A/N: Aaaaaand here we go with chapter 2! :D Hopefully you guys liked the last one and are ready to get into the story a lot more! :)

In response to an unnamed guest who reviewed: In this fanfic, the girls have been out of high school for a year. Though I'll probably say this in the future at some point, I'll tell you now that they're all 19 years old. In Changing Destinies, they're still in school (as juniors, I believe? So that would make them all about 17 there). So, to answer your question...technically, this fic comes after the other series, but remember: In this fanfic, Changing Destinies does not exist. It was never written. The girls have never been to Middle-Earth or anything like that. Hopefully I cleared things up a bit instead of just confusing you even more. XD

On with the fic! :D

Chaos Unleashed: Chapter Two

Erin's POV

I shoved my house key into the small lock, twisted it, and quickly entered the tiny foyer of my half of our shared home. Without pausing to take off my shoes (or even turn any lights on, for that matter), I passed through our living room and headed upstairs, immediately making a left, heading down a short section of hallway, then another right before slipping into my favorite room in the entire complex and kicking the door closed behind me. I finally paused to take a breath, my eyes scanning the semi-dark room momentarily before reaching to my left and flicking on the lights.

Within an instant, the bulbs in the ceiling lit up to reveal a room that was ridiculously disorganized, with various things strewn across the floor, missing from their places on shelves, and a pile threatening to spill over next to an equally messy work desk. These things included both blank and painted-on canvases of multiple sizes, bottles of paint, brushes, colored pencils, sticks of graphite and pastels, paper, and more. This was the art studio, also known as the room that I spent about seventy-five percent of my time in. I moved over to my art desk, being careful not to step on anything important, and plopped into the black seat, pushing several papers aside to reveal my purple Hewlett Packard laptop hidden underneath.

It didn't take me long to turn it on and ensure that it was plugged into the small, but fairly high-quality speakers and sub-woofer that I had, and a few moments later my iTunes was up and running, with the song "O God Save Us All" by the rock band Disciple ringing out loudly. I bobbed my head in time to the beat, humming along through the first verse as I dug around on the desk until I found a pencil and eraser, then propped my feet up on the bass speaker that vibrated with every note and grabbed a nearby drawing to work on.

"Misguided...divided...we have nowhere left to fall! O God save us all!" I sang along with the lead singer as lead moved across paper. It was a sketch of two figures, one being an older male who was crouched down on one knee and lightly gripping the shoulder of the other; a much younger boy who was grabbing at the elder's hand in fear. Eventually, these two forms would become King Thranduil and a young Legolas in a scene where Legolas was begging his father to stay behind before the Elvenking rode out to battle somewhere. "Mistaken...forsaken...with our backs against the wall! O God save us all!" I trailed off as the second verse kicked in, focusing on drawing the hands of Thranduil correctly.

...Or at least, I tried. After only a minute, my mind wandered back to the letter from Asbury rejecting my application. I sighed as I continued to work, thinking about Kathryn and Kaia next door. I knew that they were both concerned with the fact that I couldn't get accepted anywhere, but...if only they knew the whole of it.

Growing up, I'd never been in an incredibly poor or incredibly rich family. I was an only child of two parents who'd been blessed with steady jobs, and we'd always been in the middle class as far as money was concerned. Never had any problems or anything unexpected, and before I graduated high school, my parents both promised that they would help out with paying for my tuition as much as they could. Obviously, I'd planned for just that – to pick up a job somewhere near where I would be going to school and then work my way through college, with assistance from my folks when I could get it.

Sadly, that was not to be. Kaia and Kathryn thought that the reason I wasn't going to college was because I couldn't get accepted anywhere, but...the truth was that I'd actually gotten accepted to all but three out of the several schools I'd applied to in the past year, including Asbury. The problem was that now I couldn't pay for it.

Just before the end of my senior year, our family bank account was somehow hacked into, and the majority of our money was stolen. Thankfully, the thief left just enough of it behind for my parents to still be able to support themselves...but there was just no way they would be able to help me pay for college at all anymore. This was one of the biggest reasons I'd moved out to live with Kaia and Kathryn. My parents literally couldn't afford to have me around anymore. I'd never told another soul of my motives, mostly because I didn't want them taking pity on me and paying for a bunch of my stuff. I'd been doing okay on my own for awhile, but now because of the financial issues with my parents, I was unable to go to any of the colleges that I'd been looking forward to attending.

Suddenly, the lead of my pencil snapped, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked down at the paper and frowned. "Of course the anatomy isn't right," I mumbled as a new song started playing. "Because we just can't have that." I exhaled as the song "Release the Panic" by RED rang out and started erasing parts of the sketch.

As I worked and sang along with Michael Barnes' incredible vocals, I glanced at the clock. 6:30. Then I glanced out the studio's front window, smiling a bit when I saw that the sun hadn't even set yet. I'm so ready for summer. We had a bunch of events lined up to attend over the three months that I loved the most, and I was beyond ready to start. Sadly, though, it was only the second day of May. I still had about a month before anything major happened.

I turned my head back to my picture and nodded, finally satisfied with the how the figures looked. As I began drawing the details of Legolas' face, I turned up the volume of the music slightly and sang along as loudly as I could. "Cause you're trapped in the countdown...and your days are numbered...Don't you know that you're done for? Right now, lights out, let your panic out!"

oOo

An hour later...

Kathryn's POV

"YOU...SHALL NOT...PASS!"

I grinned and did a little fist pump as Gandalf slammed the bottom of his staff into the stone bridge on the TV screen and cheered as the Balrog fell to his doom. "Yeah, Gandalf! You show him who's boss!"

Kaia laughed from where she was stretched out on our couch, though she also winced slightly as we watched the old wizard get his ankle snagged by the demon's whip of fire and was dragged to the edge of the crumbled stone so that he was just barely hanging on with the tips of his fingers. "Oooh...sucks to suck."

I glanced at her. "Would you really say that if he was about to die right in front of you?"

"I totally would," she said sarcastically, laughing even more. "...Dude, we're horrible people. We're laughing and making jokes as an innocent old man dies right in front of us."

I cracked a smile at that. "Hey, you're the one who's laughing. I'm actually sitting over here and watching the movie like a normal person."

"That's the boring way," she scoffed. "My way's so much better. And besides, you know that he comes back anyway."

"That doesn't make laughing at someone's death okay!"

"Doesn't it?"

"Kaia!"

These were the conversations we often had while watching movies like the beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. Erin was just about the biggest nerd for all things Tolkien that I'd ever known, and a couple years ago she'd managed to drag the two of us down with her. Kaia and I were currently watching the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, as Erin was (regrettably) still locked away in the art studio above us, working away.

Speaking of her... I glanced up at the ceiling, particularly the spot where I knew her sub-woofer sat on the floor. Erin had never been one for soft music, so even now, with the movie playing fairly loudly, we could faintly hear the deep pounding of the bass from above. "You know, I'm kinda worried about her."

"Who, Erin?" Kaia asked. I nodded. "Yeah...me too. I can't remember the last time I've heard her say no to watching these."

"I know," I said. "Do you really think it's just because of that one college not accepting her?"

My dark-skinned friend shook her head, her straightened blackish hair messily flying around. "No...there's gotta be something else. I mean, you know Erin. She wouldn't let that one thing get her down."

I shrugged and looked back to the TV as the Fellowship entered the woods of Lothlórien. "I'm not gonna bug her about it, though. That probably won't help."

"Oh yeah, I know," Kaia said quickly. "I wasn't gonna ask her unless it got worse. Maybe she just had a bad day at work or something."

I nodded. That makes more sense. "Cool. Now shut up! This is one of the best parts!"

oOo

Erin's POV

I smiled as I filled in the remaining spot of blank canvas with acrylic paint, then leaned back in my chair a bit to view my work. I'd just about finished a painting of the Fellowship that I'd been working on for a few weeks now, and I'd been inspired to finally try and finish it when I'd heard Kaia and Kathryn running the first of the three movies downstairs. The complete recordings from the same movie was playing in the studio now, though I wasn't as far along as they were. I was currently at the point of the story where the Council of Elrond took place, and when last I'd listened to the others, they'd been somewhere in Lórien.

Maybe I should paint that next, I thought, mixing up a custom golden color to add a few final touches to the One Ring that rested openly on Frodo's chest. I glanced at my own spot-on replica of the small golden band that I'd bought off of Ebay not long ago, complete with elvish inscription carved into the metal.

Just as I moved my eyes back to the canvas, the music took on a darker tone, and I recognized it as the bit where Gandalf spoke the Black Speech written on the Ring during the meeting in Rivendell. I spoke the words along with the voice of the Istari that I heard in my head as I continued to paint. "Ash nazg durbatulùk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulùk...agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!" I laughed softly to myself and went to dip my brush back into the blob of paint on my palette.

Suddenly, just as the soundtrack swelled to its loudest and most intense point, the room went pitch dark, and I frowned, pausing my music. "Oh, what the fuck?" I heard Kaia's muffled yell from below. "Erin, what did you do?"

"I don't know!" I shouted back, laying my tools down before getting up and running to open the studio's door. "What happened?"

"Hell if I know!" was her response.

I rolled my eyes. "Then just run down to the basement and flip it back on!" I sighed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one in this house who thinks logically," I mumbled. Maybe it was my music? I smirked. Guess the house couldn't handle that much awesome without blowing a fuse. I turned to go sit back down and wait for the power to come back on.

When I turned around, though, I froze in the doorway to my room. My Ring was still sitting in the exact same spot on my desk that I'd left it, but...what was it doing? The lettering...it...it was glowing! I did a double-take to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but there it was. The script glowed brightly in the semi-darkness brought on by the sunset, casting a flame-red reflection of the lettering around the room like the actual Ring did in the movie. "...Guys..." I called warily over my shoulder. "...Guys! Come here!"

"What?" I heard the pounding of feet as they ran up the stairs, and Kathryn's voice grew louder as she approached me. "Erin, what-" She too stopped and stared at my Ring, and it took a few seconds for her to find her voice again. The text was glowing brighter now, almost blindingly so. "Oh my God...what's it doing?"

"I don't know!" I squeaked, genuinely freaked out at this point. I snapped my head in her direction and grabbed her shoulder. "Is it gonna explode or something?"

Kathryn groaned. "See? This is why I told you not to buy stuff off of Ebay! But no, you just couldn't take my advice..."

I opened my mouth to retort, when suddenly there was a loud bang that resembled a gunshot, making both of us jump, and the light from the Ring disappeared, almost like the glowing text itself had blown a fuse. Kathryn screamed a tiny bit and grabbed my upper arm tightly, and not a second later, we heard a loud thud from another room nearby, like something had fallen.

The two of us slowly turned to stare at each other for a minute, now even more afraid of what was going on. "Kaia?" I shouted. "You okay?"

"Yeah!" I could barely hear her, so I figured she was still down in the basement. "Did I do that? Sorry, guys!"

"No, you're good!" I reassured her. I glanced back at my Ring before turning to Kathryn again, who still hadn't let go of my arm. "What was that other noise, though? It sounded like it came from the closet or something."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh God...don't tell me you're gonna go over and look in the closet."

"Well, what else should I do?"

"You get as far away from that closet as possible!" she hissed. "Haven't you ever seen any horror movies?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Kathryn, there's not gonna be some random monster that popped up in our closet. Chill out."

"You don't know that!"

"Then I'll go find out," I said, pulling myself free of her grip and walking off down the hall.

"Erin!" Kathryn whispered. I didn't even have to look back to envision her still frozen in place at the doorway to the studio. "Erin, get back here!"

"No!" I whispered back.

"Fine then! But if some crazy chainsaw murderer jumps out and kills you...then I told you so!"

I just shook my head and rounded the corner, coming up to the closed closet door. The lights still weren't on, and it was quickly getting darker now that the sun had finally slipped below the horizon. Just as I reached out to grab the knob, though. I paused. Is that...voices I hear in there? The frick? I swallowed. Kathryn's prediction of a monster in the closet suddenly didn't seem so ridiculous. But no, it couldn't be a monster...could it? I hesitated as I barely registered hearing the sounds of movement inside. Oh crap...what if there really is something in there waiting to eat my face off? Then I realized how dumb I sounded. Okay Erin, come on. Grow a pair and just open the freaking door. I took a breath, then shot my hand out and yanked the door open as quickly as I could, preparing myself for the worst. What I did not expect at all was to have a ton of bodies come flying out, about to land right on top of me. I screamed and jumped back. OH FRICK THERE'S BODIES IN MY CLOSET WHAT IF THEY'RE CORPSES OF THE PREVIOUS OWNERS OF THE HOUSE OH MY FRICKING FRICK-

...Wait. Those are definitely NOT dead bodies. They're moving. And groaning. They're definitely alive. I stood completely still in the half-darkness, unable to identify the people. That is, until they started talking.

"Is everyone all right?"

"What in the name of the Valar happened?"

"Aragorn, where are we?"

"Is the food still here? I'm hungry."

"Pippin! Shh!"

The minute the people started talking and getting to their feet, I swear on all that is good and pure in the world that my heart stopped beating. Because there, slowly standing up one by one in my hallway, was the Fellowship of the Ring.

I didn't say a single thing as they started doing a quick head count to make sure they had everyone with them. I guess they didn't notice me right away, because I was kind of standing in a shadowed area. I just stared openly at them, my brain not being able to process what was happening. What...how the...the Fellowship...they're...what...what...

Suddenly, there was a muffled shout of triumph from the basement, and the lights automatically flickered back on, revealing me to them. Boromir was the first one to spot me, and he immediately drew his sword and gave a shout, causing all the others to focus on me and also draw their weapons while forming a protective semi-circle around the hobbits. Within seconds, I was staring cross-eyed at the tip of Legolas' arrow.

"Who are you, and are you friend or foe?" Aragorn said sharply.

"I-I...I..." I stuttered, still unable to speak.

Then Kathryn decided to make her entrance. "Erin? What's going on? Who's out here?" All eyes turned to her as she stepped around the corner, also freezing in place as her jaw went slack. She gawked at them for a full ten seconds before speaking. "WHAT THE HELL?! What are they doing here? They...T-They're not real!" At that exclamation, several of the men shot each other confused glances.

"K-Kathryn!" I shouted. "Shush! And I don't know! I'm asking myself the same question?"

She looked at me like someone had asked her to complete a college senior's physics exam. "Wait, is this who was in your closet?" I nodded. "...But...But that makes no sense!"

"I know!" I cried. "I have no idea what's going on?"

Of course, Kaia was drawn upstairs by our shouts, too. "Guys, what are you yelling about? I can hear you from down in the – HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!" she yelled, jumping back a bit when Boromir swung the tip of his sword to her heck. "W...Wait, the Fellowship? What the fuck are they doing here? How...Erin, what the shit did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" I said. "I'm just as confused as you two!"

"But I don't-"

"Silence!" All eyes turned to Aragorn, who'd shouted the command. He eyed all three of us suspiciously. "I do not know what you women speak of, but clearly something has gone wrong. Would you please explain to us where we are and how we got here?"

"We have no idea how you got here," Kathryn piped up.

"Then simply telling us where in Middle-Earth we are will suffice."

The three of us shared looks of uncertainty with each other. How were we gonna explain this one?