A/N: As you wish, Zelinia.

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The order came later into the night, as the Uruk-Hai continued to pour through the wall. "FALL BACK!" Theodan called, "FALL BACK!" Aragorn was calling it as well, swinging his sword through the air to get attention.

"NEVER!" Berethor yelled, cutting down another Uruk.

"You must fall back!" Idrial called, carefully avoiding the men that were retreating to the safety of Helms Deep. "Give up this fight!"

"They've broken through," Aragorn said, grabbing the Gondorian's arm. "We have to retreat. Haldir! Fall back!" He called, turning up the top of the deepening wall. Haldir looked down, and nodded, now joining in the calls of "Fall back" that could be heard all around. An Uruk struck at Haldir suddenly, and it caught him off guard. He killed the Uruk, but it left a parting gift with the Elf that came in the form of a stab wound in his sword arm.

Haldir grimaced, and let out another "Fall Back" call, and went to turn around. THUMP. A Uruk collapsed toward him, and the elf quickly dodged it. Elegost stood nearby, his bow pointed at the spot where the Uruk had been. He had stopped it from killing Haldir.

"Hannon le,(1)" Haldir muttered, wincing at the strain of keeping his arm straight. Elegost nodded.

"Go, my friend. I will cover you while you get into the Keep." He offered, pulling out another arrow. Haldir noticed that the Ranger must have grabbed many used arrows out of dead Uruk-Hai, as the arrow he held was bloody and worn.

Elegost kept his eyes out for any Uruks that looked to cut down the injured elf, and shot several of them just to let off energy. Haldir made it to the Keep alive, and Elegost lingered to cover the other soldiers escape into the Keep.

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About halfway up the stairs, Berethor turned and stopped. "I do not fear them," He hissed, pulling out his sword again. "I fear nothing." He ran back down the stairs and began to kill the Uruk-Hai again. This time, he seemed to have the wrath of the Valar themselves in him, as he moved with such grace, and struck with such power, that the Uruk-Hai seemed to try to avoid getting too close to him.

Morwen, who was on her way to the Keep, stopped when she saw Berethor's furious rampage. Out of all the battles she had seen him in, she had never seen him fight with such ferocity before. Not with the Warg packs, not with the Orcs, and not with the scattered Uruk-Hai they encountered on the plains of Rohan. It frightened her a bit.

"Berethor!" She called. The man did not respond. Morwen narrowed her eyes. She did not like being ignored. But she did also not like having her head ripped off, so she kept her distance from Berethor and his sword. "BERETHOR!" She called again. Berethor finally took notice of her, and he turned.

"What?" He yelled back, quickly turning to decapitate a Uruk.

"We're supposed to be falling back," She said, deciding it was safe enough to approach her friend. "What are you doing?" Berethor scowled.

"I'm not falling back," He said.

"That," Morwen said, cocking an eyebrow and slashing an Uruk's stomach, "Is apparent. But why aren't you falling back?"

"Because I can still fight!" He snapped, killing another Uruk.

"Well, you're going to be fighting by yourself if you don't come already!" She snapped, equally irritated. He glared at the young woman, and she smirked. "I can be just as stubborn as you, Berethor, so don't play that game with me." Her face softened slightly (Though it hardened temporarily hardened as she jabbed her axe into another Uruk).

"Berethor, please, come. I don't want you to get hurt." She said, grabbing his arm. Berethor growled slightly under his breath, but finally gave in. He allowed Morwen to lead them into the Keep.

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At the main gate of Helms Deep, Theodan and his soldiers were frantically trying to barricade the gate with poles and wood. A spear came through the alarmingly large hole in the door, and jabbed the King in the chest. He gasped, and then growled with frustration. There was no way they'd be able to keep the door shut if the Uruk-Hai kept skewering his men with spears.

"King Theodan!" It was Aragorn. Gimli, Eaoden and Hadhod. "What can we do?" Aragorn asked breathlessly. Theodan thought for a moment.

"There's a side door," He said, nodding at the small door nearby. "If you could go out and hold off the army, we can barricade the main gate shut."

"How long do you need?" Eaoden asked.

"As long as you all can give me." Theodan said. Aragorn pushed open the door as quietly as he could, and the two men and two dwarves snuck onto the rocky ledge near the bridge. Aragorn and Eaoden peered around the corner of the building, and withdrew after doing a rough count of how many Uruks there were. Not too many. They could handle them.

"Let's go!" Gimli hissed. "Come on, we can take them!" Aragorn raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's a long way," He said innocently. Eaoden's brow furrowed, and he shot Hadhod a confused look. The Dwarf simply shrugged. Gimli glowered to himself for a moment, and then muttered:

"Toss me." Now Eaoden was really confused.

"What?" Aragorn asked. Gimli grumbled.

"I cannot jump the distance. You'll have to toss me."

"Do we want to know?" Hadhod cut in. Aragorn smiled.

"I'll tell you later," He said. He grabbed Gimli's arms and made to toss him, when Gimli stopped him.

"D… don't tell the elf?" He murmured.

"Not a word." And with that, Aragorn tossed Gimli across the distance between the ledge and the bridge. The Dwarf went into instant slaughter mode, and cut down every Uruk that came at him. Aragorn followed after. Eaoden turned to Hadhod, his face dead serious.

"Need me to toss you?" He asked, maintaining the look. Hadhod glared at him.

"Don't push your luck, Outrider. Don't push your luck." Eaoden jumped onto the bridge as well, closely followed by Hadhod.

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Idrial and Legolas were still on the deepening wall, trying to get the soldiers into the Keep. It wasn't easy, trying to wave the soldiers to safety and keep themselves from being mutilated at the same time. Idrial blocked a particularly hard blow to the head with her sword, fended off her attacker, and then decapitated him.

"Idrial!" Legolas called. "We have to fall back soon- the Uruk-Hai will overwhelm us if we linger here!" Idrial instantly agreed, as she would not mind taking a break from the endless clashing of swords and shields. It was giving her a splitting headache. She turned to look over the wall- and froze. Legolas found himself cutting down yet another Uruk-Hai that was about to kill Idrial.

"You really must stop doing that," He muttered. "Now what are you looking at?"

"Our friends are either attempting a plan," She said. "Or they think that they can cut down the army by simply killing the ones on the bridge. Either way, I am certain they have lost their minds if they think they'll last long down there."

Being elves, and therefore having Elvish hearing, the reason Aragorn, Eaoden, Gimli and Hadhod were fighting became clear quite quickly.

"Aragorn! The door is barred! Get out of there!" They heard Theodan yell. Legolas grabbed a rope once used by an Uruk-Hai, and called to Aragorn. The Ranger turned. Legolas dropped the rope, and Aragorn grabbed onto it, quickly followed by Eaoden and the two Dwarves. Legolas and Idrial, covered by a few soldiers, pulled the rope up inch by inch while trying to avoid letting it break.

After hauling for a minute or two, Legolas was able to reach down and grab Aragorn's arm and pull him up. Together, while Idrial held the rope in place, they pulled up the others and quickly made for the Keep, calling for the other soldiers to follow. Elegost was still at his post, shooting off arrows and covering the soldiers escape. He ushered his friends and some other soldiers in, looked around for any others that lingered, and then shut the door.

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Inside, injured soldiers littered the halls. With a shudder, Morwen realized that many of the men that lay on the ground were dead. She had seen much death in her relatively short life, and she could certainly recognize it by now. Currently, Morwen and Berethor were trying to reinforce the other doors that led to the Keep. Unfortunately, they were also failing.

They could see a red sky out the window, and knew that dawn was approaching. According to Idrial's elvish philosophy, there would be a red sun rising as well. A sure sign that blood had been spilled during the night. Speaking of the Elleth (2), she was running back and forth with a reserved look on her face, bringing reinforcements for the doors.

"They are going to break in." Theodan said, his voice hollow- broken, even. With the King in a state of hopelessness, Aragorn took charge.

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" He said to Theodan. Theodan turned to him.

"No. They will get in…" He said, his eyes glazed slightly. Elegost raised an eyebrow.

"This is their King?" He muttered ever so quietly to Hadhod. Hadhod nodded slowly, agreeing with Elegost's unspoken judgment of King Theodan. Now Aragorn turned to Gamling.

"Is there no other way?" he asked urgently. Gamling nodded.

"There is a passage that leads into the mountains," He said. "But they will not get far- the Uruk-Hai are too many." Aragorn shook his head.

"Tell the women and children to make for the mountains, and barricade the entrance!" He ordered. Clearly, Gamling wasn't about to argue. He quickly went to carry out the orders. Nearby, Theodan turned to Aragorn.

"So much hate. What can men do against such reckless hate?" Aragorn seemed to think for a moment. His train of thought was clearly broken when a reinforcement Eaoden and Legolas were holding against a door was knocked away with a loud bang.

"The sun is rising," Gimli noted. Aragorn turned to the window, where the first beams of daylight were streaming in. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day… At dawn, look to the East. Gandalf's words reverberated in Aragorn's head. He then turned back to Theodan.

"Ride out with me," He said. Theodan looked up, and his focus returned a bit.

"For death… and glory." Theodan muttered. Aragorn put his hand on the King's shoulder.

"For Rohan," He said. "And your people." Theodan suddenly looked renewed.

"Yes," He said determinedly. "The Horn of Helm Hammerhand will sound in the Deep. One last time!"

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(1): "Thank You"

(2): A female elf