Author's Note: Hey! Welcome to Eagles of the Light, the second fanfiction to Wolves of the Dark. I Hope you like chapter 1 and don't forget to review please! Also! I am not involving any scenes that do not have the five survivors in it so if you don't see Frodo or Saruman or any of the scenes in Rohan, that is why.

Also! I changed the Elvish from BOLD to Italics, and thoughts from Italics to Italics underlined,so that happened.

I do not own any of the LotR movies or books.

Previously: Boromir, Legolas, and Aragorn grinned at each other in amusement from the two excited men before they all disappeared into the woods, following the uruk-hai trail.

"Elvish"

Thoughts

Flashback

"Voice over"

A band of Uruk-hai marched across the plain with two hobbits bound to the backs of two Uruk-hai.

Pippin tried to call to Merry who was unconscious with a gash on his right brow, "Merry. Merry!"

He receives no response as an Uruk-hai put up his hand and signaled a stop.

Ugluk, the Uruk-Hai who replaced Lurtz, asked, "What is it? What do you smell?"

The Uruk sniffed the air, "Man-flesh."

Pippin muttered quietly to himself, "Aragorn!"

"They've picked up our trail! Let's move!" Ugluk shouted as the Uruk-hai quickened their pace.

Pippin struggled to reach his Elven brooch with his teeth. He then tore it off his cloak and dropped it onto the ground. A foot stomped onto the brooch but it remained unbroken and visible on the grass.

Aragorn was lying with his eyes closed and an ear pressed to the ground, listening for the sound of footsteps.

"Their pace has quickened," he looked up, "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" he ran off.

"Come on, Gimli!" Legolas looked back at Gimli and then runs after Aragorn.

Gimli paused in his steps and huffed, "Three days' and nights' pursuit. No food. No rest. And no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell."

Axel chuckled as he slowed down to Gimli, "Aww, is the tiny dwarf tired?"

"Don't go there you over grown rat," Gimli growled as he ran after his companions.

The five hunters ran across rocks and plains, with Aragorn in the lead, followed by Legolas, Boromir, Axel, and Gimli. From time to time, Legolas would looked back to make sure that Gimli was keeping up.

Aragorn suddenly bent down to pick up an Elven brooch from the ground, "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall."

Legolas stopped and turned to Aragorn, "They may yet be alive."

"Less than a day ahead of us. Come!" Aragorn ran off again.

Gimli stumbled from behind some rocks and rolld to the ground as Legolas grinned at him, "Come, Gimli! We are gaining on them!"

"I am wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!" Gimli huffed as he followed them, Boromir laughing off to the side.

The trackers came over a hill and paused as they gazed across the plains below, Axel had shifted into a full black wolf the size of a pony once more.

"Rohan," Boromir breathed in awe.

"Home of the horse-lords. There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us," Aragorn replied, his eyes narrowed.

Legolas ran ahead and looked out to the horizon as Aragorn asked him, "Legolas, what do your Elf eyes see?"

"The Uruks turn northeast. They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!" Legolas replied, whipping around as his hair floated gracefully around his head.

Shade chuckled under his fur at the image of Legolas as Aragorn sighed, "Saruman."

The Uruk-hai and Orcs continued to march across the plains with their hobbit captives, with Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, Axel, and Gimli hot on their pursuits.

"Keep breathing! That's the key! Breathe! Ho!" Gimli huffed as Axel snickered with a wolfish grin.

"They've run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them," Legolas sighed softly as they continued running over vast distances.

The Uruk-hai and Orcs halted at nightfall, many panting with exertion.

A Mordor Uruk-Hai growled, "We're not going no further till we've had a breather!"

"Get a fire going!" Ugluk shouted as the Orcs and Uruk-hai took their rest.

Pippin crawled over towards Merry, "Merry! Merry!"

Merry opened his eyes slowly, "I think... we might have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin."

A group of Orcs chopped down the trees nearby for firewood and low groans and rumbles started to emerge from the forest.

"What's making that noise?" Pippin whispered as he looked around.

Merry looked towards the forest, "It's the trees."

"What?" Pippin asked curiously.

"Do you remember the Old Forest? On the borders of Buckland? Folk used to say that there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall... and come alive," Merry replied softly.

"Alive?" Pippin gasped.

"Trees that could whisper. Talk to each other. Even move," Merry's eyes were glued to the trees.

Mauhur huffed, "I'm starving. We ain't 'ad nothin' but maggoty bread for three stinkin' days!"

Snaga nodded as he tossed logs onto the fire, "Yeah. Why can't we have some meat?" his eyes rested on the hobbits, "What about them? They're fresh."

"They are not for eating!" Ugluk snarled at them.

Grishnakh grinned as he licked his lips, "What about their legs? They don't need those. Ooh… They look tasty!"

Ugluk shoved at the Orcs, "Get back, scum!"

The other Orcs were getting restless as a Mordor Orc shouted, "Carve them up!"

Snaga moved towards the hobbits with his blade drawn, "Just a mouth full."

"No!" Pippin and Merry recoiled in fright as Ugluk jumped on the Orc and cut off his head, which bounced off the hobbit's shoulders, "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"

The Uruk-hai and Orcs cheered and started tearing into the fresh meat, intestines flying, taking their eyes off the hobbits for a while.

"Pippin, let's go," Merry whispered, their hands were still bound as the hobbits tried to crawl away.

Suddenly a foot came down on Merry and Pippin was turned onto his back.

Grishnakh was brandishing a blade in front of Pippin's face, "Go on, call for help. Squeal! No one's gonna save you now!"

Suddenly, a spear pierced the Orc's back and mayhem ensued as Riders of Rohan burst out from their hiding places and ambushed the Orcs.

"Pippin!" Merry gestured for them to make their escape.

The hobbits tried to escape from the pandemonium to the forest, dodging bodies and stomping feet.

Suddenly Pippin turned onto his face and looked up to a pair of thrashing hooves bearing down on him, "ARGH!"

The five hunters were still chasing after the Uruk-hai and it was dawn.

Legolas paused and looked up, "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night."

The five hunters gave chase to the band of Uruk-Hai but then, the trackers heard the sound of horses. Aragorn and company hid behind some boulders as a large group of horse-men appeared, galloping quickly with their banners flying. Aragorn came out of hiding as they pass, followed by Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and Axel.

"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" Aragorn shouted.

At a signal from Éomer at the lead, the riders made a quick turn and headed towards them, surrounding them in ever-tightening circles. As they stopped, they pointed their long spears menacingly at them.

"What business does an Elf, three men and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" Éomer demanded.

"Give me your name, Horsemaster, and I shall give you mine," Gimli huffed, stubbornly.

"We are going to die," Axel groaned to Boromir who laughed softly.

Éomer handed his staff to another rider and got off his horse as Aragorn put a hand on Gimli's shoulder, "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

Legolas, in a lightning fast move, pointed an arrow at Éomer, "You would die before your stroke fell!"

"Aww, you two care about each other," Axel cooed as Legolas fumbled with his bow.

"We do not!" both Gimli and Legolas denied before looking at each other in shock as Axel laughed.

Éomer looked at Axel in amusement and waved his hand, making the spears withdraw.

Aragorn sighed in relief, glad that due to Axel's humor, there was no attacks, "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, Legolas of the Woodland realm, Boromir, son of Denethor, and Axel who has too many titles to his name. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king."

"Hey! I do not have too many titles!" Axel huffed softly as the trackers laughed.

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," Éomer sighed as he took off his helmet, "Not even his own kin. Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are not spies. We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They've taken two of our friends captive," Aragorn explained.

"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," Éomer muttered but everyone heard him.

"But there were two hobbits. Did you see two hobbits with them?" Boromir asked, fear in his eyes for the young ones.

"They would be small – only children to your eyes," Aragorn continued.

"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them," Éomer sighed softly, pointing to a smoking pile in the distance.

Gimli gaped, "Dead?"

Éomer nodded, "I am sorry."

Legolas put a hand on Gimli's shoulder in grief as Éomer turned and whistled, "Hasufel! Arod!"

Two horses moved up as Éomer continued, "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell."

Éomer put on his helmet and got back on his horse, "Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these lands," he spoke to the riders, "We ride north!"

Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, Axel, and Gimli looked on as the Riders rode off, then they rode towards the burning carcasses with Axel trotting along side the horses as a wolf.

Gimli started to shift through the smoldering pile, and pulled out a charred belt and dagger sheath, "It's one of their wee belts."

Legolas spoke, with his head bowed and eyes closed, "May they find peace in death."

Aragorn kicked a helmet and yelled before falling to his knees, "AAARRGGHH!"

Gimli sighed roughly, "We failed them..."

Axel whined softly and nudged Gimli gently before huffing but sniffed at the belt and dagger, following the scent to some tracks near the edge of the camp; almost a tangible image in his mind of what happened.

Pippin yells as he looks up at a pair of thrashing hooves bearing down on him. He rolls over, avoiding the hooves.

Axel's head jolted up as he barked, getting Aragorn's attention as he walked over to Axel, 'They crawled.'

[Axel started to follow the tracks with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir behind him, "Axel? What's happening?"

"I think he's following their tracks... The Hobbits are alive," Legolas replied.

Merry and Pippin crawl frantically away from the battle.

Axel huffed softly, 'Their hands were bound.'

Merry rubs his bonds furiously against the sharp edge of a weapon.

'Their bonds were cut,' Axel yipped softly as he held up a broken length of thick rope in his jaws.

"They ran over here. They were followed," Aragorn looked at him, astonished.

Their hands freed, the hobbits run away from the battle scene, dodging under a horse and trying to stay out of harms way. As they flee, Grishnákh grabs Pippin by his belt and clings on.

"The belt!" Merry shouts as Pippin undoes his belt and Grishnákh is left holding it.

"Run!" Merry shouts as he grabs Pippin and runs.

"The tracks lead away from the battle," Aragorn nodded as Axel jumped, excited as they broke into a run and then stopped into Fangorn Forest.

The five look up into a dense and dark forest as Gimli huffed, confused, "Fangorn. What madness drove them in there?"

Gimli fingered a dark stain on a leaf and brought it to his mouth before spitting, "Ptui! Orc blood."

"These are strange tracks," Aragorn hummed as he looked around.

"The air is so close in here," Gimli shivered as Axel walked close to him, already back as a human.

"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory... and anger," Legolas whispered as groans reverberated through the forest and Gimli raised his axe.

Boromir looked up at the trees, "The trees are speaking to each other."

Axel whispered to Gimli, "Gimli!"

"Huh?" The dwarf looked at him, axe still raised as Axel gestured to him, "Lower your axe."

Gimli lowered his axe slowly, "Oh."

Legolas stiffened as he looked to Aragorn, "Something is out there!"

Aragorn looked back at him, concerned, "What do you see?"

The elf's eyes widen as he hisses, "The White Wizard approaches."

"Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us," Aragorn wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword as well as Axel and Boromir, Gimli tightened his hold on his axes, and Legolas notched an arrow to his bow.

"We must be quick," Aragorn whispered and with a yell, the five swung round to attack, yet a familiar scent hit Axel's nose which made his hand drop from his sword. Gimli's axe and Legolas' arrow were deflected as Aragorn and Boromir dropped their swords as they became red hot in their grasp.

They shielded their eyes with their hands from the bright light emanating from the White Wizard, "You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits."

"Where are they?" Boromir growled out.

"They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" The White Wizard asked.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Aragorn demanded.

The bright light dimmed and Axel ran forward with a shout as Legolas went to stop him but the wolf man was just out of reach. He grinned as he hugged the revealed Gandalf, all dressed in white who smiled down at the young wolf King. The four are astounded before Legolas and Gimli bowed.

"It cannot be. You fell," Aragorn gasped.

"Through fire and water," Gandalf nodded as Axel released him.

Gandalf is battling the Balrog atop Dúrin's Tower, "From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth."

Gandalf holds up Glamdring and a flash of lightning strikes it before he plunges the sword into the Balrog. With a final cry, the Balrog falls from the peak and lands, smoking, onto the icy mountainside, "Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

On top of the mountain, Gandalf crawls a bit and then collapses, "Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time."

Gandalf's eye stares unblinkingly and enters an amorphous realm of stars and galaxies, ending in a blinding white light, "Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again."

Gandalf lay naked and very still, his hair has turned white and wounds are completely healed. He suddenly shudders with a deep gasp and pants as life returns to him, "I've been sent back until my task is done."

Axel snapped his fingers in front of the old wizard's face, "Gandalf!"

"Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name," Gandalf smiled.

"Gandalf!" Gimli boomed with a grin.

Gandalf spoke with a twinkle in his eye, "I am Gandalf the White.

Aragorn grinned as he continued, "And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

They walked through the forest, with Gandalf leading the way, now wearing a grey cloak over his white robes, "One stage of your journey is over, another begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed."

Outside the forest, Gandalf whistled piercingly and gently patted Axel's shoulder as the wolf King whined and rubbed his ears. Soon an answering neigh was heard and a white horse appeared from the plain, answering the call.

"That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell," Legolas gasped softly in awe.

The horse came round to stop in front of Gandalf, "Shadowfax. He's the lord of all horses and he's been my friend through many dangers."

"Shadowfax? Lord Shadowfax? Of the Northern Plains?" Axel questioned as Shadowfax neighed in delight and rubbed his snout against the wolf's cheek, "Shadowfax! Where have you been? The High King has been looking all over for you!"

Shadowfax neighed as Axel nodded as if he understood him while the rest of their company looked on in confused amusement, "Ah, well Gandalf will take good care of you, alright? Just check in with him soon, yea?"

Axel smiled as Shadowfax nodded before turning to Gandalf, "Heh... Sorry, I needed to talk to him for a moment but... Yea, we can go now."

The four hunters and Gandalf rode across the plains to Edoras with Axel, as a wolf, by their side.