Title: Darkness Is A Friend Of Mine | Chapter TEN

Author:Musesinspire

Rating: R (language, violence, relationships later in story)

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my computer and my car. Buffy belongs to Whedon and Riddick belongs to Vin, One Race and whoever else helped produce it.

*****

The wolves of war never sleep…

Dawn couldn't help but find the whole situation more than just a bit ironic. She was realistic enough to know that everything changed and that nothing stayed the same. Empires would rise and fall, evolution mutating all that it came in touch with and modern entertainment just getting worse. But what she just couldn't fathom was how human nature stayed every bit as self-serving and self-motivated as ever. Here she was, sitting alone for the fourth Christmas in a row, no Joyce, no Buffy, alone except for the Scoobies and Spike and Angel… no family. Her real mother, Buffy, had sacrificed herself to save the world; and for what? Nothing had changed. Dawn had found one constant thing in the world and she wished that she hadn't. Buffy had died to save a world that didn't want to be saved.

That is… if the news on Christmas Eve was any indication.

She could hear Anya and Xander arguing in the background about who would sit where at the table and should places even be set for Spike and Angel, at which point they got into a bigger disagreement about how insensitive Anya was and that yes, places should be set! The chaos was added to when Tara and Willow added that a place hadn't been set for Oz and Giles and should they serve scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes? At that point Anya went off on a tangent about how fattening both were and that…

Dawn tuned them all out and turned back to the news about the world falling apart. India and Pakistan had nuclear weapons, Korea was amassing troops once again on the 38th Parallel and Al Qaeda was sending out chatter on their 'network'. Normally she would have just sighed, turned off the television and gone into the kitchen and helped with dinner. But there was something about the news this afternoon that just captured her and held her there. There was a sense of urgency to the reports. She felt a shiver of apprehension skitter down her awareness. So much could go wrong.

Deciding that she had been cooped up for much too long and that she still needed to get some stocking stuffers for Spike and Angel, Dawn got up and went and got her purse and stole out the front, closing the door on the latest crisis of whether or not to use silver or gold flatware. If she had to decide, Dawn would have chosen plastic ware. Toss it, not wash it.

She got in her car and made her way down to the mall to look for presents and to just have a few minutes to herself. She noticed that when she made her third turn to the mall that there was a late model black SUV that turned with her. She wasn't sure what caught her attention about it, but she kept an eye on it and noticed that every turn she made, they made, always staying three cars behind. She was suspicious, but kept in mind, that it was also Christmas Eve and people other than herself waited until the last minute to shop, too. There were always procrastinators out there.

It was a sad truth.

She pulled into a parking space at the main entrance of the mall and got out, going through her mental checklist of items to look for. She was sorely tempted to get a gag gift of crucifixes, but she wasn't sure if the humor would be appreciated. Ever since Buffy had jumped, Christmas was difficult enough. Light humor may not be the best way to go…

She was walking between the last of the cars, digging through her purse to make sure that she had her credit cards, when she became aware that there was someone standing in front of her, blocking her way. Quickly looking up, she couldn't help but stop and stare in total disbelief. There, before her, was the antithesis of all that Buffy had stood for.

Faith stood in front of her in all of her insolent glory.

Recovering herself, Dawn glanced around, wondering if Faith was alone or if she had some sort of evil monger's henchmen with her hiding in the shadows. Faith caught the action and smirked.

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's just me."

"Were you the one in the SUV on the way here?" Dawn asked.

Faith smirked again. The kid wasn't as dumb as she let everyone think she was. "Yeah, it was me. Didn't think you noticed."

Dawn gave her own smirk. "Guess I have more of Buffy in me than we thought, huh?"

Faith glanced around, taking in the crowded mall and looked back at Dawn.

"Waited until the last minute for presents, is that it?"

Dawn sighed. She really didn't have time for this.

"What do you want, Faith? It's Christmas Eve and you have a tendency to make things go bad when you show up. Should I prepare for an Apocalypse?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Faith couldn't help but give Dawn the fact that she was right. She was usually the harbinger of Doom. What's worse, Dawn was right about her this time, too. Just not in the sense she thought. Or at least, she hoped not.

"Look, kid. You're right. I'm not here for a social visit. And I won't sugarcoat it, either. I did something stupid. Incredibly stupid. And I can't fix what I did, but I can fix the outcome somewhat. I can get you somewhere safe so that you can be found when you're needed. Will you trust me?"

Dawn looked at her incredulously.

"You're joking right? You don't actually think I'm going to go anywhere with you, do you?"

Faith sighed. She should have known the kid was going to be a tough sell. She was just like B in a lot of ways.

"Dawnie, look. I-…" Faith began.

"Don't! Don't you dare call me by that name! You don't have the right to call me by that name! Buffy is the last person who called me that and she will always be the last person to call me that." Dawn glared at her enraged. She whirled away and headed to her car, digging her keys out at the same time. She reached the car, slung open the door, got in, slammed it shut, turned it on, threw it into reverse and sped away, not bothering to look if anyone was near and not caring that she may or not have been observed.

She was more than halfway home before she calmed down enough to realize that she still didn't have anything for Christmas for several key members of her 'family' and had to make a side stop at the local pharmacy to get some sort of presents and wrapping paper. Figuring that the thought meant more than the gift, she shrugged at her choices and chose cheap cologne for Angel and equally cheap cigars for Spike. It was all she could get and they had better be glad they were getting that! She took the time to pay and then sat out in the car and started wrapping the presents, getting several paper cuts in the process. She bled for them, they better appreciate her!

****

She took a little more time to herself, calming down to the point that she could think again and made sure that she had the presents, stocking stuffers (after having had to make yet another stop) and drove home. When she pulled up in front of the house, a wave nostalgia swept over her as she 'remembered' all the times Joyce decorated the house when she was younger and how Buffy and she would stay up all night Christmas Eve, trying to guess what they had been given for Christmas, causing Joyce to threaten to take all the presents to some charity for children who appreciated and listened to when their parents told them to go to bed. It had been a different life then.

It hadn't been her life.

Sighing, she gathered everything up and got out of the car and headed up the walk to the front door of the Summers' home, knowing that no matter what she did, what she wished, things could never go back. She needed to accept it. Her friends and her adopted family were still there and that was something that most people had in this world. She had people to love that loved her in return. It was enough. It had to be.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door and entered into chaos. Everyone was shouting, Giles was on the phone speaking frantically, Angel was brooding in the corner, Spike was pacing and Willow was crying. Not having any idea what was going on, Dawn headed into the chaos full tilt, setting the presents down at the tree. It was Xander who noticed her first and shouted it to everyone else in the house. She looked around, puzzled.

"Thank goodness! We were getting ready to come and look for you." Giles said in that stuffy way of his.

Dawn looked at the faces surrounding her, staring at her in concern. "Why? You all knew I had to go out for a little while this evening."

They all looked at each other, sharing glances that said a million things to each other and nothing to her. Giles cleared his throat and took his glasses off, polishing them.

Willow broke the silence when she said, "Dawn… weren't you listening to the radio?"

"No…? Should I have been?"

"Dawn…" Willow trailed off. "North Korea just started across the DMZ. And China is threatening to strike. The President has issued a warning that if North Korea does not stop their advancement, we will strike back. World War III could start tonight."

Dawn just stood in amazement as she thought back to what Faith had said. "…something incredibly stupid. But I can change the outcome somewhat…"

And proceeded to faint dead away.

****

When she came to, it was several hours later, almost midnight. Almost Christmas. Dawn wandered downstairs and saw that everyone was asleep, rooms filled and lights off. The Christmas tree was lit and she couldn't help but admire the delicate ornaments all over it that Joyce had collected over the years. It was while she was admiring the tree that she became aware of another presence in the room.

"Is this what you were trying to tell me about, Faith?" she asked.

Faith stepped forward out of the shadows and stood next to Dawn, looking at the tree as well, but not really seeing it. "Yes." She answered quietly.

"You already know what's going to happen, don't you? And it's going to be bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Faith said. "But I can't let it. I have to get you somewhere safe. I know where you can go and you'll be safe until B can come and get you. Please trust me, Dawn."

Dawn turned and looked at Faith. Really looked at her. Much to her dismay, she could tell the Slayer wasn't lying.

"How is Buffy going to find me, Faith. She's dead. She's not coming back."

Faith just quirked a smile. "You of all people should know that nothing is permanent if the Powers don't want it to be. Just come with me. We don't have much time."

Dawn looked around and then turned back to Faith. "What about the others? What's going to happen with them?"

"They're being taken care of… not in the way I am you, but they'll be taken to where they'll survive what's coming. I only have so many favors I can call in, and I used most of them on you."

Dawn took a deep breath. She wasn't sure of this. But she had a feeling, something was telling her to go with the Slayer. She hadn't ever really been led wrong when she followed her instincts. She looked up from where she had been staring at the presents under the tree and nodded. She would go.

****

Desert. All there was surrounding them was desert. Deep, black night desert. With no end in sight.

"How much longer, Faith. When you said 'safe', I thought you meant like 'safe-house' safe. Not 'middle of nowhere' safe."

"Trust me. This is about the only place where I can put you that B will find you and you'll be safe. This is the one place where nothing will be tampered with. But I had to call in some major favors for this, kid. Remember that."

Dawn sighed. They had been driving for almost four hours. It was Christmas morning. And she was stuck in a car, with Faith, driving heavens only knew where. This sucked. She leaned over and switched on the radio, but immediately wished she hadn't.

As she listened with increasing horror to the news updates, Faith made a series of turns on dirt roads and pulled up to a chain link fence with a massive gate and guard post. The guards walked forward, but upon seeing the ID that Faith produced for them, waved them in without another word. She pulled up in front a large series of concrete and steel buildings and was greeted by a large man in desert camouflage fatigues with a black beret on his head. He carried a serious arsenal of weaponry on him and looked like a man who was not to be taken lightly.

He introduced himself simply as Krell. She wasn't sure why, but something about him disturbed her greatly. Something in his manner, his eyes.

Lagging behind, Dawn followed Faith and Krell into the building and to the elevators that would lead them down into the underground area of the bunkers. She was only half paying attention to the conversation that was taking place and therefore was completely unprepared when they stepped out the elevator and went into a room off of the hallway. It had a series of what looked like large glass tubes in it.

Krell turned to her and looked her up and down. "You need to get undressed and put these on." He said and handed her what looked like green orderly scrubs.

Dawn turned to Faith, raising an eyebrow.

"Just do it, kid. You won't need your clothes."

Dawn was starting to get suspicious. She started changing into her clothes that Krell gave her, watching out of the corner of her eye as the man in question started to mess with one of the tubes. Somehow, Dawn just had a feeling that there was more to this than she was being told. Fully clothed in the scrubs she turned and looked at Faith.

"What's going on, Faith? Who is this guy and how is he going to help me stay safe until Buffy can get me?"

Faith just gave her a sad look. "I'm sorry, Dawn. This is the only way…"

About that time, Dawn felt strong arms wrap around her and a sharp prick in her neck. Screaming, twisting and kicking, Dawn saw the large man step away from her with a syringe, as she was dragged back towards the tubes. The strong arms picked her up and gently set her down in the tube, laying her back carefully as whatever was in the syringe started causing her to drowsily drift away into unconsciousness.

The last thing she saw was the glass cover coming down over her and then frosting over as she was suddenly colder than she ever had been before.

Faith looked at Krell. "Is that it? Is it done?"

"Yeah, it's done. And so are you."

Faith looked around nervously, as she noticed that several more of the guards had entered into the room. "What are you talking about? We had a deal. You keep Dawn safe, I help you get Morrow."

"And that's what you've done. Morrow's going to come to get the girl. I know him and his people. Deal's done." He turned towards the largest of the guards and said, "Terminate her. Now. Then get in the tubes. The strike started ten minutes ago. We don't have much time." Then he turned and started towards the tubes, motioning for the technicians to get started prepping the rest of them.

Faith was just starting to really react and comprehend the situation when she suddenly felt a hard knocking pain in her back. Reaching up she pulled a tranquilizer dart from her shoulder and looked up at the man who had shot her. Before she could even react, six guards were on her, attacking all at once.

****

Faith tried to save herself. But she didn't stand a chance. Whatever they had shot her with started taking her down like an elephant sedative. She knew she wasn't going to make it alive… she could feel her life slipping away with each hit and pummel. Knowing that she had to do something to help B fight these men who came at you like freight trains, she sent a call out to the primal forces and the Powers.

****

Krell couldn't stop the shiver of fear that went through him when he heard the Slayer call out to her Gods. He would never forget the echo of her words…

"Hear me and do my bidding: give my sister Slayer my gifts… help her slay the Evil and Malice!"