Hey guys. For a while, I wanted to do a Legacies story, and I didn't have many story ideas. And so, I decided to make a crossover between Legacies and the fantasy universe of Tolkien. We start with the story of Bilbo the Hobbit. For Legacies, the story begins at the beginning of episode 9 of season 2: I Couldn't Have Done This Without You.
Good reading.
Chapter 1: A tear in space-time
Starting over. In theory, it's simple. You put the past behind you, take what you learned and begin again. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Moving on means letting things go. Things that are familiar, easy, safe. Things that matter. Someone once said you can't go home again. I hope like hell they were wrong.
For some students at the Salvatore Boarding School, it was a day like any other. But for Hope Mikaelson, it was something else entirely. In the past, she was one of the students at the Boarding School, but since she had jumped into the Malivore and then reappeared in the real world a few months later, it wasn't like before. She had been alone at first, because everyone around her had forgotten her existence, until Josie Saltzman had cast a spell restoring everyone's memory. Today, Hope couldn't be happier. Landon had returned and she got along well with him.
But now, it was Hope's reintegration into the Boarding School, and the young Tribrid could see that everything was different from what she had known before. After greeting a few of her classmates, passing a rather distant Josie, and spotting Lizzie kissing a 500-year-old vampire, she discovered that her room had changed a lot. She who was used to always having a separate room, she noticed with annoyance that she had to share it with one of her classmates Alyssa Chang. A classmate with whom she wasn't particularly close.
Intrigued, Hope saw the change in her room as she discovered Alyssa getting ready for a day of school.
"Alyssa, what's all this?"
"I moved in while you were forgotten or whatever." Alyssa replied, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. She gestured to an unoccupied bed in a corner of the room. "Your side's over there."
"I usually have a single." answered Hope categorically.
"Which is what I had until this exact moment." continued her roommate in an unfriendly tone. "I go to bed at 10:00, so no late-night visitors. And I don't want ants, so no eating in the room."
And she left the room, spraying herself with a perfume that was not to Hope's taste.
"Later, roomie…"
She walked past the Tribrid who began to cough, not supporting the smell of Alyssa's perfume. She realized that cohabitation with her new roommate was going to be complicated. She wondered if she wouldn't have preferred to stay in the Malivore.
Later, classes were about to start, and for the first time since being admitted to the School, Hope had no idea where she should go. Looking at her class schedule, everything had changed since the days before the Malivore. For her first lesson, she had to go to the magic laboratory which had changed rooms.
As she considered where to go, she was relieved to see her manager and former mentor Alaric-Ric-Saltzman, who seemed as disoriented as she did.
"You're late for class. Or are you lost?"he wondered, looking at his watch.
"Uh, both." Hope affirmed looking at her schedule. "Apparently, everything changed when I was gone. Where's spell lab?"
"No idea," retorted Alaric pained for the young girl. "I'm a little out of the loop myself. I just like to stride confidently and, uh, nod in hopes that people don't figure that out. But speaking of being out of the loop, Lizzie and Josie are avoiding me. Why? What's up?"
"I wouldn't know." answered the Tribride with a sorry air. "Things are still awkward between me and Josie. I mean, I thought they were okay. It's just bad again…"
"Yeah," nodded the Headmaster. "Well, knowing you and Landon are together and seeing it are two very different things."
"I just wish there was something I could do." said Hope embarrassed.
"You just have to give her some time, you know?" Alaric assured her confidently. "Things will go back to normal soon enough. I hope."
It was then that Dorian Williams, a teacher and friend of Alaric, joined our two heroes.
"Alaric, we have a problem outside."
"A problem, like… another Malivore monster or a sick unicorn," Ric supposed with amusement.
"I think it's worse than that," Dorian said anxiously.
Shortly after, the teacher had led Hope and Ric out of the school into the yard. Near the gate was a strange thing. It was a dark hole made up of lightning. Hope deduced that it was a portal leading to a dimension. She thought of another opening from Malivore. But that seemed unlikely to her, because she knew that all the cracks had been closed.
"What the hell is that?" Alaric mumbled in bewilderment.
"No idea," answered Dorian frightened. "It just appeared like that out of nowhere."
"Looks like a Malivore portal," Hope replied.
"Here? At school?" wondered the dumbfounded Headmaster.
"It can't be," resumed the Tribrid with amazement. "It feels like… some kind of tearing… like our reality is being torn apart."
"What would that be?"Alaric asked as the hole grew bigger.
"I've no idea."
"Whatever it is, I think it's getting bigger," Dorian said anxiously.
The hole began to double in size and lightning flashed everywhere.
"Not so good,"said Alaric, intrigued.
Hope began to cast spells to calm the phenomenon, but nothing happened. The hole grew bigger and more lightning appeared at the same time.
"We'd better get away from it… Dorian, go away!" yelled Alaric, wanting to take Hope by the shoulders.
No matter how much Hope recited spells, nothing seemed to lessen the rift. The tear became even more unstable and the wind began to blow on the two protagonists.
"I don't know what's going on!"exclaimed a bewildered Hope. "I can't stop this thing! Whatever it is, it's beyond my abilities!"
As Alaric tried to pull away from the tear with Hope, the wind caused them to suck right into it.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE!"
Ric and Hope were screaming, but it was too late. Both were sucked into the tear and it immediately disappeared.
When Dorian was able to get closer, he found that the hole was gone, and all that was left on the floor was Hope's purse.
"Oh man, where did they go?"
Hope was the first to wake up. And she regained consciousness very painfully. The slightest effort hurt her, as if she had bumped into herself. She saw that she was in the grass. A vegetation that should not belong to the Salvatore Boarding School.
"Hope?"
She recognized the voice of Alaric, who was lying on the ground, right next to her, and who had just regained consciousness.
"What the hell happened? I feel like a truck ran over me…" moaned the Boarding's Headmaster.
"I feel the same way," Hope said helping him up.
"Where are we?"asked Alaric dazed and confused.
"No idea," replied the Tribrid, shrugging in amazement. "All I know is we're not in Malivore."
As they stood up, all Hope and Ric could see was vegetation. Soft grass as far as the eye can see, surrounded by large forests.
"I don't recognize these woods," commented the stunned young girl.
"Me neither," replied Alaric dazedly. "But… I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…"
"I feel like we're not in Virginia anymore," Hope replied.
"Excuse me…" said a voice behind them.
Our two heroes turned to see, to their amazement, an old man with a long wooden stick. He wore a large pointed blue hat, a long gray cape and a silver scarf, topped with a gray beard that reached below the belt, as well as huge boots. Staring at the strange old man's attire, Hope and Alaric were wondering where they had landed. Because it was obvious that they were no longer at home.
The old man in the pointed hat eyed the two visitors curiously.
"It is rare to see humans like you in these regions," he said in a calm voice. "Where can you come from?"
After staring at the old man for a long time, Alaric decided to address him:
"Uh… hello mister… I'm sorry, but who are you?"
"Gandalf the Grey, at your service," replied the old man, bowing his head in greeting.
"Right," Hope answered dazed by the old man's attire. "Are you some kind of wizard?"
"I am a wizard," replied Gandalf with a kind smile. "Why don't you tell me who you are and where you're from?"
"Alaric Saltzman,"answered Ric.
"Hope Mikaelson," added the Tribride still intrigued by the old magician. "I'm a witch."
"Are you?" asked Gandalf very intrigued, staring at Hope with an inquisitive eye.
Seeing the old man gazing curiously at the Tribride with wide eyes, Hope felt like she was being watched under X-rays. She wondered if she had been right to come out as a witch. She hardly dared to imagine Gandalf's reaction if he learned that she was a Tribrid, a crossbreed of three different supernatural species.
"A witch?" resumed the old man, still looking down at Hope. "I have never seen a witch so young. It's something you don't see every day."
"I've been practicing magic since I was little," Hope answered embarrassed. "My grandmother was a powerful witch, so I inherited her powers, and I have an aunt who taught me many things."
"Very interesting," the old wizard said with interest.
A man magician of Gandalf's age who seemed impossible to define, must have had extremely powerful magic and Hope had never met anyone like him before.
Gandalf was very intrigued by the presence of the two people he had in front of him. Never in all of Middle-earth had he met people like them, let alone dressed like they both were. The man named Alaric wore a strange suit and Hope wore pants instead of a dress.
"Excuse me, Mr. Gandalf," Hope said in a shaky voice. "But can you tell us where we are? I don't know how to explain this, but I have the feeling that we are far from home. And very far. We had no intention of getting there. We are here by accident. If you could enlighten us, that would be good."
Gandalf frowned before replying still benevolently:
"You are in the Shire. At the borders moreover. Northwest of Middle-earth."
"Middle-earth?"wondered Hope confused and stunned.
"Have you ever heard of Middle-earth?"Alaric asked the young Tribride.
"Uh… I think we're in another world different from ours," answered Hope whispering to her friend. "This hole must have been a portal to another dimension. We are no longer at home."
"Are you serious?" Alaric exclaimed in awe, not hiding his surprise in front of the wizard. "Are we in another parallel universe?"
"We are in another dimension, as incredible as that may be," answered Hope as distraught and shocked as him.
Gandalf seemed amazed in his turn, answering:
"You two are not from Middle-earth. It seems obvious to me, judging by your accents and your strange clothes. I've never seen people dress like you two in my entire life."
Hope and Alaric stared at the old man with embarrassment.
"Yes, we come from another world different from this one," answered the Tribrid. "A world where there are witches like me and other supernatural creatures."
"We encountered a kind of hole that… brought us here," Alaric added, uncomfortably. "And that's all we know. We don't know why it got us here."
"A strange magic has brought you to this place," declared Gandalf, stroking his beard, frowning. "A very strange and powerful magic. I will help you as best as I can."
"Thank you very much," replied the headmaster with relief.
"But first, I need to know more about you two," resumed the old magician. "Especially since my time is limited, because I am here for a long and dangerous quest which must begin today. Leaving you alone in this area would be unwise. Especially if you are foreign to the customs of the people of the Shire. I'm on my way to visit an old friend who I hope hasn't forgotten me. I haven't been here for a long time. Perhaps you could tell me your story along the way?"
"Well… I'm strong as a witch, but I don't know any spell that will allow us to come back in home," Hope declared looking at Alaric distraught. "So, until we find a way to get back to where we came from, I think we're stuck here for a while."
"So, we have no choice but to follow you, Mr. Gandalf," Alaric answered, smiling awkwardly at the wizard.
"Well, let's set off for Hobbiton," Gandalf announced as he walked in one direction. "You are going to meet the Hobbits."
"Hobbits?"wondered Hope puzzled.
"You don't have Hobbits in your world?"asked the magician skeptically.
"We have supernatural creatures," answered Alaric walking next to the old man. "But to my knowledge, I have never heard of Hobbit. Are they friendly?"
"The Hobbits live completely withdrawn from the world of the Men," answered Gandalf while smiling with joviality. "Besides, it is their choice to live among themselves. They are a happy, ordinary and peaceful people. More concerned with food, vegetation and their animals than with the problems of other countries in Middle-earth. And fortunately, the outside world of the Shire has no use for the Hobbits. And I come from time to time to watch over them and show them my fireworks. They like them. I watch over them. Hobbits are benevolent and very generous persons. They are worth protecting. You will see. You are going to meet my old friend."
"New world, then," declared Alaric half amused, half anxious.
"It's going to be fun," added Hope, smiling in spite of herself.
So it begins.
Hope and Alaric have entered Middle-earth and will discover the beauty of the Shire. And Gandalf comes to Bilbo Baggins for the Quest for Erebor.
See you soon for a new chapter.
