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He's Gone

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

Rating: T (PG-13)

Genres: Action/Adventure/Angst

A/N: -sigh- I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter. This is the first story we've ever co-authored, and we've been having a bit of trouble combining things. Anyways…we're really sorry this is such a pitifully small chapter – hope you enjoy it anyways. LOL, actually, it was going to be a good deal shorter, because I managed to forget to write one of the scenes entirely and wound up spending yesterday afternoon doing it :-) And yes, I am going to be quiet now and let you read.

For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter.

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The ground was empty.

Constant rain had erased most of the signs of the orcs' camp, and of their trail; but there, beneath the tree where Aragorn should have been, there was nothing. Legolas hurried, staggering slightly, to the spot. He'd been so engrossed in frantically searching for his friend, that he hadn't noticed the tracks. Wolf tracks, he realized with a sick feeling in his stomach.

He collapsed against a tree, sliding down onto his knees, unable to contain a moan as physical and emotional pain converged overwhelmingly. It seemed like the very last thing his over-exhausted body could handle, but even worse, his mind felt it like a death-blow.

Somehow, even through his mind-numbing disbelief, anger, and grief, he'd never quite accepted his friend's death. Somehow, in the back of his mind, in his subconscious, he'd held on to the hope that Aragorn was alive.

And now…

He bowed his head in silent grief, his sorrow to great even for tears now. He'd been too late, even to save his friend's body from the wolves.

It's not supposed to end this way! his thoughts screamed, in one last attempt at denial. But now, unlike before, his heart had accepted it, and his mind was gradually converting to the hard truth.

The aching pain in his chest made him want to scream; he wanted to scream at the cruelness of the orcs, at the wolves who'd stolen his friend's last dignity, and most of all at himself for having let this happen.

However, in the face of such loss, Legolas couldn't stay angry―even at himself―for long. In the end he couldn't scream at anyone, or anything. He could merely whisper a few, simple, heart-broken words, that were swept away by a gentle wind and lost in the silent woods.

"Namárië, mellon-nín…gwador-nín."

He didn't notice the time passing as he knelt there for a long while. Eventually, his overwhelming grief receded slightly for the time being, leaving in its wake only incredible weariness, and determination. There was still one thing left that he could do for Estel. He must hold himself together long enough to fulfill that one last task.

He slowly rose to continue on to Rivendell.

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It was raining lightly. Again. But really, Legolas was too exhausted to care much. As he limped doggedly forward, a cool breeze brushed past him and he shivered, despite the fierce heat emanating from his skin. Almost there…

He had been watching the ground—he could little afford a fall just now, and he seemed to have grown strangely clumsy of late—but now he looked up again. There. He could see the wall, and just a short distance ahead was the garden door. I suppose I would have a better chance of finding someone if I went around to the main gates. No one with any sense is likely to be in the gardens in this weather. But the thought of walking all that distance was too overwhelming. True, it was not really all that far, but at the moment even the few steps left to reach the garden seemed like too far. Besides, if he could just get inside Rivendell then, if he did collapse, someone was bound to find him.

When several fumbling tries at opening the door failed, Legolas began to fear that it might be locked, a thought which had not occurred to him before. Fortunately, his next try proved his fears wrong, as the door finally swung open. Unfortunately, it also nearly dropped him on his face as he realized he had been leaning against the door while he tried to open it.

Inwardly shaking his head at himself, he stepped forward, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. One glance confirmed his earlier suspicions—there was nobody in the garden. He eyed a bench longingly for a moment before continuing resolutely on. He knew perfectly well that if he stopped, he would not be getting back up. After coming this far, he refused to give out now.

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Inside the house, he leaned against the wall gasping for breath, and steeled himself to take another step forward. He could feel the last ounces of his strength slipping away, but fear that the inhabitants of Rivendell would never hear news of Estel's death kept him conscious. His mind willed his legs to keep functioning; however, Eru seemed to have taken mercy on him once again, for as he fell forward two pairs of hands caught him.

"Legolas!"

Dazedly, he looked up into the worried faces of the twins. In his half-delirious state, it took him a minute to realize the wasn't seeing double. Strong arms gently pulled him up.

"Legolas, what happened to you? Where's Estel?"

Through the haze that was enveloping him, he only partially registered the voice as Elladan's. Remembering Estel with a pang, he disregarded the first question. He hung his head, partially in weariness, and partially out of unwillingness to see the pain his next words would cause.

"Estel is…dead," he managed to choke out before darkness claimed him.

Elladan and Elrohir stood, stunned. Their eyes met for a second, too surprised for the full portent of what Legolas had just said to fully sink in. Then, in one accord, they sprang into action.

"Go get Ada," Elladan ordered in an intense voice, as he shifted to support Legolas' full weight.

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Elrond rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in frustration.

It was a beautiful, quiet day in Rivendell, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to relax. The disturbing thing was, he knew better than to ignore the foreboding he was feeling. But, oh how he wished he could.

Sighing, he gave up on optimism, and forced himself to be realistic. The facts were these: Aragorn and Legolas were somewhere in the woods taking a "simple" hunting trip together; the very day they'd left was the first day he'd begun to feel uneasy, and those two rarely, if ever, came back from these so-called "simple" trips without sustaining injury of some kind. Unless this foreboding evaporated, or a miracle happened, he had a bad feeling that this latest adventure of theirs would likely suffer the same end as the others.

It was a depressing train of thought, one which he would have gladly abandoned. He tried to ease his worries by reminding himself that they weren't expected to be back for nearly another week, after all. But somehow, that fell short as far as assurances went, and it failed to comfort him. Whenever any of his sons or Legolas went anywhere, he was left just waiting for the hammer to fall―and it very rarely disappointed him. He could only hope that this time, the hammer-fall wouldn't be too crushing.

It seemed as if that was all he could ever do: sit around, hoping they would only get themselves half killed; hoping that, despite their broken ribs, they'd manage to avoid internal bleeding. That despite their broken legs, they'd manage to avoid permanent maiming. Then, when they did come home―usually a little over half dead―he patched them back up, only to watch them ride away again. It was maddening. The monotony of waiting continued until…

"ADA!" Elrohir's frantic voice came drifting in from somewhere down the hall.

That infamous call was always followed by hurried explanations of why Legolas had been shot, and how Aragorn really didn't mean to get bitten by the warg… Now, he wished with all his heart that that voice in the hall was just his imagination. Sometimes he truly dreaded hearing his own name.

But the voice in the hall wasn't his imagination, and he rose wearily just as a breathless Elrohir burst into the room.

Well, he thought, as he turned to face his son. at least the wait is over.

Out loud, he said, "What has happened, ion-nín?" As if he didn't already know.

"Legolas has arrived…he's hurt badly," Elrohir said in one breath.

Elrond wondered that he hadn't mentioned Aragorn, but he hurried down the hall beside his son without comment. Undoubtedly, Aragorn had arrived as well. Perhaps he had escaped without injury after all.


Well, at least we got Legolas to Rivendell. That ought to please those of you who, for some inexplicable reason, actually want him to survive… -g-Oh, and I guess I should mention that this is Imbecamiel, and this week I'll be doing all the reviewer responses :-)

Reviewer Responses:

Slayer3: Bring them back? Oh dear. We've got a little… problem, it would appear. Seems people actually want both of them to live… Well, I'll see what I can do. Either that, or I may have to get a writer's version of the witness protection program… Hehe, thank you for the review! Hope you like the new chapter.

HarryEstel: Or else what? Hmm, probably a bad question, but I've got very little sense of self-preservation today –g- Yup, poor Aragorn and Legolas seems to be the general consensus. Ah, I do love being evil! Glad you're enjoying it! Hope you like the new chapter.

jacquelinestel: What, you've got something against Legolas? What's he done now? LOL, if you decide to throw him out, he's welcome to come stay with me! Can't say whether I feel sorrier for him, or the "more fun" Estel… Hope your exams go well! Hmm, since most people claim Estel and Legolas aren't real, does that mean they'd allow you to bring them along to help with the test? LOL. Thanks so much for the review!

Ainu Laire: Aren't we fans just evil? They're half-dead, exhausted, heartbroken because they think each other is dead, and we think it's funny... Hehe, I agree, though, if you're not the one IN the situation, it's absolutely hilarious :-) -sighs happily- Yup, not only do we get to read LOTR for school, we get tests on how well we remember the chapters, have to analyze the story for assignments... Later on, I believe we'll even be watching the movies for school and comparing them to the books. Homeschooling is so great! Hmm, a silver star? Let me see... -digs through desk drawers- I keep absolutely everything that's even possibly useful, I'm sure I must have one somewhere... AHA! Here we are! -hands over big silver star- Congratulations, honorary ranger! Uh oh... Not a good idea, trying to lie to Aragorn. He grew up with the twins, remember? I'm sure he's learned to recognize a guilty person when he sees one by now. Lucky for you, he's also learned to be forgiving, at least where ladies are concerned ;-) Ooo, Gandalf wants to see you now? -cue mysterious music- I wonder what that's all about. You haven't done anything, have you? -g- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Evergreene: LOL! Oh, just the picture of some orc wandering up to Aragorn and Legolas to give them some helpful tips... -giggles- Better yet, let's have it be Sharzag, Blagrak or Zargut, and our heroes can explode, kill the messenger, find out the truth, and take their revenge on the stupid orcs, all in one easy stroke. Eck, now I sound like some banking commercial or something :-P Ah, but mellon-nin, you have obviously not yet learned one of the basic rules of fanfiction -never, never, ask an author if they would dare to do something. Really, that's just tempting fate... -eg- Of course we would dare. We are evil authors! HA! Now as to whether or not we will actually go ahead and DO it... You'll just have to read on and see. -attempts to smile mysteriously and chuckle evilly... with rather odd results...-

goddesscal: Well, as you can see, Legolas, at least, has managed to drag himself right into Elrond's hands :-) As for whether or not they're going to find out that each other are alive soon… Hey, I may be a novice writer, but I still know how to be evil! –whispers to self- I will NOT give spoilers. I will not give spoilers. I will―Oh, yeah, thanks so much for the review! –wanders off- I will not give spoilers. I will NOT…

Smiling Dragon Girl: Hehe, oh I can just picture Legolas as a tour guide. Unfortunately, with his luck, the moment he got done explaining how the ceiling was perfectly stable at the moment, it's collapse on top of him... Poor guy really has the worst luck. -notices strange looks from readers- What! What are you looking at me like that for? It's not like I've got anything to do with it! -attempts to look innocent, but only manages to look like the cat that swallowed the canary- Really, I don't! -readers raise eyebrows- Well, maybe just a little... But I know perfectly well that you like it just as much as I do, so you needn't look so reproachful! Well, I think this chapter should pretty well explain what Legolas thought when he didn't find Aragorn's body... Poor guy, I'm so mean. -eyes sharp pointy objects nervously- Oh noooo, can't have you suffering update-withdrawal-syndrome. Nope, couldn't have that... -edges away- I'm working on it, really I am! Heh, here's the new chapter, see?

CKlovesme2040: Save them? Well... What if I said I'd think about it? -notices glares from readers- Alright, alright, I suppose I can give you a definite... maybe. -g- I'm really happy to hear that you're enjoying it! As for more stories... Nef is already working on a sequel to one "The Wrong One", one of her other stories, and I believe she's got plans for more as well. As far as I'm concerned... -shrugs- Don't know, really. I might write more, but then again, this might wind up being the first and only story I've ever written :-) Oh, BTW, I saw in your bio that you're a Christian. So are we :-) Always wonderful to meet another believer on here. Thanks so much for the review! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

viggomaniac: -g- Not to worry, your review got here in plenty of time : ) I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying it so much! Hurt the Ranger more? –attempts to look like inscrutable, mysterious author- Perhaps… You'll just have to wait and see ; ) Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Hope you like the new chapter!

crazyAZN kid: The suspense is getting to you, hmm? Well, maybe a new chapter would help with that? Oh, thanks for the story recommendation! Haven't heard of that one, I'll have to check it out. Thank you so much for your review!

Thank you all so much for your reviews – we love and re-read all of them :-) Hope to see you all next week! The next chapter can be expected on next Friday, as usual.

Imbecamiel, newest member of the SNWCG