A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed this story and especially to those who left me their comments.

Chapter Six

"We are sinking!" Elladan called out at the same instant that Legolas had placed his hand on Aragorn's shoulder.

It was just the distraction that the ranger needed to focus his attention from his thoughts of being attacked. By the time he had spun around and seen Legolas's face, he knew there was no danger. The relief was immediate and allowed him to concentrate on what Elladan had said.

Those startling words made no sense, but knowing his brother would not issuer such a warning, if it wasn't true, Aragorn quickly glanced down at the floor and saw that it was liquefying. He and Legolas were indeed sinking, as well.

Thick, black liquid was up to their ankles, and there was no reason to believe that it would stop at that point.

The man shook his head. What more could this demon temple throw at them before they reached a point where nothing they did could overcome the evil that surrounded them? He tried not to think of that. So far, they were all alive and in relatively good shape, except, he reminded himself, for the spell that Legolas was under. They had to find a way of escaping.

"Gandalf," Aragorn called out, "can the three of you get out?"

"I think so," Gandalf called back, having the same doubts as the ranger but preferring to dwell on gaining their freedom than on the bad things that could be coming their way.

In all his many years, nothing like this had ever happened to the wizard, but he was certainly going to do all he could to get himself and his friends out of this place.

Gandalf thought briefly about using his staff to see if he could solidify the floor again, but knew immediately it was far too late. If his idea worked, all of them would have their feet encased in the floor, and that entrapment would play into Altimir's hands and be their doom, and that was a situation that he was determined to avoid.

There was nothing to do now but deal with the liquid until they left the temple. He only hoped that it wasn't some kind of toxic substance that would hurt them. So far, that didn't seem to be the case, but with Altimir and his tricks, the liquid being harmless was a long way from being a certainty.

A few yards away, Aragorn grabbed Legolas's hand, spun him around and shoved him toward Gandalf.

Between the push and the slippery liquid, the elf slid several feet. He looked around him, appearing, at the moment, more confused than anything.

"Get Legolas and head for the door," Aragorn yelled over the rumbling of the quaking temple.

The Grey Wizard waded through the liquid, now almost calf deep, his robe swirling around him, as it spread across the surface. He grabbed the prince's arm and pulled him toward the door where the Rivendell elves were waiting.

Legolas didn't actively resist, but neither did he cooperate with the wizard's actions. Gandalf had to tug hard to get him to turn away from where Quintella stood. Seeing her seemed to refocus the elf's attention on the woman and deepen the spell she had cast over him.

"What about you?" Gandalf called back to Aragorn.

"We aren't going anywhere without you," Elrohir yelled to his foster brother. "Not by a long shot," he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone in particular.

"One minute," Aragorn called back, "and I'll be right behind you. Just get Legolas away from here." He saw that his brothers were relatively safe near the door, though it was obvious they were on the verge of rushing to his aid. He shook his head, and they understood that he didn't need their help - at least, not at the moment.

Aragorn turned back toward Quintella. "If my friend's mind isn't set free by the time he reaches the door, you are dead," he told the woman menacingly. He hadn't raised his voice at all. In fact, it was lower than normal. However, there was no doubt of his anger or his determination.

Quintella sighed. The golden-haired being, as fine as he was, was not worth her life, or even the risk that it might be forfeit. Altimir had made his feelings on the subject quite clear when she had the elf in her bedchamber.

"Very well," she said in a very conciliatory tone.

She looked toward Legolas with obvious regret and more than a touch of longing.

Then Quintella uttered several words, almost under her breath. "He is free," she said after a minute, a deep sigh escaping her lips. If only...

"Legolas?" Aragorn called over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on the Priestess in front of him.

The elf blinked several times and shook his head to clear the cobwebs that had gathered there. "I am all right...I think," Legolas replied without much conviction.

He felt strangely weary, as if he had been engaged in a long and strenuous battle.

He felt something on his arm, and when he looked, he found that Gandalf had a firm hold of it. How had that happened without his knowledge? In fact, how had he gotten into the position he was in without knowing it? It was all very baffling to his still foggy mind.

By now he and Gandalf had joined the twins at the front door. They had been about to ignore their brother's indication that they were to stay where they were and go join him when Quintella had finally relented.

Elrohir saw the puzzled look on Legolas's face and said, "We will explain it all later, mellon nin. We have to leave this place now. The floor is getting deeper."

"Deeper?" Legolas asked, not understanding the strange comment. He looked down and saw what the younger twin was talking about. It only mildly reduced the wood-elf's confusion. The how, why and when remained a mystery to him.

"I have released the golden one, now remove your sword from my neck," Quintella demanded of the ranger. Despite her current, disadvantaged position, she sounded as haughty as ever.

When Aragorn lowered his sword, Quintella vanished. He didn't understand why Altimir hadn't come to the aid of his Priestess, but that was one mystery he didn't have the time to ponder.

There was no telling what Altimir might do next, and they needed to be prepared for anything.

Aragorn suddenly remembered the key he had seen buried in the floor when it had been solid. He went quickly to the spot where he had last seen the small, gold object. The liquid was rising faster and was now almost thigh deep.

The ranger looked down and saw the key next to his left foot, its image wavering indistinctly in the thick liquid. He leaned down and was barely able to pick it up without having to submerge his head. He had the unpleasant feeling that if he had gone under, he would never have surfaced again. Aragorn tried not to think of himself drowning in that horrible fluid and then having his body imprisoned under the floor once it resolidified. He couldn't suppress a shudder that traveled the entire length of his body.

Aragorn stared down at the key lying in the palms of his left hand. It was intricately engraved with symbols that Aragorn didn't recognize. He shook his head. There would be time later to admire its beauty. Right now, circumstances dictated action. So, stuffing the gold key in his pocket and wading as hard as he could against the sluggish liquid, the man mad his way toward the door.

The temple was now shaking so violently that the liquefied floor was making waves that threatened to swamp them all.

It didn't take long to find out what Altimir had in mind to do next.

The liquid was now starting to heat up.

Aragorn felt that if they didn't drown, they would surely be boiled alive. 'It just keeps getting better,' the ranger thought sarcastically.

Gandalf realized that there was no way they were going to escape this building unless he used his staff. He would just have to deal with whatever Altimir's reaction would be.

The wizard aimed his staff at the center of the door and sent a lightning bolt hurtling into it. The bolt exploded in a shower of light and noise, however, when the brilliant flash faded, the door was still standing firm.

Altimir screamed in obvious pain.

"I think that hurt him a bit," Elrohir observed dryly, rubbing a hand against one of his sensitive ears.

He was prepared, as were Elladan and Legolas when the second bolt slammed into the door and another explosion rent the air.

Altimir's screams bounced off the walls in ever increasing waves.

The wizard's magic may not have budged the door, but the demon, clearly in distress, swung it wide, hoping to stop the assault.

They were all swept outside in a gushing torrent of smoky-colored liquid that deposited them on their backsides several feet beyond the front door.

The liquid swirled around them until only a small trickle continued to make its way through the doorway and down the front steps.

The door slammed shut.

"We best get away from here before Altimir recovers," Aragorn said, as he got to his feet. He was convinced that unless they were far away from the temple, Altimir would send something against them that was far worse than what they had already endured. That could not be allowed to happen.

Soon the three elves, the human and the wizard were all running for their horses.

x x x x x

The five companions had gained their mounts and were now headed northeast at a dead run.

They stopped only when they felt they were safe from any possible retribution from the Lord of Pantos.

It wasn't far enough.

With the wind at their backs, Gandalf sniffed the air. He turned to look behind them. There was a solid line of fire covering the horizon.

Black smoke billowed up and blotted out the southern sky.

"He has recovered," Elrohir said as he spurred his horse forward.

"Can we outrun it?" Aragorn asked. He had also seen the onrushing flames.

"Only as long as the horses last," Gandalf replied. He looked at his friends and knew that none of them had any intention of running their horses into the ground.

"Gandalf, if we stop, can you put up some kind of a barrier between us and the fire?" Aragorn asked.

The wizard pulled his horse up beside the ranger. "I think I can keep the flames away from us, but I do not know if I can effectively combat the heat it is generating. You can feel it from here. We might well be baked alive before the flames moved on or died out."

Gandalf hated being so blunt, but he had never lied to his friends, and he was not about to start now.

"It is gaining on us," Legolas warned, though he was sure everyone was well aware of that fact.

Though he still didn't know the details of what had transpired back at the temple, especially where he himself was concerned, the urgency of the current situation had cleared his head rather quickly.

"Where is a good thunderstorm when you need it?" Elrohir asked no one in particular.

Aragorn didn't see any solution. They urged their horses on but were able to go just fast enough to stay ahead of the fire, though, as Legolas had pointed out, it was indeed gaining on them.

Lather caked their mounts, whose breathing had become labored. It was clear the animals would soon give out.

When Elladan's horse stumbled and almost went down, Legolas wheeled around and stopped. He faced the on-rushing fire defiantly, anger showing clearly in his narrowed, blue-gray eyes.

Aragorn moved up beside his elven friend. "What are you doing?" he asked, with a hint of concern, as well as curiosity, in his voice. Truth was, he feared that Legolas could be suffering some residual effects from Quintella's spell and that the elf might be thinking of trying to go back to the temple.

"We might as well make our stand here. If the horses go down, we would be on foot." Legolas looked at the ranger. "We sure cannot outrun the fire that way. We will just have to trust in Gandalf's barrier to do the job."

Relief flooded Aragorn's heart. His friend was himself again.

All five of the companions were sitting side by side, determination on each and every face.

When it looked like Elrohir was about to dismount, Legolas said, "No, Elrohir. We face our fate mounted."

The hot wind ruffled his long hair as he sat ramrod straight and stared at the approaching wall of flames.

Aragorn had rarely seen Legolas so resigned. In many ways, he had been the most affected of anyone, so the man was not too surprised that the archer's resolve was even stronger than usual.

Gandalf raised his staff, pointing it forward, but before he could utter any words of protection for the small group, the flames stopped moving. They flared up twice their previous height and then died out completely. Black smoke trailed up into swirling wisps and dispersed in the wind.

The companions found themselves staring at a straight line with green grass to their side and charred earth to the other. They all exchanged puzzled looks.

"So, who has a guess as to what just happened?" Elrohir asked, relieved at the turn of events but decidedly baffled.

No one spoke at first, then Gandalf gave a small laugh. "Perhaps, the flames reached the end of Pantos."

"Of course!" Aragorn exclaimed. "Altimir can't control anything outside of his own little realm."

No one else could think of anything that seemed any more logical than that simple explanation.

"I will be glad when we leave all this behind us," Elladan said.

"Yes," Legolas agreed. "But, first we must rest the horses."

The elven prince dismounted and walked away slowly. He didn't have to hold his horse's reins. The black stallion followed his master without question.

The rest of the group followed Legolas's lead.

A few minutes later, they topped a small hill and spotted a group of trees in the near distance. It would provide the perfect place for all of them to take a break before continuing after their recent ordeal.

They had all just settled in for a rest beneath the trees, when Elrohir suddenly laughed.

When Aragorn asked him what was so funny, the younger twin said, "I cannot wait until you explain to Legolas just what happened to him back there."

"What do you mean?" Legolas asked. His mind was still unclear as to recent events, however, he wasn't aware anything had happened to him that hadn't happened to them all. He wasn't aware there were any gaps in his memory of their time in the temple.

"I have a feeling that that will be a very interesting conversation," Elladan said, smiling broadly. "Care to give it a try now, Estel?" He was clearly going to enjoy witnessing just how his brother was going to explain Legolas's spell to the elf. Knowing his friend's pride, it was going to be a delicate undertaking, to say the least.

Not wanting to tackle that discussion until he had gotten his thoughts together, Aragorn declined the challenge by saying, "I think I'll save that for later."

That exchange elicited another frown from Legolas. He was beginning to think he might end up being the butt of a joke, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how or why.

Aragorn walked over to Gandalf. "I have something for you," he told the old wizard.

Gandalf looked at the ranger with anticipation.

Aragorn reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. He took the wizard's hand, opened it and laid the object in his palm.

Gandalf's eyes widened. He stared at the sparkling gold key and then looked at the ranger, who was grinning.

"How?" Gandalf managed to ask.

"You know that Altimir buried it under the glass floor. Well, when he melted the floor, he released the key. While you were taking Legolas to the door, I stopped and retrieved it from the liquid."

Elladan and Elrohir stared at the key. So much trouble for such a small item.

"So, our mission was successful after all," Elladan commented somewhat surprised.

"Quite," the Grey Wizard said, as his fingers closed around the precious object.

"Gandalf, you never did tell us what that key goes to or why it is so important," the younger twin said, eagerly waiting for an explanation.

Gandalf, eyes twinkling, smiled at his friends. "Oh, didn't I?"

The End

That old rascal is as bad at leaving cliffies as my plot bunny. I think they were in cahoots.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the extra long chapter and, of course, the whole story. Thanks so much again for all your kind words and encouragement. I love you all!

'Til next time. :o)