Written by Kristina

Connor grabs a stack of newspapers and uses it to attack one of the three vampires that have attacked him. He hits them with gas out of high pressure cylinders as well. The vampires are out-of-towners (from Tuscan) and Connor manages to dust all three of them. He thinks his work is done, but eight more vampires approach him.

Back at the hotel, Wesley has opened the wall safe, and Cordy places Angel's soul into it. Fred is believably wigged - it's not every day that you get to see someone's soul floating around. Wesley reminds everyone that Angelus is extremely vicious, and will do anything to get to them. He wants the group to watch the monitor while he goes down to talk to Angelus - they can't let Angelus succeed for even one minute.

Waiting for Wesley to come down to him, Angelus quietly sings "The Teddy Bear's Picnic." When Wes stands in front of Angelus' cage, Angelus wants to know why he isn't happy to see him. It was Wesley who brought the shaman, and freed Angelus. Wesley reminds Angelus that the last time he was free, he terrorized Sunnydale (actually, Angelus was around in the season one episode "Eternity", albeit briefly). Wesley begins buttering Angelus up - he talks about how it's an honor to meet up with him after studying him for so long. Angelus bites, and tells Wesley he'll tell him anything he wants to know. Wes says they could start with the story about Angelus' first nun, but Angelus knows Wesley wants to know about the Beast.

Before answering Wes' question, Angelus wants to know what was with Angel's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" fantasy (in "Awakening"). Angel had to kill the Beast in his fantasy to get what he wanted. It's the end of the world, and everyone has an agenda. Angelus thinks Wesley wants to be the hero - he knows Wes wants to impress Fred, but he'll go dark on her. Wesley is wasn't shaken by the graphic imagery Angelus uses; he was prepared for it. He wants to know of Angelus' meeting with the Beast - he won't be shaken from his purpose of coming down to speak with Angelus.

Upstairs, Fred is nervous. She's trying to tell Gunn that they can't believe anything Angelus says. Cordy tells them that Angelus lies with the truth, and that makes him very dangerous.

Wesley wants to move on. Angelus continues on with his own line of thought - that although Wesley has changed his appearance, he is still the same loser he used to be. If he has to, Wesley will kill Angelus. If Angelus won't talk, they'll just re-soul Angel. Wesley says that Angelus doesn't have any information that can help them, so he heads upstairs. Angelus stops him - he wants to know if it eats Wes up inside that nobody calls him a champion. He reminds Wesley of Faith - she turned out so well. And that his father is disappointed in him. Wesley lets this roll off of him.

Wesley tries to get Angelus back on topic, but to no avail. Angelus begins talking about Cordy instead; how she slept with Connor while the sky was raining fire. Fred is a bit confused, and begins talking about how it couldn't be possible and Lorne motions to her to stop. She realizes that Angelus is telling the truth, and trails off.

Connor enters the hotel, all bloody from fighting the vampires. There are too many of them to fight alone. Gunn and Fred stare at Connor awkwardly until Wes comes up and says that Angelus wants blood. Fred volunteers to get it, and Gunn accompanies her down in the basement.

As Gunn and Fred descend the stairs, Angelus addresses them as Othello and Desdemona. Gunn keeps his crossbow trained on Angelus as Fred wheels the cart of blood over to the cage. Angelus tells Fred that although she seems fresh and sweet, she hears her at night with Gunn. She calls him a pig, and continues pushing the cart towards the cage. She passes the safety line, and Angelus picks up the cup of blood. He then kicks the cart, knocking Fred within his reach. He grabs her by the neck, and holds her against the cage bars.

Fred struggles to free herself, as Gunn rushes over to her. Angelus is egging Gunn on, when Wesley hits him with a tranquilizer dart. Wesley fires a second dart, and Angelus collapses, freeing Fred. Fred tries to apologize for what happened, but Wes says it isn't her fault; Angelus is too unpredictable. Wes tells Gunn never to drop his weapon before heading upstairs. Gunn goes to Fred, and she embraces him for helping her out. Wesley stops on the stairs to watch their embrace.

In Angel's room, Cordy gives one of Angel's shirts to a changing Connor. He begins to get ready to go back out, but Cordy won't let him go. He is too exhausted, and he is bothered by the way everyone looks at him. Cordy says it isn't because of his possible connection to the Beast, but the fact they know that Cordy and Connor have slept together. Connor says it is good; he doesn't care if everyone knows. Connor tells Cordy not to tell him what to do, and she hesitates a moment before walking out on him.

Wesley is reading some books in Angel's office when Fred enters. She came in to thank him for saving her. She's nervous about being seen with Wesley by Gunn, and Wesley tells her that Gunn isn't out there. Fred tells Wes there is nothing wrong with how he feels about her, but he says there is. He steps forward and kisses her passionately, and she responds. She breaks the kiss off when Gunn walks in from the lobby. Gunn didn't see their kiss, but from their looks he knows something has happened. She says she was going to watch the monitor, but Gunn won't let it go. Wes tells Gunn to leave Fred out of it, and a confrontation between Gunn and Wes ensues. In the basement, Angelus listens with glee, as Connor slips through the lobby. The noise brings Lorne and Cordy down into the lobby. Gunn and Wes come to blows; Fred tries to get in the middle of it, and Gunn knocks her down. Gunn realizes what he's done, and looks shocked.

Connor approaches Angelus in the basement, and Angelus greets him as his son. He also notices that Connor is wearing one of his shirts. Connor remembers that he told Angel he would kill him if he had to. Angelus says that with his track record, Angel would probably end up staking himself. Darla did. She staked herself because she couldn't stand having him squirming inside of her. Connor is visibly hurt by this - not that Angelus is attacking his mother, but that an attack on his family is being made.

Angelus also brings up Holtz, and the truth about Holtz's death finally comes out (that he wasn't killed by Angel). Connor admits that Angelus is his real father, and he stares icily at Angelus. Connor crosses the safe line, but a possible confrontation is stopped when Cordy is on the stairs. She tells him to go upstairs, but he refuses at first. Finally, he heads upstairs to Angelus' remarks about him being a mama's boy.

Cordy unplugs the camera cord after Connor has left. She wants to make an off-camera deal with Angelus. She wants to know everything there is to know about the Beast, and in turn, Angelus will get her. Angelus is confused - he doesn't want her. She tells him that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. He keeps his end of the bargain; he can do whatever he wants to her. Angelus stares at her, considering this offer.

Up in the office, the gang is surprised that Angelus has agreed to tell them everything. The gang wants to know what Cordy offered to Angelus, but she says it is better that they don't.

Wes is in the basement, getting the story from Angelus. He says that he felt like he was being followed on his way to Vienna from Prussia. A flashback ensues, and we see Angelus walking through a field littered with hundreds of corpses. Angelus followed the trail of bodies, and came to the Beast. He had done this to impress Angelus. The Beast wanted to ally with him - the Svea Priestesses were trying to banish the Beast, and he wanted Angelus to get rid of them, since he couldn't. Angelus wasn't up to the allying, so he refused the Beast. For his troubles, the Beast knocked him out. The Beast would have finished him off, if the Svea Priestesses hadn't appeared and banished the Beast.

Angelus was unconscious when the Beast was actually banished, so he doesn't know how it was done. The group hits the research books, but they don't have any information on how to find these priestesses. That is, until Gunn finds an advertisement for them in the phone book.

Cordy, Wes and Connor make the trek to the priestesses' home, but nobody answers their knocks. The door is open, so they walk in. The house is quiet, and Cordy starts going through bills on the dining room table, when she smells something on the air. She looks into the living room, and her expression changes to one of horror. They've found the priestesses alright - dead.

The whole Svea family has been slaughtered - adults and children alike. Wesley determines the people have been dead for a couple of days - Angelus had nothing to do with it. They decide to look around for some useful information before calling the police. Connor begins his investigation, but is affected by the sight of the bodies. He looks away, and notices a calendar on the wall with "Daddy's birthday" marked on it. He rushes out of the door, and proceeds to throw up into the bushes. Cordy follows him out - she says it's different seeing dead humans, but that's not what was bothering Connor. Before Connor can explain with anything more than "the family" they are attacked by a group of vampires. Connor kills one of the vampires, but there are too many for him and Cordy. They jump into Wesley's SUV and thunder off down the street.

Angelus is singing to himself in his cage as Lorne, Gunn and Fred watch. Lorne can read Angelus' aura, but he's not sharing. Wes, Connor and Cordy come in and Wes informs everyone that the Svea family is dead. There is nothing else they can do - Angelus isn't going to tell them anything more. It's time to bring back Angel.

Cordy goes into the basement to see Angelus. Angelus wants to know how the Priestesses were, and Cordy says they were all dead. Angelus wants to know why she didn't bring anything back for him. Angelus wants his end of the bargain, but Cordy reminds him that the deal was that he gave them information, they saved the world, and Angelus got her. But the world wasn't saved, so there is no deal. Angelus is enraged - when he gets out, he is going to make Cordy pay. Cordy says that's not going to happen - they're putting his soul back in. She tells him that he's a nobody - a disease - that Angel can't wait to be rid of. He tries to reach out for her throat, but she is just out of his reach. She stares at him, and turns and leaves.

Cordy enters the office, and learns that the safe is empty. Angel's soul is gone.