Lord of the Dragonballs

by Riccy

Two Fellowships make their way across middle earth: The Fellowship of the Ring and the Fellowship of the balls. Both have very different tasks, but must join forces to defeat a common enemy.

6. Chapter6: The meeting in Moria

Chapter 6: The meeting in Moria

It had been almost a day since the Parting of the Fellowship of the balls and the deserted town, from where they had taken leave of each other, was as quiet as ever. The only sound that could be heard was the slamming of the tiny doors as the wind blew them open and then gain, seeming to grow impatient at the time the z-fighters were taking to complete their missions. The first team to arrive back was that of Goten and Trunks. They shot into the town faster than a speeding bullet and landed with grace and precision in the precise spot they had set off from earlier that day. They would have arrived sooner, but had gone to play with the trolls after finding the dragonball. It was fun to toy with inferior beings; especially as the trolls thought they had the height advantage. Eventually, they had passed out from exhaustion and frustration. This signalled that playtime was over and the two saiyans journeyed back. Of course they lost their way several times, but this only added an hour to their journey. Finally they were back at the meeting point and ironically, the first ones there. Trunks took the dragonball from his pocket and looked at it. "Where d'ya suppose the grown ups are?" he asked Goten.
"I don't know Trunks. Maybe they're still out looking for the dragonballs", replied his friend.
"Yeah, I guess so. Wanna play with the dragonball?"
"Okay".
They started throwing the ball back and forth to each other, catching it every time then moving further back and throwing it harder for a greater challenge.
"This is fun!" shouted Goten.
The game lasted through the night, which was remarkable considering their attention spans. Neither of them wondered where the grown-ups were again.

The next day, Goku and Piccolo arrived. They landed in the village and looked for the other members of the fellowship. Presently, Goten and Trunks walked slowly out from behind one of the small houses and approached them.
"Hey guys", said Goku. "How'd you get on? Did you find a dragonball?"
Goten had his head hung in shame. "You tell him Trunks", he said quietly to his friend.
"No, you tell him". Said Trunks. "He's your dad".
"Tell me what?" asked Goku.
Goten and Trunks jumped. They had not realised Goku had been listening.
"Um…err…." Muttered Goten. He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of a dragonball. Then he took another piece out, and then another. "We're sorry!" cried the two saiyans and burst into tears.
"What did you two do?" asked Piccolo sternly.
"We were playing with the dragonball then Trunks threw it too hard and I missed it and it flew into a wall and it smashed and I'm sorry daddy!" he took a breath and continued crying.
"It's all Goten's fault", said Trunks, arms crossed and an accusing look on his face.
Goku and Piccolo looked at each other, slightly confused. Finally Goku laughed.
"Haha. It's okay, really. I'll take the dragonball to Dende and he'll fix it for us", he said.
Goten stopped crying. "You mean dragonballs can be fixed?" he asked.
"Of course. I'll go now. Cheer up you two. I won't be long".
Goku put his fingers to his head and prepared himself for instant translocation.
"Wait!" shouted Goten and Trunks in unison. "Don't leave us with Pico…".
It was too late. He had gone. They looked at Piccolo and grinned. He was a scary man; especially when he was angry. Piccolo stared at them through narrow eyes.

Goku arrived at Dende's place. Dende looked round and noticed him. "Hey Goku", said the young namek. "What brings you here?"
"I have a dragonball for you to fix Dende. It kind of…um…broke", he scratched his head.
"Oh. That shouldn't be possible, but I guess when you're a saiyan…"
He took the ball and left the sentence unfinished.
"Yes, I can fix this Goku".
"Oh good!"
"It might take some time. Why don't you go through to Mr Popo? He's taking care of Yamcha and Videl at the moment".
"Yamcha and Videl? What are they doing here?"
"I think you should ask them that Goku. I have to get to work on this dragonball right away. If I leave it too long, it will be broken forever".
"Okay Dende. Thanks", said Goku, and went to find the others.
Yamcha and Videl were eating at a large table with Mr Popo who seemed to be watching them eat and talk. They all saw Goku and looked surprised.
"Hey guys", said Goku. He spotted the food and rushed to the table. Within in instant, he had eaten half the platter.
"Goku, what are you doing here?" asked Yamcha.
"Trunks and Goten (chomp)…broke (crunch) a dragonball. I came (burp)…here to (yum) get it fixed".
Videl gave a look of disgust at Goku's table manners.
"What are (chomp) you doing here?"
"Oh, Videl got hit by a poisoned arrow. She's okay now though; Dende healed her."
"Oh. That's nice", he said finishing off the remains of the food. "How are Gohan and Krillan doing?"
"We don't know", replied Yamcha. "We left them to find the dragonball after Videl was shot. We were attacked by some weird looking creatures, but I think they're okay".
Videl suddenly looked worried at the mention of Gohan. 'I hope he's okay', she thought to herself.
"Shall I bring you more food Goku?" asked Mr Popo in a soft voice.
"Sure Mr Popo. Looks like I might be here a while", replied the saiyan with a black hole for a stomach. Mr Popo turned and rolled his eyes as he went to fetch more food for Goku.

"Can we see your dragonball Piccolo?" asked Goten.
"Goku has it", replied the namek. "And even if I had it, I wouldn't trust you with it after what you did to yours".
"Where did you find yours?" asked Trunks, who had now joined them.
"In an elven forest called Lothlorien".
"What was it like?" asked Goten.
'It was perfect', thought Piccolo, but out loud he remained silent.
"Man, I wish we could have seen the elves", interrupted Trunks. "We got stuck with a stupid guy called Gollum".
Goten's eyes narrowed. "Shut up Trunks!" he shouted. "Gollum was great!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
'Goku, get back soon' thought Piccolo.
It was then that a blast of light came from the sky, followed closely by another. Piccolo stood on guard, but once he sensed the power, he was relieved; it was Gohan and Krillan. Trunks and Goten stopped arguing and looked up. Gohan landed first and smiled at the sight of his teammates. "Hey", he said. Krillan landed next.
"Did you get it?" asked Piccolo.
"Sure did", said Krillan excitedly. He reached into his pocket and took out a dragonball. Piccolo suddenly felt a sense of doom at the sight as he remembered Goku describing this exact image from his experience with the mirror in Lothlorien. He kept quiet though and congratulated the two on a job well done. Goten and Trunks immediately ran over to Krillan. "Lemme see!!" they both shouted, jumping up at him.
"Sure", said Krillan, handing them the ball. Piccolo started paying attention to what was going on and sprang into action. He dived in and grabbed the ball before either of the two saiyans could get their destructive hands on it. Krillan looked confused.
"Gee Goten, you make one mistake and you're paying for it the rest of your life", said Trunks.
As the boys played, the grown-ups told their stories. They were tired and hungry, but listening to each other's tales took their minds off their suffering. Finally, they went to sleep. All except Piccolo that is, who decided to stand guard should another black rider show up. He had been watching for two hours before he heard a sound. He turned to see Goku and Yamcha standing beside him.
"Hey Piccolo", said Goku. "Dende fixed the dragonball". He noticed Krillan and Gohan sleeping and thought of the mirror's prophecy. He had been too relaxed for the last few hours and remembered that there was great danger ahead of them. He woke Gohan up and they exchanged stories. Goku told his son that Videl was okay and explained that, although Yamcha had rejoined them, it was better if Videl stayed with Dende for the time being. Goten and Trunks awoke and were relieved to find the dragonball they had broken was now fixed. Piccolo still wouldn't let them near it though. They gathered all four dragonballs and Goku put them safely in his pocket. "Just have to wait for Vegeta to get back", he said. "Shouldn't take too long".

Videl was talking to Dende. She knew nothing about Nameks, and since she had been told to stay here, she figured she might as well learn something. There was nothing else to do anyway. Mr Popo was meditating in the back. Suddenly, Goku materialised and went over to Dende. "Is Mr Popo around?" he asked.
"Yes Goku, right over there", replied the namek, pointing to where Mr Popo was meditating. Goku approached him. "Hey Mr Popo!" shouted Goku. Popo snapped out of his meditation, unpleased at the interruption and stood to face the saiyan. "I was about to reach Nirvana Goku", he said as angrily as was possible for him.
"That can wait", said Goku. "We need more food".
"More?" asked Popo, shocked. "This is the fourth time you've been back for food Goku. Why do you need so much?"
"Well, we're getting hungry waiting for Vegeta to get back. It's been three days now and all we can do is wait".
"Why don't you instant translocate over to him and find if he's okay?"
"Cause that would be too smart"
"Well, what if I told you it was the stupid thing to do Goku?"
"Then I'd have no choice but to do it"
"Well…. It's a stupid thing to do".
"Okay Mr Popo. I'm going to find Vegeta. See ya!"
He disappeared and Mr Popo heaved a sigh of relief.

Vegeta was sitting on a rock quietly. A large vein bulged on his forehead and his teeth were clenched tight. In his fist, he squeezed an extremely dense rock before crushing it into a thousand pieces. 'When will this infernal guilt leave me?' he wondered. Tom danced in the background. Vegeta had grown so sick of him; he couldn't look at the short, jolly man without wanting to kill him. "Ho now Vegeta!" he shouted over to the angry Saiyan. "Won't you come and be joining old Tom for a merry dance?" Vegeta didn't dignify the question with an answer. He simply put up with the antics of Bombadil and suffered in silence. At least he had the dragonball now. It was safe. All he had to do was wait until the guilt passed. He felt as if Tom had some hold over him, as if by magic Tom was feeding him these feelings so that he'd stay a bit longer. There was nothing that could be done about it though. This was one battle Vegeta could not win.
Goku emerged from the bushes close to the rock Vegeta was on and for once Vegeta was glad to see him. "Kakorat, you have to get me out of here", he said, looking round to make sure Tom wasn't watching. "Quick. If Tom sees you, he'll put you under his spell and neither of us will ever be able to leave this place!" Goku looked round and eventually spotted Tom dancing in the willow. 'Bim bom Bombadil!" he sang to himself.
"He doesn't look so bad", said Goku.
"Kakorat, TRUST ME!" shouted Vegeta. It was a mistake. Tom had seen them. "Hello my merry friends!" he said as he saw Goku had joined Vegeta. He started to bounce his way over to the Saiyans.
"Kakorat, NOW!" screamed Vegeta.
Goku suddenly had an idea. "Will you be my friend if I help you?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, anything!" replied Vegeta. Sounding very nervous.
"…Promise?"
Tom was nearing them.
"Yes, I promise. Take us out of here!"
Goku took Vegeta's hand and placed his fingers to his forehead. Tom made one final leap over to them, but fell to the ground as Goku and Vegeta disappeared from his sight for good.

They re-materialised at the meeting point. "What was all that about?" asked Goku.
"Don't ask Kakorat. Just…don't…ask".
"Hey Vegeta, what took you so long?" asked Krillan.
Vegeta scowled.
"Touchy subject", interrupted Goku before the violence could begin. "The important thing is the dragonball. Did you get it Vegeta?"
Vegeta took out the round object and showed it to Goku. "I'm holding onto this one", he said. "I went through hell to get this".
Goku wasn't up for arguing with him and let him keep the dragonball. It was time to make some decisions now. Piccolo intervened and took control. "We're all back together now", he said, looking t each of them in turn. "Now we are eight", he continued. "But we will keep to the plan. We agreed before setting off that we would meet here and find the remaining two dragonballs together and that's what we'll do". The others listened carefully. "According to the radar, the next dragonball is over to the east, near Lothlorien. From what I remember of the area, it looks like it's in a large mountain range. We'll set out tomorrow after we've had time to sleep and should have found it by the end of that day". Everyone nodded and agreed. Vegeta stroked his dragonball and smiled, then joined the others as they went to eat.

The Fellowship of the Ring had reached Moria. All were terrified, but didn't let on. It had been a long journey and they were tired and hungry, but although the thought of Moria chilled their bones, each of them knew it would take several days off their journey.
"Gandalf, when are you going to show us that amazing trick?" asked Pippin.
"When we're out of Moria", replied the wizard. All were disappointed. They found the hidden entrance and approached the door.
"I don't like the look of that pool", said Frodo.
Pippin threw a rock in.
"Fool of a Took!" shouted Gandalf. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"
Pippin stared blankly. Frodo watched the pool and Aragorn readied himself to draw Anduril should the need arise. The door to Moria was large and could not be opened by physical means from the outside. The inscription on the top read 'Speak friend and enter' in a dwarven language.
"Well, that's easy", said Pippin. "You just say the dwarven word for friend and it'll open".
They all laughed. "Pippin, do you really think it would be that easy?" asked Boromir. Noone took the young hobbit seriously.
"No", interrupted Gandalf, shaking off the last of his laugh. "It'll be something far more complicated. I'll try every dwarven word I know, then if that doesn't work…we'll try Pippin's idea!" he burst into a fit of laughter, joined by all except Pippin who sat by the pool, upset. Frodo went to comfort his friend, holding in his laughter as best he could. They talked of the Shire and Bilbo and beer while Gandalf consulted his Oxford English to Dwarfish dictionary. They heard him chant many incomprehensible words in the background.
"No, you raise your voice at the end!" said Gimli.
"It doesn't say that here", said Gandalf.
"Doesn't it? Let me see…. there's the problem. This is the second edition. You need the third edition!"
"No you don't Gimli. This door was created during the writing of the second edition".
"You old cheapskate Gandalf. Why can't you just buy a third edition?"
Gandalf ignored the dwarf and continued listing dwarven words at random. The hobbits had now gathered together and were talking amongst themselves. Aragorn and Boromir looked on while Gandalf wasted his time, and Legolas and Gimli went off to search the area.
An hour passed and Gandalf gathered the troop. "Okay", he said, sounding disappointed. "It didn't work. I'm going to try Pippin's idea now".
"Surely you can't be serious!" said Boromir.
"It might work", said Frodo.
Gandalf faced the door and looked up the dwarfish word for friend. 'Mellon' he said in a soft voice. The door creaked and then opened slowly. Their mouths dropped wide open. Pippin had been right!
"Where's my apology?" asked Pippin smugly.
"Shut up", said Gandalf.
A dark force lay dormant at the bottom of the pool as they entered the mine. As the door closed behind them, it knew it had missed its chance.

The Fellowship of the balls had slept well and were now ready to journey to the next dragonball Even Vegeta seemed in high spirits today. Goku assumed it was because he had escaped Tom Bombadil, though he wasn't sure why Tom scared him so, but that was only part of the reason. After a brief check of the radar, Piccolo led the way and they followed eagerly. Four dragonballs were in Goku's pocket; being watched by Goten and Trunks at all times. One was in Vegeta's pocket. One lay on the road ahead and the other it was too early to think about. They flew for an hour before reaching Lothlorien. It would have been a shorter journey, but they had to fly at a speed the kids were able to keep up with. Piccolo looked down and pictured Galadriel. He was tempted to return, but remembered how the elves had put their faith in him and Goku. And so he flew on. "What's that bright light?" asked Trunks. Noone answered, but Piccolo felt worse at being reminded of the beautiful forest. Goku suddenly remembered the prophecy he had seen in the mirror. He was sure he could hear Galadriel's voice, but figured it was just his imagination.
"There's the mountains over there", said Piccolo, and flew towards them. When they arrived, the radar showed that the ball was close. They combed the area but could find no sign of it. Piccolo even flew to the exact spot the radar claimed the ball to be in, but found nothing. This confused them greatly. It was Trunks who finally came up with a solution.
"Maybe the dragonball's inside the mountain", he told them. "That's what happened when me and Goten tried to find our dragonball in another mountain". The z-fighters were intrigued. "You mean like…a mine?" asked Krillan. Piccolo was interested now. "How would we get into this mine?" he asked. Yamcha provided a solution for this problem: "I found a hollow in the side of the mountain", he said. "It looked like an entrance to something".
"Where is it?" asked Piccolo.
Yamcha ran down to the hollow and showed it to Piccolo. They entered without caution and found the door that led to Moria. Krillan was the first to attempt to open it. He put his hands between the two halves of the door and tried to force them open. It had no effect. "There's something written above the doors", he said, noticing the dwarven text. "It looks foreign. Piccolo, is it Namekian?" Piccolo didn't dignify the stupidity of the question with a response. Vegeta sighed and powered up a large blast. "Stand back!" he said sternly, and fired the blast at the door, destroying it. Nobody was pleased at his methods, but he never gave enough warning for them to stop him. They eyed him angrily as they walked into the mine. Vegeta's actions had not, however, gone without consequence. The creature from the bottom of the pool had been woken from the blast and was out for revenge. It floated to the top of the pool as Gohan noticed large ripples appear on the surface. He leaned closer to find their source and was splashed as a giant tentacle suddenly jumped out of the pool and grabbed him. Krillan rushed to his friend's aid but was taken by another slimy tentacle. Both were being crushed and dragged under the water. Goku put his hands together and powered up his ki. "Kamehameha!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed and released a huge rush of energy towards the beast. Startled, it let go of the two z-fighters and they flew to safety. Piccolo joined Goku. "Masenka-ho!" he shouted, letting out a spiralling blast of his own. The creature dived out of the pool for a brief second before exploding into a million pieces. Goku and Piccolo stopped for breath and then joined the others on Moria.

Gandalf and co had been in Moria for a day when they were awoken by a sudden loud noise. Aragorn sprang to his feet and drew Anduril. Legolas also jumped into action and readied his bow. "What was that?" asked Aragorn. The hobbits awoke all at once. "It sounded like an explosion", said Sam. Boromir, who had been standing guard, ran back into the room they had chosen to sleep in. "I saw a large blast by the entrance to the mines", he told them. "There's a very bright light. It looks like fire. The entire mine is illuminated!" Gandalf gathered his belongings. "We must move now", he said, sounding very urgent. "It could be orcs or worse, the Enemy. We have to put some distance between us and them". They were out the room within a minute and climbing more stairs.
Legolas stayed at the back since he was the only one with a long range weapon. Aragorn led the way in case any Orcs should be ahead of them. He gripped Anduril tightly in his hands. They walked fast, worrying, not knowing who was following them. The stairs became very narrow and rose more steeply. Rocks crumbled beneath them and they felt as if the structure of the mine might collapse at any moment. Finally Gandalf spotted a door near the top of the stairs. He pointed it our to Aragorn who led the company through it and into a large room. Gandalf waited till they were all safely through the doors, then barricaded them shut. They all heaved a sigh of relief, feeling safe once more. Then Legolas spotted Gimli. He was kneeling by a tomb in the centre of the room, weeping. He went over to comfort his friend. "So it's true", cried Gimli. "My ancestor is dead!"
Aragorn picked up a book lying beside the tomb and consulted Gandalf. "It's a dwarven text", he told the wizard. "Do you have your dictionary still?"
Gandalf reached into his pocket and took out said object. Aragorn was amazed at the speed Gandalf could translate at. Within minutes he had read several pages in english. "It's all about how the dwarves were attacked by the Orcs", he told Strider. "They were driven out years ago by an attack in this very room".
Everyone who heard him looked round and tried to find the quickest exit should the need to leave arise. Everyone, that was, except Pippin. The young Hobbit was studying a rock he had just found. It was the strangest rock he had ever seen; a perfect sphere, orange, shiny and it had stars in it. He took it over to a nearby well and, wondering how deep the well was, dropped it down. They all looked round in shock.
"Fool of a Took!" shouted Gandalf. "Are you trying to let whoever's out there know we're here?"
Pippin started whimpering. Legolas put his ear to the door. "They're coming!" he warned them. The floor vibrated violently and the sound of marching echoed throughout the walls.
Aragorn drew Anduril again. Gandalf drew his blade and Frodo drew Sting followed by the rest of the Hobbits with their crappy blades. Gimli drew his axe, Boromir drew a large sword and Legolas stood close to the door with his bow and arrow, ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. The marching was louder now. Louder with every second. It covered the heavy breathing of the Fellowship until finally the door creaked and they all stood back. They gathered in the centre of the room and waited. It was about all they could do. It was too late for escape. The blade holding the door shut snapped in two. Arrows shot into the room. Finally it shattered and dozens of Orcs hurried in. Legolas shot as many as he could before they could reach his companions. Aragorn charged at them and sliced the heads off three while Boromir protected the hobbits. Gandalf was holding his own and had killed several Orcs. Gimli had joined Aragorn and together, they had slain ten between them now. More rushed in. The fellowship was heavily outnumbered. A group of Orcs came at Boromir and he was forced to defend himself, leaving the hobbits alone and scared. The Orcs went for them and lunged at Merry. He jumped back and closed his eyes, slicing his blade against the orcs hand in a lucky shot. The hand fell off and the Orc ran screaming. Sam and Pippin had set to work on another orc and killed it easily. Frodo drew Sting and noticed it was glowing brightly, as it did when Orcs were around. The light distracted him for a moment and an orc rammed its blade into his shoulder. Frodo screamed and fell. Sam looked round and saw his master on the ground. He jumped the Orc and decapitated it, avenging Frodo's injury. Merry and Pippin had a minute to get their strength back; the Orcs had underestimated their abilities and left them alone. They watched the men join forces to attack the creatures, and Gandalf seemed to be coping still. Legolas was finding any arrows he could as he was running low on them, and Gimli drove his axe into yet another Orc. Apart from Frodo, they had sustained no injuries. Luck was on their side today.

Upon entering the mine, the first thing the z-fighters noticed was how dark it was. It was a foreign structure and they had no idea what lay ahead.
"One of us should go super saiyan", suggested Goku.
Immediately, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks all turned into Super Saiyans. Goku sighed.
"I didn't mean all of us!" he said. The mine was fully illuminated now. They could see a sequence of stairs and bridges climbing many levels. Goku took out his radar and found which way they should go. He led them up the set of stairs ahead of them and they climbed for a while. Finally Gohan had an idea: "Shouldn't we just…fly?" he asked his dad.
Goku scratched his head. "I guess", he replied. "You wanna?"
"If you do".
There was no time to resolve the issue though; Orcs jumped out from the walls in all directions and flocked together, marching up the stairs. They seemed to be ignoring the z-fighters who watched as the creatures gathered around a large door several levels above them and began hammering it down. Piccolo flew towards them. He landed beside a small troop as the front line of the army destroyed the door. A large Orc standing next to Piccolo fired an arrow at him. It broke upon impact against the Nameks skin. Piccolo picked him up and threw him to the bottom of the mine. The other Orcs now began attacking Piccolo together. Goku and Gohan flew to help their friend. Pretty soon a small battle had begun. More orcs joined it and some others ran up the stairs and into the room of the door that had been battered down minutes before. Krillan and Yamcha had now joined the fight and upon the narrow stairs, Orcs were being killed by the dozen. The z-fighters hovered beside the stairs as they were too narrow to stand on. Many Orcs fell to their death. Vegeta joined them finally and they had no problem with annihilating their enemy. Goten and Trunks had come across a small number of Orcs and also defeated them without passing a breath.
"Come on!" commanded Piccolo once they had cleared the stairs. "Let's go see what's going on in that room".
They flew in one at a time and saw a bloody battle occurring. The Orcs were fighting with two men, four hobbits, a dwarf, an elf and a wizard. The z-fighters wasted no time in getting started and pushed the Fellowship of the Ring out the way as they slaughtered the remaining Orcs. Finally there was silence again; not a single Orc remained.

The two Fellowships faced each other. The smell of orc guts polluted the air. Gandalf took a step forward, as did Piccolo. The hobbits were tending to Frodo who was unconscious. They pulled the blade out and did their best to stop the bleeding. Gandalf finally worked up the courage to talk. "Are you a friend or a foe?" he asked.
"I think our actions have already answered that question, don't you?" said Piccolo.
Boromir wondered where this man was from. He had never seen anyone with a green complexion before. "Are you…are you from the Gray Havens?" he asked.
"No", replied Piccolo. "I'm from Namek".
"What brought you here?" asked Gandalf.
"We're on a mission. We're looking to find a dragonball", replied Piccolo.
"And what is a dragonball?"
"A round, orange object".
Pippin ran over to them. "I've seen one!" he said excitedly.
Piccolo looked down at the hobbit. "You have?" he asked.
"Yes, I dropped it…" he stopped as he remembered how foolish he had been. "I dropped it down the well", he continued, quietly.
Goku checked the radar. "It hasn't gone far", he said. "Krillan, you're the smallest. Can you go down the well and find it?"
"Sure, pick on the little guy!" said Krillan, cross, and went over to the well. He hovered above it, then flew down. The Fellowship of the Ring gasped. "You're powerful wizards, aren't you?" asked Gimli.
"No, we're not wizards", said Gohan. "We're mostly Saiyans".
"Are you of an order?" asked Gandalf.
"Um…no", replied Gohan, not understanding the question.
Merry called over to them. "Gandalf! Frodo's dying!" he said. Gandalf approached Frodo and looked at the wound. "Not again", he said. "How many times must he be stabbed?"
He cleaned the wound and called Aragorn over. They studied the wound and realised that nothing could be done about it here. They would have to reach Lothlorien before Frodo could be healed. "It's no use", said Gandalf. "He's as good as dead".
Goku joined them. "I know a great healer", he said. "I can take him to see him if you'd like".
Boromir stepped in. "How do we know we can trust you?" he asked.
"We have no choice Boromir", said Gandalf. "He will die in our care, so we must trust this Saiyan".
He stood up and faced Goku. "How can you take him there in time?" he asked.
"Don't you worry about that", smiled Goku. Gandalf bent down and placed his hand against the hobbit. He slipped the ring off him and handed it to Sam, unnoticed; if Frodo was leaving them for the time being, he wanted to make sure that the ring was safe. Goku picked up Frodo and carried him over his shoulder. "He'll be fine", he said, and disappeared. Everyone gasped, bar Gandalf who had figured out the abilities of the strangers by now.
Piccolo broke the short silence. "You still haven't told us why you're here".
Gandalf turned around. "We're on a mission too", he said. "The fate of the world lies in our hands."
"That's funny", said the Namek, looking more suspicious than amazed. "We were told the fate of the world lies in our hands".
"Who told you that?" asked Gandalf.
Piccolo didn't take his eyes off the wizard for a second. "An elf named Galadriel", he said. Finally Gandalf was surprised. "You mean to say you've travelled to Lothlorien?"
"Yes", replied Piccolo. "And I'm sorry I had to leave".
Before Gandalf could ask another question, Krillan ran into the room. "I found it!" he shouted, holding up a dragonball. He looked around. "Where's Goku?" he asked.
"Goku went to help out our new friends, Krillan", said the Namek. "You'd better give the dragonball to me".
"Okay", said Krillan, disappointed as noone had even thanked him for finding the object. He handed the dragonball to Piccolo who put it in his back pocket. Vegeta watched carefully.
"What do the dragonballs do?" asked Merry.
Before Piccolo could answer, he spotted Goten bothering Sam. The hobbit was trying to dodge the young Saiyan, but failing.
"What's that?" asked Goten. "C'mon, lemme see!" He was trying to get his hands on the ring around Sam's neck. Sam took a step back, but Goten snapped the string attached to the ring and held the object in his hand.
"No!" shouted Gandalf, panicking. "You must give it back to Sam!"
Goten was too interested in his new toy. He placed it on his finger and disappeared.
"Where's he gone?" asked Piccolo, sounding alarmed. Gandalf was too worried to answer.
"Wow! This is weird. Trunks, you gotta try this!" Goten took the ring off and re-appeared. Piccolo ran over to him and grabbed the ring, giving it back to Sam. "What happened?" asked Piccolo.
Gandalf risked explaining the situation. "The ring is too powerful for any man to handle", he told them. "We are on a mission to destroy it". Vegeta's ears pricked at the sound of the word 'powerful'.
"In the wrong hands, this ring could destroy the world. I urge you to help us".
"Ha!" interrupted Vegeta. "There is noone in the universe too powerful for me to defeat!"
"You don't know what you're up against", said Aragorn, calmly.
"Do you expect me to believe this ring can grant eternal power to its bearer?" asked Vegeta.
"Not eternal, but greater power than exists in the rest of the world combined", replied Gandalf.
"We'll help you any way we can", said Piccolo suddenly, and the hobbits smiled. "We'll just wait for Goku to come back, then decide what to do".
Gandalf nodded. "That would be wise".
Suddenly Sam screamed. They all looked round to see him on the ground, gasping for air. Vegeta stood next to him, bearing the ring. "Finally I shall be immortal!" he declared.. He let out an evil laugh and placed the ring on his index finger. As the others watched in horror, a hole burst through the very top of Moria and Vegeta was gone.
'The Mirror's prophecy!' thought Piccolo to himself. 'If it's true, this will be the end of us all!'
They stood frozen, not knowing what to do. The situation seemed helpless. All hope was lost. As Vegeta flew undetected in the darkening sky, only the two fellowships knew that this was the beginning of the end.

Stay tuned for Chapter seven where the two Fellowships join forces to defeat their new enemy and insure that Galadriel's prophecy does not come true.