Worlds of Darkness and Light: written by Smeagol Fasir Kenobi and MornieGalad
Disclaimer: We don't own it
Chapter One: A New World
"Damn you, Hyde! Set me free!"
"Can't you see? You are me!"
"No! Deep inside!"
"I am you! You are Hyde!"
"No, never!"
"Yes, forever!"
"God damn you, Hyde! Take all your evil deeds and rot in Hell!"
"I'll see you there, Jekyll!"
"Never!" As his world began to slip into darkness, Jekyll injected himself with the potion that, God willing, would rid him of Hyde forever. There was a burning sensation, as if he had been engulfed in the very flames of Hell, yet there was no light from the fires. Jekyll sensed his mind going blank as Hyde screeched aloud in agony. Then everything went black.
"Oy, Merry, do you think this fellow's ever going to wake up?"
"I don't know, Pip. What do you think, Strider?"
"I could see better if you would get out of the way."
Unbeknownst to Aragorn, Jekyll's eyes fluttered open. Shoving Pippin out of the way, Aragorn shut his eyes and mumbled, "Lasto beth ni talo dan nan galad."
"Strider," Merry interrupted. "I think he's awake."
Aragorn's eyes flew open to see that the stranger was, indeed, awake and giving him a very curious look. In an instant, that look turned to a frantic one.
"Is Hyde gone?" he demanded, quite panicked.
Pippin turned to Merry. "What's he saying?"
"I think he wants us to hide, Pip."
Pippin put on his most curious look and turned to the stranger. "Why? We're safe. We're in Rivendell."
"I'll never be safe from him!" the stranger insisted.
"Who?" Aragorn asked, now as confused as the Hobbits. "You're the only one here."
"That may be how it appears, but if Hyde has not been subdued, I will not be myself." Jekyll was met with even more confused looks. Sighing, he made another attempt. "Edward Hyde lives inside me, through the work of an experiment, an experiment gone quite out of control. Before I lost consciousness, I injected myself with a potion that my have destroyed Hyde, but I cannot be trusted unless it is proved that he no longer exists. Where is the nearest medical facility?" Jekyll paused. "Where am I?"
"You are in Rivendell, my friend," said a voice. From the back of the room, a tall man, with long dark hair, strode in.
Jekyll, however, had hardly listened to the answer to his question, for something else had caught his eyes. "Your ears," he remarked. "I see you, too, have performed an experiment that has gone astray. May I ask how it is that you achieved this?"
The new arrival raised an eyebrow, but answered calmly, "I am an Elf."
Jekyll wisely decided not to pursue the matter further. Instead, he repeated his original question. "Where is Rivendell?"
"A long way from the Shire," Pippin remarked, trying to be helpful, but only confusing Jekyll even more.
"How did I get here, though? The shire is in England, that much I know, but I was in London. Now I am in a place I've never heard of nor seen on a map. I can deal with this later, though. I must determine if Hyde is gone."
"Is Frodo awake?" Pippin interrupted, apparently not listening to this strange fellow's monologue.
"Yes, Master Peregrin, he awoke a few moments ago, which delayed my arrival to this man," Elrond replied, and the two Hobbits dashed from the room.
"My journal!" Jekyll exclaimed, leaping from the bed and beginning to search the nearby dressers and tables. "If it is here, it may hold some answers! Where is it?"
"Elladen and Elrohir said nothing of a journal when they brought you here," the man without pointed ears, whom one of the shorter creatures had called Strider, said.
"Who are they? Where did they find me? Where is the nearest medical facility?" Jekyll asked, becoming visibly frustrated with the situation.
"This is the nearest medical facility. I will get you what you need," Elrond replied in answer to his last question.
"Get me . . ." Jekyll halted mid-sentence. "How will I determine if Hyde is gone?" he asked himself, but not so quietly that his voice escaped the ears of Elrond Peredhel.
"If it is your internal nemesis of which you speak, I may be able to aid you. My race is gifted with great sensational abilities, which would allow me to sense any abnormalities of they type you speak of. I sense no unusual presence within you." Jekyll visibly relaxed.
"I am sorry," he said suddenly. "I've not introduced myself. I am Doctor Henry Jekyll of London." He held out his hand, but received only blank stares. After a moment, he lowered it again. "Elves with pointed ears, no medical facilities, and you don't shake hands. What kind of a place is this?"
The one with pointed ears smiled. "Obviously a very different one from what you are accustomed to. My name is Elrond, and this is Aragorn, son of Arathorn."
"The Hobbits who just left are Merry and Pippin," Aragorn added.
"Hobbits?" Jekyll asked. "What are they? I would have mistaken them for children."
Aragorn laughed. "No, though they sometimes act like it. They haven't been able toholdstill since we arrived."
"Arrived?" Jekyll asked. "When was that?"
"Four rainy days ago," Aragorn groaned, emphasizing the word rainy.
"What brings you here?" Jekyll asked, trying to make conversation. His question, however, was met with only silence.
"Perhaps we should speak of that later," Elrond suggested at last. "For now, you should rest."
"Rest?" Jekyll demanded. "I don't want to rest! That's all I've been doing since I arrived, whenever that was! I don't need any more rest!"
Elrond smiled warmly. "Perhaps something to eat, then?"
Jekyll nodded. He was, indeed, he realized, rather hungry. It had been so long since he had been able to eat – to do anything, in fact – without the constant fear that at any moment, Hyde could seize control. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but now, at last, he was free.
Slowly, he followed Elrond and Aragorn out the door and down the hall. His arms, his legs, his eyes, even his thoughts, were finally his to control, and his alone. He was free.