Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, unfortunately, so I can't take credit for it, but I did come up with this story, I hope you enjoy it, if you don't, that's ok too, just don't read it, Originally Bilbo was going to be male but I decided that his experiences as a male wouldn't fit into the personality that I wanted so I changed him, I hope people don't mind too much, once again, If you don't like don't read now let's get into it.

Gimli heaved a weary sigh that dragged on his time-worn bones. How did it come to this? How did the world become so broken? He and his comrades, no, his friends, his family had done so much, sacrificed so much for this world and now it's broken. Gimli squeezed his eyes shut in a pained grimace as the memories assaulted him.

Frodo who came back from Mount Doom thin and gaunt, practically a Ghoul that haunted his former body for the remainder of time he could stand to be in this world, Gimli wondered if he, Bilbo, and Gandalf ever found peace in the undying lands or if that blasted ring haunted them still.

Sam who died in doubt and regrets, wondering, questioning, worrying if it was his fault, if he could have done something different, tried just a little bit harder to protect him, had taken the mantle himself to spare his best friend from the pain of a broken and shattered soul as it slowly ate away at him.

Boromir who died on their quest protecting Mary and Pippen who would eventually die the same way, protecting innocents as the Wars of Man reigned through the lands.

Gimli's aged and worn face twisted into a fierce scowl as the dark memories twisted around in his mind. Sometimes Gimli thinks Boromir was the lucky one, to have died before he could see how broken this world had become.

It started with the Elves leaving for the Undying lands. Once the Elves were gone their lands became the spark that lit the fuse. The land was, essentially, up for grabs and too many hands were grabby.

For years, Aragorn tried to hold back the looming threat of war and he did a good job of it. He initiated an open and constructive dialogue between the parties of men involved in the dispute. He encouraged them to express their grievances and concerns in his usual annoyingly calm and respectful manner, patiently waiting them out as one would do for a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. He engaged representatives from the Dwarrows, Hobbits, and the remaining Elves as neutral third-party mediators to facilitate discussions and negotiations between the conflicting parties. But as time passed more and more men claimed their right over the Elf's abandoned lands and the threat grew bigger.

It was especially hard for Aragorn to negotiate peace on a land that was so far from his own, it all came to a breaking point when an assassin killed Aragorn as he was led into a false peace meeting. Arwen was devastated beyond counsel and sent her young son to her father in the undying lands with the last of the Elves, everyone that is except Legolas who insisted on staying and fighting. Arwen, in the ruins of her grief, performed an ancient ritual to stop the fading but it did so much more than that, it stopped her from feeling entirely and protected her from the ravages of time. She became known across the land as The Accursed, she became merciless in her pursuit of justice, and soon the hard-won peace dissolved into chaos.

The Shire was seized for the war, and the hobbits were forced into slavery to produce food. Then, the shire and its supplies were burned to the ground to cripple its enemy and Hobbits were either killed, sold, or went into hiding.

The Dwarrows tried to help but after the dragon and the Battle of the Five Armies, there were barely any warrior Dwarrows left, and those that did fight were used as the front line and died, and now, well now it's practically imminent that the dwarrows will die out.

Gimli let out a shuttering breath as he covered his old graying face with a liver-spotted hand trying to physically push back a lifetime of gory memories.

"Mellon" a smooth melodic voice called out chasing away Gimli's somber thoughts.

"Leaf Leaf" Gimli croaked out through a faint smile at the Elf who stayed with him through thick and thin, more thick than thin but the sentiment still counts. Gimli heard a scoffed laugh from behind him and gingerly turned his aching body towards the voice.

Legolas still looked the same as the day he met him, fair of face with long, flowing hair the color of gold. His features are finely chiseled with sharp cheekbones and piercing blue eyes that reflect his keen perception and wisdom. He wore his usual garments of green and brown, which were lightweight and practical attire suited for his agile and swift movements. His clothing was adorned with long-lost elvish craftsmanship, featuring intricate designs and delicate embroidery that speak to the beauty and skill of his people. He carries himself with grace and agility, moving with the fluidity and elegance characteristic of elves as he strides toward Gimli.

Mentally Gimli rolls his eyes, even after all these years Gimli still finds it annoying how perfectly put together, he looks. He's almost tempted to go in for a hug and smear dirt across his back just so he's less perfect. But he is now old and bending over to pick up some dirt would be too obvious now. Gently, Legolas grips his right shoulder and Gimli reciprocates by gently gripping Legolas's extended elbow.

"Mellon, I come bearing news," Legolas says softly while giving a lingering squeeze to Gimli's shoulder and giving him those big moon eyes and a soft smile.

"That's rough buddy" Gimli replies letting go of Legolas's elbow and folding his thumbs in his belt as he shifts his weight back "I ain't receivin' bad news today," he says nonchalantly as he turns to go.

"Whoever said it was bad news, Mellon?" Legolas asks in amusement but still soft.

"You did, yer givin' me those moon eyes" Gimli replies matter-of-factly. Legolas responds with another scoffed laugh.

"I think you finally are going senile Gimli; I am not looking at you in any particular way" Legolas replies patiently, as if he is explaining a difficult concept to a wee pebble, to most he would sound completely serious but Gimli sees the way his eyes sparkle in amusement and how he is swallowing back his laughter.

"Oi, I ain't goin' senile ya preserved fossil" Gimli barks back at Legolas, once again if it had been anyone else, they would have thought he was genuinely mad, but Legolas knew. He saw how color perked up Gimli's greying face how his crooked spine straightened to attention and the spark of interest and anticipation that lit up his dark eyes.

"I see, glasses then," Legolas said thoughtfully and put his hand over his mouth in a show of mock thinking but truly it was more to hide his amusement when Gimli squawked out his protests, which Gimli did spectacularly. Soon Legolas couldn't contain his laughter and broke out into chuckles, to which Gimli joined. They had both been having variations of this same banter for roughly a hundred years now. When the chuckles died down Legolas gave out a small sigh.

"Truthfully my friend, the news I have is neither good nor bad," Legolas said in that quiet solemn way of his and Gimli knew instantly that what he had to say was important.

"Alright then, spill," Gimli said crossing his arms over his chest and preparing himself for yet another battle plan for this god-forsaken war.

"Arwen has reached out to me Mellon" Legolas replied hesitantly, for an elf that is, as he glanced at Gimli's face, Gimli's face pinched at her mentioning and a sharp nod to continue. Arwen was not exactly their friend anymore nor was she their enemy, just like she wasn't a tyrant, but she wasn't merciful either. She always seemed to be stuck in a perpetual grey area but whenever they got involved with her grief always seemed inevitable. "She has sent an urgent message for us to meet her in the ruins of Rivendell by the solstice." He finished. Gimli sputtered in shock, the last time either of them had seen her was almost fifty years ago when she led her soldiers into Riverdale to destroy the rival group turned kingdom that had killed her husband.

Not only did she defeat the rival kingdom, but she destroyed every remnant of Rivendell, she left no survivors. Both Gimli and Legolas tried to stop her, to spare the children at least, but all she did was hold her sword to their throat quicker than even Legolas could blink and told them that they were either with her or dead, that she would not let even a seed of this putrid filth remain to grow back. When they continued to plead with her, she simply gave them a cold glare, and then everything went dark. When they had awoken, they were surrounded by the ruins of Rivendell, and they were the only ones alive.

She had reached out to them once or twice, but they were always orders or information about orders. To hear that not only did she want to see them for the first time in 50 years she wanted to meet Rivendell of all places was more than a little shocking.

"Why the hell would she want to see us now and why Rivendell of all places?" Gimli barked out in pure shock as he tried to process what exactly he had just told.

"I'm not sure myself," Legolas said crossing his arms in doubt "but what I do know is that she begged us, Mellon, she said that she was running out of time and that if we just gave her a chance, she could end it," Legolas said gravely as he looked at Gimli. Gimli's blood ran cold.

"End what?" Gimli whispered out scared of the answer. Legolas shifted his weight to look directly at Gimli and in the same whisper answered.

"Everything."