The Fellowship ran out the chamber into the hall of pillars they saw earlier as they were closelly pursued by an army of Orcs. The filthy Creatures sprang out from the floor or crawl, like spiders, from the ceiling and down the pillars before surrounding the Fellowship who have drawn their weapons ( or claws in the Lions' case) outward in a circle.
Kopa and Vitani , who were standing side by side, snarled at the nearest Orcs who stepped back with a screech of terrors while some kept snarling and leering to the group. Then silence. But almost immediately, a low but still loud growl was heard which caught the attention of everyone , including Orcs. Suddenly, a fiery light appeared at the end of a hall soon followed by a thunderous rumble. The Orcs strangely became frantic as they flee in all directions which caused Gimli to laugh as he thought they were scared of them.
Kopa and Vitani seemed relieved to not have to deal with those hateful creatures anymore but they were wondering what scared them so much. Vitani then saw Gandalf staring down at the hall where the light was. Soon another growl was heard and Legolas aimed his bow at whatever was coming. " What is this new devilry? " Boromir asked the Grey Wizard who didn't respond as he closed his eyes.
Everyone staid silent as they looked down the hall at the light which seemed to be moving in their direction. The growl was heard again as Gandalf re-opened his eyes with a grim expression on his face. " A Balrog...a demon of the ancient world..." The Wizard began to say as the Thing growled while still hiding around a corner of the vast hall, throwing fiery light on the pillars. Legolas' eyes showed nothing but fear. Kopa and Vitani briefly glanced at each other after noticing this.
" This foe is beyond any of you… Run!" Gandalf ordered loudly as he turned around and ran. The others staid shocked for a second but they quickly followed the Wizard as they ran to a small doorway " Quickly !" Gandalf inquired loudly as he and Aragorn stop at the doorway to make sure that everyone got through it before following after.
The Fellowship entered a passageway and went down a flight of steps. The flight ended in a missing segment, and Boromir, who was now the lead, nearly fell but thankfully , Legolas was there to pull him back to safety. Everyone else arrived behind them and stoppe dead in their tracks when they saw the abyss and missing stairs.
"Gandalf !" Aragorn said to a a weary Wizard as the old Man leaned against a wall . Gandalf looked at him before putting a hand on his left shoulder " Lead them on, Aragorn! The bridge is near!" They looked across a wide space to a long bridge spanning the gap between a hall and a cliff face. Away behind them, the Balrog roared again and Aragorn moved towards Gandalf, but the Grey Wizard pushed Isildur's heir roughly away from him " Do as I say!"
Aragorn looked at Gandalf with confusion clear on his face " Swords are no more use here !" The Grey Wizard inquired as the Balrog roared again. After that, the Fellowship descended a flight of massive stairs before encountering a gap in the stairs. Kopa and Vitani jumped first , quickly followed by Legolas.
But then, as the Balrog rumbled again, its fire was seen in the doorway as it seemed to be trying to break through it. Because of this, Foundations splintered and crumbled , sending huge rocks tumbling into the depths. "Gandalf !" Legolas called out for the Wizard who leaped above the gap before being caught by the Blond Elf.
Suddenly, as if it wasn't enough, Arrows whistled into the air from a far ledge, striking the stone steps. Everyone looked up to see Archer Goblins on far off ledges ,firing arrows at them. Legolas shot back and his arrow rose through the air and pierced the skull of an Archer Orc who tumbled down from his ledge , with a screech toward the abyss.
"Merry ! Pippin !" Boromir yelled as he grabbed the two before jumping forward just as the ground beneath them but ,thankfully, they made it to the other side where Legolas , Kopa and Vitani helped them. An exchange of arrows follow from the stairs to the ledges as the Archers from both sides fired to each other.
"Sam !" Aragorn called the gardener as he putted his bow away before grabbing the Hobbit and tossing him toward Boromir who caught him in the air. Then Isildur's heir turned around to face Gimli who held up his hand " Nobody tosses a Dwarf !" he stated before swinging his arms back and jumping forward with a cry. Sadly, the Red-Barbed Dwarf barely landed on the edge of the stairs and was about to fall backwards when Legolas reached him up with his extended arm , grabbing his barb " Not the beard! "
Kopa would have laughed of this remark if they were in another situation. Some of the stone steps crumbled and fell. As fast as wind, Aragorn pushed Frodo to safety as they climbed to their feet before looking at the now widened gap that separates them from the rest of the Fellowship. ""Steady... Hold on!" Aragorn said to the Ring-Bearer when a roar from the Balrog caused everyone to look at the doorway to see cracks forming on the ceiling and walls.
Because of this , more rocks broke off and fell, and one of them ( a huge chunk) destroyed the steps far behind the two. This weakened the foundation even more as the stair was now beginning to wobble a bit. " Hang on! Lean forward !" Aragorn said to Frodo who did what he was ordered to. Kopa and Vitani were watching with wide concerned eyes as they looked helplessly at their companions. The two shifted their weight forward, tipping the stairs across the divide and slamming them onto the steps where their companions were.
Aragorn and Frodo launched forward as the stairs impact into the other side. Legolas caught Aragorn while Boromir caught the Ring-Bearer. "Ouf that was close..." Vitani said with a deep sigh on relief "Yes but we aren't safe yet ! Come on !" Gandalf said as the Wizard led the Fellowship down the stairs as the stone structures collapsed behind them.
Eventually, they arrived at a hall and turned their heads to see the Bridge of Khazad-Dum ahead of them. Suddenly, a wall of flame whirled behind them. " Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf inquired loudly to his comrades. The Fellowship ran away but Gandalf didn't and instead stood there , watching the wall of fire. Vitani and Kopa stopped in their tracks before turning their heads to look at the Wizard. They were about to ask him what he was doing when they saw something terrifying.
A great form of black shadow leaped through the flames, its eyes of white fire, great ash-black horns curling around a bull-like head. It opened its maw, rippling heat pouring out of it with a rumble. The Lions' eyes widened in horror at the Large Creature and the two ran away when Gandalf turned around to follow the rest of the Fellowship.
The Balrog walked right after them as a constant stream of shadow-like fog , which came from its wings, formed a trail at each step the large Beast took. One by one , the Fellowship crossed the narrow bridge until everyone made it across… all except one.
Gandalf had stopped half-way and was now facing the Balrog with a determined look on his face. The rest of the group noticed this and stopped running as they looked at the Grey Wizard with a shocked expression on their faces as they saw the Balrog stopped in its tracks. " You cannot pass!" Gandalf angrily declared and Frodo yelled out "Gandalf !"
"You fool what are you doing ?!" Vitani asked the Wizard with disbelief before Kopa added " The bridge is too narrow for this thing to follow us ! Come on !" Gandalf didn't respond nor looked at them as the Balrog straightened itself by spreading its arms out as shadows emitted from its body before suddenly erupting into fire with a loud cracking-like sound.
" I am the servant of the Secret Fire ! Wielder of the Flame of Anor…" Gandalf began to say as he raised his staff forward, creating shield of light in the process just as the Balrog created a Sword of Fire "The dark fire will not avail you! Flame of Udûn !" At those words, the Balrog strike down on Gandalf but in vain as the shield destroyed his sword. The Fire Beast stumbled back a bit as Gandalf's shield disappeared.
Aragorn and Kopa ran forward a bit but they stopped when they realized that they couldn't do anything at the moment. "Go back to the Shadow!" The Wizard said with his teeth clenched as the Balrog was recovering. In response, the large Beast took a step forward , which shocked both Lions as they thought it was impossible for the bridge to hold something that big, before brandishing a flaming whip and lashing it threateningly.
In response, Gandalf raised his sword and staff together into the air before yelling loudly " You...shall not...pass! " At the last word, the Grey Wizard drove his staff into the bridge, causing a bright flash of blue light to appear. The Beast waited to see if something will happen while Gandalf glared at his opponent. Seeing that nothing happened, the Balrog took a step forward onto the bridge to strike the Wizard with his whip but suddenly, the bridge collapsed from under it and broke before the wizard's staff. The demon plunged backward into the chasm, still wielding its glowing whip.
Gandalf, exhausted, leaned on his staff and watched the Balrog fall to his doom . He turned around to follow the others. Vitani and Kopa both sighed in relief at seeing their comrade alright and were about to congratulate him for this when Vitani shouted in alarm "WATCH OUT !"
Too late.
The flaming whip lashed up from the depths of the abyss and coiled around Gandalf's ankle, dragging him over the edge. The Wizard clinged onto the bridge but strained to keep his grip. Frodo rushed forward to help him but Boromir restrained the Hobbit " Gandalf !"
Kopa and Vitani wanted to rush on the bridge and help but they were stopped by Gandalf who yelled as he grasped on the edge "DON'T COME CLOSER !" those words stopped the Lions dead in theirs tracks. Then Gandalf stopped struggling and he looked at the others who stared at him with horror " Fly, you fools! " The Wizard said before letting go of the stone and falling into the chasm while spreading his arms as the light of the Balrog glimmered far below.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Frodo cried of pure sadness and pain as tears were starting to appear in his eyes while trying to break free from Boromir's grip as the Gondorian started to leave up a flight of stairs. Across the chasm, a army of Archers Orcs appeared. The Fellowship were still at risk...they had to leave… Soon everyone made their way out of the Mines except for Aragorn, Vitani and Kopa was were still standing there , looking at the place their comrade fell. "Aragorn!" Boromir yelled out by it seemed to act little on the shocked man.
"Kopa ! Vitani ! Come on !" Legolas's voice echoed after Boromir as the Elf called out for the two Lions who were just as shocked as Aragorn.
For a moment, none of the three moved until Orc arrows started whistling by once again. They finally snapped back into reality before following their comrades ,dodging the arrows. The three ran up the stairs to finally escape the Mines of Moria.
/
A long moment later, the Fellowship finally stepped out of the Mines to the open world on a snow covered rocky mountain. They had escaped the Mines of Moria...but at a great cost. None of them celebrated their victory and instead grieved for Gandalf's disappearance. Sam sat on the ground before placing his head onto his right hand as he cried in sadness and pain.
It was the same feeling everyone was wearing at the moment. Gimli vented his sadness out of rage as he wanted to go back in the mines and fight the Goblins but was held by Boromir who had a pained look on his face. Not too far from them, Merry was comforting Pippin who was laying sideway on the ground, crying. Legolas ,for his part, had a look of shock and disbelief by what what happened but we could see the pain in his eyes.
Vitani and Kopa were sitting on the ground, comforting each other as they both had tears in their eyes. They felt like they failed to protect Gandalf. They felt useless at the moment. Kopa was thinking about how to announce his father that his friend was no more… Simba would be devastated to learn this… The King of Pridelands had already lost Timon and Pumbaa but now losing Gandalf ?
However, his thoughts were interrupted by Aragorn's voice " Legolas, get them up !" The Blond Elf hesitated at first but soon, made his may toward Merry and Pippin. "Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir retorted in anger "Yes ! How could you act so calmly after what we just witnessed ?!" Vitani yelled out in equal anger.
Kopa saw the look in Aragorn and knew that Isildur's heir was as sad as them " By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs!" Aragorn inquired in response which silenced both Boromir and Vitani. The Lioness wanted to say something , so does Kopa , but the two Lions knew the Man was right. They needed to get out off here fast before being swarmed by Orcs. They didn't wanted to see someone else dying.
" We must reach the woods of Lothlórien. Come, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up !" Aragorn ordered as he re-sheathed his sword. As Isildur's heir called out for a broken Frodo, Kopa and Vitani looked at each other with sadness before slowly getting up as the Fellowship made their way toward the Elvish Wood known as Lothlórien.
But suddenly, Kopa and Vitani stopped dead in their tracks before looking at each other. Their comrades , who noticed they weren't following , turned their heads to look at them. " Kopa ! Vitani ! Come one we must go !" Aragorn inquired the two Lions who became stern all of a sudden "There is something we must do first…"The Brown Maned Lion began to say before his Mate added "When someone died, we Lions had to roar so their spirits could join their family in the Afterlife..."
The rest of the Fellowship looked at them with a stunned expression on their faces but they understood. Kopa and Vitani, then looked up at the sky before opening their mouths to let out a loud and powerful roar which echoed in the air.
But this roar , noticed the group, sounded different that the precedent ones those two used before. In fact, they could all detect the chagrin and sadness coming from it. When the Lions closed their mouths, they kept their eyes closed for a moment until they looked up at their comrades "We can go now..." Vitani said in a small voice before the entire group walked away in complete silent.
(To be continued…)