Darkness Swallowing Light

Author: GundamNymph

E-mail: GundamNymph@Hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13 to R

Pairing(s): EllenxLegolas BonniexDamon(I can't help myself! I ALWAYS have to sneak them in)

Summary: Darkness CAN overpower light, and sometimes, even a Slayer runs in fear. Side story one-shot to Moon Rune. Based on a dream. Have NO idea WHERE the Balrog came from. The one in my dream was a cross between Moria's Blarog, and that guy from Legend. TOTALLY freaky. Scared the p*** out of me in the dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GN: *face is white*

Legolas: *peers down at cationic author* Are you okay?

GN: *shakes her head vigorously*

Legolas: *curious* What's wrong?

GN: *wide violet eyes turn to him and begins to whisper* I.

Legolas: *leans forward* You.What?

GN: *reaches out with lightning speed and glomps startled elf*

Legolas: Gah! *face slowly turns blue*

Ellen: *sighes* What's wrong with her NOW?! *glares with envy as author continues to glomp HER elf*

GN: *sniffles*

Ellen: *worried* Legolas?

Legolas: *having difficulty breathing, even for an elf* Help?

Ellen: *pulls elf from author's death grip*

Legolas: *pants as he tries to breathe normally*

Celia: What's going on?

Ellen: GundamNymph had a nightmare.

Celia: *raises eyebrow*

Ellen: *shrugs* I'm guessing as soon as she feels better she's going to use it as an outline for a story.

Celia: *glares* What KIND of story?

Ellen: *hides behind the still sputtering elf* Er, um, I believe it's a one- shot between Legolas and I.

Celia: *is livid* AGAIN?! When am I going to get a man?!

GN: *transfigures elf into kitty and starts to cling to him again*

Ellen and Celia: *both turn to GN with burning anger*

Ellen: Leave the elf ALONE!!!! He has enough problems with the other fangirls already!

Celia: When am I getting my own one-shot?!

GN: *runs and hides*

LegolasKitty: *purrs*

Celia: *sighes* So.

Ellen: So?

Celia: *raises eyebrow* You're actually having Prince Charming saving you in this one?

Ellen: *blushes angrily*

Celia: That'll be a first in a long while.

Ellen: *glares* It's JUST this once!

Celia: *looks at her nails* As I recall, there WAS that Spider incident.

Ellen: *sputters* Wha?! How did YOU find out!? And besides, I was fine on my own!

Celia: Ri~ght. I heard that if it wasn't for elf-boy, you would have been spider food.

Ellen: *mutters angrily* Herdare and that big mouth of his.

Celia: *amused*

Ellen: *seethes* As I RECALL, you aren't too impressed with spiders EITHER!

Celia: *doesn't answer as the brunette continues to rant*

(A/N: Yes, there IS another one-shot I'm working on that has this scene. Usually, being the non-violent and cowardly person I am, I write Ellen and the others as taking on those traits. Being violent and brave, I mean (how many of YOU would fight demons and vampires? TRUTHFULLY!). I uh, decided, to make them vulnerable in a few of these side stories. After all, Slayers are Human too.)

Current music: None, unless a barking dog counts. *eyes dog out the window* Poor doggie. Poor Sadie, Lady or whatever that dog's name is. **************************************************

Ellen ran, Damon and Celia on either side of her. How had this happened again? Oh, yeah. Pippin. Fear ran through her veins and her heart throbbed as they continued to run, the Balrog yards away on their heels.

Ellen glimpsed Legolas ahead, holding Pippin, who was unable to run fast enough. She yelled ahead to him, bile rising in her stomach as the dark continued to press on her. Suffocate her.

"How the HELL did Glorfindel do this?!!!!!"

China blue eyes turned to look back at her, as she added a new burst of speed to catch up with him.

"I am not sure! I think they both just fell off a cliff to their doom!"

Ellen somehow managed to roll her eyes. The elf managed a grim smirk, before it fell from his face as the Balrog snarled again.

Her lungs were beginning to burn already. Almost pushing herself to the limits, she caught up with Gandalf and Aragorn, who were yelling with Bonnie on what to do. The redhead held Frodo, whose dirty face was white with fear.

"What are we going to do?!"

Gandalf looked ahead as he responded. "There's another set of stairs ahead, if we can get to them, we can find a way to throw him off. It's the only chance we have!"

"In other words, we're trying for a repeat of the LAST time you died!?!!!!!" Bonnie yelled, not the least bit happy as she remembered what she read in the book Ellen lent her.

Gandalf didn't answer, and Aragorn and Bonnie shared a look with Ellen.

Bonnie stared back at Aragorn, who stumbled slightly as the Balrog started roaring again.

"What are these stairs like?!!"

The human yelled back at her. "I don't know! The last time we ran through Moria like this, we went a different route!! Gandalf!!?"

"The stairs are made of stone, but are crumbling with age and neglect!! They are wider then the others we ran down, but they shouldn't hold under the beast's weight! We just have to stay ahead of him, and age will take care of the rest!!!"

Ellen voiced their fears. "And what if it DOESN'T come through for us!!?"

She did NOT like Gandalf's expression. "Unless you can use those new powers of yours, Lady Ellen, we will run for three more hours before we reach outside!! And even if we make it outside, the Balrog should be able to follow us, and thus lead to the ruin of the outside world!!!!"

Ellen ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "DAMNIT!!!" She nearly choked when the Balrog roared again. Shit, she could feel tears coming. Bonnie, Celia and Devon weren't having this problem, and Devon was younger than her.

In the dim lighting that the Balrog and Gandalf's staff provided them, she glared at the rings on her fingers. Turning her hands over as she continued to run with aching speed, she noticed the icy green stones were now black with shining silver swirls.

Well, THAT couldn't be a good sign. She concentrated on the rings, trying to form a sword. Nadda. She felt herself slow to the point where she fell behind Ce and Damon. A sudden, TOO close, roar shook her bones and she let out a fearful yelp.

Fathomless eyes turned to regard her with worry. She ignored Damon's look, and pushed herself forward again. How was it they were still standing? Forget running, they had been doing that since they entered a deep mine shaft filled with Mithril laden carts. TWO hours of Hide, Seek and Run!! They shouldn't even have strength left to walk.

Ellen chalked it up to adrenaline.

She watched as Gandalf and Boromir began to disappear into an abyss ahead. Aragorn followed with Bonnie and Frodo behind him. As she neared the edge, she realized that they must have reached the staircase. Gimli and Herdare followed, the elf holding a petrified Sam.

A petite Devon with Merry on her back followed next, only slightly stumbling as she nearly missed the first step. Legolas steadied the black girl as he began to descend, shooting a worried glance back over his shoulder.

Ellen practically shoved Celia forward with Pippin, as the Balrog's hell whip snapped at her heels. The tiny Hobbit let out a squeaky shriek, clutching at the raven haired woman's throat. Damon slowed, as if to let Ellen pass before him, but she just pushed the vampire forward, panic beginning to seize her throat again.

The snap of the whip came close to her again as she started running down old stone. A small explosion occurred near her legs, and she went down.

She let out a scream as she flew down the stairs, tumbling over Damon and Celia. The weightlessness of her fall caused her stomach to clench, and she scrambled for any kind of hold as she tumbled toward Legolas and the edge, tearing skin and nail. Several of the Fellowship turned back at her blood curdling scream, in time to witness her fall.

Bonnie stepped forward, eyes glowing even as she yelled. "ELLEN!" But none of her powers could do anything. Her Element of Fire would only injure her, or fuel the Balrog.

Celia stumbled downwards, one hand out as the other clutched Pippin. Legolas, Herdare and Damon watched as a gale of wind slowed Ellen down just enough for Legolas to grab her as she went over. The elf grasped Ellen's wrist, and with a tug, pulled her back up, and against him.

She gasped, and nearly fell over, as she started to shake. The stairs shook with her, and she turned to see the Balrog gingerly trying out the stairs. Remembering what Gandalf had said, she tugged at Legolas, trying to get her rubbery legs to work.

"RUN!!!!!!! The stairs could collapse!!!!"

The elf started down the stairs again, this time holding her hand and pulling her along. A warmth filled her, making the damp bone chilling cold of the mine a memory away. Bloody wonderful elves and their magic. She could fall in love with Legolas.all over again.

They were nearing the bottom of the stairs, and a rotting door came into view, but still, the demonic THING chasing them had yet to fall through the aged stone. Maybe it was on a diet? After years of having no prey other than a lone orc or two, it's stomach must have shrunken.

She heard Pippin cry out again and turned to see Celia clutching her side in pain as Damon took Pippin from her. She looked as the Balrog retracted his whip, and start to raise it again. Cold swept through her.

"CELIA!!!!!!"

Damon picked her and Pippin up in a flash, and jumped out of the way as the fiery weapon came crashing down. Even the vampire was panting as he ran past them, Celia yelling at him to put her down, otherwise Bonnie was going to send them to an early grave. Bonnie could be rather feisty on the subject of the elder Salvatore brother.

Legolas was practically holding her as they ran (fell was more like it) down the rest of the way. The others except for Damon and his burden were already through, when she fell again. Damn, this was getting bad. And highly annoying.

She felt Legolas begin to help her up when the demon advanced on them.

She couldn't move. Being a Slayer allowed her to adjust her fear settings when it came to fighting evil. But she grew up in a household where only one thing was truly feared: the Devil. And now, remembering her Catholic mother, she stared up at a beast that looked WAY too much like the Devil himself.

She let out a terrified squeak, as it came closer, amber eyes glowing with anger and bloodlust. Blood was draining from her face, and she sat there, shaking in terror.

"Ellen?!"

She heard Legolas calling her name in worry, but she could only stare.

She also knew that if she stayed there, she would die. But she STILL couldn't move. It was as if her body had given up, her brain was numb, and she could feel the cold freezing the tears on her face.

When did she start crying? She had no idea.

"ELLEN! We have to GO!"

She felt Legolas beginning to pick her up, when the beast roared again and let his whip fall. Ellen barely managed to let out a cry, as the whip hit her at the same time Legolas pulled her away.

More hot tears fell, freezing by the time they met her nose. There was a burning sharp pain at her waist. She had suffered worst, but she knew that if Legolas hadn't picked up her deadweight and moved it out of the way, she would have been split in half.

The beast roared again, and she could feel the vibrations run through her. It reminded her of a particularly loud heavy metal concert.

The whip flew again, and as she watched with fear blanked eyes, it wrapped around the blond elf, and he was tugged forward.

"Legolas?"

The confused and dazed whimper came as the elf was suddenly in the beasts grip, crying out with pain. She almost didn't hear the whimper, and vaguely wondered where it came from.

"LEGOLAS!!!"

Was that her? No, it couldn't be. She was still frozen with fear, watching every move that the beast made.

Another bloodcurdling, "LEGOLAS!!!!!!!!!" The elf started to scream as the beasts fiery grip slowly began to crush him to death with satisfaction.

She blinked. Her throat felt sore and raw. Maybe she WAS screaming his name.

Damn it all. WHY couldn't she MOVE. She was a SLAYER. Slayers don't cower with fear.

"Ellen!?" It was Devon.

The black haired imp was at her side, watching the Balrog play with the Prince, her violet-blue eyes widening.

"Shit! Ellen, we got to MOVE." A rough tugging at her arm, but it was like she was glued to the ground.

Using her Slayer strength, Devon forced the shaking brunette on her feet.

"We have to MOVE NOW!!"

And then she was aware that Devon was pulling her towards the wooden door. A rotting door. Hey. Where was Merry? Wasn't she suppose to be holding the Hobbit? Where was Legolas? He was helping her. Ah, wait. He was still behind them.

She turned back to see the elf still struggling in vain. This time, she was aware of her screaming.

"LEGOLAS!!!"

She started up the stairs, but stopped as fear once again overtook her. This was getting dumb. And weak. She was sick of feeling this gut wrenching fear, and of the now helplessness she SHOULDN'T be feeling. Because she was a Slayer. Slayer's were suppose to save the innocent. Like the elf in front of her getting killed. Like the elf in front of her.

By pure will she forced herself to climb a little further, and not run, with Devon trying to pull her back.

"We can't help him!! We need to LEAVE!"

Devon got an elbow to her face as Ellen's arms swung around for balance as she continued to climb.

The elf was starting to glow. Both Devon and Ellen stared dumbly as the Balrog dropped the elf, and forgetting where it was, took a step back. A step back, onto nothing. The beast fell like a boulder out of an airplane, gaining speed as it fell.

Legolas lay, panting on the stone, grasping for a finger-hold to keep him from falling. Devon rushed forward, Ellen on her heels, heart pounding. Between two Slayers, pulling up the elf was simple. Ellen half sat, half lay there, clutching the tired elf. He was still shimmering faintly.

Devon stared wide eyed, as a few of the others came to investigate the lack of Balrog Noise.

"How the BLOODY hell did you do that?!"

China blue eyes blinked at her wearily, confused. "Wha?"

The impish Slayer waved her arms about as Damon and Bonnie ventured back onto the staircase.

"That, glowing, thing?"

The elf frowned, as the brown eyed Slayer continued to stroke his hair, and tuck it behind his pointed ear.

"What glowing thing?"

Legolas looked at the questioning Bonnie.

"That's something I would like to know, Lady Bonnie."

Devon growled, frustrated, yanking back one of her curls. She pointed a finger at the Elven Prince, stomping her foot as she turned to Bonnie and Damon.

"He was GLOWING. He just started to glow, out of NOWHERE. It startled the demon, it dropped him, and the demon fell over."

Bonnie's brown eyes widened, as Damon gave Legolas the once over. The raven haired vampire turned to Devon.

"How did he glow?"

"Huh?"

Damon raised a perfect arrogant eyebrow at her. "HOW did he GLOW? What was it LIKE?"

Devon blinked, looking at the couple on the floor as Legolas began to sit up.

"He was glowing, like Ellen did that time. Only, I think there was a hint of color. I'm not sure which, though."

Bonnie eyed Damon, curious, but didn't ask him what he was scheming.

She blinked, startled, as she turned back to Ellen with worry. How was it that they could see? They had to be at least a mile below the surface, the Balrog had fallen into an inky darkness, and Gandalf wasn't there. She focused tea brown eyes on Ellen, who was staring at her hands bitterly.

A tear stained face rose to look at her, a bitter grin on Ellen's face.

"NOW they work."

Ellen's palms were turned up, the gem on her rings glowing softly, but brilliant at the same time. They were no longer the leafy green Bonnie remembered, but a blue white.

"They weren't working before?"

"No."

Ellen sniffed, ducking her head.

Legolas looked at her with concern, cupping her face. Bonnie tugged on Damon's borrowed black tunic, and he followed her back through the door.

Once they entered, he turned to her.

"I wanted to give them," She started.

"A few moments together?" A flash of white teeth in the dark.

She nodded, feeling intimidated by him again. LORD! She thought she was OVER this. Why was he still able to make her heart jump, blood rush and hands clammy?

"Fine by me, cara. She needs it."

Bonnie stared across at a wall as Devon slowly made her way to them.

"What do you think caused it?"

"Her fear?"

Bonnie nodded, knowing that his eyes could see her.

Damon sighed speculatively. "She has demonstrated a power that she didn't really hold back home. She has the power of Light now. I think that the Dark of Moria was too stifling for her. It nearly swallowed her. And when that demon showed up."

Bonnie nodded, Devon sweeping past them, giving them both a smirk and a wink.

"It freaked her out."

"Yes."

There was silence, as she watched Legolas caress Ellen's face, whispering to her. The younger Slayer was clearly humiliated and depressed.

"Will she be okay?"

Damon eyed the pair, as the elf engulfed her in his arms, nuzzling her cheek. He grinned evilly, as Ellen blushed.

"Oh, I think they'll be just FINE."

Seconds later, the elf was kissing the brunette. Damon smiled openly as the girl went still with surprise before melting into the kiss. A faint shimmer of silver enveloped them, showing the world their connection from being soulmates.

He turned to the concerned redhead, and fingered one of her long wavy locks.

"And what about me?" He asked, teasingly.

The woman started, turning to him, breath catching.

"What?!" She squeaked.

He smiled again. "What about me? I've been on my best behavior."

"So?" She was ignoring where he was trying to go with this.

Long fingers burrowed in her hair, and she turned to tell him off with what strength she had left, when he kissed her. Lips cool as silk brushed against her, begging for entrance. She granted it, not able to resist his charm. Damn vampire. She moaned, as Damon's mouth found her chin and started placing kisses down her throat, fangs gently grazing he skin.

"Bonnie?!"

The redhead pulled away, feeling guilt pool in her. Ellen stood in the doorway, the elf helping her injured body along, blushing as bright as Bonnie was sure she was now.

The brunette eyed Damon, before smiling slyly at him. She winked at Bonnie.

"Legs and I are just going to catch up with the others. DO catch up with us soon, there ARE orcs still about."

Bonnie blinked, and then mock-glared. "YOU'RE in a good mood."

Ellen smiled for the first time since they entered Moria. "What can I say? I think Herdare's loud mouthed humor is rubbing off on his Prince." She giggled, as grinning Legolas led them out of the hallway.

Bonnie watched them leave, before eyeing Damon as if her were a dangerous animal. Which he was. The vampire slowly stalked toward her, grinning like a wolf about to pounce.

"You two coming or what?"

Bonnie 'eep'ed and ran past a grinning Devon to join the others.

The blue-eyed Slayer eyed the vampire.

"Almost had her, Damie."

He sent her a black look, before walking past her with a graceful, but pained indigence.

She rolled her eyes, and laughed. Those Salvatore brothers were TOO uptight. HOW did Bonnie and Elena handle them?

(A/N: Yes, we have a glimpse of Devon in this one-shot!. This will NOT be happening in the main story. This is just a simple side story based on a nightmare I had a few hours ago. It was hard to remember the type of fear I felt, because I had to watch my Rurouni Kenshin right after I woke up. Needless to say, I was in a cheerful mood right after, and forgot my motivation. Hopefully, it didn't suck.

GN: *wonders when her Kenshin plushie will be ready*

Celia: You should have SEEN her when she woke up. Clutching her Trowa plushie and her little dog, too.

GN: *glares* Shut up, or you WON'T get a boyfriend.

Celia: *sends her a look, but shuts up*

GN: Now, who WOULD look good with loud mouth here? Frodo is WAY out of there. Already tried him, didn't work.

Celia: *jade eyes narrow*

Ellen: *pets the rescued Legolas Kitty*

LK: *purrs and rubs against her hand*

GN: Let me know what you think in a review. About Ce, AND the story.