Monstrous

by Leafy

Author's Note: This is my first LOTR fanfic ever. It is loosely based on an episode of the television show "Red Dwarf".

                Also, this fic is more based on the movie of Fellowship of the Ring, rather than the books.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I, the author of this fic, do not own anything Lord of the Rings or Red Dwarf.

Thank you for the reviews, everybody.

Raider314: Thank you! :o) And, what exactly is your idea for using the emotions against them? That sounds really interesting.

Europa: Not to spoil anything, but…YUP! :o)

Marissa: Thanks for the review! And don't worry, :o). Leggie will be fine. I can't say much more without spoilage, but he'll be fine, don't worry. Thanks again! :o)

On with the story!

*              *              *

Sam's mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief.

"No," he thought. "No, no, no…"

"No," he gasped, dazed with guilt and sorrow.

"Yes, I'm afraid," said Gandalf, sitting down clumsily next to him on the ground. "It leaped through these trees at us, and just--killed him. He didn't have a chance."

"No," whispered Sam, tears running down his cheeks.

"I am sorry," said Gandalf softly, looking over at the broken-down hobbit.

"It's my fault," said Sam, meeting his gaze. "It's all my fault. I let it get away. If I hadn't thrown myself down when the monster came, if I hadn't been such a coward, I--I could have stopped it," his voice collapsed under the tears.

Sam dropped his face into his hands, weeping quietly. He couldn't think straight, he could no longer speak. He felt so guilty. So guilty. So guilty that he didn't even see Gandalf open up his mouth as wide as the mouth of a bucket, didn't see him lean over to him, and didn't hear the inevitable sucking begin.

**********

"Come here!" Frodo insisted, jumping up to look through the branches for the others. "He's here, right here!"

Frodo waited a few more strained seconds for the others then, finding himself unable to wait any longer, dropped down to his friend's side and shook him awake.

"Sam!" he said impatiently. "Sam, are you alright?"

Sam stirred then, sitting up so abruptly that he cuffed Frodo in the chin, making him fall back into a sitting position on the leaves.

"Hey!" yelped Frodo.

"Of course, I'm alright," said Sam sharply. "All the others were alright, weren't they?"

"You hit me!" exclaimed Frodo, massaging his chin.

"Oh, be quiet--you hit me, too," said Sam, rubbing his own head where it had bashed Frodo.

Before Frodo could respond to this, the rest of the fellowship came clamoring into the small (and getting crowded) clearing.

"What's happened?" Aragorn asked, then hoped no one would answer.

"What do think, fool?" barked Sam, looking up at him in annoyance. "The monster got me, of course!"

He looked around at the others then.

"I hope you're happy," he said to them. "Thanks to you, I could be permanently damaged now!"

"And, what did we do?" Frodo snapped, standing up.

"Well, if you'd all been keeping an eye on the monster--or me--" he glared at Boromir and Pippin next to each other, "I might still be me!"

"I'll never be able to forgive myself," muttered Boromir.

"Don't bother, Boromir," said Frodo, looking away from Sam at him. "It's his own stupid fault that he got caught."

"Why, you--" growled Sam, standing up and brandishing his sword. "Come here and say that!"

"Fine!" said Frodo, and made a run for Sam, but was grabbed up from the ground by Gandalf. Aragorn followed suit, snatching up Sam and prying his sword from his grip, letting it fall to the ground.

"That's it, just keep collecting swords," Sam snarled up at him.

"Enough!" boomed Gandalf. "Samwise, did you see in what direction the beast went?"

Sam paused for a moment to think, then looked smugly at the wizard.

"Yessssss," he said slowly, then looked back up at Aragorn. "Let me go, and I'll show you."

"Just point the way," Aragorn growled.

Sam paused again.

"Alright," he said, "I didn't see it, but let go of me anyway."

Aragorn promptly obeyed, dropping him like a hot coal.

"Now me," demanded Frodo, looking up at the wizard.

"They'll fight," Aragorn warned him.

"I know," Gandalf responded.

"I won't, I promise," said Sam.

"You will," snapped Aragorn. "You're lying."

"Why don't we just knock one of them out?" suggested Legolas, leaning against a tree.

"How about we just let them do whatever they want?" suggested Gimli mildly. "Or, we could do Legolas' suggestion."

Once again, Aragorn gritted his teeth, steering Sam over to Boromir and Pippin.

"Just keep him under control," he said to the two, "please."

**********

Aragorn slumped down before the fire and put his head in his hands. He and the rest of the fellowship had spent all day traipsing through the forest, looking for the beast (and looking for Merry, who kept dashing off on his own, insistent that he could vanquish the monster himself), and they hadn't seen a single snapped twig or track in the dirt to lead them on.

Legolas hadn't been much help, complaining that he was tired of walking, and that his tracking abilities were so inferior to everyone else's, that they would be of no use in this situation. He and Boromir seemed to be getting along much better since the monster had claimed the elf.

Gandalf seemed like the only voice of near-reason left, besides Aragorn himself. Pippin had been too busy keeping track of Sam, who, according to the wizard, had lost all traces of his guilt to the monster. It was no easy task for Pippin to monitor Sam, as Boromir had given up almost instantly, saying Pippin was much more able for the job than he. And it didn't help matters any that Sam, without his guilt, was trying everything he could think of to get away from Pippin.

"Let go of my arm," Sam had whined at one point. "You're giving me a bruise. Leave me be, don't listen to Aragorn! You can't trust what he says. Come on, let me go, Pip. What kind of friend are you?"

Pippin had had a terribly rough day, Aragorn knew. So, after it had gotten too dark to see at all in the woods, and a quick camp had been set up for the night, mostly courtesy of Merry, who also insisted on standing guard first), Aragorn suggested that Pippin retire early, saying that he would take over the hobbit's turn to keep watch.

Aragorn now sat on a log, a few feet from Pippin's cloak on the ground, where the young hobbit lay, snoring softly. Merry was still guarding the actual camp (he still insisted), but Aragorn was too restless and concerned about the well-being of the remaining undamaged hobbit and wizard to sleep, and just felt better, being able to keep an eye on Pippin. He still had faith that Gandalf could take care of himself.

Aragorn was pulled out of his reverie just then by a sudden violent whipping and rustling noise in the bushes near Pippin's head. He stood up, drawing his sword and raising it to slash the shrub, but as he did, saw a shadowy little thing dart out of it and back into the woods. It was the monster. Without a moment's hesitation, Aragorn took off after it. It would not escape again…

He ran, far and fast, the little shadowy beast flitting in and out between the trees, just out of his reach. Finally, he caught up, cornering it before a crowded bunch of trees. Aragorn raised his sword once more to stab it, but as he brought the sword down, the creature vanished, seemingly into thin air.

Aragorn stood, frozen, for a moment. It had escaped again. How could it have gotten away so fast?

And then he remembered. Gandalf had observed in their many near run-ins with the beast that it could move incredibly fast, faster even than an elf.

Aragorn turned around. So, it had run away. But where was it now? Why would it have led Aragorn all the way out here for no reason--

Aragorn's back stiffened suddenly, in wild realization. He took off through the trees, running back toward the camp as fast as he could.

Pippin…

~End of Part 6