FicWad

A/n: Well, its July, everyone. I was planning on posting on the 4th of July weekend, but I guess I was too caught up in my work as usual. I had a great Independence Day holiday, though. Anyway, here's the you-know-who of my fic... its her... if you know who I mean. One of my reviewers mentioned how she was looking forward to Voldemort showin' his ugly face on July 16, when Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince comes out. I guess I will be too. But enough talking on HP, here's chapter 18. Enjoy.











Chapter 18: Caught in a web! Shelob chases Frodo and Kaoru







After climbing a very steep stairway on the slopes of Ephel Dúath... Frodo and Kaoru, with Gollum in front of them, without Sam or Yahiko with them... finally made it at the end of the stairs and slowly made their way to the tunnel of Cirith Ungol. Kaoru and Frodo were both worn out, with aching knees and legs, due to the climbing of the narrow, yet treacherous stairway. Frodo was more heavy-laden than Kaoru because of the ever-growing weight of the ring.



There was a short path ahead that they all walked. At the end of the pathway... there was a great grey wall, a last huge upthrusting mass of mountain-stone. And in the midst of it... they saw the opening of a rough cave in the mountain's side, to which Gollum led Frodo and Kaoru into...







"...In there," said Gollum softly, as he perched on a rock next to the mouth of the tunnel.

"...What is this place?" asked Frodo silently, with a great feeling of unease coming over him.



Frodo and Kaoru glanced inside the tunnel, with horror slowly filling them. The tunnel looked hideous and unwelcoming to them both. Kaoru even believed that Kenshin would sense the same thing if he were here now.



"Master must go inside the tunnel," said Gollum, pointing into the tunnel.

"Now that I'm here," said Frodo, as he backed away from the tunnel, the uneasiness growing within him, "...I don't think I want to."

Gollum gasped a few, impatient breaths saying, "it's the only way!"



Frodo paused a moment in realization as Kaoru began eyeing Gollum very suspiciously as she was nearly convinced of his treachery. Either way... it warned her to be very wary of the tunnel.



"Go in," encouraged Gollum, in a very sinister tone, "...or go back."

"...I can't go back," Frodo intoned his reply to Gollum as he began to enter the tunnel...



But a hand quickly grabbed his shoulder, belonging to Kaoru, as she said, "no Frodo. You don't have to go into the tunnel. We can start down the stairs and take our chances with going through the Black Gate."

"...Its too late to go back down Miss Kaoru," replied Frodo, wearily, "the enemy is already making his move. And we've seen his armies go into your world. If we try to go down... it might be too late to save our worlds."



Kaoru wanted to protest, but knew that Frodo had a point. Even if they were to try for the Black Gate, it was still a long way around. And by that time... both worlds would have to serve Sauron.



"...I myself am not entirely certain that this is the way," added Frodo, "but right or wrong... we must take it."



And with that... Frodo hesitantly entered the darkness of the tunnel as Kaoru could only stand idly by and watch him go to his possible place of death.



"...Mistress," Gollum said to Kaoru, gesturing her to go into the tunnel.

However... Kaoru turned to Gollum with a darkened expression as she asked with a little bitterness in her voice, "...why?"

"Must Smeagol repeat himself, mistress?" replied Gollum.

"That's not what I meant," said Kaoru with even greater bitterness, almost snarling.



Frodo turned around to hear Gollum and Kaoru at-odds about something. But he could not figure out what it was that had them against each other like this. Could it be that... even Kaoru had doubts about their guide?



"The mistress can go back if she wants to, yess," said Gollum, nearly purring, "but master must continue on."

"No," Kaoru resolved, in a hardened voice, "I'm going inside with Frodo."

"...So be it, mistress," said Gollum, very sinisterly.



With one last glance... Kaoru turned from Gollum and entered into the tunnel. For Gollum it was sort of ironic. His plan was to lead Frodo into the tunnel and get eaten by 'her', so he could take the ring back. Even though he had successfully been able to convince Frodo to leave behind Yahiko and Sam... Gollum had given Kaoru a chance to turn back, but decided to go in with Frodo. It didn't matter to Gollum either way, because now, 'she' would receive a double feeding. Gollum went into the tunnel after Kaoru. As they went deeper into the tunnel, a stench came from within...





"What's that smell?" asked Frodo.

"Orcses' filth," replied Gollum, as he passed Frodo and Kaoru on all fours, "Orcses come in here sometimes."



The stench was not the ordinary, yet sickly odor of decay, but a fouler reek, as if unnamable filth were piled and hoarded within the dark. And in the confusion... Gollum quickly scrambled away from Kaoru and Frodo, successfully without being noticed...







"Hurry! " Gollum called out from somewhere ahead...





Frodo and Kaoru tried to keep up, but the tunnel was dark, nearly impenetrably dark, one might say. There were many passages, and tunnels, that seemed to be endless, wherever they go...





"This way!" Gollum called out a second time... from within the cave...







"Smeagol?" Frodo called uncertainly into the darkness, breathing hard, scared as he realized that his guide... was nowhere to be seen.

"Over here!" Gollum called out again...





Frodo turned, looking in all directions, trying to pinpoint the direction of his voice, but it seemed to come from many directions around him and Kaoru. Though Frodo became frightened... Kaoru could only grimace, growing at the sound of Gollum's voice echoing out through the cave...





Quickly, Frodo moved through the dark, full of fear and apprehension, holding his hands before him...



Kaoru, with her Elvish wooden sword drawn, kept at the same pace as Frodo, but even as the darkness of the tunnel had frightened her a little... her anger overruled her fear as it slowly grew at the thought of the very likely betrayal of Gollum...



Because of this, Kaoru sharply turned her head in all directions of the tunnel like a fierce, savage hunter searching for its prey, with her grip on the wooden sword tightening each moment as her anger grew even more. Then, in a moment of impulse...





Kaoru turned fiercely, accidentally knocking into Frodo, causing him to bump into the tunnel wall.



"Ah! I'm sorry Frodo, are you okay?" gasped an apologetic Kaoru as she went to help Frodo up, who apparently felt something clinging and sticking to his hands.

"Ah, it's sticky!" Frodo cried out fearfully and in disgust, trying to wipe off the sticky material from his hands, "...it's sticky Miss Kaoru! What is it...?"





"You'll see!" Gollum responded from the deep dark tunnel, with an evil voice, "...oh yes, you will see."





Kaoru's anger returned to her as she and Frodo slowly made their way through the tunnel, stumbling over the unfamiliar, uneven ground...



And heard a faint, hissing noise from someplace within the tunnels.

Frodo stopped where he was when he and Kaoru heard the noise and asked for his guide in growing panic, "...Smeagol?"



But there was no reply from Gollum this time... only another hissing sound that frightened Frodo greatly...





"Smeagol!" Frodo cried out, as Kaoru's anger manifested and grew with her hands tightening fiercely.

"...SMEAGOL!" Frodo cried out angrily, nearly roaring, "WHERE ARE YOU?"





Finally... Kaoru couldn't take any more...





"WHYYYY?!!!" Kaoru roared out, letting out her rage, which startled Frodo, "...HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US? WE BELIEVED IN YOU...!

"...I believed in you," Kaoru finished as she calmed herself, but was still full of anger.

"...Miss Kaoru?" Frodo said to Kaoru, uncertainly, but gave no reply as she was still trembling from her fit of rage. The Hobbit could easily tell... that she was the first to realize that Gollum had led them into a trap, just as Sam and Yahiko had said.

Frodo paused with much remorse as he sadly muttered, "Sam... Yahiko..."





Frodo, as well as Kaoru, were about ready to cry because of their ignorance to Yahiko and Sam's warnings. Kaoru was cursing herself under her breath because of what happened. Was the inner battle within Gollum that she witnessed earlier, a fake? No... it was genuine enough to her.

But now she wondered what happened to Gollum after Faramir's men ambushed him after Frodo had lured him away from the Forbidden Pool. For it was only after they had left Osgiliath and Faramir that Kaoru had noticed another change within Gollum. Was it then, that Gollum's evil side had taken over once more and plotted this betrayal... because of how Frodo betrayed him? Was this an act of revenge for the creature?

Either way, this act was inexcusable as Frodo and Kaoru both looked at each other as their expressions were filled with remorse... as well as anger and hatred. Letting those expressions pass, Kaoru and Frodo began to move on again... only to step onto something that cracked...





They both looked down... to see a skeleton beneath their feet. The ground was littered with bones... covered in what seemed to be... gigantic spider webs...



Frodo's breathing began to quicken, Kaoru's as well, as they both looked around the cave... noticing that the webs were all around them from where they stood...



And there were images of dead, rotting Orcs, with a dead but full-feathered bird were hanging from the ceiling wrapped inside the cobwebs...



Kaoru's fear then began to rise, ruling over her rage of Gollum's betrayal, becoming just as scared as Frodo...







HISS!



The same hissing noise they heard earlier, suddenly turned into a full menacing growl, as if whatever was in the tunnels... was hungry for something...





Filled with fear, Kaoru spoke, "I don't like this place, Frodo."

"...Me neither, Miss Kaoru," replied a panicking Frodo, "...we have to get out of here."



And with that... Frodo and Kaoru began to quicken their paces, racing, yet stumbling through the treacherous tunnels of Cirith Ungol... from the terror that lurked within...











Meanwhile... on the stairs of Cirith Ungol...



Sam, unable to continue or function without Frodo... started to go down the stairs, filled with immeasurable grief after Frodo's rejection of him, weeping bitterly. However, he was not alone, as Yahiko followed Sam down the stairs, but was not as grieved as Sam was. More likely, he was trying to get Sam to follow Frodo, despite his misgivings to Sam. He called out to the Hobbit, but Sam did not reply.



"Sam!" Yahiko called down to Sam, who refused to answer, "hey Sam! You're going the wrong way, you idiot! Frodo's up this way!"

"...No," Sam finally answered, still full of grief, " ... no, I'm not going the wrong way, Yahiko. Mr. Frodo told me to go home... and that's where I'm headed now."

"How could you say that?" Yahiko's anger began to rise, "you mean to tell me that after what Frodo said, you're going to do what he told you?! He's not acting like himself Sam, and you know it!"



Sam then reached a ledge. But before Sam could go down again...



Yahiko was able to grab Sam by the arm as he said fiercely, "what about what you kept saying to him before, when you nearly drowned: /'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee, and I don't mean to'/. I never forgot those words Sam, and I'm always willing to keep my promises, no matter what happens."

"But what are those promises worth if someone doesn't want your help?" Sam retorted in anguish, "...Mr. Frodo's got that stinker looking after him now!"

"But we both knew that Gollum was up to no good," Yahiko replied defensively, "he's been following us since before we met up with him at Emyn Muil. He was following us even when we left Lothlorien on the Anduin River..."







Yahiko recalled that time when he and Sam were with the rest of the Fellowship. On one night when the Fellowship was crossing the Anduin River, they camped near the western shore, avoiding the Eastern Shore, where the Uruk-Hai were pursuing them. Boromir, Legolas, Kenshin, and the others were on watch for any signs of the enemy.

Misao suddenly looked to her side... and saw a small log floating on the river, which seemed to be twitching unnaturally, as if there was something hanging onto it.





"Hey, guys," said Misao to everyone, pointing to the river, "look over at that log there. There's something very strange about it."



Indeed Misao was right about that log as small, grey hands had grasped at it, while the head of the creature peered a little over the log, with its eyes glinting in the moonlight. The others eyed the log very suspiciously...



"Its Gollum," said Aragorn.

"...Gollum?" inquired Misao, which nearly shocked everyone.

"He's tracked us since Moria, Misao," Aragorn added...



As they others looked upon the river at the log... it, with Gollum as its passenger, settled upon the Eastern Shore of the river, allowing the creature to observe its enemies, snarling away waiting for an opportune moment to present itself...



"I had hope I had hoped we would lose him on the river... but he's too clever a waterman," Aragorn concluded his observation.

"...And if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts," interjected Boromir, "it will make the crossing even more dangerous."

Sanosuke then said, "I don't mean to disagree with you, buddy, but I don't think that this Gollum creep would sell us out like that. From what I'm hearing, he just wants the ring back for himself. That creep wouldn't risk giving us away... or he'd risk losing his chance to get the ring back."

"Besides, Boromir," interjected Aoshi, "Gollum was tortured by the Orcs, at one point. And he must also know that they're trying to bring the ring back to Sauron."

"...Either way, Gollum's the least of our worries at the moment," said Kenshin assuredly to the others, "...our main concern right now, is the band of Uruk-Hai that are tracking us from the Eastern Shore, that it is."

"Speak for yourself, Battousai," interjected Saito, with a smirk, "I'm fixing to go over there and give that Gollum clown a taste of one of my best Gatotsu attacks."

Sam had heard what Saito had intended as he said to Yahiko, "that Saito's a rough one, Mr. Yahiko, no mistake."



Yahiko nodded with a grimaced expression, as he still didn't like to be around someone like Saito, especially after that night that he fought with Kenshin at the Kamiya Dojo, forcing him to revert to his manslayer persona. However, Frodo also heard the conversation about Gollum, even as he sat down on the ground, with an almost emotionless expression. Sam had been preparing food at the time.



"Have some food, Mr. Frodo," said Sam, trying to get him to eat something.

"No Sam," Frodo refused.

"You haven't eaten anything all day," assessed Sam, "you're not sleeping, either. Don't think I haven't noticed, Mr. Frodo."

"Come on Frodo," reasoned Kaoru, "you should at least eat something."

"I'm all right, Miss Kaoru," replied an uncertain Frodo.

"But you're not!" said Sam, noticing Frodo's unsettled behavior, "I'm here to help you. I promised Gandalf that I would."

"So did I Frodo," interjected Yahiko as he, Sam and Kaoru huddled around Frodo.

Frodo paused for a moment before he replied, "...you can't help me, my friends... not this time."



Hearing this made everyone, huddled around Frodo, a little uneasy, as if they knew that Frodo was not his usual self.

"Get some sleep," he told them...







"...But that was also the night he told me... told us... that we could not help him anymore," said Sam, full of regret and anguish, "perhaps I should've listened to him then."

"But you didn't let that stop you Sam," debated Yahiko, "otherwise you wouldn't be here now, would you?"



Sam knew then... that Yahiko was right. If he had done what Frodo had told him to that night, he certainly wouldn't be where he was right now.



"Are you just going to stand there and feel sorry for yourself?" Yahiko growled in his incredulous questioning, "are you just going to let Gollum make a fool out of you and just turn back like a coward and be one for the rest of your life?"



Sam froze for a brief moment, thinking what Yahiko had said. He was certain that Yahiko wasn't the type to give up, just like he would've done. But even so... Sam had convinced himself that Frodo didn't need his help anymore, and that his friendship to Frodo was something without any deep sense of meaning or purpose. Feeling this deep anguish within him... Sam continued on downwards from the stairs, ignoring Yahiko's statement. Yahiko could not stand to see Sam this way, as his anger over Sam backing down from his promise grew greatly and growled under his breath.



Yahiko then went after Sam again down the stairs and snarled, "that's it Sam! This may be stupid of me, but I told Frodo that I'd get you back up, so I'm going to follow you, even if we get down from here. And if you don't start moving your lazy butt back up this mountain by the time we get down... then I'm going to start knocking some sense into you, you hear me?"



Hearing the sincerity of Yahiko's threats, Sam wasted no time and quickened his pace down the steps, trying to get ahead of Yahiko. But then...





Sam slipped on a crumbling step and he slid down, roughly bumping on the steps.



"Sam!" Yahiko cried out fearfully as he tried to rush down to him... but also slipped on the steps and began to fall, violently bumping on the steps, down to where Sam was as they both crashed onto each other onto a heap on a ledge.



After the rough landing... Yahiko painfully lifted his head, which was suffering from all those bumps that he received in the fall. He then looked at Sam, who still lay there a few seconds before lifting himself slowly from the ground.

"S-Sam... are you... o-okay?" Yahiko stuttered to Sam, which received no reply... until he fixed his gaze to the side, which was easily noticed by Yahiko as he turned his head to see what Sam was looking at...





It was the remainder of the Lembas bread and their leaf wrappings, that Gollum relentlessly threw away and framed Sam and Yahiko for. They both reached out with slow, tentative hands and picked up the crumbled bread, examining it for a few moments.



Yahiko narrowed his eyes darkly as he thought to himself, nearly growling, '...Gollum!'





Sam had realized the same thing that Gollum had made a fool out of him, as he began to slowly crush the bread in his hands, in a trembling fist, growling in rage and hatred, which was being noticed by Yahiko. The Hobbit also realized that Yahiko was right again. It was time for him to stop feeling sorry for himself... and regain his sense of pride, in this quest.



The now angered Hobbit turned to Yahiko and growled fiercely to him, "...am I alright...? Yeah, I'm all right... I'm alright now, Mr. Yahiko!"

"Sam," said an awed Yahiko seeing Sam's courage restored.



He and Sam then looked up at the stairs that went up into the tunnel, with a renewed sense of priority, duty, and determination, knowing that Frodo and Kaoru were in danger from Gollum's trap.



Sam turned back to Yahiko with a hardened expression and said, "we're going back."

"Yeah," replied Yahiko firmly as they grabbed each other's arms, resolved to go back up the stairs...









Back in the dense, dark, web-shrouded tunnels of Cirith Ungol...



Frodo and Kaoru, continued to race through the tunnels, trying to find the way out, but...





They stumbled and fell into a pile of sticky bones. Frodo and Kaoru tried endlessly to scramble up... but were caught up more into the web, as more bones, encased in cobwebs, fell on top of them, one by one. Their scared cries mingled in the air as they continued struggling in the cobweb and piles of bones. At this moment, Kaoru and Frodo could struggle no longer as their hearts were filled with fear, nearly paralyzed and began to weep in their terror... with the sense of an evil presence growing stronger...







"...Sam... my dear Sam," said a terrified, weeping Frodo, almost to himself.

"...K... Ken...s-shin," Kaoru also wept in her horror, as she had wished that Kenshin was with her now.

"...If we only had some light, Miss Kaoru," Frodo wondered in a little voice.

Kaoru continued to weep... but regained her wits as she had remembered something, "...wait Frodo... we do have a light."



Frodo looked bemused at Kaoru as if she was losing her mind because of the horrors of the tunnel.



"That piece of glass that Galadriel gave you," clarified Kaoru, "the thing that was supposed to be a light for you in dark places, she said."

Frodo then regained his wits also, as he almost forgot about that special gift from the Lady of Lothlorien, remembering her words to him:



And to you, Frodo Baggins, I give you the Light of Eärendil, our most beloved star...





Frodo then pulled out the glass-star that Galadriel gave to him, from his pocket, fighting off both the sickness and the fear that he received when he and Kaoru entered the tunnel. The glass slowly began to glimmer and glow with a pale blue light in front of their eyes, as hope grew in Frodo's mind when he recalled Galadriel's last words about his gift:



May it be a light for you in dark places... when all other lights, go out...





With the light glimmering, Frodo slowly called out, unknowingly, "aiya, Eärendil... ELENION ANCALIMA!"

The phial flared to life, lighting up the tunnel. But even as Frodo spoke the words... he felt a great malice bent upon him and a deadly regard considering him, as well as Kaoru. Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. Kaoru and Frodo slowly, yet cautiously looked behind them...





And gasped in terror as they saw a horror of an evil dream... a She-Spider called Shelob!





Shelob quickly went for her prey... but Frodo held the glowing phial aloft, driving Shelob away from the light. It was the most loathly shape of a spider that Kaoru had ever beheld before her, as she held her hands close to her face in great fear and horror. Suddenly, Frodo stumbled and fell, accidentally lowering the phial.

Shelob scuttled towards Kaoru and Frodo and the Hobbit hastily got up, holding up the glowing phial once again. The spider reared up, trying to cover her eyes with two of her front legs. Frodo and Kaoru stepped back, as Frodo kept the phial up, and tripped, falling backwards, taking Kaoru with him. Fast as lightning, Shelob was on them again as she swiftly went for her prey, extending her pincers...



Then Frodo drew Sting and slashed at one of her legs, making Shelob recoil with a loud, echoing screech.



"Come on!" Kaoru cried to Frodo, as they wasted no time in making their escape.

She and Frodo then found a hole nearby and went through, nearly avoiding Shelob's quick swipes of her legs. Shelob immediately went after them, squeezing through the hole with her huge swollen body...







Kaoru and Frodo, with Galadriel's phial held aloft, ran through the tunnel, not knowing where they were going... but Shelob was not far behind them as they looked behind, gasping with panic and fright. Shelob was on their tail, crawling along the walls of the tunnel of her lair, chasing them with a horrible speed, reaching out to her prey with her slobbering, ravenous mouth....





But despite this, they both kept up their speed trying to get away... then Frodo tripped and fell down on his stomach and rolled down through a hole, dropping the phial. Kaoru immediately slid down the hole, as Shelob was nearly on her. However, neither of them was able to go back for the phial as Shelob scrabbled at the small opening in frustration... but was able to move on quickly, knowing her lair well...





"Come on, Frodo," Kaoru told Frodo as they hastily got up and ran on, making a desperate effort to reach an exit out of the tunnel.

Frodo and Kaoru kept glancing behind them as they ran, seeing if Shelob was coming, but...







They ran straight into another one of Shelob's webs, one that covered the tunnel from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling. Frodo and Kaoru hung there helplessly, with their weapons in hand, and not even their feet were touching the ground. They both panicked greatly as they realized that they were trapped. Frodo looked behind him for any sign of the spider monster, knowing that it would soon reach them...







Naughty little flies... why does they cry...?



A sickening sing-song voice called out... to which Frodo and Kaoru revoltingly recognized as they gazed ahead at a rock in front of them... where the voice seemed to be coming from, seeing a pair of bony hands appear... with Gollum's head appearing afterwards, crawling from underneath the rock...







"...Caauuught in a web/," Gollum continued singing eerily, "/soon, you'll both be...

"Eaten," finished Gollum sinisterly.





Enraged with Gollum's treachery, Kaoru and Frodo began to struggle fiercely to get out of the web, using their weapons, wanting to wring the creature's neck for what he did.

"I BELIEVED IN YOU!" Kaoru roared out her rage and fury at Gollum as he watched her and Frodo's predicament with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction.



But then...





Shelob returned, approaching behind Frodo and Kaoru, who were tangled in her web. Kaoru noticed Shelob and gasped in horror. Frodo also looked behind him and saw Shelob, slowly making her way towards them, as she didn't need to use her horrific speed to catch them anymore. The sight of Shelob frightened Gollum greatly as his eyes widened in fear, and quickly scrambled away.



In a panicked frenzy, Kaoru and Frodo continued to cut the web... and were starting to get free. However... Shelob was getting closer... and closer to Kaoru and Frodo. Kaoru had managed to cut herself free entirely, and was helping Frodo to get free.

"Hurry up!" Kaoru yelled in panic, as she struggled to get Frodo free... as Shelob was now right next to her prey.



Wasting no time...





Kaoru used all her strength to pull Frodo free, but had to leave his sword, Sting, behind, hanging in the webs. Frodo and Kaoru quickly ran towards a small opening up ahead... and rolled their way through it, finally landing outside the tunnel...













Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings and RK are not mine. They belong to their authors, respectively J.R.R. Tolkien and Watsuki Nobuhiro. This fanfiction is created just for fun, not for any commercial purposes.



A/n: So, how did you like the way I did Shelob, eh? I was kinda scared when I first saw the scene, how did you people feel? Some thought that they would pee in their pants when they would get to see Shelob though.

Please read and review.