SS4

         Aragorn ran. His sword was drawn; he could smell orcs nearby. If Legolas had not been in the hands of the enemy, he woudl have been impossible to find.
         He stopped suddenly. The distant screaming had stopped, he had nothing to follow. The screams had lasted for hours in the night, and Strider had been able to recognize them as Legolas. To any mortal, even Strider, the screams were terrifying. Elves were always silent, graceful, beautiful. Hearing this unearthly agony, the cries of pain, was haunting and forboding. They made it hard for Aragorn to keep his mind bent of his friend, but he couldn't let Legolas down. He made a promise to protect the company, and he would stop at nothing to do so. Besides, Legolas needed him, he could feel it on his mind. The elf was crying out to him in sheer terror and confusion, pain and hopelessness.

         Through the undying pain, Legolas noticed an unsure air about the wizard. He had stopped laughing at the exact moment the Legolas had stopped screaming. Then- he heard it. Someone had come to his aid. A small glimmer of hope returned to him.

         "Leave, Ranger! You are of no use to him now!" Sarumon cried.
         Strider paid no heed to him.
         "He has already passed into shadow! You cannot help him!"
         But Aragorn saw something the wizard did not. Above Legolas, hovering just above his limp body, was something. Just a shimmer of different air in the prison. He charged at the wizard, and caught him offguard. All he needed to do was move his hand down, and the wizard would be dead. But, would the spell on Legolas be lifted?
         "Release the elf from your power!" He commanded.
         "And if I don't?"
         "You will die."
         "Do you honestly think a sword could defeat a wizard greater than Gandalf?"
         Strider plundged the sword deep into the heart of the wizard.

         After a moment of shock, the wizard fell limp. Strider dropped his sword and ran to his friend.
         "Legolas! Awake!" He fought back his own tears. What if he hadn't made it in time? "Please!"
         He recieved no response from the elf.
         "NO!" He screamed. "Legolas! Come back from the shadow! I swore to protect you and protect you I will! But you cannot die!"
         He closed his eyes in silent prayer, tears running down his face.
         A moment of grief passed. A grip tightened every so slightly around the Ranger's hand.
         Strider opened his eyes. "Legolas!"
         "Aragorn... you came..." Each word was painful to the elf.
         "Of course I came! I couldn't let them.... take you. You're one of the nine, forever. We take care of each other. Are you okay?"
         "I... no. I can't see anything. I feel weak. My limbs won't move."
         "It's alright. Sarumon is destroyed. You'll be alright."
         "I don't feel like myself. Something's been taken from me, something other than my energy."
         Strider sat up straight. He noticed then that the shimmer in the air had disappeared. The area around the elf was just as black now as everywhere else. He raised his hand to run it through his hair, but stopped the motion when he noticed the blood.
         "Legolas..." he whispered. "Where are you hurt? Talk to me."
         "Everywhere." The elf replied.
         Strider began to feel as though he ruined Legolas's chance for life when he destroyed the wizard. "Get up, Legolas, if you can find your legs. We need to leave this place. You need fresh air." Strider stood, helping the elf to his feet. He took one small step forward, but Legolas let out a cry.
         Legolas felt helpless. His legs gave way beneath him, and he fell again to the cold, hard floor.
         "Go Aragorn!" He surpressed defeated tears. "Leave me! Go to Gimli and the little ones!"
         "No! You can make it. We will rest until you find your strength, but I will not leave you!"
         "Aragorn, leave me! Leave me to die, I will not find my strength, for it has been taken."
         "I will not leave you! Do you remember you told me not to lose hope? For it is then the end? It's not the end, and I'm not losing hope! Neither should you! Rise to your feet and leave this place!"
         Strider spoke with such authority that Legolas nodded. The ranger helped his companion to hsi feet again, and together they walked slowly.
         "That's it, Legolas. Small steps."
         After much labour, the two companions finally made it into the open night air. Legolas took as deep a breath as his lungs would allow. It revitalized him a little, knowing he was no longer imprisoned.
         "How are you feeling, Legolas?"
         "Horribly. Where are Gimli and the Little ones?"
         "They're far away from danger. Merry and Pippin were not harmed. They are awaiting our return, when you feel up to it."
         "Am I one of them now, Aragorn? Did I become like them?"
         Strider felt pity for his companion. "No, not at all. I promise you."
         They were both silent for a long while, each contemplating what to do next.
         "I wish I could see the stars," Legolas said a while later.
         Strider looked towards the sky. He had not the heart to tell the elf that there were no stars. the had all been destroyed that one night, not so long ago. Instead, he asked the elf, "Still can't see anything then?"
         "I can, it's just... shapes and shadows though. Things are blurry. I suppose it would be equivalent to your eyesight."
         "Human's eyesight is not blurry."
         "It is to an elf."
         Strider smiled a little.
         "What happened to me, Aragorn? What happened when we went to rescue the hobbits?"
         "You don't remember any of it?"
         "No, I'm afraid not."
         "You're a hero, master elf. We were losing, overwhelmed by the enemy, when, you came out of nowhere really. I don't know what you did, but you created just enough distraction for Gimli and the hobbits to escape. I tried to go after you, but it was impossible. I followed the orcs back here, and here we are now."
         "I thought I was going to die in there. A thought quite foreign to the mind of elves. It was horrible. I still think I am going to die."
         "You're fine now, Legolas."
         "I'm naught but a man now. My soul was taken, and I am left with nothing but what a man survives with."
         "By life or death, Legolas, I will help you get back what was stolen from you."
         It's in the wizard, Aragorn. Legolas's life is in the wizard. You have to kill him to get it back. You didn't kill him....
         Strider jerked up. He heard the words clearly, but eh had no clue as to where they came from. There was no direction form which the voice came, it just rushed at him from eevrywhere.
         "What is it, Aragorn?"
         "Nothing." There was no need to alarm the elf. "When you have yoru strength, we must leave."
         His plan was simple: get Legolas to Gimli, safe from harm's way, then return to kill the wizard. He knew time was pressing him, and he needed to hurry.
         "I have enough strength. Let us move."
         Strider wanted to make sure the elf did indeed have the energy, but there was no time. He helped his friend stand again, and they set off at a slow and trying pace. As time went by, Legolas grew strong enough to walk without aid, and they moved a bit faster.
         "I have to stop, Aragorn. just a minute, but I have to stop."
         "Alright. Actually, we should stay here the rest this night. I will go find something to eat. Stay here."
         "I'm not going anywhere," Legolas said, painfully sitting against a tree. He felt like everything he touched was broken glass, tearing apart his flesh.