His mind was still. His entire soul, all his worth and body and soul was focussed on this single task. He would not yield, would not, and could not. He would protect them 'til his last breath, he would protect the hobbits until death. He cut down the latest Uruk to come his way, stabbing deep, charging, pushing the devil over his shoulder as he ducked down, avoiding an undisciplined return attack as the beast sailed over.
His hand was honed by two decades of war, trained from the day he could hold a sword. Instructed by the greatest fencers and teachers of Minas Tirith. Hand of the Steward, the White Tower's greatest hero. A matchless protégée. Their greatest warrior. He only hoped he could redeem all of these credentials and reclaim his honour before the end.
He knows that the Uruks may be chasing down Frodo at this very moment. No! He would not have it! He pulled the great trumpet to his mouth again, and blew into it. Hopefully he would be able to draw more of them away from...in horror, he saw the horde of them coming over the hill.
Merry and Pippin were behind him, petrified. "Go...GO! He screamed, as the first of them drew forward. He side stepped, parried, cutting into his foe, bringing it down.
Lurtz strode over the peak of the hill. Men had delivered enough pain to his kind, time for revenge. For he knew in confidence, that his race was superior. He looked on, in complete hate, as another three of his comrade's fell. He held his bow arm stiff, drawing another massive arrow. "All be over soon, don't worry, soon over!" He thought to himself with joy.
As Boromir took one at the leg and brought his sword down, throwing a knife at another before it could even raise its shield. A break in the wind gives Lurtz his opportunity. He zeroes in on his adversaries chest, releases, perfect. The arrow sails effortlessly through the air, straight towards Boromir. The captain looks up, he sees Lurtz, sees the bow, than the arrow...too late. Than the impossible happened.
Chief sprant forwards, launching himself between Boromir and their enemies. He had arrived just in time, the arrow broke as it hit his breast plate, its cast iron tip fracturing as it impacted his nano-titanium carapace. Lurtz roars with frustration. "I' Nimmah" He screamed. The Spartan had forced his hand, he would summon his greatest asset. Cortana heard this. She could understand every language on Middle Earth. Why was this demented thing screaming about ''A Hammer''?
Boromir is stunned. Chief, was helping him? He thought that he had failed them...he was overwhelmed. Even after all this, they hadn't disowned him! Chief began to chop through the Uruks en masse, he had to reach the one on the hill, destroy their leader, stop him picking off Boromir or the hobbits. Lurtz was almost worried, would nothing bring this warrior down? He fired again, but the arrows couldn't breach his armour. He fired once more at Boromir, Chief swatted the arrow away. "I' Nimmah!" He roared again in rage. Where the hell was the abomination?
"Chief, something on your left, moving fast, look round!" Chief stabbed an Uruk, pulling it into the air and pushing it away with the power. When he turned, he was confronted by something completely horrific.
Uruk Hai were tall, all above six feet. But this thing, this, behemoth, dwarfed even Chief. It had to be at least eight! Wide as a Brute and tall as an Elite. Its muscles were colossal, and at points tore through the creature's vey skin, bleeding, screaming. The thing had to be in agony. Within its massive hands it held a cruel looking, double hooked weapon, like a poleaxe, which made Chief's claymore look small and fragile in comparison.
It was Saruman's newest breed, bred of sorcery and the wizards own life force. Its species did not yet have a name, but the creatures title, I' Nimmah, the hammer, would probably suffice. "So, Chief, that's what a 'Hammer' is, heads up!"
Yet Chief didn't have much time to think about it. The creature sprant at him with supernatural speed, and swung first, taking the initiative. Chief leant back, it missed. Another blow from the same direction, two tenths of a second after the last noted Cortana, incredible! Chief back stepped and dodged again, the heavy sword just missing him. This was a different kind of enemy, Chief had to adapt fast!
Then, howling, the Nimmah brought its weapon down, a vertical strike. Chief moved fast. The blade dug a few feet into the soft forest ground, stuck. The Spartan took advantage, he rose up to his full height, swinging like a trebuchet, launched a shot that would lop of the giant's head. He swung hard and fast, mustering all the strength and speed at his disposal.
Time slowed down, and a raging torrent became a slow tickle of a stream. Things almost stopped, there was only it and Chief, everything else melted away. The Nimmah had this power too, and it was as if the arrow of time had ceased to flow. It saw the sword, knew instinctively what was coming, and as time slowed further, hardly moving at all, the hyper violent creature responded.
It let go of its weapon and drove forward, fast and hard. It took hold of the Spartan's arms, holding them down, a perfect lock, stopping the sword dead. Chief's eyes widened inside of his helmet, such strength, even a Spartan might have struggled to do that!
Chief was trapped, he tried using leverage, it didn't work, the creature head-butted him, skull clanging against metal, reminding Chief that he did not have his shield to protect him. Chief tried kicking out, at the knee, at the thigh in an attempt to widen or collapse the creature's balance. He heard the sound of shattering bone, but again the creature head-butted him. Chief was himself losing his balance, and he was still trapped. The world had taken him off guard once more.
Suddenly, the creature let go. Acting faster than Chief could react to, it tore the sword from his hands, throwing it at a gawping Boromir, who avoided it by a single hairs breadth. He was shaken, but knew that it was the hobbits who needed his guard. He roared and cut down another few Uruk-Hai, keeping a VERY close eye at the snarling bowman on the hill.
The Nimmah took hold of Chief's neck, and he could feel its heavy fingers pushing down on his windpipe. He drew his knife, at the same time trying to punch the creature. The fist connected, and he was sure that he saw the monster smile.
The knife came, the Nimmah pulled its arm up to meet it. The blade bit deep, punching all the way through, pulverizing thick and rotting sinews, congealed and diseased blood spurting out of the other side. The creature growled, and pulled Chief into the air. All 500 kilos of him! Chief pulled the knife out, the Nimmah reacted. As the blade slid out of its bicep, he grabbed Chief's arm, holding it fast.
Such resilience to pain was not just phenomenal, it was impossible! He knew that there was sorcery at work here. Saruman was indeed powerful! Thoughts of what the greater Sauron was capable of briefly crossed his mind. Held aloft by the Nimmah, John knew what was coming next. Good thing he had his gel under-layer!
SLAM! Chief hit the ground with massive force, near to two tonnes of it in fact. Pressing its advantage, the Nimmah slammed its fist down, connecting with the Spartan's 'cheek'. Chief could feel the strength of the strike in his neck as his head was pulled round. If it hadn't been for his augments, it might have snapped there and then! All the same, he still felt the pain of the attack as it shot through his system.
Another hit came, even stronger than the last, than hard and fast, hits coming in flurries, they were coming so fast that Chief could barely block them. This thing was speed blitzing him! Than the creature roared all the louder, and with another massive hammer fist, like an enraged gorilla, smashed into the Chief's visor.
A massive crater formed in the right side of his HUD, the armour-glass fracturing, but not breaking. Chief had few answers to the creature's raw strength, but could feel an opening in its wild attack. He had trained in ground combat near to all his life. Wrenching free, he wrapped his legs around the creatures face and neck, catching it now in a lock, trying to dislocate it and the arm he was holding in a tight kimora.
"Chief! Get off him!" Boromir screamed as the line of approaching Uruk Hai thinned for a split second. The Nimmah looked up, snarling, "puny cockroach!" It thought to itself.
It stood bolt upright, a surprised Chief still hanging onto its neck and arm. Boromir would not give into fear, and charged without hesitation. The Nimmah dwarfed him, and even without a weapon still had the reach advantage. Doubling his efforts Chief finally fractured its arm, the bone in its right arm shearing in three places and dislocating at the shoulder and elbow. The pain shot through its body, but was nothing like what he had to endure second after second. The terminal agony of its warped and crudely modified body. The tragedy of a Nimmah perhaps? It was in agony for the whole of its short but brutal life.
As Chief let go and rolled to the ground, Boromir raised his sword arm, and the Nimmah's free left arm swung, a reverse hammer blow. The Nimmah knew this man was beneath it, not worth its trouble. That was the purpose of the Uruk-Hai, but it was bred for the Spartan and his destruction alone. As if on cue, John charged back at the Nimmah, catching it off guard and sending it flying. The beast slammed against an old and upright Oak, but managed to catch back down
When the blow came it was little more than a casual slap, yet it came like a bullet, hitting Boromir in the temple, no deflection. Boromir was immediately thrown back the way he had come. He somehow kept hold of his sword, even though he was nearly unconscious, and was lucky enough as to not impale himself with it upon landing, and launched itself back at Chief without a moments pause.
Lurtz watched on with a psychotic smile. The animal was doing what it had been bred and programmed to do. As the Nimmah swung Chief against a tree, bringing it down, then slammed him back down on the grassy floor like a rag doll, Lurtz knew that the Spartan could no longer aid his adopted allies. A quick draw, aim, breathe, release.
Boromir, dazed and confused, had somehow gotten to his feet, and somehow defeated yet another Uruk. But he could not have stopped the arrow bite into his right shoulder, all but disabling his sword arm. The hobbits, Merry and Pippin looked on in horror. The horde of Uruk-Hai, the appearance of the Chief, and the appearance of that snarling, bloodied...thing. Chief being tossed about here and there, and now, this!
Boromir weakened, his legs lost balance, it was like a knockout blow. He did not feel sharpness, the sharp barb of the massive arrow. No, it was like a punch, a knockout punch as it pushed him back into the wall. Only, for some unexplainable reason, the greatest thing he felt was...humiliation! He had been violated, sodomised, humiliated. What of the Hobbits? He turned back round, gazing into their terrified eyes. NO! The hobbits! That was all that mattered!
"AAAAHHH!" He would not be beaten, not by mere pain and mortal injury, no, only in death. Cortana watched on, a tear coming to her eye. Such bravery, courage, she had seen it a thousand times before. It was at this moment, in her eyes, where Cortana forgave him. But that was not her only priority right now. John was in trouble.
Chief kicked as hard as he could, lying on the ground, he couldn't keep the relentless Nimmah back long enough to get to his feet. The beast took the hit, grabbing his foot, twisting his leg around and clawing at his armour. He knew that it couldn't breach the tough metal plate, but as Chief felt that searing pain in his leg again, he knew that it didn't have to.
Chief felt that he was fighting for his life. He was back on that Covenant battle cruiser, it was the elite major that had almost killed him aboard that ship all over again! Chief spied something, an Uruk sword inches from his visor. The pain in his leg was ignorable, it was being ripped from its socket.
He let go of the Nimmah, grabbing the sword, swung hard, his armour making up for the disadvantaged position he was in. The blade bit deep, going into the Nimmah's side by about four inches...Almost a scratch. This creature seemed to feel no pain, and as it flailed away with its rent and useless right arm, it was almost unstoppable, at least you could kill an elite!
Boromir cut down yet one more Uruk Hai warrior, swing, parry thrust, stabbing at the openings in their defence. The inexperienced warriors were clumsy. He fought hard, but cool as ever, not giving in to his passions. Lurtz had drawn forward again. Another arrow, different from before, this one had a wider head than the previous...designed for one purpose, blunt force trauma.
Boromir saw it fly towards him, he had almost gotten out of the way, but it still hit him, and with a terrible cry, it hit him square in the stomach, he would bleed out in minutes. He keeled over, it was like he had just taken a sledgehammer to the gut. He fell onto all fours. Lurtz snarled, he was enjoying this, daring the man, toying with him. "Go on, fail, and don't get back up!"
Chief heard it, everyone did. "NO!" Chief shouted, using everything he had, he turned the tables on his enemy, flipping it over, drawing his rifle and finally getting to his feet, three round bursts on the fire regulator. He had to kill that lead Uruk!
The Nimmah rose up instantly, standing faster than you could have thought possible. It saw the gun, remembered its power, saw Lurtz, and knew what it had to do. Chief fired, one shot made it through, the next three hitting not the Uruk captain, but his attack dog, the Nimmah.
The bullets punched deep into its chest, the free round only grazing the Uruk archer. Both Lurtz and the Nimmah looked down curiously at the bloodied patches, both relishing the pain, entranced by the nature of their wounds. The Nimmah drew forward again, and Chief let rip at point blank range.
Boromir was at the end of his strength, dazed, concussed, blood pouring out of his abdomen and shoulder. He couldn't do it, he had to though! But in reality, he was done. He reacted too slowly to his final adversary. A shield came down, came down hard. That was the last thing he remembered before blacking out. Lurtz smiled, drawing his sword and picking up a shield. The weakling human would succumb to its pathetic wounds, now to deal with the Spartan!
Twenty five bullets in total tore into the beast, cutting apart flesh and bone and organs with equal ease. It was enough firepower to bring down more than a dozen men. But was enough only to let the Nimmah collapse onto his left knee. The creature roared in defiance, only in complete destruction of its body would it stop.
Chief reloaded, another salvo, six more bullets. Blood spurting out of its body and shoulders. Seemingly undeterred, the Nimmah went onto its all fours and charged at the Chief. It bowled him over, moving with such acceleration that even he couldn't get out of the way in time. He was picked up, carried far by the Nimmah, pulverising him against a wall that lay behind. On the ground once more, with dust and mortar spiralling all around him. Chief tried to hit it once more, desperate, aiming for the head. But the Nimmah moved out of the way, and to make matters worse, grabbed hold of the weapon itself.
They struggled, both were on par for strength. Chief kicked, pushing with both legs, but couldn't get the determined creature off. The Nimmah straightened out, even in its condition, with a broken body and failing organs, its core strength was surface enough to lift the half tonne Spartan. Throwing him once more against the hard stone floor of Amon Hen. The creature was also desperate, it could feel its life blood flowing away. It threw its head down, and tore into Chief's right hand, biting as hard as it could.
Razor sharp teeth tore into the under-suit, just as the Nimmah started to twist and pull at John's leg once more. John didn't even notice as his joints were hyper-extended, too much adrenaline was pumping through him! The pressure on his hand was incredible, for such a small jaw. Chief imagined that Hyenas would be jealous! He didn't even know if the suit could take it, bestial fury versus nano enhanced polymer-weave. Inevitably it was the Nammah's rotted teeth that gave out, but the creature kept biting, even as shards of its own jaw started pushing into the roof of its mouth, just as Chief heard a massive pop erupt from his own leg. The Nimmah had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
Chief's grip began to weaken, the sheer amount of pressure being exerted on his right hand was just too much. The rifle was finally ripped from his hands.
"Chief!" Cortana screamed, hoping she wouldn't be too late. The Nimmah roared in victory, the rifle butt came down hard, Chief feeling the massive strain on his neck once more, amazed that nothing was dislocated. The Nimmah held the rifle, and started to fire.
Shocks hit the Chief's breastplate and armour, not since High Charity and the Flood had he received fire from a UNSC weapon. Three bullets hit his under-suit, and Chief winced as the third bit through completely. The Nimmah moved up to his face. Chief couldn't move, too well pinned. Hell, this was it!
"NO! CHIEF!" Cortana yelled again, but this time, the sound did not come from inside his armour, it came from...outside! A heavy Uruk sword came crashing down, hitting the Nimmah clean in the skull. The weapon stuck fast, and was wrenched from Cortana's hand as the Nimmah rose up, tossing a bloodied Chief away and roared at its new adversary. "Keep away from him you son of a BITCH!" She screamed, sprinting forwards and punching the Nimmah hard on the chin.
Chief shook his head, coming back around, saw the Nimmah, and saw Cortana. Stunned, frozen still. Cortana was, fighting!
The AI did so with every trick she'd learned. The Nimmah was strong, but its body was broken. It was fast, but its limbs had gone into shock and its muscles kept hesitating. Cortana moved like lightening, a blur of light, punches, elbows and stolen swords picked up from the floor. Another sword bit hard into the Nimmah's left shoulder, damage was starting to accumulate. Even an undead creature could feel attrition. And it kept building, as Cortana let go of the weapon and launched a hard tornado kick into its chin, pushing it backwards.
The Nimmah tried to shoot her, but nothing happened, no kick, no fire. It looked down at the weapon in confusion, just as a jumping kick struck the side of its face, pushing it back two more steps.
Cortana was no stronger than any human, but she was quick, very quick, and her attacks were perfect. No human, not even an immortal elf could have replicated the perfection of her attacks. But all in all, they were a little futile. The Nimmah pulled the sword out from its head with its only working arm. Black, diseased blood and stinking puss sprayed everywhere, making Cortana gag a little, making her hesitate. She only just got out of the way as the blade came swinging down. Her courage was waning.
Chief knew that she couldn't last much longer. He tried to stand, but his leg collapsed and he grunted in pain. His leg was...BROKEN! No that was impossible. But, as he tried to move again, Chief realised that it was in fact dislocated. This really put the creature's strength into perspective! It had been ripped clean from its socket. Bio foam was kicking in, the stinging in his leg and shoulder indicating the work of the amazing compound, but he wouldn't be able to move for a few moments.
Lurtz was looking on in shock. This ghost, a demon had just appeared from the empty forest air. Like a woman, blue and glowing, lithe and slim. She was puny, she was weak, she was being driven back by his Nimmah. Lurtz knew that the demon could not last.
Cortana's face was set grim, and there was genuine fear in her eyes. She was not a soldier, she had never fought in her life. Even though the UNSC's entire training programme was inside her mind, it was difficult to utilize. The Nimmah threw the sword away and grabbed Cortana by the neck.
Cortana felt, for the first time in her life, pain. And it was awful! She clawed at her neck as the terrible sensations began to overwhelm her, the Nimmah lifted her high into the air, squeezing harder, but not yet, it was savouring the moment, it wanted the demon to experience as much fear as possible before its neck failed.
Cortana was terrified. If she could feel pain. Would the destruction of her avatar lead to death? Then she thought of something, an abstract idea floated for an instant across her mind. She was fighting like a human, but she was not human!
In an instant, her avatar dematerialised, leaving only her CPU, floating subtly outside of the Nimmah's field of view. It was confused. Where had the being gone?
Cortana's CPU moved slowly, it crept around the Nimmah, making not a sound. When she was right behind it, Cortana reformed. With the gentle hiss and sound of the avatar reappearing, the Nimmah turned, just in time to see a sword career into its jaw.
Disorientated, the Nimmah lashed out wildly. Cortana leant back, avoiding it, then slashed again, cutting deep into its arm. The creature lashed out in the same way, Cortana ducked, lashed out vertically with the sword, taking the creatures arm off completely. The Nimmah charged, but Cortana just threw the sword into the air, dematerialised, reappeared, caught the sword and cleaved into its back, the Nimmah roaring in frustration, pain and defeat. IT wasn't going to last much longer!
Cortana then heard a roar, another Uruk-Hai was running at her. She ducked and rolled, the Uruk's sword hitting nothing but air. Kneeling, she swiped at its neck, severing the jugular and the windpipe. The creature fell, only for another two to take its place.
Cortana was an abstract thinker, and an expert opportunist. Another sword was lying just by her. She scooped it up with her foot, and launching it upwards took it in her free hand, duel wielding the two heavy swords. The first Uruk came, she surprised it with a sudden counter charge. Sticking her leg forward, she caught its leg, sending the top heavy warrior toppling over.
The second came, it was using a basic shielding technique. Cortana used its shield to her advantage, the beast couldn't hit her. But as she took its legs out from under it and bit hard into its chest as it fell, it was clear that she knew exactly what she was doing! Two low swipes later, one Uruk was dead, and the other also, a heavy sword embedded in its back. She was in her element now.
The Nimmah came again. Cortana dematerialized, nothing would touch her again! She tried to catch her sword, and missed. Damn, a mistake! Unusual! But not a fatal one. The Nimmah wasn't really with it anymore, too much blood lost. Its head had a massive gaping hole, only the tip of the massive trauma inside. All Cortana had to do was step left, and sever its Achilles tendon as it went by. It wouldn't get back up!
But then, another foe came, Lurtz! He had been silent, and crept up on her unawares. He slashed and battered away with his sword, pushing Cortana completely off balance by the savage assault, her arms hurting under the strain. With a final strike, Cortana slipped and fell, looking up in horror at the Uruk towering above her. The blow came, aimed at the neck, but hit only soil. She'd de-materialized just in time!
Lurtz missed the CPU, but knew where the attack was going to come. As Cortana reappeared, standing now, she was greeted back into the world by the massive shunt of a cast iron shield.
"Aaahh" She screamed as the wall of metal hit her, the blades nicking her skin, the shield body laying her out completely. She was thrown back, falling down. She managed to pick herself up. But the shield came again.
"No. NO! CORTANA!" Chief got to his feet, but could not run fast enough to save her. The shield came, Cortana ducked just in time. Now came the sword, so hard that it tore her own blade right out of her hands. She delivered a left jab to the side of Lurt'z face. The Uruk Hai paused, then looked round sinisterly, full of hate and amusement. He upper-cutted Cortana with the shield, taking her off guard with the savagery of the attack.
She blacked out for a split second. When she looked up Lurtz was right there above her. She couldn't dematerialise in time, she screamed and held her arms above her in futility. Lurtz lunged, brought the sword down, but out of nowhere, salvation came for her.
John wasn't the only one who was lucky it seemed! Aragorn impacted the Uruk-Hai captain, tackling it as hard as he could. Lurtz was brought down. Aragorn tumbled down, off balance as well, but had saved Cortana. She lay shaking on the ground…