Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. This is Tolkien's world. I'm just living in it.

Through the Inferno

Chapter 1: Am I Dead or on Pain Killers?

I hit the ground on my back and I felt the wind get knocked out of me. I sputtered and choked, trying desperately to breathe again. When I finally did, I relaxed and tried to calm down.

I was alive.

Alive.

That was not remotely possible. I had been shot. I remembered the feeling, the agony of the bullet destroying my heart. But there I was, struggling to regain control over my breath. Where was I?

"Good gracious me," said a surprised and gravelly voice behind me. I stood and spun around as quickly as I could, the effort causing me to choke on air again. I pulled my knife out instinctively and readied myself for whatever was behind me. There was no way I could have possibly prepared myself for what I saw.

I took in my surroundings at the same time as I took in the person in front of me. I was standing in the middle of dirt. I realized I was standing on a dirt road… in the countryside. After living in New York City for as long as I could remember, it was just weird. As far as I could see, there were rolling hills covered with bright green grass under a nearly cloudless blue sky. Central Park was nothing compared to it. I could feel the rawness, the dirtiness of the place. It wasn't like the New York dirt where you were afraid to touch anything. It was almost a childlike dirtiness. It was the kind of thing that invited you to go running through the grass barefoot and make mud pies to bake in the sun. There were people outside. Not many, just a couple here and there tending to their gardens. They were all small, even smaller than me. I had almost thought they were all children, but I could see the wrinkles and lines on some of their faces and realized they were just little people. I saw and thought all of this in a second. In the next second, I tried to understand the man standing in front of me.

It was Ian McKellan… dressed as Gandalf.

My jaw dropped as I took in the sight. It was all there. The grey robe, the pointed hat, the gnarly staff, and the long beard. I was too shocked to move. Ian-freaking-McKellan as Gandalf the Grey is standing in front of me… Oh my… am I in Hobbiton? I'm on the SET OF LORD OF THE RINGS?!

Ian looked at me with concern. I looked at him with complete confusion. There was no way this was possible. Everything about this was impossible.

"I'm not going to harm you, my dear," he said soothingly. "Please, put away your knife and tell me what's happened to you." I looked around, trying to see the camera crew and Peter Jackson. Maybe this is heaven. Yeah, I would end up in nerd heaven, wouldn't I? That must be it. I'm in heaven. Slowly, I lowered my knife and sheathed it. I stared at Ian/Gandalf warily. I wasn't sure if in this heaven I was on set or in some kind of Middle Earth replica and I would spend the rest of eternity frolicking with members of the Fellowship. I wouldn't mind that at all. I looked around and saw that some of the Hobbits were eyeing me suspiciously. I decided that extras weren't usually method actors and actresses, so this was probably Middle Earth. I took a deep breath and met Gandalf's sharp blue eyes.

"Gandalf?" I asked. His eyes widened and his mouth opened just a bit.

"Yes, that is my name," he said cautiously. "How did you come to learn it?"

"Um, from some books."

"Books?" he asked, even more confused than before. "I have never come across any piece of literature with my name in it."

"They're not from this world," I blurted before I could stop myself. Gandalf's eyes widened even further and I swallowed. He looked around and took a step forward.

"Let us, eh, walk as we discuss, um, what has happened," he said. I kept my mouth shut as I turned and walked beside him. I could feel my face grow warm. It took me a moment to realize I was blushing. Blushing. When was the last time I had blushed? Did people blush a lot in nerd heaven? But wouldn't nerd heaven be a place where you weren't embarrassed by anything? Maybe this wasn't heaven. Maybe this was just some kind of afterlife. I would just spend my time with fictional characters that I loved.

I wonder if Em is here.

I knew as soon as I thought of her that this place wasn't heaven. Emily would definitely be in nerd heaven with me. We would have gone on nerd adventures and our little nerd hearts would have been bursting with nerd joy as we played pranks with Merry and Pippin. And if this place was any kind of heaven, I wouldn't have felt the dull ache in my chest that presented itself whenever I thought of Em. I looked up at Gandalf and found him eyeing me with something like worry in his face. I wanted to think that it was just because I had dropped from the sky and told him that I read books from a different world, but I knew that my emotions had also been plain on my face. I hated that. I could keep myself in check most of the time. Still, the thought of my dead best friend made my heart and face twist in pain. I smiled awkwardly at the wizard and looked at that dirt road. I kicked at a small pebble and tried to think of what to say.

"So," I began tactfully, "how did I get here?"

"I was hoping you would know," Gandalf responded slowly.

"No, I meant did I fall or just materialize in front of you? It felt like I fell."

"You fell," he confirmed, "but not from high up. You appeared a few feet above the road in front of me. It was almost as if you fell through a hole in the air."

"Like a cartoon," I said with a smirk. And now I was joking around. With Gandalf. In Middle Earth. Because apparently that was something that could happen.

"Pardon?" Gandalf questioned. Right. No cartoons in Middle Earth.

"It just… not… from here," I said awkwardly. We fell silent for a few moments.

"So you are not from this world," he sighed.

"No," I said. My world was real. This place was made up a long time ago.

"I suppose I should have guessed," said Gandalf. "You don't look like anyone I've ever seen." I gritted my teeth and tried not to get too angry. He's not making fun of you. He's really never seen a Korean before. He's never seen anyone from Asia or America or anywhere before.

"I know," I said. It came out a little harsh and Gandalf picked up on it. He nodded and wisely left my appearance at that. We walked a little farther before I stopped. The wizard took a few more steps before noticing my absence and he turned. I frowned at him, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to ask the question. Gandalf looked at me expectantly and I decided he was as good a person as any to ask.

"Is this the afterlife?" I asked. I felt my face grow warm again as he raised his eyebrows at me.

"The afterlife?" he repeated. I nodded. "Why do you ask?" I closed my eyes. It had happened. I didn't know how I was still standing because there was no doubt in my mind that I had died. The pain of having a bullet in my heart was a memory beating in my chest.

"I died," I said simply. Gandalf closed the distance between us and he stared into my eyes, searching for, I assumed, a lie. His face changed from suspicion to worry.

"No," he whispered. "This is not an afterlife." He turned and continued walking. I followed after him.

"That's impossible," I said with a laugh. "I died and now I'm here."

"How did you die?" he asked.

"I was shot."

"With what?"

"With a gun."

"A what?"

"With a gun. You don't have them here." Gandalf stopped again and stared at me. I stared back, trying hard not to be cowed by the wizard, despite the fact that he was at least two feet taller.

"This is not a place where the dead rise," he said firmly. "This is a place where the living die. I have seen many pass on, but I have never… You must be mistaken."

"I am not," I hissed. "I felt my blood pouring out of me. I felt my heart giving up. I was dying. My heart had a fucking hole in it. There is no way I survived that." The wizard was taken aback by my ferocity and he blinked when I swore. I didn't care. I had always hated when people said I was a liar, and I wasn't about to let someone get away with it just because they were an awesome character from my favorite books. Gandalf pondered what I said for a moment before we continued walking.

"You say you came from another world," he said.

"Yeah," I said. "It's called Earth, as opposed to Middle Earth."

"You mentioned books."

"The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King," I recited, "plus a few more, but those are the four most popular of the books concerning Middle Earth."

"What are they about?" he asked. I turned and looked at him.

"About… a lot of things," I said carefully. I looked him up and down. The meaning of his clothing really hit me then. "You're still grey."

"Still grey?" he repeated. I shook my head and waved my hand to keep him from questioning.

"So I guess this is before The Fellowship," I said to myself. Gandalf stared at me, trying to figure out what I was talking about. "Where are you going?"

"To see if a Hobbit I knew when he was young would care to share-"

"In an adventure," I said along with Gandalf. His eyes widened. I looked up at him with a large smile on my face. "I know what's going to happen, or at least what's supposed to."

"From the books?" he clarified. I nodded.

"What's happening now," I said, "this is just before the beginning of The Hobbit. The story begins when you go to meet Bilbo. Well, of course the story started way before that, but the book opens with this part." Gandalf looked at me and I could see the wheels turning in his head. For some reason, it made me worry.

"So you know of our quest?" he said.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "I know quite a bit." He pondered my words for a moment.

"And you know the future?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Well, I'm not in the books, so I don't know how much my being here will change the story," I said. I thought for a moment before a smile spread over my face. "But I know that we're going to find Bilbo Baggins sitting on a stone bench with his pipe. He'll be blowing smoke rings and enjoying the sunshine." Gandalf raised an eyebrow.

"It's not unlikely for a Hobbit," he said.

"But still pretty specific," I challenged. We continued walking to Bag End in silence. I smiled smugly and he seemed to be wondering about everything that had just happened. I guessed that even though he was a wizard, this day had been a little different. I found myself wanting to talk to Gandalf more. I mean, how often did people get dropped into their favorite book? Not often, I guessed. I tried to think of something to say, but all I could think about was the stupid weather. Then I got an idea. I grinned and tossed my head back.

"The sky is beautiful here," I said. Gandalf froze beside me. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye and snorted. He looked even more baffled than when I had landed on my ass in front of him.

"You speak Elvish?" he asked. I nodded.

"And Khuzdul," I said, changing to the language of the Dwarves. Suck it, everyone who made fun of Emily and me for learning all the Tolkien languages! Gandalf stared at me with a new appreciation. I smiled happily. I had just impressed a wizard. I continued walking and Gandalf followed.

"What others do you know?" he continued in Elvish.

"I know a little of the tongues of Men, and I know some Black Speech as well, but I'm not going to prove that to you, not here." He nodded in agreement.

"Hmm… Oh!" he pondered for a moment before his head lifted up and he frightened me with his excitement. "I recall something now, an old rumor. I had heard of a person coming from another world once. A girl, who was said to have wandered into Mirkwood."

"The Dwarves and Bilbo end up in Mirkwood," I said. "They travel there after Beorn's house." Gandalf stared at me for a moment before a small smile pulled over his lips and reached his eyes. I raised my brows when I realized what had happened behind the smile. The Grey Pilgrim hadn't really believed me until that moment. At least, he hadn't believed I knew the future. I guessed he had planned to take them to Beorn's and hadn't told anyone about it. I felt a little miffed at his disbelief, but I couldn't blame him. How often did strange girls fall out of the sky and tell him they knew the future? Apparently, it was rare, but not unheard of.

"Yes, I was planning on going in the direction of Beorn," Gandalf said. "Perhaps you accompany us on this journey. You seem knowledgeable, and possibly capable in a fight. Perhaps you could even help our company avoid certain difficulties." I thought about that possibility before I shook my head. Gandalf raised an eyebrow at me.

"Look, maybe I'll go," I said, "but I won't stop anything from happening. No one dies on the journey to Erebor. Yes, they run into trouble, and it isn't exactly pleasant, but everything that happens needs to happen. Without the difficulties, certain characters won't be developed and bonds won't occur and specific events that will shape the future of all of Middle Earth will never come to pass."

I thought of Bilbo, facing the Trolls and growing a kind of backbone from it. Without the Trolls, there would be no Glamdring, no Orcrist, and no Sting. I thought of the Goblins in the mountains. No riddles in the dark… no… Bilbo had to get the Ring. Above everything else, Bilbo had to get the Ring. If he didn't find it, it would never reach Frodo. It would never be destroyed. I thought of the spiders. That was when Bilbo really became a little hero. That was how Sting was named. That was when the Dwarves finally respected the Hobbit. Then Thorin would respect him when he broke them out of the Elves' palace in Mirkwood. Everything had to happen.

I stared at Gandalf, hoping he would understand the weight of my words. He stared back at me before nodding. He recognized the importance of what I said and I smiled a little. I looked up the road and could see Bag End. A little guy who looked suspiciously like Martin Freeman was sitting on a stone bench, blowing a smoke ring. I smirked and looked up at the Grey Wizard. His eyes widened slightly before he smiled down at me.

I felt my heartbeat quicken. This really was happening. Somehow, I had died and gone to Middle Earth. Maybe that happened to some people, or to everyone. Maybe when people wrote books, they created alternate universes where people went when they died. But Gandalf said he had only heard of one person entering Middle Earth from a different world.

I wondered if the girl was from my world. What if she was someone I hated? If I knew her in high school, I probably hated her. I shook the thought from my head and focused on what was happening. I was about to witness the beginning of The Hobbit. I had seen the movie way too many times, but I was actually here, watching it. I could feel the sun on my skin. I could smell the Shire and Bilbo's pipe weed. I could hear Gandalf walking next to me. I was there. I tried to keep my breathing under control as I stood in front of Bilbo Baggins with Gandalf. I was standing in front of Bilbo Baggins with Gandalf in front of Bag End in the Shire in Middle-freaking-Earth. Just act natural, because there's probably a natural way to react to this situation… that would probably be to scream and cry. So just act like you belong. Gandalf blew at the small smoke ring and it transformed into a butterfly, like in the movie. I smiled as it flew underneath Bilbo's nose and he coughed slightly, clearing it away as he opened his eyes. He took in the sight of a small Asian woman and a tall old man standing before him.

"Good morning," he said carefully. Belong. Act like you belong. I smiled and nodded at him. His lips twitched slightly in response.

"What do you mean?" asked Gandalf gruffly. My smile widened. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning, whether I want it to be or not? Or, perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or, are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?" Bilbo looked at me with a befuddled expression. I shrugged. This was one of my favorite parts, and I wasn't about to mess it up.

"All of them at once," he said carefully. "I suppose." Gandalf grunted and I smirked. Em had always said Gandalf had hoped for a clever answer, and he didn't like that Bilbo went for the safest response. Bilbo looked at me again as if to ask, "Is he always like this?" I smiled and rolled my eyes a bit. He nodded slightly and it seemed for a moment like he was going to retreat back into his Hobbit hole. Then he turned to Gandalf and asked, "Can I help you?"

"That remains to be seen," the wizard replied. I tried to cover my laugh with a cough. "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." Bilbo looked completely scandalized.

"An adventu-?" he repeated. He stood with a laugh and eyed me suspiciously. I held up my hands in an attempt to show I was a fairly neutral party. "I don't imagine that anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures," he continued as he retrieved his mail. "Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things, make you late for dinner."

"Being late for any meal is horrible," I agreed. Gandalf gave me a look as if to say, "You're not helping," but I ignored him. Bilbo looked at me with a kind of begrudged respect before looking down at his mail. He made a few noises of appreciation as if to announce that they were letters of great importance. When he looked up and saw that we were still there, he turned and headed back up to his front door.

"Good morning," he said and made to leave. Gandalf wasn't having any of it.

"To think that I should live to be 'good-morning-ed' by Belladonna Took's son!" he said with disgust. Bilbo turned at the mention of his mother. "As if I was selling buttons at the door," scoffed the wizard.

"I beg your pardon?" Bilbo asked.

"You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Bilbo Baggins."

"I'm sorry," said Bilbo with sudden interest, "but do I know either of you?"

"You know my name," said the old man with a huff, "although you don't remember I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means... me." Bilbo frowned for a moment before his whole face lit up.

"Not Gandalf the Wandering Wizard who used to make such excellent fireworks?" he said with fervor. "Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve." He laughed a moment before collecting himself. I smiled a little sadly. So this is what happened when his Took side fought with his Baggins side. It was rather disheartening to see him crush his own spirits the way he did. With a cough, he continued speaking, as a Baggins. "I had no idea you were still in business."

Gandalf had been rather flattered at the mention of his fireworks and happy to see Bilbo's Tookishness. I noticed how quickly Bilbo's words put him out again.

"And where else should I be?" he grumbled at the Hobbit. Bilbo shifted uncomfortably before he turned his gaze to me.

"May I ask who this is?" he said and gestured to me. I felt my body grow tense and the color drain from my face. Act. Natural.

"Oh," Gandalf said and turned to me. "This is… um… this is… I'm sorry, my dear, I have forgotten to ask your name!" Bilbo rolled his eyes at the wizard's lack of manners.

"My name is Bilbo Baggins," he said and strode down the path, his hand outstretched. My breath caught in my throat.

"Blair Yoon," I managed as I took the Hobbit's small hand in mine. I am shaking the hand of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo. Baggins. Somebody pinch me. Bilbo stared at me for a moment and I tried to keep my expression under control. I probably looked like some star struck fan girl. Well, I was, but I definitely didn't want to act like one.

"How did, um, how did you two meet?" he asked.

"On the road," said Gandalf quickly. "Miss Blair here is rather lost."

"Lost?" asked Bilbo. He looked at me with something like a mixture of concern and disapproval.

"I don't have a home anymore," I clarified. I blinked in surprise as the truth of my words hit me. I didn't have anywhere to go. I had no income, no shelter, no real contacts. I had nothing. I blinked again and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry," said Bilbo sincerely. I nodded. For some reason, a little tuft of grass that was growing in the road was impossibly intriguing.

"Well," said Gandalf, saving me from the spotlight. "I'm pleased to find you remember something about me, even if it's only my fireworks. Well that's decided. It'll be very good for you... and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others." I looked up and saw Bilbo stumbling backwards spluttering. He had managed to get up to his porch before he found his voice.

"Inform the- Who? What? No! No!" he protested. "N- wait! We do not want any adventures here, thank you. Not today, not- m- I... suggest you try over the hill or... across the water. Good morning." He opened his door and made to step inside.

"If you won't go on this adventure," called Gandalf, "at least help me with one small thing." Bilbo stopped and looked at the wizard, who sighed deeply. "Please allow this girl to stay in your home for tonight. Just one night!" Wait, what? Bilbo seemed as if he would protest before Gandalf cut him off. "Just one night, until I can find other lodgings for her. It would rather cruel to let her fend for herself in unknown territory." Bilbo looked at me like he was sucking on a lemon. He had a hand on his hip and tapped his foot. He looked so much like my grandmother, it was scary. After a long while, the Hobbit sighed and threw his hands up into the air.

"Fine!" he said. "But just for tonight."

"Oh that's really unnecessary!" I protested. I had been too stunned by Gandalf's request to say anything before. Now… Wait, what was I saying? I had the opportunity to spend the night in Bag End, meeting the Dwarves, meeting Thorin Oakenshield. Stupid courtesy. I didn't want to inconvenience Bilbo, but this was a once in a lifetime chance.

"You don't have any money, do you?" asked Bilbo. I blinked.

"Um, no," I replied.

"No relatives or friends?"

"No."

"Well, it appears this is the only option," he said and held his door wide open. I struggled for words. My nerd heart was going to burst. Nothing, nothing compared to how I felt as I walked up the steps and entered Bag End. I glanced back at Gandalf and he nodded. We both knew what he was going to do as soon as the door shut behind me.

A/N: Slow build, guys, slow build. Until we get to the interesting bits, I'll be posting daily, and then once the story picks up it will be weekly. Hey, I only have so much written.

So we see that Blair's an absolute dork... but I am not on her level. I am not fluent in anything but English and while I do love me some Tolkien, I don't have all the lore memorized. If I make a mistake, please call me out on it! (Politely. I have feelings.)

To those who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed, I literally love all of you.