A/N: SO sorry for the delay, I know you've all given up on me already but I made a promise to finish this story and it WILL happen. Life has been busy (horribly lame excuse I know), and on top of that this chapter was extremely difficult for me to write. I'm terribly bad at writing action of any kind, so if you have any tips feel free to share them! I also know I use way, too, many, commas, but everywhere I pause I put one. So I guess I pause a lot lol. Oh well. I know you probably won't enjoy this chapter, as it's more like pulling a tooth with a pair of pliers than reading, but hey. Feel free to tell me it's shitty (you can't hate it more than I do, neener neener).

Chapter 29

We flew to the East, to the mountains covered in snow. Slias kept us just above and behind Odahviing as we journeyed, and none of us spoke. My emotions were in turmoil, and so was my stomach. I was relieved that this was the end, that I wouldn't have to fight anymore after this, but I was more frightened than anything. There was anger there also, but mainly fear. I knew Silas felt it, and was maybe even a little bit scared too, but he just flew on, carrying me towards my destiny.

As the mountain range drew nearer, I tried to steel my resolve, pushing fear aside and leaving room only for the task at hand. Odahviing had warned me that the bulk of Alduin's forces were stationed at Skuldafn, and so I prepared myself for a hard fight. Dragons were a given, and I knew I could handle those. Plenty of Draugr would also be there, and there was sure to be more than a few Overlords as well.

At last, the temple came into view. Odahviing headed towards a dragon mound, and circled overhead as Silas landed.

"This is as far as I can take you," he called down to us. "Krif voth ahkrin. I will look for your return, or Alduin's."

And with a flurry of wind, he was gone.

I was keenly aware of the quaking of my legs after I had dismounted. Wanting very much to tell Silas to take me away from here, take me anywhere, I turned towards the temple of Skuldafn. I could already see a few dragons circling over the temple, around towers, and knew there were at least a dozen Draugr patrolling the area.

Deep breaths did little to calm the shaking in my hands, so I walked towards the bridge that led to the rest of the complex, and prepared myself to fight.

O.o.O

I watched her step away, the Dragonborn of Legend, gone to fulfill her destiny, and admired her courage. I took to the air to provide support from above, and was immediately noticed by a nearby dragon. Charging towards it, intending to rip it to shreds before it could pose a threat to Freya, I breathed deep and unleashed a fury of flames upon it. The dragon shrieked, outraged, and tried to gain altitude. I followed it, fighting the frigid winds as I climbed.

There were other dragons, I noted, but they did not seem interested in our fight. They were simply waiting. Waiting for Freya to get closer before they attacked. I kept an eye on Freya as I fought, but she was so small and we were steadily getting farther away from each other. My attention was snatched away as the dragon turned sharply and we collided in midair, clawing and biting at whatever flesh we could get to.

I fought to get some distance between us, using my legs to push him away and then burned him, the heat of my fire scorching the scales on his face. He screamed and tried to retaliate, but his frost breath barely reached me. I ended it quickly after that, my curved talons finding his soft belly and ripping from mid torso to tail.

The dragon fell, crashing to the ground and rolling down the side of the temple towards the shallow lake. Searching for Freya, I did not realize the other dragon had decided it was time to take up the fight until he had come crashing into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. He had laughed, shouting insults at me, and then dived down, heading straight for Freya.

I followed as quickly as I could, trying to intercept him before he could harm her. I did not make it. He crashed to the ground behind her, opened his mouth wide, and a stream of fire shot towards her where she was fighting an undead creature. She had felt the dragon land, though, and turned her body quickly, shielding herself behind the creature as the flames poured towards her.

I wasted no time, dropping straight down on the dragon, knocking the breath out of him this time. The fire spewing from his mouth was cut off immediately, ending in a pained grunt. I bit him then, my jaws clamping down just behind the horns on his head. I could feel the spikes along his neck jab into my mouth, but ignored it sharp pain as I wrenched his head around with all the strength I had.

There was a loud pop as the bones of his spine broke, and the dragon went limp beneath me. I extracted my teeth as gently as I could, trying to minimize the damage done to the inside of my mouth, but it did little to stop it. Once I had freed my jaws, I clumsily crawled off of the dragon and headed for Freya.

"Are you alright?" I asked around the blood in my mouth. She was breathing hard, but I could not see her face in that damnable helm. Nodding, she turned to continue on her way. I watched her go, unable to shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. Unease seeped into my bones, and doubt wiggled its way into my mind. I knew my role, and would play my part willingly. But what of Freya?

She is strong, I told myself. She will have her victory. My punctured gums burned fiercely and my tongue worried at the wounds as I took off and regained some altitude. Circling, I watched as Freya Shouted a path through her enemies, her sword flashing as she went. I could provide little help here except to keep an eye out for other dragons and lend support when she needed it.

I was banking around for another overhead pass when I saw Freya had reached the door to the temple. A trail of disfigured, broken bodies lay in her wake. It was evidence enough that she could handle herself, but I was loathe to let her out of my sight. It is a terrible thing, to watch the person you care most about disappear behind a door through which you cannot follow.

The feeling of dread spread throughout my body, and a shudder passed from the point of my snout to the tip of my tail. I climbed the sky, higher and higher until I could see the whole of the temple nestled in the mountain valley. Alduin's portal could be seen clearly from this height. If Freya hadn't disappeared so quickly through the doors I could have simply snatched her up and deposited her practically on top of it.

It seemed like hours before she reappeared. She was noticeably slower, and favoring her left leg as she moved forward. I descended, keeping a close eye on her as she limped towards the steps leading portal's platform. I barely slowed in my haste and came to an earth shaking stop as I landed. Freya managed to keep her feet despite my rough landing and started towards me.

Yanking that damnable helm off I could see that her hair was plastered to her face with sweat and her chest heaved with each breath. Blood ran in sluggish rivulets from a gash on her thigh, the armor covering it having been punctured by some terrible force.

"Sit, Freya," I told her. "You need to rest." Tenderly, trying not to stress her wounded leg, she sat. I was reminded then of just how terribly small she was. This slip of a woman who was afraid of heights and water was taking on creatures that would kill anyone else in a matter of seconds. I could see her doubt in the tightness around her mouth and the furrow between her brows. I tried to think of something encouraging to say, but the dread I felt kept me from speaking.

After some time her breathing settled. She tried healing her wounded thigh and met with some success, as the bleeding stopped and the wound closed over. She cursed as she prodded it with a gauntleted finger. "It still hurts like Oblivion, but at least it's not bleeding anymore," she mumbled. Bracing herself against me, she stood and took a few steps, trying to stretch the stiffness out of the muscles.

After a few paces, she stopped. Her hands were shaking. She stared at the ground, but I knew she wasn't really looking at anything in particular. After a few deep breaths, she looked up and met my eyes. She wasn't ready. Neither of us were. And yet we were standing there, on top of Aduin's secret temple, and she was about to tumble headlong through a portal to Sovngarde.

Lowering my head, I pressed the flat of it to her chest. Her hands came up to grip just beneath my jaws and her forehead came to rest on the space between my horns. We stood in silence for a few moments, just breathing. When she released her grip and met my eyes again. In them, I saw only steely resolve. She nodded once, a sharp, quick gesture, and replaced the helm over her head. Once again, her face was swathed in an eerie darkness.

I followed her up the steps as best I could, but this dragon's body was nothing near graceful when confined to the ground. We reached the platform and kept walking. After a moment, Freya came to a sudden stop. She shook her head violently and took a half-step backward, her eyes locked onto a long rectangle of black stone.

There was a loud crack, the sharp sound echoing off the mountains surrounding the temple. A thinner slab of the dark stone went flying, landing several feet away from where it had started. I heard a sharp gasp from Freya, but I could not tear my eyes away from the stone box. It was some distance away still, but I could clearly see the shrouded figure rise op out of the stone box and land upright. The figure wore a mask and carried an oddly shaped staff, and was cloaked in ever moving darkness.

Not just any stone box. A sarcophagus.