6x03
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        19     INT. THE HYPERION - LOBBY. NIGHT.                       19

               CONNOR stands before SPIKE and ILLYRIA. Spike, seated on the
               desk, smokes while Illyria paces around the body of the demon
               we saw attacking her in the park. She looks in bad shape, but
               she's still in one piece. Connor's eyes keep flicking
               nervously to the body as he talks.

                                   CONNOR
                         So he's holed up underneath the
                         Metro's offices. He said he didn't
                         come back here because he thought
                         it'd be too dangerous, and, uh…

                                   SPIKE
                         And what?

                                   CONNOR
                             (hesitant)
                         He said he didn't think even you'd
                         be crazy enough to come back here.

                                   SPIKE
                         Well, that's me to a 'T', mate.
                         Always going one step beyond.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         We must bring him here. We need his
                         strength if we are to continue
                         fighting.

                                   CONNOR
                         Oh, wait, he won't be there.

                                   SPIKE
                         Where's he off to this time, then?

               Connor pauses, and Spike groans as the penny drops.

                                   SPIKE (cont'd)
                         He went back for Nina, didn't he?

                                   CONNOR
                             (nods)
                         Said I should come here and wait
                         for him to come back.

               Spike hops down from the desktop and scoops up his jacket.
               Illyria regards him curiously.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Where are you going?

                                   SPIKE
                         If Angel was barmy enough to try
                         and break into there after what I
                         came up against, then he's most
                         likely in severe need by now of
                         some-

                                   ANGEL (O.S.)
                         Help?

               Spike looks up – and Angel has stepped through the hotel
               doors, leading Nina by one hand.

                                   SPIKE
                         Blimey, the prodigal son returns!

                                   ANGEL
                         Now, Spike, don't make a scene, I'd
                         hate to think you actually missed
                         me…

               Angel smirks as he walks past Spike, who stutters as he tries
               to come up with a retort.

               Angel walks up to Connor and hugs him warmly, passing Nina
               over to him as Illyria steps up to him.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         You live!

                                   ANGEL
                         Uh, technically, no. But I'm still
                         in one piece, which is what I guess
                         you meant, so thanks for the
                         concern.

               Angel notices the dead demon.

                                   ANGEL (cont'd)
                         What the hell is that thing doing
                         in my ho- in here?

                                   ILLYRIA
                         It was threatening an infant. So I
                         silenced it.

                                   ANGEL
                         Oh. Great. Could you, uh, move it
                         somewhere a bit more silent?

               Illyria drags the body away by one of its feet as Spike
               marches over, not looking too pleased.

                                   SPIKE
                         Nice of you to drop by at last!
                         Been having fun playing with your
                         demon friends out there, have you?
                         We've spent days sneaking round
                         this dump trying to find you, and
                         there you were all this time,
                         sitting pretty in the basement of
                         some bloody hack newspaper?

                                   ANGEL
                             (to Connor)
                         You told him about the 'crazy to
                         come back here' part, right?

                                   CONNOR
                         Sure did.

                                   ANGEL
                         Good.
                             (to Spike)
                         Spike, I'm amazed this place is
                         still standing. In case you hadn't
                         noticed, there's still that dead
                         dragon out in the alleyway, so I
                         figured the hotel would just be
                         rubble by now.

                                   SPIKE
                         This place? No way. Solid as a
                         rock.

               Spike slams his fist against a pillar to prove his point, but
               something shifts overhead and deposits a handful of dust down
               onto him.

               Angel stands as Spike dusts himself down.

                                   ANGEL
                         Good to hear…

                                   NINA
                         Angel? You there?

                                   ANGEL
                         Yeah, I'm here.

               Angel kneels before Nina as Spike joins him.

                                   SPIKE
                         What happened to her?

                                   NINA
                         I have a name, Spike!

                                   SPIKE
                         Right, sorry, luv. Should've
                         remembered, being the bosses' bit
                         of stuff does get you certain
                         privileges…

               Spike glances at Angel, expecting a retort, and is surprised
               to get nothing.

                                   SPIKE (cont'd)
                         No comeback? Blimey, this must be
                         serious…

                                   ANGEL
                         As we were leaving Wolfram & Hart,
                         we passed some kind of magical
                         barrier. It didn't affect me, but
                         blinded Nina. We need to fix it.

                                   SPIKE
                         Er, I'd love to, but we do have the
                         slightly more pressing problem of
                         this part of the city barricaded
                         off from the outside world and
                         several thousand demons still
                         galloping around outside!

                                   ANGEL
                             (getting irritated)
                         I'm aware of the situation, Spike.

                                   SPIKE
                         Well? What are we going to do about
                         it, then?

                                   ILLYRIA
                         We should contact that other group.
                         They may be of some use.

                                   SPIKE
                         What, that Taylor joker? No bloody
                         way, I wouldn't trust him as far as
                         I could throw this hotel.

                                   CONNOR
                         Why not? He seemed pretty switched
                         on, and he said there's a group of
                         about twenty of them hiding out a
                         few miles from here.

                                   NINA
                         Hey, beats sitting here in the
                         dark.

               A beat. No-one is sure how to react to Nina until she sighs
               and throws her hands up.

                                   NINA (cont'd)
                         Okay, being ironic! Jeez, you
                         vampires always come with a sense
                         of humour transplant or what?

                                   ANGEL
                         Spike, I want you to stay here and
                         watch Nina.

               Angel walks over to the dusty weapons cabinet and wrenches
               the doors open. Illyria watches him, suddenly seeming more
               eager.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Are we to fight once more?

                                   ANGEL
                         'We' aren't doing anything, I'm
                         going back out there. There are
                         plenty of healers and mystics
                         who'll have found demons taking
                         over downtown a good reason to stay
                         here, so I'm going to hit each one
                         until they find me a cure, and then
                         I'm coming back.

               Angel fetches a handy-looking sword from the cabinet and
               starts to walk away.

                                   SPIKE
                         Hold on just a minute, Geronimo,
                         you're not seriously going back out
                         there by yourself, are you? I
                         wouldn't want to risk that, and I'd
                         like to think of myself as being
                         that bit tougher than you, having
                         come back from the dead twice
                         already…

                                   ANGEL
                             (beat; irritated)
                         So have I!

                                   SPIKE
                         Ah. Er…

                                   ANGEL
                         We don't have time for this.
                         Connor?

                                   CONNOR
                         Yeah?

                                   ANGEL
                         Can I trust you to watch Nina?

                                   CONNOR
                         No problem.

                                   NINA
                         Hey, don't be gone long, soldier
                         boy.

               Nina reaches out a hand and Angel pauses to take it, before
               walking up the steps towards the front door.

               Illyria looks from Angel to Spike, confused.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Angel is leaving! Yet you do not
                         follow him?

                                   SPIKE
                         No, why would I?

                                   ILLYRIA
                         You always follow him into battle.
                         It is your path.

                                   SPIKE
                             (offended)
                         Oi! I don't follow anybody, Blue,
                         don't go and mistake a sense of,
                         of, duty for me being anybody's
                         lapdog! I just go where the fight
                         takes me, nobody-

                                   ANGEL
                         Spike?

               Spike and Illyria look up to Angel, just about to step
               through the doors.

                                   ANGEL (cont'd)
                         Shut up.

               And with that, he's gone. Spike scowls.

                                   SPIKE
                             (mutters)
                         Wanker…

               Spike heads back for the desk and lights up a cigarette again
               as Illyria leans over Nina, curious.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         What happened to your eyes?

                                   NINA
                         Beats me. Something went 'flash!'
                         and that was the last thing I saw.

               Nina waves a hand experimentally in front of her eyes.

                                   NINA (cont'd)
                         It's weird… I've got a light blur
                         and a dark blur, but that's it.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Her strength puzzles me. I have
                         known many proud warriors to fall
                         on their swords after an injury
                         such as this. When the ability to
                         fight is lost, many give up, their
                         reason for existence lost.

                                   NINA
                         Well, ah, hate to break this to
                         you, 'Ria, but I'm not exactly a
                         'proud warrior.' I'm just an art
                         student, but that's not something
                         I'm about to lose just because of
                         Wolfram & Hart, you know? And I
                         know that Angel's gonna come
                         walking back through that door soon
                         enough, and this'll all be over and
                         done with.

                                   ILLYRIA
                             (to Spike)
                         She is strong. She too will fight
                         well alongside us.

               Spike frowns at Illyria as he brings Nina a mug of coffee,
               guiding it carefully into her hands.

                                   SPIKE
                         You've got a bit of a one-track
                         mind, haven't you?
                             (to Nina)
                         Here. I'm not a great coffee maker,
                         but it's hot and sweet which always
                         seems to do the trick.

                                   NINA
                         Thanks.

               She sips, not realising everyone is watching her.

                                   NINA (cont'd)
                         You know something, Spike?

                                   SPIKE
                         What?

                                   NINA
                         You're a lot less unpleasant when
                         Angel's not around.
                         If I didn't know better, I'd swear
                         you two had some kind of 'thing'
                         going on…

                                   SPIKE
                         'Thing'? What 'thing' exactly?

               Connor stifles a laugh, and Spike glares at him.

                                   SPIKE (cont'd)
                         What?!?

                                   CONNOR
                         I, uh, need to go do, a, uh, thing.

               He gets up and walks away, his laughter soon echoing around
               the lobby. Nina smirks as Illyria looks as Spike.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         I do not understand. Are they
                         mocking you?

                                   SPIKE
                         You know what? I think they are.
                             (sighs)
                         This is going to be another one of
                         those years, I can tell...

               He turns and stomps away, leaving Illyria with the still
               grinning Nina.

                                                             BLACK OUT:



                                   END OF ACT TWO
                                      ACT THREE

                                                               FADE IN:

        20     INT. DEMON HIDEOUT. NIGHT.                              20

               SLAM! We see a plump, terrified looking demon called GURG
               shoved back against a wall, Angel's forearm pressed tightly
               against his throat.

                                   GURG
                         Aah! Easy, easy!

                                   ANGEL
                         We're still not getting anywhere,
                         are we, Gurg? I asked you a
                         question!

                                   GURG
                         And I'm telling you, I still don't
                         know what could have caused the
                         blindness, I don't work for-

               Angel raises his sword and Gurg whimpers.

                                   GURG (cont'd)
                         Okay, okay! I'll tell you what I
                         can…

                                   ANGEL
                             (lowers sword)
                         Good.

               Angel lets Gurg go, and he flops into a chair, gasping. We
               see now we're inside a run down hideout, old furniture and a
               few ornaments dotted around the room.

                                   GURG
                         They're right about you, you know.

                                   ANGEL
                         Who is?

                                   GURG
                         People. What they say about you.
                         They all talk about this fire you
                         get in your eyes when you get
                         really into something.

                                   ANGEL
                         Gurg, I didn't come here for a
                         character analysis, I came for the
                         cure! Now are you gonna talk, or am
                         I gonna have to get rough?
                             (beat; thinks)
                         Or rougher?

                                   GURG
                         Relax, hero, I'm all roughed up for
                         the night.

               Angel watches Gurg carefully as the demon locates a crumpled
               pack of cigarettes and lights one.

                                   GURG (cont'd)
                         Smoke?

                                   ANGEL
                         Fire doesn't agree with me. Look,
                         Gurg, if you're not-

                                   GURG
                         It's a defence mechanism. Built
                         into the structure of the Wolfram &
                         Hart building itself. It has
                         different effects depending on what
                         it's set to. There's a bunch of
                         them in and around the place,
                         they're designed to stop a mass
                         exodus of employees with sensitive
                         information, or to disable any
                         escaping clients until they can be
                         retrieved.

                                   ANGEL
                         How do you know so much about it?

                                   GURG
                         Helped design some of the spells.

                                   ANGEL
                             (folds arms)
                         So much for you not knowing
                         anything about it, huh?

                                   GURG
                         So I lied. I'm a demon!

               Angel frowns as Gurg carries on smoking.

                                   ANGEL
                         So how do I reverse the effects?

                                   GURG
                         Tricky. Powerful counterspell, you
                         see, these failsafes were designed
                         to be very resistant to any magics
                         taking them away. Not much point
                         making a system to stop people if
                         any warlock worth his horns can
                         just conjure it away again!

                                   ANGEL
                         Full marks for dedication.

               He slams the sword, point first, down into the tabletop,
               making Gurg leap backwards in alarm.

                                   ANGEL (cont'd)
                         Now tell me how to break the spell!

                                   GURG
                         It's not that simple, vampire! No
                         amount of you stomping in here and
                         threatening to scowl me to death
                         can get around that. These are
                         interlinked magics, woven tightly
                         together. You want to break one,
                         you've got to bust them all at
                         once, and that requires some
                         serious mojo.

                                   ANGEL
                         Can you do that?

                                   GURG
                         Me? No.

                                   ANGEL
                         Oh. Well, I guess that's all I'll
                         be needing from you then.

               Angel reaches forward and grabs Gurg by the throat, vamping
               out. Gurg yelps and flaps his hands urgently.

                                   GURG
                         Wait, wait! I can tell you where to
                         find someone who can!

                                   ANGEL
                             (beat)
                         I'm listening…

               As Gurg breathes a sigh of relief, we cut back to:

        21     INT. HYPERION – ANGEL'S ROOM. NIGHT.                    21

               Nina sits on the bed in Angel's old room at the hotel, an
               array of candles lighting the room. She moves her head
               towards the door as Connor comes in, carrying a tray with a
               plate of steaming hot food. He sets it down on the table and
               pulls up a chair alongside the bed.

                                   CONNOR
                         Hey. I brought you up some food,
                         the kitchen downstairs was still
                         pretty well stocked.

                                   NINA
                         Cooking too? Are you sure you're
                         Angel's kid?

                                   CONNOR
                         Yeah, I get asked that a lot.

               Connor holds the plate out for Nina and puts a fork in one
               hand. It's a heap of pasta, which she manages to guide
               unsteadily towards her mouth.

               She misses a patch, dribbling sauce down her chin, and Connor
               is ready with a tissue to wipe it away.

                                   NINA
                         Look at me. My sister's kids eat
                         better than this, and they're so
                         little they can understand Yu-Gi
                         Oh!

                                   CONNOR
                         It's cool, just a little sauce.

               Nina sighs heavily and puts the plate down, suddenly looking
               very sad indeed as the weight of her condition breaks through
               her defences.

                                   CONNOR (cont'd)
                         Nina? Are you alright?

                                   NINA
                         Oh, Connor… I've gone blind! I'm
                         trying to stay cool, you know? I
                         mean, I only managed to get a
                         proper handle on being a werewolf a
                         few months ago, and I think I put
                         on a pretty brave face for that,
                         but this…

                                   CONNOR
                         Angel's out there. He'll find
                         something that can help and come
                         back. We both know that, right?

                                   NINA
                         Yeah… yeah, I know.
                             (smiles)
                         That thought's about the only thing
                         stopping me degenerating into a big
                         soppy mess at the moment. If I let
                         my body absorb the fact that I
                         can't see for a second, that's it,
                         I'm gone. You gonna stick around
                         and keep an eye on me till your dad
                         gets back?

                                   CONNOR
                         Yeah, of course I am.

                                   NINA
                         Thanks. You're a sweet kid, Connor.
                         You take after Angel.

                                   CONNOR
                         Yeah, I get that a lot as well.

               He smiles and watches carefully as Nina attempts another
               mouthful of pasta.

        22     INT. HYPERION – LOBBY. NIGHT.                           22

               We pan across the reception counter, along a line of various
               axes, swords, knives and other weapons, reaching an empty
               space at the end as Spike lays a handful of stakes down.

               Illyria watches him as he continues raiding the Hyperion's
               cupboards and cabinets, chuckling to himself each time he
               finds a new cache of weapons.

                                   SPIKE
                         What was Angel planning to do with
                         all these weapons?

                                   ILLYRIA
                         I do not…
                             (beat; cocks head to side)
                         He wanted to be prepared. He always
                         wanted at least one safe house in
                         the city that could restock his
                         weaponry if he lost it in battle.

               Spike raises an eyebrow as Illyria blinks, as though she
               doesn't know why she just spoke.

                                   SPIKE
                         That's Fred talking, innit. She
                         knew all about this place, she
                         lived here for a few years.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Her memories keep washing across my
                         visions, filling this place with
                         unfamiliar faces and creatures…

               Illyria walks towards a raised platform at the far end of the
               lobby, tracing her fingers over its surface.

                                   ILLYRIA (cont'd)
                         I see a tall, elegant black woman
                         standing here, radiating energy,
                         disguised as love but actually
                         something dark and old, something
                         foreign to this world.

                                   SPIKE
                         Wouldn't know. When you lot were
                         living it up in this place, I was
                         living in a hole in the ground in
                         Sunnydale. Before Sunnydale became
                         a hole in the ground, anyway!
                             (proudly)
                         I did that, you know.

                                   ILLYRIA
                             (surprised)
                         You destroyed an entire city?

                                   SPIKE
                         No, I…
                             (thinks)
                         Actually, yeah, I suppose I did.

               Spike grins and goes back to rooting through the cupboards,
               finding a dusty old crossbow.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Why do you assemble this arsenal?

                                   SPIKE
                         That's easy, pet. We're going
                         hunting again and my knuckles are
                         getting sore from all the bloody
                         punching!

                                   ILLYRIA
                         We are to leave the boy and the
                         blind girl here?

                                   SPIKE
                         They'll be safe. Didn't you feel
                         that tingle as you walked in? All
                         sorts of protection spells cast on
                         this place. Fading, but still
                         potent enough to stop anything with
                         more teeth than us put together
                         skulking inside, looking for an
                         appetiser.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         Good. There is still much for us to
                         kill outside.

                                   SPIKE
                         Ah, a woman after my own heart!

               Spike hands Illyria a gleaming sword with a dragon motif
               etched into the blade. She holds it up, admiring it as best
               she can in the dim torchlight.

                                   ILLYRIA
                         A fine weapon. I can smell the
                         blood of many a foe that has fallen
                         by it.

                                   SPIKE
                         Oh, you know how to say all the
                         right things to a bloke, don't you?
                         Come on, Blue, let's go chop some
                         monsters up before tea. I don't
                         want to be sat here doing nothing
                         while Angel's out there doing…
                         whatever it is he does.

               Spike slings the crossbow over his shoulder and selects a
               sword from the selection, loading some stakes into his jacket
               pocket. He heads up the steps towards the door with Illyria
               behind him.

                                   KITRIDGE (V.O.)
                         The other one's on the move again.
                         What's his name? Spike?

               We cut from the Hotel over to:

        23     INT. W&H – KITRIDGE'S OFFICE. NIGHT.                    23

               Kitridge is on the phone in his office, a case file of glossy
               surveillance photos spread across his desk.

                                   KITRIDGE
                         Yeah, him, the blonde one. Anyway,
                         Angel's in a different part of the
                         city, but from what I can tell he's
                         shaking down a bunch of local
                         demons. He's probably looking for a
                         way to break the jinx that hit them
                         as they escaped.
                             (beat; listens)
                         Exactly my point. So try to
                         anticipate who he'll approach next
                         and silence them. Report back in an
                         hour.

               He hangs up as Kirsten enters the office and takes a seat
               opposite him, crossing her long legs.

                                   KIRSTEN
                         Lab reports are back from Dr.
                         Serrano's analysis of the girl.

                                   KITRIDGE
                         And is she what we're looking for?

               Kirsten hands him some more folders, which he opens and
               starts to leaf through.

                                   KIRSTEN
                         She's ideal. Young, healthy and
                         pretty fertile too. If we
                         impregnated her now, the results
                         would be very positive.

                                   KITRIDGE
                         Excellent. I always did want kids.
                         Good work, let Serrano know. Did we
                         locate where Angel took the girl?

                                   KIRSTEN
                         We did, but…

                                   KITRIDGE
                         But what?

                                   KIRSTEN
                         He took her back to the Hyperion.
                         That's a long-standing no-fly zone
                         for our forces, Angel's been using
                         it since before we-

                                   KITRIDGE
                         Kirsten, this is starting to sound
                         an awful lot like an excuse, and
                         you know how much I hate those.

                                   KIRSTEN
                         Yes, I know, but the thing is-

                                   KITRIDGE
                         It is very important for your
                         future that you don't finish that
                         sentence.

                                   KIRSTEN
                         The Hyperion's protected, James.
                         Almost as much as this building is.
                         We think it's some kind of deal
                         Angel worked out with the Higher
                         Powers, maybe it's always been that
                         way, but for whatever reason we've
                         never been able to attack him
                         directly in there.

                                   KITRIDGE
                         Well then! Looks like it's time we
                         figured out a way to do that, then.
                         Assemble an extraction time, I'll
                         brief them in five minutes.

               Kirsten nods, stands and exits. Kitridge is alone for a
               moment before Manners walks into frame from off screen.

                                   MANNERS
                         That's an ancient taboo you're
                         breaking there, James! One of the
                         old rules laid down around here was
                         that each side gets a place they
                         can call their own. We got this,
                         Angel ended up with the old hotel.
                         It means-

                                   KITRIDGE
                         It means it's about time the rules
                         started changing. Did you ever stop
                         to think why we've been locking
                         antlers with Angel for so many
                         years, sir? It's because we keep
                         playing the game the way we're
                         meant to. We keep allowing
                         ourselves to get straitjacketed by
                         outdated guidelines, codes of
                         conduct, rules above all else.
                         We're a law firm, and I think we've
                         lost sight of what doors that opens
                         to us.

               Manners raises a curious eyebrow and motions for Kitridge to
               continue.

                                   MANNERS
                         Go on. What did you have in mind?

                                   KITRIDGE
                         One word. Loopholes.

                                   MANNERS
                         Loopholes?

                                   KITRIDGE
                         Ways to get around the obstacles
                         stopping us. We want Angel on our
                         side. I've realised that much. If
                         we just wanted to destroy him, we'd
                         have done it by now, one way or
                         another, so the aim is to make him
                         embrace his dark side, put on the
                         breathing mask and cloak and pick
                         out a red lightsaber.

                                   MANNERS
                         I'm sorry?

                                   KITRIDGE
                         'Star Wars' metaphor. Never mind.

                                   MANNERS
                         Be that as it may, James, it's a
                         task your predecessors singularly
                         failed to achieve. While I have
                         every confidence in you and your
                         ability, I can't quite see what
                         you're getting at here.

                                   KITRIDGE
                         It's all in motion, sir. You just
                         leave everything to me.

               Manners nods, smiles and walks off screen, leaving Kitridge
               to return to his study of the photos.
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