A/N: This is a really long chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it off and start the new chapter. Everything comes to a head here! Also, if you think you know this battle well, think again - I added bits to it.

Currently in the process of editing and rewriting, so stay tuned! This one won't take too long in comparison to the previous chapters.

Fury had fast replaced Tempestra's dismay at the sudden turn of events. As she watched the Telmarine leaders ride back to their army, yelling commands and war cries, she distantly heard Peter ordering the archers to ready themselves. At a sharp shout from Caspian, however, she jolted out of her angry thoughts.

"Peter!"

The high king whirled around at the prince's cry, and saw the source of the warning: an advancing Telmarine, who had stayed behind, no doubt to try to kill Peter while he was still vulnerable without the protection of the Narnian army. When the armored soldier unsheathed his sword and lunged forward at Peter with a bellow, the youth parried his blow, sliced his torso, then deftly beheaded him. Without pausing, he turned to Caspian - who had mounted a horse - and the Bulgy Bear.

"Go!" he ordered, pointing his sword. He didn't have to say it twice. Caspian and the Bulgy Bear galloped back to the How, though the prince paused in front of the entrance to wait for his signal. Peter, Edmund, and Tempestra sprinted to the front of the dueling area, squinting across the field at the roaring Telmarine army.

Even from her position, Tempestra could see that the Telmarines were up to something. In the distance, someone was waving a black flag, followed by some kind of movement at the five wooden trebuchets that the army had rolled onto the battlefield. Tempestra had learned about the physics of trebuchets in her high school science class, and had even constructed a miniature working one. In person, however, a battle trebuchet was a much more daunting thing. The Telmarines seemed to be loading giant round stones into the machines. Could they actually be strong enough to lob the boulders all the way to the How?

Her musings were answered a second later when three of the trebuchets volleyed two rocks towards the Narnians. Tempestra watched, stunned, as the stones flew through the air towards them. A moment later, they slammed into the ground, narrowly missing the Narnian army. The Telmarines must have adjusted the trebuchets however, because the next two boulders smashed into the side of the Narnian army outside of the How. Tempestra flinched at the thud of each rock, which shook the ground. To the army's credit, they did not scatter in panic until the massive stones were nearly upon them. They remained steady and held their positions.

Peter, Edmund, and Tempestra stood rooted to the spot, despite the rain of boulders and flying dirt. They stared across the distance at the Telmarine army, which abruptly unleashed its cavalry. The thick line of horse-riding soldiers surged forward, spurred on by General Glozelle, who stayed safely behind. The cavalry was impressively swift, and they thundered towards the Narnians, swords pointed forward. With the trebuchet stones flying high above in the air, and the line of fierce soldiers looming towards her, Tempestra felt her heart pounding harder and faster. Anticipation and adrenaline thrummed through her veins, sharpening her senses.

Behind her, she distantly heard Susan bellow, "Archers to the ready!" and she knew that the archers up on the How were drawing back their arrows. When Peter had judged that the cavalry had advanced far enough, he wheeled around to signal Caspian and Glenstorm, who turned and galloped through the entrance of the How. A moment after the two disappeared into the How, a Narnian horn rang through the air, and Peter began to count aloud.

"One…two…three…"

The line of cavalry had spread out now into one triangular mass of horses and pointed blades. They were much closer now, and Tempestra could see the snarling faces that were permanently etched onto their steel masks. The three of them braced themselves as the riders bore down upon them, sunlight lancing off their armor. It was an intimidating sight.

"Eight…nine…Get ready!"

Without warning, the ground collapsed in front of the cavalry, exposing the tunnels below. The result was utter confusion. The front line of soldiers tumbled into the uncovered pit, causing the horses and their riders to fall in disarray. Horses neighed in panic, their legs crippled, and men cried out as they fell and were trampled by their own steeds. The riders on the edge of the pit were unable to stop in time; they plunged in headfirst. Those who managed to stay on the unbroken ground found themselves shoved in by the riders behind them as their momentum propelled them forwards.

"NOW!" Susan bellowed, and the archers released their arrows, which whistled through the air before raining down upon the cavalry.

Chaos reigned over the group. The arrows struck down the soldiers and horses attempting to climb out of the pit, causing widespread panic. The arrows descended and indiscriminately felled both horses and riders. Once, Tempestra might have felt some kind of remorse or guilt for watching the soldiers get killed without a chance to fight back, but with the anger still coursing through her veins and the Telmarines' betrayal still fresh in her mind, she couldn't find it in her to care.

To her left, Edmund leapt onto a fallen stone, jumped onto the back of a Telmarine horse, and rode forward with his crossbow ready. Tempestra unsheathed her rapier as to her right, Peter bellowed, "CHARGE!" and led the Narnian attack.

The Narnian army at the front of the How rushed forward to attack the cavalry from the front, as Caspian and Glenstorm led the underground Narnians through hidden trap doors in the grass. They circled around in a pincer movement to strike the cavalry from the back and sides. The Telmarines were trapped, with nowhere to escape.

Tempestra could taste triumph. She sprinted forward with the rest of the Narnians, weapon at the ready as they plowed into the cavalry on the ground. Her first target clambered to his feet and ran at her with a roar. He chopped down at her, attempting to split her at the shoulder, but Tempestra nimbly dodged his attack and thrust her rapier through a gap in his chain mail beneath his left arm. As he howled in pain, the young woman yanked her weapon free and kicked him back into the pit. As soon as he fell backwards, she looked for her next adversary.

A few feet away, a Telmarine soldier was lunging at Ferrah, who was preoccupied with his own enemy. Tempestra pointed her rapier at the soldier, and a crackling bolt of lightning crawled down the blade and lanced through the air. It struck the soldier squarely between the shoulders, and he fell forwards where he lay on the ground, unmoving. A few more lightning bolt shots at other Telmarines made Tempestra realize that although the metal Telmarine armor protected them from some weapon attacks, it only amplified the devastation of her lightning. She took full advantage of this knowledge.

The young woman relished the opportunity to finally vent her anger as she fought the Telmarine soldiers, knocking them down swiftly and surely before turning to her next opponent. Her fighting was sure and deft as she hacked, stabbed, and shot lightning, but her movements were agile in comparison to the soldiers. They were heavy and slow, burdened by large swords and cumbersome shields that were effective against big weapons but ineffective against Tempestra's quick attacks. She danced around them, using her lightness and swiftness to her advantage. She was breathing hard, but she felt full of energy. Around them, boulders continued to crash into the ground in a constant heavy barrage.

Glances around her told her that the other Narnians were making quick work of the rest of the cavalry. The soldiers fought with discipline, but there was something off about them. For every five soldiers that Tempestra fought, one of them moved a little weakly, as if he was suffering from some hidden pain. It seemed that the herbs she and Reepicheep had distributed were working. Between that and the collapsing ground, arrows, and pincer attack, the cavalry was decimated. Perhaps they stood a chance of winning after all.

Then she saw the columns of Telmarine foot soldiers begin marching forward. From the How, gryphons carrying dwarves equipped with bows flew towards the Telmarines, firing arrows at the ground troops. In retaliation, the Telmarines used a wooden machine to shoot arrows into the sky. The machine, which fired clusters of thick arrows simultaneously, took a heavy toll on the gryphons and the dwarves. They plowed into the ground or into the troops.

Tempestra watched this, enraged but helpless. The machine was too far for her to destroy from her position. She saw Peter twenty feet away; he looked up, dismayed, at Susan on the wall of the How. Tempestra saw him mouth the word "Lucy", then turn to look desperately at the advancing lines of Telmarines. The soldiers held their shields up for protection as they steadily moved forward – an indestructible wall. They would crush the Narnians.

Peter realized the same thing. "Back to the How!" he called out, pitching his voice to carry over the fighting. He knew when they had to retreat. He had learned from his previous mistake, and was determined not to make it again.

The Telmarines were still steadily marching forward towards the Narnians, who disentangled themselves from the soldiers and charged back to the How. Seeing this, Tempestra knocked out yet another soldier she was fighting, but held her ground and threw herself at another.

"Go!" she yelled at the others, who wavered when they saw her continue to fight. "I'll keep them off!"

The young woman ducked to avoid her opponent's swing, then rolled on the ground. Rising to her knees behind him, she slashed at the back of his knees, crippling him. Then she sprung to her feet and turned to face the other Telmarines. There was a momentary lull in the fighting around her; she took advantage of it. After sheathing her rapier, Tempestra took a deep breath and let her mind dive inwards, to the core of herself – the core of her powers. She had not done this in such a long time, but it was a familiar place to her. Taking another deep breath, she drew her power up through her body. As she raised her arms, the power flowed through them and spilled from her hands in waves of crackling energy. They spread down to meet the ground, and up to extend above their heads. A solid wall of electricity sprang from her fingers to separate the Telmarine soldiers from the retreating Narnian army.

Even from behind their masks, the Telmarine soldiers looked terrified. They had never seen displays of magic, never mind a wall of energy that shocked whoever came into contact with it. They came to a halt in front of the barrier and stood behind it, uncertain. The Narnians, grateful for the respite, scrambled towards the How.

Then the boulders descended. Without warning, the massive stones flew over Tempestra's wall and struck the slabs of rock forming the entrance to the How. The slabs collapsed, and with it, the entire entrance to the How. The Narnians' escape was cut off.

Tempestra was blind to this predicament, although she heard the cries of the Narnians who were crushed beneath the onslaught of stones. Instead, the young woman focused on maintaining the wall of energy. Then one boulder smashed into the barrier. And another. Arms still raised, Tempestra gritted her teeth until her jaw ached. The impact of the boulders shuddered through her body, jolting her as if she were one with the wall. When the third giant stone struck the wall, the energy field shattered. The backlash made Tempestra stumble backwards. She felt like someone had broken her body.

Seeing that their escape was blocked, the Narnians converged behind Tempestra as the lines of Telmarine ground soldiers began advancing once more. Peter, Caspian, Edmund, and Susan drew level with Tempestra, who was breathing hard. Peter touched her shoulder worriedly.

"Tempestra. Are you-?"

"Get everyone behind me," Tempestra ordered sharply. She didn't even look at him. "Now."

They didn't waste any time. The leaders called out their warnings, realizing what she was about to do. The Narnians backed up hastily. The Telmarines continued to march forward, an arrow's shot away from them, as the young woman walked forward to the front of the dueling area. She stood there by herself, ringed by ten Telmarine columns. Surrounded like that, she looked small and alone. It took all of Peter's willpower not to run out to protect her as the Telmarines closed in on her.

Tempestra did not heed them as she pushed her sleeves back and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, the young woman drew every bit of her power up through her body once more. Sparks crackled behind her eyes as she raised her arms. She channeled the power through her arms, building it up in her hands, intensifying the energy until the pressure was unbearable - then slammed her palms together.

Energy exploded from her hands in one giant shockwave, surging forward and crashing into the Telmarine army. The soldiers were taken completely by surprise. The wave of electricity overwhelmed the ten columns of soldiers, knocking out the front six rows and leaving two more rows disoriented. They barely stood, wavering, behind the rows of men who had keeled over. Both sides, Telmarine and Narnian, stared in awe and fear at the swathe of unconscious soldiers littering the ground.

Tempestra's legs collapsed. In an instant Peter was at her side, slinging her arm over his shoulders and helping her to her feet. Together, they stumbled backwards behind a line of Narnians who had formed while Tempestra had been busy. Each Narnian in the line was equipped with a stolen Telmarine shield. Behind the shield troops, the remaining archers waited with arrows strung. The Narnians were regrouping in the back.

The Telmarines recovered surprisingly quickly from Tempestra's attack. Soon they had reassembled and, after a second of uncertainty, they continued to march forward, stepping upon the bodies of their own soldiers as they advanced.

"NOW!"

Caspian's voice rang out. At his signal, the Narnian shield troops turned their shields around so that the backs of the shields – which had been polished until they shone – were facing the Telmarines. The burnished surfaces reflected the sun's rays, which lanced into the unprotected eyes of the Telmarines. The blinded soldiers immediately halted. They cried out in surprise and pain, instinctively throwing up their hands to shield their eyes.

"FIRE!" Susan bellowed. The Narnian archers lifted their bows and fired over the heads of the shield troops, taking advantage of the Telmarines' disorientation to launch a volley of arrows which struck the unprepared soldiers without warning.

But they did not scatter, as the Narnians had expected. Instead, the Telmarines recovered speedily. Fresh soldiers from the back moved forward to replace the wounded soldiers. These new soldiers were healthy and had not seen as much fighting as the front lines. They were outfitted with shields, which they used to create a wall in front and above them to deflect stray arrows. Like a living machine, they marched forward unrelentlessly. Even Susan's archers could not halt them.

The Narnians fell back.

Peter, who had lowered Tempestra back to the ground, shook her gently. The young woman's eyes were closed, and she breathed heavily.

"Tempestra? Are you all right?"

Tempestra heard Peter's voice as if from a distance. She could hear her heart thundering in her ears, feel the grass beneath her knees, and taste the tang of iron in her mouth. When she opened her eyes and spat onto the ground, she saw blood on the beaten earth. She had bitten the inside of her mouth. Lifting her gaze, she saw Peter and Edmund staring at her worriedly, ignoring the chaos behind them. When Peter spotted the blood she had spat out, he grew pale.

"I'm fine," Tempestra said detachedly, getting to her feet with his help. "Just give me a second."

When she was upright once more, she took stock of herself and her surroundings. She had power left over, but she didn't have it in her to do another massive assault like that again. Besides the ache in her jaw from clenching her teeth, her body was too numb to feel any pain, even though she surely must have sustained wounds. She still had energy, but she was also running heavily on adrenaline. She needed her second wind if she was to keep going. She observed all of this distantly.

What was worse, the fight was not going well for the Narnians. Despite the Narnian strategic defenses, the Telmarines still heavily outnumbered them and continued to advance. The Narnians needed to take a stand, or be crushed against the How and scattered into the forest. If that happened, the Telmarines would burn down the forest and pick them off one by one. If the Narnians tried to run, they would not get far. She could see it as if it had already happened.

For the first time, Tempestra seriously considered her death. Here, on a strange battlefield in a strange world. Fighting for a kingdom that she did not know, with a people that were not her own.

If I die here, no one on Earth will know.

She suddenly knew how Peter had felt before the duel. That hopelessness. That fear. That shadow of death that lurked nearby - waiting. She could see it in her mind's eye, as if she looked upon it all from a distance.

Peter was shaking her again, his voice urgent.

"Tempestra? Tempestra!"

Tempestra could see the battle over his shoulder. Despite the overwhelming odds, a few Narnians had turned and renewed their assault on the Telmarine ground troops. Without hesitation, they threw themselves at the wall of Telmarines, who had raised their shields to form a protective wall and ceiling. Those few Narnians were vastly outnumbered and faced what seemed like an infinite number of enemies, but they still continued to fight. They knew they had no hope of surviving, yet they courageously fought on.

As Tempestra watched them, she felt a dreading feeling of déjà vu. But this time, she was not the one outside the castle gate. She was on the other side.

We are the fighters trapped behind the gate, she realized. We are the ones who have no chance of survival. We must do what they once did: be brave in the face of destruction.

She was suddenly hypersensitive and acutely aware of everything around her. Her focus - which had been detached a moment before – seemed to zoom in at that second.

Crashes. Cries.

The smell of blood. Of sweat.

The bright sun. The hot rays.

Aching. Stinging.

"Julia."

Tempestra finally met Peter's gaze, and his blue eyes were all she could see. His eyes were anxious beneath his sweat-soaked hair plastered across his forehead. They did not say anything, but Peter recognized the sudden resolve that lit Tempestra's eyes. He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

Together, they joined Caspian, Edmund, and Susan, who were as tired as Tempestra was, but who looked as determined as she felt. Edmund tossed aside his crossbow and unsheathed his sword as Susan notched an arrow to her bow, and Tempestra drew her rapier from its sheath on her back. Wordlessly, they looked at each other, then resolutely broke into a run. Leading the Narnian army, they charged towards the Telmarines and inevitable defeat.