Title: Wesley's Way

Author: filmFreak1

Disclaimer: No I don't own them, they all belong to Joss, WB, UPN, CW, etc.

Rated: T (contains violence)

Summary: One-shot darkfic. AU. What if Wesley had been in Sunnydale during Season 5 of Buffy? This story assumes that Wesley in this story is about equivalent to the Wesley in Season 2 and beyond in Angel. Warning: Very dark, contains character death.

Feedback: would be very highly appreciated

She trusts me, and that makes what I have to do all the more difficult.

The others sit around the table in the Magic Box, staring intently into their books, trying in vain to find any information they can that could help them defeat the hell-god. Fools. Especially Rupert; I would have thought the stupid berk would know better: that winning a war requires sacrifices…even terrible ones.

I look outside. "It's getting dark," I say. "We should get Dawn back to the house."

"Spike'll be here shortly," replies Buffy, looking up. "I'll have him take her home."

"No, it's alright, I'll take her," I reply back.

Buffy nods at me. "Okay, go ahead, Wesley, but stay with her until I come." Dawn looks disappointed that Spike won't be the one escorting her, which does not surprise me; I know that she nurses a schoolgirl crush for the vampire. But, nonetheless, she trusts me.

"See you tomorrow, Dawnie," says Willow. Rupert and Xander say the same, while the others smile and nod.

"Bye, guys!" the girl replies, as she walks toward me. We open the door and step out of the shop. We then get into my car and drive away.

The girl says nothing to me as I drive. I almost wonder if she suspects something. She looks at me with puzzlement when I park the car next to the curb a few blocks away from the Magic Box.

"Why did you stop, Wesley?" she asks.

"I have to show you something; it will only take a moment. Stay with me."

We step out of the car, and I lead her into an alley.

"What are we doing here, Wes?"

I gesture to the end of the alley. "I found a way to defeat Glorificus, Dawn."

She looks at me, her face flooding with hope.

"What? You mean...we can win?"

I nod.

"Then…shouldn't we tell Buffy?"

"We will, Dawn, we will, but I wanted to surprise you first."

"So…how to we beat her, Wes?"

I point and nod toward the end of the alley. "Take a look for yourself." Looking puzzled, she walks in front of me. I slowly reach behind and pull out the pistol I've been concealing in the back of my jeans. Dawn reaches the wall and runs her hands over it, looking for something.

"I'm not seeing anything, Wes, what are—?" She stops when she hears the sound of the slide mechanism being racked, and spins around quickly.

I do not give her time to scream. I fire four rounds in quick succession; her body jerks in reaction as each one embeds itself in her torso. The look she gives me is one of anger and shock, though mostly the latter.

She slumps against the wall, a red discoloration appearing around the four new holes in her shirt and spreading. Blood starts pouring out of her mouth and down her chin. She gives me a look, a look that reflects her feeling of having been betrayed, yet that also reflects pity and understanding. A look that seems to say "I can't believe you did that, but I know you did what you believed you had to do to save the world. Of course, I'm not the one who will have to deal with the consequences." She stops breathing and her eyes go blank; I reach over and shut them.

I walk out of the alley and back to the car. I briefly consider making a run for it, leaving Sunnydale, but I'm not the kind to dodge responsibility; if I were, would I have done what I just did? No, I'll go back to the Magic Box and tell them what I did; deal with the consequences, so to speak.

I drop the gun. As it clatters against the pavement, I walk back to the car, prepared to face what I deserve.

--

Author's Note: I know I've posted this story before, sorry. As it turns out, however, I accidentally deleted it. So here it is again. If you've reviewed it before, I hope you'll be kind enough to do so again.

Anyways, for those who didn't catch it the first time around, this story is basically meant to make you think about Giles' and Wesley's differing views. Wesley always believed that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, no matter the cost. Do you think he was right?

As always, make sure to leave feedback.