Last of the horror!

Chapter 25

One moment he was kneeling next to Aragorn, holding a dagger of light, and in the next he found himself in some sort of void. It was almost completely pitch black, save for the small bit of white that remained.

"What is this place?" his voice echoed through the null as he turned around.

"Aragon!" he called, ears focused on any sort of sound. He got nothing.

"Elessar! Can you hear me?" he tried again, and still nothing. Taking a deep breath, he then saw another part of the small piece of whiteness crumble. Narrowing his eyes to that spot, he saw two figures.

A bit of uncertainty clenched to him as he started heading towards them. He wasn't really sure where he was or how everything was happening, but it didn't really matter.

As he got closer, he saw in more detail what was happening. One of the two was shackled by what seemed like shadows while the other one walked around. A bit more of walking, he saw them. He saw who they were. And then there was the circle of light. The Steward could see Arwen. She lay dead on her bed.

"Poison is always a good way to kill someone," Isildur smirked as he watched with glee the rest of the whiteness crack.

But he abruptly stopped to Aragorn's left, a look of panic on his face as he glared in another direction.

"How is this possible?!" he gritted his teeth when he saw a figure move. Elessar noticed the sudden changed and looked in the same direction. And as the figure got closer, he saw it better and better, until it was in their direct line of sight.

"Finally found you, my Lord," he smiled as both of them looked stunned.

"F-Fara…mir?" Strider breathed, lips trembling. This was another one of his tricks! It had to be!

"How came you here?" the shadow stepped before the Ranger. "Then again… it matters not. You would do wise to leave."

"I will leave, as soon as I save him," the Steward pointed to the King. "You dare mock me?" Isildur gritted his teeth and moved his arm, planning to kill this man where he stood.

"What's not real, can't hurt you…" he whispered and walked forward, just as the shadows went through him like air.

The figure started shaking as it took a step back. This wasn't part of the plan. There shouldn't have been anyone able to do this. Without another thought, the shadow vanished as did the ones holding Aragorn.

Acting quickly, Faramir managed to get a hold of him before he fell to the ground. Gently lowering the King to a sitting position, he shook him slightly. And then he saw the last of the whiteness crumble.

"Aragorn! Aragorn you mustn't let it take over. Fight it," he looked straight into the man's eyes - they were blank.

"No…" he whispered and looked for any signs of life. "Elessar you have to hold on!" he called and then, the head turned towards the circle.

"S…She is dead… because of me…" Strider's voice was so weak and low, it was hardly understandable.

"No my friend she isn't. She's alive and waiting for you to return. Whatever you saw is not real. It was all an illusion," at those words, the former Ranger turned his look to the Prince.

"How can you say that… after everything that's happened..."

Faramir looked at him with determination and asked: "Aragorn… you must accept your worst fears. Whatever scares you, you must accept it. Only then can you be free."

"I will never accept him again!" he pushed the Steward away and put a hand on his face.

Waiting a few seconds, the Ranger approached again. "Aragorn this is not real. Nothing that has happened here is real. Try and remember! The mountains and the tribe living there! The Ngami! We still need to save Eomer! Arwen is waiting for you!"

At that, a spark of life lit in the elder male's eyes as he looked Faramir in the eyes. He was hoping that this was right.

"Arwen… She's alive… waiting?" and when the Steward nodded, the King's eyes burned with fire once more.

"I'm not really sure about what's happening…" he stood up and looked at the circle: "But if you say she's alive… I believe you my friend."

"Good. Now focus on your fears. You need to accept them for this to end. I had expected them to put up more of a fight… But it defiantly won't be so easy with Eomer then…" he looked above him as he saw the darkness vanishing. And with it so did he.

Both men looked in shock as the Steward's body started disappearing. "Accept your fears! Only then will it end!" his voice echoed as he was fully gone. And then, the darkness crept out of the holes and went directly at the King.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes he spoke: "I may not wish to be part of you, but I see now the more I run from it, the more people will get hurt. So I accept your lineage and everything that comes with it! Isildur will always be a part of me!" a moment later, the darkness priced him, but he found himself shooting up, taking deep breaths as he sat in the cold snow.

The Prince saw, as the Ngami exited his body. He counted at least 3. Truly a repulsive sight. Aragorn found Faramir next to him, a look of relief when he saw the King. No words were needed as they both nodded.

"Good work. Now get the other one," the light seemed to smile, if that was possible. Aragorn raised an eyebrow as he picked himself up. Sure he remembered everything now, but he never recalled seeing that light.

"Later. After we've freed Eomer," the Steward promised and moved to the other King.

Another thing that caught his attention was the light dagger in his hands, but Elessar chose to ask about that later.

Just as they were about to reach Eomer, one of the shadows hissed and flew forward. The light was weak enough for it to come close.

"We will have thissss one," it hissed and entered the King's body. A few seconds later, the Rohirrim started screaming and kicking, pulling on the rope. Because of this, it was hard to get close without hurting him. The light turned its head to them and took a step closer to the trio, lighting it enough to keep any others away.

"Apologies…" it sounded ashamed, and as the light got closer, Eomer calmed down, but was panting. The two Rangers moved swiftly.

"Think we should keep him restrained? He might get wild again…" with a grim nod from the King, the Steward took a deep breath and plunged the dagger into his brother-in-law's chest.

For a few seconds Aragorn just stared before Faramir's body collapsed on the snow. Shocked, he checked if his friend was alright and found out it was as if he was sleeping. Turning his gaze at the light, it said: "Worry not. His spirit has connected with that of your friend. No harm will come to either of them."

Not quite convinced, the King kept an eye on both of the men just in case. "But they might need your help. The more Ngami that enter your body, the worse the nightmare will be," it added as the King looked at the light dagger.

The first thing Faramir saw, was a dark corridor. There were hardly any torches and it reeked. Reeked of death, blood and burned flesh. The air was thick and he could hear screams of agony and pain.

Swallowing he stepped forward, looking around. There were so many cells here, so many prisoners.

"Where is this place?" he asked himself as the screams grew louder. And then, amongst them, he heard one. One who's voice he knew. Turning to the left, he saw another corridor, but this one lead to a large cell, isolated from the rest.

His heartbeat quickened as he walked briskly to it and couldn't believe his eyes. There he was, his brother-in-law, chained to a wall with marks of being lashed with a whip. Opening the door, he ran inside and looked the man over.

"Eomer… Eomer," he whispered, but the man didn't respond. He touched his shoulder, and the prisoner moved away.

"Eomer… It's me Faramir. Come on…" he touched him again but the blond just moved away.

"What more do you want from me!" the former Marshal yelled as he looked at the other man, before looking in shock.

"W…Who are you?" he sounded so frightened, Faramir through it was someone else.

The Steward opened his mouth to speak, when a hiss from behind stopped him. Turning around, he saw a guard with a dagger above them. But before anything would need to be done, the guard fell over and behind him stood Elessar, sword in hand.

"Aragorn! How did you-" but he cut himself off and turned his attention back to Eomer. "I can't find his fear. Honestly, I doubt he would be frightened by this… and he doesn't remember us," he quickly explained as the King joined them.

"Eomer… Eomer where is Grima? Where is Eowyn?" Strider asked, and at those names, the former Marshal turned deathly pale.

"Grima… He… He's here… And Eowyn… She… she's dead…" he managed to whisper as the two Gondorians shared a look.

"His nightmare is placed before he met any of us. Meaning we probably won't be able to convince him with ease," the King used his sword to cut down the chains while the Steward caught the man.

"And that light said the more Ngami that are inside you, the more horrible the nightmare," he added.

"Eomer… Eomer you need to listen. What happened, it's not true you hear? Eowyn is perfectly safe. She's alive," Faramir helped the Rohirrim sit down.

"No… no she's not… Not after he did to her…" he closed his eyes. Never have the two seen such a strong man so broken.

"Eomer… what happened? What is it you fear?" unlike with Strider, they didn't really know what has happened. Faramir saw Isildur and Arwen, but here, they didn't see anyone else. Only heard that Grima is still alive.

"I couldn't save her… She let that snake onto her, so she could save me. For me she let him-" but he cut himself off.

But that was all they needed. They understood the situation now. But they were running out of time, as they both slowly started fading.

"Eomer listen! Eowyn is alive! It was an illusion! You need to accept that you aren't the only one that can defend her. You aren't her sole protector! Let others help as well!" he looked at the two; eyes wide open as he listened. Could it be true? That she was alive? And that other will look after her as well?

"I promised you! I promised you when we were married, that I would protect her with my life! I swore, that if I ever let get hurt, you could have my head! Eomer! You can trust others!" were the Range's last words before they vanished.

And when they were gone, memories started flowing back. But they were memories of what he saw that day. What he felt and heard.

"You couldn't save her!" was what Grima told him. "That's right… I couldn't… if I had asked for someone to watch over her… she might have been spared. I can't always protect her… there are others who can… I just need to allow them…" closing his eyes he allowed the screams and pleas echo in his head. He could never forget her face, but he believed it was not really.

"An illusion… Yea… She's stronger than that… And what he said…" he recalled Faramir's words. "She has people watching over her…" at that, the torches went out, he heard her screams and then woke up with a sharp breath, in the hands on his friends.

And we've come to the end! Which nightmare was the more horrible?