Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Mini Cooper Corporation.
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The dark tunnel was only lit by the occasional dull light bulb hanging from the ceiling. But they were, more often that not, were walking in the darkness by the light of their UV flashlights. Unfortunately, those flashlights only emitted a purple light that wasn't a lot of help to the boys. One of them kept their eyes on the ground to watch out for stairs.
"Be careful," warned Legolas. He threw out his hand to stop Aragorn and signaled that there were stairs. "Caution should be used, Aragorn," he said, subtly reverting to his princely state of mind.
They went down the stairs together, carefully. The stairs were steep, room enough for barely three people to walk on. On both sides of them were what looked like sheer drops into the shadows. Without a stronger source of light, neither of them wanted to find out where the voids ended. They went slowly, for the stairs were steep and narrow.
The final chamber that the stairs led to couldn't have been more different than the journey to it. It wasn't brightly lit, but it had the sense of timelessness. There were a few hanging lanterns around the room that still held a small flame. The soft glow that they emitted showed faint lines along the walls.
Without wasting time, they waved the UV light around the walls. Nothing reacted to the light.
"Thranduil had said that the correct door would glow under the light of these flashlights, didn't he?" said Aragorn.
"Yes," Legolas said quietly. "Unless my senses were clouded by some kind of spell." He slowly directed his flashlight around the room, but still nothing glowed. "Perhaps he left us the wrong light."
"Perhaps. But I'd rather hope that we are missing something rather than doubt the deeds of our fathers."
The hairs on the back of Legolas' neck prickled with the cold chill he felt creep up his back, as if something powerful and unseen was in the room with them. He tried to calm his nerves but the lanterns flickered with a wind that neither boy had felt. Shadows danced across the walls, giving the impression that ancient souls resided there.
Legolas suddenly became aware that his flashlight was almost burning hot and dropped it, letting it roll across the floor.
Both he and Aragorn watching nearly invisible lines on the floor light up like fire when the violet beams were thrown onto them. Aragorn shone his flashlight onto the middle of the room, where a small, circular design sat.
"Ghosts watch us in this very room," he said, "but they are kind to have shown us where the Light is."
Legolas nodded and also shone light upon the floor. He easily recognized more script from the ancient past.
"'Balance of light and darkness should be maintained,'" he read aloud, "'conflict shall arise if the balance is disrupted. The guardians look over this balance. Only the guardians shall use this weapon. Only the strong will open."
"It was the Lady Galadriel who wrote this, was it not?"
"I wouldn't doubt it. Nor would I doubt that Gandalf had some influence on this inscription."
"Of course. It speaks in nothing but riddles."
It was then when both had noticed a curious oval design below the central design. There were two ovals and looked oddly familiar. Only when Legolas walked towards the design did Aragorn realize what it was and put him on the two ovals.
"What...?"
The ovals beneath his feet glowed brightly and the light poured into the designs around him, creating a ring of light, almost painfully bright in the darkness. The light was especially strong around Legolas, bathing him with pale light from the ground. The rest of the floor flowed with the light and Legolas noticed small instructions in front of him on the far end of the floor.
"I am Prince Legolas of the ancient Elvenwood of Greenwood the Great," he said clearly in Sindarin. His voice rang out in the silence. A ghostly collection of voices whispered around the empty room.
"Aragorn, last of the Numenoreans and I," he continued, "wish to use the ancient power of Earendil to battle against the coming Darkness."
The whispering grew louder and the lanterns began flickering once again. But, Legolas stood his ground with Aragorn close by.
"We come as guardians of Light in hope to use the star of Earendil to restore balance upon this world!" The whispers continued to fly by his ears. He realized what they were asking for.
"I, Legolas Greenleaf of the Greenwood elves, swear an oath with the strength of my blood that I will do all that I can to do justice to the Darkness and correct the imbalance that exists." He unwrapped his bandage and reopened his wound. He could almost feel the spirits fly around his hand, smelling and tasting the blood.
"I make a blood oath," he said as he held his wound over the center design, which was glowing like a spotlight and watched a drop of blood fall to the ground. "And I call the spirits present to be my witness and hold me to my word."
The central design shot a blinding shot of light to the ceiling. Both of the boys shielded their eyes, but Legolas looked under his arm and saw the ground open and a small phial levitate out from the earth.
Suddenly, all light ceased to exist except for the soft glow of the lanterns that now swung slowly from the ceiling. Even the UV flashlights were extinguished.
Legolas watched the crystal bottle wobble slowly and come to a halt. He picked it up and watched the gossamer threads of light in the phial shimmer.
"All this for a puny little bottle," Aragorn said and looked over his shoulder to look at the phial. "An incredibly valuable bottle, but a puny little bottle, nonetheless."
A loud crash was heard from the stairs and the lights began to flicker and die. Both of them looked towards the stairs in complete darkness and heard the roars and yells of Orcs and Neos.
"They're down here!" yelled an Orc. "I can smell the stench of an Elf and Man down there."
"Crap!" exclaimed Legolas. He quickly put the delicate phial in a belt pocket and followed Aragorn up the stairs. Blood pounded in his ears but he could still hear the thundering footsteps of the incoming Orcs.
"Legolas," cried out Aragorn. "Get the Light out!" He drew out his guns and switched the safeties off.
With his left hand, he drew out the Light of Earendil and, with his right, he pulled out his Magnum handgun and got ready.
"Aiya Earendil Elenion Ancalima!" His voice rang out the beautiful tongue of the Elves and shook the confidence of many Orcs.
The small phial Legolas held in his hand swirled the light within. The threads of light intertwined and grew, giving strength to him and Aragorn and blinding their dark foes. Indeed, the Light of Earendil possessed strength that none there could match. Those who opposed the force of it had fear struck in their hearts and had their eyes blinded by its purity. To the ancient friends of the Elves and the stars, it was almost as if the essence of Earendil was with them.
Aragorn shot the Orcs in their way with the magically charged guns that had bullets that left a golden trail of light in its wake and killed the Orcs instantly. He moved the falling Orcs aside into the voids beside the narrow stairs. He wanted Legolas to help, but he could do little but hold the Light of Earendil for guidance.
Once out into the parking lot, Legolas made use of himself and shot a party of Orcs and Neos in a matter of seconds. He ran towards the stairs leading to the street with Aragorn following closely.
"Run faster!" urged Aragorn as they ran up the stairs.
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" It was quite difficult for the Elf to run with so many restrictions around him.
They exploded out onto the street and Aragorn kept prompting them to keep running, even though they were quite tired from running up so many stairs. They had just crossed the street when Aragorn's pocket beeped.
The building lit up with the light from strong electrical currents. Some floors remained dark, like the ones higher than the tenth floor, but the base of the building crackled with electricity. Several windows shattered because of the excess static electricity and some fleeing Orcs.
The Orcs passed by Aragorn and Legolas at first, not caring or noticing them on the street. It was only after an Orc had stopped and turned back to try to kill them did one of the boys open fire. Unfortunately, before the body had fallen to the ground or the gun had stopped smoking, all the remaining Orcs knew perfectly well that they were there.
Legolas, who was holding the smoking gun, swiftly stuffed the crystal phial in a belt pouch, put his gun back in its holster and prepared his bow.
Aragorn kept a handgun out but drew out Anduril and looked at the surrounding Orcs. His hands were steady and he showed no fear in his eyes despite the mounting odds against him and Legolas.
"Do you still fear death, Aragorn?" Legolas asked out of the corner of his mouth with his bow drawn and arrow in place.
"No," he replied. "I only fear regret."
"As do I. Good luck, mellon nin."
Again, they fought together like a well-timed, thought-out pair of performance warriors. Renewed with the prospects of discovering their fathers' true intentions and being in possession of the Light of Earendil, they fought without holding themselves back or with any doubt in their minds or hearts. In their eyes, there was a sense of fierce duty and hope that shined like beacons of light.
The Orcs grew doubtful of their own side surviving this encounter with them and feared the new confidence and determination that they felt and saw in Aragorn and Legolas. In the blur of the battle, many Orcs could feel the ancient magic that the boys wielded in their hearts. They could see the fabled King of Men and the royal Prince of Mirkwood as they fought.
However, as powerful as they seemed to be, Aragorn and Legolas soon started to feel fatigued and they saw no end to the Orcs.
With a solution in his mind, Legolas swiftly switched back to guns and concentrated on shooting a small area of Orcs. A rapid succession of gunfire echoed around them and the crowd of Orcs thinned out in that area.
"Aragorn!" He grabbed his arm and, using the techniques he learned in high school, sprinted through and around the Orcs and only let go of Aragorn when they were a decent distance away from them. "How does a testing of a new toy sound?" he asked while running.
"Sounds fun." He grinned and began attempting to assemble a small bomb on the run and in the dying light.
The band of Orcs noticed the sunset as well and the monstrous growls intensified. A sense of dark hope was instilled in them as natural darkness settled into the city. They were almost within attack range when they turned a city corner.
"Take cover," warned Aragorn. He flicked the safety pin off the successfully assembled explosive and tossed it high over his shoulder. He was pulled into a small, tight crevice between two buildings by Legolas.
The small bomb soared through the air, in a high, elegant arc towards the group of Orcs. It sparkled once, twice in the dying rays of the sun as it flew to them. None noticed it until the grenade was a few inches away from an orc in the middle of the party and he knew that it was the end of them.
On impact, the bomb exploded. The blast radius of it incinerated and killed the Orcs that were thirsty for the boys' blood. The explosion sent a heat wave that shattered the windows and overturned several cars in the street. The street lit up with an iridescent orange glow and the intersection exploded in fire.
Aragorn and Legolas were only faintly singed, being out of the direct path of the flames. Aragorn had a small flame creeping along the hem of his ripped shirt because he was nearest to the fire, but he successfully put it out. Legolas pushed him out when the fire had calmed down a bit from chaos.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Aragorn asked, slightly harassed.
"You were just a little too close for me for my comfort," answered the Elf. He gingerly rubbed his ribs and sides. "Your weapons hurt even though they're supposed to be safe."
Aragorn just shrugged apologetically and looked around at the ruined street.
The area that the bomb had hit the hardest was simply a smoking crater in the middle of the street. Bodies were strewn about, charred and twitching, in some cases. Fires were still burning on streetlamps, cars and corpses everywhere in the blast radius. Both boys grimaced at the fetid stench of burning flesh but commented nothing about it.
After a few moment's observation and a comment of the oncoming darkness, they started walking back in the direction of the office, towards Legolas' hidden motorcycle. But, a group of Uruk-Hai, Orcs and a couple of Hunters stood in their way on the road.
"Oh, my god," Legolas muttered wearily. "Do we never get a break from all this crazy shit we call war?"
"No," said Aragorn, just as dully as his friend did. He automatically drew out his sword and prepared himself for battle.
For them, the battle had been short because of a very well timed appearance of a silver Mercedes and a navy blue Mini Cooper.
The two cars had come in separately and barricaded the street so the Dark creatures couldn't escape. Gunfire and golden trail in the air lit up the street and many Orcs and Uruk-Hai fell dead. A sudden surge of magic coming from a white staff poking out of the Mercedes behind Aragorn and Legolas flew towards a Hunter and took it down with a thunderous crash.
"Gandalf! Gimli!" Legolas cried out with relief but was fighting an Uruk-Hai at the same time. "Never did I think that we would see you again so soon!"
"It is a true pity if you truly did not think that we would ever come and join you," said Gimli. "Not since I have so many to catch up with."
A well-aimed bullet from the Mini brought down the last monstrous beast, which was about to crush Aragorn with its giant feet.
"That was a nice shot, Frodo. Well done."
"Thank you, Merry. It's really just all in the absorption of the recoil. Nothing to it."
Aragorn was in a state of disbelief about their light talk amid the war zone but was reminded quickly that they were still Hobbits.
"Do you have the Light?" Gandalf asked Legolas gravely. The Elf produced the phial and showed it to him. "Good," he said softly and said something else over the bottle, too soft for anyone to understand. He added, "Very good."
The Light of Earendil narrowed and pointed to a direction. None of the Fellowship had thought of wandering into that region of the city because there was always a sense of an ominous threat. They suspected that area, but always wanted to avoid it as long as they could. But now, they had no choice.
Aragorn climbed into the driver's seat of his Mercedes while the Hobbits retreated into their Mini Cooper and Legolas went to fetch his BMW motorcycle. Gandalf gently held the phial in his hands, sitting next to Aragorn.
"What happened to you guys back there?" Aragorn asked wildly as he waited for the rest of the Fellowship to start up. "Where's Gollum? And why the hell do the Hobbits have a brand-new Mini Cooper?"
"It is a very interesting story," said Gandalf, "and I will inform you while we travel into the heart of the slums of this city and as we search for Darkness."
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Sheep: Okay, news time! I don't know if this is bad or good, but I am now nearing the end of this fiction.
I think I was a little unclear last time in my little note. Most of you seem to think that the last chapter is coming next.
NOT TRUE!
The next chapter will still be a regular chapter and is not that near to the end. If anything, it's basically ending off the second bit of The Search For Darkness, like how the Battle at Helm's Deep kind of ends off the movie version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
So, after this next chapter, I will start on writing the conclusion of TSFD and I will post new material every other chapter I finish writing. Meaning, after I write 2 chapters, I will then post both on so you readers will have something new to read! You'll just have to read less often!