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If there is one episode of this show I hate, it's this one. Yeah, it showed us more of Angel's shameful past. Guess what? We've seen a lot of it before too, and episodes like 'Are You Now or Have You Ever Been' and 'Orpheus' have done the same thing, and infinitely better too.

Now this might not be the worst episode of the whole show, but for me it is, especially since it comes after an episode as amazing as 'You're Welcome', and 'Smile Time', which comes after, is also really amazing.

Really it'd have been better showing the others reacting to Cordelia's death and dealing with it than this crap, but then Cordelia got the same treatment as Tara, both got killed off in stupid manners, and outside of their lovers, no one was shown reacting to their deaths, not even other characters who were close to them (Wesley in the case of Cordelia, and Dawn in the case of Tara).

Which is why nowadays I ignore canon for BTVS after 6x18, except Spike getting his soul back. Same for Angel, I nowadays ignore what they did to Cordelia and that whole plotline.

Meaning canon can suck it, I make my own canon, and consider it canon.

Now I won't make the characters hate the episode, because that's stupid, but if the reactions for this one are bland, don't blame me, blame the episode, because it's also bland.

Long story short, what I'm trying to say is that FUCK THIS EPISODE!

Also, here's a belated 'May the Fourth be with you', and also Happy Revenge of the Sixth!

Chapter 127- Why We Fight

Next day, the past Scoobies woke up like usual, took their showers, had their meals, shared some chats with their future selves, then went off to watch some more recordings, and they weren't as sad about Cordelia as before since it hadn't happened and they could prevent it, so they controlled themselves to some extent.

"Four more before break, 8 for the day", Buffy counted in her head as she started the recording.

A submarine moved through the ocean with a captain ushering his men to safety, and he asked others to lock it down when a growling creature pulled him away, and one guy called Lawson went to check, seeing the captain had fallen and was clutching his bleeding neck. Lawson tried to drag the captain away but the creature dragged him back, and eventually, the captain was killed as Lawson's face splattered with his blood. And so they scrambled away, shutting the door behind.

Everyone seemed shocked as Dawn wondered. "What creature is it?"

"Nothing good", Buffy sighed.

"This doesn't look like a modern submarine", Giles narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, this looks more like a 40s submarine", Willow agreed.

"So it's during World War II", Tara realized.

"A flashback", Xander summed up.

In present day, Angel was conducting a meeting with his team, and during that time, Gunn seemed to not recall a protocol, but chalked it up to tiredness, and so they walked off, deciding to meet again after a few hours to talk about work. Other than Angel, all walked out, joking about life and work, and when they were gone, the elevator doors opened to reveal Lawson.

"Uh-oh, he's here now", Dawn muttered.

"Vampire", Tara realized. "Someone turned him there."

"Well, we'll find out who soon", Buffy sighed.

"Just hope the team is safe", Willow added.

Fred found Lawson in her lab, and he called her by name, as she tried to walk out but he told her not to, then he said he was Angel's old acquaintance during his patriotic days.

"Patriotic days", Tara said. "And he is in the World War II flashbacks."

"So Angel was part of World War II", Giles realized. "Never knew that."

"Don't think any of us did", Willow sighed.

"Don't think he has good intentions though", Dawn said grimly.

In 1943, New York City, there was a headline on the New York Journal- "Allies Strike Back". Angel was sitting on his chair when men arrived and knocked him down, then two pointed stakes at him and a military man arrived with more men, asking Angel to sit down. Angel did as the man said their men had a T-class German-prototype submarine, but something on the ship had made it go wrong. The man knew Angel's name too, as well as who he used to be, and revealed he represented a new agency called Demon Research Initiative. Angel didn't have a choice as he was beaten, and was handed a file.

"It's the Initiative!" Xander realized with a wide eye.

"Back in the 40s", Buffy muttered. "This is when they came to be."

"Demon Research Initiative at first, huh?" Dawn said.

"So Angel has encountered them before he put a beating on Riley", Willow commented.

"The submarine with that guy who's a Vampire, and something's in it", Tara told them.

"We're going to see how Angel knows him", Giles said.

In the submarine, Lawson and the others were making plans when they heard a man screaming from the nearby compartment, and Lawson tried to run to him but Spinelli stopped him, eventually pointing a gun at him, then they heard a loud metallic, clanging noise, and once the location was pin-pointed, Lawson realized it was Morse code, and opened the hatch to reveal Angel.

"And he's here", Buffy said. "To take out whatever is after the men."

"It seems quite brutal", Giles said grimly.

Wesley arrived in his office and found Fred bound and gagged. He tried to run to her but she looked over his shoulder and he turned just as Lawson knocked him out.

"Oh boy!" Xander said, everyone shocked. "This guy is hardcore, he snuck into Wolfram and Hart, and is taking out the team one by one."

"Especially when you consider that outside of Angel and Spike, Wesley is their top gun", Willow added, increasing their shock.

"Which means Angel and Spike are needed", Buffy realized.

Angel was now in the submarine as he confirmed he'd been sent for them via order verification, and had them take the weights off him. One called Hodge told Spinelli later that Angel was a Super Soldier like Steve Rogers or Captain America, and Spinelli told him Steve Rogers was Captain America!

"You reading comics and not knowing that is a sin", Xander said, drawing some chuckles.

Lawson introduced himself to Angel, who decided to walk to the door where the others were killed, and told Lawson to only open the door for him. Angel walked through the deserted hallway and opened a hatch to find Spike in a Nazi uniform, and was shocked but Spike revealed he'd only eaten a Nazi, he wasn't one.

"Oh my God!" Buffy shook her head. "Just what we needed."

"So Angel and Spike were both in World War II, huh?" Dawn commented. "Well, at least he ate a Nazi."

"Yes, that is one good thing he did", Giles agreed there.

"But he would also be responsible for the death of these people", Xander then pointed out.

"Not just him though, the growls didn't sound like him", Tara added.

"Great, so more than one", Willow realized.

Spike revealed he'd been captured in a 'free virgin blood' party, and there were more, so Spike led Angel past corpses to a room where 2 eccentric Vampires awaited- Nostroyev and the Prince of Lies. The former had a pointed beard and beer belly, the latter was old, bald and creepy, with long fingernails.

"Never heard of Nostroyev, but Prince of Lies is an old and dangerous Vampire", Giles told the rest. "He could also suck thoughts out of the brain."

"Well, damn!" Xander realized.

"And now Angel is going to face them", Buffy sighed.

"The guy is a copycat", Willow said about Nostroyev, getting some chuckles.

"Bad one", Tara added.

Nostroyev said Angelus used to be a terror but he hadn't heard of him lately, while Angel retorted he'd never heard of Nostroyev at all, and Spike then said they'd killed everyone here. Angel said there were some in the torpedo room, but they weren't going to kill humans right now since those people knew how to operate the submarine. Spike tried to move the controls and put on an alarm which Angel undid. Nostroyev decided to kill all but one humans with a wooden-handled ax, but Angel stopped him. Nostroyev threatened him so Angel allowed him to pass, then decked his stomach, grabbed his ax, then hit his stomach with the handle, breaking it, before dusting him with the splintered wood, and told the other two not to kill humans till they reached land, to which Spike did a 'Heil Hitler'.

"Why did you have to do that?" Buffy wondered.

"At least he killed one", Dawn shrugged. "And Spike's alive, so that leaves one more."

"I think the situation is about to get more complicated", Tara told the rest.

Angel was in his office when Lawson arrived, boasting about how he'd snuck in but Angel didn't care, and revealed he checked into Angel's life every decade or so, and now he was fighting evil and running Wolfram and Hart, which didn't go hand-in-hand. Angel called it complicated and Lawson mentioned the simpler times.

"Things go from simple to complicated in a few years, you're talking about decades", Willow commented.

"He clearly has a reason to be here", Tara said. "Something happened there, and not just him being turned."

In the past, Angel assured Lawson it'll be all right, and he and his shipmates looked at bodies. All were given orders as Angel asked the Prince of Lies to sit, and there was a captured German too who was led away by Lawson's men. Angel and Lawson moved the bodies, and then Lawson said he was uncomfortable working with the monsters, giving a speech of his experiences up till here, and said he could handle dying too, if it was for a greater purpose. Angel assured this would help win the war, and he'd get them through this safe and sound.

"Guess that didn't work out", Xander said sadly.

"The guy is brave though", Buffy said. "Sucks what happened to him."

"Yeah, really does", Dawn sighed, another good life lost or corrupted in such a dark world.

In the present, Lawson asked Angel if he cared about anything other than his ass, then Angel kicked the coffee table towards his legs, knocking him down and smashing the table. He picked a splintered leg to stake him, but Lawson grabbed his wrist. Angel reminded he'd said he'd kill Lawson on seeing him again, and Lawson revealed he'd an ace in the hole, making Angel drop the stake.

"So capturing the team was his way of confronting Angel without killed", Willow sighed. "And he succeeded."

"He really did come prepared, as prepared as Lindsey", Giles commented.

"But even best-made plans can fail", Tara told them.

Lawson led Angel to a conference room, showing him Wesley, Fred and Gunn on swiveling office chairs, bound and gagged, repeating Angel's words from back then. Lawson stopped Angel from going to them as the double-ought wire wrapped around the team's necks would take their head off with a tug, so they could knock something while fighting. Lawson then again reminded of the old times.

"Oh you bastard", Buffy snarled about present-day Lawson. "This isn't going to solve a thing."

"He's too far gone to realize that now", Willow told her.

In 1943, Lawson was checking up on the rest in the submarine as Spike whined to Angel about getting a turn, and also wanted to be called captain for eating him. Hodge tried to fight Spike but Lawson stopped him, and told Angel what was happening when they heard screaming from the other room and saw the Prince of Lies beating up the German for wanting to experiment on someone as ancient as him. Angel pulled him back as the Prince of Lies knocked him away. Lawson fired at him but was knocked down as the Prince of Lies turned to the German but was staked before Angel knocked the German out, and eventually revealed to Lawson that the Prince of Lies was a Vampire.

"And now he knows", Dawn commented. "And Prince of Lies is staked too."

"So that leaves Spike, and we know he survives", Tara said. "Wonder what made the Prince of Lies so angry though."

"I think we are about to find out", Giles told her.

Spike showed up the report and took Vamp face, getting peckish as the German spoke, and Lawson understood some of it, and then they realized that the plan was to experiment on Vampires to make an army of them. This angered Lawson and he also realized Angel knew of this as it was part of the mission, but now Spike decided to kill the others too, though Angel stopped him, asking him to burn the document, and he tried to, when a muffled explosion sound was heard near the sub, and the fire spread to Spike's jacket, making him try to put it out as another muffled explosion was heard.

"An army of Vampires for the Germans, good Lord", Giles said in horror, speaking for everyone.

"Good thing that didn't happen", Buffy sighed. "It would have gone so horrible if it had."

"Yeah, history would be so different", Willow agreed.

"We wouldn't be here", Tara added.

Angel and Lawson went to the control center where it was getting worse, and the submarine dived as Hodge listened to pinging SONAR responses through headphones. Another explosion knocked everyone off-balance and power was disrupted. Angel gave orders as there was another explosion, and he went off with Spike with all of them working. Angel managed to close a pipe to stop a leak. Then Angel realized the German was missing, and he stabbed Lawson in the gut with a screwdriver, though Lawson managed to knock him down, then collapsed.

"Oh boy!" Dawn said. "He stabbed Lawson!"

"But he's alive and a Vampire", Buffy noted. "You think-"

Their eyes widened at the implications.

In present day, Lawson again monologued while looking at the captured Wesley, Fred and Gunn. In 1943, Angel found Lawson, and he revealed he was the only one who could do propulsion, and the rest would die without him, so Angel turned Vampire and bit him, making Lawson pass out. He then cut his wrist and held it to Lawson's mouth, who sucked at his hand.

"So that's how it happened", Buffy realized.

"Angel was desperate, and there was no other way to save the men", Tara said sadly. "Guess there was no choice."

"Bad choice, but a choice", Willow sighed. "Poor Lawson here though."

"Yeah, but I guess now he's not a good guy himself", Xander pointed out. "Being Vamp really changes you."

"No kidding", Dawn agreed.

"So they saved the submarine, but lost Lawson's soul in the process", Giles summed up the tragic situation.

Later, Angel and Spike watched the exhausted sailors, and Angel walked to see Lawson putting his uniform back on, and now they were surfacing. Lawson was now hungry and turning Vamp, tried to punch Angel who caught his arm and twisted it, saying he was new. The submarine surfaced in the night and Angel escorted Lawson out, apologizing for what he'd done, but added he'd kill him if he saw him again. Lawson exited as Spike noted Angel was still a dick for turning the poor sod to save the ship and then making him leave. Angel agreed as Spike climbed up the ladder too.

"The ship is saved", Dawn commented.

"Angel had no choice, guess this haunts him too", Buffy realized. "Turning someone while having a soul."

"A lot of things haunt him", Tara told her.

In present day, Lawson wondered if Angel had been tortured but he said he'd jumped ship, adding he didn't want to do this to Lawson. Lawson wanted to kill Angel's team, and said how he used to feel before being turned, and now he loved destruction. Angel said Lawson was the only one to whom he'd done this after getting a soul, but he didn't have one. Lawson punched Angel repeatedly, knocking him into his desk, but Angel kicked him across the room. He teetered near the hostages while getting on his feet, and they punched each other before Angel threw him down. Lawson said Angel had given him enough of a soul to be trapped between who he was and who he should be, so he was nothing. He charged but Angel stopped his punches and threw him through the glass wall. Lawson got up as Angel arrived and he grabbed a shaft of a splintered-window frame, making a makeshift stake. He tried to stake Angel but he grabbed his hand and turned it towards him. Lawson asked for a mission as Angel pounded the stake into Lawson's chest, finally dusting him.

All sighed in relief as Willow said. "Feel bad for what happened to him, but right now, he deserved this."

"Hurting Angel's team wasn't going to change a thing", Tara agreed.

Angel later looked out at the city as Spike arrived, now knowing what had happened, and commented on revenge, but Angel said he didn't want that. Spike asked what he wanted, and Angel whispered. "A reason." The screen went black.

"Didn't get that either", Buffy said sadly.

"Guess he had a tragic life", Dawn muttered.

"Yeah, from soldier to this, even if there was no other way", Xander agreed.

"Sometimes, things really turn out bad", Giles sighed sadly.

Buffy nodded, then used the remote to come to the next recording.

Finally done, shortest reaction chapter so far, because FUCK THIS EPISODE!

Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with 'Smile Time' which will make all smile, and FUCK THIS EPISODE!