It's been ten days since Angel came to town, and Hiero is growing impatient.

HIERO: Spike's allies haven't deserted him.

ANGEL: But they're leaning our way. The coastal cities are close to demanding that he vacate our land.

HIERO: Who? Their people, or the shopkeepers who never liked Spike to begin with?

ANGEL: Those who know what he's been up to are upset. They'll spread the word. Soon enough the people will realize that if they don't stand up to Spike's invasion of Amastria, they're next.

HIERO: You're right about that. But I don't think they believe it.

ANGEL: How would you know? You haven't even been out there.

HIERO: Sixteen days have gone by since Spike invaded my country. In that time, not one of his "allies" has raised their voice in protest. They don't care! As long as he doesn't move on our capital, they think this just as an ordinary border dispute. We have to make them care. We have to make them see what Spike is capable of.

ANGEL: Spike will show them soon enough. He can't help overreaching.

HIERO: You don't get it. People don't automatically stand up for what's right. Someone unscrupulous like Captain Peroxide (he doesn't know what peroxide is, but he's adopting Angel's phrase) comes along and hurts a lot of innocent people, and no one tries to fight him, eventually people get used to it. The people on the coast already have. In a few years, even people in my own country will adapt and get used to it. We have to fight. If you don't fight evil, then evil wins. Isn't that what you live your life by?

ANGEL: To call Spike evil is to demean the word. He's merely obnoxious. And the people of Thermadonia aren't evil.

HIERO: They can be changed. I've heard you say it before. But how do we change them? How do we convince them not to be our enemy?

ANGEL: By showing them that we mean them no harm. By building a country they'd want to live in. This whole thing started as the masses versus the landlords. That's no longer the case. Now the people of Amastria are even freer than the people of Thermadonia.

HIERO: Look around. as they walk through the fields, the wealthier men are sharpening their spears and shining their armor. The poorer men are learning how to march and fight in formation. The Amazons are teaching the women how to shoot arrows and throw spears. This is freedom. You've made us stronger than ever before. Spike's made Thermadonia stronger. What do you think nations do with all this energy?

ANGEL: This is defensive. None of the new forces I've raised are designed or equipped for foreign campaigning.

HIERO: But Spike's forces are. And he's massing them on our border.

ANGEL: The moment he invades, all his allies will turn against him.

HIERO: He's one day's march from Lampedos. By the time his allies decide to help us, it'll be too late.

ANGEL: We're strong enough to hold off whatever he throws at us. And when he sees what we have, he'll get scared. Spike's no general. he laughs at this understatement Fighting one-on-one to the death – that's something he understands. But he's way out of his depth when it comes to leading an army. And remember, he has everything to lose.

HIERO: I thought you said Spike didn't use reason.

ANGEL: He does. But just enough to keep him from getting ripped to shreds.

HIERO: You're the one who knows him, so I'll have to take your word on that.

Memnon meets with Spike in the city of Dalgosh, forty miles due south of Lampedos and twenty miles south of the front lines. This is where Spike is currently collecting his forces.

MEMNON: The northern division's in place. My men are rounding up the southern division as we speak. They'll be here in two days at the latest.

SPIKE: Try to have them here in a day-and-a-half.

MEMNON: I'm sorry, but I don't understand the rush.

SPIKE: Weren't you the one who warned that Amastria, with its small size and interior lines of supply, can mobilize twice as fast as us?

MEMNON: Yes, but I don't think they're preparing an invasion. They have two thousand – make that three thousand – Amazons who right now could be ravaging our territory and making our life a living hell. But Angel's holding them back near the capital. They have no offensive deployments.

SPIKE: Just my point. We hit 'em when their guard's down.

MEMNON: We don't need to. Make a deal. Give back their land in exchange for a ten-year truce with us and Dorin. Maybe even pay them some money. We don't need to go north. Our interests are in the south. We need to build a fleet. I say we drop the three northern coastal cities. They're too far away for us to defend. Let them ally with Amastria. It'll help keep things quiet on that front. The southern three are more than willing to help us expand. We put together a combined land-sea force for next spring. Take the southern Araxes valley. Very rich land. Then the next year we move on Vashan. Richest port for one hundred miles. The fleet takes the bay while the army marches down from the northwest.

SPIKE: Take it up with the people, Memnon.

MEMNON: It's not a proposal. Just an example of what we could do if we settled things with our northern neighbors. Wait a week, and the Amazons will get bored and bolt. Attack now, and they'll fight.

SPIKE: Number one, they're scared of my girls. Number two, he has to use them to keep me from hooking up with the allies from Dorin to his west and to keep me from cutting him off from his Fifth Column in the coastal cities to his east. I know what he's been up to. Angel will be too busy playing it safe to stop me. Which reminds me of reason number three. He sicks the Amazons on us, there's going to be a bloodbath. That's why he can't use them. They're too bloody lethal.

MEMNON: As much as I admire you, I'm not comfortable with battle plans based entirely on the enemy refusing to fight.

SPIKE: That's because you don't know Angel.

That afternoon, Panthesilea's tribe rides up to the walls of Lampedos to join the other Amazons. Angel walks out to greet them. He is disappointed to discover that these women aren't as friendly as the other Amazons. Not only don't they kneel in submission. They don't even dismount. The bulk of the tribe files into the Amazon camp while the Queen and her ten Princesses trot past Angel, who stands below them. They look down at him and make eye contact. The Princesses smiles. Panthesilea, who leads the procession, scowls down at Angel. When she's thirty feet behind him, she sneers and mumbles her impression of the "Greatest, most Gorgeous God." This is what the Amastrians and the other two Amazon tribes call Angel in a direct slap at "Golden God" Spike. (Buffy is the Greatest Goddess, so Angel's honorary title doesn't impinge on her preeminence.)

PENTHESILEA: Don't know why any woman would chose THAT over Spike.

Penny glances back at Angel. She has no idea that he heard her. At first, he worries about the presence of a Spike-worshipping Queen in his kingdom. But he knows the vast majority of Amazons are firmly on his side, and that since Amazons never fight one another, the pro-Spike faction will have no choice but to acquiesce and serve his cause. It helps that Angel has no intention of ever letting any of the Amazons fight the Thermadonians. The Amazons mingle for a while in the camp. The rank-and-file of Panthesilea's tribe never even met Spike, and therefore have no personal attachment to him. They easily fall under the sway of the two thousand Angel-loving women from the other tribes. However, they don't turn into Spike-haters because they respect the honorable way he dealt with Panthesilea, especially the part where he refused to kill her or even turn her into his prisoner. Unlike the other Amazons, they believe Spike is a reasonable fellow, though more self-aggrandizing and less gracious than Angel. In short, while the other two tribes believe Angel is good and Spike is evil, Panthesilea's women believe Angel is the better of two goods.

The Amastrians are delighted at the arrival of the third tribe. Their leaders see it as a sign that Spike's coalition is weakening and Angel's strategy of moral suasion is paying dividends. The elders are familiar with the horrors of war, and abhor shedding the blood of their countrymen. They younger men feel differently. To them, Spike's occupation of their land is an affront to their honor and dignity. In their minds, refusal to fight equals weakness. Naturally, they are drawn to Hiero. Like Kreon, he is building a native power base independent from the foreign god-king he idolizes. Angel is very much aware of this. However, he saw how hurt Hiero was when Angel chewed him out for his last unauthorized raid. Angel believes Hiero's fear of disappointing his idol will keep his aggression in check. Besides, right now Hiero is mingling with the Amazons, discussing tactics. Though attracted to them, his is too intimidated by the reputation of these warrior women to even think of hitting on them. Angel believes interaction between Amazons and Amastrians will benefit both groups. The former will learn that men can be good and the latter will learn that women can be strong.

A half-hour after arriving, Panthesilea walks out of the camp and approaches Angel. He's pleased that the Spike-worshipper has chosen to make the first move and reach out to him. As she gets close, he realizes how tall Penny is. He can't deny that she's very attractive, with her long legs, pretty face and athletic swagger. However, Panthesilea isn't Angel's type. She lacks the emotional vulnerability that Angel likes in his strong, beautiful women. While she's not scowling, Penny isn't smiling either.

PANTHESILEA: I am Queen Panthesilea. My tribe has joined their sisters. Thalestris and I have chosen Hippolyta to be First Among Equals. She will hold supreme command of the Three Tribes, and I will obey all her orders.

ANGEL: It's an honor to have you in our kingdom. Let promise that I will do everything I can to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis. I have no intention of risking the lives of the women in your tribe.

PANTHESILEA: Thank you for your hospitality. If you are as good at keeping your word as Spike is at keeping his, my women have nothing to worry about.

Penny walks away. Her last comment both hurts and confuses Angel. Since when was Spike known for keeping his word? If nothing else, Angel believes Panthesilea is guilty of poor judgement.

As a Queen, Panthesilea believes herself to be Angel's equal. Technically, she has not submitted to him. Instead, she has joined up with the other tribes and elected Hippolyta leader. Hippolyta then chose take orders from Angel. He cannot personally order Panthesilea to do anything. This diplomatic sleight-of-hand allows Panthesilea to claim, at least according to custom, that she is not taking orders from Angel and has not submitted to him.

Shortly after Panthesilea returns to the camp and resumes her discourse with the other two Queens, Hiero approaches them.

HIERO: Now that your forces are united, when are you going to raid Thermadonia?

HIPPOLYTA: We plan to do nothing of the sort.

HIERO: Why not? Are you scared?

THALESTRIS: Angel doesn't want us to.

HIERO: Would you attack if he did?

HIPPOLYTA: He's made it very clear that would never happen.

HIERO: Remind me again you come here?

THALESTRIS: To help your people defeat Spike.

HIERO: Because you couldn't do that on your own?

PANTHESILEA: He outnumbers our combined forces by ten-to-one.

HIERO: I used to hear that one Amazon woman is equal to ten Thermadonian men?

HIPPOLYTA: One Amazon on horseback equals ten Thermadonian men on foot. But that refers to lightly-armed men. Not phalanx infantry.

HIERO: I see. But it's not the men you're scared of, is it?

THALESTRIS: We're scared of no one.

HIERO: Then why did Spike put his girls on our southern front the moment you entered Amastria? The very same girls who forced you to abandon ravaging Thermadonia?

HIPPOLYTA: We refrain from attacking on Angel's orders. It doesn't matter who is guarding the border.

HIERO: I know how tough you women are. If men kill twenty of your ranks, you kill sixty of theirs. Yet when these girls mutilated twenty of your sisters, you let them get away with it. Your army declared defeat and retreated before you had even sent out a squadron (100 women) in retaliation. I don't know why you're so scared of a few girls.

The women look offended. Panthesilea get in Hiero's face and looks down at him. Hiero gulps.

PANTHESILEA: You putting them down because they're girls?

HIERO: I'm putting them down because they're inexperienced. A few weeks ago, those girls didn't know the sharp end of a spear. You women have fought and trained your whole lives. Why are you so afraid of a bunch of amateurs?

HIPPOLYTA: sighs You don't understand the power of women.

HIERO: You think I think women can't fight? I know they can. My aunt's better than me with the bow or the slingshot. I'm not talking about men versus women. I'm talking about experience against inexperience.

THALESTRIS: One-on-one, you're right. But they're hunting in packs. Girls that age have an irrational, savage, primal power. Put enough of them together, whip them into a frenzy, focus them on a target, and you can release that power. Spike understands that.

PANTHESILEA: Spike understands women.

HIPPOLYTA: He understands the power of girls that age. But he doesn't understand how hard it is to control that power. Once they realize no one can stop them, the girls will start doing whatever they want. They'll fall in love with their own power. Pretty soon, they'll stop serving Spike or Thermadonia and start serving only themselves.

THALESTRIS: That's why we've never tried to exploit that power. It's too irresponsible.

HIERO: Too irresponsible. That about sums up Spike.

PANTHESILEA: Sure. Spike's irrational. But only in the short term. A lot of the stuff he does makes no sense when he does it, but later on you figure out what he was up to.

THALESTRIS: I'll admit there's a method to his madness.

HIERO: Emphasis on madness. I still don't get what makes these girls more ferocious than other warriors. Are they more blood thirsty?

HIPPOLYTA: Not blood. Power. Killing is just a way to express that power. They want to see what they can do, how much they can get away with. They've never known power. Suddenly, they can kill with impunity. They used to feel like slaves. Now they feel like gods.

THALESTRIS: They believe they're gods. Until the moment you kill them. And then there are ten more right behind her. You'd have to be crazy to start a fight with them.

PANTHESILEA: Especially when they're so easy to avoid.

Talking with the Amazons has only encouraged Hiero. He wants to see that primal power for himself. It sounds like nothing he's ever witnessed. Hiero is not one to back down from a challenge. And from Hiero's point of view, the girls have challenged him. After all, they're on his land. To allow them to remain there violates his sense of honor. They started the fight. Hiero can't help but try to end it. Later that afternoon, he gets together with 99 other young men who feel the same way. Like Hiero, they've also been deprived of their land.

HIERO: We split into two groups. Straton, your squadron goes right through the center around the time everyone goes to sleep. You then head east. Stay within a couple miles of the border. If you get into trouble, you can always jump back to our side, then head south again when you've outrun your attackers. Go all the way to the eastern border. While they're busy trying to catch you, I'll be leading my squadron to Kocho.

STRATON: That's thirty miles south of the border.

HIERO: Which is why my squadron leaves at sundown. Their forces are concentrated on the border. If we break through and keep going south, they can't catch us. All they can do is wait for us to come back. And they don't know where we'll come back. There's a hundred of us and three thousand of them. But they're spread out over forty miles. That's a very thin line we have to break through.

STRATON: Has Angel approved this?

HIERO: Does it matter? They took our homes. We have every right to strike back. smirks What's wrong, Strat? You're not afraid of a couple girls, are you?

Molly and Keith sit on Spike's cot in the basement. Keith is to Molly's left. Beth Orton's "Love Like Laughter" plays on the stereo.

KEITH: Where did you say you were from again?

MOLLY: Cwmbran.

KEITH: That doesn't sound very English to me.

MOLLY: That's coz it's in Wales.

KEITH: So you're not English?

MOLLY: I'm Welsh. And British.

KEITH: I thought British was the same as English?

MOLLY: It's all the same country. Except in sports. But there you only hear about England coz we're too small to win anything so our best players desert their country – sorry to go off on that tangent about Michael Owen. You probably haven't even heard of him.

KEITH: Is that your boyfriend back home?

Molly laughs at the ridiculous fantasy being spun by the awfully cute but extremely confused American boy. Then again, which statement would Keith find more unbelievable: Molly's dating the English national team's star striker, or Molly's a Potential Vampire Slayer who's in Sunnydale because someone's trying to kill her and destroy the world?

MOLLY: No. Heavens no. I don't have a boyfriend back home. Just one right here in the states.

KEITH: You mean there's - ? Molly smiles. She runs her left hand through his hair. Keith smiles, more than a little chagrined. Oh. Don't I look stupid.

MOLLY: No. Just adorable.

Molly pulls Keith's head towards hers. Keith swoons just a smidgen right before they kiss. Keith puts his right hand on her left cheek and his left hand on her right hip. They lie down sideways on the cot, so they still have their feet on the floor.

It's late afternoon. Spike is outside the walls of Zalpa, supervising the boys playing football and the girls playing rugby. Some of the boys are adjusting slowly to the game, and have to be reminded by Spike not to touch the ball with their hands. Other boys have adjusted to game quite quickly. No sooner had Spike explained the concept of fouls than a few of the boys discovered flopping. Spike reacts vociferously to this development, and ejects all boys he catches trying to fake a foul. If that doesn't do the trick, he's thinking of adding some sort of corporal punishment as an additional deterrent. Then boys who pretended to get hit actually would get hit.

SPIKE: Oh, come up! Give me a bleeding break. He barely touched you. Is this football or pro wrestling? Yes, I know you didn't understand that last part. Just get out. Your team plays down a man. When he's left the field, Spike walks up to the boy and points at the girls playing rugby Now THAT is contact. When you get hit like those girls over there are hitting each other, then you get your pk. In the meantime, trying showing those girls that a men can also be tough.

The young fellow gets the message. Spike walks away and checks on the other games. The girls get excited whenever Spike is nearby and try to impress him. This part of the job takes Spike's mind off more pressing matters, such as the looming war. Maybe when it's all over, Spike can plagiarize Wellington and say his battle against Angel was won on the fields of Zalpa. He laughs at this notion. But he stops laughing when he spots two young men running towards him. Both of them have dried blood on their faces and necks from cuts on their head. Spike rushes over to meet them and find out what's wrong.

SPIKE: Who hurt you?

SIMON: Angel's goons.

SPIKE: Where?

GELON: Belevi.

SPIKE: On the coast? They're our bloody allies.

SIMON: We went to the ecclesia, just like every other day. I listened for a while, then I stood up and said Buffy had matured and no longer needed Angel like she did when she was a little girl. Then all these people stood up and started screaming "Buffy and Angel Eternal! Buffy and Angel Eternal!"

GELON: I yelled out "What the hell does that mean?" They said it was obvious. I told them they were being immature, just like Buffy's love for Angel.

SIMON: Then they yelled "Buffy and Angel Eternal!" one last time and threw stones at us.

SPIKE: You've got to be bloody kidding me. The ecclesia is neutral territory. Angel knows that. We tolerate his partisans when they come to our towns. This is a bloody outrage. Angel better learn to keep his narrow-minded overzealous bigots in line.

GELON: His supporters have been stirring up trouble. They want to turn us against you.

SPIKE: He can't stand to see me succeed. He never could.

SIMON: The people are behind you. They won't let Angel enslave them.

Each side is vilifying their enemy in ways which encourage violence. Spike and Angel both know the situation is rapidly spiraling out of control. Spike begins to this Anya was right when she said the longer Spike stayed the greater the chance of disaster.

SPIKE: Go into town. Get yourselves cleaned up. You can stay at the palace.

Simon and Gelon are shocked by this offer. They look at each other, their jaws dropped, their mouths wide-open and smiling.

GELON: You mean that?

SPIKE: Of course. Place has a dozen rooms. I can only sleep in one.

SIMON: Is there a show tonight?

SPIKE: I think so.

GELON: This is so amazing! Thank you. Thank you.

SPIKE: It's the least I can do for a fan.

SIMON: Getting stoned was so worth it. Thank you. You really are the best.

The two of them talk excitedly as they run to the gates.

GELON: We're gonna see the big show everyone's been talking about. The real thing. Dozens of singers and musicians and dancers on that giant stage with all the scenery.

SIMON: We get to see what Spike's world really looks like.

GELON: And then we get to stay at the Palace of the Golden God.

SIMON: I can't wait to tell everyone back home. You think the girls will be impressed?

While Simon and Gelon enter through one gate, Kreon and Myrina exit through another.

KREON: Sorry I can't stay. You know I want to, but –

MYRINA: You have to patrol. I understand.

KREON: I wish we could spend more time together. I've just been so busy with everything.

MYRINA: Could I come with you?

KREON: The night patrol is dangerous. You could get killed.

MYRINA: I don't mean like that. You're scouting out west, near your village.

KREON: Ten, twenty miles north of Kocho.

MYRINA: But it's on the way. You said you were going home first to see your mom. I could stay with them.

KREON: You want to meet my mother? (He's very nervous about introducing his girlfriend to his mother.)

MYRINA: And to see where you're from. I've never been more than a few miles from these walls. I thought it would be fun to travel with you. You just said you wanted to more time with me.

KREON: You're right. Good point. No use arguing with someone as smart as you.

Kreon gets on his horse, then helps Myrina up. They ride off into the sunset. Myrina puts her arms around his waist and rests her chin on his left shoulder. Kreon wonders why he didn't think of this before.

ANYA: Angel is called the Protector of Women. Spike is the Liberator of Women. That doesn't mean Angel hasn't done his share of liberating, or that Spike hasn't gone out of his way to protect. It's more a reflection of their personalities, and the effects they've had on their countries. Spike makes people feel wild and uninhibited. It helps that he also inspires them to get drunk. On the other hand, Angel makes people feel secure and productive. And sober.

DAWN: So the people see them as complete opposites? Like Yin and Yang?

GILES: More like Apollo and Dionysus.

ANDREW: Would that make Buffy Athena?

WILLOW: Athena's subordinate to Zeus. So that's not accurate, since there's no Zeus.

GILES: Are we discussing which Greek gods each of us is most like?

ANYA: Well, duh. Haven't you been listening?

GILES: I was merely trying to highlight the absurdity. Apparently it doesn't need highlighting.

ANYA: Did the Greeks have a Goddess of Love and War?

GILES: No. But the Sumerians did.

WILLOW: So Buffy's Inanna?

BUFFY: Who am I again?

WILLOW: I told you about her last week. Inanna died then got resurrected by her best friend and sent her lover to hell.

GILES: Yes. There are a few mildly unsettling yet entirely meaningless parallels. But Angel strikes me as more Gilgamesh than Dumuzin.

WILLOW: Of course. And then Connor would be Enkidu. That's perfect!

DAWN: Who's Enkidu and what does he have in common with my boyfriend?

XANDER: I thought Angel was Apollo?

ANYA: He is. To the people in Scyra.

XANDER: Then who am I?

ANYA: Is there a god who's great at building things but has bad luck with women and a dysfunctional relationship with his parents?

GILES and WILLOW: Hephaestus!

ANDREW: Also known as Vulcan. Andrew looks excited

XANDER: They think I'm a Vulcan?

ANYA: No. They think you're the clumsy god who's great with tools.

XANDER: Who do they think you are?

ANYA: The Goddess of Commerce.

WILLOW, DAWN and GILES: Hermes?

ANYA: You mean the one who flies around? That makes sense, since I did travel everywhere by teleporting.

WILLOW: So Kennedy, you're probably like Diana, or Artemis, or Atalanta.

KENNEDY: Atalanta? Please! I would never let a boy bribe me into losing a race so he could force me to marry him.

BUFFY: Is it just me, or are the rest of you getting a little too comfortable with being worshipped?

DAWN: Spike and Angel seemed pretty comfortable with it.

Giles looks at his watch.

GILES: What's taking them so long?

ANYA: My guess? Large-scale warfare.

GILES: Angel would never lead thousands of people to their deaths.

BUFFY: And Spike would?

GILES: I didn't say that.

BUFFY: You implied it.

XANDER: I hate to say this, but if these people are stupid enough to want to die for Spike, maybe they don't deserve to –

BUFFY: Hey! Did you hear what I just said to Giles? I'm sick of the constant Spike-bashing.

XANDER: I wasn't Spike-bashing.

DAWN: He was Spike worshipper-bashing.

WILLOW: No. I believe he was Spike martyr-bashing.

XANDER: And Angel martyr-bashing. The same goes for them. Unlike Giles, I'm being objective and bashing both of them.