Chapter 20: If My Reputation Rings, I'm Out

Ethan had the hangover from hell. Being strung up by his wrists, handcuffs burying themselves into his skin like a small mammal, didn't help either.

His tongue flopped around his mouth like a little bristly creature, flagging, dragging itself from side to side, searching for water.

To make matters worse, someone had left the tap dripping.

When the 'earthquake' (for lack of a more accurate term) had arrived, he'd been dozing happily on his stool, leaning against the basement door. He'd been dozing so happily that it had taken him several seconds to realize what was going on, and by then he'd fallen off his stool, cracking his head on the door handle.

Not the best start to the morning.

Then the little one, Dawn, had started screaming, and rushed around upstairs, before darting downstairs, yelling for Buffy and Xander. She'd frozen in shock when she'd seen him attached to her basement door, bouncing around like a chicken on a string, and she'd then fallen over as another tremor rolled its way through the house and surrounding area. Outside, it had been eerie to watch the incoming dawn be replaced by a liquid darkness.

Still, now he had his own, personal Dawn in the living room, and she was just as attractive. Except for the fact she was as angry as something very very angry, due to the note she had just found on the Kitchen work top.

But he had nothing to do with that. He was just a run of the mill hostage.

"Dawny" He called, his voice hoarse. His head turned itself into a bongo drum and made merry music, much to his sufferance. "Dawn?" He amended, when he realized he wasn't going to get a response using pet names.

She appeared in doorway, arms folded across her chest. She was dressed in a shirt and jeans, and, by the cross-bow that was slung over her shoulder, wasn't obviously planning on a nice, quiet Apocalypse at home in front of the telly.

"Dawn" He said again, forcing his aching jaws into a glittering smile. He rattled his handcuffs against the handle. "I don't suppose you feel like setting me free do you?"

"No" Her reply was certainly blunt and to the point (no contradiction intended). Her eyes scoured across the room, glancing over him and the stool that had fallen over, before surveying the damage caused by the earthquake. A few things had fallen off the shelves, the kitchen window had somehow got a huge crack in it, but that was no problem, they had Xander for that.

Dawn turned back to the man strung up on her basement door. He batted his eyelashes hopefully.

"Where have they gone?" she demanded, an edge to her voice.

Ethan shrugged. "I have no idea whatsoever"

"What's going on?"

Another shrug.

"Tell me!" Dawn swung the crossbow from her shoulder, aimed the weapon towards him.

Ethan flinched, and eyed the bolt that seemed to be yearning for his jugular.

"Your buxom sister and her friends have gone off to prevent the apocalypse" He eventually told her, quite jauntily. "I'm sure they'll be back in time for tea"

That earned him a glower.

"Where have they gone?"

"If I knew that, I'd be running in the opposite direction"

Dawn stalked the kitchen.

"I know that you're Ethan Rayne. I remember Halloween. I remember when you turned Giles into a demon. I know you're evil"

"Good to know my reputation prevails"

"It also means I'm not stupid enough to set you free"

His face fell.

"So where have they gone?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "To Sunnydale woods" He said, grudgingly. "But if anyone asks, I didn't tell you that"

Dawn wasn't listening. She swung the crossbow over her shoulder, before going to the window and peering outside. Everything was so grey, everything was swirling, it was as if the world had been dipped in a can of emulsion, and then left to dry.

It gave her the heebie-jeebies. But she couldn't just sit here, waiting to see if the world would continue to exist or not. If Buffy couldn't destroy the orb, if the hellmouth started to open…she might need Dawn's help.

Perhaps her dancing could distract the demons. She was very good at dancing, given the size of her feet.

"Don't try and run away" Dawn told Ethan, turning away from the window.

"Wouldn't dream of it" He told her. "Are you going somewhere?"

Dawn ignored the note of innocence in his voice.

"I'll be back when we've stopped the apocalypse"

"That's a mighty big claim. But make sure you do. I've got a bet on it"

Dawn rolled her eyes, and left the house.

The streets were eerily quiet. Yes, it was now 5.15 in the morning, and that thought had occurred to Dawn, but the grey-ness and the cold just didn't sit right.

She tugged the crossbow further up her shoulder and glanced around.

She wondered, quite cheerfully, what it would be like if the hellmouth opened, just now, right now, whilst she was walking down the sidewalk. Just bang, kaboom: hellmouth open and hungry, ready to gobble. Would she even know? Would it really be that horrible?

How would it feel to die?

Dawn stopped the train of morbid thoughts in their tracks, causing a minor derailment. She needed to think positive, to think happy thoughts. (Though those thoughts, however macabre, had been thought of in a jolly tone of….thought). She needed to find Buffy.

Increasing her pace, Dawn hurried across the street, making her way past the houses that led to the outskirts of Sunnydale.

Considering there had been an earthquake (or whatever), the level of destruction wasn't that bad. The houses had done their intended wobbling, and a couple of cracks had appeared in the tarmac and the sidewalk, but apart from that, you could barely tell that anything was wrong. Except for the fact that everything was grey and there was a roar so loud it hurt to think.

The noise had hit Dawn as soon as she'd opened her door. Had Ethan not been behind her, sneering, she may have turned back and run and hid under her bed (orb-stealing graffiti demons or not). It was just so loud and…and it hurt!

And then it stopped. Just like that. Dawn glanced around, scanning the street, as if checking to see people celebrating, to ensure she hadn't just gone deaf. Of course there was no one there, except the odd, stray pigeon (did pigeons normally visit California? She couldn't remember), that looked at her and did a little dance, so she assumed the noise had stopped.

Dawn increased her speed, her footsteps now audible on the stone. A cold wind blew from behind her, chilling the back of her neck. She had to get to Buffy as quickly as possible. She had to get to the woods and find them and then help.

The strangled cry of the pigeon stopped her in her tracks.

Dawn froze, breath rapid, ears straining to hear something. Something wasn't right. That wind was too cold, too consistent. It was like a fan of air, a never-ending wave pouring onto her skin. A wave of grey.

Then she heard the moan.

Slowly, very very slowly, Dawn turned around, trembling, breath caught in the back of her throat. And then she blinked. And blinked again.

"We were wondering if you could help us?"

The two Army officers, stood arm in arm, smiled and nodded. Dawn's eyes grew wide.

"I'm, uh, kinda busy"

"You are?"

"Yeah"

"She's busy"

"So I heard"

"That's not very good is it? This is an emergency"

"An emergency?" Dawn wasn't sure if she could cope with that.

"A very urgent emergency. The fate of the world may depend on it"

Dawn perked up her ears. "The world?"

"Yes. Can you help us, please?"

"Go on, please. It won't take too long. And it'd be very helpful"

Dawn swallowed. "Ok. Y-y-yeah. Sure"

And she would, she would, she'd really try.

As much as you could help anyone who was obviously dead.

"Great!"

Officer Tomlinson smiled through what remained of his face at his senior partner, Lieutenant Kash, who was stood, quite awkwardly, on what was left of his left leg.

"What would you like me to do?"

"We need you to find our helicopter"

Dawn couldn't help but feel confused.