Chapter 27: Forth Eorlingas! The ride of the Rohirrim

Helm's Deep suffered a crushing defeat after a night of fighting…

The Uruk-Hai armies have taken over the fortress, waving up their banners of the White Hand of Saruman high in the air from the battlements. As morning approaches, the Uruks brought up a battering ram and began to break the door down…

BASH!

Aragorn, Sanosuke and the others were in the main hall of the keep. King Théoden, filled with great dread, stood in the middle of the keep forlornly because of their retreat. Saito, Legolas, Aoshi along with the other soldiers brought up tables, or anything made of wood and stood at the door, using their strength to barricade the door, trying to keep the Uruks out.

"Well," said Saito to Aoshi, "looks like this could be it, Shinomori."

"Perhaps Saito," said Aoshi, "but I'm not ready to give up just yet."

"Me neither," Saito agreed firmly, "not until I'm sure that the enemy is defeated."

"The fortress is taken," Théoden called out tiredly, looking bleak despite everyone's best efforts to block the doors, "it is over."

Sanosuke and Aragorn walked from the door from the soldiers and turned angrily at the king.

"Théoden, not to sound all disrespectful," contradicted Sanosuke, "but whenever I fight tough battles like these, I don't usually give up that easily. And I'm prepared to go all out in order to win."

"Sano has a point!" cried Aragorn in agreement to Sanosuke, "you said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it!"

Aragorn then gestured to the men at the door, adding reproachfully, "they still defend it! They have died defending it!"

"Yeah, Théoden," retorted Sanosuke, "are you now saying that everything you were boasting earlier about being able to defend this place… was all just a bunch of talk?!"

Théoden was still unfazed, even by Sanosuke's insults…

BASH!

As the Uruk-Hai kept battering down the door to the keep… the women and children in the Glittering Caves began to cry in fear as they hear the resounding, but bashing sounds of the battering ram upon the main door.

"They are breaking in!" a woman cried out, "they're past the door!"

In response to this threat, the children went to their mothers… and cried within their arms and embraces. One of the women went over to Éowyn and embraced her. Some of the women tried to calm their children… while other women cried hysterically with their children, sharing their deep despair…

Aragorn and Sanosuke instantly heard the women and children's plight from where they were.

"It doesn't look good, Aragorn," said Sanosuke, "if the Uruks break through, they'll get the women and children too."

Aragorn nodded gravely in agreement.

'…And I can only hope… that Éowyn will be ready to fend off against the Uruks if even we can't hold them off,' thought Sanosuke of Éowyn, remembering that he gave her a sword to be a secondary line of defense for the children.

Aragorn turned to Théoden and asked, "is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?"

…But the king seemed unable to respond, struck by a great loss of heart…

"Well, Théoden?" added Sanosuke… but Théoden still made no reply, being filled with the possibility of defeat for all of Rohan.

"Is there no other way?" Aragorn asked, turning to Gamling.

A pause…

"…There is one passage," answered Gamling, "it leads into the mountains. But they will not get far, the Uruk-hai are too many."

BASH!

The Uruks still battered at the door. Saito, Legolas, and Aoshi were starting to lose their hold on the door because the Uruks' battering ram had begun to weaken it slowly.

"It'll have to do Gamling," resolved Sanosuke, "we'll just have to hold these creeps off somehow, so that you people will have enough time to evacuate."

"Sano's right, we'll just have to manage," said Aragorn, then ordered to Gamling, "send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass, and barricade the entrance!"

"So much death," Théoden interjected, stunned with despair, "…what can men do against such reckless hate?"

The Uruks have nearly broken down the door, as the defenders kept finding more material they could use to keep the door from being shattered…

Aragorn paused for a moment, "…Ride out with me," he said, answering for Théoden's forlorn question.

Théoden turned to Aragorn, filled with confusion and despair.

"…Ride out and meet them," Aragorn added firmly to the king.

Sanosuke thought for a moment, before he brightly interjected, "…hey Aragorn… don't think that you'll be riding out anywhere without me… you hear?"

"…Of course Sano," nodded Aragorn.

"…Why should we ride out?" asked a skeptical Théoden, "…for death and glory?"

"For Rohan," Aragorn answered again, staunchly, as he approached the king, "…for your people."

"You do want to protect them," added Sanosuke, "…don't you, your majesty?"

Théoden's eyes then met Sanosuke's… with a light of determination beginning to dawn upon him…

"…The sun is rising," Gimli stated, glancing up at one of the high easterly windows…

The others then looked up that window… and see a faint, but shining light streaming through. Aragorn, Sanosuke, and the rest then remembered what Gandalf had said… what seemed a lifetime ago…

Sanosuke remembered what Kenshin said to him before he left with Gandalf.

'…Kenshin,' thought Sanosuke as he looked on his back, remembering the reverse-blade sword that Kenshin left with him.

Sanosuke then turned to Théoden, "well, what do you say, Théoden… one last ride for your people?"

Théoden's light of determination grew gradually, regaining his warriors spirit…

"…Yes," answered Théoden with a strong… yet enthusiastic nod, "…yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep… one last time!"

"Yes!" Gimli cried in agreement as he left to blow the horn.

BASH!

The Uruk-Hai had nearly breached the door, weakening even more…

Saito smirked, "one last time, eh? Well, it looks like the king's ready to go and die fighting after all. I've absolutely no objections to that. And it seems that I might not get to meet Sauron after all. What do you say to that, Shinomori?"

Aoshi paused before he answered, "…I'm always ready to go down fighting, Saito."

"I most heartily agree, Aoshi," added Legolas in enthusiasm.

Aoshi turned to face Legolas. "…Thank you Legolas," he grinned…

Théoden went up to Aragorn and Sanosuke, saying firmly to them both, "…let this be the hour when we draw swords… and cross fists together."

Aragorn and Sanosuke felt greatly honored to fight with the warrior king of Rohan…

Gimli continued to climb up the stairs… and reached the horn, setting aside his axe to prepare to blow the horn…

Théoden, Sanosuke, Aragorn, Legolas, Aoshi, and Saito… along with some of the Rohan soldiers mounted on their horses…

"…Fell deeds awake!" Theoden snarled…

BASH!

Everyone then drew swords for battle…

"Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red dawn!" Theoden sounded fiercely as he put on his helmet.

"YEAH!" Sanosuke added his roar… as he slammed his fists together…

VVRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

Gimli blew the horn with gusto… as the sound of the horn… rumbled throughout Helm's Deep…

SMASH!

The doors caved in… and the Uruk-hai poured vastly… into the hall…

Théoden then drew his sword and roared out, "FORTH EORLINGAS…!!"

"CHAAARRRRRRRGGGGGE!!!!!!!!" the company yelled out…

And Théoden spurred his horse forward, with Saito, Sanosuke, Legolas, Aoshi, Aragorn and some of the soldiers behind him, beginning a full charge against the enemy, riding down upon them like a storm out of the mountains, through the doors, with the banners of Rohan waving in the air. They cut a swath through the hosts of Isengard as a wind among grass, slaying the enemy as they went…

Sanosuke came up to one of the Uruks and plunged his fist into its helmet with a Futae no Kiwami attack.

"Take this, you creep!" Sanosuke yelled out.

Saito sliced through the Uruks, sometimes with a Gatotsu attack.

"…AKU!" Saito roared as he sliced one of the Uruks…

"…SOKU!" Saito roared again, slicing another Uruk…

"…ZAN!" Saito roared a third time, killing more Uruks.

Saito loved his sense of justice ever since Kenshin fought him in the revolution. This was the way that the Shinsengumi have always fought their enemies with…

Aoshi and Legolas rode together, killing their fair share of Uruk-Hai, while Aragorn rode side by side with Sanosuke. Aragorn sliced more of the Uruks as Sanosuke continued to throw more punches…

Gimli continued to blow the horn, with the sounds ever echoing in the hills…

Without pause… the king and his companions rode through the outer fortress sweeping fiercely… out of the main gates, to do battle with the Uruk-Hai upon the causeway, cloving a path from the gate to the valley below, scattering the many Uruk-Hai that were on the causeway. No Uruk was able to withstand their might. However, the great Dike was still crawling with Saruman's hordes…

The company stopped in the heart of the host of Saruman, slicing and punching away at the enemy troops. In the midst of battle… a battle that they could not hope to win, Aragorn and Sanosuke glanced up to the brightening sky in the east…

…And saw two riders halting their horses at a ridge against the rising sun. One of the riders was white, while the other had red hair and was on a brown horse…

"…Gandalf," Aragorn said to himself…

"…Kenshin," Sanosuke said to himself…

…The riders were Gandalf and Kenshin! They have returned!

It instantly caught the attention of the Uruk-Hai army that was at the bottom of the very steep ridge. The Uruks turned to face Kenshin and Gandalf's direction. The riders within the Dike also stopped and gazed up to see what was happening and saw Kenshin and Gandalf…

"Mithrandir," gasped Legolas brightly.

"The Battousai has returned," said Aoshi silently, filled with hope…

Kenshin and Gandalf were still on the hill, preparing to make their move…

"…Theoden-king stands alone," Gandalf said… watching the battle below. Then…

Another rider came behind Gandalf and Kenshin, almost in between. It was Eomer…

"Not alone," Éomer said firmly.

Kenshin turned to Gandalf, and smiled, "Éomer is most certainly right, Sir Gandalf, that he is."

Éomer looked at Kenshin, replying in determination, "…indeed Kenshin."

Then… Éomer drew his sword. "ROHIRRIM!" he called out…

And a force of thousand of riders moved up behind Éomer, Kenshin, and Gandalf. The ridge top was now full of horsemen…

Saito smirked, "looks like the Battousai's got his own private little army."

"Eomer!" Théoden exclaimed hopefully…

"To the king!" Eomer loudly called out his order, gesturing his sword down to the enemy.

"TO THE KING!" the soldiers relayed the cry…

And began to charge down the hills, with Gandalf, Kenshin and Éomer in the lead, in front of a tide of thousands of the angry Rohirrim horsemen that poured fiercely down the steep ridge, waving their axes and spears as they went…

Seeing this… Sanosuke reached behind him and took off Kenshin's reverse-blade sword, Hope, from his back… and led his own charge, through the enemy...

"Sano!" Aragorn called out.

The Rohirrim continued to charge down the ridge as the Uruk-Hai came towards the bottom of the ridge to face this new enemy…

Sanosuke continued to ride, holding Hope in his hand for Kenshin…

The Uruks, facing the challenge, growled defiantly, as they bore their spears down towards the riders, bracing their pole-arms…

As the Rohirrim drew closer… nearing the bottom of the ridge…

FLASH!

The sun rose behind the riders, cresting the ridge. The creatures of the dark were blinded, causing them to raise their hands and spears in order to shield their eyes, leaving them wide open for the incoming Rohirrim attack…

"YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gandalf and Kenshin cried out…

And…

The riders crashed fiercely… and courageously… plowing right through the dark army of Saruman and engaged them in battle, wounding the Uruk-Hai and cloving their heads asunder. Gandalf used his staff to beat away the Uruks that surrounded him and Shadowfax. Kenshin, without his sword continued to plow through the Uruk-Hai and jump onto many of them.

Then…

"KENSHIN!" A shout was heard… it was Sanosuke, holding Kenshin's reverse-blade sword.

"Sano!" Kenshin muttered his cry, as he saw Sanosuke riding on his horse, coming towards him.

"…HERE YOU GO!" Sanosuke cried out… as he threw Hope into the air…

And Kenshin caught it, then began his sword attacks while on top of his horse. The warriors on the causeway joined in the fight with their fellow Rohirrim riders, along with Aoshi, Aragorn, Legolas, and Saito.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style… Do Ryu Sen!" Kenshin cried out his attack that sent Uruks flying into the air, making the Uruks fearful of him.

The tables have now turned on the Uruk-Hai, as they were still blinded a little by the light of the sun, being constantly overrun… by the Rohirrim…