What? He lands with an awkward thud on a car. His legs are broken. His back as well. He realises what has happened: he is human. As he looks up he sees Wesley walking silently towards him. And Angel just knows. Wesley says he’s sorry. Angel says the same.

Now. The ruined offices of Wolfram & Hart. Angel and Wesley are using magick to heal his broken body. They struggle, but it eventually works. Wesley tells Angel straight: how on Earth is a human being, using vampire glamour magick or not – supposed to take on the champions of every demon lord in Los Angeles and win? As he looks at his reflection, Angel tells him that this isn’t the Shanshu. This is punishment from the Senior Partners. They have made him vulnerable when he needs strength. Wesley urges him to call off the fight, but before Angel can argue back, two Furies teleport into the office. They ask Angel to come with them: they have been sent to him. And he needs to take a car. As he and Wesley leave, the dragon raises to the sky to follow.

Gunn watches them leave, with his vampire brothers.

In the Playboy mansion, Teeth, the loan shark Lord, tells Spike he wants an audience with Illyria, who is sealed away, screaming, behind a locked door. Spike says he’ll pass on any messages to his ‘co-Lord’ when she’s not busy. Teeth gives him a Hagun Shaft, a mystical staff made by an immortal to kill himself when he got bored of his life. There are only eight in existence and each demon lord has one for suicide purposes. The staff will literally turn the immortal being it strikes inside out. As Teeth leaves, Spike’s followers wonder who will be their champion. Spike says it doesn’t matter, but Spider, one of his demon allies, insists it does. She likes it in Hell and wants Illyria to kill Angel. Spike insists that he will not use Illyria like that. As he argues his case, time shifts around them – Illyria is becoming more and more unstable.

In the car, Angel and Wesley are taken to Silverlake. Once inside they find a sanctuary – the sun is in the sky, people, demons and human alike, are friendly. Wesley immediately doesn’t trust it, especially as he sees a creature using a calming effect on the citizens. But there’s nothing to fear, the Lord of Silverlake is an old friend: Lorne!

He explains to Angel that he’s not one for the killing, which is why he walked away, but here, he can at least protect those he can and live in some semblance of peace. He’s not overly fond of the politics, but as a Lord he has also been asked to supply a champion to face Angel in battle. He shows Angel the other champions and then presents his own. He cannot help Angel directly, but his champion may: The Groosalugg, forever brave and undefeated, in full Pylean garb descends from the sky – on a flying horse, no less!

As Groo and Angel catch up, Wesley tells Lorne that he knows Lorne doesn’t trust him. It’s okay: none of them know why he was picked to be liaison. His reasons for being brought back are not noble, but not necessarily the design of the Senior Partners. He looks at Lorne cryptically: “There are forces at work that have nothing to do with them.”

Inside Wolfram & Hart, Gunn picks up a picture of the Angel Investigations team and decides to keep it. His vampire cohorts think he’s crazy. They walk out of the building and, just as they’re clear, a bomb is detonated: Wolfram & Hart is no more and the building is gone. Gunn, in full vampire mode, tells them that that was worth it.

In Silverlake, Wesley is sharing his concerns about Angel losing the battle with Lorne. He suddenly stops dead in his tracks. He vanishes, leaving Lorne frantic…