Hearing the racket from the kitchen, Dawn had woken up slipped on blue robe. She walked towards the kitchen, clutching a stake in her right hand.
She found Buffy pacing around the kitchen, holding an ice pack to her bloody nose with one hand. The strange man whom Andrew had let in earlier that evening was sitting on the counter using one hand to hold an ice pack to an ugly bruise on his cheek and using the other hand to hold a beer bottle.
Andrew was explaining to Buffy that Whistler had stopped by earlier that evening, saying that he had a message for Buffy, a message that involved Angel. Even though Andrew didn't know him, Whistler had seemed friendly enough, and after noting that he didn't need an invitation to enter the apartment, Andrew had decided that it was safe to let him stay there until Buffy returned. In response, Buffy chewed him out for being so reckless about who he let in; she did not have anything in particular against Whistler (other than the damage he had just done to her face), but she did not want Andrew to accidentally let in the wrong person (or demon, for that matter) at a future time.
"Pretty nasty bruise you gave me there, Slayer," Whistler said.
"Hey, don't complain, you gave me a bloody nose!" Buffy was speaking with a nasal twang; her nose was currently stopped up.
"It was dark. You scared the shit out of me. How did you expect me to react?"
"Hi guys, is everything okay in here?" Dawn entered the kitchen, stake still clutched in her right hand.
"Yes, Dawn, it's fine. Go back to bed."
Whistler spoke up. "Actually, Buffy, I think she may need to hear what I have to say, even though the message was mainly for you."
Buffy looked at Dawn, then at Whistler.
"Okay, let's hear it."
Whistler took a deep breath, and began.
"As I'm sure you're aware, I do work for the Powers That Be. They tell me what to do, I do it. That is how I came to help Angel…the Powers told me that he was going to be a champion some day, but he needed a little push. As I told you six years ago, I was the one who led him to you.
"But now he needs my help again. I learned recently that he is the CEO of the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart, and I'm sure that you're aware of the evil that goes on behind the scenes there; the Senior Partners, all that shit."
Buffy nodded; this was old news; it was the reason she no longer trusted Angel.
"Now let me tell you something you don't know. The Senior Partners' direct representatives on Earth form a small, elite group known as the Circle of the Black Thorn. Their job is to keep the Apocalypse on schedule, to make sure that all the pieces are falling into place."
Whistler paused. Buffy dreaded what he was going to say next.
"Angel has joined the Circle."
Buffy lowered her head, tears forming in her eyes. Her worst fears about Angel had seemingly become true.
"Did he lose his soul again?" She really hoped that this was the case; at least then he'd have an excuse. Whistler shook his head (which caused sobs to start forming in her throat) and continued.
"No. But don't worry; he's not doing what you're afraid he's doing--quite the opposite, actually. He has successfully fooled the Senior Partners."
Buffy looked up at Whistler again, hope starting to show in her eyes.
"While joining the Circle did require him to do more than one act of evil, he joined because it was the only way for him to find out who all the members of the Circle are."
"What's he planning to do?" Buffy asked.
"In about thirty hours, he is going to set into motion a plan to wipe out the entire Circle."
Buffy said nothing for a moment; then…
"Okay, that's wonderful to hear, but not really seeing what the issue is here. Why are you here? Does he need my help? Is he going to die or something?"
"I am not sure about that; the vision the Powers sent me wasn't too clear about whether he actually was going to die, but I do know that he and his gang believe that none of them are going to survive.
"You see, he knows that if his plan succeeds, he will successfully cause the Senior Partners to briefly lose their hold on our dimension. Sure, they will only lose their hold for a mere instant, but that instant will be enough that it will have set back their plans for the Apocalypse for centuries, if not longer. The Senior Partners will be so pissed that they will unleash their armies onto LA."
Andrew interrupted. "Wait a minute…how will the Partners' unleashing their evil Imperial Army on Los Angeles prevent the apocalypse?"
Whistler looked annoyed at Andrew's interruption, but continued.
"They can't keep their armies in this dimension very long. They will only be able let them run loose on Earth long enough to get revenge on Angel and all those who assist him in his plan."
Dawn spoke up excitedly. "Well, then, we should help him! Buffy can call up the Slayer school in Cleveland and have them send dozens or even hundreds of Slayers to LA to battle the armies!" Buffy nodded in agreement.
Whistler gave a sad smile.
"That's noble of you, but that's not what I really came here to tell you."
Buffy, Dawn, and Andrew all looked at him.
"It's true that you need to help him, but not in the way that you are thinking. You see, there's a small flaw in his plan. He assumes that the plan will work because he assumes that all the members of the Circle were present at his initiation ceremony.
"Your job is to eliminate the ones who weren't. And you need to do it before Angel executes his plan."