"The Price"
Angel runs his hand along a deep crack in the wall as he and the others work on redoing his room, repairing the earthquake damage. Groo reminds him they've fought side by side, he hopes that means his advice would merit consideration. He has something to say.
Angel is willing to listen.
Groo points out that "Pomegranate Mist" really isn't the right color for the room.
Angel thinks on that a minute, then asks what that's about.
Fred says she was just thinking, and Groo agreed, that since they're repainting the room, maybe it would be a good idea to change things a bit.
Angel sarcastically asks if Groo agreed with this.
Cordelia tells him not to mock Groo, "he actually has good color sense."
Groo shows Angel a sheet of color swatches and suggests "Sunlight Splendor" is a color more befitting a champion. He points to another and suggests perhaps "Purpla" would be more to Angel's liking.
Angel informs him it's pronounced "purple" and wonders why he has problems with that but has no trouble with "pomegranate."
Groo answers that was his mother's name.
Angel ponders the odds of that.
Gunn picks up a piece of furniture, burned beyond recognition, and heads for the door.
Angel asks where he's going with it.
Gunn answers that he was going to throw it out.
Angel says it's an antique.
Gunn notes it's burnt to a crisp.
Angel takes it from him and tells him it's not going to be thrown out and he wants the room repainted the same color it was. He tells the others he appreciates their help, he just wants everything back to the way it was or as close as possible.
Cordelia suggests it will never be the same, unless they fork over the money for professionals, the cracks are always going to be there.
Angel isn't bothered by that.
She figures he's used to the look given his fondness for living in "rotted out mansions."
Angel picks up a musical snowglobe. He winds it up and watches as the faux snow swirls inside. He wonders why he bought it, realizing he probably thought Connor would like to look at snow, noting it never snows in southern California.
Cordelia reminds him it did once.
After a moment, Angel says they shouldn't be wasting time fixing his room when they have work to do.
Gunn asks what work.
Angel says they're neglecting their cases.
Fred points out they don't have any cases, they haven't had a call in over a week.
That comes as a surprise to Angel who thinks he should go downstairs in case somebody comes in off the street looking for help since that happens sometimes. He heads for the lobby.
Cordelia doesn't think it's likely they'll get any walk-ins on a Sunday.
A guy enters the empty lobby, calls out, wondering if anyone is there. He notices the faded pentagram on the lobby floor, approaches the desk and again calls out.
A translucent slug-like thing moves across the desk behind him and onto the floor. He figures he isn't going to get any help there to find his lost dog.
As he turns to leave the slug lunges at his face, entering his body through his mouth.
Angel comes downstairs and asks if he can help the guy.
The man turns to him and asks what that was.
Angel introduces himself and asks the guy's name.
He pauses, not answering.
Angel tells him not to be embarrassed, whatever he needs, they're there to help.
The guy says, "we have to leave" and heads for the door.
Angel wonders what's wrong. He notices the faded pentagram on the floor and thinks that's what's scared the guy off. He tries to explain that was from a previous case, he's prepared to give the guy his full attention.
The door closes as the potential client exits the hotel.
Angel stares at the pentagram stain on the floor as Cordelia comes downstairs. He wonders if they can do something to remove it since it scared off a potential client. He says the guy barely said two words before running out.
Cordelia notes that some people don't like to talk much. She says Angel never told her exactly what happened while she was away.
He tells her she knows what happened.
She answers she's looking for specifics; why the pentagram is on the lobby floor, what dark magick Angel had done.
Angel walks into the office and sits the snowglobe down on the desk..
Cordelia follows him in, saying she knows he'd prefer not to discuss it but he can't expect to mess with black magicks and just walk away from it.
Angel points out it didn't work, it was a waste of time.
Cordelia presses to know what kind of spell it was, reminding Angel there are usually consequences for doing that sort of thing. She thinks it would be helpful to have all the information considering the person who used to know that stuff isn't around anymore.
Angel gives her a stern look in response.
She says she's not going to get into that, she just knows that avoiding things doesn't solve anything. Things they've done in the past have come back to bite them before.
Angel acknowledges he wasn't thinking clearly for awhile with the blood he drinks having been spiked with Connor's and dealing with the rage over the fact his trusted friend had stolen his son. He sits down and collects himself.
Cordelia asks why he didn't call her.
He says he didn't want to ruin her vacation, he thought one of them should have some happiness.
Cordelia thinks she could have helped.
Angel doesn't believe there's anything she could have done.
She wants to know how he can be so sure, pointing out she has a direct line to The Powers, she might have been able to get a vision or something to warn them. She reminds him she's also part demon now so maybe she has some as yet unrealized power that could have helped them find Connor before it was too late. She thinks she should have been there.
Angel tells her she always is, it's just that he's trying to follow her suggestion of moving on, trying to focus on other people's problems for a while. He hopes she understands that.
She says she does but she wants him to call her next time.
He agrees then asks her to find him a case to work on.
The guy who was seeking help at the hotel earlier is in a juice bar, guzzling smoothies two at a time. His skin has turned gray and has large cracks in it, like weather-worn cement. He tells the help to get him some more.
One of the employees points out he's been in the juice bar for nearly six hours. Another mentions he's had "about 100 peach smoothies." He doesn't think the customer is well, pointing out he's been drinking all that liquid and hasn't even taken one trip to the restroom.
The guy pulls out a credit card and demands to be served. When he's informed they don't take credit cards, he frantically demands water.
The manager threatens to call the police if he doesn't leave.
The customer grabs him and yanks him over the counter, throwing him across the bar. He looks at the remaining employee behind the counter and yells, "We're thirsty!!"
The employee rushes to meet his demand.
At Wolfram & Hart, Gavin approaches Lilah who isn't particularly thrilled to see him. He says he's heard she's made progress with Angel.
She doesn't know what he's talking about.
He wonders if she's heard the news that Angel tried to kill Wesley at the hospital.
Lilah caustically notes that perhaps his next news flash will involve the invention of fire.
Gavin says he was just offering a compliment.
Lilah isn't buying it.
Gavin thinks that Angel's trying to kill a human brings him closer to his dark side, and W&H.
Lilah reminds him of the wine cellar slaughter last year ("Reunion"). Angel has killed humans before.
Gavin points out they were lawyers. He thinks the fact Angel tried to suffocate one of his closest friends means they're making progress.
Lilah offers perhaps they could make more progress if they got Angel and Wesley together again, see what happened.
Gavin thinks that it might help Lilah make up to W&H for losing Connor.
Lilah informs him she's one step ahead. Angel tried to kill Wes, kidnapped and tried to torture Linwood and dabbled in dark magicks, all on her watch.
Gavin offers his congratulations.
She thanks him for that, then asks if they can drop the pretense.
He agrees.
They go their separate ways.
Fred and Gunn watch from the lobby as Angel sits at Wesley's desk, working. Fred notes it looks strange seeing Angel there instead of Wes.
Gunn says it was Angel's when he [Gunn] came to work there. It seems right to him that it's Angel's again.
Fred thinks since things have cooled down a bit, perhaps it's time to try to get them to work things out. She concedes Angel doesn't have to forgive Wes.
Gunn is glad she concedes that point because he doesn't figure it's going to happen.
Fred agrees with that, and doesn't think he should, necessarily, she just wants there to be a way to come back from all that's happened.
Gunn offers that's unlikely unless Wesley returns with Connor in his arms. He thinks even if he did, Angel would probably kill him anyway.
Fred wonders if he really believes that.
Gunn thinks it's best if they not mention Wesley's name again.
Cordy and Groo work on scrubbing the lobby floor, trying to remove what's left of the pentagram. Cordy figures it's time to give up and get a throw rug to hide it.
Groo leaves to dump the water bucket.
Fred approaches Cordelia who watches Groo leave, smiles and tells Fred he's "loyal and loving, like a puppy dog."
Fred tries to say something but Cordy cuts her off, going on about Groo being a puppy, a "sexy, well built, go-all-night puppy dog". She realizes how that sounded.
Fred again starts to say something.
Cordelia cuts her off, telling her she knows Fred wants her to talk to Angel about Wesley but she won't do it.
Fred wants to know why she's refusing to do it, pointing out she's known both Angel and Wes longer than anyone else there. She figures Angel would listen to her.
Cordy tells her he wouldn't want to hear it and she's not going to burden him with it.
Fred says she knows Cordy cares about Wesley, she imagines he's dealing with his own pain right now and feeling horrible.
Cordy tells her Angel's feelings are what matter to her, he's her priority.
Groo returns in time to hear that comment, listens to a bit more, then leaves.
Cordelia goes on, telling Fred she became part demon for Angel and she doesn't even know what that means yet aside from occasional floating and seizureless visions. She likes the painless vision thing but concedes sometimes it's hard to tell when she's having one.
She sees an image of Angel being thrown across the lobby. She calls his name.
Angel is standing behind the desk. He asks what's going on.
Lorne enters and tells the others there's a melee at the juice bar across the street, some guy is making trouble.
At the juice bar, the guy grabs one of the employees who tries to hand him the key to the safe. He gets thrown to the floor.
The gang walk in as the guy grabs the blender from its stand and drinks directly from it.
Cordelia is trying to tell Angel about her vision.
He asks her if they can deal with it later, he's working now.
The employee runs past them on his way out the door, saying the guy has "Ebola or something."
Angel approaches the guy as he's guzzling from the blender.
The guy turns, Angel recognizes him as the guy who stopped by the hotel earlier.
Gunn says Angel neglected to mention the guy was a mummy, noting the gray, desiccated, cracked skin.
Angel says he didn't look like that earlier.
Fred finds the guy's wallet and identifies him from his driver's license as Phillp J. Spivey.
Angel addresses him by name and approaches cautiously, asking if he remembers him from the hotel. He suggests Spivey accompany them back to the office and they'll try to figure out what's going on. Angel asks if he agrees with that.
Spivey shouts, "We're thirsty!" then tries to bash Angel with the base of the blender.
Angel knocks him out, happy to have a case to work on.
The gang arrive back at the hotel. Angel directs Groo to lay an unconscious Spivey down on the couch.
Fred notices the guy's face is looking even worse.
Angel asks her if they have any water in the refrigerator.
She thinks they have a few bottles.
He tells her they'll need them.
Angel notes the guy kept saying "we."
Cordy figures the guy is just pretentious. She wants to talk about the vision.
Angel tells her it can wait.
She doesn't think so, pointing out she gets visions of people in danger and this time it was him.
Angel doesn't think that's exactly new. He'd rather focus on someone else's problem right now. He'd prefer to help Mr. Spivey who came to them earlier in the day looking for help. He tells Cordy it's not about him, it has nothing to do with him.
Spivey comes to, stands, points at Angel and tells him it's all happening because of him, it's all Angel's fault. He falls to the floor, his body disintegrates into a pile of dust.
Angel says he was trying to help the guy, he doesn't understand why he said this was all Angel's fault.
Lorne points to the dust pile and says it wasn't the guy who said it, it was "that" as the slug exits the dust pile and skitters across the lobby floor.
Cordelia jumps out of its way as Lorne helps her up to sit on top of the desk.
Groo notes it looks like something he'd dealt with in Pylea.
Gunn wants to know what it was.
Angel doesn't know what it is or what it has to do with him.
Cordelia points out Spivey dropped dead in the center of the pentagram.
Angel hands out weapons from the cabinet as Groo and Cordy return. Cordelia tells him they've shut the hotel down tight.
Angel figures that will keep the infestation in the hotel as he hands her a sword.
Groo chooses a battle ax from the cabinet.
Angel thinks it's too big for their purposes.
Groo responds he hasn't had any complaints.
Angel instructs Groo and Cordy to start at the third floor and work their way down.
Lorne wonders how they know chopping up the slug is going to be effective.
Angel acknowledges they don't, which is why Fred will be doing research on the subject.
Fred, who is busy cleaning up Spivey's remains with a Dustbuster, is surprised to hear that, saying she doesn't even know where to start looking.
Angel suggests "thaumogenesis". In response to Fred's puzzled expression, he explains it's "creatures manifested as a byproduct of using dark magick."
Gunn says he'll stay behind with Fred.
Angel warns him to keep a close watch, the slug is hard to see.
Cordelia points out that it extracted every bit of moisture from Spivey's body. She thinks they should wait to see what information Fred's research turns up before going after it.
Angel points out the longer they wait, the greater the chance it will find a way out of the hotel and attack others. He's not going to let that happen.
Angel and the gang go on a slug hunt.
As Angel and Lorne check out one of the hallways, Angel tells Lorne he doesn't want to hear it.
Lorne responds that he wasn't going to say anything.
Angel would prefer if he kept it that way.
Lorne asks if he was wrong.
Angel knows it's his mess, he's cleaning it up. He doesn't know what more Lorne wants.
Lorne reminds him he did try to warn him there was a price for messing with dark magicks.
Angel knows this but the question is whether or not the price is worth paying.
Lorne wonders if it was.
Angel says the spell was for nothing, he didn't get Connor back, now he's gone forever. He'd do it again because it was his only chance and Connor was his son.
They stop when they hear a slurping sound. They follow the sound into one of the rooms.
Angel opens the door to the bathroom where the slug is drinking out of the toilet tank. It screeches and runs past Lorne and Angel.
Lorne raises his sword to whack it and hits the light bulb overhead, breaking it.
Angel notices the slug glows in the dark and throws a dagger at it, impaling it.
As Lorne and Angel move in for a closer look, the slug stops moving. Lorne figures that wasn't so tough.
The slug suddenly moves and dashes off.
Fred is in Wesley's office, poring over books. She's frustrated, saying she hates this.
Gunn agrees with that, thinking she's talking about the slug.
She clarifies she was referring to the research. She says it's all over her head, filled with words she doesn't understand. She's comfortable with matters of physics but this subject isn't something she's versed in. She thinks Angel needs to accept someone else is more qualified for this work than she is.
Gunn reminds her that "someone else" isn't there anymore, she's going to have to get familiar with the material.
Fred's afraid she won't be able to find anything to help them.
Gunn assures her they'll manage. He thinks they can handle one slug.
Out in the lobby, a small flash of light and an electrical discharge accompany the arrival of two more slugs as they drop onto the lobby floor and skitter off in opposite directions.
In her office, Lilah receives a confidential email, requiring a password to de-encrypt. She opens a secret panel and removes a small box. She enters a code, opens the box and takes a smaller box out of it.
She opens that box and retrieves its occupant, a tarantula.
Lilah places the spider on her computer keyboard. As it crawls across the keys, the password is entered, the email is de-encrypted.
She reads a reference to "thaumogenesis" in the email.
Gavin enters and asks if she got the correspondence. She assumes he's referring to the one marked "confidential" that requires a "magic bug to open" and that Gavin shouldn't even know about.
Gavin attributes his knowledge of it to a server glitch. He tells Lilah the psychics say Angel's hotel is hosting some uninvited guests.
Lilah wonders why she's supposed to care about this.
Gavin points out what's going on is a result of the spell that Lilah helped Angel perform.
Lilah notes actions have consequences. Angel was aware of it.
Gavin is happy she sees it that way.
She wonders what his point is.
Gavin figures whatever is in the Hyperion must be pretty dangerous considering Angel locked down the hotel and barricaded everyone inside to keep the visitors from escaping.
Lilah smiles, thinking perhaps she'll get lucky and whatever is in the hotel will kill him. She suddenly realizes that may not be a good thing.
Gavin wonders if she thinks the Senior Partners would be pleased if Angel died as a result of a spell she helped him cast. He points out that with Linwood out of town on vacation and unreachable, Lilah has a dilemma on her hands. He cheerfully bids her farewell and heads out of the office.
Lilah asks him if she's supposed to go in and help Angel.
Gavin assures her he has no idea what she's talking about.
Cordy and Groo walk down a hallway at the hotel. She knows this is bothering Angel.
Groo asks if she's having a vision.
She says no, she was talking about the spell Angel performed to find Connor causing a man's death.
Groo repeats what he heard her say earlier about Angel being her priority.
She asks him what he's talking about.
He tells her he heard her say Angel's feelings were all she cared about, he was all that mattered.
Cordelia stops him and explains she was referring to her "work priority". She says Groo is her "other stuff" priority. She wants to know he understands that.
Groo says nothing, then slowly raises the battle ax he's carrying.
Cordy thinks they can talk about this.
He tells her not to move as a slug crawls down the wall behind her.
Cordy turns and hacks at it with the sword, missing it. The slug disappears into the wall mail slot.
Groo and Cordy run into Lorne and Angel. They realize there is now more than one slug in the hotel.
In the office, the others tell Gunn there are at least two to deal with now.
Angel figures they should assume there are more but at least they have an advantage now.
Cordy wonders how the fact the slugs glow in the dark is considered an advantage unless they shut off all the lights -- She realizes that's exactly what Angel has in mind and isn't really convinced it's a good idea.
Angel tells her they're hard to kill, he impaled one and it was still strong enough to attack him and Lorne and get away.
As Angel gathers some flashlights, he says if this gives them an advantage in hunting them, they should take it.
Fred wonders if it's necessary to shut off all the lights.
Angel hands her a lantern and tells her to lock herself in the office, keep researching, they still need answers.
Gunn mutters sarcastically the fun just keeps on coming.
Angel is glad to hear Gunn is enjoying himself, pointing out somebody has to go downstairs and shut off the power as he hands Gunn a flashlight.
Gunn isn't fond of that idea.
Gunn heads for the fuse box as the others follow a discreet distance behind. He turns, startled by a screeching sound.
Angel takes a swipe at the source of the noise with a sword and notes it was just a rat.
Gunn is relieved to hear it. He flips the power switch, the hotel goes dark.
Fred continues her research in Wesley's office. She stops reading, sensing something.
A slug waits on the wall behind her.
As she turns, it lunges at her face and crawls into her mouth.
Angel, Lorne, Cordy and Groo continue hunting in an unused wing of the hotel. Cordy points out a noise that sounds like birds.
They follow the noise to one of the rooms.
Cordy asks if they have a key for the doors which are chained and padlocked.
Angel kicks the doors in.
Fred is sitting in the office, holding her head in her hands.
Gunn knocks and tells her to let him in.
She gets up and opens the door.
He enters the office, apologizing for taking so long to get back. He says he made a sweep first to be sure there weren't any creepy crawlers around. He notices she's upset and asks if she's okay.
Fred sits down, she tells him she's afraid.
He reassures her it will be okay, they just have to stay calm and watch out for each other. He thinks they should take a vacation after this is over, get some sun and sand.
Fred tells him "we have to get out of here."
Gunn tells her he'll talk to Angel about getting some time off after the current situation is dealt with.
Fred picks up the snowglobe from the desk, breaks the top off of it and drinks the water inside.
Gunn realizes she's infected.
Fred empties the globe then tells Gunn, "We're thirsty."
Angel and the others continue hunting the source of the noise in the room which is a large, dining type area filled with old tables and chairs.
Lorne appreciates the decor. He wonders if Angel ever considered turning it into a nightclub. He explains he was just missing the life for a moment.
Gunn arrives with Fred who's downing bottled water. Gunn tells the others they have a problem.
Angel helps Fred sit down and asks if she can hear him.
Gunn says it's no use, he couldn't reach her.
Fred looks at Angel and calls him by name. She tells him she can feel it. She drinks more water from the bottle.
Gunn tells her they'll get her to a hospital.
Fred tells him no, that's what it wants. It wants to escape and spread, they can't let it. It will kill. She looks at Angel and tells him it really doesn't like him.
He answers the feeling is mutual.
Gunn assists her to her feet, intending to get her some help.
Angel doesn't think taking her out of the hotel is wise considering what Fred just said.
Gunn says he can't be sure it's Fred talking and not the thing inside of her.
Angel asks Gunn how he thinks Fred would feel if his taking her out of the hotel causes more deaths.
Gunn wonders if Angel is talking about Fred or himself, pointing out the situation is all Angel's fault because he did the spell.
Angel says he did what he had to do.
Gunn angrily responds Angel did what he wanted to get what he wanted and damn the consequences.
Angel starts to answer in his defense, "My son--"
Gunn cuts him off and finishes that thought with "is dead" but points out that Fred isn't - yet.
Cordelia intercedes and reminds them they all need to work together.
Groo discovers the source of the noise beneath the floor. He chops at the floor with the ax. The others join in, breaking through.
They all peer through the newly made opening in the floor to see a pool of translucent, writhing slugs below.
Cordelia is surprised to see they have a pool.
As the slugs start coming up through the hole in the floor, Angel tells everyone to run.
They end up in the kitchen, surrounded by slugs outside the doors.
Fred complains she's too hot from all the running.
Angel gets an idea from that and tells the others to turn on the ovens.
Gunn wonders what that's about.
As he lights the grills, Angel explains they'll heat up the air, dry it out. He figures that will keep the slugs outside the door from coming inside.
Fred screams, having just noticed Gunn is missing.
At W&H, Lilah is in her office with a couple of W&H commandoes. She finishes up a phone conversation making arrangements for the SWAT team and the shaman exterminator to be ready. She says the cleanup crew will arrive shortly and tells the party at the other end of the line to wait for her go ahead, she's leaving the office now.
Gavin comes into the office and asks what's going on.
She says she's made arrangements to clean out Angel's hotel. She wants to handle the problem before Linwood finds out.
Gavin smugly announces it's too late for that but wishes her luck.
Lilah instructs the commandoes to leave the office. She wants to have a word with Gavin.
She reminds Gavin he told her Linwood couldn't be contacted.
He says that's true, except for the emergency cell phone number. He asks if Linwood gave her that number.
Lilah tells him to enjoy playing his games, she has a job to do.
As she heads for the door, Gavin says he wouldn't question her loyalty, but he wonders if this is really what Linwood would want. Would he want her to save Angel?
Lilah wants to know what he's getting at.
Gavin points out after everything Angel did to Linwood, it's understandable he'd have some issues with Angel.
Lilah demands to know what Linwood told Gavin.
He says Linwood wants them all to die.
Lilah thinks maybe Linwood has some guts after all.
Gavin adds he also said something about Lilah overstepping her bounds and the costs for the operations coming out of her salary, he no longer trusts her and he'd deal with her when he returned.
Gunn pounds on Wesley's door.
Wes opens it.
Gunn tells him he needs his help.
In the hotel kitchen, Fred continues greedily drinking water.
Groo tells Angel there are too many slugs to deal with, they can't fight their way out.
Angel agrees with that.
He walks over to Fred, pulls her to her feet and takes the water bottle away from her. He wants to talk to what's inside of her. He wants to know what it is. He tells Fred to help him out, make it answer his questions. He wants to know what it wants.
The thing inside of Fred answers the question, telling Angel they want to live, to escape because "it hurts us."
Everyone looks up to the sound of creaking overhead. The pipes rattle as the slugs attempt entry.
Fred says they have to escape, "it brings pain."
Lorne is confused by the "it", "we" stuff.
Angel asks what they're trying to escape from.
Fred answers, "The bringer of torment, agony, death. The Destroyer."
Cordelia doesn't think that sounds encouraging.
Angel asks why the Destroyer is after it.
Fred answers it's not, it's after him, indicating Angel..
At Wesley's, Gunn says he doesn't have time to go into all the details, he doesn't even want to be there, but the hotel is infested with slug-like things. They don't know what they are or how to kill them. He explains there are hundreds of them, they get inside of a body and drain it of all its moisture.
A raspy voiced Wes wonders why Gunn has come to him. He curtly offers Angel will eventually figure it out.
Gunn wants to know how to force the slugs out of someone who's been infected.
Wesley says he can't help, Gunn wasted his time in coming.
Gunn tells him Fred's been attacked.
Wes thinks on that a moment, then takes a bottle of vodka out of the cabinet.
Gunn wonders if Wesley was even listening to him.
An embittered Wes reminds Gunn of what he's been through; throat slashed, left for dead. He says what kept him alive was the thought of seeing his friends again.
Gunn says he doesn't have time for this.
Wes continues anyway, saying he wanted to see his friends again, to have the chance to tell the people he "loved and trusted" his side of the story.
Gunn starts to say they know all that.
Wes cuts him off, telling him he doesn't know anything. He tosses him the bottle of booze and says he'll help because it's Fred. He tells Gunn he doesn't want any of them to ever come to his place again.
In the hotel kitchen, Angel continues trying to get answers from the slug inside of Fred.
She demands water.
He takes it away from her, telling her he wants to know where they come from. He pours the water out onto the floor.
She screams and beats on him. She tells him he's going to die horribly.
Fred regains control of herself and asks Angel to help her as her skin cracks.
Angel tells Lorne to take Fred, then instructs Cordy and Groo to shut off the ovens.
Cordelia asks what's going on.
Angel tells the others to get Fred to the hospital.
Cordy thought they settled that already, not wanting the slug to have the chance to escape.
Angel says they don't have a choice anymore. Fred can be kept hydrated at the hospital, buying them some time to hopefully come up with a cure.
Groo says they're surrounded. He wonders how they are supposed to get through.
Angel tells him he'll handle it.
Cordy wonders how.
Angel says he'll give them what they want.
Angel tells Groo there's a damsel in distress, he knows what to do.
Groo picks Fred up and heads for the door along with Lorne and Cordelia.
Angel opens the door on the other side of the kitchen. As the slugs come streaming through, he tells the others to exit through the back way.
Lorne opens the other door, more slugs come through from the hallway outside the door, but they are able to walk through them without being attacked.
Instead of exiting, Cordelia returns to the kitchen.
Groo takes a moment to notice that, then carries Fred on out.
Gunn enters as Groo and Lorne get to the lobby. He tells Groo to put Fred down.
Groo thinks she needs a doctor.
Gunn assures him he knows what to do. He tells the others to hold Fred down as he tries to get her to drink the vodka.
She starts to drink, realizes what it is and shoves it away.
In the kitchen, Angel and Cordelia are hacking at slugs. One lunges at Cordy who catches it midair.
In the lobby, Gunn forces more alcohol into Fred.
She chokes and spits out the slug which is then killed by Groo.
In the kitchen, Cordelia begins to glow bright white. She wonders what's happening as the light gets brighter. The light fills the hotel, becoming so bright, nothing can be seen.
The bright light goes out, the hotel lights come back on, the slugs are gone.
Lorne wonders what just happened.
Angel answers it was Cordelia as the two of them join the others in the lobby.
Groo and Cordelia hug. She figures this power is better than growing horns and a tail.
Lorne takes exception to that.
Gunn lays Fred down on the couch.
Angel asks if she's okay.
Gunn says he got an idea that alcohol dehydrates, that might force the slug out.
Angel just looks at him.
Gunn admits he took off when the slugs started coming in through the hole in the floor, but says he wasn't abandoning them. Someone he cared about was going to die, he didn't have time for arguments, he did what he had to do. He figures Angel can understand that.
Lorne wonders if everyone has forgotten there's still the matter of the Destroyer's arrival to deal with.
Fred sits up, remembering the Destroyer is coming.
Cordelia wonders if Fred might have an idea of when.
Fred thinks that arrival is imminent.
Flashes of light and electrical discharges fill the air, depositing a large, nasty looking demon in the lobby. Its arrival is followed by more light and electricity.
A young man arrives the same way the demon did and quickly kills it. He points a stake firing weapon toward Angel and greets him with, "Hi, dad."
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S3/EPISODE 19
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| Written by: David Fury | Original Air Date: April 29, 2002 |
Angel runs his hand along a deep crack in the wall as he and the others work on redoing his room, repairing the earthquake damage. Groo reminds him they've fought side by side, he hopes that means his advice would merit consideration. He has something to say.
Angel is willing to listen.
Groo points out that "Pomegranate Mist" really isn't the right color for the room.
Angel thinks on that a minute, then asks what that's about.
Fred says she was just thinking, and Groo agreed, that since they're repainting the room, maybe it would be a good idea to change things a bit.
Angel sarcastically asks if Groo agreed with this.
Cordelia tells him not to mock Groo, "he actually has good color sense."
Groo shows Angel a sheet of color swatches and suggests "Sunlight Splendor" is a color more befitting a champion. He points to another and suggests perhaps "Purpla" would be more to Angel's liking.
Angel informs him it's pronounced "purple" and wonders why he has problems with that but has no trouble with "pomegranate."
Groo answers that was his mother's name.
Angel ponders the odds of that.
Gunn picks up a piece of furniture, burned beyond recognition, and heads for the door.
Angel asks where he's going with it.
Gunn answers that he was going to throw it out.
Angel says it's an antique.
Gunn notes it's burnt to a crisp.
Angel takes it from him and tells him it's not going to be thrown out and he wants the room repainted the same color it was. He tells the others he appreciates their help, he just wants everything back to the way it was or as close as possible.
Cordelia suggests it will never be the same, unless they fork over the money for professionals, the cracks are always going to be there.
Angel isn't bothered by that.
She figures he's used to the look given his fondness for living in "rotted out mansions."
Angel picks up a musical snowglobe. He winds it up and watches as the faux snow swirls inside. He wonders why he bought it, realizing he probably thought Connor would like to look at snow, noting it never snows in southern California.
Cordelia reminds him it did once.
After a moment, Angel says they shouldn't be wasting time fixing his room when they have work to do.
Gunn asks what work.
Angel says they're neglecting their cases.
Fred points out they don't have any cases, they haven't had a call in over a week.
That comes as a surprise to Angel who thinks he should go downstairs in case somebody comes in off the street looking for help since that happens sometimes. He heads for the lobby.
Cordelia doesn't think it's likely they'll get any walk-ins on a Sunday.
A guy enters the empty lobby, calls out, wondering if anyone is there. He notices the faded pentagram on the lobby floor, approaches the desk and again calls out.
A translucent slug-like thing moves across the desk behind him and onto the floor. He figures he isn't going to get any help there to find his lost dog.
As he turns to leave the slug lunges at his face, entering his body through his mouth.
Angel comes downstairs and asks if he can help the guy.
The man turns to him and asks what that was.
Angel introduces himself and asks the guy's name.
He pauses, not answering.
Angel tells him not to be embarrassed, whatever he needs, they're there to help.
The guy says, "we have to leave" and heads for the door.
Angel wonders what's wrong. He notices the faded pentagram on the floor and thinks that's what's scared the guy off. He tries to explain that was from a previous case, he's prepared to give the guy his full attention.
The door closes as the potential client exits the hotel.
Angel stares at the pentagram stain on the floor as Cordelia comes downstairs. He wonders if they can do something to remove it since it scared off a potential client. He says the guy barely said two words before running out.
Cordelia notes that some people don't like to talk much. She says Angel never told her exactly what happened while she was away.
He tells her she knows what happened.
She answers she's looking for specifics; why the pentagram is on the lobby floor, what dark magick Angel had done.
Angel walks into the office and sits the snowglobe down on the desk..
Cordelia follows him in, saying she knows he'd prefer not to discuss it but he can't expect to mess with black magicks and just walk away from it.
Angel points out it didn't work, it was a waste of time.
Cordelia presses to know what kind of spell it was, reminding Angel there are usually consequences for doing that sort of thing. She thinks it would be helpful to have all the information considering the person who used to know that stuff isn't around anymore.
Angel gives her a stern look in response.
She says she's not going to get into that, she just knows that avoiding things doesn't solve anything. Things they've done in the past have come back to bite them before.
Angel acknowledges he wasn't thinking clearly for awhile with the blood he drinks having been spiked with Connor's and dealing with the rage over the fact his trusted friend had stolen his son. He sits down and collects himself.
Cordelia asks why he didn't call her.
He says he didn't want to ruin her vacation, he thought one of them should have some happiness.
Cordelia thinks she could have helped.
Angel doesn't believe there's anything she could have done.
She wants to know how he can be so sure, pointing out she has a direct line to The Powers, she might have been able to get a vision or something to warn them. She reminds him she's also part demon now so maybe she has some as yet unrealized power that could have helped them find Connor before it was too late. She thinks she should have been there.
Angel tells her she always is, it's just that he's trying to follow her suggestion of moving on, trying to focus on other people's problems for a while. He hopes she understands that.
She says she does but she wants him to call her next time.
He agrees then asks her to find him a case to work on.
The guy who was seeking help at the hotel earlier is in a juice bar, guzzling smoothies two at a time. His skin has turned gray and has large cracks in it, like weather-worn cement. He tells the help to get him some more.
One of the employees points out he's been in the juice bar for nearly six hours. Another mentions he's had "about 100 peach smoothies." He doesn't think the customer is well, pointing out he's been drinking all that liquid and hasn't even taken one trip to the restroom.
The guy pulls out a credit card and demands to be served. When he's informed they don't take credit cards, he frantically demands water.
The manager threatens to call the police if he doesn't leave.
The customer grabs him and yanks him over the counter, throwing him across the bar. He looks at the remaining employee behind the counter and yells, "We're thirsty!!"
The employee rushes to meet his demand.
At Wolfram & Hart, Gavin approaches Lilah who isn't particularly thrilled to see him. He says he's heard she's made progress with Angel.
She doesn't know what he's talking about.
He wonders if she's heard the news that Angel tried to kill Wesley at the hospital.
Lilah caustically notes that perhaps his next news flash will involve the invention of fire.
Gavin says he was just offering a compliment.
Lilah isn't buying it.
Gavin thinks that Angel's trying to kill a human brings him closer to his dark side, and W&H.
Lilah reminds him of the wine cellar slaughter last year ("Reunion"). Angel has killed humans before.
Gavin points out they were lawyers. He thinks the fact Angel tried to suffocate one of his closest friends means they're making progress.
Lilah offers perhaps they could make more progress if they got Angel and Wesley together again, see what happened.
Gavin thinks that it might help Lilah make up to W&H for losing Connor.
Lilah informs him she's one step ahead. Angel tried to kill Wes, kidnapped and tried to torture Linwood and dabbled in dark magicks, all on her watch.
Gavin offers his congratulations.
She thanks him for that, then asks if they can drop the pretense.
He agrees.
They go their separate ways.
Fred and Gunn watch from the lobby as Angel sits at Wesley's desk, working. Fred notes it looks strange seeing Angel there instead of Wes.
Gunn says it was Angel's when he [Gunn] came to work there. It seems right to him that it's Angel's again.
Fred thinks since things have cooled down a bit, perhaps it's time to try to get them to work things out. She concedes Angel doesn't have to forgive Wes.
Gunn is glad she concedes that point because he doesn't figure it's going to happen.
Fred agrees with that, and doesn't think he should, necessarily, she just wants there to be a way to come back from all that's happened.
Gunn offers that's unlikely unless Wesley returns with Connor in his arms. He thinks even if he did, Angel would probably kill him anyway.
Fred wonders if he really believes that.
Gunn thinks it's best if they not mention Wesley's name again.
Cordy and Groo work on scrubbing the lobby floor, trying to remove what's left of the pentagram. Cordy figures it's time to give up and get a throw rug to hide it.
Groo leaves to dump the water bucket.
Fred approaches Cordelia who watches Groo leave, smiles and tells Fred he's "loyal and loving, like a puppy dog."
Fred tries to say something but Cordy cuts her off, going on about Groo being a puppy, a "sexy, well built, go-all-night puppy dog". She realizes how that sounded.
Fred again starts to say something.
Cordelia cuts her off, telling her she knows Fred wants her to talk to Angel about Wesley but she won't do it.
Fred wants to know why she's refusing to do it, pointing out she's known both Angel and Wes longer than anyone else there. She figures Angel would listen to her.
Cordy tells her he wouldn't want to hear it and she's not going to burden him with it.
Fred says she knows Cordy cares about Wesley, she imagines he's dealing with his own pain right now and feeling horrible.
Cordy tells her Angel's feelings are what matter to her, he's her priority.
Groo returns in time to hear that comment, listens to a bit more, then leaves.
Cordelia goes on, telling Fred she became part demon for Angel and she doesn't even know what that means yet aside from occasional floating and seizureless visions. She likes the painless vision thing but concedes sometimes it's hard to tell when she's having one.
She sees an image of Angel being thrown across the lobby. She calls his name.
Angel is standing behind the desk. He asks what's going on.
Lorne enters and tells the others there's a melee at the juice bar across the street, some guy is making trouble.
At the juice bar, the guy grabs one of the employees who tries to hand him the key to the safe. He gets thrown to the floor.
The gang walk in as the guy grabs the blender from its stand and drinks directly from it.
Cordelia is trying to tell Angel about her vision.
He asks her if they can deal with it later, he's working now.
The employee runs past them on his way out the door, saying the guy has "Ebola or something."
Angel approaches the guy as he's guzzling from the blender.
The guy turns, Angel recognizes him as the guy who stopped by the hotel earlier.
Gunn says Angel neglected to mention the guy was a mummy, noting the gray, desiccated, cracked skin.
Angel says he didn't look like that earlier.
Fred finds the guy's wallet and identifies him from his driver's license as Phillp J. Spivey.
Angel addresses him by name and approaches cautiously, asking if he remembers him from the hotel. He suggests Spivey accompany them back to the office and they'll try to figure out what's going on. Angel asks if he agrees with that.
Spivey shouts, "We're thirsty!" then tries to bash Angel with the base of the blender.
Angel knocks him out, happy to have a case to work on.
The gang arrive back at the hotel. Angel directs Groo to lay an unconscious Spivey down on the couch.
Fred notices the guy's face is looking even worse.
Angel asks her if they have any water in the refrigerator.
She thinks they have a few bottles.
He tells her they'll need them.
Angel notes the guy kept saying "we."
Cordy figures the guy is just pretentious. She wants to talk about the vision.
Angel tells her it can wait.
She doesn't think so, pointing out she gets visions of people in danger and this time it was him.
Angel doesn't think that's exactly new. He'd rather focus on someone else's problem right now. He'd prefer to help Mr. Spivey who came to them earlier in the day looking for help. He tells Cordy it's not about him, it has nothing to do with him.
Spivey comes to, stands, points at Angel and tells him it's all happening because of him, it's all Angel's fault. He falls to the floor, his body disintegrates into a pile of dust.
Angel says he was trying to help the guy, he doesn't understand why he said this was all Angel's fault.
Lorne points to the dust pile and says it wasn't the guy who said it, it was "that" as the slug exits the dust pile and skitters across the lobby floor.
Cordelia jumps out of its way as Lorne helps her up to sit on top of the desk.
Groo notes it looks like something he'd dealt with in Pylea.
Gunn wants to know what it was.
Angel doesn't know what it is or what it has to do with him.
Cordelia points out Spivey dropped dead in the center of the pentagram.
Angel hands out weapons from the cabinet as Groo and Cordy return. Cordelia tells him they've shut the hotel down tight.
Angel figures that will keep the infestation in the hotel as he hands her a sword.
Groo chooses a battle ax from the cabinet.
Angel thinks it's too big for their purposes.
Groo responds he hasn't had any complaints.
Angel instructs Groo and Cordy to start at the third floor and work their way down.
Lorne wonders how they know chopping up the slug is going to be effective.
Angel acknowledges they don't, which is why Fred will be doing research on the subject.
Fred, who is busy cleaning up Spivey's remains with a Dustbuster, is surprised to hear that, saying she doesn't even know where to start looking.
Angel suggests "thaumogenesis". In response to Fred's puzzled expression, he explains it's "creatures manifested as a byproduct of using dark magick."
Gunn says he'll stay behind with Fred.
Angel warns him to keep a close watch, the slug is hard to see.
Cordelia points out that it extracted every bit of moisture from Spivey's body. She thinks they should wait to see what information Fred's research turns up before going after it.
Angel points out the longer they wait, the greater the chance it will find a way out of the hotel and attack others. He's not going to let that happen.
Angel and the gang go on a slug hunt.
As Angel and Lorne check out one of the hallways, Angel tells Lorne he doesn't want to hear it.
Lorne responds that he wasn't going to say anything.
Angel would prefer if he kept it that way.
Lorne asks if he was wrong.
Angel knows it's his mess, he's cleaning it up. He doesn't know what more Lorne wants.
Lorne reminds him he did try to warn him there was a price for messing with dark magicks.
Angel knows this but the question is whether or not the price is worth paying.
Lorne wonders if it was.
Angel says the spell was for nothing, he didn't get Connor back, now he's gone forever. He'd do it again because it was his only chance and Connor was his son.
They stop when they hear a slurping sound. They follow the sound into one of the rooms.
Angel opens the door to the bathroom where the slug is drinking out of the toilet tank. It screeches and runs past Lorne and Angel.
Lorne raises his sword to whack it and hits the light bulb overhead, breaking it.
Angel notices the slug glows in the dark and throws a dagger at it, impaling it.
As Lorne and Angel move in for a closer look, the slug stops moving. Lorne figures that wasn't so tough.
The slug suddenly moves and dashes off.
Fred is in Wesley's office, poring over books. She's frustrated, saying she hates this.
Gunn agrees with that, thinking she's talking about the slug.
She clarifies she was referring to the research. She says it's all over her head, filled with words she doesn't understand. She's comfortable with matters of physics but this subject isn't something she's versed in. She thinks Angel needs to accept someone else is more qualified for this work than she is.
Gunn reminds her that "someone else" isn't there anymore, she's going to have to get familiar with the material.
Fred's afraid she won't be able to find anything to help them.
Gunn assures her they'll manage. He thinks they can handle one slug.
Out in the lobby, a small flash of light and an electrical discharge accompany the arrival of two more slugs as they drop onto the lobby floor and skitter off in opposite directions.
In her office, Lilah receives a confidential email, requiring a password to de-encrypt. She opens a secret panel and removes a small box. She enters a code, opens the box and takes a smaller box out of it.
She opens that box and retrieves its occupant, a tarantula.
Lilah places the spider on her computer keyboard. As it crawls across the keys, the password is entered, the email is de-encrypted.
She reads a reference to "thaumogenesis" in the email.
Gavin enters and asks if she got the correspondence. She assumes he's referring to the one marked "confidential" that requires a "magic bug to open" and that Gavin shouldn't even know about.
Gavin attributes his knowledge of it to a server glitch. He tells Lilah the psychics say Angel's hotel is hosting some uninvited guests.
Lilah wonders why she's supposed to care about this.
Gavin points out what's going on is a result of the spell that Lilah helped Angel perform.
Lilah notes actions have consequences. Angel was aware of it.
Gavin is happy she sees it that way.
She wonders what his point is.
Gavin figures whatever is in the Hyperion must be pretty dangerous considering Angel locked down the hotel and barricaded everyone inside to keep the visitors from escaping.
Lilah smiles, thinking perhaps she'll get lucky and whatever is in the hotel will kill him. She suddenly realizes that may not be a good thing.
Gavin wonders if she thinks the Senior Partners would be pleased if Angel died as a result of a spell she helped him cast. He points out that with Linwood out of town on vacation and unreachable, Lilah has a dilemma on her hands. He cheerfully bids her farewell and heads out of the office.
Lilah asks him if she's supposed to go in and help Angel.
Gavin assures her he has no idea what she's talking about.
Cordy and Groo walk down a hallway at the hotel. She knows this is bothering Angel.
Groo asks if she's having a vision.
She says no, she was talking about the spell Angel performed to find Connor causing a man's death.
Groo repeats what he heard her say earlier about Angel being her priority.
She asks him what he's talking about.
He tells her he heard her say Angel's feelings were all she cared about, he was all that mattered.
Cordelia stops him and explains she was referring to her "work priority". She says Groo is her "other stuff" priority. She wants to know he understands that.
Groo says nothing, then slowly raises the battle ax he's carrying.
Cordy thinks they can talk about this.
He tells her not to move as a slug crawls down the wall behind her.
Cordy turns and hacks at it with the sword, missing it. The slug disappears into the wall mail slot.
Groo and Cordy run into Lorne and Angel. They realize there is now more than one slug in the hotel.
In the office, the others tell Gunn there are at least two to deal with now.
Angel figures they should assume there are more but at least they have an advantage now.
Cordy wonders how the fact the slugs glow in the dark is considered an advantage unless they shut off all the lights -- She realizes that's exactly what Angel has in mind and isn't really convinced it's a good idea.
Angel tells her they're hard to kill, he impaled one and it was still strong enough to attack him and Lorne and get away.
As Angel gathers some flashlights, he says if this gives them an advantage in hunting them, they should take it.
Fred wonders if it's necessary to shut off all the lights.
Angel hands her a lantern and tells her to lock herself in the office, keep researching, they still need answers.
Gunn mutters sarcastically the fun just keeps on coming.
Angel is glad to hear Gunn is enjoying himself, pointing out somebody has to go downstairs and shut off the power as he hands Gunn a flashlight.
Gunn isn't fond of that idea.
Gunn heads for the fuse box as the others follow a discreet distance behind. He turns, startled by a screeching sound.
Angel takes a swipe at the source of the noise with a sword and notes it was just a rat.
Gunn is relieved to hear it. He flips the power switch, the hotel goes dark.
Fred continues her research in Wesley's office. She stops reading, sensing something.
A slug waits on the wall behind her.
As she turns, it lunges at her face and crawls into her mouth.
Angel, Lorne, Cordy and Groo continue hunting in an unused wing of the hotel. Cordy points out a noise that sounds like birds.
They follow the noise to one of the rooms.
Cordy asks if they have a key for the doors which are chained and padlocked.
Angel kicks the doors in.
Fred is sitting in the office, holding her head in her hands.
Gunn knocks and tells her to let him in.
She gets up and opens the door.
He enters the office, apologizing for taking so long to get back. He says he made a sweep first to be sure there weren't any creepy crawlers around. He notices she's upset and asks if she's okay.
Fred sits down, she tells him she's afraid.
He reassures her it will be okay, they just have to stay calm and watch out for each other. He thinks they should take a vacation after this is over, get some sun and sand.
Fred tells him "we have to get out of here."
Gunn tells her he'll talk to Angel about getting some time off after the current situation is dealt with.
Fred picks up the snowglobe from the desk, breaks the top off of it and drinks the water inside.
Gunn realizes she's infected.
Fred empties the globe then tells Gunn, "We're thirsty."
Angel and the others continue hunting the source of the noise in the room which is a large, dining type area filled with old tables and chairs.
Lorne appreciates the decor. He wonders if Angel ever considered turning it into a nightclub. He explains he was just missing the life for a moment.
Gunn arrives with Fred who's downing bottled water. Gunn tells the others they have a problem.
Angel helps Fred sit down and asks if she can hear him.
Gunn says it's no use, he couldn't reach her.
Fred looks at Angel and calls him by name. She tells him she can feel it. She drinks more water from the bottle.
Gunn tells her they'll get her to a hospital.
Fred tells him no, that's what it wants. It wants to escape and spread, they can't let it. It will kill. She looks at Angel and tells him it really doesn't like him.
He answers the feeling is mutual.
Gunn assists her to her feet, intending to get her some help.
Angel doesn't think taking her out of the hotel is wise considering what Fred just said.
Gunn says he can't be sure it's Fred talking and not the thing inside of her.
Angel asks Gunn how he thinks Fred would feel if his taking her out of the hotel causes more deaths.
Gunn wonders if Angel is talking about Fred or himself, pointing out the situation is all Angel's fault because he did the spell.
Angel says he did what he had to do.
Gunn angrily responds Angel did what he wanted to get what he wanted and damn the consequences.
Angel starts to answer in his defense, "My son--"
Gunn cuts him off and finishes that thought with "is dead" but points out that Fred isn't - yet.
Cordelia intercedes and reminds them they all need to work together.
Groo discovers the source of the noise beneath the floor. He chops at the floor with the ax. The others join in, breaking through.
They all peer through the newly made opening in the floor to see a pool of translucent, writhing slugs below.
Cordelia is surprised to see they have a pool.
As the slugs start coming up through the hole in the floor, Angel tells everyone to run.
They end up in the kitchen, surrounded by slugs outside the doors.
Fred complains she's too hot from all the running.
Angel gets an idea from that and tells the others to turn on the ovens.
Gunn wonders what that's about.
As he lights the grills, Angel explains they'll heat up the air, dry it out. He figures that will keep the slugs outside the door from coming inside.
Fred screams, having just noticed Gunn is missing.
At W&H, Lilah is in her office with a couple of W&H commandoes. She finishes up a phone conversation making arrangements for the SWAT team and the shaman exterminator to be ready. She says the cleanup crew will arrive shortly and tells the party at the other end of the line to wait for her go ahead, she's leaving the office now.
Gavin comes into the office and asks what's going on.
She says she's made arrangements to clean out Angel's hotel. She wants to handle the problem before Linwood finds out.
Gavin smugly announces it's too late for that but wishes her luck.
Lilah instructs the commandoes to leave the office. She wants to have a word with Gavin.
She reminds Gavin he told her Linwood couldn't be contacted.
He says that's true, except for the emergency cell phone number. He asks if Linwood gave her that number.
Lilah tells him to enjoy playing his games, she has a job to do.
As she heads for the door, Gavin says he wouldn't question her loyalty, but he wonders if this is really what Linwood would want. Would he want her to save Angel?
Lilah wants to know what he's getting at.
Gavin points out after everything Angel did to Linwood, it's understandable he'd have some issues with Angel.
Lilah demands to know what Linwood told Gavin.
He says Linwood wants them all to die.
Lilah thinks maybe Linwood has some guts after all.
Gavin adds he also said something about Lilah overstepping her bounds and the costs for the operations coming out of her salary, he no longer trusts her and he'd deal with her when he returned.
Gunn pounds on Wesley's door.
Wes opens it.
Gunn tells him he needs his help.
In the hotel kitchen, Fred continues greedily drinking water.
Groo tells Angel there are too many slugs to deal with, they can't fight their way out.
Angel agrees with that.
He walks over to Fred, pulls her to her feet and takes the water bottle away from her. He wants to talk to what's inside of her. He wants to know what it is. He tells Fred to help him out, make it answer his questions. He wants to know what it wants.
The thing inside of Fred answers the question, telling Angel they want to live, to escape because "it hurts us."
Everyone looks up to the sound of creaking overhead. The pipes rattle as the slugs attempt entry.
Fred says they have to escape, "it brings pain."
Lorne is confused by the "it", "we" stuff.
Angel asks what they're trying to escape from.
Fred answers, "The bringer of torment, agony, death. The Destroyer."
Cordelia doesn't think that sounds encouraging.
Angel asks why the Destroyer is after it.
Fred answers it's not, it's after him, indicating Angel..
At Wesley's, Gunn says he doesn't have time to go into all the details, he doesn't even want to be there, but the hotel is infested with slug-like things. They don't know what they are or how to kill them. He explains there are hundreds of them, they get inside of a body and drain it of all its moisture.
A raspy voiced Wes wonders why Gunn has come to him. He curtly offers Angel will eventually figure it out.
Gunn wants to know how to force the slugs out of someone who's been infected.
Wesley says he can't help, Gunn wasted his time in coming.
Gunn tells him Fred's been attacked.
Wes thinks on that a moment, then takes a bottle of vodka out of the cabinet.
Gunn wonders if Wesley was even listening to him.
An embittered Wes reminds Gunn of what he's been through; throat slashed, left for dead. He says what kept him alive was the thought of seeing his friends again.
Gunn says he doesn't have time for this.
Wes continues anyway, saying he wanted to see his friends again, to have the chance to tell the people he "loved and trusted" his side of the story.
Gunn starts to say they know all that.
Wes cuts him off, telling him he doesn't know anything. He tosses him the bottle of booze and says he'll help because it's Fred. He tells Gunn he doesn't want any of them to ever come to his place again.
In the hotel kitchen, Angel continues trying to get answers from the slug inside of Fred.
She demands water.
He takes it away from her, telling her he wants to know where they come from. He pours the water out onto the floor.
She screams and beats on him. She tells him he's going to die horribly.
Fred regains control of herself and asks Angel to help her as her skin cracks.
Angel tells Lorne to take Fred, then instructs Cordy and Groo to shut off the ovens.
Cordelia asks what's going on.
Angel tells the others to get Fred to the hospital.
Cordy thought they settled that already, not wanting the slug to have the chance to escape.
Angel says they don't have a choice anymore. Fred can be kept hydrated at the hospital, buying them some time to hopefully come up with a cure.
Groo says they're surrounded. He wonders how they are supposed to get through.
Angel tells him he'll handle it.
Cordy wonders how.
Angel says he'll give them what they want.
Angel tells Groo there's a damsel in distress, he knows what to do.
Groo picks Fred up and heads for the door along with Lorne and Cordelia.
Angel opens the door on the other side of the kitchen. As the slugs come streaming through, he tells the others to exit through the back way.
Lorne opens the other door, more slugs come through from the hallway outside the door, but they are able to walk through them without being attacked.
Instead of exiting, Cordelia returns to the kitchen.
Groo takes a moment to notice that, then carries Fred on out.
Gunn enters as Groo and Lorne get to the lobby. He tells Groo to put Fred down.
Groo thinks she needs a doctor.
Gunn assures him he knows what to do. He tells the others to hold Fred down as he tries to get her to drink the vodka.
She starts to drink, realizes what it is and shoves it away.
In the kitchen, Angel and Cordelia are hacking at slugs. One lunges at Cordy who catches it midair.
In the lobby, Gunn forces more alcohol into Fred.
She chokes and spits out the slug which is then killed by Groo.
In the kitchen, Cordelia begins to glow bright white. She wonders what's happening as the light gets brighter. The light fills the hotel, becoming so bright, nothing can be seen.
The bright light goes out, the hotel lights come back on, the slugs are gone.
Lorne wonders what just happened.
Angel answers it was Cordelia as the two of them join the others in the lobby.
Groo and Cordelia hug. She figures this power is better than growing horns and a tail.
Lorne takes exception to that.
Gunn lays Fred down on the couch.
Angel asks if she's okay.
Gunn says he got an idea that alcohol dehydrates, that might force the slug out.
Angel just looks at him.
Gunn admits he took off when the slugs started coming in through the hole in the floor, but says he wasn't abandoning them. Someone he cared about was going to die, he didn't have time for arguments, he did what he had to do. He figures Angel can understand that.
Lorne wonders if everyone has forgotten there's still the matter of the Destroyer's arrival to deal with.
Fred sits up, remembering the Destroyer is coming.
Cordelia wonders if Fred might have an idea of when.
Fred thinks that arrival is imminent.
Flashes of light and electrical discharges fill the air, depositing a large, nasty looking demon in the lobby. Its arrival is followed by more light and electricity.
A young man arrives the same way the demon did and quickly kills it. He points a stake firing weapon toward Angel and greets him with, "Hi, dad."
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