Chapter 2 : An unforeseen change
Gandalf was on his way to the Shire to visit an old friend, it had been 60 years since their last adventure after all and 60 years since he had last seen him. He had been busy traveling the world trying to find the One Ring. In the last Council meeting the news of Sauron's return were laid down and had shook all of the members.
All but one, Saruman had scoffed at the idea and repeated what he said all those years ago "At worst, our Enemy knows that we have it not, and that it's still lost. Of course he thinks that what was once lost may still be found but i assure you! His hope will cheat him. Have i not studied the matter in earnest?" He rhetorically asked. He then pressed on "Into Anduin the Great it fell, and long ago, while Sauron slept, it was rolled down the River into the Sea. There Let it lie until the End."
Gandalf had misgivings, however and decided to try, passively at least, to find Gollum and from there try to learn where and how had he gotten hold of the Ring. He spent the next few decades trying to track the creature, hoping that he would come out from the darkness he hid in to try and seek his so called 'treasure'. He had but alas he had escaped, so Gandalf had let the matter rest, choosing to watch and wait it out. In the meantime he planned to visit an old friend and partake in his 111st birthday party. How could he resist? After all, some of the finest smoke and beer he ever had was from the Shire. And of course there wasn't a hobbit alive regardless of age that didn't cheer for his fireworks!.
He had made many friends among the small folk of the Shire and made a habit of visiting them as often as he could.
And so with his supplies in the cart he took the path for northern Eriador. And a pleasant ride it was through these woods. Humming an old song, he took in the light shining through the trees in this wonderful weather, the smell of flowers and the birdsong echoing throughout the forest only added to the feeling of peace and serenity that flooded his being. Said feelings went away when slightly off the path laying slumped on the base of a tree was a man. "Curious" he muttered pulling the reins to make the horse stop. He climbed off his carriage and went to investigate.
When he got close enough he stopped in his tracks, a look of surprise crossed his face. The man looked young, about 30 years or so, mop of platinum blonde hair reaching just below the man's eyes and fair skin, though his face had an odd feature: from the edges of his mouth there were two faint lines that traveled along his jawline to the back of his head, making it look like a scar of sorts. He also wore the strangest outfit he had seen. A white button up shirt with a piece of yellow cloth wrapped around the collar and just laying down his torso under another black shirt? black leather gloves black pants and the oddest footwear he has seen.
Never before had he seen boots with such heels before. then there were the spectacles on his eyes. They obviously weren't for reading, maybe their color was for protection from the sun? Next to the young man a box of some sort, what did it contain he hadn't the faintest idea.
Gandalf chastised himself for momentarily forgetting about the man and knelt in front of him holding on to his staff to support himself. He put a hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him a little to try and wake him up "Are you all right young man?" he asked earning a groan in return "Leave me alone Sunny" The man murmured and Gandalf noticed his raspy voice. Was his throat injured in the past?
"Are you all right young man?" an old and deep voice asked.
"Leave me alone Sunny" Raiden responded, clenching his eyes and slowly waking up. He felt the grass beneath him and the wood on his back, however before he could look around his senses came back and he started feeling a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked at the person asking about his health.
sitting on a knee in front of him was a very old man with a grey beard and deep blue eyes. He wore a robe and a tall pointy hat the same colour as his beard. His left hand was holding on to a wooden staff that Raiden assumed was for support while the man's left hand was on his shoulder. Neither his instincts nor the myriad of sensors built into him were giving him any danger signs so he wasn't worried. He gently pried the strangers hand off of him and got up to a knee, staying like that for a moment to get his bearings and ran a diagnostic on himself. First thing he noticed was the carrier claw on his back was missing. Motor functions were fine but a bit sluggish since power output was at 40 percent, which could be a problem in the near future. Ocular functions were ok, retinal display and optical systems was up and running and his processors reported no problem. He felt the utility belt and the holsters for his mk.23 and other gear beneath the suit? Everything was where it should be.
So far so good, however something puzzled him. He was wearing the suit he tore off in the ambush which made no sense whatsoever. On his left he saw the HF blade's carrying case. He played a recording of the last couple hours and there was no visual. He couldn't find an answer for why the carrier wasn't attached.
'Was it severed in the fight?' He couldn't quite remember what happened after he started glitching nor could he find the video record of the event.
After running a few more cursory scans he was sure that outside that power drop all else was running within normal parameters he grabbed his sword's suitcase, got up and asked the man "How long was i lying there?"
"i am unsure of that dear boy" the old man admitted. "I found you here only just now."
Raiden proceeded to ask "Any idea on where am I?" shaking his head afterwards to adjust himself
He took a look around him. He saw the forest around him. He booted up a few scans. Chemical analysis in the air though came clean. A bit too clean. And no radiation levels either aside from the solar kind.
"You're in the Shire good sir," He answered to him, before taking a more thorough look at him, trying to find out why was he here "And i must say it's quite a bit uncommon to find humans inside it's borders. Even more so when they're dressed like you my good fellow."
Raiden however, ignored the second half of the man's answer as he went through geographical data stored in his memory. The joys of being a cyborg : Major boost in brainpower and processing, not to mention a lot of data being implanted and sorted in your head. Now due to his profession he had traveled all around the world. Yet not only did he not recognize the name. There was no 'Shire' in any known map.
Gandalf had paused in his explanation, noticing the man's stiff posture. He had also seen something sticking Even with the strange spectacles hiding his eyes he noticed their color briefly flicking to red, confused expression still there. Was he injured in some fashion? He didn't get to ponder for much longer as the man forcefully grabbed him. "I'm not gonna ask again! WHERE THE HELL AM I?
He was worried, the man's anger rising by the second and he sensed it. "I assure you i'm not lying, let me go and i will prove so." he pleaded. There was no reason for hostility, the man obviously looked lost , the question was how lost.
Thankfully the man released his hold on him and took a few steps back. Gandalf proceeded to smooth his robed and pick up his hat, he gestured for the odd man to come along "Follow me young man" and they went back to his cart.
When they reached it, the man however stopped. Gandalf saw the surprise on his face and tilted his head "Are you sure you're alright sir? Or is it that you're scared of horses?" he asked semi-seriously. The man shook his head and approached the cart. Gandalf proceeded to open the sack just behind his seat and unveiled a map of Middle Earth. "We are just inside the borders of the Shire in the old forest, east of Buckland. I was on my way to Hobbiton. Care to join me on the way?"
While the man continued to show him around the map, Raiden scanned it and compared the landmasses. Closest match on the area was New Zealand, but even then it barely even matched, roads were all wrong and no names of any city he knew was on there.
Worse still The names and locations of the map made no sense to him. 'The Bree', 'Rivendell'. And the regions too, ' Eriador' , 'Minhiriath' , 'Rhudaur'? 'How do you even pronounce some of these? ' was the first though going through his head.
The second is that someone's messing with him and that all this is some sort of chemically induced dream. Then he remembered that his physiology rendered him immune to any and all drugs and hallucinogenics with certain exceptions.
With a sigh he made his thoughts known "This is gonna be a long day..." he muttered in what was more exasperation rather then desperation.
He realized then. The codec! how could he forget !? he turned around and putting a hand to his ear and called "Boris it's Raiden, can you hear me?" The only thing that greeted him was static and instead of a digital screen emitted by his optics he only got 'No signal detected' . He scoffed, then started trying to call the others : Kevin, Courtney, Doktor, Sunny, Wolf , Rose. Same result every time. He tried to reconnect to the network, maybe his incident in that alley knocked him out of sync. "No satellites detected?" Now that started worrying him. There was no place on Earth where he didn't have some sort of signal.
Then it hit him. The map, the regions the name of the world "Middle Earth". He growled and turned back to the old man "Enough of this shit . I want to know location, date and time. NOW!" he slammed a backhanded fist on a tree right next to the cart, punching right through it and toppling it in the process.
Gandalf was really getting anxious at this point, the man demonstrated strength that could put cave trolls to shame and wore an expression of fury. He quickly tried to calm the man down "I promise you that i am not lying, you're in the old forest of the shire, today marks September the 22nd, of the year 3001 of the Third Age" he answered truthfully, hoping the man will calm himself. "Before we continue, would you kindly tell me your name dear boy? And explain to me what ails you as well, i will try and help you as best i can".
The man looked at him, the hand holding the box tightening it's hold. He forced himself to take breaths and regain his composure and answered him "It's Raiden, as for what happened, well it's a long story and probably not one you'll believe." he said in a resigned tone.
"Interesting name my good man, I am Gandalf the grey and i assure you that you might be surprised with what i can believe." He said in a mirthful tone.
He looked up and noticed the light had shifted which meant he had lost a bit of time, figuratively speaking of course, after all wizard's are never late or early. Turning back to the you- Raiden, he corrected himself and said "I seem to be running late for a visit, care to accompany me on my journey? You can tell me the story as we go."
He saw Raiden take off his spectacles, revealing pale blue eyes. Though what he noticed on said eyes were words and numbers that he couldn't understand due to how fast they were replaced, a curious detail. "It would be a good idea to wear your glasses Raiden, lest the people see what's behind them" he waved him off and in the next moment everything was gone. His eyes looked normal. Another curious detail.
He took the case in his right hand and proceeded to join the wizard at the side of his cart. "Why not sit next to me, it'll be faster and better for you." he inquired, the answer he got was a chuckle "Trust me i can keep up, besides i don't think your friend can lift me anyway".
That confused the Isthari. He couldn't be that heavy, could he? A memory then came to him, a man wreathed in blue and orange metal armor, so heavy that his weight could crack the rock that made the stone giants. He decided to take the man's word for it, after all he did not need to waste time or cripple a friend.
While they went on their way, Raiden told Gandalf of the events leading up to their meeting, omitting quite a few gritty details. He told him he had a mission and that he was ambushed at some point. Last thing he recalled was the headache to end all headaches, followed by losing consciousness. He then remembered how the old man introduced himself , along with his choice of wardrobe "Gandalf the grey? What are you a wizard?" he asked, his answer being a non-committal shrug and a humorous dismissal "That is how people see me as these days, i neither confirm or deny that title".
Raiden then took the chance to ask about the Shire and it's history, something that noticeably pleased the elder of the two.
Gandalf told him how the Hobbits settled in the Shire in the year 1601 of the first age (Year one by Shire reckoning). How they originally lived in the Anduin Vale and had migrated west, over the Misty Mountains a few decades earlier, and lived in Dunland and parts of the old realms of Arnor : Cardolan and Rhudaur before coming to the Shire.
"There have been speculations that Hobbits had originally moved west, to escape the evils that dwelled in the Mirkwood and the trouble cause by the people of the East."
Gandalf also took the time to answer any questions Raiden had, about the Kingdom of Arnor , the predecessor of Gondor, and which the Shire was a part of, about the war against the kingdom of Angmar and how after the fall of Arnor, Shire became an independent, self-governing province of the kingdom of Gondor.
"In all these years the Shire has withstood the test of time, unmarred by war to this day." Gandalf told him. He could barely imagine it : A place untouched by war..."Sounds like it's paradise from the way you make it."
Gandalf laughed in earnest "Yes i suppose it is. Never in all of history has the Shire ever seen war, extraordinary yes?"
Raiden chuckled at that "Yeah. Sounds like a dream, hard to believe it's true". He then asked "So why are you going there? Returning home?"
Gandalf's reply was "A friend of mine is celebrating his birthday today, it would be a shame of me to miss it." He explained to his young companion. Raiden simply accepted it. The old man hadn't been anything but honest up to this point, he made sure of that by watching his vitals. People'd be surprised by how their body reacts when they lie.
Gandalf then asked more out of curiosity then anything "Pardon me for asking Raiden, but what is that box you carry with you?" He wondered what secret was he hiding. Perhaps it's insides held were the reason he was attacked?
Raiden's behavior turned serious at that. He had noticed a cross-guard sticking out of the sacks earlier when Gandalf took out the map he showed him. "Any reasons you ask?" he asked his elder.
"Mere curiosity my boy, or do you think and old man is capable of standing up to you?" was the apparent wizard's reply. He was getting apprehensive. He gave it a thought then came up with an idea "Alright, just let me get a little distance, don't wanna scare the horse." Gandalf stopped and Raiden went a few meters ahead.
He turned around , held the case at chest level in front of him with his right hand and thumbed the safety release on the handle. Gandalf's eyes widened in surprise as the bottom of the case split into two and a sword floated between the magnetic emitters on either side of the case, the sound being made disturbing the horse. Gandalf whispered some soothing words to his mount and simply looked on with a shine in his eyes as Raiden grabbed the sword by the sheath and carefully let the case on the ground. Then he slowly drew the blade and Gandalf analyzed it. a handle wrapped in some sort of black threaded material with a knot at the hilt large enough for a hand to go through.
A 3 ft long, thin single edged blade with no cross-guard which was odd in his opinion. But what surprised him most were the barely visible arcs of white lightning, dancing along the blade. But what took the surprise even further was that there wasn't a trace of magic in it. And it obviously wasn't of Elven make for it lacked the runic inscriptions and jeweled hilts Elves are known to include in their weapons. It also ruled out the Dwarves for even their prowess with the forge couldn't make lightning-infused weapons. "Fascinating weapon lad, where did you come across it?"
Raiden thought about it. His first HF blade was a gift from Olga given to him by Snake back in the Big Shell. He lost it during his first fight with Sam in Africa right after N'Mani was murdered. His 2nd one was made by maverick and tailored to his exact style. That one was broken in two by Armstrong and he briefly used Sam's Murasama for the rest of that fight, slightly adjusting his style to adapt for the sword's differences and incorporated some of his rival's techniques* into his own. After he got back he asked for his current one to mirror his first one as a memento to Olga.
And that was his answer "A friend gave it to me as a gift." he said with a somber tone. That woman helped him and sacrificed herself for him simply so that she could save her daughter. That was the main reason that drove him to save Sunny, grant Olga's dying wish. Of course they bonded over the years and he still considers Sunny as one of the people closest to him.
Gandalf saw Raiden's expression and his features softened, whoever it was must have been important to him. "An excellent gift. Whoever gave it must be proud for you." he tried to comfort the young man, obviously sensing his pain on the subject. He gave him a grateful nod sheathed the blade and put it back in the case. After that they went on their way.
Half an hour later Gandalf started humming, prompting Raiden to look at him "You don't expect me to sit in complete silence would you?" he asked in a joking manner. He shook his head in agreement and urged his elder to continue which he gladly did.
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.." He heard him sing. His hearing then picked up footsteps running and he turned to face the direction. His alertness was rewarded a few seconds later when what he first thought was a child appeared from the treeline on their right in raised ground.
Once he got a better look at the individual he saw a boy about 2 and a half feet tall with long curly brown hair and a pale skin tone. He wore a light green button up shirt and dark green knee-breeches with brown leather suspenders holding it up. On a closer look though he looked far older then a child. Maybe he was a dwarf?
His train of thought broke when the boy? looked at Gandalf and greeted him with a jokingly scolding " You're late" wearing a wide smile, obviously happy to see the old wizard.
Said wizard became dead-serious and slowly turned to look to the young man "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to." He said nodding with his own words in a manner that would have come off as condescending had they both not break out laughing merrily at their little act.
Raiden was further surprised when the now named Frodo leaped from his spot on to Gandalf wrapping him in a hug "It's wonderful to see you Gandalf" he said, obviously glad to see the man. They obviously knew each other so he was content to leave the two to greet each other.
Gandalf for his part simply continued to laugh, giving a hug of his own. he leaned backwards to look at the young hobbit "You didn't think i would your uncle Bilbo's birthday, did you?" He rhetorically asked the boy. Frodo then turned to a still surprised Raiden. Noticing his strange clothing and the odd box he carried piqued the young Hobbit's curiosity. "Gandalf who is this man? " he asked the family friend. Gandalf simply scoffed at his own forgetfulness "How rude of me. Frodo allow me to introduce you to.."
He didn't get to finish as Raiden broke out of his stupor " Hey, name's Raiden. Good to meet you kid" he finished for Gandalf who looked relieved for the interruption.
Frodo pouted and replied" Pleasure to make your acquaintance, but i happen to turn 33 today so i would appreciate not being called a child" which earned threw Raiden for a loop.
Gandalf noticed his surprise and simply said "Be a little more polite young Baggins, after all this is Raiden's first time seeing a Hobbit." . He then turned to Raiden with a smile and told him "Do not be fooled by their stature my good fellow, Hobbits are almost always younger then they look. In fact it isn't uncommon for some in their late 60's to look as if they just reached adulthood".
Raiden himself had the decency to look sheepish and in turn apologized "Sorry i'll keep that in mind. i just thought he was a dwarf for a second" eliciting a laugh from the Isthari.
"Yes i would assume there aren't any Hobbits in your parts seeing as they keep to themselves, however Hobbits and Dwarves are two quite different races" He educated the cyborg.
Frodo then took a seat next to Gandalf while the wizard simply took out a long pipe, filled it up and started smoking. They then came to an opening in the forest allowing Raiden to see the Shire in all of it's beauty. While the trek to Hobbiton was pretty uneventful for Gandalf and the little Hobbit, for Raiden though it felt like he was dreaming.
The scenery was so jaw droppingly gorgeous to the point he couldn't stop looking around, large meadows and pristine fields, the scent of fruits coming from all around and the yellow flowers growing in the surrounding farms was enough to make him forget his whatever frustrated him. While he was busy just taking the view in, Gandalf took the chance to ask the young Baggins " And how is the old rascal hm? I heard it's gonna be a party of special magnificence"
"You know Bilbo, he's got the whole place in an uproar" He replied drawing a chuckle from Gandalf " Well that should be easy" he said prompting Frodo to add
"Half the Shire's been invited and the rest are turning up anyway", as they were passing by one of the farms the people saw Raiden looking at him with weariness and curiosity. One detail that surprised him was that no Hobbit was anywhere above 4 feet tall !
Who is he? asked one of the women
A friend of Gandalf's? speculated another farmer
Just look at what he's wearing mocked a snobbish man
Raiden shook his head with a small smile, that last line is one of the lighter ones he heard since he got back with Rose, people were always put off by Cyborgs either out of fear or disgust he wasn't sure, and while he didn't mind it still made finding work really hard those days. He was really grateful when Boris took him in.
Frodo saw his gesture and tried to console "Do not mind them, Hobbits were always weary of outsiders", Raiden waved him off saying it's fine. He really didn't mind, after all they were acting out of intrigue and curiosity rather than outright hostility.
Raiden stayed silent as the two small talk going through the town, he didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation. Even so he was content soaking in the surrounding environment, seeing people go about their lives from carrying groceries, to gossiping, to tending the crops and so on. Every building was wooden or thatched, giving it that homely, rustic look.
There was no machinery or sophisticated technology aside from the odd, old-fashioned...old fashioned to him at least bellows forge or a hand loom here and there. He also saw the large water wheel further up the river.
Suddenly the mood dropped when Frodo started frowning "To tell you the truth, Bilbo's been a bit odd lately. You know, more then usual." he added as an afterthought, Gandalf was looking him with a thoughful gaze, worried about his friend.
Frodo continued "He's taken to lock himself in his study, pouring over old maps when he thinks i'm not looking." he turned his eyes down, his mind racing "He's up to something." he deducted. That drew Raiden's attention. Did something happen to make this Bilbo act like that?
Frodo then turned to look at Gandalf, who to his credit simply took a long drag from his pipe and tried to look as innocent as possible, earning a smile from the Hobbit.
"Alright then, keep your secrets." Prompting Gandalf to give him a questioning look. He proceeded to try and goad the old wizard " But i know you have to do with it"
"Oh gracious me" Gandalf mumbled, trying to avoid the Baggins's 'interrogation'.
"Before you came along, we Baggins were very well thought of" Frodo bragged, drawing a low "Indeed?" from Gandalf
"Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected" He added smoothly.
Gandalf then simply answered with "If you're referring to incident with the Dragon -" 'Wait, Dragon? ' Raiden thought, his head snapping to look at Gandalf with a raised eyebrow.
"- I was barely involved. All i did was, give your uncle a little nudge out of the door." he finished with a shrug
That didn't deter Frodo though and he replied with " Well whatever you did, you've been officially labeled as a 'Disturber of the peace' ." causing Gandalf to raise his eyebrows and mutter a "Oh really?" They were passing in front of a small 'Hobbit hole' as Gandalf told Raiden it was called.
Raiden meanwhile couldn't help but smile throughout the exchange. Sure he had some humorous back and forth with Kev and the others, but not something like this. Closest thing was during his time first dating with Rose. That thought made him frown. He missed her, he missed his son and his time with them was already short before. What if he was stuck here and never got to see them again?
That train of thought didn't go far when he started hearing children running towards the cart shouting excitedly at Gandalf.
They stopped just a few feet behind the three, next to two old women who were tending to their front garden
"fireworks, Gandalf !" they chanted in excitement. That made him turn to look at the back of the cart. He mentally kicked himself ' How didn't i notice those earlier?'
Gandalf meanwhile acted like he ignored the children behind him only for a small light show to erupt a few seconds later sending the kids into a frenzy.
Raiden simply grinned. This is how kids deserve to live like , playing around, laughing and having fun, not running around with a goddamn gun in their hands and a target in front of them.
As they neared their destination Frodo stood up, ready to jump off. " Gandalf" he said, "I'm glad you're back. It was nice meeting you Raiden" He then got off and went back into the treeline
"Same here, have a good day" Raiden responded with.
"So am i dear boy..." Gandalf waved to the young Baggins, a content smile on his face " So am i." he muttered. They turned left at the hill and stopped in front of a house with the front gate having a sign that said ' No admittance. Except on party business'.
A/N : So i'll be leaving things here for now. Probably a bad place to stop but what can you do? As i said i'll do my best to follow the movie (extended cut of course) and i'll be consulting the wiki in case i miss something.
*My version is that when wielded the Murasama, taking Sam's stance and one liner, despite the game play he would most likely use Sam's moves or at least some of them as a form of respect. Also he'd have to adjust for the length and the different curve angle of the sword as those differences can greatly impact how you swing and we all know how weird Raiden's moves can be.
Any reviews, corrections etc. are more then welcome. Thank you and have a good day.