"Wesley?" Faith calls, seeing his unmoving back as she walks back into the office. Lorne left to help Gunn and Fred search for Angel's soul. She called Cordelia and told her to drive into the valley and go to a couple of magic shops to search for new demons.
Wesley is sitting in front of the empty soup bowl with his eyes closed.
"Wesley, what is it?" Faith asks, concerned.
"I have to keep this food down, Faith…" He replies, not opening his eyes.
"That bad?" Faith winces.
Wes glances at her, paler than before. His eyes are solid black. "Is it supposed to be painful?"
"I'll get Lorne, don't move," Faith rushes from the room, bolting up the stairs.
"We found it!" Gunn yells as Faith bursts into the door. Gunn passes the glowing jar to Fred as he looks at Faith in surprise.
"Lorne, the soup, it's doing something to Wes. It's hurting him and his eyes…they're black…" Faith pants. "Bring that with you, guys," Faith says, leading them back downstairs.
Wes is still seated behind the desk with his eyes closed, his face twisted in pain.
"I'll call the Sisters…they said it would be painless…" Lorne says, quietly going to the phone.
"Wes, open your eyes and look at me," Faith says, worried.
Wes glances at her, curiously with his black eyes. "I'm starting to feel better…"
"You're looking worse," Gunn replies.
"Thanks…" Wes replies, his skin paling further.
"Wesley, they told me wrong, you're not supposed to keep the soup down longer than five minutes, you have to throw it up now," Lorne yells, rushing into the room.
"Come on," Faith grabs Wesley by the arm and pulls him into the kitchenette. "Out with it…" She orders, positioning him in front of the sink.
"I think that it's too late…" Wes protests.
"Stick your finger down your throat, Wes, pretend you're bulimic, but do it now!" Faith orders.
One of Wes' eyes has returned to it's natural blue but the other remains black as he starts to gag in the sink basin. "I could use a little privacy, Faith…"
She joins Fred, Gunn and Lorne in the library.
"The Sisters were a little frazzled from the sun returning so suddenly. Fever cure is throw up before five minutes pass, Evil magic guidance is throw up after five minutes…" Lorne is explaining to the couple.
"Wait a minute. Evil magic guidance? What the hell is that? What did you do to Wes?" Faith asks, surprising him.
"It's a potion to help witches, wizards and the like, it helps them sense spells and glamours and choose the best evil spells to do the most damage," Lorne replies.
"What's it going to do to Wes?" Faith asks, listening to the sound of Wes' gagging.
"He'll be supersensitive to magic, he'll be able to sense it from a distance and discern whether it's good or evil spellcasting…" Lorne looks down. "It tends to favor people on the evil team…the sisters say it won't hurt him, but…"
"You're saying it might make him evil, right, Lorne?" Fred interprets, her voice low.
"Just what we need right now," Gunn sighs.
Wes walks into the room and everyone is quiet. "Lorne? What exactly should I be expecting?"
"What do you mean?" Lorne asks, hesitating.
Wes holds out his hand and clenches it into a fist. When he opens it, a ball of fire hovers above the palm of his hand. "Is this normal?"
"Sing for me, Wes. Please," Lorne replies, watching the man, carefully.
Wes glances at Faith, but lowers his gaze before starting to sing, quietly. "There was a farmer…had a dog…bingo was his name-o…"
"You can stop, kid," Lorne sighs, relief on his green face. "He's not evil."
"Evil?" Wes questions. He shakes his head. "I don't have time to listen to the story. I'm going to go get the shaman. Protect that soul. Once night falls, we'll have Angelus."
"You must have a plan," Faith smiles.
"Of course. It's complicated but if everything goes smoothly…" Wes starts.
"Well that clinched it. Way to jinx us even more," Fred interrupts.
"This will work. It has to. We need Angel and tonight we'll have him." He turns to leave.
"Wes?" Fred calls. "What do we do when Cordelia comes back?"
"Angel will tell us," He replies, turning around. "She'll be occupied until we're ready. It's part of the plan. Everything will come together, guys."
"You sure he's not evil?" Gunn asks Lorne.
"Coming, Faith?" Wes asks, already at the door of the hotel. Faith runs to catch up to him.
"I get to come?" She smiles.
"Of course. We have to find ourselves a shaman," Wes grins.
Once Lorne sees Faith and Wesley are safely out of the hotel, he turns to Fred and Gunn with a worried look.
"What is it, Lorne?" Fred asks.
"Wes isn't evil, but he's on the brink. He's going to have a supernatural attraction to the dark arts…" Lorne starts.
"Wes…he's not evil," Fred says, glancing at Gunn.
"What else did you see, Lorne? How close to the 'brink' is he?" Gunn asks, ignoring Fred's look.
"He's going to leave. He doesn't want to…" Lorne's voice drifts. "I'm going to have to talk to him."
"He doesn't want to what, Lorne?"
"I'll talk to Angel, if Wes comes through. Let's get through one dilemma at a time, shall we?" Lorne shakes off his mood.
"Okay, Wes, we're all here and the sun is going down as we speak. Can we hear the plan, now?" Gunn asks, waiting with Fred and Lorne in the lobby of the Hyperion as Faith and Wes return.
Wes leads the shaman into the library and closes the door.
"He'll be right out," Faith sighs, a new bruise on her face.
"Is he still…not evil?" Fred questions.
"I don't know what's going on in his head right now…I haven't heard the plan either, but we made a lot of stops. He scared a lot of people, I think, but he seems satisfied," Faith replies.
Wes closes the door behind him, returning to the lobby.
"Faith, Gunn, you ready for battle?" Wes asks, his face serious.
"Always," They reply, in unison, glancing at each other.
"Fred, Lorne, you guys are in charge of springing the trap," Wes says, glancing outside at the sunset. He reaches into the pockets of his jacket and pulls out several satchels.
"Is this the trap?" Fred asks, reaching for one of the bags. Wes stops her, grabbing her wrist.
"Wait. It's an airborne powder. Very dangerous. Not life threatening, just paralyzing," Wes says, releasing her after a beat. He pulls a small plastic bag from his pocket. "This is the key, however."
He hands each of the people gathered a small packet of green leaves. "I need you to chew this up. Each of you. It neutralizes the paralytic powder," He says.
"Smart," Gunn nods.
"So, Gunn and I jump Angelus and you guys drop this powder on him, paralyzing him?" Faith asks.
"The powder will saturate the air, it just has to be released. It'll paralyze all living things, vampires included, that are inside the building. By tomorrow, the hotel will be safe again for guests. Connor is keeping Cordelia away from the hotel tonight, I told him that it wasn't safe for her…"
"Wait. Is she going to fall for that?" Faith questions.
Wes nods after a beat. "Connor understands the importance of the situation, I believe. We have to trust that he'll keep her away. He's supposed to call me every hour on the hour to give me a status report," He adds. Seeing Gunn and Fred's concerned looks, he speaks again. "He does understand the use of a cell phone."
"You're giving the kid a lot of trust, aren't you Wes?" Gunn asks.
Wes lowers his gaze. "He gave me a lot of trust coming to me with the information, Gunn. He's doing it for different reasons, he doesn't care about Angel, but he does care for Cordelia. He realizes that only Angel can bring her back," He replies, his voice low. "I believe that he will do the right thing."
"Go on with the plan, Wes," Faith says, breaking the tension.
"I have planted a trail that I hope will lure Angelus to the hotel…it seems that he's been trying to contact the master of the beast, whom I think is Cordelia," Wes says, his gaze glued to the floor as everyone chews their green leaves.
"Tasty…minty freshness," Fred smiles, elbowing Lorne after his gagging face.
"No time for jokes, guys. This is important," Faith scolds.
"Angelus will probably try to surprise us. He'll sense the powder if we release it before he enters the hotel. I'm going to stand guard in the basement. Faith will take the front and Gunn will take the back. Fred and Lorne, I want you both within hearing distance of us all. You hear Angelus, or a yell from us and you open the bag and shake out the powder. Alert whoever's not with Angelus and come with help," Wes explains.
"Sounds simple."
"The powder should knock him out in a matter of minutes, so whoever is engaged in battle with Angelus should only have to keep him occupied for a few minutes. Once he's paralyzed, we'll take him downstairs and the shaman will return his soul. Hopefully, Angel will retain Angelus' memories and be able to shed some more light on our new problem," Wes continues.
"It's a good plan, Wes," Fred says, letting his words settle.
"I hope so, I don't have anything else. This has to work," Wes replies, meeting her eyes with his icy blue ones.
"It'll work. Let's take positions. If you see Angelus, yell. None of us need to be heroes, we need to get him out of commission so we can get our friendly neighborhood vampire back," Gunn says, grabbing a tranquilizer gun off the counter.
"Be careful. It's a simple plan, but there are a lot of things that can go wrong. No mistakes, people…" Wes says, starting toward the stairs.
Several hours later, Wes is hiding in the shadows of the basement watching the sewer entrances.
"You know," Angelus says, appearing behind Wesley, startling him. "It was a hard decision, Wes, to figure out who I wanted to kill first…Faith, watching the front, Gunn, watching the back and you, hiding under the stairs like old times," Angelus leers.
"Angelus, what a fun surprise," Wes says, his voice echoing in the basement. He hopes Lorne or Fred hear his voice.
"We had such fun yesterday…"
"The blood-filled lungs spell was quite inventive, I must say," Wes replies, trying not to panic.
Angelus smiles, evilly at Wes for a moment, then turns away, distracted by the strange aroma that suddenly fills the air. He frowns. "You surprise me, Wes. I wasn't ready for the sudden death round yet," He says, lunging for the man.
Wes blocks several of Angelus' blows but has nothing to compete with Angelus' skill or strength. The vampire soon takes the advantage and connects a blow with Wes in the chest, knocking him across the room and taking his breath. With his already damaged ribs and weakened system, he can't get back on his feet before Angelus pins him down with is boot.
"You've got a lot of fight left in you, don't you Wes?" Angelus hisses, kicking his in his side, viciously. Angelus pulls him off the floor by gripping his neck.
Wes can barely breathe but he notices a wane in Angelus' posture as the powder starts to take effect.
"Wes!" Gunn yells, barreling down the stairs to assist.
"I'm disappointed in you, Gunn, letting this traitor order you around again…what would Angel say?" Angelus sneers, blocking Gunn's shot with Wes' body.
Wes' eyes roll back slightly, then fill with black as he mutters some words in a foreign language. Angelus snarls, dropping Wes' body in a heap on the floor.
"What the hell have you people been doing around here?" Angelus curses, looking at the hand he was holding Wes with which is red and swelling.
"Hopefully staying alive," Gunn replies as Faith appears.
Suddenly, Angelus collapses to his knees, looking dazed.
"Bastard…what did you do to Wesley?" Faith asks, going to Wes' side.
"You should see what Wes did to him…" Gunn replies as Fred and Lorne enter.
Wes blinks several times before his eyes return to normal. His breathing is labored and he is disoriented.
"We don't have time for this, Wes, snap out of it…" Faith says, watching Angelus as he becomes completely immobile. Lorne takes his sword and pokes Angelus, timidly.
"He okay?" Gunn asks, crouching beside Faith, concerned. "He did some kind of mojo, got Angelus to let go of his throat…"
"His eyes were black, Gunn," Faith says, looking at him, worried.
"Put him in the cage…get the shaman…" Wes says, his voice hoarse as he breathes heavily, the pain from his injured ribs keeping him on his back. Gunn starts for the stairs to get the shaman.
"Are you okay?" Faith asks, slowly, watching his face.
"I need a minute…I think he broke some of my ribs…I just need to catch my breath…" Wes replies, his face blank but his pain flashing in his eyes.
Faith hesitates, but leaves his side. She pulls Angelus' paralyzed body into the opened cage and closes it with a slam. Fred and Lorne help Wes get to his feet.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Fred asks, concerned.
"I'll be a lot better when Angel's soul is safely back in his body." Wes nods to the shaman as Gunn escorts him down the stairs.
"You have the soul?" The shaman asks, facing Wes. Lorne passes the jar to the man.
"Wait," Wesley says, stopping Lorne before the shaman can take the soul.
"What is it?" Lorne asks. The shaman lunges, trying to take the jar from Lorne.
"Chill, man, just chill…" Faith says, grabbing the shaman before he can reach Lorne.
"Who's giving you your orders?" Wes asks, his voice low as he approaches the shaman.
"This is not your concern. You are meddling with higher forces, you do not understand…" The shaman replies.
"Try me," Wes says, seriously.
"The soul must not be restored. It is not to be," The shaman says.
Wes sighs. He punches the shaman in the face, knocking him unconscious in Faith's arms.
"Damn, Wes!" Gunn exclaims.
"He's under her control," Wes says, as Faith drops the man to the floor. "He's of no use to us."
"But, Wes, don't we need him…" Fred starts as Wes pulls out his phone and starts dialing.
"Who are you calling?" Faith asks, her eyes on the shaman lying at her feet.
Wes turns away. "Giles? It's Wesley…you too…" Wes doesn't meet anyone's gaze. He listens to Giles for several moments before interrupting. "Giles, I need to hear the rest of the story but I have an urgent issue right now that I need to talk to Willow about…it's a long story and I'll fill you in later, but…thank you…"
"Who's he talking to?" Gunn asks Faith, seeing that she recognizes the names Wes has mentioned.
"Willow? Good. I hear that you are doing well…I need someone with your expertise to give me some advice…" Wes' face is blank. "We have a situation here…Angel's not here right now, that's sort of the problem…soulless…I need the spell…" He walks further away from the group that is listening intently to his conversation.
"I'm going to do it…I accidentally acquired some magical abilities from a botched fever cure…magical guidance elixir, exactly…I haven't had time to worry about it…I know spells, Willow, in languages that I have never heard…We need Angel back now, I don't have time to worry about anything else…Angelus is not the biggest monster we have to defeat in this battle…the sun is back, but there is still an apocalypse looming…" Wes is quiet, listening to Willow as Faith approaches him. "Willow. Tell me what I need to do. It has to be done now." He turns to Faith, covering the mouthpiece with his hand.
"Faith, we need an orb of Thesula, ask Lorne to Show you where we keep them," He says, urging her with his eyes.
"No, I'll remember the incantations, Willow, it's part of the elixir's magic…" He listens carefully and Gunn and Fred realize that his eyes turn to black as he is told the incantations. He blinks and slowly, his eyes drain of darkness and return to normal. The temperature in the room drops, chilling them.
Faith and Lorne appear with the orb, handing it to Wes.
"Thank you Willow…I'll let you know how it turns out…I'll call…" He flips the phone closed.
"Can you do this, Wes?" Faith asks.
"Yes. I can. Willow…"
"Isn't that the witch I heard tried to destroy the world a few months back?" Lorne questions, causing Gunn and Fred to turn to him in surprise.
"She's good now," Wes replies, flatly.
"That's a story you have to tell me about," Faith says, honestly surprised.
"Sunnydale is dealing with it's own apocalypse right now…a much bigger evil than we've ever faced…" Wes replies, gathering candles from a cabinet nearby.
"Remind me never to go there," Gunn says.
"We have to perform the spell to restore Angel's soul. I need you all to sit in the sacred circle and repeat what I tell you to repeat," Wes says, placing the candles in a circle. He turns to them, and while he speaks, the candles spontaneously light themselves. "Whatever concoction Lorne gave me has enabled me to use magic expertly…too expertly for my taste, but we have more pressing issues at hand. I have the power needed to perform this spell, I know none of you trust me…"
"Just do it, Wes. We've trusted you this whole time and you haven't disappointed us yet," Fred interrupts, glaring at Gunn.
"Sit. The sooner this is done, the sooner Angel is back the sooner we'll get this over," Wes says. Gunn, Fred, Faith and Lorne sit around the candles and Wes sits down in the middle. He closes his eyes.
"You're going to go all black-eyed and creepy, aren't you?" Gunn asks.
Wes nods. "Willow says that it will drain me, so I'll probably be out of it after it's over…"
"How do we know if the spell works? I mean, Angel's paralyzed…" Faith asks, stopping Wes again.
"Shit…" Wes realizes. He pulls a packet from his pocket and hands it to Faith. "If you sprinkle this on his face so he inhales it, it'll counteract the powder's paralytic," He says.
"But we don't know that the spell will work. We'll have no way of telling? I mean, Lorne was fooled before…"
Fred says.
"It's going to work. It has to," Faith says.
"Willow says that there'll be a gust of wind, possibly blowing out the candles…" Wes pauses, lost in thought.
"Wes?" Fred calls, when he doesn't resume speaking.
"His soul is here. When she performed the spell, his soul was lost…we should see the soul disappear from the jar. Then we'll know it work," He says. "I'm not positive. I hadn't considered the shaman's betrayal…"
"Let's do it, Wes. We won't know until we try," Faith says.
Wes nods. He closes his eyes and holds the orb in his hands. The jar containing Angel's soul sets between his knees. He begins to chant the words Willow gave him over the phone. He nods to Faith who joins in his chanting. Soon everyone is repeating the words Wes tells them. The orb begins to glow as Wesley's body begins to levitate.
The jar housing Angel's soul explodes, showering the group with glass. Wes continues to levitate and the orb flashes gold and white before Wes gently lands on the floor again and the orb becomes calm and cloudy.
"Anybody feel any wind?" Fred questions, timidly, glancing at the others.
"No…just cold…" Faith says. "The temperature dropped like, ten degrees in here…" She realizes they can see their breath.
"What now?" Gunn asks.
"Wes?" Faith reaches for Wes, shaking him, gently. He looks at her with black-filled eyes.
"Wes?" Faith calls again.
He looks at her with pools of black in his eyes.
"Wesley…" She gasps, his gaze chilling her.
"Faith?" He whispers, confused.
"Come back from wherever you are, come out now," She says, urgently.
He reacts violently to her touch, shaking her hand from his arm and sliding back, a swirl of wind extinguishing the candles. "Don't touch me," He gasps, closing his eyes and paling. His eyes are blue when he reopens them.
Fred and Lorne are holding tranq guns on Angel's prone body as Gunn reaches his arm through the bars of the cage, sprinkling powder on his face.
Wes' cell phone breaks the tense silence. He answers it quietly. "Hello? Connor…"
Angel sneezes.
Wes pulls himself to his feet and staggers toward the stairs.
"Slow down, Connor…She knows Angelus is gone?" Wes asks, as Faith stops him by grabbing his arm
"He's gone. Angelus is gone," Angel says, from the cage.
Wes doesn't acknowledge Angel, he pulls away from Faith's grasp and goes upstairs.
Angel is sitting up now, holding his head.
"Angel?" Fred calls, timidly.
"I remember…" He says, unmoving.
"Sing. Sing for Lorne," Gunn says.
"It didn't work before…" Fred protests.
"She's not here this time," Gunn replies.
"She was still controlling Wes' shaman…" Fred retorts.
"Wait. Who is she and what's wrong with the shaman? He's standing right there," Angel interrupts.
Faith reacts first as the shaman lunges toward Fred. Faith kicks him to the floor and slams his head into the floor, knocking him out again.
"Faith…" Angel says, but is interrupted.
"Faith!" Wes' voice freezes everyone with its intensity. She is up the stairs before anyone can reply.
"What?" She asks.
"Cordelia's coming. Connor says 20 minutes…" He says, his face blank. "I don't think we have anything that can defeat her…"
"Wes," Faith gasps.
"Lorne says its Angel!" Fred yells from downstairs.
"Come on," Faith says, pulling him down into the basement.
"Tell him. Tell him, Wes. You know Angel. Tell him and see how he reacts," Faith orders.
"Tell me what?" Angel asks, serious.
Wes hesitates.
"Wesley?" Angel calls.
"We don't have time to think, Wes," Faith says, quietly.
"Cordelia is evil. She's the beast's master. She's pregnant with Connor's child and she's trying to get Connor to kill us to save her child," Wes says, swaying slightly.
Angel doesn't respond immediately. He turns away. He puts his hands over his face before suddenly punching the wall and crumbling the cement. There is silence until he turns back to face them.
"That explains a little. The dark magic spell the powers sent her that tricked Lorne…" Angel looks at Wes, his face unreadable. "I didn't kill Lilah. I found her freshly killed."
Fred gasps. Wes doesn't react, lost in thought.
"We have 15 minutes to get a plan together," Faith says.
Wes staggers suddenly, almost falling.
Faith catches him. "Wait a sec, buddy, we need you right now," She says, steadying him.
"The anti-violence spell…" Wes mutters, dazed. "It isn't working…the powder must have counteracted it…" His eyelids are drooping as he starts to lost consciousness.
"The powder! Wes, won't it paralyze them?" Gunn asks.
"She's strong…it should, but…she's strong…" Wes replies, slipping as his body goes limp.
"What's wrong with Wes?" Angel asks.
"Long story, many chapters…" Lorne replies as he helps Faith lower Wes to the floor.
"Let me out," Angel says, suddenly.
"What?" Fred asks.
"Let me out, now," Angel repeats, urgently.
"What? Why?" Gunn asks, suspicious, but keeping his eyes on Wesley and Faith.
"Because I'm dead and that thing behind you is going to kill anything living that it touches," Angel says, standing impatiently beside the cage's door as the others spot the dark mist floating down the stairs.
"Shit," Gunn curses. Fred unlocks Angel's cage and he quickly steps in front of them.
The mist condenses suddenly into a shadowy figure.
"Why are you here? What do you want?" Angel asks.
"The same thing you want, vampire…I need the beast's master to be gone…"
Wes gasps suddenly, jolting back to consciousness.
"They're almost here," Wes says, starting to get up.
"Wes…" Faith warns him, as he gets to his feet.
"Why? You thrive on evil, why do you want the beast's master gone?" Angel asks.
"She's controlling it," Wes gasps, taking in the situation quickly. "It doesn't breathe so the powder isn't affecting it…"
"You…" The figure growls, dissolving into mist and moving toward Wesley and Faith.
"Fire blaze," Wes mutters, pulling Faith against him and protecting her with his embrace as a protective shield of flames surrounds them. The mist's particles spark as the fire ignites them, incinerating the demon.
Before anyone can react, the flames burn out. Faith, stunned, lowers him to the floor. Wes' phone rings.
"Answer it, Faith, it could be Connor," Fred says.
Faith nods. She finds his phone and flips it open. "Yeah?" Faith pales, listening. She closes it after several moments. "Cordelia's not coming."
"Was it Connor?" Gunn asks.
"No. She's going to kill him if we don't bring Angel to her. Now," Faith replies.
"Angel?" Gunn says, looking for instructions.
"I need to know more," Angel hesitates, frustrated.
"That stuff Wes was channeling about…the restoration can only be done by the one who loved her and lost her and left her…" Faith brainstorms aloud.
"What do I have to do?" Angel asks, confused.
"Pray," A voice hisses, startling them all.
"We waited too long," Faith says.
"When I say now, I mean now. But I found a way around that pesky magic…I am beyond such things in my power," Cordelia hisses, floating into the basement before letting herself stand in front of Angel.
"I have been impressed by the human's loyalty to you, Angel…they surprised me, even upset some of my plans…" Cordelia says.
"What do you want?" Angel asks, keeping his voice calm.
"Angelus. My beloved. I want Angelus."
"Angelus is gone," Angel replies.
"I know and believe me I'm pissed. You, at least, are safe from my wrath," She smiles at Angel before turning to the others.
"Where's Connor?" Faith asks, keeping her face emotionless.
"Don't worry, Slayer. I decided to keep him. He's safe," She snorts.
"You're lying," Wesley replies, surprising everyone. He is motionless beside Faith but his gaze is locked on Cordelia.
"You are a pain in the ass, human," She says, starting toward him.
"I know who you are now. How did you get the power, Darla?" Wes asks, calm. His eyes are cold.
"You don't know anything," Cordelia hisses, her eyes filling with white.
Wes flinches and his eyes fill with black. "Stay out of my head…"
There is a flash of light and Wes cries out in pain.
"Stop!" Fred calls, starting for Cordelia. Gunn and Lorne stop her.
"How'd you get the power, Darla?" Wes gasps, his eyes still filled with black.
"Where's Cordelia?" Angel asks.
The thing in Cordelia's body turns to Angel. "You never looked at me the way you look at me in this form…you love her…"
"You lost. Angelus is gone and I will never love you the way I love Cordelia, and neither will Angelus. He's incapable of love," Angel replies, shaken by her white eyes.
"I can make you love me, that's not the issue," she begins, stopping mid-sentence and putting a hand to her head.
Faith glances at Wes, seeing his lips mouthing soundless words. His body is shaking and blood is trickling from his nose.
"What the hell…" Cordelia's body says. A spark of light ignites beside Angel, glowing stronger until it flashes brightly, transforming into another Cordelia, this one surrounded by an ethereal glow.
"Bitch, you are seriously out of your league," Glowing Cordelia says.
The evil Cordy is backing away.
"I've been waiting too long to do this," Glowing Cordelia says, holding out her hands and closing her eyes.
"No, you can't, you don't have my power…" The evil one hisses.
"I am the power, bitch," Good Cordelia replies before directing a beam of blinding light into her twin, shattering her into stone that crumbles on the floor around their feet.
"Is it really you?" Angel asks, his voice a whisper.
"Yes…" She replies, fading slightly.
"What…you're fading…" Angel panics.
"Wesley brought me here, he has to bind me to something or I'll be taken back," Cordelia explains.
Faith and Fred aren't even listening to the couple's exchange. They are crouched beside Wesley. He is still mouthing words and shaking.
Cordelia and Angel go to them.
"Wes? Bind her, Wes," Angel urges, gently nudging Fred out of the way and reaching for Wes.
Wes doesn't respond, in a trance.
Angel picks Wes up, suddenly, shoving him against the wall. "Bind her, Wesley!"
Cordelia gasps, suddenly and the glow disappears. She is solid.
Faith shoves Angel who releases Wesley in a heap on the floor.
Angel goes to embrace Cordelia.
Faith checks Wesley for a pulse and satisfied that he's alive, glances around the basement.
Fred is hugging Lorne and Gunn in congratulations as Angel and Cordelia sob in each other's arms. The blood from Wesley's nose is coming faster now. She silently gathers him in her arms and starts up the stairs.
Gunn spots them as she starts to disappear through the door. "Faith?"
"I'll be back," She replies, disappearing.