Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Batman and the Gotham Knights. I also don't own anything related to Lord of the Rings. They are the total and complete property of DC Comics and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Author's Note: I know I know I'm a horrible writer for keeping you all waiting so long! But I do have several excuses, which I hope you understand. First off writers block. That stuff is a pain in the bum and frankly the biggest inhibition. Next school. I'm going into my senior year of college, which means uber-work, which takes away a LOT of my time. Next working, because the money for school, food and clothing doesn't come from THIS (another hint for people not to sue me). And finally I was in the hospital the last couple of weeks due to an issue with a hole in my lung, which I'd rather not go into. But after all the waiting HERE IT GOES! (And if there are typos, forgive me, but I'm doing this best I can in-between big homework projects so please don't tell me what I already know in your lovely reviews (hint, hint, wink, wink, REVIEW ME!)

Chapter 35
Taking the Plunge

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Éowyn and Éomer gave a collective wince as their Théoden's shout erupted through the king's tent. It was not as if they hadn't expected this reaction, although they had both hoped that it would have been a few audio actives lower. Still, never backed down, even as the King paced back and forth furiously, muttering inaudible comments under his breath and at times casting both of them furious looks.

"But uncle—" Éowyn began, hoping to say her piece, but she was cut off as Théoden spun around to face her.

"NO! I forbid this! Do you hear me?" he snarled with his eyes ablaze like those of a Balrog's. "I expect this sort of wild ideas from you Éowyn, but you Éomer?" His gaze turned menacingly at his nephew. "What has come over you? Surely you cannot be serious in this request!"

Éomer lifted his head up, defiantly. "I am," he replied in an even tone. He never wished to receive such anger from the man whom he looked to as a second father. It tore at his heart, but he would not fail his sister. "I have seen Éowyn skill with a blade and I have discovered her to be my equal. And thus I support her petition to ride to war with us, my lord."

"Well I do NOT!" Théoden growled. "She is not suited for war!"

Éowyn stared coldly at her uncle, for he had no idea how much his words hurt her. Yet she showed him no sign of weakness. "What duties would you ask of me?" she asked in a cool and collect tone of voice. Théoden turned slowly to his niece, and if only for a moment his face softened.

"I would ask that you take up my seat in the Golden Hall," he told her. "That you long defend Edoras, should the battle go ill."

"Forgive my bluntness Uncle, but should the battle go ill, and we perish, how long do you think it will be before Sauron turns his eye upon our land yet again?" Éomer asked the King in a rarely heard exasperated tone. He knew that he himself could be rather dim, but he expected Théoden to be a bit quicker on the uptake. "What kingdom will she have to defend when the armies of Mordor slaughter our people and ravage the Golden Hall?"

"You would send your own sister and be murdered by the fowl beast of Mordor?"

"Would that I had the power to confirm her safety, of course not. I understand your wishes to protect Éowyn. I truly do. But there was no protecting her. There is no place safe haven left in Middle-Earth," Éomer shot back fervently. "I do not wish to see my sister fall in battle, but…" He paused, and couldn't believe he was actually going to say this. "I have seen Éowyn fight, Uncle. And only a fool would turn her skills away."

Théoden turned back to Éowyn with his coldest glare and for once in his life Éomer thought his uncle would strike him. But it seemed that the King thought better of it and finally gave a near animalistic growl from deep in his throat. "Do as you wish. I care not."

Choosing not to acknowledge the hurt expressions on Éowyn and Éomer's face, he turned and stalked out of the tent. Éomer turned his head down and took a deep pained breath, while Éowyn took a deep breath, and raised he own blonde hairs head high, though she could not fight the single tear and rolled down her delicate face.

THE PATH OF THE DEAD

Aragorn gave a small intake of breath as Brego moved steadily down the darkened stone path. His head bade furiously that he go back. Reminding him that the old prophecy and the old curse might not hold true for him. He knew that should they fail, they would have just signed Rohan, Gondor and all of Middle-Earth's execution papers. But his heart drove him on, for he knew deep down there was no other choice given. He could only hope that he had the strength to do what needed to be done.

Thankfully he was not alone.

Legolas let his eyes wander over his surrounding, feeling his body tensing. Something was off, and he could feel it deep in his bones. But what truly made him uneasy was that it was not due to the impending danger that they rode towards. No, it was something else. Not a fowl evil, but something that he could not yet understand. Still, he did his best to push these feelings out of his mind as they rode on.

Gimli, who had been growing more and more tense by the moment, let out a low growl from behind Legolas. "What kind of army would linger in such a place?" he asked darkly. He could hear the twins mutter something to one another, no doubt some jibe about his bravery or another joke about how he rode on the horse of an elf. He held back the urge to throw his axe at them. Again.

"One that is cursed," Legolas answered the dwarf's query, ignoring the behavior of his elfin kin. "Long ago, the Men of the Mountain swore and oath to the last King of Gondor to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge." The elf prince paused a moment before retelling the words once spoken by Malbeth, the Seer in the days o the Arvedui, last kind of Fornost:

'Over the land there lies a shadow,
westward reaching wings of darkness.
The Tower trembles; to the tomb of kings,
doom approaches. The Dead awaken;
for the hour is come for the oath breakers:
at the Stone of Erech they shall stand again
and hear there a horn in the hills ringing.
Whose shall the horn be? Who shall call them
from the gray twilight, the forgotten people?
The heir of him to whom the oath they swore.
From the North shall he come, need shall drive him:
he shall pass the Door to the Path of the Dead.'

"Oh and what a lovely tale that is…" Gimli muttered under her breath. "Add in a few explosions and it sound like ye got one of them Tee-Vee things that Robin was talking about… Remind me again, why we agreed to come here?"

But no answer came from his companion. Aragon, Legolas and even the twins had sudden fallen quiet and their bodies were tensed, posed for some unseen evil. They could sense it. Something was close. A great and terrible power that would hold could very well tilt the course of the battle against Sauron.

DUNHARROW, ROHAN

Laying back on his bedroll with his hands supporting his head, Tim stared up at the top of his tent with a pensive expression. He had spent the better part of the last two hours trying to will himself to sleep, but he found it to be an impossible task. Such had always been the case for Robin though on the eve of battle. Even if he wasn't leading the charge, his mind could not seem to shut itself off. Instead he kept running different scenarios that could possibly occur trying to analyze an enemy with an army of little experience.

If they failed tomorrow, that would mean the end. Minas Tirith was the greatest city of men in Middle Earth and if Sauron destroyed that, the one last real bastion of hope, what chance did the rest of this world have. What chance did his world have?

Closing his eyes again, Tim tried to push the thoughts out of his head and made yet another attempt at willing himself to sleep, but still not getting anywhere. Giving a deep sigh, he was about ready to sit up again when he felt something soft and delicate brushing up against his lips and a sudden weight on top of his legs. Slowly Tim opened his eyelids again, and found he was looking up into a pair of very beautiful and very familiar eyes. He wasn't exactly surprised to find she had snuck in, without making a sound and had managed to comfortably straddle his body without him taking one bit of notice. She was after all, trained by the best.

"I was sleeping you know," he said with a mock glare.

"Liar," Cassandra replied with impish smile. "You were trying to sleep. You were… failing… m-miserably."

Tim smiled weakly and reaching up tucked a strand of Cassie's hair back behind her ear so he could better see her face in the soft lamp light. "Can't get anything past you, can I?" he asked.

Beaming Cassandra smiled and leaning down again kissed his lips lightly. "Nope." As she sat up again, she tilted her head to one side and frowned a bit. "You are… worried?"

Tim frowned, knowing that it would do little good lying to her. Batgirl was a human lie detector when she wanted to be. "Yeah, a little bit," he answered as he propped himself up on his elbows. Cassandra, who appeared very comfortable where she sat, made no movement to climb off of him and instead continued to look down at him, waiting for him to explain further.

"Why?" Cassandra asked, tilting her head sideways with a frown. "You've… fought before. You've been in war. Oracle told me—"

"It's not just that," Tim cut her off. "I mean, yeah this isn't going to be the first war I've fought in. But this is also really different from the Impereiex War, Cassie. These people, they aren't super-heroes and metahumans, they're boys and farmers and old men. After everything that happened at Helm's Deep… I don't know if they're ready for something like this. If the reports are true, then Sauron is sending everything he's got at Minas Tirith."

"We will… be okay," Cassandra said, smiling softly. "They've got Dynamic Duo, right?" Cass looked imploringly at Tim, hoping for a smile, but when he didn't give her one, she furrowed her brows again. "You said… 'It's not just that'."

"Its nothing."

"Don't lie to me Tim, or I hit you again." Batgirl raised her fist up and Tim immediately raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay!"

"Now, what else is it?"

Tuning his eyes away, Tim bit his lip taking a moment to ponder his reply. "Its just… I never got to tell my dad about… you know… this." He pointed to the mask lying on the floor besides him. "The whole Robin thing. He didn't know anything about any of it."

"But you couldn't."

"Yeah, I had to protect the secret. I know, but that doesn't change… I just kept lying to him about where I went and how I got those injuries because I had to protect him. We fought so many times. Something… I think he believed that I hated him, because of what happened to my mom, you know? He thought I would disappeared and turned to Bruce, because I blamed him for what the Obeah Man did to her."

Tim took a deep breath and looked away but Cassandra could see he was nearing tears. The whole concept of father's was an odd subject for her, considering the relationship she had with her own father. But she knew that Tim loved his dad dearly. Despite the lonely and neglected childhood that Tim had told her about, it seemed he could never let his love for his either of parents dim in the slightest. "I never told him the truth, and if I… If I die tomorrow, he'll never know. We both know Bruce probably won't tell him what happened to me. I mean the secret has to be kept and if he tells my father… But that means Dad is going to spend the rest of his life thinking that I…" Tim's voice trailed off and he took a deep breath.

Cassandra sat there on top of Tim's legs and listened and let him vent and tried to think of a way she could tell him that everything was going to be ok. But she couldn't think of anything to say that would help and she knew that even if she could think of something to say she wouldn't be able to put it eloquently enough to fix help Tim ease his mind. So instead she just sat there and listened.

"I'm sorry Cass," Tim said softly, running a hand through his unusually long black hair. "I know I shouldn't be worrying about my own problems. Tomorrow we're going to fight a war and—" But Cassandra didn't allow him to finish. Instead she placed both hands on either side of his head and leaning in pressed her lips firmly against his. It was a soft kiss that took him completely by surprise and thus it took him a few moments before returning it.

She broke the kiss and pulled away, but when she did so something about that didn't feel right. And judging from the expression on Tim's face he felt the same way, so she moved forward and she kissed him again. And he returned it only this time it was deeper. He wrapped his arms around her waist while she placed her arms around his neck. Their kiss soon went from the soft tender caressing of lips to deep and filled with fiery passion. Cassandra's mouth opened, allowing entrance to Tim's tongue, who began running his hands through her hair. Cassandra's hand slowly snaked down Tim's chest until she had gotten a grip on the cords holding his tunic closed and giving the cord a small pull the shirt opened up some. This action caused him to stop kissing her and he sat up to look at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Cassandra, what are—?"

"Shh…" Cassandra said softly, pressed her finger to Tim's lips. "No talking." And before Tim could react, she had leaned down to kiss him deeply on the lips again. Tim seemed to relax and began returning the kiss, until he felt her reach down and gripped his tunic, intent on pulling it off. Tim's hand shot out and gripped her hands in a firm but at the same time gentle manner. Cassandra paused and looked at him quizzically, as if not understanding why he had stopped.

"Cassandra," Tim began again, his voice sounding more like Robin rather than Tim Drake. "What are you doing?"

"I… trying to take off your shirt, silly," Cassandra said with a small giggle that died when she noticed the odd expression on Tim's face.

"I can see that, but WHY are you trying to take off my shirt?" he asked before shaking his head. "Where is this coming from?"

This question apparently threw her for a loop, judging from the confused and rather hurt expression on her face. She began to climb off of Tim and sat with her legs curled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around them. "What do… you mean? You… want this. You want… me. I can see it. You're body … it says… Don't you want to?"

"Yes… I mean no, I mean—" Tim's face turned flushed a shade of crimson and he sat up a little straighter. He was suddenly having a flashback to a similar conversation back when his ex-girlfriend Ariana had approached him wearing nothing but a scantily teddy. The two of them had both only been fifteen at the time, and despite their deep feelings for one another, Tim hadn't felt ready for such a step. And deep down, he knew that his feelings for Ariana were not strong enough for that.

"Isn't this is what people… in love do?" Cass interrupted looking confused and suddenly a great deal smaller than normal.

Tim stared at her, his normal stony, no-nonsense expression now one of great concern. "Yes, it is," Tim, said tentatively "When they are ready. And I don't think you are."

"I AM ready," Cassandra said firmly and of all things pouting a bit. It reminded Tim somewhat of when Cass had temporarily 'lost' her skills and Batman had told her she couldn't be Batgirl until she got them back.

"Are you really? Ever since the thing with the seeing stone, you've been acting different. It's been subtle, but I can tell. For example, since when have you been THIS physical with me outside of a sparring session?"

"I love you," she explained as if she were speaking to a slow child. "Isn't that… reason… enough?"

It became clear that the more emotionally uneasy this became, the more difficult Cassandra had forming proper sentences. Tim didn't make mention of this though and instead cupped her face gently. "Normally, yes And I love you too Cassie. More than I've ever loved anyone. And you're right; I do want to be with you. But I don't want us to make love until I know you're ready. I want it to be for the right reasons. Please, Cassie tell me what happened to you. Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," she said coldly, as he looked away from. "This was… mistake. I'll go." But as she began to climb out of the tent, Tim's hand shot out, gripping her arm and keeping her in place. She could easily escape his grip, but deep down they both knew that she didn't want to.

"No you don't," Tim in a serious and very firm tone. "Stop acting like Bruce, Cassie. Stop trying to hide from the people who love you. You aren't like him."

"Yes I am," she said in a small voice.

"No, you aren't. Not here," he pointed to Cassie's heart. "I can see it in you. You've got so much love to give that you're heart is about to burst open. But you think because of what Batman expects, you have to be like him in order to make him proud. But this isn't about Bruce, Cassie. This is about us. Please, talk to me. Tell me what happen with the Palantir stone. That was when this all started, wasn't it?"

Batgirl glared at Robin, as if willing her eyes alone would cause him to wrench back in fear. Perhaps that would have worked when they had first met. When he saw only a trained assassin who could kill him before he could breath. But that wasn't who they were now. Tim met her gaze with the 'LOOK' that he had developed over the years. Finally Cassandra let out a soft sigh and turned her eyes downwards.

"He hurt me… G-Gandalf said… I touched it… for… umm… a second. But it felt… longer. Like days," she whispered reverting back to her slower and less articulate way of speech. "Sauron… said… I was nothing. We all… were nothing. We all… going to die. Tried to fight him. He… ripped… chest. Held up… m-my h-heart. Said… nothing… can save… us. Showed me people… all dead. Showed me you… friends… all dying. Showed me Pippin… getting hurt. Heard Sauron tell him… I'm example. To tell him about Frodo and Sam… Couldn't help Pippin… or you or Legolas or Aragorn or Gimli or…" Burning tears leaked down from her eyes and traveled down her face as she spoke and her hands were clenched tightly in silent rage. "Then… I was back. You… holding me and Pippin… hurt…" She felt silent again, and the only sound they could hear was of the wind outside and the crackling a few campfires.

"I was… scared." The last word came out a soft, barely audible whisper. She hated admitting that. Cain would have beaten her for even thinking that way. Batman would look at her with that hard stare that made one feel like an insignificant speck of dirt under his boot. But she continued, for neither of them was here to judge her. There was only Tim. He didn't judge. He understood. "I… w-was scared that Sauron… is right. Scared we won't win. Scared you will… die. Don't… want to lose you again Tim. Not… without showing… I-I…"

Tim sat up and crawled closer to her, before wrapping her arms tightly around her quivering frame. She buried her head into his shoulder and began weeping loudly. No longer was she Batgirl, the most dangerous marital artist in existence. Now she was just Cassandra Cain. Now, she was a poor, scared girl who wanted nothing more than to feel some kind of safety in the arms over her love.

Saying nothing, Tim held her tightly to his chest and began rocking her body a bit as one would rock a small child. When at last her tears subsided, she looked up at him half expecting disgust and pity, but instead Tim bent his head and kissed the top of her head, and squeezed her a bit tighter. He wore a smile of love and understanding, and his bright blue eyes twinkled with a light that made her heart leap up to her throat. Neither said anything to one another, as Tim laid her down on the bedroll after which he lay down besides her. Wrapping his arms around her he held her close to his body and kissed her cheek softly and brushed her hair away from her face. No further words were exchanged for none were needed. Both teenagers allowed themselves small and thankful smiles as they drifted off to sleep.

Yes, the odds were against them and neither could promise their survival in the coming days, but they had each other and if only for this one night they would take what solace they could from it.

THE PATH OF THE DEAD

The light was still gray as they climbed of the black stone of the Haunted Mountain. They were nearing the end of their journey; Aragorn had begun to note as the company of five led their horses now on foot. Any trace of animal life had suddenly grown silent as if muted by some unseen power. It felt as if all hope or light had suddenly been pulled from his body. He was not the only one to note such darkness. Gimli had become increasingly more nervous and his hand was clenched so tightly on his axe, and the leather of his gloves looked ready to split. Legolas and even the twins had fallen completely into silence; their keen elf senses picking up on the coming danger that they strode forth to.

"The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away," Gimli noted forebodingly, gaining joint nods from the twins.

Ahead they could see the mouth to a cave that looked partially destroyed. The gray stone was cracked and slip apart, and there were old tree roots that had long since died snaked all around. Above the archway were symbols etched into the stone, of soldiers and horse and in the center a large eyes that clear stood for Sauron. Although it was merely a carving the later symbol sent shivers up the group's collective spines.

"This is an evil door," Elladan muttered forebodingly.

"They way is shut," Legolas said darkly, his keen eyes reading the heliographic writing over the cavern archway. "It was made by those who are dead. They way is shut."

As soon as he said this, there was a howl of wind that sounded far more like the howls of something far more devilish. The horses began to neigh wildly and thrash back away from the mouth of the cavern. Aragon and the elves tried to keep their grips on their horses, only to have the pull the reigns from their hands and race back away from them.

"Brego!" Aragorn called, but it was clear by the look the horse shot back, that he was not going in there.

"That's the second time they've done that…" Gimli grumbled.

Aragorn turned his head towards the cave, his gray eyes narrowed in a dark and stern manner. "I do not fear death," he growled speaking not to his companions but rather to the unseen evil inside the cavern. Before anyone could speak, with several long strides entered the mouth of the cavern and disappeared into the darkness within.

Gimli and the elves shared worried glances, before wordlessly Legolas gave pursuit followed quickly by the twins. Gimli who watched them enter gave another low growl. "Well this is unheard of," he said to himself. "Elves go underground where a Dwarf dare not? Oh… Oh, I'd never hear the end of it…" And with a finally groan, he too entered the cavern, doing his best to ignore the low wind that spoke of danger ahead.

DUNHARROW, ROHAN

Solider quickly dressed in armor, extinguished their camp fires and mounted their horses at the final call was sent out for departure. Théoden exited his tent, with Éomer close behind and the two walked purposefully through the camp. Both knew that this was not like Helms Deep. They had only faced a segment of the Dark Lord's full force. The White City, which was the greatest city of men, would surely be face far greater power and far greater numbers.

"We must ride light and swift," he said seriously. "It is a long road ahead. And man and beast must reach the end with the strength to fight."

Turning his gaze over his shoulder, he watched as Éowyn, clad in Rohimn armor sharpened her sword on a stone. There was a look of determination in her eyes that made him feel almost nauseous. He would give all that he was to convince her to stay. As her king, he could order her to stay, and should order to her stay. But following his conversation with Éomer and Éowyn the night before, he knew that would be useless in the end. She would follow them to their deaths. She had always been too pig headed a child to properly listen to her elders. But that did not mean he would sit by and let her die easily. Raising his hand, he summoned several of his higher ranking solider to his side.

"What may we do for you, my king?" asked one of them.

"As you may have heard, the lady Éowyn will be…" he paused, showing the clear sign of how reluctant he was to say, "riding with us into battle."

The Rohan soldiers shifted uncomfortably giving the King the impression that they were not only aware but were not comfortable with the idea. "Yes sire," the said together.

"I want you to watch over her when we enter the Pelennor Fields," he said seriously. "Do not let her out of your sight when the fighting begin, and if the fighting goes sour or if she is in danger, you will remove her from the fighting and get her to safety. Is that understood?"

"Yes my king," the men said in unison, as they bowed and took their leave.

"She's not going to like that you know."

Théoden sighed deeply and turned to Batgirl seriously. "Do not speak to me of what she will like, Cassandra. I hold you partially responsible for all this. And if she should die I hope that you remember that."

"What happened… to you wanting me in the fight?" Cassandra asked, crossing her arms.

"I do not deny how I appreciate your services in the coming confrontation, but my niece is not you. But you fanned the flames of her desire for battle. Because of your gifts, she thinks she too has a place. And that misconception could very well lead to her down fall."

"Don't u-underestimate her," Cassandra said softly. "No, she is not… weak girl you think she is,"

"I hope you truly believe that," Théoden said darkly as he walked off. He passed Robin who was carrying a saddlebag, and had taken notice of the King's scowl. Approaching Batgirl, he looked back over his shoulder at Théoden.

"Did you piss him off again?"

Batgirl shrugged her shoulders. "Yep."

"Ah…"

"Master Robin!" Éowyn called from where she sat, returning her sword to her sheath and signaling that they come over to her. "Cassandra, might I speak with you both?"

"Sure, Éowyn, what's up?" Robin asked.

"I wanted to return your uniform to you," Éowyn said, handing Robin a familiar bundle of red, green, black and gold clothing. "Though I am afraid that that we could not repair the damage done to your garb. Our finest seamstress could not even pierce the fabric of the vest and the leggings were all but completely destroyed during the wash."

Tim let out a small sigh as he stared down at the faded and excessively damaged Robin costume. "I didn't think you'd be able to. Hell, Alfred use to say some choice words when he worked on these things. But thanks for trying anyways Éowyn. I do appreciate the gesture."

"Still, you cannot wear those garments into battle," Éowyn said, as he reached into her bag and pulled out two bundles wrapped in brown cloth. "Here, take these."

"What are these for?" Cassandra asked taking the bundle offered to her and looking at Robin in confusion.

"Consider them offerings of my thanks for all you have done." Éowyn gave a small smile no inclined her head towards the bundles. "Go on, open them."

Again Robin and Batgirl exchanged side-glances as they undid the twine. Batgirl opened her bag first and pulled out a dark blue tunic on which was stitched the outline of a bat similar to the one on Batgirl's costume.

Robin opened his own bundle, which revealed a dark red tunic that had several gold ties running down from the neck down. On the left breast there was a Rohan 'R' stitched into. "Éowyn… These are…" Tim began, as he examined the workmanship of the tunic.

"Do you like them?" the Shield Maiden asked hopefully.

"They're great!" Cassandra said throwing her arms around her.

Giving a pleased smile, Éowyn returned the hug. "I am glad. I had thought that if we could not repair your garments, that perhaps we could give something for when you go into battle to remind you of your friends in Rohan."

"Thank you Éowyn," Robin smiled.

"We also have extra armor should you need it," Éowyn also offered.

"Not necessary, but thank you," Tim answered for both of them. Éowyn had attempted this conversation with them several times during the night, but both vigilantes had refused to wear anything heavier than the chain mail vests and a few bits and pieces from their old costumes. Neither Cassandra nor Tim wanted to be weighed down by armor heavier than was necessary. Yes, they would be more susceptible to injury going into battle in their lack of gear, but their training required them to be able to move without inhibition. In short, they would just have to avoid getting hit.

"It kinda… looks like old Robin costume…" Cassandra observed as she examined Tim's tunic.

Tim lifted the garment up and after a moment nodded. "You know… it sort of does. Heh, how about that?"

"Does it come with short-shorts and pixie boats?" Cass then asked Éowyn, causing Tim to turn slightly red.

"Ohhhhh no!" he quickly said before a confused Éowyn could respond. "I do NOT need that!"

"Aw come on… I bet you're legs look just as good as Dick's…" Cass smiled evilly.

"And he had to shaved his legs! And the answer is NO! That's final!"

At that moment Merry came rushing past tears in his eyes, and a scowl upon his hobbit features while muttering angrily to himself. He was so lost in his thoughts that he had almost past by his three friends without notice.

"Master Meriadoc!" Éowyn called, and reaching out she took his arms, bringing his attention back to his surroundings. "What has you in such a foul mood and why are you not prepared for leave?"

"Because I am not going!" he shouted indignantly pulling his hand back. "Théoden King as 'released me' of my services! He says that 'Little Hobbits do not belong in war and that I am too much a burden to be taken along!' Can you believe that?" As he said this, the large tears dropped from his eyes, and all three of his friends looked on with great pity. "It is not fair! I wish to fight, and I should be with my friends as they go to battle!"

"Maybe Théoden is right though," Robin said softly. "Merry, you've never been to war. Not like this. You don't know what to expect."

Merry stared at Tim with great hurt and shook his head wildly. "I may not have the experience, but I have a stout heart and I do not wish to be left behind Tim. Please, do not turn me away!"

"I'm not Merry," Tim said quickly and bending down to face the hobbit. "But you have to see it from his eyes. Hobbit are one of those rare glimpses of hope left in the world right now Merry. And we don't want to see it extinguished."

Merry looked both pained and appreciative by Tim's words, but continued to watch the passing horsemen with envy and regret in his eye.

"Where will want not, a way opens, so we say," Éowyn said softly. "And so I have found myself. "And we shall find a way. Come now." Taking Merry's hand, she directed him away from Cass and Tim who stared after them curiously.

"You know that feeling you get when someone about to do something very crafty and possibly very stupid…?" Tim asked, getting a small nod from Batgirl.

And soon the army of Rohan at last set out, on a mission that would no doubt be their last. "Ride!" Théoden's voice called out urging their forces forward. "Ride now to Gondor!"

Théoden and Éomer took the lead, while Robin, Batgirl and Éowyn rode a bit further back. Éowyn wore the armor and helm of a Rohan Guardsman and a green cloak upon her shoulders. Batgirl was clad in leather pants, and mid-high boots, as well as her new tunic covering a chain mail vest. At her waist she wore her utility belt, with had the sword Éowyn had given her hanging from it. To round off her outfit, she wore the clock given to her in Lothlórien, her Mithril bracelets and of course her full face cowl. Meanwhile Robin was clad in the same Rohan riding gearas he had worn before along with his mask, his utility belt and weapons and his elf cloak. Only now he wore his new tunic, which seemed to give him a renewed sense of strength.

All three said nothing, but instead listened intently to the calls of the king. Still neither Cassandra nor Tim could deny the curiosity of what Éowyn and Merry had been plotting mere moments before. And it was not until Cassandra noticed a small furry foot appear under Éowyn's clock. Smiling softly to herself and to Robin, they road on to whatever the future awaited them.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Review Response.

Silverdash: Thanks for the review and I'm glad I'm keeping you guessing! As you can see Eowyn got was reluctantly allowed to join in, but Merry was not so lucky. Still, can't keep a good Hobbit outta of the fun, can we? Honestly I couldn't tell you who can see the diff between the book and the movie and my work, but I'm praying you people have read the book are plan to one day. After all they are BRILLANT pieces of literature. And to be frank, the Twins were never portrayed this crazy, but considering how little they appear in the books, I thought I could take some liberties with them.

Trecebo: Thank you so much for you review! And yay for the twins!

Inudex Acerbus: Appreciating another review! Well as you can see I've added bits of the Aragon's group, simply because its such an important part in the story and because it would give us more Twins fun especially as they abuse dear Gimli. Hehe.

Kusco: Hehe, thanks for the review and glad that I've stumped you some. All part of the master plan. Some of my hints may have been more obvious than others, depending on what you look at, while others I'm hoping with give you all a great shock.

Catgirl Elf Princess: I appreciate your review, and shall do my best to answer you queries with one answer: Wait and see. ;)

Lydia King: You get the award for the longest Review I've gotten in ages. Thank ye! I'm so glad that you felt the need to review every chapter, so late into the story, and feel honored and strengthened by your praise. As for your question of the voice Batgirl has heard and confusing messages, well the answers will come in due time. Thanks gain.

Cold Paws: First let me thank you for your review, though I'm afraid I have no idea what these "impromptu" and "The Boogie Man" stories are that which you speak of. I fear you have that mistaken with someone else. Robin's plans for the Crossbows and Ropes will be rather interesting if I do say so myself.

Elderado Dingbatt: Thank you for you kind review, and to respond to you statement about the elves, I'm afraid I must disagree with you slightly. If you read THE HOBBIT you'd have seen that the Elves are well known for not only great wisdom and understanding but also for being kiddy and at times childish humor, such as the songs they sang about Bilbo and the Dwarves when they arrived in Rivendell (which the singers I bet were led by the Twins in the story). The Twins also have human blood in them, so they'd be even MORE childish. They might be Elves, but they still like to have fun.

And a special thanks for the kind words from: Theo Gary, Fusion Blaster, Bumpkin, Coral Skipper, Givegodtheglory, Alia G.L., legolasfan91, the Butterfly Lady, AgentPixy007, Toblerone, WildCat9221, Xinnlajgin, batfan7, Lynthrocropia