A/N: OH GOD I'M SO SCARED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF IMPORTANT STUFF THAT HAPPENS HERE AND IF I DON'T DO IT RIGHT I'LL HATE MYSELF FOREVER

OH GOD OH GOD I HOPE YOU LIKE IT THOUGH OH MAAAN

Chaos Unleashed: Part Two

Chapter Six

Kaia's POV

I sucked in a breath as best as I could, trying not to strain myself too much as we continued to pick our way through the rocky mess that was Emyn Muil. We'd only just started off in our adventure that morning, but already I was beginning to realize how terrible this place really was. A thick fog seemed to cover everything, blocking out all traces of sun and sky. The rocks were jagged and sharp, causing various cuts and scrapes to appear on our hands and feet from tripping and falling multiple times. The air was damp and heavy, making everything feel like it was trying to suffocate me with every step I took. In short, not the best place in Middle-Earth I'd seen.

I lurched forward and caught Frodo as he stumbled over a stray rock jutting out of the ground. "Watch your step," I said blandly.

The little hobbit nodded his thanks, curls drooping in his eyes. Even he seemed to be exhausted from our day of hiking. He kept plodding forward, but seemed to be watching the surrounding area with an unexplained wariness. "...Do you think we'll ever get out of this, Kaia?" His voice was barely above a whisper so that our fearless leader wouldn't hear us from ahead.

I glanced down at him. "Probably. Aragorn knows his way around here. He said so."

Still, he seemed unsettled. "Maybe...but I cannot help from feeling as if we are being watched." His big blue eyes now met mine. "We may not be alone in here as he guesses."

A frown pulled at my lips, but I tried not to think too much on it. "We'll keep you safe, Frodo. I doubt there's anyone who'd trek through all this just to find us, anyway." There was a beat of silence before I went on. "Besides, wasn't this your original plan? To come through here and sneak into Mordor from the north?"

"Well...not exactly," he replied softly. "I do not doubt that Aragorn made this decision with careful thought, but I would've preferred for Gandalf to lead us the way he'd intended." I heard the sadness creep into his voice, but stared forward as we walked on. "...If I had not led us through the mines...perhaps it would not have been this way."

I finally turned my head again to look at him, a pang of sympathy in my chest at how ashamed of himself he looked. "Don't blame yourself for this, Frodo. I'm sure Gandalf didn't mean for you to come this way."

My heart clenched at his soft response. "He didn't mean for a lot of things to happen. But they did."

"... I know," I whispered. "But this...this wasn't something you could've controlled. You got sucked into my world, and then thrown back into this one by chance. No one saw that coming." He didn't reply, or even give off any sort of sign that he'd heard me. I watched him as we kept picking our way through the rock, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt at how sullen he looked.

Memories of Frodo smiling and laughing along with the rest of us back on Earth came to the front of my mind, and I swallowed. He's lost so much...and so quickly. Gandalf and Sam, both within the course of a few months. And that was what I saw in him now, I realized. He'd lost the two people closest to him on this journey, and now all he had left was Merry and Pippin. Even Kathryn had been taken from him. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that felt like. He carried a heavy enough burden as it was...and now he was alone in doing it.

oOo

Legolas' POV

My thoughts and emotions were spinning madly that day as I strode through the halls of my people. Erin had returned to me not two hours past with news that my father had discovered where Aragorn and the others had arrived. We had quickly regrouped with Boromir and Kathryn, and after some discussion, had decided that we would leave at first light tomorrow morning. Boromir had seemed a bit against the idea of departing so soon, but Erin insisted upon it. We would need all the time we could get to catch up to them.

And with that decision, it seemed as if suddenly any peace amongst the four of us had dissipated into thin air. Now we were all running about the place ('like chickens with our heads cut off,' as Kathryn had put it), scrambling to gather everything we needed and prepare for our journey. And I felt as if I had more to take care of than anyone – I needed to find someone to take over my position in the guard while I was gone. I had hoped to appoint Tauriel to this position, but somehow I had not crossed her path all day, either.

Of course, my father had seen it fit to interrupt this madness by summoning me to meet with him now, of all times. Galion had not given me any reason as to why I was being called, and I hoped it would not be any sort of bad news. Things were about to get difficult as it was; we certainly did not need another obstacle in our path.

I approached my father's private chambers with a small amount of caution, unknowing as to why I had been called here. From my place in the doorway, I could see him standing at the small balcony that overlooked much of the cavernous network below us, his back facing me. "You sent for me, Ada?" I broke the silence.

He turned his head at the sound of my voice. "Yes...I meant to say farewell to you."

My demeanor shifted at that. "That is all? And here I had expected you to send me off with ill tidings," I teased.

A small smile appeared as he turned completely towards me. "Do not mistake my concern with ill tidings, my son. It is only because I have worried over you all these years that you have survived."

I scoffed. "I believe I deserve at least some of the credit." I stepped further into the room, glancing around briefly at the familiar surroundings. My father's room was quite lavishly decorated, and I could remember many of my years as an elfling spent sneaking around here when I thought he was not paying attention.

"You are a fine warrior," he agreed with a nod. But then his eyes softened, showing emotion that I rarely saw as his voice changed with it. "But still so young compared to the world around you." I said nothing at first, and his gaze shifted. "If it were my decision, I would keep you here, under what protection I could offer you. Free from the brutality of this fading world." He turned away again, this time to face the large mirror adorning his grand vanity, and I did not miss his gaze sweep over where I knew his own scars from the past lay hidden. He had always hated them, believing that they made him appear crippled, and hardly ever allowed them to be seen.

I watched his reflection. "I swore my loyalty to Frodo many months ago. I would not abandon that lightly. His burden is too great to carry on his own."

He seemed oddly distant as he stared at the glass, a soft chuckle escaping him. "...You are just like her, Legolas." My heart clenched at his words. "Her stubborn loyalty to those she loves is within you. And she would be proud."

There was a thick silence between us for a moment, and I found myself struggling with my words. "Are you?"

My father's cool eyes met mine in the mirror. "I have always been proud of you, Legolas. So it shall always be."

I swallowed as he turned around again and began walking towards me. "Then I shall try to uphold that. I will return to you with honor."

He placed a firm hand on my shoulder, hesitating only slightly before speaking, his voice little more than a whisper. "All I would ask is that you return. You need not worry about honor, Legolas."

Suddenly fearing my voice would waver, I returned the grip on his shoulder as well. "Yes, Ada."

He smiled just enough for me to notice, and I felt like a small child again as he looked down at me. "May the Valar protect you, my son, and the Sun shine upon your road for as far as you may travel it."

I returned the smile. "Thank you."

oOo

Kaia's POV

At this point, I couldn't even tell what time of day it was anymore. It hardly seemed any lighter during the day than it did at night, with the fog constantly swirling around and a dark, cloudy sky hanging overhead. They were unnaturally dark, too, like it was always threatening to break out into the craziest storm, but never did. The whole place was unsettling, and certainly did its part in dampening our spirits.

"How much further?" Pippin panted from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder as I moved quickly to keep up with Aragorn. "As far as your legs can carry you," I called back. Then I twisted forward again, a small scowl on my face as I muttered to myself. "Or until we die of starvation and dehydration out here."

On and on we went, making little conversation as we trekked along. It seemed endless. Everywhere you turned, there was nothing but damp, grey rock. And I had tripped and scraped my knees way too much to be in a good mood at this point. I wanted out. I wanted fresh air; I wanted to feel sunlight again. But for as long as we were in here, it didn't seem like we were gonna get any.

Things got even worse later on that day when I passed by a structure of boulders that seemed familiar. "...Hey, Aragorn?" I called ahead. "Have we been here already?"

The ranger stopped to look around. "...No," he said after a pause. "No, this is the right way."

I wasn't buying it. "Are you sure? Because I remember passing that rock before."

"Kaia, we are not lost. I know the way out."

"Do you?" I challenged. Now the hobbits were caught up to us as we argued. "Come on, Aragorn, we must've been here before!"

"She's right," Frodo piped up from beside me. "We're going in circles."

Aragorn looked around again, his expression totally confused. "...Then...we can..."

I sighed in exasperation. "This is getting us nowhere. We might as well stop for the night."

"And lose all the daylight we have left? That is precious time, Kaia."

"Well we've sure as hell wasted it today!" I snapped, quickly turning and preparing to walk off.

I was stopped by a firm hand grabbing my shoulder, and then Aragorn's rough voice. "Frodo, Merry, Pippin! Prepare a fire and something for us to eat tonight, if you can." They scurried off, and once they were out of earshot, I turned to face him with a disinterested look. "I am sorry that I am not leading this the way you think it should be lead," he hissed, eyes sparking with anger. "Would you like to take control and get us out of here within two days?"

"No, because it wouldn't help anyway," I shot back. "Aragorn, this is stupid. We're lost, we have no food, no water, and hardly any weapons to defend ourselves with. We're going to die much faster if we waste our time running around in here blindly."

"Then what do you suggest? When last I looked, we did not have another option."

"I don't know, but there's got to be something we can do. Climb up to the top of a really tall cliff and see if you can find a direction to head in, light a fire and signal for help – something!"

"There is nothing else we can do!" Aragorn insisted. "Signals are just as likely to draw the attention of enemies as they are friends. We must be swift and secretive so that we aren't discovered."

I snorted. "Yeah, and we're doing a great job with that so far, screaming back and forth at each other to communicate all day."

Aragorn's gaze hardened for a long moment, daring me to push him further. When he did speak again, his voice was dangerously low. "If you can come up with a better idea that will get us out of this mess without putting Frodo and the Ring in immediate danger, then you may lead us on. But until then, it is doing nothing to start petty arguments with me about the decisions I've made for the better of the group. You would do well to remember that." Without giving me a chance to retort, he turned and stalked off towards the hobbits, and I stared at his back coldly before following him a minute later.

We ate in silence that night.

oOo

Falling. Endless falling. I was tumbling through the air, a wild wind whirling around me as I plummeted down towards a pit of liquid flame. I couldn't see where I was, and all I heard was the roar of wind in my ears and the screams of terror spilling from my mouth. I was still falling, but it seemed like I was hardly ever getting any closer to the bottom. I could feel the heat of the place on my skin, and even when I tried to shut my eyes, I couldn't block everything out. I opened them again, my heart hammering in my chest as I kept dropping. There was a flash of gold on the edge of my vision, and I reached for it, my fingers coming just within reach -

And just like that, the dream was over. My eyes snapped open and I gasped into my makeshift pillow, looking around wildly for a moment, remembering where I was. Emyn Muil. Aragorn. Hobbits. Nowhere near any kind of fire. After taking a second to calm myself down, I relaxed my muscles and sunk into the thin blanket beneath me again, relishing the cool surface of the rocky ground to contrast the nightmare.

What the hell was that even about? I had never dreamt of anything like that before. I closed my eyes against the sloppily-rolled ball of fabric that my head rested on and quietly tried to slow my breathing again, though I certainly didn't want to fall back asleep at this point. Thankfully, I hadn't woken anyone up when coming out of my weird dream, so I had time to just lay there for awhile and process what had happened. And that was the only reason I ever heard him coming in the first place.

Well, I sensed him before I heard him. I'd been laying perfectly still, eyes closed, when I got the unshakeable feeling that something was watching us. I waited for what seemed like ages, and was just beginning to scold myself for being overly paranoid when I really heard him.

First it was his erratic, raspy breathing, sounding like he was about to give out at any moment. At first, I hadn't been able to place the sound with a face, but then he spoke, whispering to himself as he bore down on us. "The thieves...the thieves...the filthy little thieves!" I tried to keep acting like I was asleep, a rough plan of attack forming in my mind as soon as I realized what he was doing. "Where is it? Where is it? They stole it from us...my precious... Curse them. We hates them! It's ours, it is, and we wants it!"

It all happened so fast, I barely had time to blink. As soon as I heard his voice over my head, I was on my feet, grabbing the thin creature out of thin air and ripping him off of the rock face he'd climbed down, shouting to wake the others up. He screamed in response as I threw him to the ground, quickly recovering from his shock and pouncing on me like a cat. I was tackled to the ground, struggling to keep his arms from wrapping around my neck as I swung at his face once, twice, three times. On the final strike, I hit him, and then kicked him off of me just as the sound of a sword sliding from its sheath rang through the air. He backed up, prepared to come at me again, but was stopped when the cool metal of Aragorn's blade was pressed against his neck. The creature's pale blue eyes widened in fear as I picked myself up off of the ground, and Aragorn crouched low behind him, his tone menacing and low. "Attack her again, and I will not hesitate to kill you."

The hobbits had all gathered behind me, horrified at the sight of the sickly-looking being before them. His entire body was long and thin, with bones threatening to rip through translucent skin all over the place. Sallow eyes and a gaunt face did nothing to help his image, and what little hair he had left fell to his shoulders in single strands and wisps. His fingers were long, providing the perfect grip to go scrambling around on these rocks in any way he wanted. I was actually slightly ashamed of myself that I hadn't thought of this happening earlier, but it did nothing to soften my glare as I took a few steps forward towards the creature, enjoying the way he shrunk back at my approach. "Well now, Gollum. What brings you here?"

A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUN

I probably could've continued that scene further, but it's late, and I feel like that's a nice place to end off. :P