Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story, and make no money from them. This story is purely a work of fanfiction, and written for fun. All rights belong to the Tolkien Estate.
Extra: last flashback from Chapter 2 in Morgoth/Melkor's point-of-view.
Chapter summary: Melkor is pure evil.
"You will lose. The entire host of the Ainur have come to stand against you. You are even crazier than I thought, if you still think you can win this."
Melkor chuckled in amusement as he regarded his favourite lieutenant. Sauron – for he had bound or perverted all vestiges of Mairon the first time the whelp had aimed to desert him – kept his gaze fixed firmly on the floor. Melkor could not help smirking a little at that. Despite being bound to his will, the small parts of Mairon still in existence had fought against his dominance. He had enjoyed teaching the fool his place, and eventually, the lessons had stuck.
He did not need his thrall's warning. He knew his time on Middle Earth was almost up. He also knew he would be sentenced to the Void. He highly doubted the Valar would fall for his little display of repentance again. Not unless they were more stupid then he gave them credit for. But, that did not mean he was not going to cause as much pain and misery as he could before that fate befell him.
"I know, my little wolf. I know I will lose this, but I'm not going without a fight. I always knew this day would come; but look at all I've achieved in the meantime! Oh, the Valar might win this final battle. But I – I won the war a long time ago!"
Sauron said nothing in response to that. Looking at the Maia's bowed head, the fallen Vala felt a thrill go through him at the perfect obedience. He could feel Sauron's fear and hatred of him. It was so tangible, he could practically taste it; and Melkor savoured the feelings. The knowledge his chief lieutenant hated him, but could not resist his will in any way, was just too delicious and intoxicating.
The Maia probably hoped that, when Melkor was defeated, he would finally be able to leave his service. That he would be able to escape, and find safety and love with another Vala. Which would never do. He could not – would not – have his favourite little slave grovelling for mercy at his enemy's feet the moment he was defeated.
"I'm not the only one who will lose in this. If they ever got hold of you, my little wolf, you would realise how merciful I actually am." He rose from his throne, advancing towards his slave. Sauron shivered minutely as he got closer.
"You think what I did was bad. How would you like fourteen of them in your head? Just think of what they could do to you! And with all the evil you've done…" He stopped in front of Sauron, dropping his voice to a gentle whisper. "Well, it wouldn't take them long to throw you into the Void. They would cast you there without a second thought, a bodiless spirit to be tortured for eternity, once they see everything!"
Sauron shuddered, unaware, unlike the Dark Lord, that the Valar were highly unlikely to do as Melkor said. Especially if they did look at the Maia's memories. Manwë's heart especially was too soft. Melkor highly doubted his brother would condemn Sauron to a fate that cruel, without trying to win him back first.
That future would never do. Melkor had not put all that work into making the Maia better and stronger for his brother to come along and ruin. All that time and training could not be allowed to go to waste…
The fallen Vala chuckled evilly, regarding the Maia like a snake regarded its prey.
"My, I have trained you well. For a while there, I wondered if I had made a mistake in taking you. You did have some darker tendencies, but the goodness in you was often blinding in how obvious it was. But, then I realised even your goodness could be useful to me. After all, one only fully understands what they've lost, when they once had it."
He circled behind Sauron – observing the subservient posture the Maia still held – even as his shoulders tensed in anticipation of pain. Melkor smirked; he hadn't had this much fun in ages. "I wanted an excuse to hurt you for a long time, my little wolf; to break you down and rebuild you into something stronger and better and more useful for my purposes. But you were so annoyingly good at your job for so long. I did not want to do anything that could have a negative impacted on your usefulness. Then, just when I was starting to wonder what I was going to do, you tried to betray me. Your attempted desertion gave me the perfect excuse to do what I'd been craving to do for so long: destroy you.
"Do you know, when I took your happy memories, I almost felt pity for you? Or what I imagine pity must feel like? It seemed almost a shame to remodel you; your mind was already an incredible thing to behold. But I made it even better, even darker, smothering that pesky light and goodness that was your only flaw. It was a pity I could not destroy them completely; but only Eru himself has that kind of power. Still, I was able to corrupt you, and bury all that goodness so deep, I doubt anyone but Eru will ever be able to reach it. If nothing else, I've ensured that, no matter what happens to me, you will never be free from my influence."
The Maia shuddered as Morgoth returned to his forefront, and cupped his jaw with a deceptively gentle hand. They both knew it was fake comfort, but his little wolf was so starved for affection (even if he knew it was false) that the Maia could not stop himself leaning into it.
Morgoth smiled cruelly, allowing ice to flood through his palms, burning the Maia's jaw. As a creature of fire and earth, Sauron was very susceptible to extreme cold – especially ice. The Vala had found that out early on, and made sure to exploit it to the fullest when he'd remodelled his second-in-command.
The Maia flinched back with a pained cry, though he remained on his knees, and kept his head down. He raised a hand to cup his cheek, where a blister in the shape of Morgoth's handprint was already beginning to raise. The Dark Lord simply threw his head back, laughing manically, the sound echoing through the vast caverns of his throne room.
"You don't deserve kindness, Little Wolf. Nor pity or mercy. You have done too much. No. You are mine, and always shall be. Never forget that."
Wow. Melkor becomes even more of a demented, abusive psychopath every time I write anything to do with him. And then, when he's already done enough to give me nightmares, CoffeeRanger gets hold of him. And he gets even worse…and this is far from the worse thing he ever did to Mairon. *author gulps*
Well, that's it for this story, but the Sequel will be coming. I also have several other one-shots and short tie-in stories written, and they will be gradually posted over the next month or so.
Thank you to all who have convinced me playing in this sandbox isn't a disastrous idea, and I hope you enjoyed this last chapter!
