Sorry for the delay. I was updating my fanfics. :)
*.*.*
Allanon smirked. "There is much you have yet to learn here, Frodo Baggins," he gestured to the blue-eyed, fair-faced hobbit, before facing the Jedi, "Anakin Skywalker," he turned to the red dragonoid who approached the group, "and Parker Dooley. I believe this is something you all need to hear."
"What do we need to hear?" Frodo asked, confused.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this, but your secrets won't stay hidden for long," Allanon said, calmly. "We cannot discuss this out here. Not for this secret. It must be kept between us for the time being. Should the villains find out about our actions, and our fates, then the consequences will be disastrous." He turned towards the closed pavilion, telling the trio, "Come with me. The others are gathering now."
"What others?" Frodo asked, staring at the Druid in confusion. "What aren't you telling me?" He followed Allanon, Anakin, and Parker into the pavilion, where the doors were closed, leaving them at a round table with a lit chandelier that sent parts of the room into darkness, while the other half was in light.
Frodo noticed Rose DeWitt Bukater was present and the ghost Jack Dawson. The curly, red-haired Rose and the blond-haired Jack were too close together for the hobbit not to take them seriously. This was not what he asked, nor was it that Parker wrapped an arm around Rose's waist. He shook his head, realizing that he, Frodo, and Rose were not meant to be together.
He looked around the table in curiosity. There was Wil Ohmsford with his short pointy ears and just as short blonde hair, while he wore a leather jacket, a green shirt, and brown trousers. He returned his gaze to pink dragonoid Lily Dragonkin, who was also present in the room, as well as Hondo and Anakin. He smirked, watching Allanon walk around the room in intrigue. Clearly, something was on the Druid's mind.
"Allanon," Frodo started, smiling, "whatever it is you have to tell us, you can say it! I don't mind!"
"Oh, but I think you do," Allanon said, facing him and Parker. "This is something you two don't know," he turned to Wil in curiosity, "and you don't know."
"What don't I know?" Wil asked, confused. "Allanon, ever since you got here, you haven't said a word about your quest… nor of this Shadow Squad."
"I did not bring you here so you could give up," Allanon said, serious. "Eretria needs to know this, too," he looked at Parker, encouraging him, "and Peter Pan ought to be aware of this as well."
"What do we need to know?" Parker asked, concerned.
"When you said you turned into Maranguan, you lost your son and then found him again. Is that true?" Allanon asked in turn.
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.
"Well, forgive me!" Frodo said, reclining in his chair. "I didn't know it was so serious."
"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.
The silence deepened in the room. No one spoke for minutes. The information soaked in, taking root into all their hearts. Frodo looked up, noticing the different expressions on everyone's faces. Anakin was in shock. Wil was flabbergasted, as was Parker Dooley. Rose was half-smiling. There was also a look of relief on her face that Frodo simply couldn't ignore. Did she really think this was funny? Then there was Hondo, who smirked, while Lily remained silent. Did she want to say something?
"Well, that's an unexpected bombshell!" Lily cried. "I did not see that one coming!"
"You mean to tell me that I'm related to him?" Parker asked, astonished and pointing to Frodo.
"What did you expect? That we'd immediately shake hands and say that 'everything's alright'?" Frodo relaxed, beside himself in worry. "You are not what I expected at all! I'm sorry that I'm a part of your bloodline, but you put me under that trance, sent me into a massive vision! Do you think I'd call you my ancestor?"
"Ha ha! You're not what I expected either," Parker smiled, breaking the ice.
"What other secrets are you hiding?" Wil asked the Druid, annoyed. "When were you going to tell me that Eretria's distant relative is a dragon?"
"I'm a dragonoid and, yes, I know it's odd—"
"Excuse me, but I wasn't talking to you!" Wil told him off. "Your line is bloody."
Frodo crossed his arms in rage. "This is so unexpected. I didn't ask for this!"
"Really? Before you were thanking me," Parker said, astonished.
"Well, look at it this way," Rose said, enjoying herself, "if Parker and I marry, I'll be your distant relative—"
"Don't tell me that!" Frodo interrupted her. "This is the last news anyone wants to hear right now!" He stood up, ready to depart. "If anyone has anything else to say, I'll be waiting at Parker's house. I'm going home and I'm not coming back!"
"Sit down, Frodo. This meeting isn't finished yet." Allanon said, softly.
"What more is there?" Frodo asked, determination in his eyes. "Look, you shouldn't have brought me here and you shouldn't have said this! I thought my bloodline was pure! Now I know there's a murderer in the family! My bloodline doesn't need that right now."
"You'll come around," Allanon said, gesturing for him to sit down.
"I very much doubt it," Frodo said, serious.
"No, I've seen it, too. Allanon's right." Parker looked up, smiling. "You'll come around and you'll forgive me."
"Excuse me, but I wasn't talking to you! You're the last person I want to speak to right now." Frodo said, fuming.
"Well, if we're all confessing, I killed a bunch of Tusken Raiders." Anakin inquired, softly. "I don't know if that counts, but I need to make amends, too." He looked at Frodo, asking him, "Can you forgive me?"
"Who can?" Frodo asked, annoyed. "It's not going to be me."
"Frodo, sit down! We need to focus on finding Eretria and Peter Pan." Allanon said, moving on. "They're bound to be somewhere—"
"STOP!" Frodo shouted, fed up. "I've heard enough. I'm leaving and I'm not coming back." He rushed out of the pavilion before another word was spoken.
.
Frodo collapsed on the pavilion's stone steps. He placed his hands on his nose, in shock by all he heard. There were two things he once knew about his bloodline: the Baggins family started with Balbo Baggins; before him was Marcho and Blanco, who migrated to the Shire. That was all he knew before this bombshell was spoken.
The hobbits! His whole line, and that of Merry and Pippin's – they were tainted, all because a red dragonoid turned evil. How would he tell them? Who would believe him?
He said he wanted to go home, but after hearing this, there was no way he could go back just yet. He was trapped, trapped in a world he did not know, trapped with a relative who was, in fact, a murderer. He should just kill him now! Avenge those who were lost! Become a hero, just like Bilbo, who came back with the reward. Yes! He should do this. It would slake his thirst for vengeance—
The door opened behind him, jerking his thoughts back to reality. Oh no! What was Anakin doing here?
"What do you want?" Frodo asked, annoyed and tired.
"Allanon is giving you a task, if you're up for it," Anakin sat down next to him, "or do you still want to go home?"
"Yes," Frodo said, hesitant. He admitted the truth to him, "and no. I don't know what to believe! My family's cursed, because of that dragonoid!" He looked back at the doorway, watching Rose and Parker's smiling faces. "He took everything from me. He took Rose, and now, he takes my bloodline." He shook his head. "I don't know what to do! It's all his fault!"
"Look, you're not like him. You're you!" Anakin said in encouragement.
"Heh heh!" Frodo chuckled, sheepishly. "You've murdered, too! Don't deny it."
"I don't – I've regretted it. Every decision I've made has led me to this point and for what?" Anakin said, sighing in despair. He admitted, "Listen, Allanon put us together for a reason. He wants us to work with Parker. Hondo has barely said two words, but he's a fighter. He's a pirate, a smuggler, and the best chance we've got, even though he tricked me once. I won't forget it, but I can't let it get me down."
"What does Allanon want with me?" Frodo asked, concerned.
Anakin smiled. "I'm glad you asked." He explained, "Allanon wants you to travel to Paravane Trepess. It's a town where the past, present, and future meet. He wants you to take Parker, just in case you run into his past self."
"His past self? He's there?" Frodo asked, forgetting his pain.
"I thought you didn't care about him," Anakin asked, smirking.
"I don't – I mean," he looked at Anakin for reassurance but received none, "he tried to stop me from taking the Heart of the Ocean, and then he goes off and steals my girl!"
"Is she your girl?" Anakin asked, curious.
"No, but… he didn't have to do that." Frodo said, flustered. "Why would he do that to me?"
"Maybe he wants you to try something different." Anakin stood up. "You had better hope that Wil doesn't say anything else. He already doubts Allanon. Don't take his word for it. He's a Druid, and Druids know their history."
"He certainly knows mine," Frodo said, looking up at him. "I don't even know who I am."
"Well then, you have a fresh start," Anakin said, returning to the pavilion.
Frodo looked at the dusky horizon. This was not what he expected. What was Allanon doing to him? Pairing him up with Parker Dooley, after what he learned! What nonsense!
*.*.*
References:
Wil Ohmsford is from Terry Brooks' book series, The Shannara Series. Rose DeWitt Bukater is from the movie "Titanic".