Chapter Seventeen
"Reunions"

Xander sat up when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He glanced at Giles who had been
pacing back and forth on the other side of the room. Giles stopped then looked from Xander to the
entrance. A moment later, another person was shoved into the room by two Orc soldiers.

"Get in there, woman!" snarled one of them.

"Why don't you take these chains off and we'll see how damn tough you are!" Buffy shouted as the
two Orcs retreated from the room. She groaned in frustration as she turned away from the entrance.
Her eyes narrowed when she noticed two other people in the room with her. "Xander?" she asked
after a moment's hesitation. Her hands gathered up the adamant chains as she came closer.
"Xander ... is ... is that you?"

"Buffy?" Xander slowly got to his feet. When the other person stepped into the light, a smile spread
across his face. His heart lifted for the first time in so many months. "Buffy!" He rushed towards
her.

"Oh, God! Xander!" she exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't return his hug
like she wanted to because of the chains. Instead, she just allowed him to hug her. "I can't believe
you're here! You're really here, aren't you? Please don't let this be a hallucination. I've had
enough of those to last me for a long time."

"I'm not, Buffy. We're not. Giles and me." He didn't want to let her go. He was afraid that
Sauron would come to take her away from him again. "We've finally found you." He hugged her
closer and placed a long kiss on the top of her head. "I found you," he added in a whisper.

Giles approached slowly. He was as happy as Xander that Buffy was in one piece and well. Still,
they needed their moment together. A moment that was warming to his soul to behold. Xander, for
all his faults and mistakes, truly loved Buffy. The simple fact that he'd gone through the portal after
her impressed Giles, though he didn't ever tell Xander that to his face. Even having no special
powers, he was always the first to step up to the plate.

Buffy sniffled as she looked up at Xander. "She kept telling me not to give up hope. She said you
would come. I didn't believe her. I didn't. But now." Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed into
Xander's. "You're really here."

"Buffy."

She looked from Xander to Giles who had just joined them. He was older - more battle worn - but it
was him. "Giles," she breathed.

Giles accepted her into a hearty hug. He closed his eyes and tried to refrain from weeping in relief.
She was alive. She was alive. All right. Alive. [I'm sorry, Buffy,] he thought. [I'm sorry I wasn't
there when you needed me.] He couldn't say it aloud. Not just yet. He was happy to have her back.
There would be time for apologies later.

Buffy stepped back when Giles released her. "Where's Willow?" she asked. She looked from Giles
to Xander then a worried expression crossed her features. "Guys? Where's Willow?"

Xander and Giles exchanged a quick glance.

"She vanished a couple of days ago," Xander told her.

"When we woke up, she was gone," Giles picked up, gaining Buffy's attention. "We can only
assume that some of Sauron's soldiers took her to another part of the Tower."

Buffy bit her lower lip as she remembered the words Katil spoke. "One would fall to his weakness".
Willow was the one in this trio who had a "weakness". What if she surrendered to Sauron? What if
he'd forced her to? What would they do then? They couldn't leave her there.

"We can't go back without her," she finally said as she lifted her head. "I won't go back without
her."

"We're not going anywhere without Willow," Xander firmly replied. He glanced at Giles who
didn't seem quite as certain about it. "I promise, Buffy. We're not leaving her here." One of his
hands found one of hers and squeezed it assuringly.

"You said something about leaving," Giles said, putting the issue of Willow aside for the moment.
He came closer. "What do you know?"

"A whole lot," she answered. She looked at Xander then back to Giles. "I've learned quite a bit in
my time here, Giles."

"Such as?" he prompted.

"Such as how Sauron's been jetting about through time." She saw Giles's face blanch a little then
she nodded. "Oh yeah. He has some sort of machine he's slapped together. It's stashed at Mount
Doom - that big ass volcano out there?"

Giles nodded. "Yes, I'm quite familiar with Mount Doom, Buffy."

"So am I. After having climbed into the sucker."

She gave them the Reader's Digest version of what she'd been through since her kidnaping. Much
of it was difficult to retell and some parts, such as her discussion with Katil, she left out entirely.
Soon, she reached the most recent events that placed her at Mount Doom only a few days before.

"This thing was massive, Giles," she was saying as she continued to pace back and forth in front of
him and Xander. They'd made themselves comfortable on the floor while she told her story. "And
that's not the half of it. You want to know how Sauron's powering that thing?" She turned to them
and gave a dramatic pause. "There's a Hellmouth inside of that volcano. And he's using the
supernatural energies to make that device of his work."

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute! What are you saying, Buffy? That we're still in Sunnydale?"
Xander interrupted as he stood up. He put one hand to his forehead as he took in this new
information. "You know this actually makes sense. Ever since we've entered Mordor, I've had this
weird feeling that I was already home."

"I highly doubt that's the case, Xander," Giles put in then he looked up to Buffy. "Are you
absolutely certain that what you saw was a Hellmouth, Buffy?"

"Only seen one in my life, Giles, and it was pretty much the same deal out there," she replied, matter
of factly. Her brow furrowed. "If this isn't Sunnydale of the past ... then where are we? Why
doesn't anyone know about this Hellmouth in the future? The Council, I mean?"

"It's more than likely it doesn't exist," Giles explained. He rose to his feet, the air of a Watcher
descending overcoming his manner once again as he thought. "Sunnydale is the once place in the
world that draws demons and vampires. No other. In my ten years in Middle-earth, I've become
fairly sure that this place will evolve into modern day England - not California."

"Let's say you're right." Xander shrugged a bit. He looked from Buffy back to Giles. "What
happened to the Hellmouth that Sauron's sucking power from for all of these years? These things
don't just go away on their own." A pause. "Do they?"

Giles shook his head then removed his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose. "I haven't the
slightest clue as to what could've happened to it." He replaced his glasses and focused on the two
teenagers. "In theory, only a cataclysmic event could collapse a Hellmouth opening."

"Let's hope one of those don't happen while we're here," Xander murmured.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention. Two Orcs appeared in the doorway,
shoved in another person who promptly collapsed into a heap on the floor then the Orcs vanished.

"It's Willow!" Xander breathed. He hurried over to her, dropping to his knees as the red head
fought to sit up. "Willow. Hey ... Wills, it's Xander," he gently said as he helped her to sit up.
"Are you all right? Talk to me. Let me know you're okay."

"Mmm." Willow groaned as she grabbed onto Xander's clothing. Her head tilted back and she
squinted, trying to focus on him. "Xander? Is ... where are we?"

"We're in Barad-dur, Willow," he softly explained. He put an arm around her then helped her to
her feet. "We've been here for a few days."

"Giles?" she asked. A hand went to her forehead and she pressed the heel of her palm into it. The
pain of whatever Sauron had done to remove Pallando's spell remained.

"He's fine. And guess what?" Xander stopped in front of Buffy. He gestured to the blonde, smiling
warmly. "Buffy's here. She's fine, Willow. We're all together again."

Willow met Buffy's eyes. "Buffy?"

The Slayer nodded. "Yes, it's me." She hugged Willow the best she could with her chained wrists.
"I missed you so much! I thought about every single one of you every day." She stepped back and
noticed the expression on Willow's face. She wasn't happy in the least to see her. It was rather
hurtful - especially after the reunion she'd had with Giles and Xander. "Will ... are you sure you're
okay?"

Shaking her head, Willow pushed herself away from Xander then hobbled forward. "No," she
sharply replied. She raised a hand when Buffy made a move to help her. "Leave me alone. I don't
need any help from you. Any of you." She continued to take labored steps away from the other
three.

Buffy stepped away and watched Willow make her way to the base of Sauron's throne. When she
got there, she leaned on it - more like hugged it - for support.

"Will?" Xander cautiously asked as he came towards her. "What ... what happened?"

Tears spilled down Willow's cheeks. All she could think about was that day when she'd killed
Rauko - it never left her mind. It refused to leave. "I didn't mean to kill him," she whispered. Her
hands gripped the throne and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I never wanted to hurt anybody, Xander.
But I did. I killed that man."

"Oh no," Giles whispered. His eyes were wide in shock. He blinked a few times before he looked to
Xander and Buffy. "The spell. The one Pallando placed on Willow before she was put to sleep the
first time the three of you were here. Sauron's removed it. Willow remembers everything about
Rauko and the days after it." He sighed heavily when Willow began to sob. "She remembers
everything now."

Buffy turned to Xander and saw the look on his face upon hearing that. She held up her chained
hand as he moved towards Willow. "Let me. I ... I know sorta how she feels." She made her way
towards Willow who leaned against the throne, crying. "Will? It's ... me. It's Buffy."

Willow looked over her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a whisper. When Buffy
only stared back in reply, she asked more forcefully, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Buffy winced. She didn't quite know how to answer the question. She sighed, looked to Giles and
Xander who both hid their apprehension. "We didn't know what else to do, Willow," she finally
replied, shifting her attention back to her. "You didn't remember anything when we woke up in
1999, so we decided to wait. When it became obvious you didn't remember, we left it alone. What
did you expect us to do?" She came a little closer to Willow. "You had enough to deal with after
Sauron."

Tears slipped down Willow's cheeks as she faced Buffy. "He ... he offered me a deal." She glanced
at Giles then Xander. "If I joined him, he said he would let you all go." She swallowed hard then
sniffled. "He said he would let you go and make me forget it all again."

Xander took a few steps forward but Giles grabbed his arm and shook his head. The younger man
did as he was instructed for once.

Buffy didn't want to ask her next question but she had to do it. "What did you say, Will?" she
whispered.

Willow stared unblinkingly at Buffy for half a minute. She licked her lips then let out a long,
agonized sigh. "I told him no," she quietly replied. "I told him that I'd rather live with it. That I
didn't like who I'd have to thank." She pressed her lips together then offered a weak smile to her
friend. "It's funny ..."

Buffy, fresh tears brimming in her own eyes, cocked her head to one side in a curious response when
Willow stopped mid-sentence. "What's funny, Willow?"

"It wasn't as hard to say no as I thought it would be," she finished. She smiled a little wider then
stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Buffy in a hug. "I'm so happy you're all right!" she
managed to choke out.

Smiling and crying at the same time, Buffy returned Willow's hug the best she could. "It's about
damn time you guys got here!" she said. "I mean, it's been months! What did you do, take the
scenic route?"

"Isn't this a touching scene of reunion?" came Melek's voice echoing throughout the throne room.

Buffy frowned and Willow's smile vanished as the two girls let go of one another. The Slayer
narrowed her gaze at Melek as he strolled into the throne room, that triumphant smirk upon his face.

"Buffy, is that - " Willow began but fell silent when Buffy only shook her head. She blinked and
stared at Melek as he approached. The resemblance to Angel was nothing short of uncanny.
Judging from the reactions of Giles and Xander, this was the first they'd seen of this man, too.

"I bet that pisses you off, too, huh?" Buffy said as she folded her arms across her stomach. When
Melek stopped in front of her, she didn't even blink. "You never believed they would get this far.
Not you or Sauron. It's pretty amazing what friends will do for one another, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful. Simply beautiful that they would travel so far just to die with you." He smiled
upon her. "And that is what Lord Sauron plans for all of you. Slow and painful ... death."

Giles glanced at Xander and placed his hand on the man's arm again to keep him from making a
move on Melek. He would've enjoyed nothing more than to throttle the pompous prat himself but
they were at a considerable disadvantage.

"Oh, goodie. I was hoping that's what you were here for - to put us out of our misery," Buffy
flatly replied. "I don't know how much more of your hot air I can stand."

Melek snorted softly then walked towards Giles. "And you must be the 'Giles' I've heard so much
about in the last few months." He circled behind Giles, looking him over. "I must say, I expected
someone much more impressive. You've earned quite a name for yourself in Middle-earth, Master
Giles. Lord Sauron has been curious about you - to see what Men have become in the future."

"We haven't changed much over time," Giles evenly replied. He met Melek's gaze, trying not to be
offset by the strong resemblance to Angel. "Some of us are honorable, some of us ... are not."

"And you are still foolish as well, I see," he added. He glanced at Xander then went on. "Even in
the future, you hold to the silly idea that evil will be defeated."

"Hope has returned to Men in the future. Something that is short supply among them these days.
That will change."

Melek lightly laughed. "Or so you think," he told him. He stepped in front of Xander, noticing
right away the hatred in the younger man's eyes. "And do you share the same foolish optimism,
boy? Do you believe as Master Giles does that evil will one day be defeated?"

"No," Xander said, causing Melek's eyebrows to raise in surprise. "I don't believe it will. I know it
will." He looked past Melek and met Buffy's gaze. For a few moments, he gazed at her before
adding, "If we don't give up and keep fighting, that is."

He smirked slightly. "You are indeed more foolish than I originally thought," he replied. He shifted
his attention to Buffy once more. "Lord Sauron will be victorious, Slayer. And your future will
never exist when he's finished with Middle-earth. You'll wish you'd have accepted his offer of
alliance when you had the chance."

With that, Melek left the throne room. Buffy let out a breath then shook her head.

"Who was he?" Willow asked in a slight whisper.

"It doesn't matter," she quietly answered. She looked over to Giles who turned away from her. "It
doesn't matter," she repeated.

[Don't give up hope, Buffy,] Katil's voice weakly echoed in her mind. [You are not forsaken.]

[It doesn't feel that way,] Buffy thought in reply.

-

End Chapter Seventeen