Part Eight
"I do not trust them."
He received a sharp glance in reply, an almost scolding look coming across the face of Gandalf. Gimli had the sense to look ashamed for blatantly questioning the wizard so, but he held his ground. His eyes went to the figures of the three humans, clustered closely together as they followed behind the rest of the Fellowship.
"They bring a child with them!" the dwarf huffed, not for the first time glaring in the direction of Dawn. "And if that were not bad enough, two of them are women! Gandalf, they could be witches for Sauron. This does not feel right."
"As it should not Gimli, the wizard assured him. "They do not feel right because they do not belong here. I can't say for sure where they belong, but I have a feeling that they themselves have figured it out. However, I see no evil in them Gimli. They seek only to find their friend. And if Sauron goes to such lengths for their friend, then we must assume it is of vast importance to the rest of Middle Earth."
"I have heard these arguments before Gandalf," the dwarf reminded him. "But it does nothing to waver my resolve. I do not trust them. Especially that boy, he is too aloof, treating this whole mission as nothing more than a farce! There is evil in him no doubt."
"You say that because he made fun of your stature," Gandalf chuckled. "Leave it be Gimli. When it comes to that human, I do not think he tends to insult. His mouth just gets far away from his mind, that is his folly."
The dwarf harrumphed, shooting a death look at Xander.
"They will be nothing more than a burden," the dwarf insisted. "When it comes time to fight, they will cower and flee. They will not aid this mission Gandalf. Of this I am certain."
Gandalf wisely kept his tongue, turning instead to the lighting of his pipe. Gimli huffed once more before stomping off to scowl in private. By this time the three humans in question had reached the rest of the group, Aragorn and Boromir bringing up the rear of the party.
Gimli turned his eyes away from them and sulked. They were trouble. He knew this.
They would not be helpful.
*****
"What is up his ass?"
"Dawn!"
The reprimand came as quickly as the remark and Dawn had the sense to look slightly ashamed. She raised apologetic eyes to Willow, hoping to be let off the hook for her vulgarity.
"Sorry," she murmured, shooting a look at Gimli. "But he's really starting to bug me. I mean, all he does is glare at us and do this weird huffing thing."
Willow spared a quick glance in the dwarf's direction, catching his rather disdainful look being directed at Xander while the man conversed with Gandalf.
"He's just mad at Xander for the short stuff remark," the redhead brushed off, nudging Dawn with her elbow. "I thought you of all people would understand that. You used to hate it with a passion when Buffy and I used to call you that. You fought with us until we stopped."
"Yeah right," Dawn scoffed. "You only stopped because I got taller than both of you rather tiny girlie girls."
Willow arched an eyebrow at the teenaged girl.
"Okay, me I understand, but did I just hear you call your own sister a girlie girl?" Willow shook her head. "Consider yourself lucky that Buffy's probably locked up far away from here at the moment. She would so kick your ass for that remark."
Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself when she realized the truth in Willow's words. The redhead only affectionately patted the girl's cheek before letting her gaze travel over the assembled group of people. Well, creatures, because the majority of this Fellowship could not be considered a 'person' by any sense of the word.
There was first and foremost, Gandalf, who was a wizard. He looked human enough, but he wasn't one at all. She wasn't quite sure what he was, other than a magical being. She didn't think they had a word for Gandalf in her time, as she held very different connotations for the word 'wizard' than these people obviously did. Gandalf looked about damn near ancient, though she thought it was more polite not to bring that to his attention. He carried that nifty staff with him everywhere, and Willow could see from the figures carved on it that the staff held enormous power. But Gandalf himself worked to offset that power by his rather charming manner. Even Xander liked him to a point, and so far, Xander hadn't liked anyone here. Like right now, they were sitting and chatting away, Xander mindful to stay away from the fumes of the wizard's pipe. She wondered what they were discussing, but from the amused look on Xander's face, she was going to assume that it wasn't all that mission related.
Gandalf was also different from the others by the sheer fact that he wanted the three humans from Sunnydale on this little trip. No other member of the Fellowship wanted them along, most of all Gimli. Of course, Willow knew that it was mainly Xander's minor ribbing that bothered the dwarf the most. The redhead had a talk with Xander about it, and though he was trying to consciously limit it, snips kept getting out. And offending the very indignant dwarf.
Legolas, the pretty blonde Elf of this mission, also did not approve of them being along. He wasn't obvious about it, but she could tell that he didn't approve. For example, at this very moment, he was shooting looks at her and Dawn that were filled with doubt and sometimes a bit of frustration. No doubt the Elf would have preferred for them to stay at Rivendell, but as Willow said before, the Scoobies were not going to sit on their hands while some jerk held their leader. They were going to get Buffy back, even if they had to go to war with this Sauron guy. Whatever it took, bring it on. The Scooby Gang did not back down from a fight.
But she didn't think these guys understood that. Take the two humans for example, Aragorn and Boromir. They seemed okay with Xander's presence, though a little mistrusting but willing to take Gandalf's word on the necessity of his presence. It was with the girls that the humans came into conflict with. Willow had been right in her initial thought; the ERA movement was not big around here. In fact, it was pretty much non- existent. The way the two men looked at her and Dawn, it was with frank disbelief in their relevance. And they went out of their way to baby the girls. Special treatment was fun sometimes, but not when it revolved around a frank disbelief of your abilities. These guys thought that the girls would be useful based on solely on the nature of their sex. She was going to have to fix that.
And finally, the last members of this interesting entourage, the hobbits. They didn't mind Xander and Dawn, but it was Willow they were against. The redhead understood that it was partly her own fault, since she had threatened to turn them into rats, and then did her whole 'black- eyed scary Willow' act. That probably accounted for much of the hobbits' discomfort in her presence, but then again, they didn't do much about it. Hobbits on general seemed to be very amiable creatures, taking everything in stride. Not once did they question having Willow and the others on this mission. Their whole stance on the subject was that Gandalf approved, therefore it must be okay. The little guys had quite the faith in the old wizard. It was kind of cute.
That was their group, their Fellowship, though the whole spirit of fellowship was kind of lacking in this circle. Willow didn't like it, but she accepted it. Hell, she wasn't sure if she trusted these guys any more than they trusted her. All she knew was they were going to be her way to Buffy, and that was all that mattered. Once they got Buffy, they could be on their merry way.
"Hey there cuties."
Willow came out of her thoughts at Dawn's giggle, noticing that Xander had wandered over to their side. The man had a large goofy grin on his face, one that made her suspect right away.
"What?" she asked cautiously, deciding to ignore the massive cold shoulder that the rest of their group was bestowing on them at this moment.
"Nothing," Xander replied automatically, defensive although his eyes were shining mischievously. "I will have you know that I have not done a wrong thing little missy. In fact, on my best behaviour, even with the midget."
"You should probably call him by his name," Dawn advised, giggling as she looked at Gimli, who had taken Xander's absence from the wizard's side to strike up some sort of argument. "I don't think he likes that nickname."
"He doesn't like anything," Xander frowned. "He's a grump. And that is my official opinion on that."
"Be nice," Willow admonished lightly before smiling. "Now, why were you smiling like a jackal before?"
"A jackal?" Xander repeated, a mock outraged look on his face. "Come on Wills, wrong animal. If I smile like any sort of animal, it's the hyena. You remember the hyenas, right?"
"Unfortunately," the redhead conceded. "But what's up?"
"Up, interesting choice of words," Xander chuckled, tossing a look over his shoulder at Gandalf. "Up, as in the sky, as in the realm so very HIGH above us."
Dawn frowned, looking at Xander strangely.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her. "And so is Gandalf. You girls ever wonder how the wizard can be so quirky and laid-back about all this apocalyptic stuff at times? Well, I think I figured it out."
"Going to tell us?" Willow asked when he fell silent. She only got another wide grin in response before Xander finally spilled.
"Well, let's just say he's got his herbal remedies to keep him like that," Xander laughed. Willow frowned, looking at Gandalf smoking his pipe and realized what her friend meant.
"You mean he's smoking . . ."
"Weed," Xander supplied. "Grass, pot, whatever you wanna call it. He's smoking the happy juice right now."
Dawn was open-mouthed in her wonder, unable to form a sentence. Her eyes settled on the figure of the wizard, her expression one of disbelief. Willow only shook her head before giving a sigh.
"Great. Our leader is getting high. Anyone else thinking we might die before getting to Buffy?"
Very slowly, both Xander and Dawn raised their hands. Willow sighed again and rubbed her temples.
Everything was just so hard.
*****
Buffy was barely able to contain her rage.
White Guy was back, and now he was taunting her with information. Her friends and sister were here, and they were unaware that White Guy was watching their every move. In fact, he seemed quite obsessed with the powerful one, but which one he meant he never elaborated.
Instead he was just standing in her cell, telling her random things about the developments going on and how she would soon fall into step with them. She snorted to herself, wishing she had the ability to talk right now. She would so give this guy the reality check he deserved. This Slayer would never willingly help someone so evil. If he wanted a bad Slayer he was going to have to call for Faith.
"I can tell you do not believe my ability to win all this," he was saying, pacing before her with his hands clasped behind his back. White Guy was so smug right now, like everything had already been decided and he had discovered himself the winner of all. She didn't like that kind of confidence. It meant he probably had something up his sleeve.
And he did. Did he ever.
"You will fall into line Slayer," he barked at her. "You will have no choice in the matter. As you can see, I know a great deal about you and your little band of followers. I know your weaknesses and strengths, and I know how to use them to my own advantage."
How the hell did he know that? Her eyes burned with the question and White Guy just grinned that smile again. He extended his arm, pointing to the door behind him.
"As you can see, I had help in this," he continued, watching as the door opened. "In fact, I believe you are well acquainted with my ally. Though I'm told it has been some time since you were able to converse intimately. I would be happy to give you that time right now. And Buffy, do try to listen. As you can see, you really have little choice left in the matter. I will be victorious, and you will be one reason for it."
And with that he was gone, leaving Buffy alone with his ally, and in turn, her betrayer. The blonde felt shock rip through her body as the figure stepped into her line of vision, a taunting smile on her features. The shock was quickly replaced with rage and indignation as the Slayer stewed silently within herself.
The witch named Tara laughed at her, stepping close up to the restrained Slayer.
"Hi Buffy. Did you miss me?"
*****
"I do not trust them."
He received a sharp glance in reply, an almost scolding look coming across the face of Gandalf. Gimli had the sense to look ashamed for blatantly questioning the wizard so, but he held his ground. His eyes went to the figures of the three humans, clustered closely together as they followed behind the rest of the Fellowship.
"They bring a child with them!" the dwarf huffed, not for the first time glaring in the direction of Dawn. "And if that were not bad enough, two of them are women! Gandalf, they could be witches for Sauron. This does not feel right."
"As it should not Gimli, the wizard assured him. "They do not feel right because they do not belong here. I can't say for sure where they belong, but I have a feeling that they themselves have figured it out. However, I see no evil in them Gimli. They seek only to find their friend. And if Sauron goes to such lengths for their friend, then we must assume it is of vast importance to the rest of Middle Earth."
"I have heard these arguments before Gandalf," the dwarf reminded him. "But it does nothing to waver my resolve. I do not trust them. Especially that boy, he is too aloof, treating this whole mission as nothing more than a farce! There is evil in him no doubt."
"You say that because he made fun of your stature," Gandalf chuckled. "Leave it be Gimli. When it comes to that human, I do not think he tends to insult. His mouth just gets far away from his mind, that is his folly."
The dwarf harrumphed, shooting a death look at Xander.
"They will be nothing more than a burden," the dwarf insisted. "When it comes time to fight, they will cower and flee. They will not aid this mission Gandalf. Of this I am certain."
Gandalf wisely kept his tongue, turning instead to the lighting of his pipe. Gimli huffed once more before stomping off to scowl in private. By this time the three humans in question had reached the rest of the group, Aragorn and Boromir bringing up the rear of the party.
Gimli turned his eyes away from them and sulked. They were trouble. He knew this.
They would not be helpful.
*****
"What is up his ass?"
"Dawn!"
The reprimand came as quickly as the remark and Dawn had the sense to look slightly ashamed. She raised apologetic eyes to Willow, hoping to be let off the hook for her vulgarity.
"Sorry," she murmured, shooting a look at Gimli. "But he's really starting to bug me. I mean, all he does is glare at us and do this weird huffing thing."
Willow spared a quick glance in the dwarf's direction, catching his rather disdainful look being directed at Xander while the man conversed with Gandalf.
"He's just mad at Xander for the short stuff remark," the redhead brushed off, nudging Dawn with her elbow. "I thought you of all people would understand that. You used to hate it with a passion when Buffy and I used to call you that. You fought with us until we stopped."
"Yeah right," Dawn scoffed. "You only stopped because I got taller than both of you rather tiny girlie girls."
Willow arched an eyebrow at the teenaged girl.
"Okay, me I understand, but did I just hear you call your own sister a girlie girl?" Willow shook her head. "Consider yourself lucky that Buffy's probably locked up far away from here at the moment. She would so kick your ass for that remark."
Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself when she realized the truth in Willow's words. The redhead only affectionately patted the girl's cheek before letting her gaze travel over the assembled group of people. Well, creatures, because the majority of this Fellowship could not be considered a 'person' by any sense of the word.
There was first and foremost, Gandalf, who was a wizard. He looked human enough, but he wasn't one at all. She wasn't quite sure what he was, other than a magical being. She didn't think they had a word for Gandalf in her time, as she held very different connotations for the word 'wizard' than these people obviously did. Gandalf looked about damn near ancient, though she thought it was more polite not to bring that to his attention. He carried that nifty staff with him everywhere, and Willow could see from the figures carved on it that the staff held enormous power. But Gandalf himself worked to offset that power by his rather charming manner. Even Xander liked him to a point, and so far, Xander hadn't liked anyone here. Like right now, they were sitting and chatting away, Xander mindful to stay away from the fumes of the wizard's pipe. She wondered what they were discussing, but from the amused look on Xander's face, she was going to assume that it wasn't all that mission related.
Gandalf was also different from the others by the sheer fact that he wanted the three humans from Sunnydale on this little trip. No other member of the Fellowship wanted them along, most of all Gimli. Of course, Willow knew that it was mainly Xander's minor ribbing that bothered the dwarf the most. The redhead had a talk with Xander about it, and though he was trying to consciously limit it, snips kept getting out. And offending the very indignant dwarf.
Legolas, the pretty blonde Elf of this mission, also did not approve of them being along. He wasn't obvious about it, but she could tell that he didn't approve. For example, at this very moment, he was shooting looks at her and Dawn that were filled with doubt and sometimes a bit of frustration. No doubt the Elf would have preferred for them to stay at Rivendell, but as Willow said before, the Scoobies were not going to sit on their hands while some jerk held their leader. They were going to get Buffy back, even if they had to go to war with this Sauron guy. Whatever it took, bring it on. The Scooby Gang did not back down from a fight.
But she didn't think these guys understood that. Take the two humans for example, Aragorn and Boromir. They seemed okay with Xander's presence, though a little mistrusting but willing to take Gandalf's word on the necessity of his presence. It was with the girls that the humans came into conflict with. Willow had been right in her initial thought; the ERA movement was not big around here. In fact, it was pretty much non- existent. The way the two men looked at her and Dawn, it was with frank disbelief in their relevance. And they went out of their way to baby the girls. Special treatment was fun sometimes, but not when it revolved around a frank disbelief of your abilities. These guys thought that the girls would be useful based on solely on the nature of their sex. She was going to have to fix that.
And finally, the last members of this interesting entourage, the hobbits. They didn't mind Xander and Dawn, but it was Willow they were against. The redhead understood that it was partly her own fault, since she had threatened to turn them into rats, and then did her whole 'black- eyed scary Willow' act. That probably accounted for much of the hobbits' discomfort in her presence, but then again, they didn't do much about it. Hobbits on general seemed to be very amiable creatures, taking everything in stride. Not once did they question having Willow and the others on this mission. Their whole stance on the subject was that Gandalf approved, therefore it must be okay. The little guys had quite the faith in the old wizard. It was kind of cute.
That was their group, their Fellowship, though the whole spirit of fellowship was kind of lacking in this circle. Willow didn't like it, but she accepted it. Hell, she wasn't sure if she trusted these guys any more than they trusted her. All she knew was they were going to be her way to Buffy, and that was all that mattered. Once they got Buffy, they could be on their merry way.
"Hey there cuties."
Willow came out of her thoughts at Dawn's giggle, noticing that Xander had wandered over to their side. The man had a large goofy grin on his face, one that made her suspect right away.
"What?" she asked cautiously, deciding to ignore the massive cold shoulder that the rest of their group was bestowing on them at this moment.
"Nothing," Xander replied automatically, defensive although his eyes were shining mischievously. "I will have you know that I have not done a wrong thing little missy. In fact, on my best behaviour, even with the midget."
"You should probably call him by his name," Dawn advised, giggling as she looked at Gimli, who had taken Xander's absence from the wizard's side to strike up some sort of argument. "I don't think he likes that nickname."
"He doesn't like anything," Xander frowned. "He's a grump. And that is my official opinion on that."
"Be nice," Willow admonished lightly before smiling. "Now, why were you smiling like a jackal before?"
"A jackal?" Xander repeated, a mock outraged look on his face. "Come on Wills, wrong animal. If I smile like any sort of animal, it's the hyena. You remember the hyenas, right?"
"Unfortunately," the redhead conceded. "But what's up?"
"Up, interesting choice of words," Xander chuckled, tossing a look over his shoulder at Gandalf. "Up, as in the sky, as in the realm so very HIGH above us."
Dawn frowned, looking at Xander strangely.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her. "And so is Gandalf. You girls ever wonder how the wizard can be so quirky and laid-back about all this apocalyptic stuff at times? Well, I think I figured it out."
"Going to tell us?" Willow asked when he fell silent. She only got another wide grin in response before Xander finally spilled.
"Well, let's just say he's got his herbal remedies to keep him like that," Xander laughed. Willow frowned, looking at Gandalf smoking his pipe and realized what her friend meant.
"You mean he's smoking . . ."
"Weed," Xander supplied. "Grass, pot, whatever you wanna call it. He's smoking the happy juice right now."
Dawn was open-mouthed in her wonder, unable to form a sentence. Her eyes settled on the figure of the wizard, her expression one of disbelief. Willow only shook her head before giving a sigh.
"Great. Our leader is getting high. Anyone else thinking we might die before getting to Buffy?"
Very slowly, both Xander and Dawn raised their hands. Willow sighed again and rubbed her temples.
Everything was just so hard.
*****
Buffy was barely able to contain her rage.
White Guy was back, and now he was taunting her with information. Her friends and sister were here, and they were unaware that White Guy was watching their every move. In fact, he seemed quite obsessed with the powerful one, but which one he meant he never elaborated.
Instead he was just standing in her cell, telling her random things about the developments going on and how she would soon fall into step with them. She snorted to herself, wishing she had the ability to talk right now. She would so give this guy the reality check he deserved. This Slayer would never willingly help someone so evil. If he wanted a bad Slayer he was going to have to call for Faith.
"I can tell you do not believe my ability to win all this," he was saying, pacing before her with his hands clasped behind his back. White Guy was so smug right now, like everything had already been decided and he had discovered himself the winner of all. She didn't like that kind of confidence. It meant he probably had something up his sleeve.
And he did. Did he ever.
"You will fall into line Slayer," he barked at her. "You will have no choice in the matter. As you can see, I know a great deal about you and your little band of followers. I know your weaknesses and strengths, and I know how to use them to my own advantage."
How the hell did he know that? Her eyes burned with the question and White Guy just grinned that smile again. He extended his arm, pointing to the door behind him.
"As you can see, I had help in this," he continued, watching as the door opened. "In fact, I believe you are well acquainted with my ally. Though I'm told it has been some time since you were able to converse intimately. I would be happy to give you that time right now. And Buffy, do try to listen. As you can see, you really have little choice left in the matter. I will be victorious, and you will be one reason for it."
And with that he was gone, leaving Buffy alone with his ally, and in turn, her betrayer. The blonde felt shock rip through her body as the figure stepped into her line of vision, a taunting smile on her features. The shock was quickly replaced with rage and indignation as the Slayer stewed silently within herself.
The witch named Tara laughed at her, stepping close up to the restrained Slayer.
"Hi Buffy. Did you miss me?"
*****