7. Who in Morgoth is Elrohir?

Back in Imladris, Elladan walked out of his father's study, dejected and hopeless. His shoulders drooped as he went to find Estel and Elrohir. The man approached, looking relieved. "Did you find anything?"

"No," the elf sighed. "Has Elrohir returned yet?"

Estel shot him a worried look. Elladan didn't know about his twin's plan to speak with Carnelian again. "Um, I haven't seen him for a while."

"Oh. I suppose we should check on our prisoners then." They made their way down to the cells and discovered Lindir missing with the door still locked tight. They rushed to Carnelian's oubliette, finding it still locked and completely empty. "Do you see anyone in here?" Elladan shot his friend a confused look.

"No. I believe our prisoner has escaped somehow and taken Lindir with him, or else disposed of the poor, frightened thing."

"But how? I see the doors are still locked and there are no secret passages that I know of."

"How should I know? Let us find Elrohir, since he is likely the last one down here."

They searched the entire kingdom and inquired of every last elf as to the whereabouts of the threesome, but no one knew anything other than Elrohir had gone down to the dungeons and not returned. Elladan then summoned the army once more to strategize yet another attack on the orcs.

Two days after being captured, Elrohir awoke in a strange, dark and musty place. He groaned and rubbed his head as he sat up, the world swirling before his eyes for a minute. A scuffling sounded outside and a few minutes later, Carnelian entered the cell with a sneaky, wicked smile on his face. "Ah, I see you finally decided to come to your senses."

Elrohir looked blankly at him. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are in my dominion. I am the infamous Carnelian Orc, your master."

"Who am I?"

"You are Geru, my mascot."

The elf gave him a blank look. Then, he stared at his own hands and looked at Carnelian's. "Then why are you red while I am pale?"

"Mascots are not allowed to be red."

The elf's face hardened a bit. "And just what if I don't wish to serve you as your mascot?"

"I don't care! You will do as I say." Carnelian got right in his face, his foul breath almost choking Elrohir/Geru. "I say you are Geru, my mascot." He noticed his prisoner start to speak but glared to halt him. "You do not know who you are, right?"

"No. I have no memories of anything. Today is the only day I ever recall."

"Then you must trust my word." He instructed the guards throw in some black, maggot-infested bread as he walks away, and they shoved in a bowl of murky water. All the while, the Red Skull commended his pawn.

Elrohir, finding himself unbound, greedily snatched the bread and gobbled it up as he slurped the water. He proceeded to take a nap afterwards, having no clue as to who this Geru was or just what he was supposed to do.

After consulting with his minions, Carnelian slipped back through the secret passages and became Elrond once more, leaving Lindir shaking in the dank, stone passageway. "Stay here. They think Lord Elrond has met some foul end and know you and Elrohir are missing as well."

"Yes, sir."

Lord Elrond slipped into his study and nonchalantly exited, receiving curious glances from the meandering elves.

Soon Elladan and Estel charged up to him. "Ada! Where have you been?"

"An elven Lord does not have to explain his whereabouts to his flighty son."

Elladan glared at him. "Ada! While you were gone, I captured the Carnelian Orc! You missed everything!" His excitement dwindled to despair as he added, "But now he has escaped."

"I see," came the dry reply. "And now you are going to storm the orcs for the umpteenth time and capture him again, getting yourself and Estel killed in the process."

His son continued his glaring, then changed to an almost frightened expression. "Ada, there is more. Linidr and Elrohir are both missing!" he blurted out.

"What?" Elrond feigned surprise. Schmidt laughed in his head while he silently told him to shut up so he could concentrate.

"I'm sorry, Ada. I have no idea what happened. I had to lock Lindir up because he refused to tell me where you were. Then Elrohir just disappeared! The last place he was seen was the dungeon."

"Well, I suggest you find your brother. While he is hard to replace, really any elf could take Lindir's place." Lord Elrond dismissed the befuddled men and went on his merry way, resisting the urge to chuckle manically to himself. He remained in Rivendell long enough to calm his people, then went back through the passages. Now he had the utmost advantage on the upcoming battle: he knew all their plans, while they knew none of his, or his latest recruit.

Carnelian had ordered that they torture Geru while he was out. He had been taken to a room, stripped of his shirt, and several orcs took turns flogging his bare back with their stiff, scratchy whips made of marsh thistle from the Dead Marshes. Letting out shrieks of pain, he ended up having to be thoroughly tied to the table. The sound rung throughout half of the dark passageways, causing orcs to stop in their tracks and grin as they closed their eyes and listened to the beautiful sound of torture. The whole time they whipped Geru, an ugly little snaga crouched near his face, explaining who he was and what his purpose was. At last, they stopped, his back bleeding and ripped up from where they had beaten him innumerable times.

Then, Geru was taken to another chamber where yet another orc rubbed some black substance into his wounds. It stung worse than the whipping, but after a while the pain eased to a dull throb until it disappeared altogether. He barely noticed when they chopped off his long, dark hair and rubbed another substance into it, causing a dull throb to start behind his eyes. Surprisingly docile now, the orcs shoved him back into the holding chamber, giving him more food and drink.

Carnelian returned a few hours later to his prisoner's chambers with some strange-looking armour. He let himself into the cell and shoved a foul-tasting, thick liquid down Elrohir's throat. As he choked and spluttered, the red orc proceeded to put the protective covering on him. "What's this about?" the confused elf gasped.

"This is yours. I told you that you are my special mascot, so of course I have to make sure you are protected when we go into battle. The drink is to give you energy, strength, and endurance. Drink!" He forced the cup into his hands and glared until he choked the whole thing down. "Now, stay here until it is time to fight."

"Yes, Master. Who are we battling?"

"The elves, you nitwit!" Carnelian whacked him on the side of the head, leaving his head throbbing and the room spinning. Then he excited the cell, calling behind him, "I'll be back to get you in a while."

Dark hair swung back and forth as Elladan paced the room, hands behind his back and his brown creased into a firm frown.

Finally, Estel marched up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Elladan, you have been wearing out the floor in this room for three days now. Walking back and forth is not going to solve your problems or bring Elrohir back. You have to storm the orcs' stronghold without him, before they attack us here."

The elf looked at his friend, his eyes losing their cloudy, faraway look. "Estel, he is my twin! You don't understand! We do everything together!"

"Look, you cannot defeat the orcs and avenge your mother if you just pace here, trying to figure out where Elrohir went!"

Elladan sighed and calmed. "Right. I'm sorry."

Estel put a comforting hand on his arm. "I know you are worried about him, as you should be." He pulled him towards the armoury. "Come, we have wasted enough time!"

"You care not that my Ada is concerned with your aiding me?"

"I will be fine, thanks to your training. He knows I plan to leave and join my people soon. Besides, he never expressly forbid me to go, even if he highly discouraged you from encouraging me."

Allowing himself to be dragged along, Elladan once again rallied his army and headed off to the Redhorn Pass. Little did he know that a certain red-tinted orc expected him and held the surprise of his lifetime.

Many hours of travelling and they were once again at the battlegrounds. Carnelian had posted scouts and wasted no time attacking as soon as they set foot in the Redhorn Pass. Eyes wide with surprise, the elves whipped out their swords and fought against their ruthless foes.

Since the orcs already had the upper hand, it took the elves a few minutes to regain their composure and gain the ascendancy. However, Carnelian had a huge surprise for them. He popped up beside Elladan with Elrohir/Geru in tow. "You will rue the day you attacked my realm!" he growled.

The elf swung his sword, slicing a clean cut into the red orc's unprotected arm. Eyes growing red, Elladan battled his ruthless foe but found himself accosted by two rather than one villain. Geru had been instructed to aid his master and kill the dark-haired elf and the lone, scruffy dark-haired lone man. Any other elves they killed would just be icing on the cake. A helmet covered both his head and face so that only his eyes and the bridge of his nose showed, leaving him completely unrecognizable to his brother and the rest of his kin. He found an inner strength as he clashed swords with Elladan and both sensed that had had similar training.

Elorhir blinked as a strange image flashed in his eyes of some companion with whom he had sparred long ago, someone his same stature and weight. In his strange flashback, the elf nicked him in the gap under his arm the armor left unprotected. This allowed Elladan to gain the upper hand for a moment.

Carnelian let the two battle it out, thrusting in some blows here and there just to distract Elladan. At last, he knocked the helmet from Geru's head, leaving the amnesia elf standing there a minute, which gave Elladan time to rally against his blows. Then he stood stopped in his tracks, eyes wide.

Estel valiantly fought Carnelian's minions, sustaining a severely sprained ankle as he stumbled on the uneven, root and rock covered ground. Working his way around, he spotted the familiar dark head and the creepy red skin of Carnelian as he and Elladan struggled against each other. Afraid his friend would try something stupid yet again in his vengeful rage, he fought and limped his way to them.

Elladan stared at Geru, unable to lift his sword against him again. "Elrohir?" His voice shook as he beheld his brother in the strange armour, his hair short like a human.

Geru gave him a dirty look. "Who in Morgoth is Elrohir?" he spat as he attempted to cut off Elladan's head. He blade expertly swung back and forth as he pushed his unknown twin closer and closer to a severe drop-off. He fought off another image of a strikingly similar elf chasing him around some beautiful courtyard somewhere.

The words stung the oldest twin as he discovered his own twin no longer knew him. His eyes widened at the profanity coming out of Elrohir's mouth. Elves never cursed, yet his brother had done just that. The orcs had definitely done something to alter his thinking, to corrupt him. At that moment, Elladan did not have the heart to truly fight his brother but knew if he wished to live and defeat Carnelian he might have no choice in the matter. He had to counter his brother's sword parries with his own. Metal resounded as it hit metal, each elf fighting valiantly against the other. How strange it was to be fighting like this. They had constantly practiced together ever since they grew big enough to wield a blade, but that was always in fun and never to hurt the other.

At last, Estel appeared on the scene. He knocked Geru out of the way and the amnesiac elf bumped his head against a tree. Elrohir's head spun as the world seemed to turn a full 360 degrees before his eyes. Lying quite still for a few moments, he regained both his breath and composure as he wondered what he was doing back at the Redhorn Pass in the midst of a battle, dressed in strange armour that he had never laid eyes on before and held the stench of orcs.

Elladan barely registered that he had a helper, only intent on defeating Carnelian once and for all as the infamous orc moved in for the kill. What he did realize was that his brother had been removed from the fight somehow. He would have to see to him later. Finally, he turned his head and noticed his friend. "Estel! Leave me alone! I must defeat him on my own!" he yelled. This moment of distraction gave the red orc an edge against the elf and he sliced Elladan's head just behind his right ear, a stream of blood flowing down into his armour. With a renewed fury, the elf tackled Carnelian and they fell to the ground, intensely wrestling. After a few minutes, the elf jumped up, quickly followed by his foe. In one last burst of energy, the red orc's head flew off his body. As the cadaver fell to the ground, Elladan found himself pinned by his heavy weight and could not stop himself from tumbling to the ground. He struggled to regain his footing but lost it as air hit his foot where he expected the ground to be. He heard Estel saying something as the world faded into pitch black and he splashed into the chilly stream below.

Several feet away, Elrohir stirred and painfully pushed himself into a sitting position. The world looked strange, as though he were looking in between metal plates of some kind, and his head throbbed. He reached a hand up and instead of feeling hair met the helmet, which he took off. Blinking, he gazed around the battle field, where the orcs had either surrendered of fled as they discovered their fearless leader to be dead. He watched, helpless, as his twin tumbled off the edge of the cliff. Estel glanced over at him and hobbled the fastest he could to his side. Together they limped to a place where the small cliff edged off into a gentle slope.

Elladan lay motionless as the water carried him down the stream. Finally finding his energy, Elrohir rushed into the water and pulled him to the shore. He crouched down and grabbed his hand, disregarding the astonished Estel. "Elladan! Speak to me!"

The Ranger-to-be stooped beside him and pushed on Elladan's chest. A stream of water came out, so he put more pressure on him. The elf let out a small cough and started breathing again, but otherwise lay still except for his severe shivering. Sighing, Estel examined his friend's wounds, binding them the best he could. However, the oldest elf remained motionless, his breath even but fainter than anyone would have liked. He turned to Elrohir. "Your brother valiantly defeated the Carnelian Orc. We must get him back to Rivendell quickly so Lord Elrond may attend to him and the rest of our wounded."

Everything rushed back into Elrohir's head. "Estel! Lord Elrond is dead."

"What? You had better explain yourself, mellon nîn!"

Starting from his entry into the prison cell, Elrohir related everything that had transpired between him and Carnelian up until the point he developed amnesia. All the while they helped get everyone on the path back to Imladris, Estel listening in grim silence as his friend related the tale. Once the elf finished, they were seated atop their mounts with Elladan, still unconscious, held securely in front of his twin.

At last, Estel looked at Elrohir. "I never expected Lord Elrond and the Carnelian Orc to be one and the same, although I have to admit your father could be rather mysterious and dark at times."

"It came as the greatest surprise of my life! He murdered Naneth! I just don't understand."

"I don't think we ever will. I should have told you of my suspicions sooner. You know I spent much time in the library researching, but it was not my heritage that I sought but rather the mysterious Carnelian Orc. I realized before you led us in this battle that there had to be a spy in our midst at Imladris."

"It is alright. Elladan would not have listened anyway. He has always refused to think that one of our own could go wrong, even though I did just that."

Estel chuckled. "Yes, he has always been rather bold in his doings. Once he sets his mind on something, there is no turning back, and of course you have to be right behind him."

Elrohir laughed. "Yes, that is true." Then he sobered. "I hope he will be alright."

Estel stopped his horse a moment. "Wait, if Lord Elrond is dead, what are we going to do with Elladan? There is no denying he was the most accomplished healer in all of Arda."

"You know Ada trained healers from the moment he arrived in Rivendell. Surely someone can at least make my brother comfortable."

"I am sorry this happened. I blame myself for not helping him."

"Estel, you told me that he refused to allow you to help. He needed to do this on his own and he willingly paid the price for it. If anyone is to blame, it is my sorry excuse of a father for starting this whole mess in the first place."

At last they rode through the gates of Rivendell, greeted by a swarm of worried elves. Estel and Elrohir rushed Elladan to the healing chambers and made sure all the other wounded were attended before addressing the rest of the elves on what had transpired. Needless to say, it took many weeks before the elves fully accepted and adjusted to the threat of Carnelian being gone as well as their beloved ruler. Elrohir reigned in his stead, with some help from Estel during the first few weeks. He daily checked on his twin but Elladan remained in a comatose state, seemingly peaceful but hauntingly still.