Title: Hero: An Alternate Ending
Author: Tracey G
Email: rainbowflutterby@hotmail.com
Summary: This takes place during Something Blue (Buffy) and Hero (Angel)
Spoilers: I Will Remember You, Something Blue and Hero
Rating: PG-14
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em so don't sue 'cause ya won't get much.
Notes: This story is kind of weird. You know how sometimes you get an idea in your head and can't get rid of it until you write it. Well, that's where this came from. I guess my imagination was in over-drive :D

Part 1


Amy, still in her rat form, was running around on Willow's bed as Willow cleaned her cage. Willow turned around from her position on the foot of the bed to pet her.

"I mean, I'm going through something," she complained as she turned back to cleaning Amy's cage. "I don't see why he was getting down on me."

"Giles just worries," Buffy said as she took off her coat and threw it on her bed. "Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks your a bad witch," Buffy reassured her best friend.

"I am a bad witch," Willow sulked.

"No, your a good witch," Buffy argued jokingly.

"I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power I could have made Oz stay with me," Willow frowned as a wave of sadness washed over her.

"Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to stay..."

"And I didn't even have the guts to do the spell Veruca and my 'I will it so' spell went nowhere. The only real witch here is Amy." She turned and looked at the rat behind her. Amy squeaked at her.

"I think your being way to hard on yourself," Buffy told her.

"She's got access to power I can't even invoke. First she's a perfectly normal girl..."

Behind them, as Willow said that, Amy turned from being rat to human again. She looked around, smiling.

"... then *poof* she's a rat," Willow continued on.

Amy frowned as she changed back into a rat again.

"I could never do something like that," Willow concluded.

"Hopefully not, 'Cause you would be stuck a rat, like poor Amy." Buffy joked, trying to lighten the mood and make Willow smile. No success.

Willow sat silently, staring at the floor. After awhile she look up at Buffy and said, "What is it with men leaving anyway?"

"What?" Buffy laughed.

"I mean, Oz left me to find himself or what ever. And Angel, god only knows how much he loves you, but yet, he leaves."

"Will, you know Oz left because he didn't know where the wolf ended and he began. He didn't want to hurt. And, Angel, well, he left because he thought he was doing the right thing for me." She rolled her eyes.

Willow closed her eyes and sighed. "After all you two have been through you deserve to be together. You should be with him, just like Oz should be with me.." She opened her eyes and frown, confused. "Buffy? Where'd you go?" She looked around the room. Her eyes focused on a figure near the door. "Oz?"

"Willow, I..." Buffy looked around at her surroundings. It was definitely not her dorm room, or any room she was familiar with. In fact it looked like she was inside a cargo ship. "What the hell?"

In front of her Angel and some really ugly demon guy fell into the ship and down the stairs. They struggled some and fell over the railing and onto a lower balcony.

Down below Cordelia and Doyle were trying to keep a bunch of half-breed demons calm. Cordelia looked up at the balcony and saw Buffy standing there looking lost. "Buffy?"

"Cor? What's going on?" Buffy asked looking down at them.

Cordelia and Doyle ran to the latter and climbed up to join her. "You tell us," Doyle drawled in his Irish accent.

"Yeah! What the hell are you doing here?" Cordelia demanded.

"I honestly have no idea." Buffy replied. But forget about that, what's going on here?"

"The Scurge."

"The Scurge?"

"A group of pure blood demons trying to kill off all half demons," Doyle explained.

"Well, then, I say we kill them first."

Angel grabbed the railing of the balcony and pulled himself up. He leaned against it to catch his breath and saw the beakon lowering into the ship. "It's going to detnate," he whispered to himself. "Get out!! Everybody get out, now!!!"

Below him, everybody scrambled toward the exits. Angel turned around and came face to face with the leader of the Scurge. He grabbed Angel by the neck.

"Welcome to a cleaner world. Soon only the pure will be left standing," he said with an evil grin.

Angel pushed him off. "Actually, pure boy," he grabbed the leader by the neck and twisted it. "You'll be on your ass," he said as the guy fell to the floor dead.

Below Doyle, Cordelia, and Buffy were trying to open the doors. 'There locked from the outside. Were trapped."

Angel ran to join them on the platform where they where standing. They looked out at the beakon. It was getting lower and brighter.

"What does that thing do?" Buffy asked, pointing at it.

Angel looked at her, opened his mouth to respond, then did a double take. 'What are you doing here?"

Buffy shrugged. "It's a long story and if I knew it I would tell you, but since I don't, let's worry about the problem at hand, okay?"

"Right." Angel nodded towards the beakon. "It's light kills anything with human blood."

"Well, it's getting brighter and that little do-hickeys..." Doyle paused. "It's fully armed isn't it?"

"Almost. If I can pull, I think I can still shut it off."

"How are you going to do that without touching the light?" Buffy asked.

Angel looked at her with a sad face. As she met his eyes, a realization dawned inside of her.

"No," she said sternly, shaking her head. "No!!"

"Buffy, I..." He took a step towards her. "There's no other choice."

Buffy walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "There has to be some other way. It's bad enough with you here and me in Sunnydale. I don't think I can live knowing your gone."

"But you will. You'll have a beautiful life, with friends and family." Angel told. "I love you. I'm sorry things have to be this way." He hugged her tighter.

"Me, too." She pulled back a little to gently kiss him on the mouth. "I love you, too," she said clinging to him like there was no tomorrow.

Angel reluctantly let her go and turned to face Doyle and Cordelia. Angel hugged Cordelia and then put his hand on Doyle's shoulder.

"It's a good fight, yeah?" Doyle looked at him sadly. "You never know until you've been tested. I know that, now."

Angel nodded and turned to the beakon, which was getting lower and brighter by the second. Behind him Doyle looked as if he was going to push him off the edge of the platform, but something flew into him, knocking both him and Angel off the edge.

"Yeah, it is a good fight. For a good cause, too." Buffy looked down at them. "But this isn't one you have to die for."

"Buffy, what do you think you're doing?" Cordelia demanded grabbing her arm.

"Disabling this beakon thingy." Buffy took a couple steps, then stooped down and pick up a spear she had spotted earlier during her hug with Angel. "Must have had a shipment of weapons lately."

Below them Doyle and Angel picked themselves up of the ground. "I sure hope she knows what she's doing." Doyle prayed looking up at the platform Buffy pushed them from.

"She's knows or she wouldn't have pushed us," Angel reassured him. "I just wish she said something instead off pushing us," Angel moaned and put a hand to his head.

"Come on let's get up there and see if we can help."

Buffy walked to the edge of the platform, spear in hand. *Oh, god, I hope this works,* she thought looking down at all the people scrambling about trying to find a way out. *If not...*

She took a deep breath and sighed. Raising the spear she aimed it for the middle of the beakon, closed her eyes and let it go.

The spear flew in a neat line towards the center of the beakon, hitting it dead on. The light flashed bright and Buffy held up her arms, shielding her eyes, as did everyone else.

The light died out and Cordelia peeked out from behind her fingers. "Is it over?" she asked in a frightened voice.

"Yeah, it's over."

Behind them Doyle and Angel were climbing up the latter to them.

"Doyle!" Cordelia ran the him. "You big jerk! Don't ever try anything like that again." She hit him on the shoulder then hugged. She let go and turned to Angel. "You either!" she said shaking her finger at him. Turning back to Doyle, she asked, " Walk me home?"

"Sure thing." Doyle replied wrapping his arm around her shoulder.




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