AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is a rather short one, but my favorite scene is within this one :) So this one, like all other chapters, is gonna be chalked full of detail. :) yay! Enjoy the reading!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 ~Chapter Twenty-Two~

The Victory of Minas Tirith

On the other side of the battlefield on near the port along the large Anduin River, the fleet of black ships pulls up along the shore. An orc commander with the human skull embedded on his helmet, 'Skully', hurried towards the ships shoving his men out of the way to the front of the line. The port was fairly close to the White City, only about three miles away across the body field of Pelennor as the battle continues to rage on. Large shadows slide across the docks as the sailing ships approach. The beady eyes of the orcs watch as a sinister black sailed ship glides into the docks as nine other ships follow behind. Through the strangeness filled the air as there seemed to be no life upon those ship decks. They were empty, however that did not stir any concern in the orc commander.

A sneer spread across Skully's dark lips as his eyes watched the ships raging with anger, "Late, as usual! Get off your ships, you sea rats!" Laughter erupted within the mass of the gathered hundreds of orcs. "There's knife work here needs doing."

Aragorn leaps from the leading ship and charging across the docks, roaring at the top of his lungs with his greatsword clasped tightly in his grasp. Legolas, Medlinya, and Gimli follow close behind the Ranger with their weapons drawn and eyes stared at the orcs with an air of immense confidence. Skully and the orc army smirk in amusement at the sight of the four charging after many numbers of orc.

Gimli, holding his axe with his strong hands, spoke. "There are plenty for both of us! May the best dwarf win!"

Instantaneously, the Army of the Dead leap straight out of the sides of the ships. The throng of green phantoms charge across the surface of the water from other ships with frightening speed, overtaking Aragorn.

The orc shrink back and scream at the sight of five thousand spectral warriors lead by a terrifying dead King just as the phantom warriors swarm into the flank of the orc army. With a raging blood-lust, the undead climb over the top of each other to try and reach the enemy, creating a king of rolling mountain of ghouls that sweep all before them away.

The orcs have no defense as their weapons cannot make contact with the ghosts.

~~~~~~

On the Pelennor Field, Merry emerges from being tucked in close to the fallen Oliphaunt, coughing the dirt out from his lungs that had been kicked up during the battle. Struggling to breath fresh air, his brown eyes caught the sight of the Witch-king standing over Eowyn, pulling her to her feet as she pants in fear.

The Witch-King grabs Eowyn by the throat with his black metal gauntlet to his black eyeless sockets,"You fool! No man can kill me!" His clasp around her fragile throat gradually squeezed tighter and tighter, " Die..." The Witch-king's raspy voice susurrated almost like a death's whisper, filling her ears with the last sounds before darkness took fold.

Suddenly the small hobbit comes up from behind and stabs the Witch-king in the back of the leg with the dagger given to him by Galadriel so long ago. His blade crumbles into nothing and he falls to the ground, holding his right arm in pain. The Witch-king let out a ear-splitting shriek, and falls to its knees. Eowyn regained to her feet unsteadily after loss of oxygen and held her helmet high before tossing it to the ground, shaking her long golden hair loose. Eowyn stands before the now vulnerable Witch-King, revealing her true form: a shield maiden of Rohan.

Her gentle features were contorted in bravery as she eyed her enemy, "I am no man!" With a cry, she stabs the Witch-king in the face with her blade. Suddenly her blade rears back from her grip and from it's victim, shattering instantly. She falls to the ground in agony holding her broken arm tenderly with her other hand. Although, there before her the Witch-king withers as black ooze leaked from its black armor and it crumples into a heap of nothing with a shrill cry. With a thud the once most feared and 'invincible' enemy crumbled to the ground while the woman and hobbit  watch in surprise and shock.

Not too far away Aragorn, Legolas, Medlinya, and Gimli fight alongside the ghosts against the orcs.

"Fifteen, sixteen." Legolas counted for every orc that dropped by his arrow. "Seventeen."

Swinging his axe beside the Prince Elf, Gimli also counted his kills. "Twenty-nine."

Medlinya who fought nearby merely rolled her eyes at the rivailry of the Dwarf and the Elf. She briefly glanced over to the dwarf skeptically, knowing an axe is a slower weapon compared to a bow and arrow. A smile formed on her pink lips as she sliced through another orc lost in her thoughts about how that fight would go between Legolas and Gimli after this battle.

Aragorn takes down several more orcs before looking up. His eyes widened as a giant Oliphaunt was charging towards his party, "Legolas!"

Legolas wheeled around to see an Oliphaunt charging him. With a rush of confidence, the Elf rushes to meet it, swinging up onto its tusk. After finishing off any charging orc nearby, Medlinya felt the quaking rumbles of something extremely large nearby. Her eyes flickered back to meet the sight of the towering creature that her elf eyes had never seen in all of her ages. The mere size of the oliphaunt intimidated her although she was not overly frightened by the strange thing. However what she saw near the creature made her heart quiver in fear. Her widen eyes spotted her Faenod quickly moving from the beast's trunk to its leg. Medlinya's lips were slightly parted, pen to speak although no words never formed. 

"Lass!" A gruff voice sounded in her elongated ears, causing her sapphire eyes to flicker over to a sweaty Gimli. "Hurry, lass! You are in the way!" Medlinya snapped back to the Oliphaunt seeing that his words were true. The creature was charging towards her and gaining speed fast. A jolt of adrenaline and fight or flight kicked in. Her legs finally clicked onto flight mode before she quickly sprinted after Gimli away from the creature.

As the Dwarf and the she-elf hurtle over corpses in their way, Legolas was clambering up the Oliphaunt's limb using the many arrows stuck in its hide as hand and foot holds. Reaching the top, he leaps onto the lower back behind the enemy tower built on top of the Oliphaunt. Aiming his bow to the enemy humans on board he begins his attack, "Thirty-three, thirty-four."

A Southron warrior leaps from the tower after Legolas, only to slip off the edge right past the Elf. Another warrior skillfully vaulted in front of the Prince Elf, engaging him into battle. Legolas grabs the heavy garments of his armor thrashing him back and forth before tossing him off the Oliphaunt. Another marauder bounded over the tower with his spear ready to jab, although Legolas quickly avoids the attack causing another warrior to slip off the edge onto the ground below.

With a powerful leap, Legolas then grabs hold of the rope holding the platform on the Oliphaunt’s back. The Prince Elf dangles from the rope, swaying along the side of the creature looking for a way up the Oliphaunt. Swinging back and forth, the Elf snatches up his elven knife and cuts the saddle rope with two mighty swings. The platform of the tower begins to fall over on the other side, enabling Legolas to safely walk along to the top of the Oliphaunt safely. Reaching the summit, he immediately lets go and watches the tower plummet to the ground as a green wave of the undead finish off the survivors of the fall. With a determined glimmer in his cerulean eyes, Legolas reaches back to his arrows before running up to the Oliphaunt’s head. He strings three arrows and shoots them into the beast’s skull. The Oliphaunt tumbles over its two front feet, falling forward. As the slain beast falls to its resting spot, Legolas gracefully slides off its trunk. He lands softly on the ground, with a smirk, right in front of Gimli and his relieved Faenod.

Gimli stared agape at the Elf before him before anger stirred up in his veins, "It still only counts as one!"

The Prince Elf smirked further at the outburst of the Dwarf with a secret pride boast of his abilities. On the other hand, Medlinya stared at her Faenod for a moment. As she was running from the creature only a few seconds ago, she would look back to check on her Legolas to make sure he was alright. His intense battle was only about a minute long although to her it was all of the ages bundled together including all of the fears felt since the beginning of time resting on her heart. As great as the fear, the relief that her Elf is standing just in front of her was even greater. Medlinya could hardly control her limbs as she approached her Faenod, before she planted a small delicate kiss against his unsuspecting ones. Cerulean eyes snapped over to lock with sapphire in surprise. The she-elf's cheeks blushed slightly as a gentle smile manifested itself.

The same smile Legolas loved to see from the first time he met her.

Legolas was about to seal another kiss before a gruff voice cleared his throat in embarrassment. Both the elves eyed the dwarf exasperatedly, before apologetically smiling.

Aragorn, who stood just only a few paces away, surveyed the battleground realizing that most of the enemy was already dead. In the distance, the dead army of the Dimholt began to swarm through and up the white city of Minas Tirith, destroying the orcs.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Rohan King still lies under his dead horse. Blood flows from his mouth. Eowyn crawls to his side by dragging her body with her good arm as she held her broken one close to her chest.

Theoden sensed a presence near him and his eyes fluttered open. He stared at the person near him carefully, before squinting. His hand weakly stroked the woman of Rohan's cheek as she gently stroked his head. "I know your face." He whispered, "Eowyn." The woman smiled at her uncle with a teary eyes as she continued to stroke his head. "My eyes darken."

Eowyn's smile morphed into a frown. "No. No, I am going to save you."

Theoden beamed at his savior before responding weakly, "You already did... Eowyn, my body is broken. You have to let me go. I go to my fathers in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed." He drew in a labored breath before continuing, "Eowyn..."

Eowyn could only helplessly watch the life drain from her uncle, her King's eyes as he fell limp in her arms. Tears streamed from her eyes as uncontrollable sobs overtake the woman as she nestled her head into her uncle's chest. Her shoulders quake between her sobbing in attempt of a breath of air.

Silence ensued throughout the battlefield. Far as the eye can see bodies littered the ground at their feet. Medlinya gulped down her epiphany of the scene around her. The scene was very much similar to the one Gwiliweth had seen back in Rohan. The wind silently swept through the fields, causing the fallen flags of both enemy and allies to wave. Although the smell was not yet consumed of decomposing flesh, instead it smelled of wood smoke, the earthly smell of dirt, sweat from the intensity of the war, the scattered pools of red and black blood from fallen corpses, and a twinge of the smell of corpses that had been slaughtered a few nights ago.

Legolas had a hold of his Faenod's hand, keeping her close and leading her to Aragorn who stood in front of the Army of the Dead. He did not want to soak in the sights around him because for one he had been in many battles in his lifetime and secondly he found this too similar to be comfortable since he also remembers the vision. He pushed the thought of it to the back of his mind, keeping Elrond's instructions clear instead in Medlinya's voice.

'He told me that I have to stay close to you. Somehow this hand that is after my life cannot draw near when we are within reach of the other, our Faenod bond prevents the hand from coming.'

Legolas vowed to Medlinya that he would take Elrond's warning in hand and means to do it so. Without a thought more, Legolas, Medlinya, and Gimli quietly stood near Aragorn.

A few paces away of Aragorn stood the King of the Dead with his army just behind him. The King's eyeless sockets stared at the Ranger silently, "Release us."

"Bad idea." Gimli piped in as he leaned against his axe. His comment caught the attention of the King of the Dead, "Very handy in a tight spot, these lads, despite the fact they're dead."

The King wiped his head around to Aragorn as fury raged through his ghostly self, "You gave us your word!"

Aragorn, who had been quiet and firm as he watched the King of the Dead, smiled gently at the King, "I hold your oath fulfilled. Go, be at peace."

The King of the Dead returned a smile before closing his eyes and slowly threw back his head as the embrace of peace over took the dead army. The dead shimmer in the light of the sun before disappearing as if blown away by a wind. In the background, Gandalf bows to the new king when Aragorn sought out the sight of the wizard.

Survivors survey the scene of the battle and tend to the wounded, this included Pippin and Eomer.

Pippin finds an Elvish cloak and brooch on the ground and immediately the young hobbit picks it up. "Merry."

The hobbit took off in a desperate search for his companion around the area at the side of a dead Mûmakil. Walking carefully around dead orcs and Rohirrim soldiers,  Pippin spots an injured, unconscious Merry.

"Merry! Merry!" Pippin shrieked, as he hurried his little hobbit legs over to his friend. On top of his friend laid a dead orc and with a mighty shove Pippin moved the body off. His little hobbit arms took up Merry into his embrace. "Merry, it's me." His eyes moistened as he stared at his friend. "It's Pippin."

"I knew you'd find me." Merry weakly murmured as his eyes slowly opened.

A smile broke out on Pippin's face like a sun breaking free from behind a blanket of clouds, "Yes."

"Are you going to leave me?"

"No, Merry. I'm going to look after you."

Pippin quickly took off his cloak before covering his best friend with it.

Within the darkness, friendship always has a way to finding each other.

(End of Chapter Twenty-Two)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The next chapter will be up tonight! :D yay