"Good to hear you haven't forgotten my name, Ruby." Talion declared with a nod. "Weiss, Blake Yang. Good to see you all again."
Realization descended like a meteor on the other three girls as they remembered the man with extraordinary powers entering their world.
Yang then stepped forward. "What are you doing leading these horrible creatures?" She calmly demanded.
For the first time in years, the revenant laughed. "You've changed a lot, Yang. When I first met you, you would've struck without a second thought, a lesson I assume you learned from whatever caused you to lose your arm." He gestured toward her with an open hand.
The fiery blonde lowered her head and breathed deeply. "Yes. Now will you please answer my question?" She deadpanned.
"It's a rather long story, but I'll give you the short version. These creatures are known as uruks, the larger ones known as ologs, and they respect nothing but power." He then closed the distance between them and showed the ring on his left hand. "They respond to the ring. I have to lead them in order to stop the rest of this world from being overtaken by Celebrimbor and Sauron, the two beings who want to see free will and diversity wiped from the history books."
They could only gaze in awe at the red glowing piece of jewellery as he showed it but Weiss soon recovered and had a myriad of questions.
"When you came to Beacon, Professor Ozpin lied about who you were, didn't he?"
"You mean Ozma?" The reply received looks of confusion as he smirked to himself knowingly about what the Palantir had shown him and nodded. "Still as sharp as ever, Ms. Schnee."
"Just Weiss is fine." She declared with a small smile.
At the statement, Talion raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because when we first spoke, you would accept nothing less. It appears your heart has been warmed by those around you."
She blushed slightly and looked away while Blake grasped her shoulder before turning back to him.
"You also said once that your worst injury was having your throat cut. How did you survive that?" The cat-girl inquired.
"I didn't." He replied quickly. "I was raised from the dead by Celebrimbor who years later, betrayed me. This ring is the only thing keeping me alive right now. In a few years, I will join the Dark Lord's ranks and do his bidding."
Team RWBY was in shock. Everything they thought they knew about him was a lie. Well, not completely. In one sense, he was a general and from a land very far away.
"Is that also why your face the way it is?" Ruby quietly asked, which received a quick nod in reply.
"It is a sign of The Dark Lord's corruption. My soul will be completely corrupted by darkness, but until then, I have to buy time for Middle Earth."
A long silence followed. "So… you're fighting a war you can't win to stop the rest of your world from being conquered by a single ruler?" Weiss clarified.
"Yes. There is no way I can stop."
"But what about yourself, Tal? Aren't you tired by this point?" Ruby piped up.
He chuckled to himself and looked away. "Sacrifices must be made. One life in exchange for millions, there's no choice there." His gaze then returned to the girls and he motioned for them to follow. "Come. We'll continue this conversation outside."
They followed and were greeted by an olog with his limbs painted blue clothed in armor similar the girls had already first observed.
"What is it, Ur-Hakon?" Talion asked dismissively.
"The troops are wondering why you are meeting with more of your people. They suspect they might see themselves replaced by a Gondorian garrison." The war-troll whispered.
Talion's gaze remained forward as he led the girls to an empty building beside the citadel tower. "Summon The Pretender and tell him to do what he loves. Put the potential traitors on display for the rest of them to see and tell him he can do whatever he wants. Quick, bloody deaths or slow, agonizing ones. Whatever it takes to keep them from rebelling."
"At once, sire."
As the hulking uruk lumbered away, team RWBY exchanged concerned looks. "Don't you think you should be paying more attention to lifting the morale of your soldiers rather than executing them?" Weiss offered.
Talion opened the door to the small building and entered. "No, I've found that my captains are far more skilled at keeping them under my control than I am. I only have to focus on paying close attention to my captains, as they are stronger, faster, tougher and more brutal than the rest. Tell me Weiss, which is stronger; the mountain or the many trees that surround it? Will the wind knock down a mountain? Has a mountain ever flooded before? How many people does it take to topple a mountain versus a forest?"
"He's right." Blake pointed out, to the shock of everyone. "He's been here way longer than any of us so I don't think we should be dictating how he runs things."
"Thank you." Talion said with a nod and a smile. "So, this is where you will be staying." He gestured with an open hand.
The dwelling was a single room with wooden floors, brick walls with a single small window and a small fire pit in the middle while four beds adorned each corner. "I realize it's probably not what you're used to, but it's still better than what most grunts get and it keeps the smell out."
"Do we have to worry about being killed in our sleep?" Yang joked.
"Yes, thank you for reminding me. I will assign my personal bodyguard to protect you when you sleep. His name is Tuka the Destroyer, the same one who brought you to me. Loyal to the grave and back, that one." He declared. "Now, the next order of business will be getting each of you home to Remnant."
"Yeah, we've got a lot of stuff to take care of back home." Ruby announced. "Any ideas to send us there, Tal?"
The newest Nazgul hummed in thought for a moment. "I have a fortress in Seregost that houses several masters of the arcane. If anyone can get you home, it's them."
"Well then, let's get going." Yang said eagerly.
Talion shook his head. "No, the journey is long and you'll need all the strength you can muster. I suggest you sleep here for the night."
The blonde could only sigh in resignation as she sat on the bed. "Can you at least tell us a little bit about Mordor?" Weiss pleaded. "If we want to survive, it sounds like we'll need all the information we can get."
"There's the heiress I remember." He declared with a chuckle. "Very well, Mordor is a land of death, war and suffering. Nothing good ever comes out of this place. To the west lies Gondor where most men live and the only thing separating the two lands is Minas Morgul, my own fortress garrisoned by undead uruks. The denizens of this place include caragors, ghuls, graugs, drakes and of course, The Dark Lord Sauron. As I'm sure you've noticed, my uruks are not entirely loyal to me, but to Sauron, they will kill themselves and their brothers if he willed it. If given the chance, he will enslave all of Middle Earth without a second thought. Thankfully, he lacks the current power to take physical shape but his eye burns atop Barad-Dur, watching over his dominion."
"Does that mean we have to watch out for him?" Blake inquired.
The question received a no in reply. "I would only advise that no one look at his eye for very long. Even his gaze is able to corrupt the purest of souls."
"Got it, don't look at the big ball of fire in the sky." Ruby affirmed.
"Exactly." He declared with another nod. "I'm afraid I have some things to attend to overnight. Tuka will accompany you everywhere you go so no other orcs will bother you. feel free to roam the fortress, but be very wary about leaving the walls. I'll see you in the morning, ladies."
With that, he departed and closed the door, leaving the team alone.
Silence followed for a long while. "Can we still trust him?" Weiss asked.
"Well, if what he told us is true, it's either trust him or try and get home on our own in a place we know nothing about." Blake pointed out.
Another silence.
"Should we take a walk? I don't know about you guys, but I don't like just sitting around." Yang declared.
Everyone silently agreed and Ruby opened the door to see the group's savior leaning against the wall of the building, shield and spear on his back cleaning the triple-tipped blade that looked to be chained to his back with a dirty rag. "Heading out?" The bulky uruk asked, which received a nod in reply. He dropped the rag and walked beside Ruby as the secondary gates opened. "Might be a good idea to stick together, pinkskins." He whispered.
They heeded his advice and crossed the bridge, clumped fairly close together as the walked.
Blake heard the rattling of a metal cage and suddenly diverged from the group, an action that nobody aside from Tuka noticed. "Hey, I said stay together!" He shouted. "Shrak." He turned to the rest of them. "Come with me."
Blake rounded the corner and saw a beast resembling a large wolf aside from rather stubby tail attempting to break from it's confines. Upon seeing her however, it calmed and ceased growling, looking at her with almost pleading eyes.
As the rest of the group caught up with her, Tuka was in shock. Why was the caragor acting so calm around the black-clothed one? Usually the beasts would swipe at anyone, including his lord, who passed by.
"Blake!" Ruby shouted. Both Blake and the beast turned towards her and it growled once again.
The cat-girl turned back to the creature and kneeled to meet its gaze. "Hey, it's okay. She's my friend." The caragor actually obeyed her and relaxed significantly, still keeping an eye on Tuka, who slowly walked beside Blake.
"How'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
Through the holes in his mask, the uruk gave her a confused look. "Make the caragor calm down. Usually they try to kill everything around them."
"Have you ever thought that it's because you keep them locked up in cages?" She asked as her hand made its way through the gaps in the steel to pet the beast.
Tuka was about to object until the caragor actually purred and melted into her touch. "You're no normal tark, are you?" He inquired.
She gave a huff and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
The rest of the team then asked if they could also pet Blake's newfound friend and Tuka gave a wary yes. It seemed that the caragor was only okay with the touch so long as Blake kept talking to it or kept a hand on its side.
It listens to her better than any of our beastmasters. Tuka observed. After giving the beast a goodbye, the group continued through the fort. They passed by an execution in progress by The Pretender, and had to avert their eyes from the sight. Not because of the deaths of the four uruks on their knees, but rather by the sight of The Pretender himself. The grisly armor that dug under his very skin and pried his lips apart was haunting to say the least.
The sound of a projectile flying across the air echoed off the walls of the fort and all four girls ducked while Tuka chuckled as his gaze turned upward to The Bow of Morgoth who began reloading his crossbow from the wall.
"Trouble?!" Tuka shouted?"
"Nothing more than a patrol!" The ancient orc replied.
As their protector ascended the stairs, team RWBY followed and took a long look at the surrounding landscape. A lone soldier attempted to retreat after seeing his friends slaughtered with a single bolt to the head, but shared the same fate as The Bow fired another shot and embedded itself in the back of his skull.
"Good shot." Tuka observed. "Another slow day, Ogg?"
"Yes, rather boring today." The other declared. "No chances to break my previous record though."
Ruby perked up at the statement. "What record?"
Ogg's gaze shifted to the red-caped girl. "You are an old friend of my lord."
Tuka stood between the two with a threatening gaze towards Ogg. "They are under my protection. Our lord says-"
"I know what he said." He interrupted. "I'm not worried about being replaced, Destroyer. How in the name of Morgoth is he going to gather an entire garrison of men from Gondor and get them to cross Mordor without being killed? Some of the others have the same theory, but they are also unable to think." Ogg scoffed. "And to answer your question, tark, the record is my longest shot. From here to that tower." He pointed and well over two kilometres away lay a thin but tall tower burning blue instead of red.
Ruby decided to take what Talion had told her and put it into practice. They respect nothing but power. "I bet I can beat that." She declared, deploying Crescent Rose and anchoring it on the fortress wall before taking aim at one of the so-called uruks that fought below the tower he'd pointed at.
"Which ones do I shoot?" She asked, not wanting to take out one of Talion's soldiers.
"The red ones." Tuka replied, crossing his arms and marvelling at the large weapon she brandished. If she could make this shot, she'd surely earn Ogg's respect as a fellow marksman.
She aimed her rifle-scythe at one of the figures and breathed deeply. They were engaged in sword-to-sword combat, very close together. She had to make sure to make this one shot count.
Then, as an orc with a blue sash shoved his attacker away and prepared to strike, Ruby fired.
The shot was very loud to the nearby uruks and Ogg observed as the Dark Lord's soldier began to swing his blade, only for his head to explode into black paste.
Ruby collapsed her weapon and rested it back onto the holster before turning to the astonished uruks to her left.
Tuka held in his amazement as best he could but Ogg soon turned to a neutral expression as he addressed the girl. "What is your name, pinkskin?" He demanded.
"Ruby." She answered, attempting to conceal her timidity with confidence.
He nodded back. "Ruby." Ogg whispered. "I am Ogg, The Bow of Morgoth and I would like to express my admiration of your skill. You truly are a sharpshooter better than myself." He extended his hand for a shake and Ruby returned the gesture.
"Very well Ogg. Keep practicing and maybe you'll be better than me." She came back, hoping the phrase wouldn't anger him.
He laughed back and nodded. "I guess I'll keep practicing then." With that, he picked up his crossbow again and scanned the ground for any of Sauron's troops.
Tuka directed the girls towards back inside the fort and guided them towards the arena, remembering to give his lord a detailed report by the day's end. One controls beasts better than our greatest beastmaster and another fires farther than The Bow himself. What other talents do these seemingly harmless tarks have? He wondered, looking to Weiss and Yang.
They continued to proceed through the base until they finally arrived at the fighting pits where a battle between a half a dozen of Sauron's orcs versus an uruk named Zugor Quick Blades was taking place.
All four girls marvelled at the masterful display of combat as the uruk dual-wielded blades adorned in a curved, heavy helmet that obscured all but his eyes, nose and mouth clothed in spiked leather armor.
They surrounded him and attacked in sync, forcing him to roll under the swords before rising with a slash that severed an uruk's arm and Quick Blades stabbed him in the heart with the other.
As their comrade collapsed, some began to panic while two attacked simultaneously. Zugor batted away one sword with his own, held the other in place with both and kicked its wielder to the ground before beheading the first attacker with both swords.
The remaining four attacked one at a time and were cut down faster than team RWBY thought possible for someone without a semblance. The uruk ducked and opened his first opponent's stomach, dodged a downward strike with a roll and cut off a leg as he did. Another downward blade was met by Zugor's swords and a head butt which considering the look of that helmet, looked devastating as he stumbled back and the last enemy met his death by four slashes to the chest; two horizontal and two vertical which removed his arms.
Then, turning to the still dazed final opponent, Zugor sheathed his swords, drew two curved daggers from his hips and sprinted past the uruk and put a gash in his side that bled badly. Along with the dropping of a sword, the strike was met by a scream of pain and five more lethal attacks. Zugor rolled over his opponent's back and put two more wounds in as he moved before a slash to each leg and finally, jamming both blades into his chin.
Some of the other observing uruks actually grimaced as Zugor forced his prey on his knees and pushed on his daggers until the flesh from the neck and torso ripped apart. Quick Blades held the head above his own and swiftly removed the daggers and sheathed them as the crowd roared in a bloodlust haze.
"He's fast." Yang observed with crossed arms.
"There's a reason he was born with the name Quick Blades." Tuka chimed in.
"Let me have a go at him."
Tuka's head snapped to the blonde brawler. "My duty is to protect you, not to get you killed." He deadpanned. "Zugor has decimated every opponent thrown at him, including a score of ologs! If I let you fight him, he will kill you."
Yang sighed. "Fine."
Tuka nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the arena where Quick Blades was just exiting. A sudden shout brought him back to reality.
"Quick Blades!" Tuka turned and saw that the golden-haired girl had disappeared from his side into the arena.
Well, it was nice to serve my lord. He thought resignedly.
"How about you take on someone better?!" She shouted.
Zugor turned and cackled. "Your funeral, pinkskin!" Without warning, he drew both swords, sprinted and slashed at her ribs.
Yang was slightly faster however, and sidestepped out of the way. Intrigued, Zugor then raised his swords and brought them both down, attempting to sever her arms.
The resounding sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the fort as Zugor's blades came down and struck…his attacker's arm?!
Yang had blocked the strike with her prosthetic limb and launched a punch at Zugor's stomach with her left fist. He stumbled back as Yang readied Ember Celica for the next assault with steely lilac eyes.
Zugor was still in shock that this human had a metal arm. He didn't think they did that. No matter, she'll die just as fast as the others. He thought, shaking his head. He aimed to cleave her in half with a cross slash but she leapt into the air and stomped on his head.
Zugor recovered quickly and as he rolled, Yang's metal fist collided where his spine had been a moment ago.
The observing audience had quieted down significantly as Yang and Zugor engaged in the longest fight the uruk arena had ever seen.
Yang's strategy was to wear him down and go all out when an opening presented itself and after half an hour, he started to signs of exhaustion.
Dodging another diagonal slash, she knocked the blade away with her artificial arm shockingly easy and she lay into his stomach, landing four strikes in less than half as many seconds. She then seized his arm, spun him around and cloths lined him with her metal arm, leaving him coughing for breath on the ground.
The entire arena was silent, the uruks astonished that someone had bested the greatest fighter they had ever seen and RWBY afraid to break the silence.
Zugor managed to kneel as Yang towered over him and without meeting her gaze, spoke.
"Go on then, do it. Kill me and earn your name as the one who slew me, pinkskin." His voice dripping with defeat.
She shook her head and instead offered him her organic limb. In that instant, his gaze flew from the ground to her hand before landing on her face contorted in a smirk.
"No, you gave me one hell of a fight. We'd be unstoppable if we teamed up."
A single chuckle echoed off the walls of the pit, evolving into laughter, and not the sadistic or maniacal kind.
Zugor grabbed her hand and she heaved him onto his feet. He grinned at her and held out his hand for a shake. "Well met, slayer. The name's Zugor-Quick Blades. If you ever want to take down a captain together, let me know." He said with a genuine smile.
She shook it back and returned the look. "Yang Xiao Long. I'll hold you to it, Quick Blades." She declared, clapping him on the shoulder as she turned towards her teammates and their guardian.
Silence was still present until Tuka chuckled silently and tapped the butt of his spear on the wood. The sound was made a few times before another uruk began beating his chest plate and another stomped his boots. Eventually, the entire fort was overrun with the sounds of cheering and applause in the form of metal on various surfaces.
Zugor grabbed Yang's wrist and held it above both of their heads, basking in the glory of their battle.
It took a long time for the crowd to quiet down enough to where Yang could regroup with her team and when she did, she half expected Tuka to start bellowing at her when instead he nodded and said nothing.
"That's it? Not gonna tell me how I should've stayed with you and stay safe?"
He laughed. "Girl, you just had the greatest fighter in this fortress bow to you. I have a feeling word will spread and safety won't be so much of an issue anymore.
They continued to walk throughout the fort, much more spread out than when they started as some uruks gave silent nods of respect to Yang and Ruby.
All progress ceased as Tuka froze and in front of him stood The Pretender, or Pretenders?
With the shield on his back and pike in hand, there stood five of him; one true, the rest illusions.
"You tarks may be fast, accurate and strong, but are you intelligent?" His horrid voice echoed out. "Which is the true Tower?"
All of them carefully scanned the five figures and after a minute, The Pretender laughed his haunting laugh. "As I thought. The uruks are the superior race, surpassed by none."
With that, all five began to turn, but the Schnee ex-heiress drew her weapon, formed glyphs around four of them and bombarded them with ice shards.
A single figure remained and his pried lips turned upwards. "Impressive. How did you see through my trick?"
Weiss stepped forward and sheathed the rapier. "Your bracers have seven blades that dive into your skin. The others had six."
The remaining four sets of eyes expanded. Such a minuscule difference, how could she have possibly spotted it? Also, what was that magic? Tuka wondered to himself.
The Pretender grunted. "I will have to make an adjustment then. Until next time, fellow trickster." He then strode off without another word.
"The Pretender, The Bow, Quick-Blades and the caragors." Tuka declared.
"What was that?" Ruby inquired.
"Those are the ones you have earned the trust of this day." He clarified. "If any of you find yourself in harm's way, they will be the ones to help. Any other uruk will merely let you die."
The four girls took his words to heart. Survival was the only thing they needed to worry about at the moment and any assistance would be much appreciated. The sun began to set and the four unanimously decided to call it a night.
When they got back to their abode, what awaited was a pile of meat and a fire. They talked throughout the evening, unaware of the uninvited guests making plans in another building closer to the exterior gate.