Psycho!
The evening sunlight bathed the valley of Rivendell in a golden glow. The wind rustled gently in the trees, the birds singing cheerfully. The waterfalls slowly tumbled down with wreaths of majestic white spray and two figures in muddy grey/green uniforms hurtled down the winding gravel track towards the home of Elrond.
Dave skidded as he turned the corner sending a shower of pebbles plummeting over the cliff to the valley far below.
Eventually they both made it safely to the bottom of the hill. Liz glanced around hurriedly, everything looked normal.
"Did we get here first?" she panted heavily. Dave didn't have the breath to answer. He managed to drag himself over to the nearest building and look down into the marbled courtyard. There were a number of elves gathered together talking. He scanned their faces quickly. He picked out Elrond easily, then with a sigh of relief he spotted Arwen. So the Mary-Sue hadn't arrived yet.
"She's safe" he said at last.
Liz collapsed to the ground and leant heavily against the marble wall. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
"Never..." she panted. "Never make me run like that again!"
Dave landed next to her and waited for his breathing to return to normal.
"So what's our plan?" he asked at last. Liz thought for a moment.
"Let's find out where the Mary-Sue is, we can work from there." She took the comlink from her belt and turned it on. The familiar hiss of static gradually faded away, leaving an ominous silence. She shook the comlink viciously and tried again. Still no sound, the comlink had totally died. She tried contacting Sarita anyway, with no success. Eventually she flung the comlink to the ground where it lay amongst the plants.
"Great." she said sarcastically. "We have no communication."
She rose to her feet, slunk her hands deep in her pockets and paced across the yard. Suddenly she turned with a yell of frustration and kicked the comlink viciously against the wall.
"How could I have been so stupid!" she cried, her hands tearing at her hair. "I forgot to recharge the batteries. What are we going to do?" Dave looked down at the useless black object and sighed.
"It's not your fault. I forgot about the batteries as well. If it's anyone's fault it's mine. I should have brought my comlink. It's supposed to be with me at all times remember, I couldn't even be bothered to fetch it from my room. We'll sort something out." Liz turned to face him, her eyes wide and almost panicky.
"What can we sort out?" she cried desperately. "We can't find out where anyone is or what anyone is doing. We can't even request transport home. This has got to be the best fix we've got into yet." She sank to her knees and buried her head in her hands. Dave moved over and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Cheer up" he said at last. "We've got through other fixes before, we'll make our way out of this one. We'll just have to work a bit differently, adapt our methods."
He glanced over the marble wall to check Arwen was still there.
"The most important thing, is to keep Arwen safe. We need to keep an eye on her at all times. Other than that, we'll just have to rely on our normal senses, I'm sure we could both spot a Mary-Sue miles off, even without modern technology."
Liz sniffed and raised her head.
"It would probably be best to split up then" she contributed. She reached out and grasped the useless comlink, attaching it back on her belt.
"If I can blend in with the elves, I'll keep a close guard on Arwen. A bodyguard if you like. You wander around and find the Mary-Sue, she'll turn up eventually." Dave thought about the plan for a moment, then agreed.
"Do you think you'll be able to blend in?" he asked a little concerned, looking at her appearance.
"I'll be fine" Liz grinned, the sparkle returning to her brandy brown eyes. "I've got a qualification in drama, my acting is not too bad. Besides, they clean and clothe Mary-Sues all the time, what's one more?"
She rose to her feet and looked down into the courtyard.
"We'd better meet up at regular intervals" she suggested.
"Fine, starting down by that fountain, one hour from now" Dave agreed. Liz nodded and made her way towards the staircase leading down to the courtyard.
Dave watched Liz from above. She was soon talking with some elves including Arwen, her arms flying wide as she told her story. He watched the sympathy on their faces grow and they led her away inside. She quickly glanced up at him before entering the building, and winked. Now he was on his own.
The first thing he did was search the entire perimeter for possible entrances. The problem with Rivendell was the open planning that meant there were hundreds of ways a Mary-Sue could enter. He sighed and started searching the entire building from top to bottom. This was going to be a long evening.
An hour later he was waiting by the fountain impatiently, the friendly little lamps glowing in the gathering dusk. He had received a few odd looks from some of the elves, but the memory eraser had solved that. He glanced at his watch yet again, willing Liz to hurry up.
A movement by the wall in the corner caught his attention. He watched a young woman edge out cautiously, her eyes darting in all directions. She was human judging by the ears and pretty enough to be the Mary-Sue, perhaps a little shorter than average, but you couldn't be too stereotypical. More than anything, Dave wished the comlink was still working. It would be so easy to check with Sarita whether this girl was the impostor. The cases in elvish cities were always the worst. There were too many beautiful woman about too be sure.
Dave felt in his belt for his weapon. It was a standard issue stunner with a range of 2 meters, small enough to fit in the hand, yet powerful enough to render the victim unconscious for about 15 minutes. If this Mary-Sue was a psychopath, there was no way he was taking any chances. The girl spotted him and hurried towards the fountain. Dave pulled out the stunner and aimed ready to fire. The girl froze immediately
"Don't shoot!" came a familiar voice. "Dave, you idiot. It's me!"
Dave's mouth nearly hit the floor.
"Liz?" he cried in disbelief. She smiled and hurried over towards him.
"Sorry I'm a bit late" she apologised. "The hairdresser wouldn't let me go." Dave looked her up and down in amazement. The hair was the same colour, but twisted up in an elaborate hairstyle. The blue dress clung to her slim body, then flowed like shimmering water. Only her eyes were the same. The mischief twinkling at his expression.
"You look... different" he managed to say at last. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before." Liz laughed
"I told you I'd blend in" she smiled. "Here, put this cloak over your uniform, you'll blend in better. The Mary-Sue will probably arrive at any time now, the dancing is about to begin." She turned to look behind her as wafts of music floated up into the courtyard.
"Look, I'd better go and stick close to Arwen. You know what I look like now, come find me if you need me." She hurried off back into the building.
The next couple of hours passed slowly. Dave continuously patrolled the building every 20 minutes, the rest of the time pacing up and down the gallery keeping an eye on the dancers below. He watched Liz sticking close to Arwen, sometimes laughing and talking to her. Sometimes dancing, a few steps away from her side.
He leant on the gallery railing and scanned the entire room, from the great staircase to the shadowy corners. There were so many people milling around, this job was almost impossible. He caught Liz's eye. She smiled and turned away again. Dave watched her for a few moments. She looked so different dressed up, it was so weird.
Suddenly, he noticed a young woman sneaking out of a doorway onto the gallery. She looked suspicious, glancing around as if looking for someone, but Dave had already made one mistake that evening, he couldn't afford another one.
He moved away from the railing and walked past the woman, accidentally-on-purpose jolting her.
"Oh I'm sorry" he apologised, reaching out to steady her. The girl smiled sweetly at him, Dave watched as her eyes changed colour from green to blue. The proof! No normal person's eyes change colour.
Dave threw his arm around her and slammed her against the wall.
"Game's up" he said. "Come quietly and you won't get hurt. No killing Arwen today." The girl's face contorted into a grimace, a red tinge crept into the edges of her eyes, peering through her waist length blonde hair.
"Don't say that name in front of me. I'll kill her! She stole my Aragorn." Dave wrestled with the Mary-Sue trying to fix her hands in the handcuffs.
"What's your name?" Dave ordered, trying to keep a grip on the flailing wrists.
"Tamora-Goneril, Call me Goneril." she answered, still fighting against the cuffs.
"That's nice" Dave replied. "Named after two of Shakespeare's nastiest characters?"
Goneril didn't reply. She had noticed someone approaching, a plan forming in her mind.
"Help!" she suddenly screeched. "This man is attacking me!" The elf turned immediately and hurried over.
"What are you doing? Leave her alone!" he cried. Dave turned to explain but Goneril was waiting. She kicked Dave as hard as she could, then threw him backwards onto the floor, the impact making him bite his lip. She turned and thrust the well-intentioned elf against the railing out of the way, running for the stairs down towards the main dancing floor.
Dave tried to prise himself off the floor, he raised one hand to his lip and tasted the sting of blood. He watched Goneril hurry to the top of the grand staircase, pulling a dagger out of her dress, her face set in a determined expression. He couldn't stop her now.
"Liz!" he yelled as loud as he could. "She's coming!"
Liz stopped still in the middle of the dance and turned as soon as she heard Dave call her name. A couple of elves behind kept moving and bumped into her, but she didn't notice. She gazed frantically around the room and spotted Goneril running down the great staircase, the dagger raised above her head. An ear-splitting bellow came from Goneril as she spotted Arwen in the middle of the crowd.
Liz pushed her way towards Arwen and manhandled her towards the edge of the crowd. Arwen started protesting, but Liz didn't take any notice. She turned back to see Goneril coming closer. It was if everything was happening in slow motion. The elves parted, screaming like the red sea. A passageway opened from the staircase to Liz and Arwen in the corner. Goneril was running, running. The dagger glinting in the candlelight, a crazed expression in her eyes.
Liz felt for a weapon in her belt and froze when her hand came to nothing but dress fabric. How could she have been so stupid! Her belt was in the other room with the rest of her uniform.
Liz backed as far into the shadowy corner as she could. By now Arwen had seen the danger and was whimpering slightly. She saw Dave hurrying down the stairs, he'd never make it in time. She had to do something... fast.
Suddenly her fingers brushed the cold metal of a candelabra. An idea struck her. She seized the metal pole with both hands and swung it out in front of her. The candles extinguished immediately, and hot wax dripped all over the floor. But she had a weapon.
As Goneril came at her, she swung the metal candelabra at her head. Goneril caught the blow with her dagger, the clash of metal on metal ringing through the hall. Liz locked her brandy brown eyes with Goneril's reddish tinged ones through the cross of metal separating them. Both faces portrayed severe determination. Both pushing the other with surprising strength. Liz broke the lock and swung at Goneril again. The two girls fought on the dance floor, the elves backed out of the way into a ring watching them from the distance. The skirts swished, the metal clashed in crazy dance movements. Liz succeeded in forcing Goneril away from Arwen, but wasn't sure how much longer she could keep fighting for. Where was Dave?
Suddenly, Goneril stuck her foot out, and Liz tripped over. She went flying to the floor, the pole clattering across the floor out of reach. Goneril turned immediately towards Arwen and noticed that Dave was standing between them. His lip was still bleeding and starting to swell, but he was holding the stunner. Goneril turned her gaze back to Liz who was slowly rising to a sitting position. With a lightening quick movement she seized Liz from behind and pressed the sharp dagger against her neck.
"Don't move, don't shoot" she cried out to Dave. "If you do, I'll kill your girlfriend."
Dave came to an awkward halt and looked from Arwen to Liz & Goneril thinking quickly.
"Hurt her if you like, she's not my girlfriend" he commented casually, trying to distract Goneril's attention.
"I'll kill your friend then. But if you give me Arwen, I'll give you back your partner." Dave looked at Liz who shook her head as far as she could with the dagger pressed against her neck.
"All right." Dave said slowly at last. An idea was dawning. "We'll swap...on the count of three..." Liz's eyes opened wide.
"What are you doing?" she cried. Goneril jerked her head backwards painfully and she let out a gasp.
"He's being sensible." Goneril replied. "Like you should be."
Dave tried to catch Liz's eyes. He had to get the message across, they needed to work together.
"One..." he said swinging Arwen round in front of him. Arwen was pale and trembling.
"Nooo!" Liz cried until she caught Dave's eyes.
"Two..." Dave continued, not breaking eye contact with Liz, hoping she'd somehow understand. Liz stared up at him silently, then nodded ever so slightly, secretly moving her hand into position.
"Three!" Dave thrust Arwen forward. Goneril looked up to watch, Liz dug her nails deep into Goneril's flesh. Goneril let out a yell and released the pressure on the dagger. Liz rolled out from under her grip and Dave pushed Arwen out of the way, flung his arm out and fired the stunner. Goneril collapsed to the floor, the dagger sliding out towards the watching guests.
All the elves watched in horrified silence. Nobody moved. Dave stepped over to Liz and helped her to her feet.
"You OK?" he asked. She nodded and pointed to his swollen lip.
"You?" she asked.
"No problem." He turned and gazed around the crowded ballroom. He passed her the memory eraser and grabbed Goneril under her armpits, slowly hauling her across the floor and out into another room.
Gradually the crowd started to come to life, talking excitedly. Liz moved quickly through the crowd, erasing memory after memory. No one seemed to take much notice of her until she came to Arwen.
"Thanks" Arwen said flinging her arms around Liz's neck. "Take this pendant as a sign of my gratitude. I'll never forget what you did for me." Liz smiled a wry smile as she took the pendant.
"Yes you will." she commented, pressing the memory eraser. Arwen blinked a couple of times and looked at Liz curiously.
"Do I know you?" she asked.
"No" Liz smiled, "It doesn't matter. Just, be careful."
She turned and made her way through the crowded ballroom, Arwen watched her go curiously.
Liz grabbed her uniform pile, then found Dave and the unconscious Goneril in a small side room. She barred the door behind them and collapsed into a chair.
"I'm glad that's over." she said at last. "Now we just have to wait for Sarita to pick us up." Dave nodded grimly.
"Yep, then we'll have to face the Boss as to why we only had one comlink between us and why we allowed the batteries to die."
They sat in miserable silence until the room started to glow...
A few seconds later they stepped off the portal and handed the unconscious Goneril over to the "Recovery" team. Liz marched into the locker room and started putting things away. Dave followed her slowly and closed the door into the locker room behind them.
"Liz?" he said slowly.
"Uh huh." Liz was concentrating on something else. Dave stood beside her uneasily
"I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean what I told Goneril" he said at last, running a hand through his hair. Liz looked puzzled for a moment, then realised.
"Oh, about not caring if she hurt me? I know." She turned back to her locker.
Dave took a big breath and dug his hands deep into his pockets.
"When she had the dagger next to your throat, I was scared." he admitted. "I was afraid I was going to lose you." Liz froze, no longer seeing anything in her locker. She turned slowly, the dress ripped by the dagger, her hair escaping from the elaborate hairstyle.
"You mean?" she asked quietly.
Suddenly the door burst open and the Boss strode in.
"David Thompson, Elizabeth Lyon. I want you both in my office, Now!" he bellowed. "You've got a lot of explaining to do. Starting with the comlink."
Liz secretly grimaced at Dave and made her way towards the door. Dave sighed and followed her.
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This chapter may not make an awful lot of sense if you've just read Sardwen! I just wanted to prove that I don't hate Arwen! Hopefully she doesn't come across too badly here!
As for the suits - I think the trouble with running up hill was more to do with the gradient and steepness of the slope rather than the suits. Ideally, they are designed to be practical, therefore, they should be easy to move about in. Sorry if I gave you the wrong idea!