Alternate Ending

Alternate Ending. (Did not happen - will not be part of any possible sequel)

Enough people voted for Buffy to die that I decided to write this also.

Epilogue of Buffy's Death. (Omake)

It felt like he was picking up pieces of his life rather than arrows. It was amazing how much he had been off in his shooting. Most of his arrows had landed 50 yards or more beyond where the assassin had been. He was still missing a few – lost to the trees, no doubt.

Buffy was dead. Nothing felt real.

Giles had cried when Kendra had carried Buffy's body to Giles' apartment. Xander hadn't thought he'd ever see the man cry. But the watcher had stopped crying when Xander had showed him the ring. He'd just gone... cold. There was no other way to describe it. Then he'd left. Barely more than a thank you for letting him know. No help in figuring out what to tell the police. No help in figuring out what to tell Buffy's mother.

Joyce. Xander's gag reflex forced him to swallow bile. They had no idea how to tell her. After talking about it, Xander and Kendra decided to take Buffy's body back to the cemetery and leave it where she had died behind the mausoleum. They wiped off Willow's crossbow and gave it to Buffy. Kendra volunteered to put the backpack on her corpse.

Then they left it in the hands of the Sunnydale police to inform Joyce. It was cowardly, perhaps. But they were just kids. They weren't supposed to deal with stuff like this.

Speaking of which, Willow was not dealing well. She hadn't stopped crying since Buffy died and it was morning already. Xander and Kendra helped her home. Kendra helped her clean off the blood in the shower then Xander took his turn when they were done. Xander knew that something like Willow and Kendra showering together was supposed to be sexy, but he felt nothing.

Kendra wore some of Willow's clothes and Xander put on one of the spare sets he kept at her house. Then the three of them laid down on Willow's bed with Willow in the middle. There was nothing sexual about the three of them sleeping together. This was purely comfort.

They slept like that until after one in the afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Xander answered. There were two cops waiting there.

"We're looking for Willow Rosenberg." one said.

"Wait here." Xander closed the door on them.

One of them stopped the door. "Are you Alexander Harris? Can we come in?"

Xander considered saying 'no' but that would just be suspicious. He stood aside but didn't invite them in. "I'm Xander."

"This is officer Jones. I'm detective Smith."

"Wait here. I'll go get Willow."

He returned with Willow and Kendra.

"Who's she?" Smith asked.

"Kendra. She's another friend of Buffy's." Xander answered.

"So you guys already know?" Jones clarified.

Xander nodded. "Giles told us last night. It's why we didn't go to school today."

"That would be Rupert Giles, the librarian at Sunnydale High School?" Smith wondered, pulling out a pad of paper. "What time was this?"

"Pretty late." Xander looked at the girls. Willow was a blank. "One or two in the morning?"

Kendra shook her head. "No it was earlier than that. Midnight at the latest. Two was when we went to bed."

"Oh yeah." Xander bowed his head. Then he looked up at the cops. "Why did you ask about Giles?"

The cops looked at each other then Smith nodded. Jones spoke up. "He's left the country. Already arrived in England apparently. He's not a suspect, exactly, but taking off so soon after the death of a student is a little suspicious."

"Have you told Mrs. Summers yet?" Willow's voice was hollow.

"Yes."

"We should go and offer our condolences. She doesn't have anyone else, Xander." Willow wasn't looking at him or anyone else.

"Well, thank you for your time. And sorry for your loss." Smith ushered his partner out the door. The kids were clearly in shock. No question of them being suspects.

The funeral was a very subdued affair. Of all the Sunnydale students, only Cordelia showed up. Willow had helped Joyce pick out a headstone. Something to do seemed to give life to both of the empty women.

{Buffy Summers}
{Daughter}
{Friend}
{Hero}

Sam Zabuto also came. Xander didn't know who he was until Kendra introduced him after the service. "I'm very sorry to have had a part in your friend's death. If I had known what the council was doing... I was very gullible." he said as he offered his hand.

Xander just looked at the hand then looked up. "The council? What do they have to do with this?"

"Why, they are the ones that told me they had gotten the hit rescinded. Didn't Mr. Giles tell you before he left? I assumed he had told you after what he did."

Xander grabbed the still offered hand but just held it instead of shaking. "What did he do?"

Sam stared into his eyes. "He killed them. Half of the central office. Seventeen people. There are still many watchers throughout the world, but he killed most of the administrative staff and hospitalized a couple more."

Xander let the man's hand go as he felt the anger leave him. He had been so mad at Giles for abandoning them. But he hadn't abandoned them. He had avenged Buffy. He deeply hoped that Buffy could rest in peace now.

Sam pressed a card into his hand. "I have taken care of the Mayor's plans for ascension." he opened his jacket to reveal a silenced pistol. "But if you ever have any other issues that require a Slayer's help, please don't hesitate to call. I understand that Rupert was training you to be a watcher and I'm sure that the actions of Quentin Travers have poisoned you against us. But I want to assure you that we are not all like that. We simply try to do our best to hold back the darkness."

Hunting after Buffy's death was almost too easy. He put up a tree stand in a tree overlooking the mausoleum where Buffy died. It drew vampires in like magic and they still never looked up.. If there were a lot in a group, Xander would just dust them. If there were only a few, he would get them with a headshot and then cover Willow while she robbed them. So, they were making very good money.

He also tracked down and called Giles.

"Xander. You shouldn't have called me here." Giles insisted.

"Sam Zabuto let slip what you did." Xander replied. "I was angry at you for abandoning us until then."

"I'm sorry, Xander. I acted very rashly, I'm afraid. I'm not sure if what I did was for the greater good or not. I told myself that the administration of the council was clearly corrupt and needed to be cleaned out... but now, I'm not so sure if that wasn't just rationalization for revenge." Giles sighed. "How- how is everybody else?"

"Willow's recovering. She was in shock for a couple days there. Joyce packed up and left a few days ago. I didn't expect her to stay and it's good that she's getting off the Hellmouth. Kendra went back with Zabuto after he took care of the Mayor for us. He called to let me know she's taken up archery too. Angel left for LA. Miss Calendar misses you but she headed for LA too. Said there were too many sad memories here now." Xander summarized.

"And you?"

"I'm hunting with Willow. It's been a couple weeks and I think we've really made a dent in the vampire population. Numbers are way down anyway. Before he left, Angel helped us make contact with some human-friendly demons."

"That- That's good." Giles smiled. At least it sounded like they still had allies. Even if they weren't human.

"Yeah, I sleep better at night knowing that the demons I kill now aren't nice people just trying to get by. And with all the vampires we've been killing, the money we have coming in has been enough to bankroll a lab for Willow to do R&D stuff in. I'm pretty sure she'll have a breakthrough in something eventually."

"I'm glad that things are going well. Now, I'm afraid I have to go." Giles said.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later." Xander promised.

Giles hung up and sighed. He hoped that what he'd done had worked. When Xander had brought him Buffy's body, the boy hadn't been sad. He had been furious. It hadn't taken Giles long to realize what had happened. That Zabuto had gone to the council and the council had lied to the watcher. Giles knew that it wouldn't take Xander terribly long to figure out what happened either and he feared what would happen if Xander's skill and fury landed on the Watcher's Council as a whole. So he had struck instead. A surgical strike that would only take those who viewed the Slayer as a tool.

If all went as planned, the humanist faction would gain control of the council, Xander would never have innocent blood on his hands, and Giles would rot in jail in the boy's place. Because there was only one place that Xander's anger was going to lead him and it was exactly where Giles found himself now. Being led back to his cell.