[Reviews - 13]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1846 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 8:The Ring Goes South

Disclaimer: I own Buffy and LOTR, and while I’m at it, I also own Coca Cola, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Playboy, and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and I’m the second cousin to the President. You probably don’t believe me, and you shouldn’t cause I’m lying. Duh!

The day after the Council, the nine members of the Fellowship prepared for their journey.

Spike awoke as the sun rose, he looked around the terrace and saw a blonde figure sitting and watching the sunrise.

“Buffy?” Spike called, Buffy turned and saw Spike walking towards her. Spike had never seen Buffy like this, she always had a carefree demeanor but now she looked so solemn and unsure. “What’s on your mind, pet?”

“I’m scared, Spike. We’ve been through a lot these past few weeks; I wanted to protect the people I loved so I could deal with it. But now these guys trust me with the weight of the world.” Buffy said as Spike sat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “What if I screw up? What if I can’t do this and the world ends? Everything will be destroyed and it’ll be my fault.”

“You listen to me, Buffy. I’ve never met a stronger Hobbit than you; if I trusted the world with anyone it’d be you.” Buffy smiled, feeling better knowing there was someone who really believed in her. “Besides, not like you’re going alone; you got me, your little sis, Giles, that bugger Andrew, your friends the Elf and Dwarf, that poofter Angel and that guy from Gondor. We’ll get to Mordor, destroy the Ring, kick the Big Bad’s ass and be back in time for dinner.”

“I hope you’re right. Well, I guess we better get ready.” Buffy said as they headed back to their rooms.

“This is a dream.” Angel said as he felt a hand on his face.

“Then it’s a hell of a good dream.” Cordy said, as Angel opened his eyes.

“You always said this day would come, when we go our separate ways.” Angel said sadly.

“This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.” Cordelia said as Angel stood up. “You have to go with Buffy, that’s your destiny.”

“Unless you’ve had one of your visions, I doubt it.”

“You’re already on your path, and it includes this stuff with the Ring, same as it involves us.” She said, turning to face him. “If you can’t trust anything else, trust in us.”

“I do.” Angel said as they pulled into a kiss.

Angel went to visit the grave of his mother, Darla, one last time before leaving. He read the inscription on her grave, a phrase he’d memorized years ago. “If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.”

“Your mother wanted to protect you, and she knew Caritas has always been a sanctuary.” Lorne said, appearing behind Angel. “She knew that because of who you are, you’d never escape your destiny. We have the skill to reforge the sword of your ancestor, but you’re the only one who has the power to wield it, Angelcakes.”

“I don’t want power, I never have.” Angel said, uncertainly.

“Maybe not, but you’re the last of your bloodline. If you can’t nobody can. But that’s not the only thing I want to talk to you about.” Lorne said pointedly.

“Cordelia?” Angel guessed, Lorne nodded.

“Yep, the Elves’ time in this world is about to go for a curtain call. Cordelia’s time here will be over soon.” Lorne said, hating to have this conversation. “I’m asking you to let her go, Angel. I know you love her, but if she stays… well you know what happens.”

“She’ll live out a mortal life, and eventually die.” Angel said, his heart in a vice.

“She told me that she’s staying because she has hope, but I know she’s really staying for you. I love you like a son and I know that Cordelia loves you, but I can’t let my little girl stay here and die. She belongs with us; she belongs on a ship to the Undying Lands.”

“I know. I love her, Lorne, more than anything.”

“I know it’s hard, I may be immortal but I know what it’s like to lose those I love. I know you care about her, I just hope you care enough.”

“Before I leave, I’ll talk to her.” Angel said, heading out to get the rest of hid gear ready. Angel walked through the corridors of Caritas, until suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

“You leaving and you’re not even gonna say goodbye? Boy, you never run out of things to piss me off. You’re lucky I love you or you’d be in trouble.” Cordy said throwing her arms around his neck.

“I’m not coming back, Cordy.” Angel said morosely.

“Oh come on, you’ve been fighting evil your whole life. You’re a champion Angel, you’ll survive.”

“I don’t mean that, I know I can survive in a fight.”

“Well then what do you mean?” Cordelia asked, confused.

“You have a chance at a better life, without war or despair or death. You deserve more, Cordelia.”

“What are you talking about?” Cordelia asked

“You’re immortal, I’m not. I love you but I can’t let you throw you’re chance away to stay here with me. It was just a dream, Cordy.” Angel said, fighting back tears. He held out the Evenstar necklace in his hand. “You should have this back.”

“It was a gift, keep it.” Cordelia said, a tear running down her cheek. “And for future reference, girls don’t like guys who break up for their own good.” She said before storming off.

“I still think we’re making the wrong choice.” Lindsey said to Willow as he got his gear on. “The Ring is…”

“Evil, pure undiluted evil. I could taste it, and believe me evil isn’t full of chocolaty goodness. Getting rid of it is the best thing that could happen.” Willow said, indicating the conversation was over.

“Buffy, Dawn, I have something for you.” Joyce said, leading them back to her room. “Back when I went on my trip with Giles and the Dwarves, I got this.” Joyce opened a trunk and pulled out a strange weapon; a scythe with a, ax blade on one end and a wooden stake on the other. “I named it ‘Sting’. Here.” Buffy took the scythe from her mother, staring at it in amazement.

“Wow, it’s so...wow!” Buffy said, holding “Sting”.

“It was made by the Elves, the blade glows blue when Orcs are near by. If it glows, you both have to be extra careful.”

“We’ll be careful Mom.” Buffy said

“There’s something else, here.” Joyce pulled out two mail shirts, made of silver looking metal. “These shirts are Mithril, light as a feather and as hard as dragon scales. Put these on under your shirts, it’s better than a full suit of armor.” Joyce gave the Mithril shirts to her daughters, who pulled off their clothes to put them on. As Buffy pulled off her shirt, Joyce saw the Ring on the chain around Buffy’s neck.

“Oh, my old Ring!” Joyce said, suddenly twitching. “Do you think maybe I could hold it one last time?” Buffy looked worryingly at her mother, and backed away slightly. Joyce wasn’t happy. She snarled and grabbed at her daughter, for a split second Buffy thought she saw fangs and dark circles under her mother’s eyes. Joyce reverted back to herself, hand clapped over her mouth in horror. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I brought you into this. I’m sorry that you’re involved in this.” Joyce sat down on the bed, facing away from Buffy and Dawn. “I’m sorry for everything.” She said as she burst into tears. Buffy and Dawn rushed to her and enveloped her in a huge hug.

“We’ll get through this Mom.” Dawn said, rubbing her mother’s shoulder.

“We love you Mom.” Buffy said as she and Dawn kissed her goodbye and went to join the rest of the Fellowship. Everyone had assembled in the courtyard; Lorne and the Elves of Caritas had all come out to see the Fellowship of the Ring off.

“The Ring-bearer is about to embark on a long and dangerous journey, those of you who go with her, you are only asked to go as far as you can.” Lorne said ceremoniously. “I wish you all a safe journey; the blessings of the Elves are with you.”

“Lead the way Buff.” Dawn said, smiling at her sister. Buffy turned and looked into the faces of her friends and began walking to the entrance. Angel took a last look at Cordy, who still had tears coursing down her cheeks, turned and followed the rest of the Fellowship.

“Which way is Mordor, Giles, left or right?” Buffy asked as they came to the entrance.

“Left.” The Fellowship began marching from Caritas into the great unknown, the sound of Lorne singing “The Impossible Dream” being heard in the background. They marched for hours, through forests, over hills and across plains. The strangest group of travelers anyone has ever seen; 2 Hobbit girls, 2 Hobbit guys, a wizard, an Elf witch, a Dwarf, the warrior of Gondor, and a would be king on a quest to save the world.

“We must keep on course, we head west of the Misty Mountains for 40 days. With any luck the Gap of Rohan will still be open; once we pass that, we turn eastward to Mordor.” Giles said, addressing the group at their camp.

“Why would the Gap of Rohan be a problem?” Buffy asked.

“Ethan Rayne is stationed near Rohan, but as far as I know he hasn’t attained much control over the area.” Giles said.

“We’re on a dangerous secret mission. A heroic quest of destiny against the ultimate evil. The fate of the world hangs in…”

“SHUT UP ANDREW!” The group shouted to the hyperactive Hobbit.

“How the hell do you put up with him?” Lindsey asked Spike.

“After the urge to kill him subsides you learn to tune him out.” Spike said, groaning.

“Point of order G-man, if you asked my opinion,”

“Which nobody is.” Spike said snidely. Xander continued, glaring at the blonde hobbit.

“…It looks like we’re taking the long way around. We aren’t to far from the Mines of Moria, my cousin, Jesse, would be happy to help us.”

“No, Xander, I think we should avoid that route.” Giles said, avoiding Xander’s gaze.

“Why? OK, going under ground isn’t for everybody, but Moria is like the tazmahal of the Dwarf world. If we just…”

“No Xander!” Giles said, indicating the subject was closed. “We’re not going through Moria unless we have no other choice. In the mean time, I think we should get Dawn and Andrew trained in combat. Since we will be facing the legions of Mordor, they’ll need to be ready to fight.” Giles said standing up.

“I can fight already.” Dawn said, everyone looking at her. “I’ve been learning from Spike.”

“You’ve been teaching my baby sister how to fight?” Buffy asked Spike, scowling at him.

“Hey, the Nibblet wanted to know how to defend herself. ‘Sides with all this going on, it’s a good thing I did.” Spike said, smirking.

“Uh guys, not to break up this discussion or anything, but it looks like it might rain.” Andrew said, looking at the sky.

“What are you talking about?” Willow said, looking up into a sky with no clouds in sight.

“Over there. Andrew pointed to the south, a strange cloud was moving towards them “That cloud has been moving pretty fast so I think we might wanna get ready for rain.”

“That can’t be a cloud, the wind is blowing south and it’s heading north.” Lindsey said, suddenly uneasy. Willow stood up and looked with her Elf eyes, she gasped as she got a better look.

“It’s not a cloud, it’s a flock of crebain! Hide!” Willow ordered, panicking.

“What’re crebain?” Dawn asked, ducking under a rock.

“Evil black birds, they work for Ethan Rayne.” Angel said hiding under a boulder. The Fellowship grabbed their gear and hid as the flock of evil birds descended on their campsite. The Fellowship watched from their hiding places as the flock of birds swooped down, circling the hill and cawing loudly. The sound of flapping wings slowly receded; Giles stuck his head out and saw the crebain flying away.

“Ethan’s spies. That means the Gap of Rohan is being watched.” Giles said as the rest of the group came out. “The mountain pass through Caradhras is our only option.” They hiked up the mountain pass, through the snow that covered the mountain. As they came to a steep hill, Buffy slipped and began to roll down the slope till Angel caught her.

“Oh no!” Buffy said, searching her pockets. “The Ring! Where’s the Ring?!” She and Angel looked back up the hill, and saw Lindsey picking up the Ring and chain from the snow.

“It’s weird, you know.” Lindsey said, seeming in a trance, his eyes fixed on the Ring. “We’re on this big mission, all secret and dangerous. And the cause all this trouble is this little thing.” He said, raising a hand to touch it.

“Lindsey!” Angel called, snapping Lindsey from his trance. “Give the Ring back to Buffy.”

“Sure,” He said, walking lowly down to them. “I don’t care.” He said holding out the Ring, Buffy snatched it back quickly. Lindsey smiled in a friendly way and trudged back up the hill, Angel, seeing him leave, let go of his sword.

Meanwhile, miles away, the flock of crebain returned to Isengard with news for their master.

“So Ripper, you’re going over Caradhras.” The treacherous wizard mused. “But what happens if you can’t get over the mountain? Will you risk going on a more dangerous route?” Ethan climbed to the pinnacle of Orthanc tower and began chanting a curse to bring down a massive storm onto the mountain.

The Fellowship was halfway up the mountain, but conditions were getting worse. A blizzard had kicked up and they were trudging throw snow banks as high as their shoulders. The Hobbits had to be carried by the taller members of the group, except for Spike who insisted on doing it by himself. The only one who was unaffected by the weather was Willow, her Elf nature allowing her to walk on top of the snow. Willow walked to the edge of ledge they were on and listened to the howling wind.

“I hear something!” Willow shouted over the storm. “There’s a voice in the wind!”

“It’s Ethan!” Giles called, as a boulder cracked loose and fell past the group.

“He’s trying to bring down the mountain!” Lindsey called, Dawn and Andrew shivering in his arms. “Giles, we have to go back!”

“No, we can make it!” Giles shouted back. “Willow, help me!” Giles and the Elven witch began a spell to stop the raging storm Ethan was sending at them. Their combined power was strong, but not enough to counter the wrath of Ethan’s storm. Lightning began striking, the wind picked up and the earth began to shake. A bolt of lightning hit the side of the mountain and sent an avalanche down on the Fellowship, burying them in snow.

After a minute, the group began to emerge from the snow, except for one missing Hobbit. They looked around and saw no sign of Spike anywhere.

“Spike? Spike?” Buffy called through the storm. “Spike! Where are you?!” The rest of the Fellowship looked around and still didn’t see the bleached Hobbit.

“I don’t see him.” Angel said, looking around. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Buffy said, digging frantically in the snow. “He’s got to be here somewhere.” The others couldn’t bring themselves to voice the idea that Spike was gone. Buffy dug through the snow looking for her friend. She had almost given up hope when she uncovered a hand under the snow. “Spike!” She doubled her digging and Angel joined in until they uncovered Spike, he was unconscious, covered with snow and his breathing was shallow. Buffy rubbed Spike’s face until his eyes slowly opened.

“Buffy?” Spike asked weakly. “What happened?” Before Spike could get an answer, Buffy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” Buffy said, close to tears.

“We have to get off the mountain!” Lindsey shouted over the wind. “We can head for the Gap of Rohan, the west road will take us to Minas Tirith!”

“No, the Gap of Rohan takes us to close to Isengard!” Angel shouted.

“If we can’t go over or around the mountain, we go under it! The entrance to the Mines of Moria is at the base of this mountain!” Xander shouted his two cents. Giles’ mind filled with uncertainty and doubt about the options.

“Moria, you’re afraid of that place aren’t you, Ripper?” Ethan said, looking through a book of Middle Earth history. “You know that the Dwarves dug to deep into the earth and set something loose. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad dum: the vile evil thing from the ancient world. The one thing on earth, besides Sauron himself, that could strike fear into your heart.” Ethan said smugly, looking at an illustration of a great demonic being made of shadow and flame.

“Buffy,” Giles said with a small tremor in his voice. “As the Ring bearer, you should decide the best course of action.”

“We can’t stay here much longer!” Lindsey called, as Dawn and Andrew shivered, becoming more and more pale. “These Hobbits won’t last much longer here!”

“Buffy?” Giles asked, dreading the answer. Buffy looked around at her freezing companions, including the near frostbitten Spike she still held in her arms. She thought hard for a few minutes and came to the only decision she could.

“We should go through the Mines.” Buffy said after some deep thought.

“All right then.” Giles said, fear and doubt swelling in his heart.





You must login (register) to review.