"Was it worth it in the end, Elessar?"

The choking black smoke of Mordor closed in around the heir to the now-extinct kingdom of Gondor. His eyes were clouded by smoke, but he could see something towering over him.

The figure laughs, "You see now, there was never a chance. You and your friends were doomed from the outset."

Aragorn closed his eyes to fight back tears.

The figure continued. "As you now know, there can be no competition with the will of Sauron. It is sad that your friends had to learn the lesson so painfully."

Aragorn struggled to his feet. He swayed back and forth for a moment; his weight was too much for his rarely used legs.

The cloud that had been obscuring his tormentor vanished. The visage of a tall blonde man appeared clearly, shocking Aragorn.

"Sauron…" he choked out.

"I have granted you a privilege Aragorn. I have let you survive the initial slaughter. You still draw breath, because…I knew I would enjoy this much more than a simple killing. Do you know why I enjoy it Elessar?"

Aragorn spat on the ground.

"I enjoy it because, unlike the half-lings, unlike the White Wizard, unlike your friends and the people who lived in Rohan and Gondor, you will not simply die in excruciating personal agony. You will be allowed to watch as the Elf Woman is tortured. Her cries for your help will echo in your ears as you spend your life in darkness. That…that is a fate reserved for the greatest enemies of Sauron."

There was silence in the room.

"What now, Lord of Gondor? No courage? No strength left?" Sauron bent and took Aragorn's face in his hands.

"ARE YOU NOTHING MORE THAN A BEAST? Was your weapon the only kingly vestment you possessed? Does not your mind and your heart also possess the majesty of a king?"

Aragorn pulled Sauron's hand from his face. Sauron, thrown into a fit of self-perpetuated rage, used his scepter to put Aragorn on his back.

Aragorn winced in pain, not giving his tormentor the satisfaction of a scream or even a gasp.

"Truly you are broken, Elessar. One wonders now why the people of the White City longed for your return. You could not save them from the darkness. It is this darkness now that makes my world for me. Families, once united by love now live in fear. Happiness which once gleamed from the sun down upon all the lands of the free people will be banished forever. My wrath, my power, my will. That is what now unites and binds the world, no longer your cursed kings. I was a fool for not realizing your naïve plan to destroy the Ring. Power is not for mortals in any case. You showed that. The ring is mine Aragorn Elessar, as is the world and all who live in it. As you rot away in the dungeons of Barud-Dur, haunted by thoughts of what might have been, there will be no beam of sunlight to give you joy. You will not know the touch of your Elf-Woman, and you will never be free."

Aragorn said nothing.