The next chapter will be up next Sunday.

Review Responses:

Panther28, rcaqua, Kyra2, thank you so much for your reviews!

John, Yup, one more major battle in Middle Earth and we're done. Well, not completely I've got a chapter and an epilogue left.

Special thanks to my beta, PuNKyCoWGiRL!

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The Black Gates of Mordor

Aragorn sat on his horse in front of what was left of the army of Men and watched as the Black Gates of Mordor slowly swung open. Through them he could see Mount Doom in the distance.

"Are we going to wait for Buffy and the others before making our move?" Legolas softly asked.

"I don't think we'll have that option," Aragorn said, eyeing the orcs and trolls that were pouring out of the gates, then he gave his horse a nudge. As he began riding across the army, he called out, "Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" As he drew forth his sword, Brego, his horse, reared up. The men around him cheered as their confidence was bolstered.

Legolas smiled down at Gimli, who returned it. "I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf," Gimli said a bit ruefully.

"How about side by side with a friend?" Legolas suggested.

Gimli's smile grew. "Aye, I could do that."

The two chuckled as they watched the denizens of the enemy began to surround them. Their hearts held no regrets, and they were comforted by the knowledge that they were doing the right thing.

XXXXXXXX

"Are you sure they will come?" Éomer asked Aragorn softly so as not to alarm the men around them.

"They will come, they have not failed us yet. They have fought shoulder to shoulder with us in a war that was not their own. They are good people, they will come."

"But will it be in time?" Éomer asked.

"One can only hope," Aragorn replied.

XXXXXXXX

As the attack began, Elladan and Elrohir moved as one. The fact that they had been fighting together for centuries was evident in the way they moved. The light of the Eldar shone through them as they cut down orc after orc. It didn't hurt that they had a long-standing grudge against the orcs either. These may not have been the same orcs that had slain their mother, but they were of the same ilk.

Not too far from them, Legolas and Gimli cut their own path through the enemy. Legolas' twin knives nearly sang as he thrusted and parried his way through. Gimli followed closely behind and prevented any orc from trying to hit the elf from behind.

"That's twelve already!" Gimli called out, renewing their competition from Helm's Deep.

"You're falling behind," Legolas cried. "Twenty-two!"

"Damn pointy-eared elf," Gimli muttered as he cut down another orc.

Gandalf let out a chuckled of his own as he listened to their banter. He could hardly believe that the two who had distrusted each other the most at the beginning of the journey were the ones at the end who were the closest. The old wizard only hoped that Aragorn made it through this alive.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end and he felt a pressure building on the base of his skull. The orcs seemed to halt in their fight and Gandalf took the brief respite to turn and see what had attracted their attention. A triumphant smile graced his lips as he recognized the huge portal. He could feel Dawn's power singing across the land and he knew, without a doubt, that if they hadn't captured Sauron's attention yet, they had it now.

Gandalf blinked in surprise at the number of people coming out of the portal. He didn't recognize them, but they were all similarly dressed in black robes and were carrying wands. A laugh bubbled out of his chest as he realized that Sauron would not live out the day.

XXXXXXXX

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, staring at all of the orcs and trolls. "Guess they really did need our help."

"Oh Ron, of course they did, or did you think Buffy was exaggerating? Now let's take care of this, shall we?" Hermione said a bit primly.

Ron couldn't help but grin at the picture his girlfriend made. She had changed so much since the first day he had met her on the train to Hogwarts. Sure, she was still a know-it-all busybody, but there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for a friend in trouble. As she cut down an orc, he believed that her body had become as strong as her mind. Not for the first time he counted himself lucky that it was he that she loved.

XXXXXXXX

"Looks like we arrived just in time," Willow said, surveying the field.

"Are you ok?" Tara asked, seeing her lover's eyes flicker back and forth between green and black.

"As long as you're right next to me, I will be."

The two Wiccas joined hands and helped where they could.

XXXXXXXX

Merry and Pippin quickly learned that the orcs never looked to the ground for an attack. So they spent their time slashing at the orcs knees from behind. When they fell to the ground, the hobbits would stab them in the chest. It was a system that they had quickly developed and it worked surprisingly well for them.

XXXXXXXX

"Didn't we just do this?" Buffy wearily asked as she landed on the ground next to Spike. An orc had gotten in a lucky punch.

"What? This fighting for our lives stuff? Don't we do this all the time?" Spike asked with a chuckle. He protected her from another attack while she got up.

"I meant this whole battle against the orcs. This is what our what? Third? Fourth? Hell, fifth battle?"

"Ah, but the important thing is, that it's our last. Don't forget that," Spike said.

XXXXXXXX

Dawn wiped the black orc blood out of her eyes. Honestly, if she never saw an orc again it would be too soon. They had spent the past month either running from or fighting them and she was tired of it. Everything seemed to be catching up on her at once as she used the magic inside her to send three orcs flying across the field.

She smiled slightly to herself as she felt Draco fighting behind her. At least she knew that she'd never be alone in this.

XXXXXXXX

Wesley stumbled slightly as fear gripped his heart. He had a vague notion of something large swooping over top of him. Suddenly Harry was standing before him. The watcher could just make out Harry's confident stance as the young man raised his wand and yelled, "Expecto patronum!"

A silver stag shot out of his wand and up into the sky after the flying beasts. As the fear lessened its hold on Wesley's chest, he asked, "What was that?"

"The Nazgûl," Harry said. "They're a lot like our dementors so I thought I'd try our defense against them.

"And Ginny killed their leader?"

"Yes," Harry said with a proud tilt of his chin.

"Good for her, and quick thinking on your part," Wesley said before turning back to the fight at hand.

XXXXXXXX

"Giles, how much longer?" Anya asked.

"How much longer until what?"
"Until Sevie can take Frodo and end this whole thing?"
"I would say it is probably safe to go now," Giles said. He took a quick look around the battlefield. Even with the wizards' help, they were still vastly outnumbered. "In fact, he should go now," Giles amended his previous statement.

Anya looked over to where Snape and Frodo were trying to stay out of as much of the fighting as possible. "Sevie, honey! You can go ahead!"

The potions master nodded and held Frodo close to his side. With a loud crack, they disappeared.

Frodo blinked his eyes a couple of times to adjust himself to the sudden heat that surrounded them. They were just inside the entrance of Mount Doom and he could see the burning lava below them.

"Any time now, Mister Baggins," Snape said.

The hobbit could only numbly nod his head. Once they had returned to Middle Earth, the ring had become heavy once again. The burden was weighing his soul down and it caused him to hesitate.

Snape seemed to sense this and he crouched down so he was at eye level with the hobbit. "You can do this," he said, remembering his own struggle with the darkness inside himself. "You can do this. You are stronger than that ring. Don't let it overtake you."

Crystal blue eyes stared into dark ones for several long minutes before Frodo reached into his tunic to pull out the chain that held the ring. Snape could feel the evil in the ring tugging at the darkness he kept inside. Tempting him to reach out and grab it.

XXXXXXXX

Faith couldn't stop grinning as she slashed at the orc closest to her. It was no big secret that Faith enjoyed the more physical part of being a slayer. The fact that this was her second large battle in just a few short days had adrenaline surging through her veins. Seeing that she and Remus had killed all of the orcs closest to them, she sent him a quick leer.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Wait 'til we get home, Wolfboy, just wait 'til we get home."
"Because why?"

"I haven't told you about my slayer H and H theory have I?" She asked.

"No."

"Fighting makes me hungry and horny."

He arched an eyebrow and said, "Guess we should prove that later then, huh?"

She laughed as they moved on to another circle of orcs.

XXXXXXXX

Aragorn looked over to see an orc coming up behind Dawn. He had no arrows left nor could he reach her in time. So he called out, "Amaurëa! Behind you!"

She ducked and turned but not in time to prevent being hurt. The orc's sword cut into her side and she cried out in pain.

Draco's face turned white as he watched her drop to the ground. He hacked his way through the orcs to her, hoping that it wasn't too late. Aragorn and Éomer rushed to her side also and stood over them, preventing any other orcs from attacking the couple.

"Dawn... Dawn are you ok?" Draco frantically asked.

"I just got stabbed so I think the answer is No!" She ground out between clenched teeth.

Peeling back her shirt a little, he was relieved to see that the cut wasn't too deep. "I think you'll live," he said, applying pressure to the wound.

"Always comforting words to hear."

XXXXXXXX

There was a loud explosion and Xander looked up to see the mountain erupting into flames. "Guess that means the ring is gone," he said.

"Oh no, Mr. Frodo," Sam said from behind him.

"I'm sure he's fine. Snape wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. "Master Snape doesn't look very friendly."

"Well, he's not," Xander said with a shrug. "But he's still a good guy. He'll take care of Frodo, don't worry."
There was a loud crack behind them and they turned to see Snape standing there with Frodo by his side.

"See, told you he'd be all right."

XXXXXXXX

Having felt Dawn's pain through their bond, Buffy and Spike hurried over to where she laid.

"We need to finish this now," Dawn gasped. She reached out to take Draco and Buffy's hands. Closing her eyes, she concentrated.

"Yellonyë Fëanáronna na ustë raukar anten. I minë ya haryë oore vá harna. I neldë hecero. I mahtar, I istar, ar i fólë. Ventë tulto i fólë ta euva atalantelya."

All of the orcs and trolls around them burst into flame. As their bodies turned to ash, Dawn slumped lifelessly in Draco's arms.

"No!" He cried.

A/N: Sorry about the Elvish, but its a bit rusty. A rough translation: I call upon the sun's fire to smote those before me. The one who holds my heart will never be harmed. The three shall stand together: The Warrior, the Wizard, and the Key. As they uphold the Key it will be your downfall.