Chapter 2

Everyone was practicing their moves or meditating, waiting for the next challenge. The idiot who had locked them all up, hadn't yet informed them who was to fight and everyone was anxious about having to fight the Slayer.

Buffy and Angel were the only ones doing nothing. They sat there quietly in each others arms watching the demons training and talking quietly to each other.

'Watch out for the Serd's right arm, it hides a retractable needle tipped with a poison deadly to humans," Angel had spent most of the time making sure Buffy knew what she was up against. He wanted no surprises for her.

Buffy's gaze perused the room as Angel spoke to her. She evaluated each demon; sensing their strengths and weaknesses and judging whether or no they were a threat.

There were no weapons in the room, obviously, yet some demons, like the Serd, had weapons on their body, either retractable or on it's body. One demon spat a toxin at it's enemies to stun them, leaving them open for an attack. Buffy had noticed it training before. Another demon had rows of long spikes along the ridge of his back and he was standing a ways from the group, probably hoping not to accidentally poke anyone.

All of the demons had some special skill or defence, after all that's why they were here wasn't it, but Buffy dismissed most of them with a single look.

There was really only one challenge in the room and he was standing in front of her. Her Angel. She knew she'd have to fight him eventually. She just hoped they had a plan by that stage. She wasn't going to kill him… again. They'd have to kill her.

Her musing were cut short has a green skinned demon sidled up to Angel and herself. It's skin shone as though covered in oil and the dim light reflected off of it's bald head.

'I know who you are Slayer,' it rasped and Buffy lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed. 'The one named Spike told me about you.'

Buffy groaned. Everything seemed to always come back round to that moron. Why couldn't he just die already?

She looked the demon over and noticed no outward hostility, just curiosity and something that felt like desperateness. 'Yeah, so?' she replied haughtily.

'You are well known in these parts Slayer. No less than half of this room fear you, more than that respect you and your calling and your nightly fight for peace. Not all of us are evil, as you know, but we were still captured and are forced to serve here in this circus of death. Are you going to do something about it?'

Buffy stood, dumbstruck, before she noticed a big, ugly, mean looking demon glaring daggers at Angel and she sent a slayer- strength glare at him before turning back to the green demon. 'But I'm just here for him,' she said thumbing at Angel.

'I have a family,' Buffy's eyes widened and he continued, 'so do many others. We are mostly innocents who have been caught up in this abhorrent web. We just want to go back to our families.'

How on earth was she supposed to save them and Angel and herself? She couldn't.

She opened her mouth to let him down when the double doors opened again and two men she didn't recognise strolled through carrying plates. Not the eating off kind, the writing on kind. As they passed, Buffy noticed their names or in some demons cases, their type, were printed on them.

She watched puzzled as they walked over to the wall, where, she noticed for the first time, a board for the name plates was hanging. They arranged the names in silence, inserting them into the holders as Buffy watched interestedly, while the rest of the room watched in grim, resigned silence. When they had finished and left the room the demons surged forward, scrambling to see the board, while Buffy and Angel stood back out of the way.

She looked up at Angel, a puzzled look on her face as he stared grimly at the tight knot of demons. He noticed her looking at him and he pulled her closer to him as he whispered in her ear 'It shows who is to fight next and who they are fighting against,' he said making Buffy shiver slightly.

After reading the fight schedule, the demons slowly drifted back tom what they were doing before the interruption, many doing it more vigorously.

Buffy glanced at Angel then took a couple of steps closer to the board. She looked for her name and noticed she was fighting something called Fherds. How am I supposed to pronounce that? Is it a Fherds or is its name Fherds? Maybe the h is silent.

An electric blue demon came towards her and Buffy has a funny feeling it was the Fherds.

It stood, observing her for a few moments, then bowed to her. 'Slayer,' it's voice boomed out, making Buffy jump. 'I am honoured to be fighting against you.'

Buffy and Angel were sitting side by side against the bars of the cage, Buffy's head on Angel's shoulder. The demons around them were sitting quietly also.

Everyone was waiting to see who won.

Buffy looked around at the expressions on the faces of the demons and again noticed there was no fear, only a resigned look of helplessness.

As bad as she felt though, she knew she couldn't save them. Sure, some of them were of the non-evil variety but most of them were vicious monsters who shouldn't be let back out on the streets.

She remembered what Angel had told her not one hour ago. She'd asked him if he'd fought yet and he'd hung his head, not looking in her eyes as he nodded. When she'd asked what happened, he lifted his head and the chocolate eyes drilled into hers as he explained the fight and the following meeting with a Wolfram and Hart rep.

If Buffy was ever in a room alone with one of them, they wouldn't live to regret anything they have done or will do.

Buffy lifted her head and looked around. 'It's over.'

Angel looked towards the doors, hearing the crowd quietening down. Buffy was right.

The doors opened and a red scaly demon strolled through, surrounded by the lackeys with Jack at the front.

The red demon stood at the line, waiting to be told what to do. This disgusted Angel. These used to be powerful, savage demons and now they were cowed by weak men. It was demeaning to everything they stood for, everything Angel used to stand for… as Angelus.

Angel felt Buffy move and he looked up at her, a puzzled expression on his face as she stood.

She looked down at him. 'My turn,' she said grimly.

He stood up quickly, he'd forgotten she and the Fherds were the next to fight. The Fherds was a fierce fighter; fast, powerful, it was one of the few demons in the room that he identified as a threat.

He looked over to where the men were standing, noting the smirk on Jack's face. He was going to die. Angel would make sure of it.

He turned and grabbed Buffy by the shoulders. 'You don't have to do this. I'll do it.'

She smiled understandingly at him and cupped his cheek. 'If I don't do this, what do you think will happen?'

His gaze ticked to Jack's smirking face then back to his loves. He opened his mouth and closed it again. If she didn't fight they'd kill her. If she did fight, there was still the small possibility she could die.

Before he could say anything, she reached up and kissed him softly, pulling back when he tried to deepen it.

Smiling softly at him, she turned and walked towards Jack, a matching smirk on her face.

They had no idea what they were in for.