With Gandalf leading them on, the Fellowship dashed out of the Chamer and into the direction of the Twenty-First exit. Before they left Hiccup had already mounted Toothless and the two of them ran ahead of Gandalf to lead the group on.

Though as they did, goblin calls and screeches echoed throughout the hall. A few hundred yards ahead of them, the Fellowship observed a dark massive horde of goblins quickly moving towards them.

"There's too many of them bud," Hiccup said to his dragon. "We'll never make to the other side!"

He wasn't wrong. By this time Toothless looked around and saw thousands of goblins going from springing out of the floor, to crawling out of the ceiling like flies. Knowing that they would inevitably overrun within minutes, Toothless leapt into the air and flew straight ahead towards the incoming goblins. From there fired a plasma blast straight at the coming horde.

The rest of the Fellowship felt the ground tremble beneath their feet once the blast hit the goblins upon impact. The duo then double back and fire another plasma blast at the horde. Of course they retaliated by throwing spears and shooting arrows at them, but they would often rebound from those strikes and return fire with two more plasma blasts.

Like in the Chamber, the blasts were powerful enough to cause huge explosions. Which sent goblins flying in all directions as well as burning the rest of them. It left the Felloship slightly confused, but it would appear that the boy and dragon were doing a great service to them by trying to clear a path between the goblins and the Hall's exit. Another way of doing this was a more tactical approach.

As Hiccup and Toothless flew over the horde, Hiccup took two cannisters and sprayed loads of Hideous Zippleback gas onto the goblins. And they were going so fast, that the goblins could barley see them. Thus, disabled their ability to throw things at them. After getting about ten feet, Hiccup then ignites the gas and sets the goblins ablaze.

Giving the Fellowship more of a green-light to the end of the hall. Though as they tried to catch up to them, another horde of goblins came from behind them, and then in all directions. The goblins then starting filling the gaps they had emerged out the holes in the Hall's roof before rapidly climbing down its pillars headfirst to the floor. The rest of the Fellowship was now arrayed in a tight circle as the goblins had now completely surrounded them.

Hiccup and Toothless most likely had to stop and turn around, to see the Fellowship surrounded.

"No," he whispered, fearing for their lives.

But before they could even attack a deep and ominous rumble echoed throughout the Hall. It was powerful enough bring all activity within the Twenty-First Hall to a halt.

Just as earlier when roar stopped all combat in the Chamber of Mazarbul, the rumble bought all activity within the Twenty-First Hall to a halt. By then a fiery light shined at the end of the hall. Which drew the faces of all who were in the halls. Even Hiccup and Toothless. At this rate the goblins exchanged panicked clicks and screeches and rapidly fled from the Fellowship back to the shadows they had come from.

With no goblins in the area, the dynmic duo was able to return to the others while also facing the fiery light. Hiccup dismounted Toothless and joined Gandalf and Boromir. Aside from sensing the rumble and the glow, Thor also smelt something burning. The fear on the goblins faces indicated to him that, whatever was the source of their panic, it could not be simply an underground fire.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked Gandalf, almost shaking like a leaf.

At first Gandalf did not answer Boromir or even turn to face him. Gandalf's head was bowed and he closed his eyes lost in thought. His greatest fear about the Fellowship travelling through Moria had now been realised by the young viking and dragon.

"A Balrog," he answered, with a thinly hidden dread crawling up his spine. "A demon from the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you."

Toothless then growled upon hearing that. He was a very confident dragon and could even take on the biggest of creatures. He went from defeating the Red Death, to dominating the bewilderbeest. All while his best friend was at his side. He was pretty sure that he could handle such a creature as this. Well, most likely anyway. Unfortunately for him, that would have to wait under Gandalf's simple command.

"RUN!"

The Fellowship quickly reached the Hall exit. The exit was a narrow doorway of normal height that led into an equally narrow downward flight of steps. Boromir was the first to go down. The rest followed, though Ganalf, Aragorn and Hiccup fell behind a bit. The Captain of Gondor raced down the stairs until he exited through another narrow doorway that led to a landing. The Fellowship had exited into a very large chasm that was traversed by a narrow stairway.

Boromir moved off the landing and down the stairway that was directly ahead of him. However after running down only a few stairs he had to suddenly halt as the stairs ended before a bottomless drop. As he struggled to regain his balance he dropped the torch he was carrying down the chasm.

Fortunately Legolas and Gimli each grabbed one of his arms to steady his dangerous balancing. The rest of the Fellowship members that had exited the Hall had to turn to their right and take a detour down an alternate flight of stairs that lead to the cavern's main staircase.

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Toothless and Aragorn came out on the landing with Gandalf trailing behind them. Both of them noticed that Gandalf appeared to be struggling somewhat and moved closer to support him.

"Gandalf," he said the the Istari, with a bit of concern.

The Istari put his right hand on Aragorn's shoulder and looked at him.

"Lead them on," Gandalf told the ranger.

If Hiccup did not know better, by the tone in the wizard's voice, he seemed to be passing the line of command to Aragorn. As if he knew something was about to happen. Before he could have a chance to ask what Gandalf had in mind, he spoke again.

"The bridge is near."

They look across a wide space to a long bridge spanning the gap between a hall and a cliff face just as the Balrog roars again. Aragorn moves towards Gandalf, but Gandalf pushes Aragorn roughly away from him.

"Do as I say!" he commanded.

Aragorn was confused as to where he was getting at, but had no choice but to abide to Gandalf's wishes.

"Swords are of no more use here!"

By then Aragorn went to join the others. Hiccup went to follow, but Gandalf stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Listen to me," he said to the young boy. "You can end this...stop the war...everything."

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Whatever happens, do not lose hope," Gandalf answered. "You must, for you may be all that is left to end this?"

"Relax Gandalf," Hiccup reassured the wizard. "What do you think I've been trying to do."

And with that, he went to the others. Toothless followed through, giving Gandalf a smirk before doing so. By the time they reached the end, the Balrog's roar was heard through the bridge.

The Fellowship continued to descend down a flight of stairs that were twisting into the fiery depths, and also rising from the ground. However, they soon had to stop when they came across a gap within the stairs.

Legolas was the first to leap to the other side. The Balrog's rumbles tear through the fiery light. Foundations splinter and crumble, sending huge rocks tumbling into the depths. Gandalf was about to jump when he heard the Balrog's roar coming from behind the Fellowship.

He looked around to see the Hall exit was had fiery red glow. Each step the still unseen Balrog took shook the staircase well as parts of the cavern roof to crumble down on it.

"Gandalf," Legolas called to him.

By then the wizard refocused on the task at hand and jumped across the gap. When he landed, he heard an arrow whistle overhead from his left. He turned in that direction to see that a company of goblin archers had perched themselves about sixty yards away on a ledge overlooking the Fellowship. In retaliation, Legolas fired back. Piercing a goblin archer to the skull and causing it to fall off the ledging, screaming as it descended into the dark abyss.

Toothless then responds by firing at a pplasma blast at the columns where the goblins were hiding. Upon impact, the column exploded into pieces and cause many goblins to fall. Yet the goblins did not give up. Tw rounds had passed and they still filled their air with arrows. One of which either missed or bounced off of the Night Fury's left wing. Whom had shielded the other Fellowship members before counter firing.

"They're trying to pin us down!" Boromir addressed

"Then you'll need some air support," said Hiccup before mounting his dragon. "Get to the other side. Toothless and I will keep these eggheads busy."

"Here," Legolas said before throwing something to the viking shot. "Take this."

Hiccup took no time to catch the item, and when he looked down, he realized that Legolas had given him a spare bow. With a quiver of arrows to add to it.

"You're a better shot up there than I am," Legolas commented before loading another arrow.

"Really?"

"No," Legolas denied before shooting that arrow at another goblin. Once it wa dead, he then turned back to Hiccup. "I was just trying to make you feel better."

Hiccup rolls his eyes before motioning over to Toothless. From that point on Toothless lept off of the bridge to their left and descended towards the pillars. There, they flew over the pillars. Toothless starts firing a series of plasma blasts while dodging the goblin arrows. They did a loop, leveled out a couple times, doubled back and then fired another blast.

Thinking about his archery skills, Hiccup grabbed the bow that Legolas had lended him, notched an arrow, and then fired it at one of the goblins at the pillar to the far right of the stairs. When he turned back he saw that he landed a perfect shot at the goblin. And then watched as it fell further into the abyss bellow them. Hiccup would admire his current skill, but then realized that there was more to go and then had Toothless move on to the next pillar.

As the goblins focussed all their attention on the dynamic duo, the Fellowship took the opportunity to keep moving. Gandalf and Legolas were already at the other side of the stairs. Next up was Boromir, who decided to take Merry and Pippin with him to the other side.

"Merry! Pippin!" Boromir called to as he grabbed the two hobbits.

There the three of them jumped at the same time to the other side. Though at the same time, the ground beneath them started to shake. Inevitably giving away as the stairs started to fall. Hiccup and Toothless saw this, and then continued to deal with the goblin before going back to help the others.

To pick up the pace, Toothless flew closer to the pillars and fired a blue stream of flame continuously at the goblins. Burning them to cinder and ash as well as melting a good portion of the pillars that came with them. At the same time, Hiccup notched three more arrows and instantly fired them at three goblins. Lending another three perfectly good shots before firing another two at two more goblins.

Meanwhile, Legolas fires his arrow at another archer that had come too close to the ledge it was hiding on. Aragorn had already put away the arrow that he was currently wielding and then turned over to the next hobbit. Who turned out to be Sam.

"Sam," he called to him.

Accepting the ranger's hand, Aragorn picked up the hobbit with both his arms and threw him over the gap as hard as he could. Boromir safely caught Sam on the hobbit's downward trajectory. Seeing that there was only two more left, Aragorn then moved to do the same with Gimli but was halted when the dwarf raised his hand.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf!" Gimli stated indignantly before rolling his shoulders and launching himself into a mighty leap with a determined cry.

Despite his pride, Gimli's leap was not strong enough to reach the other side and he landed precipitously on the edge of the gap's other side. He would have fallen to his death had not Legolas rapidly grabbed his beard.

"Not the beard!" he yelled to the elf.

Even though it as a bit of a struggle, Legolas managed to pull him up the stairs before he could fall into the chasm. Meanwhile, Toothless fired another plasma blast at another archer while simutaneously avoiding another arrow. Hiccup looked back to see that he was almost out of arrows. Though that didn't seem to be a problem since a majority of the goblins had been taken care of.

However, when they turned back to see the others, the viking chief noticed that some of the stone steps started to break apart of the ledge Aragorn and Frodo were on. There the ranger pushes the Ring Bearer back up the steps and clambers after him while not trying to fall himself. Afterwards he helped the hobbit up and then looked back to the widened gap that had separated them from the rest of the Fellowship members.

"Hold on," he told him.

To their misfortune on the other hand, the balrog could be heard approaching them from the other hall. With its fiery light getting closer and closer with each second. Within minutes the stone structures around the stares began to collapse all around. Causing Hiccup and Toothless to dodging them as they fell. One stone structure in particular smashed through the steps just behind Frodo and Aragorn. Leaving them trapped.

The gap between the two of them and the rest of the Fellowship was now about twenty four feet in length. It was probably too long of a distance for either the man or Hobbit to jump across. Luckily for them on the other hand, they had an eye in the sky to help them out. Seeing the situation, Hiccup and Toothless made another turn and went straight for the two of them.

In time, Aragorn saw the dynamic duo approaching him and instantly knew what to do.

"Hang on Frodo," he said as he grabbed Frodo.

As they prepared themselves, the balrog was drawing ever closer to them. Which meant there was no time to waste for both dragon and rider. As quick as a flash, they appeared flew to them just in time for Toothless to grab Frodo and Aragorn with his paws. He then flew over to the other side with the rest of the fellowship, and dropped the two off from there.

Both of them were too shocked to scream asthey landed on the other side of the stairs. Or at least from being lifted into the air of course. But it was normal for people who have never really been carried by or rode an actual dragon. Though they were a bit disoriented from the experience. On the other hand, the Fellowship never noticed the broken staircasee falling to their direction and ineviatbly smashing onto the case they were in. With a heavy impact, they wobbled a bit before Aragorn and Frodo came back to their senses.

Meanwhile, Gandalf looked to the duo, whom were hovering just above them

"Keep going!" Hiccup said to the wizard. "We're right behind you."

By then, the fellowship kept moving as the broken staircase collapsed behind them, falling to the side and crumbling as it falls into the dark abyss bellow them. As they went on, the landing turned a left corner into a long corridor that led to the bridge. From there Gandalf stopped at the stop corridor to let the rest of the Fellowship pass them. All the while, Hiccup and Toothless flew above them.

"Over the Bridge!" Gandalf commanded to all of the members who had run past him. "Fly!"

It was at that moment the Fellowship heard a deep, evil roar that sounded like a raging forest fire given a voice all its own. From the inferno arising from the pit behind them, the Balrog jumped onto the landing with a loud, shakin thud. At the sound of the thudding, Hiccup and Toothless stopped for a moment and looked at the twenty foot tall demon.

Which kind of reminded Hiccup of Surtur the fire demon. Except that its horns were facing down and not up like in the legends. And it had wings and a large tail that stretched for a bit. Something that Surtur definitely did not have. However, before he could finish his personal analysis of the creature, it opened its maw and out came a rippling heat with a rumble to add. By this time Gandalf turned and went to join his colleages.

Hiccup, who thought of buying the others some time to cross, ordered Toothless to fire a plasma blast at the demon. Upon impact however, the blast proved unaffective as the Balrog continued its approach. Toothless then fired three more plasma blasts while backing up as well. After the fourth, the three of them accepted that the offense was not working, and retreated to the others.

As the Fellowship continued onto the bridge, the dragon and rider had already flown passed them and landed on the other side. Where the both of them waited for the others to catch up. So far, Aragorn had been the first to cross. Behind him, Frodo and Boromir followed. Behind them were the rest of the hobbits as well as Gimli. The last one to cross was Legolas.

So far Gandalf was all that was left. But instead of crossing, he stopped in the middle of the bridge. Staring back at the Balrog. Of course Gandalf was aware of what was going on behind him, but he paid it no mind. His focus was on the demon itself, and its dark trickery. It would be of no use here.

"You cannot pass!" he emphatically stated to the creature of exact doom.

In response, the balrog to its full height, and igniting its whole body into an inferno. The Balrog then drew with its right hand a long flaming sword from under its newly formed wings.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yelled in horror at the sight before him and the rest of the Fellowship.

Gandalf held Glamdring in his right hand, and his staff in his left as he blocked the Balrog's path across the Bridge. This left Hiccup virtually confused. For he had no idea what was currently happening.

"What's he doing?" he asked the others, though he did not get an answer.

Though as he and the others watched, he saw that giant shadows like wings of ash started to swirl around the fire creature. Whom had stood tall while flames started bursting around its body. All the while Gandalf stood before the it, with his staff and sword raised like he was blocking the balrog's path to the other side of the bridge.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire," he started chanting. "Wielder of the Flame of Anor!"

Hiccup did not know what the wizard was referring to, but before he could suffice his questions, he looked to see Gandalf's staff glowing. Then he watched the Istari lift it up while continuing to speak his defiance to the Balrog in front of him.

"The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udûn!"

The Balrog responded by a powerful swing of its sword down towards him. However the sword appeared to disintegrate when Gandalf blocked it with Glamdring within the bubble of light, which quickly dissipated from the clash of swords.

Everyone already across the bridge ere completely dumbfounded by the unfolding duel between Gandalf and the balrog. Hiccup and Toothless were but no exception. They had already faced much bigger beasts than this. And seeing this made them all look like a kid playing with dolls. Well, most of it anyway. Enraged by the loss of its sword, the Balrog bellows at the gray wizard.

Nevertheless, Gandalf stood his ground. Being the shield that guards the Fellowship with all his will while defying the balrog at the same time.

"Go back the the Shadow!" he tells the beast.

In response, the balrog narrows its eyes down upon Gandalf. Utterly p*ssed with his defiance. A beast as mighty as it was to be feared by all creatures. Even Toothless, who is not one to fear anything, displayed a little concern of it. And the balrog knew it too. So for an Istari to defy it was totally unsatisfying. But instead of doing nothing, it stepped forward onto the bridge.

And then brandished a flaming whip, by which it lashed about menacingly. Though Gandalf did not flee. Instead he stood fast. Not backing down to its new and intimidating weapon. And with all of his might, he summoned the last of his strength while raising his sword and staff together above his head.

"YOU...SHALL...NOT...PASS!" he declared.

And with that, he drove his staff into the bridge. Which resulted in a loud cracking noise being heard throughout the chamber. The balrog responded by flaring its nostirls. Calling Gandalf's words a bluff. Then it began to step forward and onto the bridge. Though what didn't know was that a wizard's words are never a bluff. By the time it got halfway across the bridge, it began to collapse from underneath it.

And The rest of the Fellowship looked on as the flaming demon began to plummet into the bottomless chasm bellow it , unable to latch onto anything with the now sizable gap between the bridge and the corridor it was previously connected to. As of a result from all of the energy that he had poured into this one simple move, Gandalf gave an exhausted grunt towards the Balrog's seeming demise before turning to join the rest of the Fellowship.

However, at the last second before he could rejoin his colleagues,the tail end of the balrog's whip lashes upward and wraps around Gandalf's right ankle. Dragging him down. His sword and staff slipped from his grasp into the abyss, while he was left to cling to the ledge for dear life. Frodo saw this, and tried to rush over to him, but Boromir restrained him from doing so. Fearing what could happen if he tried to help him.

"No, no," he told the hobbit while holding him back.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yelled as he struggled to get loose.

As the wizard grasped vainly for the ledge, he caught a glimpse of the others, and then ceased to struggle. He gave the rest of the Fellowship a final look before he gave them their last command.

"Fly you fools!"

After that, he finally lets go of the ledge and falls into the abyss. Spreading out his arms as he descends down into the light of which the balrog had made, before it died out from being so far down. And thus, was he never seen again. Back up top, the others were shocked. Frodo's was no exception, with his pained scream encapsulating all across the Bridge of Kazad Dum.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Now normally, Hiccup's first instinct would be to go down there and try to save Gandalf from his fate with the balrog. But was too stunned as to what had just happened to try to do it. Along with Aragorn, his gaze was transfixed on the edge that Gandalf had clung to. Only after Toothless called to him was he able to snap out of it.

"Come on bud," he said to Toothless. "Let's try to get after him."

Then, as quick as a flash did they make their way to the bridge. But before they could jump down into the chasm, an arrow struck the ground right in front of them. When they looked up, they saw an entire horde of goblins approaching them. With the balrog gone, they were given safe passage to resume their previous pursuit of the company.

They could jump down there, had there be so many arrows flying straight at them. From there Toothless fired a plasma blast back at the goblins before backing up from the ledge. They got several feet away from the ledge before Toothless another two shots. And it was at that moment that Hiccup realized that there was nothing they could do for Gandalf.

It was either that or risk getting him or Toothless injured. The Night Fury himself knew this too, and decided to fire one last plasma blast before turning tail and bailing out. Along the way, they both saw Aragorn exiting the bridge last before joining him and the rest.

By then the Fellowship soon exited outside of Moria onto the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. They all needed to readjust their eyes from Moria's darkness to the bright sunlight they had run into. Standing on a smooth rocky slope, the Fellowship paused to catch their breaths. as they did, each member of the Fellowship were mixed with a lot of emotions.

Sam couldn't help but slump down to the gronund, bowing down his head and onto his hands while weeping with the death of Gandalf. Gimli, wanting revenge for what had happened to their fellow wizard, wanted to go back into the mines and relentlessly slaughter the goblins. Though he had been held back by Boromir, who knew that it would be a death sentence to go back in there.

Merry was busy consoling Pippin, who had already lost it and at the thought that it was his fault for the lose of Gandalf. Knowing that his foolishness had alerted all of the goblins back in the mines. Legolas wears the look of a person who seemed to be lost, surprised, and yet confused. Gandalf was the most reliable person of the company. One who knew as much as he did.

How could he die like that? To fall into a chasm that is about to be covered in shadow and flame. Escpecially since they are about to enter enemy territory. As for the young viking chief himself, he knew that this was a heavy burden to carry. Knowing what it is like to lose one who was loved most. Gandalf was a good person. And he let him down by failing to save him.

Yet he did know that Gandalf's sacrifice was not in vain. For they had already made it out of Moria. And with his help, they made it out without a giant fire demon on their tail. So at least that was worth the while. Yet he still could not believe what had happened back there.

Nearby, Aragorn finishes cleaning his sword before putting it back in its socket and turned to ther others.

"Legolas," he called to his elf companion. "Get them up."

By then Legolas was able to hear Aragorn's command and then starts to get the hobbits back up on their feet. An unlikely thing for them to do since Gandalf is now gone, but Hiccup knew that they couldn't linger for too long. Not while danger was still out here.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" the Gondorian captain pleaded.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs!" Aragorn warned, knowing the consequences if they stayed. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien."

Hiccup wanted to vouch for Aragorn, but Boromir had a really good point. At least give them a moment to take this in before they could resume their quest. Though at the same time Aragorn did have a point. No way was that do shut when they escaped. Pretty soon they'd be facing endless hordes of goblins to the point where they would have nowhere to run or hide.

But instead of wanting in on this debate, he figured that it was best to stay out of it. As Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli went on to get the hobbits up, Hiccup went over to Toothless and put a few things into his saddle. Of course the Night Fury understood the circumstances that were given out, and the two of them kept the whole thing to themselves.

Once he was done, he then patted Toothless's head before heading off to scout the area. But before he could he saw Frodo from a distance, standing alone upon the stark hillside while grieving for Gandalf's loss. He went to go comfort him when he heard Aragorn's footsteps approaching. He turned his head slightly to the right and saw Aragorn coming from the corner of his eye. And from what it seemed, he was going to pick Frodo back up as well.

But instead, he stopped the ranger in his tracks with the motioning of his hands. Then he looked to him with his hand still out.

"Let me handle this," he told Aragorn.

Aragorn was a bit puzzled by this, but gave him a nod instead. It was best that he let the viking do it so it could save them some time. Afterwards, Hiccup slowly approached Frodo. His faint expression of empathy showing on his face. By the time he could even reach eye level to the hobbit, he looked upon him and saw the very face that reminded him of a memory he did not wish to remember.

It was the same face that he had made when he lost his own father. The sorrow and grief he had once shared the day that he lost him at the talons of his own dragon. Now apparently, the circumstances are quite different, but that still doesn't change the fact that the young ring-bearer showed only a reflection of what he was on that one terrible day.

He did not know how to handle it. At first for the moment. But the moment he searched through his own feelings, he finally knew what he had to be said. He took a knee, and slowly cleansed onto Frodo's hands.

"I'm sorry about Gandalf Frodo," he said in a soft, gentle voice. "He was a good man. A friend. "

Frodo did not respond. Only looked up, and into Hiccup's eyes. Still grieving while hearing the young chief out.

"He was nothing but kind, and loyal to all of us," he continued. "He led us this far to destroy this ring."

He then looked to the One ring, showing no interest for it. Frodo looked to him wearily, but then was reassured when Hiccup put his hand on his shoulder. With his expression, showing a bit a sympathy.

"What's say we finish what he started. Alright?"

Frodo then reluctantly agreed. Seeing how kind the viking's words were to him. Unlike the others. No one has ever been this empathetic to him. Not since he helped bring him to Rivendell after he was stabbed by those wraiths. Just goes to show that there are others who share the same feelings. Afterwards, Hiccup stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on," Hiccup said. "I'll walk with you."

From there the young lad went back to Toothless, whom had already came to the others, and looked over to Aragorn, seeing that he and the others were back up.

"We're ready."

And that's the end of the chapter if you have any questions, comments, concerns or anything in particular about this chapter, story, or anything in general please click on the review box down bellow. Alright folks, see you soon.