At Helm's Deep, more and more Uruks kept coming into the Deep as Aragorn , his friends and some Elves were still fighting in an attempt to contain their enemies so they could go no further. Speaking of Elves, they were the ones to suffer many losses and some could be seen trying to get the wounded to safety. Theoden , him, was still the watching the fight from his point of view.
In the Deep, our friends were fighting bravely : Legolas, who had ran out of arrows, was now using his daggers. He twirled them around , swinging them forward ,knocking an Uruk's sword aside in the process before striking it on the back of its head. Gimli knocked another Uruk down before bringing his axe back and slamming it onto its chest, killing it.
Kopa was not too far from the two and used his claws to pierce his enemies' flesh and the metal of their armor and shield. Vitani was doing the same. Despise being a big smaller than her mate, she was way faster and she delivered hard blow to her opponents. An Uruk was too close ? No problem, she slashed its neck with her claws. The two Lions were killing more Uruks than all three of their friends reunited. They equally thanked the Great Kings for their ability to be invulnerable to weapon.
Aragorn, the Leader of their group, was swinging his sword upwards before striking an Uruk up its head. Then he stopped fighting when he heard someone calling out for him "Aragorn ! Pull back to the Gate ! Get your men out of there !" Theoden ordered him from his battlement.
Nodding, the Ranger turned his head to face his friends and the Soldiers Elves before yelling loudly "Am Marad ! (To the Keep !)" Hearing this, the Elves began to retreat and to make sure they would get away, Kopa killed the Uruks who dared to come to close. Aragorn blocked an Uruk's sword and kicked it off its feet before driving his sword through the Beast , killing it instantly.
Strider then looked at the Elves on the Walls and among them was Haldir who was fighting an Uruk " Nan barad ! Haldir ! Nan barad ! (Pull back ! Haldir ! Pull back !)" The Elf Leader nodded at him before calling out for his men to retreat. Two Elves (one of them was Legolas ) began to drag a squirming Dwarf who seemed angry at being interrupted "What are you doing ? Stop it !" he shouted to death ears.
Vitani was killing another Uruk when her eyes turned toward the Walls. She gasped in horror by what she saw : Haldir was calling for his men and didn't noticed the Uruk behind him. The Beast raised its sword ready to strike ! "WATCH OUT !" The Beige Lioness yelled out in alarm but the Elf Leader turned around just to be struck by the Uruk.
The Elf gasped in pain but quickly stabbed his attacker before looking down at his wounds as fresh blood was coming out of it. Unfortunately, because of his distraction, he didn't noticed the other Uruk until it was far too late as it stricken him. "Haldir !" Aragorn yelled out as he made his way toward the falling Elf who had a look of disbelief on his face.
Vitani's eyes began to water as she saw Aragorn catching the Elf in his arms but she knew it was too late… Haldir of Lorien was dead. He fought bravely and would be remembered for this. Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, Zira's daughter looked at the coming Uruks with nothing but pure rage : Haldir was a comrade and as such he had gained her respect. Her blood was crying for vengeance !
The Uruks were unprepared by the fury launched herself at them and tried to fight back only to meet claws and fangs. Kopa had just finished off his enemy when he saw Haldir got killed. He bowed his head in sorrow but then, like his mate, his eyes were filled with determination : he would avenge his death. With a roar of anger, he charged the Uruks , who couldn't go further because of the two Lions.
Meanwhile, at the Gate, the Uruks were still trying to break the doors with their ram. Then a hole was formed through the gate and the Rohirrim Soldiers behind it was pushed back in because of the force of impact. "Brace the Gate !" Gamling yelled out as some Uruks armed with crossbows appear in the hole before shooting, taking some Soldiers down.
"Hold them !" One Soldiers shouted loudly and the Archer Rohirrim returned fire taking the crossbow Uruks down as some of those Beasts from the other side charged forward "To the Gate ! Draw your swords!" Theoden ordered as he began to move out, drawing his sword , quickly followed by Gamling, and some of his men.
Back in the Deep, Aragorn and the remaining Elves Soldiers were running up the stairs to get to the Keep and thanks to two Lions, their enemies couldn't follow them. Indeed, Kopa and Vitani were standing at the feet of the staircase , snarling at their enemies who roared back at them in anger. Suddenly, arrows landed on the front Uruks and the Lions looked up to see some Elves Archers arming their bows. The Big Felines bowed their heads in respect and the Elves did the same before they looked back at the Uruks who began to charge them.
At the Gate , the Uruks were still swarming through the hole as the Rohirrim Soldiers were giving everything they could to keep them from getting past . Theoden was standing at the front, taking down Uruk after Uruk. One of them ,however, reached through the hole and grabbed Gamling by his neck. The King of Rohan, noticing this , quickly cut the Uruk's arm which caused Gamling to fall back.
Suddenly , an Uruk armed with a pike appeared out of nowhere and drove its weapon into Theoden's right shoulder . However, the King held his ground as he then grabbed a hold of a spear passed up to him by one of his Soldiers . With a battle cry, Theoden drove the spear forward right into the Uruk's neck ,killing it instantly before pulling the pike out while grunting in pain. Gamling saw his King in pain and began to pull him back while shouting "Make way !" More Rohirrim Soldiers charged forward and engaged the fight with the Uruks.
Gamling placed his King against a wall saying " We can't hold much longer !" Just as he said those words, the doors began to crack a bit above the hole. Suddenly, Aragorn appeared and putted a friendly hand on the King's shoulder before driving his sword through an Uruk against the wall. "Hold them !" Theoden ordered Aragorn and Gimli who just appeared "How long do you need ?" Strider asked the King as he turned his head to look at him.
"As long as you can give me !" was the King's answer. Aragorn nodded before glancing at the Dwarf "Gimli !" he called out before the two of them went through a side door just as more Rohirrim Soldiers appeared to prevent the Uruks to enter. "Timbers! Prepare to brace the gate on my command !" Theoden yelled out as Aragorn and Gimli disappeared from sight.
Outside the Gat, the Uruks were still pounding the doors trying to break it. Then off to the side along the ledge of the rocks, a side door opened up and Aragorn and Gimli came out of it as quietly as possible to not attire their enemies who were unaware of their presence. The two pressed themselves against the wall and Aragorn peeked out around the corner to see the large amount of Uruks standing on the causeway.
"Come on. We can take 'em !" Gimli inquired quietly but excitement clear in his voice at the prospect of fighting again. Aragorn looked down at him with a calm expression on his face as he said "It's a long way..." The Dwarf glanced over at the Ranger before looking down at the ground. He was at loss of words as he was deep in thought but then he said under his beard " Toss me..."
Aragorn raised his brow as he looked down at his friend "What ?" "I cannot jump the distance so you have to toss me !" Gimli replied back determined. Aragorn nodded in acceptance and was about to toss Gimli, but the dwarf stopped him by inquiring "Eh… Don't tell the elf !" "Not a word " The Ranger said before tossing his friend toward the Uruks. Gimli knocked out some enemies with a battle cry as he crashed against them.
Aragorn then jumped forward with a battle-cry of his own before engaging the Uruks. He and Gimli stood there on the causeway, fighting the waves of Uruks who tried to go pass them. Theoden , who was looking through the hole, turned toward his soldiers before ordering "Shore up the door !" Some men with wooden beams appeared to reinforce the door.
Outside, on the walls, the remaining Elves and some Rohirrim Archers were still fighting the Uruks , firing their arrows or using their swords as more and more ladders crashed against the walls. Then a ballista appeared through the rang of Saruman's army as an Uruk was loading a harpoon with a rope attached with it into the large weapon.
Aragorn and Gimli were standing back to back, continuously spinning around so each of them could get a shot at the Uruks. Aragorn used his sword and Gimli his axe. Back on the walls, the remaining Elves and Rohirrim Soldiers were joined forces against the Uruks climbing up the ladders. Legolas was among them and used some arrows to shoot at the chain of one of the ladders which caused it to break and the ladder fell back toward the waves of Beasts , crashing against the ground and crushing some enemies in the process.
In the Deep, Kopa and Vitani were still preventing the Uruks to climb the stairs and they were helped by some Archer Elves who kept firing their arrows to every Uruks who tried to sneak pass the two Lions. Back at the Gate, the men were reinforcing the doors as best as possible while Aragorn and Gimli were still fighting on the causeway.
"Gimli! Aragorn!" The two concerned turned their heads to see King Theoden whose head was looking through what remained of the previous large hole at the doors "Get out of there !" he ordered them hurriedly. Then an Uruk appeared behind the two grabbing them just as Theoden closed the hole. Aragorn killed the Uruk when he heard someone calling him out again "Aragorn !" He looked up to see Legolas who was standing at the top of the wall with a rope in his hands.
The Blond Elf tossed the rope down and the Ranger grabbed it before using his other arm to get an hold of Gimli. Then he jumped off the causeway as he began to get pulled all the way up by Legolas and soon Gamling appeared to help. Back on the causeway, the Uruks turned back to the doors and started pounding it again as if nothing happened.
The Uruks then fired their ballista again and this the hook impacted right into a Rohirrim Soldier ,sending him flying back with a cry of pain . Aragorn and Gimli were still getting pulled up just as the third ladder Legolas shot down before reappeared and landed against the wall.
The Rohirrim Soldiers and what remained of Elves were trying to hold their ground but it was easy to see they were losing more and more parcel of wall as the Uruks kept scaling the ladders. Finally, after some time, Aragorn and Gimli reached the top, as Legolas, pulled them up over the wall. Not too far, a young Rohirrim Soldier let out a battle cry as he charged forward swinging his axe down on an Uruk who easily caught it. Then it headbutted the Soldier before throwing him against the wall as the Uruk then socked him straight in the face ,breaking his neck in the process.
Theoden looked around and soon looked at Gamling who was there " Pull everybody back…. Pull them back !" he said with regret as he began to walk away. "Fall back ! Fall back !" Gamling yelled out and his voice echoed through the air, alerting the remaining Defenders who stopped fighting to ran away.
The Uruks standing on the causeway kept pounding against the gate, until the doors broke. The the column of Beasts charged forward "They've broken through ! The castle is breached !Retreat !" Theoden's voice yelled out as everyone followed the given order and began to run. Aragorn and the others on the outer wall rushed towards the walkway.
However, the Ranger stopped at the walkway to direct the surviving Rohirrim Soldiers and Elves "Hurry! Inside ! Get them inside !" Strider yelled out as he , Legolas and Gimli ran across the walkway. But the Blond Elf slowed down a bit lets , shooting a few arrows down onto the Uruks before catching up with the others as the Rohirrim and Elves were running across the walkway straight into the courtyard.
Down below , Kopa and Vitani (who both heard Theoden's order) rushed up the stairs as fast as they could, killing the enemies who dared to be on their paths as the surviving Defenders run towards the Keep. Some Guards were staying behind to prevent the Uruks to come any closer and to make sure the survivors could get away.
The Two Lions were entering the courtyard when Kopa stopped dead in his track , frozing in place. His mate at first didn't noticed but when she did, she became concerned as she approached him "Kopa ?" The Brown Maned Lion raised his head and Zira's daughter saw the fire burning in his turquoise eyes "I'm staying there… I can't let the Uruks reach our friends… Reach the people in the caves… Those disgusting beasts would slaughter them all !" he said with determination.
Vitani looked at him with a proud smile "You are right… Come on Let's do this together~" the Lioness purred with determination and the Male gave her a soft smile as they turned when they heard many footsteps coming their way and the smell of Uruks flyinf in the air announcing the upcoming. "Kopa ! Vitani !" They turned their heads to see Aragorn at the doors of the Keep, looking at them "Come on hurry !" The two Lions looked at each other before looking back at Aragorn shaking their heads.
Strider's eyes widened when he realized what they were about to do and wanted to protest but seeing the expression on their faces… he knew he couldn't change their minds and nodded in acceptance. The Two nodded back at him before glaring at the place where their enemies would surely appear. Aragorn sighed deeply as he made his way back into the Keep only to be stopped by Gimli and Legolas " Where are Vitani and Kopa ? I didn't see them since the beginning of the battle !" the Dwarf asked the Man who looked at them both with sad eyes.
"They chose to stay behind… to fight..." At this response, the other gaped in shock "Are they mad ?! There too many of them ! They don't stand a chance !" Gimli asked him with disbelief and Legolas was completely agree with his rival. Aragorn didn't respond and instead grabbed one of the doors before pulling it back. The Blond Elf helped him and the two of them closed the doors of the Keep. The survivors were all inside… except Kopa and Vitani. Isildur's heir made a short pray so his friends would get out of this battle safe and sound.
Outside, in the courtyard, Kopa and Vitani were waiting for the waves of Uruks who will surely appear at any moment now. They didn't waited long because a few seconds later, a large group of Uruks appeared in thin air rushing toward them. Kopa growled as Vitani unsheathed her claw , glaring at the newcomers with fury. "No retreat… No surrender… FOR THE PRIDELANDS !" The Brown Maned Lion roared out before charging soon followed by his mate who yelled out as loud as she could "FOR MIDDLE-EARTH !"
A terrible fight began to take place in the courtyard as Kopa and Vitani killed every opponents before them. They had to stand their grounds… For their friends… For their family…For their home.
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Far way in Fangorn Forest, Treebeard walked through the dark woods with the Hobbits riding on him again "I will leave you at the western borders of the forest... You can make your way north to your homeland from there... " The Old Ent said in his usual calm tone. None of the two said a thing as they didn't really to just go back home and let their friends get killed !
Then Pippin's expression turned into one of realization as if he just an idea " Wait ! Stop ! Stop ! Turn around ! Turn around ! Take us south !" the Hobbit inquired the Ent who was a bit surprise by the request. "South? But that will lead you past... Isengard !" Treebeard said back with a frown.
"Yes...Exactly..." Pippin began to say just as Merry was looking at him with a frown, wondering what he was doing "If we go south we can slip past Saruman unnoticed... The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm... It's the last thing he'll expect !" The Ent went deep in thought as if he was processing the Hobbit's words " Hmm. That doesn't make sense to me...But then, you are very small... Perhaps your right…. South it is then !" The Ent said as he turned around to the designated direction before walking away.
"Hold on, little Shirelings...I always like going south... Somehow it feels like going down hill..." Treebeard said as he walked with the two Hobbits riding him. Meanwhile, Merry was looking at his friend with disbelief "Are you mad ? we'll be caught !" he said quietly to the other Hobbit who responded back with determination "No we won't. Not this time..."
Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam along with Gollum were escorted to a city known as Osgiliath. The Leader of the men who captured them was named Faramir and he was Boromir's young brother. During their captivity, the two Hobbits learned that Boromir was dead but no one knew how. Faramir then had caught sight of the Ring and decided to bring it to Gondor so it could be used.
Sam and Frodo tried to reason him but to not avail. He was as stubborn as his older brother. They had no choice but to follow their gaolers to Osgiliath who was under attack of Mordor's force. Frodo begged Faramir to let him go but the Man stood impassible and stubbornly lead the group toward the ruins.
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Back to Fangorn, Treebeard was walking out of the Woods with the two Hobbits on him. "And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes, and they tickle me awfully..." Treebeard was speaking as the group emerged out from the forest. Then something has caught the attention of Merry and Pippin because they looked forward with shocked looks on their faces.
"They're always trying to get somewhere...Oh !" The Old Ent stopped saying as his eyes widened in shock at the spectacle before him : Dead trees all over the place with not a single one standing except for the ones to their backs. It was what remained of a part of the Forest after Saruman sent his Orcs.
"Many of these trees were my friends... Creatures I had known from nut and acorn…" Treebeard said in pure sorrow as a look of sadness appeared in the eyes of the Hobbits. "I'm sorry, Treebeard..." Pippin said to the Ent who didn't seem to notice it because he said "They had voices of their own..."
He looked past the devastation to look at a certain place which filled him with anger "Saruman... A wizard should know better !" Then he took a deep breath before letting out a loud roar-like yell which echoed in the air for miles away. "There is no curse in elvish, entish or the tongues of men for this treachery !" Treebeard said as he glared at Isengard with nothing but pure hatred.
"Look the trees ! They're moving !" Pippin remarked in shock as indeed from their point of views, they could see many trees moving all by themselves to who-know-where , groaning. " Where are they going ?" Merry asked the Ent who responded calmly " They have business with the Orcs..." then he looked back at Orthanc before adding " My business is with Isengard tonight... With a rock and stone !"
Another sound caught the attention of Merry and Pippin who turned their heads to see many Ents (a lot more than at the Entmoot ) began to emerge from Fangorn Forest . Merry, now knew why Pippin had inquired Treebeard to come this way, and now, they knew what was about to happen because of this decision. "Rárum-rum! Come my friends…. The Ents are going to war… It is likely that we go to our doom… The last march of the Ents !"
With that said, the regiment of Ents marched toward Isengard with a desire of vengeance for the trees the Wizard and his Orcs destroyed. Pippin and Merry, for their parts, harbored determined look on their faces as they watched Orthanc. It was time for Saruman to pay for his schemes !
(To be continued…)