Airdate: October 8, 2003

Guest Starring: Mercedes McNab
Victor Ralder-Wexler

Teleplay By: David Fury & Ben Edlun
Story By: David Fury

Directed By: James A. Contner


Teaser

Sunnydale, California. The Hellmouth. Nineteen Days Ago. We re-experience Spike’s last moments in the cave, wearing the Amulet Angel brought, destroying the army of über-vamps. And making sure Buffy, infamous slayer, gets out. She does, but not before holding his hand for one last time. And as he gets to see how it ends, his body burns to a cinder…

…Only to sand huddled and confused, surrounded by the A.I. crew and Harmony. He’s just hearing snatches: Fred who wonders who he is, Gunn wanting to kill Spike, Lorne assuring him no one’s going to harm him, Wes explaining who he is. Finally Spike focuses on Angel. But Spike is supposed to be dead, to underscore how he’s not, he vamps out and snarls at Angel. He rushes Angel only to go through him, and standing in the middle of a desk. They’re all stunned, Spike included: “Bugger!”

ACT I

Spike, still standing in the desk, wonders what’s happened to him, Harmony thinks he’s a ghost. Wes picks up the amulet from the floor, Angel starts to say it’s something he gave to Buffy, Spike asks about her, Angel says she’s okay. When he says where she is, Angel mentions that she’s in Europe, last he heard. Spike wants to see and talk to her, Angel says that’s going to be tough, he tells Angel that he can’t keep her from him. Angel points out that she’s for neither of them to keep, but Spike had more with Buffy than Angel ever did. Harm’s disgusted with Spike, she remembers his obsession, and storms out. Spike thinks he’s in hell, Lorne says L.A., which is close enough. Wes explains to Gunn and Fred that Buffy and Spike were allies for some time, but that’s all Angel told him. Gunn says that he’s a good guy, like Angel. Angel resents that and Spike Agrees, but wants to know all the who/what/where of him and them.

In Fred’s lab, they’re running all sorts of tests on Spike, Fred explaining to him that she heads the Science Division at Wolfram & Hart. She doesn’t know what Spike is, he’s not a normal ghost: he radiates heat and has brainwave activity. Wes says Spike’s essence is connected to the amulet, Angel asks how did he get it if it was buried deep inside the Hellmouth. Maybe it was another higher purpose gig from the Powers That Be. Spike’s furious, what gives them the right? Couldn’t he just die in peace after saving the world? He then disappears without warning. Gunn asks what Spike meant by that, Angel says Spike played a minor role in that. Spike reappears, not knowing where he went, and blames Angel. Angel should have been wearing the amulet but he chickened out, Angel says it wasn’t his choice, but neither was Spike’s fate. Just because he has a soul doesn’t mean he cares about destiny. The others are shocked; Angel never mentioned that, Angel says he didn’t think it was worth mentioning. Spike thinks Angel was feeling less special, another vamp with a soul in the world. Angel says to Spike that he’s not in the world.

Spike follows Angel in the hallway (past the mail-room demon) aghast that Angel’s rewarded with a shiny “glass’n’chrome” complete with his ditzy ex-girlfriend serving him coffee. Angel’s not responsible for what happened to Spike, Spike wonders what Angel thinks he’s doing. He knows his old comrade; he made a devil’s bargain to take over the company, to fight the system for the inside, but now Angel’s on the losing side. He’s no more in control than Spike. But then, a Graxlar beast approaches Angel, Angel hits the big, multi-horned football faced demon first. They fight, Spike being unable to help being noncorporeal. Angel finally breaks the beast’s neck, and demands to know it got past security. Harmony informs him that it was his three o’clock appointment; he was to open negotiations with the clan and Gunn, behind them, says it was to stop them from eating babies. But it’s a good thing Angel killed it; they respect a strong opening position. W&H also filled Gunn’s head with demon laws, he was going to tell them about the Graxlar, but they got sidetracked. And he’s initiated reforms, firing forty employees in the last two days.

Harmony tries to talk to Spike, about them, but he just follows Angel and Gunn the latter’s office. Gunn assures Angel there’ll be a backlash from the reforms. Novak, a lawyer, comes in upset because they’re closing the Internment Acquisition Division (grave robbing). And while he supports the new initiative, that department brings in a lot of revenue; they’re under contract to bring fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. He’s one of their oldest clients and if they stop delivering, he won’t be thrilled. Angel says that Novak will have to tell Mr. Hainsley that he’s no longer their client and that they’re out of the grave robbing business. Novak is uncertain and leaves, Spike telling him that he doesn’t have to take it. He goes on about the mighty hero reduced to a bureaucrat, if a the slayer could see him… Angel tells him to get out, which Spike is happy to do.

The Office, night. Wes stops by; Angel says it should have him wearing that amulet, so why bother handing him W&H? Wes supposes there could be dissention among the Senior Partners, or a new player they don’t know about, or they may have gotten exactly what they wanted. Spike comes back: he can’t leave town and each time he tries, he’s yanked back to W&H. Wes suspected as much, the amulet is W&H property, so it’s bound to this place. So he’s stuck there forever, haunting Angel until the end of time. Harmony stops in, and tells him Novak’s back, and two guys bring in buckets of the shredded lawyer.

ACT II

Angel has Harmony discreetly contact Novak’s family while Gunn briefs him on Hainsley: a sorcerer with old money and older power, owns respect and connected with lots of sectors. And he’s a necromancer, hence the bodies. Now Angel’s going to reply to Hainsley personally. Wes reminds him that he has a multimillion-dollar company with armed teams at his disposal but Angel won’t risk anyone else. Gunn knows however where to hit Hainsley where it’ll hurt. That has Angel’s attention.

Angel’s Private Garage. Spike’s in the Viper, waiting for Angel and knowing he’d choose that one. The Idea of torturing Angel for all eternity appeals to him, he can drive him insane. Angels slams the door and picks the silver Trans-Am, with Spike also inside. He fancies a road trip, and they’re off to see the wizard.

Hainsley’s Manor. The elderly butler informs them that Hainsley is in with a customer and doesn’t suffer interruptions lightly. Angel’s not worried about suffering. They also see Hainsley’s “showroom”: a parlour filled with well preserved corpses in mid-action.

Hainsley is busy transferring a demon inside a human woman’s body when his butler interrupts. Hainsley orders the latest two W&H people killed as well.

Angel is still disturbed by the macabre scene. Spike feels nothing for them: at least they died once and weren’t brought back. The butler returns, informing them that he’s sending them back to W&H, and pulls out two hatchets, wielding them deftly. Angel picks up a spoon from a teacup and throws it at the butler, who gets it in the head, killing him. Angel’s pissed that Spike was rooting for the butler, but he’ll root fro anyone with half a change of taking Angel out. Spike’s problem is that Angel has it too good: he has all the comfort, power and luxury while he’s sacrificed himself for all the right reasons and comes back as a ghost, it’s not fair. Angel tells him he never asked for a soul and spent a hundred years dealing with infinite remorse, Spike asks for one and spent only three weeks in a basement and then he was fine, what’s fair about that? Spike disappears, irritating Angel more.

Angel kicks down Hainsley’s door down, the necromancer didn’t know that it was Angel who came, he was sure it was another lackey, but he should still show some respect. The demon-in-woman gets up and lets herself out, Angel knocks her down. Angel’s sure demons would like his services, to walk among the sheep. Hainsley notes that the average demon can’t afford it. When Angel says he’s cutting off his supply, Hainsley brings Angel to him with his mind: he’s just another dead body. Spike reappears, but he’s not there to back up Angel. Hainsley could kill Angel, but that would be too big of an insult for the SPs to overlook. He releases Angel, it seems the SPs have plans for that vampire. Angel has plans of his own, calls Gunn on his cell and voila: he froze all of Hainsley’s bank accounts, terminated his paper assets, and turned over his books at a very motivated contact at the IRS. Before long, he won’t even have his manor. He’ll sue them to hell for that, but W&H happen to be his lawyers. Angel leaves, Hainsley tells him it isn’t over.

Angel and Spike leave, only Spike disappears and reappears in front of Hainsley: power over the dead. Hainsley can put his essence back in a body and in return, he has to hurt Angel. Spike has no problem with that.

ACT III

Back at the office, Gunn says to Angel that they wiped out every asset of Hainsley’s they could find, but it’s not over yet. Angel wants from them a away to get Spike out of there. Wes’s department has done some research, but the only way to free him is to give him eternal rest.

Spike reappears at W&H and after a confusing talk with Harmony, he hears the conversation the A.I. team’s having, about letting him cross over. The amulet has to be taken to hallowed ground and smashed. Angel’s going to sleep on it.

Angel, amulet in hand, gets ready for some sleep in his suite, but Spike appears. Angel sets a ground rule, his suite is off limits to his hauntings. But Spike didn’t come for a fight: he heard enough of Team Angel’s Pow-Wow and says that the Necromancer made a deal with him. He could bring him back, body and soul if he would double-cross Angel. Angel is waiting fro Spike’s answer but right there is his problem: he doesn’t play for that side anymore, Angel should know that, and he doesn’t trust the necromancer. He can’t live on being useless. He wants it to end.

At a cemetery, Angel readies to do Spike in for good. But as he tries to smash the amulet with a stone, the stone hits him, twice, and Angel levitates. It’s Hainsley, who after all, wields power over all things lifeless, and throws Angel to a crypt, knocking him out. Spike nearly got it in, Hainsley assures him he wouldn’t let anything happen to his lynchpin. After he does his part, he’ll get his just rewards, he’ll put him back in control of his afterlife.

ACT IV

Angel’s lying on a slab at Hainsley’s manor, pinned down by his power. Tomorrow he’ll unfreeze his assets and reinstate the IAD, only Spike will be wearing Angel’s body. Spike didn’t want oblivion, the necromancer will give him his body back after he does that little job in Angel’s. And when Spike enters Angel’s body, Angel’s consciousness will simply fizzle out. And Spike will have everything, everyone, he deserves, maybe even scoring with Fred. Hainsley warns Angel that it will be an extremely painful process and digs his hand in Angel’s exposed abdomen and chants. Angel’s in pain and Spike’s enjoying this before he gets sucked into Hainsley, as a conduit to get to Angel. But Spick sticks in Hainsley’s body, and grabs control of it. As soon as the necromancer’s hand is out of Angel, he kicks Hainsley, Hainsley stops Angel from moving and throws him around with the wave of a hand. Spike can’t control him for long, he rules the dead. But his next move doesn’t work, Angel beats him and sends him crashing to a table. Hainsley gets up and hits Angel several times before the latter stumbles back, empties a plate and throws it in a spinning motion, cutting Hainsley’s head off to reveal Spike’s. Spike was just getting warmed up, Hainsley had been dead since he hit the table. He had to get a few licks in.

Back at the office, Angel explains to Wes that Spike came to him with the idea once he learned Hainsley used himself as a conduit. Wes says that if Spike sticks around, he should share his plans with them. Sharing isn’t one of Spike’s strong points.

Fred is leaving her lab, to find Spike waiting for her. He says that she’s the go-to girl, the one who knows all about ghosts, the science queen, dealing in “hows” and “what-ifs.” He tells her he’s slipping, he doesn’t want to go but it’s like the ground underneath him is opening up and his legs are straddling the edges. And it’s getting bigger. Fred understands that that’s what happens when he disappears. He knows what’s down there, where it’s taking him, it’s not where heroes go. Fire and torment, he admits he’s terrified: “Help me.”


Summary by Dannyboy