Author's Note:
So I'm sorry but this chapter is mostly explanation, so it's not very exciting. I hope that you all will forgive me, and I will have a little more action in the next chapter. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read and especially to everyone who reviewed.
Chapter #3:
"What's wrong with your friend there?" One of the two people who had come with Nicole asked. Ever since Nicole had helped me off the ground I had been muttering to myself and rocking slightly as I tried to fight off the mental breakdown that was threatening. The person who had asked was a woman and the other was a guy, about my age, probably a little older though.
"Never mind that," Nicole waved the question away, "she's just had a little shock. Where are the Sues?"
"They got away," the boy snarled angrily kicking a rock on the ground. Nicole's face darkened as she turned to him sharply.
"You let them get away Mitch?"
"This is all your fault anyway Nicole," the woman snapped, "you told us not to bother being ready because you were going to take care of it on your own."
"Joanne," Mitch interjected, "it wasn't Nicole's fault that she's a klutz. That's just the way that she is." He and Joanne laughed and Nicole fixed them with a glare which they both ignored. Mitch looked over at me. "By the way, are you sure that your friend's all right? She seems to be hyperventilating." I was, it was all too much.
"Sit down and put your head between your knees honey," Joanne advised, "it'll make you feel better."
"Faramir and Eomer are in there," I told them. Mitch and Joanne turned and headed that way. "Are you Mary-Sues?"
"If I were a Sue I would have changed my eyes to green years ago," Joanne said over her shoulder.
"Don't worry," Nicole told me, "we're the good guys."
"What exactly does that mean?" I asked.
"I work for a group named the Protectors of Dimensional Balance, specifically a faction called Section 3.5, which strives to bring down Mary Sues," she told me, "I transferred to your school when those three turned up on our radar. I never meant for you to come here, I meant to get close enough to go with them. But well…" she shrugged, "you know."
"I could have died!" I exclaimed looking at her.
"Why do you think I called in those two clowns as back-up?" she asked. "Do you think I wanted the whole Section to know that I had screwed up and accidentally caused an innocent person to be at the mercy at the Sues?"
I had no answer to this, so I put my head back between my knees and concentrated on breathing regularly. Yay me! I was breathing regularly again. With an accomplishment like that under my belt maybe next I could try making sense of this whole situation.
Who was I kidding?
A few minutes later Joanne and Mitch came back out with Eomer and Faramir, now untied and both looking as confused as I felt.
"And you have dedicated your lives to hunting those things?" Faramir asked.
"That's right," Joanne replied cheerfully, "I do it for the free travel."
"I'm doing it to get back at my parents," Mitch told him looking evasive. We all looked at Nicole who shrugged.
"I just enjoy killing Sues."
"I should have stayed in Gondor," Faramir muttered to Eomer, "next time Eowyn wants to see you, you are just going to have to come to Minas Tirith and visit us."
"We'll probably have to head there next," Nicole interrupted them, "these Sues are after all of the attractive male characters so they'll be going after Aragorn next I think. Then probably on to Legolas."
"Legolas and Gimli are both in Minas Tirith visiting," Eomer informed them.
"Please," Faramir asked the three Sue hunters, "can we get there before those creatures? We'd have to go back to Edoras for horses and it might take too long." Nicole, Joanne, and Mitch looked at each other, unsure what to say.
"They umm, they have pink flying horses," I muttered unhappily. Everyone turned to stare at me and I shrugged. "They have a stable for them."
"Is that even possible?" Eomer asked looking scared.
"One of a Sues strongest abilities is their ability to create imaginary creatures that they perceive as 'cute' that they can keep as cuddly pets," Mitch told them.
"Why are the animals they have always pink?" Nicole groaned.
"Could be worse," Joanne muttered, "remember the magic color-changing flying panda bear?" The three Sue Hunters shuddered and Eomer, Faramir, and I exchanged yet another terrified look. It was painful to be introduced to the ways of the Sues.
"I guess we have no choice," Nicole sighed looking revolted, "but I am not going to be happy about it."
"You mean we're going to fly on the pink monstrosities?" Mitch asked looking at Nicole incredulously.
"Yes that is what I mean," Nicole snapped.
"We can not go off to Minas Tirith without telling Eowyn what is happening," Faramir reminded Eomer who nodded.
"At least one of you will have to come and help us convince Aragorn of the danger of the Mary-Sues," Mitch told them. The two men looked at each other, speaking too low for us to hear them properly. Finally Faramir sighed looking tired but certain.
"I'll talk to Aragorn," he said running a hand through his hair, "just tell Eowyn that I'm sorry that I left."
"I will," Eomer nodded.
"Okay," Joanne interrupted, "then the rest of us should head off now. No point in prolonging this…" Joanne's face contorted in disgust as she searched for a word to describe the task we were faced with. "Experience," she concluded finally.
"Thank you all for your assistance in rescuing me from those horrible females," Eomer said with a solemn head nod to us. Nicole, Joanne, and Mitch bowed to him and I followed suit clumsily. Then he left.
"The rest of us will go to the stables now," Joanne called, "we're ready to go." Faramir, Nicole, Mitch, and I went over to Joanne.
I led the way and reluctantly. There were three flying pink horses and five of us. Nicole and I rode together and Mitch and Faramir rode on another while Joanne was lucky enough to ride by herself.
We didn't talk much and everyone tried to avoid looking at the horses we were riding. I didn't know how long it was supposed to take to get to Minas Tirith but on our magical flying horses it ended up taking only just over twelve hours.
