Disclaimer: Tolkein, Linkin Park, End of story! I may wish I owned Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir, and Glorfindel but I don't. All I own of them are books and DVDs. All I own of Linkin Park are two CDs which I listen too fanatically. All in all, I own zip, zilch, zero, nada, nothing except the evil creature who taunts Elly. Do I really have to claim it?
A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers who stayed with me throughout the long break! Hope those of you who left come back! Review! The invisible muses and my visible muse Lómine the Evil is hungry! They need reviews so they can catch plot bunnies! So anyways, I love reviews and the more I get the faster I update. I also update fast when I'm home sick during Spring Break, but never mind that!. So, this is a really evil chapter and death threats are accepted. It's Lómine's fault! She gives me evil ideas and makes me read evil stories that make me homicidal! But I accept the death threats!
Review reply time!
Gozilla: Thank you for your compliment! It allowed me to lure Lómine in and make her visible! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one!
Hyperactive forever: Thanks for your understanding, the muses have given me lots of ideas and this chapter begins huge amounts of angst. Twin angst. The real angst will start in 2-4 chapters though!
Lyn (whomever you may be): Thank you for reporting the typo. You know how it is. Hands too slow for brain, fingers get all muddly and press the wrong keys, spell check catches them not. I have fixed it and I do now have a beta who will start her job in a bit! Glad you enjoyed it!
Joee1: Here's the next one! The plot bunnies and the muses have been working hard to ruin the lives of my beloved characters! Not much detail on the hunt, plenty of detail on the danger though, and a few hints about what pranks the elves created!
And here 'tis, our sadistic creation. The next one will be shorter, but I'll probably put the one after it up in the same day!
Papercut
Why does it feel like night today?
Elrohir felt like he'd been thrust into a starless dark.
Something in here's not right today
No amount of pranks had cheered him up No amount of hilarious sights made him laugh. As they set up camp, he didn't even smile. Even at the sight of his brother, soaking wet, the dye sticking to his alabaster skin. Or the way Legolas absentmindedly rubbed his ankle, a constant reminder of the irreplaceable sight of him hanging upside down from a tree branch.
Why am I so uptight today?
He should be happy. He should be relaxed. Yet something he couldn't identify tore at his heart. A feeling he couldn't presume overshadowed all.
Paranoia's all I got left
He'd felt this way before. But when? The eerie sensation of deja-vu crept over him. His adrenaline rose.
I don't know what stressed me first
Or how the pressure was fed / but
I know just what it feels like
To have a voice in the back of my head
He didn't know when he'd suffered like this. But all he did know was that the feeling brought back the darkest of memories. His skin tingled, it felt like some curious being watched him--from within. The horrid sensations all seemed to blend. The tingling skin, his sinking heart, the deja-vu, the prying eyes. He felt so bare to their gaze.
It's like a face that I hold inside
A face that awakes when I close my eyes
A face watches every time I lie
A face that laughs every time I fall
He closed his eyes, trying to fight the sensation: it only grew. It was hard to describe, impossible to identify. Elrohir felt like curling into a tiny ball to shield himself from the mental blows it delivered him. It hurt more than any form of physical torture he'd ever experienced. A slender hand flew to his dark head and he began pulling at his long hair.
(And watches everything)
And whatever hurt him so, saw. And it laughed, prying gaze taunting. Never relenting--it watched. And he couldn't tear the gaze away.
So I know that when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is hearing me / right beneath my skin
He knew this voice, these eyes. It was all so familiar. But the memory he searched for was locked within. And he didn't have the key--it did. Soon the time would come. Whatever It so joyfully anticipated could be the end.
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
It writhed within him. Elrohir let a quiet moan escape him. No, not let--was forced to.
I know I've got a face in me
points out all the mistakes to me
The gaze of his friend and twin turned towards him and he felt like smacking himself in the face. He should have fought harder. Elrond's youngest realized he was now a pawn in a deadly game. He was to be the distraction for the two warriors that were currently able to fight. And It taunted his mistake.
You've got a face on the inside too and
Your paranoia's probably worse
He tried to convince himself that others felt this way.
I don't know what set me off first but I know what I can't stand
Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is
I can't add up to what you can but
Elrohir failed. Miserably so. The youngest of the Imaldris twins now felt inferior. It felt as though the calamity of the other two elves was there just to mock him. He collapsed. The slender form curled himself into a tiny ball trying to hide-from everything.
Everybody has a face that they hold inside
A face that awakes when they close their eyes
A face watches every time they lie
A face that laughs every time they fall
(And watches everything)
Maybe they all felt like this too. Maybe Legolas and Elladan just hid their emotions well.
So you know that when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is watching you too / right inside your skin
Maybe they were anxious too. Maybe they knew of the threat that was near.
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
But all Elrohir saw in their eyes was pity and concern. No torn looks. No anguished glances. No paranoia. The only thing that concerned them at the moment was him.
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
It hurt so much. The graceful being curled up even more tightly. He wanted nothing more than to hide, to escape. And it felt like he could burst.
the face inside is right beneath my skin
the face inside is right beneath my skin
the face inside is right beneath my skin
It was inside him, within him. The only place he couldn't run away from. He could. But something kept him there. It was like a chain bound the elf's subconscious to his being. Worst of all, because it was here--he couldn't hide.
The sun goes down
I feel the light betray me
Anor began to set and he remembered. The bright light disappeared and he recalled. It was to late. Much too late. (sun)
The sun goes down
I feel the light betray me
He knew when he'd felt this way before. How could he have forgotten? Celebrian. The orcs. The day she'd been taken. Something had taunted him for letting her go. Someone had filled his mind. He saw a face and he finally knew. Who it was he had to hate. But it was much too late.
The sun
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
I feel the light betray me
And keen elvish eyes saw them as the last of the warm, bright light disappeared and stars began to speckle the sky. Yrch. He tried to shout a warning but no words came out. And then he was free.
The sun
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
I feel the light betray me
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within
As the huge swarm of the yrch approached, he stood and drew his sword to fight. And as they attacked even though his mind was free. The eyes were still on him. (orcs)
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
Other A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it, I accept constructive criticism, compliments, comments, and death threats, and feed flames to my muses' pet dragon. The next one should be up nice and soon!