Angel

Just Rewards

Story by David Fury

Teleplay by David Fury Ben Edlund

Directed by James A. Contner

Episode 5.02

Original Airdate October 8, 2003

CAST

Angel DAVID BOREANAZ Wesley Wyndam-Pryce ALEXIS DENISOF Charles Gunn J. AUGUST RICHARDS Winifred "Fred" Burkle AMY ACKER Spike JAMES MARSTERS Lorne ANDY HALLETT Harmony Kendall MERCEDES McNAB Buffy Summers SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR Magnus Hainsley VICTOR RAIDER-WEXLER Novac JOSHUA HUTCHINSON Grox¹lar Demon BILL ESCUDIER Butler WILLIAM UTAY

Prologue

1 TITLE CARD 1

Sunnydale, California

The Hellmouth

Nineteen Days Earlier

FADE IN :

2 INT. THE HELLMOUTH 2

SPIKE stands pinned in the center of a glowing ring of orange light.

The amulet around his neck suddenly flares into life, lit with the intensity of a million suns. Streams of pure solar energy radiate outward in a circle like beams from a lighthouse.

The energy pulses sweep the cavern, destroying every Turok-han they touch. The vampire creatures scream in agony as they are cut down and annihilated by the hundreds, then by the thousands as the light extends down into the chasm.

The Vampire Slayer, BUFFY SUMMERS, runs to Spike¹s side as the cavern around them begins to shake and tremble. Chunks of rock and pointed stalactites tumble from the ceiling as the ground lurches beneath their feet.

BUFFY Spike !

SPIKE Go on, then.

BUFFY (desperate) No ! No, you¹ve done enough ! You could still‹

SPIKE No, you¹ve beaten them back. It¹s for me to do the cleanup.

Behind her, a vast section of the cavern ceiling collapses inward, millions of tons of rock crashing into the abyss.

BUFFY Spike !

SPIKE I mean it ! I gotta do this.

The light emanating from the amulet flares even brighter and Buffy reaches out and takes Spike¹s hand in her own, entwining her fingers with his.

They share one last look between them, two souls come together as one at last, then the ground heaves beneath their feet and chunks of stone slam down like bombs around them.

SPIKE Now go !

Buffy releases Spike¹s hand and runs up through the Seal into the high school above.

Spike trembles with the intensity of the energy pouring through him. He stares at the maelstrom of destruction in front of him and grins sardonically, the same old Spike to the last.

SPIKE (to himself) I wannna see how it ends.

He smiles wickedly as the magickal energy coursing through him reaches a fever pitch. His face begins to blacken in spots which rapidly join together as he¹s consumed from within by the power of the sun. In seconds, he disintegrates into dust.

The smile never leaves his face as he dies a hero.

Dies a champion.

Dies good.

SMASH CUT TO :

3 INT. WOLFRAM & HART (PRESENT)‹ ANGEL¹S OFFICE‹ DAY 3

Spike screams and looks around at FRED, GUNN, LORNE, WESLEY, and HARMONY.

SPIKE WhatŠ what ?

HARMONY What the hell are you doing here, Spike ?

WESLEY Harmony, please.

GUNN This is Spike ? The Spike ?

FRED Wait a minute. Who¹s‹

LORNE (to Spike) Easy, slim, easy. No one¹s going to hurt you.

GUNN Speak for yourself, green jeans.

FRED Okay, would somebody please tell me who‹

WESLEY (to Fred) William the Bloody. He¹s a vampire. One of the worst recorded. Second only to‹

ANGEL Me.

Spike whirls around to find ANGEL standing behind him, looking none too pleased.

ANGEL But you¹re dead.

HARMONY Well, yeah. Who here isn¹t ?

She stops and looks at Gunn, Wesley and Fred.

HARMONY Besides him and him and her andŠ

She cocks an eyebrow at Lorne.

HARMONY What are you again ?

Spike snarls as his face shifts and the vampire in him comes to the surface. He lunges at Angel but stumbles as he passes right through Angel¹s body. He staggers to a stop in the center of Angel¹s desk, his legs passing right through the wood.

Everyone stares at him in surprise. He looks down at himself protruding halfway through the furniture.

SPIKE Bugger.

Opening credit sequence.

Act I

4 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ANGEL¹S OFFICE‹ DAY 4

Resume. Spike looks up angrily at Angel.

SPIKE WhatŠ what¹s happened to me ?

HARMONY Well, I¹m no doctor but I think you¹re a ghost.

SPIKE I¹m no bloody ghost !

HARMONY Hey, you¹re the one sticking out of a desk, pal. And you can¹t talk to me like that. We¹re not going out anymore.

GUNN Where¹d he come from ?

Wesley looks down at the amulet on the floor and picks it up.

WESLEY From this.

FRED What is it ?

ANGEL Something I gave to Buffy beforeŠ

Spike looks up sharply at the mention of Buffy¹s name.

SPIKE Buffy ! Is sheŠ ?

ANGEL She¹s okay.

SPIKE Where ? Where is she ?

ANGEL Europe, last I heard from her.

SPIKE I want to see herŠ talk to her.

ANGEL That¹s going to be tough.

SPIKE You can¹t keep her from me.

ANGEL She¹s not mine to keepŠ or yours.

SPIKE Says you ! You¹ve got no idea what we had.

ANGEL You never had her !

SPIKE More than you, you poncy‹

HARMONY Oh, my god ! You and the Slayer actuallyŠ I mean, I know you had that twisted obsession with her but uggh ! That¹s justŠ uggh !

She turns and heads for the door.

HARMONY IŠ uggh !

SPIKE I must be in hell.

LORNE No, L.A. but a lot of people make that mistake.

FRED (sotto ; to Wesley) So Spike and Buffy areŠ

WESLEY He wasŠ an ally of hers for some time. At least that¹s what Angel told me. That¹s all Angel told me.

GUNN So he¹s a good-guy vampire ? Like Angel.

ANGEL He¹s nothing like me.

SPIKE Got that right. What have you done to me ? What is this place ? (to others) Who are you people ? What the bloody hell is happening ?

CUT TO :

5 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ LAB‹ DAY 5

Angel and Gunn watch while Fred scans Spike with a handheld device connected to her PalmPilot. Nearby, Wesley examines the amulet with a microscope.

LORNE (to Wesley) Honey of a story.

WESLEY Story ?

LORNE Yeah, the Vampire Slayer both men loved, both men lost. Oh, I could sell that to any studio in a heartbeat. I see Depp and Bloom. But then I see them a lot. (off his look) Sorry. Hazard of running the Entertainment Division. Gotta get out more.

SPIKE (to Fred) So what are you, then ? Scanner girl ?

FRED I¹m Fred. I head up Wolfram & Hart¹s Science Department.

SPIKE Wolfram & HartŠ heard of that. Thought it was a law firm.

FRED It is, among other things.

SPIKE Also heard they represent the worst evil in the universe.

ANGEL It did, among other things. But now I¹m in charge.

SPIKE (grins) Are you, now ?

Fred puts the scanner down and makes a notation on her chart.

FRED Weird. I¹m getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities but there¹s no ectoplasmic matrix.

GUNN Meaning ?

FRED Ectoplasm is what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If he¹s a ghost, technically we shouldn¹t be able to see him. And I¹m detecting brain-wave activity.

ANGEL On Spike ? That is weird.

FRED Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy, making the area around them a few degrees cooler. Spike¹s radiating heat.

SPIKE Think I¹m hot, do you ?

FRED Lukewarm. Just above room temperature.

SPIKE Well, what the hell am I, then ?

WESLEY Whatever he is, it¹s clearly tied to this amulet. Spike¹s essence‹ for lack of a better term‹ must have been held within it. (to Spike) Do you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy ?

SPIKE What ? You mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone ? Organs exploding in my chest ? Eyeballs melting in their sockets ? No. No memory at all. Thanks for asking.

ANGEL Okay, so he¹s connected to the amulet. Last I heard, it was buried deep inside the Hellmouth. How did it end up here ?

FRED Maybe he¹s here for a reason. You know, some higher purpose or something he¹s destined for. Sent to us by the Powers That Be to help us or‹

SPIKE Who gave them the bloody right to do that ? Can¹t a man die in peace without some high almighty deciding it¹s not his time ? "Let¹s have a little more fun with him, eh ?" You¹d think that saving the sodding world would be enough to earn me a rest. You¹d think.

He suddenly becomes transparent, fading out.

FRED Spike ?

SPIKE Hmm ? (looks down at himself) Oh, balls.

And then he disappears entirely. Fred scans the room with her device.

GUNN Now what ?

FRED I don¹t know. He justŠ what did he mean, "saving the world" ?

ANGEL (evasive) Oh, that. WellŠ Buffy did most of the work. (off her look) Well, he helped butŠ

Spike winks back into existence on the other side of the room. He turns around and sees them staring at him.

SPIKE What ? What !

LORNE Took the whats right out of our mouths.

GUNN Where¹d you go ?

FRED Don¹t you know ?

SPIKE I¹mŠ I wasŠ (to Angel) You ! This is your fault.

ANGEL Mine ?

SPIKE You brought that bloody amulet to Sunnydale. You would have been the one to use it until you chickened out.

ANGEL What did you‹

SPIKE You heard me ! You left town in the nick of time, didn¹t you ? Before the death and mayhem, abandoned the woman you claimed to love.

ANGEL She made the call. It wasn¹t my choice.

SPIKE And this bloody hell wasn¹t mine. I¹m not you. I don¹t give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I got me a soul doesn¹t mean I¹m gonna let myself be led around by‹

FRED Excuse me ?

WESLEY Did you just sayŠ (to Angel) Spike has a soul ? You never said.

ANGEL Didn¹t seem worth mentioning, you know.

GUNN Seems to be a lot of that.

SPIKE Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special. Didn¹t like me crashing his exclusive club. Another vampire with a soul in the world.

ANGEL You¹re not in the worldŠ Casper.

He turns and walks out.

CUT TO :

6 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ CORRIDOR/ATRIUM‹ DAY 6

Angel strides angrily toward his office. As he walks down the corridor, Spike appears out of the wall behind him.

SPIKE Running away again ? Nice new MO. I can see why heroes like you get rewarded with the shiny new glass and chrome. Why didn¹t I think of that ?

ANGEL I¹m not responsible for what happened to you.

As Angel crosses the atrium, Harmony calls out to him from her desk.

HARMONY Angel, it¹s almost 3 :00. You have a meeting scheduled with‹

ANGEL Not now, Harmony.

SPIKE And here, you¹ve even managed to get my ex-tumble, the littlest vampire, fetching coffee for you. Nice perks for the sell-out.

ANGEL Little tip, Spike : try not to talk about things you don¹t understand.

SPIKE I¹m not the prat here. I know you, Angel. What do you think you¹re doing ? Made some devil¹s bargain to take over this company. Thought you¹d use it to fight the evil of the world from inside the belly of the beast. Trouble is, you¹re to busy fighting to see that you and yours are getting digested.

ANGEL Not going to happen.

SPIKE Why ? You think you¹re in control here ? Guess again, mate. You¹re no more in control than I am. Except I¹m not gonna bloody stand for it while you¹re just a blindŠ Grox¹lar beast.

ANGEL What ?

He follows Spike¹s gaze and turns in time to see a huge multi-horned demon advancing on him. He attacks the creature, throwing a series of punches and kicks to its head and chest which do no damage whatsoever. The beast picks Angel up and hurls him into the wall. Spike throws a punch at the back of the demon¹s head but his fist passes right through it.

SPIKE Oh, brilliant.

Angel gets to his feet and beats the demon backward, wrapping it up in a crushing headlock. He drops to his knees and simultaneously jerks upward on the creature¹s neck, snapping it, then kicks the lifeless corpse across the room where it rebounds off the wall and falls to floor.

Angel looks around at the lawyers and admin staff.

ANGEL Somebody want to tell me how a Grox¹lar beast got past security ? I don¹t have time for this.

SPIKE Of course not. A man¹s gotta stay focused on profit margins and power lunches.

HARMONY Angel‹

ANGEL Yeah, Spike, I¹ve got a business to run. That means responsibilities, appointments to keep. (points at the demon) That‹

HARMONY That was your three o¹clock.

ANGEL I¹m meeting with Grox¹lars ? They eat babies !

HARMONY Just their heads. You were supposed to open negotiations with his clan.

ANGEL Negotiations for what ?

Gunn strides in.

GUNN Get them to stop eating baby heads.

ANGEL Oh. So that¹s good. (beat) Oh, soŠ this is bad.

GUNN No, actually the Grox¹lar clan respects someone who takes a strong opening position. (off his look) Wolfram & Hart didn¹t just jack me up here with the human laws. Also demon laws from every dimension. I probably should have briefed you about the Grox¹lar but we got a littleŠ sidetracked.

They both look over at Spike who smirks back at them.

GUNN Plus I¹ve been implementing our reforms. Mostly staff overhaul. I¹ve fired 40 employees in the past two days.

ANGEL How¹s that going ?

GUNN As expected. Anger, tearsŠ venomous death threats.

Angel heads into his office with Gunn. Spike just stands in the middle of the atrium scowling at them. Harmony watches him nervously, fidgeting.

HARMONY Listen, I know I was a little crabby before. I mean, hello ! A little awkward seeing you at my work. But if you want to talk or somethingŠ you know, about us orŠ

Spike just walks away without a word.

HARMONY Okay. Too soon. I understand. (sotto) Slayer-loving freak.

CUT TO :

7 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ANGEL¹S OFFICE‹ DAY 7

Gunn takes a small doll out of his briefcase and hands it to Angel.

GUNN Caught an associate we laid off trying to smuggle this out of the Voodoo Division.

The doll is an obvious representation of Gunn himself, complete with pinstripe suit.

ANGEL It¹s a nice likeness.

SPIKE This place just goes on and on, doesn¹t it ? Like a ruddy theme park attraction.

ANGEL I¹m in a meeting, Spike.

SPIKE Oh, I¹m sorry. I didn¹t care.

GUNN (to Angel) Look, we¹re ruffling a lot of dangerous feathers out there. There¹s going to be a backlash. Count on it.

ANGEL Well, we¹ll just have to ride out the ripples for a while.

GUNN I¹m sensing a ripple on its way now.

He indicates the door and Angel turns around to find NOVAC, one of the firm¹s lawyers, striding into the room, quite agitated.

GUNN YesŠ ?

NOVAC Novac, sir. What¹s this about you shutting down the Interment Acquisitions Division ?

ANGEL (to Gunn) Interment AcquiŠ ?

GUNN Grave-robbing.

NOVAC Listen, I know you fellas are in charge now and you¹re doing a bang-up job. I¹m with you 110% but that department brings in mucho revenue to this company.

ANGEL Well, Novac, we¹ll just have to tighten our belts and do without.

NOVAC No, you¹re not getting it. (off Angel¹s look) Sir. IAD is under contract to provide fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. You know who he is, right ? Oy. Okay. He¹s one of our oldest clients. Big potatoes. We stop delivering and he is not going to beŠ thrilled.

ANGEL Then he¹s probably not going to like it when you advise him that he¹s no longer our client.

NOVAC Me ?

ANGEL You got it, counselor. You tell MisterŠ

GUNN Hainsley.

ANGEL ŠHainsley that Wolfram & Hart is under new management and out of the grave-robbing business. Now run along and go argue your case.

NOVAC (nervous) Me ?

ANGEL Go.

Novac turns to leave.

SPIKE You don¹t have to take that from him, mate.

ANGEL Stay out of this, Spike. You don¹t work here.

SPIKE Damn right I don¹t. Look at you. This is what you do now ? Delegate the dirty work to spineless, low-level flunkies ? (to Novac) No offense. The mighty hero reduced to a bloody bureaucrat. If a certain Slayer could see you nowŠ

ANGEL Get out of here, Spike !

SPIKE Gladly. Cruel enough punishment being stuck here as a spook while you play chairman of the boringŠ but hell if I¹m going to spend my afterlife in your stinking city. Get stuffed.

CUT TO :

Later that night. Angel sits staring out the windows at the cityscape. Wesley walks past the doorway, paging through an ancient book.

ANGEL You don¹t think he¹s really gone, do you ?

WESLEY That what¹s on your mind ?

ANGEL Could have been me, Wes. Was supposed to be me.

WESLEY You¹re not feeling guilty ?

ANGEL (scoffs) About Spike ? That¹s notŠ (sighs) Wolfram & Hart gave me the amulet. They must have expected me to use it and they had to have known it would have done to me what it did to Spike soŠ

WESLEY Why bother handing you the keys to the kingdom ?

ANGEL It doesn¹t make sense. What are the senior partners playing at ?

WESLEY Maybe there¹s dissent in their ranks or maybe there¹s another player in the game they‹ and we‹ don¹t know anything about. Then again, maybe they got exactly what they were after.

ANGEL Spike.

WESLEY He may be the one they‹

ANGEL What are you doing here ? I thought you left town.

Wesley turns to find Spike striding into Angel¹s office behind him.

SPIKE Don¹t think I didn¹t bleeding try. Every time I got as far as the city limits, I kept popping back here like my insides were getting yanked.

WESLEY I suspected as much. The amulet is Wolfram & Hart¹s property. It¹s bound to this place and since Spike¹s connected to itŠ

SPIKE Hey ! I¹m nobody¹s bloody property, Percy. So what ? I¹m just stuck here forever ? (to Angel) I bet you¹re loving this, aren¹t you ?

ANGEL Knowing you¹ll be haunting me till the end of time ? (dry) It¹s a dream come true.

Harmony knocks.

HARMONY Boss ? That Novac lawyer you sent over to dump the client ? Well, he¹s back.

ANGEL Okay, send him in.

HARMONY (hesitant) OkayŠ

She turns and waves. Two Wolfram & Hart security guards enter carrying metal buckets dripping with blood. A shredded yellow tie dangles over the edge of one of them. The guards set them on Angel¹s desk and leave.

ANGEL What isŠ

He and Wesley stand up and take a look inside.

SPIKE Ol¹ buckets here was right. You guys are doing a bang-up job.

FADE OUT

Act II

8 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ATRIUM‹ NIGHT 8

Angel strides out of his office and over to Harmony¹s desk.

ANGEL Harmony, get me Novac¹s contact list‹ close relations, next of kin‹ and let¹s be discreet about this for the time being, okay ?

HARMONY Discreet ? Oh, you mean like not tell anyone about bucket-o-lawyer.

ANGEL (curt) Harmony, contact list.

Gunn hands Angel a file folder as they head into his office and join Wesley.

GUNN Hey, got word you wanted the file on Magnus Hainsley. Dig this, he¹s a sorcerer. Big time. Rich with old money and older mojo. Owns a respectable block of shares in Wolfram & Hart and he¹s connected up the wazoo. Carries influence with power players in the entertainment industry, politicsŠ

ANGEL And he¹s a necromancer.

WESLEY Power over the dead. That explains the bodies Wolfram & Hart¹s been providing him.

ANGEL But not what he¹s been doing with them. Out of my chair.

He scowls at Spike who sits behind Angel¹s desk with his feet propped up.

SPIKE Make me.

GUNN What¹s in the buckets ?

SPIKE Your man Novac. Guess he¹s been‹ what do you call it ?‹ down-sized.

ANGEL It¹s a message from Magnus Hainsley and I¹m going to reply to it personally.

WESLEY You can¹t take Hainsley on yourself.

ANGEL I¹m not going to risk him turning somebody else in to chowder.

He heads for his personal elevator and searches for the call button.

WESLEY Angel, you¹ve got a multi-billion dollar company at your disposal with armed and trained personnel.

ANGEL They cramp my style.

The call button is nowhere to be found but the doors slide open anyway.

WESLEY Your style¹s not going to cut it with a necromancer. We should probably avoid an eye-for-an-eye escalation here.

ANGEL I¹m not going for his eyes, Wes.

GUNN I know what you should go for. It¹ll hurt him. Bad.

CUT TO :

9 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ GARAGE‹ NIGHT 9

The elevator doors open and Angel enters the garage. He heads for a black Dodge Viper and opens the door.

SPIKE I knew you¹d pick the Viper. So bloody predictable.

Angel leans in to find Spike sitting in the passenger seat.

ANGEL Spike, get out of the car.

SPIKE No.

ANGEL What ?

SPIKE This "haunting you till the end of time" idea of yours is starting to sound appealing. I could drive you completely starkers‹ right out of your gourd‹ and you wouldn¹t be able to do a sodding thing about it.

Angel slams the door and walks over to the next car in line and gets in. Spike is already inside waiting for him.

SPIKE Fancy a road trip ? This¹ll be fun, eh ? You and me together again. SoŠ where are we off to ?

ANGEL To see the wizard.

He starts the car and pulls out.

CUT TO :

10 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ FOYER/PARLOR‹ NIGHT 10

Hainsley¹s BUTLER shows Spike and Angel in.

BUTLER Do you have an appointment with Mr. Hainsley ?

SPIKE Let¹s just say he sent us an invitation.

ANGEL We¹reŠ I¹m from Wolfram & Hart.

SPIKE I¹m his date.

Angel shoots him a withering look.

BUTLER Mr. Hainsley is with a customer at the moment. I¹m afraid he does not suffer interruption lightly.

ANGEL I¹m not so worried about his suffering. Go ahead an interrupt.

BUTLER As you wish. Please wait here, gentlemen.

The butler moves off and Spike looks around with a smirk.

SPIKE Life among the power elite. It¹s all so civilized. Hainsley grinds up one of your people into chum and you drop by for tea.

ANGEL I¹m hoping to avoid a body count here.

SPIKE No worries. Looks like this Hainsley keeps one on hand.

Angel follows Spike¹s gaze into the parlor where two-dozen corpses stand posed as if in the midst of a cocktail party ; a bizarre still-life of dead bodies.

SPIKE Man likes to play with dollies.

ANGEL This isn¹t for him. It¹s a showroom.

CUT TO :

11 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ BASEMENT‹ NIGHT 11

An altar stands in the center of an inverted pentagram. MAGNUS HAINSLEY stands next to the altar which holds the body of a young woman. Hainsley extends his hand over the dead woman and chants in a low guttural tongue while a DEMON watches from behind him.

DEMON I thought about going older with it. I don¹t know, more distinguished. Kind of a 50-something Shirley Temple-Black with it. You know, that ultra-respectable ambassador to somewhere feel. But in the end, I went with pretty. I suppose we all do in the end, don¹t we ? You know, in the end pretty people just seem to have it so much‹ whoa !

The demon recoils as Hainsley shoves his hand deep inside the girl¹s abdomen.

DEMON There¹s something you don¹t see every‹ aggh !

Hainsley¹s other arm shoots backward toward the demon. The creature begins to disintegrate and flow into Hainsley¹s arm.

DEMON Yeah, okay, that¹s feeling a little weird.

The butler enters as the demon turns to dust and its essence flows through Hainsley and into the body of the dead woman.

BUTLER Excuse the interruption, sir. There are some more men from Wolfram & Hart asking to see you. They seem rather adamant.

HAINSLEY Kill them.

BUTLER Very good, sir.

CUT TO :

12 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ PARLOR/CONTINUOUS‹ NIGHT 12

Angel and Spike walk among the posed corpses, looking them over curiously.

SPIKE I don¹t knowŠ maybe the geezer¹s just lonely. Throws himself a surprise party every night. Picks out one of these painted pigeons and shows her a good time, if you know what I mean. (off his look) What ? I¹m sure they don¹t mind.

ANGEL Yeah, I mind.

SPIKE Why ? They¹re the lucky ones, aren¹t they ? It¹s over for them. They¹ve shuffled off, cleanly, the one time. Nobody¹s shoving them back into the stinking world against their will.

ANGEL (hard) I mind.

The butler returns.

BUTLER Mr. Hainsley has asked that I send you back to Wolfram & Hart, gentlemenŠ in a manner of speaking.

He whips out two meat cleavers and twirls them menacingly.

SPIKE (to Angel) Uh-oh. Looks like it¹s buckets for you.

Angel glares at Spike, then turns and takes a teaspoon out of the cup in the hands of one of the posed corpses. He whips the spoon across the room where it embeds itself in the butler¹s forehead. The man screams in agony and drops the meat cleavers.

SPIKE (incredulous) A spoon ? That¹s justŠ

The butler reaches up, wrenches the spoon out of his head and glares at Angel.

SPIKE Oh, wellŠ okay, that¹s moreŠ

The butler keels over dead.

SPIKE Šdisappointing, really.

ANGEL I know you can¹t help me but could you maybe not root for the other team ?

SPIKE Hey, I¹ll root for anyone with a half a chance at taking you down a notch.

Angel heads off into the house, looking for Hainsley, and Spike follows.

ANGEL What is your problem ?

SPIKE You are, you ponce ! You¹re my problem. You got it too good. You¹re king of a 30-floor castle with all the cars, comfort, power and glory you could ever want and here I save the world, throw myself onto the proverbial hand grenade for love, honor and all the right reasons, and what do I get ? Bloody well toasted and ghosted is what I get, isn¹t it ? It¹s just not fair.

ANGEL Fair ? You asked for a soul. I didn¹t ! It almost killed me. I spent a hundred years trying to come to terms with infinite remorse. You spent three weeks moaning in a basement and then you were fine ! What¹s fair about that ?

SPIKE Are you getting blurry or is itŠ

He suddenly fades out and Angel finds himself alone. He shakes his head in frustration and continues his search for Hainsley.

CUT TO :

13 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ BASEMENT‹ NIGHT 13

As Hainsley washes his hands off in a ceremonial bowl, the doors suddenly burst inward and fly off their hinges. He smiles at Angel.

HAINSLEY Come in. It¹s open.

ANGEL Hainsley.

HAINSLEY Didn¹t know it was the head cheese himself. Thought for sure you were another lackey. You should show more respect.

Angel looks around as the formerly dead WOMAN sits up and climbs off the altar.

WOMAN OhŠ I can see you guys have thing going on. Don¹t let me get in your way. I¹ll let myself out.

As she walks past Angel, he seizes her by the arm and spins her around. She snarls at him and her eyes flash, lit from within by a blood-red glow. Angel decks her and she collapses to the floor.

ANGEL (to Hainsley) So how much do you charge, huh ? Installing the average demon in a human bodyŠ I¹m sure a lot of them would love to pass as people. You know, walk amongst the sheep.

HAINSLEY Believe me, friend, the average demon can¹t afford it.

ANGEL I¹m cutting off your supply, Hainsley. As of now, your body shop is‹

Hainsley extends his arm and Angel suddenly gasps and goes rigid.

HAINSLEY Who do you think you¹re talking to ?

Angel struggles to no avail as his feet slide across the floor and he¹s drawn toward Hainsley.

HAINSLEY I eat the dead for breakfast, son, and you¹re just another plate of bacon and eggs.

Spike suddenly pops back into existence and looks around curiously.

HAINSLEY A ghost, huh ? You brought a ghost as your backup, vampire ?

SPIKE I¹m not here to back him up. I just haunt the bastard.

ANGEL Stay out of this !

SPIKE Oh, stick it‹ far as it¹ll go. (to Hainsley) You go ahead, wiz. Do what you want.

Hainsley twists his hand and Angel moans in pain.

HAINSLEY (to Angel) What I want is to turn you inside out, like a shirt. I could dust you right now, boy. Wouldn¹t even need a stake.

He lets Angel suffer a moment more, then releases him. Angel collapses against the wall, barely able to stand.

HAINSLEY But that would be too big an insult for the senior partners to overlook. Seems that they¹ve got plans for you.

Angel takes out his cell phone and hits speed dial.

ANGEL I¹ve got plans of my own. (into phone) Gunn, do it.

HAINSLEY And what was that ? Just call in an air strike ?

ANGEL I just froze all your bank accounts, terminated your paper assets, and turned your books over to a very motivated contact we have at the IRS. Five minutes from now, you¹ll have nothing but this house. Ten minutes from now, that¹ll go into foreclosure.

Hainsley calm demeanor suddenly cracks. An expression of both fear and rage crosses his face.

HAINSLEY You can¹t do that.

ANGEL I¹ll let myself out.

HAINSLEY It¹s not legal. You think you can get away with that ? I¹ll sue you to hell.

ANGEL Good luck. We¹re your lawyers.

He walks out and Spike follows.

HAINSLEY This isn¹t over, vampire.

CUT TO :

14 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ CORRIDOR/FOYER‹ NIGHT 14

Spike runs to catch up with Angel.

SPIKE That¹s how you¹re going to fight the forces of evil now ? Call the IRS ?

ANGEL Whatever it takes.

SPIKE (mimics phone) Hello ? IRS ? Could you fight my battles for me ? And while you¹re at it, could you wipe my wide spotty ass‹

He disappears.

ANGEL Oh, thank god.

Angel walks out the front door and into the night.

CUT TO :

15 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ BASEMENT‹ NIGHT 15

Spike reappears back in the basement with Hainsley.

SPIKE ‹ass. (to Hainsley) You ?

HAINSLEY (shrugs) Power over the dead. But enough about me. Let¹s talk about you. You¹re a ghost. Close enough, anyway. That¹s just a horrible way to be. You¹re not here, you¹re not there. Just lost somewhere in the middle. You can¹t fight against it, you can¹t fix it. Hell, you can¹t even lift a finger ¹cause you simply don¹t have any.

SPIKE Yeah, what¹s it to you ?

HAINSLEY I can give you back what¹s been taken from you. Freedom, power of choice. I can put your destiny back in your own flesh and bone hands. That¹s right. A corporeal body. I can make that happen. But to do that, I need you to do something for me. Something that might requireŠ

SPIKE (eager) Hurt Angel ? That it ? You want me to hurt Angel ?

Hainsley merely smiles.

SPIKE You¹ve come to the right ghost.

FADE OUT

Act III

16 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ANGEL¹S OFFICE‹ NIGHT 16

Gunn briefs Angel as he returns from his visit to Hainsley.

GUNN Wiped out every asset we could find on Hainsley. Wasn¹t easy. The man¹s got his fingers in a lot of dirty pies.

ANGEL Yeah, well, I think pies are going to be off his menu for a while.

GUNN It¹s gotta hurt. I mean, damn. Who doesn¹t love pie ?

Fred and Wesley enter.

FRED You¹re back.

WESLEY Hainsley out of business ?

ANGEL For the time being.

FRED So he¹s not going away ?

ANGEL Well, I think that "this isn¹t over yet, vampire" may be a tip-off. Look, guys, can we get back to my spiritual crisis ?

WESLEY Yes. Spike.

ANGEL Popped out on me at Hainsley¹s place. But we all know that he¹ll be back and back and back and I really don¹t want that happening again so explain to me how we¹re going to get him out of here.

FRED He can¹t get out of here.

ANGEL Please don¹t tell me that.

FRED OkayŠ Wesley, you tell him.

WESLEY I¹ve had my entire department doing thorough research on the amulet. There¹s not much. Not in the way of releasing Spike from it, anyway. At least, not in the conventional sense.

ANGEL And what¹s the unconventional sense ?

WESLEY Something he asked for. Eternal rest.

CUT TO :

17 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ATRIUM‹ NIGHT 17

Spike steps out of the elevator and heads for Angel¹s office. He passes Harmony at her desk and she pointedly turns her back on him as she gathers her things to leave for the night.

HARMONY Fine. Don¹t talk to me.

SPIKE What ?

HARMONY The whole time we were a thing, you treated me like day-old rat blood. Why should now be any diff ? Just ¹cause you¹ve gone all Patrick SwayzeŠ

SPIKE What are you on about ?

HARMONY Well, gee, nothing much. Just since you¹re all soulful now, I thought maybe‹ just maybe‹ you might have learned to open up a little. You know, talks ? But I guess a leopard can¹t change his stripes.

SPIKE Spots, you dink. Leopards have spots.

HARMONY Excuse me, Mr. Brainy. Thank you so much for sharing. Wow. What a breakthrough.

She stalks off and Spike shakes his head and sighs. As he approaches Angel¹s office, he can hear voices from within.

WESLEY (o.s.) This is an unusual situation but I think it¹s our only choice. It¹s what we¹d do in any other case of haunting, isn¹t it ? An exorcism of sorts ?

FRED (o.s.) We¹re talking about killing him.

Spike stops outside the door and listens in.

CUT TO :

18 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ANGEL¹S OFFICE‹ NIGHT 18

FRED I mean, I know he¹s already dead but he¹d be gone-dead. Forever. It just doesn¹t seem right.

WESLEY I agree but neither is leaving him here, trapped between realms with no control over his fate, not able to touch anything, affect anything. Unable to fight. Letting him cross over seems the most merciful thing‹

ANGEL Yeah, yeah, mercy. I¹m all for it. Just, hey, tell me how we do it.

WESLEY The amulet¹s protected, invulnerable to anything butŠ the magick that¹s protecting it doesn¹t work on hallowed ground.

GUNN Hallowed ? Like a church ?

WESLEY Or cemetery, yes. It has to be taken there and destroyed.

FRED Destroyed how ?

WESLEY I think a sharp blow would probably do the trick.

GUNN Angel, what do you think ?

Angel suddenly isn¹t so sure.

ANGEL I think I want to sleep on it.

They all nod and start to leave the room. Fred drops the amulet on Angel¹s desk before she goes. Outside, Spike steps into the shadows before any of them can see him as they leave.

CUT TO :

19 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ANGEL¹S SUITE‹ NIGHT 19

Angel steps out of the elevator into his apartment, holding the amulet. He changes out of his clothes, climbs into bed and shuts his eyes.

SPIKE Well, look at you.

ANGEL Oh, noŠ no, no, no.

He sits up to find Spike standing at the window, looking out at the cityscape.

SPIKE Sitting in luxury¹s ample lap. Top of the world. Looking down onŠ well, everyone. It¹s good to be king, isn¹t it ?

ANGEL Ground rules : haunt me all you want during business hours but this space‹ off limits.

SPIKE Relax, beefcake, I didn¹t come for a fight.

ANGEL (wary) Really ?

SPIKE Not that I could, right ? "Can¹t touch, can¹t affect anything." Yeah, I overheard your little group pow-wow about me.

ANGEL How much ?

SPIKE Enough of enough.

ANGEL Look, Spike‹

SPIKE The necromancer tried to make a deal with me.

ANGEL What ?

SPIKE Said he could bring me back‹ body and soul‹ if I used our close personal relationship to double-cross you.

ANGEL Tempting. So what¹d you say ?

SPIKE You see, right there, that¹s the problem. You having to ask me that. I don¹t play for that side anymore, or haven¹t you heard ? BesidesŠ even if Mr. Death could do what he promised, I¹d trust him about as much as you trust me.

ANGEL What do you want from me ?

SPIKE I can¹t live like this, Angel. Being useless. (sighs) Being nothing. I want it to end.

CUT TO :

20 EXT. LOS ANGELES CEMETERY‹ NIGHT 20

Spike and Angel walk among the gravestones. Spike stops before one of them.

SPIKE I suppose this¹ll do. Feels hallowed enough.

Angel nods and takes the amulet from his pocket.

ANGEL Are you sure you want to do this, Spike ?

SPIKE What ? You think I could really stand hanging out with you and your lot now and forever ? Wise-cracking ghost sidekick. No bloody thanks. Come on. You know as well as I do, it¹s for the best.

Angel sets the amulet on top of the tombstone and picks up a metal urn.

SPIKE I¹m glad it¹s you, though. Finally doing me in. Feels right, you being my grandsire and all. Circle of death, eh ?

ANGEL Goodbye, Spike.

SPIKE See you around, Angel.

He raises the urn to smash the amulet but hits himself in the head with it instead.

SPIKE I think you missed.

He smiles as Angel smashes himself in the face with the urn again, then rises off the ground, suspended in the air.

Hainsley steps out from behind a nearby mausoleum, holding Angel in place.

HAINSLEY And the dead shall riseŠ just ¹cause I say so.

ANGEL HainsleyŠ

HAINSLEY A vampire should think twice before messing with a man who wields power over all things lifeless.

With a flick of his wrist, Angel hurtles backward into a cement wall, then drops the ground, unconscious.

HAINSLEY If you ask my advice.

SPIKE Took your sweet time stepping in, Hainsley. I came this close to getting a one-way to the great beyond.

HAINSLEY Relax, son. I wasn¹t going to let anything happen to you. You¹re the linch-pin of my plan.

SPIKE Our plan. And you bloody better hold up your end of it. I¹m not going to be used by you.

HAINSLEY Yes, you are. But afterwards, I¹ll give you your reward, just as you asked. I¹ll put you back in the driver¹s seat of your afterlife. Control. That¹s all anyone really wants, isn¹t it ?

FADE OUT

Act IV

21 INT. HAINSLEY MANSION‹ BASEMENT‹ NIGHT 21

Angel lies on the altar in Hainsley¹s basement, pinned in place by the necromancer¹s magick.

HAINSLEY Hello, vampire. Have a nice nap ? No, don¹t get up. You¹ve had a rough day. You know, so have I, thanks to you.

ANGEL Yours is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

HAINSLEY I don¹t think so. Me necromancer. You dead. You can¹t lay a finger on me.

ANGEL Maybe not but what do you think the senior partners are going to do to you when I turn up missing ?

HAINSLEY Oh, you¹re not going to be missing. You¹re going to show up to work bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning, when you¹ll reverse the seizure of my personal assets and reinstate the Interment Acquisitions Department.

ANGEL And why would I do that ?

SPIKE Not you. Me. Wearing your body.

ANGEL And to think I didn¹t trust you.

SPIKE Come on, Angel. What choice did I have ? Bloody exorcism ? Letting you and yours banish me to oblivion ? No thanks. Necro here¹s going to give me my body back after I take yours for a test drive, fix his little problems. And here¹s the kicker. I go in and you goŠ pfft ! Off to never-never-come-back land. And then, yours very truly will be running the show. Your cars, your fancy digsŠ everything‹ everyone‹ I deserve will be mine. And maybe I¹ll have a go with that Fred. She looks like a goer and she seems to really look up to you.

ANGEL Shut up !

SPIKE You know what ? You¹re right. Enough talk. (to Hainsley) Let¹s do this already. I¹m itchin¹ to get physical.

HAINSLEY I¹ve never installed anyone in a conscious dead body before. I imagine this is going to be extremely painful.

He closes his eyes and begins his guttural chant. After a moment, he plunges his hand into Angel¹s belly, sinking in up to the wrist. Angel cries out in agony and Spike smiles happily.

Hainsley reaches backward with his other arm toward Spike and Spike disintegrates, coursing into Hainsley. But instead of flowing into Angel, Spike¹s essence stops halfway, remaining inside Hainsley and possessing him.

HAINSLEY What ? WhatŠ are you doing ?

ANGEL Spike, would you mind ?

HAINSLEY No !

Hainsley¹s hand pulls out of Angel¹s gut and Angel decks him in the face. He leaps off the altar and pummels Hainsley with a series of blows.

ANGEL I can touch you now, Hainsley.

Hainsley responds by magickally seizing Angel and flinging him across the room. Hainsley staggers toward him, trying to fight Spike for control of his body.

HAINSLEY You think you¹re clever, eh ? ButŠ (groans) your ghost can¹t control me for long. I hold the power. I rule the dead.

ANGEL Not today.

Angel pounds him with a quick series of blows and whips him around headfirst into the altar. Hainsley¹s head smacks into it and he goes down. He lies still for a beat, then leaps to his feet and punches Angel twice in rapid succession, then kicks him backward across the room. Angel grabs a silver serving tray off a tea cart and whips it at Hainsley like a frisbee, slicing Hainsley¹s head clean off. Spike¹s head pops up and takes its place, sticking out of Hainley¹s neck.

SPIKE Oh, bollocks.

Hainsley¹s body falls away, leaving Spike standing before Angel.

SPIKE I was just getting warmed up.

ANGEL That was you hitting me ?

SPIKE That last bit, yeah. Hainsley¹s been dead since he hit the table. (off his look) Oh, come on. I had to get a few licks in, didn¹t I ?

He smiles sardonically while Angel just stares at him in disbelief.

CUT TO :

22 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ ATRIUM‹ DAY 22

Angel walks with Wesley down the corridor.

WESLEY I see. So Spike came to you with his plan ?

ANGEL More or less. Once he learned that Hainsley used himself as a conduit for body transfers, our trap fell into place.

Angel stops at Harmony¹s desk where she hands him a stack of files and a cup of blood.

WESLEY A bit reckless. Well, if Spike¹s going to be sticking around, it¹d be prudent of him to share his plans with the rest of us in the future.

ANGEL Yeah, well, sharing¹s not something Spike does very well.

HARMONY Preaching to the horse¹s mouth.

CUT TO :

23 INT. WOLFRAM & HART‹ LAB/FRED¹S OFFICE‹ DAY 23

Fred enters, crosses the lab and goes into her office. She starts when she finds Spike standing in the corner.

FRED Spike. What are youŠ can I help you ?

SPIKE Well, that¹s the heart of it, isn¹t it ? The crux. The nub.

FRED I¹m sorry ?

SPIKE You¹re the smart one, aren¹t you ? The go-to girl who knows all about this ghost mumbo-jumbo.

FRED Actually, Wesley¹s the occult expert. He was trained as a Watcher. He knows about the supernat‹

SPIKE Yeah, but you¹re the science queen. The how¹s, the what-if¹sŠ that¹s your cup of tea. You figure things out in that cute little noggin of yours.

FRED I guess. WhatŠ is there somethingŠ

SPIKE I¹m slipping.

FRED What ?

SPIKE I don¹t want to go but it¹s likeŠ it¹s like the ground underneath me is splitting open and my legs are straddling both sides of this bloody big chasm. It¹s getting wider, pulling me in.

FRED Is thatŠ is that what¹s happening when you keep vanishing ?

SPIKE I know what¹s down there, where it¹s trying to take me. And it¹s not the place heroes go, not by a bloody long shot. It¹s the other one. Full of fireŠ and torment. And it¹s happening and I¹m terrified.

He looks at her meaningfully.

SPIKE Help me ?

FADE TO BLACK

END