DREAMS OF A WORLD GONE MAD

Buffy's spidey senses were tingling. Literally, for there were mammoth sized spiders scurrying in the treetops above her, tracking her every movement. While she blindly raced through a forest she knew nothing about, she found her mind wandering onto ridiculous subjects. Dawn screamed whenever she encountered the tiniest spider, but under current conditions it suddenly made sense to Buffy why people suffered from arachnophobia. Of course, on her earth they didn't come the size of large dogs, but still…

A behemoth black body dropped mere inches away from her face and without a second thought Buffy jump-kicked the beast. The spider flew through the air with all eight legs flailing and the young Slayer was sure she even heard it yelp. Were spiders supposed to make audible noises? It took the creepiness factor of the situation several notches higher.

She was running again, avoiding fallen logs and strategically placed webs. She didn't have a clue where she was or where she was even running too, but instincts bade her to continue.

She had awoken the day before and upon opening her eyes it took her several minutes to convince herself that she wasn't in an elaborate dream. When realization settled in, she fully expected to find herself surrounded by medieval men or handsome elves. But as she wandered in relative silence, she found herself facing an unusual foe: her own discomfort with being alone. She called out at first, but remembering the orcs that had landed in Sunnydale she decided that perhaps spy-mode would be more appropriate. She muttered to herself, trying to sort out her predicament and imagining what Giles would have said. She could hear his voice in her mind; 'oh interdimensional portals are a fascinating subject…' then he'd probably go on to reminisce over some ultra-boring historical fact about portals. He would follow it by babbling: 'well, it's rather a simple thing to retrieve Buffy, we need only to…' but that was as far as she ever got. She didn't know the simple solution. Giles was undoubtedly researching like a librarian on a caffeine overdose by now. That is, if he even knew that she was missing.

She shook the thought out of her head and started humming eighties tunes to keep her mind off of depressing thoughts. Just as she was reaching the chorus for "Don't You Forget About Me", she encountered one of the ugliest things she'd ever seen.

And they were either extremely territorial or they had a hankering for Slayer meat. She grunted as she hurled her body over a downed tree, yearning for a really big axe or sword or even a steamroller. With unreal agility for something so disgusting, a spider flew out of the bushes and at her body. Buffy fell to her side, biting back her revulsion as she tangled with four pairs of multi-jointed arms (legs, whatever). The prickly hairs of the spider irritated her hands but they were the least of her worries as she stared up into its face where two gleaming fangs snapped together at her. They were definitely after Slayer kabobs.

With her right hand clutching the thing's neck, her left hand searched the ground for a very large rock. She grasped a large tree branch and swung at its head, then she placed her feet under its body and vaulted the spider off of her. She flipped herself upright and spared a moment to wrinkle her nose at the writhing creature a few metres away.

"And hot guys come from this place? I must've took a wrong turn somewhere."

She began running again, ignoring the tingling sensation in her hands.

The two elvish horses snorted softly, as if to draw their riders' attention. Aragorn patted his loaned Mirkwood steed reassuringly, murmuring soft words of content in the horse's ear. The horse nodded its head and continued at a steady pace. Legolas' horse, however, did not receive such comforting treatment.

"Where do you propose we hunt today?" Aragorn asked in an effort to rouse the Prince.

Legolas' mind was anywhere but at the present. Since their return, the Prince had been unusually inattentive. The entire Kingdom had celebrated their safe homecoming the night before, but Legolas had retired early into the festivities. Thranduil made excuses about the Prince being overwhelmed by their traumatic experience, which in part was true. But Aragorn rightly suspected that Legolas' heart remained elsewhere.

Legolas had initially declined Aragorn's invitation to hunt. Lord Elrond had taken the opportunity through his emergency visit to Mirkwood as a means to discuss current affairs in Middle Earth with King Thranduil. Elrond had instigated the hunting idea with Aragorn as a way to draw Thranduil's attention off his son and onto pressing matters. Aragorn should also have thanked the King, for it was Thranduil's stern suggestion that forced Legolas into the silent riding he was now in.

Which was not necessarily a good thing, now that he thought about it.

"Your brothers spoke of wargs travelling through Mirkwood."

His comment brought forth a distracted hum from Legolas.

"They also mentioned a reward for drowning the youngest Prince of Mirkwood and creating the impression that it was an accident."

Followed by yet another hum.

Aragorn reined his horse in and blocked the path of Legolas, forcing the elf to meet his eyes. "Legolas, stop this."

The blonde-haired elf screwed up his face in indignation. "Stop what, Aragorn?"

Aragorn rolled his eyes and huffed. "This incessant moping of yours. It's very unbecoming."

Legolas sneered at him. "And we couldn't have that, now could we?" He backed his horse up and led it around Aragorn's flank. He continued on without a spare glance at the Ranger, when Aragorn raised his voice.

"We did not belong there."

Legolas' white horse stopped, but the elf did not turn around to meet the man's steady gaze. Legolas' reply was so soft that Aragorn barely heard it. "What would you have me do?"

Aragorn rode his horse to draw up alongside Legolas once again. "Return to me and your people. In body and in spirit."

The two sat in silence, with Aragorn smiling sadly at Legolas' downtrodden face. Then Legolas' eyebrows furrowed as he brought his gaze upwards.

"Why is it silent here?"

The calm of the forest suddenly hit Aragorn as well. His sword rang softly as he drew it slowly from its scabbard. "Perhaps your brothers were right."

Legolas drew his bow and arrow from the quiver on his back. "Perhaps they were."

As if to confirm their misgivings, the horses snorted and patted the ground restlessly. With gentle coercing, the two nudged the horses forward, albeit cautiously.

A tap on Aragorn's shoulder made him jump, but he relaxed slightly as he saw it was only rain. Or at least, that's what he initially thought it to be. The glassy surface remained on his shoulder without being absorbed into his cloak. The Ranger frowned deeply as he poked a finger into it and came away with a sticky goop covering it.

Legolas was studying him with interest. "Spiders." He said in his characteristically soft-spoken manner.

Aragorn nodded. "I hate spiders." He whispered.

For the first time since his return, Legolas smiled openly at him. "Try living here."

Aragorn spared a quick smirk in the elf's direction before giving his horse a commanding heel to urge it forward. He didn't get very far when he heard Legolas beckoning him back.

"Wait," he said, holding a hand in the air as he stared at the ground. He dismounted and pushed his horse away until he could see the ground clearly. He crouched low to study an odd looking track in the rich dirt, confusion painting his marble features.

"What is it?" Aragorn asked as he leaned in over the elf's shoulder.

"I don't know." Legolas answered truthfully. A snapping twig to their left drew their attention. They looked at each other for but a moment before dashing off in the direction of the sound. Aragorn was a fast runner, but he could not keep up to the litheness of one of Mirkwood's archers. Legolas flew over the ground with speed comparable to a deer, and Aragorn nearly lost him as the Prince cleared a fallen log and seemed to disappear.

Panting, Aragorn slowed down a few feet away from Legolas, who was standing very still. "Legolas?" Aragorn prompted.

"Sweet Elbereth." Legolas breathed. He dropped to the earth on his knees, and it now became very clear to Aragorn that Legolas was cradling a limp body in his arms. As Aragorn cautiously stepped up behind Legolas, he drew in a shocked gasp.

"Buffy."