Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. In this chapter, I used a few quotes from the book.

Gandalf –dumbledore –obi-wan: Thank you for your review! That's actually part of the reason that I didn't want to have any romance in this story. Even though, if done correctly, tenth walker romance stories can be good, it has been done so much. I want this story to be different. Also, I just couldn't see this being a good romance story. I'm glad you like it! Anyways, thanks again!

Chapter 9 – This Is It

"I'm all right," Frodo said. "Put me down. I can walk."

Startled with joy and shock, Aragorn gently set Frodo on the floor. "I thought you were dead," he declared.

"Not yet," Gandalf said. "We have no time to linger and wonder. We must keep moving."

Joy set aside, the fellowship continued running with orcs closing in on all sides.

It was not long before the fellowship was trapped.

Despite the fact that Tammy knew the fellowship made it past this, she couldn't help but to be frightened along with everyone else. 'How do we manage to get out of this one?' she thought.

No sooner had she thought this, than a thump sounded. A fiery glow became visible down the hallway.

Almost as quickly, if not even more so, the orcs scurried away out of fright.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir inquired.

Gandalf paused, closing his eyes coming to accept what he had feared to be true. "A Balrog… This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

Without hesitation, the fellowship was once again on the move.

Everything was a blur as everyone sprinted down the hallway. The only thing that they were even worried about at that time was that they made it out of the mines.

All quickly halted. Boromir had found that the staircase in front of them was gone. Only a few steps remained. The only thing that kept Boromir from falling over the precipice was Legolas, who steadied him from behind.

Realizing that they could no longer travel straight ahead, the fellowship turned and proceeded down the steps to their left, until they came upon a break in the staircase. Carefully, each member of the company jumped across the small chasm.

This went fairly smoothly until the gap continually increased in size. Merry, Pippin, and Sam were all either carried or thrown across. Gimli, with his pride, refused to allow anyone toss him across, saying, "No one tosses a dwarf." He just barely made it, having to be pulled onto the other side via his beard.

With only Aragorn and Frodo remaining cut off on the other side, the chasm became so great, that it was impossible to jump across. Even worse, a large rock fell from the ceiling, causing another break in the staircase behind Aragorn and Frodo, isolating them.

Aragorn held on to Frodo and told him to lean forward once he felt the ground beneath them begin to move. When the small island they were on shifted close enough to the rest of the staircase, they quickly made the jump, each being caught by another member of the fellowship.

Having all crossed the gap, they continued on their way out of the mines.

Tammy felt a pang in her stomach at what she saw before her…the bridge. 'This is it,' she thought.

The fellowship raced across the thin bridge. There wasn't much time. They were being followed.

Once Gandalf was about half of the way across, he stopped and turned around to face the creature that was pursuing them.

The creature was surrounded in flame. It had long black horns that curved out from its forehead. It carried a sword and a whip.

"You shall not pass," Gandalf said, raising his sword and staff before him. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. Dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn."

A strange white glow surrounded Gandalf. The creature stepped forward, raising its sword. As the sword made contact with the white force field, sparks flew. The sword was repelled away.

"Go back to the shadow." The creature swung its whip out to the side. Gandalf raised his sword and staff together. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" With that, he brought his sword and staff down, hitting them against the bridge.

The creature moved forward, ignoring Gandalf. Once it stepped onto the bridge, the bridge crumbled out from under it.

Gandalf stood his ground, not moving until the creature had fallen into the abyss. Once he was sure that all was well, he turned around and began walking away, towards the fellowship that was awaiting him on the other side.

Before he got far, the creature's fiery whip lashed out and wrapped around Gandalf's feet, pulling him backwards and over the edge of the bridge.

For a few moments, Gandalf struggled to climb back onto the bridge. With the realization that he couldn't make it, he looked up at the fellowship.

For just a moment, which felt like an eternity, Gandalf locked eyes with Tammy, a silent understanding passing between them. She could almost hear Gandalf's realization that this was meant to be… He was meant to fall…

Tammy looked away, not bearing to look, using all the strength she had to stay put.

"Fly, you fools," he said and then let go, falling into the abyss with the creature.

A/N: Well, that's it for chapter nine. Hope you liked it!