Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Nor do I own Lord of the Rings.

Author's notes: This took SO long to write. I wish I could say it's because of lack of time, but that would be lying to all of you. This gap between chapters is a result of: A) laziness and B) not liking what I DO write when I push myself to it. With that said, I'm sorry for the wait. Thank you for your patience. I would also like to thank all of my reviewers so far. Also, I'll follow along with most of the movie's plot, since it's easier than searching through the book to stay on track. I might switch up now in then to include stuff that was left out. Now, on with the fic:

Of Wings and Rings

Chapter 5

The rain came down heavy in the town of Bree. It made the grass slick and the stones slicker. People were rushing about and to and fro in order to escape the rain. One may thank the rain, for it prevents the people from taking a watchful eye, and for anyone traveling in secret, that is a blessing most welcome.

No one noticed the four small folk running between them, and if they did, they were thought of nothing more than children. The small folk went from one side of the street to the other and dived into a small inn named The Prancing Pony.

"Excuse me," said one, and the innkeeper, leaning far over his counter to see him.

"Why, hello there, my tiny masters! What brings you into Bree?"

"Our business is our own," he said, "Do you know if a tall fellow in grey has passed through in here?"

"Tall fellow in grey, you say?" The innkeeper repeated, then deviled deep into his memory, "Pointy hat? Long, long beard? Wields a staff and answers to Gandalf?"

"Yes," the voice said, sounding much cheerier, "That's the one!"

"Sorry, Mr. Eh-Mr.-"

"Underhill,"

"Sorry, there, Mr. Underhill, I haven't seen the likes of him in months," the innkeeper said, "would you be wanting a room? We have plenty of hobbit-sized rooms available."

"Yes, thank you," he said.

After purchasing a room for them, they went to dry off and came back to the front where the guests, mostly Big Folk, had gathered for drinks.

"What will we do now, Mr. Frodo?" asked one of the other hobbits.

"I don't know, Sam," Frodo (who as far as the innkeeper was concerned, Mr. Underhill) said with a sigh, "He should have been here waiting for us."

"I wonder where he could be, or what kept him?" another asked, "Should we continue on without him?"

"No, Merry, let's wait here a couple days to see if he'll surface," Frodo said taking a seat at a table made for hobbits.

"Well, me thinks, I'm getting a drink," the other said, and rushed off toward the bar.

"Wait for me, Pip," Merry said and the two of them disappeared into the crowd.

"Would you like something to drink, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, "I'll get it for you if you like."

"No, Sam, I'm quite fine," Frodo said, "though I could use some sleep. We should get off to bed before long."

Sam nodded and they took to watching people around the inn. Most of them were Big Folk. Most of them were drunk as well and the tavern part of the inn was full of noise. The door to the inn opened, and both of them shot hopeful glances toward it. Gandalf did not appear through it however; instead it was a group of five younger Big Folk.

"Mr. Frodo, I think that man in black over in the corner has been staring at us since we got here."

Frodo glanced over, while trying to make it look like he was just looking for Merry and Pippin. Sure enough, there was a man in black in the corner. He had a hood drawn up about his face and had a pipe in has hand. The man seemed to be looking into his pipe at the moment.

"You sure, Sam?"

"Yes, Mr. Frodo," Sam said with up most certainty.

"He'll just have to watch us then," Frodo said. "For I doubt asking him to stop would help us any."

Frodo's attention drifted over toward the table next to them. The five Big Folk that came in earlier were seated there and seemed to still be thoroughly soaked. Frodo noted that they seemed to not be carrying anything about them. Perhaps they were robbed on their journey at some point, for they didn't even have cloaks to battle back the rain.

"What are we going to do?" The one with the long braid asked his fellows.

"What can we do?" said the one with black hair and oddly shaped eyes. "We are in a book, in a place, far different from our own. What purpose can we serve here?"

"Maybe we are to follow the story," the blonde one said. "What was the story about, Heero?"

The boy that spoke next had his back to Frodo, but his hair was messy and the light made it look mossy green. "It's a story about a hobbit and his friends, who have to travel across the land of Middle-Earth to destroy a ring of power."

Frodo and Sam's eyes widen and they felt themselves frozen in fear. These people knew of their quest? But how?

"A ring?" the braided one asked, his own violet-colored eyes widening. "They want to destroy a ring?"

"Yes, Duo," Heero said with great patience. "A ring. It's evil and must be destroyed before its master finds it."

"Why?"

"Because the world will end if they don't," the blonde said. "Right? That's how all fantasy stories go."

"Right," Heero said. "And they have to journey into the heart of the evil lord's realm to do it."

"Why?" the braided boy, Duo, asked.

Heero sighed, clearly his patience was running thin. "Cause it can only be destroyed in the fires from whence it came."

"But WHY?!" Duo asked.

"Cause it's an evil ring and the book said so," Heero said in a matter-of-fact way.

"But-" Duo was cut off however by the boy who had been silent the whole time.

"So what part of the story are we in now?"

Heero looked around him, his gaze resting on the stranger in the corner and then on the bar where Pippin and Merry sat. "This looks like Bree. Probably the Prancing Pony."

"That's what the sign said," the boy with the odd-shaped eyes said.

"Aragorn's still in the corner, which means he hasn't used the ring yet."

"What's it do?" Duo asked.

"Turning the wearer invisible is the only thing I've read about. Beside that, is the drawing power it gives off. People around the ring bearer seem to want it, whether they know what it is or not."

"So the question is, do we join in?" the once silent boy said.

They were all silent for a moment.

"The only way I see it," the blonde said. "Is if we want out of this book, the story has to end. So we have to make sure the story continues until the ring is destroyed."

"So what do we do right now, wait until the ring is used, or find this hobbit now and drag him to-"

"Mount Doom," Heero supplied. "That's what they call it in Rivendell."

"How reassuring," Duo said.

"It'll happen any second now," Heero said.

"What will?" Duo asked.

"Pippin will call Frodo by name."

"He knows your name as well, Mr. Frodo!" Sam said in a hushed voice, but not hushed enough, for the five boys around the table seemed to stiffen.

"They heard you!" Frodo cried.

It was then that a voice rose up from the bar " . . . Baggins? Oh, I know a Frodo Baggins. He's my second cousin, once removed from his mother's side. Oh, he's right over -"

Then chaos erupted as Frodo and Sam both made a mad dash to silence Pippin. The five boys stood up and watched carefully. Frodo stumbled, the ring flew into the air, and then Frodo was gone.

The people in the bar panicked. They began to look around on the floor for the hobbit that disappeared into thin air. The five boys however, kept their eyes on the remaining hobbits, and Heero waited for Aragorn to make his move. The man in black dashed over, plucked Frodo from underneath a table and dashed up the stairs.

Several moments passed before the other hobbits made their way after them. Merry grabbed a lantern and Pippin grabbed the stool it had been sitting on. The five boys dashed up the stairs after them and watched as they busted into a door down the hall.