A/N: A big sorry to those of you thathave been waiting for so long for this chapter. I'm sure you won't want ot bother reading my excuses so I won't bother giving any. This is the latest chapter, hope you like it! Sorry for the wait once again. Lily.
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The world around her bounced up and down, side to side, pain shot through her body as Dawn was jarred by sharp jerky motions. Her arms and shoulders ached painfully as with each movement they took the full force of her weight.
Trying to ignore the nauseous feeling in her stomach, Dawn struggled to keep her breathing steady, at the moment she didn't know where she was or who she was with. The familiar smell of earth, blood, death and decay entered her nostrils, and despite her attempts to remain asleep to who ever was observing her, Dawn sharply pulled her nose away from the disgusting smell.
As she moved the body beneath her stumbled, and a bright light flashed in front of Dawn's eyes as her her arms were almost yanked out of their sockets. A small whimper was released but ignored by those around her.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Dawn waited for the pain to recede before blearily attempting to open her eyes again. Turning her head slightly Dawn was greeted with a horde of demons.
She'd seen them before…the battle….images ran through her head, images of the fallen warrior, of the two innocent children, the clash of metal, sword on sword, the near silent whistle of arrows as they flew gracefully through the air, the small thud as they hit their intended target, and the small pain filled gasp of realisation as you look down at the piece of wood sticking out of your body in disbelief, unable to comprehend the fact that you'd been hit, the cold numbing that spreads through out your limbs. Unable to believe that that was it. That you would die because a small piece of wood, no thicker than a finger.
The growling around her way getting louder, the snarls, the pounding of numerous feet, the clanking of metal. It was…it was overwhelming…so much…there was so much going on, so much happening…her head was spinning, spinning at an impossible pace, like when she'd gotten drunk and couldn't stand up because the world wouldn't stay still…it had been funny then, funny that her legs wouldn't co-operate with what her mind was telling then, funny that she felt detached, untouchable as if she was far above the world, as if her soul was floating high above her, running free with the stars…now those emotions and feelings weren't funny. They were scary, she couldn't breathe, couldn't see…couldn't see nothing but the overwhelming darkness that wanted to engulf her, that wanted to separate her from reality, she felt as if as if she was falling, being dragged down, drowning…
'Oh god…' Dawn thought as she frantically willed her lungs to work, she didn't want to stay her, she didn't belong, she wasn't part of the darkness. 'That's not really true…' a dark shadow in the recess of her mind whispered. The voice so persuasive, so silky, so believable. 'You came from the darkness. That's what those monks were trying to tell you all those years ago. You came from hell. Came from eternal torture, eternal pain, eternal evil…such power can never be used for good…who would want you when your soul is stained with black magic's, stained with the deaths of slayers, friends, family…what makes you think that you can full fill your destiny…how could you? The weakling of the family…the burden that others have to bear because you can't carry yourself…the slayers sister….as if you could be as great as Buffy…' The voice was quietly mocking, laughing at her as she tried to deny the things it was telling her, sneered at her feeble attempts to justify herself. 'You are nothing.' It told her. 'And you shall remain as nothing. Nothing but the key. Nothing but evil. Nothing but darkness and the doom of others.'
'No! No no no no no no!' The rational part of her mind screamed and it carried on, becoming louder and louder, far more intensified than she'd though possible. The screams and shouts of her self denial were the last thing she heard as she slipped into darkness once more.
The second time Dawn awoke, there was no time to become accustomed to her surrounding.
Her head was pulled backwards, and her mouth forced open and liquid was poured down her throat. Vile and coarse it burnt its path down her throat even as she struggled against it, succeeding only in the liquid sloshing over her face and down her neck, a punch rewarding her for her efforts.
Even by the time her body was dropped once again on the ground, she could feel disgusting stuff travelling it's way throughout her body, the pain was sharp and demanding as it knitting skin back together and poured energy into her muscles.
She rolled over, curling up into a foetal position, panting heavily at the effect of whatever they had poured down her throat.
A hefty kick aimed at her kidneys winded her even further, and when Dawn was able to breathe again she gave a low groan. "Get up." A voice growled, barely understandable through the demons mouth.
A round of laughter went round as it pulled Dawn to her feet; she wavered, her legs feeling like jelly despite the fire that raced up and down them. The two children where just in front of her so small and so vulnerable.
"Get moving." A voice with a higher pitch ordered. A sharp crack rang out, soon followed by another as a whip fell onto Dawn's back making her jump and surge forward.
That was the pattern for what (she figured out later) the next two days signified.
The whip would crack down on her back, her ass, her legs, and occasionally at her heels. The demons, who referred to each other as Orcs and Urak-Hai liked to see her wince and bleed, liked to see the pain they caused her with each flip of the whip. The clothing covering her back soon disappeared, becoming tattered rags instead. It was something of a game for them, to see how fast they make her run.
Their game only broken when they forced more 'medicine' down her throat.
The time past in something of a distant haze for Dawn. Her mind feeling so far from her body and current situation. Something was coming. The feeling surrounded her like a dark cloud, it was in the air, in the earth.
The sky was once again becoming dark, and the frantic pace of the company of demons was beginning to slow, breathing was heavy all around her, even the whip didn't fall so often as it had before.
There was rebellion in the ranks, and Dawn hoped that it would end for the demons as it had for the French Noblemen and the King and his queen Marie Antoinette.
Dawn was placed with the children, not children, but hobbit's as she later found out. She was bound as they were, thick rope wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
Concern was plainly read on their features as they peered down at her.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
"Dawn."
"Dawn." Said the other, awe in his voice. "It's a sign Pip! It must be! She's marks the beginning of a new dawn!"
"Don't be silly Merry. It's obviously a warning. Look at her. She's all red. A red dawn means death, murder and mayhem!"
"It's a name." Dawn cut in. "You can't tell anything from a name. A title now that's sometimes different, a nickname, that different again. But you can never tell anything from a name. Never."
They regarded her with wide eyes. "I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck."
"And I'm Peregrin Took."
Dawn nodded at them. "I'm sorry for your loss." How many times had she said those words? "Your father fought bravely." Even if he was stupid enough to take his children out with him while he was hunting demons.
"Our father?" Pip asked. "My father's not dead. Neither Merry's."
"But the man…?"
"You speak of Boromir." Merry informed her.
It was only then that Dawn noticed that they were older than their size suggested. "Midgets? Oh I would love to see Anya's reaction. I bet there would be bunny rabbits in the forest too."
"We're not midgets."
"We're hobbits." They told her.
"Hobbits?"
Both looked affronted. "You've never heard of hobbits?" Pippin asked in wonder.
Dawn shook her head, staring at them levelly. She was about to answer when the groaning coming from the forest cut her off. They turned their heads to the edges of the forest, where the orcs and urak-hai were cutting limbs and branches from the trees.
The two hobbits began to speak quietly, but Dawn tuned out. Her body was turned and sore, and it was without warning that she slipped off to sleep.
When she awoke it was due to the insistent shaking and prodding from Pippin and Merry.
A fight was going on a couple of yards away, and within seconds it was all over,
The grunts and growls telling her what had happened, the loser was being devoured.
Her hearing instantly picked up the sound of rumbling hoof beats; the sound of blade's being drawn and oddly enough, as the battle began the sound of singing.
She struggled futilely against the bonds that held her trapped before she noticed the axe that had fallen in the battle. Rubbing the rope over the edge of the axe she cut through enough of the rope so she was able to break the constraints. A second later and the rope from her ankles followed.
The battle was continuing on around her, and it was only through luck that she hadn't yet been harmed. Picking up the axe, she looked up, debating on the safest route out of the middle of the battle.
And as she looked up, Dawn was rewarded with the satisfying view of seeing a rider swoop down on the leader of the Urak-hai and slice his head off.
She crawled over to one of the hobbits who was about to get flattened by one of the armoured riders and pulled him out of the way, she carried on, grabbing the other and carrying them into the forest.
"Run!" Dawn told them, setting them down on their feet. She glanced over her shoulder; saw the battle that was still being waged. The firelight and the moon illuminating the figures, catching the armour of those fighting.
Taking off after the hobbits Dawn followed them into the forest. It wasn't long before she knew that they were being tracked, and soon enough two orc's emerged from the bushes, heading straight for them.
"To the trees!" Dawn hollered at the two hobbit's, who although running as fast as they could, didn't seem to be making much progress.
The orc's were closing in fast on them, and Dawn knew that it wouldn't be long before the two little hobbit's, who seemed to attract trouble, much like she used to, would soon be caught.
'Strike that.' Dawn thought as her body was tackled to the ground by one of the demons. 'Still do!'
The other orc carried on past her and pursing the hobbit's, who were facing a dilemma, and were unsure what to do. Should they continue on running and get into the trees? Or should they go back to Dawn and try to help her?
"Get into the bloody tree's!" Dawn all but growled at the hobbits as they advanced towards her despite the orc separating them.
The orc climbed up further over her, and Dawn didn't hesitate as she kicked him off, the sound of material ripping and a slight breeze of air across her stomach made her look down and frown. 'Great! Not only do I lose my bags, but my current clothing is torn to shreds as well. That orc was so going to pay!'
Distracted momentarily by her exposed stomach, and then again by checking to see if the hobbit's had made it to safety in one of the many tree's, the orc was allowed to gather it's bearings before leering up at it's pray once again.
The sound of a battle being waged out on the grassy plain's sounded through the night air, but it distracted no-one. Dawn too intent on killing her demon, said demon intent on killing her, Merry and Pippin trying to scale the largest tree Dawn had ever seen, with the smaller, skinner orc tried to follow them, acting strangely like a dog who had chased it's quarry up a tree, and then was unable to follow and had to remain at the bottom, sniping and barking while it's quarry remained safely up above it.
Merry and Pippin were not as safe as Dawn would like to believe whoever, and as soon as she'd turned back to her own opponent, the orc managed to get a foothold in the tree's trunk and followed up the after the harmless hobbit's. With a shout of outrage, Dawn's more immediate problem charged towards her, saliva dripping from its thickly deformed mouth as it anticipated the kill and the taste of fresh women flesh.
But suddenly the ground trembled; the orc stumbled to the ground, and Dawn herself was hard put to keep her balance.
A loud booming sound rang out, filling the air all around her, and Dawn tried to convince herself that the trees didn't creak and groan answering back to the bellow, that they didn't quake with fear at the sound of this 'thing'.
Picking up the knife the orc had dropped as he fell, she buried into the back of its neck.
Not pausing to pay anymore attention to the orc with a broken neck she ran at the tree that was moving. It's branches flaying around as it held the two hobbit's up closer to the roof of the forest.
A large piece of wood that looked like a foot came down heavily and landed on the orc, squashing the demon that had been trying to reach Merry and Pippin earlier.
"Run Dawn!" Pippin shouted.
But she had no chance as the walking tree took a few steps towards her and scooped her up so that she was as trapped as the two hobbits.
"Little orcs, Bu-la-rum." The tree spoke, its voice vibrating the leaves on its own body and those closest to it on the other tree's.
"It's talking Merry, the tree is talking."
"Tree?!? I am no tree. I am an Ent."
"What the heck is an Ent?" Dawn questioned.
It was Merry that answered her question. "A tree herder. A shepherd of the forest."
"Don't talk to it Merry, don't encourage it". Pippin warned him.
"Treebeard some call me." The ent told them.
"And whose side are you on?" Pippin asked not holding back any of his curiosity.
"Side? I am nobody's side, because nobody's on my side, little orc. Nobody cares for the woods anymore."
"Hey!" Dawn protested at being called an orc.
"We're not orcs, we're hobbits." Treebeard was told by Merry. Dawn cleared her throat, and Merry hastily included her, "And Dawn."
"Hobbits? Never heard of a hobbit before. Sounds like orc mischief to me. And what is a 'Dawn'?"
"Dawn is me! Human!" 'For the time being…' She thought morosely. 'Or am I human now?'
The ents grip tightened on the two hobbits and Dawn, and the three of them squirmed trying to wriggle out of his strong grasp.
"They come with fire, they come with axes, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning. Destroyers and usurpers. Curse them!"
"No, you don't understand." Merry protested. "We're hobbits, halflings, shire-folk. And Dawn! Who's of the race of men!"
But Treebeard did not pay their assurances any notice. "Maybe you are, and maybe you aren't. The white wizard will know."
"The white wizard?" Pippin whispered.
"Saruman." Merry confirmed the two hobbits worst fears.
"Take it that's not good them guy's?" Dawn asked weakly.
Her question was left unanswered by the two hobbits and the three of them were unceremoniously dropped to the ground by the giant ent.
A rush of bright light reached their eyes, forcing them to close their eyes or to look away from the sight that was before them. As the light dimmed, Dawn was the first too look up, while the hobbit's tried to gather their wit's.
The air seemed to get stuck in her lungs and her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the figure in front of her. Could it be? Was it possible? Maybe! Oh maybe!
The figure dressed in white turned his own eyes towards Dawn's figure, and she saw them widen in surprise as he recognized the key's features. The feature's of one who had been to hell and back with him.
"Dawn?" He asked, his mouth testing out the word, trying to put a name to the face in front of him. "Dawn?" He asked again.
"Gandalf?" She whispered in disbelief. "Gandalf!" Dawn cried, joy evident in her voice at being reunited with her friend. "It is you! It is!" Racing towards him, she nearly knocked them both over as she wrapped the wizard in a bone crushing hug that he returned.
"My dear girl, glad am I to see you again." Gandalf told her.
"Right back at ya!" Dawn replied.
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A/N: I'm warning you now that the original plot for this story has changed a fair bit from ym original intention's, but I hope that you'll keep reading, I'll try to update fairly reguarly. Thankyou to all those that have reviewed.