Hello, sorry to keep y'all waitin' on the next chapter like this but I wanted to get it just right before I post it. And the whole part involving the events in Moria ended up coming out pretty long, so I'm gonna be splitting it up into two parts so it doesn't look like I'm just dragging it out. So without further ado, presenting part one of the Fellowship's journey through the Mines of Moria and the beginning of Team Natsu's trauma. Hope ya enjoy it. ;) And I hope I did ok on writing out Carla's vision from the end of the last chapter when she suddenly has a vision, as they were just leaving the Caradhras, of the events that happen while they're journeying through Moria.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Fairy Tail or LOTR, as they belong to their respective authors and creators. And also in this chapter when I have Lucy summoning Lyra the Harp Constellation just to pass the time while Gandalf is figuring out the password to open the door to the mines, and also so the Fellowship wouldn't become too bored, I just wanted to point out that I don't own the two songs that I have Lyra singing. The first one being Mordred's Lullaby by Heather Dale, and the other is Country Road from Hayao Miyazaki's Whisper of the Heart.
And I'm also gonna start replying to Guest reviews in the author notes as well since I can't actually reply to you, and you all have some good reviews as well:
akitowolfblood: I've never really done a crossover pairing before, so I don't know how good your suggestion will turn out for Legolas to fall for Lucy and still have some NaLu in there too, but I'll give it my best. I won't be making it romantic though, because I'm not very good at writing romance, and besides Lucy's too naive for romance anyway. But I will give it my best for a NaLu love triangle with...and I'm not sure how you would say a Lucy shipping with Legolas...Legolucy? *shrugs* So a love triangle between NaLu and Legolucy (yeah that seems right, so that's what I'll call it ;), that still ends up being NaLu in the end. I will try to see what I can do. ^_^
And to any other Guest reviewers who keep asking me things like "What's taking so long?", you need to learn patience. I take my time because I want the chapter to be just right before I post it. So if you don't like how long I take on writing out the next chapter, then just don't read the story at all if you're just gonna be impatient with me. Seriously, it's annoying.
Anywho, onto the story now before I get too carried away here.
Chapter 9 part 1 Carla's Vision, and Entering the Mines
~In Carla's vision, she saw the Fellowship all inside what she assumed was the Mines of Moria being attacked by the most ugly-looking creatures that she had never even seen before -not even in Fiore. But what really disturbed her the most about it was the fact that she also saw herself and her teammates fighting these creature alongside the rest of the Fellowship, and she also noticed that they actually had to kill their enemies for once -something neither she nor her guildmates usually did...EVER- instead of just knocking them out cold like they normally would. It was something she would soon come to realize as something of a traumatic experience for all of them, herself included, and she had a feeling something like that would really be difficult to cope with for when they return to their world...or rather more like 'if' they ever find a way back to their world anyway, after this is finally over.
The second part of her vision was what frightened Carla the most, as the white Exceed was now seeing Gandalf fighting against some sort of huge powerful demon made entirely of flames on top of a stone bridge that was inside the Mines. She then saw Natsu and Erza -after seeing the Titania requip into her Flame Empress Armor- rush over to try to help out the old wizard in defeating it, as she then saw Gandalf roughly throwing Natsu back where the others were standing after whacking him on the head for his foolishness. And as to be expected, she saw that Natsu had begun eating the flames of the demon until he suddenly ended up being stopped from doing so by Gandalf -she had to assume that apparently those flames were poisonous for someone like Natsu to just go and try to devour like that. She then went back to seeing Erza as she was seen trying to cut down the flame demon with her swords. She then saw the demon knock Erza away as though she were nothing but a pesky fly buzzing around it, and sending her flying against the wall near the rest of the Fellowship where she lay badly injured...before she then saw Gandalf finally finishing off the demon...but it came at the cost of the old wizard sacrificing himself as the demon had suddenly pulled him down along with it...~
"Carla, are you alright?" Wendy worriedly asked her, as she and Lucy were now still trying to recover from the colds they had received from being on the Caradhras.
The white Exceed suddenly blinked from her premonition trance as she turned to look at the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Yes, I'm fine, Wendy. There's no need for you to worry," she replied while forcing a smile so as not to worry her with what she just saw, though Wendy didn't fail to notice that she was trembling in fear over something. 'What was that just now?' Carla thought to herself as she continued glancing over at Gandalf worriedly, as just thinking about her vision simply terrified her to no end. 'I wonder...should I warn him of this? Perhaps he could probably find a way to prevent it from actually coming true.'
Sometime later, as Carla was still trying to make sense of what she just saw as well as pondering over as to whether or not she should warn Gandalf of her vision, the Fellowship soon came to a rocky area that night. They arrived at a large stone wall before a lake, with glowing runes carved in it. Somehow it didn't really appear to be exactly as Gimli had described it, as Team Natsu had pictured it to be a bit more lively and full of welcoming dwarves -Gimli's kin, but instead the place just appeared to be all gloomy-looking and deserted. But then again perhaps looks could be deceiving since perhaps it was only because they were still outside -as they had assumed that this was only what it looked like from the outside, which then lead to the main question the Fairy Tail wizards had on their minds.
"So, how are we supposed to get in anyway?" Happy decided to ask.
"Easy, we can always bust in," Natsu eagerly replied, igniting a flame in his hand and giving off a feral grin in the process. "Or Lucy could summon Virgo to tunnel our way in."
"No way! Are you crazy?" Lucy suddenly exclaimed frantically. "We're not going to get in trouble for breaking and entering because of you, Natsu!" She then gave him a good old Lucy Kick to the face for even suggesting that, and also just to spare Gandalf the head-whacking opportunity this time since she figured he needed a break from putting up with him.
Gandalf muttered to himself, "...Speak friend...and enter..."
"What does that mean?" Frodo asked, standing beside Happy and Natsu. "Oh well it's very simple you merely speak the password and the doors will open." Placing his staff against the runes...Gandalf spoke in a strange language and...
Nothing happened.
Sensing the others' judging gazes he merely rolled up his sleeves and spoke commandingly again.
Nothing...
"How are we going to open them?" Pippin asked.
"Knock your head against them, Peregrin Took! And then we shall be free of stupid questions!" Gandalf yelled out of frustration.
"Actually I'm not so sure he can handle brain damage like I can, gramps," Natsu pointed out in Pippin's defense.
"Natsu, shush," Erza told him sternly.
"Aye...," Natsu replied, not wanting to argue with the Titania...or get whacked on the head with Gandalf's staff again for that matter.
"But if it's supposed to be simple, then why couldn't they have just made it be something like 'open sesame', or something like that anyway?" Happy suggested, much to the Fellowship giving him questioning looks at that.
"And Happy, if you so much as interrupt again with another ridiculous suggestion like that...you will be finding yourself as a normal non-magical cat unable to talk or fly, faster than you can say 'aye' or 'fish'!" Gandalf threatened out of pure frustration.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Happy suddenly exclaimed frantically as he hid behind Carla, suddenly afraid of the thought of being turned into just a regular non-magical domestic housecat. "And I thought Erza was scary! Or Lucy, whenever she threatens me with something!"
"Honestly, tomcat, you were the one who had it coming!" Carla huffed in annoyance as she too had just been interrupted from her own thinking as well now thanks to Happy's immature antics just now.
Lucy, meanwhile, had also grown bored of just sitting and doing nothing and so surprising everyone by pulling out a gate key while calling out "Open! Gate of the Harp Constellation: Lyra!" as a young girl with a harp appeared before her.
"Hi Lucy, what do want me to sing for you?" Lyra's cheery voice asked. And the Fellowship -minus Team Natsu- now knew that this was this 'Lyra' spirit Lucy had mentioned back on the Caradhras when she had randomly started singing 'Let It Go'.
"Anything is fine, Lyra," Lucy told her, as Merry and Pippin both became curious to hear her harp spirit sing to ease their boredom as well.
"Alright then!" Lyra said as she began to strum a dark morbid-sounding melody on her harp that seemed only fitting for a place like this, and she began humming along as well. "Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep. Child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep~"
And even though everyone all agreed that Lyra had an amazing singing voice, the song was suddenly beginning to affect Gandalf as he had begun somehow thinking of the demon he knew was lurking within the mines and politely asked Lucy to either change the song or send Lyra back home as the song was beginning to put him on edge a little bit. And Carla, too, was beginning to feel a little on edge from the song -especially after that vision she just foresaw and was still trying to make sense of.
"I'm sorry," Lucy immediately apologized to the old wizard. "Sometimes Lyra's songs just often tend to have that effect on people's emotions like that." She still hadn't forgotten the last time she had summoned Lyra like this back when they were on Galuna Island, and the song she sang then that had made Gray cry despite his protests that he wasn't crying, though she wasn't about to bring up that reminder anytime soon.
Although the hobbits were still eager to hear another song, but not as dark this time, which Lyra happily obliged as she began strumming another melody that was lighter than the first and began singing. "I dreamed of living alone but fearless, secret longing to be courageous, loneliness kept bottled up inside, just reveal your brave face they'll never know you lied. Country road may lead me home, know I belong there all on my own, destiny calls, motionless, I stall, know I can't go, country road~" Lyra continued to sing and strum on her harp, and even Wendy and Carla found themselves listening as well along with a few other members of the Fellowship who found Lyra's voice to be quite soothing in a place like this while they waited for Gandalf to figure out the password to open the doors already. "No matter how dark the world's inside me, I'll never stop to share a tear that I shed, but now I have to walk so fast, running, sprinting to forget what is lodged in my head. Country road may lead me home, know I belong there all on my own, destiny calls, motionless, I stall, know I can't go, country road. Country road, la la la la, you're a good friend, I'll never know, same tomorrow, regret and sorrow, can't take you home country road.~"
Meanwhile, while that was going on, Natsu soon became increasingly bored after a while with nothing to do but listen to Gandalf figure out the password to open the doors and had taken to joining Merry and Pippin with throwing rocks into the lake until they were suddenly stopped by Aragorn who told them not to disturb the water.
Natsu, however, only tilted his head in confusion at that. "But it's not like there's actually anything in there to disturb, right?" He scoffed. "I mean, it's not like some giant octopus is gonna come out and take one or two of us to eat for dinner or somethin'."
Aragorn sighed and cuffed him over the head -since he doesn't have a staff like Gandalf does- for even thinking of something like that. "Even so, Natsu, you really ought to start learning to listen when someone is telling you not to do something. You're lucky Gandalf is too busy figuring out the way into these mines to give you anymore whacks with his staff again at the moment. And I hardly think Merry and Pippin need the extra encouragement from you as well."
"Aye...just anything but the head-whacking-staff-of-doom again...," Natsu managed to say weakly, as he then went over to sit next to Lucy who -along with a few other Fellowship members- was still enjoying Lyra's singing. But he was still bored, until he suddenly thought of something to pass the time. "Hey, Gray," he whispered to the ice wizard. "Do you wanna build a snowman?~"
Gray only gave him a serious look at that in reply. "You're a bit late for building a snowman, flame-for-brains. You should have done it back when you had the chance."
"Ok, bye~," Natsu said before walking off, while the Fellowship was suddenly confused about his sudden interest in wanting to build a snowman despite his magic being fire...or perhaps it was just some sort of pun on Gray being an ice wizard.
Gandalf soon became frustrated as he was unable to figure out the password and went over to sit down next to Frodo. "Oh it's useless," the old wizard muttered as a sign of giving up.
"Well, I guess it's time to go with good old Plan T," Natsu declared while igniting a flame in his hand.
Pippin blinked. "So what's 'Plan T'?" he asked curiously.
Natsu suddenly grinned and ignited a flame in each hand. "Take 'em by storm!" WHACK!
Gandalf had whipped around and whacked Natsu on the head repeatedly with his staff as well for his sudden impulsiveness. "Natsu Dragneel, what did I say about needing to exercise restraint at all times?! Are you trying to render yourself no better than Smaug was, even after the trouble I went through to vouch for you during the Council of Elrond that you would be better well-behaved than this?! And that is not something that Pippin should be encouraged into doing, as he is already troublesome enough as it is for a hobbit! And going along with that, you could also at least learn to have a little patience as I try to figure out this password as well!" he huffed in annoyance as he then proceeded to whack him again until he finally got it through that thick head of his already.
Frodo blinked as he stared at the runes, "Speak friend...and enter...It's a riddle!" Frodo said, he tapped Gandalf on the shoulder as the old wizard then glanced over at the hobbit after he had finished reprimanding Natsu again about needing to exercise restraint. "Gandalf! What's the Elvish word for friend?"
"...Mellon." And no sooner had Gandalf said the word, that the doors had suddenly creaked open and the runes vanished.
"Well, I guess this mean we can finally enter now," Gray stated coolly. "Way to finally figure it out already, 'cause I was just about ready to punch dragon breath in the face for being an idiot."
Fortunately Natsu wasn't paying attention to Gray at the moment, as he and Happy both suddenly began snickering after Gandalf had said the password to finally open the door. "That sure is a tasty password if you ask me." "Aye! The dwarves must have been super hungry to have come with a password like melon." They continued to whisper to each other and make fun of dwarf passwords, as they began wondering if all their passwords were food related like that, at least until Gandalf whacked them both on the head with his staff and reprimanded them and corrected their misinterpretation of it.
"Aww, why whack me too? I'm supposed to be the cute one here," Happy whimpered dramatically, while Lucy just rolled her eyes at the immature behavior of her two teammates. "Really you guys, your stupidity is starting to get old fast," the Celestial wizard told them both.
As the Fellowship made their way into the cavern it seemed just as decrepit and creepy as outside, and Team Natsu soon had a bad feeling about what was to be expected once they were inside. Although Gimli could be heard bragging to the group about the hospitality of his kin. "Soon my friends you shall enjoy the famous hospitality of my people! Malt beer, fresh meat off the bone...a roaring fire-!"
"Geez, you're really startin' to make me hungry here already...," Natsu told the dwarf, as the pyro's stomach had indeed suddenly began growling at the very thought of food.
"Aye!" Happy agreed with his best friend as he was now seen drooling hungrily in the mood for fish, which Carla just simply rolled her eyes at and ignored him.
"Seriously, enough with the growling stomachs and the drooling already," Lucy dryly told the pyro and the blue Exceed.
As Boromir's torch hit the walls...they saw cobwebs and worst of all...skeletons of dwarves who apparently had been here for years...they had been desecrated and had black arrows embedded in them. "N-no! Nooo!" Gimli wailed as he looked upon his kinsmen's corpses. It was a horrible sight for Team Natsu to even look upon, as they all just stood there looking shocked and horrified at the sight of Gimli's kin all slaughtered like this and it made them wonder just what sort of creature or monsters would do such a horrible thing.
"Th-that's just awful!" Wendy exclaimed in pure horror at the sight of the dwarf skeletons littering the floor, despite Natsu attempting to cover her eyes since children shouldn't have to see anything this horrible.
Legolas picked up one of the arrows, "Goblins!"
"We need to get out of here!"
"Out of the mines!" Gandalf shouted, but as they turned to head back out...an enormous tentacled beast -known as the Watcher in the Water- reached out of the depths of the lake as it extended one of its tentacles and happened to grab none other than Frodo as it pulls him out of the mines and away from the group. But just then, it suddenly extended another tentacle that was unknowingly headed for a member of Team Natsu as well.
"KYAA! NATSU!" Lucy suddenly screamed as she found herself being pulled out of the mines as well alongside Frodo, as they were both now being held suspended upside down in midair by the tentacles and causing the Fellowship and Team Natsu to spring into action as they now began fighting off the Watcher in order to rescue their two comrades from it.
"Whoa, no way! There really was a giant octopus lurking in the water!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed frantically.
"Yeah, way to point out the obvious there, genius," Gray sarcastically told him as he could now be seen trying to freeze the Watcher, while Erza was also seen helping out Aragorn and Boromir with slashing at the tentacles with her swords as well.
"And obviously this octopus ain't gettin' Lucy!" Natsu declared as he was all fired up and charging towards the Watcher while throwing flaming punches at it and going all-out just to get Lucy back. "Get your tentacles off of Lucy, you stupid giant octopus!" he shouted to it, while the hobbits could also be seen helping out as well to rescue Frodo.
"Oh great, I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going," Lucy muttered with a deadpanned expression, and much to Frodo's confusion as he could also be seen struggling frantically to get free from the Watcher's tentacles while Lucy could be seen fumbling with her keys and trying to keep her skirt from flying up towards her in the process due to being upside down though she nearly dropped her keys by accident as she soon found the key she wanted. But before she had a chance to summon Aquarius, that was when Natsu suddenly came in from above courtesy of Happy flying him to deliver an aerial attack on the Watcher. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" he shouted as he landed right on the Watcher's face and blinding it with his flames. "You better let go of my friends right now, stupid octopus, or the next one's gonna burn you to a crisp!" he furiously declared.
"Natsu, wait, at least get us down from here first before you start burning it to a crisp!" Frodo exclaimed frantically, just as Aragorn and Boromir had soon ended up slicing the tentacle that held him suspended in midair as he was then caught by Boromir. While Erza sliced through the tentacle that held Lucy, as the Celestial wizard unleashed a terrified scream as she was about to hit the water below her until Happy suddenly swooped down and snatched her up at the last second. "I got ya, Lucy!" the blue Exceed boldly declared. "But you do still need to lose weight," he couldn't help teasing her as he always did whenever he had to carry her.
"Oh zip it, and just get me away from that thing already!" Lucy frantically exclaimed, referring to the Watcher.
"Into the mines!" Gandalf shouted to them as everyone began to quickly follow the old wizard back into the mines.
Now fully enraged, the Watcher suddenly lashed out and grabbed Natsu by the ankle with a tentacle as it began wildly swinging him around to the point where the Salamander's one weakness suddenly began to show. "Aw crap, I think I'm gonna be sick...," he moaned as he was suddenly beginning to feel motion sick and looking like he was about to puke his guts up. The Watcher then threw him away as though it were getting rid of a pesky fly, as Natsu suddenly crashed-landed right into Gray as they were both sent tumbling backwards from the impact and crashing right into Legolas -who had just fired a couple more arrows at the Watcher before following the rest of the group into the mines again, with Gray dragging a motion sick Natsu along behind him.
"Geez, pull yourself together already, Natsu. You look really pathetic when you're like this," Gray was heard grumbling to the pink haired pyro, while Happy was also explaining to the Fellowship about Natsu's motion sickness problem.
"That octopus is gonna pay for this!" Natsu growled furiously, just as the Watcher was now making an attempt to follow them, only to be stopped by Natsu's flames. "Take this! This is for giving me motion sickness! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he shouted as he punched the Watcher with his flaming fist. "And this is for trying to make Lucy and Frodo your dinner! FIRE DRAGON ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!" Though unfortunately, aside from the tentacles causing major damage and destruction to the entrance before returning underneath the lake, Natsu had also ended up going a little overboard in his fiery rage while fighting it as well. But at least he was able to rescue Lucy, and nobody -not even a giant octopus- was ever going to take her away from him.
"Thanks, Natsu," Lucy told him, breathing a sigh of relief that the Watcher was gone now, even if Natsu did go a bit overboard there. Although she herself had gone and given the Watcher a good old "Lucy Kick!", to the face while angrily screaming the word "HENTAI!", at it much to the confusion of the Fellowship as they began to wonder what she meant by that word and why she would be screaming it at the Watcher like that.
"Great, way to go you pyro, now we're all trapped in here," Gray told him. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'conceal, don't feel, make one wrong move and everyone will know'?"
"Ha! I knew it! So you have been taking lessons from the Snow Queen, Elsa-wannabe!" Natsu shot back.
"You know what? Just shut up...Pinkie Pie!" Gray retorted, though hesitating a bit on the new insult reference.
"That's enough, both of you! Now's not the time to be fighting one another," Erza said sternly before Natsu could even retort to that insult, stepping between them as she was able to see them -courtesy of Natsu's flaming fist- and knocking their heads together to stop them from bickering.
"A-Aye!" "Yes ma'am!" both boys replied in unison, as they didn't want to argue with the Titania for fear of invoking her wrath.
"Well that was a 'for the first time in forever' insult reference," Happy stated singsongingly.
"Seriously, you guys can stop with the Frozen puns now," Lucy told them dryly.
Gandalf then struck his staff against the ground and the tip of it shone like a flashlight. "We now have but one choice...face the long dark paths of Moria...it is a four day journey to the other side...be on your guard and hope we go unnoticed." He also then turned and whacked both Natsu and Gray on the head for bickering again, and then proceeded to whack Natsu again for being partially responsible for the destruction of the entrance even if he was only doing so to save Lucy from the Watcher.
"Aw come on, gramps, can't you at least make an exception just this once?" Natsu protested while rubbing at the bump now growing on top of his head. "I was only trying to save Lucy from that giant octopus thing, so that should be good enough reason to go all-out."
Gandalf only sighed in annoyance though he supposed Natsu did have a point considering he really did only go all-out to like that to help rescue Lucy and Frodo from the Watcher -or 'giant octopus' as Natsu referred to it as, so he supposed he ought to just let it slide just this once. But it still frustrated the old wizard that the pink haired boy still stubbornly refused to take learning restraint seriously, it was as if he was purposely trying to give the old wizard a hard time. Well, he would have to eventually learn sooner or later that he can't continue to be reckless while going all-out with his magic like that, Gandalf thought to himself as he continued to lead the group through the mines. As they crossed through the mines, they saw abandoned ladders and mining equipment, and soon the path grew narrow and they each had to press against a wall that Lucy would notice had cracks that glowed with white gems. "The wealth in this place was not in gold or jewels, but Mithril." Gandalf shone his staff down upon the dark pit below and the walls below them shone like starlight.
"Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings that Thorin Oakenshield gave him near the end of their journey long ago." Gandalf said.
"Oh! That was quite a gift!" Gimli said in awe.
"Yes! I never told him, but its worth was more than the entire valley of the Shire!" Gandalf said as Frodo touched the hidden mithril shirt in surprise.
"Wow!" Lucy and Wendy exclaimed in awe and amazement as they gazed down at the mithril during Gandalf's explanation of it.
"Careful you don't fall over the edge, Lucy," Happy teased, slightly startling her as she shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin in fright.
"KYAA! Do that to me again, stupid cat, and I'll make sure you're the one who falls in...with your wings tied behind your back so you can't fly back up!" Lucy threatened him.
"Aaaaahhhh! Natsu, Lucy's scaring me!" Happy wailed, flying quickly back over to the pyro while Carla just simply rolled her eyes in annoyance at him for being an immature tomcat.
"Geez, you're such a drama-cat," Lucy told him.
Natsu and Gray had surprisingly stopped fighting, mostly because Erza kept glaring over at them, but especially because they didn't want to get whacked by Gandalf's head-whacking-staff-of-doom again either as they were now also gazing down at the mithril, along with Erza, Happy, and Carla as well.
As they climbed further into the depths of Moria, Gandalf looked around at a pathway split into three doorways. "I...have no memory of this place." Gandalf quietly said.
"We rest here for the night." Gandalf said as they made camp.
The Fairy Tail wizards were sitting with Gandalf as the old wizard smoked his pipe and attempted to clear his mind of distraction...and remember the path to follow. Frodo spotted something moving down below in the darkness, leaping around. He rushed over to Team Natsu and Gandalf's group. "There's something down there!" He said in a panicked voice.
"Yes...it is Gollum. He's been following us for three days..." Gandalf said quietly.
Natsu leaned over to sniff the air above where Gollum was lurking, before suddenly recoiling back and burying his nose inside his scarf in disgust. "Well whatever he is, for some reason his scent practically reeks of rotten fish."
"Speaking of fish," Happy stated as he was rummaging through his green knapsack that he always wore around his neck, searching for something. "Natsu, you stole my fish again didn't you?"
"Aw come on Happy, I never even touched your fish," Natsu told him.
"That's what you said the last time you stole my fish! And then-" Happy sniffled as his eyes were now watery with tears over the loss of his fish.
"Oh good grief, not this again," Lucy muttered, as Natsu and Happy began arguing over the disappearance of Happy's fish. She still hadn't forgotten the last time they had argued like this over a fish, she just hoped they wouldn't take it too far this time with ending their friendship over it as Carla also looked slightly annoyed by the pyro and the blue Exceed with their silly argument over something as simple as a fish, while Erza, Gray, and Wendy just did their best to ignore them. "Anyway, you were saying about this Gollum?" the Titania asked Gandalf.
Frodo's eyes widened, "B-but...I thought they captured him and...tortured him...did he escape?"
"Escape? ...or released..." Gandalf said quietly, paying no heed to the fish argument. "The Ring has drawn him near...he will never be rid of his need for it...he hates and loves the Ring...as he hates and loves himself. Smeagol he was once called...before his brother Deagol went fishing with him one day...they were creatures not dissimilar to hobbits...Deagol was pulled in by a large catch and came up with a handful of mud...they were fishing in the very lake that Isildur was killed in and lost the ring years and years earlier."
"Smeagol saw the ring glittering in Deagol's hand...and it called to him. Smeagol was tempted by its beauty and strangled his brother for the Ring...he was later cast out of his village and crawled into the darkest pit he could find in the Misty Mountains. He whispered to the Ring, telling himself it was his birthday present...that it came to him and it was rightfully his."
"It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance," Frodo spat, Gandalf frowned: "It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand...many that live deserve death...and many that die deserve life...do not be so quick to deal out wanton death and judgement, Frodo. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part still to play in this, and Bilbo's mercy may rule the fate of many..."
"So in other words, you're saying he was just another victim of the ring's dark power, right?" Lucy pointed out, once Gandalf had finished explaining. She then glanced down at where Gollum still was as she felt her heart go out to the poor twisted creature, and she had to agree with Gandalf that the thought of mercilessly killing him like that just wouldn't be right at all as she was somehow thinking that maybe Gollum deserved a chance at redemption if given the chance.
Gandalf nodded to her question. "You truly have a compassionate heart, Lucy Heartfilia, perhaps you may very well end up being the key to redeeming Smeagol from his fate," he told her solemnly as though he could somehow read her mind, leaving Lucy to ponder over what he had just told her.
"Indeed, it truly is a cruel fate for those who succumb to darkness like that," Erza agreed with Lucy, though she was also thinking of Jellal when he first became possessed by Zeref back during their days in the Tower of Heaven. "My friend Jellal was another example of this when he became possessed by Zeref's dark magic, and it changed him from the kind gentle boy I once knew into someone more cruel and despicable. I was put in a situation where I could have killed him to end all the torment and suffering he'd caused in the Tower of Heaven, but he was also still my friend from childhood, and not to mention killing him would not have been right either. Though in the end, Jellal did end up reverting back to his old self again." Of course, she didn't mention the few other details that were involved like how she had assumed Jellal had been killed during the final destruction of the Tower of Heaven, as well as her reunion with him when they were working to stop Nirvana which was after the Oracion Seis had forced Wendy to use her magic to heal him. Although he had lost all of his memories then, which he had regained later on while in the Magic Council's custody. Those details weren't really of that much importance to include, since all that mattered was that Jellal was no longer under Zeref's dark influence anymore.
Frodo sighed tearfully and sat down next to Gandalf. "I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf placed a comforting hand on Frodo's shoulder, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide...all we can do is make the most of the time that is given to us. One thing I know, is that Bilbo was meant to find the ring...and you were meant to have it and take it to the mountain...and that is a very comforting thought."
For some reason that also made Gray suddenly think of his past involving Deliora, and that had he never gone to challenge the demon in the first place to avenge his parents then Ur would never have sacrificed herself by using Iced Shell to seal Deliora away and then maybe Lyon also still would have been able to fulfill his goal to surpass Ur instead of trying to use Moon Drip on Galuna Island to melt the ice surrounding Deliora just so he could fight it and surpass Ur that way. Though now, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he never would have been able to follow Ur's advice that led him to joining Fairy Tail as well as the events from Galuna Island that eventually persuaded Lyon to join the Lamia Scale guild. He couldn't hide the amused chuckle that escaped him. "It's funny how the old man's wisdom and advice seems to have an effect of all us as well," he suddenly found himself commenting to Frodo. "Like Erza with Jellal, I was just thinking of how if I had never gone to challenge the demon Deliora to avenge my parents who were killed by him then Ur, my teacher who taught me ice magic, would never have had to have sacrificed herself to use this spell called Iced Shell to seal Deliora away. But then I probably wouldn't have joined Fairy Tail at the time, had things turned out differently like that."
Gandalf glanced over at the ice wizard and nodded. "I'm glad at least somebody has the sense to take the advice and wisdom of an old man seriously, Gray Fullbuster," he said with an amused twinkle in his eye, before adding more seriously; "If only would also take it seriously about keeping your stripping habit under control as well."
"Yeah, well, it kinda can't really be helped due to learning ice magic from Ur of all people. And not to mention stripping was part of the training in order to get used to the cold," Gray muttered, which earned him a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff.
"And speaking of demons," Carla suddenly spoke up after hearing Gray mentioning Deliora, though she still hesitated as to whether or not revealing her vision would be a good idea. But she took a deep breath when Gandalf nodded for her to go on. "I had some sort of vision a while back when we were just barely arriving here, and it had to do us being in these mines. Precognition is another magical ability of mine, just so you know," she explained to the old wizard.
Wendy suddenly looked a bit surprised at that. "But I thought you said it was nothing to worry about, Carla."
"I know, I...only said that because I didn't want to cause you or anyone else here to have to worry about it, and nor did I want to frighten anybody with it," Carla told her hesitantly while shuddering at the very thought of it. "It gave me a bad feeling about what was to be expected upon entering these mines after seeing it." She then inquired as to whether or not it could be prevented as Gandalf nodded to her in understanding, knowing exactly what the white Exceed could only be referring to, although he had to admit he wasn't sure how he could reassure her about how to prevent her vision from becoming a reality considering that he obviously knew of the demon that lurked beneath the mines and just what it was capable of.
That was when Wendy suddenly decided to ask something that made even her friends pause to consider. "Do you think we'll ever be able to return to our world again after this is over with?" she quietly spoke up, as her teammates all suddenly looked downcast at that as they realized that she had a point there. Once they were finished with this quest, how would they even be able to recreate the portal that brought them here? And would they ever be able to see their beloved guild and their guildmates again? Suddenly they weren't so sure anymore.
Gandalf, sensing Team Natsu's sudden distress about if they would ever be able to return home, decided to ease their troubled minds. He released a sigh before finally responding. "I cannot guarantee for certain about whether or not you will be able to return home to your world," he told them honestly. "But if you ever do find some way to recreate your portal that brought you here, I am afraid that you all may never be the same again when you do return home."
Natsu, however, only tilted his head in confusion at what the old wizard had just said. "What do you mean we won't be the same again, gramps? You sayin' we won't be Fairy Tail wizards anymore, or somethin'?" He had also eventually settled his dispute with Happy over the missing fish, coming to the conclusion that maybe the blue Exceed may have dropped it somewhere along the way without realizing and assumed Gollum had somehow snatched it up sometime afterwards. And Natsu did comment that Gollum reeked of rotten fish, after all, so it only made sense that he could have taken Happy's fish. And it ended up being resolved by Natsu promising Happy that the two of them would go fishing if they all ever got out of Moria alive, which Natsu didn't doubt at all that they all would.
Gandalf frowned and whacked Natsu on the head for misinterpreting his explanation, before replying; "How do I explain this so you will better understand...? I suppose you could say I mean that you all will have...matured in many ways during this quest. At least, that is what I hope for you anyway... But there will also be many challenges for you here in Middle Earth that may leave you scarred for life when you do return to your own world again."
"Well if we ever do find a way home after this, the first thing I'm gonna do is go straight to my apartment and take a nice long shower," Lucy said, sighing longingly for a much needed shower.
"Don't worry, Lucy, I don't doubt at all that we will find our portal home after this quest is over," Erza assured her comfortingly, as the Celestial wizard gave a small smile in reply.
Gandalf then suddenly looked up past Gray and pointed to a doorway, "There."
"He's remembered," Merry suddenly said, jumping to his feet as Gandalf was now seen walking towards the corridor he had just pointed out as he replied. "No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose...which is also something that Natsu and Wendy know about all too well."
"Whoa, sweet! I had no idea that you also had dragon enhanced senses t-" WHACK "Aw come on, gramps, I thought that's what you meant," Natsu added, while now rubbing at a rather large bump on his head from Gandalf's staff.
"I said nothing of the sort about myself having dragon enhanced senses, Natsu Dragneel! I was merely referring it back to you!" the old wizard reprimanded him, and proceeded to whack him with his staff again for misinterpreting.
"Well gee, you coulda fooled me...," Natsu mumbled irritably, as the Fellowship then proceeded walking down the corridor that Gandalf had pointed out was the way to go.
Yeah, Natsu's really gonna start to regret ever giving Gandalf a hard time. Poor Gandalf, he really needs a break from all the Fairy Tail chaos that Team Natsu (save for Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla) likes to cause. So in other words I'm just referring to Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Well anywho, you all just do what you do best...aka, read/review. Most of the action will be in the next part to this chapter, yes including the Balrog and *sniffles and grabs kleenex* Gandalf's sacrifice *starts sobbing*. :'(
And now it's time for a LOTR fun fact: I bet nobody ever knew that the tentacled creature lurking in the lake just outside the mines is actually known as the Watcher in the Water. I had to look it up myself to find that out. ;)