"Ground State"
Gills Rock, Wisconsin 1985
A car pulls up to Thorpe's Academy. A young girl bundled in a red snowsuit, followed by her parents, exits the car and heads towards the building. They're met by Lydia Thorpe who welcomes Mr. and Mrs. Raiden to the Academy.
Mrs. Raiden thanks Ms. Thorpe "after all that we've been through."
Ms. Thorpe thanks her in return for the generous donation and assures them a portion of the money has been invested in accommodating their daughter Gwen's "special needs."
Mr. Raiden asks when they should return.
Ms. Thorpe tells him classes end in early June.
Mr. Raiden tells Gwen she's finally going to school.
Mrs. Raiden tells her to be good, they love her.
Mr. Raiden again thanks Lydia Thorpe then tells Gwen they'll see her in June.
Gwen doesn't look back at her parents as she walks toward Ms. Thorpe who introduces herself, telling Gwen she'll take her to class now, reminding her she must avoid contact with the other children. She's sure Gwen will learn the other rules soon enough. She turns to walk toward the school.
Gwen follows, pausing briefly to stop and turn back to look at her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Raiden get into their car.
Gwen turns back to Lydia and reaches out her mitten covered hand.
Ms. Thorpe slaps her hand away and tells her "no" as they walk up the driveway to the school.
The Academy students are enjoying recess on the playground. Gwen is sitting off by herself, her back against a tree. She removes a bulky mitten from one of her hands to get a better grasp of a toy she's holding.
A young boy stops by her and asks if she's a "freak".
She answers that she doesn't know.
He doesn't reckon she looks like one.
The bell sounds, summoning the children back to class. Ms. Thorpe calls to them to go back inside.
The boy hands Gwen the toy car he was playing with, telling her she can hold onto it if she wants.
As she reaches out to take it, Ms. Thorpe sees what's happening and yells Gwen's name, telling her no.
When Gwen's hand touches the boy's, he's zapped by a bolt of electricity that sends him flying. He lands on the ground, unconscious.
Ms. Thorpe rushes to his aid as a frightened Gwen looks on.
The toy car lies on the ground, a twisted, smoking pile of blackened metal.
Present day
At Cordelia's apartment, Angel is looking around. Fred asks if he smells anything.
He smells Cordelia, incense and some old candles. He also notes the scent of "lots and lots of lemons."
Fred admits she did a bit of cleaning so the landlord could show the apartment.
Angel says it looks nice, "nice and empty."
Angel can't believe it's been three months.
Fred tells him they kept up the rent on the apartment for the first couple of months but things got tight financially and they couldn't afford to keep paying the rent to have it sitting there, unoccupied.
Angel suddenly remembers Phantom Dennis. He asks if he knows where Cordelia might be.
Fred answers Dennis is just upset they haven't gotten her back.
Angel is sure they will.
Fred agrees but doesn't sound too convincing. She goes back to packing.
Angel wonders if they'd contacted Lorne to see if he could offer any help
Gunn says they tried as he unhooks the television set, causing a shower of sparks. He looks at Fred who tells him she's already packed up the band-aids.
Fred tells Angel they talked to Lorne twice and he's aware of the situation but hasn't come up with anything.
Fred points out a box on the table to Angel, saying it contains pictures and scrapbooks. It was on the table the night Cordelia disappeared. She says they didn't glean any clues from it but perhaps Angel can.
Angel asks about the police.
Gunn and Fred fill him in; abandoned car, empty apartment, no sign of violence, no travel plans. The police suggested they file a missing persons report.
Angel finds a couple of pictures in the box. One of him, Cordy and Wes, the other of him and Cordelia. He knows something major had to have happened to Cordelia that night. He knows why he wasn't able to make the meeting on the bluffs but can't understand what stopped her.
Fred notes that he was "banished to the ocean depths by your ungrateful snot of a son."
Angel gives her a look.
Gunn points out Fred is a little bitter.
Angel tells them he appreciates that they looked out for Connor in his absence. He thinks the kid is just confused and needs some time.
Fred thinks time and corporal punishment with a "large, heavy mallet" sounds like a good idea. She confirms Gunn's comment. She's a little bitter.
Fred notices some of the books she'd packed have been placed back on the fireplace mantle. She angrily reminds Dennis that Cordelia isn't coming back.
Gunn and Angel look at her.
She apologizes, she just meant Cordelia wasn't coming back to the apartment.
Angel tells her it's okay, they can store the stuff at the hotel.
Fred thinks a person should be able to count on things being where they left them. What happens when they come back and those things aren't there?
Angel looks at the picture of himself, Cordelia and Wes and answers, "You go find them."
Wes is in the midst of battling a demon. He shouts instructions to a guy working with him, Jones. The demon knocks Jones down, sending the battle-ax he's fighting with sliding across the floor.
Angel picks it up and asks if Wes needs a hand.
A battered Wes decapitates the demon and declines the offer. He finds a motel key, realizes who he's looking for is being held in the motel. He tosses the key to one of his men and sends them off to free the guy. He tells one of the men to "Report to base, have Diana close out the file" as they collect their equipment and leave.
Wes calls after one of the men to retrieve something from the back of his car.
Angel notes Wes is doing the demon fighting thing with his own team now.
Angel thanks him for finding him, helping him. He knows it wasn't easy.
Wes says nothing.
Angel tells him he had a lot of time to think about the way things went between them, the way things could have gone. As far as he's concerned things are okay with them.
Wesley just looks at him. One of his men returns with a metal case, leaves it and departs. Wes opens it and removes a folder. He hands it to Angel who asks what it is.
Wes tells him it's what he came for, all the information he has on Cordelia's disappearance.
Angel realizes Wes did his own investigating as he looks through the papers and photographs.
Wes offers matter-of-factly he doesn't think Cordelia is dead but he can't be sure. He doesn't think she's in this dimension anymore but where that trail led, he couldn't follow, no living thing could.
Angel looks at a woodcut illustration in the file of a demon noted as "Dinza". He asks who that is.
Wes explains she's "one of the Eleusian mysteries, a dark demi-goddess of the lost", only the dead can enter her realm and those who do are sometimes trapped forever.
Angel sarcastically notes the joyful sound of that.
Wesley says he located Dinza's lair, but of course couldn't enter it himself.
Angel reckons Dinza can tell him where Cordy is.
As Wes packs up his equipment, he tells Angel she'll only give him a clue where to look and warns him she's not trustworthy. He leaves.
Angel calls after him, wondering what he should do, bring her a gift? Offer a sacrifice? Bring an "unholy fruit basket"?
Wes has left the building.
Angel enters the sewer, looking for Dinza. The entrance disappears behind him.
A grayish hand, covered in decaying flesh, touches the back of his neck.
Angel spins around but sees nothing. A fluttering of wings is heard.
A female voice asks if he's lost.
The hand again touches the back of his neck, followed by a fluttering of wings.
He whirls around, again sees nothing. He warns the voice he's going to get seasick if she keeps this up.
Dinza perches in front of him. She's a gray colored demon, human in size and basic form. The look of her flesh is rotted. She has large wings that sprout from her back. A shroud covers her skeletal face. She figures if he were to get seasick, it would have happened long ago and wonders if he misses the sound of the waves.
Angel realizes she knows who he is.
She knows he was lost, she knows all lost things.
Angel finds that interesting and asks if she knows about "Atlantis, the Holy Grail or Jimmy Hoffa".
She tells him she knows about "lost love" as she reaches out to touch his chest.
He jumps back.
She flutters to a new position behind, and above, him.
He figures she knows what he's looking for.
Dinza says "she" is far from him and doesn't need him anymore.
Angel answers he needs her.
The cavern is filled with the sound of growling and whispers. Angel looks for the source of the noises.
Dinza tells him they think he should stay with them, she should keep him there. She laughs, noting she doesn't listen to the dead. She informs him the "Axis of Pythia" is nearby, what he seeks is inside of it, and only there.
Angel wants to know what the Axis is.
Dinza explains it's an ancient relic used to bridge dimensions. It can find what he has lost.
Angel wonders why he should trust her.
She disappears and reappears behind him, her hands on his throat. She spreads her wings and tells him she'd like to keep him but "you have so much more to lose." She laughs as she wraps her wings around him.
A grown up Gwen, dressed seductively in red leather pants and a short, tight, matching leather top strides into a club. She's also wearing black, opera length gloves.
As all the men's eyes follow her, she takes a seat opposite the man she's there to meet, Elliot. He looks at her wardrobe and comments he thought he suggested "discreet". He tells her she's late.
She counters he's trying to shaft her on the Axis deal, it's worth $33 million but he had told her it was worth $6 million.
Elliot responds that it's a mystical object with no real monetary value.
Gwen lets him know she's not buying any of it as she calls a waiter over.
Gwen places her drink order then tells Elliot to continue with what he was saying.
He starts to tell her about the appraisal he got on the Axis, she interrupts, pointing out it was well below the market value of the object. She tells that she steals on commission so that was equal to ripping her off by 80%. She reaches out toward his hand which he quickly retracts. She wonders if she looks like the type to work for bargain prices.
Elliot insists the street value of the Axis isn't relevant, he only wants it for his private collection and he remembers they had already settled on a price for her services.
Gwen reminds him again she works on "commission." She takes a folder laying on the table, fingers through it and notes it's the information she needs; the layout of the auction house, security systems, vents and the vault.
Elliot tells her she can deliver the goods to him at the penthouse of a private high rise downtown where she'll get the balance of what she's owed.
She informs him she expects it to be more than they originally agreed to.
He says she came highly recommended for her "talents" but he was expecting someone more professional.
She puts her hands under the table and slips off one of her gloves.
She gets up from the table, assuring him she's a professional and as such, doesn't like getting the shaft. She holds up his watch which she's removed from his wrist without his noticing.
He informs her it's a $12,000 watch as he reaches his hand out for it.
She closes her hand over the watch and zaps it, frying it to a melted, smoking pile of metal. She tosses it onto the table, thanks Elliot for the drink and leaves.
At the hotel, Fred is explaining to Angel and Gunn what she's learned about the "Axis of Pythia." She explains what it looks like, using a drawing she's made which doesn't really resemble anything recognizable.
Angel hands Gunn a sketch he's made himself of it, telling Gunn that might give him a better idea.
Gunn is impressed. Fred is annoyed. She asks if Angel just drew that.
He acknowledges he did, from an illustration in one of the books.
Fred goes back to her presentation, explaining the Axis possesses mystical qualities, including the ability to locate souls or entities across dimensions.
Angel holds up a sketch he's made of Cordelia, noting that's the entity they're looking for.
Fred is a little hurt his drawings are better than hers.
Gunn reassures Fred he likes her drawing of the "little ghost guy."
Fred blames her lack of ability on lack of sleep.
Gunn asks how they get the Axis.
Fred answers the relic is currently in a vault at Chandler's Auction House, a business known for dealing in the black market. She figures they're going to have strong security.
Angel isn't concerned about it, saying he beat the building plans out of an informant.
Fred reminds him that's only half the battle, knowing where the Axis is doesn't mean they'll be able to get to it.
She displays a list of security items protecting the auction house; surveillance cameras, electric gates, laser sensors, handprint recognition. Fred notes the list doesn't include the armed guards.
Gunn takes a drink of his coffee and wonders, since it's an auction house, why they can't just bid on the Axis.
Angel and Fred inform him it's worth $33 million.
Gunn chokes on that.
Fred says she'll continue working on a plan but so far what she's got involves "being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch."
Angel assures her no one is going to jail, he's done this sort of thing a million times. Angel looks around as Fred gives him an incredulous stare. He acknowledges he overstated, he's done it twice, but he promises he's good at it.
Gunn wonders if he's including the "Shroud of Rahmon" in that "twice", reminding Angel that didn't go so well.
Angel answers this is the way to find Cordelia so this is what they have to do.
Fred offers to keep working on a plan as she collects the materials relevant to the auction house and heads upstairs.
Angel shouts after her that he's really strong, if that helps.
Fred tells him she'll remember that.
Gunn looks after her, proud of her.
Angel is impressed with the way Fred has taken charge of things in his absence, reminds him of Cordelia.
Gunn asks what happens if they use the Axis to find Cordy.
Angel answers they do whatever they have to do to get her back.
Gunn asks what they're going to need for the mission as he prepares to write down the answer.
As Angel lists the items they'll need; rappelling hooks, flashlights, aerosols, Gwen is at her place, already packing up all of these items, ready to make her own use of them. She takes a moment to check her make-up, adds some lipstick and heads out.
Wes shoves Lilah against the wall at his place, nuzzling her neck.
She purrs she can't stay, she has a big meeting to get to, clients, being the new boss --
Wes continues kissing her, telling her he isn't interested in that.
She shoves him backward, onto the desk and starts unbuttoning his shirt. She just wants him to know why she's "going first tonight".
He tells her only if he lets her go.
She asks if he means like he let his "little slave girl" go.
Wes figured she'd hear about that
Lilah thinks Justine probably heard a few things too as she nibbles on Wes's ear.
He turns her to the desk and changes positions with her, her on the desk, him on top, as he tells her Justine called Lilah "impossibly loud."
Lilah says Wes was lying, pretending not to know what had happened to Angel or to care, as she continues undressing Wesley.
He says he had to raise Angel, he's necessary.
Lilah wraps his belt around the back of his neck and pulls him down toward her. She wonders why that is.
Wes answers, to fight people like her.
They roll off of the desk, onto the floor, landing with Lilah on top. She figures things may have worked out for the best since the first thing Angel did upon his return was throw Connor out. She sees possibilities there. The kid is without friends, hasn't got a home, he'll need someone to confide in. Perhaps she can offer a sisterly presence, or a "Mrs. Robinson" kind of thing if he's into that.
Wes rolls her over, swapping positions with her.
She thinks Wes likes "bad girls."
He says he doesn't need to hear her plans.
She figures just knowing she has them is enough of a turn on for him.
He tells her to "shut up."
She suggests he make her as he takes her up on that, making her gasp and smile as he moves down and disappears out of frame.
Gwen climbs up onto the roof of the auction house. She finds an electrical panel and cuts the wiring, disabling the security cameras. She heads inside.
Angel, Gunn and Fred climb a fence outside of the auction house. Gunn breathes heavily from the exertion, noting that Batman makes it look easy. They all make it to the other side of the fence.
Angel seeks out the electrical box, rips off the cover, examines the wiring a bit then settles on pulling them out.
Fred hooks up a device to the electronic lock on the door, springing it. They all enter the lower level of the building.
Fred has the building plans laid out on the floor and explains the plan.
Angel notes the security cameras aren't functioning but doesn't give it any thought.
Fred says she'll be trying to hack into the vault security system.
Gunn knows his job is to secure the escape route at the guard station one floor below where they're at.
Fred tells Angel to get to the vault, wait for the security system shutdown, then steal the Axis. They split up.
Fred brings to Gunn's and Angel's attention that they're going the wrong way. They correct that and head in opposite directions.
From her position in one of the vents, Gwen has seen the others. She doesn't think this is a good thing.
Fred finds the main electrical supply for the vault's security systems. She removes the panel from the main as she ponders potential consquences, hoping her cellmate is kind.
Gunn sneaks up on the security guard and knocks him out.
Angel arrives at the vault and waits at the entrance for the security system shutdown. He sprays an aerosol that reveals the spiderweb of green laser beams protecting the vault. He wonders what's keeping Fred from getting the system shut down.
Suddenly, a barred, metal gate slams down in front of Angel, cutting him off from the vault. He starts to force the gate back up when he's stopped by a shower of sparks.
Gwen drops down from an opening in the ceiling, inside the vault area. As she's hanging upside down from the ceiling, she tells Angel she put the gate down for a reason.
Fred works at the computer, trying to disable the main electrical to the security system in the vault. She's met with a "malfunction" message, leaving her realizing that she hadn't even gotten into the system yet so something else has to be happening.
Gunn moves the security guard he's knocked out to a back room where he finds three more guards, unconscious. He realizes someone else is in the building.
Angel asks Gwen who she is.
She repeats the question back to him.
Angel wants her to tell him she's not there for the Axis.
She says what he wants to hear, but not convincingly.
He knows she's lying.
She prefers to think of it as "fibbing", seeing that as less harsh. She lowers her hand from her position of hanging upside down which bends the green laser beams back out of the way.
Angel is stunned by that, wondering how she did it.
Gwen drops upright, to the floor. She explains how it's done, "exciting the sub-atomic particles with electrical energy and then bouncing them off of each other before they hit the ground." She finds it amusing, and convenient, that people are so comforted by technology and electricity. She moves toward the inner door of the vault, places her hand over the handprint recognition panel and zaps it with her own electrical charge, opening the door.
Angel asks what she is. She replies, "I'm a freak."
As she enters the interior of the vault, Angel suggests she could steal anything else she might want but he'd like her to leave the Axis alone.
Gunn arrives and asks where the intruder is.
Angel tells him she's inside and she's after the Axis.
Gunn wonders if it's a she that managed to overpower the four armed guards downstairs.
Angel notes that's good to know.
Gwen exits the inner vault and prepares to depart the same way she got in, via the rope hanging down through the ceiling.
Angel tries to explain his need for the Axis, Gwen isn't interested. Angel says, "Please."
Gwen thinks he must be kidding. She notices Gunn and greets him with a smile and "Hey there, Denzel."
Angel tells her he's trying to find someone important to him and the Axis is the only way he can do that.
Gunn assures her Angel is telling the truth.
Gwen wonders if he's saying he just wants to "borrow" it.
Angel promises she can do whatever she wants to do with it "as soon as I find her."
Gwen takes note of that, figuring it had to be about a woman. She asks Angel if he loves "her."
He says he does.
She asks how stupid he thinks she is. The alarm system suddenly blares.
Gwen runs for the rope and starts to climb up.
Gunn and Angel manage to get the gate raised a bit, Gunn dives under it while Angel struggles to raise it up further.
Gunn grabs Gwen's legs as she's trying to climb up the rope.
As Angel gets the gate raised, Gwen puts her hands on Gunn's chest, zapping him with an electrical charge that sends him to the ground.
As he lies on the floor, eyes open, Angel checks for a pulse.
Fred arrives. Angel tells her Gunn is dead.
Fred runs to Gunn.
Gwen watches, remembering the incident with the young boy at the Thorpe Academy when she was a child. She shoves Angel out of the way, kicks Fred backward, then puts her hand on Gunn's chest and jump-starts his heart with an electrical jolt.
Gunn gasps as he comes back to life.
Angel grabs Gwen and pulls her away, tossing her against the wall. He heads for her, she kicks him back.
Fred calls to him they need to get Gunn to a hospital.
As Angel turns to tend to that, Gwen makes her escape with the Axis.
Connor is walking the street, pausing a moment to look over a homeless encampment.
From a bridge behind, Lilah watches him through binoculars.
Angel appears at her side, wondering if she missed him.
A briefly startled Lilah answers she did not.
Angel asks if she's still involved with Wolfram & Hart.
She assures him she is.
He was wondering, considering she seems to be currently involved in charity work.
She smiles and says she was just telling someone about her concern for the homeless. She wonders if Angel didn't let Connor off the hook a bit too easily.
Angel notes Connor screwed up and he knows that.
Lilah laughs, asking if this is the "guilt as its own punishment" approach.
Angel says he has some experience with that.
As they both watch Connor settle down onto the ground to sleep, Lilah asks if Angel plans to keep following him until he realizes the error of his ways and returns.
Angel answers he's not there for Connor, he's there for her. He tells her the Axis of Pythia was stolen earlier in the evening from Chandler's. Lilah knows the auction house and that they deal in upscale, black market items. Angel says the thief was upscale as well, someone W&H clients would be likely to hire. He figures Lilah can find out who employed her.
Lilah knows Angel has been out of touch for a while, so reminds him she's still evil. She doesn't do errands unless they're "evil errands."
Angel smiles, he thinks she'll do this.
She wants to know what's in it for her.
He tells her he'll forget, this one time, that she was within 50 yards of his son. "Just this once."
Lilah knows he means it.
He starts to walk away.
Lilah calls after him. She finds it interesting, his coming to her for help.
Angel counters what he finds interesting is that he can smell her and Wes all over each other.
Lilah's expression says 'busted.'
He gives her an hour to get him the information.
Back at the hotel, Gunn and Fred are in Fred's room. Gunn is resting on the bed, pondering his EKG tape from the hospital. He thinks it resembles art. He makes light of it.
Fred is straightening things up, picking up clothes and the like. She asks if he took his pill.
He doesn't answer.
She asks again.
He reminds her she gave it to him herself.
Fred asks what it was like to be dead. She wonders if he saw a white light or anything.
He says he saw nothing, he doesn't remember.
Fred points out if Gwen hadn't come back --
Gunn reminds her they discussed it before. In that case, Fred would have done CPR.
She wonders what would have happened if she hadn't been there.
Gunn answers Angel would have gotten him to the hospital.
Fred says it could have been too late and Angel would have had to swear vengeance on the woman who killed Gunn and they all know those things never work out.
Gunn has no idea where all this is coming from.
Fred continues to vent, saying she's tired of keeping everything together. Angel, Cordelia and Wesley all leave and she's left trying to manage it all; paying bills, making peace, making plans and trying to keep up the front. She's sick of it.
Gunn suggests she electrocute him now, he has no clue what she's going on about or why.
Fred thought things would get better once Angel got back, but they didn't.
Gunn reminds her nobody told her she had to take on the responsibility.
She angrily asks who else is going to do it, who would keep things together after he left her alone. She breaks down crying, telling him he "died and left me all alone."
Gunn gets up, goes to her and gives her a hug.
Gwen arrives in the lobby of Elliot's high rise. She approaches the elevator, hits the button and checks her lipstick in the reflection of the outer elevator door.
Angel compliments the shade.
She turns to see him standing behind her, then looks back to the reflection in the outer elevator door, noting he's not showing up there. She tells him she'll ask about that after she kicks his ass.
The elevator doors open. Gwen turns away from the elevator and goes after Angel. Fight ensues.
Angel fights defensively, telling her he doesn't want to hurt her.
She says she's heard that one before. Fight continues.
She throws Angel against the wall, then flips him over onto his back. He gets back up. She notes she usually doesn't enjoy fighting this much.
He suggests she may not have been doing it right. They continue to fight.
She zaps him a few times with electrical charges which doesn't even slow him down. She wonders why he's not fried.
He tells her he's just getting warmed up.
Gwen figures more drastic measures are called for as she tears off her gloves and goes after him again. They continue the fight.
Gwen throws Angel into the open elevator then rushes inside, straddles him, rips his shirt open and shoves both open hands against his chest. She zaps him, figuring this will finish him.
What it does, is make his heart beat while her hands are in contact with his chest.
Angel abruptly sits up and kisses her, hard.
As they continue heating things up in the elevator, a series of bars slides closed over the elevator door opening. That gets their attention as they break the kiss.
Gwen looks at the bars, then looks back at Angel, noting he's "alive".
He asks if she felt it. She knows he means his heart beating.
She realizes it usually doesn't.
As they intensely gaze at each other a moment, Angel suddenly remembers he's looking for Cordelia. He feels the need to get out of there in a hurry as he backs away from Gwen.
She wonders what's going on.
Elliot arrives with a couple of henchmen in tow, saying he thought it would be obvious to a pro like Gwen.
Angel realizes it's a double-cross.
Gwen assures him she got that. She asks if Angel works for Elliot.
He answers in the negative, saying he thought Angel was with her, "what with the tonguing and all."
Gwen denies that happened.
Angel just looks uncomfortable.
Gwen tells Elliot this isn't necessary, the job is done.
Elliot doesn't see he has a choice considering how sloppy she was in getting the Axis. Too much noise and publicity to suit Elliot, not to mention the stunt in the bar.
She tries to tell him that was a joke.
He reminds her professionals are discreet, she is nothing but a freak, "a dangerous freak."
Gwen bristles at that as Elliot explains he had a bit of remodeling done on the elevator with her special ability in mind, insulating it with six inches of Plexiglas to keep her from any source of available current.
Gwen grabs one of the bars, trying to generate some sparks.
Elliot informs her it's made of "tempered Lucite."
Angel figures the plan is to seal them in and turn on the gas.
Gwen asks what Elliot is doing.
He assures her he wouldn't be foolish enough to go one-on-one against her. He promises she'll die quickly as the gas begins to stream into the elevator. The door closes.
Angel looks around for a solution. As he searches for the utility panel, he pushes Gwen to the floor, telling her to get down.
She angrily suggests he do the same.
He tells her he doesn't have to, he doesn't breathe.
Angel asks if she thinks the panel is where he's touching.
She tells him she can't get through the six inches of plastic to "blow the charge."
Angel impatiently tells her to answer the question, does she think the panel is there or not.
She thinks it is.
Angel starts punching at that section, trying to break through.
Gwen begins to cough as she starts to be affected by the gas.
Outside the elevator, Elliot is on the phone with his wife, assuring her he'll be finished there soon and discussing dinner plans.
Inside the elevator, Angel continues pummeling the panel as Gwen begins to pass out. She wants him to know, in case she dies, "nice kiss."
He assures her she's not going to die as he finally punches through the panel. He grabs the wires inside with one hand and reaches back to Gwen with the other.
She sends an electrical charge through him to the wiring which shorts it and opens the elevator door. The bars slide back out of the way.
Angel carries an unconscious Gwen out and lays her down on the floor.
Elliot instructs his men to get rid of them. Fight ensues.
As Angel is dealing with the others, Gwen gets up and confronts Elliot. She walks toward him, he backs away from her. She tells him she expects to get shafted in business now and then but she takes serious offense at being called a "freak." She tells him it's her word, she doesn't like it when others use it.
Angel tries to get her to calm down, think about what she's doing.
Gwen wonders if Elliot has ever been struck by lightning, telling him she's been hit 14 times. It's not her fault. It's just attracted to her. She notes normal people like him attract it too as she reaches her hand out toward his chest.
Angel thinks she should get over the whole "freak" thing, pointing out he's not exactly "the poster boy for normal." He tells her people just have to let go sometimes as he hauls off and decks Elliot.
Gwen is disappointed, she wanted to do that.
Angel knows she was going to kill Elliot.
She denies it.
He tells her not to fib.
She asks if Angel at least broke his nose as she reaches out toward Elliot.
Angel grabs her hand and stops her from touching him.
She reckons Angel is going to use the Axis to find "her". She notes anybody that bad at stealing has to be doing it "for love." She departs with a passing, "Bummer."
At the hotel, Fred and Gunn are outside Angel's room. A golden glow emanates from under the door. As the glow fades, Fred asks if Gunn thinks Angel found her.
Angel comes out and walks past them without saying anything.
Gunn looks inside the room and answers, "Yeah."
Gunn, Fred and Angel are sitting in the lobby, moping. Fred asks if she was "beautiful".
Angel tells her about the light surrounding Cordelia, a light that seemed to be made of "pure joy and warmth."
Gunn wonders if higher beings get to take vacations.
Angel figures it's a permanent gig.
Gunn thinks that's a shame, they could have all taken a trip to Vegas.
Fred says they should have known when Cordy started doing the "glowy thing" that The Powers had plans for her.
Gunn doesn't think anybody could have guessed it would be this.
Angel isn't surprised by it and in some way, it makes it easier for him knowing the good Cordelia is doing.
Fred knows it doesn't make him miss her less.
He says all the time in the ocean he kept thinking he had to get back to Cordelia. Then he returned to discover she was gone only to find her and realize she's home now, "where she belongs."
Meanwhile in the "Higher Realm", Cordelia asks, "What are you? Deficient? Get me out of here!"
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S4/EPISODE 2
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| Written by: Mere Smith | Original Air Date: October 13, 2002 |
Gills Rock, Wisconsin 1985
A car pulls up to Thorpe's Academy. A young girl bundled in a red snowsuit, followed by her parents, exits the car and heads towards the building. They're met by Lydia Thorpe who welcomes Mr. and Mrs. Raiden to the Academy.
Mrs. Raiden thanks Ms. Thorpe "after all that we've been through."
Ms. Thorpe thanks her in return for the generous donation and assures them a portion of the money has been invested in accommodating their daughter Gwen's "special needs."
Mr. Raiden asks when they should return.
Ms. Thorpe tells him classes end in early June.
Mr. Raiden tells Gwen she's finally going to school.
Mrs. Raiden tells her to be good, they love her.
Mr. Raiden again thanks Lydia Thorpe then tells Gwen they'll see her in June.
Gwen doesn't look back at her parents as she walks toward Ms. Thorpe who introduces herself, telling Gwen she'll take her to class now, reminding her she must avoid contact with the other children. She's sure Gwen will learn the other rules soon enough. She turns to walk toward the school.
Gwen follows, pausing briefly to stop and turn back to look at her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Raiden get into their car.
Gwen turns back to Lydia and reaches out her mitten covered hand.
Ms. Thorpe slaps her hand away and tells her "no" as they walk up the driveway to the school.
The Academy students are enjoying recess on the playground. Gwen is sitting off by herself, her back against a tree. She removes a bulky mitten from one of her hands to get a better grasp of a toy she's holding.
A young boy stops by her and asks if she's a "freak".
She answers that she doesn't know.
He doesn't reckon she looks like one.
The bell sounds, summoning the children back to class. Ms. Thorpe calls to them to go back inside.
The boy hands Gwen the toy car he was playing with, telling her she can hold onto it if she wants.
As she reaches out to take it, Ms. Thorpe sees what's happening and yells Gwen's name, telling her no.
When Gwen's hand touches the boy's, he's zapped by a bolt of electricity that sends him flying. He lands on the ground, unconscious.
Ms. Thorpe rushes to his aid as a frightened Gwen looks on.
The toy car lies on the ground, a twisted, smoking pile of blackened metal.
Present day
At Cordelia's apartment, Angel is looking around. Fred asks if he smells anything.
He smells Cordelia, incense and some old candles. He also notes the scent of "lots and lots of lemons."
Fred admits she did a bit of cleaning so the landlord could show the apartment.
Angel says it looks nice, "nice and empty."
Angel can't believe it's been three months.
Fred tells him they kept up the rent on the apartment for the first couple of months but things got tight financially and they couldn't afford to keep paying the rent to have it sitting there, unoccupied.
Angel suddenly remembers Phantom Dennis. He asks if he knows where Cordelia might be.
Fred answers Dennis is just upset they haven't gotten her back.
Angel is sure they will.
Fred agrees but doesn't sound too convincing. She goes back to packing.
Angel wonders if they'd contacted Lorne to see if he could offer any help
Gunn says they tried as he unhooks the television set, causing a shower of sparks. He looks at Fred who tells him she's already packed up the band-aids.
Fred tells Angel they talked to Lorne twice and he's aware of the situation but hasn't come up with anything.
Fred points out a box on the table to Angel, saying it contains pictures and scrapbooks. It was on the table the night Cordelia disappeared. She says they didn't glean any clues from it but perhaps Angel can.
Angel asks about the police.
Gunn and Fred fill him in; abandoned car, empty apartment, no sign of violence, no travel plans. The police suggested they file a missing persons report.
Angel finds a couple of pictures in the box. One of him, Cordy and Wes, the other of him and Cordelia. He knows something major had to have happened to Cordelia that night. He knows why he wasn't able to make the meeting on the bluffs but can't understand what stopped her.
Fred notes that he was "banished to the ocean depths by your ungrateful snot of a son."
Angel gives her a look.
Gunn points out Fred is a little bitter.
Angel tells them he appreciates that they looked out for Connor in his absence. He thinks the kid is just confused and needs some time.
Fred thinks time and corporal punishment with a "large, heavy mallet" sounds like a good idea. She confirms Gunn's comment. She's a little bitter.
Fred notices some of the books she'd packed have been placed back on the fireplace mantle. She angrily reminds Dennis that Cordelia isn't coming back.
Gunn and Angel look at her.
She apologizes, she just meant Cordelia wasn't coming back to the apartment.
Angel tells her it's okay, they can store the stuff at the hotel.
Fred thinks a person should be able to count on things being where they left them. What happens when they come back and those things aren't there?
Angel looks at the picture of himself, Cordelia and Wes and answers, "You go find them."
Wes is in the midst of battling a demon. He shouts instructions to a guy working with him, Jones. The demon knocks Jones down, sending the battle-ax he's fighting with sliding across the floor.
Angel picks it up and asks if Wes needs a hand.
A battered Wes decapitates the demon and declines the offer. He finds a motel key, realizes who he's looking for is being held in the motel. He tosses the key to one of his men and sends them off to free the guy. He tells one of the men to "Report to base, have Diana close out the file" as they collect their equipment and leave.
Wes calls after one of the men to retrieve something from the back of his car.
Angel notes Wes is doing the demon fighting thing with his own team now.
Angel thanks him for finding him, helping him. He knows it wasn't easy.
Wes says nothing.
Angel tells him he had a lot of time to think about the way things went between them, the way things could have gone. As far as he's concerned things are okay with them.
Wesley just looks at him. One of his men returns with a metal case, leaves it and departs. Wes opens it and removes a folder. He hands it to Angel who asks what it is.
Wes tells him it's what he came for, all the information he has on Cordelia's disappearance.
Angel realizes Wes did his own investigating as he looks through the papers and photographs.
Wes offers matter-of-factly he doesn't think Cordelia is dead but he can't be sure. He doesn't think she's in this dimension anymore but where that trail led, he couldn't follow, no living thing could.
Angel looks at a woodcut illustration in the file of a demon noted as "Dinza". He asks who that is.
Wes explains she's "one of the Eleusian mysteries, a dark demi-goddess of the lost", only the dead can enter her realm and those who do are sometimes trapped forever.
Angel sarcastically notes the joyful sound of that.
Wesley says he located Dinza's lair, but of course couldn't enter it himself.
Angel reckons Dinza can tell him where Cordy is.
As Wes packs up his equipment, he tells Angel she'll only give him a clue where to look and warns him she's not trustworthy. He leaves.
Angel calls after him, wondering what he should do, bring her a gift? Offer a sacrifice? Bring an "unholy fruit basket"?
Wes has left the building.
Angel enters the sewer, looking for Dinza. The entrance disappears behind him.
A grayish hand, covered in decaying flesh, touches the back of his neck.
Angel spins around but sees nothing. A fluttering of wings is heard.
A female voice asks if he's lost.
The hand again touches the back of his neck, followed by a fluttering of wings.
He whirls around, again sees nothing. He warns the voice he's going to get seasick if she keeps this up.
Dinza perches in front of him. She's a gray colored demon, human in size and basic form. The look of her flesh is rotted. She has large wings that sprout from her back. A shroud covers her skeletal face. She figures if he were to get seasick, it would have happened long ago and wonders if he misses the sound of the waves.
Angel realizes she knows who he is.
She knows he was lost, she knows all lost things.
Angel finds that interesting and asks if she knows about "Atlantis, the Holy Grail or Jimmy Hoffa".
She tells him she knows about "lost love" as she reaches out to touch his chest.
He jumps back.
She flutters to a new position behind, and above, him.
He figures she knows what he's looking for.
Dinza says "she" is far from him and doesn't need him anymore.
Angel answers he needs her.
The cavern is filled with the sound of growling and whispers. Angel looks for the source of the noises.
Dinza tells him they think he should stay with them, she should keep him there. She laughs, noting she doesn't listen to the dead. She informs him the "Axis of Pythia" is nearby, what he seeks is inside of it, and only there.
Angel wants to know what the Axis is.
Dinza explains it's an ancient relic used to bridge dimensions. It can find what he has lost.
Angel wonders why he should trust her.
She disappears and reappears behind him, her hands on his throat. She spreads her wings and tells him she'd like to keep him but "you have so much more to lose." She laughs as she wraps her wings around him.
A grown up Gwen, dressed seductively in red leather pants and a short, tight, matching leather top strides into a club. She's also wearing black, opera length gloves.
As all the men's eyes follow her, she takes a seat opposite the man she's there to meet, Elliot. He looks at her wardrobe and comments he thought he suggested "discreet". He tells her she's late.
She counters he's trying to shaft her on the Axis deal, it's worth $33 million but he had told her it was worth $6 million.
Elliot responds that it's a mystical object with no real monetary value.
Gwen lets him know she's not buying any of it as she calls a waiter over.
Gwen places her drink order then tells Elliot to continue with what he was saying.
He starts to tell her about the appraisal he got on the Axis, she interrupts, pointing out it was well below the market value of the object. She tells that she steals on commission so that was equal to ripping her off by 80%. She reaches out toward his hand which he quickly retracts. She wonders if she looks like the type to work for bargain prices.
Elliot insists the street value of the Axis isn't relevant, he only wants it for his private collection and he remembers they had already settled on a price for her services.
Gwen reminds him again she works on "commission." She takes a folder laying on the table, fingers through it and notes it's the information she needs; the layout of the auction house, security systems, vents and the vault.
Elliot tells her she can deliver the goods to him at the penthouse of a private high rise downtown where she'll get the balance of what she's owed.
She informs him she expects it to be more than they originally agreed to.
He says she came highly recommended for her "talents" but he was expecting someone more professional.
She puts her hands under the table and slips off one of her gloves.
She gets up from the table, assuring him she's a professional and as such, doesn't like getting the shaft. She holds up his watch which she's removed from his wrist without his noticing.
He informs her it's a $12,000 watch as he reaches his hand out for it.
She closes her hand over the watch and zaps it, frying it to a melted, smoking pile of metal. She tosses it onto the table, thanks Elliot for the drink and leaves.
At the hotel, Fred is explaining to Angel and Gunn what she's learned about the "Axis of Pythia." She explains what it looks like, using a drawing she's made which doesn't really resemble anything recognizable.
Angel hands Gunn a sketch he's made himself of it, telling Gunn that might give him a better idea.
Gunn is impressed. Fred is annoyed. She asks if Angel just drew that.
He acknowledges he did, from an illustration in one of the books.
Fred goes back to her presentation, explaining the Axis possesses mystical qualities, including the ability to locate souls or entities across dimensions.
Angel holds up a sketch he's made of Cordelia, noting that's the entity they're looking for.
Fred is a little hurt his drawings are better than hers.
Gunn reassures Fred he likes her drawing of the "little ghost guy."
Fred blames her lack of ability on lack of sleep.
Gunn asks how they get the Axis.
Fred answers the relic is currently in a vault at Chandler's Auction House, a business known for dealing in the black market. She figures they're going to have strong security.
Angel isn't concerned about it, saying he beat the building plans out of an informant.
Fred reminds him that's only half the battle, knowing where the Axis is doesn't mean they'll be able to get to it.
She displays a list of security items protecting the auction house; surveillance cameras, electric gates, laser sensors, handprint recognition. Fred notes the list doesn't include the armed guards.
Gunn takes a drink of his coffee and wonders, since it's an auction house, why they can't just bid on the Axis.
Angel and Fred inform him it's worth $33 million.
Gunn chokes on that.
Fred says she'll continue working on a plan but so far what she's got involves "being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch."
Angel assures her no one is going to jail, he's done this sort of thing a million times. Angel looks around as Fred gives him an incredulous stare. He acknowledges he overstated, he's done it twice, but he promises he's good at it.
Gunn wonders if he's including the "Shroud of Rahmon" in that "twice", reminding Angel that didn't go so well.
Angel answers this is the way to find Cordelia so this is what they have to do.
Fred offers to keep working on a plan as she collects the materials relevant to the auction house and heads upstairs.
Angel shouts after her that he's really strong, if that helps.
Fred tells him she'll remember that.
Gunn looks after her, proud of her.
Angel is impressed with the way Fred has taken charge of things in his absence, reminds him of Cordelia.
Gunn asks what happens if they use the Axis to find Cordy.
Angel answers they do whatever they have to do to get her back.
Gunn asks what they're going to need for the mission as he prepares to write down the answer.
As Angel lists the items they'll need; rappelling hooks, flashlights, aerosols, Gwen is at her place, already packing up all of these items, ready to make her own use of them. She takes a moment to check her make-up, adds some lipstick and heads out.
Wes shoves Lilah against the wall at his place, nuzzling her neck.
She purrs she can't stay, she has a big meeting to get to, clients, being the new boss --
Wes continues kissing her, telling her he isn't interested in that.
She shoves him backward, onto the desk and starts unbuttoning his shirt. She just wants him to know why she's "going first tonight".
He tells her only if he lets her go.
She asks if he means like he let his "little slave girl" go.
Wes figured she'd hear about that
Lilah thinks Justine probably heard a few things too as she nibbles on Wes's ear.
He turns her to the desk and changes positions with her, her on the desk, him on top, as he tells her Justine called Lilah "impossibly loud."
Lilah says Wes was lying, pretending not to know what had happened to Angel or to care, as she continues undressing Wesley.
He says he had to raise Angel, he's necessary.
Lilah wraps his belt around the back of his neck and pulls him down toward her. She wonders why that is.
Wes answers, to fight people like her.
They roll off of the desk, onto the floor, landing with Lilah on top. She figures things may have worked out for the best since the first thing Angel did upon his return was throw Connor out. She sees possibilities there. The kid is without friends, hasn't got a home, he'll need someone to confide in. Perhaps she can offer a sisterly presence, or a "Mrs. Robinson" kind of thing if he's into that.
Wes rolls her over, swapping positions with her.
She thinks Wes likes "bad girls."
He says he doesn't need to hear her plans.
She figures just knowing she has them is enough of a turn on for him.
He tells her to "shut up."
She suggests he make her as he takes her up on that, making her gasp and smile as he moves down and disappears out of frame.
Gwen climbs up onto the roof of the auction house. She finds an electrical panel and cuts the wiring, disabling the security cameras. She heads inside.
Angel, Gunn and Fred climb a fence outside of the auction house. Gunn breathes heavily from the exertion, noting that Batman makes it look easy. They all make it to the other side of the fence.
Angel seeks out the electrical box, rips off the cover, examines the wiring a bit then settles on pulling them out.
Fred hooks up a device to the electronic lock on the door, springing it. They all enter the lower level of the building.
Fred has the building plans laid out on the floor and explains the plan.
Angel notes the security cameras aren't functioning but doesn't give it any thought.
Fred says she'll be trying to hack into the vault security system.
Gunn knows his job is to secure the escape route at the guard station one floor below where they're at.
Fred tells Angel to get to the vault, wait for the security system shutdown, then steal the Axis. They split up.
Fred brings to Gunn's and Angel's attention that they're going the wrong way. They correct that and head in opposite directions.
From her position in one of the vents, Gwen has seen the others. She doesn't think this is a good thing.
Fred finds the main electrical supply for the vault's security systems. She removes the panel from the main as she ponders potential consquences, hoping her cellmate is kind.
Gunn sneaks up on the security guard and knocks him out.
Angel arrives at the vault and waits at the entrance for the security system shutdown. He sprays an aerosol that reveals the spiderweb of green laser beams protecting the vault. He wonders what's keeping Fred from getting the system shut down.
Suddenly, a barred, metal gate slams down in front of Angel, cutting him off from the vault. He starts to force the gate back up when he's stopped by a shower of sparks.
Gwen drops down from an opening in the ceiling, inside the vault area. As she's hanging upside down from the ceiling, she tells Angel she put the gate down for a reason.
Fred works at the computer, trying to disable the main electrical to the security system in the vault. She's met with a "malfunction" message, leaving her realizing that she hadn't even gotten into the system yet so something else has to be happening.
Gunn moves the security guard he's knocked out to a back room where he finds three more guards, unconscious. He realizes someone else is in the building.
Angel asks Gwen who she is.
She repeats the question back to him.
Angel wants her to tell him she's not there for the Axis.
She says what he wants to hear, but not convincingly.
He knows she's lying.
She prefers to think of it as "fibbing", seeing that as less harsh. She lowers her hand from her position of hanging upside down which bends the green laser beams back out of the way.
Angel is stunned by that, wondering how she did it.
Gwen drops upright, to the floor. She explains how it's done, "exciting the sub-atomic particles with electrical energy and then bouncing them off of each other before they hit the ground." She finds it amusing, and convenient, that people are so comforted by technology and electricity. She moves toward the inner door of the vault, places her hand over the handprint recognition panel and zaps it with her own electrical charge, opening the door.
Angel asks what she is. She replies, "I'm a freak."
As she enters the interior of the vault, Angel suggests she could steal anything else she might want but he'd like her to leave the Axis alone.
Gunn arrives and asks where the intruder is.
Angel tells him she's inside and she's after the Axis.
Gunn wonders if it's a she that managed to overpower the four armed guards downstairs.
Angel notes that's good to know.
Gwen exits the inner vault and prepares to depart the same way she got in, via the rope hanging down through the ceiling.
Angel tries to explain his need for the Axis, Gwen isn't interested. Angel says, "Please."
Gwen thinks he must be kidding. She notices Gunn and greets him with a smile and "Hey there, Denzel."
Angel tells her he's trying to find someone important to him and the Axis is the only way he can do that.
Gunn assures her Angel is telling the truth.
Gwen wonders if he's saying he just wants to "borrow" it.
Angel promises she can do whatever she wants to do with it "as soon as I find her."
Gwen takes note of that, figuring it had to be about a woman. She asks Angel if he loves "her."
He says he does.
She asks how stupid he thinks she is. The alarm system suddenly blares.
Gwen runs for the rope and starts to climb up.
Gunn and Angel manage to get the gate raised a bit, Gunn dives under it while Angel struggles to raise it up further.
Gunn grabs Gwen's legs as she's trying to climb up the rope.
As Angel gets the gate raised, Gwen puts her hands on Gunn's chest, zapping him with an electrical charge that sends him to the ground.
As he lies on the floor, eyes open, Angel checks for a pulse.
Fred arrives. Angel tells her Gunn is dead.
Fred runs to Gunn.
Gwen watches, remembering the incident with the young boy at the Thorpe Academy when she was a child. She shoves Angel out of the way, kicks Fred backward, then puts her hand on Gunn's chest and jump-starts his heart with an electrical jolt.
Gunn gasps as he comes back to life.
Angel grabs Gwen and pulls her away, tossing her against the wall. He heads for her, she kicks him back.
Fred calls to him they need to get Gunn to a hospital.
As Angel turns to tend to that, Gwen makes her escape with the Axis.
Connor is walking the street, pausing a moment to look over a homeless encampment.
From a bridge behind, Lilah watches him through binoculars.
Angel appears at her side, wondering if she missed him.
A briefly startled Lilah answers she did not.
Angel asks if she's still involved with Wolfram & Hart.
She assures him she is.
He was wondering, considering she seems to be currently involved in charity work.
She smiles and says she was just telling someone about her concern for the homeless. She wonders if Angel didn't let Connor off the hook a bit too easily.
Angel notes Connor screwed up and he knows that.
Lilah laughs, asking if this is the "guilt as its own punishment" approach.
Angel says he has some experience with that.
As they both watch Connor settle down onto the ground to sleep, Lilah asks if Angel plans to keep following him until he realizes the error of his ways and returns.
Angel answers he's not there for Connor, he's there for her. He tells her the Axis of Pythia was stolen earlier in the evening from Chandler's. Lilah knows the auction house and that they deal in upscale, black market items. Angel says the thief was upscale as well, someone W&H clients would be likely to hire. He figures Lilah can find out who employed her.
Lilah knows Angel has been out of touch for a while, so reminds him she's still evil. She doesn't do errands unless they're "evil errands."
Angel smiles, he thinks she'll do this.
She wants to know what's in it for her.
He tells her he'll forget, this one time, that she was within 50 yards of his son. "Just this once."
Lilah knows he means it.
He starts to walk away.
Lilah calls after him. She finds it interesting, his coming to her for help.
Angel counters what he finds interesting is that he can smell her and Wes all over each other.
Lilah's expression says 'busted.'
He gives her an hour to get him the information.
Back at the hotel, Gunn and Fred are in Fred's room. Gunn is resting on the bed, pondering his EKG tape from the hospital. He thinks it resembles art. He makes light of it.
Fred is straightening things up, picking up clothes and the like. She asks if he took his pill.
He doesn't answer.
She asks again.
He reminds her she gave it to him herself.
Fred asks what it was like to be dead. She wonders if he saw a white light or anything.
He says he saw nothing, he doesn't remember.
Fred points out if Gwen hadn't come back --
Gunn reminds her they discussed it before. In that case, Fred would have done CPR.
She wonders what would have happened if she hadn't been there.
Gunn answers Angel would have gotten him to the hospital.
Fred says it could have been too late and Angel would have had to swear vengeance on the woman who killed Gunn and they all know those things never work out.
Gunn has no idea where all this is coming from.
Fred continues to vent, saying she's tired of keeping everything together. Angel, Cordelia and Wesley all leave and she's left trying to manage it all; paying bills, making peace, making plans and trying to keep up the front. She's sick of it.
Gunn suggests she electrocute him now, he has no clue what she's going on about or why.
Fred thought things would get better once Angel got back, but they didn't.
Gunn reminds her nobody told her she had to take on the responsibility.
She angrily asks who else is going to do it, who would keep things together after he left her alone. She breaks down crying, telling him he "died and left me all alone."
Gunn gets up, goes to her and gives her a hug.
Gwen arrives in the lobby of Elliot's high rise. She approaches the elevator, hits the button and checks her lipstick in the reflection of the outer elevator door.
Angel compliments the shade.
She turns to see him standing behind her, then looks back to the reflection in the outer elevator door, noting he's not showing up there. She tells him she'll ask about that after she kicks his ass.
The elevator doors open. Gwen turns away from the elevator and goes after Angel. Fight ensues.
Angel fights defensively, telling her he doesn't want to hurt her.
She says she's heard that one before. Fight continues.
She throws Angel against the wall, then flips him over onto his back. He gets back up. She notes she usually doesn't enjoy fighting this much.
He suggests she may not have been doing it right. They continue to fight.
She zaps him a few times with electrical charges which doesn't even slow him down. She wonders why he's not fried.
He tells her he's just getting warmed up.
Gwen figures more drastic measures are called for as she tears off her gloves and goes after him again. They continue the fight.
Gwen throws Angel into the open elevator then rushes inside, straddles him, rips his shirt open and shoves both open hands against his chest. She zaps him, figuring this will finish him.
What it does, is make his heart beat while her hands are in contact with his chest.
Angel abruptly sits up and kisses her, hard.
As they continue heating things up in the elevator, a series of bars slides closed over the elevator door opening. That gets their attention as they break the kiss.
Gwen looks at the bars, then looks back at Angel, noting he's "alive".
He asks if she felt it. She knows he means his heart beating.
She realizes it usually doesn't.
As they intensely gaze at each other a moment, Angel suddenly remembers he's looking for Cordelia. He feels the need to get out of there in a hurry as he backs away from Gwen.
She wonders what's going on.
Elliot arrives with a couple of henchmen in tow, saying he thought it would be obvious to a pro like Gwen.
Angel realizes it's a double-cross.
Gwen assures him she got that. She asks if Angel works for Elliot.
He answers in the negative, saying he thought Angel was with her, "what with the tonguing and all."
Gwen denies that happened.
Angel just looks uncomfortable.
Gwen tells Elliot this isn't necessary, the job is done.
Elliot doesn't see he has a choice considering how sloppy she was in getting the Axis. Too much noise and publicity to suit Elliot, not to mention the stunt in the bar.
She tries to tell him that was a joke.
He reminds her professionals are discreet, she is nothing but a freak, "a dangerous freak."
Gwen bristles at that as Elliot explains he had a bit of remodeling done on the elevator with her special ability in mind, insulating it with six inches of Plexiglas to keep her from any source of available current.
Gwen grabs one of the bars, trying to generate some sparks.
Elliot informs her it's made of "tempered Lucite."
Angel figures the plan is to seal them in and turn on the gas.
Gwen asks what Elliot is doing.
He assures her he wouldn't be foolish enough to go one-on-one against her. He promises she'll die quickly as the gas begins to stream into the elevator. The door closes.
Angel looks around for a solution. As he searches for the utility panel, he pushes Gwen to the floor, telling her to get down.
She angrily suggests he do the same.
He tells her he doesn't have to, he doesn't breathe.
Angel asks if she thinks the panel is where he's touching.
She tells him she can't get through the six inches of plastic to "blow the charge."
Angel impatiently tells her to answer the question, does she think the panel is there or not.
She thinks it is.
Angel starts punching at that section, trying to break through.
Gwen begins to cough as she starts to be affected by the gas.
Outside the elevator, Elliot is on the phone with his wife, assuring her he'll be finished there soon and discussing dinner plans.
Inside the elevator, Angel continues pummeling the panel as Gwen begins to pass out. She wants him to know, in case she dies, "nice kiss."
He assures her she's not going to die as he finally punches through the panel. He grabs the wires inside with one hand and reaches back to Gwen with the other.
She sends an electrical charge through him to the wiring which shorts it and opens the elevator door. The bars slide back out of the way.
Angel carries an unconscious Gwen out and lays her down on the floor.
Elliot instructs his men to get rid of them. Fight ensues.
As Angel is dealing with the others, Gwen gets up and confronts Elliot. She walks toward him, he backs away from her. She tells him she expects to get shafted in business now and then but she takes serious offense at being called a "freak." She tells him it's her word, she doesn't like it when others use it.
Angel tries to get her to calm down, think about what she's doing.
Gwen wonders if Elliot has ever been struck by lightning, telling him she's been hit 14 times. It's not her fault. It's just attracted to her. She notes normal people like him attract it too as she reaches her hand out toward his chest.
Angel thinks she should get over the whole "freak" thing, pointing out he's not exactly "the poster boy for normal." He tells her people just have to let go sometimes as he hauls off and decks Elliot.
Gwen is disappointed, she wanted to do that.
Angel knows she was going to kill Elliot.
She denies it.
He tells her not to fib.
She asks if Angel at least broke his nose as she reaches out toward Elliot.
Angel grabs her hand and stops her from touching him.
She reckons Angel is going to use the Axis to find "her". She notes anybody that bad at stealing has to be doing it "for love." She departs with a passing, "Bummer."
At the hotel, Fred and Gunn are outside Angel's room. A golden glow emanates from under the door. As the glow fades, Fred asks if Gunn thinks Angel found her.
Angel comes out and walks past them without saying anything.
Gunn looks inside the room and answers, "Yeah."
Gunn, Fred and Angel are sitting in the lobby, moping. Fred asks if she was "beautiful".
Angel tells her about the light surrounding Cordelia, a light that seemed to be made of "pure joy and warmth."
Gunn wonders if higher beings get to take vacations.
Angel figures it's a permanent gig.
Gunn thinks that's a shame, they could have all taken a trip to Vegas.
Fred says they should have known when Cordy started doing the "glowy thing" that The Powers had plans for her.
Gunn doesn't think anybody could have guessed it would be this.
Angel isn't surprised by it and in some way, it makes it easier for him knowing the good Cordelia is doing.
Fred knows it doesn't make him miss her less.
He says all the time in the ocean he kept thinking he had to get back to Cordelia. Then he returned to discover she was gone only to find her and realize she's home now, "where she belongs."
Meanwhile in the "Higher Realm", Cordelia asks, "What are you? Deficient? Get me out of here!"
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