She knew what Giles was capable of, what he would do to save this ball of mud. He was a good man, but some part of him was still a Watcher, and that part would do was needed rather than what...
Whatever it was, Dawn would live. It was the only solution she'd allow.
She had been very specific in the battle plans - Giles needed to keep the rear and give support to Anya. It was smart strategy, but more importantly, it kept him occupied.
Even with that precaution, she found herself awkwardly glancing over at him while she pummeled Glory. Just little checks to make sure he wasn't climbing the tower. To make sure she wouldn't have to kill him.
Sometime after she broke the hellgoddess's nose, she heard the first gunshot, and then a sickened thud as Doc's body hit the ground. She looked up to see a portal forming, a tear in the sky - and Xander holding a gun to Dawn.
She never thought it would be him. Never.
She ran. She didn't even remember dropping the Troll Hammer. She just burst forward, muscles stretching and straining. Faster than a speeding
Bang.
She couldn't see it from her position - the twisting metal of the tower obscured her line of vision - but she knew. Somewhere, her sister, her family, herself - somewhere that girl had crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
By the hand of her best friend.
She kept running.
If she could just get to the platform fast enough, she could stop the bullet lodged in Dawn's - did he get the stomach? The head? Where had the bastard...
She was there. The murderer was on his knees, the gun laying beside him. He wasn't crying. He just... stared at the body. The body...
She's cold. Should I make her warm?
... crumpled in front of him, the blackened blood dribbling from her forehead, sticking to her hair.
She didn't see that the tear had closed or that below, her team had defeated Glory's minions. She didn't see a saved world. She didn't see at all.
He stood up and turned to her, his arms hanging apart. He looked so stricken.
She wanted to run and throw herself at him, hurtling them both to their deaths below. She wanted to scream until his head exploded. She wanted to break his jaw, crack his ribs, batter his muscles to jelly. She wanted to rip through his belly with her bare fist.
He took a step toward her. "Buffy..."
"No." She swept past him and fell to the metal grating. She scooped her quiet sister up to her breast and held her there.
"Buffy... I... She said..."
"Go away," she muttered, the first sob breaking through her voice.
If he left, she didn't hear it. She didn't care what he did. He wasn't...
Her tears splashed against Dawn's skin. Her hand stroked Dawn's soft hair. "I can't do it. Can't live in this world. It's so hard. I'm sorry. So sorry." The world faded to a watery blotch, and Buffy rocked her sister's body as the sun rose.
