The answer to all her problems stared Buffy in the face. The rage that coursed through her veins while looking up to see her sister, mystical key that can open all doors named Dawn, standing upon the scaffold doubled, and Buffy climbed to the top ready to defend her family.

"Buffy, I have to stop it. It's my turn to be the hero, you can rest," Dawn said, wanting to give her sister the one wish she was always denied.

"No Dawnie, once the blood stops, the portal will stop. You were made from slayer's blood, my blood. I know what I have to do now. I love you Dawnie," Buffy replied, hugging her sister tight.

No one is going to take my sister anywhere! Not even some pissed off ex-hell Goddess, Buffy thought, pushing her sister out of the way and running at full slayer speed to the spinning portal. The Scooby gang, still fighting on the ground, looked up at that moment and watched their friend jump from the scaffold to only hover in mid air before falling toward the ground, screaming. They watched for another minute, forgetting the hell demons and suicide monks attempting to destroy the planet, and then together they continued the fight, pushing back the horde of evil until all were dead.

It was Willow who first started looking for her fallen hero, and then Xander, Anya, Giles, and Spike searched. They searched through burning debris, wrecked and twisted metal, hoping that the world's greatest hero was still alive.

"Willow, I don't see her. I, I think she's gone," Xander said, hugging his high school friend tight.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! She's not supposed to die yet!" Spike yelled, kneeling on the scarred battleground. The British vampire stared at the empty space where the portal was not to long ago, praying for whatever it was worth that his love would fall into his arms.

Dawn made her way down the scaffold, crying, wanting to hug her big sister. She looked at the faces around her, knowing the truth without having to ask a single question. "She's gone. She saved us,"

"Yeah, Lil' Bit, she did. She saved us again," Spike answered, his head hung trying to figure out what the future will hold for him now.

"That was her job, saving the world," Xander said.

"You're wrong there mate. Her job was to kill us, vampires I mean, she protected the world for free," Spike whispered, hiding the tears in his voice. Standing up, Spike nodded his goodbye to the Scooby Gang, left the battleground to drink his sorrow and memories away.

The others left soon after, grieving together in their silence. As they passed the darkened houses, sitting safely in ignorance, each one begin to smile and remember.