An- So, long time, no see. Life has been…extra special for the past six or so months (and by special, I mean edge of a nervous breakdown). I have one more month (exactly) of university, so I'm assuming you can all understand the severe time lapse between this and the last update.

Anyway. So who saw the extended version of the Paths of the Dead and thought it was completely bad ass? I, for one, did. So of course I needed to rewrite my version of it.

l.l.l.l

"Why didn't I just go with Carla?"

It was probably the millionth time Niori had asked herself that, but it was the first time she actually said it out loud.

The four of them were riding through what had to be the creepiest canyon on the face of the Earth (any Earth actually, her one and Middle Earth included). It just screamed horror movie. Niori wouldn't have been surprised is some sort of gigantic, flesh eating alien popped out at them. Of course, since they were riding towards a place called Paths of the Dead, Niori assumed that the creepiness factor was going to get worse.

"Blame your own stubbornness for that!" Aragorn snapped at her, "If it had been my decision, both you and Carla would have ridden with Theoden."

"Okay," Niori conceded, "pulling out the Legolas has to protect me card wasn't my brightest idea. Ever."

"I agree with her for once," Gimli spoke, "what kind of army would linger here?"

"One that is cursed," Legolas replied simply, "long ago the men of the mountain swore an oath to the last King of Gondor- to come to his aid, to fight-"

"Okay, you're so not helping," Niori told him, "it's scary enough without you going on about a bunch of cursed traitors who are going all Night of the Living Dead."

"Would you rather have no warning about what we will face?" he countered.

He had a point there, but that didn't make Niori want to hear it anymore.

They rode on in silence, and then much sooner than Niori would have liked, they arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"My very blood runs chill," Gimli was the first to break the silence.

Niori would have added her own two cents, but fear dried out her mouth. After Legolas helped dismount, Niori wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to bring back warmth. It didn't work.

The door in the mountain was a big gapping hole in the stone, and Niori would have cut off her foot rather than go in.

"The way is shut," Legolas's voice said, and Niori saw that he was reading a pictogram plaque above the door, "it was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it. The way is shut."

"Lovely," Niori muttered, shivering again.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind exploded from the entrance, nearly knocking Niori off of her feet. The horses reared up and broke out of both Aragorn's and Legolas's holds and then bolted. Aragorn called after them, but there was no way that they were coming back. Niori didn't blame them. When he realized that the horses were a lost cause, he turned back around and eyed the doorway with grim determination.

"I do not fear death!" He said and then disappeared into the darkness.

Well I sure do, Niori thought and was half tempted to turn around and high tail it back to where all the riders were.

Niori latched onto Legolas's arm painfully and nothing short of a crowbar was getting her to let go. Legolas made no move to brush her off as he too stepped into the mountain. After a moment's hesitation and a bit of a pep talk, Gimli was right behind them.

They moved cautiously through the narrow passage. Aragorn held the only light, a torch, and moved at the front. The whole time, Niori half expected some sort of monster to jump out and maul them all to death. She was clinging to Legolas for all that she was worth, and the feminist in her was cringing at the thought. Honestly, it made her feel pathetic (really, none of the others were holding onto someone else's arm so tight it might have been cutting off circulation), but it wasn't going to stop her.

Niori had always loved horror movies, and had seen tons of them. One of the characters who always died was the fun loving, not-so-virginal party girl. Those were some of (in her not so humble opinion) her best qualities. She had already fallen into a fantasy story, and saw no reason why horror movie rules couldn't suddenly become real as well. In those rules, she'd be in that always dies category. In that case, sticking close to the member of the party who would fight the hardest to keep her alive, was common sense, not cowardice. Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself.

She didn't notice that Legolas was distracted and gazing off into the distance until Gimli's concerned voice broke the silence.

"What is it? What do you see?"

"I see the shapes of men and horses."

Niori glanced around them frantically, searching for the shapes that Legolas was talking about. She saw nothing, not even a zombie of a ghost. That did not disappoint her in the least, but it did confuse her.

"What? Where?"

Legolas kept talking, his voice distracted as he looked all around them. He hadn't processed her question, because he made no move to directly answer it, "Pale banners like shreds of cloud. Spears rise like winter thickets through a shroud of mist. The dead are following. They have been summoned."

A bolt of pure, unadulterared fear shot through her, and it made her shudder. Why, why had she come here?

"The dead? Summoned? I knew that!" Niori usually made in a point to snark whenever Gimli said something that ended in an indigent (and usually flase) 'I knew that'. This time however, her mouth and throat were too dry to speak.

They turned a corner and were suddenly confronted with fog. It threw Niori, and she wondered where the water sorce was that would have created the mist. She heard nothing, nit running or dripping water. When the four of them stepped into it, Niori realized that it wasn't fog that they were walking through. Fog didn't move like that, almost like it was withering, and it certainly didn't form into what looked like skeltecal hands.

When one of those ghostly hands tightened around her wrist, she couldn't help but let out a small shriek. A blast of cold seemed to shoot through her wrist and up her arm, and it remained even after she had wrenched her arm away.

As she felt another ghostly hand touch her, this time grasping her hip, Niori felt panic mounting. She wanted to scream and run blindly, as long as it got her out of this place. Baring that, she wanted to curl into a fetal position in a corner and sob.

She suddenly understood how characters in Stephen King novels felt.

"Niori."

Legolas's concerned voice made her look at him. She realized that they had stopped moving, and that she was trembling. Her eyes were wide and held absolute terror. She looked like a rabbit that was ready to bolt.

"Niori," he repeated her name, but was lost for words after that. Legolas had never seen her like this, and had no idea how to react to it, let alone a way to comfort her.

His voice and the repitation of her name seemed to ground her again, even if it came nowhere close to pushing back the fear entirely.

"Okay. I'm…I'm okay. Let's…keep moving."

Legolas nodded, and they began to walk again, catching back up to Aragorn and Gimli within a few moments.

There was a cracking sound in the air, and Aragorn's warning of "Don't look down," came just as she stepped down on something that then shattered under her foot.

Niori knew that sound. The four girls had been nine years old, and there had been a bike race. Niori had wanted to see how fast her new bike could go, and even then, Carla wanted a chance to beat Niori. They had been going fast enough that, when Carla hit a patch of loose dirt, she lost control. The bike had skidded and flipped, but not before throwing Carla over the handle bars and into a tree. To this day, Niori could recall with crystal clarity the sound of Carla's arm breaking in three spots. The sound of breaking bones was etched into her mind, so she knew exactly what they were walking on.

Her stomach lurched violents, and it took all of Niori's will power not to throw up. That sound had made her feel ill since she was nine, and the fact that it was echoing over and over with every step they took, made her head spin.

Keep calm…keep calm. Breathe Niori, breathe.

She kept repeating the mantra in her mind, but it wasn't helping. Her breathing was beginning to come in shallow gasps and the grip she had on Legolas's arm was bound to leave bruises.

After the first step that Niori took that didn't end in bones breaking beneath her feet, Niori lost it. She broke away from the safety of Legolas's arms with a strangled cry. She landed on her knees, her stomach jumping up into her throat. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, the hyperventilating was making her dizzy. Her heart was racing, and she could feel the blood roaring in her ears. It was like the world was closing in on her, and she felt like she was going to pass out. Her panicking mind wished that she would.

Suddenly there was someone kneeling beside her, hands rubbing her back and speaking softly to her. It wasn't English, much to o lyrical sounding for that, and her whirling mind decided that it had to be Legolas.

The realization clamed her a bit, and she forced herself to focus on his touch and his voice. She had no idea what he was saying, but it helped. She didn't know how long it took, but eventually she got her breathing under control. As it evened out, the dizziness went with it. She was still shaking violently as she finally looked up to her three companions.

That's when the humiliation and shame kicked in. She had just had a full on panic attack in front of Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas. Three people who respected her and had just seen her fall into a panicked mess. God, they must think she was such a coward.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, "so fucking sorry."

She couldn't look any of them in the face, not after what she had just done. She couldn't look up and see the loss of respect and condemnation she knew they must be showing. Avoiding eye contact would have continued had Legolas, who was still beside and touching her, not tilted her chin up to look at him.

"Don't apologize," he told her sternly, "not even you can be brave all the time," he used his thumb to wipe tears off of her cheek, and Niori hadn't even realized that she was crying.

She looked right in his eyes, needing to know if he was telling her the truth. He could never lie to her, and it was always his eyes that gave him away. He was being completely sincere with her.

"He's right lass," Gimli's voice pulled her out of Legolas's eyes, "a place like this will get to anybody."

She looked up to Aragorn, and she needed him to tell her that it was okay. He was the bravest person she knew, and quite possibly the person she respected most. If he told her that she wasn't a pathetic coward, then she'd believe it. God, did she ever need his approval right now.

"They're both right," he told her, "you've nothing to be ashamed of. You've run into too many battles and faced down too many enemies to let this make you feel like a coward. If you didn't feel fear in this place, then I'd be concerned."

Niori nodded, wiping the tears off of her face. She took a deep breath and began to get to her feet. Legolas helped her up, and despite the way her body trembled, she stayed on her feet. Legolas wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. It was comforting, and if it wasn't for all the situation, it would have probably made butterflies blossom in her stomach. She did wish that he'd do it at a time that hadn't come after an embarrassing panic attack.

"Are you okay?" Aragorn was the one to ask her, and she knew it was a question about whether or not she was ready to move again.

"Let's go," she said, her voice just a little shaky, "I want to get the fuck out of here."

When they began to move again, it was at a quicker pace. Legolas kept her next to him, despite how awkward it made moving. Niori didn't care, and was very grateful for both facts. Going faster meant they'd get out of here quicker, and Legolas's touch gave her comfort. A whole lot of it.

"It was the bones," Niori suddenly exclaimed, her voice low enough that only Legolas could hear her. Talking loudly in this place just seemed wrong, "the sound. Ever since I was a kid."

She felt the need to explain what had happened. Niori wasn't a coward by any means, and she knew it. It wasn't even arrogance or conceit that assured her of that fact, but as Aragorn had said, too many battles were proof of that fact. She needed to explain her uncharacteristic behaviour.

Legolas didn't ask for any further detail, but she figured that he would later, at a time that it wouldn't freak her out again. Right now, he just nodded, "Has it happened before?"

"Once," Niori replied, not supplying any further details. The few times she had heard breaking bones had made her feel sick (one time physically), but it hadn't caused the same reaction as now. Her one past full on panic attack had been when she was fifteen and thought she was pregnant, but there was no way in hell she was telling Legolas that.

"Don't tell the others," there was just a little touch of begging in her voice, "especially Carla."

"Of course not."

Normally, she would have sighed in relief, but she didn't feel it. She didn't think that it was possible for her to feel relief in this place. Now that her attack was over, Niori could control her fear better. It was still there, clawing at the back of her mind, and it wouldn't take much to set her off again. She needed to focus n something. She needed something to distract her, to make her forget the mind numbing terror that she was feeling.

"What were you saying?" She asked abruptly, "When you were speaking Elvish? That was Elvish right?"

An almost shy look crossed Legolas's face, and even in the darkness, Niori could see the faint pink that tainted his cheeks. He was blushing! Niori wished that they had gotten further in their teach-Niori-Elvish lessons. What could he have said?

She didn't have time to ponder it further, because they turned a corner and suddenly their surroundings abruptly changed. They were no longer in a narrow passageway, but a wide open ledge that had a sheer drop on one side. On the other, there was a large, elaborate building that looked like it was carved into the cavern wall.

They stopped, and Niori took the opportunity to look around. She shivered again, because bad vibes were pouring out of this place. She hadn't thought this place could get any creepier. She had been wrong.

She came to that conclusion just as a disembodied voice echoed through the eerie silence, "Who enters my domain?"

She jumped at the sudden noise, but didn't scream. She did have to stifle a gasp however, when a green tinted, transparent figure appeared out of nowhere. That figure, upon further inspection, looked like it (he?) was a decaying corpse. It was absolutely disgusting. This place had a two-in-one zombie ghost. Niori was seriously hating herself for insisting she come with them. Why had she been so determined again?

"One who will have your allegiance," Aragorn's voice was steely with determination, and if he felt anything but complete calm, his voice didn't betray it.

The ghost, who Niori guessed was the leader (King of the Dead?), looked almost amused by Aragorn's words, "The dead do not suffer the living to pass."

Another shiver, because it was a confirmation that, whatever else was in here, they had no plans of letting the four of them get out of here alive. She had known that logically, but hearing it confirmed was jarring.

"You will suffer me!"

God Niori hoped Aragorn knew what he was doing. She did not want to die here.

The ghost only laughed at that, and it was the most nightmare inducing sound that she had ever heard. The sound seemed to be some sort of signal, because more ghostly figures appeared, both buildings and other people. All of the sudden, they were standing in the city of the dead and surrounded by an army of them.

Niori felt dizzy again, and this time like she was going to faint.

Breathe! She commanded herself, and this time it actually worked to stop her from panicking.

"The way is shut. It was made by those who were dead, and the dead keep it," the army of the dead closed in on them, "the way is shut. Now you must die!"

Niori closed her eyes, because if these things were going to kill her, she was not going to watch them do it. She somehow managed to tuck herself even more tightly into Legolas's side, even though that really shouldn't have been possible. His grip on her tightened, and she did realize that he should probably be whipping out an arrow and trying to defend them right about now. It was sweet, all things considered.

Aragorn and the Dead King had another exchange, but Niori didn't really listen to it. The sound of two swords clanging together, however, did cause her to open her eyes again. She opened them in time to see Aragorn be completely badass by grabbing the ghost by the throat. Damn. That was impressive.

"Fight for us and regain your honour. What say you?" Aragorn wasn't only talking to the King of the Dead now, but all of the ghosts gathered around them, "What say you?"

They were all silent, and Niori didn't get it. If she understood correctly, the only way they were getting out of here was if they fought for Aragorn. You'd think they'd be jumping at the chance to get out from under this mountain and into the afterlife. Spending eternity in here would be hell, plain and simple.

"Come on," Niori whispered to herself, "just say yes."

"Ach! You waste your time Aragorn!" Gimli was being as cynical as ever, and Niori couldn't bring herself to blame him for it, "They had no honour in life and they have none now in death!"

After being punished for cowardice for so long, Niori couldn't understand their hesitance. It wasn't like they had to worry about being killed, given the fact that they were already dead. There was literally no downside to them fighting.

Despite their silence, Aragorn was still determined to convince them, "I am Isildur's heir. Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled. What say you?"

As an answer, the King just began to laugh again. The sound was even worse the second time, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end. That wasn't a good sign, especially when the ghosts began to disappear.

"We should go. Go right now."

When the rumbling began, Niori didn't wait for the others to take her advice. They had to get out of here, because something worse was going to happen. She didn't bolt, but she did haul Legolas and make a beeline for the exit of the vast chamber. Aragorn and Gimli followed.

There was a mighty crack, and despite Niori's mind screaming at her that it was a very stupid movie, it froze them all. It was like it was in slow motion, when Niori looked up to the carved side/wall of the cavern. There was another loud crack, and then it was as if the stone exploded and its contents spilled out.

Niori realized that those contents were skulls, thousands upon thousands of human skulls, and swore at herself for stopping.

"Fuck!"

"Go!"

They weren't even close to the safety of the tunnel when the rock slide (skull slide?) hit them, and suddenly Niori found herself stumbling. The skulls pushed against her body, and they reached her waist. It was hard, and walking against them was making her grit her teeth in effort. Niori felt the skull crash into her ankle, and felt her body being thrown off balance. She tried to steady herself, arms pin wheeling comically as she tried. Another skull rolled under her foot, and Niori knew that she wouldn't be able to right herself. Instead, her legs were swept out from under her, and she plummeted over the edge.

l.l.l.l

There would have been another part here to cause suspense.

l..

Niori's scream, loud, shrill and panicked, was cut off abruptly when someone grabbed onto her arm, and the pain cut the sound off sharply. Fire flared up her arm as it was yanked in the opposite direction of her falling body. There was a loud pop, another shot of pain and the loss of control of her arm, and Niori knew that her shoulder had popped out of its socket. This time her scream was pure pain as she was pulled up by the aching limb.

Back on the ledge, Niori found herself being pulled up and towards Aragon as he wrapped an arm around her and then lifted her off the ground. He carried her out awkwardly, and Niori held onto his neck with her uninjured arm. He got them into the relative safety of the tunnel, despite the still cascading skulls and her extra weight. The fact that Aragorn hadn't tumbled over the edge when he bent to catch her was impressive.

Legolas and Gimli were only a little ways ahead of them, heading for the light at the end of the tunnel. Aragorn kept going, not even pausing to set her on her own feet. They only stopped moving once they were out from under the mountain and into the fresh air.

When Aragorn put her down, Niori's shaking legs wouldn't let her stay on her feet. Aragorn helped to slump her down, and then knelt beside her. She knew what he was going to ask.

"Just do it."

Aragorn nodded grimly, took hold of her shoulder and then jerked it back into place. Niori screamed, and for God's sakes she was getting tired of doing that!

"I fucking hate this place!" She growled through clenched teeth.

Aragorn could have given her an I-told-you-so lecture, but instead he only nodded, "You'll never have to suffer it again."

He looked upset, and Niori understood why. They had come all this way, gone through all of that, in order to get an army. Now here they were, armyless. The dead hadn't answered Aragorn's call to arms, and for a man who already questioned if he could be king, this was a blow.

"I'm sorry," Niori replied softly, honestly not knowing what else to say.

Legolas and Gimli were at her side then. They apparently hadn't been there to see her fall, and had only realized that anything was wrong when Aragorn had carried her our and put her shoulder back in place.

"Are you alright!" There was a slight edge of panic coating Legolas's voice.

Niori should have snarked, made some sort of blithe remark, but she was still too shook up to reply with anything but a small shake of her head. Her body was still trembling, and it wasn't from pain. Niori had never been so terrified in her life, and that included her near death experience.

He put a comforting hand on her uninjured shoulder, and Niori almost told him that it wasn't her he should be worried about. She may have acted like a pathetic damsel in distress, but Aragorn was the one who completely failed on what he had come here to do. Their whole purpose of going through this God awful place was for Aragorn to recruit the army of the dead, and they'd turned his offer down. If anyone needed comforting right now, it was Aragorn. Niori should have told Legolas that she was fine and to go see to his friend, but she was still a fundamentally selfish person, and didn't.

Legolas opened his mouth to say something else when something sounded behind them. The four of them turned to look back at the mountain, and were just in time to see the King of the Dead walk through the rocks. He came to stand before Aragorn, looked him straight in the eye and spoke two words that they had all come here to hear.

"We fight!"

They were all stunned for a half a minute before one of them spoke. It was Gimli who did it, "Aye, but do you plan to stay this time?"

Aragorn shot the Dwarf a rather nasty look (Niori gave him one as well, but for different reasons than Aragorn did), before looking back to the King of the Dead, "Thank you."

They made plans then, but Niori didn't listen. Instead mentally counting down from a hundred and ignoring them. She did not want to be anywhere near the dead things anymore, powerful and needed allies or not. She was drawn out of her counting (at number forty-seven) by the ghost king fading back into the mountain and her three companions beginning to move down to the shoreline. She followed them, hoping the fact she had no idea what was going on wasn't apparent. It was, because Legolas leaned down to her and spoke.

"We will give the seamen the chance to surrender, not attacked unprovoked."

They waited until the ships were close enough for them to hear Aragorn call out, "You shall go no further."

From the surprised looks on their faces, it was obvious that had had no idea that they were even there before Aragorn had spoken. She didn't blame them for their laughter. They didn't look all that impressive, just the four of them standing there, twenty feet and half a river of deep water away. Once they saw the army backing them up, they'd change their tune quick enough.

One of the men, who Niori assumed was the captain, opened their mouth to reply to Aragorn's demand. Then the man standing behind him seemed to notice her at Aragorn's side, and suddenly Niori found three ships full of pirates looking at her.

"If you send your pretty little friend abroad, perhaps we'll consider it."

It wasn't the first time a comment like that had been thrown her way, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She was used to it, and even though she was used to it, she shivered at the way the entire ships of pirates looked at her. Despite that, she could deal with it. Showing emotion or giving them any sort of reaction (besides looking bored or cocking any eyebrow) only gave them more power. So Niori didn't react to their words, as genuinely threatening as their words were.

Once upon a time, Niori had read Treasure Island and loved every word of it. Up until this day, pirates had held a special place in her heart, marked under 'Coolest Things Ever!'. Now, any romantic notions she held about pirates were gone. The real thing was far less appealing and a lot more threatening.

"Sorry boys," she called out in a nonchalant drawl, "you're not my type. I prefer them tall, blonde and with hair prettier than mine."

If Legolas hadn't been so busy death glaring at all the pirates, he probably would have looked at her in shock. That was the most obvious thing she'd ever said in regards to her feelings for him. She wished he had heard because she would have loved to see the look on his face.

"You will not enter Gondor!" Aragorn's words made everyone focus on him again.

"Who are you to deny us passage?"

It was a good question, and Niori was curious as to how he was going to answer it. Apparently he wasn't going to, but instead looked to Legolas (who was still silently glowering).

"Legolas, fire a warning shot past the boson's ear."

Legolas pulled am arrow out and did what Aragorn asked him to. He paused for a moment, lining up his shot, when Gimli spoke up.

"Mind your aim," there was a whole layer of meaning to Gimli's words, ones that Niori couldn't quite make out. Legolas, however, gave a small, barely noticeable nod before he finally fired.

The arrow most certainly did not go over the boson's ear. What it did do was stick in the chest of the man standing behind him- the man who had made the comment about her. Both Aragorn and Niori swung to look at Legolas with similar What-The-Hell looks on their faces. Legolas looked completely unrepentant and Gimli was feigning innocence.

"Oh!" Why Gimli was trying to seem shocked by Legolas's 'misaim', Niori wasn't sure, because no one was buying it, "That's right! We warned you! Prepare to be boarded!"

Despite their dead comrade, the pirates burst into laughter again, "Boarded? By you and whose army?"

"This one," was Aragorn's calm reply, and Niori wasn't sure they had been a better introduction.

The entrance the dead army made – phasing out of the mountain and through the four of them-, was even more impressive.

The feeling of the ghosts passing through her made her shiver violently. Deep bold cold settled in her body as the ghosts continued to pass through her, and Niori didn't think she'd ever feel warm again.

The pirates screamed in terror when they saw what was coming from them, and Niori pitied them wholeheartedly.

Suddenly, the ghosts were no longer just passing through her, but they were solid bodies that were grabbing hold of her and carrying her with them. Niori shrieked, though she would dent it until her dying day. Her shriek cut off abruptly when she was deposited on the deck of the first pirate ship and into the path of a swinging sword. Niori barely managed to duck in time, and she was left scrambling to get her own sword out to defend herself.

Why, why hadn't she gone with Carla?

L.l.l.l.l

An- A word of Niori's actions and reactions in this chapter: After I re-read the third story, I realized that Niori's extreme breakdown, while completely understandable under the circumstances, came out of left field. Again, the circumstances were extreme, but Niori hadn't shown a predisposition towards having such extreme reactions. So I wanted to show that before story number three, and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity. This was meant to show that, when Niori has a freak out, it's goes into full on panic attack. Niori has extreme reactions whenever something makes her panic, and this gives a glimpse into her psyche that helps emphasize the way she acts come post- capture.

On that note, it'll probably be at least a month before another part is written. I have one month left, and it'll be busy, but after that I hope to have a lot more time to write (not only this, but other fanfics and my own original works as well). See you then!