Part 4

"Giles!" Faith stood and began to pace.

Faith looked at Willow, "Not that I'm not sympathetic to your losing Tara. God I have no idea what I'd do if my Tara died in my arms." She turned back to Giles, "But she still hasn't proven that she can be trusted. This is a WAR we're fighting."

Before Giles could answer Willow softly said, "You're right. Trust has to be earned and I'd like to try to earn it. You don't know me and apparently you don't know this world's version of me either. Just because I'm under a truth spell and a binding spell doesn't mean I can't work around it. But while I'm here I'd like to help. There might not be a way back to my Sunnydale and if I can help make this one a little better while I'm here I'd like to try."

Tara was processing EVERYTHING that Willow had told them. She shivered at the thought of her death in Willow's reality. A victim of a random act of violence. It seemed her death was a waste. It hadn't saved an innocent it hadn't defeated an evil being. It actually had created an evil being.

Willow risked a glance at Tara to see how she was handling the news of her other self's death. Willow knew from personal knowledge how freaky it was to hear about you but not you. At least she wouldn't be facing a vampire version of herself here. She hoped.

Tara walked over to Faith and put a comforting hand on her arm, "She's right, Willow has to earn our trust. This is a war and we can use all the help that we can get. If the Wizarding Council could give souls to the Scourge of Europe, I think we can let Willow earn our trust."

Giles noticed Willow cringe at being compared to the Scourge of Europe but he knew Tara didn't mean it that way. He gently raised Willow's hand and mumbled a few words. The binding bracelet disappeared and Willow again felt her connection to her magick.

"Thanks."

Willow turned her head to the sound of the door opening in the back.

"Why'd you lock up so early? I had to use the back entrance."

Giles, Faith and Tara stood in front of Willow blocking his view.

"Wesley, we had an unexpected visitor." They stepped out his view.

Wesley Wyndham Price stopped dead in his tracks. "W-willow?"

Giles walked over to the younger man. "Not exactly."

Willow cocked her head to the side as she watched Giles explain her appearance. Just like the others this was her Wesley but not. He was darker, she also felt power from Wesley. Not a lot of power but magickal power nonetheless. She wondered if all watchers were witches or warlocks in this reality. They had mentioned the Wizarding Council maybe that was instead of a Watcher's Council.

Wesley was watching her like she had watched Tara. Like he was seeing a ghost.

Wesley was barely getting everything Rupert was telling him. It seemed this Willow was from a different reality. A reality accessed through the mirror the coven had entrusted to Rupert. A mirror that Ethan wanted to get as much as he wanted to open the Hellmouth.

He felt the power rolling off of Willow. The Willow he remembered from when he first came to Sunnydale to be Buffy's watcher had some magickal ability but even if she had lived he doubted she would have been capable of this much.

Giles trailed off in his explanation as he noticed Wesley was no longer paying attention. He was staring at Willow. Not that he blamed Wesley, she was an attractive woman, but Wesley seemed to not be able to take his eyes off her.

Wesley noticed the sudden silence in the room, "I'm sorry, Willow. I didn't mean to stare, it's just that it's been a long time since I've seen my Willow."

Willow nodded in understanding. She must be dead in this reality. She hoped her death had meaning and that she fought the good fight. "I take it I died in this reality? Is that why they didn't recognize me?"

Wesley smiled sadly, "Yes, I also didn't report Willow's presence in my official reports. You, Jesse and Xander were our 'secret weapons' against Ethan and the others. Ethan knew a witch was helping us of course but he didn't know who you were or about Jesse and Xander. Buffy and I felt you all were safer that way." Wesley looked down at the floor with tears in his eyes. "We were wrong."

Willow could see Wesley was in pain and she did what she always did when someone was in pain. She comforted. Willow placed a hand on Wesley's shoulder and squeezed.

He reluctantly raised haunted eyes to caring green ones. "Willow died trying to protect Buffy and myself." Wesley absently stroked a scar on his hand. "Ethan killed them both in front of me."

Willow closed her eyes on the pain. Both in his voice and in her heart. She hadn't been enough of a witch to save Buffy in this reality and she had been too much of a witch to let Buffy rest in peace in hers. At least in this reality she had died trying to protect others.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know but she had to ask. "Jesse and Xander?"

"Both alive and well. They are in Los Angeles fighting Ethan's emissary there."

Willow slowly relaxed. At least they're alive. It gave her comfort to know that in this reality Jesse was alive.

"Is there anyone that you should warn that there is a Willow visiting? I don't want Xander or Jesse to leave their fight since I'm not their Willow but neither do I want them or anyone else to unexpectedly come upon me like you did."

Rupert Giles was getting more and more impressed with this young woman. She'd had an emotional roller coaster of a day and yet she still found time and energy to think of others.

"Y-yes of course. I'll have to warn Angel, Darla, Druscilla and especially William. He and Willow were very close."

Willow's eyes almost popped out of her head at that. Not that she didn't like her Spike but she wouldn't characterize their relationship as very close.

Giles saw her shocked expression, "I take it you're not close to your William?"

"Spike and I have an understanding but I wouldn't say we were especially close."

"Spike?"

"William, the Bloody. In my reality he's known as Spike because of his talent with torture using railroad spikes."

Faith smiled, "Huh. It's kinda hard to picture him that way but I guess if he hadn't been souled I bet he would have been good at torture. Remember the time that he had Jonathon tied up? He was pretty good then."

"Faith!" Giles automatically scolded his Slayer but she was right. William and the others had been amazing to watch getting Jonathon to tell them what Ethan had planned.

Willow pulled Wesley aside before he left to tell the others of her presence.

"William and I. When you say especially close did you mean romantically?" Willow wished with all her being that the answer was no. Her Spike was obsessive in his devotion both with Dru and with Buffy. If this William was like her Spike it could lead to complications.

Wesley smiled and shook his head no. "No, he is and probably will always be in love with Druscilla. You, Dru and he were very good friends. They respected our Willow's last wishes and hadn't turned her but it was a harrowing three weeks after she died. They were deeply depressed and made a swath of death through the demon community that supported Ethan."