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- Episode 6.4: " Shards of Fate " - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is Angel Season 6 UK by me, Alex. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They belong to Fox Studios and Joss Whedon. This work is fictional and is only for my and others entertainment. Therefore no infringement is intended. I do not intend to make a profit from this work. However I own all characters that have not previously appeared/been mentioned on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I can do whatever I like with them. Therefore no unauthorised usage of these characters is permitted. Teaser: Open on the alley outside of the Hyperion at night. A vampire suddenly flies across the screen and hits the wall. He looks up and growls at Illyria who walks up to him who grabs him by the neck. Another vamp appears about to kick Illyria in the back, but he is blasted back by electricity from Gwen. He lands on a stake Fred is holding. He looks surprised and then dusts. Illyria squeezes her hand around the vamps neck and he dusts. Another five vamps appear. Vamp #1: We’re gonna kill you all! Gwen rolls her eyes. Gwen: You think you’re so tough don’t you? Vamp #2: I know I am. Another vamp is suddenly sliced in half by an axe, which Illyria catches. Gunn is stood behind where the vamp was. Vamp #2 and the others look surprised. Gwen: Tougher than him? Vamp #2 growls and rushes towards Gwen along with Vamp #4. Vamp #1 runs towards Gunn who punches her in the face. Gwen blasts electricity at Vamp #2 but he narrowly dodges it. Illyria swings the axe, dusting Vamp #4 easily. She then sees Vamp #1 kick Gunn in the stomach knocking him to the ground and she goes to help. Vamp #5 approaches Fred who braces herself. Vamp #2 punches Gwen but gets shocked as he touches her bare skin and Gwen pulls a stake from her jeans and stakes him. Gwen: Guess not. She sees Fred and Vamp #5. Gwen: Fred! The vamp lunges at her. Gwen looks shocked but Fred easily avoids the Vamp’s bite and kicks him between the legs. He groans as she stakes him in the back. She smiles at an impressed Gwen. Vamp #1 tries to bite Gunn on the ground but Illyria decapitates her. She leans out her hand and helps Gunn up. He smiles. Gunn: Thanks for that. Illyria: It was no trouble. Gwen and Fred walk over. Gwen: (to Gunn) You ok? Gunn: Nothing Illyria couldn’t save me from. Gwen: Hey you did slice that vamp. Gunn: From behind when he weren’t even looking. I dunno, maybe I’m getting rusty after being a lawyer for so long. Unlike Fred over here, man didn’t see that coming. Fred: Hey I’m nothin’ special Gunn. Illyria: For a human, you fight quite adequately. Fred: Well…thanks, Illyria. Gwen: Much better than the Fred I knew. There is an awkward silence. Gwen: Uh, sorry, I’m just stupid bringing that up. Fred: Don’t worry. You know I’d actually like to learn stuff like that. What she was like. Gunn: Well, Gwen’s right, she wasn’t really into the hack n’ slash department. Fred: I don’t understand how…I mean, without the training Angel gave me, I wouldn’t have anything. I wouldn’t have felt like I could contribute to the team or anything. Illyria: Knowledge was her passion. It was…her contribution. Fred: Oh. Well for me it used to be. I just hope I can help you guys. Gwen: Are you kidding? You keep fighting vamps like that and we’re not gonna need Angel and Spike back. Gunn: I wouldn’t go that far. But yeah, you’re helping already Fred. Illyria: Until we manage to return you to your own dimension. She walks off ahead. Gunn and Gwen look awkward. Fred stares at Illyria as she walks away and looks uncertain. Fred: Right. Cut to Gunn, Gwen and Fred in the hotel lobby. Gunn looks upstairs. Gunn: What’s wrong with her man? Fred: She doesn’t show it, but I think she’s as freaked out as I am. Gunn: Oh yeah she’s had a real hard time. Gwen: Gunn… Gunn: I’m just saying compared to Fred- Fred: She’s in pretty much exactly the same situation as me. Stuck somewhere she doesn’t know. Being labelled a replacement for…for the other Fred. Gunn: I didn’t mean- Fred: I know you didn’t. But I can’t help just wanting to go home. Gwen: I get that. Don’t you worry, Angel and Spike should be back around- The front doors open and Angel and Spike walk in. Gwen: Nowish. Fred, Gunn and Gwen get up to meet them. Fred: Welcome back. Angel: Fred, hi. Gunn: How was the, uh- Spike: A little more action than we’d anticipated. Gunn raises an eyebrow. Spike: The bad kind. Gunn: Oh. Angel: He’s exaggerating. On the whole it was good. Spike: And we got a little something for us to remember the experience by. The doors open again. Willow walks through smiling. Willow: Hi guys! Gwen: Willow, right? Willow: Yeah, nice to meet you! Gwen smiles. Gunn nods. Angel and Spike look pleased. Illyria cocks her head inquisitively. Illyria: Your face is familiar. You have helped Angel before. Willow: I do what I can. And I’m hoping to this time. Been reading all about trans-dimensional stuff, it’s really fascinating. But uh, you’d all be really bored it. Illyria: I am curious as to the method humans have found to accomplish a task I once believed only my kind could. Angel: If there’s a way, Willow’ll find it. Willow smiles and looks at Fred. Fred looks distressed. Willow’s smile fades slightly and the others look confused. Willow: Um, hi…you must be the other Fred right? I dunno if you know who I am or- Fred: I know who you are. She turns around and walks upstairs. The others look worried. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- START OF EPISODE Opening credits. Starring: DAVID BOREANAZ - Angel Special Guest Stars: ALYSON HANNIGAN - Willow ACT I Open on everyone except Fred sitting and standing in the lobby of the hotel. Gunn: Ok what the hell was that all about? Angel: Fred seemed happy about Willow coming here before. I dunno what changed. Illyria: It is obvious. The Fred of the other dimension must have encountered the Willow from that dimension also. Spike: And they didn’t get on to well? Illyria: It would seem so. Willow: I’ve seen other mes before; well just one me, actually, but that didn’t go too well at all. Angel: Yeah I remember. Gwen: What if Fred met her? Illyria: Considering the millions of possible dimensions, it is unlikely. Spike: Well whoever the hell she was, doesn’t seem like Fred liked her too much. Willow: Maybe I should go talk to her. Try and make her see I’m not…whoever she knew. Angel: No I’ll go talk to her. She’d probably tell me more about what’s wrong. Anyway I think she knows that you’re not her. I mean, she likes telling us that she’s not the Fred we know a lot. You probably just remind of something bad. Willow: Oh, ok. Angel: Sorry about the delay. Willow: No, no it’s fine. I’ll stay as long as you need. Angel nods and walks upstairs. Cut to Fred in her room sat on her bed. She has her hand on her forehead. She looks up as there is a knock on the door. Fred: You guys don’t have to worry about me. Angel: I’m not going away. Fred sighs and gets up. She opens the door and stares at Angel seriously. Fred: Look, I’ll be fine in a second I just need some time alone. Angel: That’s fine. But I need to know why. Fred: No, it doesn’t matter. Angel: Look, Fred we need everyone on the same side here if we’re
gonna do this. If you’ve got something against the Willow you knew
then you tell me. Fred: Fine. The Willow I knew, killed Faith and Lorne. Angel looks shocked. Fred: So now you know. And I’ll come down soon, I just- Angel: Ok…I understand why you’d be uncomfortable with Willow around, but it wasn’t her. Fred: I know that. It’s just I can’t look at her and not see the murderer that Willow is in my world. Angel: I get that. And you maybe you’re starting to understand how we felt when we saw you again. Fred looks him in the eyes. Fred: You think I didn’t feel the same at first? God, seeing you alive again was one of the happiest moments of my life. And then I saw the truth, and…it was smashed. Angel: Yeah. Well try seeing the truth now. You’re gonna have put aside what you think you know about Willow and realise that she’s trying to help you get home. Ok? Fred hesitates and then nods. Cut to Gwen, Gunn and Willow in the hotel lobby. Gwen: So Willow you’re a pretty powerful witch huh? Willow: I try. Gunn: Pretty’s an understatement. You know last you were here you solved everything for us. Willow: Hey I only did half of it. Faith and Angel did the rest. But I’m glad that all worked out. Gunn: Yeah I guess it did. Hopefully this will too. Gwen: As long as Fred starts acting normal again. Gunn: We don’t know what went down with her Gwen. Gwen: Well she should see. This world’s different from hers. They all turn to see Fred and Angel. Gwen: Oh. Well, good. Fred: Look, Willow I’m sorry, I don’t wanna make things difficult. It’s just hard for me, to tell the difference. On the outside that is. Willow: Well I can’t really apologise for what another me did, but I can say that currently this me is 100% non-evil. Fred smiles slightly. Fred: Great. Angel: Well I’m glad we got that settled. Now maybe we can…wait where’s Spike and Illyria? Willow: Oh, we need some more stuff for the spell. Spike said he knew where to get it. Angel narrows his brow. Angel: And Illyria went with him? Gunn: Yeah we noticed how many ways that could go wrong too. But according to Spike it was gonna be dangerous getting the ingredients. Gwen: So with “violence” being Illyria’s middle name, she tagged along. Angel: Right. Spike say how long it would take? Willow: He said it was nearby. So hopefully not. Angel: Yeah. We need all the time we can get. Cut to Illyria and Spike standing in a dark room that resembles a shop. They are both looking around. Illyria: We appear to be in no danger here. Spike: Yeah well that all depends on this guy’s mood. Illyria: Who do you refer to? A shoulder comes into view. Illyria turns her head. A bald, muscular man stands near the back door of the shop. Illyria cocks her head and looks him up and down. The man raises an eyebrow. Man: You like what you see? Spike rolls his eyes. Illyria stares at him. Illyria: I have seen better. The man looks angry and steps towards Illyria who raises her head confrontationally. Spike steps between them. Spike: Look mate, we don’t have much time, we’re not here for trouble and we’re not here for making friends. We just wanna do business, all right? The man gives him a sideward glance. Man: William the Bloody turning down the chance for a fight? You surprise me. Spike: Don’t go by that name anymore mate. Man: Really? Well whatever you wanna call yourself, you’re still the same as you were. Spike: Wrong. Spike steps towards the man. The man frowns as he does. Man: A soul? Spike: Well done. But we’re not here to catch up either so- Man: You think I’ll do business with you now you’ve got a soul? No way. Spike: Can’t you make an exception this once? The man steps towards Spike so that he is only inches away from Spike’s face. Man: No. Illyria: If you will only do business with those without a soul, then perhaps you will do so with me. The man turns to look at Illyria. He walks towards her. Spike: Oh believe me, it’s not a soul. Illyria turns her head quickly to look at Spike. He looks away. She looks back at the man. Man: Very well. Illyria: We have the currency you need. Man: No. No, you get what you want, if you can defeat me in battle. Spike: Oh for God’s sake, we don’t have time for this! Man: Well you’re gonna have to make time, because that’s the only way I’m giving you what you want so badly. He smiles at Illyria. Man: What do you say honey? Think you can take me? Illyria raises an eyebrow. Cut to Illyria and Spike walking through a hole in the shop wall. Spike looks back at the smoke rising from the centre of the shop. Spike: Guess that was rhetorical then. Illyria looks at him. Spike frowns. Spike: We better get back. He walks forward. Illyria frowns slightly. Illyria: For these last two weeks you have constantly tried to insult me indirectly. Spike: I’m sure you’re just imagining things. Illyria: I do not imagine. Spike: Kinda noticed that. Illyria: You are still angry at me for attacking you. Spike: I don’t really wanna talk about it. Illyria: Angel would wish us to cooperate when attempting the spell. Spike: (shouting) It’s not about what Angel wants all right! Illyria stares at him. Spike: You wanna know how I feel? Fine. I defended you when she arrived. The others were all “Fred’s back, Fred’ back, to hell with Illyria!”. I didn’t forget. And then you go and do what you did. I understand about you getting the wrong end of the stick. But you purposely did something that you knew would hurt me the most. Illyria: I did what I knew would incapacitate you. Spike: Well, I guess that means you’re getting more of Fred’s memories. Congratulations. Spike walks away. Illyria looks after him frowning. Cut to The Hyperion. Spike pushes the double doors open. Illyria follows. Angel, and the others stand up. Willow: You got the ingredients? Spike: We did. Gwen: That was quick. Spike: Illyria did her demolition thing. Everyone looks at Illyria. Gwen: Really quick then, I’m guessing. Angel: That’s good. Let’s do it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT II Cut to Willow knelt down in the hotel lobby. Fred is sat opposite her. The others are stood around them. A circle of white powder surrounds them and in between Willow and Fred is a blue, pyramidal crystal. Several charms and artefacts are placed around the circle also. A faint blue mist is passing from Willow’s out-stretched hand to the crystal and she has her eyes tightly shut. Gunn looks sceptical and leans her head over to Gwen. Gunn: (whispering) You have any idea what she’s doing? Gwen: (whispering) Well, vaguely. Gunn: (whispering) You got a better idea than me then. Gwen: (whispering) Basically to get to the other dimension there needs to be a temporal fold. So Willow’s making one for us to all go through. Gunn: (whispering) Oh. And it’s safe? Gwen: (whispering) Sure. Safe enough. Gunn looks worried. Willow opens her eyes. She nods at Fred. Fred places her hand over the blue crystal. Willow pours some purple powder over Fred’s hand on to the crystal. It suddenly glows rich blue and shakes. Gunn and Gwen look at Angel. He looks concerned. Spike looks from Fred to Willow. Willow is staring at Fred looking anxious. Fred breathes heavily but then stops. The crystal stops shaking. Willow looks around. Illyria looks alert. Illyria: Prepare. Spike: For what? Blue energy blasts upwards and spreads out in a dome. When it reaches the edge of the circle everyone vanishes. They reappear in The Hyperion lobby. Willow and Fred stand up. Willow picks up the crystal as she does so. Everyone looks around. Gunn frowns. Gunn: Uh…it didn’t work. Spike: No. I think it did. Look. Spike points to the windows. They are all broken. Gunn raises his eyebrows. Gwen: Guess we’re not in Kansas anymore. Illyria: Kansas? Gwen: Never mind. Willow: Yeah I know it looks familiar but this isn’t our Hyperion. Fred: I don’t think it’s mine either. Angel: What? Gunn: Told ya it didn’t work. Willow: No it’s ok, I knew this would probably happen. Willow: Ok you know there are millions of possible dimensions right? Well pouring the powder over Fred’s hand was kinda like a filtering effect. The crystal’ll only take us to dimensions with other Freds. Spike: Nifty. Gwen: But there’s still gotta be a hell of a lotta different dimensions with other Freds. Willow: Yeah that’s the only drawback. We don’t have a way of getting to one specific dimension. Only similar ones. Spike: So we’re doing trial and error? Willow: Basically…yeah. Fred: But it could take years to find the right one. Willow: If we started from square each time, yeah. Luckily the crystal gets more and more precise each time we get to another world. It shouldn’t take too long. Gwen: So every world’s gonna be similar right? I mean I don’t suddenly wanna be underwater or finding that hell’s taken over. Willow: It’s pretty much limited to different choices you guys will’ve made. Spike: You mean there could be a world where I’m a rock star? Willow: Uh, maybe. Spike smiles. Spike: Nice. Fred: As great as that sounds- Spike: Right. We should go. Willow: Yeah if you’re sure this isn’t your world Fred. Fred: It’s not. This place…I mean my version of this place, got swarmed by demons just before I went through the portal. I think it’d be in worse shape than this. Gunn: That mean you’ve gotta do the spell all over again? Willow: No I just have to speak the incantation again. An abridged version. Spike: Thank god for that. Willow: It’ll take us back to our world and then we can start again. Voices are heard outside. Illyria: You must do so quickly. Willow: Right. Willow places her hands over the crystal. Willow: Uh, window of worlds, open before us. Fred: (to Angel) Why do we really have to hurry? I mean these guys might not be dangerous at all. Willow: Take us back to our origin. Angel: I think we should try and hurry all the same. The sooner you get back the better right? Fred pauses and then nods. Angel looks at Willow. Angel: Willow are you done? Willow holds up her hand and shakes her head quickly. The doors suddenly open. Another Angel, Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Cordelia rush in. They stare at everyone. Willow: Take us now. They vanish. Cut to everyone appearing in their own Hyperion. Everyone looks around. Gwen: Is this… Willow: Yeah, we’re back. Gunn: Ok…whoa. Willow: Yeah, that’s probably gonna happen a lot. Fred: Wesley was there. Angel: And Cordelia. Everyone is silent. Spike: Guess some places must be better than ours. Fred: Makes sense. Things we did that they didn’t. Things they did that we didn’t. Gunn: So somewhere out there Alonna’s alive? Angel: And somewhere me and Buffy… Spike: I doubt it mate. Angel glares at him. Spike: I’m just saying it’s unlikely. Illyria: I have travelled many dimensions. None included other versions of those I knew. Willow: Well that means in those dimensions there must have been much bigger changes, meaning that none of us would ever have existed there. But since we’re looking for one particular dimension, they’ll all have a version of Fred in them. Fred: And many would have a Wesley…I mean a Wesley that wasn’t dead. Willow: Uh, yeah but- Gwen: Maybe you take her to one of those worlds instead. It’d solve everything. Spike: I’m surprised people don’t try this stuff more often. Willow: Guys you can’t. Spike: Uh, why? Angel: She’s right. You try finding the perfect world and you’ll be searching forever cause it doesn’t exist. Willow: Yeah, people have spent half their lives travelling through dimensions trying to find people they’ve lost. So, it was kinda universally decided that most of these crystals would be destroyed. And the rest could only be used in certain situations and only by people who knew what they were doing. Gwen: It’s lucky you do then. Willow smiles slightly. There is a pause. Angel: And this is one of those situations. We need to get back on target. Everyone nods. Angel: Willow? Willow: Uh, right. Everyone remember to stay in the circle. Spike: Hang on a minute. While we’re off seeing the sights this stuff stays here right? What happens if the circle gets broken while we’re not here? Willow: Well, uh, that’s why we locked the doors. Spike: I take it something bad would happen then. Willow looks awkward. The others look worried. Willow: We might not be able to get back. Everyone stares at her. Willow: It’ll probably be fine. Angel: But we have to do this as quickly as possible to be on the safe side. Spike: Whatever you say. Willow holds the crystal out in front of her. Gwen: Here we go again. They vanish. Cut to them appearing in another Hyperion. This time the room is dark. Outlines of wreckage can be seen around. Gwen: Hey, we found the reality where they cut back on the electricity bills. Willow: Hang on. Luminare! A ball of light appears and illuminates the room. Most of the furniture is turned over and the place looks thoroughly trashed. Everyone looks around Gwen: Not to mention the cleaning. Illyria: This place appears to have been stricken by catastrophe. Fred: Or a hoard of demons. I hate to say it but this looks more like it. Spike: So we’re expecting a demon hoard to jump out at us at any minute? Gunn: Those guys are long gone by the looks of it. Fred: Yeah, they seemed to be after us so I guess they’re in the city somewhere. Spike: Well we can’t save every LA. You sure this one’s yours? Fred: I dunno. Looks like it could be. Angel: Anyway you can be certain? Fred: Uh…I don’t see anyone around. Angel: Let’s look around. They start walking around. Spike looks at the main stairs and sees a large crack between them. Spike: (to himself) Guess the upstairs is off limits then. Gunn looks around and sees the windows are mostly boarded up. He frowns. Gunn: That’s weird. Illyria walks towards the Hyperion front doors. She tries to open it but it appears to be locked. She kicks it and it breaks open easily.[/I] Willow: It’s probably not a good idea to go outside. Illyria walks forward and sees large barricades on the floor. Angel: Illyria? Illyria frowns. Illyria: (without turning round) I do not believe this is the correct world. Fred: Why? A bullet suddenly hits one of the doors. Illyria looks up and sees a sniper concealed mainly by one of the pillars at the front of the courtyard. She quickly pulls the doors too. Angel: What happened? Illyria: A human shot at me as if I was an animal. He concealed himself like a coward. Fred: Ok, this really isn’t the right world. Illyria: That was not all. There were barriers preventing use of the main doors. I do not believe the demons of which you spoke of would have barricaded this place. Fred: No… Gunn: And the windows are all done too. Gwen: So why all this boarding up? I mean obviously this place is closed for business, but it seems a little drastic. Gunn: Maybe someone wanted to keep something from getting in? Angel: No, if they’re on the other side…they wanted to keep someone out. Or something in. Gwen: I like the first one better. Spike: You’re saying we’re trapped in here with…something? Angel: I dunno. But I think we should get outta here. A rattling is heard from the floor above them. Everyone looks up. Willow: (hurriedly) Me too, let’s go! Everyone moves towards the centre of the room. Illyria: We may be able to fight whatever inhabits this place. Suddenly the ceiling near the stairs collapses. Hundreds of small scorpion-like demon land and scuttle towards them. Everyone looks shocked. Illyria: But perhaps it would be best to leave. Spike: You think. Willow: On it. Willow holds the crystal in front of her. One of the demons suddenly lunges towards her. Spike runs forward and kicks it out of the way. All the other demons begin to move forward menacingly. Everyone looks alarmed except Illyria. Angel: Look what you did! Spike: Oh so you’d have let it kill Willow then? Gunn: Can you two shut up for two minutes and kill the damn demons? Angel and Spike: Fine. Angel grabs a piece of wood from the wreckage, and starts hitting away the demons with it. Spike looks around for another piece of wood. Willow returns to the spell. Willow: Window of- Gwen: Willow move! Gwen blasts electricity at the demons as they hurtle towards Willow. Willow rushes out the way, but trips over a piece of rubble. The crystal flies out of her hand and slides across the floor and into small gap in a pile of rubble. Illyria punches a demon into the ground, as Spike grabs a broken chair leg and knocks away several other demons. A demon springs up at Fred, but she punches it in the face. Gunn sees, and looks impressed when a demon suddenly lands on his chest. It digs its sting into his neck and he gasps as it does. He gasps as Gwen notices and looks horrified. Gwen: Gunn! She rushes over to him, but it is Fred who smashes it out the way with a lampshade. Gwen smiles slightly at Fred, as Gunn falls back. He has begun to sweat and he breathes quickly. Gwen kneels over him and is about to touch his face but then realises and pulls back. Angel and Spike hit a few more demons before looking back. Angel looks over at Willow. Angel: Willow! Willow: I know I’m just… She reaches into the rubble and finally gets the crystal. Willow: Got it! Willow turns around and sees several demons rushing towards her. She looks angry and pushes her hands forward. An energy wave blasts forward knocking not only all the demons back but everyone else too. Willow looks surprised as the others look at her worriedly. Willow: Sorry I- Spike: It’s alright, just hurry! Everyone starts rushing towards the centre of the room. As Angel gets up, he looks around and suddenly freezes, with a horrified look on his face as he looks over at the basement entrance. In the doorway lies the body of Cordelia, with a stream of dried blood dripping from her mouth. Angel turns away in horror and rushes away. Illyria helps Fred with Gunn, who looks very sick. Once everyone is in the middle of the room, Willow holds the crystal out in front of her. Willow: (shouting) Window of worlds open before us. The demons regroup and as a mass rush forward. Willow: (shouting) Take us back to our origin now! They vanish as several demons lunge forward. They appear back in their own Hyperion. Everyone looks relieved but Gunn falls to the floor. Fred holds him in her arms. Gwen looks frustrated that she cannot. Gunn looks over at her. She smiles at him. Gwen: You’re gonna be ok. Gunn: (weakly) I hope so. Gwen nods. Fred looks up at her worriedly. Gwen’s smile fades as she sees black fluid seep from Gunn’s wound on his neck. Angel and Spike look on worriedly, and Illyria looks down at Gunn frowning. Illyria: This wound may be fatal. Gwen looks up annoyed. Gwen: Thanks Illyria, that really helps. Illyria: Why hide the truth when it may be inevitable. Willow: Not if I can help it. Willow kneels down next to Gunn. She puts her hand near Gunn’s wound and closes her eyes. The poison slowly rises up out of his wound and forms a ball in the air. Willow clenches her fist and it vanishes. Gwen looks relieved and smiles as Gunn slowly sits up. He smiles at Willow. Gunn: Thanks. He clutches his shoulder as he stands up. He is about to hug Gwen, but she pulls back. He smiles slightly as he remembers. Gwen: I’ll remember to wear gloves next time you get stabbed in the neck. Gunn smiles. Gwen smiles but then looks sad. He turns to the others. Gunn: So, that was a whole lotta not fun. Can we please go somewhere more hospitable next time? Willow: Wish it was that simple. Fred: Angel are you ok? Angel is staring into space. He looks up quickly at Fred. Angel: Uh, I was just thinking. Spike: He does that. Angel rolls his eyes. Angel: That world…something was definitely wrong with it. Gwen: You notice that before or after the demon hoard? Angel: Kinda in between. Fred: Another me was in the middle of that…somewhere. Spike: Maybe you were the sniper. Fred: Oh, great. Gunn: Makes you think though; just what happened there that made it so different to our world? Illyria: There are a great deal of possibilities. Gwen: Which we don’t need to hear. Spike: So we up for another go? Angel: We have to. Spike: Right. Gunn: Sure, but we see any kind of scorpion demon and we get the hell outta there. Spike: How about you Willow? You sure you’re ok? Willow: Yeah, I was just kinda mad. Spike: Well, try not to get too mad again or we might end up in the Pacific or something. Willow smiles awkwardly. She takes the crystal out. Cut to them appearing in another Hyperion, this time looking similar to their own. Spike: Wrong one again. Angel: Guess we should just go. Willow: Ok. Window of worlds- The doors of the Hyperion suddenly burst open from the courtyard and the main entrance. An alternate Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and Connor appear from the main doors, while an alternate Spike, Gwen and Gunn appear from the others. They surround the gang and point weapons at them. Both teams look shocked to see each other. Spike: Um…we’ll show our selves out? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT III (From now on I will put an “AR” in front of the alternate reality characters and an “OR” in front of the characters from our reality.) Open on the scene from before: the gang is surrounded by an alternate version of the gang who are all pointing weapons at them. AR Angel walks towards OR Angel still pointing his crossbow at his chest. He stares at him and OR Angel stares back. OR Angel looks around and sees AR Cordelia and AR Connor standing nearby. He looks back at AR Angel. AR Angel: What are y- AR Gunn: Angel you’re gonna wanna see this. AR Angel moves around to where AR Gunn is looking. OR Illyria cocks her head as they stare at her. AR Angel looks angry and holds the crossbow at her neck. OS Illyria grabs it in a flash and snaps it in half. She is about to drive the broken piece forward into AR Angel’s chest when Spike grabs her wrist. OR Spike: Something tells me that would be a really bad idea. All the other AR gang rush forward. AR Connor grabs OR Gwen’s arm. He is blasted back by electricity. AR Angel looks surprised, as does AR Gwen. AR Spike looks angry and punches OR Spike in the face. OR Spike retaliates by kicking AR Spike into the wall. AR Cordelia shoots a crossbow bolt at the OR Fred. OR Willow creates a small energy barrier with one hand. AR Angel swings a punch at OR Angel who dodges it before punching AR Angel back. OR Illyria jumps and kicks AR Gunn in the face. AR Wesley pulls a pair of guns out. OR Willow notices and uses telekinesis to pull them out of his hands. She catches one, but misses the other. AR Connor catches it as OR Gunn grabs AR Cordelia’s crossbow. Everyone suddenly freezes in a stalemate. OR Spike has AR Spike around the neck with his arm, while OR Illyria is holding AR Gunn up against the wall. Most of the others have weapons pointed at each other. OR Angel stares at AR Angel. OR Angel: Your move. AR Angel looks around. Most of the AR gang are in a bad position. He looks annoyed. AR Connor: Dad don’t listen to him! AR Cordelia: Angel? AR Angel hesitates but then sighs. AR Angel: We don’t have a choice. Lower your weapons guys. The AR gang do so reluctantly. OR Angel: That’s good. We’ll do the same. OR Spike releases AR Angel who pulls away angrily. OR Illyria hesitates but lets go of AR Gunn suddenly and he falls to the floor. AR Gwen rushes over to him. AR Gwen: You ok? AR Gunn: Pretty much. AR Gwen hugs him. OR Gwen looks at OR Gunn, and they both look sad. Everyone looks around uneasily. OR Angel: So now we’re done fighting can we talk? AR Cordelia: Fine, let’s talk. AR Cordelia walks up to OR Angel. OR Angel looks visibly chocked up seeing her only a few feet in front of him. AR Cordelia: Who the hell are you, and why are you pretending to be us. OR Angel: We…we uh- OR Spike: Oh bloody hell, look we’re from another dimension. AR Cordelia: What do you take me for? OR Gunn: A really bad version of Cordelia. AR Cordelia: Nice impression, we’re not fooled that easily. AR Gunn: Well actually I was thinking- AR Cordelia looks at him. AR Gunn: -that it was bad. AR Connor: Illyria’s trying to trick us. Again. AR Gwen: I dunno, I mean why would she go along with them? OR Fred: Because she’s not who you think she is. AR Spike: Did she kill Fred? OR Fred: Uh, hello. OR Angel: Well, actually Fred- OR Fred: Ok well, yeah she did but- AR Connor: Then she’s who we think she is. And now she’s trying to use this image of Fred against us. OR Illyria: If I wished to hurt you I would use physical methods. OR Fred: Exactly! I mean it’s kinda weird, what I’m agreeing with, but look, I’m as real as everyone else here. I’m just from another…other dimension. AR Cordelia: There are three dimensions now? OR Gunn: For some of us, yeah. AR Cordelia looks angrily at OR Gunn. AR Wesley and AR Willow: Actually there are milli… They look at each other and smile slightly. OR Angel: Look it’s true; we’re from another dimension. AR Gunn: Then why don’t you stay there? OR Angel: Because we’re trying to get Fred back to hers. We got here by mistake. OR Spike: So be good boys and girls and let us get back to it, eh? AR Spike: Wait…you can travel between dimensions? And how exactly do you do that? OR Willow brings out the crystal. OR Spike smiles smugly. OR Spike: With that! AR Angel: You know I’m starting to think they’re telling the truth, I mean I thought only you could do that look Spike. AR Spike: Mine’s better. AR Wesley walks up to the crystal. AR Wesley: This is an Orlux crystal! OR Willow: Sure is. AR Wesley: And you’ve actually been able to make it work? OR Gwen: We’re here aren’t we? AR Wesley: Well, yes, but…in this world, Orlux crystals are a puzzle to even the greatest minds…this really is spectacular… OR Fred smiles as she sees AR Wesley get excited by the crystal. He looks up and smiles at her and she smiles back, but their smiles fade quickly. OR Fred: Yeah, we use that…we should go. AR Connor: (to AR Angel) Are you gonna let them? OR Spike: Oh come on we’re not really gonna have been sent here to kill you by an evil nemesis if we wanna get out are we? AR Gwen: He’s got a point. OR Angel: For once, he does. AR Angel: I… AR Cordelia: You know, as much as hate to admit it, I think I believe them. You should let them go. AR Angel: Right. Sure you guys get on with your reality, whatever that is, and we’ll get on with ours. OR Fred: Thank you. She smiles. AR Angel smiles back, and looks away reflectively. AR Connor: But what about Illyria! I mean…do they even know? OR Angel: We know what she was. AR Connor: A filthy murderous bitch? OR Illyria cocks her head at AR Connor. She looks at OR Angel. OR Illyria: Despite allowing his erotic instincts to appear foremost in his, I preferred the Connor in our reality. OR Angel smiles slightly. AR Connor looks confused. OR Angel turns to OR Fred. OR Angel: Think we’re close? OR Fred: I think so. Just have to hope nothing else gets in the- The doors suddenly burst open and many demons warriors rush through. Everyone turns and backs away. AR Cordelia: Oh god! OR Willow: What? AR Connor: It’s her. You have to stay and help us! OR Angel: Her? AR Illyria appears at the doorway. OR Spike: Oh. AR Illyria looks surprised as she sees OR Illyria. AR Illyria: What trickery is this? AR Spike: Don’t worry, it’s real. AR Illyria: I will destroy this among all your feeble attempts to defeat me! OR Illyria stares at AR Illyria. OR Illyria: A challenge such as this cannot be ignored. OR Illyria runs forward, and AR Illyria runs towards her. The demon warriors run towards everyone else. OR Angel turns to OR Willow. OR Angel: We should- OR Willow: You think? She gets the crystal out. One of the demon warriors notices and throws a spear at it. The scene suddenly turns to slow motion. The spear spins through the air. OR Angel begins running towards OR Willow, but AR Angel gets there first. He places his hand between OR Willow’s face and the crystal, as the spear point collides with it, shattering the crystal into thousands of shards. Blue energy collides outwards. Cut to a montage of quick flashes. There is a shot of Angel in Pylea swinging the axe down on Fred. Shot of Cordelia and Spike kissing. Shot of Angel staking Darla. Shot of an Illyria-esque Wesley, with blue hair. Shot of Connor being bitten by a vampire. Shot of Wesley shooting Gunn. Shot of Justine slitting Fred’s throat. Shot of Kate’s grave. Shot of Buffy and Angel married. Shot of Illyria laughing. Shot of Wesley and Willow studying a series of runes on paper. Shot of Fred with her head on Wesley’s chest in bed. Shot of an eerie LA at night, with all the trees withering. Shot of Darla and Drusilla leading a mass of vampires through the streets. Shot of Faith lying with a dagger in her heart. The images soon merge into one. Cut back to hotel, where time is now normal. Everyone looks shocked as the shards are scattered across the floor. OR Fred: Oh god! OR Angel looks a little stunned. He shakes himself suddenly. OR Angel: Get upstairs now! AR Connor: We should- AR Angel: No Connor he’s right, let’s go! OR and AR Illyria clash in the middle of the room. OR Illyria knocks AR Illyria across the floor. OR Illyria: Unimpressive. AR Illyria stands up angrily. OR Illyria looks ready for more, but she sees the gang retreats and suddenly flips over the demon guards and joins them. OR Illyria: (running) Our predicament is not good. OR Spike: Goes without saying, just run! AR Illyria smiles. She nods at one of the nearby demons who has a crossbow. She then follows the rush. The demon shoots AR Gunn in the back. AR Gwen stops and looks horrified. The demon shoots her as well in the neck. She falls back as the demons rush past. The rest of the AR and OR gang keep running. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT IV Cut to the others are running along the first corridor. AR Illyria is moving past the demons quickly. AR Connor, AR Cordelia and OR Angel are at the back of the crowd. AR Connor suddenly stops and turns back to the oncoming demons. AR Cordelia looks worried as he smiles reassuringly at her. OR Angel realises and pulls AR Cordelia away. AR Cordelia shakes her head slowly as OR Angel takes her away. AR Connor turns and smiles at the demons, as he draws his sword. Everyone is now running up the second staircase. They run into a room and slam the door behind them. AR Spike: We can’t stay here forever! OR Spike: Looks like that’s all we can do. OR Willow: I sorry, I should’ve- OR Angel: No, it wasn’t your fault. But we need- AR Wesley: One of these. AR Wesley is holding a much smaller version of the Orlux crystal. OR Willow looks surprised but smiles widely. OR Willow: Oh my god! Is that- AR Wesley: Yes. No time to explain, you must hurry. OR Willow: Thank you. OR Gwen: What about you guys you won’t have a chance against them. AR Angel: Maybe we’re not supposed to. Everyone looks sombre. OR Spike: Well if we’re gonna do this- OR Willow: Right. Window of worlds return us to origin now! The doors of the room blast open as the OR group disappear. Spears flies through the air, and the faint outline of AR Angel dusting can be seen as the screen fades to white. Cut to everyone appearing in their own Hyperion. Gwen: Oh god… Angel: I know. But we can’t dwell on it. Willow can we- Willow: Sure. Cut to everyone appearing in the streets of LA at night. Everyone looks around confused. Spike: This is knew. Willow: What? Something must’ve gone wrong, I- Voice OS: No. Something went right. For you anyway. Everyone turns to see Whistler standing nearby. He has a large scar across his forehead to his cheek. Angel: Whistler…what happened? Whistler: Nothing you need to know about. Yet. Spike: How come you’re in these parts? Wherever these parts are. Whistler: Powers That be have been a little makeshift engineering. Got that Orlux crystal to end up in the room you went in. Made sure it’d send you to the place you needed to be. Gunn: So this is… Fred: My world. Fred smiles. Whistler: Wesley should be arriving any minute. Fred: You turned back time? Whistler: Time gets easily screwed up in these things. Spike: That doesn’t surprise me at all. Fred: Well…thank you. I, uh, I guess this is goodbye to all of you. Whistler: No. It’s not that simple. Fred: What? Why? Spike: You nuked the bloody crystal? Whistler: Nothing harmful. Just altered your DNA a bit. Willow knows what I mean. Willow: Uh, right. Gunn: So what? Fred: You mean…I’m not Fred anymore. Whistler: Not exactly no. Your molecular structure’s been altered by maybe one or two atoms. What is means is that you can live in the world that needs you. Fred: This world needs me! Whistler: No. This world is finished. Like so many others. You all probably think each world has its own Powers That Be, but there’s just the one. Some worlds flourish. Some fail. Yours is the former, luckily for you. Fred, there’s no future for you here. Fred: Then Wesley can come with- Whistler: No. The fact that there was once a Wesley in their world means that the same thing would still apply. If you guys’d stayed in any of the worlds you visited today, chaos would eventually ensue. People are meant to stay where they belong. And now Fred, you belong with them. Fred looks torn. Illyria walks up to her. Illyria: I believe…you will be an asset to Angel’s cause. Fred: You don’t know the first thing about- Fred looks at Illyria, who seems innocent suddenly. Fred smiles slightly. Fred: Thanks. Fred sighs. Angel: This is your choice Fred. No one else can make it. Whistler: I would suggest you hurry though, before the world starts to end. Fred looks tearful. Eventually she looks Angel in the eyes and nods gently. Fred: Let’s go before- Wesley OS: Fred? Fred closes her eyes and looks on the verge of tears. Everyone stares as Wesley approaches. Angel: Uh, let’s give them some room. The other move back a little. Wesley: Oh…is it…is this a dream? Fred slowly turns around. She smiles at Wesley. She looks like she is about to answer. She looks into his hopeful eyes. She stops herself and smiles more widely. Fred: Yeah. Yeah it is. I uh, I can’t stay. It’s too late for that. Right? Fred looks at where Whistler was stood but he is gone. She frowns slightly. She looks back at Wesley. Wesley: I knew I’d find you again. Fred: Well here I am. Wesley: What are the others doing here? Fred: They uh, they need to go too. You um… A tear falls down Fred’s cheek. Fred: You need to stay. Finish things off. Give them something for them to remember us by. Wesley: Right. Another tear falls down Fred’s face. Wesley: Don’t cry. Fred: I’m sorry. She wipes her face. Her smile fades as she sees shadows appear from around the corner of the street in the distance. Fred: We’ve really gotta go. Wesley: Alright. Will I see you again? Fred: I hope. Wesley smiles. He kisses Fred. She pulls back after a few seconds. She looks at Willow and nods. Willow smiles sympathetically. The others walk forward. Willow: Window or worlds. Return us to origin. And let us remain there. They slowly vanish. Wesley looks on still smiling as the demon hoard appears in the distance. Cut to everyone appearing back in our reality. They look around. There is an awkward silence. Spike: Long day. Cut to Willow hugging everyone one by one. She hugs Fred last. Fred: Thank you. So much. Willow: Hey anytime. You guys make sure to call if you need me. It won’t be Giles picking up next time. Angel smiles slightly. Willow smiles and nods. Willow: Hope to see you back in Darkley sometime soon too. Angel: We’ll see how things turn out. Willow: Great. Bye guys! Everyone smiles as Willow walks out the front door. Everyone is left feeling rather awkward. Gwen: So…what now? Angel: I don’t know. I guess Wolfram and Hart haven’t finished with us. Spike: Oh I can hardly wait for another day of angst. Gunn: Tell me about it. It was weird though…us in that world, we seemed happier. Gwen: Yeah, I mean Cordelia was alive, so was Wesley, I didn’t have the electric Midos’ touch. Only thing that was missing was- Illyria: Fred. Gwen: Right. Gunn: Well we don’t have that problem. Gunn smiles at Fred. She smiles back. Fred: Right. Illyria: But the inhabitants of that world are dead. Spike: Yeah…irony eh? Everyone looks reflective. Angel: Fred you sure you’re ok? Fred: Yeah I just…I didn’t think anyone could live in a place they didn’t belong. I didn’t wanna believe that you guys could be the friends I knew in my world. And now I know you’re not…but you’re as good as they are, and determined as they are. I think I’m starting to belong. Fred smiles at the others. Everyone smiles back. However their smiles soon fade. Spike: So I’ve got some stuff I need to- Gwen: Right. Gunn we should- Gunn: Sure. Angel: I’ll be in the office. Everyone slowly walks off leaving Fred in the middle of the lobby with Illyria standing on the edge of the screen. THE END - Top
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