1 Prologue: The Aftermath



There could be no funeral, there were no bodies found. The Rosenberg and Harris families became convinced that Xander and Willow had eloped and run away together, it explained so much that had happened over the previous year (Xander calling the wedding off, Willow never coming home) that the remaining Scoobies could not convince them otherwise.

The death of Tara MacClay remained an unsolved case but was closed when the whereabouts of the only suspect could not be found, and all signs pointed to him committing suicide.

Buffy and Dawn were left alone when Giles returned to England. Anya was still running the Magic Box, and despite her outing as a Vengeance Demon, Buffy began counting on her friendship more and more.

Slaying continued as usual, and Buffy had settled into a lonely routine of patrol and work at the DoubleMeat Palace until it was destroyed in the late summer by a grease fire.

Fire.



Willow had snapped. She had regressed back into the darkest magicks and they had failed her. She couldn't bring Tara back from death. Revenge was the only thing that made sense, taking the life of the person that had taken the life of her only love.

Warren would suffer and die like no other enemy had. The tortures Willow had visited on Glory for disabling Tara were nothing compared to the horror that she had prepared for Warren. He died screaming, the power crackling all around, the magical fire pealing back his skin like crumpled newspaper in a campfire.

They had all tried to stop her. Buffy was no match for the witch's power, Giles couldn't tap the source of her power to stop her, and Xander couldn't reach his friend. The magic was too strong.

In a final act of guilt and despair, Willow tried to take her own life, but Xander got in the way. As she ran toward them, Buffy could see him screaming as he disappeared over the edge of the cliff, Willow grabbing the sleeve of his shirt, her small frame too light to anchor him, her shock too severe to work any magicks, the fall too far for either to survive. All Buffy could see when she got to the edge of the cliff were waves crashing against the rocks below.

The next thing Buffy felt was Dawn pulling her back, holding her against the tide of her own grief.

Now Buffy worked as a receptionist at the local funeral home, where she helped other people in their time of need and kept a close eye on the newly undead while Dawn entered her junior year of high school and learned to drive.

They tried to keep their heads up and remain hopeful about their futures, leaving the pain of the past dead and buried.