Author: Mirrordance

Title: For Every Evil

Summary: Legolas is a policeman in 2004. His colleagues start to wonder why the 10-yr veteran doesn't age & more trouble ahead after he runs across the Fellowship & some friends in modern incarnations, resurrected along with a new world-threatening peril.

25: Preparing for a Race

Rome, Italy

Mid-2004

In Italy, they had the pick of the best homes for a retreat; Eowyn had an estate, Emmett had an estate, Ana had an estate and if they even wished it, Marcelo Craxi too (although Elladan did not find the jaunty suggestion at all funny).

Emmett's was nearest, for he loved his work and relished being near it. But since Wormtongue might retaliate at them from there and from Eowyn's property, they headed for Anatalia's home in the country instead, even if it was a bit further.

Legolas rode with Adrian, Gandalf, Elrohir, Elladan and Anatalia. Behind them trailed Brad, Faramir, Emmett, Eowyn, Faramir, Goran and Harding for a snugger ride.

"Hey Legolas, you're really pressed to tell the truth, huh?" Elrohir asked the weary elf who sat—nay, sagged-- between him and Adrian. He sounded careless, but the Mirkwood elf's eyes were closed and he was worried for his old friend more than he wanted to admit.

"Yes," replied the prince of Mirkwood, opening his eyes.

"Who'd you always like better?" Elrohir teased, "Me or Elladan?"

The elf opened his mouth to answer and Adrian pressed a hand over his lips, glaring at the Rivendell elf. "No taking advantage!"

Elrohir chuckled, and no one in the car understood Legolas' muffled and helpless response.

"Don't laugh," the wizard commanded, "It makes the ride more uncomfortable." Indeed; the fit was so tight any laughter from one end was sending waves to the other end of the car.

"It's a sports car!" Ana retorted indignantly, "What it lacks in size it makes up for speed. Besides, it was never made with a big group in mind, eh?"

"So does that mean you and Elladan won't have very many children?" Legolas asked.

Her cheeks flushed, and the Rivendell elf on her passenger seat was met with the same miserable and wordless non-reply.

"Truth-Serum-ed Legolas is kind of cool," Elrohir commented, "Like he's drunk. Or it can be just an excuse to say and ask all the things you've been too cautious to say before."

"Don't make fun, Elrohir," Adrian scolded him, although he caught sight of the Rivendell elf's worry-clouded eyes and he cut off the tirade and simply gave the other an understanding nod.

"I do have something more to say," Legolas declared, closing his eyes again and struggling to gather his scattered thoughts and steady his world; maybe it was still the drugs, but then again the woman on the wheel also drove like a maniac.

"Wormtongue asked me where the ring was," Legolas said, his voice wavering with his fatigue, "He said if we're all here, then something like it must be too. But there's no ring, is there, Mithrandir?"

"Not to my knowledge, no," the wizard replied.

"But if Wormtongue anyway follows the story so faithfully," Legolas said, "He will know where to look for that ring or whatever its incarnation is now. The hobbits. He asked me where they were. He's going to try to find them. We have to find them first. We have to get to the hobbits."

Ana glanced at him from the rearview mirror. "The what?"
Gandalf's eyes clouded with frustration. There might be a ring, there might not be a ring. There might be a new evil and there might not be a new evil. Is there really still a graver threat than Grissom Warrington? Or are they just trying to stop a man who feared repeating his past so greatly he unwittingly fell into evil anyway?

Evil or no, Grima Wormtongue is going to look for power where he believes it will be, especially now that his army and his assets have been wrenched from him. He will search for it and he will hunt for it almost desperately.

And so once again the rules of the game have changed. It was a race, now, rather than a duel.

"A race to find the hobbits," the wizard said softly.

Emmett was on his mobile phone with his broker, and he had a grin from ear-to-ear. Fortress Defense Systems stock was tanking, it was just being dumped left and right, given the scandal revealed in the Craxi channels. Ordinarily, this is supposed to be a miserable, life-changing and life-destroying circumstance. But not for Emmett. At the low price of the stocks, he could afford to buy controlling shares with his personal money. The accounts who dumped the Fortress stocks also inadvertently revealed who was trying to buy them out: Altman Industries, who are now claiming they are just victims too, since Warrington was blackmailing them, threatening to spill some of their trade secrets (which actually meant 'illegal practices'). This resulted in several fantastic effects: first, they can sue Altman for illegal trading and insider information, since their blackmail claim is yet to be proven. The victory was also made sweeter because Altman lost money in the acquisition of the Fortress stocks at a premium and selling them at a great discount. Altman stock was also plunging because of the scandal and money losses, and likely Emmett will acquire these too. Lastly, he's finally regained control of his family's company, and that all was finally well between him and his uncle.

"We're losing money now," Emmett said confidently, "But once the public gets wind that the Fortress scandal was broken to the media partly by me and Eunice, we'll be back on top."

Especially since he promised the Craxi channels exclusive interviews to tell of how he, along with Interpol, managed to break the scandal. The news and all its exclusives was also sending the Craxi channels soaring to the top of the ratings. Marcelo Craxi would want to adopt Elladan when he discovers his perspective son-in-law had a hand in his great success.

There was also an international manhunt for Grissom Warrington, who is being accused of assault and kidnapping and likely murder too, when the cops did not find the 'Union Leader' in the premises.

Leland Greene was actually very lavishly outfitted in one of the villa's opulent guest rooms, leaning against a mountain of pillows and lying beneath crisp white sheets. It was early morning, but the shades were set over the windows and the yellow lamp lights were set low, encouraging relaxation. But for all these trappings, his glazed eyes roved about the room restlessly, his much-needed respite into sleep remaining a determined fugitive.

Adrian Aarons was with him, frowning with worry. The elf was in bed but could not sleep despite hours of effort, even as his fever-ravaged body obviously cried out for the rest. His mind was wide awake, he said, and it just kept jumping and jumping…

When Emmett Rigare closed down Fortress Defense Systems operations for the day in light of the scandal, he asked his Uncle to loan the technicians Brad and Fred the use of one of the expansive laboratories and a staff to test Warrington's Truth Serum and find some sort of a cure. Anatalia was busy coordinating with her own family business and around the house, preparing meals and towels and fresh clothes for her multitude of guests. Eowyn was with her and the displeased but rather forced Elladan was drafted in this service too.

The Rivendell elf, Adrian confided to Legolas in an effort to amuse him, was a disaster in the kitchen. Elrohir, Goran and Gandalf, in the meantime, busied themselves with the internet and other sources in ardent search of the hobbits. Harding was on the phone, and had a hell of a report to tell his captain.

And so Adrian was left with the elf he wasn't sure what to do with, the elf who kept calling him by the name that was not his own, and yet the elf undoubtedly thought to be true.

"Aragorn," Legolas said, "Did I really just see Gimli? I think I saw Gimli."

Adrian's eyes narrowed in thought. "You mean Jimmy. The hacker."

"Oh," Legolas said after a moment of thought, "He used to be someone else. He used to be short! You used to be someone else. But you were never short. Everybody used to be somebody else. Except for me, because I've always been me."

The doctor set his jaws, and grabbed a towel and an ice pack from the bedside table, putting it over the elf's forehead.

"You're not making much sense," Adrian told him gently, "How much did they give you?"

The elf frowned in thought. "I don't know."

"A lot?" Adrian asked.

"I think so," the elf sighed, closing his eyes, "There's so many questions and so many answers and things just keep popping into my head. I'm so tired…"

"I know," Adrian said, "I want to give you something, but I'm not sure how it will react with what's in you. We have to know what it is first. I can't even give you an antipyretic yet."

"A what?" the elf mumbled.

The doctor smiled. "You know when you get a fever? It's what you take to keep it in control."

"Elves don't get sick," Legolas pointed out, "So likely I really don't know about it."

"So I guess Aragorn's never done this for you before then?" Adrian asked, "Even if he was a healer?"

"You've done this for me before," Legolas replied, "Just not because I was sick. I must have gotten shot. Or hacked at. I forget. I'm not sure which I prefer, bullets or arrows or knives. Not drugs, though. For certain."

"Did Aragorn ever get hurt?" Adrian asked.

"You got hurt once in awhile," Legolas replied, "You always get in trouble when I don't watch. We were good friends once. I'd have given my life for you, I still would. But you didn't die that way. You simply… slept."

"I didn't die at all," Adrian said stoically, becoming rather angered and bothered by the elf's insistence of saying he was Aragorn, even as he tried to reign in his temper and tell himself that right or wrong, the elf was merely thinking these things and helplessly expressing them because of the drugs. He wanted to calm down because he knew the elf was ill, but he was becoming more uncomfortable.

"I'm here," Adrian said, "I didn't die."

"You did," Legolas said quietly, sadly, "I watched."

Adrian took a deep, shaky breath and frowned. "You truly think he is me?"

"Yes," the elf answered.

"And how badly do you want me to be him?" Adrian asked.

"Very," Legolas said, "But I already know you're one."

"What if you're wrong" Adrian pointed out.

"I can see you," Legolas insisted, "I know so well. But why can you not remember? Faramir remembered Eowyn. Grima remembered in the U.K., didn't he, because all things changed for him since then. But you… things are changing and you know it, it will not suffer defiance…" his voice trailed off, he knew he wasn't making much sense, but these things, these pains begged telling too, "We were like brothers, you and I. I'd have given my life for you, I still would. Yet you cannot remember me."

"I cannot answer that," Adrian said quietly, "Leland… Legolas. Who am I to you, apart from all the things you think you can reclaim? Do you not think, that gaining this one attribute, this… this character that I cannot even imagine, results in the loss of another? I am not some empty shell to be filled. I am… who I am."

The elf opened his mouth and Adrian realized that, God, he's really going to answer.

He pressed a hand to the elf's mouth. "I don't want to hear it."

"Then why did you ask," the elf chuckled wearily.

"Because it needs asking," the doctor replied, leaning back on his chair. He sighed. "So the way I understand it, we're looking for a bunch of… small guys."

"That's not very politically correct at all," Legolas scolded, "We're looking for hobbits. Or maybe, nowadays, 'little people.' But I don't think we should be too limiting… I mean look at Gimli. He was a dwarf. And now I think Gimli's taller than me. Gimli's taller than me," he said again, as if it suddenly just dawned on him, "We'd better keep those memories away after all, because I'll never hear the end of that…"

"I didn't know the hacker was supposed to be another reincarnation," Adrian said.

"The big hacker used to be a dwarf," Legolas sighed, "And the three of us, we used to be the three hunters. And now…" he shook his head in dismay, quaking hands lifting up to rub at his eyes in fatigue and confusion, "I'm just talking. It makes me lonely. He doesn't know me. You don't remember me. I know everybody and I remember everything. Everything's changed. People come and go, and I stay. I understand that. Besides, you know, one can only live in Arda for so long despising change. I did, for a time, yes. Sometimes I still do, but it gets tedious. And I'm very tired."

"I know," Adrian said, although in truth, he really didn't.

"You're lying," the elf said casually, and the adan just smirked and didn't bother to deny it.

"I should have known I'd find Aragorn as a doctor," Legolas murmured, "He was always very good at it."

Adrian stared at the elf in consternation. "Can't you even say my name here and now, when the things from your mouth are at their most true? And most disarmed? I'm Adrian."

And then his cellphone rang, and the doctor narrowed his eyes in irritation, until he looked at the screen and realized it was Brad.

"I have to get this," he said to the elf, rising to his feet and making for the door. He spotted Elladan just heading down the hall toward them, bearing a tray of food.

"He's still awake," Adrian informed the Rivendell elf, "He's going to need that, though he may not want it. Try and convince him."

"Is that Brad?" Elladan asked, nodding at the ringing phone.

"Yes," Adrian replied, "Let's hope its good news."

It was.

The Serum was not made to kill, and though undoubtedly the elf overdosed on the stuff, it was an overdose more on the human sense, and he was naturally gifted with the bodily means to battle it.

"The rationale is actually kind of simple," Brad said over the phone, "I'm surprised no one's thought to just develop the concept 'til now. It's a mix of several things, actually. You know how fevers make you delirious? Usually, fevers are regarded more as symptomatic than as actual diseases. But this drug strips the body of its capacity to regulate its temperature, creating disruption in the brain. So weaken the brain and the rest of the body physically, make it susceptible to the even more disarming elements of the drug-- which has the same function as alcohol and club drugs when they stimulate thought and diminish behavior regulation, making the drinker or the drugged more impulsive. Hence, the overrated term of Truth Serum."

"But alcohol is generally a depressant," Adrian pointed out, "And club drugs are stimulants."

"You did say his mind was wide awake and he's tachycardic," Brad pointed out, "Even as his responses are slower. A mix, if you will."

Adrian chewed at the inside of his mouth in thought. "So like fevers, drugs and alcohol, we can just ride this out. I don't want any other new substance in him, lest we confuse his body all the more. Do you concur?"

"Yes," Brad replied, "Just keep him hydrated and well-rested. He'll be Spider-man again in no time."

"Good," Adrian nodded, "Thanks, Brad. I'll see you in the house, all right? Be careful."

"You're sounding as paranoid as they are," Brad said wryly.

Adrian frowned. "Well the things we've seen…"

"I know, I know," Brad sighed, "Hell, do I know. It feels like… like… this weird joke that everyone knows something about but you. You know they're hiding something, they know you know, and you just ride with it and wait for someone to break. And then it's irritating because the punch line is taking too long and it's not funny anymore by the time you hear about it."

Adrian's brows furrowed. "You think there is something no one is telling you?"

"I know it," Brad replied, "I mean, in Messina my brother woke me up and he was just so happy I was alive. And everyone leaves me out of the really tight spots, like I search high and low for a damn candlestick and I find everyone's left. Or I'm stuck to escape car duty. They're all treating me like I'd break, even you. Don't think I'm not grateful, man, but I remember. I fought and I fell and then there you were, like you knew I would. It's just crazy. What the hell do you people know?"

Adrian," Leland breathed, "Brad…"

"He's all right," Adrian assured the elf, "He's still standing."

"I'll clear the way," Leland told him determinedly, "I'll watch your back. But you have to go to him."

"You're the one who's hurt," Adrian pointed out, "You need back-up more."

"You've seen my genes, it's nothing," Leland said through gritted teeth as he downed another enemy, "Do not let Brad stand alone."

"And you?" Adrian asked.

"Nothing's going to happen," Leland insisted, "I know how the story ends, remember? I know how it all unfolds. Go to him. Do not let him stand alone."

Adrian's brows furrowed.

"I know how the story ends," Leland said more fiercely, "Adrian, go to him."

"Legolas said to me," Adrian replied cautiously, "I should not let you stand alone, because he knows how the story ends."

Brad paused in thought. "Did he say this about anybody else?"
"I do not think so," Adrian admitted.

"I'm going to die," Brad said flatly.

"Things are different," Adrian argued, "You're not who they think you are. I'm not who they think I am. Or we don't have to be. Either way, that means the story's changed."

"I don't know anymore, man," Brad sighed wearily, "I look at you now, and you're somebody else sometimes. Maybe… I don't know. Nevermind, you know, whatever. If it's your time to go, it's your time to go, right?"

"No one's dying," Adrian said with resolve.

"Maybe it's all right," Brad said pensively, "You know, if the old story pushes through. Because that means we'll win. And I'm the only one who'll end up dead. It's not so bad."

Adrian did not quite know what to say to that; what a strange, strange source of hope, and a stranger arising conflict. They can count on the old story to strengthen their hearts with the knowledge of a victory that was only lying in wait, even at the loss of a much-beloved friend. Or they can hope that the story's changed and in that case, either Brad stays alive or more die…

Or maybe we can have all that we want, Adrian thought determinedly, Victory, and each other.

But he had to be best equipped first.

If I am Aragorn, he thought to himself, Then let him wake, let him rise, and he had better show me he's worth his legend. And that he's worth all the love of his friends.

He ended the call and strode back to Legolas' room.

His heart nearly stopped at the sight of the elf's still body staring emptily up at the ceiling.

"Oh for God's sake!" he exclaimed, pushing Elladan aside and making toward Legolas. "Why didn't you call me—"

"Shh," Elladan said soothingly, pulling the adan away from the Mirkwood elf. He had a bit of a smile on his face. "He's not dead."

Adrian struggled with the Rivendell elf's grip, "Look at him!"
"Shh!" Elladan said again, "You'll wake him. He's tired, he fell asleep at last. I'm sorry, I should have told you. Our kin sleep with our eyes open."

Adrian stared at the elf for a long moment, watching his chest rise and fall, and watching again just to assure himself the first was not a fluke. And then watching again to make sure that last one wasn't either. He felt Elladan's grip on him loosen as he relaxed.

"Well," Adrian breathed, "That's kind of weird."
"Ana found out about it the hard way too," Elladan said with a laugh, before he realized the implications of what he said and Adrian barely caught a glimpse of his flushed cheeks before he turned his face away. Adrian stifled a laugh, and simply bit his tongue.

For awhile, elf and man stood in the room in silence, and Adrian realized he's not had a moment alone with the elf who had once been Aragorn's brother.

"He's all right?" Elladan asked, rather uselessly, since he was already well-aware of the answer.

"Yes," Adrian replied, "How's everybody else doing?"
"Scrapes and bruises," Elladan answered, "Nothing serious. It's a miracle. Life can really surprise you sometimes."

"I…" Adrian smiled a bit at the jab, "I think I may have learned this the hard way too."

"Oh, aren't you clever," Elladan said dryly.

"But seriously," Adrian said after a moment of thought, "Eh?"

"Yes," Elladan replied, "I suppose so."

Adrian bit his lip in contemplation, skirting around that which he truly wanted to ask. "He seems… Legolas, I mean. He seems so sure about me."

"Aye," Elladan agreed, "That he is. Stubborn, isn't he? He will not let up. He was made this way, I suppose."

"And you?" Adrian asked.

Elladan's brows rose, and he frowned in thought. "It shouldn't matter. I believe in second chances, lives anew. It gives you the opportunity to be who you wish to be."

"But look at us all," Adrian pointed out, "Back here in this damned same spot. How can things be different? How can I?"
"I'm afraid I do not know the answers, brother," Elladan replied, "Perhaps there are none. But I cannot believe that we do not have the choice. Our lives are our own. That face and that body is yours, to do with as you will. I miss Estel but I've long known, and I've long understood that his fate is his and mine is mine. They diverge. It hurts, but then again it is how it is. Now I cannot believe I am saying this, but I am far less lonely than Legolas, and this is perhaps why I can understand this more easily-- Elrohir is with me and I beg you keep this between us, but he always will be and I am glad for that. Deep inside, I'm sure the Mirkwood elf knows that life is just as it is, and you are… Adrian, or Aragorn, or whoever it is you decide to be… You are just as you are. But you should not worry to lose the blasted Mirkwood elf's considerable heart. Because he is just as he is too, and I guarantee you he loves fiercely. Think not of him, or us your brothers, or those who knew Estel of long ago. You have nothing to fear from us, and we should not be asking anything of you than just what you wish to give. Once again, that face and that body are yours, eh? To do with it as you will. But that's the question, isn't it? What do you want?"

"I want…" Adrian's mind raced, "I want to do the right thing."

"You sound… like Aragorn," Elladan could not help but say.

"Do you think we are one?" Adrian asked, "In the greatest honesty."

"I've come across many of Aragorn's descendants," replied Elrohir cautiously, "And you do indeed seem most like him."

"But why can I not recall?" Adrian asked, "Fred remembered at the touch of one whom he loved. Even that blasted Wormtongue remembered. I cannot believe I would not recall my brothers, my dearest friends…"
"I've been contemplating this myself," admitted Elladan, "And I believe I have some measure of an answer. There are some constants in life, things you get so used to, that are always available to you that you do not think about them. Friends, perhaps. Love, family. Food, even. Not to say you take them for granted, just that they've always been there, yes?"

"Yes," Adrian replied, not quite certain where this was going.

"Let me tell you something about Faramir of Gondor," said Elladan, "Or Fred, if you should insist. He knew not much love in life. He knew duty, and brotherhood, and responsibility. Very little of love. A brother, yes, but one that was lost only too early. Constants, remember? And then he meets Eowyn, and she opens for him a wondrous world, and he could love and be loved more than he thought possible. A sudden change, a twist, an epiphany, an awakening, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess I would," Adrian said.

"And then let me tell you about Grima Wormtongue," continued Elladan, "He's known servitude all his miserable life. It was rife with impotent ambition, desperate betrayal, ultimate rejection. And then he awakens to himself and kills his own master. Once again, constants, and awakening. Any life is filled with this. See: Fred goes to Messina and touches one who had awakened him from an old life long ago, and once again he receives an epiphany. As for Wormtongue, I can only guess. Remember Emmett said he changed after a discovery in the U.K.? Roundabout there is where he killed his master long ago, and where he himself was killed. An awakening in the past, parallel to an awakening now."

"What about me?" Adrian asked, "And Brad? And Emmett? Even the hacker?"

"I have to think about the others," said Elladan, "But you… you've always had love and friendship in your life. Family, brothers, laughter, mischief… These are your constants. But there was one great awakening for you in the past. Then as now, we all knew who you were even if you did not know it yourself. You were born a king, born to lead, and born to serve. You woke to a duty destined. And a victory only yours to take, if you chose to. As now, if you choose to."

"I choose," Adrian said fervently, "We need it."

"Well I can think of only one thing that symbolizes this best," Elladan said wistfully.

"Is there anything at all that you remember?" Legolas asked him quietly.

"I'm new here," Adrian said with an apologetic smile, "I'm sure whoever it is you think I am, I'm not it. Maybe I'm just like, the default guy. I mean, everyone else is dead…"

"Maybe you're just being stubborn," Legolas insisted, "If you open yourself up to the possibilities, mayhap dreams would come to you, distant memories. Such that when you walk here, when you touch things, you know you've been around once before. I have an idea. Something that once was truly and absolutely yours lies in rest here in the house. Perhaps you and I, we can go--"

"The first day I was in Imladris," Adrian shared, "Legolas wanted to show me something. He said it was something that was truly and absolutely mine."

Elladan smiled. "He and I speak of the same thing, I believe. Anduril."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hey guys!!! Thanks for the c&c's and for your time and patience. I am presently working on chapter 28 after a very lengthy chapter 27. please keep the reviews coming if you can and I want y'all to know I'm fervently working. So for a bit of a teaser on the next chapters…

starlit jewel's instincts are going pretty well, or we're just on the same wavelength. More headaches to come for our Mirkwood elf when his partner sees him on TV indeed :) Watch out also for Harding discovering his place in the new quest, and Adrian summons Aragorn back.

i'm being a bit slow and i'm real sorry but i swear i'm working. i'll finish the fic in good time. i'm also a bit interested in venturing into other fandoms after this fic. "King Arthur" is rattling the frustrated historian in me so i'll likely be working on that after this LOTR fic. I won't leave forever, it's just a route i'm curious to take. besides, i think the reason why that movie appeals to me is that it has similarities with LOTR. anyway, there, just some thoughts. thanks for your time :)

'til the next post!!! :)