REGULAR CAST

• David Boreanaz as Angel
• James Marsters as Spike
• J. August Richards as Charles Gunn
• Amy Acker as Winifred ‘Fred’ Burkle
• Andy Hallett as Lorne
• Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

GUEST CAST

• Danny Mora as Número Cinco

CO-STARRING

• Bruno Gioiello as Security Guard

SYNOPSIS

In downtown LA, a security guard investigates a disturbance when a huge demon suddenly attacks and kills him. At Wolfram & Hart, the employee known as “Number Five” silently pushes his mail trolley through the halls, collecting letters. Lorne greets him, but Five doesn’t respond, continuing his rounds. Meanwhile, Angel is in a conference room, signing documents in blood. Gunn reassures him that demon law requires it, insisting that the paperwork is doing good – but Angel feels disconnected.

Spike appears, lamenting his own disconnected existence as a ghost, while Gunn wishes things could be shaken up a little. His wish is granted when Wesley enters with alarming news – several bodies have been found with their hearts removed. Number Five hears this and immediately walks away. Angel rushes after him to hand him another item, only for Five to abruptly throw Angel through his office window. Stunned, Angel watches Five leave while Gunn calls security. Lorne soon informs Angel that Spike has spread rumours online about the incident – oddly enough, this boosts Angel’s reputation.

That evening, Angel drives with Spike, Gunn, and Wesley, investigating another mutilation. Suddenly, Angel smells blood and swerves to a stop. He finds a fresh corpse, the heart missing. Wesley deduces the killer is still nearby. Spike points out the demon lurking just behind them. Angel attacks while Spike struggles to help, unable to grasp anything. The demon flees.

Back at Wolfram & Hart, Gunn hands Fred an axe smeared with the demon’s blood, and Wesley pushes his team to identify the creature. Angel checks in briefly before returning to his office. As Wesley works, Spike hovers nearby, asking about the Shanshu prophecy. Wesley directs him to a book. Spike casually reveals that Angel doesn’t believe in the prophecy, surprising Wesley. Spike insinuates that he might be the prophesied one, but Wesley quickly dismisses the idea.

That night, Wesley brings Angel information – this demon is Tezcatcatl, a warrior who appeared exactly fifty years ago. Angel notes the significance – it’s the Day of the Dead. Wesley reveals that five champions defeated the demon back then, but only one remains alive. Angel decides to find him.

Angel tracks down the last champion – Number Five, who he recently fired. Five shoves Angel against a wall, revealing he misunderstood their earlier interaction. Now, Angel wants his help. Five refuses, calling champions fools. He recounts his past – he and his four brothers were Luchadores, beloved wrestlers in the ring and silent protectors outside it. But after his brothers were killed, no one wanted his help anymore. Wolfram & Hart offered him a job, and he took it.

Angel and Five arrive at a wrestling venue where a reenactment of the brothers’ battles is taking place – mockingly, with midget actors. Five, bitter, walks away. Angel tries to rally him, but Five sneaks off.

Meanwhile, Gunn and Wesley discover the demon’s pattern – it’s targeting heroes. Angel, searching for Five, finds him gone, boarding a bus. As Angel turns, Tezcatcatl strikes, skewering him against a car with a sword. Instead of killing Angel, the demon abruptly withdraws the blade and leaves.

Back at Wolfram & Hart, Angel grapples with rejection. Wesley and Gunn explain that Tezcatcatl’s behaviour matches his MO – humiliating heroes before killing them. The demon seeks a talisman granting the powers of the Aztec sun god. Angel recognizes the item – Five has it.

Angel searches Five’s home but finds nothing. Five sits in a cemetery, holding the talisman at his brothers’ graves. Angel arrives, demanding the talisman, only for Five to reveal he swallowed it.

Tezcatcatl soon arrives. Five fights but is quickly defeated. Angel tries to intervene but is thrown onto the graves. Suddenly, the number brothers awaken, bursting from the earth and engaging Tezcatcatl. Angel and the brothers pin the demon and kill it. As the dust settles, Five is taken by his resurrected brothers, vanishing beyond this world.

Angel returns to the office, where Wesley confronts him about the Shanshu prophecy. Angel dismisses it, reminding Wesley of another failed prophecy – the “father will kill the son” prediction, which Wesley no longer recalls. Reassured, Wesley drops the subject.

Later that night, Angel quietly slips into Wesley’s office and begins reading the Shanshu prophecy.

TRIVIA

CONTINUITY