Chapter 25: Attack of the Uruk-Hai, the Fellowship is broken

As Frodo began jogging away, Kenshin and Aragorn walked toward these creatures. They were all painted with Saruman's white hand. Aragorn and Kenshin lifted their swords to their heads, in a saluting position.

'The sword called Sting,' thought Kenshin, 'glows blue as Orcs approach, Sir Frodo said. But these, aren't ordinary Orcs, they look different. Unharmed by sunlight, and marked by the White Hand of Saruman, these creatures are undoubtedly Saruman's crossbred product of Orcs and Goblins… the Uruk-Hai.'

The Uruks were ready to attack. And then… the two fighters, Aragorn and Kenshin, began to fight the creatures…

Somewhere, in the forest… Sam and Yahiko, separated from the Fellowship, call out for Frodo frantically…

"Mr. Frodo!" called out Sam.

"Hey," Yahiko called, "Frodo!"

Then they both hear, from a distance, intensive fighting from afar…

Aragorn cuts several down, but they forced him up the stairs of the seat. Kenshin fought the creatures on the ground. He then swung up his sword, sending a gust of wind at the Uruks, lifting the creatures high in the air.

"Do Ryu Sen!" cried out Kenshin.

The Uruk leader orders his troops, "FIND THE HALFLING! Yaagh! FIND THE HALFLING!"

Frodo continued running, as the Uruks continued their relentless pursuit of him…

Aragorn jumped from the structure.

"Elendil!" he cried out.

He landed onto the Uruks. Suddenly… Legolas, Aoshi, Sanosuke, Saito, and Gimli joined in.

"Aragorn, go!" cried out Legolas to Aragorn.

Legolas stuck an arrow into an incoming Uruk's head and then mounted it on his bow and shot another Uruk. Gimli threw one of his axes at the creatures, while Sanosuke launched out his own onslaught of punches and kicks at the Uruk-hai. Sanosuke even used a Futae no Kiwami punch on one of the Uruks.

Aoshi charged at the Uruks, using his kodachis to strike them down with his Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren attacks.

Saito launched one of his Gatotsu attacks at the Uruks, then did a side-sweeping attack to another beside him.

Frodo found a tree to hide under. Not too far from him, Merry, Misao, and Pippin were in a space under some fallen tree trunks. They see Frodo and call to him…

"Frodo," Merry called silently. Frodo looks to his side and sees them.

"Hide here," called Pippin, "quick!"

"Come on, Frodo," said Misao. Frodo, however, was in anguish and didn't move a muscle.

Misao sees his hesitance, "what's going on?" She asked.

"…What's he doing?" asked Pippin. Frodo shakes his head at them, unwilling to go to them…

"…He's leaving," Merry realized, solemnly. Pippin and Misao weren't too pleased to hear this.

Moments later… Misao fumed at Frodo, "…you knucklehead!"

"No!" said Pippin.

He and Misao start to run towards Frodo, but Merry stopped them. "Pippin, Misao…" he said.

They were interrupted when the Uruk-hai showed up on the hill. They all started to go down the hill, heading in their direction.

"Misao, Pippin," said Merry, "…we have to let Frodo go."

"But Merry…" said Misao.

"…We have no choice, Misao," interjected Pippin in realization. Misao reluctantly agreed.

Merry turned to Frodo, "run, Frodo, go."

Then Merry faced the Uruks and waved to them, providing a distraction.

"Hey you, over here!" he cried.

"Hey!" cried Pippin.

"Over here!" cried Merry again.

"Come and get us, you creeps!" cried Misao also.

"This way!" cried Pippin.

The trio ran away from Frodo, allowing him to escape. Misao was still not too happy about Frodo.

'Frodo, you knucklehead,' thought Misao, angrily, 'you're beginning to be just like Himura. You're trying to put everything on your shoulders now.'

Either way… she and the Hobbits got the Uruks' attention, as Frodo continued to make his escape.

"Its working," said Pippin.

"I know," replied Merry, "its working, run!"

The other Fellowship members continue to be occupied with fighting the Uruks. Legolas, Saito, Aoshi, Kenshin, and Gimli continued to wield their weapons.

Kenshin continued jumping around the Uruks, surprising them with attacks from the air and from behind the creatures. Aragorn stabbed an Uruk behind his back, while Sanosuke did a leg sweep at an incoming Uruk… and gave an uppercut punch to the creature's head. Gimli countered one of the Uruks' swords with his axe and parried it. He then hacked the Uruk in the stomach.

Sanosuke continued cracking his knuckles, waiting for the chance to pulverize more Uruks. Then… an Uruk took Sanosuke by surprise, tackling him. Sanosuke struggled with the creature… and then an arrow shoots the Uruk in the back.

Sanosuke wondered what happened suddenly… and saw that it was Aoshi who shot the arrows. He began to use the bow given to him by Legolas and Galadriel. The spiky-haired fighter smiled brightly at Aoshi and continued fighting.

Misao, Merry, and Pippin continued to run from the Uruks across an old stone bridge. At its far end, they stop and see the Uruks running toward them….

The Uruks were closing in, both from in front and behind them. An Uruk ran up to them, raising his battleaxe and were cornered by another incoming Uruk with an axe. Misao readied her kunais for attack. Suddenly, out of nowhere…

Boromir quickly… and valiantly ran up to the Uruk…

…And held it back, killing it with its own weapon.

"Boromir!" cried Misao.

"We can save the gratitude for later Misao, run!" said Boromir.

Merry and Pippin fight as they ran with their swords. Boromir then throws a knife at another Uruk. Misao threw her kunais at the Uruks.

"Tobi Kunai!" she cried out her attack.

The rest of the fighters continued their assault against the Uruk-Hai. Legolas shoots down the incoming Uruks, one by one. Aoshi continued using his bow to swiftly shoot down pairs of Uruk-Hai with arrows, also provided by Galadriel. Saito slew a pair of Uruks with his Zero Stance Gatotsu.

Kenshin used his battoujustsu attacks of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style at the creatures. Sanosuke continued to give out massive punches to the enemies, even some of the rock-crushing Futae no Kiwami attacks. Aragorn had trouble with an Uruk, but fortunately for him, Legolas shot at it as well.

Suddenly…

VRRRROOOOOOOMMM!

…A horn began to blow. Legolas turned around, in the direction of the blowing horn.

"The Horn of Gondor," said Legolas.

Aragorn raced forward, "Boromir!"

Kenshin raced forward also, helping Aragorn fight more of the Uruks. While this was going on…

More Uruks went down the forests…

To where Boromir, Misao and the Hobbits were continuing their fight of the Uruk-Hai. Boromir fought one legion of Uruks… while Misao fought another legion of them. Boromir then blew his horn again…

VVVVRROOOMMM! VRROOOOMMM!

"Run!" Boromir cried out and the Hobbits ran.

Aragorn continued to fight madly to get to Boromir, as he jumped over a downed Uruk and fought a few more of them. He picked up one of the Uruk's weapons… and used it to slash the throat of one of the Uruks.

Kenshin went up against a pack of incoming Uruk-Hai. Kenshin raced into the foul creatures and used more of his quick battoujustsu attacks of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style with his unkilling sword, Hope. One by one, Kenshin knocked them all down.

Boromir continued to fight… and kill two more Uruk-Hai. Misao grabbed her kunais… and threw them at a large incoming horde of Uruks.

"Kansatsu Tobikunai!" she cried out. Misao hit a great number of Uruks at the neck.

Merry and Pippin, with a great vestige of spirit… jumped onto a few Uruks and used their swords to forcibly stab the Uruks through their chests. While another Uruk came after Misao, Misao used her cloak to catch the Uruk at the head… and used all her strength to throw the creature in the air, onto a tree.

As the Uruk-Hai kept coming in force…

The Uruk leader stepped into the battle with a bow and arrow…

Misao and Boromir continued their valiant fight with the Uruk-Hai as Merry and Pippin picked some stones to throw at the Uruks…

The Uruk leader mounted an arrow on the bow and took aim…

Boromir and Misao were unaware of the threat of the Uruk archer. Suddenly… the archer fired the arrow…

SWOOP…!

…And it hit Boromir!

After Boromir was hit, Misao, Merry, and Pippin see their comrade in great shock as he slowly fell to his knees…

'Oh no, Boromir,' thought Misao. The Uruk growled in satisfaction.

Boromir then continued to fight, despite his condition. Misao wanted to save him, but more Uruks poured in, stopping her. The leader, with his bow, walked closer and closer…

SWOOP…!

And shot another arrow at Boromir. Misao was shocked even more. Boromir started to collapse again, gasping for breath. The Uruk leader roared again…

Boromir looked up, panting at Merry and Pippin, who were shocked to see him like this…

He now felt that he can't do any more to help them, but then, just looking at Merry and Pippin... he remembered that he has to protect the Hobbits, even if it costs him his life... and resumed to fight the Uruks, roaring out his battle cries.

Misao, still striving to save Boromir, continued to be overrun by the Uruk-Hai, stopping her from rescuing her comrade. Boromir continued fighting in his wounded condition... and killed more Uruks, roaring and crying as he went...

Misao wasn't too happy to see Boromir still fighting. "Boromir!" she cried out, "…no!"

The injured warrior, unwilling to surrender, continued to yell out his battle cries... actually killing more Uruks... one by one. But then...

SWOOP!

Boromir was hit again with a third arrow… and began to slump. Misao watched helplessly at Boromir's increased number of wounds, continuing to fight more Uruks. Merry and Pippin, saddened about what happened to Boromir, grabbed their swords and charged at the Uruks, crying out for their blood.

"Merry…! Pippin…!" called out Misao… but they were picked up by the Uruks and taken prisoner.

"Kecho Kick!" she cried out her attack, kicking one of the Uruks and then jumped out of the way, into the trees.

The Uruks were confused about where Misao went, but thought that she was of no importance and ran with the other Uruk-Hai troops, since they had the Hobbits and completed their mission…

Misao observed from the trees and sees the injured Boromir as the Uruk leader came closer to him…

'This isn't good,' she thought, 'even if I stop that creep, I'm sure Boromir will die anyway. Right now, these Uruk-Hai creeps have captured Merry and Pippin.

'I guess now… its up to me to rescue them. There's a chance that they're still alive. But the Uruks seem to keep running, never tiring… the way that Saruman designed them to be.

'I hope that Himura, Aragorn, and the others will soon follow me. I'll never give up. I won't rest until I rescue you guys.

'And Frodo, you knucklehead… if we ever meet again…

'If we ever meet again…'

And so…

Misao left Boromir to his fate, jumping through the woods, hoping to rescue the imprisoned Hobbits.

Boromir awaited the final blow from the Uruk leader's arrow. The Uruk leader took aim at Boromir, ready to shoot at the afflicted warrior…

As he did…

Aragorn came out of nowhere… and takes the creature by surprise, letting the arrow fly off harmlessly.

The leader and Aragorn fight, pushing with their swords. The leader pushed Aragorn into a tree… and then threw its two-pronged shield at him… catching him by the neck. The Uruk went in for the kill but Aragorn slipped beneath the shield and dodges the blow.

Aragorn pulls out a knife and stabs the captain on the leg. The Uruk roars as it picked up Aragorn off the ground as he head-butted… and punched him onto the ground. The leader then pulled out the knife, licking the blood from it, and threw it at Aragorn…

SWING…!

But Aragorn has found his sword and used it to bat the knife away. The Uruk roared in fury and picked up a sword. Aragorn closed in on the Uruk in a sword battle…

And in a flurry of swordplay… within moments…

Aragorn sliced off the Uruk's arm, and stabbed it in the chest. The resilient Uruk captain pulled himself up further into the sword, closer… and closer to Aragorn, snarling defiantly. Truly, this was a creature that knew no fear or pain as Saruman said it would. Aragorn grimaced and, with a last vestige of strength…

Pulled his sword out of the injured warrior, swings it wide…

SWING…!

And hacked off the Uruk-Hai's head, killing it.

Aragorn looked over to his side and sees the afflicted Boromir and raced over to him.

"No," he said silently.

Kenshin arrived soon after and saw the injured Boromir.

'…Sir Boromir,' he thought with shock.

Boromir, bloodied and paled, lay on his back near a tree. Aragorn kneeled near Boromir.

"They took the little ones," said Boromir, panting.

"Hold still," instructed Aragorn.

"Misao was with them," Boromir told him, "…can you see her?"

Aragorn looked around for her and so does Kenshin. They couldn't find her.

"I don't see her anywhere," said Aragorn, "…she might have escaped."

Kenshin deeply shared Aragorn's hope for her.

"…And Frodo," said the injured, panting Boromir, "…where's Frodo?"

Aragorn let a few moments pass before answering, "…I let Frodo go."

"Then you did what I could not… I tried to take the ring from him."

Aragorn grimaced for a moment… but calmed himself.

"The ring is beyond our reach now," he said.

"Forgive me… I did not see it… I have failed you all," Boromir said in great sorrow and regret.

"No, Boromir, you fought bravely… you have kept your honor," Aragorn reassured Boromir.

Aragorn then reached out, trying to pull the arrows out of Boromir… but Boromir stopped him.

"Leave it," he said, "…it is over."

"No, Sir Boromir," interjected Kenshin, "there has to be another way if you live."

"I mean it Kenshin," Boromir resolved in agony, "…it's over for me. The world of men will fall. And all will come to darkness… and my city to ruin."

Kenshin silently disagreed with him as he slowly lowered his head a little.

Boromir went on stuttering to Kenshin, "…you always talk like you know everything. Besides… I told you before Kenshin… that I didn't think that I have the will or strength to live. But I believe… that Aragorn has that strength to live… "

Boromir puts his hand on Aragorn's shoulder, confirming his belief.

"…I don't know what strength is in my blood," said Aragorn, "but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall… nor our people fail."

"…Our people…" stuttered Boromir, "…our people."

Kenshin solemnly interjected, "…you also have my oath that I won't allow your beautiful White City, nor Gondor for that matter… to fall at the hands of Sauron either, Sir Boromir, that you do."

Boromir slowly turned to Kenshin and stuttered again, "…thank you… Kenshin."

Boromir then reached for his sword, which Aragorn puts in his hand, and helped place it upon his chest…

Legolas and Aoshi walk into the scene and see the afflicted Boromir… and look with sadness…

'…Boromir,' Aoshi sadly thought, '…it appears that we've lost another comrade.'

"…I would've followed you my brother," Boromir said to Aragorn…

"…My captain…

"…My king…

With those last words, Boromir breathed his last…

…And died.

Kenshin solemnly closed his eyes, saddened over Boromir's passing…

Moments later… Aragorn gently placed both his hands on Boromir's face and silently said a small lament, "…be at peace… Son of Gondor."

Aragorn softly and gently kissed Boromir's forehead…

…Gimli and Sanosuke also walked in as well to see Boromir's death. Saito stood against a tree, smoking a cigarette… merely pitying the warrior's demise…

Aragorn slowly stood up… with his eyes and tears… filled with grief…

…Kenshin's eyes were filled with tears and grief as well.