When Worlds Collide

Chapter 14: The Fighting Uruk-hai

Waking slowly from his restful slumber, Miroku sat up, stretching his back out in the process. Rolling his shoulders to release the tightness that had gathered in them his eyes moved lustfully to the graceful figure that was Sango. His rosary clad hand longed to lay it upon her and caress the softness that was the demon exterminator.

Not able to control his hand any longer it began moving forward, slowly yet impatiently, to the sleeping beauty. He almost screamed in surprise when a pale hand grasped his wrist, sadly bringing his advances to a glaring halt. "What? Why?" sputtered Miroku, his eyes showing his confusion at being stopped. After all, who could ever resist groping a girl as lovely as Sango?

Legolas quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Surely you don't mean that. Do you think it would be wise to wake everyone with a yell for the second morning in a row?"

Remembering what happened yesterday morning when Inuyasha shouted, Miroku grinned at the elf. "But you see, I am up this time! Therefore I can…" trying to pull his hand free from Legolas's grasp he frowned when the elf's grip simply tightened.

"How can you be so logical in most ways, yet when it comes to women you are hopeless?" asked Legolas.

Miroku, giving up his struggle with Legolas for the moment, straightened his back and put on a wise expression. Closing his eyes he raised a finger in front of his face. "Because my young Legolas, every great and wise person must have a weakness. And mine is women. As well as your grip at this moment," said Miroku, eyeing his ensnared wrist with a disgruntled look.

Legolas stared oddly at the monk. "Young?" he asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea how…" trailing off Legolas's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh never mind, be free." And leaving go of the monk's wrist Legolas rose from his crouching position and walked away.

Miroku's face lit up like Inuyasha's whenever he saw ramen. Looking back to Sango he grinned perversely. "Sango!"

And the next second was smashed in the head by one angry demon exterminator's fist.

"Damn monk," grumbled Sango. "Just one time, one time! I would like to sleep and wake up undisturbed by perverted touches or comments from you!"

"You're asking for the impossible Sango," commented Kagome with a yawn. "He's Miroku, you can't expect anything different from him." Turning her attention to Legolas she said, "and you. Don't you ever sleep?"

"He doesn't care to sleep and put his guard down around anyone," replied Aragorn from where he leaned against a wall in the back corner of the hut. "One thing you should know about elves-they are very paranoid creatures."

"Paranoid, or simply sensitive? Between you and Gimli it is louder than a balrog's roar in here at night," retorted Legolas, crossing his arms as he stared down at the ranger in mirth.

"You forgot the mumbling's about ramen coming from Inuyasha," added Kagome, finally gaining enough energy to fully sit up from her position beside Sango. She eyed the still sleeping hanyou who was laying on her other side.

"Huh? What's that about ramen?" asked Inuyasha.

Rolling her eyes to disguise her amusement at the predictable hanyou, Kagome said, "And there he goes again. Inuyasha, the hanyou with a one track mind. Really, what would you do if Naraku offered all the ramen you wanted in exchange for his life?"

When Inuyasha took longer than expected to answer Kagome smacked him in the back of the head. "You dolt! You'd actually choose ramen over killing Naraku?"

Sliding away from the young girl Inuyasha offered her a placating smile. "Of course not. That bastard would die no matter what he offered me."

Crossing her arms with a huff Kagome stood up and moved to where Aragorn and Legolas now stood. "Yeah sure, you'd probably pick ramen over me however," she whispered, staring at the ground.

When Aragorn dared to chuckle under his breath Kagome shot him an angry glare and pushed him in the side. "What are you laughing at me for?"

Swiftly reigning in his amusement Aragorn patted Kagome on the shoulder much like a father would do to comfort his daughter. "Forgive me Kagome, it just slipped my mind for a moment how young you actually are. This age appears to force you grow up faster than usual, but that still doesn't change the fact you are still but a child."

Stepping away until his hand fell from her shoulder, Kagome managed to bump into the elf. "This hut is much to small for all of us," she grumbled before returning her attention to Aragorn. "You didn't answer my question."

"I think he was making fun of you Kagome," piped up Shippo from where he sat on Gimli's shoulder. The dwarf had been surprisingly silent, in fact, Kagome wasn't even aware he was awake until Shippo had spoken. Now Gimli was watching the scene unfold with amusement clearly seen in his eyes.

"My lady, that was not my intention," put in Aragorn quickly. He knew the temper females could attain when angered. If there was one thing his many years with Arwen taught him, it was to avoid angered females at all costs.

Coming to his friend's rescue, or rather, demise, Legolas explained for his friend. "Aragorn simply is not used to dealing with the younger generation such as yourself. He was laughing simply because earlier he believed you were not being serious. It came as a shock to him to discover you were."

During Legolas's explanation Aragorn had been quietly navigating the labyrinth of human bodies spread across the floor of the hut. Step between Gimli and the fire pit…navigate Inuyasha's sprawled out legs…avoid one giant boomerang laid haphazardly across the floor…gently ease open the door…almost to freedom…

"So he thought I was being immature? I'll show him immature," Kagome grumbled under her breath.

"Kagome, he's trying to escape," informed Inuyasha with a smirk.

Kagome slowly turned to face the door of the hut where there was now a frozen Aragorn. She grinned innocently. The next moment saw her charging him down. Aragorn's survival instincts kicked in at that point. In a flash he had spun on his heel and running for his life outside the hut.

"Can you guys never have a reasonably sane morning?' grumbled Kaede from her spot in the remaining back corner of the hut. "Is it really too much to ask to let me wake up without insanity going on around me while you are staying here?"

"I am deeply sorry for your unhappiness my lady," said Miroku solemnly. Turning to Sango he grinned. "My dear Sango, would you like to accompany me outside to continue our fun?"

Taking note of Sango's darkening face, Legolas and Gimli stepped forward. Each of them grabbed one of Miroku's arms and together dragged the protesting monk out of the hut. Once outside the monk was forgotten when they saw Aragorn sitting on the ground, a pained expression on his face. A frantic Kagome hovered around him, the worry evident in her eyes.

"Estel, what happened? What is wrong?" asked Legolas, kneeling down beside his friend. "Estel?" he asked again, placing a hand on the man's shoulder when he received no response.

"Kagome?" tried Gimli when the man still said nothing.

"Stupid guy was running from me and tripped over a stick," said Kagome hurriedly. "He fell and with his leg being injured so bad yesterday…"

Legolas couldn't help but chuckle in amusement even though he was still worried for his friend. "You poor ungraceful human. And yesterday you tried to claim you were fine. And now look at you."

Glaring at the elf, Aragorn mumbled a fast, "Over pompous elf," before trying to stand back up.

"Easy laddie," said Gimli while placing his hands down on Aragorn's shoulders. "You don't need to overdo it more than you already have."

Aragorn pushed at Gimli's restraining hands until the dwarf yielded and let the man stand up. Before anyone could voice their objections, Aragorn ground out between clenched teeth, "Do not try to stop me. We do not have time to allow my leg to fully heal. For all we know Naraku is planning the destruction of both our worlds. We do not have time!"

"Keh, for once I agree Aragorn," said Inuyasha as he walked out of the hut. He conveniently ignored everyone's shocked faces, Aragorn's most of all, when he said the man's name for the first time. "We know Naraku knows of you coming from a different world. We know he is a greedy bastard who wishes to rule everything. We have no time to waste."

Aragorn sent Inuyasha a very swift, but very thankful, glance. To his surprise Inuyasha gave a slight nod in return. Maybe things between them really were improving.

Legolas narrowed his eyes at Inuyasha, but Inuyasha simply stared dispassionately back. Great, sighed Legolas to himself, just what we needed. Aragorn and Inuyasha teaming up to be stubborn together. By Valar! I'll never get that stubborn human to rest!

Looking from Aragorn to Inuyasha to Legolas, Kagome groaned. This was proving to be fun. "Ok," she sighed. "I guess we have no choice but to continue on. But we aren't going to look for trouble. But then what can we do?"

Sitting back down with a flop, Aragorn draped one arm over his bent knees. With his other arm he twiddled with a twig as he thought about the problem. A very big problem indeed. What could they do?

Clearing his throat, Miroku achieved the desired result of gaining everyone's attention. "I believe we should head back to where you three," he nodded his head in the Middle Earth group's direction, "Originally were found. We may find something useful we can use to our advantage."

Quirking an eyebrow, Inuyasha asked, "Like what?"

"Ah, good question Inuyasha," replied Miroku. Raising his eyebrows he looked around at everyone. "I have no idea."

Laughing under his breath, Aragorn once again climbed to his feet while pushing the helping hands of Legolas away. "That is the best idea we have so far. I say we go for it. Inuyasha? Kagome?"

Shrugging, Inuyasha replied, "Makes no difference to me. We have no leads on Naraku right now and I hate sitting here doing nothing."

Grinning, Kagome stood up as well. "Well, that's as close to a yes you'll get from Inuyasha. I'll tell Sango and then we can leave after we eat."

Nodding, Aragorn rose to his feet while Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku walked back inside the hut.

"Estel, are you positive you are ok?" asked Legolas, his concern plainly heard in his voice.

Hating to hear his friend in distress, Aragorn sighed. "My leg is sore. But do we truly have time to allow it to heal? The truth Legolas," he demanded when the elf hesitated.

Lowering his eyes in defeat Legolas shook his head. "No. But Estel, please, you must take it easy. Your father would be much displeased if you came back with a permanent limp."

"I know Legolas. And if I had time to heal I would. But we don't. And I for one would like to return home as soon as possible. After all, we left at a very poor time. Middle Earth needs us."

"Then let us finish here and find a way home," replied Legolas, determination filling his voice.

"I agree my old friend, I agree."

An hour later found the group returning to the site where this whole mess began. The journey was rather quick and uneventful which not one person was disappointed with.

Coming to a halt, Inuyasha said, "This is where we first found you guys. So, now what?"

"I suggest we split up," offered Miroku. "Search for anything suspicious which might aid us in figuring out what happened."

Nodding, Inuyasha said, "All right. I'll take Kagome, Shippo, and Aragorn. Miroku, you take the others. Come across anything send Kirara to find us."

"Will do," replied Miroku before turning to his team. "Well, shall we?"

"Of course," said Legolas. Before turning to follow Miroku he looked to Aragorn. "Please Aragorn, take care of yourself."

"I shall," replied Aragorn.

"He'll be safe with us," said Kagome brightly.

"Keh, let's go," said Inuyasha gruffly.

And without a second glance back at the other group, both sets of people each stepped off into opposite directions.

"Do you have any idea what we're searching for?" asked Sango, a slight edge of exasperation entering her voice. Kirara mewed her agreement from where she sat on Sango's shoulder.

Miroku ran a hand through his hair and sighed. They had been wandering around the forest for close to an hour now. Combing every foot of the forest they had still not come across anything. The irritation occurring between all four of them could clearly be felt in the air. "I do not know Sango. Any area of great disturbance, concentrated energy, something like that are the only things I can think of."

"Of which we can find neither," stated Legolas, coming to a halt while his eyes continued the endless searching of the surrounding woods.

"It is hopeless," said Gimli. "Let us just find this Naraku and be done with him."

"You would die," said Miroku calmly. "You do not simply charge Naraku head on and expect victory. He is a cunning monster, always forming new tricks and strategies to come out on top."

"Sounds much like Saruman," said Legolas. Squinting his eyes he then tensed his shoulders. "And it appears he has sent us a welcoming party."

Aragorn quietly rose to his feet and shook his head at the questioning gaze of Kagome. "There is nothing of importance here. With my skills as a ranger and Inuyasha's physical abilities one would think we could discover something useful. But it is futile." Aragorn internally sighed. He had been hoping to find something, anything, to better understand they mystery surrounding him and his friends. Especially since he was hoping to fool Naraku at his own game.

"There is nothing to find," grumbled Inuyasha. "This was a complete waste of time."

"Inuyasha's right," added Shippo. "This is boring."

"I wouldn't say that just yet," mumbled Kagome, patting Shippo on the head from where he sat on her shoulder. Peering off into the distance she said, "Follow me."

Sending Inuyasha a puzzled glance, and getting a shrug in return, Aragorn followed the young miko. "My lady…?"

"I sense something…strange…up ahead," she said as way of explanation. Kagome continued walking when suddenly a clawed hand grasped her upper arm.

"Stop," ordered Inuyasha, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Looking towards Aragorn he motioned to the man's sword. "You may want to ready that."

"Uruk-hai!" gasped Gimli. "How?"

"Worry about that later my friend," replied Legolas while firing an arrow. When it flew into a uruk's throat he smirked before adding, "Let us destroy them first and worry about all else later."

Eyeing the grotesque beats bearing down on them, Sango asked, "So, I guess it's safe to assume these are more creatures from your world?"

"Correct," answered Legolas. "And be aware for uruk-hai are much stronger fighters than the orcs you fought earlier. Be on your guard." Letting another arrow free he swiftly brought yet another uruk-hai to the ground.

"So how many of these lovely creatures are there?" asked Miroku. "And we may as well send Kirara. This would probably qualify as something unusual."

Nodding, Sango sent Kirara on her way while Legolas answered with 'a few dozen.'

"Does everything travel in packs?" griped Miroku.

"Afraid so laddie," answered Gimli with a smile. "We have fought uruk-hai once before. I much prefer orcs but uruk-hai fall just as fast with a well placed axe."

"Or how about a boomerang," offered Sango right before letting Hiraikotsu fly. It cut a clear swath through a cluster of uruks and returned faithfully to its owner. She let it loose one more time while Legolas fired a few more arrows before the uruk-hai were upon them.

"My turn!" cried Gimli gleefully. With a grin that could only be found on a battle ready dwarf he jumped into the fray, axes swinging with veteran hands as he cut down uruk after uruk.

"Uruk-hai!" exclaimed Aragorn in shock.

"They look like big overgrown orcs," commented Kagome, curling her lip in disgust.

"How dangerous are they?" asked Inuyasha, one hand resting on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He truly had seen the error in his previous way of treating Aragorn. His hardheadedness was truly only a liability. Now instead of looking upon Aragorn as competition he saw him as an ally.

"Stronger than orcs but still easily killed," replied Aragorn. His mind flashbacked to him taking on dozens of uruk-hai single-handedly back in Amon Hen. Then it switched to Boromir, three arrows piercing his chest, as the man swore his fealty to him. "Be on your guard for archers," added Aragorn in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

At the word 'archers' Kagome immediately readied her bow and began picking off uruk-hai from the distance. Aragorn followed the young miko's lead and soon uruk-hai were falling in pairs as the two archers continuously rained arrows down upon the enemy. Shippo sat silently on Kagome's shoulder as he watched to make sure nothing tried to sneak up on his friends while they were busy. He could hold off a few uruk-hai with his illusions if needed to, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Inuyasha watched with itchy fingers. He definitely wanted to get involved but knew better than to simply charge into a mass of enemies. At a noise coming from behind Inuyasha swiveled around, prepared to fight whatever was unsuccessfully sneaking up on them.

Lowering his fists when he saw the enlarged form of Kirara, Inuyasha walked up to the feline and patted her head. "The others must be fighting too," he called out.

"Kirara fights, does she not?" asked Aragorn, his eyes remaining glued to the uruk-hai. When he saw the affirmative nod from Kagome he continued. "It may be wise to send her back to aid the others. Kagome and I have already cut down many of the enemy. Once they get closer it shouldn't take long for us to finish them off."

Upon hearing her new orders Kirara promptly took to the air. Once she was gone Inuyasha was pleased to see the enemies close enough to warrant close combat fighting. Unable to stop himself, Inuyasha shouted, "Hey Aragorn! Watch this!" Certain the man's attention was on him, Inuyasha unleashed Tetsusaiga.

Aragorn's eyes widened in astonishment when he witnessed the rusty sword transform into a gleaming sword that looked oddly like an overgrown fang. And brandishing the oversized sword was a cocky Inuyasha.

"You haven't really seen me fight yet. So how about you take a break and watch me," said Inuyasha. Then before Aragorn or Kagome could object Inuyasha flung himself headfirst into the uruk-hai.

He would admit, the uruk-hai were stronger fighters than he had first anticipated. He was expecting something slightly stronger than the orc. But not only did the uruk-hai have thick armor and sharp weapons, but their mindset was completely different. One of the first things Inuyasha noticed was the fact that they didn't care whether they lived or die. The uruk-hai fought with a fury that could normally only be found in one facing certain death. They held absolutely nothing back, coming at Inuyasha with their weapons ready to piece flesh. Many of them didn't even seem to care when they missed Inuyasha and hit one of their companions instead. And they showed no fear. Tetsusaiga was covered in black blood and still the uruk-hai showed no fear.

Puzzled, Inuyasha continued to dodge and parry while getting in many hits of his own. It was unnatural what he was fighting. Every time he cut down one uruk the remaining uruk-hai seemed to rally behind it. He was used to seeing fear and anger when he killed companions of his enemies. But sheer bloodlust and nothing more? No, this was something he had never witnessed before.

Aragorn was impressed with Inuyasha's fighting. Sure, he'd taken on the same number of uruk-hai himself. But to witness another doing the same? It was impressive. As well as slightly insane. He could see Inuyasha's sword cutting down many of the enemy but he was clearly surrounded. And Aragorn for one would not allow another to be felled by Saruman's dark beasts. And so with a cry of 'Elendil!' Aragorn brought forth his own sword and flew into the battle.

Kagome and Shippo remained safely outside the battle. She continued shooting uruk-hai that were a safe distance from her friends while Shippo continued his silent vigilance. Together, the three fighters swiftly brought down every last uruk-hai without incident. Once the last one fell Kagome went about gathering arrows as Shippo jumped down to help her.

"Where are the others?" asked Aragorn, sliding his sword back into its sheath.

Inuyasha appeared to sniff the air for a few seconds before his gaze darkened. "This way," he said. He went to Kagome's side to allow her to climb onto his back. Once she was settled he took off without a glance back at Aragorn and Shippo. The kitsune jumped on Aragorn's back and soon the two of them were racing after Inuyasha and Kagome.

As they neared the second battle Aragorn heard the enraged battle cry of Gimli. Fearing for the worst he put on a burst of speed.

Inuyasha easily kept up with the man and soon all four of them could see the fighting still taking place.

It was easy to see that their friends had taken the brunt of the attack. While they had fought perhaps 40 uruk-hai, there were already an easy 50 bodies littering the ground in front of them. And still there were a countless number of uruk-hai still fighting. Miroku and Sango were fighting back to back. Sango was using Hiraikotsu as a makeshift shield while cutting into the uruk-hai with her katana. Miroku was simply trying to protect Sango's back. He had quickly discovered his staff was pretty useless against the hardened armor of the uruk and his wards were nothing but worthless sheets of paper. Kirara was fighting ferociously from the air. Diving again and again, she would claw or bite a uruk before retreating back to the safety of height. And Gimli fought with the energy of half a dozen dwarves. His axes were nothing but a blur of flashing steel as he brought a countless number of uruk-hai.

Aragorn's eyes quickly roamed the battlefield as he took in his fighting companions. When they settled on one lone fighter at the edge of the fight a piercing cry burst forth from his lips. Legolas, Legolas, was still faithfully firing his arrows. All while he had a black fletched arrow protruding from his upper right chest. The elf's face was paler than usual and his green tunic was drenched in blood. Forgetting all else, Aragorn rushed to his friend's side. Aragorn removed the bow from Legolas's grasp while Shippo reached over to the grab the arrow still loosely held in the elf's right hand. Once the weapon was removed Aragorn gently pushed his friend to the ground.

"Sit down Legolas," he whispered. "You foolish elf, do you wish to fight your way into death?"

With a half smile on his face, Legolas said, "There were only supposed to be a few dozen. But they kept coming."

"Rest my friend. Your job here is done." Then turning to Shippo, Aragorn said, "Please, stay with him." After the kitsune nodded Aragorn allowed the rage to replace his previously soothing features. Now he understood Gimli's enraged cry from earlier. Filling the air with one of his own he once more went into battle.

Once Aragorn left Legolas's side Kagome jumped off of Inuyasha's back. Once the girl was off Inuyasha sped off to aid in the fight while Kagome ran to the elf's side. Once there she readied her bow and began killing the uruk-hai who falsely believed the elf to be easy prey. From the corner of her eye she saw Shippo peering into the woods behind them. When he cried out 'foxfire' and let forth a burst of brilliant blue light, Kagome turned to see a uruk-hai covered in the false flame, a mere ten feet behind them. Quickly shooting the enemy with an arrow, Kagome gave Shippo a brief smile of thanks.

Once the three newcomers joined the fight the number of remaining uruk-hai quickly dwindled. Soon none were left.

Aragorn returned promptly to Legolas's side. When he got there he was surprised to see his friend struggling to sit up while Shippo tried to keep him down. "Legolas! Have you gone mad? Sit back down!"

"No, no," said Legolas in a pain filled fog. "Watch out. Please, watch out."

Not understanding what Legolas meant, Aragorn looked towards Gimli when the dwarf came rushing up to join them.

"Is he okay?" cried Gimli. "Is he okay?"

"He is. But I must help him now," answered Aragorn.

Relieved that his friend would be all right, Gimli allowed a slump to enter his shoulders. "Good. But we must leave this place at once." His eyes darted around the battlefield, almost as if expecting something to jump out at them.

Miroku and Sango joined them a moment later, followed soon by Inuyasha. Sango was nursing a badly cut arm and Miroku's forehead had a gash in it, but other than that the three were unscathed.

"Gimli is right," continued Miroku. "We thought we had killed them all once before. Then Legolas was shot. Another group of these uruk-hai had come to continue the fight."

"Do you think they're coming from another portal?" wondered Kagome aloud.

"It seems likely," answered Miroku. "But now is not the time to discuss this. We must get Legolas back to Kaede's."

"Too late," said Sango. "More have come."

Everyone looked up at this statement to see a group totaling of at least 60 uruk-hai coming for them.

"We do not have time for this," said Aragorn as he stared at the approaching force. Looking down at Legolas he smiled apologetically. "Sorry my friend," he said. Then pressing one hand down around the head of the imbedded arrow he grasped the shaft with his other hand and pulled it free.

A slight groan from Legolas was all that was heard as the arrow slid free. Then with hands well used to healing Aragorn tore free a strip of his shirt and used it to bind the elf's wound as best he could. "We should run," he said while helping his injured friend to his feet.

"No running," growled Inuyasha, once more transforming Tetsusaiga into its true from. Using its blade he deftly deflected the arrows that the uruk-hai had just shot. Keeping up the steady defense, Inuyasha eyed the enemy with disdain.

Gimli stared at Inuyasha with a dumbfounded expression on his face while Aragorn spoke.

"Even you cannot expect to kill them all," the man cried. "Do you wish to face more injuries? We must turn back!" But seeing how Inuyasha wasn't about to give in Aragorn sighed in defeat. Passing Legolas off to Kagome he went to stand by Inuyasha's side. He couldn't stop the wince from crossing his face as he continued to put pressure on his sore leg. The adrenaline from the first fight was enough to mask the pain the first time. Then seeing his friend injured was enough to mask it the second time. But now the pain was back with a vengeance and he wished for nothing more than to sit down.

"Stay back," commanded Inuyasha. "You can barely even walk right now."

"And you will not face them alone," stated Aragorn firmly. "I will not lose another friend to these creatures." Gimli showed his agreement with that statement by coming up to stand alongside Aragorn.

"I say it again. Stand back!" spat Inuyasha.

"Listen to him," said Miroku. "He can finish them all off right now."

Appearing confused, but listening, both Aragorn and Gimli stepped back from the hanyou. Then they watched in awe as Inuyasha brought back his sword and with a loud cry of 'kaze no kizu' unleashed a ferocious gale of wind on the approaching uruk-hai.

When the dust cleared not a single trace of the Uruk-hai were left.

"And that," stated Inuyasha smugly as he rested the transformed Tetsusaiga over his shoulders, "Is why you listen to me."

Last revised: December 8, 2006