Okay, wasn't sure if anyone would get the Jay and Silent Bob reference. Apparently I was wrong! Clerks Rules! (Shameless plug)
At The Watcher's Abode
Rupert Giles was exhausted, irritable and in serious need of a bath. After flying to London and immediately flying back, the Watcher looked as though he just survived an earthquake only to walk into a tornado. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair mussed, even his eyeglasses weren't sitting on his nose entirely right. But for as much as he wanted nothing more than to drop on his bed and sleep for a week, Giles knew he could not afford such a luxury.
Buffy listened to his urgent and probably incoherently mumbled telephone call and agreed to meet him at his home in an hour. After hanging up the phone, he removed his glasses and rubbed his tired baggy eyes with one hand, supporting his aching back with the other. He looked around his living room, seemingly disoriented for a moment as he considered his next course of action. Unfortunately his next course of action retained nothing more than waiting for an hour for his protégé to make her appearance.
He tapped his fingers on the counter, wondering if perhaps he should try to sneak in a shower and a nap. He quickly shook the idea of a nap out of his mind, but after experimentally sniffing his underarm and being reviled by his own odour, Giles lumbered up the stairs to his bathroom.
After mindlessly showering and ditching the notion of shaving (too much effort), he returned to the kitchen and glanced at his watch. Twenty minutes to go. Tea might be nice. Giles plugged in his kettle and readied his mug with a teabag of Earl Grey, then retired to the couch, waiting for the water to boil. He closed his eyes and sighed.
And woke up abruptly to the sound of a continuous doorbell and doorknocker and persistent wailing of a kettle which had been boiling water for the last nineteen minutes. Shaking his head clear of the last remnants of clinging sleep, he slowly came to his feet and hurried to the kitchen to unplug the kettle. Rushing to the door and swinging it open with annoyance, he was at first blinded by the overwhelming light of the sun. The doorbell was still ringing. Giles slapped Xander's hand away from the button.
"Yes, thank you Alexander."
It was only in very rare and highly irked cases that Giles used Xander's real name. Giles turned away from the Scooby gang rather curtly and stumbled towards his living room while rubbing his temples. Buffy shared dubious glances with her cohorts, very surprised that he hadn't even batted an eyelash when he saw her two companions.
"Giles, are you feeling alright?"
He half turned his body towards her but spoke with his eyes closed. "Oh yes. Besides a slight case of jet lag, insomnia and malnutrition I feel fine. How are you?" He opened his eyes with a sarcastic smile. "Who are they?" He suddenly turned serious again.
"I think 'they' go along with your stone."
"It's a Palantir, Buffy."
Aragorn and Legolas shared a startled glance with each other. "A Palantir? One of the Seeing Stones?" Aragorn questioned.
Giles' forehead creased as he studied the two men. "Yes." He started slowly. "Do you know of them?"
"Only that several are missing. How is it that they came to be in this land?"
Giles searched his memory on how the Palantir was discovered, but came up with only a sketchy version of the chain of events. "It was discovered decades ago on an archeological dig, entombed in an ancient chest with markings written in an indistinguishable language. There was one among the Council that could decipher them, although how he knew of the language, I know not. I, myself have never even laid eyes on the thing, only heard of it through the Council writings."
"What is the Council?" Legolas asked.
Giles cocked his head. "I'm sorry, I think we're missing a step or two. What did you say your name was?"
"I didn't." Answered Aragorn. "I am Strider and this is Legolas."
"Legolas." Repeated Giles. He was swirling their names around in his brain, straining to remember where he had heard names like that before.
"Giles." Buffy interrupted his thoughts. "They're from the same place the stone is."
Giles' head shot up. "And where would that be?"
Aragorn and Legolas shared a quick, suspicious glance before Aragorn answered cautiously. "I am from the north and Legolas is from the woodland realm."
Giles was coyly trying to grasp the truth from them. "The woodland realm of what?"
Aragorn and Legolas were now somewhat confused. "Middle Earth." Aragorn emphatically said.
Giles' entire face lit up, gone completely was any trace of exhaustion or irritability. "Middle Earth." He repeated breathlessly.
Xander's eyebrows furrowed. "What, you guys are from the earth's core or something? Doesn't that get kind of hot?"
"They're not from this dimension Xander." Anya piped up. "They're from a place where magic and Elves and Dwarves and dragons and trolls live."
"Oh my." Xander got his jokingly grin back on his face. "Sounds charming." Anya rolled her eyes and puffed.
"Where is the Palantir?" Aragorn asked. He was studying Giles intently, and as Giles stared back at the young man, he could not help but feel something very powerful emanating from him.
"It was stolen from the Council vault. My best guess is that it has been brought back here. It was probably used somehow to open up that portal." The thoughts were swirling in a chaotic drum in Giles' mind, but they were now beginning to make sense.
"Only one very powerful and knowledgeable could control a Palantir." Legolas stated very quietly.
"Well that officially knocks out most of the vampires in Sunnydale. Are there any new demons or sorcerers hanging out that we don't know of?" Buffy asked.
Giles had taken off his glasses and was chewing slightly on the end of the arm. "But why open it up? What could one possibly hope to gain through that?"
Anya shrugged and smiled flirtatiously at the Elf and human. "Two eligible bachelors?" Xander stepped on her foot, erupting an 'ow' and a glare from his fiancée.
"Orcs." Legolas stated.
Giles looked up. "Orcs?" Everyone nodded. "There are orcs in Sunnydale?" Everyone nodded again. He may have sworn under his breath, as a matter of fact Legolas was certain he did say something but it did not sound entirely pleasant. "This is worse than I thought." He muttered.
Buffy shrugged. "They didn't seem so bad. Terrible breath though."
Aragorn directed his full attention to the blasé Slayer. "That was but a sample, young one. A very small sample of the true nature of the beasts. Orcs always attack in multiples and always to the death. They would make a formidable ally for those planning an assault."
Buffy considered his words. "Question is then, who would be dumb enough to plan an assault in Sunnydale?"
Giles breathed out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, I could think of a few." He could feel his apprehension growing by the minute. "When was the last time the portal opened?"
They all looked amongst themselves, but only shared unsure looks. Buffy finally answered for all of them. "Spike and I first found one dead orc. Then Legolas and Strider showed up and then six more orcs showed up."
Aragorn was doing the math in his head, as was Legolas. Aragorn shook his head. "That does not make sense. All the orcs were drawn in, just as we were. There were at least twenty that we first encountered. Seven lived when the portal opened."
"So, right now there's a whole bunch of dead orcs spewed across Sunnydale? I don't think we're going to win the 'most attractive city in the world' with that tarnishing our image." Xander flung out.
"Xander has a point." Giles stated.
Xander looked like he was going to choke. "I do?"
Giles started pacing around his couches. "We need to find the other orcs. We also need to find where the portal is occurring and if we can reach the other side. But most pressing; we need to find out who is yielding the Palantir."
The decision was made that Legolas and Aragorn would accompany Buffy and Xander in the cemetery to find any discarded orc bodies and to prevent any incoming arrivals from getting further than the graveyard. Giles and Anya called Willow and Tara to help perform research. And Dawn was guarding the home front. As usual.
And so when the night fell, the four relegated to patrol duty had returned home to gather their weapons, then traveled the distance to the cemetery by foot where Legolas and Aragorn found themselves on very familiar ground. Both grimaced with distaste upon entering the empty graveyard, but noticed that the Slayer did not.
"Why do we keep returning here?" Asked Legolas.
Buffy shrugged. "Seems to be a popular spot for Sunnydale hijinks. You get used to the whole emptiness thing after awhile."
"What about the ghosts?" Murmured Aragorn.
Buffy and Xander both stopped and faced the men who looked distinctly uncomfortable. "What ghosts?" Asked Xander. He and Buffy looked around but could not find any apparent spirits.
"They are all around us. Can you not see them?" Asked Legolas.
Buffy and Xander looked at each other for confirmation that neither of them did, in fact, see any ghosts. Shaking their heads, they continued their trek into the cemetery. "Maybe we're just desensitized." Muttered Buffy.
"Slaying the undead night after night can do that to a person." Remarked Xander.
They foursome stopped in the middle of the cemetery, automatically readying their arms. "Legolas you've got good senses, right?" Asked Buffy, to which the Elf nodded. "You see or smell anything?"
Legolas inhaled deeply, scanning the trees and grave markers about him. "I do not." But there was a tingling tension that gnawed at his being. His instincts were trying to tell him something…
"Legolas?" Aragorn touched the Elf's shoulder softly, accustomed to reading his facial expressions and translating them easily.
"I do not know." Legolas shook his head slowly. "But my heart warns me not to go any further."
Aragorn knew that when Elves spoke of danger, it was best to heed their advice, however vague it may seem.
"What's going on?" Asked Buffy. She had watched the small exchange with some interest. Although she truthfully knew very little about her new hunting partners, she could easily tell that the two must be very close. They seemed to play off each other's emotions and communicated silently with concealed facial gestures that she could not decipher. Nonetheless, she too felt her instincts tremor with anticipation.
"We should turn back." Stated Aragorn.
"We just got here." Pointed out Xander. 'Weren't these guys supposed to be otherworldly warriors or something?' he thought to himself. 'And they're running away just because it's dark out?'
The air around them crackled loudly. Everyone stood paralyzed, staring wide-eyed. "What was that?" Xander quietly asked, although he had a pretty good idea what it was. A resounding boom like the echo of a distant explosion shook the earth. Xander managed to get out an 'oh crap' before a deafening and punishing wind nearly blew him over. Shielding his hand over his face, he strained to squint through the gust of wind to see what was happening and was rewarded with a painful strobe light in his face. He cried out loud and turned his entire body from the onslaught.
Buffy was yelling, to be armed and ready or something to that effect. Static energy from tendrils of lightning made loose ends of her hair rise eerily. She could barely see, could barely withstand the constant barrage of wind, but held her ground stubbornly with a dagger thrust outwards for any uninvited guests.
Legolas was about to do something rash, although what he did do surprised even himself. The normally level-headed Elf found himself running towards the fissure instead of away from it. He heard shouting from Aragorn and Buffy to stop, and yet knowing that he should, he continued to make for the portal. Aragorn began running after him, wondering in his mind what could have driven the Elf to insanity. Legolas flung himself into the gap, and Aragorn flung himself after the prince.
It was brutal blow to them both, like hitting a wall of pure electric energy, that sent them flying back with pained cries. They landed spectacularly with the wind knocked out of them, but as soon as they found air to replenish their lungs, they began to moan.
The fissure closed unceremoniously, although Xander was still crouched with his hands protecting his head. "Is it over yet?"
"What the hell were you thinking?!?" Yelled Buffy as she ran towards the fallen comrades.
"I…t-thought…" Legolas was gasping for air as he tried to spit his reasoning out.
"You could have killed yourself! And me!" Shouted Aragorn, who had pushed himself into a sitting position but was still grasping his stomach with one hand and gritting his teeth together.
Instead of trying to answer, Legolas lay back and placed a hand over his eyes with a groan. Did he have a headache?
