Author's Note: Thanks very much for the reviews! A few notes:

(1) I've backed down: Edith isn't going to be a "Granny Sue". I've decided I need a reliable and somewhat sensible character in this story…and Buffy isn't interested in saving anyone.

(2) Melody is an airhead because that's her character. She's meant to poke fun at the LOTR Mary Sue genre. Absolutely nothing about her is to be taken seriously.

(3) I'm well aware that "modern" people wouldn't be able to understand the languages of Tolkien. No one brought this to my attention; I just figured I'd make it known in case anyone was wondering how I planned to work with/around this. It will play out in the chapters following this one. Trust me.

Disclaimer: All pre-existing places and characters still belong to Tolkien.

Part I, Chapter 2: The Pathway of the Inner Beyond and the Nameless Savior

Edith opened the door and was faced with an extremely bright blue light. That's the last thing she remembered clearly.

The next thing she knew, Edith was being pulled through a seemingly endless tunnel, propelled by an unseen force. Around her, there were random flashes of light and she had just barely missed being struck by a lightning bolt. Every time a wave of electricity appeared in front of her, Edith was somehow maneuvered around it. If being terrified by flashes of blinding light and possibly being electrocuted wasn't enough, there were faces. There were literally hundreds of eyeless faces, all with wide angry mouths were screaming at her, and all at once. The faces pressed in and out of the walls around her, almost at the same pace as her racing heart. They ranged from being as small as a human fist to the size of a car.

Scream? Yes, Edith did scream; quite a bit. If she weren't so scared, she'd be proud of her vocal range.

It wasn't long before Edith caught sight of something ahead of her. It was very far away, but it was moving. She wasn't sure, but the figure looked as if it was fighting the same force that was pulling her. It didn't take long for Edith to figure out who it was.

"Melody? Melody, hold on! I'm coming!"

Just when it seemed like Edith was beginning to catch up, Melody phased through an invisible barrier and was gone.

'Where did she go?' Edith was now alone in this frightening place; at least that's what she thought. The sound of a frantically meowing cat behind her alerted Edith to the fact that Buffy too had been sucked into this tunnel of never ending horror.

Before Edith could say or think anything else, she too passed through the barrier…

- - - - - -

"Aaaah!"

Melody waved her arms frantically, but it didn't stop her from being hurled into a small pond. She landed with a muddy thud, since the pond wasn't deep enough for that much of a splash.

"Ew! This is so gross!"

She was completely soaked with muddy, smelly pond water. It had never occurred to her that Middle Earth was so…stinky. Not to mention dirty. Her baby blue tank top was now mud brown, as were her brand new designer jeans.

"Ugh!"

While wiping the mud from her face, Melody carefully took in her surroundings.

There was nothing but trees; there was no sign of anything remotely resembling what she'd seen in the movies. Not only was she stranded in the middle of nowhere, she had no idea where she was or even how she was to get back home. While making her way towards solid ground, Melody silently scolded herself.

'I should have listened to Iffany. It was just too good to be true. Ergh! Stupid eBay!'

As Melody reached up and dug her fingers into the wet earth, she was surprised to see a gloved hand reaching out.

"Oh, thank-"

When she saw the face of the person holding his hand out, Melody was too stunned to finish; she was too stunned to do anything but stare.

The hand belonged to a man who appeared to be in his twenties. He was tall, almost six feet in height, broad-shouldered, and wearing all black. He was also wearing a very dazzling smile.

"Are you all right, milady?"

As far as Melody was concerned, the screaming nightmare was worth it. Being rescued by a very cute guy with curly black hair and really nice teeth made up for everything.

"Um, yeah," Melody replied shyly. "Thank you." She would have to look her absolute worst.

"We've been waiting for you," The stranger said as he helped her find her footing.

"We? We who?"

He brushed a few strands of wet brown hair away from Melody's bright red face.

"I will tell you soon enough. Right now, I think it would be best to get you out of those clothes."

Melody giggled in spite of herself.

"What is it?"

She shook her head. There was no way she was sharing any of the thoughts in her head, largely because they were extremely inappropriate.

"It's nothing."

That smile again. Melody squealed within herself. 'He is so cute and sweet! He reminds me of so much of Orli. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?'

He removed the black cloak that he was wearing, and wrapped it around Melody.

"I am deeply sorry if you were frightened by the Pathway of Inner Beyond."

"The what?"

He began to walk away. Melody quickly followed after him.

"The tunnel of blue light that you came through."

"I…yeah, it was pretty scary." Melody shuddered. "It was awful. The lightning, and those horrible faces. I'm so glad it's over."

She reached out and grabbed the handsome stranger's hand.

"Um, my name is Melody. What's yours?"

He stopped.

Melody wiped a smidgen of mud off of her nose.

"Something wrong?"

He didn't say anything to Melody right away; he was too busy studying her muddy pale hand. She couldn't quite read his expression, but for some reason, he didn't seem too pleased that she was touching him. Melody removed her hand.

"I…have none."

"What? You don't have a name?"

He looked into her honey brown eyes and smiled again. Melody was reassured.

"No, not yet. But until then, you may call me…well, what would you like to call me?"

"Orlando!" Melody squealed without hesitation.

"Orlando?" He frowned, "That is a strange choice…"

"Oh but it's perfect! And I get to call you 'Orli' for short!" Melody giggled. This was just too much.

"Fine," he said with a chuckle, "from this point on, until I gain a true name, I will respond to Orlando and nothing else."

He caught sight of Melody's pout. He sighed.

"Except maybe 'Orli'. Maybe."

"Yay!" Melody cheered, "So, Orli, where are you taking me?" 'This is so exciting! Maybe he's a rich count that lives near elves. Or even better, a prince of a secret kingdom of humans who's looking for a princess. How cool would that be? This is even better than the movies! Frodo will probably pop out from behind one of these trees at any minute!'

He reached and took her hand and then turned away, continuing to lead her away from the pond.

"All will be made clear in time, Melody. There is nothing for you to be concerned with anymore."

A ripple of color passed through the man's dark eyes and was gone.

"Everything is going as planned."

Author's Endnotes: Thanks very much for reading; hopefully I'll have time to update this story as soon as possible.

I'm in serious need of a beta reader. I noticed some mistakes (that I have since corrected) in the other chapter that I missed while reading over it. If you are interested or know someone who could help me, please let me know. I need all the help I can get.

Oh, and for the record, Melody is a brunette, not a blonde with lots of mud in her hair.

CMCB