A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. Responses are at the bottom :-) I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter Two

Aragorn had never been beyond the cells or the torture chambers in his dreams. He assumed that the places that he was always being held at were dark and evil. He was certain that they were all like Barad-dûr, considering that the Barad-dûr dungeons and the other dungeons were quite similar. It looked like he was wrong.

As they ran from the dungeons to the upper levels, the place became notably… brighter. And very, very lovely. Beige walls covered with exquisite paintings and tapestries were all around him, lit by decorated lanterns that gave quite a bit of light. He tried not to stop and stare at the detailed scenes before him, or the odd lanterns hanging above him. Legolas, however, seemed not to heed any of his surroundings, so Aragorn continued to follow him.

Suddenly, they came to an end to the long, straight hall. It split off in two directions. On the left hand side was a sign that said 'Rivendell'; on the right hand side was a sign that said 'Mirkwood'. Legolas stopped for half a second before turning to 'Rivendell', Aragorn's confusion rising.

"Legolas, do you care to explain to me what's going-"

"Quiet!" Legolas put his hand over the Ranger's mouth. "We approach their domain."

Aragorn frowned and broke free of the elf's grasp. Legolas took a couple more turns in the hallways, which looked more and more like the entrance to Rivendell. The detail was really quite amazing…

'Wait a minute,' thought Aragorn with a deep frown. 'This is much too detailed… oh Valar!'

He had to hold back a gasp at the sight before his eyes. Somehow he had left the halls and was now right in front of the gates of Rivendell. But there was something wrong…

Legolas pulled Aragorn over to the side of the road, behind a clump of bushes. "Not is all as it seems, Aragorn," whispered the elf to the man. "That is not Rivendell… look. Do you see the thin pieces of black rope about? Those strange bright lanterns?"

Aragorn indeed saw them, and he nodded. "What are those things?"

"I know not for certain, my friend, but I do think that the thin ropes are called 'wires' and the odd lanterns are called 'lamps'… but it is not the lamp that gives off light, but a strange glass device called a 'light bulb' that does." Aragorn raised his eyebrow. "Here, let me tell you all of what I know.

"As you already know, I've been having nightmares since I was an elfing. All of them included me being in the hands of some type of enemy and they all included some type of torture. In many of them my mother passed away, or something terrible happened to those dear to me. Ever since I met you, my friend, they have become much, much worse. Always you and I are in some type of pain, and these nightmares never stopped. However, fortune looked down upon me this night.

"Instead of finding myself in a cell or imprisonment, I found myself right in this very spot. After waiting for a moment and not being captured, I decided to go into Rivendell when I noticed that I felt no elvish presence." Aragorn nodded. Now he knew what felt so odd… he didn't feel the comfortable atmosphere that Rivendell usually had. Legolas continued. "And then I noticed those long, thin black ropes and the odd lights. I knew then that something was wrong.

"Suddenly, the gates were opened, and out came a young woman… not even half your age, if I guessed correctly. She was muttering something that sounded like 'stupid wires…' and glared at those thin black ropes. So I think they are called wires. She went to the side of the gate and did something with the wires. Then she went back inside.

"I stayed here for a few hours, and heard much. Most who entered and left Rivendell were women ranging in all ages. They talked frequently about you and me and some horrors I cannot even imagine." He shuddered. "And they said it so enthusiastically! Tell me, Aragorn, is all the race of Men so cruel?"

"Nay," said Aragorn. "And women are usually much more gentle. What have we stumbled upon, my friend?"

"I know not," said Legolas. "Many terms I did not understand… some including 'computer', 'type', 'plot bunny', 'fan fiction', and other odd words. But as I listened, the girls here suddenly started panicking. I heard a very loud voice, though where it came from, I know not, but it said 'Attention all writers and readers: There has been a glitch in the system and both Aragorn and Legolas have disappeared. They were last seen in Mordor, being tortured. If you have any information on their whereabouts, please come to the Head Office immediately.'

"It was at this point that I knew I was not the only one trapped here, and I set to find you. After searching for hours, I finally found you in the dungeons… and here we are."

Aragorn frowned. "So, let me get this straight… for all these years of dreams, you believe that they were not just dreams, but the creations of psychotic women?" Legolas nodded solemnly. "But there are still many questions… how do you know this is not our world? What do these girls want with us? And what is 'fan fiction'?"

Legolas shook his head. "Well, I do believe that these strange women, odd 'wires' and 'light bulbs', and the fact that a hallway suddenly turned to the front entrance of Imladris should answer your first question. As for the others, I am not sure. But what we should be asking ourselves is what we are going to do now? It seems that the loud voice I heard sent a large panic into the multitudes of girls and women, and now they search for the both of us. I assume that they did not know that you were in the dungeons and I was in a tree.

"Obviously," said Aragorn wryly. "Well, what would you suggest, Thranduilion?"

"I would suggest us trying to stop these dreams from occurring once and for all, son of Arathorn," replied the elf.

"As would I," muttered Aragorn to himself. "And I think that however we shall stop these nightmares is inside Rivendell. What say you?"

"After you, Aragorn."

Short chapter, I know. But the next chapter, and chapter four, are longer.

Responses:

Shadowed Flames: Isn't it interesting how the smallest of things can be funny? We all know that trees are hilarious, after all ;-)

Viggomaniac: I am happy that it made you laugh! After all, that was the point of this story... that is why it is a humor story.. uhm... well, I am honored to be part of your C2 community. That is one of my favorite parts, too; poor Gilraen is never acknowledged... I wonder how -she- feels about that. Hehe, I also beg for more Aragorn torture when I read a story... it's a... weakness. A really bad one. I am writing a sequelish prequel to that other story... aka flashback... I'm not sure if I can add too much torture, because even though I love to read it, I'm not sure if I can write it... unless it is emotional torture... not sure where that came from, lol! Thanks for the review!

Legolas's Girl 9: Hey, I completely follow you. I'm an avid Aragorn torture/angst geek. I absolutely love his character... and I love to see him in pain. I haven't an idea why. Weird stuff in the mind, eh? ;-)

Meluivan Indil: I know what you mean... I being both a writer and reader of said tales, I completely understand you. I just started writing the torturey fics last month... started reading them a year ago... and it is so enjoyable! Glad you liked, and thanks for reviewing!