The Kamen Rider of the Ring

by So-Pro Warrior

After receiving a strange vision and message, Kamen Rider Gaim finds himself in a strange new world on a new mission. To help destroy The One Ring and put an end to the Dark Lord Sauron and his armies, before he can take rule over Middle-Earth. To do so, he will join his new friends on the quest to destroy the source of his power, and to protect the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth.

2. The One Ring of Power

"It is not much longer, just follow this path and you will soon see it." Arwen says.

Gaim followed the elf Arwen's instructions as he both quickly, and carefully made his way along a narrow dirt path that hugged the side of a mountain, on his left a narrow gorge with a river running through at the very bottom. As dangerous as this was riding on such a narrow path with his Sakura Hurricane, time was of the essence as Gaim could hear Arwen speaking to Frodo, the Hobbit getting weaker and weaker as every minute passed. If he didn't reach this "Rivendell" place soon, Frodo wouldn't make it. He didn't know who these people were, or what was going on, but that didn't mean he was just going to sit idly by and do nothing. He was a Kamen Rider, saving lives was what they do.

Luckily his experience as a Rider was helping him a lot right here, any inexperienced person would take this path too slowly that they would never make it in time, thankfully he was not one of those people as he skillfully maneuvered his Rider Machine along the very narrow path. Arwen sitting behind him holding Frodo with her left arm while using her right arm to hold onto him. After boosting his way up a part of the path that slanted upwards, Gaim found himself taking a sharp right around the corner of the mountainside as he spotted something not that far off in the distance and slid to a stop "Is that the place?" Gaim asks.

"Yes, hurry!" Arwen says. Gaim revved his engine back up and continued along the path, Rivendell in his sights as it sat at the edge of the gorge across from him. Many waterfalls surrounding it from behind and its sides, a few going right through Rivendell itself, as the rays of the sun shined brightly on the elven town that was also surrounded from all sides by lush greenery.

After a few more minutes of some treacherous driving Gaim finally spotted the entrance to the place, a large, wide-open archway as he turned and drove right in. Finding himself in a small courtyard-like area as he quickly skid to a stop, almost immediately as he did that he found himself besieged from all sides by elven warriors as they came out from the nearby buildings, bows in hand and quivers of arrows on their backs. The elven archers kept their distance and surrounded Gaim as they each readied an arrow, pulling back on their bows and aiming right at him "Hey easy! Easy!" Gaim quickly shouts raising his arms up.

Two more figures emerge from one of the buildings, one of them another elf with long dark hair wearing a maroon colored robe with a golden collared shirt beneath, both with strange symbols sewn throughout, and a strange gold crown around his head. The other, an elderly man with a long grey beard and hair wearing a grey robe and cloak and wielding a long wooden staff in his right hand. Arwen turned her head towards the two approaching figures "Father!" she called out as she dismounted Gaim's Rider Machine and rushes towards him.

"Arwen what is going on, and who is this armored man?"

"I do not know but if it wasn't for him I fear the Wraiths would have caught us. You must tend to this Hobbit, he has been stabbed by a Morgul blade." she explains as the elf, now identified as Arwen's father looks down at the deathly pale Hobbit, his eyes closed but still breathing.

"Frodo…" the elderly man says in a worried tone while looking down at him, the elf looks up at him as he says this as the elderly man looks back and nods his head, as if silently telling him something with this.

"Quickly, to the Healing House." Arwen's father says as the three begin to walk off in haste.

"Hey!" Gaim calls out since he still had an army of arrows aimed right at him.

"Keep him there until I return." the elf orders.

"Yes my lord." one of the elven archer's reply.

Gaim is about to say something but decides against it, the important thing right now was getting that Hobbit, Frodo, healed. Sorting out everything else came second at the moment, though he could do without all those arrows pointing at him. Gaim lets out a breath and decides to sit down, however just flinching a little bit causes the elven archers to tense up "I'm just sitting down! If that's alright?" Gaim quickly explains with his hands held forward, trying to calm them down as they exchange glances with one another.

Gaim keeps his eyes on them as he slowly positions himself on the ground, sitting down against his Rider Machine as he lets out a sigh of relief, all he could do now what wait.

Time passed as the sun began descending behind the mountains. The end of a wooden staff tapped against Gaim's chest, waking him since he had passed out on accident as he awoke with a jolt "Wha-What happened?" Gaim questions as he looked around. Looking up to his right he was greeted by the sight of Arwen's father, and the elderly man from before.

"Ah, sorry!" Gaim apologizes as he quickly gets back on his feet "S-Sorry about passing out. Haven't gotten a lot of sleep recently."

The two remain silent as it finally hits Gaim "Wait, what about Frodo? Is he alright?!" Gaim asks with concern.

"The young hobbit will live. Though he will carry that wound for the rest of his life, the damage a Morgul blade leaves is after all more spiritual than it is physical." the elven man says.

"I see." Gaim says, glad to hear Frodo was alright.

"For the Hobbit being nothing more than a complete stranger to you, you seem to have great concern for him." the elderly man says.

"I may not know Frodo other than his name, but I wasn't just about to let an innocent life die before my eyes. Not as long as there was something I could do to help save it." Gaim says.

The two men exchange looks with one another before looking back at Gaim "You speak words of a warrior who would put the lives of others above their own, a warrior that would fight to protect the good of heart from any and all who are wicked." the elven man says.

"That's because I would. I don't know what's going on, but the minute I saw those guys, or whatever they are in black cloaks attacking Frodo and his friends. I knew I had to step in and protect them no matter what." Gaim says.

"I see." the elven man says "I am Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. You have my thanks for protecting my daughter." Elrond says.

"And I am Gandalf the Grey. You have my thanks for saving Frodo's life, as well as the lives of his fellow Hobbits from the Ringwraiths. Now then, who might you be?" Gandalf the Grey asks.

"I was just doing my duty, Elrond, Gandalf." Gaim says looking at both of them as he said their names as acknowledgement "The names Gaim, Kamen Rider Gaim. Or more precisely…" Gaim reaches down to his Sengoku Driver and unlocks the Orange Lockseed before pulling it off.

Gaim de-henshins before Gandalf and Elrond's eyes "Kouta, Kouta Kazuraba." Kouta introduces himself, now in his human form as he wore his old orange jacket and a blue, light blue, and white checkerboard style with red lines plaid shirt and blue pants.

Both Gandalf and Elrond seemed intrigued by what they just witnessed, that being Kouta somehow magically calling off his armor "Let us go somewhere more private, Kouta. And perhaps you can explain to us just who you are, and where it is you come from." Elrond says.

Elrond and Gandalf led Kouta to what appeared to be a library, shelves full of books against the walls of the room all over as Kouta walked in looking around in slight awe at the look of the place, behind him Elrond closed the doors while Gandalf leaned on his staff.

"According to my daughter" Elrond speaks up catching Kouta's attention "When she arrived, you were already with the four hobbits, and a man who was guiding them. That correct?" he asked.

"Yeah, Strider was his name I believe. That's what they called him." Kouta answers.

"And you already told us that you were there when the Hobbits were attacked by the Ringwraiths." Elrond adds in.

"If that's what they're called then yeah. Like I said I heard them from the forest, ran as quickly as I could, ran to the top of these old ruins and there they were. I changed into my armor and fought them until Strider arrived and we both drove them off." Kouta says.

"Tell me Kouta, is this look of yours, your real one?" Gandalf suddenly asks.

"Huh?" Kouta asks suddenly taken off by the question.

"First off might I say you wear some rather...strange clothing. Anyone can tell you are not from around these, or any parts for that matter of Middle-Earth. Secondly, I don't know if you know this but, I am no ordinary old man. And it's because of that I can sense there is something more to you, something you are concealing from us. While I can sense you are a young man with a good heart, if you want us to fully trust you, why don't you show us the real you?" Gandalf asks.

Kouta remains silent at this request, after a few seconds he sighs "Guess you're as powerful as I sensed you were." Kouta says as he is suddenly enveloped in a bright white light and returns to his Man of Beginning look.

"Hm~, interesting. Now then, why don't you tell us who you are, and where it is you come from?" Gandalf says.

Sometime Later...

Kouta remains silent as he stares at Elrond and Gandalf "I see. Well then, that is quite a story you have, Kouta Kazuraba." Gandalf says sitting on a chair while Elrond stands beside one of the bookshelves with his arms crossed.

"And so you say you heard a voice call out to you, visions and words appear in your mind. And without even questioning it or anything, you came here to Middle-Earth?" Gandalf asks.

"That's right. This voice was calling for help, I saw visions of death, destruction, fire. I heard the screams of men, women, and children as they were killed. Someone was asking for help, and I had to answer. Because as a Kamen Rider, helping people, and fighting evil is what I do." Kouta replies.

Gandalf nods his head acknowledging this as he then turns to Elrond to see him in deep thought about something "Elrond" he says catching his attention "Do you think it was her?"

"Based on what it is he just told us, I can imagine it being no other." Elrond says.

"Who are you talking about?" Kouta asks.

"A friend of ours, someone quite powerful. Especially since they were able to contact someone from a completely different world. She must be quite weakened from having done such a thing." Gandalf says.

"Though it appears it wasn't for nothing, as now we seem to have someone who perhaps might just tip the scale of what is to come back into our favor." Elrond says.

"Maybe, just maybe." Gandalf says.

"Perhaps you could maybe, explain to me just exactly what it is that's going on?" Kouta asks as he returns to his human form.

"Kamen Rider you have come to Middle-Earth in perhaps what could be its darkest hour. The Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, Men, Elves, and Dwarves, we all stand on the brink of destruction. War is upon us, a war that as it stands now we may lose if something is not done soon." Elrond says.

"Who's the big bad guy in all of this?" Kouta asks.

"The Dark Lord Sauron." Gandalf says catching Kouta's attention.

"Sauron?" Kouta says, for some reason just hearing the name gave him a sense of darkness.

"It began thousands of years ago, during the Second Age of Middle-Earth, with the forging of The Great Rings of Power. Twenty magical rings, nineteen originally, were created. Three were gifted to my people the Elves, immortal, wisest, and fairest of all beings, Seven were given to the Dwarf Lords who were renowned for being great miners and craftsmen in the mountain halls, and finally Nine. Nine Rings were gifted to the Race of Men, who above all else, sought power. Within these Rings was the strength and will to govern each race." Elrond begins explaining.

"Really? All that power from some rings?" Kouta asks finding this quite difficult to believe. Sure his fellow Rider, Wizard uses Magic Rings for his powers but none of them as strong as what Elrond was stating. "And what about the twentieth ring?"

Elrond opens a drawer, pulling out a large rolled up piece of parchment as he starts walking over to Kouta "It was made in secret. Out of the eyes of the others, for they had been deceived. As when this Ring was made, it was made for pure evil." Elrond unrolls the scroll onto a table and motions for Kouta to come over as he does so and looks down, finding himself looking at a map of Middle-Earth.

"In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master Ring. One that could control all the others. It was into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life." as Elrond said this Kouta spotted the place he was talking about, the land of Mordor. A large stretch of land that appeared to be surrounded on all sides by mountains, save for one spot in the upper northwestern part where what appeared to be a large, two-doored gate was slightly open, this part of the area being marked as The Black Gate.

"There is an inscription on the Ring in Elvish that only appears when the Ring is heated. It reads in the common tongue, "One Ring to rule them all."" Kouta's right hand fingers were on the map, and slowly sliding towards Mordor unbeknownst to him, as if Kouta was in some sort of trance while he was still conscious and hearing everything Elrond told him. Kouta's index finger slowly skimmed towards the edge of Mordor, when suddenly a fiery eye with a black slit in the center flashed through his mind for a split second along with a bestial like roar. Kouta broke out of his trance, blinking his eyes several times as he took in what he just saw.

"What happened next?" Kouta asks without taking his eyes off Mordor.

"With the Power of the One Ring, and his vast armies of creatures called Orcs the Free Lands of Middle-Earth began to fall one, by one. Of course there were those who resisted. In a last desperate attempt to end Sauron's reign of terror a last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and it was on the slopes of Mount Doom that we fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth." Elrond says.

"We? You were there?" Kouta asks turning to look at him.

"Yes, it is as I said we Elves are immortal, for the most part. Once we reach our level of maturity we stop aging. But that does not mean we are invincible, as we can still be slain in combat. At the time I was just a lieutenant, under the command of High King of the Elves of the West, Gil-galad. We marched alongside Men against the armies of Mordor, and fought and bled side by side. Many brave warriors were lost in the battle, even King Gil-galad himself. But it was with their sacrifices that we won the battle that day, but we did not win the war."

"Why not?" Kouta asks.

"The great evil in our world should have ended that day, and while it did in terms of his physical body. His spirit lived on. For the power of the Ring, could not be undone." Elrond says.

"For you see the One Ring was made with pure darkness and evil put into it." Gandalf begins to speak making Kouta turn towards him. "Only Sauron could truly wield its power. Anyone else who attempted to wield it would be corrupted, driven mad by it. The Ring would attempt to make its wielder do horrible deeds that they would normally never do if they were themselves. Somehow the Ring had developed a, "mind of its own" you might say. While it can do nothing by itself obviously, it can drive any who wield, or even stare at it to do terrible things, such as make a person who stares upon it kill the current holder of the Ring, and take it for themselves. The Ring can and will use people for its own agenda, and when it is done with one host, it will "move on" to another."

Kouta looks back at Elrond "Is that what happened?" he asks.

"It is precisely what had occurred. Sauron himself had come out to face us in battle. With the power of the Ring he laid waste to large numbers of our warriors with just single swings from his mace. Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor rushed Sauron to put a stop to him, but even he was struck down like nothing more than a bug in Sauron's eyes. His son Isildur ran to his father's side in hopes that he still lived, but his eyes were lifeless. Sauron approached the young King ready to put an end to his life as well, it was at this moment when all hope had faded, Isildur in one last attempt to not only put an end to the Dark Lord but also avenge his father's death reached for his father's sword. The Dark Lord stepped on the blade, breaking most of the blade to pieces save for but a little part that was still attached to the handle, the Dark Lord began to reach for Isildur. As luck would have it what little shard of the blade remained, was still sharp enough that Isildur swung in one last effort to defend himself, and cut off Sauron's fingers, the One Ring among them. And it worked. Sauron had been defeated, the One Ring on the ground before Isildur's eyes." Elrond says.

"You saying you lost the war though means it wasn't truly over." Kouta says.

"We had defeated Sauron's physical body, but as long as the One Ring remained his spirit would live on. Weakened. But with time his power would re-grow, if we did not destroy the Ring. The only way the Ring could be destroyed, was by casting it back into the fiery pit of Mount Doom where it had been made. But…"

(Flashback)

Isildur picked up the Ring and stared at it, almost as if he was captivated in a trance by its beauty as even after falling to the ground, there was not one scratch mark, no speck of dirt on it, its gold shining as if it was still new. Suddenly Elrond appeared in front of him catching his attention "Isildur hurry, follow me!" Elrond says.

With haste Elrond leads Isildur into The Cracks of Doom, the volcanic fissure in Mount Doom which contained a massive opened chamber with a narrow, long bridge that led to a small cliff at the center of the volcano. Elrond walked onto the cliff and look around, a river of lava flowing far below, while Isildur stops on the bridge just some feet away, his eyes still fixed on the Ring as he holds it in his hands.

Elrond looked back at Isildur "Cast it into the fire!" he said.

Isildur did not listen, as he continued staring at the Ring when only to his ears it sounded like the Ring began to whisper to him. Isildur raised his head slightly and looked at Elrond "DESTROY IT!" Elrond yells.

A sly, and sinister looking smile comes to Isildur's face as he whispers loudly "No." And with that he turns and begins walking away.

"ISILDUR!" Elrond yells after him, but is too late as Isildur walks out of Mount Doom, the One Ring in his hands.

(Flashback Ends)

"Isildur kept the Ring. The line of kings became broken. There was no strength left in the world of Men. They became scattered, divided, leaderless." Elrond says.

Hearing this Kouta turned his head slightly away and closed his eyes, clenching his right hand into a tight fist of anger. Because of the actions of one man not destroying a single ring, the whole world of Middle-Earth and all of its inhabitants were now in danger once more. Kouta couldn't help but wonder why, why had Isildur done such a thing knowing full well how dangerous of a thing this One Ring was? Was it the power of the Ring, corrupting his good heart and making him become enchanted by it, become greedy or someone else completely opposite of who he usually was? If what Elrond said was true about the Ring being powerful enough to corrupt the weak of heart, then it was, and it angered Kouta that this one man who had practically saved the world, had now doomed it all over again because he let a ring change him.

"What happened to Isildur?" Kouta asks.

"It would seem that in the end, the Ring betrayed him. To his death. During one of his travels he and his company of soldiers were attacked by a band of Orcs. There were no survivors. Isildur's body was never found, there had been some tracks that led to a river that was close by, so the best that could be thought of was that he attempted to escape by means of it. Obviously he did not succeed, and most likely his body floated away never to be seen or found again. As for the Ring, it disappeared from history for two and half thousand years. Until it seemed, that one day it managed to ensnare a new bearer." Elrond says.

"The Ring had come to a creature known as Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains where like Isildur before, it began to consume him, but this time far more worse. For you see all the Rings of Power had a certain side effect to wearing them, which would be granting its wearer an unnaturally long life. Which is exactly what had happened to Gollum as it poisoned his mind, for five hundred years, far, far longer then what Isildur had it for." Gandalf says.

"Five hundred years?" Kouta says shocked to hear this. If this Isildur barely had it for that long and it messed with his mind, he could only imagine the poor, unfortunate soul who had to deal with its corruption for five hundred years. If this Gollum was still alive, his mind was going to be long gone.

"Soon darkness began creeping back into the forests of the world, rumors began to grow of a shadow to the east, whispers of a nameless fear, and in Gollum's cave, the Ring seemed to notice. And knew that its time had come. Somehow, someway, it had abandoned Gollum. But then something happened that the Ring did not expect, for you see, it was then picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable, a Hobbit." Gandalf continues.

"A hobbit? You mean Frodo?" Kouta asks.

"No, no, no. It was his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. Who at that time had been on a quest with me and some dwarves to help them reclaim their lost kingdom which had been taken over by a dragon. He had been separated from me and the dwarves and by chance, or fate itself perhaps, come upon the Ring, and took it. Once the quest was over he took it back with him to the home of the Hobbits, the Shire. It would then stay in his possession for a very long time. Luckily, it didn't drive him as mad as it did to Gollum. He was able to remain his old-self for the most part." Gandalf says.

After this Gandalf began to go on and explain what had happened recently; his visit to the Shire to celebrate Bilbo's 111th Birthday along with most of the Shire, and the events that transpired afterwards. Bilbo leaving for Rivendell, which he was in fact already here, so that he could live with the Elves, leaving the Ring for Frodo as then Gandalf left Frodo so he could do some research to see if it truly was the One Ring which it was. Forcing him to quickly return to Frodo and tell him he needed to get the Ring out of the Shire, especially since the Dark Lord's servants, the Ringwraiths whom Kouta had already encountered as the black robed figures, had captured Gollum and tortured him into telling them that the ring was at the Shire.

Frodo and him were joined by Sam before leaving, and then Gandalf eventually left to have a council meeting with his fellow wizard Saruman. However, it turned out that Saruman was now in allegiance with the enemy and captured him, holding him at his fortress of Isengard until he was able to escape recently thanks to an old friend, so anything after that he did not know. Only that it looked like Merry and Pippin joined them and they then ran into Strider at the town of Bree, which was where he was originally going to meet them as well alongside Strider before Saruman's betrayal.

"So then they started making their way here, along the way Strider left them for some time and they were discovered by the Ringwraiths. Which is where I came in, arriving just as Frodo was stabbed by the Morgul blade." Kouta concludes.

"Yes, it is." Gandalf says.

"So if I'm getting this right, while Sauron's physical body was destroyed. Because of the Ring's survival his spirit continues to live on through that?" Kouta asks.

"Precisely. Because he poured so much of his power, strength, and will, into the One Ring as long as the Ring continues to live so does he. He was weakened following his defeat yes, but over the years he has been dormant, lying in wait to regain his strength until eventually he could create himself another body, a lidless eye of flame and shadow that is able to watch over all of Middle-Earth from his towering fortress of Barad-dur." Elrond explains.

"And I'm guessing destroying this Ring isn't as easy as it should be?" Kouta asks.

"The only way to destroy the One Ring is by casting it back into the fiery pits of whence it came, Mount Doom. Only then will Sauron truly be defeated. If however, should Sauron recover the Ring he will return to Middle-Earth, and no one will be able to stop him." Elrond answers.

Kouta looks back down at the map of Middle-Earth, the location of Mount Doom shown right in the center of Mordor "So the only place we can destroy it, is also the home of where the big bad guy is." Kouta says.

"Unfortunately so." Elrond replies.

"...If that's the case. Then let me help you, however way I can." Kouta says.

"You would be willing to help us? Help our world? Even though we are nothing more than complete strangers to you?" Gandalf asks.

"It's like I said. Helping people is what I do, I'm not going to just stand idly by and let this Sauron guy do what he wants to this planet and its people. He thinks he can do what he wants, well I'm about to teach him what happens when he messes with a Kamen Rider. If you would allow it, Lord Elrond, Gandalf, allow me to help you face your enemy. Allow me to help you in whatever way you can think of, in destroying this Ring, so that you can finally put an end to Sauron." Kouta states.

Gandalf and Elrond look at one another, after a few seconds they look back at Kouta "Very well, Kouta Kazuraba, Kamen Rider Gaim. If you so wish to help us we will not turn you away. I just hope you will be ready for what lies ahead. For when the war against Sauron truly begins you will find yourself having to face numbers of dangerous, and powerful creatures, beasts, and evil men at his disposal." Elrond warns.

"And even our old ally Saruman, who is a powerful wizard far greater than me." Gandalf adds in.

"I've faced a lot of powerful enemies before, these guys will be no different. As long as I'm here, I won't let them take over Middle-Earth. You have my word." Kouta says.

Elrond nods his head in acceptance "Very well. In a few days from now there will be a meeting with representatives of Men, Elves, and Dwarves coming from all over, to discuss our current situation, and what must be done. I want you to be there, watching and listening from the shadows and when we have agreed upon a plan I will introduce you to everyone. Say that you are a powerful warrior from a distant land who has come to assist us in this fight."

"Understood." Kouta says.

"Until then you are free to wander about Rivendell as you please, as long as you don't cause anymore disturbances. I will have one of my men take you to your quarters so you may rest and recuperate from your long journey. You have our thanks Kamen Rider. Let us hope you can give us the assistance we may desperately require in the coming war." Elrond says.

Kouta nods his head before bowing forward to show some respect.

Following this Kouta is escorted to where he will be sleeping for the next few days until this secret meeting was underway and a plan was made up "Thank you." Kouta says to the Elven servant as he closes the door for the Kamen Rider.

Kouta turns around and looks at the room before it, it was actually quite fancy then what he was used too, these Elves must really go all out in making their homes quite a sight even to visitors. Kouta took in a deep breath and released as he walked over to his bed, stopping just at the side as he then turned back around. Kouta looked down and raised his right hand up, looking at his palm. Kouta looked back forward, a serious look in his eyes as he threw his arm forward, a crack appearing before him as it zip opened. Only to be met with nothing but darkness before suddenly flames exploded out from the crack followed by a loud roar as in a second a fiery, lidless eye appeared on the other side.

His eyes widening in shock Kouta quickly closed the crack before anything else could happen, he looked around and listened, "Good, no one heard that." he says in his head.

Kouta looked back at where he had opened the crack "He was able to prevent me from opening a crack to Mount Doom. He really is powerful, even as nothing more than a giant eye. Looks like this is gonna be a lot more difficult than anything before. This guy's as strong as Megahex, maybe even more. Could it be he's even more powerful than the Golden Fruit?" Kouta questions as he raises his hand again looking down at it.

He clenches it into a fist "Doesn't matter. I won't let fear stop me. I don't care how powerful this guy is, he was defeated once. He can be defeated again. Sauron, I won't let you take over Middle-Earth and kill all these people! I will stop you, because that's what a Kamen Rider does!" Kouta states throwing his arm down to his side.

---

Kouta did just as Elrond said and had a good long sleep that night, waking up the next day fully rejuvenated as he got out of bed and had a good long stretch to wake his body parts up. With not much else to really do until the meeting Kouta began the day exploring Rivendell, he had never seen anything like it before and probably never will. The architecture, and the way the city blended together with nature, it was definitely something straight out of a fantasy book as the place looked absolutely beautiful leaving even the Space God in awe as he explored the town. Coming back across the library Kouta decided that if he was going to be in this world, and fighting who knows what, it would probably help if he did some studying on Middle-Earth as well as its inhabitants, and creatures.

He was never much of a reader, whenever he accompanied Mai to the library he would be the person who would fall asleep while his friend read books until she was satisfied, and then she would wake him up either normally, or with violence such as a smack to the head with a book. He had his fair share of magna when he was growing up until he had to start becoming an adult, forcing him to put those kinds of things aside, so he was no stranger to reading, it just bore him a lot when there wasn't any cool looking pictures to accompany the story. That was back then. Now he was a different person, and he couldn't let "boredom" stop him from learning about his enemy and what he was going to be facing in Middle-Earth.

Once he was finished exploring Rivendell he would definitely return here and use whatever free time he had to learn more about Middle-Earth and what he was most likely going to be going up against. Elrond did tell him that Sauron had at his disposal powerful creatures, beasts, and evil men that made up his army and allies. Even though he was no stranger to fighting monsters it would still help to know more about what he was going to face, weak points, the intelligence of some of these creatures and beasts, how to identify them, and more.

Leaving the library after finding some books that were luckily in the "common tongue" as he believed Elrond described the language that everyone spoke to understand one another as, Kouta continued his exploration of Rivendell. He eventually came across Elrond who invited him to have dinner with he and Gandalf, which was lucky since Kouta hadn't really eaten anything all day and he didn't even know where to go to get something to eat. Elrond had brought him to a small, outdoor dining area by the looks of it where Gandalf was already seated at a small round table with three chairs, a few Elf servants standing around with a few having some musical instruments next to them. Kouta took his seat and food was brought out as the elves began playing some soft, quiet tunes; Kouta found the food very good, some very similar to food back on Earth, others quite unique but still very delicious. While eating Elrond spoke to Kouta asking him how his exploration of Rivendell was so far, Kouta replying of course how in awe he was of the place since he had never seen anything like it back on his home planet.

Out of curiosity and to pass the time Gandalf asked Kouta what his home was like, obviously Kouta knew that trying to explain a lot of the technological aspects of Earth would be next to impossible since these people were technically still living in what would be perceived to him as "Medieval" times. So he just gave a simple description telling the wizard and elf lord that his world was far more advanced than anything they had, how magic was non-existent, and the only kind of people that inhabited Earth were "the race of Men" and that there were no elves or dwarves, ever, except in books and other forms of "literature". Which in Kouta's mind included video games, movies, anime, etcetera. Gandalf was intrigued by what Kouta was saying, Elrond as well but Kouta could tell he seemed to be a bit, displeased that his race was only considered just a tale parents would tell their children before they went to bed. Gandalf seemed to notice and comforted him by saying it was to be expected that where Kouta came from things would be different.

"So tell us Kouta, you mentioned during your story yesterday, that there were other warriors, who bear the name of Kamen Rider. You are not the only one?" Gandalf asks.

Kouta finishes chewing his bread and swallows "Nope, I wasn't even the first. There are hundreds of other people just like me, both good, and a few evil. That have either inherited, or taken to calling themselves, Kamen Riders. Most of the good ones, we all fight for the same reason, peace, justice, to protect our friends, loved ones, and the innocent. To protect our world. There are those who fight for themselves, but still fight for good; and then there are the ones with corrupted hearts. That fight to hurt others, to satisfy their desires, for themselves. And they have taken to calling themselves Kamen Riders, butchering the name that is supposed to stand for good. Luckily the number of good Kamen Riders outweigh the evil."

"Our skills, weapons, powers, they are all vastly different from one another. One Rider I know, who actually preceded me, his powers came from Magic Rings that gave him, well magic. He called himself Kamen Rider Wizard. Some Riders powers are mystical, others come from highly advanced weapons, some are a combination of both. We are all powerful in many ways, and we use that power to protect our world from various threats. Monsters, evil men, evil Riders. One Rider has even travelled to other worlds and assisted its warriors there in protecting their worlds as well. There was even a recent event that forced me to assist some Riders, both old and new, in preventing the destruction of two worlds, one of them our own. Kamen Riders are heroes who have been fighting to protect the Earth for many years." Kouta finishes explaining.

"Is there a way you could contact these fellow Kamen Riders of yours for help? I do not doubt your power in assisting us, but if these fellow Riders of yours are as powerful as you say. Having an army of them would be most helpful in the coming war against Sauron." Elrond asks.

"I could but it's not that easy. We're not really well organized like an army. Some Riders stick closer together more than others just because they share the same work. Many others just travel the world, helping those in need. We've only come together on a few occasions, and that was when we were either forced to, or when something really, really big happened. Or just some coincidences I guess as well. But locating all of them would take a while. Plus there is still our enemies, even though they're weakened they still cause trouble from time to time. We would need to have Riders on backup just in case something happens while most of us are gone. So I can't really guarantee if I can call on any of my fellow Riders." Kouta responds.

"I see." Elrond says displeased to hear this.

Once dinner was over, and with night having fallen Kouta continued exploring what little of Rivendell remained. After what happened yesterday with Sauron keeping him from opening a crack into Mordor, Kouta knew that he was going to be facing a powerful enemy. But he was just an eye for now, so luckily there was not much he could do. But if he did recover the One Ring, then that would be a whole other story. As much as he would prefer getting some of his fellow Riders to help, getting all of them together was going to be a difficult, and long task. Finding them was one thing, then trying to ask them for help was another since many of them still had either their own fights going on, or their own personal stuff going on in their lives. Decade was of course the hardest Rider to keep track of since he could travel to other worlds, the Showa, and majority of the Heisei Riders were always traveling the world and could literally be anywhere, same for OOO, and Wizard. Double was running a detective agency, Fourze was a teacher, Drive was a police officer and now a father last he heard, Ghost was still attending school, Ex-Aid was a doctor, and who only knows what Build was doing.

Every one of them was busy with their lives or who knows where. "Looks like I'm on my own." Kouta internally says. As long as he helped prevent Sauron from getting the One Ring he should be fine. Once he found out what he was dealing with tomorrow, he would decide whether calling in some fellow Riders would be needed or not.

Kouta approached a two-story building, the doors wide open as he walked inside. It looked like a study room with books and tables all over, there was a small garden in front of him which divided two small sets of stairs. Looking around he found that both stairs led to more longer staircases, which led up to the second floor which was an opened up hallway, pillars and railings on one side with the wall on the other. Kouta saw a stone statue protruding outward a little at the center of the hall. Out of curiosity he made his way up the stairs.

Kouta approached the statue and saw that it was of a woman, three steps leading up to her as she was sitting down with a large stone leaf in her hands. Lying on the stone leaf were six pieces of what looked like a broken sword, a gray cloth placed beneath them, all of them neatly placed and in a way that one could literally put them back together if they so wished. Kouta stepped up to the statue and looked down, the way these pieces of the sword were placed on here he could tell they must have been extremely important.

"What you are looking upon is Narsil." Kouta turned around in surprise, Arwen walked out from the shadows and stopped in the light of the moon.

"The sword of King Elendil, which was broken by Sauron, and then used by Elendil's son Isildur to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand. Following the battle the shards were recovered and brought back to his Isildur's home. Before his death Isildur's squire rescued them, and brought them to Arnor where they would be passed down, generation by generation, to the heirs of Arnor. Until one of the heirs decided to bring them here to Rivendell. Where they have been kept since." Arwen explains.

Kouta looked back at the sword, the sword that even when broken, cut the Ring from Sauron's hand "I see." he says.

Kouta stepped down and looked to his left, stopping in his tracks as he now looked upon a large mural, a wooden frame placed around it as the mural depicted a man in silver armor, holding up a glowing sword, most likely Narsil, to a large, shadowy, armored figure with glowing, fiery eyes. "Let me guess. This is Isildur and Sauron?" Kouta asks.

Arwen walks to his side and looks at the mural "That is correct. Even though Isildur doomed the world to Sauron's eventual return, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here today. He is both a savior, but he could also be our doom." Arwen says.

"Yeah. Unfortunately there are people like that. I want to believe humanity is strong, but then there are people like this, who let power, and greed get to their minds. Causing others to suffer for their actions. It's only when good people stand up, that faith in Men can be fully restored. Only for someone else to do something horrible. It's a never-ending cycle between the good and evil of humanity. We can only hope that one day someone changes that, breaking the cycle and ending it with the good of humanity standing on top." Kouta says.

"I never got the chance to thank you yesterday. If it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened to me. And to Frodo." Arwen says.

"Just glad I made it in time and did what I could. I was thinking about staying with Strider and the other Hobbits. But knowing that the Ringwraith's main target was Frodo. Strider and the others were safe, protecting Frodo was what was important. I can only hope the others are okay." Kouta says.

"The other Halflings will be fine. Strider will look after them. I know he will." Arwen says.

"He's a fighter, I could tell that much just from what little I saw of him. I don't doubt his skills for a second. Well, it's late, and I got a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Talk to you later." Kouta says as he turns and starts walking off.

Arwen remains in place, as she reaches up and touches a silver brooch that hangs on her chest.

Another good night's sleep, Kouta wakes up the next morning and immediately begins heading over to the library. While walking through an outside hallway, Kouta stopped upon looking over to his right, as he spotted Strider and the three Hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin being escorted into Rivendell by some elves. Elrond, Gandalf, and Arwen there to greet them as the Hobbits all ran up to Gandalf and gave him a hug which he returned, while Arwen and Elrond walked up to Aragorn and began speaking to him. Kouta couldn't help but smile, glad to see that they were alright, and he could only imagine the Hobbits' excitement when they hear that Frodo was going to be okay.

With some help from the Elven librarian, Kouta was given the exact books he would need to learn about the history of Middle-Earth as well as those who inhabited them. Kouta placed the books on a table and sat down as he began reading, first about Middle-Earth.

Time passed as Kouta continued reading, skimming through some parts he found unnecessary, but for the most part the history of Middle-Earth was quite something to read about. This place was definitely far different from Earth, he could only wonder what the future would hold for this planet and its people. The history of Men, Elves, and Dwarves, was quite something, both fascinating, but also sad. From what he gathered Elves became the first living beings on this planet, followed by Men, and then Dwarves, with the rest of races and other creatures coming in after them. At first Men, Elves, and Dwarves were great allies with one another, they fought side by side, they all lived in peace and harmony. But over the centuries, that all began to change. Nowadays, the "alliances" were all but gone.

The Dwarves mostly kept to themselves with their friendships with both Elves and Men all but deteriorated, especially for the Elves as both races now hated each other immensely. Men was all but divided and weakened though the most numerous of the three races right now, as just like back on Earth Men were divided into different cultures, and regions. Some regions of Men were still allied, in a way, with the Elves, and Dwarves, but there were those who in the past, and even now, supported the Dark Lord and his armies. This humanity was no much different from Earth's, guess even on different world's humanity was still the same. And then there were the Elves, who had a bad history with the dwarves because of their greediness, and then with Men because of what Isildur did. Unfortunately it seemed that their race was starting to thin in Middle-Earth, not only were they dwindling but they were also becoming more secluded because of it, and it seemed that they had all made plans to begin abandoning Middle-Earth and sailing to this place called the Undying Lands.

Right now as it stood, the races of Middle-Earth were too much divided, too weakened, that if Sauron were to wage a war. The chances of him winning were very high. If he kept the races from supporting one another, kept them divided, he could very well win this war without even needing his Ring if his armies were growing that much as Elrond and Gandalf warned him they were. The Elves were slowly leaving Middle-Earth, and he wouldn't doubt that the second the war turns into Sauron's favor they would begin leaving with absolute haste leaving Men and Dwarves to fend for themselves. The Dwarves were keeping to themselves, and because of their strong hatred for the Elves and their thinning friendship with Men, because of how stubborn Dwarves seemed to be according to the book they would not ask for help until the last second most likely at that point which it would be too late.

The race of Men were the only ones who might stand a chance against Sauron, but since they were all divided each culture or region would be looking out for only themselves if their relationships were that bad. Kouta could only think of one thing as he read all of this "Not liking these odds so far."

Kouta placed the book down and looked outside, darkness had already fell. Kouta let out a yawn and stretched his arms out "Man, lost track of time. Did I really just read all of that?" Kouta questions, surprised that he hadn't fallen asleep that entire time. Guess he really has changed quite a bit. He had literally spent the whole day reading about the history of Middle-Earth and its races. Looks like tomorrow he would be focusing on reading about the creatures and beasts that inhabited it. Kouta returned to his room and went right to bed.

Before he knew it, it was already the next day as Kouta got up and made his way back to the library. Along the way this time, he noticed an assortment of various groups arriving, Men, Elves, Dwarves "Must be here for the meeting." he figures.

Kouta got back to the library, picked up the books he didn't finish reading yesterday, and got back to work. Several hours passed and he learned about some things not that uncommon from what he would find in fantasy tales back in his world. Goblins, Trolls, Dragons. And then there were the creatures he had never seen or heard of before, Orcs, Uruk-hai, Wargs, Fellbeast. The drawn pictures of what these creatures looked like helped to really give Kouta a real sense of what he was possibly going to be facing in this world. The history of what some of these creatures were didn't help either, the Orcs were formerly Elves that were somehow twisted and turned into these creatures, Uruk-hai were the stronger species of Orcs that were a crossbred between Orcs and Men, or "Goblin-Men" in some other reports, it was never really confirmed which was true. Either way that was something Kouta didn't exactly want to be thinking more about.

It looked like the Orcs were what made up the bulk of Sauron's army, Mountain Trolls were the heavy hitters and very tough to take down, Wargs were the mounts of Orcs and unlike horses used by men could actually fight as well using their sharp teeth and claws to rip their enemies apart. The Fellbeasts were the winged mounts of the Nazgul, or the Ringwraiths as Kouta knew them, and the Ringwraiths were a whole other story as Kouta soon found out. According to the text, the Nazgul were once the Nine Kings of Men, the ones who took the Nine Rings of Power given to Men.

"They were once men, great kings of men." Kouta looked up from his book to see Strider standing a few feet away from him. Strider approached "Then Sauron the deceiver, gave to them Nine Rings of Power. Blinded by their greed they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness and now they are slaves to his will." that is what the Ringwraiths are now, who they once were." Strider says coming to a stop.

"They go by many names, primarily Nazgul, Ringwraiths. Now they are nothing more but his servants, whose only goal is to do what their master bids. One of which is the retrieval of his Ring."

"Which is why they were after Frodo and his friends." Kouta summarizes.

Strider sits down "Gandalf tells me you have been busy since your arrival."

Kouta nods his head "Yeah. I'm going to be helping you guys out, and if you haven't already noticed I'm not exactly from around here. So just been trying to familiarize myself with your world and the people, and creatures that inhabit it."

"And from what you have learned, what is your honest opinion on how the Free People of Middle-Earth stand?" Strider questions.

Kouta opens his mouth to say something, but seems to hesitate as he takes in a deep breath while looking down. He looks back at Strider "Not that good honestly. If Men, Elves, and Dwarves were united like they once were. The odds of beating Sauron would be higher. But because you're all divided, weakened, looking out for yourselves...it doesn't look good. Not when Sauron has his armies united, and allied Evil Men ready to assist him. When the forces that stand for good in this world are divided, and the evil is united, the odds aren't exactly in favor of the Free People." Kouta says.

Strider looks down for a few seconds before looking back at him "Unfortunately you are right. As we stand now, the odds of defeating Sauron are very small. We will need a miracle. Sauron has at his command a number of powerful creatures, and beasts of war. We are not so lucky." Strider says as Kouta continues listening.

"Tomorrow will be the meeting where the fate of Middle-Earth will be decided, the fate of what is to become of the Ring. As I've heard you will be attending from the shadows, before Elrond introduces you to everyone as a warrior from a distant land. After all saying you are from a distant land is more believable then another world." hearing this Kouta becomes confused by how he knows this "Gandalf told me. Me and him are old friends and he trusts me with everything. I will keep where you come from a secret, after all it is as I said, many would find it very difficult to believe."

Kouta nods his head "Understood. These Ringwraiths, they can't be defeated?" he asks.

"They have weakness to the sun, water, and fire. They can be defeated, but with time Sauron would simply revive them with his immense power. They are tied to the Ring just like Sauron, so when the Ring is destroyed, they will be destroyed with it. Otherwise they will just keep on returning." Strider answers.

"Good to know." Kouta says.

Strider gets up from his seat "I will let you get back to your reading." he says as he is about to leave, when he stops and looks back "Also, Frodo has awaken. He is with his uncle right now I believe. Thank you for saving him, and Arwen, from the Nazgul."

"Just doing my job Strider." Kouta says. Strider nods his head thanking him as he walks out of the room.

With that Kouta got back to reading. Not much else was left and so by the end of the day he had managed to narrow down the types of creatures he would be facing in the fight against Sauron. As luckily not all creatures and beasts of Middle-Earth served him; Orcs, Uruk-hai, Wargs, Mountain Trolls, Olog-hai which were an advanced breed of trolls that like the Uruks could travel in the sun unlike Orcs and Mountain Trolls who hated it, made up the main bulk of his armies. There were the Nazgul though it appeared their only purpose was to retrieve the Ring, though Kouta wouldn't be surprised if Sauron had them go into battle if need be. Then there were the allies of Sauron, Evil Men who had decided to side with him instead of siding with the rest of the races of Middle-Earth against the Dark Lord.

There were the Haradrim, a race of Men from the region Harad south of Mordor who had their own set of war beasts to bring to the fight. Creatures called Mumakil, or Oliphaunts, which almost resembled Earth's elephants, wooden towers were placed onto their backs where the Haradrim archers would use them as platforms from which to shoot down at their foes from. Horses feared these beasts, and with their massive tusks a swing from them could put an end to any who dared charge them, barbed wires could also be attached between the tusks to add even further damage to any who tried charging through the center. Not to mention with their immense size, they could also of course use their massive feet to literally crush any and all in their path. Then there were the Easterlings, men who lived in the vast and uncharted land of Rhun east of Mordor. It probably didn't help that one of the Nazgul was one of their leaders, a man named Khamul. Finally there were the Corsairs of Umbar, a race of Men who were once Numenoreans but became corrupted, they were nothing more but sea-raiders and pirates who attacked the coast of Gondor from time to time.

At least now Kouta knew what to expect when the time came for him to fight. "I think I can handle this." Kouta says to himself. These enemies would be no different from what he was used to, and with his various Arms he'd be able to take these things down, even the Ringwraiths no problem. Unless things got really out of hand, Kouta figured there would be no need to call upon his fellow Riders and disturb their lives. He could handle Sauron and his army no problem and help the people of Middle-Earth defeat him. Once again Kouta looked up from the book and found night had fallen. From what Strider had told him the meeting was taking place tomorrow, if he was going to attend to find out what the plan for dealing with Sauron was, he was going to need to sleep early. Reckon he's done nothing but eat, sleep, and explore the place, but there wasn't really that much else to do. And so with this Kouta got up from his seat, picking up the book and placing it back in the shelf where it belonged as he left the library.

Even after all this time Kouta still couldn't help but look all around at Rivendell, the lanterns of the night providing quite a spectacle through all of this darkness. Kouta could only wish he could show his friends this place, he would have taken a picture perhaps but since becoming a Space God it's not like there's ever been a need for him to carry a cellphone anymore. As he looked over to his right, he spotted two figures off in the distance on a small bridge above a small river. Out of curiosity he stopped and squinted his eyes trying to figure out who it was until he finally recognized that it was Strider, and Arwen. He noticed Arwen closing Strider's hand after putting something in it, just then he saw the two slowly move their heads towards each other.

Kouta's mouth dropped open as he realized he was staring at what was supposed to be one of those "secret romantic meetings" that usually happened in movies and quickly turned away, not wanting to see anything more of it. Especially since at that point he was, unintentionally, protruding upon a secret moment between two lovers. Repeating over and over in his head to just forget about it he it, he quickly continued walking back to his room.

---

The Next Day…

A congregation of Men, Elves, and Dwarves had gathered in a semi-circle, taking their seats around a stone pedestal directly in the center of them all. Gandalf and the recovered Frodo sat next to each other at one end, Strider was seated opposite, Elrond had his own, rather high-end chair which was placed at the foot of a large tree behind him, two Elven aides on either side as he stood up to begin the meeting. "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor."

Kouta hid just like Elrond asked him too behind some nearby pillars in the outside hallway leading to the area, though, he wasn't exactly alone in this "spying" on the council meeting. As he looked around the area he could see Frodo's fellow hobbits hiding in their own respective spots, Sam in garden nearby, Merry and Pippin peeking out from the entrance of another hallway off to his left. He doubted Elrond asked them to be there, if anything they were just there to see what happened and see if Frodo would be alright.

"Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall… Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." Elrond looks over at Frodo who noticing this, looks back "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." Elrond says as he gestures towards the pedestal. Frodo gets up and slowly walks towards the pedestal, all eyes on him which was what was making him nervous as he then brought out the One Ring from his pocket and placed it on the pedestal for everyone to see.

"So that's the One Ring." Kouta says in his head finally seeing the real deal. Already just looking at it he could sense immense power within the small object.

"So it is true." a man with light brown hair and facial hairs around his mouth whispers with a look of awe and intrigue. Kouta looked over as did Strider, the man wore a black sleeveless leather vest over a red shirt with gold images strewn about, chainmail beneath complete with leather vambraces on his wrists.

Frodo sat back down beside Gandalf and let out a silent sigh of relief, almost as if a great burden was released from him the minute he let the ring go. The members of the council all stared at the ring, some of them whispering to each other with a few speaking a bit too loudly as things such as "The Ring of Power" or "The Doom of Men" could be overheard.

Suddenly the man took in a deep breath, Gandalf looked over towards him with just his eyes as the man got up from his seat catching everyone's attention. "In a dream...I saw the eastern sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered." the man began to slowly approach the pedestal. "A voice was crying: "Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found."" The man got closer to the pedestal. Elrond and Gandalf exchanged concerned looks at one another before looking back at him, just as he started slowly reaching for the Ring while whispering loudly "Isildur's Bane…"

"Boromir!" Elrond yelled out as he jumped out of his seat.

Suddenly Gandalf began to chant in a strange language that was not elvish, his voice beginning to resound through the air as he stood up "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.)" Thunder crackled and echoed through the sky which then darkened. The trance everyone, including the man Boromir was seemingly in, broke as they all began looking around in a panic, one of the dwarves even yelping out as he grabbed his axe for safety. Gandalf continued chanting, the Ring seemingly doing the same thing as loud whispers blew through the air, penetrating everyone's minds as they all resisted it.

As all of this is happening Kouta looks around, his eyes wide in complete shock as he even summoned his Driver onto his waist thinking something bad was about to happen. But nothing did as everything comes to an immediate stop.

Gandalf, the Ring, both stop chanting as the sun and the light both reappear in the sky, shining through the trees above as Boromir falls back onto his seat. A look of horror on his face as everyone begins calming down from what has just occurred.

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris." Elrond says, a hint of anger in his words as he looks at Gandalf.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond." Elrond sits back down with a displeased look on his face "For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard, in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil." Gandalf says as he begins to walk back to his seat.

"It is a gift." Boromir suddenly speaks up, once again catching everyone's attention as Gandalf turns his head back around with a look of anger in his eyes. "A gift to the foes of Mordor." he gets back up on his feet and walks a bit to his right as he continues. "Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe." everyone is silent as he walks back and forth, listening to what it is he has to say, though none of them are liking it one bit.

"Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!" Boromir declares.

"Cause that turned out well last time." Kouta says in his head, not liking what this guy was suggesting one bit.

"You cannot wield it! None of us can." Strider suddenly speaks up, bringing everyone's attention, especially Boromir's towards him. "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

"And what, would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir questions with a bit of anger in his voice.

Suddenly one of the elves with long blonde hair stands up "This is no mere Ranger." he says taking a step towards Boromir who looks back at him.

"He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." this seems to catch Boromir's attention a lot as his eyes slightly widen as if in shock. Kouta notices this and looks back at Stri...Aragorn. Wondering just what that meant to Boromir since this elf made is sound super important for him to know who he was talking to. "You owe him your allegiance." Suddenly there is once again a long silence, Frodo looks towards Strider, now identified as Aragorn as Boromir also slowly turns back to him, his mouth dropped open as if he is at a loss for words.

"Aragorn." Boromir says, Kouta listens in closely.

"This is Isildur's heir?" Kouta's eyes widened in shock at what he was hearing.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." the elf finishes.

Strider, no, Aragorn. He was one of Isildur's heirs?! But if that's the case… "Why does it look like he was trying to hide it?" Kouta questions himself. Since it looked like he wasn't exactly going out there blurting who he was, and not even his fellow Men seemed to know who he was.

"Sit down, Legolas." Aragorn says to the elf identified as Legolas in elvish. Legolas continues standing as then Boromir looks back at him.

"Gondor has no king." he says in a venomous tone. Boromir turns and begins walking back to his seat while eyeing Aragorn "Gondor needs no king." this doesn't seem to affect Aragorn all that much as he simply just looks down.

Kouta had read about Gondor, they hadn't had a king in a long time. Instead their land was ruled by the Steward, Kouta could only wonder what was going on over there if this guy was saying that they didn't need a King. Was it because they were doing good without one? Did they feel betrayed by their past king that they didn't want another? Or was it because the Steward was hungry with power and he didn't want a king.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it." Gandalf says as Aragorn and Legolas sit back down.

Elrond stands up "You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed." he states.

Everyone becomes absolutely silent, Boromir lets out a sigh of defeat and looks away, most likely angered that his wish for using the Ring would not be granted.

"Well what are we waiting for?" one of the dwarves question. This dwarf with auburn colored long and bushy hair and beard that easily reaches past his chest just a bit above the waist.

The dwarf stands up, picking up an axe next to his chair as he walks over to it with everyone watching with shock written on their faces. Elrond moves to try and say something to stop him, but is too late as the dwarf swings his axe down with a battle cry, and hits the ring. In a bright flash of light the head of the axe explodes to pieces and the dwarf is propelled onto his back, Kouta flinches and closes his eyes as suddenly the Eye of Sauron flashes through his mind, he reopens them to see Frodo also flinch and then put his right hand to his head as if in pain as Gandalf sees this and checks up on him.

The other dwarves get up to check on their kin who is visibly shocked and shaken by what just happened "The Ring cannot be destroyed Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade… It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you...must do this." Elrond fully explains.

The dwarves having returned to their seats, remain silent upon hearing this, just like everyone else as they all take in what Elrond has just told them must be done. While they all knew that this was the only way to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron, there was one major problem with this plan. Actually being able to do it. Something that Boromir decided to voice out for everyone in the council "One does not simply walk into Mordor…It's Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye, is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland...riddled with fire, and ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with 10,000 men could you do this. It is folly." he says shaking his head.

Legolas jumps up from his seat "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said?!" he nearly shouts attracting everyone's attention, Boromir looking away almost immediately however. "The Ring must be destroyed!" he states looking at everyone else.

"And I suppose you think you are the one to do it!" the dwarf known as Gimli suddenly yells.

"And if we fail, what then?" Boromir yells as he pushes himself up onto his feet. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!"

Gimli then jumps off his seat towards Legolas "I will be dead, before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli yells. Just then the entire council erupts into a huge argument as everyone gets on their feet, the Elves and Dwarves along with a few Men arguing back and forth while a few of the council members try to defuse the situation to no avail. All but Elrond, his aides, Aragorn, Gandalf who shakes his head in disbelief at this petty thing, and Frodo who is too frightened and does not have a say in all of this, remain in their seats.

"Never trust an elf!" Gimli yells.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kouta says to himself also in disbelief as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Their enemy should be Sauron not each other! "Can't they put their differences aside or do they not care what happens to their world?!"

"Do you understand? While you bicker amongst yourselves Sauron's power grows!" Gandalf begins to yell as he lifts himself up with his magic staff. "None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!"

Frodo remains seated, watching the Ring with unease as the angry figures of the council are reflected on its shiny, golden surface. The argument continues, Gandalf and Boromir even getting at each other's faces for who knows what as Frodo's breathing becomes hitched for a second before he catches it. Suddenly, in his eyes Frodo sees flames flare up, engulfing the surface of the Ring and the reflections of the council on it as the intensity of the arguments increase. Frodo's face twitches slightly as he continues staring at the Ring, until suddenly his uneasiness is replaced with a look of determination in his eyes. He looks at the council and stands, taking a few steps towards them as Kouta sees this.

"I will take it!" Frodo shouts, his voice however drowned out by the constant bickering of the council. Kouta hears this however, noticing the determined look in his eyes as he just about has it up to here with the ignorance of the council. Just as he is about to step forward to do something Frodo shouts again, this time louder than before "I WILL TAKE IT!"

As if fate had smiled upon him, or he just extremely lucky, the voices of the council seem to go down in volume enough that Gandalf manages to hear this. As he slowly begins turning around to see Frodo standing a few feet from him "I will take the Ring to Mordor." Frodo declares.

This time everyone hears him, as all the Men, Elves, and Dwarves look at the young Hobbit with complete shock written on their faces. Aragorn looks at Frodo with a neutral look on his face as does Kouta, now fully realizing what it is Frodo is saying, and what he is volunteering for.

"Though…" Frodo says looking at the ground, he looks at Gandalf and then eyes the rest of the council "I do not know the way."

The look on Gandalf's face says on one hand, that he does not like what Frodo is suggesting, but on the other hand, after everything he had been through and with his courage showing… "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins." Gandalf says as he approaches his friend, patting his left shoulder as he begins to move behind him "as long as it is yours to bear." he finishes now standing behind him, showing that he was willing to go with and aid Frodo on what was going to now be his quest.

At first Kouta began to wonder if this was okay, for someone like Frodo to go on what was most likely going to be a highly dangerous mission. But if Gandalf was saying he was going to be okay, and be there to help, guess Gandalf trusted him a lot. That and it was better than the other alternative of one of these guys going instead, or no one at all. Aragorn suddenly got up from his seat "If by my life or death, I can protect you...I will." he says as he approaches Frodo, kneeling down in front of him.

"You have my sword."

Gandalf looks over at Elrond with a mischievous look in his right eye, something Elrond notes, as Kouta continues watching now with a smile on his face.

"And you have my bow." Legolas says stepping forward and walking over.

"And my axe." Gimli states, now walking over to join the growing group.

Legolas doesn't look a bit pleased by this as he lets out a silent sigh, but there was no use arguing since they were going to be needing all the help they could get. Gimli joined alongside Legolas as the two stood beside Frodo, with Aragorn on Frodo's right side. Boromir then began to walk forward "You carry the fates of us all little one… If this is indeed the will of the Council...then Gondor will see it done." he says.

Suddenly a yell comes from a nearby bush, catching Elrond off guard as he furrows his brows in confusion and turns to see Sam come rushing out from nowhere right up to Frodo's side making Aragorn move aside to let him through.

"Frodo's not going anywhere without me." Sam states crossing his arms.

"No indeed it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not." Elrond says with a humorous smile on his face at this predicament.

From their hiding spot Merry and Pippin exchange surprised looks with one another before looking back forward "Hey! We're coming too!" Merry yells as he and Pippin run out. Going up the stairs into the semi-circle as even Elrond is surprised by this and watches as the two run past him to join the others.

"You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us." Merry says as he and Pippin move beside Frodo to his left.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission...Quest...Thing." Pippin says making a few people stare at him incredulously. Even Gandalf is at a loss for what has just occurred, but decides to go with it. Kouta can't help but quietly chuckle, friends to the end he could tell.

"Well that rules you out, Pip." Merry says, making Pippin do a double take as to what he just said.

Elrond looks at the group of gathered people before him "I see...so it will be ten companions." he says in awe.

Kouta takes notice of what he just said, as do the others "Ten? I count only…" Merry looks around quickly counting everyone that was in the group "Nine of us."

"That's because he's including me as well." Kouta speaks up as he comes out from his hiding place walks into the semi-circle, the people who did not know him looking at the young man confused by who and where he came from. While those that knew he was coming, Gandalf, and Aragorn, smiled, with the Hobbits looking at Kouta shocked to see that he would be accompanying them as well.

"And who might you be?" Boromir questions.

"This is Kouta Kazuraba, even though he may not look like it now, he is a powerful, and skilled warrior from a distant land. Who has come here to aid us in the fight against Sauron. Even though this whole situation is unexpected, having him join the quest to destroy the Ring was going to occur no matter the outcome." Elrond explains.

"Is that so? You don't look like much of a warrior to me." Boromir says, studying the look of his "odd" clothing as nothing about Kouta looked like a warrior in his eyes.

"Elrond did say I don't look like it right now." Kouta retorts back. Kouta looks down at Frodo and kneels down in front of him "Don't worry Frodo, as long as I'm around. None of Sauron's flunkies are going to get anywhere near you. You have my word." Kouta says, as he gets back up and takes a few steps back.

Just then Frodo notices a strange belt around Kouta's waist, that wasn't there before "'Cause right now, you have the power, of a Kamen Rider on your side." he states as he pulls out a strange lock from his pocket, and unlocks it.

"Orange!"

A crack opens up above Kouta as his Orange Arms armor drops out, catching everyone's attention as they are all taken aback by what they see "Henshin!" Kouta yells, placing the Lockseed onto his Driver and locking it into place.

"Lock On!"

Kouta pulls up on the cutting blade "slicing" the Lockseed open "Soiya!"

"Orange Arms: Hanamichi on Stage!"

His Ride Wear undersuit materializing onto his body, the Orange Arms Armor Part drops onto his head and slowly breaks apart, descending onto his body until with a flash of light the armor part finishes attaching itself to his body, completing Kouta's transformation into Kamen Rider Gaim.

Merry and Pippin look at one another "Orange?" they both say with confused looks.

The group of volunteers, as well as the rest of the council, even Elrond are taken aback by what they had just witnessed "Still not convinced." Gaim says looking at Boromir who was at a loss for words.

Gaim turns to Elrond as he regains his composure "As you can see, Kouta here, or as he is known within his order of special warriors, Kamen Rider Gaim. Will prove to be of great help to you on this perilous journey." Elrond says.

"Something we will need, so you are welcome to join us, Kamen Rider." Aragorn says.

"Kouta, or Gaim will do just fine, Aragorn." Gaim says with a nod to acknowledge him as Aragorn returns it.

Gaim walks over to Aragorn's side and joins the now group of ten volunteers, whose mission it would be to help lead and protect Frodo on his journey to Mordor, to destroy the One Ring and put an end to Sauron's reign of terror.

Elrond smiles at seeing the now complete group "Ten companions." he says. At the front were the four Hobbits, from left to right Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin. Standing behind them from left to right were Gaim, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir.

"So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." Elrond declares.

"Great!" Pippin excitedly says "Where are we going?" he then asks…

---

Q&A…

To Dragon-Man - Hmmm...maybe. Just maybe. I am a huge fan of My Hero Academia, but just seeing it right now. It would definitely be the most challenging of crossover stories I've ever done with Lord of the Rings. Like ever. It will be the most challenging just because of how vastly different our favorite students are compared to the likes of Master Chief, Fairy Tail, and now Kamen Rider. Not different in terms of power or anything like that, but because of the type of world they come from and certain "rules" if you know what I'm getting at.

To Ranmaleopard - Here you go! Hope you enjoy!

To Perseus12 - Thanks for the continuing support Perseus!

To Anti-W.T.F - Okay...

1) I'm sorry you feel that way about the beginning. As true as it is I could have done something with one of the other Riders, hence leading to a bit more complicated of a beginning or something, I chose to go with Gaim because. Well I did I just wanted to go with him and that's my decision.

2) He went there clueless and unprepared yes, but it's not like the person calling for him has any experience sending a message to a whole other planet or anything, so obviously they can't send him everything he would need to know what's going on because this is their first time doing it. And I would imagine doing such a thing reaching out across the stars would be quite a taxing thing on one's magic/body.

3) As for Gaim going because "someone asked for help" well...yeah that's literally what he would do. He's a Kamen Rider, even then his personality is he's the kind of person to go answer the call for help no matter what. Did you not see his first appearance in Kamen Rider Wizard's episode 52 and 53? A kid called out to him for help from a whole other world (a magic stone world place to be more precise), and he came no matter what. Literally in those episodes he jumped right into a portal, into the unknown, all because he heard someone calling for help. Which is literally what happens there, he hears someone call for help, except this time he's the one that opens a portal and goes there on his own free will. Because he's the kind of person to answer someone's call for help. Just like literally what he did in Kamen Rider Wizard episodes 52 and 53. Soooo call it "cliche" and "unamusing" all you want. He's done it before, he would do it again sooooo...yeah. That's just who he is.

4) Yeah a lot of my Lord of the Rings crossover stories are going to be very similar. Having the Lord of the Rings characters go to another universe to participate in those universe's events would be quite difficult. Like Halo, or Fairy Tail, wouldn't exactly work. Having other universes' Heroes travel to the Lord of the Rings universe to participate in the story of Lord of the Rings on the other hand, simple, and still awesome. So yeah I would expect that to happen a lot. Unless I can find a universe of which the Lord of the Rings heroes (namely Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli most likely) can go to and be on even playing grounds alongside the other heroes and against their enemies.

5) But none of those would make sense. It would make no sense after all this time for a random rogue Inves to appear from out of nowhere, somehow steal the Golden Fruit from Kouta's body and then run away opening a crack to the LotR universe. And Sauron wouldn't even know about Dark Riders or Mai so that would also be super random to happen. No offense but none of your ideas would make any sense for them to happen.

In all because of who Kouta is as a person and Kamen Rider, I feel that my opening, as though you may see it "cliche" and "unamusing" is more accurate because it represents Kouta for who he is. He would hear a voice, see the images, and come to help because that's who he is. He's sees a world and people are in danger, and even though they are complete strangers he would come help anyways.

To Y-2013 - Never seen any of the Ultraman shows so can't say anything there. As for Super Sentai if I had to do one...well from your list I would say either the Kyoryuger's or Kyuuranger's. Otherwise I would have to go with my favorite pirates the Gokaigers. But that's just based off your list.

To rmarcano321 - Maybe, they are to me. I like Kamen Rider very much, though I've only ever seen Kuuga, Agito, Kabuto, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, and currently Build. Never got around to watching the others (yet). Hence why you might be seeing a lot of Kamen Rider crossovers come from me in the future.