Its eight in the evening. Buffy is in the living room, trying to decide on her plan of action for the night.
BUFFY: They want the Potentials. Tell me why we should give the enemy what they want.
GILES: Because you and Faith -
BUFFY: And Spike.
GILES: Will then be outnumbered and massacred.
BUFFY: By the handful of Reapers they've thrown at us?
GILES: You know there are more out there.
BUFFY: Maybe they don't all attack at once. Have all the vampires in town ever attacked me at once?
GILES: Vampires don't have a purpose. The Reapers do.
BUFFY: I know. To prepare the way for something. Face it Giles, they're the opening act. And my job is to kill them and keep the girls out of danger until the main event shows up.
GILES: Mixed metaphors aside, I don't want you walking into a trap. If you and Faith are gone, who can protect them?
BUFFY: Way ahead of you. We go out and hunt. If we find more than we can handle, we run home. These guys are fast, but we can keep a step ahead of them. Have the Potentials ready. If you see us, bring them into action. They come out and help us ambush the Reapers in the front yard. If things get too tough, they can always retreat indoors.
GILES: I would feel more comfortable if I could come along in my van. Then, if trouble arises, you and Faith can hop in. Also, if the two of you are ever surrounded -
BUFFY: If the THREE of us.
GILES: I can drive into the melee, run over a few Reapers, and pick you up and plow our way out of danger.
BUFFY: We still need someone here in charge of the Potentials.
GILES: Kennedy's a capable leader.
In the kitchen, Andrew is annoying Faith.
ANDREW: We're more alike than you think.
FAITH: You mean like how you have the hots for Lindsey?
ANDREW: I do not! You take that back.
FAITH: Someone's wicked deep in denial.
ANDREW: And you're eager to change the subject. A little too eager. We've both given in to our darker natures. We both know what if feels like to take a human life.
FAITH: You, me and Charles Manson. You think he's also your kindred spirit?
ANDREW: And we are both on a quest for redemption.
FAITH: Quest? What fantasy world are you living in? I'm doing my job. You're doing – I don't know what you're doing. Except driving everyone nuts.
ANYA: He's also a human shield and/or sacrificial lamb. In case saving the world requires ritual human sacrifice. It has in the past.
Someone outside starts banging on the front door.
CARMELITA: Ayudame! Ayudame!!
Buffy runs into the hallway and opens the door. The moment she twists the doorknob, a Reaper standing on the sidewalk throws his hat at Carmelita, the teenage girl standing on the porch. The blades under the hat's brim slice through Carmelita's neck as Buffy opens the door. The hat sails within an inch of Buffy's nose and lodges itself into the banister. The severed head rolls into the foyer. The Potentials see it, and are naturally horrified. Faith runs over to the weapons chest and grabs a broad sword. She throws this to Buffy. The Reaper runs away. Faith takes her Reaper dagger-and-sword and joins Buffy in chasing the demon. Spike rips the hat out of the banister and runs outside. Giles is left to deal with the aftermath. This attack was intended to hurt morale, and making the Potentials witness the violent death of a teenage girl can't help but achieve that goal. Spike goes straight to Cecil's house. Cecil stands under the lights under his rear colonnade, perusing that day's Financial Times. Spike grabs him and pushes Cecil into one of the white fluted wooden columns.
CECIL: A little early. Since when did you wear a hat?
Spike takes off the hat and swings it towards Cecil's neck, making a small cut. Cecil grabs the wound.
CECIL: They had one of those in "Goldfinger." Except it was a Bowler. That's a Fedora.
SPIKE: You better have what I want.
CECIL: [smirks] Why would you think I had Buffy?
Spike punches Cecil in the nose.
SPIKE: I am very bloody serious.
CECIL: Man have you changed. I'll go in and get it, Mister Grumpy. Meet me in the hedges.
Spike looks out across the backyard. Beyond the lighted pool is a maze of hedges. The paths between the hedges are lit. He wonders if Cecil sets people loose in the labyrinth and then hunts them down. That's what he would've done if he were still evil. A few minutes later, Spike meets Cecil in the maze. Cecil hands Spike a sheet of paper.
CECIL: These Reapers are very easy to find. They throw demons out of their lairs and nest pretty much anywhere they want. Best as I can tell, there are more than a dozen of them in town. Sunnydale is thirty square miles in area, and the Reapers are using every acre. They've spread out. None of them are within two miles of another. The X's are ones I've spotted personally. The O's are confirmed by more than one demon. The P's are confirmed by only one demon.
SPIKE: Demons aren't in the habit of doing favors for vampires.
CECIL: Demons are also very cheap. All I had to do was slip them a twenty. For me, that's wrapping paper.
SPIKE: Tomorrow night, eight o'clock, behind Willy's.
CECIL: Make it McGee's. I don't think either of us want to be near that many demons.
Spike takes the piece of paper and runs off. Cecil walks back to the house and sees his girlfriend dive into the pool. He decides to check out a boys' high school soccer game in a neighboring town. His girl likes it when her food's splashing around as she bites it. After chasing the Reaper for more than a mile, Buffy forces him into a dead end. The Reapers are new in town and don't know all the alleys. He leaps on top of a dumpster, jumps up from the dumpster and grabs the roof. Buffy leaps up, takes hold of his legs and pulls him down. Both of them fall to the ground, roll and stand up. The Reaper pulls out his weapons. He sees Buffy on his right and Faith on his left. He swings his sword at Buffy. When she blocks it, he spins around and stabs for Faith with his dagger. She blocks it. He swings his sword for her neck. Faith ducks and stabs the demon in the chest with her sword. He spins and downs her with a left roundhouse kick. Buffy comes at him from behind. The demon quickly spins the other way and knocks Buffy's sword to the ground with a right roundhouse kick. The Reaper stabs for the unarmed Slayer's heart. Buffy grabs his right arm and throws the demon onto his back. She picks up her sword and hacks downward. The Reaper rolls away and stands up. Buffy's swords smashes into the pavement. Faith jumps off Buffy's back and knocks the demon into the wall with a flying right kick. He stabs with his dagger, then his sword. Faith is quick enough to step back and block both attempts with her weapons. While the Reaper's weapons are entangled with Faith's, Buffy swings her sword. The blade clips the top of Faith's hair and decapitates the Reaper. Faith is a little unnerved. It takes her a few seconds to catch her breath.
FAITH: Almost got two birds with that stone, B.
BUFFY: No I didn't. Hitting you would've taken too much speed out of the blade.
FAITH: So it was him or me.
BUFFY: Good thing for both of us you kept your knees bent and didn't try to stand up straight.
FAITH: Good thing for you I drew his fire.
BUFFY: Couldn't have done it without you.
FAITH: Same here. You made a pretty decent vault.
They notice two people walking by and try to conceal their weapons.
BUFFY: Maybe we should get back to the girls.
FAITH: Should we bring him?
Buffy pick up his severed head.
BUFFY: Just this.
FAITH: Don't forget about these. [Faith takes his weapons] Too bad these guys weren't around the last time we were rolling together. Wouldn't have needed to rob that place.
BUFFY: It's nice when the demons leave gifts.
They walk out of the alley. Faith gives Buffy two of her weapons to put in her belt and hide under Buffy's coat. Once they're out on the street. Buffy also tries to conceal the head beneath her coat. Faith, who doesn't have a coat, keeps her dagger and sword on her belt, practically daring passers-by to stare. They don't, since the weapons make Faith look even more intimidating that usual. Spike decides not to wait. He enters the sewers, looks at Cecil's map under the light of his Zippo, and finds his way to the nearest X. The Reaper sees a man in a long coat with a Fedora on his head coming out of the darkness. He can sense that this guy isn't one of his own. The Reapers walks towards Spike. He can hear the Reaper pull out his weapons. They stand twenty feet apart. The Reaper leaps at the vampire. Spike stands still. He takes off the hat and flings it at the Reaper, beheading the demon when he is fifteen feet away. The head and body splash into the three inches of water at the bottom of the storm sewer. Spike checks his hair, making sure the hat didn't mess it up. That's why he never wore one when they were in style. Spike picks up the head.
SPIKE: Girls always like a thoughtful gift.
Angel walks into Connor's room. He's leaning back on his bed, watching The Sopranos.
ANGEL: What is this? I don't have HBO.
CONNOR: It's a DVD.
ANGEL: Oh. Wait. I don't have a DVD player!
CONNOR: I do. Brought it over from my old place.
ANGEL: How did you get a DVD?
CONNOR: Scavenging.
ANGEL: Where? Inside a Radio Shack?
CONNOR: Vampire's nest. You never took from you prey?
ANGEL: Demons are not prey. So the vampire also had this show?
CONNOR: No. I borrowed it from the library.
ANGEL: Libraries are supposed to have books. And educational things. Not . . . graphic entertainment that glorifies criminality.
CONNOR: I also got a book.
Connor points to his night stand. Angel looks and sees Sartre's "Being and Nothingness." Angel's dormant heart swells with pride.
ANGEL: You've read that? You like reading that sort of thing?
CONNOR: Just the first thirty pages so far. It's okay.
ANGEL: Then turn that off. No more tv until you finish the book. House rules.
Connor looks up at Angel and smirks.
CONNOR: Since when?
ANGEL: Since always. I mean, that's what they were going to be. When you were old enough to read. [Angel looks longingly into the distance. Connor decides to throw his dad a bone.]
CONNOR: I read all day.
ANGEL: Really? What did you read?
CONNOR: A couple history books. Why are you riding me so hard?
ANGEL: I'm just curious about what my son likes. And I'm glad that you like to read and learn stuff you don't need to. Reminds me a little of myself.
CONNOR: Take that back.
ANGEL: God forbid you're anything like your old man.
Connor restarts the show, which he had paused when Angel entered. Angel sees a framed picture on the dresser.
ANGEL: Well she, certainly looks a lot different than I remembered. Four years is a long time. Who are these other people?
CONNOR: Kit and Eli. Kit's Dawn's best friend. Eli's her boyfriend. He's cool. I like hanging out with him.
ANGEL: So he's your friend?
CONNOR: Yeah.
ANGEL Does he know?
CONNOR: My history? Yeah. He's cool with it. It's nice to have someone to talk to who isn't a demon fighter.
ANGEL: I see how it could be refreshing to chat to a normal kid. Though I'm surprised he's so blase about who you are.
CONNOR: Eli doesn't care. He likes me cause he thinks I'm a good person. And he's coming here for college. So then we can hang out even more. And Dawn and Kit can come up, so the four of us will be hanging out together again. We have a lot of fun together.
Angel realized what was going on. Connor wasn't just trying to date Dawn. He was also trying to become friends with her friends. He was putting down roots and going completely against his anti-social nature. This didn't bode well for Angel's hope that Connor would move past Buffy's sister. He looked at the picture for a few more seconds. Kit was tall and pale, with black hair and black lipstick. Elijah was short and scrawny with light blonde hair. And then it hit Angel: if Connor wanted Dawn, why didn't he want to be alone with her? Why did he also want to be with her friends? Because they were a gang, or a pack, or a quartet. Like Angelus's old quartet. Now that was frightening. Angel turns away from the picture and looks at the television. Two men attack Tony while he's driving down the street. He gets shot once, but manages, after a sloppy fight, to kill the two assailants and drive away.
ANGEL: Why do you watch this?
CONNOR: It's something different. You know, from our life.
ANGEL: I suppose it is. Evil wins. The innocent get blown away. Helpless young women are abused with impunity, and no one's there to save them.
CONNOR: That's why it's interesting.
ANGEL: You like watching women get abused?
CONNOR: No. I like seeing how the bad guys operate. It makes me think. I mean, if Wolfram & Hart had hired these guys, we'd all be dead by now.
ANGEL: Of course. Why didn't I see it earlier? We can defeat world-destroying apocalypse demons, but would get crushed by organized crime.
CONNOR: You agree with me.
ANGEL: I was being sarcastic. And for the record I have personally defeated at least one very powerful mobster.
CONNOR: Since when did LA have decent mafia? A Blood or a Crip, that would be something to brag about.
ANGEL: Why do you know so much about criminals?
CONNOR: Turn on the tv sometime.
ANGEL: That's one of the reasons I don't like you watching so much television. And no way could Tony Soprano kill me. [looks up at the ceiling, exasperated] I can't believe I'm having this conversation.
CONNOR: Sure he would kill you. He'd just wait until you were out patrolling and drive by. You wouldn't notice. Just another car. Then someone pulls down a window, hits you with a couple tranq darts. They toss you in the trunk, drive you someplace secluded and cut your head off.
ANGEL: You put way too much thought into that.
CONNOR: I'm just saying, you're lucky not to have enemies like him.
ANGEL: Or you.
CONNOR: [smiles bashfully] Thanks.
ANGEL: I didn't mean it as a compliment.
CONNOR: I won't hurt you. Dawn says I should be nice to you.
ANGEL: Is that the only reason?
CONNOR: People need family. You're the only family I got. Plus you're good at hunting. Wanna go out tonight?
Angel pulls up the back of Connor's shirt and sees the purple bruise on his lower back from where Dru repeatedly kicked him.
ANGEL: How bout tomorrow, when you're 100 percent.
CONNOR: I'm okay.
ANGEL: You'll be more okay tomorrow night. Besides, there isn't much out there tonight.
Spike returns thirty minutes after Buffy and Faith came back to the house. He proudly holds up his trophy.
SPIKE: Look what I got. [Spike sees a Reaper head on the dining room table] Bugger.
BUFFY: Oh. You got another. Good.
GILES: A Reaper attacked YOU?
SPIKE: No. I came after it. Tracked it down in the sewers. That's where they're hiding out.
BUFFY: How many?
SPIKE: Only saw this one.
BUFFY: But now you know its scent. So you can track the others.
SPIKE: I can try. It's a very faint scent.
BUFFY: No point staying here doing nothing.
Spike checked out a few of the other places on Cecil's map, but the Reapers had already fled. He doesn't realize that his killing scared the others off.
GILES: Go along. We'll be fine in here.
Dawn checks the head Spike just brought in with a magnifying glass.
DAWN: This one's a lot more legible than the others. No dirt. No scarring. Thanks Spike. But next time, remember to cut off the hands.
Spike's a little wigged by Dawny's ho-hum attitude about freshly severed demon parts. So, of course, is Buffy.
DAWN: Hey! It's oozing on the table. Andrew, can you clean this one out? [she holds out the head towards the kitchen] Andrew, I'm waiting! If you don't want Reaper guts dripping on the carpet -
He quickly comes up and takes the head, carrying it over to the sink. Faith walks up to Spike and whispers something into his ear.
SPIKE: No. She became scary long before she met him.
The two episodes Connor rented are over. The credits roll as Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" plays on the tv speakers. Connor stands up and walks towards the television. Cordelia enters. Connor turns the tv off.
CORDY: If you don't want to see me, I understand.
CONNOR: Come in. I'm not mad at you.
CORDY: You should be.
CONNOR: I'm over it.
CORDY: SInce when?
CONNOR: You know.
Cordelia looks at the pictures on the dresser.
CORDY: Ohhh. Since her.
CONNOR: She likes you.
CORDY: That was nice of those monks. What does Dawn say about me?
CONNOR: She said you told her she had great skin, just like her mother. [laughs] And that, at first, you thought that skipped a generation in her family. But you were you wrong. It just skipped Buffy!
Cordelia laughs.
CORDY: Those monks really knew their stuff. [laughs some more] I like that one. I'll have to use it for real when we finally really meet. [picks up a picture of Dawn] She's pretty. A whole lot prettier than Buffy.
CONNOR: Glad someone else finally noticed that.
CORDY: You two look good together. It's nice to see you smiling and happy for a very drastic change.
CONNOR: Be nice to see you happy.
CORDY: [sighs] Don't hold your breath.
CONNOR: It doesn't make sense. Everything with you happens the opposite way it should.
CORDY: Thanks for trying, but I don't deserve your sympathy.
CONNOR: Why Xander?
CORDY: As regrets go, that's way down the list for me.
CONNOR: What did you see in him? I mean, what good stuff?
CORDY: Well, for starters, I saw him in a Speedo – which you probably don't want to hear about. He wasn't like other guys my age.
CONNOR: They were probably smarter and stronger and better-looking.
CORDY: And all of them would scream and run if a vampire attacked me. Xander was brave. And funny. Even if he was a badly-dressed loser. Look Connor, there are some things which don't make sense when you look back, but made complete sense at the time. It's wrong to take things out of context.
CONNOR: He didn't deserve you, he was lucky you liked him, but he betrayed you. And the sick thing is he keeps doing it. There should be a place in Hell for men like that.
CORDY: That's sweet of you to say. In a sick way, I mean. Xander suffers enough when he ends up alone and realizes what a sad, pathetic wretch he is.
CONNOR: I missed you. Even when I was mad at you.
CORDY: Thanks. I missed you too.
CONNOR: Things should be good now that I'm over you.
Cordy pauses before replying to this barbed compliment.
CORDY: That's one of the things I like about you, Connor. You say what you feel. [Cordy smiles] Like me. [Connor also smiles] Except without my skillful command of the English language. [Connor scowls]
CONNOR: I thought you said I was good with words?
CORDY: Sweet talk? Yes. Insults? Not quite.
CONNOR: [smirks] Or maybe I'm just a nice guy who doesn't like hurting people's feelings.
CORDY: I hope not. I'd hate to see you go dull.
CONNOR: Don't worry. I won't. What's going on tonight? I heard you guys talking downstairs about something.
CORDY: We're just going through bills and books and getting this place back on its feet again. It's been a long, crazy couple of weeks.
At midnight, Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Wes and Fred get out of Cordy's SUV. They are on the campus of Fred's former university.
CORDY: It would be nice if you would tell us why we're here.
FRED: You'll see.
GUNN: I've seen a lotta things at this school. All of them bad.
FRED: It's been a couple years. Hopefully, my prox card will still work.
She puts the card up against the sensor, which flashes green. Fred smiles and opens the door to the science building. Everyone follows her as she snakes her way down a few hallways and a flight of stairs before stopping at a door with a large glass pane in the middle. Next to the door is a keypad.
FRED: Let's see. It's Stuart's wedding anniversary. That would be . . . what would it be again?
ANGEL: If that doesn't work, I can just break through the glass.
FRED: And set off the alarm!
ANGEL: Big deal. I can knock a couple security guards out.
FRED: Does everything you do have to have a body count!?
ANGEL: Sorry. I just wanted to help. And I think the stakes are high enough for us to run those risks.
FRED: Or, you could shut up and let me think. [five seconds pass. Fred types in the code. It's correct] Yes! [does a little happy dance] What? I can't get giddy?
Fred opens the door and turns on the lights. She takes a left and stops in front of a glass-enclosed room with a metal machine in the center.
WES: A high-powered electromagnet. Of course.
FRED: If this doesn't hold our evil angel, nothing will.
ANGEL: Can you try not to use that word?
Fred rubs his back, showing both affection and condescension.
FRED: You do know you're not the only angel? Your name is kinda in the public domain.
Cordy wonders if Fred's trying to move into her old catty corner and become the woman Angel depends on. She certainly is expropriating Cordy's flirtatious teasing. But Cordy's mind quickly returns to far more pressing matters.
CORDY: Do I summon him before or after you turn that on?
FRED: It hasta be before. Once he appears, I flip the switch. If he's as metallic as you say, he won't be goin' anywhere.
Cordelia goes over the summoning incantation in her head a few times before reciting it. Skip appears inside the room which is separated from Cordy and her friends by a pane of glass. Skip glances around.
SKIP: This is new scenery. Who's your decorator, Stanley Kubrick?
Fred puts it on full power. Skip sees Cordelia.
SKIP: Cordelia! Isn't this a surprise.
He gets nervous and tries to teleport out of there. Instead, he is pulled ten feet backwards. His back slams into the magnet. He tries again. It's no use. His arms are pulled back almost out of their sockets. His chin ring shoots straight out and presses in against his chin. The metal on his head and chest presses into his flesh. For a second, it looks like he's going to be crushed by his own armor. Skip cries out in pain.
CORDY: It's too strong!
FRED: You think it's gonna kill him?
CORDY: No! But we won't be able to hear him!! It's too damn loud!!!
Fred takes it down to one-quarter of maximum power. The noise level drops from a deafening roar to a loud hum. Skip is still grimacing, but stops screaming. He is breathing fast, and appears to be badly wounded.
SKIP: Eviscerating me with my own skin! Cordy, have you considered a future as a Vengeance Demon? I know a few people who can make that happen.
Cordelia enters the chamber. Angel follows behind her, just in case. Fred has the mics and speakers on so she, Wes and Gunn can hear what is said.
CORDELIA: This isn't about vengeance. Not yet.
SKIP: Cordy's getting her bitch on. It's good to see that side of you again. The whole saint-in-white thing was a bit much. Besides, you looked awful as a blonde.
ANGEL: If I were in your position, I'd be trying a lot less wisecracking and a little more begging.
SKIP: Liar. The only thing you'd beg for is for your four-eyed Lab Bunny to turn the power up, so I could suffer more.
Fred turns it back to full power for five seconds, then pulls it back down. Wes and Gunn look at her.
FRED: I'll show him not to call me lab bunny.
As usual, these two men find Fred even hotter when she's taking charge and kicking ass.
CORDY: You're going to answer my questions. If I think you're telling the whole truth, you leave in one piece. If not, you stay. And you start losing body parts.
Skip looks over Cordy's shoulder at glowering Angel.
SKIP: Unless he's got a plastic sword, he ain't cutting them off. Which means he plans to tear them off. So that's the kinda thing you girls go for in a man.
CORDY: Why was I sent back evil?
SKIP: Because you broke the rules. You abused your power and interfered.
ANGEL: Cordy disobeys orders, and you punish the city of Los Angeles?
SKIP: The Powers do love collective guilt. And they hate hubris. Did you really think you were Divine Being material? That stairway to Heaven was one big ego trip for you.
CORDY: It wasn't as if you gave me a choice.
SKIP: You didn't try to say no.
CORDY: You stopped time! If that doesn't scream "Offer You Can't Refuse," I don't know what does.
SKIP: [sighs] Very well. We'll see if you can handle the truth. The Powers don't care about you, Cordy. They only care about Angel. You're expendable. Just like Doyle. Just like everyone else who gets caught up in Angel's orbit. [he looks above Cordy's and Angel's heads so he can make momentary eye contact with Wes, Fred and Gunn] You're pawns. Cannon fodder. Tools we can use to get a rise out of Angel.
ANGEL: So the Powers don't care about the fight against evil.
SKIP: You say that like they're all of one mind. Powers is plural, Einstein. And some of them like playing games. Cruel games. But ones where the good team wins in the end. As for the casualties, they don't care. Couple thousand humans are like flies on the windshield to those fellas. Sorry to burst your bubble. But you have to admit it was a good joke. Making sure Cordy couldn't stop your son from throwing you overboard. Then programming her to ravage the boy, raise a stone demon, blot out the sun and take away your soul. You're like that Coyote who chases the Woodpecker. Every time an anvil falls on you, it's freakin' hilarious.
ANGEL: If you want to leave here alive -
SKIP: I'm telling you what you want to know, hoss! So simmer down. And thank me for the favor I did you by nipping your Cordy infatuation in the bud. Just imagine if you had fallen for her. That would have really nixed your chances with the Slayer. You settle for Cordelia, she settles for that other vampire. Which, if you think about it, wouldn't have been so bad. Unless you're one of those hopeless romantics so caught up on true love he doesn't know a good thing when he's got it.
CORDY: Quit wasting my time.
ANGEL: We're not here for your color commentary.
SKIP: Commentary? Just the facts, Angie. You think she risked having her head blown apart so you two could just be friends? Or didn't it matter so long as she was useful.
CORDY: What happened to my visions?
SKIP: Angel has them. Although, he can't have them.
CORDY: You give me riddles, I'll just leave you here.
Fred takes the cue and turns it up on full power for ten seconds to give Skip a taste of what will happen if he keeps being uncooperative.
SKIP: Angel took the visions. But only living things can have them. As long as the power's stuck inside him, it's useless.
CORDY: Liar! You showed him having them.
SKIP: You thought that alternate reality was real? You as the Gen X Mary Tyler Moore! [laughs] I showed you what you wanted to see. You were conceited enough to assume it was the truth. [pauses] So am I done here?
ANGEL: That's up to me. [looks back at Fred] Turn it off.
CORDY: Angel, please don't. He's not worth it.
ANGEL: I just want a word with Skippy in private.
Cordelia can tell from Angel's intense glaring that he's made up his mind on this one. She walks out to join the others, closes the door and turns off the speakers so they can't hear what the two demons are talking about.
FRED: What's he doin'?
GUNN: Takin' out a few frustrations.
WES: He'll vanish before Angel gets the chance.
SKIP: What's this? Sticking up for your girl? One problem with that, chief. She ain't your girl.
ANGEL: One question, Skippy. When did you discover how much fun it was to be evil?
SKIP: You think I'm evil?
ANGEL: You get off on hurting people and watching them suffer.
SKIP: You're talking nonsense, cold blood. What person doesn't like knocking some self-righteous bastard who thinks he's better than everyone else down a peg? That ain't evil. It's called restoring the balance.
ANGEL: You got a problem with me, then go after me. Don't be a coward and take pot shots at my friends.
SKIP: Wasn't my call.
ANGEL: Only following orders?
SKIP: I refuse, I lose my eternal life, and they get someone else. Don't blame the messenger. And don't throw stones in a room with glass walls.
ANGEL: You're doing enough of that for the both of us.
SKIP: Just perfect. You want to kill me for telling the truth.
ANGEL: I want to kill you for putting someone I love through a living hell.
SKIP: Shame on you. Carelessly throwing around a word like that. No wonder she was confused. Cordy's life is a tragedy. But I'm not the one who wrote it. Who was it who said "the greatest tragedy in life is loving someone who doesn't love you"? I know I'm paraphrasing. Pretty sure she was from the 17th century. It's hard to remember all those old names. Know what I mean? Toodles, Champ.
Fred sees his body start to disintegrate. She turns the magnet back to full power. Angel leaves the room. Fred turns out the lights and the five of them leave the building. Skip's trapped alone, in the dark, in excruciating pain. When they get outside, Fred goes back to turn the machine off. When the light comes on, Skip is relieved. His armor's been trying to cut through his flesh for over a minute. Fred powers it down. Skip walks the pain off. Then he stands, grimacing in pain, and looks up at Fred.
SKIP: Give Cordy my thanks. If I knew it would be this much fun, I would've come down on my own.
Fred doesn't respond. She just scowls, turns the lights back off, and leaves. Skip smiles.
SKIP: It always starts with vengeance. [he disappears]