Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

Four years ago, Sunnydale

Dawn was sitting on the floor in the X-Ray room, shaken up after Glory attacking her and still coping from the fact that she was just the Key. She wasn't real. She didn't exist.

Buffy knelt towards Dawn, holding her by her arm. "Are you OK? Did she hurt you?"

"Why do you care?" Dawn demanded.

"Because I love you. You're my sister." Buffy said.

"No, I'm not." Dawn shook her head and it was clear to Buffy that she was struggling with an existential crisis after learning the truth about herself.

"Yes, you are." Buffy said as she held Dawn's wounded arm. "Look. It's blood. It's Summers blood." She then gestured to her wounded shoulder before holding her hand. "It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from or how you got here. You are my sister. There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't."

Even though Dawn was still struggling with learning what she really was, she knew now that Buffy didn't care about her origin. She still loved her and would do anything to protect her. Relieved, Dawn hugged Buffy, while Buffy hugged her back as both of them began crying.

"I was so scared…" Dawn whispered.

"Me too…" Buffy said lowly.

Present

In the plane, Dawn's corpse was on the slab, while Buffy stood next to her dead sister, with her eyes wet, holding her by her cheek, barely able to keep her tears at bay.

"Buffy…" Spike said lowly as he placed his hand on Buffy's shoulder.

Riley was talking on the phone and hung up, when Sam approached.

"Well?" Sam asked.

"They are working on activating the trackers in the equipment they stole. We'll get them." Riley said.

"Do you wanna tell them that?" Sam asked, glancing at Buffy.

Riley looked at Buffy hesitantly before shaking his head. "I think Simone's the last thing on their mind right now."

Sam glanced at Buffy and sighed heavily, nodding. "Yeah."

Xander stared down on the floor, numb, processing what had happened, still unable to believe that they had lost Dawn.

Giles just looked outside the window, showing no hint of emotion on his face, even though deep down, the loss of Dawn devastated him just as much as the loss of Jenny. While he wasn't paying attention to any Scooby as much as Buffy, both Buffy and Dawn had become as close to his daughters as it could get. And the life of someone as young, precious and innocent as Dawn being snuffed out, while someone as dark and twisted as Simone was still out there was a fact he was unable to embrace.

Willow was curled to a ball, holding in her hand a photo of herself, Buffy, Tara and Dawn, all of them together like a surrogate family and Dawn was to her like a surrogate daughter and now she had lost two people she loved.

Buffy was standing over Dawn's corpse, crying, with Spike at her side, doing whatever little he could to comfort her, the same with Faith next to Willow, her hand on Willow's shoulder.

Later, Scotland

Back in the headquarters of Slayer Organization and the group had just learned of Simone's escape and Dawn's death, devastating all of them as Giles filled them in. Even though they weren't really close with Dawn, they would talk with her and play with her few games for fun and none of them could believe that Dawn died. She was younger than them and had so much innocence in her…

"So Dawn's…" Vi trailed off and Renee nodded, unable to say it out loud.

"I…" Renee sighed, wiping the tears off her eyes. "I don't even know what to say."

"We're preparing a funeral in L.A.. It's where they grew up." Giles said as he put down his glasses and began cleaning them with the edge of his sweater.

"What about Simone and that witch she's working with?" Satsu asked.

"We're working on tracking them." Giles said before he picked his coat, about to walk away. "I'm heading back to California. She'll need me."

Four years ago, Sunnydale

Dawn was in her room on her knees with a bowl surrounded by a circle of candles, chanting the spell as Buffy entered, realizing what was she doing.

"Dawn. What have you done? What have you done?!" Buffy demanded.

"She's coming." Dawn said as she got up, while they heard rumbling. "She's coming home…"

Buffy knelt down and read the spell from the paper, while Dawn rushed downstairs, with Buffy behind her.

"Dawn! Dawn! You have no idea what you're messing with. Who knows what you actually raised? What's gonna come through that door?" Buffy pointed out.

"No! I know! It'll be her!" Dawn said desperately.

"No." Buffy shook her head. "Tara told me these spells go bad all the time, people come back wrong."

"She won't. He told me her DNA—"

"Who told you? Who helped you?" Buffy demanded, grabbing Dawn by her arms.

"Nobody! Let me go!" Dawn snapped, trying to shake her off.

"You have to stop it, reverse it." Buffy pleaded. She knew that Dawn wasn't in her right mind and wasn't able to process the grief properly, so Buffy was trying to reach her.

"No!" Dawn snapped, shaking Buffy off, about to walk away.

"Dawn, you know this is wrong. You know you can't let this happen, not to Mom." Buffy insisted.

"But I need her. I don't care…" Dawn sniffed. "I'm not like you, Buffy. I don't have anybody."

"What? Of course you do. You have me." Buffy protested.

"No, I don't. You won't even look at me!" Dawn shook her head. "It's so obvious you don't want me around."

"That's not true." Buffy said gently.

"Yes, it is." Dawn sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Mom died and it's like you don't even care."

"Of course I care. How can you even think that?" Buffy said, her voice breaking as she was on verge of tears.

"How can I not? You haven't even cried. You just have been running around like it's been some big chore or something. Cleaning up after Mom's mess." Dawn shot back and next thing she knew, Buffy smacked her across her face before they looked at each other in shock, realizing what had happened.

Buffy covered her mouth, on verge of tears, ashamed. "Oh, my God… Dawn…" She took a breath, trying to keep her voice even. "I've been working. I've been busy, because I have to—"

"No! You've been avoiding me." Dawn sneered.

"I'm not! I… have to do these things because… when I stop…" Buffy swallowed before continuing. "Then she's really gone… and I'm trying. Dawn, I'm really trying to take care of things but I don't even know what I'm doing. Mom always knew."

"Nobody's asking you to be Mom." Dawn reasoned.

"Well, who's gonna be if I'm not? Huh, Dawn? Have you even thought about that? Who's gonna make things better? Who's gonna take care of us?" Buffy demanded and Dawn then began feeling much guiltier than earlier for not having considered what Buffy herself must have been going through.

"Buffy—"

"I didn't mean to push you away, I didn't, I just… I couldn't let you see me." Buffy said, both her and Dawn now letting the tears out. "Oh, God, Dawnie… I don't know what we're gonna do… I'm scared…"

"Buffy—" Dawn began, when they heard the door knocking and Buffy turned around.

"Mommy?" Buffy whispered. Did the spell work?

"Buffy…" Dawn trailed off, now realizing that what was behind that door might not be Joyce at all.

"Mom." Buffy whispered, rushing to the door before Dawn finally made up her mind and was ready to accept that their mother was gone as she picked the sheet with the spell and ripped it in two.

Buffy opened the door but whoever had been behind the door earlier was gone. Buffy looked around desperately before the loss and grief settled in again as she backed away. Buffy and Dawn looked at each other again as the grief came back at once and they hugged each other in comfort, letting the tears out.

"It's OK…" Dawn assured before both sisters fell on their knees, sobbing. "It's OK…"

Present

They had walked out of the plane, with Dawn's body in a casket, while Riley arranged the funeral.

Buffy, Spike and Willow were in one car, while Xander and Faith were in another, with Dawn's casket behind Buffy.

"This is all my fault…" Buffy whispered.

"Don't blame yourself. That little punk Slayer did this." Spike assured.

"Because I gave her the power. And then I was so stupid to believe that a prison would hold her. I had a chance to take her out." Buffy sighed barely able to hold back tears.

"We did this…" Willow whispered.

"Do you really think the Nibblet would blame you?" Spike pointed out, looking at them both. "Each one of you?"

Buffy and Willow both considered and they knew Spike had a point.

"No." Buffy said.

Three years ago, Sunnydale

Buffy, Dawn and Xander were still struggling with the fact that Tara was dead and Warren was still out there, plus the fact that Willow had gone dark after absorbing the dark magic.

"We need to find Willow." Buffy said.

"Yeah, she's off the wagon big time." Xander nodded. "Warren's a dead man if she finds him."

"Good." Dawn growled angrily.

"Dawn, don't say that." Buffy protested and Dawn looked at her incredulously.

"Why not? I'd do it myself if I could." Dawn said, her voice shaking with rage.

"Because you don't really feel that way." Buffy reasoned.

"Yes, I do. And you should too. He killed Tara and he nearly killed you." Dawn reminded. "He needs to pay."

"Out of the mouths of babes." Xander muttered.

"Xander." Buffy said, shooting him a look.

"I'm just saying, he's just as bad as any vampire you sent to Dustville." Xander pointed out.

"Being a Slayer doesn't give me a license to kill. Warren's human." Buffy said.

"So?" Dawn looked at Buffy incredulously.

"So the human world has its own rules for dealing with people like him." Buffy pointed out.

"And we all know how well those rules work." Xander said sarcastically.

"Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. We can't control the universe. If we were supposed to, then the magic wouldn't change Willow the way it does. And… we'd be able to bring Tara back. And Mom. There are limits to what we can do. There should be." Buffy said.

Present, California

They had prepared a funeral in a cemetery outside of Los Angeles, which only brought Buffy back more painful memories back to when she had first learned about her destiny as the Slayer… then seeing Angel and the mess with Faith… this place had brought her nothing but pain and misery and now it just added more.

Buffy, Spike, Xander, Willow, Giles, Faith and few Slayers that had been close to Buffy and Dawn were in attendance as they carried Dawn's casket, decorated with flowers before putting it down into the dug out grave.

Xander, Spike and Giles looked down solemnly, while Willow sniffed, wiping her tears, with Faith holding her lover's hand in assurance, while Buffy stepped up, with a large picture of Dawn behind her as she took a deep breath.

"I still can't believe this is happening." Buffy said, barely able to control her voice. "I'm still imagining her at my side, with us smiling at each other, cracking jokes and making each other crazy. But no matter how much we'd push each other away with the stuff we'd do to each other, at the end of the day, we were sisters."

She wiped the tears off her face, while Giles sighed heavily, remembering Joyce and Jenny, Willow was remembering all the time she and Tara would spend looking out for Dawn like dutiful surrogate mothers and Xander and Spike remembering all the times they treated Dawn like a little sister and would have done anything to protect her.

"Even though Dawn may not have been real, she was real to me." Buffy said, swallowing. "And I would've done anything to protect her. She was my anchor, when I faltered. She was the reason I'd keep going. Even though I'd push her away, she'd pull me back towards her." She let out shaky breaths, remembering when Dawn had come to her back on the top of the tower after Buffy's resurrection.

"Is this Hell?"

"No! Buffy, no! You're here… with me. Whatever happened to you, whatever you've been through, you're here."

"But she wasn't just my anchor. She was a part of all of us." Buffy said, looking at the Scoobies and the Slayers who were in attendance.

Giles was remembering his father/daughter bond with Dawn, even though it was nowhere as strong as he had it with Buffy, while Spike and Xander remembered their protectiveness of Dawn like if she was their little sister, with Willow thinking of Dawn like her own daughter, with her and Tara looking out for her and she was hoping that Dawn was now in peace with either Joyce or Tara and even though Faith and Dawn would never be best of friends, they warmed up to each other over time and the other Slayers thinking of all the time they would hang out with Dawn.

"And even though she's not with us anymore, we shouldn't let the loss rule over us. Let's remember all the good times we would spend with her. All the joy and happiness she'd bring to our lives. Because that's what Dawn was to this family." Buffy said firmly as the Scoobies looked solemn, even though Willow was in no state to hold back tears, with Buffy already feeling her cheeks getting wet. "So let us remember what Dawn was to each of us. A part of our hearts. Our souls. Our family. And I refuse to let her death mean she'd been ripped from us. I will carry her in my memory. And I told her once she needed to be strong and brave. So be brave. For her."

The Scoobies tried to get themselves together, even though for Willow it was very hard to keep it together as she let out quiet sobs, while Buffy wiped the tears off her face, looking down at Dawn's grave.

Four years ago, Sunnydale

Buffy was with Dawn on the top of the tower, with the portal to Glory's dimension opening and the energy being released destroying Sunnydale as Dawn was blaming herself for what had happened, restrained to the poles.

"I'm sorry." Dawn said lowly.

"It doesn't matter." Buffy assured before Dawn was about to run, but Buffy caught her as she looked her in the eye, not believing she was being suicidal. "What are you doing?"

"I have to jump." Dawn said guiltily. "The energy—"

"It will kill you." Buffy protested and Dawn was silent for a moment as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I know." Dawn whispered and Buffy backed away in horror briefly, not believing her own sister was going to sacrifice herself. "Buffy, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it."

"No." Buffy shook her head and a moment later the bridge was beginning to shake, with the tower about to collapse.

"I have to! Look at what's happening!" Dawn pointed out as lightning struck and tears in dimensions began opening, with demons emerging as a dragon began flying around the tower before Dawn looked Buffy in the eye again. "Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop. You know you have to let me. It has to be the blood."

Buffy stared in despair, not wanting to believe that the only way to save the world was to let her own sister die before she realized what she had to do.

"It's always the blood…"

"It's Summers blood. It's just like mine."

"She's me. The monks made her out of me."

"Death is your gift…"

Buffy turned one more time to the portal before making up her mind as she turned to Dawn, who widened her eyes, realizing what was Buffy about to do.

"Buffy, no." Dawn shook her head.

"Dawnie, I have to." Buffy said gently.

"No!" Dawn protested.

"Dawn. Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen." Buffy said, holding Dawn by her shoulders. "Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do." Dawn began sobbing as Buffy gave her an assuring smile. "Tell Giles that… tell Giles I figured it out, and, and I'm OK… And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world…is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

Dawn nodded as Buffy kissed her on her cheek before she turned around and ran down the bridge and dived towards the portal to make the sacrifice, while Dawn began crying.

Present, California

Everyone else had left the cemetery as Buffy stood at Dawn's gravestone and stared down for what seemed like eternity as the sun set down before she heard footsteps as someone approached her.

"Sorry I missed the funeral. I've been… busy." Angel said.

"Drusilla?" Buffy asked without turning to Angel.

"Yeah." Angel nodded and Buffy nodded back, understanding.

"There was a time I would've thought this was my fault. That I brought this darkness upon us. But now I know that it's not my fault. It's my responsibility." Buffy said.

"Responsibility to do what?" Angel questioned.

"To stop it." Buffy said as the rage began replacing the sadness inside her as she growled. "I'm gonna kill them."

"Buffy—" Angel began.

"I know what you're about to say. But now I realize Willow, Xander and Dawn were right back then about Warren. Some people don't deserve to live, whether they are human or not. And I was wrong. There are no different rules for humans and vampires and demons. Some of them are just as dark and corrupt and they don't get to live, no matter what blood they are." Buffy vowed and Angel sighed. He knew that right now she was consumed with guilt, grief and anger and there wasn't much he could do at the moment to reach her.

"Buffy… I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to die. But taking a life… a human life…" Angel said. "I'm not trying to compare you to Faith, but trust me, once you touch that kind of darkness, it's not something you can just walk out from."

Buffy looked at Angel and even though they were not together anymore, they would always care about each other in one way or the other and she knew that he was just trying to look out for him.

"All I'm saying is that I don't want you to lose sight of who you are when someone manages to get into you and don't push away others when you feel like you're in so deep in the darkness that you don't want anyone to pull you out. Trust me, I've been there and I almost lost sight of what and who I was fighting for and why." Angel said, remembering when he had pushed Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn away, when chasing Darla and Drusilla.

Buffy breathed out heavily as she looked at Angel and nodded after a moment. "I get what you're saying."

"Buffy, if there's anything I can do—" Angel began.

"I wanna be left alone." Buffy cut him off and Angel nodded after a moment as he walked away, while Buffy knelt down and placed her hand onto the gravestone as a stray tear rolled down her cheek.

Angel was walking away when he passed by Spike.

"She's trying to hide it, but she's becoming like Faith. Full of anger, grief and guilt. You better make sure she won't go over the edge or I will hold you responsible." Angel warned.

"I won't let her." Spike promised and Angel nodded. Even though he still didn't like Spike, he begrudgingly admitted that with a soul Spike was better for Buffy than Angel.

Spike approached Buffy and placed his hand on her shoulder and that was it for her as the floodgates opened and she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as Spike hugged her tightly, soothing her.

"I'm so sorry, Dawn… I'm so sorry…" Buffy sobbed.

"It's alright, Buffy. Just let it out… just let it out." Spike said, doing the best he could to comfort her as they both mourned for Dawn.

Later, Scotland

After they had returned to their headquarters, Buffy wanted to be left alone in her bedroom, grieving, but Spike had decided to check in on her as he knocked on the door. "Buffy? I know you want to be alone, but… you know that I won't let you be alone. So, just open the door, alright?" There was no reply as Spike sighed. "Buffy, come on. You know me better than thinking I will let you shut me out."

There was no reply as Spike reached for the doorknob, but was surprised to see the door wasn't locked as he opened them and noticed that the room was empty.

Xander, Giles and Riley were in the meeting room, working on clues to track Simone, when Spike entered.

"Has anyone seen Buffy?" Spike asked.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked, confused.

"She's not in her room. Faith and the other Slayers are checking the other floors but there's no sign of her yet and she's not answering her phone." Spike explained and worried, they all walked out, searching for her.

"Buffy?"

"Buffy!"

Buffy was in the garage, putting weapons into the trunk before she closed it and entered the car and turned on the ignition and hit the gas, driving away, chasing down a lead on Simone as she placed the photo of herself, Dawn and Joyce on the dashboard, now focused on getting revenge.

A bit difficult chapter to write as I wanted to make this an emotional chapter, but I didn't want to stuff in too much angsty drama, unlike how the TV shows often do it, not sure if it was alright.

Poor Scoobies and Dawn.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this so far.