Buffy's POV

What are we going to do?

I run my fingers through my hair, making sure not to get any blood from the healing cut on my forehead in my hair.

Everything is falling apart.

I let my head drop into my hands and take a deep breath.

She's got her. Glory's got Dawn and she knows she's the key. And to make matters worse, not one of us is in perfect fighting condition. Glory really did a number on all of us. I walked away with a minor head injury but only because Faith cushioned the impact for me. She got the worst of it, even though she tells me she's fine. The huge cut on the back of her head says different though. The doctors said most people who suffer the kind of head injury she did would have massive head trauma, but they say she only got a lot of bruising all over and that big gash on the back of her head. I guess there's something to be said for slayer strength and healing.

The others weren't so lucky. Xander's bones were bruised at the neck and ribs where she shoved him. The doctors said if he's not extremely careful for the next day or so his ribs could crack or break. He'll have Anya looking out for him though until he heals up. But he's here, ready to help in any way he can. He and Anya were the luckiest of us though. Giles and my mom got the worst of it.

I look up at Giles sitting across the extremely lob sided table in the magic shop, trying to flip through the pages of the books the Council left for us about Glory and the key... about Dawn.

Trying because it's hard with a hand fractured in 3 places. But he refused to stay in the hospital and since his injuries aren't life threatening they couldn't keep him after they bandaged him up. My mom on the other hand is still in the hospital.

I reach out and take Faith's hands in mine. We face each other as we wait for Giles to find something to give us some sort of hope that we can save Dawn and the world.

"I can't believe I just left my mother at the hospital like that."

She tucks my hair back behind my left ear.

"The doctors said she was gonna be all right B. The piece of the wall Glory threw at her may have broken her rib and punctured one of her arteries but they got to her quickly and saved her life. She'll be okay."

"But when she wakes up, I might not be there with her."

She kisses me softly.

"If we don't save the world it won't matter if you're there with her or not. Your mom will understand that. We have to focus on saving the world and getting Dawn back if we can."

God Dawnie...

"I hope she's all right. There's no telling what Glory might be doing to her right now."

"I doubt Glory would risk hurting Dawn until the ritual."

The ritual?

"You've found out something about what Glory's gonna do to Dawn?"

We all turn to Giles, the only one of us who can read the languages these books were written in.

"Small pieces, yes. Though given the thoroughness of the Council's explanation of their research method, I should know more soon. Based on what I know at the moment, the ritual Glory wishes to perform, whatever it may be, is time sensitive to a specific alignment of the planets which only occurs once every 800 years. If Glory were to do something to disrupt the element in Dawn which is the key she would risk its success and have to wait another 8 centuries to try again. At which point both Dawn and Glory would be long dead."

Xander speaks up.

"But Glory's an immortal... couldn't we just ask her to wait a couple hundred years?"

"Unfortunately not. Glory's existence, much like the key's, is directly connected to their counter part, which in Glory's case, appears to be Ben."

But that means...

"If Ben dies, so does Glory?"

"It seems that way, yes. If nothing else I think that Ben's death would trap Glory's essence in his body until she is drained completely of all her energy and disintegrate when Ben's body decomposes."

"So, what you're saying is... we have to kill Ben?"

I don't know that I can kill an innocent.

Xander voices my thoughts.

"But we can't kill Ben. He's an innocent in this isn't he? He just happened to be the guy with Glory living inside him. We can't kill an innocent human."

"Speak for yourself."

Our attention turns to my one and only.

"Faith?"

"Someone has to stop Glory from doing this ritual that could destroy the world, I nominate me. We know I can take on Glory, and even if I can't kill her because Ben doesn't come back, I can at least keep her occupied so she can't do whatever it is she's gonna do to Dawn."

But she's not a hundred percent.

"But Faith, what about your head?"

"My head's fine B, and even if it weren't I'm still the best choice. I'm the only one with enough strength to keep Glory busy."

"Then I'm gonna be there with you. I'm not going to let you face off against an evil hell god alone. I'll be there to give her twice the distraction."

She kisses my knuckles.

"Thanks B."

"All right then, the rest of us will deal with any of Glory's minions who might get in our path to rescuing Dawn..."

He looks around at the bodies of Glory's demon minions on the floor.

Probably Glory's doing but it could also be Ben's.

"Now all we must discern is where, when and what the ritual entails."

I squeeze Faith's hands in mine and she squeezes back.

We have to save Dawn, I don't know what I would do if we lost her.