Strange Alliances
by Erestor
Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, or the Harry Potter series. This story was written for entertainment purposes only.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
'From splendour he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless.'
-J.R.R. Tolkien, 'The Silmarillion'
'Stupefied' is the word that best describes Mandos, Lórien, Nienna, and Sauron at the moment when Morgoth returned and finished off Fëanor. Morgoth was nearly as stupefied as the rest of them. He had hardly expected to find three Valar lounging around in Mordor, of all places.
Sauron recovered the fastest, probably because his instinct for self-preservation was the most highly developed. "Welcome to Barad-dûr, Most Exalted One," he said, flinging himself prostrate on the floor.
Sauron was on the floor for two reasons. For one thing, it looked respectful. Morgoth appreciated respect. The second reason was that if Morgoth continued to swipe people against walls, Sauron would not be an obvious target.
"Make him fall asleep," hissed Nienna at Lórien.
"I cannot!" Lórien half-wailed. "I've been trying!"
The Valar stood up, reminding themselves that the odds were three against one, in their favor. Mandos could not help but also remember that it had been fourteen against one for a while, and Morgoth had nearly defeated the rest of them anyway.
"Well, if it isn't the Doomsman of the Valar," said Morgoth, pretending to notice Mandos for the first time. Everyone knew he was pretending, but it was still insulting. "And look! He has brought his little brother and sister too."
"How did you get out of the Void?" Mandos asked teetering between being curious or devastated.
"It's a trade secret," replied Morgoth. "Get off the floor, Sauron, and find somewhere for Mandos and his siblings to stay."
Sauron scrambled to his feet, and started yelling commands in the Black Speech. Orcs came and dragged the three Valar away before they could continue to do nothing.
Sauron and Morgoth were alone.
"You have shrunk," observed Morgoth.
"Yes, my Lord," said Sauron. He was touched that Morgoth had noticed.
"In fact, you are a little child," said Morgoth.
"That is true, my Lord," said Sauron. He looked rather dazed, and very small and pathetic. It was a defense mechanism of his. Small, pathetic people do not look like the potential overthrowers of powerful Dark Lords.
"Why did you have three Valar staying in Barad-dûr with you?" asked Morgoth. He lumbered across the room, collapsed into a chair, and put his large feet on the table. Chair and table creaked unhappily under the strain.
"I was lulling them into a false sense of superiority, Master," said Sauron carefully.
"Oh, really? And how long have you been... lulling them?"
"Only a few years, Master. I have been preparing armies for You, so that when You returned, You could conquer the world again."
Morgoth smirked loutishly. "Very good. I knew you would be loyal to me."
Sauron groveled. "Yes, Master. Of course, Master."
Morgoth was very happy to be back, with his loyal Maia serving him once more. Soon the world would be under his sway. But he was curious... "Did the Valar shrink you?" he asked.
"I do not think so, Master."
"Then why are you so small?"
"I do not know, Master. It just happened."
"Nothing 'just happens'. There is probably an explanation, and anyway, I can't have you running about being so small. I might accidentally stand on you."
"I would be honored," said Sauron. "Tread upon me as often as You wish, Master."
"Stop being so obsequious," said Morgoth irritably, sitting back in his chair. "I suspect that you are in the form of a child because the other Valar think of you as a child. Not much of a threat, but always complaining, and wanting more than you deserve."
Sauron had not considered this possibility before.
"I, of course," continued Morgoth, "would never think of you as a child. You are my valued servant, and should be grateful."
Sauron nodded wordlessly. He was still thinking.
"Therefore, Sauron, it is time for you to grow up," Morgoth said.
Nienna was sitting on some strange instrument of torture, her feet dangling above the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. Lórien was sitting in a corner, chewing on his hair nervously. Mandos was pacing back and forth across the room, the word 'doom' running through his mind over and over. He had stopped teetering, and was thoroughly devastated. He had only been gone from Valinor for a few thousand years, and in that short space of time, Morgoth had somehow contrived to escape.
"What will we do?" asked Lórien at last, since no one else had broken the long silence.
"Nothing," said Nienna succinctly, "because there's nothing we can do."
Mandos carefully skirted his way around a horrifying device, and paced some more.
"Your powers have diminished, probably from living in Middle-earth for so long," continued Nienna, "and I was only ever capable of crying a lot."
"Is there any way we coul—" began Lórien, but at that moment, the door swung open and a tall, handsome man appeared in the entranceway, a few Orcs and other minions crowding behind him in evil anticipation. He was wearing dusty black robes of the sinister, unfriendly variety. He was also wearing a very smug expression. His slitted eyes gleamed with an unholy delight.
Nienna decided that she was not going to get used to seeing Sauron as an adult. It was too weird and disturbing.
"Isn't this wonderful?" Sauron asked.
The Valar did not think the situation was wonderful. They wrestled with their new instincts and managed not to cringe at the sound of his voice, but their eyes were already big and round.
"You underestimated me," said the Maia.
There was nothing that could be said to that, because unfortunately it was true.
"You thought I was cute little Sauron, the clueless child, the harmless Maia. ...And you were so wrong, weren't you?"
They looked at him silently. He scared them more than Morgoth had.
Sauron saw how frightened they were, and a slight smile crossed his face. "My Lord Melkor said I could play with you before He asked you a few questions. ...This is a Dark Lord's fondest dream, you know. To have three Valar... helpless... at his mercy."
He got the meaningful pauses just right. He'd had practice.
He turned around, shouted something in the Black Speech at his minions, shut the door and gave the three Valar a sharp-toothed smile. "Sorry," he said. "Couldn't resist that."
There was a long, stunned silence. Then Nienna said faintly and accusingly, "You scared me."
"Good," said Sauron with a total lack of remorse. "Nice to know I haven't lost my touch, after being a nonthreatening ten year-old for a millennia."
"Then that was all an act?" asked Lórien hopefully.
"I wasn't lying, Lórien, and Eru knows I wasn't acting," replied Sauron snappishly. "This is a Dark Lord's fondest dream, and, sadly, making you all suffer is an opportunity I'll have to pass up on. Don't think I wouldn't enjoy it. However..."
The Maia faltered for the first time.
"What do you want?" asked Mandos cautiously.
"I did perfectly well as a Dark Lord without Melkor," said Sauron. "But I cannot defeat him without your assistance, and you cannot defeat him without mine. I am sure you want him defeated."
"Of course," said Mandos. Sauron's request came as no surprise to him; he had been half-expecting it. "Will you help us escape?"
Sauron nodded. "I shall, if you promise not to interfere when I become Dark Lord again."
"It seems reasonable to me," said Nienna, who wanted to get out of Sauron's Torture Chamber as quickly as possible.
"I don't have much time," said Sauron urgently. "We can work out the details later."
"All right, then," said Mandos. "The three of us will not interfere. I cannot speak for the other Valar."
"Fine," said Sauron. "Come over here, Mandos," he continued in businesslike tones, pointing to the middle of the floor. "You should be the simplest one to do."
Mandos complied, marveling at how trusting he was being, and stood still while Sauron circled him. A moment later, the exact image of the Vala appeared in the corner of the room, glaring in a familiar fashion. Sauron smiled triumphantly. "I was right. You were simple."
"What have you done?" asked Nienna, coming forward when Sauron called her.
"Nothing too complicated," said Sauron, circling again. "Merely making illusions of you, so that Melkor won't miss you when you escape." A new Nienna appeared beside the Mandos-illusion.
"They look just like us," said Nienna, surprised.
"Of course," said Sauron, circling Lórien. "I am the Master of Illusions, after all, a fact to which Gorlim will attest." A new Lórien appeared next to his sibling-illusions. "They have to be convincing. I don't approve of shoddy work."
"Hello," said the Lórien-illusion. "I am Lórien. I have a brother and a sister. I like to sleep a lot."
"They speak, too!" cried Nienna.
"They speak, too!" mimicked the Nienna-illusion, annoyingly.
"They have to speak," said the Mandos-illusion. "Or else Melkor would notice that something was wrong. He's not entirely brainless."
Sauron was grinning from ear to ear. "They're perfect," he said. "I do not think I have made such realistic illusions for years."
"Except Mandos doesn't speak that much," said Nienna.
"Which makes everything simpler," said Sauron. "It is difficult to make illusions speak. I'm sure that Melkor will be content to see the three of you cowering in terror at His feet, so He won't notice if you don't do a lot of talking."
"No offense," said Nienna, "but how do we know that you are on our side?"
"Apart from the fact that I'm letting you all run loose, making illusions of you to fool my Master, and in other ways risking my life for you?" asked Sauron, one eyebrow raised.
Nienna decided that her question had been rather stupid. "Well, you are acting very self-sacrificing," she said.
"Not entirely," said Sauron. "I do expect something from the three of you, after all."
"What?" asked Lórien.
"I want you to fetch my Ring for me," said Sauron.
The three Valar gaped at him.
"We cannot do that!" cried Nienna. "That would make you far too powerful!"
"Powerful enough to defeat Melkor," said Sauron. "He is still recovering from His stay in the Void. He is weak. When I have the Ring, I will be able to overthrow Him."
"Yes, but then you would reconquer the world," said Lórien. "You would enslave all mankind, kill all the Elves, and turn Middle-earth into a barren wasteland."
Sauron had a dreamy expression on his face, but he snapped out of his happy thoughts and said, "You have thought all this through, haven't you?"
"It's nearly happened before," said Lórien.
Sauron took a deep breath. "It will never happen," he said. "I will never, ever win. Don't you realize that? Do you realize how many times I've nearly won? When I served Melkor, we had control over Middle-earth for a time, but then Manwë's host appeared. I escaped. I rose to power again, and the Númenoreans defeated me. I, in turn, defeated the Númenoreans, and then got drowned. I was rising to power again, and the Last Alliance came along. I was gathering all my strength for a final effort, and then a Halfling tossed my Ring into Mt. Doom. And then it happened all over again. And all over again. And again and again and again, because history has not stopped repeating itself."
The Valar were silent.
"So," said Sauron, "I may defeat Melkor. I may take over most of Middle-earth. But Legolas will escape. He will sail to Valinor, having no reason to remain here, and I will lose. Again."
The Maia buried his head in his hands, the very picture of a despairing Dark Lord. "I think," he mumbled, "that the very least you can do is take my Ring from Bilbo and bring it back to me."
The Valar exchanged looks. Nienna looked sympathetic, Lórien looked sad, but Mandos merely looked slightly more somber than usual.
"All right," said Mandos at last. "But it will take us a while to get to the Shire."
Sauron cleared his throat. "Not if you each ride a Fell Beast," he said. He looked up at them. "They are not very hard to manage."
"Er... you want us to ride... a Fell Beast?" asked Nienna.
"Yes!" said Sauron, who seemed to have gotten over his moment of despair. "And hurry! My Master will be coming at any moment!"
Sauron pushed them out of the room.
"Is there anyway you could make us invisible?" asked Lórien.
Sauron shook his head. "I could make you invisible to mortal eyes, but all things dead and evil would see you very clearly."
"Oh. Well, in that case, it doesn't sound like a very good idea," said Lórien.
"Just be quiet and don't make a spectacle of yourselves," said Sauron. Such advice can be well applied to many situations in life.
The Maia watched the three Valar sneak away. He smiled to himself, no longer looking much like a despairing Dark Lord.
Sauron straightened his robes and hurried back to his master.
Curufin was good, but when it came to being crafty, Sauron was far, far better.
TBC...
