Hey, this is my very first FanFiction!

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than my OC's.

Dig Down Deeper

Chapter 1: A Blue Orb and a New World

RIIIIIIIIING!

Kayden Whitte was nearly trampled as her classmates rushed to the door. She couldn't blame them though. It was the last day of school before spring break, and every person in the school, including the faculty, were ready for a week off.

As she walked out of her eighth grade science glass, Kayden spotted the pair of bright green eyes belonging to her friend Peyton Spears.

"Heyyy!" Peyton called as the two met up. "Ready for vacation?" Kayden smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "Great! Now all we need to do is find – OI!" It was at that moment that someone decided to pull Peyton's gray hood over her head.

Kayden rolled eyes and tried to hide her smile. "Robin, you know Peyton doesn't like that."

A smiling face framed with dark brown hair popped out from behind Peyton's exasperated, hooded face. "I know," she giggled. "That's why I did it."

Peyton pulled the hood off of the head. "Robin, that is so not cool, man," she said in a very annoyed tone. Nevertheless, the three friends chatted happily as they made their way out of school.

As they strolled along, Kayden's deep blue eyes roved about the scenery, taking in all the wonderful colors of spring. Presently, she saw something that shouldn't have been there: a floating blue orb. It seemed strange to her, but she just dismissed it as a trick of the light and continued talking. Then the orb glowed brighter, as if beckoning her to it.

'Uh, guys? Does that seem strange to you?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the orb. Her two friends nodded yes, and then all three of them sprinted over to look at it. It was a bluish-white color and roughly the size of a basketball. When the trio reached it, it seemed to start pulsating.

"What do you think it is?" asked Robin, who looked slightly worried.

"I'm not sure," Peyton replied.

"Uh, guys, I think it's growing larger," Kayden said, backing away from it.

"And brighter!"

"Get away from it!"

Suddenly the orb burst. The three girls were thrown back, and all they could see was white light. Then darkness engulfed them.

~o*o*o*o~

Kayden awoke to the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves of the forest. Wait, a forest? The girls lived in southern California. There were no forests!

Dazedly, Kayden sat up. She was no longer wearing the T-shirt she had when she left school. Now she bore a navy blue tunic with a dark brown leather jerkin over it. Instead of jeans and sneakers, she now wore flexible black pants and brown boots that almost reached her knee. She also bore vambrances on both her arms – on her right forearm was a greenish-brown leather one with a design of leaves, and on her left forearm was a vambrance made of the shiniest metal Kayden had ever seen. It surely wasn't steel, for it felt no heavier than her leather one. Around her waist was a leather belt bearing a small pack and a short sword. A sword? Kayden stood up, her blue-gray cloak swishing behind her. Swiftly, she drew her sword. The blade was about a foot long, glinting in the sunlight. The hilt was wrapped in blue leather and fit nicely in her grasp. The weapon was quite light and easily sliced through the air. Kayden smiled as she sheathed her sword and began rummaging through her pack. She found some dried food and meat, but nothing else. Sighing, Kayden closed her pack and began to search for her friends.

"Peyton! Robin! Where are they?"

Suddenly there was a crunching of leaves nearby. Kayden whipped around to find a young woman with bright green eyes and long dark hair staring at her. She wore a dark green tunic, a brown cloak, dark brown pants, and black boots. Belted around her waist was a small pack much like Kayden's, but she had no weapon. "Kayden, is that you?" the young woman asked.

Then it clicked. "Peyton!" Kayden exclaimed, running and tackling her friend. "You look so much older."
"So do you," Peyton laughed. "But you still act like a 13-year old." Kayden sheepishly smiled, tucking her dark raven hair behind her ears. Peyton gasped.

"What, what is it?" Kayden asked, instinctively drawing her sword.

"Your ears are pointed!" Peyton replied, stifling a giggle.

Kayden reached up and touched her ears, and sure enough, her ears tapered off to a point. "Cool! What about your ears? Are they pointed too?"

"Nope, mine are still normal," Peyton answered, showing her friend her rounded ear lobes.

"Well, now that that's settled, you can help me find Robin." The leaves in the tree above them rustled and a figure hopped down.

"I heard my name!" she exclaimed. Then her brown eyes widened. "Hey, why am I shorter than you guys?" Kayden and Peyton just laughed as they ran to their now very little friend. "Seriously, I was the same height as Peyton and taller than Kayden when we left. Now look!" Robin was right. Now she was only as high as Kayden's ribcage.

Robin, too, had changed clothes. Now she wore a white tunic with a yellow waistcoat over it, a green cloak, and dark blue pants that only reached her ankles. Her feet had no shoes, but were incredibly hairy. "Hey," Kayden suddenly exclaimed. "You're a hobbit, Robin!"

"A hobbit?" Peyton asked. "What's a hobbit?"

"They're people in J.R.R. Tolkien's books," Robin replied. "They're small, have hairy feet, wear no shoes, and eat a lot. AND I GET TO BE ONE!" Robin danced around, evidently happy about her new race. "Hey, what about you guys?" she asked, stopping her impromptu happy dance.

"I'm an elf," Kayden replied, showing her friend her pointed ears.

"I'm still human," Peyton sighed.

"Wait, if I'm a hobbit and you're an elf, then that must mean…" Robin started.

"…that we're in Middle-Earth," Kayden finished

"Middle-Earth?" asked Peyton, now very confused.

"Yeah, the world in Tolkien's – Oh wait, you've never read the series," Kayden replied. "I only got to read about a fourth of The Fellowship of the Ring before I was so busy practicing for Mr. Swellman's big concert. Then I had to do that stupid non-fiction book report for Mrs. Jones. What about you, Robin?"

"I only read the first chapter," the hobbit sighed.

Peyton then noticed the sword Kayden was holding. "You got a SWORD?" she asked, half in amazement.

"Yeah! I wonder why you don't have one," Kayden said, amused at her friend's reaction.

"I don't know." Peyton stated. "All I got was this lousy pack."

"Lucky! I didn't even get a pack!" Robin pouted, crossing her arms and leaning against the nearest tree trunk.

"Well, now that we've found each other, we better go and…" Peyton was interrupted by a horn sounding in the distance. And it did NOT sound friendly.