Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Hocus Pocus or the scene from The Lord of the Rings, only how the story goes. The characters of Hocus Pocus belongs to Disney and the scene from The Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: And yes, Thackery is going to be in his human form for this story.
\_|_/
Max Saves Thackery from Drowning
Max – Frodo
Thackery - Sam
After getting away from the battle up the hill behind him, Max, a young man wearing a white shirt, brown pants and a green cloak over his shoulders stood on the shore looking at one of the canoes that was halfway into the water. In his hand he held a gold ring on a golden chain. But Max was still undecided and conflicted on the inside when he looked between the boat and eastern shore. Elsewhere in the woods behind the boy, another young man also wearing a white shirt, brown pants and a green cloak over his shoulders was running through the forest. He pushed through a few branches as he ran and worriedly called out, "Max!"
When he didn't get an answer it made him worry even more, but he did keep running down the hill to find his friend.
Down the hill, mixed feelings welled up within Max's heart as he looked down at the One Ring sitting in his palm. Tears started to well up in the boy's eyes as he thought of all that he had lost because of it. He remembered a few days ago when he said, "I with that the Ring had never come to mi. I wish that none of this had ever happened."
"So do all who live to see such times…" Another voice rang in his mind, making Max's eyes widen. He felt like he was looking right at the Wizard Joseph when they were in Moria. Max then remembered what Joseph told him next, "But that is not for them to decide.
"All you have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to you." With that, Max found a new resolve from his friend's words. His expression changed and he placed the Ring back over his head and around his neck. Then placing it under his shirt Max took a deep breath and walked over to one of the boats and used all his strength to push the boat into the water. When it was fully in the water, Max was quick to climb into it. Thought the boat wobbled a little, Max was able to pull himself in and moved to grab one of the paddles.
Thackery came charging through the woods and could see the river up ahead before running much faster. When he broke through the tree line, Thackery was very shocked to see Max paddling away from the shore. Thackery ran down the beach and shouted after his friend, "Max, no!" Slowing down he shouted again, "Max!
"Mr. Max!" Thackery called after him. But Max didn't look back as he quietly said, "No, Thackery."
Seeing that his friend wasn't stopping, Thackery looked between the canoe to the water before making up his mind. Thackery started following after Max and waded into the river. Hearing the sounds of water sloshing behind him, Max looked back. When he saw that Thackery was trying to follow after him, Max told him, "Go back, Thackery!" Then with a firm look he said, "I'm going to Mordor alone."
"Of course you are." Thackery agreed as he kept coming. But he wouldn't let his best friend go anywhere alone and added, "And I'm coming with you!"
"You can't swim." Max said to discourage his friend as Thackery just kept on coming. The bottom of the river fell from beneath Thackery's feet and he tried to swim for Max's boat. Jake turned and tried to warn his friend back while also becoming afraid for him, "Thackery!"
But Thackery just kept coming, even thought he was starting even though he was starting to struggle the further out he came. He gasped when he started to sink and fought to stay afloat. But the boy ended up sinking beneath the water. A truly fearful Max looked to the spot and shouted, "Thackery!"
Beneath the water, Thackery tried to swim back up to the surface, but it was in vain as he kept sinking. As his movements became slower, the boy was left looking up at the sun as it shown down on him. He moved one hand towards the sky as he sank deeper into the water. But before he went down too far, another hand plunged down into the water and grasped his outstretched hand. Thackery's hand firmly grasped it and he was pulled up. On the boat, Max strained as he pulled Thackery out of the river. Thackery sputtered when his head broke through the surface and shook the water off his head while he was hauled up into the boat. Coughing up the water he had swallowed, Thackery climbed into the boat while Max helped him in. Max moved back to give him some room and Thackery took a few deep breaths before looking to his friend. Fresh tears were rolling down Max's face as he wanted to know why his friend had done that. Thackery then started to say, "I-" He took a deep breath before saying, "I made a promise, Mr. Max." He repeated the vow, "A promise: Don't you leave him Thackery Binx."
He sounded very serious about keeping it when he said, "And I don't mean to." Max's lip trembled as he knew that Thackery would honor his word when Thackery said, "I don't mean to."
Max knew that there was dissuading his friend and he said, "Oh, Thackery."
The two friends embraced each other as fresh tears rolled down their faces. They breathed heavily as they knew that it would be a long and hard journey, but together would be able to face it all. They broke the embrace and Max said, "Come on."
Both boys then grabbed a paddle and moved to paddle the boat to the other shore. The boys knew that together, they could brave the wilds and reach the forbidden land of Mordor to complete their quest.
\_|_/
Author's Note: I know that this one was a little odd, but to be fair, it was one that worked for me. I do plan on doing the 'Slopes of Mount Doom' to follow up with this. Plus, I thought they'd make pretty good Halloween stories since Hocus Pocus is a Halloween movie. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.
