RebootTeaser

Story by Dan JoslynWritten by Dan Joslyn (additional writing by Gelfling21, Zahir al Daoud

and CN Winters)Directed by Dan Joslyn and CN Winters

Produced by CN WintersEditing by DragonWriter17

Sound by CN WintersArt Direction by Robert Kidman

Artists – Robert Kidman, Zahir al Daoud, Isis, and CN WintersCover Art by Robert Kidman

Fade In:Int.Mansion – Day

The room’s designer had aimed for a combination of austere and sumptuous. He had managed to combine the two with surprising success. Bone white walls, save for the one with textured brick the color of pale stone. Pattern-less aqua carpet. Simple furniture, with little or no ornamentation but constructed of the very best materials. It matched the occupant and owner, who now stood smoking a cigarette near a window. She gazed out with strained eyes.

A voice was speaking from the speaker phone on the glass coffee table. "We have managed to find another clue as to the location of ‘La Nephille’ and are working to confirm," said the man’s voice.

"Where?" said the woman, with an English accent that suggested public school. She was in her late middle age, a still-handsome lady wearing her hair short.

"Among the effects of the widow of a mob boss in New Jersey. She has disappeared."

"Let me know what you learn."

"Yes, Miss Hoffman. There is also the surveillance you wanted done?"

"Ah. Mr. Rayne?"

"Yes, he continues to experiment in the occult, but we’ve never gotten a solid location on him. He seems to be a bit of a transient. What do you advise?"

She used a drag on her cigarette to delay answering. "I am tempted—but never mind. Just give me general reports as you get them."

"As you wish, Miss Hoffman."

"I’m expecting someone," Emily Hoffman said with a glance at her watch. "We’ll continue this briefing tonight."

"Of course." A click. Followed by a dial tone. Hoffman took another long drag on her cigarette. She blinked a little too much. When there was the tiniest knock on the door, she flinched.

"Enter."

The door opened. A woman in her thirties entered and tried not to gape at her surroundings. Dark haired, she wore nice clothes that cost a tenth of that of her hostess.

"Catherine Madison I presume?" Emily Hoffman asked from a small cloud of cigarette smoke.

"Yes," said the younger woman.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Emily Hoffman, and I am a collector of fairly arcane objects. Books, artwork, artifacts both ancient

and young. Certainly you can imagine the sorts of things I mean? You, of all people?" Her eyes were steady and piercing.

Catherine took this in and nodded. "I’m afraid I don’t possess anything like that myself."

"No," conceded Hoffman, "but you do have something I lack. Something with which, unfortunately, you cannot part. Nor can I receive. Talent. Or, to be more precise, power."

At this, Catherine stepped further into the room. She looked less awkward, more sure of her footing. "Yes," she said simply.

"I want to hire you."

"Why? Surely someone with your resources," she gave a vague gesture at the surroundings, "could afford to hire the very best. There’s a lot of power in my family, to be sure, but I’ve never devoted myself to it."

"And yet," Hoffman said, "your family is one of several extraordinary witch bloodlines in the world. For reasons no doubt symbolic as well as technical, there always seem to be a few at any given moment in history. Sometimes the power skips a generation or two. There are times when it peters out altogether. In that case, a new line appears. Your own abilities are at least on the same level as your mother’s, by the way."

"How did you find that out?" Catherine looked anything but happy about Hoffman’s words.

"By spending a great deal of money" was her answer. Hoffman put out her cigarette in an ashtray that looked as if it cost as much as some automobiles. "I’ve developed an interest in witch families of late. An interest that is anything but idle. One that also offers the potential of reward. Shall I continue?"

"Reward for whom?"

"If I’m right—everyone on earth. At the very least—you, personally."

Catherine considered this for a moment. "I’m listening."

Hoffman hesitated. "There is a box I acquired at auction. I have it upstairs. What precisely it contains is something I have not been able to learn. My inclinations to find out have, of late, dwindled to nothing."

"Maybe there’s nothing inside?"

"That would seem impossible," said Hoffman. "Your predecessor—another scion of a powerful witch family—was able to ascertain much about the box itself. Even the wood used to make it is special, from a grove of trees where various lei lines intersect. I have reason to believe the wood was first used to build a shrine to a Roman Catholic Saint. The hinge and clasp are from melted Church bells, tempered in blood and holy water during forging. And the box itself was blessed by a priest who suffered from stigmata and was evidently a magic user of some kind. Certainly binding spells infuse every inch of it." She raised an eyebrow. "One would think that would be enough."

By now Catherine had stopped blinking. Her mouth had set into a frown. "What’s inside?"

"Don’t know. As I said. Quite honestly, I don’t really want to know."

"Then—what do you want with me?"

Hoffman lit another cigarette before answering. "I want another layer of binding to surround the box. Something equally as powerful but of a different tradition than what holds…whatever-it-is…at bay now. Think of it as the magical equivalent of an outer wall and moat. Preferably a moat filled with ravenous piranha. And a wall with machine gun emplacements."

"You’re that afraid of someone stealing it? What makes you think it’s that valuable?"

"Ah. We seem to have something of a misunderstanding. My desire is not to keep others away, but to keep the interior of this box sealed. To further impede its contents from interacting with this world."

The other woman’s face showed her shock. Hoffman nodded grimly. "Yes, even within the bindings that contain it, the contents still manage to reach out. I know no details, but the malice of it has become undeniable. Its power—its power is something I prefer not to think on."

"You must know this has got to be some kind of dark magic," Catherine said after a minute, voice low.

"Of course."

"If the Catholic Church sealed this thing, why not contact them?"

"Which part of the Church? Recall that organization has included both St. Damien and Torquenada. While some priests saved Jewish children from the Holocaust, others helped Nazi war criminals to escape. Besides…I find that parting with it is not an easy thing." She took another drag on her cigarette. "Oh yes, the contents are having an impact on myself as well. Another reason I am willing to pay quite extravagantly for your efforts."

At these words, Catherine sat down. "You mentioned someone, my ‘predecessor’ you said. Who was that? Why not get their help?"

Hoffman sighed. "Mrs. Maclay is, I’m sorry to note, in the hospital. She did all in her power to learn what she could—this in return for a fund insuring her daughter’s college education. But it was not without a cost. Her health has not recovered. I fear it may never do so. Such is, evidently, one danger of prolonged exposure to the contents. Through the safeguards that surround it now, it managed over time to reach out and hurt a kind and brave woman who drew too close. Which is why I don’t want you to spend time examining the box. Rather, I want something prepared as much as possible elsewhere and then installed as rapidly as can be."

Standing, Catherine said, "I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else."

Hoffman opened a file in front of her and scanned the page.

"It says here you have a young child, Amy. A college fund for your daughter would be the least of what I’m offering. One job and neither you nor your husband need ever work again."

"No," said Catherine, heading for the door, "it wouldn’t be worth it. I can’t do what you’re asking. I can’t!" Her hands were visibly trembling as she opened the door and left the room.

Emily Hoffman stared after her for over an hour, smoking cigarette after cigarette as the sun set and the room became dark.

Fade Out

Cleveland, Present Day

Fade In:Ext.Shopping Area – Night

Faith wore a Harley-Davidson baseball cap low over her forehead, along with dark glasses despite the late hour. Still, she drew side-long glances from teenage passers-by.

"When I asked you if you wanted to patrol," she grumbled, "this wasn’t what I had in mind."

The sidewalks of the Crocker Park area were jammed with eighth-graders, most of whom did not have the money to buy anything at the expensive boutique stores whose false fronts rose glittering into the night sky. They seemed to be entertaining themselves with the age-old custom of "hanging out."

Kennedy, walking next to Faith, suppressed a giggle. "Hey, the forces of darkness are everywhere," she admonished. "And anyway, we have to patrol here because if we didn’t, then the monsters would come here. It’s what I like to call Kennedy’s addendum to Murphy’s Law." She glanced over at Faith. "I’m sorry, I have to ask…who are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"I’m in disguise," Faith said flatly.

"Cunning," Kennedy grinned. "Maybe it didn’t occur to you, but I’m famous, too. And being with me, people will probably recognize you… that is, if the New Britney look fooled them in the first place."

"You’re probably right," Faith said softly. Awkward silence ensued.

Kennedy finally stopped and put a hand on Faith’s shoulder. "Look, I understand that you’d rather hunt the bad guys than think about…" She trailed off under the glare of Faith’s sunglasses. "...things, but maybe you should—"

"That’s not why we’re here," Faith cut her off and then set off down the sidewalk once again.

Kennedy chased after her, dodging a particularly large group of pre-teens. "Yeah, but—"

"A woman’s husband is missing," Faith continued without looking at her. "That’s why we’re here. Family…My issues are my issues. They’ve got nothing to do with my job unless I—"

She stopped in her tracks, so suddenly that Kennedy almost fell over. "What is it?"

Faith was staring at the window display of a Barnes & Noble. Several copies of the same book were on display, sitting on stacks of still more copies. "The Book of the Year!" a sign proclaimed. "Get It Before Your Friends!"

On the front cover of the book, the title had been printed in large block letters. "Blood and Darkness: The Real Story of Superstar Slayer Faith Lehane by John Harriman."

"Hey, I didn’t know you had a biography coming out," Kennedy said with a smile.

Faith sounded like she was in shock. "Neither did I."

Black Out.

End of Teaser

Act OneStarring:

Lacey Chabert as Skye Talisker, Gale Harold as Jim Pollan, Caroline Dhavernas as Grace Hatherley, Michelle Rodriquez as Kadin Van

Helsing, Elijah Wood as Jeff Lindquist, Norika Fujiwara as Mia Nakata, Laura Pyper as Casey Pierce, Asia Argento as Marie, Alexis Bledel as Denise, Tessa Thompson as Chamique, Steffani Brass as Shannon

Matthewson, Rachel Hurd-Wood as Lorinda Sheparton, Mandy Musgrave as Hadley Ramirez, Freema Agyeman as Siobhan Hartley,

Robert Picardo as Dr. Albert Miller, Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne, Laura Prepon as Lori Carew, Cote de Pablo as Amira Aziz, Winona Ryder as

Valentine Pavlov, and Gary Oldman as Mr. Jason Felix

Guest Starring:Jessica Beals as Miss. Sanger, Marcia Cross as Autumn O’Mara, Eric

Loren as the Psychovore, Robin Riker as Catherine Madison, and Dame Helen Mirren as Emily Hoffman

 

 Cut To:Int.PBS Studio – Charlie Rose Set – Day (On Screen)

Famed interviewer Charlie Rose leaned over the table toward his guest.

"We’re here with John Harriman, bestselling author of unauthorized biographies of Princess Diana and Tom Cruise. His latest book is about the slayer Faith Lehane and is titled Blood and Darkness. What I find simply fascinating, Mr. Harriman, is the way you were able to dig up information for this book…information that no one else has gone public with. How were you able to do that?"

John Harriman wore a perfectly tailored suit and a small pair of spectacles over his nose. He spoke in an upper-class British accent. "Well, you see, Charlie, as soon as I saw the television footage that day of the crisis, I thought that there was a story to this girl that no one was telling. I decided right then that I would work as I hard as I could to find out what was behind the façade. I have spent the year and a half since that time researching, conducting interviews, etc., and I think I was able to form a fairly accurate picture of Faith Lehane’s life."

"When you looked behind that façade," Charlie Rose asked, "did you expect to find what you did? Murder, arrests, and so forth?"

"No, no, I didn’t," Mr. Harriman said. "And I think what you’ll find in the book is that the lurid details you mention are only a small part of a very complex public figure. They are details, however, that I think the public has a right to know, and certainly I would question how she is able to live free now after having confessed to serial murder less than a decade ago."

Harriman’s image froze into a smug smile.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Meeting Room – Same Time

Jim Pollan set down the remote control, Harriman’s image still paused on the video screen behind him. Faith sat at the end of the table,

silent, eyes downcast. Several other Council leaders were in the room, including Buffy, Willow, Kennedy, Robin, Rowena, and Jason Felix.

"I want to emphasize that above all else in this situation, we must not panic," Jim said. "He has persuasive eye-witness accounts and circumstantial evidence, certainly, but no absolute proof."

"What you recommend we do, then?" Robin asked, an edge to his voice.

"Nothing, for the time being," Jim replied. "We must be sure not to legitimize Harriman’s claims."

"I hate to say it," Willow piped up, "but they’re already kinda legitimate. I mean, he was on PBS! I think the two other guests on that show were Cormac McCarthy and Rudy Giuliani."

"Unfortunately, you may be right," Jim acknowledged. "All the data we have indicates this will be the best-selling book since the final installment of Harry Potter. However, we still must do all we can to avoid persuading additional members of the public that these allegations are true." At this, he sat down in a chair next to the video screen.

Buffy sighed and brushed her bangs out her eyes. "The problem here is, y’know, that they are true. I remember, I was there." She and the rest of the meeting nervously glanced at Faith, who hadn’t moved since the start of Jim’s presentation.

"I don’t think—" Robin began.

"No, she’s right," Faith interrupted, a quiet resignation in her voice. "Everyone’s screwed. And it’s my fault. Again."

The only sound was a rustling of paper and a scuffing of shoes. Awkward glances were exchanged all around.

"I’m not sure that’s the right way to look at it," Felix finally said.

"Anything else?" Faith asked suddenly.

Kennedy leaned forward, leafing through her scattered, wrinkled notes. "Well, um, last night the patrols found two vampires, who were dusted…no sign of Mr. Zatopek, though."

"Ah, yes," Mr. Felix remarked, "the distressed woman’s missing husband."

"It’s sad, yeah, I’m on board there," Buffy said, "but I’m still a little fuzzy on why we’re investigating this."

"Well, Mrs. Zatopek asked us to," Willow said. "She cried and everything."

"I think what Buffy’s asking," Robin put in, "is whether there is a supernatural angle to this case. Because if not, it might be better left to the police…" Buffy nodded gratefully.

It was Willow’s turn to search through her notes, though hers seemed far better organized. "Well, she did say that, um, oh, here it is, she says that she found, quote, spooky paraphernalia in his closet, unquote. So maybe he was into something."

"Or maybe he was secretly playing Dungeons and Dragons behind her back," Buffy replied. "My point is, I’m not sure how high this one rates on our little DEFCON meter or whatever."

"He’s still missing." It was Faith who had spoken, very quietly, and all eyes turned to her. "I think maybe I should get on that."

With that, she got up from her chair and exited the room. The sound of the door closing behind her seemed very loud.

"In other news," Robin said, his voice not quite cutting through the tension, "the Mayor of Cleveland has contacted me to see if we know anything about the recent sharp upswing in the city’s homeless population…"

"Did you tell her the economy wasn’t our fault?" Rowena quipped. This brought wan smiles all around.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Later That Day

The windows in Buffy’s office had their shades drawn, sending bits of light and shadow across the walls. It was the sort of environment in which life shades a little towards the film noir. Buffy sat sullenly in her chair, doing her own best impression of Humphrey Bogart. Miss Sanger from the Oversight Committee sat in the chair across from her, still leaning forward confidentially.

"You’re making a habit of this," Buffy sighed. "Bringing me bad news."

"I’m only the messenger," Sanger told her, tiny hints of smiles curling at the edge of her mouth. "Blame the Voice of Hell."

Buffy opened a report in front of her, then closed it again, frustrated. "If you know their next target, then why don’t you know more about them? Why now? Where do they come from? Who’s on first?"

"We hear the same snippets you do," Sanger said. "Chatter, as the experts like to call it. We just have the best pattern recognition specialists unlimited secret funding can buy. I dated one once. He knew what I’d eat for breakfast the next morning from what I ate for lunch. A little too creepy for me, actually."

Buffy stared across at Sanger for a long moment, a single line of bright light across her face like a mask.

"Of course, you’ve had them studying our patterns, too."

"Oh, yes," Sanger nodded. "Of course."

"Well, we’ll get on this," Buffy said without moving. "Right away."

"That’s good to hear," Sanger got to her feet. "We’ll of course provide any support you need." She turned to leave, then looked back over her shoulder. "Enjoy your omelet tomorrow."

Cut To:Ext.Watchers Council – Grounds – Afternoon

"I just don’t see what all the fuss was about. I mean, if I want to see home movies, I can just go hang out with Andrew. At least his are funny and don’t have giant CGI Godzilla rejects…usually…Cindy?"

It had taken Shannon a moment to realize that she was running down the Council’s outdoor track alone. The little slayer Cindy had stopped a good distance back, staring out between posts of the iron fence.

Shannon went back to her partner, ending up breathing slightly hard and resting her hands on her knees. "What’s up?"

Cindy pointed through the fence at a gathering crowd. Reporters, microphones, and TV cameras were all major themes. "It’s that Congresswoman."

Shannon squinted and managed to see some red hair at a podium. She crossed her arms and huffed. "She’s gotta be here to pick on Faith. I swear, if I could just get my hands on her…"

"You’d only make things worse." Both Shannon and Cindy looked over their shoulders to see Ethan Rayne standing behind them. "I can see the yellow journalists typing their blaring headlines as we speak. ‘Highly Misguided Teenage Slayer Entertainingly But Fruitlessly Assaults Popular Politician’."

"It’s a little long," Cindy commented. She and Ethan simply looked at each other, across a gulf far greater than the small distance between them.

"At any rate," Ethan continued, "I believe the two of you are truant from your…assigned responsibilities."

They stared at him, uncomprehending.

"You are supposed to be running laps!" Ethan explained impatiently.

The two girls sighed and took off again.

"I just feel bad for Faith," Cindy said to Shannon. "I wonder how she’s doing?"

Cut To:Int.Faith and Robin’s Apartment – Bedroom – Same Time

Faith sat on the edge of the bed, silent and motionless, her bedroom darkened. Her hair hung in her face, but she made no move to fix it. She simply stared out into the void.

Robin knocked briefly before opening the door. In one hand he held a plate with a roast beef and cheese sandwich. "Food delivery!"

Faith did not respond.

"If I’d known we needed it so badly, I would have called the anti-depressant delivery service," he dead-panned. He walked over to the bed and handed the plate to Faith. She took it without looking up and put it on her lap. She made no move to eat the sandwich.

"That’s the furthest extent of my culinary skills, so I’m hoping it’s good enough," Robin said as he sat down behind Faith.

Faith’s voice was soft nearly to the point of inaudibility. "I don’t think I can do this anymore."

Cut To:Ext.Outside Watchers Council – Same Time

Autumn O’Mara stood before a bank of microphones. She held a copy of Blood and Darkness in one hand. "I don’t know any better than any of you the truth contained in these pages. All I know is that what I have read deeply, deeply concerns me."

Cut To:Int.Faith and Robin’s Apartment – Same Time

Robin’s face grew serious. He ran a hand through the tangles of Faith’s hair. "What do you mean?"

"Any of this," Faith continued. "I…I used to think that if I did enough good things…I wouldn’t make up for the things I did, that’s not gonna happen, I know that...but maybe it would stop."

Robin lightly kissed the top of Faith’s head. "You need to know that no one here blames you, not for anything."

Cut To:Ext.Outside Watchers Council – Same Time

"I was elected by the people of this city to represent them, to protect them," O’Mara said. "I would not be doing my duty if I did not pursue a full and complete investigation into this matter."

Cut To:Int.Faith and Robin’s Apartment – Same Time

"I…had a sister," Faith said, almost as if she couldn’t quite believe it. "I had a sister, and I didn’t do anything to her except hurt her."

"I know you and Hope were different from most siblings," Robin said. "She tried to kill you, for one thing, but you were family. That has to count for something, right?"

"No," Faith said. "You don’t…" She sighed. "When we were kids, I…I did things to her."

"Faith," Robin told her, completely serious, "you can’t do this to yourself. Of the two of you, you sure as hell weren’t the one in the wrong.

"I broke her fingers," Faith said flatly. Silence followed for a brief moment.

"Accidents happen," Robin offered softly.

"It wasn’t an accident," Faith said. "It was a lot of things, I guess, but it wasn’t an accident."

Cut To:Ext.Outside Watchers Council – Same Time

"If Faith Lehane is dangerous," Autumn O’Mara announced, "I believe the people have a right to know. We give these people a great deal—a tremendous amount of trust. We need to make sure they deserve that trust."

Cut To:Int.Faith and Robin’s Apartment – Same Time

"Hope was another one of those people that I…I stuck a knife in her back, when we shoulda been on the same side." A single tear rolled down Faith’s cheek. "And now…she’s gone, and I can’t ever make it better. It’ll always be like that. I was—I was wrong."

Then her face was buried in Robin’s shoulder, her arms clutched his shoulders, and sobs wracked her body. "I was wrong," she repeated.

Cut To:Ext.Outside Watchers Council – Same Time

"I will be consulting with local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities," O’Mara continued. "I will not rest until I see that justice has indeed been served." She stared directly into the bank of cameras. "This time, no one gets off clean."

She then stepped down from the podium, ignoring the shouted questions of the throng of reporters.

Cut To:Int.Faith and Robin’s Apartment – Same Time

Robin rubbed his hand over the back of Faith’s neck. "I want you to know, first of all, that I love you, and so does everyone else here. I also want you to know that I’m not sure I understand…what were you wrong about?"

Faith sniffed several times and raised her head, barely catching her breath. It was a while before she could talk. "This whole past week, it was all ‘oh, B9 is gonna get us, we need to get them before they get us.’ Because anybody who wants to help me must have some wacko motive, right? People can’t just be nice to you because they’re nice people. So we’re in the school, and all I can do with Hope is argue with her. Then she tasers me, and you know what I thought?"

Robin suppressed a smile. "I can guess."

"I thought ‘You evil bitch.’ I thought that she was sticking the knife in my back, just like I did to her. But she wasn’t, she was saving me." Faith took a very deep breath. "The last time I saw my sister alive, that’s what I thought. You evil bitch. And it’s always gonna be like that."

Robin didn’t say anything. He just hugged Faith, and she hugged him back.

"And now the whole Council’s in jeopardy just because someone found out the truth about me," Faith said into Robin’s shoulder. "I just keep screwing things up, and before I’m done, I’m gonna take everybody down with me. Is this it? Is this why I came back?"

Robin pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Faith, I know why you came back. And that’s not why." Then he moved forward and kissed her. She leaned into him, shutting her eyes.

They stayed like that for quite a while in the darkened room.

Cut To:Ext.Outside Watchers Council – Same Time

Autumn O’Mara disappeared behind the darkened, bullet-proof glass of her limo, letting the burly security man shut the door behind her. The press thronged around her vehicle, but they couldn’t see the smile creeping over her face. It wasn’t long, however, before the grin vanished.

"Step on it!" she snapped at her driver. "I have a meeting."

Cut To:Ext.Cleveland Street – Night

"It’s ridiculous, is what it is," Lorinda said. "I can’t work with that woman."

"She just got overstressed," Jaye commented, making sure to keep her voice down. "We all do, sometimes."

The two of them were walking along a good distance behind the rest of their patrol group. Lorinda looked over at Jaye and made a noise in her throat.

"Oh, right, ’cause you should talk."

Jaye opened her mouth in offense. "This isn’t about me, it’s about Nakata." She poked a finger in Lorinda’s direction. "And for your information, I’ve been sober six—"

"Girls!" The yell from Mia broke through the moment. They turned to see her at the mouth of a nearby alleyway, the others having gone in ahead of her. "Get in here. We found somebody."

Cut To:Ext.Alleyway – Moments Later

"Oh good, a homeless guy," Lorinda said, her voice in full-on sarcastic mode. "’Cause we never see those on patrol. Oh, wait…I forgot why I don’t have any change."

"Shut up," Mia told her flatly. She knelt next to where the man was cowering, with the large sort of facial beard one gets when one hasn’t groomed in quite some time. "I’m not going to hurt you," she said. She noticed the other girls crowding around. "Give him some air!" They backed off, but only a little.

"I’m going to ask you again," she said evenly to the scruffy man. "Can you tell me your name?"

He looked confused. He scuttled a few inches backward, rustling his nest of discarded newspapers. "I…don’t know."

Mia sighed and reached a hand back without looking. "Jaye?" She snapped her fingers. Jaye and Lorinda exchanged a look. Lorinda shrugged.

Mia turned around and sighed in exasperation. "The picture?"

"Oh!" Jaye exclaimed in realization. "Right." She reached into her jacket pocket and produced a folded piece of paper, which she handed to Mia. Mia unfolded the paper to reveal a printed photo of a clean-shaven man. She looked at it for a moment, then looked at the bearded man in front of her. She squinted at the man’s terrified eyes, then looked back at the picture.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Same Time

"So that’s why we have to move on this," Buffy explained to Amira, who was seated across from her in the Chairwoman’s Office. "Oversight’s throwing around the big words, and we need a win. Plus, y’know, there’s the whole thing where if Voice of Hell blows this place up…"

"I understand the ramifications, ma’am," Amira interrupted.

"Don’t call me ma’am," Buffy replied a little too quickly. "Buffy is fine. Or Miss Summers. Ma’am is just so…"

"What I do not understand is why you are giving me this mission. There are no humans working with the Voice of Hell that we know about, and the objective of my unit is to—"

"Deal with humans, I know, Amira," Buffy said. "But the thing is…you’re good. Really, really good. We’ve all seen it. This is the top of our shelf right now, and I can’t have one more thing go wrong. I just can’t deal with that, which is why I’m sending my best. Not Black Ops. You. I want you to lead the team, pick your own girls. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Amira hadn’t quite nodded when Buffy’s phone rang.

"What now…" Buffy groaned. She reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" She waited a moment. "You found him? That’s great! Wait, no, don’t tell me the bad news right now, okay? Just bring him in."

She hung up and turned back to Amira, who looked at her wordlessly. "See! Progress."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – Later

A frazzled-looking woman, perhaps in her thirties, rushed down the hallway, carrying a baby in a hanging carrier. Her scarf trailed behind her. Amira was a good distance behind her, apparently having given up trying to keep up. Mia waited for her, arms crossed, at a closed door.

"Is he here?" the woman asked, out of breath. "They told me at the lobby that I—"

"He’s here," Mia said. "He’s in there with a couple of the girls, but Mrs. Zatopek, he’s not—"

"He’s under guard?" Mrs. Zatopek asked. "Why is he under guard?"

"It’s just a precaution, ma’am. Now look, I have to tell you—"

But the door was already closing behind Mrs. Zatopek. Mia sighed and turned back to Amira, who had finally caught up. "Remind me not to get in the way of crazy married women."

"Any in particular you need to be reminded of?" Amira asked with a sly grin. Mia rolled her eyes. "Let her go," Amira said. "I want to talk to you. There’s an Op, from Summers herself, and I want you."

"Dangerous thing to say to a girl like me," Mia commented.

Amira blinked a few times. "I do not…What?"

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Holding Room #2 – Later

Willow removed her hands from the temples of the bearded man Mia had questioned in they alley. "It’s not magic, I can tell you that much." She turned to Mrs. Zatopek, who had been pacing behind her. The room was bare, the décor basically a table and chairs. Jaye waited behind the man’s chair. The baby slept in its carrying case on the table.

"If it was magic," Willow continued, "I’d feel it."

Mrs. Zatopek looked like she’d been crying a long time. Now she just sounded tired. "So that means this is—this is something else."

"Yes," Willow nodded. "That happens a lot in our line of work."

"Look," the man began, "you all seem really nice. It’s not personal, you have to understand…I don’t remember anybody. I must have had a name…I don’t remember it."

"Sounds like amnesia to me," Jaye commented.

"Just another way my life resembles a soap opera," Willow sighed.

"I’m really sorry…" the man continued.

Mrs. Zatopek’s scream slashed through the room. "This isn’t funny anymore, Harold!" All eyes turned to her. The baby started crying. "I have been your wife for six years. You look like a caveman, but I can look into your eyes and see everything." She leaned over the table towards Harold. "Do you remember that time the deer ran out into the road, and I swerved to avoid it, and when I called you, I was nearly hyperventilating…"

She trailed off, seeing the blank look on her husband’s face. She swiveled her head to face Willow. "How is this possible?" Her voice broke in the middle of the sentence.

Willow shook her head. "I’m sorry. I don’t know yet. We’ll have to try some other things. Mr. Zatopek…" She noticed that she had drawn no recognition from the man. "Yes, that’s your name. What’s the first thing you remember? Please, think hard."

Harold pursed his lips. "It was a few weeks ago. I was in that alley, the one you found me in. I was…" He hesitated. "I was alone, and I could remember how to speak, how to walk, how to tie my shoes, all the basic things, but…no faces, no events, none of the things that make a person a person. I was alone, and I was…nothing."

"That’s depressing," Jaye noted.

"Okay, Mr. Zatopek," Willow sighed, "here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get you cleaned up and keep you here under medical observation. There’re still some more tests we can do…oh, maybe some demonic venom in your bloodstream, I don’t know, but I am telling both of you that we will figure this out."

She looked up at Jaye. "I guess the first thing to do is tell Faith, she’ll want to know. Where is she tonight, anyway?"

Jaye shrugged. "I heard she went patrolling."

"By herself? Now?" Willow exclaimed. "I swear, one of these days I’m gonna wring her neck."

Cut To:Ext.Cleveland Alley – Same Time

"Faith, is that you? Where are you? You can’t just go out unannounced like this, it just doesn’t work anymore. I’m sor—"

Faith flipped her radio off, cutting off Kennedy’s voice. She put it in her back pocket and kept walking down yet another of the city’s back alleys. Steam wafted from a vent somewhere behind her.

"I say when I patrol. Somethin’ needs to die tonight," Faith said under her breath. "Everything will be fine if I just kill something." She stopped, considered. "What does that say about me? And why am I talking to myself when all that’s gonna do is—"

That was when something barreled into Faith, throwing her into a pile of wooden boxes, which splintered under her. She shook her head and took in what was standing in front of her.

It might have been seven feet tall. It had only one eye, large and staring, in the center of its face. Several tentacles extended from all sides of its head. It made a wet, ugly sound in its throat.

A small smile appeared on Faith’s lips. "You may be ugly, but you’re just what the doctor ordered." She pushed off with her hands and kicked the monster in the face. Its noises grew higher in pitch as Faith did a complete flip in the air and landed on her feet. The grin was still on her face.

"Happy to see me?" she asked. She slammed a hard right into the creature’s face, followed by another. She pulled an ornate knife from its holster and swiped in the monster’s direction, but it managed to scramble out of the way. The sounds it was making were incredibly loud and pathetic, like screams. It tried to run away, but Faith grabbed it and hauled it back towards her with her free hand.

"That’s right," she said. "Cry for your momma." She brought her face inches from the creature’s. "’Cause now you’re dealin’ with Faith Lehane." She had raised her knife, ready to strike, when suddenly the tentacles sprouting from the creature’s head shot forward and grabbed onto Faith’s face. She was so startled that she dropped the knife. It clattered against the asphalt.

"Dammit, you freakin’…" Faith managed through grit teeth. She struggled to free herself, but it didn’t work. After a moment, she seemed to weaken. Her legs gave out, and both Faith and the monster slumped slowly to the ground.

"No…" she nearly whispered. "You don’t get to…"

Everything went dark.

Fade To Black.

Fade In:Ext.Cleveland Alley – Night

The world spiraled very slowly into existence, colors resolving themselves into shapes, and then into objects. Faith blinked one, twice. She was surrounded by people. Girls.

"Hey!" Kennedy yelled again. "Hey!"

"I think she’s waking up," Marie said from over Kennedy’s shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Kennedy asked. "You freaked me out. Don’t do that!"

Faith looked at her surroundings for a long moment, eyes furtive. Her gaze flitted over the faces of the girls standing in the alley.

"Yeah," she said nervously. "Yeah, I think I’m okay."

Kennedy reached out a hand, but Faith did not take it right away. Kennedy sighed and retracted her arm. "It’s gonna be fine, really. We just need to get you back to the Council, get you checked out."

Slowly, Faith got to her feet on her own. She shook her head. "I-I don’t… where?"

"Headquarters," Kennedy told her, a confused look on her face. "They’re going nuts back there. I’m not sure I can cover for you this time, though you’ll probably get forgiveness points ’cause you bumped your head or whatever."

Faith licked her lips. "I’m really sorry. I’m trying not to be rude here, I’m really not, but…Do I know you guys?"

Black Out.

 

End of Act One

Act Two 

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Observation Room – Night

"Am I in trouble?" Faith called out. "’Cause this is a weird police station. Don’t I get, like, a lawyer…or at least some donuts?"

Those in the antechamber of the Council’s Observation Room could hear her through the one-way tinted glass. Faith was alone in the room, but several people were crammed into the small room on the other side of the glass. Rowena and Willow were there, along with Kennedy, Xander, and Lori. And Robin.

"I’m sorry to wake you up," Rowena said to Robin. "It just…it seemed like you would want to know."

He nodded, but said nothing.

"It’s the same as Mr. Zatopek," Willow offered. "The non-magic of it, that is. Is there a demon…?"

"Not that I know of off the top of my head," Rowena said. "We’ve woken up the whole crew and we have them drinking the coffee and researching down in the library, but there’s nothing yet."

"If you think about it," Xander put in, "if there is an amnesia demon, then everybody who saw it probably forgot what it looks like, so…" He

caught the look Kennedy was shooting him. "Not to be negative or anything."

"Well," Lori sighed, scratching the back of her head, "this kinda throws a wrench in things. We need to start on contingencies. Obviously, Kennedy’ll be Head Slayer until we can—"

"It’s okay," Robin said suddenly. "I’m sure she just got knocked on the head. If I just go in there and she sees me, I’m sure this will all clear up for her like that." He snapped his fingers.

Willow pursed her lips. "Robin, I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t want you to…"

Robin cut her off. "Really, it’s fine. Let me take care of this."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Interrogation Room – Moments Later

There was no look of recognition on Faith’s face when Robin entered the room, and he knew it right away. He looked sad, but not really surprised.

"Oh, hey, another one," Faith cajoled. "Look, you need to go back out there and tell them that if I don’t start getting some answers here, there’s going to be some kind of lawsuit."

Robin sighed and sat down across from her. He set a folder on the table and deftly fished his cell phone out of his pocket. "Sure. If you can tell me the name of your attorney, I’ll call him right now."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Observation Room – Same Time

"What’s he doing?" Kennedy asked. "This wasn’t the plan!"

Xander put out an arm. "Let him go."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Interrogation Room – Same Time

Faith opened her mouth, but couldn’t come up with anything. She seemed surprised.

"Can you tell me your name?" Robin asked.

There was a long pause, and Faith looked genuinely, openly scared. Robin blinked a few times, not used to seeing her like this. Finally, Faith closed her mouth tightly and shook her head. Robin nodded.

"Your name is Faith," he said softly. Then he cleared his throat. "Faith Lehane. You appear to have some kind of amnesia, but I can assure you – you’re among friends here. No one is going to harm you."

"Yeah, okay, amnesia," Faith nodded hurriedly. "That makes sense, a kinda sense, right? Why?"

"I’m sorry?" Robin was surprised when she tacked the last question on the end.

"Why do I have amnesia?" Faith pressed. "Was I in a car crash? Was there, like, a chemical spill?"

"We’re still working on that," Robin said. Faith did not seem comforted.

He leaned forward, across the table towards Faith. "Again, you have no reason to be afraid. We’re all your friends here. You are completely safe, and we will fix this. You have my word on that. You—the you with your memories, that is—feel completely at home here. You live here."

"I live in a police station?"

Robin opened the folder on the desk. "Faith, I think that maybe you’ll feel better if you take a few moments and—"

"We know each other, right?" Faith asked. Robin looked up to see her big brown eyes giving him the once-over. "You think it’s weird, seeing me like this," she said. "It’s okay. It’s weird for me, too."

Robin tried to force a smile. "Yes, we know each other."

"We’re friends?"

He nodded, avoiding Faith’s eyes.

Faith snorted. "We’re not, like, involved, are we? Because that would just be awkward." She waited but received only meaningful silence from Robin. When she continued, it was much more seriously. "Look, I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re great, I just, y’know, don’t go jumping into bed with guys I just met. It’s not my style."

Robin couldn’t help laughing at that one.

"What?" Faith asked. When he couldn’t stop laughing, she asked again, more serious this time. "What?"

Robin just couldn’t control himself and eventually doubled over. He attempted an "I’m sorry," but it didn’t really come out right.

"I don’t see what’s so funny!" Faith yelled. She slammed a hand down on the table in protest. This silenced Robin immediately. There was a loud cracking noise, and all of a sudden the table fell into two halves. Faith jumped out of her chair and ended up with her back to the wall, while Robin stayed where he was, one shin caught under the fallen table.

"Oh god, your leg is crushed," she noticed, her voice hollow.

"That’s okay," Robin told her. "I have spares."

"Right," Faith nodded. A beat. Then, "What?"

Rowena opened the door to the interrogation room. Both Robin and Faith turned to look at her.

"Is everything okay in here?" she asked.

"Yes," Robin said.

"No," Faith said. "Who the hell are you?"

Rowena bit her lip and stayed in the doorway.

"And what just happened?" Faith pointed to the two halves of the table.

Robin sighed. "Yeah. That kinda brings us to the other thing."

Cut To:Int.Kennedy’s Apartment – Living Room – Later That Night

"So, um…any questions?" Kennedy asked nervously. She and Faith were sitting on opposite ends of her overstuffed couch, Marsha curled up lazily between them. Kennedy absent-mindedly scratched Marsha under her chin, drawing long, slow purrs from the dragon. Faith occasionally stole nervous glances in the creature’s direction.

At Kennedy’s question, Faith furrowed her brow and licked her lips. "Okay," she said, "I’m just gonna sum up here, to make sure I have this straight. I’m a superhero."

Kennedy nodded. "Yeah, basically."

"And so are you."

"Uh-huh."

"And we fight bad guys and monsters with magic and swords and attitude."

"Yes."

"And I’m famous."

"Yes."

"And smoking hot."

"Duh."

"And that’s a dragon."

Both Kennedy and Marsha nodded.

"So I have to ask...is there going to be a catch at some point?" There was a huge grin on Faith’s face.

Kennedy looked down at Marsha as she continued to scratch under the dragon’s chin. "Well, there’s the life and death stuff. Everyday, all the time. It can get stressful."

"I get that," Faith said, her tone more serious. "I do. It doesn’t quite explain all the dire around here, though."

"You noticed that, huh?" There was a ghost of a smile on Kennedy’s face. She looked up at the clock. "It’s nearly morning. Your next tests aren’t scheduled for a while. Why don’t you try and get some sleep?"

Faith shook her head vigorously. "I couldn’t. I’m too wired. Are you hungry? You seem nice. If you’re hungry, we could get some food and you could tell me all about…me."

Kennedy shrugged. "I could eat."

Faith ran her hands through her hair and did a little shiver, a bundle of energy. "I kinda feel like I just woke up, y’know, after pulling a Rip van Winkle. Does that make sense?"

Kennedy looked at her, something different in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You know what’s weird?" Faith continued. "Rip van Winkle seems normal to me, but my own name sounds weird. Faith. That’s an idea, not a name." Kennedy saw the light bulb go off above Faith’s head. "Hey, I sound smart. Am I smart, too? I bet I am."

Kennedy couldn’t help but grin.

Cut To:Ext.California – Tres Rios Dam – Morning

The pink rays of sunrise reflected double in the wide, calm reservoir, but the calm was disturbed by a thumping sound, growing ever louder. After a moment, the source of the noise came into view, first its reflection, then the helicopter itself. It swept over the reservoir and hovered briefly above the tall tan concrete expanse of the massive Tres Rios Dam. A dizzying drop below, a wild-looking river poured from the dam.

The helicopter set down on a helipad carved into one of the tall red bluffs on either side of the dam, its blades beginning to slow. A mustachioed man wearing a white collared shirt, red tie, and yellow hard hat, waited on the pad.

The door to the helicopter slid open, and Amira hopped out, followed by Mia, Valentine, Hadley, and Siobhan.

"Slayer Aziz?" the man called as he walked over.

"Yes," she said. "We are here to make sure this place does not explode."

The man glanced over at Mia. "Hey," she said with a shrug, "you gotta admire the direct approach.

"I’m Joe Ringman," the man said, shaking Amira’s hand. "We’re thrilled you girls are here."

Cut To:Ext.Top of Tres Rios Dam – Later

Ringman led the Council group along the upper edge of the dam, next to the state highway that used the dam as a bridge.

"This place is big," Hadley said. "Surprisingly big. I wasn’t briefed on the whole bigness factor."

"It’s twice as tall as Niagara Falls, actually," Ringman said. "The dam contains more material than all of the Pyramids at Giza combined. It’s the largest power generation facility in the United States and the largest concrete structure in this hemisphere." He grinned. "I never get tired of giving that speech."

"The electricity part is what makes it a target, right?" Mia asked. She trailed a hand along the chipped black paint of the safety railing that lined edge.

"Possibly," Ringman said. "They say we’re under threat, I listen, but that’s all they really said. Look, Tres Rios is the nerve center of the basic infrastructure in this part of the country. We provide the power for most Southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona…and it’s not just the electricity. Lake Truman, our reservoir, provides the water for all those desert places that don’t have their own. Los Angeles can sprawl as much as it wants because of Tres Rios."

"Worst case scenario, what happens?" Valentine asked.

"We’re trying to make sure that doesn’t happen," Ringman replied. He pointed to the nearest bluff. "Missile batteries on either side, sentries 24/7, military patrolling the reservoir and the river, aerial patrols…"

Amira cut him off sternly. "You did not answer her question." Cars speeding past and the river flowing beneath were the only sounds.

"If Tres Rios fails, it will be impossible for us to provide the basic necessities for cities like LA, Vegas, Phoenix," he explained. "It would require a federal relief effort that would make the aftermath of Katrina look like a tea party, and you know how well that worked out. Mass chaos, basically, and not getting better anytime soon. There’s no replacement ready if Tres Rios fails. And that’s taking the wide view. In the short term, a huge area west of here will flood if the dam fails. It’s sparsely populated, but…"

"That doesn’t mean unpopulated," Siobhan finished.

Mia stared hundreds of feet down to the whitecaps on the churning river beneath. "We should get started, then." Her voice seemed to come from a thousand miles away.

Cut To:Int.Meat Packing Plant – Same Time

Huge slabs of meat kept a hulking watch like gargoyles. Among them was arranged a circle of simple of wooden chairs, filled with demons and vampires of every stripe. Sunlight leaked into the room through thick block windows hastily painted black.

"It’s my belief that the operation is compromised," said a demon with an incredibly deep voice and completely black skin. "Tres Rios is receiving protection from both the United States military and the Watchers Council."

"Maybe we should slow things down," said a demon with leopard spots and fangs. "The Council is divided, the government is chasing its tail, but if we go through with this and it fails, we give them a victory…and if we succeed, we will have only united the enemy against us, nothing else."

"We will have made the humans suffer," came a female voice from the shadows. Gold eyes glinted in the dark. "That is our only goal. That is all that is real."

"With respect, your magnificence," the leopard-spotted demon continued, "we are making progress. The situation will become destabilized if we continue this escalation at this pace…"

"I wish the situation to become destabilized. I wish to take back from the humans what is rightfully ours!" The woman rose to her feet and out of the shadows. She was beautiful, olive-skinned with black hair. Her eyes glowed gold, she had an ornate black mark on her forehead, and around her neck she wore a deep black stone. She turned her attention to the demon with jet black skin. "Pollux, are the Meroi still prepared for their sacrifice?"

He inclined his head. "Yes, your magnificence."

"Then we proceed as scheduled."

The leopard-skinned demon opened his mouth to protest. "But—"

"Are you wavering, Jerel?" She slunk towards him, cat-like. Jerel’s eyes darted nervously as she crossed behind him, leaning down and twining her arms sensuously around his neck. Her voice took on a melodic quality, like a dark phantom orchestra.

Her lips were inches from his ear. "Tell me," she cooed, "who am I?"

"The Voice of Hell," he replied reverently.

"That is correct," she told him softly, her fingers caressing his spotted cheeks. The other members of the circle sat in rapt silence. "I am the call in the night. I am the darkness inside your soul, screaming to rip and slash and tear."

"But the Council—"

"The Council is distracted," the Voice of Hell said. "They’re too busy running around after a band of politicians to send a real force. The humans do so much of our work for us. Now, Jerel, tell me…do you submit to my will?"

"Yes," Jerel whispered.

"Do you think of nothing but my desire?"

"Yes." He choked out the word.

"Excellent," the Voice of Hell purred, as her fingers closed around Jerel’s neck. She suddenly squeezed, and the other demons winced at the squishing and popping sounds that ensued.

A moment later, Jerel’s head rolled across the floor, just another piece of meat. The Voice of Hell stood in the center of the circle. "I hope that concern has been addressed."

"Your magnificence," the deep-voiced demon ventured, "how do you know that the politicians will continue to keep the Council distracted?"

She smiled. "It is the nature of the beast. What else can they do?"

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Infirmary – Day

Faith stared at the claustrophobic interior of a CAT scan machine, while Dr. Miller analyzed the read-outs on a computer screen. Robin leaned over his shoulder.

"Anything?" he pressed.

"Well, we’re going to have to do some additional analysis of the data," Dr. Miller said, "but I’m not seeing anything particularly unusual here."

"Please, Dr. Miller," Robin pleaded, "can you give me a little more than that?"

"Her patterns are the same as always…for a slayer, that is. This level of activity would denote a possible problem for an ordinary human, but Faith’s fine."

"She’s not fine," Robin told him. "She can’t remember my face!"

"I understand that, Mr. Wood…but I can’t find anything physically wrong with her. But as I said, I’ll confer with an expert to be certain."

Robin sighed and rubbed his head with one hand. "Okay. I’m sorry. I—"

"I understand," he replied, cutting him short. "If it was my wife, I’d be scared as hell too right now."

Robin managed a semi-grin and patted Dr. Miller on the shoulder.

"I’m going to go and check on the watchers," Robin said before making his way toward the door.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Later

"Anything?" Robin asked Rowena as she walked past him carrying a huge book. The library was full of watchers hard at work and decidedly not quiet.

"Not yet," she said as she sat down at one of the research tables, already piled high with various tomes. "Almost everything we have that is related to memory has to do with magic. Spells. And Willow insists that’s not what happened. Which doesn’t mean I’m ruling it out, but don’t tell her that."

"You said almost," Robin pointed out.

Rowena sighed. "Yeah. Markham found one description in a pre-Reformation illuminated manuscript of something that eats people alive…not literally but figuratively. But I think it might be another metaphor for Satan…that’s pretty much what the rest of the book is, at any rate."

"But we can’t assume that...I mean, you’re looking into it, right?"

Rowena looked up at Robin and cracked a smile. "Yes. I’ve got Grace scouring the Internet for anything additional on that right now. Look, Robin, this has to be hard for you. We all understand that. We’ll get Faith back."

Robin let out a long breath. "I know. Thanks for everything…"

"Don’t mention it," she replied.

"So, what’s next?" he asked. "Where’s your wife?"

"Willow’s on twins duty at the moment," Rowena said. "We just couldn’t bring ourselves to make Xander change another diaper today. We’re going to have Andrew do another reading on Faith, give us another opinion."

"Okay. When’s that happening?"

"Right after Faith gets out of her meeting," Rowena replied.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "What meeting?"

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Day

Buffy shook her head and leaned back in her big official chair. "What am I going to do with you?"

Faith shrugged from the visitor’s seat. "I dunno. I don’t want to be rude or anything, but you seem to be a little young to be the head superhero. And a little blonde."

"Right," Buffy sighed. "Look, Faith—"

"Miss Lehane."

"What?"

"Call me Miss Lehane," Faith said. "Especially since we don’t really know each other that well, or at least I don’t know you. If I’m a superhero, I deserve a little respect."

Buffy sat up, finally exasperated. "Okay, first of all, you’re Faith. I haven’t called you Miss Lehane since…never. Second of all, we don’t call ourselves superheroes, okay? We’re slayers. That’s what we are. Some of us have done some heroic things, yes, but slayers is less, I don’t know, cocky, I guess, and…easier to say. Plus, it doesn’t bring up images of capes and spandex with large letters on them."

Faith regarded this woman for a moment. "Fine."

"What I was going to say was, Faith, you’re a really important part of our whole thing here at the Council, and we need you, and we’re going to work our hardest to get you back," Buffy nodded hard, once. "That’s what I was going to say."

"I’m right here," Faith said. "You don’t need to get me ‘back’."

"You know what I mean," Buffy told her, her tone aggravated.

Faith paused. "We really don’t like each other very much, do we?"

Buffy released a sigh. "You want the truth?"

"Not that I’d know if you were lying, but sure."

"The truth…" Buffy began and then hesitated. "I respect you very much now…But I did fail you." Faith’s eyebrows knitted for a moment in question. "When we first met, I saw you as a threat, so I kept you at arm’s length…like I did with most people, really. But what you needed at the time was a good friend, a family, like you have now. And if I had done that, if I had included you more, rather than making you feel like an outsider…well, your life might have been quite different."

"Uh, interesting…But I’m still not sure if I like you," Faith said.

Buffy banged her head down onto her desk.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Coven Room – Later

Faith and Andrew sat cross-legged on mats in the center of the Coven Room. He reached out to place his hands on her temples.

"Try to relax," Andrew told her.

Faith squirmed in place. "I’m not sure I can. This feels weird."

"Try to think of the nicest place you’ve ever been," he said.

"But I haven’t been anywhere!" Faith protested. "I don’t remember anything before yesterday." She looked like she might cry.

Andrew hurriedly reached out a hand and rested it on Faith’s arm. "Okay, okay, that’s fine. Um…where would you like to go?"

"I dunno," Faith stammered, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "How about Boston?"

Andrew blinked once, twice. "Boston?"

"Yeah, I mean, I bet it’s all pretty and historical, aaaand you think I’m the lamest person alive, don’t you?"

"No!" Andrew exclaimed. "That’s great. Let’s go with that." He reached out again and placed his hands over Faith’s temples. "You’re in Boston, in this nice, pretty historical park, feeding the ducks, and everyone around you’s dropping their r’s..."

Faith smiled, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. KNOCK, KNOCK. They burst open again.

"What?" Andrew asked, annoyed.

Jeff was standing in the doorway, looking sheepish. "Sorry to interrupt," he said.

"Oh, hey," Andrew replied more softly. "I didn’t know it was you. I thought you were on bereavement leave."

"So did I, but they’re shipping me out to California for some top-secret mission. They want a magic sweep, and the LA Coven doesn’t have the right skill set, I guess."

"I’m sorry," Andrew said sincerely.

"It’s okay," Jeff replied. "Actually it’s better than just sitting around…thinking…Anyway, I thought you’d want to know, so you don’t…yeah." He glanced nervously over at Faith.

"Okay, take care Jeff," Andrew said.

"Yeah, right," he sighed. He left the doorway and walked on down the hall.

Faith stared after him. Andrew noticed. "What is it?" he asked.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, that’s Jeff," Andrew explained. "He can see the future. Sometimes. It’s a thing."

"Bereavement, huh? Who died?"

Andrew seemed uncertain of what to say. "Someone he was close to," he said nervously.

"Someone I knew too based on that reaction?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," was all Andrew said.

"Mmm, he’s really cute. You don’t think he’d be interested in me, do you?"

Andrew nearly choked on his tongue. "I don’t think so. That would be…weird."

"Why would it be weird?" Faith looked at him with wide, sincere eyes.

At first Andrew was silent. His eyes darted around as if he were thinking of the right response. "The person who died was his fiancée," Andrew finally said solemnly.

"Oh, wow," Faith replied. "Open mouth insert foot, huh?"

"No, you had no idea…literally…Look, let’s just try this again, okay?"

Faith nodded.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Meeting Room – Evening

"Mr. Wells, I’m not sure what you’re saying," Jason Felix sighed and removed his glasses. "Why can’t we—"

"Is this a private meeting, or can Little Miss Memoryless join in?"

All the eyes in the meeting room turned to see Faith standing in the doorway. In addition to Felix, Buffy, Kennedy, Willow, Rowena, Robin, and Lori were all there. Andrew stood in the front of the room, hands gripping a lectern.

"I’m not sure that’s such a good idea," Buffy said after a long moment.

"C’mon, guys," Kennedy said. "It’s not like she’s a stranger. She’s Faith. And I think she has a right."

"If you’re talking about where all my memories went," Faith nodded. "I want to be in on it."

Buffy rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat. "Sure, why not."

Faith grinned. Felix pulled out a seat for her at the end of the table, and she hopped over and sat down.

Willow leaned over to whisper in Rowena’s ear. "That girl is way too chipper, considering everything." Rowena just nodded.

"Anyway, Andrew," Robin said, "I agree with Felix. How is this something new?"

"I don’t think I’m explaining it very well," he said. "Yes, the memories are gone. And no, there’s no magic residue or physical signs, but there’s still…scars. A space in her subconscious where they used to be that’s empty now."

"Andy," Willow began, "I don’t want to denigrate your skills as a witch, but why were you able to see this when I wasn’t?"

"I was able to get her to relax," Andrew said with a shrug.

Willow looked over at Faith, who shrugged. "Hey, he’s a pretty cool guy."

"Why, thank you Faith…The point is," Andrew pressed on, "that it’s as if someone reached in and amputated Faith’s previous self, her life."

Rowena shook her head. "So…what does that mean?"

"It means that the memories aren’t just gone," he said. "They’ve been taken…by force, it appears. Which means magic may not work. And unless we can find the thing that took them, and then find some way to put them back in, Faith’s never going to get those memories back. Clean slate. Reboot."

"Well, we’re superheroes, right?" Faith asked. She looked toward Buffy and then added, "Oh, sorry, slaaaayers…Anyway, it can’t be too hard, right?"

Kennedy sighed nervously. "Right. Not too hard."

Black Out.

 End of Act Two

Act Three 

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Night

Robin found Willow alone in the library. The light at her table was the only one left on in the library. She growled in frustration and pushed her book off the side of the table, where it hit the floor with a thud. After a brief moment’s hesitation, she picked up the next book on her pile.

Robin lightly rested his hands on her shoulders. "You should call it a night. See your children. Your wife…"

"Everyone else left," Willow told him without looking up. "I just…I feel like we’re missing something. We have to be, right? We can’t just…not do anything. Just sit here."

"They all left because they all worked a thirty-hour shift," Robin told her. He sat down in the chair next to her. "We all want to help Faith, believe me…but I’m starting to think this isn’t the way."

"I think maybe you’re right," Willow said softly. "I think maybe Andrew’s right."

"That’s the spirit."

"But he can’t be right!" Willow almost shouted. "If not magic, then what? How the heck do you put something back in somebody’s head without using magic?"

"If anybody can figure it out, we can," Robin told her.

"Why aren’t you worrying?!" Willow sounded exasperated.

Robin sighed. "I only have so much worry in me, it turns out. I love Faith, and I’ve come to believe that everything works out exactly as it’s supposed to." He tapped his artificial leg. "Even this. So if it takes a while, it takes a while. We’ll figure it out."

She shook her head. "I have Ethan calling in favors. I have Giles checking the Guardian records. I even called my mother to talk about memory disorders, and that’s probably the scariest part of this whole thing—"

"Willow," Robin interrupted with a grin on his face, "were you even listening to me?"

Willow blinked a few times. "I’m not sure…I’m really tired."

"Go see your wife."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Slayer Rec Room – Same Time

"There you are," Kennedy called.

Faith looked up from her solo game of pool and smiled. "Oh, hey. I was just gonna come looking for you. Turns out I’m pretty decent at this game." She motioned towards the table with her cue.

"Probably not as decent as me," Kadin said from behind Kennedy. She had a wicked smile on her face.

Faith stood up straight and put a hand on her hip. "I haven’t met you yet, have I? Sorry if I have…there’s been a lot of names and faces at once."

"So it’s true," Kadin commented as she sized Faith up with her eyes. "The queen slayer’s lost her marbles."

"Or forgot where I left ’em, at any rate." Faith nodded. "So, Ace, you wanna introduce me?"

Kennedy looked around before she realized there was no one there, but the three of them. "You mean me?"

"Nicknames, just something I’m tryin’," Faith shrugged. "You seem like the top slayer here now."

"Right, um, okay." Kennedy shook her head. "This is Kadin Van Helsing."

"Like Drac—"

"Yes, that Van Helsing," Kadin put in preemptively.

"You don’t look Dutch," Faith told her.

Kadin grinned. "My father was Dutch. My mother was Spanish."

"Ah," Faith nodded. "So you’re a slayer too then?"

"No, she’s my girlfriend," Kennedy explained.

"Hey, I fight monsters too, ya know?" Kadin teased Kennedy as she put her arm around her.

Faith stood still for a moment, leaning on her pool cue, looking at both of them and their pose together. "Oh. So you’re…"

"I’m what?" Kennedy asked, trying to keep from cracking a grin.

"Nothing," Faith covered. "Just…that’s cool. Did I know this?"

"Yeah, I can say pretty emphatically that you did," Kadin told her.

The awkward moment still lingered for a few seconds until Faith totally switched gears. "Do you wanna swordfight?"

Kennedy shook her head, giggling. "I’m sorry, what?"

Faith put down her pool cue. "I just hear I kind of rule at it, and I’ve been itching to try it out…"

"I’d love to," Kennedy said, "but I have to patrol. We just wanted to check in. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, great!" Faith told her with a wide smile. "So, you’re looking for evil dudes? Can I come?"

"I’m not sure that’s a good idea," Kennedy told her regretfully.

"’Cause of the memories?" Faith asked, throwing herself down on a nearby chair. "Really, I’m fine. Super, even."

Kennedy nodded. "That might be the case but it’s best you sit things out for a while. But I, on the other hand, really have to go. I hear the devil is ringing doorbells in the city while wearing a winter coat and galoshes. Gotta get to work, so I’ll leave you two gals to it."

Then she walked out of the room, leaving Kadin and Faith staring at each other.

"I could use a swordfight," Kadin offered after a long moment.

"Cool," Faith answered, hopping to her feet.

Cut To:Int.Willow & Rowena’s Apartment – Bedroom – A Short Time Later

Sitting at the dressing table, Willow sighed wearily as she ran her fingers through her hair. She could hear Rowena in the bathroom, preparing for bed. She looked in the mirror and picked up her brush. Allowing her mind to wander, she began to absently work out the snarls and tangles left from the usual bedtime bout with the twins, who now slumbered peacefully.

Rowena emerged from the bathroom and saw the seated witch brushing her hair. Rowena walked up quietly behind Willow and gently took the brush from her.

"Umm…Thanks baby…" Willow said as Rowena began to brush the red locks. "That feels sooooo… gooooood..."

Rowena said nothing but merely smiled and stroked Willow’s hair with her other hand following each brush stroke. Willow opened her eyes and, seeing Rowena smiling at her in the mirror, she gave back a smile of her own. But her smile faded as her own image began to change before her eyes.

She blinked then closed her eyes. "I must be tired…" she said as she opened her eyes again. There in the mirror, she saw her red hair turning black starting from the roots as Rowena ran the brush through it. Willow gaped at her own reflection as her eyes grew wide – and black! Veins began to show in her face, black and spidery.

"Ro! Ro, do you—?" She stopped in mid-sentence as she looked upward and saw not Rowena, but Warren Meers – skinned but very much alive – standing behind her and smoothly gliding the brush through her raven-black hair. He smiled, white teeth in a raw-flesh mouth.

"R-Ro…RO!"

"Will?"

"RO!"

Rowena dropped the brush on the table and took Willow by the shoulders. Willow was trembling, and her eyes were squeezed shut. "Will, honey, what is it? What’s wrong? Will? Will, answer me! Willow!"

Willow turned her face to the sound of Rowena’s voice and forced herself to open her eyes. There beside her was Rowena, her face full of worry and fear. Willow heaved loud breaths and turned shakily to the mirror. Her reflection – red hair, frightened green eyes, and pale skin with a slight pink blush in the cheeks – stared back at her.

"Willow!"

"I – I’m all right. I – I must be…tired…" She looked into Rowena’s worried face and smiled. "I just need some rest," she said reassuringly.

"It’s been a little rough, hasn’t it?" Rowena asked. "The Council and twins…"

Willow opened her mouth to say what had really happened, but then she merely smiled and nodded. Rowena smiled back and reached for the brush once more.

"Uh…no, baby," Willow said, laying her hand atop Rowena’s wrist. "Let’s go to bed."

Rowena smiled. "Yeah. You’re beautiful enough for one night."

They got silently under the covers and snuggled close together. Willow shut her eyes and sighed, finally relaxing against Rowena. Just then, a cry rose from the baby monitor on the nightstand.

"I’ll go," Rowena said. "You close your eyes and get some rest." Willow smiled as Rowena kissed her lightly on the lips. "I want you sound

asleep by the time I get back!" Rowena said as she got up and padded from the room.

Willow watched Rowena leave, and then her smile faded as her eyes traveled from the doorway to the brush on top of the dressing table.

Cut To:Ext.Top of Tres Rios Dam – Night

Jeff grunted as he sat down in his sacred circle, perched on the sidewalk above Tres Rios Dam. Mia’s back was turned to him as she leaned over the railing and watched the river below. She didn’t see Amira come up silently next to her.

"Lindquist is prepared?" Amira asked, slightly mangling Jeff’s last name.

"Yeah, he’s ready," Mia said without looking up.

"You will be taking the overnight sentry shift?" Amira stated. It wasn’t really a question.

"Yeah-huh."

"You are wondering whether you should have come back to the Council."

"Yeah-huh." Mia pulled a double take, finally tearing her eyes away from the water. "Wait. What?"

Amira leaned herself over the railing, her hijab fluttering a little in the desert wind. "It is a strange thing. I look at you, and I see pieces of myself. You think I have never wanted to throw a quarterstaff at a student?"

"Technically," Mia pointed out, "I didn’t really throw it at the student. Does Lorinda Sheparton count as a student?"

Behind them, Jeff was chanting, eyes closed. In the distance, the army was closing off the bridge over the dam.

"I served the suspension for that," Mia continued. "It was a while ago." Her eyes drifted back to the river.

"That was only a symptom," Amira told her. "Is that the right word, symptom?"

"Probably," Mia replied softly.

"You are fighting because it is all you have done. The only thing that was ever between you and nothing—between you and the gutter—was the fighting." Amira worked the air with her fingers as if trying to snatch the words out of the ether. "But there is no one, no friends, no lover, and it is only you and the evil, and sometimes there is no evil, and it is only you, and you are fighting yourself."

Mia stared at Amira for a long moment. Finally, she shook her head. "Well, I mean, yeah, when you say it all insightful like that."

"When I was in Paris, there was a time when I did things…There was even a hearing, they said that I was a danger to myself, that I took too many risks." Amira looked directly into Mia’s eyes. "They were right. I want you to know that you are needed here. There is something in the tunnel…or in front of the tunnel…"

"A light at the end of the tunnel?" Mia ventured.

"Yes," Amira smiled. "And I want you to know that it is never just you. We are all part of a chain, and we need each other."

"There’s no magic," Jeff said from behind them. The moment broken, both slayers turned to look as the witch got to his feet. "At least, nothing very specific. No weapons, bombs, spells, anything like that as far as I can tell. There’s a sort of strange background…" He waved his hand vaguely in the air, shrugged. "I’ll look into it. I think I’ll try this again downstairs in the turbine room and see if I get anything different."

"Good, go ahead," Amira told him. She turned back to Mia as Jeff walked the distance to the nearest entrance. "Are you sensing anything?"

"Demons, you mean?" Amira nodded. Mia bit her lip. "Not…in the way that I’m used to. There’s only, like, flickers, flashes. On the edges."

"I have the same," Amira said. "I do not like it. It makes my nose twitch."

"Yeah," Mia agreed. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and turned her eyes skyward. "A storm is definitely coming."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Lobby – Later That Night

Kennedy walked in from patrol, an axe resting on one shoulder, whistling a tune that might have been a Kanye West song but was a little too sharp or flat to be recognizable. She stopped in surprise when she saw Faith sitting in a chair in the otherwise empty waiting area, watching a news report on one of the televisions.

"What’s up?" Kennedy asked.

"I’m on TV." Faith pointed. "Or at least, my picture is. Apparently I’m becoming a recluse in response to allegations regarding my past. It’s interesting stuff."

Kennedy sighed and awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah."

Faith looked up at her, a grin on her face. "Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask. Not yet, anyway. I mean, you all are working night and day to restore everything up here to full working order." She tapped the side of her head. "Seems like a lot of work to catch up on all that when I’m sure I’ll be remembering it all on my own soon enough."

"That’s a good way to look at it," a relieved Kennedy nodded. "Um…it’s like two in the morning."

Faith nodded. "Yeah?"

Kennedy rested her axe on the floor of the lobby with a clank. "And you haven’t slept in…I’m actually not sure, but it wasn’t yesterday or today, so…why are you here?"

Faith looked down at her hands. "Well, it turns out that I, uh, actually don’t have my own room. The me I don’t remember usually shares a bed with—"

"Robin," Kennedy finished. "Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch for now."

"No," Faith said a little too quickly. "No, that whole thing kinda falls under what I said before about not dealing. And is also really, really awkward. He offered the place but…"

Kennedy nodded. "Well, you could stay with me since it’s probably a little too late to get you set up in a guest suite. But we can do that tomorrow if you want."

Faith managed a wan smile. "Kadin won’t mind?"

"Hell no, you’re my…" Kennedy trailed off and looked away.

"I’m your what?" Faith asked.

Kennedy looked unsure for a moment. "You’re my best friend," she finally replied. Faith didn’t seem surprised or unsettled by the revelation, so Kennedy went on. "We’ve shared a lot of good times…and some really crappy ones too," she confessed. "But…you’re really the first person who ever liked me for me."

"Why? You seem pretty cool."

"And pretty rich. I found out early that a true friend is tough to come by when people love your money more than you," she answered. A small silence passed between them.

"This is tough on me right now," Faith told her, "but I guess it’s tough on you guys too, huh?"

Kennedy nodded sadly for a few seconds but then perked up. "But who knows?" she said optimistically. "You might wake up tomorrow, and the watcher types will have worked all this out."

Faith nodded once. "Right."

Fade to Black.

One Week Later

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Day

Faith sat up in one of the visitor chairs, listening attentively, her hands folded across her lap, as she listened to Lori speak from the chair next to her. Buffy watched from behind her desk.

"Miss Lehane, I know we haven’t had a lot of updates lately concerning your…problem," Lori was saying, "but we felt that you deserved to know what the situation is. You’ve done a lot of good here, and we don’t want you to feel that we’re holding anything back. It’s just that we really weren’t sure how to…and then we drew straws, and I got the short one, so…"

"I’m sorry," Faith said, holding up a hand, "but please…just tell me what’s going on."

Lori glanced at Buffy, who gave a short nod. Lori took a deep breath.

"We don’t think we can help you. With the memories."

Faith nodded, without really changing her expression. A flicker of something passed through her eyes, then disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "Okay then," she said with a striking sense of finality.

"We’re not giving up here, but even with the Oversight Committee, there’re only so many resources we have. If your memories were…trapped somewhere, we might have a chance, but we don’t think that’s what happened."

"What did happen?" Buffy asked.

"The current theory," Lori replied, "is that Fa— Miss Lehane’s memories were…eaten."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Eaten?" Buffy asked. "Like…with food?"

Lori shrugged. "It’s very possible some kind of demon was responsible, but we have no leads as to what its identity might have been. For all we know, the slayers might already have gone and earned their name with it."

"So what now?" Faith asked.

"I’m sorry?" Lori asked.

Faith wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Where do we go from here? I’m supposed to be all important and everything, and I personally feel I’ve been really extra understanding with you guys keeping me cooped up here, but when do I actually get to start doing this job I hear so much about?"

"Well, um, there are many issues to consider," Lori replied. "We’re going to have to review your position as leader of the slayer division. And we’re going to have to address this scandal at some point. Jim’s out there playing word games with the press, and it’s starting not to be funny anymore. As far as I know, there hasn’t been any subpoenas…yet, but—"

Faith cut her off. "I can do this. I used to do it. I can still do it. I’m interested in learning whatever I need to know. Maybe we need a bigger meeting to address your concerns. I think the more people who get involved, the more everyone will be on the same page. Last thing I want is to step on somebody’s toes."

She looked over at Buffy, who appeared a little dumbfounded, but nodded. "Yeah, okay, we can do that."

Faith plowed right on without really slowing down. "Then after I learn everything if you still don’t want me on the street, I was thinking about getting started teaching again. I don’t know my prior experience, but I think I might work really well with children."

"Well—" Lori began, but she couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

"I think I might actually have some interesting ideas for this place. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you guys seem to be doing a bang-up job, but I think it might be helpful to come at things from a different perspective. Like—"

"Faith, this all sounds great," Buffy began, "but I think first we should slow down for a second here."

"Okay," Faith said, taking a deep breath. She hesitated then said, "It’s Miss Lehane. Please."

"Right," Buffy nodded. "I forgot. Sorry."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway Outside Buffy’s Office – Same Time

"Hey Mr. Harris!" Faith waved as she walked past him.

"Hey!" Xander replied. "And it’s…Xander…" But Faith was already gone. A moment later, he turned to see Lori exiting Buffy’s office. When she saw him, she sighed and crossed her arms.

"Seemed like she took it okay," Xander commented.

"Is this the part where you ask me if I’m glad that I was somehow able to rob one of the Council chiefs of her identity?" Lori asked tiredly. "Where you congratulate me on my successful conspiracy? Because I’m not in the mood."

Xander shook his head. "It really isn’t."

"Then why are you here?"

"I just wanted to be here in case you…needed backup," he said.

Lori scoffed and began to walk past him. "I can handle myself. I’m the Condi Rice of the demon world, remember?"

She came up short, a look of surprise on her face, when Xander put out a hand and placed it on her shoulder as she went past.

"Look," he said softly, "I just want to say I’m sorry."

She turned, cleared a lock of hair out of her eyes. "About what?"

"You know what," he replied. "Everything. Us. The way I’ve treated you and everyone else from the Bureau. Everything went Alfred Hitchcock for a while there, and it was mostly my fault. And then Hope dies saving everybody, and you all work your butts off trying to help Faith…"

"But we didn’t," Lori reminded him sadly. "She’s not gonna be the way she was."

"You tried," Xander said. "So, yeah, I just wanted to say I’m sorry."

Lori smiled at him. He smiled back. Then she said, "I’m seeing someone."

Xander bit his lip. "That’s good. Good for you."

"His name is Eric Mulroney; he’s a demonologist. You’d like him."

"Yeah," Xander said. "I’m sure I would."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Slayer Gym – Later

Kennedy found Faith doing chin-ups, Shannon spotting for her from beneath.

"You’re really good at this," Shannon said, "especially considering you don’t remember ever doing it before."

"It’s weird, I know," Faith replied as she hopped down. She reached out a hand and tousled Shannon’s hair. "You’re a cute kid. We should do this again." She flicked her head over her shoulder in Kennedy’s general direction. "I think the boss lady and I’ve got things to discuss."

Shannon gave Faith a bemused look but headed for the door all the same.

Kennedy watched her go. "So, I guess this means you approve of her and Norman?"

"Who’s Norman?"

"Whoops," Kennedy said under her breath. She opened her mouth, hesitating.

Faith took a swig of water from a bottle then made a face. "What is it with bottled water? It tastes weird, and you can get normal water out a faucet for free. It’s like people—"

"He’s your son," Kennedy said suddenly. "Norman’s the name of your kid."

The ensuing spit-take from Faith was really something spectacular. Kennedy recoiled and then wiped something from her cheek.

"I have a son?" Faith asked. "But…it’s been a week! Where is he? Nobody told me…"

Kennedy reached out a hand towards Faith in an attempt to calm her down. "No, it’s okay."

"What if he needed me? I can do mom stuff! Why did you guys—?"

"Because it’s complicated," Kennedy explained. "He doesn’t live here. You gave him up for adoption because you were a kid yourself. You guys are in touch, but it’s not all the time, okay?"

Faith took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, I’m sorry. Just kinda outta nowhere, is all." She took another swig of her water and made another face. "Does he hate me?"

"No, far from it." Kennedy answered truthfully. "He’s got a wonderful adopted family in Georgia that come for visits when they can. Everyone is…fine with it all."

"I guess I haven’t really asked about those things much. What I did before I forgot…what I did."

Kennedy sat down on the bench press, grimacing a little. "This might sound a little off, but do you want my advice?"

"Yeah," Faith nodded. "You’re the wise one."

"If you say so," Kennedy sighed. "Look, I get why you’d want to know about your past, but…just consider that maybe you’re better off without it. Maybe this whole thing has been a blessing in disguise?"

Faith grinned. "That bad, huh?"

A ghost of a rueful smile was on Kennedy’s face. "I see you smile now, and I…sometimes I think I’d trade places with you in a second."

"What about Kadin?" Faith asked.

"What about Robin?" Kennedy replied.

Faith sighed and put her hands on her hips. "So, that Shannon girl’s dating my kid?"

"Kinda."

"I hope they use protection."

First, it was a chuckle. Then Kennedy cracked up. Then she had a brief moment of waving her arms for balance. Then she fell off the bench with a crash. Faith covered her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to not look too amused.

Cut To:Ext.Above Tres Rios Dam – Day

Mia sighed as she twirled a sword over her shoulder. The river below roared low in the distance. Cars and semis flashed past behind her. She was suddenly overtaken by a surprisingly large yawn. "Wow."

She walked a short distance along the top of the dam, towards where Valentine stood near the middle, a short battle axe held lightly in one hand. Clouds drifted lazily across a far, uneven desert horizon.

"What are you thinking about?" Mia asked, obviously desperate for conversation.

"My birthday," Valentine said, a little spacily. She looked over at Mia. "It’s tomorrow. Didn’t really occur to me we’d still be here." She gestured to the road. "They’ve re-opened the highway. Jeff and the L.A. coven can’t really give us specifics…"

"But there’s still something," Mia pointed out. "We all feel it. You feel it, right?"

Valentine shrugged.

"So, how old are you gonna be?"

"Hmm?"

"Your birthday."

"Oh," Valentine said.

"Sorry, I know it’s rude to ask—"

"Thirty," Valentine said. "I’m turning thirty."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Wow. So…you kickin’ or stickin’?"

Valentine laughed. Once. "You know, you may be the fiftieth person to ask me that. Exactly like that."

Mia smiled. "Yeah, with all of us slayers cooped up together we had to have our own slang eventually."

"I actually haven’t decided yet," Valentine said. "About the kickin’ or stickin’. The Council’s been really good, though, about giving me different options."

"But…your birthday’s tomorrow," Mia pointed out.

"Yeah," Valentine sighed. She looked down at the river then up at Mia. "You asked what I was thinking about. So, what are you—?"

BOOM!

Mia watched the piece of concrete Valentine was standing on rise up ten feet in a quarter of a second. A pick-up truck flew off the edge, clipped the edge of the roadway, and tumbled into the reservoir. Then, with a grinding noise that consumed all other sounds, Valentine, along with her section of the roadway, began to plummet.

BOOM!

Mia was knocked off her feet this time, slamming her jaw into the pavement. She watched in a daze as a crack a foot wide opened up and snaked across the roadway.

BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions continued. Somewhere. Underneath her, maybe. Machine guns had opened up on the bluffs, firing at phantoms. A helicopter circled helplessly overhead.

BOOM!

She looked back at where Valentine had been; she didn’t look like she could quite comprehend the empty space and dust she found.

As more explosions rang out, large slabs of the dam fell crashing to the rocks below. A wall of water sprayed through the openings, obliterating all in its path.

Black Out.

End of Act Three

Act FourFade In:Ext.Tres Rios Dam – Day

A huge section of the dam, the middle third or so, was completely gone. Water continued to pour through the gap, and the water level on the two sides was beginning to equalize.

Mia, on one of the sections of the dam that still stood, finished pulling a small girl, perhaps five years old, out of the side window of a car that was lying on its roof.

"It’s okay," Mia told the girl as she picked her up and slung her over her shoulder. "You’re okay. You’re safe now."

"Nakata!"

Mia turned at the sound of her name to see Amira running towards her across the asphalt, picking her way around abandoned vehicles and stray pieces of rubble.

"I’m here!" Mia called in return. She cocked her head to whisper in the little girl’s ear. "What’s your name?"

She could see a military helicopter in the distance, clipping speedily over the death throes of Lake Truman.

"Madison," the girl said. She seemed remarkably together for a five year old in her situation.

Amira stopped a few feet from the two of them. "We need to leave. This cannot be stable."

"What happened?" Mia asked breathlessly.

Amira shook her head. "I do not know. We…we failed." She looked nervously over one shoulder. She tugged at her hijab with one hand, and Mia could see that it was shaking.

"Ya think?"

"Everything was covered, I do not understand…" Amira seemed to see the little girl for the first time. "Her parents?"

Mia shook her head.

"Pavlov?" By the noise, the helicopter was much closer.

Mia shook her head again then asked, "Hadley’s still back at the hotel?" She ran a hand through the little girl’s hair, patting her a few times.

Amira nodded. "If she has obeyed orders."

"That’s not a yes," Mia noted, "not with her."

"We need to go," Amira said again as the helicopter touched down on a rare clear section of roadway. She motioned to the little girl. "Bring her."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Day

Buffy sat pensively, both elbows resting on her desk and chin resting on her hands. Robin sat across from her, flipping through a sheaf of papers.

"What’s a meroi?" Buffy asked, her voice low, gravelly, and tired.

"Apparently, kind of like a mermaid," Robin told her, "except more… demonic. Rowena discovered an engraving in the Sorenstadt Compendium, though there’s no record of any colonies in the river…One would have thought that if there were any, they would have been destroyed when the dam was built."

"Maybe there were," Buffy said. "That would explain the anger…but I still don’t understand. We had warning. Amira told me she had everything covered…"

"As it turns out, she had everything above the surface covered," Robin replied. "No one considered the possibility of a suicide bombing by aquatic creatures."

"And Amira leads Black Ops, not Scuba Ops," Buffy finished. "Right."

Robin had no follow up. Buffy leaned further forward then sat back. She spun in her chair and looked out the window. Several satellite trucks lined Tenth Street, boom arms reaching skyward. Robin looked down at his papers again, flipping as he looked for something.

"Ohhhh..." Buffy drew out the syllable, letting it roll and sit. "...hell."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Guest Suite – Day

Faith finished washing her hands in the kitchen nook of her guest suite. She then tore off a paper towel from its roll and began drying her hands.

"Thanks for stopping by," she called to an unseen visitor. "It seems like a lot of people around here really look up to you, and I kinda think I might need some advice on this one." She glanced over her shoulder. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Turns out I really like English breakfast."

"No, I’m all right," Jason Felix said from his chair in the next room.

The place was starting to become at least a little homey, if by "homey" one meant "untidy." Faith had been living there a week, with little effort having been made to get anything organized. Socks and various similar items were piled on the floor, having been hastily cleaned off of Jason’s chair. Faith exited the kitchen carrying her own cup of tea and saucer and sat down on the couch next to Jason.

"And it truly is not any trouble," he told her. "We all are anxious to do anything we can to help you during this…transitional period."

"I know everyone’s busy dealing with what happened in California," Faith said, repeatedly dipping her tea bag in the steaming water. "My issues feel kinda dinky in comparison."

"It’s perfectly all right," Felix insisted. "At any rate, I believe a temporary change of subject may be beneficial for me at this point. What do you have on your mind, Miss Lehane?"

Faith sighed and set her cup and saucer down on the coffee table. "Since I…since this happened, I’ve just kind of been going with it. Things come up, I let them slide. And a lot of the time I’m okay with just living in the moment. But other times, I need, well, something…I’m not sure if I’m saying this right."

"Context matters, and you have no context," Jason ventured.

"Yeah, I think that’s what I mean," Faith nodded with a smile. "See, look at you, all with the wise. But, the thing is, okay, I was talking to Kennedy, and she seems fairly with it, right?"

"I suppose so," Jason replied guardedly.

"Anyway, she says that maybe I shouldn’t go looking. That maybe I don’t want to know. But, I can’t know if I’m happier not knowing unless I know what I don’t know, and if I knew that, I’d already know what I don’t know. Does that make sense?"

"Well…" Jason trailed off, a smile on his face. "The grammar’s a bit iffy, but that’s not the question, is it?"

"No, it’s not."

Jason drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair. "I can’t tell you which course of action will make you happier because obviously I’m not a mind reader. If I was, I’d be considerably better educated about a number of issues in this place…"

"But there’s a but," Faith put in. "I hear a but coming."

"But," Jason said with a smile, "I can share with you a personal belief of mine, which is that the past is too great and a terrible thing to ignore, for any of us. In my case…I have as much to regret as anyone, perhaps more. And when I think of my wife and daughter, the pain is unlike anything…"

"So you’re like Kennedy, then?" Faith asked. "You’d want to trade places?"

Jason shook his head. "You misunderstand me. The memories are painful, yes, but…I would not trade them for anything in this world or any other. I had a beautiful wife, an astounding child. I am grateful for the time I had with them, and they are part of me."

He leaned forward, and so did Faith. "The people you’ve known and the experiences you’ve had are part of you and your life, even if you’ve forgotten them. Making your way in this world is difficult enough, Miss Lehane, without setting up roadblocks of ignorance along the way."

Faith removed the bag from her tea and set it on the saucer alongside the cup, then sat back in her chair and bit her lip in thought. "Yeah, okay," she said finally. "It’s weird, I don’t even know where to start. I mean, it’s not like there’s a book of my life that I can just pick up and read."

Jason raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Faith looked at him.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – Later

Faith smiled and waved when she saw Andrew walking in the opposite direction down one of the Council’s residential hallways. His clothes were rumpled, and he had a frown on his face.

"Hey, Mr. Wells," Faith said. When she got no response, she stopped and asked, "Something up?"

"I can’t reach Tracey," Andrew replied nervously. He saw that Faith didn’t recognize the name. "She’s my girlfriend and at college. Long-distance, these days…"

"Oh." Faith sounded surprisingly disappointed at this news. "Well, that’s good for her, right?"

"She’s in Los Angeles," he said sullenly. "The news makes it look like it’s going all Beyond Thunderdome, and there isn’t nearly enough National Guard left, and Tracey’s in the middle of it. For all I know she could have drowned."

"I don’t think the flooding reached Los Angeles…"

"I’m still worried, okay?" Andrew challenged.

"Yeah, it’s okay." Faith took a step forward. "I really hope you hear from her, all right?"

Andrew nodded once. "Yeah." He sighed. "Where are you going?"

Faith shrugged. "Well, I decided to take a break before moving on to Chapter Fourteen of Blood and Darkness."

"Good stopping point?" Andrew asked.

"Cliffhanger," Faith told him. "I’ve fled to Los Angeles and am about to have a showdown with the law, the Watchers Council, my archrival Buffy Summers, and possibly some vampire guy. A real page-turner, I have to say. It’s strange…none of this feels real yet, not then, not now, not any of it. It just seems like an over-the-top, sci-fi fantasy tale about a heartless bitch…Is that weird?"

Andrew shook his head. "It’s not weird. Really. You don’t know the woman in those pages."

Faith pointed over her shoulder. "Well, I’m actually, um, on my way to see Mr. Wood."

Andrew offered her a wan smile. "Good luck."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – Seconds Later

Faith saw Willow coming down the hallway with a double stroller with the kids bundled up inside it.

"Hey," she said as she approached. "These the tots I’ve been hearing about?" Faith got down on her knee and put her pinky finger out to the girl dressed in pink. "Boy, she’s got one heck of a grip."

"Yep," Willow said proudly. "That’s Alex and Jen," she said, pointing each one out. "It’s finally a warm day, so I thought I’d go walk around

the grounds a bit. You’re welcome to join us if you like, Faith." She quickly corrected herself. "I mean Miss Lehane."

"I’m on my way to see Mr. Wood actually." Willow brightened at the news. "Not like that," Faith said. Willow’s look became one of quiet defeat.

"I’m sorry," Willow replied. "I’m not trying to play matchmaker or anything but…"

"But…?" Faith asked with a grin.

"He really is a great guy…once you get to know him…again. All I’m saying is keep the possibility open because you won’t regret it. A-A-And good guys are hard to find."

"No doubt – everyone here is either taken or gay," Faith replied.

Willow grinned. "Not everyone, but yeah, pretty much, it seems. My offer to join us still stands, though."

"Actually," Faith began. She seemed unsure of what to say next. "You know my whole story, right?" Willow nodded. "I’ve been reading Blood and Darkness."

"Oh, boy," Willow sighed.

"Yeah, well, how much of it is really true?"

Willow’s hands nervously played with the stroller handle. "Did you read it all yet?" Faith shook her head. "I’ll tell you what. Finish it. A-A-And then if you’ve got specific questions, we’ll go over them, okay?"

"Just one question for now," Faith started. "Did I really kill someone in cold blood?" Willow didn’t say anything at first. "I see," Faith muttered.

"Look, Faith," Willow told her. "There’s a lot more to all of this than what’s in those pages. We’ve all been trying to keep you a bit in the dark but…like I said, read the book, and I’ll help you separate the fact from the fiction, all right?"

"Thanks," Faith answered with a nod.

Willow returned it and motioned toward the elevator. "Gotta get going before they get too warm in here," she said, motioning down to the kids. "Anyway, if you get bored, just come on out."

"Sure," Faith said as she let them pass. She watched for a moment as they walked along before she continued on her way.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Moments Later

Rowena stopped, books in hand, when she saw Faith enter the library.

"Miss Lehane?"

"What’s going on?" Faith looked around and saw that the library was jumping. The place looked much like it had a week earlier when Faith had first lost her memory. But this time…the tone was different. Quieter.

Rowena shrugged. "We’re not sure. Tres Rios could just be the beginning. That’s my feeling, anyway. Anything that could help, anything at all…" she trailed off as she glanced at the diligently working watchers.

"Sounds like you guys need all the help you can get," Faith said. "I’m exceedingly available, y’know?"

Rowena hesitated then nodded. "I’ll talk to Ken. Is that why you dropped by?"

Faith looked down at the floor. "Actually, I was told Robin would be here."

"Oh!" Rowena exclaimed. "Yeah, I think he’s heading up the people going over demonic cults. That’s over there." She pointed.

Faith found Robin the back of the library, in the middle of re-shelving a stack of books. He looked only a little surprised when he saw her.

"Miss Lehane," he said formally.

"Call me Faith," she said softly, walking towards him.

"Faith," Robin nodded.

"I, um, wanted to thank you," Faith said. "I know I’m not the easiest gal to deal with. Now, or, apparently, before."

Robin shrugged. "I have some experience." He put down the book he was holding and moved forward, putting a hand on Faith’s shoulder. "You can tell me whatever you need to."

"Look," Faith began, not quite able to look him in the eye, "I feel like I owe you something."

"Owe me what?"

"An explanation, maybe," Faith sighed. "The truth, definitely. Look, I don’t know you, okay? Yes, you’re probably pretty ripped, but there’s more to life, y’know?"

Robin grinned. "Glad to see you’ve grown."

"The point is," Faith told him, "I need time. Space. Both of those together. I need to figure out who I am before I try to add anybody else to my life like that."

She reached up and took Robin’s hand off her shoulder. However, it still remained clasped in her fingers.

"Any idea…how much time we’re talking about here?" Robin asked.

Faith shook her head, a small smile on her face. "You gonna wait for me? How do you even know that I’m the girl you fell for? Maybe that was nurture instead of nature."

"A rose by any other name is still as sweet," Robin said.

Faith nodded and dropped his hand. She turned and walked down the aisle between the bookshelves, only stopping when she reached the end.

"Is that how you got me to fall for you the first time?" she called. "Stolen verses of Shakespeare?"

Robin smiled and shook his head. "Ah, no. Definitely not."

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – Evening

Andrew was almost startled out of his skin when his phone rang, stopping him in his tracks and filling the hallway with the sound of the Star Wars theme. He fished his phone out of his pocket, ducking to the side of the hallway as he put it to his ear.

"Tracey! I’ve been trying to reach you. Are you okay?" Andrew listened for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you can’t really charge up your phone, huh? Listen, we are going to get you out of there…no, don’t loot the video game store! Think about it, how are you gonna play the games without electricity?"

He smiled.

"See, I’m right when I use that fancy logic…yes, and sexy too. Stay on the line, all right? I’ll get you details…Things around here? Well, Faith and Robin have been retconned out of existence, just like Peter Parker and Mary Jane…it’s kind of a long story. I’ll tell you some other time."

Cut To:Ext.California Desert – Evening

The yellow eyes and ridged face of a female vampire peered from the shadows behind a huge, reddish rock, beyond which the last rays of the setting sun were vanishing. A gray cloud hung in the air between…the death shroud of Tres Rios.

"She wants to see it for herself," the vampire mumbled to herself. "I get that. But hasn’t she heard of a video camera, or at least of waiting until sundown to meet with the vampire…?"

"I apologize for the inconvenience," the Voice of Hell said. The vampire, turned, startled, to find the dark-haired woman standing directly next to her.

"I’m so sorry, your magnificence, I didn’t know…"

She waved a hand in dismissal. "I understand. I am benevolent…within limits."

"I know you wanted to survey the attack site, your magnificence, but there’s a few reasons that may not work right now…"

The Voice of Hell smiled, understanding. "My schedule is tight, but I don’t have enough skilled operatives to make them burst into flames at my whim."

"That, and the crowd of reporters just over the ridge," the minion told her. "I think some Congresswoman is giving a press conference."

"It’s all right," the Voice of Hell told him, the words rolling almost lazily off her tongue. "It turns out that your services will not be necessary. I was able to tour the wreckage personally a little while ago."

The vampire looked skeptical. "That’s good, your magnificence. I’m just a little unclear…how did you manage to swing that?"

"I am the Voice of Hell," she said, eyes like a razor. "I speak, and the shadows stop to listen. Carry on."

With that, she turned and walked back up the hill, into the last rays of the sun where the vampire could not follow. Just before the crest of the ridge, her form shifted. The arcane symbol on her forehead disappeared, gold eyes turned to a normal human color, and dark hair turned red.

Congresswoman Autumn O’Mara crested the ridge and walked towards the huge crowd of reporters that waited, the Tres Rios cloud still high in the background.

A young, female aide ran up, an earpiece in one ear and a clipboard in one hand. "Where have you been? Security…"

"Security knows when I want my privacy, Darlene."

"All I’m saying is, you need to stop disappearing like that. Your speech…"

"Will wow them, as usual," O’Mara promised, putting a hand on Darlene’s shoulder. "Now, point me towards the mic. I have work to do."

Darlene pointed, and O’Mara kept heading towards the crowd. "A lot of work to do," she said under her breath.

Cut To:Ext.Cleveland – Prospect Avenue – Night

"Just so we’re clear, I’m in charge here," Casey said.

Faith, walking alongside her, stake in hand, nodded. "We’re completely clear. Even though I am technically your boss." Several other girls walked along behind and in front. Streetlights threw occasional pools of light across an otherwise dark street.

"Technically, nothin’," Casey countered. "You’re on a leave of absence. I take my orders from Miss Summers and Kennedy, and that’s it. You do what I bloody say, we’ll get along fine."

"You know, you’re the first British girl I’ve ever actually met," Faith said. Casey rolled her eyes as the lead girls in the patrol turned into a pitch-black alleyway next to a boarded-up drugstore. "You have better teeth than I would’ve expected."

"Hey!" Casey exclaimed. "Just keep an eye out for any reporters, all right?"

Faith looked confused. "I thought I was supposed to keep an eye out for vampires and demons and stuff."

Casey sighed. "Hard to tell the difference these days, innit?"

A wordless female shout came from the alley. Casey ran to help, and Faith hesitated only a moment before following.

Upon entering the alley, Faith’s eyes took a moment to adjust before she could get a lay of the land. One of the girls was on the ground, wiping blood off her face, while the other three rushed haphazardly at a tall demon whose face was shrouded in shadow. One was punched out as Faith and Casey watched.

"Okay," Faith shouted, "you high, you low, I’ll take the middle."

The two girls she’d pointed at nodded, but Casey put out a hand. "What happened to you being clear on me being in charge?"

Faith raised an eyebrow. "So what’s the plan, Admiral Nelson?"

"The old Faith wouldn’t know who Admiral Nelson was," Casey pointed out as she pulled out her radio and hit the button. "I need backup near Prospect and East Eighteenth."

Faith scoffed as Casey reattached the radio to her hip. "It’s Miss Lehane—"

"Hey, guys..." One of the girls managed, with the demon’s hand around her neck.

Casey grimaced. "Fine, let’s go with your idea."

Faith grinned and ran forward. The demon parried the initial attacks from the other girls, but Faith’s kick caught it in the stomach.

"This is fun!" she yelled, the huge smile still on her face.

As the demon crashed to the ground, however, Faith seemed to stutter for a minute with a confused expression on her face.

Smash Cut To:Faith’s MemoriesSeries of Quick Shots

-- Faith’s watcher, Rosa, stepping closer and then patting her on the back.

-- Buffy and Faith high-fiving as they stand in a graveyard, stakes in hand.

-- Mayor Wilkins making a motion for Faith to spin around in a dress.

-- Angel smiling at her from behind a pane of glass as he reaches up and puts his hand to it.

-- Robin kissing Faith passionately.

-- Faith pulling Kennedy into a hug by a van and Kennedy returning it after a few moments.

-- Willow laughing as they sat looking at a U.S. Government textbook together.

-- Rowena standing in a meeting room and pulling Faith into a fierce hug.

-- Faith standing outside the council with Norman’s mother and Giles.

-- Norman smiling as he hands Faith a motorcycle helmet.

-- Hope standing above her with a taser in her hand.

Smash Cut To:Ext.Cleveland – Prospect Avenue – Resume

The demon, which possessed only one eye on a face surrounded by tentacles, scrambled backwards on the ground.

"Miss Lehane, catch!"

Faith’s head snapped in the direction of the sound to see one of the girls on the ground throw a long knife in her direction, which she easily caught.

"You’re the key," she told the demon in realization and thrust the knife downward.

The tentacled demon screamed long and loud and then collapsed lifelessly.

When nothing else seemed to happen, Faith shrugged.

"I thought for sure…Oh, well, I could get used to this," she said as one of the girls got to her feet. "So, you guys do this all the—"

A translucent, white substance suddenly began pouring out of the demon’s mouth, nose, ears…everywhere. It flowed through the air like mist, wrapping around Faith’s face. She stumbled wildly, arms out.

"Faith!" Casey cried out. She stepped forward to help, but after a split second the substance had already disappeared. Faith blinked a few times, looking confused, then collapsed against the wall.

"Are you okay?" Casey asked, kneeling down in next to her. She looked over her shoulder at one of the girls. "Call the bleedin’ med team!"

The girl nodded and pulled out a radio. Casey turned back to Faith. "Talk to me, girlie…"

At that moment, Kennedy appeared over Casey’s shoulder. "Is she okay? Damn it, I knew we should have waited longer to put her in the field!"

"I’m okay," Faith said softly. She tried to force a smile. "In fact, I’m five by five, Slick." She then turned to Casey. "And don’t call me girlie," she warned with a hint of a playful tone. "I’m practically a decade older than you."

Casey raised an eyebrow and looked to Kennedy, who was slowly beginning to grin.

"Faith?" Kennedy said hopefully.

She nodded. "Check the others. Some of ’em got roughed up pretty good."

Kennedy bent down and kissed Faith on the forehead. She smiled at her a moment longer before joining Casey to check on the rest of the group.

Unseen by anyone, Faith turned her face back towards the wall. The smile disappeared immediately. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Black Out.

Special Guest Star: Morena Baccarin as The Voice of Hell

End of Reboot