Timeline
1609 - in the newly formed colony of Virginia, a young woman lays on her deathbed. She’s been making a living through the oldest profession in the world - prostitution - and now she’s dying from an unpleasant disease. As night falls, it becomes clear that nothing will save her. A priest, his face covered by a cowl, is called to give her the Last Rights. The priest challenges her belief in a compassionate God, and is pleased to see that she believes her soul can never be saved. The priest removes his cowl to reveal a distorted, demonic visage - this is, in fact, The Master. The Master takes the dying woman’s life, and makes her drink his blood. Shortly after, the vampire Darla takes possession of the woman’s corpse.
1727 - In a town in Galway, Ireland, a boy called Liam is born into a wealthy family. He grows up to be quite spoiled - a lay about who spends most of his time getting drunk and cavorting with the servant girls.
1753 - The 26 year-old Liam is staggering home from the local tavern when he spots a distinguished, beautiful woman staring at him from an alleyway. He follows her into the darkened alley, where she offers to show him her world. Liam agree, and Darla sinks her fangs into Liam’s neck… and “one of the most vicious creatures ever to walk the Earth”, the demon Angelus, is born. Angelus soon kills the family servants, his sister and mother, and finally his disapproving and hated father.
1760 - Darla brings her new acolyte and lover Angelus to see The Master. The Master seems impressed with Angelus, until the cocky young Vampire disrespects the ancient leader. Darla is so impressed with Angelus’s fortitude, determination and blood-mindedness that her loyalty to the master starts to weaver. Darla and Angelus leave the protection of The Master and the two besotted lovers scour the globe in search of prey.
1764 - York, England. In the dead of night, a lone horseman races across a meadow. Another rider signals him by waving a torch over his head and Holtz reins his horse in, and is informed that his quarry has been found. The two ride off together, on their seemingly urgent mission. A young girl, not more than seven or eight, answers the knock at the door. Angelus, accompanied by Darla, asks if the girl will take them to her Mother. The girl explains, her father has instructed her not to allow strangers into the house while he's away. Angelus says they aren't strangers and asks if her name is Sarah. She nods her head and Angelus tells her they know she's the apple of her father's eye. Darla asks if strangers would know that and Sarah shakes her head no. Angelus asks if they may enter and Sarah gives her fatal consent. Darla takes Sarah's hands in hers and promises her a special treat. Holtz and his companion come upon a house surrounded by torch-bearing men. Holtz is informed that 'they' are trapped inside. Holtz dismounts and removes two stakes from his saddlebags and, taking a torch from one of the men, heads for the house, instructing the men to burn it down if they must. Angelus greets Sarah's mother, Caroline, explaining they can only stay for a moment, but they have a message from her husband. Caroline seems surprised that they know her husband, Daniel, and asks them about the message. Darla kneels down in front of the young girl and tells Caroline she'll give the message to Sarah. Holtz stands at the door of the house, and instructs the men to move on his signal, then kicks down the door and hurriedly searches the house, room by room. He finds a trap door in the floor of one of the rooms. Pulling the door open, he discovers a note that reads, "How do you hope to save others, when you cannot save your own." Holtz examines the escape tunnel and realizes that Darla and Angelus have fled and are, in fact, at his own home. Darla tells Sarah to close her eyes, she has a surprise for her, then vamps out. Sarah begins to scream as Darla feeds. Caroline starts to run to her daughter's aid, but Angelus holds her back and starts to give her a message for her husband, Mr. Holtz. Angelus vamps out and tells her never mind, he'll give him the message himself and begins to feed upon Caroline. A baby's cries can be heard from somewhere in the house, and Darla asks Angelus if something can be done about the noise. She points out that the baby must want its Mother. Angelus suggests they send the child to its Mother then asks Darla if she wants to do it, or should he. Holtz and two other men are racing against time as they frantically spur their horses toward home. They arrive too late, as Holtz bursts through his front door to find his wife Caroline lying dead before the hearth. As he kneels beside his dead wife, his daughter Sarah calls out to him. Holtz turns to find Sarah standing across the room from him. She tells him, Mommy won't wake up as he takes her in his arms and begins to sing a lullaby. He pulls back her hair to reveal Darla's bite marks. Sitting down, he watches as Sarah plays with her doll, as he continues to sing. It's the morning after and Holtz still sits watching his daughter, who now is huddled in the corner of the room, avoiding the sunlight. Two of Holtz men come in and urge him to come away from the devil's work. Holtz says it's not the devil, only a demon. They asks what they're to do and Holtz replies, whatever they have to. Holtz gets up and crosses the room to Sarah. He picks her up and she begins to cry out, begging him not to take her outside. Holtz carries the screaming child past his men, out the door onto his front porch. Sarah clings to the stone column of the house momentarily before Holtz yanks her free and throws her out into the sunlight. Sarah turns to look at him as she begins to whither then bursts into flames. Holtz walks back inside his house and slams the door shut behind him...
1765 - Angelus and Darla have been causing havoc in rural France. Hiding from an angry torch-welding mob in a barn, the two swear their undying love for each other. Of course, when the mob arrives at the barn and attempts to burn it down, Darla’s survival instinct kicks in and she knocks Angelus to the ground, and grabs the only horse, leaving Angelus to face the mob on his own. Naturally Angelus survives the encounter and is soon reunited with his lover.
1767 - Angelus and Darla are walking the streets of Marseilles with their new companions, James and Elizabeth, who are obviously in love. Angelus warns them to hurry, they have a ship to catch and Holtz isn't too far behind them. Elizabeth taunts Angelus about knowing nothing of love, but Darla assures her he knows of other marvelously vile things. Angelus complains that James' latest antics drew the attention of Holtz. When James scoffs at the threat of Holtz, Darla is quick to tell him that the vampire hunter has killed scores of them. She complains that Holtz has followed them across half of Europe, and may follow them to the New World. James suggests they stand and fight, but Angelus nixes the plan. Elizabeth reveals that she heard that Holtz trapped them in a burning barn and that Darla escaped leaving Angelus to die. Angelus confirms the tale, and Darla laments that he made her pay dearly when he caught up with her. As Angelus and Darla head down the street, a heart shaped locket in a shop window catches Elizabeth's eye. James breaks the window and gives her the necklace, placing it around her neck. Elizabeth swears she'll never take it off and kisses James as several Frenchmen in military garb approach them. James sends the women on toward the ship while he and Angelus stand to face the Frenchmen. Suddenly, the street is filled with men on horseback, their leader obviously the legendary Holtz. Holtz dismounts from his horse and walks up to Angelus, demanding to know Darla's whereabouts. Angelus tells James that Holtz hunts them because he and Darla ate his wife and children. Holtz punches Angelus in the face, causing him to stagger backward. Two men flank Angelus, grabbing his arms as Holtz pulls out a stake and holds it to his throat. He warns Angelus that he could keep him alive for years if he has a mind to, then again demands to know Darla's location. Much to James' disbelief, Angelus agrees to tell them. Angry, James rushes Angelus, shoving him from the grasp of the two men holding him. Holtz calls out to his men to kill them as he grabs a crossbow from the man standing beside him. He fires, and the bolt strikes Angelus in the shoulder as he mounts one of the men's horses. He's struck again, in the side, as James jumps on the back of the horse. They race away with the men in pursuit. Hiding in an alleyway, Angelus tells James he thinks they've lost them. James shoves Angelus off the horse and says he'd kill him but he has to get to Elizabeth. He assures Angelus he'll let Darla know about his total lack of concern for her. James races away. As Angelus struggles to pull the arrows from this body, he complains that people are always running off and leaving him.
1771 - Angelus is in Rome, being pursued through rat-invested sewers by torch wielding monks. He tries to evade them by ducking down a tunnel protected by a grate, which he yanks loose, then replaces behind him. Unfortunately, he trips and rolls through another grate and finds himself in the middle of the monks’ torture chamber. He’s held at bay until two large doors behind him are opened, flooding the chamber with daylight. Angelus throws himself back into the shadows as a horseman comes thundering through the doors. Holtz dismounts and walks over to the Monsignor and thanking him for his assistance, kisses his ring. The Monsignor commands the monks to hold the beast, and Angelus, is quickly bound by chains. Holtz explains that the Monsignor married him and his wife, Caroline. The Monsignor has since been excommunicated for founding the Inquisitor Order, who by the way, are excellent at their work. Holts picks up a great hook, and holding it to Angelus throat begins to tear his flesh. The torture of Angelus goes on all day and into the night. Holtz’ asks Angelus why, of all places, he chose Rome, the seat of all that’s holy. Angelus says Darla loves the Sistine Chapel, especially Botticelli’s Fresco, The Temptation of Christ, then asks what it is Holtz’ wants. Holtz picks up an three pronged hook and driving it into Angelus abdomen tells him that he’s a demon who was once a man and wants to know if they beat and burn the demon from his flesh, would there be anything left. A flaming arrow comes shooting across the room, hitting one of the monks. Angelus and Holtz both look to see where the projectile came from and discover Darla with a cadre of vampires. She tells Angelus she’s sorry she took so long, then orders the vamps to kill everyone as she fires another arrow that strikes Holtz in the shoulder. As the battle ensues, the Monsignor approaches Darla with a cross, but she bats him aside, throwing him against the wall. Holtz breaks the arrow in his shoulder off, as the vamps pull down the door and a horse and flat bed wagon are driven inside. The wagon is turned around as Darla frees Angelus and two vamps assist him to the wagon. Darla strikes Holtz in the face before joining Angelus in the wagon. Taking her in his arms, Angelus asks if they shouldn’t be killing Holtz, and she replies that it’s so much fun ruining his life, he’s kind of like family. They embrace and kiss as the vamps cover them with a blanket and they drive out into the sunlight.
1773 - York, England. It is nine years after the death of his family; Holtz sits alone in front of the fireplace with his memories. The shadowy profile of an intruder draws his attention and he warns the visitor that he's in for a fight if he comes one step closer. Sahjhan says that's exactly what he's come for and Holtz tells him to step forward and show his face. Sahjhan steps from the shadows, and Holtz pulls his knife, telling him to leave. Sahjhan says he just thought Holtz would appreciate some help in killing Angelus and Darla. Holtz claims he doesn't need help, but Sahjhan tells him he'll die a bitter old man because he'll never see the pair again. He explains it will be another two hundred years before he could have another chance. Holtz asks if this is where he's offered the chance to change everything. Sahjhan says he'll take Holtz two centuries into the future using magic. He only asks that Holtz give his word that when the time comes he'll show Angelus and Darla no mercy.
1860 - In London, Darla and Angelus are corrupting, terrifying and finally killing innocent humans. Angelus spots a family walking down the street and is surprised when one of the sisters turns around, stares in horror at him, and tries to hurry her family away. Aware that this woman has the power to tell the future, Angelus is delighted - she already the fate that will befall her and her family… and the knowledge of that fate is slowly driving her insane. Slowly, over the course of the year, Angelus kills everyone the woman holds dear - her family, her friends, even strangers who show the woman kindness. The woman flees in desperation into a convent, where during confession she begs the priest to save her soul. However, Angelus has actually killed the priest and is sitting in the other side of the confession booth. He tells her that she is doomed, and that she’s in fact the “Spawn Of Satan”… this damnation from her only hope of salvation finally drives the woman over the edge into insanity. Shortly after, Angelus puts her out of her misery… but noting her ability at prophecy, he decides not to kill her, but to sire her. The terrified young mad woman is reborn as the unstable psychopathic vampire Drusilla. Together, Angelus and his two women spend the next 20 years pleasuring themselves on the flesh and blood of Europe’s populace.
1880 - In a high society party in London, an idealistic young poet called William is besotted by the upper class Cicely. Realizing that his love are the subject of ridicule from his fellow partygoers - he has earned himself the nickname William the Bloody Awful - William tries to confess his feelings to Cicely. She is embarrassed at his attentions, telling the shattered poet that he is “beneath her”. William storms out of the party, and literally bumps into the evil trio of Darla, Angelus and Drusilla. Dru is transfixed by the passion in Williams’s heart, his mind, his creativity and his imagination, and follows the sobbing poet. She tells him that she sees “what you want - something glowing, something glistening… Do you want it?” When Williams agrees, Dru sinks her fangs into his neck and sires her own follower. This new young vampire isn’t nearly as careful as the other three with his kills, actually thriving on the attention and notoriety that the attacks bring. In fact, William’s favorite method of torturing his victims with railroad spikes gives him the he will become known for … Spike. However, the number and manner of killings in London have brought too much attention to the fearsome foursome, and they are forced to flee to Yorkshire. There, the other three warn Spike from such a cavalier behavior… if they become too high profile, they may draw the attention of the Slayer. This is the first time he has ever heard of the Slayer, and he rapidly becomes obsessed by the idea of killing one.
1898 - The vampire family is still travailing around Europe, doing what comes naturally to un-dead killers. In a small Romanian town called Borsa, Darla makes a terrible mistake - one that will shatter her cozy world. She brings Angelus a ‘birthday present’ - a terrified Kalderrash gypsy girl for him to feed on. Angelus is delighted with his gift, and eagerly drains the girl. However, the gypsy’s clan don’t behave like most vampire victims- they take their revenge. The gypsies cast a spell on Angelus - cursing him with the greatest pain and torment that a vampire can ever suffer… they gave him his soul back. Darla finds Angelus cowering, racked with guilt - he can remember each and every victim he has tortured and killed over the last 145 years, and is unable to shake their ghosts from his mind. Darla is disgusted that her beautiful Angelus has been contaminated by a soul, and throws him out to wonder the streets alone. Ravenous with hunger, Angelus is forced to drink the blood of rats and other vermin, and tries to come to terms with his new state of existence. Darla, meanwhile, attempts to begin with the gypsy clan - she offers to spare the life of the clan leader’s family in exchange for them to reverse the spell, who, ever-eager for the kill, has already eaten the gypsies entire family. Unable to do anything to bring her beloved back to her, Darla takes Dru and Spike and leaves Europe.
1900 - Darla, Drusilla and Spike are in China, where they blissfully enjoy the mayhem caused by the Boxer Rebellion. Spike is especially delighted to be in China, for he has tracked down a Slayer living there. They confront each other, and in a blistering conflict the Slayer permanently scars the vampire above his left eyebrow… but he turns the tables and manages to get her in a headlock, at which point he drains her of her blood. Drusilla looks on, entrapped by her lover’s power and ability. She shares some of the slayers blood and makes love as China burns around them… Meanwhile, Darla is shocked to discover Angelus in China. He has followed them with the intention of begging Darla of giving him the seconded chance. He claims that his demon side has overcome his soul within him, and for a brief while the two share a beautiful reunion. However, Darla isn’t completely convinced by Angelus words and sets him a test. Offering him the life of a newborn baby. Angelus advances on the baby, but at the last seconded is unable to take the Childs life. He grabs the baby from Darla’s clutches and runs away… it would be the last time known time that the two of them would meet. Over the course of the 20th centaury, Darla, Drusilla and Spike would continue to travel and feed, Darla eventually splitting from the others company.
1937 - Sunnydale, California. The Master attempts to open the gateway to Hell that is situated underneath the town. However, a major earthquake rocks the town and The Master plunges into an n underground cavern - along with most of the church. The sanctified building traps The Master underground, and is forced to go into a kind of vampire ‘hibernation’ until his acolytes can free him.
1952 - Los Angeles, California: By this time, the former killer Angelus has abandoned his former name and has started to refer to himself as Angel. Angel is living in the Hyperion Hotel, a rather seedy and run down establishment that’s home to people who want to be forgotten. Angel is living off supplies of pig’s blood and trying to avoid much human contact, still dealing with the guilt of having been responsible for so many deaths.
1977 - New York City: Spike - presumably with Drusilla somewhere in tow - tracks down another slayer, a young black woman with a long black leather coat and a afro, named Nicky. Following an epic confrontation on a subway train, Spike finally snaps the slayers neck, and takes her leather jacket - an article of clothing to stay with him for the next 20+ years.
1996 - Manhattan, New York. The guilt of his past sins is weighing on Angel so much that he is now living as a down-and-out on the streets of Manhattan, scavenging for whatever non-human blood he can find. A demon called Whistler approaches him and offers him a path towards redemption. Whistler takes Angel to Hemery High School in Los Angels, where the mysterious demon points out a young blonde girl to the vampire. Her name is Buffy Summers, and Whistler tells Angel that his only hope of salvation is to protect her: she’s only a child and will need his help to face the dangers that are to come…
1997 - Buffy Summers relocates with her mother Joyce to the town of Sunnydale, following an ‘incident’ at Hemery High School when she was accused of burning down the gymnasium. At Sunnydale High School, Buffy meets Rupert Giles, the school Librarian - who is also her new Watcher, after her first one, Merrik was killed. That same day, one her way to the Bronze, Buffy meets Angel. Angel passes a crucifix to her, warning her about the local Hellmouth under Sunnydale and of the imminent resurrection of The Master. Buffy doesn’t quite trust this tall dark stranger, yet feels strangely drawn to him at the same time. When computer nerd, Willow Rosenberg - one of Buffy’s new friends - is lured to a nearby graveyard, Buffy comes to the rescue, fending off an attack from several of The Master’s acolytes… including Darla, who succeeds in bringing her sire back to life from his ‘hibernation’. During the first few months of 1997, the master’s plan to free himself from his underground tomb gains momentum. When Buffy defeats his plan to ‘harvest’ most of the local youth, he decides to strike back at the Slayer, Darla takes the opportunity of killing two birds with one stone when she pretends to be a new friend of Buffy’s and gains access to the Summers family home. Darla partially drains Joyce, but sets Angel up to take the fall for the attack. As Buffy has only just discovers that Angel is a vampire, she naturally jumps to the wrong conclusion. Buffy tracks Angel down to the Bronze where they fight, Angel desperately trying to explain that he has been set up. When Darla arrives and tries to kill them both, Buffy realizes that Angel has been set up. In the fracas that follows, Angel uses a crossbow bolt and stabs it into Darla’s heart, killing his -year-old sire. The Master eventually manages to free himself from his underground prison, but his joy is short lived when Buffy throws him off the roof of the high school and into the school library, where he is impaled on a beam of wood - thanks to a well-timed kick from Buffy. The death of The Master leaves a gap at the head of the Sunnydale vampire hierarchy - a gap that is filled in the autumn by Drusilla and Spike. Spike is as vicious and dangerous as ever, but Drusilla is a shadow of her former psychotic self, barely able to motivate herself enough to feed. Keen to save the life of his beloved, Spike captures Angel and plans to transfer Angel’s energy to Dru through an ancient ceremony. The schedule is interrupted by Buffy. Angel isn’t drained to the point of death, but Drusilla has absorbed enough energy to be back to her former self. However in a reversal of fortune Spike is left temporary confined to a wheel chair by his terrible injuries.
1998 -The year begins well for most of the residents of Sunnydale - Angel and Buffy are madly in love, as are Willow and her werewolf boyfriend Oz. Giles has a new girlfriend, computer studies teacher Jenny Calendar, and even the bizarre relationship between Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase seems to be working out. However, some very dark storm clouds are gathering… When Angel and Buffy finally consummate their relationship, something terrible happens - the seconded part of the original Kalderash gypsy curse kicks in, and Angel’s soul is banished from his body again, leaving nothing but the murderous demon Angelus. Angelus reverts to form, reuniting with Spike and Drusilla (much to Dru’s delight and Spike’s jealousy), then proceeds to psychologically tease and torture Buffy and her friends. Jenny Calendar reveals that her real name is Janna and that she is from the same Romany gypsy clan that originally cursed Angelus: her reason to be in the USA was to keep him under observation. Ashamed that she never admitted her true identity, Jenny works hard to restore the spell that cursed Angelus with a soul. Late one night, Jenny succeeds and saves the data on a floppy disk - just as Angelus catches up with her. He brutally murders the schoolteacher and places the corpse in Giles’s bed, taking the great pleasure of decorating Giles’s apartment, leading him upstairs. Drusilla, although still in love with Spike, becomes increasingly infatuated with Angelus - perhaps longing for the good old days. Spike gets increasingly suspicious of Angelus’s plans to bring about the end of the world - largely because he enjoys the living in a world “surrounded by walking Happy Meals”. Angelus plans to use the demon Acathla to suck the earth itself into hell, a plan that requires his blood to activate it. Willow, in the meanwhile, has discovered Jenny Calendar’s incantation and begins the spell to restore Angel’s soul. Buffy and Angelus begin a fight to the death with swords as Acathla begins to awaken, whilst Spike knocks Drusilla out and flees Sunnydale with her. Just as Buffy is about to deliver the final blow, Willow’s spell succeeds and Angel’s soul is restored. However, Acathla has awoken, and Buffy knows that the only way she can banish the demon is to use Angel’s blood. Buffy, tells Angel to close his eyes, she kisses him, and then impales Angel with her sword, and he is sucked into Hell, not knowing what he has done and why his sweetheart has killed him… Drusilla is disgusted with Spikes behavior, and is deeply concerned that he is getting to close to the Slayer. They go to Brazil, where she has a fling with a chaos demon - following which she dumps him forever. A distraught Spike hits the bottle and returns to the USA. Meanwhile, in Sunnydale, Angel has returned from Hell - presumably with some help from the Powers That Be and a phenomenal amount of willpower. Buffy discovers a near-feral Angel hunting in the woods near Sunnydale. She hides him from her friends until he has recovered from his ordeal, and nursed him back to health. A drunken Spike returns back to Sunnydale, desperately trying to work out what went wrong with his relationship with Drusilla. Following a chat with Joyce Summers, and trying to kill Willow and Xander, Spike leaves town again, hoping to locate Drusilla and to win her back her heart by torturing her into loving him again.
1999 - The arrival of new Slayer Faith brings a sort of soul mate for Angel. He can see someone else who is trying to fight against the dark side of their nature. Angel tries his best to save her, but nothing can stop Faith from joining forces with the sinister Mayor Richard Wilkins III in his attempt to ‘ascend’ to the form of a giant snake like Demon. Angel, meanwhile realizes that his and Buffy’s relationship can never work… that a Vampire and a Vampire Slayer can never have a proper, fulfilling relationship. Angel tells Buffy that he’s going to leave Sunnydale - provided of course that they survive the Mayor’s ascention. The epic battle with the mayor leaves many Sunnydale students dead - including Cordelia’s friend Harmony Kendall, who was turned into a Vampire. Rogue Slayer Faith is left in a long-term coma. Angel leaves Buffy and Sunnydale to start a new life in Los Angeles. In LA Angel meets a half-human, half demon slacker called Doyle, who informs Angel that he has a destiny to protect the defenseless. Reunited with Sunnydale’s Cordelia Chase, who’s trying to make it big as an actress in Hollywood. After Angel saves her from a Vampire she joins Angel and his new sidekick Doyle, and starts a Private investigation firm called Angel Investigations. Back in Sunnydale, Spike has returned with his new girlfriend Harmony, to look for the Gem Of Amara - A magical ring that lets the vampire using it become invincible while he/she has it on its finger - Spike finds the Gem, after digging up most of Sunnydale and collapsing a part of it, and confronts Buffy in broad daylight. After impaling Spike, Buffy prizes the ring from Spikes finger, with Spike running off underground just before he burns to death. Buffy gives the ring to Oz, who is going to LA on a gig with his band, Dingoes Ate My Baby. She tells Oz to give it to someone who deserves it… Spike is determined not to let this chance pass him by, and he follows Oz. He arranges for Angel to be kidnapped and tortured, but Doyle, Cordelia and Oz thwart Spikes plans. Angel, using the ring enjoys his first sunset in over 200 years, but destroys the ring to prevent it falling in the wrong hands again.
2000 - Angels new business venture is proceeding very well, despite the early of the death of Doyle and the arrival of failed watcher Wesley Wyndam-Price. Angel makes a reluctant ally in the shape of LA detective Kate Lockley, but faces ever growing danger from a sinister firm of lawyers, Wolfram & Hart. As time goes by Angel realizes that Wolfram & Hart is actually controlled by demonic forces that are intent on serving there own dark purposes. The law firm hatches a particularly sinister plan - not to actually kill Angel, but to turn him to the dark side once again, the idea being that he will be easier to control if he loses faith in the humanity he has sworn to protect. In a bizarre ceremony, which Angel very nearly manages to stop, a mysterious creature is brought to life. Unknown to Angel, Wolfram and Hart have raised his sire Darla back from the dead. Wolfram & Hart junior partner Lindsey is placed in charge of the ‘Angel Project’ and he helps the reborn Darla to readjust to her new life. At the same, Angel Investigations moves to new premises - the derelict Hyperion Hotel, the same hotel Angel stayed in the 50’s. There Angel starts to dream about Darla - explicit, erotic dreams where the two are reunite. Cordelia, Wesley and new recruit Charles Gunn, become increasingly concerned for their boss. Angel finally spots Darla walking through the crowds at a fair and tracks her down to a small suburban house where she is posing as a housewife. It is, of course, a Wolfram & Hart inspired rap to set Angel up for the murder of Darla’s ‘Husband’ - a jobless actor. Before Kate Lockley can detain Angel, he grabs Darla and drags her to a ruined temple where he confronts her. Darla tells Angel that she still loves him, and that she wants him back - but Angel is shocked to discover that Darla has been brought back to life as a ordinary human. When he refuses to sire her, considering it to be the most evil thing he could do to her, she flees. Gunn tracks Darla down to a seedy motel. She confesses to Angel that she is dying of the same disease that nearly killed her in 1609. Again she begs Angel to turn her, and again he refuses. Instead, Angel agrees to undergo a ritual trial of courage and strength in order to hopefully win Darla a magical seconded life. Angel proves willing to sacrifice himself - but both he and Darla are shattered to discover that the magical cure won’t work, because Darla has already been given a seconded life by Wolfram & Hart’s resurrection spell. Back at Darla’s motel, the dieing woman accepts her fate, and there seems little else that either of them can do. Suddenly, Lindsey and a gang of Wolfram & Hart thugs burst into the motel room and restrain Angel. Helpless, he watches as the long missing Drusilla enters the room, floats across the room to Darla, and converts her own ‘grandmother’ back to a vampire. The two vampires go on a murderous rampage across LA, killing Lindsey’s boss Holland and much more of the Wolfram& Hart legal team in one particularly bloodthirsty wine tasting party. Angel becomes obsessed with destroying Darla and Drusilla, and fires the staff of Angel Investigations, determined to travel down this path to darkness alone.
2001 - Shortly after the massacre of the Wolfram & Hart lawyers, Angel manages to track down Darla and Drusilla. They are holding auditions for a group of hired thugs to help them take over the LA underworld, but Angel has other plans… he lures the two into a trap and sets them on fire. Thanks to a nearby fire hydrant, the vampires live, but are badly hurt and scarred by Angel’s actions. Darla continues in her attempt to gain power by allying herself with senior partners of Wolfram & Hart, but in the passion of their reunion, this new ‘dark’ Angel gives in to the desires of the flesh and he and Darla make love. Unlike the previous time with Buffy, Angel does not lose his soul - instead, the act seems to clear his mind and restore his sense of perspective. Devastated with the fact that she can’t have Angel or Angelus, Darla flees Los Angeles. Angel tries to rebuild his relationship with his staff of Angel Investigations. The team comes back together, on the condition that Angel works for them now, leaving Wesley in charge. Every thing is fine until Cordelia gets a vision, which eventually takes them to an alternative dimension where they find a new recruit in the form of Winifred ‘Fred’ Burke a very smart Liberian, who was sucked into the a dimension while she read out a passage from a book. The team returns stronger than ever - that is until they see Willow waiting for them, with some very bad news indeed. Angel spends the summer in Sri Lanka to work through his grief of Buffy's death, and returns home after a run in with Demon monks in. He starts to get along with his life once again, seeking out wrong doers with the help of his trusty Seer Cordelia, and the rest of the gang. In Puerto Cabazas Darla sits at a bar, when a man sits next to her and hands her a piece of paper. He tells her the Shaman was very difficult to find. Darla dismisses him, but he tries to talk her into having a drink. Darla dismisses him, but then says that he is convinced that she has a surprise or two left in her, she agrees and feeds upon the hapless man. She rises from the bar showing her heavily pregnant belly. With the help of the piece of paper that the man gave to Darla, she is able to find a Shaman in the Yoro Mountains in Honduras. Darla asks the Sharman what is the thing growing inside her, and how it is possible. The Shaman asks and Darla says yes, the father is also a vampire, though not a very good one. The Sharman takes some of her blood and mixes it with some herbs. He smears the blood mix on his hands and places them on Darla's extended belly. Suddenly, his hands begin to tremble and he's thrown backward across his tent. He tells Darla no man can help her. Darla places her hands on her belly and says there's only one thing left to do, go visit Daddy... Darla appears in L.A. and it doesn't take her much time to find Angel at the Hyperion Hotel, Darla calmly walks in and tells him, "Hello lover, long time no see." She proceeds to tell him that he is the father of her child. The gang try to find out what is inside Darla, but all attempts fail until they take her to the Hospital, and they find that the thing inside Darla is a human child, a boy, and that is it wanted by everything including Vampire Cults and Wolfram And Hart. Angel returns to the hotel to retrieve an ancient scroll, but instead finds the floors littered with dead bodies, and a very much alive Hotlz who simply says to a shocked Angel 'I've been looking for you'. Darla meanwhile starts having contractions that overwhelm her and she starts speaking erratically to herself. She gets behind the wheel of Angel’s car, and while the group fight for their lives against a gang of demons, Darla rides off. Angel is now tied up, and with the help of a nearby Granade, he manages to escape. After escaping from Holtz, Angel finds Darla sitting atop a building looking over the city. Darla admits to Angel that the child is the first thing she has loved in over 400 years, and reveals to Angel that it the child has been providing her with a soul, but once the child has been born, the feelings will be gone, and she'll be unable to love the child. Angel takes Darla into his arms as she begins to cry, telling her that its going to be ok, but at the back of his mind knows that Darla won't be able to give birth to the child. As the baby’s heartbeat grows faint, Darla realizes the truth, and asks Angel if "he" is dying. She reminds Angel that she had nothing to offer the child, not even life. While Angel comforts Darla, Holtz quietly enters the bar, he is turned away by the owner, Lorne, telling him that the bar does not reopen until tomorrow, and leaves, but as he does he sings the lullaby he sang to Sarah years before, Lorne looks at him walk up the stairs for a moment and then shouts for the gang to run. They all run back toward the bedroom as a fifty-five gallon drum comes rolling down the stairs. It comes to rest right at the doorway and is followed by a live grenade. When the grenade explodes, the bar becomes a huge fireball. Angel has Darla on her feet as the gang runs into the bedroom. He asks what's going on and Wesley shouts that they're being attacked. A burning beam falls into the bedroom and Angel, holding Darla up, comments that it's Holtz. Darla is shocked and whispers that it's not possible. Angel admits he was waiting for the right time to tell her. Lorne has everyone help him move the bed away from wall; they need to break through the wall. Darla looks to Angel in horror as she remembers what they did to Holtz. Angel tells her, he knows. They break down the wall that opens out into an alley and everyone rushes out into the alley, in the pouring rain. Darla tells Angel, this is why this is all happening, because of what they did to Holtz' wife and children. She remarks that it doesn't seem so funny any more. Darla sinks to the ground and he shouts for them to go. Angel takes off his coat and gives it to Fred who uses it to Darla's head. Angel tells Darla it's all going to be okay, but she tells him it won't. Darla tells Angel, their baby is going to die in that alley. She reminds him that he too died in an alley. Angel tells her, he remembers. Darla says she wants to say she's sorry, and mean it, but she can't. She asks if he's going to tell her it's okay, and he sadly says no. Darla admits it's really not; they did such terrible things together, so much destruction. She tells him they can never make up for any of it and he agrees. She tells him the child is the one good thing they did together. Angel takes her hand in his, kisses her fingers then presses her hand to his forehead. Darla reaches out for something beside her as she tells Angel to make sure and tell their son that. She picks up a large sliver of wood and stakes herself. Angel looks up in disbelief as Darla's hand disintegrates in his. As the dust falls away it reveals a baby lying on the ground between Angel and Fred, screaming at the top of its lungs. Angel gently picks up his son as Holtz steps out into the alley from the burning building and takes aim with his crossbow. Fred gives Angel his coat and as he rises from the ground, begins to wrap up the soaked child. Holtz hesitates as he watches Angel with his child. Fred and Angel both turn and see Holtz standing in the rain, crossbow aimed and ready. Grappler demons appear at the end of the alley as Angel and Holtz stand staring at one another, waiting. Angel looks down at his son, then back to Holtz. Gunn and the gang pull up in the car; however, Holtz stands between Angel and the car. Holtz slowly lowers his crossbow and Angel, never taking his eyes from Holtz, slowly makes his way past. Angel and the gang arrive back at the Hyperion, with baby in tow, where they raise the child as an extended family.
2002 - Angel and the gang have been raising the child, Connor, for a few months, Wesley uncovers a prophecy that would tear them apart, in a ancient scroll that reads 'The Father Will Kill The Son'. Wesley doesn't know where to turn when Angels behavior becomes more erratic, Wesley strikes a deal with Holtz, for him to attack Angel and the rest of the group, giving him time to escape with the child. Wesley plans his escape, and offers to take him to the park near to where he lives, and tells Angel that he would love to take Connor over to his house to stay the night. The plan eventually works and Wesley takes Connor home with him, but when Wesley is attacked by on of Holtz's lackies, Justine, Wesley is left for dead when he has his throat slashed. Justine takes the child and delivers it to Holtz. Angel finds out about what Wesley has done and races to meet Hotlz at the portal that he plans to take Connor through. Angel begs Holtz not to kill his child. Holtz doesn't, but agrees to take Connor through the portal and raise him as his own. Holtz jumps through the portal, and as Angel tries to stop him a bolt of electricity hits him and throws him backwards. Stunned, Angel can only lay in the dirt, as he calls out Connor's name.
Angel finally accepts Connors fate a few weeks later, after he first tries to rescue his son from the hell dimention tearing a hole in the dimention that his son and Holtz are trapped in, but fails. Angel moves on with his life, trying to put his time with his son behind him... The tear that Angel made in the lobby of his hotel, to save his son, remains still open, and when a huge and powerful demon comes through that portal and attacks the group. The group all rush for weapons, but following the demon, a young boy drops through the portal and tackles the demon on his own, delivering it a fatal backhand that kills it. The boy turns to the stunned group and simply says "Hello Dad". The group now realize that the boy must be Connor. After a brief fight between the group and Connor, the child escapes out into the sunlight. Angel tries to follow but the group quickly drag him back inside. Eventually Angel tracks down a confused Connor, to a abandoned hotel where he finds that Holtz has raised him to think that he is his son, and has re-named him Stephen. The two talk and Angel tells his son that there will always be a room for him in his hotel, and with those last words, Connor/Stephen runs away. Connor comes back to the hotel a few hours later, and accompanies Angel to help a girl who is being attacked by a group of Vampires. The father and son team obliterate the pack of Vampires, and the two finally bond. Connor comes back to the hotel with Angel and he offers him a place to stay. To check if anything came out from the portal where Connor came from, Fred and Gunn make a tracking device to see if there is anything else on the streets of L.A. what they find is a elderly Holtz living in a rundown motel. Fred and Gunn tell Angel what they find and he goes to get answers from the man that stole his child. Angel arrives and Hotlz tells Angel that Connor gave his life purpose, and that from now on, and that he is old and has nothing to offer the boy. He also tells Angel that what he did, and every time he calls him father, he will be reminded of what he took and can never give back, and if that is vengeance, he has no taste for it. Holtz hands Angel a letter. Angel leaves, and Justine arrives. Holtz tells her that she said that he would do anything for him, and forces the ice pick that she holds in her hand into his throat, the two sink to the floor, and he orders her to stab him again, crying she does so. Connor arrives at the motel, but doesn't find Holtz; he rushes outside where he finds Justine lying in Holtz's lap. Connor looks at the two puncture wounds in his neck and hatefully says, "Angelus!" Connors mind is polluted by Justine's words, she tells him that Holtz only wanted to leave after talking to Angelus, Connor insists that it is his fault, and says that he will make Angelus pay... Connor appears at the hotel, whilst Angel is looking for a suitable room for him to stay, he hands Connor the letter from Holtz. Connor reads the letter, and things go from bad to worse, just as it seams that Angel’s life is finally coming together. Cordelia and Angel realize their love for each other, with the help of their friends, and the two arrange to meet, at a secluded spot on the beach. Angel arrives and after failing to get through to Cordelia on her cell phone, he turns to greet Connor, who attacks him from behind. Just as it seams that Angel has gotten the upper hand, Connor attacks Angel with a taser. Angel awakes in a metal box, and sees that Connor is about to seal him in the metal box. Angel tries to get through to his son, who is clearly brainwashed by Justine, he tells Angel that killing him isn’t good enough, he will get to live forever. They seal the box; Angel looks frantically out of the glass window of the box as Connor and Justine push him off the side of the boat, and sinks into the darkness of the ocean.