Chapter 16: The Battle of Helm's Deep
The ten thousand Uruks stopped directly in front of Helm's Deep awaiting orders from their Uruk commander, who stood on a boulder.
"Show them no mercy," Aragorn instructed the Elves, "for you will receive none."
For what seemed like hours, when in reality, it was minutes, both sides stood in silence with the occasional Uruk growling at them.
"What's happening out there?" Gimli asked, irritated that he couldn't see a thing.
"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas questioned, looking at his short friend. "Or would you like me to find you a box?"
Gimli, after glaring at him, laughed in response.
The Uruk commander roared, signaling the time for intimidation. The Uruks started pound their spears into the ground while banging their armored chests. Combined with that, they also were chanting in the Black Speech, signifying that the end was near for these people. Aragorn unsheathed his sword and the Elves and Rohirrim prepared their bows in response to the display. The Jedi ignited their sabers, the rain causing steam on their blades while Rex brought up his blasters.
Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by, striking an Uruk in the neck. Dead, in collapsed to the ground. The arrow cam from an old man who could not hold it any longer.
"It was a good shot," Anakin admitted, half-joking.
Enraged that the first kill was not one of the Men or Elves, the Uruk commander roared again, commanding his forces to charge.
"Prepare to fire!" Aragorn shouted as the Elves put arrows on their bows. Once they were close enough, he yelled, "Release arrows!"
The arrows flew into the air, striking Uruks fatally as they went. Not one Elf missed as the creatures fell to the ground. The Rohirrim added their contribution of arrows. While not as accurate as the Elves, the managed to slay a great number of Uruks. Without ceasing, the Men and Elves continued to fire at their foe, dwindling their numbers, but the Uruk-hai had other plans.
Bringing out crossbows, the Uruks returned fire, striking many Elves. However, the Jedi turned back these arrows with the Force back to their owners, lessening the deaths of their comrades and increasing the Uruks' casualties.
Once enough reached the wall, the Uruk-hai deployed ladders along the wall, much to Gimli's delight. Anakin and Obi-Wan grimaced as they and the Elves prepared their swords,or in their case, lightsabers. Things were about to get very messy.
Gimli made the first kill with his ax, but soon, everyone was attacked by Saruman's army. Like the brutal savages they were, they attacked the Elves using brute force. Anakin returned the favor by slashing through the Uruks with his lightsaber. Surprisingly, he ignited the Darksaber directly into the chest of his enemy. Like a whirlwind of fury, he dismembered every Uruk-hai that came even remotely close to him. The Elves gaped at the massive carnage that laid at the Jedi's feet in result. He moved as fluid as an Elf and could possible beat them in a battle, not that they would admit that fact openly.
Obi-Wan was the same way, his defend/slash attack hardly working during this moment. He beheaded an Uruk that sought to kill a Rohirrim and he Force Blasted two more off the wall. Aragorn was knocked to the ground, but he severed the Uruk's leg before ending its life quickly. Rex fired constantly, killing as he went. The night-vision on his helmet greatly increased his chance of survival and making sure he didn't hit any of his allies. He destroyed many Uruks that were trying to attack any of his allies while making sure he, himself, didn't end up as a corpse. With one swift kick, he knocked the ladder in front of him back down, crushing many Uruks. Haldir cut down two Uruk-hai that sought to climb the ladder before
"Legolas! Anakin!" Gimli shouted as he slaughtered another one. "Two already!"
"I'm on 17!" the Elf responded with a grin.
"Thirteen," Anakin retorted before beheading two more. "No, fifteen!"
"I'll have no pointy-ear or a foreign pretty boy outscoring me!" Gimli shouted, frustrated.
I resent that. Anakin thought as he added another kill to his tally.
"Nineteen," Legolas added, shooting two more with his bow.
While all of this occurred, Obi-Wan was thinking, If I were a homicidal, insane Sith lord, what would I do first? Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror. The caves! Ahsoka! Éowyn!
In the caves, the women and children held back from making as much noise as possible. They did not want the Uruk-hai to find them. Ahsoka and Éowyn stood guard, making sure that no one would get through.
"I'm scared, Mama," Freida whispered to her mother. "I don't want Éothain to leave us."
Freida's mother was doing all that she could not to sob openly once again, trying to stay strong for her daughter.
Ahsoka, however, was furious beyond words. How could the king do this to these families? Not only did they leave their homes and their husbands got slaughtered by Wargs, but now the king was so desperate that he was willing to sacrifice children.
"Where did you get that necklace, Ahsoka?" Éowyn asked quietly, trying to take her mind off her anger.
The Togruta's face softened as she held the sapphire in her palm. "It was given to me by the Lady of Light, Galadriel." She turned to Freida. "What is going on outside is horrible, but there is always hope. Even during the darkest days, a glimmer of light is all it takes to keep the darkness at bay."
The little girl smiled softly while her mother nodded her thanks for the encouragement.
Suddenly, Ahsoka was telekinetically thrown to the side, her head bashing against a stalagmite. The woman and the children gasped as she collapsed, knocked out cold.
Éowyn immediately turned to the entrance of the caves to face the attacker, who was a Man completely cloaked in black. Raising his hand, she felt an invisible grip choking her. Dropping her sword, she tried to pry off the grip, but it was to no avail. It was her throat was constricting from the inside. The people watched in horror, too frightened to scream.
Éowyn would have after seeing his evil face. Covered in red and black tattoos, this...thing smiled evilly and gazed his horrible, yellow eyes into hers before pinning her to the wall with his actual hand. She could not move a single muscle, completely helpless against this monster.
"You first," he said, igniting his red lightsaber. "I sense that you will not be begging for your life. Pity." He paused for a moment before his feral grin widened. "So, you care about her, Obi-Wan."
Standing in front of the entrance, lightsaber lit, was a furious Obi-Wan. With a gesture of his hand, he pushed Éowyn out of Maul's grip. The shieldmaiden of Rohan landed on the ground away from the two combatants, gasping for breath.
"Just you and me, you damned creature," he snarled. "I should have done this a long time ago."
Laughing, Maul ignited the other end. "I can feel your anger. Give me a real fight, Kenobi!"
Obi-Wan charged, slashing downwards. Easily Maul blocked the attack before going on the offensive.
Using his Soresu tactics, the Jedi Master blocked each attack, albeit barely. Darth Maul was in his prime once again. His skills now flowed smoothly with his movements. Obi-Wan could not launch a single counterattack with the double-bladed lightsaber all over him. However, his plan was to lure Maul out of the caves, so that not only the people would be safe, but Obi-Wan could unleash the Force upon him.
Maul had no such qualms. With a jagged edge of a stalactite, he used the Force to launch it at his opponent. Obi-Wan used the Force to shatter the weapon, but he could not block a kick aimed for him. Falling to the ground, the Jedi rolled out of the way of slash before kicking him directly in the face. With him dazed, Obi-Wan hopped back up and drove Maul towards outside.
"Fool!" the Sith exclaimed as the got in a saber lock.
He Force Pushed the Jedi back before raising his hand. Two children, one of them being Freida, and one woman rose into the air, gripping their throats as the monster choked them.
"Their blood is on your hands," he said before making a move to close his fist.
Enraged, Obi-Wan slashed his lightsaber at him, but did something unexpected. A Force Blast generated out of the saber and slammed directly into the Sith. The force, no pun intended, of it was strong enough to send Maul out of the caves. The three innocents fell, bruised, but mostly unhurt.
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and checked on Ahsoka and Éowyn, the former who was still unconscious. Other than being scared to death, Éowyn was relatively well.
"Are you all right?" he asked nonetheless.
Éowyn nodded, still terrified. "What was that thing?"
Obi-Wan's concern morphed into anger. "My own personally demon."
He dashed back outside, rejoining the battle, but for a brief moment, Éowyn thought his eyes turned yellow.
Following Rex's example, many of the people were toppling the ladders, but soon, it proved to futile as the enormous amount of Uruk-hai plowed through. Gimli, however, used the ladders to easily add to his kill number by knocking the Uruks off the ladders, making his tally 21. Anakin tried to conserve as much Force energy as he could for when Maul would come, but, now and then, he would Force Push an Uruk off the wall or shatter a ladder.
"Causeway!" Aragorn yelled.
Rex turned and saw a great number of Uruks walking up the causeway, shields blocking their heads and their front. While strong enough to withstand arrows, they felled under blaster fire. The Elves pierced their uncovered sides, killing many of them. So far, the battle was going well.
Seeing as how the odds were a bit more in their favor, Théoden asked his unseen opponent, "Is this it? Is this all you can conjure, Saruman?"
"Rex, look out!" Aragorn yelled.
Too late. An Uruk came from behind and stabbed the captain in the back. Rex, pulling himself out of the blade, instantly killed the creature with his sword by slitting its throat, but another Uruk smashed him off the wall with its shield. The clone fell to the ground, his weapons scattering. And yet, he was still alive, but barely. The clone began to grow weak as blood seeped out of his wound, which he guessed was a fatal one. His left arm was broken by the fall and he felt like his ribs were cracked.
He coughed up blood, blinding his visor, but he could still see the excited Uruks come at him, ready to kill and/or feast upon him. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction, for he knew exactly what he landed nearby. He only wished he could tell his friends goodbye.
With his unbroken arm, Rex activated a thermal detonator near his three unarmed ones as they were upon him. If they could see him without his helmet on, they would see a combination of hatred, determination, and resignation in his eyes.
"Tell the devil I sent you," he snarled through bloodied teeth before shouting, for the last time, "For my brothers and the Fellowship!"
The thermal detonators exploded, killing the Uruks nearby, but that was only a fraction of what happened next. The flames were so close to Saruman's explosives that they, too, detonated, causing an explosion big enough to envelop one-tenth of the entire army of Uruks, not including the ones that were still alive and burning. The ones who weren't instantly vaporized by the flames screamed in agony, running throughout the ranks in death throes. To save themselves from being burned, the Uruks slaughtered they own kind to quickly put out their flames. While the explosion itself did not damage the wall, many Rohirrim, Elves, and Uruk-hai stumbled to the ground as the city shook from the blast/
For a brief moment, the battle stopped as both ally and enemy gazed the unleashed destruction. One man obliterated what was going to be a strategic and prime advantage for the Uruks at the sacrifice of his own life. Aragorn bowed his head in mourning while Anakin, tears streaming down his face, ferociously resumed the battle and, after getting over the shock of witnessing their first explosion, the forces did as well.
Obi-Wan rejoined the others and, while killing Uruks, looked for Darth Maul. The cunning Sith always had a plan in motion, even in retreat. He cursed the darkness that seemed to aide in the Zabrak's disappearance.
Your sacrifice was not in vain, Captain Rex. Obi-Wan thought as he felt Rex's life fade. Rest in peace knowing that you will be remembered as the Man who died protecting the Free People of Middle-Earth.
The Uruk-hai commander was dumbfounded by all that occurred. His plan completely fell apart. The explosives destroyed a good portion of his own army and the blast failed to kill any of his enemies. The only plan he had left was to keep on the offense. Eventually, the Men and Elves would grow tired of fighting once his forces overwhelmed them.
"If you want something done, you do it yourself," Darth Maul sneered.
The Uruk nearly staggered back in surprise. That cloak of Maul's made him blend in to the darkness extremely well.
Maul looked up to the sky, seeing the storm was nearly over, but his chance to show the Men to fear him was at hand. He stretched his hand to the sky, concentrating. Arrows that flew towards him were deflected by an invisible barrier. He smiled as he felt his power flow trough him, begging to be unleashed. Who was he to refuse himself?
Shock and awe was a clear understatement at every combatant's reactions to what he did. A lightning bolt shot out of the sky and landed directly into the Zabrak's palm. The lightning surged in his hand, threatening to blow out of proportions, but Maul knew exactly where to aim it.
Combining the natural lightning with his Force Lightning, he lunged the bolt directly into the wall of Helm's Deep. The explosion that occurred a few minutes ago was nothing compared to this horrifying phenomenon.
The wall was blasted apart, sending corpses of Men, Elves, and Uruks everywhere. The debris of the shattered wall crushed all those nearby, giving everyone an equal share of death. His feral grin widened once again, staring at the destruction. The fear of his enemies and the creatures came to him like a tidal wave. Now, they knew what would happen if they dared cross Darth Maul.
The downside was that the Sith could launch another strong Force attack for a long while, but that didn't mean his strength was completely sapped.
Igniting his saber, the Demon of Death, as he would be called after the battle, said, "Make them scream!"
Théoden could not believe his eyes with all that happened. A creature who summon lightning and destroy the wall with his hand? If his Jedi allies could not stop this thing, all hope would be lost for all Men.
A pressing matter took precedence. The Uruk-hai coming up the causeway had almost reached the wooden gate. Should they break through, the Rohirrim would be overrun.
"Brace the gate!" he commanded.
His soldiers on the other side of the gate pressed themselves upon it, trying to keep the Uruks out. The creatures smashed a battering ram into it, knocking the people back, but they would not leave the gate.
Up on top, the reserves opened fire with spears and rocks. The boys gave it they all, throwing stones at the enemy. Many Uruks were killed, but it wasn't enough to hold them back.
At the broken wall, Aragorn, would was knocked off the wall from the second explosion, started to regain consciousness as the rampaging Uruk-hai plowed through.
"Aragorn!" Gimli shouted, realizing that the creatures heading towards his friend.
Jumping off the broken wall, the Dwarf landed directly on four Uruk-hai. Using their astonishment to his advantage, he cut down one Uruk and knocked his ax into another one's helmet, knocking it out.
His victory, however, was very short-lived.
The Sith entered the battlefield for the first time, choosing Gimli as his target. One slash severed the ax and he kicked the startled Dwarf down into the water. With a weaker Force Push, he sent Aragorn and the Elves behind him toppling to the ground. Aragorn's sword fell out of his reach and he could do nothing as Maul raised his saber to kill Gimli.
THWUNK!
Darth Maul shouted in pain as an arrow impaled his shoulder. Due to his quick reflexes, it did not hit his heart as the arrow intended. He snarled at his attacker, who turned out to be Legolas, sliding down the stairs on an Uruk-hai shield.
Impressive. Maul thought. But not enough.
With a wave of his head, the Elf crashed unceremoniously into the water as the stolen shield flew towards Maul's other hand. He stalked towards Legolas and smashed the shield against his head, making a bloody wound appear on his forehead. The Elves crossed sword with the Uruks, desperate to keep them back, but two Elves ran towards Maul to help their kin. A quick gesture from the Sith snapped their necks instantly, much to Legolas's horror. Aragorn picked up a sword off the ground and rushed at the demon quickly, but not only was he too far away, four Uruks blocked his path.
"No more interruptions," Maul snarled, raising his saber once again to kill the Elf.
BAM!
A piece of debris smashed the Sith aside as Anakin Skywalker joined the battle. He helped Legolas up with one hand and severed an Uruk's head with his lightsaber.
"Thank you, Anakin," Legolas stated, rubbing the blood off his head.
Nodding back, the Jedi turned to Aragorn, who managed to defeat the four creatures, and yelled, "Aragorn, use this!"
Anakin tossed the Darksaber to Aragorn, who caught it with his other hand. Remembering how his friends activated their lightsabers, he found the switch and activated his saber. A black blade with a white outline soared out of the hilt, resembling an actual sword. Surprised at how extremely light it was compared to a real sword, Aragorn tested it out on two Uruk-hai. The blade cut through their armor like butter, killing them. He tossed his other sword directly into the head of an Uruk before rushing towards Maul.
"Isildur's Heir, an Elf, and Anakin Skywalker," the Sith stated, still grinning at his three opponents. "How fun."
At once, all four of them moved to attack.
Anakin had to give Maul credit. The Zabrak knew how to handle a double-bladed lightsaber perfectly. With two blades, the Sith blocked each and every attack the three of them threw at him. While Anakin's Form V tactics were superb, he could not break the defense Maul had going. Legolas used his twin knives to fight the Sith, his only weapons that would be useful against him. The Elf was astonished that this thing was moving more fluidly than any Elf Legolas had ever known, and that thought frightened him. Still, despite being caught off guard earlier, he would not let his fears get in the way. He matched the Zabrak's speed, not letting the saber hit him. Using a Uruk's corpse as a piece of higher ground, the Elf flipped over Maul while slashing downwards. Barely, did the Sith block that attack. Aragorn, adapting to the speed he could take with the Darksaber, parried every blow the Sith threw at him, much to his astonishment. There was no opening for him to make an offensive attack, but an idea came to him.
Picking up a discarded Uruk-hai helmet, Aragorn filled it with water and tossed it at Maul. As expected, Maul raised his saber to block the attack, but he was surprised see water being the attack of choice. When the water hit the saber, extremely hot steam poured out, blinding Maul temporarily. He cried out in pain, and gave the three warriors the chance they needed.
Surrounding Maul on all sides, they pressed on their attacks while the Sith blocked them all. He could not attack one without leaving an opening for the other two. His best bet was to keep blocking the attacks until his energy was restored. And by the time it was, he would make these meddlesome fools rue the day they decided to attack him.
The battle was looking bleaker by the minute. With Rohan's army cut down by half as well as the Elves, the Uruk-hai, though now less than 7,000, were continuing to pour through. Fortunately, Obi-Wan, the only member of the Fellowship still on top of the wall, made life very difficult for the Uruk-hai. Taking a risk, he threw his lightsaber at seven ladders, causing them to crumble. Quickly, he picked up a sword and beheaded an Uruk that decided to attack the unarmed Jedi. For the first time, Obi-Wan was splattered by the blood of his first kill with a real sword.
"So uncivilized," Obi-Wan muttered, spitting out the disgusting blood and retrieving his lightsaber.
Amidst the battle, he heard the familiar sounds of lightsabers clashing against each other. He knew exactly where Maul was now.
Seeing red, the Jedi Master ran towards his enemy, cutting down Uruks in his path. The more that crossed him, the angrier he got. These filthy things dared to stop him from exacting much needed justice? With a powerful Force Push, four Uruks fell to their deaths. Many Rohirrim and Elves needed aid as they were being overwhelmed by the forces, but Obi-Wan didn't give a damn. Right now, all that mattered was killing the Sith.
He was blinded by rage that he did not notice Haldir being surrounding by Uruk-hai.
After kicking Anakin into Legolas, Maul lunged at Aragorn, who was taken aback at the sudden display. Aragorn, barely blocking the attacks, was instantly up against the wall. To his relief and horror, some of the Elves tried to assist him in his plight, but the Sith Lord had other plans. Disconnecting his double blades, he threw one of them at the Elves. The one in front was instantly beheaded, but the others managed to dodge the incoming blade, but the Uruks blocked them, forcing the Elves to do battle with them. The distraction was all Anakin and Legolas needed to attack. The two fought Maul away from their friend, but they had to duck from the lightsaber Maul had thrown. Combining his lightsabers again, the Sith went back into his intense attacks.
"Aragorn!" Gamling cried from the Hornburg. "Fall back to the Keep! Get your men out of there!"
Cutting down two Uruk-hai, Aragorn started shouting in Elvish for the remaining Elves to retreat. Two Elves picked up a protesting Gimli and dragged him away from the fight.
"Go, Aragorn!" Anakin shouted, parrying the red blade. "We'll hold him off!"
Seeing an opportunity, Anakin raised his hand and brought a part of the wall down upon him. Maul's surprise defeated him as he was buried by the debris.
"Is he dead?" Legolas asked as they retreated.
"Probably not," Anakin answered, cleaving an Uruk in two, "but it will buy us more time."
Obi-Wan could not believe the quantity of Uruk-hai that stood between him and Maul. These filthy creatures made the worst mistake of their lives. He cut down every single one that stood in his way, completely oblivious to Haldir's problems.
The Elf was stabbed in the arm, but he managed to slay his attacker. Dazed, Haldir did not notice an Uruk come behind him and slash his sword directly into his back.
"Haldir!" Aragorn cried, abandoning the battle with the Uruks, rushing to his friend
Aragorn's yell snapped Obi-Wan out of his frenzy. He turned to see Haldir falling towards the ground, dying. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down as he witnessed several Elves and Men dying all around him. His obsession with Maul gave the Uruks a perfect chance to slaughter everyone else. Already, he could hear what Maul had taunted him with once.
"Your rage has unbalanced you. That is not the Jedi way!"
The Jedi Master clenched his fist out of his grave mistake. Gandalf had warned him, Aragorn warned him, and Anakin warned him, but it did not matter. Obi-Wan still let his rage overcome him and because of this, Haldir was paying the ultimate price.
The moment Aragorn reached him, Haldir was dead.
I can already hear the Haldir and Rex fans screaming, "NO!" and swearing abuse at my decision. You'll hate me for saying this, but I planned to kill Rex this way the moment I started this story. It wasn't easy for me to do it, for he is my favorite clone, next to Fives and Echo. And I wanted to have another reason for why Haldir died.
I hope I surprised you that Aragorn got to wield the Darksaber. I guess the cover page to my story actually is sort of accurate, though this blade is black.
Though it was brief, I hope you guys found Anakin, Legolas, and Aragorn vs. Darth Maul battle exciting. I could definitely see that fight being a fantastic one if it was in the film. The reason for its briefness was because there is a greater battle going on currently and all four would have to help their respective sides. By the way, random note, I can totally see the Elves wielding lightsabers and going up against the Sith. Believe me, the battle with Maul is far from over.
Don't hate me for knocking out Ahsoka earlier. She'll be back!
Review, vote, and NO FLAMES. Resist the urge!
I also wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to read this story. I'm surprised that you guys have been reading it in the first place. The story this is now is completely different to what I had in mind when I first started. Believe me when I say that I am grateful to all of you.
Next chapter: The Battle of Helm's Deep continues, but two important players appear, changing the tide.