"Why can't I do the ritual myself?" Willow demanded of Anya, getting in her face.

"Calm down, Will." Buffy came up behind them. She let the kitten-fish down, and it wandered into the kitchen. It got a look of disgust from Giles as it curled up in a corner and fell asleep.

Back in the livingroom things were getting pretty heated.

"It's impossible." Anya shook her head.

"Willow-" Buffy began.

"No, I want an answer!" She looked about ready to strangle Anya with her bare hands. How dare she suggest such a ritual within Oz's earshot!

Anya heaved a great sigh. "Because the ritual was designed by demons who didn't want to have to face difficult and deadly rituals themselves. The demons wouldn't want their slaves to be cured, only themselves. So the ritual must be completed by someone other than the inflicted person."

Willow stomped her foot. "I can't stand this!"

Buffy placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Willow, I can understand why Oz wants to do this. I don't think you can stop him, but we can be supportive."

She turned to face Buffy. "I know he's trying to help, but I can't stand by and watch him kill himself for me!"

Xander stood up, stretching. "Willow, the guy's lived as a werewolf for years, if he thinks it's so bad that risking death is better than you dealing with it, I think you should kinda follow his lead on this one. Besides, like Anya said earlier, he took off and left you. I know he had his reasons, maybe some good ones, but he hasn't exactly been here for you, so I don't think you should-"

Willow marched over to Xander and shoved him back onto the couch. He gave her a shocked look, followed by an apologetic one. But she wasn't through. "Xander Harris, you don't know what you're talking about and you had better-"

Xander held up a hand. "I'm sorry. You're right! It's none of my business." He did his best to keep his mouth shut. But the more he thought about things, the angrier he got. No matter what happened, Willow would suffer. She and Buffy were his best friends in the world. He didn't like to see them hurting.

If the ritual didn't happen, Willow would be a werewolf. He'd have to watch her go through the pain and horror of changing every month and all of the other side effects he saw Oz go through. But if Oz completed the ritual, he would probably die, leaving Willow more shattered and heartbroken. It seemed like a no win situation.

Then an idea started to form in his mind. A wonderfully horrible idea.

He watched Willow and Buffy trail into the kitchen to help gather the ingredients for the spell. Anya was about to join them, but Xander jumped up and held her back by a hand on her arm.

"Xander, you had your chance last night, but now you will have to wait until we finish helping your friends-"

"No, that's not what I'm wanting," He stopped her. "It's just, these slaves, they didn't want to do the ritual, did they? They had to be forced?"

Anya was baffled. "Of course. Why?"

He pulled her aside and whispered his idea. "But I think I need Buffy for this one."

She nodded and grinned. "My smart, sexy-"

"Hey, Buff, can I talk to you a sec?" Xander pulled her out of the kitchen before she could respond. He quickly explained his idea, watching as her eyes grew wide.

"Xander, I'm not sure-" But he stopped her.

"Buffy, it's right. Do you really wanna watch Willow suffer more?" He demanded.

She looked away, thinking with a tight frown. "No. Let's go."

Xander walked over to Anya.

"Just stall as much as you can and tell the others we stepped out for some fresh air and..." He looked at his watch. "Bagels. Yep, the bakery should be open." He kissed her and headed out the door with Buffy.

Anya sighed loudly and rubbed her hands together.

"Where did Buffy and Xander go off to?" Giles asked, entering the living room with Oz, and carrying incense and other ingredients.

"Oh, they went for bagels."

"Bagels? But we have to do this spell, why would they-" Giles sighed. Leave it to Xander to pick such a time to crave breakfast.

"Bagels are good. They can be buttery and warm. Do you have a problem with bagels?" Anya asked nervously.

Giles frowned. "No, I like bagels. Just odd timing is all. You'd think they could wait until after Casso takes Oz."

"You'd think who could wait?" Willow asked as she brought the rest of the ingredients into the living room.

"Buffy and Xander went for a bagel run." Oz spoke up, unreadable as ever.

"Wait!" Anya cried. "Uh...I have to go to the bathroom. And-And there are some other ingredients we will need. Important ingredients that we must have, Giles!"

"What ingredients?" Giles asked, but Anya was already down the hall and in the bathroom.

Willow and Oz looked at each other awkwardly.

Giles watched them, wishing he had gone with Xander.