Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Godzilla: The Series or The Hobbit, only how the story goes. The characters of Godzilla: The Series belongs to Tristar and The Hobbit belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and other creators. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

A/N: And we're going to find a trail that will cause the paths of our heroes to once again intertwine.

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Chapter Seven: The Trailing Paths

The H.E.A.T. team continued to follow the river to the spot where Gandalf had told them. Nick looked to Mendel and asked, "What exactly was in that letter that you left for Bilbo?"

"Oh, just some encouraging words." Mendel shrugged with a grin before he let out a sneeze. Elsie looked back and said, "Gesundheit."

"Thanks." Mendel acknowledged with a sniff. Looking to his horse he said, "It's probably all this horse hair. I think I might be having a reaction."

"Is there anything that you aren't allergic to, Doc?" Randy asked with a smirk while Mendel's horse whinnied as if it were offended. Mendel looked to their hacker and said, "Hey, it's not like your not entirely enjoying this trip either. Last night I heard you grumbling in your sleep because of the lack of something to hack."

"Okay, it might be a little true." Randy admitted with a groan. Then he sighed, "It's just that we've been here for nearly twenty-four hours and I'm feeling a little bored with the lack of something to hack."

"We will be fine, Randy." Monique reassured. Then she reminded, "Our top priority is to find Godzilla and N.I.G.E.L. before anything else."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Elsie said before she gave a snap of the reins. Her horse whinnied before racing down the side of the river. The other four looked to each other and Nick shrugged, "I guess it's last one there's a rotten egg."

Nick followed Elsie's lead and was soon taking off after her. Randy laughed, "All right, Heffe!"

Both Randy and Monique started racing after the other two and was starting to leave Mendel in the dust. He groaned and said, "Oh, this is probably going to end badly. For us, or for my allergies."

But with a snap of the reins, he yelled as he too was racing alongside the river.

…

The team soon started to slow down. Elsie spotted something and said, "Look over there!"

The other four looked to where she was pointing and saw something on the river bank. They stopped their horses and tied them to a tree. The H.E.A.T. team walked up to what looked like a huge indention in the river bank. Monique leaned down and examined the dirt. Looking to her friends she said, "Less than a day old. He was here."

"But where is he now?" Elsie asked the million-dollar question. Randy then commented, "If only we had a satellite to try and track him."

"I'm surprised he didn't try to sniff you out." Monique said to Nick. Nick placed a hand to his chin as he tried to think of something. While he continued to think, Randy walked away a little. Then he deduced, "And I'm surprised that he didn't stay near a water source that can also act as a potential food source either."

"Well, I do know one thing." Randy said, catching everyone's attention. They walked over to where their hacker was and their eyes widened as he said, "Looks like he's going somewhere."

"Hang on." Mendel said as he reached into Randy's bag. Randy looked to the roboticist and said, "Hey!"

"Aw, pipe down." Craven said and pulled out what looked to be a map. Unfolding it, he placed it against the ground, careful not to get it wet and looked it over. Then he said, "Judging by how some of the trees have been knocked down and which way that the tracks are heading, I'd say he's heading to the East."

His finger trailed along the map to the East. Elsie shook her head, "But that doesn't make any sense." They looked to her and she questioned, "Why would he go East? There's nothing really there for him."

"Maybe like the times that we weren't called in and such, he had a feeling of sorts. And then he'd take off by himself." Nick deduced, thinking it was the only explanation. Monique then said, "Perhaps we could try and catch up with him. He may have gotten pretty far, but he has left us an obvious trail to follow."

They could indeed follow after the trail of large footprints in the ground. The H.E.A.T. team once again mounted on their horses and took off after the giant footprints.

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The complete Company of Thorin Oakenshield continued on their own quest through a dense forest. As they rode side by side, Bilbo happened to notice something about the forest they were in. Pointing to a tree, Bilbo said, "Gandalf?"

"Hmm?" The Wizard said and looked to the Hobbit. Bilbo looked to his friend and asked, "What do you suppose did that?"

His question drew the attention of the entire Company and they looked as well. The tree Bilbo was pointing at had grown through a significant amount of damage. Branches were broken and it looked like there were numerous bite marks all over the trunk. Gandalf turned his horse to the tree to get a better look. He examined the bark and noticed that the bite marks were a bit too wide for anything in the area. Gandalf looked over to Thorin and advised, "I think we should press on with diligence."

"Aye." Thorin nodded, followed by the other Dwarves and Bilbo. The Company continued on their journey down the path. Unbeknown to them, a large creature was watching the group from a high treetop. It gave a low growl before jumping to another tree to some destination.

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Far ahead of both groups, Godzilla was currently running through the country side. His night of sleep hadn't been interrupted by anything from this new world, and Godzilla was grateful for it as the rest had done him some good. He had slept through the entire night before waking up again when the sun rose. Though he was wanting to go and find his parent, Godzilla's instincts were telling him to head on his current course.

He passed by several settlements but kept out of sight to avoid trouble. And as he continued walking along, many new scents wisped by him. Some seemed to be a little familiar, while others were greatly different. The ones that were familiar seemed to come from creatures and plants that he remembered from back home, while the unfamiliar were from things that he didn't recognize even from a distance.

Godzilla could only hope that he would be reunited with his parent and friends in due time as he continued to run across the country.

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In another part of Middle-earth, N.I..G.E.L. was currently following the signal that Mendel had built into him. Suddenly, the signal seemed to be moving from its current point and N.I.G.E.L. said, "Signal moving. Adjusting course."

But as the robot continued following the signal, he happened to notice something in the woods. N.I.G.E.L. stopped and slowly backed up to turn to look at it. What he saw was a large Eagle flying overhead above a tall tree. He yellow robot slightly titled his mechanical head before turning back to follow the signal again. Then N.I.G.E.L. said in a childlike manner, "I sure do feel like a putty tat."

From the air, the Eagle seemed to notice N.I.G.E.L. and shrieked before turning to fly somewhere.

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The H.E.A.T. team had been following Godzilla's trail for about seven days now and were no closer to finding him. A weary Mendel looked to the others and said, "The tracks don't seem like they stop for a moment."

"It is almost as if he's running nonstop to some destination." Monique observed as well. Randy then suggested, "What if he's on his way to the Lonely Mountain too?"

That caused the other four to stop their horses and look back to the hacker of the group. Nick then asked, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, like we said earlier, Godzilla sometimes goes off without following us." Randy shrugged. Then he said, "Maybe he's being pulled towards Erebor."

"To the Dragon Smaug, perhaps?" Elsie asked, thinking of nothing better. Nick thought about it and said, "It is a possibility. But he's never fought a living, breathing Dragon before."

"True, but it wouldn't be the first firebreather that he's fought." Randy pointed out with a grin. While the group did nod, Elsie then pointed out, "Seems like our jolly green giant is getting involved with Thorin's quest whether he knows it or not."

"Then we better get a move on." Nick said before snapping the reins of his horse. The entire H.E.A.T. team was once again running side by side with Godzilla's trail.

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The Company of Thorin Oakenshield came to a cliffside with an overhang. As they dismounted from their steeds, Thorin ordered, "Fili, Kili. Keep an eye out."

"Aye." The brother's nodded. The Dwarf Prince then ordered, "Bombur, Bofur, get us a fire going."

"Aye." The two nodded and set to work. Gandalf himself sat on a rock and seemed to be thinking about things. Mostly between the H.E.A.T. team and what the Company saw a few days ago. Bilbo happened to notice the look on the Wizard's face as did Balin. Both the Hobbit and the Dwarf walked over to the Wizard and Bilbo asked, "Everything all right, Gandalf?"

"Hmm." Gandalf said, being pulled from his thoughts. Looking to the two he said, "Oh, I'm fine. Just a little curious about many things."

"Wondering if that group of Men and Women should have came with us?" Balin asked, raising a good question. Gandalf could only shrug and nod as the old Dwarf had figured him out, "Perhaps they could have told us about what we saw in the woods."

"Perhaps they could explain that too." Gloin said as he looked down the cliff. Everyone walked over to see what the Dwarf was seeing and their eyes widened. What they were seeing was a large three toed footprint in the ground and it was pointing to the East. Bifur then said something in Dwarvish and Gandalf nodded, "You are quite right, Bifur.

"It appears that there is something large in Middle-earth." Gandalf acknowledged. Kili pointed and said, "Look there's more large tracks."

They looked to see that there were indeed more tracks heading in the same direction as they were going. Balin looked to Thorin and asked, "Think we should investigate this, Thorin?"

Thorin looked at the footprint and was thinking of a Dragon. While he didn't want to risk the lives of his people or endure the wrath of Gandalf should anything happen to their Hobbit, Thorin did think that it was still worth investigating. Looking to the group he said, "Dwalin, Bifur, Bilbo, Gandalf and I will go to inspect it. The rest will remain here. We'll be back in an hour."

"Aye." The Dwarves nodded in agreement as Thorin turned to walk back to his pony. Dwalin, Bifur, Bilbo and Gandalf followed after him and remounted onto their steeds.

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The H.E.A.T. team was still following the trail when Monique stopped them with her hand. Nick looked to her and asked, "What is it?"

"There is smoke in the air." Monique informed as she looked about the area. Then she pointed, "Up there."

The group looked up the cliff to see that there was a column of smoke rising from a fire. Nick then looked to his friends and said, "Keep quiet. We don't know if they're friendly or not."

"No problem there, Heffe." Randy agreed as they silently rode forward again.

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Thorin's little group came upon the large foot print and they all dismounted. Bilbo made sure to stay close to Gandalf as the Wizard and the Dwarves examined the foot print. Dwalin looked to Thorin and said, "Judging from the freshness of the track, I'd say that whatever it was passed by a day or so ago."

"I was thinking the same thing." Thorin nodded in agreement to this. Bifur said something in Dwarvish and both Thorin and Dwalin looked to their fellow Dwarf with odd, questioning looks. Thorin glanced to Gandalf and asked the Wizard, "What's your take on this, Gandalf?"

"There's nothing in Middle-earth that could make a track like this." Gandalf shook his head. He turned to his left and he added, "At least not anymore."

"Do you suppose that it was a Dragon?" Bilbo asked with a little worry. Gandalf looked to the Hobbit and said, "Well, unless that it was a Dragon without wings, I highly doubt that one would be mostly walking when it could take flight."

"Could it be those people's beast?" Dwalin asked, raising a good point.

Before more could be said, the sound of multiple horses' whinnies could be heard not far from them. Dwalin then quietly ordered, "Get down!"

All five of them quickly hurried to collect their ponies before hiding behind some big rocks. Gandalf, Thorin and Bilbo were the ones to poke their heads around to see who or what was coming. While three of the five readied their weapons, Gandalf had his wits and charm about him to try and avoid things from going south. Five horses came into view and they were all shocked to see the H.E.A.T. team on the equines' backs. Elsie looked at the footprint that the group had been observing and said, "Well, it doesn't look like he's breaking the course."

"Indeed." Monique said before she noticed something. Then she said, "And it seems that someone was here recently."

"How can you tell?" Nick asked their spy. Monique looked about the ground by the footprint and said, "The ground has been disturbed here."

Suddenly, Bilbo's pony let out a sneeze and it put everyone else on alert. The H.E.A.T. team looked about for where the noise came from. Gandalf, deciding that it would be better to show themselves, rose off the ground. While Thorin didn't seem too keen on it, he didn't say anything as Gandalf said, "Greetings, my young friends."

All five of the H.E.A.T. team's heads turned to see the Wizard. Randy raised a hand and waved, "What up, G-Wizard?"

"Hmm." Gandalf quirked a brow while having a small smile. Randy chuckled a little and said, "It's kind of like saying Gandalf and Wizard at the same time."

"Then just say Gandalf the Wizard." Gandalf offered with a grin of his own. This caused a few laughs between them and Nick asked, "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Oh, well, we've set up camp up on the ridge there." Gandalf pointed to their camping spot with his staff. Elsie looked to Mendel and said, "Guess we know who started the fire."

"And judging by how you're still following the trail, I take it that you haven't caught up with your…" Gandalf took a moment before saying, "Golly green giant."

"You would be right." Nick nodded to confirm it. Thorin, Dwalin, Bifur and Bilbo all walked out from behind the rock and seeing the Hobbit with them was a bit of a surprise to the team. Elsie then teasingly said, "Well, look who found their sense of adventure."

"Uh, yes, I did." Bilbo nodded with a slight grin. Mendel suddenly sneezed again and Randy offered, "Gesundheit, again, man."

"That happens to you as well?" Bilbo asked the roboticist. Mendel nodded and said, "Yeah. I kind of get reactions from just about everything."

"What a coincidence." Dwalin slightly chuckled. Looking to their burglar he said, "Our Hobbit seemed to sneeze to horse hair, too."

"That isn't something to be ashamed of!" Mendel defended the Hobbit. Bilbo looked to his friend with a grateful smile. Before an argument or something else could start, Gandalf offered, "Perhaps you would care to join us."

Thorin looked to the Wizard with a slight look as if he wasn't really on board with it. But Gandalf didn't let Thorin's look affect him as he suggested, "We have plenty of room amongst our group."

"And there is safety in numbers." Randy pointed out. Gandalf nodded and pointed to the hacker with a grin. Nick then tried to say, "We don't want to be a bother."

"Oh, nonsense." Gandalf shook his head. Then looking to the trail he pointed, "After all, we seem to be at least going in the same direction."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Elsie shrugged to Nick. Monique added her two cents, "And it would be strategically better for us."

"Then we will join you." Nick accepted. Gandalf nodded before he and the rest of his party remounted onto their horses. When they were securely on their steeds, the ten headed back to the rest of the Company.

Thorin, Gandalf and Nick took the lead with Randy, Monique, Elsie, Dwalin and Bifur in the middle and Mendel and Bilbo in the back. Looking to the Hobbit Mendel asked, "So, I take it that my letter helped a bit."

"It did help." Bilbo nodded as he remembered the letter. With a small smile he said, "Thank you."

"It was no problem." Mendel said with a grin of his own. The group continued on their way back to the camp.

…

The group had returned like Thorin had said when they left. The remaining Dwarves were very surprised to see the H.E.A.T. team with their five. Balin nodded to them and said, "Good to see you lot again."

"Likewise, Balin." Randy said as he dismounted. From his spot, Ori asked, "You find your giant lizard yet?"

"Nope." Elsie shook her head. Nick looked to Thorin and said, "So, who's going to take the first watch."

"I'll have Fili and Kili do that." Thorin said. Monique then said, "I will help them."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Kili said trying to be a gentleman. But Monique only gave him a smirk and said, "I don't recall asking for permission, no."

Fili and Kili both looked to each other as Bofur and Bombur continued to cook whatever they were making.

…

Later that evening, everyone was enjoying a bowl of stew made by the two Dwarves. Randy seemed to be enjoying it and said, "This is a really good stew, guys."

"Yeah, you guys are good cooks." Elsie agreed. Both Dwarves seemed to become bashful as Bofur waved it off, "Aw, it's mostly a family recipe."

Suddenly, the trees started rustling behind them. Everyone was put on edge as the Dwarves grabbed their weapons and Gandalf readied his staff. Even Monique prepared herself as she whipped out her pistol. Suddenly, a yellow blur erupted from the trees and said in a high-pitched voice, "Do you kids have any idea how long I've been looking for you."

"Wait, N.I.G.E.L.?" Mendel asked when he saw the robot. Then he ran up with a happy grin, "N.I.G.E.L.!"

"What is that thing?" Dwalin questioned and pointed his axe at the robot. Nick, Elsie and Randy stood in front of Mendel and N.I.G.E.L. to try and calm the Company down. Nick said, "Easy fellas. It's not going to hurt you."

"Yeah." Randy said. Gesturing to the yellow robot he said, "Ole Tin Foot here is a friend of ours."

"Everything looks to be operational." Mendel said as he looked N.I.G.E.L. over. But needing further proof that the robot was okay, he needed to do a quick system check. Glancing back, he asked, "Randy, can I borrow your mini-computer?"

"Uh, sure." Randy said before pulling his mini-computer out of his jacket. He handed it to Mendel who was quick to hook it up to N.I.G.E.L. to run the systems check. Bilbo walked over, a little nervous, but still was amazed by the robot. The Hobbit looked to Mendel and said, "This is an incredible feat of craftsmanship."

"You wouldn't be saying that when you saw 'em out in the field." Randy commented and crossed his arms. Mendel looked to his friend with an irritated look and Bilbo asked, "What did he mean by that?"

"Let's just say that N.I.G.E.L. like Godzilla are the ones who suffer a lot during the missions." Mendel said as he continued to look over the robot.

When the diagnostic was complete, Mendel let out a sigh of relief. Nick walked up and asked, "Everything alright, Craven?"

"Yeah." Mendel said and unhooked the mini-computer from N.I.G.E.L. Gandalf walked up to Nick and said, "Would you mind if I talked with you?"

"Of course not, Gandalf." Nick said and the two walked off to speak.

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Author's Note: N.I.G.E.L. has officially rejoined the group. And believe it or not, he actually has a big role in this story. Hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. While most of the next chapter will be the same as the original story, there will be a few major differences in it. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.