Krycek…I mean, Orcs!
The morning awoke with a start. As Allison was being drawn slowly out of sleep by Legolas, a gasp came from Frodo as Sting began to glow a bright blue.
"Orcs." Legolas muttered and then said a bit more hastily "Hurry up and awake, Lady." Allison forced her eyes opened, but before she could utter a word was grabbed by the elf and forced upon her feet. She almost cried out, but didn't because who would really mind being grabbed by him anyway?
"What's going on?" She asked still in a haze.
"There is an orc attack. Quickly, go by Aragorn and Boromir." Allison nodded and rushed over to the two men.
"Stand behind me." Aragorn said, and she did as she was told, but was looking around for Eric frantically. She spotted him, dagger in hand, knocking down orcs. She smiled proudly. That was Eric for you. Bowling over orcs like he did Alex Krycek. Legolas shot dead eye with his bow, Gimli chopping off heads with his axe and the Hobbits looked rather frightened, but were doing their very best.
After it was all over, and the Company had quickly moved on, Aragorn said to Legolas.
"I did not expect that."
"Nor did I."
"I think it has to do with our two strange travelers."
"How so?"
"I think Sauron wants their knowledge."
"That's a familiar story." Aragorn gave him an odd look.
"Is it now?"
"Well, yes. Last night the Lady Allison told me of her previous journey into another dimension. And in that adventure someone was chasing after her as well." Aragorn looked thoughtful but said nothing. Legolas asked him a question; "Do you think it was Sauron and not Saruman? Saruman does have a seeing stone in his possession. Perhaps he saw this within it." Aragorn shook his head.
"Sauron controls what is seen in the seeing stones. He must know."
"But what do we do about it?" Aragorn sighed as if to relieve the new burden upon him. As if wars and rings weren't enough, he now had two strangers that needed to get home.
"Try to get them home as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, Allison and Eric continued to hypothesis ways to go home. The Hobbits listened, mightily interested.
"Well, last time I was knocked unconscious and woke up at home." Eric said referring to Scully given the two chloroform to get them to fall asleep after relating what was assumed to be their mission in the X-Files.
"But last time we ended up in the past, I don't really consider this the past." Allison said making hand motions about her surrounding area.
"What do you consider it then?" Eric asked mock-intrigued. She shrugged.
"Another world completely." She then paused and thought for a few seconds. "Aside from that, before we ended up going back to the place were we first entered the portal into the X-Files. We kind of can't do that here. That would involve each of us going home first, but then if we could manage our way home, what's the point of getting knocked out only to wake up in said place." Allison then stopped, and thought about what she just said. Eric looked at her nonplus.
"What the hell are you taking about?"
"I don't even know anymore." She said sighing. They were each silent for a few seconds. Frodo, who had been listening the whole time, interjected,
"Maybe there is more then one portal." Allison looked at the hobbit,
"You know, you may have a point there, Elijah… I mean Frodo." Frodo beamed, always happy to help.
"Yeah, but how do we find the other portals?" Eric asked. Allison shrugged and was silent. Suddenly, her eyes got bright and she smacked Eric in the arm and cried,
"I've got it!" Eric looked at her excited and said,
"What?" But then her eyes dimmed and she looked at him sullen and said,
"Oh never mind, I lost it." Eric threw up his hands and muttered a slew of profanities that Allison couldn't understand. She then looked excited again and blurted out,
"What if we are in the movie? Like we were in the TV show before and they didn't know it was a TV show and we had to warn them about the show and not necessarily about their lives. Maybe we have to warn them about the outcome of the movie and not their lives?" Allison looked really emphatic about this idea but Eric simple said,
"Since neither of us have seen the movie, looks like I can shoot that plan straight to hell." Allison gave him her best 'Evil Asian Eyes' and said in a condescending tone
"You know you didn't even consider my idea."
"That's because it won't work."
"Well then Mr. Brilliance let's hear your idea."
"I don't have one."
"Yeah, just as I suspected." She sneered at him and turned away. Frodo interjected again,
"Maybe the elves at Lórien know where the other portals are?" Allison shrugged.
"Maybe. Thus far, that seems to be our only hope." It was then that the Company felt a sudden dark presence. A hush fell over them and Legolas looked to the sky and said in a whispered voice,
"It's the Nazgûl."
"Quick, we have to find cover." Aragorn said and rushed everyone under some brush.
"What's the Nazgûl?" Eric whispered to Boromir.
"They are Dark Riders who work for Sauron."
"Whose Sauron?"
"The dark Lord of Mordor."
"What's Mordor?" Boromir looked annoyed at Eric, who gave a sheepish grin and stopped asking questions of him. Yet as they lay there, waiting for the terrible thing to leave a feeling of desolation fell over Eric. The idea of ever getting home seemed more and more inconceivable as the seconds passed. He figured that he would be stuck in this Middle Earth, without TV, movies, video games or any technology whatsoever for the rest of his life. Hope of seeing his friends again, his family or even dull old Pleasanton dwindled away.
Meanwhile, Frodo gripped the Ring hanging on a chain around his neck and quivered. Allison put a reassuring arm around the little Hobbit to stop him from shaking. But like Eric, thoughts of never being home again poisoned her mind. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she lay her head on Frodo's shoulder to hide them.
It seemed like hours more than minutes when the Black Rider in the sky left, seemingly lifting some of the hopelessness from their hearts. They crawled out of the brush.
"Now the question that remains is, was the Nazgûl in search of the Ring Bearer or the Time Travelers?" Aragorn asked.
"Perhaps both." Boromir said.
"This is bad tidings indeed. But we must keep moving and try to reach the Lady of the Woods as soon as possible."
"I liked getting chased by Krycek a lot more then getting chased by the Nazgûl." Allison said to Eric who nodded in agreement, and thought popped into his mind.
"Did he still eventually die on the show?" and Allison nodded.
"Some things cannot be altered I suppose." Eric got a look of pension on his face but said nothing and they continued on their way.
They were only a day away from Lórien when Allison was taken in the night. She had been having another conversation and lesson in history with Legolas when orcs raided their camp. They ignored the hobbits entirely and snatched up Allison, dragging her off while the others fought desperately to make them release her. But it was to no avail, and the orcs carried off Allison in the end, despite a noble effort on the Fellowship's part. Legolas and Gimli made a move to chase after them, but Aragorn stopped them.
"Do not make any rash actions just yet."
"We have to go after them." Legolas said determined.
"Yeah, we can't just let them kill her." Eric said panicked.
"I don't think they are going to kill her just yet." Aragorn said.
"More like torture her to get the information that Sauron wants." Legolas said bitterly. Eric looked like he was going to either faint or explode with rage.
"Then we have to get her back. And if I do not get any help, I will go after her myself." He said Aragorn put a hand on Eric's shoulder.
"I never said we were going to allow Sauron to get her. We most certainly are not. But we cannot rush into things blindly. We have time. The orcs will take her to Cirith Ungol to the dark tower and will do their dark work there."
"What do you suggest we do then?" Eric asked.
"Gather up all of our things and go orc hunting in the morning." He said
