Kelly joins the fight in the nick of time. Angelus is delighted. Gunn, Wes and Fred battle Angelus's minions on their own. Connor gets clobbered by Angelus's Sirens and knocked out by Drusilla. And Gwen tells Buffy about her Angel(us)-related adventures.
Kelly Campbell walks into the lobby of the Hyperion. She sees the wholesale devastation: the collapse balconies, shattered chandelier, bust walls and broken furniture. She sees the floor strewn with debris.
KELLY: Looks like I came too late.
She walks down the three stairs into the heart of the lobby. To her right, she sees Cordelia lying on the floor, covered in blood. Kelly runs over to her. Cordy is not responsive. She pulls up Cordy's blouse, but finds no sign of the wounds which caused the blood to get on her clothes. She checks Cordy's pulse, and realizes she's alive, though unconscious, but with her eyes wide open. It doesn't make sense. Kelly has no idea who this woman is. She needs to find the others, if they're still alive. She hears noises from a stairwell. Kelly runs to it and opens the door. She looks up through the open space in the middle of the staircase. From that angle, she can't see much, but she can tell from the sounds that a fight's going on. Kelly fears that if she simply runs up the stairs, the vampires will hear her and run down after her. She knows the importance of surprise when fighting a stronger opponent. Kelly runs up the sweeping red stairs in the lobby.
GUNN: Forgot how big this place was.
WES: And labyrinthine. I feel like Theseus.
Fred, Gunn and Wes walk the hallways of the sub-basement, looking for vampires. They open a door, enter the kitchen and turn on a light. After walking a few steps forward, they notice the light flicker, and turn around. Ronan, Nat and Hector stand just inside the door. Ronan flicks the light switch off for good. Fred, Gunn and Wes back up a few steps. The vampires stand still, smiling confidently. Fred fires her crossbow. It hits Nat's chest but misses his heart.
NAT: High and Outside. Ball one.
RONAN: Just killing. No balling.
Nat laughs. He pulls the bolt out of his chest, breaks it in two and drops it to the ground.
NAT: You think I'd waste my time with Olive Oil?
Gunn and Wes are tempted to attack Nat for disparaging Fred, but prudence wins out of chivalry and they hold their ground. Fred reloads, but Nat rushes her before she can finish. Fred backs up a few steps. She hits Nat in the face with the metal front of her crossbow. He rips the crossbow out of her hands. Fred is an alley five feet wide. To her left and right are metal counters. She reaches to her right, grabs the handle of a frying pan that hangs from the wall and hits Nat upside the head.
When Nat charges Fred, Ronan attacks Gunn and Hector attacks Wesley. Before Gunn can swing his ax, Ronan throws him into the end of the counter in the center of the room. Wesley pulls out his sword, holding it in his right hand. Hector ducks Wesley's first swing for his neck, and kicks Wesley in the chest, knocking him back down the aisle to the left of Fred. Wesley slashes again, this time for Hector's left arm. Hector takes a step back and grabs a frying pan with his left hand to use as a small shield. He blocks Wesley's next two slashes and tries a right hook. Wesley backs up out of the way. He pulls out his stake in his left hand. Wesley puts his right arm behind his back, puts his left foot forward and thrusts for Hector's heart with his stake. Without thinking, Hector reaches his left hand towards his chest and blocks the stake with the frying pan. The moment Wesley sees him begin to make this movement, he pulls out his right arm and swings his sword for Hector's neck. Realizing his folly, Hector quickly ducks and backs up. He saves his neck, but gets slashed just above his right temple. Furious, Hector swings the frying pan. Wesley backs up. Hector throws the frying pan into the wall and prepares to fight Wes bare-handed.
Gunn raises his ax, but Ronan grabs the handle with both hands and tries to rip the weapon away. Gunn kicks Ronan in the chest with his right foot, knocking him back six feet. Ronan steps forward so that he's three feet from Gunn. Charles swings for Ronan's neck. The vampire moves his neck back out of the way and watches the blade whoosh by two inches in front of him. Before Gunn can try another swing, Ronan kicks him in the chest with his right foot, knocking Gunn back into the counter. He grabs the ax with his left hand and tosses it to the floor. Gunn hits Ronan in the face with a right hook. Ronan smiles and responds with one of his own. While Gunn is still reeling from this blow, Ronan grabs him with his left hand and tosses Charles backwards so that he is on top of the counter. While he's on his back, Ronan punches Gunn in the stomach with his right fist. He puts his left hand on Gunn's chest and slams the back of his head into the metal counter. Ronan puts his right hand on the top of Gunn's head, and his left hand under Gunn's chin, preparing to snap his neck.
Behind Charles and to his right, Fred fights with Nat. He rips the frying pan from her right hand. She grabs a mace in her left hand and hits Nat in the forehead. Nat grabs Fred by the shoulders and tosses her into the back wall. Fred falls to the ground.
NAT: You're a real pistol.
Fred tries to get up, but Nat kicks her in the stomach with his right foot.
NAT: I don't mind havin' to work for my meals.
Wesley glances to his right and notices the peril Fred is in. Hector takes advantage of Wesley's distraction to kick the sword out of his right hand. Wesley still has a stake in his left hand, and he leaps over the counter to come to Fred's assistance. Nat has pulled her up off the ground and is about to bite her. As Wesley leaps over the counter, his kicks Nat in the face, knocking him away from Fred. He turns to face Nat and finish him off. But Hector leaps over the counter and decks Wesley with a right hook. Nat and Hector move in on Fred and Wesley, who are trapped against the wall.
Gunn's on his back, lying on top of the counter. He can't pull Ronan's hands off his head. In a second his neck will be broken and he'll be dead. Charles looks up. Hanging from the ceiling are several pots. He reaches his legs up and kicks a large pot loose. It falls onto Ronan's head, blinding and disorienting him. Gunn hits the pot with his left palm, driving it into Ronan's nose. Ronan staggers backwards. Gunn stands up and hits Ronan again, knocking him down. He turns to his right and picks up his ax. Gunn approaches Nat Hector from behind. When Hector leans down to bite Wesley, Gunn swings his ax, beheading the vampire and missing the top of Wesley's head by an inch. When he swings for Nat, that vampire grabs the ax handle with his right hand and hurls it to the ground. Fred hits Nat with a right cross. Nat grabs Fred's throat with his left hand and Gunn's throat with his right. Wesley gets up and hits Nat in the face with two left jabs. He lets go of Gunn and Fred.
Charles grabs Nat's arms from behind, and Wesley goes to stake him. Meanwhile, Ronan has ripped the pot of his head and stood up. He grabs Gunn from behind, freeing Nat's arms just in time for him to grabs Wesley's stake with both hands. With the stake in his left hand, Wesley uses his free hand to hit Nat in the face with a right hook. Meanwhile, Ronan blocks Gunn's right hook and floors him with one of his own. Fred and Wes quickly come to Gunn's aide. He gets up while Ronan and Nat take a few steps back.
NAT: Boss said they'd be easy.
RONAN: Boss said we'd have backup.
Nat and Ronan leave to find that backup.
Upstairs, Faith and Lindsey are cornered, outnumbered and exhausted. They can't escape from the trap. If Faith pushes Tristan away, Angelus keeps her from breaking free. If she pushes Angelus away, Tristan keeps her against the wall. And even if she did kill Tristan, Penn and Gelo, who stand below her, could take his place. Lindsey is doing all he can to keep Lewis from killing him. They've been up against the wall for 20 seconds, but it feels like a lot longer. Kelly looks through the stairwell window on the fourth floor and sees two vampires with their backs to her. They are intently watching the fighting going on a few feet above them. She quickly opens the door with her right hand and stakes Penn in the back with her left as she steps into the stairwell. Penn turns to dust as the door slams shut. Gelo turns to his right and sees Kelly.
KELLY: Am I interrupting something?
Gelo charges Kelly. She backs up until she is against the side wall. Gelo throws a right hook. Kelly ducks, grabs Gelo's right arm and tosses him down the flight of stairs to her right. When Gelo stands up, he leaps over the railing and falls down the gap in the middle of the stairwell. Tristan hears the commotion and leaps down to the fourth floor level. He sees Kelly, a pile of dust and neither of his vampires. He too leaps over the railing. She runs over to the other side of the landing, turns right and looks up to see Faith and Lindsey. With Tristan gone, they turn to their right and leap down to Kelly's level. Angelus and Lewis turn to their left and look down at Lindsey, Faith and Kelly. Angelus turns to his right and looks at Lewis.
ANGELUS: Help them regroup.
Lewis leaps down to ground level, joining Gelo and Tristan. Kelly looks at Faith and Lindsey.
KELLY: Sorry I'm late.
ANGELUS: I'm not. Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. So you couldn't stay away from me. I'm gonna have fun with you.
Angelus also leaps down into the gap in the middle of the stairs and rejoins Lewis, Tristan and Gelo at ground level. The four of them head to the sub-basement to make life very precarious for Gunn, Fred and Wes.
FAITH: Damn Kel, am I glad to see you crashin' this party.
LINDSEY: You're a real sight for sore eyes.
KELLY: From the looks of it, I'd say you mean it. You guys look pretty thrashed
FAITH: 'Nuff talk. Let's motor. I'll fill you in on the way.
Faith starts bounding down the stairs. Kelly and Lindsey follow. Faith explains what's happening as she races down. By the time they've reached the ground floor, she's figured out how to fit Kelly into her battle plan.
GWEN: So you're an ex-demon. Now I know where I've seen your name before. You must be the Anya from Sunnydale who wanted to pay a million bucks to get back her necklace from a parallel dimension. I saw a notice about that three years ago.
XANDER: What!! We were dating three years ago. You were living with me!
ANYA: Our relationship was in a rut. I didn't know if you were committed to me. You didn't know if you were committed to me.
BUFFY: Where were you going to get a million dollars?
ANYA: Once I became a Vengeance Demon again, I planned to plunder my victims.
GWEN: There are a couple guys who do that type of work. But they won't even think of bending the temporal folds for less than eight figures.
XANDER: I don't believe this! You were looking for a way out right behind my back.
ANYA: Only for a few weeks. But I resolved my doubts, unlike some of us who repressed them and bottled them up until they exploded at the very bitter end.
Andrew changes the subject by reaching his right hand towards Gwen's neck. When his index finger is within an inch from her skin, a spark shoots out from her into Andrew.
ANDREW: Oww!!!
He sits back down and shakes his right hand. Everyone looks at him like he's a four year-old who touched a hot stove even after his parents told him not to.
GWEN: What part of "touch me, you die" don't you understand?
Spike puts his right hand on the back of Gwen's neck.
SPIKE: Andrew's just too bloody curious for his own good. Also, he's expendable. So even if you did accidentally kill him –
Buffy, Dawn, Xander and Giles glare at Spike.
SPIKE: What the bloody hell! Only Anya gets to tell the brutal truth around her?
GWEN: I would have brought him back. Done it before when people accidentally touched me. But I've never had to do it to someone who knew better.
ANYA: Andrew's here because he has a knack for doing stupid things when he should have known better.
ANDREW: I'm on a mission of redemption. I used to be a super-criminal. As part of my plan to take over Sunnydale, I became a master of the nefarious arts. I even masterminded a major jewel heist. You might have heard about it, since you are in the business.
GWEN: Sorry. Don't know of any major scores in this town.
ANDREW: We froze a security guard.
GWEN: That was here? [laughs] That was you?
ANDREW: The freeze-ray was my idea.
GWEN: I knew that had to be an amateur job. A pro would never attract that much attention. It's bad business to get your work in the papers. Makes the goods too hot to fence. Even when they're only semi-precious.
ANDREW: Semi-precious!? That diamond was worth a quarter of a million dollars!
GWEN: Like I said – too cheap for the museum to bother to protect, too cheap for someone like me to bother trying to steal.
DAWN: What was that thing Angel tried to steal worth?
GILES: The Axis of Pythia is a priceless antiquity.
GWEN: Not priceless. Pricey. To the tune of 33 mil. Angel said he just wanted to borrow it to find the woman he loved.
BUFFY: Angel told you he loved Cordelia?
GWEN: I'm gonna stay outta this crazy love rhombus. I don't know Angel well enough to answer that. Only time I saw them together, they were bickering like an old married couple. Course by then she was evil.
XANDER: Just out of curiosity, what was evil demon Cordy like?
GWEN: A real first class bitch. Unbelievably catty. Made snide comments and insulted me whenever she got the chance.
BUFFY: Sounds like the same old human Cordy to me. Obviously Angel couldn't have loved her and missed her that much if he kissed you while he was searching for her.
GWEN: Vampires tend to do that when I touch them. Unless they're evil.
GILES: Spike was evil when you [shudder] touched him.
Gwen rubs Spikes' right thigh with her left hand.
GWEN: Spike was a sweetie.
SPIKE: No I wasn't. [under his breath] You're embarrassing me.
GWEN: Why? You don't think they've seen past your bad boy facade?
XANDER: It wasn't a facade back then. Spike killed people.
GWEN: Spike didn't kill anyone during the [smirks] two days and three nights that I knew him. I didn't see that side of his personality. To me, he was a nice guy. Everyone always treated me like a freak. Spike treated me like a person.
DAWN: I totally get your point. Spike used to be the same way with me. [Dawn looks a little worried when she realizes her comment could be disturbingly misinterpreted.] I mean, in a totally Platonic, non-touching way.
GWEN: I should hope so. Spike was a predator, but I assumed he wasn't THAT kind of predator. What I meant to add was, Spike was the only guy who treated me like a human being before I met Angel.
XANDER: Speaking of those kinds of predators.
Xander couldn't resist the chance for a cheap, insensitive Angel dig. Buffy glares at him. The reference goes over Gwen's head.
GILES: Was it Angel who inspired you to fight evil?
GWEN: Yeah. By attacking me after he'd gone bad. I wasn't fighting evil so much as I was fighting off evil.
XANDER: That's pretty much how it started for all of us.
GWEN: So I decided it would be best if I wasn't alone the next time I fought a vampire.
GILES: You're telling me you fought Angelus alone and emerged unscathed?
GWEN: There were scathes. A bruise or two. Guess on that night he was looking for something that wouldn't put up too much of a fight. He was different the next time. Lucky for me, by then I had Faith on my side.
BUFFY: Faith took you patrolling?
GWEN: More like I took her clubbing and we staked like 15 or 20 vamps along the way. The best was this one place where the vampires sealed the exits so they could massacre everyone inside. Faith comes in through the front window. I break in through the back. Minute or two later all the demons are dust. Joint goes wild for us. Guys sure love it when you save their lives.
RONA: You're preaching to the choir.
Rona looks at Amanda. The Potentials laugh.
XANDER: I'm guessing the men would have paid attention to you and Faith even if the two of you weren't slaying vampires. Especially if you were dressed like you are now and Faith was dressed like, well, Faith.
BUFFY: You two are eerily color-coordinated.
GWEN: Vampires seem to like glam. Easier to reel them in than to chase them down. Speaking of glam, after we left that place the two of us ran into Drusilla and her three vampettes. And those chicks could fight better than any of the guy vamps we dusted that night. Things got pretty fierce, but they all ran away before Faith could dust any of the vampettes. Then it was back to clubbing and staking. Couple hours later, we're heading back home, and Angelus is outside waiting for us. He's cocky like before, but this time he could back it up. Hurt me worse than the first time we fought. Gave Faith some trouble, too. Guess he's streaky when he's evil, and that was one of his good nights. Unlike the next night, when he got his butt whipped by Connor.
ANDREW: The son vanquished the father? [Andrew imagines the ending of "Empire Strikes Back," except with Luke winning.]
BUFFY: That's impossible. Connor can't take Angel.
GWEN: They took each other. I saw them both afterwards, and Connor gave as good as he got. Don't think daddy was expecting such a hard fight. Kid's got guts.
DAWN: How bad was Connor hurt?
GWEN: Real bad. But he was happy. Like he knew he proved something to the old man. Course he was good as new the next morning.
DAWN: You talked to him?
GWEN: Quite a bit. We get along great. Same with Connor and Faith. Three of us hung out at my place yesterday.
Dawn looks worried.
DAWN: Connor spent the day alone with the two of you?
GWEN: Just the afternoon. And why are you so - ? Wait a sec. [pauses for a moment, takes a good look at her interrogator, smiles] You must be the amazing Dawn.
DAWN: Well, yes. [chagrined smile] Except of course for the amazing part. Certainly never been called that before. Wow. Thanks. [her look goes from happy to worried] Unless you were being sarcastic. Were you?
GWEN: No joke. Connor's always going on and on about how great you are, how much he misses you. You really put the whammy on that boy.
Connor lies on his back. To his right are Alanna and Vala. To his left is Tina. When Tina tries to kick him, Connor grabs her foot and pulls her down. He rolls to his left and stands up. Alanna and Vala charge. He hits Alanna with a right hook kick and Vala with a left roundhouse kick. Tina gets up and kicks Connor in the chest. He backs up a few steps. Tina charges and throws a right cross. Connor blocks it, but Vala grabs his right arm and Alanna his left. They turn Connor's body 90 degrees counter-clockwise and slam his back against the wall. Connor kicks his right foot out towards Tina, who steps back out of the way.
ALANNA: Don't play too rough, T. Wouldn't wanna mess up that pretty face.
Alanna licks the left side of Connor's face and Vala licks the right. Connor cringes and tries to free his arms, but can't. When they're done, Tina hits Connor's right eye with a left hook.
TINA: Way he heals, junior should be good as new in no time. Boy was built to be abused.
Connor brings both legs up and brings them together in a scissors motion, hitting both sides of Tina's head. He brings them back to the ground and turns his head to his right, towards Vala. Her right hand is caressing his right shoulder. He bites her fingers. She pulls her right hand off of his right arm. Now he can move his elbow. Connor thrusts his right elbow back through the drywall. Tina kicks Connor in the stomach and the face, but he it doesn't distract him. Once Connor's right elbow is bent, he has enough leverage to push Vala's left hand off of his right arm. After freeing his right arm, Connor kicks Tina in the face with his right foot, then turns to his left and hits Alanna in the face with a right hook, freeing his left arm from her grasp. Connor turns back towards Vala and tries to hit her with a left hook. She backs up out of the way, grabs Connor's left arm and spins him clockwise ninety degrees so he is facing the wall. Vala puts her left hand behind Connor's head and pushes it through the wall. He hits her with his right elbow. When he gets his face out of the drywall, Connor turns and knocks Tina down with a flying right hook kick. Alanna attacks and he throws her over his shoulder. Then he grabs Alanna and tosses her face-first into the other wall in the hallway. The three vampires are now in front of him: Alanna to his left, Vala directly in front and Tina to his right. Connor tries to hit Vala in the face with a right kick. She backs up out of the way. Tina hits Connor in the right temple with a left hook kick. At the same time, Alanna hits Connor in the left temple with a right hook kick. The simultaneous blows daze Connor, but he stays on his feet. Connor blocks Alanna's right hook with his left arm and blocks Tina's left hook with his right arm. Vala leaps at Connor and tries to kick him in the chin. Connor does a backflip to get out of the way. He tries to hit Vala in the face with a left kick, but she ducks and sweeps his right leg out. Alanna tries to kick Connor in the ribs while he's on his back. Connor grabs her right foot and pulls it up, sending her to the ground. When Connor turns to his left and tries to get up, Tina kicks him in the right side of his skull. He rolls on his side. Alanna kicks Connor in the spine. Connor rolls over onto his back and tries to vault to his feet. No soon do his feet hit the ground than Vala clobbers Connor with a right hook. He spins around and falls on his face. The women look down at Connor and smile.
VALA: Pretty AND tough.
TINA: Just like us.
ALANNA: He'll fit right in.
The three of them walk away. Connor sits up. Alanna glances back at him.
ALANNA: Sweet dreams.
They disappear around the corner. Connor stands up. Behind him is Drusilla. Before Connor realizes this, she puts him in a sleeper hold. Dru places her mouth near his left ear.
DRU: It's for the best, my darling deadly boy.
Connor struggles, but can't break free. Within 15 seconds, he's passed out. Dru lets go and Connor falls to the ground. She walks away, in the opposite direction of the other female vampires.
Kelly knocks on the metal door in the basement.
KELLY: You're in there, right Lorne? It's me, Kelly. Right. You need me to give a positive ID. One sec. [she thinks tries to think of what to sing] Okay. Here goes. "It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees. They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace. Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on. But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green -"
Lorne turns the circular handle and opens the door. Kelly walks in and he quickly closes it.
KELLY: Thanks for stopping me before I got to the high notes. But I guess you're used to lousy singing.
LORNE: Don't sell yourself short. That was very good. And it's always nice to hear someone take a stab at Joni Mitchell.
KELLY: Faith thought you could use some backup.
WILLOW: Kelly! Short time no see. Didn't know you'd be making a guest appearance.
KELLY: What can I tell ya. Got the day off. Had nothing better to do that risk my life. Speaking of which, there's a comatose woman in the lobby.
WILLOW: I know. I put her. She's Cordy.
KELLY: The one who made the sun disappear and took Angel's soul?
WILLOW: I had to put her out of the way. She'll be okay in a couple hours. No need to worry.
KELLY: I'll take your word on that. Right now I'm much more worried about all the vampires who are trying to kill us.
Kelly starts checking all possible means of access to make sure the room is secure. Willow finishes setting up her supplies and is about to begin her spell.
Alanna, Tina and Vala meet up with Ronan, Lewis and Tristan. They each smile and kiss their men.
ALANNA: Did you miss me?
RONAN: Like I'd miss my left arm.
Alanna runs her right hand down Ronan's left arm, then take his left hand. Tina takes Lewis's hand and Vala takes Tristan's.
VALA: Time to party.
TINA: I smell fear somewhere near.
TRISTAN: They must still be alone.
LEWIS: Let's keep it that way.
The six of them snake through the sub-basement hallways; smiling, confident, giddy with anticipation as they track Wes, Gunn and Fred. In another part of the basement, Angelus meets up with Dru.
DRU: He sleeps loik an angel. [giggles]
ANGELUS: You've always had a way with children.
DRU: Shall I join the girls?
ANGELUS: Maybe layer. First, let's kill all the lawyers.
DRU: Just wot your mummy said.
Dru grins and walks in one direction. Angelus walks in the other. He goes bumpy.
ANGELUS: I'll take care of the witch.
NEXT: The fighting gets desperate on all fronts as Angelus keeps his enemies isolated and overmatched.
