Title: The End
Author: Paradox761
Email: Paradox761@mail.com

Website: members.tripod.com/~Paradox761
Disclaimer: Joss and co. own all things Buffy, no copyright infringement is intended. So please don’t sue, I don’t have any money anyway.
Summary: Post “Wrecked”, alt ending for season 6, and the series. B/W/X-friendship, Slight B/X and Ay/X.
Spoilers: “Wrecked”, and most of season 6.
Author’s note: For the purposes of characterization, in this story Spike did not attempt to rape Buffy. I am NOT a Spike fan, and this is NOT a fix-it fic. But I started this story before that happened, and I find it hard to write Spike as a sympathetic character after that scene. So to continue with the story as planned, that scene didn’t happen. Also, this story takes place before the Angel episode “Sleep Tight”. Also, I started this story after “Wrecked”, as I was starting to become unhappy with the way season six was turning out. I must say though, I couldn’t be happier with the way it ended. I could never top “Grave”, nor would I try. So I’ve gone in a different direction with this. But I did paraphrase some lines from Xander’s speech.
Dedication: To Jordan and Jessica, my angels. May they rest in peace.
Special thanks to: Wayne, Rob Clark, Ghostrider, Ozmandayus, Maggie C., Furious George, Bill, Calen, Chorlton, John, Wicked Raygun, DaBear, Cobra, Jeconais, Nathan Postmark, David, Drake Roberts, Angelus, Queen Boadicea, Scott, Malaskor, and The Crowe for the feedback and the encouragement with this story. I really appreciate it.

(9/12)

Wesley and Buffy sat crouched in the trees behind the courtyard in the back of the mansion.  Both were dressed in dark clothing, and both had their eyes glued to the building, and the occasional group of demons that would walk by, patrolling the perimeter.  Buffy was fingering a stake nervously, a crossbow slung over her back.  Wesley was calm and focused, unmoving, with no weapons visible on his person.

“What time is it?” Buffy whispered as they watched another group of demons round the building.

“Thirty seconds after the last time you asked me,” Wesley said, not bothering to look at his watch.  Buffy glared at the former watcher.  Wesley glanced her way briefly before returning his attention to the mansion, his expression unchanged.

“We should go in,” Buffy said impatiently.

“Not yet.  We need the battle up front as a distraction.  It is imperative to this plan that our entrance go undetected.”

“Do you really think this is going to work?”

“The witches’ coven in LA has been monitoring the rising of dark energies surrounding Sunnydale ever since Willow’s…increase of power.  They were more than happy to help when I told them what we were doing.  The magiks that they’ve infused me with, coupled with the spell Anya and Tara are preparing to cast, should be enough.”

“I hope so.”

“Granting that I’m able to get close enough to use it, and we’re not captured before hand.  Which will be remarkable if you remain as unfocused as you are now.”

“What the…” Buffy started a little too loud.  She lowered her voice to a whisper again.  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means…” Wesley trailed off, something catching his eye.  Buffy followed his gaze and saw the same demons round the back of the mansion again.  Wesley waited until they were gone before glancing at his watch.  “The patrols are two minutes and thirteen seconds apart,” he said, turning to Buffy.  She was still glaring at him.  “I’m more observant than you give me credit for, Buffy.  A watcher is trained to know what their slayer is thinking and feeling, even before they know it themselves.”

“I am *not*…”

“My slayer,” Wesley interrupted.  “I’m well aware of that.  But for the sake of this operation, you are my partner.  And it’s success, as well as the lives of all concerned, hinge on us performing the task assigned to us.  So you’ll forgive the personal intrusion.”

“We’re talking about my best friend here, I’m focused!”

“All the more reason to be distracted.  You’re jumpy, impatient, and quick to anger.  It’s more than just Willow, she’s been like this for months.  Maybe not long enough to accept it, but long enough to get used to it.  No, it’s something more recent.”

Buffy watched Wesley while he spoke.  His tone wasn’t angry or accusatory, it was flat.  And his eyes never moved from the mansion the whole time he spoke to her.

“I know we were never close Buffy, you never really accepted me as your watcher.”  He paused.  “But then I never gave you reason to.  I was pompous, arrogant, lacking even one bit of practical battle experience.  Not to mention I was trying to replace someone who was very dear to you.  I don’t blame you for the way you treated me.  I never tried to replace Giles in your heart, I knew that would be impossible.  I was just trying to do my job to the best of my abilities.  But regardless, I failed you and Faith, and I’m sorry for that.”

Buffy was just in shock.  This man was so far different from the Wesley she had known, he wasn’t even the same person.  There was no arrogance, or superiority in his voice.  Only…regret.  He was actually apologizing to her.  Cordelia had told her that he had changed, but she hadn’t really believed until that moment.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“I may not have been there for you then, but I’m here now.  Even if it’s just as someone to talk to.  It might help to get it off your chest, whatever it is.  It’s important to me for you to know that I’ve changed.”

“Why?”

“Well, because your opinion means a great deal to me.  I like to think that I’ve changed a great deal from the man who was your watcher, that I finally make a difference in the world now.  Maybe it’s selfish of me, but your opinion would go a long way towards validating that.”

Buffy was once again rendered speechless.  After everything that had happened in the last few days she was feeling lower than a worm’s belly.  To have someone she barely knew, someone whom she’d only ever treated with contempt and scorn, tell her that her opinion meant something to him.  It validated her, it reminded her who and what she was.  She was human, she made mistakes.  But she was also the slayer, and more importantly, she was Buffy Summers.  And that was worth something.  After what seemed like forever, Buffy spoke again.

“It’s Xander,” she said.  Wesley glanced at her to let her know that he was listening.  “With everything that’s been happening lately, returning from the dead, this whole thing with Willow, and…other things.  I’ve just been so distant with the people I care about, specifically Dawn and Xander.  And this whole time, he’s been right here beside me.  When it seemed like everyone I ever cared about had left, he was still there.  But I pushed him away, kept him at arm’s length.  It must have hurt him so much, for me to push him away after everything we’ve been through together.  But still he stayed.  He never complained, and he never once showed me anything less that total love and loyalty.

The other night he found out about something.  Something I had done, something very bad.  I was expecting him to be angry, to yell and scream.  He was, and he did.  But under the anger there was concern, there was…love.  I was so angry, at myself, at the world.  I just wanted to fight, and I didn’t care who or what it was.  I hurt him, I know I did.  But still, he stays.  And I realized…” she trailed off, pushing back tears.  “I realized that this is how I’ve always treated him.  I’ve always taken him for granted, and not given him the respect he deserves.  So much so that he expects it.  But still, he stays, and he tries.  I just…I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?” Wesley asked, watching as the patrolling demons reappeared.  Buffy waited until they were gone again before continuing.  Wesley checked his watch again.

“How does he put up with me?  How can he not hate me after all I’ve put him through and what I’ve turned his life into?  Why does he stay?  How can he still…” she trailed off again.  “How can he still love me?”

“Maybe your opinion means a great deal to him too,” Wesley said.  He turned and glanced at Buffy again, giving her a sympathetic look.  “I’m afraid that I don’t know Xander as well as you do, and from what I do know about him, that’s my loss.  But what I do know, is that Xander has a very big heart.  It leads him, dictates his actions, more so than his brain in some instances.  I’ve always admired his bravery, but above all, his devotion.  The devotion that he shows his friends is of a kind rarely seen in the world, especially for one so young.  And the devotion he shows to you, well, I think it’s fair to say that it’s second only to Willow.  That much is evident to anyone who spends more than five minutes with all of you.”

Buffy couldn’t help but remember something Xander had said to her once.  His voice reverberated in her head along with Wesley’s words.

‘Let me tell you something. When it's dark and I'm all alone, and I'm scared or freaked out or whatever. I always think, what would Buffy do? You're my hero.’

“His hero,” Buffy muttered to herself, as she silently promised herself to have a long talk with Xander when all of this was over, to make things better.  But she was pulled out of her introspection by the sounds of battle.  Screams, the sounds of metal meeting flesh, and inhuman growls.  Her head picked up and she turned to Wesley.  “Do you hear that?”

Wesley nodded.  “Yes, I do.”  He checked his watch.

“How much time?”

“A minute and twenty seconds.”

“Let’s go.”

This time Wesley didn’t argue, he just followed Buffy through the trees.  He noticed the difference immediately in her behavior.  Her movements were stealthy and deliberate, her grip on her weapon tight.  Her eyes were on the mansion in front of her, her ears aware of every sound around her.  Gone were all distractions.  In short, she was focused.  Arriving at the back door, she broke the lock quickly and quietly, and the pair slipped inside.

*

Tara and Anya sat hidden in the woods behind the mansion.  Tara was crouched down on the ground, looking over the items for the spell they were preparing to cast.  And Anya was standing half hidden behind a tree, looking at the back of the mansion through a pair of binoculars Xander had given her.  “Okay, they’re inside,” she said, taking the binoculars off and kneeling down next to Tara.  She reached for the watch on her wrist and started the stopwatch.  “Are we ready?”

“Almost,” Tara answered.  She looked up at the other woman.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m just worried.”

“About the protection spell?”

“About the spell, about how far away we are, about waiting, about Xander.  I wish we could cast it for him too.”

“If this spell is going to have any power behind it, it has to be focused.  And since Buffy and Wesley are the ones that are going to confront Willow, we need to focus it on them.  And we can’t get closer without risking being detected, and if we do the spell too soon we risk Willow detecting it before Wesley can bind her.”

“I know, I know,” Anya said.  “It’s just all so…risky.  I worry about him, he’s been through so much lately.”

“We all have,” Tara answered.  “Xander’s strong, he can handle it.”

“He puts on a good front, but inside he’s scared.  More than I’ve ever seen him.”  Tara didn’t answer, she just turned back to the book in front of her.  “Do you think he loves me?” Anya suddenly asked.

Tara looked back up.  “Of course he does, Anya.  He loves you very much.  Why would you ask that?”

Anya cast a glance at the mansion.  “He loves them so much,” she said.  Tara didn’t have to ask who ‘they’ were, she knew Anya meant Buffy and Willow.  “Sometimes I wonder if there’s enough left over for me.”

“I think I know how you feel,” Tara said.  “It was the same way with Willow.  The three of them had such an incredible bond.  One forged over time, with love and friendship.  One that could never be broken, by anyone.  At least, that’s what I used to think.”

“It hasn’t been broken,” Anya said, shaking her head.  “They’re still always first in each other’s minds.  The rest of us aren’t even close.”

“He loves you Anya,” Tara reassured.  “You were there for him when they weren’t, you believed in him when they didn’t.  You have his heart.”

“But they’re in his soul.  They always will be.”  Anya just let the statement hang for a moment before checking her watch.  “We should start.”

Tara just nodded and handed Anya a book.  Looking down at her own, they began to chant in unison the incantation for the protection spell.

*

Buffy and Wesley were moving through the kitchen heading for the back stairs when a voice came out of the darkness.

“Well, well, well.  Look at what we have here.”  The pair turned as the lights in the kitchen came up to reveal Amy standing in the doorway.  “The slayer and…who are you?”

“A friend,” Wesley answered simply.

“Doesn’t matter,” Amy said, trying not to show her annoyance at not knowing who the man was.  “You won’t be anyone in a moment.”  She held up her hand and a bolt of magic struck out.

Wesley held up his hand almost casually.  “Contego,” he spoke.  The blast struck an invisible shield in front of the pair, causing no damage to either.

“It’s good to have friends,” Buffy said to Amy with a smirk. 

Amy looked furious.  She was preparing to launch another attack when Wesley held up his other hand and spoke again.  “Constrino.”

“No!” Amy yelled, but it was too late.  Purple energy shot from Wesley’s outstretched hand and struck Amy, wrapping itself around her and pinning her arms to her sides.  A moment later, she levitated off the ground a few inches.  Amy struggled against the magical bonds, but it was no use.  “You son of a bitch, you can’t do this to me!  Do you know who you’re messing with!”

Wesley approached her slowly, unimpressed by her idle threats.  “Yes, I do.  An undisciplined, spoiled child, wielding a power that she has no understanding of.  In a way, you’re just another victim.  Your soul has been polluted with dark magiks.  But you should have known better.  You knew what Rak was doing to you, but you were so arrogant and power hungry, you thought you could control it.  You’ve committed the worst sin a magic user can commit.  You were irresponsible with your power.  And now you’re going to pay the price.  You will be taken to Los Angeles where a coven of white magic users will cleanse your soul, and strip you of your power permanently.”

“You…you can’t…”

“Don’t worry about it, Amy,” Buffy interrupted.  “I hear that they’re all set up for you.  They’ve got a nice cage with a running wheel and a big bowl of rat kibble, you’ll feel right at home.”

“You bitch!  Willow’s going to kill you!  She’s going to rip your…”

“Silentio,” Wesley interrupted.  And with that, another band of purple energy shot from his hand and wrapped itself around Amy’s mouth, silencing her.  “That should keep her from alerting anyone to our presence.”

“I don’t know, she can be resourceful when she wants to be.  I don’t want her trying anything.  We should knock her out.”  Amy’s eyes widened as she struggled to speak against her gag.

“Agreed,” Wesley said.  Buffy allowed herself a smile as she pulled back her fist.  “Dormio,” Wesley spoke.  Amy’s eyes fell closed and her head slumped down.

Buffy frowned.  “Watchers, always have to take the fun out of everything,” she mumbled to herself.  “Come on, we’ll stash her in the pantry,” she said louder to Wesley.  Wesley nodded and followed as Buffy pushed the still hovering Amy to the other side of the room.