Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Chapter 4: Rivendell and the Ring

Tails and Gandalf woke everyone up. Soon, they had got up and continued on their quest.

"Where are we heading?" Tails asked.

"Rivendell," Gandalf said.

Tails smiled and looked at his friends.

"That's where the elves are," he said.

"Cool," Sonic said. "So, what did you and Gandalf do?"

"He taught me some magic," Tails said. "I can transform into things now. He also told me how to use healing magic. Obviously, I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm not sure if it will actually work or not."

"That's neat. So you're going to be a wizard?"

Tails nodded. "I'm working on it."

Sonic smiled. "You'll do well."

Tails returned his smile. "I hope so. I'm going to give it everything I've got."

They continued on towards Rivendell. Soon, Gandalf saw a person run up to them. It was Radagast the Brown.

"Radagast," he said. "You seem to be in a hurry. What's the problem?"

"I just came from the old forest," Radagast said. "There is an evil sorcerer who calls himself the Necromancer at Dol Guldur." Gandalf looked around at the others.

"What must we do?" Gandalf asked. "These people are on a quest to the Lonely Mountain. Are you suggesting I leave them behind and help you?"

Radagast nodded. Gandalf looked at Tails.

"Keep practicing," he said. He looked back at the others. "I trust you can continue this without me." Tails and the others nodded.

A few minutes later, Gandalf and Radagast had transformed themselves into wolves, and ran off towards Dol Guldur.

"Are we still going to Rivendell?" Knuckles asked. Sonic looked at him and nodded. Knuckles nodded. He just wanted to make sure.

"Let's go," Tails said.

The group continued on their way to Rivendell. They got there after a few days and soon saw Elrond. The dwarves immediately grew untrustworthy. Tails looked around at the dwarves and looked back at Sonic.

"Dwarves don't like elves," Sonic reminded him.

"I know that."

Sonic cleared his throat and spoke to Elrond.

"We need your assistance," he said.

Elrond nodded. "Of course," he said.

Thorin handed him the map of the Lonley Mountain and Elrond read it. As he read what it had to say, he ran his finger along the map.

"What does it say?" Thorin asked.

"On the last day of Durin's day, the light shall shine on the keyhole and reveal the entrance," Elrond said.

Thorin nodded. "But Durin's day is in a few days. We must hurry on to the Lonely Mountain."

"But what about Shadow?" Sonic asked. "He may have become Smaug but he's also our friend!"

"If he gets in our way, you're going to have to fight him," Thorin said. Sonic hesitated and nodded.

"Now that that's settled, you are welcome to spend the night here to rest." Everyone nodded.

"We're going to be leaving early, aren't we?" Tails asked.

"Yeah," Sonic said.

"I shouldn't train tonight then, should I?" Sonic shook his head.

"You think Shadow will recognize us?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Tails said. "If his mind is mentally changed to Smaug's, he will not."

Knuckles patted Sonic on the shoulder.

"It'll work out," he said.

"I hope so."

The group got ready and went to bed.

The next day, they woke up and were ready to go. They left Rivendell and started on their way to Lonely Mountain. On their way, they saw many things. Soon, they came to a cave to rest. The group got everything ready and started resting. Suddenly, the ground opened up and they fell down into a cavern. They landed hard and looked around.

"Where are we?" Sonic asked.

They got their answer as they were surrounded by goblins. The group looked at the group of goblins surrounding them, ready to fight if they had to. Both groups attacked one another.

Soon, Sonic found himself separated from the group. He slipped and fell down a crevice and landed on the ground. A ring was not far from him so he picked it up and placed it on his finger. The area around Sonic shifted as he got to his feet.

"Where am I?" He asked himself, and looked around.

The ring was glowing, energy pulsing around it on his finger. He groaned in pain, wondering what was happening. A goblin walked past him, completely oblivious to his presence. He'd become invisible to anything else in the area.

Sonic walked around, trying to find a way out. After minutes of searching, he found an exit. Suddenly the ring gave out a bright light and he groaned then fell to the ground. When he stood up, he could see a vision of what was happening at Dol Guldur.