I DON'T OWN LORD OF THE RINGS! I OWN KARINA! BY THE WAY, I KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT ELVISH LANGUAGE SO I'M JUST NOT GONNA USE IT. THE CHARACTERS MIGHT BE A LITTLE OOC.

LEGACY:

THE TWO TOWERS:

CHAPTER ONE: REUNION:

"Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" Legolas and Karina ran after Aragorn, and Legolas turned to look over his shoulder. "Come on, Gimli!" Gimli gasped for breath. "Three days and nights pursuit. No food. No rest. And no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell." They took off.

Aragorn knelt down, picking up the pin that held Pippin's cloak together. "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

"They may yet be alive." Aragorn nodded. "Less than a day ahead of us. Come." As Aragorn, Legolas and Karina began to run, Gimli rolled down the hill behind them. "Come, Gimli! We're gaining on them!"

"I'm wasted on cross-country. We Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." They paused at the top of some rocks. "Rohan. Home of the Horse-Lords. There's something strange at work here." Aragorn glanced around. "Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets its will against us."

He turned to Legolas and Karina. "What do your Elf-eyes see?" Legolas and Karina scanned the area ahead. "The Uruks turn northeast. They are taking the Hobbits to Isengard."

Aragorn sighed. "Saruman."

Legolas turned around, staring at the sunrise. "Blood has been spilled this night." They heard horses approaching and hid behind a rock as the horses went past. Karina's eyes widened. "Rohan."

Aragorn stepped out from their hiding place, followed by the others. "Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" The riders wheeled around, coming back to them and surrounded them, pointing their spears at the four. One of the riders came forward. "What business do two Elves, a Man and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!"

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine." He hopped off his horse. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." Legolas quickly drew an arrow, pointing it at him. "You would die before your stroke fell!" Karina placed her hand on his, lowering his arm.

Aragorn turned to him. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin; Legolas of the Woodland Realm; and Karina of...unknown origins. We are friends of Rohan, and of Theoden, your king."

He sighed. "Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin. I am Eomer, son of Eomund." The others withdrew their spears. "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." Legolas frowned, noticing Eomer didn't take his eyes off of Karina while he was talking.

"We are no spies. We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."

"But there were two Hobbits. Did you see two Hobbits with them?"

"They would be small. Only children to your eyes." Eomer shook his head. "We left none alive." They stared at him in disbelief. "We piled the carcasses and burned them."

"Dead?"

"I am sorry." He whistled. "Hasufel! Arod! Kanya!" Three horses trotted over: one brown, one white, and one black. (A.N. HASUFEL IS THE BROWN, AROD IS THE WHITE, AND KANYA IS THE BLACK. I CREATED KANYA FOR KARINA. THE OTHER TWO HORSES ARE ORIGINAL) "May these bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell. Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands." He looked away. "We ride north!" With that, he and the other Men rode away.

They rode over to where the bodies had been burned and dismounted. Gimli used his ax to begin sifting through the mass, and picked something up. "It's one of their wee belts." Karina started crying and Legolas wrapped his arms around her. Aragorn screamed in frustration, kicking a nearby helmet. "We failed them."

Aragorn studied the ground. "A Hobbit lay here. And the other. They crawled. Their hands were bound." He picked up some rope. "Their bonds were cut. They ran over here. They were followed." His pace quickened. "Tracks lead away from the battle...into Fangorn Forest." Gimli stared. "Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?"

Gimli spat in disgust. "Orc blood." Aragorn knelt down, inspecting the ground. "These are strange tracks." Karina glanced around. "The air is so close in here."

"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory and anger." The trees started sounding, and Gimli grasped his ax. "The trees are speaking to each other."

"Gimli! Lower your ax."

"They have feelings, my friend. The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

"Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings."

"Aragorn, something's out there."

"What do you see?"

"The White Wizard approaches."

"Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." They all reached for their weapons. "We must be quick." They turned to attack, but their attacks were deflected. "You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits." Karina frowned, hearing two voices speaking, one sounding somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"Where are they?!"

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

"Who are you? Show yourself!" He stepped forward, revealing Gandalf. Aragorn stared at him. "It cannot be."

Legolas knelt before him. "Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman."

"I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been."

"You fell."

"Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth, until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the Earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done."

Aragorn stepped forward. "Gandalf."

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

"Gandalf."

"I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

"One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed." Gimli stared at him. "Edoras? That is no short distance!" Aragorn turned to Gandalf. "We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king." Gandalf nodded. "Yes, and it will not be easily cured."

Karina looked at him. "Then we've come all this way for nothing?" Gimli nodded in agreement. "Are we to leave those poor Hobbits here in this horrid, dark, dank tree-infested-" He was cut off by the trees beginning to growl. "-I mean, charming, quite charming forest." Gandalf glanced over his shoulder at him. "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. The coming of Merry and Pippin will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains."

"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend. You still speak in riddles." Gandalf chuckled. "A thing is about to happen that has not happened that has happened since the Elder Days. The Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong."

"Strong?! Oh, that's good."

"So stop your fretting, Master Dwarf. Merry and Pippin are quite safe. In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be." Karina laughed at this, and Gimli grumbled, following the others. "This new Gandalf's more grumpy than the old one."

As they emerged from the forest, Gandalf let out a whistle, and a handsome white horse came over. Legolas' jaw dropped. "That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell."

"Shadowfax. He is the lord of all horses, and has been my friend through many dangers." Karina chuckled, noticing the way Kanya was eyeing Shadowfax. "We'd better keep a close watch on these two, or we'll have little Mearas trotting around." The others laughed.

That night, Aragorn stood up, walking over to Gandalf while the others slept. "The veiling shadow that glowers in the east takes shape. Sauron will suffer no rival. From the summit of Barad-dur, his Eye watches ceaselessly. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear. Doubt ever gnaws at him. The rumor has reached him. The heir of Numenor still lives. Sauron fears you, Aragorn. He fears what you may become. And so he'll strike hard and fast at the world of Men. He will use his puppet Saruman to destroy Rohan. War is coming. Rohan must defend itself, and therein lies our first challenge, for Rohan is weak and ready to fall. The king's mind is enslaved. It's an old device of Saruman's. His hold over King Theoden is now very strong. Sauron and Saruman are tightening the noose. But for all their cunning, we have one advantage."

He looked over at Aragorn. "The Ring remains hidden. And that we should seek to destroy it has not yet entered their darkest dreams. And so the weapon of the enemy is moving towards Mordor in the hands of a Hobbit. Each day brings it closer to the fires of Mount Doom. We must trust now in Frodo. Everything depends upon speed and the secrecy of his quest. Do not regret your decision to leave him. Frodo must finish this task alone."

"He's not alone. Sam went with him."

"Did he? Did he indeed? Good. Yes, very good."

THAT'S IT FOR THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW!