Synopsis of Happy Anniversary
Written by TK
The hotel
Angel is staring out a window at the city of Los Angeles.
The new agency office
Wesley and Cordelia are going through the trash left by previous occupants. They wonder if they can actually pull this off. Gunn comes in having left advertising flyers on all the cars in the area. The find out the phone doesn't work. While Wesley is trying to fix the phone, he cuts off all the electricity.
The hotel
Angel wakes up to the sound of someone singing the Star Spangled Banner. He comes downstairs and finds the Karaoke bar Host singing in the lobby of the hotel, enjoying the acoustics. The Host tells Angel that the world is going to end tomorrow night. In his own long round-about way, the Host explains that this unremarkable guy came in and sang at the Karaoke club last night, and what the Host saw made him pass out. When the Host woke up, the singer was gone. Basically, the unremarkable guy didn't have a future after 10pm tomorrow night... and neither does anyone else. The Host tells Angel that they have to find this guy and stop him from doing whatever it is he's going to do that makes the world end. Angel wonders why the guy left after singing instead of waiting to hear his fortune, and he and the Host surmise that maybe the guy was just there to sing Karaoke. They decide to look for him at other Karaoke bars.
A local university, physics lab
Unremarkable guy, Gene, is staring at white board, while a man and a woman, Mike and Val, work in an adjoining room separated from Gene's lab by a big glass window. Mike comments that "someone forgot to wind time boy." Val says Gene's just thinking. When Mike continues to make fun of Gene, Val defends him, reminding Mike that Gene's work on the time paradox earned him a Nobel nomination. Val walks into the other room to talk to Gene. Gene talks about how space and time are intertwined, and how he wants to be able to freeze a section of time in one place forever. He describes an experiment where he uses a laser and a drop of mercury and tries to freeze the liquid mercury in time. Gene's girlfriend, Denise, a physicist turned actress, comes in to get Val and gives Gene a kiss. They talk about celebrating their one-year anniversary tomorrow night. Denise and Val walk out together, Denise reminding Gene not to work all night. As they walk out the door, Val tells Denise she's sure Gene will be working all night.
Scummy Karaoke bar
Angel and the Host are tired after checking seventeen Karaoke bars and not finding Gene. They end up chatting with the friendly bartender and he mentions that a lot of students, mostly grad students, come into this bar 'cause it's near the university. The Host thinks Gene could have been a grad student, so he describes him to the bartender who thinks that the guy sounds familiar. The Host gets the bartender to sing a few lines of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" so that he can see the picture of the guy in the bartender's mind, and indeed, it's Gene. The Host and Angel decide to look around the university for him.
Gene's lab
Gene is working on his theory. He runs the mercury experiment. It doesn't work. He gets frustrated and leaves the lab. Some zombie-like looking demons emerge from their hiding place and talk about how he's the one, and he will make humanity go back to the nothingness from which it came. One demon uses a staff with a glowing red sphere on it to change part of the equation on the white board.
The new agency office
Our heroes are sitting there wallowing in their misery without lights or phones. Virginia comes in and tells them about a rich family she knows that needs a demon gotten rid of. They're excited for the job. Virginia mentions that the eldest son of the family has already died.
University
Gene comes back into his lab and sees the new equation. He tries the experiment again. It works, the liquid mercury freezes in time in mid air. He runs out screaming Yee Ha!
University library
Angel and the Host check out yearbooks and other student/faculty publications to find Gene. The zombie-like demons see them.
University park bench
Val and Denise are talking. Denise admits that she doesn't think it's going to work out with Gene. Gene overhears their conversation. Denise tells Val how Gene is supposed to cook her dinner tonight for their one-year anniversary. Val correctly predicts that Denise is going to give Gene one last sympathy bone before dumping him.
University library
The host finds Gene in one of the books. Angel finds out where Gene's lab is, but gets attacked by one of the zombie-like demons.
Gene's lab
Gene returns to the liquid mercury still frozen in space and time. He's depressed, and looks at a picture of himself with Denise. He decides he'll make their love last.
University library
Angel fights off the zombie-like demon. The Host yells out something in the demon's language, and the demon yells something back before running away. The Host tells Angel that he told the demon that they come in peace, and the demon yelled something about not destroying the Golden Child. The Host says that was a Lubber demon. Lubbers are known for waiting for the messiah to usher in the end of human life. Angel and the Host run for Gene's lab.
Gene's lab
Gene packs up his equipment.
Later, Gene's lab
Angel and the Host arrive. They find Mike, mystified that Gene's equipment is gone. Mike explains what Gene was working on and how it works. He also explains that if the field were improperly contained, it could leak out and stop everything. They realize that Gene was the one who took the equipment because only Gene has keys to the lab.
Gene's home
Gene is setting up a larger version of his experiment in his own bedroom, centered around the bed.
Angel's car
The Host and Angel are driving to Gene's place. The Host tries to give Angel a little counseling on the way, but Angel doesn't want to hear it. Angel tries to explain why he fired his employees and why he's gotten so cold-hearted lately. Suddenly, they hit a Lubber demon. They stop the car and get out, and suddenly Lubber demons are coming from behind every building, tree and garbage can around them. There must be at least twenty-five of them, and they're armed.
Gene's home
Denise arrives.
Rich people's house
The demon is dead and Wesley solves the complicated mystery of which family member was actually controlling the demon so as to get rid of the eldest son.
At Angel's parked car
Angel fights off the Lubber demons. The Host uses his high-pitched voice to stun the demons and help.
Gene's home
Gene and Denise are finishing up dinner. Denise is obviously nervous.
At Angel's car
Angel fights off some more Lubber demons and he and the Host take off in the car.
Gene's home
Gene and Denise retire to the bedroom.
Outside Gene's home
Angel and the Host use the presence of more Lubber demons to figure out where they have to go to prevent the disaster.
Gene and Denise are making love, and Gene activates his device.
A nearby Lubber demon messes with it to make the time bubble expand. Angel attacks the Lubber demon and manages to unplug the whole device before the frozen time bubble reaches him.
The time bubble retracts and Gene is surprised to find himself and Denise back in normal time. Denise tells Gene that they have to talk.
Gene's home
Gene apologizes to Angel and the Host for putting the whole world in jeopardy. The Host tries to get Angel to open up and be supportive of Gene. When Gene goes to get them all some beers, Angel realizes he was kind of harsh to his employees.
The new agency office
Cordy, Wesley and Gunn are partying to celebrate their first success. A guy walks in looking for help. He asks which one of them is Angel. Wesley says it's just a name.
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