Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, I do own some of the books and the movies but I had to pay for them. Yea.

A/N: When I finish this story I plan to go over it and check the spelling and grammar better. I just don't see mistakes right after I type, I have to not read if for a week or so and than I'll see mistakes. I don't know if the hobbits will come in until the epilogue, they're far away right now. Ummm, Sauron's appearance gets explained in this chapter, so for everyone who's wondering about that you finally get your answer. Yea, I think that's all.

The End of all Things

Chapter 8: The Shadow of the Past

When day had broke Sauron quickly packed up camp and loaded the boat. It took almost no time to find a bank on the opposite side of the river and pull the boat ashore. It gave Sauron immense pleasure to know this would be the last time he would need the infernal boat.

The foliage around the bank was thick and he was forced to tear through vines and branches to make a path for himself. Even though the Gulf of Lune was in an area that saw as many months of winter as summer, it was the middle of summer and the plants were in full bloom. A forest had grown up around the tower since his last visit and he had to keep glancing up and finding the tower to keep from getting lost. Finally, he came to the gates of the tower. One gate swung from its hinges, creaking every time it moved, even if it was only minutely. The other was still in place but so overgrown that it could hardly be distinguished from the brick wall it was attached to. The tower rose behind the dilapidated gates like a red finger. At some point in its long history it had caught fire and was blackened with soot, but still the red of the stone could be seen. Time had worn away the fire's damage and had replaced it with the green of moss and lichen.

Sauron carefully stepped past the swinging gate. Behind him he heard something crack and whipped around. Carefully following his path was Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. He had a second to wonder how they had caught up to him when Gandalf saw him and shot a fireball at him. Sauron swore and leaped to the side. Quickly he rolled to his feet and sprinted toward the door leading into the tower. With a shout of 'stop him' the others were after him, with Legolas and Aragorn in the front.

Sauron plunged through the door and into darkness that left him disoriented for a second. His eyes kicked in soon enough though, and he was sprinting to the stairs across the huge chamber of the tower. Halfway to the door the elf caught up with him. Legolas had pulled one of the knives he kept on his back and tried to stop Sauron with it but only managed to scratch his arm. Suddenly the Maia turned and grabbed Legolas's arm. As he had gathered the stones his strength had been restored, along with his other powers, and when he asserted some pressure he felt the bone crack. The elf pulled away and Sauron was running again. In a matter of second he was on the stairs. Before he disappeared around the corner he had time to see that Aragorn had stopped at the elf's side but Gandalf and the dwarf were still coming for him.

With his sight blocked he turned his attention to the stairs and concentrated on running. Doors branched off at regular intervals and the darkness was punctuated by windows about twice every floor. The tower wasn't very tall so he knew he had to almost bee at the top. He chanced a glance behind him and though he could not see him, Sauron knew that Gandalf wasn't too far behind.

His breath was starting to come harder when he finally burst into the dim light of the top floor. The door had long ago rotted away so Sauron hadn't had to worry about that obstacle. A small part of the roof had cave in, but as the sky had clouded over, almost no light came in through the hole or the two narrow windows. Almost all the light came from the black opal in the middle of the room.

Sauron immediately circled around to the side opposite the stairwell and stood on the other side of the pedestal holding the opal. The colors in the stone sparkled, almost constantly changing, and threw a rainbow of colors through the room.

Gandalf spilled through the door, followed closely by Aragorn. Both men were breathing heavily. Sauron smirked and reached for the stone when Gandalf yelled stop. Sauron quirked an eyebrow but actually did as he was told.

"I just have one question. Well, one that I know you will answer. How did you get your fair form back? Wasn't it destroyed when your temple fell?"

Sauron laughed softly. "You could ask me how I survived, or how I created these," he gestured at the stones, "but all you want to know is why I'm not ugly."

Gandalf nodded. "I know how the stones were created and they are what kept you alive. Your appearance is what threw me. I had always figured that if I ever saw you I would know you because of your appearance and the power you radiate. All the power had gone into the stones so the only real mystery is your appearance."

Sauron touched his own face and felt the scars that were hidden and dropped the illusion. He smirked at the sharp intake of breath from the two in front of him. His hair still hung to his waist, shiny and black, the same color as his eyes, only now they held a tint of red. His skin was the only thing that had really changed. His skin had been pale before but now it was almost translucent. The skin looked like someone had let acid run in streams down his face, or like candle wax that had dripped down and cooled. The skin was rough and pitted and the valleys seemed to be emphasized by the light coming from the opal. The scars continued into his collar, and obviously down his body for the hand that hovered over the stone was pitted and scared just like his face.

He grabbed the stone and let the illusion cover his features again. Cradling the stone he said, "Somehow the illusion stayed intacked when the ring was destroyed. I had to uphold it after I got the first stone though."

"So the whole time it was an illusion." Sauron nodded. "Were you using it before the fall of Mordor?" Again, the nod.

Sauron curled his fingers around the stone and the light diminished, making his smirk look crueler. "I never questioned it, just thanked Melkor that it had stayed.

"Well gentlemen, I think chat time is over, time to get to business," Sauron said, his tone decidedly darker. The opal in his hand flashed brightly and he dropped the stone. Power flowed over them in a wave and staggered the other two men. Sauron laughed and waved his hand and Aragorn flew back into the tower wall. "Now it's just us Olorin, like it was meant to be"

------------------------------

Whee, another chapter down. Maybe two more to go. I don't know if I'll get the next one out as fast as the last three, I'm moving and the last Harry Potter book comes out.

Again thanks to all the reviewers, YOU ROCK!!!!!!