"So where is the little bit?" Spike asked coming into the house. He looked at Willow as she came out of the kitchen.

"She is sleeping again, the medicine the doctors gave her knocked her out." Slowly she came around him placing her arms on her shoulders she continued, "Let me take your coat." She unclenched her fists allowing two small streams of powder to trickle down his neck.

Spike shifted his wait freeing himself from her grip. "What do you want witch?" He demanded as he felt the powder seeping into his pores.

"You, Spike I want you."

"Bugger this," he yelled trying to move only to find his feet glued to the floor."

"What the hell did you do to me bitch?" He yelled louder this time.

"Shhh, you'll wake Dawn." She admonished him, her eyes glowing black with the power of dark magic.

"My soul!" Spike exclaimed in wonder, "You gave me my soul back!" He watched as her eyes grew blacker then any night he had known.

Slowly she pulled out a stake from inside the nearby vase. Spikes eyes widened as she came closer to him. "Its so nice of you to do this,' she told him as she plunged the stake through his heart.

As he exploded into falling ash, a scream penetrated the air. Looking up Willow saw Dawn standing at the top of the steps shaking in fear and anger. Before Willow could say anything, Dawn turned and ran slamming the door to her room.

Sighing heavily Willow carefully collected all the ash that lay around the floor. She placed it in an urn. Glancing around she noticed a small metallic glint on the floor. Bending down she realized what it was Spike's chip. With a rueful laugh she put it in her pocket to study later.

"Now for Dawn," she muttered to herself. Whispering words of magic she wove a spell around herself. Crossing to a mirror she studied herself. "I like myself as a blonde." She told Tara's reflection before going up the stairs to Dawn's room.

"Dawn, its Tara. Are you alright in there?" Willow asked as the sounds of sobbing escaped through the door.

"Where did Willow go?" Dawn asked inching closer to the door.

"She went to talk the Magic Shop, do you want me to get her?"

"No!" Moving quickly Dawn opened the door and let Willow in. Sobbing she allowed Willow to gather her into her arms.
Willow lead her to the bed and sat down drawing Dawn's head into her lap. Slowly Willow started to run her fingers through Dawn's hair. "What happened Dawnie?" She asked letting a relaxing hypnotizing magic seep into Dawn through her fingers.

As the magic started to take effect Dawn stopped crying, her body relaxing, her mind beginning to allow Willow further and further in "Willow killed Spike," she whispered her eyes closing slightly.

Pushing deeper into Dawn's mind Willow continued to let the magic seep out of her. She waited till Dawn was almost asleep before she spoke again, dropping the façade of Tara. "In the touch of the bossom there worketh a spell/Which is lord of thy utterance/Thou knowest tonight and wilt tomorrow this mark of my shame this seal of my sorrow." Tiredly, Willow looked at the form lying in her lap. Slowly she removed her fingers from Dawn's head.

Coming out of the magic's haze Dawn looked up into the smirking face of Willow. Terrified she jumped up trying to escape. She got to the door before the shock of the spell sank in and she fainted into Willow's waiting arms.

An Hour Later:


"Is Dawnie, still sleeping?" Tara asked as she walked into the bedroom.

"Yeah, did you talk to Spike? He never showed." Willow told her pulling down the blankets.

"I talked to him. Maybe he ran into some big bad. Willow…" Tara started.

"What?"

"You really hurt Xander with what you said today. I talked to him; he doesn't believe that she is in hell. He won't help you, especially not after what you said to him."

"You'll help me right Tara?" Willow pleaded with her, "I don't think I could do it without you."

Tara sighed heavily, "I'll help you but only because the spell showed she was in hell." With that she crawled into bed

"Thanks Tara," Willow told her letting her mind drift back to the spell. She saw herself adding the wrong ingredient, not wanting to know if she was going to pull her out of heaven.

AN/ The spell Willow uses on Dawn if from Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. If you haven't read the poem the spell doesn't allow Christabel to tell the truth about what happened with Geraldine.