Chapter 17: The Light Returns
Fueled by anger, Aragorn dashed towards a nearby ladder and punched an Uruk off of it. The ladder began to fall towards the Uruk hoards as planned and Aragorn leaped into the fray, cutting down every Uruk-hai in sight. He could not bring Haldir back, but at least he could slaughter these persistent Uruks in his memory. Obi-Wan, after Force Pushing a group off of the wall, joined him. The Jedi Master needed to protect Aragorn as the soon-to-be king was avenging his friends. Despite what had happened, the two fought back-to-back, killing the Uruks. Obi-Wan hoped that Aragorn would be in a forgiving mood once the battle had ended.
Back on the causeway, the Uruks finally managed to break open the gate that led inside to the Gatehouse. The battering ram, now jagged, impaled a Rohirrim fatally. To make matters worse, the hole was wide enough for the Uruks to fire their crossbows at the Men. Seven of them went down, but the Men retaliated with their own bows and arrows. While not as skilled as the Elves, they still managed to hit their marks.
It was at this moment when Théoden had enough as he drew his sword.
"To the gate!" he ordered. "Draw your swords!"
Gamling and the other royal guard followed the king as he marched towards the Gatehouse.
Satisfied at the amount of dead Uruk-hai, Aragorn retreated, kicking an Uruk down hill. Obi-Wan launched a piece of debris at the creatures, crushing a good portion of them before following Aragorn's lead. The remaining Elves were still taking down Uruks with their arrows from the top of Helm's Deep, but their efforts barely waned their numbers as the creatures pressed on.
The Rohirrim in the Gatehouse were aided by King Théoden and his two royal guards, but the Uruks weren't fazed in the slightest. One Uruk-hai grabbed Gamling's neck and attempted to break his neck only for Théoden to sever his arm with his sword. A quick slash from Gamling finished the on-armed Uruk off. However, another Uruk, armed with a spear, pierce Théoden's shoulder much to the horror of the horror, yet the king of Rohan was stronger than some people gave him credit for. Standing his ground, Théoden thrusted a spear directly into his assailant's neck, killing it instantly.
While it was a valiant feat, the pain surged through Théoden, the king gritting his teeth in pain.
"Make way!" Gamling shouted, pulling the king away from the battle.
The Uruks decided to try and crash through the broken gate and almost succeeded, but the courage of the Men was clearly underestimated. Despite their kind falling quicker than that of their opponents, they would not let the Uruks through...for the moment.
"We cannot hold them much longer!" Gamling pointed out.
Charging towards the causeway, Obi-Wan and Aragorn joined the fray, slashing left and right with their sabers.
"Hold them!" Théoden commanded.
"How long do you need?" Obi-Wan asked as he severed an Uruk's head.
"As long as you can give me," the wounded king replied.
Aragorn spotted Gimli, who had just arrived, and ushered him towards a path that led to the side of the causeway.
Realizing what he had in mind, Obi-Wan decided to give keep the Uruks focused completely on him. With a powerful Force Push, he sent ten Uruks that were in front out the doors and flying off the causeway, much to the surprise of friend and foe alike. Their rage increasing, the Uruk-hai attempted to impale the Jedi Master with their spears, but his fluid movements gave them no chance to do that. Encouraged greatly by the bravery of one man, the other Rohirrim charged towards the Uruks, making sure that they were being kept out.
On the side of the Gatehouse, Aragorn and Gimli crept quietly on the ledge that was parallel to the causeway. While Obi-Wan's efforts were reducing their numbers, more were still trying to get through. Still, the distraction gave Aragorn and Gimli the opportunity to sneak up on them. There was a large gap between the ledge and the causeway which bore little problem to Aragorn. Gimli, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to make the jump, not that the Dwarf was paying attention to that little detail.
"Come on!" Gimli quietly urged. "We can take them!"
"I like your style, Gimli," a familiar voice agreed.
Shocked, Aragorn and Gimli turned around to see a certain female Togruta standing behind them with a grin on her face and unactivated lightsabers in her hands. Despite the wound on her forehead, she looked like that she could take on the entire army of Isengard, which she could probably do.
"Lady Ahsoka!" Aragorn exclaimed, keeping his voice down. "I was led to believe that you were recovering from your ordeal."
"I recovered from said ordeal," she replied.
"Never mind the lass, Aragorn," Gimli said, craving for action (he really wanted to outnumber both Legolas and Anakin.) "Let's send these creatures back to the abyss."
"It is a long way," the soon-to-be king pointed out.
Gimli looked conflicted, realizing that he could either keep his pride or actually ask for help on this way.
Knowing what he was thinking, Ahsoka whispered, "You don't have to be tossed. I'll just give you a little nudge."
Gimli broke into a grin, realizing the hidden meaning in her words. "Bless you, lass, but don't tell the Elf, either of you."
"Not a word," Aragorn responded with a grin.
Ahsoka nodded. "My lips are sealed."
Pumped up and ready, Gimli leaped across the gap and made it to the other side, tackling a couple of Uruk's down. No one needed to know that Ahsoka barely levitated him across so he could make the gap. Aragorn followed with Ahsoka bringing up the rear, igniting her lightsabers. The three warriors, taken the Uruk-hai by surprise, slashed them apart. A whirlwind of fury, the Togrutan Jedi cut through the assailant like butter, various pieces of Uruk-hai flying off the causeway.
"Shore up the door!" Théoden shouted.
With the distraction working, the Rohirrim rushed towards the door with various pieces of wood to barricade the entrance.
"You fight well, Lady Ahsoka," Aragorn complemented, making that the understatement of the year.
"You're not so bad with a Darksaber yourself, Aragorn," the Togruta replied. Wait until Skyguy sees this.
Said master was up above the causeway with Legolas, making sure the Rohirrim escaped towards the Hornburg and keeping the Uruks at bay. When he spotted the familiar colors of his Padawan's lightsabers, he rolled his eyes.
Welcome to the battle, Snips. Anakin thought.
He got a chuckle in response
Anakin's amusement immediately vanished at the sight of what the Uruk-hai had next.
Four, giant ladders were being raised by ballistae, each one piled with Uruks. The metallic ropes that held them were attached to the wall where the ballistae could raise them up. Within moments, these four ladders would reach the top of the Outer Wall and overwhelm the Rohirrim.
I've seen worse. Anakin thought as he threw his lightsaber.
Three of the four ropes were severed, making the three ladders come falling down, crushing the Uruks with a sickening crunch.
While amazed, Legolas had to point out, "One still remains."
"I know," the Knight replied, calling his lightsaber back. "I figured you would want to take down at least one of those things.
With a smirk, the Elf fired and arrow, severing the rope. The final ladder fell, cutting off that point of entry.
"Not bad," Anakin said with an approving smile.
Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in the Force coming from the causeway. He looked down and spotted Darth Maul charging up towards his three friends clearly in a smiting mood. Any Uruk that was in his way meant with a brutal death.
"That Sithspawn scum doesn't know when to quit," Anakin snarled as he sent a telepathic message to his Padawan. Ahsoka, Darth Maul is coming right at you three! Get out of there now!
On it, Master. Ahsoka replied as she kicked an Uruk-hai off the causeway. "That Sith we mentioned is coming right at us!"
"I'll make him taste my ax," Gimli promised, still sore about getting beaten by him.
"We will not last against him," Aragorn pointed out.
"I'll keep him back," the Togruta assured as she took notice to the double-bladed lightsaber coming right at her.
She blocked the thrown blade just as the vengeful owner made his appearance. Maul retrieved his weapon and attempted to hack down the Padawan, yet she was able to block his blows barely. The Uruks could not get through the two Force-Users as the duked it out. One foolishly attempted it and found itself missing a head. They couldn't even stab Ahsoka when she had her back to them, her second blade destroying the Uruks that made the effort.
"Gimli, Aragorn, get out of there!" Théoden ordered as the door was barricaded completely.
Maul attempted to gut Aragorn, who was in the vicinity, but, knowing the nature of evil all too well, was prepared for that. He parried the blow and even punched the Sith Lord dead in the face.
Wrong move!
The feral Zabrak kicked Ahsoka back and Force-Pushed the Man in the stone wall. He clenched his hand, choking the life out of Aragorn, but he failed to mind his surroundings. To save his friend, Gimli took out one of his throwing axes and tossed it at the Sith. However, he shattered the ax with his lightsaber, yet Ahsoka, who ran towards the Sith, released her own Force Push. Astonishingly, the blast sent Maul away from the causeway and he crashed directly into the mountainside.
"Laddie, are you all right?" the Dwarf asked, rushing over to his friend's aide.
"I am alive," Aragorn coughed, massaging his neck.
"Thank the Force you're in one piece," another familiar voice said with relief.
"Master Obi-Wan!" Ahsoka exclaimed as she cut down a couple more Uruk-hai.
Obi-Wan had joined them via the side entrance once the door was efficiently blocked. When he spotted Maul, he released his own Force Push when Ahsoka did, making it powerful enough to send the Sith away.
"How good of you to join us, Ahsoka," the Jedi Master responded with a grin.
"Hey, guys!" Anakin shouted from above.
The Knight, seeing the overwhelming Uruks making a rush at them, raised his hands at them. The two were levitated towards the top as Gimli made an attempt not to panic. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka did a final combined Force Push before leaping up towards where the Fellowship was.
"I figured that was more efficient than a rope," Anakin stated.
"Thank you, my friend," Aragorn said, getting more and more exhausted.
Obi-Wan considered going after Maul, but the realistic side of him made sure he noticed that the Men needed their help. The Uruk-hai, though without the giant ladders, made use of the smaller ones and charged towards the Hornburg, ready for bloodshed.
Then, the two words they hoped would never be shouted were voiced. "Fall back! Fall back!"
Adding further injury to insult, the Uruks finally broke their way into the Gatehouse.
"They have broken through!" Théoden exclaimed. "The castle is breached. Retreat!"
Realizing that there was nothing they could do because of how exhausted and injured they were, the Fellowship fell back, but they only brought up the rear so that the Rohirrim and the remaining Elves could get to the Hornburg faster. The overwhelming forces of the Uruk-hai piled into the castle, slaughtering every man and boy in sight with no remorse. Anakin wanted to go down there and take out ever single vile creature to avenge the deaths of so many people, but he knew that given his state, he wouldn't last long against the hordes.
While many of the people, including the Fellowship, reached the Hornburg alive, the rest were not so fortunate. They stood outside and sacrificed their lives, giving the others the opportunity to make it in. The three Jedi desperately wanted to stop the beasts of Isengard, but there were far too many of them. Besides, their energy was practically spent by staying up for so long. In Ahsoka's case, she wasn't completely healed, some of her wounds opening up again.
Another thing they were worried about was that Darth Maul could make an appearance any second and wipe them all out. The fact that he wasn't marching towards the door this very moment led the Jedi to believe he had something planned as usual.
The door was pounded upon by another battering ram, and the men tried to brace it as best as they could.
"The fortress is taken!" Théoden announced to the men, his hope gone. "It is over."
"That's it!?" Ahsoka exclaimed angrily.
"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it," Aragorn pointed out, riled up as well. "They still defend it. They have died defending it!"
The door was pounded upon again, sending the men backwards a bit, but they held strong.
"Is there any way for the women and children to escape this?" Obi-Wan asked. "It won't be long before those foul beasts break through."
When no one spoke, Aragorn questioned firmly, "Is there no other way!?"
"There is one passage," Gamling answered after a pause. "It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many."
Seeing as how Théoden was crumbling into despair, Aragorn took charge. "Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!"
"So much death," the king stated. "What can Men do against such reckless hate?"
"We'll take down as many of them as we can," Anakin said, igniting his lightsaber. "If the Force calls us home on this day, so be it."
"Ride out with me," Aragorn responded, answering Théoden's question. "Ride out and meet them."
"For death and glory," he replied.
"For Rohan," Aragorn corrected. "For your people."
To their surprise, Gimli smiled. "The sun is rising."
Instinctively, the Fellowship looked and spotted a stream of light from the sun piercing through the window. All of them, save Ahsoka, remembered what Gandalf had said: "Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East."
Théoden slowly started to regain his determination. "Yes. Yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time!"
"Yes!" Gimli exclaimed, rushing up the stairs to blow said horn.
Théoden put a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Let this be the hour when we draw swords together."
The men, knowing what the king had planned rushed to their steeds, ready to make the final charge. Ahsoka shared a horse with Anakin as they prepared for their last stand.
"It was an honor being your Padawan, Anakin," Ahsoka said, using his first name for probably the last time.
"It was an honor being your Master, Ahsoka," Anakin replied.
"And it was my honor to have trained you, Anakin," Obi-Wan added with a sad smile.
"Fell deeds, awake," Théoden said as the door began to crumble. "Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red dawn!"
The door came crashing down and the Uruks charged through. Simultaneously, the horn was sounded in Helm's Deep courtesy of Gimli, its deep horn vibrating through the castle.
"FORTH EORLINGAS!" Théoden shouted.
With a war cry, the men and the Fellowship charged on their horses.
The Uruks were taken by surprised at this small cavalry as they knocked the creatures aside. Though the entire city was overrun by the Uruk-hai, the Rohirrim made their own path with their steeds. When the creatures attempted to attack, they struck them down with their swords, or arrows, in Legolas's case. Once the horses reached the causeway, the Uruk-hai were either trampled or thrown off the causeway to their deaths. Ahsoka was racking up the most kills in this scenario by clinging on tightly to the horse with her legs and slicing the Uruk's with both her lightsabers. The Men behind the Jedi had to duck a few times to avoid getting hit by the body parts that were flying everywhere.
However, once the Men reached the bottom, the Uruk-hai stood ready to destroy the last of the Rohirrim, but it did not matter. All of them looked Death in the eye and said, "Give me your best shot, for I will give mine!"
Suddenly, a light burst forth on top of the mountain, catching the eye of Men and Uruk-hai alike. At long last, the White Rider made his appearance as his noble steed neighed in excitement.
"Gandalf," Aragorn said softly.
Ahsoka dropped her jaw in shock. "Is that...Gandalf!?"
"Yes, Snips," Anakin answered, a huge grinned etched on his face. "I told you he came back."
"You failed to mention his new and improved appearance," the Togruta shot back.
"At least he's not late," Obi-Wan stated, thrilled that the battle would be won now that the wizard had returned.
The fighting came to a complete standstill and the sight of the White Rider, which was probably what he had in mind.
"Théoden King stands alone," Gandalf stated, observing the situation.
"Not alone," a familiar Rohirrim replied behind him, drawing his sword. "Rohirrim!"
Gandalf had returned and brought reinforcements that comprised of the 2000 Rohirrim fully armed, on horses, and ready to defend their king.
"Éomer!" Théoden exclaimed in joy.
The Uruk-hai formed up to face the inevitable charge of the Horse-Men, putting their spears in front of them. They were ready, or so they thought.
"TO THE KING!" Éomer shouted.
With a war cry from the Rohirrim, they charged down the mountainside with Gandalf leading the charge.
The Uruk-hai braced themselves as the Men approached them, but not only did they underestimate the will of Men; they underestimated Gandalf himself. As the Rohirrim drew closer, so did the light. Brighter than the sun, Gandalf's magic increased the power of the light so much that the Uruk-hai were completely blinded. The horses trampled over the front lines and the warriors struck down many with their swords. It was pure chaos in the lines of the Uruks.
Ready for action, Anakin Force-Jumped off his horse and landed directly into the fray, slashing wildly at every Uruk nearby. Inspired, the rest of the Men on Théoden's side joined in on their horses. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka dismounted their noble steeds and attacked as well, unleashing their powers. Several pieces of debris from the destroyed wall crushed the Uruks due to the telekinesis. Any Uruk that got too close to Obi-Wan and Anakin was Force-Pushed into the air. Ahsoka, on the other hand, continued to be the whirlwind of fury she was famous for, slicing and dicing the Uruks in using the Jar-Kai Form. Not a single creature of darkness stood a chance against her.
Within moments, the tens of thousands dwindled fast to only a couple of thousand thanks to the Rohirrim, the White Wizard, and the Jedi. Seeing that the battle was lost for them, the Uruk-hai ran for their lives away from the city, eliciting a cheer from everyone.
"VICTORY!" Théoden exclaimed with pure joy. "WE HAVE VICTORY!"
The Men gave chase, charging at the fleeing Uruks, but Éomer stopped them.
"Stay out of the forest!" he ordered. "Keep away from the trees!"
"Um, Anakin, were those trees there before?" Obi-Wan asked, confused.
The Knight shook his head. "No, Master. They weren't."
Clearly, Ahsoka was missing something. "Okay, why are we letting them get away?"
"Just watch, Ahsoka," Anakin replied, pointing at the trees. "Just watch."
Once every Uruk-hai entered the forest, the trees began to move, ripping apart the Uruks with everything they've got. It was pure revenge for the damage the creatures caused to Fangorn Forest. The screams of death were sounded in the Deep, making the people almost feel bad for the Uruk-hai...almost.
Once again, Ahsoka found herself in a state of bewilderment. "Whoa!"
"I think you summed up what everyone is currently feeling, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan chuckled.
Anakin smirked. "Actually, what everyone is thinking is, 'I need a drink.'"
While the Battle of Helm's Deep was a victorious one, no one could refute the cost of a battle won. Less than a third of the Rohirrim that were originally at Helm's Deep survived, only a few of the Elves survived the encounter, and many of the women and children would never see their relatives again except as a corpse. Then, there was the fact that Helm's Deep itself was littered with corpses of Men and Uruk-hai alike. The survivors that were not horribly wounded were aiding in the gathering of the dead. The Elves and the Rohirrim would be buried in a massive pit while the Uruks would be burned outside of the city.
However, an Elf, a Jedi, and a Dwarf, who currently weren't walking into a bar, had a matter a settle immediately.
"Final count: 42!" Legolas announced.
"42?" Gimli asked, feigning shock. "Oh, that's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on 43." He turned to Anakin. "How many did you get, Master Jedi?"
Before he could answer, Legolas whipped out his bow and fired an arrow into the Uruk-hai Gimli was sitting on.
"43," he said with a triumphant smirk.
Gimli lost his smile. "He was already dead."
"He was twitching," Legolas protested.
"He was twitching," Gimli sputtered, "because he's my axe EMBEDDED IN HIS NERVOUS SYSTEM!"
Anakin laughed at the display. After everything they've been through, they still retained their sense of humor. "To answer your question Gimli, the Uruks I killed with my lightsaber was 258!"
The two stared at him incredulously as Anakin walked off with his own triumphant smirk.
"They fought valiantly," Obi-Wan noted as he helped gather the corpses.
Aragorn nodded in agreement. "Each and everyone of these people deserve to be honored for their final acts of courage."
"Yes, they should," the Jedi Master agreed solemnly before deciding to say what he needed to say. "I am sorry for your loss of Haldir. It was my fault that he died. If I wasn't so consumed with rage-!"
"Enough, Obi-Wan!" Aragorn stated firmly before looking at him square in the eyes. "Listen carefully, my friend. Jedi or not, you are only human. You made a mistake during the battle. I am angry that you chose to satisfy your lust for revenge instead helping others, including Haldir, but I will not condone you for it."
Whatever Obi-Wan expected, that certainly wasn't it. "Why?"
"Did you not see my attempt to quench my own thirst for revenge? How I foolishly leaped into the hordes of the Uruk-hai? I could've used that time to bring others to safety, but I did not. There is blood on my hands as well as yours, Obi-Wan. We cannot take our actions back no matter what, but we must move on." He put a hand on his shoulder. "I will always consider you to be a good friend, Obi-Wan, despite our actions."
The Jedi smiled back and, for the first time ever, embraced his friend. "I will always consider you to be a good friend, too, Aragorn."
"Obi-Wan!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
The Jedi turned to see Éowyn rush towards him with relief and a smile. She hugged him and he returned the hug. Nothing was said between them, for nothing needed to be said at the moment.
Once he was a distance away from his friends, Anakin's happy guise completely vanished as he stared at the corpses of the Men. Anakin clenched his fist at the horrors of war. One of the main things Obi-Wan taught him when he was a Padawan was that, "You can't save everyone." That statement, no matter how cruel, was true, but Anakin hated it all the same.
To make things worse, he found the body of a nine-year old fully armored and everything. His facial expression showed pure fear. Judging from the wound, he died from an arrow shot that granted him a fast death.
"They were just kids," Anakin whispered, tears streaming down his face. "They were just kids."
And that was why, for the second time in his life, Anakin Skywalker began to weep openly. No one judged him for it for they all felt the grief of losing the ones they cared about.
Even Ahsoka cried when she found Rex's destroyed helmet. She had been told that her friend gave up his life, taking out a thousand Uruk-hai in the process, but that did little to soothe her pain. The clone she had grown to care about, the one that showed her the ropes, the one that that showed her respect, the one that became her close friend, was dead.
"You believed you were a clone, Rex," Ahsoka stated, staring intently at the helmet, "but everyone here will remember you as the Man who made the ultimate sacrifice."
She knew that somewhere, Captain Rex smiled at that statement.
Defeated, humiliated, failure.
These were the words the words that summed up how Darth Maul felt. He underestimated the Jedi, the Elf, even the Man that fought him and because of that, he lost. He realized that he should have just killed the filthy Togruta instead of drawing out her torture, no matter how much pleasure it gave him. He swore to himself that the next time the two met, he would kill her. No preamble, no monologue, just kill her. Same went for Obi-Wan, Anakin, and their allies and friends.
Sauron was aggravated at the destruction of the Uruk-hai and even more so about the attack on Isengard. Thanks to the Ents of Fangorn, they ravaged the city and destroyed everything due to a flood that they released. Saruman had failed far more greatly than Maul did, which gave him much comfort.
Darth Maul escaped the pandemonium by fleeing into the forest as well, but the trees backed off when he warded them off with his lightsaber. Also, he drained many of the trees' life force away, healing many of his injuries, a tactic he picked up while he was here. He was now on a mission, one that he wanted to do since the moment he set foot on this accursed rock. Darth Maul was returning to Isengard to tie up loose ends!
PHEW! Sorry for taking over a month to update. I've been busy with my other story. Not sure if I said this in the last chapter, but the title picture with Aragorn wielding a lightsaber is now accurate with this story. I actually had no plans to do that when I first started. Ironic, ain't it?
I also decided not to have the Republic show up to save the day...but they may or may not be making an appearance later.
Review, vote, etc. Speaking of which, once I update the next chapter, the vote will end. The winner shall be declared.
Next chapter: The Fellowship goes to Isengard at discovers how Darth Maul ties up loose ends.
Oh, and HAPPY EASTER!