Disclaimers: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, "Star Wars", The Shannara Series, "The Shannara Chronicles", and Peter Pan. They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George Lucas, Disney, Terry Brooks, MTV, Spike, and J.M. Barrie. All canon material belongs to their respected owners. All original material, including original characters, belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction story.
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Welcome to the first heroes team-up fanfiction story for the first phase of my Epic Struggles series. :) I've been waiting a while to write this fanfic. Now that it's here, I'm so excited to get it started. :) This story will include the canon and original characters who appeared in the previous stories of my Epic Struggles series.
So, without further ado, I present The Shadow Squad.
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Previously On….
The Epic Struggles: Phase 1
~o~
Multifaceted
"Tell me." The healer coaxed him. "What's bothering you?"
Frodo Baggins closed his mouth. Something was holding him back. Some force he couldn't ignore. He was trapped, with no way out.
.
"I know you don't trust me. I'm hardly surprised." The dragon-like creature smiled in a friendly manner. "It's all right. You need not fear me. I didn't ask to be here, and yet here I am."
"Who – are you?" Frodo asked, trembling.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Parker Dooley, at your service!" The dragon-like creature bowed.
.
The gentle-hobbit said, calming down. "You were evil. Who were you back then?"
"Maranguan." Parker said, guiltily. "That was two hundred years ago. I've long since shed that name, but the pain still persists."
"Who was the woman?" Frodo asked, curious.
"A memory… of who I lost." Parker gulped, a single tear streaking down his scaly face.
"Tell me. I'll understand—"
"Unfortunately, there are some secrets best be left buried." The dragonoid said, moving away from him.
.
"You were injured," Frodo said, panting. "I watched you die!"
"You saw my future." Parker sighed, distraught.
Frodo asked, uncertain, "Who are those people? Why were they all fighting against each other?"
"It's the Great Battle," Parker explained. "One that will happen if we don't stop it."
~o~
In the Land of Dragons
"Parker," a healer walked into the room, taking a seat on his bed, "you're being discharged today."
Parker exhaled, opening his eyes and staring at the young woman. "I thought I would stay here." He sighed, sadly, "All of my friends, my companions, my lover is dead. Whatever new friends I have, they're gone. After all these years, twenty years, I doubt the Land of Dragons is the same. Much has changed since I returned home."
.
"What if a Shannara spoke for him?" a masculine voice said, startling the crowd. The figure pulled back his hood, revealing ruffled blonde hair, a fair face, and short pointy ears. This man was donned in a brown leather jacket, a black shirt, brown trousers, and brown boots. He turned to Mordru, telling him, "Let him go. Parker Dooley's done nothing wrong."
"Who are you, boy?" Mordru asked, fuming.
"My name is Wil Ohmsford!" Wil introduced himself. "My ancestor is Jerle Shannara, the Elven King of the Four Lands." The crowd whispered and cried out. That didn't stop Wil from speaking to Mordru. "Parker saved my life when he was in Shady Vale. I was about to be run over by a horse-drawn cart when this dragonoid came to my rescue. It was as if he knew I was in danger. His foresight saved me!"
.
Mordru released Parker in vain. "You had to go on your quests without me! You defied this family over and over again. You're a disgrace to the Dooley line!" He threw the knife on the platform in agony. "This isn't over! When I return, I will have my revenge." He waved his hands at the air, forming a bright portal a few inches away. He smiled, but the smile faded, turning into rage. "We'll see each other again, brother." He ran towards the portal, vanishing on sight. The portal disappeared after him, leaving nothing but traces of the bright gold light behind.
~o~
The Heart of the Ocean
"Look, when Allanon came to you, Frodo, he pulled you out of your timeline. He's doing the same with Rose and Jack," Parker said, concerned.
"Whose Jack?" Rose DeWitt Bukater asked, intrigued. "And why have I heard that name before?"
"Jack is a… a long story. To put it bluntly, your timeline has been messed up and not by me or Frodo's doing." Parker admitted, noticing his dragonoid form shifting back and forth between his hobbit form. He shook his head, facing Frodo once again, "Frodo, we don't have much time. We need to go back," he looked at Rose, intrigued, "and I guess we're taking her with us."
~o~
The Crystals of Ilum
Parker gulped. "My son ran off after I turned back into Parker Dooley. Me. I don't know where he went. He just said he had business to attend to, and that was it. I don't know where he went or what he did, but Janet's daughter went with him. Who knows where their fate led them. My son left me and Corin with nothing more than an empty history." He looked up at Allanon in vain. "I cannot bring him back. I don't know if he had other relatives or children. I just know that they went and didn't return! Is that what you asked?"
There was a pause, a silence that Frodo couldn't quite ignore. "What's going on? What aren't you telling us?"
"This is something that everyone needs to hear, for if it is not told soon, then it will never be said!" Allanon said, fuming.
.
"Allanon," Rose spoke for the first time, getting the Druid's attention, "tell them. Tell them what you told me." She paused. "It's all right. I know the truth is hard."
"Allanon, what is it? What aren't you saying to us?" Parker asked the Druid, curious.
"When Janet came to the Druids on Lehon, after her disastrous meeting with the White Wolf, there was one piece of information that got left out," Allanon said, curious. "The Druids know everything. Generations lived after Halfbern's son and Janus' daughter met for the first time. They fell in love, gained a daughter, and that daughter married your son." He looked at Parker now in intrigue. "They had a son, whose name shall not be revealed until the time is right."
"There's more, I'm afraid," Allanon said, pressing a button on the table, bringing up a holographic moving picture. "Generations of Dooleys followed. Halflings as they were called, but something happened. That's where you stepped in last time and found the brothers Ronnie Baggins and Elijah Molvaro. That was 557 years before Marcho's time and 560 years before Blanco's birth."
"I'm related to them? They wanted nothing from me, at least Ronnie didn't." Parker lowered his head in shame. "It was a price I was willing to pay, like so many others." He sighed. "I regret becoming Maranguan. And yet, I can still hear his voice in my head. Taunting me, wanting me to become the beast I was before. Is that awful? Aren't we allowed to live in peace?"
"Peace only lasts for so long. Shall I continue?" Allanon asked the red dragonoid.
"Sure. Why not? I'm sure it's nothing more I can expect from you." Parker said, solemnly.
"Well, Ronnie's line continued to reign up until the present day. The Dooleys and the Baggins are connected throughout history, all the way back to the First World." Allanon gestured to Frodo. "We see the results right here, and yet there are another two who are distant relatives of yours." He pointed to Frodo and Parker. "That would be Eretria, who inherited Janet's complexion, and then there's Peter Pan, who inherited the god Pan's panpipe, after he gave it to Janus all those centuries ago. These three are related, and they're connected to you, Parker. You wanted a family, right?" He looked at Parker, giving him a warm smile.
.
"What do you want?" Frodo asked, hoping to get out of here.
The man pulled out a keyblade with a grey blade. "You won't remember a thing!" In one instance, he jabbed the keyblade's tip into Frodo's chest, right at his heart.
Frodo didn't know what was happening. He glanced once at an open doorway. There was Parker, the red dragonoid coming to his rescue. It was too late. Frodo knew it. He could feel his body glowing; there was a peacefulness in the air. He was drowning in the darkness. Nothing else mattered. Just… the darkness….
.…he was gone an instant later.
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"Thank you, Parker," Frodo said, understanding filling his entire being. He watched the red dragonoid release him, grateful for the assistance. "I suppose I owe you an apology. You are trying to save people. I didn't understand until tonight."
"I told you. I'm not the same dragonoid." The red dragonoid smirked. "I learned that from Eliza Bowler, my wife."
"You loved her, didn't you?" Frodo asked, curious.
Parker nodded. "With all my heart." He grinned. "I will protect you. I promise you. But first, we need to get going, to find Hondo, and then figure out a way to make you whole again."
"What did I become?" Frodo asked, cautious.
"We'll find out." Parker said, calmly.
.
Parker nodded to a soldier. "Take him away. We've got what we came for."
"Yes, sir! Come along you!" The brown dragonoid said, putting Hondo in handcuffs, before leading him over to a shuttle, where other prisoners stood.
"This isn't over! I will have justice yet!" Hondo added out of kindness, "And I would like a ship."
"Keep walking," the dragonoid soldier said, making their way onto the shuttle.
.
"What are you doing here?" Hondo asked the red dragonoid, cautious. "This is my cage! Go find your own!"
"I'm here to barter with you, for your freedom," the red dragonoid showed his teeth. "Call me Mordru."
"Mordru, eh?" Hondo scoffed, not liking where this was going. "Look, I know you people. You'll swindle me in about a second."
"It's important that you hear me out. I have a mission for you if you're willing to accept." Mordru said, smiling.
"Yeah? What mission is that?" Hondo asked, curious. "Does it involve money? Because money is no object! I have work to do."
"Oh, but you'll love this offer. It's one of many. That is if you are interested," Mordru offered.
Hondo gave it some thought. This red dragonoid seemed friendly. He was willing to barter for his freedom. That made the space pirate happy! But was it worth it? He really wanted to get out of here and head back to his Weequay gang, but would they understand? Would they lock him up, too?
"What do I have to do?" Hondo said.
~o~
The Panpipe
Eretria asked, confused. "Why would you have taken me? I've done nothing to you!"
"We're related," Peter said, startling her.
"Tell me why we're related! I've never seen you before," Eretria said, running into the cave.
.
Peter stowed the panpipe on his belt.
"There! Now no one can take it!" Peter said, enthralled.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," a pirate captain, wearing a red jacket and a dark plume hat, said, laughing. "Hand it over!"
"Not a chance, Hook!" Peter said, flying and brandishing his dagger.
"Stay away from him!" Eretria ran forward, hoping to catch the pirate off guard. She was too late! Hook slapped her hard across the face with her hook. She fell, tumbling close to the waterfall until she stopped.
The last thing she remembered, before fainting, was seeing Hook and Peter fight. She remembered no more.
.
Eretria's smile faded. She knew he was speaking the truth. Something was wrong. "Wait. Where are we?"
"In a familiar place. It's Allanon's doing," Wil said, answering in riddles.
"That doesn't explain what happened to me!" Eretria said, alarmed.
"What did happen to you?" Wil asked, curious. "You know, I tried looking for you, but I couldn't. Then Allanon found me and we ended up here."
"And where is here?" Eretria asked, bewildered.
~o~
Multifaceted
"Allanon. You're Allanon!" Frodo said, returning to the kitchen to finish preparing his meal. "I'm sorry. I don't normally have visitors at this hour."
"I can't imagine why," Allanon said, entering the kitchen. "But you must come with me. We have pressing matters to discuss."
"Why me?" Frodo asked, confused.
"You are not the first Halfling to have crossed my path." Allanon shrugged. "Nonetheless, the Shadow Squad is recruiting heroes to join its cause." He told him, "You have been selected. I hope you are ready."
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Thanks for reading. :)