AN-Thanks again for reviews and support. Hope you keep enjoying. Input is always welcomed.

Buffy watched as the redhead she had known and loved for the past three years lay asleep in the middle of a cage that had been erected in the middle of Giles' living room. Tara, the witch that the slayer knew little about, lay on the couch keeping a vigil as well. She had already done a spell that would disable any spells done from inside the cage from actually being performed. The ex librarian had gone to one of his old buddies to try and figure out what exactly was happening.

Xander had been and gone. Though he wanted nothing more than to be there for his friend, he had yet another job interview to go on. Hopefully this one would work out better than the last few. He just hoped he could keep his focus. When there was scoobage afoot, especially directly involving one of the scoobies, it was that more troublesome and worrisome.

All they had to do was wait and see where things went from here. Was Tara's instincts correct? It had not been that long that the two witches had known one another. There were so many possibilities that Buffy's head was beginning to ache. Demons, vampires, and evil men, all this she could deal with. But her own friend turning against her, that was something the slayer was not prepared for in the least.

Finally, there was a stirring in the cage. Both Tara and Buffy were close, but not too close, to the cage in an instant. Willow looked up at them. She looked around and knew where she was. It appeared still to be the time of her freshman year at college. Her head was spinning still. It must have been the after effects of Amy's spell. She shook her head. No, that had not really happened. She was just here in the past and now it looked as if the gang had reason not to trust her.

Buffy finally broke the silence. "Exactly who are you?" She glared at the person that looked like her friend. "And don't tell me that you are Willow. You haven't been acting right for a day or two. So, just tell us the truth."

Willow eyed her friend. She was back in that conundrum that she had found herself in with Tara. Yes, she wanted to tell them everything. But then, she would really be changing the future, more so than she already had. "I can't say." She could see the look on Buffy's face. It was one of pure disbelief. "If Xander were here, I could say the whole time prime directive and he would get it."

"Or you could just be lying already." Buffy moved closer to the cage. If Willow tried, she could have touched her best friend. "Are you from the future?"

The redhead looked from Buffy to Tara. "Yes. I should have known that you would figure that I wasn't the me of the past. You always had a way of doing that. After all…" She trailed off. Faith switching bodies with Buffy had yet to happen in this time frame. That was to have been the first time that Buffy and her girl had met. But she'd changed that.

"What?" Buffy was the one taking charge. "Are you trying to tell me something happens in the future? Is it bad?""I can't tell you that." Willow slowly stood up making her head spin a bit more. If it wasn't Amy's spell, it must be a combination of the one that she cast to get here and the spells that she and Tara had performed all night long. It still took it out of her. "All I can say is that I came back here for a specific reason. The Fates have allowed it. If is say or do more, I will really mess up the future we are supposed to have."

Tara finally made her way as close as she could to the cage. "B-but you've a-already changed the f-future by coming here." She could see the look of pain in the other witch's eyes. "Y-you've done things t-that the present Willow n-never did."

"True." Willow knew that there was no escape from what she had done. "It was again a selfish move on my part to think of coming here. I just wanted to make right some things I had done wrong. I wanted more than anything to stop certain things from happening. There was one thing in particular that I wanted stopped. But I don't know if I should. What if it was supposed to happen that way?"

"From what I've learned, the reason you were able to come back was because things did not necessarily happen the way that they were." The three turned to see Giles standing behind them. "Sorry to sneak up on you. I've been in contact with someone that has knowledge of Wicca. There is one spell that he knew. But it would have to have been performed by one of the, if not the, most powerful Wiccans ever."

All eyes turned back to Willow. She could not feign modesty at this point. It was clear that she would have to come clean, at least about a few things. "Yes." She could not look any of them in the eye. "I become very powerful in the future, too powerful for one person to be."

"W-what did you d-do?" Tara looked deep into those emerald green eyes. There was still something dark about them. There was a pain so deep she could not even begin to imagine what her girlfriend had gone through.

"I don't want to say." Willow still would not find anyone's gaze. She especially could not find Tara's. It would be too painful to have to see the look on her face when she finds out what exactly she is capable of. Then, they would never have a chance at romance like they had in her own time.

Giles turned to Buffy. "Perhaps we should leave these two alone."

"But…" The slayer trailed off at the look on Giles' face. "Fine. But I won't be going too far. In case there is trouble, just give a shout. I'll be here."

After the two had left, Tara came closer to the cage. "It's just you and me now. P-please tell me what h-happened."That voice. That face. It was what made Willow melt. It was what made her weak in the knees. She could never resist anything from her girl. "I…" The witch took a deep breath. "I've done things I'm not proud of. I hurt…" She shook her head. "That wouldn't be telling the whole truth. I killed two people. I almost killed Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Xander, heck the whole world."

"Oh." It was the softest that Willow had ever heard Tara speak. "T-that explains the d-darkness I f-felt." The redhead waited for her to turn and run or to shout of help. Something. But instead, Tara remained standing there. "A-and the r-reason?"

This was the part that Willow had feared most of all. How do you tell someone that in a short time they are going to be dead? It wasn't even as if she goes out fighting. She's simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Do I have to say it?"

"How?" Tara came closer. "L-look at me, p-please." Willow looked up. The two stared before the blond continued. "Oh my Goddess! It's because of me?!" And with that, Tara fell to the ground.