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 (6.1-2) "Bargaining, 1 and 2" written by Marti Noxon & David Fury, (7.17) "Lies My Parents Told Me" written by David Fury & Drew Goddard, (7.18) "Dirty Girls" written by Drew Goddard, (7.19) "Empty Places" written by Drew Z. Greenberg, (7.20) "Touched" written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, (7.21) "End of Days" written by Jane Espenson & Doug Petrie and (7.22) "Chosen" written by Joss Whedon. The Angel episode used was "Orpheus" written by Mere Smith. 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, you just suck).

8. Sinners:

The sun rose over Sunnydale as Willow entered the front door after a long night standing guard at the hospital. She spotted Xander lying on the living room floor with other Potentials lying around in the living room as well. Willow carefully stepped over the bodies and grabbed Xander by the shoulder.

"No, Hitler…" Xander mumbled. "It was me…"

"Xander!" Willow whispered as his eyes opened wide. He looked up at his friend as she pulled him to his feet.

"She seems uptight," Gimli declared, as he and the New Fellowship met in Buffy's room, the seven of them having their privacy as they conversed.

"She's fine," Merry defended, "just surprised to see us is all."

"We arrived at a time of high tension," Aragorn whispered. "Much has happened since she came back to this world, more than we could imagine probably. I believe that our arrival has stunned her, as it has everyone. I suspect after she tends to whatever business she has to finish, she'll be ready to come home."

"We mustn't remain here long," Legolas said to Aragorn.

"Certainly," Gimli added. "There is something of a time limit."

"I understand," Aragorn answered. "But I will not hasten her until she is ready."

"I have one question," Pippin spoke up. They turned to him as he replied, "When are we going to eat?" Merry sighed and rolled his eyes.

In the master bedroom, formerly Joyce Summers' room, Willow, Xander and Anya had a tense conversation of their own. "Wait," Xander shook his head, "you're saying that the Fellowship showed up to take Buffy back?"

"Yes," Willow answered, worry striking her facial features. "That's what I heard Aragorn and Buffy talking about last night."

"That doesn't make any sense," Xander replied.

"I know," Willow breathed, "that's what I thought and then I realized what was going on… and then… then it made sense…"

"Let me interrupt your non-English babbling for a second, Will," Xander declared. "Let's look at the facts. Buffy is our friend, she's our leader… she wouldn't just rush off at the first chance she gets."

"Why wouldn't she?" Anya asked blatantly. Xander and Willow turned to her and gave her a look, "What? It's not like I'm the only one who remembers last year. Buffy was miserable wishing that she was back in heaven. What's the difference except now we know exactly where Buffy's heaven was? And now she's got a ticket back to the best place she could possibly be. And you're saying she wouldn't jump on that boat because she has to stay here in… hell? She'd have to be crazy not to pack her bags."

Willow and Xander turned to each other uncomfortably. In their minds, they reviewed past and present, with the knowledge that this could be the very end, and hoped with all their hearts and minds that this was not what it seemed. A happy ending was coming, theyassured themselves. Just like before. Now's not any different. Xander declared whole-heartedly to Willow and to himself, "She's not leaving us. She wouldn't."

Cordelia Chase, still clad in black, paced around her room in the Hyperion tensely. Everything was going perfect, she thought to herself. And then they had to fall out of the sky and ruin it all. She hadn't factored any more champions coming into the game this late. Faith showing up was enough, but now this?

She was seething with anger and her dark eyes were filled with discontent as she continued to pace around in the room. What if they found out that she really wasn't Cordelia? What if they discovered her plan? If they really needed help, they'd be able to call on the Jousting League and they'd save the day for sure.

"Gettin' nervous, yeah?" a familiar Irish voice called. Cordelia froze instantly as the voice rang in her ears. She turned around slowly and faced the tall man with black hair in a brown leather jacket with a red, button-up, big collar shirt over a while undershirt and brown pants. The man's green eyes sparkled as they rested on her, but a malicious grin was twisted on his face.

Cordelia faced him fully, then narrowed her eyes, "Nice try, but you didn't think that I was that dumb, did you? I know you're not him. You're not Doyle."

Allen Francis Doyle, or the First as Doyle, was not surprised to hear this. "Don't mind me stoppin' in," Doyle/The First said with a smile. "Always hated missin' the destruction of the competition. But hey, no hard feelings. We can go downtown and have a Jack D."

"Look at you," Cordelia sneered. "All dressed up and no one to intimidate." She continued in an innocent, fleeting, feminine voice, "Did you think seeing you like that was supposed to… break my heart?" She clutched her chest and fluttered her lashes, "Strike a chord? Get real. I know who you are and you should know who I'm not. Sorry, but you're not going to impress me in that outfit."

"Why don't you save the speech this time, darlin'," the First haughtily declared, stepping towards her. "I'd eat the Powers that Be for breakfast."

"If you had teeth," Cordelia answered. "That's surprising though, given that obviously you have a mouth." She walked passed him, "Besides. I'm not with the Powers anymore. I'm beyond that."

"Sure you are," The First grinned. "Oh, by the way, sorry about your Beasty boy. Heard Angelus knocked him off. That must be a real pain in the arse, if you know what I mean. Good thing you still have Angelus by the tail. Oh, wait. You don't."

"And how's your Apocalypse going?" Cordelia asked, spinning around towards him. "Killed the Slayer yet? I hope so; see it as how you've got a new one headed your way."

"Right," the First declared. "Faith. Quite the looker. Not too bright, though. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to fix her right and well. I'll fix them both."

"How are you going to do that?" Cordelia asked. "Emphatically gesture them to death?"

"I work in mysterious ways," the First grinned.

Cordelia sighed, "Guess that means you've got some assassin that'll probably be hacked to death before this is all over."

"Look on the bright side, darlin'," the First answered. "Less people for you to worry about. Until I kill you."

"Not if I finish you first," Cordelia challenged. "I've already got the Fantastic Five and the Boy Wonder wrapped around my little finger. They don't suspect a thing. With Willow and the Rent-A-Slayer out of my hair, I'll have plenty of time." Cordelia touched her bulging stomach, where her child was stirring inside of the womb as she glanced down, "Won't be long now."

"I wouldn't have all my money on Angel's dimness if I were you, sweetness," The First replied with his arms crossed.

"And what makes you think you'll become corporeal before I take over?" Cordelia asked. "We both know your army isn't enough."

"I'm gettin' mine," the First snapped in her face, Doyle's voice nearly disappearing completely in the mass of anger and hate. "Worry about yours."

Cordelia glared at him and then the thought of the Fellowship returned to her mind. She turned away from him as a smile curved her lips. "You know," Cordy began slowly, "the Slayers aren't all you've got to worry about. There are new players now." The First turned to Cordelia in confusion as she turned back around, "But of course, it's not any of my business."

The First continued to glare at her before finally relenting, "Go on."

Cordelia turned to the wall and shrugged her shoulders innocently, "Oh, you know, it's just… well…" She looked over at him, "Have you ever heard of the Fellowship of the Ring?"

"The Fellowship of the Ring?" the Irish-accented voice repeated. "The one that destroyed the One Ring of Power?"

"That's the one," Cordelia replied. "They're here. Now."

"In Los Angeles?" the First exclaimed with surprise.

"No," Cordelia shook her head idly, "in Sunnydale." That caught the First's attention. Cordelia faced him fully and bluntly began, "Look, this is something that neither of us needs right now. Let's make a deal."

It'seyes found hers and seemed vaguely interested, "I don't need a deal."

"Neither do I," Cordelia countered. "But unusual times call for unusual measures." The First stared at her as a wide smirk formed on her face.

"What're you thinkin'?" he asked. She stood up and went over to a book shelf on the other side of the room and scanned the titles for a book.

"I'm thinking that you kill them," Cordelia smiled, "and I'll give you something that you've always wanted." She pulled a book she stole from Wesley off of the shelf and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She turned it back to the First and showed him the page title: MAGICKS OF TIME DISPLACEMENT.

She explained with a wide grin, "Power."

The doors of Sunnydale Memorial slid open as Buffy and Willow walked in side-by-side and the Fellowship followed them in. They strode down the hallway and received stares from nurses, patients and especially the lady at the reception desk who nearly dropped her coffee in her lap.

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the hobbits noted the staring and tried their best to ignore it, but could not. "It's because you look like you jumped off the horse from the Renaissance Fair," Buffy explained as they continued down the hallway.

A young, teenage girl lay in a hospital bed of the emergency room, bruises covering her face and body. She was covered in bandages and spoke with a soft, fearful whisper. "He was a minister," the girl, Shannon, began, "or at least he dressed like one. I thought he was going to help me…at first."

Buffy and Willow stood next to the bed and silently listened as Frodo and Sam against the wall, next to Merry and Pippin. Legolas watched silently and intensely from the corner of the room with Gimli standing beside him while Aragorn was the closest of all of them, standing behind Buffy.

"How did you meet him?" Buffy asked with deep concern.

"Bringers were after me," Shannon sniffed. "I ran out into the road and… he picked me up. Then he called them… 'his boys.' That was right before he burned me."

"Burned you?" Aragorn repeated with surprise. Shannon reached up and gently pulled back the bandage over the left side of her neck to reveal a scar in the shape of a symbol burned into her flesh. Willow removed a digital camera from her purse and quickly snapped a picture for future reference. The Fellowship gazed around in surprise as the bright white light flashed in their eyes.

"It's okay," Willow replied. "It's a camera."

"A what?" asked Pippin.

Willow frowned uncomfortably, "Uh... It's... how 'bout we go over it in the car, 'kay?"

"The car?" Aragorn exclaimed.

"He wanted to tell you something," Shannon declared, staring up at Buffy as tears welled in her eyes. "Before he… cut me… he told me to give the Slayer a message." Buffy stared down at her as worry came over her and the room once again fell dead silent. "He said… 'I've got something of yours.'"

"I am not familiar with these minions," Legolas turned to Buffy as they were walking down the hallway of the hospital together. "Bringers…?"

"Servants of the First," Willow answered. "They who make with the black robes, the no-eyes, the big knives, and of course, the pure terror…"

"I fear no minion," Gimli announced saucily. "I doubt if there's a Bringer strong enough to face a dwarf!"

"The First?" Merry repeated, then looked up at Buffy. "The First what?"

Buffy answered as she continued her warpath march, "Evil." She walked ahead of the rest of the group, causing most of the Fellowship to pause and watch her from behind in surprise.

"What's wrong with her?" Pippin asked suspiciously.

Willow stopped beside them and looked down at him, then looked up at her. "It's been a long year," she sighed, then followed her leader down the hallway.

"All right," Buffy announced strongly as she eyed her soldiers. "Here's the plan." She stood with her arms crossed in the middle of the Summers' living room as the Potentials stood nearby and stared back at her tiredly with fear and anxiety in their eyes. Xander, Willow and Anya stood near the stairs as they listened, while Giles, Faith and Sunnydale High School Principal Robin Wood stood near the furthest living room wall. Spike listened from a corner as Andrew stood closely at his side and Dawn Summers sat with the rest of the Potentials. The Fellowship, once again being the most out of place, stood mostly together behind Buffy in the foyer.

"There's a new player in town," Buffy declared with a stone face. "Dresses like a preacher. Calls himself Caleb." Buffy turned towards Kennedy and other Potentials behind her as they defiantly stared back at her. "He nearly killed a Potential tonight. He stabbed her because he knew I would come. He gave her a message to give to me."

Buffy idly passed her eyes over Rona, the other defiant Potential that glared at her through her speech, as she continued to pace. "He said that he's got something that belongs to me," Buffy answered. "Could be another girl. Could be something else. Don't know, don't care. I'm tired of waiting and I'm tired of training. He's got something of mine? Fine." She stood still and gazed out at all of them with finality, "I'm gonna get it back. And you're coming with me."

Silence blanketed the room and fear and shock set in.

"Say what?" Rona declared bluntly as she looked up at Buffy. The Slayer stared back at her, unsympathetic to her complaints. "You can't be serious."

"Huh," Buffy replied to her. "Guess strange things happen everyday." Rona gave her leader a look, then turned away harshly in protest. "Look, I'm not saying it's going to be fun," Buffy added, with a pinch of more sympathy than she had before. "I am saying that it's necessary. It's what we have to do."

"Fine," Kennedy replied, with her head down, growing tired of the clash. "Whatever. Just… what's the plan? Do we even know where this guy is?"

"We don't," Buffy answered. "That's why I'm going to take a group on a recon mission to find the location of his place. We've still got the captured Bringer. I figure a lost dog always finds his way back home."

"Yeah, and what if he doesn't?" Rona asked bitterly.

"Then we'll need an excellent tracker," Buffy answered matter-of-factly. "Lucky for us, we've got us a few good trackers that have just dropped in."

Amanda, another Potential and friend of Dawn, raised her hand and pointed at the Fellowship, "They're going?"

"If they're up to it," Buffy answered, turning back to her friends and waiting for a response.

Aragorn gazed at Buffy, then turned to his friends inquiringly. With a nod from everyone, Gimli looked up and grinned, "Our service is yours." Xander, Willow and Anya shot each other concerned looks; Anya's being that of 'I told you so.'

Molly, another Potential, pried her eyes away from Legolas and Aragorn, then turned to Amanda and responded, "Count me in definitely."

Chuckles scattered from around the girls as Buffy couldn't help but crack a smile. She looked over across the living room and caught the gaze of Spike who also smiled and rolled his eyes a bit. "This is serious, everyone," Buffy then declared. "When we come back, I want you ready to ride."

Anya heaved a big sigh and turned to Xander and Willow, "Maybe I'm just being myself, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah," Xander breathed, staring at Buffy and the Fellowship, "in more ways than one."

The black-robed Bringer, with slashed symbols where his eyes should be, crawled through the foliage and brush in the forest west of Downtown Sunnydale. Legolas Greenleaf followed closely behind, staying no more than ten feet behind him, watching him and his surroundings intently. A few feet behind him, Buffy Summers strolled in between Aragorn and Merry, with Gimli trailing behind the group with Frodo, Pippin and Sam.

"Amazing," Aragorn declared simply, the moonlight being enough to light his path as he studied the Bringer. "How is this creature able to see?"

"Dunno," Buffy answered. "SONAR or something… Kind of like bats?" She crinkled her nose and turned to him, "You have bats, right?"

"Do they roam about at their free will like this?" Frodo asked with a puzzled expression.

"Not really," Buffy shook her head. "They usually show up all of a sudden and stab or get stabbed." She turned back to the Bringer and stared at him with narrowed eyes, "But it looks like this one wants to be found."

"Maybe your friends are correct," Aragorn declared. "This all might be a ploy to ambush you when you least expect it."

"I'm through waiting for them to attack us," Buffy snapped, throwing her eyes on him.

"You misunderstand me," he replied, a bit stunned. "This is common rule in any war game."

She stopped and turned to him with a withering tone and expression, "This isn't a game." She glared at them all, "People are getting killed in my world and more are going to die!" Buffy turned back to Aragorn, "I think you're the one who doesn't understand."

Her voice boomed as it faded away and the Fellowship stood in the middle of the forest staring at her. Pippin and Sam exchanged awkward looks while Merry stared up at Buffy with sad, almost hurt eyes. Gimli looked up at her with a profound look of puzzlement while Aragorn gazed at her, clearly unsettled and disturbed. Frodo's deep blue eyes were wide as thoughts of ironic similarity poured into his skull, but the surprise faded away and he simply sighed from his point of higher perception.

"Buffy," Aragorn began, "why don't you just come back with us? We may send for your family and friends once we arrive." Buffy ripped her eyes away from them all and dug them into the dirt as he continued to speak, her face twisting into a sour expression. "Gandalf could plan—"

"Have you heard a word I've said?" Buffy bitterly declared with her eyes on the ground.

"Buffy," Merry softly replied like a betrayed child, "why are you being like this?"

She did not speak nor move. Frodo watched her intently as Aragorn stepped up to her and whispered softly, "Aratoamin…"

The one word shook her to her bones. "Tell us," he continued as she stared at the ground in terror. "Tell us what has happened to you that has made you this way." Suddenly, like a bolt of lighting, the fear went away. She raised her head and stared at him, her green eyes just a little darker and her expression just a little more passionate than before. Aragorn shook his head with pity as he stared down at her, "You've changed…"

His words tolled in her head like the sound of a bell as she swallowed hard. For a moment, every other sound and sight in the forest – all sounds in the town of Sunnydale, California – disappeared completely.

"You really think I've changed?" Buffy asked with a small, almost childlike voice. Her tone suddenly darkened in the blink of an eye, and now this Champion of theirs was threatening and livid with ice water in her veins. "You're even dumber than I thought," she said quietly, with her blazing eyes glaring at him.

Aragorn stared down at her, deeply disturbed as he stepped back away, not being able to take his eyes off of her. A shockwave passed over the Fellowship of disbelief and bewilderment, chilling all of them except for one hobbit near the back who simply pursed his lips and sighed to himself solemnly.

A twig snapped nearby, breaking their trances, as the group turned their head towards Legolas as he rounded a tree and approached them. "I have found something," he stated.

"It's about time," Buffy answered and marched off on her own, walking passed Legolas and the others.

"Xander," Andrew whined petulantly, crossing his arms and staring at him.

Xander Harris stood in front of the Potentials in the Summers living room carrying a spiked baseball bat as he sighed and explained, "Listen guys, Matthew Broderick did not kill Godzilla. He killed a big, badly animated, dumb lizard. That wasn't the real Godzilla. Well, except for the badly animated part."

Rona shook her head and crossed her arms as she held a sword in her hands, "You people are even crazier than her."

"Than who?" Xander asked, staring at her.

"Buffy," she spat with dissention. "She's taking us right into the bad guy's lair."

Xander gazed at her and shrugged his shoulders, "Um, granted I'm not the one with the brains around here… but I think that's where one would go if they were looking for the bad guy." He looked at her incredulously, "You didn't come here to fight plaque, did you?"

Rona sighed and snapped back, "No, I came here for protection."

Xander answered, "Well, you signed on—"

"Look, I know," Rona sighed shaking her head and giving up. "But… I just… This plan is trouble, all right?" Xander turned away from her, unable to hear her finish as he looked towards the stairs. Anya and Willow stood their with their staring at him, Anya with the 'I Told You So' look and Willow clearly having trouble putting her doubts out of her mind.

He stared at his ex-girlfriend and best friend as thoughts of the last seven years flowed through his mind, burning him sometimes, but warming him other times. When the praying mantis teacher tried to eat his head, she was there. When he was split into two Xanders, she was there. Xander was about to be mauled by the female population of Sunnydale High, she was there.

Well, technically, he thought, she was a rat at the time. But that's my bad.

Whenever the world was about to end, she was always there. Why should he and his friends have doubt in her now? Rona's voice came back into his head as she heard her say to the other Potentials, "It's like Buffy doesn't even care how many of us she puts in danger…"

His head snapped over to her as his eyes found hers with instantaneous urgency. "Let me tell you something about Buffy," he announced, making sure he was heard loud and clear. "I've been through more battles with her than any of you can ever imagine. She's stopped everything that's ever come up against us."

At that moment, the front door opened quietly as Buffy and the Fellowship entered inside the foyer just as Faith was joining in on the speech and she stood next to Buffy.

"She's laid down her life – literally – to protect the people around her," Xander continued. "She's died twice and is still standing. You think you're scared? You should be. You've got questions? You should have. But if you doubt her for a second and if you think she's all about the kill…" He let the words fade off as he shook his head, "Then you're taking the short bus to battle."

Buffy clutched the doorknob tightly, feeling her eyes strain, knowing that she couldn't listen to this. She clenched her jaw and wanted to run away as fast as she could, tears beginning to well in her eyes. It was like the purest form of torture for the Slayer who's already been through everything.

Sam stared at Xander, remembering that he was the one who had the best speeches, and he remembered Xander's speech to Sam at the fireplace on the edge of the forest. That was the day Boromir died. A chill ran down Sam's spine suddenly and was gone as quickly as it came.

Frodo glanced down at his shoulder quickly as he put his small palm over his old wound; it throbbed at least once with a sharp tinge, but quickly disappeared. He looked up and turned to Buffy to see her eyes brimming with pain as Xander's words poured out like warm milk. A new worry came over him, but his voice was too weak to form words.

Aragorn listened quietly and his eyes fell to the ground as memories of what was poured into his mind once again. A smile formed on his lips as he whispered to himself, "Aratoamin." Legolas turned to him, having heard and recognized the word, and both of them smiled vividly.

"I've seen her heart," Xander declared, continuing on with their full attention, "and this time not literally. I'm telling you she cares more about your lives than you will ever know. You've gotta trust her. She's earned it." Silence fell over the crowd as Buffy quickly looked down and pulled herself together.

"Damn," Faith announced as they all turned to see Faith, Buffy and the Fellowship standing in the foyer. "I never knew you were that cool."

"Well," Buffy said, raising her head, "you always were a little slow."

"I get that now," Faith nodded simply.

"Okay everyone," Buffy inhaled as she lifted her head, "we're going." The Potentials glanced at each other with trepidation as they came to a stand and clutched their weapons tightly. Buffy stepped out of the foyer and directed them, "All right, the place is a vineyard about a mile and a half off Goddard Lane. We're gonna take a small group this time around – Faith, Xander, Spike, I could use your help."

"No problem gettin' my hands dirty," Spike shrugged.

"Point me where you want me," Faith nodded simply.

Buffy turned to the Potentials, "Molly, Amanda, Chao-Ahn, Lauren…" Buffy's eyes scanned the girls, "Kennedy and Rona, let's go." Kennedy, with extreme hesitance in her heart, nodded simply, her dark eyes finding her love interest Willow as the witch swallowed hard with worry. Rona sighed deeply with her eyes on the floor and shook her head, standing up off the couch and following Kennedy outside, the other four Potentials and the three Scoobies following them.

Xander stopped in the doorway and looked up at Anya and Willow, both of them staring down at him with worry in their eyes and hearts. "Believe," Xander whispered, as Willow and Anya shook their heads. He turned and walked out the door as both of the women disappeared up the stairs.

Legolas gave a look to Aragorn and the King looked down at Gimli. With a nod from the Dwarf, Aragorn walked over to Buffy and asked, "What would you have us contribute?"

"Nothing," Buffy answered simply. She turned to catch the moment the shock changed his expression, "You're all staying here." She quickly pulled away from Aragorn and the others, not being able to look at any of them in the eye as she rushed out the door and pulled it closed behind her with a slam.

The Fellowship stood quietly, very unaware of their place in the world now. "Amazing isn't it?" they heard Giles say as the former Watcher approached them from behind with his hands tucked in his pockets. "Less than five words can change everything."

Buffy stepped down the hallway, her eyes scanning the shadowed crevices inside a wine cellar at the Shadow Valley Vineyard. Kennedy, Rona, Molly and Chao-Ahn followed the Slayer closely, fear gripping the girls, though Kennedy tried the hardest not to show it. Spike was close on Buffy's right, both of them acting like the protective parents of their Potential offspring.

"There has got to be Bringers here somewhere," Buffy shook her head. "It's too quiet."

A few seconds later, several Bringer priests in black robes with matching double daggers leapt out of the shadows and charged the Slayer's group. "Should've enjoyed it while it lasted, yeah?" Spike said, turning to Buffy, then blocking the attack of a Bringer.

A Bringer slashed his razor-sharp blade at Buffy, and she ducked to dodge and shifted out of the way of the next swing. She grabbed one of the Bringers by the arm and kicked him in the stomach, and then she twisted the arm back, snapping it. The Bringer turned around and punched her in the face with his good arm.

Spike jumped back just as a Bringer jabbed at him with a knife and the vampire returned the favor with a head-butt and then a kick to the chest. Molly put her fists up toughly, standing next to Rona, and the both of them double-teamed a single Bringer as he fought to cut both of them. Kennedy fought off a Bringer by herself, managing to knock it down to the ground, and then ran over to Chao-Ahn's aid and helped her battle her opponent.

Suddenly, the Bringers stopped and ran off like deer hearing a gunshot. Buffy straightened and glanced around with confusion. All at once it was too quiet again, as if even the insects in the ground were terrified into silence. The Slayer felt the chill on her skin as if Death had clutched her and knew that something was terribly wrong.

A tall man with dirty blonde hair, dressed in all black save for his white collar, stepped out of the shadows with a twisted smile on his face as he stared at the Slayer's back.

Frodo, sitting tiredly on the Summers' couch, let out a cry of pain as he grabbed his shoulder in agony. "Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, sitting next to him and turning towards his friend. Pippin and Merry, also looked over at Frodo, the four of them crowded on the furniture.

"What's wrong?" Pippin asked curiously.

Frodo broke into a sweat suddenly as he whispered, "Buffy…"

Merry's eyes went wide as he jumped up to a stand, while Sam and Pippin looked at each other, unaware of what to do next.

"Well, now you girls are just burning up with righteousness, aren't you?" the man dressed as a priest said with a slow, southern drawl. "Problem is," he declared, strolling up to the Slayer as she and the others turned towards him, "you think you're blazing like suns, when you're really burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness."

"Save the sermon, padre," Buffy cut him off curtly. "Heard you had something of mine."

He let out a small laugh, "Well, I do now." Apprehension gripped Buffy's stomach as she stared up at him and he stepped closer towards her across the dirt floor of the wine cellar. "You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that little girl. Got her blood all over my truck. Might have to get a new one." The Priest glanced her up and down, but not in any way that a man looks at an attractive woman. Disgust blazed in his dark-as-night eyes as he looked at Buffy, standing before him trying to keep a straight, fearless and powerful expression.

His expression changed as he continued to walk towards her. "So you're the Slayer," he coaxed with awe, his voice sounding like warm molasses as he gazed at her with amazement. The Slayer. The strongest, fastest, most amazing one there probably ever has been." His eyes wondered around the wine cellar, enchanted, as he preached to his invisible congregation, "You're the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind…" His eyes rested upon her again, "The notion of goodness."

Inhaling deeply, overwhelmed by her presence, he stepped up to her with a wide smile as Buffy stared up at him from beneath a furrowed brow. "Yes…" he grinned, "the Slayer is indeed the most powerful among all women." In a flash, he drew his fist back and slammed it like a train into her jaw, sending her flying backwards dozens of feet and crashing into a brick wall. Her skull collided with the hard brick and then she toppled to the dirt floor, her eyes rolling up in the back of her head as she lost consciousness and was out cold.

"So," Caleb looked up smugly at Spike, the unbelieving vampire, and other Potentials who stared at him like terrified puppies, "what else you got?"

"Aragorn!" Merry nearly yelped as the King rushed into the living room from the kitchen, followed by Gimli and Legolas. They each turned towards Frodo who was now clutching his skull in utter torture while grunting and yelling for mercy.

"It's Buffy!" Sam shouted. "Mr. Frodo says there's something happening to Buffy!"

"We have to find her," Merry turned to Aragorn with resolve.

Gimli shook his head, "But we were told—"

"I don't care!" Merry snapped, and then glared up at Aragorn. "We have to find her."

Taken aback, he stared down at the small hobbit that suddenly looked as tall as a giant, with his eyes flashing threats all the same. Aragorn pursed his lips as he kept eye contact with Merry, an understanding coming over him.

"Aragorn," Gimli protested, "it is folly to leave. This is not our world and not our fight. We were ordered to stay." Legolas looked over from Gimli to Aragorn face as Sam and Pippin glanced at each other, then up at Aragorn.

The King with the White Tree of Gondor embroidered on his chest, reached down for the hilt of his sword, Anduril, as his hand rested upon it. "I am not ordered to stay," Aragorn declared as he quickly turned and marched towards the door, Merry rushing out to follow. Legolas left a stunned Gimli's side to follow them out, while Pippin followed him.

"Wha…" Gimli shook his head. "Wha—" He cut off his words and shouting to them, "A dwarf does not fear what an elf or man does not fear!" With a sigh, he pulled out his ax and followed them out of the house.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam turned to his friend to see him standing up off the couch and moving towards the door.

"I'm going, Sam," Frodo announced, "whether it be your will or not." He walked with almost a limp, but he quickly moved out of the doorway.

"I know," Sam answered with a tired sigh as he watched his friend leave, "and I'm gonna be there to rescue you."

Caleb grabbed Spike and lifted the vampire in the air, and then threw him across the wine cellar into a pile of barrels filled with red wine. The barrels burst as he crashed into them and wine spilled out like blood across the floor.

The Bringers rushed out of the shadows like ants to attack the remaining Potentials. The two groups clashed, Kennedy leading the Potentials as she charged at the Priest furiously only to have a Bringer jump in her way. As Kennedy fought the Bringer, Caleb walked up towards her, his eyes feasting on the pleasure he was about to have. He grabbed the girl by the arm and smacked her across the room into another pile of barrels.

Rona looked up from her fight as she shouted with eyes full of terror, "Kennedy!" She bolted towards her friend with her spiked baseball bat in her hands and felt a hand grab her arm like an iron clamp. Rona swung the bat at Caleb, who easily caught it in his free hand as he stared down at the helpless Potential with a smile.

"Miss, I do believe you've got a few problems of your own," he grinned, then snapped Rona's forearm like a twig. She screamed out in agony as he tossed her to the ground, then picked up a knife off the floor, tossing it to one of 'his boys.' The Bringer caught the knife and raised it high above Rona, ready to plunge it into her when an arrow shot through the Bringer's throat.

Rona looked over to see Xander standing in the doorway with a crossbow and Faith at his side as the remaining Potentials rushed out from behind the duo into the wine cellar to join the battle.

"Oh, good," Caleb grinned with his deep south tone, "there's more of you."

Faith charged at Caleb with a knife in each hand as Xander spotted Buffy still down on the floor, unconscious. "Buffy!" he called as he ran towards her, but had to encounter a Bringer blocking his path.

Faith and Caleb exchanged blows, but even the hardest punches and kicks that Faith dished out didn't seem to stop the freight train in a priest's collar. "Oh, lookie now," Caleb grinned as he slapped her around. "You must be Faith. The other white meat." She punched him in the face and he turned around and jabbed her in the stomach, doubling her over. "Your Cain to her Abel. No offense to Cain, mind you."

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, her skull throbbing with pain, as the dim light of the wine cellar grated her eyes. She looked across the room with blurry vision to see a beaten and bloody Faith being tossed away like a tin can. Caleb turned around and clutched the throat of a Potential with long, black hair. Lauren, Buffy remembered as she sat up against the wall.

Lauren's dark eyes were wide and full of helplessness as Caleb turned around and glared at Buffy with a maniacal smile, asking softly, "This one trusts you too, doesn't she?" Forcefully, yet easily, he snapped her head back, crushing almost every vertebra in Lauren's neck as the Potential fell to the ground lifelessly.

"No!" a scream erupted from Molly as she saw her friend's body topple to the floor. Buffy's green eyes, wide with horror, turned towards Molly as Caleb stomped over to the teenage girl menacingly.

"I work in mysterious ways, little girl," he grinned as he gutted Molly with her own sword. "Also in some fairly straightforward ones."

Buffy weakly tried to stand up as Xander ran over to her. "We've got to get out of here!" she ordered. "Give the call now." Buffy turned towards Caleb as he let go of the dead Potential, and her eyes were burning with ferocity. She fumingly rushed Caleb with everything in her heart.

Aragorn rushed down the stairs into the wine cellar with his sword at the ready as Legolas came up behind him, with Gimli behind them and then the four hobbits rushing in last. "Look out!" Merry shouted, as a Bringer rushed Aragorn. Aragorn dug his sword into the Bringer's side, ripped it out, and then sliced off its head.

Legolas drew his arrow and began to fire at the new swarm of Bringers that poured out into the wine cellar, knocking off one by one. "Aragorn," Gimli announced as he pointed, "we're too late!"

Aragorn and the other hobbits looked down at the floor to see the bodies of Molly and Lauren, tattered and destroyed on the floor. He looked up to see Buffy fighting the Priest furiously. "Not yet," Aragorn declared as he joined the fight and clashed with a Bringer.

Buffy ducked underneath one more of Caleb's punches, and then shifted out of the way to avoid a swift kick. She buried two jabs into his chest, then a hook in the jaw. She pushed him backwards then served one mighty blow that sent him flying across the room.

Buffy marched after him just to have her pulled back by her arm. She turned around and looked up at Spike who declared to her, "We're all leaving."

Xander rushed over to Kennedy as she finally pulled herself out of the barrels. He helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?" She tiredly nodded and stood up, then she limped out of the wine cellar. Spike escorted Rona out of the building as Xander turned around and called to the other Potentials and the Fellowship, "Come on! Fall back!"

Caleb grabbed Xander and turned him around to face him. Xander was frozen still as he stared up at the menacing priest that gazed into his eyes and waved one hand around in his face. "Ahh," Caleb grinned. "So you're the one that sees things?" He was terrified into silence as Caleb added, "Well, let's see what we can do about that…" Caleb suddenly buried his right thumb into Xander's left eye, gouging it out as Xander let out a screaming howl and blood trickled down his left cheek.

In a split second, Xander's vision changed from Caleb's face, to darkness, and then he saw something amazing – Galadriel's worried eyes opened and stared at him before he once again saw black.

Aragorn killed a Bringer and turned towards Xander, having heard the scream, as each of them looked over at him in terror. "Xander!" Sam called out as Spike leapt across the room and shoved Caleb away from Xander. Xander collapsed on his back as Spike and Sam pulled him away from the scene and rested him against a vat of wine as Buffy rushed over in terror.

"Mr. Xander!" Sam howled in terror as he clutched his friend's hand. "Everything's going to be okay…" Buffy and Spike lifted Xander up and carried him out with Sam following closely behind.

Caleb came to a stand and charged at Buffy, Spike and Xander again, but was cut off by Aragorn. "Touch them again," he defended, "and you will have fought your last battle."

"Finally," Caleb answered smugly, "a strong male in the bunch. I might actually feel sorry when I kill you." In a flash, Caleb backhanded Aragorn across the room and he landed hard in the dirt. He quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed his sword, his back and side throbbing, but he still prepared to charge Caleb.

"Aragorn!" Legolas called as the rest of the Fellowship retreated.

"Better go catch up," Caleb nodded to Aragorn. "But don't worry. We shall meet again, my friend."

Aragorn backed away with his sword pointed at Caleb, "We are not friends."

Caleb shook his head with pity, "Neither are you and the harlot." Aragorn stayed but a moment more, soaking in this information, and then he turned and was the last one out of the wine cellar. Caleb stood in the middle of the cellar amongst the bodies of the fallen that lay in the wine-soaked dirt as he smiled with a wide grin of satisfaction.

Cordelia Chase sat on her legs in the middle of her hotel room with a circle drawn around her on the wooden floorboards. Candles surrounded her on the circle as she sat with her eyes closed and whispered the same phrases over and over, "Extraho is ex vicis. Curator of vicis, is Volo. Vos tendo is perpetuus iam."

She held out her hand as a blue light appeared in the ceiling above.

"Now, it's a simple story," Caleb smiled as he stood in his wine cellar, "stop me if you've heard it. But I've come to believe that almost anything can be made better after a good story."

Buffy strolled down the hospital hallway and into the emergency room with her arms wrapped tightly around her and bruises on her face and body. One by one, she walked past the hospital beds of her friends, some of them unconscious, some of them awake in pain. Some of them, like Rona, saw her and turned away in anger, cutting into Buffy even more.

"And this one has a happy ending," Caleb announced.

Buffy walked up to the last bed, the one where Xander was in as he lay sleeping with one eye patched and Willow in tears at his bedside. Buffy stood there silently in a horrified gaze that she could not break, something dying inside her eyes to see her friend lying twisted in the bed. Willow turned away from her friend and looked up to see Buffy standing alone far from both of them as if there was a wall between them. There is a wall, Willow thought, then remembered Xander's fateful words.

Believe.

Believe, she thought, her throat tightening, her eyes stinging and her stomach turning - her body lost between fear, despair and anger.

"There was a woman," Caleb said, "and she was foul, like all women, because Adam's rib was dirty – for what was he but human?"

Buffy walked into her home a little while later to see the rest of the Potentials patching up their wounds, some girls in tears because of the loss of Molly and Lauren and the fear of their impending fates.

"But this woman," Caleb continued, "was filled with darkness and despair. And why?"

Buffy looked across the room at Aragorn as he cleaned the blood off of his lip, a bruise grazing his chin. Her eyes softened as tears stung them, but as soon as he turned and his eyes found hers, Buffy hardened instantly and turned away. With her back turned towards Aragorn and the rest of the Fellowship, she swallowed hard as if she were swallowing stones, and stepped out of the living room and out of the house.

"Where is she going?" Pippin asked Gimli.

"I do not know, young hobbit," Gimli declared as he watched her go. "I doubt any of us does."

"Because she did not know," Caleb declared as he stood in front of the First in the form of Buffy Summers. "She could not see. She did not know the good news and the glory that was to come. That would be you. For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are yours, now and forever."

Buffy/The First smiled wide as she heard this news as it stared up at Caleb with pride. "You see she doesn't understand," he explained. "She doesn't know anymore. And they don't see that they can't help her."

Buffy walked down Main Street in Downtown Sunnydale by herself with her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, as silent tears rolled down her cheeks and fear inhabited her green eyes.

"They followed her," Caleb declared, "and she has failed. That is all they see, and all she sees is darkness and fear that she can't let go of. The pieces are set and neither of them sees what is really to come. The rules have changed. Everything has changed. And now there is no time to beat… no center to destroy… no Champion to save them… nothing. The First Evil will rise and everything else… will ruin."

The light finally dimmed as a hot object landed in the palm of Cordelia Chase's hand. She opened her eyes and gazed down at the Elfish Tengwar cursive letters as they blazed up at her and then disappeared into the gold finish of the One Ring of Power.

"See? I told you this had a happy ending."