Chapter two starts with Angel on his way to Santa Monica. It's the next 'evening.' He tells Wes about killing Burge's son last night. Wes offers to accompany him, but Angel's not feeling it. Wesley says he'll stay behind and "haunt the fort."
Angel feels bad about turning down Wes's companionship, but he just doesn't know where his loyalties lie, and he needs to warn Connor about the coming war. He figures Burge will want to take revenge by going after what Angel cares about most.
Nina is all hostile at first, and Angel calls her his ex, but then she gets all "let's eat bloody things together" on him. Seriously, she needs some animal tranks. But Connor is not there. He's in Westwood, looking into the whole KR'PH thing.
In Westwood, a huge, roiling mess of a dominance battle is going on between the would-be demon lords, and there's a bunch of humans caught in the crossfire. Angel jumps into the fight to save them, thinking about how he let Connor down with the whole getting him stuck in hell thing. Angel needs to get over it.
Connor joins in the fight and they cover each other's backs and talk. Angel tells him the score and he gets it immediately. He's still cool Connor of season 5, as far as I can tell. Awesome. He asks Angel where he's been and why he's being all stupid re above. They stop fighting to talk and are surrounded. Luckily Gwen comes in at this point and fries the demon horde. She wants them to check out the crime scene with her because there's a new player in town and "he's out for blood."
Cut to Gunn, the vampire. SO messed up that he would become what he hates most. He's got George on a bed surrounded by some kind of blood-drawn mystical trap. This is where we hear George's name. Gunn tells him that he's one of the good guys. George is understandably hesitant to acknowledge that to be true. "Trust the vampire who kidnapped me, done." Gunn doesn't like being called a vampire.
We find, in what will continue to be a theme with the last standers, that Gunn blames Angel for his situation. Says he was a fool to ever trust a vampire, claims he was getting vamped while Angel was playing "dragon-whisperer." But he says even with this "disease" he's going to do what's right. Then he starts amping up into a rant about Angel thinking he's so good because of his soul, but maybe he never was that great of a man anyway, and then "he gives up. On everything. On us. But it's fine." Then he just whales on poor George while shouting that he's going to save everyone. Okay. Anger issues much? Talk about prior traits being amplified when vamped.
When he says Angel gave up on everything, on us, I wonder if he's referring to something specific that happened after the battle. Maybe Angel saw what happened to Gunn and couldn't stake him, but also told him to get lost because he was a vampire? I guess we'll find out more later. I've read some of this already, but I don't remember much.
Gunn apologizes for beating the crud out of George, then leaves him, carrying the yellow orb he stole from KR'PH. He walks into a room, tendrils seem to grab the orb and take it to something. What the hell? Looks like a group of demons stuck together, overflowing another bed (are they in a hotel too?) with treasures beneath them/it. I assume they're/it's alive because of the tendril, but what the hell it is, no clue. But Gunn's plan to save everyone must involve this monstrosity, and it definitely doesn't include Angel.
Angel, Gwen and Connor take in the scene. We find out the yellow thing is the Eye of Ramras. It's a token of power. It amplifies the power you have already, hence the George being able to force the gladiators to fight moment from last issue. And that's how a low level demon like KR'PH was able to rise so high. He was on Angel's to-do list, but someone beat him to it. Gwen says it was vamps, judging by all the dead girls with ruptured necks. Although I don't know that they've shown anyone but Gunn being a vampire in his crew. Wouldn't think he'd work with vampires. He may have convinced some humans to join him. IDK.
Angel says he doesn't know who did this, but he lies. Apparently the fact that it's a vampire combined with the (we soon find out) Sanskrit drawings on the arena wall make him think he has the answer. He sends Connor off to find his dragon, whose name we aren't supposed to be able to make out yet, and heads to Beverly Hills...
...to find Spike! Or is it Hugh Hefner? He's in a big estate, surrounded by greenery, fountains of some sort of blood or demon brew, and bikini babes, of both human and demon persuasions. He's lounging about in silk pajamas, on some sort of plush throne-like chair, being waited on as he tells a highly biased version of the season 5 ending battle. It involves himself as hero and Angel as a blubbering coward.
He picked a bad time to tell this story though, as Angel makes an appearance. One of Spike's girls, Spider, says Angel reeks of magic, so I guess she's more than human. Angel tries to talk to Spike, but a bodybuilding type lady bars his path and says no one touches the Lord of Beverly Hills. Angel says, "it's officially hell."
Spike is not happy to see Angel either, claiming he rose from the ranks of "prisoner to prisoner with benefits to protector back to prisoner with benefits to Lord." And he doesn't want to lose that because of Angel. He's given up on the good fight and is just enjoying his creature comforts here. Bad Spike. Seriously. They get into an argument. Spike joins the ranks of those who blame Angel for the choices they all agreed to. Bad Spike.
Angel gets the upper hand since Spike is drunk (he says). I think he might just be soft at this point. Angel tells Spike a demon lord was killed by something that drained people's blood, and the inscription on the wall was in Sanskrit, so where is she? Ohh. I get it now. Time for our last hero to join the fun.
Illyria: "Your presence is irritating my pet. Perhaps your dismemberment will soothe him." The end.
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