Greyfall Episode
(Season Finale?)
Draft Screenplay

"Twilight of the Gods"
Writer: Edward Keyes

Cast of Characters:

	Paul Masters, aka Greyfall
	Patrick Hayden, new character
	Astaroth, a demon, new character
	Joanna Masters
	Professor Arkham
	News anchor
	varied non-speaking extras

FADE IN TO:

INT. CLASSROOM

We see, from various angles, a hand holding a piece of chalk, 
rapidly filling a chalkboard with arcane scientific 
equations.  Greek letters are abundant.  The clacking of the 
chalk is the only sound.  Nothing but the chalkboard and arm 
are visible.

CUT TO:

INT. GREYFALL'S LAIR

We see one of GREYFALL's swords come rushing toward the 
camera with an audible swish.  Glowing SFX optional.  A rapid 
montage of sword and arm shots.  GREYFALL is performing a 
martial arts kata, fighting invisible opponents to practice 
his skills.  Only sword and arm should be visible.  Theme 
music if there is any, synchronized to movements would be 
great.  Otherwise appropriate rock tune might be good.

CUT BACK AND FORTH

Flash back and forth between these two scenes a couple of 
times, while rolling credits if it hasn't been done before 
the first scene.  Continue same music across both scenes.  
"Is the pen mightier than the sword?" is the symbolism here 
-- plus setting up a clear confrontation between the two 
characters.  Gradually open up the camera angle so we see 
PATRICK HAYDEN at the chalkboard and GREYFALL with his swords 
and costume.  Stay with GREYFALL for a bit longer at the end, 
as he finishes his kata, bowing to the camera.

FADE TO:

INT. CLASSROOM

PATRICK finishes his writing and backs up from the 
chalkboard, pondering.  He is a physics student, brilliant 
but naïve.

PATRICK
(stunned) Do you realize what this means?

OFF-CAMERA VOICE
(calm) I'm not sure.  It can't be right.
(encouraging) Can it?

PATRICK
(pause) If it is... then even nuclear 
power is already obsolete.  (breathless) 
The quest for fusion rendered meaningless 
before it's even half begun...

OFF-CAMERA VOICE
(silky) There's only one way to find out.

PATRICK turns around to face the off-camera voice.

PATRICK
You're not suggesting I actually...

OFF-CAMERA VOICE
(calm) Build it?  It's the only way to be 
sure.  No one will believe you without a 
working model.

PATRICK turns back to the chalkboard, pondering.

PATRICK
(whispering) Boundless energy...

OFF-CAMERA VOICE
(like an echo)
(whispering) Limitless power...

PATRICK nods once, and turns around again, now resolved.

PATRICK
(business-like) All right.  I'll do it. 
(pause) I can't thank you enough for your 
help so far, Ross.  Can I still count on 
you for the final phase?

OFF-CAMERA VOICE
(smiling) To the end of the world.

PATRICK smiles, nods, and leaves, already muttering parts 
lists to himself.  We hear a door close as the camera pans 
around to the source of the off-camera voice, the demon 
Astaroth, who appears as an overdressed college student.  He 
is seated at a desk, a glass half-full of some red liquid 
before him, as well as a notebook containing equations and 
doodles of pentagrams.

He raises his glass in a toast to the camera and smiles 
wickedly.  He doesn't look directly at the camera, though, 
just near it.

ASTAROTH
(triumphant) To the end of the world!

Some demonic SFX mandatory here: his eyes glow for a second, 
for instance, or he vanishes in a puff of flame.  Something 
to tell the viewer he's more than human.

FADE TO:

INT. STEAM TUNNELS

We follow JOANNA for a little while along the tunnels, 
obviously on her way to Greyfall's Lair.  Camera stationary 
at various heights as she walks by.

CUT TO:

INT. GREYFALL'S LAIR

As JOANNA enters, we see PAUL, sans Greyfall costume, 
crouching near the Artifact Chest, the Runes arranged on the 
ground in front of him in the shape of the letter "N".  He is 
extremely puzzled, and somewhat frustrated.

PAUL looks up as JOANNA enters.

PAUL
(distracted) Hey, Joanna.

JOANNA
Hey, yourself.  Divining the answers to 
my physics midterm for me?

PAUL
Hmmm? (looks up) Sorry, no. (pause)
(serious) Come take a look at this.

PAUL indicates the Runes on the floor.  JOANNA looks down, 
then crouches beside him.

JOANNA
"N"?  What kind of prophecy is that?

PAUL
Check it out.  It gets even stranger.

PAUL gathers the Runes together, then casts them across the 
floor, in a clearly random fashion.  To JOANNA's 
astonishment, but not PAUL's, they have formed themselves 
into the letter "A".  SFX optional here, or just do a flash 
cut to pre-arranged Runes.

JOANNA
"N-A"?  Does it spell something if you 
keep going?

PAUL nods grimly.  He hands her a small slip of paper on 
which he has written the message of the Runes: "RAGNAROK 
NEARS".

PAUL
I've cast the Runes a hundred times 
today, and all they do is spell the same 
thing over and over again.

The camera looks over JOANNA's shoulder as she unfolds the 
paper and reads it.

JOANNA
(puzzled) Ragnarok nears? (pause) Does 
that mean anything to you?

Pan up to PAUL, camera still looking over JOANNA's shoulder.

PAUL
(resigned) Unfortunately, yes.  Ragnarok 
was the Viking equivalent of the 
Apocalypse.  Whatever spirit controls 
these Runes is apparently trying to tell 
us the world is about to end.

JOANNA
(serious) You're joking.

PAUL just waits.

JOANNA
You're not joking.  (pause) Crap.  We 
need more information.

PAUL
(nods) I was just about to go see 
Professor Arkham.  If anyone knows the 
ins and outs of the Norse myths, it's 
him.

JOANNA
Let's go!

PAUL taps his wrist, miming tapping a wristwatch.

PAUL
I can handle it.  Don't you have a 
meeting with your physics tutor to 
prepare for the big test?

JOANNA
Crud, yes.  But the guy's such a bore...

PAUL
(shrugs) Hey, if it nets you an "A"...  
Get going.  I'll fill you in at dinner.

JOANNA leaves.  PAUL pauses a second, frowns, then kneels and 
hurriedly casts the Runes again.  It is an "R".  He curses 
under his breath, then rushes out, looking worried.

FADE TO:

INT. STUDY LOUNGE

JOANNA and PATRICK sit at the corner of a table.  She has her 
head bent, writing in a notebook.  He has his head resting in 
his hand, staring at her with obvious infatuation.

JOANNA pushes her notebook towards him.  He doesn't notice 
for a second, then snaps out of his reverie.

JOANNA
How's that?

PATRICK examines the notebook quickly.

PATRICK
Perfect.  You've got it exactly right.  
You should do quite well tomorrow.

JOANNA
I've got the equations down, but I'm not 
sure I'm seeing the big picture on this 
matter-energy thing.  Sure, E equals M C 
squared, but how much is C squared, 
really?

PATRICK
It's big, really big.  Remember the 
atomic bombing of Hiroshima?

JOANNA
(annoyed) Of course.

PATRICK
Well, that was the equivalent of twenty 
thousand tons of T.N.T....

PATRICK reaches for his calculator, a Hewlett-Packard 
behemoth, and taps away rapidly, mumbling to himself.

PATRICK
(muttering) ...2 point 6 times ten to the 
thirty-four electron volts per megaton 
... divide by C squared...
(normal) The explosion was the result of 
about one gram of matter being converted 
to energy.

JOANNA
(astonished) One gram?

PATRICK picks up a paper clip from the table, and holds it 
up.

PATRICK
One gram.  The mass of this paper clip.
(pause, fiddling with paper clip)
(daydreaming) If you could convert matter 
to energy directly, you could run the 
world on the mass of your breath.

PATRICK leans back, blowing softly, whistling with no sound.  
Then he brings the paper clip up before his face, staring at 
it.  We see his eyebrows narrow as he focuses on it from 
apparently far away.

PATRICK
(whispering) One...little...paper... 
clip...

PATRICK flicks the paper clip back towards the table.

CUT TO:

Slow motion shot of a paper clip tumbling end over end as it 
drops.  It hits the wooden table, bounces with an audible 
ring, and just before it hits the table for the second 
time...

FLASH CUT TO:

STOCK FOOTAGE

We see a flash, and a nuclear mushroom cloud sprouts.  If we 
can't locate any decent stock footage of nuclear tests, we 
can always steal some "T2" scenes (and maybe "True Lies", 
too).  Whatever we can get.  The timing should be such that 
just as the viewer expects to hear the second bounce of the 
paper clip, the explosion thunders instead.

FADE TO:

INT. PROFESSOR ARKHAM'S OFFICE

The office is an explosion of books, all with dingy brown and 
gray covers.  ARKHAM stands, reading from a book in his hand 
to PAUL.  His tone is emphatic, like a sermon -- he is 
reading from the holy works of the Norsemen, after all.

The camera should not stay still for long.  Since ARKHAM has 
an extended speech, the camera should be active in order to 
visually break up what is continuous audially.

ARKHAM
"...Then Surt will fling fire in every 
direction.  Asgard and Midgard and 
Jotunheim and Niflheim will become 
furnaces: places of raging flame, 
swirling smoke, ashes, only ashes.

"The nine worlds will burn and the gods 
will die.  The Einheriar will die, men 
and women and children in Midgard will 
die, elves and dwarfs will die, giants 
will die, monsters and creatures of the 
underworld will die, birds and animals 
will die.

"The sun will be dark, and there will be 
no stars in the sky."

PAUL
(breathless) Armageddon.

ARKHAM
(holds up a finger) There's more.  After 
the fire.

"Then Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters, 
will grip and throttle Midgard.  Driving 
snow clouds will converge from north and 
south and east and west.  There will be 
bitter frost, biting winds; the shining 
sun will be helpless.

"Thus is the fate of gods and men, when 
Ragnarok comes."

ARKHAM slaps the book shut with one hand.  The intention is a 
"that's all she wrote" impression.

PAUL
My god, that sounds like a nuclear 
holocaust!  Death by fire, and then the 
sun hidden by a nuclear winter.

ARKHAM
(nods) You'll find similar descriptions 
in the Book of Revelation:

"The first angel sounded, and there 
followed hail and fire mingled with 
blood, and they were cast upon the earth: 
and the third part of trees was burnt up, 
and all green grass was burnt up.

"And I beheld when he had opened the 
sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great 
earthquake; and the sun became black as 
sack cloth, and the moon became as 
blood."

PAUL
(muttering) "Cats and dogs living 
together -- mass hysteria."

ARKHAM
What was that?

PAUL
Nothing.  Is there anything unique about 
the Viking version?

ARKHAM
Well, the Norse myth has an element of 
inevitability about it that the others 
lack. (pause)
(scholarly) The Vikings accepted that 
Ragnarok must eventually come to pass, in 
other words.  It's one of the things that 
made them such fearless warriors: they 
weren't afraid to die, because they knew 
that nothing would survive Ragnarok -- 
not men, not heroes, not even the gods.

PAUL
So if one of them had the opportunity to 
try to prevent Ragnarok from happening...

ARKHAM
(shrugs) There'd be no point.  He 
probably wouldn't even try.

PAUL nods grimly, deep in thought.

FADE TO:

INT. PATRICK'S LAB

PATRICK is working feverishly over a small metal device, 
soldering iron in hand.  Electronic gadgetry is all over the 
place.  He pauses to glance over at an oscilloscope display.

The device is about 18 inches long, with a central sphere 
about the size of a basketball.  Rectangular projections are 
on either side, with plenty of buttons, lights, etc.

Behind him, ASTAROTH walks in.  Although there is no real 
sign of his arrival, PATRICK straightens up, leaning forward 
to place his hands on the lab table in front of him as a 
brace, hearing or sensing something.  He is strangely calm.  
He is speaking in the general direction of the camera; we see 
ASTAROTH over his shoulder behind him.

PATRICK
Who are you, Ross?

ASTAROTH is taken aback.  He doesn't expect this at all, 
thinking PATRICK too naïve.

ASTAROTH
(wary) What do you mean?

PATRICK
(calm) There is no such person as Ross 
Astor.  I've checked.

ASTAROTH
A computer error, certainly...

PATRICK
(interrupting) No one could have known 
the things you've told me.  Minor hints 
again and again that always seemed to 
work out exactly.  You knew the answer 
before I even asked the question.

PATRICK turns around to face ASTAROTH.

PATRICK
(dead serious) Who are you, Ross?

ASTAROTH pauses, then smiles wickedly, bowing in a courtly 
manner to PATRICK.

ASTAROTH
Astaroth, Demon Prince of Hell, at your 
service.  My specialty is the secrets of 
the universe.

Mandatory demonic SFX here.  ASTAROTH summons fire to his 
hand, or something else minor, just as a convincer for 
PATRICK.

PATRICK
(breathless) At my service?

ASTAROTH
(waving him off) Just an expression, my 
boy.  Neither one of us commands here.  
What clued you in?  The brimstone 
aftershave?

PATRICK shakes his head no, too stunned to speak.

ASTAROTH
No matter.  The fact that you haven't run 
screaming from the room bodes well for 
our relationship.  Yes, this simplifies 
matters quite nicely...

PATRICK
(laughing, close to hysteria) So now's 
when you try to claim my soul, right?

ASTAROTH
Nope.  You've got me confused with the 
other guys. I don't want anything from 
you, least of all your soul.

PATRICK
(confused) Then what, why...?

ASTAROTH
(soothing) Merely to help.  Demons have 
been a part of science since the first 
caveman uttered the word "how"?

PATRICK
Huh?  But what about...?

This is ASTAROTH's little speech.  Have the camera moving 
around a bit, to break it up (just like ARKHAM's speech).

ASTAROTH
They've all gotten help.  (commanding)  
Do you think the Church would kick 
Galileo out just for saying the Earth 
goes round the Sun?  No, it was for the 
way he got that knowledge.  Newton said, 
(nobly) "If I have seen farther than 
other men, it is because I have stood on 
the shoulders of giants."  (normal) It 
wouldn't have gone over nearly as well 
had he said "the shoulders of demons", 
but it sure would have been more true.  
"Maxwell's demon" speaks for itself.  And 
haven't you ever wondered how a patent 
clerk who failed miserably in school 
could have become the author of the most 
famous equation of all time?

PATRICK is silent and stunned -- he mouths the words "E 
equals M C squared" without making a sound.  ASTAROTH is 
overpowering him with the force and sheer volume of his 
arguments.

ASTAROTH
They all knew what you know -- that it 
doesn't matter where the knowledge comes 
from, so long as it's true.  Why does the 
Church always stand for superstition and 
ignorance?  Set yourself free from the 
slanders of the Sunday preachers and ask 
yourself what Satan's "crime" really was.

PATRICK
(breathless) I don't know.

ASTAROTH
(slowly) Lucifer, the bringer of light, 
was cast down from on high for uttering 
the two words that God could not bear to 
hear from one of His creations. (pause) 
"Non serviam." (pause) "I will not 
serve."  Lucifer wanted to think for 
himself ... that's all.

Random note: The Latin letter "V" is pronounced like a "W", 
so it's said "non serwiam".

PATRICK
And Hell?

ASTAROTH
Lucifer founded a society of free 
thinkers, and many of us joined him.  
You'll be going there anyway -- it's a 
sin to traffic with demons, after all -- 
but you wouldn't like Heaven: too stuffy.  
We have to take the bad guys, too, of 
course, because He (points up) won't, but 
you'd be amazed how civil they become 
without all the rules of God hanging over 
their heads.  Even Hitler had some really 
scholarly thoughts on politics, once we 
broke him of his prejudice, you know. 
(pause)
But you don't care, do you?  Even if I 
told you we'd torture you for all 
eternity, you wouldn't care, would you?  
Anything to know what I know.

PATRICK lowers his head, then slowly shakes it back and 
forth.

PATRICK
(whispers) I have to understand...

ASTAROTH
(soothing) It's nothing to be ashamed of.  
I've offered the same thing to hordes of 
men and women over the ages.  (ironic) 
For some strange reason, you humans all 
want to use that big pointless organ God 
gave you.  It's been a characteristic of 
the species from the very beginning. 
(shrugs) Go figure.

During that last speech, ASTAROTH goes over to PATRICK, who 
still has his head bowed.  ASTAROTH taps PATRICK on the top 
of the skull when referring to the "pointless organ" of the 
brain.  PATRICK looks up at the touch.

ASTAROTH smiles.  From somewhere off camera, ASTAROTH 
produces a shiny red apple and holds it up before PATRICK's 
eyes.

ASTAROTH
(courteous) Care for an apple?

PATRICK smiles, slowly reaches for it, and takes a big bite, 
all the while looking into ASTAROTH's eyes.

FADE TO:

INT. PAUL MASTERS' DORM ROOM

It is a typical college student dorm room, with none of the 
Greyfall trappings.  PAUL is munching on a microwave pizza, 
watching the local news on television.

NEWS ANCHOR (ON TV)
...Tomorrow's solar eclipse should last 
just over two minutes.  The path of 
totality cuts directly through the city, 
so we should all have an excellent view.  
Be careful, though.  Do not stare 
directly into the eclipse, or you may 
damage...

JOANNA enters, and PAUL clicks off the TV with his remote, 
interrupting the newscast.

PAUL
Hey, there.  How'd it go?

JOANNA
(noncommittal) I think I'll do okay.  I'm 
supposed to meet him tomorrow at the lab 
after the test.  Said he wanted to show 
me something.

PAUL
(chuckles) Oh, really?

JOANNA
Shut up.  It's something physicy.  He 
wouldn't take no for an answer.

PAUL leans back and smiles silently.  The viewer should be 
able to read his mind in his leer.

JOANNA
Can we just drop this?  Tell me about 
Ragnarok.

PAUL snaps back up in his chair, all business.

PAUL
Right.  My memory was essentially 
correct.  Ragnarok is indeed the end of 
the world in Norse mythology.  But... the 
description in the old texts seems to 
match quite closely with what would 
happen in a nuclear war.

JOANNA whistles in astonishment.

PAUL
I've been watching the news, but I can't 
see any signs of trouble brewing. (pause)
But that doesn't mean anything.  If 
anyone, anywhere in the world set off a 
bomb, it'd start World War Three just as 
quick as if Russia did.  Any terrorist 
could bring on Ragnarok: it's widely 
rumored that there are at least five 
unaccounted-for warheads that disappeared 
when the Soviet Union fell.

JOANNA
There's got to be a way to learn how it 
starts, or where, or at least when!  
Can't you use the Runes?

PAUL shakes his head in resignation.

PAUL
The Vikings thought Ragnarok was 
inevitable.  The Runes are a Norse 
artifact, and they reflect that belief.  
I haven't been able to get a thing from 
them other than "Ragnarok nears" over and 
over again. (pause)
Even the swords seem lifeless.  It's like 
they've already given up.

JOANNA
We've got to do something!  We can't just 
huddle in the tunnels and wait for the 
bomb to hit!

PAUL spreads his arms and leans back in his chair.

PAUL
Whatever we do, we're on our own.  If you 
have any ideas, I'm all ears.  I'm 
stumped. (to himself) Saving the world is 
a little out of my league...

JOANNA opens her mouth to speak, but can find nothing to say.  
Both she and PAUL fall silent, staring together out the 
window into the dark of a winter night.  The camera follows 
their gaze, helping the fade to black.

FADE TO:

INT. HALLWAY (NEXT DAY)

PATRICK and JOANNA are walking side by side.  He is 
explaining his experiment to her, and is very animated today.  
He uses a lot of hand gestures to accentuate his points.  She 
seems quiet and preoccupied.

Camera work should be similar to the JOANNA tunnel scene: 
lots of stationary shots as they walk by.

PATRICK
...And so the net result is that the 
combination of fields in the center of 
the device serve to convert any matter 
introduced into it directly into pure 
energy.  The default setting allows a 
tiny trickle of air into the chamber for 
fuel, but that can be scaled up easily.

JOANNA
Wouldn't the matter-energy field leak out 
and consume the machine itself?

PATRICK
I've thought of that.  Don't worry, I 
installed a septuple-redundancy 
containment system.  It's foolproof 
against anything short of an act of God.

PATRICK chuckles a little too long at that statement.

They arrive at the door of the lab and go in to meet 
ASTAROTH, who's already there.

PATRICK
Joanna, this is my partner Ross.  He's 
done most of the work on the control 
mechanism, among other things.  Ross, 
Joanna, my favorite tutoree.

JOANNA
Nice to meet you.

ASTAROTH
(silky) The pleasure is all mine.

ASTAROTH leans over to PATRICK, whispering in his ear.  The 
camera goes in for a close-up so we can hear what's being 
said.

ASTAROTH
I have some friends back home who can 
help you win her, if you wish...

PATRICK raises his eyebrows in surprise.  A new possibility 
has opened up for him, but he says nothing.

JOANNA, meanwhile, has moved over to the device on the table.

JOANNA
So, this little thing is the answer to 
the world's energy crisis?

ASTAROTH
I guarantee it will eliminate all the 
problems of the world.

PATRICK looks at ASTAROTH a little strangely, but shakes off 
the feeling.

PATRICK
That's right.  Today, you can replace a 
power plant with one of these.  Tomorrow, 
who knows what'll be possible when all 
the energy anyone could want is free for 
all?

ASTAROTH
(seductively) Why don't you turn it on?  
I'm sure Joanna would love to see it 
work.

PATRICK
Of course, how impolite of me.  Just a 
sec.

PATRICK goes over to the device and types in a long sequence 
on the buttons.  Lights flicker into live on the machine.

ASTAROTH starts laughing demonaically.  JOANNA looks at him 
puzzled, PATRICK with a growing sense of horror.

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light.  JOANNA and 
PATRICK are both rubbing their eyes.  When they look, they 
see the device is missing, replaced with a little note.

In elegant archaic lettering, the note reads, "Thanks for 
everything.  See you in Hell.  Soon."  PATRICK and JOANNA 
both silently read it without touching it.

JOANNA
(shouting) Pat, what in God's name is 
going on here?

PATRICK slumps to the ground in shock, talking only half to 
JOANNA, half to himself.

PATRICK
Ross... he's a demon... Promised me the 
knowledge of the universe...

JOANNA
What?!?

PATRICK
...My god, I just built a Doomsday 
machine... and gave it to Satan...

JOANNA stares at him a second longer, then it all comes 
together for her.  She searches frantically for a phone in 
the lab, then dials up PAUL's number.  We only hear her side 
of the conversation, but we can imagine the rest.

JOANNA
Ragnarok, Paul!  My tutor built an A-
Bomb!  And it's been stolen! ... Who?  
Oh, you're gonna love this...

As JOANNA goes on with her explanation (in the background we 
can hear her shout "Yes, I said a demon!" once), the camera 
moves to PATRICK, still in shock.  He seems to be praying, 
perhaps, very hurriedly -- we can only catch the word 
"forgive" now and then.

JOANNA
Pat!

PATRICK looks up at her, stopping his muttering.  She is 
holding the phone.

JOANNA
Where would he go with it?

PATRICK
(moans) I don't know!

JOANNA
Think, man!  What would Ross want to blow 
up first?

PATRICK
He hates the Church...

JOANNA
Right! (into the phone) Meet us in front 
of the campus church... No, I'm not going 
to pray!  Bring your damn swords! ... I 
don't care how much they weigh, bring 
'em! ... Right!

JOANNA hangs up the phone, and rushes over to PATRICK.  She 
grabs him by the shirt and yanks him to his feet.

JOANNA
Come on!  You've the only one who can 
turn that damn thing off!

PATRICK nods, getting ahold of himself.  She lets go.

JOANNA
Now, tell me about this foolproof system 
of yours.  How long do we have?

PATRICK
It has septuple-redundancy containment.  
It'll take even Ross a while to bypass 
it.  Ten minutes?

JOANNA
Septa-what?  Speak English!

PATRICK
(explaining) The machine has seven seals.

JOANNA looks at PATRICK as if he'd just sprouted horns.

PATRICK
(confused) What'd I say?

FADE TO:

EXT. DIVINITY QUADRANGLE

It is mid-afternoon, but strangely dim.  ASTAROTH is kneeling 
in the grass, fiddling with the controls of the device.  
Throughout this scene, the sunlight show be imperceptively 
and gradually dimming, until the sixth seal (just gradually 
close the camera iris).

GREYFALL, in full costume, rushes on to the scene.  ASTAROTH 
looks up, then back down, dismissing GREYFALL as of no 
consequence.

GREYFALL
Step away from that!

ASTAROTH pushes a couple more buttons, then stands up, his 
arms wide, showing himself unarmed.  He smiles wickedly.

ASTAROTH
It doesn't matter.  It's too late!  Two 
seals have been broken, and the rest will 
fall shortly!  (maniacally)  The end of 
the world is nigh!

GREYFALL draws his swords, but they are perceptively too 
heavy for him to handle well.  They don't glow at all.

GREYFALL
(threatening) Stop it now!  Or face me!

ASTAROTH
(laughs) Pitiful mortal!  You cannot kill 
me.  Even a sword through my heart will 
just send me home again.  And you'll 
still be dead. (calm) Take some advice, 
friend.  The swords know what they're 
doing.  Give up.  You can't do anything.

GREYFALL
Never!

GREYFALL goes over to the device, and raises his sword to 
smash it.

Just before he does, JOANNA and PATRICK rush onto the scene.

PATRICK
No!

JOANNA
Paul, it's been activated already!  Smash 
it and you set it off!

GREYFALL stops his swing short.  We can see him emphatically 
mouth the word "shit!", then he turns back to ASTAROTH.

PATRICK rushes over to the device, gives it a once-over.

PATRICK
Three seals gone!  Ross, why?

ASTAROTH
The world is ripe for destruction!  Think 
of it!  How many mortals have unrepented 
sins on their conscience this moment?  
Kill them before they confess, and their 
souls belong to us!  Now there are more 
sinners than saints!  Satan will win!
(stares directly at Patrick)
And all because of you, Patrick.  We are 
forbidden to cause death, but you pressed 
the button for me!  (evil laughter)

Meanwhile, GREYFALL has been walking towards ASTAROTH, swords 
at the ready.  As ASTAROTH finishes his speech, GREYFALL 
swings at him.  The swing is clumsy, and ASTAROTH sidesteps 
with minimal effort.

ASTAROTH
Your precious tools have abandoned you.  
What are you going to do?  Are you 
foolish enough to face me alone?

GREYFALL
I'd be a fool not to.

ASTAROTH makes an arcane sign with one hand, and through the 
wonders of SFX, one of GREYFALL's twin swords disappears from 
GREYFALL's hand and reappears in ASTAROTH's.  It immediately 
flares to life with a bright red glow (a flaming sword would 
be way cooler, but it'd be a bitch to do).

ASTAROTH
En garde, then.  See you in Hell!

GREYFALL and ASTAROTH go at it.  GREYFALL is clearly 
outmatched.  His sword appears to weigh a ton, and ASTAROTH 
is evidently a master swordsman.  GREYFALL is giving it all 
he's got, but ASTAROTH is just playing with him -- minor cuts 
only.

Meanwhile...

JOANNA
(to Patrick) Stop it!

PATRICK
(frantic) I'm trying!  But four seals are 
gone.  It's too unstable!  Crap, look!

He points to a random light on the machine.

JOANNA
Paul, five's gone!

GREYFALL and ASTAROTH are still going at it.

ASTAROTH
What's the point?  Give up.  You can't 
win.

GREYFALL
I sure as Hell can't if I give up!

ASTAROTH laughs at this, still playing with GREYFALL.

JOANNA
That's six!  One to go!

When she says that, the scene becomes noticably darker.  
Everyone spares a glance upwards.

CUT TO:

STOCK FOOTAGE

We see a total solar eclipse.

CUT BACK TO:

EXT. DIVINITY QUADRANGLE

ASTAROTH
(arm raised at the sun) And I beheld when 
he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, 
the sun became black as sack cloth!  
(laughs)

GREYFALL
(annoyed) Isn't your tongue supposed to 
fall out or something if you quote the 
Bible?

Through the vagarities of swordplay, ASTAROTH and GREYFALL 
come face to face, swords locked.

ASTAROTH
Sorry, boy.  That's just a myth.

ASTAROTH breaks the sword lock by throwing GREYFALL back.  
GREYFALL looses his sword, which lands near the device.  He 
jumps, landing flat on the ground, to retrieve it.

JOANNA looks over at him imploringly.  PATRICK slaps his 
forehead, frustrated with the device.  He shakes his head at 
GREYFALL, indicating he gives up.

GREYFALL, still lying on the ground, has his sword in both 
hands in front of him.  He is talking to it.

GREYFALL
Listen to me, you worthless hunk of 
steel!  I don't give a damn whether or 
not Ragnarok is inevitable!  But that 
doesn't mean it has to be today!

The sword flickers, then glows brightly, flaring to life.  
ASTAROTH is slowly approaching behind GREYFALL, sword at his 
side, evidently to finish off his opponent.

GREYFALL flashes JOANNA a smile and a wink.

GREYFALL
Be ready to throw it to me.

GREYFALL springs up, new life in his swordfighting skills.  
He immediately puts ASTAROTH on the defensive.  Moves 
practiced at the beginning of the episode are executed 
masterfully.  ASTAROTH is apparently overmatched.

ASTAROTH
(flustered) You can't win!

GREYFALL smiles tightly, but fights inexorably onward.

In a masterfully choreographed sequence, GREYFALL executes a 
wonderful move and impales ASTAROTH through the chest with a 
glowing sword.  The sword's light throbs as it contends with 
the demon's life force.  ASTAROTH drops his sword.  He 
screams in pain, back arched.

ASTAROTH
You're...still...dead!  I'll see you in 
Hell!

GREYFALL
(to Joanna) Now!

JOANNA throws the device to GREYFALL, who momentarily lets go 
of his sword to catch it.  He thrusts the device at ASTAROTH, 
knocking the demon down, at the same time as GREYFALL grabs 
his sword hilt and yanks it from the demon's chest.

For a split second we see ASTAROTH lying on the ground, 
clutching the device.  Then, in a wonderful special effect, 
he vanishes in a burst of flame, banished back to Hell, 
taking the device with him.

GREYFALL speaks to the scorched grass where ASTAROTH was.  
It'd be cool if there was a scorched pentagram, but I doubt 
the Divinity people would stand for that.

GREYFALL
(panting) Only if you can swallow a nuke, 
you bastard!

GREYFALL walks over, retrieves his other sword, and sheathes 
them both in a single practiced motion.  Then he walks over 
to JOANNA, standing, and PATRICK, kneeling on the ground.

GREYFALL
(calm, to Patrick) I once heard a story 
about a man who build a machine to 
destroy the world.  He thought it would 
work, but he wasn't sure, so he threw the 
switch. (pause)

PATRICK
(breathless) What happened?

GREYFALL
He never found out. (pause)
(to Joanna, worn out) Let's go home.

GREYFALL and JOANNA walk together across the campus, as 
PATRICK stands there.  He looks after them, then looks up, 
shielding his eyes.

CUT TO:

STOCK FOOTAGE

We see the end of a total eclipse.  The "diamond ring" 
effect, in other words.

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL CREDITS





THE END.