There was no way to tell how long they picked their way across the shattered, rocky plain, but it felt like days. They stopped to rest a few times, but neither of them spoke. Angel didn't mind the silence, really, but sometimes it made him uncomfortable. He felt uneasy, each moment expecting the torment to begin and he would be forced to kill Buffy…again.

They stood at the top of a cliff, staring down at the ground below. Angel mused whether to try to find a way down or to walk along it. Buffy stood shivering beside him and offered no opinion one way or the other. He finally made up his mind and leaned over the edge.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, her voice sounding slightly alarmed. She was standing well back from the cliff, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Looking for a way down," he replied distantly, scanning the cliff face.

"We're going down that thing?" she asked nervously. "Shouldn't we, I don't know, look for a way around it or something?"

"Why?" he asked bluntly. He could think of no reason why they shouldn't go down the cliff. After all, they had no real idea where they were going, anyway. Buffy considered for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Okay," she said. "Let's find a way down."

They walked about a mile along the cliff before finding a place with enough hand- and footholds to get them down. Angel descended first and Buffy watched him go, marking his path so she could follow it. Angel was careful, testing each hold before trusting his weight. He had no desire to see if he could die in hell.

He glanced upwards as a trickle of dirt and rock chips fell into his hair. Buffy looked down at him and shrugged in apology. He checked their progress and noted they were over halfway to the bottom.

Buffy suddenly gasped and a shower of crumbled stone cascaded over Angel's shoulders an instant before she began to fall past him. Angel's arm shot out and he grabbed her wrist. The force of her fall knocked his feet loose from the cliff wall, and they dangled in the air, supported only by his hand clinging to the rock.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She stared up at him, her green eyes wide. "Yeah, I think so," she said breathlessly.

"Hold on," he instructed, scrabbling at the cliff with his feet.

He could hear her pulse pounding in shock, and a similar thrill of fear jabbed through his chest. In that split second before he caught her, he had been afraid. It was as if he was waking up for the first time, realizing that Buffy was right there with him. He swallowed hard and reset his feet, giving her stability as she sought for her own holds.

They descended the remaining distance as quickly as possible, and the second his feet hit the ground, Angel swept Buffy into his embrace. She clung to him, her cheek pressed against his.

"You're here," he whispered, fighting against tears. "You're really here. It's really you."

"Yeah, it's really me," she replied, stroking her hand over his hair.

"How did you get here?" Angel demanded, leaning back so he could see her face.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I remember…after I…" she trailed off, unable to look him in the face.

"After you stabbed me," he supplied gently, his voice holding no resentment.

"After that, I felt like something was pulling me, and then…" she shuddered and Angel held her close again.

"Sh, sh, sh. It's all right," he murmured gently. "It's going to be okay."

"That's when I started killing you," she said unevenly, her breath hitching in a sob.

"You never killed me. I'm right here," Angel soothed. He quickly decided not to tell her his own nightmares. They held each other in mutual comfort for a long time before Buffy finally pulled away, wiping at her eyes.

"So, this is where Acathla's portal dumped us?" she said, taking another look around. The view at the bottom of the cliff was depressingly similar to the view from the top of the cliff.

"I suppose so," he replied.

"What are we going to do, Angel?" she asked in a small voice.

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. He reached over and took her hand. "We'll find a way out of this," he told her, trying to force hope into his voice without much success. She gave him a look as if to tell him that and his shoulders slumped. "You shouldn't be here, Buffy. I'm sorry."

She shrugged again, a weary look on her face. "There's nothing we can do about that now." She combed her hair back form her face with her fingers. "So, now what? We start walking again?"

"Until we get someplace or something happens," Angel said, squaring his shoulders. He held out his hand to her and she took it firmly. They set their backs to the cliff and continued their journey.

*****

Joyce stood outside the door for a long time, debating whether to knock or to walk away. She hadn't seen Xander or Willow since Buffy…left, and it was time to get answers. So she lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles briskly against the wood. It was a few minutes before the lock turned, and then, "Mrs. Summers," Rupert Giles greeted, looking slightly confused. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, you can tell me where my daughter is," Joyce said sharply. Mr. Giles seemed to deflate slightly and stepped back from the door.

"Do come in," he invited in a hollow voice. The apartment was clean and mostly tidy, save for the books scattered across any flat surface. "May I get you something to drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Joyce replied, walking into the middle of the living room and turning around. "I'm a little stressed out at the moment, so I think you'll excuse me if I get right to the point. Three weeks ago my daughter walked out of our house and no one has seen her since. And somehow I can't help but think you're involved."

Joyce began to pace but Giles stood stock-still, his eyes fixed on the ground. "You know, when we first moved here, I thought she could start over, that she'd stay out of trouble. But the instant she started spending time with you, everything began going downhill."

Giles took off his glasses and offered a stuttering protest. "Th-there were extenuating circumstances an-and Buffy, w-well, she—"

"Is a vampire Slayer, I know," Joyce interrupted. "She told me before she disappeared. Are you the one that got her involved in all of this nonsense? Did you encourage these, these delusions?"

Giles finally met Joyce's gaze. "I assure you, they are no delusions," he said firmly. "Buffy is indeed the vampire Slayer and has been since she was fifteen. She's kept this a secret from you for your own safety."

"My safety?" Joyce echoed angrily. "Safety from what? There are no such things as vampires, Mr. Giles. Now please just tell me where Buffy is."

The man suddenly looked very old and tired, the lines around his blue eyes deepening. "I'm afraid I have no idea," he said softly.

*****

"Wow," Buffy said after a moment of shocked silence.

"Yeah. Wow," Angel agreed.

"That's…um…big," Buffy continued.

"It certainly is," Angel agreed again.

"So…what? Do we go around it?"

Angel peered up at the mountain looking above them. "No, he said thoughtfully. "I want to see what's on top."