Chapter 10: One Falls

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Puerto Vallarta

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"Hey!" Willow shouted from the dining room table. "I think I found something!" She had been looking through every book she could find on alternate dimensions and different worlds for days but it wasn't until today when she thought she was actually getting somewhere.

"What!" Xander yelled as he jumped up and off the couch he had been sleeping on. It was 5am so it wasn't a shock that the man had been sleeping. "What is it? Did you find a way to bring them home?" He was so happy he just ran over to the red head and started blurting out questions.

"Not exactly," she started to say.

"Don't get my hopes up like that Will."

"I mean I didn't exactly find a way to bring them home, but I may have found out how they got to another world."

"What's all this bloody commotion about?" Spike asked from the basement which he had made his room.

"Willow may have found out how Buffy and Dawn got to another world," Giles said as he entered the room to join the others. He had overheard them from the kitchen where he was making tea for himself. "What exactly have you found Willow?"

"I've looked through so many books and all I ever find is information on alternate dimensions, but then I opened this book," she paused to lift up a book with a number of globes on it. "It mentions there being many different worlds, kind of like how in every galaxy there are different stars and planets, except in this case unlike with alternate dimensions that are a like in many ways but have at least one crucial difference, different worlds are completely different from each other."

"You mean like there could be a world where the poor reign over the rich or something like that?" Xander spoke up. He liked the idea of there being a world where he might be powerful and popular.

"Yes, Xander, there could be a world like that," Willow replied, amused by her friends creative mind. "Now, where was I?"

"Different worlds and how they are different from alternate dimensions," Spike reminded her.

"Right, so after I read about what a different world is really like, it had a part on how one could get to one or even create one. There are a number of different portals and spells one would use."

"So, have you figured out how to prepare one of these spells or portals?" Giles asked, relieved that he might get his girls back faster than expected.

"That's the problem. In order to prepare the right spell we would have to know what world Buffy and Dawn were sent to."

"Well, that doesn't sound so hard," Xander said.

"Yes, well, there are millions of different worlds Xander, it would take us years to find the right one."

"Well then we'd better get started shouldn't we," Faith said as she leaned on the doorframe separating the kitchen and the dining room and took a bite out of a piece of leftover pizza from the night before. Even though she sounded confident that they could do this, Faith knew that it would be impossible to find the right world, but she had finally begun to see Buffy and Dawn as her own sisters and she wasn't about to give up on finding them just because it was going to be hard.

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Middle Earth

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It wasn't even a minute after they left the tomb room that the drums started again. Buffy looked down the corridor they had come from and saw what had to be hundreds of goblins heading their way. "Now would be the time to run." Buffy said to the group as they all looked at her. When no one moved she shouted instead. "Run!"

The fellowship all turned and began to run but it wasn't soon after they started running that they saw more goblins heading in their direction and then they realised that they were surrounded by hundreds or thousands of goblins. "Well, this sucks," Dawn said as she held up her bow ready to fire at anything that moved in her direction. But she didn't even get the chance to shoot one goblin because then a loud roar like sound echoed in the dwarf city.

"That can't be good," Buffy announced as the goblins all started to retreat at the sound. "When that many creatures start to run at one sound, it is never a good sign." And she was right because not only were the goblins running, but even Gandalf looked scared.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir whispered to Gandalf.

It took the wizard a little while to answer but when he did, the word that came out of his mouth did not sound like a good thing to the Summers sisters. "A Balroq."

"Can we fight it?" Buffy asked the wizard.

"No, it has more power then any here can wield. We must run. To the Bridge of Kazadum!"

Dawn knew more than anyone that when the most powerful in a group tells you to run from a creature, you run so that is just what she did. She grabbed Merry and Pippin who had been running beside her and ran forward to follow her sister and the rest of the fellowship.

They ran through a doorway and Buffy was right behind Boromir who almost fell off the stairs that they had reached if it hadn't been for her fast reflexes as she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. "Thank you," he whispered to her as she held him back. They stood up just in time for Buffy to overhear Gandalf telling Aragorn to get everyone to the bridge and that there was no use for swords now, not against this creature. Everyone then followed Aragorn and Gandalf down the stairs until they ran into a problem. There was a gap in the stairs.

Seeing as Legolas was an elf he was able to jump the gap with no problem. Gandalf was the next to jump and with his height advantage it was pretty easy for him. "Dawn you jump next," Buffy told her sister. "I will meet you over there." So Dawn jumped and landed right into the arms of the gorgeous elf.

Boromir grabbed Merry and Pippin and threw them over together to be caught by Gandalf and Legolas. Then he threw Sam before he jumped himself. Aragorn went to help Gimli over but the dwarf refused, saying "No one tosses a dwarf," in his very confident voice. "You next Buffy," Aragorn said as he prepared to then throw her over.

"I'm with the dwarf," she stated. "No one tosses me. Now move." At that, she went up to the edge but right before she was about to jump a chunk or the ceiling broke off from above to land on the stairs behind Buffy, Aragorn and Frodo.

"Buffy!" Dawn shouted from across the gap as her sister stood stranded on tilting stairs that could fall into the great chasm below.

"Lean forward," Aragorn told them as the stairs began to tilt toward the others.

"I have a better idea," Buffy said as she stood in between Frodo and Aragorn, grabbed the back of their clothes and jumped with all her slayer power.

As soon as they landed on the other side Aragorn turned to her with a shocked look on his face. "There really is more to you then meets the eye isn't there?" the man stated to her.

"More than you know," she responded. Then the roar of the Balroq got louder so they all got up and ran for the bridge as fast as their feet would take them.

As soon as they got across the bridge Buffy looked back to make sure everyone made it, but when she turned around she saw that Gandalf was still standing in the middle of the bridge. "Gandalf!" she shouted to the old wizard.

"Get Frodo out of here!" he shouted back to her. "Go!"

The slayer stood and watched the wizard as from the other side of the bridge, the doorway they came through crumbled down to show the fierce looking Balroq in all its flaming glory. As soon as it appeared, the others turned around and then Buffy had to react quickly as Frodo tried to race past her towards his friend. "No, Frodo," she whispered to him. "He has to do this alone, and we have to get you out of here." But it didn't matter how much she tried to convince the hobbit, he just kept trying to get past her. Then something happened that made everyone look toward the bridge. Gandalf held up his staff and shouted at the monster.

"You shall not pass!" he shouted over and over again. The Balroq even tried to strike out at the wizard with a flaming whip but the thing just hit what appeared to be a shield that the wizard had created with his staff.

At this point, Buffy started to get a feeling that this was not going to end well so she tried to move Frodo away so he would not have to witness what would happen next but he was not the only one she had to worry about because as soon as she moved Frodo, Aragorn moved past her. There was a resounded crack as the bridge collapsed under the weight of the Balroq and it fell into the great chasm below. Everyone almost sighed in relief as they saw the creature fall, but then the thing that Buffy feared the most happened. The Balroq's whip came up from the chasm and grabbed onto the wizard's leg and pulled him down. He grabbed onto the ledge of the bridge but it did him no good. Aragorn started to race toward Gandalf, but he stopped as the wizard spoke to him. "Follow you fool." Then he fell and grief ran over the group like a gale force wind. Aragorn and Legolas grabbed hold of Frodo and dragged the hobbit out of the mines, while Buffy stood for a second to look out over the mines. She thought she was used to watching people die but as she saw the brave wizard fall to protect the fellowship, all the grief for everyone she knew came rushing back. The biggest memory that came back to her was that of watching Spike burn up as he died to save the world. She didn't know how she got out of the mines but suddenly she was standing out in the open on rocks looking out at the grieving fellowship.

"Buffy?" Dawn said as she approached her zoned out sister. "Are you ok? Please talk to me." She was starting to get worried about her sister. She hadn't zoned out like this since she was taken by Glory and this time there was no Willow to go into her head to snap her out of it. "There was nothing you could have done. Now SNAP OUT OF IT!" she shouted the last part thinking that if calm talking wasn't working than maybe agitated shouting would. Not only did her sister blink and look up at her, but the rest of the fellowship also looked at her.

"Thank you," Buffy finally spoke. "I needed that."

"You were thinking of Spike weren't you?"

"Yes. Along with everyone else who died in one fight or another."

It was only a few minutes after they exited the mines, and Buffy came out of her zoned out state, that Aragorn realized that they should be moving. "Legolas, get them up, we must get moving," he shouted to his friend who was standing by the hobbits. Then he realized that Frodo was not among those hobbits and he looked around until he saw Frodo wandering away from the group. "Frodo!" he shouted until Frodo turned around with tears in his eyes and grief blanketing his face.

He was about to run up to Frodo when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked to see Dawn beside him. "Let me talk to him," she said as she walked past and toward the hobbit. If anyone knows what it is like to loose someone dear to them it is her so when she reached Frodo she knew exactly what to do. She put her hands on his shoulder and stood behind him. "I know it is hard to watch someone so close to you fall, but you have to pull yourself together and move forward. If you don't then you could fall too and I know that Gandalf you don't want that to happen. He died to protect you and if you give up now, he would have died for nothing." Frodo turned around and looked up into the brunettes eyes. "Also, I know not to underestimate those that are full of power, for all we know he could come back stronger than ever. My sister did."

Frodo could not believe the wisdom coming from a woman so young. And when he heard her say that her sister had come back from the dead, he couldn't believe his ears. He began wondering where these warrior women came from and how they could have been through so much. But she was right, Gandalf died for him and there was no way he was going to give up now, so he walked back to Aragorn and the others who were waiting for him and Dawn.

"To the forest of Lothlorien," Aragorn announced as they commenced running as it would only be a matter of time before the creatures from the mines made it out and went after them again.

They could still hear the beating of the drums behind them but the closer they got to the forest the further away the drums sounded. It was almost as if the creatures were afraid of the forest because once they entered them the sounds of the creatures vanished. Buffy had never felt such power come from a place since the Hell mouth, and it made her both curious, and worried. "What is this place?" she asked to no one in particular. "A place with this much power must be pretty important."

"How can tell how much power is here?" Legolas asked her. He was curious as to how a human can feel Lothlorien's power.

"I can do many things Legolas, in time you will see it all. Now will someone please tell me what this place is?"

"They say an elf witch of terrible power lives here." Gimli spoke up.

"Great." Dawn replied. "At least tell me she is a good witch."

"They say that all who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again."

"Well, that didn't answer my question exactly, but I guess it will do."

"Shh," Legolas whispered to the dwarf and human girl. "There are ears everywhere."

Buffy didn't doubt him. She could hear the slightest sound of movement in the trees and she swore she saw something move out of the corner of her eyes.

"This is one dwarf she will not ensnare so easily, I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a..." Right before he could finish his sentence Buffy came up behind him and held a hand over his mouth.

"Shh," she said. "We're surrounded."

As soon as she closed her mouth again, they all looked up to see elves all around them, pointing bows and arrows at them. "I see there is at least one who knows when to listen and when to keep quiet." The elf directly in front of Buffy and Gimli said. "The dwarf breaths so loud we could have shot him in the dark."

Even though they had arrows pointed at her, Buffy couldn't help but be amazed at their immense beauty. Not to mention the fact that they were all able to sneak up on her and not a lot of people can say that they have done that.

Aragorn then stepped toward the elf who spoke. "Haladir of Lorien," he said in elvish. "We have come here for help. We need your protection."

Gimli then tried to speak but Buffy still had her hand over his mouth and so only a mumble was heard. Buffy on the other hand spoke freely. "I have no idea what he just said but if it is anything along the lines of please don't shoot us we need your help then please listen."

"Come, she is waiting," Haladir replied as he then turned and walked into the woods.

"Well, that was easy." Buffy said as she and the others followed the elves into the woods. As they got further in, the reached huge trees and continued to follow as they walked up stairs that lead up the trees. Everyone looked around them as the walked, looking at the wondrous view and the lights that surrounded them. When they finally reached the top there was what appeared to be, a great house. "Now that is what I call a tree house," Buffy said, a little too loudly because then she felt a slight punch to her back where her sister had hit her as a sign to shut up.

As they waited at the foot of some stairs that led into the house, Buffy suddenly lost all will to speak as two elves of such great beauty and power came towards them. Everyone looked upon them, Aragorn nodded his head in greeting and Frodo looked right into the eyes of the woman. "Nine there are here but ten there were sent from Rivendelle." The man started. "Tell me where is Gandalf? for I much desire to speak with him."

The woman looked into the eyes of Aragorn, which were full of sadness and despair for the loss of his friend. "He has fallen into shadow," she said quietly. "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all." She paused as she then looked into the eyes of Boromir who then lowered his eyes as they filled with tears. What he saw in her eyes was, what Buffy assumed, not a pleasant sight. She then looked at the rest of the fellowship one by one as she continued speaking again. "Yet hope remains, while the company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep well."

Buffy knew from the look on the elf woman's face and where she was looking that there was one person in the group who did not hear the last thing she said out loud and she didn't like the feeling this woman gave her. She decided than that she would not keep her eyes off of Frodo, for she knew that the elf woman was up to something. Before she turned and followed the others to where they would be sleeping, she looked into the woman's eyes and knowing that she could hear her thoughts she said "If anything happens to Frodo or anyone else in this group, I will make sure you pay. If you can hear my thoughts than you may also be able to feel my power and know that I am not just any human and my threats should be taken seriously." Then she turned on her heel and left.

"There is much power in that one," Galadriel said to her husband. "I do not think that the absence of the wizard will hinder their quest in the least as long as she remains."

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