Disclaimed
A Well in the Dead Land
By Marz
Chapter 2: Predictable Plans
"Hey-OWWW!"
Xander Harris' voice rattled the windows of the small over crowded apartment. A few screams at 11 o'clock in the morning were not unusual in their neighborhood, but Rupert Giles still glared at him. Xander waved his hands helplessly at Buffy Summers and then at the large puddle of hot coffee she'd just poured in his lap.
"Sorry," Buffy said belatedly, handing him a kitchen towel.
"Not sleeping well?" Giles asked from his un-scalding seat.
"Nightmare," she replied.
Her eyes drifted to the door, checking for the nosy kid sister before continuing. "of the premonition kind."
Xander repressed a groan.
"Giles, your trip to England…"
"I'll cancel immediately," he interrupted.
"Don't," she said. "I want you to get two more tickets."
"Explain." The watcher ordered.
He didn't mind buying the extra plane tickets, though last minute purchase would mean extremely exorbitant fees, and their funds were rapidly dwindling… He pulled himself out of the anal accountant mind set as Xander interrupted his thoughts.
"What's going down in the land of crumpets?" he asked.
"Nothing," Buffy said. "That's why you're taking Dawn there." Buffy actually looked frightened as she spoke.
"Wait one second!" Xander said jumping to his feet. He felt the rapidly cooling coffee running down his legs into his socks. "We aren't going to run off in the middle of something. You remember how well that worked last time? What did you see?"
"I saw Sunnydale, the crater anyway. I saw Dawn and a teenage boy. They were dressed up in black robes. They were summoning something in the crater. It was a big thing."
"A big thing?" asked Giles with practiced patience.
"Like a Stonehenge, but rounder." She traced the shape of "the big thing" in the air with her hands, and spilled the last of her coffee onto Xander's recently vacated chair.
"An arch? A free standing arch?" Giles asked, attempting to clarify.
Buffy nodded.
"Then what?" asked Xander.
"The boy stabbed Dawn in the back and she died. The arch opened, darkness poured out, and you know," she finished with a shrug.
"The world came to an end?" Xander supplied.
She nodded again.
"Dawn will not willingly leave you," Giles pointed out.
"She will if she doesn't know. Just tell her you got free tickets, or need help with research, or you have a gorgeous but shy nephew who desperately needs a date to the prom and she's the only one who can help. Just make something up."
"She'll be suspicious if I go instead of you," Xander pointed out.
"I can't go until I've found and trained the five potential slayers Willow said were somewhere in the city. She knows that," Buffy said.
"We'll give it our best shot, but Dawn is bound to know something is up, and what if you need our help?" Xander asked.
"I can handle one evil kid by myself," Buffy said.
There was coldness in her eyes that Xander didn't like.
"I'm going to the crater in Sunnydale. I'll round up a few other slayers on the way. You just worry about getting Dawn to England, where she'll be safe."