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When the two teens returned twenty minutes later, Giles was already getting antsy. He knew from experience that speed was essential in these kinds of matters.

As soon as they walked through the door he surged to his feet and approached them. Willow balked at his murderous expression but Xander just glared back. Although the witch was feeling a little regretful, the brunet was still convinced they hadn’t done anything wrong. Why couldn’t Giles see that they’d wanted to save Buffy from the arms of another evil vampire?

The Brit held out his hand for the book and she flipped to the right page before handing it to him. Giles carried the book over to the couch and sat down with it on his lap. The teenagers just stood awkwardly by the door, poised as if they might flee at any moment.

It wasn’t long before the older man was engrossed in studying the spell that Willow had used. The more Giles browsed the words of the spell, the more thunderous his face became. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“This is definitely the spell you used?” Giles pinched the bridge of his nose between shaky fingers. “A memory cleansing spell?”

Willow nodded and glanced to Xander for support. However, the brunet was looking sheepishly at the ground.

“Oh dear!” Giles exclaimed as he examined the spell. “Willow, this isn’t just a cleansing spell. This spell strips the recipient of their very essence.”

“What does that mean?” Willow asked worriedly.

“Well,” Giles said slowly, as if he was talking to a small child, “In the first instance the spell would have done what it was intended to do. It stripped Buffy of the memories that were hurting her. She forgot everything that pains her, I suppose. It would have taken her back to the last time she was truly happy…whenever that might have been.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted to…” Willow interrupted but Giles held up a hand. Anger was like a live entity behind his eyes and Willow cringed at his expression.

“I don’t care what you bloody well wanted to do!” he yelled. “It’s what you did do! But, you see, the spell doesn’t stop there. It invades the victim like a virus, separating them from themselves. Until eventually, it eats through the core of their being. And they die.”

Willow reeled back in shock. She felt as if she’d been slapped. Giles’ words reverberated in her brain and she felt like sinking to the floor and crying. Pushing through the guilt, she hardened her expression.

“This is not my fault!” she said as confidently as she could.

“Not your fault?!” Giles bellowed thickly. “You stupid little girl!”

“I’m not a little girl, Giles,” she spit. “I’m a powerful witch, and you might not want to piss me off.”

Giles froze in shock at her words. They hung in the air, sucking all the noise from the room. Startled eyes flickered from the Brit to the redhead as they other occupants of the room tried to digest what Willow had just said.

Rising from his seat, Giles approached the witch. His face was hostile and cold and suddenly Willow felt less self-assured.

“You think you’re invincible, Willow. That’s what magic does to you. The power corrupts and you have power in spades but you don’t have the sense to know when and how to use it. Just remember that however much power you might possess there will always be someone who has more.” His face softened as he saw a tear trickle down her pale cheek. “You need to learn control or the magic will destroy you.”

“I have it under control,” she protested.

Sighing wearily, Giles returned to the couch and sank down. “Well, now is not the time to enter into a debate about that. We must concentrate on helping Buffy. Your…behavior with magic is something we can talk about soon.”

“I knew it!” another, rougher British voice exclaimed. “It had to be the bloody witch.”

The three humans glanced up to the stairway at the livid vampire. He looked just about ready to murder someone.

“Spike, I take it you heard what was just said,” Giles sighed.

Spike’s expression clearly showed he did as he descended the stairs. “The little witch bollocksed up a spell, right?” he asked, deceptively calmly.

Giles nodded affirmatively, and sighed. “Indeed,” he said quietly.

“What the bloody hell did you people do to her?” Spike roared, punching a hole clean through the Watcher’s drywall. Spike’s eyes focused on a guilty looking Willow. He could smell the guilt rolling off of her in waves. Roaring he turned to her, eyes blazing amber like a monster from a horror story. “You! You’re responsible for this you stupid, irresponsible child.”

“You need to calm down,” Giles said firmly, stepping between the vampire and the witch. However, the expression on his face belied the calmness in his voice.

“I’ll soddin’ well calm down when I found out just what the usless little witch did to my Slayer!” the peroxide blond yelled.

“She’s not your Slayer…” Xander interjected, but firmly snapped his mouth shut at the scathing glare he received from both Brits. Clearly now was not the time to be pedantic.

“Spike, I’m not sure what I did wrong,” Willow admitted nervously, chewing on her lip and wringing her hands together. “I just followed the spell…”

“And that’s the whole problem isn’t it? You followed a bloody spell,” Spike said, waving his hands wildly. “Why the hell were you putting mojo on the Slayer in the first place?”

Willow sighed and tried to find the right phrasing for her admittance. “We…well we felt that…due to circumstances and um…certain..uh…behaviors that Buffy was displaying…she was making bad decisions so…well we thought it best…”

“She wasn’t acting as your bloody puppet so you decided to use magic to make her act the way you wanted her to?” Spike asked sharply, cutting through Willow’s ramblings.

“It’s not like that!” Xander defended his friend. He rose to his feet and came to stand behind the redhead in a show of immature solidarity.

Spike sneered but instead of addressing them any further he turned to the Watcher who was furiously polishing his glasses.

“What’s your take on this?” he asked his fellow Englishman coldly.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the words to express my feelings on this. I’m sure the children already know my opinion on what they’ve done. They were stupid and immature.” Giles glanced at the guilty Scoobies. “Both of you have harmed Buffy in innumerable ways by conducting this spell. However, recriminations can serve no purpose at this time. If we can’t find a way to reverse it, then Buffy will die.”

“I won’t let her die,” Spike assured him with vigor, and a moment of respect passed between him and Giles.

However, Giles sighed.

“You may not be able to prevent it. The spell is killing her. It’s ripping out the very core of her being. Unless we can either reverse it or stop it then…” He paused and put his glasses on the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need to finish his sentence. Everyone in the room knew just what would happen if they didn’t find a cure for the Slayer.

“I guess we should get on the whole research thing,” Willow suggested in a small voice.

Giles nodded in agreement. “Perhaps we might call in some reinforcements. Willow I suggest you call Tara and Xander you may like to call Anya.”

Both the teens opened their mouths to protest calling in their significant others but Giles stopped them with a firm hand. “I understand you probably don’t wish for them to learn of your…actions. But if you desire to help rectify the damage you have done you will contact them. Tara is a witch and therefore well versed in matters of the supernatural and Anya was a demon for more than a millennium. Call them. Now.”

Of course, neither Willow nor Xander could refuse based on Giles’ argument and they quickly obeyed the older man.





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