I'm sorry this took so long, but a combination of being unbelievably busy and a lack of inspiration made me take longer than I said. (That and I don't like deadlines). ;
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO TWO OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS: HIKARI-CHAN AND DIZZYCHICK2003, BOTH OF WHOM HAVE CHOSEN TO STOP THEIR WONDERFUL STORIES. THOSE OF US IN THE FANFICTION COMMUNITY WILL MISS THEIR POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS.
One Ring will be finished in two segments: this and one more. I know this is fast, but if I don't finish it now, I'll never have the time or dedication. Thank you all for continually reviewing and being so patient with the slowness of recent chapters.
Chapter 24
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Usagi, Legolas, Gimli, Eomer, Aragorn, Imrahil, and Gandalf had gathered in Aragorn's tent, just outside the walls of Minas Tirith. They had little to no time to plan for the battle that would make or break Middle-Earth. Gandalf and Imrahil were currently engaged in a heated debate over whether or not to leave the city and fight on Sauron's ground.
Usagi and the others listened in silence, with Gimli occasionally throwing in a sarcastic comment. However, Usagi found it harder and harder to sit and listen to the two men degrade each other and their plans. Slowly, an aching began to consume her that became a throbbing. As tears pooled in her eyes, she stood, effectively ending the argument.
"For once, can't everyone just get along?!" She whispered as she turned and ran out of the tent. Every person in the room saw the single tear she'd shed.
Legolas and Aragorn couldn't help but glare at Imrahil and the stunned Gandalf. Both moved to speak, but Legolas was the first.
"Usagi is right. If we wish to survive we must throw aside our petty disputes and work together. I say we vote for which method of action we prefer. And that we have the others vote as well. That way, we'll know what everyone wishes to do."
Gandalf and Imrahil nodded in consent. "And why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"Because earlier…Usagi wasn't crying."
Gandalf found his jaw falling open. Gimli wasn't far behind. "And that's why you came up with your idea for having a vote?"
Legolas merely stood quietly, refusing to answer the question. Aragorn chuckled quietly.
"The day an Elf sacrifices his pride for one he loves is a day the world needs to see more often."
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Usagi ran and ran. Eventually, she was forced to stop because she couldn't run any higher. Sitting on a rock in the garden, she allowed her tears to fall. 'Naze? Minna wa kou sen teki na. Kokoro wo raku de nai.'[1]
'Why do you cry, little one?' Usagi gasped. 'Oh sure, NOW I go crazy. This is JUST great!' 'You aren't crazy. Look to the moon for comfort, my child. Do you not remember me?'
"Hahaue?"[2] She whispered quietly, unable to contain herself to telepathy.
'Hai. Atashi ni naru. Tsuki he kaeru.'[3]
Usagi nodded, looking at the moon. It gave off a glow brighter than she'd seen in all her days of being in Middle-Earth. Closing her eyes, she felt a warmth as her birthmark (an upturned crescent moon) became visible. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing near the ruins of a palace. Her home.
"My child…these past few months have been so hard for you." Queen Serenity appeared directly in front of her.
"Hahaue." Usagi curtsied, dressed in her traditional garb once more.
Serenity's fairy-like laughter made Usagi look up. (AN: For sanity's sake, Queen Serenity will be Serenity. Usagi will remain Usagi.) Sensing Usagi's confusion, Serenity spoke once more.
"There is no need to bow to me, my daughter. It has been far too long since I last saw you."
"More than 4 years." Usagi replied quietly, wishing she could hug her mother.
"I cannot stay long. Pluto is lending me energy for this. I saw your heart was in pain and I knew that I needed to speak with you. Child, why is your heart so troubled?"
"It's all the fighting, mother. I know it's right, but it feels so wrong!" Usagi cried, tears beginning to fall again.
"Lunarians should not be forced to fight. YOU shouldn't have to fight." Serenity sighed. "But, life is not fair. We do not choose who we will be or where we will go. You are being used by the fates, child. It is a burden I wish I could take upon myself, but it cannot be. When you made your choice in the cauldron, you vowed to protect lives, no matter the cost. You cannot falter and break that vow."
(AN: I've never seen the Stars series, so I'm saying that she chose to become Cosmos).
Usagi sighed in frustration. "I just don't know what to do! We're approaching the final battle, and I don't know if I'll be strong enough to take on the Nazgul on my own. Mother, can't the outers join me?"
"You know that they ca-"
"Mother, please! I know that the gods would listen. Tell them the outers would not be allowed to use their powers. I just need them here. Please!"
Serenity sighed. "I shall see, my child. My time here grows short. It is time for you to return home."
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Usagi blinked suddenly, looking around in confusion. She was back in Minas Tirith, sitting on the very rock that she'd "left" from. She sighed, and prepared to head back to Aragorn's tent.
She walked quietly through the streets, taking her time to reach the lowest level, which was completly destroyed by the battle of pelennor fields. Usagi found herself at the gate and unready to return. Slowing even further, she looked toward the moon, which wasn't nearly as bright as it had been.
Musing about the final battle, she failed to notice Aragorn until she'd walked into him. With a slight cry of surprise, she fell over and promptly began to rub her nose. Sniffling, she looked up in surprise to see all the soldiers gathered together. Blushing slightly, she accepted the proffered hand from Aragorn.
"We have decided to allow the majority to choose our course of action." He whispered in her ear.
Usagi sighed, suddenly feeling much better. 'At least they're not fighting anymore.' Nodding, she walked over to Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir. As the vote was taken, Usagi placed her hand in Legolas' larger, comforting one. Smiling, Legolas gently pulled her closer.
"It has been decided." Gandalf stated heavily, leaning on his staff. "We will approach Mordor, and challenge Sauron there. In three days' time, we shall set out for the Black Gate of Mordor."
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"Where did you go? We were worried." Legolas spoke gently.
"I went into the city. I don't know how far, but there was a beautiful garden." Usagi hesitated before she finished. "And…I saw my mother."
"The queen?" Legolas spoke sharply, turning her to face him.
She nodded. "She helped calm me down. Legolas, I'm so confused! All this fighting is a weight on my soul!"
Legolas' eyes softened. "You should not have to fight."
"Funny, that's what she said." Usagi muttered.
"What did you speak of?"
"I asked her to bring some of my friends to Middle-Earth. I never got an answer." Usagi whispered, hugging Legolas. "But right now, I don't want to think about them or battle. I wish to be with you."
Legolas kissed Usagi's brow. "I'll stay with you, but you need to sleep."
"No, I don't!" Usagi contradicted herself by yawning widely. "Well…maybe a little."
Without saying anything else, Legolas picked Usagi up. Less than two minutes after he'd picked her up, she'd fallen asleep. Legolas walked to Usagi's tent (because she was the only wyman fighting, she got a private tent), and gently placed her on the small cot. Sitting on the floor next to her bed, he allowed himself to be lost in the world of dreams.
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"Everything is going as planned." Uranus sighed in relief. "I wish we could be with her."
"That isn't an option. At least…not until the final battle is over." Pluto replied, erasing the hazy image from the fog in the realm known as the gates of time.
"Will she triumph?" Saturn asked, looking to her surrogate parents.
"She can't afford not to. Ganbatte, hime-sama."[4] Pluto whispered.
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The three days it took for the final company to assemble went by all too quickly. Everyone rarely had time to sleep, and when they did, it was sporadic and often lasted less than fifteen minutes. Taking a precious break, Usagi gazed over the sea of tents that adorned the fields. 'This still might not be enough.'
'It has to be.' She clenched her fists. Turning, she went back to work, no longer caring to look at the dying embers of sunlight.
"Less than twelve hours remain until our departure." Elrohir approached Usagi. "No disrespect intended, my lady, but should you not be resting?"
Usagi stifled a yawn. "I'm more useful when I'm awake, lord."
"I will take over your duties. We'll need your strength in the upcoming battle, and we cannot afford to have you be too tired to fight."
Usagi sighed and nodded. "If you need anything…"
"We will find you." Elrohir replied, bowing slightly. "Sleep well."
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As grateful as she was for the chance to sleep, Usagi found that she couldn't. Something was making her uneasy, and she couldn't place what it was. Gently fingering the chain that held the Ring facsimile, she vaguely thought of Frodo and Sam and how they were doing. She couldn't possibly know that at that very moment they were being herded along with Orcs, or that soon they'd fall into a ditch for their final rest.
Deciding that worrying about others wasn't helping her to sleep, she rolled over and was just drifting to sleep when she felt the lightest breath of wind tickle her neck. Frowning, she pulled the thick blanket to her chin. Another gentle gust of wind roused her. 'Kuso! I know for a fact that I didn't leave the flaps open!'
As she moved to get up, a quiet command stopped her. "Move and I kill you."
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Should I stop it here? What do you think? I think I'll be nice and go on further than this, just b/c I love all you readers!
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Usagi found herself looking into the cold eyes of a man she'd never seen before. Then again, there were soldiers fighting against Sauron that she'd never seen before.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?"
The man allowed a small smirk. "I am a servant of Sauron, my lady. I have come to claim what is rightfully his. Give me the ring and I allow you to live."
Usagi felt as though some lead had been added to the contents of her meager dinner. 'This is the trouble I get into for listening to Elrohir! Usagi, you idiot! How could you not pay attention and let a potentially psychotic axe-murderer enter your room? Ugh! I've watched too many movies.' Mentally groaning at her stupidity, she found herself wishing for anyone to walk into her tent, even that pervert from two nights ago.
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Meanwhile, Legolas couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had been plaguing him for more than half the day. Something was off, but since so many things were going wrong, he couldn't decide what was making him feel this way. Closing his eyes briefly, he allowed his mind to wander. The first thing he saw was Usagi's smiling face. 'I haven't seen her in a while. I wonder if she's all right.' At that moment, Elrohir walked by.
"Elrohir." Although Legolas spoke softly, the other elf heard him perfectly.
"Yes?" He replied in Elvish.
"Have you seen Usagi?"
"I convinced her to go sleep for a while. Is something wrong?"
"Something feels out of place." Legolas replied softly. "I'm going to go check on her. Will you come with me?"
Elrohir nodded and began to walk toward the camp ground.
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"This is not my day." Usagi moaned quietly.
The man growled. "Either give me the ring or tell me you won't and then I can kill you!"
Considering the man was gently fingering the knife he held in his hand, Usagi knew she was going to have a hard time choosing what to do. Mentally growling, she started weighing her choices. Since she wasn't fond of either, she decided to act her age. She stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry to the man.
Growling in rage, he stepped forward, bringing the knife up when Usagi decided it was a good time to move. Diving to the right, she just missed being shishkabobbed by the knife. Rolling over, she searched frantically for any weapon as the knife moved toward her again. Spying a chair, she picked it up. 'Let's hope this works like it does in the movies!'
Sadly, the chair didn't survive the speed or strength behind the attack. As it broke, she was left with one leg to try and parry his attacks. Considering her "weapon" of choice, she was glad she wasn't dead yet. 'Well, now's as good a time as any to start screaming…'
So, she opened her mouth and screamed long and loud. A sudden kick to her diaphragm abruptly stopped her scream. But the damage had been done. Completely winded, Usagi hunkered down on one knee, stars filling her vision. Grinning in triumph, the man dove forward, expecting no more interference on Usagi's part.
The attack didn't come from Usagi. It came from an elf who was beyond pissed by the name of Legolas. With an enraged cry, he cut the man off at the pass and punched him through the wall of the tent. Aragorn, who'd been running toward the commotion, gaped in appreciation of the woodland elf's fury. Trembling, Legolas found himself unable to speak. Walking up to the now weaponless and cowering man, he prepared one knife and rapidly slit his throat.
Wiping the blood on the man's cloak, Legolas turned and jogged back into the tent. Elrohir was there, acting as a scout. He briefly exchanged a worried glance with Legolas. Legolas knelt by Usagi who was still trying to regain her breath. Tucking some hair behind her ear, Legolas whispered,
"Are you all right?"
"Kono yaro w-" Usagi stopped when she realized she was speaking in Japanese. "That bastard…broke a…rib!"
"Let me see." Aragorn commanded gently, pulling some athelas that he had left over from healing Merry, Eowyn, and Faramir.
Gently lifting her shirt, Usagi allowed him to inspect her rapidly bruising abdomen. After several moments, Aragorn pronounced it was only bruised and placed the athelas in some water for Usagi to drink.
A large commotion drew the attention of Usagi, Aragorn, Legolas, and Elrohir to the side of the tent where the would-be assassin's body was lying. Gandalf, Gimli, Eomer, Imrahil, Elladan, and several soldiers gaped at the hole in the tent and the man.
"Aragorn, what happened?" Gimli finally demanded.
"That man tried to kill me." Usagi stated, finally able to breathe normally. "He wanted the ring."
"I want her to be better protected!" Legolas snarled, his anger still at its peak.
"She will be." Aragorn replied. "We did not anticipate that Sauron would make such an attempt. But we must be careful in who we choose. It should be one of us, and none other."
"I'll protect her." Gimli offered, blushing when Usagi beamed at him.
"Perhaps it would be best if my brother and I guarded her." Elladan suggested quietly. "I mean no disrespect, master dwarf, but there's two of us and only one of you."
Gimli grumbled but nodded. "I suppose that would be for the best."
Gandalf nodded. "Elladan, Elrohir, stay with Usagi. The rest of us should try and sleep."
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None of them had gotten any sleep. That was a given. People rarely sleep before such a huge battle. The few people who had horses (the remnant of the fellowship and Elrond's sons included), mounted their horses. The ride to the black gate was fairly short. Usagi passed the time by joking with Gimli and Pippin. Merry hadn't yet recovered from the Black Breath, so he'd been forced to stay in Minas Tirith.
Upon reaching the gate, a small party rode up and demanded to parley with Sauron's troops. Several men and Uruk-hai came out. The leader carried something wrapped in brown cloth.
"Come to surrender, have you?"
"On the contrary. We have come to demand your surrender." Usagi replied coldly, assuming the role of leader.
"Oh?" The man laughed. "You demand that I, the mouth of Sauron, give in to you?"
"If you do so, you and your men will be allowed to live. If you cast down your arms, no harm will come to you or your men. That seems fair to me." Usagi replied pleasantly.
"I don't think so." He replied, sneering. "But, I do have a present for you."
Pippin couldn't contain his gasp of surprise. Frodo's coat of mithril glittered lightly in the dim light.
"Ah! So you DO know who owns this beauty. Well, it is yours! I hope you are prepared for battle!" The man wheeled around and issued a command to an awaiting Uruk. It promptly gave a cry that set the battle in motion.
Aragorn and Gandalf rapidly retreated to a high knoll from which Aragorn could command the battle. Usagi and the others would be fighting. As soon as Aragorn reached his vantage point, the army of Mordor rushed the surrounded army of men.
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The battle had gone well up to this point. Somewhere along the line, Usagi had been separated from people/elves/hobbits/dwarves she knew, but that was all right with her. After all, the fun was just beginning. Even as she killed another man of Dunland, there was a sudden hush as the remaining eight Nazgul flew over the fight. The men and Uruks in front of her backed up as three of the Nazgul landed. Their steeds immediately took to the air. The Nazgul drew their swords.
"You dare to challenge your master?" Usagi whispered, playing her role to the hilt.
"Our master is Sauron." The first Nazgul hissed. "You are but an imposter. Give us the ring."
"You know…I don't think I will." Usagi replied thoughtfully. Ripping the chain from her neck, she placed the ring around her finger. "I'm going to teach you what happens when you disrespect your master."
It seemed as though both sides were more interested in who won this battle than who won their own. As Usagi used Saturn's glaive to parry and attack, men, Uruks, and elves forgot about their fight and watched with morbid fascination.
Usagi parried one attack badly and earned a shallow gash to her left arm. Growling, she lunged and ran the Nazgul through. It gave an unearthly shriek before it collapsed to the ground. She soon made quick work of the other two Nazgul. Taking a quick breather, she looked to the sky.
"Do any other of my servants wish to challenge me? If so, come to the ground and face the consequences!" She yelled.
Two of the Nazgul shrieked, but made no move to land. "That's what I thought." Usagi murmured as the battle slowly resumed around her. With a cry, she lunged and skewered an Uruk-hai.
The battle went on for another hour before a sudden shaking of the ground and a brilliant light show told the winner of the battle. At last, the ring had been destroyed. Looking around, Usagi didn't see Gandalf anywhere.
"He must've gone to see if Frodo and Sam are still alive." She mused, not paying attention to Aragorn, who was screaming her name.
She didn't realize the danger until it was too late. An uruk suddenly lunged forward, its sword narrowly missing her heart and puncturing her lung instead. Crying out weakly, she fell forward, her equilibrium shot from the sudden loss of air. Wheezing, she barely realized that the Uruk was still attempting to kill her. Rolling to the side, she felt a sharp pain in her left leg. Then, all went black.
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When Aragorn had seen the approaching Uruk, he knew that he needed to act quickly. Looking around frantically, he didn't see anyone he could call by name. With no time left, he began to sprint, pushing between pockets of fighting. He was still ten feet away when he saw Usagi go limp and the Uruk's sword heading for her unprotected neck. Letting out a battle cry, Aragorn threw his sword. It pierced the neck of the Uruk, who fell without uttering a cry.
"Oh no!" Aragorn whispered, kneeling beside Usagi. Turning her over, he attempted to stop the bleeding from her left lung. Before he could yell for help, Elladan had appeared at his side.
"Elrohir is getting Legolas. What must be done?" He asked tersely.
They worked in silence, knowing that every second caused Usagi to become weaker. As Aragorn applied pressure, the blood gradually stopped pouring from her lung wound. Elladan focused on stopping the bleeding of Usagi's leg and arm. A gasp told them Legolas had arrived.
Falling to his knees, Legolas could only watch Aragorn and Elladan's frantic efforts. "Elrohir, get Shadowfax, quickly!"
The elf nodded and disappeared briefly. When he returned, a victorious Gandalf was walking by his side.
"Frodo and Sam are fine. Now, why d-" When he saw Usagi, he paused. "Aragorn, give her to me. I will take her back to Minas Tirith."
Nodding, Aragorn carefully picked her up and handed her to Gandalf, who'd mounted Shadowfax. Bending down, Gandalf whispered,
"Take care of Legolas. Lady Usagi will be fine, but I fear for his mental state. As soon as she is well, we shall return to the Fields of Cormallen."
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Well, that's that. What do you think? I hope you enjoyed this second to last chapter of OR!
TRANSLATIONS:
[1]'Why? Everyone was fighting. My heart hurts/is uneasy.'
[2]"Mother?"
[3]'Yes. Come to me. Return to the moon.'
[4]"Good luck, princess."