Sorry to keep y'all waiting, but here's the next chapter. YAY! *confetti cannons go off* And for those of you who wanted Erza to have an appearance, you'll be in for a big surprise in this chapter. ^_^
Disclaimer: I believe that's pretty much clear by now. ^_^
Chapter 5 Arrival at Bree, and a Chance Encounter with Two Strangers
It took the boat three days to reach Bree, when they finally did it was raining quite hard as they approached the gate and knocked. A gatekeeper let them in after confirming they weren't a threat. They reached the inn known as the Prancing Pony, the first level held a large smoke-filled tavern run by a rather fat man called Butterbur. Frodo approached the bar and tugged on the man's sleeve. "What can I do for you...mister...?"
"Underhill...my name is Underhill." Frodo lied, using the name Gandalf suggested.
"We were to meet Gandalf the wizard here...?" Frodo said.
"Tall fellow, big beard, pointy hat?" Butterbur asked, Frodo confirmed this with a relieved look and a nod.
"Haven't seen him in over three months." Butterbur said.
"Huh? But I thought we only saw him about two days ago, or somethin'," a confused Natsu pointed out.
"It was three days ago, Natsu," Lucy corrected him.
"Even so, we probably still could have arrived here ahead of him," Carla pointed out matter-of-factly.
"I hope you're right, Carla," Wendy replied.
A man wearing a green hood turned to his companion at a table in the corner, "I don't suppose those are your companions you were looking for?" Strider asked her.
The young woman, who was wearing a scarlet red cloak that concealed the armor she wore underneath it and a hood of the same color as her cloak concealing her face as well as her vibrant scarlet red hair -her reasons being she apparently wanted to have the element of surprise when she was ready to reveal herself- glanced over at the group that just walked in. "Yes, that would be them," she replied. "Let us hope they don't go stirring up any trouble here, though." Especially Natsu, she added as an afterthought, knowing the pink haired pyro was usually the one who went around stirring up trouble the most, though Gray was no exception to that either. She also happened to notice her team was receiving a few stares due to the way they stood out because of their unnatural hair colors, as well as the way they dressed too.
"That guy in the corner has been staring at our table for a while now..." Sam said to his travelling companions. Merry staggered to the table holding a large pint of beer, "Pee-pin! Ya gotta-*hic*-try thish!" Merry said to Gray, so drunk he couldn't tell the difference...or didn't care, whether Gray was taller and vastly different looking than Pippin.
Gray only rolled his eyes in irritation at that. "And I thought Cana was a heavy drinker," he sarcastically remarked in reference to Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker and card magic user, doing his best to ignore Merry while also shoving him over towards where Pippin was.
"That woman is no exception either," Lucy said in reply to Sam's comment.
Frodo blinked as he heard the name 'Frodo' being said loudly, he turned and saw Pippin bragging about him to a bunch of half-buzzed strangers. Frodo rushed over to stop him and accidentally tripped, causing the ring to slip on his finger and render him invisible for all the tavern to see.
Strider rushed in and dragged the invisible Frodo up the stairs to the room he and the Scarlet Knight were renting. Sam leaped out of his seat and raced after them.
"Your companion isn't the brightest is he?" The hooded man said as he closed the door behind him and Frodo yanked off the ring. "Who are you!?" Frodo demanded.
"It's a good thing Natsu isn't that much of an idiot," Gray commented to his team, in reference to Pippin freely and carelessly running his big mouth about Frodo while they were outside the Shire.
The Scarlet Knight then took that as her cue, and casually strolled over to them. "Well, it looks as though I have finally found you. Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Carla." She suddenly looked around and saw that two were missing. "Where are Natsu and Happy?"
"Hold on a minute, how do you know our names?" Gray suddenly asked her, a bit surprised and confused that some strange woman would even know who they are.
"I would have thought that was obvious, Gray Fullbuster," the woman smirked knowingly from under her hood as she used his full name.
Gray suddenly looked at her in recognition, but it was Lucy who spoke next. "No way! Erza?"
Erza nodded. "Now I'll ask again, where are Natsu and Happy?"
"Um, I think Natsu said something about that guy who apparently 'captured' Frodo, as he put it, and went to go 'rescue' him, again as he put it," Wendy told her.
"And it would appear that Happy may have gone with him as well," Carla added.
Erza sighed. "And here I thought he wouldn't go stirring up trouble for once, but it would appear that I may have been wrong. Well, we'd better go stop him incase he ends up causing any real damage."
"Hold on, aren't you even gonna tell us how you ended up here as well?" Gray suddenly asked her.
Yes I will, after we retrieve Natsu and Happy," Erza told him.
Her team then followed her upstairs without question, not wanting to argue with the 'Great Erza' as Happy would usually refer to her as. Though Lucy first went over and began firmly reprimanding Pippin about loosely talking about Frodo like that outside the Shire when he should have been keeping his mouth shut, before returning to join her team again.
"Natsu it's alright! He's the one Gandalf told us to meet!" Frodo said, trying to calm the pink-haired boy down. Strider cast his hood off to reveal a brown haired man who appeared to be far too handsome to be one of the legendary rangers. "They'll be coming soon...they've sensed you wearing the ring...they know you're here." Strider warned.
"Wait, so you're just gonna let him get away with hobbitnapping you like that?!" Natsu demanded angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Strider. "I'll show this jerk what happens when he messes with Fairy Tail!" His fists were ignited with his flames, as he declared that he was all fired up.
"That's enough, Natsu. Strider is not our enemy," a firm voice spoke from the doorway, a voice that Natsu was all too familiar with which suddenly made him freeze in his tracks in pure terror.
"And why is it that you keep forgetting that your magic has been prohibited, you pyro?" Gray added. "Or is it that you're just forgetting on purpose?"
"I know that voice," Natsu managed to say a bit weakly, turning to see none other than the famed Titania herself along with the rest of his team and the other three hobbits as well, though he chose to ignore Gray's comment. "Erza!"
Erza smirked and pulled back her own hood. "Hello to you too, Natsu," she told him. "And Happy."
"Huh? Aaaahhhh! It really is the Great Erza!" Happy freaked out, as she had accidently startled him by mistake which she ended up apologizing for.
Natsu then ran up to her, giving her a bit of a staredown -much like the one Frodo gave to Gandalf when the team had first met them, but way more intense- before suddenly declaring: "I want you to fight me!" he challenged.
It was enough to make Lucy freak out. "You can't be serious, Natsu! You'll both end up destroying the place if you go all-out like that! And this isn't the guild hall, you know?!" Even the hobbits were surprised with Natsu's reaction, despite not being familiar with the redhead themselves or Natsu's sudden declaration to challenge her like that.
"Lucy's right, Natsu," Erza said. "As much as I would gladly accept your challenge, we don't really have the time for that right now."
"No, we don't. They're already coming." Strider said...just as horrible screeching noises met their ears from outside.
"Wait, I thought Gandalf took care of them!" Sam cried out worriedly.
"They cannot be killed, technically they are already dead. What we see are their spirits given physical form by their master."
Merry and Pippin peered out the window into the night fearfully as two of the dark riders rode throughout the town, searching for them and ruthlessly cutting down anyone in their path.
"What are they...?" Frodo asked quietly.
"They were once great kings of men...but they were offered cursed rings of power by Sauron...and one by one fell into darkness under his control. They are called the Nazgul." Strider answered.
While Strider was explaining to the group about the Nazgul, Erza had decided to take the time to introduce herself to the four hobbits so that they could become acquainted with her as they had her teammates.
"So in other words, they would be considered undead? That's kind of creepy," Lucy commented.
"Yeah, no kidding," Gray agreed.
"Wow Lucy, you read too many books," Happy pointed out.
"Shut it, cat!" Lucy told him.
"You know what else is creepy?" Natsu suddenly asked, popping up beside her. "The curse of the moon~," he whispered in an eerily creepy voice right next to the Celestial wizard's ear, and pointing to the moon while attempting to do an impression of the village chief from Galuna Island.
Lucy's scream of terror nearly would have alerted the Nazgul to their presence had Gray not been nearby to quickly put his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.
"Not funny, Natsu!" Lucy whispered, and Lucy-Kicking him across the room.
"Can you please not do that again, Natsu?" Wendy quietly spoke up from where she was sitting next to Frodo.
"Indeed, now's not the time for such childish jokes," Erza sternly reprimanded the pyro.
"So Erza, we're all still curious as to how you ended up here in Middle Earth. You still plan on telling us?" Gray then asked after a while.
"Right, I suppose I should do that now," Erza replied, as she then began to tell them. "I had actually just gotten back to the guild from completing an S-class quest that same day, when Master Makarov informed me of what had happened involving the strange job request you guys picked up from off the request board that somehow brought you all here. Then when I went over to pick up that same request, it did the same with me as well and sent me here."
"And that was when I soon came across her shortly after that," Strider added in. "Though she assumed I had something to do with the disappearance of her friends at first, and she summoned a sword and attacked me demanding I return her friends immediately. And believe me when I say she is quite a force to be reckoned with when she's like that."
"Aye! That's the Great Erza for ya!" Happy stated knowingly.
"Happy, don't interrupt," Lucy sternly told him.
Strider nodded and continued, telling how Gandalf then showed up and intervened and begun telling them that he was sending a group from the Shire to meet him at the Prancing Pony inn in Bree and also mentioning to Erza that her friends were part of that group along with four hobbits. And that Gandalf had also told the two of them that they were to meet up with them there if he were somehow unable to make it himself. Team Natsu and the hobbits all listened with interest as Erza explained her story, with Strider adding in his parts as well. He was also grateful to Erza for not going all-out, otherwise who knows how bad things would have ended then.
"And that's my story," Erza concluded. "By the way, Gray, why did you say that Natsu's magic was prohibited earlier?" She sighed in slight annoyance. "Is there something I should know about? What did he destroy this time?"
"Well, it's not that," Gray replied hesitantly.
"He and Wendy are also not allowed to discuss Igneel and Grandina for as long as we're here in Middle Earth either," Lucy added. "Um, can we explain that later, though?"
"I see," Erza replied, nodding in reply to Lucy's question as she somehow had a feeling as to why. "I think I can understand the reasoning there, and so I won't continue to question the matter further."
The next morning, Strider led them out of Bree and as he put it: 'into the wild'. Pippin was starting to rummage around in their packs for food. "We just had breakfast." Strider said. "We've had one yes, what about Second Breakfast?" Pippin answered.
Strider merely turned back around and began leading them again. Merry patted Pippin on the shoulder, "I don't think any of them know about Second Breakfast, Pip." Merry explained.
Pippin seemed horrified, "What about Elevensies? Afternoon Tea? Brunch? How do any of them survive without-" An apple launched its way into Pippin's hand...from Strider.
The Fairy Tail wizards all stood gaping with open mouths at that list of mealtimes that Pippin had named off.
"Wow, even Natsu doesn't eat that much," Happy commented with a fish in his mouth.
"I wonder if that's just a hobbit thing," Wendy pointed out.
"Must be, considering it's all new to us," Gray replied.
"Come on guys, quit torturing me already when I haven't even had breakfast at all," Natsu groaned hungrily as his stomach was growling loudly, which was drawing attention to pretty much everyone in the group.
"Well it's your own fault for trying to sleep in, so quit your complaining," Erza sternly told him.
"So you're just gonna let me starve to death all day? How could you be so cruel, Erza?" Natsu whined dramatically.
"Really? Grow up already, Natsu," Gray told him.
"Yeah, you don't hear me complaining even though I had to put up with your loud monstrous snoring all night long," Lucy added.
Sam sighed and pulled out a couple of large drumsticks from his pack, "Here, Natsu! You can cook them with your magic, right?" He handed the large turkey appendages to Natsu.
"Where'd you get those!?" Pippin demanded.
"Mr. Butterbur gave them to me, he also gave me a couple packs of various spices and herbs to use in our cooking," Sam replied.
"Thanks, you're a real lifesaver, Sam," Natsu mumbled with his mouth full to the ginger haired hobbit, after roasting the drumsticks with his flames.
"Oh good grief, at least swallow before talking Natsu," Lucy muttered.
Strider stopped in front of a large hill adorned with ancient ruins of a fortress from a long ago age. "We'll make camp here." Strider said as they climbed the hill, When they reached the top...they found a large mark made out of blue flame...floating in the air. "Gandalf was here..." Strider said.
Natsu and Wendy then began sniffing the air with their dragon senses to confirm what Strider said about Gandalf being here.
"It's a bit faint, but I'm still pickin' up traces of the old man's scent," Natsu informed them.
"Yeah, me too," Wendy agreed.
"So that means he must have already come through this way, right?" Lucy asked.
"It would appear that's the case," Erza replied.
Strider touched the ground which bear footprints of Gandalf...and nine others. "The Nine black riders were here...judging by these markings and the amount of scorched earth...Gandalf fought them all...at the same time. The footprints leading away indicate some of them fled...but."
The Fairy Tail group all looked increasingly surprised at how powerful Gandalf was at fighting off the riders, if their dumbstruck expressions were anything to go by. Natsu and Wendy also continued to use their dragon senses to help out by sniffing the air for more of Gandalf's lingering scent, when Natsu suddenly paused. "Holy crap, I just realized something!"
"Is it another scent?" Happy asked him.
"Gramps is probably even more powerful than Gildarts, which means I wanna fight him if we ever run into him again!" Natsu now had a cocky grin on his face as he was now fired up and eager for a new challenge. Unfortunately, it only made Happy suddenly freak out and begin frantically exclaiming that Natsu would automatically lose that fight considering how he could never even win against Gildarts back at the guild.
"And plus, I thought you were still mad at him for prohibiting your magic," Gray added.
"Shut up, Ice Princess! Would quit reminding me of that already?!" Natsu snapped at him.
The horrible screeches of the Ringwraiths were soon all around them, five of the hooded beings crept out of the shadows and surrounded the party on all sides. Sam, Merry and Pippin stood protectively in front of Frodo, drawing their small swords as the tall black wraiths held their own cursed blades...ready to strike.
Of the hobbits, Sam showed the most bravery when they crept closer: "Back you devils!" Sam shouted, his voice betrayed his fear, but he clashed blades with the nearest Wraith before he was thrown aside.
Erza had requipped into her Adamantine Armor and began fighting off the Wraiths, despite this new sense of fear she suddenly felt washing over her as the Wraiths then began their approach, as well as helping the hobbits in defending Frodo. Natsu and Gray found themselves back to back, simultaneously throwing out different spells of fire and ice-make, and Gray even decided to use a bit of his Ice Devil Slayer magic as well. Lucy held up one of her Gate Keys to summon one of her spirits to help out.
"Open! Gate of the Lion: Loke!" she called out as Loke, or Leo -as was his original Zodiac name- appeared before her. She also pulled out her Fleuve d'étoiles whip to help out as well.
And lastly, Wendy was doing her best to help fight the Wraiths off as best she could and also using her support magic to help the four hobbits out.
Natsu suddenly noticed one of the Wraiths advancing towards Frodo and, for once without using his flames, and jumping between Frodo and the Wraith as he delivered a regular magic-less punch in the face to the foul creature. Unfortunately he only succeeded in angering the Wraith as it suddenly kicked at him and sending him flying back against the wall as though the pyro wasn't even worth wasting his time over, as it then continued its advance towards Frodo.
The wraiths seemed particularly vulnerable to Natsu's fire, Gray's Devil Slayer magic, and Loke/Leo's magic. The Wraiths were caught aflame by the pure magic and a torch wielded by Strider. One last Wraith remained on the hill, and Strider threw the torch into its hood...it fled off the edge of Weathertop shrieking in pain. Sam was heard yelling for help, kneeling and holding a fallen Frodo's hand.
Frodo's eyes had turned a milky color, and he was spasming on the ground and foam was coming from his mouth. "What's wrong with him!?" Sam demanded tearfully as he squeezed Frodo's hand.
Strider lifted Frodo and pulled his shirt away to reveal a wound penetrating the hobbit's shoulder. He picked up a dagger from the ground beside the small man and the blade turned to dust. "He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade...a weapon that poisons its victims...if we do not find help soon...he will fall into darkness."
The Fairy Tail group could only watch with expressions of concern and worry, until Natsu suddenly spoke up with an idea in mind.
"Wendy's got healing magic, so can't she try to heal him?" he suggested, as he was helped back to his feet by Erza after receiving that blow from the Wraith which he was still really ticked about since he was only trying to keep it from going for Frodo and preventing this from even happening to begin with. Though all of Team Natsu now understood why the Wraiths were so feared throughout Middle Earth to begin with, as they truly were the most terrifying creatures in Middle Earth.
The Sky Maiden suddenly looked uncertain as to whether or not her healing magic would have any effect on such a wound, as she somehow sensed it to be tainted with too much evil for her sky magic to even work properly. "Um...well...I guess I could try. No, I will give it my best!" she said determinedly as she then went over and knelt by Frodo to begin her healing magic.
Frodo slowly began to stop shaking, and looked somewhat peaceful as he slowly fell unconscious.
A soft voice said from behind the Fairy Tail group, "You've not stopped the poison, you've merely delayed its effects."
The hobbits and Strider would turn to see a dark haired woman with pointy ears and a soft glow about her. "I didn't expect to see you here, Arwen." Strider said.
"Who is she?" Merry asked Erza...
Sam answered: "She's...an elf." he said in awe.
Wendy felt relieved that she was able to help even if her healing magic wasn't able to heal him completely, and even Sam was grateful that she had at least done her best. Meanwhile, Lucy had become completely starstruck when Sam had mentioned Arwen being an elf and she openly declared that Arwen was, in her own words, 'as gorgeous as Mirajane, or perhaps even more so than that'. In short, Lucy now understood why the ginger haired hobbit was so awestruck by wanting to see the elves. Erza, too, found herself awed by the elf-woman's beauty. And even Natsu and Gray were just as dumbfounded, as they too now understood Sam's keen interest in elves.
Arwen knelt by Frodo and Strider beside her, "We must get him to my father...he can heal him fully." She turned to Wendy and smiled slightly, "You've done well to stave off the poison, Thank you." Arwen called out something in Elvish, and five horses galloped into their midst, one for Lucy and Wendy, one for Gray, one for Erza, and one for Strider and one for Arwen...who was currently restraining Frodo to her steed.
"We'll have to have the hobbits share saddles with some of us." Strider said.
"And Happy, you'll be carrying Natsu," Erza told the blue Exceed, as she prepared to mount the horse given to her.
"Aye sir!" Happy replied while picking up Natsu and taking to the sky, but waiting for everyone else before taking off since he wouldn't know which way to go otherwise.
Lucy and Wendy, who smiled shyly in reply to Arwen thanking her, mounted their own horse as well, followed by Gray doing the same with the horse he was given. And Carla even volunteered to carry a hobbit, since Wendy and Lucy were riding together.
As they road and flew across the land, the Nazgul riders converged from behind them and chased them through the woods. Arwen led them across a stream and the black riders gathered on the other side. "Give up the halfing, she-elf!" The leader of the black riders demanded.
Arwen glared as she placed a hand on Frodo protectively, "Come claim him, then!" She challenged. The riders screeched and began to make their way towards them.
"What are we going to do!?" Sam cried out, afraid.
Suddenly the familiar voice of Gandalf began to echo from up-stream. Gandalf's voice grew louder and louder until the sound of rushing water met their ears...a large flood taking the shape of galloping stallions charged the riders...and washed both them and their horses away.
Lucy also decided to help out as well, as she got down from her horse and got out another gate key. "Open! Gate of the Waterbearer: Aquarius!" And of course, Aquarius was obviously less than pleased at where she had been summoned. "Ok Aquarius, I need your help getting rid of these Black Riders."
"Tsk!" Aquarius replied angrily while glaring at her.
"I don't have time to deal with your attitude! I'm asking you to help get rid of these creeps once and for all already?! So do your thing, Aquarius!"
"Tsk! I don't need to take orders from you!" Aquarius then used her power to increase the flood Gandalf had created in order to help wash the Nazgul and their steeds away, as well as purposely washing Lucy away along with them as the Celestial wizard was now screaming frantically at her in protest.
"Listen, you had better watch where you summon me next time! Got it?" Aquarius threatened her afterwards.
"Y-Yes ma'am, u-understood...," a now washed up Lucy replied, pulling herself up off the ground after Aquarius' attack. Strider, the hobbits, Arwen, and even Gandalf were surprised that the Celestial spirit would even wash away her own wizard along with the Nazgul.
"And you better not think of summoning me again for a while, since you just interrupted my date with Scorpio! Though I'm not surprised to see you still don't have a boyfriend yet," she added smugly just to rub it in her wizard's face.
"Yeah sure, rub it in why don't you?" Lucy shot back, as Aquarius then closed her own gate to return to the Celestial Spirit world.
Arwen led them through some more trees...until she stopped and the group's eyes were met with an enormous valley with rolling hills covered in green and waterfalls that foamed and flowed throughout the valley.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Sowwies, I'z just a bit hyper right now. ^_^ Anywho, again thanks to TehZach1993 for the help with keeping this story going. Read and review, tell me what ya think.
