KT SHY: As I write this, it's 3:30 am December 18th and I've just arrived back from Return of the King. Wholey satisfied as well as a little sad at witnessing the bittersweet end of an epic, I extend my heart-felt gratitude towards all the cast and crew who made the film trilogy possible, and above all to J.R.R. Tolkien. Thank you all so much for what you've given us. I dedicate this (quirky yet straight-from-my-heart) fanfic to you.
Shagster: It's been a long time since I've tasted the saltiness of my tears…
Summary – Act 14: Conflicts of Interest: The Ring in his possession, Sauron in Frodo's form wanders lost in the woods by the Anduin River, finding conflict (and perhaps a reluctant ally) in Gollum.
Reviews (WE'VE PASSED THE 90 MARK! YEEEEEEE!):
Starbrat ~ Hi! Welcome back! Yes, I realize I may have gone a bit over-the-top with spider abuse in the last chapter… she was trying so hard to be courteous after all, but rest assured, no Shelobs were maimed, eaten, and/or killed in the making of this fic! It was all clever CG footage. Regarding Boromirs and Haldirs however… well, that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish …
Fernie ~ Glad to be of service! And yes… now that Gimli's many hungers are satisfied there's no threat of him trying to eat the hobbits! For the next twenty-four hours at least…
Darth T-Rex ~ Aww, you're so sweet, thanks! I do try to satisfy. *chuckles happily* Hello to all your fellow LOTR fan friends at school too! *waves* LOTR is awesome!
Nine-Fingered Emilee ~ Gasp! You're new! *waves ecstatically* Hello! Waaaaaaitaminute! You're Miyako Inoue, Queen of Cheese in disguise aren't you?? Oooooooh. Oh YES you will get some Faramir action soon! I've got some really fun bits with him that I've been writing, and they're all ready to go up… I just have to push out some Sauron chapters so that all the plot threads can catch up with each other (don't worry! I promise they'll be good!) And yes, there's lots more to come with our favourite Rohan-fellas Théoden and Éomer! I can't wait for the next chapter either *bandages poor sore fingers and continues typing*.
YunSuks Chunsah ~ Aww, you're not evil, it's okay! Yes Gimli was quite starving; they'd been traveling the road through Mordor but had eaten all their reserves in the first week. I'd say he ate most of Shelob, yet he'll not be carrying around a doggy bag to disturb the others with! But now that Gimli's eaten his fill, what of our poor hungry hungry hobbits? Heh heh.
KT SHY: Happy New-years you guys! Quick note, I'm moving these Author Notes and Thanks to the end of the chapter from now on. And, as always, huge thanks and much sappiness to Shagster!!!
Shagster: Working on this fanfic is like a tidal wave of maw'shalaid! www.homestarrunner.com … I'm addicted.
KT SHY: Wheh' have all the pah'snips gawne?
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A quick note: Here we return to Sauron's story (I keep forgetting I made him my main character, yeek!) Time wise, we're going back a bit, as events that transpire here begin before The Tall Troop runs into Éomer and his riders. Thus it will be about a week or so until the Great Storm Frodo sends from Barad-dûr to Helms Deep reaches our evil protagonist.
'Don't fret Aragorn. Things are not so dire as you think. Already Sauron is stumbling into the beginnings of a trap I have laid out, and if I do say so myself, it is quite a clever trap indeed!' - Gandalf (Act VIII: The Tall Troop)
Soap Opera narrator: Last time…ish on Eye on the Prize…
Sauron heard it then, the Ring. He fell upon all fours and crawled about quickly looking for the slightest hint of gold to catch his eye. The area was trampled and muddy with orc prints but he dug about and shifted his hands here and there.
Then he saw it.
Gleaming beautifully in the starlight.
'Thank Melkor!' he breathed with sigh of relief. Giddily he scrambled over towards the small trinket that was such a large part of himself. He extended a hand and placed it upon the cool smooth surface… as at the same time a cold, clammy, greenish-grey skinned hand fell on top of his. He looked up into a bulbous pair of luminescent, startled eyes.
'IT'SS OURSS, IT'SSS OUURSSS!'
'OH MY GAWD put some clothes on!'
Eye on the Prize
Act XIV: Conflicts of Interest
The forest was cold, blue mist rising from the earth in delicate spirals. The dull light of fading twilight fell in soft beams through the trees above, illuminating clusters of mushrooms and moss covered rocks. The rustle of undergrowth gave away the presence of a family of small mammals, but the creature slinking by took no notice. His mind was preoccupied, senses all bent upon the thing that was calling him. Steam rose off his naked skin but he felt not the bite of the air nor the stones and roots that dug into feet and hands that were already roughened from much abuse. He had been traveling for so very many miles and miles and now finally he drew near to his goal.
'We comes to it now, my love. Yes we do. We heard it calling we did, all alone and afraids. There!'
The cry of the Ring grew louder.
So beautiful.
So precious.
Like the pretty sound of a rabbit screaming when caught by a fox. Like the groan of mountains breaking the earth's crust. Like the sigh of a terminal breath.
How
he yearned to caress the cool, dark, perfection of it once again.
It lay before him, exposed and encircled within a beam of starlight that
twinkled down through a tree-top clearing and reflected back into his eyes.
He reached for the precious thing but a slim white hand got there first. Looking up quickly he encountered the face of a surprised looking hobbit.
'IT'SS OURSS, IT'SSS OUURSSS!' Gollum shrieked. The hobbit shouted something back but the words fell nonsensical upon ears that were filled with the keening call of the Ring. The hobbit pulled back, hand clenched firmly around the precious, but Gollum threw himself upon the thief.
'GIVE IT TO USSS!! NASTY, FILTHY HOBBITSES!'
Much slapping and scuffling ensured as the diminutive combatants struggled for possession over the Ring. The hobbit kicked out blindly as the last of the twilight faded and Gollum recoiled with a hiss. Every time Gollum sprang forward he was met with a stinging smack, and it wasn't until he stopped for a quick breather that he realized with some satisfaction that his enemy's swings were sporadic and all-over-the-place… which meant that he couldn't see a damn thing!
Their fighting had moved them deeper into the wood where the stars were all blocked out. Having spent most of his time in darkness, Gollum held the advantage of excellent night-vision, and seeing that the fight was in his favour he melted back into the shadows while the other swung frantically at nothing but air. Fighting was one thing, but tricks were his specialty and so he circled around the hobbit, watching as the aimless flailing continued.
When a few moments passed without incident, the hobbit slowed his kicks and punches and stood still, desperately trying to listen for any tell-tale signs of Gollum's approach. Nothing moved, save for the wafts of steam that rose into the chill air from his breath.
Gollum's attack was fast and without warning as he sprung forward and grabbed a handful of brown curls, forcing his enemy face-down into the ground. Grinding the hobbit's head firmly into the dirt with one hand Gollum reached over with the other and began pulling painfully on the fingers that trapped the precious. All the while the Ring screamed. Gollum knew it was screaming for him to rescue it.
Sauron was in a world of uncomfortablity and pain and all too aware that the Ring was entering a kind of panicky unreasonable state. It was hard to ignore the excessive noise that lambasted his inner ear.
Help! Help! Auuuuuugh! Noooooooo! I don't wanna goooooooooo! Save me Master, SAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEE!
'It's hard to concentrate while you carry on like that,' Sauron muttered through clenched teeth to avoid getting a mouthful of dirt.
Nononononono, don't let him take me again Master! I don't want to go with him I want to stay with you forever and ever and -
'Why, I thought you'd WANT to go the way you two hit it off soooo well while I was away.'
The Ring gasped in a hurt kind of way that suggested it had just been betrayed by its best friend.
'I was being sarcastic.' Sauron muttered by way of apology, 'Don't worry I'm on to something.'
While Gollum was tearing at his right hand for the Ring, Sauron's left hand lay innocently enough by his side… by the weapon he'd never really taken any real notice of until now. He moved his fingers until they grasped the smooth handle of Sting, he slowly pulled it out of its scabbard… then he stabbed up and over his back, grinning sadistically at the resulting squeal of pain.
Gollum leapt back, pressing against his wounded shoulder with a quaking hand. Sauron stood up shakily, a half-grin slowly spreading across his face as he waggled Sting mockingly. The tip of the blade was red.
'Some of yours?.... Friend?'
The cut itself wasn't serious, but when Gollum pulled his hand away to assess the damage - only to be greeted by a palm dappled in blood - he launched himself into a frenzy of frenzical proportions!
The smirk fell right off Sauron's face as Gollum ploughed him over. The two flipped and spun, pinching ears and pulling nose-hairs as they struggled for domination not even noticing the steep hill until they were half way down it. They landed with a thud at the bottom which knocked the air out of both of them. Sauron had avoided landing on Sting by only the merest of fractions.
The trees had thinned out by this point and over head the night sky lay across the world in all its magnificent glory. Sauron blinked up at it stupidly while Gollum attempted to catch his breath.
'You know' Sauron began in a slurred semi-conscious voice; 'your devotion to the Ring is really quite touching.'
'T-to each is ownses.' Gollum replied in a wheeze.
They lay there for a time.
Gollum was the first to move. Getting onto his hands and knees he crawled over towards a large grey stone, lifting it up casually, and then crawled back over to Sauron. The Dark Lord watched impassively as Gollum drew nearer, his own physical strength was more-or-less spent. Gollum lifted the stone up hiiiiiigh over his head when…
'Wait…'
'What is it wants now?'
'Just one request… really simple, I promise.'
Gollum was quiet for a moment, then held out his hand in a hang-on-one-second gesture, and scampered off a short distance to have a long and very heated argument with himself, which freaked the Dark Lord out to no end.
Then Gollum returned. 'We've thought it out… and we's decided no lasst requestes.' Up came the stone again, and Sauron held out both hands this time to ward him off.
'No no! Really simple, I promise, I just want you to look me in the eye while you do it… that's all. That's not too hard is it?'
Gollum was getting impatient; the stone wavered again, but he finally agreed, 'Alrightses.'
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup came the stone, and Gollum looked down into the eyes of Sauron. On the surface the eyes were a pure blue… but when forced to look deeper… hellfire and immortal god-like wrath and malice stared back. Gollum shrieked - he knew those eyes, oh yes he did - and jumped back, dropping the stone, but Sauron was up in a flash, one cold and surprisingly strong hand fastened securely to Gollum's wrist.
He laughed, 'Oh ho ho ho ah haha haa HA! Yes, you recognize me now don't you? Remember all the fun you had in my Tower?'
Gollum tried to pull free but Sauron tightened his grip savagely. 'You've suffered greatly in Mordor, and I could EASILY repeat the whole process over again, slower this time of course but, Ha! Whacha gonna do?'
Gollum stopped his struggle as a flood of memories came back to assail him, and fell onto the ground in a defeated heap. Sauron released him, and gave himself a mental pat-on-the-back for his clever evilness. He regarded the sobbing creature for a moment, then crouched down beside him.
'I am the Lord of the Ring. It and I are one and the same, and the sooner you come to terms with that, the better. But as I mentioned earlier, your devotion to it is really quite extraordinary. So I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself.'
Gollum looked up curiously, scrubbing at a face filthy with dirt and tears.
'Serve me,' Sauron said, 'Serve the Master of the Precious –' he emphasized this last word – 'and all will be forgiven!'
The truth was Sauron needed Gollum if he were to get back to Barad-dûr. He'd realized it the moment he recognized the creature as they bumped into each other over the Ring. Gollum knew the way in and out of Mordor (from the countless times he'd travel the place for reasons Sauron didn't even want to think of) and it would be handy to have a guide lead him the safe route home. Sauron's spirit may have been immortal but the body he possessed now wasn't… if he fell from a cliff or drowned in an unseen bog, it would put a major set back in his plans.
'Come, swear you'll serve me and we can be on our way.'
Gollum was quiet, contemplative…
'SWEAR IT!' Sauron shouted impatiently, grabbing Gollum's arm painfully.
'W…we swears to serve the master of the precious!'
Sauron released his hold, 'Good! And STOP that sniveling. We'll rest here for a time, but then after that we'll set out to Mordor.'
Gollum looked up sharply, Sauron didn't miss a beat, 'No, no, no, you're in my service now, it wouldn't do me any good to bring you to further injury. I just need an escort to help me on the way home, that's all. I promise you won't be harmed. In fact you'll be rewarded! For Sauron treats his friends very well.'
Better to say escort rather than full-out guide, Sauron didn't want Gollum to know he held the upper hand when they reached Emyn Muil or any of the other stupidly dangerous places that surrounded the borders of his realm.
Why didn't I just get a dog, he thought to himself, a really big dog. Then there'd be no need for all the ridiculous obstacles I'm going to be facing over the next few weeks.
The Dark Lord rubbed his hands together (one still in a fist holding the Ring) and plopped down onto a patch of grass. He refused to fall asleep, not trusting Gollum for an instant, but his (Frodo's) aching body needed rest, so he rolled onto his back and started up at the night sky… hoping to see some falling stars, or exploding planets, or something similarly entertaining.
Gollum rubbed absent mindedly at the wound on his shoulder, staring angrily at Sting where it lay glinting on the ground, his own blood smeared across its tip.
You hate it don't you, Sméagol.
Yes, he did. But more than the biting elven blade he hated the one that wielded it. Having spent so much time within the dungeons of Barad-dûr, Gollum knew the Great Eye for what he was; he'd recognized him instantly within the face of the hobbit. How such things came to be Gollum neither wondered nor cared. But that he should now be the servant of the one who had hurt him so…
Gollum reached a hand up from his shoulder and over to his back, alighting upon numerous scars that had dulled with time in pain and visibility, but still carved red-hot streaks through his mind.
The Dark Lord had declared himself one and the same with the Ring, but Gollum knew this to be false. The Ring was sweet, the Ring was calm, and the Ring would never ever hurt him… unlike some people…
Mordor was his enemy, of that he had no doubt whatsoever. But the enemies of Mordor were even less dear to him… in fact he recalled a certain event that happened many months ago…
**Flashback a couple months**
Gollum sat tied to a chair, his sensitive eyes squinting against the glare of the single overhanging lamp casting its harsh spotlight upon him.
'…we were just walking around…'
'Who's "WE"!? Who's this other person you keep talking about!? Who are you in league with!?' demanded an irate Gandalf.
'We don't know!'
Aragorn backhanded Gollum into submission. 'You may be used to the other way around, but this is bad cop, bad cop!' he said as Gandalf started to light Gollum's ears with a zippo.
**End flashback**
Actually, Gollum thought to himself, all things considered Mordor was a little nicer… they didn't ask any questions.
So anyway, the point was this. The Ring was the only one he could depend on. And thus he would rescue it. Then HE'D be the Master of the Precious… so he really wasn't breaking his promise at all! Not that Gollum minded breaking promises. Yes, he'd serve the Master of the Precious, the same way he'd been serving himself for years. His eyes fell upon Sting again, and his hands began to pick up and mold clumps of damp earth for the clever plan that had just entered his poor depraved little mind.
The grass felt nice on his back and the wind in his hair definitely held some kind of appeal as Sauron rested. He watched a few stars wink out and streak across the sky, then quirked his eyebrow up as one changed direction mid-streak and hurtled down straight towards him! He gave a shrill little-girl scream and rolled away as the hurtling ball of death smashed just where he'd been. He stood up, clearly shaken, and stared at the fire-ball… or more accurately, the Great Giant Burning Eye……...... of Frodo!
'YOU!' Sauron shouted pointing, 'how'd you escape!?!?!?'
The burning eye shook off a few muddy clumps, then regained its composure, 'Oh, you know… disguised myself as a walnut and just kind of rolled out of there…that kind of thing.'
The Dark Lord's jaw slacked open.
'Anyway that's not the important thing,' the Eye of Frodo was clearly uncomfortable with the subject and decided to change it, 'The point is… yoooooou killllllled meeeeeeeee…'
'No I didn't!'
The E of F ignored him, 'And yoooooou will be huuuuuuunted by three spiiiiiriiiiiits…'
'But I didn't kill you… wait, haunted or hunted?'
'Piiiiiiiiiiiiick ooooooone,' came the myssssteeeeeeriousss respooooonsssse.
'Dur… uhhhm… '
Suddenly the E of F grew in stature, and became so enormous that it filled the whole of Sauron's vision, he took a step back, hand raising as if he hoped the gesture would ward off the monstrous flaming visage which turned pink and bubbly…
And then Sauron realized with a curse that he'd been dreaming.
He sat up quickly pinched his cheek REALLY hard, yelped in pain at the pinch, opened his fist, was relieved to see that the Ring was still there, closed his fist, and then looked over at Gollum who still sat in the same place he'd been sitting before. Looking a little too innocent for Sauron's liking.
'Master needs his sleeps, so we watches over to keeps him safe. We swores to protect him we did, to escorts him to Mordor.' Gollum smiled… very creepily.
'Huh,' snorted Sauron, irritated with himself for dozing off. Then sarcastically, 'Protect me, eh? Could you protect me from yourself?'
'Nope!' and with that Gollum sprung, as he was so very fond of doing, at Sauron. Sauron was aghast to see that Gollum wielded Sting, the handle caked with mud so that he could touch the elvin weapon without any discomfort.
'GRAAAAAAH!'
'EEEEEAAAAUGH!'
Gollum drove the blade down, but hit only grass as Sauron rolled out of the way, struggled to his feet, and started to run. Gollum recovered quickly and began chasing him all over the place, laughing maniacally while he did so. Sauron rightly assumed this meant Gollum no longer held any fear of him.
The chase continued for the better part of the night, Gollum clearly not giving up and Sauron clearly not in favour of being gutted. He ran on and on underneath the trees, narrowly avoiding tree trunks and roots, although he had rammed into a deer somewhere along the way, and was constantly tripping over squirrels and other such cuddly roadblocks. The air was growing damp and he was aware of a thunderous roaring to the left of him somewhere through the darkness of trees and bushes, he continued his sprint forward.
He burst through a brown and leafless berry-growth but at the last second gasped and grabbed onto the branch of an old tree he'd almost passed by completely. The branch saved his life, as he'd almost run straight over a cliff edge. The earth crumbled where he'd been standing, causing stones and dirt to fall away making quiet splashes far below. To his direct left, the great waterfall of Rauros, thundered past and fell in a giant grey curtain. At least he now realized the source of the roaring sound, but the realization brought him little comfort as he attempted to pull himself up higher onto the dangerously creaking branch.
With his back to the precipice he struggled to get a safe hold, fingers digging into the tree bark. A noise made him look back down the path from which he had run.
'Oh no, no no no, STOP!'
But Gollum kept on coming, Sting glinting ominously, eyes all crazy, yelling horrible things. There was nothing else to do. Sauron used the branch like a gymnastic bar, swinging under and kicking into the gangly creature. Gollum was forced to a screeching halt by the contact, but the blade sailed on, falling over the edge and out of sight.
Then the branch gave a terrible cracking sound.
Both Gollum and Sauron looked up at the source of the noise, then back over at the cliff edge as the branch decided the three should become better acquainted.
SNAP!
And with that Sauron the Dark Lord of all Middle-Earth and Gollum… an addict with serious psychological problems, tumbled down Rauros and to the depths that awaited below.
Downstream from the falls, a small rabbit (actually it was a moose with an identity crisis but that's not important) was snuffling about on the shore. It scampered about looking for tasty greens under the tall lush trees. Alerted to something eeeevil approaching, it stood up tall, the moonlight making its fur shine as silver. Then it bolted.
Sauron dragged himself out of the river and onto the shore gasping and sputtering, clutching handfuls of dirt and sand. He continued to pull his exhausted body away from the water, wondering why it felt so heavy. When he finally stopped crawling and sprawled soaking and practically lifeless on the shore, he looked back to see the reason for the added weight was that Gollum (clearly unconscious) had managed to maintain a death grip on his ankle.
He contemplated kicking the stupid creature a few times, but decided it would take too much effort, and so decided in favour of passing out instead.
The last thing he saw through a haze of water droplets, tree trunks and grass, was the green hem of a robe. He tried to look up to see who the wearer was, but by that point he was already cradled in darkness.
KT SHY: Doooooooooooooooone! Yeah, not that much humour in this one, I'm sorry, but I was trying to get back into some plot with these two, so that had to be established first. This is part action/adventure after all. If you need a humour fix I strongly urge you to go take a peek at this fanfic I stumbled on last night and finished reading… said same night… "Roomies" by Pointy-Eared Archer… it just kept me laaaughing and laaaughing!
On a completely different note: Having thoroughly enjoyed writing Eye on the Prize, I've begun to take it quite seriously (shocking I know, it began happening around Act 8…) When I say serious I don't mean content wise, it's still meant to be dumb fun, but I've noticed QUITE a few plot holes (For one, way back in the first chapters with all the crossing of the Anduin; I never wrote it down, but Sauron would have had to be carried back across the river so that the Uruks could continue their trek west to Isengard. I just kind of had everyone cross to the eastern side, then the next thing you know the Tall Troop and Sauron are magically back on the west while the Small Troop continues east. There was also the matter of how the Uruks crossed the Anduin to follow the fellowship (it's pretty deep and I hardly doubt they'd be able to pull a Pirates of the Caribbean stunt and walk). SO I've gone back and fixed up a few original errors, cleaned up the dialogue a bit, and added a few things I thought were interesting. SO, if you've nothing critical that needs doing, why not take a peek at the fixed up chapters?
As always, if you notice any MAJOR screw ups (that go outside the excuse of humor) please tell me… as chances are I won't pick them up. It's been about two years or so since I started this thing and I didn't notice until now! That's the price you pay when you write chapter to chapter rather than getting the whole picture in mind and work with that. I've learned my lesson though, thank you very much!
PLEASE REVIEWwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!