Question:

If you wrote a Mary Sue, Who would fall in love with you? Well, whoever it is is about to give you a box of chocolates and an enormous bunch of your favourite flowers for reviewing this since chapter 5 went up!! And I know it's a little late in the story to start something new, but I'm going to reply to you this time and will do so in other chaptered stories:

Eregriel Gloswen: I can never, ever get tired of reading that. I always look forward to reading your reviews; they're wonderfully encouraging—and very inspirational! Thanks so much, & keep writing! P.S. What will you do? Read the sequel, that's what!

clrules: I know you didn't actually read it, I told you about the theme at school...but thanks anyway O Queen of Total Randomness and Link/Yu-Gi-Oh Craziness (and getting out of school!) -

Yuki Hibiki: Your spelling is fine; I know what you're saying. So glad you liked it (I did as well)! Thanks for that, & keep writing!

BloomBabes: Thanks, Saz 'n Vee! Loved your story, by the way . Yes, there will be more—this is part of it!

Lossendholiel Greenleaf: Thank you!!! Nobody's ever told me that before! That review definitely made my day. You, among others, will be glad to know Fangorn Forest is coming up next. (I hope everyone heard that!) By the way, I love your pen name!

A/N: This is the sixth, and consequentially second last chapter (sniff...sob!). It's a little different from the others in that the awe factor doesn't centre entirely on sight. It's also a little more true-to- life than the previous five, in that it looks more like a normal underground cave, i.e. stalagmites, stalactites, etc. And before I forget, the reflections in the pillars were clrules's idea, so I'm giving her the credit for it. cl, I don't know how you come up with those ideas—being naturally random must be good for your imagination. Anyway, you may have noticed the references to a distant echo in previous chapters. Read on to find out why...

Walking forward, Legolas' mind was still in the starry cave. He did not see or hear anything around him; he was so deeply absorbed in memories of wonder. For him, it did not seem as if he had left the cavern at all. He was walking through the dim passage in body, but if Gimli had suddenly tripped, he would have fallen to the ground unnoticed. His friend's mind was still soaring among stars of stone.

Every now and then the Dwarf looked concernedly up at the seemingly absent Elf—he too had been struck by the awesome beauty of the cave, but it had quickly worn off once he could no longer see it, and the memory had become exactly that—a faded picture of times gone by. He could not understand his friend's sudden unawareness. Usually Legolas was attentive and automatically alert to every sound and movement around him—perhaps memories were more vivid for Elves than Gimli had first thought. When they drew near to the next cave, Legolas remained unseeing. He still walked in a daze, not knowing or caring for anything but what he saw behind his normally bright eyes.

Gimli decided it was time for desperate measures. He had no wish for his friend to walk in a dream for the rest of their precious time in the Caves, but it seemed entirely possible.

"Legolas." The Elf did not respond.

"Legolas?" But he remained looking straight ahead with unseeing eyes.

"Legolas, wake up." Gimli stopped, but his friend kept walking onwards. By now the dwarf had grown afraid for him—Legolas was so deep in thought he did not hear his friend's concerned pleas.

"Come back! Legolas, listen to me!" Legolas stopped walking, perhaps faintly hearing the tone of desperation in Gimli's voice through his deep euphoria, but he did not turn. Gimli came slowly towards him, breathing a sigh of relief. "Legolas, listen. You must wake up. You cannot stay like this. There is more to see in Middle-earth than memories of times past."

A small sigh escaped the Elf's lips. He relaxed from his stiff position of seeing nothing, hearing no one. His eyelids drooped, and he leant wearily against the wall of the passage. Slowly, but surely, Legolas came back to reality. Gimli's worried face, almost hidden behind the expanse of beard, came into view as he looked downwards. "I thought I was flying through an endless night sky," said the Elf at last.

"I did not think you were ever coming back. You did not hear me calling you, or even see I had stopped walking. Do you know what happened to you?" Gimli's voice came floating eerily back to them a moment later—"to you? To you? To..."

At this, Legolas looked surprised. He had not remembered that Gimli was beside him. He took some time to comprehend his friend's meaning. When he finally understood, his face took on a remorseful expression. "I am sorry, my friend. I did not—I was not aware of you. I did not know of your concern. I am thankful that you are with me." Gimli suddenly smiled.

"I am glad you are back, in mind and in body. We now have only two more caves to view. Shall we continue and see them, or would you prefer to dream a little longer?" A smile also spread across Legolas' face.

"I think we shall continue, as you seem too impatient to stay anywhere for long." And they walked on.

Soon they came to another open doorway. Stepping inside, they looked about them in surprise. They had expected to see another sparkling vista, impossible yet existing before their eyes. Instead, they looked out upon—a cave. The cavern was definitely beautiful, and the fragile crystals growing on projections from the wall sparkled daintily in the torchlight, but there were no gems in sight. The floor was of normal rough, brown sand. The walls were of dark rock, ranging in hue from pearly white to dusty pink to warm brown. Long ropes, pendants and shawls hung from the lofty ceiling, gleaming with trickling water. At the tip of each one, a shining droplet trembled in anticipation of its inevitable fall to earth. Near the walls, small shining cones reared their heads, some touching to those dangling from the ceiling and forming slender pillars.

The companions soon noticed that the chamber, like its brothers, was unlike a typical cave. As they walked forward and looked about them, they found that the far end of the cave exactly resembled the side from which they had entered. Every shawl, rope and pillar of clear white was placed opposite its double on the other side, and every detail was a mirror image. Every rugged ledge had a twin standing opposite itself, with every tiny crystallised detail replicated to perfection on the other side of the cave. And every symmetrical pillar seemed polished to a high sheen, so that when the pair came close to them they glimpsed themselves looking out wide- eyed at the world. As the companions continued to traverse the cave and examine each exquisite detail, they made another unexpected discovery. When their feet crunched on the coarse sand, the sound came bouncing back a second later. It sounded as if each was following the other's footsteps, stepping a moment out of time. Gimli repeatedly turned and looked behind him, almost expecting to find a silent intruder attempting to follow while remaining unnoticed. Then, suddenly, he cleared his throat.

A cacophony of echoes filled the cave. They thundered furiously and unrelentingly from every corner and hidden crack. Gradually they died away, leaving both friends in silent amazement. Legolas in particular, whose ears were more sensitive, had no wish to start the thunderous symphony over again.

This was something he had not expected in the least. All the previous caves had centred, more or less, on the mere sight of them to provoke awe in the viewer, whatever their origin. This, though beautiful in a less ethereal manner, commanded any visitor to literally voice their appreciation—for it then returned the compliment, without price.

Suddenly Legolas' eyes widened in alarm. Gimli was drawing breath, preparing to obey the command. Legolas had caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. He hurriedly put a slender finger to his lips. Gimli took no notice. "I have never heard anything so wondrous," he whispered. Legolas tensed, but to his great surprise—and relief—he was not deafened a second time. Instead, he heard the gentle rushing of wind all around him—the leaves of trees, far away in Mirkwood, rustling in a strong breeze. He could hear words murmured in the gust—"so wondrous...so wondrous...so wondrous...wondrous..."

It seemed so real, he felt for a moment as if he were back in his forest home, walking among the trees he loved. A sudden wave of nostalgia swept over him—it had been so long, too long since he had seen his home for the last time. His eyelids dropped as he tried to hide the swift surge of emotion behind their flimsy shelter. Then the echoes died away once again. He smiled at Gimli—for once, the Dwarf had made a sound pleasing to the ear. For the first time since they had entered the cavern, Legolas spoke. "Neither have I heard anything like this in my life," he said softly.

The cavern dutifully reproduced the sound of his last few syllables. The tones of wonder in the Elf's soft, but clear voice resounded many times over. "In my life..." They echoed, clear as a bell at every repetition. "In my life..."

Gimli wondered just how long his friend's life had been. How many wondrous things had he seen? How many people had he known, and seen rise to their full strength and fall into the past, while he remained unchanged? How many sorrows had he felt; how many great joys; how many friendships had he gained—and lost?

Faintly through his deep thought Gimli heard his friend's voice at his side, laughing gladly for laughter's sake. The cheerful sound reverberated hollowly from unfathomable depths of stone. The elf paused while the echoes faded away into near silence, listening with interest. "It seems strange that a sound so glad can be changed so suddenly to one so mournful," he said. Gimli nodded in agreement. He had decided to speak no louder than a whisper, as that seemed to provide a reasonable experience.

They lingered there, speaking or singing softly and listening to the cave's reproduction of each voice in turn. When they could think of no more to say, they moved on, their separate footsteps—Gimli's heavy tread, Legolas' soft but lively step—echoing once more, and slowly fading as they entered the passage that would lead them to the last cavern of all. What they would find there, even after seeing all its brothers, they could not begin to guess.