Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings belongs to the Tolkien estate, or maybe to Peter Jackson, but certainly not to me.

AN: I forgot to mention, in the last chapter, Sam's line "It looks every step of fifty miles," was quoted from Return of the King.

Last Ring-Bearer

Chapter 4

By Sam's imprecise reckoning, he thought that it had taken him around six days to get to the craggy foot of Mt. Doom. The ever-present gloom made it hard to keep track, but other things had distracted Sam on his journey, and made him lose track of time.

As he had suspected, the Ring seemed to grow heavier with each passing hour, dragging at his neck until he spent most of his long and weary treks staring at his feet.

He did not want for food, he had more than enough lembas, and with two water bottles he managed to be no more than achingly thirsty. There were scattered wells, no doubt for orc use, so that he managed to have just enough water and he was grateful for every lukewarm and bitter drop.

His nightmares continued, but Frodo's appearances in them grew less frequent. His waking was no longer completely safe from the terrifying vision of a wheel of fire. Sometimes it seemed to float in front of him as he walked, just out of reach, taunting and burning and enticing him.

I will destroy the Ring for Frodo. Became Sam's mantra, one that he had to repeat to himself constantly just to remember why he was in this forsaken land to begin with.

With his mantra and his memories of the Shire, Sam managed to hold on to his purpose and sanity and push onward, until finally he had finished crossing the Gorgoroth, and began to climb the rocky foot of Orodruin.

His progress up the mountain was slowed to a crawl by boulders and loose scree that blocked his path. He went gamely on, wondering if he would have to climb all the way to the top to find the Cracks of Doom and the Chamber of Fire.

At some point his feet had acquired small cuts from the sharp rocks that even hobbit feet could not withstand, giving him a slight limp but not seriously hindering him. Worse than that was when the scree slid down the slope in protest of his weight, carrying him backwards until he managed to grab hold of something more stable and begin his ascent anew.

After an indeterminate length of time, Sam came upon a road that wound its way up the mountain. He stared at it uneasily, wondering why it was so free of debris when the rest of the rocky slope was nearly impassable.

Why does it matter? Sam thought ruefully. It's got to lead to the Chamber of Fire, why else would there be a road? And if that's the case I have to take it no matter the danger, he smiled grimly and at least my aching feet will have some relief. He stepped out on the road and walked as quickly as his bleeding feet could manage.

It wasn't long until Sam saw the road lead into the mountain some way ahead. It's almost done! He exulted, and walked faster. I'll be free again... and I can go home. Almost without conscious thought, his hand rose and clutched, not the Ring that haunted his thoughts, but the small wooden box that still sat in his breast pocket.

Never taking his eyes off the entrance ahead of him, Sam drew out his box and held it tight in his hand. To see the Shire again...

Suddenly Gollum leapt into the path and blocked Sam's way. Shouting, Sam drew Sting and brandished it. "Get back! Or I swear I'll run you through!"

Gollum hissed, a nasty smile exposing his cracked and broken teeth. He was much thinner than the last time Sam had seen him, so thin that every bone was outlined in sharp relief. Eyes eyes were wilder than Sam had ever seen them; clearly he had lost what little sanity he had left.

He stood squarely in Sam's way, swaying slightly. "Where's the other one, precious?" He asked slyly. "Meat in Her belly we thinks, oh yes. We lead the hobbitses on a pretty dance and one danced right into Her claws, precious!" he crowed, clearly pleased by his own cleverness.

Gollum's taunting enraged Sam. "You killed Mister Frodo you stinking beast!" He shouted, brandishing Sting again and advanced. To his shame he was more worried about his way being blocked than by avenging his fallen friend. I will destrp the Ring for Frodo!

Gollum skipped back a step, eyeing Sting warily but never losing his manic grin. "We never breaks our swears, precious!"

"LIAR!"

"Never breaks our swears!" Gollum insisted, then laughed. "We found the pass for you, precious, the only way into Mordor! Not our fault if She was there watching." Gollum giggled to himself, then gave Sam a sly look. "But where's the precious now? Did the fat hobbit take it, or the nasty orcses?"

Sam was horribly aware of the Ring that pulled down his neck, but he said nothing.

"We thinks the hobbit has it, precious. And we never swears to him!" Without warning Gollum leapt at Sam, bony fingers poised to throttle the life from him.

Sam dove out of the way, landing hard on his shoulder and losing his grip on Lady Galadriel's box, which bounced off the road and landed unscathed on a rock lower down on the slope.

He didn't pause to try and get his box, instead rolled as quickly to his feet as he could manage and held Sting in front of him at the ready.

Gollum stood where Sam had just been, panting. He seemed too weak for the manic attack that head nearly killed Sam once in Emyn Muil. He gathered himself and leapt as Sam again, desperation etched in every line of his body.

Instead of dodging, this time Sam just stepped out of the way and stabbed as Gollum landed next to him. He caught Gollum in the side, slicing neatly but shallowly through the flesh just under his rib. Gollum fell to the ground, his hands clutching his side to staunch the bleeding.

Gollum began to wail, a high keening that Sam was sure would bring whatever remained of Mordor down upon them both. Still clutching Sting, Sam turned and bolted for the entrance to the Chamber of Fire, putting all his energy into this last dash. He didn't even look behind to see if Gollum could still follow him.

I'll get the box after. Sam thought desperately as he reached the entrance, Gollum's keening still loud in his ears. Taking a deep breath, he ran inside, ran along the path until it ended in a cliff and lava flowed far below his feet.

He reached up and snapped the chain that held the Ring, clutching the Ring and letting the chain slide between his fingers and fall into the fires far below. He stared at the Ring, sitting innocently and golden between his fingers. He could hear dark words echoing in his mind, enticing him to put it on, to become a lord, to save the whole West.

Now it comes to the end. Sam thought, and extended his hand, ready to throw the ring away. Letting it drop seemed both the easiest and hardest thing to do.

Even now, I don't want to be rid of it. It's caused so much death, so much sorrow. And I don't want to destroy it. But I must. I must, for Frodo.

TBC