Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe, Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize

Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.

Thank you to Brainstorm Sorcerer for help with some conversations, and this and next chapter are both inspired by Chunk127's 'Road to Redemption' again to some extent so thank you to him.

Hope all enjoy.

Chapter 5- Offpsring

Sunnydale

Matt sat on a pew in the Sunnydale church, holding his mother's cross in his hand. Thinking, contemplating what he should do.

Then Lorne, in his disguise, was the one who walked in and sat in front of him. "The acoustics in here are amazing, I have half a mind to just start singing 'Hallelujah' right and now."

Matt smiled with him but then it dropped as he went back to thinking.

"Need help on deciding, amigo?"

"No, I know what I have to do."

"Little Miss Pop and Rock ain't going to like it."

"She won't, but...Faith has people here, they do care for her, and she wants to show them that she is different. The problem is, I'm also different, I'm changing by the day." Matt's hand rubbed his chest where the pentagram lay. "None of this makes any sense to me, and yet here I thought I finally had a handle on it."

"When did it all start?"

"After...after the Snap, when the-when Abaddon, saved my life. There was one fleeting moment where I could feel him, and it wasn't this personification of evil and destruction as I always thought, he was just..."

"Like you?"

"Like anybody else. It gave me hope. Yes, he is full of anger and dangerous, but so is any other human or demon. Hell, I think I finally know what Dr. Banner feels. When I had the Stones, I thought about destroying Abaddon, but when I got this glimpse of hope, I couldn't, it felt like murder."

"And the thousands, if not millions of alien invaders weren't?" Lorne piped up, and got an annoyed 'glance' from Matt. "Hey, no judgement, I'm among the grateful, but what this different from that?"

"...He's part of me. Magus and his soldiers only had one thing in mind, even without his mind control, they lived for nothing else, but Abaddon could have a chance."

"Then what changed?"

"I don't know. It started with nightmares, and all the fear I had about what's inside me came back. When Billy touched me, it's the first time I let the Devil out in a very long time, and it was different. After that, this showed up." Matt tapped his chest.

"Matt, I won't lie and say your path is clear, you have a long and complicated road ahead, but I have never seen a human being quite like you. There's nothing you can't overcome, and this fear you have, you will overcome it as well."

"Thank you, Lorne."

"No problemo, compadre. A ticked off Slayer though, good luck overcoming that."

"Thanks again." Matt said more sarcastically this time. He exhaled through his nose and stood with Lorne. "No time like the present."

Unfolding his cane, Matt moved to the exit with Lorne beside him, offering his arm that the lawyer took gratefully.

"This was actually first confession in a long time. You ever think of becoming a priest?" Matt asked jokingly.

"Yeah right. A demon with a white collar? Try selling that to the Pope."

Magic Box

Xander was sitting in a corner, Giles and Anya working. He had noticed neither of the two, or Willow and Tara were speaking to him today, though he hadn't put his finger on the reason due to being in denial about it.

"Stop making fun of me", Faith said to Willow and Tara, blushing a little.

"We are not", Tara assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You sing really well."

"Yeah, you should try it more", Willow added with a nod of her own as Faith sighed.

"Nah, it's embarrassing", Faith said.

"It would be if you sucked, but you are great", Willow said.

"If you say so", Faith sighed, running her hand over her hair.

"So", Tara said, hoping she wasn't intruding, though considering Faith had sung to Matt in front of them all, probably not. "You and Matt-"

"Yeah, even I don't know when exactly it began", Faith confessed to the two. "Like, when he got 'The Lord of the Rings' for me to read", the two shared an amused look at that, since they wouldn't have thought Faith would read a book like that, "Or when he insisted I take an icepack over a bruise, but there was something for the 3 months I stayed with him."

"And now you both have finally let it out", Willow said to her with a smile as Faith nodded, feeling better about it.

"Yeah, hoping this one sticks", Faith sighed as the door opened and in came Peter and Dawn, with Buffy and Spike behind them, the latter quickly shutting the door and putting his cloak down as it had started smoking.

"Oh, hey guys", Xander greeted with a wave, but got no response, and so he got up, walking to Dawn. "How's my little Dawnst-"

Buffy, Peter and Spike all stepped between him and Dawn.

"Who told you that you're going anywhere near her?" Buffy asked Xander with folded arms, not looking pleased.

Xander started. "Buff, wh-"

"The little bit was almost forced into a marriage because of your stupidity, you bloody git", Spike snarled at him as Xander was now floored.

"I didn't mean to-"

"But you still did", Peter pointed out to him. "You made one really huge mess."

"And that guy would have made me his child bride", Dawn said, still feeling shaken from the ordeal. She had no idea what would have happened had they all not come to save her.

Peter held her hand and gave her a concerned look as she gave him a weak smile while Xander turned behind for support, but both Willow and Tara also had folded arms.

"You opened the talisman and people died because of it", Tara said too.

"You messed up, which everyone does, but now you need to take responsibility for it too", Willow agreed with the rest there.

"You should have learnt your lesson when you tried to bewitch Cordelia", Giles said to Xander in disappointed tone.

"You tried to bewitch High School Queen Bee?" Faith asked, not having known that either.

"Long, interesting story", Willow said to her lamely.

"I get it guys, I messed up", Xander said.

"No more sex….for a week!" Anya now finally said, flooring Xander again.

"An-"

"Xander, people danced and sang beautifully, and if that was all it was, we would have sex more than one time a day, but then those people burst into flames, so no sex for a week", Anya told him, shaking her head, and Xander realized he wouldn't be winning against them this time.

"I'm sorry guys", Xander said to them, now realizing just how bad his mistake was.

"Try not to be an idiot and we will accept it", Buffy said as Xander sighed and walked past them all, out the Magic Box, knowing they were right to be mad at him, he had been an idiot, and people had died because of it, and Dawn had almost been forced into a marriage as a child bride.

He had no idea how to make up for it, but he would try his best.

"Well, that's going to be hard", Anya said.

Willow started. "Well yeah, trust me, after what he did for me, it was hard, but like I learnt, he needs to learn to-"

"Oh no, not having sex for a week, how am I supposed to take it? He's a Viking in the sack!" Anya snapped, everyone's eyes widening again at her lack of etiquette.

"He sure bagged himself a real one there", Faith quipped to Willow and Tara as the three all chuckled again.

"So, musical, guess that's another thing to cross off our list", Peter quipped and some laughter followed as he and Dawn sat down too.

"You okay, Dawnie?" Tara asked in concern as she patted the girl's head.

"I will be", Dawn said to her.

"We're here for you", Willow assured.

"Oh don't worry, kiddo is gonna be a bigger hero that big sis one day", Faith said genuinely as Dawn's face brightened up, and Buffy didn't mind either.

"And, Daredevil, he is such a badass", Peter said.

"Yes, never in my life have I seen a human who fights that well, he might even be more skilled than a Slayer", Giles said, offending Buffy once more.

"Whose side are you on?" Buffy asked as he looked sheepish.

"Why are you so triggered over this topic, B?" Faith joked to her as Buffy looked flustered.

"Eh, he is overrated", Spike shrugged as all looked at him. "I have been to New York plenty of times, even when the Hand was around."

"Now what's the Hand?" Buffy asked, everyone but Faith confused as she remembered Matt mentioning them.

"An ancient bloody ninja organization, carried out a reckoning, killed all Demons in the big city, and Devil Boy took them down", Spike said, shocking them all at just how much of a big deal Matt really was, except Faith again as she knew. "But here is one Vampire who is not afraid of him."

"He's behind you", Peter said, pointing behind Spike as the Vampire ducked and screamed. "WHERE?"

Everyone laughed at his expense as he stood up with a snarl, straightening his leather duster. "Bloody Spider-kid."

Then the door opened and Matt came in as Spike turned to him. "Oh hello, Daredevil."

"Hello", Matt simply said before asking. "Uhhh, Faith?"

Everyone realized this was private so they started doing their own work and Faith got up, walking to Matt, and they went outside the shop.

"So, what's up?" Faith asked him.

"I am going to LA again", Matt said to her, lowering his shirt to show her the pentagram symbol. "To find out more about this."

"And you're telling me this because-"

"You just got back here, you need to settle down for a bit", Matt said to her.

"You're ditching me?" Faith asked.

"No!" Matt immediately assured. "I'm not- I can't…" Matt trailed off, before saying finally. "I want to be with you too, but you just started settling here, and having you come with me to LA like that will uproot you again, and I can't do that to you."

Faith folded her arms, looking down, then looked back up, narrowing her eyes. "I wanna say you're full of bullshit, but I can't, because you're right."

"Besides, the people in there care about you, I think they will make you feel at home now", Matt said.

"Willow and Tara did offer to let me stay at their place", Faith confessed to Matt.

"And what did you decide?" Matt asked.

"Well, it'll be much better than staying with B, nothing against her, but there's still a lot of history there that we are working out", Faith said to him.

"That's good", Matt nodded, and they just stood like that for a minute.

Then Faith smacked his chest, making Matt grunt and rub it as he backed off a little.

"Jerk", she said to him and he sighed, the two chuckling a little. "I'm really, really mad."

"I know, and you have every right to be", Matt told her.

"Okay, I understand, but a little mad still", Faith said to him.

"You still have the right", Matt said as they were close to each other again, and then ended up kissing lovingly once more, Faith grasping Matt's face and pulling him deeper as their second kiss continued, and after one full minute, they parted breathlessly.

"Once I am done there, you and I, we will, uh, go out on a date", Matt said to Faith, and she had a smile now.

"I'll hold you to that", Faith said, grasping his hand, and he grasped back, then they parted and backed from each other.

"Goodbye", Faith waved.

"Goodbye", Matt waved back, and then they walked off in opposite directions, though they would be with each other again quite soon.

"So, said your goodbyes?" Lorne asked, standing next to his car.

"Yeah, she's a little mad, but understands, I'll make it up to her once I'm done there", Matt said as Lorne opened the door to the driver's seat.

"Oh no, I'm driving, we'll get there faster that way", Matt said.

"A blind guy driving better than a non-blind Demon, there's a joke if there ever was one", Lorne quipped as both chuckled and Matt took off his glasses, putting them on his pocket before getting onto the driver's seat, and then Lorne got onto the passenger's seat as Matt drove them off.

"So, first I'll leave you and the car at Caritas, then go to Hyperion-"

A day later, Los Angeles, Hyperion Hotel

Matt walked in as Team Angel turned to see him.

"Matt", Angel greeted as they walked to each other and shared a hug.

"Hey", Matt greeted back.

"How did it go with Faith?" Angel then asked.

"Pretty well", Matt said, smiling fondly, and Angel noted there was more to it but decided not to ask. "Anyway, I'm here for a reason."

"What would that be?" Cordelia asked.

"Wesley", Matt called out as Wesley walked to him, and Matt showed them all the pentagram symbol, shocking them all.

"Damn! Now what is that? Someone carved it on you?" Gunn asked.

"Looks like that, doesn't it?" Matt asked dryly. "Well, it's not that, it just appeared on me after the incident with Billy."

"Oh my God!" Cordelia said, feeling guilty now. "I'm sorr-"

"It's not your fault, it'd have happened sometime anyway", Matt assured her.

"You think Mephisto has anything to do with it?" Angel asked and Matt nodded in the affirmative.

"I will look for this in my books, there might be something", Wesley said and Matt sighed as they got to work.

One hour later

The researching had been quite tireless, and in addition Team Angel was also trying to translate what was called a 'Nyazian scroll', and Wesley finally found the right tome. "Come to the counter."

His voice was grim, and Matt dreaded what it meant, and so did the rest, as they followed him to the counter where he set it down.

"This book dates back eight centuries, written by a man who worked alongside Dante Alighieri."

"Author of the Divine Comedy. Not again." Matt groaned. Last time he'd encountered anything related to that, it had ended horribly.

"Beg your pardon?"

"I had a run in with a demon, Belasco, when Blaze took me to meet Mephisto. Didn't end well, but he mentioned that he kidnapped Beatrice dei Portinari."

"Sounds...educational?" Gunn muttered.

"Huh? Freaky", Cordelia quipped.

"Back to the matter at hand, this man goes on to intensely study the workings of Hell-like dimensions. Customs, races of demons, and so forth. There are some things in here which I shudder to think are real, but then I found this." Wesley turned the book to face Matt and allowed all to see.

An illustration of a man, with an inverted pentagram surrounded by a circle on his chest. The same one Matt was now bearing.

The lawyer ran his hand over the page until he found the mark.

"It is called the Hell-Mark. An incredibly rare marking that has only been written about. It says, "The Hell-Mark is a demonic sigil, bestowed upon those who have the potential to become a Hell Lord, either through birthright or by being chosen by an existing Hell Lord. The Hell-Mark grants its bearer control over lesser demons and the ability to conjure hellfire, but..."" Wesley paused, prompting the others to stare at him. The ex-Watcher removed his glasses and looked to the man before him, ""but corrupts their soul over time.""

Matt felt like his heart had been hit by a hammer when he heard that, as he staggered back involuntarily, and Angel grasped him by the back. "Hey, it's just a mark-"

"Hell-Mark", Matt snarled as the others felt their hearts go out to him. "He put it on me to make me like him."

"But that's up to you, right?" Cordelia asked Matt as he turned to her. "You decide what you are, no one else does."

"I mean, you did use that power to destroy that Magus guy and his armies", Fred reminded him.

"Perhaps that's why he is showing me just how bad the power is", Matt said sadly as he walked off to a corner.

Angel started. "Matt-"

"No, carry on what you were doing, when I want to talk, I will", Matt assured them.

With that, he walked off as Gunn asked. "So, what do we do?"

"He wants to be left alone for now, I believe it is why to honor his wish until he wants to speak", Wesley said to the rest.

Cordelia said. "I wanna talk to hi-"

"This isn't something a simple talk is gonna fix", Angel said sadly. "When he wants to talk, we'll talk to him."

"Yeah, we need to be there for him, what are friends for?" Cordelia asked.

"If you ask me, they're for knocking you up and leaving you high and dry."

Angel spun around to see a very pregnant Darla standing on the top landing leading down into the lobby from outside.

"Hello, lover. Long time no see."

"Darla." Angel said.

"Darla?" Wesley asked.

"Darla!" Cordelia said.

"I heard a voice, was it Darla?" Matt asked, coming out on hearing her.

"Yes, it is me, blind guy", Darla sneered at him.

"Who's Darla?" Fred asked.

Gunn said. "Angel's old flame from way back. She's a Vampire."

"Well, when did this happen?" Angel then asked.

Darla came down the steps. "You know exactly when it happened."

Cordelia asked. "Angel - did - you and Darla...?"

"Uh..." Cordy turned to look at him.

"This is impossible."

"Tell me about it - daddy!" Darla sneered.

Cordelia angrily asked. "You slept with her?"

Angel said. "Vampires can't have children. Wesley?"

"Ah, no, he's right. It's not possible", Wesley nodded.

Cordy reminded. "That's not what I asked."

Darla said. "You know we can't. I know we can't. But - we did."

Fred wondered. "I wonder if this might not be that bad thing we were expecting."

"We've got no shortage of those", Matt sneered, running a hand over his chest as he did so.

"What did you do to me?" Darla hit Angel across the face and he stumbled back against the weapons cabinet behind him.

Cordy stepped between Angel and Darla. "Stop that!"

"Pregnant, but still evil, she won't stop", Matt told her.

"It's okay. It's alright. I'm okay", Angel got up.

Cordelia said to him. "You'll hurt her! Haven't you done enough?" She turned to Darla. "Here, sit down. You should get off your feet."

"Ummm, she hit him", Matt pointed out but was ignored.

Cordelia lead Darla over to the round settee, then looked back at the others. "Can we get her some water?"

Fred turned to go get it as Angel said. "Cordy that's Darla. Maybe you don't want to..."

"Did you or did you not look me in the eye and say that you would never do a thing like this with her?"

Darla quipped with a giddy smile. "Oh, he lied? What a surprise."

Fred came with a glass of water. "Hi. I'm Fred. Is water okay, or did you want some blood?"

Darla took the water as Wesley gently pulled Fred back away from Darla.

Angel looked at Cordelia, defeated. "Cordy. I'm sorry - I lied. It was just - it was a very dark time."

"Oh! You used her to make you feel better during your dark time. Well, that makes it all heroic", Cordelia snarled.

Matt wanted to defend Angel, but he didn't want to argue with an angry Cordelia, and he was depressed to really do anything.

Angel said. "It wasn't like that. It just - happened. It wasn't like I went evil or anything, I just..."

"You just went male", she brushed the hair out of Darla's face. "Have you been to a doctor?"

Darla gave her an incredulous look. "No. Because first, I got dusted. Then I came back and I have been to every shaman and seer in the Western Hemisphere."

"And what did they say?" Wesley asked.

Darla frowned. "They don't know what it is. They don't know what it means. Nothing like this has ever happened."

Angel smiled. "Maybe it's a hysterical pregnancy."

Darla sneered. "You wanna feel it kick?"

Cordelia asked. "Does it kick a lot?"

Darla replied. "Like crazy."

"Well, now wouldn't that be the first sign of..." Cordy gave him a look "...hysteria?"

"What can we do for you?" Cordelia asked sympathetically.

Darla looked at them all. "Well, you can get you little gang of supernatural detectives to find out what the hell is happening to me and how to stop it."

"Are you gonna take some responsibility here?" Cordelia looked up at Angel. "Angel?"

"Oh, me? - Of course I am. - Wes, lets get on this right now."

Wesley asked. "What do you suggest?"

Angel looked offended. "I suggest you use your books and find out what's going on. What, do I have to think of everything?"

Wesley picked up a book from the counter and opened it. "Oh, here it is."

Darla straightened up in her seat and Angel walked over to Wesley. "It says 'I have absolutely no idea what's going on.'" He closed the book. "We should talk to the Host."

"I'm not coming", Matt sighed as he sat down.

Angel started. "Matt-"

"Wes, do you have any books on Angel and Darla? And maybe the PTBastards?" Matt asked, running a hand over his hair, as the term 'PTBastards' brought a slight smile on Cordelia's face.

"I do keep some personal journals on them both", Wesley told Matt. "You are going to go through them?"

"Yes, make myself useful", Matt muttered as all but Darla looked at him sadly.

"So, you and the Host will be on the baby, the rest of us will have to focus on the apocalypse heading our way", Wesley muttered as he walked to get the books.

"Might just be me", Matt said grimly and the rest could only watch him sadly, not knowing what to say.

Later

Matt sat in the Hyperion, going through the journals and books the best he could while still having the revelation by Wesley in mind.

Why did it have to be him?

And to make it worse, he felt something in the hotel, he wasn't sure what it was, but he felt something off, like someone was trying to hide something from him, but he couldn't tell.

Either way, it was best to push what he was feeling to the side so he could help the more pressing issue regarding Angel's and Darla's baby.

As for the whole 'knocking her up' thing, Matt could understand Angel was in a dark place but this went a bit too far, however, Cordelia was being blind (no pun intended) in this situation too.

But then she'd been demonically impregnated once so he could understand why she was sympathizing with Darla.

Matt then read through the bit with Angel's and Darla's trials, remembering that night when he'd found Angel in a delirious state and brought him, after Darla had been turned again.

She hadn't been given a second chance because she already had one.

But wait!

An imaginary lightbulb went off in Matt's head- While Darla couldn't be given a second chance, Angel had still gone through the trials, so something would have to come of it.

Maybe this baby was the second chance, right? In that case, it couldn't be that bad.

Getting up, he unfolded his cane and walked off to Caritas to inform Angel and the rest of this development.

Darla had escaped after biting Cordy and beating up the rest and was in an arcade, having isolated a kid, she morphed into Vamp face as he screamed.

Angel then ran across some of the arcade games and tackled Darla against the wall and slammed the stake in his hand towards her heart.

Darla put up a hand to ward it off as the stake pierced her hand until it came out on the other side. The boy ran into his mother as Darla tossed Angel out from the deserted section.

The mother's eyes widened as Angel landed on top of some tables, over turning them. People in the crowd saw Darla follow him out, still wearing her vamp face and turned to run away, screaming.

Darla pulled the stake out of her right palm and let it drop as she walked towards Angel.

"You so want to play the good guy, don't you? Yeah. You're the good guy who did this to me."

Darla hauled back and knocked Angel across the face, slamming him against one of the games. "You may have the face, but you don't know the hunger! It pounds! You can't make it go away! You can't stop it!"

Angel snapped in Vamp face. "I'll stop it!"

He hauled back and hit Darla. Angel deflected Darla's blows and pushed her off before trying to elbow but she avoided and hit him, while he struck her and tried to spin kick but she dodged and punched his stomach, then chin, sending him up, but then he kicked her back and grabbing her by the throat and pushed her up against the wall as she snarled. "How could you put this in me? I hate you!"

Darla hit him again, but Angel refused to let go of her throat.

"They breathe. They breathe and pound. I don't breathe, you idiot! You can't strangle me!" Darla laughed.

"I'm not gonna strangle you." Angel pulled her away and slammed her back up against the wall, pulling out another stake.

"Come on! Do it!"

Angel hesitated.

"Do it!"

Angel slowly lowered the stake and looked down at Darla's belly, hearing a heartbeat. Angel slowly stepped back from Darla. Darla lunged, grabbing a hold of Angel's jacket and shook him. "Do it! Do it! Make it stop!"

Angel gently restrained her, wrapping her tightly in his arms and pulling her up against his chest. "No it won't, Darla. Darla, listen to me."

Darla rambled. "Make it stop! Make it stop."

Angel explained gently. "The child. The child has a heartbeat. It has a soul."

Darla flailed wildly. "No! Not my child! No!"

Angel stroked her face and said. "Our child. Our child. Our child. That's why you've been craving purer and purer blood. That's why it's been driving you out of your mind. It has a soul."

Darla collapsed against Angel's chest, sobbing. "No, it doesn't."

Angel held her. "It does."

Darla said. "It can't."

Angel quietly said. "Yes, it does. It does."

He then turned and saw Matt there, having arrived after finding out the situation from the rest, and Matt just sighed, deciding this wasn't the time to talk about it.

Later, Hyperion

After Angel had given instructions regarding Darla, Matt told him. "I think this kid came from the trials."

"What?" Angel asked, not quite getting it.

"The trials you took to get Darla a second chance, she already one, but maybe they did work", Matt pointed out to him. "And this child is it."

Angel looked down, deep in thought as Wesley said. "Perhaps it could be true."

Angel sat down on the settee as Matt smiled, happy for his friend. "So I guess you're gonna be a father."

"Guess I am", Angel shrugged.

"I felt it in my dream. The same thing you did - when you found her." Cordelia sat down beside him. "It has a soul."

Wesley said. "Well, Angel has a soul. It makes sense. As much as any of this does."

"I can't tell what it is, the pregnancy isn't natural, it is clouding my senses", Matt told them.

Angel looked down at his folded hands as Wesley said. "Angel, even with a soul, she could give birth to what's spoken of in the prophecies."

Angel looked at Wesley. "The thing that's coming to kill and burn us all? - I know that. - I also know the child is mine."

Wesley nodded, Angel's statement hitting home. "Right."

"Maybe it's something else", Matt suggested.

"If you say again it's you, I will definitely kick your ass", Angel said, and dry chuckles followed again as Matt felt slightly better.

"Well! Another big fun day at Angel Investigations." Cordelia got up. "What do you say we pour ourselves a good stiff..."

"Uh-oh."

"A good, stiff uh-oh?"

Fred shook her head, rereading the calculations. "Remember before when I said I thought that maybe, possibly, perhaps I might have been off in my earlier calculations? And you asked Wes if he thought if the Tro-clan was prophesied to arise or be born and he said it could be both? And we all know that the Latin for arrive is arripare, to come to land or possibly in this instance simply to come to, as from a deep sleep?"

"Fred!"

"Right. I believe that whatever this thing is, it's arriving right about", she looked down at a watch, "three, two, now."

Matt tried to hear for anything. "Well, Darla's water didn't break, and I didn't turn into a Devil, so, good thing, right?"

Deep down, there was a chamber lit by fires and surrounded by pillars.

A stone statue and two bowls holding more flames were set up, forming an equal triangle inside the circle of pillars.

A demon walked in and stops in front of the statue.

"The weight of time is heavy on the world. And all men born must die. But there are worlds unknown, where dreamers dream and sleepers sleep, and patiently await. As pledged in Caladan by Cod-she. One shall awaken in the first year of the final century. That one, who lived before and joined Cod-she in the great sleep. Arise, as was promised and foretold. Arise. - Arise!"

Nothing happened. The demon looked annoyed but then saw the statue puffing. He checked his watch.

Suddenly the room began to shake and blue lighting flashed. The eyes of the statue suddenly turned into two open, human looking eyes.

The statue cracked then crumbled to the ground in a cloud of dust. The demon put out his cigarette and walked over to the figure huddled in the middle of what was left of the statue.

"Welcome to the twenty first century." He crouched and put a hand on the figure's back. "Angelus is here. You'll see him soon. - You haven't used your muscles in a very long time. It will be a while before you're strong enough to..."

The figure suddenly straightened up.

"Just tell me where he is."

Not many changes here, but I promise Matt will be much more useful in next 3 episodes, but at least now we know of the mark.

I love Xander but he got off scot-free for what he did in Buffy 6x7, it was irresponsible and people died because of his stupidity, and Dawn was nearly forced into a child marriage as well.

Now I won't show how he makes up, but I'm sure he will, but at least we see the Scoobies angry at him for being an idiot, and the Scoobies will appear once more and by then Xander would have been forgiven since it'd be a month or two later.

Didn't want to leave Faith out but since she's settling in Sunnydale, figured she should stay there for a bit. She'll have a much more prominent role after Connor is born, I promise.

Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!