Journey's End

Title: Journey's End

Authors: co-written by my fabulous co-conspirator. She knows who she is.

Rating: PG-13, same as the films.

Genre: Action/Adventure crossover.

Pairings: It's a little too soon for this... but the book ones there are.

Teaser: Buffy is sent by the Powers to fulfill one last oath to a King before she can rest in peace. BtVS - LOTR

Summary: Buffy didn't survive when she defeated the First. Instead, she found herself back at the halls of The Powers That Be, which told her that it wasn't her time to die just yet. They ask her to take one last mission to help give aid to a King in the place of the broken White Council, before she can finally rest in peace. Because of Saruman's betrayal to the old Council, Buffy has been asked to intervene. When she arrives in Middle Earth, she is taken by Gwaihir with Gandalf and brought into Lorién. There she learns about the world she'll soon be helping to save and a King that lies in darkness that she will serve until the end.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns Buffy-verse. J.R.R. Tolkein owns "The Lord of the Rings" books, specifically "The Two Towers" and "Return of the King", both of which we'll be using in this plot. Since we are taking some edits from the movies, they belong to Peter Jackson and company, New Line Cinema, and probably the entire country of New Zealand.

Timeline: We're not going to play around with the timeline TOO much. Buffy arrives in Middle Earth around the 14th of February 3019. She and Gandalf arrive in Rohan by the end of February, 3019. This puts us JUST before Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Gandalf. It should go through the battle at Helm's Deep, through Isengard, past Pelennor Fields, to the Black Gate and through the end events of Return of the King. In Buffy-verse, we're talking like seconds after Sunnydale is destroyed. Buffy therefore arrives in Rohan just in time to meet up with the Rohirrim and is introduced to Aragorn and the others when the Rohirrim circle the trio. Gandalf is left in Fangorn to do his own bidding. As per the books, Eomer returns with her to Meduseld, where he is charged and thrown into prison, etc, etc. We change the timeline to give a few days in there.

Notes: I have read quite a few stories about Buffy getting in Middle Earth and going straight for helping Gondor... what if she chose Rohan instead? What if she chose to fight with the Rohirrim and help save a King? And what if Buffy... err... we're already giving far too much away :)

We also use quite a bit of dialogue and settings, etc from the book. Since Buffy isn't really in the realm of "elvish", there really is no need for it. Also, we've given her her middle name to use instead of trying to come up with one. The Rohirric name for "Beverley" is quite odd (Beverley being the name 'Buffy' is short for!).

Chapter Note: Episode stuff is taken from "Chosen", transcript 144.

- - - - -

Chapter 1

Sanctuary

- - - - -

"Oh, bullocks."

A beam of pure white light shot upwards, bursting through the ground over their heads.

Buffy Summers turned to see Spike, the ensouled vampire, pinned to the wall, standing in the glow of a warm orange light. "Spike!" she cried out, not believing her eyes.

There was a burst of energy and the light from the amulet against his chest burst out streams of white light, annihilating the Turok-han closest to them, and then spreading to beams of what had to be solar energy, taking out those in the chasm below.

Buffy ran to his side as the ground beneath them began to tremble. The other Slayers looked at one another in shock. Chunks of rock and pointed stalactites tumbled from the ceiling as the quaking intensified.

"Everybody out now!" Faith shouted, taking charge.

The Slayers all moved towards the stairs, some of them in obvious agony as Faith worked to pull the injured girls to safety.

Buffy was frozen in time and space, staring at Spike, wrapped in the reddish glow, wanting to intervene, to help him, but uncertain as how to do it.

He spoke then, his voice full of pain and anguish. "I can feel it, Buffy."

"What?" she asked, still trying to find a way to help him.

"My soul," Spike replied in the same voice. "It's really there. It kind of stings."

The last of the Slayers were now running past Faith. She glanced desperately around the chasm that was starting to come apart.

"Go on, then," Spike said, putting up his bravest front, or the bravest he could, considering all of his life's energy and his demon's essence were being poured into this amulet that had just annihilated tens of thousands of super-vampires.

Buffy shook her head, feeling desperate. "No! No, you've done enough! You could still—"

"No, you've beaten them back. It's for me to do the cleanup."

Behind them, the ceiling collapsed, cutting off the abysmal chasm. Buffy stared at it a moment before turning back to Spike.

"Buffy, come on!" Faith cried, her voice a mere echo on top of the narrow spiral staircase. Glancing one last time down at the first Slayer, she jumped back up and made to escape.

"Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say, school's out for the bloody summer."

"Spike!" Buffy said, her voice little more than a plea now.

"I mean it! I gotta do this," he countered.

The light surrounding him began to burn brighter. Reaching forward, she took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. He turned to look at her then, a spread of emotions crossing his face. Their grip burst into flame, sealing the silent promise they once held to one another, a passion long lost, but never forgotten.

"I love you," she said quietly, a tear trickling down her cheek.

He stared at her then, really stared at her. "No, you don't," he finally said. "But thanks for saying it." They stared at each other sadly for a moment.

Chunks of rock above their heads started crashing around them, cutting off various escape routes.

"Now go!" Spike shouted as she broke their contact and glanced at the staircase. In seconds, she was gone.

The front of the school exploded in a shower of dust and debris. From within the hellish storm of flying brick and masonry, a lone figure emerged, running for her life. Faith. She tore across the lot and towards the school bus waiting to bring everyone to safety.

As the bus pulled away, Dawn stared out the back window, searching for any sign of her sister. She couldn't see her, not anywhere.

The front entrance to the school was blocked. With the scythe still in her hand, Buffy turned and looked desperately for a way out. Spying sunlight streaming from above, she ran for the stairs and burst through the roof as the school began to crumble from beneath her feet, sinking into the ground. With a cry, she threw herself off of the old building and onto the roof of the next. Seeing the bus not three blocks away, she put forth a burst of speed, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

The destruction was closing in on her. Before she could leap from her current position to the bus not twenty feet below, the building sank from beneath her. With a scream, she found herself falling away, the scythe spinning endlessly through the air, landing with a hard chink of metal through the top of the school bus still rushing to get away.

She closed her eyes as she saw the hole spreading beneath her. She felt herself falling endlessly and closed her eyes, hoping for a resolution, but it would never come...

The bus came to a full stop outside of the Sunnydale city limits. Dawn burst out of the emergency exit, searching for any sign of her sister beyond the rubble. "Buffy!" she screamed, tears springing to her eyes. "Buffy!"

She was joined by Willow, who caught the younger woman as she fell, shrieking to the ground, her wails dissolving as the shock of what had just occurred overcame her senses.

"No."

One by one, those who had survived gathered by the edge of the gaping hole which had once been their home, silently paying their last respects to the fallen heroes.

- - -

When Buffy opened her eyes, she wasn't where she expected to be. The last thing she remembered was the remains of a building collapsing underneath her. She had been so close to getting to safety, and yet...

Where was she now?

"Hello?" she asked, feeling annoyed that it was taking forever to figure out where she really was. All she saw were great white walls. It wasn't even glowing. From what she saw when she was first in Heaven, this really wasn't it.

"It's been awhile," a voice said from behind her.

Buffy spun around and noticed a familiar figure standing in the middle of the white room, holding a book in his arms.

"You," she called softly. "What is this? Where am I?"

"You're with the Powers, girl," said the figure, stepping forward and offering her a hand. "Gotta say, you sure pulled a miracle out of nothing with Sunnydale."

"Oh, my friends! My sister... are they all right?"

"They are fine," the figure replied with a quiet air of resonance around him.

"When can I see them?" she asked eagerly. "Or am I..." A sad look crossed her features and she glanced around the room. "Am I dead? Is this hell?"

"In quick order, you won't be able to see your friends or your sister again, so I must apologize for that before you decide to make due on your previous threats," the figure replied swiftly. "Your other questions are more complex. You are in a state between living and passing, and this, I can assure you, is as far away from hell as I've ever known."

"What am I doing here?" she asked uncertainly.

The figure bent down and set the book upon the floor before straightening and looking her in the eye. "That question is, too, complex. You are here because the Powers aren't ready for you to be gone yet. There are other wars in other times and the balance is a precarious thing. You just scored a major victory against evil at the cost of your old life. The Powers are prepared to make a deal with you."

"They want me to deal with the Powers That Be?" she asked incredulously. "Whistler, you have to understand something--"

"I know they pulled you out of Heaven, kid. The truth was, we could've done it ourselves had there had not already been someone living to take your place."

"Faith," she echoed softly.

"Your friends, your Watcher and even your sister will follow her now," Whistler replied, gently touching her shoulder, yet she pulled away from him, sharply.

"And what am I going to do? Be you? Be like you?"

"This is where we make the deal," Whistler said delicately.

"Why can't you just let me rest in peace!" she wailed. "This is the third time that I've died for the Powers and they still can't let me go!"

"They're willing to," Whistler replied, looking her in the eye. "They have one last task for you, first."

"They... they do?"

"I told you, kid. The Powers look over other times. There's a time when the balance has tipped so far into the powers of good that in another, the balance is unfurled. This is where you come in."

He stooped low and lifted the book, stared at it for a moment almost lovingly, and then passed it onto her. She took it and stared at the front cover, which acted like a mirror for one moment, showing her bruised, battered face. It then changed to a beautiful, picturesque view of green scenery.

"Where's this?" she asked him. He hovered near her shoulder, half fearing she would overreact and pull something stupid. He glanced at the look of tender thought on her face and gave a grim smile.

"It's a world far worse off than yours ever was."

"It looks so peaceful," she said quietly. "Almost like Heaven."

"It's anything but," he replied. "Open the book, and you'll see."

She pulled open the front cover. Inside, written as though on a scroll, was a map, with the tiny writing of Middle Earth lining the caption. Parts of the map were moving, but she was far too transfixed by the runes lining the margins.

"Is this real?" she asked, glancing up at Whistler, who seemed to relax further about her.

"It's as real as I am, kid."

"And the Powers... they want me to go here? To do what, exactly?"

"They need your help to restore the balance in that world."

To his utter surprise, she closed the book and threw it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. "I am so sick of playing a stupid pawn in yet another useless war! You stand there and tell me I have a new destiny? I am not a toy! You're so useful standing there, staring at me like I'm an idiot, but you know what?" Her voice was so quiet now, her eyes filled with tears of both pain and anger. "I think it's time I get to go to Heaven."

"It isn't your time yet. You know this, because you were so very close to surviving. It wasn't your time to die. When it is, you'll know it."

This was far too much to take in. She dropped to the ground, staring helplessly at the opposing white walls. "What am I to do?"

"There was once a Council of elders who decided the way things ought to be in this land, this Middle Earth. But things changed when the highest of their order turned to sorcery, and hope has faded. While the Powers are returning one who might stand for the highest of this order, they bid for one to stand for him. That's where you come in, Princess."

Buffy didn't seem to take in a word of this until she turned to look at him. "Me? An elder?"

"They were Wizards, technically," he replied, tilting his head to consider her. "You're a few hundred years too young to be considered anything close to elder. A sapling, some might say. A youngling, in their tongue. No, it is the duty of this one Wizard, Mithrandir, to bring one King into power. They have a need for you, as well."

"Look at all the images, Whistler. This land is full of men, powerful men. Women have no place there. Women need no place there."

"There is another King, but he has fallen to darkness. There are many who believe this land will fall, but the Powers believe if they have an aide..."

"Why me?" she asked him, looking startled. "I am so not the girl to help a King, of all people."

"You will understand when you go," Whistler said, picking up the book and handing it back to her. "And, why not you? You have led your friends and the other chosen into a war, pulling a miracle out from within the last seconds of doom. You died a hero in their eyes, Buffy, and if there is one thing this land needs, it is you. If you take this up and promise to fulfill it as an oath, the Power will stand by and let you rest in eternal peace. They might even secure you a happy place in Heaven."

"I want one more thing," she replied, staring down at the images on the book-cover again. She glanced up at him.

"Speak up now, and I'll see what we can do," he replied, looking anxious again.

"I know that my friends, my Watcher and my sister have a hard road ahead of them," Buffy said quietly, smiling wistfully at the memory of her sister. "Can you at least look after them? I know Faith has had her problems, but their lives are in her hands now. She needs your strength, too, even if she'll never admit it. And Dawn... please look after my sister. I don't want her to be alone." At this, she chewed her lip and looked away, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I wish that I could have seen her one last time."

"You understand why you can't," Whistler said hopefully. She nodded gravely and brushed the mutinous tears aside.

"Am I going in blind?" she asked him, looking confused again. "Or are you going to help me?"

"You know as much as you need to at the present moment," Whistler said, dropping down next to her and clasping her shoulder. This time, she didn't pull away; all of her anger was spent. "Mithrandir will guide you, as he is the Head of his Order. You are going to be nothing more than an aide to him, a guide for the men of these lands. I know they have no patience for a woman with a sword, but once they see you in action, I have faith they'll change their minds. Oh, and one last thing..." He looked most reluctant to bring up his last point, and he pulled away, in case she started retaliating again. "There is the issue of your name."

"What's wrong with Buffy?" she asked defensively, leaping to her feet again, the book tucked in her arms protectively.

"These are simple people who will not understand your dialect or your sarcasm. It would be wise to choose something simpler. Buffy is short for Beverley, if you wish to choose that."

Buffy looked revolted at the very thought. "I think I'll go with Anne. It is my middle name, and you have to agree that at four letters, it is quite simple."

"Anne we can work with," said Whistler, smiling grimly at her. He paused and stared off into the distance.

"What is it?" she asked, before he held up his hand to quiet her.

"The Powers have agreed to your terms," he said, looking almost happy as he turned back to look at her.

Her smile was one of fierce pride and satisfaction, and he imagined her smiling this way upon the destruction of the town where her name had been so very well known to the demons and other forces of darkness. It was also full of a bittersweet longing, a desperate want to return to what she knew best. But in her heart, she knew that it was this decision that was going to shape the rest of her life. The Powers were giving her a chance to become a hero one last time.

"I will go," she said at last, rising to her full height. "I'll do what you ask on one condition - no more plots, ploys, or using the Slayer..." Her voice trailed off. Then, "Will I get to keep my powers?"

"You will have your strength and your abilities," Whistler assured her. "You'll have need for those, I'll tell you that. Look, kid... I'm not saying this is going to be easy. You already lived your life, three if you count how many times you could have been buried permanently. All we ask is that you try your best. If you die in any manner, we'll consider this a done deal and you can be free to go and live your life wherever you choose to go. But we need a champion, and you're one of the only ones we got left. We're lucky; we usually have to knock one off to get one. You just stumbled across. Very lucky."

She looked down at the book and turned to the back, where the mirror showed her bruised, battered face again. "Am I going to show up in this world looking like I just fell off a building? Because, I hate to tell ya, it's not really my style."

A moment later, the mirror wiggled, or something like it. She felt for the bruising on her face, but felt no pain. Blinking, she smiled at her reflection.

"Anything else?"

She had so many questions to ask, but she knew that the answers wouldn't be comforting. Would there be wars, battles and death? What were the people like? Were they all men (in which case, she was going to enjoy taking a walk in the past)? What did they use for weapons? What did they wear? Where did they live? So many questions were going through her head, but she couldn't settle on one to ask, save "Where is this place?"

"It's called Middle Earth, and it came before the demons walked upon Earth. It's an old, old time."

Buffy let out a soft moan. "Why couldn't it be somewhere in the future? Of course it has to be the past!"

"I believe there are a great many things that you still may yet do," Whistler said, looking upon the eldest Slayer with pride. "I consider myself lucky to be part of your company."

"Do these people talk like that too?"

"Oh, yes, many do. Some speak the same language, and there are others who do not."

She put a hand over her eyes. "I'm so doomed."

"You'll be fine," Whistler said after a momentary pause. "You'll have the White Rider to look after you. There is nothing to fear anymore, not even death. You've died a lot already, Princess. Maybe now you can find a chance to live in a time where the world isn't about to end and when the world is no longer your sole responsibility. We'll take care of Dawn and the rest of your group. You have to take care of yourself now, and we'll hold our end of the bargain. You never know... you might actually like this world."

Buffy gave him a shaky smile. "Perhaps, Whistler. Stranger things have happened."

"I guess it's time to say goodbye," Whistler said, looking at the Slayer one last time, really seeing her for who she was: power, wisdom and strength. "Don't lose faith in those around you; many have little hope, and you brought much to those Potentials that had none. I am... honored that I had this opportunity to speak with you again, for you are the favorite of many up here, and we hope you'll be among us someday." He gave her a sad smile. "We will not meet again, Buffy Summers."

"Please," she said, giving him a tearful smile. "Don't remind me of all I have lost. If death is still my gift, I'll give it my best. I promise I'll try, that's the best I can do." She walked forward and surprised her guide by hugging him. "Take care of my family."

"I will, Princess. Good luck, Buffy." He reached forward and put his hand to her face. Immediately, her eyes clouded over and as she sank into unconsciousness, her body faded through the floor, passing through clouds of memory and time.

When she next opened her eyes, she felt a great swiftness beneath her and turned her head to see a beating of wings above her; she was being carried. The ground was vast and green beneath her, but she had little time to dwell upon this, as sleep soon overcame her.

When she came to, there was a soft voice singing in her ear and her eyes fluttered open, fixing on a face above her. As she opened her mouth to gape, she heard a voice to her left say, "She awakens."

Buffy turned her head to see a woman clad in white threaded with silver, far more beautiful than any that walked on her version of Earth. Her hair was pale blonde and cascaded down to her hips in gentle waves. A golden triangle fell from a thin chain around her head and settled onto her forehead, giving her an ethereal light that took Buffy's breath away.

"We know why you have come... Merilin."

All Buffy could do was try not to gape at the taller stranger, but couldn't help uttering a soft "Oh."

End Note: This is how it ultimately begins. Most of this story has been written since, oh, this past May sometime. We're just doctoring it up, and we'd love to get opinions on it, basically because this is the first joint-fic, first crossover and the first fic I have ever written. We've decided to use some of the movie scenes, basically because the books, while they do go into great detail, they leave out some of the drama. You'll see what we mean. Yes, Buffy took her new "destiny" easily, this we know. But she'll question her decisions in due time. In this next chapter, she meets her guide.