Airdate: February 5th, 2003

Special Guest Star: Andy Hallett
Guest Starring: Vladimir Kulich

Written by: Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft
Directed by: Sean Astin

Teaser

A crime wave is shutting down the city, but what the papers don’t say is that the crime is partly attributed to a sharp rise in vampire activity due to permanent midnight. Connor is battling three out of town vamps but after he’s managed to dust all three of them, another dozen move towards him. It’s going to be a long night.

At the Hyperion, Cordy hands Wes the soul receptacle, he places it in a hidden safe. He tells the rest of the crew that Angel’s gone. Gunn hopes they know what they’re doing, but Angelus is all they’ve got going. Cordy while knowing how dangerous Angelus is, still believes they’re doing the right thing, Wes adds that as long as they’re very careful. They’ve all studied Angelus’ past, Wes reminds them that Angelus will have only one goal: getting free so he can slaughter them. They’re Angel’s link to humanity and Angelus will hate them for that, and want to make them suffer. Wes tells the others to watch the video feed from the basement (where Angelus is held in the steel cage) while he interrogates him. Angelus will try to confuse them, and if he succeeds, they’ll all be dead. Wes has spent his life training for this moment and admits he’s still not ready. Angelus will exploit everything Angel knows.

In the basement cage, we hear in the distance as Wes goes on, Angelus is singing and humming. Truly he is evil.

ACT I

Wesley goes down to the basement, crossbow in hand. Angelus practically thanks Wes for releasing him; Wes says it was Angel’s choice. As a former watcher, who’s spent years training, it’s a high point for Wes. The “buttering up” isn’t impressing Angel but he’ll play; Wes wants to know about the Beast, and asks him if he knew it. Angel teases him that it’s not a question worthy of the great Wyndham-Price. Wes asks then why Angel doesn’t remember the Beast, Angelus admits he doesn’t know and asks Wes what’s the deal with Angel and The Raiders of the Lost Ark, and explains Angel’s perfect happiness scenario. Wes surmises that Angel fought and defeated the Beast in there; Angelus said Angel had to, to get what he wanted, and Angel couldn’t be happy unless the whole gang pitched in. Angelus tells Wes that he came down here to play the big strapping hero; Wes retorts that it has nothing to do with being a hero. Angelus asks him why now? After all there’s always an apocalypse around the corner and tells Wes that he wants to move in on the girl, get her to love him; Angelus the lashes at the bars, they don’t budge, Wes isn’t rattled and tries to steer to conversation back to the Beast. Angelus keeps going on about Fred and Gunn, supplying imagery: it’s not like Wes’ crush was a secret.

Upstairs as the gang watches on closed-circuit monitor, Fred tells Gunn they can’t believe anything Angelus says. Gunn asks what about the stuff that’s true but Cordy reminds them that Angelus distorts everything, he lies with the truth. Fred adds that they’re just words.

Back downstairs, Wes admits Angelus has found a weakness and exploited it, can they move on? Angelus says he’s just getting started and teases Wes that they’ve all been doing their digging for info on the Beast in the wrong place. Wes asks what is the right place, but Angelus won’t say. Wes moves on, Angelus and Beast were adversaries, he tells Wes it’s so hard to keep track, Wesley says that if he was an enemy, he’d be doing Angelus a favour by destroying it. Angelus says he’s not fooling anyone with the new clothes, haircut and beefed up body: he’s still the same loser none of the other kids wanted to sit with. Wes points out that he’s not the one in the cage, Angelus says he won’t be in there forever and that Wes has no leverage against him. They can re-ensoul Angelus and they’ll be no worse off than before, Angelus doesn’t bite, not even when Wes is ready to leave. He picks at Wes again that it must eat him up that everyone calls Angel a champion and no one calls Wesley that. Wes says he plays his part, Angelus brings up Lilah brain-sucking Lorne, and what a “great” watcher he was to Faith. He keeps going on, bringing up him kidnapping Connor, Wes says he survived, Angelus taunts him, he doesn’t understand the special bond between father and son. Wes ties once again to steer the conversation back to Cordy’s vision about Angelus. Angelus talks about Cordy her physical assets and lack of personality.

Cordy watches this, she’s says she’s okay. On the monitor Angelus asks what’s worse, stealing his kid, like Wes did or, “Banging him, like Cordelia did?” Fred says that’s ridiculous but one look at Lorne and she shuts up. Connor come in, beaten, saying that there are too many vampires to fight, they all look at him. Wes comes back up: Angelus wants blood. Gunn and Fred go take care of it.

Fred follows Gunn downstairs, who has a crossbow. Angelus is already teasing them, Gunn doesn’t take the bait, and Angelus sets his eyes on Fred, all fresh, he couldn’t help hearing Fred and Gunn, listening from his room. Gunn has Angelus step back while Fred delivers the glass of blood on a cart. He takes the glass, and then kicks the tray, Fred falls forward and Angelus grabs her.

ACT II

Angelus has Fred by the throat; Gunn doesn’t have a clear shot. He drops the crossbow and tries to free Fred when a dart hits Angelus. Wes is on the stairs with a tranquilizer rifle. Angelus, weakened, releases Fred, and Wes doesn’t risk it and shoots Angelus again. Angelus drops to the ground. Fred is sorry, Wes tells her it’s not her fault, Angelus is unpredictable and will take any opening. Fred is glad Gunn is there, Wes goes back up.

Cordy comes in Connor’s room and gives him one of Angel’s shirts, it’ll do for now. She sees him strapping the retract-a-stake to his wrist and can’t believe he’s going back out. He says someone has to and he can’t stay here: he feels they still look at him as if he’s connected to the Beast. She explains that the look he saw is because they know what happened between them, Angelus said it. Connor doesn’t care if everyone knows since Angel doesn’t, she reminds him it’s not Angel, and that he should get some rest. He tells her if she doesn’t want to be with him that’s fine, but she can’t tell him what to do. She straps his stake on, she storms out.

Fred goes sees Wesley, who can’t find any reference to the sword that was in Angel’s fantasy. She thanks Wes for what he did, but she’s nervous, he assures her Gunn’s not around, she heard what Angelus said about Wes and his feelings, she says it’s very sweet and he kisses her. after a while she breaks it off, seconds before Gunn comes in when no one’s watching the monitor. There’s awkwardness all around and he quickly understands what he walked into. Wes tells him to take it up with him and leave Fred out of it. Gunn’s seen the way he looks at her and how Fred always runs to Wes when she needs help, like he’s not good enough. Fred says it’s not true, Gunn warns Wes to stay away from her.

In the basement, Angelus hears the argument, and chuckle, that happened fast.

Connor sneaks downstairs past the argument as Fred is desperately trying to break it. Lorne and Cordy come in, having no luck stopping the argument, now in the lobby. Gunn punches Wes when he says Gunn can’t give what she needs. Fred keeps trying to break it up, screaming that this is what Angelus wants and Gunn hits her without even looking. It takes a few seconds for it to sink in with Gunn the others rush in to see how badly Fred’s hurt, Cordy sees on the monitor that Connor’s in the basement.

Connor comes in saying that everyone’s afraid of Angelus, Angelus comments on how angel’s shirt looks good on his son, Connor retorts that Cordy looks good on him too. Connor tells him about Angel’s warning, Angelus remembers that his son promised to kill him and starts on how Darla staked herself not to hear his whiny breath and that Holtz stabbed himself in the neck because Connor disappointed him. Connor says Holtz was a good man, wanting to see that Angelus had the punishment he deserves. Angelus keeps going that the woman his son loves is the closest thing he has to a mother. He doesn’t care what Angelus says, Angel warned him that Angelus isn’t his father, but Connor didn’t believe him. Connor keeps going that the truth is Angel is something Angelus is forced to wear: Angelus is his real father. Angelus says he’s right here, all Connor has to do is get him. When he doesn’t budge, Angelus taunts him that Connor couldn’t take him on anyway; Connor says he could, but Angelus warns him this could be his last chance. Connor closes in on the cage, when Cordy comes in and tells him, orders him, upstairs. He relents but his business with Angelus isn’t over. After he’s gone, she disconnects the camera, having done enough damage. She tells him their going to make a deal, she wants to know everything he knows about the Beast, and he’ll get her in return.

ACT III

The offer will mean no more stalling or games on Angelus’ part, they get the info, he gets her. She tells him they’re out of time and the world is falling apart, going on that he once knew what being a champion means: sacrifices need to be made. He adds that she’s the sacrificial lamb. She tells him that once he tells her about the Beast, her can do anything he wants with her. He thinks she’s lying, but has him look in his eyes, both Angelus and Angel know her, and she assures him she’s not.

No one understands how she did it and Cordy remains intentionally vague on the subject but assures them she’s not being manipulated.

Wes interrogates Angelus again, the others are watching on the monitor. Angelus starts at the beginning, in 1789, in Prussia, there for the girls. He was taking a shortcut to Vienna when he felt someone watching him. He came on a field of bodies, with no military precision to the slaughter, and no blood to drink. He followed the trail to the Beast, the Beast had been watching him and staged the carnage to impress Angelus. The Beast sought him out because he had trouble with the Svear Priestesses, big on the banishing and it was next on their list. The Beast couldn’t touch them, but a vampire could. The Beast asked him to join forces, temporarily at least. Angelus declined, and was knocked out. Before he passed out he saw that the priestesses had caught up with the Beast.

Fred finds a reference on them: they’re all descendants of a powerful Nordic priest and there’s a vague reference pertaining to the Beast. And they’re listed in the phone book, living 25 minutes away.

Wes Cordy and Connor arrive at the house. When no one answers, they walk in, the door’s unlocked, they find the priestesses, and their family, children, all murdered.

ACT IV

They’re too late again, and they try to figure out what could have happen, they’ve been dead for days. Connor is speechless at the fact, but with the chaos outside it understandable that no one noticed. They should have seen it coming. Wes finds a banishment incantation. Connor, seeing some of the things that made them people, runs out and throws up. Cordy follows him, and sits next to him, admitting that it’s different when it’s humans who are murdered, he says it’s not, it’s the fact that it’s a family. Vampires suddenly jump out; Connor fights and dusts one while Wes runs one over with his SUV. They get in and drive off before other vamps show up. They get back to the hotel, their plan a bust. Angelus can’t serve their purpose any further: they need Angel back.

Cordy goes downstairs and tells Angelus what happened: the sisters, the butchered family. Angelus says he can’t be blamed for the turn of events, he told them everything eh knew. But the deal was she gets the info, they save the world and he gets her. The world wasn’t saved. Angelus says he won’t let this go and won’t be inside the steel cage forever. She says he’s in there for another hour, then Angel gets his soul back, he says it’s not going to happen. She tells him he’ll get just in time for the apocalypse and he’s never coming back, Angel will make sure of that. Angelus keeps making plans on what he’s going to do to Cordy’s body and tries to grab her, he falls short of reaching her. “Not even close” she says, but he’s not worried.

When Cordy finds the gang in front of the safe, Fred breaks the news: Angel’s soul is gone. There’s nothing inside the safe.

Summary by Dannyboy