Here We Come To Save The DayBy Karen
Chapter EightDawn folded her arms and glared at the sorry looking pile of demons on the floor before her
“One more time. Who knows where my family are?”
Kit wandered up with a cold soda and gave her friend a smile as she handed the drink to her
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Rough night?”Dawn took a grateful sip and closed her eyes as the cool liquid soothed her dry throat
“You have no idea. What about you?”
The Goth girl shrugged and ruefully examined the sleeve of her new black velvet dress, now hanging forlornly from her wrist
“I’ve had better. What’s going on?”
Dawn shrugged and narrowed her eyes at the demons on the floor
“I have no idea but someone here does. And if they don’t spill in the next few seconds I’m gonna really lose my temper.”
Kit grinned at her friend and looked pointedly at the devastation around them
“Yeah? Gee, I’d hate to be here when that happens.”
Dawn followed her friend’s gaze and choked on her soda at the dry comment
“Ha ha.”
Kit grinned and eyed the monsters on the floor warily, she turned away from them slightly and said in a low voice
“Is it true? Is the Slayer gone?”
Dawn shook her head
“Not gone. Missing.”
She stressed the final word and pushed away the terrifying thought that she might never see her sister again. She swallowed and said firmly
“Missing. And I’m gonna find them.”
Kit nodded and squeezed Dawn’s rigid arm
“I know. And Carlos and I are gonna help.”
Dawn frowned and shook her head
“Kit, I can’t let you do that. You and Carlo need to go home where it’s safe and wait this out.”
Kit tossed back her long black hair and looked amused
“Are you finished? Dawn, sweetie, there’s no way we’re letting you go back out there alone.”
“I’m not alone.”Kit grinned appreciatively as she watched Connor talk in a low voice with Carlos
“You’re certainly not. So that’s Connor? He’s a babe.”
“Isn’t he?”Dawn sighed happily then scowled and huffed an impatient breath
“Hey, no distractions with the hottie talk! You aren’t coming with us and that’s that.”
She turned as Connor made his way over to her side. He smiled at her and glanced disinterestedly over the pile of wounded demons on the floor
“So everything’s settled. I’ve given Carlos some stakes and a sword we got from one of the demons, I’ll get Kit some weapons when we go back out to the truck”
Dawn’s mouth fell open
“What? They aren’t coming with us!”
Connor glanced uneasily at the boy and girl who had moved to flank Dawn as naturally as if they’d been doing it their whole lives
“They aren’t? Why not?”
Carlos winked at Connor and forestalled Dawn’s answer
“Hang on, I know this one! Because there’s badness and evil afoot and we might get hurt. We could get captured or killed, or worse, be up all night and totally miss school tomorrow. That about cover it?”
Dawn gave a reluctant grin
“Smart-ass.”
Carlos smiled back
“And correct me if I’m wrong but haven’t you been whining ever since we’ve known you that Buffy and the others treat you like a kid and never listen to you or what you want and that you have to put up with them making the decisions for you about the whole world savage?”
Dawn eyed her friends resignedly
“Point taken. Ok, you’re in, Giles and Buff can write us a note when we find them to get us off school. And I do NOT whine.”
Kit stifled a giggle and blinked innocently at her friend when Dawn glared at her
“Sorry, something in my throat. So, what do we do with these guys?”
The four teenagers turned back to the heap of tied up demons on the floor and stared at them thoughtfully. Connor rested his sword casually on his shoulder
“We could torture them.”
There was a small silence and then Kit said warily
“Do you know how?”
“Well….no. But my Dad was really good at it once. I’m sure I’d pick it up.”Connor looked doubtfully at the demons and then met Dawn’s eyes and shrugged
“I could give it a shot.”
They studied each other for a moment and then Dawn’s face brightened
“It’s ok, I’ve got an idea. DRU!”
The vampire turned from her conversation with Clem by the bar
“Yes dearie?”
“Come over here a minute would ya? Got a job for you.”The two demons made their way across the wrecked dance floor and stopped at Dawn’s side
“What does my little poppet want her Granny to do? Would you like a bed time story and lollipops?”
“Maybe later.”Dawn swung her arm around Dru’s shoulders and beamed happily down at the suspicious creatures on the floor
“This is Druscilla. She’s Angelus’ childe and William The Bloody’s sire. William also happens to be my de-facto father which makes Dru here my grandmother.”
She ignored the ripple of unease that passed through the group and squeezed Dru’s shoulder lightly
“Dru, somewhere in this group is someone who knows where your Daddy is AND who’s got him. Do you want to play a game?”
Druscilla clapped her hands excitedly
“Oh yes! Can I play hide and go seek? I will be it and I will count to a hundred before I come looking for my daddy and all the lovely people shall hide and scream when I find them.”
Dawn nodded at the increasingly nervous demons
“That’s a yes for those who don’t speak fluent Druscilla. You have thirty seconds to point out who the demon is that told you the Slayer’s gone before me and my friends take a walk outside for some air and leave you in Dru’s experienced and capable hands. No one will die, at first, but you’ll all be in a LOT of pain. Carlos, start the clock.”
In the dark with Spike…….
“Look mate, I don’t know how many times I have to tell ya…….I’m the Key.”
“And so’s my wife!”Xander’s voice came out of the dark, closely followed by Anya’s outraged
“Xander!”
Xander grinned into the darkness
“Sorry, honey. It’s a humour thing, you wouldn’t get it.”
“I understand humour very well. That was not funny.”Spike laughed
“It’s Monty Python, luv.”
“They aren’t funny either.”
“Anya!”Xander sounded genuinely shocked at her words
“How can you say that? ‘Life Of Brian’ is a comedy classic.”
“It’s a pointless waste of film, featuring the same people throughout wearing stupidly obvious disguises in an effort to draw attention away from the fact they only had enough money for a small number of actors.”Spike gave a gruff laugh
“Hello? Trying to save our asses here people. I’m the Key.”
“LIAR!!”Spike rolled his eyes in frustration
“Why else would the Slayer let me live with her? I’m a blood-sucking fiend, for fuck’s sake. Grrr.”
“You lie. The Key is pure, sacred. You are unclean.”Spike smirked
“Well whose fault is that? Wouldn’t hurt you to sweep up down here occasionally, y’know. Maybe a little lemon scented cleaner, something to think about innit?”
“SILENCE!”The Scoobs and the Batpack obligingly fell quiet and waited patiently for the demon to speak. They heard a deep breath being taken, eerily reminiscent of Giles at his most exasperated, and then the unseen creature spoke with a sense of malevolent satisfaction
“I will take one of you and hurt them until the real Key confesses.”
Buffy’s mouth fell open and suddenly the situation wasn’t so amusing anymore
“What? You can’t do that!”
She pulled desperately at the chains holding her in place and began to thrash frantically against the wall
“You touch one hair on anyone’s head and I’ll kill you I swear to god. You bastard son of a whore, do you hear me?”
“BUFFY!”
“Bloody hell, luv!”Willow and Spike spoke simultaneously, both in tones of shocked surprise at the Slayer’s language. Although Spike’s voice smacked of pleased admiration as well
“CHARLES!! Charles, it’s got me. Help me, oh god, help me….”
“Fred! Fred, where are you? Fred! Fred, answer me!”Gunn’s terrified roar echoed off the cell’s walls as the others fought fiercely against the chains binding them and then there was only the sound of harsh breathing and Angel kicking brutally at the bolts holding the metal restraints to the wall. Gunn blinked back tears and whispered into the darkness
“Fred.”
The Bronze
Dawn scowled at the demon before her. Tall, with grey skin and sharp ivory horns protruding from the top of his head he stared defiantly back at her
“Tell me where they are.”
It shook its head and then flinched in surprise as the screams of its dying brethren reached its ears. Dawn cocked her head to one side and said calmly
“They gave you up to me and are being given a quick death, probably even a sporting chance knowing Connor. You aren’t gonna be as lucky. Tell me where to find the Slayer.”
“They’re dead.”Dawn nodded impassively and then swung the solid, wooden bat she had found behind the bar to connect with a crunch against the demon’s left horn
“Liar. I’d feel it. Where are they?”
The demon collapsed to the floor and screamed as white blood ran from the ruined horn. Kit swallowed uneasily and watched Dawn as she reached down the heave the demon to its knees and swung to take the other horn off
“Where are they?”
The demon roared mindlessly with pain and lunged desperately at Dawn, spitting and snarling as it tried to savage her with its razor sharp teeth. She stepped back and swung her bat again, hitting strongly on the bridge of its nose. Kit closed her eyes as the bone cracked and more blood poured from the ruined face. Dawn pushed her hair back
“One more time. Where are they?”
She whirled in surprise and stumbled to the floor as a loud explosion rocked the night. Kit fell to the floor beside her and clutched her head as another crash ripped through the air. Dawn shoved her under a table and then came to her feet, running for the door. Connor joined her as she pulled it open and they stared in disbelief at the flaming ruins of Gunn’s truck in front of the club. Dawn yelped as Connor dragged her back inside and slammed the door as the truck belched flame again and then they stared at each other in disbelief.
“What the hell was that?”
Carlos came to Dawn’s side and bellowed in her ear, unable to hear his own words thanks to the sheer loudness of the explosion. Connor shook his head in confusion and reached for Dawn’s hand to draw her, white-faced, into his arms
“Something happened to the truck.”
Dawn rested her head briefly on his chest and wondered how much one person was expected to deal with in one night. She closed her eyes momentarily and then lifted her head to give Connor a small smile
“Gunn is going to KILL you.”
Connor flinched as another small bang sounded from the ruined truck
“I know.”