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In an effort to learn what is happening to Patrick, the group has gone to see Lorne.
One look at Patrick and Lorne is able to confirm the group's suspicions, namely that his absorption
of his evil self's essence has "unbalanced" his own essence. Lorne's empathic senses also
pick up on changes in Ethan's and Lauren's auras. In Ethan he sees an increase in death energy
surrounding him, something Ethan attributes to his close encounter with the hundreds of spirits on
Halloween. Lauren's problems seems to have something to do with her link to the Powers That Be.
Lauren notes that she hasn't had a vision from the PTB since before Randolph altered reality with
the Oracle Gem.
Lorne and Dana put together a mystic ritual to detect Lauren's link to the Powers, and
only manage to find that it doesn't seem to be there anymore (Lauren's telekinetic abilities are
unaffected, though). The initial theory is that the link vanished because reality changed,
although the fact that Ethan (whose memory was affected by the alteration) remembers Lauren having the
visions means that she still had them in the new reality but has somehow lost them. The group begins
to suspect Wolfram & Hart, but the question there is whether or not they knew about Randolph's plan
to alter history. Seeking the quick answer, Ethan calls Alexandra Morelli at W & H and asks her
about Randolph. When Alexandra professes no knowledge of anyone by that name, Ethan is willing to accept
that Wolfram & Hart may not have know what Randolph did.
The mystery surrounding Lauren's missing connection with the Powers is put aside for
the moment and the group's attention goes back to Patrick. Still unsure how, or even if, Patrick was
responsible for the deaths he saw in his dreams, the group does decide they need to remove the evil
essence that Patrick had absorbed. Dana is unsure if it is even possible, as they do not want to remove
Patrick's essence but just a certain portion. All she does know is that, unfortunately, whatever means
is used will probably have to involve the mystic knife that caused the problem in the first place.
While Dana goes off to research how to perform the "soul-ectomy" on Patrick,
Lauren and Ethan head off to their respective jobs. At work, Lauren discovers the up side to not having
the visions anymore, as her improved job performance has been noticed by her boss. He mentions to her
that there are several new positions within the company she should try for now that Lauren seems to
have her "seizures" under control. Ethan also has a meeting with his boss that day, but his
does not go as well. It seems the staff at the clinic had noticed the higher than normal amount of
prescription drugs going missing so a new security system was installed. Ethan's boss plays a security
tape that clearly shows Ethan taking the drugs from the supply closet. Ethan is fired on the spot and
warned that he may face criminal charges, depending on what the clinic's lawyers say. Ethan heads home,
resisting the urge to take the few remaining drugs he has, but his resistance crumbles when he gets to
his apartment only to discover that his girlfriend, Tina, has broken up with him on his answering machine.
Ethan searches the apartment for what few prescription drugs remain after his last bender. He takes the
pills and, contrary to the warnings on the bottles, washes them down with alcohol.
That night Patrick goes on patrol, accompanied by Jalen to make sure nothing goes wrong.
The night is mostly uneventful, outside of an easily handled encounter with some vampires. The pair
return to the house in the early hours to find that Dana has pulled an all-nighter in the house's
basement occult library. Her efforts have paid off, though, as Dana has managed to confirm that it is
possible to remove the evil essence from Patrick, though it may be beyond her skills at the moment.
The good news is dampened by a call from Patrick's ex-partner, Frank Brigham. Frank has just seen a
report of a home invasion where a family of three was tortured and killed. Witnesses report seeing a
car similar to Patrick's in the area as well as someone matching Patrick's description. While the
others try and figure out what to do next, Dana heads home to get some rest before going on a shopping
trip. After she has rested up, Dana heads to the apothecary shop. When the alchemist who works
there sees her shopping list he asks Dana what she is up to. When she explains, he agrees that it is a
difficult task but he thinks he knows someone who can help, a Lakota shaman named Sky Walker (no Star
Wars jokes, please). They contact the shaman, who agrees to help but says he'll need a day to prepare.
He gives Dana a shopping list and a time and place to meet him.
That night the group wonders what to do about Patrick. Eventually they decide that Patrick
should be sedated and tied down to his bed to prevent him from leaving that night. Lauren will stay in the
house to keep an eye on Patrick and Jalen will go patrol. While patrolling, Jalen spots what looks like
Patrick's car. He follows it to an alley behind a fancy hotel, and sees that it looks like Patrick is the
one behind the wheel. "Patrick" heads to the back of the hotel and rips a locked door open, a
clear sign that whoever this is he has Patrick's strength. Jalen stealthily follows up to the seventh floor
where he finds one of the room doors ajar. His efforts to sneak in to the room are pointless as he hears
Patrick's voice inside inviting him in. Inside Jalen sees that Patrick has the room's occupant, a middle-aged
man in pyjamas, in a choke hold. Jalen makes a fast attempt to take out Patrick by throwing a shuriken through
his eye, but Patrick deflects the weapon with his sword, and follows it up by snapping his hostage's neck.
Jalen knows he has little chance of taking out Patrick in this situation so he throws down a smoke pellet and
runs, racing down the stairs to try and get to Patrick's car. Patrick beats Jalen downstairs by sliding down
an elevator shaft and takes off in the car, but not before Jalen manages to throw another shuriken, this time
embedding it in the car's rear bumper.
While all of this was going on Lauren had discovered that Patrick had vanished from the house.
She had tried to call Jalen, but there was no answer (as the ninja was obviously occupied). Next Lauren calls
Dana, who gets her to check on Patrick's car, which Lauren discovers is also missing. When Jalen finally
calls to report he confirms what they feared, that it was Patrick who was somehow responsible for all those
deaths. As the sun rises, Patrick awakens to find himself behind the wheel of his car, parked behind a
McDonalds somewhere in LA. When he calls in the others can only tell them what Jalen had reported, and Patrick
confirms by saying that he sees the shuriken in the car's bumper. Even though he has no memory of doing
anything, he must be responsible. Patrick heads back to the house, hoping that Dana and the shaman will be
able to stop whatever is happening to him.
Meanwhile at Wolfram & Hart, the morning status meeting is underway. Travis McCauley,
brandishing photos of Ethan taken from the security tape, reports that Mr. Marsh is no longer a threat.
Alexandra Morelli, looking though a file marked Cassandra Project notes that the group's connection
to the Powers That Be has been diverted. And finally, Andrew Cross arrives and informs the other two that
Patrick has been dealt with.
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