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"Oh my God," Buffy yelled. "Angel, I don't know if they're in the house or not. I've got to go in," she said, running towards the house.

Angel ran after her.

"Get the hell away!" Faith yelled. "You're going the wrong way B. Fire equals run away from the house, not back into it."

She was followed by Dawn, Giles, Willow, and Xander. They were all okay.

"I was coming to see if you guys were still in there, ding-dong," Buffy answered, happy that everyone was okay.

"What the hell was that?" Angel asked.

"I think it was a fireball," Giles said uneasily. "We were the only place hit."

"Oh come on," Xander complained. "Why in Rome? ...I wonder who's after us now," he said bitterly.

"Well come on Xand, you knew they'd find us eventually," Dawn said.

"Evil always finds us. But why'd they have to set fire to our house. I love the house," Buffy said, chiming in.

"I can fix most of the damage," Willow said, trying to smile.

"Yeah, I know. But still, it just pisses me off," Buffy said.

"Let's see what I can do," Willow said, putting her hands out in front of her, and moving back towards the house, beginning to chant.

Faith and Xander followed Willow, wanting to see the magic in action.

Nobody was ready for what happened next. They didn't know what to do.

A massive ball of fire fell from above and landed straight on top of Buffy's three friends, burning them so quickly and so badly that there was nothing left.

Willow, Xander, and Faith were all dead.

Dawn fainted and Buffy began yelling madly.

"No. Oh my God, NO!" she howled, running towards where they had been standing, where only fire remained now.

Giles was holding back the urge to vomit. He couldn't believe they were dead. He wanted to cry, but he knew he couldn't. He picked Dawn up, and called for Angel.

"Angel, you get Buffy away from there. I'm taking Dawn over to the Fortress. It's massive, you'll know exactly where it is. Meet me there with Buffy soon."

Buffy was quickly approaching the flames, and it didn't look like she was going to stop. Angel ran after her. Buffy didn't stop. She ran through the fire and back into the house, which itself was still on fire on the outside.

"Are you mental?" Angel yelled after her, following her inside through the flames, ignoring the danger the flames could put him in.

"Buffy, where are you?" he yelled, running from room to room, trying to find her.

He finally found her with a bunch of things in her arms.

"Buffy we need to go now."

"No. I need the stuff from Will's room. And I need the picture," she said fiercely.

"I'll get the picture," he said, knowing which one she was talking about. He saw it one the way up. "You go get what you need from Willow's room, and then you meet me downstairs, and fast. Do you understand me?"

Buffy nodded absentmindedly as she ran to get the last reminders she would have of her friends.

Angel pulled the picture off of the wall, and yelled for Buffy.

"We have to get out of here now."

Buffy came running down the stairs, arms overflowing, and carrying two bags on her shoulder.

Angel grabbed the stuff out of her arms, and pulled her out of the house, leading her to the Fortress.

"Let go of me," she hissed at him.

He let go of her arm. "Then come with me," he told her calmly.

And that's when Buffy finally broke down and began to cry.

"They can't be gone, Angel," she sobbed, throwing herself into his embrace. "They can't be

dead. What the hell am I supposed to do without Willow and Xander? It's not fair. They were good. They were wonderful. I love them so Faith, she turned around. She was doing good for people. She was helping. We were friends again... Xander, Willow..." Buffy said, unable to control her breathing.

"I'm so sorry, Buffy," Angel told her. "I know you loved them. And I don't know what to say to make things better, I don't think there is anything I can say to make your pain go away. But we need to leave. We have to get to Giles and your sister."

"Dawn," Buffy mumbled.

"Yes," Angel said. "She's gonna need you now. You need her right now too. So let's go," Angel encouraged.

Buffy nodded her head slowly, but it took her a few minutes to make any sort of a move to leave. Her world was never going to be the same again.

When they got to the Fortress, Dawn was waiting at the door. Buffy ran to her sister, and hugged her tightly, and both young women cried together.

Angel walked over to Giles.

"Are you okay?" he asked kindly. "I know what they all meant to you."

Giles just shook his head, afraid to speak. He was sure if he said anything, he would begin to shed tears of his own, and he would not be able to stop them.

Giles cocked his head at Angel.

"Me?" Angel asked.

Giles nodded, trying extremely hard to keep himself calm.

"I mean I know I haven't been around that much, but I considered them all friends. And I can't believe that they're gone. It's not fair," Angel replied. "It's so wrong."

Buffy and Dawn came over to the guys. Buffy headed for her Watcher, and embraced him, finally triggering his tears.

Dawn looked over at Angel. "You're not planning on leaving, right?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"No," Angel told her.

"Good. Because we're going to need you here," she said quietly, trying to wipe her tears away.

"Come here kid," Angel said, giving her a hug. "It's okay to cry."

"What's going on someone?" someone called out. It was one of the Slayers in Training.

Buffy finally spoke up, and told the girl what happened. The girl seemed devastated, but agreed to let all the other Slayers know what had happened.

Buffy, Angel, Dawn and Giles were silent now.

It was time to try to pick up the pieces.