Title: Into the darkness
Author: Lore
Rating: PG13
Summary: Buffy goes dark
Category:darkfic

"It's just a noise complaint. Come on David, don't you think we have better things to do than busting up some party or making a kid turn the volume down." The older cop had been saying more or less the same since they'd answered the call from headquarters and David had steered their vehicle into the direction of Revello Drive.

He wasn't a rookie damn it. He'd been working in New York for over ten years, going from traffic control, to swat teams. Yet despite that, ever since he'd transferred to California, most of the others had been treating him like a new kid, fresh on the block. As if there was some big secret conspiracy that everyone but him was a part of. It really ticked him off.

"It's our job, Jim. If not us, who could ever go to file the complaints.."

Jim shot him a look of pure malice shaking his head in a decisive way like he wanted to say 'This isn't New York, you're a bloody newbie, don't get us killed'.

They could hear the reason for the noise complaint even from the street. N'Sync was ringing even up to the curb. He was about to get out of the car when he noticed that the front door was standing wide open. just as he went up to the door, the music stopped. David barely noticed his partner cautiously leaving the car, his weapon at the ready as if he were expecting to be jumped any momen now. There was an eiry hesitation in his partner's actions, as if he were scared to take a step. David took the lead, hoping his partner would watch his back and feeling the hairs strand up in the back of his neck. It could be nothing, maybe someone just finally cut the music off, maybe they just turned the music down, but somehow he was sure that wasn't the case.

Their search of the ground-floor was thorough but fruitless. Looking up the stair-case David swallowed. His gut-feeling was telling him that there was something going on up there - something awful. Further he had the feeling that going up there was somewhat suicidal.

"We're moving up."

Jim shook his head frantically mouthing one word, 'no' but David didn't heed it. Taking step after step he cautiously neared the second floor, his weapon at the ready. The door to one of the rooms was open and a muffled voice could be made out. David waved Jim up and pointed at the door. Very slowly, taking no risks, he neared the room until he was in the door-way. He unconsciously took a step to the side to avoid what he had been taught to be a death trap, his attention already on the scene in front of him.

There was a man standing next to the bed, holding a phone in his right hand.

"Police, freeze!"

The man looked up, he was wearing dark clothes, a heavy leather coat that had seen better days, dark jeans and for a change, a dark black shirt that seemed about two sizes too small. His bleached blond hair seemed to be frozen standing up and David could plainly make out black nail polish on his finger-nails. There was a look of profound shock and surprise in the man's eyes as he turned to them. David realising only secondary that Jim wasn't following him and still standing in the door-way, staring at something behind the blond.

What he did focus on was the girl lying in a slowly growing puddle of blood. Face and every patch of visible skin had the hue of what would soon be green and blue bruises. She'd been beaten her up, close to death, by a force strong enough to hit a hole in the ground next to her as the girl had struggled to get away.

David's inspection of the situation barely took a second before he returned his full attention to the man in black still holding the phone in his hands - hands that were now slightly raised into the air.

"Bloody hell, you're fast. Is the ambulance waiting as well? The bit needs help, right quick."

"Keep those hands where I can see them. Who are you, what's going on?" David noticed in the corner of his eyes that Jim had moved to the girl on the ground. There was a second girl curled up in the corner, blood on her hands, holding her legs. She was rocking herself gently and stared at the wall to his right obviously in a shock.

"I'm so sorry, it wasn't my fault..." She repeated the words constantly like a mantra and seemed oblivious to everything going on around her. Her eyes hadn't even focussed on him when David had said something.

"Where's that soddin ambulance," the black clad man hissed under his breath, almost hugging the still raised phone receiver to him but not moving an inch, not nearly conscious enough of the weapon aimed at his chest. "The kid needs help. Now!" David could almost swear he saw the punk's eyes light up golden.

Jim's face gained a grey tinge when he got up, his gaze locked with David's for only a second but the slight shake of his head indicated that it stood as bad with the girl as it looked. "I'll go see where they are and bring them up here."

Never in the last few weeks since they were partners had David seen Jim move so fast.

"Who were you calling?"

The man looked at David as if he'd gone insane. "You guys of course, 9 bleeding 11."

For the first time since entering the house he lowered his weapon, still weary of an attack but the other girl that was rocking in the corner looked pretty bad off as well and he wanted to take a look.

"Be careful."

David stared back at the punk, expecting a threat.

"I tried to get close before ... she ..."

"Did she do this?" David vaguely indicated the bloody girl on the floor. Not daring to touch her for fear he could make her injuries even worse he knelt down on the floor a fair distance away from the bloody pool, not trying to go closer to the rocking girl. He looked back to the man, noticing the bruise forming over the young man's eye for the first time. it seemed to be slightly fading, so it probably wasn't all that bad.

The young man's eyes fell down, he seemed defeated. "She ... something must have gotten into her, she'd never ... it can't ... she'd never harm Dawn."

A name. Dawn. David stored it away for later, then got up, moving over to the younger man whose eyes were locked on the broken figure, worry showing clearer on his face now that David had actually time to really look.

"What happened, what did you see?"

"I came in and I found Buffy ... I pulled her back, off of Dawn. It was like she didn't even realize what she was doing till I got her off." The man stared up at him, the fear in his eyes felt even more worrisome.

Something weird was going on here, David could almost feel it in the air like something tangible. How could the girl that was sitting in a corner, rocking like she was a mental case have the strength to beat up a girl that seemed to be her height and her weight up like this? A mystery and David liked mysteries, especially after he solved them. Unbelievable. He had to be sure he didn't jump to conclusions. "She," he pointed into the corner, "did this?"

"I ..." It was clear the man was pulled in between two urges, the need to protect the girl that was bleeding, and the lack of desire to harm the other by accusing her of that kind of crime. "It's not like her at all."

"What do you think ha-" He couldn't finish his question when Jim stormed back into the room, on his heels two paramedics with a stretcher.

to be continued