A/N: Apologies once again for that semi-hiatus. School just started again for me, and I've been rushing to get some commissions done before the year starts. But I'm back! :D And very excited to keep going with this story! (Though much thanks goes to Kathryn for pestering me to get back into writing, haha) Also, there's a bit of an easter egg in this chapter... I'll tell you what it is at the bottom, but if anyone catches it while reading, I'll be impressed. ;)

On with the fic!

Chaos Unleashed: Part Two

Chapter Seventeen

Kathryn's POV

Needless to say, all hell broke loose once the newly promoted wizard entered the room.

"How is this possible?"

"You fell!"

"We thought you were dead!"

"...Gandalf? It cannot be...is it really you?"

"Where have you been?"

Even I was slightly shocked to see him standing before us. I mean, I knew that he came back to life after his fall in Moria, but I hadn't expected him to come to us now that Erin, Kaia and I had changed everything. But there he was, in all his titanium white glory.

The wizard quickly silenced all questions with the raise of his hand. "All will be answered in due time. But first, I have many questions of my own I must ask of you." His eyes scanned the room, and I swallowed nervously once I realized what – or who he was looking for. "Much has changed in my absence, it seems," he muttered to himself, his gaze lingering on us three girls the longest. "Where are Samwise and Gimli? And Legolas as well?"

And uneasy mood settled over us all as Boromir, bless his soul, managed to speak up. "The Halfling and Dwarf have been...lost," he faltered, eyes flickering to me for a split second as I shifted uncomfortably. "As has Legolas. He fell to our enemies not three days past."

Gandalf looked stunned, turning to Aragorn for confirmation. "Is this true?" The ranger nodded solemnly. Gandalf closed his eyes for a brief moment, whispering some sort of prayer out of respect for our fallen before opening them again and turning them to me. "And what of you ladies? I believe introductions are in order...though I am told you already know my name," he said with a small wink.

I smiled the tiniest bit up at him. "I'm Kathryn," I said.

"Kaia," she said with a nod to him.

"And I'm Erin." The brunette also smiled politely. "It's good to see you, Gandalf."

He smiled back at us. "Likewise, my dear. It is very good to see all of you, even in times such as these." His gaze roamed over all of us before turning back to look at Erin and I. "I have heard much of you from King Thranduil."

Erin became a bit more interested at that name. "You were with Thranduil? When?"

"Not long after you departed, it would seem. But during my time in the halls of the Woodland Realm, I learned much from the king. He spoke quite highly of you - " I did not miss the look of shame that passed over Erin's face " - and was kind enough to inform me of your purpose in Middle-Earth."

I blinked. "Wait, you mean you know who we are?" I shook my head at my poor phrasing a second later. "I-I mean, you know that we're not from around here?"

He chuckled. "Yes, Kathryn. I know of your Earth. I also know that you mysteriously transported from there to here, along with the rest of our Fellowship. However, as you may have guessed, I was unfortunately not present when this happened...or, for that matter, when the rest of you disappeared in the first place." He glanced at the guys, now looking quite serious. "Tell me everything."

That, of course, led to a long, detailed description of everything that had happened in the past several weeks. All of us told a part of the story at one point or another, but Aragorn and Boromir did most of the talking, and Erin was the one who explained the reasons behind our sudden jump between worlds since she knew it best. Gandalf followed along as we walked him through it all, showing sadness at the description of Sam and Gimli's death, chuckling as we told him about some of our crazy adventures back home, and looking very interested in the matter of the transportation to and from Middle-Earth. He didn't interrupt once until Boromir started talking about the attack we'd gotten ourselves into while leaving Mirkwood.

"Yes," he said with a slow nod after the man spoke of how brutal they were, "Sauron's forces have grown more than even I could have forseen. His strength is gathered...his power at a peak it has not reached for an age." Here his eyes turned to Frodo, looking pointedly at his chest. "The One Ring is all that prevents him from covering all the lands in a second darkness now." He turned back to Boromir. "And what else happened afterwards?"

"We managed to outrun them with Tauriel's help," he explained, "but not long afterwards a pack of Wargs chased us down, and we had no choice but to fight. That is where Legolas fell."

Gandalf frowned. "By Wargs?"

"No," Erin suddenly spoke up. I looked at her, surprised that she was willing to talk about it. "Not by a Warg. It was much bigger, and it could stand up on two legs...and it's claws..." she closed her eyes briefly before looking back at the wizard. "He warned me about them before...Legolas did. He said they were called Wilks."

At that, Gandalf straightened. "Wilks? It is a shock that any of you escaped with your lives, if that is what attacked you. They are vicious creatures, many of which devoured the people of Rohan."

"What about Saruman?" Merry asked suddenly. "Is he still in Isengard?"

Gandalf nodded. "Saruman has become a mindless servant of Sauron's," he said bitterly, "and through this he has gained not only great strength, but knowledge as well. His palantír has been misused, giving him the power to forsee dark and twisted things that were never intended." As he spoke, I remembered the scene from the first movie where Gandalf and Saruman had been walking together in Isengard, before Saruman became completely evil. I pitied Gandalf, knowing he had lost a good friend to the dark side. Even now, there was a hint of remorse in his tone. "His armies are strong, and crawling all throughout the desolate remains of Rohan."

"What lands yet remain free?" Aragorn asked.

"There are few realms left in this world that have gone untouched by evil. However, The Shire is once such place." The hobbits all perked up at this, smiling widely at each other. "Many of the northernmost kingdoms are out of Sauron's reach for now, though none truly know how long that may last. Lothlórien remains under the protection of the Lady Galadriel, but many elves have forsaken their homelands and escaped across the sea."

"And what of Rivendell?"

The white wizard paused, giving Aragorn a look that made me think he'd regret asking about it. "...Imladris itself has not been attacked," he began, "but not long ago, one of the Nine was sent to take up residence at Amon Sûl."

"Weathertop," Pippin gasped. I saw Frodo move to touch his shoulder out of the corner of my eye. "But...that's close to the Shire!"

Gandalf nodded. "Yes, it has put all of Eriador in grave danger." His eyes now moved back to meet Aragorn's. "Including those that dwell in Elrond's house." I stiffened. Oh no...oh God, please don't say - "There have been no attacks as of late, but the quiet cannot last for much longer. It is believed that Sauron's forces would sooner attack the elves than any other."

Aragorn stared at him, jaw clenched, looking more terrified than I'd ever seen him. "...Gandalf..." he ground out. "...Where is she?"

I looked at the wizard again and felt my heart shatter at his pained expression. He looked like he'd gained decades of age just from that one question. "...The Lady Arwen made her last journey to the Grey Havens some time ago. I am sorry, Aragorn."

Against my better judgment, I looked back to the ranger and regretted it instantly. From the look on his face, I'd assume someone had just walked up to him and ripped his heart out...which kinda did happen. A thick silence filled the room again as we all let that sink in. Aragorn's gaze dropped to the floor, eyes glazed over with emotion. He looked so...broken. And knowing how their separation had been such a strain for them in the movies made it even worse, because now Arwen was gone. He would never see her again. After a few moments, he dipped his head, and out of respect for the dark-haired man I looked away to let him deal with his grief.

"Is there anywhere else that's safe?" Kaia suddenly spoke up.

We all looked back to Gandalf, who looked grateful for the subject change even if it meant more bad news. "Not to my knowledge. Sauron's hold over Middle-Earth is now very strong."

There was another beat of silence before I cleared my throat, wanting to keep the conversation going. "So...where have you been all this time, Gandalf? While we've been split up, I mean?"

He exhaled. "I have been kept busy as you have, Kathryn. Much has been done to give aid to those who need it most to resist the oncoming darkness."

"And what about after Moria?" Pippin asked. "When you fell with...that thing..."

Gandalf's brow furrowed for a moment before he blinked, a dark look passing over his face. "...Long I fell," he said slowly. "Long I fell, and he fell with me. His fire was about me. I was burned. Then we plunged into deep water, and all was dark. Cold, it was...as the tide of death, as if it would freeze my heart." His gaze clouded over as he stared blankly ahead, lost in his memories as the rest of us sat to hear his tale. "We came to the bottom at last, beyond light and knowledge, the uttermost foundations of stone. He was with me still. His fire was quenched, but now he was a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake. We fought far under the living earth...where time is not counted. Ever he clutched me, and ever I hewed him, until at last he fled into dark tunnels, far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves. I pursued him...clutching at his heel. At last he brought me back to the secret ways of Khazad-Dûm. Upwards we went, until we came to the Endless Stair. ...From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, it climbed, until at last it came to Durin's Tower carved in the living rock of Zirakzigil. But I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

"And then what happened?"

I shot Pippin a mild glare for interrupting, but Gandalf didn't even seem to notice. "...Darkness took me...and I strayed out of thought and time." Only now did he lift his gaze to look at the rest of us seriously. "I'd been sent back...until my task is done."

"What task is that?"

"The very same task that started this journey, Peregrin Took!" he said a bit sharply, now looking directly at Frodo. "I swore to help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, and I will see that it is done."

"So wait, that's it?" Kaia asked, looking confused. "You just killed the Balrog and then ran over here?"

"No, my dear Kaia," he said with a shake of his head. "I spent some time with the elves of Lothlórien...quite a long time, in reality. Then I caught word of your arrival, and I journeyed to the Woodland Realm to try and catch you, and to speak with King Thranduil of other important matters. Only then did I come searching for you." He shifted to address all of us again. "But we can waste no more time talking. Now is the time to act." He gripped his staff, leaning on it as he stood up from where he'd taken a seat on a crate at some point. "We must take the Ring into Mordor and cast it back into the fires of Mount Doom."

But Boromir raised his hand a bit. "Gandalf, if I may...When you arrived, we were in the midst of discussing traveling to Minas Tirith first to ask my brother to join us in Legolas' place. Do you think that wise?"

The wizard seemed to think about that for a moment before nodding. "...Yes...that would most certainly be beneficial to you. Is it settled, then? Shall we depart for Gondor?" We all nodded, and he smiled a bit. "Good. Prepare yourselves to leave within the hour. We can waste no more time here." With that, he quickly turned and left our little conference room, leaving us to our own devices. Eventually people started to trickle out one by one, going to gather things like food and water and our other personal belongings.

Soon enough, it was only Erin, Kaia and I still in the room together. Kaia soon stood up, though, announcing that she was going to run out and grab her bag of stuff before leaving. There was a pause until Erin made a popping sound with her mouth. "And then there were two..."

I smiled a bit, laughing quietly at her joke. "Sounds like the start of a really bad horror movie." I looked over at her. "Or a really bad fanfiction."

She managed a smile, shaking her head. "Don't even talk to me about fanfiction," she groaned. "For all the shit that's been happening here, we might as well be living in one."

I laughed again, looking away. "Oh yeah. This sure is every Lord of the Rings fan's dream...stuck in post-apocalyptic Middle-Earth with half of the characters dead." And then I froze. "...Wait...shit, Erin..." I turned my head towards her again, realizing what I'd just said. I swallowed nervously; she was just staring at me in absolute disbelief. "Oh God, I'm so sorry, I-I didn't think-"

"It's okay," she abruptly cut me off. But the smile had completely left her face, her tone now bitter and hurt. She quickly got to her feet, brushing herself off before sighing. "Everyone's dying, ha ha. Hilarious joke, Kathryn." Glaring at me, she said nothing else before walking out.

As soon as she was gone, I slammed my fist into my thigh, swearing. "Oh my God, what the hell was that?! I just made a joke about our friends dying. What the fuck was I thinking?" I glanced in the direction of the door, groaning in frustration as I also stood up to leave. "Great job, Kathryn. Fantastic. Just keep making jokes about dead people, that always works..."

God. Could this get any worse?

A/N: The reference was this: Gandalf's whole speech about fighting the Balrog is a direct excerpt from the original books. I made a few minor edits here and there just so it would fit this scene better, but they're few and far between. Anyone catch it?