My first ever Hobbit fanfic, any of you out there that like CSI, that's where I usually am! To anyone reading The Light Behind Your Eyes and/or Your Life Over Mine, they are not forgotten, I just wanted to try something new as well :P
As any of my readers know I name chapters and stories after songs, and Where I Belong is by one of my favourite bands, Dead by April. Rebirthing is by a band called Skillet if anyone woders/cares.
This story is based on second chances. Everything has happened (more in context of the films as I have read the books but not for a while and I know the films better) up to Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo returning to the Shire.
For this story to work, Frodo's age is more like his age in the film, but Kíli and Fíli are still younger than Ori.
I think that's all you need to know, I shall let the rest (hopefully) explain itself! Action/angst is my forte, so though this is introductory that will start next chapter hopefully.
Oh, and I own nothing.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Chapter One # Rebirthing #
"My path to light is gone, my place to rest
(I saw it all so clear, the dream of my life do appear)
To finally see it!
All my life,
Awaiting this,
I live my life
For this moment,
And now I see myself as part of it all
(They are as one)" – Dead By April, Where I Belong
Lighting crackled down from night sky, illuminating the buildings of Rivendell against the suffocating darkness of the thick black clouds.
Elrond was uncomfortable, storms of such magnitude were rare in Rivendell, and the clouds never clung so close to their roofs. He stepped back from the thunderous rain and began to walk the corridors of his home carefully.
He smiled as his came across Bilbo Baggins, his permanent guest. The hobbit's face was cobwebbed age, and his hands looked like maps for all the wrinkles. His face, however, now showed youthful irritation.
"Something wrong?" Elrond asked his friend kindly.
Bilbo looked up at him with irritation. "The blasted weather interrupted my thoughts."
"Then let us hope that the blasted weather will pass soon." Elrond nodded with a smile.
Bilbo sighed in irritation as the lighting once again disturbed his thoughts. He was trying to put into words stories he had heard from Frodo, but every time an idea fluttered into his head it was chased out by thunder or lightening or even an increase in the strength of the rain.
"Oh, it was on the tip of my tongue!"
With no warning, he remembered Radagast the Brown, and coming upon him on his adventures with the dwarves, which instantly threw him into a moment of sorrow.
He had been deeply grieved when he had learnt that Balin, Ori and Óin had died in the mines of Moria. With Thorin, Fíli and Kíli long dead, that only left seven other dwarves remaining of their company; Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dwalin and Glóin.
He took his pipe in his hands, which had started to shake regularly with age.
He frowned, the smothering humidity in the air was making it impossible for him to light his pipe. He took his walking stick and hobbled into the courtyard, feeling a strange yearning dragging him into the open air. Within moments the rain soaked him not only to the skin, but through the skin, freezing his heart with water colder than ice.
Elrond turned as a strangled cry emitted from the courtyard. His eyes widened as a bolt of lightning swerved around tree and stone to strike the hobbit in the chest.
"Ai!" he cried in shock as a white fire engulfed Bilbo Baggins for more than a minute, before dropping him in a heap on the floor.
Immediately the storm ceased, the clouds unfurling from their positions mere metres from the ground to disappear into the sky, leaving it bluer than blue.
Elrond walked forward cautiously as the still, unburned, form of the hobbit began to breath. He stopped in his tracks as the white hair thickened and darkened and curled into thick brown locks, as they were when he first met the hobbit.
Bilbo felt a pounding in his head. He pushed himself up from the floor, expecting to use a lot more strength than he actually needed. He blinked, and the blurred vision he had suffered from for the past few months disappeared. Despite his soaked clothes he felt quite dry, and suddenly the clothes themselves were baggy, not tight as they had been moments before. He ran a hand over his face and frowned, finding less wrinkles than he expected.
He looked up at Elrond who looked even more surprised than when Pippin and Merry had revealed their hiding places in his council the previous year.
"Bilbo?"
"Lord Elrond…" he stammered. "W-w-what is happening?"
Elrond scrutinised the shaking hobbit. This was no illusion. The last sixty odd years had fallen from Bilbo's face, from his hands… Time had fallen from him. Realisation dawned upon him and the words fell from his lips. "The Blessing of the Ancients…"
"I don't understand…" Bilbo stammered.
"You will." Elrond insisted, before shouting out orders to his kin who had not yet left for the Grey Havens.
Bilbo stood in shock among the household of Elrond which instantly burst to life.
"My lord?" an elf approached Elrond.
"I must speak to Mithrandir."
"He just arrived." The elf nodded.
"Bilbo, come." Elrond ordered, and the hobbit staggered over, unused to having strength in his legs. The moment the wizard saw Bilbo, he sucked in a deep breath.
"It is exactly as I thought…"
"What, Gandalf?" Bilbo asked, staring from face to face in confusion.
"My dear hobbit, you have been blessed, with the Blessing of the Ancients."
"What does that mean?" Bilbo asked, worried about the phrase he had heard twice in a row.
"It will be explained to you, Bilbo Baggins, but first you need to ride as quickly as possible to-"
"Bag End…" Bilbo whispered. "Gandalf, I must get to Bag End!"
"Why?" Gandalf raised an eyebrow.
"I…I don't know, I just have to." Bilbo insisted.
"It's already taken hold of him." Elrond noted.
"That is good news, Bilbo. And yes, Bag End is precisely where you should be, within a few days if at all possible." Gandalf insisted.
"Days?" Bilbo frowned, considering the week long ride.
"You will ride with me, Bilbo Baggins, and we should get there soon enough."
"Why, Gandalf?"
Elrond smiled. "If he explained now, you would be late for your own meeting."
Bilbo was given barely enough time to change his clothes before Gandalf ushered him to the elvish stables and lifted him up onto Shadowfax.
Within the hour they were speeding through the forest, at speeds Bilbo didn't think possible. Much to Gandalf's joy, they reached the edge of the shire by dawn of the following day. Even as they rose, black clouds seemed to follow them, and by the time they reached the Shire's outskirts they were coming closer. To Bilbo's utter surprise, several familiar figures were also on the road, mounted on stout ponies.
"Gandalf!" Dwalin cried in delight as they saw the wizard come into view. Nori, Dori, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur all drew their ponies to a halt, looking very relieved at the sight of the wizard. "Perhaps you can explain this madness to us!"
"Madness?" Gandalf asked, though he already had a very good idea of what Dwalin spoke of.
"Aye. Not two weeks ago a great storm passed over the Lonely Mountain, and the seven of us were drawn outside. The lightning stuck us all, and it was as if all of the years that passed since we journeyed to Erebor were no longer upon us." Dwalin explained. "We felt as if we had to arrive at Bag End, but we had no idea as to why. We were hoping that someone there could provide us with answers."
"Not there, Master Dwalin, but I will provide you with the answer, once we reach our destination." Gandalf nodded.
"It seems that you've had the same luck, Bilbo!" Nori cried with a smile, noticing the hobbit for the first time.
"Luck? Is it luck, Gandalf?" Bilbo asked.
"That depends on how you look at it. Do you think Frodo will be happy to see you?"
"I should hope so." Bilbo paused. "Though he might be a little surprised. I looked a lot older, felt a lot older the last time I saw him."
"We must press on." Gandalf insisted, staring at the gathering storm clouds. "We must reach Bag End before the storm."
"Or what?" Bilbo frowned, worry for Frodo filling his heart.
Gandalf made no reply, other than to flick Shadowfax's reigns.
"Gimli was right…" Glóin grumbled, remembering his son's telling of the tale of Gandalf's fall and subsequent return to Middle Earth. Gimli had explicitly told his father of his feeling that 'the new Gandalf is even grumpier than the old one!'
The tired ponies were driven by the aura of Shadowfax as they raced the coming storm to Bag End.
As they drew closer, the hobbits of Hobbiton were starting to grumble themselves about unnatural weather and unnatural strangers. None had yet recognised the cloaked hobbit as the much loved (and much distrusted) Bilbo Baggins.
It wasn't until they had almost reached Bag End when two cloaked hobbits, tall for their kind, stood in the middle of the Road, blocking their way.
"And where do you think you're going, dragging such horrible weather with you?"
"Meriadoc Brandybuck," Gandalf raised an eyebrow. "You do not surely think that I brought this weather?"
"Well, he may not but I do." The younger, shorter of the two removed his hood, glaring at Gandalf with stormy eyes. "And I don't like it. I do believe, Gandalf that it is your duty to provide fireworks, not thunderstorms."
The dwarves were all shocked, but Gandalf laughed warmly. "Hello, Pippin. I supposed you journeyed the whole of last year with your face hidden and your ears closed if you still believe that fireworks are the extent of my skill?"
"Naturally." Pippin played along, finally cracking a smile.
"We are travelling to Bag End, to answer your question, Merry." Gandalf smiled.
"We guessed as much." Merry removed his hood. "Where else would suspicious visitors be travelling to?"
Bilbo laughed, and the young hobbits jaws dropped open.
"Bilbo?" Merry cried.
"Yes, it's me." Bilbo shrugged casually, quite enjoying the surprise the two hobbits displayed.
"How is…you're…what – Gandalf?" Pippin stammered.
"If you wish, you may come with us, Master Pippin and receive your explanation." Gandalf offered.
Very tempted, the two young hobbits glanced at each other. "Does Frodo know you're coming?"
A crackle of thunder interrupted Gandalf's reply. "We must make haste, my dear hobbits."
"You're running from the storm?" Merry guessed.
"As usual you are correct, Master Brandybuck." Gandalf smiled fondly. "If you are coming, do try to keep up."
Gandalf smiled, and the two grinned at each other, before chasing the now speeding horses and ponies up the hill.
They reached Frodo's door minutes after the horses, just as the dwarves were knocking on the door.
A shocked Frodo answered, but he was much happier to accommodate the company than Bilbo had been.
When he saw his uncle, he froze, glancing at Gandalf for a moment before frowning. "Bilbo?"
"My dear boy…" Bilbo smiled, but it looked wrong to Frodo. Even as a young hobbit, he could barely remember his uncle looking that young. Regardless he smiled and hugged Bilbo tightly.
"What is happening, Gandalf?"
"We were promised an explanation!" Nori added.
"How about a drop of tea, Frodo?" Gandalf asked. "Do you mind if we settle in the dining room?"
"Not at all, there's more than enough room." Frodo insisted, making sure everyone was comfortable.
Finally, Gandalf started talking.
"In the First Age, a group of people unlike any others inhabited Middle Earth, called the Ancients, in the Common Tongue. They did not remain here long, but while they did they lay out complicated spells that linked the peoples of Middle Earth together. Their oldest spell was the only one to linger for more than an age. It was the cause of this storm and is known as the Blessing of the Ancients."
"That is what you and Lord Elrond said in Rivendell. What is it?" Bilbo asked.
"I was just getting to that, Bilbo." Gandalf looked amused. "A white fire caused by a black storm, a fire that devours age. The Blessing comes to people that the Ancients deemed worthy of a second chance."
"A second chance at what?" Bofur interrupted.
"Well, Bofur, that would depend upon the group it chose. It once blessed a fellowship of men who were trying to defeat a pack of orcs who had murdered their kin. They returned fifty years after they failed, and most succeeded in their second chance. The last occurrence was over four hundred years ago."
"We're fit of a second chance? At what?" Dwalin asked.
Gandalf sighed. "It was foretold by the elves that your company would receive a second chance at the quest of Erebor."
"But we succeeded." Dori frowned. "Do we need a second chance?"
"It is not the quest itself you are being offered the chance for. It is the belief of the elves, and of me that the choice is being offered for the mistakes and failures of after the quest, of the greed and distrust that led to the Battle of Five Armies." Gandalf's words bowed many heads.
"What happens when the storm hits us, Gandalf?" Bilbo asked, worriedly glancing out of the window at the clouds that drew ever nearer.
"Well, this is the place where the quest truly began, as it is where the last member of the company is recruited. The Storm is the messenger of the Blessing, and it began with those furthest away. It brings with it the final members of our company."
Bilbo hardly dared to breathe. "What do you mean? Gandalf?"
"I mean that-"
Thunder like none of them had ever heard before crashed through the air, a million boulders crashing down a collapsing mountain. Lightning electrified the entire Shire, lighting up hill and house, and engulfing everything in the same white fire that had come upon Bilbo and the others.
Then, in seconds, it was over, and a silence befell the Shire.
"Gandalf…" Pippin whispered.
"It is quite alright, Pippin." Gandalf's voice was rough. "The fire cannot touch anyone in the Shire. It was here to deliver the last part of the Blessing, and that is why we had to be here, now. Let us go outside."
"Outside?" Merry raised an eyebrow, but the dwarves and Bilbo followed Gandalf. Pippin needed no further convincing and followed them out of the door.
Merry and Frodo glanced at it each before following them out of the door.
Gandalf let out a soft sigh as he stared at what had fallen in the front garden of Bag End. Tears brimmed in the eyes of several dwarves.
"You call this a Blessing, Gandalf?" Dwalin asked tightly, staring at the body of his brother, Balin, next to the bodies of Ori and Óin, and of Thorin, Kíli and Fíli.
Pippin swallowed. It was difficult just to stand there, with waves of grief coming from the others. It was one thing to have seen the long dead bodies of long dead dwarves in Moria, but it was quite different to see them as if they had died only the previous hour, blood still on their clothing, their faces…
The darkness in the clouds seeped away and they became as white and fluffy as snow, a light rain sprinkling like diamonds from the sky.
The only ones it seemed to touch were the lifeless dwarves on the ground. It soaked through their skin and the others held their breath.
Ori twitched.
Eyes widened as Fíli moaned and Óin groaned, as Balin stretched and Thorin sighed.
"What devilry is this illusion?" Glóin refused to let himself believe what he saw as Óin opened his eyes.
"It is no illusion, Master Glóin. It is the Blessing." Gandalf muttered.
Thorin was first to open his eyes. He blinked, confused. "Gandalf?"
"Welcome back, Thorin Oakenshield."
As the others around him opened their eyes, Thorin sat up with a frown. His whole body shook.
"I thought…"
"That you were dead? You were, Thorin. For sixty long years you have slept."
Balin blinked, remembering falling in Moria. "How is this possible?"
"The Blessing of the Ancients is upon you." Gandalf smiled. "You have been granted a second chance to fulfil your quest and to carry out another."
Thorin shook his head, remembering the last moments of the battle, remembering his sister-sons falling in front of him.
"Fíli, Kíli!"
Fíli coughed from the floor shuddering with painful memories. "Thorin?"
They each turned to the only dwarf who had not stirred.
"Kíli?" Fíli reached out weakly to his brother.
With an almighty yawn, Kíli stretched his arms out and Thorin laughed breathlessly.
"I cannot believe this, Gandalf…"
Gandalf smiled, and even Frodo, Merry and Pippin were strangely happy. "I can hardly believe it myself, but rest assured, it is true."
"If sixty years have passed as you say, why are none of you older? And who are these strangers?" Thorin asked as they began to sit up.
"The Blessing hit us all." Dwalin explained as he began to understand. "While we lost age, there wasn't much of it for you to lose. I'm sure Gandalf will explain it all later."
"And this is Frodo, my nephew and my heir and his friends Peregrin 'Pippin' Took and Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck." Bilbo introduced the younger hobbits who all felt like grinning idiots. They had all been raised on stories of the Quest of Erebor, and of Thorin and his company, and they had grown with Bilbo's quiet grief of friends he lost, so they were elated for him that this strange thing had happened.
"Come inside, my friends," Gandalf instructed. "Eat, drink, and I shall explain what must be done next."
There was much shuffling and helping of people to their feet.
As Frodo began raiding his own pantry for enough food, Merry and Pippin became useful, opening up the bags they were carrying to reveal fresh fruit and vegetables.
There was a muffled silence as dwarves who hadn't breathed in years began to eat and drink.
"How do you feel?" Gandalf asked the entire company gently.
"Strange." Fíli was first to reply. "I don't know how I feel."
"That is to be expected, Fíli. You have been 'asleep', as such, for a very long time. " Gandalf said comfortingly. "And in that time, the world has changed. Many things have passed since the Battle of Five Armies, and even since you, Balin, fell in Moria."
A sudden thought churned Kíli's stomach. "Gandalf? Our mother, is she…"
"She's doing well." Dwalin smiled at the youngest dwarf. "I will not tell you that grief was not hard on her, and for many years she has suffered. But she is strong, and she has survived. Though now she is getting old, laddie."
Kíli frowned. "How many years did you say passed?"
"Sixty one." Bilbo noted.
Kíli's frown deepedned and he was silent.
"Gandalf?" Fíli asked quietly, looking at his brother. "Did we really…die?"
"It will take some getting used to. Believe me. But you will get used to it. " Gandalf's voice was gentle, and he noted that Kíli and Fíli were having the most difficulty coming to terms with everything. "It will not help that you will have no memory of anything that happened after your death, but you have a chance to live now. And you have a chance to be free."
"Well, I certainly feel better for eating." Balin announced.
"And so you should." Gandalf nodded. "But I must warn you, this does not come without a price."
Thorin paused. "What must we do?"
"Retrace your steps to Erebor."
"I feel there is more to it than that." Thorin pressed, and Gandalf nodded.
"Unfortunately yes. In order to ensure that you are worthy of the Blessing, it will have raised several of your enemies, which ones I do not know." Gandalf sighed. "And you have an extra task to do in accordance with the Blessing, as pointed out by the involvement of the elves."
Thorin tensed. "What do you mean?"
"Well the very fact that they foretold anything about this Blessing shows that they are somehow tied into your mission. And it has become very clear to me what you must do."
"And what would that be?" Thorin asked, his voice low.
"Rekindle the old alliance between dwarves and elves." Thorin began to interrupt but Gandalf held up a hand. "This is no longer about pride, Thorin Oakenshield! Should you fail to complete your mission within two years, you will be deemed unfit for the Blessing and you will disintegrate into ash, in the order of which you first departed this earth! If you do not wish to watch Fíli and Kíli die once more I suggest you do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Forgiving and forgetting are two very different things. But the last part of your mission needs not be worried about now. You can worry about that later."
Thorin sighed angrily. "Bilbo is coming with us, I take it?"
"If he wishes to remain in one piece, then yes." Gandalf nodded. "There are two others who I suggest should join the company who could meet us in Rivendell. And you went there, against your will or not, the last time you attempted your quest so go there once more you must."
"Who are these companions?" Thorin was suspicious.
"One of them is Gimli, Glóin's son."
Glóin couldn't help but swell with a little pride.
"And who is the other?" Thorin asked.
"Legolas, son of Thranduil."
"Son of Thranduil?" Thorin's eyes burned. "Do you jest, Gandalf?"
"The two of them are close friends, Thorin and they have reached an understanding that will help you later." Gandalf insisted.
Thorin inhaled angrily. Part of him would rather die once more than journey with the son of the elf that betrayed his people.
Then he looked around. At Dwalin and Glóin, and Nori and Dori, and Bifur, Bofur and Bombur.
He looked at Ori and Óin and Balin.
And he looked at Kíli and Fíli.
Gandalf was right. He would not watch his sister-sons die again.
"So be it."
Gandalf smiled. "Merry, Pippin, do you fancy making yourselves useful?"
"Always." Merry grinned happily.
"Will you take the road to Rivendell and inform Lord Elrond that Thorin and company will be arriving in a while, and that it is my will that they should be joined there by Legolas and Gimli?"
"Right away." Pippin nodded with a smile.
"I will go too." Frodo smiled, wanting to be of use. "If you leave these two alone on the road, who knows where they will end up."
"Very good." Gandalf smiled. "As for us, we will rest here, with your leave of course, Frodo, and then journey on in the morning."
Frodo smiled warmly. "Make yourselves at home."
As the sun rose the next morning, Thorin woke.
He walked outside and joined Gandalf on the bench in the garden of Bag End.
"So it was not a dream?"
"No…" Gandalf nodded.
Thorin sighed. Having slept he felt stronger, ready to go and to do what must be done. "This new quest…will we have to retrace our footsteps exactly?"
"Not exactly, but as closely as we can." Gandalf nodded.
"We fell prey to greed, Gandalf. That was our downfall." Neither looked at the other as they spoke. They both stared at the rolling hills of the peaceful Shire.
"Yes."
"It must not happen again." Thorin sighed. "Dain is ruling Erebor, I take it?"
"Yes."
"Then how will he react to our return?"
"That is yet to be seen." Gandalf admitted, turning at last to Thorin. "While there is much that you know now about this journey, there is just as much that none of us know."
"It may kill us once more."
"It may."
Thorin sighed deeply. "On the battlefield, seeing Fíli and Kíli fall before me…I told myself that it was my fault. That they were too young to come. We had told Gimli that he could not come, but he was not much younger than Kíli, by the count of our people."
"Now is not the time to dwell on such thoughts. They are brave, Thorin. They are loyal. And now you all have a second chance. Each and every one of you."
"Then we should leave as soon as possible."
As they spoke, dawn warmed the gentle landscape of the Shire, gleaming with its promises of new hope and new life.
Sorry that it's really long and a little waffly, that won't always be the case, and I'm sorry for any OOCness, this is my first Hobbit fanfic like I said :P
Drop a review if you're interested/have any comments/critiscms :P
