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Maedhros wakes up. He’s still in Angband. He checks to see if his brothers are still there. They are, Amrod and Amras huddled together in the corner.
It’s been a while. He’s spent too much time unconscious to tell for sure, and their cell is in the depths so there is no sky to measure by, but he thinks it’s been a few weeks, no more than a few months. Sauron hasn’t arrived yet, so it cannot have been much longer.
As if his thoughts have cursed him, the next time he’s pulled out of his cell, he hears muttering about Sauron’s return. Later that night, he looks at his brothers and thinks.
They have no chance of escape, no chance of rescue. They are deep in the earth, not hanging in the open, and there is no cousin to come to their aid, no help left from the Valar. He has seen his brothers suffer in the past days, and it is worse for him to see it than any other torment they could put him through. If Sauron comes… he is known as the necromancer for a reason. There is no escape through death once he arrives.
His brothers are asleep. Maedhros may only have on hand left, but it is strong. If he can act before they wake, if he is just strong enough—
Before he can think through the idea any more and consider the implications, he decides to move. His hand wraps around Amrod’s neck. He was the one who wanted to go home the most. If there is any chance at rebirth, surely he should be first to get it.
Amrod wakes halfway through, eyes panicked and limbs thrashing as he tries to escape. Maedhros presses down, watches as his eyes go dim. He is not quite ready to let go yet when Maedhros is thrown across the room. Amras is awake, woken by his twin’s movement. He fights viciously, kicking and biting, until he manages to take hold of Maedhros’ hair, using it as a handhold to bash his head against the stone floor.
Maedhros cannot see, as Amras leaves him there to check on his twin, his eyes obscured by the blood leaking down onto his face, his head struck with pain as if it had been split open (had it?). He hears the cry of despair.