"[COUGHING AND GROANING]" "[WOOD CLATTERS]" "Spike." "Spike, wait." "That's not a prize you're holding." "It's not a trophy." "It's a burden." " It's a..." "SPIKE:" "Blah, blah, blah." "Give it a rest, hero." "I win, you lose and all your talking's not gonna change that." "It's not your destiny." "It's mine." "Still can't accept it?" "Pathetic, really." "All your life's been a lie." "Everything you've done." "The lives you've saved, the dreams of redemption, and all that pain." "All of it for nothing." "Because this was never about you." "Cheers." "No." "[GASPS]" "[GROANS]" "[SCREAMING]" "[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]" "Yeah." "Thanks." "But not really my type, Mary." "So be a good lad and push off." " What are you gawking at?" " Guy like you, whiling away time at some cheesy downtown strip dive." "Look like somebody who's feeling lost." "Is that right?" "Funny, I thought I knew exactly where I was." "Place called the Peppermint Stick." "Prima ballerina up there is Sunshine." "Though I'm certain that's not her real name." "You know, we really should talk." "You know, really not." "I don't know what you're selling." "Best you peddle your wares someplace else if you know what's good for you." "Hey, Spike." "Get any interesting mail lately?" "Who the bloody hell are you?" "Your new best friend." "Soul Purpose" "You?" "You say you're responsible for me being back." "Sent that package with the de-ghosting mojo." "And?" "The amulet." "You mailed that to Wolfram  Hart." "Hey, couldn't leave your spirit trapped in a bottle at the bottom of a hellmouth, could we?" " And who's "we"?" " Come on, Spike." "You must know there's a lot of folks out there that are interested in you." "Powerfully interested, one might..." "Enough of the cryptic, Butch." "I wanna know who or what you are what you want and how fast I can snap your forearm before you answer." "You can call me Doyle." "It's not what I want." "It's what you want." "You got your life back now." "What are you gonna do about it?" "WESLEY:" "I say we make a preemptive strike." "Remove him before he goes underground." " Assassination?" " He's an evil warlock." " lf we wait, he gets more powerful." "GUN:" "I don't plan to wait." " What's your plan?" " Open a can of Machiavelli on him." "It's "Matchabelli," Einstein." "And it doesn't come in a can." " Is he in?" " Is who in?" "Your plan could take weeks." "We can't afford the delay." "Forty-eight hours maximum." "There are two in his inner circle who would try to overthrow him." "WESLEY:" "You're overlooking the merits of assassination." " Guys." " In my plan, he still wakes up dead." "Guys." "CEO, right here, in the dark." "Sorry, Angel." "Lucien Drake he's a warlock." " Evil cult leader, over 1000 followers." "We think they sold most of their children down the Hades River for demonic mojo." "One more religious fringe group stockpiling weapons, but in this case the weapons are black magics of the most dangerous variety." "And you want Wolfram  Hart to stop them." " Not so much stopping as..." " As redirecting their energies." "A cult this big has alliances, connections." "If we confront them, it could be bad for business." " But if we take out their leader covertly..." "GUNN:" "They'll fight among themselves to hack out the new pecking order." "ANGEL:" "Uh-huh." "So are we doing this because it's right or because it's cost-effective?" "Well, a little of both, actually." "Yes." "Oddly, once again, we're in a bit of a gray..." " Don't..." "...area." "...say that." "Can we just get through one damn day without saying that?" "Okay." "Explain it to me again." "SPIKE:" "I've heard enough." "Don't you wanna know why you came back here?" "You hate L.A. There must be a reason." " You talk a lot, but say nothing." " You've got a destiny." "Like the destiny that should've been at the bottom of a cup of perpetual nothing?" "What?" "If you know so much about me, you must know I get really violent when I'm being played." "It's you who sent Angel and me on that wild goose chase." "I don't know anything." "I'm just doing what they tell me." " They?" " They." "Them." "Bringing you back." "Look, I'm just a guy, a nobody, a drifter." "I was minding my own business, and then one day, wham!" "I start having these visions." " Visions?" " Yeah." "Like brain pictures, but they hurt like when you eat ice cream too fast." "I started seeing people in trouble." "We need a champion." "You are barking up the wrong vampire." "That's Angel's beat." "Angel's not in the picture." "He's working the other side of the tracks." "Nobody is out there helping the people that really need help." "So I'm supposed to jump every time you get a vision of someone in dire peril?" "Why do you think we're having this conversation?" "I had one right before I came here." "You don't have to believe me." "But if a young girl gets murdered tonight and you didn't lift a finger to stop it, ask yourself:" "Can you live with that?" "[SCREAMING]" "SPIKE:" "Evening." "Get lost." "I already am, according to some." " What?" " Help me." "I don't think you heard me." " Get out of here." " Can't do it." "You just made the biggest mistake of your life." "Thank you." "That thing was gonna kill me." "Well, what do you expect?" "Out alone in this neighborhood." "I've half a mind to kill you myself, you half-wit." " What?" " I mean, honestly what kind of retard wears heels like that in a dark alley?" "Take two steps, break your ankle." " I was just trying to get home." " Well, get a cab, you moron." "And on the way, if a stranger offers you candy, don't get in the van." " Stupid cow." "LINDSEY:" "Believe me now?" "What, your victim vision?" "Please." "Can't throw a stone in this town without hitting a bimbo in trouble." "LINDSEY:" "Tough guy, huh?" "Nice work, by the way, taking out that vamp." "Yeah." "Epic battle." "My finest hour." "You just saved a girl's life." "It's nothing to laugh off." "You could be nicer next time." "You almost made her cry." " Next time?" " That's up to you." "A lot more people need saving." "News flash, Sparky." "Don't need your help." " Been saving people before you came." " Not like this." "There wasn't anything in it for you." " That's not like the Spike I know." " Is that right?" "And what Spike is that?" "The Spike that's only out for himself, only does good deeds to impress women." " You'd best watch your..." " I'm just saying you did good." "I hear Angel didn't save the girl on his first mission." " What's Angel got to do with this?" " I don't know." "Nothing." "Not anymore." "GUNN:" "I know how these people think." " And I know what's in our arsenal." "Guys, I can hear you out in the lobby." "The week's lab reports." "Does the Wolfram  Hart satellite have lethal capability?" " What?" " Couldn't we eliminate a target from the air untraceably?" "Well, we do have an orbital range microwave cannon up there." "Focuses the satellite's communication signals into a pinpoint beam." "It can heat up the targeted area 1000 degrees in under five seconds." "So, yeah, in theory, we could." "That is, if we did that sort of thing." " Do we do that?" "WESLEY:" "It might be the thing to do." "GUNN:" "Think someone won't notice us firing a sci-fi death ray from space?" "FRED:" "Actually, the beam reads like cell phone static on most atmospheric..." "Let's kill them all." " What?" " Warlocks, minions." "They're all evil." "Sold their kids to the devil." "Let's wipe them all out." "We have enough power, right?" " Yes." "But..." " Why don't we?" "Let's go back to the basics." "Good versus evil." "Offing the monsters we find." "We have to tread light." "We can't afford to..." "Are you all right?" "Just tired." "Gunn, get a meeting with your best Judas." "Feel him out but don't tip your hand." "Any hint of him carrying word back to Drake, we go with Wes' plan." " Are you sure you're all right?" " You don't look so good." "Yeah, I just need to get some rest." "Go, rest." "And maybe sleep in tomorrow." " There's too much on our schedule." " Nothing we can't handle." "Anything earth-shattering comes up, we know where to find you." "WESLEY:" "Angel." " Hey, Wes." " You're barely on your feet." "Here." "ANGEL:" "Yeah." "I think..." " I think I'm sick." " Vampires don't get sick." "[GROANING]" "I don't feel right." "That's understandable." "You've got a lot on your mind." "Must be hard adjusting to the new situation." "Situation?" "Finally coming to grips with the truth that you're irrelevant." "What?" "It's difficult to face, I know." "But things could have been much worse." "Spike's arrival was actually quite fortuitous." "It'll make this a lot easier." "What are you...?" "[GASPING]" "[PUNCH LANDING]" "[SNARLING]" "It's all right." "You're safe now." "What were those things?" "SPIKE:" "You're better off not knowing, believe me." "Wait." "Who are you?" "SPIKE:" "I'm the hero." "Harmony, run these to Accounting." "Tell them it's about the warlock situation." "I'm not allowed to talk to Accounting without Angel's approval." "I accidentally authorized a few Bath of the Month subscriptions." "On accident." "Give them my authorization code." "Have them cut a check." "Send it immediately." "That's the spirit." "Solving problems by throwing money at them." "You're starting to get the hang of this job." "Something I can help you with, Eve?" " Looking for the big man." " He's busy." "How can I help you?" "Yeah, sorry, but I gotta go straight to Angel on this one." "Whatever you've got there, Angel will hand off to me anyway so you may as well show it to me now." "Fair enough." "The senior partners are very interested in this." "I don't know what it is." "And I sense that they don't, either." "But they must suspect it's powerful because they're dying to learn about it." " We'll do our best." " Probably goes without saying, but..." "I'll have it for you as soon as possible." "That's my boy." "Any business with the senior partners, I'm to tell Angel immediately." "I'll take care of it." "Also, anytime something comes in with runes on it I'm supposed to tell Angel immediately." "And not try and read the runes myself." "Because that can cause a fire." "As soon as we get answers, we'll tell him." "Until then, I think Angel deserves some peace and quiet." "FRED:" "Angel." "You look terrible." "Fred." "I think something's wrong." "Okay." "Okay, don't worry." "I know what to do." "Let's take a look under the hood." "ANGEL:" "What?" "Fred?" "What are you doing?" "FRED:" "It's okay." "Please." "[GRUNTING]" "There." "That wasn't so bad, was it?" " Okay, let's get these out of the way." " Stop." "There's your liver." "There's your kidney." "And don't worry." "You're a vampire." "You don't need this stuff anyway." "Probably should have had it removed a long time ago." "Oh." "Ah!" "There's your heart." "Hey, what do you know, it is a dried-up little walnut." "[CLATTERING]" "So far, so good." "Let's see." "Raisins." "Came up the Gulf Stream, huh?" "Hang on." "There's your soul." "We're gonna have to flush this." "Thank you, bear." "[SIGHS]" "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "I can't seem to find anything wrong with you." "I mean except that you're empty." "There's nothing left." "Just a shell." "I think I can hear the ocean in there." "Hello?" "Hello?" "She only said that it needed to be done as soon as possible." "[KNOCKING]" "You'll wanna see this." "A vigilante was prowling the streets last night." "A vampire, apparently." "Angel never left his penthouse." "Vigilante reportedly killed two vampires at a gas station and then asked the women he saved if they'd:" ""Like to get a bottle of hooch and listen to some Sex Pistols with him."" "Are we sure Angel's just tired and not crazy?" "Read the description." "Medium build, black leather coat..." "Platinum-blond hair." "You gonna invite me in." "It's not my place." "It's yours." "Building's quiet." "Windows don't get direct sunlight." "You've got a sewer entrance for daytime travel." "What, no cable?" "You've got water, electricity, heating, all the basics." "You've even got a Korean market on the corner, open all night." "Look, I appreciate you making me corporeal and all." "But I draw the line at being your kept boy." "You got someplace else to live?" "A man of your means must have money tucked away somewhere." "You'll find something soon." "I'm offering you a place to hang your hat." "Or your coat." "Could say, "Thank you."" "Great." "Another ruddy basement." "LINDSEY:" "You want creature comforts?" "You can go to Wolfram  Hart." "This place has everything you need to be a hero." "Job requires somewhat of a Spartan existence." "You call that a bed?" "Well, it's not like you're gonna be sharing it with anyone anytime soon." "[WOMAN MOANING]" "ANGEL:" "Spike?" "Keep it down, mate." "You've got something on your shirt there." "BUFFY:" "Every time I say the word "prom," you get grouchy." "Buffy?" "Won't be long now." "You're taking Buffy to the prom?" "BUFFY:" "Can you say "jumping the gun"?" "I kill my goldfish." "I thought we were going to..." "Can't be a marathon man with all your yammering." "Hey." "Look who it is." "How you feeling?" " Better." "Thanks." " Uh..." "Angel..." "Oh..." "Always takes me a few days to get back in the swing of things myself." "Um..." "You should put on a clean shirt, though." "GUNN:" "Hey, guys." "Come on, we'll miss it." "Miss what?" "What's everyone...?" "My God." "Hey, down in front." "Yeah, you're blocking the apocalypse." "I have to do something." "I have to get out there." " Spike'll take care of it." " Go back to bed." "Or go put some clean clothes on." "You got something on your shirt." "[BUZZING]" "[SINGING "FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW"]" " Speech." "ALL:" "Speech." "Speech." "Speech." "Speech." "Well, this is..." "Thank you, everyone." "I don't know what to say." "I'm just a working-class bloke fulfilling his destiny." " It was nothing, really." "FRED:" "Nothing?" "Spike, you single-handedly ended Armageddon and turned the world into a beautiful, happily-ever-after candy-mountain place where all our dreams come true." "SPIKE:" "Beautiful, isn't it?" "GUNN:" "The living end." "And now it's time for your reward." " Yes, your reward." " But I didn't do this for a reward." "Well, that's why you're getting one." "WESLEY:" "After all, anyone who saves the universe from eternal bloodshed, horror, and misery deserves to get what they've always wanted." "Deserves to become a real boy." "And so you shall." "My heart." "It's..." "It's beating again." "Listen." "You're human, Spike." "You're alive." "I wanna hear." "Let's hear it for Spike." "[CHEERING AND CLAPPING]" "SPIKE:" "Well, look who's come to call." "Crockett and Tubbs." "Come on in, boys." "Out of the cold, into the damp." "I should've expected a visit from Big Brother's L.A. branch sooner or later." " Can I get you a frosty?" " What are you up to, Spike?" "Man gets right to the meat of the existential nut." "Just a little concerned." "You don't call, you don't write." "What's your angle?" "Last time we saw you, you were booking a one-way to the Continent." "Change of plans." "Change of heart." "Changed me mind, mates." "WESLEY:" "Sounds like you've been busy." "We got reports of a vigilante, matches your description." "Yes, that's what you people do, isn't it?" "You get reports." "You sign checks." "You read memos." "Here's to the corporate teat." " How'd you find me?" "GUNN:" "Wasn't too hard." "Put some of our psychics on it." "One of the advantages of the corporate teat." "What can I do for you?" "Need me to help you collate something?" "WESLEY:" "From what we hear you're fighting the good fight." " We figure that's our territory." "Is that what this is about?" "Hurt because I stepped on your toesies?" "Not at all." "We're wondering why you left in the first place." "If you wanna save the world, we've got the resources to help you do it." "No offense, Mr. Vader, but I've got no itch to join the evil Empire." "It's different." "You know it." "We've changed things." "Look." "I told Angel, and I'll tell you:" "A place like that doesn't change." "Not from the inside, not from the out." "Sign on there, it changes you." "Puts things in your head." "Spins you till you can't cross the street without tripping the proverbial old lady and stepping on her glasses." "It's not like I wasn't there, gents like I wasn't watching you." " Had to haunt the damn place, remember?" " Things aren't that cut-and-dried." "We're making a difference." "We're just playing by a new set of rules." "So what?" "You want me to put on a suit, come play with you?" " Something like that." " I can't believe Angel would sign off on that." "Unless..." "He doesn't know you're here, does he?" " Hedging our bets, are we, boys?" " That's not how it is." "And the compass needle keeps spinning." "And the world gets murkier and murkier." "They don't have a clue what's happening, do they?" "Hey." "Come on, babe." "Focus." "You sure Team Angel hasn't checked up on him?" "I told you, they're busy with a relic that's got the senior partners in a huff." "So are we gonna do this or what?" "Hey." "Fine." "Let's talk more." "How's our blond crusader?" "He buying into it?" "So far." "I mean, he hasn't sewn a big red S on his chest yet, but he's getting there." "We keep building him up while we tear Angel down." "Pretty soon the senior partners are gonna think they're backing the wrong horse." "Unless they find out we're fixing the race." "Hey." "That happens, I'm good as dead." "Relax, baby." "They'll never know it's you." "Not while you have these pretty pictures." "These aren't for playing." "They're the only thing keeping me off Wolfram  Hart's radar." "Doesn't mean I can't think they're sexy." "You can think whatever you want, after we finish our project." "That mean you're gonna give me what I want?" "Or are we gonna keep up the teasing all day?" "Good girls always get what they want." "[MOANS]" "This is gonna be fun." " Hey, did you talk to Spike?" " We did." "What'd he say?" "Oh, you know, stuff." "Like what?" "We're not good enough for him." "Thinks we sold out." "We didn't sell out." "We're changing the system from the inside." "When you say it out loud, it sounds really naive." " Shouldn't we tell Angel about it?" " Tell him what?" "That Spike's hung out a shingle and is open for business in Angel's town?" "Don't think he needs to hear it now." "It's not like we need to protect him." "I mean, has anyone even heard from him today?" "Hey, Harmony." "Any word from Angel?" "Haven't heard a peep." "Maybe we should call him, check in." "Act like we care?" "Good plan." "It's ringing." "[PIANO PLAYING]" "Lorne?" "Around these parts, folks call me Honky-Tonk." "I just got his voice mail." "You wanna leave a message?" "No, I think I'll check in." "EVE:" "Any luck with those tests?" " Tests?" " The stone." "Yay big." "Lots of carving." "Answers to the name of "relic."" "Yeah, I'm on it." "Good." "I'm getting a lot of heat on this." "And when I say heat, I mean actual flames under my feet." "The senior partners are a tad impatient." "Oh." "You want me to..." " Now would be good." " Oh." " Unless you have something important..." " No, I was just gonna..." "It can wait." "[PIANO PLAYING]" "Hey." "Why so down in the Dumpster, partner?" "You look like you just had to put down your last puppy." "I think..." "I think I'm lost." " Order a drink." " Everything hurts." "Now you're getting it." "Everything hurts and then we die." "Or in your case, everything hurts and then you go on and on and on, and on." "I don't know what to do." "Give me an earful of your pretty pipes." "Let me suss it out." "[PIANO PLAYING]" "Well, sing out, Louise." "[SQUEAKING]" "FRED:" "I told you he was empty." "Yes, but this is ridiculous." "We paid good money for this." "We paid blood for this." "The crowd's turning on you." "[ROARS]" "You poor thing." "You're really suffering, aren't you?" "You still got that thing on your shirt?" "[GROANING]" "[SCREECHING]" "[ANGEL GRUNTING]" "Wow." "You killed Junior." "Eve?" "I'm not here, Angel." "You're dreaming." "But don't worry." "The dream's almost over." "No." "[PARASITE SNARLING]" "[BOTTLES CLINKING]" "LINDSEY:" "I see you found the market." "Thought this was a single." "Didn't know I'd have a bloody roommate." "Just checking in." "Keeping tabs." " Kind of what I do." " Yeah, well I don't need a babysitter, so bugger off." "Are you this prickly with all your friends?" "I'm soft on the inside." "Spike, things would..." "Things would go a lot smoother..." "Bloody hell." "What was that about?" "I just had another vision." "Oh, great." "Look, don't expect me to jump every time you get a vision." "No, I think you're gonna wanna jump on this one." "FRED:" "This is really nice." "You can stay as long as you like." "Stay forever." "No, there's so much work to do." "It's fine." "We got it covered." " But..." "I'm not supposed to be here..." " Enough fighting, Angelheart." "Time to let freedom ring." "Let yourself go." " But I'm not finished." " You are if you want to be." "We'll be fine." "Great, actually." "All you have to do is stop caring." "Just..." "[SCREAMING]" "[PARASITE SCREECHING]" "Well, that'll be a bitch of a cleanup." " Spike?" " No need to thank me." "Just helping the helpless." "It was a Selminth Parasite." "Its teeth inject an anesthetic making the host oblivious to its presence." "You'd never know it was on you." "Pumps neurotoxins into the body causing paralysis, hallucinations, fever dreams." "It seemed real." "All of it." "You were dissecting me, taking things out of me." "And there was this bear." "You called yourself Honky-Tonk." "Tried to get me to sing, but..." "You were big with the heckling." " Uh..." "Sorry?" "FRED:" "So if this parasite continued pumping its toxins into Angel..." "He would've been stuck in a permanent vegetative state." "Good thing Spike swooped in and saved the day." " How did he know you were in trouble?" " Didn't say." "I wanna know how that thing got in here in the first place." "We're checking the firm's storage facilities." "It's possible that a specimen escaped or..." "You." "You brought it." " Me?" " You were here." "I had a cameo in your little dream sequence?" "That's so sweet." "You put the big one on me after I killed the other one." "The other one?" " There was only one." "ANGEL:" "No." "Maybe you're confusing reality with your hallucinations." "Changed your clothes." "Yeah, I do that sometimes after a long day." "But you didn't change your earrings." "You were wearing those in my hallucination." "Except I haven't seen you for days." "I've worn them before." "Hey, I can't be held responsible for how you dress me in your fantasies." "You did change your clothes, Eve." "And I've never seen those earrings before today." " What is it exactly you think I've...?" "ANGEL:" "Don't know, Eve." "But I'm pretty sure the senior partners didn't give me the reins to their firm just to turn me into a vegetable." "Playing your own game here?" "What do you think the partners'll do to you after they find out about your little extracurricular activities?" "So things aren't going your way and you're looking for someone outside your little circle to blame." "Here's a thought." "Maybe you should try looking inward." "Unless you don't like what you see." "Subtitles by SDI Media Group" "[ENGLISH SDH]"