They had no time to prepare before the first attack came. Buffy could barely make out the shape of the demons by the faint starlight, but it wasn't pleasant. In body they were similar to dogs, but twice the size and covered in spiky, triangle scales. They had long talons set in bird-like feet, with a curved killing-claw set halfway up their forearm.

At first Angel and Buffy ran, trying to outdistance the relentless creatures, but no matter which direction they fled in, the demons always found them. They hunted in twos and threes, surrounding their prey to bring it down.

Finally Buffy and Angel could run no more and they turned to face the demons. Angel snatched the first demon hound out of the air mid-leap and snapped its spine, tossing the body aside. The second lunged for Buffy, and she caught it around the neck to prevent it from sinking its teeth in her throat. It struggled wildly in her grasp, its fist-sized eyes inches from hers, but she held on, squeezing with all her strength until it finally went limp.

"Buffy, over here!" Angel called, and Buffy ran towards his voice. There was an odd lump of stone rising from the trees, and carved out of one side was a shallow cave. "They will only be able to come at us one way, now," Angel told her.

The next group found them minutes later, crowding the mouth of the cave to get at the vampire and the Slayer. Buffy cried out in pain when one slashed her across the stomach. The smell of blood drove the beasts wild. The immediately abandoned Angel and attacked Buffy, driving her back and attempting to tear her to pieces. Buffy desperately tried to fend them off, but every time she turned, a new wound appeared on her already battered body. With blood streaming from a dozen injuries, she dropped to one knee, already feeling faint and light-headed.

One of the demon hounds was poised to end it, teeth scraping her throat, when it disappeared with a strangled yelp. In its place stood Angel, his tattered shirt gone to reveal long scratches across his chest. He tore into the remaining hounds with a fury, like Angelus unchained.

Buffy watched him in utter shock. She had thought she had seen him fight before, but it had been nothing like this. Everything he touched was destroyed, and though the beasts kept coming, he never flagged or grew weary. She saw him grab a hound's head in his hands and rip the lower jaw away, spraying warm, red blood across his twisted, monstrous features.

It frightened her.

She staggered to her feet, the bleeding stopped by her Slayer healing, and moved to his side. He spared her a quick glance from burning yellow eyes and turned his attention back to fighting. Buffy had no idea how long that night lasted; it was a blur of pain and blood.

When the first rays of sunlight broke through the canopy of leaves, the hounds disappeared, leaving Buffy and Angel blinking in the growing light. Buffy's knees abruptly gave out and she sat down hard. Angel was instantly at her side, his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"You were right," she whispered. "We're still in hell."

*****

Willow sighed and laid her head atop her hands. At her elbow, her cappuccino continued to get colder, and a half-eaten muffin sat a few inches from her nose. Normally she enjoyed coming to the Bronze, especially in the summer, but not tonight. She sighed again, blowing crumbs across the table.

"Wow. And here I was thinking I'd have to sit alone."

She squeaked in surprise and shot up, her long hair flying in all directions. She had to smooth it back from her face before she could look at the person who had spoken to her. "Oh. Hi, Oz."

He smiled faintly and took the seat next to her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Willow propped her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. "I miss Buffy," she said. "I understand that she needs her space and all, but couldn't she call or something? I mean, we're still important to her, right? I'm still important? And Giles is so worried and even Xander is sulking and I can't stop thinking about her and—mmph!"

Oz had taken a very direct method of stopping her babble. When he released her from the kiss, he leaned back and gave her a steady look. "It'll be okay," he said quietly. "Buffy can take care of herself. She'll come back when she's ready."

"I know," Willow said. She swung her legs back and forth a few times, and then said, "What is she doing right now? What's she thinking about? Is she thinking about Angel? Is she sad? I don't know any of these things and she's not around to ask."

Oz slipped off his stool and took Willow's hand. "No, she's not. And worrying won't bring her back." He lifted and eyebrow and gave her his imperturbable smile. "So…dance with me?"

Willow hesitated a moment, and then got to her feet. "Oh, all right."

*****

When Buffy woke up, Angel was gone. She scrambled to her feet, feeling slightly panicked, and hurried to the mouth of the cave. "Angel? Angel!" She looked around but saw no sign of him. She stood in a patch of sunshine, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, and chewed on her lower lip.

'Angel wouldn't leave me,' she assured herself. 'He's just gone exploring or something. And those demon hound thingies only attacked at night, so he's perfectly safe.' She sighed and dropped her arms, swinging them back and forth.

She glanced down at herself and grimaced. Her shirt was tattered and filthy, and her pants were stained in blood. Even her boots were scarred and scuffed. She reached up and tentatively felt her hair. It was tangled and dirt-encrusted. Heat flared in her cheeks. She must look awful!

At that moment, Angel appeared from the trees, carrying…a bucket? He walked carefully, but there was still water all down the side of his leather pants. He set the bucket down and looked at her. "How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Okay," Buffy replied. "Um…where'd you get that?" she asked, pointing at the bucket.

Angel turned and gestured over his shoulder. "Oh. There's a camp set up a few miles that way. It looks like whoever was there didn't last long against those demons. There were a few odds and ends I thought we could use." He faced her again. "There's a creek not far away, if you wanted to wash."

Buffy blushed again. "Do I look that bad?" she asked plaintively.

Angel looked startled, and then sheepish. "No, no, it's just that… Well actually, you do. The wounds are healing fine; I checked. But you must want to wash the dirt out of your hair."

"That would be nice," Buffy said enthusiastically.

"I'll show you the creek on my way back to the camp," Angel offered. He glanced up at the sky. "The days here must be short. It's only been three hours and it's already past midday." He beckoned her to follow him and started walking. "We need to be prepared for the demons again tonight."

Buffy nodded. They walked in silence for a few moments, and then Buffy sighed explosively. "I can't take it any more!" she exclaimed. "How did we get here? Why are we here? Who were those people in the other place? What is going on?"

Angel shook his head. "I don't understand what's going on any more than you do. But we were brought here, I know that much. Someone took us out of Acathla's hell and put us here. Why? I have no idea. My focus right now is to survive tonight and maybe get some answers tomorrow."

Buffy's anger dissipated as quickly as it had come. "Yeah," she said softly. "I guess you're right."

*****

"The Slayer is hardly passive, is she?" he noted. "Yet she trusts him implicitly."

"He has earned it," she retorted. She drifted closer to get a better view. "They survived the first night. Only ninety-nine more to go."

"I never did like this test," he said with a faint sigh.

"Their endurance and determination must be evaluated. We must know if they will persevere, or give up and die."

"Not to mention their own relationship," he pointed out.

She mused over that for a few moments. "Yes," she said at length. "Somehow I think that will be more trying than the wolves of Hades. This time will either bring them together, or tear them irrevocably apart."