Frodo and the others were terrified. Another terrible scream broke the silence of the night, tormenting them, mocking them. Too late they'd realised the naivety of their actions. Stood at the peak of the tower, with nowhere left to run to. Huddling at the centre, surrounded by an army of broken stone and ominous weather-beaten statues. Waiting for the first wraith to come. Had they killed Strider? Had their mistake killed him? They were trapped, and knew they were alone.
Chief was checking his equipment, but there wasn't really much to check. A knife is a knife, his armour was functioning normally, and his grenades hadn't gone missing. "What's your plan Chief?" Asked Cortana. Chief had one, and it was very simple.
"A last stand action." He replied in answer. There was only six contacts, armed with swords and daggers. Not much planning was required. They weren't getting through his armour, unless they had more formidable tricks concealed behind those cloaks. All he had to do was send the bullies packing. If anyone else arrived, the next cause of action would be to get the children safely off the tower.
"Chief! Behind you, contact!" Cortana shouted out unexpectedly. Chief span around. One of the cloaked men was behind him, isolated from the others, and was drawing forwards slowly. "He seems a cheery kinda person!" She remarked, breaking the suspense over the audio. She finally had something to take her mind off of the rampancy issue!
The Dark Marshal was a little stunned. High King of Umbar, one of the Nine, callous and malicious amongst even their number. For weeks he had been hunting down weakling hobbits, following the duty of his eternal master. Now that he and the others had finally tracked down their quarry, were about to discover and kill the ring bearer...there was an imposing green giant blocking his way.
"Don't you know that it's wrong to pick on little kids?" Cortana challenged, speaking at the wraith over the armour's loud speaker. John quickly glanced at her, eyes wild in stare for a moment. "Well, sorry, couldn't help it!" She complained. She cursed herself, this wasn't like her! Hopefully he wouldn't realise.
This outburst confused the Dark Martial. The creature sounded female. It certainly didn't look it! "You're not getting through here!" Chief now said in defiance, dry and threateningly. Another voice now! This giant was playing tricks on him! Trying to distract him. Even for a wraith such a himself, who had long ago been freed from the mortal concern of death. This seven foot warrior, with his faceless helmet and strange, impossibly thick armour was very intimidating. It was as if the dark marshal was staring into a version of himself. A parody. A joke! He would not have it! A wraith? Intimidated?
The Dark Marshal would have none of it! Hissing at Chief, the wraith slowly drew his long sword, and started marching towards his enemy. This warrior would not come between him and his prey! "Is this guy serious?" Cortana gasped in amazement, talking only to John this time. The sinister bully was hoping to take out a Spartan, with nothing but an old iron sword? If he honestly thought that was going to cut it, this moron was about to have the shock of his life!
Chief stood poised, expecting still for the hostile to draw something other than this antiquated tool. He wouldn't rule it out. The wraith began to draw forward. You might have seen it smile, had it still possessed a face. The giant was just standing there, and apart from a knife and a few rocks on his belt, was completely unarmed. And then he spoke to Chief. And spoke in the black speech, the language of Mordor. "Trapped here in the darkness, mortal. You will die tonight!"
Cortana froze at this. She had terrible memories of the elites, the alien race that even Spartans were vulnerable against. They spoke in their native language during battle. It was maddening, not knowing what they were saying, the fear of not knowing. The dark rasping voice of this shady individual brought all those memories flooding back. "Be careful John." She breathed quietly.
Without hesitation, Chief launched himself at the bully. The wraith was taken completely off guard by the speed and sudden savagery of the assault. Chief cobra punched the wraith, who staggered back, hitting the wall of the stairway. Before the dark marshal could recover, Chief had grabbed him by the hood and shoulder, and thrown the surprised wraith clean into the air towards the cliff face behind.
The wraith stopped himself just before he fell, not an inch away from oblivion. Chief drew his combat knife, and started pacing forwards slowly. The wraith came back to his feet, drawing a cruel looking dagger in addition to the sword. This foe was astonishingly powerful. He would not underestimate the giant a second time!
Now the Dark Marshall was in dire circumstances. Standing just in front of the cliff, the twisted shade was one push away from defeat. Yet, Chief was a little surprised that the bully was still standing. He'd killed brutes with punches.
The Dark Marshall knew the danger, and with the giant bearing down on him, didn't have the time to retreat from the chasm. In one last gambit, the wraith began to chant. Feeling the dark power of his lord and master flowing through him, the wraith began to weave a terrible spell of bewitchment.
Chief felt unusual, it was as if his usually iron-hard resolve was melting away. He tried to shake the feeling off, but he couldn't. Instead it only grew. He was losing himself, his resolve, and his will to fight and act! But the shadowy figure was still in trouble, at Chief's mercy. Bringing forth all the conviction he could muster, he lunged forwards. Launching a powerful kick into the cloaked figure's chest, Chief sent the servant of darkness hurtling off the side of the cliff, screaming all the way down!
Aragorn had just made it to the tower. He knew the wraiths were ahead of him. He only hoped he could reach them in time. It was at that moment when a terrible scream fell just behind him. He heard the crash of metal against stone and the flutter of heavy cloaks. To his amazement, a wraith had fallen off the watchtower, and missed him by no less than a hair's breadth. It lay there, motionless, just a pile of cloak and armour. The malevolent spirit had disappeared, its life force gone.
Distracted, he knew that he had to keep moving. Every moment lost lowered the chance of him saving them. As he climbed higher, he began to hear the clash of swords, metal striking metal. He reached the empty campsite. He had little time, but he needed something else with which to fight the wraiths off.
He saw the campfire, the hobbits hadn't done a good job of putting it out. Parts were still burning. Picking up a smouldering brand, Aragorn sheathed his sword for a moment. Taking a powder-like substance from one of his pouches, he sprinkled it over the wood. The brand burst into healthy flame again, and Aragon drew his sword once more. He was ready! As he drew the last of the stairs to the weather top, he heard Frodo scream. He hoped he wasn't too late. He leapt out at the first wraith he saw, oblivious to all else that was taking place...
(A few moments ago) Chief staggered backwards, slowly feeling his willpower return to him. What the hell had just happened to him? "Are you okay Chief? What's wrong?" His concerned AI asked.
"I'm fine Cortana." He lied. But Cortana knew better. She had known her Spartan for Eight years. He never lost his resolve, never hesitated to attack the enemy. She didn't understand what was happening.
Chief still hadn't quite recovered from the sudden episode. It had felt like an outer body experience, the kind that only madmen and religious zealots described. As if in one moment, decades of conditioning and indoctrination had been all but compromised. Only his instincts remaining. It was then that a great bellow erupted from above. "BACK YOU DEVILS!" It sounded like one of the children, but his voice was filled with fear and rage. Then he heard the familiar clash of metal against metal.
"Chief. The other contacts have beaten you to it! You need to get up there right now!" This was more than enough to snap Chief out of his indecisions. He sprant up the stairs, launching himself at the first hooded figure he saw. He tackled it to the ground.
The oblivious and dumbstruck creature shrieked loudly as it hit the ground with a heavy crunch. Everyone, Hobbit and wraith alike span around in shock. Sam, who lay dazed from being punched by a heavy gauntlet, lay there with confused eyes. Merry and Pippin, who had only just been thrown to the ground by the Witch King, were capable of only the same. Frodo had the ring on, and was trapped against a pillar with nowhere left to crawl to. He just lay there, staring in amazement at the olive-green giant who had just flattened one of the hooded monsters.
The wraiths were equally as shocked. Who was this new foe? What kind of armour was that? Could their swords even penetrate metal that thick? Chief was holding the struggling wraith down, trapped under his half tonne bodyweight. Chief span it round, staring face to 'face' with his opponent. He brought his knife down hard, stabbing at its forehead.
Instantly, a force exploded all the way up his arm, causing his shield to pulse and flare. Chief hadn't expected it at all, and he was thrown high into the air by the shunt, just like if he had been pummelled by a hunter. He fell hard with a grunt. "Shield power just dropped to 25%. It's like you've been fragged!" Uninjured, saved by his shield, he leapt back to his feet.
The wraiths were closing in. They were stunned by the golden lights that flowed around him. And how he had just leapt back up, apparently unharmed. Even after the fall and after touching the skin of a wraith! They began to back off. What in Arda was this monster? How could something so powerful still feel human? The hobbits were simply too dumbfounded to react. The Witch King of Angmar however, the most hardened of them all, was not. Whilst everyone else was distracted, he began to march once again on a terrified Frodo Baggins.
"There seems to be more to these people than just hoods and swords Chief. Be careful, we have no idea what we're up against!" That blast of energy had certainly been a surprise. Something felt off about these opponents. Chief couldn't describe how but they seemed to inspire an irrational sense of dread and creeping fear within him. His muscles were tight, not relaxed how they always should be. His mind spinning, heart racing. Stomach churning. Not since his meeting with the Gravemind itself had he experienced these feelings. But, he wasn't about to stop defying them.
He sheathed his knife, believing it to be a hindrance now. Nothing had happened before when he had just been hitting them. He and his armour was a superior weapon to a combat knife anyway! Spartans could roll APC's, bring down concrete pillars and uproot trees. He didn't need a weapon, he was a weapon. What was the warrior doing now? Everyone wondered. How was he going to fight with only his bare hands? Was he mad, or, was he going to flee? As Chief marched forwards, his guard up, their doubts were answered. He would fight.
Suddenly, they all heard Frodo cry out in pain, and his friend's eyes expanded in horror as they looked out desperately for him.
"Cortana, where is he? I can't see him!" With nothing on his motion tracker, Cortana attempted to pin point where the screams were coming from.
"I've found his position. By the hostile on your two O' clock!" There was no obstruction of sight. The only way possible was if the kid had a stealth device. But this made no sense. He couldn't have been hiding a power generator. Yet still the dagger was stabbing down, apparently hitting thin air, and the voice of the one called Frodo kept crying out in pain.
Chief knew that it had to be, and he needed to act immediately. There was masonry all around. He picked up a rock. The fragment was large as his own helmet. He threw it hard, just after the wraith withdrew its blade from Frodo's chest. The Witch King was thrown forwards as the hunk of stone thumped straight into its back. Shaken and dazed, he fell onto one knee. He hadn't seen it coming!
All the wraiths then cried out, apparently in fear. Chief turned, and saw a man armed with a sword and burning brand, suddenly thrashing out at and wildly beating the robed assassins back. Sweeping in a wide arc, Aragorn shoved his burning brand into one of the wraiths, and it began to scream as its dry cloak caught alight. This caused complete chaos amongst the others. One of the cowards fled right there and then! Abandoning its comrades without second thought.
It was at this point where the ghosts began to scatter. Chief's defiance alone had been enough to weaken their resolve, but now, the threat of this other was too much. The Nazgul drew their power from the fear they inspired, and they were inspiring none in this fight. The Ring Bearer was marked, soon to die. Their job done, it was time to fly.
Another of the assassins charged at Chief, trying to fight its way to the stairway. "Time to end this!" He thought to himself. He grabbed hold of it, its sword bouncing harmlessly off his shield. Lifting the furious wraith up above his head, he launched it into one five meters away. The hobbits collectively gasped at the feat of strength.
This is when Aragorn became aware of the other man amongst them. As the two screaming wraiths came together, collapsing in a pile of cloaks and ethereal limbs, he turned his head, and his jaw dropped in shock. A giant of a man was battling the wraiths. Olive green armour, no sword, neglecting the knife at his side. An astonishing gold aura surrounding him! Beating the hooded monsters back with his bare hands!
Aragorn almost missed a wraith's sword coming towards him, and was thrown back, put off balance as he quickly parried the strike. Focussed, he recovered and drove forwards with wild abandon, pushing the wraith towards the edge of the weather top. He would not be bested by this denizen.
Chief was still preoccupied with the two wraiths picking themselves off the ground. As he strafed forwards, the quicker of the two wraiths grabbed its weapon and advanced on John once more. As it raised the sword above his head, about to bring it down. It received a soccer kick to the stomach for its troubles. The wraith keeled over, lifted off the ground by the immense power of the assault. Sword torn out of the wraith's grip, it clattered noisily against the cold stone floor. Terrified, and with its mind swimming, it crawled away from the battle. Cowering and in fear.
Chief bent down, hefting up the other by its shoulders, holding it high. He then tried to get its hood down. It took massive effort, like trying to pull a steel bulkhead apart, but he eventually succeeded. Noting, none of the life he had ever seen, prepared Chief for what he saw next. He'd expected a man in some kind of armour. But no, this thing was truly alien. He had seen Mgalekgolo, trilling drones and sophisticated forerunner AI's. But this creature, this being was just as bizarre and terrifying as the flood.
Time slowed to a trickle within his mind. A creature, no, a shadow was hanging before him. A glowing, featureless mass of onyx black. A pale aura surrounded it, white as the stars and moon above, the light of which reflected off this creatures' skin, skin like the purest glass. It turned its head, and Chief couldn't even tell if the creature was staring at him. Was this one of the aliens of this planet?
Aragorn had just beaten back his opponent. The monster, whom hadn't fought anything for near 70 years was no match for the war honed ranger of the North. Turning to the giant, his eye was drawn to the hoodless wraith, and was fascinated by it. He had never seen a wraith before, not without its mantle. He'd fought barrow wrights and shades in the desolate artic wastes of the north, all cruel spectral beings. But this creature was the most otherworldly of them all!
It was at this moment where Frodo re-appeared, and his cry turned every head, even those of the sadistic wraiths. "MR FRODO!" Sam shouted, springing suddenly into action and rushing over to his friend. Aragorn scanned the courtyard, and spied the witch king, sneaking off the side. The wraith turned, seeing Aragorn, seeing the look of revenge and contempt in the ranger's eyes: Too late to react.
What the Chief saw next impressed him deeply. The warrior, also fighting the monsters, launched his burning brand at the remaining one, and struck it clean in the centre of its 'face'. The creature screamed in shock and pain as it retreated from the field. "Wow!" Cortana commented.
"Not now Cortana!" John warned, knowing that there was a very brave, but very hurt kid behind him. Chief came back to face his struggling opponent. Who was still being held by Chief, at his mercy. It was then that John noticed how heavy the alien was. No larger than a human, yet felt as heavy as an armoured elite! He stared straight at the featureless creature, his own eyeless visor not three centimetres from its face.
"My master, will not allow you to live...demon!" It said in its rasping, whispering voice. Chief almost smirked, he seemed to get that name from all his enemies. The wraith was arrogant, it knew that the powerful warrior was just a man. It could sense his very soul. Whilst his life essence was one of hardness, utterly defiant and unbendable, it was still the life essence of a mere mortal human.
The wraith grabbed a morgul blade from under his cloak, and tried to stab at him through the visor. Doing almost nothing. Chief, shield glowing, brought the wraith crashing down to the floor in response. Holding its neck and throttling the creature, lying right on top of it. "What are you!?" It hissed at him in pain, struggling with every word as Chief's hands crushed down on it. Chief only had four more words for the terrible alien he was sitting on.
"I am a Spartan." Then with all his power, he head-butted the wraith, so hard that it broke is connection with the physical universe, banishing it irresistibly. Chief let the figure fall, and watched in curiosity as the empty cloth and armour fell to the ground with a muffled clang. He knelt, examining the remains, climbing down onto one knee as he did so. This was indeed all that was left of the being. "How strange!"
With no knowledge of how this could be, he went to get up, but he stopped dead. Chief felt the point of a sword in the back of his neck. Aragorn wasn't sure if his sword would actually overcome the creatures armour, or the ward that shielded it. But knew that the threat itself would give the giant pause for thought...if a fight were to follow however, the heir of Isildur didn't fancy his chances!
Chief knew his armour was proof against such primitive weaponry. Maybe after an hour of sustained attacks, the sword would breach his body suit. So long as the blade didn't break before then. Which it would. But all this was irrelevant. This man was simply defending the children. Perhaps he was their guardian, or their father? He needed to wind this situation down. Cool as ever, Chief opened his mouth to speak to the sword-drawn Ranger. "That's funny way of saying thanks, if you ask me..."