PART TWO
Chapter 12: Rest and Triumph
Two days have passed since the betrayal of Wander. His trickery had caused Guts and Strider a great deal of strife within their thoughts, but also allowed them to strengthen their trust between each other. They both knew they would need trust to return back to their respective worlds.
The untraveled forest surrounding them provided shade from the sun shining unhindered from any clouds, yet it was still a hot trek through. Strider's plan was to locate a rise in the earth, a hill, or even a tall tree to climb. From their, he could possibly find somewhere they would want to go, such as the end of the forest. So far, no such luck. They continued onward through the brush with sweat on their backs and heads.
Then, the sound of running water.
"Wait, wait... shhh..." Guts silenced. "Do you hear that?"
Strider didn't stop, or even turn around.
"It is a river. I heard it several minutes ago. We will arrive in just a moment."
"Tch!" Guts forgot how well Strider could hear. "Didn't even bother telling me, eh?"
"No use wasting our energy talking, my friend. Save that for your sword."
"Humpf."
They broke out of the dense forest onto a little patch of grass alongside the river. The water was clear and glistening, and the grass was free of mud.
"Oh, thank you, earth!" Guts cried, heading down for a drink. "I think I was about to shrivel up."
Strider sat against a tree in the shade. This spot would be perfect for fishing, he thought. Shade, flat ground, clean water. What a beautiful country this was, wherever and whatever it was.
"Guts," Strider called out.
"Hmm?" Guts turned his head to listen.
"Why is it you have only one glove?"
Guts had been wearing just one glove, on his left hand, since Strider had met him. Not once had Strider seen him take it off.
"Oh, right. I keep it on so I don't freak people out." Guts answered, but didn't show Strider what he was talking about. Instead, he turned back down to the river.
"Would you tell me why it would frighten someone?"
This time Guts didn't look back. "It's also to help me forget."
Strider detected a fragment of Guts' past. He felt deep trauma within his words.
"Guts, show me. Help me understand you further."
Strider approached him. Guts hesitated, but complied. He pulled the long glove off his left hand, or what used to be a hand. He revealed a metallic replica of a hand and forearm, which featured several strange mechanisms.
"Is that all?" Strider commented in an attempt to make Guts less self-conscious about his addition. "I've known dozens of comrades who have lost arms and legs in battle. It's nothing to fear, or be ashamed of, my friend."
Guts looked deeply into his metal hand.
"It's not the injury itself, or the prosthetic that scares me, Strider. It's what it represents. But at the same time, even though it reminds me of pain, the worst pain a man could feel, it also reminds me of what must be done. My scars will not allow me to give up now."
Strider had never heard Guts speak with such philosophy and intent. His past had shaped him to become the battle-hardened swordmaster he is today.
They both looked into the river. It was beautiful.
"Tell me who you fight for," Strider spoke, his words echoing inside Guts' head.
Guts grinned lightly. Clever bastard figured it out, Guts thought to himself.
"Alright, Strider, I'll tell you. But first, you tell me something. Tell me your true name."
Strider rarely told people his true name when he was in a setting such as this. He liked to remain anonymous. But he knew he would have to be truthful in order for Guts to be truthful.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor. Dunedain, Ranger of the North, and descendant of Isildur. Keeper of the Flame of the West, and supposed Guide of the One Ring."
Guts looked up to Strider to see the sun beaming onto him like magic. His eyes blazed like fire. His cloaked soared to his side with the wind. Guts was overcome with awe, but also fear. He had seen this image before, he knew it. Aragorn...
"You're a prince? Or something like that?!" Guts gawked, now on his feet.
"I do not favor titles, just Aragorn. I only allow my friends to call me that, and now, I request you refer to me as such.
"Aragorn... It's nice."
"You, Guts, have been a friend to me. Therefore I will call you my true friend, and my equal.
His words pierced Guts heart. True friend... Equal... Memories flooded into Guts' mind. A loved and hated voice appeared in his head:
"For a man to be my true friend, he must be my equal in every regard."
The words were forever burned into Guts' subconscious. Along them always came the same image: Black wings of darkness. But now, when the image flashed through his thoughts, something was different. Now, there was a single flame that extinguished the darkness. The flame was powerful, encouraging. Guts was filled with newfound hope, a feeling he hadn't felt in years. This man... Aragorn... was the light to guide him out of darkness.
"Aragorn. I'm doing it for... her."
...
The defenses of Mordor were no match for Isengard's power. The orcs of Mordor were in chaos and confusion, they couldn't figure out why other orcs were attacking them. It didn't take long for Isengard's forces to break through the Black Gate.
"There it is, Lord Femto," Saruman pointed to a tall tower in the distance. Above the spire was a blazing eye. Saruman dared not look directly into it from fear of Sauron's immeasurable power, but Femto looked straight into it. His eyes challenged Sauron's directly.
"Do not relent!" Saruman commanded the army. "We will cut our way to the tower!"
His army did not require any commands. They were happy enough just killing things. The forces of Mordor provided little resistance, their numbers dwindling to nothing in only an hour of invasion. Now, all that was left was to destroy the tower.
"March on Barad-Dur! Tear it from it's foundation!"
The orcs were approaching the tower uncontested, until the eye of Sauron flared, and the ground in front of the army crumbled away into a deep chasm. They were forced to stop.
"Master, Sauron is trying to prevent us from continuing. We must find a way around..."
Saruman watched his master raise one hand in front of himself, causing rocks and boulders to emerge from the depths. They lined up in front of each other, forming a bridge to the other side.
"Such power..." Saruman admired. "Go! Charge! Leave nothing in your wake!"
The orcs ran to the other side and began attacking the tower. Saruman used his staff to raise and hurl boulders at the building, inflicting massive damage. The eye of Sauron looked back and forth rapidly, shaking violently with each strike laid upon his tower. In this state, there was nothing he could do.
The tower soon tilted to the side. Saruman knew what came next.
"All forces! Retreat at once!" his voice amplified by his magic. The orcs retreated back across the bridge quickly, and once all safely on the other side, turned to watch as the tower of Barad-Dur crumbled and smashed into the earth below. Sauron's eye sent out a shockwave that shook the earth as he fell from the great height. The flames were extinguished.
The horde of orcs roared their victory to the skies. The seemingly-invincible Sauron was no match for their new master, the Hawk of Darkness.
"Master, our task is complete. Now, none may challenge your rule!"
Femto looked over the ruins of Sauron's tower. Now, the next phase may begin.
"Saruman, my faithful servant." Femto spoke.
"Yes, my lord."
"I will ask this of you. You have the most powerful force in all of Middle-Earth. Take what you need from the land, and build a powerful state here, in Mordor. This will become our kingdom, over which you will govern. This task I leave to you, for now I must go. I will return in time."
"I understand, master. Where will you go now?"
Suddenly, a hulking monster landed on the ground next to them. It was furry, had two great horns, and massive wings.
Femto walked to it.
"Now, I go to see an old friend."
Femto rose from the ground and landed upon the monster's back. Together, they flew into the distance and vanished beyond the mountains.
Saruman knew he had much work to do. It was now his task to build the most powerful empire the land had ever seen. He set off to begin work right away.
...
Femto and Zodd glode through the clouds at great speed. Their journey would take several days, even at such speeds. Femto reached his hand out in front of him. In the palm of his black hand appeared a small golden ring. Strange symbols appeared on the ring, seemingly burning with power. Femto placed the ring on his index finger. He felt it's power fill his body. He looked deeply into the ring.
The landscape below them zoomed by and cowered under the might of Femto.