10.4- Outside the Gates of Mordor-Tmr:
Sonya stumbled through the bushes on her own, and then stopped in wonder at the sight which greeted her. There were big, black gates, gigantic, even. Those gates towered over her, and she heard yells from behind her, signifying that the gates were not completely unnoticed after all. To make matters worse, those gates started shuddering, and started diverging like tectonic plates at a constructive boundary. With a deep groan complete with oscillating squeaks, they came to a stop, and Sonya could see inside. A barren landscape lay before her, with mighty towers all black in colour, and empty in nature. The architecture looked different, somehow... Even somewhat alien, with the jagged material the buildings were made of. 'If you could call them buildings', Sonya thought. They resembled army barracks, and spires, rather than buildings and towers. The voices were coming closer, and they were behind her, so she couldn't turn back the way she came. The safest place for her at the moment was to enter the area ahead. Sonya heard a voice beside her whisper "Mordor", and she nearly dropped the spear she was holding. She didn't, though, and spiralled around to stab whomever had said that. That same voice said "Wait", and she saw who it was. The voice belonged to Sam Gamgee, 'The Hobbit', Sonya recalled. She saw that Sam did not have his sword out of its scabbard, and he held his hands towards her and said "I've been here before, let me guide you to a shelter." Sonya considered it, then weighed the option of trying to explore Mordor on her own, decided to take Sam's offer. "Alright, let's do it.", she said. They entered the fortress that was Mordor, and started walking towards the tallest tower that was there. There were no lights on in any of the windows, yet Sonya could have sworn she saw movement in windows, as if someone was watching them. Waiting. She gestured to Sam that they were being watched, and he nodded his head and mouthed "Orcs". "What the hell", Sonya whispered back. She knew that Orcs were supposed to be hideous monsters, however she didn't expect any to be real, or at least, not here. They had entered the tower, and saw tunnels in every direction. A darkness lay upon the land, and it was no different indoors. They decided to try venturing down one of the tunnels, but before they could do so, there was movement on their left. Two figures were crawling out of the shadows. Sonya realized it was Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. They looked parched, so Sam quickly fumbled to get his flask of water, as Sonya did for her own. When they moved closer to the couple, they saw how badly they needed water. Sam brought his flask first, and Percy gestured to Annabeth. Sonya watched as Sam obliged, and Annabeth gladly had the water. Sonya gave hers to Percy, but he started shaking and nearly dropped the flask. Then, she tried to give it to him in his mouth, but he couldn't drink. Percy looked towards Annabeth, feebly grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. Sonya saw Annabeth shake her head slowly, and mouth "No, drink." but it was too late. Sonya put her hand on his neck, and noticed his pulse was slowing. She managed to force water down his throat, but his body had already started convulsing. He lay back down slowly, and never took his eyes off Annabeth, his one true love. Perseus Jackson died looking at the epitome of what he loved. The cannon sounded to a silent Mordor. Sonya saw that Annabeth was too much in shock to register the fact that Percy, the Son of Poseidon, the boy who had overcome so very many challenges, the boy she loved, had died of dehydration of all things. Sonya knew from conversations with the two that they were supposed to get married, supposed to have children together, once they finished their studies in New Rome. There was so much that they could have had together, for they were perfect together, but all that was fruitless now. Annabeth started sobbing, but stopped suddenly, because she realized he'd be waiting for her in Elysium, the paradisaical abode of heroes when they died and went to the Underworld. "He wouldn't choose rebirth because he wanted to be with her for all eternity, and he sure as Hades was a godly hero", Annabeth said. She didn't have much time to grieve, however, for Sonya had noticed there was a harsh, choking sound that was increasing in volume. 'It was more of a scream', Sonya thought. They ran outside the building, and noticed large winged creatures like mutated dragons rising up into the air. Sam groaned and said "Fell beasts." They looked at each other, then bolted for the gates of Mordor, leaving Percy's body to be collected by Capitol hovercraft.
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