Chapter Fifteen
"The Secret of Mount Doom"

"You are about to embark on a most treacherous journey, Slayer," Melek said as he watched Buffy
equip herself with a sword that suited her size and skill. It had been nearly a day since she'd
volunteered to bring her friends to Sauron. In that time she'd done everything in her power to
make him believe that she'd come to their side. He was not convinced. "Are you certain you wish
to proceed?"

Buffy slipped the sword into the black sheath then looked over to Melek. "I've been through your
lands, I know what's out there. You shouldn't worry about me. I can handle myself." She slung
the strap of the sheath over her shoulder and around her neck then adjusted it. She glanced from
him to the three well-armed Orc warriors with him. "Your boys there - they should be scared, I
think."

Melek smiled a little. "You haven't any idea of what lies beyond the confines of Barad-Dur, Slayer.
Not in Mordor." He stepped closer, looking her over in the black traveling clothes of the Easterlings
that she'd been given to wear. Her hair was pulled back from her face into a ponytail. Wrists
sported strong leather gauntlets. "In our land, there are dangers that even our own forces fear."

Buffy snorted softly. "You can stop trying to scare me. I'm going." She turned when she heard the
whinny of a few horses. The animals did not appear pleased to be in such close proximity to the
three Orcs. She stepped back as one of the horses was brought forward.

"This is for you," Melek said as he patted the jet black steed's muzzle. He smiled a little as he
looked over to Buffy. "A gift from Lord Sauron ... to his newest ally. This will reduce your travel
time."

"Isn't that so very thoughtful?" Buffy accepted the reins from Melek and ran her palm over the
horse's neck a few times. "And people only have bad things to say about Sauron. I'm beginning to
think he's just misunderstood."

Melek remained silent. He only watched as Buffy swung herself into the saddle.

She looked down at him from atop the horse. "Don't wait up for me. This could take awhile." Her
gaze shifted to the three Orc 'guards' who were all uneasily mounting the other horses. She had to
work hard to not laugh at the sight. They didn't care for the horses, like the horses didn't care for
them.

"Follow the road to the North. You will cross paths with them soon. They travel with a small band
of Lord Sauron's soldiers. They believe they've fooled the soldiers into leading them through
Mordor. " Melek glanced at the three Orcs who were now on the horses. "Should you encounter
any trouble, these will be at your service."

Buffy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the notion. If she should need help, she certainly wouldn't
receive it from these three. Reining the horse around, she shifted her attention to the road before
them. Jabbing her heels into the sides of the horse, the Slayer began her journey away from
Barad-Dur and towards Mount Doom.

-

After nearly two days of hard riding and little rest, the volcano was within her sight. Not so far off
but still a considerable distance from her present position. Luckily, her Orc companions were so
brainless they didn't sort out that Buffy had been headed southwest instead of north. They were too
preoccupied with keeping themselves in the saddle. A great source of amusement for the long
journey, she discovered.

Bringing her horse to a halt, she looked over her shoulder to the three Orcs. One of them was
without a mount. He'd been thrown off of it the day before and the horse vanished into the North.
That forced the other two to rotate riding turns.

"This is the part where I ditch you losers," she informed them. She smiled when all three Orcs
stared back at her, confused.

Drawing a dagger from its boot sheath, she hurled it at one of the riders. The blade sliced into his
neck and both of his hands grasped at the handle of the knife as he tumbled from the saddle, gasping
for breath that would never come. The other rider tried desperately to control his horse that had
been started by the other Orc falling. Buffy drew the second dagger from her other boot and took
out the other mounted creature easily. The thunk of the blade into the chest of the Orc could be
heard from where she was.

The Orc on foot drew his weapon, bared his teeth and charged her. She didn't move as the Orc
neared. When he was close enough, she removed her foot from the stirrup and rammed the bottom
of it into the Orc's face. Stunned, the weapon fell from his hands and Buffy drew her own sword.
With one fluid motion, she neatly separated the Orc's head from his body.

For a moment, Buffy surveyed the carnage left behind. Three dead Orcs - not much of a loss. Not
much of a gain either. Still, she felt better having killed something. So many months of being
denied the hunt, she hadn't realized until that second how much all of it meant to her. It was a part
of her. She felt complete again.

And it terrified her.

A slight frown tugged at her lips. She knew that Melek was right. Despite Katil's confirmation, she
still disbelieved. Not anymore. A piece of the Slayer desired this - she had to crave it in order to
survive in her world. Her reason for existence was death. She brought it to those who deserved it.
The Powers had created her to do so - to protect the innocent. She was part killer, part hunter - part
... demon.

Slipping the sword back into the sheath, she reined the horse around. After taking one last look at
the corpses, she urged the steed into a full gallop towards Mount Doom.
-

As Giles, Willow, Xander and their grim escort drew closer and closer to the mountain walls of
Mordor, their mood became as dark as the skies above. The fact that their little group grew
larger and larger as stray Orc patrols joined them (why, Giles wasn't sure, although he guessed even
those loathsome creatures were uncomfortable wandering the wilds in such small groups).

Finally, though, after what seemed like months in that foul company, they reached the Black Gate of
Mordor, the ancient entryway to the heart of Sauron's empire on Middle-earth. According to Elrond,
the great doors had been crafted by Sauron in imitation of the mithril gates of Minas Tirith of old,
but were dark and evil. Just to look upon them was to feel awe and fear at Sauron's power and skill.
No Man living could create their equal, or build the grim towers that surrounded them like fangs - or
blades - on the mountainside.

On this day, the doors were open, and a vast force of Orcs and Southrons were marching forth,
all garbed in black mail and under the banner of the Red Eye. Yalanci ordered their group to
stand aside and let the great army pass on its way to northern battles, and the afternoon was
well on by the time the rear guard finally cleared the small valley before the Gate.

"Now," Yalanci said, and pointed south into Mordor with his scimitar.

The Orcs swarmed around Giles, Willow and Xander in their haste to be home, and the three Men
were swept along with the tide, barely able to keep their footing.

And then more Orcs appeared from within Mordor, mounted on huge black Wargs. They steered
right for the travelers, swords drawn and howling in their twisted dialect of Black Speech,
and charged.

"Giles," Xander started to say, but then two Orcs grabbed him by the arms. "Hey!"

"Let him go," Willow snapped, raising her hand in warning, but then she too was seized, gagged and
bound before she could mutter even the beginning of an incantation. Giles had time to lay
a hand on the hilt of his sword before he was forced to the ground.

Yalanci was standing there, smirking down at him. "Poor fool... did you think you could actually
deceive your way into Mordor?" he asked, shaking with laughter. "My Lord Sauron is
expecting you all. Especially you, Master Giles. Lord Sauron is very eager to finally meet
you after all these years."

Giles bowed his head in shame. Of course... of course. [How could we have been so hopelessly
naive?] he thought as he was hauled to his feet and cold iron chains were wrapped around all
of them.

-

Without the Orcs slowing her down, it was only another hour's ride to the base of Mount Doom. As
Buffy slowed the horse to a stop, her head tilted back and she gazed up at the mountain in awe. A
mist of molten rock continuously spewed from the top of it. The lava itself traveled down specific
crevices in the sides of the mountain. The air was hot here and thick with the smell of ash and
sulfur.

Dismounting, Buffy's eyes searched for a continuation of the path she'd rode up to that point upon.
Soon, she found it. Hidden away by fallen rock and various debris, there it was - the path up the
mountain. This was the way home.

[You've come this far, Buffy. Only a ... ] A quick glance at the volcano. [... a considerable climb
and you're there. You can make it. You're the Slayer.]

And so she began her climb up the mountain.

-

A hand grabbed hold of one of the ash covered, jagged boulders and Buffy steadied herself for a
moment so she could brush the loose strands of hair away from her sweat-laden face. She sighed
heavily then coughed a few times. The higher she went, the thicker the ash could became. All of the
sulfur and chemicals leading through the rock from the volcano burned her eyes and lungs. She put
it out of her mind as she continued to push forward.

The path was more rocky at this point, but she would soon reach her goal. The end was near, she
could sense it. Swallowing hard, Buffy placed a booted foot onto the rather large rock in her path.
Her foot slipped and she stumbled forward but she remained standing. The sweat streamed down
her face and neck once again. She steeled herself against the elements and pressed onward.

"Come on," she whispered, trying to give herself encouragement. "It isn't much further. You can
do this. Then you can go home and stop all of this from ever happening." She leaned against the
rock wall, breathing heavily. "I know - you need a song, Buffy. Something to take your mind off of
this." Pushing away from the wall, she trudged on. "But what song?" she wondered.

She sought lyrics to a song, any song, that would enable her to continue on. She discarded a couple
of Willow's favorites as they were mostly ballads by Oz's band. Instantly, she rejected anything that
Giles had subjected her to. It was bad enough she was climbing up the side of a volcano in Mordor,
the last thing she needed was a Bay City Rollers tune stuck in her head.

Finally, she settled on a song Xander used to annoy her and Willow with. "The Name Game", a
tune from the mid-sixties. As she half-sang through every single person she'd ever know, she
discovered that the journey was less of a challenge. When she ran out of names of people in
Sunnydale and the greater Los Angeles area, she started in on those she'd met while in Middle-earth.
The list of names wasn't that long but the oddness of them made them more difficult to rhyme.

Huffing, she stepped over another rock. "Let's do ... SAURON!" she exclaimed once her list of
Middle-earth names came to it's end. "Sauron, Sauron, bo ferron ... " Her words caught in her
throat when she caught sight of an entranceway around the corner she'd just turned. She stopped in
her tracks, staring at the cavern. "This is it," she whispered.

The path continued beyond the entranceway. The grumbling of the volcano was more audible here
and the heat was now almost unbearable. How anything could survive the intensity of this type of
environment, she didn't know. Only a few more steps, and she would find what she was looking for.
Moving forward, Buffy entered the chamber inside of the cone.

She gave little thought to the bubbling magma below the walkway as she marched forward.
However, she noted that inside the cone, the heat wasn't as intense. She'd suspected something was
off about this volcano since she first spotted it from Barad-Dur several months before.

Her feet were sure upon the rocky path that led towards the center of the cone. She glanced around,
wondering exactly where the way home was. A rumble shook the ground beneath her and she
gasped sharply when she caught sight of the glowing magma below her. Her fear turned to
curiosity, though, when she spotted a ledge, about twenty feet below the one she was now on.

Cut into the rock wall was an archway. Upon closer inspection, she saw a stairway had been carved
into the rock as well. From her perspective, it was nearly invisible. That she'd even noticed it was a
miracle. Doubling back, she headed for the top of that staircase.

To the right of the archway she'd just passed through, Buffy discovered the beginning of the steps.
Carefully, but quickly, she descended them and peered around the corner when she reached the
manmade hole in the wall. Listening, she heard the dull hum of machinery echoing from within.
Drawing her sword, she crept forward into the darkened tunnel and made her way to the source of
the sounds.

As she neared the end of the tunnel, the mechanical noise grew louder and as it did, her heart
pounded faster. Whatever it was that Sauron used to travel through time was here and she had to
use it. Approaching the opening, she pressed against the wall, peered around the corner so she could
see into the room without being seen. Her eyes widened at the monstrosity before her.

In the middle of the cavernous room was a large, rather cubic in shape, mass of metal. All around
the cube's outside were wheels, gears and elaborate pulleys that worked feverishly as the machine
rumbled. From one side, two large tubes that resembled air conditioning vents extended from the
machine and connected to a twelve foot tall 'doorway'. Along the inner edges of this doorway were
six nodes, much like those found on telephone polls. The nodes glowed and occasionally sparked
with a weird blue electricity but that was all.

Her eyes traveled away from the nodes, over the machine then narrowed on a massive steaming
fissure in the cavern floor. She walked towards the fissure, sword still in hand. She crept to the
edge. A orangish yellow glow emanated from it but this was not magma-caused. She narrowed her
eyes.

[Something about this is oddly familiar.]

She drew in a quick breath when the memory came to her. "The Hellmouth," she whispered.
Stepping away, she now noticed another shaft that ran from the fissure and connected to the
machine. Somehow, this machine drew it's power from the energies of the Hellmouth it sat upon.
"This doesn't run off of Duracells." She glanced around the cavern, a panic setting in now.
"There's more than one Hellmouth? Either that or Sunnydale's had one hell of a makeover since
today."

The sound of a single person applauding made her whirl around, sword at the ready. "You," she
hissed when she found Melek standing there, accompanied by a dozen Orc soldiers. She kept one
eye on the Orcs as they took up positions around the machine, to protect it.

"It's about time you showed, Slayer," Melek said as he strolled into the cavern, triumphant smirk on
his face. "I've been waiting for over a day. But I suppose I can't place the blame solely on your
shoulders. It wasn't your fault one of your guards lost his horse." He smiled at her. "I'm surprised
that you allowed them to live for so long."

"You won't get that kindness from me, jackass," she growled. Her fingers tightened around the grip
of the sword.

He laughed. "Slayers don't kill humans. Isn't that what you told me?"

"I don't think a scumbag like you qualifies as such," she evenly replied. Her eyes burned into his.
Her body tensed as the adrenaline pumped. She'd been cooped up for too long, she itched for a
fight. "Anyone who murders his own sister in cold blood doesn't deserve to be called a human being
let alone be treated as one."

Melek's smile vanished. "Who told you about that?" he asked as he took a step towards her.
"Answer me, woman!" he yelled as he pointed a finger at her.

Buffy stared a few moments. "This is one that I usually reserve for the vampires," she finally said.
She paused then added, "Bite me."

While Melek and the Orcs were temporarily baffled by her response, Buffy landed a side kick to the
chest of the Orc nearest to her. He tumbled backwards and fell screaming into the steaming chasm.
She whirled around, her sword blocking the axe of another Orc. In a quick twist of her wrist, her
sword wrenched the axe from the Orc's hands. Once he was weaponless she brought the blade
around and relieved him of his head.

Two more Orcs charged. Bending over as she pivoted on one foot, she snagged the axe from the
second Orc and threw it at one of the advancing creatures. The axe caught the Orc square in the
chest and with such force that he was thrown back about three feet. Squatting down, she let the next
Orc trip himself over her body. While the Orc was sprawled on his back, she ended his life by a
quick beheading. Spinning around on one foot she set her sights on Melek. In a rush of rage and
hatred, she charged.

Melek used his left hand to easily deflect Buffy's blade away from him. Having little control over
her own attack, Buffy lost her grip on her sword and it flew out of her hands. Before she could
recover Melek delivered a violent backhanded punch that stopped her cold. In those two critical
seconds, Buffy fell victim to the remaining Orcs.


"Don't kill her!" Melek shouted as he grabbed the upraised axe of one of the Orcs. He gave each of
Buffy's captors a meaningful glare. "Or else you'll suffer the wrath of the Dark Lord!"

"Ooo," Buffy groaned as she fought to keep conscious. She felt the clamp of cold adamant shackles
on her wrists. Her head tilted back and her eyes met Melek's. "This isn't over yet."

Melek seized her chin in his hand then leaned towards her. "You're right about that, Slayer. Your
friends are guests of Lord Sauron - the await our return at Barad-dur."

Buffy jerked away. "What was all of this about? Why send me on this journey if you knew all
along I wasn't on your side? What could you possibly have to gain from it?"

He smiled. "Who said that gain was the point of every action?" With that, he punched her in the
face, effectively knocking her out.

-

End Chapter Fifteen