Disclaimer : The story's mine everything else simply isn't. All done in good fun .Nothing more man.
Notes : Sorry for being so late on this one but life and work got in the way. The story is progressing slowly but steadily and all will be revealed soon enough. This chapter isn't quite that Xander-centric but its plays a pretty big part in answering a few questions and presenting a few new ones to the mix. I hope you like the ride so far.
Dedication : First and foremost to Lesley Ann. Without her encouragement all of this would've fallen into nothing. Love the gal immensely. Thanks Lesley :-) And to all who have reviewed this story so far. My thanks to Furious George ,Bolo , Mims , Saturn Girl ,Varthan , grey , Jane McCartney , Xandman , 'wbh21c' Bill , Chorlton. All your comments mean a lot to me. Thanks again for your feedback.
BLACK & WHITE … by Zauriel Angelus
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" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!"
The door of the wrecked Summers residence flung open with a furious crash and the body of 15 year old Dawn tumbled onto the front lawn. She landed hard on her right arm which on impact caused a painful pop to be heard.
GET UP DAWN !!! GET UP !!! GET UP !!!
The young teen bit her bottom lip as hard as she could trying to steel herself against the sharp pain that shot up her arm , struggling to get to her feet as quickly as she could. The ground leveled another seismic tremor and Dawn almost fell to the ground again.
Her whole body was shaking almost uncontrollably , her weak legs just barely holding her up. Her favorite white tee was a mess and horribly so , the white bathed in the dark red of warm blood. Bruises and burns covered her arms and her long denim skirt was at the point of tatters . Shock was written all over her face.
Dawn took a quick and terrified glance back at the house she once called home somehow knowing it'd be the last time she see it.
Not now young lady . Not a good time.
Dawn turned her head away from the rubble and started running . In her mind was one simple perogative and she focused upon the command as much as she could to forget the pain that painted her eyes with horror. She ran and she ran , lifting her feet with all the strength she could muster , moving as quickly as she could , holding her injured arm close to her chest.
Not once did she look back for she dared not . The memories that lived and breathed in the Summers house would beckon her much like a siren's song , forcing her back to it and she could not be stranded. She needed to get help fast.
The wind began to pick up , the leaves rustling by in a frenzy. The air grew cold and slowly the night became darker and darker.
Young Dawn Summers kept her pace , her eyes locked straight ahead , holding everything back as bravely as she could. She can't afford to break down. She knows that. It was a difficult task set before her.
The dams she built were weakening but she couldn't let the tears spill out.
She had to be strong . She just had to be strong.
Don't cry. Don't cry Dawn. Don't cry.
But somewhere along the line … the rain started falling down
" Daaaawwnnnyyyy ……ohhh Daaaaaawwwwwwwnnnyy … where are you off to in such a hurry….. ?"
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I froze and turned my head around when I heard the echo of that voice in the breeze. I was frightened, as fearful and afraid as a girl could possibly be. Twenty yards away shrouded in a mist , was the figure of evil that took my friends , destroyed my home and hunted me.
It can't be …
" …Oh no…"
For a moment she just stood there and pointed her finger in my direction.
Not a word did she say.
Not an inch did she move.
But somehow , someway , the winds shook like they never had before and the rain that merely drizzled earlier began beating down like a hurricane from hell. I barely had enough time to pick up my legs and run when the storm hit.
Everything went flying and I do mean everything. Cars , trees , mailboxes … crashing all over the place. I saw a small blue van being flung into someone's porch and then a fire hydrant almost took my head off. Even I went Superman for about fifty meters away from where I once stood before I hit the ground and considering my condition earlier it hurt a lot more than I could bear. I couldn't even scream.
When winds began dying down , I couldn't believe I was still alive. I was rolling on my back , my whole breath knocked right out . The rain continued to fall hard though and it was difficult to see where I was or whatever was happening but a few seconds later when my vision did return , a horrified gasp escaped my throat.
" Oh …my … god…"
A trembling hand ran up to cover my open mouth as I stared upon the scene of destruction before me. At least five blocks of houses and apartments were rubble , destroyed at the whim of that bitch's hand. A few of my school friends lived in that area and I kept hoping that they were all ok. I kept praying that no one else die because of me , my eyes closed and shut tight , still refusing to believe what was happening right then.
" A- Ahn …?"
Suddenly I remembered where exactly I was and how I came to be here.
Just how in the world did I forget ?
Xander…
I opened my eyes and there he was lying on the side of the road , just a few feet away from me. Shards of glass littered the ground around him. There was no shortage of debris either nor was there a shortage of blood. He was hurt bad. Very bad … There was just … I-it was … the blood … too much of it. I tried to ignore it and made my way to his side.
" Xand … Xander ? I-Its me . Its Dawnie. Its Dawnie."
I cradled his head softly in my arms , brushing away the dirt from his bloodied face with my own red stained hands.
"Ahn … Anya …"
He kept calling out for Anya.
" No …Its Dawn Xand … Its me. Its Dawnie."
His eyes fluttered open and he smiled. He actually smiled at me.
" Dawnie…"
" Yup its me Xand … Its me."
But his smile faded quickly.
" Where's Anya ?"
I start to look around from where I was and in the short distance I saw his apartment or what was left of it, standing in ruins. Everything was wrecked to oblivion. The worst part of it was not seeing Anya anywhere.
I didn't know how to answer Xander.
I just couldn't…
I am so useless.
So fucking useless.
Twelve months back Dawn didn't even exist.
I was a non living thing , a piece of crappy energy.
I mean … I wasn't supposed to be alive at all.
And here I was … threatening the lives of people who had a real place in the world just by breathing.
Why was I brought into this world in the first place ?
What good would it do to have me around anyway ?
I have no powers , I always cause trouble and I have a knack for getting myself kidnapped.
I don't help with the monster slayage.
I can't save anyone.
Mostly I just cry and scream a lot.
So useless … so fucking useless.
Anya …she might be dead.
If she died then I was the one who caused it.
It was … me
I killed her …
I'm sorry.
I couldn't handle it anymore.
" Dawnie … you alright ?"
Concern washes over him as he catches sight of blood on my shirt.
" What happened ? You're hurt."
I shook my head regaining some sense of reality , trying not to completely break down when I answered.
" W-will … Its … not …Its not m-my blood."
Xander sat up , studying me carefully as he did. He took a glance at the ruins behind and I briefly saw the pain that struck him. I knew he wanted to go there right now. He wanted to . I knew he wanted to so badly.
But he chose to stay with me.
" What happened Dawn ? Please tell me …" he spoke gently.
"Big f-fight … at,at t-the house… Buffy stormed …out… Tara … W-Willow …"
The words came out in stutters and gasps and I wasn't sure if I even understood myself. I didn't want to go on.
" Take your time ."
I didn't want to remember anything or say much less one more word but I owed it to him. His brown eyes were desperately seeking knowledge that would make sense of all the madness. They were pleading … begging.
" Dark m-magic … Evil."
That was all I could muster. I couldn't go on anymore.
" There you are …"
But it seems the nightmare wasn't over yet.
"I've been looking everywhere for you … Dawnie."
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End notes: I felt it best that this chapter be written in Dawn's POV and so I went with that. In the end I think it served a good purpose in moving a few things along but I still think there was a bit of something lacking. Well …seems to have turned out quite a bit alright though so I'm not totally screwed. Anyway the next chapter the spotlight returns to Xander and will be hopefully posted in two or three days. Thank you for reading.
Ps: how about some Feedback eh ? pretty please ? with a cherry on top ? C'mon I'm a feedback junkie !!!
Till next time I remain …….