As Buffy rests in catatonia, Dawn is being prepared for her use. All Glory has to do to use the Key in human form is to bleed the human dry. Glory is having issues. Human issues. With the Key-use preparation comes a thinning of the line between her & Ben, so, she's starting to feel human things. She's also remembering Ben's life. She wonders how people do it, how they deal with being slaves to their hormones & theramones. She asks Dawn to tell her one person who can take all these emotions, Dawn answers: "Buffy". At first, Spike is the only one who remembers that Ben turned into Glory, but, with the divide between Glory & Ben fading, soon everyone remembers. Spike & Xander go to Doc's to see if he knows about anything to help them with Glory. He does, but, doesn't give it up (a box) without a fight because he worships Glory. Back to Dawn, Glory turns into Ben & is upset about remembering Glory killing all the Knights. He then rants about Glory's selfishness, about how she never thinks about Ben. Ben tries to get Dawn out. During the act, Ben & Glory interchange back & forth, having a conversation, where Glory promises Ben immortality if he doesn't harm Dawn & gives her up. Ben accepts sayings to Dawn: "it's you or me". Willow tries to get into Buffy's mind to see if she can bring Buffy out. She ends up in a memory loop: one of when Joyce first comes home from the hospital with Dawn where Buffy promises to take care of Dawn. Then, Buffy goes to a moment where she put a book back for Giles in the magic shop. Then, Buffy cuts to the moment in the desert where the guide told her that death was her gift. Then, she is in her house. She goes into her mom's bedroom & looks at the literal grave of her mother, then, she walks down the hall into Dawn's room & smothers Dawn to death, telling a watching Willow that she's figured it out, "death is my gift". Willow tries to get Buffy out of the loop, telling her that she never killed Dawn, even though Buffy insists that she did. Finally, Willow pinpoints that something happened in that moment where she put a book back at the library. Buffy explains what happened. That was the moment that Buffy had a revelation, that she couldn't fight Glory, that Glory was going to win. & in that moment, Buffy wanted it to happen. She knew Dawn would die & something awful would happen, but, Buffy's life, her fight would be over & Buffy was tired of fighting. Buffy says that that is why she killed Dawn. Willow tells her to snap out of it, that this is the feeling of guilt & that it's an important human emotion, but Dawn's not dead yet & even though Buffy wanted out for a moment, it doesn't mean anything more than that. Then, Willow says that she's going where Buffy's needed & asks if Buffy's coming. Buffy wakes & cries. Later, she goes back to the magic shop. Giles has found a text that explains the ritual. He knows that Glory plans to open the dimensional portals by bleeding Dawn. & the only way to stop it once it starts is to stop Dawn's blood from flowing. & the only way to do that is to kill Dawn.