Disclaimer: I own all my OCs. The rest belong to either Tolkien or Bethesda.
A/N: Well, a Happy New Year to you all, and a gift chapter where half of the Fellowship is reunited. Yay :)
Big thanks to: cmre, Wolfy553, AnimeMangaLover35 and greatorian for favouriting/following.
Review Response(s):
Mac Gustah: Haha, actually the Star Wars reference was Ira's brief use of the Force in her strange, mind-controlled moment. And the Avengers thing was about Alduin being a 'mindless beast' - it's what Loki says about Bruce Banner. Anyways...
jsun25: That is so true, and yet when I read that for the first time I was also quite creeped out by it... Not sure why.
Pietersielie: I'm glad you think so :D
gabiey: Thanks ^_^
Chapter 37:
The darkness clawed at both sides of the skirmish as uruks tried to climb the battlements of Helm's Deep, and the men tried desperately to keep them at bay. Gimli stood alone on top of the wall, swinging with wild precision at the oncoming enemy, by some miracle having not been hit by an arrow yet.
Legolas kept swapping between his bow and his daggers, sometimes having to withdraw completely from the fight in order to refill his quiver with arrows. Several times now had he needed to replenish his stock, and the battle seemed to be going ill for the free men of Rohan.
Ghardaz' injured leg was proving a large hindrance, as he had taken many blows due to his inability to dodge in time. Still, he remained standing, his berserker rage helping to lessen the effect of his enemies' attacks.
"How much longer must we go on?" Legolas called out, ducking a stray attack before using his dagger to slice through the stomach of the attacking uruk.
"Their numbers fall quickly," Ghardaz replied, swinging both axes at once and decapitating two opponents simultaneously.
"Not quickly enough, I fear," Legolas muttered, only for a shout to draw his attention.
"Legolas, shoot him! Kill him!" Legolas looked down below, where a single orc was approaching the stone wall with a lit torch that sparked pink and orange and yellow, fizzing with magic. Trusting Ghardaz and Gimli to guard his back, Legolas drew an arrow and fired, however the uruk managed to avoid the worst of the blow, stumbling only a little from the heavy impact. Legolas was just reaching for his second arrow when a loud roar shook the ground, followed closely by another, one which resonated far deeper in pitch.
All over the battlefield, uruk, man and elf alike stood still, confused at the sudden and unexpected noise. Out of the blackness came a burst of fire, which arced over the fortress and hit the uruk-hai army, incinerating many in one blast of heat. The uruk holding the lit torch was one of those hit, the torch being destroyed in the process. Legolas looked up to see two shadowed forms, each with large wings and a lethally sharp tail flying above their heads, before two more large jets of flames escaped their mouths, decimating even more of their enemies.
"I do not believe the sight before me," Legolas heard an older man mutter by his side. "Dragons!"
"Prepare to fire," Theoden ordered loudly over the cries of the two armies.
"No!" Aragorn and Legolas both called out together, racing towards the King who stared at them as if they had gone insane.
"Those dragons are on our side!" Aragorn said, looking up at the sky just as the larger of the two dragons dove towards the ground and used its sharp claws to knock over a large group of uruks, who were now crying out in fear.
"They have yet to attack us, it is true, but we cannot run the risk of them turning against us," Theoden snapped.
Legolas shook his head. "It is not that, my lord," he said. "Those dragons are members of our Fellowship. Or were, before they disappeared to complete their own task."
"It would appear they succeeded," Aragorn commented idly as he watched the two dragons weave around in the air, sometimes pouring fire and ice from their maws, sometimes using their claws and tails to take out large numbers of uruks.
It took only a minute before the uruks started to flee. The smaller of the dragons turned and focused on those furthest from the fortress, while the large remained, sending attack after attack at the bulk of the uruk-hai army.
Gimli and Ghardaz both appeared then, the former acting as a support for the latter, whose leg was leaking blood.
"It would appear those two have found themselves again," Gimli said, just as both dragons dove to the ground simultaneously and flew low enough that their bodies and wings sliced at the uruks, cutting down countless orcs in seconds.
Theoden whirled on Aragorn, eyes ablaze. "Elves I can understand. Dwarves too. But dragons? What magic are you using to bring so many to your side?"
"They are not full-blooded dragons," Aragorn said calmly. "They are shifters; able to change between dragon and man. They set off with us from Rivendell and ventured through Moria and into Lothlórien in our company. It was there we went our separate ways, and they headed North to the mountains of Dain Ironfoot."
"And yet here they are," Theoden stated, apparently choosing not to believe Aragorn's story. "Why go North at all if their intention was only to come back South?"
"Their Gods were falling to a creature of evil," Legolas supplied with ice in his voice. Theoden's sudden lack of faith in them caused ire to grow in his heart. "They sought out this creature with the desire to destroy him and in turn save their Gods. In doing so their own abilities returned, for they have each been unable to shift for the last fifteen years."
"They may have had other things to do," Aragorn continued, "but their loyalties still lie with the Fellowship. They told us of their intentions to return to us once they had completed their task."
Theoden was apparently still suspicious and dubious, but a sudden crash that vibrated through the earth itself drew his eyes away towards the battlefield. Legolas turned also, and saw that the uruks were all destroyed, either burnt corpses or bloodied limbs or simply piles of ash, but all of them lay dead. Amongst them all were the dragons, who looked alike in the darkness of the night.
A silence fell over the valley, one that seemed to fill every crack and crevice in the rocks and stone all around them, and yet at the same time seemed so empty of everything. The dragons were still, their eyes on the fortress.
Gimli growled. "Open the gate," he instructed loudly, "I'm going out to meet them!"
And his orders were followed. With a groan the great doors of Helm's Deep opened, and out stomped the dwarf. Ghardaz, Aragorn (who picked up a flaming torch as he passed it) and Legolas followed swiftly after, each eager to reunite with their friends and to share the stories of their successes and failures.
Nothing but the heavy breathing of the beasts could be heard from them as four of the original twelve from Rivendell stood in front of the dragons.
Aragorn was first to speak. "You have returned far sooner than expected."
The smaller of the two dragons spoke, revealing herself to be Ira. "We were somewhat pressed for time."
"I see you were successful either way," the Ranger said, eyes crinkling as he smiled at them. "Welcome back."
Alduin growled. "Where is everyone else?"
"We split not long after we left the Golden Wood," Legolas informed them. "We met a pack of orcs from Isengard by the Falls of Rauros, and everything fell apart from there. Boromir fell in the skirmish, and Merry and Pippin were taken by the orcs, for what purpose we are still unsure, though we fear that Saruman knows a hobbit bears the Ring. Frodo and Sam continued on alone, and the rest of us went after the halflings."
"And Eleniel?" Ira growled, a dangerous tone to her voice.
"She is alive," Legolas assured her. "She is with the Rohirrim, not far from here."
Gimli huffed. "And that blasted wizard, no doubt."
Both dragons drew back a little in their surprise. "Gandalf lives?" Alduin queried in disbelief. "How?"
"He himself seems to believe it is because he still has a purpose on Middle Earth," Aragorn stated. "He died, as we all thought, but he was brought back."
Ira huffed. "He has an uncanny ability to disappear and reappear when it is least expected of him."
"Much like yourselves," Ghardaz stated. "Your help was timely, to the say the least."
Ira grinned, showing teeth that glinted in the light of Aragorn's torch. "You're welcome." And with those words her body shrunk down, her scales shifting to form her armour, and the brown haired, blue eyed woman they knew best stood before them. She smiled and then embraced them all in turn. She paused in front of Aragorn, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. "You are accepting your title," she said, eyes gleaming with pride. "You have accepted the mantel of leadership, and as a result your heart is beginning to accept who you are." She patted his shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Estel."
Aragorn smiled. "Thank you, although I am not sure I am ready for quite a role to be placed on my shoulders quite yet."
Ira snorted. "It's been on your shoulders your whole life, you've just suddenly taken notice of it." She turned back to Alduin. "Look, I know you like the body but it's antisocial. Shift and we'll meet these men of Rohan."
Alduin gave her a look that could only be described as stony, but he shifted as told. Legolas didn't fail to notice Aragorn's raised eyebrow. The two shared a look, and they silently agreed that something had changed between the two of them, even if only something minor.
"You must tell us your tale," Legolas said as they began to head back towards Helm's Deep, where the army of men were still watching them. Mostly likely with expressions of severe disbelief on their faces.
"We will," Ira promised, "but first I want a bath, something to eat, and a tankard of ale."
"I think that's something we all desire," Gimli said with a laugh. "Unfortunately I suspect the first priority will the clearing the battlefield of corpses."
Ira shrugged. "That seems easy enough."
"Without burning the rest of the valley," Aragorn said quickly. "We will pile them up and burn them then, as is usual. I think these men have seen enough dragon fire for now."
Ira pouted, but then her expression brightened when Gimli asked about the whereabouts of Dwin. "He's with his wife and son in Erebor," she answered. "Fili has made him his personal guard."
"That should keep him out of trouble for a while," Alduin grumbled good-naturedly, and Ira laughed.
"Don't count on it," she said. "You know what he's like once his duties are done for the day - straight to a tavern for a pint or ten."
"He'd better be on the lookout for angry wives, then," Alduin retorted with a grin, and the two shared a laugh while the rest looked on in confusion.
Ira waved them off. "I'll tell you later," she promised. "Right now, I think it's time we met the esteemed King of Rohan. I hear he's something to behold."
"Don't tell him that," Gimli grumbled. "He was convinced that the two of you deserved arrows in your throat."
"Wouldn't anyone?" Alduin challenged. "Dragons don't tend to pick sides, and instead work only to further their own goals and desires."
"True, but he remained against you even after we assured him of your allegiances."
Ira shrugged. "Not then end of the world - I find humans have a natural distrust of us anyway, even in our human bodies. It's as if their subconscious mind knows we're dangerous."
Gimli shook his head and started grumbling under his breath in khuzdul, but eventually let the subject drop. The party of six entered the fortress together, looking rather strange with their different heights and armours, but at the same time they looked like the tightly knit group of friends that they were. And when they approached the King of Rohan, it was as if the entire world had fallen silent to hear the words about to be exchanged.
Minor cliff-hanger type thing...
Yeah...
Until next time! :)