Stormy thoughts raced through Giles' mind as he made tea in the Summers' kitchen. Beljoxa's Eye had been clear. Buffy's resurrection had left this opening for the First. He knew her dying now would make no difference, but what if? What if?
"Giles?" Willow asked, when she entered the room and saw him staring into the middle distance.
"Willow. Can I t-talk to you in private?"
"Sure, but this house isn't private these days." Willow nodded her head toward the back door. "Let's take this outside."
On the porch, Giles searched for the right words. "I'll just come out and say it, shall I?"
"Please." Willow knew that this was Giles at his most serious, she'd seen this look before and it never preceded gifts and candy.
"Remember when Anya and I went to see Beljoxa's Eye?"
"What did you find out?"
"That the reason the First had this opportunity to act is because of your resurrection of Buffy."
She nearly gagged on the sudden onslaught of self-disgust. "Oh God. I did this."
"If you could undo it, would you?"
"Yes, of course! Are you telling me I can?" The tears didn't dry but slowed.
"You can. It's a one shot deal, but it can be done. Time travel of a sort is possible if you're traveling within your lifetime." Giles cleared his throat. "I've thought about this for a long time, and I believe if you go back to the fight with Glory, you can change the battle so Buffy never dies."
"Are talking about vicis eo?"
"I am. I was rather surprised you didn't try it after Tara died."
"I only found the spell while I was with the coven. Althana discouraged its use. She said the consequences could be dire. That if my intentions were selfish, the spell would kill me rather than take me back."
Giles leaned against the banister. "I'm asking you to consider the spell for unselfish reasons. If you go back, you can save everyone you love and a lot of potentials from the tragedy of the last two years. Save the world. Can you do that?"
"Give me time to plan out what I'm going to do once I get back there. Then yes, I'll do it."
He laid a hand on her shoulder before reentering the house.
Willow sat down on the top stair and rested her head on her knees, thinking back. How far back should she go? Before the actual battle against Glory was all she could think, but she needed to be precise. Before the Winnebago? Before Glory sucked out Tara's mind? No, couldn't go back that far. She'd risk forgetting that Ben and Glory were the same person. So, the day of the battle, while they were in the Magic Box talking strategy.
Now the question became, what could she change? She'd have the same power she had now, so the possibilities were endless, but which would be the most efficient?
"Not safe out here, Red."
"Spike, can you help me with something?" Willow asked as she looked up at him.
"If I can." He sat next to her. "What ya need?"
"The fight with Glory…"
"Why you thinking about that?"
"I'm going back. I'm going to change that battle and I need help."
"Why?" he asked confused. "What difference would that make now?"
Willow explained what Giles said. Then she asked, "Wanna come with me?"
"I'm in but we better have a plan." Spike huffed a laugh. "I've gone over that battle so many times in my head. What I could have done better, smarter."
"Come up with a solution?"
"Sure, tons of 'em. But with you helping, we can do it easier." Spike pursed his lips.
They talked about it for hours. Decisions got made, and a plan formed. A half hour before sunup, Willow took Spike's hand and said, "Vicis eo."
In a flash they were sitting in the Magic Box and the conversation about fighting Glory was going on around them. Spike and Willow's gaze met for a moment before taking in their surroundings.
"You wanna fight a god, use the weapon of a god." Anya moved her hands in front of the hammer like she was Vanna White.
"Good," Spike said. "Now all we have to do is follow Willow's bird to Glory. Get the bitch on the ropes and save Dawn."
"Follow Tara?" Giles asked.
"Big day. Oh, it calls me! I have to be there!" Tara cried out before sinking back into the chair.
"Spike's right, Tara can get us there." Willow moved to sit on the arm of Tara's chair, relief at the feel of Tara's hair under her hand. "It'll be OK, baby, I promise." Willow and Spike shared another glance, and she asked Xander to look after Tara for a few minutes.
They took different routes, but they met out back. "Glad it worked."
"It hasn't worked yet. We still have to save both Dawn and Buffy. I can't believe I'm more nervous this time around. And no, I don't want any alcohol." Willow wiped her palms on her pants.
He shrugged. "Maybe we should tell them what we know."
"We don't have time. Less than two hours is not enough time for them to get over the shock of what we did." She shook her head. "Let's go over the plan again."
"You. What are you doing here?" Glory asked holding Tara by the shoulders.
"She's with me." Willow sunk her hands into Glory's skull and freed not only Tara but the other humans from their god induced madness. "Anya! Take her!"
Anya went to where Tara fell and helped her up. "It's going to be OK."
Glory stumbled and fell. "Holes. So many holes. Need a brain. Lots of 'em."
Her minions went to her while Spike and Willow went after Dawn. Spike ran up the stairs while Willow flew in a whirl of smoke, getting there first.
"Willow!" Dawn screamed.
The witch smiled at Dawn. "I've got you." Willow got Dawn untied and saw through the grating that Spike was fighting Doc on the stairs. "We need to get off this tower. Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight."
"OK." Dawn closed her eyes once she got hold. Wind blew up her dress. "I'm ready."
"We're down." Willow said with a smile.
Spike trotted down the stairs, happy with his results. "We did it, Red."
"We should help Buffy. Dawn, Anya and Tara are over there, get them and get out of here." Willow saw the worry in Dawn's eyes. "It'll be fine. I promise. Go."
Dawn nodded. "Help Buffy."
"We will, Bit." Spike nudged her toward the other women.
Buffy was hitting Glory with the hammer while Glory shrieked and gave as good as she got. The god's movements were desperate but effective.
In a wave, Glory's minions attacked Spike, leaving Willow to help Buffy on her own. She did a spell on herself to make her as strong as Glory. It wouldn't last long, but she didn't think she needed long.
When Glory punched Buffy into the tower, bringing the structure down on her and everyone in the vicinity, Willow attacked Glory with everything she had, some hand to hand combat, some magic. She was blind in her panic, and she missed when Glory turned into Ben. Willow punched him in the chest breaking ribs. Ben's eyes were wide as he gasped for air. Blood poured out of his mouth, and Willow finally noticed him. She let him fall to the ground and offered him no aid. Willow was leaving him there to die.
"Buffy!" More than one person was shouting in the background, digging through the debris.
Willow turned, saw the amount of rubble and choked on a sob. "Buffy."
Moments later, Spike found her. "Buffy?" He didn't hear a heartbeat. Then he saw that several pieces of rebar and metal had impelled her. She was gone. "NO!"
"Oh, no," Willow whispered as she got closer to her best friend. "No!" Her wails were as loud as Spike's. "No! This wasn't supposed to happen! I failed!" She crumbled under the weight of her grief.
