Disclaimer: AU Story. My third large LOTR fic. I can't stop! None of the
characters or settings are mine. They all belong to Tolkien. (Apart from
Emáten) I wish I were related to Tolkien, don't you? It would be so cool!
Oh, and the plot here is derived from my own imagination. Hope you enjoy.
Shirebound: *blush* Thank you. It just sounded quite Merry-ish and it was my sort of "motto" for the day :-)
Eldalie Lavinia: Yeah, well, this name rocks too! Don't you want the story to end? A climax? Climaxes are fun to write...
AshNight: Yay! The return of the terrible cliffhanger! Woohoo! I hope I give you a good ending. It would be sad to end this story badly when I've enjoyed writing it so much. Thanks for the luck! *catches luck and puts it in a jar*
ViNguyen: I liked the LOTR cast thing-y- very funny! Glad you liked the Emáten and Merry bit. What's the glare for though? *puppy dog innocent eyes*
Crazytook: Sorry it flipped so abruptly but I wanted to get across the urgency of the scene. Glad I could explain things to you, I feel bad when I get people confused! Yeah, I thought that Merry deserved a little mature conversation. Frodo gets all the fun (if you can call torture fun)
Bookworm2000: That's just Pip's way, I guess. He's just a little guy in the book but in Memories of Home, he's grown up. No, never blame the reader, always blame the writer, it's always the writer's fault. :-)
????: D'aw! So pleased someone found out about the Emáten, Envin thing with Skye and me. It's one big happy family now! Hope you're kept on tenterhooks!
MagicalRachel: *glances at self* Nope, still 13. I'm really not that good! I keep confusing people! I'm sorry about the time-twist-y thing. It was supposed to portray urgency but it didn't really work. Yay for Emáten! So happy you like him! *Emáten goes bright red and giggles*
Alatariel: Oh, thank you. It's fantastic that you're enjoying this so much
Holly Wood: AAH! Why does no one want this to end? So happy you liked it! Ooh, Frodo getting all weird, what will he do?
Koko Kung:............BOO! Hehehe. Yes, I have sincerely strange tastes. I am strange. But I go away if you ignore me. Yay! Emáten is supposed to represent Boromir. Hooray for you for noticing! *claps wildly* Sorry, I've been waiting a long time for someone to mention it
TigerLily713: Why? Why don't you want a climax? *sob* Ah well, at least you're enjoying it and that's all that matters. I hope the proceeding chapters please you just as much!
~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~
Aragorn and Gandalf drew their swords and they glittered in the morning light. In a swift movement, Legolas had sent an arrow hissing through the air. It struck the dragon at the joint of its wing and it shrieked in agony. Now earthbound, it shifted towards them, still at frightening speed. They saw a gleaming blade in the rider's glove.
"Fire again, Legolas!" Aragorn shouted. The elf obeyed but the arrow ricocheted off the dragon's armoured head. The jaws opened wide, revealing rows upon rows of serrated teeth. It had just reached the brow of the hill when Gimli leapt forth, digging his axe alongside the arrowshaft still protruding from its scales. The wing tore, revealing grey bones beneath. The dragon screamed and slammed its head round, flinging the dwarf down the hillside.
"Gimli!" Legolas cried. He could imagine those bandages tearing and all Rosie's hard work would come to nothing.
"No, Legolas, come back," Aragorn called but it was futile. The elf sprang nimbly after his companion, sending another arrow zipping over the Nazgûl's head. Limping badly now, the beast of night crawled towards Gandalf. The wizard waited until the last moment, when the jaws were wide and he could sense the cold evil prickle on his skin, before he shouted,
"Kal!"
The light exploded from his staff, pouring into every fissure of the dragon's head. There was no sound. The dragon, his eyes burnt out by the radiance, died almost at once. Its treetrunk legs splayed out around it and the tattered wings drifted to earth, sending up a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the rider was standing upon its broken steed, gazing sightlessly down at its enemy. But Gandalf hardly had enough strength to stand. It was all up to the Fellowship now.
"Dunedin," Bilbo said, "Dunedin!"
It took Aragorn a moment to realise the hobbit was addressing him.
"What?" he snapped, spinning round. He was slowly advancing, trying to close the space between the rider and Gandalf.
"Well, if I could get behind the Black Rider, I could pull it down. I'm small enough and once its on the ground, you could finish it off, couldn't you?"
"Bilbo, it is far too dangerous. I will not allow...Bilbo!"
But already the impetuous hobbit was creeping along the cliff-edge, working his way quietly round. Both he and Aragorn were slowly closing off the Nazgûl's escape.
It would have worked. No sacrifices would have been made. Legolas would have run up the slope as Aragorn pinned the rider to the ground and fired the final arrow that would have ended the Ring's haunt once and for all. But for Sam. Once before, his love and compassion had saved the quest but this time, it almost brought it to ruin. Seeing Bilbo creeping towards the Nazgûl filled him with terror.
"Mr. Bilbo!" he cried, "What are you doing?"
The rider spun round and, upon seeing the hobbit, swept his sword round in an arc. Aragorn's sword countered it just in time. There was the splintering of metal as his blade shattered under the evil influence shrouding the weapon of the enemy. He tumbled to the ground. Bilbo leapt up, throwing his arms desperately around the Nazgûl's neck. Frodo instinctively ran to protect his uncle and Sam followed to defend his master. Bilbo clawed at the wraith vainly, tearing the ragged cloth to shreds. He fell to the ground alongside Aragorn. Frodo and Sam fell down beside them. Towering down over them was no less than a nightmare.
It was Man. A skull, ringed with a crown of silver and wisps of grey hair cobwebbing out behind. It was Man in the form of age. An old man, cursed to ever wander the world. But little more than a man. Riddled with evil and betrayal, his mind long stripped of will or faith. A bony hand was slowly reaching out for Frodo. The one thing it knew. The last thing it had ever known was this hobbit. The Ringbearer. Frodo blazed before it, brighter than any other object in its grey vision.
Pippin pushed his cousin roughly.
"Run, Frodo! Run!"
Frodo was trapped in the Nazgûl's gaze, staring intensely back into the empty socket. Pippin shook him again, apparently the only one not hypnotised by the terrible evil before him.
_Peregrin Took!_ he heard Gandalf cry somewhere in his mind, _Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity! You'll no longer be a nuisance!_
He lashed out at the approaching hand, sending the Nazgûl reeling backwards and breaking the heavy enchantment. He shook Frodo desperately by the arm, almost in tears for his fear.
"Go, Frodo! It's only you he wants! Run!"
Frodo, still drifting from his trance, nodded blearily and stumbled to his feet. Things were sliding together in his mind, dropping into place.
Emáten saw. Only Emáten saw.
He remembered what he had intended to do. And there would be no more Ring. No more regrets. No more pain for those he loved.
Emáten felt the blood rush in his veins. 'No,' he thought, 'This is not how it ends!'
Merry flung himself at the rider's legs, bringing it to the floor. But it merely brushed him off. The wraith rose and lifted its hood again, passing the skull once again into unfathomable darkness. Pippin was trying to get Aragorn and Bilbo up, screaming at them to help him. He watched as Merry threw himself at the Nazgûl again, clinging determinedly at the arm. But again, he was shaken off. The rider was focused on Frodo, slowly backing towards the cliff.
Only Emáten knew what Frodo was about to do. He rose from Gandalf's side, screaming,
"No! No! Please, don't do it, Frodo!"
But already, Frodo had made up his mind. He stopped, his heels digging into the turf of the cliff. Behind him stretched a vast horizon of sea.
"No!" he shouted. The Nazgûl halted in its approach.
"No!" Frodo yelled again, "I will not be your key. In the last years of my life, I was only ever a tool. My mind was always at your mercy. But I will not be your key anymore. I could not save my friends; they had to do it alone. If it was not for them, I never would have succeeded. If it was not for them, I would have died a hundred times over. But you'll never understand that. I pity you in that you will never know love like that. I will not die by your sword."
"Frodo...!" Emáten screamed.
But Frodo turned around and, before either the Nazgûl or Emáten could reach him, he jumped...
~
...please don't hurt me...
Shirebound: *blush* Thank you. It just sounded quite Merry-ish and it was my sort of "motto" for the day :-)
Eldalie Lavinia: Yeah, well, this name rocks too! Don't you want the story to end? A climax? Climaxes are fun to write...
AshNight: Yay! The return of the terrible cliffhanger! Woohoo! I hope I give you a good ending. It would be sad to end this story badly when I've enjoyed writing it so much. Thanks for the luck! *catches luck and puts it in a jar*
ViNguyen: I liked the LOTR cast thing-y- very funny! Glad you liked the Emáten and Merry bit. What's the glare for though? *puppy dog innocent eyes*
Crazytook: Sorry it flipped so abruptly but I wanted to get across the urgency of the scene. Glad I could explain things to you, I feel bad when I get people confused! Yeah, I thought that Merry deserved a little mature conversation. Frodo gets all the fun (if you can call torture fun)
Bookworm2000: That's just Pip's way, I guess. He's just a little guy in the book but in Memories of Home, he's grown up. No, never blame the reader, always blame the writer, it's always the writer's fault. :-)
????: D'aw! So pleased someone found out about the Emáten, Envin thing with Skye and me. It's one big happy family now! Hope you're kept on tenterhooks!
MagicalRachel: *glances at self* Nope, still 13. I'm really not that good! I keep confusing people! I'm sorry about the time-twist-y thing. It was supposed to portray urgency but it didn't really work. Yay for Emáten! So happy you like him! *Emáten goes bright red and giggles*
Alatariel: Oh, thank you. It's fantastic that you're enjoying this so much
Holly Wood: AAH! Why does no one want this to end? So happy you liked it! Ooh, Frodo getting all weird, what will he do?
Koko Kung:............BOO! Hehehe. Yes, I have sincerely strange tastes. I am strange. But I go away if you ignore me. Yay! Emáten is supposed to represent Boromir. Hooray for you for noticing! *claps wildly* Sorry, I've been waiting a long time for someone to mention it
TigerLily713: Why? Why don't you want a climax? *sob* Ah well, at least you're enjoying it and that's all that matters. I hope the proceeding chapters please you just as much!
~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~
Aragorn and Gandalf drew their swords and they glittered in the morning light. In a swift movement, Legolas had sent an arrow hissing through the air. It struck the dragon at the joint of its wing and it shrieked in agony. Now earthbound, it shifted towards them, still at frightening speed. They saw a gleaming blade in the rider's glove.
"Fire again, Legolas!" Aragorn shouted. The elf obeyed but the arrow ricocheted off the dragon's armoured head. The jaws opened wide, revealing rows upon rows of serrated teeth. It had just reached the brow of the hill when Gimli leapt forth, digging his axe alongside the arrowshaft still protruding from its scales. The wing tore, revealing grey bones beneath. The dragon screamed and slammed its head round, flinging the dwarf down the hillside.
"Gimli!" Legolas cried. He could imagine those bandages tearing and all Rosie's hard work would come to nothing.
"No, Legolas, come back," Aragorn called but it was futile. The elf sprang nimbly after his companion, sending another arrow zipping over the Nazgûl's head. Limping badly now, the beast of night crawled towards Gandalf. The wizard waited until the last moment, when the jaws were wide and he could sense the cold evil prickle on his skin, before he shouted,
"Kal!"
The light exploded from his staff, pouring into every fissure of the dragon's head. There was no sound. The dragon, his eyes burnt out by the radiance, died almost at once. Its treetrunk legs splayed out around it and the tattered wings drifted to earth, sending up a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the rider was standing upon its broken steed, gazing sightlessly down at its enemy. But Gandalf hardly had enough strength to stand. It was all up to the Fellowship now.
"Dunedin," Bilbo said, "Dunedin!"
It took Aragorn a moment to realise the hobbit was addressing him.
"What?" he snapped, spinning round. He was slowly advancing, trying to close the space between the rider and Gandalf.
"Well, if I could get behind the Black Rider, I could pull it down. I'm small enough and once its on the ground, you could finish it off, couldn't you?"
"Bilbo, it is far too dangerous. I will not allow...Bilbo!"
But already the impetuous hobbit was creeping along the cliff-edge, working his way quietly round. Both he and Aragorn were slowly closing off the Nazgûl's escape.
It would have worked. No sacrifices would have been made. Legolas would have run up the slope as Aragorn pinned the rider to the ground and fired the final arrow that would have ended the Ring's haunt once and for all. But for Sam. Once before, his love and compassion had saved the quest but this time, it almost brought it to ruin. Seeing Bilbo creeping towards the Nazgûl filled him with terror.
"Mr. Bilbo!" he cried, "What are you doing?"
The rider spun round and, upon seeing the hobbit, swept his sword round in an arc. Aragorn's sword countered it just in time. There was the splintering of metal as his blade shattered under the evil influence shrouding the weapon of the enemy. He tumbled to the ground. Bilbo leapt up, throwing his arms desperately around the Nazgûl's neck. Frodo instinctively ran to protect his uncle and Sam followed to defend his master. Bilbo clawed at the wraith vainly, tearing the ragged cloth to shreds. He fell to the ground alongside Aragorn. Frodo and Sam fell down beside them. Towering down over them was no less than a nightmare.
It was Man. A skull, ringed with a crown of silver and wisps of grey hair cobwebbing out behind. It was Man in the form of age. An old man, cursed to ever wander the world. But little more than a man. Riddled with evil and betrayal, his mind long stripped of will or faith. A bony hand was slowly reaching out for Frodo. The one thing it knew. The last thing it had ever known was this hobbit. The Ringbearer. Frodo blazed before it, brighter than any other object in its grey vision.
Pippin pushed his cousin roughly.
"Run, Frodo! Run!"
Frodo was trapped in the Nazgûl's gaze, staring intensely back into the empty socket. Pippin shook him again, apparently the only one not hypnotised by the terrible evil before him.
_Peregrin Took!_ he heard Gandalf cry somewhere in his mind, _Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity! You'll no longer be a nuisance!_
He lashed out at the approaching hand, sending the Nazgûl reeling backwards and breaking the heavy enchantment. He shook Frodo desperately by the arm, almost in tears for his fear.
"Go, Frodo! It's only you he wants! Run!"
Frodo, still drifting from his trance, nodded blearily and stumbled to his feet. Things were sliding together in his mind, dropping into place.
Emáten saw. Only Emáten saw.
He remembered what he had intended to do. And there would be no more Ring. No more regrets. No more pain for those he loved.
Emáten felt the blood rush in his veins. 'No,' he thought, 'This is not how it ends!'
Merry flung himself at the rider's legs, bringing it to the floor. But it merely brushed him off. The wraith rose and lifted its hood again, passing the skull once again into unfathomable darkness. Pippin was trying to get Aragorn and Bilbo up, screaming at them to help him. He watched as Merry threw himself at the Nazgûl again, clinging determinedly at the arm. But again, he was shaken off. The rider was focused on Frodo, slowly backing towards the cliff.
Only Emáten knew what Frodo was about to do. He rose from Gandalf's side, screaming,
"No! No! Please, don't do it, Frodo!"
But already, Frodo had made up his mind. He stopped, his heels digging into the turf of the cliff. Behind him stretched a vast horizon of sea.
"No!" he shouted. The Nazgûl halted in its approach.
"No!" Frodo yelled again, "I will not be your key. In the last years of my life, I was only ever a tool. My mind was always at your mercy. But I will not be your key anymore. I could not save my friends; they had to do it alone. If it was not for them, I never would have succeeded. If it was not for them, I would have died a hundred times over. But you'll never understand that. I pity you in that you will never know love like that. I will not die by your sword."
"Frodo...!" Emáten screamed.
But Frodo turned around and, before either the Nazgûl or Emáten could reach him, he jumped...
~
...please don't hurt me...
