6 x 01 - The End

Scene: Dark alleyway and torrential rain. Long shot of ANGEL running down the alleyway, holding a sword loosely in his hand, his head moving as he looks for any signs of life. He stops at the chain-link fence and looks distraught for a beat.

SPIKE (from shadows): Boo

ANGEL turns as SPIKE exits shadows, badly beaten and bleeding.

ANGEL: Anyone else?

SPIKE: Not so far. You feel the heat?

ANGEL (looking to alleyway entrance): It’s coming

SPIKE: Finally got ourselves a decent brawl.

GUNN comes jogging in, holding his axe. He’s in shadow, so we can’t see details.

GUNN: Damn. How’d I know the fang-boys’d pull through?

As GUNN approaches, ANGEL and SPIKE move to help him and we can see the blood that stains his chest and his face. His voice weakens as he approaches.

GUNN: You’re lucky we’re on the same side dogs, cause I was on fire tonight; my gait was tight.

He’s really not looking too good. They help him sit down

SPIKE: Supposed to wear that red stuff on the inside Charlie-boy.

GUNN (looking at wound with trembling hand): Any word on Wes?

ILLYRIA drops down, landing quietly beside them.

ILLYRIA: Wesley’s dead.

Everyone reacts. ILLYRIA has tears on her cheeks.

ILLYRIA: I’m feeling grief for him. I can’t seem to control it. (turns to ANGEL) I wish to do more violence.

SPIKE (looking to entrance of alley where demonic noises are emanating): Well, wishes just happen to be horses tonight love.

ANGEL Among other things.

Shot of the hordes approaching. A dragon wings its way in, looking menacing as it screeches.

GUNN: Okay, you take the thirty-thousand on the left…

ILLYRIA: You are fading. You will last ten minutes at best.

GUNN (standing up and gripping his axe): Then let’s make them memorable.

The horde approaches.

SPIKE: And in terms of a plan?

ANGEL: We fight.

SPIKE: Bit more specific?

ANGEL steps forward and looks up with the hint of a smile on his face.

ANGEL: Well, personally, I kinda wanna slay the dragon.

The horde closes and I, A ,S and G ready themselves.

ANGEL: Let’s go to work.

He swings his sword to catch the first attacker’s weapon and the fight begins.

ANGEL pivots, sending the first demon flying into ILLYRIA’s roundhouse kick that sends it flying back into the mob. Then the body of the horde hits them and they’re fighting for their lives, surrounded by demons, everyone kicking and punching and swinging as much as they can. ANGEL is standing at the head, inviolate and unbending, thrashing his sword about, catching weapons to launch kicks. SPIKE pulls a demon away from ANGEL’s unprotected back and punches through its chest. ILLYRIA is sending demons flying through the air, knocking them away with apparent ease.

The horde keeps coming through and they cannot hold them back. They flow around the gang, attacking from all sides. GUNN is backed against the wall, lashing out but visibly weakening. The dragon dives, screeching and the distraction is all it takes to let a fanged demon through his guard and onto his neck.

ANGEL (seeing him): Gunn!

ILLYRIA grabs the demon by the back of the neck and crushes its neck with one hand before hurling it away. GUNN just crumples to the floor though. He’s gone.

ILLYRIA turns, even more fury burning in its eyes, spinning to decapitate an onrushing demon with a kick. ANGEL growls and swings his sword upwards, lifting his target off the ground with the force of his blow. Shot of a cavalcade of demons pressing against the alley wall. Suddenly they explode away and SPIKE emerges, in full vamp-face, roaring with pleasure.

SPIKE: That’s right! Big Bad’s here.

He grabs a demon, hurling it against a wall and driving a dagger through its head, then spinning to send the same dagger into the neck of another. He roars again, loving every second of this primal, animal battle.

SPIKE: Come on you bastards, I’m gonna…

There is a whirl and a thunk and an ornate, jewelled dagger with a wooden blade is sticking out of SPIKE’s chest. He looks down at it in sheer disbelief, then turns to swing his fist at the next oncoming demon. The punch never connects and he dusts.

The fight continues, ANGEL and ILLYRIA scrambling for every punch against more and more adversaries. ILLYRIA is standing tall, fighting with fury as ever increasing numbers of demons surround it, struggling a little bit more every time. It’s killing dozens, but there are hundreds arriving every second.

ILLYRIA slips. And it is overwhelmed, just disappearing underneath the horde.

ANGEL fights alone, powered only by the superpower blood still in his system and the demons are waiting to take him on, a circle formed as they press to take him down. He whirls his sword above his head, not attacking now, just trying to keep them back. Still they come, leaping into his blade in their fury to kill him.

Suddenly there’s a crunch and we focus on ANGEL’s face as he gasps. The mob stops abruptly, as if aware of what’s just happened. We pull out the see a broken chunk of wood sticking from ANGEL’s chest. There is a beat as ANGEL clutches at his chest in agony.

ANGEL (dying gasp): Connor…

He starts to dust and suddenly we cut to a close image (no background visible) of ANGEL’s broken and bloodied face. His eyes snap open and he morphs into vamp-face, roaring with anger and pain and desolation. We pull out to see a completely white room (not THE White Room though, this one’s reasonably small). ANGEL is wearing the same clothes as in the alleyway and his arms and legs are fastened to the ceiling and floor by taut chains that suspend him in midair.

We pull further out to see that our view of ANGEL is actually on a security camera television screen (Matrix-style). The television is in a darkened room and we can see the shape of someone there. He speaks in a deep and unmistakably triumphant voice.

VOICE (smug): Angel.

The VOICE laughs malevolently.

Credits – Special credits featuring only David Boreanaz in order not to spoil any surprises. Amy Acker, J. August Richards and James Marsters are credited as ‘Guest starring’ for their roles in the pre-credits teaser, but all other regular names will be confined to ‘Guest starring’ at the end.

Scene: Some kind of stone-walled monastery. There’s a library, full of ancient books and bookshelf ladders. There’s a skylight through which a beam of pure bright daylight lights up the room, focussing on a dais. Monks are wandering around, looking at scripture and old books. It’s peaceful and serene. A good place. The camera draws in to focus on the entrance: two big wooden doors. They’re big and heavy and elaborately carved. There’s a beat of silence as we view these doors. Then a loud crash.

Every monk jumps and turns to look at the door. There’s another crash and suddenly the monks spring into action. Texts and scripts are put down and hidden partitions and chests are opened to reveal weapon after weapon after weapon. It’s a hell of an arsenal and in a moment every monk is armed with something sharp, pointy or blunt and awaiting the next thump on the door.

There’s another crash on the door and they explode open in a cloud of shrapnel and dust. Something comes charging out and the monks attack, yelling a religious battle cry.

The monks get knocked away as if they were lighter than feathers and every attack is repelled. The figure emerges from the cloud of dust and we see that it’s CONNOR. More monks attack him and CONNOR hurls them about the room, barely troubled, yet fighting with a frenzy not seen since the time of insane-Quartoth-Connor.

A MONK charges into him with a pike, which CONNOR deflects, sending the MONK flying into a wall. There’s no-one left to impede him and CONNOR walks up to the dais, where we can now see some kind of pedestal.

MONK (defiant): You will never take it vampire! You will burn in God’s own light before your impure fingers ever defile…

He trails off as CONNOR steps up onto the dais and is bathed in light. CONNOR turns and gives the MONK a half-smile.

MONK: What are you?

CONNOR’s smile broadens.

MONK: What do you want with it?

CONNOR: I’m looking for someone.

He puts out a hand into the beam of light above the pedestal. The light gets brighter, flooding the screen and…

Scene: An overview of London. Swoop down to alleyways and squatted houses, showing the darker side of London. Then flash to a dark, dingy demon bar. We scan around to get a look at the inhabitants of this bar – they’re scum of the earth demonica.

We follow one demon (GARVANESC) in its passage across the bar. It’s tall, broad and gnarly, with leathery skin and a big spiky head and has no care for the other demons in the bar, shoving past them, spilling beer and bruising egos. Several turn to shove back, then stop as they see it. This is a BIG demon and obviously very scary. And it’s heading somewhere.

We see where it’s going, a darkened corner with a half-lit figure at a table. We can’t pick any details of this figure, except that he’s wearing a Homburg hat. The GARVANESC pauses, looks, sees the figure and a cruel smile crosses its face. It stalks closer, moving nearly silently, fixated on its prey, which hasn’t noticed it yet. It gets closer and closer.

Just as it’s about to reach out and grab the shadowy figure, something small, lithe and Gollum-like (the PITSCHRELL) leaps from the shadows, hurling itself at the shadowy figure. The table falls, the shadowy figure spills onto the floor with the PITSCHRELL on top of its chest, clinging with feet and hands like a monkey. The shadowy figure is now in the light and the Homburg has fallen. It’s a figure in a trenchcoat, dark glasses – it’s LORNE. And he looks absolutely terrified.

The PITSCHRELL reaches out with one hand to pulls the shades away from LORNE’s face and  grins, showing a serrated smile. It speaks in a reedy voice (maybe Slavic accent) that is terrifyingly creepy, pronouncing every consonant with particular emphasis, its lips moving exaggeratedly to emphasis every syllable.

PITSCHRELL: Pylean.

It raises its head to the ceiling and lets out a bone-chilling giggle. LORNE looks petrified.

PITSCHRELL: Did Pylean really think it could escape?

LORNE: Look, I left, I was gone before anything went down, I’m innocent…

PITSCHRELL: Would it help Pylean’s whining if Pitschrell removed its tongue?

LORNE trembles

LORNE: Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it. I’ll do anything. <beat as he grasps at straws> I’ll tell you your future, save your life, anything!

The PITSCHRELL lifts its head to the ceiling and giggles again.

PITSCHRELL: Pitschrell wants none of its toys, none of its tricks. <singsong> Pitschrell is only here to taste its blood.

It smiles, baring its teeth again.

PITSCHRELL: And of course to take trophy back for proof. <giggles>

LORNE: I’ll do anything. Please.

PITSCHRELL: Pylean should have thought of this before making such powerful enemy. Now, open wide.

It opens its mouth unnaturally wide and snarls, revealing a glittering array of teeth. It goes to bite LORNE’s throat.

Fade out/Fade in

Then the GARVANESC swings a big arm, lifting the PITSCHRELL from LORNE’s chest and sending it flying into the wall.

GARVANESC (roaring): The Pylean is mine!

LORNE starts to get up to run, but the GARVANESC stamps a big foot down on his chest, crushing the air out of his body until it moves on. LORNE lies there wheezing.

GARVANESC: It is mine!

The PITSCHRELL jumps up from its landing place, moving liquidly on two legs or four as terrain depends and jumps onto LORNE’s wheezing chest, causing him more pain. It rips at the neckhole of his shirt, peering inside at LORNE’s chest.

PITSCHRELL: I see no mark on it, Garvanesc. It is mine.

The GARVANESC takes a threatening step forward and the PITSCHRELL snarls, bending its legs ready to leap.

GARVANESC: I will place my mark on your hide if you do not yield my prize!

PITSCHRELL: Garvanesc not bother Pitschrell. <singsong> Too slow, too fat, too dumb.

It clicks its teeth together unpleasantly.

PITSCHRELL: Maybe Pitschrell take trophy and leave stupid Garvanesc to think how close it come.

It giggles.

GARVANESC <roaring>: Maybe I’ll pull off your arms and leave you here for carrion!

The GARVANESC swings a hamfist, but the PITSCHRELL is expecting it and leaps over the punch, hurling itself at the GARVANESC’s throat, teeth first. They fight, the GARVANESC big powerful and destructive to scenery, hurling the PITSCHRELL around when it catches it and the PITSCHRELL is fighting like Spiderman or Yoda, bouncing from wall to ceiling to floor, using all four limbs to jump and kick and punch, lunging for the throat with its teeth every time.

The denizens of the bar are all watching the fight and none are watching the very beleaguered LORNE scrape himself off the floor, grab his Homburg and shades, pull the tattered remnants of his shirt together and stumble out of the fire exit.

Scene: A cemetery in England at night. A train rumbles by on an adjacent track and we see a pair of girls are walking through it, chatting with each other. They’re about 15 years old and wearing typical 15 year old English clothes and look completely unconcerned that they’re walking through a cemetery at night. These are KATIE and HAYLEY.

We focus on a figure lurking behind a tomb – it’s a vampire. As K and H walk past the tomb, it leaps, hurling itself at them. HAYLEY rolls with the dive, propelling the VAMPIRE into a tree and comes up brandishing a stake. The VAMPIRE gets up and snarls, charging at HAYLEY, who blocks its blows with ease. KATIE stands to one side, watching as HAYLEY fly-kicks the vampire in the chest, lifting it off the ground and into the tree again. It slumps down and HAYLEY walks over and stakes it nonchalantly.

HAYLEY (completely unconcerned, carrying on previous conversation. Mancunian accent): So you really think Kevin fancies her?

CONNOR (off-screen): You’re slayers.

The two girls spin, obviously startled, and we see Connor crouching, perched on top of a tombstone.

KATIE (Also Mancunian): Where the hell did you come from?

CONNOR: LA. (as if this answers everything)

CONNOR leaps nimbly down from his perch and walks towards H and K. HAYLEY brandishes her stake defensively and CONNOR notices.

CONNOR: I don’t want to fight you. I just need the Token of Eigos. You have it in your top pocket. (to HAYLEY)

HAYLEY: Why do you think we got it?

CONNOR: I watched you take it from a nest earlier tonight.

KATIE moves protectively in front of HAYLEY

KATIE: You been following us?

CONNOR: For a couple of nights now. You took longer than I thought to get it. (takes a step forward and holds out his hand) I really need that token.

KATIE: Get bent!

CONNOR (aggrieved): I’ll bring it back when I’m done.

KATIE (pulls out dagger): You want it, you take it from us.

CONNOR: Okay.