THE WILLOW AND SARA SERIES #1
SHATTERED ILLUSIONS
ACT SIX
By DragonWriter17
 

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation.  I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only.  No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below.  No copyright infringement is intended.

My Website: http://www.dragonwriter17.net/ 

Feedback: Yes, but only if it�s of the non-flamey variety: DragonWriter17@aol.com

Distribution: Mystic Muse and my personal site above.  (If you are interested in posting this on your site, please contact me first for permission.)

Spoilers: All seven seasons of BtVS, but especially Seasons 6 and 7.

Pairings: Willow/Kennedy, Willow/Other (Sara)

Author�s Notes: (1) This story is in screenplay format, not in fiction format.  It is the first of a series of screenplays intended to reunite Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson in several spin-off TV movies that focus on the character of Willow.  However, they feature a new character for Amber Benson: Sara.  (2) Since the Willow and Sara Series is designed to be a true spin-off, it does employ only canon background material.

Number of Chapters: 7 acts

Complete: Yes

Summary: Two years ago, Willow lost the love of her life to a stray bullet that was meant for someone else.  She's recovered from her loss and even moved on to a new relationship.  Then a chance encounter brings her face-to-face with a stranger who looks exactly like her dead girlfriend.  What does she do?  This is the situation in which Willow Rosenberg, best friend of Buffy, finds herself.  It�s been a year since Sunnydale bit the dust, taking the Hellmouth with it.  But the danger is far from over--as Willow discovers in her new life with a new job in a new city, all without her best friends Buffy and Xander conveniently nearby.  A computer geek by day and a warrior witch by night, Willow leads the crusade against the local forces of darkness.  Aiding Willow in her fight are Kennedy, her current girlfriend and now a bonafide Slayer; Andrew, a former member of the Evil Trio, now reformed; and Ruby, a psychic advisor whose gift of Sight is very real.  The battle against evil isn�t the most difficult aspect of Willow�s life, however.  The hardest part is deciding what to do about her budding friendship with (and growing attraction to) Sara, her beloved Tara�s look-alike.  By the end of the movie, Willow will be forced to choose in a way she never expected.

ACT ONE       ACT TWO       ACT THREE       ACT FOUR

ACT FIVE       ACT SIX       ACT SEVEN

INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE SARA�S APARTMENT - NIGHT 

Willow rushes over to Sara�s apartment.  It�s in a run-down neighborhood.  Willow knocks but no one answers.  Willow uses magic to break in. 

INT. SARA�S APARTMENT � NIGHT

Sara�s apartment is not in good shape, but she�s done the best she could on a waitress�s salary.  It is remarkably close to what Tara�s dorm looked like, except for the fact that there are no candles anywhere.

Willow goes through the apartment looking for Sara, calling out her name.  Willow is in the hallway outside the bedroom.  She sees Sara inside. 

Sara is sitting on the floor between the bed and the wall with her back against the wall.  She still has on the clothes she was wearing when Thessaly attacked them.  She�s got her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head resting on her knees.

                           WILLOW
               Sara?

At Willow�s voice, Sara jerks her head up, frightened.  It�s clear that she�s been crying, for a while. 

                           WILLOW
               Sara?  It�s me, Willow. 

                           SARA
               Oh, god, no!

Sara tries to scoot into the corner as far away from Willow as she can.

                           SARA
               I�m sorry!  I didn�t mean to kill you. 
               It was an accident, I swear, I didn�t
               mean to...

As Sara gets slightly hysterical, Willow goes over to her, kneels beside her, then touches her arm.  Sara jumps in terror, trying to scoot even farther away.  Willow maintains contact.

                           WILLOW
               Sara.  Sara!  You didn�t kill me. 
               I�m right here.

Sara is unwilling to believe at first, but finally the truth of Willow�s actual corporeal presence hits home.  She stills and then stares.

                           SARA
               But I --

                           WILLOW
               You just knocked me out for a bit,
               that�s all.  I�m fine now.  Really.

                           SARA
               Oh, thank god! 
                     (hugs Willow fiercely)
               Thank god, I thought I had...oh, god.

                           WILLOW
                     (returns hug)
               I know.  It�s okay.
                     (until it gets painful)
               Urk...owww.

                           SARA
                     (pulls away)
               What is it?  Are you hurt?

                           WILLOW
                     (grimaces a little)
               Just a little bruising.  No biggee.

                           SARA
                     (seeing her bandaged hands)
               But your hands -- ?

                           WILLOW
               Oh.  That wasn�t you.  It was something
               else entirely.  Not that you don�t pack
               a whollop.

                           SARA
               I�m so sorry.  I didn�t mean --

                           WILLOW
               It�s okay.  You did nothing wrong.  You
               were just defending yourself.  Just doing
               what comes naturally.

                           SARA
               No!  There is nothing natural about any of
               this.  It�s unnatural...it�s evil...I�m
               evil.

                           WILLOW
               No, Sara, you are not evil.

                           SARA
               Magic is evil, only bad things come from
               magic, only bad girls do magic, I�m a bad
               girl, I�m a bad girl...

Sara drops her head onto her knees, getting upset again.

                           WILLOW
               No, you�re not a bad girl.  You�re not.

Sara doesn�t respond.

                           WILLOW 
               You�re a good person, I know you are.

Sara sits up violently and pushes off Willow�s hands.

                           SARA
               You don�t know!  You weren�t there!

                           WILLOW
                     (gently)
               Where, Sara?

Sara doesn�t answer right away.  She stares off into space as if remembering.

                           SARA
               My parents� house.  The night of the fire.
               I was doing a spell...in my room...and the
               candles fell over and --

                           WILLOW
               Sara, it was an accident -- that�s all.
               It�s not your fault!

                           SARA
               No!  I was doing magic, and magic is bad.
               I�m bad, and that�s why they died.  It was
               my fault, all my fault...

Sara breaks down.  She is flailing about, crying, and repeating �my fault� over and over.  Willow grabs Sara�s arms and muscles her into a hug, which Sara finally gives in to and just weeps.

                           WILLOW
                     (holds Sara in her arms)
               It�s okay.  It wasn�t your fault.  You�re
               okay.  You�re not bad.  You�re a good
               person.  I�ve got you.

INT. SARA�S APARTMENT - LATER

Sara is sleeping in Willow�s arms.  Willow is stroking Sara�s hair and her back as she lies with her head in Willow�s lap.  Sara jolts awake and suddenly sits up.  She is momentarily frightened and confused.  She tries to move away from Willow, but Willow grabs her arm.

                           WILLOW
               Hey!  It�s okay!  It�s just me, Willow.

Sara worriedly looks around herself.  She starts to stand.

                           WILLOW
               You want to stand up?  Here, let me
               help you.

Willow helps Sara up, then continues to maintain contact after they�re both standing.

                           SARA
                     (awkwardly)
               Thanks.

Sara pulls out of Willow�s touch, crosses her arms tightly, and hugs herself.  Sara won�t look at Willow.  She shifts her gaze around nervously.

                           WILLOW
               Sara, I don�t think you should stay here
               by yourself.  Why don�t you come home
               with me?  You�re safe with me, I promise.

Sara finally makes eye contact with Willow for more than just a second.  It is a look of many emotions in one: pain, terror, gratitude, uncertainty.  Finally, Sara nods.

                           SARA
                     (hesitantly)
               Okay.

INT. WILLOW�S HOUSE � THE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Willow and Sara enter the front door.  Willow comes in first, followed by Sara, who�s carrying her backpack.  They both seem a little uncomfortable.

                           WILLOW
               Well, this is it.  Home sweet home.

                           SARA
               (looks around at the place)
               It�s nice.

Sara moves into the living room and stands by the couch.

                           WILLOW
               Ummm...can I get you something...you know,
               to eat or drink?

                           SARA
               No.  No thanks.

                           WILLOW
               I mean, I was going to fix myself
               something anyway, a sandwich or something.

                           SARA
               Well, okay.  If you were already going to.

Willow goes into kitchen area.  Meanwhile, Sara puts her backpack down on the floor and sits on the arm of the couch.  Then she gets up and starts wandering around the living room, looking at things.

                           WILLOW (O.S.)
                     (calling out from the kitchen)
               Is turkey okay?  �Cause I have this cousin
               who�s like totally anti-turkey.

Sara goes to the mantle and looks at the objects there.  She picks up one picture in particular and looks at it.  It shows Willow with Tara, Buffy, and Dawn at Buffy�s old house.  Sara touches Tara�s image.

                           WILLOW (O.S. cont�d)
               Like it�s the grossest thing in the world
               to her.  I think she must have had a
               traumatic Thanksgiving turkey experience
               when she was young or something.

Sara shakes her head and returns the picture to its place.

                           SARA
                Turkey�s fine.  Really.  Whatever you�re
                having.  I�m not picky.

Willow returns from the kitchen with sandwiches, chips, cookies, and drinks, all on a tray.  She sets the tray on the coffee table.  Sara comes over.  They both sit.  They both take food and drink.  It�s an awkward time.  They each take a nibble and a sip then glance over at the other person, neither one talking.  Sara finally breaks the silence.

                           SARA
                So...you really are a witch then?

                           WILLOW
                Yes, I am.  But, I�m a good witch.  You
                know, like Glinda from the Wizard of Oz?

                           SARA
                      (laughs weakly then sobers)
                I...ummm...I�m sorry about what happened.
                I didn�t mean to hurt you. 

                           WILLOW
                It�s okay.  I understand.  Completely.

                           SARA
                I�m still sorry.  I was just a little
                freaked out from...who was that woman
                anyway?  California�s version of the
                Wicked Witch of the West?

                           WILLOW
                She was a demon, a succuba to be exact.
                      (off Sara�s confused look)
                A kind of witchy energy vampire.

                           SARA
                What did she want with you?

                           WILLOW
                To kill me, I guess, or at least scare
                me off.  She was trying to suck the life
                out of the father of a friend of mine.
                I was trying to stop her.  She took
                exception to that.

                           SARA
                Will she come back?

                           WILLOW
                No.  We killed her.
                      (holds up her bandaged hands)
                That�s how I got these.  She won�t be
                coming back.  Trust me.

                           SARA
                Good.  She was pretty scary. 

                           WILLOW
                Yeah, she was.  Look, I�m sorry if I
                scared you, with the shield and all.  I
                was just trying to protect you.

                           SARA
                I know.  It was just that...I couldn�t
                move, and the two of you were going at it,
                and the whole magic thing was wigging
                me out.

                           WILLOW
                Sorry.

                           SARA
                You must be very powerful.

                           WILLOW
                Yeah, I guess I am.

                           SARA
                Have you...always been a witch?

                           WILLOW
                No.  Actually I�ve only been practicing
                for about five or six years or so.  It�s
                been interesting.

                           SARA
                Doesn�t it scare you?  I mean, magic
                can be dangerous.

                           WILLOW
                      (serious)
                Yes, it scares me, and yes, it is dangerous.
                      (then awed)
                But it�s also beautiful and wondrous.
                      (then brightly matter-of-fact)
                And it can be used for good, to help people. 
                That�s how I got started, actually, helping
                people.

                           SARA
                But it can also hurt people, can�t it?  I
                mean, if somebody bad is using it, it can --

                           WILLOW
                      (taking Sara�s hand)
                You aren�t bad, Sara.  What happened to
                your parents was an accident, that�s all. 
                Nothing more.

                           SARA
                But --

                           WILLOW
                What were you trying to do?  With
                your spell, I mean.

                           SARA
                      (shakes her head)
                You�ll think it�s stupid.

                           WILLOW
                Did it involve putting yak cheese in
                your bra?

                           SARA
                Uhhh...no.

                           WILLOW
                Then it can�t possibly be stupider than
                any of the stuff I�ve done.

                           SARA
                Okay.  I was...
                      (pauses, gathering her courage)
                I was trying to make a rose bloom.  See,
                my mom had gotten this rose bush, and no
                matter what she tried, the thing just
                wouldn�t bloom.  She was getting really
                frustrated.  I don�t know why it mattered so
                much to her, but I just wanted to get the
                thing to bloom, you know?  I didn�t mean
                to...
                      (gets a little choked up)

                           WILLOW
                Of course, you didn�t mean to.  It was an
                accident.  And it was a normal type of
                accident.  It had nothing to do with magic.

                           SARA
                No, it did!  I had been playing with magic
                for some time.  I�ve always been able to do
                things.  I knew it was wrong, but I just
                couldn�t stop.  It hadn�t felt wrong,
                but...it must�ve been...because, because if
                I hadn�t been trying to do magic, then my
                parents wouldn�t have been --

                           WILLOW
                Sara, magic isn�t wrong.  Not in and of
                itself.  It�s sort of neutral.  It can be
                used for either good or bad, depending on
                who�s wielding it and why.  It�s about
                intention, what�s in your heart.  And what
                was in your heart was good.  You loved your
                mom so much, and all you wanted to do was
                make her happy.

Sara looks at Willow, wanting to believe but having a hard time doing so.  She has blamed herself for so long that it�s difficult to let the truth sink in.  Sara finally starts to believe, just a little.

                           SARA
                I did.  I loved them both so much.  And I
                miss them....
                      (tears are rolling down her cheeks)

                           WILLOW
                      (squeezes her hand)
                I know.  I know it�s hard.  I�ve been where
                you are.  When Tara died, I went off the
                deep end big time.  I didn�t think it was
                ever going to get better.  But it did...
                eventually...a little at a time...with the
                help of my friends.  I want you to know,
                I�m here for you, if you need help, with
                anything -- even magic.

                           SARA
                Oh, no.  Not magic.  I think I�m out of my
                league there.

                           WILLOW
                No, you aren�t.  You are very powerful.
                That defensive blast of yours -- that�s very
                advanced.  And you did it almost
                unconsciously.  You were born with this
                power, Sara.  It�s a part of who you are.
                You don�t have to hide it.

                           SARA
                But it scares me.

                           WILLOW
                All the more reason to work with it.  You
                need to hone it, learn to control it.  Then
                you�ll start to trust it...and yourself.

Sara doesn�t answer, but it�s clear that she�s thinking hard about what Willow has said.  After a long pause, Willow speaks.

                           WILLOW
                Well, I don�t know about you, but I�m
                wiped out.
                      (stands up)
                I think a shower and a long coma-type
                sleep are in order, don�t you?

                           SARA
                Yeah, sure.

Sara also stands.  Willow turns to walk away.

                           SARA
                Ummm...Willow?

                           WILLOW
                      (turns back toward Sara)
                Yeah?

                           SARA
                      (moves to Willow and hugs her)
                Thanks. 

                           WILLOW
                      (surprised but returns hug)
                Oh.  You�re welcome.  Just...ummm...
                racking up those karmic bonus points!

It is evident that they both enjoy the hug very much.  They prolong it, then separate slowly.  Their faces are so close, a kiss would be so easy, but they are both nervous and awkward and keep looking away.

                           WILLOW
                Well.  We better...you know....

                           SARA
                Yeah.  We better.

Willow heads toward the stairs.  Sara grabs her backpack and follows.  As they go up the stairs:

                           WILLOW
                We�ll have to share...the bed, I mean, not
                the shower.  There�s just the one bed, but
                it�s big.  You won�t even know I�m there, I
                promise... 

INT. WILLOW�S HOUSE � THE BEDROOM - NIGHT

Sara is on Kennedy�s side of the bed.  She is combing her still slightly-wet hair.  She�s in her sleeping attire: a long-tailed jersey t-shirt.  Her backpack is on the bed along with the clothes she changed out of.  The shower is running in the bathroom, meaning Willow is in the shower.  The shower stops, and after a short pause, the hair dryer starts. 

The phone rings.  Sara looks at the bathroom as if asking herself whether or not she should answer the phone.  She decides to answer it.  She crosses to the other side of the bed where the phone is and picks it up.

INTERCUT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION � SARA/WILLOW AND KENNEDY

                           SARA
                Ummm, hello?

                           KENNEDY
                Willow?

                           SARA
                Uhhh, no, this is Sara.

                           KENNEDY
                      (clearly angry)
                Who?

                           SARA
                Sara.  Willow�s in the shower.  No
                wait.  Here she comes.

Willow comes out of the bathroom wearing her robe.  She has no bandages on her hands now.  She�s running her fingers through her mostly-dry hair.  Sara holds the phone with the mouth-piece covered.

                           SARA
                Ummm, Willow?  It�s for you.  I think
                it�s...

A look of �Oh crap!� appears on Willow�s face.  She grabs the phone.  She takes a deep breath and then answers.

                           WILLOW

                Hello?

                           KENNEDY
                What the hell is going on?  Who is Sara,
                and why is she in our bedroom?

GO TO ACT SEVEN