HAHA! We are coming down to the last 5 intense chapters of the story! I can't believe it is coming to an end! AHHH!

Guest: Thank you for the review! I wonder if you will be seeing Hearts and Flowers after this chapter as well.

Thanks again to my beta! I can't thank you enough for all you have done!

Chapter 20

The dwarves were taking turns watching Fíli as they waited on Bilbo and Nori to return.

Ever since they had dragged him into camp and bound him to a tree, he hadn't said a word. He just sat there with a smile on his face while his red eyes watched Kíli. It did not matter where Kíli was; he always made sure he had a clear view of him.

As Kíli stood with Balin and Gloin, Bilbo came running through the trees, out of breath.

"Bilbo, what news do you bring?" Gloin asked.

"Well, I found him but I unfortunately couldn't find any other way in. I'm sorry."

"It is fine. You have done well, Bilbo," Kíli nodded to him.

As Bilbo caught his breath, his eyes found Fíli. "Is he still…?"

"Unfortunately. We are waiting for Nori and Ori to return with, hopefully, Gandalf in tow."

After a few moments of locking gazes with the form of his brother, Kíli excused himself from the group and moved towards him.

When he approached, the guards bowed. "Leave us. I would like to have a word with him in private."

The guards obeyed Kíli's wish and left with a bow. Soon as they were out of earshot, Fíli asked in a taunting fashion, "Let me guess, you are here to ask me about Ravina's plans and how to stop her."

"Actually no. I'm here to get my brother back."

"Your brother is right here."

"No, he isn't," Kíli replied, taking a knee so he could see right into Fíli's red eyes. "He is locked away somewhere in there. You may have his face and his voice, but you are just a shadow. You are not my brother."

"Oh, but I am. I am the stronger part of your brother. The side that doesn't feel mercy or regret."

"That does not make you stronger. My brother is strong because he feels mercy. He feels regret. He feels loyalty and love. You are never capable of that."

"It's his ability to feel that landed him here."

Kíli watched him with a shocked look. "What do you mean?"

"After the battle, after he killed Azog, he felt pain and regret. He began to feel me taking over and when he did, he became afraid. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get rid of me so he became afraid that he might become me. He was afraid that if he gave in he would hurt his poor, pathetic little brother and his worthless uncle. Fear is a weakness. The moment his fear began to take hold, it provided the very entrance Ravina needed. She fed off his fear and began to pull at it. Play with it. The more she pulled, the more fearful he got. Almost killing your uncle was the final straw, the last piece of the puzzle that Ravina needed. It drove him away and directly to her. Once she had him, he became the very thing he feared. She unlocked me, trapping your pitiful brother away, never to see the light of day again. All because your brother had those emotions you think make him strong. If he was strong, none of this would have happened."

A smug smirk pulled at the corners of Fíli's lips.

Kíli felt overwhelmed. How dare this thing speak of his brother that way? How dare he use his brother's voice to taunt him so? Tears stung his eyes the corners of his eyes as he tried to hold them back. "No, you're wrong. Because my brother is not trapped. He is still in there, fighting to come back and when he does, you will be gone for good. He will win; I know he will. Because he is my brother and if there is one thing that he would never do is give up."

"That's what you think."

"No, that's what I know."

Bilbo rushed up behind them, panting as he tried to catch his breath. "Kíli, Nori and Ori are back."

"Is Gandalf with them?"

"No, but they did bring Radagast."

Radagast? That old loon? Where was Gandalf? Kíli took one last look at Fíli before standing and following Bilbo towards Radagast.

It seemed, though, that the brown wizard wanted to see Fíli for himself.

"Not good," he muttered the moment he saw the red in Fíli's eyes.

"Where is Gandalf?" Kíli asked.

"He's following up on something important but no worries, young lad; I may have something that can help."

From beneath his sleeve, he pulled out a glowing blue crystal. Kíli and Bilbo looked at it quizzically. "A crystal?"

With a look that told them to watch, he moved towards Fíli, holding the crystal out. It seemed that the moment he saw the crystal, he squirmed to get away from it. In a low tone, Radagast began to chant something. Fíli let out a low growl. "Stop…" he hissed.

Nevertheless, Radagast continued. The louder Radagast got the more violent Fíli became. The crystal grew lighter and lighter until there was a flash of blue light, followed by a loud scream from Fíli. Kíli had to avert his eyes from the light. When he finally was able to see, he looked at his brother who was slumped against the tree. "Fíli!"

Kíli fell to the ground next to his brother, holding up his chin in his hands. Fíli groaned, his eyes fluttering open. "Kee?" he muttered.

Kíli's heart leapt with joy when he saw the red leave his eyes, leaving the warm blue irises looking back. "Fíli?"

As Fíli let slip a smile and a low chuckle, Kíli's grin grew ten times its size as he wrapped his arms around his brother, laughing in delight. "You're back!"

"Easy, Kíli, you're crushing me... why am I tied to a tree?"

Kíli let go and looked at him with concern. "You mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

After they freed Fíli from the tree, Balin explained to him what had happened. With every word of the tale, Fíli felt like he was choking on the air he breathed. Had he done all of that? Had he led Ravina into Erebor? Had he captured his uncle and thrown him into the dungeons? Had he nearly killed his brother - and who knows how many dwarves that were standing to defend his uncle's kingdom?

Once Balin was done, Fíli had to excuse himself. He rushed towards the river, falling to his knees by the side as he stared into his reflection in the water. What sort of monster he had become?

As he gazed into his reflection, he watched it come to life and hiss at him, "You did this."

Fíli lurched before turning to the side and spewing the contents of his stomach on the flora beside him. How could he face his uncle and his brother after everything he had done? How dare Kíli forgive him?

"You really shouldn't blame yourself, laddie," Bofur said as he slowly came behind Fíli.

"Why not? It's all my fault."

"How's that?"

"You heard what Kíli said I said. I was too weak to fight her off."

"You are many things, Fíli, but weak is not one of them."

"Then how do you explain everything?"

"That wasn't weakness. That was battling forces beyond you. No one could have fought it off, not even your uncle."

"He would have never allowed it in the first place."

Fíli and Bofur shared a laugh. Once it settled, Fíli placed a hand on Bofur's shoulder. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime, lad. It's what I do."

With a nod, Fíli cast his gaze over to Kíli, Balin, Dwalin and Radagast who were busy in a deep conversation. "What do you think they are discussing?"

"What to do now. Things have been going well so far, except for a tiny snag."

"Which is?"

"Seems we can't find another way in, and I'm sure Ravina won't take too kindly to us just walking right through the front door."

At first Fíli just nodded at Bofur's statement but as soon as an idea struck him, his demeanor changed. "Maybe she would."

Before Bofur could ask, he found himself chasing after Fíli who was speed walking over to the group meeting. As Fíli approached, he heard Radagast say, "The enchantment won't work forever. It's just a temporary relief."

"Then we are just going to have to go to Ravina and make her reverse it," Kíli said bluntly.

"And how do ye s'pose we do tha'? There's not another way in, remember?" Dwalin asked.

"Actually, there is," Fíli stated as he finally reached them. All eyes were upon him. "You got an idea, brother?" Kíli asked.

"Yes, but it's a bit... tricky."

Kíli smiled as he crossed his arms. "I like the sound of it already."

TBC…

I'm trying to cut down on cliffhangers. This really isn't a cliffhanger...hey, do you guys know who created the cliffhanger? It was Charles Dickens and I can't remember which story of his it was but because his stories were written as chapters in a newspaper that came out every week, to keep his readers hooked, the end of the chapter he had someone hanging off of a cliff, hence the term, cliffhanger. Weird but cool, eh? So you can blame him! Alright, enough rambling, thanks for reading so please review!