. She gives chase and grabs him by the back of the shirt and hair. He growls. Dalton drops out of the cargo netting now, too, runs over to the box, grabs it and starts to run.

Buffy: Angel! The box!

Angel ducks a roundhouse kick, grabs the vampire's arm and flips him over onto his back. He runs after Dalton and tackles him to the deck. Buffy's attacker shakes free of her and shoves her into a stack of crates. He follows up with a roundhouse kick, but she ducks it and he just hits the crates. She makes a grab for him, but he punches her in the face. Angel gets ready to punch Dalton but gets distracted when the vampire he was fighting before grabs the box and makes a run for it. Buffy's opponent grabs her by the jacket and roars as he swings her around, over the railing and into the water. Angel sees her go flying.

Angel: Buffy!

He jumps over the railing and into the water after her. Cut to the library. Giles is researching the Judge. He looks up from his books.

Giles: They should be back by now.

Willow: Maybe Buffy needed a few minutes to pull herself together. Poor Buffy, on her birthday and everything.

Xander: Hmm, it's sad, granted. But let's look at the upside for a moment. (gets up) I mean, what kind of a future would she've really had with him? (Willow looks sadly up at him) She's got 2 jobs -- Denny's waitress by day, (Giles looks up, too) Slayer by night -- and Angel's always in front of the TV with a big blood belly, and he's dreamin' of the glory days when Buffy still thought this whole creature of the night routine was a big turn-on.

Willow: You've thought way too much about this.

Xander: No, no. That's just the beginning. Have I told you the part where I fly into town in my private jet and take Buffy out for prime rib?

Willow: (sees Buffy come in) Xander...

Xander: And she cries?

Giles: (stands up) What happened? (Xander sits)

Buffy: Dru's guys ambushed us. They got the box.

Giles: Where's Jenny?

Buffy: Uh, she took Angel to get clothing. I, I had some here.

Xander: And we needed clothes because...

Buffy: We got wet. Giles, what do we know?

Giles: The more I study the Judge, the less I like him. His touch can literally burn the humanity out of you. A true creature of evil can survive the process. No human ever has.

Xander: What's the problem? We send Cordy to fight this guy, and we go for pizza. (smiles)

Buffy: Can this guy be stopped? Without an army?

Giles: Um, (reads) 'no weapon forged can kill him.' Not very encouraging. If we could only stop them from assembling him.

Buffy: We need to find his weak spots, and we need to figure out where they'd be keeping him.

Giles: This could take time.

Willow: Better do a round robin. Xander, you go first.

Buffy: Good call.

Xander heads for the phone.

Giles: Round robin?

Willow: It's when everybody calls everybody else's mom and tells them they're staying at everyone's house.

Buffy: Thus freeing us up for world saveage.

Willow: (smiles) And all-night keggers! (gets looks from Buffy and Giles) What, only Xander gets to make dumb jokes?

Xander: (on the phone) Mom, hi. Xander. Yeah, uh, Willow and I are gonna be studying all night long, so I'm not gonna be coming home.

Cut to later. The research is going hot and heavy. Xander walks over to Willow at the counter with another open book.

Xander: Tsk. I think I read this already.

Willow: I can't get over how cool Oz was about all this.

Xander: Gee, I'm over it.

Willow: (smugly) You're just jealous 'cause you didn't have a date for the party.

Xander: No, I sure didn't.

Giles: (comes out into the main room) Angel? Any luck?

Angel comes down out of the stacks. Giles sees Buffy asleep in his office and holds up his hand to silence Angel. He follows Giles' gaze into the office.

Giles: Sh-sh-sh.

They see Buffy with her head down on the desk. He waves Angel to follow him.

Giles: (whispers) Seems Buffy needed some rest.

Angel: Yeah. She hasn't been sleeping well. Tossing and turning. (everyone looks at him) She told me. Because of her dreams?

They all go back to their tasks. The camera closes in on Buffy and loses its focus. Cut to Spike's warehouse. Buffy walks in, looking at the party decorations. All around candles on tall sticks have burned way down. She goes to the table and walks around it. On the other side she sees Jenny walking the other way. She's confused about that, but gets distracted by several boxes sitting on the floor and goes over to them.

Drusilla: Now, now.

Buffy spins around to see her on the upper level holding Angel in front of her.

Drusilla: Hands off my presents.

She puts a sharp blade to Angel's neck.

Buffy: No!

Cut to Giles' office. Buffy wakes from her nightmare with a start.

Buffy: Angel!

Angel: Buffy, it's okay. (she turns to him) I'm here. (she hugs him close) I'm right here.

Cut to Spike's warehouse. Drusilla stands at the top of the spiral staircase and claps her hands.

Drusilla: More music!

She bobs her head to the gothic beat as she descends the steps. The party is going well. She makes her way to the head of the table and begins to dance there. "Transylvanian Concubine", performed by Rasputina, plays.

Lyrics: If you want to know how / To fly high then go now / To the place where all the concubines... / Meet and converse with them / Marvel at their pale skin / Wonder how they chew on their pointy... / Teeth and hair are beauty / They know it's their duty / To be Countess in their hearts and their...

Spike comes rolling in with a large box in his lap.

Spike: Look what I have for you, ducks.

Drusilla looks over at him.

Lyrics: Minds that have to whisper / See in them a sister / Look into their eyes and you'll become / Transylvanian Concubine

Drusilla smiles and steps over to him.

Drusilla: Ahh... The best is saved for last.

She takes the box from him and hands it to two vampires.

Lyrics: You know what flows there like wine / Sorrow is their master / Cackling with laughter / Now he's having just one piece of...

The two vampires take it over to where the other boxes have been assembled into the shape of a body. They raise the box and set the head in place.

Lyrics: Cakey is their make up / Catholics try to shake up...

Once in place, a bright light emanates through the cracks in the boxes.

Drusilla: (smiles) Hmm.

The front of the now unified boxes opens like a pair of twin gates to allow the Judge to step out. His skin is blue, and he has small horns on his forehead. He opens his eyes.

Drusilla: He's perfect, my darling.

Spike looks up at her.

Drusilla: Just what I wanted.

She steps back to him and takes his hand.

Act Four

Spike's warehouse. Drusilla looks up at the Judge.

Drusilla: Goll...

The Judge steps out of his box. He has difficulty keeping his balance. He points at Drusilla.

Judge: You!

Spike: (rolls over to him in Dru's defense) Ho, ho, ho. What's that, mate?

Judge: You two stink of humanity. You share affection and jealousy.

Spike: Yeah. What of it? (taps his armor) Do I have to remind you that we're the ones who brought you here?

Drusilla: (smiles) Would you like a party favor? (indicates her guests)

The Judge looks at the party guests. His gaze settles on Dalton.

Judge: This one is full of feeling. He reads. Bring him to me.

Another vampire grabs Dalton and keeps him from running away.

Spike: What's with the bringing? I thought you could just zap people.

Judge: My full strength will return in time. Until then... I need contact.

The Judge steps over to Dalton.

Dalton: No. No! NO!

The Judge puts his hand on Dalton's chest, and he begins to smoke. Drusilla watches excitedly. The Judge's hand begins to burn into Dalton, who quickly combusts, disappearing in a flash of flame and smoke.

Drusilla: (gasps) (gleefully) Do it again! Do it again!

She smiles down at Spike. The Judge smiles as he feels his power begin to return. Cut to the library. Buffy comes striding out of the cage. Angel follows her out. Giles looks down at them from the stacks.

Giles: Buffy, what's happening?

Angel: She had another dream.

Buffy: I think I know where Spike and Drusilla are.

Giles: (comes down the stairs) That's very good, however, you, you do need a plan. I-I know you're concerned, Buffy, but you can't just go off half-cocked.

Buffy: I have a plan. Angel and I go to the factory and do recon, figure out how far they've gotten assembling the Judge. You guys check any places the boxes could be coming into town. Shipping yards, airports, anything. We need to stop them from getting all the boxes in one place.

Giles: Yes. Yes, well, um, actually, that's quite a good plan.

Buffy: This thing is nasty, and it's real, Giles. We can't wait for it to come get us.

Giles: Right.

Buffy grabs her bag, and she and Angel make tracks for the door. Cut to outside Spike's warehouse. The camera pans up to a second floor window. Cut inside. Buffy and Angel sneak quietly along the upper level. They look down at the party going on below. They walk to the railing.

Buffy: I saw this. (whispers) The party.

They see the Judge walk into view flanked by Spike with Drusilla following. The Judge stops and senses something.

Spike: What? What is it?

The Judge looks around, then up at Buffy and Angel and growls.

Angel: We gotta get outta here.

They try to make a run for it, but there are vampires heading them off on both sides. They are captured. Cut below. Buffy and Angel are brought before Spike, Drusilla and the Judge.

Spike: Well, well. Look what we have here. Crashers.

Buffy: I'm sure our invitations just got lost in the mail.

Drusilla: It's delicious. (licks her fingers) (to Angel) I only dreamed you'd come. Rrrr.

Angel: (struggles) Leave her alone.

Spike: Yeah, that'll work. Now say 'pretty please'. (smiles)

Judge: The girl.

Drusilla: Chilling, isn't it? She's so full of good intention.

Angel gets himself between the Judge and Buffy.

Angel: Take me!

Buffy: No!

Angel: Take me instead of her!

Spike: (raises his hand) Uh, you're not clear on the concept, pal. There is no instead. Just first and second.

Drusilla: And if you go first, you don't get to watch the Slayer die.

Angel's captors pull him back. The Judge reaches for Buffy. Angel looks up and around for a way out of this. Drusilla wraps her arms around Spike and smiles. Angel sees the chains holding up Spike's video monitors. Then he sees Buffy getting ready to defend herself.

Angel: Don't touch him!

Buffy kicks the Judge in the chest and knocks him back. Angel shakes off his captors and lunges for the chains. The Judge comes to a stop beneath the monitors, and Angel releases them. They crash to the floor on top of the Judge, hard enough to knock a hole in the floor. Buffy struggles free also, and runs to Angel. She sees the hole in the floor.

Buffy: This way!

They go to the hole, and Buffy jumps down into the sewers below. Cut to the sewers. Buffy rolls away from the hole, and Angel drops down behind her. They get to their feet and start down the tunnels. Cut inside the warehouse. Drusilla gives the order to pursue.

Drusilla: Go!

Two vampires rush to give chase. Cut to the sewers. Buffy and Angel pull a door closed behind them as their two pursuers drop through the hole and start after them. They look around to see where they went, but don't see anyone. They start down the tunnel, checking the side tunnels as they go, and continue past the door. When they've gone by Buffy opens the door and checks if the coast is clear. Seeing no one she steps over to a ladder and starts up. Cut to the surface. She lifts a manhole cover up, pushes it aside and quickly climbs out into the pouring rain. Angel follows right behind.

Angel: Come on. We need to get inside.

Cut to Angel's apartment. He opens the door, and they come in. He turns on the light. Buffy closes the door behind them. He takes off his heavy coat and lays it aside. Buffy is soaked through to her skin without a coat or jacket.

Angel: You're shaking like a leaf.

Buffy: Cold.

Angel: Let me get you something.

He gets some things from his armoire and hands them to her.

Angel: Put these on. Get under the covers, just to warm up.

Buffy walks over to his bed and sits down. She looks up at him. He faces away to give her privacy.

Angel: Sorry.

Buffy takes off her top shirt and winces and inhales in pain.

Angel: What?

Buffy: Oh, um... It's okay. I just have a cut or something.

Angel: Can I... Lemme see.

Buffy clutches her shirt to her chest.

Buffy: (whispers) Okay.

Angel turns around and sits down on the bed behind her. He gently touches her back and looks at the cut.

Angel: It's already closed. You're fine.

Buffy leans back into him and cuddles her face to his. He puts his arms around her.

Buffy: You almost went away today.

Angel: We both did.

Buffy: (sobs) Angel... (sniffles) I feel like I lost you... (sniffles) You're right, though. We can't be sure of anything.

Angel: Shhh. I...

She turns around to look at him.

Buffy: You what?

Angel: I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop.

Buffy: Me, me, too. I can't either.

They start to kiss. After a moment Angel breaks off.

Angel: Buffy, maybe we shouldn't...

Buffy: (stops him) Don't. Just kiss me.

Cut to later. They are both in bed asleep. Outside lightning strikes, and Angel wakes with a start and gasps for air as he sits up.

Angel: Ahh!

He gets up from the bed and hurries off. Cut outside to an alley. Angel has dressed and crashes through the door into the rain. He stumbles over some trashcans and falls to the pavement. He cries out in pain and fear.

Angel: Buffy!

Cut to the apartment. Buffy stirs slightly but keeps sleeping.

Angel: Buffyyyyy!

To be continued...

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