Chapter 4

"Frodo!" Sam yelled, pointing to Frodo's sword, which was giving out a blue glow.

"Orcs!" Legolas hissed. Boromir, who was standing closest to the doors leading to the hall, went to take a look. Taking a quick glance he nearly got hit by a few arrows. Fortunately they missed his head and hit the door instead. Telling the hobbits to stay near Gandalf Aragorn, along with Wolverine, went to help Boromir close the heave doors.

"They have a cave troll" Boromir said a bit miffed, hearing a loud roar from the other side of the doors. As everyone prepared for a battle Gimli climbed up on the tombstone, gripping his axe.

"Aarrgghhh!!! Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria that still draws breath!" he said. And that's when the things outside began breaking the door down. Standing in the back with the hobbits, Iris secured her bag and prepared herself as much as she could, which in it self wasn't much. As the things on the other side made a large enough hole in the door Aragorn and Legolas started shooting them. That only held them back for a moment, but the 'orcs' broke through nonetheless. Standing as far back as she could Iris watched the others fight. On one side was Aragorn and Boromir, both of them slashing and chopping the hideous things. On the other side were Legolas, Wolverine and Gambit, fighting as hard. Seeing the hobbits joining the fight, Iris decided not to be outdone by someone half her length. It was an odd thing to think, but think it she did. Mentally picking up objects Iris used them as weapons.

A sword from one of the dead bodies flew through the air, slashing as much as it could. Meanwhile Iris had picked up a shield that was lying around. Remembering to conserve her energy, she didn't let the sword fly all over, but rather within a certain reach. She was standing in her own little corner with her back to the wall. To busy fighting her own adversaries, Iris didn't pay attention to the fact that a cave troll just entered through the doorway. But that changed as Legolas shot it, making it growl. Turning around Iris saw the massive body of the troll as it spotted something, that something being Sam. As the troll started swinging the mace it was carrying, Sam looked up and reacted by running under the troll's legs.

Brought back to paying attention to the fight, Iris picked up the orc who was trying to get to her and threw him across the room and made sure he landed on some of his companions. Yelling a warning to Gambit she decided to leave her position by the wall, and move more towards the others. Slowly she made her way to where the others were fighting, even though they were still a bit spread out in the middle of the big room.

Suddenly noticing something in the corner of her eye, Iris turned only to see a large chain that was attached to the troll coming her way. Quickly ducking out of the way, Iris rolled and managed to get up before an orc cut her head off. Just as it brought the sword down she stopped it about a foot above her head, surprising the orc. Taking advantage of the moment Iris twisted the sword out of the orcs hand, forcing it into his stomach.

Creating a shield around herself, Iris stopped to take a breath, enjoying the look on the faces of the orcs trying to bring down the unseen barrier. Smirking, Iris looked over to where Aragorn happened to be. He was screaming something. Then, grabbing a spear, he stabbed the troll. It didn't seem like it had done the troll as much damage as he had hoped and the troll send Aragorn flying across the room. Luckily for Aragorn, the wall he had hit had been very close to where Iris was standing. Hurrying over to Aragorn's body, she sees Frodo doing the same. Letting Frodo get to Aragorn Iris turned around to stop a couple of orcs.

"Frodo!" Iris yelled, seeing that the troll was heading towards him and Aragorn. Frodo began to run but the troll blocked his path with a spear, throwing him back. As the troll pulled its arm back, Iris gave out a cry, watching in horror as the troll aimed and stabbed Frodo's chest. Iris watched as Frodo slowly drooped to the floor.

Just as the troll grabbed Merry, who had jumped onto its head, Wolverine slashed through the troll's leg, causing it to give out an anguished cry and throw Merry to the ground.

Urged by the thought of revenge for their fallen comrades the fellowship doubled their efforts, and with the help of the three mutants they managed to kill the troll and killing most of the orcs, sending the rest fleeing.

"Oh no!" Aragorn cried out, having regained consciousness in the midst of the final part of the battle. He ran over to where Frodo was lying and gently turned him over.

"He's alive!" Sam yelled as Frodo groaned. Stopping only to make sure that Frodo was still alive the group escaped through a rear door when they heard orcs down the large hall.

"To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf yelled, going first through the doorway. Running somewhere in the middle Iris heard the foul voices of orcs closing in on them. Racing through another hall they could see an army of orcs coming after them. Some were even attempting to crawl down the large pillars. As loads of orcs started closing in on them, the group formed a circle, defending the hobbits. Standing in the middle of the circle with the hobbits, Iris could feel her heart racing. As the orcs started moving closer, a flicker of light appeared at the end of the hall, followed by deafening growl. For some reason the orcs panicked and started running away.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked.

"This is a foe beyond any of you" Gandalf said darkly. "Run!"

Going through a passageway, the fellowship and the mutants ran down a flight of steps. Running behind Legolas Iris saw that when the stairs made a sharp turn Boromir had almost fallen into a deep chasm. Taking another flight of stairs they finally stopped when the stairs they were taking had a gap. Legolas jumped over the gap first of all, telling Gandalf to jump. Just as Gandalf landed on the other side of the gap a couple of arrows came whistling through the air. Taking advantage of the fact that Legolas and Aragorn were returning the shots, Iris, Wolverine and Gambit jumped over the gap.

After them came Boromir with Merry and Pippin under each arm. Helping them regain balance with a little help of her telekinesis, Iris backed enough to let the hobbits pass her by and go further down on the stairs. While Iris did so, Aragorn had grabbed Sam and tossed him to the other side, where he was caught by Boromir.

"Are you alright?" Iris asked the hobbits over her shoulder as Aragorn reached for Gimli. Glancing quickly behind her she saw the hobbits nod quietly. Turning back towards the gap Iris saw Legolas holding Gimli by the beard, preventing him from falling into the blackness. Quickly pulling Gimli into safety, Iris looked to the other side of the gap where Aragorn pushed Frodo back and threw himself on the stairs as high as he could reach, since the gap had gotten bigger as it was hit by falling stones. Not only had the falling stones made the gap bigger, it had also separated the part Frodo and Aragorn were standing on from the rest of the stairs. While Aragorn and Frodo balanced on the unsteady part they the rest could hear the Balrog get closer.

"Stay there. Hold on. Hang on! Lean forward!" Aragorn instructed Frodo as the pillar started wobbling.

"Come on!" Legolas urged. Shifting their weight forward, tipping the stairs, they slammed onto the part where the others were standing. Just as the two parts collided, the two of them jumped into safety. Not wasting any time they all started running down the stairs as fast as they could.

"Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf yelled as he turned around to face the Balrog. While Gimli lead the way across the narrow bridge, he was followed by Merry and Pippin. After them came the others and then the three mutants. Last to cross the bridge where Boromir and Aragorn. Halfway across the bridge Gandalf stopped and turned to face the Balrog. The Balrog let out a menacing growl, sending shivers down Iris's spine.

"Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass!" Gandalf shouted at the top of his lungs, challenging the enormous beast. The Balrog looked like a shadow figure, surrounded by fire. It had a man-shape, only larger, much larger. And somehow it was seemed to give out a wave of terror as it stepped closer to the bridge and spread its wings.

Iris felt the wave of fear that seemed to be coming from the thing. She could hear someone call out Gandalf's name, but it seemed so distant. She felt paralyzed. The only thing she could do was watch the scene that was playing out in front of her eyes.

Gandalf's staff was giving out a white glow, lighting up the entire bridge.

"I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun!" he yelled as the Balrog took a step forward. The monster attempted to strike at Gandalf with a flaming sword, but Gandalf parried the blow with a sword of his own, shattering the Balrog's sword. "Go back to the Shadow!" Gandalf told the Balrog. As an answer the large beast waved a flaming whip around threateningly.

"YOU...SHALL NOT...PASS!!!" Gandalf shouted as he banged his staff against the bridge. As the Balrog stepped out on the narrow bridge, it collapsed under it due to the tremendous weight. Exhausted, Gandalf leant against his staff, watching his foe be enveloped by the darkness of the deep chasm. Not admitting defeat, the demon lashed his whip at the last minute from the deep, trying to bring Gandalf down with him. The talons of the whip wound around the wizard's ankle, dragging him over the edge.

Iris could feel someone brush by her, screaming Gandalf's name. Unconsciously Iris stretched out with her mind towards Gandalf, only to be met with great resistance. Somehow he managed to 'throw' her out of her head, making Iris take a surprised and still stunned step back.

"Fly you fools!" was the last thing Gandalf said before losing his grip, before falling into the darkness below. Iris's eyes widened and could hear sounds and screams. Feeling someone grab her arm and started pulling her away, she simply let herself be led up the stairs and out of the cave as it starts raining on them.

Once out of the cave everyone took a moment to come to terms with what happened at the bridge. Sam was sitting on the ground, crying into his hands, while Merry was comforting Pippin. Legolas and Boromir simply seemed to be shocked, and Gimli was busy venting out his rage and sorrow. Gambit and Wolverine were standing to the side, letting the others deal with their grief in their own way. Iris, who was still a bit shocked, just stood there, staring at nothing. While many of the others were crying, Iris couldn't. It wasn't as if she didn't care, but more like she hadn't come over the shock yet. She had seen a man fall to his death. For the first time, she had seen a man die. A man she knew. Her eyes flickered from one member of the fellowship to another, and seeing the grief at the loss of so dear a friend hit her harder than her own feelings. Seeing the tears and hearing the sobs made her heart clench in her chest. Her barriers were crumbling under the massive waves of emotion, forcing her to concentrate on them before they fell altogether. If they did... she didn't know what to do if that happened.

Aragorn whipped his sword clean, re-sheathed it and turned to the group. He told Legolas to get the others up. At once Boromir objected, telling him to 'Give them a moment for pity's sake!'

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs! We must reach the Woods of Lothlórien. Come Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up" he retorted.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait, but i've had some problems with my computer. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you've hopefully enjoyed the rest of the story. CC is as always welcome. Remember, the purple button is you're friend!