In Which Memory Is Awakened, And Salvation Is Confronted
For a moment, no one dared to breathe. The hole in the air closed silently, as if it had never been. Frodo and Mithrandir knelt down next to Bilbo. Frodo took one of the old Hobbit's hands, and Mithrandir felt at his throat.
"He lives," the wizard said, and a sigh of relief went through the group. "We must now wait for him to recover from his journey."
"It won't be long now, Mippin," Perry assured his cousin.
The wait seemed to be the most trying time any of them had ever experienced. There was nothing to do but sit in the garden, as no one wanted to miss the moment when Bilbo awoke. Greenleaf attempted to take Legolas on a tour of the garden, but the live-action Elf's eyes began to water from the assault of color and light, and both Elves soon returned to sit with the rest of the group. Gimli dampened a rag and applied it to Legolas's eyes, while Timkin muttered something about negative paintings.
Boromir and Bigwig, who had become fast friends, became deeply involved in a discussion of horn calls. Bigwig knew two different calls, but conceded that Boromir could get better volume and carrying range from his instrument. Boromir asked for a demonstration. Bigwig thought for a moment, then blew a surprisingly complex five-note melody.
The noise seemed to startle Bilbo awake. "Wha — where — the horn of Boromir!" he cried, his eyes springing open and staring into Frodo's. "Who are you?"
"It's Frodo, Bilbo dear," Frodo said softly. "Don't you remember?"
"Frodo. Yes, Frodo. Yes. You're Frodo. And I'm Bilbo," the old Hobbit muttered, as he began to collect himself. Gandalf and Mithrandir, keeping a respectful distance from each other, both bent down and peered at Bilbo, who goggled at them. "Gracious me!" he said. "I must have fallen and hit my head, for it seems I'm seeing double." He squinted from one wizard to the other. "No, not double. Once and a half, more likely. What have you done to yourself this time, Gandalf, old friend?"
"Nothing, my good Hobbit," Gandalf said, smiling. "There are in fact two of us. This is Mithrandir. He and his company have undertaken an extraordinary quest, simply for the purpose of meeting you."
"Mithrandir, hm? Well, well, pleasant to meet you, I'm sure. Er. . . what's this about a company? The last company I heard of was that little group that Elrond assembled to keep an eye on Frodo. He's here. Where are they, now, I wonder?"
"Shield your eyes," Gandalf cautioned. "The light is different here than what you are accustomed to, but if you can manage to sit, Mithrandir and his company will present themselves."
Bilbo squinted, but managed to wriggle himself into a sitting position. The riot of color seemed to disconcert him, but eventually he managed to focus on Mithrandir. The rotoscoped wizard smiled at the elderly Hobbit.
"May I present my company," he said. "This is Strider, and next to him is Mr. Underhill. Behind them is Little Sam, and. . .er. . . those two over there are Mippin and Perry, one or the other, I am not precisely certain which. Yes. That is the Elf Greenleaf and . . . where is that Dwarf?"
Timkin rose from the hollow where he had been sitting and bowed. "Timkin Rumbleguts, at your service," he said.
"At yours and your family's," Bilbo said absently, craning his neck up at the towering Dwarf.
Mithrandir took a deep breath. "And finally, may I present Bigwig, warrior of Gondor," he said, beckoning Bigwig over to where Bilbo sat.
Bigwig covered the distance in two strides and knelt down in front of Bilbo. "It is an honor and a pleasure to see you, Fr — Bilbo," he said.
Bilbo cocked his head to one side uncertainly. "Here, your voice sounds familiar," he said. "Do I know you? Have we met before? It seems I know your voice, but I can't place it. Perhaps I heard it in a dream sometime."
"You have heard my voice before. It was no dream," Bigwig said. "Just before we parted last, you told me of the fates of my father —"
" — and your brother. I think I remember that. You were so earnest, so straightforward about that. . . was that really you, then?"
"It was. A long time ago, in another world, a world without sight. Through all the years, I have never forgotten it. That memory has sustained me even until this day. You must remember it."
"The world without sight," Bilbo said dreamily. "Yes, it is all coming back to me now. I had nearly forgotten it. I told Frodo a little of it, and it almost seemed to me that it was just a story, just a fancy that I'd once had, long ago."
"It was real. I remember it. I remember you."
"And I remember you." Bilbo smiled. "It is good to see you at last, my friend." Rotoscoped and live-action hands clasped with friendly smiles. There was a general sigh of relief from the rest of the group.
"Our time draws nigh," Strider said with a smile.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, this is all too much for me, I think I'm going to cry now, my goodness me, this is just too wonderful!" Greenleaf cried, leaping up with arms flailing. Boromir deftly stuck out a foot and tripped the Elf, and Merry and Pippin pinned him to the ground. Bilbo looked up from his conversation with Bigwig.
"What? What's wrong with your Elf there?" he asked.
Bigwig told him the tale of the animated Fellowship's lengthy wait for a resolution to their story, of the boredom and madness that afflicted the members who stayed in their Middle Earth, and of the strange fates that had befallen those who had ventured to leave. "It is especially hard on Greenleaf," he said. "The galaxy far, far away was seductive, and he returned again and again until he found that it had all but claimed him. The Thing from that galaxy comes on him time and again, and he is powerless to stop it."
"Why, that's terrible," Bilbo said. "Can't you do anything about it?"
Mithrandir took a deep breath. "There is only one thing that can be done for him, Bilbo," he said. "He must find resolution here, as himself. Then and only then will he be able to separate himself from The Thing and remain the Elf we know."
"And you brought me here to -- ?" Bilbo asked incredulously.
"We need your help," Bigwig said. "Just as you helped me all those years ago in the world of sound. My companions are in dire need. I ask you this boon in the name of the friendship we shared then. Will you help them? Will you tell the end of the tale?"
