A/N: I got my first real criticism! Wow, what a refreshing change…(not that it was particularly pleasant) but I appreciate any type of review (yes, even flames. They make me laugh. But I'd really rather not get any, if I can help it.)

Last chapter of real angst…(sighs) oh well. There's always the sequel!

So anyway, feeling a little discouraged but I'm sure I'll survive…I did vow to finish this if it killed me, after all…

The battle is being held in the mountain range around the original battle field we saw in the movie, in the valley behind the hills where Edmund once stood with the archers (just thought I'd mention it).

Also, I was going to write a one-shot for some light relief but have concluded I don't have time. However, I have asked a very able writer (you know who you are!) to do it instead as a special request. Keep an eye out and see if you can spot it! And an extra special thanks to the author who so graciously agreed to do this for me!

And, as ever, thank you all for your reviews! (Gets tearful) Ah, so sad, yet so exciting to finally be nearing the end!

This is Peter

This is Edmund

Chapter thirty nine

Peter had never thought on what it was like to be suddenly wrenched back into your own, dead, unmoving body. I doubt many people have. It wasn't at all like waking from a deep sleep, as it had been written in fairy tales when a beautiful princess is woken by a handsome, regal prince.

He felt a sense of flying through thin, cold air, then a jerking motion, and quite suddenly he was slammed with unaccountable force back to reality.

It hurt more than he thought it would.

Even more so than actually dying in the first place. That had been peaceful, and calm…and, altogether, less frightening. This, however…

This hurt like hell.

He shuddered vigorously as he felt his very heart leap in his chest, and then slowly, tentatively, begin to beat once more. His whole body felt like one single mass of lead, as the stilled blood in his veins shifted reluctantly.

He drew fresh, clean air into his parched, stale, dust filled lungs. He convulsed violently, and bolted upright only to double over in pain, crusted scabs of blood on his shoulder crackling and showering the stone floor with crimson.

Through a haze of dancing, blazing bright light, he felt a steady, cold hand on his shoulder.

He choked.

Recoilingin pain, he backed against something reassuringly solid. The hand, however, refused to let him go, and he felt a sudden wave of sheer agony.

Then a refreshing, cool relief.

Soothingpulses of warmenergy were searing across his beaten form, tickling slightly as they met an injury. It was very peculiar, feeling your own skin and flesh knit itself back together again, but at that moment, Peter cared little.

Just as he felt almost whole again, and cautiously raised his head and unfolded his body, his head snapped to the side as a second hand impacted hard with his cheek with a sharp slap.

"You're such an idiot! How could you do this to me? I…I was…you…"

Peter's head span with the force of the blow and a hand automatically went to his cheek, feeling red, stinging flesh there. Disorientated, he blinked in surprise as he was suddenly assaulted with an armful of younger brother.

"You're so selfish, you could've…"

He felt a drowsy smile grow across his face as he slowly registered that Edmund had launched himself at his older brother, and was now huddled against his chest with fists clenched.

Edmund was shaking.

With anger or fear, Peter couldn't tell.

His question was answered as he carefully encircled his brother's back, only to hear harsh sobs begin to erupt from somewhere in his shirt. He shook off the last shroud of dizzy confusion as his chest grew suspiciously damp.

"No, wait…I forgot…you did die…"

Edmund let out a bitter chuckle strangled with a string of sobs, and he weakly slammed a clenched fist into Peter's shoulder in anger, but Peter only smiled. He tightened the embrace, glancing down at the mess of dark hair beneath his cheek.

"I was…so…scared…"

Peter's face fell as he barely caught the whispered, choked proclamation. Edmund sounded…terrified. More scared than Peter had ever heard him, even when he was a very small child. He let out a deep breath, and gently rubbed the hollow between his brother's trembling shoulder blades.

"Hey, hey. M'sorry…Ed. But I really couldn't do nothing, not when you…well…you do understand?"

His own voice was scratchy and hoarse, and he winced at it sounded. It seemed to work for a moment, as Edmund relaxed, then suddenly stiffened, and raised himself off Peter's chest to stare at him with desolate, wild eyes.

Angry, yet so terribly afraid.

"You just have to always be the hero…always the bloody hero…heroes die, Peter!"

Peter smiled gently as he brushed a wayward tear from his brother's freckled cheek, then dropping his hand to rest comfortably on Edmund's neck.

"And I did. But it seems, Edmund, that you're just too bull-headed to let me go."

Peter stood up straighter, andpushed awaythe dark hair from his brother's forehead before drawing him back towards himself for a tight embrace. He rested his head against Edmund's as he rocked them both, and then muttered in his ear:

"Thank you."

Then quieter still, barely a whisper:

"I was scared, too."

Edmund chuckled weakly as he carefully drew away from Peter, scrubbing furiously at his eyes, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Peter just shook his head, exasperated, but smiled fondly nonetheless.

Edmund fixed him with an abruptly serious gaze, which burned with the stubborn fire which Peter had missed so dearly.

"Just…just don't do it ever again, or I swear I'll…I'll resurrect you then kill you again! And then I'll-"

Peter laughed as he clapped a hand to Edmund's mouth, stemming the flow of threats and curses as he levered himself and his brother off the stone floor.

"Woah, hold it there, squirt! Alright, alright, I get the point. I'll…I'll try, at least, not to. Though no promises."

He grinned, his eyes dancing with mischievous amusement as they stood on stiff, aching legs in the dying light of the sunset, fiery shadows dancing about the cave walls.

"Knowing you, we'll need more than just my stubbornness to keep us out of trouble…ow!"

Edmund cuffed him about the head, and Peter rubbed at it, affronted, but Edmund could only glare for so long before they both burst out laughing, their stifled joy echoing around the enclosed space.

And suddenly the sky didn't seem so dark anymore.

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Well, Cifel mused detachedly, this was certainly an unconventional way of greeting a person who was back from the dead.

He watched in growing confusion as the two brother's bantered playfully, the previous peril and sorrow seemingly forgotten.

Humans really were remarkable creatures.

"SQUIRT indeed! I'm almost as tall as you are, Mr high and mighty!"

"Okay, okay! It was just a little payback for all the 'Pip' comments…"

Hesitation.

"Hey, Peter? I…uh…"

Cifel raised an eyebrow as Edmund swallowed, seemingly suddenly at a loss as to how to form the words. Peter just smiled, and ruffled his brother's hair affectionately.

"Don't worry; I understand. And the same to you."

Sometimes your heart speaks the words your lips cannot convey, whether you will it to or not.

Cifel couldn't help a small smile as Edmund breathed a soft sigh of relief, and Cifel took his cue, clearing his throat softly as both brother's turned.

"Peter, Son of Adam. Are you well enough to hold a sword?"

Well, there was no point in beating about the bush. They had wasted precious little time in reunion, but somehow, Cifel had not found it in himself to break the moment. It seemed so…well; he couldn't even begin to describe it.

Edmund shot Cifel a dirty look and opened his mouth to speak, but his brother beat him to it with a hasty, anxious glance Edmund's way.

"Yes, I think so. I only ache a little."

Cifel nodded as Edmund huffed, and crossed his arms indignantly. Cifel ignored him, scanning the hilltop for any sign of the scout he had sent for. He spotted the griffin, and signalled for imminent combat.

He turned back to face the Son's of Adam, face set in a grave, stony expression.

"According to my scout, the battle for Narnia has already begun only a few leagues away, to the eastern valleys beside the field of battle upon which you fell."

He jerked his head for them to follow, and briskly left the small hollow, hefting his own sword onto his back and gathering the shards of the witch's as he went.

He would need them soon.

"Are our sisters there?"

Edmund spoke up, as he and his brother struggled to keep up with the guardian's fast pace. Cifel's face grew dark.

"I believe so. As is…the lion."

As they reached the crest of the hill, Cifel placed his two forefingers carefully in his mouth and made a shrill, whistling sound. Within seconds, a large, rust coloured griffin appeared at their side, wings folding with a creak as it landed.

"Grimold; we must reach the field of battle immediately. Have you the strength to carry the two Son's of Adam upon your back?"

Its golden eyes narrowed as it bristled imperiously, feather's standing on end, and fixed Edmund and Peter with a beady eye.

"I shall find the strength to do so, my Lord. You may trust in me."

Cifel nodded curtly, and looked to the eastern horizon. A dark swirl of clouds had begun to gather above the plain of battle. He snorted.

The witch never had been very subtle.

Meanwhile, Grimold was trying to convince Peter and Edmund to get on his back. They seemed unsure where precisely to begin. Cifel rolled his eyes and marched over.

Edmund gave a surprised yelp as he was bodily lifted into the air and dumped just behind the wing joint, with a grunt from Grimold. Peter began to snicker, but gave a small gasp of his own as he, too, was placed a little more gently behind his brother.

Cifel flexed his own wings, and crouched, bringing his hand once more to his mouth to give a loud, piercing whistle. Creatures of all races rose to their feet, smaller ones clambering onto the backs of others with swift efficiency.

Cifel smiled.

As they all rose into the air in one simultaneous action, he heard assorted contrasting exclamations from beside him.

"I'm really not sure I'm going to like this…"

"Oh, do stop whining, Ed!"

An accompanying whoop of exhilaration announced that Peter was very much enjoying the flight more than his brother was. Cifel glanced over, to see the younger give a nervous glance down at the ground dropping away beneath them, and the elder grinning widely as he wrapped his arms around his younger brother's chest to stop him from falling sideways.

He caught Grimold's eye, and the bird winked.

Cifel barely concealed a smirk as the griffin suddenly dropped a few feet, and Edmund screamed while Peter let out a good natured laugh, face flushed with the thrill of the flight. The guardian's face split into a grin of his own as he heard the following exclamations.

"Watch it, birdy! I nearly fell!"

"BIRDY! I'll show you 'birdy', young sir!"

Shrieks of laughter and terror filled the air once more, and Cifel allowed himself the merest of soft chuckles as the griffin soared this way and that in his quest for vengeance of the insult.

They would surely be alright, on the field of battle. If they got there alive, of course…

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"Understand…the future of Narnia rests on your courage."

Lucy recalled those words, the words spoken by the very creature who now drew nearer and nearer to the witch. She felt a sudden stab of fear, as she watched him bound towards the centre of the field, creatures on both sides flocking to get out of the way.

"Please…my…queen…"

Startled, she whirled about to find a faun, part of his face drenched in blood, tugging desperately on her skirt. Hastily, she knelt down and gently tipped his head back, pouring a small droplet of fire flower juice into his mouth.

She waited for him to swallow, then capped it and turned back to the battle, scouring the ranks for any sign of a golden mane.

Susan, she could see, was furiously firing arrows this way and that, mainly towards the small defensive cluster of creatures which had gathered around the witch's chariot. Lucy shuddered.

Where were Peter and Edmund now? Were they near, or far away? Were they safe?

Were they even alive?

Lucy watched the ring of defence around the witch fall as a combination of Susan's assault and the collaborated effort of a group of centaurs broke their ranks. She clenched her fists tightly as she saw Aslan emerge from the shadow of the witch's army towards her.

Then frowned.

Aslan had stopped. Halted in his very bound, turning slowly to look up at the sky. For a moment, her heart stopped as she thought he was looking straight at her, perched as she was near the top of a hill beside Susan.

Then she realised Aslan was looking slightly above her.

She moved to look, but froze as she saw the witch raise her blade with a flourish, taking advantage of the great lion's momentary weakness.

Lucy started forwards desperately, crying out a strangled warning:

"ASLAN!"

Even as Susan cried out another:

"Lucy, NO!"

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A/N: I thought I'd make this reunion slightly different. He he he…I can't believe I made Edmund actually slap Peter. What a hypocrite that boy is! Oh well, we wouldn't love him if he wasn't that way…

Nice to have some normal interaction from Peter and Ed at last…lucky Peter's back to playing big brother again! He'll be alright now, I think…

Cifel: Blood! Swords! Action! I'm gonna kill that bitc-

(Slaps hand over his mouth) Anyway…(sheepish smile) you get the point. Next chapter will be the…oh…about the third last. Not including the epilogue. Maybe. I don't know!

But we are near the end. Oh yes, very near.

Peter: Yeah…um…ohcEEcho thought you guys would be more likely to listen to me, so…(clears throat) please review! Seriously, I need coffee…

Edmund: Need…energy…can't…go…on…

You heard!