Here is the track music list for this chapter: "Wheel of Fortune" – from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" – "Night of Fate" (Extended) – from the first "Kingdom Hearts" game – and "The All Spark" – from the first "Transformers" film. These tracks are on my second playlist, for this story, on YouTube.

In this chapter, you may recognize a familiar trickster from the "Once Upon A Time" ABC television series.


Chapter Thirty-Nine:

Escape from Merswold

On his slide down the winding tunnel, Frodo searched for a rope or any means to help him stop falling. Although he found a rope, while avoiding another rock obstacle, the rope snapped after a few passing minutes, sending him falling and sliding uncontrollably down the dark tunnel. The second he saw a small gap on the floor, which jagged horizontally across the tunnel, as well as the avalanche of debris and rocks coming up fast behind him, Frodo barely had time to jump when he fell through the gap.

Only by luck did he manage to hold onto the opposing jagged floor, before the avalanche roiled through, forcing him to duck. As the avalanche of debris and rocks pounded across the tunnel, the piece of the stone floor that Frodo clung onto eventually snapped, causing him to cling onto another section of the floor. Moments after the avalanche dissipated at a quickening pace, Frodo pulled himself out of the gap and onto the other side of the tunnel. Just as he felt exhaustion and relief wash over him, Frodo noticed his hands were cut and bruised, with some fresh blood seeping out from some of the wounds.

Upon leaning his head back against the tunnel's wall, Frodo heard the floor crackling beneath his feet. Before the floor could break apart, Frodo ran across the tunnel until he was forced to slide down and upwards once again. However, due to the avalanche, most of the floor behind and under him cracked and broke apart into several pieces. After smacking into a wall, which collapsed upon him smacking hard into it, Frodo crashed hard on top of one of the wall's stone pieces. He blacked out in seconds.

o-o-o

There is a world connected to other worlds…

There is a door… a door with no name…

There is a chest that holds the key…

The stars fall rapidly… worlds die… but only one will survive…

"Do not fear… the light will show you the way," said a familiar feminine voice.

At first, Frodo thought the voice came from his mind. Then, as he looked up from where he lay, Frodo recognized the young woman, who carried the voice. As the young woman grinned happily at the hobbit, she told him, "Frodo Baggins, you have come a long way. Did you not expect leaving the Shire would find you here?" She reminded him, "You must complete the task Aslan gave to you. If the stars are not returned by this morning, many more worlds will fall and become lost." She watched Frodo stand up. Then she asked, "Do you understand?"

Glancing down once at the misty-white floor, Frodo asked, "I do understand, but… I'm afraid I'll fail, as I did with the task of the One Ring. Gollum destroyed the Ring, when he fell into the fires of Mount Doom. I did nothing – of course, in the end, I still failed to complete my task." Noticing the young woman's gaze was still on him, Frodo admitted, "I'm not sure I can do this anymore, Liliandil."

Liliandil told him, calmly, "If home is what you desire, then I cannot stop you from-"

Frodo interrupted. "I am wounded in both mind and body… and now heart." He paused. "I feel Sauron's – presence all around me, as if he's waiting for me to-"

"Then you must not despair. If you show despair, then Sauron and the other villains will triumph," said Liliandil. "The days will grow harder, but one triumph for all that's good should occur this morning, when you complete your task."

"I don't know how to finish this task," said Frodo. "I mean, I already did…"

"Yes, you have the papers, but you do not know the way to stop the stars from falling from the night sky," said Liliandil. She gave him advice, "Talk to the Evil Queen's Mirror. He will tell you, in the best way, where the source is on stopping these stars."

"Queen Grimhilde's mirror?" asked Frodo, shocked. "I don't know-"

"Frodo, follow your heart. In spite of the despair, the Evil Queen's poison, and Sauron's reawakening, who was it that brought you back from the dark abyss?" asked Liliandil. Giving Frodo a knowing look, Liliandil said, "You know who I mean. You two will find each other with time, but for now, follow your heart and your spirit. In time, you will find the way out of the Merswold Camp."

A bright light surrounded Frodo, engulfing him until he could no longer see the young woman standing before him.

He heard these words last from Liliandil: "Frodo, awaken."

o-o-o

The second he regained consciousness, Frodo's head throbbed in pain. Remembering where he was and his task, still needing to be finished, Frodo searched first his jacket pockets for the rolled up stack of parchment papers. To his relief, the parchments were still in the same inside pocket, yet some of the pages were more torn than others. Deciding to keep the parchments until he met Aslan, Frodo re-stashed the parchments in another pocket.

As he stood up in a slow manner, Frodo's vision blurred, forcing him to fall back on the large piece of slightly flat stone. While taking slow, deep breaths, in an attempt to bring back his vision, the pain constantly thrashed at him.

When his vision returned, Frodo looked around the stone hall for any means of reaching the surface, apart from the three tunnels that could be found directly to his left, or the two on either side of the hall, on his right. After seeing a ladder, with a metallic appearance, Frodo heard and found water, which strewn down from an opening in the wall, residing at one end of the hall. Though he found it difficult to resist charging towards the water, a single thought flooded back to his mind, which concerned the flask Aslan gave him.

Forcing his eyes to look away from the flowing water, Frodo opened his pack, pulled out the flask, and drank a fair amount of the crystal liquid. In what seemed like seconds, most of Frodo's wounds were healed fully. All that remained of the small wounds were red bruises, which Frodo knew would heal fast. Before he thought about thanking Aslan again for the water from his country, Frodo noticed the flask refill by itself, containing yet again the same cool crystal liquid that tasted pure and fresh upon a sip.

The brief moment after Frodo closed the flask, the flowing water from across the stone hall stopped draining. Low moans were heard from the tunnels, followed by Sauron's voice calling Frodo's name in the dry, indoor air. Putting the flask back inside his pack, Frodo slung his pack and his quiver across his shoulders. Rushing towards the ladder – as the sound of wolves howling, lions and lionesses' roaring, and more moaning swiftly approached the hall – Frodo gazed back and around for the foes. However, what he heard as he turned this way and that was silence.

Unsure whether the villains were still following him, Frodo began his ascent up the ladder. He was about five feet above the stone floor when he heard various lioness growls and wolf howls. He looked down once, but only so brief, to see the scarred lionesses and various wolves were snarling at him. A few villains and villainesses also had entered the room, including Maleficent, Sauron, the Evil Queen, Jareth, and Jadis.

Breaking the pause, Frodo continued his climb up the ladder. All the while, Sauron and the other villains attempted to stop him by casting fireball spells right at him. However, they kept missing and ended up hitting the ladder; Frodo right away assumed this is what the villains' intentions were: to make him fall off the ladder, right into their grasps. Only once did Frodo cling onto the ladder with only two hands. He barely managed to pull himself together as he swung back up and finished his ascent in a quick pace. As the villains and their animal minions left the stone hall, Frodo grabbed and moved the grate off to one side, before climbing inside the room right above the stone hall.


A Few Minutes Earlier…

Once Kovu was ready to set out, Coral helped the dark furred lion stand up, before she helped lead Kovu out of the stone hall. Edmund led the way, with Mumble and Gurgi moving ahead of him to check and make sure there weren't any villains or villainesses in sight. Coral kept a short distance between her and Kovu, after he told her he felt well enough to walk.

Moments after leaving a long flight of winding stone stairs, Coral jumped back in fright as Maleficent's crow, Diego, gave a loud "caw". Ignoring the crow for a few seconds, who continued to caw as he flew off to warn the villains and villainesses, including Maleficent, Coral led her four companions down a nearby corridor.

After turning a few more corners, Coral brought Edmund and their companions through a narrow dark tunnel, which exited into the underground catacomb-like chamber. Inside this chamber, much to Coral's disbelief, but also relief and excitement from her and her four companions, the five heroes were reunited with Jack Sparrow and Harry Potter, who entered the catacomb chamber from an adjacent tunnel. Still, there was no sign of Frodo.

As soon as the seven heroes greeted each other, some giving embraces except for Jack Sparrow, Coral asked in a serious, concerned tone, "Frodo still has not been found." She paused, and then asked in desperation, "Where is he? Does anyone know where else he could be?"

"We should just leave him, Coral," said Harry, doubting now. Facing his companions, Harry asked, "What if he doesn't want to be found?"

"Edmund and I saw him… and then we lost him, inside the tunnels," explained Coral. Before Harry could snap at her, Coral insisted, "It's not his fault, and neither should it be mine. I didn't know what the risks were for having Frodo inside this place, inside these tunnels. It's a dreaded maze in the tunnel network."

"Then we should find him. Let him know that he can return to the Evenshire Camp with us," said Harry.

A dark, sinister voice responded, "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary. You see, that's not his destined path." Coming out from the shadows was a strange man with skin glittering in gold. He wore tight clothes that were neutral in color.

Appalled, Coral said, "You!" Noticing Kovu's stern gaze set on her, Coral returned her gaze to the strange man and announced, "Rumpelstiltskin, you have no business being in these parts. Returned to the Enchanted Forest, where you belong, or else I'm sure Maleficent can deal with you."

"Oh, is that how we play, Coral, or wasn't it you that asked for freedom?" asked Rumpelstiltskin. He chided, "By the way, if you're looking for your friend Baggins, you won't find him. He's uh… heading on a long trip. Also, what about your deal to me? The price has yet to be paid."

"What deal? What's he talking about, Coral?" asked Harry, suspicious.

"It's nothing," said Coral.

Rumpelstiltskin implied at once, "Oh, the deal that you would hand yourself over to me if Baggins failed? That wasn't just mere words to you?"

Coral closed her eyes upon remembering the deal she made to the trickster. Facing her companions, Coral explained, "Listen, just after I learned about the villains' plans, which included killing our friend, Frodo Baggins, I made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. He agreed that if Frodo completed one task that I would go free, and he would receive half the shares from Maleficent."

"And you believe him now?" asked Edmund, concerned about Coral's safety now.

"With Rumpelstiltskin – whenever he makes deals, his deals are always binding. There's always a price that has to be paid. I'm sorry, but I do hope Frodo completes the task Aslan sent him. My life is still at stake," said Coral. She then warily faced Rumpelstiltskin. Bravely, she asked him, "When will the villains arrive in the catacombs?" She paused, briefly, "Answer me!"

"Calm down," said Rumpelstiltskin. "After your friend – Frodo Baggins is his name – finishes his task, then I will leave and you can go free. Unless, if things don't work out, then I keep you but your companions face the villains alone." He added, "Now that is a tough decision, dear, which I hope you are willing to pay the price, should things not work out the way you plan."

"When will they come – the villains?" asked Coral, being direct.

"Give this some time. It'll only take a few seconds… or I would rather wait forty minutes. As you can see, I cannot allow you or your companions to leave until I get what I want." He added last, ending the conversation, "Either way, we must pay the price."

Coral murmured, as she peered at the cavernous ceiling, "Frodo, hurry."


The Present…

The grate slammed shut, louder than Frodo anticipated.

Moving away from the grate, as well as a few standing candelabras, Frodo's gaze fell on a large oval mirror, which hung in a gold frame on the centermost part of the stone wall. Finding no one but him in the room, Frodo walked towards the mirror to examine it. The second he touched the mirror's glass with an index finger, a hazy grey-blue fog swirled inside the center and around the inside of the mirror. Frodo jumped back upon seeing the misty fog and the large masculine face that appeared as if by magic.

Speaking in a monotonous voice, the slave in the magic mirror said only this, at first, "Ask and you shall receive your answer, worthy traveler."

Attempting to be brave, in spite of his nervousness, Frodo asked the mirror, politely, "Where-" He paused to think. Eventually, he asked aloud, "Is there any way to stop the stars from falling from the night skies? I need to know how to stop the villains' plan… I don't have much time to explain-"

The slave in the magic mirror silenced the hobbit fast, when he spoke a riddle out loud:

"To find what you seek
Is to seek what you may receive.
For the stars falling thrice
Look for a lever that holds the price."

Frodo thought over the riddle carefully in his mind, while thinking of his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, and the riddle game he was forced into by the creature Gollum. He nearly gave up when he saw that the wall to his right had three hanging torches, while the opposing wall had only two. Remembering the candle trick he learned inside his tent, back at the Evenshire Camp, which led into the hallway to his private bath chamber, Frodo tested the torches for any unusual movement. Then he found the third torch to the far left, when the torch's holder was pushed forward, opened the secret passage's wall-like door, leading into a cavernous ante-chamber.

Returning to the center of the room, Frodo told the mirror, politely, "Thank you."

The slave in the magic mirror stopped the hobbit, telling him another riddle. However, this second riddle was longer than the first:

"Though your travels have begun again,
The stems of plenty run so thin.
Find the diadem that holds the key.
Find the torch that bears the ring.
Find the girl that holds her heart twice
Should you fall, you stake the price."

"Thank you," was all that Frodo could say, after hearing this riddle.

Entering the cavernous ante-chamber, Frodo pulled the lever towards him. The lever eventually clicked to a stop. Yet, from a faint but close distance, Frodo could hear from a wall behind him several shooting stars soaring through the skies. He moved another torch's holder forward, against the wall, causing another stone door to move to the side. Once the stone door stopped to reveal a dark tunnel leading towards the surface, Frodo checked to make sure there weren't any enemies following him, before he proceeded down the narrow tunnel.

The slave in the magic mirror vanished into the grey-blue fog.


"Forty minutes are up, and still no sign or sound that-" Rumpelstiltskin's voice was cut off, the second he heard a loud, pained screech. Turning his gaze to Coral, who was now grinning happily at him, Rumpelstiltskin replied, glumly, "Well, it seems the deal is done. Congratulations Coral. You restored your freedom and I now have the difficult task of relieving Maleficent of half her gold – or, should I say, half my share of the prize money. Enjoy your day." He then vanished into the shadows with a cackling, yet merry laughter.

"Day?" asked Coral, now confused. Turning to her six companions, Coral asked, "Is it morning already?"

"I think we should get out of here. Head back to the surface," said Harry.

"Right," said Coral, at the same time as the others in their group agreed.

In a quick manner, while the villains and their minions were distracted by the strange high-pitched sounds that entered their thoughts, Coral led her six companions up the winding stone stairways and corridors until they reached the first cavernous tunnel. This time, instead of witnessing the afternoon sky, the moment Coral and her companions left the cave entrance, they found it was early morning and dawn was already on the horizon. Above their heads, they could see many shooting stars sweep the skies in every direction. The stars stopped and blinked the second they reached their desired locations, almost appearing as if nothing happened since their absence.

After thinking and wondering about Frodo's disappearance, while inside the tunnel network, Coral remembered Anakin Skywalker, who had decided to face the Dark Jedi alone. She noticed he never returned. As Coral and her six companions worked their way towards the same entrance, while the guards, orcs, and goblins attempted to tune out the sound inside their minds, Coral caught a glimpse of Frodo, who was running towards an entrance that led to the more expansive western plains and regions of the limbo world.

o-o-o

As Frodo saw the same barren landscape with the cliff-faced walls, but beyond where the plains stretched on for miles towards the west, he noticed a familiar gaze on him. Glancing back in a quick manner, Frodo caught Coral's concerned gaze. Whatever way the hobbit and the scarred lioness saw transpired that early morning, Frodo kept his gaze firm and knowing at the same time. Though it was hard to convince Coral this was the right decision, Frodo nonetheless nodded to her, while mouthing that he would return to the Evenshire Camp and hand the papers to Aslan, for him to read the information. After a sigh, Coral understood and let Frodo go with a single understanding nod. Frodo bolted out of the Merswold Camp soon afterwards – as did Coral and her companions – before the villains and their minions no longer heard the sound that emanated almost out of nowhere in their minds.