Disclaimer: same as before...
Chapter 2 ...not in Indiana anymore...
Sam had finally lost his mind. One leap to many. After waking a second time on a dirt road surrounded by Hobbits,that was the only explaination. In twenty-four hours he had yet to be contacted by Al. He'd gone a hell of a lot longer without seeing his friend,with no clue what he was supposed to put right, but, to quote Al, "This is just plain nuts." He was living in a damn book- and the Shire resembled a Mafia stronghold. It had been hard enough trying to blend in with his host's life-he'd read the books, who hadn't- but that was a long time ago. Fielding questions from Merry, Pippin, and Sam with a swiss cheesed memory was not fun. But, if he'd gone crazy,what did it matter? So here he was, getting in the face of some jerk twice his size at a place called The Green Dragon."...You little folk are getting a bit uppish- Sharkey's come now, and the Boss'll do what Sharkey says." Sam/ Frodo sighed. Just another schoolyard bully. He wondered if Hobbits knew martial arts. " And what would that be ?"he asked. Sam didn't hear the reply as at that moment he heard a sound he thought he'd never hear again- the sound of the Imaging chamber door opening. "Al !" he yelled, overjoyed. "Al ?" asked Pippin,confused. "Uh, I'll deal with this the only way you seem to understand-" and to Al's surprise, his friend drew a short sword on the creeps. All the Hobbits did. "Go!" Merry said. "If you trouble this village again, you will regret it !" As the men fled, Al said in Sam's ear, " Saaam, we gotta talk- now." Sam nodded, and said to the others,"I need some time alone-no, I'm alright. Things just aren't what I expected." Al rolled his eyes and said, "Hoo-boy, you got that right." Sam shot Al a withering glare and said to the others, "I'll be back soon."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Sam rounded on Al. "Where the hell have you been? Have I gone crazy" Al shifted his weight, chewed on his Romeo y Julietta and finally looked Sam in the eye. "Uh, no Sam. You're not nuts. And all of this-" the handlink squealed in protest as he waved his free arm-"is quite real. At first we thought Zingy had some sort of electric nervous breakdown, the stuff she came up with- o.k., o.k. The short version. Seems this Tolkien guy really did just translate some old story. Except, well,it's not a story. It all really happened." For a moment, Sam couldn't breathe. Al puffed on his cigar and poked at his handlink. "Here's the good news. Ziggie finally knows why you're here. She says there's a 98.9% chance you're here to save the life of someone named Grima Worm- Wormtongue."
Chapter 2 ...not in Indiana anymore...
Sam had finally lost his mind. One leap to many. After waking a second time on a dirt road surrounded by Hobbits,that was the only explaination. In twenty-four hours he had yet to be contacted by Al. He'd gone a hell of a lot longer without seeing his friend,with no clue what he was supposed to put right, but, to quote Al, "This is just plain nuts." He was living in a damn book- and the Shire resembled a Mafia stronghold. It had been hard enough trying to blend in with his host's life-he'd read the books, who hadn't- but that was a long time ago. Fielding questions from Merry, Pippin, and Sam with a swiss cheesed memory was not fun. But, if he'd gone crazy,what did it matter? So here he was, getting in the face of some jerk twice his size at a place called The Green Dragon."...You little folk are getting a bit uppish- Sharkey's come now, and the Boss'll do what Sharkey says." Sam/ Frodo sighed. Just another schoolyard bully. He wondered if Hobbits knew martial arts. " And what would that be ?"he asked. Sam didn't hear the reply as at that moment he heard a sound he thought he'd never hear again- the sound of the Imaging chamber door opening. "Al !" he yelled, overjoyed. "Al ?" asked Pippin,confused. "Uh, I'll deal with this the only way you seem to understand-" and to Al's surprise, his friend drew a short sword on the creeps. All the Hobbits did. "Go!" Merry said. "If you trouble this village again, you will regret it !" As the men fled, Al said in Sam's ear, " Saaam, we gotta talk- now." Sam nodded, and said to the others,"I need some time alone-no, I'm alright. Things just aren't what I expected." Al rolled his eyes and said, "Hoo-boy, you got that right." Sam shot Al a withering glare and said to the others, "I'll be back soon."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Sam rounded on Al. "Where the hell have you been? Have I gone crazy" Al shifted his weight, chewed on his Romeo y Julietta and finally looked Sam in the eye. "Uh, no Sam. You're not nuts. And all of this-" the handlink squealed in protest as he waved his free arm-"is quite real. At first we thought Zingy had some sort of electric nervous breakdown, the stuff she came up with- o.k., o.k. The short version. Seems this Tolkien guy really did just translate some old story. Except, well,it's not a story. It all really happened." For a moment, Sam couldn't breathe. Al puffed on his cigar and poked at his handlink. "Here's the good news. Ziggie finally knows why you're here. She says there's a 98.9% chance you're here to save the life of someone named Grima Worm- Wormtongue."