Previously:

"He's-"cough "-dead." He laughed. "Took a little tumble off the cliff." He started laughing more.

"You lie!" Legolas shouted.

The small orc chortled and choked before he finally passed the ghost.

"Legolas," Annabeth pointed at his closed fist. "He's got something there."

Annabeth's heart clenched as Éowyn's face crumbled at the news of Aragorn's fall. She felt bad for keeping his survival to herself but that would raise too many questions. Questions they don't have time to answer.

Still, she couldn't resist putting her arm around her fellow blonde. "Do not despair,"she told her. "There is always hope."

"You are right," Éowyn said, wiping at a tear that threatened to fall. "And there is much work to do."

Théoden walked over to the remaining part of the Fellowship. Sharing looks with the men and completely ignoring Annabeth, he said, "Come, we must go over the battlements."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other knowingly and he nodded. He took Annabeth's place next to Éowyn as the daughter of Athena joined Boromir, Legolas and Gimli in following the king.

"What are you doing?" Théoden asked. His eyes narrowed and darted from Percy and Éowyn to Annabeth. "Éowyn needs help making plans for the food supply and living arrangements. And we need your help to make plans for defense."

Percy squinted in confusion. "Ok? You've got Annabeth over there, she'll be able to spot a flaw faster than any of us could." He gestured to his girlfriend, who had her arms grossed and her naturally stormy eyes even more dangerous. "I do have some experience in organizing things like this so it's not like I'd be helpless with Éowyn. If anything I can just move stuff around for her."

Théoden looked like he was about to argue and Annabeth was ready with an angry retort should he so much as dare open his mouth. However, Gimli spoke up before either of them could.

"No sense in arguing, my lord," the dwarf said gruffly. "They know their skill sets better than any of us and Lady Annabeth would only challenge you to a duel and defeat you in a matter of two seconds."

Percy laughed proudly as Annabeth smirked. "Speaking from experience, dwarf?"

Gimli laughed as well and pushed past as few men staring in shock, inciting the rest to follow without another word.

-            -            -

"Aragorn's back," Percy said calmly as he sat next to Annabeth on the steps leading father into the mountain. She was taking the opportunity in the calm before the battle to sharpen her elvish sword for battle.

"It's about time," Annabeth grumbled. The atmosphere of hopelessness from the people here was getting suffocating.

Not only that but Éowyn's envious looks being thrown at her were also getting annoying. Unfortunately she could do nothing about that. It's not her fault she's a visitor here so she could easily join in on the fighting without anyone giving her too many problems. And despite Théoden's reservations on having her come with them, he had no protests by the time she strengthened the doors, prepared some defense tools such as several pots of rocks and boiling oil, and helped them figure out where the best place was to put the best men.

She could do nothing about the only weak spot in the fortress; a metal gate at the very bottom acted as a drain for the mountain water. Nothing except plan to put Percy there.

"The battle will start tonight," Annabeth said. Her eyes met Percy's and acknowledged the determination she found there. "The elves will be here before then."

"How many lost?" Percy asks. There was no question in his mind of whether or not they'd win. Annabeth loved that about him. It was this part of him that refused to back down in the battle for Olympus against Kronos. And again against Gaea.

"Enough for Théoden to start thinking of dramatic, glorious ways for his people to end." Annabeth gave her sword one last run down with the whetstone and held it up so she could examine the edges. "He'll recruit every boy and old man capable of wielding a sword. All the women and children—including Éowyn—will be sent into the caves. About now, they will all be in the armory, getting fitted."

Annabeth looked to the sky. The sun was setting on the fourth day since they'd set out for Helm's Deep. "We need only survive until tomorrow morning and Gandalf will appear on that ridge-" she pointed to the east "-with 2,000 riders of Rohan. They will drive them back from where they came, into the woods."

Percy squinted down the ravine. "What woods?" He asked. The way was as plain and dirt filled as it was when they had arrived.

"Merry and Pippin are on that, don't worry."

"Oh, like that eases my worries," Percy said sarcastically. "Those two have heads full of seaweed sometimes."

"Weed? Yes. Seaweed?" Annabeth laughed. "Not really."

"Do you need me to be somewhere specific when the fight starts?" Percy asked, watching as a group of farmers made soldiers ran past to the walls with long places of wood.

"The drain." There was no hesitation in her voice. It would be where the son of the sea god would be the strongest. "It will blow up at one point and I need you to be there to control the influx of orc coming through."

"Got it," Percy said before standing. He help out a hand. "Come on, let's go find me some armor. I didn't exactly come here as prepared as you."

Annabeth tried to avoid looking at the plethora of child soldiers they passed on the way. Being in this world so long has made her forget that most of camp back home are kids. But most of them grew up learning to fight for their lives. Like she and Percy did. These kids know farming. Their tool was the plow, not the sword.

They entered the armory just as Legolas said to Aragorn, "We have trusted you this far. You have not led us astray. Forgive me. I was wrong to despair."

Aragorn only smiled and put his hand on the elf's shoulder. "There is nothing to forgive, Legolas." He said in elvish.

Annabeth and Percy busied themselves with the chain mail, searching for the one that would fit him best.

"If we had more time, I'd get this adjusted." Gimli came around the corner and dropped the excess metal he held. It fell to the floor with a metallic clang. "It's a little tight across the chest."

Everyone but Percy bit back their laughter. He let his ring out through the halls.

A horn sounded through the castle and Annabeth's heart started beating faster in anticipation.

"That is no orc horn." Legolas pointed out before running out, closely followed by Aragorn and Gimli.

"Hang tight, Percy, it's just the elves from Lothlórien." Annabeth said as she tightened the straps on the breast plate she found. "We need to get you suited up because the battle will start in just a few hours."

-            -            -

"Percy!" Something was wrong, she could feel it. In the midst of the fighting, she lost track of Legolas, Gimli and her boyfriend. "Percy!"

The wall had exploded just as she remembered. And if her memory stayed true, the three of them and Aragorn should be there, in the middle of the fighting. Only problem was, she couldn't find any of them. Aragorn had charged with the host of elves already and the fighting to keep the orcs from completely overtaking the opening was falling back.

Searching for someone while fighting was not recommended. With the amount of orcs piling in, Annabeth could hardly keep track of her own location.

Just a second ago, Gimli had jumped from atop the wall into the swarming sea of orc only to be lost to her view. Then, she saw Legolas sliding down the steps like some surfer on an orc shield. He too was lost in the fray not too long after.

Her eyes darted frantically to each figure racing by. Most were orcs, a few elves. None were Percy or even dwarf. The longer she searched,t he more she became worried. If she waitied too long, she would be trapped out here when they all made for the keep.

"Ok, Annabeth, no time to freak out right now," she muttered to herself. "Put those 'thinking powers'—as Percy calls them—to good use. How would he be fighting the orcs right now?"

There was the water all around them and it had been moving quite viciously on its own a moment ago but now it lay motionless at their feet. Undisturbed but for the racing feet of elves and orc. She hadn't seen any sign of his signature hurricane ever since the water stopped moving.

Where could he be?

"Percy!"

"Na Barad! Na Barad! Haldir, na Barad!" Back to the keep! Back to the keep! Haldir, back to the keep!

Aragorn. Annabeth thought. Her head jerking to the the direction the shout came from only to see him and a few elves pull Gimli back by his arms. Then the meaning behind the words sunk in. "Oh, no!" She ran in Aragorn's direction, hoping to see Haldir on the way.

"Annabeth!" Aragorn shouted. He'd seen her. "To the keep! Fall back!" He waved at her to go back even as she kept turning in circles, now looking for two people.

"Which way is Haldir and Percy?"

"Haldir is there-" he pointed. "I haven't seen Percy since the wall fell."

This wasn't good.

No time to think about that now. There is one life she will be able to save tonight. Ignoring Aragorn now, she ran at Haldir, striking down all orcs in her way.

She reached him in time to stop one of the filthy monsters from hitting his arm. Knowing she had only seconds, she pushed the tall elf to the ground and brought up her sword to meet the orc's.

She wasn't fast enough.

"Annabeth! Haldir!"

Aragorn's yell came just as the sword sliced her arm and the orc's leg came up to meet her face.

She had no idea what happened next—the world was closing in around her—but when hands started grabbing her, she fought, reaching out for her sword.

"I have it, my lady." It was a kind voice and she relaxed slightly but her eyes opened frantically. "Percy?" She whispered. She tried staving off the darkness but it overtook her anyways.

"I last saw him fighting the orcs farther east..." She was able to just make out Haldir's face as she fully succumbed to the darkness.

AN: I really wanted to stop it here but it would have been a short chapter for me

- - -

Percy was fighting just fine until that one orc too small to be an actual orc somehow tossed him too far into the orc ranks and away from the water for him to use his hurricane properly. Eventually it became too much of an effort to keep it going so he let it die down.

Whether or not that was the reason he found himself surrounded by a bunch of orcs with the order to take him to Isengard alone was besides the point. He's surprised he'd even lasted this long. The use of the hurricane for even the small amount of time he did it for was usually enough to wear him out so he'd sleep for two days straight.

He felt fine.

He suspected the gods of this world had something to do with it.

"Are you sure we can't eats him?" One smaller orc said, eying Percy eagerly. "He looksss tasssty."

"Dude, you're not a snake, stop trying to act like one," PErcy said, even as he slashed at the orc's ankles.

At one point while he was still surrounded by his hurricane, he'd brought out Riptide to use alongside his elvish sword. He'd never fought with two swords before but there was a first time for everything. Obviously, shock was there when he'd found out it was as natural as fighting with the one. It really shouldn't have been.

All routine at this point.

"Come with us, Percy Jackson, and Saruman promised not to harm the girl," one of the larger orcs snarled.

Percy frowned. "The girl? Annabeth?" He laughed. "First of all, I'd be more worried about you, and you don't even have her, she's over-" he looked around to point her out but paused as he realized he'd lost track of her. "-Well, she was by the wall you blew threw, but either way, the fact remains." He sliced off the arm of one that got too close. "You don't have Annabeth and you're going to loose."

"Not the blonde," the same snarly one said in disgust. "The brown haired one. She claims to be from your 'Camp.'"

Percy tried not to show how affected by this he was. Sidney? They have little Sidney? How did she get here? What was she doing here? And at Isengard? With all the trees Saruman had been tearing down while he'd been there, the daughter of Demeter was going to be too mad to keep her head down. She was a little like him in that regard.

Rage filled Percy with a force he's only felt a few times. But he didn't let it take over, no, he'd worked on that with Annabeth. Instead, he let it filter and fuel his tactical thinking. It took forever for them to work this out with him.

He figured the thing he wanted to do most was probably the stupidest: charge blindly. Because that would get him caught. Or dead. So fortunately, he nixed that idea almost immediately, which is probably not what the orc was counting on. He was surprisingly smart.

"You expect that to change the first point?" Percy said. "Any one from camp can kick your sorry podex."

The orc was the one that lost his patience and let loose a roar as he charged the demigod.

Yep, turning the game around on the opponent was definitely the way to go, Percy decided as he got rid of all the orcs standing in his way. Now he just had to find Annabeth and tell her about Sidney. With her, they'd be able to plan out what to do.

Before he could go anywhere though, his eyes were momentarily blinded by the sun coming up. The significance of that hit him just as he heard a loud neigh. On the ridge, just as Annabeth said, was Gandalf.

- - -

Annabeth heard shouting. It was slightly angered and familiar. It took her a second to place it. "Aragorn."

"...They still defend it! They have died defending it!"

Oh, are we in the keep now? Where's Percy?

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" No one answered Aragorn for a long second. Then, rushed and a little louder, he said again, "Is there no other way?"

Briefly, she registered Haldir wrapping her arm and Boromir right next to him looking back and forth between her and the Ranger with a worried look. "Thank you," she said, ignoring the two kings' conversation for now.

"I should be thanking you," Haldir said with a meaningful look.

"Percy?" The name rolled off her tongue easily with how many times she'd said it that night.

"I'm sorry," Haldir said, looking down. "We could not find him."

"-And barricade the entrance!" Aragorn's voice cut through her foggy brain just as denial set in.

"No," she said, struggling to sit up. "I will not accept this, I've spent too much time mourning his loss when he wasn't even lost, and I searched for him anyways. I will not stop now."

"...What can men do against so much reckless hate?" Théoden asked, his voice devoid of hope.

Haldir pushed on her uninjured shoulder. "You must rest, my lady."

"He's right," Boromir said even as Annabeth shook her head vigorously. Things were starting to get good now and she would not miss it.

"Ride out with me." Aragorn said, almost too quietly. "Ride out and meet them."

Annabeth stared Haldir in the eyes, challenging him to stop her. Then to Boromir.

"For death and glory." Théoden said, determined.

"For Rohan and it's people." Aragorn corrected.

"I'm going, Haldir."

"Then I will go with you." Haldir smiled at her in resignation.

"The sun is rising." Gimli pointed out.

Annabeth grinned, remembering what came with the dawn this day.

"Yes." Théoden said thoughtfully. "Yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time!"

"Yes!" Gimli shouts and runs out. Annabeth could tell this was something he had been wanting to do.

"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And a red dawn!"

Annabeth shared a horse with Haldir. She was getting tired of sharing but figured she'd bring it up later. The horn sounded and they charged. She focused on looking for Percy and Haldir smote down what orc was left from the fury of Aragorn and Théoden.

"Éomer!" Théoden yelled.

Annabeth looked up and saw Gandalf and Éomer charging the orc ranks, sun at their backs. As she looked, she saw Percy, having the time of his life, no care in the world, swiping down orcs with every swing. Clueless as to the worry he'd caused her the last few hours.