Salvage

Plot

Angelus finds Lilah's body. Wesley and Gunn arrive to find him drinking her blood. They chase him off. Downstairs, the others are pulling the crossbow bolt out of Cordelia. Gunn comes downstairs to tell them Angelus is gone and Lilah dead.

The gang are looking at Lilah's lifeless body. Connor wants to go after Angelus, but Wesley says there is no need, he'll come back for them. Connor says they need to kill him, Wesley says that's the kind of reckless thinking that got them into trouble. Fred says they need to protect themselves and Lorne suggests the protection spell he used at Caritas. He can call the Furies for help. Connor says they use magic too much. Wesley says they use what tools they have. They can't understand what went wrong with the spell to return Angel's soul. Gunn blames the powers that be for sending cryptic messages. Connor says they have to destroy Lilah, she might have been turned. Gunn says there wasn't enough time, but Wesley says they can't take chances and he'll take care of it. He grabs an axe.

Angelus has gone to a vampire bar where he is warmly greeted by his fans. A vampire groupie comes on to him and he stakes her. He asks about the beast and a vampire says he can show him where he is. Wesley has taken Lilah's body and is preparing to behead it. He touches her face and she opens her eyes and talks to him. She says this is what he wanted, her finally and completely out of the picture. He denies this is what he wanted. She gets up and says he hated himself for being with her. She says they both knew sooner or later it would come to a messy end. She says he's free of the shame of their relationship. He claims it wasn't a relationship and she says there's a signed dollar bill in his wallet proving otherwise. She says he knew how she felt. He yells she didn't love him and looks down to see her dead body lying there. It's all his imagining. She appears again and says they'll never know now.

Angelus and a couple of fawning vampires are looking for the beast. They aren't much help, but he senses something and walks off. At the hotel, Lorne and the others are gathering what's necessary for the protection spell as he talks to the furies on the phone. Connor is eager to go kill Angelus. Fred says Wesley says they shouldn't. Connor says he doesn't care what Wesley says, that he isn't the boss. Gunn defends Wesley, saying he's right. Connor says Angel told him what to do - if things go badly, kill him. Fred says Angel's soul is still out there. Connor asks how many have to die before they give up on that plan. Cordelia asks how many will die without Angel there to save them. Connor says it's too late for that, he has seen the true Angelus, the vampire has tasted blood, he has to be destroyed and Connor is the destroyer. He goes to leave, but Cordelia calls to him and faints. He rushes back and helps her upstairs. Gunn says they can't stop him. He says as soon as Connor has a chance, he'll kill Angelus. Lorne says more likely die trying. He says they can't control him and Gunn says besides Angel who can. Cut to a prison in Stockton and Faith. She's exercising and is attacked by another inmate with a knife. Although the other woman is big and strong, she's no match for a slayer. She does say it's nothing personal and she's doing it for the money. The guards eventually intervene and they are shocked at the attack, since Faith is known to be unbeatable.

Wesley is still hesitating and Lilah appears again saying she knows why he is taking so long to do it. She says the truth is he couldn't save her and decapitating her is the final proof of that. He says he saved her from the beast. She says he couldn't save her from herself. He asks if that's what she thought and she says it's what he thinks - she's just a figment of his imagination. She says despite all his darkness, he always secretly hoped to save her from evil. That it was Angel's influence, never giving up on someone. He says he's sorry. She says that's not a word in their vocabulary. He cuts off her head.

Angelus is in a warehouse type space. He says he's been lured there by the scent of Lilah's blood. We see the knife lying on a crate and the beast appears. Angelus mocks him, calls him names. The beast says he didn't lure him there to fight, that his master wants Angelus. Angelus goes to touch the knife and the beast tells him not to. Angelus realizes everything that happened was just to lure him out and keep him there. Angelus says he wants to meet the boss, he won't take orders from the beast. He calls him a lackey, toadie, lickspittle, and flunky. The beast attacks him but he evades the attack and leaves saying when his boss is ready he'll talk to him. After he is gone, Cordelia appears and upbraids the beast, saying she hasn't spent all this time and energy for her plans to be messed up because of the beast's petty jealousies. She says Angelus is crucial to her plan. The beast apologizes and calls her master. She says he'll come around when he sees what she has to offer. If he doesn't, then the beast can kill him. She kisses him.

Lorne is doing the protection spell. Connor doesn't think it has worked and Lorne attacks him. The spell worked. Wesley comes in and says the spell will make things easier. He wants to bring Angelus in alive. He says they need to save Angel and he knows who can help them do it. Cut to the visitor's room at the prison and Faith being brought out. Wesley is there, he has claimed to be her lawyer. She says he looks good. She's seen the news about LA. He says they need her. She says they don't need her and Angel will come through as he always does. He tells her Angelus is back. She tells him to step away from the glass. He does. She smashes through it. She takes out the guards, grabs him, leaps through the window, and they fall several stories onto a car with her shielding him from the impact. She asks if he's ok, he says five by five, and they run off.

In the car, Faith changes clothes while Wesley brings her up to speed on all that has happened to the gang. She says she won't kill Angelus. He's the only one who never gave up on her. Wesley says he knows, that's why it had to be her. But he's not sure she's up for it. He stops the car. Vampires attack and pull her out of the car. She fights two of them. A third attacks Wesley who tells him she's the one he wants. He sees she is the slayer and flees. Wesley tosses her a stake and she takes out the vampires. He says he thought she could use the release.

At the hotel, Connor is practicing with a sword. Wesley comes in with Faith. Fred goes to introduce herself, but Faith reveals she already knows about her from Wesley. Cordelia sees her and is angry. She says Wesley has brought psycho slayer to kill Angelus. Faith says to stow it until they are finished. She says it's a search and rescue mission and she wants Gunn, Wesley, and Connor with her. She wants Gunn to take a trank gun. Connor rebels and she says if she needs a bloodhound she'll call him, if Angelus has to be killed it will be her and not Connor who does it. Connor shuts up. Cordelia looks like she doesn't like how he is responding to Faith.

A woman is fleeing vampires. She runs into Angelus who pretends to help her but then goes to bite her. Then he hears other vampires talking about the slayer. He phones Buffy and gets Dawn. He asks if her sister is home. When she says yes he hangs up. He realizes it's Faith. Faith, Connor, Wesley, and Gunn are tracking Angelus. A vampire attacks and Connor slays it. Faith slams into him. She realizes he thought it was Angelus. She says she wants him to go back to the hotel. He refuses, they fight and she beats him. Without a word, he turns and goes. Gunn goes with him.

Wesley and Faith continue, they see a crate with Welcome Faith written on it. Faith clambers on top of the crates telling Wesley to take low. Two vampires attack Wesley and keep him occupied. Angelus lures Faith into the warehouse where he appears and then calls to the beast who comes out. Angelus explains that she's the slayer and intends to mess up the beast and his boss' plans. Faith and the beast fight and the beast gets the better of her. Meanwhile, Wesley is having his own problems with the two vampires. Faith is down. The beast brags about how powerful its master is and how petty Faith. Angelus comes over and says nothing could hurt the beast except himself, or maybe something made of himself. He stabs him with the knife. The beast dies. The sun reappears. The vampires attacking Wesley burn up. He starts looking for Faith. Angelus is upset, he really didn't believe killing the beast would bring back the sun. But he was using the beast to soften up Faith. He goes for her and she hurls a chain at him. He easily steps out of the way, but it breaks a window letting in the sunlight and Faith is directly in its path - protecting her. He realizes this was her plan. He says they'll have to take a rain check and leaves.

Gunn and Connor arrive at the hotel and they all realize Faith must have defeated the beast. Connor runs upstairs to see Cordelia. He starts talking about how wonderful Faith is. Cordelia tells him she is pregnant with his child. She kisses him. The fall back onto the bed.