AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was inspired by an interview Marc Guggenheim gave to Entertainment Weekly, in which he said the writers called Mallus "the Balrog."

Many thanks to Jael for the beta. This one is for plinys, who was so shattered by the S3 finale, and for DarkestSight, who's given us such wonderful stories with her Time Dad series.

Everything hurt.

Everything.

Pain sparked along every inch of his body.

Bloody hell, even his hair hurt.

But to see Miranda and Jonas again, to save the Legends, to do something right after all the things he'd gotten so very wrong…

It was worth it.

He grunted against the pain and opened his eyes.

But it wasn't his wife and son waiting for him.

"Shouldn't you have told the Balrog, 'You shall not pass?'" Leonard Snart smirked and reached out to help Rip into a sitting position.

"Mr. Snart?" Rip breathed. "What…?"

"Here. Take this," Snart said, holding out a small white capsule and a glass of water. "It'll help. Believe me, I know that temporal energy flash burns hurt like a son of a bitch."

Rip accepted Snart's offering, swallowing the slightly bitter pill and chasing it down with the water. After a moment, the pain began to recede. He looked around and recognized his surroundings. He'd spent many a day in this medical facility as a trainee. "This is… the Vanishing Point?"

"Yep."

"And… I'm not dead?"

"Nope. Surprise!" Snart drawled. The man looked only slightly different from when Rip had last seen him; a bit grayer, the habitual goggles missing from around his neck. "I know, you thought you were going to see your family again. I get it. I thought I'd get a chance to see my mom, maybe spit in my old man's eye one more time. But it looks like our numbers aren't up just yet."

"No, indeed!" said another familiar voice. Rip's eyes widened as his foster mother came into the room. "I told you before that you were meant for great things, Michael."

"But I created the Time Bureau…" Rip protested.

Mary Xavier waved that away dismissively. "You are going to do much better than that. So much better." She shot Snart a teasing look. "And you're one to talk about last words, Pinocchio!"

Snart rolled his eyes while Rip raised an eyebrow. "Obviously there's quite a story here."

She smiled. "Oh, yes. And I know how much you love stories."

"For now, here's the big spoiler," Snart said. "Pretty soon, the Legends are going to need us. Right at the turn of the tide."

Rip rose from the bed, the pain now gone but his equilibrium still off. Snart steadied him when he swayed just a bit. "Well, then, you'd better fill me in. But first…"

He leaned closer to Mother. "Any chance of getting some of your tarts? I'm starving!"

Another eye roll from Snart, while Mother chuckled. "Of course!" she said, leading the way out of the room.

The two men fell in step behind her. Rip gave Snart a sideways look. "Balrog, eh? That would make me Gandalf, wouldn't it?"

"Meddling know-it-all? I'd say it fits," Snart returned.

Rip chuckled. "So, if I'm Gandalf, who does that make you? Hmmm… thief… burglar…"

"Don't!" Snart warned.

Rip snapped his fingers. "You're Bilbo!"

"I told you…"

"Boys!"

The two men exchanged a smirk, and Rip began to feel something he hadn't felt in a long time: hope to see a long-broken fellowship restored.

He couldn't wait for the turn of the tide.