A/N: Look at that, ANOTHER update? Haha, aren't you proud of me? :P Three in one month...I think that's a record!

You guys will enjoy this chapter. ;) I know you will.

Chaos Unleashed: Chapter Sixteen

Legolas' POV

I knocked on the wooden door three times, waiting until I heard a muffled "Yeah?" to enter the bedroom. Opening the door revealed Erin to be hunched over her computer at her desk, browsing the internet relentlessly. Upon hearing my footsteps, she paused and turned to look at me. "Hey."

"Hello," I said. I placed a bowl of warm mashed potatoes and corn in front of her, along with a fork. "Kathryn asked me to bring you this since you missed supper."

"Thanks." She took a bite and returned her focus to the glowing screen.

"How far have you gotten?"

She sighed. "Meh. I've found a bit more. I think I at least have enough to get a basic theory going now."

Interested, I stood behind her and skimmed over what she had just been reading. "...So you think it to be linked to some powerful object?"

Her brown head bobbed up and down. "Seems likely. I feel like all we have to do is the right thing at the right time to send you back."

"What would the time be?"

"I don't know. That's one of the things I'm stuck on."

"And you do not have any sort of idea at all?"

"No," Erin said.

I frowned, thinking for a bit. "...What were you doing when we arrived here?"

She glanced over her shoulder at me, an odd look on her face. "Wondering why there were eight grown men in my closet."

"No, I mean...in the moment that the transportation happened. Tell me everything about that moment that you can."

"Uhh..." She exhaled, trying to recall the events from several months prior. "...I was in the studio painting. Listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Kaia and Kathryn were...they were down in the living room watching the first movie."

"And how did you say we appeared here?"

"Well, the power just suddenly went out first; I remember that. Then Kathryn...she came upstairs..." She closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "Oh, what was it for?" Silence hung heavily between us for several seconds, and I blinked in surprise when she suddenly shouted and slammed her fist down on the desk. "OH! That's it!"

"What?" I leaned forward with anticipation.

She looked at me and raised her left hand. "My ring. My replica of the One Ring." My gaze flicked down to the golden band resting around her middle finger. "It started glowing – the writing did – like I'd just taken it out of a fire."

"Was that all?" I asked.

Erin shook her head. "No...it got really bright, and then there was a loud bang from somewhere. That's when I head you guys appearify in my closet or whatever." She paused, then spoke again. "What about you? What happened from your perspective?"

"Not much," I replied, "though I remember it clearly. We were floating down the river Anduin on the boats provided for us by the Lord and Lady, and then suddenly the strangest feeling came over me. It was like my entire body was going numb, and then...nothing. Everything went black shortly after."

She was still frowning. "Something still doesn't add up, though. I doubt this kind of thing would've happened all by itself... We must've triggered it somehow."

More silence as we both sat there, lost in thought. "Do you think you were the ones to start this?"

"Probably. I mean, you all wouldn't have done anything different. And besides, it doesn't take much for one of us girls to screw things up." I smiled slightly at her joke. She thought a bit more, and her frown deepened. "I wonder if... oh, I bet that's it!"

"What?" I met her gaze again.

"While I was listening to the soundtrack, I got to a part that plays during the Council of Elrond. There's a certain time where Gandalf stands up and recites the Black Speech written on the Ring, right?"

I nodded with a somber expression. "Yes. Though I believe that a language so foul deserves to only be spoken in an equally foul place."

"Amen," she said with a smile. "But anyway, that part. Once that music started playing, I remember saying the same words out loud since I know the verse so well. And right after that is when the power went out and everything else happened."

My eyes widened a bit. "Do you think that is what did it?"

"I'd bet good money on it." She leaned back in her chair a bit, shaking her head. "Wow, how did I not catch that earlier? I feel dumb."

I chuckled. "I would not expect you to be so alert to every detail in that situation. It was chaotic for me as well."

"Yeah, but still. I should've figured this out months ago."

"If I may ask another question, though..." She nodded for me to go on. "Where did that ring come from? It is not the One Ring itself, so how did it come to have these 'powers,' if this assumption is true?"

She shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I got in online, so...it could've come from anywhere, really. I'm curious too, though." Looking down at her hand, the corners of her lips threatened to turn upwards in a smile again. "Who would've thought that I'd come across an actual magic ring?"

"In any event, it does not matter much where it came from or why it does those things," I said. "All that matters now is that we use that knowledge to figure out a plan."

"Of course." She turned to her computer one final time, closing out of everything and standing up. "I think we should run downstairs and tell the others, don't you?"

"Absolutely." My hopes began to rise as we walked out together, heading for the stairs. Maybe we will be home soon after all.

oOo

Kaia's POV

"Pippin! That's my soda, give it back!"

"No it's not! Yours is over there!"

"No, that's Boromir's! Stop it, it's going to spill!"

"If either of you get shit on my carpet you're the ones cleaning it up," I said, shooting the two hobbits a death stare as they fought over a glass of Dr. Pepper. "And if it stains, then you'll have Erin to answer to." They both glanced at me before sharing a look and silently agreeing that no one got the soda.

I smirked, glancing back down at my iPod as I continued to scroll through old pictures, laughing as I passed a particularly hilarious session of 'ugly selfies' that we'd done way back in high school as freshmen. God, we were all so stupid.

All of a sudden, I heard the familiar thudding of feet coming down the stairs and looked up to see Erin and Legolas enter the room. "Guys! I think we just made a breakthrough!"

The majority of us were stationed in the living room, so that quickly caught our attention. It had been pouring rain all day, so we were trapped inside with nothing to do. But this was definitely worth listening to. "Really?" Aragorn asked.

She nodded, a smile on her face. "Yeah! In fact, we – wait." She stopped in the middle of her sentence, looking around. "Where's Kathryn?"

"She went out for groceries," Boromir replied.

"And Gimli and Sam are with her," I added. "Sam wanted to help out, but I'm pretty sure Gimli just went so he could look at all the food and get Kathryn to buy him some candy."

She sighed. "When's he gonna learn that we don't have money to buy candy anymore?"

"I know." I wiped an unshed tear from my eye. "It's a sad day." A moment of silence for all that candy that'll never make it into my stomach.

"Do you know when she said they'd be back?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. They left like...forty-five minutes ago, but I think she said something about stopping at another little shop, too."

"I hope they come back soon," Frodo said. "The storm's only getting worse."

I looked out the window at the black sky and the sheets of rain falling from it. "Yeah, I know. I'd hate to be driving in this weather right now."

oOo

Kathryn's POV

Oh my God, is it ever gonna stop raining? This has been going on forever! I squinted ahead to focus on the road more as we plowed through the storm. Between me trying to see where I was going, Gimli listening to my iPod that I'd let him borrow for the car ride, and Sam staring blankly out the window in the back seat, it was pretty quiet. All I could hear was the drumming of rain on metal and the faint, muffled sounds of guitars and drums from whatever Gimli was blasting through his headphones.

I wove through the streets of town carefully and without a word. I was a nervous enough driver to begin with, but adding bad weather to the mix made it even worse. Rain tended to put everyone in a duller mood, though. Especially when said rain had been going on for at least five hours straight. When we finally reached the street I was looking for, I glanced in the rear view mirror at Sam. "We're just about here."

The chubby little hobbit started and looked at me from where he'd been dozing. "At the store?"

"No, the coffee place I told you about. There's a Starbucks just up the road here, but I don't feel like trying to find a parking space in their tiny, crowded lot. I'm just gonna stop here." I parked on the side of the road, about half a block away from the store itself and at the corner of a fairly busy intersection. "Just stay here until I come back. I won't be long."

Gimli caught the last of my words as he pulled his headphones out. "Where'd you say you're goin'?"

"To Starbucks. I need my caffeine." I winked and pulled the hood of my jacket up over my head to protect me against the rain, though I doubted it would do much at all when it was this bad. "Wish me luck," I said in a dramatic voice, slowly opening the door.

"Don't get yourself killed!" Sam called out after me with a joking smile. I laughed as I got out of the car and closed the door, then took off running down to my destination.

It didn't take long at all to get there, but I still managed to get drenched by the time I stepped in the door. "Fucking rain," I muttered, now cold and wet. That coffee was sounding even more delicious by the second.

As I stood in line to place my order, I glanced out the large glass doors behind me. Should I get the others something? ...Nah. Kaia, Boromir, and Aragorn are the only ones that drink coffee. And they probably would've said something if they wanted stuff. But...maybe I should just...no. Nope nope nope. Every dollar counts now. I frowned slightly as I moved up a bit. I really hope we can get out of this somehow. Even after the Fellowship leaves, it'll be hard with only two of us girls having two well-paying jobs.

About a minute of pointless mind rambling later, I stepped up to the counter. A thin, perky girl with green eyes and sleek blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail smiled widely at me. "Hi, welcome to Starbucks! Can I take your order?"

"Yeah, I'll have a-"

I was cut off by the most horrible screeching and crashing sounds I'd ever heard in my entire life. As soon as I heard it, I spun around in shock. Holy shit, what was that?! Everyone sitting around in the shop seemed to be thinking the same thing, and a guy immediately ran up to the glass front of the building to see what had happened. As soon as he whipped around, his face screamed terror at me. "Somebody call 911! There's been an accident!"

My eyes went wide with fear. Oh God! Several other people gasped around me, but I started running for the door as one of the employees started calling for an ambulance. Shit, what about Gimli and Sam? They're probably scared out of their minds! I reached the entrance, looking outside to see what was going on.

..Wait. That...that's not my car. No. No way. There's no FUCKING way that's my car. The rain was coming down so hard, I couldn't see too far, but... Holy shit! "No...Oh my God, no!" I yelled, snapping out of my momentary shock and pushing past the others that had gathered around me to get out.

I started barreling down the street, praying that I wasn't seeing what I thought it was. Please be another car, please be another car, for the love of God PLEASE be another car!

I wasn't even paying attention to the rain, or the wind, or other witnesses coming out to get a closer look. I swear, if that's my car...

Closer, and closer still. Please don't be my fucking car...OH MY GOD, THAT'S MY CAR!

I stumbled, nearly falling over when I got close enough to see things for real. "SAM! GIMLI! HOLY SHIT, NO!" I kept running, my stomach tightening in knots as I reached the scene. "NO!"

It was horrible. Another driver had slammed into the passenger's side head-on, crushing it in. The windshield was shattered, and the metal was bent and twisted into shapes it shouldn't have been. A young girl, no more than thirteen, was attempting to crawl out of the backseat of the car that had collided with mine, screaming for her father. Other people were gathering around, and someone ran to her to help her out. I could hear the wails of a much younger child also coming from their back seat, but nothing else. I just stood there at first, processing it all, but then it hit me.

I wasn't hearing anything else.

Oh God..oh God, no! I felt like I couldn't breathe. "...NO! NOOOO!" The scream ripped from my throat, my voice cracking as I broke into a full sprint again, ignoring the shouts of the other people around me to stay back. I ran up to my car, continuing to scream in horror as I saw dark crimson stains on the windows. "GIMLI! SAM! ANSWER ME!" I pulled on the door handle furiously. It was weak, it wouldn't open. "NO!" I yanked it as hard as I could, the door suddenly flying open. I heard someone running up to me, shouting at me to stop. I ignored him and bent down to see inside.

It was a mistake. It was a horrible, horrible mistake. I was looking right into Gimli's eyes, rolled back into his head. His entire lower body was crushed beneath metal, his torso splayed back across the front seats. A huge shard of glass pierced his side, and the entire right side of his face was covered in blood. His limbs were bent at horrifying angles. "GIMLI!" I wanted to grab him, to wake him up. "GIMLI, NO!" Was I sobbing, or was my face wet from the rain? I couldn't tell. I looked to the backseat, hoping for better.

It was a mistake. Sam looked worse than the dwarf in front of him, his head nearly split open and jaw dislocated from the impact. Blood poured through his hair and down his neck, and more scrapes, bruises and other wounds dotted his body. A large piece of metal was sliced across his neck and shoulder. But the worst of all was his face. He was just staring up at the roof of the car, looking confused and afraid. I felt myself shaking from crying as I backed away, not knowing what else to do. "SAM!" I screamed. "SAM!" I tried to get the back door open for him, but suddenly a pair of strong hands grabbed my arms.

"No, miss!" a man shouted. "You need to come away! You'll get hurt!"
"NO!" I cried. "My friends! I have to help them!"
"They're beyond our help now," he said quietly as a wailing siren sounded in the distance. "I'm sorry."

oOo

Boromir's POV

I laughed to myself as I watched the hobbits bicker about who had won their silly little game for the fifth time. It made no sense at all to me; all I'd gathered was that Merry and Pippin had named it 'Tig,' and that it was a completely senseless game of poking and touching one another and calling out things like 'tig,' 'tig-tag,' 'tog,' and anything similar. Poor Frodo seemed hopelessly lost on the rules of the game, and was currently being lectured on how you couldn't 'tag a tig' or something.

It was briefly interrupted when Kaia's phone started ringing, startling us all. She'd went off with Aragorn somewhere in the house, and I felt out of place answering for her, so I let it ring. After the sixth, the voice mail went off and asked for the caller to leave a message. Nothing. I glanced at the phone, trying to see the number from where I sat several feet away, but couldn't.

Just as I was about to return my focus to the hobbits' game, it rang again, and I frowned. Twice in a row? Must be important, then. "I've got it," I announced, getting up and grabbing it off of the couch. Third ring, and I read the number. Kathryn? Fourth ring, and I answered the call. "Yes?"

I was shocked from what I heard. It sounded like someone was crying, and in the background there was a garbled mix of people shouting and a loud siren of some sort. "...B-Boromir?"
"Kathryn!" I blinked. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"B...Boromir!" She dissolved into sobs, and I gripped the phone tighter. What's going on? "Boromir, they... Oh my God..."

"What's happened, Kathryn?" I asked urgently. I noticed that the hobbits had fallen silent.

It took her a moment to compose herself a bit. "...They...there w-was an accident..."

"What? Where?"

"...Where's Kaia?"

"Kathryn, tell me what happened!"

It was silent on her end for a long time. Just when I thought she wasn't going to answer, her voice came over the phone, weak and broken. "Gimli a-and Sam...are...they...they're dead!" She kept crying.

I stopped. "...What?"
"T-They were hit...and...I w-wasn't there...Another car hit them..."

"Where are you?"

"I...B-Boromir, they're gone..."

I refused to believe it. No. They can't be. "Kathryn, tell me where they are!"

"...I d-don't know...Heaven, maybe?"

I stopped, swallowing a growing lump in my throat. No. "We're coming for you, alright? Stay there." They're not dead. Not until I see it with my own eyes.

"...There's lots of doctors, but...I..."

"Kathryn, I'm coming. Just please stay there."

"O-okay."

"Good. We'll be there in a few minutes." I hung up, throwing the phone down again and running out of the room, a dread like I had never felt before building in my chest. "KAIA!"