"Peace Out"
Events continue where they left off at the end of "Sacrifice" with Wes, Lorne, Fred and Gunn fighting Connor and the National Guard in the sewers and Angel newly arrived in the sewer creature's home dimension.
The fight continues in the sewer but ends when Wes and the others are overpowered by Connor and the minions. Connor notices Angel isn't with the others and looks to Wes for information on his whereabouts.
In the other dimension, the bug-like creatures surrounding Angel approach. He notices they seem wary of the orb that opened the portal to get him there. He raises it, the creatures halt their advance and scatter.
Angel looks up and notices a temple built atop a tall stone mountain. He heads for it.
In the sewer Connor has Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne lined up, on their knees. Connor wonders what they thought they could do, "Poison the whole city with your hate?" He tells them they've given him no choice but to kill them.
Wes says Connor's name.
Connor points the blade of his sword at Wesley's throat. He notes the others talked a lot about saving the world and now it's been done. Everything has been made good and right. He doesn't figure they can deal with that. He steps behind Wes, leans closer to him and asks if he doesn't understand, they're all alone now.
He steps back and walks behind the others, telling them they are the ones who are left out. He holds the blade to Lorne's throat as he adds, "You .. don't .. belong."
Gunn notes he'd prefer not to belong if belonging means "following some bogus god and killing in her name."
Connor isn't interested in listening to the "lies."
Wes informs Connor the lie is Jasmine, he reckons Connor has no idea what she is.
Connor assures him he does know, "she's mine." He raises the sword above Wesley's head, ready to decapitate him.
One of the National Guardsmen speaks to Connor in Jasmine's voice, telling him to wait. She instructs him to bring the others to her.
Connor wants to know why.
Jasmine wonders if it's necessary for her to explain her reasons to him.
He says it isn't, but he doesn't understand.
She directs him to bring them to her, "intact."
Wes exhales a sigh of relief as Connor lowers the sword. Jasmine thanks Connor.
Angel continues his climb up the face of the stone mountain to the temple. It's a long way up.
In her room at the hotel, Jasmine addresses a group of her followers, telling them they have much to do but they've made a good start. She appreciates their devotion and sacrifice, it's made a difference.
Connor escorts Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne into the room.
Jasmine directs her followers to go to the banquet room, she'll meet them there shortly. They leave.
Jasmine looks at Wes and the others, who are lined up in front of her and says, "So much pain, suffering, must hurt so terribly."
Gunn suggests she not bother to gloat, they've had tougher fights and taken worse beatings.
Jasmine clarifies, she was referring to the pain they caused themselves by letting go of her.
Lorne wonders if she means their giving up "absolute tranquility and perfect happiness?" He says it's no loss. He looks for some support from the others on that comment but the answer is silence.
Jasmine tells them she wishes it were possible to take them back.
Fred points out they didn't ask for that.
Jasmine asks where Angel is.
Wes reckons since she seems to know everything, perhaps she can tell them.
Connor answers Wesley's insolence with a punch to the face.
Jasmine chastises Connor for his reaction, telling him she doesn't want to see that. He steps back.
Wes realizes Jasmine likely recognized the sewer creature.
She doesn't deny it.
He asks if it was just another of her zealots.
Jasmine answers, "A sentient, living being wanting what's best for his own." She wonders why that's wrong. She says the creature's world was like this one a few millennia ago. It was filled with fear, hatred and war.
Gunn snidely notes that was probably before Jasmine arrived and turned it into a "paradise."
Jasmine says she did the best she could, "with a bunch of insects to work with." She helped them, advanced their evolutionary process a bit.
Lorne asks how that turned out for her.
She admits it was a trial run, "an early experiment to work out the bugs, so to speak." She won't make the same mistake again. She knows where Angel is and what he's looking for. She assures the others Angel is wasting his time.
Wes figures if she really believed that, they'd already be dead.
Jasmine calls to one of her followers, Patience. The woman enters the room. Jasmine tells her the news people have arrived and directs Patience to have them set up in the lobby, she'll be ready to speak with them after she's eaten. Patience leaves.
Wes figures it's time.
Gunn asks what it's time for.
Wes reckons it was too much trouble for Jasmine to conquer a primitive dimension. It's much easier to accomplish where there's satellite television transmission technology that can spread her message around the world.
Jasmine doesn't deny it.
Fred urges Connor to stop her from enslaving the world.
He says she'll bring people together.
Fred tries to convince him Jasmine isn't what she pretends to be.
Gunn adds, "She's a monster."
Fred says Cordy's blood was supposed to break the spell so Connor could see what Jasmine really looks like.
Connor says he knows what she looks like as he looks at Jasmine and sees her true face, rotted and crawling with maggots. He tells the others, "She's beautiful."
Jasmine directs some of her followers to show her "guests" to their accommodations. As the followers lead them out, Wes tells her he knows she's just using them as a bargaining chip to keep Angel quiet.
After the others are taken out, Connor asks Jasmine what Wes was referring to.
She avoids answering, telling him her television appearance will be very draining for her. While she feeds to build up her strength, she'll be out of contact with everything, including Connor. She wants him to be her "eyes and ears" to keep guard on Wes and the others, be sure they don't escape.
She starts to tell him what to do if Angel shows up but is interrupted by Connor asking what it is Angel is looking for.
Jasmine answers, "The unattainable."
Angel arrives in the temple where there stands a stone statue of Jasmine. It has her human face but the body of the bug-like creatures. Angel looks around.
A voice from the shadows taunts him about coming a long way only to find failure. It assures Angel his trip down will be much faster than the journey up to the temple.
Angel reckons he could use the body of the speaker to cushion his fall.
The voice responds its body wouldn't provide much protection but he's welcome to try.
The speaker steps out from the shadows. He's a diminutive creature, a smaller version of the dimension's other inhabitants, but with a more human-like body.
Angel is a bit surprised by the creature's appearance, asking if he's the --
The creature confirms he's the High Priest, "Guardian of the Word. Caretaker of Her Most Blessed Temple."
Angel notes the temple is devoid of worshippers. He wonders where the other "true believers" are, or if the priest is the only one left.
The priest chuckles then tells him, "Betrayers. Blasphemers. Centuries of waiting for her return have caused most to doubt."
Angel reckons the priest means all but him, he's remained her faithful public relations representative.
The priest answers she is the light and the way.
Angel informs him she isn't going to return.
The priest believes she will come back, once she's finished with Angel's world.
Angel tries to trick the priest into giving up Jasmine's true name by suggesting they may be referencing different deities. He asks the priest the name of the one he's talking about.
The priest laughs. He realizes this is the reason Angel has come to the temple.
Angel is glad the priest understands so he doesn't have to repeat himself. He grabs the creature by the throat and lifts him off of the floor, demanding the name.
The priest calls him a fool, saying Angel can take away her power but he's already lost everything.
Connor locks Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne into the cell in the hotel basement. Lorne reckons the blood ritual they did to break Jasmine's spell didn't work on Connor because he'd always seen her true face.
Gunn finds that hard to believe.
Connor sits in a chair opposite the cell, a sword in his lap, and says he grew up in Quor-toth, a hell dimension. He's seen things beyond their imagining. Appearance isn't important to him.
Fred wonders exactly what is important to Connor.
Gunn reckons it's obvious they aren't, nor is Angel.
Fred asks about Cordelia, pointing out she needs help, nobody can know what the coma is doing to her.
Connor assures her Cordy is fine.
Fred wonders how he knows that. She asks if he's checked on her.
Connor says Cordy has been moved.
Gunn asks what he means by that.
Connor answers she's safe and taken care of. He tells them to drop it.
Wes, trying to get Connor to think, asks what Jasmine eats. He notes the sewer creature referred to her as "The Devourer". He wonders exactly what it is she devours.
Connor claims not to know.
Wes wonders if he really doesn't, pointing out the followers that are asked to accompany Jasmine to her room, the ones told to meet her in the banquet hall --
Lorne realizes, "They're the banquet."
A stunned Gunn reacts to that, "She eats people?!?" He realizes it's a repeat of "To Serve Man". Gunn wonders if Wes thinks Jasmine ate Cordelia.
He hopes not, but concedes they really can't know for sure. He looks over at Connor who's clearly disturbed by the possibility.
In the temple, Angel is still holding the priest above the floor by the neck. The creature says he knows what Angel is, Jasmine has given him sight to see into "the hearts and minds of others."
Angel figures the creature should know he's in a hurry as he tightens his grip on the priest's neck and demands Jasmine's name.
The priest chokes out, "Keeper!"
Angel sets him down and wonders if that's it, "Caper?"
The priest answers, "Her true name is known only by the Keeper of the Name."
Angel gets that, figuring that's the priest. He grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the floor again.
The priest tells him, "No! I am the Guardian of the Word!"
Angel thought the priest had said the word is the name.
The priest responds, "Yes, and I guard the Keeper of it."
The conversation comes full circle as Angel asks, "So, you're the Keeper's keeper?"
The creature reiterates, "I am the Guardian of the Word!"
Angel finally gets it and asks where he can find the Keeper of the Name.
The priest looks past Angel, across the room.
Angel turns and sees a creature kneeling, its back to Angel. Angel sets the priest down and moves toward the Keeper.
The priest assures him the Keeper won't just tell him the name. It will only reveal the name with its "last breath."
Angel tells the Keeper he needs the name, they can do things the easy way or the hard way.
The Keeper rises to its feet and turns to face Angel who notices its mouth is sewn shut. The Keeper is large and armed with a heavy club, a version of the dimension's other inhabitants but with a more human-like body.
Angel reckons he'll have to do it the hard way.
In the banquet room, Jasmine is surrounded by a large group of followers, some naked, others in various states of undress. She tells a young woman she's happy she's there.
The woman, Susan, thanks her, saying her life was a mess before she met Jasmine.
Jasmine assures her it's all right and promises she won't have to worry about anything again.
Connor comes in and makes his way to Jasmine's side. He needs to speak with her.
Jasmine excuses herself and Connor from the crowd as they step aside. She asks if they can have the conversation later, she doesn't want to keep her minions waiting.
Connor apologizes for the interruption then stammers, trying to find a way to ask the question.
Jasmine knows he's concerned about Cordelia.
Connor asks what Jasmine did with her.
Jasmine assures him Cordy is where she needs her to be, out of harm's way.
Connor would like to know exactly where she is.
Jasmine doesn't figure there's any reason for Connor to know that. She tells him to take comfort in her words, Cordy is safe.
Jasmine notices Connor looking around nervously. She reckons he figures she ate Cordelia.
Connor denies it, but he doesn't sound particularly convincing.
Jasmine laughs, assuring him she's not offended by his concern. She wonders who "put such a ridiculous idea in your head?"
Connor answers "No one." He says he didn't think it but then asks if she's saying no, she didn't eat Cordelia.
Jasmine tells him she couldn't hurt Cordelia any more than she could hurt Connor. They are her parents, her "tether to the world." She was brought into the world through their love. She understands Connor misses Cordy.
Connor looks to confirm Cordelia is still in this dimension and not an alternate version somewhere.
Jasmine assures him Cordy is not in another dimension, she simply had a few of her followers move her to a more secure place for Cordy's own protection.
Connor casually asks who moved her.
Jasmine answers it doesn't matter. Cordy is alive, still in a coma, and guarded. She reminds him their "guests" in the basement are supposed to be guarded as well. Connor leaves.
Jasmine calls out a thank you and asks him to close the door on his way out, leaving her alone with the roomful of naked and near-naked minions.
At the temple, Angel is battling the Keeper as the priest taunts him. The priest asks Angel what he thinks he's fighting for considering his friends are likely already dead and Angel surely must know that.
Angel says he's trying to save his world as he continues fighting the Keeper who growls menacingly.
The priest isn't impressed, noting Angel's world doesn't care much for him, doesn't really want him.
Angel answers his world needs him.
The priest figures Angel believes that because his Powers That Be tell him so, and perhaps they're right, but that's not the reason Angel is there.
Angel tosses the Keeper across the room, into the wall. He turns to the priest and asks what he thinks Angel is fighting for.
The priest answers, "Him." He notes Angel has already lost the woman, he reckons it's the boy Angel is fighting for but tells him he's going to fail, he'll lose him as well.
The Keeper punches Angel, the fight continues.
Connor walks through the crowded lobby, sniffing the air and then moving through the throng as he sniffs each person.
One guy asks another how the satellite hookup is coming. He's assured things will be online shortly. He envies those who haven't seen Jasmine yet getting to experience her for the first time.
Connor continues moving through the crowd. He moves closer to a young woman, sniffing at her. She turns. He apologizes, saying something was familiar.
She says it's the perfume, she heard it was Cordelia's favorite. Connor continues his search.
He picks up the scent as he sets his sights on a young man, Jeremy, standing across the lobby. As he heads for the guy, a reporter steps in front of him looking for an intervew. She says he must be very proud being Jasmine's father.
Connor brushes her off and follows the guy who has moved out into the garden.
Connor directs a couple of followers in the garden to check out the lobby where there are reporters looking for people to interview. They depart, leaving only Jeremy and the man he's chatting with, Brent.
Connor walks up to them. Brent shows Connor a sprig of jasmine he's holding, saying it's for the press conference.
Connor mutters, "Right, cause she needs more of that." He asks if they're the ones who moved Cordelia, he needs to know where she is.
Jeremy denies it, saying Connor must have misunderstood something.
Brent nervously tells him they didn't do anything with the "transcendent mother."
Connor smiles and tells them it's okay, Jasmine told him they were the ones that moved Cordelia, how else could he know?
Jeremy tells him he'll have to ask Jasmine.
Connor slams Jeremy against the concrete wall, informing Jeremy he's asking him for the answer.
Brent tries to punch Connor but he blocks the blow and punches him, knocking him out. He pins Jeremy to the wall by the throat and tells him he can smell Cordelia on him. He demands he, 'Tell me and I'll crush your windpipe."
Jeremy wonders if he didn't mean an "or" in there, that he wanted the information or he'd crush his windpipe.
Connor asks where Cordelia is.
In the temple, the Keeper growls as it lifts Angel off the floor by his throat. The priest watches, noting Angel tries so hard to make things right for Connor, but he never will, so why bother.
Angel reckons the priest has never had kids or he wouldn't be asking that question. He punches the Keeper, causing it to drop him. Fight continues.
The priest says Connor wasn't supposed to exist. His only purpose was to "bring forth the blessed She - - a means to an end."
Angel figures people are born for a lot of reasons. The Keeper takes a swing with the club. Angel ducks the blow.
The priest tells him Connor will never love him.
Angel says it doesn't matter.
The Keeper takes another swing with the club, Angel moves out of the way. The club delivers a crushing blow to the priest, sending him flying into the air and against the wall where he's impaled on one of many spikes protruding from it.
Angel looks at the priest briefly and casually notes, "Oh. That'll work."
The Keeper skewers Angel through his body and lifts him over its head.
In the basement cell, Gunn repeatedly kicks at the cell door. Fred reckons things aren't looking too bright for them, not that she's giving up but things are a little bleak.
Lorne would prefer Gunn stop kicking the door.
Gunn agrees to stop, as soon as someone can offer a better idea to get them out.
Lorne wonders what Gunn expects they could do even if they got out, reminding him they're about to become the only ones in the world who aren't enthralled by Jasmine.
Gunn figures they can worry about that when they have to, first they need to find a way out of the cell.
Fred notes it's strange that Connor just left, leaving them unguarded.
Lorne points out they're locked in the cell, it's not like they can go too far.
Gunn wonders if perhaps they were getting through to him.
Lorne thinks it's more likely Connor was summoned by Jasmine.
Wes mutters, "Blood." The others wonder what he's talking about. He says he was just thinking that Cordelia's blood had the same power as Jasmine's to break the hold she had over them.
Fred adds they figured that, mother and daughter shared the same blood.
Wes notes Cordelia has been moved. He wonders why.
Gunn reckons it was to keep people like them from using Cordy's blood to break the spell.
Wes points out they're the only ones left who see her true face and Jasmine had them on the run. He wonders, if Cordy is such a danger to Jasmine, why didn't she just kill Cordy and finish it.
Fred realizes that perhaps Jasmine can't kill her mother.
Wes reckons maybe Jasmine can't hurt Cordelia without hurting herself but perhaps Cordelia can hurt Jasmine.
Gunn points out there are a lot of uncertainties in that theory.
Wes concedes that's true but notes Cordelia may be the only weapon they have left against Jasmine.
Lorne notes they'd have to wake her up first.
Fred adds they have to find her first.
Connor arrives outside of a church. The sign that generally announces service times and other church events says, "God is nowhere. Jasmine is the way."
Connor enters the church, walking past the religious statuary that's been torn down. He finds the set of inside doors boarded shut.
He's approached by two cops shining flashlights in his face. He greets them. The cops smile and lower their flashlights. One of them tells Connor politely he isn't supposed to be there.
Connor claims he wasn't aware of that.
The other cop tells him nobody is allowed in, "Jasmine's orders."
The cops discuss the use of the word "orders" a moment, deciding it wasn't really like that, it's not in her nature to give orders. It was more of a "request." They say she treats everyone equally, they love that about her.
Connor is told he'll have to leave or the cops will "have to get rough." One of the cops reminds the other to say "please." He adds a "please" with a smile.
Connor throws the cops through the boarded doors and follows them inside through the entry he just created. One of the cops gets up, Connor punches him, knocking him out.
He walks down the church aisle, toward the altar, where he sees a body lying on a slab, covered by a transparent shroud. He knows it's Cordelia before he gets close, noting "Found you."
At the hotel, Jasmine is engulfed in the bright green light as she finishes her meal of minions. Tentacles are visible at the edges of the light. The light fades. Jasmine has resumed her human form, smiles and announces it's time for her close-up as she heads downstairs.
Connor speaks to an unconscious Cordelia, telling her he had to see her again. He needed to know she was still there with him. He sits next to her and tells her "It's started, the new beginning. Just wish you'd wake up and see it. Just what you wanted. I mean .. it is what you wanted, right?"
He gets up and moves away a bit. He continues, asking if that isn't why she came to him, what it was all about, "protecting our baby, Jasmine, so she can .. make this world the kind of place you wanted?"
He tells her the world is a better place, not "harsh and cruel" the way Angel prefers it so he has a reason to keep fighting. He gets agitated as he raises his voice, telling her that's what it's all about for Angel and the others. They need a reason to fight, it's what gives their lives meaning. The only thing. He smashes a wooden lectern.
He calms down a bit and tells Cordy he isn't like them. He doesn't want to keep fighting, he just wants to stop fighting and rest. Rest is what he wants most of all but he can't. He admits it isn't working. He tried to believe, he wanted it, wanted to go along with things. He says Jasmine is bringing peace to everyone, purging all their anger and hate. He adds with a caustic laugh, except for him. It doesn't work for him. He knows Jasmine is a lie, just another of the lies his life has been built upon, but he thought "this one was better than the others." He doesn't seem so sure of that anymore.
In the hotel lobby, reporters are on the air, preparing viewers for Jasmine's imminent arrival.
Patience follows a determined Jeremy down the hall toward Jasmine's room, telling him Jasmine doesn't have time to see him right now.
He insists she has to know.
Jasmine steps out into the hallway. Patience tells her he says he was attacked.
Jeremy drops to his knees and tells Jasmine "he" forced him to tell where he'd taken her "mother."
Jasmine isn't too happy with that news as the smile leaves her face and she says Connor's name.
Patience reminds her of the press conference. Jasmine thanks her and walks on down the hall.
Jasmine arrives at the balcony above the lobby, smiling.
The people gathered on the balcony and in the lobby below all drop to their knees.
Jasmine directs them to rise, she wants them all to share in this moment. She welcomes everyone, especially those around the world who are seeing her for the first time on television. She blows a kiss then thanks them for letting her speak to them. She says she comes not as a "leader or divinity but as your partner in a venture" to make the world the best it can be. There will be no more war, famine, or misery. The world will be built on "love, respect, understanding" and "just enjoying one other." She asks if that sounds nice. The crowd applauds warmly in response.
In the basement cell, Gunn continues kicking at the door. Fred hears the applause and wonders what that's about.
Wes reckons it's Jasmine's "world debut."
Gunn figures they truly are alone now.
Lorne thinks that's the end then.
Jasmine tells her followers she knows they have questions. She'd like to give them the opportunity to ask. She calls on one of the reporters by name, Tracy. The woman is so stunned Jasmine knows her by name, she can't formulate a question.
Jasmine moves on and calls upon another of the reporters in the crowd. He asks what they can do to show their love for her.
She answers they only have to love each other.
After a brief pause, she smiles and adds, "Although, a temple would be nice. Something massive and awe-inspiring yet warm and nurturing, celebrating the gentle pleasures of a peaceful, precious coexistence where violent behavior --"
A crackling sound interrupts her speech as bolts of electricity flash in the center of the crowd in the lobby. The crowd moves aside, a portal opens. Angel gets pushed out of it. He has the portal orb in one hand, the other hand behind his back. He drops the orb to the floor.
Jasmine orders her minions to kill him.
The minions start to obey but hesitate when Angel reveals what he's got behind his back. He raises the Keeper's head into the air.
He says, "Sorry", to Jasmine then pulls a knife.
She tells him, "Don't."
He cuts the Keeper's mouth open. A rush of wind and whispering, something unintelligible, spills forth.
Jasmine is engulfed in a bright green glow, revealing her rotted, true face to the masses.
Another bright green flash engulfs Jasmine. When it fades, she's managed to pull herself together a bit. She looks less hideous but no longer perfectly beautiful. Panic rules the crowd as they scatter. Jasmine begs them not to pay attention, trying to convince them it's a lie. She pleads with them not to leave her as the people rush for the exits.
Angel remains in the lobby, staring up at Jasmine. She retreats down the hall. Angel heads up the stairs after her.
The screams from the lobby filter down to the basement cell. Lorne wonders just what is going on up there.
Fred doesn't figure it sounds like anything good.
Gunn continues kicking the door. He reckons the sounds are the result of Jasmine feeding and he's pretty sure they're going to be next.
Wes starts to tell Gunn he's wasting his time with the door, just as the door finally gives and opens. Gunn reminds him "Never give up, never surrender." They exit the cell, passing Gunn on the way out. He wonders if anyone is going to say thank you.
Fred offers her thanks.
Gunn appreciates getting his props.
Jasmine walks the street, looking lost as chaos surrounds her. People are screaming, running in all directions. A woman stops in front of her and screams. Jasmine tells her not to be afraid, it's still her.
A man shouts, "Lying bitch!", tosses a bottle at her and runs.
Jasmine calls for Connor.
At the church, Connor hears Jasmine speak to him through one of the cops he'd knocked out earlier. She calls to her "father" telling him she needs him and asking for his help. Connor rushes out of the church.
Angel finds Jasmine on an overpass and calls to her. He tells her it's over, she's lost.
She wonders if he has any notion of what he's done.
He answers he did what he had to do.
She tells him nothing is absolute, there is no right and wrong, only choices. She wonders if he hasn't learned anything from The Powers. She offered paradise, he chose the mayhem that now surrounds them.
Angel tells her he did it because he could, because she took choice away from them.
Jasmine sarcastically asks him to look where free will has gotten them.
Angel answers, "I didn't say we were smart. I said it's our right. It's what makes us human."
Jasmine notes he isn't human.
Angel responds, "Working on it."
Jasmine starts to walk away. Angel follows, asking where she's going.
She wants to be left alone.
He says he can't let her go.
She asks what more he wants from her, he's taken everything. She wonders if he's going to kill her now, "as if you could."
Angel concedes he may not be able to, but he'll die trying to keep her from hurting anyone else.
Jasmine laughs, pointing out he's dead already.
Angel figures she knew what he meant.
Jasmine asks him why he hates her so much.
Angel runs down his list of grievances; "Rain of fire, blotting out the sun, enslaving mankind, and yeah, oh yeah, hey! You eat people!"
Jasmine points out they have that much in common.
Angel tells her thousands of people died because of what she's done.
She wonders how many will die because of him. She says he could have stopped it; "war, disease, poverty." She asks how may lives would have been saved in just a few years. She acknowledges she killed people, but she murdered thousands to save billions. She reckons the world is now doomed to its own destruction.
Angel tells her the price was too much. Their fate has to be in their own hands. He admits they've all done terrible things, all they can do is attempt to make up for that. He offers that though the world isn't the one she wanted, perhaps even without her powers, Jasmine can still help them make it a better place.
Jasmine calmly notes she hasn't lost all of her power as she backhands Angel, sending him flying into the air and over the overpass railing. He lands hard on the hood of a car below, shattering its windshield, startling the young woman behind the wheel.
Jasmine picks up a car and walks over to the railing.
Angel directs the stunned occupant of the car he landed on to "run". She exits the car and runs away. He rolls over and looks up to see Jasmine holding a car above her head.
She tells him he hasn't begun to pay as she tosses the car below. It falls through power lines, severing them in a shower of sparks, on the way down. Angel rolls off of the car just before the other car lands in a fireball on top of it.
Jasmine leaps over the railing to the ground below. She walks over to Angel who's still on the ground. She thinks he might be right, perhaps she can still make the world a better place, "one body at a time." She kicks him, sending him flying through the air. He lands near a downed power cable.
Jasmine stalks toward him, shouting that she loved this world, she gave up everything she was to be with them.
Angel figures she gave it up so she could rule them.
She insists she did it because she cared. She says the other Powers never cared and she reckons Angel knows that in his heart. She tells him it's too bad she has to rip it out now. She leans over to grab him.
Angel picks up the power cable and zaps her with it. The electrical jolt sends her flying backward through the air several feet into a fence.
Jasmine gets up, wondering if Angel really thought that was going to work. She moves toward him.
Angel gets up, telling her it was worth a try. He punches her in the face but it has no effect on her. She picks him up and throws him into a streetlight, breaking it.
Jasmine walks over to Angel who's still on the ground and asks if he remembers the prophecy, the one that said he'd play a major role in the apocalypse but it wasn't clear on which side he'd be. She pulls him to his feet, shoves him against a fence and says he knows now. She informs him that this "Power that was" has enough power left to destroy mankind and Angel is the one responsible.
Angel punches her, telling her it's not his fault. He starts to punch her again but she grabs his arm and forces it downward with a snapping crunch. Angel suggests she, "Go to hell."
She grabs him and tells him, "You first, baby." She kisses him.
Angel tries to pull away from her but girl's got grip.
Connor walks upon the scene and observes flatly, "Always the same, dad. I get a girl, you gotta make a play for her."
Jasmine breaks the kiss and turns to face Connor. She says his name sweetly.
Wes and Lorne look around the empty lobby. Gunn comes downstairs. Wes asks if he found anybody. Gunn answers he didn't.
Fred comes in and tells the others the garden is empty. She notes it's creepy.
Lorne agrees with that.
Fred picks up a ladies handbag laying on the floor. She asks if the others think the people are all --
Lorne says, "dead." He looks at one of the monitors and notes the television station is off the air, something major apparently happened there.
Gunn finds the Keeper's severed head on the floor and picks it up.
Wes figures Angel was there.
Gunn drops the head to the floor.
Wes starts toward the lobby door.
Gunn asks where they're going.
Wes answers they have to find Angel and Cordelia before Jasmine does.
They rush out the front door but come to a dead stop when they're faced with something apparently quite surprising outside of the hotel. Fred reacts with, "Oh, my God."
Jasmine is pleased, believing she still has Connor. She tells him Angel ruined everything but he can't defeat both of them. She asks if he still believes in her, if he still loves her.
He answers, "Yes."
She turns to move toward Angel. Connor punches her in the head, putting his fist through the back of it and out her face. Jasmine's lifeless body drops to the ground.
Connor looks down at her, emotionless.
Angel tries to offer reassurance that things will be okay, it's over now. He knows it's been hard for Connor, he's just happy to have him.
Connor looks at him a moment, then turns and walks away. Angel calls to him repeatedly. Connor starts to run. Angel is too beaten to follow.
Angel arrives back at the hotel. The others exit the back office and greet his return.
Angel is surprised they're all alive. He tells them Jasmine is dead. He brought back her name and it took away her power. He sits down stiffly and adds, "Connor killed her."
Fred asks, "Connor?"
Angel nods.
Wes starts to say something but he's interrupted by Angel who is concerned about his son. He says he never saw him like that before, "He wasn't hurt or angry, he just ... killed her." He notes Connor had no expression, like "he had nothing left."
Wes tries once again to tell Angel something but again, Angel's concern is only for Connor. He says he has a bad feeling about things. Connor has given up. He's afraid he's going to do something, "He might --"
Lilah Morgan steps up to the doorway of the back office and with a smile, offers a finish for that thought, "End world peace? Well, you already took care of that. Congratulations."
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S4/EPISODE 21
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| Written by: David Fury | Original Air Date: April 30, 2003 |
Events continue where they left off at the end of "Sacrifice" with Wes, Lorne, Fred and Gunn fighting Connor and the National Guard in the sewers and Angel newly arrived in the sewer creature's home dimension.
The fight continues in the sewer but ends when Wes and the others are overpowered by Connor and the minions. Connor notices Angel isn't with the others and looks to Wes for information on his whereabouts.
In the other dimension, the bug-like creatures surrounding Angel approach. He notices they seem wary of the orb that opened the portal to get him there. He raises it, the creatures halt their advance and scatter.
Angel looks up and notices a temple built atop a tall stone mountain. He heads for it.
In the sewer Connor has Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne lined up, on their knees. Connor wonders what they thought they could do, "Poison the whole city with your hate?" He tells them they've given him no choice but to kill them.
Wes says Connor's name.
Connor points the blade of his sword at Wesley's throat. He notes the others talked a lot about saving the world and now it's been done. Everything has been made good and right. He doesn't figure they can deal with that. He steps behind Wes, leans closer to him and asks if he doesn't understand, they're all alone now.
He steps back and walks behind the others, telling them they are the ones who are left out. He holds the blade to Lorne's throat as he adds, "You .. don't .. belong."
Gunn notes he'd prefer not to belong if belonging means "following some bogus god and killing in her name."
Connor isn't interested in listening to the "lies."
Wes informs Connor the lie is Jasmine, he reckons Connor has no idea what she is.
Connor assures him he does know, "she's mine." He raises the sword above Wesley's head, ready to decapitate him.
One of the National Guardsmen speaks to Connor in Jasmine's voice, telling him to wait. She instructs him to bring the others to her.
Connor wants to know why.
Jasmine wonders if it's necessary for her to explain her reasons to him.
He says it isn't, but he doesn't understand.
She directs him to bring them to her, "intact."
Wes exhales a sigh of relief as Connor lowers the sword. Jasmine thanks Connor.
Angel continues his climb up the face of the stone mountain to the temple. It's a long way up.
In her room at the hotel, Jasmine addresses a group of her followers, telling them they have much to do but they've made a good start. She appreciates their devotion and sacrifice, it's made a difference.
Connor escorts Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne into the room.
Jasmine directs her followers to go to the banquet room, she'll meet them there shortly. They leave.
Jasmine looks at Wes and the others, who are lined up in front of her and says, "So much pain, suffering, must hurt so terribly."
Gunn suggests she not bother to gloat, they've had tougher fights and taken worse beatings.
Jasmine clarifies, she was referring to the pain they caused themselves by letting go of her.
Lorne wonders if she means their giving up "absolute tranquility and perfect happiness?" He says it's no loss. He looks for some support from the others on that comment but the answer is silence.
Jasmine tells them she wishes it were possible to take them back.
Fred points out they didn't ask for that.
Jasmine asks where Angel is.
Wes reckons since she seems to know everything, perhaps she can tell them.
Connor answers Wesley's insolence with a punch to the face.
Jasmine chastises Connor for his reaction, telling him she doesn't want to see that. He steps back.
Wes realizes Jasmine likely recognized the sewer creature.
She doesn't deny it.
He asks if it was just another of her zealots.
Jasmine answers, "A sentient, living being wanting what's best for his own." She wonders why that's wrong. She says the creature's world was like this one a few millennia ago. It was filled with fear, hatred and war.
Gunn snidely notes that was probably before Jasmine arrived and turned it into a "paradise."
Jasmine says she did the best she could, "with a bunch of insects to work with." She helped them, advanced their evolutionary process a bit.
Lorne asks how that turned out for her.
She admits it was a trial run, "an early experiment to work out the bugs, so to speak." She won't make the same mistake again. She knows where Angel is and what he's looking for. She assures the others Angel is wasting his time.
Wes figures if she really believed that, they'd already be dead.
Jasmine calls to one of her followers, Patience. The woman enters the room. Jasmine tells her the news people have arrived and directs Patience to have them set up in the lobby, she'll be ready to speak with them after she's eaten. Patience leaves.
Wes figures it's time.
Gunn asks what it's time for.
Wes reckons it was too much trouble for Jasmine to conquer a primitive dimension. It's much easier to accomplish where there's satellite television transmission technology that can spread her message around the world.
Jasmine doesn't deny it.
Fred urges Connor to stop her from enslaving the world.
He says she'll bring people together.
Fred tries to convince him Jasmine isn't what she pretends to be.
Gunn adds, "She's a monster."
Fred says Cordy's blood was supposed to break the spell so Connor could see what Jasmine really looks like.
Connor says he knows what she looks like as he looks at Jasmine and sees her true face, rotted and crawling with maggots. He tells the others, "She's beautiful."
Jasmine directs some of her followers to show her "guests" to their accommodations. As the followers lead them out, Wes tells her he knows she's just using them as a bargaining chip to keep Angel quiet.
After the others are taken out, Connor asks Jasmine what Wes was referring to.
She avoids answering, telling him her television appearance will be very draining for her. While she feeds to build up her strength, she'll be out of contact with everything, including Connor. She wants him to be her "eyes and ears" to keep guard on Wes and the others, be sure they don't escape.
She starts to tell him what to do if Angel shows up but is interrupted by Connor asking what it is Angel is looking for.
Jasmine answers, "The unattainable."
Angel arrives in the temple where there stands a stone statue of Jasmine. It has her human face but the body of the bug-like creatures. Angel looks around.
A voice from the shadows taunts him about coming a long way only to find failure. It assures Angel his trip down will be much faster than the journey up to the temple.
Angel reckons he could use the body of the speaker to cushion his fall.
The voice responds its body wouldn't provide much protection but he's welcome to try.
The speaker steps out from the shadows. He's a diminutive creature, a smaller version of the dimension's other inhabitants, but with a more human-like body.
Angel is a bit surprised by the creature's appearance, asking if he's the --
The creature confirms he's the High Priest, "Guardian of the Word. Caretaker of Her Most Blessed Temple."
Angel notes the temple is devoid of worshippers. He wonders where the other "true believers" are, or if the priest is the only one left.
The priest chuckles then tells him, "Betrayers. Blasphemers. Centuries of waiting for her return have caused most to doubt."
Angel reckons the priest means all but him, he's remained her faithful public relations representative.
The priest answers she is the light and the way.
Angel informs him she isn't going to return.
The priest believes she will come back, once she's finished with Angel's world.
Angel tries to trick the priest into giving up Jasmine's true name by suggesting they may be referencing different deities. He asks the priest the name of the one he's talking about.
The priest laughs. He realizes this is the reason Angel has come to the temple.
Angel is glad the priest understands so he doesn't have to repeat himself. He grabs the creature by the throat and lifts him off of the floor, demanding the name.
The priest calls him a fool, saying Angel can take away her power but he's already lost everything.
Connor locks Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne into the cell in the hotel basement. Lorne reckons the blood ritual they did to break Jasmine's spell didn't work on Connor because he'd always seen her true face.
Gunn finds that hard to believe.
Connor sits in a chair opposite the cell, a sword in his lap, and says he grew up in Quor-toth, a hell dimension. He's seen things beyond their imagining. Appearance isn't important to him.
Fred wonders exactly what is important to Connor.
Gunn reckons it's obvious they aren't, nor is Angel.
Fred asks about Cordelia, pointing out she needs help, nobody can know what the coma is doing to her.
Connor assures her Cordy is fine.
Fred wonders how he knows that. She asks if he's checked on her.
Connor says Cordy has been moved.
Gunn asks what he means by that.
Connor answers she's safe and taken care of. He tells them to drop it.
Wes, trying to get Connor to think, asks what Jasmine eats. He notes the sewer creature referred to her as "The Devourer". He wonders exactly what it is she devours.
Connor claims not to know.
Wes wonders if he really doesn't, pointing out the followers that are asked to accompany Jasmine to her room, the ones told to meet her in the banquet hall --
Lorne realizes, "They're the banquet."
A stunned Gunn reacts to that, "She eats people?!?" He realizes it's a repeat of "To Serve Man". Gunn wonders if Wes thinks Jasmine ate Cordelia.
He hopes not, but concedes they really can't know for sure. He looks over at Connor who's clearly disturbed by the possibility.
In the temple, Angel is still holding the priest above the floor by the neck. The creature says he knows what Angel is, Jasmine has given him sight to see into "the hearts and minds of others."
Angel figures the creature should know he's in a hurry as he tightens his grip on the priest's neck and demands Jasmine's name.
The priest chokes out, "Keeper!"
Angel sets him down and wonders if that's it, "Caper?"
The priest answers, "Her true name is known only by the Keeper of the Name."
Angel gets that, figuring that's the priest. He grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the floor again.
The priest tells him, "No! I am the Guardian of the Word!"
Angel thought the priest had said the word is the name.
The priest responds, "Yes, and I guard the Keeper of it."
The conversation comes full circle as Angel asks, "So, you're the Keeper's keeper?"
The creature reiterates, "I am the Guardian of the Word!"
Angel finally gets it and asks where he can find the Keeper of the Name.
The priest looks past Angel, across the room.
Angel turns and sees a creature kneeling, its back to Angel. Angel sets the priest down and moves toward the Keeper.
The priest assures him the Keeper won't just tell him the name. It will only reveal the name with its "last breath."
Angel tells the Keeper he needs the name, they can do things the easy way or the hard way.
The Keeper rises to its feet and turns to face Angel who notices its mouth is sewn shut. The Keeper is large and armed with a heavy club, a version of the dimension's other inhabitants but with a more human-like body.
Angel reckons he'll have to do it the hard way.
In the banquet room, Jasmine is surrounded by a large group of followers, some naked, others in various states of undress. She tells a young woman she's happy she's there.
The woman, Susan, thanks her, saying her life was a mess before she met Jasmine.
Jasmine assures her it's all right and promises she won't have to worry about anything again.
Connor comes in and makes his way to Jasmine's side. He needs to speak with her.
Jasmine excuses herself and Connor from the crowd as they step aside. She asks if they can have the conversation later, she doesn't want to keep her minions waiting.
Connor apologizes for the interruption then stammers, trying to find a way to ask the question.
Jasmine knows he's concerned about Cordelia.
Connor asks what Jasmine did with her.
Jasmine assures him Cordy is where she needs her to be, out of harm's way.
Connor would like to know exactly where she is.
Jasmine doesn't figure there's any reason for Connor to know that. She tells him to take comfort in her words, Cordy is safe.
Jasmine notices Connor looking around nervously. She reckons he figures she ate Cordelia.
Connor denies it, but he doesn't sound particularly convincing.
Jasmine laughs, assuring him she's not offended by his concern. She wonders who "put such a ridiculous idea in your head?"
Connor answers "No one." He says he didn't think it but then asks if she's saying no, she didn't eat Cordelia.
Jasmine tells him she couldn't hurt Cordelia any more than she could hurt Connor. They are her parents, her "tether to the world." She was brought into the world through their love. She understands Connor misses Cordy.
Connor looks to confirm Cordelia is still in this dimension and not an alternate version somewhere.
Jasmine assures him Cordy is not in another dimension, she simply had a few of her followers move her to a more secure place for Cordy's own protection.
Connor casually asks who moved her.
Jasmine answers it doesn't matter. Cordy is alive, still in a coma, and guarded. She reminds him their "guests" in the basement are supposed to be guarded as well. Connor leaves.
Jasmine calls out a thank you and asks him to close the door on his way out, leaving her alone with the roomful of naked and near-naked minions.
At the temple, Angel is battling the Keeper as the priest taunts him. The priest asks Angel what he thinks he's fighting for considering his friends are likely already dead and Angel surely must know that.
Angel says he's trying to save his world as he continues fighting the Keeper who growls menacingly.
The priest isn't impressed, noting Angel's world doesn't care much for him, doesn't really want him.
Angel answers his world needs him.
The priest figures Angel believes that because his Powers That Be tell him so, and perhaps they're right, but that's not the reason Angel is there.
Angel tosses the Keeper across the room, into the wall. He turns to the priest and asks what he thinks Angel is fighting for.
The priest answers, "Him." He notes Angel has already lost the woman, he reckons it's the boy Angel is fighting for but tells him he's going to fail, he'll lose him as well.
The Keeper punches Angel, the fight continues.
Connor walks through the crowded lobby, sniffing the air and then moving through the throng as he sniffs each person.
One guy asks another how the satellite hookup is coming. He's assured things will be online shortly. He envies those who haven't seen Jasmine yet getting to experience her for the first time.
Connor continues moving through the crowd. He moves closer to a young woman, sniffing at her. She turns. He apologizes, saying something was familiar.
She says it's the perfume, she heard it was Cordelia's favorite. Connor continues his search.
He picks up the scent as he sets his sights on a young man, Jeremy, standing across the lobby. As he heads for the guy, a reporter steps in front of him looking for an intervew. She says he must be very proud being Jasmine's father.
Connor brushes her off and follows the guy who has moved out into the garden.
Connor directs a couple of followers in the garden to check out the lobby where there are reporters looking for people to interview. They depart, leaving only Jeremy and the man he's chatting with, Brent.
Connor walks up to them. Brent shows Connor a sprig of jasmine he's holding, saying it's for the press conference.
Connor mutters, "Right, cause she needs more of that." He asks if they're the ones who moved Cordelia, he needs to know where she is.
Jeremy denies it, saying Connor must have misunderstood something.
Brent nervously tells him they didn't do anything with the "transcendent mother."
Connor smiles and tells them it's okay, Jasmine told him they were the ones that moved Cordelia, how else could he know?
Jeremy tells him he'll have to ask Jasmine.
Connor slams Jeremy against the concrete wall, informing Jeremy he's asking him for the answer.
Brent tries to punch Connor but he blocks the blow and punches him, knocking him out. He pins Jeremy to the wall by the throat and tells him he can smell Cordelia on him. He demands he, 'Tell me and I'll crush your windpipe."
Jeremy wonders if he didn't mean an "or" in there, that he wanted the information or he'd crush his windpipe.
Connor asks where Cordelia is.
In the temple, the Keeper growls as it lifts Angel off the floor by his throat. The priest watches, noting Angel tries so hard to make things right for Connor, but he never will, so why bother.
Angel reckons the priest has never had kids or he wouldn't be asking that question. He punches the Keeper, causing it to drop him. Fight continues.
The priest says Connor wasn't supposed to exist. His only purpose was to "bring forth the blessed She - - a means to an end."
Angel figures people are born for a lot of reasons. The Keeper takes a swing with the club. Angel ducks the blow.
The priest tells him Connor will never love him.
Angel says it doesn't matter.
The Keeper takes another swing with the club, Angel moves out of the way. The club delivers a crushing blow to the priest, sending him flying into the air and against the wall where he's impaled on one of many spikes protruding from it.
Angel looks at the priest briefly and casually notes, "Oh. That'll work."
The Keeper skewers Angel through his body and lifts him over its head.
In the basement cell, Gunn repeatedly kicks at the cell door. Fred reckons things aren't looking too bright for them, not that she's giving up but things are a little bleak.
Lorne would prefer Gunn stop kicking the door.
Gunn agrees to stop, as soon as someone can offer a better idea to get them out.
Lorne wonders what Gunn expects they could do even if they got out, reminding him they're about to become the only ones in the world who aren't enthralled by Jasmine.
Gunn figures they can worry about that when they have to, first they need to find a way out of the cell.
Fred notes it's strange that Connor just left, leaving them unguarded.
Lorne points out they're locked in the cell, it's not like they can go too far.
Gunn wonders if perhaps they were getting through to him.
Lorne thinks it's more likely Connor was summoned by Jasmine.
Wes mutters, "Blood." The others wonder what he's talking about. He says he was just thinking that Cordelia's blood had the same power as Jasmine's to break the hold she had over them.
Fred adds they figured that, mother and daughter shared the same blood.
Wes notes Cordelia has been moved. He wonders why.
Gunn reckons it was to keep people like them from using Cordy's blood to break the spell.
Wes points out they're the only ones left who see her true face and Jasmine had them on the run. He wonders, if Cordy is such a danger to Jasmine, why didn't she just kill Cordy and finish it.
Fred realizes that perhaps Jasmine can't kill her mother.
Wes reckons maybe Jasmine can't hurt Cordelia without hurting herself but perhaps Cordelia can hurt Jasmine.
Gunn points out there are a lot of uncertainties in that theory.
Wes concedes that's true but notes Cordelia may be the only weapon they have left against Jasmine.
Lorne notes they'd have to wake her up first.
Fred adds they have to find her first.
Connor arrives outside of a church. The sign that generally announces service times and other church events says, "God is nowhere. Jasmine is the way."
Connor enters the church, walking past the religious statuary that's been torn down. He finds the set of inside doors boarded shut.
He's approached by two cops shining flashlights in his face. He greets them. The cops smile and lower their flashlights. One of them tells Connor politely he isn't supposed to be there.
Connor claims he wasn't aware of that.
The other cop tells him nobody is allowed in, "Jasmine's orders."
The cops discuss the use of the word "orders" a moment, deciding it wasn't really like that, it's not in her nature to give orders. It was more of a "request." They say she treats everyone equally, they love that about her.
Connor is told he'll have to leave or the cops will "have to get rough." One of the cops reminds the other to say "please." He adds a "please" with a smile.
Connor throws the cops through the boarded doors and follows them inside through the entry he just created. One of the cops gets up, Connor punches him, knocking him out.
He walks down the church aisle, toward the altar, where he sees a body lying on a slab, covered by a transparent shroud. He knows it's Cordelia before he gets close, noting "Found you."
At the hotel, Jasmine is engulfed in the bright green light as she finishes her meal of minions. Tentacles are visible at the edges of the light. The light fades. Jasmine has resumed her human form, smiles and announces it's time for her close-up as she heads downstairs.
Connor speaks to an unconscious Cordelia, telling her he had to see her again. He needed to know she was still there with him. He sits next to her and tells her "It's started, the new beginning. Just wish you'd wake up and see it. Just what you wanted. I mean .. it is what you wanted, right?"
He gets up and moves away a bit. He continues, asking if that isn't why she came to him, what it was all about, "protecting our baby, Jasmine, so she can .. make this world the kind of place you wanted?"
He tells her the world is a better place, not "harsh and cruel" the way Angel prefers it so he has a reason to keep fighting. He gets agitated as he raises his voice, telling her that's what it's all about for Angel and the others. They need a reason to fight, it's what gives their lives meaning. The only thing. He smashes a wooden lectern.
He calms down a bit and tells Cordy he isn't like them. He doesn't want to keep fighting, he just wants to stop fighting and rest. Rest is what he wants most of all but he can't. He admits it isn't working. He tried to believe, he wanted it, wanted to go along with things. He says Jasmine is bringing peace to everyone, purging all their anger and hate. He adds with a caustic laugh, except for him. It doesn't work for him. He knows Jasmine is a lie, just another of the lies his life has been built upon, but he thought "this one was better than the others." He doesn't seem so sure of that anymore.
In the hotel lobby, reporters are on the air, preparing viewers for Jasmine's imminent arrival.
Patience follows a determined Jeremy down the hall toward Jasmine's room, telling him Jasmine doesn't have time to see him right now.
He insists she has to know.
Jasmine steps out into the hallway. Patience tells her he says he was attacked.
Jeremy drops to his knees and tells Jasmine "he" forced him to tell where he'd taken her "mother."
Jasmine isn't too happy with that news as the smile leaves her face and she says Connor's name.
Patience reminds her of the press conference. Jasmine thanks her and walks on down the hall.
Jasmine arrives at the balcony above the lobby, smiling.
The people gathered on the balcony and in the lobby below all drop to their knees.
Jasmine directs them to rise, she wants them all to share in this moment. She welcomes everyone, especially those around the world who are seeing her for the first time on television. She blows a kiss then thanks them for letting her speak to them. She says she comes not as a "leader or divinity but as your partner in a venture" to make the world the best it can be. There will be no more war, famine, or misery. The world will be built on "love, respect, understanding" and "just enjoying one other." She asks if that sounds nice. The crowd applauds warmly in response.
In the basement cell, Gunn continues kicking at the door. Fred hears the applause and wonders what that's about.
Wes reckons it's Jasmine's "world debut."
Gunn figures they truly are alone now.
Lorne thinks that's the end then.
Jasmine tells her followers she knows they have questions. She'd like to give them the opportunity to ask. She calls on one of the reporters by name, Tracy. The woman is so stunned Jasmine knows her by name, she can't formulate a question.
Jasmine moves on and calls upon another of the reporters in the crowd. He asks what they can do to show their love for her.
She answers they only have to love each other.
After a brief pause, she smiles and adds, "Although, a temple would be nice. Something massive and awe-inspiring yet warm and nurturing, celebrating the gentle pleasures of a peaceful, precious coexistence where violent behavior --"
A crackling sound interrupts her speech as bolts of electricity flash in the center of the crowd in the lobby. The crowd moves aside, a portal opens. Angel gets pushed out of it. He has the portal orb in one hand, the other hand behind his back. He drops the orb to the floor.
Jasmine orders her minions to kill him.
The minions start to obey but hesitate when Angel reveals what he's got behind his back. He raises the Keeper's head into the air.
He says, "Sorry", to Jasmine then pulls a knife.
She tells him, "Don't."
He cuts the Keeper's mouth open. A rush of wind and whispering, something unintelligible, spills forth.
Jasmine is engulfed in a bright green glow, revealing her rotted, true face to the masses.
Another bright green flash engulfs Jasmine. When it fades, she's managed to pull herself together a bit. She looks less hideous but no longer perfectly beautiful. Panic rules the crowd as they scatter. Jasmine begs them not to pay attention, trying to convince them it's a lie. She pleads with them not to leave her as the people rush for the exits.
Angel remains in the lobby, staring up at Jasmine. She retreats down the hall. Angel heads up the stairs after her.
The screams from the lobby filter down to the basement cell. Lorne wonders just what is going on up there.
Fred doesn't figure it sounds like anything good.
Gunn continues kicking the door. He reckons the sounds are the result of Jasmine feeding and he's pretty sure they're going to be next.
Wes starts to tell Gunn he's wasting his time with the door, just as the door finally gives and opens. Gunn reminds him "Never give up, never surrender." They exit the cell, passing Gunn on the way out. He wonders if anyone is going to say thank you.
Fred offers her thanks.
Gunn appreciates getting his props.
Jasmine walks the street, looking lost as chaos surrounds her. People are screaming, running in all directions. A woman stops in front of her and screams. Jasmine tells her not to be afraid, it's still her.
A man shouts, "Lying bitch!", tosses a bottle at her and runs.
Jasmine calls for Connor.
At the church, Connor hears Jasmine speak to him through one of the cops he'd knocked out earlier. She calls to her "father" telling him she needs him and asking for his help. Connor rushes out of the church.
Angel finds Jasmine on an overpass and calls to her. He tells her it's over, she's lost.
She wonders if he has any notion of what he's done.
He answers he did what he had to do.
She tells him nothing is absolute, there is no right and wrong, only choices. She wonders if he hasn't learned anything from The Powers. She offered paradise, he chose the mayhem that now surrounds them.
Angel tells her he did it because he could, because she took choice away from them.
Jasmine sarcastically asks him to look where free will has gotten them.
Angel answers, "I didn't say we were smart. I said it's our right. It's what makes us human."
Jasmine notes he isn't human.
Angel responds, "Working on it."
Jasmine starts to walk away. Angel follows, asking where she's going.
She wants to be left alone.
He says he can't let her go.
She asks what more he wants from her, he's taken everything. She wonders if he's going to kill her now, "as if you could."
Angel concedes he may not be able to, but he'll die trying to keep her from hurting anyone else.
Jasmine laughs, pointing out he's dead already.
Angel figures she knew what he meant.
Jasmine asks him why he hates her so much.
Angel runs down his list of grievances; "Rain of fire, blotting out the sun, enslaving mankind, and yeah, oh yeah, hey! You eat people!"
Jasmine points out they have that much in common.
Angel tells her thousands of people died because of what she's done.
She wonders how many will die because of him. She says he could have stopped it; "war, disease, poverty." She asks how may lives would have been saved in just a few years. She acknowledges she killed people, but she murdered thousands to save billions. She reckons the world is now doomed to its own destruction.
Angel tells her the price was too much. Their fate has to be in their own hands. He admits they've all done terrible things, all they can do is attempt to make up for that. He offers that though the world isn't the one she wanted, perhaps even without her powers, Jasmine can still help them make it a better place.
Jasmine calmly notes she hasn't lost all of her power as she backhands Angel, sending him flying into the air and over the overpass railing. He lands hard on the hood of a car below, shattering its windshield, startling the young woman behind the wheel.
Jasmine picks up a car and walks over to the railing.
Angel directs the stunned occupant of the car he landed on to "run". She exits the car and runs away. He rolls over and looks up to see Jasmine holding a car above her head.
She tells him he hasn't begun to pay as she tosses the car below. It falls through power lines, severing them in a shower of sparks, on the way down. Angel rolls off of the car just before the other car lands in a fireball on top of it.
Jasmine leaps over the railing to the ground below. She walks over to Angel who's still on the ground. She thinks he might be right, perhaps she can still make the world a better place, "one body at a time." She kicks him, sending him flying through the air. He lands near a downed power cable.
Jasmine stalks toward him, shouting that she loved this world, she gave up everything she was to be with them.
Angel figures she gave it up so she could rule them.
She insists she did it because she cared. She says the other Powers never cared and she reckons Angel knows that in his heart. She tells him it's too bad she has to rip it out now. She leans over to grab him.
Angel picks up the power cable and zaps her with it. The electrical jolt sends her flying backward through the air several feet into a fence.
Jasmine gets up, wondering if Angel really thought that was going to work. She moves toward him.
Angel gets up, telling her it was worth a try. He punches her in the face but it has no effect on her. She picks him up and throws him into a streetlight, breaking it.
Jasmine walks over to Angel who's still on the ground and asks if he remembers the prophecy, the one that said he'd play a major role in the apocalypse but it wasn't clear on which side he'd be. She pulls him to his feet, shoves him against a fence and says he knows now. She informs him that this "Power that was" has enough power left to destroy mankind and Angel is the one responsible.
Angel punches her, telling her it's not his fault. He starts to punch her again but she grabs his arm and forces it downward with a snapping crunch. Angel suggests she, "Go to hell."
She grabs him and tells him, "You first, baby." She kisses him.
Angel tries to pull away from her but girl's got grip.
Connor walks upon the scene and observes flatly, "Always the same, dad. I get a girl, you gotta make a play for her."
Jasmine breaks the kiss and turns to face Connor. She says his name sweetly.
Wes and Lorne look around the empty lobby. Gunn comes downstairs. Wes asks if he found anybody. Gunn answers he didn't.
Fred comes in and tells the others the garden is empty. She notes it's creepy.
Lorne agrees with that.
Fred picks up a ladies handbag laying on the floor. She asks if the others think the people are all --
Lorne says, "dead." He looks at one of the monitors and notes the television station is off the air, something major apparently happened there.
Gunn finds the Keeper's severed head on the floor and picks it up.
Wes figures Angel was there.
Gunn drops the head to the floor.
Wes starts toward the lobby door.
Gunn asks where they're going.
Wes answers they have to find Angel and Cordelia before Jasmine does.
They rush out the front door but come to a dead stop when they're faced with something apparently quite surprising outside of the hotel. Fred reacts with, "Oh, my God."
Jasmine is pleased, believing she still has Connor. She tells him Angel ruined everything but he can't defeat both of them. She asks if he still believes in her, if he still loves her.
He answers, "Yes."
She turns to move toward Angel. Connor punches her in the head, putting his fist through the back of it and out her face. Jasmine's lifeless body drops to the ground.
Connor looks down at her, emotionless.
Angel tries to offer reassurance that things will be okay, it's over now. He knows it's been hard for Connor, he's just happy to have him.
Connor looks at him a moment, then turns and walks away. Angel calls to him repeatedly. Connor starts to run. Angel is too beaten to follow.
Angel arrives back at the hotel. The others exit the back office and greet his return.
Angel is surprised they're all alive. He tells them Jasmine is dead. He brought back her name and it took away her power. He sits down stiffly and adds, "Connor killed her."
Fred asks, "Connor?"
Angel nods.
Wes starts to say something but he's interrupted by Angel who is concerned about his son. He says he never saw him like that before, "He wasn't hurt or angry, he just ... killed her." He notes Connor had no expression, like "he had nothing left."
Wes tries once again to tell Angel something but again, Angel's concern is only for Connor. He says he has a bad feeling about things. Connor has given up. He's afraid he's going to do something, "He might --"
Lilah Morgan steps up to the doorway of the back office and with a smile, offers a finish for that thought, "End world peace? Well, you already took care of that. Congratulations."
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