Disclaimer: I own none of the characters within.
Author's Notes: Has everyone had a fun New Year? I saw TTT for the third time, wheeeeeeee… Does everyone else think Gollum kicked major arse? Oh yeah, and Grima. But Gollum especially, you know. Anyway, yeah, this fight is an echo of the movies' first Frodo/Sam/Gollum encounter, if you can spot that. And for all of you who wanted more Gollum being Gollum, well… this chapter got its' name for a reason…
Chapter Twenty-One
~
The razor teeth of Gollum clamped down on flesh, not the tender puppy flesh of Frodo, but the beefy shoulder of Sam. The beta had bowled his little alpha out of the way, and took the full impact of the bite, yelping as the vicious needles pierced his fur and dug into his tender skin. As Gollum realized his error, Sam brought around his head to chomp down on the scrawny neck.
Too late! The grey wolf sprang away, pivoting on his hind legs, using his momentum to jump completely over Sam's head. In truth, Gollum knew not from whence this newfound agility came. It was his adrenaline, triggered by the loss of his tail, fueled by the need for the Ring. Landing on the other side of his opponent, he lunged again at Frodo in hopes of claiming his prize.
End over end the pup tumbled, landing on his side and pumping with his legs to scoot further from the maniac at his heels. Gollum lunged; his throat was caught by Frodo's paws. Teeth clicked shut a mere inch from the pup's neck, nose brushing the Ring and increasing the madness. Terrified, Frodo shrieked a whine of despair, unable to keep Gollum at bay any longer…
Suddenly Gollum was falling backwards, dragged by the savage teeth of Sam clamped on his dirty scruff. Crashing to the ground, the skinny wolf used his force to propel the beta onto his back, flipping over, jaws flashing…
His grip closed on Sam's throat.
Yes! Victory! Increasing the pressure, Gollum shuddered with satisfaction as Sam ceased to draw breath, his paws battling feebly at his attacker, his defenses growing sluggish with lack of oxygen.
Agony!
With a scream, Gollum released his prey as a set of puppy teeth ripped into the ruined stump of his tail. Whirling on his attacker he saw that it was Frodo, blue eyes blazing with anger and the Ring flashing with a light of its' own. Frodo… The insanity faded from Gollum's eyes and he trembled.
Here was Frodo… beloved master, kind master, the one who had always been kind to him. Now he turned on his servant, his Gollum, lashing out at the scrawny wolf's most vulnerable place. But why? Why would master turn on him?
Master had betrayed him.
The torture of his tail was nothing compared to the torture that smashed upon his confused mind. Master! Why? Why, why, why?
Ripping away from Frodo's grasp, Gollum fell to the ground in anguish, brain reeling and senses on overload. It was all wrong… the world was inside out; upside-down… even the horizon seemed to be wheeling and dancing before his fatigued eyes.
Sam advanced on him, snarling and this time fully prepared to end the miserable creatures' life right then and there. But before he could get any closer to the wretch, Frodo was in the way. And this time, it was not an act of pity.
Frodo wanted to do it himself.
A peculiar dementia had gripped him, throttling his mind and clouding his thoughts. He saw how Gollum desired the Ring; saw how Gollum now groveled before the one who bore It. It was powerful… there was something amazing and awesome in this Ring, Gollum's reactions made that much clear. And suddenly, Frodo was filled with a lust.
A lust to keep the Ring for himself.
And so Frodo bore down on Gollum, Gollum who had trusted and adored him, Gollum who had sacrificed himself to ensure that the alpha made it to safety, Gollum who had led them safely thus far. None of this registered in the pup's mind; the hysteria of the Ring drove him onward, fangs glaring viciously.
Whimpering helplessly, Gollum pressed his lanky body to the earth, the cold seeping into his bones, while at the same time cold fear sank into his heart. Master… it couldn't be… The Ring! Must have the Ring! His teeth chattered together with the stress.
Before the killing blow could be dealt, Gollum gave a despairing wail, kicking his paralyzed legs into motion, rolling to his paws and racing away from the Hobbit wolves, his panic and hurt sending him tumbling haphazardly away through the snow, slipping and falling from his haste.
He was gone.
Instantly Frodo dropped to the ground, sides heaving and body trembling. What had happened? What had driven him so mercilessly at the one who above all things deserved mercy? Why?
The confusion that assaulted him struck Sam as well, and the beta stood uncertain. Frodo had always been kind and generous to a fault, always. And now this: a sudden attack of brutality with lethal intent.
Had the world gone mad?
And still the Ring dragged heavily at Frodo's delicate neck.
~
Night drew on apace, the clouds ensnaring the moon and hiding her gentle light, leaving the Hobbit wolves in utter and hopeless gloom. Wind came hard and fast, striking their bare noses and stinging their exposed eyes. Unable to travel further, they dropped wearily to the ground and slept fast.
A short distance from their slumbering bodies, a vicious scuffle took place. A scuffle of mind against mind, a struggle of instincts and lunacy.
Gollum faced his demons.
The lonely hilltop was his stage; the lighting provided by the lack of moonlight, and the whispering wind and empty darkness his eager and only audience. He had followed master thus far, and now the time for debate had come. His thoughts ran in a jumbled pattern of rambling.
Master safe.
Master betrays.
But safe.
Ring! Master has Ring. Need Ring. Want Ring. Master keeps Ring. Master betrays.
Why? Why master angry?
Master betrays, bites, hurts. Tail hurts. Wind cold.
Why, master?
Sam, nasty Sam, almost had him. Should have killed faster, sliced harder. But master betrays, master stops.
Why?
The Ring… must have it. Must.
But master keeps it!
Then kill master.
Can't!
Must.
Can't!
Must! Master or Ring? Which one? Ring.
But master was kind…
Master betrays! Don't like master! Kill master!
Leave master alone…
Kill him! So helpless, so easy.
But can't! Master was kind, protecting!
Kill him, take Ring. Ring only master, Ring only thing needed. Need Ring.
But master…
Master must die!
As the argument wore on, Gollum gradually became two wolves. Back and forth he sparred, spinning and raising his hackles, neck craned in authority and eyes slits of anger. Down he crouched, trembling and uncertain, wide eyes full of fear. Up, down, spinning in circles, chasing not his ruined tail but himself.
A silhouette of hideousness he became, the changes becoming faster and faster as the Ring won over Master in his mind. His pacing and restless feet tore up the earth, foam flying from his gaping jaws each time he spun uselessly in circles, hoping to spot his adversary.
The adversary was in his mind, and only there could it be defeated.
No victory for kindness. The Ring conquered all.
Master must die!
~ To Be Continued…
