The Taste
Superior Elven sight gave Legolas the ability to see even in the pitch dark of the long tunnel. The girl herself gave off an eerie glow as she bounded ahead of him, turning her head to smile at him in reassurance. His senses were warning him with every step he took to be cautious, and as the little girl stopped at a corner, he pulled an arrow free and notched it in his bow. As he rounded the corner, his eyes fought to adjust to the sudden brightness of a flame-lit cavern, abandoned as far as he could tell.
He moved to step into the cavern, but felt an ice-cold breeze on his arm. The little girl was touching him, beckoning him to hesitate. She put her finger to her pursed lips and whispered. "You have to be quiet now. She's in there."
Legolas nodded and cautiously crept inside. He turned to see if the girl would follow him, but a frightened look crossed her face. "Be careful," she warned as she stepped away from him. "Be very, very careful."
Her figure shimmered then disappeared altogether, and for some unfathomable reason Legolas suddenly felt very vulnerable without her. Gathering his instincts about him, he silently walked in the middle of the cavern, spotting his query who was chained to the rock face behind her.
She did not hear him approach and gave a startled squeak that made Legolas immediately cover her mouth with a hand. He looked her over and studied the chains that held her arms above her head. "Are you injured?" He asked quietly.
Dawn quickly shook her head and wished she had something brilliant to say, but instead she blushed furiously. He gave the chains an experimental tug, wincing when they would not yield. "Was there a key?"
"A key? I used to be, but Glory's dead and Buffy jumped into this energy bubble and died instead of me and then I stopped – " Dawn silenced her babbling when she finally recognized the look on Legolas' face as one of complete and utter blankness. "Oh, you mean the lock. No, I didn't see one." Mentally, she was hitting the back of her head against the rocks.
Legolas seemed to shrug it off as he pulled a long dagger from his back quiver.
"Nice knife." Dawn commented.
He swung it above her head, striking the metal with a harsh clang.
"Holy crap!" She screamed. Legolas stopped when he saw her cowering under her chains. He waited until she raised her head and looked at him. "Well you could've warned me."
He flashed her a brilliant smile and she thought for the first time in her life that she actually swooned. He grasped her right hand, pulling it as far away out of his knife's reach as he could while he repeatedly struck the chains. After a dozen fierce strikes, the chain around her right hand gave way.
Dawn smiled up at him, but her face melted into panic as she looked past him.
With senses screaming at him, Legolas turned to look but was too late to prevent the overpowering arm that clutched his sweatshirt and sent him flying across the cavern.
The First grinned at his latest victim, struggling to rise to his feet. But the vampire stopped and cocked his head. "You are not the Slayer." He hissed.
Legolas met the beast eye to eye. "And you are not handsome. Are we through with pleasant greetings?"
The First roared his laughter, then looked at Legolas with a renewed gleam in his eye. "No matter. You will do just fine."
"It's opening!" Tara bellowed with as much force as she could muster.
Giles and Strider ran from their conversational hiding spot, feeling their arm hairs prickle with static electricity. The wind pummeled them from all fronts, swirling the trees and knocking over statues. Strider knew the portal must be gaining in power as he struggled to stay upright against it. He heard an ear-deafening scream, and at first thought it to be one of the girls until an orc landed a few feet away from him. He was about to skewer it with his sword, when he found the orc already had an Elven arrow imbedded in its torso. He studied it for a moment before turning to face the others and realizing that Xander was not watching his back.
"Xander, behind you!"
Xander pivoted and with a speed that surprised even himself, he shot the crossbow just as an orc raised its dagger above its head. Taking a few breaths to calm and reassure himself that the quivering thing was in its death throes, Xander jumped and yelped when Strider clasped his shoulder.
"Nice work." The Ranger commented.
Xander fought for something nonchalantly courageous to say. 'All in a day's work. It was nothing. Orcs? I slay them in my sleep.' But the only thing he could manage was a shaky salute as Strider walked by him and towards the portal.
Beyond the howling wind and zaps of the electricity spewing from the portal's opening, Strider was certain he could hear something. Willow and Tara were crouched on the ground together, surrounded by a protective circle and chanting words from an ancient spell book. As Strider hypnotically walked towards the portal, he held out a hand to them, motioning for them to cease. They looked up at him in obvious confusion.
Strider held a hand over his eyes to shield them from the white light and strained with all his hearing. Someone was calling to him…
"Strider! It's not safe!" Giles hollered.
With his free hand, Strider waved him off. He knew that voice. "GANDALF!"
The Scooby gang held their breath and concentrated along with Strider.
"…ragorn! Legolas!"
"Gandalf!" Strider repeated.
"Aragorn!" Strider strained to hear what the wizard yelled after that, but couldn't catch the words. Frustrated, the Ranger lowered his hand to peer into the blinding light of the portal, if he could only see past the brightness, perhaps he might catch a glimpse of –
Strider ducked as he did indeed catch a glimpse of something, hurtling towards his head. The object soared over his body and nailed Xander between the eyes, just as the portal closed.
A high pitched shriek alerted Spike and Buffy to Dawn's location. As they raced towards it, Buffy couldn't help but think back to a Discovery channel special on peregrine falcons and came to the realization that her sister's scream sounded oddly alike to that of the bird's.
Spike skidded to a stop as four vampires blocked their path, smiling widely so the two could see the full aspect of their fangs. The effect was lost on Buffy as she rolled her eyes and threw herself into a spinning kick, knocking the first one into the wall. Spike began throwing high punches and elbows, kicking behind him blindly as one tried to sneak up on him. Buffy grasped an arm and threw a vampire over her shoulder and onto the ground, still grasping the arm as she drove her stake into its heart. The vampire howled as it dissipated, and the arm that Buffy was holding vanished with a swoosh. Hands choked her throat from behind and lifted her above the ground, dangling the Slayer in mid-air before throwing her harshly against a wall. Buffy fell to her chest, feeling her healing bruises protest as new ones were added. The vampire grinned as it reached down to pick her up again, but suddenly had a confused look on its face. It looked to its chest, where the sharpened end of a stake could barely be seen through its thick leather. The vampire swore before exploding into ash.
Buffy stood slowly, wiping the ash and dirt off her pants and pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Where'd the other two go?"
Spike shrugged and pointed down the hall. "Took off down that way."
"Buffy!" The audible cry sent the two back into a run to find Dawn, but Buffy stopped after taking a few strides. Spike continued, not noticing that she had halted in her tracks. Buffy stared down a darkened passage where a small girl was waving at her.
The First was playing with his newfound toy, swatting the human aside with backhands and laughing as it struggled to regain its footing. The man shot an arrow, and the First marveled at its quickness for a moment before snatching the arrow in mid-flight and crushing the shaft. Another arrow flew just as fast and the First had to duck to miss it. He growled at the human, then came to an abrupt conclusion; this was not a human. It did not smell or move like a human. As it reached back with lightening quickness to notch another arrow, the First rushed it, crushing its body against the wall as it wrenched the bow out of the thing's hands. The First ripped the knit cap off its head and snarled as it backed away. The creature had pointed ears.
Legolas was panting for breath, rubbing his shoulder where the vampire had rammed him into the wall. His bow had been ripped out of his grip and flung across the cavern. The vampire was staring at him, curling its lips in distaste. Perhaps it had encountered an Elf before.
"What are you?" It growled.
Or not. Instead of replying, Legolas whipped his arm back and retrieved one of his knives, spinning and slashing at the vampire's chest.
The First felt the sting of the blade as it grazed its chest, hissing more in surprise than in actual pain. The creature moved quickly, twirling its blade to slash then jab. The tides were turning in the battle as the First now found himself on the defensive, a strategy he distinctly did not like. But the creature over-compensated for a high slash and the First recognized the folly and pounced upon it. He seized the wrist holding the knife, then quickly spun the creature around so its left arm was twisted violently behind its back. The creature cried out in agony as the First twisted until he felt both bones snap under the pressure. The First let the arm fall limply to its side, then grasped its long hair and pulled its head back, exposing the neck.
Legolas cried in pain and shock as he felt two sharp points digging into the flesh of his neck, and felt his blood trickling free.
He supposed it was like being suspended under running water, only the thundering was not the sound of water but of his blood gushing through his veins. Oddly, Legolas felt warm and relaxed. Shouldn't he feel cold if he was dying? He felt sluggish, as though his arms were encased in mud and he couldn't free them even if he tried. Through the sound of his blood, Legolas dimly thought he could hear the cry of a hawk. Perhaps Gwahir had come to rescue him.
Dawn's cries for help had turned into one continuos and ear-shattering wail. She hacked at the remaining chain uselessly; she didn't have the strength to even dent the metal. But right now, the First was making a slurpie out of Legolas and her struggles became frantic as she saw the Elf slumping, growing weaker by the moment.
Spike ran in, looking from Dawn to the feasting First and back again, holding out his hand expectantly and Dawn knew without asking. Legolas' knife sailed from Dawn's hands and into Spike's as he morphed his face into its demonic form. Spike knew he couldn't plunge the knife all the way through for fear of hitting the vampire's victim still clutched in front of him, so instead he viciously slashed at its back.
The First released Legolas with a rumbling howl, and the Elf fell to the ground in a dazed heap. Spike backed up and feared for his life momentarily as the First reared on him, Legolas' blood dripping from his mouth. But something happened that took the cave's visitors by surprise. The First staggered as though it was suffering from vertigo; it flailed its arms for anything to support it. It backed away until its back hit a wall, and Spike was paralyzed in amazement to see the vampire actually gasping.
"Spike." Dawn urged quietly, and Spike suddenly remembered his comrades. He rushed over, and with a few powerful strikes, released the chain holding Dawn. She shook as she held the knife that Spike had handed her as he went to collect the fallen Elf.
Legolas knew the certainty of the moment, that he must rise, but his legs didn't seem to feel the urgency as his mind did. Numbly, he felt his right arm being lifted around someone's head, and another arm lifting him from his waist. He felt guilty for not carrying his own weight; he would have to apologize to his rescuer when his mouth felt like working again. For now though, he felt more than content to have help and someone to lean on; his legs still didn't want to walk properly.
Although he had Legolas on one shoulder and Dawn hiding behind him, Spike couldn't help but hesitate and consider the opportunity lying in front of him. The First was slumped against the wall and visibly struggling; it was a weakness unlike anything Spike had ever encountered. Buffy should-
And then it hit him that the Slayer was nowhere near him. He looked down at a shaking Dawn. "Where's Buffy?"
Xander stood, pinching his nose and hoping that everyone would realize that his eyes were merely watering; he was not crying. And although Willow placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and inspected his bleeding nose with friendly concern, he did notice that everyone else (including his fiancée) seemed more interested in what hit him than his actual welfare.
Giles unrolled the scroll carefully, as though it was a museum artifact. He had no doubt that if the Council ever found out about this, the scroll in his hands would soon be locked in a very small room in London. Anya peered over his shoulder, fingering the edges of the yellow paper. "What does it say?"
Giles shook his head and handed the object over to Strider. Strider read the scroll over quickly and took in a deep breath. "What is it?" Giles prompted.
Strider didn't take his eyes off the paper, but answered in a low voice. "It's a message from Thranduil; Legolas' father. They are searching all records for a way to bring us back. Gandalf is with them; he is a great wizard, he should be able to find a way."
Giles furrowed his eyebrows. He knew that name, Gandalf. "A wizard, you say?"
Strider looked up and nodded. "An Istari. He is trying to find a way to reverse the spell."
Giles nodded. "So it is a spell."
Tara was looking at the scroll beside Strider, then looked into his face with an amused smile. "Why did he call you Aragorn?"
"What happened?" Buffy called as she raced up to the threesome. She held Legolas' chin in her hand, trying to look into his face but his blue eyes were glazed over.
"Your buddy here just about met 'is maker. Whoever that may be." Spike answered curtly.
"Ohmigod." Buffy mumbled as she traced over the bleeding puncture holes in his neck. "We have to get him home." She was about to get on the other side of him when she noticed his left arm was hanging at an odd angle. Instead she placed a steadying hand on his back as they wound through the tunnels quickly.
"Where the hell were you?" Spike asked.
"I got sidetracked." She answered.
Spike nearly choked. "You what?!?"
She shrugged and showed him a round sphere clutched in her hand. "But I found a neat looking stone."
Last update for a while, going to Victoria for cousin's wedding but will be back in a little over a week.
