"Shadow"
Based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode "Shadow" Written by David Fury and the Angel Episode "The Shroud of Rahmon" Written by Jim Kouf
The following story is copyright © 2024 by Mark Moore.
At Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, Dawn was sitting in the waiting area and fiddling with a bracelet on her right wrist. Buffy walked up and gave her a can of regular Pepsi. Dawn looked up at her. Buffy sat down next to Dawn and opened her own can of regular Pepsi.
"What is a CAT scan, exactly?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know. It's some...X-ray, I guess."
Dawn gave her an apprehensive look. Buffy put her arm around Dawn and brought Dawn's head to rest on her shoulder. She kissed the top of Dawn's head.
At the Magic Box, Tara and Giles were standing behind the counter, looking at a telephone book open to a page with a large advertisement for the Magic Box.
"Your one-stop spot to shop for all your occult needs." Tara smiled. "Catchy."
"Think so?"
"Uh-huh. In a...hard-to-read sort of way, but I think it's great."
"Oh."
Tara moved away as Giles studied the ad and soundlessly mouthed the words to himself. The door opened, and Jenny entered.
Tara looked at her. "Oh, Jenny, the - the new phone book's in with Mr. Giles' ad."
"Cool."
Giles looked at her. "Uh, since you're here, Tara and I could use your help researching Buffy's mysterious woman."
Jenny walked over to the reading table and sat down. "It'd be nice if we knew where she was, where she's hiding out."
Tara walked over to the reading table and sat down. "I just wish we knew what we were dealing with. It feels like we're going around in circles."
A customer walked up to the counter and handed Giles an item.
"Ah, weeping Buddha. Shoulders your spiritual burden." Giles wrapped the item. "Makes a lovely paperweight, too."
Tara suddenly thought of something. "Maybe she's not in the books."
"What do you mean?" Jenny asked.
"I mean...what if she's not a demon or sorceress or spirit or whatever these books cover?"
Giles looked over at her as he rung up the sale.
"What if she's something else altogether?" Tara suggested.
"Thank you, come again." Giles handed the item to the customer, came out from behind the counter, and walked toward the table.
"Something new, you mean?" Jenny asked Tara.
Tara shook her head. "Something old. So old it predates the written word."
"Predates language itself?" Giles asked.
Jenny thought of something. "Rupert, the Dagon Sphere. You said that was created to repel-"
"That which cannot be named." Giles removed his glasses thoughtfully. "If Tara's right, then we're blind. There's..." He paused. "There's no way we can determine...her moves, her habits, where she'll turn up next-"
He turned around, putting his glasses back on, and was confronted by Buffy's mystery woman, although he didn't know it. She had a few items in her hands.
"Oh! I beg your-"
"Uh-huh." She held up the items. "I want these."
"Yes, of course!" Giles hurried behind the counter, taking the items. "Um, you find everything all right?"
"No problemo." She took out her wallet.
Giles scribbled on a receipt. "That's, um, $37.29."
She opened her wallet and paid him. Giles completed the transaction, handing her her change.
"Your receipt." Giles handed the receipt to an impatient super-powered woman. "And..." He put the items in a paper bag. "Thank you!" He handed the bag to her.
She smiled and left.
Giles watched her, smiling. He turned back to the others, removing his glasses again. "She could be anywhere. But if she is as powerful as, uh, Buffy says, I imagine it won't be long before she makes herself known."
"Speaking of Buffy, where is she?" Jenny asked. "I thought she'd been interested in researching this bitch, too."
Tara looked at her. "Oh, she's, uh, she's at the hospital. Her mom's getting a CAT scan."
Jenny was surprised. "What?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing here?" Jenny asked. "Go be with your wife."
"She said she had it covered."
Jenny looked Tara in her eyes. "She's trying to be brave and put-together. Go. I've got this."
Tara was relieved. "Thank you!" She stood up and headed for the door.
At the hospital, Buffy was pacing outside a door marked "Examination Room". She twiddled her fingers nervously and sighed.
Tara walked up to her. "Hey."
Buffy hugged her. "Hey."
Tara hugged her. "How's she doing?"
Buffy let go and turned to look at the door. "Well, she just had a CAT scan. I was about to go in and find out. Will you...sit with Dawn while I talk to Mom? She's in the waiting room."
"Yeah, yeah, you got it."
Buffy nodded, sighed, and turned away. Tara turned in the opposite direction. Buffy opened the door and entered a darkened room.
"Hi."
She saw Joyce and a doctor standing in front of a set of CAT scan images stuck on a lighted wall. They turned.
"May I come in?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, of course, baby, come on in. Uh, where's Dawn?" Joyce asked.
Buffy closed the door and walked over to them. "Uh, she's with Tara. They're watching TV in the waiting room."
"Excuse me, I'm just gonna check on the status of the OR." The doctor walked over to the door, opened it, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"The OR?" Buffy asked Joyce.
"Dr. Isaacs says I'm...lucky there's one available on such short notice. Some people wait for days, sometimes weeks."
"Mom, what did they find?" Buffy asked softly.
"A shadow. I've got a shadow." Joyce looked at the images on the wall. "Somewhere...over there. He showed it to me, but, um...they have to do a biopsy to find out exactly what it is."
Buffy was upset. They hugged.
"Doctor says it's too early to be concerned."
"Right." Buffy pulled back to look Joyce in the face. "No concern."
"Just a shadow."
They smiled bravely at each other. Buffy turned to look at the images again.
Later, in the waiting room, Dawn was curled up asleep on an armchair. Tara draped her jacket over her and crouched beside her. Across the room, Buffy was sitting and watching them. Tara walked over and sat next to her. Buffy put her head on her shoulder. Tara kissed the top of her head. Suddenly, Buffy saw the doctor approaching. She got up and walked over to him.
"Everything went fine; they're moving her into Recovery now."
"Do we have the results yet?" Buffy asked, nervous.
"Let's, um, sit down over here for a minute."
"No!" Buffy lowered her voice. "Excuse me, no, I...I don't mean to be rude; I just...I've been sitting for hours; I don't wanna sit. I just..." She paused. "Tell me, please."
"Your mother has..." Dr. Isaacs paused. "The term is low-grade glioma. It's a brain tumor. The clinical name is oligodendroglioma. It's in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum. In your mother's case, the tumor seems to have started there. In other words, it hasn't spread from another part of the body. I know this is very difficult, and, uh, because of the nature of your mother's illness...unfortunately, things may progress very quickly."
"Things? What things?"
"Symptoms. There's a fair variety that might present. Loss of vision or appetite, lack of muscle control, uh, mood swings-"
"But what can we do?"
"Well, not much until we determine if the tumor's operable. Which we are working on."
Dr. Isaacs led Buffy over to some chairs, and they sat.
"Is there something that I..." Buffy paused. "I mean...can I help?"
"Well, there's some literature you might want to look at. If we aren't able to go in surgically, there are a number of new treatments that are very promising. Your mother's prognosis is a lot better today than it would have been only a year ago. Even if the tumor's not operable, she has a real chance."
"What's a real chance?"
"Nearly one out of three patients with this condition does just fine."
Buffy sat back, shocked.
"Now, let me ask. Does your mother's insurance company require copies of the MRI and pathology reports?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, just let me know as soon as possible. And I could use some information regarding your mom's lifestyle and home environment. For instance, does she use a cell phone?"
Buffy frowned. "Uh, I think so. Uh, yeah, she, um, she - she has one of those ear things."
"Okay. Is your house near any power lines, chemical plants, waste disposal facilities?"
"Uh...I-I don't know. Maybe."
"Well, the more we know..."
"I'm sorry."
The doctor scowled and wrote on his clipboard.
Gloria approached and put her hand on the doctor's shoulder. "Excuse me, Doc, but they told me you're needed in ICU."
"Excuse me, Miss Summers." Issacs got up.
Buffy was distracted. "Uh, it's okay."
Isaacs left.
Gloria sat down next to Buffy. "Thought you looked like you needed a break. Guy's great, but he doesn't have the bone in his head that tells him when to back off."
"You mean...they - they didn't need him?"
"Well, I'm sure someone does somewhere; they always do. He really is a good doctor. Your mom's in good hands."
Buffy smiled. "Thank you. It's Gloria, right?"
"Right."
"He, um, he was just telling me that there's nothing I can do."
"Yeah, I'm gonna tell you the same thing. Give yourself a break. Listen, your mom's gonna be unconscious for at least another six, seven hours."
"A break?"
"Well, I just mean go out, get some air. Come back later on this evening; talk to the doc then if you want. My unsolicited advice of the day." Gloria got up and left.
Buffy leaned her head back and sighed deeply.
"Buffy." Tara approached.
Buffy got up and hugged her. "It's bad."
"I know."
"I..." Buffy grabbed her coat and put it on. "I have to do something."
"Do something?"
"Yeah, like, you know, magic, like a healing spell."
Tara frowned. "Buffy...people get sick. I don't think magic-"
"I have to try." Buffy paused. "So I figured there has to be some kind of mystical cure, right? I mean...like a-a potion or a spell or something. We have to look."
"The truth is, uh, the...mystical and the medical aren't meant to mix, Buffy. Sorry, um...the human mind is very delicate. Too much can go wrong. I've heard stories about people trying healing spells..." Tara paused. "If we did something, it could make things a lot worse, Buffy."
"Okay." Buffy paused. "I need to talk to Giles and Jenny, see if they've found anything about my mystery gal. Uh, will you do me a favor and - and drop Dawn off at school...and bring her to the magic shop when she gets off?"
"Of course, whatever you need me to do."
"Thank you." Buffy kissed Tara on the lips and started to leave.
"Buffy!" Tara called.
Buffy stopped.
"What do you want me to tell Dawn...about your mom?"
They both looked at Dawn, still sleeping in the chair with Tara's jacket over her.
"Tell her we don't know anything yet."
Tara nodded. Buffy turned and left.
At the Magic Box, Jenny was looking through a pile of receipts. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at a receipt. "Rupert, you sold someone a Khul's amulet and a Sobekian bloodstone."
"Yes, I believe I did." Giles took the receipt and examined it.
Jenny grabbed the receipt back from Giles. "You never sell these things together, ever! Bad news! Don't you know about the Sobekites? It was an ancient Egyptian cult, heavy into dark magic. And the Khul's amulet was a transmogrification conduit."
"Be that as it may, I still see no reason for concern. I mean...the - the Sobekian transmogrification spells were lost thousands of years ago. And besides, the young woman to whom I sold them would have to have had enormous power-" Giles stopped suddenly.
"Young woman?" Jenny asked quietly.
"Oh, dear Lord."
Tara parked the Jeep in front of Sunnydale Middle School.
Dawn looked at her. "She's..." She paused. "She's not gonna get better, is she?"
Tara was on the verge of crying. "I don't know, Dawn. But Summers women are tough."
Dawn smiled. "Thanks."
Tara smiled. "I'll see you after school."
Dawn unfastened her seatbelt and unlocked and opened the door. She got out of the Jeep, closed the door, and walked toward the school.
Tara watched her go, then drove off.
Buffy walked into the Magic Box. "Hey, Giles, Jenny, what's the sitch on the mystery bitch?"
Giles looked guilty.
Buffy was confused. "What happened?"
Jenny gave her a fake smile. "We don't want to make your day any worse."
"Not possible. What happened?"
Giles averted his gaze. "Nothing to concern you, uh-"
"Giles!" Buffy yelled.
Giles sighed, embarrassed. "The, uh, demon woman was here, the one who attacked you."
Buffy was alarmed.
Jenny sighed. "She got an amulet and a bloodstone. That can create a monster."
"My God, are you guys okay, though? I mean...did..." Buffy paused. "No one got hurt, right?"
Giles still didn't look at her. "Oh, no, thankfully, no, uh, no violence to speak of."
"Okay, so that's good..." Buffy didn't understand why Giles looked guilty. "How did she get away with this bad mojo shit?"
Giles looked at Jenny in embarrassment.
"Rupert sold it to her."
Buffy looked at Giles accusingly.
"I-I-I...I didn't know it was her! I mean how could I?" Giles sighed. "If it's any consolation, I may have overcharged her."
Jenny rolled her eyes. "I figured out what the demon lady's up to. A few thousand years ago, there was this cult, the Temple of Sobek."
Buffy was confused. "Sobek."
"Reptile demon. Sobekites were reptile worshippers. Anyway, their high priest, Khul, had great mystic powers. He, um, forged an amulet with transmogrifying crystal."
Buffy stared blankly at her.
"Transmogrifying is changing a living thing into a different kind of thing."
"We've managed to decipher the markings that were on the bloodstone that I sold - that she left with. Um, cobra. She's going to transmogrify a cobra."
"Okay, so she's making a monster. What for? What does it do?" Buffy asked.
"That's the part..." Giles cleared his throat. "We're working on it."
"Well, you keep working on it; I'll go kill it." Buffy turned to leave.
"Buffy?" Jenny asked.
Buffy turned back to face him. "What? I'm going."
Jenny looked at her with warning eyes. "Buffy, this chick kicked your ass last time."
"That's because I wasn't ready for her last time. I am now."
"But you-"
"But what? Jenny, I can't just sit here. I have to do something." Buffy left.
During lunch, Dawn and Lisa were sitting at a table together. Lisa had a teen magazine open.
"Okay, question #10: 'Who is your favorite Charmed One?'" Lisa asked.
Dawn idly dipped a fry in ketchup, not really paying attention.
"Dawn?" Lisa asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just distracted."
Lisa put a hand on Dawn's free hand. "Your mom's gonna be okay, and you're gonna have a great Thanksgiving together, okay?"
Dawn gave her a weak smile and nodded. "Prue. Prue's my favorite."
Lisa circled that answer. "Okay, let me calculate the result."
Amanda walked by, carrying her lunch tray, and cautiously approached them. "What are you doing?"
Dawn looked at her. "Oh, uh, taking this dumb personality quiz."
"Oh. That sounds...nice. And there's questions about Charmed?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, it's kinda geeky. Do you watch Charmed?"
"Yeah! It's my favorite show!" Amanda replied.
"Do you wanna join us?" Dawn offered.
"Yeah!" Amanda set her tray down and sat down. "Thanks! We freaks and geeks need to stick together. So Prue's your favorite, huh? Mine, too."
"Yeah. Shannen Doherty was totally robbed of those Saturns." Dawn took a deep breath. "I'm not bitter."
Amanda grinned. "She kicks so much ass, huh?!"
Dawn took a bite of her cheeseburger. "Well, sure, but I love her mostly because of her caring...ness and her love for her younger sisters. Plus she gave a shout-out to my sister."
Lisa looked at her. "That was Phoebe."
"Oh."
At the Sunnydale Zoo, Buffy entered the reptile building. She saw the woman at an empty cobra case, holding an amulet over a large clay vase.
"Ah! Dark incantations! Always overwritten!" the woman exclaimed, irritated. "Why can't they just cut to the-"
Buffy tackled her from the side, slamming her into a wall. "Fight?" Buffy kicked her in the face.
"No fair-"
Buffy kicked her again.
"-attacking-"
Buffy punched her in the stomach, then in the face.
"-when I wasn't even looking!"
Buffy grabbed her head and began slamming it against the wall.
"Ow!" She grabbed Buffy's hand, removed it from her head, and slammed Buffy into the wall. "No, this is no good."
Buffy rose and tried to punch her again.
She grabbed Buffy's arm and pulled it behind her. "I'm out of the moment..." She braced her other hand against Buffy's shoulder. "...and you're not giving me anything I can use." She punched Buffy in the face, then slammed her against the wall. She lifted Buffy to her feet again. "Hey, hey. Work with me here."
She flung Buffy backward against another wall. Buffy slid down to sit on the floor.
"There!" She grabbed Buffy's hair and kneed her in the face. "That feels more real, don't you think?"
She pulled Buffy up and flung her against another wall. Buffy landed upside down and stared, gasping, as the woman approached.
She grabbed Buffy by the throat and lifted her up again. "Even if I do have to carry your performance."
She threw Buffy across the room. Buffy crashed through the glass, into the snake case.
The woman threw up her arms. "Scene!" She walked toward the vase. "Cir hayyan win-hud! Arise. Arise. Cir hayyan win-hud! Arise!"
The vase rocked wildly back and forth. Suddenly, it exploded as the creature burst out of it. It looked like a very large snake - but with arms. It hissed and swayed back and forth.
"'Bout damn time!" The woman smiled, watching the creature arising.
Buffy picked herself up and climbed out of the cage, unnoticed.
"Spawn of Sobek!" the woman yelled.
The creature turned toward her and approached.
Buffy ran away.
At the hospital, Buffy went to a payphone and called Giles. The phone rang once.
"Magic Box, your one-stop spot to shop for-"
"Giles, it's me."
"Buffy! You all right?"
"No, I'm really not." Buffy took an ice pack from a nearby rack of medical supplies and sighed. "I-I couldn't stop her. I couldn't even slow her down."
"Where are you?"
Buffy put the ice pack inside her jacket, on her shoulder. "Sunnydale Memorial."
"Are you badly hurt? I'll - I'll come right over."
"No. No, I-I just wanted to warn you that that thing she conjured, it's loose; it's a big snake thing. Not mayor big, but it's pretty fucking lethal looking." Buffy winced from pain.
"Do you know why she raised it?"
"I don't know yet."
"I'll warn the others. We'll get weapons, we'll fan out-"
"Wait. What time is it?"
"Half past four, why?"
"School's out. Dawn's on her way over to you. Giles-"
"Understood. We'll keep her safe here until you arrive."
"Thanks. And Giles..."
"Yes?"
"Dawn's kind of fragile right now. About Mom. She doesn't know how bad it is."
"We'll not say a word."
Buffy sighed. "Well, my mom's gonna wake up soon, and I should...be there when the doctors tell her."
"She's in good hands, Buffy. There's really nothing else you can do."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Buffy hung up and walked off through the hospital halls, limping a little.
In their dorm room, Sandy walked over and sat next to Julie on their bed. "You sure about this?"
Julie nodded. "Yeah. I trust you."
Sandy smiled at Julie and ran her hands over her chest, pushing her jacket aside. Sandy kissed her neck. She pulled back and bared her fangs. Julie was a little apprehensive as she moved her head aside, exposing her neck. Sandy leaned forward to bite her. Julie jerked in pain as Sandy bit her, then slowly she relaxed as Sandy began to drink. Julie closed her eyes and put one hand on the back of Sandy's head.
Julie moaned in pain. "Um, it hurts too much, sweetie."
Sandy pulled away. She saw blood running down Julie's neck from the bite marks.
Julie was a little shaken. "Sorry."
"It's okay."
"Um..." Julie hesitated. "I'm menstruating."
Sandy grinned. Julie took off all of her clothes, lay back on the bed, and spread her legs. Sandy lay between Julie's legs and pulled the tampon out of her pussy. She tossed it aside and then started licking Julie's pussy, lapping up her menstrual blood. She found it exceedingly delicious. Julie soon had an orgasm, her cum mixing with her blood. Sandy enjoyed the saltiness of it.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Harmony walked into the room.
Harmony came to a sudden stop, grinning in embarrassment. "Whoops!"
Sandy sat up and looked at her. "Harm! What the fuck?!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Harmony looked away. "It's just that Giles called and warned of a giant snake on the loose. You wanna go help find it?"
"Hmmm, let me think about that." Sandy looked at Julie. "Sweetie, do you wanna go searching all around town for a giant snake?"
"No."
Sandy looked at Harmony. "Yeah, we're gonna pass. Besides, I've had my fill of giant snakes for a lifetime."
"Okay. Uh...carry on." Harmony grinned and gave them two thumbs up, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Julie suddenly kissed Sandy on the lips, tasting her own blood and cum on them.
That evening, in the Hyperion lobby, Wesley stared at Cordelia. "What happened to your hair?"
Cordelia touched her shoulder-length black hair. "Excuse me?"
"Your hair. It's new. It's great!"
Cordelia smiled.
"When did this happen?"
Cordelia lost her smile. "Ten days ago."
"Of course! I didn't want to embarrass you by-"
"-noticing?" Cordelia paused. "Nice suit."
"I was just on my way out to-"
"-yet another glamorous, celebrity-filled gala with Miss Virginia Bryce?" Cordelia pretended to yawn.
"Have you seen Angel? I thought I might check on him. He doesn't seem to be doing much with his time lately."
"Au contraire. His day is packed. Brood about Darla. Brood about Darla. Lunch! Followed by a little Darla brooding."
"Right. Enough is enough." Wesley moved towards the stairs. "I'm gonna march up there and tell him just that." Wesley stopped, staring at the stairs.
"Nice posturing!" Cordelia called.
"Thank you!"
"Anyway, he's not there. Gunn's cousin got involved in something pretty big. Big meaning illegal. So Angel and Gunn went to see if they could help."
"That's good! He's getting out. Something I'm gonna do myself right now."
"Uh-huh, time to traipse off to your shallow, soul-sucking Hollywood party?"
"Premiere, actually. And...I happen to have an extra ticket..."
Cordelia smiled. "Who does shallow better than me?"
She put her hand on his arm as they left together.
Buffy walked up to the door, paused, opened it, and entered the Magic Box.
Giles was yawning and putting on his suit jacket. Jenny was checking the receipts against the money in the cash register. Tara was at the counter, reading a book, tired. Dawn was sitting at the table, trying to do homework but unable to concentrate. Dawn saw Buffy and jumped up from the table. Dawn walked quickly over to Buffy. They hugged.
"Is she awake yet?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah. She's waiting for us."
Dawn pulled back to look Buffy in the face. "Can we take her home now?"
Buffy tried to smile, brushing hair back from Dawn's face. "We'll see. Go get your stuff."
Tara, Jenny, and Giles watched with concern. Dawn turned away to gather her stuff.
Buffy sighed and looked at the others. "So...any monster reptile sightings?"
Giles shook his head. "None."
Jenny looked at Buffy. "Tara and I did a mini-patrol earlier, but the big snake was nowhere to be seen."
Gunn and Angel were leaning against the hood of Angel's convertible, looking at the black kid standing in front of them.
"He's cool, right?" Lester asked Gunn.
"He's cool."
"You know, not that I'm prejudiced. I just hate vampires."
Angel stared at Lester. "You're enlightened, I can tell."
"See? See how they do? See, man? They - They mess with your mind, man! That's the whole reason I called you, G-"
"-is 'cause you got a vampire problem, and Angel has a little experience in that area."
Lester stared at Angel.
"Yo, spill it!" Gunn yelled. "We ain't got all night."
"I-I sort of said I'd take this job drivin'-"
"Uh-huh."
"-for that big-time crew. I never met them, but E.J. vouched for me, and now I'm thinking-"
"-you'd like to stay out of prison."
"Well, yeah, there is that. Then - Then I heard they were bringin' in this - this psycho vampire from Vegas. And like I said, man-"
"What's the job?" Angel asked.
"Takin' off some museum. Don't know which one."
"What are they after?"
"Something big. Supernatural. It's going down later this week, but I'm supposed to meet the head honcho tonight, and if I don't show...E.J. said, if they don't hunt me down and kill me, he will!"
"Where's the meet?" Gunn asked.
Lester looked around, then pulled out a piece of paper. Both Gunn and Angel reached for it, but Gunn was the one that got it.
"Psycho vampire got a name?" Angel asked Lester.
"Yeah, uh, E.J. said it-it's something like, uh, Jee-don or Joe-don-"
"Jay-don."
"Yeah, that's it. Yeah, yeah, he's comin' here for the meetin' tonight. They're picking him up."
"Where?"
"Downtown bus, midnight." Lester looked at Gunn. "Hey, what am I gonna do?"
"Take the meeting. I'll get you out before the crime goes down."
Lester hugged Gunn. "I owe you big-time, cous." He looked at Angel. "Hey, man! Nice to meet you." He laughed and looked at Gunn. "See you!" He hurried off.
Gunn looked at the paper. "You know this Jay-don bloodsucker?"
"I know of him."
"And?"
"And he's a player, big on the nightlife and way too dangerous for you. I'll take it from here."
"You'll what? That's my cousin's life we're talking about."
Angel took the paper away from Gunn and read it. "Which I don't want you jumping in this thing, guns-a-blazing."
"Since when do I take orders from you?"
"Since I'm paying you."
"This ain't no paying gig. I brought it to you."
"And I'm taking it from here. If I can shut it down, great. If not, I'll protect him."
"And what am I supposed to do? Sit home and knit?"
"I could use a sweater. Something dark."
Angel got into his car and drove off as Gunn shook his head.
At the Hyperion, Kate walked through Angel's dimly-lit suite.
"Darla?" Angel asked behind her.
"You expecting her? Because that would really cut down on my legwork."
"What are you doing here?
"Well, there is that little thing about a murder she was involved in? You remember: a few weeks ago, a guy got his throat ripped out? I'm sure you're gonna tell me she's innocent."
Angel just walked past her, not answering.
"Maybe not. I don't suppose you'd testify against her in a blindingly sunny court of law?"
"I don't suppose you have a search warrant?"
Kate pulled out a wooden cross, the end of its long beam sharpened into a stake. "Well, I knew I forgot something."
"Darla's not here. I don't know where she is."
"I will find her, Angel, you can be sure of that. And when I do, she's toast."
"She's human now, remember?"
"Toast with life in prison."
"Listen, Kate." Angel stepped closer.
She held her cross up.
Angel gave a chuckle. "There are forces at work here that you know nothing about."
"Gathering storm, is it?"
"Which you don't want to get caught in."
"You afraid I'll get hurt?"
"No. I'm afraid you'll get killed. I'm just telling you this, so you won't."
"Me dead. I guess I'd kind of be like you then, wouldn't I? You think I'm gonna stand by while you and your playmate finish the game?"
"Let's try this one more time, huh?" Angel sent her cross flying and grabbed a hold of her. "You get stuck between me and Darla, it'll be the last thing you ever do."
"Let go of me!"
He did. They looked at each other for a moment, then she turned and walked out.
In Joyce's hospital room. Buffy stood beside the bed. "You want me to stay?"
"No, I'm fine. I-I think I should...talk to Dawn alone."
Buffy nodded. "Okay."
"Oh. Do I have bad hair?" Joyce put her hands to her head. "I don't look like scary Mom, do I?"
Buffy smiled. "No. You look beautiful." She brushed some hair back from Joyce's forehead.
Joyce smiled bravely. "Okay. Let's do this." She put her hand on Buffy's arm. "Stay close."
Buffy put her other hand over Joyce's. "I will."
Buffy turned, went to the door, and let Dawn in. Dawn smiled nervously and walked over to hug Joyce. Buffy paused in the doorway to watch them embrace.
"Buffy..."
Buffy left the door slightly open, then turned to walk toward Tara.
"You okay?" Tara asked her.
Buffy shrugged.
"Come here." Tara hugged her. "It's okay, sweetie. Just let it out."
"I can't." Buffy sniffled. "Not now." She glanced toward the hospital room. "They need me. If I start now...I won't be able to stop." She bit her lip, tears in her eyes.
Tara gently kissed Buffy on the lips.
"Buffy?" Joyce called.
Buffy turned and walked back to the hospital room door, wiping her eyes. Tara watched her enter the room and close the door behind her.
Cordelia, a big red stain down the front of her white blouse, walked into the lobby, followed by Wesley.
"Really, the stain - it's hardly noticeable!" Wesley told her.
Angel saw Cordelia. "What happened?"
"It's not blood; it's cocktail sauce, courtesy of Mr. Star-schmoozer here."
"I mean to your head. Your - Your hair."
She gave him a look.
"It looks great." Angel chuckled. "When did this happen?"
"Ten days ago!" Wesley yelled. "Pay attention."
Cordelia looked at Wesley, gave a short laugh, then stepped around the reception counter.
"Why doesn't anybody tell me any of this stuff?" Angel asked.
"We had a little mishap...with the little shrimp...and the sauce...and her dress."
"You were at a party."
Cordelia popped her head up from under the counter. "You know, party, soiree, night of a thousand humiliations..."
"I spilled it on her in front of Mr. Fat Chow...Chow-"
Cordelia popped up above the counter. "Chow Yun Fat!" She then ducked back under it.
"What, you met Chow Yun Fat?!" Angel asked Wesley.
"How did it go with Gunn's cousin?"
"Fine. A group of...Cordelia?"
"Listening." Cordelia got out of her blouse.
"Uh, a group of thieves is planning to steal something from a local museum. Probably something with mystical power, which means something we really don't want them to have."
"Indeed! Do you know which museum they will be targeting?" Wesley asked.
"No. Gunn's cousin didn't know. He's just the driver."
"We should find out which museums in the area have recent acquisitions. This is wonderful! You're - You're on a case! You're back."
Cordelia popped back up from under the counter, now wearing a black top. "Yeah! It'll be just like old times, right, Angel? Meeting evil face to face, kicking evil's ass! Wes and I'll crank up the research machine, and you'll..." She paused. "What will you do, again?"
"They're bringing a vampire in from Las Vegas tonight. His name is Jay-don. He's got a rep. If he's involved, it's a big heist."
"I've heard of him. Isn't he a-"
"-deadly killer?" Cordelia guessed.
"Well, that, of course. I was about to say a loud, flashy sort of character."
"Well, he ran with the whole Sinatra Rat Pack thing. Never got over it. You know, I think I'll meet his bus."
"And take his place?" Cordelia clapped him on the shoulder. "Great plan, boss!"
Angel turned to look at her.
Cordelia stepped back to stand beside Wesley. "What better way to get your mind off...things we don't even need to..." She looked at Wesley. "How loud and flashy?"
"I believe he is quite the extrovert."
They turned together to look at Angel.
Cordelia regarded him. "Hmm..."
"What?" Angel asked.
Wesley shook his head. "Oh, I-I'm sure you can pull it off. You're...colorful."
Gunn walked up to a door as it slid open.
"What took you so long?" an ugly demon asked.
"What took me so long is I'm a professional." Gunn walked into the building. "I had to case the neighborhood, make sure no cops followed me." He saw Angel. "Looks like I'm the last one at the party."
The ugly demon, a spiny demon, and a guy named Bob were standing around a table. Gunn and Angel were leaning against something a little ways away.
"I told you I'd handle this."
"And I told you I don't take orders."
Ugly looked over at them. "Something wrong?"
"Depends." Gunn motioned at Angel. "Do we all got to wear these ugly-ass shirts?"
Angel looked at his shirt.
"Is this, you know, a team thing? Because, you know, I got my pride." Gunn stepped up to the table. "So what are we looking for? Ming somethings? Egyptian somethings?"
"The Shroud of Rahmon. Worth about two-million on the black market. Do you want to pay attention now?" Ugly asked.
Gunn and Angel glanced at each other.
Gunn looked at Ugly. "You got my undivided."
Ugly pointed to a map laying on the table. "This is the access door. Bob turns off the alarm at 2:40. We enter, take this hall to the elevator, where we meet Bob at 2:45. We all go down together. This is the vault where they keep it. The vault has a lock code known only by the curator. That means we have to blow it. Now, the door has no alarm, but the vault itself has its own system - a thermal sensor."
Bob nodded. "Any change in temperature will set off the alarm."
"Guess that's where I come in, huh?" Angel asked.
"Oh, no body heat. I guess that comes with the no-soul thing, huh?" Gunn asked.
"Jay-don enters; he goes to the control box in the back and disarms it. Then we're in."
"How big is the case?" Angel asked Ugly.
"Big." Ugly opened a book and pointed to an illustration. "It's made of consecrated wood; the edges are sealed with gold. Inside the box is lined with lead. It weighs about a ton. It's gonna take all of us just to lift it."
"I can handle my end. I'm not so sure about him." Spiny looked at Bob.
"Hey, I can handle my side."
Gunn looked at Bob. "Yeah, maybe with a forklift."
"You want a piece of me, huh?" Bob lunged across the table at Gunn.
Angel pushed him back. "Hey, hey, take it easy, huh?" He pointed at Gunn. "This guy here is a troublemaker. All right, I know a Vajnu demon, professional driver, never opens up his mouth."
"Yeah, and I know a vampire that better shut his!" Gunn yelled.
"Hey, guys, I apologize." Angel hit Gunn and grabbed him. "This is something that I should just take outside!"
Ugly pulled out two guns and aimed them at Angel and Gunn. "I've got a problem with that."
Spiny nodded. "So do I."
Angel let go of Gunn. "You expect me to spend the rest of this week with this clown?"
Ugly shook his head. "No, just the rest of the night. We're not waiting. We're doing this now."
"Tonight?" Gunn asked.
"And no one leaves my sight until it's over." Ugly motioned towards Spiny. "Anybody tries, they get a bullet from me or a stake from him."
Cordelia was surfing the 'Net. "Museums, museums. Okay, we've got the MOCA. We've got the LACMA. Uh, the Gene Autry!"
Wesley gave her a look.
"Well, it could be a magical stuffed horse!" Cordelia insisted.
"Let's assume not and try Natural History."
"Okay, here we go. Site Map...Membership...Museum Shop..." Cordelia frowned. "Don't they have a section like...Shit You Might Want to Steal?"
"Click on Recent Acquisitions. Right there. There!"
"I got it! Jesus, backseat surfer!" Cordelia clicked the link.
"Angel should've been back by now."
"Maybe the meeting ran late." Cordelia pointed at the screen. "Could it be a collection of Chelicerate arthropods?"
"Keep going. Hold it. 'On the third of this month, Museum Research Department received the Shroud of Rahmon from a tomb recently unearthed by University of New Mexico archeologists.'"
"Okay. Two words I don't like right off the bat: tomb and unearthed. People, you've got to leave your tombs earthed!"
"Shroud of Rahmon. Have you ever heard of it?"
"I'm not big on shrouds. They're an after-you-die outfit."
"Get everything you can from the museum database. I'll hit the books."
A big white van with "Rehak Moving and Storage" stenciled on the side backed up to the dock at the back of the museum. Gunn and Ugly got out of the cab, and Spiny and Angel got out of the back.
Angel looked at Gunn. "The driver should stay with the truck. Just in case somebody shows up."
Ugly pulled a door open, revealing the latch had been taped over with masking tape to keep it from locking. "We need him inside."
Spiny followed Ugly inside.
Gunn tapped Angel on the arm. "Hey, don't hit me again."
Angel took off his sunglasses. "I was trying to protect you."
"And I appreciate that." Gunn hit Angel with a hard right punch. "Don't do it again."
Gunn walked in, and Angel followed, putting his glasses back on.
They met up with Bob and rode the elevator down.
"We have one minute before Earl makes his rounds." Bob looked at Spiny. "You don't have to hit him hard."
Spiny smiled. Angel looked over at Gunn, who met his eyes for a moment, then looked straight ahead.
They exited the elevator and walked down the hallway. Spiny darted ahead into an alcove. Bob swiped his card through a security scanner. Earl came up around a corner of the hallway, whistling, and Ugly pulled his gun and grabbed Bob from behind.
"They got me, Earl!" Bob yelled.
Before Earl could react, Spiny came up behind him and threw him into the wall. As he stepped up to hit him again, Angel caught his arm.
"You kill him, cops will be all over us. We have to do this clean."
Spiny pulled free and stared at Angel but made no move towards Earl. Ugly threw a roll of duct tape towards Bob, who caught it.
"Tape him." Ugly looked at the others. "Let's go."
They walked up to the vault door, and Ugly laid one hand against it.
"Come on! Come on. Hurry up and blow it!" Spiny yelled.
Ugly drilled a hole in the door while Angel sprayed water to cool the drill. Gunn assembled the trigger. He and Angel stared at each other.
At the police station, Kate was meeting with a cop.
He pointed at a picture laying in front of him on the desk. "This one is a security guard at the Southern California Museum of Natural History. His name is Robert Skale. He's got a record. Small-timer." He pointed at Ugly standing in the picture beside Bob. "The other one may or may not be one M. James Menlo, who likes to crack bank vaults. Our guess is they're putting together a heist, probably at the museum." He pulled out another photograph. "And we picked up this one earlier tonight. We couldn't make this guy until we ran him past Carlson. He said you knew him."
The picture showed Ugly picking up Angel at the bus station.
"He's out of the scope of our investigation, but, uh, Carlson said you might be interested."
Kate picked up the photo in her hands and looked at it. "I'm interested."
Ugly was taking a small glass bottle filled with yellow liquid out of a padded box, his hand shaking a little, and moved to insert it into the hole drilled into the door.
"You're taking too long!" Spiny yelled.
Everyone else jumped.
"Spine-man, chill. All right? This is nitro. The last thing I want is my body parts mixed up with yours!" Gunn yelled.
"We should have been in the vault by now."
Ugly turned to Spiny. "Shut up!"
The nitro slipped from his fingers.
"No!" Ugly yelled.
Angel stretched out his foot and softly caught the bottle, so it came to rest on top of his boot.
"Allow me." Balancing on one foot, Angel slowly reached down, took the bottle, and inserted it into the door.
With all of them standing around the corner of the corridor, Ugly blew the lock out of the door.
Wesley walked into the lobby, holding a book. "The shroud was woven by the head priest, said to have been driven mad by the demon himself. Once Rahmon was defeated, the priest dyed the shroud with the blood of seven virgin women sacrificed on the first full moon, then laid it upon Rahmon's body in order to prevent his resurrection."
"Why is it always virgin women who have to do the sacrificing?" Cordelia asked, irritated.
"For purity, I suppose."
"This has nothing to do with purity. This is all about dominance, buddy. You can bet you ass, if someone ordered a male body part for religious sacrifice, the world would be atheist..." Cordelia snapped her fingers. "...like that."
"The shroud supposedly absorbed Rahmon's power."
"So...he who has the shroud has the power. You said Rahmon was a drive-you-mad kind of fella?"
"Mmmm..."
"I hate it when you do that."
"Once, in 1803, the shroud was removed from its casing."
"And yuckiness ensued?"
"Well, yes. The entire population of El Encanto went insane, mothers and children hacking one another to pieces, men roaming the streets like rabid dogs-"
"I get the picture. So in order to take his mind off the torment that is Darla, we sent Angel after a box that makes you crazy."
"Worst case scenario, we warn Angel off it before they steal the shroud."
"Just as soon as he comes back - unless, of course, they're stealing it right now."
They looked at each other, then ran for the door.
Angel entered the vault with Ugly closing the door behind him. Spiny paced outside the vault while everyone stared at the door.
"This shroud is gonna make us rich! I can feel it. Can you feel it? This is gonna be amazing!" Bob exclaimed.
"How's it going in there?" Gunn called through the door.
"Everything's fine."
A light outside the vault went off, and Ugly smiled, opened the door, and walked in. The others followed.
Gunn looked around. "I feel something weird in here."
Spiny rolled his eyes. "Humans always got to feel something about everything. And they always got to tell you about it. 'I'm so happy. I'm so sad. I'm so scared.' Makes me sick."
"Oh, now, I like it when they're scared!" Angel told him. "Makes them taste kind of...salty."
Spiny got right in Angel's face. "Did I ask for your opinion, you overgrown leech?"
Angel squirmed away from him. "Oh, please! Altoids, aisle 4!"
"We don't have time for this!" Ugly yelled. "Let's get it and go."
Gunn stared down at the image of the demon through the glass square in the box. "When are they gonna start making some pretty demons?"
"On the count of three." Ugly paused. "1..."
They all took a hold of the box.
Gunn noticed a wild look in Angel's eyes. "You about to turn or something?"
"No."
"2..."
"You don't look like 'No'."
"Shut up and lift, Lester!" Angel yelled.
"Don't give me orders, Elvis!" Gunn yelled back.
"3."
They all strained and lifted the box up together.
Wesley pulled open the taped back door, and he and Cordelia entered.
"So it is tonight. They must be somewhere inside. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm - I'm feeling a little..."
Cordelia felt ill. "Me, too. I think it's the altitude."
"Right. The altitude here at sea level."
They both cracked up laughing.
"Let's - Let's not lose focus."
Cordelia looked at him. "Maybe we should split up."
"Uh, no, too dangerous. We - We better stick together."
"Right."
And with that, they both went their separate ways.
Kate drove a slick, silver car to the back of the museum and parked. She got on the radio. "This is Detective Lockley requesting backup. Got a possible 4-5-9 in progress at the Museum of Natural History."
Kate unfastened her seatbelt, opened the door, got out of her car, pulled her gun, and walked up to the museum.
The group was carrying the heavy coffin down the corridor.
"Try holding up your corner, Les."
"Who died and made you corner monitor?" Gunn asked Angel.
"Are you two gonna get married or what?" Spiny asked them.
"Same old story. Vampires always pushing people around. Think the world is theirs."
Ugly grunted. "From what I've seen of this world, they can have it."
Bob smiled. "Well, I visited Topkapi once."
Gunn was staring at Angel, who was staring back at him.
"Nothing but take, take, take. Take your blood, take your sister!" Gunn yelled.
"Somebody shut that human up!" Spiny yelled.
"You want to take somebody, huh?" Gunn let go of his corner of the coffin. "Let's see you take me!"
"It's slipping!" Bob yelled.
"Don't drop it!" Ugly yelled.
"Hold it! Hold it!" Spiny yelled.
Gunn tackled Angel, and the box dropped to the ground. The glass cracked, and a purple mist seeped out.
Bob stared. "Oops."
Angel had Gunn by the throat and was pushing him up against the wall. "You know, I'm getting pretty tired of this 'vampires killed my sister, so now I'm all entitled' song. Don't you know anything else, like, say, 'MacArthur Park'?"
"Get your hands off my throat."
"Ah, ah, ah! You're gonna play nice? Huh?"
"Cool."
Angel let go of Gunn, and he dropped back to his feet.
"We can't leave it here; we have to move it! Someone else will come along! Let's move it!" Ugly yelled.
Gunn pulled out a stake and attacked Angel from behind. Angel batted the stake aside and kicked him into the wall.
"Kill him. Kill the human! Kill it!" Spiny yelled.
Angel cocked back his fist to strike Gunn again but heard Ugly cock his gun and froze, then took a step back.
Ugly laid the gun on the coffin. "Case."
Bob pulled a rope out of Ugly's bag. "Alrighty, partners, it's roping time! Tonight, I will be playing the part of the poor, defenseless calf. Who gets to be the cowboy?"
Ugly took the rope and started to tie the guy's hands behind his back.
"Just make it tight. Okay, cowboy? It's got to be tight. It's got to look real. Ha, ha, ha! I'm not the bad guy; I'm the good guy!"
"I'm the good guy - no, wait, the bad guy!" Angel yelled.
Ugly moved towards the coffin. "Pick it up!"
"No, wait. You've got to hit me. Look, somebody's gotta hit me! Come on, man, you got to hit me. Do it. Come on, make it real!" Bob yelled.
Spiny walked over to him and twisted his head right off, making Gunn flinch.
Spiny looked at Bob's head. "Looks real to me." He dropped the head and moved back to his end of the coffin.
Kate walked down some steps in the museum, gun in hand. A shadow flew across, and she aimed her gun at it while continuing down the steps. The shadow flew across above her; she spun around, firing in the air and knocking Wesley to the ground in the process.
"Where is Angel?" Kate asked him.
"Angel? Right." Wesley picked himself up and looked around. "That's why I'm here - to warn Angel about...something...important!" He pointed at Kate and took a deep breath. "Your hair!"
"You're here to warn Angel about my hair."
"It's blonde!" Wesley reached up to his head in pain. "The shroud! He's got to know about the shroud! It will make everybody..." He paused. "It makes everybody...act differently!"
Cordelia was admiring her reflection in a glass case. "My teeth are so...big! I...am...pleasant."
"We have to hurry before it's too late."
There was a whooshing sound, and Kate spun around, then grabbed the bridge of her nose.
"I noticed your hair right away."
Taking a deep breath, Kate dropped her hand and turned back to face him. She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Cordelia saw a gray puppet wearing a Native American costume. "Oh. Hello, plastic person. You're all by your lonesome in here." She saw its necklace. "So...I guess you won't be needing this." She took the necklace off, then put it around her own neck.
Angel, Gunn, Ugly, and Spiny carried the heavy coffin out of the elevator.
"Fingerprints!" Ugly yelled.
"What are you doing?" Angel asked him.
"We left fingerprints!"
"What are you doing?!"
Ugly let go of his corner, snatched up a rag from his bag, and started to frantically wipe at the walls of the elevator. "They'll find us. They'll take it away!"
Angel looked at the others. "Forget him. Keep going."
"No fingerprints!" Ugly yelled.
They moved a little ways further down the hall.
Gunn felt dizzy. "I got to put it down."
"Huh?" Spiny asked.
"I got to put it down!"
"See? Fucking humans, good for nothing!" Spiny yelled.
Angel looked at Gunn. "Try to keep going."
"I can't. I can't. My head - it's full of flies!" Gunn set his corner down, grabbed his head, and backed against the wall. "Get away from it. Get away from it!"
Spiny moved to the side of the box. "I don't need any of you."
"What's wrong now, son, huh? Getting a little tired? Little backache? A little toothache?" Angel lifted a hand to his head. "What...?"
Wesley came stumbling along the wall of the corridor. "Angel? Thank God I found you in time."
Angel turned to look at him.
"Is it in time?" Wesley asked.
"Wesley?" Angel asked.
"Yes! I had a message for you. And the message was..." Wesley hit his hand with his fist. "...the shroud! The shroud, very dangerous. It makes people...bad! Although, it's amazing how good I feel!"
Angel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pushed him down the corridor. "Wesley, get out!"
"Is that Gunn? What's he doing here? I never thought of him as the museum type."
"Wesley...Wesley-"
Kate whipped around the corner, aiming her gun at them. "Police! Nobody move!"
Angel squinted at her. "Wow! Look at you...rushing in here all by yourself! You're the best cop ever."
"Too many humans."
Angel looked at Spiny. "Excuse me, that is my girl."
Kate aimed her gun at Angel. "Stay back."
"Whoo! Okay." Angel laughed. "You got me. My life of crime is over." He raised his hands up in the air and slowly stepped closer to Kate. "I'm going down. But first...a little impression." He laughed. "I'm a cop...with a mission to protect the innocent and rain on everybody's parade and obsessed about my father's death and bother people who are about to steal things!"
Wesley stared at him. "Angel-"
Angel spun around, knocking Wesley into the wall, then turned back to face Kate. "Oh...Katie...what are you so afraid of? Is it the part where I'm gonna kill you? Because I got to tell you: I love that in a woman!"
Kate shot at him, but he rushed her, grabbed her, pointing her gun up at the ceiling, and sunk his fangs into the right side of her neck. Kate panted as he drank. His pale hand flexed as he held on to her shoulder. Then he turned, so she could see over his shoulder that Ugly had his gun trained on her.
"Stay down, or they'll kill you."
Angel let go of her, and she dropped to the floor. She looked up at his bloody face for a moment, then her eyes slid shut as Angel turned to look around and chuckled as Ugly lowered his gun. Kate's head rolled to the side, and she kept her eyes shut.
The SWAT team entered, guns at the ready. Two of them found Wesley crouched over a motionless Kate.
"Don't move! Police!"
"Oh, I-I didn't-"
"Don't move. Stay where you are. Oh, my God!"
"Kate, come on. Wake up!" Wesley yelled, shaking her.
"We have an officer down."
The other SWAT guy pulled Wesley off Kate rather roughly.
The moving van crashed into one of the cars parked in the lot in front of the garage. Gunn, Angel, Ugly, and Spiny carried in the coffin with Angel chuckling maniacally. They set it down.
"You drank her. Animal! You drank that cop!" Gunn yelled at Angel.
"What now?" Spiny asked Ugly.
"Open it."
"Oh, that's genius! Good thing we didn't think about that back at the ol' museum and miss out on all this swell heavy lifting!" Angel exclaimed dramatically.
"Open it! There is a catch."
Ugly ran his hands along the coffin's lid, but Spiny just punched his fist through the glass window, ripped the lid right off, and threw it aside.
Gunn smiled. "That works, too."
The four of them stepped closer to the coffin and looked at the shroud-wrapped body inside. Angel looked slightly wigged; Gunn was smiling.
Ugly was shaking and reached for the shroud. "I got it! I got it!"
Spiny pushed him away from the coffin. "No! No! You don't know what this means. You have no idea what this is about. It belongs to my people." He hit himself on the chest. "My people."
"Your people? I didn't see none of your people when we was hauling this thing!" Gunn yelled.
"Hey, fellas! Fellas! Cool your jets, all right? There is plenty here for all of...me!" Angel yelled.
Each of them grabbed a hold of one corner of the shroud and tried to pull it away from the others.
"Okay, how does this work, huh? Huh? The person with the biggest piece gets their wish?" Angel asked.
"No!" Ugly yelled.
"Don't hurt it!" Spiny yelled.
"What about you, Lester? All of a sudden, you want it, too?" Angel asked.
"I get this, I'll kill you."
"Yeah, too bad, kid. Tell your wishes it won't come true."
Ugly pulled out his gun and shot Angel. Spiny hit Ugly with a hard right punch, sending him to the floor. His gun went off again, and Gunn ducked down beside the coffin. Spiny grabbed the shroud and pulled it away from Angel, almost pulling him into the coffin. Angel caught himself with his face only inches away from the skull of the demon. Spiny ran towards the door. Angel tackled him in one leap before he reached it and got the shroud away from him. Gunn snagged the other end of the shroud and tried to pull it out of Angel's hands. They stared at each other as they worked their way hand over hand towards the middle.
Spiny jumped back up. "It's mine!"
He ran towards them, but Ugly got off one last shot in their direction, hitting Spiny in the forehead. Spiny's body dropped onto the shroud, held between Gunn and Angel, and all three of them toppled to the ground with Gunn at the bottom and Angel on top.
Gunn still clutched the shroud with all of his might. "Got it. Got it. Got it!"
"Wait! Wait. Gunn, I remember. You have to...trust me. I know what to do with this. Have faith, kid."
Gunn let go of the shroud. Angel stumbled out of the door of the garage, carrying the shroud and Bob's bottle of whiskey. He dropped the shroud and poured the whiskey over it. Angel stared down on the image of the demon's face on the shroud. He pulled out a lighter and flicked it. He stared at the flame and looked down at the shroud. The lighter tumbled from his hand. Angel watched the flames, breathing hard. Angel slowly took a step back. Suddenly, there was a soundless explosion, the flames shot straight up, and Angel flew through the air and against a stack of cement bags behind him, then landed in a heap. The flames died back down, and Angel lay there, barely lifting his head off the ground, watching the shroud burn.
Kate opened the door to the interrogation room at the police station and stepped in. She locked eyes with Wesley, who was in the process of being arrested by two officers.
"Let him go."
Kate stood in front of the window beside her desk, looking out at the night through the open blinds. She covered Angel's bite mark with her right hand.
Kate slowly took her hand away from her neck and turned around.
Wesley paced in front of the stairs in the Hyperion's lobby with his hands buried in the pockets of his gray sweatpants. He went to the sofa to sit down beside Cordelia, who had changed her clothes as well but was still wearing the Native American necklace around her neck.
"I don't think he's coming down."
"Hmm."
"I don't think recent events did him a lot of good."
"Again a hearty 'Hmm'."
"We had every good intention, of course."
"Right. Sending him into the path of a crazy-making, one-way-ticket-to-evil-town death cloth. Good plan."
"It's not the shroud's effects on him that worry me as much as..."
"As what?" Cordelia asked.
Wesley looked over at her.
Cordelia looked back at him with big eyes. "My stealing? I returned everything. I swear."
Wesley frowned slightly. "Angel drank human blood...from a living person. Something he hasn't done in a very long time."
"So, on top of everything else, we may have reawakened his bloodlust?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Full day's work, then."
"I think so."
They both got up at the same time and left, turning off the lights.