Death
Blood ran down his arm as his fingers grasped vainly at the rock. He could feel himself slowly losing his grip on the cold, rough edge of the cliff, and he forced himself to look up at the shocked, horrified face of his companion above him.
'Sam?' he whispered.
'Hold on, Mr. Frodo!' Sam's cry echoed against the stone walls, but even as the last sound died away, Frodo's hands slipped, and he found himself falling, falling.
Gandalf's words sounded in his mind as the stifling heat overcame him. 'Death is just another path... one that we all must take.'
Then darkness blanketed his senses, and he knew no more.
A/N: Yep, it's pretty AU, right?! But that part in the movies always bugs me: there is no way Frodo could hang on like that, breathing in all the fumes and getting slowly roasted by the heat, and still survive! XP Still, I hope this was well done!