But this Slayer is different. She did not face the darkness alone. And her friends will not let her go. And it is because of family and friends, that this Vampire Slayer shall never truly be at rest…

Her name had been Buffy Summers. She had once been a normal girl, living up her life just like every other normal L.A. freshmen girl at Hemery High. That was until that day that she met Merrick, the man that would forever change her life, even though he would soon die. Death. It had surrounded her everywhere she had gone: Merrick, Ford, Kendra, Ms. Calendar, her mom…and of course her deaths. One death at the hands of the Master—only to have been brought back with the help of Xander and Dawn—and the other protecting and saving the world, and her sister.

Death had been her release from the chaotic world and life of Buffy Summers.

But now, the girl stared at that looming and monstrous tower that she had leapt from to save her sister. She wasn’t supposed to be here, Buffy’s time was finished. The Slayer of Vampires had sacrificed herself and moved on from the living…so what was this all? The fire, the pain, the agony? Was this hell? Why was this all happening to her? Were her memories of her afterlife all a lie?

She tried to think and focus, going back to that night.

The portal began to open right beneath them. Rapidly ripping space and reality to pieces, dimensions pouring into each other creating unbelievable chaos. The sisters could only watch the horrid sight, unable to believe it had come this far. But Buffy knew what she would have to do…

…Buffy had done what she was supposed to do. She closed her eyes, trying remember seeing the last sunrise, the dawn of a new life, trying to hear her final words to Dawn, before she leapt off the tower and into the portal. Before the dreadful and displeasing light, became something else all together.

"Dawnie, I have to." Buffy could hear the words escaping her lips.

"Buffy?" called her sister’s voice. "Buffy."

The Slayer turned around and there she stood. Dawn. Buffy couldn’t help but quiver—where was she? This couldn’t possibly be real; the pain, the angry, and hatred that surrounded, it couldn’t possibly be the place she had once lived in. It definitely wasn’t the place that she had left behind. It couldn’t be real. This image in front of her—nearly as scared and confused as she—it couldn’t be Dawn.

"Buffy?" called the girl. "Is it really you? I mean…really?"

The tower—she remembered the tower, built by crazy people that had worshipped the hell-god Glory—shifted and trembled, nearly caused both Buffy and Dawn to fall off the tower, down to the earth below.

Back to death.

Buffy began to turn around, facing back towards the edge of the plank, looking down at her only escape.

"No!"

* * * *

Together, they had managed to fend off the leader of the biker demons—even without the help of the Slayer, though the gang wouldn’t have mind if their friend had chosen to stick around. And they knew their friend—Buffy—was in fact alive, their resurrection spell had worked…though they weren’t entirely sure if it had successfully worked.

Willow didn’t want Xander, Anya, or especially Tara to know that even before she had come forward to the group with the idea of bringing Buffy back, that there was a chance that she could come back like this. Come back wrong. She had forced herself to push her doubts away in order to do the spell herself, but when the biker demons appeared on site there was nothing that she could have possibly done.

It wasn’t her fault.

Whatever was wrong with Buffy, it could be fixed. It would blow over. Whatever was happening to her could be reversed…

…without reversing the spell.

Walking down the back ally, moving away from the Magic Box and staying hidden from the ravished streets of Sunnydale, Xander lead Tara, Willow, and Anya towards Buffy’s house, trying to find the fastest route their without running into the wild bunch. They were trying to figure out what their next move would be, which obviously was focused on finding Buffy. What the Scooby Gang would do to her when they found her was a whole different story.

Then, for a brief instant, Willow felt something in the air. She could sense something coming at her in waves. It was almost like residue from a magick spell—her spell. It was Buffy. And she was definitely close by somewhere. But where would Buffy have possibly gone if not back to her house—

All four froze in a single step as they heard the whining and creaking of the shambled tower.

The tower. The place where Buffy had… That’s where Buffy would be, Willow just knew it.

She glanced back at the others and nodded. "Follow me."

* * * *

"Don’t!"

Buffy slowly glanced away at her only means to escape and towards the thing that would inevitably force her and that reality.

"Don’t jump Buffy, don’t move! Just walk to me," Dawn—or at least the girl that stood before her—called and cried out to her. Trying to calm Buffy and soothe her, making her step away from the edge of the plank. But that was her only way to be calmed and soothed. To jump. To leave whatever placed she had been sucked down into, and return where everything seemed good and at peace.

Buffy didn’t understand why her sister would want that from her. For Buffy to give up everything she had earned throughout the hardship and fighting and death—for Buffy to be in a place that she could truly be at peace. So she turned away from her anchor, and stared back over the edge.

"I’m your sister, Dawn," the small voice insisted slowly. "We were up here…together…and then, you went away. And you don’t want to do that again. I don’t know how you’re back, but you are. And please, just stay still—" And that’s when the tower began to tremble again, piecing falling apart and the structure beginning to fail.

Slowly getting closer to her release.

"—o-or move! B-but towards me. Because the tower was made by crazy people and I don’t think it’s holding up very well."

And for the slightest moment, Buffy thought that maybe she might be real. But how could she gamble the reward she had forged through these many years, over something that might be her sister. She stared over the edge—her chance to escape—but then turned her attention back towards her sister’s call.

"Talk to me," pleaded the girl. "Say something."

Answer her. Buffy realized that she at least owed her that. So, she said that only thing that was plaguing her mind.

"Is this hell?" Buffy whispered under the cries and creaking of the tower.

"What?"

The Slayer gave in, turning away from her way to escape and towards her sister. "Is this hell?" Broken, lost, seemingly alone and confused, the Slayer stared into her sister’s eyes, seeking answers and truth.

"No. Buffy, no. You’re here, with me. Whatever happened to you, whatever you’ve been through, it’s over now."

Yes, it truly was over. Wherever she was now—earth or hell—it was truly over. Even if Dawn was real, she was the thing that stood between Buffy and her afterlife. The tower gave an agreeing shake, throwing Dawn off balance and brining the Slayer closer towards her reward, as she turned back towards the edge.

"We have to get off of this tower!"

Dawn only clouded the little sense Buffy had left—jump off of the tower, just as before, and she would return to the place of peace and light.

"It was so…clear," Buffy thought aloud, as she looked down the tower that continued shake and fall apart, "on this spot. I remember how…shiny and clear everything was. But, now…now…" Buffy knew what she had to do, to set it all right.

And then, she spoke again.

"Buffy, please listen to me." And so she did. "You told me I had to be strong, and I tried. But it’s been so hard without you. I’m sorry."

Buffy clinched her eyes shut and tried to push away the words as Dawn clouded Buffy with false hopes and promises, about everything would change. If it had been anyone else, she might have been able to resist…but Dawn, her sister. Her only real family left. And then, those words drew her back. The last words she had said to her sister.

"I need you to live. Live, for—" Before she could finish her words, Dawn let out terrified screech as the tower started to totter. It was now that Buffy would have to choice: save her escape or let the tower take her back. And even if she wanted to go, she knew what she had to do. "Buffy!" she cried.

She had finally come to her senses. "Dawn." Buffy spun around and there was Dawn, on the other end of the plank, clinging on for dear life as that structure of the tower quickly depleted. "Dawn!" Buffy sped towards the younger Summers, grabbing her sister and helping her towards the stairs of the tower. Before Buffy could even think of another way to escape down the stairs in time, the peak of the tower became unstable and frames and beams started raining down—colliding into Buffy and Dawn and pushing both over the edge.

Confused and terrified, the Slayer couldn’t comprehend what was happening. The two plummeted down from the tower, and in the moment, Buffy hoped that things would be over. Even if it was only seconds, these moments were the hardest she had ever dealt.

But pain was her only reward. The Slayer had stopped moving, slowly piecing together what had occurred. Beneath Buffy was the shattered body of her sister—the reason why the fall hadn’t killed her. The only reason why she had chosen to stay…it was gone. She’d been played.

And as the tower continued to collapse, the anger, hate, loss, and confusion that boiled throughout Buffy, dissipating the remaining sanity within the Slayer. And the thing that had anchored Buffy here—her sister—was gone. She was truly, and now forever, alone…

WHERE HAD SHE GONE?

Keeping track of the little bit seemed to be far more trouble than all his encounters with the Slayer had been. Throughout all the chaos, carnage, and flames, Spike had managed to lose Dawn when none of that was actually happening. Instead, the bint had fled off after seeing the corpse of the Buffybot. Rekindling old memories of the real Buffy no doubt, causing the girl to rush off.

But to where? Where on earth would Dawn have gone?

Back to the Summers’ house was probably Spike’s best bet at this point. He could check in at the Magic Box to see if Willow and the gang were still around, but they would probably stake him on site if he appeared Dawnless. But…but that wasn’t why he was so concerned. If he were to lose Dawn, again, his promise to her would forever be broken.

Not again…

The Magic Box would be his best bet at this point. It was closer than the house. Plus, there were more alleys that Spike would be able to slip through on the bike to get to the shop—staying off the open road would be good when there was a demon heard in town.

But somehow, moving through the raging hell of Sunnydale towards what would likely be the ashes of the Magic Box, Glory’s tower had caught the vampire’s eye. Or at least the brief sight of the tower before dust clouded the smokey night air.

She was there, at the tower, now. Dawn. She had to be. It was the only place that she would flee to. It was the only place in Sunnydale that marked the spot of the fallen Slayer. That’s where she would go.

Pushing the stolen motorcycle to its edge, Spike dashed towards the tower.

* * * *

Only Anya had questioned what the loud clatter had been, but everyone had pieced together where Willow was leading them by now. Willow’s new awareness of magicks helped her sense the presence of her spell, which helped her steer the group in the right direction—but now it was clear to everyone that Buffy had headed back to the tower. The tower built by Glory’s monks and minions. The tower where Dawn was bled and gateways and dimensions were opened.

The tower where Buffy had died.

Why go back? What could Buffy possibly want at that tower? To die again?

"We have to hurry," ordered Willow.

Not even glancing back at Xander, Anya, or even Tara, Willow’s limping pace quickly accelerated into a fast sprint towards the tower. Willow’s eyes locked onto dust that had arisen from the fallen wreckage of the tower; right on the spot where the portal had opened and Buffy had scarified herself. If she had only gotten there sooner, the tower would still there, and she could learn what had become of Buffy.

Even as Willow rushed towards the tower, she could steel feel the strong presence of her spell. Only a living creature would be giving off that strong of a magickal radiation. Buffy had to still be alive.

"But she’s broken. I think we screwed it up." Anya’s words echoed throughout Willow’s head. All Anya had done the entire way over towards the tower was repeatedly bring up the possibility that something went seriously wrong with the spell during the biker attack, and Buffy had come back wrong. But they had all seen Buffy when she was fighting Razor. She was still very reachable. With Buffy still alive, there was a chance she could still be brought back.

Willow heard the other three catching up behind her, as she appeared before the remains of the structure. But what Willow saw before her chilled her every muscle, forcing her eyes to amplify and all her true dread to overcome her.

Straddling the corpse of her once living sister, Buffy Summers was punching and punching and punching what was left of her younger sister’s bloody skull. The sound of it drowned out Willow’s sickened gasp, as the Slayer’s fist continued to pound at the dead flesh, completely lost in it and unaware of what she was doing. She was lost in the rage and confusion of it all.

All the trauma that had built up from that night, had literally pushed her and driven the girl insane.

And it was Willow’s fault. But there was nothing she could possibly think of now. Nothing she could do. The Wicca dropped to her knees and shouted her friend’s name in hopes that it would reach her, but the Slayer was too far gone.

"Willow!" It was Tara’s voice, tired and out of breath. The three sets of footsteps came up from behind her, slowing as she turned around. Tears streaked down Willow’s already pale and tired face. "Willow? Willow what’s…" But as Tara came closer towards Willow, she saw what remained of what Willow had resurrected. "O-oh my god. Dawn!"

"What? Dawn? What’s she—" Xander stopped dead in his trail, when he and Anya both caught sight of Buffy, viciously mauling and pummeling the fallen body of Dawn. "Dawn!"

Xander, Anya, and Tara left the weeping Willow and hurried towards Buffy. She didn’t even take note of them as they approached. Death. Destruction. Only set and focused on killing…her sister…

This was what Willow had brought back.

The three tried getting Buffy off Dawn, which only enraged the Slayer even more. Buffy swatted Xander away with a single punch, followed by Anya, but Tara was thrown off guard when the Slayer lashed out a kick that sent the witch tumble into the ruins of the tower. The fragments of the fragmented building started to collapse around Tara.

"NO!" Anger penetrated Willow’s brief suspension, forcing her back onto her feet. She could feel the power coursing through her even before she shouted again. "Tara!" The rage and energies just seeped out of Willow’s hands as dark electricity shot out and hit Buffy. With one strike, the shock left the Slayer’s body still.

"Willow?" a small voice numbing called back.

"NO!" Willow ran towards the spot where Tara had landed. Even before she reached it, a pulse of energy pushed away all the remnants of the tower that had cushioned her fall. She instantly grabbed and cradled Tara in her arms, who weakly smiled back at her. "Tara?"

"I’m ok," she said quietly.

Xander and Anya began to move as well. Xander glanced over at the bodies of Buffy and Dawn, and slowly towards Willow and Tara.

"Is she gonna be alright?" asked Xander gravely.

Willow’s still blackened eyes met Xander, something—was it fear?—filled Xander and caused him to look away. "The winds knocked out of her and she’s got some bad cuts and bruises, but other than that—"

"Will, you know I wasn’t talking about her." Xander’s eyes were locked on the body of their best friend. The same body that they had already had to put into the ground.

"She’s alive," reassured Willow. "The bolts should have only knocked her out."

"You know that’s not what I’m asking."

She didn’t answer. Willow pulled her eyes away from Xander, and back towards Tara. She was still alive, and that’s what counted right now. Willow hadn’t lost her. As uncontrollably as Buffy was towards Dawn, Willow just kept on stroking Tara’s hair and holding her tightly. Willow couldn’t stay silent for long—she needed to get Tara out of there, as well as the others, and figure out a way to fix what had happened to Buffy. "I…I don’t know."

"Oh, he’s talking about if your spell somehow brought Buffy back wrong," elaborated Anya, "like possessed, or as a demon or zombie, or you know, insane." Willow struck Anya that caused the ex-vengeance demon’s eyes to widen and force her to step back.

"I don’t know," cried Willow. "Everything seemed to have gone correctly with the spell—and we all saw Buffy before the tower. She seemed to be settling in to things again, like she was still there. Like maybe the spell and everything went right, but with the circumstances of…everything, it was just too much. And from all this she’s gone insane."

"Oh, so it couldn’t possibly be your spell then," Anya shot back.

Before the argument could erupt further, Xander stepped in between the two. "Stop! Just stop it. We…we need to figure out what we’re going to do. The biker gang’s still here, Tara’s hurt, and Buffy’s…well, we have to find a safe place to put her. Where she won’t hurt anyone else."

"What about Dawn?" asked Anya.

Xander took another deep breath and shook his head. "Dunno."

But Willow had pieced things together. "With the demon attacks and everything, she probably wasn’t the only casualty. If we just leave it here there’s nothing that’ll bring this all back to Buffy—"

"No!" Anya was appalled by Willow’s suggestion, simply leaving the body instead of taking the responsibility. "We can’t just leave her here. It-it just wouldn’t…be right. What if someone finds the body and eats it, or use it for parts, or something sick and twisted. We can’t—"

The roar of a nearby motorcycle cut Anya off, and all four knew that they had to get out of the open. The Hellmouth still wasn’t safe, even with Razor dead, his boys were still in town and looking for trouble.

"Fine," said Willow sternly, rising up and helping Tara in the doing. "I’ll teleport her to a hospital or something, and she’ll be safe there. In the meantime, we need to help Tara before Buffy wakes up." Tara groaned and pushed off of Willow. "Can you walk?"

Tara nodded. "I’m a little dizzy, but I’ll manage."

Willow smiled sweetly towards Tara, but that warmth faded upon Xander and Anya. "Can you two take Buffy?"

"She won’t wake up will she?" asked Anya.

"Not for awhile," Willow insisted.

The two quickly complied.

"Go up on ahead," said Willow, kneeling down next to Dawn’s body. "It’ll take a moment for the spell to work, and there’s no need to wait."

* * * *

All he could do was watch. That’s all he could ever really do, because Buffy always seemed to be out of his reach. But, before she had left, Spike had been fine with that. Even though she knew what he was, she still treated him right with respect that he didn’t even deserve, but she was still kind. Now, Spike wasn’t even sure what Buffy had become.

The vampire watched the Scoobies drag the still breathing body of the Vampire Slayer away from the destruction of Glory’s tower. It had been them. They brought Buffy back. After the entire summer of working with them, helping them, and protecting Dawn…and Dawn, she was gone. Her fragmented body remained as Xander, Anya, and Tara, with the unconscious Buffy, left the scene, leaving Red next to the Slayer’s kid sister.

Her. She had done this all.

Willow.

She was the only one who had tapped into the dark arts—well, her and Rupert, but it hadn’t surprised Spike when he learned that the Watcher had shipped himself back to England. Of all the Scoobies, she had been the most controlling and distant that summer—ordering for Spike’s help, but never really keeping him in the loop about things. Simply using him as a tool for survival.

This night was a confirmation of that all.

And Spike watched with disgust as the witch’s eyes darkened and she burned away the body of the fallen girl, clearing away any proof of what happened. Fixing her mistakes to her liking.

Spike knew Buffy would be the next thing that Willow would try to fix.