Chapter Two: Freaks, Weirdoes, and Related Stuff

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Hiei drew his katana. "This is all YOUR fault, Kuwabara. Your ignorance brought us here, and now I'm going to make you sorry!"

Kuwabara took a fighting stance. "Bring it on, stumpy!"

"WAIT!" cried Kurama and Yusuke in unison.

"What?!" snapped Hiei. "You can't possibly deny that this…this human was responsible for this!"

"No, but it's not going to help us get out of here if you try to kill each other," said Kurama.

Hiei scoffed. "It'll still make me feel a lot better," he said icily.

"Oh?! Like I said, bring it on!" snarled Kuwabara.

"Knock it off!" shouted Yusuke. "Please! We've got to get out of this goddamned place first! Then, you can throw down with each other, deal?!"

Hiei gave Yusuke a piercing stare, then put his blade away with a huff. "Fine."

"Yeah, consider yourself lucky, ya little-OW!!!" Yusuke bopped the taller boy upside the head.

"THAT was for dragging us into…um…wherever we are now. REAL smooth move, Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara scowled, rubbing his head where Yusuke had hit him. "How the hell was I supposed to know it was going to suck us in like that?! Botan told us to not try to go through it; she didn't mention anything about keeping our distance!"

"Nevertheless, Kuwabara, you should've known better," said Kurama.

Kuwabara's face turned beet red. "OKAY, I'M SORRY, GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!"

Yusuke chuckled. "Say it, don't spray it. Now that that's over, what's next…?"

"Well, we have only two options, really," said Kurama. "Stay here, or go for another walk in the woods."

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Hmm…" Yusuke looked up at the treetops. "Kuwabara, can you feel the rip anywhere?"

"…Nope. There IS something, though, but it's definitely not the rip."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "What kind of 'something'?"

Kuwabara closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute. "Spirit Energy…really weird Spirit Energy. Like it's coming from something that's not really human…but not a demon or a spirit, either. It's pretty strong, too."

Yusuke frowned. "Freaky…but if it's not a human, demon, or spirit, what the hell is it?"

Kurama nodded slowly. "It's fairly far away, but I feel it too. Quite unusual. And…there's something else. Much closer, and it's fast approaching."

Yusuke spun around. "What?!"

Kuwabara scowled. "He's right, Urameshi. Don't know why I didn't catch it before…"

Hiei drew his katana again. "Well, if they want a battle, I'm always up for it."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Hang on there, Hiei. We don't know who it is yet. It could just be some of whoever you guys were picking up before." As he finished his sentence, a group of creatures burst from the woods, snarling and shrieking.

Yusuke took a fighting stance. "Or…it could be a pack of hideous monsters that want to kill us…" The creatures were disgusting in appearance. They had oversized teeth, horribly discolored skin that was very hairy, and they were all carrying short blades or axes. A few had armored helmets on their heads and carried shields.

"Heh, this could be fun. SPIRIT…SWORD!!!" Kuwabara formed his signature yellow energy blade in his right hand.

Kurama chuckled. "It has been a bit too long. Rose Whip!" Kurama stood ready. "Who shall be the first?"

The monsters didn't pick. Instead, they all came charging at the Urameshi Team at once.

"Eat this!" Hiei slashed at the monsters that reached him faster than they could defend against. In seconds, three of them fell dead at the fire demon's feet. Another one leapt at him. Hiei scoffed, and moved just before it could strike. Then, the creature's back was pierced by the katana. "Hn. Weakling," said Hiei derisively as he yanked his blade free.

Yusuke ducked under an axe, and retaliated with a hard uppercut, sending his attacker flying backwards into two more of the creatures. "Asshole! Whoa!" Another one of them tried to stab him with its blade. Yusuke barely dodged the attack, then grabbed the monster's arm and knocked its weapon from its hand. He followed up with a hard elbow to the face, causing the creature's nose "bone" to be driven back into its brain.

"Ha! Bring it on, ya creeps!" Yusuke looked over, and saw Kurama surrounded by six or seven of them. "Kurama!"

The kitsune chuckled. "Don't worry, Yusuke. It's all under control." The monsters prepared to leap upon the red-haired demon. Before it happened, one of them actually spoke, to Kurama's surprise.

"In the name of the Dark Lord Sauron, DIE!!!" They all leapt forward at the same time. However, Kurama knew it was coming. With amazing agility, he did a high backflip out of the way of the creatures, causing them to crash into one another. Kurama couldn't help but chuckle softly at the sight as he landed.

"I don't think I'll be dying today, thank you. Rose Whiplash!!" His thorn-covered whip struck out at the creatures, causing lethal wounds to three. One of them tried to charge again, but Kurama's whip deftly removed the monster's weapon, not to mention its hand. Another strike ended its life.

Meanwhile, Kuwabara was facing off against a single opponent. It tried to do an overhand chop with the intent of splitting the boy's skull, but Kuwabara was prepared. He dodged backwards, and got set for his riposte.

"Take this, freak!!" Kuwabara's swing caught the creature right in the midsection, and killed it instantly. Another one approached from his left. "Ah! Buzz off!" He gave a wild swing that should have missed, but by pure dumb luck he managed to strike off the monster's head. Kuwabara panted a little. "Crap…that was too close for comfort!" He heard another screech. Three more were running at him, all in single file. Kuwabara smiled deviously at the sight.

"Running single file was a big mistake. Sword, GET LONG!" Kuwabara thrust out his weapon, and the blade extended rapidly, going through the chests of all three of them. Kuwabara laughed. "Three more for me!"

Yusuke saw it, and smiled. "Way to go, Kuwabara! Now, I'll finish this!" There were five left, and all of them were focused on Yusuke. The black-haired boy clenched his right fist, placing his left hand on his arm. Blue energy began to pulse between his closed fingers as the creatures leapt for him.

"Say good-bye! SHOTGUN!!!!!!!!" Yusuke fired the deadly spray blast at them, striking them all with rapid energy pulses. In mere seconds, they fell to the ground dead as doornails.

"Yes! Ha! Now that was a textbook battle!" said Yusuke with a boastful laugh. "Everybody okay?"

"Heh, I'm just fine, Urameshi," said Kuwabara.

"Hn," said Hiei, indicating that he was unharmed (though if he had been injured, he probably would've said it anyway).

"I'm doing quite well, Yusuke," said Kurama.

Yusuke ran a hand through his hair. "Damn…what the hell WERE these things, anyway?"

"I've never encountered monsters like these," said Hiei. "All I know is that they're weaklings."

"They're called 'orcs'," said Kurama. Everybody turned around.

"How do you know that?" said Yusuke with a raised eyebrow.

Kurama sighed. "One of them spoke to me, and mentioned a Dark Lord Sauron. That was how I knew. Have any of you ever read any of the Lord of the Rings book series?"

Yusuke sweatdropped. "Eh…nope."

"I never cared much for human literature," said Hiei.

"I've heard the name, but that's it," said Kuwabara.

Kurama nodded. "Well, somehow, someway, we've arrived in the world where it is set: Middle-earth. We're actually inside a book world."

Kuwabara's eyes bulged. "WHAT?! That's crazy talk!"

"I know it seems impossible, but that's the only explanation I have."

Yusuke sighed. "All right, so we're in a book. What's next?"

"I'd suggest we head in the direction of the Spirit Energy signatures we detected before the orcs attacked us. If I'm right, it's the best place to head."

"All righty. Let's get going." They walked off, towards the strange energy signatures.

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They walked onward for about half an hour. As they went, Kurama told them about the story.

"So, this ring was a source of power?" asked Yusuke.

"Yes, but it was pure evil. It corrupted everyone it came into contact with before it was destroyed."

Hiei chuckled. "Had this happened earlier, I probably would've tried to get my hands on that ring."

Kurama turned to him. "I wouldn't attempt such a thing," he warned. "One of the problems with the One Ring was that only one person could really use it; Sauron."

"Hn," was Hiei's reply.

They continued onward for some time. Eventually, they reached a break in the woods.

"Whoa…" said Yusuke. They were looking out at a town. It appeared to be set into the woods on the side of a hill. The place seemed to be glowing with life.

"Where…is this?" said Kuwabara.

Kurama chuckled. "If my memory serves me correctly, this…is the town of Rivendell."

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Author's Note: Apologies for taking so long. I was busy with schoolwork. Plus, I've been watching a few YYH episodes so I can refresh on their fighting styles.

Countess Wildcard: The reason for the info at the bottom of the last chapter was to give an impression of where the YYH characters are in terms of their fighting abilities. You also need not worry about the characters of either story; I intend to keep them all as close to how they're depicted. ^_^ As for the detail, I'm afraid it's one of my weakest points. I'll try to work on it, I promise. Thanks for the review. And I haven't gotten my hands on The Silmarillion yet.

Everyone Else: Thank you as well for your reviews.