DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to Joss Whedon, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their other respective owners.
A/N ABOUT THIS STORY: As you can tell, I've taken several scenes directly from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lord of the Rings, word-for-word in the dialogue. This is not to rip off any of the real writers because I respect their work and I am not a plagiarist. This is an artistic ploy to put the reader in the mindset of where they are and is essential to the story. The Buffy episodes used were episodes (5.5) "No Place Like Home," written by Doug Petrie and (5.22) "The Gift," written by Joss Whedon. The movies used are, of course, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, written by Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien (if you didn't know that, shame, shame).
"So what I'm saying is," Buffy declared, pacing back and forth in front of the others, still in Elrond's chambers, "something is happening now that shouldn't be happening. We're here and we're supposed to be there."
"I think that's evident," Boromir replied.
"But this goes both ways," Buffy added, "something that's supposed to be happening right now isn't happening."
"It's caused by both your absence and presence," Elrond replied.
"Something like that," Buffy replied. "Right now, we can't do anything about us not being there, but we can do something about us being here."
"And what's your plan, milady?" Gimli asked.
"Well," Buffy turned to her friends and Spike, whom she had previously discussed this plan with, "it goes like this. Whatever you were doing before we dropped out of the sky, go back to doing it."
"That's impossible," Aragorn answered. "This is a monumental event. Are you telling us to just ignore it?"
"You'll have to," Willow replied. "The energies at work here could really be dangerous. If we're not careful, we could throw both of our worlds out of the loop."
"That plan is not acceptable," Elrond declared boldly, shaking his head.
Spike looked at him, "I suppose you have a better one, yeah?"
"We have our own matters to consider here," Elrond replied. "They do not concern you or your world."
"They are not in their world, Lord Elrond," Gandalf declared, speaking for the first time in a while. "They are now in ours and there is nothing anyone can do about it."
"Come on, this place is like heaven," Xander shrugged his shoulders. "What problem could you possibly have that's so bad?" Elrond and Gandalf turned to him in silence, then Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli. Finally, Frodo looked up at him and then looked away.
"What?" Xander replied. "What'd I say?"
A circle of chairs was placed outdoors amongst the leaves and gardens of Rivendell. Many people and other things moved to the circle of chairs to take their seats. Buffy watched silently from a window in a room nearby. Her room was bathed in light from the golden sun that was about to set. She looked around at the magnificent bedroom that seemed to glitter in golden wonder.
Buffy wondered if the rooms were the same for Willow, Xander and Spike as well. She glanced around and felt almost like a princess, remembering a time in her life when she would have loved to bask in this kind of glory. Things were different now. Things were harder. She was harder. She was not a princess, but the Slayer, and that was something that she could not change.
Buffy turned to the window to see the leaves floating down continuously. Willow was right. She was very much in heaven. She turned away from the window again, remembering her mom and her sister waiting for her at home. She was needed in hell.
"Your burden is heavy for someone your age," a voice softly declared. Buffy turned to see a young woman with long, dark hair extended down past her waist standing the doorway. Her skin was porcelain white and her eyes were bright blue as she spoke softly above a whisper. "Why do you choose to carry it in seclusion?"
Buffy glared at her, plainly, "I don't..."
"But you do," she replied, entering the room, her long, beautiful, ornate dress reaching to the floor. Buffy thought to herself, Now that is what a princess is. "You feel as if you are bound to carry the fates of your friends... and your family... and your world."
"What are you doing," Buffy asked, "some sort of mind reading thingy?"
"I think you are brave," she said with a smile, "putting the fates of others before your own, though you may never see your home again."
Buffy replied, "I've been wishing I weren't on the Hellmouth for a long time, and yet I'm still there. Well, I was at least, but I don't think a ride on the Magic School Bus is going to change that."
"You're destined to be alone, aren't you?" she asked.
Buffy was quiet as she remembered the speech of the first slayer: 'The penetrating wound. The blood-cry. Absolute. Alone...'
Buffy looked up at the woman, as she declared, "You must learn that you do not have to face your destiny on your own. A general is no one without an army."
"I have an army," Buffy answered. "Half of it's here, half of it's there."
"Yes, they are very close to your heart," she declared with a sad smile. "But you won't let them in your heart."
Buffy stared at her quietly, and then finally replied, "Look, I really don't want to talk about this now. This whole place is just kind of freaking me out. Also, it could have something to do with the fact that I've never met you and I don't even know your name but we're having this conversation about my life which you just happen to know a whole lot about." She took a deep breath after that long sentence as the women let out a light chuckle.
"Forgive me," she replied, "my name is Arwen Evenstar, daughter of Lord Elrond."
"I'm Buffy Summers," she answered with a smile, "daughter of Joyce and Hank."
"I had almost forgotten why I had come," Arwen smiled. "My father has allowed you and your friends to attend his council." She glared at Buffy with a bit of a polite frown, "It would probably be best if you wore something, a little..."
"Less southern California?" Buffy asked. "More Renaissance Fair?" She looked down at her tight, white tank top with the gold foil devil printed on it, a good choice with her tight, worn jeans. But Buffy figured she wasn't exactly 5th Avenue styling in Middle Earth at that point. Arwen smiled again and held out an off-white, long, flowing dress with wide flares at the arms.
"You've got to be kidding me," Buffy said, glaring at the dress as she shook her head.
Buffy sat on one side of Gandalf in the circle while Frodo sat on the other side, keeping quiet and to himself, being the only hobbit around. Buffy noticed a group of dwarves, Gimli included, as they walked over to their seats. As they passed a group of elves, Legolas with them, the two groups exchanged loathing looks, then sat across from each other in the circle.
"What's up with them?" Buffy whispered to Gandalf.
"Dwarves and elves have a bitter history," the wizard whispered back to her. "They tend to be... impatient with one another." Buffy made a silent 'oh' with a nod. Aragorn, Boromir and several other humans were also gathered at this 'secret meeting'. Willow approached Buffy from her left, wearing a stunning green dress, not unlike Buffy's. She sat down with a wide grin on her face.
"Isn't this place amazing?" she whispered to her best friend.
"It's a trip," Buffy nodded. "Any sign of Xander or Spike?"
Just then, the girls turned to see Xander stroll in proudly in his Middle Earth garb. His clothes were not different from Aragorn's as he chivalrously sat down beside Willow. "Mi-ladies," he declared with a cheesy grin.
Buffy and Willow tried not to laugh when they saw Spike walk in, dressed similarly to Xander, but with an uncomfortable pout on his face. He still wore his black, duster jacket over his Middle Earth clothes as he stomped in and plopped down in the chair next to Xander. Xander stared at him in silence.
"If you say a word," Spike threatened with a low-toned hiss, "I'll tear your neck out."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Spike," Xander grinned widely. "I don't think they have Excedrin in this dimension."
"Just get your bloody kicks out now," Spike scoffed with a twisted, angry scowl. "'Look at Spike! He looks like sodding King Arthur! Ha ha!'"
"Well, now that you mention it," Xander declared, staring at Spike. A second later he burst out into laughter, chuckling in Spike's ear as the vampire glared away from him, grinding his teeth.
"Strangers from distant lands," Elrond declared, standing before them all and beginning the council's meeting, "friends of old... you've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor."
Xander leaned over to Buffy, "I swear I've seen that guy before..."
Elrond gazed at them all as he continued, "Middle Earth now stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom."
Elrond looked over to the young, peaceful hobbit and outstretched his arm, "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." Buffy looked over at the hobbit as he fearfully stood up and walked over to the small, stone table in the center of the circle. He removed a golden ring from his pocket and placed it in the center of the table for all to see. His task having been done for good, he returned to his seat in silence and took a deep sigh of relief.
Willow turned away from Frodo and towards the Ring on the table, as did Buffy, Xander and Spike, along with the others. The members of the council stared at the Ring quietly as it spoke to each of them, whispering silent things they could barely hear. Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked over to Willow who had a fearful look of dread on her face. Xander turned away from the ring and slowly exhaled as Spike felt a sting in his head where the chip in his brain was implanted.
"It is a gift," Boromir breathed with a smile as he stared at the Ring. Buffy and the others in the council turned to him in confusion as he stood up before them. "A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring?" Aragorn and Gandalf exchanged concerned glances.
"Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor," Boromir explained to them, "kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe!" Boromir paced in front of them, glaring at them all, "Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."
"Okay," Willow raised her hand, short of breath, "can I just say that that sounds like it may be the worst idea in the history of bad ideas?"
"What do you know about this, sorceress?" Boromir defensively demanded, turning towards her with his voice raised. "You do not live in this world! You do not share the knowledge of it that we possess."
"True," Buffy answered, "but when mystical rings start whispering sweet nothings into your ear, that generally doesn't lead to hugs and kisses."
"She is right," Aragorn declared as Aragorn slowly turned towards her. "You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone and it has no other master."
"I gotta ask," Xander piped up. "Who's this Sauron guy, anyway?"
"Sauron is the Dark Lord," Elrond declared. "It was he who forged the Ring, pouring into it all of his evil, so that he could enslave the world."
"Oh," Xander answered, "I knew it had to have something to do with ruling the world."
Spike answered smartly to Xander, "I suppose we wouldn't all be here if the bugger wanted to play chess, now would we?"
"What would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir challenged him.
"This is no mere Ranger," Legolas stood up defensively as Boromir turned to him. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn."
"And that means what exactly?" Buffy asked, getting lost again.
"This is Isildur's heir?" Boromir declared, staring at Aragorn – not impressed in the least.
"What about you sealing a door?" Willow asked.
"Isildur was the King of Gondor," Legolas declared.
"Oh..." Buffy and Willow replied simultaneously. They looked over to Aragorn who did not seem to enjoy the attention. He muttered something to Legolas in a weird language the Scoobies did not understand as the elf sat down in his chair.
Boromir turned to Legolas, "Gondor has no king." He declared to Aragorn, with a hint of bitterness as he walked back to his seat, "Gondor needs no king."
He sat down as Xander declared, "Gee, someone's not jealous."
"Aragorn is right," Gandalf declared. "We cannot use it."
"You have only one choice," Elrond declared in a booming, deep voice.
"That's never a good sign," Willow sighed nervously. "Variety is better."
"The Ring must be destroyed," Elrond continued. They looked at each other in silence as Frodo's eyes wondered to the Ring.
"Well, fine then," Spike declared, getting bored. "Whack it with something and be done with it."
"What are we waiting for?" Gimli declared, as he retrieved an axe from his side and stood up. He walked over to the Ring, holding the axe and brought it down directly on the golden Ring. The ground beneath them trembled as the Frodo shuttered and grimaced in pain. The blade of the axe shattered with an explosion as Gimli was tossed backwards onto the ground.
"Hey, little guy," Buffy turned to Frodo, who held his head in pain, "you okay over there?"
"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess," Elrond declared. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade."
Buffy closed her eyes tightly as she remembered her vision of the fiery, hellish place where the two hobbits were. "It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came," Elrond announced gravely. Frodo continued to stare at the Ring as Buffy opened her eyes and looked over at Frodo.
"One of you," Elrond continued, "must do this."
"One does not simply walk into Mordor," Boromir declared, glaring up with worry in his eyes. "Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the Great Eye is ever-watchful." Boromir stared at them all grimly, "It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, and ash, and dust... The very air you breathe is poisonous fume. It's—"
"Just like high school," Xander declared, reminiscing in his past.
"With ten-thousand men you could not do this," Boromir shouted, turning to Xander then back to Elrond. "It is folly."
Buffy stood up, raising her voice to Boromir in frustration, "Where were you when Lord Enron was speaking?"
"Elrond," Gandalf corrected.
"Right!" Buffy answered, glaring around at the members of the council. "Look, the fate of your world lies in this Ring. Are you just gonna shrink back like a bunch of pansies?"
"The Ring must be destroyed!" Legolas declared, jumping to his feet.
Spike looked over at him, "I think that was pretty much covered, Captain Obvious."
"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!" Gimli raised his voice, glaring at Legolas.
"And if we fail, what then?" Boromir stood up, glaring at Buffy. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"
"Then you take it from him again," Buffy said strongly. "It's called fighting the good fight. My ex-boyfriend's practically wrote a novel on it, if you're ever interested."
Xander chimed in again, "Maybe things would run a little more smoothly if everyone just stopped standing up—"
"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli shouted, cutting Xander off as he came to an abrupt stand. Suddenly, everyone jumped up and began to argue with each other – the Elves with the Dwarves, Buffy with Boromir, so on and so forth. Xander rolled his eyes as he sat back in his chair and Spike tilted his head back.
"Bloody hell," Spike sighed. "I need a drink."
Elrond declared to him, "You are underestimating the gravity of this situation—"
"Hey," Spike looked up, "sod off, headband!"
Gandalf came to a stand and joined in the argument while Frodo became fixated on the Ring. Willow's breaths became short as she glared over at Frodo, then back to the Ring, then back to Frodo again. Willow could sense the evil inside of the Ring as it tugged and pulled at her.
Frodo looked away from the Ring and stood up, turning towards the other people fighting. "I will take it," he declared, but it was a mere whisper from the small hobbit over the roar of their yelling.
Willow shot up out of her chair. "No, Will," Xander declared. "Not you, too—"
"Hey!" Willow screamed. Each and everyone of them was pushed backwards, away from each other by and unseen force. They turned to see to see her eyes thick and dark with Magic. "Would all of you just shut the hell up!" she screamed, the color of her hair darkening for a split second. Buffy watched her friend in confusion as the anger drained from Willow's eyes and her pupils returned to their usual size. She looked as if the wind had been knocked from her as she slightly swayed. "Uh," she breathed, "Frodo wants to say something."
Willow sat back down as they turned to the hobbit. "I will take it," Frodo declared bravely. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." There was a thick blanket of silence covering each of them as they turned to the hobbit in surprise, some of them smiling, some of them fretful. Frodo looked up at the men and struggled to once again find his voice, "Though... I do not know the way."
Gandalf smiled, "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear." He placed a friendly hand on Frodo's shoulder as Aragorn stood up from his chair, not being one of the ones in the argument.
Buffy watched him, unsurprised as he declared, "If by my life or death I can protect you... I will." Aragorn walked over to Frodo and kneeled down before him, coming eye-to-eye as he softly added, "You have my sword."
"And you have my bow," the group turned to Legolas as he approached them.
"And my axe," Gimli declared heartily.
"And Mr. Pointy," Buffy vowed. The council turned to her in confusion as she blushed and reworded her answered, "Uh, and my stake..."
"And my magic!" Willow excitedly added with a smile.
Xander replied, "And my... uh, um, cunning... sense of humor..." The Scoobies stood with Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, Legolas and Gimli as the entire council looked over at Spike, who remained in his seat, appearing as if he'd zoned out.
"What?" he looked up at them. "Don't expect me to join your sodding crusade..." They continued to stare at him. With a painful sigh, Spike rolled his eyes and stood up, "Bloody hell." He walked over and joined the others with Frodo.
"If this is indeed the will of the council," Boromir declared, as they turned to him, "then Gondor will see it done."
"Hey!" a shout was heard from behind the bushes. Sam ran up beside his friend and declared to them all, "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me." Buffy stared at the two hobbits with worry in her heart, flashing back to her vision of the chasm.
"We're coming, too!" another little voice called out as the two other hobbits, Merry and Pippin, ran out from behind a wall and up to Frodo and Sam. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" Merry declared.
"Have you got any other Cabbage Patch friends here?" Spike said to Frodo.
Elrond stared at them all, "Thirteen companions. You shall be The Fellowship of the Ring." Buffy sighed with worry, feeling that something was not right about the words that he had just said.
"Okay, first things first," Willow announced. "There's no way I'm wearing this anymore."
"I second that!" Spike declared.
"Okay," Buffy stared defiantly at the One Ring as it stared back at her. "Let's get this bitch to Mount Doom." She turned around to see the Middle Earth part of the Fellowship staring at her strangely.
"Well," Pippin declared with a positive smile, "this is gonna be fun."