I posted this on my website, but I didn't really get any feedback on it. I figured that I should post it up here. I'd love to know what you think and where you would like to see the story go.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1Deep below the Earth's crust in a dark maze of caverns lit only by the small pools of magma, something stirred. Something big. Something old. Something powerful that will rise up and consume the Earth and all of its inhabitants, leaving in its wake: Hell on Earth. Dyrinia had been waiting for this moment to come and now she opened her eyes and looked around at the caves she had been trapped in since the last pure demon was brutally pushed out of this world. After all, she WAS that demon.
Giles laid down the large book he had been reading on top of the stack laid in front of him and looked at Willow, who was sitting across the table from him. "Any more word from Xander about that earthquake on Tuesday?"
"No." Willow said, glancing up at him. "Kennedy's down there with him trying to research it for three days now, but there's really not much to research."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that it was probably just an earthquake, Giles, and that we should worry about how we're going to continue funding the Slayer Compound."
"Then how do you explain this?" Giles laid the book down in front of Willow. He pointed to the geological map. "There's no fault line of any sort within 400 miles of that location."
"So? Earthquakes can travel far distances."
"Only if there was one so massive it could level an entire continent. Even then, it wouldn't have traveled 400 miles. There was no earthquake reported of that magnitude anywhere close to the area."
"Ok."
"The earthquake was an estimated 7.6 on the Richter scale. This is extremely rare even for an area on a major fault line…."
"But this wasn't on a major fault line."
"Nor was it near a volcano. And it gets stranger. The earthquake didn't travel at all. It was just in that area."
"Ok, now you lost me."
"Generally, when the earth moves, one could feel it a certain distance away. This earthquake didn't travel at all. It stayed in one small area." Giles picked up another book and laid it on top of the other.
"What's this?"
"This is a map of the same area millions of years ago." Willow looked at Giles, still not registering. "This is where Dyrinia was pushed out of our dimension."
"Who's Dyrinia?"
"A very powerful demon that was not easily captured let alone killed."
By the look on Giles' face, Willow could guess what he meant to say next. "She was a pure demon, wasn't she?"
"Yes. And she was the last pure demon pushed out of this world."
"She's trying to come back to our world…."
"And if she does, all other pure demons will be free to come back to this world and Hell on Earth will reign once again."
"I think we need to call Angel."
"I was thinking someone a little more powerful." Giles said seriously.
"Like this." Legolas pulled back Buffy's arm and held it there.
"That feels weird." Buffy said. "I'm not used to shooting like this."
"You wanted to learn to shoot better."
"I know, but…."
"What?"
"It was more to just spend time with you." She smiled up at him and Legolas couldn't help but smile back.
It had been a little over a year since she had returned to him and it had been the happiest year of his Elven life. She and Arwen had become quite close with each other and often spent hours together just talking. Aragorn found her company 'enchanting.' Everyone that met Buffy perceived that she was a mixture of mystery, charm, and courage. This was odd for a woman of this world, but they accepted it because the king kept her in his company not only as family, but also as a leader.
It had taken a while, but Buffy had slowly become accustomed to things in Middle Earth. Like, the lack of bathroom facilities. Well, she couldn't count that one…. One little talk with Aragorn and that had been solved…. Even though there was no plumbing. Then there were the dresses. She wasn't used to wearing such beautiful dresses all the time. She was actually more accustomed to her leather pants, but those had unfortunately been shredded in the battle outside the gates of Mordor and she hadn't really found another pair that she liked since. And then there was the royalty thing. Not only was she considered royalty because she was Aragorn's "adopted sister," but she was also the unofficial Princess of Mirkwood. Not that she minded, of course, but it took a little persuasion on her part to the servants that they didn't have to wait on her hand and foot all the time. She was capable of doing things on her own.
As for the unofficial Princess thing, well, she and Legolas hadn't gotten married. They were, however, engaged. Aragorn had made a huge deal out of it and thrown a grand gala the night after they had announced their engagement. It was a little odd to the people of Middle Earth that the Prince of Mirkwood and the woman he had chosen were taking a long engagement instead of marrying right off, but they explained it away saying that they wanted to make the wedding a huge deal.
Buffy sighed, and hugged her Prince tightly. Things couldn't possibly ruin the happiness they had established. Or so she thought. "Prince Legolas, Princess Buffy…." A rider came galloping up to them. "King Aragorn has sent me to retrieve you at once."
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"He didn't say. Only that it is of the utmost importance and you must come with me now."
Ever the gentleman, Legolas helped Buffy onto her horse before climbing on his. They rode back into Gondor and followed the messenger to the great hall and throne room at the top. The messenger opened the door for them and Buffy and Legolas strode into the great hall. Aragorn met them in the middle.
"What's going on?" Legolas asked.
Aragorn looked at Buffy. She stared back. "What?"
"You are going to be most unpleased with the news I bring." Aragorn said.
"Still in the dark."
"Come." Aragorn led them off to a smaller room where two new people stood.
"Willow?" Buffy asked. The red head turned and so did…. "Giles! What are you doing here?" She started to run to hug them, but the looks on their faces made her stop. "What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Can't we come see you without there being something wrong? Why does there have to be something wrong? We just wanted to…. To make sure that you were…." Willow said.
"Willow, you're babbling. Something's wrong."
"Well, we kinda came here to see how you're doing?"
"I'm fine. Now get to it. You don't just portal hop for nothing."
Buffy sat with Legolas across from Willow and Giles. Aragorn stood on Legolas' other side and they all watched Buffy. She stared at Willow and Giles. "Ok, so, let me get this straight. Xander calls you a few days ago to tell you about an earthquake that could have leveled a town, but there aren't usually earthquakes where he's at…. Where was he again?"
"The Monadhliath Mountains near Loch Ness." Giles said.
"Ok, so he's hanging with the Loch Ness monster and then he calls to tell you about the earthquake. You guys do some research and discover that not only is the earthquake highly unlikely in that area, especially one of the size Xander and scientists say it was, it's also the place where this demon…."
"Dyrinia." Willow said.
"Was the last demon shoved out of your dimension. And you think that she's trying to claw her way back in."
"Precisely." Giles said.
"Now, tell me again, why did you come here?"
"We need you to stop her from coming back." Willow said.
"What about Angel?"
"We need all the help we can get."
"You don't understand the urgency of this matter, Buffy. Dyrinia is the most powerful of pure demons." Giles said. "We need the most powerful warrior to fight her."
"Once a Slayer always a Slayer." Buffy muttered, standing up.
"Well, yes, that's generally how it works."
Buffy closed her eyes. "You don't even know if she's really coming."
"All the signs point…."
"But your signs have been wrong before."
"I don't understand why you're being so irrational about this."
"Giles, I'm dead to that world. Buffy no longer exists there."
"She does." Willow said. "You exist because we love you and we need you there."
Buffy sighed. "I need to think about this."
"Why?"
"Because! You can't just come here and ask me to go back to a world I no longer belong to. You can't just come summon me whenever a big bad demon comes around that you think you can't handle."
"What do you think she'll do once she's done with our dimension?" Giles asked. "If my sources are accurate, which they are, she won't just stop there. She'll go on to conquer every other dimension she can get to. Including this one."
Buffy stared at Giles for a moment and then walked out. She stormed across the great hall and out the doors. She stopped at the edge and looked out over Gondor and Minas Tirith. She felt her dress wrap around her legs from the wind and her hair blew away from her face as she stared out over the still ravaged land. It had been a year, but the plains of Minas Tirith were still missing patches of grass from where blood had soaked the earth and the bodies of human, Orc, horse, and elephant alike had been burned. This was her home. This was where she belonged. Every fiber in her being told her that if she left, she might not ever see this place again. She might not ever get to go to the Shire and see Merry, and Pippin, and Sam, and Frodo.
Buffy smiled and closed her eyes. She felt a presence behind her and then his hands moving her hair aside to lay his chin on her shoulder and then wrap his arms around her waist. "They only ask of you to save them." Leoglas said quietly. "Will you deny them a chance to live?"
Buffy sighed. "You say they only ask me to save them, but it's much more than that, Legolas. They're asking me to go back to a world that I'm dead to and they want me to fight an enemy that will probably kill me and they want me to fight for something I know longer believe in."
"And what is that?"
"The Powers That Be."
"The ones that made you the Slayer."
"Destiny made me the Slayer."
"Are they not destiny?"
"No. They're the weasels that sat back and watched everything happen. They took credit for the things that I did for them."
"Then you don't fight for them." Buffy looked at him oddly. "You fight for those you love. You defend their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Would they not do the same for you?"
Buffy smiled. "Smooth talker."
Legolas smiled back. "So, you are going to help?"
She sighed. "Yeah. I guess so. What other choice do I have?"
"The one in which your friends all die and their world falls and then Middle Earth waits for the destruction which will inevitably come."
"Not so smooth talk."
"Sorry."
"So you're coming back with us?" Willow asked.
"Yes." Buffy said.
"And she will not be going alone." They all turned to find Aragorn and Legolas standing in the doorway. "After all, what kind of brother would I be if I did not defend my sister."
"And how would that make you look as a king?" Legolas joked.
"I can't ask you guys to come with me." Buffy said.
"You did not ask." Aragorn said. "And we do not take orders from a woman."
"Funny."
"When do we leave?" Legolas asked.
"As soon as possible." Giles said. "We'll arrive at the compound in London and from there, we'll travel up to Scotland by train."
"You already booked the tickets?" Buffy asked.
"No. But it shouldn't be hard to get five tickets to Scotland from London."
Buffy sat in the bedroom at Willow's apartment in London. She hadn't been there in ages. Now she was back in her old clothes and waiting to see Aragorn and Legolas. "Would you two come out?"
"These clothes…." Aragorn called from the bathroom.
"They're not suited for battle." Legolas said.
"I'll be the judge of that. Would you just come out of there?" Buffy called back. After a moment's hesitation, the door opened and the two of them emerged. Buffy had decided that Aragorn should wear something like Angel would wear: A gray sweater-shirt, dark jeans, boots, and a brown leather jacket that went down to just below the butt. He looked pretty hot in them. But Legolas…. Buffy had put him in a loose, black, long-sleeved T-shirt, dark jeans, boots, and a black leather jacket that went down to his knees. He looked pretty hot, but his hair…. She would never ask him to cut it, but it just didn't fit right.
"What is the matter?" Legolas asked.
"Nothing…. It's just…. You look…. Kinda…. I don't know." Buffy tilted her head to the side. "Never mind. It's not like we're making a fashion statement or anything."
"I do not feel right in these."
"No, you shouldn't. But it'll have to do. I've gotten so used to dresses I don't feel right in these either." She looked down at her low rider jeans and big white, turtle neck sweater, and black boots with heels on them and tugged up on the jeans. "We won't be in them long. I hope."
Willow knocked on the door and walked in. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Wow. They look pretty spiffy."
"I did my best with what I had. Did Giles get the tickets?"
"Uh…. No."
"No?"
"There were only three seats available."
"What did he get?"
"A minivan."
"A what?"
"A minivan. But it's pretty big on the inside. Enough to fit six people."
"Six? There's only five of us."
"Not anymore."
"Who else?" Willow looked out the window. "Willow, who else?"