Hello all! Here's chapter 15 of One Ring!
I hope you all enjoy this! Oh, and since I couldn't find Cosmos' attack phrases, she's going to use Moon Cosmic Power and the other senshi's attacks, okay?
On with the story!
********
Three of the youma began to laugh. It was high and cruel, and had an effect on the Rohirrim not unlike that of the Nazgul. After several moments, Sailor Cosmos slammed her staff into the ground.
"Are you going to laugh or fight me?"
Slowly sizing her up, one youma stepped forward. "We will fight, one at a time. Prepare to die!!!"
The attack came quickly, and Cosmos barely managed to dodge. The ensuing explosion rocked Helm's Deep. With the Uruk army cackling in delight, Cosmos launched her first attack.
"Deep.SUBMERGE!"
It hit the youma head on. Taking a cursory glance at its wounds, it shrugged and shrieked,
"Ice Freeze!"
"Silence Wall!" Saturn's defensive attack barely came up in time. With the wall still up, Cosmos attacked.
"Rainbow Moon Heart.ATTACK!!!"
The youma emitted one cry before it became no more than dust. Turning to the remaining six youma, Cosmos remained in a defensive stance.
"Who's next?"
With a cry of rage, two youma lunged for her. Dodging and parrying their attacks the best she could, she fired a flame sniper. Unfortunately, it missed the youma, but it killed 100 uruk-hai.
During a brief reprieve, she fired another attack. "Mercury.Aqua Rhapsody!"
One of the youma was gravely wounded, and another jumped in to take its place. She noticed, with growing unease, that none of the Uruks had launched an attack on Helm's Deep yet. Crying out as a blast struck her shoulder, she immersed herself in the battle again.
'What's going on? Why aren't the Uruks attacking? And what's wrong with me? It shouldn't take so much energy to fight two youma, and I'm already exhausted! Senshi, where are you?'
Cosmos found herself on the receiving end of an attack that blasted her into the wall. As she fell to her knees, she vaguely heard Legolas yelling for her to get up. Coughing, she looked up. The five uninjured youma were fifteen feet away from her. Groaning as she stood, she called Saturn's Glaive into existence.
Calling upon her remaining energy, she gathered it for Saturn's ultimate attack. "Death Ribbon.REVOLUTION!"
It hit four of the youma, but only killed two. With no more energy to stand, she was forced to watch as one youma advanced menacingly. As it lunged for her, she closed her eyes in defeat. But before it could hit her, a blinding light knocked it aside. Cosmos' eyes slowly opened, and she found herself looking at two of the outer senshi. Gentle arms picked her up.
"Uranus?" She whispered weakly.
"Hai, koneko-chan. Hold on. Saturn's here." With that, Sailor Uranus easily cleared the fifty feet to the top of Helm's Deep.
Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and Eomer looked uncertainly at the woman holding the now detransformed Usagi. As she walked toward them, Gimli drew his axe.
"Put the lass down!"
"Relax, dwarf. My name is Sailor Uranus. I am of the outer senshi that fight to protect Usagi-hime from afar. Our time here is limited. All we can do is heal her and destroy the remaining youma. If you doubt me, let me ask you this: why would I have saved Usagi-hime if I wished her ill?"
Gently placing Usagi on the ground, she looked to the battle below. "I shall go aid Neptune, and Saturn will come to heal Usagi-hime. Do not harm her. I'm placing my koneko in your charge, you understand? If any harm comes to Usagi."
Leaving that sentence in the air, she drew a sword from nowhere and leapt down to the battle with a war cry. Joining the other two senshi on the ground, she motioned to where Legolas stood. With a nod, the shortest of the three leapt away from an attack and landed next to Legolas. Kneeling lightly, she placed her hands over Usagi's heart, and a purple glow began to transfer from her hands to Usagi.
After several moments of concentration, she leaned back and sighed, drained of energy. "Usagi-hime will be fine. However, she cannot aid in this fight. Get her somewhere safe, and do not let her fight until the next large battle. I suggest you keep her safe. What Sailor Uranus said holds true for all senshi. If you harm the hime in any way, we are given permission by the very gods to bring our wrath upon you. Please, keep her safe."
Nodding, Legolas spoke. "We shall do our best, Sailor Saturn."
Sailor Saturn met his gaze for just a moment, and then she'd leapt over the side of the battlement. Down below, the last of the youma had just been killed. Looking to Helm's Deep once, Uranus gave a wan smile. Then they were gone. Blinking, Aragorn shook his head, wondering if it was all a dream.
But then, he heard the cries of the uruk-hai, and knew his war had just begun.
********
The battle had led to this point. With no more than two hundred men left aside from Legolas and Gimli, the battle looked grim. And they weren't even sure of Gimli's survival. They'd been separated during the battle, and Legolas hoped he'd made it to the caves.
Turning to Aragorn, he spoke quietly. "Is there any hope?"
"Not much. We must hope Gandalf arrives soon. The dawn shall be up soon, which is when Gandalf told us to look for him."
Nodding, Legolas turned to look at the sleeping Usagi. He smiled slightly as she mumbled in her sleep. Suddenly, he looked up and Aragorn was gone.
********
Aragorn held his hand in a sign of parley. The Uruks who'd been working at chipping away the stone work stopped and sneered.
"Come to surrender, have you?" Their callous voices full of hate.
"Nay!" He cried. "I've come to warn you to get you gone before the dawn! 'Lest you wish to die this day!"
Instead of replying verbally, two of the Uruks fired arrows just as Aragorn leapt off the parapet. Turning, he headed to Theoden. Nodding in respect, he began to speak.
"My lord, if we were to charge out now and meet them, we could have the advantage of surprise. The Uruks have become complacent."
"And what, Lord Aragorn will we protect those le-"
Theoden didn't have time to finish, because at that moment, the sound of thousands of iron clad feet suddenly filled the deep. Legolas ran up to Aragorn, shouting joyfully in Elvish,
"Mithrandir! Mithrandir!"
Aragorn grinned, and shouted for his horse to be brought to him. As the remaining forty horses were mounted, Aragorn looked and was shocked to see a forest had moved to the edge of the deep overnight.
"Stay away from the trees!" He cried, and with that, the doors were thrown open, and the riders began a journey of death.
********
The battle had been won. Smiling, Gandalf rode over to Legolas and Aragorn. "Well done, my boy. Well done. Now, where are Gimli and Usagi?"
"Lady Usagi is sleeping. Several monsters from her world were amongst the army, and she fought them. However, she was weakened greatly, but was saved by three of her guardians. We know not where Gimli is."
"Well you should now, master elf, considering I'm right behind you!" Startled, Legolas jumped slightly.
"Gimli, what happened to your head?"
"Just a stupid Uruk trying to put an axe in my head. It doesn't hurt at all! Now, let's get the lass, and we can have a party!"
Gandalf smiled wanly. "Not yet, I'm afraid. There is much more work to be done. In two hours time, I shall depart with all riders wishing to travel with me, and we shall travel to Orthanc, now a ruined mass of stone. First, I must speak with Usagi."
********
Usagi had joyfully received the news of the end of the battle and Gandalf's return. As they walked towards the Glittering Caves, Gandalf turned to her.
"I am told that you had trouble fighting some monsters from your world last night."
"It was a weakness I did not expect." Usagi acknowledged. "But three of my senshi came and helped me. I am beginning to believe my eldest senshi had something to do with my coming here now."
Nodding, he continued. "That makes sense, since you are the niece of Galadriel. However, something else troubles you, does it not?"
"You know me so well." Sighing, she contemplated how to voice her thoughts. "For some reason, Saruman wished to have me as well. I believe it is because of the powers that now even Sauron will have felt. I think we can use this to our advantage."
"Go on." He prodded gently.
"It's more of a last ditch attempt to give Sam and Frodo more time. The only powers I have used have at least had the semblance of dark powers. If we could only make it seem as though I have the ring."
"I shall discuss it with the others. Now, I do believe the two hours are over. We must now go and face Saruman."
********
It had taken them almost 48 hours to reach Orthanc. With Theoden in the lead, they approached the gates. Two hobbits-Merry and Pippin-were sitting on the ground. It looked as though Pippin had drifted off to sleep. Jumping up, Merry took his smoking pipe out of his mouth and bowed deeply.
"Welcome, my lords to the former home of Saruman the White. Please do not mind the sogginess, but the Ents felt a purified Orthanc was better than a dirty one. I am Meriadoc Brandybuck and the gentlehobbit sleeping is Peregrin Took."
Gandalf interrupted this introduction with a smile. "Merry, tell me where Treebeard is."
"He said something about preparing a feast over the meadow. Ah, here he comes now!"
Walking in long strides, the Ent stopped just short of Theoden and Gandalf. "Greetings, Gandalf. I have prepared a feast for you in the meadow yonder. All those wishing to attend shall follow me."
"We'll stay, Gandalf. We have much catching up to do." Legolas spoke quietly.
Nodding, Gandalf stirred Shadowfax to a trot. Dismounting, Legolas and Gimli stepped up to the hobbits.
"So at last our journey ends! And with you better off than us!"
Laughing, Pippin hugged the surprised dwarf. "We missed you! But where is Usagi? Isn't she with you?"
"I'm behind Aragorn, dolt!" Came her annoyed voice.
As she stepped in front of Aragorn, she was rushed by Merry and Pippin, both of who were crying freely. With a cry of surprise, she fell onto Aragorn. Gimli and Legolas exchanged a look, and began to laugh. For the first time in months, all felt right in the world, even if it was just a moment in time.
********
Well, how was it? Feedback please!
I hope you all enjoy this! Oh, and since I couldn't find Cosmos' attack phrases, she's going to use Moon Cosmic Power and the other senshi's attacks, okay?
On with the story!
********
Three of the youma began to laugh. It was high and cruel, and had an effect on the Rohirrim not unlike that of the Nazgul. After several moments, Sailor Cosmos slammed her staff into the ground.
"Are you going to laugh or fight me?"
Slowly sizing her up, one youma stepped forward. "We will fight, one at a time. Prepare to die!!!"
The attack came quickly, and Cosmos barely managed to dodge. The ensuing explosion rocked Helm's Deep. With the Uruk army cackling in delight, Cosmos launched her first attack.
"Deep.SUBMERGE!"
It hit the youma head on. Taking a cursory glance at its wounds, it shrugged and shrieked,
"Ice Freeze!"
"Silence Wall!" Saturn's defensive attack barely came up in time. With the wall still up, Cosmos attacked.
"Rainbow Moon Heart.ATTACK!!!"
The youma emitted one cry before it became no more than dust. Turning to the remaining six youma, Cosmos remained in a defensive stance.
"Who's next?"
With a cry of rage, two youma lunged for her. Dodging and parrying their attacks the best she could, she fired a flame sniper. Unfortunately, it missed the youma, but it killed 100 uruk-hai.
During a brief reprieve, she fired another attack. "Mercury.Aqua Rhapsody!"
One of the youma was gravely wounded, and another jumped in to take its place. She noticed, with growing unease, that none of the Uruks had launched an attack on Helm's Deep yet. Crying out as a blast struck her shoulder, she immersed herself in the battle again.
'What's going on? Why aren't the Uruks attacking? And what's wrong with me? It shouldn't take so much energy to fight two youma, and I'm already exhausted! Senshi, where are you?'
Cosmos found herself on the receiving end of an attack that blasted her into the wall. As she fell to her knees, she vaguely heard Legolas yelling for her to get up. Coughing, she looked up. The five uninjured youma were fifteen feet away from her. Groaning as she stood, she called Saturn's Glaive into existence.
Calling upon her remaining energy, she gathered it for Saturn's ultimate attack. "Death Ribbon.REVOLUTION!"
It hit four of the youma, but only killed two. With no more energy to stand, she was forced to watch as one youma advanced menacingly. As it lunged for her, she closed her eyes in defeat. But before it could hit her, a blinding light knocked it aside. Cosmos' eyes slowly opened, and she found herself looking at two of the outer senshi. Gentle arms picked her up.
"Uranus?" She whispered weakly.
"Hai, koneko-chan. Hold on. Saturn's here." With that, Sailor Uranus easily cleared the fifty feet to the top of Helm's Deep.
Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and Eomer looked uncertainly at the woman holding the now detransformed Usagi. As she walked toward them, Gimli drew his axe.
"Put the lass down!"
"Relax, dwarf. My name is Sailor Uranus. I am of the outer senshi that fight to protect Usagi-hime from afar. Our time here is limited. All we can do is heal her and destroy the remaining youma. If you doubt me, let me ask you this: why would I have saved Usagi-hime if I wished her ill?"
Gently placing Usagi on the ground, she looked to the battle below. "I shall go aid Neptune, and Saturn will come to heal Usagi-hime. Do not harm her. I'm placing my koneko in your charge, you understand? If any harm comes to Usagi."
Leaving that sentence in the air, she drew a sword from nowhere and leapt down to the battle with a war cry. Joining the other two senshi on the ground, she motioned to where Legolas stood. With a nod, the shortest of the three leapt away from an attack and landed next to Legolas. Kneeling lightly, she placed her hands over Usagi's heart, and a purple glow began to transfer from her hands to Usagi.
After several moments of concentration, she leaned back and sighed, drained of energy. "Usagi-hime will be fine. However, she cannot aid in this fight. Get her somewhere safe, and do not let her fight until the next large battle. I suggest you keep her safe. What Sailor Uranus said holds true for all senshi. If you harm the hime in any way, we are given permission by the very gods to bring our wrath upon you. Please, keep her safe."
Nodding, Legolas spoke. "We shall do our best, Sailor Saturn."
Sailor Saturn met his gaze for just a moment, and then she'd leapt over the side of the battlement. Down below, the last of the youma had just been killed. Looking to Helm's Deep once, Uranus gave a wan smile. Then they were gone. Blinking, Aragorn shook his head, wondering if it was all a dream.
But then, he heard the cries of the uruk-hai, and knew his war had just begun.
********
The battle had led to this point. With no more than two hundred men left aside from Legolas and Gimli, the battle looked grim. And they weren't even sure of Gimli's survival. They'd been separated during the battle, and Legolas hoped he'd made it to the caves.
Turning to Aragorn, he spoke quietly. "Is there any hope?"
"Not much. We must hope Gandalf arrives soon. The dawn shall be up soon, which is when Gandalf told us to look for him."
Nodding, Legolas turned to look at the sleeping Usagi. He smiled slightly as she mumbled in her sleep. Suddenly, he looked up and Aragorn was gone.
********
Aragorn held his hand in a sign of parley. The Uruks who'd been working at chipping away the stone work stopped and sneered.
"Come to surrender, have you?" Their callous voices full of hate.
"Nay!" He cried. "I've come to warn you to get you gone before the dawn! 'Lest you wish to die this day!"
Instead of replying verbally, two of the Uruks fired arrows just as Aragorn leapt off the parapet. Turning, he headed to Theoden. Nodding in respect, he began to speak.
"My lord, if we were to charge out now and meet them, we could have the advantage of surprise. The Uruks have become complacent."
"And what, Lord Aragorn will we protect those le-"
Theoden didn't have time to finish, because at that moment, the sound of thousands of iron clad feet suddenly filled the deep. Legolas ran up to Aragorn, shouting joyfully in Elvish,
"Mithrandir! Mithrandir!"
Aragorn grinned, and shouted for his horse to be brought to him. As the remaining forty horses were mounted, Aragorn looked and was shocked to see a forest had moved to the edge of the deep overnight.
"Stay away from the trees!" He cried, and with that, the doors were thrown open, and the riders began a journey of death.
********
The battle had been won. Smiling, Gandalf rode over to Legolas and Aragorn. "Well done, my boy. Well done. Now, where are Gimli and Usagi?"
"Lady Usagi is sleeping. Several monsters from her world were amongst the army, and she fought them. However, she was weakened greatly, but was saved by three of her guardians. We know not where Gimli is."
"Well you should now, master elf, considering I'm right behind you!" Startled, Legolas jumped slightly.
"Gimli, what happened to your head?"
"Just a stupid Uruk trying to put an axe in my head. It doesn't hurt at all! Now, let's get the lass, and we can have a party!"
Gandalf smiled wanly. "Not yet, I'm afraid. There is much more work to be done. In two hours time, I shall depart with all riders wishing to travel with me, and we shall travel to Orthanc, now a ruined mass of stone. First, I must speak with Usagi."
********
Usagi had joyfully received the news of the end of the battle and Gandalf's return. As they walked towards the Glittering Caves, Gandalf turned to her.
"I am told that you had trouble fighting some monsters from your world last night."
"It was a weakness I did not expect." Usagi acknowledged. "But three of my senshi came and helped me. I am beginning to believe my eldest senshi had something to do with my coming here now."
Nodding, he continued. "That makes sense, since you are the niece of Galadriel. However, something else troubles you, does it not?"
"You know me so well." Sighing, she contemplated how to voice her thoughts. "For some reason, Saruman wished to have me as well. I believe it is because of the powers that now even Sauron will have felt. I think we can use this to our advantage."
"Go on." He prodded gently.
"It's more of a last ditch attempt to give Sam and Frodo more time. The only powers I have used have at least had the semblance of dark powers. If we could only make it seem as though I have the ring."
"I shall discuss it with the others. Now, I do believe the two hours are over. We must now go and face Saruman."
********
It had taken them almost 48 hours to reach Orthanc. With Theoden in the lead, they approached the gates. Two hobbits-Merry and Pippin-were sitting on the ground. It looked as though Pippin had drifted off to sleep. Jumping up, Merry took his smoking pipe out of his mouth and bowed deeply.
"Welcome, my lords to the former home of Saruman the White. Please do not mind the sogginess, but the Ents felt a purified Orthanc was better than a dirty one. I am Meriadoc Brandybuck and the gentlehobbit sleeping is Peregrin Took."
Gandalf interrupted this introduction with a smile. "Merry, tell me where Treebeard is."
"He said something about preparing a feast over the meadow. Ah, here he comes now!"
Walking in long strides, the Ent stopped just short of Theoden and Gandalf. "Greetings, Gandalf. I have prepared a feast for you in the meadow yonder. All those wishing to attend shall follow me."
"We'll stay, Gandalf. We have much catching up to do." Legolas spoke quietly.
Nodding, Gandalf stirred Shadowfax to a trot. Dismounting, Legolas and Gimli stepped up to the hobbits.
"So at last our journey ends! And with you better off than us!"
Laughing, Pippin hugged the surprised dwarf. "We missed you! But where is Usagi? Isn't she with you?"
"I'm behind Aragorn, dolt!" Came her annoyed voice.
As she stepped in front of Aragorn, she was rushed by Merry and Pippin, both of who were crying freely. With a cry of surprise, she fell onto Aragorn. Gimli and Legolas exchanged a look, and began to laugh. For the first time in months, all felt right in the world, even if it was just a moment in time.
********
Well, how was it? Feedback please!