I come to the edge of a clearing to see both my comrade, Frodo, and his nemesis, Gollum, talking. I can't discern the words, but I can tell that they are angry. Frodo shouts and in one swift movement Frodo ignites his lightsaber and flies at Gollum, yet Gollum is quick to respond. I see no way to help my comrade in this battle, so I leave him to it. I watch from the edge of the clearing, barely interpreting the blur of movement in front of me when a piercing scream cuts through the air.
Gollum falls in two on the forest floor, his life functions at an end. Frodo, battle scarred and (as I just discovered) without his arm, falls to the ground. I rush to his side to find him dying, the One Ring dangling around his neck, barely touching the dirt.
"Finish it..finish it..." Frodo has breathed his last.
I mourn only briefly as I remove the Ring from my comrade's neck and put it in my pocket. I wipe away hot tears as I dash into the woods to find Gandalf. He'll know what to do.
I rush through the conflict of elves, men, dwarves and orcs to find Gandalf sitting on his horse, shouting out orders to the soldiers. I explain that Frodo is dead to the stern wizard. He sits in morbid silence for a moment, then asks me if I have the Ring. I fumble as I get it out of my pocket, dropping it on the floor in front of him.
As he bends and picks it up, I see a flash. I do not see Gandalf, but rather I see the demoralizing image of none other than Darth Vader. The image disappears as fast as it appeared, leaving me wondering. Gandalf mounts his horse again and declares: "Since the ring-bearer is dead, I am the only one powerful enough to destroy this evil."
All the troops surrounding us seem fine with this plan, but I am not so sure. Why would I see the image of ultimate evil upon a man who is supposedly the image of ultimate good? I decide to follow Gandalf as he rides up to Mount Doom.
He is at the edge of the lava pit, the One Ring dangling from his fingertips. I hide behind a boulder not more than ten feet away. Gandalf begins to drop the Ring, but hesitates. Elrond, who I didn't notice before, asks Gandalf why he is hesitating. Gandalf doesn't respond. Elrond asks him yet again what the matter is. Gandalf still doesn't respond. Impatient, Elrond attempts to take the Ring and throw it in himself. Gandalf seems to see this coming and grasps Elrond's hand.
"The Ring is mine!! I will see no hurt to it!!" seems to come from Gandalf, even though his lips aren't moving.
Another flash. Darth Vader stands where Gandalf was a second earlier. Elrond quakes with fear as Vader picks him up by the throat and holds him over the bubbling lava. Vader laughs a hollow, metallic laugh. Elrond is released, plummeting into the molten rock below. Vader shudders, then another flash. Gandalf is there again. He looks down at the One Ring in his hand, smiles, and puts it in his pocket. I stand in disbelief at what just happened.
I am shuddering. What am I going to do? the most powerful good guy has just turned into a bad guy. We're all going to die. I figure that the only way to destroy the Ring now is to destroy it myself.
It is 6:25 in the evening as I stare at Gandalf's house, fearful at the task set before me. There is a party raging inside celebrating the "success" of Gandalf at Mount Doom, but tonight I'll be doing anything but celebrating. The fools inside believe that the battle is won, that evil has been vanquished forever. I chuckle to myself thinking how specious it all is.
I walk in the door and am instantly invited to join in the festivities. Gandalf is at the piano, teaching everybody the words and playing everybody's parts. I, not wanting to make a scene, walk over to where I think the basses are. We sing for awhile, then we're done and Gandalf asks "Are there any questions? Does everybody know what they are doing?"
Someone begins to respond with a genuine question but I, seizing the opportunity, shout "Did you REALLY destroy the One Ring? Is the Ultimate evil of Sauron eliminated forever? Or does it live on in this very house?" Gandalf laughs then blurts out "Of course I destroyed the Ring! Would we be having this party if I didn't?" The party-goers surrounding us agree.
I panic as I desperately search for a response. I have none. I look around at the room, trying to find somebody, anybody who will agree with me. There are none. I almost give up when I see the coat Gandalf was wearing at the top of Mount Doom. I dash over to the coat rack, thrust my hand into the pocket, and whip out the first thing my hand touches.
It is nothing more than a golden key ring. That can't be right. I stare at disbelief at the key ring as everyone around me laughs hysterically. I throw the key ring to the ground and desperately search through the rest of the pockets of Gandalf's robe. Nothing.
My eyes well up with tears as I realize that I cannot find the Ring. I realize that evil will be allowed to endure on this earth.
Gandalf chortles, his cheeks rosy from the alcohol. He pats my back and beckons me to walk with him. "Just had a little too much to drink, methinks. Ha ha ha." We walk through the huge crowd of party-goers until we get to Gandalf's balcony.
The screen door shuts behind us, and we are in the peace of the night. Gandalf starts talking to me about the dangers of drinking and how I should cut back a little when with company. After a few minutes of talking, he walks over to the balcony railing and leans over it, I see a glint of silvery moonlight dance across his chest.
Of course! He wouldn't leave the One Ring, the ultimate symbol of hate and malice in his coat pocket! I dash over to him, grab the chain around his neck, and pull.
The chain snaps into dozens of pieces as the links break. A glint of gold soars through the air and rolls across the floor towards the door. Gandalf leaps after it, but I quickly jut my foot out to send him with a crunch onto the floor. I felt momentarily bad for him, but then remembered who he really was. Pure Evil.
I grabbed the One Ring and shove it into my pocket. I fumble with the door handle as Gandalf slowly stands up. He is bleeding profusely form his mouth. He touches his lip, sees that is bleeding, and sneers. He starts towards me, his arms reaching. I throw open the door just in time and bolt through the house. I almost run into several people as I dash out of the house to find my car has been set on fire. Crap.
STOP HIM!!!!
Double crap. I panic as I desperately search for a means of escape. I spy a couple of horses over by the mailbox and decide to use those. I mount the closest one and begin my rush to Mordor.I fly through the night, looking behind me every so often to check if I am followed. There is no one. None of the party-goers seems to have heeded Gandalf's order. All the better for me then. I ride for quite a long time, eventually making it all the way to the base of Mount Doom.
As I rush up the side of the mountain, I hear a voice from behind me. I turn to see Gandalf climbing up the slope no more than thirty feet below me.
"You don't know the power of the dark side! I fought against it for eons, totally ignorant of the power to be had! You know how they say 'seeing is believing'? I was blind, but now I see! Join me, and together we shall rule the galaxy!"
This all sounded vaguely familiar somehow, but I press on. I rush up the slope as fast as my feet could carry me, up to the top of Mount Doom. I stand at the edge, at the place where so many have failed. So many have been tempted by this simple thing.
This One Ring.
I hold it in my hand, my arm hanging over the flame of the lava below. I will my fingers to open, but they will not. I feel a cold force keeping my hand shut. I shake my arm up and down, desperately trying to free the Ring form my grasp, but in vain. Gandalf speaks. He stands a foot from me, speaking in an unknown tongue. I feel a freezing sensation as my arm turns and drops the One Ring in his outstretched palm. As soon as the Ring touches his skin, a flash nearly blinds me.
Darth Gandalf. A terrible twist of good and evil. The most powerful being in the universe now with the most powerful weapon. He knocks me to the ground with a wave of his dark hand. He laughs. He laughs so deep and so loud that the very earth under me shakes.
I have failed. I failed as so many before me have. I failed my friends, my family, my world.
No. There is still one thing I can do.
I look up at Darth Gandalf. He still laughs. I stand up. He stops. I clench my fist.
"What, you think you could stop me? You, a mere mortal, stop ME? I could set fire to a tree with my will! I could vaporize a man with a wave of my hand! I could..."
"You could shut up and die."
*SMACK*
My fist makes contact with his face with the speed of a locomotive. He reels backwards, his robes swishing as he plummets to a fiery death. I look down to see the most awesome being in the universe being reduced to ashes.
I collapse on the rocky surface of the volcano. It is finished, Mr. Frodo, it is finished.
(I wake with a painful hand and a strange craving to watch both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.)
Haha this is awesome. :D
ReplyDeleteWell somebody's a writer.
ReplyDeleteFun read. Thanks!
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