Angel

By David Fury and Ben Edlund

Open Sunnydale CA Hellmouth... 19 days ago.

A scene fro "Chosen" right where light is shooting out of Spike/amulet. How dramatic. Back to where we left off in Convictions. Spike is wondering where he is, everyone wonders why he’s there. Fred wonders who he is, period. We starts to reel off the history of William the bloody. Then Wes informs them that Spike died saving the world. Lorne says that Spike seems pretty alive now... That is, until Spike dives for Angel and goes through him. He ends up standing in, yes IN, a desk..

Bugger.

Must be a ghost. Hmm... They say he saved the world, so he must be a good vamp. Good... like Angel? Angel says he and Spike are nothing alike. They offhandidly mention Buffy, Spike insists he see her, they say she’s in Europe. Harmony, still thinking she and Spike are a couple gets shocked when she hears he was with Buffy.

Spike says he must be in Hell... Lorne: No. L.A. But alotta people make that mistake.

Wes studies the amulet while Lorne studies the story behind it."The vampire slayer both men loved. Both men lost." As for Spike being a ghost. Fred comments he has the electromagnetic readings, but not the ectoplasmic matrix that makes ghosts visible. However, she is picking up a brain signal.

Angel: On Spike. That is weird.

Therefore, whatever he is is tied to the amulet. Part of his essence got trapped inside when it released it’s energy... They ask him if he remembered any weird sensations. Besides the burning to the bone and exploding organs? No. How did the amulet end up there? Perhaps the powers that be?

Spike starts to disappear but reappears on the other side of the room. Spike says all this is Angel’s fault because he brought the amulet to Sunnydale and chickened out. He "don’t give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just cause I got me a soul, doesn’t mean I’m gonnalet myself be led around by-"

Waaaait a second, Spike with a soul? This is something Angel didnt tell the others. Spike tells Angel he took a devil’s bargain to take over W & H, to use it to fight evil from the belly of the beast, all the while he doesnt realize he and those he loves are being digested. So Spike isn’t the only one being jerked around by higher ups.

A Grox’lar beast appears from off the elevator. Now this kind of beast is the kind that likes to eat heads off babies... After a fight Angel snaps his neck, he learns that the beast was there to talk to him as a client so they could negotiate his clan to stop eating baby’s heads. But they like strong first impressions, so maybe Angel is ok afterall.

Spike takes off.

Gunn finds/lays off an employee he catches jacking a voo doo doll that looks alot like him from the voo doo division. Meanwhile another associate, Novac, appears asking Angel what happened to the grave robbing division. One of their oldest and most powerful clients Magnus Hainsley needs fresh bodies. Angel tells Novac to tell Hainsley, this service is over.

Angel and Wes discuss the amulet some more, and how Angel wonders if W &H sent him with the amulet so what happened to Spike would have happened to him. What ARE the senior partners up to? Hmm...

Spike is back... Why? Every time he goes as far as the city limits he gets yanked back to W & H... The amulet is W/H’s property, and therefor so is Spike. Oh my...

A knock at the door. Novac is back from his Hainsley meeting... He’s back indeed, pieces of him in 3 buckets.... :O

They start doing research on Hainsley, he’s a sorcerer who owns a lot of W & H. He’s a necromancer- power over the dead. Angel decides he wants to take him on on his own.

Spike comes along, jumping in the driver’s seat of all the cars Angel tries to take. Spike: I could drive you completely starkers. Right outta your gourd. Yeah. And you wouldn’t be able to do a sodden thing about-

They go to Hainsley’s house where a manservant greets them. When he goes to ask Hainsley what to do with Angel and Spike they have a look around, seeing the place is adorned with posed corpses.

In Hainsley’s inner sanctum there is a large iron pentagram as a table. A blonde woman lies there, blue with death. Hainsley is commenting what kind of woman he was looking for, but then that he just settled on pretty. His hand slams into her body and into her chest. Meanwhile the servant appears and asks whats to be done with Angel an Spike, Hainsley says to kill them.

The servent returns to the room with Spike and Angel and tells them that Hainsley wants them returned to W & H, then its obvious that the servant has meat cleavers behind his back. They fight, the servant quickly realizes that he cant harm Spike. Spike cheers the servant on. Angel kills the servant.

Spike tells Angel he has it too good. Spike: And here I save the world, throw myself onto the proverbial hand grenade for love, honor and all the bloody right reasons- and what do I get? Ghosted! The two of them exchange some more words than Spike disappears.. hmm..

Angel goes to face Hainsley. The woman from before is up and moving, When Angel tries to stop her, her eyes are glowing orange and she hisses. He proceeds to ask Hainsley how much he charges to install a demon in a human body, he replies to ask why Angel would wanna mess up such a good business deal. When Angel tries solidify cutting off his business, Hainsley gets him in his telekinetic grasp, pulling Angel towards him ( a la the fat demon in the bath tub on Buffy) He starts to crush Angel when he realizes he needs to let him go, the Senior Partners have plans for him. Angel reveals his big move- freezing all of Hainsleys accounts and getting the IRS on him, Hainsley has no defense cuz Angel and co are his lawyers. Spike mocks this move, and eventually again disappears… he appears again in Hainsleys room, who says they can help each other… He’ll give Spike his freedom and power of choice and flesh and bone, if he helps bring down Angel.

Back at the office, Angel is concerned with getting rid of Spike, Wes says everyone in the dept analyzed the amulet and theres no way of releasing Spike… traditionally… Whats the non tradition way? Giving him something he asked for- eternal rest. Spike enters, but they don’t see him, he overhears them talking, but he mostly hears the part about exorcism, and when Fred says: We’re talking about killing him. Wes says letting him cross over is the most humane thing they can do. How? Amulet is protected but the magic wont hold up on hallowed ground… like a church… or a cemetary, needs to be taken there and destroyed… Angel says before they make an decisions they should sleep on it. Fred leaves the amulet on Angel’s desk, Spike disappears with a woosh.

In Angel’s HUGE bedroom that nite, Spike appears again. Spike tells him he overheard, also said the necromancer tried to make a deal that’d get him back in the flesh. Angel has the amulet and tries to convince him that staying with Angels gang for the best, but Spike says no and that Angel should be happy he’s doing him in, Circle of Death and all. Angel waves a rock over the amulet and moves to crush it, but suddenly he hits himself in the head with it. Then again. Suddenly he’s lifted off his feet and turns to see Hainsley working him like a puppet master. Hainsley says a vampire should think twice before messing with a man who wields power over all things lifeless. Angel gets slammed into the wall, Spike glares at Hainsley saying he took long enough, but Hainsley reassures him nothing would happen, cuz he (Spike) is the linchpin of the plan. Spike says he better not get used, Hainsley smirks.

Angel awakens, but Hainsley is there to greet him and slam him into the wall, saying Angel can’t touch him cuz he’s a necromancer and Angel is dead. Angel comments how the Senior Parners will wonder where he is, Hainsley says he’ll show up the next day once all of his (Hainsleys) accounts are reopened. Angel asks why he’d do that, Spike appears saying he’d be the one doing it, in Angel’s body. He’d get in and Angel would disappear to Never Come Back Land. Spike says he might even have a go at Fred.. she looks like a "goer."

Thr process begins, Hainsley says this must be painful for Angel, cuz he’s never done this on a conscious dead person before. Angel groans in agony. He pulls Spike’s form to him and has his hand in Angel’s chest. As Spike spins towards him, suddenly Hainsley’s eyes open, he’s no longer in control of his arm and begins to struggle. Angel gets up. Hainsley says Spike can’t control him for long. A fight ensues… Angel throws a table, decapitating Hainsley, so its his body with Spike’s heading sticking out. Oh bollocks. Hainsley’s body falls, revealing Spike. They share a smirk.

Wes and Angel later discuss that was all Spike’s idea when he found out he was being used by the bad guy. Fred goes to her lab and sees Spike there he starts asking her about science and magic, then his conversation becomes allusive to sexual things Saying he’s slipping…It’s like the ground under me’s splitting open. And my legs are straddling both sides of a… chasm… getting wider… pulling me in. But then she asks is that why he’s disappearing.. He says yes, he’s not getting pulled to the place heroes go, he’s being pulled to hell, and he’s scared. BAM. Help me.