Disclaimer: Yeah, right. Hah!

Notes of thanks:

Amarth: As of this moment, I'm only one review short! But perhaps I'll be lenient and post this chapter anyway. Two chapters posted in one day's not too bad, is it?

GreyLadyBast: *hangs head* Sorry about that. I'll try to keep my ego in check. In my defense, however, I *was* under-reviewed until I came up with this gem. I still don't know why so many people like this . . . in all honesty I never intended to finish it, but now I don't know . . . *grins wickedly*

Bryn: No, it is *you* who are great! My reviews don't do your work justice! (You did know you're on my favorites list, didn't you?) I positively *love* your work, and mine doesn't even come close to yours! As for your Elrond question, see the rather long author's note at the end. An uprising would *definitely* make for some interesting writing and reading, wouldn't it? I'll have to see. And I would die a hundred deaths at the hand of Mary Sues the world over before I made this a Legolas fic. My feelings for Legolas, as close as I can explain them, are told in my brief "One Moment, Untainted". I could *never* do anything to him. And of course I shall keep the chapters coming! Thanks for the nice *long* review!

ShellMel: I do enjoy mental conversations, because I have so many of them! I'm very pleased you like it, and (best Uncle Sam impression) I want YOU to keep reading!

Tintalle Halfholbytla: LOL, at the time I read your review, I had just finished this chapter and had the urge to post it immediately . . . but then remembered that I hadn't included my author's thank yous. Anyway, your time of waiting is over, enjoy!

Jossa Baggins: No problem, I'll try to keep the chapters coming!

Violet Dawson: Yay! Cookies! *dives in madly* Yummy! Thanks Violet, I always look forward to reading your reviews, especially your enthusiastic demands for more! As for writing more short stories . . . I don't know if that was a one-time thing or not. I felt so passionately everything I was saying when I wrote that, I don't think I could ever do it again. Yet for some reason I'm still toying with the idea of a sequel. *slaps self back to reality* I don't know yet. Perhaps a vote is needed?

Star Queen: Another of my favorite reviewers! I can't *wait* to see your elf-based story, and in the meantime I guess I'll have to content myself with reading your other work. Look for a review or two from me some time in the future! (And yes, I found Mary Sue bashing quite refreshing!)

Jester: Don't worry, I'm getting around to more, just as soon as my schedule permits me. Glad to have you along!

Starbrat: Ooh, you're still with me! Yes, and I can promise more catfights to come!

Seventeens Stalker: Sorry, here it is! I hope you didn't wait too long!

Mizalaye: Well, I've been kinda bad, doing fanfics when I'm supposed to be writing a paper . . . shh! Anyway, thanks for your continued reviews and faith in me! I hope this chapter is suitably explanatory, but if not, there's a nice long author's note at the end!

Melilot: Don't worry, I know who you are! Keep cheering, because we're not done bashing Meriweather yet! Or is she not done bashing Katie yet? Hee hee . . .

Ahem, I'd like to take this moment to dedicate this chapter to Violet Dawson, because her review for "One Moment, Untainted" kept me on Cloud 9 for a long, long time! Thanks for your overactive typing and your *wonderful* words of encouragement! (And the cookies!)

TRAPPED AS A MARY SUE

Chapter Eight

Aragorn, son of Arathorn blinked suddenly and shook his head. Something had just happened, but he could not recall what it was. To his right, Boromir looked equally confused, and Gandalf was tugging his beard with a look of thoughtfulness on his face.

The wizard was the first to speak. "I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from my mind." He shifted his grip on the staff he held, bracing himself against the freezing wind.

His companions nodded their assent. "I feel as if I have waged a battle with an unseen foe, and have finally triumphed," Boromir said, drawing a deep breath and casting a furtive glance around. "Might there be some enemy about?"

Gandalf pierced Aragorn with a direct gaze, as the Ranger peered into the flying snowflakes to make out a dim form lying in a snowbank. Unwelcome memories flooded back to him, and he took a step backwards in horror. "Aragorn? What troubles you?" the wizard asked, concerned.

Wordlessly the heir of Isildur pointed, not trusting his voice to hold steady if he were to speak.

Gandalf and Boromir followed his lead, and the latter moved forward to catch a better glimpse. The man of Gondor knelt in the snow, looking back to make sure his companions were behind him, should he require assistance.

The motionless girl stirred briefly, and raised her head from where she was lying face down. Her eyes focused upon Boromir, and she let out an ear- piercing shriek before scrabbling backwards madly on all fours.

Boromir, for his part, let loose his own cry of surprise before reaching for his sword hilt. "Who are you, she-devil?" he demanded. He did not recognize her immodest manner of dress, nor the short style of her hair, but every instinct within him screamed against her.

"J-just s-stay aw-way from m-me," she stuttered through chattering teeth. He realized that she wore nothing upon her feet, and her indecent sleeveless tunic did nothing against the cruel cold of Caradhras.

"Do you not remember her, Boromir?" Aragorn called warily from behind him.

The man of Gondor squinted slightly, even as he unclasped his cloak to give to her. With longer hair and a slightly thinner face . . . "Ai!" His cloak fell from nerveless fingers. "The witch who put us under her spell!"

"No!" She cried through blue lips. "I d-did n-not do it-t." She took a deep breath, choking on the cold air. "I w-was un-nder the control of-f a g-r-reater pow-wer. P-please," she begged, "y-you m-must believe m-me."

Boromir looked about at the other members of the Fellowship. Aragorn stood poised as if ready to flee. Frodo looked thoughtful, while the rest of the hobbits clearly didn't trust the girl. Gandalf was oddly silent, and the man could not tell his thoughts for his hat shadowed his face. Legolas and Gimli said nothing, but their hostile postures needed no interpreting.

"Katie."

The girl jerked as if she'd been slapped. She'd made no move to claim Boromir's forgotten cloak, but sat curled into a miserable ball, awaiting the pronouncement of her fate.

All looked over to see Merry wading through the snow. The hobbit paused before her, a strange look on his face. "I remember you, at the council in Rivendell. You tried to walk out, but couldn't."

Trembling, the most Katie could do was nod.

"You were trapped there." Merry did not make it a question.

She jerked her head in a nod again, rubbing her arms to keep warm. The small hobbit before her caught up Boromir's cloak from the ground and held it out gravely. She tried to read his eyes, but could not discern if he believed her or not. Slowly she shook her head.

"I w-will not t-take it. I w-wish nothing m-more than to die, so sh-she can-not take me b-back. I w-won't suf-fer an-nymore." Her eyes spoke of a pain that she had been forced to endure, the things she had been made to do. Unconsciously they strayed to Aragorn's face, and Katie flinched, remembering something. "An-nd I w-will n-not s-stay here, f-for then I am- m n-no b-better than-n the author."

Heedless of her protest, Merry draped the garment over her shoulders. "Dying solves no problems," he replied simply.

"Right you are, Meriadoc. It never solves anything. My memories return to me, and I believe that you may yet find an answer to this curse upon us all." Gandalf's voice was warm and reassuring.

Nevertheless, Katie fought him on his statement. "B-but y-you are all b- back wh-where you belong. The on-nly th-thing out of-f p-place is m-me." It was impossible to say what emotions were going through her. The wizard saw she was clearly desperate and distressed, wanting only to rectify the damage she had inadvertently caused by being controlled by the 'author.'

"Nay, Katie. Listen closely to your mind."

Briefly her eyes closed, and then a look of unspeakable fear crossed her face, and she cried out, "No! No, it c-can't be!"

"You hear her, don't you? For there is also another within me as well." Gandalf shuddered imperceptibly as he attempted to ignore the small voice that claimed to be him. The shadow that had taken him earlier. "We all still suffer, not you alone."

"I hear it," Aragorn whispered, face paling as snow built in his hair. "It cannot be me, it cannot be."

"Y-you m-mean . . .?"

"The 'author' you spoke of still possesses power, and even if you were to perish, that evil which is called Meriweather would still live on, only she would gain access to the true, unspoiled Middle-earth, and Sauron would likely be the least of our worries." Gandalf's direct intensity gave the girl pause.

A sudden gust of wind brought more snow down from above, and all of the Fellowship ducked , pressing themselves against the face of Caradhras. Katie yanked the cloak over her head, for she was so frozen that she couldn't move fast enough to escape the deluge.

"Quickly, get her out! And then we must descend Caradhras, lest we all fall under its wrath," Gandalf cried. Spurred by his words, Aragorn and Boromir fell to unearthing Katie. She met them on her struggle upwards, movements stiff and feeble.

Coming face to face with Aragorn, she barely restrained a shriek that came out as a choked whimper, inadvertently recalling a particularly unpleasant innuendo. The Ranger did not wish to meet her eyes, but offered her a hand up nonetheless.

There was a brief discussion as to what was to be done about her clothes, but none of the nine males had anything suitable. In the end they settled for wrapping her feet in rags and loaning Katie an extra shirt of Sam's and a pair of Aragorn's leggings.

Aragorn and Boromir turned their attention aside to forcing a path down off Caradhras, using their stature and might. Their large forms disappeared into the gusting snow, and Legolas accompanied them, having said nothing since the world seemed to have been set to rights.

The hobbits remained packed together behind Bill to ward off the snow, and Gimli stood near Gandalf, looking about uneasily.

That left Katie to herself . . . and the presence in her mind that was Meriweather.

[Erm, all right, I *won't* beg for a specific number of reviews anymore. But I can still beg for reviews in general! (LOL, I was told that I was getting greedy . . .) And thank you to the people who have me on their favorites list! I feel so loved! (Right, take pin, deflate head . . .) Anyway, I received a question from a reader, and this author's note is to hopefully help you understand better.

To recap: Katie woke up in Rivendell, having no clue how she came to be there. As a true LOTR fan, she soon realized that it was not the real Rivendell complete with real characters, but an author's fabrication, and that she herself was a Mary Sue named Meriweather. The author can make Meriweather/Katie do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and Katie can't do anything but bemoan her fate inside her head.

Similarly, all interactive characters are also under the author's control, and are subsequently devoid of anything resembling thought. However, since most Mary Sue authors have really only seen the movie, their knowledge of actual characters is nil.

Enter for example Elladan and Elrohir, who were never mentioned in the movie. The author doesn't know they exist, and therefore she doesn't restrict them in the same way she does Arwen. Therefore the twins can move around in the plot as they please, with no retribution unless they seriously screw the author's plot up.

Arwen, on the other hand, is known to the author, and most often gets in the way of her plans, especially since I chose to do an Aragorn romance. Therefore, the author would have to take pains to keep the future queen of Gondor locked up in her room so as not to interfere. The similar application goes along with Katie's imprisonment in her room while Aragorn was having a flashback, because the author had technically "confined" her there, though she escaped.

Characters like Elrond only have conditional freedom. During the council, Elrond was needed to give the Fellowship his "blessing" so to speak. At that time he was fully in the author's control, and thus there was a lack of emotion. But when the author was finished with Elrond, she just conveniently forgot about him. He had served his purpose, and the author turned him loose. He then, as a free character, determined that he wanted to know what was happening to his home. He discovered Arwen, who had spoken with Katie, and she told him all she knew. He arrived just in time to prevent Elladan and Elrohir from trying their own solution to the problem of Meriweather.

When Katie and Meriweather, no matter how different, have the same thoughts at the same time, their consciousnesses collide, and they are brought to in- between. In-between is where Katie can see the real characters fighting against their pseudo-selves. Note that this only happens when Katie is conscious when thoughts collide. She only remains in-between for as long as her thoughts and Meriweather's are the same. The instant when they diverge, the whole thing falls apart, and she ends up trapped again inside Meriweather.

When Meriweather was knocked unconscious up on Caradhras, Katie was still awake and fighting. The author at that point in the story had focused solely on the reactions of Aragorn, Boromir, and Gandalf, and that allowed Katie (when pulled free by Legolas) to do as she wanted and thank the elf. Then when the author decided it was time to wake Meriweather up, she needed her character completely compliant, and that's how Katie ended up with a conk on the head.

Yet when Meriweather and Katie were both unconscious, their thoughts again were the same, but it was only the two of them. Meriweather faced down Katie, and Katie kicked her butt. Once she had defeated the Sue, that opened the door to the real Middle-earth because she had finally overcome the author for the time being. She unwittingly entered Middle-earth again, but this time her role and Meriweather's were reversed. Now *she* is the one in control, and Meriweather is the nagging little voice in the back of her mind.

But how long it will last not even she knows . . .

Anyway, I hope that little blurb cleared things up a bit, that is, if you're still reading it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and there will be more to come before too long!]