Chapter 7: Vacation

A/N: Four years. Damn. We have no words. Life took over. We experienced writer's block. But that's no excuse. We sincerely hope that we haven't lost you. This chapter was actually written back when we were regularly updating, but it was a hot mess and we weren't sure where we were going with it. We found the time to actually go back, catch up, and rewrite this chapter, I hope you enjoy this silly chapter, because things are about to get real here. We have some awesome stuff planned. We'll go over it more after the chapter.

Ma Brotha: We're so sorry, and we hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm especially looking forward to your reviews- because I actually wrote this chapter entirely on my own, with a little editing from ma sista/ partner-in-crime. See you all below!

Edit: To Draw (a reviewer of ours), thank you so much! Your questions inspired a lot of ideas, and those questions will be answered! We are also so grateful for everyone who reviewed, it really inspired us to start writing again, this is for you!

Nothing much had happened since the mall trip, and since the weather was becoming uncomfortably warm, my sister and I thought a trip to the beach was in order. For the most part, the Fellowship was enthusiastic about the outing, but not everyone was that keen on it. Gimli would never admit it, but he seemed very uncomfortable about not wearing his many layers. I assured him that he didn't have to wear a swimsuit like the others, he could just chill with the others on the sand, and he seemed reassured, though he didn't really understand the term 'chill'.

Merry and Pippin were fascinated that there were 'special clothes' for swimming. We had changed into our swimsuits at home before leaving, and just drove to the beach with swimsuits and t-shirts on, except for Diana, who wore a dress over her swimsuit. When we arrived, I noticed Merry was paying close attention to Diana, and when she took off her dress and revealed her bikini, his face was priceless. He turned so red, he made cherries look pale. Obviously, none of the Fellowship had seen a woman in something as revealing as a bikini, the women in their universe were more modest with how they were dressed. But Merry in particular, seemed very stunned and the reason was obvious. It was plain to see what was going on with Merry and my sister. Most people would be bothered seeing somebody make the moves on their sister, but it didn't really bother me. Merry seemed like a good guy and if she was happy then I'm okay with it, but if he hurt her, I'd beat his ass (and absolutely no second breakfast). And of course, this won't stop me from messing with them. I'm her little brother, that's my job.

Then we got brave, and stepped into the chilly water. Merry, Pippin, Diana and I were really the only people that wanted to get into the water. The rest of the Fellowship just wanted to be in the sand and enjoy the sun. Pippin and I spent some time scheming while Merry was blushing and attempting to speak actual words to Diana. Pip and I were becoming fast friends, I got along well with the hobbits in general, but there was something about Pippin. We thought a lot alike, and though I could never be as close to him as Merry was, I could call him my best friend now.

We decided on an Us vs Them splash battle with the lovebirds. As soon as the time was right, we threw a bunch of water directly in their faces. Once the shock wore off, the two of them had mischievous looks on their faces. Diana shot me a dirty look, but I could not take her seriously with her hair all in her face. The rest of the group that was watching on the shore were cheering and laughing, and choosing sides. I even noticed my mom watching, shaking her head and waving.

This went on for a while with everyone laughing when suddenly, Pippin's face suddenly changed from joy and mischief, to a look of sheer terror. His voice filled with panic, he yelled "HELP! A SEA MONSTER IS GRABBING MY LEG!" He was struggling, and dipping below the water, and splashing around, while Merry and Diana just watch, totally confused. We had no idea what he was going on about, as the only type of underwater creatures here were small fish. The rest of the Fellowship jumped into action, but without their weapons, I'm not sure what they were planning on doing. The answer as to what was going on smacked me in the face.

Before the Fellowship reached us, I laughed and swam towards Pippin, dove under water and brought up a thick clump of seaweed in my hand and showed it for all to see. I announced, to everyone's amusement, "I have defeated the horrid sea monster! You are safe now my dear sir, but never fear! I require no reward for my heroics, for the action of saving your life is payment enough!"

Pippin flushed with embarrassment, he looked so ashamed. He sank into the water so no one could see him. He didn't seem to be as amused as the rest of us, and I was afraid that I had taken it too far. My mom scolded us for teasing him and that made us laugh even harder.

Pippin then made his way out of the water, onto the sand. Worried, I followed him and pulled him aside, while the laughter of the others died down. "Did you really think that there was actually a sea monster?

"Yeah well, Middle Earth is very different than Earth. There' s all sorts of nasty things, so of course I thought there was actually something grabbing me." he said.

"I get it, you know I was just messing with you, right?" I replied.

"Yeah, I get it, I probably would have done the same" he grinned.

The rest of the day passed by in a flash, and when we packed up to leave, we realized that Frodo and Sam weren't with us. We formed search parties, and asked other people on the beach. And when it felt like we would never find them, Pippin and I finally spotted them on the beach about fifty feet away covered in sand next to a massive, intricate sand castle. The area was oddly filled with crabs, and Frodo's hair was completely messed up, for some unknown reason, though they seemed pleased with themselves.

We ran up to them and Pippin said "Sam! Frodo! Where have you two been? We've been looking for you forever… and why did you build a giant sand castle?

"We were wandering the beach when we saw these crabs and decided to make a big home for all of them because this big white bird kept eating them, and at one point, one of them attacked me and messed up my hair, so it became personal. With time, we created a sand palace to protect the crabs, and it took a long time, but we finally did it." said Frodo.

"Uh, okay, we're heading home now" I explained. We walked back to the car where the rest of the group was gathered. This led to everyone scolding Sam and Frodo about wandering off (at least it wasn't me and Pippin!).

A/N: So thoughts? Suggestions? Let us know!

Ma Brotha: Get ready because the next few chapters will be getting intense.

Me: Shhhh

Ma Brotha: Never. They deserve to know.

Next chapter will be up as soon as possible, and thank you so much for putting up with us.