Chaos Unleashed: Part Two

Chapter Fourteen

Erin's POV

My breaths came in short gasps as I willed myself to run faster, away from the shrieks and battle cries of whatever creatures were now on our tails. All I could focus on were the two elves in front of me and my pounding heartbeat as I strove to sprint better than ever before. I didn't even know how I was dodging all the trees and fallen debris around me, all I knew was to just keep going. Oh my God oh my God oh my God RUN FASTER YOU IDIOT THEY'RE CATCHING UP! Panic was all I could comprehend right now. For God's sake, FASTER! They're gonna eat us alive!

Sure enough, I could hear the jeers of the Orcs and other monstrosities growing louder and closer with each passing second. Please don't tell me we're gonna have to fight them! We'll never make it! Even as I thought about it, I could feel my muscles burning. No! Come on, run! RUN! Your life literally depends on it! I jumped over a fallen tree in the middle of the path, stumbling on the landing and slowing considerably.

"Erin!" I looked up to see Legolas running along up ahead, casting fearful glances behind us. "Come on!"

I kept going, but definitely not as fast as before. "I...I can't!" I gasped.

"Yes, you can!"

"No! I can't...I can't keep up! I..." Words failed me as I tripped again, falling flat on my face. No no no! Get up! You piece of shit, GO!

Boromir blew past me a second later. "Erin! Hurry, get up!"

"Erin!" I heard Kathryn scream from behind, and got back on my feet just as she reached me. "Come on, run!"

Suddenly, three arrows went sailing right between us, and my eyes widened in fear as I turned to see three Orcs fall to the ground not ten yards away from where we stood. I screamed and scrambled backwards before taking off again, my adrenaline spiking just enough from the scare. Kathryn was right on my heels as we sped through the forest, looking just as afraid. I didn't dare look over my shoulder; didn't dare risk falling or slowing down again. If I did, I'd be as good as dead.

And I wasn't the only one noticing the difficulty of our situation. "Legolas!" Boromir shouted. "We cannot outrun them forever!"

The blonde elf looked back at us again, and it shook me to see the pure terror in his eyes for that fraction of a second. He was just as scared as the rest of us, and for Legolas, that was saying something. My mind was racing nearly as fast as my heart as I tried desperately to continue. We can't do this. There's no way. And even if we beat them to the edge of the forest, what then? They'll still chase us down once we get out of Mirkwood! We're done for! My sides ached from the sudden burst of exercise, and I grimaced as I dug a little deeper for more stamina. God save us now. Another arrow or two flew back to take care of a few particular creatures that had gotten too close for comfort – one of which was a Seeker, I heard. I could tell Tauriel was trying to shake them off our tails by dodging and weaving about, but nothing seemed to be working.

I was just about give up and drop to the ground when suddenly Boromir stopped in his tracks, causing me to just about crash right into him as I also skidded to a stop with Kathryn at my side. Legolas and Tauriel stood before us, and I peeked over their shoulders, my face falling as I noticed why we'd stopped. "No.." A large ravine split the earth before us, the cliff's edge dropping straight down for what seemed like at least a hundred feet, maybe more. The gap wasn't terribly wide or anything, but there was no bridge or other way to cross it anywhere, meaning we were trapped. "...You've got to be kidding me..." That's it. It's over.

Kathryn's eyes went wide with panic as she saw it. "What are we going to do?!" she cried. "We can't get past that!"

To my shock, however, Tauriel turned around with a panicked but clever twinkle in her eye. "Can we not?"

I blinked in confusion at first, but then something in my brain clicked, and then I knew exactly what she was thinking. I immediately shook my head, giving her a bewildered look. "No. No way. That isn't even remotely safe."

"Neither is our alternative!" she shouted back over the distant cries of the Orcs, growing closer still. "Legolas! Boromir! Toss us over!"

"WHAT?!" Kathryn shrieked. "NO! No way! No one's tossing me across that chasm, are you out of your damn mind?! Borom- NO! PUT ME DOWN! BOROMIR!" Her cries of fear were ignored as the Gondorian easily lifted her up and tossed her over the gap. She screamed for dear life the whole way, landing roughly and falling to the ground once she (thankfully) landed on the other side.

"Kathryn!" I shouted. "Are you okay?"

"I hate all of you!"

I would've rolled my eyes at her reply if we'd been in any other situation. But now Legolas was stepping towards me, looking at me with concern. "Are you ready?"

I exhaled. "Ready as I'll ever be. Go for it." I tensed a bit as he picked me up, surprised by how light I seemed to be for him. Come on. Keep it together. It'll be just like flying! Legolas stepped up to the edge, and I squeezed my eyes shut, Kathryn's horrified face the last thing I remember before suddenly realizing that I wasn't in Legolas' arms anymore, and a brief moment of feeling weightless as I sailed through the air. That was when my eyes snapped open again, just in time for Kathryn to somewhat catch me as I slammed into her, knocking us both to the ground. "Holy mother of Mary..." I breathed, shakily getting to my feet and looking back across the gap. "That just happened!" I looked over at my friend. "Oh God, are you okay?"

She gave me a look that can most easily be explained as 'I am two hundred percent done with this adventure' and shook her head, groaning as she picked herself up. "I did not sign up for this."

Despite still feeling quite scared and bruised up from the landing, I managed a small smile. That smile fell from my face when I turned around to see Tauriel now jumping into Legolas' arms to be thrown over, but I pushed my jealous feelings down and reluctantly spread my arms to help catch the other woman as she easily made the gap. I still stumbled backwards when I caught her, though.

Ever the nimble one, she smoothly got back to her feet and nodded to me in thanks. "Perhaps we will outrun our pursuers," she mused as Legolas and Boromir prepared to take running jumps.

I turned forward again, preparing to catch my favorite blonde elf this time. "I sure hope so. If this doesn't work, I don't know what else we could do." I caught Legolas' eyes from across the chasm, and we nodded to each other before he took off at full speed, jumping at the last second and soaring through the air. My heart pounded wildly again as he drew closer to me. Oh God oh God this was a bad idea shit shit SHIT-

Apparently I had been way too close to the edge for catching him, because he would've jumped right over my head if I hadn't quickly backed up at the last second. This, however, caused him to unexpectedly slam right into my upper body with full force, knocking the wind out of me and resulting in both of us in a heap on the ground again.

I groaned as he rolled off of me, spitting a lock of blonde hair out of my mouth. "That's twice in the same day we've been caught on top of each other. People are going to start spreading rumors, you know."

He chuckled and held out a hand to pull me to my feet as Boromir made his jump, resulting in a similar scenario between him and Kathryn. "At least we can be sure it will never go on the Internet." I laughed a bit, too, but it quickly died out as Tauriel approached us – or rather, Legolas.

"That will have bought us some time," she said quickly, "but they will find a way around, and there will be others lurking in the forest still." The redheaded she-elf instantly took charge again, and I swallowed nervously. And we're still not out of this just yet. "Hurry! The forest's edge is not much further from here!" Before any of us could say a word, she was off running, and I ignored the burning pain in my sides, reluctantly picking up the pace again. I could hear the howls of anger from the monsters we'd just left behind as they reached the ravine and prayed that our little stunt had been enough to keep us safe for awhile longer, shuddering to think about how close to death we'd just been.

oOo

Kaia's POV

"So." My eyes scanned over our plucky little group of six, huddled together in the small, dark space we'd decided would be our meeting room for the moment. "Shall we begin?" We'd all quietly agreed earlier that day that we needed to take some time to figure out what our next move was going to be after we left these caves, but wanted as much privacy from the other elves living with us as we could get during our discussion. Aragorn did some sneaking around and managed to find us a fairly cramped, but decent enough area in the very back of the storage rooms that would fit all of us, and now, in the dead of night, here we were. "We've got a lot of stuff to talk about, obviously, so let's just start with the big question: where are we going to go after we leave this swamp place?"

Naturally, Aragorn was the first to answer. "Mordor," he said firmly. "The purpose of the Fellowship was to ensure that Frodo be given protection on his journey to destroy the Ring, and that has not changed."

Frodo looked to the dark-haired man with a nod. "I agree. I think we should try and finish what we started, at least."

"Yeah, I think that's fair," I said. "But are we absolutely sure we want to just jump back in right away? I mean, it seems obvious at this point that finishing this quest is going to be way harder than any of us expected it to be."

"Even so, we have wasted enough time idly sitting around already," Aragorn replied. "We cannot afford any other detours."

I looked to Merry and Pippin. "Are you guys okay with that?"

They glanced at each other before slowly nodding. "Yeah, that's fine and all," Merry said, "but...what about Gollum? He's still around, isn't he?"

I shifted a bit and exhaled. "Probably. That's something else we should decide, too. Are we still keeping him around?"

"No."

All eyes turned to Aragorn, who seemed completely finalized in his decision. I frowned. "Why not?"

"He is not to be trusted," the ranger replied. "The Ring is what drew him to this group, and it is all he will focus on. Frodo is not safe if Gollum travels with us."

"Okay, but what about using him as our guide?" I asked. "We still need that, don't we?"

Aragorn shook his head. "That does not matter. We are close enough to Mordor that I could lead us there on my own."

"Do you know the way to Mount Doom?"

"Kaia, that is not-"

"Do you?"

He stared me down for a few moments before reluctantly backing off. "No."

"Then it looks to me like we'll need a guide to get us there," I said, "and right now Gollum's the only one that could help us."

"He will not help us," Aragorn argued. "He will likely try and kill us!"

"Well, we'll have to be careful of that and make sure it doesn't happen."

"But if he's going to kill us...is it really worth it, do you think?" Pippin asked quietly. "What if he purposely gets us lost?"

"That is a possibility," Aragorn nodded.

I exhaled, now getting frustrated. "Look, it doesn't matter what he might or might not do to us. The point is: we're not getting to Mordor without help. And even if we got there on our own, do you really think we'd be able to sneak in all by ourselves? If we had someone who knows all the secret tricks to sneaking in and out of Mordor, it would be a lot easier for us. Gollum is one of those people. Or...well, not a person, but you know what I mean."

"Kaia, that is madness." I narrowed my eyes at Aragorn. "We cannot trust that creature to lead us in the right direction. That is asking for us to get ourselves killed."

"You know what else is an insane idea? Trying to sneak into Mordor in the first place! But that certainly didn't stop you guys the first time!"

"That is not a valid argument, and you know it!"

My temper flared, and I was about to snap back at the would-be king before Merry cut in. "I understand what Kaia's trying to say. And I do think it would help to at least have someone who knew their way around that area."

"Thank you," I said, tossing my hands up in exasperation.

But Pippin shook his head. "I don't trust Gollum, though. I'd rather be rid of him sooner than later."

There was a lull in the conversation, and my frown deepened. So that's what it comes down to, then. Aragorn and Pippin think Gollum's too dangerous to trust, Merry and I see the advantage in bringing him along. It's a split. My eyes turned to the remaining member of our group who hadn't yet spoken on the subject. "Frodo? What do you think?"

The young hobbit looked around at all of nervously, quiet for awhile before speaking. "...I do not trust Gollum," he began, and my heart sunk. "But...I also pity him. And I think he deserves to be given a chance. He could help us quite a lot, if he chooses to."

"But what if he doesn't choose to help us?" Pippin asked, turning to look at the Ringbearer. "Then what do we do?"

"If he hurts anyone, I'll kill him," I said immediately. "End of story. If he even thinks about it, I'll snap his neck. We'll make that clear."

"I do not believe Gollum feels he is obliged to answer to anyone," Aragorn shook his head, and his eyes met mine again. "This is a foolish course of action."

I stared right back, unwavering in my opinions. "Sometimes foolishness is the best choice you have."

Another pause, and Aragorn sighed again, touching a hand to his forehead. In that moment, it was like years of age blossomed on his face, and I felt my hard gaze waver from a pang of guilt. It was obvious that being in charge of such an important journey was taking its toll on him. "I cannot force myself to agree with you on the matter," he said, "but if Frodo wishes for Gollum to travel with us, so be it." I nodded slowly, leaning back on my hands a bit as he raised his stormy blue eyes to look over us all again. "But again, I will warn you: this is a dangerous move. We must all be on our guard. Do not ever assume he will not take advantage of you if he gets the chance. I have dealt with this creature in the past, and it is not wise to underestimate his cunning."

"Understood," Merry said solemnly, with murmurs of agreement from the rest of us. "Do they know how much longer it'll take before Kathryn and the others get here?" He jerked his chin in the general direction of the other elves sharing our campsite.

"No," the man said with a shake of his head. "Neurion sent a message to King Thranduil weeks ago, but I cannot guess how long it would take the four of them to reach us. I do not know what path they take, nor if they are on horseback or not."

"If they were on horseback, I doubt it would've taken them this long," I pointed out.

He nodded to me. "That is true. I suppose they are on foot, then." He briefly looked away to what I assumed was north. "That is no easy journey."

"Neither was ours," I commented again, flicking a pebble on the ground. "Nothing seems easy around here anymore."

Now Aragorn's gaze dropped to his feet. "There were once much happier days, when the free peoples of Middle-Earth lived in peace."

Then Frodo spoke up, ever the optimist in our small little group. "Perhaps one day it will be like that again."

The older man smiled, but wryly. "Let us hope so."

oOo

Erin's POV

It seemed like we continued to run for hours, even after our narrow escape over the forest ravine. Every muscle in my lower body felt like it was on fire, and I thought about how disappointed I'd be if I didn't have ripped calves after all this chaotic sprinting I'd done that day. After all, I do deserve some sort of reward for all this. I mean, getting away with my life is nice, but...is it really too much to ask for some decent muscle build-up? Come on. It'd be like a weird sort of consolation prize or something, I don't know.

Luckily, I didn't have to wonder about it any more, for soon enough Tauriel finally slowed to a stop, and the rest of us with her. Once we all caught up to her and Legolas, we stood there for a moment, doubled over, gasping and heaving for air like the troopers we were. Even the oh-so-invincible elves were panting (which I took a twisted satisfaction in). After a minute, I finally regained enough energy to lift my hands off my knees and stand upright, squinting to look around us at first, and then letting my jaw go slack in shock as I took note of what was in front of us. "Oh...Oh my God...that's it!" I weakly raised my arm to point past Boromir's head. "...The edge of the forest!"

It didn't seem possible. For a second, I was convinced that it was just me hallucinating from pure exhaustion, but my greatest dreams came true when I heard Tauriel confirm my realization from beside me. "Yes," she breathed. "There it is."

I swear to God, I would've thrown confetti and started doing cartwheels if I hadn't been so damn tired. Instead, I just settled for a dopey looking-grin. "We did it. We finally made it." I could see the sunlight dimly through the last of the thick, mangled mess of trees, and never in my life had it seemed so sweet of a reward. Man, forget the muscle in my legs. I just want to get out there and see the sun again!

But suddenly, all my happiness was stripped away when our fearless leader spoke again. "Not yet. They will not give up here." All eyes turned to the redhead again as she took on a serious air. "In truth, I do not know how safe you will be while traveling across the plains, so you must be careful. Be ready for battle." An unwelcome shill crept up my spine as I thought about what she was saying. We're about to walk out into the open unprotected. Exposed. "But nonetheless..." Here she glanced at her feet and licked her lips, I noticed. "...This is where I must bid you farewell, unfortunately."

In an instant, Legolas was reaching for her, his expression pleading and panicked. "Tauriel, no! You cannot go back there alone, they will devour you!"

She only shook her head, brushing his hand away. "My duty was to take you to the forest borders, and no further." Her eyes met his, and I could tell she was just as heartbroken. "I cannot disobey my King."

Legolas just kept staring at her blankly as she turned to the rest of us again, masking her emotions well. "The Emyn Muil are almost directly south of here. If you move quickly, it should take you no more than three days. You may take a moment to regroup, if you'd like, but I would not delay too much longer."

"Tauriel." I glanced at the prince, who also seemed much more composed now. "May I have a word with you?" She hesitated, but nodded and moved several steps away so that they were out of earshot. I instinctively turned to Boromir and Kathryn, but they too had somehow separated themselves from the group and were speaking to each other in hushed tones.

I frowned slightly, settling on leaning against a nearby tree trunk and staring at the toes of my boots until everyone was ready to go. But try as I might, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Tauriel, thinking about how he'd been looking at her, with the kind of longing and devotion and absolute grief in his eyes that I knew he'd never look at me with if I was the one leaving. And no matter how much I told myself that he didn't love me, I knew that these stupid slightly-more-than-friendship feelings of mine were never going to go away either, which pissed me off to no end. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the two of them hug, quickly looking away and wishing more than anything that I could get my shit together for once.

oOo

Legolas' POV

For the first time in ages, it felt as if a cloud of gloom had enveloped the world around me. I could do nothing but stare at the elleth I had grown up with for over six hundred years as she stood before me, the same look of sorrow mirrored in her eyes. "...Goheno nin," she whispered after awhile. "Raitho an glass." (...Forgive me. Try to be happy.)

I shook my head. "Nínion ne gwadeg. Den ú-iston ni a goveninc." (I cry upon your leaving. I doubt we will meet again.) She said nothing, though her expression told me that she knew we would not. I took a step forward, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Guren glassui, Tauriel. Ci vellonen n`uir, ú-firo i laiss e-guileg." (I thank you from my heart, Tauriel. Forever you are my friend, and may the leaves of your life never die.)

She also reached for my hand, squeezing it gently, and for a moment, I dropped my gaze, afraid to hold it for much longer. "Tíro nin." (Look at me.) I raised my head again, taking a deep breath as she looked deep into my eyes. "Gweston nin u avo dhavo am môr. Avo drosto nin. Boe iar ammen veriad lîn." (Promise me you will not yield to this darkness. They will need your protection.)

I nodded. "Ben iest gîn." (As you wish.)

A ghost of a smile formed on her lips, and before I could blink, we were suddenly locked in a fierce embrace that shook me to the very core. I did not know who had initiated it, nor did I care. I simply shut my eyes tightly and held her close, never wanting to let her go. Ai, Tauriel. If only there were the slightest hope that I knew you would return to my father's halls safely. That at least would ease my pain at our parting.

After what seemed like millenia, I let her go, pulling back to look over her one last time, preserving her memory. "Na veren." (...Good luck.)

She nodded once, eyes glistening. "Galo Anor erin radeg...hir nîn." (May the sun shine upon your path...my prince.) And there she ended our farewell, turning and walking away with the final word. I could not watch her go, could not take my eyes away from the spot she had been rooted to a moment before. All I could do was let her loss sink in.

oOo

Erin's POV

"Erin."

I blinked and stood upright again, thoroughly shocked to see Tauriel heading my way. "Uh...hey." My eyes flicked behind her for a split second, seeing a crushed Legolas in her wake, and I wasn't entirely sure what to say to her. "What's up?"

She took a breath, then reached into some hidden pocket within her tunic, pulling out the map and extending it to me. "It is yours now," she said.

I eyed her curiously, but accepted it anyway. "...Thanks."

She paused again, collecting her thoughts before speaking. "Erin...I do not know what I have done to cause your dislike for me-" What the fuck? Where did that come from? "-but whatever it may be, I am sorry. It was never my intent to cause strife."

I just stared at her, completely taken aback. "Uhh...i-it's fine?"

"And if it is not to bold for me to ask this of you...look after him." There wasn't a doubt in my mind about that as she looked at me. "I do not know if I am to return to King Thranduil alive, but my life matters not in comparison to his."

I nodded, becoming serious at that topic. "I understand. Though, I'm not sure how much of a help I can be besides falling out of trees for him, but I'll give it my best shot."

At that, she chuckled a bit, smiling at me. "Thank you, Erin. Perhaps one day, if this is all over, and you find yourself in these woods again...we can become better friends."

Now I was confused again, but I just kept nodding anyway. "Yeah...maybe." I paused. "...Namarië, Tauriel." (Farewell, Tauriel.) Her smile grew just the tiniest bit before she turned and quickly said her goodbyes to Boromir and Kathryn as she began moving away from us. Within seconds, she was gone into the trees, and the four of us stood there on our own, just like we had when this whole journey had begun.

We stood there, looking at each other for a moment before Boromir cleared his throat, glancing at Kathryn once before speaking. "Come. We cannot waste any more time if we are to escape this forest alive." With that, he and Kathryn slowly started off again, leaving Legolas and I to stare at each other for a second.

Eventually, I reached out and squeezed his shoulder, trying to smile at least a little bit. "She'll be all right, Legolas." He said nothing before shaking his head, casting a worried look into the forest behind us before starting off for the forest's edge as well. Then I stood there, watching him go, and altogether bewildered at myself for feeling such an odd mix of grief, sympathy, jealousy, and yet still an almost sick sense of happiness that Tauriel had left. I sighed, rolling my eyes before starting to jog once more, pushing my confusing emotions to the side to focus on the journey ahead again.

A/N: Oooh, a longer chapter. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY

...i need to go to bedddddd