Missing, Presumed Lost (1/?)
By Danel(danel@fanfiction.net)
PG-13, I think
Arriving home from school to find both the house and the Magic Box wrecked and no one in sight, Dawn rings Angel for help. Meanwhile, in LA, Connor finds Holtz missing, but when he storms the Hyperion he finds it similarly ransacked and deserted. That's when the 'phone rings.
Spoilers: Starts during Seeing Red(BtVS) and Benediction(AtS), but certain events, which occurred later, still take place. Most of Seasons 6 and 3, basically.
Disclaimer: I suppose I should do one myself… none of these characters are mine, which should really shock no one. However, I'm just using them for a little while. I won't hurt them. Well, not too much at least…
Author's Note: Thanks to Karen for letting me use the central concept (of everyone but Dawn and Connor going missing). Thanks also to Karen again for beta'ing the thing again, and to anyone who reviewed last time. Please do so again.
Chapter 1: Travels and Travails
"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."
"Angel?"
"I'm afraid not – Angel isn't here."
Dawn blinked. She'd been sure that the voice on the other end was Angel, but perhaps it wasn't so. She really wanted to talk to Angel, not to someone she didn't know. This was urgent. "Well, where is he?"
It was very suspicious, Steven thought. Everyone is missing and then this girl asks to speak to Angel. It didn't seem she would be prepared to listen to his excuses, either. "I don't know, I'm afraid."
"Well, is Cordelia there?"
The reply came far too fast. Whoever she was, this girl clearly knew the Angel Investigations team. How could he reply is she kept asking questions like this? "No, I'm afraid she isn't here either."
Dawn was becoming frustrated now. If things kept on like this, she'd be here
all night. "Well, can you tell me who is there?"
Steven panicked. How could he hide the fact that they were all gone from someone who seemed to know them all? He had no other choice… as if in a dream he heard his voice saying: "Actually, most of the people are missing. What was it that you wanted?"
What? Thought Dawn. Missing? "Who is this?"
Steven was confused now. It seemed that by telling her what had happened he'd just made her even more suspicious. He forced himself to think logically about this. The girl on the other end of the telephone knew Angel, but she didn't seem like a dangerous type – it almost sounded like she was his age. It was extremely unlikely that her life had been anything like his. Most people in this world seemed to know nothing at all about demons or vampires, not even that they existed. In fact, most seemed to actively deny such things could be possible. Of course, there were some who knew – like Angelus' friends – but this girl seemed far too young for that. Her voice was pleasant; she was probably just someone who had heard of Angelus or used to know him some time ago. She probably didn't even know he was a vampire! In that case, it was unlikely that she would be too persistent. He wondered what she wanted, but merely said: "My name is Steven Holtz. I…" There was the slightest hesitation before he continued, which Dawn barely noticed. "…work at Angel Investigations." Steven didn't like lying, but a minor lie was probably for the best in this case.
Dawn blinked again, and felt her mouth drop open with shock. Angel and his team were as well? She took the receiver away from her ear and squinted at it suspiciously. Although at first she had thought that the voice on the other end was Angel, having listened for a bit longer it became clear that he was much younger – perhaps even as young as she was. And as for that hesitation before he continued… as practiced as Dawn was at lying to Buffy, she recognised someone thinking up a quick fib. But what did it mean, really? She doubted that a burglar or kidnapper would pick up the phone, let alone give her as much information as he had done.
"You say that everyone is missing?"
When he replied in the affirmative, Dawn sighed and continued.
"My name is Dawn Summers. My older sister is an old friend of Angel. I wanted to ring for help because everyone is missing here too…" She went with a hunch. "Is there writing on the wall there?"
When she mentioned the markings Steven's eyes widened and then narrowed as his interest was piqued. If there were more people missing, not just Angelus and his father… Indeed, if they knew Angelus, it was possible that they were unusual and supernatural themselves… but that didn't mean this girl knew anything about it.
She sounded scared – Steven could understand and sympathise with that because he too felt worried for his father. How much worse would it be for a girl who hadn't grown up in the Quor-Toth, and had everyone she knew disappear? When she mentioned the markings, his eyes widened. It seemed that they were connected – but what could have done this, and in such a short space of time as well? The people of Angel Investigations may be fools who collaborated with demons, but they weren't weak. That they had been overwhelmed seemed to indicate a large group, but why? What purpose has been served by their capture and the capture of his father and this girl's family? "There is, but it is like no writing I have ever seen. One of the most repeated symbols is a line pointing into a circle. Are the markings where you are the same?"
Dawn looked at the wall carefully. Indeed, that symbol was common – it looked something like a rotated 'Q', but with the line entering the middle of the circle. It reminded Dawn of something, faintly, but she couldn't think of what. She shrugged, it wasn't important – what mattered now was working out what had happened. Her priority had to be finding her missing family and friends and then they could swing into research mode. If that meant that Dawn and a junior AI staffer had to save everyone… so be it.
A smile tugged at the corners of Dawn's lips for the first time in a while. She wondered what this 'Steven' looked like – he really did sound something like a younger Angel, and Dawn liked to be able to put faces to voices. She buried the musing quickly as she replied with a "Yes," and then began to furiously think of a workable plan of action.
Dawn knew her way around LA fairly well from when she used to live there(well, she remembered living there at least) and from summers spent with her dad. However, she didn't know where Angel's new base was – Buffy had dragged her along to the old one once, but she'd heard that it had been blown up.
This presented an obvious problem – however, if Steven knew and worked with Angel, he probably knew his way around LA as well, if not better, than she did – yet she doubted he knew his way around Sunnydale at all, and Sunnydale Bus Station wasn't a place where anyone should wait. This meant he couldn't come to her… but she could go to him – while the Bus Station that the buses from Sunnydale ended up in wasn't the prettiest place, especially after dark, it was considerably safer than its Sunnydale counterpart. Especially for people with large weapons.
"Do you know the Crescent Bus Station?"
Steven blinked at the surprising comment. As it happened, he did know most of the bus stations and other major land marks in LA – it had seemed prudent to learn his way around the strange city in which he had found himself. The Crescent was a rather minor one – it was where a few buses that went to smaller towns outside the city boundaries ended up. If the girl – Dawn, he reminded himself – wanted him to know the station, it seemed to indicate that she was planning to meet him there.
"I know the Crescent." He replied. "Do you want me to meet you there?"
He reminded himself not to judge this girl on what he could hear. For all he knew, it could be one of whatever it was that had captured everyone trying to acquire the final piece, perhaps toying with him a little by pretending to be an ally of his own age. He'd known several demons in the Quor-Toth that liked to do things like that, and he was prepared for a trap. He'd take a better weapon, perhaps – while a stake was good, it only had one use, and a sword or axe could kill vampires just as well and also be useful against demons. Angelus presumably had a supply of weaponry in this building – it would be appropriate to use them to defend himself.
"Would you? I don't know the way to the Hotel, and I want to look at the writing on the wall there. We need to find everyone – if we're the only ones left, everyone is depending on us. I'll meet you at the bus station in about… four hours?"
It would take about that long to get to the Bus Station and take the ride, but one of them but probably get there a while before the other – Dawn wasn't exactly sure when the buses left, and traffic could add quite a lot to the time. Four hours was a decent estimate at this point. Of course, Steven had lied earlier, and there would probably be danger in LA… she should take some stuff for protection.
Well, what she said seemed to be sensible.
"That seems okay. You're right – we have to put a stop to this."
Four hours… enough time to take a quick trip around some of the usual demon haunts, see if he spotted something out of place. And of course, killing some demons would make him feel better – and was a good service in general.
* * * * *
Backpack or travelling bag? Dawn thought.
A backpack would be easier to carry, but could hold much less. On the other hand, she could take more in a travelling bag, but it would be that much harder if she got into a fight. What did she need to take, anyway? She should get some things from the Magic Box before she got other stuff at home.
She'd need… some stakes – three would be a good number. And a vial of holy water… perhaps a medium sized one. And she could keep a cross around her neck. Also… well, she couldn't carry her lucky axe on to the bus, and it wouldn't fit into her backpack… so travelling bag it was.
She let her gaze drift around the wrecked shop thoughtfully. Perhaps a finding spell would come in handy as well… she had a book full of simple spells, things that she'd started to learn. She wasn't very good, and she'd had to put her learning on hold after Willow's problems, but she should be able to handle a finding spell if she was careful. She began to move around the store gathering general, basic supplies as she thought. It would make things easier if she cast her spells in LA, too - the Hellmouth tended to complicate matters, making spells more powerful – sometimes uncontrollably so.
She continued moving around the shop and let her mind consider more practical, everyday items…some money, a change of clothing, of course (who knows how long she'd be there) and clean underwear… if she was in LA for that long, she could always buy more… after all, there were some excellent clothing stores in the city. And perhaps a protective amulet for luck. Dawn remembered Anya crowing about the lovely new protective amulets that she'd recently got a deal for – they were the best, most professional and all around trustworthy magical trinket company in the country, if not the western hemisphere, and Anya had been really pleased to get a good deal on how much she paid for them. They still had a pride of place display, and in the battle that had taken place here earlier it had been upset, the bracelets and pendants scattered all over the floor, some crushed underfoot. Dawn picked out one of those that hadn't been, a bracelet with a little tag around it saying "MAGIC PROTECTIVE BRACELET, $15".
She shrugged – she couldn't exactly pay for it now, she'd need her money – she'd have to pay Anya back later. She ripped off the tag and pushed it onto her wrist. Then she grabbed a carrier from behind the counter and stuffed the spellbook, ingredients and holy water inside before picking up her axe and hurrying home.
* * * * *
Back Alleys, Los Angeles
Steven charged down the darkened, dingy alleyways in hot pursuit of the demon he had been tracking. He knew this type, but not by name – they tended to hang around in the nastier parts of the city, preying on homeless people and others who wouldn't be missed. They could talk, but weren't exactly smart, and were fairly easy targets – their only real weapons were their claws and greater than human strength. The boy's mouth stretched into a mirthless grin. Well, greater than human… but less than Steven's.
He'd taken the opportunity when he was in the hotel to break off the padlock from Angelus' weapons cabinet and choose a nice, finely crafted broadsword (He had no idea that it was also Angel's favourite – if he had, he might have chosen differently.). He'd managed to wound the demon already, having surprised it as it crept up on an unsuspecting homeless man – the creature had shrieked, a noise which had terrified the lucky down-and-out and even managed to chill Steven's blood, and ran for its miserable life.
It left a trail of foul smelling purple blood behind it, and it was slowing down as the wound began to affect its strength. Steven threw himself forward with a burst of speed, sensing the end of the battle; he swung the sword in a narrow arc which put a shallow cut into the fleeing demon's back – it stiffened as it felt the blade's bite, and turned to face him with a growl, swiping at him with its claws. Steven dodged backwards, far faster than any normal human would have been able to; in the same move he whirled his sword around, neatly decapitating the beast. The head bounced off a wall, then rolled into a stack of boxes before disintegrating into a gooey puddle. The body followed suit and Steven walked over to a stack of cardboard boxes and wiped off his sword on a clean piece of the discarded paper.
The fight over, he began to calm – then tensed as he sensed another otherworldly presence nearby. It really was about time that he should be leaving to meet Dawn, but he couldn't just leave a demon behind… he moved silently forward towards the source of the evil vibes. As he approached a gap in the alley wall, the presence became much stronger – he looked carefully around the corner. To his surprise, he saw not one, but two of the 'Homeless Eaters', one of them was rising from its nest in a stack of garbage and cartons, whilst furiously berating the other.
"This is my patch of city! Keep out, or I'll rip you apart!"
"I'm too hungry! There aren't any wild humans in my old hunting grounds anymore."
The first one – the nesting demon – looked disgusted. "Only because you were too greedy or lazy. If you kill too many you'll scare 'em all away, idiot."
"No, I didn't! It was great, but a few weeks ago they all started vanishing. There aren't enough anymore, they're all old and tasteless."
"This is my hunting ground! Leave!"
The first demon began snarling and growling and Steven shook himself out of his semi-stupor. The second one had its back to him, and the first one was distracted. He wouldn't get a better chance.
He leapt forward, bringing the sword upward in a ripping stroke that sliced the demon's arm off at the shoulder – the limb fell to the floor and liquefied as the demon shrieked in pain. The first one was still motionless, shocked and surprised, and Steven lunged forward, plunging the sword deep into the second demon's back before it could even turn. The demon yowled for a few moments, then went still, and as the first finally recovered and leapt at him, the remains of the second slid to the floor, already liquefied.
Steven brought the sword up, dealing the first demon a sharp blow on its head with the flat of the sword even as he staggered back himself. He toppled over, unbalanced, but recovered quickly, yet the first demon refused to press the advantage, instead hovering warily by its nest. Steven crouched low; the sword held neatly to one side and grinned as he felt the exhilaration of battle rush through him. He feinted forward; the demon tensed up – then he leapt backwards and swung the sword low at the same time. It sliced into the demon's ankle – surprised, the demon wobbled for a second. Steven pulled the sword back, and charged forward, pushing the sword before him. The wounded demon was caught off guard by the savagery of the attack, and tried to step backwards, putting too much weight on its damaged leg as it did so. It fell backwards over its bad leg knocking hard into the wall with Steven on top, stabbing fiercely with the sword. The demon, panicking, tried to slash at him with its claws, but it was effectively pinned, and Steven barely felt the minor graze that it managed to give him. The battle ended quickly – one moment Steven was stabbing frantically at the struggling demon, the next he was covered in demon slime and stabbing into boxes.
He scrambled to his feet, barely even breathing heavily, and shook off the excess ick, remembering to wipe his sword clean on the trash before he moved on. As he did so he stiffened, remembering with a heartfelt groan his earlier appointment – he was going to be late! He took off in the direction of Crescent Station as fast as he could run.
* * * * *
Crescent Bus Station, Los AngelesThe Sunnydale bus arrived with a fwhoosh, and Dawn was one of the first people off. She carried a travelling bag by her side containing her stuff, and was ready to take on anything.
It was a shame that she was about twenty minutes early, the bus having left Sunnydale earlier than she'd thought, and there had been a surprising lack of traffic on the way to LA. She didn't really expect to Steven to be here yet and, spying a bench, walked over to sit down and wait. A boy about her age walked up to her – he was a little taller than she was, and looked able to take care of himself. Was this who she was looking for?
"Are you Steven?" she asked.
The boy nodded and Dawn smiled.
"It's good to see you. Will you lead the way, then? Don't worry, I am Dawn."
Steven walked briskly off towards one of the exits and Dawn followed.
"Hey, you're early. Why's that?"
"I had nothing better to do," Steven replied.
His voice didn't sound much like it had on the phone, but she had always had problems recognising people's 'telephone voices'. As they walked out of the doors, however, Dawn stopped, and reached down to her bag, saying casually, "I'm thirsty."
She pulled out a bottle of spring water and uncapped it. As she raised it towards her mouth, however, she fumbled it – and some spilled over 'Steven' – who screamed in agonising pain, and vamped out.
Dawn smiled grimly.
"Looks like you were thirsty too."
The vamp leapt at her, growling in hunger and anger, before she could reach her bag and a stake or her axe. Dawn cried in pain as the vampire twisted her arm behind her back, and the bottle of holy water tumbled to the floor, spilling over the sidewalk. The vampire moved in towards her neck, breathing heavily in anticipation. Dawn dimly registered in her mind it must be still a young vampire to still connect breath and emotion. She tried desperately to wriggle loose, managing to get one hand up towards her neck, hoping to shove her necklace in his face before he could bite her. Then she cried in surprise as the vampire screamed in pain and abruptly released her. She fell to the ground; instinct allowing her to roll over and land sprawled on her back facing her rescuer as he squared up to the vampire.
To her surprise he was a teenaged boy, at most a year older than she was. She stared as she registered that he was dressed very oddly – looking out of place in strangely coloured leather and fur and covered liberally in what was either paint or demon blood. His hair was messy, with one side stuck to the scalp by purple goop. In his hands he held a large broadsword, and as she continued to stare he charged at the vampire yelling an unintelligible battle cry.
Steven hadn't expected to find a vampire trying to eat a young woman just outside the bus station – vampires usually preferred to do their work in quieter places where they weren't likely to be surprised as they fed. It suggested that this vampire was young and inexperienced – he could make this quick. He'd cut the vampire's back, so it was already wounded.
He lashed forward with the sword again, catching the vampire a savage cut along the front of his body. The vampire howled – but in rage, not pain – and sprang forward, hitting him on his sword arm with enough strength to numb and lunging for his throat. Steven cursed his foolishness – the vampire had been so near to feeding that its youth mattered little – it was high on sheer thirst and bloodlust. He managed to push the demon back with his spare arm, but he could do nothing for the sword, which toppled from his frozen fingers and he was forced to jump back to avoid it cutting at his legs.
The enraged vampire didn't care about such things, and carried on pressing his advantage, grabbing Steven's hands with his own and leaning forward towards his neck. Steven tried to kick him, but the vamp kept on pushing forward so that Steven overbalanced, taking them both to the floor. The vampire slowly overpowered him, moving towards his neck… and then exploded into a surprised shower of dust. Steven gasped as the dust rained down on him and stuck to the demon blood from earlier.
As the air above him cleared, Steven saw his rescuer – the young woman he'd saved from the vampire's initial attack. He was also surprised to see that she seemed even younger than he was. There was determination in her pretty face (where had that come from?) and she had neatly decapitated the vampire with a nice-looking axe.
Steven just looked at her taking in the things he hadn't had the time to notice before. Her clothes seemed normal, from what he'd seen so far of this world. The only really eye-catching things about her were the weird bracelet on her right wrist and the cross hanging loose outside her top. Yet there was something about her… the way she carried herself, or perhaps the way she moved – that called to a part of him that he had never knew existed. A part that wanted more than anything to respond.
It wasn't as if Steven had never met girls his own age before – since he'd met Sunny after he first arrived here, he had talked to several, usually those he had saved from demon attacks… but never any like this. For one thing, he couldn't imagine any of the other girls calmly beheading a vampire… and then smiling at him as she was doing now.
Dawn felt a smile spreading over her face but, try as she might, she couldn't stop it. He looked so surprised – as if he found it unsporting for the damsel in distress to save him. His surprise and confusion really made him look even more attractive – his eyes wide with but filled with suspicion also. Dawn reflected that she was probably the only girl in the world who could find a boy covered in dust and demon blood attractive.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, warily.
She dropped the axe to her side, still grinning widely, but determined not to make the same mistake twice.
"My name's Dawn, Dawn Summers. Yours?"
The boy nodded as if satisfied, then extended his hand to meet hers and shook it, solemnly. "Hello, Dawn. I am Steven Holtz."
Good. Dawn thought. Unless the whole thing was a set-up, this boy was safe. "Well, Steven Holtz," she said. "It's nice to meet you at last. Now I think it's time we got to work – don't you agree?"
END OF CHAPTER 1