A girl in short shorts, waving a flag at a drag race? Maybe. A Hedon-demon girl in short shorts, waving a flag at a drag race? Maybe. After spending time as a soulless demon in Hell, he’d surprise people. Hell, he’s surprised himself. But he’s not soulless anymore and spending the night with a demon means Charles Gunn would have to turn a blind eye to the rest of it – the killing, the blood, the senseless acts of violence. The constant evil of Los Angeles.

Or the San Fernando valley, in this case. There’s a drag race happening between some demons. The goal is to drive straight into a commuter train and inflict chaos and carnage. The winner is the one who hits the train first. Unfortunately, these demons were too busy checking their wing mirrors – and have failed to notice Illyria the Merciless in their path.

With no effort at all, the Old One picks the cars off the ground, one in each hand and reduces them and their occupants to wreckage. As flames start to rise, the demon spectators flee, scrambling to pile into an old school bus. They’re in a bit of a panic, which means only one of them hears the soft thud on the roof. What was that? he inquires to his fellows, as another hears the beeping.

As the explosive he has placed in position goes off, Gunn and Illyria walk away from the blast, unscathed and rather heroically.

Later that night, Gunn stares at the picture on the fridge and remembers simpler times: him and Fred, happy and together, on the beach. They’re in the former apartment of the long-gone Fred Burkle, and Gunn is here, primarily to assuage his guilt over Fred’s death. He’s also sleeping on the couch. As he closes the fridge, his roommate startles him, standing there, watching him.

It’s Illyria, eerily shadowed in the moonlight. She asks Charles why he’s not sleeping. He was thinking, he tells her. About Fred, she asks. He tells her he was actually thinking of them both – which she sort of is. She bluntly tells him that he presumes too much: Fred is gone. She managed to rid herself of the emotions of the shell she inhabits – but then Team Angel replanted all of their memories of Fred back into her during the Fall. It is not a separate side of her, a distinct personality, she states. It is an annoyance. Gunn is not so sure.

The phone rings and the answer machine picks up the call: it’s Fred’s mom Trish. By her message, it’s clear that Fred’s parents have been trying to get hold of her for some time; they’re still unaware of their daughter’s death. They want to see her, no matter what’s going on. Her uncle has passed away and they are hoping she will attend the funeral. As the message ends, Gunn and Illyria silently look at each other. She turns and walks away from him, as he goes back to his couch.

Less than an hour later, after packing a bag and showering, Charles is outside, pulling up in his old beat up truck. He knows why he’s doing this, but is unsure why Illyria is. She comes outside, and takes his breath away: a beautiful white gown, slinky and flowing. He suggests that it’s nice, but perhaps not ‘funeral attire’. She changes her clothing into something darker, more casual and trendy, but seems disappointed by his reaction. Before he can explain, she demands that they depart – immediately.

While driving, he asks her why this is a big deal to her, personally. Illyria tells him that it is simply an observation to her – of human grief, their perceptions of life and mortality. Charles tells her that he understands. He gets a blank look when he asks her which music she wants to listen to though.

Instead he tells her a story about himself when he was younger. His grandmother used to tell him stories, about life outside Los Angles, where you didn’t have to worry about ‘wearing the right colour in the wrong hood’. It sounded like a fairytale to him, and his sister Alonna. They were going to move there with her, but it never happened. After his grammy had died, Charles learnt it had all been a story: his grandmother had never even left the city limits.

Illyria tells him that Earth is nothing now like it was then. It was chaos, she says. “It was a time when I could amuse myself by tossing any who dared oppose me into oceans of lava. Followers, too.” She misses it.

After stopping for a respite, Illyria notes Charles’ tiredness, but he’s quick to shut her down: no, you cannot drive. The last time she did, they ended up sorting out a twelve-car pile-up – which was not entirely her fault, the Old One maintains. Besides, if she can rule the entire Earth, then she conquer driving.

Back on the road, Gunn is surprised by the rapid improvement in Illyria’s driving skills and doesn’t understand: the only time she drove, she did everything she could to not drive them off the road. She tells him it’s not her skill – it’s a memory of Wesley, driving with Fred on a sunny afternoon. Gunn is impressed: if only she stayed within the recommended speed limits…

As they pull up to the Burkle residence, Gunn is waiting, expecting her to put on her disguise as Fred once more, but is quickly concerned when she doesn’t – how is he going to explain Illyria to Fred’s parents? When Trish and Roger come to the door, whilst they look visibly surprised at her appearance, they embrace Illyria regardless – unconditional love.

Inside, Gunn questions what she’s doing. She doesn’t offer him any explanation – and the family dog is growling at the Goddess angrily. Gunn goes to talk to the Burkles, while Illyria tells the dog to stop, as nicely as she can: “It would be better for you if you stopped making that noise”.

As Gunn enters the kitchen, flustered, and starts to attempt an explanation, the Burkles shush him up. There is no need, they explain: they didn’t see Fred for five years when she was missing in Pylea. Back then, they didn’t care what state she was in: they just loved her and wanted her home. The same applies now, blue-goth make-up, or not.

After walking their dinner off, Gunn is ready to retire for the evening, however Illyria points out that there are demons nearby – and they should not be here. She leads him three miles down the road, to a barn on some farmland – where they find a young demon boy inside. Illyria asks if she should kill the child, but he begs her to stop. His name, he explains, is D’Rel. Charles recognises him as a Stygian demon and notes that they usually travel in clusters or units.

They find an entire family or clan. They ask Gunn and Illyria for mercy…