"Waiting in the Wings"
In the outer office at the hotel, Wes is looking over an illustration in one of his demon books, waxing on dreamily about how "she" is so full of life and has lovely eyes that make one feel like the only man in the room. Obviously his mind isn't on the illustration in front of him.
Cordelia looks at the open book and notes that men most likely enjoy the six breasts thing.
Wes assures her Fred doesn't have such a thing.
Cordelia gets his mind back on the demon she was referring to in the book and confirms the demon he's looked up is the one she saw in a vision. She notes the demon won't be rampaging for a month or so. She'll file that one under "pending." She wonders if Wes plans to ask Fred out.
He says he'll do it when he feels the time is right.
Cordy wishes he'd just get on with it, she's tired of hearing about it.
Wes wonders if he's really that boring on the subject.
Cordelia reminds him there was a time he thought she was the loveliest woman in the world.
Wes shifts uncomfortably, starts to offer compliments, Cordelia cuts him off letting him know he doesn't have to go on, she just likes to hear it sometimes. She says she was the "ditziest bitch in Sunnydale" who could have had any man she wanted but now she's a superhero and the best action she can get is with a ghost and a loofah. She looks a bit uncomfortable with that admission.
Wes assures her he didn't hear that part.
She appreciates his being gentlemanly about it.
Angel approaches the desk and asks what the loofah comment was about.
Wes says they weren't talking about loofahs, they were discussing demons of some sort, the name is similar.
Cordelia quickly changes the subject, noting how nice Angel chose to wear the dark colors for a change.
Angel tells the others to ask why he's smiling.
Cordy wants to know because it's scaring her.
Angel pulls some tickets from his pocket and tells the others they're going out.
Gunn and Fred enter the courtyard on the way into the hotel, having just returned from eating out.
Gunn is gently teasing Fred about how much food she ate. He can't figure out where she puts it all given her "stick figure body."
Fred wonders if he really thinks of her that way.
He assures her she's "gorgeous" as he walks on ahead.
Fred stops a minute and smiles before following him into the Hyperion.
Gunn enters the lobby and notices the tickets in Angel's hand. He's excited that Angel managed to get them, assuring the gang "Mata Hari" is the hottest band in LA. Gunn tells Angel he'll pay for his ticket when he gets the money, he's good for it.
Angel tries to tell him about the tickets.
Gunn takes one, looks at it, notices it's not for the band, it's for the "Blinnikov World Ballet" company. His enthusiasm wanes quickly upon that discovery. He wants to know why Angel got tickets to the ballet.
Angel explains when he got to the ticket outlet he noticed the ballet, one performance only.
Gunn still wants to know why Angel didn't get the tickets for the band he was supposed to get.
Angel reiterates it's the Blinnikov World Ballet company.
Cordelia disinterestedly notes he's been saying that like it means something.
Angel seems to be the only one excited about it as he explains it's one of the premiere ballet companies in the world and they're performing "Giselle", their signature piece.
Gunn figures he's trapped in a nightmare.
Wes offers he's heard of the company, they're quite renowned.
Angel tells them he saw the company perform the ballet in 1890, it made him cry and he was evil at the time.
Fred thinks it sounds exciting.
Wes agrees.
Gunn doesn't. He's not much interested in the vision of tutus and guys in tights, jumping up and down, showing more than he cares to see.
Cordelia tells Gunn to get over it then asks Angel if they get to dress up. When he answers in the affirmative, she's eager to go as well.
Angel assures them the ballet is a great experience. They'll enjoy it.
Gunn isn't convinced. He's wondering if he's still expected to pay for his ticket since this is not what he had in mind.
At the theater, the manager is gushing to the head of the company about being honored to have the Blinnikov there. He is assured it will be "the performance of a lifetime."
Someone watches from a catwalk above, eerily laughing.
Fred and Cordelia enter an upscale clothing store, shopping for attire for the evening. Fred isn't comfortable there.
Cordy suggests they could go to "Cavegirl's House of Burlap" but it's not exactly in style. She reminds Fred the guys are all renting tuxes, they have to dress accordingly.
Fred points out they aren't exactly wealthy.
Cordelia assures her cost isn't a problem. They can buy the dresses, hide the tags, wear them for the night and then return them. It's an old trick that has served her well.
Fred's mind is eased about the cost issue. She tells Cordy she's looking forward to the evening. She hasn't been to the ballet much, but her family used to go to "The Nutcracker" every Christmas. She says she had her first fantasy about one of the characters.
Cordelia gives her a 'more than I really needed to know' kind of look as she removes a dress from the rack, holds it up against Fred, decides it's not right and puts it back.
As Cordy walks over to another rack, Fred wonders if she could ask her about something.
Cordelia answers that she thinks they're perfect for each other.
Fred just looks at her.
Cordelia reminds her she has "magic powers", not realizing they've failed her because Fred is referring to Gunn, Cordy thinks she's talking about Wes.
Fred says they haven't really said anything to each other but she thinks he's sweet and she feels completely comfortable when she's with him. She doesn't know if he feels the same way about her.
Cordy tells her he does.
Fred wonders if he really has feelings for her.
Cordelia assures her he definitely has feelings for her and if they find the right dress for her for the evening, she predicts Fred will enjoy the results.
Fred thinks they need to find the right dress for Cordelia, something that will "make Angel crazy."
Cordelia continues casually looking at dresses on the rack as she offhandedly reminds Fred that Angel "is crazy."
Fred thinks he'll want to look his best for Cordelia.
Cordy doesn't imagine the "world's champion" fussing all day over his clothes.
In Angel's room at the hotel, Lorne is working to get the baby spit out of the back of Angel's tux jacket. Lorne wants to talk about Cordelia.
Angel wonders what that's about.
Lorne informs him he read him while Angel was singing a lullaby to the kid. Lorne says he doesn't blame him, Cordelia's quite a woman.
Angel assures Lorne he read him wrong.
Lorne explains it's not just about the singing and reminds Angel of the kyerumption thing.
Angel doesn't want to hear it but that doesn't stop Lorne from going on about kyerumption, fate, the stars, etc. He points out Cordelia is quite a woman, if he thought she had a fondness for green, he'd make a move himself but he reckons she's out of his league with her being a "champion" and all. Besides, he points out, everybody knows Angel has a "thing for ex-cheerleaders." He laughs at that.
Angel's expression is somber. He doesn't figure he has anything to offer her.
Lorne tells him to go for it, tell her what's going on, don't miss the chance.
Angel starts to answer, "Cordelia is --"
Cordelia enters wearing her new slinky black dress.
Angel and Lorne appreciate the view.
As Angel stumbles for a compliment, Cordelia finishes for him, figuring she looks the part of a ballet aficionado for the evening. As she straightens Angel's bow tie, she tells him she's decided they don't have to be their usual, boring selves for the evening. Tonight they can be a couple of sophisticated people enjoying an evening of classical dance. She wonders if that sounds good.
Angel agrees it does.
Downstairs in the lobby, Fred is dressed for the evening waiting for Gunn to come out of the back office.
He wants her to promise she won't laugh first.
Fred assures him she won't.
Gunn self-consciously walks out of the office into the lobby in his tux.
Fred stares at him a moment then starts laughing.
Gunn figures her promise wasn't worth much and reminds her he's got trust issues, this isn't helping.
Fred apologizes for laughing, she's just stunned he looks so "pretty."
Gunn smiles, telling her not many people could say that to him and live but considering how she looks, he won't be fighting her.
Fred smiles shyly, saying the night feels "magical." She wonders if that sounds silly.
Wes walks up to her, lays her wrap over her shoulders and assures her it doesn't sound at all silly. He notices Gunn has finally come out of hiding
Gunn figures it was worth the reward, noting Fred.
Wes agrees she's "a vision."
Angel and Cordelia descend the stairs into the lobby.
Cordelia assures them there will be no visions for the evening.
Angel wonders how she can be certain of that.
She answers she "had a vision."
As the others head toward the door, Wes lays Cordy's wrap over her shoulders. She whispers to him, letting him know Fred is receptive to his attentions. They depart.
They arrive at the theater, walk through the lobby. Wes can't take his eyes off of Fred.
They enter and take their seats.
Angel apologizes for the seating which is pretty far back, explaining the difficulty of getting five seats together.
Wes likes the arrangement just fine. He, Fred and Gunn are sitting together in one row, Angel and Cordelia behind them.
Cordelia figures the seating arrangements are good, they're far enough back not to "set off the under 70 alarm."
Angel remembers back in the day he'd always get box seats or "just ate the people who had them".
Cordelia would prefer he not reminisce. She suggests they just enjoy the evening.
The lights go down, the curtain comes up, the ballet begins. The head of the dance company watches from his box seat.
As the dance progresses, snoring is heard in the audience.
Cordelia has fallen asleep with her mouth open.
Angel gives her a firm nudge.
She wakes enough to lay over toward his side, against his shoulder, and goes back to sleep.
Wesley's gaze wanders between the stage and Fred.
Gunn's attention is riveted on the stage as he watches the dance with a dreamy expression, clearly enjoying the performance. He leans forward for a better view and smiles.
Cordelia is still sleeping, her head against Angel's shoulder, her mouth agape, snoring.
Angel watches the goings on on-stage and realizes something.
As the curtain comes down for intermission, Gunn cheers loudly.
The applause wakes Cordelia who claims she loved it.
Angel informs her it's not over, it's just the intermission.
Cordelia notices something on Angel's jacket and hopes she didn't drool.
He assures her it's no big deal, it'll match the back. His attention remains on the stage as they all rise to go into the lobby.
Out in the lobby, Gunn gushes about the performance.
Wes agrees the company lives up to its reputation. He starts to ask Angel if the choreography has changed since Angel saw them perform.
Angel tells him that nothing has changed.
Wes finds that amazing, that they -- Angel cuts him off and clarifies that he means nothing has changed, the dancers are the same ones he saw the last time he attended a performance.
Fred doesn't see how that's possible the dancers could be the same as the ones Angel saw in 1990.
Gunn corrects her, it was 1890.
Fred figures that's even more impossible.
Angel wonders if anyone has any ideas how they could be watching dancers perform who should have been dead years ago.
Cordelia agrees that's a puzzle but she's more interested in finding something to eat.
Wes wonders if they may be vampires.
Cordelia thinks it's a possibility since they're not exactly a tanned bunch.
Gunn muses that would explain the "precision and athleticism" and he's clearly into it, remembering the jumps --
He stops when he notices everyone staring. He reminds them he was cool before he met them.
Cordelia finds the thought of dancing vampires a bit frightening.
Angel says they aren't vampires. If they were, he'd sense it.
Wes wonders if he could even though they were in the cheap seats.
Angel thinks they need to check it out.
Fred suggests going backstage after the performance.
Angel prefers to do it now. He tells the others to go on back to their seats to see the rest of the performance, he'll do some digging. He starts to leave.
Cordelia tells the others she'll help Angel, she's not really getting into the whole ballet thing.
Wes sarcastically wonders how the dancers will keep their rhythm without Cordy's snoring giving them the beat.
She assures him that will come back and haunt him as she joins Angel and they leave.
The others return to their seats.
Angel and Cordelia descend a staircase on their way to the backstage entrance. They notice a burly security guard posted outside of the door. Cordy asks if Angel wants her to distract the guard, make nice with him while Angel slips backstage.
Angel tells her not to be "stupid". He figures if he was the security guard and a beautiful woman suddenly started making eyes at him, he'd figure it was "a bachelor party or a scam."
Cordelia asks what he just called her.
He apologizes for calling her stupid.
She tells him she meant what he said after that.
Angel doesn't answer, instead offering to go with the "sudden burst of violence" plan.
Cordelia advises him to hold off on that, she has an idea, something more subtle.
Cordy approaches the security guard and asks him if he likes bribes.
He lets her know he's receptive.
She holds up a bill and tells him she and Angel would like to go backstage.
The guy takes the bill, looks at it, notes that it's really more of "a tip than a bribe" and since he's not the parking valet, he doesn't intend to let them backstage.
Angel punches him, knocking the guy out.
Angel and Cordelia step through the door and close it behind them. They find themselves in a hallway that seems to extend without end as it branches off into even more hallways, decorated as it would have been a century ago, illuminated by gas lamps.
Cordelia thinks they should go and get the others, work out a plan.
As they turn to leave the way they came in, they find the hallway extends in the opposite direction and appears exactly the same. The door they entered through no longer exists.
Angel figures they need a new plan.
In the theater, Wes, Fred and Gunn continue watching the performance.
The head of the company watches the ballerina intently from his box.
Angel and Cordelia wander backstage, entering the dressing room of the prima ballerina. Angel notes the room is the same as it was a century ago.
Cordelia sits at the dressing table, picks up a piece of jewelry, a small cross on a chain. She notes that "she" waited for him there.
Angel notices the room is warm, something happened there.
Cordy feels it too. She gets up slowly, walks toward Angel and tells him she wants him to undress her.
His response is a surprised, "You what?"
Cordelia presses the issue a bit more, Angel tells her this isn't them, they're acting something out.
Cordy gets her senses back and wonders if she really just asked him to undress her.
Angel's turn to act out as he asks her if that's what she wants. As he moves in for a kiss, figuring they both want it, Cordelia is back in role playing mode as well, worrying what will happen "if he finds us."
Possessed Angel tells her he's not afraid of anything. They kiss.
The ballet continues on-stage.
Possessed Angel and Cordelia heat it up with the kissing. Angel suddenly regains his senses and breaks away. He apologizes.
Cordelia is also back in control of her faculties and tells him they need to get out of that room.
As they head toward the door, they end up possessed again, pawing and panting over each other as they continue moving toward the door.
They finally get out, regaining their senses. Cordelia wonders what was going on in there.
Angel figures they were taken over by spirits.
Cordelia is freaked by that notion. She's at least glad the effect wears off quickly once outside of the room.
Angel agrees it's a good thing as he hurriedly removes his jacket and holds it in front of himself.
Back at the hotel, Lorne sings a lullaby as he puts Connor to bed. The lyrics are his own, indicating his disappointment with not being invited to the ballet and suggesting maybe he should consider selling the kid to the first vampire cult that offers a good price.
Someone ascends the hotel staircase and heads down the hall toward Angel's room.
Lorne hears a noise and decides to check things out. He picks up a battle ax laying nearby, opens the door and greets the visitor on the other side with, "Oh, my God."
Angel and Cordelia wander the halls backstage trying to find an exit. Angel notices it's pretty much a maze.
Cordelia remembers that she said something important when she was possessed but she doesn't recall what it was. She wonders if Angel does.
He starts to remind her of one of her 'come hither' lines to him.
She impatiently informs him that wasn't it.
Angel remembers her saying that she was afraid.
Cordy remembers fearing being found out by someone.
Angel figures it out. The woman had a secret lover.
Cordy knows they were afraid of someone and he's probably the reason they're stuck there. She thinks they left the room too soon. The spirits, or whatever, are there so they can figure out what's happened, they need to go back in and finish playing out the scene.
Angel thinks this is a very bad idea.
Cordelia wonders if he'd prefer to wander in the backstage maze forever.
Angel is sure there must be another plan.
Cordelia assures him they just have to play out the scenario, "get in, get out, no one gets happy."
Angel wonders what happens if there's no more talk. He tells her he's been possessed by the spirits of old lovers before, it usually doesn't go well.
Cordelia holds up the cross on a chain and reminds him she's got that handy if things go badly.
Angel is hesitant.
Cordy assures him it's not them and as long as things don't go too far, it'll be forgotten.
Angel tells her it is them and tries to explain about kissing her but she cuts him off.
She doesn't think it's that horrible as she walks away, mumbling that he has no problem chopping up demons but kissing her is cause for freaking. She stops outside of the dressing room door and looks back at him, wryly noting her "champion".
As the performance continues, Wes and Gunn both start to slide their hands to rest on Fred's knee, neither realizing the other is making the same move.
Before they connect, Fred realizes that Angel and Cordelia have been gone a long time.
Wes realizes she's right, they should check it out.
Gunn isn't too anxious to be missing the end of the performance but goes along anyway.
Angel and Cordelia are back in the dressing room, trying to get possessed again but it's not working.
Cordelia suggests picking up where they left off, maybe it will happen.
They repeat the lines they spoke when possessed, in a wooden, emotionless manner. They kiss quickly, in a totally passionless way, trying to make it happen.
Angel starts to wonder if maybe the possession only happens one time as Cordelia proves him wrong by grabbing him and kissing him in the possessed way this time. He falls into the possession again as well as he kisses her.
She drops the small cross she was holding.
Wes, Fred and Gunn find the unconscious security guard, step over him and walk through the backstage entrance. From the shadows, they are watched by a couple of green-faced figures whose faces resemble theatrical comedy/tragedy masks.
In his box, the head of the ballet company is approached by his comedy/tragedy minions. He tells them to deal with it, he doesn't want to be bothered. His attention remains focused on the ballerina on-stage.
The minions depart to do his bidding.
The possession continues as Angel is on top of Cordelia on a divan in the dressing room, kissing her.
She calls him "Stefan" and worries what will happen if they are discovered. She says his power is unnatural, he could --
Possessed Angel asks what he'd do, kill them?
Cordelia responds that he could do worse than that.
Angel tells her that Kurskov owns the company, he doesn't own her.
Cordelia continues playing out the role, saying that Kurskov is deluded, he thinks he owns her, that she only dances for him.
Angel sits up and pulls her up with him as he works at the back of her dress. He tells her to come away with him, they'll disappear, he won't find them.
She doesn't want to leave behind all that she's worked for. It's all there.
He assures her she'll still be able to dance.
She's not convinced. She's not ready to leave yet. Maybe after some time --
Angel tells her not to make promises.
She acknowledges she's afraid, she asks him to help her not to be as they both sink back down onto the divan.
Angel starts kissing her again.
Wes, Fred and Gunn find themselves in the same hallway Angel and Cordelia stumbled into. Fred wonders if anyone heard anything as they hear Cordelia's moaning coming from the dressing room as possessed Cordy and Angel continue with the foreplay.
Wes thinks someone's in pain.
Fred thinks "someone's in fun."
One of the green-faced minions cuts across the hall behind them.
In the dressing room, Angel pulls Cordelia's dress down and kisses her chest, her stomach, working his way downward. Her reaction and expression convey clearly enough what's going on.
They're interrupted by a minion that rushes into the room and jumps Angel, knocking him off of Cordelia. The possession ends.
Cordelia's reaction being, "Oh thank God" as she pulls her dress back up. She thinks the ballerina and Stefan must have been interrupted similarly by Kurskov or his minions so she figures they're finished with the role playing.
Angel takes out the minion who jumped him, sees another enter behind Cordy, wielding a sword. Angel jumps over Cordelia and lands on him. Fight ensues.
Wes, Gunn and Fred continue walking the hall, they hear the sounds of the fight coming from the dressing room.
One of the minions lunges at Gunn from behind and stabs him in the back.
Fred shouts his name.
Gunn elbows the attacker to the face, knocking it to its knees, then sinks to the floor.
Fred picks up a prop and bashes the minion with it then retrieves a sword and tosses it to Wes who's dealing with yet another one, wielding a sword.
Wes asks if Fred can handle the other one as he notices she's pummeling it. He figures she'll do fine as he goes back to the sword fight
In the dressing room, Angel is occupied beating up one of the minion on the floor, while Cordy fends off yet another armed with a sword. She lets Angel know she could use a little help.
As she gets his attention, the minion on the floor under him pulls a knife and sticks it in Angel's chest. Angel punches the minion, pulls the knife out and tosses it across the room, embedding it in the neck of the other attacking Cordelia.
Cordelia tells him they have to get out of there.
He wonders if she thinks the atackers aren't dead.
Cordelia tells him he just looked "really hot doing that."
Angel gets it, he tells her to run.
They both realize the possession is beginning again and get out of there before it can take hold.
Wes is still involved in swordplay with one of the minions.
After a bit of a battle, he finally runs it through and pulls the sword out as it falls to the floor.
Fred patches Gunn up. He notices she's upset. He asks if she's okay, if she's hurt.
She apologizes for being upset, she was worried.
Gunn jokingly asks if she was afraid he was going to die on her
Fred tells him not to joke about that.
He tries to lighten the mood, reciting in an over-the-top sort of delivery a snippet of poetry, "And all I ask is one last kiss as the light is dimming.." He laughs.
Fred wonders if he thinks he's being funny. She's visibly upset.
He assures her his wound is nothing serious. He finally realizes how upset she is when she begins to cry.
He hugs her and wonders if she was really that concerned.
She's afraid he thinks she's being silly.
Gunn figures if she cares that much, maybe his wound really is more serious than he thought.
Fred smiles and asks if the "light is dimming?"
Gunn responds with the rest of it, "And all I ask is .. one .. last ..." as he moves in for a kiss. They lock lips for a long time, sitting on the floor.
Wes looks on from a distance, unseen by Fred and Gunn. He walks away, dejected.
Wes stops in the hall, drops the sword he was dragging along and sinks to his knees. After a moment, he raises his head, his expression one of rage.
Kurskov continues to watch his ballerina dance on-stage.
Fred helps Gunn to his feet.
Angel and Cordelia arrive, asking if they're okay.
Fred tells them Gunn got stabbed.
He assures them it's minor as Cordelia checks it out.
Angel notices the minion bodies and says they were attacked by the same sort.
Fred points out to Cordy that her dress tag is hanging out the back as she tucks it back in for her.
Gunn asks if anybody knows what's going on.
Angel tells them he and Cordelia got caught in a mystical hot spot in one of the dressing rooms.
Cordelia explains it to Gunn and Fred. The prima ballerina had a lover and there was a Count Kurskov who owned the dance company and was obsessed with her and was feared by her.
Angel adds that the Count had some kind of power.
Wes arrives and quietly fills in the details. The Count was a wizard, obsessed with the ballerina. When he found her with another man, he became insanely jealous and pulled her out of time and reality. He intended to have her dance for him forever.
Fred wonders how he knew that.
Wes explains that he found a mystical hot spot as well.
Gunn wonders if they're going to be stuck there.
Wes says this sort of "temporal shift" can't just exist, somebody has to be maintaining it. It takes a great deal of concentration and power. He figures if they can overload the person responsible somehow, they may be able to get back to their own reality.
Gunn likes the plan.
Angel wonders how they make the overload happen.
As Wes starts to explain, a dead minion that had been lying on the floor rises, reanimates and multiplies, one becomes two.
Angel breaks both of their necks. They fall to the floor and multiply again
Fred notes that the more they kill, the more he's going to make.
Wes knows this has to be taking a lot of energy to accomplish.
Cordelia notices a brief change in the corner of the room, it looks like it should in their reality then changes back.
Wes tells Angel to find a way to the stage, he thinks the Count will be watching.
Angel figures he's got a box.
Wes tells him to try to determine the Count's power source and destroy it while he and the others attempt to loosen his grip.
Gunn realizes Wesley's plan to weaken the grip is by creating more minons. He finds that a scary plan.
Angel kills another on his way out.
Cordelia suggests they position themselves against the wall so they can't be attacked from behind. They each retrieve various things to fight with and prepare for the onslaught of the approaching comedy/tragedy guys.
Wes tells the others to stay close together, he'll take point.
Cordy hopes he's in the mood for killing.
Wes assures her he'll do fine.
Angel searches for an opening in that reality to get back to his own. He finally finds one, jumps through it and ends up in the wings, just off stage. He watches as one of the dancers leaps by and disappears. He sees the lead dancer waiting to go back on-stage, he calls out to her.
She wonders who he is, observing that he's "new."
He says he saw her dance before, the same ballet.
She tells him it's always the same.
Angel tells her he knows what's going on as he looks up into the box and sees Kurskov watching. Angel knows Kurskov is punishing her.
She tells him he made her, he owns her, when she dances it's only for him.
A line of dancers appears and dances across the stage. Angel wonders if the ballerina really believes what she just told him.
She says it doesn't matter, it's always the same; she dances, she waits, she dances again.
Angel wonders if it's enough for her to be doing the same piece, night after night, for a hundred years. He asks about Stefan.
She says she waited too long, she should have gone with him when he asked her but she wanted what she had with the ballet company. She didn't take the chance and in the end lost what mattered most to her.
Angel thinks she still has the dance.
She tells him there's a portion of the first act when her foot slides, her ankle twists and she slips a bit, every time. The Count doesn't notice, he isn't even that familiar with ballet but always, at the exact same point, she slips. It's not just the same ballet, it's the same performance, over and over again. She wonders if Angel can make it stop.
Wes, Fred, Gunn and Cordy continue battling minions.
Wes is pleased the plan is working.
Gunn notes thy are now being attacked by dozens of them. He's not sure that's a good plan.
Wes points out it has to be weakening the hold to expend all that energy.
Angel notices an opening developing between realities. He tells the ballerina he can help her but she has to do something. She has to change the ending, dance something different.
She doesn't think she can do it.
Angel tells her the Count isn't controlling it all anymore, he's losing that grip. Things shift in and out of phase in the wings, items from the now appearing and disappearing. Angel encourages her to take the stage, it's not too late to change things.
She hesitates briefly then goes out on-stage and begins to dance. She looks over at Angel off in the wings and changes the dance. The dancers on-stage begin to disappear. She glares up at Kurskov who is now standing in his box.
Angel runs across the stage and leaps into the box. He demands to know the source of the Count's power.
When he doesn't get an immediate answer he decides to take a guess, smashing the stone in the center of a large amulet the Count is wearing.
A bright light escapes from it, engulfing the stage, then dies out.
Wes, Gunn, Fred and Cordelia find themselves back in their own reality, the decor is back to normal, the minions have vanished.
Angel looks at the ballerina on-stage and nods.
She fades away.
Kurskov tells Angel he had no right to change things, she was his love, she danced only for him.
Angel isn't interested in hearing it. He punches the Count and walks away.
Back at the hotel, Wes dresses Gunn's wound as Gunn and Fred look dreamily at each other. He asks if Gunn wants anything for the pain.
Gunn doesn't feel any as he smiles at Fred and walks out.
Fred smiles as she watches him leave the office.
Angel approaches Cordelia who's wondering if she can still return the dress, it's expensive but it's rather messed up. She suggests to Angel they not discuss the possession stuff, anything that might have been seen or anything that might have been "perky."
He agrees, he'd like to forget it.
She wonders if it was that disgusting.
He tells her he'd just prefer if something happened, that it would be something new, a start from the beginning.
Cordelia just shakes her head, having no idea what he's talking about.
Angel continues rambling about how they've worked together a long time, she's an "extraordinary woman". He stumbles along trying to get the words out saying he thinks they --
Cordelia's face lights up with a huge smile, she says "Groo?" as she sees him coming down the stairs behind Angel.
Angel smiles back, agreeing that yes, they've grown and he thinks --
Cordelia blows past him in her rush to throw herself into the arms of her Pylean prince as he comes into the lobby. Groo ( "Through the Looking Glass") tells her he was afraid she might have forgotten him.
Cordelia entices him to "remind me" as they passionately lock lips for a long time.
While Angel looks on, Lorne tells him the political situation got a bit iffy once the people got their freedom, Groo was deposed. They now have some kind of "people's republic" in place. Groo came looking for his "true love."
Angel thinks that's good for Cordy but he doesn't sound like he's happy about it.
Angel decides to go upstairs and check on the baby.
Lorne assures him he's sleeping but Angel goes anyway.
As Fred and Wes look on Cordy and Groo catching up, Fred notes it's a surprise, she thought Cordelia and Angel were meant to be together. She concedes one really can never predict these things.
Wes sadly agrees that's true, one can never know, as he looks forlornly at Fred who is looking away from him watching Cordelia and Groo.
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| Written by: Joss Whedon | Original Air Date: February 4, 2002 |
In the outer office at the hotel, Wes is looking over an illustration in one of his demon books, waxing on dreamily about how "she" is so full of life and has lovely eyes that make one feel like the only man in the room. Obviously his mind isn't on the illustration in front of him.
Cordelia looks at the open book and notes that men most likely enjoy the six breasts thing.
Wes assures her Fred doesn't have such a thing.
Cordelia gets his mind back on the demon she was referring to in the book and confirms the demon he's looked up is the one she saw in a vision. She notes the demon won't be rampaging for a month or so. She'll file that one under "pending." She wonders if Wes plans to ask Fred out.
He says he'll do it when he feels the time is right.
Cordy wishes he'd just get on with it, she's tired of hearing about it.
Wes wonders if he's really that boring on the subject.
Cordelia reminds him there was a time he thought she was the loveliest woman in the world.
Wes shifts uncomfortably, starts to offer compliments, Cordelia cuts him off letting him know he doesn't have to go on, she just likes to hear it sometimes. She says she was the "ditziest bitch in Sunnydale" who could have had any man she wanted but now she's a superhero and the best action she can get is with a ghost and a loofah. She looks a bit uncomfortable with that admission.
Wes assures her he didn't hear that part.
She appreciates his being gentlemanly about it.
Angel approaches the desk and asks what the loofah comment was about.
Wes says they weren't talking about loofahs, they were discussing demons of some sort, the name is similar.
Cordelia quickly changes the subject, noting how nice Angel chose to wear the dark colors for a change.
Angel tells the others to ask why he's smiling.
Cordy wants to know because it's scaring her.
Angel pulls some tickets from his pocket and tells the others they're going out.
Gunn and Fred enter the courtyard on the way into the hotel, having just returned from eating out.
Gunn is gently teasing Fred about how much food she ate. He can't figure out where she puts it all given her "stick figure body."
Fred wonders if he really thinks of her that way.
He assures her she's "gorgeous" as he walks on ahead.
Fred stops a minute and smiles before following him into the Hyperion.
Gunn enters the lobby and notices the tickets in Angel's hand. He's excited that Angel managed to get them, assuring the gang "Mata Hari" is the hottest band in LA. Gunn tells Angel he'll pay for his ticket when he gets the money, he's good for it.
Angel tries to tell him about the tickets.
Gunn takes one, looks at it, notices it's not for the band, it's for the "Blinnikov World Ballet" company. His enthusiasm wanes quickly upon that discovery. He wants to know why Angel got tickets to the ballet.
Angel explains when he got to the ticket outlet he noticed the ballet, one performance only.
Gunn still wants to know why Angel didn't get the tickets for the band he was supposed to get.
Angel reiterates it's the Blinnikov World Ballet company.
Cordelia disinterestedly notes he's been saying that like it means something.
Angel seems to be the only one excited about it as he explains it's one of the premiere ballet companies in the world and they're performing "Giselle", their signature piece.
Gunn figures he's trapped in a nightmare.
Wes offers he's heard of the company, they're quite renowned.
Angel tells them he saw the company perform the ballet in 1890, it made him cry and he was evil at the time.
Fred thinks it sounds exciting.
Wes agrees.
Gunn doesn't. He's not much interested in the vision of tutus and guys in tights, jumping up and down, showing more than he cares to see.
Cordelia tells Gunn to get over it then asks Angel if they get to dress up. When he answers in the affirmative, she's eager to go as well.
Angel assures them the ballet is a great experience. They'll enjoy it.
Gunn isn't convinced. He's wondering if he's still expected to pay for his ticket since this is not what he had in mind.
At the theater, the manager is gushing to the head of the company about being honored to have the Blinnikov there. He is assured it will be "the performance of a lifetime."
Someone watches from a catwalk above, eerily laughing.
Fred and Cordelia enter an upscale clothing store, shopping for attire for the evening. Fred isn't comfortable there.
Cordy suggests they could go to "Cavegirl's House of Burlap" but it's not exactly in style. She reminds Fred the guys are all renting tuxes, they have to dress accordingly.
Fred points out they aren't exactly wealthy.
Cordelia assures her cost isn't a problem. They can buy the dresses, hide the tags, wear them for the night and then return them. It's an old trick that has served her well.
Fred's mind is eased about the cost issue. She tells Cordy she's looking forward to the evening. She hasn't been to the ballet much, but her family used to go to "The Nutcracker" every Christmas. She says she had her first fantasy about one of the characters.
Cordelia gives her a 'more than I really needed to know' kind of look as she removes a dress from the rack, holds it up against Fred, decides it's not right and puts it back.
As Cordy walks over to another rack, Fred wonders if she could ask her about something.
Cordelia answers that she thinks they're perfect for each other.
Fred just looks at her.
Cordelia reminds her she has "magic powers", not realizing they've failed her because Fred is referring to Gunn, Cordy thinks she's talking about Wes.
Fred says they haven't really said anything to each other but she thinks he's sweet and she feels completely comfortable when she's with him. She doesn't know if he feels the same way about her.
Cordy tells her he does.
Fred wonders if he really has feelings for her.
Cordelia assures her he definitely has feelings for her and if they find the right dress for her for the evening, she predicts Fred will enjoy the results.
Fred thinks they need to find the right dress for Cordelia, something that will "make Angel crazy."
Cordelia continues casually looking at dresses on the rack as she offhandedly reminds Fred that Angel "is crazy."
Fred thinks he'll want to look his best for Cordelia.
Cordy doesn't imagine the "world's champion" fussing all day over his clothes.
In Angel's room at the hotel, Lorne is working to get the baby spit out of the back of Angel's tux jacket. Lorne wants to talk about Cordelia.
Angel wonders what that's about.
Lorne informs him he read him while Angel was singing a lullaby to the kid. Lorne says he doesn't blame him, Cordelia's quite a woman.
Angel assures Lorne he read him wrong.
Lorne explains it's not just about the singing and reminds Angel of the kyerumption thing.
Angel doesn't want to hear it but that doesn't stop Lorne from going on about kyerumption, fate, the stars, etc. He points out Cordelia is quite a woman, if he thought she had a fondness for green, he'd make a move himself but he reckons she's out of his league with her being a "champion" and all. Besides, he points out, everybody knows Angel has a "thing for ex-cheerleaders." He laughs at that.
Angel's expression is somber. He doesn't figure he has anything to offer her.
Lorne tells him to go for it, tell her what's going on, don't miss the chance.
Angel starts to answer, "Cordelia is --"
Cordelia enters wearing her new slinky black dress.
Angel and Lorne appreciate the view.
As Angel stumbles for a compliment, Cordelia finishes for him, figuring she looks the part of a ballet aficionado for the evening. As she straightens Angel's bow tie, she tells him she's decided they don't have to be their usual, boring selves for the evening. Tonight they can be a couple of sophisticated people enjoying an evening of classical dance. She wonders if that sounds good.
Angel agrees it does.
Downstairs in the lobby, Fred is dressed for the evening waiting for Gunn to come out of the back office.
He wants her to promise she won't laugh first.
Fred assures him she won't.
Gunn self-consciously walks out of the office into the lobby in his tux.
Fred stares at him a moment then starts laughing.
Gunn figures her promise wasn't worth much and reminds her he's got trust issues, this isn't helping.
Fred apologizes for laughing, she's just stunned he looks so "pretty."
Gunn smiles, telling her not many people could say that to him and live but considering how she looks, he won't be fighting her.
Fred smiles shyly, saying the night feels "magical." She wonders if that sounds silly.
Wes walks up to her, lays her wrap over her shoulders and assures her it doesn't sound at all silly. He notices Gunn has finally come out of hiding
Gunn figures it was worth the reward, noting Fred.
Wes agrees she's "a vision."
Angel and Cordelia descend the stairs into the lobby.
Cordelia assures them there will be no visions for the evening.
Angel wonders how she can be certain of that.
She answers she "had a vision."
As the others head toward the door, Wes lays Cordy's wrap over her shoulders. She whispers to him, letting him know Fred is receptive to his attentions. They depart.
They arrive at the theater, walk through the lobby. Wes can't take his eyes off of Fred.
They enter and take their seats.
Angel apologizes for the seating which is pretty far back, explaining the difficulty of getting five seats together.
Wes likes the arrangement just fine. He, Fred and Gunn are sitting together in one row, Angel and Cordelia behind them.
Cordelia figures the seating arrangements are good, they're far enough back not to "set off the under 70 alarm."
Angel remembers back in the day he'd always get box seats or "just ate the people who had them".
Cordelia would prefer he not reminisce. She suggests they just enjoy the evening.
The lights go down, the curtain comes up, the ballet begins. The head of the dance company watches from his box seat.
As the dance progresses, snoring is heard in the audience.
Cordelia has fallen asleep with her mouth open.
Angel gives her a firm nudge.
She wakes enough to lay over toward his side, against his shoulder, and goes back to sleep.
Wesley's gaze wanders between the stage and Fred.
Gunn's attention is riveted on the stage as he watches the dance with a dreamy expression, clearly enjoying the performance. He leans forward for a better view and smiles.
Cordelia is still sleeping, her head against Angel's shoulder, her mouth agape, snoring.
Angel watches the goings on on-stage and realizes something.
As the curtain comes down for intermission, Gunn cheers loudly.
The applause wakes Cordelia who claims she loved it.
Angel informs her it's not over, it's just the intermission.
Cordelia notices something on Angel's jacket and hopes she didn't drool.
He assures her it's no big deal, it'll match the back. His attention remains on the stage as they all rise to go into the lobby.
Out in the lobby, Gunn gushes about the performance.
Wes agrees the company lives up to its reputation. He starts to ask Angel if the choreography has changed since Angel saw them perform.
Angel tells him that nothing has changed.
Wes finds that amazing, that they -- Angel cuts him off and clarifies that he means nothing has changed, the dancers are the same ones he saw the last time he attended a performance.
Fred doesn't see how that's possible the dancers could be the same as the ones Angel saw in 1990.
Gunn corrects her, it was 1890.
Fred figures that's even more impossible.
Angel wonders if anyone has any ideas how they could be watching dancers perform who should have been dead years ago.
Cordelia agrees that's a puzzle but she's more interested in finding something to eat.
Wes wonders if they may be vampires.
Cordelia thinks it's a possibility since they're not exactly a tanned bunch.
Gunn muses that would explain the "precision and athleticism" and he's clearly into it, remembering the jumps --
He stops when he notices everyone staring. He reminds them he was cool before he met them.
Cordelia finds the thought of dancing vampires a bit frightening.
Angel says they aren't vampires. If they were, he'd sense it.
Wes wonders if he could even though they were in the cheap seats.
Angel thinks they need to check it out.
Fred suggests going backstage after the performance.
Angel prefers to do it now. He tells the others to go on back to their seats to see the rest of the performance, he'll do some digging. He starts to leave.
Cordelia tells the others she'll help Angel, she's not really getting into the whole ballet thing.
Wes sarcastically wonders how the dancers will keep their rhythm without Cordy's snoring giving them the beat.
She assures him that will come back and haunt him as she joins Angel and they leave.
The others return to their seats.
Angel and Cordelia descend a staircase on their way to the backstage entrance. They notice a burly security guard posted outside of the door. Cordy asks if Angel wants her to distract the guard, make nice with him while Angel slips backstage.
Angel tells her not to be "stupid". He figures if he was the security guard and a beautiful woman suddenly started making eyes at him, he'd figure it was "a bachelor party or a scam."
Cordelia asks what he just called her.
He apologizes for calling her stupid.
She tells him she meant what he said after that.
Angel doesn't answer, instead offering to go with the "sudden burst of violence" plan.
Cordelia advises him to hold off on that, she has an idea, something more subtle.
Cordy approaches the security guard and asks him if he likes bribes.
He lets her know he's receptive.
She holds up a bill and tells him she and Angel would like to go backstage.
The guy takes the bill, looks at it, notes that it's really more of "a tip than a bribe" and since he's not the parking valet, he doesn't intend to let them backstage.
Angel punches him, knocking the guy out.
Angel and Cordelia step through the door and close it behind them. They find themselves in a hallway that seems to extend without end as it branches off into even more hallways, decorated as it would have been a century ago, illuminated by gas lamps.
Cordelia thinks they should go and get the others, work out a plan.
As they turn to leave the way they came in, they find the hallway extends in the opposite direction and appears exactly the same. The door they entered through no longer exists.
Angel figures they need a new plan.
In the theater, Wes, Fred and Gunn continue watching the performance.
The head of the company watches the ballerina intently from his box.
Angel and Cordelia wander backstage, entering the dressing room of the prima ballerina. Angel notes the room is the same as it was a century ago.
Cordelia sits at the dressing table, picks up a piece of jewelry, a small cross on a chain. She notes that "she" waited for him there.
Angel notices the room is warm, something happened there.
Cordy feels it too. She gets up slowly, walks toward Angel and tells him she wants him to undress her.
His response is a surprised, "You what?"
Cordelia presses the issue a bit more, Angel tells her this isn't them, they're acting something out.
Cordy gets her senses back and wonders if she really just asked him to undress her.
Angel's turn to act out as he asks her if that's what she wants. As he moves in for a kiss, figuring they both want it, Cordelia is back in role playing mode as well, worrying what will happen "if he finds us."
Possessed Angel tells her he's not afraid of anything. They kiss.
The ballet continues on-stage.
Possessed Angel and Cordelia heat it up with the kissing. Angel suddenly regains his senses and breaks away. He apologizes.
Cordelia is also back in control of her faculties and tells him they need to get out of that room.
As they head toward the door, they end up possessed again, pawing and panting over each other as they continue moving toward the door.
They finally get out, regaining their senses. Cordelia wonders what was going on in there.
Angel figures they were taken over by spirits.
Cordelia is freaked by that notion. She's at least glad the effect wears off quickly once outside of the room.
Angel agrees it's a good thing as he hurriedly removes his jacket and holds it in front of himself.
Back at the hotel, Lorne sings a lullaby as he puts Connor to bed. The lyrics are his own, indicating his disappointment with not being invited to the ballet and suggesting maybe he should consider selling the kid to the first vampire cult that offers a good price.
Someone ascends the hotel staircase and heads down the hall toward Angel's room.
Lorne hears a noise and decides to check things out. He picks up a battle ax laying nearby, opens the door and greets the visitor on the other side with, "Oh, my God."
Angel and Cordelia wander the halls backstage trying to find an exit. Angel notices it's pretty much a maze.
Cordelia remembers that she said something important when she was possessed but she doesn't recall what it was. She wonders if Angel does.
He starts to remind her of one of her 'come hither' lines to him.
She impatiently informs him that wasn't it.
Angel remembers her saying that she was afraid.
Cordy remembers fearing being found out by someone.
Angel figures it out. The woman had a secret lover.
Cordy knows they were afraid of someone and he's probably the reason they're stuck there. She thinks they left the room too soon. The spirits, or whatever, are there so they can figure out what's happened, they need to go back in and finish playing out the scene.
Angel thinks this is a very bad idea.
Cordelia wonders if he'd prefer to wander in the backstage maze forever.
Angel is sure there must be another plan.
Cordelia assures him they just have to play out the scenario, "get in, get out, no one gets happy."
Angel wonders what happens if there's no more talk. He tells her he's been possessed by the spirits of old lovers before, it usually doesn't go well.
Cordelia holds up the cross on a chain and reminds him she's got that handy if things go badly.
Angel is hesitant.
Cordy assures him it's not them and as long as things don't go too far, it'll be forgotten.
Angel tells her it is them and tries to explain about kissing her but she cuts him off.
She doesn't think it's that horrible as she walks away, mumbling that he has no problem chopping up demons but kissing her is cause for freaking. She stops outside of the dressing room door and looks back at him, wryly noting her "champion".
As the performance continues, Wes and Gunn both start to slide their hands to rest on Fred's knee, neither realizing the other is making the same move.
Before they connect, Fred realizes that Angel and Cordelia have been gone a long time.
Wes realizes she's right, they should check it out.
Gunn isn't too anxious to be missing the end of the performance but goes along anyway.
Angel and Cordelia are back in the dressing room, trying to get possessed again but it's not working.
Cordelia suggests picking up where they left off, maybe it will happen.
They repeat the lines they spoke when possessed, in a wooden, emotionless manner. They kiss quickly, in a totally passionless way, trying to make it happen.
Angel starts to wonder if maybe the possession only happens one time as Cordelia proves him wrong by grabbing him and kissing him in the possessed way this time. He falls into the possession again as well as he kisses her.
She drops the small cross she was holding.
Wes, Fred and Gunn find the unconscious security guard, step over him and walk through the backstage entrance. From the shadows, they are watched by a couple of green-faced figures whose faces resemble theatrical comedy/tragedy masks.
In his box, the head of the ballet company is approached by his comedy/tragedy minions. He tells them to deal with it, he doesn't want to be bothered. His attention remains focused on the ballerina on-stage.
The minions depart to do his bidding.
The possession continues as Angel is on top of Cordelia on a divan in the dressing room, kissing her.
She calls him "Stefan" and worries what will happen if they are discovered. She says his power is unnatural, he could --
Possessed Angel asks what he'd do, kill them?
Cordelia responds that he could do worse than that.
Angel tells her that Kurskov owns the company, he doesn't own her.
Cordelia continues playing out the role, saying that Kurskov is deluded, he thinks he owns her, that she only dances for him.
Angel sits up and pulls her up with him as he works at the back of her dress. He tells her to come away with him, they'll disappear, he won't find them.
She doesn't want to leave behind all that she's worked for. It's all there.
He assures her she'll still be able to dance.
She's not convinced. She's not ready to leave yet. Maybe after some time --
Angel tells her not to make promises.
She acknowledges she's afraid, she asks him to help her not to be as they both sink back down onto the divan.
Angel starts kissing her again.
Wes, Fred and Gunn find themselves in the same hallway Angel and Cordelia stumbled into. Fred wonders if anyone heard anything as they hear Cordelia's moaning coming from the dressing room as possessed Cordy and Angel continue with the foreplay.
Wes thinks someone's in pain.
Fred thinks "someone's in fun."
One of the green-faced minions cuts across the hall behind them.
In the dressing room, Angel pulls Cordelia's dress down and kisses her chest, her stomach, working his way downward. Her reaction and expression convey clearly enough what's going on.
They're interrupted by a minion that rushes into the room and jumps Angel, knocking him off of Cordelia. The possession ends.
Cordelia's reaction being, "Oh thank God" as she pulls her dress back up. She thinks the ballerina and Stefan must have been interrupted similarly by Kurskov or his minions so she figures they're finished with the role playing.
Angel takes out the minion who jumped him, sees another enter behind Cordy, wielding a sword. Angel jumps over Cordelia and lands on him. Fight ensues.
Wes, Gunn and Fred continue walking the hall, they hear the sounds of the fight coming from the dressing room.
One of the minions lunges at Gunn from behind and stabs him in the back.
Fred shouts his name.
Gunn elbows the attacker to the face, knocking it to its knees, then sinks to the floor.
Fred picks up a prop and bashes the minion with it then retrieves a sword and tosses it to Wes who's dealing with yet another one, wielding a sword.
Wes asks if Fred can handle the other one as he notices she's pummeling it. He figures she'll do fine as he goes back to the sword fight
In the dressing room, Angel is occupied beating up one of the minion on the floor, while Cordy fends off yet another armed with a sword. She lets Angel know she could use a little help.
As she gets his attention, the minion on the floor under him pulls a knife and sticks it in Angel's chest. Angel punches the minion, pulls the knife out and tosses it across the room, embedding it in the neck of the other attacking Cordelia.
Cordelia tells him they have to get out of there.
He wonders if she thinks the atackers aren't dead.
Cordelia tells him he just looked "really hot doing that."
Angel gets it, he tells her to run.
They both realize the possession is beginning again and get out of there before it can take hold.
Wes is still involved in swordplay with one of the minions.
After a bit of a battle, he finally runs it through and pulls the sword out as it falls to the floor.
Fred patches Gunn up. He notices she's upset. He asks if she's okay, if she's hurt.
She apologizes for being upset, she was worried.
Gunn jokingly asks if she was afraid he was going to die on her
Fred tells him not to joke about that.
He tries to lighten the mood, reciting in an over-the-top sort of delivery a snippet of poetry, "And all I ask is one last kiss as the light is dimming.." He laughs.
Fred wonders if he thinks he's being funny. She's visibly upset.
He assures her his wound is nothing serious. He finally realizes how upset she is when she begins to cry.
He hugs her and wonders if she was really that concerned.
She's afraid he thinks she's being silly.
Gunn figures if she cares that much, maybe his wound really is more serious than he thought.
Fred smiles and asks if the "light is dimming?"
Gunn responds with the rest of it, "And all I ask is .. one .. last ..." as he moves in for a kiss. They lock lips for a long time, sitting on the floor.
Wes looks on from a distance, unseen by Fred and Gunn. He walks away, dejected.
Wes stops in the hall, drops the sword he was dragging along and sinks to his knees. After a moment, he raises his head, his expression one of rage.
Kurskov continues to watch his ballerina dance on-stage.
Fred helps Gunn to his feet.
Angel and Cordelia arrive, asking if they're okay.
Fred tells them Gunn got stabbed.
He assures them it's minor as Cordelia checks it out.
Angel notices the minion bodies and says they were attacked by the same sort.
Fred points out to Cordy that her dress tag is hanging out the back as she tucks it back in for her.
Gunn asks if anybody knows what's going on.
Angel tells them he and Cordelia got caught in a mystical hot spot in one of the dressing rooms.
Cordelia explains it to Gunn and Fred. The prima ballerina had a lover and there was a Count Kurskov who owned the dance company and was obsessed with her and was feared by her.
Angel adds that the Count had some kind of power.
Wes arrives and quietly fills in the details. The Count was a wizard, obsessed with the ballerina. When he found her with another man, he became insanely jealous and pulled her out of time and reality. He intended to have her dance for him forever.
Fred wonders how he knew that.
Wes explains that he found a mystical hot spot as well.
Gunn wonders if they're going to be stuck there.
Wes says this sort of "temporal shift" can't just exist, somebody has to be maintaining it. It takes a great deal of concentration and power. He figures if they can overload the person responsible somehow, they may be able to get back to their own reality.
Gunn likes the plan.
Angel wonders how they make the overload happen.
As Wes starts to explain, a dead minion that had been lying on the floor rises, reanimates and multiplies, one becomes two.
Angel breaks both of their necks. They fall to the floor and multiply again
Fred notes that the more they kill, the more he's going to make.
Wes knows this has to be taking a lot of energy to accomplish.
Cordelia notices a brief change in the corner of the room, it looks like it should in their reality then changes back.
Wes tells Angel to find a way to the stage, he thinks the Count will be watching.
Angel figures he's got a box.
Wes tells him to try to determine the Count's power source and destroy it while he and the others attempt to loosen his grip.
Gunn realizes Wesley's plan to weaken the grip is by creating more minons. He finds that a scary plan.
Angel kills another on his way out.
Cordelia suggests they position themselves against the wall so they can't be attacked from behind. They each retrieve various things to fight with and prepare for the onslaught of the approaching comedy/tragedy guys.
Wes tells the others to stay close together, he'll take point.
Cordy hopes he's in the mood for killing.
Wes assures her he'll do fine.
Angel searches for an opening in that reality to get back to his own. He finally finds one, jumps through it and ends up in the wings, just off stage. He watches as one of the dancers leaps by and disappears. He sees the lead dancer waiting to go back on-stage, he calls out to her.
She wonders who he is, observing that he's "new."
He says he saw her dance before, the same ballet.
She tells him it's always the same.
Angel tells her he knows what's going on as he looks up into the box and sees Kurskov watching. Angel knows Kurskov is punishing her.
She tells him he made her, he owns her, when she dances it's only for him.
A line of dancers appears and dances across the stage. Angel wonders if the ballerina really believes what she just told him.
She says it doesn't matter, it's always the same; she dances, she waits, she dances again.
Angel wonders if it's enough for her to be doing the same piece, night after night, for a hundred years. He asks about Stefan.
She says she waited too long, she should have gone with him when he asked her but she wanted what she had with the ballet company. She didn't take the chance and in the end lost what mattered most to her.
Angel thinks she still has the dance.
She tells him there's a portion of the first act when her foot slides, her ankle twists and she slips a bit, every time. The Count doesn't notice, he isn't even that familiar with ballet but always, at the exact same point, she slips. It's not just the same ballet, it's the same performance, over and over again. She wonders if Angel can make it stop.
Wes, Fred, Gunn and Cordy continue battling minions.
Wes is pleased the plan is working.
Gunn notes thy are now being attacked by dozens of them. He's not sure that's a good plan.
Wes points out it has to be weakening the hold to expend all that energy.
Angel notices an opening developing between realities. He tells the ballerina he can help her but she has to do something. She has to change the ending, dance something different.
She doesn't think she can do it.
Angel tells her the Count isn't controlling it all anymore, he's losing that grip. Things shift in and out of phase in the wings, items from the now appearing and disappearing. Angel encourages her to take the stage, it's not too late to change things.
She hesitates briefly then goes out on-stage and begins to dance. She looks over at Angel off in the wings and changes the dance. The dancers on-stage begin to disappear. She glares up at Kurskov who is now standing in his box.
Angel runs across the stage and leaps into the box. He demands to know the source of the Count's power.
When he doesn't get an immediate answer he decides to take a guess, smashing the stone in the center of a large amulet the Count is wearing.
A bright light escapes from it, engulfing the stage, then dies out.
Wes, Gunn, Fred and Cordelia find themselves back in their own reality, the decor is back to normal, the minions have vanished.
Angel looks at the ballerina on-stage and nods.
She fades away.
Kurskov tells Angel he had no right to change things, she was his love, she danced only for him.
Angel isn't interested in hearing it. He punches the Count and walks away.
Back at the hotel, Wes dresses Gunn's wound as Gunn and Fred look dreamily at each other. He asks if Gunn wants anything for the pain.
Gunn doesn't feel any as he smiles at Fred and walks out.
Fred smiles as she watches him leave the office.
Angel approaches Cordelia who's wondering if she can still return the dress, it's expensive but it's rather messed up. She suggests to Angel they not discuss the possession stuff, anything that might have been seen or anything that might have been "perky."
He agrees, he'd like to forget it.
She wonders if it was that disgusting.
He tells her he'd just prefer if something happened, that it would be something new, a start from the beginning.
Cordelia just shakes her head, having no idea what he's talking about.
Angel continues rambling about how they've worked together a long time, she's an "extraordinary woman". He stumbles along trying to get the words out saying he thinks they --
Cordelia's face lights up with a huge smile, she says "Groo?" as she sees him coming down the stairs behind Angel.
Angel smiles back, agreeing that yes, they've grown and he thinks --
Cordelia blows past him in her rush to throw herself into the arms of her Pylean prince as he comes into the lobby. Groo ( "Through the Looking Glass") tells her he was afraid she might have forgotten him.
Cordelia entices him to "remind me" as they passionately lock lips for a long time.
While Angel looks on, Lorne tells him the political situation got a bit iffy once the people got their freedom, Groo was deposed. They now have some kind of "people's republic" in place. Groo came looking for his "true love."
Angel thinks that's good for Cordy but he doesn't sound like he's happy about it.
Angel decides to go upstairs and check on the baby.
Lorne assures him he's sleeping but Angel goes anyway.
As Fred and Wes look on Cordy and Groo catching up, Fred notes it's a surprise, she thought Cordelia and Angel were meant to be together. She concedes one really can never predict these things.
Wes sadly agrees that's true, one can never know, as he looks forlornly at Fred who is looking away from him watching Cordelia and Groo.
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