1Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine. Lord of the Rings is not mine.

Chapter Two

Obi-Wan awoke to the sound of voices outside his door. "He's slept this late; I don't know if we should wake him." The voice was Elrond's.

"Would you rather have to explain everything to him seperately?" came an unfamiliar voice.

"I'd rather have that than have him faint in the midst of something important."

The stranger laughed, but more fondness than humor was in his voice when he spoke. "Have a little faith, Adar. He'll survive. At worst we'll have to stop for lunch and you know that'll please the Hobbits."

"It will, indeed. Well, you may as well go in. He's already awake."

Obi-Wan opened his eyes, surprised that the Elf could tell. "Good morning," Elrond said graciously.

"Good morning," Obi-Wan replied. He turned to the new man. Though he spoke to Elrond as a son would to a father, there was little resemblance, unless it were in his eyes. He had a more rugged, weather-worn appearance, old clothes, and unkept hair.

Obi-Wan knew better, however, than to judge by this. He sat up, hesitantly moving his wounded limbs. The stranger came over to help, and soon had the Jedi on his feet. He was much gentler than he looked, and Obi-Wan could feel the Force in him.

"We should have breakfast," the stranger advised. "Despite Lord Elrond's worrying, the council will not start for a good half hour yet. Come."

"Thank you. What is your name, if I may ask?"

The stranger glanced briefly over at Elrond before answering. "Call me Strider."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Strider showed him around until Obi-Wan was certain they'd be late for whatever was going on. At last they sat down to eat.

For a good part of the meal, Strider was quiet, though he didn't eat much, either. Though Obi-Wan could tell he was glad for the company, he could also see that he was more used to being on his own. He also gathered that he had arrived only days ago, with Pippin and three others of his kind.

Obi-Wan, for his part, asked very little of him, and was repaid in kind. When they were finished, Strider led him outside, to an area that almost resembled a courtyard. A ring of chairs circled around the outside, about two-thirds of the way around. Obi-Wan took a seat on the end and Strider sat down next to him.

One by one, more people came in and sat down. Obi-Wan recognized Glorfindel, but couldn't see Pippin anywhere. There were two Hobbits on the other end on either side of an older man with a staff. Elrond came in and sat down in a larger chair facing everyone. Another Elf sat close by. The whole setup reminded Obi-Wan vaguely of the Jedi Council, only larger, and with a specific leader.

Strider pointed out several different groups: Elves, Dwarves, Men, one Wizard, and the two Hobbits. He also went on to name several of them. The Elf by Elrond was Erestor. The Hobbits were Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, and the old man in between them was in fact a Wizard named Gandalf. One of the Elves was Legolas, from a place called Mirkwood. Among the Dwarves were Gloin and his son, Gimli. A man called Boromir had arrived just earlier that day from Gondor.

When all were seated, Elrond rose. He welcomed them all to Rivendell and then began a tale about a ring. Obi-Wan listened intently. Elrond would not be taking the time to tell the story, he reasoned, if it would not be important later on.

Under other circumstances, Obi-Wan may have found it hard to concentrate. But after what had happened, he was more than content to merely sit and listen to every detail.

For Elrond told it in detail. It was long before he finished, and then the Hobbit called Bilbo began. His story was no less detailed, and involved a great many riddles. It also concerned a ring, with the power to make one invisible.

Then Frodo picked up the tale, and told of his journey to Rivendell. He was much more hesitant. "No wonder," Obi-Wan thought. "He hasn't had the time to go over the details a million times in his head. These things only just happened to him." To make it harder, people were constantly interrupting, asking questions. It seemed that only Strider and Obi-Wan were silent. Finally, Frodo was allowed to sit down.

Others spoke. Legolas told of a creature who had escaped the Elves of Mirkwood, the same creature in whose cave Bilbo had found the Ring. The Dwarf called Gloin told of a messenger of Mordor, who shought word of a 'halfling' and of a particular ring. Gandalf spoke of another Wizard called Saruman, a place called Isengard, and of evil doings there.

At last, Elrond spoke. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." The Hobbit walked slowly up to a small table in the center of the circle and placed on it a small gold Ring.

Obi-Wan immediately felt the rush of the Dark Side of the Force, as surely as he had many times before. He instinctively stood up and reached for his lightsaber, only to find it gone and every eye in the council turned on him, surprised at the sudden move, especially from someone who had been so quiet, just sitting there, observing. Obi-Wan slowly sat down again, scolding himself for being so rash.

Boromir rose as slowly as Obi-Wan had sat down. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark, but in the West, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, "Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found." Isildur's bane." He moved slowly, almost hypnotized, arm outstretched, towards the center of the room. Obi-Wan tried to move the Ring out of his reach using the Force, to give it back to Frodo, but the strength of the Dark Side in the Ring was too strong.

At last, when Boromir was only inches away from the Ring, Obi-Wan leapt out of his chair and tackled him to the ground. He doubted he would've been able to do it because of his injuries, but he caught Boromir off guard.

Even as he did so, Gandalf started to shout something in a language Obi-Wan didn't know. Obi-Wan rolled off Boromir, covering his ears, so terrible was the sound of it. But he rolled right into the table. Gandalf stopped shouting. Every eye turned as the Jedi disappeared.

He'd meant only to catch It, to keep It from Boromir's grasp, but the Ring had other plans. Obi-Wan could hear a voice in his head, speaking in the same tongue as Gandalf, but louder, terrifying.

Frodo watched, trembling, for any sign of where the stranger might be. But there was only silence, a strange stillness, for the longest time.

Suddenly, there he was again, and the Ring was bouncing across the floor, thrown away. The Jedi lay motionless, in almost the exact place where he had been. Frodo hurried to pick up the Ring and put It back on the table while Strider ran to help Obi-Wan and Boromir made his way back to his seat.

Strider slowly helped Obi-Wan up. "I'm so sorry," the Jedi was stammering. "I . . . I didn't mean to . . . I should've realized . . ." He was still trying to clear the voice from his head.

"Here, sit down." Strider helped Obi-Wan into his seat. "Just rest a while."

Boromir rose again. "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. 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. Give Gondor the weapon of the Enemy! Let us use it against Him!"

"NO!" Obi-Wan shouted. Everyone stared. "No! I've seen the power of this Ring. No matter how hard you try, It can never be used for good! Its only purpose is for evil!"

Boromir turned. "And what would a stranger know of this matter?"

Once again, Obi-Wan mentally scolded himself for speaking out. This matter didn't really concern him. It was something Anakin would've done, but normally not him. But he had to answer.

Obi-Wan forced his voice back to a calm tone, tried to find the words that might calm both himself and Boromir down. "Only what I've heard today. Which, by now, is a lot. And I am now one of only three people here to have worn this Ring, though not by my own choosing. Your intentions could not be better, Boromir; I can sense that. But even you cannot turn this Ring to good. That is beyond anyone's power."

Boromir sat down again. "Well handled," Strider whispered to Obi-Wan. The Jedi breathed a sigh of relief. If not peace, this was at least a cease-fire.

"You have only one choice," Elrond said at last. "The Ring must be destroyed."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gimli leapt up and tried to smash the Ring with his axe. The weapon shattered as the Dwarf was thrown backwards. Obi-Wan reached out his hand. Gimli never hit the ground. The Jedi set him down gently, all too aware of the eyes watching him. Even Elrond and Strider looked surprised, though not as much as everyone else.

"I don't suppose you want to teach me that?" Aragorn asked quietly as Gimli picked himself up.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Remind me when I have time."

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft taht we here posess," Elrond explained. "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 chasms from whence it came. One of you must do this."

Everyone knew that would be hard to do, but Boromir rose again and explained just how hard it would be. Legolas got up and yelled at him for not listening to Elrond, and Gimli got up and yelled at Legolas because he figured the Elf's sudden outburst meant he was volunteering to take the Ring. Gandalf got up and yelled at all of them, trying to get them to settle down. It was useless. Soon the whole council was in an uproar.

All this time, four people remained silent: Elrond, who by now was more or less convinced that the council would kill each other before the armies of Mordor even had a chance; Strider, who was debating whether or not to jump in and try to help Gandalf out; Frodo, who had his eyes fixed on the Ring, as if in a trance; and Obi-Wan, who was watching Frodo intently.

Suddenly, the Hobbit was out of his chair. "I will take It!" Only the other three seemed to hear him. "I will take It!" The entire council was immediately silent, with expressions mixed of surprise, disbelief, and confusion. "I will take the Ring to Mordor," Frodo repeated, letting everyone know that they hadn't heard him wrong the first time. "Though . . . I do not know the way."

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins," Gandalf said encouragingly, putting a hand on the Hobbit's shoulder, "for as long as it is yours to bear."

Strider stood up next. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas said, coming over to stand by the others.

"And my axe," Gimli added.

"You carry the fate of us all, little one," Boromir said after a strange pause. "If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done."

Obi-Wan rose slowly, and without so much as a word came and stood beside the others. Strider nodded and he came closer.

To Obi-Wan's relief, the council's stares were soon drawn away from him, for another Hobbit popped out from behind some bushes. "There's no way Mr. Frodo's goin' anywhere without me!"

"No, indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not," Elrond pointed out. Obi-Wan could tell it was not meant only as a joke. The bond between these two was strong. From Frodo's story, he could guess this was Sam.

"We're comin', too!" shouted a voice. Obi-Wan turned and saw Pippin and another Hobbit who was probably Merry. They ran over. "Besides, you need people of intellegence on this sort of mission . . . quest . . . thing," Pippin grinned.

Obi-Wan smiled. He should've stopped after 'mission.'

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," Merry observed.

Obi-Wan suddenly realized what this meant. He would be staying. He may never get back to Geonosha. He may never get back to Anakin. He might die, and no one would ever know what had happened.

But for the moment, as Elrond looked the group over, none of that mattered. "So be it," the Elf said ceremoniously. "You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great," Pippin said, and even though he was facing the other way, Obi-Wan could almost see his wide, playful grin. "Where're we goin'?"

SirNotAppearingInThisFilm – Well, obviously, he's met Aragorn. :) And Mr. Frodo. And the rest of the Fellowship. Which he is now a part of. :)

Master Kaym – Good, I try to write interesting stuff. :)

xWhiteXstaRx – Yeah, I try to post everything at the same time, mostly so I don't get confused about what I've posted and what I haven't. :)

lil-kenobi-greenleaf – Hmmm, will he get back? Well, not soon, if ever. :)
Gollum: You really wouldn't keep him in Middle-Earth forever, would you?
Smeagol: You never know. It's a dangerous place. And he doesn't have his lightsaber.
Gollum: You rat.
Smeagol: No, Count Dooku's the rat. I didn't take his lightsaber. :)

jedi keliam kenobi – You didn't really think I was going to have him stay in Rivendell instead of going with the Fellowship, did you:)