Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Lord of the Rings.
Author's note: Wow, a whole year since I've written on this. I had no idea college would take up so much of my time. I'm really lazy and dreadfully sorry about it. I'll try to get better at this. This isn't proofread much, and I've lost my beta reader. Forgive it's quality. Comments and suggestions will be well received.
Author's note 2: If you ever read any of my story, Escaping Mortality, you might be interested to know that I'm looking for places to post it. I'll put a link in my bio so you can find it.
Of Wings and Rings
Chapter the Next
The morning came to them with a loud thud and a pounding upon the door. Outside they greeted Nob, the hobbit under the tavern owner's employment. He seemed surprised to see them all in the room together, but expressed relief to discover the hobbits well. Apparently the hobbit rooms had been ransacked, and Nob was told to round up some men to aid in a search party.
They found themselves on the road soon after with the pony Heero spoke of, along with a letter from Gandalf the bartender forgot he had. Inside were the lines Heero had spoken the day before to Strider, cementing once again Heero's story. Strider agreed to trust them, and the hobbits (Sam very reluctantly) agreed to trust them as well.
Once far out of town and away from ears that could be tilted toward them, Strider spoke, "We should head toward Weathertop. It's about half-way between here and Rivendell and allows a great view of the surrounding area."
"Sounds good," Heero agreed, and with that they traveled mostly in silence, the gravity of the quest ahead seemed to quiet even Duo and Pippen.
It wasn't long however that even that could weigh down their tongues as a more important issue surfaced.
"I'm hungry," Pippen moaned. "We missed second breakfast AND elevensies."
Duo moaned in agreement. "Surely we can stop to eat something soon."
"It's best to keep moving," Strider said, as Heero reached into his pack and tossed an apple to the hobbit.
Pippen looked down at the apple in dismay, but smiled as Quatre produced him a loaf of bread to go with it.
"It ain't much, but we shouldn't stop until we have too," Quatre said, as he handed a piece if bread to Duo, who felt shortchanged for getting less than the hobbit.
"You got a bit more than bread in there, Quat?" Duo asked, as Quatre passed more bread out to the hobbits.
"Naturally, but I can't give out too much or we'll run out," Quatre said.
"Can't I have a bit more?" Duo asked as Quatre seemed to be generous toward the hobbits.
"You can go a bit longer than they can without food, Duo," Quatre said. "You've been trained to go days on nothing but water. The hobbits haven't been."
Duo seemed to sulk and Wufei secretly passed him a piece of jerky when no one was looking. Duo smiled brightly for Wufei and carefully nibbled on it, making sure no one spotted him. Wufei watched him eat it, a comtemplative look on his face. Pippen seemed to catch on though and kept sending Wufei looks of longing till Wufei had to give him some before he accidentally ratted them out.
And travel continued much like that for the rest of the trip to Weathertop. They traveled all day, camped just before nightfall and ate, slept until dawn and continued again.
When they slept, Trowa and Quatre would lie next to each other, with plenty of space between them to mask their relationship (not sure how the hobbits and Strider would take it). Duo always made sure to put Wufei between him and Heero. The hobbits all slept next to each other and had a habit of waking up the next morning in a tangle of limbs and blankets as none of them could lie still as they slept. Strider slept close to the hobbits, so he could guard Frodo if they were attacked. Duo slept close enough that he woke up several times to find Pippen with a hand wrapped around his braid.
Upon reaching Weathertop, they made camp and the hobbits were left to their devices as Strider and the pilots searched the hill for signs of Gandalf, in case he had beaten them there. Quatre opted for staying with the hobbits when Heero gave him an odd look. Heero and Trowa often communicated with looks, and Quatre was starting to get the hang of it. He wasn't sure what Heero was trying to tell him exactly, but he knew a command to stay when he saw it. He watched the hobbits mingle amongst themselves nearby, Sam always spoke in whispers and would often glance over to see if Quatre was still there.
Quatre easily adapted to Sam's suspicion, unlike Duo and the others, who were starting to get rather annoyed with it. Wufei was of the opinion that Sam may cause them trouble later under the guise of good intentions, so the feeling was mutual in that case. Quatre however could feel the loyalty rolling off Sam in waves. It was a powerful force that seemed to wrap itself around Sam and Frodo, whom he had the loyalty for. It was a blind devotion rarely found and made Quatre think of Lady Une.
Quatre pegged Pippen and Merry to be of similar design, but not nearly of the same intensity. Both cared deeply for Frodo and were fond of Sam in an offhanded way. Their moods were often reflections of each other. When Merry was mischievous, Pippen seemed twice as much. When Pippen felt weary from all the travel, Merry seemed to be even more burdened, as if shouldering some of Pippen's weight. Quatre had a feeling they'd functioned in this manner for a long time now.
Frodo was another character entirely. Frodo always seemed burdened even when he smiled at Pippen in merriment or at Sam in fondness. The effect of the ring ran rather deep, and Quatre suspected that Frodo was hardly even aware of it at this point. Quatre could tell the ring would leave the hobbit with a lasting effect long after he was parted with it.
The ring itself was the oddest reading Quatre ever picked up in his life. It was an inanimate object that was flooded with evil intent and malice. The corruptive power of it was obvious. Quatre could almost see tentacles of black darkness wafting off it. It seemed to have an odd intelligence, as if it was alive and planning ways to escape from Frodo and get somewhere else. The ring seemed to call out to him, begging him to take it from Frodo and deliver it to its proper place. . . .
Quatre was not stupid however. Heero had forewarned him about the power of the ring. He knew to expect to feel drawn to it after being in its presence. He braced himself for its pull. Quatre suspected that he was the only one who felt it so strongly and it was because of his empathy.
Quatre "heard" a rather abrupt silence from the hobbits and shook his head and noticed that he had been staring at them and they noticed. More specifically, that he had been staring at Frodo's chest, where the ring was currently looped through a gold chain Strider had given him to prevent accidental use of it. Quatre blushed and it seemed to make the hobbits even more suspicious of him.
"Forgive me," Quatre said, his voice deliberately softer to seem harmless. "I guess none of us told you. I'm an empath. That means I can feel other's emotions."
"Emotions?" Pippen asked, looking very interested and not suspicious anymore. "Like sadness and stuff?"
Quatre nodded. The other three hobbits seem to cling to their suspicions, so Quatre continued, "Mostly just current ones. But sometimes objects become covered in a particular emotion due to prolonged exposure and intensity. The ring is one of them. It's covered in hatred, malice, and greed. It's hard for me to ignore."
Frodo nodded his head solemnly, an action that drew Sam's gaze to him immediately. Merry seemed to consider it, and found himself glancing to where the ring hung underneath Frodo's shirt.
"I'm sorry for staring," Quatre said. "It's rather distracting."
Frodo nodded again. "No worries. I understand the pull of the ring. I've only had it for a short time and I can already feel the effects. Not strongly, but its there."
Sam seemed to accept that, and didn't look upon Quatre with such harsh suspicion anymore. Suspicion was still there, but it was much less than before. Quatre could barely feel it anymore. It was as if Sam made the effort to hide it from him, something that amused Quatre quite a bit.
Heero and Duo walked into camp about then and seemed to notice the solemn atmosphere. Heero acted as he always would. He planted himself down in the center of the camp, Frodo in the center of his vision, but not obviously watching him. Duo frowned at the hobbits before planting himself beside Quatre and whispering quietly into his ear.
"What's going on over there?'
"They caught me staring at the ring," Quatre explained as Sam eyed Heero to see if he too was eyeing Frodo. "I explained my empathy. It seemed to calm everyone but Sam though."
Duo snorted and glanced at Sam, who had turned his head at the sound. They gave each other long looks before Frodo drew Sam's attention away, speaking about something in the Shire.
"Sam's gonna be like that no matter-"
Duo was cut off by the abrupt darkness as the fire suddenly went out. There was a mad scrambling as the hobbits hurried about trying to hide, and Heero's voice broke free above their chaos.
"Quatre, get the fire going! Duo, find two hobbits and stick to them!"
Quatre felt Duo's braid brush past his arm as Duo took off. Quatre knelt down beside where the fire had been and desperately went to work. The sounds of footfalls came from everywhere as the hobbits gave cries of panic. Emotions were flooding Quatre's system and it was hard not to give into the panic and join the hobbits in their terror.
Suddenly the darkness was full of people. Strider, Trowa, and Wufei had dashed toward them when they saw the fire go out. Quatre felt a wave of desire flash across his system that knocked him back onto his butt. It was so intense, Quatre had to curl himself into a ball as his body shook with the force of it. His throat was suddenly dry as he struggled to breathe and he couldn't emit a single sound to call for aid.
He didn't need to however. He felt a familiar grip on his shoulder as Trowa found him. Trowa's concern and fear brushed against Quatre's mind and he latched onto it. He got a firm grip of his own on Trowa's arm and held on tightly. He pressed himself flush against Trowa, the contact amplifying Trowa's emotions and slowly pushing the desire away.
His head partially cleared, he could now hear his surroundings again. The hobbits were still screaming when the fire restarted. Wufei's face was lit up in stark relief as he stepped back from his handy work. Torches were lit with startling speed, and soon the hobbits' cries were drowned out by the most horrid shrieking Quatre had ever heard. A new wave of despair past over him, and Quatre could barely remain conscious. Trowa clung against him, his gun drawn.
Heero picked up a tree branch and lit it. He quickly passed it to Strider and started lighting a second. Strider swung the branch in tandem with his sword and managed to catch one of the wraiths on fire. It gave a horrible scream and vanished into the trees.
"Damnit it to hell!" Duo shouted as Frodo suddenly disappeared from his sight. In shock his grip on Merry and Pippen loosened, and both of them took off in the direction Frodo had been in. Sam had a butcher's knife in one hand and a frying pan in the other, looking about for Frodo. The wraiths seemed to ignore the hobbits all together.
Wufei lit his own branch and surveyed the chaos about him. The eight remaining wraiths were darting between them, with swords drawn. We watch Strider set a second one on fire, before he glimpsed a wraith standing still just on the edge of the fire's light. It's stabbed into the empty air and a bone-chilling scream erupted. The sword was pulled back, and blood was running down it.
"Master Frodo!" Sam shouted and dashed toward the wraith. Sam collided into the back of the wraith's legs and the creature stumbled a bit. Sam crashed back onto the ground.
Wufei stepped over him with ease and lit the wraith's hood on fire. The wraith screamed and turn, swing it's sword toward Wufei's throat. Wufei jumped back and the sword lightly grazed his collarbone. The wraith dashed off into the woods. Upon it's retreat, the others followed.
Heero, Duo, and Strider ran off after them. Wufei was about to follow when a feeling of foreboding passed over him. His pause allowed him to watch as Frodo reappeared into view. Sam practically fell upon him and turn at his shirt to get to the wound beneath.
Quatre gave one last whimper of his own as Frodo cried out in pain as Sam tried to clean his wound. He slowly pulled himself free from Trowa. Trowa put his gun away and held onto him. His concern was clear on his face, despite his normally calm features.
"I. . .I'll be fine," Quatre panted. "They're gone."
Quatre glanced around him and his breath caught in his throat. He really COULD see the darkness wafting off Frodo now. It curled out of the wound like a flame in slow motion. Quatre felt his heart break as he noticed the same effect rising from Wufei's collarbone. It cast across his face and shadowed his features. Wufei looked far more sinister.
Trowa followed Quatre's gaze, but he could see nothing. He assumed it was because of the wounds that Quatre was upset. Wufei was digging through his bag in search of a bandage to apply to his wound as Heero, Duo, and Strider returned.
"They got away," Duo said, throwing himself down next to the fire near Quatre.
Heero planted himself next to him as Strider walked over to check out Frodo.
"He's got a fever, Strider!" Sam shouted. "His burning up!"
"This isn't good. His been stabbed by a Mordor blade," Strider said. "We need to search for an herb. If I described it to you, do you think you can find it?"
The hobbits all nodded and listening intently as Strider spoke. They quickly dashed off with torches to find it. Strider stood and glanced over at Heero.
"Did you foresee this too?" Strider asked.
"I did, but it was different," Heero said. "but similar enough. The wraiths would be drawn here by the fire, but I explained that to you earlier. Some things must happen."
Strider looked annoyed, "I understand, but I wish you would have told me Frodo would be wounded. I could have discovered the herb in advance. He wouldn't have to suffer."
"You won't find it," Heero said. "We need to hurry to Rivendell. We need to move much faster than we are."
Strider nodded, "Elrond can help Frodo much better than I can. Mordor blades are cursed, and even a scratch can kill you without treatment."
Wufei finished with his bandage, "Then we must hurry then."
"Is it deep, Wufei?" Quatre said. "Do you feel any different?"
Heero and Strider both looked over in surprise.
Strider gaped, "Are you injured as well?"
Wufei nodded, "It is a small scratch. I've had much worse before. However, if that blade was curse, it must also be tended to. I don't have a fever, and I don't feel ill."
"But do you feel different?" Quatre repeated, he was staring at the wound intently from his seat next to the fire. "You feel different to me."
Wufei paused to contemplate, "I do feel strange. Sort of heavy, but not unbearably so."
Duo pulled Wufei down next to him and looked the wound over. Wufei felt a blush invade his cheeks at the attention, but said nothing.
Strider sighed, "You may be lucky. If anything changes, you must keep us informed."
Wufei nodded, catching Heero's glare at him over the top of Duo's head.