Angelus rolls down his windows and puts the top down. He cruises slowly through the streets. On the radio is Train's "Calling all you Angels." (Angelus has a sense of humor) To him, Sunnydale is an embarrassment of riches. He doesn't know where to start. And he's working against the clock. Then he finds himself driving past a playground. His old whimsy returns. He parks and gets out. A six year-old girl is on the swings. Her mother is behind her, pushing her until she's high enough to push herself. She leaps off the swing and lands on her feet. She looks up and sees Angelus. He's holding a flower. She looks behind the swings.
ANGELUS: What's your name?
MARIGOLD: Marigold.
ANGELUS: That's a very pretty name.
MARIGOLD: Where's my mommy?
ANGELUS: She's nearby. Want me to take you to her?
MARIGOLD: Okay.
Angelus reaches down. Marigold reaches up and grabs onto his hand.
When the sun set, Spike made his way over to Buffy's house.
SPIKE: What's on tap for tonight?
GILES: It's a day of rest.
WILLOW: Don't you remember? We take the day after an apocalypse off.
SPIKE: Does evil take the night off?
BUFFY: Spike, you need to rest. You were mauled last night.
SPIKE: Right. My battle scars. [pulls up his shirt. Shows Anya.]
ANYA: Holy moly! You like you've been –
SPIKE: Eaten? I was.
Those who don't know the story look kind of shocked.
AMANDA: Can I see? [looks a little excited]
Buffy is not pleased with a Potential viewing Spike as a sexual object. Only she (and sometimes Anya) gets to do that.
He shows the Potentials. Spike always likes attention.
WILLOW: Were all of you eaten?
BUFFY: Wood was swallowed. But he didn't get bit.
MOLLY: Not bad. [Kennedy looks at her funny] I mean the wounds.
RONA: [whispers to Molly] And the abs ain't that bad either. [Rona, Molly, Vi and Amanda giggle.]
Angelus walks through the pedestrian mall where Spike went looking for girls when he was under the control of the First. He goes over to the dance club where Buffy asked the bouncer if he had seen Spike, and the bouncer mentioned a "Billy Idol look-alike." About a dozen people wait outside the door. The bouncer waves Angelus right in. He is wearing black leather pants, a white tank top, and a short black leather coat. It's happy hour. The after- work crowd is there. Lots of people drink, but no one's dancing. The jukebox plays Graham Parker's "Passion is no Ordinary Word:"
"Say, how's it feel? Real useless, ain't it?
Wait until it bites right down inside you.
The world is easy when you're just playing around with it.
Everything's a thrill, and every girl's a kill.
And then it gets unreal, and then you don't feel anything."
Angelus spots a young woman with short blonde hair at the bar. He glances furtively at her. Doesn't take him long to catch her attention. He goes over. She looks a little nervous.
LESLIE: I'm here with someone. He's, he's making a call. He'll be right back.
ANGELUS: Lucky man. Having you for a girlfriend.
LESLIE: We're not – I mean – this is our first date.
ANGELUS: Huh. I just figured, with someone like you, I wouldn't allow myself to get distracted by work. You've just met, and already he doesn't have time for you.
LESLIE: That's sweet of you, –
ANGELUS: Angelus. And you?
LESLIE: Leslie. But really, I'm –
ANGELUS: Afraid. I understand.
Angelus touches her hair, then runs his hand down the small of her back. He's very good at this. He's had a lot of practice. Leslie doesn't stand a chance. He can feel her tremble. She's fighting. But soom she'll melt.
The guy comes back. Early 30s. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Angelus's height, but his shoulders are narrower. Not bad looking. Wears a suit with the tie loosened and the top button unbuttoned. Dime a dozen. He gives Angelus a scornful look.
BRIAN: Hey buddy. Scram.
ANGELUS: So this is the lucky fellow.
LESLIE: Brian, we were just talking, He was just –
ANGELUS: Leaving.
Angelus whispers something in Leslie's ear. She laughs. Brian looks pretty pissed. He gets up.
BRIAN: I told you to leave us alone.
ANGELUS: Will you excuse us?
Angelus knows he's close to making Leslie forget all about Brian. He takes Brian by the back of his neck and drags him over to the hallway in back where the bathrooms are. He does it in a way that doesn't look too suspicious.
ANGELUS: Okay Brian. This is your lucky day. You leave now. I don't kill you. [Brian laughs. He doesn't know how generous Angelus's offer is.]
BRIAN: Who the hell do you think you are? And what's with the getup? You trying out for the Village People?
Angelus glances around, makes sure no one's watching, then snaps Brian's neck. He kicks open the rear exit and tosses Brian's body in the dumpster.
ANGELUS: I gave him a chance. Tried to be nice about it. He wouldn't listen to reason.
Angelus walks back over to Leslie.
ANGELUS: Brian had to take another call. Something came up. Probably be better if you try again with him tomorrow.
Leslie looks at Angelus. She knows she should know better. But he's gorgeous. She wasn't that crazy about Brian. And who can blame her for not wanting to pass up this opportunity?
LESLIE: And what about tonight?
ANGELUS: This town's dead on a Sunday. Let's head someplace where there's life.
He smiles. She gets up. Angelus leaves with his arm around Leslie. The bouncer sees him, and remembers he only entered a few minutes ago.
BOUNCER: Looks like Billy Idol's got some competition.
Angelus doesn't hear this. He heads down the street with Leslie. She's definitely going for the bad boy thing. He ducks with her down an empty side street and kisses her. She goes with the moment. Then he bites down and drains her. He loved the instant when she realized this was going very, very wrong. He tosses Leslie into an alley and walks back to his car. He gets in and goes driving down Main Street. Walking along the sidewalk to Angelus's right is Peter. Angelus slows down when he nears Peter. Then he parks his and walks up to the lad.
ANGELUS: The saliva of a Hermeus demon. Not matter how much you scrub, you can't get out the smell.
PETER: Leave me alone. [he walks faster. Angelus easily keeps pace.]
ANGELUS: Let me guess: you for the circle with your buddies and summon the demon and kill the girl so he'll give you riches. But instead, he bites you and takes off. Never trust a demon.
PETER: You're wrong. It would have worked –
ANGELUS: Oh! So you didn't even have the guts to kill the girl?
Peter starts to trust Angelus. He seems to know so much. And like Peter, he's obviously evil.
PETER: I was gonna. The stupid guidance counselor stopped us.
Angelus pauses for a few seconds.
ANGELUS: Buffy Summers is a guidance counselor! How? She hasn't even finished college.
PETER: You know her?
ANGELUS: Unfortunately. She's always messing up everyone's fun.
PETER: Tell me about it.
ANGELUS: So when did she get this new job?
PETER: Last fall. I think they wanted someone who can relate to the students.
ANGELUS: Or someone pretty enough to make the guys show up.
PETER: You got that right. I've heard weird things about her.
ANGELUS: Like what?
PETER: Like she's dating the Principal.
ANGELUS: What!? You're serious.
PETER: And that's why she got the job.
ANGELUS: Unbelievable! Sure, Buffy's always had a thing for older men. But sleeping with a guy to get a job? She must be real hard up for cash.
PETER: And she has this holier-than-thou attitude –
ANGELUS: Like she thinks she's better than everyone else, but you know she's got some skeletons in her closet. Bet you'd like to teach her a lesson.
PETER: You got something in mind?
ANGELUS: I do. You want in?
PETER: So spill it. This better be good.
ANGELUS: It's great. Eternal life. Forever young. Power beyond your wildest dreams.
PETER: [laughs] You mean like a vampire? You're joking, right?
Angelus goes bumpy.
ANGELUS: Does I look like I'm joking?
Peter gets terrified and tries to run away. Angelus grabs him and tosses him into a wall in an alley. Peter's shaking.
ANGELUS: Quit whimpering and take it like a man.
As Angelus drove towards the Bronze, he thought that maybe this was too easy. No signs of Buffy. It was like he literally could kill half the town without her noticing. But he worried about pressing his luck. She couldn't see him before the appointed time, and neither could Connor. If he ruined the surprise, everything would fall apart. Then again, he knew from experience that she didn't patrol immediately after sundown because vampires usually waited till later in the evening to feed. But Connor was different. He was obsessive. He wasn't at home, so he was probably out hunting. But Angelus could literally smell Connor from a mile away. And he could probably pick up Buffy's scent before she got close enough to see him. So Angelus decided to park and go into the Bronze. But first, he loitered outside, near some of the alleys which made such convenient feeding spots. He saw a redhead standing around. She looked very familiar. And then it hit him.
ANGELUS: Janice! Janice is that you? It's me, Angel. Buffy's old friend. I drove you home that one time when Joyce was gone and Buffy had to go out for an "emergency." You liked the convertible.
JANICE: Oh, of course! Now I remember. It's been a long time.
ANGELUS: You're telling me. You've really grown up. So are you still friends with Dawn?
JANICE: Not really.
ANGELUS: How come? I remember you two being best friends.
By making her Dawn's best friend, the monks wrote her into that period in Dawn's life when Angel was is town. The monks never considered that by giving Dawn friends they were creating collateral damage.
JANICE: We used to be. Then when we started going to the new high school, we lost touch. I got new friends. She got new friends. We grew apart.
ANGELUS: I know how that can happen. People change. Look at you. So much for little Janice with the pigtails and braces.
JANICE: Th-th-thanks. I guess. [Angelus touches her stomach.] What are you doing?
ANGELUS: Being friendly.
JANICE: This is a little weird, to say the least.
ANGELUS: So?
JANICE: So I knew you when I was 11.
ANGELUS: You're not 11 anymore.
His hands start groping around. He can tell she's torn. Part of her is revolted, and part of her is excited. Well, mostly she's revolted.
JANICE: Don't. Please.
ANGELUS: Stop me.
The tiny part of her that is excited, as well as the larger part of her which is afraid, prevents her from trying to push him away. He nibbles her right ear and the right side of her neck. He loves the smell of fear. Then he spots something interesting. He looks her in the eyes.
ANGELUS: You've been bitten before. [goes bumpy] Obviously he didn't know what he was doing.
Angelus bites down. Janice tries to scream, but the rapid loss of blood weakens her, and all she gets out is a whimper. She slowly sinks to the ground.
At this point Angelus concluded that he could kill with impunity during the 90-odd minutes he had left before his big reunion with Connor and Buffy. He enters the Bronze. It was repaired on Saturday. The band has not yet taken the stage. Playing on the loudspeaker is Siouxsie and the Banshees' cover of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger." Angelus heads up to the balcony to scope out his prospects. He lights a cigarette he took from Leslie. He rotates it back and forth between his right thump and index finger. He inhales and exhales and hears someone approaching him from behind. She's a young, attractive, vaguely tomboyish woman with short black hair. Angelus doesn't bother to turn around and look at her.
LINDA: Who should we kill first?
ANGELUS: Leave me alone.
LINDA: Just wanted to help.
ANGELUS: Do you know who I am?
LINDA: Of course. Why aren't you in LA?
ANGELUS: Why do you think I would waste my time talking with the likes of you?
He reaches back and puts out his cigarette in Linda's right eye. She goes bumpy and growls. Angelus turns around, grabs her, and throws her into the wall. He puts his right fist through a wooden table, and grabs one of the shards. He approaches Linda, and she looks afraid.
LINDA: Don't you wanna know who sired me?
ANGELUS: No. Because I know I didn't.
He stakes Linda and she turns to dust. Linda was sired the previous fall by Spike. This information might have been very useful to Angelus. He walks over to the side catwalk, where two teenagers are making out. It's such a cliche kill he almost doesn't want to bother. Then he remembers that tonight he's going for both quality and quantity. He walks up behind the guy, snaps his neck, and bites his girlfriend before the poor sap's body even hits the floor. She hardly has time to scream. After draining her, Angelus walks back downstairs. He scans the crowd for "potentials." He tries to see if he catches anyone's eye. He spots a young man who appears to be checking him out. He doesn't care how he gets the victim's attention. So he heads over.
ANGELUS: Hey.
The young man looks nervous.
SCOTT: Hey. This may sound lame, but haven't I seen you somewhere?
ANGELUS: Probably. I get around.
SCOTT: You dated a girl I knew in high school. Is that possible?
Angelus's face brightens up.
ANGELUS: Are you talking about Buffy Summers?
SCOTT: Yes! I knew you looked familiar.
ANGELUS: You knew Buffy?
SCOTT: Yeah. I even dated her for a while.
Angelus looks confused.
ANGELUS: You did? When?
SCOTT: Beginning of senior year.
Angelus remembers that was when he was still in Hell. So THIS was the first rebound guy.
ANGELUS: Something we have in common.
SCOTT: That was, of course, before I realized I was – you know.
ANGELUS: And did Buffy play any part in that? [he's just loving this]
SCOTT: Not really. She was a great girl. But she was difficult. Maybe she led me to conclude that women weren't worth the trouble.
ANGELUS: Buffy has that effect on men. She's a handful. High maintenance doesn't even begin to describe her. Would you like to take a walk? Get some air. Go someplace quiet and talk?
Scott smiles. Then he wonders.
SCOTT: When did you realize?
ANGELUS: My tastes have always been, well, ecumenical.
He's being purely literal of course. He drinks both men and women. If Scott misinterprets, well, all the better for Angelus. He wants Scott to walk to where his body will be dumped. Less work for Angelus. The spot's only two blocks away. Scott's shy, so he doesn't try to touch Angelus, which would have forced our villain to prematurely kill him. Angelus returns to the Bronze. He checks his watch and realizes he has time for one or two really good kills. He moves through the crowd and listens for something interesting – intelligence about Buffy or her friends, people connected to Buffy. He could easily seduce and off another pretty young woman. But this is about getting a kill with meaning. About 30 feet from where he's standing, Mike is talking with his friend Alex.
MIKE: We got along great. I waited a suitable period. Cassie wasn't my girlfriend, but I didn't want to seem like a jerk.
ALEX: Maybe you waited too long. You heard about how she was with RJ.
MIKE: You think she's easy?
ALEX: You shoulda seen her at the Breeder's show. Trust me – nobody was watching the band.
MIKE: That's the problem. She's hot and cold. But mostly cold.
ALEX: You're a magnet for flaky women.
MIKE: Dawn's not flaky. [Angelus's ears perk up]
ALEX: You're right. She's a spaz. Which is worse.
MIKE: Just like that new guy she's with.
ALEX: I know. What's his deal?
MIKE: Mental problems?
ALEX: That goes without saying. I'll be right back.
Alex goes off to the bathroom. Angelus approaches Mike.
ANGELUS: I couldn't help overhearing your dilemma regarding one of the Summers women. I'm an old family friend. Trust me. Buffy was the same way.
MIKE: You knew Buffy when she was in high school?
ANGELUS: Pretty well, actually. I hear she's working at the school?
MIKE: Guidance Counselor. Seems really protective of Dawn. Way too involved in her social life.
ANGELUS: Trust me. Buffy's bark is a lot worse than her bite. So how do you know Dawn?
MIKE: Started hanging out with me and Cassie a couple months ago. Right before Cassie died.
ANGELUS: Sorry to hear that. What was it?
MIKE: Brain hemorrhage. [Angelus was sorry to hear about a non-violent death in Sunnydale] After that, Dawn was pretty friendly. Then she just started disappearing now and then. And she was always with her sister. When I talked to her, it was like her mind was somewhere else. Then this Connor kid comes along.
Angelus is just loving where this is going.
ANGELUS: So this Connor became Dawn's boyfriend?
MIKE: I'm not sure. He came out of nowhere. Then he was with Dawn. And with like three other girls. [Angelus is beaming with pride. Finally, Connor's following in Liam's/Angelus's footsteps.] He's just a complete –
ANGELUS: Lady killer?
MIKE: Jerk. And he's psycho. Beats up people for no reason. Crushed this kid's hand. [Angelus is loving his boy right now. He imagines a violently anti-social, aggressively promiscuous Connor getting all the girls and breaking all the boys. He's full of paternal love.] And Principal Wood actually likes him. And he doesn't even take classes. At least I don't know anyone who's in any classes with him. And no last name? How messed-up is that?
Alex comes back.
MIKE: Hey Alex.
ALEX: Hey Mikey. Who's this?
ANGELUS: Friend of Dawn's. Old boyfriend of Buffy's.
ALEX: Lucky you.
ANGELUS: You'd think so. But, well, as I was explaining to Mikey, Buffy's even more of a head case than Dawny. Compared to her big sis, Dawn's normal.
ALEX: Really?
ANGELUS: Believe me. You have no idea. So what do you know about this Connor fellow?
ALEX: Saw him put a kid's head through a locker.
Connor was right. He is Angelus's son. Angelus hopes that maybe Connor's gone bad, he's trying to kill Buffy, and Angelus can help him do it. That would be the ultimate bonding experience.
ANGELUS: Sounds really strong. And handsome. The way the girls are falling for him.
ALEX: He's a skinny little runt. Probably hopped up on meth or something. Looks like a girl. [Angelus will make Alex pay dearly for these remarks]
ANGELUS: If Dawny's anything like Buffy, then she likes it rough. Care to hear some really embarrassing stories about your guidance counselor? Come outside.
Alex and Mike are somewhat eager to hear Angelus dish the dirt. Like everyone, they've heard vague rumors of Buffy's oddness, but no specifics. Once they get out in the open, Angelus turns around and floors Alex with a right hook. Then he grabs the frightened Mike.
ANGELUS: It's your lucky day, Mikey. I'm gonna give you what Connor has.
He bites down. When he's finished, Angelus tosses Mike in the trunk with Marigold, Peter and Janice. He puts Alex on top and closes the trunk. Then Angelus takes off, listening to the Rolling Stone's "Midnight Rambler." Not cause he likes the Stones, but because he likes songs about murderers. He soon hears Alex screaming and banging on the top of the trunk. Music to his ears. Kid's locked in a small space with four corpses. Must be scared out of his mind. Alex would be the good, slow kill Angelus was hoping for. He planned just to snap his neck before he sired Mike. That was before Alex started insulting his flesh and blood. After ten minutes, the noises stopped. Alex had passed out due to lack of oxygen and hysteria. When he woke up, he was sitting on a concrete floor in an unfamiliar building. Gazing down at him serenely was Angelus. Alex screamed at the top of his lungs. Angelus had taken him to the factory.
ANGELUS: Scream all you want. No one can hear you, Alex.
He grabs Alex's nose, twists it and breaks it. The pain causes tears to well up in Alex's eyes.
ALEX: Why are you doing this to me?
ANGELUS: Because it makes me happy. And please do scream all you want. That makes me even happier. I've always loved a good, slow torturing. Who doesn't? But I forgot to bring my tools. No razors. No corkscrews. Not even a chainsaw. Nothing but my cold, dead hands. But this could be a blessing. Forces me to get back to basics. And what's more basic than fingers?
Pulls back Alex's right pinky, snapping it. Alex screams and cries. About ten seconds later, Angelus breaks his right ring finger. More wailing and tears.
ANGELUS: Look on the bright side, Alex. Only eight left. Maybe I should give your upper body a rest.
Stabs the fingers on his right hand through Alex's left kneecap. He screams bloody murder. It echoes off the walls and the high ceiling.
ANGELUS: I had forgotten how excellent the acoustics were in this building. Course back then, this was the home of some obsessive-compulsive English twit who never knew how to have any fun. He couldn't to stop and smell the jasmine. Or appreciate the terrified stare of a boy who's just realized that he's about to die.
Angelus goes bumpy. Alex looks even more frightened than before. Angelus bites him and drinks for a few seconds. Then he pulls back.
ANGELUS: All that screaming made me thirsty. Don't worry. I'm not through with you yet. You haven't even begged for me to kill you. And if you don't do that, it's just not any fun. Well will you look at that? Your left hand's completely intact. I can fix that for you.
Pulls back Alex's left pinky. More screaming and crying.
ANGELUS: By the way, speaking of feminine, you scream like a girl.
Angelus stomps on his right kneecap.
ANGELUS: Symmetry. Which reminds me.
Breaks his left ring finger.
ANGELUS: Didn't I tell you to beg!? Now which side is the spleen on? I forget. Nope. I remember.
Punches him in the gut. The spleen bursts. Alex wants to pull his hand in towards his stomach, but he can't on account of his broken fingers. The agony's getting to be too much. Angelus knows that in five more minutes he'll be begging for it to end. And all because a father wanted to stick up for his son.
Around nine, Connor comes over to Buffy's house. He's wearing faded jeans and a brown t-shirt. Buffy told Robin at lunch that she was taking the night off. He walks over to Spike, who's sitting near the back of the living room. The Potentials are in the front half, watching television.
CONNOR: Wanna go hunting?
SPIKE: What exactly did you have in mind?
CONNOR: Vampires.
SPIKE: Go on.
CONNOR: The caves. Some of them nest there. We take em by surprise.
SPIKE: Sounds like a gas. What do you have for backup?
CONNOR: Robin's coming along. I think we can get the job done, even without Buffy.
SPIKE: Try to keep Woody out of trouble. He has a knack for biting off more than he can chew.
CONNOR: Don't worry. I got his back.