Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Here's where the 24-verse comes to a head. This AU split off after Dead Things in Season Six.
Disclaimer: All characters are property of Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon. Giles' chant is adapted from "Myths of Enki, The Crafty God" by Samuel Noah Kramer.
Archiving: Please ask, I'm easy
Summary: Previously in the 24-verse: Buffy and Spike didn't break up at the end of As You Were, but Buffy's unwillingness to acknowledge Spike publicly meant they broke up soon afterward. Spike decided to change himself into someone she would be willing to be seen with. Meanwhile, the Scoobies raided the Nerds, and Warren escaped and came back to shoot Buffy and Xander. Xander would have died, but Willow intervened with Osiris to prevent him from crossing over. The price for saving Xander's life was Willow's soul. Soulless Willow killed Warren horribly. Spike, meanwhile, won his soul by protecting strangers, inspiring someone else to courage and overcoming his self-doubt. Willow went to visit Tara and it went badly. Giles arrived by teleportation, and the gang got together to plan their strategy for dealing with Willow. They performed a ritual to ask for knowledge of how to restore Willow's soul, and the answer was Spike -- in person.

Countdown: One

A jail cell is the last place Jonathan Levinson thought he would end up. Oh, his mother had often told him he'd come to no good end -- particularly if he continued to focus on video games rather than trying to get into medical school. But he'd never thought he'd come to this.

Andrew was lying on the top bunk in their cell, staring at him balefully.

"Stop looking at me that way!" Jonathan said with a frown.

"Then get us out of here," Andrew whined.

"What am I supposed to do, bend the bars with my super-strength?"

"I don't know. Warren would have had us out of here by now."

"And where's Warren? He dumped us. He's long gone. Probably somewhere in Mexico living off the haul from the bank."

"Warren will come for us," Andrew said, squinching up his face like his was about to cry.

"Face it, lack brain. Warren probably doesn't even remember our names."

Andrew turned over and faced the wall. Jonathan went over and looked out through the bars. The cop who sat at the desk outside had gone to the coffee machine. Pathetic, Jonathan thought. Sunnydale was such a hick town that they didn't even have video surveillance on the lockup -- just a fat cop with a donut and coffee habit.

Then an idea hit him.

"OK, you want out of here?" he said with a little smile. "You be ready to back me up here."

"What?" Andrew said, turning back to him.

"Just be ready."

Jonathan closed his eyes and started to chant. His body began to shimmer. Then it went indistinct, only to reform itself in the image of a uniformed police officer.

"Hey! Let me out of here! Help!" he shouted, his voice disguised.

"Cool!" Andrew said.

***********

Officer Bob Crisswell came running back to his desk in the lockup.

"Ben! How'd you get in there?" he asked, when he saw the duty sergeant in one of the cells.

"That kid! He pretended to be sick. He was all choking and I opened up to help him. But he grabbed my gun and escaped!"

Bob got his keys. To his surprise, as soon as the door was open the man he'd thought was Ben shoved him into the cell. The other boy -- the blond one whose name he couldn't remember -- was behind him and grabbed his gun out of its holster. The boy giggled as he pointed the weapon.

"Do you feel lucky?" the boy said.

Bob was about to grab for the gun and teach the boy a lesson -- after all, the boy didn't seem to realize that the safety was still engaged on the weapon, but the other occupant of the cell, the one who looked like Ben, grabbed the boy and hauled him out of the cell.

"You idiot!" Jonathan said, letting the glamour fade and returning to his normal appearance. "Stop playing Clint Eastwood and get out here."

Bob blinked. Ben was gone, and somehow his two prisoners were free. He, on the other hand, was locked in a cell.

"Hey! Somebody let me out of here!" he shouted.

***********

They walked out of the understaffed Sunnydale police station without anyone challenging them. It was after nine o'clock, and the stores on Main Street were closed, so there wasn't much traffic.

"We've got to find a way out of town, fast," Jonathan said. "They're going to figure out we're gone and they'll be looking for us. Not many places to hide in a town like this."

"Right," Andrew said. "We can steal a car..."

Jonathan slapped him on the side of the head. "Dummy! If we steal a car, it will be reported, and they'll have our license plate number. The CHP will have us before sunrise."

"Oh... "

"We'll have to hitchhike."

"Ponch was really cool..." Andrew said. "I like Erik Estrada."

"Could you focus? Besides, Erik Estrada is older than your dad!"

"No!"

"Yeah... "

The stopped short to find Willow Rosenberg blocking their path down the sidewalk.

"Shit! Willow! She's with the Slayer," Andrew said, turning to run.

"Not at the moment," Willow said in a strange voice. She put out a hand and Jonathan and Andrew found themselves unable to run. Their feet wouldn't move.

"Really convenient to find you two out on the street," she said in a slow, casual tone -- a strangely un-Willowish tone to Jonathan's ear. "I was just coming to find you two. And here you've come out to meet me."

"Um... I'm not sure this escape thing was such a good idea," Jonathan said in a frightened voice. "We'll just go back inside now."

"No! I won't hear of it. Can't have those nasty police locking up my sweet boys, can I?"

Jonathan frowned. Something wasn't right here.

"We're sorry, Willow," Jonathan said. "We're really sorry."

She cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"What we did was wrong."

Willow shrugged. "You two wanted to be super villians, right?"

"Yeah!" Andrew said, trying to look brave and bad.

Willow laughed. "Well, let's do it then! You're short an evil-overlord and I could use some minions."

"You want us to join you?" Jonathan asked, looking very skeptical.

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"You want us to join you?" Jonathan repeated incredulously.

"Look at it this way," she said, her eyes narrowing. "You've heard that old saying, haven't you? Life's a bitch, and then you die? Well, I've got a new one -- I'm a bitch and you're gonna die -- unless you keep me happy." She smiled at the two young men -- a low, humorless smile that made Jonathan's blood run cold.

**********

Spike wasn't being particularly helpful. He was almost too tired to talk, and Buffy hated to keep pressing him. He'd had a few fairly confused things to say about fighting mountain lions. And he went on a bit about Doc being a wanker. But they couldn't get him to focus on the actual requirements for restoring a soul.

"He needs rest," Tara said after a while. "He's not going to be able to help us until he gets himself sorted out. It looks like he's been through something pretty intense."

Buffy nodded. She turned back to the vampire sitting in a chair at the research table. No, sitting wasn't exactly the right term. He was supported by the chair, draped over the table, his head supported by a hand on his forehead.

"I'm going to take him back to his crypt," she said.

Giles nodded. "Perhaps he'll be more coherent tomorrow."

"Maybe we should take him to our place," Dawn said. "We could fix up a cot in the ba..."

The door of the magic shop flew open with a crash. Willow walked through the door, Jonathan and Andrew close behind her.

"That was sorta neat," Willow said. "I've always wanted to make a Buffy entrance."

She sauntered into the center of the room.

"Hail, hail the gang's all here," she said, looking around at her friends. "Saves me the trouble of gathering you all up."

"Willow," Giles said, standing up to face her. "I'm glad you've come. We're working on a way to help you."

"Help me? You must be confused. I don't need any help."

"Yes you do. If you'll stop and think, you'll see it."

"Nope. Not into thinking right now. Thinking makes me sad. I don't want to be sad anymore."

"Then let us help you."

He took a step toward her. She raised her hand and gestured toward him and he flew backward to slam into a bookshelf that toppled over backward.

"Hey! Be careful around the merchandise!" Anya said angrily. "You break it, you bought it!"

Willow raised an eyebrow. A crooked smile spread across her face. "Looks like I'm gonna be buying a lot of stuff."

She pointed a finger at a display of magic crystals and the exploded sending sharp fragments flying in all directions. One brushed Dawn's cheek, leaving a bloody scratch.

Anya kept her eyes on the angry witch, but bent down surreptitiously to put her hand on a book stored under the counter.

She glanced over at Giles who was picking himself up out of the pile of books and broken shelves.

Buffy had worked her way around behind Willow and launched herself at the witch to knock her off balance. Willow went down, but knocked Buffy away with a blast of magic.

"Don't try that again," Willow said coldly. "The next time I have to pick myself up off the floor I'm going to do something you'll regret."

"Willow! Don't do this," Xander said, standing up shakily. "We're your friends. We're not trying to hurt you."

"You used to be my friends," Willow spat, pointing a finger at the carpenter.

Xander cried out as he was knocked down. Anya ran out from behind the counter and positioned herself between Willow and Xander.

"Stop that Willow. I won't let you hurt Xander."

"Oh, you're going to stop me?"

Anya opened the book and started to chant.

Willow pointed a finger, but nothing happened. She cocked her head to the side.

"Nice protection spell you're throwing up there. The big question is, how long can you keep it up?"

Anya ignored her, continuing to read from the book.

"I'm sure she'll keep it up long enough," Giles said. He gestured at Willow and she was pushed back by a wave of power.

"Nice try, Rupert," Willow sneered. "But you aren't going to defeat me with a little bit of borrowed power. Mine is stronger. And Anya can't help you while she's busy protecting her spineless ex-fiancé."

She advanced on Giles, her eyes narrow, her mouth set in a malicious smile.

"Willow! For God's sake, stop!"

Willow turned around in surprise. It was Jonathan.

"You're a minion. Minions don't tell me to stop," she said.

"Willow, you used to be my hero. Don't do this. It's so ... lame."

"What?"

"It's lame. You're going nuts because you think everyone is mad at you. Well, maybe they are. But you can't go destroying everything that isn't just like you want it. There will be nothing left!"

"What do you mean, I used to be your hero?"

"You were," Jonathan said miserably. "You were one of the smart ones. Like me. But instead of always getting pushed around you always managed to get the better of the jocks and the cheerleaders and all the ones who thought they were better than us because they were popular and good looking and tall.

"Even the teachers depended on you. When Miss Calendar died, they had you take over her class. That was so cool.

"And when they made you tutor Percy West, you had him following you around like a whipped puppy. And he was the star on the basketball team. And it was because you were smart, not because you wore low necklines and tight jeans.

"And I could always look at you and think that maybe smart people could win. I didn't have to be a loser. Maybe I could be a winner like you."

Willow just looked at him in stunned silence.

"Buffy was cool, but everybody expects pretty blondes to be cool," Jonathan continued. "You were cool because you were so smart.

"Now you're trying to be like Warren, and that's just lame. Even Warren doesn't like being Warren."

Willow snapped out of her trance.

"Particularly now -- since I killed him."

"You what?" Andrew cried. "You killed Warren? You bitch!"

He ran at her and she flipped a finger at him. He ran into a solid, invisible wall and stopped, sliding down the non-existent surface to the floor, unconscious.

"Good just wasn't working out for me," Willow said with a sneer.

"I doubt you'll do much better with evil," Spike said.

Everybody turned to find Spike sitting up, looking at Willow intently.

"Oh, the incredible toothless vampire speaks," Willow said derisively.

"Take my word for it. The whole evil gig just isn't all that satisfying. I should know."

"Sorry, Buffy just doesn't float my boat," Willow sneered. "So I guess I don't have a good enough reason to be good."

"Let me tell you about evil," Spike said. "One night, back in the '40s, Dru and me killed twenty-three people. I did fifteen of them. One of my biggest nights for killing ever. But you know what? It was insignificant. That night the Allies were bombing Hamburg. They killed forty thousand. And the Allies were supposedly the good guys. Queen and country and all that. Forty thousand. And even that was a drop in the bucket. More than three million Germans died in that war. And that was nothing. More than eleven million Russians died.

"So those fifteen I did? It wasn't even enough to merit a footnote in a history book. Nobody even noticed.

"I put a lot of effort into being the Big Bad over my century and then some of killing. You know what I wanted? I wanted to be noticed. I wanted people to say my name in whispers because they were afraid. I wanted to be respected.

"But was I? Please... My best moments were pathetic compared to the things humans did. I killed a Slayer in the Boxer rebellion. But how many people did the Fists of Righteous Harmony kill? That's what the Boxers really called themselves. 'Fists of Righteous Harmony.' All that killing was righteous, as far as they were concerned. They thought they were the good guys. Dru, Darla and me, we were just skimming off the mayhem caused by humans against humans.

"You know why vampires haven't been wiped out? It's because we're not enough of a threat to make it worthwhile to try!"

"And what about this lecture on the patheticness of vampires is supposed to make me break down and beg for forgiveness?" Willow said.

"Dunno. I just thought you might like a little insight on where you're going, Red. If you want to make your mark as a Big Bad, you're going to have to outdo World War II, and Vietnam, and the Gulf War all rolled together. You're going to have to do what Angelus failed at. Because if you stop short of destroying everything, then the other side, the good guys, if that's what you want to call them, they're just going to fix up everything you broke, and it'll be like you were never there.

"So, are you ready for that, Red? You ready to destroy the world just so you don't have to face your friends' disappointment?"

"Destroy the world? Now, that's an idea," Willow said, her voice tight. "Thanks for the suggestion."

Willow raised her hands over her head and looked up. "I command the power," she said. "I call it to myself!"

A column of light formed around her. It extended to the ceiling and the wood of the overhead beams began to smoke where it touched them.

"Tell me, Spike," Giles said. "Are you actually on our side?"

The air crackled and heat rolled off the pillar of fire. Willow's voice came from the center of the inferno, shrieking in pain -- yet, her body was not consumed.

"Willow! No! Don't do this! Please!" Tara ran to her and tried to reach into the light. Her hands burned as she reached out to it. She cried out in pain.

Willow's shriek ceased and she looked out of her glowing capsule.

"Tara, no. Stay back!"

She gestured and Tara was pushed back, not thrown as the others had been, just pushed away.

"Why bother pushing me back," Tara said, staring at her blistered hands. "If you're going to do this, I'll be killed with everyone else."

Willow gestured again and Tara was encased in a crystal bubble. "I won't hurt you," Willow said. "I'll never hurt you."

"You are hurting me! What am I going to do in here after the world is gone? If you destroy the world, you destroy me with it. How can you do that?"

The light around Willow faded. The roof continued to smolder, but the heat rolling off the witch's body cooled and ceased. The bubble around Tara dissolved.

Willow crumpled to the floor sobbing.

"I just can't stand it. Everything I do hurts someone. Why can't I do anything right?" she sobbed.

Xander picked himself up. Anya finally stopped chanting.

"I'm still mad at you," she said to him, snapping the book shut and stomping off.

Xander stumbled over to Willow. "You're not the only person who ever hurt someone without meaning to. And after you've done it, it's hard to look at the person you've hurt and know it's your fault, and if you'd just been a little smarter, or more sensitive, or more thoughtful, you could of avoided it."

He bent down and took her in his arms.

"But you can't change anything that's happened. You just have to go on and hope you'll get your head out of your ass before the next time."

"What am I going to do?" Willow sobbed. "I can't seem to control myself. Everything comes out a hundred times worse than I mean it."

"What we were working on when you came in was getting your soul back," Giles said, crouching down next to Willow and Xander.

"I don't think you can," Willow said. "Osiris said the contract was irrevocable."

"Few things are as irrevocable as they seem," Giles said.

"I think that's where I come in," Spike said.

Giles looked over his shoulder. "Yes, you were going to tell us how to earn a soul."

"I had to complete a number of tests," Spike said.

"By the looks of it, it wasn't written," Dawn said.

"No, it wasn't. And I don't think Red would stand much of a chance with the kind of tests they tend to come up with."

"That isn't tremendously helpful, Spike," Giles said, sounding slightly irritated.

"But that isn't the only way. It's the way I went, but there is another. She can have a champion quest on her behalf."

"Oh, that's better," Giles said with a smile. "So, we need to go up to the wilderness area up north now?"

Spike shook his head. "No, I think this was all planned, actually. I think this is why I got dumped back here. After the bloke who was handing out the souls finished with me, and I'm sort of flat out on the ground, he bends over me and says, 'Keep in touch. If you need me, give me a ring,' and he tucks something in my pocket."

Spike dug in the pocket of his jeans and drew out an amulet.

"At the time, I thought he might be a poofter, but I think I see what he was up to now."

Spike held the amulet out for Giles to see. It was a bronze disk, about an inch and a half across, with writing that looked a bit like cuneiform circling the edge. The disk was suspended on a hand-wrought chain.

"I assume the writing would be instructions," Giles said, examining the object.

"The summoning ritual is generally included on the talisman," Anya said helpfully.

"Well, then we only need to identify the language, and get do a translation," Giles replied. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

"Can I see?" Jonathan asked.

Giles held the amulet out to him.

"Looks like Babylonian, or one of the related dialects, to me."

Andrew was recovering from his collision with the wall that wasn't. He was sitting up now, shaking his head to clear it.

"Why are you helping them. They're just going to send us back to jail!" the boy whined.

"Because I can," Jonathan said with a frown. "We're going to go back to jail anyway."

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"This is just like when you told my mother we were the ones who shaved her Yorkie."

Jonathan refused to even dignify that with a reply.

"I think you're right -- about the dialect," Giles said, squinting at the writing on the disc. "I think I have a reference on this."

Spike looked impatient. "I think it's simpler than that. Wouldn't do much good to give this to me if you had to speak Babylonian to use it."

He took the amulet back from Giles and went to where Willow was still huddled on the floor. Xander frowned at him as he approached, as if he thought Spike meant her some harm.

Spike crouched down so he was face to face with her.

"The main thing, as I understand it, is you have to want it, love. None of this means a thing if you don't want to change. Nobody can make you do it."

Willow nodded.

Spike put the amulet in her hand. She closed her fingers around it and closed her eyes. A light came from within her closed fist, making her hand glow red, the bones of her fingers shadowed within.

Her eyes widened for a moment, and everyone turned to see what she was looking at.

A seven-foot man with white-feathered wings stood behind the cash register. He was surrounded by an aura of white light and he held a sword that burned with blue flames.

"Have you selected your champion?" the angel asked.

Willow blinked. "Um..."

"That would be me," Buffy said, stepping up to face the angel.

The creature looked down at her for a long moment, then shook his head.

"You may not pass," he said.

"What do you mean? I've taken the challenge. I'll be Willow's champion," Buffy said with a frown.

"I commend your courage. But you may not serve. You are the Slayer. Your power comes from the same source as my own. I cannot challenge you."

Spike stood up. "Then I'll do it. I know what I'm getting into. Been through it already. I'll be Willow's champion."

"Spike," Buffy said. "You can't. You're barely on your feet. You may have survived this once. But nobody would expect you to go back through it right away!"

Xander stood up. "Then I'll do it. Willow gave up her soul for me. It's the least I can do."

Spike made a rude noise. "Give me a break, Harris. You'd never survive."

"He's right," Buffy said gently. "You're worse off than he is. You're not strong enough."

"I'll do it," Giles said firmly.

"You?" Spike said incredulously. "An aging shopkeeper and ex-librarian."

"I'll have you know I have considerable skill in the martial arts," Giles said defensively.

"ENOUGH!" the angel boomed. "I tire of your bickering. Decide amongst yourselves." He raised the sword and plunged it through the top of the display case, making a sound like thunder.

"When you have selected your champion, let him take up the sword and bring it through the portal."

The angel turned his back and raised his hands. A rectangle of white light appeared in the wall behind the counter. He stepped toward it.

Buffy reached for the hilt of the sword, but the angel turned abruptly and glared at her.

"Don't even think about it, Slayer!"

Buffy stepped back.
The angel stepped through the portal and was gone.

Anya went over to where Giles, Xander and Spike were arguing over who would be the champion.

"I think we need to take a different approach," she said.

"I hope you're not going to volunteer," Giles said. "We've already got enough volunteers."

"Me? Risk my life for Willow? I don't think so," Anya said evenly. "I was only going to suggest a method to settle the dispute."

"And what would that be?"

"Draw straws," the vengeance demon said.

It was Xander's turn to frown. "That is so... " He paused. "Actually, that's a pretty good idea, An."

"Thank you, Xander," she said with a proud smile. "But I'm still angry with you."

She went to the counter where there was a cup holding sticks of incense. She picked out three and broke the bottom off one. She palmed them so that the lengths would not be visible and held them out for the three men.

Suddenly, Willow cried out. Everyone turned to see her eyes glowing with golden light. She opened her mouth to cry out again and light spilled from between her lips. Then the glow faded away and she collapsed to the floor.

"What just happened?" Xander asked.

Dawn had been standing off to the side through the discussion and argument. She looked around in panic now.

"Guys, where's Tara?"

She was gone. And so was the sword.

*********

Tara stepped through the portal into the light beyond. The sword was heavy. Holding it up made her arms ache, and her hands stung from the burns she'd sustained touching Willow's power. But she persevered. She stopped once she was completely through the portal and looked around.

There was nothing to see. There was only light. She was, as far as she could tell, alone here. The air smelled of apples and cinnamon.

"Welcome." The voice was gentle and warm. It came from all directions and she felt it seep through her skin as much as she heard it.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking for the source of the voice.

"I will tell you my name soon, Tara MacLay." The voice said. "But now, let me simply welcome you."

"Am I going to have to fight you?" Tara asked.

The voice laughed with the sound of bells and wind chimes.

"You make an unlikely warrior, my child."

"Well, yes, that's true," she answered, letting the sword sag until the point rested on the ground and the weight was off her arms.

"Yet, you took up the sword just the same."

"Yes," she said shyly.

"Sit. Be comfortable. You shall not be required to do combat."

"Thank you." Tara settled down cross-legged on the ground, or floor, or whatever it was, since it wasn't differentiated from the walls or the ceiling or the sky.

"What do you desire, Tara MacLay?"

"I just want Willow to have a chance."

"You want nothing for yourself?"

Tara shook her head.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"You knew when you took up the sword that you had no chance of surviving a trial by combat."

Tara nodded.

"If you knew you could not succeed, why did you come through the portal?"

"The others, for one reason or another, they wouldn't have succeeded either. Spike's too worn out. He's strong, but he couldn't go through it again so soon. Xander wasn't that strong to begin with. Oh, he's strong like a construction worker. But he isn't a warrior and he's recovering from being shot. And Mr. Giles -- well he's smart enough, but I don't think he practices fighting that much."

"So you believed that whoever took the challenge would fail."

Tara nodded.

"And you decided to sacrifice yourself, rather than let one of them make the sacrifice."

Tara nodded again.

"A noble choice."

"What happens now. If I'm not going to be tested by combat, how will you test me?"

The voice laughed again.

"The test has been given. You have succeeded."

"Willow will get her soul back?"

"It is done."

"Oh... then can I go back now?"

"Your path lies a different direction, Tara MacLay."

"I can't go back?"

"No. But you knew that when you stepped through the portal, didn't you?"

"Yes. I guess I did."

"Don't be sad, child. The price is not death. You are simply moving on to meet your destiny. Much lies ahead of you. This is a beginning, not an end."

"I see," Tara whispered.

"Come to me now and I shall tell you my true name."

***********

Spike helped Willow up. She was shaking and unsteady. He led her to a chair and helped her sit.

"You OK, Red?" he asked.

She nodded, though the pain in her eyes said otherwise.

"Where's Tara?" she asked, her voice plaintive. "What did she do?"

"I'm going to find out," Buffy said firmly.

"Buffy, you can't go through the portal," Giles warned. "The demon was very clear on that point."

"Demon?" Dawn asked. "It looked like an angel to me."

Giles sighed. "Supernatural being. I suppose you might call it an angel, but that's just a word. It was a being from another plane of existence. A demon or perhaps an angel."

"I don't care," Buffy replied. "It doesn't want me in there, but I'm not in the mood to be told what to do. I've had about enough of this. I'm going in there and I'm going to bring Tara back."

She turned and stepped through the portal.

***********

The other side was a long, a narrow room stone room with an arched ceiling and a granite altar at the far end. A bright light burned behind the altar.

Buffy started toward it, but stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned, to find Spike two stepped behind.

"Just watching your back, pet," he said.

A moment later, Giles and Xander came through. Then Dawn, Willow and Anya.

"I guess this is going to be a field trip," Dawn said. "I hope everybody has their permission slips."

"I think the rest of you should go back," Buffy said.

"We'll go back when you go back," Xander replied.

"Whatever," Buffy said with a sigh. It just wasn't worth it to argue with them.

She found the sword, no longer burning, lying on the flagstones of the floor half way down the room. She picked it up.

"This is a little like Zelda," Xander said. "You go through a portal, turn west, pick up a sword."

"I think it's a little more serious than a video game," Giles said gravely.

As they approached, they could see that the light was the angel, standing behind the altar where Tara lay as if she was peacefully asleep. Her hands were crossed over her chest. Her face was relaxed and her eyes were closed.

They drew near, Buffy in the lead and the others following, and the angel stepped out from behind the altar to block their way.

"Slayer. You are not welcome here. Go back," the angel said sternly.

"I know. You said I couldn't come here. But sometimes I don't follow orders, and frankly, I don't exactly get why I have to obey yours."

"Go back or face my wrath."

"I'll go back when I can take Tara with me," Buffy said firmly. "But since I'm here and all, I'd just like to ask one thing."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Have you ever heard of trousers? I mean, really. You're supposed to be a superior being? A pair of briefs, even a Speedo would be an improvement."

The angel didn't seem to appreciate the humor of the situation.

"Be gone," he boomed.

"I don't care if I have to fight you," Buffy said firmly. "I'm not going back without Tara."

"Then you would do to her what was done to you?" the angel asked.

"What?"

"Would you force her to return to the mortal plane?"

Buffy let the sword sag down from its raised, ready for combat position.

"Is that what I'm doing?" she asked.

"It is."

"No... It's not Tara's time. This can't be right. It's all got so muddled. One person sacrifices herself for another, and another. It's all this bizarre chain reaction. It's got to stop!"

"It has stopped. The balance has been restored."

"What do you mean?"

"When the witch pulled you from our domain, the spheres were thrown out of balance. The balance has been restored."

"You mean Tara has taken my place?" Buffy said in a tiny voice.

"Yes."

Willow stepped forward. "That's not fair! It wasn't Tara's fault. I'm the one who insisted we do it. I'm the one who bullied everyone else into it. It should be me who has to give up her life."

"It is not a punishment," the angel said. "And you are not ready for our domain. You have much to learn before you will cross the threshold again."

The angel took the sword from Buffy's hand.

"Go back, Slayer. And take your friends with you. This is not your place."

"It was..." Buffy whispered.

"Yes," the angel said gently. "It was. But you've re-entered the human world now. You have connections to these people and many others. You have embraced your calling once again. You are part of the web of life. It is not your time to leave the mortal plane."

The angel raised the sword and brought it down on the stone floor. Light flared from spot where it struck and they were momentarily blinded.

**********

When the light faded, they were back in the Magic Box. Willow sat next to the research table, her face buried in her hands, sobbing. Spike stood behind Buffy, waiting to see what she would do now. Giles, Anya, Xander and Dawn stood nearby, looking confused.

Everybody seemed to be waiting for Buffy to do or say something.

"I don't know what to say," Buffy said quietly.

"Nor do I," Giles replied.

"It was all my fault," Willow said between sobs.

Buffy went over and put a hand on Willow's shoulder.

"We've all made mistakes. You're not alone. We've all got amends to make," she looked up at Spike who stood nearby.

"What I've done... I don't know how I can ever make up for it," Willow said.

"Tell me about it," Spike replied.

"So, what do we do now?" Xander asked.

"Go on living, I guess," Buffy replied. "I don't know what else there is to do."

"Yes, quite," Giles said. "I do have one question, though. Earlier, I must admit I was rather surprised at Spike's dramatic entrance, so I wasn't completely paying attention to you.

"Did you say you've been dating Spike?"

The End.
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