Okay, so here is the next chapter.

Robin: Why am I not in it?

Kayden: You're not in the battle.

Robin: What battle?

Peyton: Look at the chapter title you ding-dong.

Kayden: Geez, someone's testy.

Peyton: What do you expect? We're about to fight and possibly die!

Robin: Okay, okay! Forget I asked. Can I at least do the disclaimer?

Kayden: Sure.

Peyton: Go ahead.

Robin: Maethorelen only owns me, Kayden, and Peyton.

Chapter 22: The Battle of Helm's Deep

All was silent. The men of Rohan stood in the battlements, some visibly shaking. The elves were lined atop the Deeping Wall, somberly gazing out towards the river of torch lights drawing nearer. Kayden and Peyton stood among them, gripping their weapons tightly.

A tense mood hung over the fortress. No one dared to break the grave silence. Well, no one except…

"You could have picked a better spot," Gimli grumbled from his position beside Legolas and Kayden. Since he was a Dwarf, he was just a tad bit too short to see over the wall. In fact, his helmet just barely rose above the immense stone blocks.

Gimli then turned towards Kayden. "Well, lass, whatever luck you live by, let us hope it lasts the night."

Kayden wordlessly nodded her head in reply. Aragorn came up behind them, his grey eyes boring into the wave of Uruk-Hai advancing upon the stronghold. Peyton could see that he was tense, anxiously awaiting the impending battle.

"Your friends are with you Aragorn," Legolas informed the Ranger.

"Let us hope they last the night," Gimli muttered.

Thunder boomed overhead, and a flash of lightning momentarily illuminated the horde of Uruk-Hai. Their armor was as black as the night, and their spears were hoisted high, ready to kill and destroy all that stood in their way.

Another thunderclap rumbled in the sky, bringing a downpour of rain with it. "Great," Peyton groaned. "It just has to rain." The raindrops fell upon the armor of the troops, completely soaking them within minutes.

Aragorn left the four of them and began marching among the ranks of the Elves. "A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn!" he shouted. "An uben tanatha le faelas!"

The Uruks abruptly stopped marching, beginning to grunt and growl.

"What's happening out there?" Gimli asked anxiously, hopping up and down in an attempt to see over the wall.

"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas smirked. "Or would you like me to find you a box?"

Gimli laughed, and even Kayden and Peyton managed a grin, despite the gravity of the situation.

The Uruk-Hai began slamming their spears onto the ground, creating an eerie beat. Aragorn drew his sword and held it high in front of him. The archers, including Peyton and Legolas, pulled arrows from their quivers and prepared to fire. Kayden unsheathed Veryan, and Gimli tightened his grip on his axe. The Uruks began to growl louder, and soon their animalistic roars filled the air.

Suddenly, a lone arrow flew out of the men on the battlements and struck an Uruk in the neck. "Dartho!" Aragorn bellowed, holding up his hand.

Peyton gave Kayden a quizzical look. "What did he say?"

Kayden opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by the snarls of fury coming from the mass of Uruks below. They were not happy that the defenders had shot first. With a loud roar, the Uruk-Hai began charging towards the wall.

"Tangado a chadad!" Aragorn ordered.

"Prepare to fire," Kayden translated for Peyton. The archers simultaneously notched arrows and pulled back their bowstrings.

"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc," Legolas stated, aiming his bow. Peyton didn't understand what he had said, but right now, she was too focused on the imminent battle to care.

"LEITHIO I PHILINN!"

"RELEASE THE ARROWS!"

Arrows rained upon the swarm of Uruk-Hai, felling many of the foul creatures. "Did they hit anything?" Gimli asked eagerly.

"FIRE!"

"FIRE!"

Volley after volley flew towards the Uruks, tearing through their front line. Yet still more came, their numbers seemingly endless. Soon, they had reached the base of the wall.

"Send them to me!" Gimli cried. "Come on!"

Some Uruks began firing crossbows at them. Several elves were struck down and tumbled into the sea of black below. More Uruks ran towards the wall, carrying long, rather heavy-looking wooden objects.

Kayden's eyes widened as she realized what the Uruks were carrying. "Tiro! Tiro!" she shouted. "Pendraith!"

"What?" Peyton yelled, but no one needed to answer. Ladders could be clearing seen swinging up towards the walls, Uruk-Hai upon them.

"Good!" Gimli exclaimed.

"No Gimli, not good!" Peyton retorted as a ladder came up beside them. An Uruk leapt towards them, but with a mighty swing of his axe, Gimli cut him down.

And so the Battle for Helm's Deep began.

Kayden slashed furiously at the oncoming foes, cutting down several Uruks. Peyton fired at the foul creatures, felling many with a good shot to the neck or torso. Legolas and Gimli were faring well too.

"Legolas!" Gimli called. "Two already!"

Legolas paused, a smile across his face. "I'm on seventeen!"

"Eighteen!" Kayden shouted as she gutted yet another Uruk-Hai.

"I'LL HAVE NO POINTY EARS OUTSCORING ME!" Gimli roared.

"ME NEITHER!" Peyton cried as she shot down an Uruk climbing up onto the wall. "I only have fifteen!"

Kayden and Peyton charged together at a ladder, managing to push it off the wall. But more ladders continued to swing onto the fortress, bringing more Uruk-Hai. The fight had just begun.

~o*o*o*o~

Peyton battled fiercely, wielding both her bow and her dagger. "Twenty!" she called as another one of her arrows pierced an Uruk's neck.

"Twenty-two!" Kayden shouted back, decapitating an Uruk-Hai.

A rather large Uruk came up behind Kayden, its cruelly shaped sword raised high. "Kayden, behind you!" Peyton yelled.

Kayden whirled around, but not fast enough. The Uruk's blade caught the underside of her arm, slicing through the leather straps of her mithril guard. The vambrance clattered to the ground, and Kayden stumbled, wincing in pain. With a loud cry, Peyton fired an arrow into the Uruk's skull just as Kayden thrust her blade through the creature's chest.

"You alright?" Peyton asked.

Kayden nodded, beheading another Uruk-Hai. "I'll be fine. I'm not dead yet."

"Don't say 'yet'!" Peyton shouted.

~o*o*o*o~

The battle raged on for hours. Both Kayden and Peyton had sustained injuries: Kayden's arm burned with pain, and Peyton had received a rather nasty gash on the leg. But they two continued to fight, felling one Uruk after another. Yet the Uruk-Hai kept coming, their numbers seemingly endless.

Somehow, Kayden had been separated from Peyton, Legolas, and Gimli and was now fighting back to back with Aragorn. Kayden then noticed the Uruk-Hai carrying massive, spiked metal balls underneath the wall.

"Aragorn!" she cried, gesturing to the sluice below the wall. An Uruk was running towards it, a flaming torch in his hand. Both Aragorn and Kayden's eyes widened as they realized what those balls were.

They were bombs. The Uruk-Hai were going to blast the wall to pieces!

"Togo hon dad, Legolas!" Aragorn shouted. Legolas fired an arrow, striking the Uruk's shoulder, but the Uruk didn't stop running. Instead, he increased speed.

"Shoot him, Peyton!" Kayden yelled.

Both Legolas and Peyton fired arrows, but the Uruk persistently kept charging.

"DAGO HON!" Kayden and Aragorn bellowed. "DAGO HON!"

Peyton scored a direct hit to the Uruk's other shoulder, but it was too late. The Uruk dove into the sluice.

KA-BOOM!

The bombs exploded, and the middle section of the Deeping Wall was blown apart. Peyton was thrown into the air, landing hard on her back. Masonry flew everywhere, and the air was filled with smoke and dust.

Peyton lay still, stunned by the explosion. I thought we had left all the bombs back at home, she thought dazedly.

"Peyton!" a gruff voice cried. "Lassie!" The dust cleared, revealing Gimli standing beside her, shaking her shoulders.

"Thanks, Gimli," Peyton stated, blinking furiously as she scrambled to her feet. "Oh no!" she gasped, pointing down into the wreckage. "Kayden! Aragorn!" Both Ranger and elleth lay motionless among the debris. Slowly but surely, however, they stirred, pushing themselves off of the ground.

Filled with new strength at his friends' survival, Gimli charged off the wall. "ARAGORN!" he cried, plunging into the mass of Uruk-Hai swarming through the gap in the wall.

Peyton soon followed suit. "KAYDEN!"

"GIMLI! PEYTON!" Kayden and Aragorn scrambled to their feet, looking at their friends in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Kayden exclaimed. Peyton had thankfully survived the fall, but both she and the Dwarf were beginning to get run over by the wave of Uruks crashing through the wall.

Aragorn rallied the Elves behind him. "HADO I PHILINN!"

A volley of arrows struck the Uruks, killing several. Yet more were still pouring into the fortress. Aragorn held his sword high, and Kayden drew both her blades.

"HERIO!"

The mass of elves charged, colliding with the Uruk-Hai with a loud roar. Kayden looked up to see Legolas seize an Uruk's shield and toss it beneath him, sliding down the steps and firing arrows as he did so. Peyton and Gimli had resurfaced, and had rejoined the fight for the fortress. But now, things looked ugly. Without the wall, the Uruk-Hai could easily storm at the defending troops. And now the Uruks had brought out a battering ram and were beginning to hammer down the main gates.

"FALL BACK TO THE KEEP!" Théoden boomed from the battlements.

Aragorn relayed the order to the Elvish troops. Peyton and Legolas seized Gimli by the arms, dragging him away from the battle. "What are you doing?" the Dwarf protested, struggling. "What are you stopping for?"

Suddenly, Aragorn cried, "HALDIR!"

Kayden whipped around to see Aragorn fighting his way up the stairs, racing towards a golden-haired elf on the wall, the elf's silver armor stained with blood. Aragorn reached Haldir just as the elf collapsed, dead.

"Aragorn!" Kayden shouted, slicing down Uruks as she made her way to the Ranger. Aragorn, suddenly aware of the Uruks coming behind him, sprang to his feet, slaying yet another one as Kayden reached him. Together, the two of them leapt onto a ladder, pushing off and falling into the mass of Uruk-Hai below.

~o*o*o*o~

Meanwhile, Peyton was fighting with the Rohirric soldiers, trying valiantly to brace the gate. The Uruk-Hai were strong, however, and they soon pierce a hole in the great wooden doors. Théoden had joined them, but the king had received a pike to the shoulder and was now leaning against the wall, grimacing.

Aragorn and Kayden raced past him, entering the fray. Kayden immediately found Peyton desperately hacking away with her dagger, the Uruks too close to get a clean shot.

"OI!" she shouted, trying to get her friend's attention. "Join the other archers on the battlements!" Peyton nodded and rushed off.

By now, things seemed grim. The gates were splintered and nearly burst open. "Hold them!" Théoden ordered.

"How long do you need?" Aragorn inquired.

"As long as you can give me."

Aragorn nodded, ushering Gimli and Kayden into a side passage. The three of them exited out onto a rocky ledge near the causeway. The ledge was concealed from the Uruks, who were hammering madly on the gates.

Aragorn peered around the wall. Kayden followed his gaze and saw that there was a rather large gap between the ledge they were standing on and the causeway crowded with Uruks.

Gimli was quivering with excitement. "Come on," he hissed eagerly. "We can take them!"

"It's a long way," Aragorn stated. Kayden nodded her head in agreement.

Gimli gazed around the wall and, upon seeing the distance, froze. After a few moments, he mumbled, "Toss me."

Aragorn inclined his head. "What?"

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

Kayden smirked. "I thought nobody tosses a Dwarf."

Gimli glared at her before sighing resignedly and closing his eyes. Aragorn wrapped an arm around him. "Wait!" Gimli suddenly exclaimed. "Don't tell the princeling."

"Not a word," Aragorn assured him.

"Promise," Kayden added.

With a great heave, Aragorn threw Gimli into the mass of Uruks. The Dwarf gave a loud war cry, swinging his axe like a madman.

Kayden leapt across next, shouting, "GURTH 'NI YRCH!" Aragorn soon followed her across. The threesome battled fiercely, felling Uruks left and right.

~o*o*o*o~

Peyton stood on the battlements beside Legolas, firing arrows into the mass below. Suddenly, Peyton noticed the Uruks swarming around several huge machines, shaped like gigantic crossbows. One of these machines fired, launching a huge, cruelly shaped hook onto the battlements. A gigantic ladder was heaved up, bringing numerous Uruks with it.

Quickly, Peyton drew her dagger and severed the ropes attaching the ladder closest to her to the wall. Legolas had done the same with another ladder, and both ladders fell onto the Uruk-Hai below, crushing more than a few of the foul creatures.

By now, Théoden and his men had nearly finished securing the gate as best as they could. "Aragorn! Gimli! Kayden!" Théoden called. "Get out of there!" The three nodded, and Théoden's face disappeared as the last slab of wood was placed on the door.

Legolas and Peyton threw down a rope to the threesome. "Aragorn! Kayden!"

Kayden, Aragorn, and Gimli seized the rope, clenching it tightly. Legolas and Peyton hauled the three up onto the battlements as more Uruk-Hai ladders swung onto the walls.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Everyone rushed inside the Keep. The stronghold was breached. The White Hand of Saruman now flew where the banners of Rohan once were. Uruk-Hai burst through the gates and flooded the fortress.

For now, the battle had halted. And all seemed lost.

Elvish Translations

A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn! = Show them no mercy!

An uben tanatha le faelas! = For you shall receive none!

Dartho! = Hold!

Tangado a chadad! = Prepare to fire!

Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc = Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm.

LEITHIO I PHILINN! = RELEASE THE ARROWS!

Tiro! = Look!

Pendraith! = Ladders!

Togo hon dad, Legolas! = Bring him down, Legolas!

DAGO HON! = KILL HIM!

HADO I PHILINN! = HURL THE ARROWS!

HERIO! = CHARGE!
GURTH 'NI YRCH! = DEATH TO THE ORCS!

Again, a lot of Elvish in this chapter.

Peyton: Why must you keep speaking in a language only Kayden can understand?

Kayden: Hey, it's not my fault I'm an elf!

Robin: Peyton, she's right. Maethorelen chose what race we would be. Kayden got to be the elf. I got to be the hobbit. And you, well, you got to stay normal.

Peyton: Well, I don't like being normal!

Robin: At least you're not stuck with the Ents. THIS IS SO BORING!

Maethorelen: Relax! I'll get to you in the next chapter, Robin.

Robin: Okay, I guess. But hurry up! I can't take listening to the Ents for hours on end any longer!

Peyton: And what about us! You can't just leave us hanging!

Kayden: Robin, Peyton, stop harassing Maethorelen! And to everyone else, please review!