A swing of an ax. A brief moment of excruciating pain, as his head left his body. Then there was nothing.

Angel came to consciousness slowly. His memories rushed back quickly. The plan. The Circle. Connor. Hamilton. The battle.

"'Bout time you got here," Gunn said.

Angel blinked. He stood in the garden of the Hyperion Hotel, surrounded by the scent of jasmine. A strange light filled the place - as bright as sunlight, but not casting any shadows. Wesley and Gunn relaxed on the bench near the stairs, showing no sign of injury. Spike stood next to Angel, looking as confused as Angel felt.

"You fellows certainly took your time," said Wesley. He smiled gently.

"Just 'cause you decided to cut out early, and skip the final battle -" Gunn shook his head. "Wesley's been getting impatient," he explained.

"Well, we're all here now," said Wesley, standing up. "Shall we proceed?"

"Where are we going?" asked Spike.

Gunn jerked his thumb towards the doors behind him. "Party in our honor. Got some folks waiting for us."

Now Angel could see a crowd of people milling about in the lobby. He saw Fred chatting excitedly with Alanna, and Doyle mixing drinks on the reception desk.

"Right then. Let's go," said Spike. They went up the stairs and into the hotel.

Angel lingered behind, searching the crowd for a particular face, but he couldn't see her. He tried to step through the doorway - and was repelled by an invisible barrier.

"That's not your exit."

Angel turned around. Cordelia now stood in the center of the garden. More memories flooded back. Lindsey. Drogyn. So many others, over so many years... Angel sat down heavily on the bench.

"I see," he said. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, Spike gets to go, and I don't?"

Cordelia sat down next to him. "No, you big doof. You don't get it."

"Get what?"

"You're going back! There's a woman in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who's about to give birth to a very special baby."

Angel nodded. "So, I need to protect the baby?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You are the baby!"

"Look, Cordy, you don't have to call me names."

"I'm not! Angel, it's your Shanshu. You get to be human. You get to start all over. You won't have any of your memories, of course -"

"Wait." Angel held up his hand. "Stop. No. I signed that away."

Cordelia smiled. "I was so proud of you when you did that. You should have heard Doyle, though. He was all, 'Angel did what?!' He's proud of you, too, though. We all are."

Angel stared at her. "I still don't get it."

Cordy sighed. "You've been around lawyers too much. It's a prophecy, not a contract. The Powers That Be are gonna do what they want to do, no matter what you sign."

"But - the Circle believed it."

"Well, duh. They were supposed to. It was all a big test. I think the Powers get really bored up here, so they like to play a lot of games. See, by signing away your Shanshu and doing this whole suicide charge thing with no hope of a reward, you proved yourself worthy."

Angel frowned, "But-"

A streak of blue light appeared in the air in front of them, and stretched sideways to reveal a portal.

"Oh, crap! We're out of time. You gotta go be born. See what happens when you ask a lot of silly questions?" She hugged him tightly. "You take care of yourself, okay? I'll miss you. And don't worry, I'll be here when you get back in, oh, 80 or 90 years." She stood up and took his hand, dragging him to his feet.

"Wait! Cordy, what do I do?" asked Angel.

"You live," she said, and pushed him through the portal.