disclaimer- no, I don't own any of the Lord of the Rings, or any of the original characters. But should anyone like to send me a check for this, I certainly wont object!

Chapter 1 Thorn's flight

The breath came hard in her throat, coming out in ragged gasps. The street was dark; there wasn't a friendly light anywhere in sight. She ran harder, clutching a ragged black backpack to her chest. Her pursuers were silent, pursuing determinedly afterwards. She shot a glance behind her, and saw the shadows following. She recognized some of them, though it was dark. There was Spike, who had taught her how to use a gun. Behind him was Leo, who she often flirted with when there wasn't any action to be found. Cass was there, she was just a kid, eager to be doing a real job. They had even sent out Dell, who was second only to Rance. She ran, but knew she was going to die. She had been on the other end of some of these chases often enough to know. She was going to die.

She turned back around, a gasping sob tearing out of her. She needed to get clear, needed to get someplace where she could slip away. Before she had turned, she had seen that Dell had already drawn his gun. They were getting impatient, and soon she was going to die.

She whipped around a corner, down between two dark stores holding dark mannequins who ignored the small dark figure in jeans and a thin long-sleeved shirt, running past them, her face twisted with pain, bending the star- shaped scar next to her left eyebrow into an unnatural shape. She heard them following her, heard them relaxing, slowing. She was trapped. She was going to die.

She should have realized. Usually she knew the city by heart, but she had forgotten everything she should have remembered as soon as she heard from Kid that Rance was sending his best to get his money- and to eliminate her. She had inadvertently turned into a dead end. She slammed against the brick wall, not seeing it until she was against it. She whimpered, running her fingers along the brick, muttering under her breath

"please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please-no, no-please"

She heard soft laughter behind her, and whirled around. The group of shadows filled the space between the tow walls. She was trapped.

"Alright Thorn," It was Spike who spoke. Spike who had been her first teacher, her father, her brother when she had had no one. "How about you hand over the bag"

"Fuck that!" she whispered, her voice sounding harsh and not nearly so carefree as she had hoped it would.

"Come on, Thorn. It's over." That was Leo, his voice soft and intense "just hand it over. You don't have any choice."

She heard the sound of a safety being flicked off. The moon lit up the barrel of the gun in Dell's hand as he raised it to the level of her eyes. Another sob forced its way out of her shaking body as she backed up until she was flat against the wall, trying to somehow vanish, go through the wall and away from the grim faces of those who she had once commanded, learned from, loved.

"Please-" she gasped "Please! Leo-" she reached towards him "Leo, don't do this please! Spike! Spike! You can't do this, it's me, it's Thorn!" She sobbed again "you bastards. Please, please don't do this"

"We aren't the ones doing this Thorn," whispered Dell. She remembered how that voice used to fill her body with sparks, make electicity hum up and down her spine. That voice used to be able to completely control her. Now it only made her feel sick. "You did it," he continued "You did it when you betrayed us." He spat the word 'betrayed'

"Betrayed you! Who's the one-" she stopped, trying to get her breath and stop the incredible pain growing inside her belly from exploding out "who's the one who's getting shot in an alley?" another sob ripped out of her body "Please Dell! Remember, remember-"

He cut her off, laughing slightly "Forget it Thorn. It's over. You should have thought about this before you decided to go against us. Once a Star, always a Star. You should know that." And then he pulled the trigger.

Time slowed down. She felt herself falling backwards, back into darkness. She was dying. She felt the bullet bite into her side; she felt her feet leave the ground as she fell. She knew she was dead. She was dead. They'd killed her. Once a Star, always a Star.

She fell through blackness, stars winking behind her eyes. She didn't feel any pain from the wound where she'd been shot. Shot. They had shot her. She must be dying, because they had found her, and they'd shot her. She held the tattered backpack tightly to her chest. Somehow if she focused on not letting the bag go, it would all be alright. Then suddenly she hit water. Water surged around her, rough and fast. Blood streamed from her side, where Dell had shot her. Dell. Her Dell. And she was dead. The water carried her quickly, wildly. She reached out blindly with the arm not clutching her backpack, and wrapped it around a boulder protruding from the water. She lay there for a moment gasping, hugging the rock to her as close as she could. Slowly she looked down at her side. There was a jagged rip in the fabric of her shirt, and though she couldn't see the mark, the blood floated out around her like a cloud. Foggily she looked up into the angel face of a man, who knelt before her on another rock. He leapt over to the one she held, and placed a hand on her forehead. He said something to her in a language she didn't know. Her vision swam, and he wavered in and out of focus.

"He shot me," She managed to whisper. "I'm dead"

And she spiraled away into blackness.