Here We Come To Save The DayBy Karen
Chapter SixRiley stared at Dawn as she finished speaking and then looked over her shoulder to where Connor and Druscilla were battling yet another group of snarling demons on the sidewalk. He put his hands on his hips and said firmly
"Ok, that's enough. If Buffy knew you were out here she'd lose the plot. I'm taking you and your little friend in and I'll mobilise the guys and get them looking for your sister and the others."
He took Dawn's arm and began to march towards the shattered front window of the looted shop they had taken temporary shelter in. Dawn scowled and with a quick twist of her arm was free and skipping a good distance away
"I don't think so Riley. I'm glad you're here and that the town's got some back up but my sister and the gang are my responsibility and I'm going looking for them myself."
Riley stepped towards her and then froze in astonishment as she pulled her stake out of her pocket and held it ready in a classic defensive position
"Don't make me hurt you, Ry."
His mouth fell open at the cool, calm way she spoke and the level gaze of her bright blue eyes
"Dawn, put that down right now."
"No."She circled him slowly and edged toward the wide window saying carefully
"I won't kill you but I will hurt you. Make a move to stop me and you'll be sorry."
Riley took a couple of steps towards her and said reasonably
"You're hurt and Buffy would want to know you were safe somewhere and away from the fighting. You're in no condition to take on demons and hunt for the others, if you won't get to safety for me, do it for Buffy."
Dawn stopped by the window and risked a quick glance over her shoulder to pinpoint Connor's position and then said
"A lot's changed around here Riley. I know that wherever Buff and the others are they're gonna be worried about me, but if I go with you and hide while I let the demons rip my town apart then I'll be letting my family, and myself, down. I'm going now."
Riley shook his head and muttered
"I really don't want to do this."
He straightened and said firmly
"Dawn Summers, I am formally putting you under arrest by order of the United States Government. Drop your weapon and place your hands on your head…"
"You're trying to ARREST me?"Dawn laughed out loud and eyed the soldier up and down with amusement
"Riley, obviously you've been away too long. Let me break it down for you. I'm the Slayer's sister; she runs this town, NOT the government. She's missing, so are her team that leaves me and MY team and I don't do orders any better than Buff. If you pull that crap on me again tonight I'll kick your rigid ass out of town myself. You and your little team of GI Joes, are we clear?"
Riley scowled and said ominously
"Dawn, you have no idea what you're saying. You're a kid and you will do as I say."
Dawn raised one eyebrow in a look that was pure Spike and sneered
"I don't think so. I'm incredibly good at NOT doing what I'm told and, not to be mean, but if I won't let Buffy and Spike run my life there's no way you get to do it. Back off and don't make me hurt you."
She turned slightly as she sensed a movement at her back and then frowned as Druscilla stepped over the window frame and crunched down on the shattered glass
"Little brother says we must move. Is the wicked man hurting you? Would you like Grandmum to hurt him, little girl? I could make him sing like the pretty crystals and make him your pony. Do you want a pony to ride?"
Dawn gave a small smile
"That's sweet Dru, but no thanks. Are we demon free at the moment?"
"They've run away. I wanted to play catch with them and have them for tea."Dawn smirked
"Yes or no would have been fine, Dru."
Riley took another step towards Dawn and then stopped as Druscilla hissed and moved in front of the young girl
"My girl, go away bad dog or I will punish you with cookies and spoons."
Dawn grabbed Dru's arm and yanked her back saying wryly
"Way to make no sense, Grandma. Riley, just let us go."
He pointed at Druscilla and spat angrily
"What, let you go running off into the night with that? Dawn, she's evil; she'll turn on you in a second. You have to see this isn't what Buffy would want for you."
Dawn redoubled her vice-like grip on Dru's arm and nodded
"I know. Buffy never wanted this for me but this is what I have. I don't trust Druscilla, at all, but I don't think she'll hurt me, at least not tonight."
She took a deep breath; aware her next words were going to sting
"It's a family thing."
Riley looked confused
"What? Your sister works with vamps, so you do too?"
Dawn kept her eyes on his and ignored the bitter tone of his voice
"No, not exactly. I'm kinda related to her. Dru's Spike's sire and he's kinda my Dad now."
Riley's mouth fell open and he seemed to be struggling for breath. Dawn shrugged and figured while he was speechless she may as well hit him with the rest of it
"And my 'little friend' outside is called Connor. He's Angel's son."
Clem wandered up outside the shop and smiled merrily
"Guys, Connor thinks he's fixed the truck, we should go before the other demons come back."
He cocked his head to the side as he caught sight of Riley standing in the middle of the trashed shop, opening and closing his mouth soundlessly
"Is he ok? I didn't think humans came in that colour."
Somewhere dark, damp and now kinda chilly
"Buffy, I really think if you put some more effort into it, you might break the bolt from the wall. Come along now, focus!"
Buffy gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she loved Giles like a father and deserved some respect. Even when he was being…. what was it Spike called him? Oh yeah……a big twat.
"Giles, I've tried I can't break them. Anya, what about you? Can you like morph out of here or something?"
Anya's voice floated petulantly across from the other side of the pitch-black room
"I'm a vengeance demon, not a Power Ranger. And no I can't. The chains seem to be repressing my powers in some way."
"Great."Spike allowed his head to hit the wall behind him with a hollow thump and said angrily
"Well, aren't we the biggest bunch of superhero losers you've ever seen? Right bunch o' tossers we'll look when this gets out. We'll be a laughing stock."
Cordelia shifted uncomfortably on the cold, wet floor and snapped in annoyance
"Shut it, Blondie. You're already dead, the more pulse having amongst us have other concerns right now."
She shifted again
"D'you think they'll let us have a potty break?"
Buffy groaned and heard, from somewhere nearby, Willow echo her
"Thanks Cor, now I need to go."
Despite the seriousness of the situation Xander grinned and asked mischievously
"You know, being as we're stuck here for a while, now would be a great time to answer that age old question; Why do girls always go to the smallest room in packs?"
Riley's breakdown, part 2.
"Bu….bu….but. Wha….wh……bu……"
Connor looped an arm around Dawn's neck and pressed a kiss to her temple
"Are you ok?"
Dawn turned and smiled lovingly into his concerned eyes
"I'm fine, not saying I couldn't use a couple of aspirin, but I don't seem too bad. Must be the Summers-heal-thyself thing."
Connor nodded and pulled her more tightly against him as though to reassure himself she was whole and unhurt, he nodded his head towards Riley
"Did you break him?"
Dawn looked unhappily towards the tall soldier and winced guiltily
"I told him who Dru was and why she was helping us and then I told him who you were and who your dad was and he kinda snapped."
Riley's eyes bulged at Dawn's words and he gave a low growl and managed to force some words past his slack lips
"Buffy married SPIKE?"
Dawn laughed and then, seeing the look on Riley's face stopped and said lightly
"God no! Buffy and Spike live together and Buffy let Spike claim me as his childe so I get some extra protection from the evil things in town. It's cool."
Riley looked revolted and spat
"How could she? How could she let that thing touch her after everything he did? How could she give him you?"
Connor felt Dawn tense under his arm and he gave her a firm squeeze to silence her
"That's enough. I don't know who you are but we don't have time for this, we're leaving now."
"Take one step onto that street and I'll have you picked up and under lock and key so fast you won't have time to blink."Connor grinned mirthlessly
"You can try."
He glanced down at Dawn
"Who is this guy?"
Dawn eyed Riley as though she'd never seen him before and said slowly
"Someone who used to matter. He dated Buffy when your dad left town."
Riley scowled fiercely
"I'm never gonna be anything but Angel's replacement to you people am I? I was never a person in my own right. Even Spike was accepted on his own terms with your precious sister and her friends, but never me."
Dawn took a deep breath and said quietly
"Connor, go start the truck. I'll be there in a minute."
Connor hesitated briefly and then nodded
"Druscilla, Clem come with me."
Dawn waited until they were a distance away and then turned back to Riley and gave him a soft smile
"I'm sorry you felt that way, Ri. You were a big part of our lives for so long and we loved you."
Riley rolled his eyes in disgust
"Oh, please. I was handy for the fighting and the occasional release of tension with your sister but that was it. Let's face it; I was fairly easy to forget. What was it? Six, eight months before she bedded the fucking soulless demon? What did he do to earn it? Not snack on a few humans for a couple of years and betray her every chance he had. Big whoop, I gave up my friends, my career, my LIFE for her!"
Dawn stood tall as the ugly words spilled from his mouth and then took a deep centring breath as he ground to a halt. She faced him as his chest heaved with the force of his emotions and said quietly
"Did she ever ask you to do any of that stuff?"
She held up a hand to forestall another bitter speech and snapped
"You let me finish! Buffy never asked you to be anything but what, who, you were. You left her, Riley, not the other way around. You didn't deserve what we offered you because you never let yourself be one of us. You were the one that never forgot Angel and what he and Buffy had. You never let her leave it in the past and move on. Spike may not be perfect but he had one thing over you and always will, he sticks. He's saved me, Buffy and the others more times than any of us can count and he's never let us down when we needed him. He goes to the wall for us every day and he was there for the bad stuff and the times we thought we'd never be able to breath again for no other reason than he wouldn't let us face it on our own. He earns our acceptance and love every day just by being himself as hard as he can and letting us do the same and never, ever quitting when it gets too hard. You couldn't take it Riley and you left, there's no one to blame but you."
She looked him up and down and then stepped lightly through the window and onto the street beyond and then paused
"I'm going after our families and I think it's best you leave town when the sun's up and you don't come back. There's no one here for you anymore."
She strode across to where Connor and the others sat in the badly dented truck. She pulled the passenger door open and stepped inside and then, without looking back at Riley, said firmly
"We're going to the Bronze. Hang a left at the end of the street."
Riley watched as the truck squealed off in a haze of exhaust fumes and then reached for the radio at his belt. He unclipped it and brought it to his mouth
"This is Beta leader, come in."
He waited for a reply and then spoke into the handset again
"Get a message to base. We have a situation."
Damp, Dark and now smelly
"Eeew! What is that smell?"
Buffy screwed up her nose and winced at the foul odour
"Ain't me. Fred, you had the tacos with the beans again?"
A soft, Texan accent floated out of the darkness
"Charles! Y'all shouldn't say things like that, it just ain't nice."
Spike grinned
"You tell 'im luv. S'disgrace talking like that when we're down 'ere. Oi, Peaches, don't you teach your humans any manners? Proper dungeon etiquette an' all?"
Angel gave a soft chuckle and shifted to ease his cramping back
"Yeah, 'cos that's a top priority when we're training. Moron. And my money's on Cordy."
An outraged squeal sounded as Cordelia entered the debate
"What? You undead loser! People who need their shoes hosing out once a week with a pressure hose just to keep the stink down shouldn't talk. And you don't even sweat!"
She huffed and winced as her bladder twinged again saying grumpily
"And it wasn't me."
"No. It would be me."There was dead silence for a moment and then Willow said slowly
"Hey guys? You know what I didn't notice recently? A brand spankin' new buddy who sounds like a cement mixer chewin' an elephant."
Spike peered desperately ahead of him
"Me neither. Who's there?"
The silence stretched again and then the voice said
"I am Chanic and I am your doom. Tonight I will open the gate to hell and let my brethren free to feast upon your people and bring about the end of your world."
There was another small silence and then Buffy sighed wearily
"Again?"