BACKGROUND: In the episode, "The Portents", it was revealed that the Legacy House had been built over a mystical gateway to Hell. This gateway had been sealed with a literal Portal. As the new millennium dawned, the Portal weakened. Agents of the Darkside attempted to breach the Portal, but the ghost of Kristin Adams sacrificed itself to re-seal the Portal.
Night, the cavern under the Legacy House: The seal on the Portal has once again been breached. Shadowy spirits escape and coalesce to form into small, hooded creatures.
Meanwhile, Derek is having a nightmare about the terrifying events surrounding the recovery of the 5th sepulcher, when the fallen angel Azazel had used Rachel as a vessel to be re-born into the world. The reborn Watcher had then attempted to open all of the sepulchers to release the other imprisoned angels. [These events were shown in the pilot movie.]
Derek awakes in a panic and runs to the Library. He finds it in shambles. As Derek begins to sort through the mess, one of the shadow spirits enters. A moment later, a text on Derek's desk bursts into flames. In horror, Derek exclaims, "My God! The translation!"
As Derek puts the flames out, he has another nightmarish vision about the sepulchers. Panicked, he gets Nick and Alex and runs to the cellar. Nothing seems amiss. The sepulchers are firmly encased in physical restraints that are bolted to stone ledges. Derek explains that he'd had a nightmare about the sepulchers, but since they're okay, the nightmares must have been caused by something else.
Unbeknownst to Derek, as he is speaking, the seal on the Portal grows even weaker as it is assaulted from within by hellish flames.
ACT ONE
The next morning, Alex is cleaning in the Library. Derek angrily kicks her out, telling her that he didn't want anyone else involved until he could figure out what is happening. Alex goes to the kitchen and complains to Nick about Derek's behavior. Nick goes to the Library to check on Derek himself. He finds Derek obsessively looking for a book called "The Testament of Golgotha". Derek asks Nick about their stock of the explosive, C4. When Nick says that they have 12 units, Derek says that they'll need four times that much. He instructs Nick to get more, but won't say why.
Nick and Alex call Rachel and tell her about Derek's aggressive, almost paranoid behavior, which Nick calls "Dr. Rayne's Wild Ride". Rachel notes that Derek's "behavior has been a bit extreme since Megan was killed." She decides to check on Derek herself.
Derek senses a presence in the Library and stares at his desk. He remembers seeing his dead father Winston alive again during Azazel's assault on the Legacy House. Winston's words had been chilling. "Did I not tell you that to live by the sword is to die by the sword?" As he is mulling over this memory, Rachel arrives.
Derek tells her that he is looking for the original copy of the "Testament of Golgotha". The book contained details the recovery of the 5th sepulcher. Rachel finds the book lying out in plain sight on Derek's desk. Derek has another memory/vision of Azazel. He curtly dismisses Rachel and tells her that they don't have time to waste.
In the Control Room, Nick and Alex do an Internet search on the "Testament of Golgotha". They learn that the rare, ancient text contains steps to prevent the coming of the Antichrist. As they are reading the material on the screen, a shadow spirit enters the room and completely destroys the computer system.
ACT TWO
Alex goes to tell Derek about the computer meltdown. On her way, she notices that the power is fluctuating in the hallway. She sees a spirit enter the Library. When she tells Derek, he is alarmed but seems too exhausted or depressed to react. Derek remembers stabbing and killing Winston, but then seeing his father's figure transform into Azazel's demonic child form. He tells Alex that, "everything is pointing in one direction." He dismisses her, but instructs her to ask Rachel to see him the following morning.
Rachel arrives the next day and finds him still sitting at the desk working on the translation. She asks if he got any sleep and an extraordinary expression crosses his face. He exclaims, "Sleep? I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
Derek apologizes for his behavior towards Rachel the day before. He confides that he'd had a nightmare about the sepulchers. He then asks for her forgiveness for ever involving her in the Legacy.
Rachel is supportive. "We can't escape our destiny any more than we can our past, Derek." She says that despite all of the bad times and the differences that they have had, she has no regrets. She chose this life in the Legacy for herself.
Derek says that he dreamed of his father's 'second' death, "the time that I killed him." Rachel is confused and asks him what he means. Derek describes Winston's first death. He tells Rachel that when he was sixteen, he witnessed a demon kill Winston after Winston unlocked the sepulcher. He'd never told anyone the truth about Winston's death until now.
He then tells her that the night that they'd fought Azazel, Winston had returned and Derek had been forced to kill him - thus Winston's "second" death. Rachel suggests that it was just the demon pretending to be Winston, but Derek replies, "No, it was him. He was in Hell all along. I just never knew it. Like all the other's I've known, in league with the Darkside."
Rachel is concerned about Derek's morale. "And you're afraid of what?" she asks. "That somehow you're going to succumb the same way your father did?"
Derek sounds profoundly depressed as he replies, "It's as if God's plan is some kind of cruel hoax, and God is the ultimate stand-up comedian...and death is the blackest joke of all."
"But you don't believe that!" Rachel exclaims.
"Don't I?" Derek says bitterly.
"No!" Rachel replies. "Because if you did you could not continue to carry the fight. You are the good soldier, Derek. The crusader!"
He replies darkly. "The crusader...seduced by the Legacy into a futile war of attrition."
"Not futile! Necessary!" Rachel counters.
"But no matter how many times I smite them, the forces of evil still keep coming back," Derek says hopelessly.
"True," Rachel acknowledges. "But did you ever think that they feel exactly the same way about you?"
For the first time in days, Derek smiles. They look at each other and start laughing.
Meanwhile, Alex has heard whispering and sensed an evil presence n the House. As she investigates, she is attacked by the shadow spirits which start to drag her away.
ACT THREE: Nick hears Alex screaming and runs to her rescue. The spirits flee as he approaches. Meanwhile, unseen by anyone, other shadow spirits are stealing the sepulchers.
Derek takes Rachel, Alex, and Nick outside by the griffon statue. He tells that them that the "Testament of Golgotha" foretells the imminent end of the world. Armeggedon will occur as the new millennium dawns. As proof, he notes that the text foretold the death of "The Chosen One", who died so that others may live. Kristin had called herself "The Chosen One". She sacrificed her spirit to seal the Portal. [As seen in the episode, "The Portents".]
Fortunately, the "Testament of Golgotha" also includes a ritual to re-consecrate the House and seal the Portal for another 1000 years. Derek plans to use the rituals to prevent the coming of the Antichrist. However, they will need the Rosicrucian Cross for the ceremony. The Cross had been left in the cavern during the fight with Father Elias ["The Portents"]. Derek and Alex go to the cavern and search for it. While there, Derek tells Alex that if this plan fails, he will destroy the House itself to seal the Portal. "Demolition is the last resort. But if this plan fails, we try plastique."
Alex is shocked. She cannot imagine the House being destroyed and insists that there must be another way. Derek smiles at her fondly and says, "Alex, always the optimist, always able to find good in the worst of it, no matter what." He becomes reflective. "How long have we been together?"
"Too long," she says bitterly. She turns away to hide her reaction from him. "I don't know, since grad school, when you were my advisor."
"And you were my most promising student," he finishes, fondly. As he gazes at her, he becomes sad. "If something were to happen to me, where would you go? Would you stay?"
"With the Legacy? I don't know. Are you planning on leaving?" Alex asks him.
"Me?" He laughs. "Don't be silly. Where would I go? No, but I really think you need to find someone."
Alex is getting increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation. "Well I...tried. It didn't work out."
Derek is surprised. "Well look at you. You're young...beautiful. If you hadn't been my student I would have asked you out myself."
"Now I know you're lying," Alex says. She finds the Cross and Derek joins her on the ground.
Shyly, Derek asks, "So, who was he...the man you fell in love with?"
"Can we not talk about this Derek?" Alex snaps. She tries to explain. "It would never have worked out. He was already married."
Now Derek is embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Forget it," Alex says. "The truth is, I love it here. Despite the insane hours, this...this is home. Rachel, Nick and you - you're like family and I couldn't imagine myself any place else."
"Neither could I," Derek replies.
Alex cannot help herself. She kisses Derek, but then gets embarrassed and quickly pulls away. "I guess we should be getting back upstairs."
"Yeah." Derek is amazed as he finally realizes the truth: Alex was in love with him.
Derek and Alex join Rachel back up in the House. He pours holy water over the Cross, chants, "In Nomine Domine," and splashes the water onto the wall. They are all horrified to see the wall burst into flame. The House itself has become saturated with Evil. Derek instructs Alex and Rachel to go room to room and re-consecrate the entire House. If that doesn't work, they will have to destroy it.
ACT FOUR: That evening, Winston Rayne appears in Derek's bedroom and calls to him. Derek is shocked to see his father. Though the specter looks like Winston, he like speaks with an oddly distorted voice. "Yes, it's me," Winston assures Derek.
"Back from Hell?" Derek asks him.
"Derek... Derek, look at me," Winston says. "You and I are like two sides of a single coin, good and evil wrapped as one. No man can escape."
"You and I have nothing in common," Derek adamantly replies.
"Of course we do," Winston says. 'You're my son, the product of evil. You cannot escape your own destiny. Join me now. Share the power."
"Never!" Derek grabs an ax from the wall but before he can use it, Winston disappears in flames. Nick arrives as Derek puts out the flames. Derek tells him that Winston had appeared. He changes the subject and asks Nick about the explosives. Nick says that they now have enough C4 to seal the Portal for 1000 years.
Nick unpacks the C4 as Rachel and Alex conduct the re-consecration ceremony. Alex says that the ceremony has to work. She doesn't think that she can face the alternative if the ceremony fails and they have to destroy the House. Derek arrives and gives them all wireless transmitters to wear so that they can all keep in touch as they finish their work. He and Nick will plant the explosives while Alex and Rachel continue the re-consecration ritual.
Derek and Nick distribute the C4 in the cavern around the Portal. Derek watches Nick for a moment and then solemnly attempts to give Nick his Precept's Ring. "Listen, Nick, before things get out of hand, I want to give you this."
"Your Precept's Ring?" Nick is confused and won't take the Ring.
"On the chance that this turns out badly, I want you to have it," Derek insists.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asks angrily.
Derek is persistent. "Should anything happen to me, I would like it to fall to you."
"Nothing's going to happen to you," Nick says angrily.
Derek holds out the Ring a second time. "All the same, just take it." Nick refuses and asks why he should take it.
Derek withdraws the Ring and gets reflective. "Seeing my Father alive again - or at least what looked like him - made me realize that soon my life too will be over. I never had a son, but if I did, I would like to think that he would have been like you."
"This is crazy!" Nick says angrily. "Why are you talking like this?"
"Because soon there won't be time!" Derek exclaims. "You remember the first day we met Rachel in Ireland?"
"The day the demon attacked her," Nick says. After a pause he adds, "The day that Julia died."
Derek says, "That day I knew that I was right about you, and I knew that eventually this day would come." He places his Ring in Nick's hand and then closes his own hands around Nick's. "Until this day is lost or won."
Derek turns and starts to walk away. "Derek?" Nick calls. "I just want you to know: I didn't sign on to lose." He holds up the Ring. "When this is over, you can expect this back." Derek nods and leaves.
Derek calls Alex out into the garden by the griffon. He asks her to show him where she put the Cross. She doesn't understand why he suddenly wants to see it, and seems irritated by the request. Still, she complies and kneels to retrieve the Cross from its hiding place within the griffon statue.
While she is distracted, Derek says, "Listen. There's something I want to tell you. Something I should have said a long time ago. Maybe if I'd allowed myself to be a little more human, we might have had something."
Alex frowns. "What are you talking about, Derek? You sound like we're saying goodbye. Anyway, here's the cross." As she begins to turn, he sprays her with a knockout gas.
He gently lowers her to the ground and gazes at her sadly. "We are saying goodbye," he says softly to the unconscious woman. Derek kisses her and then leaves.
He lures the others outside by telling them that Alex had been attacked in the Garden. Once Rachel and Nick are safely out of the House, Derek bolts the door to prevent them from returning. He sees one of the spirits and chases it to the cavern. He is horrified to see that all of the sepulchers have been assembled in a ritual circle at the base of the Portal.
Derek immediately holds up the Rosicrucian Cross and begins the consecration ceremony. Winston attempts to stop him, but Derek defiantly waves the Cross at him.
Winston merely scoffs at Derek. "After all that's happened, do you really think that you can stop me!" Winston's voice sounds even more distorted than it had earlier.
"You're not my father!" Derek exclaims.
"Oh, but I am," Winston replies. "And you're my son."
"Never!" Derek yells.
"If you deny me, you deny yourself. Who am I, if not your father?" Winston asks.
"The face of evil," Derek hisses back.
This enrages Winston, who snarls and knocks the Cross out of Derek's hand. He knocks Derek to the ground and leaps on him. "Look around you! There's evil everywhere, in every face you see. And mine is the one you should fear the most!"
Derek finds the Cross and struggles to bring it to Winston's face. "In Nomine Domine!" he yells at Winston.
As the two men struggle, Nick and Rachel revive Alex. They realize that Derek tricked them all to keep them away from the Portal. Nick calls Derek on the transmitter to say that he's coming in to help.
"No, I'm coming out!" Derek exclaims as he holds Winston at bay with the Cross.
"You cannot do this," Winston says.
"But I can!" Derek says defiantly. "The Testament of Golgotha is my strength! In Nomine Domine! With this Cross, I defend this house, driving before me all that is evil!"
"Do not deceive yourself!" Winston exclaims. "You cannot win!"
"Re-sealing the Portal for 1000 years!" Derek continues. "God give me strength to do what I have to do!"
Winston magically snatches the Cross from Derek's hands. He laughs as he holds it upside down in a mockery of the consecration ceremony. Derek is obviously shocked by this unexpected turn of events.
"Did you really think that I'd let you win, huh?" Winston taunts him. "The prayer, the translation...Merely diversions to allow me time to gather the sepulchers." He steps into the sepulcher circle and beams of energy pour from the sepulchers. "Behold the true source of power! For one last time - join us!"
"Never!" Derek yells.
Winston begins to chant. "Satanas resurgat et sic finis mundi!" (Satan rises again and thus ends the world. )
"Go to Hell!" Derek says defiantly. He shows Winston the C4 trigger just as the timer flips over to zero.
"No!" Winston screams.
Everything explodes at once...the Portal, the cavern...the entire House immolates in a massive inferno. Nick, Alex, and Rachel cower outside in the Garden and watch as the House is demolished. In a matter of seconds, the entire structure is consumed by flames.
Alex, Nick, and Rachel stare at the blaze in stunned, horrified silence. Each of them realizes that Derek has sacrificed his life to save them...and all of mankind. Though they are too stunned to speak, each of them reflects on Derek's loss.