" Previously:" " I have a roommate." "He's a ghost." " He got sucked into the portal." " They made me ruler." "Handsome man saved me from the monsters." " He's here." " Angel." "I'd love to see that boy." "Get dressed and get out because the next time I see you, I'll kill you." "I understand people who drink too much." "I understand people who say the parking meter is broken when it's not." "I don't understand people who worship demons." "Yeah, especially a Lurite demon." "The stink on that thing." "You're a prince of the underworld, take a Jacuzzi sometime." "It's sad." "The only way some people can find a purpose is by becoming obsessed with demons." "By the way, Gunn, technically that wasn't a Lurite, it was Murite." "Subspecies of the Lurite." "The male sports a small telltale fin just behind the third shoulder." "Glad we're not the sad, obsessed people." "We have to be a little obsessed." "We specialize in these things." "But we're not sad." "No, we're a happy and rambunctious lot if I ever saw one." "Not going to humor me even a little, huh?" "Uh-uh." "I realize we sacrifice a great deal of our social lives but we have to." "Work demands it." "True." "Who's got time for love when you're out doing it with the demons?" " Didn't that come out sad and wrong?" " Yeah." "I need to get out more." "Speaking of, anybody talk to Fred lately?" "Not talk." "Glimpsed." "She pokes her head out of her room once in a while." "Nice girl." "Nice." "But not making the giant strides toward mental health." "She's been hibernating up there for three months." "Ever since Angel went away." "She's become quite attached to him." "Angel groupie." "I get that." "He rescued her from Pylea." "I miss Pylea." "I would think you might." "You were there a week they made you queen." "Fred was there five years." "She was a slave, a runaway." "They nearly chopped her head off." "All those years she spent hiding out in that cave." "She survived." "Girl's strong." "Girl's trading one cave for another." "How strong is that?" " When Angel comes back" " When is he getting back?" " After working through grief." " Buff" "Don't say the B word." "The B word was the love of his life." "And he's, what, 250?" "That ain't no short life." "It's gonna take more than a vacation in Sri Lanka." "It isn't a vacation, it's a spiritual retreat at a monastery." "Angel and a bunch of monks in the middle of nowhere." "There's a party." "Should've got hammered and gone to Vegas." "He doesn't need a lap dance, he needs peace and quiet to work through this." "So whose turn is it to set the traps?" " His." " His." "You amaze me." "You'll fight hell beasts, but you're scared of rats." " I hate rats." "Their beady eyes...." " And their beady teeth." "And their tails all:" "Well, aren't you two just the biggest scaredies I ever saw" "You're back!" "You guys, he's back!" " Wesley." " Welcome home." "Hey, what's up, man?" "So, I hope you had a good retreat, all peaceful and meditatey." "It was all right until the monks turned out to be demons." " Vegas." " Yeah." "Well, the point is, you worked on things." "It wasn't like a holiday where you'd come back home to your friends you know, with some small mementos of your trip." " Fishing for gifts?" " Yes." "Oh...." "A small human head." "Cool." "Oh, my gosh." "It's gorgeous!" "And look how it brings out my breasts." "You know you were all thinking it." " Oh." " Thank you." "Sixteenth century...." "Murshan Dynasty?" "I've always wanted one of these." "I didn't think...." "I can't wait to kill something with it." "Any visions brewing?" "Place looks good." "How's Fred?" " Good." "She's doing well." " Hasn't come out of her room?" "Not what you'd call frequently." "We send up a lot of tacos." "I'll settle in and check on her, then you guys can bring me up to date." "It's really good to see you guys." "Thanks for the head." "He seems better than when he left." "Uh-huh." "Listen." "Listen." "Oh, hi, how are you?" "I'm just fine." "Doing real good here." "No need to worry about me, but thanks for checking." "It's me, Fred." "Angel." "Hey!" "Hey, you're-- Well, hey, there." "It's good to" " Did you have a nice--?" "Oh, here, let me make some room." "I can't come in." "Of course." "You're worn from your trip." "You go rest." "We'll catch up later." "I just can't come in unless you" "I invite you, instead of being rude." "Oh, come in, come in." "It's just a smidge of vampire in you, as far as I'm concerned." "But the universe has rules." "I'm a big believer in rules and theorems, formulas." " I get that." " Aphorisms leave me a little dry." "How are you?" "Yeah, good." "Everything's pretty much like when you you know, went away on your trip." " Sorry I left so suddenly" " Hey, no." "You had things you had to take care of and I don't need a babysitter or-- You're sticking around now, right?" "Yeah, I am." "Good." ""Listen, listen." What are you listening for?" "The click." "When it all comes together and makes sense there's a click in your brain and you understand things again." "What happens if you run out of wall space before you get the click?" "I don't know." "Fred, you know, you spent five years in a place where humans could only be slaves or fugitives." "I know that wasn't a picnic for you, but you're home now." "You're safe." "You can come out of your room." "I know it's gonna take some time." "Time?" "I have a whole treatise on that." "It seems to take a lot of it to do just about anything these days." "Fred." "Fred." "Fred, you don't have to write absolutely everything down." "Oh, right." "God, I should write that down." "You just need to take some small steps." "Huh?" "Like coming downstairs and hanging with us for a while." "What do you say?" "Nothing to be scared of." "You're safe here in the hotel." "Hold that thought." "What is it?" "What do you see?" "A bunch of vampires, and they're crashing a party." " They're killing people." " Where?" "Wilson College." "Bonner Hall." " Room 918." " 918." "They're gonna take hostages." "Watch out for the blond." "She's the worst." " Are you all right?" " Yeah, I'm fine." "Go, go!" " So much for inviting everyone." " Some of them are still alive." "There's been an accident." "We need two, maybe three ambulances." "Wilson College, Bonner Hall, Room 918." "Hurry." "They're heading east." "Take the car." "What are you gonna do?" "Oh." " Please...." " Huh?" "Please don't hurt her." "You love her?" "You'd do anything for her." "What if we just kill her and let you go?" "Huh?" "Come on now." "Life's about making choices." "You or her?" "What's it gonna be?" "Her." "Take her." "Oh, God...." "Gee, Bobby, you call that love?" "We get home, I'll show you what love is." "Run!" "Angelus?" "Too bright." "Too bright." "Thank you, Dennis." "How did I ever live without a ghost?" "Hot." "Really hot, please." "These visions are killing me." "It's getting worse every time." "Oh, Dennis, what would I do without you?" "No...." " Young love." " Give it a century." "A century?" "A mere hundred years?" "I'd need 1000 to sketch the plane of your face." "I would need 10,000 to name the color of your eyes." "They're green, but take your time." "In fact, don't." "We have a ship to catch, and Holtz may not be far behind." "You know neither poetry nor love, Angelus." "He knows other things." "Marvellously vile and ripping things." " Didn't we eat a poet in Madrid?" " Troubadour." "Everything's closed." "Pity." "I wanted to spend some of the count's gold on you." "We need it for the voyage." "The Count de Leon was a little rich for my blood." "I'll be full for a week." " The fire was excessive." " Of course it was." " We burnt his villa to the ground." " We made a statement." "A statement, as in, "Here we are, Holtz." "Hunt us down."" "Oh, who cares about Holtz?" "You would if you knew him." "He's killed scores of us." "Hunted Angelus and I across Europe." "God, he follows us to Morocco, what then?" "The New World?" " I say we stay and fight the bastard." " Yeah, but you're an idiot." "I don't think he's the most formidable vampire-killer in the world." ""None lives to tell the tale" and all." "You lived to tell the tale." "I heard he trapped you both in a barn and you fled, leaving him to die." " It's not true?" " It's entirely true." "She hit me with a shovel, wished me luck and rode off on our only horse." " Life's full of surprises." " Life's dull." "You're full of surprises." "When he finally did catch me in Vienna I had to pay for my sins." "Again and again." "Can you even begin to fathom the things we did?" "Course not." "You're in love." "Let's not dawdle, children." "It's so pretty." "No, it's not." " James?" " Not as pretty as it's going to be when it's worn by the prettiest one of all." "I adore it." "I'll never take it off." "This is where love gets you." "Elisabeth, you and Darla get to the ship." "We'll join you there." "Let's give them a rout, what do you say?" "I'd say you're an idiot, but I'd just be repeating myself." "Bloody frogs!" "I broke the window, and I'll break your skulls!" "See, all you have to do is stand up to them." "What are you afraid of?" "Not us." "Hope she treasures that locket." " Then what?" " Huh?" " What happened with Holtz?" " Oh, that's another story." " We got time." " I'm not sure we do." "No, because James and Elisabeth had the forever love." "If he's still around and he finds out who killed her" " He'll want revenge." " If he's around and they're in love." " It was a long time ago." " 200-plus years and she's still got the locket." "Gunn and I'll hit the streets." "See what our sources know." "Uh-huh." "See?" "We have sources now." " You're almost like real detectives." " Hey." "Just kidding." "You should probably check it out." " James really lived for that girl." " Yeah." "We did all we could, but they were...." "He was too much for us." " Angelus." " One of our own hunting us." "It's sick." "How is it possible?" "The Angelus I knew" "He's not the same." "Gypsies cursed him with a soul 100 years ago or so." "He's got a business here in L.A. He kills us for money." "She's gone." "It was horrible." "She was bringing you two ripe and rosy humans and he just flew out of the sky" " And you ran." " No, I fought." "Till I saw it was hopeless." "I thought you wanted to know how it happened." "Who did it." "And now I do." "You want to be alone." "No." "I want to die." "What?" " What?" " What do you want to say?" "Me?" "Nothing." "What makes you think I want--?" "Because I know you." " It's really none of my business." " And that always stops you." "It is my business because we're trying to do a job here and what affects you affects me and anyway, I don't like to see you suffer more than you have to." "I don't think you should blame yourself or feel guilty for her death." "I don't." "Good." "Glad to hear it." "I didn't even know who she was when I killed her." "Not her." "Angel...." "Oh." "You want to talk about" "She was the love of your life, and she died." "And you weren't there when it happened." "You couldn't help her fight." "You couldn't save her." "You couldn't die with her." "This is gonna be one of those talks where I do all the talking, isn't it?" "Well, I'm not gonna pry." "It's not my style." "Okay, it's totally my style but I'm not getting anywhere right now." "But you have to tell me one thing." "You owe me this much." "What happened with Holtz?" " Where is she?" " How's your health?" " Mine's grand." "Thanks for asking." " Where is she?" "He wants Darla." "A thorn in his side." "What we did to his family." "Tasty." "Especially the little ones." "Your wife, she kept repeating on us." "Of course, you know, I repeated on her a few times myself." "There are worse things than death, Angelus." "I can keep you alive for months, years, if I've a mind to." "Now, you are going to tell me where she is." "I am going to tell you." "Who's arguing?" "I don't want to suffer needlessly." " She's with his lass." " Shut your mouth, coward!" "He's in love." "It's all very passionate." "How about I give you him and the women?" " Down at the docks." " I'll kill you!" "Kill them!" "Stop them!" "Stop them, you idiots!" "They're getting away!" "Fan out!" "I think we lost them." "I'd kill you if I didn't have to get to Elisabeth." "I'm laying here with arrows in me, saving your life." "I'll tell Darla the utter lack of concern you had for her." "Buy her a hat." "She loves hats." "Why are people always running off and leaving me?" "Am I a bad bloke?" "I don't think so." "Not once you get to know me." "I'm gonna need a doctor." "You can't go in there." "He's sloughing." " Dr. Gregson, I tried to tell him." " It's all right, Sandy." "I go through this every month, just like a woman." "So I gather this is a matter of some urgency." "I need it." " It?" " The cure." "You're aware of the price?" "It's a steep one." "I've already paid it." "All right, then." "Sandy, let's prepare the patient." "Now, James this shouldn't hurt." "Too much." " He said he had something?" " He did." " When's he gonna show?" " Anytime now." "You youngsters wanna button it up?" "I'm trying to enjoy the show here." "See, that's real singing there." "That's real music." "Okay, pops." "What do you know?" "I'm not dealing if the bloodsucker's around." " Angel's not here." " Good." "He's always beating me up or hanging me upside down and he never pays up like he's supposed to." "I could've made a living in Akron." "I never would've come back here." "Tick-tock, Merl." "This thing took more legwork than I estimated." "Price is gonna change." " Really?" " Yeah." "All right." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey, hey, hey." "This guy James you're looking for, he's alive he's in town, and he knows what Angel did to his heartthrob." "He's out for blood." "Yeah, do that." "I'll cover this end." "Thanks." " What's up?" " He's alive." " Wes and Gunn will find him." " What if they can't?" "I know where he'll be headed." " Here." "For you." " I want you to go home and stay there." " No." " Yes." " Uh-uh." " Where's my ax?" "This is all different." "I moved some things while you were gone." "They were dust catchers." " Go home." " I am sticking with you." "I appreciate your courage, but I don't want you hurt." "I don't either." "I go home, he'll come after me because I'm home alone." "They come after you when you're alone." "Oh, sure, "Cordy, go home, be a hostage with the torture and the fear and the tor--"" "Will you, just once, do what I tell you without arguing about everything?" "Hurling ax." "Basement?" "I just know I'd be a lot safer by your side rather than all alone at home." "Why'd you do it?" "Because I had what you could never have?" "Get back!" "Angel?" "I thought I heard company." "I came out of my room." "Small steps, like you said." " Go back to your room and stay there." " Okay, then." "I don't know where he is now, but I know where he was." " Where?" " Dr. Gregson's." " What kind of doctor is that?" " A demon kind." "A Slod demon." " Slod demon?" "What's he do?" " He's a collector." " I told you to" " Shut up and stake him!" "Oops." "You never loved anyone or anything." "Go to hell." " Okay." "It's all right, It's over." " Okay." "Over in what sense?" " Shouldn't he be on fire?" " Let's get out of here." " My coat." "It's stuck." " Leave it." " Go that way." " Where are you going?" "Go." "Cordy, this way." "Hurry up." "Don't stakes through the heart and sunshine kill you guys?" " He's become" " Invincible?" "Let's not exaggerate." "The ring of Amarra." "When you had that, you were invincible." " Does he have a ring?" " No." "Did the Amarra people make cuff links?" " There was only one." " You smashed it!" " Why don't we recriminate later, okay?" " Yes." "Now be quiet." "I think he took the bait." " Earthquake." " Subway." "Okay, just the subway." " Jeez!" " Sorry." "Cordelia, is that you?" "Can you hear me?" "Huh?" "What?" "Say that again." "There's something you have to know about James." "Oh, he's invincible, is he?" "He went to a what?" "Slod demon?" "What's that?" "It's some kind of doctor demon that collects rare organs." "Cut out his heart?" "Absolutely cannot be killed." " Wait, what?" "How long?" " Six...." "Six what?" "What?" "Hello?" "No signal." "The guy is invincible, but it only lasts for so long, then he dies." "How long?" "He said" " I don't know." "Six minutes, hours, weeks." "I hate these." "Give me a signal." "That's good news." "All we have to do is wait him out." "Right." "We'll just wait here until we're sure." "Cordy, up there." "What a creep." "Should we get off and double back?" "He won't expect it." "Or should we stay put to the end of the line and get as much distance between us as poss" " Shh!" " What?" "He couldn't possibly...." "Get back." "Get back." "Well, this is a new twist in an old snake." "Is it possible you care about someone who isn't you?" "Don't worry about her." "But if you've changed, if you're not the man who screwed Darla and couldn't care about her...." "Where did you hear...?" "Oh, you mean back in the day." "Right." "He has changed a lot." "He has a soul now, and he cares about people." "So you might feel something when I snap her neck." "Well, it's not like he's losing sleep with the caring." "Lucky me." "Now I can kill the woman you love." " No, you can't." " Are you forgetting who's invincible?" "The woman I love is dead." "Who you talking about?" "It happened about three months ago." "We try not to say her name too much." "You loved someone?" "With all your heart?" "Yeah." "No, you didn't." "Because if you had, you wouldn't be standing here playing games with me." "You wouldn't be able to." "Because when she died when some bastard killed her, it would have killed everything in you." " I wouldn't be able to go on living." " Don't worry, you won't." "She won't, either." "Angel!" "Catch him!" "Come on." "How's that feel, invincible boy?" "This your idea of love, James?" "It's not real unless it kills you?" "Yeah." "What's yours?" "It's fun as long as it doesn't cost me anything?" "You don't know what love is." "You think you won just because you're still alive?" "I lived." "You just existed." " How's Fred?" " She's all right." "We talked over what happened, and I think she'll come out any decade now." "And how are you?" " I'm o" " Don't say okay, please." "I know you." "Ever since you came back, I can tell that something's not right." "And obviously it's not." "Buffy's dead, and I don't mean to diminish that." "I miss her too." "I just want to say, I know that James with all his Romeo and Juliet madness opened up a lot of wounds for you, but you'll be okay." "I am okay." "Then what's the problem?" "That I'm okay." "That losing Buffy didn't kill me." "That I could deal with it." "In all those years, no one ever mattered." "Not like she did." "And now she's gone." "Forever." " And you're still here." " Yeah." "It feels like I'm betraying her somehow." "No." "If you were a loser, if you were a sick, obsessed vampire then you'd go to a Snod demon or whatever and get your heart cut out." "But you're not." "You're a living, breathing...." "Well, living, anyway good guy, who's still fighting and trying to help people." "And that's not betraying her, that's honoring her." "You think?" "I'm Cordelia." "I don't think, I know." "Okay?" "Okay." "So can we get back to work now?" "Yeah, sure." "There's work?" " What do you know about Nester demons?" " They live in walls of homes." "They hatch several times a year." "Do you have to kill the queen?" "If you don't, they infest again, worse than ever." "We killed some in Hancock Park a few months ago." " I don't think we got the queen." " Well, let's go find out." "Sorry it took so long." "He's a very difficult shaman to find." "You can go." "Oh, no, no, no, no." "I thought we'd have a drink to celebrate." "No, thanks." "Don't be so shy, little one." "You get to know me, I'm a very nice man." "How much can one little drink hurt, huh?" " Depends on who's doing the drinking." " Mm." "I thought you might have a surprise or two in you." "Well, you know what they say." "Life's full of surprises."