The ninth episode to Law and Order, titled ‘Villain’, finally airs on  Televison after a bunch of hiatuses and episode switching. Families who enjoyed the new show got together with popcorn and drinks. Today is the day that Cordelia could learn who played the victim—but she is at a funeral.

“For people who need help at night,” Wesley’s character is speaking in Demon Language under the cover that it’s a different unknown language on television. “In Los Angeles; there’s a private investigative service out there for you.

Wesley’s character lights a cigar.

 “Angel Investigations; we help the helpless. That is their motto.” He takes out some cards and spreads them out in a ‘u’ shape. There is knocking heard from the door from behind him. “When things get tough and the domino’s fall in what feels seems lost. We—they can take care of your problems; with  a Psychic, a team member who makes it seem the case will go right, and another to help get your problems solved.”

 We see that Charless Gunn comes into the building; where Cordelia and Doyle are redecorating using paint.

 “Is this Angel Investigation?” Gunn said, as Doyle recognizes him.

“We are in the middle of painting,” Cordelia said. “And yes, we are.”

 “Actually.  .  . “ Wesley’s character begins correcting himself. He blew smoke right at the camera. “It’s not about getting your problems solved; it’s about helping the helpless get their problems dead; preferably.”

Other friends of Gunn are waiting outside.

“I’m Charles Gunn, and I  have a vampire problem.” Gunn said. “And I did like Villain. That was a nice go there!”

 Cordelia and Doyle share a puzzled reaction.

“And here is where you should go.  .  .” Wesley gives the address and phone number to the entire world. He gave them a new platform; soon enough it would become Angel Investigations International.

“Villain?” Doyle and Cordelia ask.

“Law and Order episode.” Gunn said, as Cordelia drops her paint brush. Doyle had a flicker of a image pass through his eyes; it wasn’t a bad vision that hurt him, it was harmless for once.  “It was this dude who spoke in demon language; only way we could decipher it was from a nerdy demon ‘fan’ who happened to be watching it with us.”

Cordelia broke into tears, and Doyle comforted her.

“Was it something I said?” Gunn asks, concerned.   

“No.” Doyle said, as he too felt guilt for letting a man like Wesley die.It wasn’t only because of Angel’s betrayel that they were in this road. “Dat man ya seen on screen is dead, and he was part of tis team. We don’t have a leader; but dat’s allright.”

Cordelia sniffles.

“Because we are a team.” Cordelia takes Doyle’s hand. “And . .  . we’ll help you—while we are still getting back on our feet---Under one condition.” She held up her index finger. “You help us paint!”

___________                           _________________                        ____________________

  .  .   .Street Punks place.  . 

  .   .  . Probably 5:30 PM.  .  .

"We help the Demons who need help in the neighborhood." The Street Punk, otherwise known as Bobby Newheart, is talking to a young crowd.

We see the beginnings of this story; with Doyle running from Dean, running into a building and the door shut behind him.

 "They are not stereotypical demons." The Street Punk finishes, pointing a red laser at a chalk board with a crappy half demon drawing. "They are people; like you.”

The scene then shows Doyle shooting a stake at a vampire beside Demonic’s mother.

"Then who are the stereotypical demons?" A young student asks.

 We witness Angel meeting Dean, for the first time.

"You are." The Street Punk said, referring to the short and young man who is the student.

      The scene transitions to China; where we see a freezing Andrew standing in the middle of a painted floor with five objects at different corners of the star shaped painting. It’s in a park without surveliance.Andrew wore what he had been in before death. He growls sensing only one person is the reason. The reason why he has returned from the dead; from the permanent death that he, unlike many vampires, wished to have met.

 “Cornelia!” Andrew yells at her. “I was about to rip out Floyd’s throat; now I can’t, no thanks to you.”

 “Shush.” Cornelia puts a finger on her lips. “I know you love being alive.”

“But not as a vampire.” Andrew said as he looks around.

“I brought you back, alone.” She adds. “We have some unfinished business to do for China’s largest corruptive wolfram&Heart Corporation.”

 Andrew’s face shows a man that is angered, as he pushes her away, knocking down some of the objects decorating the circle.

“That is NOT what we do.”   Andrew said. “You ruined the mood of my return. How could you?” He notices something is different about Cornelia. She would never stand there taking his words like a minion. “What did Wolfram&Heart make you do?”

He did not get an answer from her.

“What did they do to you?” Andrew  asks, again.

  Cornelia looks away.

 “It’s nothing.” Cornelia said.

  Andrew grabs her by the shoulder.

“What the hell made you bring me back?” He is more than angered at her. “Tell me what they did.”

  Cornelia takes a step away after taking his hand off her shoulder.

 “They started Floyd’s death!”  Cornelia said, taking another step away.“T-t-t.  .  .”

 “Ho.  . . How?” Andrew interrupts her.

Cornelia turns away from Andrew, then  walks away. It’s as though she wanted to not make a mess when sadly there is a mess right at her feet. Almost like a breeze Andrew gets in Cornelia’s path. A couple birds flew over the two. A strange, odd squirrel carrying a locket stops near a tree trunk apparently used to seeing humans. If one could guess that forest animals are nosy then they are right.

“I don’t know.” Cornelia lies.

Andrew’s hands clench into a fist.

“Damnit Cornelia, stop lying to me.” Andrew is sick of humans masking the truth from him, including those who had been close.

Cornelia takes a turn but is stopped in her tracks once again by Andrew like a stone wall connected to other walls.

“Liar.” Andrew sneers, showing his sharp-pointy vampire fangs. Andrew is pale as Angel; which is shown by the moonlight. He didn’t have his vampire face on at the moment. He knew Cornelia quite well. “Stop lying.”

 The squirrel scurries up the tree.

 “I told them.” Cornelia admits, fiddling with her fingers. “They made me.”

Andrew forced Cornelia hard against the tree which made the squirrel hide in a owl’s nest for dear life. The squirrel hides behind the little half-grown baby owls as his tail is sticking out the nest. The baby owls hoot at the squirrel curious why it came in instead of going to its nest that is right above their home.

“You are hurting me, Andy—“ Cornelia complains.

“You do not have the right to call me Andy.”Andrew said, very harshly. “And why did you tell them?”

  Cornelia’s heart races fast, as  fear makes her tell the truth.

 “They threatened me!”

“You could have tol—“

“They wanted his partner dead.”

Words that are excuses to Andrew’s ears are starting to make a very, hot cauldron.

“And FLOYD is dead!” Andrew shouts; his face morphs into a vampire face.  “Nothing ends up pretty when it’s planned by gods. Nothing ever ends up good when you do not tell your team mates.”

 Andrew turns away from Cornelia,  and then went to the nearest trash can. He kicks it down.

 “I died, not his partner, because of Floyd.”

“Your death .  .  . was unexpected.”

“And so was that detective from Los Angeles.”

  Andrew turns his head to Cornelia’s direction. His eyes were not ones a child could trust a stranger with. Kate’s arrival from America had not gone unheard and it went fast; he didn’t expect she would be on Cornelia’s trail. Andrew had not expected Floyd’s ‘fake death’,Cornelia deceiving him, Cornelia telling Wolfram&Heart Floyd’s gone wrong gene, and his own death. Many things had gone amok in this year alone.

“You are sc-s—scaring me.” Cornelia squeaks.

“Good.” Andrew likes to hear that answer. “That is what I am intending to do--” He recognized that look of ‘Oh no, not again’ in her eyes. “I am not the first. Who was it before me?”

 “Floyd.” Cornelia said.

“Oh,” Andrew begins in a sarcastic tone. “What else did he find out under your dirt?” He comes closer and closer to her. “Did he find out you are a liar, a fraud, and a deceiving woman who takes advantage of everyone?”

 “NO!” Cornelia cries out. “I told him the truth!”

 “That you explained his gene flaw to Wolfram&Heart?” Andrew continues.

“I.  .  I can’t tell.” Cornelia couldn’t find the courage to say the dirty truth.

 At this point, from the hurt and betrayal that he has experienced in fifteen minutes; Andrew is sick of secrecy.

“Next step you take will be the last.” Andrew threatens her, while he is really ticked off at her.

“Remember where we first met?” Cornelia asks.

Andrew hesitated; recalling the cop that he and Floyd had beat up.

“Yes.” Andrew then said, like it was a fond moment to him.

Cornelia looks down to her hands, tapping her feet together.

“I killed her.” Cornelia admits to her crime, and then further admits in a whisper, “I covered it up.”

 Now Andrew wants to hear how they started Floyd’s death. The cruelest death that he had ever knew about. The death involved forgetting memories, body evolving to a creature no one would recognize, the humanity side being lost, and doing things out of instinct. Not able to speak when you were doing the right thing. And losing all the aspects of who you were; all that would be left was a monster.

 There’s a moment of silence between them.

“Tell me how exactly they started it.” Andrew said, ending the silence. “He wasn’t supposed to die at twenty-five!”

 Andrew could see tears coming from Cornelia’s eyes. The tears that a guilty human would have after being told to explain their crime. If she told the corporation Floyd’s flawed gene; then they probably told her how they were going to start Floyd’s death. This assumption is actually a good guess for Andrew. From some movies when the villains have an innocent friend of the hero; they tell their entire plan to this innocent friend.

 “He was supposed to die in his late forties.”  Andrew adds in the mist of his anger.  

Cornelia gulps, her adrenaline is running and she is sweating. She is scared of Andrew.

“Now tell me how they did it before I drink all your blood.” Andrew said, with a growl in his voice.  He hadn’t let down his vampire face quite yet.  He is furious; Floyd had seen potential in her and he advised Andrew to let Cornelia live. After Floyd had prevented her death?  “No one is here to stop me this time; not even Floyd.”

And so Cornelia told him  .  .  .  .

  .  .  .  One week ago.  .  .

   Demonica was sleeping in a queen sized bed; funny for a half breed Leckochen like Floyd to have that kind of stuff. We see Floyd had apparently fallen asleep right at the door to his room. Some of the paint on the walls are noticeable because of the moonlight. The moonlight shows something dark looming towards Floyd. The door to Floyd room is slightly open; where we can see Demonica sleeping in his bed.

  It seems weird to think that Floyd had been so tired and exhausted that he fell asleep right after falling. Underneath Floyd is a nice, comfy rug that ends at the living room. It wasn’t made in China but somewhere that actually no one would believe. We see an old goldfish glowing orange-yellow color on a table top across from him. This fish is most likely what Floyd is named after.

   The looming, dark uneasy cloud stops behind Floyd.

 “Time to get rid of that vengeful detective.” The voice, we cannot tell if it’s male or female, reaches out their claw-like hand.

  A small, tear drop red object appears below the palm of its creepy hand.

 “Time to die.”  The looming, dark uneasy figure clenches its hand into a fist then let go of the blood-like droplet.

  The droplet fell; went through Floyd’s clothing without making a stain, went through his skin, pass the deep skin layer, and went into the blood stream where it begins to affect the other blood cells as it follows them through the body. Our view reclines back from this perspective as we can tell Floyd’s skin is becoming harder. The old, aged goldfish in the water bowl turns over on its belly at the top of the bowl. The figure walks away as though its job is done.

 We see Floyd’s tired eyes open; but instead of human eyes, we see reptile-like eyes.

He gets up and then looks at the dead fish.

“Aww.” Floyd said, lowering his eyelevel to the water bowl. He pokes at it like a curious child. You can see a level of pity and relief in his reptile eyes. “The old guy finally clocked out.”

   .  .   . Night.  . .

  .  . One week later.  .  .

Andrew takes a step away from Cornelia. The worst thing he ever pictured was his friends dying while he lived on.  But now; he’s the vampire who returned from the dead, while his other friend did not. A former friend, who he would have loved to kick his butt in heaven, couldn’t come. Not because of his gene; it was planned.

 “The fish is dead.” Andrew said.

Cornelia nods.

“Y.  .  yes.”  Cornelia said, in a low voice.

“Stay away from me.” Andrew said, taking several feet away from her. His voice sounds hurt and betrayed. He had something else to plan for: simple revenge. He did not need Cornelia part of this. He had to cut her out of The Crew.

Andrew’s face turns back to human.

“It wasn’t my—y-ymy-my fault.” Cornelia argues, with a shaky voice.

“Oh hell it is!” Andrew lashes out at her. “You were part of the team!” Andrew taps on her chest as e said those words. “You made a vow not to tell anyone.” What he feels now cannot be watered down. He lowers his hand. “You’ve lost years and years of trust that cannot be rebuilt. Those years were only bridged by Floyd.”

“But we got the best out of it.  . .  Right?” Cornelia’s tears had become dry and her eyes couldn’t make more.

Andrew frowns at how desperate she is; willing to mend their friendship back together.

 “You have made the titanic sink, twice.” Andrew said.

 “Wh-w-w-whaat Titanic?” Cornelia wipes her tears off.

“Titanic of trust.”  Andrew said. “I don’t want to see you in my face. Next time we meet; you are dead.”

Andrew turns away from Cornelia, towards a dark alley; as the scene closes we hear the ending theme music to Angel echo as he went down the alley.

 To be continued in ‘Angel – City of Faith”.