Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The last march of the Ents.

(Over on the cause way, the Uruk-hai continue to bash at the door with their battering ram. The door is now severely decimated. With one last bash, the ram breaks through the door, and continues to the Rohirrim beyond. The ram hits Vito in the chest. As they pull back, Vito is pulled into the shattered door and knocked down to the ground.)

Rohirrim: Brace the gate!

(Uruks peer through the hole they made. They fire with their crossbows, several Rohirrim are struck before archers push forward and return fire. The Uruks withdraw. Up on the wall, Hector draws his sword and motions for Mr. Nakamura and a third Rohirrim, who resembles Par, to follow.)

Hector: To the gate. Draw your swords!

(They draw their swords and follow.)

(On the ground, Luna blocks an incoming Scimitar as she follows Leni and the others up the stairs. She kicks the Uruk back into his fellows before continuing up the stairs with the Uruks not far behind. They press on, while Elves on the top of the stairs, rain arrows into the tide of Uruks.)

(At the gate, Hector, Mr. Nakamura and Par have joined the defense. Hector is right up front, slicing at the Uruks arms with his sword. An Uruk reaches in and grabs Mr. Nakamura by the throat. Mr. Nakamura struggles to loosen it's grip until Hector brings his sword down, chopping the arm off. An Uruk thrusts a Pike through the hole and catches Hector under his right arm. Hector gasps with pain. He then grabs a spear from a Rohirrim standing behind him and thrusts out the door, impaling the Uruk through the throat.)

(Hector then pulls the pike out. Mr. Nakamura grabs him and starts to pull him through the Rohirrim.)

Mr. Nakamura: Make way!

(The Rohirrim separate to allow them to pass. They then swarm back to hold off the Uruks.)

(Hector leans against the wall, holding his injured arm to his chest.)

Hector: (to himself) Good thing I'm left handed.

Mr. Nakamura: (grimly) It's no use. We cannot hold much longer!

(Luna and Lynn come up from behind them. Luna sees the injured King and briefly puts a hand in his shoulder before storming to the door. She slashes at the Uruks trying to force their way in.)

Hector: Luna! Hold them!

Luna: (to Hector) How long ya need, brah!?

(Hector takes his sword back from Mr. Nakamura.)

Hector: As long as you can give me.

(Luna sees a door leading off to the side, in front of the barricade. She then sees Lynn fighting beside her. She hits the Dwarf in her helmet with her sword.)

Luna: Lynn! Come with me!

(Luna and Lynn rush off through the doorway. The Rohirrim crowd around the door.)

Hector: Timbers! We have to seal the door! Brace the gate!

(On the causeway, the Uruks continue to batter at the door. On a small ledge beside it, a door on the side of the fortress opens as Luna and Lynn sneak out. They creep along the ledge to see the Uruks covering the causeway hammering at the gate.)

Lynn: Come on, Lunes! We can take them!

Luna: (quiet) It's a long way.

(Lynn looks over and sees the gap separating the ledge from the causeway. She sees Luna's right. She thinks it through and realized there was only one way.)

Lynn: (reluctant) Toss me.

Luna: (raised eyebrow, amused) Come again?

Lynn: (upset) Even Lynnsanity has her limits. I can't jump that far! You're gonna have to toss me!

(Luna nods. She grabs Lynn and prepares to toss her.)

Lynn: Wait! (to Luna, imploring) Don't tell Leni.

Luna: (winks) Not a word, dude.

(Luna then zips her lips , before miming rolling down a car window, she throws the imaginary key out, then rolls the window back up.)

Luna: That was a car window.

Lynn: Yeah, I got that.

(Luna tosses Lynn over the gap. She collides with the Uruks. While the Uruks are caught off guard, Luna jumps over as well. Luna and Lynn start fighting the Uruks. At the door, Hector sees the Uruks distracted with Luna and Lynn.)

Hector: (behind him) Shore up the door!

(Rohirrim move in, carrying heavy wooden beams .)

Mr. Nakamura: Make way!

Rohirrim: Follow me to the barricade! Rohirrim #2: Watch our backs!

(The Rohirrim start setting up the beams and brace them against the door.)

(On the ground, the Uruk-hai bring in large ballista crossbows. They load them with giant metal grappling hooks. At the door, the Rohirrim work to shore up the door.)

Rohirrim #3: Put another one here.

Hector: Higher!

(The Uruks pull back on the ballista. On the causeway, Luna and Lynn hold off the Uruks. The Uruks, fire the grappling hooks. Rohirrim on the wall are caught off guard and hurry out of the way. The Uruks fire more grappling hooks and hold them taunt as more siege ladders are raised with Uruks clinging to them.)

(Uruks leap off the ladders onto the wall and start hacking into the Rohirrim with the Rohirrim fighting back. On the wall, Leni looks down and sees the ropes holding the last up. She reaches for an arrow, as both human and elven archers fire at the Uruks on the ground.)

(Leni fits the arrow to her bowstring and lets loose. The arrow sails down and snaps one of the ropes. A ladder topples backwards and falls onto the Uruks below. At the door, the Rohirrim are almost down barricading the door.)

Par: Hold fast the gate!

(Luna and Lynn slash and hack at any Uruk that gets within reach. Hector calls to them from the small hole still in the door.)

Hector: Lynn! Luna! Get out of there!

(An Uruk runs up while their distracted and grabs a hold of them. He holds them in place while others move into attack. Luna elbows him in the side and pushes him down. On the wall, Leni grabs some rope from the siege ladders and calls down to them.)

Leni: (as Lynn kills the Uruk with her ax) Luna!

(Leni tosses the rope down to them. Luna grabs the rope with one hand, while grabbing hold of Lynn with her other arm. Luna leaps off and kicks away from the causeway as Uruks surged forward. Luna maintains a tight hold on the rope as Leni struggles to pull them up. Several Rohirrim come to her aid.)

Leni: (to the Rohirrim, grateful) Thanks guys! Totes appreciate the help. (to the audience) See? Chivalry ain't dead.

(With the Rohirrim helping, Leni manages to pull her friends up the rest of the way onto the wall.)

(With the arrival of the ballista and siege ladders, however, the tide of battle unfortunately turns to the Uruks favor. Hector looks around as he sees his soldiers on top of the wall being overwhelmed.)

Hector: to Mr. Nakamura) Pull everybody back. Pull them back.

Mr. Nakamura: (shouting) Fall back! Fall back!

(There's a terrible groan as even with the timbers braced, the remain Uruk-hai on the causeway manage to finally force it open at last. They swarm in.)

Hector: (grim) They've broken through! The cause is breached. Retreat! Retreat!

(Dismayed, the Rohirrim and our run along the top of the wall towards the great Hall. Uruks surge below and behind them.)

Luna: (ushering the Rohirrim) Hurry! Inside. Get them inside!

Mr. Nakamura: Into the keep!

(Luna, Lynn, Leni and the Rohirrim run across a walkway that leads to the hall. The Uruks that came in the door are already almost there as well. Luna and Leni cut and shoot a few down, before heading up the stairs to the door.

…

(In the forest of Fangorn, Lana, with Rusty and Zach perched on her shoulders, walks through the trees to drop the hobbits outside the woods.)

Lana: (to Rusty and Zach) I'm gonna leave you at the western borders of the forest. From there, you little guys can make your way north to your home.

(Both Rusty and Zach look dejectedly at the way in front of them. Sad that they were unable to convince the Ents to help in the war. Zach also thinks about what Rusty said about there won't be a Shire to go home to if the war continues. No more Flipee's, no more grass. No more Flipee's. He then thinks about how Skippy said something about avenging the trees and how Lucy been producing weapons for the Uruks. All that wood had to come from somewhere.)

Zach: (to Lana) Wait! Stop! Stop!..

(Lana stops.)

Zach:…Turn around. Turn around, take us South.

Lana: South? But that way takes you past Isengard.

Zach: (nods) Yes. Exactly. If we go south, we can slip right under Lucy's nose. Villians never expect for you to take the way closet to them. The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm. It's logic.

Lana: (confused) I don't get that…but then again, you two are very small. Perhaps you have a point. (starts turning around) South it is, then.

(Lana fully turns around and starts heading in the opposite direction.)

Lana: You know, I always liked going south. Somehow it kinda feels like going downhill.

(Rusty was quiet as he listened to Zach telling Lana to turn around South. He looks up at Zach like he's crazy.)

Rusty: Are you mad? We'll be caught.

Zach: (certain) No we won't…Not this time.

…...

(Luan, Giggles, Benny and Maggie along with Lincoln, Clyde and Lola as well as the Ithilden Rangers come to a stop on a shrunken hill. Lincoln looks very uneasy.)

Benny: Look…

(Everyone looks to see a crumbling, ruined city below them at the edge of a river. Several columns of smoke drifted upwards.)

Benny:…Osgiliath burns. Mordor has come.

(As they take in the devastation below them. Luan's expression becomes grim. )

Lincoln: (to Luan) The Ring won't save Gondor. (turns to her) It only has the power to destroy. It was made for evil by evil…

(Luan shifts her gaze from Osgiliath to him.)

Lincoln:…Please…let me go.

(Luan doesn't seem to listen. She turns to her followers.)

Luan: Hurry! To the city.

(The group starts to head down the hill, towards Osgiliath. The Rangers pull Lola and push the hobbits. Lincoln begins to struggle desperately.)

Lincoln: (to Luan) Luanmir! You must let me go!

(The continue on to the city.)

…

(Back in Fangorn, Lana, Rusty and Zach approach the southern edge of the forest.)

Lana:…And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes and they tickle me like nobody's business. Don't see why everyone hates them so. They wanna live too…always trying to get somewhere where they….they…

(The three exit the forest. Lana putters off at the terrible sight that she sees before her. Even Zach and Rusty are taken aback.)

(Isengard sits at the bottom of the large hill. The signs show it used to be full of trees and life. Only now the ground was scorched and covered with ash. And all around were the burnt stumps of chopped down trees, combined with the dark, cloudy sky, the scene was very miserable.)

Lana: (horrified) Many of these trees were my friends. I knew them all since they were just little nuts and acorns…

(Zach was expecting something horrible, but this ..was just devastating. He looks at Lana sympathetically.)

Zach: I'm sorry, Lana.

Lana: (tearing up) They had voices of their own. Who…

(Lana sees Isengard below them. She remembers how Lucy had changed in the last few months. Not walking in the forsest like she used to, building war machines, hanging out with orcs and other dark creatures…but this…this crossed the line.)

Lana: (growls) Lucy…..(starts shaking, furious) A wizard should know better!

(Lana stand up straight and let's loose a angry howl that echoes throughout the forest.)

Lana: (fuming) There is no curse in Elvish…Entish or in the language of Men…for this treachery.

(The hobbits then hear a strange rustling noise and turn to see the trees at the far side of the hill have started to shift on the ground, moving on their own.)

Zach: (bewildered) The trees….their moving!

Rusty: (to Lana) Where are they going?

Lana: They have business with the Orcs. (turns back to Isengard) My business is with Isengard and Lucy…with a rock and stone.

(Suddenly Rusty and Zach hear an answering howl similar to Lana's. The hobbits turn back to the woods and are shocked to see Skippy and the other Ents coming out of the trees. Several of them, look around the devastation in horror.)

Skippy: See!? I told you Orcs had no respect for nature!

(The hobbits share a look and how fast the Ents arrived.)

Zach: You know for trees, they can move pretty good.

Rusty: Weird.

Lana: (to Hobbits and Ents) Come my friends, Lucy's going down. The Ents are going to War. It's likely we go also to our doom. The Last march…of the Ents.

(Enraged at the destruction of nature they see before them, the Ents lumber after Lana without question as she leads them downhill towards Isengard.)

(Rusty smiles as he at last realizes what Zach had done.)

Rusty: Yes.

That's why you respect nature…otherwise Lana and her Ents go all Midfle Earth on ya!?