|
| Buffy Gallery | Angel Gallery | Buffy Multimedia | Angel Multimedia | News - REVAMPED |
| Sunnydale Town: Popular community forums. |
Angel Season IV Episode #80: "Release" Transcript
Written by Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by James A. Contner
Co-Producers: Skip Schoolnik, Steven S. DeKnight- Consulting Producers: David Fury, David Greewalt, Tim Minear - Co-Executive Producer: Jeffrey Bell – Executive Producers: Joss Whedon, Sandy Gallin, Gail Berman, Fran Rubel Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui
Disclaimer: "Angel"; is (c) 2000 by the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; "Angel"; is produced by Mutant Enemy, Inc., Greenwolf Corp, Kazui Enterprises, and Sandollar Television for Twentieth Century Fox Television.
Originally Aired on Mar 12th 2003
Prologue 1 INT. WESLEY’S APARTMENT— DAY 1 WESLEY and FAITH enter his apartment. He leads her over to a chair while he goes to get a salve for her wounds. WESLEY Sit here. She stands before the chair silently, blood dripping off her and spattering on the floor as Wesley comes back with ice wrapped in a towel. He presses it gently to her split lip. WESLEY Hold this. She holds the ice pack to her face while he gingerly checks her for other wounds. He squeezes her shoulder and she winces. WESLEY I’ll get bandages. FAITH No drama. I’m good. WESLEY You were nearly killed. FAITH I could use a shower. He lets it drop and points the way toward the bathroom..ANGEL Release 4 WESLEY (beat) Of course. She walks slowly toward him and down the hall. WESLEY Faith, are you sure you’re okay? FAITH A little sticky. She hands him the compress and heads into the bathroom. CUT TO: 2 INT. WESLEY’S APARTMENT— BATHROOM— NIGHT 2 Faith steps into the bathroom and stares at her beaten and bloody reflection in the mirror, then takes her clothes off slowly and painfully. Her entire body is one big bruise. Scrapes and cuts cover her from her feet to her head. She opens the shower door, steps in and turns on the water. It sluices down her body, washing away the blood, turning into a crimson swirl as it circles the drain. She stares straight forward, her face an emotionless mask, then suddenly her icy calm breaks and she punches the shower wall, shattering the tile. Her rage floods out of her like a breaking dam and she pounds the wall with a primal scream, her fists crashing through the sheetrock. Then she gets herself under control and her practiced calm and emotional detachment descends once again. She puts her head under the water and washes the blood from her face..ANGEL Release 5 CUT TO: 3 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— NIGHT 3 Demons and vampires share drinks and shoot pool while ANGELUS regales several lesser vampires with tales of his recent exploits. A vampire waitress walks over and sets a glass of blood down in front of him. WAITRESS Compliments of the lady. He turns around and to find a female vampire waving to him from the bar. He waves back, then turns back to his tablemates with a grimace. ANGELUS Yeah. As if. (to vampires) Anyway, I couldn’t believe how easy it was luring the Slayer into my little “welcome home from prison” party. VAMPIRE #1 Wish I could have been there when she saw the Beast. ANGELUS The guy wasn’t going to win any personality contests but he put on a good show. Slapped her around real nice. VAMPIRE #2 Like a little bunny? ANGELUS (smiles) A bloody, whimpering bunny. Once she was tenderized, I gave rocko the shaft. Never saw it coming. Dumb-ass. REG Yeah, soul-boy, nice job bringing the sun back. Angelus looks over to the bar where FRANCIS, a horned demon with one horn sliced off, quickly turns back to his drink. Angelus smiles and stands up. Francis pretends to be surprised to find Angelus standing behind him. FRANCIS Oh, hey, Angelus! Buy you a warm one? ANGELUS Maybe after..ANGEL Release 6 FRANCIS After what? ANGELUS After I rip out your windpipe till it stops making that annoying talky sound. FRANCIS (nervous) Wait, I have a condition. Whoop! Goh-boy! Dirty bitch! Tourette’s. You’ve heard of it, right? ANGELUS Yeah, causes uncontrollable impulses. Like yanking out throats. He seizes the creature by the neck and starts squeezing. As the demon chokes and gasps, the MASTER’s disembodied voice calls out to Angelus, deep and resonant. MASTER (o.s.) Hello, Angelus. It’s time we had that talk. Opening credit sequence. Act I 4 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— NIGHT 4 Still holding Francis by the neck, Angelus looks around, confused, searching for the source of the voice that only he can hear. ANGELUS (to Master) Where are you? FRANCIS (choking) Wherever you want me to be, buddy! MASTER (o.s.) I’m where it’s warm and soft… Angelus drops Francis and walks out into the center of the room, talking to the ceiling. The other demons look at him like he’s gone nuts..ANGEL Release 7 ANGELUS Hide-and-seek, huh? Okay. I’ll play. MASTER (o.s.) Playtime’s over. You’ve been a bad boy. Killed my favorite pet. ANGELUS Yeah, well, I thought that might get your attention. Angelus looks around and sees the stares of the other vampires and decides to take the conversation to a more private area. 5 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 5 Angelus emerges into a shadowy back room where vampires lounge in drug-induced stupor with their human prey draped across them. MASTER (o.s.) Initiative. I like that. But you needn’t have bothered. I’ve had my eyes on you for some time. A JUNKIE GIRL wraps her arms around Angelus and smiles dreamily. JUNKIE GIRL Hey, baby, how about a hit? Angelus tosses her aside with hardly a thought, concerned only with the voice in his head. ANGELUS (to Master) You like to watch, huh? MASTER (o.s.) One of the many things we have in common. ANGELUS Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy. He walks over to a vampire who is feeding on a willing young girl and yanks him to his feet..ANGEL Release 8 ANGELUS Scram! The vampire runs off and his food follows him. ANGELUS (to Master) Okay, come on. You got a pair or the wind you’re blowing up my tailpipe’s all you can muster? Hey, here’s a kooky idea. Now that I’ve killed your little pet rock, how about a little face-to-face, huh? Assuming that you’ve got one. MASTER (o.s.) Don’t— CUT TO: 6 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 6 CORDELIA sits on her bed, her eyes a milky, cataract white, talking to Angelus through a glowing red charm in her hand. On this side of the conversation, her voice is normal, her own. CORDELIA —worry. We’ll meet. When you’re— CUT TO: 7 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 7 MASTER (o.s.) —ready. ANGELUS Oh, come on. Why the stall, huh? You whipped up a rain of fire, blotted out the sun, earthquakes… all to maneuver the Brady Bunch into releasing Angel’s inner me. Don’t you want to kick the tires? MASTER (o.s.) So beautifully— CUT TO:.ANGEL Release 9 8 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 8 CORDELIA —vain. But the whirlwind doesn’t always revolve around you. Destruction sometimes is its own— CUT TO: 9 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 9 MASTER (o.s.) —reward. ANGELUS Hey, you’re preaching to the guy who ate the choir. But wait… it was you, wasn’t it? You just pulled the wrong strings to make them think it was their idea. Got them to yank that white, fluffy soul and stuff it in a jar and then gone, baby, gone! MASTER (o.s.) Couldn’t risk them— CUT TO: 10 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 10 CORDELIA —putting it back in you. I have wonderful plans for you, my— CUT TO:.ANGEL Release 10 11 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 11 MASTER (o.s.) —sweet boy. ANGELUS Oh, yeah. But the thing is, as far as plans go, I make my own so, you know… thanks for stopping by my head. He turns to walk out. MASTER (o.s.) You would dare to defy me? ANGELUS Defy who? A big, scary voice? Whoa! Hey, I’ve got one of those, too. You want to hear it? (hands over his mouth) You can kiss my vampire ass! (normal) That do anything for ya? CUT TO: 12 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 12 Cordelia quickly closes her hand over the charm and returns her eyes to normal as the door opens and CONNOR enters. CONNOR Hey, brought you another blanket. Gotta keep warm. He spreads the blanket over her as she feigns fatigue. CONNOR You okay? CORDELIA Just a little woozy. Could be the whole Angelus nailing me with a crossbow thingy. Or… it could be the baby. His way of saying— CUT TO:.ANGEL Release 11 13 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 13 ANGELUS Hello! Hey, I’ve got places to go, friends to kill. Well, not actually my friends but you get the idea. You got any more bluster you want to blow up there? (beat) That’s what I thought. A drugged vampire in the corner comes out of his stupor long enough to watch Angelus talking to himself. He strokes the hair of the unconscious girl lying in his lap. VAMPIRE Dude, whatever you’re on… I’ll give you the girl for a gram. Angelus ignores him and walks out. CUT TO: 14 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 14 Connor caresses Cordelia while they lie on the bed and talk. CORDELIA Are you sure Faith’s all right? CONNOR Yeah. When Wesley called, he said that she was hurt pretty bad but she’s a Slayer. They’re really strong, right? CORDELIA For a human. God, I can’t believe Angelus killed the Beast. CONNOR He fought dirty. CORDELIA Maybe this means we did the right thing, bringing Angelus back. CONNOR Right. He’s a real hero. CORDELIA Connor, Angelus cannot fight his true nature. It’s who he is. But by killing the Beast, he’s made the world a little safer… for our family. You didn’t have that the first time around but now you will..ANGEL Release 12 CONNOR I won’t ever let anything hurt you. Either of you. CORDELIA I know you won’t. But just remember… this is ours. Nobody else needs to know how lucky we are. CONNOR Are you ashamed of me? CORDELIA What? No. CONNOR Then why don’t you want to tell them? CORDELIA Because they wouldn’t understand. Our baby is growing so fast. It would scare them and that fear might make them want to kill it. Like they wanted to kill you. But trust me, Connor, it won’t be too long. They’re all going to know what’s growing inside of me. She reaches out and lovingly caresses his face. CUT TO: 15 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 15 GUNN hands a trank pistol to FRED and another to LORNE. GUNN Meet your new best friend. If super-bad shows up, the sanctuary spell should keep us safe but….ANGEL Release 13 FRED But? There’s always a “but”. When this is over can we have a big “but” moratorium? Lorne eyes his gun skeptically. LORNE Did I mention the only shots I’m good at involve tequila? FRED (to Gunn) You don’t think Angelus is planning a repeat performance, do you? I mean, he’s got to know we’d be prepared. GUNN It doesn’t mean we drop our guard. If he pops a fang in here, thwack him where it hurts. LORNE Good night, not-so-sweet prince. GUNN I’m going to re-check downstairs. Make sure he can’t creep in through any of the sewer tunnels. FRED Yeah, if Lilah managed to break and enter— She spins and cocks the gun, aiming it at Connor as he descends the stairs. CONNOR Thought you were more of a taser girl..ANGEL Release 14 FRED Sorry, I… She lowers the gun, embarrassed. GUNN How’s Cordy? CONNOR Well, you know… tired, I guess. FRED Maybe I should stop up and ch— Connor moves in front of her to stop her. CONNOR No! She doesn’t want to see anyone yet. She just wanted some… soup. Really hot soup. He turns and heads into the kitchen. When he’s gone, Lorne shakes his head. LORNE Odd bird. And getting birdier. FRED You don’t think he and Cordy are still… LORNE Could be the love bug but I’m not picking up warm fuzzies. Whatever it is, I just can’t get a good read on it. GUNN Not much of the warm or the fuzzies going on these days. Why should they be any different? FRED He’s probably just upset about Faith benching him. Anybody else think maybe that was a humongous mistake? LORNE Not unless we want to get Angel back in anything other than a dustpan. GUNN Connor’s better off playing nursemaid or whatever he’s doing with Cordy that I really don’t want to know about..ANGEL Release 15 FRED Yeah, but Wes said Faith kind of got demolished. She’s supposed to be our best chance of getting Angel back… but what if she’s not up to it? CUT TO: 16 INT. WESLEY’S APARTMENT— NIGHT 16 Wesley snaps a medical briefcase shut containing syringes and vials as Faith enters from the bathroom. FAITH Squeaky clean. Let’s blow. (off his look) Right. Sorry about your bathroom. Come on, let’s do it. WESLEY I’m not worried about the bathroom… although I’m fairly sure my security deposit’s a complete loss. I need to know you’re in the game, Faith. All the way. She glares at him as she picks up her gear bag. FAITH Five by five, boss. She turns her back on him and walks out the door. CUT TO: 17 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— OFFICE— NIGHT 17 Fred sets down the trank gun and searches the bookshelves for a reference guide. FRED If I were a runic transcription guide, I would be….ANGEL Release 16 She finds the book. FRED …shelved wrong. ANGELUS Talking to yourself, Fred? A lot of that going around. Fred spins around to find Angelus standing behind her smiling. FRED You can’t hurt me. We did a no-demon-violence thingy. ANGELUS Oh, the sanctuary spell. Shucks. Oh, wait a minute… I think I… He takes a golden pendant out of his pocket and twirls it on his thumb. ANGELUS Oh, yeah. Kinda thought you pesky PI’s would be humming that old tune so I picked up a little somethin’ somethin’. Lets me be as demony as I want to be. FRED I don’t believe you. He takes the book from her and slams it into the wall inches from her head with enough force to shake the building. She gasps in terror. ANGELUS How about now?.ANGEL Release 17 FRED (trembling) What do you want? ANGELUS Maybe I just miss you. (beat) Well, since you brought it up… let’s talk Beastmaster. What do you got? FRED Nothing. ANGELUS Come on, Fred. All this raw material, brainiac like you… you must have a theory. FRED If I did, you’re the last person I’d tell. ANGELUS (smiles) Well, all right, then. I’ll just have to figure it out myself, huh? He starts to gather up all of Fred’s books, diagrams and research on the Beast. ANGELUS Let’s see… these… this… thanks for nothing! FRED I do know one thing. You’re out of your league. What you’re up against? He’ll make you his bitch, just like the Beast. So if you’re going to kill me, just get it over with. She glances down at Angelus’ little charm and sees an inscription on the back. FRED “Made in China”? She lifts a glass pitcher off the shelf and shatters it against his head, sending him reeling backward. He drops the charm as she snatches her trank gun from the table and fires. Angelus ducks at the last moment and the dart thuds into the map of L.A. behind him as he dashes out into the lobby..ANGEL Release 18 18 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 18 Lorne walks in as Angelus charges directly at him and Fred fires again. Her aim is off and the dart hits Lorne in the chest, dropping him like a sack of concrete. FRED Lorne! Angelus leaps from the floor up to the balcony level and turns, using the book as a shield as Fred fires her last dart. The trank hits the book and Angelus grins down at her. ANGELUS Can’t beat a good book. Fred fires again but her gun clicks empty. ANGELUS (laughs) Too bad. I was just starting to have fun. CONNOR (o.s.) Why stop now? Angelus turns to find Connor running at him along the balcony. Connor throws a punch right at Angelus’ head but the magickal barrier springs up, deflecting the blow and hurling Connor over the balcony rail to the floor below. Unharmed, Angelus looks down at Connor as Fred runs to his side. FRED Connor! ANGELUS Well… isn’t that interesting. FADE OUT Act II 19 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 19 Resume. Angelus leaps off the balcony and lands in front of Fred. He takes the dart out of the book and tosses it to the floor in front of her..ANGEL Release 19 ANGELUS Nice try, Fred. You think about how close you came to stopping me when I’m slaughtering all your friends. (winks) Toodles. He heads out the front door as Fred eyes him warily, then gets up to check on Lorne. CUT TO: 20 EXT. HYPERION HOTEL— COURTYARD— NIGHT 20 Wesley and Faith enter the front courtyard, heading for the hotel. FAITH We track him, we find him, we— ANGELUS Get your asses kicked? I don’t know… wild guess! Faith looks up in shock as Angelus walks down the sidewalk toward them, then she drops her gear bag, ready to fight as Wesley raises the trank rifle. Faith attacks but Angelus parries her blows then punches her, sending her reeling backward into Wesley. He goes down and the rifle flies out of his grip into the bushes. Angelus rushes forward and yanks Wesley to his feet, then holds him as a shield, his hand wrapped around Wesley’s throat. ANGELUS Sucky spell, huh? You think it’d at least go to the sidewalk. FAITH Let him go. This is between you and me..ANGEL Release 20 ANGELUS It’s never just between you and me, Faith. Wes will always be in the middle. She hesitates, unsure. ANGELUS That’s it. Do the math. Can you get to me before I snap his neck? You still that fast? Wes is just dyin’ to find out, aren’t ya, Wes? WESLEY (to Faith; gasping) Do it! ANGELUS That’s it! Come on, do it! Take your shot and save the world. Come on, what are you waiting for? Faith stands there, helpless, as Angelus tightens his grip. ANGELUS It’s all about choices, Faith. The ones we make and the ones we don’t… oh, and the consequences. Those are always fun, huh? Don’t worry about good old Wes. What’s one more dead body to us? Come on… where’s my girl? GUNN Faith! She spins and catches the rifle Gunn tosses to her as he runs out of the hotel, pistol raised. Angelus hurls Wesley across the courtyard directly into Gunn, sending them both to the ground. Faith raises the rifle and fires but Angelus leaps up and over the outer wall of the hotel, disappearing into the night. Gunn gets up and runs out to the street as Faith helps Wesley up. WESLEY (choking) Go! She heads after Gunn but stops when Gunn turns back inside. GUNN He’s gone..ANGEL Release 21 Faith stares out into the darkness, troubled, wondering if she made the right decision. CUT TO: 21 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 21 Connor runs into the room flushed with excitement. CONNOR Cordy! Cordy! The room is empty. He looks around, confused for a moment, until the toilet flushes in the bathroom and Cordelia walks out, limping slightly. CORDELIA What? CONNOR Are you okay? CORDELIA Sure. Except for the morning sickness that can’t tell time. CONNOR Good. I mean, that you’re okay. CORDELIA Why wouldn’t I be? CONNOR Angelus. He was here again. CORDELIA (hard) Excuse me? (off his look; innocent) He was? CONNOR Downstairs. He caught Fred alone, used a fake charm. Fooled her long enough to take everything we had on whoever the Beast was working for. CORDELIA (sotto) That son of a bitch… CONNOR He nearly killed Wesley outside the hotel but Gunn and Faith chased him off..ANGEL Release 22 CORDELIA (dry) Yay for our side. CONNOR Lilah’s book, that stuff from Lorne’s head… why does he want all that? CORDELIA I don’t know but whatever Angelus is up to, I’m thinking it can’t be good. CONNOR Just lucky no one got hurt this time. CORDELIA So the sanctuary spell held up? No demon violence in the hotel? CONNOR (evasive) Yeah, it worked. CUT TO: 22 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 22 Lorne snores blissfully away on the sofa as Gunn comes back in from outside. GUNN All I’m saying is he tries dancing in here and pulling a Dark Shadows again, he’s gonna get a dart up his evil ass. FRED Well, his ass moves pretty quick. He got the book and the Wolfram & Hart papers. GUNN Not your fault. FRED I bet they think it was. She looks across the lobby where Faith sits with Wesley. He’s drinking a glass of water and swallowing painfully..ANGEL Release 23 GUNN Like they were any help. Fred holds up Angelus’ trinket. FRED Supergirl wouldn’t have fallen for a cheap hunk of crap like this. GUNN I’m just glad it was. If anything happened to you… FRED Charles, can we maybe— She’s cut off by the sound of a shotgun being racked as Wesley brings his 12-gauge into battery. FAITH What are you doing with that? WESLEY Changing the game. FAITH I thought we weren’t going for the kill? WESLEY We’re not. But if we get another chance, I want to slow him down long enough to trank him. FRED By blowing his legs off? GUNN (to Wesley) You need someone to help with that? Wesley hands Faith a trank pistol then turns to Gunn. WESLEY No, I need someone I trust to watch the hotel. Someone who can actually hurt Angelus. GUNN Oh, I’m all over that..ANGEL Release 24 WESLEY (to Fred; re: trinket) Be careful. Next time he shows up, he might be packing the real thing. He smiles tentatively at Fred, then turns with Faith and heads for the front door. CUT TO: 23 EXT. HYPERION HOTEL— COURTYARD— NIGHT 23 Faith pushes in front of Wesley as they leave the hotel. FAITH We’ll start with a perimeter sweep. I’ll take point. Stay frosty. If he’s still in the area— WESLEY You’ll let him escape again? FAITH This coming from the boy hostage? WESLEY Angelus was right. You should have gone for him. FAITH He would have killed you..ANGEL Release 25 WESLEY And how many will he have the chance to murder now because you let that make a difference? (beat) Angelus is an animal. The only way to defeat him is to be just as vicious as he is. CUT TO: 24 INT. OCCULT BOOK SHOP— NIGHT 24 Angelus sits in a wide leather wing-back chair before a warm hearth reading through the material he stole from Angel, Inc. and wearing a set of half-lens reading glasses. He takes off the glasses, frustrated, and throws them at REG, the shop’s proprietor and owner of the glasses. Reg cowers on the floor, terrified. ANGELUS These aren’t helping! Half of this crap is written in some archaic proto-demon cuneiform and I don’t want to be rude but I think the other half— they just doodled. He kneels in front of Reg and jams his finger through the man’s testicle. Reg cries out in agony. ANGELUS Now don’t make me puncture the other one, Reg. I just want to get some intel on this Beastmaster fella. I mean, this is an occult shop, right? Like your job is to help me. REG (gasping) I… I don’t know… ANGELUS Sure you do. Has a penchant for rains of fire, blotting out the sun, hmm? He punctuates his words with blows to the man’s head. ANGELUS For… getting… inside… your… head! Suddenly Angelus reels backward in pain as the Master’s voice thunders in his head. MASTER (o.s.) Angelus!.ANGEL Release 26 ANGELUS Ah! Volume… MASTER (o.s.) I am not well-pleased. ANGELUS And I’m not well-deaf. MASTER (o.s.) Do you think me blind, little man, that I don’t see every move before you decide to make it? Dare to seek me out again and your insolence will be punished ten-fold. ANGELUS Yeah? What are you gonna do? Give me a migraine? (laughs) You ethereal types with your big swinging omniscience… when push comes to shove, though, you gotta send some overgrown slag heap to do your dirty work. Oh, that’s real spooky. He turns back to Reg only to find him gone. ANGELUS Oh, that’s great! You made me lose my shopkeeper. MASTER (o.s.) This isn’t the way, my sweet. We should be friends, you and I. ANGELUS No. And I’ll tell you why. One, because, you know, I’m evil so the friends thing, that’s out. And two, if I did have any friends, they sure as hell wouldn’t be living inside my head! MASTER (o.s.) Like you’re forced to live inside Angel’s? (chuckle) Because you’re the voice in there, aren’t you? Just beneath the surface. Buried under all that goodness. Fully conscious, fully aware… but trapped. Unable to move or speak. Powerless to act on your desires. So thirsty, so helpless. It must be agony. This gets to Angelus, hits home. He turns to leave..ANGEL Release 27 ANGELUS I’m getting real bored with this game. MASTER (o.s.) Then how about a round of show and tell? Soul… soul… who has your soul? Angelus turns back to find that a glass container containing a swirling mist has appeared on the reading table next to the hearth. MASTER (o.s.) Oh, right… me! Angelus reaches out to snatch the jar but his hand passes right through it. It’s just an illusion. ANGELUS More smoke and mirrors. MASTER (o.s.) Only a glamour, yes. But I assure you, my sweet, this very moment I hold the real thing in the palms of my very corporeal hands… and I will restore it if you don’t behave. I’ll put you back in your box, Angelus, and bury you so far inside Angel, you’ll never claw your way out again. Angelus realizes he’s trapped. ANGELUS All right. What do you want me to do… master? CUT TO: 25 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S ROOM— NIGHT 25 Cordelia sits on her bed, holding the jar containing Angel’s soul in her hands and smiling..ANGEL Release 28 FADE OUT Act III 26 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 26 Fred watches as Gunn reloads the trank Gunns, then hands her a pistol. FRED You really think he’ll come back? GUNN Measure twice, cut once. FRED Yeah. Plus, this worked so well the first time. GUNN Not your fault. FRED I should’ve had him. GUNN Fred, you got out of it alive so— FRED Because he let me! Why not? All the little mouse could do was squeak at him..ANGEL Release 29 GUNN Then next time Minnie will take a chunk out of his cheese. Look, if you really think you did something wrong, don’t do it again. That simple. She looks at him meaningfully. FRED Is it? GUNN (looks away) Sometimes. FRED Don’t. All we ever do is turn away. GUNN Fred— FRED I know. Whatever Wes was feeling, whatever he thought might… I should have told him it was never going to happen. You think I don’t know that? GUNN That’s not what I was going to say. FRED But it’s what you think. Isn’t it? (beat) I’m sorry. GUNN It’s not about that anymore. You know that. Fred inches closer and closer to him as she talks, her tone and manner becoming more intimate. FRED All I know is I miss you. Can’t we just go back… before any of this. I just want to go back, Charles. I just want to… She leans into him and their lips meet in a kiss. GUNN I… I should do a sweep..ANGEL Release 30 He pulls away and picks up his rifle. FRED Yeah. He turns away, uncertain where his feelings lie. CUT TO: 27 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— NIGHT 27 Faith slams Francis’ head down on the bar. FRANCIS Come on! I bruise easy. FAITH Gee, I wonder what color you’ll be when I’m done? Another head slam onto the bar. A vampire stands up and moves threateningly toward Faith. Wesley instantly has the shotgun up and pointed point-blank at the creature’s head. WESLEY Let’s not, shall we? The vampire instantly backs off. VAMPIRE It’s cool, dude. No worries..ANGEL Release 31 FRANCIS I don’t remember anything. I was drunk. I thought she was 18. FAITH I’m gonna work real hard on the not understanding that, lumpy. FRANCIS Francis! She slams his head again. VAMPIRE (laughs) Break his head open! See if there’s any candy. FRANCIS Hey, what do I look like? A piñata? FAITH Oh, let’s find out. FRANCIS Whoa, whoa! Ease off the contusion. What do you want to know? WESLEY Where’s Angelus? FRANCIS Who? Slam. FAITH We’ve been breathing stale beer and blood half the night in piss-holes like this. WESLEY Guess where it led us. FRANCIS Look, I’m telling you, I don’t know nothing. On my mother’s tumor. Out of the corner of his eye, Francis sees a demon creeping up behind Wesley with a raised pool cue..ANGEL Release 32 FRANCIS And even if I did, I’d never yak to a couple of flesh bags that are about to get their internal organs sucked out of their— Wesley flips the shotgun around and fires into the head of the demon, nearly decapitating it. WESLEY Strom demon. Face should grow back. Eventually. He racks the gun and levels it at Francis. FAITH Think yours will? FRANCIS (quick) Oh, that Angelus! Yeah, in here all the time. Running his mouth. “Look at me. I’m so evil.” Real jackass. Never liked him. I’m on your side. Slam. WESLEY Where is he? FRANCIS I don’t know! I swear. He was in here earlier, giving us the blah blah blah and then he started mumbling to himself like a big, pretty freak and then he slipped into the back. FAITH Back where?.ANGEL Release 33 Francis points. CUT TO: 28 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 28 Faith makes her way slowly through the back rooms, pistol at the ready, with Wesley following. Humans and vampires lie around, limbs entwined, in catatonic drug-induced stupors. Used syringes and other drug paraphernalia litter the tables and floors. Faith can’t believe her eyes: humans allowing themselves to be used as food like this. FAITH What the fuck— They’re both suddenly tackled from behind by a large hulking vampire. Wesley tumbles to the floor and Faith sends the vampire crashing down next to him with several swift blows. Wesley quickly rams a stake through his chest before he can recover and the creature disappears in a cloud of dust. FAITH You okay? WESLEY Dandy. CUT TO: 29 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— CORDELIA’S BATHROOM— NIGHT 29 Connor stands before the mirror making faces, feeling his teeth, checking for signs he inherited any of his father’s demonic tendencies..ANGEL Release 34 He doesn’t notice the door open behind him or Cordelia watching him with a smile. CORDELIA You know, most teenagers check for pimples. CONNOR (embarrassed) I’m not… I wasn’t— CORDELIA You tried to take him, didn’t you? You attacked Angelus inside the hotel and got spanked by the anti-demon spell. CONNOR I’m not a demon. CORDELIA I am. At least partly. Kind of a prereq for the visions gig. CONNOR You chose that. It’s not the same. CORDELIA Why not? CONNOR (frustrated) I mean, why do I… (beat) Cordy, I don’t even know what I am. CORDELIA I do. You’re a daddy. And daddies need to take responsibility, Connor. You need to face the fact that we’re… special. Just like our baby’s going to be. CONNOR (smiles) I’m really going to be a father. CORDELIA The best. And the only thing you ever have to worry about is keeping us safe. She kisses him lightly on the lips..ANGEL Release 35 CORDELIA So why don’t you go back downstairs and see what’s going on. I’d feel a lot better if I knew everything that was happening. He nods and leaves the room and the sweet smile disappears from Cordelia’s face. CUT TO: 30 INT. BAR & POOL HALL— BACK ROOM— NIGHT 30 Faith shakes a delirious young blonde girl, trying to rouse her to consciousness. FAITH Hey, we’re gonna get you out of here. WESLEY Faith… He holds up a hypodermic syringe full of drugs. FAITH (to girl) Can you walk? GIRL No, but I can fly! FAITH (to Wesley) What’d they do to her? WESLEY She did it to herself. They shoot up, the vampires feed, use them like a filter. I’ve read the effects can be quite intoxicating… for both of them. GIRL (to Faith) Hey, you’re pretty. You wanna make out? Faith shakes her head in disgust and hauls the girl to her feet, slamming her up against the wall. FAITH There was a vampire in here earlier. Tall, dark hair— listen!.ANGEL Release 36 She slams the girl harder when her eyelids start to close. GIRL Okay! God, what’s your issue? FAITH Tall, dark hair, talking to himself. GIRL Let go. Faith decks her. FAITH Did you see him? GIRL No, I didn’t! Stop it, you’re hurting me. Faith stares at her a moment, then lets her go and heads for the door. FAITH (to Wesley) She doesn’t know anything. Wesley nods and walks over to the girl. WESLEY Maybe not. He takes out his knife and rams it through the girl’s shoulder. She shrieks in agony and Faith recoils, horrified. FAITH What are you doing, Wes? WESLEY Shut up! (to girl) Tracks on your arms, you’ve been here, what, two or three days straight? Answer me! He twists the knife and the girl melts under the pain. GIRL (gasping) Yes… oh, stop!… yes… four… four days. WESLEY Then you must have seen the vampire we’re looking for..ANGEL Release 37 GIRL (nods) Angelus. I saw him. He’s… WESLEY Where is he? GIRL I don’t know. Wesley slams her hard against the wall, using the knife as leverage. GIRL I don’t know! Please, stop! WESLEY They said he was talking to himself. What was he saying? GIRL I don’t know… it was like he was talking to someone else. It was all a rain of fire and pulling strings and a soul. That’s all I heard. Please, stop. It hurts! Wesley yanks the knife out and the girl drops to the floor, sobbing. Faith runs over to her and starts bandaging the wound while Wesley cleans the blood off his knife. FAITH Have you totally lost it? WESLEY I avoided the main arteries. She’ll live. If that’s what you call this. Whatever’s controlling the Beast… it’s made contact with Angelus. He picks up his shotgun and walks out. Faith leaves the girl and follows him, furious. FAITH So what— torturing humans part of the new makeover? WESLEY I did what I had to because you couldn’t. FAITH I hit her. WESLEY You think that’s something new to her?.ANGEL Release 38 FAITH You crossed it back there, Wes. What did— WESLEY Oh, you have a problem with a little torture now? I seem to recall a time when you rather enjoyed it. FAITH Yeah, well, it’s not me anymore. You know that. He raises the shotgun. WESLEY Nice to have this along, though… just in case. I remember what you did to me, Faith. The broken glass, the shallow cuts… so I would remain conscious. FAITH You think I’d hurt you again? WESLEY This the part where you tell me you’ve turned a new leaf? Found god? Inner peace? We both know that isn’t true. You haven’t changed. You can’t. Faith backs away but Wesley is relentless. FAITH Wes, I—.ANGEL Release 39 WESLEY Because you’re sick. You’ve always been sick. It goes right down to the roots, rotting your soul. That’s why your friends turned on you in Sunnydale, why the Watcher’s Council tried to kill you. No one trusts you, Faith. You’re a rabid dog who should have been put down years ago! Faith rounds on him, enraged, and slams him against the wall, her fist raised to strike. WESLEY See? Wasn’t so hard, was it? It’s what you’ll need to beat him. She lowers her arm and steps back, shaking her head. FAITH No. WESLEY You have to be willing to take it all the way, Faith. FAITH I can’t risk killing Angel. Not after what he’s done for me. There’s gotta be another way. She turns her back and walks out. CUT TO: 31 INT. HYPERION HOTEL— LOBBY— NIGHT 31 Fred hands a Seabreeze to Lorne who lies on the sofa, moaning. LORNE Smacked in the noggin with a 2x4 wrapped in velvet. Yeah, that’s what it felt like. FRED I am so so beyond sorry. LORNE Oh, go on. It’s the first good nap I’ve had since the apocalypse started. So what’d I miss? GUNN Angelus and his usual freak show..ANGEL Release 40 LORNE I see everybody still has their necks attached. The sanctuary spell must have done it’s thing? Gunn looks pointedly at Connor who glares back at him. GUNN Yeah, it’s working. LORNE Hey, one for the good guys. FRED And take two away. I let Angelus walk with Lilah’s book and everything Wolfram & Hart suckered out of your brain. LORNE (smiles) I was going to have those framed. GUNN Vampire Moriarty strolls in waving the anti-mojo mojo… anybody would have done the same. LORNE He had mojo? FRED No-jo. He waved this piece of junk in my face and I went all spinal paralysis. She holds up the golden trinket and Lorne looks at it with a smile. LORNE Put the blame stick down, peaches. Maury’s been peddling these to tourists since L.A. had cable cars, honey. It fools the Bermuda shorts off them every single time. GUNN Maury? CONNOR You know where this guy is? LORNE Yeah, sure. He hangs his horns in a shop down on Olive, why?.ANGEL Release 41 GUNN (to Fred) Call Wes. Now. CUT TO: 32 INT. MAURY’S SHOP— NIGHT 32 Faith and Wesley enter a vast vaulted building. Multiple levels surround a central atrium with balconies looking out across the marbled floors. The place is under construction with scaffolding rising up from the floor to the upper levels. Faith follows Wesley up a wide staircase to an open area with office equipment arranged haphazardly around the room. FAITH Even if he got the fake hoodoo from this Maury guy, why would Angelus hang around? WESLEY He wouldn’t. But this Maury that Lorne knows may be able to help us find where Angelus is hiding. They approach a desk scattered with occult trinkets only to find Maury lying on the floor on the other side, his throat ripped out. ANGELUS No… but I can. They turn to find Angelus smiling wickedly at them from the shadows. FADE OUT Act IV 33 INT. MAURY’S SHOP— NIGHT 33 Angelus smiles at Faith. ANGELUS A little birdie in my head told me you’d be here. (shivers) Exciting! Faith strides forward and shoots at him with the trank gun. He ducks aside and the shot misses, then kicks Faith backward into a stack of boxes..ANGEL Release 42 Wesley chambers a round in his shotgun and opens fire. Again, Angelus’ demonic reflexes allow him to evade the gunfire. ANGELUS You gotta do better than that, Wes! Wes fires and misses again. ANGELUS Come on! I’ll give you one more. Wesley racks the shotgun but before he can fire, Angelus grabs the barrel, knocking it upward and the shot goes into the ceiling. ANGELUS Strike three! He wrenches the shotgun from Wesley’s grasp and hurls him over the balcony and into the scaffolding. Wesley crashes down through the scaffolding to the level below where he lands unconscious among the debris. Faith bolts for the stairs at a dead run but skids to a halt when Angelus racks the shotgun and levels it at her. ANGELUS Uh-oh! Vampire with a gun. He opens fire repeatedly and Faith dives down the stairs, the buckshot barely missing her. ANGELUS I see why he likes this thing! Faith tumbles to a stop at the bottom of the grand staircase and looks up to find Angelus standing right over her, the shotgun’s barrel inches from her face. ANGELUS Wow… you really have gone soft, now haven’t you? Hey, you remember that time you tried to get Angel to kill you because you felt all weepy over being such a bad little girl? Do you still feel that way? Do you still want to die? FAITH No… ANGELUS What’s that?.ANGEL Release 43 FAITH No. ANGELUS I can’t hear you! FAITH (shouts) No! He racks the gun and Faith winces, anticipating the killing blow. ANGELUS Too bad… ’cause you’re gonna. He racks the gun again and again, ejecting all the shells. ANGELUS But not like this. Faith seizes the opportunity and kicks her legs up, knocking the shotgun from his hands, then she leaps to her feet and squares off. She attacks, throwing quick jabs before landing a solid blow to Angelus’ head. ANGELUS Whoa! Looks like we got a live one… She throws another punch and he seizes her arm and wrenches it backward, then slams his fist into her face, stunning her. ANGELUS …for now..ANGEL Release 44 He spins around, throwing a roundhouse kick to her head and she collapses to the floor. ANGELUS Little tired, sweetie? Want to take a break? He yanks Faith to her feet and punches her in the gut, then pounds her to floor again, kicking her hard enough to send her skidding across the floor to the other side of the room. She lies on her back, gasping in pain. She rolls over and blood drips from her mouth onto the floor. ANGELUS Now this is disappointing. You never used to bleed so easy. FAITH Screw you. ANGELUS Hmm… maybe after. I like my girls to lie still. As Faith holds her broken ribs and struggles to her feet, Angelus looks up at the scaffolding where Wesley fell. Inside, lying among the shattered boards and paint cans, Wesley starts to come around. ANGELUS Hey, buddy! How’s it going in there? (to Faith) Good old Wes… you can always count on him to tackle a bad situation and make it worse. I mean, hey, look how you turned out. But then again, I guess he didn’t really have much to work with, now. Faith laughs through the blood and the pain..ANGEL Release 45 FAITH Save the head-trip, GQ. Wes told me you’d try to get under my skin, give me just what I need to scratch you out. ANGELUS Oh, don’t tell me! (mocking) The rousing stiff upper lip speech. Rah rah! Good over evil! Do what must be done! Hang in there, kitten, it’s almost Friday! Is that what the scraggly little ponce armed you with to fight the big bad bogeyman? FAITH Yeah. And this. She slips a dagger out from inside her jacket and whips it at Angelus, impaling him through the chest. In an instant, she’s on her feet, her fists a flurry of punches, rocking him backward and throwing him off-balance. She rips the knife out of him and slashes at him but he dodges and weaves, then kicks the knife from her hand. It flies up through the air as Faith beats Angelus back, kicking him fast and hard. She snatches the knife out of the air as it comes back down and rakes the blade across Angelus’ chest. The vampire hisses in pain and renews his attack. He kicks her viciously, sending her tumbling backward, then leaps straight up into the scaffolding 30 feet overhead. ANGELUS That hurt, baby. Kinda liked it. (laughs) How about you? There’s my girl. I knew she was in there somewhere, dying to come out and play again. FAITH Shut up. Faith walks among the metal gridwork in the atrium, scanning the upper levels for Angelus. His voice echoes throughout the marble building making it hard to pinpoint him. ANGELUS I know how it feels. Forced to be someone you’re not. Hurts to the bone. You try to bury the pain but you can’t get the hole deep enough, can you? No matter how much you dig, it’s still there. Broken shards stabbing every time you breathe, cutting you up inside. You know, there’s only one way to make the pain stop… hurt someone else. Faith spins, dagger raised to strike but Angelus seizes her arm, stopping the blow. He brings her arm down on his leg, then kicks her violently and she flies up and onto one of the scaffolding grids, her dagger skittering.ANGEL Release 46 away across the room. A moment later, Angelus leaps up next to her and attacks. She dodges him, using the metal latticework to avoid his blows while trying to land some of her own. They dance across the scaffolding, dodging and weaving, their movements a kind of obscene ballet. Faith leaps to the top but Angelus is already there. He hurls her off and she falls two dozen feet to the hard marble floor below. Angelus jumps down and lands next to her. ANGELUS Come on, Faith, you’re not even trying. He kicks her in the head, then beats her down to the floor again. ANGELUS Or is that why you really came back? Not enough to punish yourself in prison. Is that it? Still looking for someone to help beat the bad out of you? He double punches her to the head. She staggers, drunkenly, stunned. ANGELUS You know what the funny part is, darlin’? I could beat you to death and it wouldn’t make a difference. Nothing will ever change who you are, Faith. He pounds her to her knees. ANGELUS You’re a murderer… Another vicious blow to the head. ANGELUS …an animal… He seizes her by the hair and wrenches her head backward. ANGELUS …and you enjoy it. Just like me! With a strangled cry of rage, Faith leaps to her feet and delivers a stunning uppercut to Angelus’ jaw, rocking him backward. She follows with a roundhouse kick to his chest, snapping several ribs and driving him to the floor. Her fury is like a living thing now and she leaps on Angelus, rolls him over and pounds him, one devastating blow after another. His head snaps back, then forth, his eyes losing more focus with each shattering punch. Angelus is hers now. She’s won..ANGEL Release 47 But she suddenly catches herself, stops, and backs away. FAITH No! She looks down at him, bleeding and panting with adrenaline. FAITH You’re wrong. I’m different now. I’m not like you. Angelus’ feet shoot out, sweeping her legs out from under her. He yanks her up by the hair and wrenches her head backward, exposing her neck. ANGELUS You will be. His face shifts and the vampire within rises to the surface. A strangled cry escapes Faith’s lips as Angelus sinks his fangs into her neck and begins to drink. FADE TO BLACK END |