Elijah stared at Blackburg Castle's hangar with somber enthusiasm. Granted, he should be happy that he was heading back to the Land of Talking Animals, but what the blue-rimmed portal, the one he opened up, showed was a land filled with a dark cloudy sky and purple lightning.

Honestly, the entire land looked like it was host to a villains' world. Did that mean the villains had taken over? How were they to get it back? From the looks of things, the city was all right, but the rolling dark clouds meant that danger was approaching the city.

How was he supposed to cross this terrain, with its grassy fields and a mountainous region in the near distance? He sighed, wondering if this was a bad idea.

Elijah looked at his friends and family, as they entered the hangar, filled to the brim with ships and speeders, and speeder bikes. Elijah stayed seated on his yellow-plated speeder bike. He was ready.

Syrena approached Elijah, telling him, promptly, "Getting past the villains will be your first step. They haven't entered the city, but those dark clouds will be a problem." She whispered in Elijah's ear, "If the villains want something, then I'm certain Aslan will step in and help. The important thing to remember is getting us access to the city. We have bigger matters to attend to right now than villains."

"What do you think the villains want? Why are they in the Land of Talking Animals in the first place?" Elijah asked, cautious.

Syrena shrugged. "I don't know, but we'd better act fast."

Aslan nodded. He approached the portal, telling Elijah, "I will go with you. Good luck."

"Good luck," Syrena stated.

"You too," Elijah said, driving his speeder bike through the portal.

.

The moment Elijah entered the villains' campsite, the last thing he expected was to be captured by villains. Elijah had no choice. He pulled out his sword, causing the orcs to let out a vicious bellow. Elijah screeched, not liking the guttural noises the orcs made.

He fought them all too soon. As soon as he stopped swinging his sword, he was whacked in the back of the head by an orc's sword hilt.

The throbbing sensation reached Elijah's head. He stared, dazed, as the orcs dragged him to their orc leader. The orc leader smirked, telling the other orcs, "Take him to the villains! They're in there!"

Elijah jumped at the word "villains". This wasn't good! Not good at all! "No, wait… I…"

"Quiet!" one orc snarled, keeping Elijah prisoner. Before Elijah said anything, the orcs threw him inside the villains' tent. Elijah looked up, watching the villains stare at him in disdain. What were they doing? Plotting revenge?

"Ah! The next high king has come at last," said a witch dressed in white. It was Jadis, from Narnia. What was she doing here?

"Sauron, let your orcs release him. He's seen enough trouble," Maleficent said, her green skin radiating off the greenly lit torches.

Sauron nodded. With an index finger swiped down, the orcs released Elijah. The poor hobbit was stunned. Sauron eyed the hobbit suspiciously. Did he know something about Elijah's quest? It seemed like the villains already knew something was up.

"What do you want?" Elijah asked, groaning.

Sauron hissed. "What does it look like? A world to call our own. A world away from the heroes! So, we can be at peace."

"So, you won't attack the city?" Elijah asked, concerned for the city and the talking animals.

Sauron laughed. "It's not bad."

"Sauron, you know these animals are smart," Maleficent said. "We attack one, they retaliate. We attack him and surely Aslan will step in and take him away from us. If we keep him prisoner…" she jumped at the sound of Aslan's roar, making her furious, "That's out of the question."

"HA! So, we cannot take these heroes, then, huh? What a waste of time," Sauron declared, annoyed.

"So, we'll free this one and leave the city be," Maleficent said, watching Elijah be carried out of the tent by the same orcs that captured him. Maleficent turned to Sauron, asking him, "So, where do we start?"

Sauron smiled. "When the time comes, I will take Frodo Baggins and his wife. They cannot escape me. That much is clear. Frodo may be hard to resist my spells, but his wife… I think we'll take advantage of. Wait and see."

Maleficent nodded. "That is, until his wife knows what to do. What will you do then?"

Sauron hissed. "Wait and see! You wait and see."

"I plan on it," Maleficent said, smirking. "But who's going to save you, when the time comes, hmm?"

Sauron grumbled. He hated this. That much was clear. He'd get Frodo Baggins back! Wait and see, Maleficent! She would wait and see!

.

Elijah careened into his speeder bike. He winced, feeling his throbbing head as a fierce ringing reached his ears. He looked back at the orcs as they brushed the dust off their hands.

"This one's done here! Move out!" the orc leader said, right as the campsite vanished into thin air. Elijah looked up at the sky, noticing the dark clouds staying for a few moments, before turning into a lighter grey color. The purple lightning receded, leaving the rain to come pouring down on the poor hobbit.

"Great!" Elijah said, making his way over to the speeder to find his cloak. He found it, hiding with his pack. He quickly put on his cloak, pulling the hood down, as he hoisted his speeder bike back into its first position.

He had to get out of this storm! And fast. But where was he to find lodging around here? He looked around, seeing the rain suddenly stop.

"Huh?" Elijah looked at the pocket worlds entering the grassy field. They were moving around, and even on the dirt road. Elijah moved his hood down, just as two pocket worlds collided. He had to get out of here! But how was he to do that? His speeder bike, of course!

Elijah hopped onto his speeder bike, starting the engine. Just as he turned on the engine, he watched the pocket worlds ahead of him. They were moving in such a way that when they collided and tore apart from each other, the dirt road would pick up dust. This was perfect! It was like a puzzle!

"Okay. I can do this," he murmured to himself, revving up the engine and his speeder bike. When he was ready, Elijah darted across the landscape, driving his speeder bike this way and that, as the pocket worlds collided and receded from each other. For a moment, he saw a vision of himself crashing into one of the pocket worlds' iridescent bubbles. He stopped right on time, before he crashed into one.

He sighed in relief, watching the pocket worlds recede, as he proceeded towards the City of Aster, which was not that far away. Now, the only thing left to do was to get into the city and find a way to negotiate with the bigger talking animals. That is, if Elijah knew what he was doing.

*.*.*

References:

Jadis, the White Witch, comes from C.S. Lewis' book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Maleficent comes from the Disney film, "Sleeping Beauty".