Narrator: Having made
their way to the fiery mountain of Orodruin, Samwise struggles valiantly
to carry Frodo to the very entrance of the Sammath Naur... the Chambers
of Fire where the One Ring was forged. Entering within, as with Isildur
so long ago, all that is left to seal the Dark Lord's doom is but to
cast the ring down among the eternally raging fires of the volcano's
abyss.
Frodo: On second thought, I think I will keep the ring.
Sam: Pardon?
Frodo: I do not choose to do the task we came here
for. The One
Ring is mine.
Sam: (thoroughly puzzled) I don't understand what you're
saying, Mr. Frodo. This can't be right.
Gollum: (jumping out of the shadows) Wicked masster!
Wicked masster cheats us, cheats poor Smeagol—gollum! Give it
to Smeagol, yesss, give the Preciouss to usss!
Sam: Back off, stinker, neither of you should have
it. The ring is altogether evil and must be destroyed!
Frodo: So both of you would take it from me?! I really
didn't expect some kind of Khandish Inquisition—
[jarring chord]
(a side door flies open and Cardinal Ximinez of the Variags enters,
flanked by junior Cardinals Biggles and Fang)
Ximinez: Nobody expects the Khandish Inquisition!
Our chief weapon is surprise... surprise and fear... fear and surprise.
Our two weapons are fear and surprise... and ruthless efficiency. Our
three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...
and an almost fanatical devotion to the Dark Lord. Our four...
no... amongst our weapons... amongst our weaponry... are such
diverse elements as fear, surprise—I'll come in again.
(exit and exeunt)
Frodo: I didn't expect some kind of Khandish Inquisition.
[jarring chord]
(the cardinals burst in again)
Ximinez: Nobody expects the Khandish Inquisition!
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless
efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to Sauron, and very pretty
red uniforms—
(freeze scene)
Narrator: (with on screen caption) IN THE LATER YEARS
OF THE THIRD AGE, TO COMBAT THE RISING TIDE OF SENSIBLE FASHION STYLES
AND GOOD DENTAL HYGIENE AMONG HIS ENEMIES, THE DARK LORD SAURON GAVE
CARDINAL XIMINEZ (THE VARIAG RULER OF THE LAND OF KHAND) LEAVE TO MOVE
WITHOUT LET OR HINDRANCE THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EARTH IN A REIGN OF VIOLENCE,
TERROR, AND TORTURE THAT KIDS TODAY THINK MAKES A SMASHING GOOD FILM.
THIS WAS THE KHANDISH INQUISITION...
(scene unfreezes)
Ximinez: Now, Frodo Baggins! You are accused of heresy
on three counts: heresy by thought, heresy by word, heresy by deed,
and, most obviously, heresy by action. Four counts. Do you confess?
Frodo: I didn't understand any of that, actually.
Sam: We're innocent!
Ximinez: Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
(superimposed caption: DIABOLICAL LAUGHTER)
Biggles: We'll soon change your minds about that!
(superimposed caption: DIABOLICAL ACTING)
Ximinez: Yes! We shall make you understand the error
of your ways! Biggles, fetch... The Cushions!
[jarring chord]
(Biggles holds out two ordinary household cushions)
Biggles: Here they are, lord.
Ximinez: Now, hobbit... you have one last chance. Confess
the heinous sin of flossing, reject the clothing fashion trends of the
elves... two last chances. Relinquish the ring... three
last chances, that's three, and you shall be free... four last
chances. You have four last chances, the nature of which I have divulged
in my previous utterance.
Frodo: (shrug) I really don't know what you're talking
about.
Ximinez: Right! If that's the way you want it... Cardinal!
Poke him with the soft cushions!
(Biggles ruthlessly pokes Frodo with the cushions)
Ximinez: Confess! Confess! Confess!
Biggles: It doesn't seem to be hurting him, lord.
Ximinez: Have you got all the stuffing up one end?
Biggles: Yes, lord.
Ximinez: (angrily hurling away the cushions) Hmmm!
This halfling is made of sterner stuff! Cardinal Fang, fetch... The
Comfy Chair!
[jarring chord]
Fang: (horrified) The—the... Comfy Chair?
(Biggles pushes in a really plush, comfy chair)
Ximinez: So you think you are strong because you can
survive the soft cushions? Well, we shall see. Biggles, put him in the
Comfy Chair!
(Frodo is roughly pushed into the Comfy Chair)
Ximinez: (with a cruel leer) Now... you will stay in
the Comfy Chair until lunch time with only a cup of tea at eleven. (aside
to Biggles) Is that really all it is?
Biggles: Yes, lord.
Ximinez: I see. I suppose we make it worse by shouting
a lot, do we? Confess, hobbit. Confess! Confess! Confess! Confess!
Biggles: I confess!
Ximinez: Not you!
(Gandalf bursts in)
Gandalf: No, no, NO—stop this at once! This is
silly.
Ximinez: What's silly?
Gandalf: The whole premise is silly and it's very badly
written. I'm the senior Istari at hand and I should already be rescuing
Frodo and Sam with the help of the giant eagles I just parked outside.
You've wasted far too much time with this nonsense, so I'm stopping
it.
Ximinez: You can't do that!
Gandalf: I've done it. The Inquisition scene is over.
Biggles: But please, sir, what if we promise to hurry
things along a bit?
Gandalf: Look, I simply can NOT be arsed... your parts
are over, so get out of shot. Good. Director! Close up. Zoom in on—
(camera starts to zoom in on Gandalf)
Gandalf: Wait for it!
(camera zooms back out)
Gandalf: Right. Zoom in on Frodo and Gollum.
(camera zooms in)
Gandalf: (off screen) That's better.
Ximinez: (off screen) The general public's not going
to understand this, are they?
Gandalf: (off screen) Shut up! Now, let's see here...
quick version. Frodo puts on the ring.
Frodo: (invisible) The ring is mine forever! Muwahaha!
Top of the world, ma! All shall love me and despair!
Sam: (off screen) Are there honestly any fangirls left
that don't?
Gandalf: (off screen) Shhh! But Gollum manages to grab
hold of Frodo and bite off the finger wearing the Ring.
Frodo: Ow!!! That bloody damn well hurt!
Gandalf: (off screen) Unfortunately for Gollum, his
crazed victory dance causes him to topple right over the brink of the
chasm and into the fiery depths of Orodruin.
Gollum: (oblivious and gleefully happy) Precious! My
Preciousss, O my Pre—
[sploit]
(a short deathly silent pause and then, suddenly, Orodruin erupts in
violent catastrophic fury)
Gandalf: That's that, then. Time to go!
(the giant eagles Gwaihir and Landroval fly off carrying Gandalf and
the two hobbits to safety)
Biggles: (off screen) Those wankers just up and left
us here!
Fang: (off screen) I call "dibs" on dying in the comfy
chair.
Ximinez: (off screen) Well, I must admit I didn't expect
this.
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