While they still needed to find Elanor, they realized now that they needed to solve the problem at hand. Vince was extremely powerful, and he couldn't be controlled, and he was going to kill Ryan. Luckily, he had passed out after his display of his massive powerful. It gave them time to get away, but unfortunately it also gave Ryan time to wake and run after them. Ryan himself had found them in the desolate wasteland, but he hadn't come to kill them. He had come to give them an offer. Now they were here pondering his offer, and finally, they agreed to the deal and had decided on a way to double cross Ryan. Ryan had offered to give them Elanor, on the condition that they sent word to Gondor and Rohan. They needed a massive force to oppose the power that Vince had. Finally, when they had Elanor with them, they set out for Gondor. Soon, they knew that two more fortresses in Mordor had been completely decimated.

When they reached the gates, they opened immediately revealing Strider and Mendon. Strider was in his normal outfit, rather than his ranger's rags. Mendon stood there, looking just as he always did, serious and thoughtful. When they revealed what they had to do to Aragorn, he wasn't the most enthusiastic participant, but Mendon fully agreed, realizing the threat that Vince posed if he was capable of destroying an entire fortress with one blow. Mendon rode off at the end of that day, but still the three friends were worried about how this battle would end. If their visions meant what all three of them suspected, both Ryan and Jacob would die, and Vince wouldn't be the one to fight Ryan.

They didn't want to endanger Elanor again, but they had too. They had decided that Ryan wanted Vince dead, so he was throwing everything he had into this battle. However, they didn't want Vince dying, because he was their friend. He might have been corrupted by so much travel into and out of the same world, but he was still Vince. They had decided that the only way to save Vince was to send him out of Middle Earth. They decided to muster their armies by the black gate, surrounding the burn where he had landed. In the chaos of the battle, they hoped to send Vince home, and they wouldn't have to worry about him destroying anything there. This would also spare him of the death that awaited from the armies that now wished him gone.

Jacob was sure that the plan would work, but he didn't know the cost it would have. How many people would have to give their lives trying to stop him? He knew that he might very well be one of the people who did, but he couldn't have possibly been sure about it. When he thought about it, he realized that even if Vince managed to escape the flames like he did, he would still turn back to his regular self, of course, he would have the combined armies of three of the most powerful regions still trying to kill him, so that would be a slight complication if their plan worked. Jacob realized that their plan had to succeed. All they had to do, was get Vince into the area in which he had landed, but that would be no small task. As a matter a fact, it would be the biggest challenge any of them had ever faced. Not because he was so powerful, but because he was their friend.

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Cat had agreed to the plan, but she was almost certain that even if it worked, Ryan would turn on them immediately. She realized that her last vision might very well mean that she would kill him though. It was that thought that haunted her as she walked down the street in Minas Tirith. She didn't want to kill another living person, she barely put up with killing the orcs that continuously attacked them, and that was only in self-defense. She had realized by now, that the visions didn't always mean what they thought they meant, and she was almost certain that the first vision wasn't a memory. She had noticed something that bothered her about it. She had been the second one through the door when they had originally arrived in Middle Earth, but in this vision, she was the one to open the door. She was almost certain because of this that they would travel again.

She stopped her train of thought as soon as she reached her destination. She approached the door to meet the eyes of the second person she had met in this world. Enma welcomed her in with a great joy and asked if she wanted anything to drink while she was there. She declined the offer, but sat at the table as the children greeted her with gleeful cheers. She smiled and greeted them each one by one, loving to see the smiles on their faces. She talked for several hours with Enma about their journey, and about life in Minas Tirith on a regular day. Cat had forgotten that there were people going about their regular lives while she was away, and at first, she started to worry about the world they had left behind, but she remembered how Vince had described the world back home. He had said it was like he had just left, and he hadn't been missed at all. That no other guests had even arrived for the party yet.

Cat stopped and laughed. Enma looked at her confused, and she asked, "What is there to laugh about, Hánna?" Cat calmed herself and told Enma all about how they had come to this world, and she mentioned how strange it would be when they finally left and had to be at a normal party after all their adventures. Enma agreed with her and began laughing herself. The two of them talked and talked, until finally, Cat had to go. They were finally ready to set out for Mordor.

Cat arrived at the field where the soldiers had gathered, beginning their march. Cat took off running, trying to catch up to the front of the army, where she knew Strider and the others would be. As she ran, some of the soldiers glanced at her. She realized that they had probably never seen a young girl go to battle, and that it wasn't something that happened very often. Of course, it was likely many of these men had gone to battle themselves. Cat worried about the visions she had seen, but soon she reached the front of the group and saw the others. She joined them, and they went off to war.

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Mal still didn't want to trust Ryan at all, but she also accepted that it was their only option. If they were going to hold Vince in one place long enough, they would need a massive army. Mal wasn't sure the battle would go as well as they hoped, based on what she had seen in the visions that the spider had given them. She marched onward, wondering how long it would take them to reach the land of Mordor with an army, and when the army that Mendon would be bringing would be arriving. It was just as the thought passed through her mind when a cheer went through the small force that they led.

"Rohan! Rohan has come again!" many of the soldiers cheered. It occurred to Mal that many of these men were volunteers for this battle, and she, more than likely, was fighting alongside the survivors of the battle of the black gate. She smiled knowing that soon she would see her old friend again soon.

"Hey, we should do that more often," Jacob said, riding beside her, "These days we've all been so serious." He smiled back, and the infectious grin spread to Cat's face as well, as they all began to laugh. They were riding to battle against one of their good friends and teaming up with an army lead by a former knight in training who had betrayed them and attempted to kill them all multiple times, and yet still they could laugh together. She looked to Jacob, and her smile quickly faded as she remembered what she had seen only days before. His face torn, his body broken, and his life draining from him.

They rode in silence after that. She couldn't find the courage to speak, even when Mendon arrived and greeted them. Soon, she could see the giant gates between the mountains standing wide open. Mal hoped they had timed their march correctly, as they had planned to trap Vince between the land of Mordor and the rest of Middle Earth. If they got there after Vince, they would have missed their window, and might even be attacked by what would have remained of Ryan's forces. But as they approached, the giant metal gates began to shake.

In a moment the metal stopped trembling, and the giant gates, which normally required a team of trained trolls to open on either side, were blown wide apart by a single blow. Vince stood between the doors, his staff held in his hands. He looked behind him at the army of orcs that approached, then glanced ahead at the troops blocking his path. He seemed to lock eyes with every one of his friends, and then turned and silently strode toward the mass of orcs behind him. It was then that both sides charged. It was then that the battle began.

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He charged forward, prepared to strike down the horde before him. He raised his staff and swung it in a wide arch, blowing the first wave back. Many of them were thrown into their allies behind them, toppling most of the second wave of orcs. He knew that orcs were cowards, and they weren't so dimwitted to think they could beat him. Only a courageous few captains continued to advance along with Ryan himself. Behind Vince, the men of both Gondor and Rohan approached swiftly, but if he could destroy the army Ryan had mustered before they reached him, he could face them with worrying. He had expended much of his energy facing the first few waves of orcs. As the captains approached, he blew them away with one smaller blow of power after another. Soon the only person the stood before him was Ryan. Behind him, his army of orcs cowered in fear, but were ready to aid their leader. Vince didn't have enough energy to plow the pitiful traitor away, so they began their battle as two warriors might. They swung back and forth, both being of equal skill. Vince would strike, and Ryan would parry his blows, returning them with his own.

Soon, sweat beaded on Ryan's forehead. Vince didn't seem to tire from the battle between him and the young warrior. He wouldn't lose to him, and there was no way that Ryan could outlast Vince in such a drawn-out battle. Unfortunately for Vince, that was not Ryan's intent. It was no time until Ryan's sword clattered to the ground and he fell backwards. Vince drew his staff back and brought it down, ready to end Ryan once and for all. It was only as he swung his weapon that he realized what Ryan had done. He had stalled. He hadn't been fighting to win, because he knew that he couldn't win. He had been waiting for reinforcements from Gondor. Ryan's face was covered in a grin as the staff was blocked by two, identical blades. They were crossed in an x shape, and Vince turned to his right and left. There stood Jacob and the king of Gondor. Then Ryan turned and grabbed his blade, rose, and drove it into his foe's right shoulder. Jacob tried to stumble back but he couldn't.

Vince slammed his staff into the side of the blade, and it broke into two. Jacob held out his left hand, holding Vince back. He held his blade in his left hand, and stepped forward to face Ryan. He swung first, and their battle began.