---

Rome, 1771

Angelus is on the run through a network of underground tunnels, pursued by torch bearing priests. Every turn he takes, he finds more priests waiting for him. He finally tears a grate away that's blocking the entrance to another section, steps through, replaces the grate then slips and falls the remainder of the way down the tunnel into an antechamber where more priests are waiting.

The doors are flung open, sunlight streams in causing Angelus to throw himself back from the entrance as he's singed. A man on horseback rides through the doors into the room. It's Holtz.

Holtz dismounts, the door is closed behind him. He offers his thanks to the Monsignor, kisses his ring and tells him he's indebted to him.

The Monsignor assures him he owes him nothing for his help in trapping the beast that killed Holtz's family. He instructs the priests to hold him as they chain Angelus.

Holtz approaches Angelus and tells him the Monsignor married him to his wife Caroline. He wonders if Angelus remembers her.

Angelus recalls she was a lovely woman, a "hearty screamer."

Holtz is undeterred. He informs Angelus the Monsignor had since been excommunicated. The "Inquisitore" order he founded stands by the old beliefs, they're very good at their work. Holtz figures it's time to begin. He takes a metal hook shaped implement and drags the sharp end of it across Angelus' neck.

Angelus proves to be a fairly hearty screamer himself.

After what appears to have been a long night of work, Holtz resting briefly, taking a drink.

The Monsignor is pacing, praying.

Holtz tells Angelus he lost his trail in North Africa but he figured he'd return to Europe. He was a bit surprised by the choice of Rome, however.

Holtz approaches Angelus who is now chained by his wrists which are stretched over his head, secured to something above. He wonders why Angelus would choose to come to the Holy City.

Angelus replies that it was Darla's idea. She's fond of the Sistine Chapel, Bottacelli's frescoes. Her favorite being "The Temptation of Christ." Angelus figures it's because of the leper. He asks Holtz what he wants.

Holtz has picked up another implement of torture. A large 3-pronged fork with curved, sharp teeth. He assures Angelus he doesn't really want anything. His family is gone. He doesn't believe Angelus will give up Darla, but Holtz assures him he will find her. His only interest now is in discovering if a "thing" like Angelus can be made to pay for what it has done. He rams the pronged tool into Angelus' gut.

Holtz knows it's the nature of a demon to maim and kill but he also knows Angelus was a man once. He wonders if there would be anything left if they "beat and burned" the demon out of him. He figures not, but he's willing to put in the time to find out. He doesn't think it matters anyway since the demon has no soul, it's beyond saving.

A flaming arrow flies through the air, impaling one of the priests.

Darla offers her apologies to Angelus for taking so long to get there. She instructs her vampire companions to kill everyone. She takes a shot at Holtz with another flaming arrow, nailing him in the arm. He falls to the ground.

As the vamps fight with the priests, Darla heads for Angelus.

The Monsignor stands in front of her, brandishing a large cross. She throws him across the room.

The door is pulled down from the inside by one of the vamps. A cart is driven in from the bright sunlight of the day.

Darla frees Angelus as a couple of the minion vamps assist him to the cart.

Holtz crawls toward a weapon on the ground.

Darla knocks him away from it then joins Angelus in the cart. He wonders if she shouldn't just kill Holtz.

Darla prefers the entertainment of ruining his life. After all, "he's like family now." She and Angelus embrace as one of the minions covers them with a blanket and the cart is driven out into the light of day.

---

LA, Present

Darla tells a bus driver to pull over. When the bus comes to a stop, she thanks him for the ride.

The shaken driver looks behind him after Darla makes her exit. There are a handful of passengers on the bus. One woman is shaking and crying, the others appear to be dead.

The driver picks up his radio and frantically calls for help as Darla casually strolls away.

---

At the hotel, Cordelia is arranging flowers in the workout room.

Angel enters, notices the flowers, wonders what that's about.

Cordelia thought she'd add some color of nature to the room since he can't enjoy sunlit fields.

Angel picks up some of the flowers, smells them, notes they're fake.

Cordelia explains that living things would die in that dark place. She wonders if he's ready to do the training thing.

Apparently she's mastered swordsmanship and has moved onto martial arts now. Angel reminds her how to balance her weight properly as she punches and kicks him.

He blocks her, for the most part.

She gets one solid punch through to his face. She asks if he's okay.

He assures her she can't hurt him. He turns away from her, puts his hand to his face with an expression that says, 'ouch'.

Cordelia thinks his mind is elsewhere because of a prophecy Wes and Gunn are working to locate. She figures Angel thinks the end of the world is coming.

Angel assures her he doesn't believe that as he reminds her there's always an ancient scroll somewhere predicting the arrival of something terrible. He says he's seen three of these prophecies in his life and none of them came to pass.

Cordelia wonders why Wes and Gunn are currently engaged in breaking and entering if there's nothing to worry about.

Angel isn't fond of the characterization. He explains it as Wes and Gunn simply recovering some missing parts to the "Nyazian scroll" to make sure.

Cordelia figures all they can do is live each moment and be grateful they didn't invest heavily in the stock market.

Angel's concern is whether his face is swelling where she punched him.

---

Wes and Gunn approach the outside of a large, hilltop estate. Wes tells Gunn the guard dogs are eating, the alarms and video systems have been disabled. He details his plan to cut a hole in the glass of the window, send a mini camera through the opening and survey the area. If it's clear, they'll disable the side door locks and bolts.

Gunn is only half listening as he walks over to the door and pushes it open.

Wes is a bit surprised by that as he gathers his burglar tools and follows Gunn inside.

They open the door to a large room filled with artifacts. Gunn is startled by a severed demon head, encased in glass.

Wes lifts the lid off of a container, smells the contents, replaces the lid. He wonders where they should look for the pieces of the scroll.

Gunn figures since it's extremely valuable, the vault is the logical place to search.

Wes points out Gunn's informant didn't mention anything about a vault.

Gunn informs Wes there's a guy standing behind them armed with a gun pointed in their direction.

Wes turns to see the man with the gun who warns them if they move, he'll shoot. He picks up the phone and starts to make a call.

Wes is hoping he's calling the police.

The man assures him that's exactly what he's doing.

Wes thinks that's a good idea and suggests the man be prepared to explain why he keeps such a large supply of Rohypnol on hand.

The guy hasn't a clue what Wes is talking about.

Wesley walks over to the container, the contents of which he'd sniffed earlier, and points out that chemically, the concoction is the same as the date rape drug.

The guy decides he won't call the cops after all, at least not until after he kills them.

Gunn picks up a handful of orbs and asks if they're valuable.

The guy nervously informs him the conjuring spheres are very valuable.

Gunn starts juggling the spheres.

The guy orders him to put them down.

Gunn offers to do it but only if the guy drops his weapon. He lets one of the spheres hit the floor and shatter, noting they're kind of fragile. He continues juggling the others, telling the guy they're not thieves, they're investigators, they just want to look at the scroll remnants.

The guy puts his weapon down and agrees.

---

Fred comes downstairs into the training room as Angel and Cordelia finish up for the day. He figures she's had enough.

Cordy offers that she could go longer but she'd have to ice her entire body if she did. She heads upstairs.

Fred is reminded of a word she learned in Pylea, "kyerumption."

Angel asks her what it means.

Fred explains it's when "two heroes meet on a field of battle and recognize their fate." She's reminded of it when she watches Angel and Cordelia training.

Angel isn't sure what she's talking about.

She thinks it's natural he and Cordelia would be "drawn to each other." She excitedly notices the plastic flowers, saying they're her favorite because they never die.

Angel assures her there is nothing going on between Cordelia and himself.

Fred thinks it's an attraction thing.

Angel tells her Cordelia is a friend, just someone he works with.

Fred's back on the "kyerumption" thing.

Angel demands she stop using that word.

Wesley comes downstairs and asks what's going on.

Angel answers, a little too quickly, nothing is going on.

Wes informs him curtly that Fred's had a difficult enough time without people yelling at her.

Fred assures him it didn't mean anything.

Angel asks if Wesley came downstairs for a reason.

Wes tells Fred he and Gunn were hoping she'd assist them with the scroll translation. They need her math skills.

Fred agrees and goes upstairs.

Wes looks around and notices the flowers. He asks who provided them.

Angel responds quickly, "Nobody."

---

Fred is in the office working on the computer.

Gunn asks how she's progressing.

She rambles on in response, explaining the calendar cycle differences of various cultures.

Angel comes into the lobby and watches Cordelia who is sitting at her desk.

Fred thinks she's on the right track, then realizes she isn't since the world didn't end last spring.

Gunn asks Wes if they're looking for an event or a being.

Wes doesn't know. He explains that the prophecy foretells the coming of the "tro-clon", a being that brings about the "ruination of mankind."

Gunn figures it's both then, a being and an event.

Wes says he isn't clear on the translation, what he's translated as "ruination" may be "purification." Depending on which language, it can mean either or both.

Cordelia points out Wes wants to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Fred asks what that's about.

Wes explains his misinterpretation of "shanshu" in a previous scroll relating to Angel ("To Shanshu in LA"). He thought it meant "to die" and he told Angel that.

Cordelia clarifies that he told Angel he was going to die.

Wes says he then discovered it also means "to live."

Fred asks which is right.

Wes finishes the exposition, telling Fred it means both, that one day the vampire in Angel may die and the human in him may live.

Angel discreetly listens in as Fred ponders the possibility he might some day be a "normal man." She wonders what they'll do if that happens.

Cordelia's idea is to "buy him some plaid shirts and take him to the beach", noting he could use "some color."

Fred thinks she's come up with something working on the mathematics, then isn't so sure. She tells the others if her calculations are right, the "bad thing" should already have arrived in LA. She offers to check her math again.

---

Cordy has returned to her desk in the lobby. Angel sits across from her, picks up a book and stares at her.

She asks why he's looking at her.

He says no particular reason as he looks down at the book then back at Cordelia as she goes back to her work.

Cordelia gets up and comes over to Angel, pours herself some coffee and lets him know she's getting a little creeped out by his staring.

Angel says he was just considering how people relate, like the two of them for example. They're very different, her being human, him being a vampire, her being a woman, him being a "man ... pire."

Cordelia wonders if someone spiked his blood with vodka because he's not making sense to her.

He laughs at that, awkwardly, starts to mention her sense of humor.

Cordelia cuts him off and asks him matter-of-factly if he's trying to tell her he loves her.

Angel is taken aback by that.

Cordelia assures him she loves him too.

Angel starts to ask when that --

Cordelia calls out to the others telling them "Angel loves me, I love him!"

Angel is too stunned to say much.

Cordelia doesn't get why he's acting the way he is. She shouts, "You guys love us and we love you!"

The others shout from the back office in unison, "We love you, Angel."

Cordy explains they were all just saying this to each other earlier, in case the prophecy comes to pass and they all die. She's hoping Angel didn't want to hug.

He assures her he didn't.

Cordy goes back to her desk, noting they've all been through a lot together.

Angel says that's all he was really trying to say. They've dealt with a lot, Cordelia has seen the good and not so good.

She assures him the good outweighs the bad.

He thanks her for that.

She asks, "What are friends for?"

Darla has entered the hotel. She answers Cordelia's rhetorical question, "If you ask me they're for knocking you up and leaving you high and dry." She stands on the landing, drops her bag and greets Angel with a sultry, "Hello, lover."

---

Everyone has now joined Angel, Cordy and Darla in the lobby, equally shocked to see Darla's current condition.

Fred asks who Darla is.

Gunn explains she's an old flame of Angel's.

Fred wonders if it's the one who died.

Gunn tells her it's the other one who died and came back to life, she's a vampire.

Fred wonders if this is written down somewhere to help her keep track.

Gunn says there's a file, he'll show her later.

Angel asks Darla when "this" occurred.

She figures he already knows exactly when it happened as she walks into the hotel, approaching him.

Cordelia asks Angel if he and Darla --

Angel looks at Darla, he knows her condition is impossible.

Darla assures "daddy" she knows that too, but here it is.

Cordelia asks Angel if he slept with Darla.

Angel answers vampires can't have children. He looks to Wes who confirms that's true, it isn't possible.

Cordelia reminds Angel that wasn't the question.

Darla tells Angel they both know it's not possible to create a child, but somehow it seems to be in this case because they did.

Fred wonders if this is the "bad thing" that was supposed to rise.

Darla wants to know what Angel did to her. She punches him hard across the face, knocking him back.

Cordelia gets between them and tells Angel to stop.

Angel assures her he's okay.

He's not the one Cordy cares about. She's afraid Darla will get hurt. She figures Angel's done enough damage as she assists Darla to the poof couch, suggesting she get off her feet for awhile. She asks someone to get Darla some water.

Fred leaves to fetch some.

Angel reminds her it's Darla, it's probably not wise to get too close.

Cordelia reminds him he told her he wouldn't do this with Darla.

Darla is amused he lied, but not surprised.

Fred brings a glass of water, offers it to Darla and introduces herself. She wonders if Darla would prefer blood.

Darla doesn't say anything, just takes the glass.

Angel apologizes for lying, trying to explain it was a dark time.

Cordelia isn't interested, she figures he just used Darla to make himself feel better, she doesn't see that as very heroic.

Angel says it wasn't like that, it wasn't planned, it just happened. It's not like he went "evil" --

Cordelia cuts him off with, "you just went male." She gently pushes Darla's hair away from her face and asks if she's seen a doctor.

Darla says she's been to every seer and shaman she could find.

Wes asks what she found out.

Darla answers that nobody knows what it means, this has never happened before.

Angel suggests maybe it's a "hysterical pregnancy".

Darla sharply wonders if he'd like to feel it kick.

Cordelia asks if it kicks a lot. She wonders what they can do to help.

Darla suggests they find out what's happening to her and how they can stop it.

Cordy wonders if Angel is going to take any responsibility for the situation.

Angel assures her he will as he instructs Wes to hit the books and see if he can discover what's going on.

Wes picks up a book, opens it and notes he's found it.

Angel walks over to look at the book as Wes pretends to read from it, saying he has no idea what's happening. He suggests a visit to Lorne.

---

At Caritas, Lorne is directing the redecorating of the club. The Furies are in the process of casting the sanctuary spell.

Lorne asks one of the demon workmen, Arney, why he's charging so much more than his original estimate.

The demon explains that things ended up being more complicated than he'd originally thought and he wants only the best for Caritas.

Lorne's attention is drawn to Angel calling his name as he and the others escort Darla into the club.

The Furies herald Angel's arrival with their "Mmmm, Angel" chant.

Cordelia introduces them to Darla as more of Angel's "chippies". Cordy hopes the Furies practice birth control.

Angel looks uncomfortably at at the Furies and asks Lorne why they're there.

Lorne explains they are present to recast the sanctuary spell to prevent violence and this time it will cover both demons and humans.

Cordy assists Darla in sitting down at one of the tables.

Lorne says he's reopening the club. He's over his bitter period. He looks at Darla and asks what happened.

Darla figures it should be obvious.

Cordelia responds with, "Angel boned her."

Angel is defensive about that, saying it was just the once.

Lorne gives him a look.

Angel concedes it was two or three times during the one night.

Fred asks if Angel is going to sing.

Wes figures that's going to be necessary but he's clearly not looking forward to it.

Cordy points out Darla is the one who's pregnant.

Darla gets up, grabs Lorne, sort of sings three words of "Oh Danny boy" and asks Lorne what's inside of her.

Lorne tells her there's no need to sing as Cordelia assists Darla back to the chair. Lorne directs the workers to wrap for the day.

As the Furies depart, they bid Angel farewell and tell him they hope he visits them soon.

Lorne says this is all a bit beyond him, if it's alive --

Darla assures him it is alive and kicking as she groans in pain.

Gunn offers perhaps it's some kind of super vampire.

Wes mentions the prophecy foretelling the coming of the "tro-clon".

Fred adds it's supposed to arrive soon.

Lorne's familiar with the term, something "born out of darkness to bring darkness."

Angel isn't thrilled to consider his child the scourge of humanity.

Darla groans again.

Cordelia informs the others they're upsetting her. She thinks Darla could use some rest.

Lorne offers his room as he guides Darla toward the back of the bar.

Angel starts to follow but Cordy cuts him off, letting him know they don't need his help.

---

Lorne and Cordelia accompany Darla to Lorne's room where she lies down on the bed.

Cordy thinks they should call a doctor.

Darla assures her the pain will pass, it always does, she just has to endure it until then.

Cordy tells Lorne she'll stay with Darla.

He tells her to ask if she needs anything, then departs.

---

Out in the bar, Angel says prophecies can be interpreted a lot of different ways. He doesn't think they can even be sure Fred's calculations are right.

Fred says she's still working on it.

Gunn points out they know Darla is carrying something.

Angel insists it's impossible.

Lorne opines it's also unfair considering all that Angel has done for good for him to be destined to spawn something evil.

Angel doesn't figure anything he and Darla produce could be a good thing.

Wes recalls the shanshu prophecy, its foretelling the vampire with a soul playing a pivotal role in the battle between good and evil. He wonders if the child is the one to play that role and Angel's destiny is simply to bring it into the world.

Angel considers his destiny could also be to stop it.

Fred isn't into the whole destiny thing. She figures if what comes is evil, they'll fight it until they beat it. She doesn't believe in inevitability.

Angel wants to see the prophecies and Fred's calculations.

She offers to go back to the hotel to retrieve everything.

Wes agrees that's a good idea, they can figure out a plan to fight whatever is coming.

Angel asks Lorne how "she" is.

Lorne answers that she's tired, she looks about 18 months pregnant. He hopes it's not twins.

Angel clarifies that he was asking about Cordelia.

Lorne says she's angry about being lied to. He suggests Angel might want to steer clear of her for a bit.

---

In Lorne's room, Cordelia is sitting on the bed next to Darla, she asks how she's doing.

Darla wonders why anyone would bring anything into the world.

Cordelia relates her tale of being pregnant, explaining how big she was, how soon, it was a mystical thing. She concedes she wasn't pregnant long, but for the time she was, it was extremely uncomfortable. She can relate to the aches and pains, the not being able to eat in the beginning and then not being able to eat enough. She asks if Darla is able to --

Darla sits up and glares at her, asks if she was going to ask if she was able to drink.

Cordelia says it's none of her business, Darla should get some rest. She gets up and heads for the door, telling Darla she'll be close if Darla needs anything.

Darla morphs into vamp face and stops Cordelia from leaving, pinning her against the door. Darla tells her she's hungry all the time.

Cordelia nervously assures her she can understand that, after all she's feeding for two now.

Darla explains that's not what she meant. She meant that no matter how much she feeds, she can't get sated, the hunger never goes away.

Cordelia punches her a couple of times, grabs a cross and holds it out in front of her.

Darla knocks the cross out of Cordy's hand, throws her across the room, grabs her, clamps a hand over her mouth, and puts the bite on her. As she's feeding, Cordelia gets a vision; quick, flashing images of a carnival and children. She shoves Darla off of her as the vision continues.

As Darla moves back in to finish what she started, Angel grabs her and throws her across the room, through the closed doors. He picks Cordelia up, assures her she'll be okay and hurriedly carries her over to the bed. He's prepared to kill Darla now.

Cordelia points out that he'll have to find her first. Darla is gone.

Angel brings Cordelia out into the bar, where Lorne, Gunn and Wes are pulling themselves up from the floor.

Angel tells them Darla bit Cordelia.

Gunn says they tried to stop her from leaving, but they were no match for her.

Angel tells them to get Cordelia someplace safe, then he'll go after Darla.

---

Back at the hotel, Cordelia is lying down.

Angel asks if she's okay.

She assures him she is, he doesn't have to stay.

He tells her Gunn is there, he'll take care of her.

Cordelia looks toward Gunn, smiles and thanks him.

Angel says he won't keep apologizing, but he will guarantee she won't do this again.

Cordelia concedes it was her own fault. She felt sorry for Darla. She thought of her as a mother, forgetting what she is. Cordy is ready to sleep awhile.

Angel gets up and heads out of the room. He starts to tell Gunn if Darla shows up --

Gunn's prepared, armed with a crossbow, he'll take care of it.

Cordelia calls after Angel. She almost forgot about the vision. She says it was different than any vision she's ever had. Darla is ravenous. She doesn't know how to make it go away. Cordy thinks she knows where Angel will find her.

---

As Angel stocks up on weapons from the cabinet, Wes points out that he really shouldn't be doing this alone. He's not speaking as the boss because he knows Angel wouldn't listen anyway but he's concerned. Darla was stronger than normal vamps before this, now she's even stronger. He says she easily took him, Lorne and Gunn out with no effort, she's stronger than all of them right now, including Angel, because of whatever is inside of her.

Angel knows this, and he knows he's responsible for it since he put it there. He leaves the hotel.

Wes wonders why Angel has to do everything alone.

Fred offers that maybe he just doesn't want them to see him do it.

Wes doesn't understand that, after all Darla tried to kill Cordelia and she is a vampire.

Fred reminds him she's also carrying the one thing Angel never thought he could have, even if he lived forever.

---

In the midst of crowded carnival grounds, a little boy, Johnny, is lost, calling out for his mother.

Darla watches him from the shadows for a moment, then approaches him. She asks him if he's lost then offers to help him find his mother. She takes his hand and starts to walk away.

A passerby comments that Darla's a brave woman, noting the little boy and the fact she's about to have another one.

Darla smiles, assuring the woman she adores kids, she "could just eat 'em up".

The woman leaves.

Darla leads the boy out.

---

At the hotel, Cordelia wakes with a start, having revisited the vision in a dream.

Gunn comforts her, assuring her he's there, she'll be okay, Darla can't get to her.

Cordelia needs to talk to Wesley.

---

In Wesley's office, Cordy is explaining that her dream was more like a vision, she dreamt about what was inside of Darla. She wonders if the prophecies say the "tro-clon" will be born or will arise.

Wes answers it's both, depending on the translation.

Fred notes that Angel's not answering his cell, she wonders if she should leave a message on his voice mail.

Cordelia answers that he doesn't know how to use it and instructs Fred to page him.

The sound of a pager going off is heard.

Gunn goes to the coat rack, reaches into a coat pocket and retrieves Angel's pager.

Wes asks Cordelia what the vision is trying to show her.

Cordy thinks it's showing her why Darla is going after children.

---

Darla has escorted the little boy to the back of an arcade. He doesn't think his mother is there.

Darla asks if he's looked around.

As Johnny turns to look, Darla morphs into vamp face.

He turns, sees her, screams.

As Darla moves in for a meal, Angel slams into her, driving her away from the boy. The kid takes off running.

Angel raises a stake and tries to stick Darla with it.

She puts her hands up defensively, the stake embeds in her palm.

Johnny finds his mother who picks him up.

Darla throws Angel across some tables, pulls the stake from her hand and tosses it to the ground as she goes after him.

People in the arcade notice the commotion, see the woman in vamp face and run, screaming.

Darla walks up to Angel as he tries to get back up. She tells him he doesn't know the hunger, has no idea what it's like. She punches him before he can get to his feet, telling him it can't be stopped.

Angel manages to get up and tells her he'll stop it as he punches her. She hits him back. They go at it, back and forth. Sometime during the battle, Angel has also morphed into game face.

He pins Darla against a column, clutching her by the throat.

She tells him she hates him for what he's done to her as she punches him, but he retains his grip on her throat.

Darla gleefully points out that "they breathe and pound", she doesn't. He can't choke her. She laughs in his face.

Angel assures her that's not what he had in mind as he raises a stake to her.

Darla tells him to do it, almost pleading.

Angel holds the stake poised over its target, his hand shaking. He hears a heartbeat, senses something else. He backs away from her.

Darla goes at him, pounding on him, begging him to do it. She screams and cries, saying "it won't stop."

Angel embraces her tightly to keep her from hurting them both. Darla is nearly hysterical. Hel tells her the child has a heartbeat, and a soul.

Darla screams and frantically tries to break away. She can't bear the thought she's carrying that inside of her.

Angel tells her that's why it's been craving pure blood and why it's been driving her insane, it has a soul.

Darla continues to deny that. She doesn't want to believe it, it can't be possible, not her child.

Angel reminds her it's their child and assures her it does. He quietly repeats that over and over.

---

Back at the hotel, Darla is resting on a bed in one of the rooms. Angel is sitting on the bed next to her. He hands her a cup, she takes a drink and is immediately repulsed by the pig's blood.

Angel tells her she needs the nourishment, she'll get accustomed to it.

Darla throws the cup against the wall, smashing it.

Angel tells her she doesn't have to deal with this alone anymore. They'll handle it together.

Darla sarcastically notes she's the "luckiest vampire girl in the whole world" then tells Angel to get out.

As Angel leaves, Darla asks how Cordelia is. She wonders if she'd like to come up and visit.

Gunn is standing guard outside Darla's door, armed with a crossbow.

Angel starts to tell him if Darla gets near Cordelia or Fred--

He doesn't have to finish that thought. Gunn knows what to do.

Angel reminds him not to underestimate Darla, she's stronger than all of them right now.

---

Angel comes downstairs into the lobby where Cordelia and Wes are standing behind the desk. He tells Cordy she's not to go near Darla without Gunn, himself and a lot of crossbows present.

Cordelia gets that. She notes that if she forgets, she has a reminder as she fingers the bandage covering the bite marks on her neck.

Angel calls out to Fred that she's to abide by the same precautions. As she works at her computer, she lets him know she understands.

Angel sits on the poof couch in the lobby. Cordelia approaches, mentioning impending fatherhood. She says she saw it in her vision, she felt what Angel did when he found Darla, the child has a soul.

Wes figures since Angel has a soul, it makes sense that the child does as well. At least it makes as much sense as any of this does. Wes quietly points out that even with a soul, the child could be what's spoken of in the prophecies.

Angel knows it's prophesied to be the ruination of mankind but he also knows that it's his.

Cordelia is about to suggest they all have a drink when Fred indicates she's come up with something. As they all look at her, she indulges in one of her long rambles about the prophecy, translations and her calculations.

The others urge her to get to the point.

She boils it down, the thing that's supposed to arrive should be arriving right about now.

---

In an underground cavern, a demon is performing a ritual in front of a stone object that has the generic face of a man carved into it along with other ornamentation. As he recites the incantation, he throws some powder onto the stone figure. He ends the incantation saying "Arise!" a couple of times.

Nothing happens.

He turns, walks away from it a bit, lights a cigarette, turns back toward the stone, checks his watch.

The ground begins to tremble, lightning flashes in the cavern. Eyes open within the stone, then it crumbles to dust, leaving a man huddled on the ground in its wake.

The demon approaches the man and welcomes him to the 21st century. He also tells him Angelus is here, he'll see him soon. As he kneels down next to the huddled figure, he tells him his muscles haven't been used in a long time, it will take awhile for him to regain his strength.

Holtz snaps to his feet. He wants to know where Angelus is.