Portal to Middle Earth

By Alisa Hathaway and Virginia Rotenberger

"Alexa. Alexa? Alexa!" She vaguely heard someone calling her name through the daze Ms. Swelldacher’s trigonometry class had put her in. She looked up, startled. "Huh?" she asked. Ms. Swelldacher smiled a cat-like grin. "What is the answer to the equation, Alexa?"

Before Alexa’s mind could even register she was in total confusion, she saw her best friend Gina mouthing the answer. She made out a clear x=41 from Gina and swiftly repeated it out loud to Ms. Swelldacher. The teacher gave her a stern look before nodding and moving on to the next person.

Alexa mouthed Thank you! to Gina. Her friend just smiled and shook her head.

Thirty seconds later, and not a moment too soon, the bell rang signaling the end of the day. A herd of relieved students raced for the door, including Gina and Alexa.

Out in the hall, the two girls walked toward their lockers. "Well, that was about as fun as a root canal." Gina sighed, opening her locker. Alexa nodded in agreement. "Let’s just be thankful that the torture is over and it’s Friday." The girls turned toward each other and huge grins spread across their faces. "Homecoming game!!!" they squealed in unison. "Oh my gosh, it’s going to be SO much fun!" Gina exclaimed. "Go Panthers!" Alexa replied. "I can’t BELIEVE we were BOTH picked for homecoming court!!" Gina shrieked. "This is going to be the best year of our LIVES!" Alexa sang.

The girls halted their hysterics when they realized an amused group of seniors was watching them mid-freak out. They quieted their excitement sheepishly.

Both of the girls were seventeen, and it was their senior homecoming. They’d survived not only three years of high school already, but also what seemed like an eternity at Quakertown Christian School, a.k.a. prison. So far, high school had been pretty mundane. It had its ups and downs and all-out loop-the-loops. Gina was the track star, and Alexa was the drama geek. Pretty normal. But what the girls were really looking for –hoping for, praying for- was one big adventure. They wanted to have the time of their lives! And senior year presented their best opportunity for fun and excitement yet. Now that they were both up for Homecoming Queen, they knew they were finally looking forward to something school-related.

"So I’ll meet you at the game tonight?" Alexa asked. "Yup, at the corner really early so we can watch the band march in." Gina replied with a smile. "Of course. Gotta catch those drummers." Alexa agreed. Gina laughed. "Are you bringing your dress or wearing it to the game?" she asked. Alexa smirked. "I plan to pick my dress out during the second quarter of the game tonight." She revealed. Gina shook her head. "Raiding the drama costumes again, huh?" she asked. "Why wear a brand-new prom dress when I can wear a vintage ball gown, totally free?" Alexa asked innocently. "They’re gonna find out, one of these days…"

So the girls made their plans and parted ways until that night. Little did they know that their senior homecoming would change their lives forever.

At the game, Gina parked her mint condition ’77 Mustang around the corner from the football field –far away from where it could be dented by some overly zealous field goal. She ambled toward the corner she was supposed to meet Alexa at.

Suddenly, a rustling sound in the bushes caught her attention. She stopped walking and studied the dense shrubbery. She saw nothing, and the sound had stopped, so she continued on her way, a little faster this time. Where are you, Lex? She asked her friend silently, even though she already knew. Alexa was "a happy pedestrian", which was her way of saying she was still trying to save up for a car. So tardiness and Alexa kind of went hand in hand.

The rustling bushes reached her ears again. She started to run toward the corner of the sidewalk, where excited high schoolers were milling around, waiting for the game to start.

BAM! She hit an obstacle… a very familiar obstacle. "Nick?" she asked, realizing with a start the thing she’d hit was her ex-boyfriend, Nick. He looked thoroughly mad and somewhat scared. "What is going ON?" she yelled at him. He just grabbed her arm.

"Get off of me!" she cried, stamping on his instep. He cried out in pain. But before Gina could run away, he had shoved her forward.

She went through a jelly-like substance. What’s going on?! Her mind screamed. She heard Alexa’s voice, shouting "Gina!". Then everything went black…

…but not for long. She hit the ground with a painful thump. She groaned and opened her eyes just in time to see Alexa fall through the same thing Gina had come through, with Nick in tow. They both hit the ground right next to Gina. Nick wasted no time getting up and limping away from the scene.

Alexa rolled onto her side, looking frightfully at her best friend. "Gina?" she asked. "Yeah?" Gina replied. "What… is… THAT?" she asked, pointing in the direction they’d come, which was, unfortunately, "up". Gina stared in the direction of Alexa’s hand.

They had come through what look like a rift in the world. It swirled and glowed, flowing where a normal blue sky should have been. Gina remembered the squishy, jelly-filled blackness, but noticed that both girls were perfectly dry. Then they watched in horror as the swirling portal started to shrink…and shrink…and shrink. It disappeared with a twinkle.

Alexa and Gina stared around them. They seemed to be in a clearing near a creek, surrounded by a beautiful forest. "Ok, where’s the path to grandmother’s house?" Alexa cracked, but Gina just shook her head. "How did we get here?" she asked. "I’m thinking through that fun little swirly thing. Oh, and it probably had something to do with your prince of an ex-boyfriend." Alexa pointed out sarcastically. "I’m gonna kick his butt, I swear." Gina vowed. "Ha, can I-" Alexa began to ask, but Gina silenced her with her hand.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. "Hear what?" Alexa asked back.

Suddenly the ugliest, evilest things they’d ever seen surrounded the girls. Dark, scaly skin dripping with slime and God knows what else surrounded matted, tangled black hair and gleaming red eyes. Snarls, along with drool and some substances neither of them wanted to think about, escaped the mouths of the creatures.

"Uh, Alexa?" Gina whispered. "What?" she replied. "Got any good ideas?" she asked. Alexa shook her head. "Not at the moment." She admitted.

The creatures started to close in on them, and both girls sensed that panic was about to set in. The growls entered their ears and vibrated through them down to their very core. So much for adventure…We are so screwed. These were the thoughts that echoed in their frantic minds.

Thwip! Thwip! CLANG! The sounds of arrows flying and the metal of two swords clashing entered their consciousness. They saw a group of people –well, they might have been people- attack the vile creatures. The teenage girls nearly got lost in the chaos of the battle.

Gina was the first of the duo to snap to her senses. She picked up a sword someone had dropped and tossed it deftly to Alexa. Her friend caught it and nodded. Then Gina grabbed a stray bow and plucked some arrows out of the sheath on a tall, blonde figure’s back.

Gina let arrow after arrow fly, not even registering that every arrow hit its mark. Alexa engaged in battle with a particularly fierce-looking thing, blocking his angry blows and getting in a few swift jabs of her own. She swiped at its knees, destroying the kneecaps. One strike to the heart and the terror-on-legs was dead. "Whoa." Alexa breathed. She heard a sharp gasp behind her and twirled around just in time to see another ferocious creature go down for the count and the being that had stabbed it glance at her quizzically.

"Who are you people?" Alexa bit out. "Are you always so gracious to those who save you?" That tall blonde guy again. He smirked at her. I’ll show you gracious, pretty boy. She swiped the arrow from his hand and threw it, end over end, too near his head to be comfortable. He flinched and moved his head as the arrow flew perfectly over his shoulder and into the throat of a creature thirty feet away. Alexa smiled sweetly at the blonde. He frowned and returned to the fight.

Meanwhile, Gina was wielding her bow and arrows with deadly accuracy. As she let another arrow go, a short bearded man threw himself at her target, growling. The arrow hit him in the arm, and his growl became a scream. "Wayward archer! Control your weapon!" he bellowed. "Watch where you’re throwing yourself, Santa." Gina retorted calmly. She realized that she’d been going on adrenaline and instinct all through the battle, when really she shouldn’t know anything about fighting. Where in the world did I learn to shoot like this? And since when is Alexa a swordsman…um… swordsperson? What is it about this place?

As she set her sights on new and difficult targets, Gina surveyed the odd-looking people who weren’t trying to kill them. A tall, dark-haired guy fighting amidst a flurry of swords. Ranger, she thought involuntarily. The short, bearded guy she’d shot…a dwarf. A tall, blonde guy with pointed ears. Gotta be an Elf. And an annoyingly cute one at that.

Gina interrupted her assessment of the strange characters around her to fend off one of those dark creatures, coming at her like a freight train. She sidestepped his attack, keeping a leg out for him to stumble over and unsheathing his dagger at the same time. Stab through the back and he was done. She finally located Alexa among the fray and ran to her.

"Lex! Something about this place…it’s changing us!" Gina yelled. They fought back to back, parrying blows with dagger and sword alike. "I know, I feel it too. But we’ve got bigger problems." Alexa replied. "Like the fact that we’re still surrounded by freaks once this fight is over?" Gina suggested. "That’d be the one." Alexa said.

Finally, the once-huge mosh pit of dark creatures was defeated and Gina and Alexa were again surrounded, this time by this strange group of warriors. They nodded to each other, knowing their own plan before they voiced it. Gina moved like lightening, surrounding the ranger and placing the blade of the dagger against his throat. Alexa came around from behind the elf and pressed the tip of her sword under his chin.

"Move and prepare to regret it." Gina warned. "Who are you, strangers?" a deep voice inquired. Gina and Alexa finally noticed an old gray wizard standing regally off to the side of the clearing, four small men behind him. Hobbits, Alexa realized. A man and the dwarf stood in between the girls and their captors, wanting to attack but also wanting their friends’ throats intact.

"I really don’t think you’re in the position to being asking questions and…Don’t think I can’t see you, dwarf!" Gina interrupted herself to warn him. "Come any closer and you’ll find yourself finally taller than your two friends here. Get it, amigo?" Alexa said quietly.

"We mean you no harm. We saw you were in a bit of trouble with some Orcs, and now you seem to not know where you are. We just want to help." The wizard told them. Alexa and Gina exchanged a glance, and Alexa pressed the sword tip further against the elf’s throat. A tiny drop of blood trickled down his neck. The wizard sighed. "Alright, you’re obviously not that easily tricked. You’ve also stumbled into the middle of a secret mission that must remain secret and we cannot let you go free until we know we can trust you." he added mundanely. "Aragorn, Legolas." He hinted.

Obviously, "Aragorn" and "Legolas" got the hint.

Before Alexa and Gina knew what was happening, the tables had turned and suddenly they were the ones with pointy things stuck to their throats. Aragorn had a hand on Gina’s shoulder and the dagger trained to her neck while Legolas had a death grip on Alexa’s arm and the sword in prime position. "Gina?" Alexa asked, almost calmly. "Yeah?" Gina replied. "Let’s have a better plan next time, ok?" Alexa suggested. "Got it." Gina said.

The girls were dragged through the forest, apparently working their way to the group’s camp. Their captors stayed silent and their grips stayed firm. No chance of escape.

"Jeez, this silence is killing me." Alexa muttered. "You might have thought of that before you took a sword to my throat." Legolas muttered back. Alexa went limp in response, forcing Legolas to practically drag her along.

Gina nearly laughed at Alexa’s antics, but she was having a few problems of her own. Aragorn was pushing her in front of him, and every so often she’d feel the very tip of a sword poke her back. "Would you watch where you’re stickin’ that thing?" she asked. "Let’s just call this a bit of revenge for that incident in the forest. I don’t take kindly to sharps things against my skin." He joked. One of the hobbits came up alongside of them and smiled brightly. "Aw, come off it, Aragorn. This whole ‘hostage’ business is a bit unnecessary. We should discuss everything over a second breakfast, don’t ya think?" he suggested. "Pippin, your priorities are astounding." Aragorn told him dryly.

Another hobbit walked up beside Pippin and handed him an apple. "Calm your stomach, Pip." He instructed. Then he handed another apple up to Gina. Pippin and Aragorn gave him quizzical looks. "Everyone’s got to eat, friends. Even beautiful hostages." The hobbit told them. Gina blushed and turned her head away to look back at Alexa.

Alexa was grinning, having heard the whole thing. She stopped dragging her feet and awkwardly yanked herself and Legolas over to Gina. The elf reluctantly complied. "Apparently, chivalry isn’t dead in this time…place…well wherever we are. As your best friend, I advise you to find out who that guy is." Alexa whispered to her.

Then Alexa’s _expression turned to one of thorough confusion. "Gina, are you getting shorter?" she asked incredulously. Gina was about to shake her head "no" when she realized she had to look up to see her friend’s face, where she usually looked her straight in the eye. Indeed, Gina was now at least four or five inches shorter than Alexa.

"Something really weird is going on here." Gina said. Alexa nodded. "Let’s find out where we are. I’ll work on blondie over here, and why don’t you ask that cute hobbit-guy." Alexa suggested mischievously. Gina agreed.

She turned back to the hobbit. "So, what are your names?" she asked the two hobbits. "I’m Meriadoc Brandybuck, and this is Peregrin Took. Merry and Pippin." So the little flatterer’s name was Merry. What a cool name. "And where exactly are we, Merry?" Gina asked, looking around. "Well we’re a few days outside of Rivendell, good lady, on our way to Mordor." Merry answered. "Um, where would that be?" Gina asked. Merry laughed. "In Middle Earth, of course. Where are you from?" he asked. "Quakertown." Gina answered, knowing he’d be utterly confused. Merry just stared at her.

Alexa wasn’t having much luck either. "So where are we headed again?" she asked Legolas. He glanced at her. "Our camp is just up this path." He replied. "Does this country we’re in have a name?" Alexa probed. "And why is it that you need to know?" Legolas asked. "It’d be nice to know where I am." Alexa snapped. "You are amidst the Fellowship of the Ring. There is nothing more you need to know." He told her. "Fellowship of the Ring? And that would be what?" Alexa asked. "There is nothing more you need to know." Legolas repeated.

Alexa sighed. "You’re really uptight, you know that?" she said. He didn’t say anything. She looked down at his hand, still gripping her arm. "Could you like, let go? It’s not like I’m going to run off. We’re in the middle of nowhere." She pointed out.

He just frowned at her.

She smirked.

He let go of her arm.

"See, not gonna run away or anything." Alexa said. Legolas nodded. "Here is our camp." He pointed out.

Alexa and Gina both took in the fire pit, scattered blankets, and sacks of food. "Home sweet home." Gina whispered.

The Fellowship decided the girls should be tied to a nearby tree until they were sure they could be trusted. Legolas was given the job of tying the girls up. Just to aggravate him, Alexa stuck her legs out as far as she could as he was wrapping the ropes around them and the tree, so every time he passed her, he had to walk around her legs or risk getting kicked in an unpleasant place if he stepped over her.

Legolas made sure to tie the ropes just a bit tighter than need be. Gina scowled at Alexa.

The Fellowship sat near the tree, eating or sharpening weapons. The wizard sat in front of the girls and introduced all of his cronies. The dwarf was named Gimli, the light-haired man was Boromir, the hobbits were Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, the wizard was Gandalf, and, of course, Aragorn the Ranger and Legolas the Elf.

"Now tell us of yourselves and why you are here." Gandalf requested. Gina began. "Well, I’m Gina and this is Alexa. We were-" She was interrupted by Gimli. "What kind of names are ‘Gina’ and ‘Alexa’?" he asked. "What kind of a name is Gimli?" Gina retorted. "As I was saying, we were forced through this portal by someone else who also came through." She finished. "Well, you were pushed. An attempt to push was made on me, but I kinda pushed back." Alexa corrected. "And why is that not a surprise?" Legolas asked sarcastically.

"ANYWAY, what we really need to do is find Nick, the guy that brought us here. He ran off as soon as we made it through the portal." Gina explained. "Portal?" Galdalf asked in interest. "Where was it?" he added another question. "Right around the scene of the battle with those… things." Alexa answered. "Orcs." Boromir answered, "Deadly creatures." "Well, they weren’t that deadly. We took ‘em on." Gina pointed out.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Aragorn asked. "We really have no idea. Ever since we came to this place, we’ve been changing. We knew what you all were, your cultures and everything. We didn’t know anything about this place before. We’ve never fought like that in our lives." Alexa told them. "But probably the weirdest thing of all is that we seem to be taking on characteristic of the creatures in this place. I’m getting shorter, like a hobbit or something. Alexa’s turning into an elf." Gina added.

"How can you tell she’s turning into an elf? I see nothing different about her than before." Boromir said. Legolas reached over and pushed back Alexa’s hair, revealing ears definitely more pointed then they were before. "Alexa is turning into one of the most elegant and soft-spoken species in Middle Earth…Oh this is perfect." Legolas chuckled. Alexa just rolled her eyes, not caring and wanting them to release her. "Well if you would have just left us alone, you wouldn’t have to deal with us!" Alexa reminded him. "But I was getting used to you being around…you actually made my heart pound." Legolas joked flirtatiously. Alexa didn’t take his compliment too well. "Oh back off, Elf! If I was untied I would make sure your face was red for hours! And I don’t… mean… you’d be…BLUSHING!" she growled, struggling against the ropes furiously.

Soon after, most of the Fellowship went to sleep while Alexa tried to, but the rope was giving her brush burn. Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Legolas couldn’t fall asleep either. Pippin was too occupied by the looks of the new friends. Legolas couldn’t stop thinking if he had said something wrong to Alexa. He kept taking short looks at her. Alexa caught him once in awhile, but didn’t let him know it. She didn’t know if she should like him or not. Legolas did come off in a charming tone to Alexa, but why was he so…rigid?

In the meantime, Merry wanted to talk to Gina. He could tell that she liked him, but at the same time he wasn’t quite sure. He moved closer, trying to get her attention. Gina caught a movement in her site and she got into a guarding stance, readying for an attack. Merry moved in front of her and she kicked him right in the chest. He rolled on his side, trying to keep tears from showing. Legolas saw the whole thing and tried not to laugh. He knew he could trust Gina, so he loosened her ropes. Gina ran to Merry’s side.

"Oh my Gosh…Are you okay? I thought you were one of those Orcs or who else knows what I could run into?!?!" Merry flinched when she came over. "Oh I’m fine! It didn’t hurt. It’s okay." He choked out. Gina let out a tiny smirk.

"So what were you doing anyways?" "I wanted to come over and untie you but it looks like it has already been done. I also wanted to see if you were awake and I could talk to you." "Yeah, you can talk to me. I can’t fall asleep in such a weird place. It feels like a dream! But you, you seem so real." Gina had hoped it wasn’t a dream because she was falling for Merry very badly. "Well if there was a way I could prove to you that you aren’t in a dream I would." Merry told her. Gina just looked deeply in his eyes and the feeling she got told her she wasn’t in a dream. "You’re so sweet, Merry." Merry leaned over to her and let her put her head on his shoulder so she could sleep. "Goodnight Merry. And thank you."

Gina fell fast asleep. She fell as quickly as a person could count to 20. Merry just peaked over his shoulder and let out a sigh. He loved the sight of Gina’s calm look as she slept.

Pippin was getting furious, questioning if he could ever win Gina’s heart. Frodo tried to cheer Pippin up, but it was no use. Pippin went over and leaned on Gina’s shoulder hoping that she would awake and lean on his shoulder. Sadly, she was fast asleep.

At the time Frodo couldn’t care less about everything that was happening. He was interested in the new beings but he didn’t want to fall in love with them. That was the last thing he had on his mind. He thought the girls were funny and interesting but all he wanted and needed were friends. Frodo scooted over to Merry and leaned his back against Merry’s side. All he needed was a goodnights rest to end an extremely busy day.

Alexa was furious that Legolas would not let her go, but she could grudgingly understand why. She wished she could trust him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to.

Alexa had completely turned into an elf by then, and Gina was completely a hobbit. Alexa worried that they would never get back to normal. Or what passed for normal for her and her best friend.

Legolas came over to Alexa and untied her for a second. Once she was untied, she slapped him. "What do you think you were doing? You could have permanently disfigured my ribs, you jerk!" she whispered irrationally. "Well I was going to release you, but now I have to tie you up again because you are acting like a madwoman." Legolas bit off. This time he didn’t tie her as tight as before. He brought over a blanket, sat next to her, and covered her up. At her questioning look he said defensively, "Well, you looked uncomfortable." Legolas settled against the tree and closed his eyes. Alexa was a tad bit annoyed, but used him to lean on as a pillow anyway.

Aragorn was up bright and early the next morning, just before the sun peaked over the hills, and looked strangely at the pile of Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Gina. He laughed at the site. Then he got to the tree and saw Alexa tied to a tree, leaning on Legolas; Legolas had some of Alexa’s hair blowing in his face. Aragorn wished there had been a way to save the sight. He just laughed and got Boromir, Gandalf, and Gimli to look at the piles of people. Gimli just growled and went back to sleep. Sam had also seen the site earlier and was trying to catch fish to cook for breakfast. Boromir and Gandalf let out soft chuckles and walked off trying to find wood to start a fire.

Aragorn untied Alexa and she fell right into Legolas’s lap, startling them both. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. The both let out forced laughs and took off in opposite directions. Next to wake up was Frodo, who was hungry and went off to find Sam, whom he hadn’t talked to for a while. Once Frodo got up Merry felt the weight lift off and turned to his side where Gina placed her shoulder. She turned at the same time and they accidentally bumped noses. Gina let out a small laugh and turned red. Merry stood and helped her up. Once she got up Pippin fell to the ground. "What do you guys think you are doing? There’s no food yet!" Pippin whined. Merry laughed at Pippin’s reaction.

Alexa pulled Gina to the side. Looking down a couple of feet, she asked, "What did you and Merry do last night!?" Gina was barely awake, but understood the question. "Oh… you know, just talk." Gina answered innocently. Alexa couldn’t take "just talk". "What do you mean ‘just talk’? There can’t be ‘just talk’, there has to be more!" Alexa begged. Gina, thoroughly wishing she was wide awake just plainly answered. "Fine, you want a Caveman overview, which ends up being a long overview? Here it is. I heard a noise and I kicked him in the chest. Legolas untied me and I went to Merry’s side. We talked then he let me rest on his shoulder. And then I fell sound asleep." Gina finished dreamily. "Oh, are you sure that’s all that happened? Because you can never tell about you and your two track mind." Alexa laughed and Gina just told her to shut up.

Sam had made the breakfast for everyone that morning. Alexa found him the sweetest one of the Fellowship. Aragorn had found some apples. Merry picked up the last one before Pippin could get his hand on his fourth apple. Merry called over to Gina, "Hey, I saved this apple for you because I wasn’t sure if you would like fish for breakfast." Gina let out a shy smile. "Your right; I don’t like fish!" she confessed. Merry laughed. "Well have a fun time trying to survive here. We eat a lot of fish." He told her. Gina’s smile left and became a straight face. "Oh…Really?" she asked. "No…I was ‘just kidding’ as you would say," Merry tried not to laugh after seeing how scared Gina had been.

Gandalf was ready to go. "Fellowship and new friends, let us move on." Aragorn took up the back, making sure that Alexa and Gina wouldn’t leave. Legolas walked right behind Alexa, stepping on her heals once in awhile purposely. He could tell Alexa was getting annoyed, but he was attracted to her the more she flipped out. "WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF? You’re acting like a four-year-old!" she yelled. Alexa couldn’t take it anymore. "I will stop, Alexa, if only you will be nicer to me." Legolas told her sweetly. Alexa let out a frustrated sigh. "FINE!" she grumbled. Legolas went to her side, putting his arm around her. She shrugged it off quickly.

In the meantime, all the hobbits were asking Gina questions about her home. Sam was the first to ask a question. "What foods do you eat in ‘Quakertown’?" he asked. "We have a variety of foods. More than you can imagine." Gina answered, smilling. At the sound of that, Pip’s eyes twinkled. "Really?!?!" he inquired. "Yes, Pippin, we really have that many foods." Gina assured him. Frodo was next to ask a question. "How does everyone dress? You definitely look different than us." Gina didn’t know how to take that question but she simply answered. "Most of the people where I come from wear jeans and t-shirts or long sleeves." She explained. Frodo looked confused but didn’t ask any further questions.

Alexa moved faster to catch up with Gandalf, who led the group with Boromir at his side. "So are we going to find Nick?" she asked. Gandalf nodded slowly, but it was clear he was deep in thought. "What is it, Gandalf?" Alexa asked softly. "I feel a disturbance in the air. Something is not quite right in this place." He whispered hoarsely. "Well, what does that mean?" she prodded. Gandalf turned to look at her. "Someone is doing a spell very close to here. And it is not white magic." He said. "Nick." Alexa realized furiously. "Don’t start a panic." Gandalf warned. Alexa nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

She dropped back in the group, coming to walk next to Legolas. She touched his hand and then pointed around them, praying he’d understand her. He did. She saw his hand tighten on his bow.

They dropped back behind Aragorn, who eyed them curiously but kept walking. Gina raised her eyebrows at Alexa, but Alexa shook her head, mouthing, "Hobbits don’t fight." Gina nodded and continued walking and Alexa and Legolas slowed their strides considerably, until they were at a dead stop.

Thwip! Legolas shot an arrow into the trees in the blink of an eye. Nick dropped out of the tree, howling in pain, an arrow sticking out of his leg. The rest of the Fellowship heard his cries and ran back to their companions.

"Hey there, Nick." Gina greeted him flatly. Nick just laughed madly. "You…you can’t stop me, Gina. The spell has already taken affect. Reality and fiction will become one and the same! And none of you will be able to handle it." He said through his painful cries. "Do all the guys you date get this mental?" Alexa asked Gina. Gina just shook her head, looking at her pathetic ex.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the forest, throwing the Fellowship, their friends, and their newest, slimiest prisoner back. Gina landed on Merry, Alexa was thrown painfully against a tree, and Boromir landed on the hobbits. Merry helped Gina up while the rest of the hobbits shouted at Boromir to get his large form off of them. Legolas realized Alexa was out cold. He reluctantly turned to the source of the explosion.

It was a portal. Gina saw that it was exactly like the portal Nick had sent them through. As she watched, two figures fell through and landed hard on the ground. Aragorn and Boromir raised their swords as Gimli raised his ax; Legolas leveled his bow at the new arrivals. The figures got up slowly.

One of them was tall and muscular, with dark hair and what looked like an odd pair of red sunglasses over his eyes. Gina nearly swooned at his dark good looks. His friend was a bit shorter and definitely a teenager, albeit a great-looking one. Sandy blonde hair, honest blue eyes. Both men wore black leather body suits, and looked even more out of place in Middle Earth then Gina and Alexa.

"What happened?" the blonde asked his partner. "Dunno. I was prepared for virtually everything to go wrong during that mission…’cept this." The dark-haired one answered. "Where are we?" the blonde asked to no one in particular. Gandalf answered. "You are in Middle Earth, friend, and the same thing that happened to Gina here and our slightly unconscious friend Alexa by the tree has happened to you. You’ve been summoned through a portal into a different dimension…or maybe a different time period, we’re not quite sure yet. But know that you are among good guys… unless you’re evil. Then we’ll have to have the lovesick elf shoot you." he explained.

The dark-haired one nodded. "Reassuring." He deadpanned. "Introduce yourselves, strangers." Aragorn instructed. "I’m Iceman and this is Cyclops. Or you can just call us Bobby and Scott…um, Professor Summers to those of us not ‘mature’ enough to handle taking down Magneto on their own." Bobby finished sarcastically. The rest of the group sensed tension there, and promptly ignored it. "We are the Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Boromir, Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn." Gandalf recited, pointing to each of his cohorts.

"Hold on… Gandalf, is it? How are these girls from a different place? That one there looks just like your short friends, and the comatose one has pointed ears, just like the blonde pretty boy. What is going on here?" Cyclops asked. "That’s what this slimy fellow, Nick, was supposed to tell us." Aragorn explained.

"Uh, what ‘slimy fellow’?" Bobby inquired. The Fellowship and Gina looked around, panicked. "Oh, no! We lost him!" Gina cried. "We’ll just have to find him again." Gimli asserted. "What are we going to do with Alexa?" Legolas asked. "Put her on the horse." Frodo suggested.

Legolas moved to pick Alexa up, and Bobby joined him. "Here, I’ll get her legs." Bobby offered. Legolas scowled. "I’m perfectly fine on my own, thank you." he bit off. Bobby backed off, eyebrows raised. Gina patted his shoulder genially. "Just let Legolas get over himself." She whispered. Bobby smirked.

The now large and oddly mixed group of people finished preparing and started out on their way to find Nick. Aragorn and Legolas, two excellent trackers, led the way. Legolas’ elf senses and Aragorn’s expertise decided where they would go. After repeatedly tripping over Pippin and Sam, Scott decided to join them. Gina and Merry stayed in between the leaders of their procession and the ones that preferred to stay behind, talking quietly and holding hands.

Alexa finally woke up after being jolted on the horse a few times, and groaned at her pounding head. She looked around at the group, dimly realizing that they had some new players. "What the… where did these people come from?" she murmured.

Bobby, walking beside the horse, heard her. "We came through a portal, like you and your short friend there." He explained. Alexa sat up on the horse, holding her head. She squinted at Bobby. "Who are you?" she asked. "I’m a mutant who goes by the name Iceman that decided to join a school run by a man called Professor Xavier, who started it for people like me. Cyclops, or Scott, over there was my teacher, and now I’ve joined the ranks of mutants that work to fight other, less pleasant mutants, and now he’s my partner. Well, kinda. Anyway, we were in the middle of a mission when this portal popped up and Scott accidentally shoved me through." He summarized quickly.

"Iceman?" Alexa questioned groggily. "You can call me Bobby." He added, smiling at her. She leaned against the horse’s neck. "I wish I could call you doctor. Preferably one that’s good with concussions." She moaned. Bobby grabbed a small, empty pouch off the back of the horse, and held it open. Then, to Alexa’s amazement, he opened his hand, and an icy plasma-type thing escaped from his palm. He had filled the bag with ice.

"Mutant, huh?" she quipped. He nodded and handed the bag to her. She held it to her head. "I used to be normal. Now I’m an elf." She told him matter-of-factly. He laughed.

Further up in the strange procession of people the Fellowship had collected, Gina and Merry moved up in the line to ask how the tracking was going. Legolas shook his head. "I can smell the deceit on him, but he obviously knows about my heightened senses. I’m certain we walked around in circles for a while before heading toward those caves." Legolas explained, pointing to the caves he spoke of. "And you’re thinking the circles were part of his plan? What if he just got lost? Nick’s not exactly the most skilled traveler when it comes to the woods, plus he was wounded." Gina pointed out. Legolas narrowed his eyes at Gina. "She does have a point." Scott said, accidentally tripping over Merry.

"Alright, ya know what? I’m gonna go make sure Pippin’s still alive and Frodo hasn’t tried to strangle Sam with the One Ring." Merry said angrily. Gina watched him go, eyebrows raised.

"You guys are all really high-strung, you know that?" Scott asked. "Tense situation. Could be the beginning of the end of Middle Earth as we know it, or well, as they know it, and yet their stuck tracking down a slime ball so they can send a couple of futuristic hormonal teenagers back to their homeland, and a couple of REALLY futuristic but maybe less hormonal mutants back to a different homeland. Then they have to finish their other life or death mission." Gina explained. "You can really sum things up well." Scott said. "Spending too much time around Alexa will cause anyone to become pretty good at rambling." She corrected.

"Speaking of your friend, you might wanna add Bobby to your list of hormonal teenagers." He joked, pointing behind them, where Bobby and Alexa were talking and occasionally laughing. "Yikes… Alexa looks like she was hit by a bomb." Gina winced. "Wasn’t she?" he pointed out. "Very true. For a guy named Cyclops, you’re pretty observant." Gina complimented him. "Call me Scott." He said. "Ok, Scott." Gina replied, smiling.

A half hour later the group was at the caves. Gina was spooked by the dank, darkness of the caves. "Are you guys sure this is safe?" she asked, glancing nervously at Merry. Merry looked over at her reassuringly, grabbing her hand. "Of course, just stay close and you'll be okay." He said. Scott came over to the couple and pushed himself between them. "Don't worry, Gina, you’re safe with me by your side." He assured her. Gina blushed as Merry came pushing his way back next to her. He glared at Scott.

Meanwhile, Bobby was demonstrating the advantages of being able to make ice at will for Alexa. "You should go on tour or something with that. Ya know, something like ‘Come one, come all to witness the Incredible Iceman’s powers’." Alexa suggested, laughing. Bobby just shook his head, smirking. "As enticing as that sounds, I’d probably be locked away in some government laboratory even before the first encore. Normal people don’t tend to accept freaks like me." he told her. "I don’t think you’re a freak." Alexa told him. Bobby just smiled and kept his eyes on the trail ahead of them, but in the darkness of the weathered caves, his hand found hers.

Legolas’s sharp Elvin eyes saw this, and anger burned in them. He walked over to Gina. "Is there even a remote possibility that Alexa would ever fall in love with an elf like me?" he asked. Gina gazed at him sympathetically. "Well, Bobby is pretty darn cute! Don't get me wrong, you are too…But Bobby is also more her age. So… I really don't think you have a chance. And, besides, when we go home we'll be separated anyways." Gina consoled him, frowning at the reality of her words. Legolas frowned, also. "Yes, but if you and those 'mutants' can travel through the portals, don't you think I could go through it too?" he asked. "You could, but it wouldn’t be right. I mean, Alexa and I aren’t supposed to be here! What if we did something to change the course of the future here in Middle Earth? We could ruin everything you guys are trying to do!" Gina explained. "But if we do leave, then I can never see Merry –or Scott- ever again." She finished. Neither Legolas nor Gina knew what to say. "Uh, Legolas, I’ll catch ya later." Gina said hurriedly, speeding up to catch up to Scott and Merry, who were busy "accidentally" tripping and bumping into one another.

Gandalf could sense something wasn't right. Gimli looked at him. He mumbled to himself, "Something must be wrong!" Gimli looked around and didn't see anything. "Everyone, you must be quiet! Can't you see Gandalf can sense something wrong here?!" The rest of the group sort of halted their trek and glanced at each other, trying not to laugh and failing. Aragorn and Gandalf were upset. Aragorn walked over to Gimli and yanked his beard. "And you suppose you made it better?" he asked pointedly. Had a blush been visible through the masses of curly red beard on Gimli’s face, his cheeks would have been flaming.

Gina could also sense something was wrong. "That scum is around here somewhere." She murmured. Scott looked confused. "Who’s the 'scum'?" he asked. Merry scowled at Scott as Pippin answered. "That would be Gina's so-called 'Ex', Nick." He replied.

A blood-curdling scream pierced the quiet of the caves. Twelve startled faces turned to Gina. But there was no need for Gina to explain herself, and no time as well. The Cave was collapsing around them.

Pandemonium broke out. Scott sprinted to Gina and knocked her from the path of falling rocks. Merry and Pippin made a break for the tunnel the group had come from, but became trapped under a boulder. Bobby raised his hand and giant ice bubbles appeared around Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, Aragorn, Scott, and Gina. Legolas, who was trying desperately to cover Sam and Frodo from the hail of rock around them, screamed, "Bobby! Alexa-" Bobby created another ice shelter, accidentally cutting off Legolas’s warning. He turned to Alexa just in time to see her fall under several rocks the size of grapefruits.

As suddenly as the cave-in had begun, it stopped.

Bobby knelt down next to a groaning Alexa. "You just can’t walk away without a near-concussion, can you?" he asked. "Hey… this is n-nothing. The tree thing… that hurt, but t-this? Nah." She whispered, with difficulty. "Alright, well, just in case… shut up for once." Bobby instructed, smirking. "Yes sir." Alexa replied groggily.

Scott used his laser vision to get everyone out of his or her protective ice-bubbles. "That’s quite a useful talent." Aragorn muttered to Scott as he strode over to Merry and Pippin, who were still stuck under a boulder. Gina rushed to Merry, eyes wide in fright. "Are you alright?" she asked. Aragorn and Boromir pushed at the boulder with all their might, but it refused to budge. Scott shot a laser beam at it carelessly, and the rock exploded, throwing debris into the air everywhere. "Those of us not hurt would like to stay that way!" Sam said indignantly, blocking flying rock. "Sorry." Scott replied.

Once it was established that everyone was, more or less, unharmed, and a half-conscious Alexa was leaning heavily on Legolas (with Bobby eyeing them carefully), no one knew quite what to do. Gina stood in between Merry and Scott, holding tightly to Merry’s hand. Merry and Pippin were poking and prodding at each other’s bruises from their ordeal with the boulder. Frodo and Sam were leaning tiredly against the cave wall, listening to Aragorn and Gandalf converse quietly about where to go from here.

Aragorn turned to Scott. "Can you, um… blast us out of here?" he asked. Scott shook his head. "It would take too much power to demolish an entire rock wall, and we still have to find this Nick guy." He told them reluctantly.

"Speaking of ‘this Nick guy’." Legolas said quietly. "What are you talking about?" Gina asked. Legolas raised a finger to his lips to silence her and gently forced Alexa to stand on her own. Aragorn, Boromir, and Scott joined him, weapons at the ready.

All of a sudden the portal appeared behind the four warriors. Nick appeared in front of their eyes, as if he came out of thin air. "How in the name of Sauron…?" Gandalf murmured, shocked. "Gotten friendly enough with your new buddies, Gina?" Nick asked viciously. "Cut it out, Nick! This has gone far enough." Gina shouted angrily. "You’re right… it has. Wouldn’t you say so, Alexa?" Nick asked, turning fiery eyes to her. Then, with a smirk on his face, Nick shoved the closest person to him –Bobby- through the portal. Alexa tried to get to it in time, but she was to late. Bobby was gone. Alexa launched at Nick, newfound adrenaline coursing through her, bringing him down to the ground. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she yelled.

Gina rushed to Scott. "You have to follow him through there. We don’t know where Nick sent him, and, well… you can take care of yourself a whole lot better in some unknown dimension than Bobby can. You’ll find a way back to your own world." She said, pushing him toward the portal. Scott dug his heels into the ground. "Come on!" Gina yelled.

Scott turned to her. "But, Gina…" he trailed off. She shook her head, gave him a quick kiss, and then body-slammed him through the portal.

Gina turned back to Alexa, Nick, and the Fellowship. She saw Alexa, her knee pressed painfully into Nick’s back, watching her and smirking evilly. Gina just rolled her eyes and knelt down to glare at Nick.

"Alright, Nick, this is what you’re going to do." She said, her voice low. "You’re going to create a portal that will send me, you, and Alexa back to our own time. Then Alexa and I will have the fun, fun job of destroying absolutely everything you own that has to do with magic. And just in case you want to try something stupid, we’ll have Legolas shoot you –again!- every time we have to find our way back here because you created the wrong portal. Got it?" she asked. Nick nodded weakly.

"Alright, Lex, get off him." Gina said, standing up. Alexa pouted. "Do I really have to?" she asked, digging her knee into his back hard enough that he squealed. Gina, trying her best not to laugh, nodded. "Fine! Take all the fun out of everything." Alexa whined. She got up off of Nick, and Aragorn and Legolas grabbed a hold of him.

"Start mixin’ us up a portal, Nicky-boy!" Alexa said, clapping her hands.

While Nick was working his magic, Aragorn, Boromir, Merry, and Gina watching him carefully, Legolas made his way over to Alexa. She was sitting against the cave wall, staring deeper into the tunnels. "Hearing voices, milady?" he asked. She shook her head. "No… try water, Legolas. I’ll bet you anything there’s a river running through these caves. Follow it and you’ll find a way out of this… mess." She said, indicating the rocky wall that blocked them off from the tradition exit. "And how would a girl from your time know of such things?" he asked. Alexa snorted. "Check out the ears, man. Right now I’m not exactly ‘from’ my time." She pointed out.

"So then it wouldn’t matter if you stayed in Middle Earth?" Legolas asked innocently. Alexa shook her head. "Gina and I don’t belong here, no matter how much we look the part right now. Plus, one of us still has to be crowned Homecoming Queen!" she said, grinning. "Then I will… miss you." Legolas whispered. Feeling tears jump into her eyes, Alexa blinked quickly and patted his shoulder. "You’ll find some totally gorgeous Elf chick back in Mirkwood or Lothlorien or where ever you’re from!" she said with a false cheeriness that even grated her own nerves.

By then, Nick had finished the portal. "Now all I have to do is-" he began, but Gina cut him off, "-say the magic word?" she guessed. Nick nodded. "I never knew that actually worked." She muttered. She stole a glance at Merry. "Uh… hold on a sec, Nick." She said to him.

She pulled Merry aside. "I don’t wanna leave." She confessed quickly. "You sort of have to, don’t you?" Merry asked. Gina sighed. "Yeah." She said softly. Merry leaned in and kissed her. "Don’t forget me, then." He said. Gina, wide-eyed, just nodded and turned toward Nick.

"Uh… portal. Now." She said weakly. Alexa came and stood beside her. "You’re gettin’ a lot of action here in Middle Earth, huh?" Alexa teased. "Shut UP!" Gina whispered fiercely. She grabbed Nick’s arm. He shouted the last word of the spell, and the now-familiar portal opened up in front of them.

Alexa turned back to the Fellowship. "Good luck." She called. Then all three of them threw themselves through the portal…

…."Ah!" Gina yelped in pain. They had landed in the grass, right in front of QHS. "That doesn’t get anymore fun, does it?" Alexa asked sarcastically, checking her arms for cuts and bruises. On the other side of Gina, Nick piped up, "Well if had even the tiniest bit of grace, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much."

Gina sent her fist into his stomach.

"Oh my Gosh, Gina!" Alexa cried, sitting up. "Homecoming! The game! Dresses!" she exclaimed. "Now!" Gina agreed, getting up and pulling Alexa with her. Alexa grinned. "Hey, we’re the same height again." She said. Gina nodded. "Thank goodness! I don’t know how hobbits do it!" she admitted.

They made a beeline for the drama department –Alexa’s own personal dress shop- as they heard the announcer on the football field yell, "- with only two minutes left ‘till halftime!"

Five minutes later, they were standing at the edge of the football field with the other members of the Homecoming Court, waiting nervously for the announcer to begin.

"Gina?" Alexa whispered. "Yeah?" Gina asked. "You know how we said we weren’t going to have escorts because we thought it would be even cooler to walk out there on our own?" she reminded her. "Yeah?" Gina said again. "We were wrong." Alexa said flatly. "I know!" Gina agreed nervously. "I want an escort." She added. "We are really screwed…" Alexa whispered.

The announcer began calling names. Alexa was just ahead of Gina in line, the third girl to be called. Just as she heard the announcer begin her name, she felt someone hook their arm around hers and lead her out onto the field. Her jaw dropped as she turned and saw her new escort.

"Legolas! What… how?" she asked. Legolas smirked. "We followed you through the portal, of course. We’re not stupid." He told her. She took in his tuxedo. "But, how’d you get the tux and everything?" she asked. "Well, let’s just say that this ‘tux’ was described to me as a ‘drama costume’ and Nick has redeemed himself." He explained.

Gina barely had time to register that Alexa was walking up the field with Legolas when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and grinned, looking down at what she thought would be Merry.

All she saw was someone’s stomach. She lifted her eyes and nearly screamed when she saw Merry’s face…. Looking down at her.

"Merry! You’re huge!" she cried. Merry just laughed. He took her arm and led her up the field. As they walked, he said, "If you can come to Middle Earth and be a hobbit, then can’t I come to this place and be… whatever it is you are?" he pointed out. Gina was too amazed to think of a comeback.

Once they reached the other side of the field, Gina saw Alexa grinning at her. She grinned back. "This is perfect!" she mouthed. Alexa nodded in agreement.

"And the 2006 Homecoming Queen is…"

The End