Here we are. My friend has been forcing me to get this done (You know who you are, sister ;) ) So here we are, chapter 35.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 35 – Darkness and Gold

Within the ruins of Dol Guldur, all was silent. A cold winter breeze, made worse by the stillness of the place, blew strongly. Suspended on the edge of the highest tower, was a cage just large enough to hold a man standing. Inside this very cage, was the Wizard, Gandalf the Grey.

Radagast's rabbits had been swift in their journey, and now Gandalf stood on the very edge of the ruins of Dol Guldur, the Hill of Sorcery.

"It looks completely abandoned." Radagast muttered behind him.

"As it is meant to." Gandalf stated. It was true. There seemed to be no activity within the ruins, but, thanks to Ember, Gandalf knew better. "A spell of concealment lies over this place, which means our Enemy is not yet ready to reveal himself." He paused, relaying Ember's knowledge through his head. "He has not regained his full strength."

But that did not mean he was not powerful still. Ember had warned him of that fact. Elrond's letter did little to ease his worry, but at least it was news. Now he would have to handle this delicate situation.

"Radagast, I need you to carry a message to the Lady Galadriel. Tell her we must force his hand." Radagast stood next to him, confused.

"What do you mean?" His old friend asked him.

"I'm going in alone." He turned to his fellow Wizard, and placed his hand on his shoulder when it became apparent that he wanted to argue. "On no account come after me." Radagast turned to look at the ruins, then back at him. While he was not pleased by Gandalf's orders, he made no further argument, and started towards the forest. But just to be certain…

"Do I have your word?" Gandalf called.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" He called back, somewhat annoyed. Gandalf nodded in acceptance. An eerie wind blew as he made his way down the steps. He was nearly halfway across when Radagast called from the outlook.

"Wait, Gandalf! What if it's a trap?" He paused and called back to the Brown Istari.

"Turn around and do not come back." When he was sure his friend was leaving for good, he took his sword in hand. "It is a trap." And with that, he strode into the ruins.

A short while later, he was navigating his way through the maze like structure of Dol Guldur. He felt a sinister presence, and gripped his staff tighter.

"Cé ná ulco sís nurtaina… I ettuluvas caninye!" (The evil that is hidden here…I command it come forth!)

"Cánin i sá tanuvaxe!" (I command it reveal itself!) At the last command, he slammed the foot of his staff on the ground, releasing a powerful revealing spell. It flew through the ruins, breaking through the concealment spell. Utter silence followed. Gandalf turned and continued deeper into the ruins.

The sun had set a short while ago, and still there was no sign of any activity within the ruins. Gandalf decided to try the revealing spell once more.

Sure enough, just like Ember had warned him, Azog sprang through the white mist and went to strike him with his mace. Lucky, he knew to evade. Azog smirked at him cruelly, laughing at him.

"Nakhig lo shulun, sharuku!"(You have come too late, Wizard!) He growled at Gandalf as he circled him. "Gorz nash."(It is done.) He swung his mace into the air to bring it down on Gandalf's head, but Gandalf quickly took his staff and forced the Orc away from him. He kept the distance as he searched for an exit.

"Where is your master?" He demanded. Azog roared in frustration as the spell kept him at bay. "Where is he?!"

"Mig shâ zog…" (He is everywhere…) Azog's response made his eyes widen, even with Ember's warning. "Undagush nakh!"(We are legion!) Gandalf edged his way to the side of the ruin, and looked below to see thousands of Orcs and Wargs. Not even Ember could have prepared him for the sight. "Urganim."(It is over.) Gandalf did the only thing he could, and created a diversion in order to escape.

It helped little as the Orcs were soon on his tail. He quickly collapsed the entrance behind him to slow them down. When he heard Azog's roar, however, he decided not to tarry. He ran through what he thought to be a safe route.

"Erum kira num…"(There is no light, Wizard…) the disembodied voice made him stop, as he came face to face with the darkness Ember had warned him about. He considered running, but knew that would get him nowhere. "…burzim nu ragzinar."(…that can defeat the darkness.) Gandalf went with his best option and created a shield. But after using so much magic in revealing the Orc army, it was not very effective against the spirit of the Dark Lord. The Shadow attacked his shield over and over. He lost control for a moment before regaining it for a short time.

But it would not last. His staff could not hold against the pure evil and crumbled to dust. Likewise, he was brought aloft and flung rather heavily onto the ground, before being forced to the wall behind him.

The Shadow pulled back, only to reveal a fire, in the shape of an eye. It grew into a form…a form the Istari knew well.

"Sauron!"

After that, everything went black.

And this was how he had woken, suspended in this cage. He felt ashamed of himself, for falling prey to Sauron so easily. Now, he could only hope that help would arrive.

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Men, women and children alike were screaming. Discovering the dead and mourning them were all that seemed to be happening along the shores of the Anduin. Fili noticed the destruction around him, but he was not fully aware of it.

"Lad, if we don't leave soon, these people will surely turn on us." Oin spoke to him as he and Bofur tried to push a barge into the water. Fili turned to him.

"No. I'm not leaving without Amelia." He turned back to search the waters. Oin grew still.

"Lad…she may not have-" Fili didn't even let him finish.

"No! Don't you dare say that she didn't make it! I won't believe it! I won't!" But even as he said those words with great conviction, he felt dread seep into his bones. What if she hadn't made it out? What if Smaug had…

"Dana!" Fili spun as a woman began to run into the river. Expecting her to find the body of the person she was searching for, he turned away.

"Ma!" He froze and turned back. What he saw caused a wave of relief to pass over him. There were at least twenty people on what looked to be a very fancy barge. And right at the front stood Amelia and Quinn. A young girl of about five was in Amelia's arms, waving frantically. The woman then caught up to the barge, and Amelia gently lowered the girl into the woman's arms. More people noticed their loved ones on the barge and stormed into the water. Amidst the confusion, Quinn spotted the Dwarves and pulled Amelia along with her.

Fili ran to meet them in the water. Amelia smiled nervously at him as he approached her.

"Well, I did say I would meet you on the shore…" Fili didn't care for whatever she meant to say next, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Right then and there, with their feet submerged in the freezing waters. He pulled back to see her face completely red.

"Promise me that you'll never do that again." He demanded. She didn't say anything, still stunned by the kiss, and merely nodded. He took it as a good enough answer and went to help Oin and Bofur with the barge, accepting that Amelia would follow.

Amelia didn't follow at first. She was frozen to the spot. Quinn chuckled and quickly splashed her friend in the face with water. Amelia startled and turned to her friend.

"Er…di…did Fili just…did I…did we?" Quinn giggled at her flustered friend.

"Yup, you kissed. And I'm so proud of you. You didn't faint!" Amelia pouted and swatted at her friend, before they both went to help with the Barge. They managed to catch the last bit of Kili and Tauriel's conversation.

"…know what I feel. I'm not afraid. You make me feel alive." Kili was a true romantic at heart. Quinn suspected he got that from his father.

"I can't." Tauriel began to turn away, but Kili stopped her.

"Tauriel. Amrâlimê." Amelia made a note to ask Ember what that particular word meant. She was sure her friend knew, because Thorin had said it himself.

Tauriel seemed shocked at the word, turning to Kili.

"I don't know what that means." Kili smiled as he stared at her eyes.

"I think you do." Fili finally seemed to catch on what his brother was doing, but one look from Amelia told him not to say a word. Not that he would. He couldn't judge his brother for falling for an Elf. He had fallen for a Child of Man himself.

Tauriel looked as if she wanted to say something, but stopped and became very serious all of a sudden.

"Hîr nín, Legolas." (My Lord, Legolas.) Legolas said nothing when he saw the Dwarf. He kept his attention on Tauriel.

"Maewado i Naug. Boe i nadh egeno." (Take your leave of the Dwarf. You are needed elsewhere.) Tauriel looked down at Kili, then took a step back. Kili looked down and turned to the barge.

When Legolas looked to the barge, he saw their female companion and one of her friends with her on the barge. And both were glaring at him. One of them was actually shaking her head at him.

Kili stopped halfway to the barge and turned back. He took Tauriel's hand and placed his rune-stone in it. He held her hand tightly in his.

"Keep it. As a promise." With one last smile, he left her.

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The trek to the mountain took a good long while, especially with their frequent pauses, since Kili's limp bothered him a bit. However they didn't let that stop them.

When they finally reached the Front Gate, they were stunned at the large, gaping hole it had, a clear indication of Smaug's massive body having crashed through it. What was more, it looked like no one was there.

They all looked at each other before running inside. Inside there was utter destruction. Bofur was the first to try.

"Hello!" A pause. "Bombur? Bifur? Anybody?" No answer. They made their way down to the lower halls.

"Wait! Wait!" Amelila spun, seeing a familiar figure.

"Bilbo!" She shouted. "You're alive." But instead of a smiling face, she saw Bilbo's worried expression.

"Stop! Stop! Stop." He stopped right in front of them, before continuing in a low voice. "You need to leave. We all need to leave." Bofur looked confused.

"We only just got here." Bilbo sighed.

"I've tried talking to him, but he won't listen." Immediately, Quinn looked at Amelia. How could they have forgotten? Oin leaned in with his trumpet.

"What do you mean, laddie?" He asked.

"Thorin." Bilbo said loudly, making Oin jump. Bilbo looked around before going on again. "Thorin. Thorin. He's been down there for days. He doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He's not been himself. Not at all." Ameila caught Fili out of the corner of her eye as he gazed down into the mountain. "It's this place. Ahem. I think a sickness lies on it." Bilbo finished. Fili walked past him, keeping his eyes on whatever he had seen.

"Sickness? What kind of sickness?" Kili asked his brother as he passed him, but Fili did not answer. Instead he continued on. Bilbo called after him but he didn't stop. Amelia and Quinn followed, catching the Golden light as they went. When they reached the source they stopped.

"Shittake…"Amelia whispered.

"…mushrooms." Quinn finished. As far as they could see, the entire floor was covered in gold coins. Amelia was sure she would be able to buy out the British Royal Family with all of that gold. Quinn's sharp ears caught footsteps just before the voice did.

"Gold." All eyes turned to the new arrival, dressed in what looked like a King's garb. Minus the crown. "Gold beyond measure." The Dwarves began to share glances, while Quinn and Amelia kept their eyes on the King. "Beyond sorrow…and grief."

'And beyond love too, I reckon.' Amelia thought. Thorin…or rather the shell of Thorin turned his eyes towards them, noticing them for the first time. This thought made Quinn shudder.

'He was talking to himself when he came in. Either himself, or the gold.'

"Behold…the great…treasure hoard of Thror." Thorin pulled his arm back and tossed something red and shiny at them. Fili caught it in his hands. It was a ruby the size of his fist. "Welcome…my sister-sons…to the Kingdom…of Erebor." When he turned, Quinn leaned down to Bilbo.

"Where are the rest of the Company?" She whispered softly, in order to not bring Thorin's attention to them again. Bilbo nodded and led them away.

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Bilbo led the six of them to the hall where they Company had made their lodgings. Balin sat at a table with Dwalin at his side. Bofur smiled.

"Balin!" Balin and Dwalin turned sharply, and soon they were overwhelmed by Dwarven hugs from everyone in the Company. Then something unexpected happened.

Ori rushed forward and ran to Quinn, hugging her tightly. A huge and relieved smile was on his face. Quinn had a strange look on her face, before she lightly pushed Ori away by his shoulders.

For a split second, Ori looked heartbroken, and Dori and Nori looked ready to murder Quinn. Then Quinn grabbed Ori by his collar, lifting him up slightly so his toes barely touched the ground, and kissed him on the lips.

The Company made hooting sounds as they watched the couple, and Ori turned bright red at the attention. Quinn was kind enough to let him hide his face in her shoulder.

Amelia smiled at her friend, before frowning and looking around the room.

"Hey…where's Ember?"

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Ember sat alone in the forges, away from all the festivities. Her legs were swinging over the edge on the mineshaft, as she gazed into the black hole. In her hands, she held the small, silver beads Thorin had given her. A tear fell from her eye, sliding down her cheek and falling into the darkness below.

'That man is not Thorin. And until my Thorin comes back, I won't wear his beads.' She pulled her knees to her chest, and cried.