WESLEY: I'd forgotten that Aztec culture was so violent.

GUNN: Yeah, 'cause our culture's so at peace.

WESLEY: All right, but by and large, we don't eat our victims.

GUNN: You got that file on the lady from the all soul's mass?

WESLEY: She's the most puzzling. The demon passed by over 20 people... so he could attack her.

GUNN: I know. We need to find its M.O., so Angel can guess its next move.

WESLEY: Does Angel seem all right to you?

GUNN: Yeah. Still adjusting to corporate life, I guess. Bit of a disconnect.

WESLEY: Disconnect?

GUNN: His word, not mine. But he's still doing his hero thing. Wait a minute. Didn't you say the homeless guy in the alley was a vet?

WESLEY: Yeah. Gulf War.

GUNN: And something about a Bronze Star. Bronze Star, lady in the church worked with gangs, this dude, a fireman.

WESLEY: Saved his crew in a fire. That's the thread, that's the M.O.?

GUNN: It's taking the hearts of heroes.

(cut to Angel, who exits the wrestling arena, notices Numero 5 has boarded a bus)

ANGEL: So much for my stirring speech.

(suddenly, the demon attacks Angel. Stabs him through the gut, but pauses and reconsiders as he's about to cut his heart away. Decides not to do it, leaves Angel lying there)

(back at the office)

ANGEL: So you think this demon is eating the hearts of heroes, huh? Well, it's an interesting theory, and I can see where your research might seem to support that, but...your theory kinda fell apart in the field.

WESLEY: Angel, I know you've been through a horrible ordeal, and I'm not trying to...

ANGEL: The reason why I know this Aztec demon is not eating the hearts of heroes is... he didn't take mine. Am I honestly supposed to believe that it had no problem sticking a sword in my stomach but then decided, Oh, wait, his heart's not heroic enough? Ha! I don't think so.

WESLEY: I understand you're feeling rejected. But this Aztec warrior... it wants the hearts for sustenance. It wants it for the meat, not the metaphor.

ANGEL: What are you saying?

GUNN: As meat goes, your heart's a dried-up hunk of gnarly-ass beef jerky.

ANGEL: Yeah, well, stick a piece of wood in it, and I still die. Must mean something.

WESLEY: Can we get back to figuring out how to kill this demon rather than figuring out why it didn't kill you?

GUNN: OK, before ol' Numero Cinco bolted on the bus, did he drop any details about how he and his brothers defeated this Aztec thing?

ANGEL: Wes, did you ever hear that the devil built a robot?

WESLEY: El Diablo Robotico. (nods) Why?

ANGEL: Nobody ever tells me anything.

GUNN: I'm gonna go check with my guys in contracts. (walks toward the door)

WESLEY: Gunn, this should take precedence.

GUNN: Relax. It's warrior-related. I got to thinking, if this Aztec demon got back to come back after 50 years, maybe it made some kind of supernatural deal with something. And if there's a deal, might be a contract. (walks out)

WESLEY: Angel, what Gunn said about your heart—the dried-up bit—I don't think that's the problem.

ANGEL: But you do see a problem?

WESLEY: It's the work.

ANGEL: Oh, yeah. The 18-hour days, the constant slaying of evil, and the being shish-kebabed to a Chevy.

WESLEY: I didn't say you weren't working. I'm just saying your heart's not *in* the work.

ANGEL: Well, yeah, you know, I've been feeling a little bit, uh...

WESLEY: Disconnected. Yes, I've heard. But I think it's more serious than that. You blame your melancholy on your new position, but I don't think it's about the *type* of work. I think it's because you've lost hope that the work has meaning.

ANGEL: Of course it has meaning. We save people's lives.!

WESLEY: I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about you. It's lost meaning for *you*. Spike says you no longer believe in the Shanshu prophecy.

ANGEL: Of course not. The prophecies are nonsense. You know that. Oh, come on, Wes, after everything we've seen the past couple of years? "The father will kill the son"?

WESLEY: What are you talking about?

ANGEL: (realizes, tries to change the subject) Look, we're getting the work done. As long as I keep doing what I do, doesn't matter if I believe in the Shanshu or any other prophecy.

WESLEY: I'm sorry, Angel, but nothing matters more. Hope: It's the only thing that will sustain you, that will keep you from ending up like NUMERO 5.

ANGEL: (telephone rings, Angel answers) Yeah. (hangs up) It's Fred. She's got something.

• Angel & Wesley
• Angel's Mission
• The Shanshu prophecy/scroll of Aberjian

written by: Jeffrey Bell; Original transcript by CariCranberry. Edited & formatted by me.. Full transcript at:
http://www.buffyworld.com/angel/season5/transcripts/5x06_tran.php