Artanis said to a group of avengers and dark Templars, "The Mordor will attack Osgiliath soon. Go there and support the garrison there."
"Go with Artanis' forces and aid those humans," Alarak said to a group of blood hunters.
Gandalf was leading Jim and Pippin to somewhere in Minas Tirith. "Peregrin Took, my lad, there is a task now to be done. Another opportunity for one of the Shire-folk to prove their great worth." The wizard knelt and place a hand on the hobbit's shoulder, "You must not fail me." Pippin began running all the way to a signal fire.
"Now it's up to us to light the beacons," Jim spoke in soft volume.
"Since Denethor won't do it, we'll have to take things in our hands," Gandalf stated the fact.
In Osgiliath, the men were eating their meals. Faramir checked on the garrison and approached his grey-haired lieutenant. "It's been very quiet across the river. The Orcs are lying low. The garrison may have moved out. We've sent scouts to Cair Andros. If the Orcs attack from the north, we'll have some warning."
"Captain Faramir, creatures that look like the one called Vorazun are here," a Gondor soldier approached them.
Faramir and his lieutenant went to the group of creatures. The men of Gondor stared at those creatures with wonder and they seemed to remind the captain of someone he knew. "We are the dark Templar. These are the avengers from Aiur and Tal'darim blood hunters. We are the Protoss. Hierarch Artanis sent us to aid you, should the Mordor army attacks this city," said one of the creatures introducing its group and allies causing the men to be baffled.
"Are you the reinforcements that Vorazun told us about?" Faramir asked.
"Yes, we are. You know our matriarch?" a dark Templar asked.
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
"She left with a man called Tosh and two hobbits to the pass of Cirith Ungol," Faramir gave out what he knew. "Anyway, I don't know where the orcs will strike from."
Something hit the ground hard causing everyone especially the Protoss cloaked warriors to check. It was a Gondor soldier with an arrow on the chest.
"They're not coming from the north. To the river. Quick. Quick. Go. Come on," Faramir ordered his men and everyone took positions near the river. "You … Protoss have made it in time," he said to their allies as they watched the orcs were nearing the river bank on rafts.
At the moment, the rafts landed and the orcs got off. Only Faramir and his men were aware of the Protoss cloaked warriors' presence. The orcs could not see through the invisibility cloaks and were being sliced into pieces unnoticed. A dark templar's shadow strike could take out a single horde of orcs. Faramir and his men engaged the orcs clashing blades with them. The Protoss cloaked warriors had to be wary of their attacks so that they would not kill any of the men accidentally.
"Hold! Hold them!" a man shouted.
Faramir stabbed an orc and slashed another. However, the men were getting butchered by the orcs despite the assistance from the cloaked allies. No matter how many orcs the Protoss assassins killed, more replaced the fallen with more rafts landing. Unknown to the men and the Protoss cloaked warriors, orc reinforcements fixed a bridge so that they could storm the city.
Meanwhile, Pippin climbed all the way to the signal fire without the guards noticing. Gandalf, Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Alarak, Karax, and Talandar watched. Despite the hobbit spilled some fluid accidentally, the guards did not notice. Pippin successfully threw a burning lamp into the pyre and climbed down.
"What?" a guard spoke with disbelief as they saw the fire was getting larger in the pyre.
"How will Rohan get the signal by this?" Karax asked.
Gandalf, Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Karax, Alarak, and Talandar went to a spot to have a view. "Amon Din," Gandalf muttered. In the mountains, there was something lit and was on fire.
"The beacon. The beacon of Amon Din is lit," said a Gondor soldier.
Talandar noticed Denethor glaring and the steward went away.
"Hope is kindled," the wizard muttered.
"So, those beacons had to be lit one by one," said Swann.
The hermits living in the mountains lit the pyres and waved for the others to light the other pyres. As a result in Edoras, Aragorn spotted one of the beacons when he was smoking his pipe. He hurried into the hall, "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit!" Aragorn caught the attention of Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, several captains of Rohan, Legolas, Gimli, Sarah Kerrigan, Brood mother Zagara, Primal pack leader Dehaka, and infested Alexei Stukov. "Gondor calls for aid."
"And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim," Theoden made his decision after consideration.
At the time the bell rang as the Rohirrim began mobilizing, Sarah Kerrigan said to the Zerg Swarm, "Minions, it's time to aid our allies in Gondor." She decided use every unit available by adding mutalisks that attacked with glaive wurms from the air, infestors that were infestation specialists used as support, and ultralisks that were heavy-assault beasts with Kaiser blades to bifurcate multiple foes. Kerrigan chose a strand from Abathur to enable the mutalisks to morph into brood lords that were heavy-assault flyers utilizing broodlings as living ammunition for long-range attacks. She also chose the torrasque strain for the ultralisks so that they could enter into a cocoon upon death to regenerate, restoring the ultralisks to full health. However, the reincarnate required a cool down after use. Dehaka's primal ultralisks were different from the Swarm's as they only attacked with large claws whereas the primal mutalisks had four wings instead of two. Aberrations were like the centaurs in Earth's legends as they appeared part infested terran and part quadrupedal Zerg creature. The aberrations were front-line-assault units that attacked with anti-armor pustulant smash used by Kerrigan as part of her Swarm and Stukov as part of the infested.
"Assemble the army of Dunharrow. As many men as can be found. You have two days. One the third, we ride for Gondor and war," Theoden gave orders to his nephew.
"Forward," Eomer ordered.
"Very good, sir."
"Gamling," Theoden addressed the captain who was present all the time during the Battle of Helm's Deep.
"My lord."
"Make haste across the Riddermark. Summon every able-bodied man to Dunharrow."
"I will."
Kerrigan saw Merry approaching the king with his short sword, "Excuse me. I have a sword. Please accept it. I offer you my service, Theoden King."
Theoden got the hobbit on his feet, "And gladly I accept it. You shall be Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan."
Stukov noticed Gimli sharing a horse with Legolas and the dwarf muttered, "Horsemen. I wish I could muster a legion of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy."
"Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war. I fear war already marches on their own lands," said the prince of Mirkwood.
"So it is before the walls of Minas Tirith … the doom of our time will be decided," Theoden thought.
"Now is the hour. Riders of Rohan, oaths you have taken. Now, fulfill them all. To lord and land!" Eomer ordered.
The Zerg Swarm and the Rohirrim began their move. With the heroes riding on horses, Merry was seen riding a pony.
The situation in Osgiliath was not going well as the men of Gondor were losing despite the aid of the Protoss cloaked warriors. No matter how many orcs were killed, there were more replacing the fallen. Some of the dark Templars were fighting alongside Faramir.
"Faramir!" the grey-haired ranger shouted causing the captain and the dark Templars to move aside so that the rangers loosed the arrows on the orc pursuers. "We can't hold them. The city is lost."
"Tell the men to break cover. We ride for Minas Tirith," Faramir ordered.
"Tell the others that we'll have to retreat to Minas Tirith," said a dark Templar sending another with the message.
"Nazgul," a man muttered when there were blood-curtailing screeches.
"Take cover!" another man shouted.
"Mordor has air support?" a Tal'darim blood hunter muttered with disbelief.
"Could those be the black riders on Fellbeasts we've been hearing about?" an avenger asked.
Two black riders on flying creatures swooped knocking the men from the ruins.
"Fall back! Fall back to Minas Tirith!" Faramir shouted. Some of the dark Templars sliced the orcs surrounding the grey-haired ranger and took him away. Faramir, his lieutenant, and most of the men mounted on horses then fled the city. "Retreat! Retreat!"
"Run for your lives!" a man shouted.
The Protoss cloaked warriors all began running to Minas Tirith along with the men that were on foot.
"Keep going!"
"It's the Nazgul!"
"Take cover, my lord!"
"It's coming!"
"They don't ever quit, do they?" an avenger asked.
The Fellbeasts grabbed the men along with the horses and dropped them to their deaths. When they swooped at the men, the Protoss all dodged the attacks.
"Mordor has air forces," Swann muttered as he, Jim, Stetmann, Artanis, Alarak, Karax, and Talandar watched from the battlements.
"It's the Fellbeasts," said Stetmann.
"Raiders, prepare to fire at my mark," Jim ordered. The marines, goliaths, Vikings in fighter modes, and thors prepared waiting for the Fellbeasts to come any closer.
"There's a rider heading towards them," said Talandar.
"It's Mithrandir," said a Gondor soldier in Minas Tirith.
"It's the White Rider!"
"I hope Gandalf knows what he's doing," Jim thought.
When Shadowfax got in range, Gandalf casted a powerful light from his staff causing the Ringwraiths on Fellbeasts to back off.
"Pull!" a Gondor soldier shouted as the gates were opened for the retreating men, Gandalf, and the Protoss cloaked warriors to enter.
People of Minas Tirith began gathering around the survivors. Jim, Swann, Stetmann, Artanis, Alarak, Talandar, and Karax joined them. "Mithrandir," a man who looked like Boromir approached the wizard. "They broke through our defenses. They've taken the bridge and the west bank. Battalions of Orcs are crossing the river."
"It is as Lord Denethor predicted. Long has he foreseen this doom," a man argued.
"Foreseen and done nothing," Gandalf countered the statement. "Faramir?" he recognized the man who was like Boromir. "Is he not the first Halfling to have crossed your path?" the wizard noticed Faramir was staring at Pippin who was also riding Shadowfax.
"No."
"Are you Boromir's brother?" Jim asked Faramir.
"Yes. I already know about my brother's demise."
"You've seen Frodo and Sam?" Pippin asked Faramir and the man nodded in response.
"Where? When?" Gandalf questioned.
"In Ithilien. Not two days ago. They're with a Protoss called Vorazun and a man called Tosh. Gandalf, they're taking the road to the Morgul Vale."
"And then the pass of Cirith Ungol."
"What does that mean? What's wrong?" Pippin asked.
"Faramir, tell me everything. Tell me all you know," said Gandalf.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Jim thought.
Author's Note
The next chapter will be on Sam, Tosh, and Vorazun.