Avengers of the Ring

by Dr Matthattan

Due to a freak accident involving the Bifrost, the Avengers Captain America, Thor and the Hulk are thrown into the world of Middle-earth. They join the Fellowship of the Ring in their epic struggle to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.

36. White versus Black

Disclaimer: I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

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25/07/2013

Thanks readers for your patience in waiting for this chapter. It's the longest written for this story so far. Once I started writing about the Siege of Gondor, I found I wanted to include all its events in one chapter.

elmoisemo6: One thing I've gained in writing this story is a greater appreciation of the deeds performed by the canonical Fellowship.

gunman: I used the size of the fleet mentioned in the book so there could be more 'Hulk Smash/Splash'. The ship dimensions and crew sizes are drawn from the source book I mentioned at the start of Chapter 33. The size of the British Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar was around thirty ships with a total crew complement of just over 18,000.

transformice907: I'm sorry you have to do a holiday assignment. I certainly didn't like having to do them when I went to school. You can use as much of this story as you like. Fingers crossed you get a good mark from it.

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Chapter 36 – White versus Black

The morning of Mordor's assault on Minas Tirith had come.

Boromir, Rogers and Gandalf had positioned themselves on the Othram along with the vast bulk of the professional soldiers contributing to the defence. Gandalf was mounted on Shadowfax acting as a type of mobile command post and messenger. Heavy infantry and armoured archers would be the front line of the city's defence along with the crews that operated the trebuchets along the Othram. Similar to the Galadhrim at Helm's Deep, nearly all Minas Tirirth's best defenders were placed to absorb the enemy's initial line of attack.

Gondor's Rangers were the most obvious exception in this regard. Led by Faramir, they were located along the defences of the second level. Their numbers were bolstered by a number of retired veterans who were skilled with a bow. The initial role of these forces was to provide fire support to the Othram defenders. It was agreed that Gondor's elite skirmishers and their Captain would be the best at coordinating such support. This included defending against the expected aerial attacks from the Nazgul and their fell-beasts.

The veterans that had melee combat experience were placed at several staging posts on the first level. They were under orders to remain at these posts until called out to fight as reserves. Pippin was among their number. The other male volunteers were positioned throughout the first three levels. They were organised to play supporting roles once the battle started. These volunteers were all given a melee weapon of some type. This was for self-defence rather than from any serious consideration of them being frontline fighters. A number of volunteers had been assigned to operate the air defences Rogers had organised.

Boromir was pleased that morale across all ranks remained good despite the dire situation. There wasn't even a shortage of volunteers to provide logistic support on the first level where the fighting was initially going to be the heaviest. Whatever the outcome of the battle, Boromir was confident the defence of Minas Tirith would be one that the city's founders would be proud of.

Rogers had his mask down. He looked left towards Boromir who was a few yards away, carrying his round shield. Like all officers, Boromir's barbut helmet had thin, entwined golden lines that ran horizontally around its base. But attached at the top of its nose-guard was a small, white metal crest in the shape of two feathered wings joined at the tip. This distinguished Boromir as Captain of the White Tower along with the Horn of Gondor hanging down from his shoulders.

Rogers then turned his attention to the Hosts of Mordor that, under the cover of Sauron's fume, looked ten times more menacing than their actual quarter million size. The vast bulk of Mordor's force was comprised of orcs wearing cast iron armour and similar cast weapons. Like at Helm's Deep, the besiegers appeared to have a number of warg-riders for the purposes of communication between ranks. Rogers got his first look at the Men allied to Sauron. They included Easterlings similar to what Eomer's scouting party had encountered. The Haradrim wore a variety of robes and turbans and were armed with longbows and spears. Rogers thought the horde's Mountain Trolls were not only bigger than the Moria Cave Troll but also more sophisticated. Some operated siege machinery while others steadily beat large drums that hung around their chests to impose discipline in the ranks. But seemingly the most dangerous trolls wore heavy armour and carried large clubs and war hammers. Boromir had referred them to as 'Attack Trolls'. There were too many Attack Trolls among Mordor's ranks even for Captain America's liking.

The thing that troubled Rogers most was that there was no sign of the Nazgul. Not that this was a bad thing in itself. But Rogers had no doubt the Nine were holding themselves back until they could do the most damage. Over the last few days, Rogers poured over all the intelligence reports on the Nazgul contained within Gondor's archives (Faramir was a great aid in that regard). Rogers read about the campaign the Witch-king led at Sauron's behest that destroyed Gondor's sister kingdom of Arnor more than a millennium ago. Rogers concluded that the Witch-king wasn't just an evil being of great power. The Lord of the Nazgul exhibited all the hallmarks of a brilliant and cunning military commander.

Rogers spotted a large number of orcs carrying tattered, black canvas banners rectangular in shape. The banners had a crude red eye painted on them symbolising the Eye of Sauron. These banners, the way Mordor's ranks were deployed and their cries of bloodlust reminded Rogers of the newsreels he had seen of the Nazi rallies held at Nuremberg. The orcs soon proved they were cruel equals of the most depraved members of the Third Reich.

Minas Tirith's commanders avoided the temptation of ordering the city's trebuchets to bombard the enemy while they deployed. Despite the preparations over the last few days, the trebuchets still only had a limited ammunition supply. Every shot would need to count against the vast number of Mordor's catapults and seventy-foot siege towers that would be bought to bear against the Othram. It was on this basis that Boromir restrained from ordering a return fire when a handful of enemy catapults released their payloads. The payloads first looked to be clusters of small stones.

The Witch-king decided the Osgiliath prisoners could still be of use despite them being dead. The 'stones' that landed among the ranks of the Othram defenders were the severed heads of the unfortunate Osgiliath prisoners. This was to break the spirits of Minas Tirith's defenders before the battle had even begun.

The Othram defenders were appalled at what had landed at their feet despite being used to the horrors of war. A number of the defenders recognised the severed heads of comrades and friends they had known. Sensing the morale of the defenders beginning to waiver, Boromir placed the Horn of Gondor to his lips. The Horn's loud note seemingly echoed throughout Minas Tirith and every defender turned to the Acting Steward who had raised his sword. Even those defenders on the second and third levels strained to hear the words Boromir began loudly speaking.

"My brothers, now you know the enemy we face! It's the same enemy that has threatened our country ever since its foundation.

"Elendil, his sons and your own forebears knew that against the forces of Mordor there can be no surrender. The only true choice for those opposed to the Dark Lord is to fight until victory is won!

"Some of you may think victory impossible given our situation. It's true that we're surrounded and vastly outnumbered. But even if just one us fights, Sauron shall never triumph!

"As the greatest soldier I've ever known once said to me, wars may be fought with weapons but they are won by men. We can win this battle, my brothers, because we are the best of men! MEN OF GONDOR!"

Boromir turned his attention to Rogers while all the defenders that had heard his speech roared their approval of its sentiments. Rogers gave Boromir a knowing smile and a sharp salute in response. Rogers was honoured by Boromir's references to him in his pre-battle speech. But Rogers was also proud in the transformation that had come over Boromir in the time he'd known him. When Rogers first met him, Boromir seemed jaded and despondent about Gondor's chances of defeating Mordor. But now, even with the enemy right on Minas Tirith's doorstep, Boromir sincerely believed Gondor could still prevail. More importantly, he'd rallied those under his command to share his view despite the attempts of the orcs to break their spirits.

Gandalf shared Rogers' pride in Boromir in addition to another reason. Boromir was no longer leading the forces of Gondor as his father's son but instead as his own man. Gandalf also turned his gaze to Rogers. The American was a large part of the reason for Boromir's change in outlook. After Gandalf came back from the dead, the Lord of the Great Eagles carried him to Lothlorien to recover. Galadriel told Gandalf that, in some ways, Captain America was the most important of the three Avengers to have come to Middle-earth. The principal reason being that Rogers knew how to help others find hope.

Gandalf was quietly pleased with himself. In Moria, he handed over the Fellowship's leadership to two men who shared the same quality.

---

Gandalf had previewed this battle using the metaphors of a chess game. But in this chess game, Black got to move first.

The vast array of Mordor catapults released stones weighing ten to twenty pounds that had been placed in their buckets by Mountain Trolls. The stones weren't much of a threat to the Othram. The buildings it protected though weren't made of the same indestructible material. Nor were the defenders that were placed along it. The stones released from many catapults crashed into buildings on the first level while the occasional shot scattered and killed the Gondorian soldiers standing atop the Othram.

At a signal from Boromir and Faramir, the trebuchets placed throughout Minas Tirith released a counter-fire. The trebuchets on the second and third levels engaged in a general bombardment of Mordor's ranks. The first casualties sustained by Mordor's forces were hundreds of orcs flattened by heavy bits of masonry that landed on top of them. The trebuchets along the Othram needed to be more discriminating in their attacks though. Some trebuchets aimed to take out catapults. Others fired at the oncoming siege towers being pushed from behind by Mountain Trolls. It was critically important to take out as many towers as possible before they got under the trajectory of the Othram's trebuchets. Many Othram defenders let out a loud cheer when a trebuchet shot caused a siege tower to crumble on impact. Their cheer quickly evaporated when a series of loud, chilling screeches were heard coming from above.

The Nazgul made their first unwelcome appearance in the battle. The Nine attacked Minas Tirith from the skies in style reminiscent to Rogers of Stuka dive-bombers. In their initial assault, the Nazgul's fell-beasts ripped up trebuchets positioned across the first three levels of the city. They wanted to weaken the city's defences that could impede Mordor's own siege machinery from breaching it. The Witch-king led by brutal example by swooping down on some of the defenders placed along the second level before his fell-beast wrapped its talons around them. The Witch-king dropped these unfortunate defenders down to the first level to their deaths. The Nazgul also released their piercing screeches that struck fear into the hearts of many defenders. Gandalf and the Captains of Gondor tried rallying the defenders under their command before they fled from this unnatural terror. Captain America sought to provide the defenders of the White City with more tangible relief. The Avenger turned to an archer behind him.

"Send the signal!" Rogers urged the archer.

The archer dipped an arrow tip into a brazier before shooting it straight into the air. The flaming arrow was the signal for the air defence to spring into action. The air defence Rogers had designed for Minas Tirith drew on his knowledge of Earth and Middle-earth. Gondor had nothing near the technology to develop air defence systems like those used in WW2, let alone twenty-first century Earth. But Rogers remembered Frodo's tale of Aragorn using a burning torch to beat back five of the Nazgul at Weathertop. The reports in Gondor's archives confirmed that natural fire was a suspected weakness of the Nazgul. From this, Rogers believed Minas Tirith could be protected by one of the earliest air defences used by Earth militaries.

Smokescreens had long become obsolete for air defence on present-day Earth. But Rogers thought smokescreens could at least provide some deterrent value to the Nazgul and their mounts. Nothing in the intelligence reports suggested the Nazgul possessed infrared and radar systems to guide their aerial attacks.

For the past few days, groups of volunteers had been collecting thatching materials and tying them in large bundles. These bundles were then placed at various locations throughout Minas Tirith. Thatching had the advantage of burning slowly and producing a great deal of smoke as it did so. Each 'air defence unit' was commanded by a retired veteran with a small group of volunteers. The bundles of thatch were lit when those units saw the signal had been given. One thing in the defender's favour was that there were no prevailing winds to blow the smoke back over them.

The Nazgul soon encountered numerous columns of black smoke columns obscuring the city defences and those manning them. The fell-beasts veered away after their lungs began to fill with the foul, black smoke rising from below them. Like their riders, the only fire the fell-beasts found comfortable was the unnatural type Sauron produced such as the eruptions from Mount Doom.

Some Nazgul found what they thought was a way through this defence. There seemed to be gaps between the smoke columns they could direct their fell-beasts through to attack the defenders on the second level. This was exactly what Rogers had planned to happen.

The thatch bundles weren't placed around Minas Tirith at random. Rogers organised them in a pattern that, once lit, would create a series of crude, interlocking killing zones. The Rangers and the bow-armed veterans were divided into smaller companies each responsible for a particular zone. These companies wore thin woollen masks that women volunteers had knitted for them. The masks allowed them to keep shooting without breathing in the thatched smoke like their airborne enemies were forced. Rather than trying to track and shoot a particular fell-beast through the smoke, each company would instead release a volley of arrows at any fell-beast that came within their zone.

Two fell-beasts let out ugly reptilian cries after being caught in separate crossfires. Only a limited number of arrows actually hit the fell-beasts. But they were painful enough to require their Nazgul rider to veer up to find a new avenue of attack. Rogers would've liked the Rangers to shoot flaming arrows. But any such arrows that went astray ran the risk of setting large sections of the first level ablaze. Flaming arrows would also still have been useless against the Lord of the Nazgul.

The Witch-king used his increased power to surround himself and his fell-beast with a magic shield similar to the one Gandalf summoned on the Bridge of Khazad-dum. Unlike Gandalf's shield, the Witch-king's was red in colour. His shield deflected the arrows a company of archers fired at his mount. The Witch-king only dropped the shield at the last moment so his mount could kill and scatter those archers. Despite this, the Lord of the Nazgul inwardly cursed the defender's ingenuity. Sauron had increased the power of the Witch-king by reducing the power of the other Nazgul. Mortal weapons still couldn't harm the eight of them. Their mounts though were another matter entirely. If a fell-beast crashed into Minas Tirith after being slain, Gandalf would seek to engage the surviving rider. The weakened Nazgul would be no match for the White Wizard.

The Witch-king mentally commanded his fellow Nazgul to fly out just of range of Gondor's archers. He ordered them to just release their fearful cries so the defenders felt a continual sense of dread and unease. The Witch-king focused his own attacks on destroying the city's trebuchets. Those most responsible for reducing the Nine's overall effectiveness would receive their comeuppance soon enough.

Boromir and Rogers had been witnessing all this from their position along the Othram.

"I really do appreciate the irony of your defences, Steve," Boromir reflected while the pair looked skyward. "Rising black fumes from within the White City protecting it from the Nazgul."

The feelings of dread still generated by the Nazgul remained a danger. But Captain America felt the danger posed could have been far worse.

"There's nothing a bully hates more than a taste of his own medicine," Rogers replied with no small sense of satisfaction.

"On that basis, I look forward to hearing Doctor Banner's opinion when he arrives," Boromir quipped

Rogers quickly smiled to what Boromir was really referring to before the shouts of a frantic Gandalf grabbed the pair's attention. The White Wizard had dismounted from Shadowfax and was directing nearby archer fire against Mordor's onslaught.

"Not at the towers! Aim for the Trolls! Kill the Trolls! Bring them down!"

The first of Mordor's siege towers had reached the Othram.

---

Rogers realised that this was the first time that he'd fought alongside Gandalf in a full-scale battle. Rogers long thought that Gandalf fitted the polymath archetype similar to Banner. This assumption was strengthened when Gandalf demonstrated an impressive knowledge of battlefield tactics.

Gandalf noticed the archers along the Othram firing their arrows at the siege towers in a vain effort to penetrate the towers' iron cladding. His urgent order saw these archers redirect their arrows at each pair of unarmoured trolls pushing a tower forward. At least two siege towers suddenly halted when their trolls slumped dead having had their vitals pierced by the volleys the Othram archers shot at them with deadly precision.

Despite the defenders best efforts, three siege towers had reached the Othram. The three towers were deployed against parts of the Othram south of the Great Gate. The Fellowship on the Othram had spread out among its defenders. Rogers was with the defenders readying themselves to meet the southernmost approaching tower. Rogers stood in front of two ranks of infantry where each rank had their shields in an interlocking formation. A group of archers was placed on each of the infantry's flanks. Captain America's shield remained on his back despite him about to do battle with the enemy.

"No one advances unless I give the word," Rogers ordered the infantry behind him.

Rogers had stationed the infantry further away from the edge of the Othram than standard Gondor military doctrine required. They obeyed Rogers with no overt reluctance given he'd been commissioned an Autherdir by no less than Boromir himself. Any doubts they had about the wisdom of their Captain-General commissioning the Avenger would soon be erased.

Close by Rogers were two large cauldrons of burning oil. He'd carried a cauldron in each hand as he moved to take his post. Burning oil had been largely prepared to pour on the ranks of Mordor who sought to assault the Great Gate. But some cauldrons had been placed along various parts of the Othram on the off chance the enemy foolishly tried using scaling ladders to reach the top of it. The iron cladding that covered the front and sides of their siege towers was supposed to protect Mordor's forces from arrows and burning oil prior to them assaulting the Othram. This iron cladding couldn't protect them from Captain America's strength and tactical genius though.

The tower's drawbridge sharply dropped down. Orcs poured out in their eagerness to get to the enemy. Anticipating this, Rogers grabbed a cauldron and flung it towards the oncoming enemy with Super-Soldier strength and precision. The cauldron showered its contents on the exposed orcs causing their advance to immediately halt. The orcs screamed in pain as the oil burned their heads and faces. The break in their assault also caused congestion among the other orcs that were following them up the tower.

"Fire!" Rogers ordered the archers that had had flaming arrows at the ready.

The flaming arrows hit the oil-drenched orcs and drawbridge causing both to ignite in a wall of flames. Rogers increased the orcs' fiery misery when he then tossed the second cauldron on them. The fire quickly began spreading inside the tower, causing a stampede of the orcs within it. The orcs began hacking and killing each other during their scramble down the tower to escape the flames. Any burning orc that stumbled onto the Othram was promptly shot and killed by the archers. The Gondorians around Rogers cheered at how the Avenger had almost single-handedly stopped this particular assault. Rogers quickly refocussed their attention that more siege towers were on their way.

"Archers, stay here in case any get through," he began redeploying company. "Infantry, with me!"

The soldiers spiritedly obeyed Rogers. The infantry followed Rogers north along the Othram to assist the defenders being led by Gandalf. Rogers's reinforcements soon sustained their first casualties. Gothmog ordered Mordor's catapults to keep firing on the Othram despite the orcs engaging its defenders in close combat. Mordor's commanders had both the numbers and ruthlessness not to care about losses incurred by friendly fire. The catapult stones that hit atop the Othram scattered and killed scores of Gondorians and Orcs alike. Rogers's group had the ill fortune of receiving a hit that killed a quarter of their number. They nonetheless didn't break stride in following Captain America. These Gondorians may be professional soldiers, but Rogers thought their determination deserved the same admiration as he gave the conscripts at Helm's Deep.

Gandalf and the defenders he was leading were having a much harder time against the siege tower they stood against. The defenders' ranks were quickly thinning due to the Orcs' numbers and savagery. Despite this, Rogers hoped that Orcs always deployed in compact formations against him. Rogers released his shield at the tight mass of Orcs on tower drawbridge from side-on. Rogers's shield cut through them from right to left, releasing a shower of orc blood and limbs. The attack gave Rogers's reinforcements the time to bolster the defence's position.

As soon as his shield returned to him, Rogers tried spotting Gandalf in the chaos. His eyes widened when he saw that Gandalf was close to being surrounded. Some Orcs had managed to break through the defenders' ranks. The White Wizard was the only thing standing between them and a set of stairs that accessed the first level. Gandalf cut down orcs using a combination attack of his sword and staff. After events in Fangorn, Rogers had assumed that 'normal' weapons couldn't harm Gandalf. Given Gandalf's current level of desperation, now he wasn't so sure. Rogers wanted to throw his shield to relieve Gandalf, but there was no clear flight path. The Avenger was unaware that he was soon going to assist Gandalf without having to even raise a hand.

As the Gondorian losses began to mount atop the Othram, the companies of veterans held in reserve were called up as reinforcements. This included the company that Pippin was stationed with. Pippin's company was comprised of veterans that took a grandfatherly shine towards him. After a herald called their company out to fight, the veterans placed Pippin in the middle of their formation to protect him as they journeyed towards the Othram. This noble gesture by these old soldiers of Gondor was to be the last for many of them.

The Witch-king flew directly above the company and emitted a fear-inducing scream. Like the vast majority of defenders that heard these screams, Pippin and the rest of the company were immobilised by the terror the Lord of the Nazgul had generated in their hearts. The company was paralysed with fear when a pair of catapult stones fell in the immediate proximity.

The stones struck some tall buildings. Pippin was among the minority in the company that overcame their unnatural fear just in time to avoid being crushed by the falling rubble. A large amount of dust flew up from the rubble severely restricting nearby visibility. Before Pippin could call out to any survivors, more stones began raining down on the their location. Pippin fled in confusion and panic towards the nearest set of stairs that led to the top of the Othram. When he reached the top, Pippin discovered that no one defending Minas Tirith was safe in this battle. Not even the White Wizard on who so much depended.

Being only a few yards away, Pippin had an unimpeded view of Gandalf's duel with the Orcs. Gandalf was so caught up in the fighting that he didn't even notice Pippin's presence. Fortunately for the Took, the attackers hadn't noticed him either. Pippin had never been so frightened in his life. One reason was that a single orc blade could fell Gandalf at any moment. Worse, Pippin was the only one in a position to prevent that from happening.

Pippin had received separate advice about courage from two powerful individuals. Galadriel said that he would find his courage. Captain America defined courage as facing fear, not the absence of it. But Pippin felt that one of Hulk's thoughts while attacking Saruman (as recalled to him by Banner) was more appropriate given the circumstances. Pippin unsheathed his sword and decided to 'go for it'.

Rogers thought that Pippin would be one of the least likely individuals to train as an assassin. But Gandalf had described Hobbits as being light on their feet and being able to go about unnoticed. This made Rogers think the fighting style best suited for Pippin was one based on stealth and opportunity rather than strength and power. In the short time he had been able to train Pippin; Rogers taught him some basic techniques to move quietly as well as how to cause the most damage with a single sword thrust.

Rogers himself had not been idle after noticing Gandalf was in trouble. He stepped back a few paces from the melee currently swirling in front of him on the tower drawbridge. Rogers ran flat-out before leaping over the heads of its participants. The good news was that he landed on the other side of the melee with a clear path to Gandalf. The bad news was that he appeared to have arrived too late to stop Gandalf's skull being split open from behind.

Gandalf may have been the White Wizard but that didn't mean he was infallible. Such was the intensity of his duel with the orcs surrounding him that he lost track of their number. He chopped down an orc in front of him thinking it was the last one he needed to kill. Gandalf gave a startled yelp upon hearing a mangled orc cry from behind him. The reflexive fear that he was about to join the growing number of fallen defenders was quickly replaced by amazement. The axe about to kill him clattered harmlessly to the ground. A blade protruded out of the Orc's abdomen before being withdrawn. As the dead orc toppled over, Gandalf was pleasantly surprised to see his rescuer none other than Peregrin Took! Rogers was now by his side as well, immensely proud how Pippin put his training into action.

Gandalf had worried about Boromir and Rogers's decision to place Pippin with the reserves on the first level. The White Wizard thought this battle was no place for any hobbit, let alone Pippin. But Gandalf was glad to have been proven wrong in this regard. He now knew how Thorin must have felt when rescued by Bilbo from Azog's warg pack.

"The soul of chess indeed!" Gandalf exclaimed to Pippin with pride and relief.

Now having a much greater sense of battle confidence, Pippin responded, "Ah Gandalf. You forget the lowliest pawn can save the highest piece from being taken."

Gandalf knelt on one knee and gave Pippin's shoulder a firm and friendly grasp.

"For now, Peregrin Took, I've another task for the Shire folk to again prove their great worth," he instructed him. "Go back to the Citadel and keep an eye out for Denethor. Should he do anything that strikes you as suspicious, immediately tell Boromir, Faramir, Steve or myself. Now go my lad!"

The Took instantly headed off to the Citadel with a spring in his step. Moments earlier, Pippin had run up the stairs to the top of the Othram in panic and fear. He now ran back down the stairs with pride and self-belief. Pippin still thought a battlefield wasn't his natural place. But he could at least help his friends if he ever found himself on one. Pippins hoped he'd be able to properly thank Rogers some day for teaching him how.

As Gandalf stood back up, Rogers put a reassuring hand on his right shoulder.

"You're alright Gandalf?" Rogers asked, noticing the White Wizard's normally spotless robe was stained by black flecks of orc blood. After Gandalf gave a confirmatory nod, Rogers said, "Pippin sped off before I could thank him for helping out."

"Then allow me to thank you for helping out Pippin," Gandalf replied with a grateful smile. "I'd forgotten Hobbits can show the greatest of courage in even the fiercest of battles."

"I'll have to ask you later what you mean," Rogers ruefully remarked as he pointed his chin in the direction of the drawbridge melee. "Think you can hold here while I see how Boromir's doing?"

"Be assured I can," Gandalf resolutely replied before mischievously observing, "Pippin will embellish the story of how he rescued me. I dread the embellishment if he had to save me twice!"

Rogers ran north along the Othram to find Gandalf wasn't the only Fellowship member in danger of being surrounded. Boromir and six infantrymen stood very isolated as they faced another siege tower that would soon reach the Othram. Rogers noted the siege tower was coming very close to the remains of a trebuchet placement just to its left.

Boromir thought the battle at a similar stage to when the Uruk-hai assaulted the Deeping Wall. Unfortunately, Thor wasn't present to shatter the siege towers like he did with the scaling ladders at Helm's Deep. Boromir would soon see the Asgardian wasn't the only Avenger that could shatter siege equipment.

"We are Soldiers of Gondor," Boromir firmly reminded his subordinates as the tower drew closer. "No matter what comes out of that tower, we will stand our ground!"

The tower never reached the Othram. Boromir jolted in surprise when a large chunk of masonry struck the left side of the tower, it's iron platting cracking on impact. The top third of the tower then crumbled and fell to the ground along with the orcs inside it. The threat posed by this particular tower had been neutralised. Boromir quickly looked to his right and saw what had released the boulder standing a few yards from him. His initial reaction was that he shouldn't have had the tinniest doubt about how much Captain America claimed to be able to lift. The Avenger and the seven Gondorians moved north together to reinforce the nearest group defenders. Boromir and Rogers quietly spoke on the way.

"Nice throw," Boromir casually complimented Rogers's efforts.

"That throw rated better than 'nice'!" Rogers feigned with indignation.

"You're not the first Avenger I've seen throw a boulder, Steve," Boromir recalled events in Moria with a smirk.

"That's twice you've mentioned the Other Guy," Rogers wryly observed. "Obviously, I'm no longer your favourite Avenger."

The two friends shared a laugh before reaching their objective. One of the defenders they were aiding was a veteran with an interest in lore and verse. If he survived this battle, the veteran thought he'd write a poem about the two Captains with round shields who together tore apart hordes of orcs.

---

Night had fallen on the battlefield but Minas Tirith received little reprieve from the assault against it. The situation for the defenders was the equal of the fume-enhanced darkness they fought in.

The thatch fires that hadn't been snuffed out by catapult stones would soon run out of fuel to burn. Once this happened, the other Nazgul could then attack the remaining defenders with more than their terrifying cries. The defenders would struggle to see the Nine swooping down from a sky as black in colour as their cloaks.

The Othram was still held by the defenders placed upon it. All of Mordor's siege towers were now crippled or burning. Captain America was a major reason why. He stopped many towers in similar fashion to the first two towers he'd neutralised. The Avenger's actions significantly reduced the number of orcs the outnumbered defenders would have faced otherwise.

But the situation on the Othram had come at a very heavy price. Less than half of its original defenders were still alive. Irolas was among those killed. This resulted in Boromir having to take over Irolas' command of the defence north of the Great Gate. There were no other experienced Captains left to take the role. The attackers had suffered casualties several fold greater than the defenders. But Mordor's army still seemed to be as large as when the battle started. Most of the Othram's defenders felt close to exhaustion when they started being subjected to clouds of arrows released at them by countless Orc and Haradrim archers.

The attackers had destroyed all the trebuchets placed within Minas Tirith. Mordor's catapults continued to release their stones albeit at a slower rate than earlier. Many volunteers on the first level met their deaths by these stones. Either being directly squashed by one or from the falling debris of buildings the stones hit.

But a couple of enemy actions puzzled the defenders. Even the combined tactical genius of Boromir, Gandalf and Rogers hadn't yet guessed their purpose.

Minas Tirith's commanders assumed the Great Gate would be the enemy's principal line of attack. But the Gate had only suffered unsophisticated assaults by battering ram. The Gate defenders led by Hirgon had little trouble against these assaults. The large number of orc corpses piled on the Gateway was testament to their deaths from the defenders' arrows or burning oil. Even if the orcs could carry out their attacks unmolested, their battering rams stood no chance of breaching the Gate. The situation had resulted in more than half the Gate's original defenders being redeployed to shore up other positions during the course of the battle.

A bigger mystery was the activities of the Witch-king. Since the destruction of the trebuchets, the Witch-king had limited his direct involvement in the battle. He either occasionally scattered defenders with his fell-beast or joined his fellow Ringwraiths in spreading fear in the hearts of the defenders from above. Gandalf's actions in this battle made Rogers draw a conclusion similar to one he'd earlier made about Galadriel. The White Wizard must be prohibited somehow from exercising his vast power without restraint. The Avenger doubted Sauron would place similar restraints on the Witch-king.

The Lord of the Nazgul himself now answered both these mysteries. His answers verified Rogers' earlier assessment of the Witch-king's military competence.

All the defenders wondered why the catapults had halted their bombardment. Was it too much for them to hope that the catapults had no more stones to launch? It was true the enemy's supply of catapult stones had been much depleted. But the catapults weren't short of ammunition. The pause in the bombardment was so Mordor's catapults could be loaded with shot covered in tar and pitch that was lit before being launched. The defenders of Minas Tirith soon found themselves caught in a rain of fiery death.

The burning catapult shots ignited any man or building they struck. After the thatch fires began extinguishing, the eight Nazgul that had been affected by them took the opportunity to extract their revenge. They swooped in on their fell-beast and killed scores of volunteers that comprised the air defence units. The burning shot bombardment combined with facing the Nazgul's fury was too much for these volunteers stationed on the first level. They immediately broke and ran back in uncontrolled panic towards the upper levels in the hope of finding some sort of reprieve. Despite Boromir's words at the start of this battle, the volunteers now felt victory was impossible given the merciless onslaught the White City was now being subjected to.

The Witch-king felt a sense of dark satisfaction at the effects of the burning shot and his fellow Nazgul. Minas Tirith had used a lot of fire-based defences during the day. If the Gondorians thought fire would hold back Mordor's assault, the Witch-king was more than happy to supply them with vast amounts of it. But these attacks were only the first step in his plan to finally breach the White City. The next step required more personal attention on his part.

Hirgon and the other defenders remaining above the Great Gate were puzzled why the Orc archers that had been firing at them suddenly withdrew from range. In fact, all Mordor forces near the Gate began voluntarily splitting their ranks creating a wide gap between them. Their thoughts were interrupted by a loud Nazgul screech.

Hirgon and his men were literally frozen in terror as the Witch-king perched his fell-best on the southern tower of the Great Gate. The Witch-king pointed his sword at the defenders and gave a cruel demonstration of his increased power. Hirgon and his men suddenly fell on their backs as if pushed down by giant pair of hands. This unforseen force continued pushing down on their chests. Their breastplates quickly crumpled before their ribs and internal organs were crushed. The Witch-king lowered his sword after the defenders' pained screams ceased, indicating their deaths. The Witch-king's fell-beast then soared back into the air at its rider's command.

Rogers had seen the Witch-king in action from his spot south of the Great Gate. He didn't have a clear line of sight to know what had happened to Hirgon and his men though. Rogers's attention was suddenly grabbed by something else. It was the Hosts of Mordor shouting with ever-louder exultation.

What the heck is Grond? Rogers thought after discerning the word they were chanting.

Rogers braved the incoming enemy fire as he looked over the Othram to find out.

"Gimme a break," Rogers muttered in exasperation after spotting the answer to his question.

Grond was a most fearsome siege machine. It was a battering ram some sixty feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet long. Grond was in the form of a cast iron wolf whose mouth glowed with an infernal light. It was suspended from six tall posts by heavy iron chains, above a great iron frame fixed on six spiked iron wheels. The posts and wheels were equally divided on the frame's right and left sides. Grond also had a railed platform manned by several companies of orc archers. Grond was hauled by four giant beasts of burden that, to Rogers, resembled a cross between a rhinoceros and a yak.

Grond had been constructed in Mordor's foundries over decades for this very moment. Grond had been named after the mace used by Morgoth, the most powerful Dark Lord that Arda had ever known. Sauron had been Morgoth's lieutenant. Sauron knew his Grond was nowhere near as powerful as the one wielded by his former master. But Sauron's had more than enough power to shatter the Great Gate.

Rogers quickly moved a few yards to his left to speak to Gandalf who was witnessing Grond's progress. Gandalf noticed Rogers by his side and returned his gaze to Grond.

"All our valour along the Othram has been of little consequence to the Enemy," Gandalf observed in a hushed tone. "Their assaults were to divert attention from where the Dark Lord's hammer shall strike the hardest."

Rogers now realised one reason for the siege tower assaults was to trick the defenders into reducing their numbers above the Great Gate. The assaults by battering ram were just to tire what Gate defenders remained by the time Grond arrived. Rogers had little doubt now that the Witch-king's attack a few moments ago had killed all the Gate's defenders.

"We've destroyed their siege towers," he suggested a change in tactics. "We should now move whoever's left to hold the Gate."

"Unfortunately, Steve," Gandalf regretfully ruled it out. "Any reinforcements sent atop the Gate will suffer the same fate as those Witch-king has just slain."

"Even if you accompanied them?" Rogers checked and insisted.

Gandalf turned his gaze to Rogers and arched a worried eyebrow. The wizard's expression slightly unnerved Rogers. The First Avenger thought for a moment.

"I'll go alone then," Rogers coolly decided.

Gandalf's eyes widened before he firmly grabbed the Avenger's wrist.

"You'd be rashly throwing your life away if you sought to combat the Witch-king alone!" Gandalf warned with barely concealed alarm.

Rogers exemplified the best qualities of Men in many ways. Nonetheless, Rogers was part of that race as well being male in gender. Gandalf believed that not even Captain America was immune to the prophecy about the Witch-king's end. Gandalf didn't know Rogers had read about the prophecy from the materials contained in Gondor's archives.

"Relax, Gandalf," Rogers assured him. "I don't plan on fighting him. I'm just going to buy us some time."

A few moments later, Gandalf was atop Shadowfax redirecting nearby defenders to fall back behind the Gate. Those soldiers who'd been defending north of the Gate were already taking up position in the courtyard. Gandalf rode up to Boromir when he spotted him.

"You've seen then, Boromir?" Gandalf asked in relation to Grond.

Boromir quickly nodded. "I've ordered a general retreat from the Othram. There's little point trying to hold the walls now. We'll meet their attack once the Gate's breached." Boromir then noticed something. "Where's Steve?"

Boromir followed Gandalf's gaze to the top of the Gate. Gandalf wondered if he looked as alarmed as Boromir when Rogers spoke his plans a short while ago.

"I share some of your concern, Boromir," Gandalf told him with a half-smile. "But I trust Steve knows what he's doing. In fact, he's asked we do something while he carries it out…"

Grond's major strength was also its major weakness. Its size and weight meant it had a very slow rate of movement. Grond wasn't initially present among Mordor's ranks when the battle started. The Witch-king and his lieutenants had estimated that it would be well into the night before Grond could be used. Mordor's attacks on Minas Tirith's trebuchets and the Othram during the day were really to ensure the Gondorians had no means of stopping Grond reaching the Great Gate. But the Supreme Commander of Mordor's forces knew two threats to Grond still remained.

Looking down from the sky above, the Witch-king observed the defenders retreating from the Othram. The White Wizard was organising what defenders remained to take position towards the back of the Great Gate's courtyard. The Witch-king scoffed at this. Even if the defenders had suffered no casualties, they stood no chance of holding back the onslaught about to be unleashed upon them. Confident the White Wizard was in no position to stop Grond; the Witch-king looked for the other threat.

The Witch-king could see no signs of the Avenger aiding the defence. The Lord of the Nazgul was well aware of the role Rogers had played in destroying Mordor's siege towers. But the methods Rogers used would be useless against Grond. The real threat the Avenger posed was with his shield. The Avenger had thrown this shield over a long distance to strike two airborne fell-beasts just a few days ago. The battle had demonstrated this shield could cut through forged metal with little difficulty. The Witch-king was concerned the Avenger would use his shield to cut through the chains that supported Grond's 'wolf'. The Avenger didn't even need to stand at the top of the Gate to do this given how far he could throw it.

For the first time since the battle started, the Witch-king guided his mount to the ground. He landed in the gap in the horde's ranks for Grond to pass through. The Witch-king and his fell-beast would be about a hundred yards rear of Grond by the time it reached the Great Gate. The Witch-king pointed his sword towards Grond and cast a spell. A narrow cylinder of red light instantly surrounded each chain. This spell was a version of the magic shield the Witch-king had been using to protect himself and his fell-beast throughout the battle. The draw back with this version of the spell was that the Witch-king had to remain still for the shields to hold. The Witch-king calculated that he wouldn't need to be stationary for too long.

The giant beasts had been pulling Grond were decoupled and lead away. A group of Mountain Trolls took over pushing Grond over the remaining yards to the Great Gate. Mordor's initial assault force began filing past the Witch-king in readiness to storm the breach. This initial assault force was comprised of three Attack Trolls and several hundred elite Easterling warriors.

Rogers had been hiding within the upper level of the south tower of the Great Gate. He had brought with him the two remaining cauldrons of boiling oil that hadn't been used. Seeing no sign of the Witch-king, Rogers dashed out on the rampart where the bodies of Hirgon and his men lay. Rogers dropped the two cauldrons down the front of the Gate in quick succession. The cauldron's contents spilled onto the ground, forming a large oily slick just in front of Great Gate's doors. The Witch-king spotted Rogers but paid his actions no heed. He assumed the Avenger was running back into the tower to avoid the arrows Grond's archers were shooting at him.

Rogers opened the iron box containing the napalm. The napalm cases were still in their hessian sack. He strapped the sack around his shoulder after taking two cases from it. Rogers's shield and pocket knife weren't the only items that had accompanied him to Middle-earth. Rogers opened one of his belt pouches and withdrew a small fire-starter.

During the Fellowship's break in Edoras, Rogers and Banner carefully experimented with droplets of the napalm. These experiments were conducted well outside of Edoras' wooden confines. The pair were able to get a workable idea of the duration Saruman's napalm took to ignite.

Rogers unstoppered the holes in each case before hearing the loud thud of Grond's first strike against the Gate. He lit the napalm and quickly picked up a case with each hand. Rogers looked out of the door at the defenders' corpses before him. Grond made its second strike against the Gate. Rogers silently farewelled the fallen before swinging into action.

Hope you and your men enjoy the show, Hirgon!

The Witch-king was so far pleased with Grond's progress. Grond had punched a large hole in the doors of the Great Gate after striking them twice. Another strike would break them open and the extermination of Minas Tirith's inhabitants would then begin. The trolls operating Grond began pulling back its wolf to hit the doors with it once more. The Witch-king then noticed that the Avenger had returned to the ramparts. The Avenger was now too late to stop Grond.

Rogers threw down the napalm cases before leaping backwards off the Great Gate, covering his body with his shield. The napalm ignited just as Grond struck the Gate for the last time.

A loud detonation cracked the night sky. Rogers' vibranium shield protected him from the flames and flying debris between him being airborne and landing in the courtyard. The Hosts of Mordor in the vicinity were not so lucky.

Grond's orcs and trolls were almost instantly incinerated when the napalm ignited. Grond itself was awash in the napalm's intense flames. Its iron structure radiated an unbearable heat several yards in each direction. Mordor's initial assault force would have fled from Grond for this reason if they hadn't already due to being covered in burning napalm. The three Attack Trolls and hundreds of Easterlings and Orcs fled in fiery panic and agony from the attack they'd just been subjected to. The hides of the giant beasts that had pulled Grond were also spotted with such fire. The nearby Mordor ranks were thrown into chaos as those ablaze charged with reckless abandon into those that weren't.

The Witch-king's concentration was immediately broken when the napalm detonated. It was only his supernatural reflexes that saved him from the effects of the explosion. His fell-beast took off moments before one of Grond's beasts stampeded through. The Witch-king's burning anger was intense as the napalm's flames. Grond had breached the Great Gate. But that breach was now completely blocked by a wall of flame.

The Lord of the Nazgul resisted the urge to immediately smite the Avenger for his impudent attack. What Sauron had planned would make the Avenger suffer more than enough. Order needed to be restored among the Hosts of Mordor first. The Witch-king summoned the other Nazgul to destroy Grond's rampaging beasts. Sauron's other minions dispatched any burning orc, man or troll that came within reach to prevent further havoc in the ranks.

Rogers landed in the courtyard on his feet. Fortunately, Gandalf and Boromir had followed his advice by moving the defenders away from the courtyard. The defenders had been placed well back to protect them from the detonation. The indestructible stone that the Othram was built of remained undamaged. But the doors of the Great Gate had fallen due to a combination of Grond and napalm explosion. At least the wall of flame in front of the Gate would delay the attackers for a while. Rogers ran to where the other surviving Othram defenders were positioned. Boromir and a mounted Gandalf were at the front of them, waiting for Rogers.

"Well," Rogers said matter-of-fact, "I couldn't stop them breaching the Gate. But I've at least bought us twenty minutes, half an hour if we're lucky." Rogers continued speaking in this tone as he recognised Minas Tirith's chain of command. "What're your orders, Boromir?"

"We have enemy flames to contend with ourselves." Boromir started. Mordor's catapults had continued to release their burning shots on the first level despite recent events. Half the first level was currently ablaze. "Even though it means abandoning the first level, we must get out of range of their catapults. We'll fall back behind the gate to the second level."

Gandalf gave another unwelcome report. "Unfortunately, Boromir, your brother sent word the catapults scored a direct hit on that gate. It's now little more than a pile of rubble."

"Is our passage blocked?" a concerned Boromir asked. The last thing the defence needed was to be trapped on the first level.

Gandalf curtly shook his head. "But nor can it be used as a defensive position."

Rogers paused for a moment before pointing at the second level.

"There," he suggested the ship-keel. "We can take position just north of the tunnel."

Boromir consented with nod before jutting his chin towards the sack Rogers was carrying.

"Do you have any napalm left?" he asked the Avenger.

Rogers patted the sack as he replied with a dark gleam in his eye, "The fireworks ain't over for Mordor yet."

"When it comes to fireworks, learn from my mistake, Steve," Gandalf counselled half-seriously, half-jokingly. "Make sure Pippin can't touch your fireworks before you wish to set them off."

After sharing a tired chuckle with Rogers and Boromir, Gandalf began urging the defenders to fall back to the second level.

---

The flames released by the napalm near the Great Gate died down slightly less than half an hour later. Grond was burnt and melted in parts but it still remained standing. Importantly, the heat it radiated was no longer hot enough to deter the attackers from storming into Minas Tirith.

The Witch-king had been unperturbed by losses from friendly fire incurred during the assault on the Othram. But the assault on the Great Gate was Mordor's principal line of attack. The attackers may still have an overwhelming numerical advantage but discipline was essential to maximise this advantage. Rogers' action at the Great Gate demonstrated the attacker's discipline could quickly breakdown in the face of incendiary attack. On that basis, Mordor's catapults were ordered to cease their fiery bombardment of the first level.

Following original plans, three Attack Trolls furiously burst through the remains of the Great Gate's doors and into the courtyard it led to. The trolls would break and scatter defender lines. Thousands of orcs would then quickly pour into any gaps the trolls had created. The trolls were surprised then to see only one defender waiting to meet them. Directly facing them at ten yards was a man in blue livery.

"Catch," Captain America casually greeted the trolls.

Rogers flung his shield that arced right to left across the trolls. His shield easily cut through the iron-plated armour protecting the trolls' necks. The trolls collapsed forwards in death as Rogers's shield returned to his hand. Black blood spilled from the trolls' throats onto the courtyard as the orcs following behind them surged forwards. The only thing the orcs feared more than facing the Avenger was facing the Witch-king if they retreated from Minas Tirith a second time. Rogers began running along the main road that connected the levels of Minas Tirith with thousands of orcs in pursuit.

The defenders may have conceded the first level to the Hosts of Mordor. But Rogers volunteered to use the napalm to further delay the attackers and reduce their numbers once they entered it. While the other defenders had been retreating to the second level, Rogers dampened the hessian sack he was carrying. Rogers had no problems outrunning the orcs. He was more worried about the sack accidentally catching alight from the countless fires on the first level. Rogers would soon encounter a greater danger.

Rogers ran at a speed that kept him two dozen yards in front of the orcs. He reached into the sack and pulled out another napalm case while passing through the remains of the gate to the second level. Rogers lit the napalm intending to create another wall of flame once it ignited. This 'wall' would block the orcs from the southern end of the tunnel that went through the ship-keel rock.

In the sky above, the Witch-king had been following the orcs's pursuit of Rogers. He saw the situation like hounds driving prey to the hunter. The Witch-king had learned from recent events. The Avenger reaching into the sack he was carrying meant only one thing. The Witch-king silently dived so as not to alert the Avenger to his imminent demise.

The Witch-king's attack took Rogers by surprise. Captain America dived in the nick of time to avoid being snatched away in the fell-beast's talons. Rogers hit the ground so hard that the napalm case he was carrying slipped out of his hand and began rolling back the way he came. The Witch-king soared back into the air in preparation for another run against him.

The case spilled some of its contents before disappearing into the rubble of the second level's gate. Rogers knew he would have to fight off the orcs as well as the Witch-king if he went to retrieve it. The napalm contained in the case had also been lit. Retrieval was definitely not an option for a number of reasons. Rogers instead resumed sprinting along the main road. He entered the tunnel running through the ship-keel rock just before escaping Witch-king's clutches a second time.

The napalm case exploded. Like with Grond, numerous orcs began burning in agony. But a force of orcs that outnumbered the defenders had long passed the case by the time it detonated. They continued their determined pursuit of Rogers. They did this if only to avoid being consumed from the flames that had temporarily cut them off from the rest of the horde.

As it exited north from the tunnel, the main road was flanked for a short distance by stone buildings some two to three stories high. It was here that the defenders had positioned themselves to meet Mordor's oncoming assault. Many of them still hadn't gotten used to the sound of napalm exploding and shuddered when they heard it a second time.

Gandalf wasn't among these defenders. The column of wounded hobbling towards the Houses of Healing came under attack by three Nazgul a short time ago. Gandalf drove off the Nazgul with a beam of light similar to his rescue of the retreating column from Osgiliath. In a noble gesture, Boromir told Gandalf to escort the wounded the rest of their journey. The hale defenders would have to do as best as they could against the Nine without Gandalf's protection.

Infantry were on the road drawn up in a tight column facing the tunnel. Missile troops were positioned within the upper stories the buildings that flanked the infantry to provide fire support from above. Their position also meant they could fire without having to worry above being snatched from above by a fell-beast. Faramir and the surviving Rangers were placed among the missile troops.

The Rangers had been at the forefront of the second level's defence during the course of the battle. They and their Captain often had to rally other defenders from the Nazgul's fear inducing effects. Their arrows had also been the most problematic to the fell-beasts that ventured into a killing zone. But the Rangers' valour had also drawn the Witch-king's attention. After destroying Minas Tirith's trebuchets, the Witch-king decimated the Rangers after their arrows failed to penetrate his sorcerous shield.

Faramir only caught glimpses of Rogers in action during the battle. The times he did proved the Avenger's actions when rescuing the survivors of Osgiliath was no fluke. Faramir recalled the tales of the great Mannish heroes of the First Age. He wondered if even Beren fought and moved anywhere near like Captain America did. These thoughts were interrupted by the said Avenger's sudden appearance.

"Prepare to engage!" Rogers alerted the defenders as he exited the tunnel.

He veered to his left before leaping and climbing to the top of a two-storey building occupied by archers. Every defender with a bow prepared to release an arrow.

"Avenge our beheaded brothers!" Faramir commanded the Rangers around him.

An onslaught of orcs rushed out of the tunnel. Their front ranks were mown down in a hail of arrows as well as Rogers's flying shield. The infantry utilised the spatial advantage and began driving the orcs back down the tunnel. From his position above, Rogers thought the melee resembled an ugly push and shove contest. Unfortunately, the defence wasn't alone in holding the advantage of position.

The second napalm explosion was of no hindrance to the airborne Nazgul. The attack against the column of wounded was part of the Witch-king's plan to separate Gandalf from the other defenders. This wasn't just to secure a tactical advantage. The White Wizard would be broken in spirit as well as in body. The Witch-king planned to kill Gandalf after making him witness the destruction of the White Tree and slaughter of every other living creature in Minas Tirith. Gandalf would go to his death knowing that all his efforts against Sauron had been for nought and that Middle-earth would be forever covered in darkness.

The infantry's position was too narrow for the fell-beasts to directly reach. The Witch-king had led the other Nazgul back to where the Hosts of Mordor were positioned outside the city. The attackers had used a great amount of catapult stones during the battle. But there were still more than enough for what the Witch-king planned. The Nine commanded their fell-beasts to scoop stockpiled catapult stones with their talons before flying back towards the second level.

Four Nazgul released their payloads down on the Gondorians' heads. The defenders were holding against firm against the orcs. But they had no means of protection from this aerial bombardment. Infantry were directly crushed or from the debris of buildings struck by the falling catapult stones. Many missile troops were buried under the collapsed roofs of the buildings where they had been hidden. Rogers raised his shield above his head when he saw a stone dropping directly down on him. The Witch-king led the other Nazgul in dropping their stones at various points on the main road north of the defenders. The stones they dropped and the building debris they caused cluttered the only line of retreat to the third level. The Witch-king ordered his fellow Nazgul to follow him in reloading for another run.

The Nazgul's bombardment and their fear inducing screams saw the defenders rout towards the third level. Man panicked because of the catapult stones and debris cluttering the road before them. They headed down side streets and back alleys to avoid being caught in the wave of oncoming orcs. There was no means of escape for these defenders from their pursuers. The situation reminded Faramir of the retreat from Osgiliath. Unlike then, there was no place for the defenders of Minas Tirith to fall back to should the city fall.

Boromir was frantically rallying his men by blowing the Horn of Gondor. The Horn's call was for the defenders to follow their Captain-General to the third level. Boromir also hoped Gandalf heard the call. They needed the White Wizard back quickly as possible. The napalm barrier would soon burn out allowing the rest of Mordor's horde would then join the assault on the second level. Once that happened, the broken defence would then be swamped.

The dust eventually settled from the stones dropped on Rogers. He was in a crouching position still holding his shield above his head. The shield had deflected the rubble that fell on him. Rogers waited until the Lord of the Nazgul had vacated the scene before making his move. He lit the final napalm case. However, the napalm needed to explode at just the right moment to properly impede Mordor's assault.

Rogers began sprinting and leaping across rooftops, holding his shield in his right hand and the napalm case in his left. He moved while keeping an eye on events along the main road down to his right. Rogers soon leapt down onto the road, landing in the gap between the fleeing defenders and their pursuers. In the blink of an eye he threw his shield and cut down the first few ranks of the orcs running up the main road. The orcs immediately following these ones halted when Rogers demonstrated to them what he was holding in his left hand. These Orcs remembered what happened the last two times the man in the blue uniform released small metal spheres. They had come to believe he was a magician of sorts who could unleash deadly firestorms upon them. As a result, these orcs fled back down the road colliding with their oncoming brethren. The orcs began to shove and hack in each other in mass confusion.

Rogers had no intention of throwing the napalm at the orcs closest to him. The detonation from the blast would see both attackers and defenders sprayed with burning napalm, including himself. Rogers instead threw the napalm case south as he would a grenade. The napalm exploded close to the tunnel. The van of the orcs that had been retarded by the last napalm attack had just entered the tunnel from the south. They met fiery death and chaos when a large jet of flame squirted through the tunnel. Many orcs north of the tunnel met a similar fate.

The orcs that had initially fled from Rogers had to forcibly stop once more. The attack they thought they were running away from was now blocking their passage south. They looked back up the road and saw Rogers reaching into his hessian sack again. The orcs rushed in panic down various side streets and back alleys to avoid being trapped by napalm fire both front and behind.

Satisfied the orcs had fallen for his bluff of possessing another napalm case; Rogers discarded the sack and ran to the third level's gate. Like it did from the first level to the second, the main road steeped sharply as it got close to the third. Boromir was just outside the gate hurrying fleeing defenders through it. Rogers rushed up to him.

"Where's Faramir?" a deeply concerned Boromir asked the Avenger.

"What do you mean where's Faramir?" a puzzled Rogers responded.

One of the retreating defenders answered this mystery.

"Milord," he reported to Boromir. "Captain Faramir was among a group cut off during our retreat. They're trapped on the promenade!"

"What's that?" Rogers questioned the defender.

"It's enclosed by walls north and south and its front is a hundred foot drop," Boromir quickly explained before declaring, "I'm going to get him!"

Boromir was stunned when Rogers grabbed him by the arm to restrain him from doing this.

"Not an option, Boromir," Rogers used one of Fury's favourite phrases.

"He's my brother, Steve!" Boromir angrily snapped.

An understanding Rogers coolly pointed out; "You're also in charge of the defence. I'll get Faramir while you reorganise things here."

Before Boromir could remonstrate further, a loud series of cheers erupted from behind. Boromir and Rogers turned to see one hundred Tower Guards approaching them. Boromir had ordered the Guard to remain in the Citadel least it suffer an insertion attack by the Nazgul. Unlike those protecting the White Tree, these Guards weren't wearing a black cloak or silken mask. The most surprising thing about these Guards was they were following in the footsteps of Denethor, Beregond and Pippin. Denethor was wearing a fine coat of steel mail that covered his chest and thighs. The Steward commandingly strode up to his son.

"What are you doing here, father?" a confused Boromir asked him.

"I asked Master Peregrin to inform me on all that's transpired," Denethor explained with a beaming Pippin proudly beside him. "After he did so, Captain Beregond and I brought half the Tower Guard to reinforce the defence."

"Are you sure you are well, father?" Boromir tentatively checked Denethor's state of mind.

"Well enough to be of service here!" Denethor snapped in reply. The Steward then quietly complimented and instructed Boromir; "Your leadership today ranks among the greatest shown by any of the Stewards. Continue by giving my men and I something to do."

Boromir proudly took these words as his father speaking to him one man to another. On this basis, Boromir felt couldn't he deny what Denethor was asking even though it could be considered illegal.

"Steve was about to rescue some men trapped on the promenade overlooking the first level," Boromir said jutting his chin in the Avenger's direction. "Faramir's among them."

Both Boromir and Rogers noticed Denethor flinch at this news before turning to speak to Beregond.

"Captain Beregond, you and half the guards will remain here to secure the gate," Denethor resolutely ordered before drawing his sword. "The other half shall accompany Captain Rogers and I as a rescue sortie."

"Stay and help Boromir," Rogers told Pippin before joining Denethor in leading the sortie.

The orcs that had been delayed by Rogers's previous attack and bluff had begun moving back up the main road. After a new explosion never eventuated, they angrily realised the man had played them for fools. They took out their anger by killing any defender that had been cut off from the main road. As they surged towards the third level, they noticed the blue uniformed man among a group of defenders heading straight for them. The orcs were keen to sink their blades and teeth into the man who had been the end of so many of them.

The catapult stones and building rubble that littered the main road from the Nazgul's bombardment provided Rogers with a veritable arsenal to use. Rogers quickly lifted a catapult stone and threw it towards the oncoming orcs. The stone struck the front row of orcs like if it was launched from a siege engine. The stone continued knocking down orcs like skittles. The orcs that had dodged this stone rapidly found a similar one heading towards them. More stones like this began hitting the orcs at a steady rate. Captain America turned the tide of battle along the main road once more. The orcs routed in fear of the man who seemed to have unlimited instruments of death to throw at them.

Rogers, Denethor and the Tower Guards dispatched any orcs caught in their path. The Guards displayed merciless efficiency as they dispatched orcs with a quick stab of their ashen spears. While pushing the attack back, Rogers observed the way Denethor fought. Boromir once told Rogers that the young Denethor was a warrior of no small skill. Rogers wondered how good young Denethor was given age didn't seem to inhibit the Steward in combat now.

The sortie approached the midpoint of the road between the tunnel and the gate to the third level. It was a T-junction with a side street running east. Before the sortie was a Hulk-sized chunk of masonry just north of the junction. The chunk weighed about a ton, blocking the right half of the road. The retreating orcs ran south of the junction. Once they did, the orcs again sought refuge down side streets given napalm fires still blocked their passage through the tunnel. Orc officers began rallying their subordinates with a combination of threats and mockery.

Denethor ordered the rescue sortie to halt at the junction. He pointed down the side street with his sword now completely stained in orc blood.

"That street leads to the promenade," Denethor told Rogers.

Rogers bent his knees and placed his hands under the chunk of masonry. The Avenger carried the chunk before placing it just south of the junction. The chunk still blocked the right half of the road. A number of Tower Guards exchanged disbelieving looks, as Rogers didn't seem the slightest bit strained by the task. The only thing the more unbelievable was the sortie had reached the junction suffering only a handful of casualties.

"Is there any other way they can get passed us?" Rogers checked about the orcs.

Denethor simply shook his head in response.

"I need ten men to help me hold here," Rogers requested of the Steward. "Take the rest and save your son."

Denethor waved his sword forwards and the relevant sortie members began following the street's direction. The Steward had a private conversation with the First Avenger before heading down the street himself.

"I apologise for my earlier discourtesy towards you," Denethor in reference to when their paths first crossed. "Boromir was right to have spoken so highly of Captain America."

"Thanks, sir," Rogers replied. "And after seeing you in action, I won't be insulted the next time someone calls me spry for an older fellow."

Denethor and Rogers went their separate ways at the latter's words. Rogers stood between two guards to block the left half of the road as rallied orcs began charging towards them. Denethor led the other Guards heading towards the promenade. Both men had separate thoughts before engaging the enemy. In holding a narrow pass, Rogers mused that a group of Spartan warriors would be handy right now. Denethor was puzzled as to how anyone could consider Rogers old.

---

Faramir and a handful of defenders were literally fighting with their backs to the wall. They were engaged in desperate hand to hand fighting with a multitude of orcs. The high wall that marked the north boundary of the promenade stood a few yards directly behind the defenders. The drop off to the first level was an even shorter distance to the defenders' left. There was nowhere they could escape to.

Faramir and the Rangers that survived the Nazgul bombardment joined the defenders' mad scramble to the third level. But they and other defenders were corralled down the junction's side street by orcs to their front and rear. The orcs had pushed them inch by inch towards the promenade. A trail of dead from both sides lined the street in the conflict's wake.

Faramir and the other defenders wanted to at least kill as many orcs as possible before their numbers overwhelmed them. They were surprised then to hear death cries coming from the rearmost orcs. Those orcs were the first Denethor's group had begun commenced attacking. The orcs now realised they were the ones who were trapped on the promenade. A short and bloody melee ensued between the combatants. Faramir and surviving defenders welcomed the opportunity to go on the attack again. Nearly every orc between them and Denethor's force was killed either by blade or spear point. A handful of orcs panicked and jumped down the drop off their doom. The Gondorians suffered a high cost nonetheless. Just over half of Denethor's original force was still alive at the end of this engagement.

Faramir was stunned to see his father had led the reinforcements. He cautiously began approached to within a few steps of Denethor.

"Father," Faramir warily began.

Faramir abruptly halted at the cold look his father gave him in reply. He expected Denethor was about to lecture him in the same manner he did at Osgiliath a few months ago.

"You've indeed proven your quality, Faramir, Captain of Gondor," Denethor told him with the softest smile of approval.

Faramir struggled to contain the grin of pride and relief threatening to burst across his face - his father did love him after all! Faramir didn't get the chance to reply to his father's compliment.

The defenders on the promenade were unaware they were being watched from the skies above. The Witch-king heard the third napalm explosion when the Nazgul were gathering catapult stones for their second bombardment. The Avenger taking part in the defence had to be dealt with immediately. The Witch-king ordered the other Nazgul to fly in a holding pattern while he conducted an aerial reconnaissance of the second level. The darkness covering Minas Tirith was reducing as dawn's first light struggled to break through Sauron's fume.

The Witch-king observed the Avenger was leading a small number of defenders blocking the main road. The Avenger repeatedly threw his shield to cut down oncoming orcs while the defenders next to him stabbed any that reached their line. No orcs were trying to climb over the masonry protecting the defenders' right flank. The Witch-king felt his contempt for the general intelligence of orcs was justified at witnessing this.

The Avenger's position was too confined a space for the Witch-king's fell-beast to come to grips with him. It was then the Witch-king noticed the situation on the promenade. He telepathically commanded the Nazgul to commence his planned attack.

The defenders now standing on the promenade were subjected to a bombardment of catapult stones. Their numbers quickly thinned after a number of them were killed after being struck from above. The stones also knocked other defenders over the edge of the drop off. A smaller stone struck the right side of Faramir's head causing him to fall backwards to the ground while barely conscious. Denethor flinched at the sight of this because it bought back memories of when he struck Faramir a few days ago. Before he could check on Faramir's welfare, Denethor and those defenders still standing were suddenly paralysed by a loud Nazgul scream.

The Witch-king landed his fell-beast in front of the promenade's north wall. Those defenders killed during the bombardment were the fortunate ones. Despite the unnatural fear they felt in their hearts, the defenders that hadn't been incapacitated bravely put themselves between the Steward and the Witch-king.

Rogers correctly deduced the Witch-king's scream came from the promenade after hearing it. Just moments ago he'd privately compared his situation to that of the Spartans that helped defend Thermopylae. The Witch-king's current threat had to be met or the rescue sortie would likely share the same fate as Leonidas and his men.

"Take over from me!" Rogers ordered some defenders behind him. After a Tower Guard quickly took his place on the front line, Rogers encouraged them, "I know you'll hold until I get back."

Rogers began running down the side street. The Nazgul then bombarded the junction defenders. These defenders were immediately killed when they were buried under a shower of catapult stones. However, the orcs' passage through the junction was now completely blocked due to the large amounts of stone debris on the road from buildings struck by the bombardment. The Witch-king expected this blockage to occur but wasn't worried about it. The attackers would be able to start clearing the blockage within the next few minutes. He turned his dread attention to the defenders protecting Denethor.

"Fools!" the Witch-king mocked them. "Do you not know death when you see it?"

The Witch-king raised his sword skywards and flames danced upon its edges. There was a short, high-pitched whistle after which the defenders' armour immediately shattered. The back of a shattered breastplate struck Denethor, flinging him backward to the ground. The Steward could only watch in horror as he witnessed the men trying to protect him instantly burst into flames. Such defenders were dead within seconds.

The Witch-king's plans for Gandalf were a reflection of a broader strategy of Sauron's. Sauron wanted to eliminate as many leaders of the Free Peoples as possible in this battle. But he didn't want to make martyrs out of them either. If their leaders died heroically defending them, there was the slightest risk it might inspire the Free Peoples to fight on. Their leaders had to die in a manner that would forever break the Free Peoples' spirits once they were under Mordor's dominion. Sauron had learned what Denethor most feared and instructed the Witch-king how to use it.

"Gondor's end is near and your line will soon be spent," the Witch-king taunted Denethor. "My hour has come!"

The Witch-king suddenly felt a sharp blow to his head. He looked in the direction the blow had come from. The Witch-king was pleased his plan to coax the Avenger to come to him had worked.

After his shield had returned to him, Rogers coolly told the Witch-king, "Denethor's not the one who's out of time."

"Do not come between the Nazgul and his prey, Avenger," the Witch-king dismissed Rogers's threat.

"There's nothing standing between us now," Rogers defiantly met the Witch-king's challenge.

Rogers didn't lightly dismiss Gandalf's earlier advice about confronting the Witch-king. But nor did Rogers lightly take the oath he'd sworn to Boromir. The respective oaths of enlistment for the US and Gondor both had one important thing in common as far as Rogers was concerned. They implicitly required him to value the respective defence of their nation and people more than his own life. Rogers considered his promise to Erskine to always remain a good man the most solemn vow he'd ever made. Good men always strived to keep their word no matter the personal cost.

"You pitiful wretch!" the Witch-king scorned Rogers. "You believe your fate is simply to die at my hands?"

The Witch-king pointed his sword at Rogers and attacked him with the same sorcery he used to defeat the defenders above the Great Gate. Rogers raised his shield in a flash as soon as he felt an unseen force pushing against his chest. Rogers had privately speculated what it would feel like if the Other Guy ever pushed against his shield. With a touch of bitter humour, Rogers thought the Witch-king's attack provided a pretty good indication.

Sauron's definition of the Free Peoples 'leaders' included the Avengers. Sauron rated Captain America's leadership skills as great a threat to him as Thor's ability to summon lightning and Hulk's exponential level of strength. The trio would be made to pay for impudently meddling in a world that wasn't their own. The Witch-king announced the doom Sauron had planned for Captain America.

"I shall bear thee to the Houses of Lamentation deep within Mordor," he imperiously told Rogers. "Forever, beyond all darkness, shall your flesh be devoured and your shrivelled mind left naked before the Lidless Eye!"

"Not today!" Rogers strained through gritted teeth while trying keep his shield aloft.

His Super-Soldier enhanced strength and courage were working overtime to prevent him being overwhelmed by the Witch-king's sorcery. The Witch-king urged his fell-beast forward while continuing to point his sword at Avenger. This was to increase the resistance Rogers was pushing against. In a few moments, Captain America would be crippled on his back allowing the Witch-king carry him Mordor as instructed. The Hosts of Mordor would soon be in a position to take the White City without requiring their Supreme Commander to be present.

The Witch-king had been so fixated on Rogers that he'd completely forgotten about Denethor. The Steward felt very afraid for a number of reasons. One being that even Captain America didn't appear, literally, to be able to stand against the Witch-king's power. Denethor noted that Faramir's still form lay in the Witch-king's current path. The only thing that scared Denethor more than any Nazgul induced fear was the loss of his youngest son. Especially because there was so much he still needed to make up to Faramir. Denethor pushed himself off the ground and charged the Witch-king's fell beast from side on.

"You'll not take my son from me!" Denethor screamed as he plunged his blade into the fell-beast's right talon.

The fell-beast released a pained cry as it stopped just before stepping on Faramir. It reflexively slashed down Denethor's chest with the very talon the Steward stabbed. Denethor released a pained cry of his own as he fell backwards.

Denethor's attack had also disrupted the Witch-king's attack on Rogers. The concentration the Witch-king needed to maintain his sorcery was broken by his mount's violent wobbling. After feeling there was no longer any force pushing against him, Rogers threw his shield at the fell-beast's still raised talon. The shield cut off the talon. The fell-beast's grating screams indicated its pain as it hobbled to stay upright.

The Witch-king's burning desire for vengeance was quickly curtailed. Gandalf and Pippin suddenly arrived on the scene mounted on Shadowfax. At the same time, the sound of a multitude of horns blowing came from the north. Even with his enhanced power, the Witch-king thought it too risky to simultaneously fight both the White Wizard and the Avenger. Particularly given the wound to his mount. He rationalised the pair could be dealt with later seeing they had no means of escape from Minas Tirith. Besides, a potentially even greater prize now beckoned.

"The world of Men will fall," the Witch-king coldly boasted to the Fellowship before taking to the skies again.

Pippin hopped down from Shadowfax and joined Rogers to check on both Denethor and Faramir. During the pause between Gandalf's arrival and the Witch-king's departure, Denethor managed to struggle onto his stomach and pulled himself over to Faramir. Denethor left a thick trail of blood along the ground in his wake. Faramir briefly stirred to see Denethor's face close above him.

"I'm so proud of you, my son," Denethor said before his head softly came to rest on Faramir's chest. Both father and son then closed their eyes.

Rogers turned Denethor over and saw the fell-beast had cut a deep wound from his neck to abdomen. Rogers simply looked at Gandalf and grimly shook his head.

"So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion," Gandalf softly observed with a voice tinged with genuine sadness.

Like he did with Saruman, Gandalf remembered the person Denethor was in earlier times. But unlike Saruman, Denethor rediscovered personal strength and nobility before meeting his end. He died fighting for what was good in a manner worthy of a Steward. Most importantly, before death took him, Denethor seemed to have reconciled himself with Faramir somehow.

Pippin had rushed to Faramir's side before touching his brow. The Took's eyes widened upon seeing Faramir slightly stir at his touch.

"Faramir's alive!" Pippin exclaimed with worry and relief. "He needs medicine, Gandalf!"

"Hurry, Steve," Gandalf urged Rogers. "Attack Trolls will soon begin clearing the road."

Rogers carried Faramir in his arms before placing him in front of the wizard. Gandalf wrapped his left arm around Faramir's waist to keep him seated. At a command from Gandalf, Shadowfax began galloping back to the Houses of Healing. Rogers was following just behind while carrying Pippin on his waist. The defenders closed the gate to the third level after the Fellowship and Faramir had passed through it. Rogers halted and gently put Pippin down as Shadowfax continued towards the sixth level. A confused and worried Boromir rapidly walked up to Rogers.

"What happened?" Boromir asked in a voice that matched the expression on his face.

"Faramir's badly hurt." Rogers reported before offering in reassurance, "But I don't think it's fatal."

Boromir knew the probable answer to his next question. But he still held the tinniest hope he could be wrong.

"And my father?" Boromir asked in a voice laced with dread.

Rogers wondered if his own voice sounded the same at Helm's Deep when he asked why Aragorn was missing. He also remembered overhearing Gimli's answer to Eowyn to that question.

"I'm sorry, Boromir," Rogers quietly sympathised. "He fell."

Boromir still reeled from this revelation despite expecting to hear it. Rogers put a supportive hand on a shaken Boromir's shoulder.

"Beregond and I can take over if you need a few minutes alone," Rogers offered his friend.

Boromir took in a deep breath to steady himself before exhaling it.

"No thanks, Steve." Boromir reassured him with slightly misty eyes. "I can mourn for my father later. I know what he'd want me focusing on right now."

Rogers nodded in understanding before asking, "What were those horns a few minutes ago? I know it wasn't yours."

"You can see for yourself," Boromir answered while pointing at a trebuchet placement facing north.

Boromir led Rogers on to the placement that had been stripped of its weapon by the Witch-king.

"It's not the same as one of your armoured divisions, Steve," the Captain of White Tower wearily described the source of the horns. "But it's welcome sight of cavalry nonetheless."

A new day had arrived bringing with it Rohan and the God of Thunder.

---

While this crossover is about superheroes in a fantastical word, I've tried to make the battles in it as 'real' as possible. I include in the battles factors like time, fatigue, ammunition, training, position, weather, morale etc. Cap would have to take into account the personnel and materials available to him in designing a rudimentary air defence in less than four days.

I suspect some readers were expecting a more spectacular air defence for Minas Tirith than smokescreens. I've read on different forums some people suggesting the fell-beasts could be shot down with ballista. This ignores the fact such weapons (at least the medieval kind) weren't designed to bring down fast moving airborne objects. I settled on smokescreens given Gondor's level of technology is broadly similar to that of high- or late- Medieval Europe. Indeed, the Mongols used thatch-fire smokescreens against their enemies on medieval battlefields.

In the book version of the Siege of Gondor, the Nine mostly stayed out of bowshot. Their role was limited to inducing fear among the defenders. I've followed a similar pattern in this chapter given Sauron's earlier machinations with the Nine's power.

The illegality that Boromir was referring to was the law that Steward not enters battle.

A lot of this chapter's dialogue is drawn both the book and movies. Especially for dialogue that involves the Witch-king. I also prefer the question of whether the Witch-king could best Gandalf to remain unresolved as per the book.

[RD: A much stronger defence of Minas Tirith mounted in this story than in canon. This was common sense to me. Both because of Boromir, Faramir and Cap's presence as well as the defence having time to prepare.

The greatest challenge was speculating how each side would respond to the other's tactics in the situation. Not unlike chess – something this chapter's title alludes to.]