We now shift to the Hyperion. Since going bad, Angelus has turned the place into a decadent fin-de-siecle vampire hang-out. The art deco lobby has been redone in sumptuous late-Victorian, with Persian rugs on the floor, Japanese prints on the walls, and dark velvet curtains draped here and there for dramatic effect. A few stylish female vampires are draped across fainting couches. Candelabras and lamps with lace coverings over them are placed on top of the furniture to heighten the mood. "Un bel di vedremo" from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" echoes throughout the cavernous lobby/atrium. The sweet smell of opium smoke drifts upwards. All the killing is done in the numerous private hotel rooms or behind the curtains. Drinking in public would be too vulgar and animalistic for Angelus's aesthetic desires. He prefers brutality when it is beautiful. Plus, it would offer a less-than-inviting atmosphere for the humans, many of whom think this is some sort of trendy new night club for the beautiful people. This means the vampires keep on their human faces except when feeding. Now that the city has gone to Hell, refinement is almost non-existent. Which is one of the reasons Angelus is supplying it. Not only does it attract a better class of victim, but it also attracts a better class of vampire.
Angelus makes his entrance, coming down the stairs with a graceful and commanding swagger. Johann Strauss's "Vienna Blood" starts playing. He wears tight black pants, a silver silk button-down shirt which is not buttoned all the way up, a less casual version of the crushed black velvet jacket he wore in Sunnydale when he first met Buffy, and Bruno Magli shoes. His hair is a little spikier than when he was Angel, but by no means unkempt. He has on his bemused soulless smirk with the slightly raised eyebrows creating tiny creases on his broad forehead. Without the deep worry lines created by Angel's constant brooding, he looks about five years younger. A few very attractive, fashionable and lithe female vampires greet him in a most friendly manner. He brushes them aside curtly but politely. He's searching for fresh blood. He spots a very cute blonde looking around like it's her first time in the place. She's dressed in black Prada pants and jacket, looking very smart and sophisticated. He smiles and goes over to greet her.
ANGELUS: Welcome to the Hyperion. I'm Angelus, the owner of this establishment.
OLIVIA: I'm Olivia. And more than a little confused.
ANGELUS: You don't like what you see?
OLIVIA: I do. Just. There's no doorman. No cover.
ANGELUS: And the drinks are free. What would you like?
OLIVIA: A cosmopolitan. I guess. [Angelus signals the bartender]
ANGELUS: It's a private club which is open to the public. We make our money off of membership dues. It's free on certain nights in order to find new paying members. The decor and ambience attract the right people and repel the wrong ones. The fact that you are here, Olivia, only proves that point.
She smiles, a little embarrassed. Usually she doesn't like it when guys come on so strong. But Angelus's charm, as well as his looks, strip away her inhibitions.
OLIVIA: It's really, well, languorous. Like Disneyland. For bohemians. Ultra-retro bohemians. Definitely like nothing I've ever seen.
ANGELUS: I get that a lot. I thought our city could use some beauty at a time like this. After all, beauty is the language of the soul. Without it, we're just animals.
Olivia gets her drink.
OLIVIA: Beauty is truth, truth beauty. Like I haven't heard that line before. (Angelus is a little hurt by the put down, but turned on by the fact that she is beautiful and smart.) We're still animals. Animals who like pretty things.
ANGELUS: Nothing wrong with that. What kind of pretty things do you like?
OLIVIA: On the wall over there, that copy of Kitagawa's "Beauty with Fan and Parasol." [she laughs] And look. It's right next to Monet's "Les Japonaisses." How ironic.
ANGELUS: Actually I was going for dry wit. Tongue firmly in cheek, of course. I see you know a thing or two about painting.
He's absolutely thrilled. Finally, a woman who could appreciate his sophistication.
OLIVIA: Art history major. But I work in advertising.
ANGELUS: Sold you soul. [she laughs, clueless to the irony]
OLIVIA: I'm in design, not sales. I have my soul. I just prostitute it for a low six-figure income.
ANGELUS: I would have thought it was worth a lot more than that.
OLIVIA: Buyer's market, I suppose.
ANGELUS: Isn't it always? I should show you my private collection. Of artwork. I have several originals.
OLIVIA: By whom?
ANGELUS: You'd be amazed. Do you like the Impressionists?
OLIVIA: French? [she's shocked he'd have such priceless treasures.]
ANGELUS: Is there any other kind worth having?
Olivia's intrigued. She puts down her empty glass, and they take the elevator up to the fifth floor.
OLIVIA: Why is this deco? And why were the chandeliers also deco? Seems to clash with the rest of the decorations.
ANGELUS: That's the idea. Juxtaposition. I like to think of it as modern mannerism. Truthfully, it came deco. That's how it looks during the day. If there was daylight, I mean.
OLIVIA: What do you think is causing that?
ANGELUS: They always said the smog would get us. Remember that meteor shower? My guess is that it kicked up a lot of dust which combined with the pre-existing air pollution in a particularly nasty way. Or this is just God's way of punishing us for our wickedness.
The enter Angelus's suite.
OLIVIA: That looks like a Cezanne.
ANGELUS: It is. Let's just say I'm friends with a few influential private collectors. That was easy to spot. A bowl of fruit, who else could it be? What about that one?
OLIVIA: Almost looks like an early Renoir. Except I've never seen it before.
ANGELUS: He was ashamed of it. Wanted to burn it before he died. His friends talked him out of it. But he made them promise never to exhibit it. Thought it would diminish his stature.
Angelus picked up the Renoir from the artist himself, and got the Cezanne after killing the guy who bought it from the artist. This was back in Paris in the 1860s, Angelus's glory days, when his two women and the City of Lights inspired him to dizzying heights of exquisite mayhem. Dru actually loved Paris with Angelus. She only hated it when she went there later on with Spike. 1860s Paris was the best of all possible worlds to Angelus, a sublime moment from which there was no where to go but down, much like 1970s New York was to Spike.
OLIVIA: It's clearly not his best work, but it still shows his genius. The brush strokes are very transitional. Almost like a missing link in his artistic development. You're aware how much the Getty would pay for something like this?
ANGELUS: Don't need the money. Sometimes it's nice to have pretty things all for yourself.
OLIVIA: If you can afford to be that possessive.
ANGELUS: I always can. (Of course he's really talking about women)
OLIVIA: This is just, well, unbelievable. I'm not used to guys asking me to come up to their bedrooms to look at their priceless works of art. Is that a Monet over your headboard!?
Angelus puts the opening movement to Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto on his record player.
ANGELUS: Very late. Close to his death.
OLIVIA: You can tell by the extreme level of abstraction, how forms practically disappear into almost pure light and energy. The culmination of his lifelong stylistic evolution.
ANGELUS: Or it could be because by then he was nearly blind. [he chuckles] That one is my latest acquisition. I'm very proud of it.
It's a gift from Cordy. She told the Beast to fly to the house of the guy who owned it, kill him, and bring her the painting. Angelus is a kept man in more ways than one. Meanwhile, the romantic music swells to an ecstatic crescendo.
OLIVIA: Is it a little stuffy in here?
ANGELUS: Haven't noticed. The AC might be out. Probably feel better if you took off your coat.
They both take off their coats. She has a black short-sleeved collarless blouse on underneath. Removing the coat exposes the entirety of her swan-like neck. Angelus grins slyly. This is the part he loves best. The anticipation.
OLIVIA: That's a little better. Angelus. Is that your real name?
ANGELUS: It is. Suits me much better than my given name. "Liam." [he says this with a doltish dullness, as if Liam is a name fit for a hick or a provincial.]
OLIVIA: That it does. Angelus, this all a bit much, sweeping me off my feet like this. You seem too good to be true. You have to be.
ANGELUS: I could say the same thing about you, Olivia.
He moves right up next to her.
OLIVIA: Wow. You're good. Really, really –
Her heart's racing. He can hear it throbbing. She's completely overwhelmed, as Angelus knew she would be. She looks up at his angelic face, tentatively putting her hands on his chest. He seems so calm. Like he's not even breathing. This contrasts sharply with Olivia's nervous excitement. He gently runs his right hand through her long blonde hair. Now he starts getting excited, but tries his best to hide it.
ANGELUS: Close your eyes.
Olivia does this, thinking he's about to kiss her on the lips. Angelus goes bumpy and bites her on the right side of her neck. He can make it excruciating. But when he wants to, he's very good at making siring almost painless. Her heart's pumping much faster than usual, which means he has to drink for a shorter time. He bites quickly and deeply, so the feeling of the blood rushing out counteracts most of the pain. The blood loss quickly makes her lightheaded, inducing a vague, pleasant high. It's all part of his craft, making it almost as good for her as it is for him. When her pulse slows to below resting rate, Angelus stops drinking. He rolls up his right sleeve, bites his right wrist, and puts it up to her mouth. She drinks enthusiastically. When she's had enough, he pulls his arm back, bites down again on her neck, and finishes her off. He holds her limp body up with his right arm, then slowly lets it fall to the ground. Finished with his seduction, he sits down, soaks up the music, and marvels at his artistry.
But he won't have long to savor the moment. The second shift for Lindsey's men is about to begin. Eight trucks and 40 soldiers surround the block, led by Gunn, Wes, Fred and Lorne. By themselves, they were too afraid to take on Angelus and the numerous vampires who served him. But now that they have backup and firepower.
The second shift for Lindsey's men is about to begin. Eight trucks carrying 40 soldiers surround the block, led by Gunn, Wes, Fred and Lorne. By themselves, they were too afraid to take on Angelus and the numerous vampires who serve him. But now they have backup and firepower. The men in the trucks run down all the vampires outside, setting them on fire or zapping them and then staking them. Trying to get away from the war zone, some of the humans inside the Hyperion flee outside, where the soldiers with their infra-red detectors are able to distinguish them from vampires. Other humans decide to remain in the hotel, since all the explosions are occurring on the streets. Some cower in the corners, while other run up the stairs to the second and third floors. Angelus hears the noise. He looks out his fifth floor window, and figures it's the National Guard, who usually take to the streets in case of riots or local emergency. He thought they would have shown themselves days ago. But he's not worried. Not yet anyway.
While the soldiers gain control of the streets, Gunn, Wes, Fred and Lorne prepare to storm their old home. Each of them carries six wooden grenades, and a couple stakes. Wes has his shotgun, Fred a tranquilizer gun, Gunn his ax, and Lorne a tranquilizer pistol. Gunn and Fred take the front entrance, Wes and Lorne the back. They charge forward, tossing two grenades each into the courtyards. The vamps who aren't dusted by these are quickly dispatched with stakes, since they're too dazed and frightened to put up much resistance. Having secured the courtyards, each of them tosses their other four grenades through the front and rear glass doors. The sixteen grenades, all detonating in the lobby within ten seconds of each other, produce an enormous sound. Now Angelus is very, very worried.
Dozens of vampires are immediately exterminated, along with two human victims, ripped apart by the wooden shards. Angelus leaps down into the lobby, his now-untucked shirt billowing behind him like a silver cape. His four old colleagues entered only moments earlier. Before they get the chance to finish off any other vamps, they see Angelus, all bumpy and ready for battle, and charge him. Wesley comes at him from behind. Angelus spins around and leaps in the air, kicking Wes in the face. Wes goes down hard. Angelus turns, smiles, and runs at Gunn and Fred. Gunn steps up to fight his old boss. He tries to hit Angelus in the ribs with the ax, which would not kill him but would incapacitate him long enough for them to lock him up. But Angelus is too quick. Before Gunn can connect with the ax blade, Angelus has hit him in the face with eft and right hooks. Gunn drops the ax and nearly falls down. He's made woozy by the two might blows. Angelus grabs Gunn by the neck with his right hand, lifts him up, and chokes him. Fred has a dart gun pointed at Angelus, by he uses Gunn as a shield, preventing Fred from getting a clean shot. He laughs and walks up to Fred, holding Gunn in front of him. The idea is to make Fred think she's watching her former lover die.
Lorne is about 20 feet behind Angelus. He aims his dart gun and fires at Angelus's back. Right before it connects, a blue force field appears behind Angelus and the dart drops harmlessly to the ground.
LORNE: We can't hurt him! He's got a shield! We can't hurt him! Get out!! Get out!!!
Amidst all the noise and chaos, the others can't hear him. Lorne can't quite figure it out. Angelus could hurt humans, but could not be hurt by other demons. Lorne turns around. Wesley gets up, but is immediately set upon by two vampires. He reaches down and grabs his shotgun. He tries to bash one of them with its muzzle, but can't. The same thing happens when he tries to hit the other one with the butt end. Lorne runs over. He tries to strike one of the vampires, but can't. That vampire turns around and tries to punch Lorne, but can't. He realizes what the spell is. Nobody can hurt demons. Anybody can hurt humans. Problem is, he didn't know such a spell existed. Otherwise, demons would have started using it a long time ago. He grabs Wesley by the collar and starts to drag him away, knowing that the vampires can't stop him. When they're in the clear, Wesley stands up.
LORNE: They can't be hurt from inside. We have to get Fred and Charles out, and pronto.
WES: Just to be sure. [he pumps his shotgun and fires at Angelus's back. The pellets fall to the floor.] I'm sure. FRED!! CHARLES!! Get out!! You can't hurt him in here! We have to get out!
Fred is paying attention to Charles. She hears Wesley's voice but doesn't understand what he's saying. Gunn hears Wesley's news. Since he is being choked to death, it doesn't do him any good. But Angelus has no interest in killing Charles while letting Winifred get away. She's the one he really wants to sink his teeth into. He tosses Gunn to the ground. Gunn grabs his throat and gasps for air. Lorne and Wes run over, with Lorne in front as a shield. They grab Gunn and help him out to the courtyard.
WES: We have to get Fred! [she's the one he cares about. Not Gunn. And he's desperate to play her hero.]
LORNE: Wrong, Sherlock. I have to get Fred. You're as good as dead in there.
Lorne runs back in. Gunn and Wes run towards the front door. Lorne turns around and blocks their path from just inside the door. They try to push him out of the way, but can't. For the first time, Lorne is stronger than either of them. In fact, he is stronger than both of them put together. They reluctantly remain in the courtyard as Lorne tries to be the most unlikely of heroes.
After tossing aside Charles, Angelus looks up at Winifred and licks his lips. She stands above the stairs just inside the entrance. Fred turns and tries to make a run for it. Angelus leaps at her and grabs her before she can even get within reach of the door. He spins her around and holds her head up with his right hand so she can look at him. He's gone unbumpy, so she can see the face of Angel, the face of the hero who saved her in Pylea.
ANGELUS: Don't scream. That'll just make it worse.
She spits on his face. The shield doesn't protect him against that. With his right hand, he pulls her hair back as hard as he can without ripping it out by the roots. She starts crying from the pain. He loves it when they cry. He runs his left hand under her right eye, as if wiping away her tears.
ANGELUS: There, there baby. I'll make make it all better. I always do.
Then he licks the tears flowing down her cheeks, causing her to cringe. He knows no one can hurt him in there, and really wants to make this count, especially with Wes and Gunn watching helplessly. And he wants to do something that she'd never be able to forgive Angel for, if God forbid he came back. After all, Angelus wants to make everyone suffer, including Angel. His puts his left hand down her pants. She starts grimacing and looks nauseous.
ANGELUS: Come on Fred. Don't fight it. Give in. You've always wanted this. Deep down, part of you still does. Stop lying to yourself. Stop pretending I'm not getting you off.
He looks over Fred's shoulder at Wes and Gunn and smiles. Several vamps have charged them, but they threw them back inside. Now they have a clear view of Angelus and their beloved. He starts kissing her neck and he leers at Wesley, since he's the one who's never had her. Lorne tries to get past several vampires who block his path to Fred. He had hoped to grab her, inciting Angelus to try to hit him, which would make Angelus lose his grip on Fred. And once Lorne had her in his hands, Angelus couldn't get her back. But he can't push the vamps out of the way, and he can't maneuver around behind them since they're quicker than he is. Angelus goes bumpy, his yellow eyes and white fangs almost nodding hello to Wes and Gunn before he sinks his teeth into Fred. She cries out, not understanding why Charles and Wesley aren't trying to save her. After getting his first taste of her blood, he pulls up and smiles at Wes and Gunn, Fred's blood dripping from his lips and coating his teeth. He has every intention of siring her, taking something he thought of as pure and making it dirty and evil. He had always loved that game. Plus, having to try to kill vampire Fred would cause Wes and Gunn even further torment.
Lorne finally remembers his old secret weapon. Not sooner does Angel get his fangs back into her jugular than Lorne belts out an ear-piercing high note. With their sensitive ears, this is especially painful for vampires. Angelus stops biting Fred, and turns to see Lorne. He hangs onto Fred's left hand with his right hand, his grip too tight for her to pull away. He drags her towards Lorne and kicks him in the head. The blow knocks Lorne down, and he stops singing for a moment. Lorne is utterly flabbergasted. He thought he was protected. Angelus realizes the game is up. He can't kill Lorne and eat Fred too. He goes back to his human face. He pulls Fred close, like he's Rhett Butler and she's Scarlett O'hara, and he kisses her passionately on the lips. Then Lorne starts singing again. Angelus stops kissing Fred and throws her out the front door. Lorne stops singing and leaves. The glass in the front of the weapons case is shattered, as are most of the glasses, but Lorne didn't maintain the notes long enough to break any of the building's plate glass windows. Angelus leaps up to stand just inside the front entrance. He looks at Fred, smiles devilishly, and licks his lips.
ANGELUS: Was it good for you?
Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne retreat back to the safety of their armored personal carriers. Wes and Gunn try to comfort Fred. She pushes them away. For the moment she can't understand why they didn't rescue her. Also, she feels dirty on account of everything Angelus did to her. Her soldiers don't know what transpired, so she feels comfortable around them. She tries to put the attack behind her and become all business, turning her hurt into rage. Any vampire who crosses her path at this moment is in for a world of trouble.
Inside the Hyperion, Angelus tries to restore order.
ANGELUS: Will all of you calm down? Quiet!! Stop!!! Everything is fine. [he grabs vampires who are trying to leave] When the enemy is outside the gates, you stay the hell inside. Why run into the lion's mouth? Come on! This is still the safest place in the world for vampires. [vampires start streaming in, fleeing the soldiers, only proving Angelus's point.] See what I mean? The Hyperion is a sanctuary. We're going to put the music back on, get the drinks flowing again, and we're going to have a good time. If everyone is not having fun real soon, I'm going to start staking people.
He grabs Gunn's ax and beheads a vampire who looks frightened. The music comes back on. The vampires start to pretend to be enjoying themselves, fearful of Angelus's wrath. During the panic of the raid they drank all the humans who remained inside, included the two "friendly fire" casualties. This means they have no more victims, making it harder to pretend they're happy. Angelus sees all the dust on the floor and is puzzled. He picks up a handful of wooden shards and figures out what killed them. He runs up to his room and looks out the window. The trucks are leaving. The coast is clear. He puts Olivia on the bed and starts undressing her to pass the time and make himself happy again. Cordy talks to him telepathically. She's given up on throwing her voice. It's much more fun for Cordy when Angelus knows he is her bitch.
CORDY: Is my boy sad?
ANGELUS: Don't call me that.
CORDY: Right. You don't want me to make you feel like Connor. Funny, cause you used to want nothing more than to feel exactly what I make Connor felt. The evening of the fireworks, for instance. Why does my chiseled hunk of salty goodness sound so sad?
ANGELUS: They could hurt us. Inside.
CORDY: Not possible.
ANGELUS: They tossed bombs in here. From the courtyards. I thought those areas were covered.
CORDY: So did I. It's inside the facade. Oh well. Guess they're not part of the package.
ANGELUS: If they can get that close, what's the point?
As he's talking, he's undressing and fondling Olivia. A rather crude and artless part of his modus operandi.
CORDY: Take a pill, stallion. I'll fix it. Be there in an hour. Have you seen Connor?
ANGELUS: You mean he's no longer resting his worried head on mommy's comforting bosom?
CORDY: I think he knows.
ANGELUS: About the baby?
CORDY: I wish. Then I'd have him totally in my power. I think he knows what side I'm on.
ANGELUS: He figured out you're the head bitch in charge of everything that makes his life suck? Didn't know he was that quick on the uptake. Let's face it. The boy is easy to fool.
CORDY: He doesn't know that much. Doesn't know about me and you. Doesn't know about me and Red Rock. But I could see it in his eyes. Think it was three days ago. You know how hard it is to keep those things straight, since we don't have days anymore. He looked suspicious. Like maybe he no longer trusted me.
ANGELUS: Or maybe you didn't give him a second helping soon enough and he got tired of waiting.
CORDY: If that was the problem, he did a stupid thing, cause I was just about to let him have another go. Right after I told him about our baby.
ANGELUS: You stalled too long and you blew it. All in the timing. Classic rookie mistake. Guess even the Master can screw up.
CORDY: Don't make me pull rank on you. Maybe I'll hold off on that protection spell. Make you remember who serves who.
Angelus has Olivia naked by now. Whenever Cordy reminds him he is under her power, he needs to be around someone who is under his power. Otherwise, Queen C is just plain emasculating.
ANGELUS: Just trying to give you some pointers, boss. Thought providing you with the benefit of my expertise was the best way I could serve you.
CORDY: And?
ANGELUS: And I'm helpless without you. I need you Cordy. Save me. Before it's too late. Please. I'm begging you, Master.
He delivers these lines with obvious scorn, like he's going through the motions of pretending to play a part he hates. Meanwhile he's on top of Olivia, compensating for the groveling he has to do for Cordy. Of course, the disgusting display only compounds his loss of dignity. But Angelus can't resist a freebie. Helpless is such a turn-on for him.
CORDY: Be by soon, champ.
It's 3 pm. School has ended. Wood is working in his office. He hears loud rumblings from below. A giant serpent's head bursts up through his desk. He gets up out of his chair and jumps back. Green tentacles rise up through the remnants of the shattered desk. He opens his weapons case and grabs a sword. The monster's head shoots at him, its jaws wide open. He slices just in time and beheads the creature. It disappears. As does its handiwork. The desk is completely unscathed, looking just as it did before the monster appeared. Wood stands there, his back against the wall, breathing fast and trying to calm down from this most sudden and unexplainable of shocks.
After regaining his composure, he walks across the hall. Buffy is still at her desk. She sees Robin and can tell he's shaken up.
WOOD: Something just happened in my office which you should know about.
He tells her, and Buffy calls Giles, who gets there as fast as possible. The three of them stand around the desk.
WOOD: Did this ever happen at the old school?
GILES: Yes. But not without warning. Not during the daytime. And not without leaving a trace. You sure this wasn't an apparition, a vision perhaps?
Wood shows him the blade of the sword, which is coated in green slime.
WOOD: This didn't come from an apparition.
GILES: Fair enough. I think it's obvious our answer lies beneath.
They go into the basement. The seal has been broken. Metal shards are strewn in all directions. In its place is a slightly depressed circle of earth. Giles puts his foot in it, then gets on his knees and digs his hands into it.
GILES: There's no bedrock. Not even any solid packed earth. Something bored its way up, shattered the seal with incredible force, and left behind this pit of back fill.
He looks straight up. There is no damage on the ceiling which the monster burst through on its way up to the Principal's office.
BUFFY: Why would it only cover its tracks above the basement floor? If it could put Robin's desk and his floor back together, why not the seal?
GILES: That's a good question. It may help us figure out what we are dealing with.
WOOD: You said this sort of thing's struck before. What happened then?
GILES: The world almost ended.
BUFFY: You really think the Hellmouth's having a grand reopening?
GILES: It is long overdue.
WOOD: And how do we stop this cataclysm you two are bandying on about so glibly?
BUFFY: This is the part where Giles consults his books. You still have books, right?
GILES: The Bringers didn't get their hands on my personal library, which I suppose is now the Council Library, since the Council Library is no more. I stowed them away in your attic.
They walk out of the basement.
WOOD: The books are at Buffy's house. Is there Scotch at Buffy's house?
GILES: I believe I brought over a few bottles. Why?
WOOD: I think maybe I'll be needing it.
Buffy's house. Buffy, Xander and Willow are in the kitchen. Giles and Wood are sitting at the dining room table. The Potentials are in the living room.
WILLOW: An apocalypse? At the school? Again?
BUFFY: Yes. Yes. And yes. Probably.
XANDER: Is it a bunch of demons trying to open the Hellmouth, or one demon rising from the earth trying to do it himself?
BUFFY: I'm not sure. Robin said it was like a hydra coming straight out of the Hellmouth.
WILLOW: Oh! So it's like that one! You know, during the full moon. That was a scary one.
XANDER: Which one?
WILLOW: The one you missed.
XANDER: Well, I wouldn't say I – is it tonight?
BUFFY: Giles is trying to work that part out.
WOOD: Any luck, Rupert?
GiLES: It's all very fragmentary. Incoherent in parts. Can't quite put it together.
WOOD: What is it?
GILES: Liao Bing. He mentions a phenomena similar to what you described.
WOOD: Liao's from the later Han Dynasty, right?
GILES: I believe so.
WOOD: That mean it's Middle Chinese script.
GILES: Yes. Of course! How foolish of me. I assumed the texts were Late Chinese. That's why I'm picking up so many words that don't quite fit. I'm just misinterpreting some of the characters. That helps enormously. Thank you, Robin. How do you know about Liao Bing?
WOOD: When you're raised by a Watcher, you pick up a few things.
GILES: Curious. I was also raised by a Watcher, and I picked up nothing from my father. It's all beginning to fit together. Like a big jigsaw puzzle, and now that I know what the pieces are, I can put them together properly. Shouldn't take me too long to place the column fragments in their proper order. Once again, thank you for pointing out my careless oversight. If I kept translating using the wrong script, we'd probably still be here when the world ended.
KENNEDY: So what's the 411 on our imminent doom? The girls are getting worried.
WILLOW: It's nothing, sweetie. No, it's a lot of something. But nothing they should worry about. We'll handle it. Just like we always do.
AMANDA: Giles looks really worried. And Principal Wood looks even more really worried.
RONA: It's not about something new trying to kill us. If it were, Buffy would be glancing back at us every minute or so.
VI: Then what is it about, if not us? Aren't we suppose to be like the eye of the storm?
MOLLY: Dawn told me about a few times when Buffy had to save the world. Prevent the demons from completely taking over and making it hell, or something along those lines. I bet that's wot's got everyone so dour and frantic.
RONA: Who's trying to end the world?
VI: My guess would be the First.
AMANDA: Doubt it. If you want to end the world, why bother knocking off a few girls? We can't stop the world from ending. Right now. we're nothing. But to the First we're something.
MOLLY: So if it's naught the First, then who is it?
Fred's team is out on the hunt.
CURTIS: We got a bunch in that building on the left. 30 at least.
FRED: It's a demon bar. Undead fish in a barrel. Sardines. Go in strong. Make sure nothing gets out.
The two trucks halt and eight soldiers get out and move into position. The other two work the napalm guns on the trucks. They fire in a few canisters to set things in motion. The soldiers on the ground toss in a few grenades. After these detonate, they storm the place. Vampires are on fire. They zap and stake those who are moving. The two soldiers who were manning the napalm guns block the exits — one in front, one in back. Fred also stands in front, holding a large poleaxe. Two vampires run out, terrified. The soldier gets out of the truck and stakes one. Fred slices the other one's head with her ax blade. But she slices downwards, splitting its head, neck, and upper chest longitudinally. The vampire tumbles to the ground. She hits it again, cutting it all the way down through the waist. The vampire is now cut in two. But since it has neither been staked nor beheaded, it is still alive and squirming. Well, its two halves are. After watching for a few seconds, Fred decapitates each half. The vampire turns to dust. The soldier looks at her like she's nuts, or at least sadistic.
FRED: Go guard the truck.
He does what he is told. The fact that she's holding a very large and very bloody weapon mitigates against the young man objecting. Angelus violated and humiliated Fred. She has to take it out on someone. She can't take it out on Angelus, even if she had the chance, since they need Angel back. So she takes it out on other vampires, makes them suffer. Angelus made her feel helpless. That's what she's going to make other vampires feel. At least for the next few hours.
Buffy's Kitchen
GILES: I have excellent news! The world is not going to end tonight.
ANYA: Talk about lowering your expectations.
GILES: It might, however, end tomorrow night.
ANYA: Which gives us just enough time to do something wild and crazy. Something we won't have to regret when the world is gone. That reminds me, I'm going out with Spike tonight.
BUFFY: Where? When did this happen?
ANYA: The Bronze. Spike asked me last night. And why is it any of your business?
Xander is worried Buffy still has feelings for Spike
XANDER: That's a very good question. Is this your plan? Dump Connor so you can take another shot with Spike?
WILLOW: Can we get back to the world ending?
GILES: Thank you, Willow. But your little diversion made me realize there are more unpleasant things to talk about than imminent armageddon. Spike's love life, for example. The operation's rather simple. About three hours before midnight tomorrow, the Hellbeast begins to emerge. The monster has a long, serpentine body with massive jaws. It possesses the ability to generate side heads and limbs for the purpose of self-protection. We have to cut the beast's body in half. To do that, we must fight our way through these flank defenses. The creature is supposedly close to 100 feet long. But we will only be fight its front portion. The monster is a spearhead, clearing the path for all Hell's creatures. Once it gets its entire body out of the hole, the Hellmouth is opened and the earth will be overrun by demons. We will kill it before that can happen.
BUFFY: What I don't understand is, why the disappearing act? Why give us a warning?
GILES: I suspect it was attempting to clear the area of potential enemies. It attacks humans in its vicinity to frighten them and convince them to vacate the area. Then when it rises for real, no one is around to stop it. The ability to vanish, and to erase all traces of its presence, is unique to this particular Hellbeast. This made it very easy to identify.
WOOD: How did Liao know about this creature? The Hellmouth's here, not in China.
GILES: It was in China. The Hellmouth shifts periodically. We believe it appeared in central China during the Autumn Warring States period and left in the mid second century. Liao was commemorating this event, which was seen as a triumph of the emperor over the demons.
XANDER: The Hellmouth travels? When did it settle down in our corner of the planet?
GILES: Probably around 1300. The sudden destruction of the Anasazi civilization is usually used as the starting point. We know that many Anasazi settlements were violently destroyed, that large numbers of the people were slaughtered and eaten, possibly by demons. When the Hellmouth arrives, it bursts forth unfocused chaos and destruction. Nothing powerful enough to destroy the world, but powerful enough to destroy or at least seriously disrupt the human societies in the Hellmouth's vicinity. After that, there is a long period of buildup, as the Hellmouth gradually increases its strength. The longer it resides in any one place, the more powerful it becomes. Usually it stays put for 200 to 400 years. It's been here for 700 years, far longer than at any other location in recorded history. It's never gotten this strong before, never been so persistent in its attempts to reclaim this dimension for the demons.
WILLOW: Why does it move in the first place? Boredom? Demony wanderlust?
GILES: It needs to interact with the human population, to feed off them. Too few humans in an area, and it doesn't get very strong. Too many humans, and they are able to organize and fight off the demons. Which is what happened in China, and in other advanced, densely populated societies where the Hellmouth has popped up throughout recorded history: India, Mesopotamia, Egypt. When faced with organized and determined resistance, the Hellmouth weakens and moves to a more hospitable location.
XANDER: You mean if it can driven away?
GILES: Precisely. The Hellmouth needs a balance. Enough people to feed it, but not enough people to fight it. It found such a balance in Sunnydale. Southern California had a sizable indigenous population, densely populated in the pre-Colombian context, but thinly settled by modern standards. The Spanish colonized the region in the late-18th century, replacing the indigenous population with colonial settlers. Settlement patterns remained agricultural when the Americans started arriving after 1850. All the while, the balance was maintained. The Hellmouth fed and grew and did not face serious opposition. Sunnydale was too far from San Diego or Los Angeles to be affected by their explosive growth after 1900. The town only became substantial within the last 50 years. The ten-fold increase in population over the next three decades, from 3,000 to 30,000 only made it that much stronger. Eventually it became so powerful only a Slayer could contain it.
WILLOW: Why did the Council wait so long to do something about this massive, festering, world-destroying evil? Why didn't they send a Slayer earlier? You know, when it was a little less powerful.
GILES: Because the Slayer has to blend in, to maintain some semblance of a secret identity in the community where she resides. This is why Slayers fight where they lived prior to being called. If the Hellmouth was in Ulan Bator, and I took Buffy to Mongolia, she would stick out. As would a Mongolian Slayer if she were brought to Southern California. For 30 years, the Council hoped for a Slayer to rise in this region. Buffy was the first to fit the bill.
BUFFY: So the tweed set in London had been waiting their whole lives for me.
WILLOW: You were the answer to their prayers.
BUFFY: No wonder they were so disappointed with me.
GILES: I was pleasantly surprised. Having never been to the area, I feared you would be some dreadfully vacuous Valley Girl stereotype. And with a name like Buffy, I was expecting the worst. So you can imagine my relief when I discovered that you were an intelligent, capable young woman rather than a crude, slightly anachronistic caricature.
BUFFY: Why does everyone rag on my name?
ANYA: It ends in a Y. No one with a name that ends in a Y can be taken seriously. Unless it ends in an EY, or an AY. Names that end in Y sound silly.
WILLOW: What about Glory?
BUFFY: Now you're only proving her stupid point. You said the Hellmouth can be fought off. You mean we can defeat it? Eventually? Soon?
GILES: By the time you arrived, it had built up unprecedented stores of energy. Much of that energy has been expended over the intervening years. At some point, it will stop, and the Hellmouth will shift to another location, but probably with substantially reduced capabilities. We don't know for sure. As I said, it's never been in one place this long. There is always the remote possibility that it could burn itself out. Of course that is baseless conjecture.
BUFFY: No more Hellmouth. No more evil? But if we defeat the source of all evil, what happens next?
GILES: We're still here. Perhaps the Hellmouth is somewhere else. Evil won't be defeated. And it is dangerously delusional to believe such a feat is even possible. You don't fight evil. You fight demons. You fight for survival. The survival of the people you love. That's all you've ever done. That's all anyone can do.
It would be a while before Olivia rose. Angelus was bored. He had time to kill. Literally. With the soldiers gone, he felt free to roam the streets. It was getting harder and harder to find victims. People learned to stay home. Only the looters seemed happy to be outdoors. Angelus traveled far from his base. He wasn't just looking for an easy kill. He was looking for some fun. Then he heard sounds of a struggle. He climbed onto the roof of a two-story building and tried to see what was happening. He realized it was his lucky day.
There was Justine, fighting vampires. Fighting two vampires at once, actually. Permanent midnight and all the easy pickings which followed made most vampires complacent. And all the recent fighting had honed Justine's skills. One vampire grabbed her arms from behind, while the one in front punched her. Justine hit the one behind her with the back of her head, breaking free from his grasp. She nailed this vampire with a spin kick, sending him into the wall. The other vampire threw a right punch, which she blocked. She hit this vampire with a right jab and a left spin kick. She grabbed him, tossed him into the other vampire, and staked them both together. Angelus jumped down from the roof and walked over to her, slowing clapping his hands.
ANGELUS: Excellent work Justine. Holtz would be so proud of you. Look on the bright side. Unlike him, you'll die fighting.
JUSTINE: Doesn't mean I'll tonight, Angelus.
ANGELUS: You've heard about my return.
JUSTINE: You've done just about everything to announce your presence short of putting up a billboard on the Sunset Strip. Have you hired a publicist?
ANGELUS: Already have Cordy. By the way, before I kill you, just wanted to know, you seen Connor around?
JUSTINE: He was taking beatings in West Hollywood a few days back. Doesn't wait for the vampire gangs to split up and forage before attacking them. I thought of helping him out, but I figured he might try to kill me. You know how volatile your boy can be. He still have that taser I gave him? Wonder when he'll use it on you again. Wesley has the box. And the keys to my boat. I'd watch your back if I were you.
ANGELUS: And if I were you, I'd scream and run away. Won't save you. But after a good chase I usually make it a quick death.
JUSTINE: From what Holtz told me, you're usually the one who does the running.
ANGELUS: Wow. You really do think you are a Slayer. Got the death wish and everything. Accept, you know, the strength, the talent, the ability to make this fight even remotely interesting. [He steps right up to her] I'll even give you the first shot.
Angelus expects her to go for the face. Instead, she hits him in the stomach with a quick left, then in the face with a right hook. He takes a step back and goes bumpy.
ANGELUS: Is that the best you can do?
Hits her with a thunderous right. Then a powerful left. She staggers, her knees buckle, but she doesn't go down. Angelus approaches, and Justine kicks him in the face. He decides to actually try, and decks her with a right spin kick. She sweeps out his legs and gets up. Justine tries to kick Angelus while he's on the ground, he grabs her foot and pushes her away. When he gets up, she kicks him in the chin. He tries to kick her in the head, but she ducks and kicks him in the groin. Then she connects with a right uppercut. Angelus answers with a left cross. Justine takes the punch but stays on the attack, landing a left jab to Angelus's mouth and a right kick to his stomach. He bends forward, and she pulls out her stake with her left hand. She tries to thrust it home. Angelus grabs it with his left hand when the point is six inches from his chest. He pulls Justine's left arm behind her back and thrusts her face-first into the wall.
ANGELUS: Do you have any idea how dangerous these things are?
He pulls the stake away with his right hand, spins Justine around, and stabs her in the right eye.
ANGELUS: You can take an eye out.
He steps back and laughs. The stake went clear through her right eyeball and is lodged in the socket. Justine staggers forward, in massive pain. Angelus circles round her.
ANGELUS: I stand corrected. You have made this fight interesting.
Justine reaches up with her right hand, grits her teeth, and pulls the stake out. She bends her knees, looks at Angelus with her one eye, and gives every indication she will continue fighting, despite her grievous injury.
ANGELUS: Tell you what. I'll let you walk. Don't like killing the handicapped.
He backs away. She charges. She hits him in the face with a left hook. Angelus is shocked.
ANGELUS: I'll be dammed. You got more stones than Holtz ever did.
She tries to stake him. Angelus grabs her right arm and tosses her to the ground.
ANGELUS: Now all your friends and admirers will know you died a hero. Except, you don't have any. What a shame to die and have nobody care.
Justine throws the stake down. She struggles forward and hits Angelus with a right hook. She tries a left jab, but he blocks it. He throws a right kick, but she moves back out of the way. Angelus decides to try once again. She blocks a left kick of his. He lands left and right punches, then connects with a powerful right kick to her ribs. She throws a wild right. It is clear she is disoriented from shock, not to mention the beating she's taken and the loss of depth perception from having only one eye. Angelus avoids her haymaker and lands a right punch to the spot where he just kicked her. He hears two of her ribs crack. Yet she won't go down. Instead, she hits Angelus in the stomach with a left punch. He's had enough. He grabs Justine with both arms, lifts her up, and tosses her down on her back with enough force to keep her from getting up. Then he picks up her stake. When she sits up and tries to bend her knees in order to stand up, he stakes her in her left eye. He pulls the stake out and tosses it away. Justine gets on her knees and puts her hands down on the ground. She is completely blind, and in unimaginable pain.
ANGELUS: At this point, it's not murder. It's mercy. That's why I won't do it. Unless you ask me to. Go ahead. Beg me to put you out of your misery. You can't go on living. Not like this. You know that. All you have to do is say the word, and it's all over.
Angelus is pleased with how this has turned out. He improvised something more brilliant than he ever could have planned ahead of time. To him, this was artistry at its most brutal. Justine raised her head and looked in the direction of Angelus's voice. He looked down into the dark red holes where her eyes once were. What degradation. What humiliation. And for Angelus, what joy. But Justine still had something left to prove.
JUSTINE: For all your power, there's still one thing you can't take away from me.
She stood up, and walked towards Angelus. He froze in shock. She looked like a zombie.
ANGELUS: I don't want your lousy soul.
She walked towards his voice, and held her arms out. When she touched him, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
JUSTINE: That's not what I meant. You'll understand, when you're Angel again. He knows what I'm talking about.
ANGELUS: Give Holtz my regards in Hell.
Justine head-butts Angelus in the chin. He bites her neck and drains her. While the life is being sucked out of her, Justine grips her hands together behind Angelus's neck. This assures that she'll die on her feet. It also means that once she's dead and Angelus stops drinking, she's still hanging onto him. Angelus finds this tremendously annoying. Her head rests against his chest. Blood from her eye sockets leaks out onto his clothes. She's ruining a gloriously gory kill. This was also her intention. Angelus picks up Justine's body and tosses it to the ground. Her hands are still clasped together, making it look like she died praying. Almost like some early Christian martyr who was horribly killed by heathen savages.
ANGELUS: Been a while since I worked the eyes. Usually I used a spoon. So much less mess. But Justine. Justine. You were always a mess. Rather fitting, I suppose.
Then he hears her voice again in his head.
CORDY: Is my bad man feeling good again?
ANGELUS: I was savoring a kill. Do you mind? This is a very private moment.
CORDY: They'll be plenty of time to savor your next kill. Trust me. He'll be worth it.
ANGELUS: Enough with the pronouns. I'm not in the mood for surprises.
CORDY: I've decided that three men is one more than I can handle.
Dawn is in her bedroom, talking on the phone.
KIT: You going to the party?
DAWN: No. I have plans. With Connor.
KIT: Really!? Way to go Dawny. What sort of plans does he have in mind? (demon fighting, of course.)
DAWN: You know. Hanging out. Talking.
KIT: Why don't you bring him?
DAWN: I don't think he likes crowds.
KIT: Or he wants to be alone with you.
DAWN: Kit, come one. It's not like that. This isn't a date. He's not my boyfriend. Not even close.
KIT: Bet you wish he was.
DAWN: So. Doesn't mean I want to push things too far, wig him out. I don't even know if he likes me that way.
KIT: He asked you out. On a Friday night. Need I say more?
DAWN: With Connor, yes. In case you haven't noticed, he's not like other guys. He's more than a little odd.
KIT: That's not always a bad thing. Just don't bring any green kryptonite in your purse, and I'm sure everything will go great.
Spike is asleep in his crypt. He hears the television. Connor's entered, and he's surfing through the channels.
SPIKE: Bugger all. Can't a man rest in peace in his own bloody crypt? Just because you don't need an invitation doesn't mean you can barge in any time you bloody well please.
CONNOR: At least you don't sleep in a coffin. Do vampires really do that?
SPIKE: Only the sorriest of the lot.
CONNOR: And that doesn't include you?
SPIKE Keep that up, and I'll give you something to go crying home to mommy about.
It would be delightful if that could actually happen. Darla wasn't very fond of Spike to begin with.
CONNOR: Just saying. You live in a tomb. You're halfway there.
SPIKES: Helps to have your ear to the ground in this town. Live in some post-modern nightmare mansion on the hill, and maybe you arrive a little late when the next big bad starts snacking on the locals. You must have come here for a better reason than to slag my flat.
Connor pauses. He doesn't know what slag means, and flat seems out of place in that context.
CONNOR: I dunno. Thought we could train.
SPIKE: So you're a masochist. Sounds like you need to find yourself a sadist. Currently, that's not my cup-a-tea.
Connor had the best sadist Spike ever knew in Angelus. Which is one of the reasons Connor skipped town. Connor peruses Spike's things.
CONNOR: Got anything good to read? "Either/Or"? Either or what?
SPIKE: That's Kierkegaard. Great sense of humor. Wrote a whole book celebrating a guy who tried to kill his son.
Connor puts the book back. He decides he doesn't like Kierkegaard. Holtz told Connor lots of Bible stories, but specifically avoided the one where God tells Abraham to murder his miracle child Isaac. Thought that might be too traumatic for miracle child Connor.
CONNOR: "Beyond Good and Evil." Sounds like it's about vampires.
SPIKE: That's what plenty of bloodsuckers like to think. Too bad the sad sack who wrote it didn't know about our kind. Probably woulda wanted to join up. Sure beats dying of syphilis.
Connor doesn't know that's what Darla was dying from. Of course Spike wasn't even referring to her.
CONNOR: Need something to pass the time. Forgot how boring daytime can be.
He takes the book and heads back home to read it.
SPIKE: That is the last boy who should be reading Nietzsche. Talk about creating a monster.
Spike shrugs and goes back to sleep.
Next: Angelus visits Our Lady of the Angels. Plus, Buffy gets her first excuse to kick Connor's ass.