Hello my fellow readers! I am so sorry that I have not updated this story since Christmas! I hope you like this chapter and I promise NOT to make you wait 7 months again for the next one: D

Aragorn, Gandalf, and Frodo finally reached the bottom of the mountain and, "We must rest. Let's make camp," left Aragorn's mouth.

"But Aragorn-" Frodo started.

"We will continue our search tomorrow," Aragorn said and walked away obviously to search for firewood.

Frodo walked over to Gandalf and sat down next to him on a rock complained, "We have to go now, we have to find pippin. If Aragorn does not care then I will continue alone."

"Does not care? Aragorn cares about all of you little hobbits, he would sacrifice himself for any of you. We must rest, Frodo."

"And what? Leave Pippin to suffer and die a slow death!

"Frodo!"

"Forgive me, I have gotten to caught up in my thoughts."

Shhhh!

Gandalf and Frodo turned to see Aragorn, whom they had not known was even there, crouching behind a swarm of bushes.

They both got up and crouched beside him.

"What is it?" Frodo asked.

SHH! Aragorn whispered and pointed through a small opening of bushes.

Frodo crouched down a little to get a better look. He saw a fire with sleeping orcs around it and closest the opening was Merry!

"MER-rry!" Frodo half shouted but was stopped Aragorn's large hand placed over his mouth.

"What is he doing there? Is he with Legolas? What should we do?" the wizard mumbled with all the questions toppling over each other.

"We cannot wake the orcs," Aragorn whispered and put his hand up to scratch his beard as if thinking of a plan. A moment later Aragorn had thought something, "Frodo you must crawl through the bushes as quietly as you can, wake Merry and both of you come back through the bushes and Gandalf and I will attack once you are both to safety."

Frodo was so confused he didn't know what to say other than," What if the orcs wake and I get caught?"

That wont happen just be really quiet," Aragorn stated and pulled back a large twig to reveal the opening encouraging Frodo to go through.

The other group of three, Gimli, Boromir, and Sam were walking peacefully through the woods.

"So are we looking for Legolas and Merry or Pippin?" the dwarf asked.

Boromir rolled his eyes and replied, "The first one," and the quietly added on, "Stupid dwarf."

Harrumph, was Gimli's fist reply an then, "I am only trying to lighten up the mood. Dwarfs are far from stupid. I tell you what is stupid, that elf! I've never met a more gracefully stupid, obnoxious elf, well, I've never met an elf but if I would of before this one, they would have for sure given me a better impression."

Sam chuckled at the humans and dwarfs bickering on elves.

"Hey, Sam? May I ask you a question?" Boromir asked.

"Yes o'course mister Boromir, sir."

Boromir smiled at the politeness of Sam and stated, "This is the very first time I have seen you away from Frodo and you seemed to not have a problem with him leaving your site; have you lost…interest in protecting…or something?"

"No sir tis' nothing like that. I trust those folk, ol' Gandalf and Aragorn."

'You do? Even with Frodo?

"Should I not, sir?"

"o..f…of ..course you should, just asking," Boromir smiled and walked further ahead.

Gimli walked up beside Sam and stated, "Weird human. Anyway, so what do you say? Lets go save Merry and that retched elf!"

Frodo whispered a slight gasp as one of the bushes stickers nicked him on his foot. He was almost through the opening. I don't think I can do this, if I wake one of the orcs than I am dead and so is everyone else Frodo pulled himself from his thoughts as he was nicked again from a sticker but this time on the arm.

He got closer an closer to the back of Merry's head and then before he knew it he was out and took a moment to not calm his furiousness at the whip marks and bruises over Merry's top half of his body. Frodo did his best and began shaking Merry gently to wake him.

"Merry," Frodo whispered, so quietly it could only be heard by elf ears, "Merry, wake up."

Shaking him did not work, so he started to tap Merry's bruised face, which got a reaction.

Merry groaned and shifted slightly and Frodo smiled with joy, "Shhh, Merry-dear you must be quiet."

Merry groggily opened his eyes and looked to Frodo and asked, "Where is Legolas?"

Frodo looked around and saw no sign of Legolas. He turned back to Merry and started to reply but and orc snored and shifted in his sleep which made Frodo's eyes go wide and his hand fly to Merry's mouth that asked for Legolas again.

The orc sighed and then grew quiet.

"Merry?" Frodo whispered but saw that the hobbits eyes had closed and was not going to wake. "Aragorn!" Frodo whisper-yelled.

Aragorn's head pop into the opening of the bushes, "What is it, Frodo?"

"Merry...He will not wake," Frodo whispered desperately.

"Drag him."

Frodo turned to Merry and considered this and realized that it was the only thing he could do. Frodo grabbed merry by his collar and started into the tunnel of bushes. Merry was not that heavy but his clothes kept getting got on the thorns, which made it very difficult for Frodo.

Suddenly, in the middle of one of Frodo's slight pauses he heard some shuffling and thought it to Aragorn or Gandalf. Instead, a orc latched onto one of Merry's legs which obviously must have been hurt because Merry woke and let out a blood curdling scream.

"What was THAT?" Boromir exclaimed.

"Merry!" Sam yelled, recognizing the scream.

"Come on let's go!" Boromir yelled and started to run with Sam alongside him and the dwarf left behind.

"ARAGORN!" Frodo screamed.

Merry's scream had woken all the orcs causing the wizard and human to grab their weapons and run to the small war.

Merry eyes were wide and he kicked and screamed until the orc let go in defeat. Frodo latched his arm onto Merry's and dragged him the rest of the way out of the bushes.

Frodo cradled Merry in his arms who was struggling and fighting to get away.

"Merry, it's me, Frodo, calm down!" Frodo yelled loudly to make sure that Merry had heard him. It worked because Merry immediately stopped and stared into the Frodo's eyes.

"Frodo? Help me…" Merry cried and started to sob.

Frodo pulled Merry close to him and cradled the beaten hobbit until he fell asleep.

A scream woke Legolas and made him gasp, "Merry?!" and opened his eyes excepting Merry to be sleeping peacefully next to him, but only Pippin was found, sleeping next to him instead.

One of the orcs kicked the other two, "Fug, Fern wake up," he said, "A fight has broke out over there," and pointed towards the camp that was lit with a fire, "We should leave and take these two with us."

"Them? What about the scrawny one? We don't need em'," Fern said looking down at Pippin, who had woken and was looking fearfully at the orcs above him.

"What should we do with him then?"

Fern smiled at Pippin and then looked at to the two orcs and replied, "Let's take em' to the river."

Legolas saw Pippin being dragged horribly through a pathway and felt an orc pick him up and take him down the same path.

Legolas was thrown on the ground he looked up to see an orc holding Pippin near a river.

Legolas cried out as he was forced to stand on his knees and a small dagger was put to his throat.

The orc holding Pippin smiled at Legolas and said, "Say bye to your little friend."

"No! What are you doing!!!?" Legolas screamed, but he knew exactly what they were doing.

"Shut up elf or you'll be joinin' the dead too," said the orc holding the dagger.

Then he saw Pippin being shoved into the water face down. Pippin struggled and Legolas fought back the urge to cry out.

Pippin's struggling went on for about 30 seconds. Tears fell from Legolas's face as the struggling stopped. Then all was quiet and the birds of the early morning were singing and the stream slowed to a quiet hum.

Pippin was dead.