They were finally out of Goblin Town, and the Company ran downhill. They stopped to catch their breath when they were at a respectable distance, and Gandalf counted the members as they passed by.

"Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that's ten...Fili, Kili...that's twelve...and Bombur - that makes thirteen," Then he looked around to notice someone missing... Make that several. "Where's Helga, Amren, and Alvor?!" He exclaimed, but noticed another one who was missing. "Where's Bilbo? Where's our hobbit?!"

"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?!" Dwalin exclaimed. As the others argued where they last saw Bilbo, Amren, Alvor, and Helga emerged from the exit of Goblin Town, with Amren and Alvor supporting a limping Helga. They immediately sat her down a rock, and Amren immediately dropped his bag and searched through it.

"Hold her down." Amren said, his voice commanding and authorative, so different from what Helga heard back in Rivendell. Oin and Dwalin went to them, helping out. Dwalin held down Helga, along with Alvor, while Oin and Amren started preparing a small fire. Once there was a small fire, Oin placed a small dagger on it and left it there to heat. Amren then turned to look at Helga and held the stick that was pierced on Helga's thigh.

"On the count of three. One. Two." But on two, Amren pulled it out, causing Helga to scream out loud, a death grip on Dwalin's arm. But when Oin pressed the searing hot dagger on her wound, Helga writhed in pain and she tried her best to keep her mouth shut, knowing that if she screamed, it will attract unwanted attention.

"What happened, exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf asked the Company, and Thorin spoke up.

"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone." Thorin said. Helga, who was calming down already and was shakily wrapping her cauterized wound with a ripped part of Amren's shirt, would have retorted or defended the hobbit, but she found that she had little energy to even say anything.

"No, he isn't." A voice spoke, and they all whipped their heads to see Bilbo just standing near Helga.

"Bilbo Baggins," Gandalf said, laughing a bit. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" He exclaims as Bilbo walks towards the group, and to Balin, who was the first to greet him with a pat, which he returned.

"We'd given you up!" Kili exclaimed.

"How on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Fili asked, and the Company fell silent.

"How, indeed." Dwalin said, and even Helga, who had no idea of what happened, was interested to know how the gentle hobbit could have passed the mass of goblins chasing after them, if it was true that he was left behind. Bilbo just gives out a nervous laugh, which makes Helga think about having a little talk with their hobbit later.

"Well, what does it matter? He's back!" Gandalf said, trying to brush off the topic.

"It matters," Thorin said, walking towards them. "I want to know: why did you come back?"

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right," Bilbo said, looking at Thorin. "I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can." At the end of Bilbo's little speech, the whole Company was silent, and Thorin looked down. Even Gandalf smiles at this. However, Helga, who was sitting on a rock behind them, looked down. She knew that what Bilbo said was only for the dwarves, but something in what Bilbo said struck her inside and made her think. After this quest, once she's killed Smaug, what will she do? It's not like she could go back home; she doesn't have one. Not anymore. It wasn't a home that was taken and can be reclaimed, like Erebor. Hers was destroyed, along with its people, and she has nowhere to call home. She looked down, calming her breathing, when she heard a distant howl.

The emotional moment was cut off when they heard that howl, and the Company looked at each other, knowing that they were still in danger. Thorin looked at Gandalf with a knowing look and spoke.

"Out of the frying pan..."

"...and into the fire! Run! RUN!"

They continued running down the mountain and before they knew it, it started getting dark. Helga, who could manage herself without support, was limping towards where the Company was. They stopped when they saw that they were at the edge of a cliff, and when Helga turned, she saw a Warg leaping towards her, jaws open and ready to bite. She was lucky enough to drive her sword upwards, and kill the beast. Unfortunately, it fell limp on top of her and the Company thought the worst.

"Helga!" She heard Bilbo shout. She tried pushing the heavy beast off of her with a groan and with the help of the hobbit.

"What is it with you and my face?!" She said, spitting at the dead beast before ushering Bilbo to go ahead. The two of them rushed to where they last saw the Company and saw that they were not there. Helga looked around in panic, searching for the Company, for Thorin, for Amren and Alvor, but they weren't there. Suddenly, she felt something pull her up and she saw that it was Thorin who hoisted her up. She gave him a nod in thanks before clambering up towards the top of the trees. The wargs were suddenly surrounding the area at the foot of the pine trees, searching for them. However, they ceased and turned when a white warg with a pale orc appears and it approached slowly. Helga looked back and forth between Thorin and the pale orc, and remembered Balin's story. So he must be...

"Azog?" Thorin muttered in disbelief. Helga heard the orc say something in its foul language, but she did not bother, for she was focused on her leader, who showed emotions that she thought would never appear; pain and grief. "It cannot be." Suddenly, Azog gave out what seemed to be a command to attack, for the wargs charged on the trees, shaking it, climbing it, and breaking the branches that they could reach with their jaws. Then, the trees started to fall, and the Company could not do anything except to hold on. They all ended up jumping to the last tree; the one standing dangerously at the edge of the cliff. Helga found her balance first, before shouting to Amren.

"Ren! My bow!" She shouted from below, and her bow and quiver were dropped. She caught it and wore her quiver, leaning on the trunk for balance. She took an arrow from her quiver before shooting it to one of the wargs below, the arrow finding its way through its eye. Then, the dwarves above her started to throw burning pinecones to the wargs, and their furs caught fire, along with the dry grass. When they saw Azog's frustration, the Company let out a cheer of triumph, which soon turned into panicked cries when their tree started falling. Helga, with the wound on her thigh, lost balance and was one of the first to fall. Luckily, she held onto a thick branch. However, she knew that this would not last and that she would let go, soon. She looked to her right and saw young Ori hanging onto Dori's leg, and Dori hanging on to Gandalf's staff. Helga shuts her eyes, from the pain of the whiplashes on her back, from the strain of her muscles, she knew that she couldn't hold on for long. However, her eyes snapped open when she heard Dwalin shout

"Thorin! No!" Helga pushed herself up, and her eyes widened at the sight of Thorin being held between the jaws of a warg.

"No." Helga muttered, tears in her eyes. She took in a shaky breath and shutting her eyes, before opening it again, pushing herself up with all her might. And she found herself on the tree trunk, balancing herself as she pulled out her sword. Along with Bilbo, they charged at the orc who was about to decapitate his head. She let Bilbo take care of that orc, and she focused at the other orcs who tried to get near Thorin, stabbing them in the eye, or decapitating them, not caring if she's tearing at the wounds at her back.

She heard Azog command his wargs and riders, and she knew that they were after Bilbo. Well, she would die first before she lets Bilbo get harmed. But, it seemed that she was not the only one rushing to defend the hobbit, but the rest of the Company members as well. The battle was a flurry of steel, blood, and fire, and Helga never felt more alive. Then, she spotted Azog and his warg charging towards her, and she was backing up, when she tripped from a root. She scrambled backwards towards the edge of the cliff. Azog just smirked at her while his mace in hand.

"You should never have left your home, woman." He said, and Helga spat at his warg's face, before pulling out her sword, slashing its eye on the way before stabbing it from the top of its skull, just like what she did with the Goblin King earlier. This caused Azog to fall off balance and when he swung his mace at her with the intent to crush her skull, she did the only thing she could think of, and she jumped from the cliff.