Disclaimer: These characters belong to JK Rowling, Joss Whedon, and JRR Tolkien

A little bit of stuff happens. Honest.

Thanks to those reading this.

Chapter Eleven

"It is time," announced Luna.

"Right," said Faith, rising. "Anything new we should know?"

"Not specifically, just keep your senses open, I can't see everything in Mordor in the mirror," Luna was looking straight at Draco when she said this.

"How do we time this?" Faith asked briskly.

"When we are ready here, Fidget will return to Spike. Trust your instincts, all of you." Luna kissed each member of Team Alpha full on the lips. All of them liked it. "Go now, come, sweet," Luna said to Fidget.

"See you in a bit, niblet," said Spike as Alpha moved off.

"And what of us, Lady?" Lofar asked as he bowed to Galadriel. Galadriel turned to Luna, and gestured.

"Galadriel, Hermione, and I, will be at the mirror. We will be uniquely vulnerable while so engaged, and our safety is in your hands. I caution you that things are about to change here forever, whether we triumph or fail. You too must trust your instincts, your hearts. Things may occur that never have before."

"The future will be as it will be," Galadriel told the Galadrim. "I am content and more to trust that future to you." She kissed them all, and led Luna and Hermione towards the mirror.

"Ada," said Lofar, "to you I charge the last defense of the Lady. Do not leave her side. The rest of us will guard the hollow. Look not to the future, any of you. Your duty lies to the Lady, here, and now." The elves nodded grimly and moved off.

Ada entered the hollow and saw the three other women join hands and approach the now full basin, Hermione spared her a smile, and then Luna bent over the basin, allowing a thick rope of her hair to fall into the water.

The world went white, and a tiny light sped from Luna's shoulder.

"Giles," said Apolline in dismay, "this shirt is simply horrible! Can't you find something more suitable?"

"Trust me, darling, this shirt may save my life."

"If you say so…"

"We are ready, Highness," said a bowing Veela.

"At my signal then, Philippa," Apolline told the witch near her. Philippa nodded, and the five hunter/killer teams formed up on team Bravo.

"Straight for the heart," said Buffy in clipped tones. The Slayers nodded.

"Don't let's cock this up mates, right?" said Harry. The Wizards nodded.

The assembled teams, Giles, and the Veela, waited.

"Okay guys," said Faith, "we go when Fidget gets here. Move fast, and move quiet, we avoid what we can and kill what we can't, got it?"

"Got it," Alpha replied.

"There is only one innocent in the whole fuckin' place. Everything else is a target, right?"

"Right," chorused Alpha.

"You guys rock," said Faith with a huge grin.

"Well, this is different," Lofar muttered to himself. Frost covered all of Lorien.

Ada turned her gaze to the basin, and her breath caught in her chest, the three women there were as statues, the basin a sheet of clear ice. Ada drew her sword and faced the single opening in the solid ring of trees surrounding the hollow. Despite the words of Lofar, she was guarding more than her Queen.

"Showtime," said Spike, as Fidget appeared on his shoulder.

"Straight for the heart," said Faith as she stepped through the portal.

Alpha wasted no time in spectating, Faith took to the road at a fast trot, the pace her team could maintain for hours.

"Look sharp guys," she commanded, "when it comes to surprises, it's better to give than receive."

Spike was concentrating on the surrounding area, and did not notice when Fidget left his shoulder.

"Time," said Giles when the tiny sprite appeared just in front of his nose.

The magical beings in the group Apparated the assemblage to the cavern.

"Darling…" began Giles.

"Drink up, Rupert," interrupted Apolline, "you still think too much." Smiling ruefully, Giles took a vial from his pack and drank it down. He had time to carefully set his pack aside before he doubled over.

"Is your mate well, Majesty?" asked a tall Veela just behind Apolline. Giles was making some rather alarming noises, and his skin seemed to be – crawling.

"Oh yes," assured Apolline, "it just takes a bit more for him to step into his other skin than it does us. Change!" commanded Apolline. Where had stood six magnificent women now stood six bird-like creatures with huge wings, sharp beaks, and curved talons.

"You all know Alpha, Bravo, and my mate," hissed Apolline. "All else is meat, outside the tower." There was a chorus of hisses in reply. Giles stood up straight, his pain at an end,

"My shirt, dearest?" he asked. Apolline handed him the garment. It had taken a bit of effort to find one in the proper size.

Apolline's second-in- command whispered to her as Giles donned the shirt.

"Your mate is magnificent, highness. His horns make me wet with desire," hissed the Veela.

"I understand, sister," replied Apolline, "perhaps after the battle…" The Veela's tongue caressed her beak as she bowed.

"Anything I should know about?" Giles asked his wife.

"Not just yet, darling," hissed Apolline.

"I apologize for my ghastly appearance," Giles muttered apologetically. In answer, Apolline placed her talons delicately on his groin.

"Do not worry about 'eet, Rupairt," she hissed in a rare display of accent.

"I say," Giles squeaked.

"Angel, Spike, take point," Faith ordered. The land was shrouded in shadow, and the Vampires could see even better in the dark than Dagger could.

Alpha sped swiftly down the road to Barad-dur'.

Inside the Black Tower, however, things were not quite so smooth.

High, high above the crenellated crown of the tower, the great red eye slowed to a stop, and slowly turned its gaze inward.

Within their sanctuary, the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart felt themselves swept by its' baleful glare. They fell prostrate on the floor, and trembled.

Deep in the dungeon, the prisoner stirred in her bonds. Something had changed.

"I told you," said Winifred.

Illyria did not quite believe, but all unbidden, a flame awoke in her heart.

"Sentries," announced Angel as he pulled Alpha to a halt.

"How many?" Faith asked.

"Looks like just two, either side of the turn up ahead," Spike answered.

"Have fun boys," said a grinning Faith.

"Wot the 'ell are we stuck out 'ere for, with that 'orror just round the next bend?" groused Dungwad.

"Never you mind, maggot," replied Crustus, "just keep your eyes open and your yap shut."

"Garn," snarled Dungwad, "you was always a suckup. I've arf a mind –"

"About what I'd guessed; Angel?" said Spike as he stepped up behind Dungwad.

"Good for me," Angel agreed.

Faith saw two figures looming in the distance; one of them was making a sort of muffled, strangling, noise.

"All clear?" she asked as the two Vampires approached.

"Yeah," said Angel, stifling a giggle. "Luna told you not to eat 'em," he reminded Spike.

"It was instinct, okay?" Spike gagged. "Really guys," he said sincerely, "don't eat these Orc things, they taste like rotten fish."

"No worries, Spike," promised Draco.

Lupa was trotting down his usual path around Lorien. His hackles raised as the scent of the Golden land assailed his sensitive nose. Lupa was the last descendant of the great Wargs of the Misty Mountains. His mate had died, barren, in an accident years ago. Lupa existed merely to kill.

The sudden chill in the air alerted him, his ruff rose, and he scented the air.

He grinned.

It was a fairly terrible grin, as far as grins go.

"What means this?" said a sentry of Gondor to himself, as for the first time ever, the voice of Rauros was stilled. The mighty Anduin was a sheet of ice all the way to the sea.

So was the Silverlode, and with the magic that had long banned him broken, Lupa padded softly across the ice, and in so doing, the first creature of pure evil ever to enter Lothlorien passed beneath the golden boughs, hungrily scenting the air.

Ada was alarmed, her Lady was as a statue, and did not respond to her calls. But she had her duty, and she faced the gap in the trees resolutely.

In the throne room of Mordor, the erstwhile masters of the Black Tower writhed in agony.

What Luna forced them to see through their own eyes was not a vision of defeat, not a horrible end, but themselves; as they truly were.

Gods, indeed, but when they were forced to view their deeds, what they had really accomplished since they had slipped by unnoticed and avoided the fate of Gods such as Illyria, they realized that what they were was not so much Gods, as politicians.

Luna forced them to acknowledge the trivial nature of their triumphs, what merit was there in pandering to the greed of lesser beings? What power did they demonstrate beyond that of the carnival huckster?

They saw themselves as eagles, when they were merely carrion birds.

Relentlessly, Luna bore down on them, supported by the power of Hermione and Galadriel, and by every river in Middle –Earth. It was an unequal battle, but the end was by no means certain.