It is not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog.—Mark Twain

            The tunnel was sporadically lit by torches attached to the walls and Aragorn grabbed one from the wall and held it in front of them. His sword was out and ready with everyone behind him as they slowly moved along. Aragorn's muscles were painfully tense as he silently moved along. The tunnel wound deep into the mountain but slowly inclined upward. Several other tunnels branched off the main one but they followed the heavy footprints. They all froze when a scream of pain shot down the tunnel and they each looked at each other. Elrohir surged forward and only Glorfindel's restraining hand held him back. Elrohir's fiery gaze was enough to scorch any elf other than Glorfindel. The elder elf shook his head mutely and motioned for everyone to move forward quickly. They needed to move quickly and find out what they were against before rushing in there. The cave slowly widened and light flickered on the floor from a light source.

            A large bonfire was in the center of the room, illuminating every corner except a large cave with bones scattered around the entrance. About twenty robed figures were kneeling in rows facing the cave as they chanted softly and swayed side to side. Scanning the floor, they quickly located Elladan to the left of the cave. Glorfindel softly swore to himself upon seeing the state of the older twin. A metal stake had been driven through the elf's calf and pinned him to the ground. His hands were tied behind his back which was turned to Glorfindel. That stake wiped out any hopes for a quick rescue; Glorfindel noted and looked back to the others.

            "Elrohir, you and Legolas go straight to Elladan. Estel and I will dispose of the others," he directed as each of them nodded.

            "What of Glaurung?"

            "Let us deal with the minions first, then we will concern ourselves with Glaurung."

            Legolas, Aragorn, and Elrohir strung their bows and released their arrows at the same time to send everything into chaos. Elrohir and Legolas sprinted straight for Elladan as Glorfindel and Aragorn engaged the servants of Glaurung. The two worked to draw everyone away from Elladan and the others but they were slowly moving closer towards the cave's mouth. The ones that were pressing against Aragorn suddenly froze and stared at something above and behind Aragorn. They slowly started to back away while staring and Aragorn slowly turned his head to look behind him. Meeting nothing but blackness, his gaze slowly moved upwards before locking gazes with two very angry looking red eyes.

            "Oh Valar," he muttered and slowly moved back.

            Red marks streaked the black flesh and scales. Smoke curled from the flared nostrils and a tongue flickered out to taste the air. His head slowly pulled back and Aragorn suddenly realized what he was about to do. Swearing, Aragorn dove to the side just as a fireball shot past him. Landing on the ground, he shrugged out of his coat and pounded out the flames. He scrambled out of the way and narrowly avoided sharp teeth that came after him. Glorfindel barely managed to yell a warning before Glaurung's snout slammed into Aragorn and sent him flying against the wall. Falling to the ground in a boneless lump, Aragorn groaned and shook his head to clear the stars. His hands immediately went to his burning side and felt the hot blood that poured from his side. When Glaurung had knocked him aside, the dragon's sharp tooth had gouged open his side and now it burned sharply with every breath. He slowly lifted his head from the wound and looked at the dragon as it slowly walked towards him. Looking across the cave, he spotted the others clustered around Elladan as Glorfindel stared at Aragorn. Chunks of the stone ceiling started to fall as fissures streaked down the wall.

            "Go! Get Elladan and the others out!" Aragorn yelled and covered his head and neck as chunks of rock fell around him.

            With a loud crack, the entire ceiling collapsed with a large cloud of dust as two gigantic beings fell with the ceiling. Stone crushed underneath their weight as Sauros savagely bit the winged creature's neck, instantly killing it. Sauros threw his head back and roared painfully loud before lowering his head and glaring at Glaurung. Aragorn's eyes widened at the sight of the blood red dragon. Blood oozed from other wounds and splattered onto the stone as the two dragons bared their teeth at the other.

            "You can not kill me, Sauros," Glaurung snarled in a gravely voice with as much of an accent that a dragon could have.

            "Good to see you also, Glaurung. I had hoped that you would stay dead; hope it does not offend you," Sauros replied with a snarl as he dropped his snout close to the ground.

            Sauros and Glaurung leapt at each other with a roar and clashed in the middle as their roars filled the cave. Sauros' claws were sharp talons that dug painfully into Glaurung and ripped strips of flesh from him. His canine teeth extended far past his jaw and the tips glinted dangerously as chunks of stone fell around them and made everything seem surreal. Aragorn wrapped and arm around his abdomen and scrambled back to the wall to narrowly avoid a falling boulder. He felt his ribs grate against each other and knew that he had at least a few broken ribs and probably had some internal bleeding from his encounter with the wall; and enough bruises to last a life time. The fire in the center of the cave started to spread and blazed around the two dragons locked in a deadly dance. Glaurung knocked Sauros back and the red dragon skidded to the wall on his eyes. Snarling fiercely, Sauros leapt at Glaurung and latched onto the black dragon's neck. Blood stained the ground as blood streamed from both dragons and created rivulets across the floor to be burned off by the flames. Sauros buried his teeth into Glaurung's throat and ferociously tore away a large chunk of the black dragon's throat. Blood poured from the injury and Glaurung faltered before falling back. Sauros reared back and flames erupted from his nose to engulf Glaurung before arching his long neck and roaring towards the sky. The sound reverberated and sent new chunks of stone falling around him as smoke drifted from his nostrils. He turned to look around the cave and saw the dark shape against the wall as he slowly moved towards it with downcast eyes.

()()()()

            "We have to go back for him! We can not leave him in there!" Elladan cried weakly as Legolas and Elrohir supported him between them as they hurried down the mountain.

            "I am sure that Estel will be fine, Elladan. He is a stubborn human and will not die by something as easy as a small mountain caving in," Legolas said but worriedly glanced behind him.

            He caught Glorfindel's eye and saw the elf shake his head minimally to imply that he hadn't seen Aragorn escape the cave. Legolas bit his bottom lip in worry and carefully watched his footing as Elrohir and he carried Elladan down the mountain before finding a small clearing that would work as a temporary campsite. Elrohir quickly arranged his herbs as Legolas built a fire and moved to help Elrohir with his brother's leg. Glorfindel kept his eyes on the mountain, scanning for any sign of his human charge or either one of the dragons. He was really hoping that it would be Sauros but he had to be realistic. Sauros was already injured from his battle with the winged creature when he engaged Glaurung and the black dragon was a tad bit bigger. Glorfindel rubbed his eyes before turning to help with Elladan as they cleaned out the wound.

            "You have small bits of debris in the wound. It would be best if you drink some of Ada's tea before I start," Elrohir advised his brother softly while resting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

            Elladan weakly nodded as his head lolled to the side and he gazed tiredly into the distance. He felt his tentative grasp on the world slowly start to slip away as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lapsed into unconsciousness. Elrohir glanced over at his twin and did a double take. He could see the whites of Elladan's eyes through his lidded eyes and Elrohir reached out and placed his hand on Elladan's arm. The skin was cold and clammy before he searched for a pulse. His heart was weak yet rapid and Elrohir swore as he grabbed a blanket and started to wrap his brother in it.

            "He is going into shock," he muttered to Legolas and Glorfindel and quickly turned to his pack. "Legolas elevate his legs a bit; put them above the level of the heart."

            Elrohir pulled out the water canteen and lifted Elladan's head to dribble some water into his brother's mouth. Handing the canteen over to Glorfindel, Elrohir quickly worked on the thigh and removed any other debris before spreading a mixture into it and binding it. He would wait to stitch it until he was sure infection hadn't set in and avoid that extra pain for his brother. He carefully monitored his twin's heart rate and respiration for a moment before nodding his head slightly.

            "He should be fine once his body replaces his blood volume," he muttered and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

            "What should we do about Estel?" Legolas asked quietly as he stood next to Glorfindel.

            Elrohir glanced up to the two standing behind him and glanced over towards the mountain before turning his attention back to Elladan. He had one brother in front of him and he didn't know where the other was. He would concentrate on Elladan and deal with the other brother later once the one he knew was alive was out of danger. Legolas gently rubbed his jaw where he was sporting a nasty bruise from the battle and glanced over to Glorfindel. The lord was still staring at the mountain almost waiting for Aragorn to suddenly appear but knew the chances were minimal.

            "I know not, Legolas. Is there any chance that Aragorn may have survived that cave in?"

            "Aragorn can survive most things but I am not sure about a cave in. Especially after the destruction that Sauros and Glaurung could bring to that cave," Legolas said softly as the realization that he may have lost Estel was dawning on him.

            "I can not believe that Estel is dead," Glorfindel muttered, wondering how he was possibly going to tell Elrond that his youngest was dead.

            The two stood silently as they wallowed in their own sorrow and came to terms with their lost loved one. Legolas bowed his head and tried to control the tears threatening to fall from his eyes and to the hard dirt that he stood upon. He suddenly sensed a faint tingling traveling up his legs. Opening his eyes, he saw small chunks of dirt and stone vibrating across the ground and the vibrations were traveling up his legs. He glanced over at Glorfindel and saw the confusion upon the elder elf's face at what was happening. The ground under them suddenly jerked violently and they struggled to gain their balance as Elrohir quickly leaned over his brother to protect him. A cluster of birds sprang up from nearby and flew away as larger chunks of stone rolled down the mountain towards them. Glorfindel and Legolas jumped aside and watched for any rocks that may injure Elrohir and the prone Elladan. Before the tremors stopped, a large explosion of rocks erupted from atop the mountain and spread out from the epicenter to crash down around the mountain. Jerking away and watching the falling stones, they looked back to the mountain and saw something large slowly crawl out from the top. Legolas' jaw dropped in shock at the sight of Sauros slowly limp down the mountain side and towards them with something cradled in his clawed hand. Blood streamed from countless wounds upon the dragon's body as he walked towards them before stopping a few yards away. Lowering his clawed hand, he gently laid Aragorn's body onto the ground before laying down himself. Aragorn's head lolled to the side and stared at them with unseeing eyes with blood plastered down the left side of Aragorn's face. Legolas stumbled backwards and tripped over a small tuft of grass to fall directly on his rear. He barely registered the pain that shot up his spine as he stared at the body in front of him and refused to believe what his eyes were showing him. Shaking off his shock, Glorfindel rushed forward and quickly searched for a pulse. Swearing at the thick layer of blood, he held back his hair and pressed his ear to the human's chest and listened closely.

            "He is alive! Legolas, help me with him!" Glorfindel yelled and pressed his hands against the wound to stop the flow of blood.

            Snapping out of his shock, Legolas scrambled to his feet and sprinted to Glorfindel's side. They carefully lifted Aragorn and carried him to where Elrohir was with Elladan and where all the herbs were. Elrohir folded up a spare tunic and handed it to Glorfindel to replace his hands on the wound. The pressure caused the human to moan and his eyes slowly slid shut as his hands weakly moved to push away the pressure.

            "Easy, Estel, just relax," Glorfindel soothed and pressed away the hand to pin it down.

            "He has lost a lot of blood," Elrohir muttered and carefully lifted one of Estel's eyelids and checked the dilation.

            He quickly mixed several liquids together and washed out the wound while feeling Aragorn tense under him. The human slowly struggled to consciousness as the pain pulsed through him. Moaning, he heard someone softly talking to him while someone else held down his arms. Tossing his head side to side, he forced his eyes open and weakly blinked at the bright sunlight.

            "Aragorn, can you hear me?" Legolas asked softly as he rested a hand on the human's shoulder.

            "Unfortunately, yes," he groaned and allowed his eyes to slid shut.

            "Are you in a lot of pain?"

            Aragorn slowly opened one of his eyes and glanced at the Mirkwood elf, not believe that he actually asked that question.

            "No."

            "Are you lying?"

            "Yes. Of course I…am in pain. What do…you think? I only moan…when in perfect health. You sometimes need to…carry around…a stupid sign," he ground out sarcastically and hissed sharply as Elrohir probed the torn flesh.

            Legolas raised an eyebrow before glancing over at Glorfindel who was trying to smother his laughter and smile. If Aragorn was joking like this then he must being well; but then again, it seemed that sarcasm never really left the man at any time. Glorfindel moved aside for Elrohir as the younger twin started to stitch the wound closed after numbing the area. The elf lord stepped over to where Sauros still lay as the dragon slowly opened his eyes to gaze at whom was approaching him.

            "Glaurung is dead then?"

            "He is; buried under several tons of rock so I hope that he is dead. If not then he has earned the privilege of living and I for one will not dispute it," the dragon muttered weakly as he lifted his head and carefully licked at a wound on his shoulder. "Lord Glorfindel, if you would be so nice as to help me with this?"

            Glorfindel looked at the large chunk of wood that was protruding from the dragon's ribs before gripping it tightly and pressing a foot against the scales to get leverage. With one mighty jerk the wood slid free as Sauros' talons dug into the dirt and he barred his teeth. Tossing it aside, Glorfindel pulled out any left over pieces of wood from the wound before moving aside to let Sauros lick at the wound.

            "How did you get a log stuck in you?"

            Sauros lifted his head and looked at the elf lord as if to question if he really wanted that question answered.

            "I would be happy to show you if you are really interested?" the dragon questioned sarcastically and went back to cleaning his wounds.

            Glorfindel narrowed his eyes at the red dragon but had to admit that he was glad to have the sarcastic animal back. Someone to keep the young ones in line and out of trouble.

            "How does he fare?"

            Glorfindel turned and glanced over to where Elrohir was working on his little brother and quietly talking to him.

            "He will be well once he rests and builds up his blood again. How are you faring?" Glorfindel question quietly and stepped back to look over the dragon.

            "It would probably be helpful if Lord Elrohir could look me over before he puts away his healing herbs. I received a few scratches from Glaurung."

            "A few scratches…right. Just like the young ones."

()()()()()()()()()()()

Well everyone, here is the new chapter and the second to last chapter of this story. There is one more chapter after this one and I hope everyone has enjoyed the story up to this point. I am sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out; I just had so many other stories going at once that sometimes I accidentally forget about one. So, hope everyone liked the chapter and until next update. Cheers.

Linuvial Greenleaf- "Here's your sign." Heehee, that is just freaking hilarious; gah, I love it. You will just beat all the axe murders with your baseball bat like you destroy everything else with. Your brother is just a trip; he sounds hilarious. My story count about to be turned into four stories instead of five; my head hurts from all these stories.

Wolf Jade- I am so bad about remembering the stories that I have read. Sometimes, I will start reading one of mine and think that it sounds really familiar and then I realize why. Silly ole me. Heehee. I am so honored that you think so highly of my stories and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Story is almost done though, poor Spades.

Elven Kitten- Uncle Bubbles was just a throw-back from the deep, dark recesses of my mind. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

SirTiddywinkle- I just love your name; so original, really! I figured that I have not written a story that someone died and I thought it would be good of me to kill off my own new character. I could never kill off Sauros though; maybe one of the other dragons but not Sauros. But anyway, I am getting off on a tangent, thank you for the review and enjoy!

Ringmarciel- Hope I did not make you wait a really long time for this chapter. I hate it when authors take a really long time to update; so long that I completely forget what the entire story is about. Really hate that. Thank you so much for the compliment and enjoy!

Got-lotr- It was not? Do not see why not? Oh well; minor error on my part.

Star-Stallion- Yeah! I have updated! They got Danny back a bit bruised and bloody but he is fine and dandy. Or will be at least.

XxgemxX- It seems that it is never his day, or Elrohir's, whenever they are into some adventure with their little brother. The bad luck is contagious. I am glad that you liked the fights; I usually find that most fights scenes are lacking and I like fight scenes so I try to make them good. It does take seven days to get there but that is on foot and they flew. Sauros really poured on the speed to catch up to the winged creature and the people that took Elladan.

Sielge- Well thank you so much for the compliment; true, this is the second to last chapter of this story. I am so sad about that trust me. I do have another story in the works; a sequel of sorts to An Ancient Bond and Reborn Warrior is still a ways off from being finished. A new idea may strike me any day and I just have to put it down on paper. Probably will happen at sometime. Enjoy!

Grumpy- Dragon food! Heehee; I do not know…he might be a little tough to chew. Oh I am so bad. Enjoy!

Kelly Kragen- Yuppers, I did find Sauros in London. A little miniature version of him at least. Yes, Lina is really dead and I still can not believe it that I killed her off but it was needed. I was searching around the Encyclopedia of Arda one day and saw dragons so I clicked on it and started reading and read out Glaurung so I thought that it would be a really good idea for a story to throw him in there. The stories have an order in which I update them; this one, then Reborn Warrior, then An Ancient Bond, then this one again, then Reborn Warrior and then I have no idea because two of the stories will be completed. An Ancient Bond only has one more chapter to go and then I have the sequel to it to finish which I have already started on but really have made not head-way because I have been working on these stories and no others. Can not do the sequels until the first ones are completed.

Hiei-Rulez- Take him! I just find him hot and yummy but that is it! I went to see the movie with a huge Jackman fan and she grabbed my hand when that scene came up and I will admit that we were both drooling at it. He has a very nice chest. Heehee, such a bad Spades. Shovels are very useful…as are baseball bats. Learn new things every day.

Snow-Glory- Yes, they did reach Cloudyhead quickly. Sauros really poured on the speed when they were chasing the winged creature and the people that took Elladan. I am about to knock out two stories that have one more chapter until they are done and then it will only be Reborn Warrior until I decide to post the sequel to An Ancient Bond. This is my longest story ever that I have written; mine are usually about fifteen chapters but his one is going to be twenty-one chapters. So long.

Catmint- Thank you so much for the compliment. I am seriously blushing over here. Enjoy!

Andunea the Shapeshifter- I can be really sarcastic when I want to be but it is rare when I deem someone important enough to use my sarcasm on. My brother is an example. When I was thinking about how to kill Lina, I really did not want to do it the usual way; aka with blood or sword or jumping in front of a blade for someone. So I thought of having something almost crush her and then her drowning. That really has got to the be worst way to die, by drowning. Aragorn does not always have to be the one to find the fight; he is just the usual suspect. Heehee.

Legalady- I know, I killed Lina. Bad me. I am so glad that you missed me. I hope you had a good time visiting your family from Wisconsin and going to Missouri. What is in Missouri? But anyway, I am getting off topic. I missed you too and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am anxiously awaiting the poem for An Ancient Bond.

Lynn-G- It is poor me! I liked Lina; why else would I have created her? Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Neoinean- I surprised you did I in taking Elladan and not Aragorn? Lina just had to die so I gave her a respectful death or as respectful that death can be.

S.M.D.- Congrats on deciphering the code. I had few people to actually do it.

Dha-Gal- I hope you had a good time at band camp and at your cousins. I hate my cousin. Oh well.