People on the street look up at the darkened sky as the sun's blockage is reported on local news as a localized event only affecting Los Angeles.

Fred, Gunn, Cordy and Connor are watching the television report, from L.A. newscaster Larry McCormick, in the hotel lobby.

Gunn switches off the TV, and notes things are going to get rough when vampires discover L.A. is a round-the-clock demon playground.

Connor sulks.

Cordy notes they just need to find a way to unblock the sun.

Fred is behind the desk, sorting through piles of papers and books. She says she's working on the problem, but hasn't found any answers. She needs help to decipher the symbols she's discovered. She could use Wesley's assistance.

Gunn notes Wesley left without saying anything shortly after Gwen left town when things got tough. He reckons neither of them are into teamwork.

Connor says they're wasting their time, "the answer is among us" as he points toward the back office where Angel is having an animated conversation with Lorne. Connor thinks Angel knows what's going on since he's part of the plan.

Cordy points out Angel doesn't remember.

Connor doesn't buy that. He reminds Cordy she saw Angel herself in her vision, making a deal with the Beast.

Cordelia says it wasn't Angel she saw, it was Angelus.

Connor doesn't make any distinction between the two.

Cordelia assures him there is a difference, telling him he's never met Angelus.

Gunn notes that he hasn't either but maybe it's time. The Beast has to be stopped and they don't seem to have any options left. He figures if there's a chance Angelus knows something they can use, they should do what they need to do.

Cordy wonders if Gunn thinks Angelus would just tell them what they want to know.

Gunn thinks it's something worth trying.

Cordelia says it won't happen. She explains the gypsies cursed Angel with his soul so he could feel remorse and "suffer for all the people he slaughtered." She says removing his soul is the only way to turn him back into Angelus.

Fred notes that's not easily done.

Cordelia continues explaining. For Angel to lose his soul, he has to experience a "moment of perfect, pure happiness." She doesn't reckon opportunities for happiness are in abundance with everything going on.

---

In the back office, Angel asks Lorne if he read anything.

Lorne answers he got nothing, offering that perhaps Angel's choice of "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" threw him off a bit. He's not a Vicki Lawrence fan.

A frustrated Angel says it makes no sense, he remembers everything he did as Angelus; "every family butchered, every child slaughtered, every throat ripped out", every detail of all of it.

Lorne wonders why he can't remember having dealt with the Beast before. He figures if it's inside, it's buried deeply inside, of Angelus.

Angel says that's where it will remain then and even if he wanted it, there's no way to bring Angelus back.

---

In a rundown building, a robed figure sits in the middle of the floor of a room lit by candles, ritual artifacts arranged on the floor before him. As he chants, sounds of a scuffle are heard outside.

The body of an unconscious burly guy is tossed through the window and lands near the robed figure who stops chanting and looks toward the entrance where Wesley has just entered.

Wes says he's heard rumors the man has certain skills that he has use for. He adds, he needs a soul extracted.

---

At the hotel, Lorne and Angel exit the back office.

Cordy asks if Lorne was able to help him remember.

Angel says no. He asks Fred if she's come up with anything.

She answers only a few pieces of a puzzle and "some gibberish." She explains that the device the Beast used to blot out the sun has no power without the orb.

Gunn figures it's about as useful as they are at the moment. They aren't getting anywhere. He reckons the only positive claim they can make is that they've managed to survive to this point.

Angel looks over at Connor who's sulking on the poof couch. Angel knows things haven't been going in their favor but that can change. He notes that they aren't out of the game yet, besides they not only have to concern themselves with the Beast now but also the fact that L.A. is basically a beacon for demons with the 24/7 darkness.

Connor figures that situation should suit Angel just fine.

Cordelia shoots him a look.

Angel asks what his problem is.

Connor answers, "You." He doesn't like Angel acting like the leader when they all know what they know.

Angel asks what that is, exactly.

Connor answers everyone thought he was the one responsible for everything, even he started to believe it, when all along Angel was the one working with the Beast.

Angel denies that.

Connor thinks if that's the case, then Angel is at least being played by the Beast and no matter how he looks at it, he sees everything falling apart because of Angel. He blames him for all of it saying Angel is the reason, "the sun is gone, that I don't have a home to go back to, that she --" as he glances toward Cordelia who looks a bit uncomfortable. He says Angel is the reason his life "sucks."

Angel coldly tells him to "Get over it."

Cordelia looks at him, recognizing the very words she said to Angel not too long ago regarding her having slept with Connor.

Lorne wonders if they could get back to the pep talk. Fred is okay with that, but she'd prefer a plan.

Wes enters the lobby with the Shaman who's dressed ninja-like, with only his eyes exposed. Wes introduces Wo-Pang and says he can "deliver Angelus to us."

Wes asks Fred to brew some tea for Wo-Pang as Angel makes it clear he wants a word alone with Wes.

Fred escorts Wo-Pang to the kitchen as she inquires what type of tea he'd like.

He answers, "How about Orange Zinger?"

---

Angel and Wes go into the back office. Angel wants to know what Wes meant when he said Wo-Pang would "deliver" Angelus.

Wes explains Wo-Pang "is a Shaman, order of the Kun-Sun-Dai."

Angel knows they are "dark mystics" and isn't liking the idea already, not happy Wes took it on himself to bring a "dark mystic" to the hotel without discussing it with Angel first.

Wes says Wo-Pang "claims he can extract souls."

Angel notes the lack of certainty in the word "claims."

Wes goes on, saying he can also restore the soul once they get the information they need from Angelus.

Angel firmly tells him they are not bringing Angelus back.

Wes doesn't figure Angel has a choice.

Angel angrily assures him he does and that was it. He wonders if he needs to repeat himself.

Wes suggests Angel not make things more difficult than they already are, pointing out they are out of options and running out of time.

Angel reckons unleashing Angelus is the last thing they should do, reminding Wes that if Angelus is there, he's not. He has no control, he can't protect anybody from the Beast or from himself.

Wes assures him it's just temporary, they'll take all the precautions necessary starting with containment. He says he knows the risks, he knows what Angelus --

Angel cuts him off, informing him he has no idea what Angelus is. All Wes really knows of Angelus comes from what he'd read as a Watcher. He reminds him he's never had the pleasure of his company and he's not going to. He directs him to send Wo-Pang away and leaves the office.

Angel walks out of the office and strides past the others without saying a word, on out into the garden.

Cordelia follows.

---

Cordelia walks out into the garden, looks around and notes that all the plants are going to die without the sun. She just realized the scope of things.

Angel walks away from her.

She follows after him and tells him she agrees with him. Bringing Angelus back is a very bad idea, he'd be a danger to everyone. She reckons the others don't understand that.

Angel figures she does.

Cordelia confirms that, saying if she didn't get it when Angelus was loose and killing in Sunnydale, she surely did when she relived his activities while on the higher plane. She figures that experience pretty much made her an expert.

Angel sighs and sits down. He asks if she thinks Connor is right, that the Beast is using him without his even realizing it.

Cordy answers no, but she doesn't sound convincing.

Angel knows she's just saying it and calls her on it.

She admits to it and concedes it's possible he's a tool of the Beast.

Angel realizes if that's true, he's already a danger to others.

Cordelia gets that but says he's not dangerous like Angelus would be, "He's smart."

Angel is stung by that, responding with, "Excuse me?"

Cordy figures he knows what she meant.

Angel thinks she meant that Angelus is smarter than he is.

She tries to explain that yes, but because he's smart in that "twisted, sadistic, ruthless kind of way."

Angel notes that pretty much describes the Beast as well.

Cordy agrees with that, saying Angelus and the Beast think alike, always a step or two ahead. She wonders what it is about evil that jacks up one's IQ.

Angel gets a determined look on his face.

Cordelia asks him what's going on.

He doesn't say anything, gets up and goes back into the hotel.

He tells the others they'll need a strong cage and gives them the dimensions and specs on the thickness of the steel bars. He heads into the back office saying he needs to make some calls.

Gunn wonders why Angel would think that cage would hold the Beast.

Wes informs him the cage isn't for the Beast, it's for Angel.

---

In the basement of the hotel, Wes finishes up welding the bars on the cage. Gunn and Connor work on finishing the door.

Lorne works on a table with restraints located in the center of the cage.

Angel checks the cage inside and out, tightens a couple of screws and deems it finished. He tells Wes to let the shaman know they're ready.

Wes, Gunn and Lorne head for the steps. Lorne pauses a moment and tells Angel if it's okay with him he'd prefer to ride this one out upstairs, the whole unspeakable evil thing gives him the willies.

Angel understands that. He says to tell Cordelia and Fred they don't need to come downstairs either.

Connor starts to head upstairs after Lorne.

Angel calls to him.

Connor impatiently asks what he wants.

Angel knows Connor likes to think of him as the enemy but tells him if the plan works, he truly will be. He'll become what Connor "was raised to believe" he was, the thing he never wanted his son to see.

Connor says he can deal with it.

Angel isn't so sure. He tells Connor to remember that whatever Angelus says or does, he's not Connor's father. Angel is. "No matter what happens or ... happened, I ... I love you."

Connor takes that in, says nothing, turns and starts up the stairs.

Angel calls after him.

Connor pauses to turn back toward him.

Angel asks him to take care of the others since he won't be around for awhile. He says that includes killing Angelus if anything goes wrong.

Connor quickly agrees to that with, "Okay" and starts back up the stairs.

Angel reminds him he said if anything goes wrong.

---

Angel is lying on his back on the table in the center of the cage. Wes and Gunn lock him into the restraints.

Wo-Pang sets a clear, rounded glass bottle on a table outside of the cage. Cordelia asks what it is.

The shaman answersit's the "Muo-Ping", it will hold the extracted soul.

Angel tells Cordelia he doesn't want her there.

She intends to stay anyway.

Connor sits on the steps and watches.

Gunn and Wes exit the cage, Wo-Pang enters and suggests it would be a good idea if they added a second lock to the door, for their own protection.

Wes tells Gunn to do it.

Cordy tells Angel he doesn't have to go through with it.

He mutters, "Now she tells me" as he prepares for the ritual to begin.

Wo-Pang instructs Angel to close his eyes and say nothing as he lays his hand on Angel's forehead and begins to recite an incantation.

The Shaman removes his hand from Angel's head, leans over him and quietly says, "Time to say good-bye." He pulls a short, curved sword and tries to decapitate Angel with it.

Angel manages to break one hand free from the restraint and block the blow.

As he struggles to hold the blade away from his neck, Gunn and Wes work at the locks on the cage door, trying to get it open.

Wo-Pang tells Angel he serves "the Awakened One".

Angel tells the others he could use some help.

Gunn and Wes get the door open and fight with Wo-Pang while Angel frees himself from the remaining restraints.

Connor joins in the fray and knocks Wo-Pang to the floor.

Angel steps outside of the cage.

The shaman stops fighting and gets back to his feet.

Gunn realizes they've been set up.

Angel wants to know why the Beast suddenly wants him dead.

Wo-Pang backs away from the others as they slowly walk toward him.

Angel asks if the Beast wants him dead because Angelus didn't live up to his end of the deal they'd made. He thinks perhaps Wo-Pang can offer some insight into the Beast's plans.

Wo-Pang pulls a knife on Angel who's thinking maybe he should just start taking him apart a piece at a time.

The shaman plunges the knife into his own chest and dies.

Cordelia reckons that's the end of that option as a possible source of information.

Wes instructs Gunn to check the shaman's body, see if he has anything that might be useful to them.

Gunn pulls the robe back from Wo-Pang's head and chest and finds his skin covered in writing of some sort.

---

Wes examines the writing on the Shaman's body with a magnifying glass while Fred illuminates the skin with a flashlight.

Lorne looks on, wondering if there's any part of the shaman's body that doesn't have writing on it. He ponders that a moment, then decides that's a visual he'd rather not entertain.

Angel asks Wes if he can translate the writing.

Wes answers that he can figure out most of it. It's a recorded history of the Kun-Sun-Dai. He realizes they're servants of the Beast.

Gunn reckons that's why they haven't been able to get any information on the Beast from books, the minions keep all of the pertinent information on their own bodies.

Wes notes a passage that details the minions' victory over the "Bosh M'ad" sometime in the third century.

Cordelia asks what the Bosh thing is.

Wes explains they were the "opposers of the Awakening". They created something that would destroy the Beast which is only identified in the writings as the "Tooth of Light."

Fred asks about the "tooth".

Wes reckons it's a weapon of some sort.

Gunn wonders how that turned out.

Wes examines the writings further and continues, saying the weapon wasn't used, the Awakening wasn't due for centuries and in the end, all members of the Bosh M'ad were killed by the minions of the Beast.

Fred figures that must mean whatever the "tooth" is, it had them worried. She wonders what became of it.

Wes continues translating from the writing, saying it was never found, it was kept hidden by its makers.

Gunn doesn't think this is very helpful without some clue where to look.

Angel agrees, noting they don't even know where to start.

Cordelia's eyes turn milky white. She says the weapon is a sword, she can see it. Her eyes return to normal, she says she knows where to look, it's there, under the city.

Angel notes to Wes that there's a sword that will kill the Beast. He thinks that's better than Wesley's plan of bringing in an evil shaman to chop off his head and adds, "Not that that wasn't a swell plan, too."

Wes offers a "sorry" for the shaman plan and walks away.

As he heads up the steps, Angel follows and asks if that was an apology.

Wes turns and admits he was careless, he made a mistake that almost got Angel killed. He notes that would have pretty much made his effort in pulling Angel up from the bottom of the ocean a waste of time.

Angel smiles and admits "that would have been a drag." He observes this being the first time he's heard Wes apologize for anything.

Connor interrupts and asks, "So, are we gonna go get the sword or what?"

---

Angel, Cordy, Wes and Connor travel the sewer tunnels. Cordy and Wes carry lanterns to light the way.

Angel wonders how it is that a weapon from the third century ends up being conveniently located in L.A.

Cordelia says she gets the impression the weapon is accessible from hundreds of points around the world.

Connor asks how that works.

Cordy doesn't know, she just gets the visions, not the details.

Wes notes a tunnel that branches off from the sewer main. He wonders what it is.

Cordelia looks inside and says it's a way down.

Angel observes the grade is steep and tells the others they'll have to take it slow and be careful.

Connor rushes ahead, the others follow more cautiously.

They descend a stone stairway into a lower chamber. Cordelia turns to find Connor standing in front of her.

He says he found something.

Angel reminds everyone to take it carefully.

Cordelia notices a series of small bells, each individually tethered to the ceiling. She wonders if it's left over holiday decorations.

Angel reaches out and takes a swipe at one of the bell tethers. A rack of wooden spears ejects from each wall and meets in the middle. Angel wonders why it always has to be wood as the racks retract back toward the walls.

Wes notes they'll have to get through the corridor without ringing any of the bells.

Cordy doesn't think that's going to be easy.

They slowly, cautiously work their way through the corridor, taking care to avoid the bells.

Wes instructs Cordelia to "freeze", noting her sleeve has caught on one of the tethers. She stops in her tracks.

Wes carefully removes the bell without setting it off. They continue on their way.

Cordelia and Connor reach the other end.

Wes gets his lantern tangled in one of the tethers, setting off the bell and ejecting the racks. He and Angel make it out before they get skewered.

Once on the other side, they find themselves at a dead end, faced with a wall of rock.

Cordelia doesn't figure it makes much sense for there to have been traps to protect a dead end.

Wes notes some Hebrew symbols on the rock wall.

Connor asks if he can translate it.

Wes works it out, noting the symbols are simply random letters, one on each stone. He has an idea that might mean something. He pushes in one of the rocks. The wall starts to lift.

Cordelia is thrilled he figured it out. However, the wall only raises a foot or so, then quickly slams back down.

Wes tries to discover the code, explaining that there's a pattern. Pointing out, "Hebrew letters have numerical values", he figures the one with the next higher value might be the one they need. He finds it, pushes it, a wooden spike ejects from the rock and drives through his palm.

Angel asks what happened.

Connor sarcastically offers, "He was wrong."

Cordy tears some material away from her blouse and wraps Wesley's bleeding hand.

Wes doesn't know what else to try as he ponders the symbols. He realizes something, noting there are nine stones but it's not the numerical value, they "are the first letters of the nine Antediluvian Patriarchs in Genesis."

Cordy mutters that would have been her next guess.

Angel asks which one they need to press.

Wes goes on thinking out loud, "Aleph was Adam, so in descending order, Shin for Seth" as he points out a specific rock.

Angel pushes it. Again, the rock wall raises about a foot then quickly slams back down.

Angel asks which one next.

Wes suggests, "Kaf, for Keinan."

Angel asks which one that is.

Wes points one out and offers that it may be that one.

Cordy doesn't like the sound of "maybe".

Angel pushes it. The rock wall raises half way. He and Connor get under it and prop it open. Angel tells Wes and Cordelia to get inside. Connor and Angel continue holding up the partially raised wall.

Angel directs Connor to get inside.

Connor tells him they both go inside. Angel and Connor release the wall at the same time and roll inside as the wall slams down behind them.

Presented with two options, Angel asks which way they go.

Cordelia doesn't know.

Wes suggests they split up.

Angel agrees, telling Connor to go with Wes, he and Cordy will take the other route.

Connor would prefer to go with Cordelia. He doesn't understand what difference it makes.

Cordy tells him there's no time to discuss it and directs him to go with Wes.

Connor departs with Wes.

Angel and Cordelia depart in the opposite direction.

---

Cordelia offers apologies to Angel for Connor's behavior, saying he's still confused about things. She admits she "made a mess of a messy situation." She acknowledges she's made bad decisions she'd like to take back. She wonders if Angel could --

Angel asks what but Cordy's attention is elsewhere. She sees a light and follows it.

Angel still wonders what Cordy was going to say as he follows her.

The light leads to a large, well lit chamber with pillars and a round, stone altar in the center of it.

Cordy figures this is where the sword should be but doesn't understand why it isn't there. She's afraid it's gone.

Angel isn't so sure. He notes the light has to be coming from somewhere. He reaches his hand into the air above the stone altar, the air turns to a large, round, liquid-like ball of energy. His hand disappears into it.

The ball begins to glow brightly and spin.

Angel understands now what was meant by the sword being accessible from hundreds of different points around the world. The energy is a "dimensional hub". He continues feeling around inside of it, then pulls out his hand, having retrieved the sword from inside. Angel figures things are finally starting to go their way.

The dimensional hub turns blood red, spins erratically, falls and explodes. The cavern begins to collapse around Angel and Cordelia.

They dodge falling rock and pillars as they try to escape before they get buried.

Cordelia gets trapped behind a wall of flame and screams.

Angel gets to her and pushes her toward the exit as the cavern is destroyed.

An explosion knocks both Angel and Cordelia to the ground.

Cordy lands on top of him. They hold that a moment. Angel groans.

Cordelia gets off of him, afraid he got skewered on the sword when they fell.

He pulls it out from under himself and notes he's okay, he "missed the pointy end."

Cordy is relieved. She hugs him and starts to cry. She says they could have been killed.

He reminds her they weren't.

She asks what if they had been. She says she's sorry for what she "let happen with Connor." She tells him she was "lost and frightened", thinking the world was going to end and she wanted to be with Angel but she couldn't. She feels badly for what's happened.

Angel tells her things will be okay.

She says it won't. She wants him to know she knows all the terrible things he did as Angelus but it doesn't matter anymore because she knows Angel is good and that's what she feels when she's with him. She knows she hurt him, she figures she doesn't deserve forgiveness.

Angel tells her he doesn't care what she's done in the past either.

She leans in and whispers she's not sure if it's right.

He tells her to stop talking. They kiss.

They break the kiss and look up to see Connor and Wes have returned.

Connor takes off.

Cordy calls after him.

Angel gets up and rushes after him, handing the sword off to Wes as he passes.

---

Angel catches up with Connor and asks if they can talk.

Connor isn't interested. He takes another step which results in the torches in the cavern igniting, lighting the chamber he's entered.

Angel, sensing a trap, tells him to stand still.

Connor responds by taking a step which triggers the release of a spike that flies out of the wall and into Angel's shoulder. Connor smiles.

Angel pulls it out and notes that was painful.

Connor isn't heartbroken by that.

Angel tries to talk to his son, but Connor isn't in the mood. He notes sarcastically he can see why Cordelia would choose Angel.

Angel understands Connor is upset.

Connor tells him he doesn't understand anything except how to take things away from him. He takes a step toward Angel.

Angel urges him to be careful.

Connor doesn't see the point. He figures nothing is what it should be and it's Angel's fault. He steps toward him, triggering the release of another spike which flies toward Connor.

Angel gets him out of the way, the spike embeds in the rock.

Connor pushes Angel away and throws him across the chamber. Another spike flies through the air, barely missing Angel who notes the location isn't the best for doing this.

Connor continues beating on Angel as each step taken by either of them seems to trigger another spike being released.

Angel suggests it's time Connor grew up and wonders if he thinks he's the only one who's had these feelings, the only one who ever wished his father dead.

Connor notes, "Yeah, but mine already is" as he continues fighting.

Angel takes his legs out from under him, knocking Connor down. He tells him it's not always about him, "Sometimes what you want isn't always what other people need."

Connor gets back up and keeps brawling. He slams Angel across the chamber into the wall and tells him, "She was mine."

Cordelia arrives, hears that, and tells him she wasn't. She's sorry, but he needs to understand that.

Connor looks at her a moment, then runs off.

Angel gets up and calls after him.

---

Angel, Cordelia and Wes arrive back at the hotel. Gunn is relieved to see them, saying he was afraid they might be dead.

Angel suggests he not be too relieved yet.

Lorne notes the sword Angel is carrying and asks if that's it.

Cordy acknowledges it is.

Gunn is impressed. He asks if he can "play" with it.

Angel tosses it to him.

Gunn waves it about a bit, getting the feel of it.

Fred asks where Connor is.

Wes answers, "patrolling" as Gunn continues swinging the sword around. Wes notes they have the weapon, now they just need--

His comment is cut off by the thud of furniture being cleft in twain by the sword. Gunn looks up, embarrassed and sheepishly admits, "My bad."

Wes finishes his comment, they need to find the Beast.

Lorne offers that most of his contacts have left L.A. for safer places. All he could come up with was something about "bad mojo rising down in the warehouse district."

Angel figures that's a place to start.

Fred carries an open book she's holding over to Angel, noting that they were able to come up with some relevant passages by cross-referencing information that was in the writing on Wo-Pang's body.

Angel asks what they've discovered.

Fred answers the only way to kill the Beast is to pierce its skull with the sword.

Angel thinks that sounds like a workable plan.

Cordy asks about the sun.

Gunn answers that killing the Beast will solve the problem.

Fred clarifies once the Beast is dead, the energy used to block the sun should be released.

Wes figures there's a catch.

Fred admits that's the case.

Gunn points out it took a tremendous amount of energy to blot out the sun.

Angel realizes it will all be released at once when he kills the Beast.

Fred notes t as far as they've been able to determine in their research, nothing human could survive the release that close to the source when the Beast dies. She's not sure Angel could either.

Angel says he'll let them know.

Cordelia tells Angel he's not going to fight it alone.

He takes the sword from Gunn and says he has no choice.

Cordy figures there's always a choice.

Angel doesn't see it that way. He tells them they each made a difference, to the world as well as him. They've been to the edge many times, done things they think can never be forgiven, but when it counts, they always come through for each other. They've never let darkness win, not because of The Powers or supernatural abilities or magic weapons, but because they believe in each other, "Not just as friends or lovers, but as champions." Every one of them. Together.

He starts to walk away.

Cordy stops him, reminding him he just said they're stronger together. He can't do the job alone.

He says he isn't. She tells him the speeches may work for the others but she has a bit more invested.

She doesn't want to lose him now that they're just at the beginning of whatever it is "or could be."

Angel tells her they'll discuss it when he returns.

She asks what if he doesn't. She knows he can't guarantee that he'll be back.

He says he's more sure of it than anything. He promises he'll come back for her but he has to do the job first. He has to find the Beast and --

Angel is interrupted by the sound of the glass doors shattering as the Beast enters the lobby. Angel notes his arrival with a casual, "Oh, there he is."

The Beast tells Angel if he won't align with it, then he'll have to pay for making it angry. It notices the sword in Angel's hand and asks, "Is that what I think it is?"

Angel directs the others to get out.

They head for the weapons cabinet as Angel engages the Beast.

Angel yells at them to get out of the hotel, he can't do what he needs to do with them there.

Cordy refuses.

Wes pulls her by the arm out of the hotel.

She tries to turn around and come back in.

Wes gets her out the door.

The Beast reminds Angel they could rule the world and asks why Angel opposes it.

Angel responds the "Rain of fire, blocking out the sun, and you just kinda piss me off." He charges the Beast with the sword. Fight continues.

Angel takes a swing with the sword.

The Beast catches it and tells "Angelus" things don't have to be this way.

Angel thinks they do as he punches the Beast, wrests the sword free and continues the battle.

Angel knocks the Beast to its knees and brings the sword down toward its head.

The Beast catches the blade and holds onto it. They have a brief standoff as Angel can't get the sword free and the Beast won't let go of it.

Finally, the demon shatters the blade and knocks what's left of it out of Angel's hand. It grabs Angel by the throat and picks him up off of the floor. It wonders if Angel thought he was going to win.

Connor comes in and chops at the Beast's arm with an ax, causing it to release Angel.

The demon notes Connor apparently intends to join his father in death.

Connor figures more like joining his father in kicking some tail as he engages it with the ax.

Angel manages to retrieve what's left of the sword.

Connor gets knocked to the floor.

The Beast notes his arrogance, "So much like Angelus."

Connor corrects him, saying, "His name is Angel."

The Beast turns in time to see Angel drive what's left of the sword into its head.

Angel quips, "Consider your ass kicked" as the Beast explodes in a bright wash of light and energy that sends Angel flying across the lobby.

Connor helps Angel to his feet.

Angel is surprised he came back to the hotel.

Connor smiles and offers that he wasn't going to let Angel take all the credit for saving the world. They walk to the center of the lobby and find a pile of dust where the Beast had stood.

Connor tells Angel he was right, the world is a harsh place and she was the one thing that "made it hurt less." But he knows it wasn't him she wanted, he could tell. It's Angel she loves, it's always been about him.

Angel says he's sorry.

Connor says she was "too old for me anyway." He wonders if this is what being a "champion" feels like.

Angel answers, "Pretty much."

Wes, Gunn, Fred and Cordy return to the lobby. They notice the pile of dust on the floor.

Cordelia hugs Angel, saying "You did it."

He corrects her saying they did it, together.

They all smile at each other.

Gunn and Wes share an affectionate handshake.

Angel asks if someone would clean up the dust pile.

---

The citizens of L.A. bask in the returned sunshine as Angel watches out the window from his room at the hotel.

Cordelia figures it must be difficult for him seeing everyone happy because of what he did, bringing the light back, when he can't go out into it himself.

He turns away from the window and tells her he's where he wants to be, with her. They kiss.

Things intensify, he pulls back, hesitant.

She tells him, "No. Whatever it is, whatever the reason, or excuse or logic, we're here. Now. Together. Everything is the way it's supposed to be. For once." She asks if they haven't waited long enough.

They resume kissing. She unbuttons his shirt and takes it off.

They fall onto the bed and have sex.

At the climactic moment, Angel gasps, "Buffy", looking stricken as he rolls off of Cordelia onto his back next to her, knowing what's happening. He mutters "No! Oh God, no!"

Angel awakens, still strapped to the table, inside the cage.

The shaman announces, "Illusion becomes reality. It is done."

It becomes obvious everything that happened after the shaman laid his hand on Angel's forehead and told him to close his eyes, was part of the 'perfect day' illusion that led to Angel losing his soul.

Gunn, Wes, Connor and Cordelia watch Angel from outside the bars of the cage as Angel turns to look toward Cordy, the familiar sanguinary smirk of Angelus on his lips.

Cordy sees his expression and quietly says, "Angelus."

He laughs wickedly as the bottle meant to hold his soul sits on a table outside of the cage and glows with its newly acquired contents.

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