Rain Of Fire

Written by: Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by: Vern Gillum

~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~

The Hyperion Hotel. Angel and Lorne descend the stairs, arguing.

Angel: No.

Lorne: Why?

Angel: No.

Lorne: Why?

Angel: I said no.

Lorne: I said why? Now let’s meet in the middle with a “Why no?”

Angel: It’s too soon.

Lorne: But she got her memory back. Aren’t you a weensy curious if Cordy remembers anything about her little stint as a Higher Power? Oh, say, maybe something about the thinga-ma-bad that Wolfram & Hart sucked out of my noggin?

Angel: We need to give her time to adjust before we start coming at her with a million questions.

Lorne: How about one? One’s good.

Angel: In a couple of days, when she’s more herself.

Lorne appeals to Fred and Gunn who are packing up weapons and preparing to head out.

Lorne: Chime in any time!

Fred: Love to.

Gunn: Really.

Fred: We’ve got a case.

Angel: Need some backup?

Gunn: Nah, woman out at Hancock Park’s hearing spookies in her pipes. Don’t know whether to bring my axe or a plunger.

Angel: (to Lorne) See? Worst thing we’ve got going on is a haunted toilet. So let’s give Cordy a little space. It’s not like the world’s going to end right this second.

Cut to Connor's hideout. A scream comes from the TV. Cordelia watches an old horror movie as Connor enters with an armload of snack food.

Connor: Chocodiles… and some other stuff.

Cordelia: What?

Connor: Thought you might be hungry.

She continues staring at the TV.

Connor: Want something else? I could…

Cordelia: No, these are great.

Connor: What’re you watching?

Cordelia: Some old movie. Pod people or… mutant pod mushrooms or… something. I don’t know, I can’t remember (off his look) I mean, I don’t remember because I was a kid when I saw it so it’s a little on the foggy but natural fog. (switches off TV) Don’t worry. I’m not going to turn into Amnesia Action Figure Cordy again.

Connor: She wasn’t so bad.

Cordelia: Yeah, a real hoot, too, with the panicking and the screaming and running around like a nut. (bites into candy bar) Mmmm… I love these.

Connor: (smiles) Yeah, I know.

Cordelia: Thank you.

Connor: You’re welcome.

Cordelia: And not just for the snacky-goodness. Thank you for… god, thanks for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you, Connor.

Connor: (smiles) Panic, scream, nut.

Cordelia: Probably.

He kneels in front of her and brushes her hair back.

Connor: You should rest.

Cordelia: I’m okay.

Connor: You haven’t slept since you came back.

Cordelia: I know. Every time I close my eyes, I…

Connor: What?

Cordelia: See it. Something. Horrible. Moving. Deep down, clawing its way up.

Connor: It’s just a dream.

Cordelia: I can taste the blood of all the people it’s going to kill, smell the burning flesh.

Connor: It’s okay, you’re safe with me.

Cordelia: No one’s safe. Don’t you understand that? It’s coming and no one can stop it. I want to warn Angel but the words won’t come out. Why can’t I tell him? I feel it… the thing in my dreams. It’s real and it’s almost here.

Connor stands up in front of her but the voice she hears isn’t Connor’s.

The Beast: I know.

Cordelia looks up at the sound of the deep and menacing voice and instead of Connor, the Beast stand before her in silhouette. It’s clawed hand shoots forward and seizes her by the throat.

Later. Cordelia wakes with a scream. The Beast is gone. Connor rushes to her side.

Connor: What is it? Are you all right? Cordy?

She gasps in fright and clings to him desperately.

Opening credit sequence.

~~~~~~~~~~ Part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~

At the Hyperion Lorne is talking on the phone with a customer while Angel polishes the weapons.

Lorne: (into phone) Snakes? Uh-huh. And they came out of your what? Okay, did they get up there themselves or was this part of a… you know, a thing? No, I’m not judging! (to Angel) Do we fight snakes?

Angel: Only if they’re giant… or demons or giant demons— are they giant demon snakes?

Lorne: Well, unless this guy’s 30 feet tall, I’m thinking they’re of the garden variety.

Angel: (disappointed) Oh. (beat) They can still be demonic! Are they making any kind of weird demony sounds?

Cut to Pritchard's house. Gunn and Fred walk down the hall with Mrs. Pritchard.

Mrs. Pritchard: The noises are horrible. The thumping, the groaning… it’s impossible to sleep at night.

Gunn: How long has this been going on?

Mrs. Pritchard: A week, maybe.

Fred: Good. If it’s a haunting, the longer a specter inhabits the area, the harder it is to convince them to leave.

Gunn: Yep. Casper’s dealing with the big boys now. We’re very persuasive.

Mrs. Pritchard: Anything you can do about that terrible room. I’ll be in the kitchen.

She quickly walks off down the hall.

Gunn: (to Fred) You ready?

Fred: Is no an acceptable answer?

Gunn: In this business, always.

He hefts his axe and approaches the bathroom door. Gunn whistles when he sees the size of the bathroom.

Gunn: Damn, look at this place.

Fred: A family of four could live in here.

Gunn: With room for Uncle Laurel. Man, marble countertops, whirlpool tub, bidet… it’s the kind of place I imagine us moving into one day.

Fred: (deadpan) Yeah.

Gunn: I’m not saying tomorrow.

Fred: I know…

Gunn: Just be nice one day, that’s all.

Fred: Charles…

She stops when she hears a groaning noise behind the walls.

Fred: That’s not the bidet…

Gunn: Where’s it coming from?

Fred: Everywhere?

Gunn walks over to the sink and leans in close.

Fred: Maybe we should have brought a priest.

Gunn: Or some consecrated Drano. I think it’s stopped.

Suddenly the mirror above his head shatters and dozens of rats pour out. Rats crawl out of the shower drain and the toilet, coming from all around them. Fred and Gunn both scream and dive for the door.

Fred: These aren’t ghosts! These definitely aren’t ghosts!

Gunn: Well, they’re gonna be!

More rats leap off the light fixture onto Gunn’s back and he screams louder. Fred struggles with the door.

Fred: It won’t open!

Gunn pulls her out of the way and throws himself against it, breaking it open. Gunn slams the door and tears his coat off.

Gunn: Get them off me! Get them off me!

Fred: You’re okay, it’s okay.

Gunn and Fred walk briskly down the hall, trying to keep their composure. They pass a horrified Mrs. Pritchard along the way.

Fred: You might want to look into an exterminator.

Gunn: Or just burn the place down.

Fred: Either way.

Wesley enters his apartment and finds Lilah waiting for him.

Lilah: Hard day at the office?

Wesley: I’ve had worse.

Lilah: What happened?

Wesley: Bugs.

Lilah: Giant?

Wesley: Swarm. Why are you dressed like that?

Reveal Lilah dressed like Fred, pigtails and glasses.

Lilah: (Texas accent) Isn’t this what you like? Big brain and a tight little—

Wesley: Lilah…

Lilah: (mocking) Forget about that evil witch. Let’s talk about me. I’m good and I’m pure and science turns me on and one day, if I pray hard enough and eat all my vegetables… I just might have hips.

Wesley: Are you finished?

Lilah: Did it turn you on? Watching her up there in front of all those brainiacs, knowing she was the smartest one in the room?

Wesley: Her theories deserve attention.

She wraps her arms around him.

Lilah: (smiles) Just her theories? I saw the way you looked at her. Oh, come on. Do you think I care about your little crush? Moon all you want over the Texas Twig… because I know whose bed you’ll be crawling into at the end of the day. (kisses him) Or the middle of it.

The kiss passionately. After a moment, Wesley pulls back.

Wesley: You think you know me?

Lilah: Better than she ever will.

He pulls her close again and kisses her, then rips open her shirt. She fumbles with his zipper and pushes him back on the couch, straddling him. As he slides into her, she reaches up to take off her glasses.

Wesley: Leave them on.

She hesitates, then slips the glasses back on and begins to move against him rhythmically.

At the hotel Gunn and Fred come back from their rat excursion.

Gunn: Nasty pink-nosed bastards… I felt them crawling on me.

Fred heads upstairs.

Fred: I’m gonna take a long bath and scrub till my skin stops twitching.

Gunn: (hopefully) We have bubbles?

Fred: (awkward) I was kinda looking forward to a quiet soak alone.

Gunn: (covers) Oh. Yeah, okay.

Fred: It’s just the tub’s not that big and… (off his look) Forget it. We’ll squeeze in.

Gunn: No, you go ahead. I’ll grab one later.

Fred: Can we not do this?

Gunn: You mean have a meaningful conversation the way that two people who love each other are supposed to?

Fred: Fine. We’ll do this.

Gunn: Fred, what do you want from me?

Fred: Nothing.

Gunn: Yeah, you’ve made that pretty clear.

Fred: That’s not what I meant.

Gunn: You sure? We don’t talk. We sleep on opposite sides of the bed. We haven’t even touched each other since…

Fred: Since we murdered Professor Seidel.

Gunn: No, since I did.

Fred: For me.

Gunn: I couldn’t let you carry that.

Fred: It wasn’t your choice.

Gunn: Fred, it’s not who you are. It isn’t in your heart.

Fred: But it’s in yours?

Gunn: It is now.

She tears up and brushes past him, running off into the night.

Fred: I’m sorry.

Gunn: Fred!

Later. Lorne is still at the phones.

Lorne: (into phone) No. No, that certainly doesn’t sound normal for a boy his age. Look, let’s send someone out as soon as we can. Just don’t… just don’t poke it.

Gunn enters and hands Angel his axe.

Angel: Hey, how’d it go?

Lorne: Where’s Fred?

Gunn: Bad. Out. (phone rings) I got it.

Lorne: Bless you and all your parts.

Gunn: (into phone) Angel Investigations. Uh-huh. And what is the nature of your manifestation?

Lorne goes over to Angel who is organizing the weapons cabinet.

Lorne: (to Angel) Business is really humming.

Angel: Yeah. Word of mouth, I guess. Got around that I’m back. Do you think I should keep these alphabetical or re-arrange them by how much damage they inflict?

Lorne: Damage. Nomenclature goes out the portal when hacking’s afoot.

Angel: Still, it’s good to know what you’re using. I mean, what if I’m fighting a Glurgg and I ask for a khopesh to finish him off. What would you throw me?

Lorne: A towel. Glurggs are 90% pus. Yeah, not speaking of sticky fluids, maybe we should get some help around the office. A certain somebody with a good understanding of higher dimensions… who could tell me what got hoovered out of my head. Name starts with a C?

Angel flips open a spring loaded dagger and looks across the lobby.

Angel: Connor.

Lorne: No, I was leaning more towards a perky love-muffin but… (sees Connor) oh.

Angel meets Connor as he walks into the lobby.

Angel: Hey.

Connor: Hey.

Angel: It’s okay. The spell wore off. (beat) Thanks for not letting me hurt Cordy.

Connor: I don’t know… she probably would have staked you. She’s pretty tough.

Angel: Yeah, she is.

Connor: She’s staying with me now. You know that, right?

Angel: Yeah, that’s good. She needs a place where she can feel safe. Give her a chance to work things out. Couple of days, everything’ll be back the way it was.

Connor: You should talk to her.

Lorne: Oh! Hallelujah.

Angel: Now is not a good time, Connor, after everything she’s been through. The last thing she needs is—

Connor: Dad… please?

Angel enters with Connor to find Cordelia staring out the window into the night.

Cordelia: I’m gonna kill him.

Angel: He’s just worried about you. We all are.

Cordelia: Is that the royal “we” or the populace?

He sits next to her and takes her hand.

Angel: I always wanted to be a prince but I hear you gotta be born into it.

Cordelia: (smiles) How do you do that?

Angel: What?

Cordelia: Make everything feel like it’s not spiraling apart?

Connor ducks out the door and leaves them alone.

Angel: Are you all right?

Cordelia: Getting there.

Angel: The way you left the hotel…

Cordelia: I know.

Angel: Did I do something or—

Cordelia: No, Angel… I love you. I always will. You know that.

Angel: I don’t suppose we could stop there?

Cordelia: I wish I could, more than anything… but I can’t. When I got my memory back, everything came rushing in. Sunnydale, moving to Los Angeles, meeting you again. I wanted to tell you but… it was just too much.

Angel: Tell me what?

Cordelia: What I remembered when I was a Higher Being. I remember seeing you, your past… when you were Angelus.

Angel: I’ve never tried to hide who I was or what I’ve done. You already knew.

Cordelia: Knowing’s different than living it. When I was up there, I could look back and see everything you ever did as Angelus. More than see. I felt it. Not just their fear and pain… I felt you. And how much you enjoyed making them suffer. I love you, Angel… but I can’t be with you. It’s just too soon. Maybe if we just give it a little time.

She suddenly starts hyperventilating and trembling.

Angel: Cordy? Cordy, what is it?

Her head rocks back and then forward again and her eyes go a milky white. She sees a vision of a demon rising from the earth.

Cordelia: He’s coming. He’s coming now!

FADE OUT

~~~~~~~~~~ Part 2 ~~~~~~~~~~

Continued from previous scene. Cordelia rests on the bed with Connor while Angel paces.

Angel: You still have your visions. I thought they weren’t supposed to hurt anymore.

Cordelia: This wasn’t normal. If that words actually applies to anything that ever happens to me. The visions are usually like a lawn sprinkler. This was like Niagara.

Connor: You should let her rest.

Cordelia: No, I’m okay.

She squeezes his hand; Angel notices.

Angel: What else can you tell me?

Cordelia: Big, powerful, clawing its way up through the bowels of the earth to slaughter us all. Yeah, that pretty much covers it.

Angel: Did you see anything that could give us a location?

Cordelia: No, just the big beastie. (sits up) It’s coming, Angel, and it won’t stop until we’re all… it won’t stop.

Angel: He’s right. You should probably get some sleep.

Cordelia: Yeah, right. Because impending doom— almost as good as warm milk.

Angel: Well, whatever’s coming, I’ll figure out a way to stop it.

Cordelia: It’ll be too late. I can feel it. There’s something— I don’t know. I think I know more about this thing or I knew more when I was all high and mighty but I just can’t get at it.

Angel: Maybe if Lorne read you again…

Cordelia: You think he would after what happened the first time?

Angel: I can hold him down.

Cordelia: Angel, we need to know more. I need to know.

At the Hyperion Gunn and Lorne both answer the phones which ring constantly.

Gunn: (into phone) I’m sorry. I know but we’re pretty swamped right now. Well, if Snowball hasn’t tried to eat your spine yet, hit her with the catnip till we get there.

Lorne: (into phone) No, I don’t think that much mucous is ever a good sign. No, please, describe it in detail. (to Gunn) Hey, this isn’t letting up. How about rustling up some adorable reinforcements?

Gunn: (curt) I don’t know where she is.

Lorne: Well, that’s where the rustling comes in.

Gunn: If Fred wanted to be here, she would.

Lorne: (into phone) Yeah, that sounds horrible. Hold please. (to Gunn) You two okay?

Gunn: Ask her that. Maybe she’ll talk to you.

Lorne: (into phone) Angel Investigations, hold please. (to Gunn) Hey. I don’t know what’s going on between cupcake and her icing but you know how she feels about you and it doesn’t take horns and beautiful singing voice to be able to read that.

Gunn: It’s just… it’s been hard since that thing with her professor.

Lorne: Yeah, well being stuck in Pylea is pretty crappy but being sent there on purpose by someone you trust? Hey, at least Dr. Ego got a taste of his own portal.

Gunn: Yeah. He got what he deserved, didn’t he?

Something slams against the window on the door to the solarium. Gunn opens it and finds a dead bird lying on the ground.

Gunn: It’s a sparrow. Slammed right into the glass.

Lorne: (urgent) Close the door.

Gunn: But it might not be dead.

The sound of thousands of beating wings suddenly fills the air.

Lorne: Close it!

Gunn does so just as hundreds of sparrows smash themselves to death against the windows of the hotel. Blood splatters across the windows. When the thumping finally abates, Gunn stares at Lorne in shock.

Gunn: I’m guessing this isn’t a good sign.

Lorne: Yeah, as harbingers go, not so much.

Lilah strides down the hall of Wolfram & Hart, talking on her cell phone.

Lilah: (into phone) A 300% increase? In the last hour? Uh-huh. Oh, ya think? Well, don’t. Just shut up. Get me an incident report cross-referenced by region, socio-economic backgrounds and species. Oh, and get Gavin up here. Somebody’s trying to muscle in on our apocalypse and that is not going to happen while—

She arrives at her office and enters to find Angel waiting for her.

Lilah: (into phone) Let me get back to you.

She hangs up.

Angel: Close the door.

Lilah: How did you get in here? Vampire detectors, my ass. Well, here we are, all nice and cozy. Let’s talk about— gee, let me guess— Lorne. How is he doing? Still green?

Angel: I told you we were going to have a conversation.

Lilah: Swell but I’m having a bit of a day so let’s say we skip the usual two-step. You threaten me, I threaten you, yada yada, yawn. Jump directly to the throwing you out on your thick meaty head because you know what? You’re not getting anything out of me this time, either.

Angel: Didn’t think I would. But Gavin… he was more accommodating.

She follows his gaze across the room where Gavin Park sits trussed up and gagged.

Lilah: Couldn’t you have at least tortured him a little bit more?

Angel: Really wanted to but he wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to get into it.

Lilah: I have a cure for that.

Angel: Vindict on your own time. I’m kinda on the clock here.

Lilah: (sighs) What did he tell you?

Angel: You’re trying to decipher what you took out of Lorne’s head. Hundreds of psychics probing and prodding… well, not quite that many now because every time they peel back a layer, their brains end up decorating the walls.

Lilah: You should see the cleaning bill. Now that is terrifying.

Angel: Anything you got on what’s coming, now would be a good time.

Lilah: Not big on sharing.

Angel: You think I’m joking?

Lilah: Not unless you’ve conjured up a sense of humor to go with that soul. Look, you got it straight from the weasel’s mouth. Whatever Lorne gleaned from reading Wonder Girl, it’s protected. Try and unlock it, kablooey. Thanks for stopping by.

Angel: You’re trying to hide it. I can smell it on you.

Lilah: Chanel?

Angel: Fear.

Lilah: Well, you are very imposing in this light.

Angel: You’re not afraid of me, Lilah. You’re afraid of what’s coming. Maybe we can help each other, huh? The enemy of my enemy…

Lilah: Can kiss my ass, too. You want to play here? Go find another sandbox.

Angel: Normally this would be the part where I’d make a grand threat but thanks to Gavin…

Lilah: Like he knows anything.

Angel: That’s the point. This thing caught you by surprise, too. You had no idea it was coming.

Lilah: So what? I’m supposed to throw in with Mr. Goody because the Great Unknown has me shaking in my pumps?

Angel: It’s a win-win for you, Lilah. You help me, I stop it, Wolfram & Hart makes you Employee of the Month for protecting everything they’ve set into motion for the last thousand years. You help me and I don’t stop it… well, I mean the only way that’s going to happen is if this thing kills me and if that’s the way it goes… you win again. So you can keep playing it hard or you can play it smart. It’s up to you.

Lilah smiles, considering.

Cut to Connor's hideout. Cordelia paces, worried. She finally grabs her coat and heads for the door when Connor steps out of the shadows, blocking her.

Cordelia: Must be genetic.

Connor: What?

Cordelia: Sneaking up on people. Your dad’s an expert.

Connor: I was just making a sweep. Where are you going?

Cordelia: Been inside all day. Thought I would take a walk, clear the cobwebs, recharge the chargeables. (off his look) Okay, stop with the look. I’m getting a stronger feeling.

Connor: About the vision?

Cordelia: Yeah. Flashes, images, tugging at me, pulling…

Connor: Where?

Cordelia: I don’t know. Maybe where this thing’s gonna jack-in-the-box.

Connor: So you were going to go face it by yourself?

She heads for the door.

Cordelia: It’s all right. I was a Higher Being.

Connor: Was. You’re not any more.

Cordelia: No, I’m not. I remember wanting to come back home. To be able to touch, to feel… to be human again.

Connor: You are.

Cordelia: But I can’t remember how. (beat) Am I on vacation? Did I go cosmic AWOL? Did I do something to piss off the Powers That Be and get kicked out? I mean, why am I here?

Connor: Because you’re important.

Cordelia: Oh, yeah. The world’s really stopped turning without me.

Connor: Well… you’re important to me.

Cordelia: (smiles) I guess the sneaking’s not the only thing you got from Angel. You’re getting pretty good with saying the right words, too.

Connor: Complete sentences. I’ve been working on it.

Cordelia: Maybe you’re right. Maybe I was sent back because I’m important or needed for this— to stop whatever’s about to happen.

She picks up her coat again, suddenly urgent.

Cordelia: I have to find out if that’s why I’m here.

Connor: And I have to go with you.

Cordelia: No, it’s dangerous.

Connor: That’s why I’m coming.

She smiles and nods.

Connor and Cordelia walk together down the alley, searching.

Connor: Sure you know where you’re going?

Cordelia: Exactly, no. But for the first time since I’ve been back, I feel like I have a purpose, like I have a reason for being here. Before all I felt was empty, like I was waiting for my life to start.

Connor: I know how that feels. Not knowing why you’re here, what your place is in this world.

Cordelia: (laughs) It’s called being 18. If you make it past 21, things get a lot better.

Connor: They already have.

Cordelia: You really are getting awfully good with the words.

They walk on and Cordelia starts to look around, slightly confused.

Connor: What is it?

Cordelia: This place… I’ve been here before.

Connor: In your vision?

Cordelia: No, I… oh, my god. Darla.

Connor: My mother.

Cordelia: (nods) She died here. Connor, this is where you were born.

Suddenly the pavement before them explodes, knocking them both backward and to the ground. Cordelia sits up and watches as the Beast emerges from below: 8 feet tall, long curving horns and a demonic visage, it turns to stare at her.

FADE OUT

~~~~~~~~~~ Part 3 ~~~~~~~~~~

Continued from previous scene. Connor charges the Beast with his sword. He lands several blows but the blade merely glances off, like striking stone or cement. The Beast backhands him and he flies twenty feet through the alley and lands in a crumpled heap.

Cordelia: Connor!

The creature stands over Cordelia, then reaches down, seizes her by the throat and lifts her up. She hangs from its grasp, her feet kicking uselessly more than a foot off the ground, its scorching hand searing the flesh of her neck. Suddenly Connor is back, attacking furiously, and the Beast drops Cordelia and faces off with him. Connor lands blow after blow to the thing’s head but they have no effect whatsoever. It regards him coldly for a moment, then hits Connor with a titanic blow to the head. He shoots across the alley and impacts with a brick wall, his face a bloody mess.

Cordelia: No!

The Beast’s pitiless gaze turns once more to Cordelia and it stalks forward on cloven hooves toward her. It looms over her for a moment then reaches down.

Connor: (gasping) Stay away from her!

The Beast looks from Connor to Cordelia, then laughs cruelly and leaps into the air, disappearing up over the adjacent building. Cordelia crawls over to Connor who grunts with pain as he struggles to sit up.

At the hotel Lorne and Gunn are on the phones again.

Gunn: (into phone) If you see Fred could you have her call me? Charles Gunn, two N’s. Yes, that’s my real name, just please, have her call me.

Lorne: (into phone) Yeah, well it might take a couple of days. You’re fifth on the bleeding walls list. Spritz it with a little 409. We’ll get back to you. (hangs up; to Gunn) Hey, no word yet?

Gunn: Nobody’s seen her.

Lorne: Well, maybe she ducked and covered when our feathered friends went kamikaze.

Gunn grabs his coat off the wall and heads for the door.

Gunn: You good here? I’m going to drive around, see if I can… I’m just going to drive.

Lorne follows suit.

Lorne: Let the machine work its mechanical magic. Come on, I’ll hang my head out the window, see if I can pick up the Burkle vibe.

Gunn: You can do that?

Lorne: No, but it sounds comforting and I could use the air.

Wesley: (o.s.) It is a bit ripe in here.

They turn to find Wesley coming in the front door.

Wesley: I’d suggest opening a window but…

Gunn: Fred’s not here.

Wesley: Didn’t ask.

Gunn: Didn’t have to.

Wesley: Since you brought it up, where is she?

Gunn: Not your business.

Lorne: Hey, call me Kooky Pants, but maybe we could save the three rounds until after the Chuck Heston plague-a-thon cools off?

Wesley: You’ve noticed the increase in paranormal activity?

Lorne: Yeah, you stepped in some on your way in. Birds, rats, blood… the Ghostbuster lines have been ringing off the hook.

Wesley: I’ve been tracking similar reports. (sighs) Maybe if we pool our data—

Gunn: Go pool yourself. I’m gonna find my girlfriend.

Gunn stops when he sees Angel standing at the solarium doors.

Angel: No, you’re not. If we don’t stop what’s coming, it won’t matter where Fred is… or any of us.

Later. The four of them have dozens of sheets of paper covered with arcane writing spread out over the low table, trying to decipher them.

Angel: That’s everything Wolfram & Hart could decipher from what they took out of Lorne.

Wesley: They just handed these over?

Angel: (pointed) Lilah? She can be very giving.

Gunn: You trust her on this?

Angel: No, but she’s got an interest in stopping the end of the world before it ruins Wolfram & Hart’s end of the world so…

Gunn: Okay, what’s the plan?

Angel: You’re holding it. We figure out what all this means, then do something large and violent.

Wesley: I see you’ve given it considerable thought.

Lorne: So all this came out of my head? No wonder it made me greener.

Angel: If Wolfram & Hart hadn’t extracted it, you’d be a paler shade of dead.

Lorne: Yeah, well, remind me to send them a fruit basket. (phone rings) Saved by the continuous bell.

Angel: Have you been logging the calls?

Lorne: Every last squishy one.

Angel: Grab a map. Start marking locations, see if they’re concentrated in any one area. (to Wesley & Gunn) Whatever’s happening, whatever Cordy’s seeing, the answers are in these pages. We need to figure this out.

Later. The group pours over the documents which are filled with strange glyphs printed in jumbled groups and odd angles.

Gunn: We’re never going to figure this out.

Angel: We have to keep trying.

Wesley: Normally I’d agree but this is a waste of time.

Angel: It’s all we have.

Wesley: Then we must be missing something. This is gibberish. Bits and pieces of glyphs, archaic languages, symbols… all jumbled together.

Angel: Do you recognize any of them?

Wesley: Heat… fallen… shrine… flesh. None of it makes any sense.

Angel: We gotta keep at it till it does.

Gunn: You know, maybe we should just take a step back.

Angel: We don’t have time. Cordy said whatever’s happening, it’s going down right now.

Wesley: Then perhaps you should have addressed this earlier. We could sift through this muddle from now till doomsday, whether that’s tomorrow or a thousand years from now— Gunn stops him as he sorts through the pages.

Gunn: Wait. Go back. The last sheet, flip it back.

Angel: What is it?

Wesley: I don’t see anything.

Gunn: That’s because you’re looking too close.

He holds several the papers alongside each other, aligning them. The glyphs come together to form a larger pattern. Gunn shoves the table aside and starts laying the individual sheets down on the floor, placing them into the pattern one at a time. When he’s done, they all stand up and look down, puzzled.

Gunn: Okay, so what the hell is it?

Reveal a large square with a cross through the middle.

Angel: The Eye of Fire.

Wesley: Ancient alchemical symbol for fire.

Angel: And destruction.

Gunn: You had me at fire.

Lorne looks up from his map.

Lorne: Boys, I hate to be the little demon that cried apocalypse nowish, but…

He holds up the map. He has plotted out the location of the strange occurrences and they form the same symbol, centered over west Los Angeles.

Fred sits at a window booth of the diner, silent and brooding. The Waitress refills her coffee cup.

Waitress: I’ll give you one more, then I’m cutting you off.

Fred: Oh, sorry. I can pay for the next one.

Waitress: It’s not the free refills that I’m worried about. It’s you vibrating into another dimension after a tenth cup.

Fred: Nobody wants that.

Waitress: Why don’t you call him? You’ve been sitting here all day. He’s probably worried sick.

Fred: Don’t know what I’d say.

Waitress: I think “hello” would probably do it. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you two come in here. That man would do anything for you.

Fred: I know.

Waitress: So cheer up. Whatever’s going on, as long as you’ve got love, it can’t be that bad.

Fred’s coffee cup suddenly starts rattling on the table. The tremor increases until the entire diner is shaking violently. Fred grabs the waitress and pulls her to the floor.

Fred: Get away from the window!

Cut to Connors' hideout. Cordelia looks up from bandaging Connors wounds as the room shakes and plaster drifts down from the ceiling. Connor starts to stand up.

Connor: I’ve got to go. I’ve got to stop it!

She yanks him back down.

Cordelia: Yeah, getting yourself killed should really slow that thing down.

She notices the bruises on his chest.

Cordelia: Oh, god. I think you broke a couple of ribs.

Connor: I’ve never been broken. Not even in Quortoth. I didn’t think I could be.

Cordelia: You’re hurt because of me. Because I thought maybe I still had some grand higher purpose, that me being here could actually… make a difference. Now I know better.

Connor: All you know is that that thing can hurt you. And if it tries again, I will find a way to kill it.

At the Hyperion Angel draws the intersecting cross on the box formed by Lorne’s incident plots.

Angel: That’s it.

Lorne: What?

Wesley: The focal point of the disturbances.

The hotel trembles around them and they all look up warily.

Angel: Whatever’s coming, that’s where we’ll find it.

Gunn: I know that area. The old Kimble building’s down there. They did a retro on it, put a club up on the roof. The Sky Temple or something.

Lorne: (nods) Yeah, I’ve heard of it. A watering hole for the tragically hip. Actors, models, all the hot mamas and yamas.

Wesley: A shrine of the flesh.

Angel: So… who’s thirsty?

Gunn: Let’s do it.

Angel and Gunn head for the weapons.

Lorne: Hey, I know location’s everything but maybe we should hold off on the down payment till we know what we’re dealing with… or how to stop it?

Angel: If it’s alive, we kill it. If it’s not, we bury it.

He tosses a crossbow to Wesley.

Angel: You in?

Cut to the Sky Temple Club. Angel, Gunn, Wesley and Lorne enter to find the Beast waiting for them. It turns with a hideous smile on its face as it dangles the corpse of one of the club’s customers upside-down from its claw. All around him lie the rest of the patrons, ripped to pieces, blood everywhere.

Lorne: Oh… I’m gonna need a bigger arrow.

FADE OUT

~~~~~~~~~~ Part 4 ~~~~~~~~~~

Continued from previous scene. The Beast hurls the dead man across the rooftop club as Angel charges, sword raised. The others fan out and surround the creature. Angel lands blow after blow with the sword but its like hitting a stone statue. The Beast blocks, then hits Angel with a roundhouse blow, sending him flying across the rooftop and into the brick wall. Angel struggles to his feet, Gunn hurls his axe at the Beast but the creature merely catches it, crushes the blade with its bare hands and whips it back at him as he dives for cover behind the bar. Angel attacks again with two and axes as Wesley lines up a shot with a doublebolted cross bow. The Beast absorbs Angel’s blows as Wesley fires. The creature’s clawed hand shoots out with lightning speed and deflects both bolts to the side where they bury themselves in Angel’s shoulder and gut. Wesley quickly tries to reload but the Beast picks up one of the corpses at his feet and hurls it at him, driving him to the floor. Gunn leaps out from behind the bar and charges, battering the Beast with the remains of his axe. His blows have no effect. The demon seizes him by the throat and tosses him aside. Wesley gets to his feet and reaches into his coat, withdrawing two .45-caliber semi-automatic pistols. As the Beast turns toward him, he opens fire, round after round hitting his target square in the chest— to absolutely no effect. The rounds ricochet off the creature, leaving it unscathed. Wesley drops the empty pistols and whips a 12-gauge pump-action sawed-off shotgun from beneath his coat and chambers a round. He opens fire and this time the gunfire staggers the Beast. It rocks backward with each blast and then falls to its knees. Wesley shoots it point blank in the face… and it looks up at him with a wicked smile. It seizes the shotgun and uses it to whip Wesley around and slam him into the wall where he drops unconscious. A quick laugh escapes from the demon as it surveys the carnage.

Angel: You might want to hold the gloat, Chuckles. We’re just getting started.

Angel rips the bolts free of his chest and attacks again. He punches and kicks the demon with every thing he has, rocking it backward on its heels. His advantage is short-lived, however, when the Beast pounds him with a right cross that knocks him 20 feet in the air, flipping head over heels. He lands on the awning over the club’s entrance, the vampire within fully ascendant. Angel leaps to the ground and this time his attack is so vicious, the Beast is beaten backward. Angel pounds the demon down to its kneels, triggers his wrist blade and strikes for the creature’s eye. But the blade stops and hovers less than inch from the target. Angel struggles with himself but he can’t seem push it any further. The Beast seizes his arm and whips the blade around, burying it in Angel’s throat. Angel’s eyes go wide with shock and pain as blood pours from his mouth. He gasps as the demon looks down on him with disgust.

The Beast: Do you really think she’s safe with him?

And then it seizes him by the neck and hurls him up and over the edge of the roof.

Gunn: No!

Lorne looks over at Gunn in shock as Angel plummets to the ground far below. The Beast walks over to the stacked corpses of the club’s patrons where they are arranged in the shape of a square. It stands in the center of the square and punches down through the roof. Fire erupts from the breach and races to the four corners of the square, consuming the bodies and engulfing the Beast. It gives the three men one final leer, then leaps upward into the night sky, the fire trailing after it. Wesley, Lorne and Gunn and tossed backward like rag dolls by the force of the blast. Lorne staggers to his feet as Wesley holds Gunn up.

Angel, bloody and battered, rolls over onto his back, the dagger still protruding from his neck. With a cry of pain, he yanks the knife free and lies there panting.

Cut to Connor's hideout. Cordelia and Connor watch in stunned horror and amazement as a massive column of fire rises up into the clouds and disappears. Seconds later, comets of fire begin to rain down over the entire city.

Connor: What’s happening?

Cordelia: I don’t know.

Connor: It’s him, isn’t it? It’s that thing.

Cordelia: We don’t know that.

Connor: I should have tried harder. I should have stopped it.

Cordelia: It was too strong. This isn’t your fault.

Connor: What if it is? What if that thing is— it chose the place where is was born. Is that why it’s here? Because of me?

Cordelia: No…

Connor: I was never supposed to happen… the child of two vampires. What if—

Cordelia: Connor. It’s not you.

Connor: You don’t know that.

Cordelia: Yes, I do. In my heart. (strokes his cheek) It’s not you, baby. It’s not you. Not you…

She leans in and tentatively kisses him, he responds, the kiss growing more passionate. After a moment, she pulls back.

Connor: Why… why did you?

Cordelia: Because I don’t think it matters anymore. I know how you feel about me, Connor. When I think about what you’ve… you never had a childhood or family or friends or anything that’s real. And if this is the end, I want you to have something that is.

She embraces him and pulls his arms around her. Their lips meet again and their passion mounts.

Cut to the Sky Temple Club. Lorne watches the rain of fire as Wesley collapses to the rooftop, Gunn unconscious in his arms.

Cut to the diner. Fred watches the burning meteors through the window while the waitress tries to calm the panicking customers behind her. She holds her cell phone to her ear but it’s useless.

Operator: (over phone) All circuits are busy now. Please try your call again.

Cut to Wolfram & Hart. Lilah stands at her office window and watches the pyrotechnic show cascade down over the city skyline, an uncharacteristic look of fear on her face.

Cut to Connor's hideout. Connor lies in bed with Cordelia, making love to her. She kisses him tenderly as he moves rhythmically on top of her.

Pan up from the museum window where Cordelia and Connor are having sex to reveal Angel on the roof of the adjacent building, watching them, a blank and unreadable expression on his face.

FADE TO BLACK