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Chapter 43- Blood Money

"I really wanna see what it is that cheers me up", Buffy muttered as she turned the recording on.

"Just watch", Summers smirked.

At Cordelia's apartment, Wesley and Gunn played dice, and Gunn won, calling himself ruler of the world, with Cordelia arriving wearing a house robe, telling them to get out as it was late, which was 7:30 for her.

"So Gunn rules all land", Xander said sarcastically. "Yay."

"7:30? But that's not really that late", Willow muttered. "Unless she doesn't like visitors that late I guess."

"Probably that", Maclay agreed with a nod.

Wesley inquired about a vision, to which Cordelia said she'd call, and then Gunn inquired if Angel would call, annoying Cordelia as they'd agreed not to mention him, and they agreed they had to fight the good fight on their own, even if they had no plan, business cards or office. Wesley then held up one of the Angel Investigations calling cards, saying they should scrap these, but Cordelia reminded an 'Angel' was drawn on them, which Wesley reminded they didn't have, and Gunn said it looked more like a lobster with a growth.

That comment made them all chuckle.

"Just because they don't have their Angel doesn't mean they need to change the cards", Tara pointed out. "The name and logo can just be a symbol."

"Amen", Dawnster agreed with a smile.

Wesley and Gunn started talking when Cordelia started having a vision which they didn't notice till she called out to them from the floor, and they rushed to her as she said the Demon was two-headed and breathed fire, and it was in the sewers beneath the Kenyard School for Girls. The two guys rushed out.

"Angel would have caught her", Buffy muttered.

"But he's too busy fighting his war to do that", Rosenberg said grimly.

Angel was walking down a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood at night. Then he bumped into a blonde girl, carrying a big box coming the other way and knocked the box out of her hands, spilling clothes onto the ground. They apologized to each other as he put the clothes back in the box, and the girl mentioned the clothes were donated, and Angel noted this was for 'East Hills Teen Center'.

Buffy's eyes widened as she recognized the girl. "Oh my….."

"What is it?" Giles asked her.

"Chant…Lily", Buffy trailed off, not having expected to see her here.

"It's Anne now", Summers popped up. "Our middle name."

"You know this woman?" Dawnster asked.

"Remember when Billy Fordham came to town, and we had that whole cult of Vampire worshippers?" Buffy asked and they nodded. "She was part of them."

"Oh!" Willow said. "And guess that experience made her realize what Vampires truly were."

"Not just that, when I had run away, I met her again, she was getting married to another runaway like her, but he was abducted and killed by a Demon", Buffy explained.

"That Demon ran a shelter for teenage runaways but it was a portal into a different Dimension where they were made to work till they got old", Summers explained. "And that's what happened to her guy."

"Plus, time moved differently there so he grew old in one day", Buffy said. "Then she got taken too, but I fought the Demons, she helped me killed the main guy, and then I let her take my name and continue her life in LA."

"She did more than that", Summers said with a proud smile. "She founded this shelter herself, she's its director."

"Wow!" Buffy said in awe, clearly surprised and proud herself. "She has come far."

"Hasn't she?" Dawn said with a smile.

"So, cheered up?" Harris asked her.

"Uhhh…..yeah", Buffy said with a nod, feeling better for sure. "Why isn't Angel recognizing her though, or she recognizing him?"

"You recognize every person you met like 3 years ago and shared 3 sentences with?" Dawnster asked and Buffy had to concede.

"But Angel has a long memory, doesn't he?" Giles asked.

"He spent hundreds of years in Acathla's Dimension between that", Willow reminded him.

"Right", Giles nodded.

"Makes sense then", Tara shrugged.

Anne picked up her fallen purse, then accepted one more box from Angel and Anne explained what she did, to which Angel smiled and called it good, and then she walked off. Angel then entered his apartment. He took a wallet out of his jacket pocket and dropped it on the table - opening to reveal a driver's license with a picture of Anne. Angel looked from the driver's license up to a collection of photographs of Anne in different places and with different people until his eyes came to rest on one of her and Lindsey.

Now Buffy's mood plummeted again. "Angel has been following her all this time?"

"That means bumping into her wasn't an accident", Xander realized.

"And what is she doing with Lindsey?" Willow asked.

"She has no idea how bad Lindsey really is", Summers explained. "And Angel is using her to fight Wolfram and Hart."

"That's…..really…." Dawnster trailed off.

"Low?" Maclay asked.

"Yeah", she nodded.

"Anne is just trying to keep her shelter around, now he's going to use her too?" Buffy said out loud. "What has happened to you, Angel? You made choices, but none of them were this low."

"Dick now, remember?" Rosenberg reminded and Buffy sighed.

Wesley and Gunn walked deep into the sewer, talking about the creature and Gunn saying they could use some dynamite, though Wesley had first thought he was gonna say Angel. There was a deep, low roar. Wesley and Gunn looked at each other then inch towards the end of the tunnel and leaned forward to look around it. Their eyes tracked upwards as their mouths slowly dropped open at the creature, and then jumped out into the main tunnel only to flinch back from a jet of flame, making Wesley wave a hand in front of his face as they realized the creature didn't breathe fire, and then charged with a loud battle cry.

"Oh my…" Buffy said, cringing. "Ewww."

And everyone else had the same reactions on realizing it.

"These two deserve all the respect for going against that thing", Xander said, his one eye really wide.

"I don't think I will ever fight anything like that", Dawnster said.

"Yeah, no kidding there", Dawn agreed with her younger self.

"Why do such things exist? Why? Why?" Willow wondered.

"I wish I knew", Tara muttered.

Merl got ready to leave when the door slammed into his face to reveal Angel, who was inside because Demons didn't need to invite him, and Angel finally agreed they were rude to each other before asking for info, and Merl revealed Anne was clean, other than some name changes, and her shelter was legit, but they'd almost lost the lease so Wolfram and Hart had cleared her pro-bono, making Angel realize there was another angle there, and Angel finally turned to leave as Merl reminded about his money, to which Angel said he owed him, and told him to make sure he used it for furniture.

"Okay, I know Merl's a Demon and all that, but Angel's being a jerk to him for no reason now", Dawnster said. "The Motu incident was months ago, get over it."

"Yeah", Buffy said lamely. "He is abusing Merl now."

"I know right? One of the worst things he ever did", Rosenberg agreed. "Merl deserved better."

Xander wanted to comment, but decided not to for now, though he did agree that Angel was being harsh to Merl for no reason at this point.

At the shelter, Anne told a girl to tell some Benny to not come in drunk, and then noticed Angel as they introduced themselves to each other, and he donated her some clothes which he said his lady friend had left over.

"Are those….." Tara trailed off.

"Yeah", Dawn said with a nod.

"Angel is an idiot", Giles muttered.

"Cordy's never forgiving him now", Buffy said.

"Well, he deserves it after this", Willow said without sympathy in her voice.

Anne lead Angel to her small office where there was a cot for naps if she was late in here, and then she mentioned Wolfram and Hart, who'd also planned a charity ball and were inviting big TV celebrities. It was probably for their image but Anne needed the money.

"If Wolfram and Hart are involved, then it's not out of the kindness of their heart", Xander said with a scoff.

"Yeah, but she needs the money", Summers pointed out. "Plus, she's oblivious right now."

Merl was getting ready to leave when a door slammed in his face, knocking him down as a big blue Demon stepped in and on his hand, demanding info on Angel as knew Merl was his lackey, though Merl said he was an independent contractor and explained he took pictures for Angel, while the Demon said he and Angel had unfinished history. Merl then explained about the girl and then Wolfram and Hart for whom Angel was gunning, specifically 2 lawyers, and then at the end the Demon grabbed Merl by the throat, choking him, demanding info on the lawyers.

"Now who the hell is he?" Buffy asked the future people.

"Like he said, he and Angel have a history", Rosenberg said with a shrug.

"I'll just call him 'Jerk number 2 to Merl'", Dawnster shrugged.

"Yeah, I mean, is the beating really that necessary?" Willow asked.

"Some people are just brutes", Maclay told her with a sigh.

"Anyway, name's Boone, shorter to use than what you called him", Summers said to Dawnster, who sighed and nodded.

Lilah walked into her car and started it before turning back, only to see Angel on the backseat, terrifying her as he sarcastically congratulated her on the promotion, while adding that he'd helped make it happen, smiling as it made him happy inside.

"I'm really hoping it's not perfect", Xander muttered lamely.

The rest were just disturbed by his behavior, which was unsettling, to say the least, almost like Angelus, just one step away from him.

Angel stopped Lilah from opening the door and said he understood how the game was played, scoffing how they kept screwing with him, so now he was going to screw with them instead, and when she tried to say 'please' he added the begging would come later. Lilah closed her eyes and swallowed when Angel was gone.

"Happy now?" Buffy scoffed at Lilah. "Look at what you've unleashed."

"They never thought it would affect them', Dawn said. "They were dead wrong."

Next day, Lilah told Lindsey about the incident who said he was trying to spook her, and Lilah said it had worked, and she added he wasn't playing by the old rules anymore. Then Lindsey was informed his ten o' clock was here, surprising him as he had none, but still let him in, and it was Boone, who had Lindsey shut the door, and then Boone introduced himself, saying he'd a grudge with Angel.

"Uh-oh", Willow muttered.

"Just what Angel needed, right?" Xander asked sarcastically.

"So now this Boone is going to help them fight Angel, isn't that right?" Giles asked the future people.

"Something like that", Summers said, deciding not to spoil the fun.

Boone then told the two of his history with Angel, saying they'd a disagreement over a senorita and fought for over 3 and a half hours, Boone adding he wasn't at his peak so he'd let Angel go at sunrise due to having honor, and also because he'd known in their eternal lives they'd meet again, and now at Caritas he'd heard of Merl and arrived here, telling the two that Angel would arrive for them but find him instead, which Lindsey liked.

"I suppose Angel isn't gonna know about this until it's too late", Dawnster said.

"Just watch", Dawn told her.

Lilah and Lindsey walked to another room as she reminded that the Senior Partners wanted Angel alive, but he said that Angel wasn't playing by the old rules so they shouldn't either, leaving Lilah back in the office.

"So playing with fire does have consequences for all", Giles muttered, knowing this was going to get worse.

At Cordelia's place, Wesley and Gunn told her how they'd beaten the Demon together, saying that they were scared but they'd done it, so they raised their drinks together, and then Cordelia said she'd started looking for an office for their new agency and found one, the three deciding to head there.

"New office, and the three know they can do it", Tara said. "At least we still have them."

"Fortunately", Willow agreed with a nod.

Then Wesley called it the 'Wyndam-Pryce Agency' because it was classy, but Cordelia wanted it to be the 'Chase Agency' as it had a better ring due to being her name, but Gunn wanted it to be the 'Gunn Agency' as he struck fear into the hearts of Demons, Cordelia mockingly singing 'I got a gun and my name is Gunn' while dancing a little as she and Gunn laughed and Wesley brought up his name again but was shut down.

Everyone laughed again as Dawnster said. "Isn't that what I said about Gunn."

"Yeah, I said it too when we first saw it", Dawn told her.

"Guess everyone agrees", Maclay shrugged and they chuckled again.

Angel looked at the pictures of Lindsey and Anne, then at Anne's license, and took the pictures down with a sigh. Merl entered his place with Chinese takeout food when he was grabbed and slammed into the wall by Lilah's thug, who introduced herself, while Merl commented he should get a new lair. Lilah asked about Angel but he first asked for payment, only to be hit, and eventually revealed he'd been following a girl for Angel.

"And now they know", Buffy said with a groan.

"I feel bad for Merl. He's a little shady but everyone keeps beating on him", Dawnster said, feeling sympathy.

"Yeah, life ain't fair to the poor chap", Harris said in agreement, Xander wondering how much more mature his future self was compared to him.

Anne was at her desk when she heard a sound and went to investigate, and it was Angel. She asked if he was stalking her and he said he was, revealing the pictures and told her everything, saying he couldn't stand lying to her anymore, and then tried to explain about Wolfram and Hart, saying at the end of the fundraiser she'd be left with 5 percent of the money at best, but then Lindsey arrived.

"What a timing this guy has", Xander said sarcastically.

"I don't think he alone will be able to scare Angel away though", Giles pointed out.

"Who said he's alone?" Rosenberg asked as they realized who was with Lindsey.

Lindsey stepped next to Anne, telling her Angel was unbalanced and dangerous, while Angel threatened Lindsey, only for Lindsey to threaten back as the door opened and Boone arrived, shocking Angel who said he'd thought Boone had integrity. Boone stretched his hands down and a metal coil wrapped itself around them, then jumped at Angel. Angel ducked, and hit then kicked Boone as he got back up. Boone hit Angel in the stomach then the back dropping him to the ground, then threw him across the room. Anne and Lindsey watched as they continued to fight. Boone seemed at least as strong and fast as Angel. Angel landed some blows but was hit and thrown around, and after some more fighting Angel ran out of the shelter. Lindsey intercepted Boone as he tried to follow, telling him they'd end him very soon but not here. Boone walked out as Lindsey assured Anne she was safe.

"As long as you're involved with them, you're not", Buffy said to Anne in concern. "Not that Angel is endearing himself to you."

"Still, wrench in his plans, and Wolfram and Hart have won her trust", Tara said with a sigh as they all groaned.

Anne knew Boone wasn't human and Lindsey finally revealed to her Angel was a sick, deranged Vampire, adding that he was lying about proof and said she should trust them, not him, and that the kids shouldn't lose out if she made the wrong decision, adding Angel couldn't have proof.

"Now that the kids are threatened, she's gonna go with Wolfram and Hart", Willow realized.

"You've met this Vampire before, remember?" Xander asked randomly. "Didn't think so."

"Does he have proof?" Dawnster asked.

"You will see", Summers told her.

Lilah and Lindsey walked on the sidewalk, accusing each other of slipping and giving proof, before realizing they'd now talked about it in public so Angel might have them on tape. Lilah wondered if Angel would send it to the press but Lindsey said that wouldn't happen as Angel wanted it to be personal, so he'd want them to swing with the bosses watching, and so he made a call, asking to double the security and have a Vampire detector.

"Sucks for Angel", Tara said.

"Now unless he can convince Anne, I do not think he can win this", Giles pointed out.

"So watch him try to do it", Maclay told them, and they were surprised that he'd go back to her after what had just happened.

Anne was sorting her stuff when Angel came in, and Anne told him what Lindsey had said about him, believing the part where Angel was a Vampire. "And that doesn't frighten you?" Angel asked. Anne said. "A few years ago it would have been a big turn on. I thought Vampires were the coolest." Angel asked. "What happened?" Anne revealed. "I met one." Angel realized. "You're not afraid of me."

"Still doesn't remember him, but at least she learnt from the incident", Buffy said. "Thankfully."

"What do you think she's gonna do?" Dawnster asked the rest.

"Probably take Angel's offer", Willow said as they looked at her. "She's desperate, but I don't think she wants her hands on anything shady."

Anne said these things didn't scare her anymore due to what she'd been through, adding that she didn't care if an evil law firm helped her get 2 million dollars. Angel reminded she'd only have 5%, and Anne pointed it was still a hundred thousand, more than the shelter could raise in 2 years. Angel reminded there was blood on the money, and pulled out one 8mm video tape, asking her to get this into the party so the world could see what Wolfram and Hart truly was, but Anne refused.

"Can't blame her", Willow said to them. "She does have to worry about her kids too."

"It's unfortunate she got caught in between this war", Tara said sadly.

"Angel shouldn't have tried to use her", Buffy simply said, angry at Angel for doing that. "She finally finds the right path in her life and this happens to her."

At Wolfram and Hart's Robbery Ball, Holland Manners was up on a big screen wearing a shirt but no tie and a knit cardigan over it, sitting on a park bench. It was an ad for the shelter, where he said how his firm supported the kids. He also had a dog with him.

"Yeah, not buying it", Xander quipped.

"They do know how to put on a show", Giles commented.

A bald guy with glasses called Nathan walked to Lilah as they talked, Lilah saying how charity gave them a warm glow, and then Anne arrived, Nathan shaking her hand as he said his job underlined the 'heart' in Wolfram and Hart.

"He means ripping out the heart", Dawnster said, making all chuckle a little.

"Took the words right out of my mouth", Dawn agreed with a nod.

Lilah and Nathan told her she was the face of the charity and had to do some interviews, while Lindsey checked with the security guards, a robed Vampire detector nearby, while Holland's ad finished and everyone applauded while Holland's name and 1951-2000 were superimposed over his smiling image. Lilah then came to give a speech, saying they'd take the money at gunpoint, and there was laughter as celebrity bandits dressed up in costumes arrived to take the money.

"For a second, I thought she was serious about the gunpoint thing", Buffy said.

"With her, you can never tell when she's serious and when she's joking", Summers said to her younger self.

The celebrities started collecting the money while the guard told Lindsey that Angel hadn't arrived yet. The Vampire detector then lifted is robe, revealing himself to be Angel.

The eyes of the past people widened.

"Smart", Willow commented.

"Yeah, that sure was", Buffy agreed with a nod.

"Never expected him to do that", Xander muttered.

"Well, he is using all his brain in this war", Harris pointed out to him.

Angel turned to face Boone, who said this had to be finished.

That made the past people groan as Dawnster said. "I was expecting something badass."

"Expect something dick-y", Rosenberg told her.

When the collecting was done, Angel's and Boone's fighting attracted attention as they toppled over the wall and landed near the money, the celebrities thinking this was a stunt. Angel and Boone fought before Boone sent Angel flying over the cash table. 2 guards grabbed Angel as Lindsey tried to search for the tape but Angel didn't have it. Boone patted Lindsey's arm as he came to stand next to Angel. "He doesn't have it." He asked Angel. "Are you okay? I tried to cushion the fall." Angel shrugged his jacket straight. "I'll be fine."

The past people were in shock once more as Buffy let out. "Huh?"

"So…" Xander trailed off.

"They were….." Willow trailed off too.

"Working…." Dawnster realized.

"Together", Giles finished.

"The summed up sentence is- So they were working together", Tara finished.

"Yeah, they were", Summers turned to them with a smirk. "Didn't want to ruin the fun for you."

"So all of it was an act from Boone?" Buffy asked and got nods from the future people.

"Well, they're frenemies really and want to beat the other, but not to the death", Rosenberg cleared out for her.

"The plan worked out nicely", Maclay said. "For Angel at least."

"And the tape…" Buffy trailed off.

"Yeah", Dawn said with a nod.

"Just watch what happens", Harris said. "Remember, dick-y."

That plummeted the mood again.

Lindsey was shocked as Angel thanked Boone for letting him in, and Lindsey informed Lilah the two were together while Anne walked to the video equipment with the tape. Lilah and Lindsey ran to stop her, pushing people out of the way as a cameraman caught them, making Nathan sigh, but the tape was put in. Only, it turned out to be Cordelia and Wesley messing around instead. One scene was Cordelia acting with a coat rack, the celebrities finding the coat rack more believable, and Cordelia knocked it over, and later drank milk, saying 'hmm milk', trying to convey different emotions, then finally Wesley was shown snapping his fingers as the celebrities recognized him due to him dating Virginia Bryce, and then Wesley started doing a striptease dance as all laughed.

"Seriously Angel? You manipulated Anne, and the fake tape you had embarrassed Cordy and Wes publicly!" Buffy snapped, not pleased with his actions.

"Even I have no defense for him anymore", Willow sighed.

"We'd love to defend him but yeah, this was just really horrible", Summers said in agreement.

"He snapped, and he forgot everything he cared about", Maclay said with a sad sigh.

Angel arrived, telling Lilah and Lindsey he didn't have them on tape but now they were caught acting like idiots on camera, and reminded they'd hired Boone for a lot of money. Lilah and Lindsey ran back through the crowd and found their employees knocked out and the money gone.

"Shaken them up, but at what cost?" Tara asked.

"His soul", Rosenberg said sadly. "Not literally, but you know what I mean."

Angel later walked out when Anne walked to him and slapped him angrily.

"He deserved it", Dawnster said.

Angel said this was just to shake them up, adding the money was tainted, and then told Anne she did care, which was the difference between them, and walked off.

"I never thought I'd say this but here- screw you Angel", Buffy said, angered by his manipulation of Anne, which was all for nothing.

"Yeah, but he kind of does something that will make you feel better", Harris assured her.

Later, Nathan called out Lilah and Lindsey for their screw-up, and then told the two to start piling up wins. Lindsey then asked why they couldn't just kill Angel, and Nathan revealed he was a major player in the apocalypse, and he'd play a key role when the final battle was waged according to prophecies, also adding he was in a grey area and they'd keep making it greyer.

"Congratulations, your plan is succeeding", Dawnster said with a sigh.

"The apocalypse", Buffy said, turning to the future people. "That's why we were brought here, weren't we?"

"Yes, the apocalypse is the reason", Summers said with a nod.

"The Shanshu refers to the same apocalypse, doesn't it?" Giles asked.

"It does", Rosenberg nodded.

Nathan then said Angel's obsession with the two of them might lead to their deaths, which could play in the firm's favor, because they were expendable and Angel wasn't.

"Must be a blow to your egos that your enemy is more important to your boss than you", Xander mocked them.

"Oh it is, don't worry", Dawn told him.

Angel looked at a picture of Anne and Lindsey before dropping it in the trashcan, then walked into the Hyperion's lobby and up the steps to his apartment, only to stop when he realized Boone was there. Boone lifted the carpetbag in his hand and threw it down the lobby, money and jewelry spilling out. Angel asked. "How much did it come to?" Boone said. "With jewelry? North of two and a half million, I'd say." Angel said. "That's a lot to lay on the line." Boone agreed. "Yeah. But I got to know." Boone stretched his hands down and the steel coils wrapped around his hands. Then the two launched at each other across the lobby.

"I'm guessing Angel wins and gives the money to Anne", Buffy said to Harris.

"Yeah", he said with a nod.

"That does make me feel a little better", Buffy said with a nod. "Angel's still in there somewhere."

"He is, he just needs to remember it is all", Summers told her.

The bag with the money was dropped on Anne's desk as Angel said. "All of it. Little bit more than five percent." Anne reached in and took out some of the bundles of money. Angel's face was badly bruised and he had a split lip. Angel turned to go. "Wolfram and Hart find out that you have that money..." Anne assured. "I can find a way to hide it." She fingered the money then looked at the dark liquid coming off onto her fingers. "What's this?" Angel revealed. "Blood." Anne looked at him, looked down, hesitated for a moment, then said. "It'll wash." She went back to removing the money from the bag. The screen went black.

"So she does have the money", Buffy noted. "She's changed too."

"To survive in this world, you sometimes need to compromise a little", Rosenberg said to her.

"Guess you do", Buffy sighed, not liking this, but knowing there was no other way. "Well, this did cheer me up a little."

"That's good, because the next one is boring", Dawn told her.

"Still have to watch it though, right?" Dawnster asked.

"Yeah, still do", Maclay said.

"Well then", Tara said to Buffy.

"I know", Buffy said as she came to the next recording, feeling a little better now.

Not a fan of this episode but seeing Anne again was great. It's funny how she's just a background character who I think has appeared in a total of 5 Buffyverse episodes, and she still has a well-rounded and complete character arc, while Iris West in Flash, Felicity Smoak in Arrow, Kara Danvers in Supergirl, Kate Kane in Batwoman, Rey in the Disney Star Wars Trilogy and Carol in MCU are completely wasted in spite of being big characters. Shows how much modern entertainment really sucks, outside of the Mission: Impossible films, which are the only films I'll be paying to watch in theater for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter which is also the worst episode of this Season IMO. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!