Disclaimer: Didn't create the characters, but i treat most of them better than Joss...so don't complain...I'm not making any money out of this so please don't sue me.

Beta'd by AtheneHahn, with special thanks to Maryperk for her advice and help.

by Jackofspikes

Chapter 8

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"So, what can you tell us about Darla?" Angel quickly asked.

"He had a day taken back? Why?" Buffy asked curiously.

"And why didn't I know about that?" Cordy added, clearly irritated.

"When was this?" Wesley added his own question to the mix.

"End of the world prophecy, people...You were saying, Penny?" Angel's panic was clear in his voice.

"I'm thinkin' if deadboy wants off the subject of missing days, then I say we should be listening to that story." Xander voiced his opinion, his animosity towards the brooding vampire coloured his tone.

"Why don't we start with the Darla situation, then...we'll see" Penny smirked at the boy. "Angel, I know that you hope to convince Darla to join you at the agency..."

"WHAT?" Cordy bellowed her shock.

"...but that won't be possible." Penny finished her interrupted sentence.

"Why?" Angel demanded.

"Because, when Wolfram and Hart resurrected her, they also resurrected the disease that was killing her. There is no cure, Angel, she's dying." Penny stated. "I know that you will still try to save her and if you take her to Lorne, he'll suggest you go through the trials and you'll be successful, but as she is already living her second chance they won't be able to save her.

"If you don't get her somewhere safe to die, Lindsey MacDonald of Wolfram and Hart will have Drusilla turn her. If you allow Darla to be turned, then your options are limited. Either she gets dusted, or you do."

"Tough choice," Xander deadpanned, "Can we vote on it?"

"But, I could save her." Angel cried desperately.

"No, you couldn't." Penny stated with finality.

"What's going to happen if Drusilla gets to her and I'm not given the chance to dust her after she's turned?" Angel asked, desperately trying to find a loophole in the situation.

"The simplest solution would be to dust you," Penny offered, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Not seeing the problem...unless you need volunteers?" Xander quickly raised his hand in the air, to be followed a split second later by Spike and, after a moments pause, by a grinning Giles.

"Clearly, the event that activates the prophecy requires both Angel and Darla; couldn't we just stop the event itself?" Wesley calmly suggested.

"You could try, but there's really only one other way to ensure that that part of the prophecy doesn't come into fruition." Penny answered the ex-watcher.

"And that would be...?" Wesley waited patiently for his answer.

"You could Bobbitt Angel." Penny smiled when, after a slight pause, Xander, Spike and Giles shared a grimace in a bonding moment of male solidarity. Giles was the first to offer a small snicker, which consequently set off Xander and Spike followed soon after. It didn't take long before the three were positively howling in laughter, tears streaming down their faces.

"You three, training room now...and don't come back until you can control yourselves," the Slayer ordered the almost hysterical threesome.

It took a few minutes to regain some semblance of order. The room quieted considerably when the three laughing males, who had managed to make their way to the training room door, seemed to realise in unison that if they left they might miss something good. All three quickly re-gained control and quietly re-took their seats. Buffy gave each of them a hard look before turning her gaze back to the psychologist, "You were saying, Penny?"

"Part of the prophecy refers to a child born of two vampires. The vampires in question are Darla and Angel. If the child is allowed to be conceived, Darla will be affected by the child's soul and dust herself so the child can be born. The child's birth and Angel's inability to take the advice of other, smarter people will be the catalyst for a range of events which will have devastating consequences to the world, will leave Cordelia in a coma and ultimately cause her death, emotionally destroy the child and have Angel start the final apocalypse which will pretty much take care of every one else.

"Look...it's fine to suggest solutions to this situation, but most of the solutions rely on Angel. His inability to see past his own ego and need for control will end up destroying this world. We can not allow that to happen." Penny informed the dumbfounded group.

"Couldn't Angel just, you know...not, have sex with Darla?" Willow asked innocently.

"Darla will call to Angel's demon...Angel has proved that he has little or no control where his demon is concerned. In my dimension, he not only had sex with her, but he then lied about it. It wasn't until Darla turned up eight months pregnant that his lies became known. I'm sorry, but his word is not good enough."

"Wait a minute here...I want to get a few things straight. Are you telling me that if Angel has sex with Darla, Darla will get pregnant?" Cordelia angrily asked.

"Yes." Penny answered, flatly.

"Does he lose his soul when the baby is born?" Wesley's concern was palpable.

"Why would he?" Penny asked, confused.

"Hello...moment of perfect happiness?" Cordelia piped in sarcastically.

"Oh, no, nothing to worry about there; apparently the moment of happiness that Angel experienced, when he took the virginity of an underage child wasn't matched by the birth of his son." Penny equalled Cordelia's sarcasm.

"I'm sensing a little animosity here...care to share?" Cordelia deadpanned.

"Angel destroyed the world because of his own inability to recognise that he wasn't omniscient. His petty jealousies over being usurped by the real champion led him to make rash decisions that damned the world. He took on the armies of Wolfram and Hart with one other warrior, one injured human and the true champion. It wasn't an act of bravery, he started a war in a stupidly childish attempt to compete with the achievements of the true champion and win the prize spoken about in the Shanshu prophecy. What he failed to understand, in his arrogance, is that he was never even in the running for the Shanshu." Penny's voice echoed her disgust.

"What do you mean, the prophecy mentions him specifically?" Wesley sounded shocked and confused.

"Wesley, the only clues you managed to decipher from the parchment that related to the identity of the recipient were the word angel and the phase 'vampire with a soul'. Correct?" Penny asked the ex-watcher.

"Precisely," he crisply replied.

"What do you call a fallen angel?" Penny calmly questioned Wesley.

"Ah...A demon?" He responded with a query of his own.

"That's right...and what would you call a demon who has been redeemed?" She continued her point.

"I suppose...an angel?" Wesley offered; his voice filled with his dawning realisation, "And, the vampire with the soul?"

"Will in the very near future, seek out a legend and fight for the right to have an all encompassing soul gifted to him, so he can find true balance between his demon and his human halves and truly become the champion his lady love requires."

"This is ridiculous. I was told by the oracles that I was a champion, I'm working towards redemption. You've obviously got it wrong." Angel growled.

"You don't receive redemption when your motives are selfish, Angel. When you only fight the good fight because you think you'll be rewarded, you are not going to be redeemed. Selfless sacrifice brings redemption, not some competition that you get awarded points for. As to being a champion, you lost all chance of that when you lied to the oracles." Penny told the angry vampire.

"What are you taking about? I never lied to the oracles." Angel bellowed.

"You requested that the day be taken back so that you could be changed back from a human to a vampire and thereby have the strength to protect Buffy from being killed." Penny responded, calmly.

"I didn't lie about that! I gave up being a human for Buffy," Angel was furious that his sacrifices were being questioned.

"Buffy lives in Sunnydale, Angel. How can you protect her from L.A.?" Penny quietly asked.

Silence echoed through the line till a small voice asked tremulously, "Angel was human?"