Upon returning to the Magic Box, Spike found Willow finishing up the repairs on the Buffy-Bot.

“There, she’s good to go,” the young witch said, closing the back flap on the robot with a satisfied grin.

“Good work, Red. We’ve got the clothes. Buffy, you and Glinda play dress-up. I need to talk to Red here,” he replied, taking Willow’s arm.

“Oh… okay…” she agreed, allowing him to pull her aside.

“What… what is it?” she asked when they were in the training room.

“When you were in my head, did you see anything about the mojo you did on Glory?”

Willow shook her head. “No, not really.”

Spike sighed. “Okay. There was this thing you did with Glory. It weakened her for a bit.”

“Oh? What did I do?”

He tried to remember. “Well… you. You were tryin’ ta help Glinda, ya see. You’d been chartin’ the essences of the blokes she’d turned crazy, and you’d figured out a way ta reverse what’d been done to ‘em.”

Willow looked worriedly at the closed training room door. “I… I was. I mean, I did? Um… wow. But… Spike, whatever I did, I must have spent days researching how to do it. But this time, you *saved* Tara and she didn’t get brain-sucked, so I have no reason to try to reverse what Glory did to her.”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, and you also wouldn’t have used mojo on ‘er before so she won’t be ready for some of the things you throw at ‘er tonight. Might have the same effect.”

Willow nodded nervously and swallowed. “Okay.”

“Use the dark magick book. Those spells’ll work. I heard Buffy talkin’ about how you were the only one who ever slowed the Hell Bitch down.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, she called you her big gun,” he said with a wry smile.

“Gun? Oh Spike, I’m not anyone’s gun.”

He put both hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. “Don’t go willie on us now, Red. We need you.”

She put her resolve face on. “I won’t.”

“That’s more like it.”

He gave her shoulders a squeeze before releasing them and moved to open the door. Willow’s small voice stopped him.

“Spike?”

“Yeah, Red?”

“Did I… Did I really turn evil and hurt people?”

He hung his head and sighed. “I didn’t see it. Only heard about it from Lurky while I was ‘recuperating’ from what he did ta me. Never saw you kill that Warren bloke, but he was a right wanker when I met with him the first time, and he was a real bastard to you lot later. I know ‘e hurt Buffy and Tara, so I wasn’t sad ta see him go. Still… you been steadily growin’ in your powers in the years I’ve known you. You’re no scared, limp wristed Sabrina-wanna-be. You’re a powerful witch. But power can corrupt. It seduces ya if yer not careful.”

He looked back at her.

“It’s what happened ta you, Red. You let it seduce ya. Ya started dabblin’ in things ya weren’t ready for. That’s why ya went to the dark side. Now ya know what can happen, and ya can avoid it. You just have ta remember that with magic, there’s always consequences. Always. Now we gotta go. Dawn needs savin’ an’ we got a Hell Bitch to kill.”

Willow nodded, taking in his words, then gave him a brave smile. “Right behind you.”

He gave her a nod and a smile, then opened the training room door and walked out into the main store. The others were expectantly waiting for them.

“Bot’s ready,” Buffy said.

He nodded and moved to pick up the Gruth’lak battle axe from the pile of weapons.

“Mind if I use this?” he asked.

Buffy shook her head, a small smile on her lips. “Go right ahead.”

He hefted the axe and spun in it in his hand as Buffy turned to Giles.

“We on schedule?” she asked.

“Yes. It's time,” the Watcher confirmed.

“Okay, this is it. Spike, you lead the way. We'll follow. Everyone knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn.”

Spike swallowed and handed weapons to Giles, who placed them in a bag.

“Not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?” he commented.

“We few,” Giles said in sardonic agreement.

“We happy few,” they said together.

“We band of buggered,” Spike finished, setting his jaw and leading the way out.

********

They were silent as they wound their way through the quiet pre-dawn streets. For Spike every step he took brought him closer to his doom. Despite Willow’s steadfast belief in him, he still held an unspoken terror that this attempt to change the future would fare no better than his others. He tried not to show it, however. He needed to be strong and confident. If he wasn’t, he knew there was no hope for Dawn or Buffy or any of them.

“How you doing on those spells, Red?” he asked as they neared the construction site.

He had heard Willow going over the spells she took from the book of dark magic, memorizing the words as Tara guided her.

“I... I’ve got a couple ready.”

“All we need to do is slow her down long enough for the critical time to pass,” Giles reminded.

“Remember, Willow first, then the ‘Bot with the Dagon Sphere. Then I get her with the troll hammer,” Buffy added.

“And we’re to take care of any minions,” Anya piped up, gripping her baseball bat tightly in her hand.

It was enough, wasn’t it? Spike was thinking frantically. It had to be enough. Doc was dead, so there would be no one to cut Dawn if Buffy succeeded in keeping Glory occupied until after time was up.

‘She did it before. Glory never got to Dawn. It was Doc who cut Nibblet.’

They cleared the buildings and arrived at the site, the rickety tower looming above them like a grotesque, poorly formed insect. At the base of the tower, a good number of Glory’s brain-sucked victims and her robed minions guarded the staircase. Spike remembered from before that hitting the loonies would cause his Chip to fire. He could hit the minions though, and his hand gripped the smooth handle of the battle axe in anticipation.

“We’re here,” he said, clenching his fists tightly as he spied the small figure of Dawn at the top of the structure.

Buffy looked to where Spike was staring and saw her sister. “Dawn...”

“Shpadoinkle ...” Xander breathed.

“What is that... ?” Anya asked.

“The portal must open up there,” Giles observed, looking askance to Spike who nodded once, his eyes riveted on the empty spot.

Xander cast about and spied the large wrecking crane. “Hey, check that out. I think I can work with that,” he said.

Buffy saw what he was referring to and nodded. “Give it a shot.”

“See you guys in there,” the young man told them and headed for the crane.

“Where’s Glory?” Buffy asked, looking around.

Spike pointed out the auburn-haired woman surveying the crew’s handiwork. “Over there.”

Buffy looked to where Spike was pointing and nodded.

“Okay, Willow, you’re up,” Buffy announced.

Willow swallowed and nodded. Buffy left her with Tara and took the Buffy-bot to the other side of the site where she could approach from the rear. The witch looked to Spike and Giles.

“Use the binding spell first, then back it up with a heavy hitting blast. We need to weaken her if we can,” Giles instructed.

“Okay. I’ll try,” she promised, looking at Tara for reassurance.

“You can do this, Red,” Spike encouraged.

She looked at him and drew herself up, the timid bookworm being replaced by the confident spell caster that she was.

“So can you, Spike. Remember, nothing is written in stone.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Red.”

She gave him one more look, then turned and walked away from them. She stopped a few paces away from where Glory was standing, took a deep breath, and cast the binding spell.

“Kali, Hera, Kronos, Tonic…” she incanted, her hands held out.

The surge of power was noticed by the minions and a number of them ran for cover.

“Air like nectar thick as Onyx… Cassiel by your second star…”

“What the hell is going on here?” Glory demanded, coming over to see what was happening. “Oh, it’s one of the Slayer’s little girlfriends. That’s so cute.”

“Hold mine victim, as in tar,” Willow finished.

Glory tried to step forward, but found herself caught in the spell. She pushed forward, but wasn’t able to make any progress. Enraged, she snarled like a trapped animal.

“Ummm, Willow. I think now would be a good time for that blast,” Tara said nervously.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed, aiming her ten fingers straight at Glory. “I. Give. You. Pain.”

On the word ‘pain,’ Willow’s eyes turned black and empty, and a wave of dark power engulfed Glory. The Hell God did something none of them had ever seen her do before: she screamed.

The scream only lasted a few moments, however, before Glory gathered her strength and broke the binding.

“Is that it? Is that the best you can do, witchbitch?” Glory mocked.

A leather bag at Willow’s feet unraveled and a host of knives came floating up, all aimed at the Hell God.

“Bag of Knives,” Willow intoned, and the knives went flying straight towards Glory.

Glory stood her ground and batted the knives away faster than the human eye could follow.

“Well, that was fun, but really not worth my time,” Glory taunted, then her eyes strayed to Tara who was behind Willow and a sadistic smile came to her lips. “Sucking on your girlfriend’s mind though, now that might be worthwhile…”

“Tara!” Willow cried, panic seizing her. “NO!”

Glory moved forward, intent on attacking Tara, and Willow reacted without thinking. When Glory moved to bat her aside, she tapped into the well of dark magick she had delved into for the spells, and rounded on the Hell God, shoving her own fingers into Glory’s head.

Both Willow and Glory screamed as a burst of white energy came pouring out of the god’s head and up Willow’s arms. The blast backlashed and all three women were sent flying. Willow and Tara smashed into a wall and landed unconscious. Glory, however, was back on her feet in a few seconds, albeit quite shaken and disturbed. Her minions gathered around her worriedly.

“What the frikkin' hell did that bitch do to me!?!” Glory yelled.

“You look fine! Truly!” a minion assured.

“Stylish and affordable! Or ...” another added.

Glory staggered. “She made… she made a hole… God I need a meal. I need a brain to eat…”

“Take mine, oh groove-tastic one –“ the first minion offered.

“I said a BRAIN, you worthless dirt! I got places to be! Big day... Need a brain ...” Glory growled, turning slowly and spying what she thought was the Slayer. “Suppose I could always use yours.”

The Buffy-bot dressed as Buffy responded coolly. “Come and get it.”

The two eyed each other. The Buffy-bot took a circling step, Glory watching her with disdain. Glory took a step as well, but it was a tad unsteady.

“You don't seem very well. Do you need to lie down and have a tonic?” the bot asked reasonably.

“Your little witchbitch gave me kind of a headache there. And all it did to her was kill her and her girlfriend, so kudos to her! But if you think this is gonna last more than eight seconds...”

“I notice that you're talking, whereas in your position I would attack me.”

“Oh most sweaty-naughty-feelings- causing one, should we --,” a minion began but Glory cut him off.

“Guard the girl! I can take care of hairdo here. This is a... a...”

“Diversionary tactic?” the minion offered.

“Go! Guard!” Glory commanded.

Obeying, the minions spread out around the stairway area.

“You keep saying I'm nothing, I'm still not feeling attacked by you. It's strange ...” the Buffy-bot went on.

Glory moved towards her, then hesitated. Confusion crossed her face as she tried to walk ahead but could do so only with effort.

“You're not as blurry with speed as usual, either,” the bot noted.

“The witch ...”

The bot shook her head. “It's not her.” She produced the Dagon's Sphere from behind her back. “It might be this though...”

Glory snarled at the sight of it.

“I heard it was supposed to repel you. So my guess is that you probably shouldn't touch it.”

She tossed it to Glory, who instinctively caught it -- energy rippled from it, causing her to convulse with agony. A scream welling up inside her, Glory crushed the sphere in her hand. Looking down, breathing hard, she looks up with murderous hate...

“You're gonna wish –“ Glory began, murderous hate in her eyes.

Buffy's fist flew right across her jaw, sending her crashing to the ground. She rebounded up, only to be knocked back by a flurry of blows and kicks. At first, she barely fended them off at first, then she started to get her own back, landing a couple of good blows.

As the women fought, the minions gathered the crazies to guard the stairway.

“Stand fast! Kill anyone who dares approach! This is our day of Glory!” one said proudly.

“Well punned!” another complimented.

“Well, it just called out to me –“ the first answered, then toppled over when an arrow struck him in the chest.

Suddenly Giles, Spike and Anya all charged the group. Anya, wielding her baseball bat, waded through the crazies with a warrior yell with Giles by her side. The Watcher had a sword, but he used it defensively against the crazies, saving his killing thrusts for the minions.

Spike, swinging the battle axe high over his head, did as he had done before and jumped clear over the line of humans to land among the minions. He attacked with ferociousness, all snarls and fury, determined not to fail this time around. But, just as had happened before, he accidentally decked a human in his fighting fervor. His chip activated and he clutched his head in pain, allowing a minion to knock him to the ground.

From their sprawled positions on the ground, Willow woke and put a hand to her throbbing head. She looked around nervously, finally seeing Tara lying not far from her. Ignoring her pain, she crawled over to her lover and shook her urgently.

“Tara? Tara!”

Tara blinked awake and looked around her in dazed confusion.

“Willow?” she asked weakly.

“Tara… you’re all right.”

Tara nodded. “What happened?”

“Glory was gonna suck your brain. I stopped her. I think I kinda overreacted a bit,” Willow explained.

“Better too much than too little,” Tara said.

“Go overkill. Yay. Think it was enough?”

The two looked to see Glory fighting with the Buffy-bot.

“I don’t know,” Tara answered.

Willow looked at the scene before her: Glory battling the robot, the real Buffy waiting in the wings with the troll hammer. Dawn held captive at the top of the scaffold. Spike, Anya and Giles beaten back behind a pile of rubble and kept there by minions and brain-suck crazies.

“History’s repeating itself,” she whispered.

Then she saw Glory knock the head off the robot, and the real Buffy step up to nail her with the hammer.

‘I can only hope Spike has the courage to do what he has to do.’

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