„Come on lads, you've heard him!" Dwalin pulled his axe out of the last orc's torso as he was throwing a worried look back at Thorin. The king had ordered him to bring his nephews safely back to the mountain and never before had Dwalin disobeyed any of his king's orders.

„No!" Kili complained, drawing his sword and moving towards his uncle with a stubborn expression.

„We can't leave without you, uncle!" Kili was right, that Dwalin was sure of. Azog the defiler was still somewhere close and every instinct within the old warrior told him, not to abandon Thorin, because he would need all the help he could get when it came down to slaying Azog.

Fili was standing next to him, an unreadable look in his eyes, as the older brother seemed to search the fort for any signs of threat. The air around them had fallen strangely silent. Orc corpses scattered the floor like a grotesque mosaic, dark blood mixing with the white snow, painting a terrifying scenery of war.

„Fili, Kili. Go with Dwalin. I will take care of this!" Thorin's voice was nothing more than a deep rumble, his resolve unbroken as he motioned for them to leave.

„Take Bilbo with you, he has seen enough battle", he added. Bilbo, already standing behind Dwalin, clenched his teeth before nodding hesitantly.

„I- I think we should go", the hobbit said, his voice trembling despite himself. He didn't want to leave Thorin either but he had seen the determination in the king's eyes. He knew that, this time, Thorin would not fail.

„Have you all lost your mind?" Kili spat. „If we leave now he will make a perfect target for Azog." Eagerly, enforcing his point, Kili stomped his feet, not moving an inch. Dwalin let out a desparate sigh. Why could this stubborn young dwarf never understand when it was better to just obey a command without asking questions. Thorin would have his reasons to send them away, to safety. Shaking his head, Dwalin reached out and grabbed Kili's arm.

„You will follow me. Now!" He ordered.

Before Kili could yank his arm free of Dwalin's firm grip, Fili held up a hand.

„Something is coming!" He shouted, drawing his weapon, but he was already too late. From the projecting rock above them came a spiteful laughter, before a pale white shadow dropped down right to where Thorin stood.

„Azog!" Bilbo yelped and scurried back a few steps, only to land on his rear and being pulled up again by Dwalin.

The defiler wasted no time with words. His morning star came down with a sickening crack and Thorin jumped out of harms way on the last second, raising Orcrist to defend himself. He moved quickly and with a few fast steps he was behind the pale orc before he could lift his deadly weapon once more. An angry cry ripped through Thorin's throat as he attacked Azog from behind, but the orc turned around, dodging the attack with the blade that replaced his lower arm.

„You dwarven filth!" Azog spat, lifting his morning star again but it was stuck in the ice. Before he could pull it out, Thorin attacked again.

Dwalin, Bilbo, Fili and Kili were watching the fight before them with horror, unable to move for the split second it had taken Thorin to make his first moves. Kili was the first one to budge. Before Dwalin could even react, he pulled his arm out of the now-loosened grip and moved towards the battle scene, careful not to draw the orc's attention just yet.

Azog had given up on his morning star, attacking Thorin with his razor sharp blade instead. Despite his size, the orc was moving quicker than Thorin had expected and it took his whole concentration not to lose his focus and run into the deadly blade. It was when he saw something moving on the edge of his vision, that Azog took the chance and pushed forward hard, sending the distracted dwarf to the ground. Before Thorin could react, the pale orc stood over him, a sickening grin splitting his face as he muttered something in the orcs guttural tongue.

„Uncle!" Without thinking about the consequences, Kili leaped forward, ignoring his brother's frantic cries. Azog raised his arm to deliver the final blow.

It all happened too fast, though for Kili time seemed to pass in slow motion. He reached Thorin, who was already raising his sword in defense although he knew that he could never dodge this attack in time.

The last thing Kili saw was the surprised look on Azog's face, before a white hot tearing sensation ripped through his torso, knocking all breath out of him and suffocating the scream that was about to leave his lips. Though his vision went black immediately, Kili could still hear his uncle's pained howl and the orc's shriek before he hit the ground and his lights went out.

„Kiliiiii!" Fili was struggling violently in Dwalin's grip, while Azog's blade pierced his brother's body with a sickening smacking sound. Even from the distance he could tell that it went right through Kili. Fili couldn't imagine that anyone would ever recover from such a blow. His heart was racing painfully as he dropped to his knees, heaving dry as shock got a hold of him. Still he was unable to look away from this dreadful scenery.

Thorin, however reacted quick. He had been in too many battles and had seen too many friends die to stop now. He launched forward and without a warning he brought down his swort on Azog's shoulder, cutting deep into the flesh, breaking the bone and severing the limp. The pale orc cried out in pain as he staggered back, clutching the stump with his extant hand, trying frantically to stop the bleeding. As Thorin came closer to deliver the final blow, Azog was unarmed, his morning star too far off to reach.

„This is for my father!" Thorin thrust his sword into the pale orc's chest who shrieked at the slicing sensation. The king's gaze was unforgiving, loss and hatred shining in his eyes.

„And for my grandfather!" With a final stike, he cut off Azog's head in a swift motion just as the orc had done with Thror years ago.

Azog the defiler was finally defeated.

Thorin had no chance to enjoy his victory. As he was able to tear his gaze from the unmoving eyes of his defeated enemy, he could hear frantic cries behind him.

„Kili! Kili can you hear me? Oh Kili… please open your eyes, please!" His older nephews tormented begging ripped through Thorin's consciousness like a lightning bolt, sending his mind back to reality. He whirled around and ran towards where Fili was crouched over his brother's unmoving body. Thorin dropped to his knees next to his nephew, wanting to comfort him but couldn't bring out even one word.

„You stubborn idiot!" Fili wailed, clenching his hands into fists. Thorin tentatively placed a hand on Fili's back, but he shrugged him off.

Without a word, Dwalin approached with a hurried stride. He dropped to one knee and placed two fingers on Kili's neck. Seconds passed agonoizingly until a gleam of relief passed over the warrios's face.

„He's still alive! We have to get him to a healer. Immidiately!" He stated, hiding the exitement in his voice. It was too early to get their hopes up. The blade was still embedded in Kili's torso and he had lost a lot of blood. But the worst thing they could do now was to-

„We… we should pull the blade out!" Fili exclaimed, reaching fort he severed limp, a hint of disgust shining in his eyes. Dwalin's reaction was fast. He reached out and held the young heir's hand in a tight grip, stopping the motion.

„Don't pull it out! If you want your brother to live it must stay in for now!" He threw Thorin a questioningly look. The king hesitated for a split second before nodding his approvement.

„Dwalin is right", he stated, his voice was hoarse and near to cracking. While Fili's tears were flowing freely, Thorin had to muster all his strengh not to give in to his grief. Not yet.

„Y- you are leaving it in?" Bilbo piped up from the background. The poor hobbit had almost fainted when Kili dashed forward to save his uncle. Now he was approaching the group on shaky legs.

„Yes. We must cut the end off or else it will tear apart his organs if we pull it out", Dwalin answered bluntly, pointing to the blade's barbed structure at the end, little spikes that were pointed in the opposite direction. Bilbo hadn't noticed them sofar, now he swallowed hard, trying his best not to throw up and making the situation worse.

„So what do you suggest?" Fili asked after drawing in a deep shuttering breath.

„I will carry him", Dwain replied, tugging one hand around the unconscious dwarf's shoulders, reaching for his legs with the other, when Thorin motioned for him to wait.

The air was full of swirrling sounds and they could hear the flapping of wings. Craning his neck, Bilbo squinted his eyes to make out the source of the noise. His face lit up immediately.

„I think that won't be necessary Dwalin!" The hobbit cheered. He began waving his arms and jumping up and down despite the nauseous feeling in his stomach, as he tried to guide them, although the eagles must have already spotted the little group.

The first of the majestic birds wrapped it's claws around the Hobbit, eliciting a suprised yelp from Bilbo as he was carried away. The second one landed on the small plateau, long enough for Thorin to mount it. He held out a hand for his nephew, but Fili shook his head fervently.

„I am not leaving him!" he shouted, clutching his brother's hand as if he feared to be torn away from him. Thorin sighed.

„It won't be for long, I promise. But Dwalin has to stay with Kili!" He once again motioned for Fili to join him.

„Why can't I stay with him?" Fili pleaded, tears glimming in his eyes as he pushed himself up.

„You can't hold yourself and Kili atop if the ride gets rougher. Dwalin is simply stronger than you." Thorin's answer was sobering.

With one last look at Kili's unmoving frame draped over Dwalin's arms, he joined his Uncle before the eagle took off.