Author's Note: So many chapters! I truly never thought I'd get this far. I was sure that I would get a lot of burn messages, and I would end up removing the story. But, there's been no such thing! It makes me happy to finally write this! Angel Gunner Lenne, Lara Chubb of Deephollow, cheeky-eyes, and Isis the Sphinx, thank-you so much for your comments. Yet another fight scene here! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 30: Battle in the Tomb

At first, when Jonouchi saw the room, he took no notice of it. But while walking by, he saw a ray of sunlight streaming down on a rectangular piece of rock. When he saw that, he suddenly cried out it horror. Ignoring the quieted cries of his fellow travelers, Jonouchi ran into the room with sunlight. He stopped right in front of the neatly carved rock and went rigid.

The sunlight that was strangely pouring through a small whole in the wall was shining on the rock, and only the rock. Jonouchi, after slightly recovering from the shock, murmured to himself quietly, "No . . . no . . . no, no, no . . . NO!" He fell to his knees in defeat and gaped at the rock. When the others walked in to see what he was up to, they noticed that his face was drowned in tears and his eyes were gleaming in sadness. He finally lowered his head to the floor and cried freely.

Mahado walked up to the rock and looked onto the surface of it. The sunlight gleaming down on it made it easy to read what the message written in the dwarf language said. He read aloud, "'Here lies Balin, Lord of Moria' . . . He is dead, then. It is as I feared," He said to the others, who most had faces of slight grief.

Mahado looked at the tomb for a while, and then down at a rotten body leaning against it, with an arrow in his heart. In the corpse's rotten hands, though, was a gigantic book that looked very old. This caught Mahado's attention. He handed his staff to Hiroto, bent down and moved the dead hand that held the book, and picked it up. Flipping through the pages urgently, he searched for the last page that was written on.

Atem, who was at the back of the group, walked up to Seto's side. "We must move on. We can not linger," He murmured. Seto nodded in agreement, but did nothing more as Mahado started to read the book, or in this case, record book, quietly.

" 'They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates, but can not hold them for long. The ground shakes . . . drums . . . drums, the deep. We can not get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We can not get out. They are coming.' "

As Mahado read, the Fellowship felt themselves become engrossed with fear. Each moment, the passage seemed to get more suspenseful. They knew of what battle the dead dwarf spoke of, for it was obvious by his state. Hiroto, though, found himself getting bored. He started to back up, knowing that no one was watching him. He turned around and saw what appeared to be a stone well. Sitting on the well was yet another dead body with many, many arrows in him. Hiroto became interested in the cobwebbed arrows and saw his hand reach out for one. He just could not resist the temptation. His hand touched the arrow and twisted it just when Mahado finished.

Little did Hiroto know, though, that the body's head was very loose, and that the slightest touch would make it fall off. This is exactly what happened as Hiroto touched and twisted the arrow. The head fell back slowly, and then dropped into the depths of the well. The head had a helmet on, too, which made it clatter and clank as it fell and smashed against the well walls.

As the head fell, Mahado, as well as all of the others, turned toward him in startle. Hiroto jumped and turned to face them. Just has he turned, Hiroto heard a groan behind him. The dwarf's entire body, which was covered in armor and attached to a chain, fell back and dropped down the well, too. Falling back, it seemed like the noise it was making was ear splitting. At every clatter and crash the body made as it dropped, Hiroto twitched in shame and fear. Finally, when the body touched the bottom, it made a noise so loud, Hiroto had to fight himself from falling to the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he found everyone glaring at him in hate and anger. They were meanwhile staring around at the walls as if they would attack at any moment. Boromir sighed and looked to the floor. Mahado slammed the book in his hands closed and walked over to Hiroto angrily.

"You fool!" He yelled, despite the fact that they were supposed to be quiet. But, then again, maybe that didn't matter now, "Why don't you throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" He grabbed his staff from Hiroto's hands and glared at him. Hiroto looked to the floor in even more shame.

But then something happened that practically made everyone's heart stop.

Thud . . .

Mahado, who had his back turned to Hiroto, turned back and looked at the well. Hiroto looked, too.

Thud . . .

Thud, thud . . .

It was the sound of drums.

Thud, thud, thud, THUD!

Soon, all that there was to be heard was the thud of the approaching enemy's drums. Screams soon joined in with the drums, which were undoubtedly unhuman.

Anzu looked down at Yugi's sword apprehensively. "Yugi . . ." Yugi quickly pulled out his sword and gasped as he saw it glowing blue. That only meant one thing –

"Selendrills!" Atem exclaimed. The screams increased. Boromir turned to the door and ran. He stopped at the entrance and looked around outside. He had to draw back quickly, though, as two fresh, black arrows flew through the air at him. He pulled his head back as the arrows stuck into the door.

The hobbits, who were not used to fighting, all huddled close together. Jonouchi had been woken out of his reverie of grief, thanks to the drums and screaming. He slowly stood up and faced the door bravely, axe in hand. Atem saw the hobbits in their group.

"Get back!" He told them, "Stay close to Mahado!" Mahado, who acted upon his king's command, ran over to them and acted as their shield. Atem ran over to Jonouchi's side. Seto, who had seen the arrows aimed at Boromir, ran over to him and helped him quickly close the door. As they closed it, they heard a strange roar that rang loud and clear.

"Oh, great," Boromir complained, "They have a Cave Dragon!" He and Seto both started to gather weapons from the dead dwarfs' hands and place them between the handles to keep the doors closed. Then they all backed up to the front of Balin's tomb and drew their weapons, even the hobbits.

By now, the Selendrills had made it to the doors and were now ragingly trying to open them. Jonouchi, filled with grief and anger, stood upon Balin's tomb and yelled a battle cry. "Let 'em come! There's still one last man in Moria who's loyal to Lord Balin!" He held his axe into the air. Atem drew an arrow from his back and held it steadily. The hobbits, Mahado, Seto, and Boromir all held their swords in preparation.

Now the Selendrills were breaking in though the doors by carving through the wood. Black swords and maces stuck through as they tried to break in. As a big enough hole was made, Atem took aim and released an arrow. The arrow hit its target as a scream was heard from the other side. Atem drew another arrow and shot again. As he reached for his third arrow, the Selendrills finally broke in, and the battle began.

In came many green-skinned, slimy Selendrills. They looked like giant lizards that stood on their hind legs and had wings. Yugi and the other hobbits were terrified of the sight.

Atem released thousands of arrows by the second. He never seemed to run out of them. But the Selendrills were much greater in number, and charged forward none the less. Boromir ran forward and went into combat with an ugly Selendrill. He swung his sword, but the Selendrill blocked. He swung again and thrust his sword through the Selendrill's throat.

Jonouchi also battled fiercely. Mahado ran forward with his sword and staff, killing many Selendrills. The hobbits also charged forward, screaming all the way in a loud battle cry. They were surprisingly good fighters for small people. Atem was still releasing more arrows. Yugi, with his sword glowing, shoved his blade into a Selendrill's stomach, as well as Hiroto. Otogi, who seemed to be enjoying himself with killing, cut off a Selendrill's arm and then his leg. This seemed to be the best thing that had happened in his life, despite the fact that he was scared. Anzu hesitantly plunged her sword into a Selendrill's stomach. She did not like fighting at all. Seto seemed to be swinging his sword the fastest. But as he ran forward to kill an enemy, a Selendrill unexpectedly grabbed his coat and pulled him back. Seto turned around angrily and cut the Selendrill's head off. Green blood splattered into the air as the corpse fell to the ground.

Just as Anzu turned to face another opponent, though, she heard a low growl. She shrieked at what she saw was behind her. It was a green, very large, dragon bursting through the much too small door and surrounding stone. Its face was wide and looked like it was made out of stone. Two horns stuck out of its head. Its green scales looked rock hard, as well. On the sides of its stomach were tan spikes sticking out of its skin. And its tail swung around angrily and created dents in the walls. The tip of the tail had the same tan spikes. It almost looked like a gigantic turtle, with its red eyes burning into Anzu's scared ones.

The Cave Dragon roared hoarsely to announce its arrival. The Fellowship turned to it in fear. Atem drew another arrow and flung it at the dragon, but it just bounced off it its hard scales. This attack, though, made it very mad. It stepped forward and thrust its sharp tail at Anzu. She screamed, but ran forward and crawled under the dragon, dodging the attack. The dragon stupidly looked around in confusion. The hobbits all gathered together, except for Anzu, and hid behind a stone column.

Jonouchi gripped his axe and threw it at the Cave Dragon. Once again, the blow bounced off. The dragon turned toward him and roared. It aimed its tail at him, but he dodged, and ran over to pick up his axe again. As he dodged, though, the tail hit Balin's tomb, destroying it. The dragon swung again, but Jonouchi ducked. A Selendrill got in the way and the tail hit it instead. Jonouchi straightened up, only to be thrust into the wall by another swing of the tail. He fell to the floor and looked up to see the dragon preparing for the finishing blow. But as the tail came down, two of Atem's arrows hit the dragon's face. Though the arrows bounced off, it became a large enough diversion for Jonouchi to run. As he did, the killed another Selendrill.

On the upper level of the room, Atem was there shooting many arrows. But as he did this, he realized that some Selendrills were coming up to join him. He made them believe that he did not notice them by ignoring their presence. But when they were a foot away and about to strike, he drew a mid-length sword from his belt and thrust it into a Selendrill. As he pulled his hand back, his elbow hit another Selendrill from behind, knocking him out. He cut his sword into that one, and then one more. Then he saw the Cave Dragon swing its long tail in his direction. He ducked quickly, then stood up. 'How can I get rid of this thing?' He asked himself. The dragon struck again, making Atem fall to his stomach. Rocks tumbled down from the blow of the tail and Atem had to roll over to dodge those, too. Again and again, he dodged as the Cave Dragon struck.

But then, the dragon's tail got stuck between two stone columns. Atem used the tail as a bridge to climb onto the dragon's back. The dragon roared in protest as he did so. He walked right to the back of the dragon's head, where its short neck was and drew his bow. He released an arrow and finally the arrow struck soft skin. The arrow's tip thrust through the dragon's skin. The Cave Dragon roared in pain. However, Atem had to jump off of the dragon (regrettably, for he was about to make the finishing blow) because of an attacking Selendrill.

Anzu had dropped her sword in the process of battle and had had to find a new weapon. She quickly reached behind her to her bags on her back and pulled out a frying pan. She smiled and smashed it against an oncoming Selendrill's face. Her blow had thrown the Selendrill's face backward, breaking its neck and killing it. She turned around and did the same thing to another Selendrill. As the second dropped, she gapped at her newly found weapon.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" She said to herself and banged another Selendrill.

Yugi, Hiroto, and Otogi left their hiding place behind the pillar and ran around the edges of the room. But, the Cave Dragon (who still had the arrows in its neck) saw them. It walked forward and started to take aim with its tail. Hiroto screamed as he saw it. Just as the tail came down, they all jumped out of the way. Otogi and Hiroto went to one side, and Yugi hid behind another pillar. Seto, who was also on the upper level of the room, saw this happen. He quickly drove his sword into a Selendrill's upper thigh, and then jumped down to help them.

Yugi ran around the corner of the pillar as the Cave Dragon looked around it. When the dragon didn't see him, he pulled back and proceeded to look on the other side, where Yugi was. Yugi pulled around the corner again and went to the other side as the Cave Dragon looked at where he had just been.

While trying to run to Yugi's aid, Seto became locked into a battle with more Selendrills. He tried to cut off their heads, but all three of them blocked. When he saw that it wasn't working, he punched the Selendrill in the face as hard as he could. The enemy was knocked out. Seto plunged his sword into its stomach, and then spun around to do the same to the other three.

The Cave Dragon was pulling back again to look for Yugi on the other side. Yugi hid once again, but could tell by the dragon's growl that it was getting very annoyed. It pulled back and Yugi moved forward, looking ahead of himself to see if the Cave Dragon would look that way. When it didn't, Yugi let out a sigh of relief. The dragon had gone.

The only problem was, it hadn't.

The dragon quickly came around the corner behind Yugi and roared very loudly. Yugi jumped back, startled. The scare made Yugi drop to the floor, which happened to be a corner. The dragon reached its head out and grabbed his angle with its mouth. Yugi squirmed in protest, trying to swing his sword at the mouth. He could feel its tongue on his foot. The Cave Dragon started to drag him back. As he was dragged, Yugi tried to grab onto anything that he could hold on to, but there was nothing around.

"Help! Help!" He cried as he was dragged. The dragon was starting to raise its tail. Yugi swung his sword and cut the snout of the beast. It let go of Yugi with a snarl. Yugi scooted back as hard as he could.

Then he heard someone yell. Suddenly, Seto jumped in front of him, sword in one hand and a spear in the other. The spear, strangely, had the head of a Selendrill stuck on it. The dragon lifted itself on its hind legs and prepared to smash them. But, it had revealed its soft underbelly, and became very vulnerable. Seto realized this, and lunged the spear into its soft skin. The cry of pain it emitted only made him push the spear farther in.

Hiroto and Otogi also tried to help Yugi. They picked up some heavy rocks and started to throw them at the dragon. The dragon's skin blocked them, though. The Cave Dragon swung its body sideways very hard, throwing Seto against the wall. Yugi tried to run over to his aid, but the dragon had already pulled the spear out of its body and was attacking again. Yugi dodged and dodged, but his energy was running out. Soon, he was cornered, and Yugi thought he saw the dragon sneer.

The Cave Dragon shoved its tail's sharp tip into Yugi's ribcage.

Yugi cried out in pain. The blow hurt unbearably. Seeing Yugi was hurt, the dragon only drove its tail in harder. Soon, after emitting much saliva, Yugi's body went limp. Mahado heard the loud, suffering cry and turned to Yugi. He couldn't believe what he saw. Hiroto and Otogi also saw it and they, too, were astonished and grief-stricken. Anzu was the one, though, that was hurt most of all.

"YUGI!" She cried and tried to run over to him. She was blocked, though, by more Selendrills. She swung her frying pan with all the strength she could muster, knowing that Yugi's life was on the line.

Seeing Yugi's body go limp, Hiroto and Otogi yelled in pain, as well, and jumped onto the dragon's back, trying all they could to shove their swords into the dragon's rock-hard scales. It was all in vain, though.

Mahado also tried his hardest to get to Yugi, but was blocked, as well. As Mahado looked at Yugi while fighting, he could see his muscles start to relax and his eyes start to close, the dragon's tail pulling out of him. Yugi fell to the floor and didn't move after that.

Now, all of the Selendrills were dead, and the Cave Dragon was the only remaining enemy. It was also the most despised. All of the Fellowship were fighting it with all of their strength. The only one who had not moved after Yugi's hit was Atem. When he had seen Yugi drop to the floor, he had felt as if a part of him had fallen, as well. He could do nothing more than stand and stare at Yugi's limp body. This new rage in him burned like a small fire. All he wanted to do now was to kill the Cave Dragon, even if it took him with it.

The rage inside him soon became hard to control. Taking one last, long look at his "twin", Atem jumped down from the second level of the room and confronted the dragon locked in battle with the others. His pendant around his neck began to glow, and a strange eye appeared on his forehead. His eyes burned into the Cave Dragon's, the longing to kill in them. The other Fellowship members noticed his sudden appearance, and they all understood what was happening. All of them backed off, allowing Atem to take a full blow. The Cave Dragon turned to Atem.

Atem's power was soon too much to control, and he had to release it. A barrier of gold light surrounded him as he screamed out. The light grew stronger, making the dragon look away. When the light dimmed, the dragon looked back to find a large soldier standing in front of him.

"How dare you hurt Yugi!" Atem growled as he looked at his Ka, "How dare you kill him!" The soldier in front of him was covered in black and gold armor. The man was very tall. His long, red hair was tied up and it stuck through a hole in his helmet. In his hand was a long, curved sword. The soldier yelled a terrifying battle cry. "Now, Black Luster Soldier," Atem yelled, "Vanquish this beast into the abyss!"

The Black Luster Soldier swung its sword in the air, and then leaped at the Cave Dragon. The dragon blocked the blow with its tail. Atem's Ka struck again, and the dragon blocked again. Soon, the two monsters were locked in a ferocious battle. But, after all of the wounds the dragon had, it was very weak. It did not take long for the Black Luster Soldier to jump up onto its back. Giving out another loud cry, the Ka plunged its glowing sword into the dragon's neck. With one swift motion, and a painful cry from the dragon, the Black Luster Soldier cut off the Cave Dragon's head. The dragon's body twitched for a moment, and then everything went still.

Atem, still burning with anger, nodded at his Ka. He knew the Black Luster Soldier quite well, but this was the first time that he had been able to willingly summon him. The Ka nodded back, and then disappeared in the sunlight. All of them then ran over to Yugi, Atem receiving some congratulations on the way. All of them stood around Yugi, but not daring to go near him. Mahado leaned against a pillar in exhaustion, and Anzu stood the closest, crying with her hand over her mouth. But Seto, who had regained consciousness, slowly limped forward. He leaned down and turned Yugi onto his back.

Yugi gagged for air as he was turned. Everyone gasped when they saw the Yugi was alive, yet weak. Anzu shrieked and ran over to Yugi's side.

"Yugi . . . H-he's alive," She whispered. Yugi stared up at her and smiled weakly. Mahado sighed in obvious relief. Yugi sat up and leaned against the wall. He slowly looked around at everyone, panting.

"I'm alright . . . I-I'm not hurt," He told them all.

"You should be dead," Seto murmured. He was astonished that Yugi was alive. Then he smirked as he understood. "There's more to you, Yugi, than at first sight, isn't there?" He asked. Yugi nodded and revealed the Neethrill armor under his shirt.

"Neethrill . . ." Jonouchi murmured in surprise, "Man, you had me worried there, Yug! You sure are full of surprises!" Yugi laughed weakly.

But his smile quickly faded as they heard more drums and more screeching in the distance of Moria.

Yet another midnighter! So, what did you think? I hope you all got Cave Dragon's appearance. I'm copying it off of the card. R&R, but no flames please?