"DownUnder"
Author: Alasia Moonstalker
Legalese: I don't own anything LOTR, but I do own the three girls.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Humor
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Three insane girls fall through the History Class floor into Middle Earth. One has an unbreakable guitar, the second a multitude of cigarette lighters and is a disorganized pack rat, and the third is sarcastic and has no respect for authority.

Author's Note: I'm seperating the girls again. One's going to Minas Tirith with Gandalf, another going to pledge herself to Rohan andstay with Theoden alongside Merry, and the third with ride with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.

DownUnder
Chapter Twelve:

Isengard, Haley thought, must have been a beautiful piece of earth at one point. Now it lay in ruins, is caverns flooded and the ground barren and rocky. She rode Edaen, gazing around with sadness in her eyes. Now she knew why Karen had chosen to stay behind. The blonde girl had obviously seen the wasteland Isengard had become, and decided that she didn't want to see it again - ever.

The harsh reality of what was really going on finally hit the girl, who'd become a woman in such a short amount of time. She'd grownin the last few months, more than she could have possibly seen. All three of them had. Haley had become a strong warrior who knew who she was. Karen had spent her eighteenth birthday here in Middle-Earth, and she had become a fierce warrior and bard. She'd learned so much about music from the Ents, the Hobbits, and Legolas. She was no longer a shy girl who hid behind books and her friends anymore. Corrie had become a Healer. In the last few months she'd learned from not only Aragorn, but from Rohan's own healers as well. It looked like the younger woman would spend her birthday here as well. Hair had grown, emotions had grown. The three had become women.

Haley smiled slightly to herself as she looked up at the looming black tower that was Orthanc. Saruman was in that tower, and in that tower he would either stay, or he would flee from it, and Gandalf would hunt the wizard down when the war was over. She had no doubt.

Though, that was the future, and Haley couldn't really afford to think that far ahead, as the outcome of this war was yet to be determined. She sighed and shook herself out of her thoughts as the company halted before the tower and Gandalf moved forward to bang his staff on the closed door of Orthanc.

Theoden had followed Gandalf up the steps of the tower, as had Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Merry and Pippin had sat down on the bottom step, talking softly to each other, both looking uneasy. Haley remained mounted up on Edaen, though she manuvered the gelding so that he faced the center of the steps.

"Saruman!" Gandalf yelled. "Saruman come forth!"

"Who is it?" Asked a voice that Haley vaguely remembered hearing before. "What do you want?"

"Do not waste our time, Grima Wormtongue!" Gandalf hollered at the window above the door. "Go and fetch Saruman!"

They waited for a minute's time before a low voice sounded, and there was Saruman. "Who is it that disturbs my rest?"

Haley stared up at him with wide eyes. This man was Saruman? He was clad all in white , his long hair flowing about him in the slight wind that streched over whatever was left of his former home. This man looked like someone's grandfather - the kind who ended up living in a home because his children didn't wanted him but the nurses loved him.

Saruman went on to announce his intentions were nothing but good, and if they would grant him pardon. Haley snorted but tuned out the conversation as she observed the man. It was quite a familiar saying back home, that 'appearances can be decieving' and apparently, it was true with this man. His eyes were calculating and cold, though his words seemed to flow over the gathering like honey. The analogy had Haley looking around for the wasps that were sure to fly out of nowhere and sting them all to death.

She observed the wizard before she turned her eyes to the hunched shape behind him. She couldn't be sure because of the shadows the inside of the tower was shrouded in, but she thought she saw the pale, sickly looking man with the greasy hair from Medusled watching nervously from behind the man he obviously called master. Grima Wormtongue looked ready to bolt, and Haley couldn't really blame him.

Her eyes flicked to look over at the group of men on the steps, looking up at him as Gandalf raised his staff, and with a thunderous crack, Saruman's own staff broke and fell. That was when she caught a glimmer in the gloomy light. She watched as something round was chucked from the window and landed on the ground. Pippin went off after it.

Gandalf and the others retreated from the steps to talk. There were varying degrees of disgust on their faces as Pippin came over, looking into a cloudy black orb. He looked dazed, and Haley spoke for the first time that morning.

"Gandalf, Wormtongue threw something out the window - Pippin's got it and he looks a bit dazed." Haley said, startling Gandalf, who turned, took one look at the thing in Pippin's hands before snatching it away and tucking it into his robes, away from the eyes of any of the company.

* * *

That night found Haley, Corrie and Karen talking softly to each other as they stood around the fire, wrapped in their cloaks and huddled together a cold wind blew in from the mountains. The failing light of dusk was nearly gone, and the three girls were talking softly, each having a serious expression on their faces.

"I have a bad feeling about whatever's going to happen next." Corrie was whispering. "I can't help feeling that we'll be seperated again."

"Well, from here we head to Minas Tirith, right?" Karen whispered. "How about we agree to meet there, whether or not we get seperated."

Haley had a thoughtful look on her face. "I've been thinking. I mean, we were obviously sent here for a reason, and I don't really think that it has anything to with the Quest, as we aren't really major players. I think maybe we were sent to learn something about ourselves..."

"And we haven't already?" Corrie hissed. "I think war and wounds, capture and seperation is enough to grow on."

"I think we've got a ways to go yet before this little adventure is over, and I honestly think we've all got seperate paths to take." Haley said looking over at Corrie, who looked put out over the whole ordeal. "I mean, look at us. We've all made friends, right? But none of us have even looked twice at the men surrounding us. This isn't some epic romance where we end up stranded here for the rest of our lives, get married to the hero and raise fat babies."

Karen snorted. "Fat babies indeed. Corrie's a stick, and the two of us wouldn't raise fat babies - we're too callus."

"Whatever." Haley retorted. "We don't get to stay here and fall in love and" She shot a glare at Karen. "raise fat babies. We get to learn, nearly die and then I think go home."

"And how the fuck are we supposed to do that?!" Corrie demanded.

"I have a thought on that." Karen cut in as Haley opened her mouth. "I think, that when this is all over, we go back to the Mines of Moria and find those damned plastic chair's we were suppised to sit in every day for the past four months. I have a feeling that's where the journey ends."

"So you're telling me that if we'd stayed where we were we'd have made it home?" Corrie half-yelled, half-whispered.

"No, you idot!" Karen said. Corrie looked mutinous. "If we'd hqave stayed we'd have ended up dead because the the bloody orcs after the guys!"

Haley looked between her two arguing friends and the figure on the left stepped away from her friends, turning around and letting out a startled shriek. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Karen ad Corrie turned and gaped at the Ranger in front of them. Aragorn came wandering up. "Ladies, I'd like you to meet Halbarad, one of my fellow Rangers."

'Halbarad' had a grin on his face and Haley looked furious as she smacked the man upside the head and stormed away, muttering about Rangers and their damned smirks.

* * *

Halfway through the night Haley woke to yelling. She sprang to her feet and gathered up her bedroll around her before she allowed herself to move forward. Gandalf was scolding Pippin something harsh and Haley caught a few words before realizing sharply that Gandalf and Pippin were leaving. She blinked and dashed to Edaen as fast as her injuries would allow. Swiftly she threw her things onto him and pulled her cloak around her shoulders before leading the snorting chestnut over to Shadowfax to wait.

Gandalf appeared with a sullen Pippin following behind and he stopped to gaze at Haley. Behind Gandalf were the other members of the Fellowship, and Theoden, along with Corrie and Karen, who looked surprised. Haley swung herself up into Edaen's saddle.

"This is where we part, chicas." Haley said to the two ther girls. "I'll meet you at the gates of Minas Tirith, like we agreed."

Karen nodded. "Right."

Gandalf said nothing as he mounted Shadowfax and pulled Pippin up behind her. He eyes her out of the corner of his eye as she pulled the stirrups on her saddle a little so that her knees reached for her chin in a funny looking way. She waved a goodbye to the group gathered around, blew a kiss to Halbarad and nodded to Gandalf. The Istari said his parting piece and Shadowfax was off like a shot.

Haley heeled Edaen into a gallop and he leapt out of his standing position as she crouched over his knech on a jockey's crouch, a look of sheer determination painted on her face.