"Cordelia, could you give us a minute?" Wesley asked after they heard what she had to say.

"I have to get back to the Hyperion anyway. This is time sensitive though, so get back to me by the end of the week, OK?" Cordelia stood up, hugged everyone including Spike, then headed for the door, turning to smile before leaving. "I'll see you all soon."

They waved at her and turned to face each other when the door closed. Wesley words stuck for a moment. "Can we trust Cordelia on this?"

Willow sucked in a breath. "She was a higher power. On the same plane as my Goddess. How can we not trust her?"

"Kinda regretting getting the soul now." Spike sighed. "What do you think, Uncle Connor?"

"Cordelia's the only person in this dimension I trust completely."

"Are we really going to do this?" Willow asked, despondent .

"Looks that way, doesn't it, love?" Spike patted her shoulder. "At least we'll be amongst friends."

She put her hand over his on her shoulder and smiled at him. "There is that I suppose."

Spike eyed Wesley. "This will mean playing your girlfriend. You up to it?"

"Yes." Wesley poured four glasses of his best Scotch and handed them out. "Here's to the end of the world as we know it."

"And we feel fine," Spike said as he raised his glass.

The four drank the whiskey in solemn silence.

Cordelia sat in her room, tears at the corners of her eyes. Just because she knew this was the right thing to do, didn't make it any easier. She looked over her pictures and ran her fingers over momentos, remembering that this world had given her so much joy between the painful moments.

The knock on her door was expected. "Come in."

"Cordelia," Angel said as he closed the door behind him, "we need to talk."

"I know." Cordelia wiped the tears away and looked at him. "Just spit it out already."

"I can't do it. And if you insist on carrying out this insanity, you will have to fight everyone here." Angel's heart broke as he looked at her.

"I understand. But can we have tonight?" Her entire body pleaded with him. "Please, let's be a couple for one night. First real kisses and happy just to be together."

He pulled her to him, kissing her with all the passion he had for her. He poured his heart and soul into her and woke up entangled in her naked embrace.

A dark vengeance magic ripple opened Anya's eyes. Her knowing how dangerous such magics could be got her sedate butt moving. The force field around her would sting and disintegrate her clothes, but there was no way she was staying this close to a vengeance spell that wasn't hers. She teleported herself to her apartment in Sunnydale long enough to shower, dress, and pack, but she knew she had to go back to LA and get Dawn away from the hotel. The best place for both of them would be far far away from the evil she'd felt at the Hyperion.

Wesley exploded inside Lilah and rolled off her. "That was better than average, but I came here to talk to you about a job."

Lilah looked him over. "In what regard?"

"Are there any openings at Wolfram and Hart that would suit my particular skills?"

She wrinkled her brow and searched his face for deception, finding none. She bit her bottom lip as she smiled. "I'm sure if there isn't, I could make you one. I got promoted to President of Special Projects. You could always be my assistant." Lilah kissed the corner of Wesley's mouth.

He wrapped an arm around her and flipped them so he was on top again. "I'll be your assistant if I get to polish your desk with your ass."

"We can polish my desk any way you like as often as I want."

Their kiss was animalistic in its intensity.

"You appear to be suddenly sane," Connor said to Spike as they lounged around what served as a living room in the warehouse. Willow was researching and had kicked them out for being more hindrance than help.

"Guess I needed to find a reason to exist to sort me out."

"So you snapped out of it because you're needed to kick off the apocalypse?"

"I wouldn't say snapped. That's not how it was. It was more of a click. Something Cordelia said when she was explaining the infinity of the universes and dimensions and how small we are in comparison. How small this universe is in the grand scheme and even smaller the planet, the country, the city, and each of us is, set off a chain reaction of thoughts. And if you change your thoughts, you change how you feel and how you behave. Still seeing things that aren't there though. I just know they aren't really there now. Like that demon in the corner over there." Spike pointed to the closest corner to them. "It's not there, is it?"

Connor looked to where Spike pointed. "No, it's not. So why do you call me uncle?"

"Cause you are my uncle for lack of a better term. Angel's like my grandfather so any children or vampires he ever makes or has would be my uncles or aunts. Welcome to the family, mate. Enjoy the insanity that runs through our line. We all succumb at some point." Spike sat up and gave Connor a serious look over. "Or maybe you already did."

Willow left the office with her magic supplies bag. "Where's she off to?" Connor asked.

"To check to see if what the cheerleader told us is true or not, I reckon." Spike yawned and stretched. "Sun's been up for a while now. I should get some peaceful sleep while I can. We've got an apocalypse to start by the end of the week. I suggest you get some rest too."

"Why are you so sure?"

Spike raised an eyebrow at him. "You smelled her didn't you? Ever catch the scent of something so pure in your life?"

"No."

"You've got your answer then, kid. Now let's turn in for the day."

Fred sat on the counter in the lobby with her legs crossed under her, reading another text on Wolfram and Hart. They'd been trying to find a weakness to exploit all summer and had found bupkis so far. She lifted her head when she heard feet on the stairs. "Angel. Did you find Connor?"

"No, but we have more important things to talk about right now. Can you get the others in here so we can talk about it? Cordelia might be the problem so we'll let her sleep." Angel kept his face grim to get the point across.

Winnifred put the book aside and went to collect the group from their various rooms. When they all returned with her, Angel quieted their questions with a sharp, "Let me talk."

Buffy, Gunn, Giles, and Dawn stopped talking reflexively. Fred pushed her glasses up her nose as asked, "Why do you think Cordelia's a problem?"

"Because she wants to end the world. She gave Buffy and me a song and dance about how ending this world would save countless others, but the more I think about it, the more I don't believe that that's Cordelia. I think she's a counterfeit put here to try to seduce us into starting an apocalypse rather than preventing one." Angel watched the silent disbelief for a moment before continuing. "Don't trust her. And keep an eye on her while I'm gone. I think I also figured out how to find my son."