They found themselves in a stone chamber, like a church without the crosses. Angel and Buffy exchanged a look. "Now where are we?" Buffy asked wearily.

Angel shook his head. "I have no idea." He ran his fingers through his long, shaggy hair. "Why now?" he murmured. "Why did we come to this place at this time? What is the significance?"

There was a loud knock on the door and they both swung around, yanking their knives from their belts. They exchanged another look and Buffy walked toward the door. She eyed it warily for a moment, and then took hold of the handle. She pulled it inwards and stepped back, raising her knife threateningly.

Both she and Angel froze, blinking in surprise.

The man wore a brown suit complete with a matching duster. His hair was in disarray but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he wore a cheery grin and waved at the two. "Hello. So you're the new sitters, then. Not quite what I expected, though. Looks like you've had a bit of a rough night, eh?" He spoke with a British accent, but it didn't sound anything like Giles'. The stranger looked from Buffy to Angel and back. "Oh. Sorry. Was that rude? Because I'm a very rude person, I'm told. Well, I'm here to hand her over. She's your responsibility now. You'll get her home safely, won't you? I'd hate to think anything bad's happened to her." With that he urged the child at his side forward, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"There, there, Phoebe. Don't be frightened. They're going to take care of you, now. Off you go."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Am I going home now?" she asked timidly.

"That you are," the man replied. "Safe and sound, just like they promised. Be a good girl, all right?"

Phoebe nodded and wiggled her fingers at the man. He waved back. "Well, I'm off. Good luck!" With that he turned and walked away. Buffy tore her eyes from the child and looked through the door, but the man was already gone.

"That...was strange," Angel said slowly.

"Tell me about it," Buffy muttered. She looked back at the little girl. "Your name is Phoebe?" She nodded. Her dirty blonde hair was done up in a messy ponytail and her blue eyes seemed too large for her face. Buffy guessed her to be between eight and ten years old.

"Phoebe," Buffy crouched to get on eye-level with the girl. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Phoebe nodded, her bangs falling over her eyes. She lifted a hand to brush them away. "The beginning of the Labyrinth," she said. "My home is on the other side. Are you going to take me home?"

Buffy looked questioningly at Angel, who only shrugged. "Who was the man who brought you here?" Buffy asked the girl.

"He was to take care of me, and to bring me here. He said there'd be others to take me through the Labyrinth," the girl explained. "I can't go through by myself."

"Why are you so far from home?" Angel asked. Phoebe turned her plaintive gaze to the vampire.

"A thing needed doing, and only I can do it," she said cryptically. "Can we go home now?"

Buffy got to her feet and crossed over to Angel. "Am I the only one getting really weird vibes from this?" she whispered.

"No, but she's just a little girl," he whispered back. "Until we figure out where we are and what to do about it, the least we could do is get her home."

"Yeah, but what is this Labyrinth she mentioned?" Buffy asked. "Sounds creepy."

Angel shrugged. "So was Acathla's hell. She has no one else to watch over her, Buffy."

"Someone knew we were going to be here," Buffy said with a frown.

"Or someone brought us here," Angel replied. "There are powers greater than we know, and somehow I have the feeling that we're following some sort of direction."

"Yeah," Buffy said slowly. She turned to look at Phoebe, who was staring back at them. "So, Phoebe. Do you know the way home?"

*****

The road was wide and well-marked, even when they left the hill country and headed up the mountainside. Phoebe was quiet and uncomplaining, though she did accept Angel's offer to carry her on his back after a few hours. She clung to the vampire even after she fell asleep, giving Angel and Buffy a chance to talk privately.

"So you think that someone's been pulling the strings ever since Acathla's hell?" Buffy asked.

Angel nodded. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Think about it. We were in that place for months, maybe even longer. Then we just happen to stumble across the only other people in the whole dimension. And just as soon as we finish helping them, we end up somewhere else. Then, after exactly one hundred days, we're here, just in time to pick up Phoebe and take her home."

"You're right," Buffy said thoughtfully. "It does sound way to scripted to be coincidence."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidences," Angel reminded her with a small smile.

"Or leprechauns," she said, smiling back. "So, the puppet masters. Good or evil?"

"I don't think they're either," Angel said, shaking his head. "But they seem to be using us for their own ends." He sighed. "I only hope they plan on taking us out of here. Maybe even get us home."

"It's not like we have any other ideas," Buffy agreed. She checked on Phoebe, making sure the girl was still sleeping. "I wonder who she is, and what it was she needed to do."

"Maybe we'll find out," Angel said, stepping over a patch of gravel on the road. "I'm probably going to regret saying this, but if this is the Labyrinth, it's not that bad."

Buffy shot him a dark look. "Great. Now, just because you said that, it's going to get interesting, and in the not good variety."

He looked sheepish. "Yeah, probably.