Buffy would do her cause no good by explaining to him that his help -- though desired -- would not really make a difference. Not in the end. The answer, she was convinced, was not with any one individual in the barrier. The answer sat somewhere beyond them. It was locked up in science and magic to which they'd been denied access.

She watched the water run into the cup. Run over its edges. A little mug waterfall. "If you're going to help, then you should know what you're up against..."