A/N: So sorry it took this long to update. School got pretty chaotic for me ;_; But here ya go!

Chaos Unleashed: Part Two

Chapter 19

Kathryn's POV

I pushed my way through the chaotic haze of black that covered the area, struggling to keep my wits about me as I kept moving through the tightly packed crowd of bodies. There were so many Orcs. So many of them. I had no idea where they'd come from, but they were attacking us hard and fast. I gripped my sword tightly – I have a sword? - and held it close. "KAIA!" I screamed, begging to be heard over the roar of battle. "KAIA, WHERE ARE YOU?" My own voice sounded muffled, like it was coming from some far off place, and my heart beat rapidly in my chest. I was panicking. I had to find her.

The tightness in my chest continued to build as I pressed forward. I hadn't seen any sign of the other guys in the Fellowship, and they were supposed to be protecting me. Are they hurt? Could they have died? Oh my God, I have to find Kaia. "KAIA!" I kept running.

Suddenly, the ground disappeared from underneath my feet, and I found myself tumbling head over heels down a steep hill, unable to stop myself from falling. I screamed and shut my eyes. I couldn't feel anything. Am I dying? What's going on?

And then, just as quickly as it had started, the falling stopped. "Kathryn!"

My eyes snapped open, and I immediately jumped to my feet as Kaia stood before me. "Kaia! Thank God I found you!" In that moment, I realized that I didn't have my sword anymore for whatever reason.

But Kaia's eyes were wild; panicked just like mine. "Kathryn, where is it?"

I frowned. "What? Where's what?"

"Where is it, Kathryn?" she asked again, the urgency present in her tone. Her dark hair was a mess around her face, having fallen out of its usual ponytail awhile ago.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kaia!" I shouted back.

"Did you lose it?"

"I don't know!"

"Kathryn, tell me where it is!" She gripped my shoulders tightly, dark eyes darting about my face, trying to read me.

"Kaia, stop it!" I pushed her away roughly. "Erin's dead!"

She jerked back as if she's been slapped. "What?"

"She's dead, Kaia!" I said again. I also noticed that none of the Orcs were even attempting to attack us as we stood there yelling at each other.

Kaia's face twisted into an intense expression. "You're lying!" she cried. "Liar!"
"No, Kaia! I'm not lying!" Now it was me who grabbed her by the shoulders. "Erin got killed, and now it's just the two of us!"

"No, you liar!" She tried to pull away, but I didn't let her.

"Kaia, listen to me!" I shouted. "Listen! Erin is gone!" Kaia just stared at me, my words finally starting to sink in. "...It's just us now."

Then she reached out and also held my arms, her voice softening. "Kathryn, what are we going to do?" she asked. "If it's only us...I can't do this without you."

The scenery around us shifted, growing foggy as I smiled the tiniest bit at her. "You don't have to."

Kaia's hand reached up to grasp my face, her voice thick with emotion. "I love you..." I shut my eyes again and leaned into her touch, closing the space between us.

oOo

My eyes snapped open, only this time they were looking upwards at a dark, cloudy sky. "What the fuck?..." my voice cracked.

"Wow, look who finally decided to wake up." I froze and turned my head from where I laid on the ground, sitting up a bit as Kaia finished rolling up her blankets and such beside me, a smirk on her face. "You were moaning in your sleep again," she said, raising her gaze to meet mine. "What were you dreaming about?"

I stared at her, horrified by the images my brain had come up with just a few minutes ago, then slumped back down into my Middle-Earth bed, looking away. "...We made out."

"...What?"

"You heard me, I said we made out!"

"Kathryn, what the hell-"

"I swear, I didn't dream it intentionally!"

"Sure you didn't."

"Kaia!"

"Careful, Kathryn. They probably stone lesbians here."

Now it was my turn to smirk. "I guess that means you've got to be pretty careful, then. "

She laughed. "Fuck off. But seriously...how did this happen?"

"I don't know, I mean..." I returned to staring blankly at the sky. "I told you that Erin was dead, and we just...we made out!"

"Oh my God," Kaia said, laughing harder. "We're trash. Erin dies and we just start fucking each other."

"Wha- That is not what I said."

She shrugged. "Close enough," she said with a smile.

"Kaia!"

"Thanks for the memories, Erin. We'll be off having sex instead of showing up at your funeral."

But then I smiled again. "Or we'll just be having sex at the funeral."

"Hot."

We both dissolved into laughter again as I finally rolled out of bed to gather up all my stuff and prepare for the journey ahead, but a deep and distant rumbling shattered the lighthearted mood as I looked up to the source of the sound. Mordor seemed so close now; a burning streak of red staining the horizon beyond the black teeth that made up its mountainous borders. Every so often, I could catch a glimpse of lightning flickering across the sky from the unnaturally dark clouds that spread far across the rest of Middle-Earth. Kaia and I both shared worried glances before getting up and turning our focus away from the evil land in the south, trying not to focus on the ever-present shadow bearing down on us all.

oOo

Kaia's POV

I'd by lying if I said that the journey to Minas Tirith was easy or fun. It was nothing like my journey through the Emyn Muil with Aragorn and the hobbits. As bleak as that had been, we'd still had moments here and there where all of us were joking and laughing together...making the best of the shitty situation we'd been dumped into. Now there was hardly any of that. It was quiet more often than not. We hardly spoke to one another, even at meal times. And the worst thing about it was that most of the tension wasn't even coming from some outside force of Sauron's. It was all stemming from within the Fellowship.

Aragorn and I still weren't talking, except for a few mandatory "excuse mes" and simple yes or no questions about when we were stopping to set up camp or whatever. Erin had strayed away from almost everyone else completely, except for me and occasionally Merry and Pippin, who were trying their hardest to lift her spirits. Boromir had been less conversational lately, too, even with Kathryn, who, in turn, was trying so hard to make things better by cracking jokes all the time and smiling a lot. It killed me to see her try and joke around with Erin, only to have the brunette hardly react at all. Frodo had been a bit more distant, too...more resolved and introverted like he'd been in the original movies.

Everybody just seemed so much more...solemn. Grim. Serious. And I knew that on top of our personal stuff going on, the gravity of our mission was finally starting to weigh heavily on all of us, too. We all felt the Ring's power growing. Even I couldn't deny its soft pull on my mind. As we drew closer to Mordor, the Ring grew stronger. It seemed like we all knew that someone was going to lose control and were just waiting to see who it would be. Gollum still lingered in the back of my mind as well, and I found myself scanning our surroundings a lot looking for him. The threat of being attacked at any moment by a rogue Orc pack was scary, especially since half of us didn't even have proper weapons to defend ourselves with.

Everything just seemed to feed off of everything else as we marched on, and the tension only continued to grow. With every passing day, it felt like some unseen force was just winding us down tighter and tighter like the turning of a screw. Soon enough, something would snap.

Something had to give.

Very soon.

oOo

Erin's POV

I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so detached from myself. It was a hollow feeling, like my true self was hidden away somewhere inside where I couldn't reach, buried beneath grief, anger, and bitterness. And I was trying to pull myself out, I really was. But it wasn't working. Nothing I did was working. Because every time I tried to distract myself from the problems following me like a shadow, every time I would start to feel happy after laughing at one of Merry or Pippin or Kaia's jokes, I would remember the weight on my back. I would feel the tightness of the scabbard clipped around my chest, and it would be back to square one again.

I couldn't get my mind off of him. I couldn't. I felt like an idiot for thinking about Legolas as much as I did, but I couldn't help it. He was just...there. At times it still almost felt like none of that had been real, and I would turn around to see him just a step behind me, blue eyes shining as he smiled.

But that's not how it is. And I was painfully reminded of that every single day. I stared at the ground as I walked, one foot in front of the other. There were a million things to think about in the present moment that could've kept me occupied, but my mind was thousands of miles away.

oOo

(Flashback)

I smiled and kicked off my shoes as I followed my elven friend out the window, crawling out onto the roof of our front porch as the sky exploded into a stunning blend of color. Oranges, purples, blues, pinks...it was gorgeous. Wisps of cloud stretched across the sky, the houses and trees dark silhouettes against the light of the bright burning sun, now slowly slipping below the horizon. I let out a contented sigh as I got comfortable and clasped my hands around my knees. "Man...I could sit out here and watch the sun set forever."

Beside me, Legolas smiled. "As could I. It is truly a beautiful sight. One of Arda's greatest gifts, in my opinion."

I nodded. "Yeah. A good sunset never fails to take my breath away."

There was another beat of silence before he laughed softly. "If only my father could see me now..."

I turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

The smile only grew as he continued to watch the sky. "Many times as an elfling I would try and escape the confines of my father's halls to witness this spectacle. As you know, our realm lies hidden beneath rock and earth...and even when we are allowed out into the forest, most of the sky is obscured by the trees. I have always loved sunsets, but it was rare for me to sit and watch them then."

"They definitely are worth the risk," I said. I paused for a moment, then spoke again. "What do you like about them so much? I always thought wood-elves loved starlight best."

"Many do," he replied. "It is a sacred light, for starlight is another gift of the Valar that we do not often get to see. But though starlight is beautiful, it has always been too...pale for me. Fair, but cold." His eyes finally turned to me, and I swallowed. "The light of the sun is warm and inviting. The promise of a new day. And even with the last of its light, the sun is soft and comforting. Its light is not harsh against the sky...Rather, the sky becomes its canvas." He nodded towards the display before us.

I smiled and looked back out to the horizon as well. "...I've always wanted to paint one. A sunset, I mean. It's my favorite part of the day."

"It is mine as well," Legolas said. Another brief pause. "Someday I wish to exit this world with as much honor as the sun."

I looked back at him curiously. "Honor?"

He nodded. "It is honorable, is it not? Not to simply fade away as stars often do, but to disappear into such fantastic colors instead. The entire sky changes as the sun passes below the earth." Legolas' eyes flicked back to mine again. "It is an exit to be remembered. That is what I wish to have as well."

I stared at him for a moment, my heart catching in my throat as I spoke. "...I think that's beautiful," I said softly. "And I think that you will die with honor someday, Legolas. You deserve it more than anyone." I hesitated, then spoke again as I averted my gaze. "...You're an honorable person."

"Thank you," he responded just as quietly. "I believe you are as well."

"...Thanks." I turned to look at him one last time, the urge to reach out and take his hand, or...something overwhelm me. But I couldn't do that. So I swallowed the urge and stayed planted right where I was on the roof of the porch, watching as the last of the sunset faded away and wondering how I was going to manage having this stupidly amazing elf as a housemate for much longer.

(End flashback)

oOo

Drawing myself back to the present, I let out a breath as I kept walking. That was all Legolas had ever wanted. An honorable death. I hadn't even been able to give him that, let alone keep him alive. My one job, and I'd failed. More than anything, I wished that I had the chance to start over. To protect him better than I had. I didn't even want to think about what Thranduil's reaction would be once someone told him...Legolas had been his only son. He had no family left now.

I glanced upwards, looking at the dark spread of clouds and shadow on the horizon. It seemed like darkness was everywhere these days. For whatever reason, my mind jumped to one of the moments in Lothlórien from Fellowship of the Ring, and I heard Galadriel's voice in the back of my mind. In all lands, love is now mingled with grief. Only now it seemed like grief had become way more common. What a shame.

oOo

Kaia's POV

"Is this seat taken?" I asked as I approached Frodo. We'd stopped to set up camp for the night, and while most of the others were surrounding the fire and eating dinner, the introverted hobbit had once again distanced himself, choosing to sit at the edge of the firelight. He looked up at me, then subtly shook his head after a moment of hesitation. I plopped down next to him, crossing my legs and watching the others as they spoke in hushed tones to each other. "Were you not going to eat dinner?"

"No, I did," he replied quietly. "I just..." He trailed off.

"Just didn't want to be around so many people?" I offered. He nodded. "I get that."

Frodo was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I do not want to be a burden to them. They all sacrifice so much...for me. I never wanted that."

I glanced at the hobbit. "You were never a burden to anyone, Frodo," I said. "They all chose to come with you to protect you."

"But you didn't." He finally looked up at me, a sadness in his blue eyes. "You were taken from your home and forced to journey with us. You made no choice."

I shook my head, smiling slightly. "Don't think about it like that. I have no problem with it. I promised that I would protect you too, you know."

He smiled the tiniest bit back at me. "Thank you, Kaia. I just wish I didn't need so much protection all the time, I suppose."

"Hey, it's not totally your fault," I said. "The Ring is what's causing all these problems, really. Speaking of which..." I dropped my voice down to a quiet whisper, glancing out into the darkness behind us as I spoke. "I've been meaning to talk to you about Gollum."

Frodo took on a serious expression. "You've felt him drawing near as well?"

I nodded. "I've heard him. He's been quiet, for the most part, but every now and then I'll hear his raspy breathing or muttering to himself. He's trailing us."

"What are we going to do about it?" Frodo asked. "Does Aragorn know?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I was going to ask if you had any ideas."

He dropped his gaze, also looking out into the shadows. "I know you would see him killed," he said quietly, "as would nearly all the others. But I cannot bring myself to let him die. Now that I have seen him...I do pity him."

"He's a pitiful thing, that's for sure," I muttered darkly.

Frodo looked back at me again. "When my uncle met Gollum in the goblin tunnels all those years ago, he had the chance to kill him. But he didn't." He paused. "I do not think that, given the chance, I would be able to do it either. I do not want to decide who deserves life and death."

I stared at the young hobbit, amazed by how intelligent he was for someone so...vulnerable. "That's a really mature way to look at it," I said, smiling a bit again. "I can't promise you that I'll be as sympathetic to Gollum as you are, but if you think keeping him alive is the right thing to do, I won't fight you on it. I'll support you, Frodo. Always."

Again, he echoed my small smile. It fit his face so much better than his regular somber expression. "Thank you."

"No problem," I replied. Then my smile grew. "But I'll also hold to the promise I made to him earlier, too. If he lays a hand on you, I'll rip his off."

Surprisingly, Frodo laughed. "I don't doubt that."