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 kind reviews, everybody.
Estelcontar: Thank you! I'm so glad you like the story, and I'm glad you think it's funny. And, it's so cool that you guessed just what I'd have the monster take from each of the fellowship! :o) Thanks for the review!
Tiggivon: Aww, thanks. :o) ::big grin:: You're so kind. I'm happy you're liking the new developments, and as for Rimmer, well—doesn't he have some revision time tables to correlate, or something, instead of tampering with your computer? :o) Thanks for the reviews!
Europa: Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying it. And, as for the monster, well, we'll see. ;o) Thanks again!:o)
Raider314: Hehe, behold the majorly dysfunctional fellowship. Yep, they've still got Gandalf to help them, so, despite Chap. 7's title, hope's not dead yet. :o) Thanks for the review!
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It had taken roughly half an hour to corral everyone into sitting down for the meeting, but they were all there now--more or less.
Sam had flatly refused to sit next to Frodo, saying it would result in bloodshed (this, of course, Gandalf took for granted). Sam also refused to sit next to Legolas (too malodorous), Boromir (too depressing), Gimli or Aragorn (both too perky), and finally settled himself next to Pippin, who was beginning to look rather haggard. Sam had found himself most able to tolerate Pippin, as he was relatively quiet and clean, and wholeheartedly gave Sam any food he came across, since he was changed.
Frodo ended up having to sit between Aragorn and Gimli, who tried cheerfully to distract him from the staring contest he had initiated across the fire, with Sam.
Boromir, with enough deep sighing to make any normal man hyperventilate, finally trudged over to the growing circle on his own, sitting down on the ground, just apart from the rest of the group. After he did this, no matter what anyone said, he would move no closer.
Legolas, who did not take kindly to being woken so suddenly by Merry, stood up and stumbled into the circle, then sat down on a log. His shoulders were slightly hunched now, as he had nodded off again, waiting for the meeting to begin.
Merry was the hardest one to get sitting down. Gandalf wasn't even sure if he even had sat down, since the monster claimed him. The hobbit kept bustling about, insisting that he was listening, he just had "things to do". In the end, in an unheard-of moment of cooperation, Frodo and Sam seized him by the arms and steered him onto a log next to Gandalf, before returning annoyedly to their our seats.
When everyone was finally seated, Gandalf cleared his throat (and his mind, as best he could), and began to speak.
"I believe it would be wise for us now to acknowledge the likely prospect that we won't find the beast again in this forest, and it may be a very long time before you are all returned to normal. Years, perhaps."
"For the last time, I am normal," Frodo blurted.
"Not that I'm disagreeing with you, Gandalf, but I don't see anything wrong with our present situation," Gimli chanced timidly.
"Neither do I," Aragorn chimed in.
"I think it's better this way," Boromir remarked glumly from the ground.
"And, you know I have no opinion whatsoever," Legolas mumbled, sitted up a little.
Gandalf heaved a quiet sigh, in place of the cry of outrage he would have preferred to utter.
"All I mean is, at present, our need to fulfill a certain quest may outweigh our need to find this monster," he said.
"Why bother?" Frodo muttered, obviously intending everyone to hear. "You won't let me carry it again, will you?"
"It doesn't matter who destroys the ring, just as long as the ring is destroyed," Gandalf responded.
"Can't we just have one more go at finding the monster, before we leave?" Merry pleaded, bouncing his right knee up and down maddenly as he spoke.
"I'm afraid there would be no point, Meriadoc," said Gandalf. "The monster is swifter and nimbler than an elf, it can change forms to be anything it pleases, and it seems largely unaffected by material wounds. Finding and defeating it in these woods now whould be the closest thing to impossible that any of us would be likely to encounter."
"Trust an old simpleton like you to give up, the moment it's a challenge," said Sam shiftlessly from his seat.
"Don't talk to Gandalf that way!" snapped Frodo, leaping to his feet.
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Nearly beat me up again?" Sam jeered.
"Now, now," said Gimli nervously, "can't we all--"
"If your next words are 'just get along', I'll throttle you," Frodo warned him.
"Don't talk to Gimli that way!" Sam mimicked Frodo, who responded by snatching up a log from the pile next to the fire and running at him.
He was instantly intercepted by Merry, who left his seat so abruptly that even Gandalf hadn't seen him do it.
"What did I tell you both?" Merry bellowed, shoving the two of them apart and dragging a struggling Frodo back to his seat, before sitting down lightly next to Gandalf, again.
"I'm sorry," said Gimli sorrowfully. He seemed to think that he had provoked this outburst. "I don't mean to make trouble, but perhaps Gandalf's point is a valid one. Even if we all truly want to destroy the monster, if it is indestructible, then there seems little reason to stay here."
"It can't be indestructible," Pippin said, so quietly that he almost wasn't heard.
"What was that, Peregrine?" Gandalf asked, sharply, curiously.
"It can't be indestructible," Pippin continued, staring wearily into the fire. "It didn't seem to want me near its neck, when it attacked me last."
"How do you know?" asked Frodo. "None of the rest of us remember being attacked."
"I didn't remember it instantly," Pippin replied, feebly defensive. "Just yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Gandalf exclaimed. "Why didn't you speak of it then?"
There was brief pause.
"Didn't seem to be important," said Pippin simply.
But Gandalf only half-heard this. He was now lost in thought. He remembered once, very long ago, reading about a certain type of beast that could be created by magic, which was invincible to all forms of offense, in all but one spot, which varied from beast to beast. This beast must be one of those magical creatures, and its neck, its vulnerable point. Gandalf looked back up at the others.
"This monster can be destroyed," he said. "Quite easily. We have only to find it again."
~~End of Part 9
Author's Note: Sorry this part is so short! We're two chapters from the end, though, so the next part will be longer. Thanks for your patience, and please review, if you want. :o)