Warning: As I've pointed out in the disclaimers for this story, if you haven't read the books or are
unfamiliar with how Sauron falls, you probably shouldn't read this story. Especially if you want to
be surprised by the climax of *The Return of the King*. Consider this your last warning. This
chapter contains all of that and more. Thank you.
-
Chapter Eighteen
"One Will Fall To His Weakness ..."
-- The path climbed on. Soon it bent again and with a last eastward course passed in a cutting along
the face of the cone and came to the dark door in the Mountain's side, the door of the Sammath
Naur. Far away now rising towards the South the sun, piercing the smokes and haze, burned
ominous, a dull bleared disc of red; but all of Mordor lay about the Mountain like a dead land,
silent, shadow-folded, waiting for some dreadful stroke.
Sam came to the gaping mouth and peered in. It was dark and hot, and a deep rumbling shook the
air. 'Frodo! Master!' he called. There was no answer. For a moment he stood, his heart beating
with wild fears, and then he plunged in. A shadow followed him.
At first he could see nothing. In his great need he drew out once more the phial of Galadriel, but it
was pale and cold in his trembling hand and threw no light into that stifling dark. He was come to
the heart of the real of Sauron and the forges of his ancient might, greatest in Middle-earth; all other
powers here were subdued. --
"There!" Giles smiled as he watched the adamant shackles fall away from Buffy's wrists and to the
floor. He sat back on his heels, sighing in relief as the Slayer massaged her wrists to help restore the
blood flow to them. "I knew I would be able to do it. Perseverance."
"Where'd you learn how to pick locks, Giles?" Willow asked as Buffy joined her where she sat
against the wall.
"Yeah, do the Elves teach you how to do that?" joked Xander.
Giles shook his head. "No. That was a skill I acquired in my younger days," he replied. The smile
crept back to his face when he saw the reactions from the three teenagers. It didn't last long, though.
He leaned against the wall, allowing his gaze to travel up the length of Sauron's throne until it hit the
blackness above. "It seems as though I've reached the end of my road." He paused. "My only regret
is that I've brought the three of you along with me."
- Fearfully he took a few uncertain steps in the dark, and then all at once there came a flash of red
that leaped upward, and smote the high black roof. Sam saw that he was in a long cave or tunnel
that bored into the Mountain's smoking cone. But only a short way ahead its floor and the walls on
either side were cloven by a great fissure, out of which the red glare came, now leaping up, now
dying down into darkness; and all the while far below there was a rumour and a trouble as of great
engines throbbing and labouring. -
Buffy's hands dropped into her lap as she looked upon Giles. "You shouldn't blame yourself for this,
Giles. It wasn't your fault," she quietly told him. He lowered his gaze to her and she offered a small
smile. "You know - I found out that it took Sauron a couple of tries to kidnap me. Oh yeah." She
grinned a little wider. "He had to send his Orcs through more than once. That was why it all felt so
familiar when I was kicking their asses the last time."
Xander bowed his head, feeling guilty for blaming Giles for this mess for most of the journey to
Mordor. "Buffy's right, Giles, this isn't your fault," he murmured. He lifted his head, looking over
to Giles. He noted the guarded surprise in the ex-Watcher's eyes. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as
he shook his head. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was wrong. I shouldn't have tried to pin this on
you."
Buffy looked from Giles to Xander, wondering exactly what had been going on during their journey
to Mordor. She shifted her attention to Willow, who was smiling just a bit. "What's this all about?"
she mouthed to her friend.
"No, you shouldn't have," Giles replied then he softened his expression when Xander looked at him,
eyebrows arched. His own bit of shame showed now. "I never should've said what I did to you,
either, Xander. You're a brave young man. Braver than I ever was at your age. You couldn't have
done anything to stop what happened, no matter how hard you tried. I was angry. You were, too.
We said a lot of things we didn't mean. I'm sorry."
"All right, it's obvious I missed a lot of stuff," Buffy said as she watched Giles and Xander embrace
in a hug. She sighed and looked over to Willow. "You're going to tell me what that was all about
one day, right?"
Willow stared at Buffy for a moment then looked away. "Yeah, I guess so," she softly replied.
Buffy still had this idea that they were going to escape Mordor. Sauron was confident of himself
this time around. And who knew what had become of those who'd embarked on that quest to destroy
the Ring?
Frodo was only a Hobbit, she couldn't help but think. That Ring had to have been doing a number
on him as well, just as it had with her. That power was more than intoxicating, it was addictive.
She'd had her taste of it with the lesser ring on the last trip. She couldn't begin to imagine what the
One Ring offered when the Bearer kept possession of it for as long as Frodo had.
Her eyes closed.
-- The light sprang up again, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood
Frodo, black against the glare, tense, erect, but still as if he had been turned into stone.
'Master!' cried Sam. --
Willow let out a sharp gasp when a vision of Frodo, along with his gardner, hit her. Her eyes flew
open and her hands, palms flat, went to the sides of her head. Breathing heavily, she stared
wide-eyed at the black floor in front of her. She'd seen them, as though they were standing in the
throne room with them, both Frodo and Sam.
Panic washed over her. An urgency she didn't understand filled her entire body. [They're here,] she
thought then cursed herself for thinking it. What was it about them being in Mordor that caused her
to react like this? Something was going to happen - she didn't know if it was for good or evil - but it
was going to happen. Very soon. Too soon.
"Willow?" Buffy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" She lifted an eyebrow when
the redhead looked at her, obvious distress on her face. "What is it?" Her hand slipped away from
Willow's shoulder, eyes searching her friend's for some sort of clue as to what had alarmed her.
"Will?"
"I can feel him, Buffy," she whispered. She saw the confusion on Buffy's face. Leaning closer to the
Slayer, she dropped her voice to something barely audible. "He's here."
"Who?" she asked, equally soft. The fear in Willow's eyes - it was a fear that she'd never seen
before.
Willow didn't want to say the name aloud. She wondered if Sauron knew as well? What if he
didn't? Then again, he seemed to get into her mind easily enough when he wanted to, so he probably
already did know. He knew about how she'd felt when she'd last physically encountered Frodo and
that was back in Rivendell, months before.
"Wills, what's going on?"
She shifted her attention to Xander, who now looked at her with concern. So did Giles. "We aren't
the only ones in Mordor," she replied. Her gaze locked with Giles' and it took a moment for it to
register with him what she meant. He sat back against the wall, turning away from her at the same
time, murmuring some sort of prayer in Elvish.
Buffy and Xander looked at one another then shrugged in unison. They weren't entirely certain who
Willow meant. Obviously, Giles knew and he wasn't going to tell them either.
– Then Frodo stirred and spoke with a clear voice, indeed with a voice clearer and more powerful
than Sam had ever heard him use, and it rose above the throb and turmoil of Mount Doom, ringing
in the roof and walls.
'I have come,' he said. 'But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed.
The Ring is mine!' And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam's sight. --
Another vision hit Willow hard.
"NO!" she cried out as she jumped to her feet.
For some reason, she was linked to what was happening with Frodo at Mount Doom so far away
from Barad-dur. She whirled around to face the others who scrambled to their feet, alarmed at
Willow's outburst. "He's not going to do it! He's keeping it for himself!" Her hands gripped the
sides of her head again, tears welling up in her eyes. The disappointment she felt at that moment, it
was greater than any she'd known in her life - never had she felt such despair. "He's not going to
destroy the Ring!"
"Who?" Xander asked as he grabbed Willow by the arms, shaking her, perhaps a bit too violently.
"What the hell are you talking about? What's going on?" Before he could get his answer, he felt the
entire Tower of Barad-dur rumble. He, along with Buffy and Giles, looked to the darkness above
them. "Uh oh ... I think somebody's really pissed off," he whispered.
"It's the Ringbearer," Giles said as he came up to Willow and Xander. He looked around then to
Xander then Buffy. "That's who Willow is talking about. He's made it to Mount Doom."
Willow shook her head. "He's going to keep it, Giles! He's going to keep it!"
"What does that mean?" Xander felt more out of the loop than ever. Something apocalyptic was
happening - again - and he had no idea what it was.
The Tower rumbled once more.
"I'm not waiting here to find out," Buffy declared. She gave Xander a shove towards the entrance to
the throne room. She cast one last glance up at the abyss above them then met Giles's gaze. "Let's
get the hell out of here - I'm tired of waiting for a hero to save us. That's not our style, anyway."
She took Willow by the arm. "Come on, Willow, let's go."
"Don't do it!" Willow cried as Buffy practically dragged her out of the throne room. "Don't!"
[Please ... don't ... ]
The four of them fled the room and sprinted through the corridors, easily weaving their way past the
stunned Orc soldiers who were in fear of the great rumbling that shook the Tower around them.
None of them could imagine what would have set their Dark Lord off like this - none of them could
even dream of the drama playing itself out in the fiery heart of Mount Doom.
"This way! Quick!" Buffy yelled as she directed them towards one of the downwards spiraling
staircases she remembered from her time freely wandering about Barad-dur. She pulled Willow
along with her as she followed Xander and Giles down the steps. "Hurry! Faster!"
"I'm trying!" Xander yelled back. He stumbled a few times because he was terrified. Because of
the shaking of the Tower, Willow's continued freak out and the fact he still had no idea what the hell
was going on. "I could do this much easier if you would get off my back about it, Buffy!"
Giles continued to pray in his mind, pray that they would escape the Tower before whatever was
about to happen happened. His thoughts strayed to Elenya - he wondered if this was the end? Would
he ever see her again on this plane of existence? Would he even get out of Mordor? Would any of
them survive? Was this the end of Middle-earth's bid for freedom? [Is the future lost?]
– Something struck Sam violently in the back, his legs were knocked from under him and he was
flung aside, striking his head against the stony floor, as a dark shape sprang over him. He lay still
and for a moment all went black.
And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very
heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dur was shake, and the Tower trembled from its foundations
to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all
shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly
was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare.
Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him.
For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.
From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind
shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his
captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The
whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force
upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race flew
there, faster than the winds, the Nazgul, the Ringwraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled
southwards to Mount Doom. --
Once free of the Tower, the attention of Buffy, Xander and Giles went to the skies. Gaping in
wonder at the spectacle above them, they stood still as the Nazgul, mounted on winged creatures,
flew at breakneck speed towards the volcano. Buffy looked over to Willow who still held clenched
fists to the sides of her head. Willow's tear-reddened eyes met the Slayer's.
"Willow?"
"They're going for the Ring," she said. Her hands dropped to her sides. She sniffled then looked at
Giles and Xander who turned when she'd spoke. "Sauron knows they're here now. He's going to get
it back."
The rumbling of the Tower pulled the other three back into the present.
"Let's get out of here while we can," said Xander. He cast a glance back to the Tower. "Before
somebody realizes we're gone. If this is the end of Middle-earth, I'd rather not have a front row seat
to Sauron's coronation as Evil Dictator Ruler Guy."
– Sam got up. He was dazed, and blood streaming from his head dripped in his eyes. He groped
forward, and then he saw a strange and terrible thing. Gollum on the edge of the abyss was fighting
like a mad thing with an unseen foe. To and fro he swayed, now so near the brink that almost he
tumbled in, now dragging back, falling to the ground, rising, and falling again. And all the while he
hissed but spoke no words.
The fires below awoke in anger, the red light blazed, and all the cavern was filled with a great glare
and heat. Suddenly Sam saw Gollum's long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs
gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry , and there he was, fallen upon his knees at
the chasm's edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust
within its circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire. --
Willow cried out again but Buffy wouldn't allow her to stop this time. Sweeping her up, the Slayer
slung the other girl over her shoulder and ran harder as she followed Xander and Giles through the
gates of Barad-dur, headed away from the Tower. To where, they didn't really know. All they
wanted at this point was to put as much distance between themselves and Sauron as possible.
– 'Precious, precious, precious!' Gollum cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' --
"Buffy!" Willow yelled.
Everything was so clear. Her connection to Frodo, as one Ringbearer to another, was stronger than
ever before. She felt everything through him - the scene in Mount Doom rolling through her mind as
though she watched a movie that no one else could see. Some vile, little fanged creature, dancing
about happily with the Ring - and one of Frodo's fingers still stuck within it - in his hands.
The ground beyond the Tower rumbled with anger now.
– And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled,
wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last
wail *Precious*, and he was gone. --
Willow gasped loudly lifted her head. Her gaze immediately found it's way to Mount Doom. The
reality of what had taken place finally began to settle in - the creature had taken the Ring down into
the fires of the volcano with it. It had been destroyed. The Ring - the One Ring - had been
destroyed.
She looked to the Tower of Barad-Dur and her eyes traveled up it until they reached the very top
from where Sauron kept watch on everything. Before her eyes, she was the only one who could
witness this because of her position, the Tower began to crumble apart. Though they were far from
safety yet, she felt no fear of what would happen to them. She had no further worry about anything.
Such a peace, a peace she'd not known for many months, descended upon her. As Sauron's Power
faded away from the land, it released itself from her mind. The Darkness that haunted her for so
long was replaced only with the Light.
Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to be bathed in the warmth of the feeling. [Thank you,] she
thought, hoping that, somehow, her gratitude found its way to the mind of the other Ringbearer and
his companion. [Thank you ....]
And that was the last Willow remembered of Mordor.
-
End Chapter Eighteen
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
** The appropriately marked sections of this chapter are taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's *The Lord of
the Rings: The Return of The King* and used without permission.**
unfamiliar with how Sauron falls, you probably shouldn't read this story. Especially if you want to
be surprised by the climax of *The Return of the King*. Consider this your last warning. This
chapter contains all of that and more. Thank you.
-
Chapter Eighteen
"One Will Fall To His Weakness ..."
-- The path climbed on. Soon it bent again and with a last eastward course passed in a cutting along
the face of the cone and came to the dark door in the Mountain's side, the door of the Sammath
Naur. Far away now rising towards the South the sun, piercing the smokes and haze, burned
ominous, a dull bleared disc of red; but all of Mordor lay about the Mountain like a dead land,
silent, shadow-folded, waiting for some dreadful stroke.
Sam came to the gaping mouth and peered in. It was dark and hot, and a deep rumbling shook the
air. 'Frodo! Master!' he called. There was no answer. For a moment he stood, his heart beating
with wild fears, and then he plunged in. A shadow followed him.
At first he could see nothing. In his great need he drew out once more the phial of Galadriel, but it
was pale and cold in his trembling hand and threw no light into that stifling dark. He was come to
the heart of the real of Sauron and the forges of his ancient might, greatest in Middle-earth; all other
powers here were subdued. --
"There!" Giles smiled as he watched the adamant shackles fall away from Buffy's wrists and to the
floor. He sat back on his heels, sighing in relief as the Slayer massaged her wrists to help restore the
blood flow to them. "I knew I would be able to do it. Perseverance."
"Where'd you learn how to pick locks, Giles?" Willow asked as Buffy joined her where she sat
against the wall.
"Yeah, do the Elves teach you how to do that?" joked Xander.
Giles shook his head. "No. That was a skill I acquired in my younger days," he replied. The smile
crept back to his face when he saw the reactions from the three teenagers. It didn't last long, though.
He leaned against the wall, allowing his gaze to travel up the length of Sauron's throne until it hit the
blackness above. "It seems as though I've reached the end of my road." He paused. "My only regret
is that I've brought the three of you along with me."
- Fearfully he took a few uncertain steps in the dark, and then all at once there came a flash of red
that leaped upward, and smote the high black roof. Sam saw that he was in a long cave or tunnel
that bored into the Mountain's smoking cone. But only a short way ahead its floor and the walls on
either side were cloven by a great fissure, out of which the red glare came, now leaping up, now
dying down into darkness; and all the while far below there was a rumour and a trouble as of great
engines throbbing and labouring. -
Buffy's hands dropped into her lap as she looked upon Giles. "You shouldn't blame yourself for this,
Giles. It wasn't your fault," she quietly told him. He lowered his gaze to her and she offered a small
smile. "You know - I found out that it took Sauron a couple of tries to kidnap me. Oh yeah." She
grinned a little wider. "He had to send his Orcs through more than once. That was why it all felt so
familiar when I was kicking their asses the last time."
Xander bowed his head, feeling guilty for blaming Giles for this mess for most of the journey to
Mordor. "Buffy's right, Giles, this isn't your fault," he murmured. He lifted his head, looking over
to Giles. He noted the guarded surprise in the ex-Watcher's eyes. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as
he shook his head. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was wrong. I shouldn't have tried to pin this on
you."
Buffy looked from Giles to Xander, wondering exactly what had been going on during their journey
to Mordor. She shifted her attention to Willow, who was smiling just a bit. "What's this all about?"
she mouthed to her friend.
"No, you shouldn't have," Giles replied then he softened his expression when Xander looked at him,
eyebrows arched. His own bit of shame showed now. "I never should've said what I did to you,
either, Xander. You're a brave young man. Braver than I ever was at your age. You couldn't have
done anything to stop what happened, no matter how hard you tried. I was angry. You were, too.
We said a lot of things we didn't mean. I'm sorry."
"All right, it's obvious I missed a lot of stuff," Buffy said as she watched Giles and Xander embrace
in a hug. She sighed and looked over to Willow. "You're going to tell me what that was all about
one day, right?"
Willow stared at Buffy for a moment then looked away. "Yeah, I guess so," she softly replied.
Buffy still had this idea that they were going to escape Mordor. Sauron was confident of himself
this time around. And who knew what had become of those who'd embarked on that quest to destroy
the Ring?
Frodo was only a Hobbit, she couldn't help but think. That Ring had to have been doing a number
on him as well, just as it had with her. That power was more than intoxicating, it was addictive.
She'd had her taste of it with the lesser ring on the last trip. She couldn't begin to imagine what the
One Ring offered when the Bearer kept possession of it for as long as Frodo had.
Her eyes closed.
-- The light sprang up again, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood
Frodo, black against the glare, tense, erect, but still as if he had been turned into stone.
'Master!' cried Sam. --
Willow let out a sharp gasp when a vision of Frodo, along with his gardner, hit her. Her eyes flew
open and her hands, palms flat, went to the sides of her head. Breathing heavily, she stared
wide-eyed at the black floor in front of her. She'd seen them, as though they were standing in the
throne room with them, both Frodo and Sam.
Panic washed over her. An urgency she didn't understand filled her entire body. [They're here,] she
thought then cursed herself for thinking it. What was it about them being in Mordor that caused her
to react like this? Something was going to happen - she didn't know if it was for good or evil - but it
was going to happen. Very soon. Too soon.
"Willow?" Buffy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" She lifted an eyebrow when
the redhead looked at her, obvious distress on her face. "What is it?" Her hand slipped away from
Willow's shoulder, eyes searching her friend's for some sort of clue as to what had alarmed her.
"Will?"
"I can feel him, Buffy," she whispered. She saw the confusion on Buffy's face. Leaning closer to the
Slayer, she dropped her voice to something barely audible. "He's here."
"Who?" she asked, equally soft. The fear in Willow's eyes - it was a fear that she'd never seen
before.
Willow didn't want to say the name aloud. She wondered if Sauron knew as well? What if he
didn't? Then again, he seemed to get into her mind easily enough when he wanted to, so he probably
already did know. He knew about how she'd felt when she'd last physically encountered Frodo and
that was back in Rivendell, months before.
"Wills, what's going on?"
She shifted her attention to Xander, who now looked at her with concern. So did Giles. "We aren't
the only ones in Mordor," she replied. Her gaze locked with Giles' and it took a moment for it to
register with him what she meant. He sat back against the wall, turning away from her at the same
time, murmuring some sort of prayer in Elvish.
Buffy and Xander looked at one another then shrugged in unison. They weren't entirely certain who
Willow meant. Obviously, Giles knew and he wasn't going to tell them either.
– Then Frodo stirred and spoke with a clear voice, indeed with a voice clearer and more powerful
than Sam had ever heard him use, and it rose above the throb and turmoil of Mount Doom, ringing
in the roof and walls.
'I have come,' he said. 'But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed.
The Ring is mine!' And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam's sight. --
Another vision hit Willow hard.
"NO!" she cried out as she jumped to her feet.
For some reason, she was linked to what was happening with Frodo at Mount Doom so far away
from Barad-dur. She whirled around to face the others who scrambled to their feet, alarmed at
Willow's outburst. "He's not going to do it! He's keeping it for himself!" Her hands gripped the
sides of her head again, tears welling up in her eyes. The disappointment she felt at that moment, it
was greater than any she'd known in her life - never had she felt such despair. "He's not going to
destroy the Ring!"
"Who?" Xander asked as he grabbed Willow by the arms, shaking her, perhaps a bit too violently.
"What the hell are you talking about? What's going on?" Before he could get his answer, he felt the
entire Tower of Barad-dur rumble. He, along with Buffy and Giles, looked to the darkness above
them. "Uh oh ... I think somebody's really pissed off," he whispered.
"It's the Ringbearer," Giles said as he came up to Willow and Xander. He looked around then to
Xander then Buffy. "That's who Willow is talking about. He's made it to Mount Doom."
Willow shook her head. "He's going to keep it, Giles! He's going to keep it!"
"What does that mean?" Xander felt more out of the loop than ever. Something apocalyptic was
happening - again - and he had no idea what it was.
The Tower rumbled once more.
"I'm not waiting here to find out," Buffy declared. She gave Xander a shove towards the entrance to
the throne room. She cast one last glance up at the abyss above them then met Giles's gaze. "Let's
get the hell out of here - I'm tired of waiting for a hero to save us. That's not our style, anyway."
She took Willow by the arm. "Come on, Willow, let's go."
"Don't do it!" Willow cried as Buffy practically dragged her out of the throne room. "Don't!"
[Please ... don't ... ]
The four of them fled the room and sprinted through the corridors, easily weaving their way past the
stunned Orc soldiers who were in fear of the great rumbling that shook the Tower around them.
None of them could imagine what would have set their Dark Lord off like this - none of them could
even dream of the drama playing itself out in the fiery heart of Mount Doom.
"This way! Quick!" Buffy yelled as she directed them towards one of the downwards spiraling
staircases she remembered from her time freely wandering about Barad-dur. She pulled Willow
along with her as she followed Xander and Giles down the steps. "Hurry! Faster!"
"I'm trying!" Xander yelled back. He stumbled a few times because he was terrified. Because of
the shaking of the Tower, Willow's continued freak out and the fact he still had no idea what the hell
was going on. "I could do this much easier if you would get off my back about it, Buffy!"
Giles continued to pray in his mind, pray that they would escape the Tower before whatever was
about to happen happened. His thoughts strayed to Elenya - he wondered if this was the end? Would
he ever see her again on this plane of existence? Would he even get out of Mordor? Would any of
them survive? Was this the end of Middle-earth's bid for freedom? [Is the future lost?]
– Something struck Sam violently in the back, his legs were knocked from under him and he was
flung aside, striking his head against the stony floor, as a dark shape sprang over him. He lay still
and for a moment all went black.
And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very
heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dur was shake, and the Tower trembled from its foundations
to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all
shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly
was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare.
Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him.
For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.
From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind
shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his
captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The
whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force
upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race flew
there, faster than the winds, the Nazgul, the Ringwraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled
southwards to Mount Doom. --
Once free of the Tower, the attention of Buffy, Xander and Giles went to the skies. Gaping in
wonder at the spectacle above them, they stood still as the Nazgul, mounted on winged creatures,
flew at breakneck speed towards the volcano. Buffy looked over to Willow who still held clenched
fists to the sides of her head. Willow's tear-reddened eyes met the Slayer's.
"Willow?"
"They're going for the Ring," she said. Her hands dropped to her sides. She sniffled then looked at
Giles and Xander who turned when she'd spoke. "Sauron knows they're here now. He's going to get
it back."
The rumbling of the Tower pulled the other three back into the present.
"Let's get out of here while we can," said Xander. He cast a glance back to the Tower. "Before
somebody realizes we're gone. If this is the end of Middle-earth, I'd rather not have a front row seat
to Sauron's coronation as Evil Dictator Ruler Guy."
– Sam got up. He was dazed, and blood streaming from his head dripped in his eyes. He groped
forward, and then he saw a strange and terrible thing. Gollum on the edge of the abyss was fighting
like a mad thing with an unseen foe. To and fro he swayed, now so near the brink that almost he
tumbled in, now dragging back, falling to the ground, rising, and falling again. And all the while he
hissed but spoke no words.
The fires below awoke in anger, the red light blazed, and all the cavern was filled with a great glare
and heat. Suddenly Sam saw Gollum's long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs
gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry , and there he was, fallen upon his knees at
the chasm's edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust
within its circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire. --
Willow cried out again but Buffy wouldn't allow her to stop this time. Sweeping her up, the Slayer
slung the other girl over her shoulder and ran harder as she followed Xander and Giles through the
gates of Barad-dur, headed away from the Tower. To where, they didn't really know. All they
wanted at this point was to put as much distance between themselves and Sauron as possible.
– 'Precious, precious, precious!' Gollum cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' --
"Buffy!" Willow yelled.
Everything was so clear. Her connection to Frodo, as one Ringbearer to another, was stronger than
ever before. She felt everything through him - the scene in Mount Doom rolling through her mind as
though she watched a movie that no one else could see. Some vile, little fanged creature, dancing
about happily with the Ring - and one of Frodo's fingers still stuck within it - in his hands.
The ground beyond the Tower rumbled with anger now.
– And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled,
wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last
wail *Precious*, and he was gone. --
Willow gasped loudly lifted her head. Her gaze immediately found it's way to Mount Doom. The
reality of what had taken place finally began to settle in - the creature had taken the Ring down into
the fires of the volcano with it. It had been destroyed. The Ring - the One Ring - had been
destroyed.
She looked to the Tower of Barad-Dur and her eyes traveled up it until they reached the very top
from where Sauron kept watch on everything. Before her eyes, she was the only one who could
witness this because of her position, the Tower began to crumble apart. Though they were far from
safety yet, she felt no fear of what would happen to them. She had no further worry about anything.
Such a peace, a peace she'd not known for many months, descended upon her. As Sauron's Power
faded away from the land, it released itself from her mind. The Darkness that haunted her for so
long was replaced only with the Light.
Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to be bathed in the warmth of the feeling. [Thank you,] she
thought, hoping that, somehow, her gratitude found its way to the mind of the other Ringbearer and
his companion. [Thank you ....]
And that was the last Willow remembered of Mordor.
-
End Chapter Eighteen
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
** The appropriately marked sections of this chapter are taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's *The Lord of
the Rings: The Return of The King* and used without permission.**
