A/N: Hi! As always, thanks for the reviews. I have written an ending for this, and I like it myself, but I'd like to know how all of you think I should end this story (i.e. what should happen to Worf after the war is over). Please let me know!
This chapter is rather short (sorry about that; the next one will be longer).
I'm also looking for a beta-reader for a short Gimli/OC romance. Please email me if you're interested.


Ch. 14: Helm's Deep

While it was still dark, the rearguard of Westfold retreated into the Hornburg, followed closely by the enemy, an army of orcs and wild men. The army attacked, to be met by silence. The silence made them hesitate, but they soon overcame their confusion and attacked. When they approached the gates, the orc army was met by arrows thick as rain, and stones like hail. Worf stood with Éomer and Aragorn, and shot his share of arrows, wishing once again for a phaser. Lightning revealed the enormous host attacking the gates, readying a battering ram made from the trunks of giant trees. Gathering men as they went, the three ran for a small door in the site of the wall. Aragorn swung Andúril, and the forces above shouted their support; the Blade that was Broken fought once again. Éomer's sword sang, and Worf's bat'leth tasted blood. As they turned to return to the gates, Éomer was swept off his feet by a group of Orcs that had hidden near them. They were not the only creatures hidden in the dark; with a battle cry, a small figure swung an axe that beheaded two of the orcs in a single stroke. Worf caught another with his bat'leth, and the rest fled. They returned inside, Éomer thanking Gimli for his life.
Gimli and Legolas fell into counting their harvest of orcs; Legolas claimed twenty, and Gimli two. Worf jumped in with his count of eighteen. After only a brief rest, the attack on the walls was renewed. The enemy threw grappling hooks and ladders against the wall. They simply kept coming. Aragorn rallied the troops three times, Worf and Éomer close at his side. Some of the orcs managed to get past the defenders to where the horses were guarded, and others rushed in through a culvert made for the Deeping stream. Gimli and Legolas went after them as Gamling brought out reinforcements from the caves; the orcs were quickly dispatched. With Gimli's help, they dammed up the culvert in the Deeping stream, flooding the culvert.
The latest assault halted, there was a lull in the battle, but just enough for the weary warriors to catch their breath. All were weary, but dawn was soon approaching, and with it, a glimmer of hope. Suddenly a great hole blasted through the rock dam holding back the stream. Not only was the dam gone, but there was a gaping, ragged hole in the wall. Aragorn called it the devilry of Saruman, and Worf wondered what explosive might be known to these primitive people, as they both rushed to defend the wall against the latest onslaught. The defenders retreated back into the citadel. Aragorn alone held their retreat, the terror of Andúril holding the enemy at bay just long enough for the retreat. Legolas had a single arrow ready to back him up. When Aragorn too, turned to retreat, he stumbled, and Legolas shot his one arrow. Legolas now claimed 39 orcs, but Worf had more than caught up, taking down 47 orcs. From above, the defenders threw down a boulder, which allowed them a moment to finish their retreat.
Inside the citadel, Aragorn and Worf learned that Éomer was not there. Most likely, he was in hiding in the caves; they were well provisioned and defensible. Those in the caves were probably better off than the ones in the citadel. Aragorn, Legolas, and Worf went aid the defenders on the wall, throwing rocks and hacking at anything that tried to get over the gates.
Just before dawn, Aragorn stood above the gates, in full view of the enemy; they called for him to come down and bring out the king, but Aragorn replied, "I looked out to see the dawn." The enemy did not care; these Uruk-hai did not fear the sun like other Orcs. Aragorn told them "None know what the new day shall bring him. Get you gone, ere it turn to your evil. No enemy has yet taken the Hornburg. If you do not leave, not one will be left alive to take back tidings to the North. You do not know your peril."¹ Standing there, Aragorn was revealed in all his power and royalty; the effect was so great it caused many of the attackers to falter, but soon arrows forced him off the wall.
Moments later, another blast of the evil fire came, and the gate fell; the barricade behind it was scattered. The Orcs screamed in anticipation, but suddenly the great horn of Helm rang loud and clear. Blast upon blast came, echoing off the hills. With a shout, Théoden rode forth, Aragorn at his right, Worf on his left. The lords of the House of Eorl the Young rode behind him. From the caves men came streaming out. They mowed down the forces of Isengard as if they were straw. Those who could fled before the attack. The company halted at the Dike, where they looked in wonder at a forest sprung up overnight. The armies of Isengard feared the trees almost as much as their attackers; they tried to climb the walls of the valley. The east side was too steep and stony to climb, and those who tried the west found themselves met by a White Rider followed by a thousand footmen. Gandalf had brought Erkenbrand with reinforcements. With nowhere else to go, the Orcs fled into the wood, never to emerge.

¹ pp. 170-171, The Two Towers