Drawn Together - The Watchers Council€¦ · Web view"There’s nothing cool about this. Nothing...

Drawn TogetherTeaser

Story by CN Winters and XAmountOfWordsWritten, Directed and Produced by CN Winters

Edited by Angie WilsonSound by CSR

Art Direction by Robert Kidman and CN WintersCartoon Art by Jin Hayte

Artists – CN Winters, Jin Hayte, Robert Kidman, Humaira and Matt

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Coven Room – Day

A hand slapped down a comic book on top of a stack of bound hardcover books.

"It’s in," Andrew said excitedly.

Willow and Dawn walked over for a closer look.

"What’s that?" Dawn asked. "Another escape from your drab life in the kitchen via action comics?"

Willow grinned.

"Noooo," Andrew said offended. "Okay, so my life does get drab sometimes, yes, but this my dear coven-ettes is the latest double issue installment of the graphic novel based on the greatest slayer in history."

"Buffy?" Willow and Dawn asked simultaneously and moved even closer.

"No, you sillies! Faith! Who’s ever seen Buffy slay anything?"

"Oh you’re kidding," Dawn remarked.

"Has Faith seen this?" Willow asked.

"Seen and approved," Andrew replied. "She didn’t tell you guys?"

Dawn and Willow looked at each other and then said, "No."

"I’m not surprised," Andrew said confidently.

"But she told you?" Dawn asked incredulously.

Andrew shifted his feet nervously. "Well, no, she didn’t tell me either, or anyone here I think," he replied quickly.

"At least I don’t feel out of the loop," Willow replied.

"I think she’s keeping it kind of hush hush," Andrew replied. "At this point though, everybody knows."

"Everybody?" Dawn asked. "We didn’t know," she said motioning between herself and Willow.

"Well, everybody under thirteen," Andrew replied.

"And you," Willow teased.

"Hey, I work with those girls in the kitchen everyday. They talk…That and I saw a previous issue at the comic book store a month ago."

Willow and Dawn both chuckled.

"So fill us in," Willow said. "What derring-do does our darling Faith get into with this adventure?"

Dawn picked it up and started to thumb through it.

"I haven’t read it yet but this is supposed to be the big romance issue," he replied. "Seems most of the folks buying it are tweens and you gotta have romance when it comes to adolescent and pre-adolescent girls."

"I can’t believe Faith would let them do this," Dawn said. "And look at this outfit she’s in," she said as she handed the book to Willow. "You can’t slay in something like that…Where would she put her weapons?"

Willow took it with a chuckle and thumbed through it.

"From what Faith told me," Andrew began, "she only agreed to do it if her proceeds went to the American Cancer Society."

"Oh, that’s sweet," Willow remarked as she handed the book back to Andrew. "And thanks to her generosity I can’t tease her mercilessly about it."

"You’ll work it in somehow. I believe in you," Dawn told her with a grin.

Willow smiled. "Well, let’s get started guys. I’ve got the ingredients all ready so we can start magically binding these babies," she said as she motioned to the books. "Dawn, can you get the small cauldron from the work bench?" she asked.

Dawn nodded and picked up the cauldron bringing it toward Willow as the high priestess began a chant. On her way over her heel broke and she tumbled forward spilling the contents across the floor.

Andrew, who was holding his comic book in his hand instinctively dropped the book as he tried to catch Dawn before she hit the ground. He wasn’t successful in catching her and both he and Dawn tumbled to the floor. The liquid from the cauldron approached the outer edge of the comic as Willow reached down to help both Andrew and Dawn.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," Dawn remarked. "Stupid heel. I know I…" she trailed off as she saw an orange mist start to rise from the comic book and head toward the three of them.

"Uh oh," Andrew replied.

"Get out!" Willow shouted. "Now!"

Andrew and Dawn, trying to run and hobble at the same time, headed toward the door. They turned back to see the

mist closing in on them and to see Willow getting sucked into the book on the floor.

"Oh goddess," Andrew exclaimed as they tried to pick up the pace. He grabbed Dawn by the arm to try to support her so she could move quicker but it was no use. The mist grabbed both of them and with a scream the two of them also streamed into the comic book.

As quickly as it came, the mist was gone…along with everyone in the room.

Fade to Black

End of Teaser

Act One

Starring:

Lacey Chabert as Skye, Caroline Dhavernas as Grace Hatherley, Elijah Wood as Jeffrey Lindquist, Helen Shaver as Becca Giles and Sarah

Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Guest Starring:

Jennifer Connelly as Althenea Dimmons, Thora Birch as Tracey Hausser, Gary Oldman as Jason Felix, Laura Prepon as Lori, Jordana

Brewster as Carli and Cote de Pablo as Amira

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Coven Room – Later That Day

Faith, Buffy and Rowena stood in the coven room looking around. Tracey walked through the door and Rowena turned to her.

"Anything on Andrew?" the watcher asked.

Tracey shook her head. "No messages and no one’s seen him since this morning."

"They can’t just disappear," Faith said. "On second thought, with all we’ve been through chances are they could, but-"

Rowena began to look scared.

"Not helping," Buffy told Faith.

"Sorry," Faith muttered.

Robin then walked inside. "You want the good news or the bad news?" he asked.

"Good news," Buffy told him.

"It wasn’t Heli."

Buffy’s sigh was quite audible.

"The bad news?" Faith asked.

"My guess? They’re possibly in one of the books," Robin replied.

"Come again?" Rowena asked.

"The security tape shows Willow motioning to everyone to leave the room," Robin continued.

"The spilled cauldron," Rowena noted quietly, more to herself than anyone in the room, making Robin nod.

"Dawn and Andrew took off running toward the door, out of camera shot," he continued. "But they were followed by a mist that enveloped Willow. The mist disappeared in this location," he pointed to the books and added, "along with Willow."

"But what about Dawn and Andrew?" Buffy asked, making Tracey nod her head in agreement.

"I’m willing to bet they weren’t fast enough," Robin replied. "The same mist that followed Willow was after them too then…disappeared."

Xander walked into the room. "No one’s seen them so far," he announced.

http://www.thewatcherscouncil.net/sounds/seasonfour/dt/buff-not-helping.mp3

"We’ve got a lead," Buffy said as she started to walk toward the table covered with books in the room’s center. Buffy quirked her head to one side and she looked at the floor. "What’s this?" she wondered out loud.

Faith came to look over her shoulder and her eyes went wide.

"Comic book," she said snatching it up before Buffy could get a good look at it. "Probably nothing, just Andy’s goofy stuff."

"Let me see it," Buffy said holding out her hand.

"What’s to see, B? It’s just a comic book."

"And one in which our friends might be trapped," she replied. "Hand it over."

"No," Faith said sharply.

"Excuse me?" Rowena and Buffy both asked.

"I said it’s nothing."

"Alright, fine," Buffy said acting as if she was turning away. With her slayer reflexes she snatched the book from Faith’s hands and looked at the cover.

"Faith?"

"Yes."

"No, I mean the book. The comic book is called Faith. Is…is this about you?"

Faith nervously rubbed her shoulder. "Yes, it’s about me," she finally replied unable to look anyone in the eyes as she spoke. "Loosely about me…very loosely."

"You have your own comic? I never had my own comic," Buffy pouted.

"That’s what happens when you die and come back to life," Faith replied.

"Hey, I died twice! I never got a comic," Buffy retorted. "And why wasn’t I consulted on this? Don’t I have to sign off on this kinda thing – copyrights and all that jazz?"

"You did," Faith replied. "I slipped the request in with some other forms you were signing."

"You what?" Buffy exclaimed.

"I didn’t want you guys to know, okay? It’s kind of embarrassing," Faith answered. "They were going to do it either way and at least this way…I had some creative control or some garbage like that."

"You also get to use your celebrity as a slayer to make some pretty good money on the side too I take it?" Buffy asked.

"For your information, no," the dark-haired slayer replied. "Anything I’d make I give to the American Cancer Society."

"Oh, that’s sweet," Rowena said mimicking Willow’s earlier comment. Faith rolled her eyes.

Everyone stopped when they heard Willow’s muffled voice.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Buffy asked.

Xander walked over and took the comic.

"It came from the book," he said as he opened up the cover and moved to the first page.

They all looked to see a picture of cartoon Willow talking to them. "I said, ‘That’s what I said,’" she repeated. "It’s sweet Faith’s giving the money to charity. And for the record, Faith, don’t be embarrassed – that’s very generous."

"You can hear us?" Xander asked.

"And you can hear me too it seems. But the big question is how do you get us out of here?" she said pitching a thumb behind her to where Andrew and Dawn stood.

"Boy, I don’t know Will," Xander replied. "Hey, wait a minute. Here’s an idea. Let’s ask the coven high priestess." He grinned.

"Not funny," she replied.

"I’m calling Al," Rowena said as she put the phone she had already dialed to her ear.

"Can you see yourself?" Xander asked.

Willow put her hand in front of her face for a moment and then lowered it. "Yeah, I’m a friggin’ cartoon, Xander," Willow barked.

"And a pretty damn hot one," he added. "You look like Jessica Rabbit," he continued before turning to the others around him. "Doesn’t she?" he asked.

Buffy and Faith tried not to laugh.

"Again, no to the funny," Willow replied.

Rowena walked back over to look at the comic while speaking into the phone. "Well, Xander says she looks like Roger Rabbit’s wife…" Rowena was quiet for a few moments but then said, "Al, please stop laughing."

"Hey!" Willow said pointing a finger. "You tell that little…witch, she better help us here."

Rowena put one finger in her ear to block out Willow’s rant. "Okay, I’ll have them ready. See you soon." Rowena hung up. "Al’s on her way to Heathrow. I’m going to have the plane there on standby for her," she said as she began to dial again.

"Faith," Buffy said turning to her. "Please see if you can get Giles to come over. He’s worked in magics. He might have some ideas."

She nodded and walked a short distance away, reaching for her cell phone.

"How did this happen?" Xander asked no one in particular.

"My fault," Dawn said from the back and took a step closer. "Broken heel, spilled cauldron, chaos ensued – the usual."

"Yeah…Dawn’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday," Buffy sighed. Dawn stuck out her tongue in response.

Rowena hung up again and stepped closer. Buffy handed her the book and the watcher looked at it as if deep in thought. Tracey looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"Andrew always wanted his own comic," she told her. "I’m not sure this is what he had in mind though."

"No, it’s not what I had in mind, Missy," Andrew replied. "Besides, it’s not even my comic. It’s Faith’s…speaking of which, I wonder if we’ll see her?"

"She’s talking to Giles," Buffy replied.

"Nooo," Andrew replied. "Comic Faith. I’m sure she’s in here somewhere," he said looking around. "I’m gonna poke around over there," he pointed and started to walk away. When he did, he moved out of frame.

"Where’s Andrew?" Rowena and Tracey both asked, sounding scared.

Willow turned and pointed outside the frame. "Right there," she replied.

"You can see him?" Rowena asked.

"Yeah."

"We can’t," Tracey said and then added, "unless…" She turned the page to see Andrew in the next frame waving at them. "Ha!" Tracey exclaimed. "That’s cool! You guys can move from frame to frame."

Willow came into the next frame and gave Andrew a shove. Suddenly, he disappeared but materialized in the next frame on the page.

"There’s nothing cool about this. Nothing at all," Willow said. "Look at me! I’m a cartoon, guys! We’re all cartoons and you’ve got to find some way to get us out of here…and the sooner the better."

"Giles is on his way," Faith told the group.

"And another thing," Willow went on. "Have you stopped to consider that what happens in here might happen in real life? If we meet up with a cartoon vamp you know there’s the real possibility that…" Willow trailed off. "Xander, Ro – you listening?"

"Sorry," Xander and Rowena both replied.

"You were saying?" Rowena added.

"Guys! Quit staring at my…" Willow looked at her bust and grabbed it. She finished with, "You know what!"

"In our defense," Xander added. "It’s kind of hard not to, Will, you’re…"

"Very endowed," Rowena said.

"Thank you!" Xander exclaimed. "That’s the word – endowed."

"Oh goddess," Willow sighed. "You guys start to ask me to do gratuitous comic poses and I swear-"

"Look," Buffy began. "Giles is on the way; Al is on the way. We’ll get you guys out of there somehow. I promise." After a moment she paused and looked to Faith. "What’s a gratuitous comic pose?" she asked.

"Uh, why don’t you show her Will?" Rowena proposed. Xander grinned and nodded. "I-I-mean purely for academic purposes. It’s easier to see it than explain it," she added. Xander grinned and nodded even more enthusiastically.

"N-O," Willow told them firmly, spelling out the letters in her refusal. Xander looked disappointed. Willow turned to Buffy. "A gratuitous comic pose would be something like me on all fours with a shot of my butt in the air facing you, for starters..." Willow replied. "This has got to be some kind of karmic payback for all those lesbian slut comics you buy me, Xander. Thanks a lot."

"Why don’t we just focus on fixing this?" Robin suggested.

"Yeah, where’s Jeff?" Buffy asked. "He’s got a lot of power. Maybe he can zap them out or something?"

"I’ll see if I can find him," Robin said as he left the room.

Xander looked back into the comic. "You don’t have to do an all-fours shot, Will. Maybe you can-"

"Alexander LaVelle Harris," Willow told him. "If you finish that sentence you better hope I’m stuck in here forever."

Xander nervously licked his lips. "Shutting up now."

Cut To:Int.Slayer Rec Room – Moments Later

A rail-thin girl with long black hair closely examined the Double Stuf Oreo she held between her fingers. After a long moment, she twisted the two halves apart, and smiled when she got filling on both sides.

"I didn’t think that was physically possible, Carli," said one of several girls that were sitting around on couches in the slayer rec room. She was thumbing through the latest issue of Faith. "Sure you’re not one of Rosenberg’s crew?"

"Definitely not," Carli protested with a full mouth. "These are good. Didn’t get these at home."

"Didn’t get what?" Amira asked. She was standing behind one of the couches, arms crossed, a plain black scarf covering her hair. All the girls straightened up self-consciously in their seats.

"Oh, um, we were just reminiscing about the good old days," Carli said quickly. "You know, the Black Ops squad, just hangin’ out…" It was like talking to a wall. Carli melted under the scrutiny and quickly finished up. "This is fun, we should do this more often."

Amira sighed and climbed over the couch, sitting down next to Carli. "You have any more of those things?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Carli said, handing over the entire box of Oreos.

"Is that why you ran away from home?" Amira asked her. "No cookies?"

"Um, well, there were also some issues where my mom put all my stuff in a plastic bag and put it out by the curb."

Amira took a tentative bite out of an Oreo, not sure what she was getting into, then nodded in satisfaction. "You are right…these are good."

The rest of the Black Ops team sat in silence and watched their leader eat her cookie. "We are not on duty," she said after a moment. "You can still have fun when I’m here."

"We used to have fun all the time," Carli said under her breath.

Amira shot her a look. "When I got here, you were sloppy," she said, her words clipped. "Sloppy with automatic weapons is not acceptable. Whatever you may have been told before, this work is serious." She glanced around at the group, who mostly sat with downcast eyes and slumped shoulders. "We do not kill because it is fun. We kill because someone has to do it, to save more lives, so they send the best. I needed you to learn to be the best."

Amira cracked a ghost of a smile. "And now, I think perhaps you are learning."

"Your English is improving," one of the girls remarked after a moment.

"Thank you," Amira replied, "but I still feel like a…you would say fish out of water?"

"I’ve felt that way since I got here," Carli said. "This is a long way from the streets."

Amira licked her lips before she said anything. "There are so many of you here who left your parents behind. It makes me feel strange."

"If you weren’t homeless, how did you end up with this gig?" one of the girls asked. "Most girls avoid it like the plague."

"I was homeless," Amira said. "My home was bombed. My parents and brothers were inside. I was not." She looked down at her box of Oreos and didn’t say anything else.

Carli sized up her superior for a long moment. "You want to watch the movie with us?"

"What is it?" Amira asked.

"Pirates of the Caribbean," Carli said, "featuring Orlando Bloom, the world’s hottest man."

Amira looked at her for a few seconds, then said, "I like Johnny Depp."

"I’ll take that as a yes," Carli replied with a grin. She reached for the remote but saw Robin looking around the room from the doorway. "Something we can help you with Mr. Wood?"

"I’m looking for Jeff Lindquist," he told her.

The girls around the group shrugged. "Try the watchers rec room," she suggested. "I think some days he’s out there if he’s not in the coven room."

"No, he’s not in the coven room but if you see him can you tell him to go there? To the coven room I mean?" he added.

"Sure," Carli said with a nod.

"Thanks," Robin said before quickly leaving.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Rec Room – Moments Later

Grace watched silently from the sofa as Jeff talked on his cell phone, pacing in front of her.

"Is it Faith?" he asked and then waited for a response. "Then is it me?…You have to give me something to go with here Hope. Just tell me why you haven’t been around." After a few seconds of listening, he sighed. "I know I’m not your mother. I’d like to be your friend. The truth is I’d like to be more than a friend but you’re making it pretty tough…I’m busy too, but-" Jeff was cut off by Hope’s reply. "Fine," he answered shortly. "Call when you can then. Goodbye." Jeff turned the cell phone off and turned to Grace. "Women," he sighed.

"Exactly," she replied. "That’s why I’m straight," she added with a grin. "It’s the lesser of two evils."

Jeff grinned too and put his phone in his pocket. "I don’t know. I just wish I could figure her out. No, I take that back. I wish she’d talk to me, tell me what’s going on. I’m an easy guy to talk to, aren’t I?"

"I don’t have any problems," Grace replied.

"Then why does she?" Jeff asked.

Robin walked into the room.

"I think maybe it’s a Lehane trait," Grace answered unable to see Robin’s approach behind her. Jeff tried to make a motion toward Grace to warn her of Robin’s arrival but she continued anyway. "Denise said she had to keep reminding Faith what her name was a few weeks back," Grace answered. "Maybe Hope’s just stressed with school and when those gals get stressed they get stupid or something."

"Mr. Wood!" Jeff said, acting as if he just saw him. "What brings you by?"

Grace turned red and grimaced but she didn’t turn around.

"We need you in the coven room, Jeff," Robin told him and motioned for him to follow. "Oh, and for the record, Grace…" Slowly, she turned to face him. "You should know that Faith isn’t stupid."

"You heard that, huh?" she asked.

"Yes, so next time you want to gossip, especially about my fiancée, you might want to check who’s in the room first."

"I wasn’t-"

"Whatever," Robin told her. He turned to Jeff. "We gotta go. Now."

Robin started from the room and Jeff whispered to Grace. "I tried to warn you."

"Jeff!" Robin shouted from the hallway.

"Coming!" Jeff yelled back and made his way to follow him.

"Blimey hell," Grace muttered.

Cut To:Int.Coven Room – Moments Later

Jeff and Robin entered the coven room together, talking.

"Don’t worry," Robin was saying as they walked. "My lips are sealed. Grace is safe."

"Safe from what?" Faith asked as she walked over to meet them.

"Nothing. Just normal twentysomething angst," Robin told her. "Anything different?"

"Same ole, same ole," she replied. "One comic, three council members trapped."

Jeff walked over and Buffy greeted him. "Thank god you’re here. Can you help?"

Rowena showed him the comic.

"Hey, Jeff. How goes it?" comic Willow asked.

Jeff stood speechless at first. He shook his head quickly and turned to Rowena. "Robin told me but…wow…"

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Xander added.

"More like dumbfounding," Jeff replied. "I don’t even know where to start with this. Any suggestions?" he asked Willow.

"Look under exorcism or something like that maybe?"

"Well, you’re not really possessed but I’ll give it a try," he told her as he handed the book back to Rowena. "I’m really not sure what category this falls under. It’s a new one for me."

"And like I’ve dealt with this before," Willow replied.

"Actually," Rowena said. "We have…the chessboard."

"I’m not going through another evaluate my psyche test," Willow told her.

"But it might work," Dawn offered. "I’ve got an overbearing sister," she started immediately.

"Hey!" Buffy replied.

Dawn just continued. "I’ve got a vampire girlfriend my other friends are trying to kill and I’m faced with the fact that…" she trailed off for a moment. "That my overbearing sister, who I also love, will get old and die, just like everyone else, but I won’t. Not ever." Dawn stopped but nothing happened. "Maybe we all need to go – you next Andrew."

"Well, I’ve got no one except Tracey who seems to take me seriously. I do great computer work but I’m still stuck in the kitchen and well, one of the slayers opened up all my Lord of the Rings figures last night." Andrew reached into his pocket and pulled out a hobbit-looking figure. "See?" he said holding it up and showing them, only to have the arm snap off. "Oh man…" he complained. "Not only out of the package but now one arm less."

As Andrew tried to reattach the arm Dawn motioned to Willow. "At least we know what that bulge in his pants has been," she remarked and rolled her eyes. "Your turn Will."

"Okay, I-I guess aside from a psycho on the loose who killed a dear friend a-and broke my best friend’s heart…well, I can’t complain. I mean I-I’ve been doing my wicca training Al suggested a-and I’m only a few months away from marrying the gal I love…so…all in all, like I said, I can’t complain."

Dawn and Willow looked at each other expectantly as Andrew still struggled with his action figure.

"That’s not the answer guys," Willow remarked when nothing happened.

"It was worth a shot," Dawn said.

"Overbearing my a-" Buffy grumbled.

"Look," Rowena said before the sisters could argue. "There has to be a…"

The sound of a door opening inside the comic made Willow, Dawn and Andrew look sharply to one side of the frame.

"What’s wrong?" Rowena asked.

"Someone’s coming inside," Willow replied.

"Or some thing," Dawn added.

"Go back to the last panel guys," Willow told them. "That way," she pointed.

"But you might need help and-" Dawn tried to say.

"Go," Willow told them both, giving them a shove. She looked back toward Rowena. "Get ready to turn the page…now," she said as she jumped a panel ahead and disappeared.

Rowena and Buffy looked at each other for a second and Rowena turned the page.

They watched as Faith and Willow stood face to face, both of them asking, "Where’d you come from?"

Fade to Black

End of Act One

Act TwoFade In:Int.Comic Book – Same Time

Faith and Willow still stood face to face.

"No, really. What are you doing here?" Willow asked the figure before her. She turned to Rowena. "How did Faith get inside?"

Cut To:Int.Coven Room – Same Time

http://www.thewatcherscouncil.net/sounds/seasonfour/dt/willow-no-really.mp3

"I’m right here," Faith said as she looked over Rowena’s shoulder.

Cut To:Int.Comic Book – Same Time

Willow looked up to see Faith standing next to Rowena. "If you’re there then she must be…"

"Annoyed," comic Faith replied. "What are you doing here Red? You’re supposed to be back in Cleveland."

"I am in Cleveland," Willow began and shook her head. "Just forget it. Where are we?"

"You’re in the middle of my stakeout," the cartoon answered.

Willow pointed in front of her. "Can't you see them out there?"

"Who?" Comic Faith asked.

"Everybody," she replied as she still pointed. "Buffy, Rowena,-."

"You feelin' okay?" the comic asked. "There's nothing there - just empty space and a wall."

"Only we can see you guys," Willow told the human onlookers.

"Who are you talking to?" Comic Faith asked growing annoyed.

"Like I said," she replied to the comic version of Faith. "Just forget it."

"Is it safe to come back?" Andrew asked, his head peeking inside the frame.

"Come on over," Willow waved.

"Him too?" Faith replied.

"And me," Dawn said as she stepped into the frame.

"Look," Faith sighed. "You guys just stay out of my way and out of trouble, okay? I’ve got work to do," Faith answered.

She began to walk away but Willow grabbed her arm. "Wait, you can’t leave us here."

Cartoon Faith looked at Willow’s hand on her arm for a moment and gave a slight grin.

"Then come with me, but be quiet. There’s a vamp nest someplace in here I’ve got to wipe out," she replied.

"Looks like we’re on the move,"

Willow told Rowena. "Just…keep turning the pages."


The images from the frame began to fade and materialize in the next one.


Willow, Faith, Dawn and Andrew all stood around a large wooden door. Faith put a finger over her lips.

"Wait," Willow whispered. "I want to try something." She began to rub her hands in a circle in front of her and then spread them further apart. A ball of light began to materialize in front of them. "Stand back," she told them.

Everyone moved away from the door and Willow walked a few feet away to stand in front of it. The glowing ball still shimmered in her hands. With all her might she threw it at the door and it busted open, splintering wood all over the place.

"Ha! Magic works!" Willow exclaimed.

Faith kept her position at the side. Seeing what lay waiting for them on the other side of the door, they all appeared to decide that blowing it up probably wasn't such a good idea. Willow, Dawn and Andrew, watched in horror as about twenty vampires poured out of the opening, fangs bared.

Picking up pieces of the shattered door, Dawn and Andrew began to fight them off.

A vampire came barreling at Willow and she threw a binding spell around him, stopping him in his tracks. She smiled and looked at her hand and began to cast spell after spell, wrapping up the vampires closest to the council team.

One vampire got the jump on Andrew and knocked him to the ground. He fell so hard his head hit the cement floor.

Almost as quickly as Willow bound the vampires, Faith began to dust each one trapped in the webs.

Once they were all gone Dawn helped Andrew to a sitting position and gently felt the back of his head. As Willow and Faith came over she showed them her hand.

"Guys, he’s bleeding," Dawn told them.

"Sometimes you get hurt in this job," Faith replied.

"No," Andrew said holding his head. "When you’re a cartoon you can fall off a cliff or get hit with an anvil and still stand up," he added.

Willow looked back toward the gang still watching them. "Guys? If Andrew can get hurt…"


Willow didn’t need to finish the sentence. Rowena already had her phone out as she handed the comic book to Tracey. She motioned Jeff toward her, stepping away from the huddle, phone to her ear.

"Al?" the watcher began, "Skip the plane. We need you here now. I know it’s risky but I’m going to have Jeff set up a teleportation station here at the council. They might be in serious danger…How long?" Rowena turned to Jeff and asked, "How long to get set up?"

"Give me ten minutes," he said going to the workbench.

"In ten," Rowena answered. She looked up to see Giles enter the room. "Okay, I’ll see you in fifteen. I’ll call to confirm when we’re ready here…Thanks Al." Rowena hung up as Giles and Becca began to walk over. "Thank you Jeff," she said over in his direction.

"Not a problem," he answered.

"So," Giles began. "We have something about a…comic book?"

"Andrew was just hurt during a fight in the comic, nothing life threatening, but hurt nonetheless," she answered.

"So they’re trapped inside the book?" Becca asked. "And they can be hurt?"

Rowena nodded. "Al’s teleporting here." Rowena paused and looked around them. "Where’s the youngin’s?" she asked.

"With my sister, Roxanne," Becca answered. "She’s visiting so she’s looking after them."

"Needed a break, eh?" Rowena asked.

"Yes," Becca and Giles both sighed.

"From the kids or from the Roxanne?" Rowena teased.

"Roxanne," Giles and Becca answered at the same time.

Rowena grinned for a moment before looking serious again. "Well, Al’s on her way," she said running her fingers through her hair. "But if you’ve got any ideas, Giles, I’d love to hear ‘em."

"Well, Becca a-and I can maybe start looking through some of the texts. See what we might come across?" he offered.

"That’ll be great," she told them.

"We might need a few more eyes of people familiar with magic," Giles told her as he looked around the room. "Where’re Kennedy and Skye?"

"I’m not sure," Rowena replied. "We’ll find them," she said walking away.

Becca and Giles nodded and walked over to join Jeff at the workbench. He gave Giles a handshake then pointed them over to the far wall to a bookcase. As they walked away Jeff went back to his task.


Willow was tending to the back of Andrew’s head when Faith came over to kneel beside them.

"He gonna be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, he’ll make it," Willow replied with a grin. "It’s a little knock to the noggin’."

Suddenly, Andrew began to feel around inside his pocket and pulled out his action figure. This time it was missing a leg.

"Just great," Andrew sighed in frustration. Before shoving it back into his pocket he added, "Now he looks like Robin."


"Hey," Robin said indignant. "I might be missing a leg but I’m not a white hobbit dude. And I do still have two arms, unlike him."

"Two hands too," Faith said slyly.

Robin grinned.


"Who’s Robin?" comic Faith asked.

Willow, Andrew and Dawn looked at each other.

"Your boyfriend," they all answered at once.


Robin’s grin fell.

"Fiancé now, thank you," Robin corrected them. He turned to Faith. "I’m not in this comic?" he asked.

Faith rubbed the back of her neck. "They thought it would be better if I was single, well, she was single," she said pointing to the book.


"Actually, Robin’s your fiancé," Dawn amended.

Comic Faith laughed. "You’re trippin’. I’m not hooked up with anybody but…I gotta admit, Red…" Faith said with a sexy grin. "You and me handled those vamps pretty good together. We’d make quite a team."

Everyone inside the book stopped what they were doing and turned to comic Faith.

"What?" Faith asked. "You driving stick again now or I’m not good enough?"

Willow turned to the group outside. "Help me," she whimpered. "Somebody help me, help me now, just…help. What is going on?"


"Faith’s not the straight arrow we thought," Xander offered and all eyes fell on the Faith standing next to them.

She looked over at Robin first. "Like this is a problem for you, Mr. Everyman’s Fantasy." She grabbed the book. "Look guys, it’s a comic book. I can’t control what she does," she added.

"Obviously," Buffy replied dryly.

Frustrated, Faith gave the book to Buffy. "I’m gonna go find Ken," she said as she left the room.


"You’ve been cut, Red," comic Faith told her. She began to push back Willow’s hair from her forehead where a tiny trace of blood sat.

Willow looked increasingly uncomfortable under Faith’s gentle touch.

"No one is answering my question," Willow said, her voice shaking. "Help? What is going on? Somebody? Anybody?"

"Romance issue," Andrew muttered. "That’s it!" he exclaimed making them all jump. "It’s the romance issue. Faith is supposed to hook up with someone. She thinks you’re her…hook-up," he told her.

"Hey doll boy," Faith began.

"Action figure," he corrected. "They’re called action figures."

"Whatever," Faith sighed. "I don’t know how you would know I’m supposed to hook up. But I do know of everyone here Red’s got a better shot than any of you," she said motioning to Dawn and Andrew.

"Hey," Dawn and Andrew said indignant.

"Sorry, Pal," Faith replied to Andrew. "I like men and not boys and as for you," she said pointing at Dawn. "Hooking up with you would go over like gangbusters with B. I like having a functioning jaw."

"She is rather controlling," Dawn replied. "I’ll give you that."


"Enough already," Buffy replied. "I am not controlling so…just be quiet."


"Does anyone else see the irony of her last sentence?" Dawn asked.

"Look, Faith," Willow said. "I’m flattered. I am but…I’m not cartoon Willow. I’m real Willow and we got trapped in this book."

"Are you sure you didn’t get a jolt to the head too, Red?" Faith asked. "We’re not in a book."

"Yes, we are and…Whatever." Willow closed her mouth and looked to Andrew and Dawn instead. "Let’s just try to stay alive and unhurt until someone out there," she said emphasizing the words, "gets us out of here."


"We’re working on it Will," Xander replied.


"Oh yeaaaah, well work quicker!" she snapped back.

Cut To:Int.Skye’s Bedroom – Moments Later

Rowena knocked and opened the door of Skye’s room to see her lying in bed.

"Rise and shine," Rowena told her. "You need to get downstairs."

"Five more minutes," Skye mumbled.

Rowena looked over to the window for a moment before walking over and snapping the blind up, filling the room with light.

Skye began to smoke and then whooped and hollered before rolling out of bed, hiding on the floor.

"Fine, I’m up," she said.

Her hand quickly reached up and pulled the cover over for protection.

Rowena re-closed the blind. "Dawn’s in trouble," she told her.

Skye peeked up from the mattress with the cover still around her head.

"What kind of trouble?" she asked.

Cut To:Int.Gym – Same Time

Mia was pumping a barbell as she lay on her back. Kennedy stood watch behind her.

"So," Mia said as she continued to raise and lower the bar. "How’s Kadin?"

"Are you sure you want to have this conversation while you’ve got 300 pounds over you?" Kennedy asked.

"Good a time as any," she said as she continued to push the weight up and down. "I really don’t see you that often anymore."

"Things are good," Kennedy answered. "Not great but good."

Mia gave a small grin but said nothing.

Faith entered the room and looked around to see Mia lifting weights and Kennedy spotting her. She quickly walked over.

"Hey," Faith said nervously. "Remember that thing I told you about - that thing that if you told anyone I’d kill you."

"You have to be a little more specific than that," Kennedy replied, not taking her eyes off Mia. "You’ve told me lots of ‘I’ll kill you’ things, Faith."

"That…cartoon…thing," she whispered.

"Oh yeah, the comic book," Kennedy replied. Faith gave her a look that said she needed to keep her voice down. "All the girls know about that by now," Kennedy added.

"Fine," Faith relented. "But here’s something not everyone knows. Willow, Andy and Dawn are trapped in one of them."

Mia almost dropped the weights on her chest in surprise and Kennedy was too busy looking at Faith to notice. Quickly, Faith reached over and pulled the bar off Mia before putting it in its resting place.

"Not a word to anyone," Faith warned Mia. "We don’t need it getting out that we have a coven of cartoon characters at the moment."

"No doubt," Mia replied. "You guys talk. I’ll run," she said moving toward the treadmill.

"What do you need from me?" Kennedy asked. "I’m not that good with the magic – it’s kind of hit or miss."

"Research," Faith told her. "Giles needs all the ‘magically inclined’ eyes he can get going over the books."

"Okay, I’ll give it a shot. Lead the way."

Cut To:Int.Coven Room – Moments Later

Skye walked in with Rowena while Kennedy arrived with Faith. They all walked over to the small crowd around the book.

Skye looked over Buffy’s shoulder. "So they can see us, huh?" the vampire asked.

"The ones trapped, yes," Buffy answered. "Everyone else in the comic, no," she replied.


"Skye!" Dawn said pointing.


"That’s freaky," Skye commented.

"Yeah, my sister as a cartoon is pretty unnerving," Buffy replied.

"Actually, I was talking about the size of Willow’s boobs," Skye replied.

Kennedy snickered as Jeff walked up to Rowena.

"We’re ready if you want to call Al," he told her.

"Oh, thanks Jeff," she said as she dialed her phone.

"Things are a bit serious here, Skye," Buffy replied. "Andrew got hurt so anyone in there can get hurt, including Dawn."

"But she's immortal," Skye replied.

"Out here yes. But in there maybe not," Buffy replied. "We really don't want to test the theory."

"Well, what are they up against?" Skye asked.

"How would we know?" Buffy asked.

"Haven’t you ever read the last chapter of a book before?" Skye asked. "You know, to find out how the story ends."

"Yeah, how does this story end?" Kennedy asked.

"That’s the thing," Faith said, "The pages are materializing as we flip them."

"Yeah, but what about a comic that’s not enchanted? Has anyone read it?" Kennedy asked.

They all looked at each other without speaking.

"I don’t believe it," Kennedy replied. "We certainly are the great minds protecting humanity, aren’t we? As Carlos Mencia would say, ‘Dee deedee!’" she replied before rolling her eyes. Skye began to chuckle although no one else did. "I’ll find a copy somewhere around here I’m sure," Kennedy said before leaving the room again.

"We really should have thought of that sooner, huh?" Buffy asked. Rowena only nodded.

Suddenly, a brilliant light illuminated behind them and they all turned toward it but

shielded their eyes. As the light subsided Althenea stepped from the circle on the floor.

She began to feel various places on her body and then smiled in Jeff’s direction.

"Good job," she commended. "All here in one piece."

Rowena gave a relieved sigh as she and Althenea walked to meet each other. They embraced and Rowena pulled back to walk Althenea over to the book, her hand still around her hip.

Buffy handed the book over to Althenea.

"Looks like you’ve got yourself in a pickle there, Love," Althenea teased Willow. She then turned to Xander. "She does look like Jessica Rabbit. She’d be a dead ringer if her hair was straight."


"Are you gonna stand there and make jokes too or are you going to help?" Willow asked.


"Testy ‘toon, isn’t she?" Althenea said to Rowena before looking back to Willow in the book. "Yes, the plan is to release you, Willow, but give me a few moments to assess what we have," she added as she handed the book back to Buffy.

Kennedy came to the doorway winded with another comic in her hand. "Did they face off against the twenty vamps yet?" she shouted over.

"Yeah," Buffy answered.

"Well, it’s about to get worse," Kennedy told her. "I didn’t finish yet but the next villain might be difficult. They even kill Faith’s love interest in the story."

"What?!" everyone collectively shouted.

"Willow is the love interest," Buffy told her.

"Since when?" Rowena asked.

"Willow? It says here it’s a witch named William," Kennedy pointed out.

"Apparently that’s changed," Buffy said, "It’s a witch named Willow now. Faith’s been making goo-goo eyes at her."

"Oh, crap," Kennedy sighed. "If the book follows along then that means that they’re going to have to face, and I quote, ‘an unstoppable foe.’"

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"A member of the Presidium back for revenge," she replied, throwing the new book over to Faith.

Fade to Black

End of Act Two

Act Three Fade In:Int.Comic Book – Same Time

"Unstoppable foe?" Willow exclaimed. "Presidium? You’ve got to be kidding me?"

"Don’t worry," comic Faith told her as she cupped her face. "I’ll keep you safe."

Willow waved her hands pushing Faith away.

"Stop it! You won’t keep me safe! You’re gonna be the reason I get killed! I can’t be the

love interest a-and for more reasons than I can count! So just STOP!" Willow answered.

Faith grabbed Willow by the waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Willow’s eyes were wide when they finally pulled away, still wrapped in each other’s arms.


Rowena’s eyes bore into Faith who was standing next to her. Faith caught the expression out of the corner of her eye but then turned to look fully at Rowena.

"It’s a friggin’ cartoon," she told her. "It’s not me so don’t spaz, Spaz."


Willow froze in Faith’s arms.

"Calm down," cartoon Faith told Willow.

"What the hell was that for?" Willow asked as she batted Faith’s hands away.

"It was either kiss you or slap you. You were gettin’ hysterical," she replied. Slowly, she began to grin. "You gotta admit kissing was more fun."

"Oh, boy," Dawn sighed.

"Okay, we need to think about this," Andrew said.

"What’s to think about?" Willow said. "I can’t do this again. I can’t go against a Presidium member. Once was enough."


Rowena folded her hands across her chest and walked over to the bench where Althenea was working.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Althenea replied. "According to something Becca found I might be able to create a talisman Willow can use."

"Wonderful," Rowena complimented.

"Getting it to her, however, might be a problem," Althenea added.

"What if we gave Willow the instructions and she-"

Althenea shook her head. "It has to be created in one realm and brought into another. Even if I gave her the directions it wouldn’t work where she is right now. I can make it but getting it there…that’s another matter. Either way, I’m almost finished with it. We’ll worry about step two next."


The noise of heavy footsteps made all four ’toons turn their heads in the direction of the sound.

"This doesn’t sound good," Andrew replied.

Faith pulled out a weapon from her back that looked like six other types of weapons combined. "You guys stay here for now," she said as she got up and ran away.

Dawn got a peculiar look and asked, "Really, where does she store something like that in such a skimpy outfit?"

"Hello," Andrew said sarcastically. "It’s a cartoon. You can do anything in a cartoon."

Willow chewed on her bottom lip but said nothing.


"Hey, did you see that weapon?" Faith asked Xander. "Can you make me one of those?"

Xander shrugged in response. "I can try. I have to admit that’s pretty cool."

"Cool? That’s kick ass. She’s got gadgets like Batman. I want some gadgets too."

"Hey guys," Buffy interrupted. "Can we just get everyone out safe first?"

"Actually," Rowena commented as she stepped closer. "Althenea made a talisman but someone chosen needs to force their way into the comic to deliver it."

"So when do I go?" Faith asked.

"It might not be a good idea to send you," Rowena answered. "You’re already in the comic, not you exactly, but-"

"Right," Althenea interrupted. "We don’t know if your presence might have an effect since there is already one Faith inside there," she offered. "We don’t want to upset the balance."

"Send me," Kennedy offered. "I’m a slayer."

"But you’re not originally chosen," Althenea replied. "It would be better to send a...a first generation slayer in."

"So that leaves me," Buffy replied. "Where’s the talisman?" she asked extending her hand.

"Buffy," Rowena began. "You’re the head of the Watchers Council. We need you," she added.

Buffy sighed. "Giles?" she asked and motioned him over. Once he and Becca were there she said, "You know about this talisman?"

"Yes, but we-"

"If I don’t make it back, will you take up your old post as Head Watcher?" she asked.

All eyes fell to Giles and he looked at Becca for a moment. She simply looked at him as a small grin crept to her face.

"We all know the answer so just say it," she told him.

"I will," he told her.

"Then it’s a done deal. When you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll go in," Buffy told them.

"We’ll need to tether you first in case we need to pull you back out," Althenea told her.

"However it has to be," Buffy said. "Just tell me when we’re on."

"Huh, guys," Tracey said, "Something’s happening."


"Runnnn!" Faith exclaimed as she bolted past Willow, Dawn and Andrew.

They didn’t need to be told twice and ran out of the frame into the next one.

"What is it?" Willow asked as they ran.

"Something bigger than this thing can handle," Faith said waving the weapon. "We need to retreat and regroup…This way," she pointed.


"Xander, hurry up," Rowena told him as he tightened the strap around Buffy’s waist.

"Here," Althenea said handing Buffy the talisman. "Just stay in long enough to get this to Willow…Are you ready?" Buffy nodded. "Okay," Althenea replied before turning to the others. "I need everyone to clear the room immediately."

"I’m staying," Rowena replied as the others started to go.

"Everyone means you too," Althenea said. Rowena was going to start to argue but Althenea held up her finger and turned to Kennedy. "Get her out of here. Pick her up if you have to, but everyone needs to be gone. You too, Kennedy."

"You can’t make me-" Rowena began to say. Kennedy wrapped her arms around Rowena’s waist and physically picked her up off the floor and began to carry her. "Hey!" Rowena said as she tried to resist.

"Take this," Althenea said handing Buffy a vial of liquid. "Start on the comic and pour it toward you until it touches you. You should start to get sucked inside like they did but the tether will hold you in this realm. Under no circumstances should you-"

"I got it," Buffy said. "Get out of here."

"Good luck," Althenea sighed. "Yell when you’re back and I’ll come in. If I hear nothing I’ll be back in five minutes so work quickly."

Buffy nodded and Althenea was the last one to go, closing the door behind her.

Cut To:Int.Outside Coven Room – Same Time

Rowena rushed around Kennedy and toward Althenea.

"You had no right-!" Rowena began.

"I have every right!" Althenea shot back, surprising Rowena with the fierceness of her tone. "The Coven is my domain, this room is my room and as standing high priestess of this Coven at the moment, my word is the law." Rowena looked away and Althenea’s mood softened. She reached over and pulled Rowena into a hug. "This may not work," she confessed. "And I can’t lose both of you…the Council can’t lose both of you. So please, do as I say?"

Rowena released a ragged sigh and nodded her head.


Buffy took a deep breath and began to drip the contents of the vial on the comic book and up to herself. Suddenly an orange mist began to appear and she tightened her hold on the talisman.

"Here we go," she muttered as she began to feel her face contort and travel toward the book. She got halfway through but seemed to hit an invisible barrier, unable to move any further inside.

She pulled herself back out and fell to the floor.

"Damn it," she swore as she got to her feet.


"Where are we?" Willow asked.

"The shipping docks," Faith told her as they moved to hide behind various boxes, moving from place to place.

"What was that thing? Did you see it?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, I saw it," Faith told him. "That’s why I ran."

"Some comic hero you turned out to be," Andrew remarked.

Faith grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall. "Listen shrimp. Sometimes the smartest move is to run away so you can live to fight another day," she told him. "What good is a dead hero? I need time to figure out how to take this guy down."

"Why don’t we figure out how to take him down?" Willow suggested. "There’s no reason for you to go all lone wolfy on us here."

"Although the idea of us together is appealing," Faith began with a sexy leer, "I’m not risking you."

"I didn’t mean us like that," Willow started but then stopped herself. "Okay, listen, we need-"

Faith put her hand over Willow’s mouth and motioned everyone to move down.

The creature showed up at the corner and looked around. His head stopped when he looked in their direction.

"Damn it. He spotted us," she told them. "Run for it!"

As the team stood up and started to move the demon let out a great roar, making them all scream.


Hearing the scream from the inside of the comic Buffy walked back to the wall, the orange mist still following her as she moved. She took one of the swords from the wall.

"Screw this," she said and sliced through the tether. "I’m coming guys!" she yelled over before taking off into a sprint and diving head first, arms extended, into the comic book. But instead of her entire body going in she only managed to make it to her waist.


"Willow!" The witch heard Buffy’s voice and began to look around. "Up here," the slayer yelled.

"Buffy?" Willow asked as she made eye contact with her.

Buffy saw a demon twisting inside a binding spell that was starting to fade away. She also noticed a dock below her. She looked closer to examine where she was.

"Am I stuck in a ship?" she asked. Willow nodded her head. "Look, Al made this to get you out. Come get it," she told her. Buffy began to feel herself getting sucked backward. "Hurry!"

Willow and her team ran up the dock and Buffy hurled it toward Willow but it bounced off her hand and skipped across the water.

"Damn it," Buffy and Willow both swore at the same time.


Suddenly, Buffy’s body was sucked back into the room and she landed on her backside, the talisman now gone.

"Al, get in here!" the slayer shouted and the door burst open.

Althenea moved inside and quickly shut the door behind her to prevent anyone else from entering.

"Did it work?" She walked over and examined the busted tether. "How did this happen?"

"I had to improvise," Buffy told her. "Check the comic," she added as she moved to her feet.


Andrew dove into the water as the demon gave a mighty roar and finally busted free of his confines.

http://www.thewatcherscouncil.net/sounds/seasonfour/dt/willow-buffy-damn-it.mp3

"Your actions will cost you," he told them as he stalked closer. "For my family, for my birth brother Imbethit’s disgrace. You will pay with your very lives." Willow cast another spell in his direction but he batted it away. "Not again," he told her. "I know who you are…the one known as Rosenberg. Your magics are useless against me."

"Andrew?" Dawn shouted.

Suddenly, Andrew burst from the water. "I’ve got it!" he yelled.

The demon threw a thunderbolt in his direction and the shock made him drop the talisman. They watched helplessly as he began to slip beneath the surface.

"Save him! And get that talisman," Willow told Faith. "I’ll try to hold this guy off."

Faith dove into the water as Willow and Dawn turned back toward the demon who stalked even closer.

"Any ideas?" Dawn asked.

Willow looked around for an escape and found none. But then a look of realization came to her face. "I can do anything here, this is a comic," she replied.

"Well, then do something!" Dawn told her.

Willow closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned to the ship docked at the end of the pier. "Get down," she told Dawn.

With a deep groan Willow raised her hands in the air, the boat traveling upward as she did. Using all her might she moved her hands toward the demon as fast as she could. She ducked as it flew just inches above where she and Dawn hovered at the pier.

With a mighty crash the huge sea vessel slammed into the demon pinning him beneath it on the shore.

"Did we kill him?" Dawn asked as she got to her feet.

Willow looked at him for a moment. "If he’s not dead at least he’s knocked out…for now."

They looked over to where Faith was pulling Andrew along with her as she swam backward.

"Come get him," she said.

Taking another deep breath Willow pulled her hands back and levitated Andrew until he was on the dock. Dawn leaned down and felt his chest.

"He’s not breathing guys," she told him as she started CPR.


"Did it work?" Rowena said peeking her head inside.

Buffy and Althenea looked at each other.

"Yes and no," Buffy answered. "I had to throw it and it landed in a lake or something," Buffy answered.

Slowly, the group began to file in and stand around the comic.

"Oh, God," Tracey breathed when she saw Dawn trying to resuscitate Andrew.


"Are you okay?" Faith asked as she gently pushed Willow’s hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, gotta…gotta catch my breath after all that," she replied.

"Here," she said handing the talisman to Willow. "What is that thing?"

"Our ticket home if it’s not too late," she said looking at Andrew as Dawn continued to work on him. She knelt down next to Dawn. "Will it work?"

"What?" Dawn asked as she watched Faith walk back down the pier for just a moment.

"Think about Andrew waking up as you’re doing that," Willow told her.

Dawn closed her eyes as her lips covered Andrew’s again and suddenly after the second time of blowing in his mouth he began to cough. She quickly rolled him to the side as water came out.

"How did you know?" Dawn asked her.

"Andrew figured it out actually," she answered. "It’s a cartoon. You can do anything in a cartoon. Right, Andrew?" Willow asked him.

He could only nod as Dawn and Willow both grinned at each other.

"Then why not make that demon’s head explode?" Dawn teased.

"I guess we’ve got some rules, such as an unstoppable foe," she replied with a grin. "Why don’t we see if this works and we get out of

here, eh?"

Willow gave the talisman a twist and a light began to shimmer, enveloping all three of them and they started to fade away as it spread out larger and larger.


Willow opened her eyes to see Rowena standing in front of her, slack jawed.

"Don’t look so surprised," Willow said. "Althenea knows her stuff."

When Rowena and no one else spoke Willow reached out to her and that’s when she saw her hand and her arm…and her body.

"Hey Al?" Willow asked trying to keep her cool. "Why am I standing here, in my coven room, and why do I still look like a cartoon?"

No one in the room spoke.

Fade to Black

End of Act Three

Act Four Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Coven Room – Same Time

Everyone still stood silently watching Willow, Andrew and Dawn.

"Al, what’s going on?" Willow asked.

"Yeahhh," Rowena finally said, still sounding a bit shocked. "This, uh, this isn’t going to do Al. I can marry a woman in Canada but this…this is a whole new stumbling block."

Everyone focused their attention on Althenea. After a few seconds of their stares she cleared her throat.

"Technically," she said addressing Willow, "they asked that I get you out of the book, which I did…They didn’t say anything about you being in the flesh afterward."

The room fell quiet until Willow yelled, "Great Hades’ ghost, Al! We’re still cartoons!"

"But you’re out of the book," Xander replied optimistically. "Al’s battin’ 500. Look at the bright side here."

"No," Willow answered. "The bright side would be batting 1000 and being human!"

"We’ll get it fixed," Althenea replied. "It just might take me a while is all."

Everyone in the room asked at once, "How long?"

"Sounds like a Greek chorus in here," Althenea mumbled.

"Then let’s hope this doesn’t turn out to be a tragedy," Willow replied.

"Look," Althenea began and put her hand on Willow’s shoulder instinctively. She seemed to forget the point she was about to make. Instead, she began to squeeze and feel around Willow’s shoulder. "You’re actually squishy," she replied. "How unusual."

"I want to feel too," Rowena said as she stepped closer. Soon the others came over and started to touch various parts of Willow and chatter about it, as if comparing notes on what they were experiencing. Willow for her part began to bat them all away.

"Just stop it already," she replied and then sighed. "How are we going to fix this?"

"As I said, I don’t know yet," Althenea began, "but I’m sure we’ll find a way Willow. In fact, we could…"

Willow watched Althenea’s eyes grow wide along with everyone else’s around the cartoon trio. Slowly Dawn, Andrew and Willow all turned toward the book behind them to see a figure emerging from the comic book.

"Imbethit’s brother," Willow whispered. "Everybody run!" she yelled.

As his body continued to emerge from the book everyone cleared the doorway with Buffy and Faith closing it and holding the doorknob. Robin went to the lobby phone.

"Al!" Rowena shouted. "Do a spell! Let nothing in this building get in or out. We don’t need this thing loose in the city!"

Willow, Andrew and Dawn took off toward the lobby desk. Althenea turned and lowered her head slightly before she began to mumble something. A light shot out from the floor near the lobby doors and began to encompass the building.

"Guys, you better run," Faith told them.

From the other side of the door the demon began to yell, "Rosenberg, I will destroy you."

Buffy and Faith tightened their hold on the door just moments before it was almost yanked out of their hands. Both slayers sat on the floor and put their feet on the doorframe to keep it closed.

The jerking stopped and they heard heavy footsteps again, this time moving away from the door.

"He’s going to the window," Rowena said softly.

Next, they heard the demon give a painful cry.

"Guess the protection spell worked," Xander replied. "Now you’re up to 700," he told Althenea.

From the far hallway Amira and five girls ran with automatic weapons. Robin motioned them toward him.

"There’s a cartoon behind this door," he told Amira. "If it gets out here, shoot it." Amira looked confused. "Just trust me," he added. Amira simply nodded.

"Why are you all still here?" Faith yelled.

She opened her mouth to add more but the door suddenly blew apart. She and Buffy both tried to hide on the opposite side of the frame to avoid the flying debris. The rest of the group settled behind the lobby desk.

Once the bulk of the door fell around them Faith looked over to Buffy and she noticed she still held the doorknob in her hand. She showed it to Buffy and then casually tossed it over her shoulder in a useless fashion.

From behind the lobby desk Rowena addressed Willow, Andrew and Dawn. "You guys get out of here," she told them. "Go to the library as quietly as possible," she added.

Andrew and Dawn both nodded and crawled away as quickly as possible with Willow. The black ops team now regrouped and watched as the demon entered the doorway.

"Fire!" Amira shouted as the team that stood behind the lobby desk opened up round after round, knocking the demon to the floor.

Buffy and Faith lay on the ground, their hands and arms covering their heads from the barrage of bullets going above them.

Amira raised her hand and the team stopped firing. She moved closer and looked at the demon, but her eyes began to grow wide. He started to move to a sitting position.

"Simple humans," he said as he inspected his body. The holes that appeared began to close up again and he seemed to float to his feet.

Buffy and Faith now rose and took Amira by the arm, pulling her away.

"Everybody hide," Buffy said as everyone began to dart in different directions.

"No, get to the library," Rowena shouted. She turned to Althenea and said, "I’ve got an idea. Can you do a protection spell inside of a protection spell?" Althenea just shrugged as if she didn’t know. Rowena took the witch by the hand and the two began to run.

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

The sound of loud crashing below them made everyone look at their feet.

"He keeps this up," Buffy began, "We’re not gonna have a council left."

"At least Al’s got him contained to the lobby," Willow replied. "A protection spell inside a protection spell. I’m pretty impressed."

"For now he’s contained," Althenea replied. "So what’s the plan, Ro?" she asked.

Everyone looked over to the watcher, waiting for an answer.

"Ken?" Rowena began. "In the comic it said he was an unstoppable foe, right?" Kennedy nodded. "But he does get stopped, doesn’t he?"

"Yeah. Faith, well, cartoon Faith," Kennedy clarified, "she opens a can of whoop ass on him, but not until the love interest is killed."

"Let’s skip that part of the story, shall we?" Willow asked.

"What are you thinking, Ro?" Althenea asked.

"Turn all the cartoons into their original forms, including this demon," Rowena told her.

Everyone in the room groaned.

"Hasn’t he done enough damage as a cartoon?" Faith asked.

"He’s unstoppable in comic form," Rowena answered. "That’s the way it’s written."

"So we make him human…" Giles replied. "Or as human as he can be…That may work," he added.

"The hitchhiker," Buffy said, expressing her thought out loud, making everyone look at her. "When you guys brought me back from the dead, the second time-"

"Oh!" Willow exclaimed. "We made the hitchhiker corporeal and you killed it!"

"Will the same spell work to fix you guys?" Buffy asked. "Make you real?"

Willow chewed her lip for a moment. "Probably not," she answered, making Buffy’s hopeful expression fall. "B-but it gives us a place to start looking," Willow added.

Another loud crash was heard below them.

"Look quick," Robin told them.

Giles motioned Rowena and Becca, along with the coven, to follow him toward the stacks.

"So how’s it end?" Buffy asked Kennedy. "How does cartoon Faith kill him?"

"She doesn’t kill him," Kennedy replied.

"What?!" Buffy exclaimed.

Kennedy nodded. "Willow shows up and gives her something that sends him to some Vor-like dimension."

Buffy and Faith looked at each other and at the same time said, "Ro?"

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

Faith, Robin, Althenea and Rowena stood back and watched as the demon ran around the lobby kicking around the reception desk in frustration. He moved it around with ease as if it were a soccer ball. The rest of the area appeared to be in tatters – papers scattered around, the computer in various pieces on the floor, large chunks of plaster and wood lying about.

"This is going to cost a fortune," Robin sighed.

"We do all realize that when Buffy tried to get into the book it didn’t work, right?" Faith asked ignoring Robin’s comment.

"Buffy wasn’t in the book originally," Rowena pointed out. "So in theory since he was, he should go back in without a problem."

"Should?" Faith asked and then sighed.

"You have to be the one who does this Faith," Rowena said.

"I know. I know. Follow the story. Comic Faith zaps him so I need to zap him." Faith nodded. "Let’s just hope the herb stuff Red keeps at your guys’ place is as good as the stuff she originally used."

Althenea handed Faith a sports bottle. "This should be fine. It’s the same recipe."

"There’s that word again…should," Faith replied.

"We’re working on a theory," Rowena replied.

"I know but I can’t help but be a little nervous here," Faith replied.

"You’ll get it done," Robin told her proudly.

"How about this?" Rowena began. "If you get into trouble or if it doesn’t work, say…I don’t know, ‘Hail Mary.’"

"Yeah, praying might be good at that point," Faith remarked.

Robin, Althenea and Rowena all smiled.

"Well, yes, praying might help," Althenea remarked, "but that way I’ll try to fight him off with magic so these two can get you out if it comes to that."

"Here’s an idea," Faith said, "Why don’t you distract him and I’ll do the mystical water thing?"

"Because Faith, comic Faith, defeats him alone, according to Kennedy," Robin answered.

"Right," Faith sighed. "Okay, well, let’s get this over with," she said.

"A few things first," Althenea told her. "You also need to tether yourself down once the potion starts," Althenea pointed out. "It’d be easier if the tether that Buffy used was still functional, but anyway…Just try to get him close to the book before you spray him." Althenea nodded to the sports bottle. "Get in and out as quick as you can. I’m only going to drop the shield long enough for you to get inside. Once inside, I won’t open it back up unless you’re in trouble."

"Anything else?" Faith asked when Althenea stopped talking.

"Good luck?" Althenea said more as a question than a statement.

Faith rolled her eyes.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Same Time

"Will this work?" Dawn asked Jeff.

Jeff stood over another cauldron mixing something. "It’s worth a shot," he told her.

Dawn closed her eyes and then opened them. "I’m sorry, guys," she told the room. "This is all my fault. I should have been more careful."

"Next time you know to work in flats and not heels," Buffy replied with a grin.

"Yeah, I found out the hard way, huh?" Dawn replied.

Andrew and Tracey reclined against a table. She rhythmically poked his arm with one finger.

"Would you please stop that?" Andrew said turning to her. "It’s super annoying."

"I can’t help it," she replied, still not stopping. "You feel so funny."

"Stay," Andrew told her as he got up and walked a few feet away, out of reach. Tracey pouted.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway –Same Time

"Are you ready?" Althenea asked.

Faith simply nodded and Robin gave her a quick kiss.

"For luck," he told her. Faith grinned and got into a runner’s stance.

Althenea closed her eyes and lowered her hands. When she did, the protective barrier went down and Faith sprinted into the lobby. Althenea pulled her hands back sharply and the barrier went back up.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Lobby –Same Time

Faith looked around cautiously. She spotted the demon through the busted door of the coven room. Much like the lobby, everything was in shambles and the comic book nowhere to be found.

"No book. Son of a bitch," Faith sighed quietly in frustration.

Hearing the noise the demon turned to face her. He dropped the cauldron he was holding and began to charge toward her.

http://www.thewatcherscouncil.net/sounds/seasonfour/dt/faith-son.mp3

Faith took a deep breath and rushed to meet him.


Jeff scooped the contents of the cauldron into a ladle and sprinkled it over Andrew, Willow and Dawn.

"Well," Jeff asked after a few seconds. "Feel any different?"

Willow put her hand on top of her head. "Yeah, now I’m wet. I’m a cartoon and I’m wet."

Jeff sighed. "Son of a bitch," he said in a tone similar to Faith’s.

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

The demon had Faith by the throat, suspending her in the air.

"Ha-, Ha-," she sputtered out just above a whisper.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway –Same Time

"Do you hear anything?" Rowena asked Althenea.

Althenea just shook her head at first. "It’s quiet."

"Too quiet," Robin replied.

"Let’s give her a few more minutes," Althenea suggested.


"Laugh at me, will you Slayer?" the demon taunted her as she continued to gasp.

Faith had her hands wrapped around his wrists. Realizing that wasn’t working, she reached out and poked him in the eye.

It was enough of a distraction that she worked her way free and fell to the floor, landing on her backside. She took a deep breath that sounded like a rattle before starting to cough.

The demon’s hand reached out and grabbed her by the shirt.

"Oh, crap," Faith sighed as she was pulled to her feet.


Everyone except Becca stood around looking at the cartoons and at Jeff.

"I don’t know why it didn’t work," Jeff said. "I followed the directions. There should be at least some reaction. Even if it’s just a little ‘poof’ of some kind."

"Are you sure you mixed it properly?" Giles asked.

"Potions aren’t my strong suit. I’m the first one to admit that," he confessed, "but I did everything it said."

"Obviously, that’s not the case," Skye replied. "My girlfriend is still a cartoon."

"If you want to be more helpful and less bitchy," Jeff began, "I’m all ears to hear what you’d suggest."

"Jeff," Becca called out without looking up from the book. "Is there anything in that concoction that’s fatal if swallowed?"

"Why do you ask?" Giles replied, answering for Jeff who was in a staring contest with Skye.

"Here," Becca said, moving the book toward him. "Read this passage." She turned to the rest of the group. "I’m thinking maybe if they drink it, it might work."

"There’s castor oil in it," Jeff replied. "It won’t kill ‘em but it could make them sick as a dog," he replied. He looked over to the group. "Any takers?"

At first, none of them answered.

"Fine. I’ll be the guinea pig," Willow replied. "Get me a glass."


Faith slammed into the far wall and slumped to the coven floor. She shook her head and heard Robin call out to her.

"Are you okay, Faith?" he asked.

"Just peachy!" she shouted back before starting to cough again.

The demon lunged forward but she rolled, making him miss. The movement knocked a series of books out of the way and she found the comic book lying underneath.

"Ah ha!" she said triumphantly, picking it up. The demon, however, managed to grab hold of her again by the shirt but she refused to release the book. "Oh, not again," she complained as he started to lift her again.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library –Same Time

"Here goes nothing," Willow said raising the glass she held in a mock toast. She held her nose and drank the contents as quickly as she could. When she finished she shook her head and her shoulders in disgust. "Oh, that’s nasty," she said.

She saw a light emitting from her stomach and everyone in the room collectively took three steps back.


The demon raised Faith by the shirt. She kick-jumped off his chest and did a summersault in the air to land on her feet. She looked behind the

demon to find the sports bottle on the ground.

She slid through the demon’s outstretched legs and began to crawl toward the bottle. She managed to get her free hand around the

bottle but the demon snagged her by the leg, dragging her back.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library –Same Time

The light at Willow’s stomach began to change and her body started to materialize as human again from the inside out. It began in her torso and began to fan out over the rest of her body slowly. The glass fell to the ground and when she looked at her hands again they appeared human.

"You did it!" Willow said triumphantly to Jeff who began to smile.

"I helped too," Becca muttered to Giles, who grinned at her.

"Welcome to Watcherhood," he told her. "You do the work, others get all the credit."

Willow pulled Jeff into a tight embrace but then quickly moved away and covered her mouth.

"Oh Goddess, I’m gonna hurl," she said as she took off toward the stacks.

Jeff bent down and picked up the glass. "Okay, then," he said happily, "Who’s next?"

Dawn and Andrew pointed at each other. Jeff turned away rolling his eyes.

"Ladies first," Andrew told her.

"Oh, no," Dawn said, "I insist. You go."

"I couldn’t. I’m far too much of a gentleman. You go right ahead."

Jeff turned back toward them and gave them both a glass.

"Together, on three," he told them.

Dawn and Andrew both groaned.


Faith twisted in the demon’s grasp but couldn’t get her leg free. Giving up she tossed the book between the demon’s legs and sprayed the book, making a path all the way up to the demon’s face. He let go of her in his effort to avoid the water in his eyes and she scurried toward the coven exit, unable to get traction.

"There’s no escape, Slayer," he taunted her.

Faith turned to see the orange mist growing from the book. She got to her feet and delivered a punch with all her might to his stomach.

He simply looked at her with mild annoyance as she looked at her hand that didn’t even make a dent.

Faith gave a half chuckle. "Can I try that again?" she asked.

The creature responded by shoving her clean out of the coven room.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Lobby – Same Time

Faith landed on her back and slid outside into the lobby. She turned her head to see the council trio watching her from the hallway.

"Drop the barrier," Robin told Althenea.

"No!" Faith shouted. "Not yet!"

She looked back at the demon to see the orange mist following him as he stalked toward her. Faith scurried backward on her hands and heels, keeping him in her sight as she moved along.

"Your time is up, Slayer," he taunted her, now coming into Althenea, Rowena and Robin’s view.

"Al?" Robin said, as if pleading for her to drop the barrier.

"Not yet," she told him. "Faith has a plan."

Just as soon as she spoke the words they all saw the mist following the creature from the room.

"Stay put," Althenea told Robin. She shouted to Faith, "I’m going to drop the spell Faith! Work back this way!"

Faith got to her feet and was almost around the demon when he dove and clipped her legs. He started to pull her toward him but looked behind him suddenly as he himself started to float backward, being dragged toward the book.

"I can’t shake him!" Faith yelled.

"Al!" Robin shouted.

Althenea closed her eyes and mumbled as the barrier fell. "Go get her," she told them.

Robin and Rowena took off, each of them grabbing one of Faith’s hands. Robin kicked the demon in the face but the creature refused to release her. Even as the demon began to merge with the stream he held on to Faith.

"Guys! Let Faith go!" Althenea yelled.

"Al!" Robin and Rowena both exclaimed.

"Just do it!" Althenea ordered.

At once they both let go and Althenea sent a thunderbolt over Faith’s head to land squarely against the demon’s face. The creature and Faith both yelped in pain but he lost his hold on Faith’s leg.

Now free Robin and Rowena each took one of Faith’s arms and pulled her toward the hallway as the mist pulled the demon toward the comic book. Althenea soon joined them and began to chant as the mist sucked the demon away and continued toward them.

Suddenly the barrier was back in place and not finding another victim the mist dissipated. With a heavy sigh Althenea slid down the wall, exhausted.

"Good job," Althenea, sounding winded, told Faith.

"Backatcha," Faith replied, raising her head briefly before letting it fall back into Robin’s lap.

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

Rowena, Robin, Faith and Althenea entered the library to see Dawn, Andrew and Willow in their normal forms.

"Oh thank god," Rowena said as she rushed over and pulled Willow into a hug. She moved to kiss her but Willow pulled away.

"You don’t want to do that just yet," she replied.

Rowena looked confused.

"Trust her on this one," Xander replied. "To quote her, she ‘just about puked up her pancreas.’"

"It wasn’t pretty," Willow replied.

"Poor baby," Rowena replied as Willow rested her head on the watcher’s shoulder.

Faith walked over to Andrew with the comic book extended toward him.

"Here you go An-arghhhhhhh!" Faith began to shake violently and everyone in the room screamed in unison. Faith stopped and started to chuckle. "Just kidding," she said as she tossed him the book.

"That was so not funny," Andrew replied as everyone looked at Faith sternly.

"It was a joke!" Faith’s voice replied.

Fade to Black

Next came the grumbling of everyone in the room and the sound of footsteps. "Where you going?" Faith’s voice asked. "…Hey, I saved the day here…Guys?"

End of Drawn Together

Drawn Together - The Watchers Council€¦ · Web view"There’s nothing cool about this. Nothing...

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