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).
Buffy felt as if she were flying through the air as visions of Middle Earth flashed through her mind. Of Rivendell and the forming of the Fellowship... Boromir sparring with Buffy... Buffy talking with Aragorn as they walked across the Pass of Cadharas... Buffy telling Frodo about her life in the mines of Moria... Buffy watching helplessly as Gandalf fell into the shadows at the hands of the Balrog... Galadriel descending the stairs for the first time in Lothlórien... Looking into Galadriel's mirror...Galadriel watching them row away from Lórien...Sitting by the fire on the riverbank...Seeing Frodo lying on the ground, Running after Boromir, Running after Aragorn, Fighting Lurtz, Kneeling at Boromir's side, Kissing him goodbye—
Buffy opened her eyes and stood in the middle of Giles' apartment next to Willow, Xander and Spike and in front of Giles, Dawn, Anya, Tara and Angel. Galadriel's voice rang and repeated in her mind as Buffy stared at Dawn in shock:
Fear not the Beast or the one who does not belong. When your world is uncertain, believe in your love and your purpose shall be made clear.
Buffy sat alone in the dark inside of her living room. She was now comfortable, warm and – thankfully – clean inside of her house, but felt it strange that it didn't feel anything like home.
Dawn was the Key. Glory was the Beast. The exact night that she'd come back from Middle Earth, she had found this out by meeting one of the monks who made Dawn. That was just a few hours ago and now she sat alone in the middle of the night while her mother and her... sister... slept in their rooms upstairs.
She was remembering the things that Giles had told her, but was having trouble understanding. He mentioned that now that the dimensional shift had occurred and was now over, the rate of time of both dimensions had changed again. There was no telling how fast or slow either dimension moved in relation to each other; in the six hours since she'd been back, maybe a century had passed or maybe a single day.
What crushed her most of all is that she would never know what happened to any of them. There was no way of her knowing whether they'd fall at the hands of evil or they'd overcome and defeat their enemies. Buffy looked down at her lap to see Boromir's black cloak – all that she had of Middle Earth – lying over her.
Buffy heard a gentle knock at the front door and stood up curiously, limping towards the doorway. She opened the door to see Spike standing outside in the night air, his hair fully restored to its natural, unnatural color. Buffy moved out of the doorway, leaving it open for him to enter into the house. Spike followed her into the foyer, then into the living room where Buffy sat back down on the couch.
"Came to see how you were," Spike declared, staring down at her as he stood in the middle of the living room.
"Been better," Buffy sighed.
"And Soldier Boy?" Spike asked. "Uh, Riley? Heard he got beat up pretty bad..."
"He'll be fine," Buffy answered tiredly. "Doctors said that he'll probably be released before the week is over."
Spike rolled his eyes as he hesitantly asked, "And Angel?"
"Home by now, probably," Buffy replied slowly. "We didn't talk much. He was just glad I was okay."
"Right," Spike nodded. "Why are you answering these questions?"
"I have no idea," Buffy shook her head in exhaustion. "Why are you checking up on me?"
"Not sure myself," Spike replied and then sat down beside Buffy on the couch. Their fatigue made them forget how uncanny this scene would have been to them if they'd never ventured into Middle Earth – the two of them sat back like old friends on Buffy's couch.
Silence settled between them until Spike finally declared, "Long day."
Buffy lightly chuckled for a moment before her smile faded as she replied, "The longest." She stared into the darkness of the living room before she looked over at him and asked, "Do you think you'll ever forget them?"
"Unfortunately," Spike declared, "no." His stone expression melted a bit as he then added, "And sometimes not so unfortunately." With a light chuckle, a smile stretched his face as he said, "You know what the two sprouts called me when we were in the Enchanted Forest?"
"Merry and Pippin?" Buffy asked, looking over at him.
"Yeah," Spike nodded, thinking deeply to himself, and then slowly answering. "Hero."
Buffy stared at him in silence, watching him take in the memory which brought both contentment and grief in his eyes. Buffy finally declared after a while, "You sure acted like one out there."
Spike turned to Buffy, surprised to hear it. A grateful half-smile curved his lips as he nodded and declared, "You know, I don't suppose we'll ever know how their story ends. But I've got a pretty good idea."
"You do?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah," Spike replied as he looked at the living room, and then turned back to her. "No matter which way the war goes... they go down as Champions."
Buffy stared at him and softly asked, "How do you know?"
He answered while staring at her deeply, "Because we're not the only ones who changed today. They've been changed, too."
"For the better?" she asked in disbelief.
"Can't tell you that for sure, love," Spike declared. "But they've been changed for good." More silence passed between them as they both stared into the moonlit living room.
"So what happens now?" Buffy asked.
"Now?" Spike shrugged and then turned to her. "I guess now we show the people in our world what we've learned from them." Hearing Spike say the words reminded Buffy of something that she had forgotten even when she was in Middle Earth:
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"I wish the Ring had never come to me," Frodo announced softly. "I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf stared at Frodo, then looked up at Buffy, taking note of the fact that she was also listening. "So do all that come to see such times," Gandalf replied. "But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
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Frodo stood on the riverbank staring out at the water as tears rolled down his cheeks and the sun shined down on him, illuminating the Ring in his outstretched hand. He remembered Gandalf's words with agony in his heart.
He pulled together what strength he had left and closed the Ring in his palm, placed it in his pocket and marched towards one of the canoes. He pushed it out of the sand and into the river, jumping into it alone. Grabbing an oar, he paddled out away from the sandy shore as he heard Sam's voice calling out for him, "Frodo, no!"
Sam ran out of the forest, across the beach and into the water calling, "Frodo! Mr. Frodo!"
"No, Sam," Frodo softly whispered to himself, paddling away from the riverbank. Sam watched his friend as the distance between them increased. The hobbit suddenly ran into the deeper water attempting to catch the boat that was many yards away.
"Go back, Sam!" Frodo ordered, watching his friend run into the deep water. "I'm going to Mordor alone!"
"Of course you are," Sam shouted back. "And I'm coming with you!" The water came up to chest level as he continued to walk into the river.
"You can't swim!" Frodo yelled as Sam's head suddenly disappeared beneath the water. Frodo's eyes grew wide as he clutched the edge of the boat, "Sam!"
Beneath the water, Sam struggled and kicked as he sank deeper and deeper beneath the surface until he came to the bottom. He moved slower by the second, helplessly falling victim to the water as he reached up for the light above the surface. Frodo's hand suddenly came down and grabbed Sam's forearm, pulling him out of the water and into his canoe.
Sam coughed and choked as he pulled himself into the boat. He breathed heavily as he declared, "I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise." Frodo gazed at him as Sam, dripping wet, added, "'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to." Sam shook his head as he then remembered something else, "Just like Mr. Xander said, Frodo. I'm not backing out."
"Sam," Frodo said as he shook his head with tears in his eyes. That's all he could say, before he hugged his best friend – his brother – tightly. He pulled away and looked into Sam's determined eyes declaring, "Come on."
"You mean not to follow them," Legolas declared as he stared at Aragorn incredulously. Aragorn sat on the trunk of a tree as he gazed across the river to see Frodo and Sam disappearing into the woods, their boat left behind on the shore.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn sighed, then turned to his still stunned friend.
"Then it has all been in vain," Gimli declared, marching up to them. "The Fellowship has failed." Aragorn stared down at the sand as Legolas and Gimli joined him at his side.
"The good fight..." Aragorn repeated with a half-smile on his face.
"What did you say?" Gimli asked, looking up at him as Aragorn stood up and put a hand on Gimli's shoulder and the other hand on Legolas' shoulder.
"Not if we hold true to each other," Aragorn declared, staring at both of them. He looked up at Legolas, "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind." Aragorn turned away and grabbed his blade, sheathing it at his side, "We travel light."
Gimli asked in surprise, "We're going after them?"
Legolas looked down at the dwarf with a smile, "Isn't that what he just said?"
Aragorn looked up at them both and declared, "Let's hunt some Orc."