Written by Kristina

Los Angeles is shrouded in darkness. A news anchor is trying to give the little facts the media has about the darkness. In the Hyperion, the anchor continues on until Gunn shuts off the TV. The group is trying to find a way to bring back the sun, but Fred is having a hard time deciphering symbols in some of the books - she says she needs Wesley. When she sees Gunn's look, she corrects herself and says she needs his expertise. Gwen has skipped town, and Wesley is nowhere to be found. Connor is convinced that looking to outside sources is a waste of time - Angel is their answer. Currently, Angel is off in his office singing for Lorne.

Connor thinks that Angel is feigning forgetfulness - and he is convinced that Angel and Angelus are one and the same person. Cordy gives Connor a piercing look - he has never met Angelus. Gunn thinks that talking to Angelus might be a good idea, but the only problems are:

    a) there is no guarantee Angelus would tell them what they need to know
    b) removing Angel's soul is easier said than done.

Angel is in his office, waiting for Lorne to tell him what he read while he was singing. Lorne tells him it added up to the sum of nothing. Angel can't understand it - he remembers every little detail about what he did while he was Angelus. It must be buried very deep inside Angelus, and Angel says that's where it'll stay. There is no way to bring back Angelus.

A shaman, dressed in ceremonial robes and hood (similar to those worn by the shaman in "Enemies") is chanting when a man flies through his beaded curtain. Wesley enters shortly after. He tells the shaman, Wo Pang, that he needs a soul extracted.

Angel tells Cordy that Lorne wasn't able to help him at all. Fred shares that without the orb, they can't do anything. The group is defeated - the only victory they can claim is that they are still alive. Angel gives the group a pep talk, but is interrupted by a skeptical Connor. He thinks that Angel is the reason why his life sucks. Angel tells Connor to get over it.

Before things overheat, Wesley enters with Wo Pang. He can deliver Angelus to the group - Fred takes him to the kitchen to make him some tea (orange zinger) and Angel pulls Wesley into his office.

Angel wants to know what Wesley meant by saying Wo Pang could deliver Angelus. Wesley tells Angel that Wo Pang is a shaman - a dark mystic - with the power to extract souls. Angel refuses to bring back Angelus - unleashing Angelus is the last thing they want to do at a time like this. If Angelus is around, that means Angel won't be there to protect the group. Angel tells Wesley to get rid of the shaman - he's never been around Angelus (lies!) so he doesn't know what he is dealing with. Angel heads out to the solarium.

Cordy has followed Angel outside. She wants Angel to know that she is on his side. It is a bad idea to bring back Angelus. She gets it, because she was around in Sunnydale the last time Angelus was causing mayhem and terror. Angel wants to know if she thinks Connor is right - that he is being used by the Beast. She's not sure - it could be possible. She reassures Angel that Angelus is a bigger threat at the moment - he's smart. Angel takes it the wrong way, and when Cordy tries to tell Angel she meant Angelus was evil smart, Angel walks back into the hotel.

Once in the lobby, Angel announces that they are going to need a steel-reinforced cage. He goes into his office to make some calls, leaving a confused group in the lobby. Wesley realizes that Angel wants the cage for himself, not the Beast.

In the basement, Wesley is using a blow torch to weld together the bars of the cage. As the gang finishes assembling the cage, Angel inspects it. It passes inspection, and Angel sends for Wo Pang. While everyone is getting prepared, Angel tells Connor that if something happens, he is going to need to kill Angelus. Connor has no qualms about this, and Angel reminds him he is only supposed to kill if something goes wrong.

Gunn and Wesley have strapped Angel to the table inside the cage, and Wo Pang places a glass receptacle on a table next to Cordy. It is a muo-ping - it will store Angel's soul. Angel tells Cordy he doesn't want her there, but she doesn't budge. After Wo-Pang enters the cage, Gunn adds another lock to the door. Cordy tries to talk Angel out of going through with this, but his mind is made up. Wo Pang silences Angel, and begins his incantation. After finishing, he leans down to Angel and whispers to him that it is time to say goodbye. He brings out a sword from beneath his clothing, and brings it down towards Angel's neck. Angel breaks free, and stops the blade's motion.

The group works frantically to free Angel from the cage. Wo Pang reveals that he serves the "Awakened One". The cage is finally unlocked, and Gunn, Wesley and Connor attack Wo Pang. When Angel goes approach Wo Pang, Wo Pang brings out a knife and stabs himself. He falls to the floor - dead.

When Gunn goes to search Wo Pang, he discovers that his body is covered in Chinese characters. Wesley begins to analyze Wo Pang's corpse - the writing details information on the Beast. Wesley begins translating a section on the victory over the Bosh M'ad (opposers of the Awakening). In it, they receive information about "the tooth of light" - a weapon forged to kill the Beast. It was never used, and the Bosh M'ad were wiped out by the acolytes of the Beast. Finding this weapon will be like finding a tooth in a haystack…that is, until Cordy's eyes go all white and she has a vision. The tooth of light is a sword - she can see it. It just happens to be conveniently located underneath LA. Angel turns to Wesley and mocks his plan. Wesley apologizes to Angel, which shocks him. Wesley has never apologized for anything before, at least not to Angel.

Cordy, Connor, Angel and Wes are in a dark sewer, on their way to finding the sword. Angel doesn't understand how the sword is conveniently located underneath the city. Cordy says that from her vision, she got the impression that the sword was under more than just LA.

Connor leads the way to the first trial - a maze created with strips of leather and bells. Angel trips one of the bells to see what would happen, and it was a good thing he did. Trip the bell, and well…game over for you - huge wooden stakes would shoot out. In typical Indiana Jones fashion, Angel wonders why it has to be wood.

The brave group begins to make their way through the maze. Connor makes it across just as Wesley tells Cordy to freeze - her sleeve is caught on one of the bells. He carefully extricates her, and they continue through. Cordy makes it through, and Wesley accidentally trips one of the bells in his enthusiasm to leave the maze - Angel grabs him and they barrel through the rest of the maze, just ahead of the wooden stakes. Cordy has explored ahead, and she stops, stunned. It's a dead end. Wesley comes forward to look at the wall, and he notices inscriptions. Each stone has a random Hebrew letter on it. Wesley pushes one of the stones in, and the wall rises about a foot before it falls to the ground again. Wesley figures out that there is a pattern, and when he tests his theory, he gets a spike through his hand - he picked the wrong pattern. Wesley regroups, and realizes that each character stands for the nine patriarchs of "Genesis" (the first book of the Bible). Wesley indicates the stones which Angel should press, and the wall rises. Angel and Connor jump underneath the wall, and support it for Cordy and Wesley to run through. Together, Connor and Angel throw themselves away from the wall.

After the wall crashes back in place, they decide to split up - Connor and Wesley take one branch of the looming tunnel, while Cordy and Angel take the other. Connor raises a fuss, but Cordy sends him on his merry way.

Cordy apologizes to Angel for what happened - she admits that she made a mess of things, and she would take them back. Cordy is distracted by the sudden appearance of a circular chamber at the end of the tunnel.

The chamber is well-lit with a pedestal in the middle, but no source of light can be seen. Cordy doesn't see the sword, and immediately assumes that it is gone. Angel knows better - and reaches into the air above the pedestal and his hand disappears. The sword is stored in a dimensional hub - Angel reaches around, and finds the sword. When he withdraws it from the energy field, the energy field turns blood-red and the chamber begins to self-destruct. Things light on fire, and it looks grim for our champions. Angel leaps over the flames to Cordy, and pushes her out of the chamber before the entrance is blocked.

They land in a heap outside the chamber - at first, Cordy thought Angel was impaled by the sword, but he's fine. They are nose to nose, and Cordy begins to break down. They could have died in there - and she would have never had the chance to tell Angel how she felt for him (which would have been such a tragedy). What he did as Angelus doesn't matter to her anymore - it's in the past. Angel says that he doesn't care what she did in the past either. They kiss passionately (ugh!) but are interrupted by the arrival of Connor and Wesley. Connor looks betrayed - he runs off down the corridor, and Angel pursues him.

Connor just wants to be left alone when Angel catches up to him. They enter into a chamber, and the torches on the wall are suddenly lit. Angel tells Connor not to move, but Connor is tired of doing what his father tells him to do. Connor steps on a trigger, and an arrow comes flying out of the wall. Connor ducks and the arrow hits Angel instead. A no-holds-barred fight begins, and Connor blames Angel for the way the world is - harsh and cruel. Connor says that all his father does is take things away from him - Cordy was his! At this moment, Cordy enters the chamber, and says she never was his. Connor stares at her, and then disappears down the corridor.

Wes, Cordy and Angel limp back to the Hyperion, and they show Lorne, Gunn and Fred the tooth of light. Gunn grins, and asks to play with it - Angel gladly hands it over. While Wes explains Connor's absence (he is out on patrol), Gunn fights an imaginary opponent, but ends up slicing a coffee table in two. To find the Beast, Lorne mentions that a bad mojo is rising in the warehouse district. Before Angel can leave to investigate, Fred tells him about a passage she came across while researching. The only way to kill the Beast is to put the sword through his head. But when he is killed, a huge amount of energy will be released (the energy required to blot out the sun). Nothing human would survive the energy release at close range. Angel knows the solution - he has to fight the Beast himself. Cordy doesn't want him to - they work as a group, but Angel refuses to consent to their part in the kamikaze mission. He can't be selfish - they fight evil and save the world together. They are all champions, but there are just some things Angel has to do by himself. Cordy doesn't want to lose him, just when they are admitting their feelings for each other. Angel promises that he'll be back.

At this moment, the front doors of the hotel are broken down by the Beast. Angel yells for everyone to get out, and squares off against the Beast. The Beast tells Angel that if he isn't on his side, than he will suffer his wrath.

The fight begins - whenever the tooth of light touches the Beast, it harms him. A struggle ensues, and the sword is broken. The Beast grabs Angel by the throat and lifts him off the ground. Once again, things look grim, until Connor brings his axe down on the Beast's arm. Together, father and son fight the Beast. Angel manages to pierce the Beast's brain with a fragment of the sword, and both Angel and Connor take cover from the energy explosion. When it has dissipated, all that is left of the Beast is a pile of dust.

Outside, the sun begins shining. Inside, Connor helps Angel to his feet, and apologizes to Angel. Connor asks if what he is feeling like now is what a champion feels like. Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred enter the room, and look at their victory. Cordy and Angel embrace and Gunn and Wesley shake hands. All is right again with our champions.

Later, Angel is up in his room, looking out at the daylight. Cordy approaches him, and says it must be hard to not go out in the light. Angel replies with sentimental crap - he would rather be with her. They begin kissing, but Angel pulls back with hesitation. Cordy says the deserve each other, and they make with the passionate kissing. They make their way over to Angel's bed.

They are making love, when Angel's eyes fly open in shock, and he rolls off of Cordy. He cries out in pain - "Buffy… oh god … no!" (We all know who he was thinking of - a certain blonde, and not St. Cordy!).

The scene dissolves to the basement of the Hyperion. Angel's eyes open. Wo Pang announces that illusion has become reality. Angel turns his head to look at Cordy and the group, but it isn't Angel - it is Angelus. As Angel's soul glows within its container, Angelus begins to laugh maliciously.

The leather pants demon is back.