Sands of Time
By Lily Martin
Rated R
Category: Romance/Adventure/Supernatural/and a bunch of other things…oh music too
Spoilers: Buffy--the episode before the last one; Lord of the Rings--everything's cannon, but it starts in the Fellowship of the Ring when they're on the watch tower and the Ringwraiths come. For Lord of the Rings, I'm working solely off the movie now, the book has lost my interest, I've moved on.
Summary: Buffy is summoned to Middle-Earth by Gandalf, by some fluke the rest of the Scooby Gang transported also. Then the third slayer Madeline Naur comes after them with Giles, now all we're missing is Faith...wait...nope...she'll be there too...all there just in time to join the Fellowship. Throw in a prophecy and a really messed up plot...
Disclaimer: But then there was some honking sound, a really big truck was coming down the alley, it hit a patch of black ice that shouldn't have been there in the middle of the summer, but it was there, and he hit it, and then he hit us…then everything went black…TBC…
Pairings: Arwen/Aragorn in the beginning, Buffy/Aragorn later on, Faith/Boromir while he's alive, Dawn/Frodo very subtle more of a friendship than a pairing, it's definitely going to be Legolas/Mady (my character) that's the only way the future I have for this story will work out, but not right away that would be too easy.
A/N: Hey, look at that, I'm finally back, I've been gone so long, I'm sorry, I've been working on some other stories that are only posted at semi-obscure yahoo-groups, and on my personal website, it's getting pretty big, but I'm already looking for a new layout, the old one's just been around since September. Anyways, I have another cold, so you're lucky I'm getting this out, plus five or six buttons aren't working on my computer, so you're lucky I haven't bothered to send it off to be fixed so that I could update this. I just realized something, Xander lost his eye before the finale, just as an add in, Xander never lost his eye, cause I never mentioned it before and I'm too lazy to go add it in to previous chapters and then end up revising everything else.
Last time on Sands of Time:
Dawn: "Ok. Hey, Strider's actually a king in disguise."
Buffy: "No, he isn't."
Dawn: "I bet you fifty dollars he is."
Gandalf: "I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil."
"Sanlye a' Imladris," Tári repeated over and over into the large bluish fire.
"Giles!" and a "G-man!" was all that any one heard as the Scoobies rushed him, except for Spike, for obvious reasons.
Elrond: "Good afternoon, Lady Tári."
Glorfindel: "We have been trying to reach you for quite some time."
Elrond: "Ah, Lady Buffy and Lady Dawn, and their companions, they talk of such things quite often."
Chapter 13: The Council of Elrond Part 2
"Dawnie!" the she-elf smiled, Giles looked over at her and coughed, she grinned and laughed an 'oops,' before changing into Mady right in front of everyone. "I forgot about that."
"M-Mady?" Dawn asked, startled and unsure about the elf that had just changed into her friend.
"Uh-huh," the she-elf, now teenager, nodded. "I'm an Elf."
"I don't believe you," Dawn said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, how do we know you're Mady?" Xander asked.
"What about Giles? Wouldn't he know? He did come with her," Spike pointed out.
"I can assure you that she is Mady," he told them.
"See that was simple," Tári said simply, changing once again into the tall she-elf, before adding, "though, technically, my name isn't Madeline, its Tári."
"Everyone, please, go back to your seats so that we may continue our meeting," Elrond ordered, though his voice was calm and collected, it radiated power.
Everyone hurried back to their seats, and two more were brought in for Giles and Tári, who immediately sat down.
"We are here to decide upon what will be done with the One Ring," he announced, opening the floor for discussion.
"It is a gift, a gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people, your lands are kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy, let us use it against him," Boromir said.
"You cannot wield it, none of us can, the One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master," Aragorn told him.
"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir snapped.
"This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, you owe him your allegiance," Legolas said, jumping to his feet.
"Aragorn, this is Isildur's heir?" Boromir asked, not believing his ears.
"And the heir to the throne of Gondor," Legolas added.
"See, I told you, Aragorn's a king," Dawn whispered, hitting her sister on the shoulder. "You owe me fifty bucks."
"Shut-up," Buffy hissed.
Several glanced in their direction, but no one said anything.
"Havo dad, Legolas," Aragorn said, motioning towards the elf's seat.
"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king," Boromir growled.
The meeting went on, the Scoobies, Giles, and Tári all kept quiet, watching the goings on, rather than interrupt where they'd most likely not be welcome.
"Do you not understand? While you bicker amongst yourselves, Sauron's power grows!" Gandalf yelled, joining the group uprising that had begun.
"I will take it," Frodo offered, quietly, no one seemed to hear him, so he repeated himself a bit louder. Once again they didn't hear him, so he did so again, "I will take the Ring to Mordor, though…I do not know the way."
"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins…as long as it is yours to bear," Gandalf told him.
"Me too, I've gotta be of some help, it's what I do," Buffy added quickly, jumping to her feet.
"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will, you have my sword," Aragorn told him, kneeling before Frodo with his sword before him, before going to join him.
"And you have my bow," Legolas said, joining the small group.
"And my ax," Gimli grunted, also joining them, so as not to be outdone by an elf.
"Whatever aid I may offer, is yours," Tári offered, bowing her head for a moment, before joining them.
"Th-there must be something I can do to help," Willow said, joining Buffy.
"You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done," Boromir said dramatically, before joining them.
"You're not leaving me behind," Dawn complained, walking towards Buffy.
"You're not coming Dawnie," Buffy ordered.
"Hey!" Sam yelled, running out of the bushes, "Frodo's not going anywhere without me."
"No, indeed, it's hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not," Elrond said dryly.
"Wait, we're coming too!" Merry added, as he and Pippin ran out of the same bushes Sam had just come out of. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"
"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of…mission, quest, thing," Pippin nodded, making Dawn grin and laugh.
"Well that rules you out, Pippin," Merry quipped.
"I'm going if they are," Dawn pouted.
"Fine," Buffy sighed, knowing the resolve face Dawn had learned from Willow when she saw it.
"Hey, wait don't forget me," Xander said, starting to walk over to the now large group.
"No, Xander, we have to go home, Giles has got to have some way back," Anya whined.
"As a matter of fact I do," Giles nodded.
"See, we have to go home, Xander," Anya pleaded, tugging on his arm.
"Sorry, Buff," Xander apologized, going back over to Anya.
"Good, you can take me back too," Spike said finally, standing up. Glancing at Buffy, he quickly looked away, "I'm sorry Buffy, but I can't do this anymore. We've all had our big fight; we shouldn't have to do it again and again. Anyways, I need a cigarette, been all out for a while now."
"It's alright, Spike," Buffy told him simply. "I understand, same thing I was saying when I got to Sunnydale, 'cept you've got a choice."
"And so it is, thirteen—" Elrond started.
"Isn't thirteen supposed to be bad luck?" Dawn interrupted.
"Faith's on her way," Tári told her, "Though I've always found thirteen to be a nice number, kind of random."
Elrond glared at the two slightly, and they both quieted instantly.
"And so it is, thirteen going to Mordor, you shall be the Fellowship of the Ring," Elrond declared.
*******************************************************************
Hey, look, that only took me since last Sunday (today's Friday). I'm happy; hopefully the next chapter will be out soon…Faith will be back in the picture next time…I promise. Hope you guys keep reading, lost of reviews will inspire me to update sooner than I did last time. Try it, you'll see, it works.