A/N: Ori has called down the lightening to destroy Smaug, but did it work? And will everyone make it out alive?

Warnings for graphic descriptions of injuries (mostly burns), some violence, and potential character death.

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From the ground, it appeared that the sky itself opened up and shot forth a great bolt of lightening. The thunderbolt hit Smaug squarely between the shoulders, right where Ori had been standing, and sent the dragon careening towards the ground. The strike was blinding, lighting up the landscape in stark white relief. As their vision cleared the Company looked up to see the annihilated corpse of Smaug tumbling out of the sky, and with it a smaller body.

Bofur struggled through the air, his injured wing having to work twice as hard to keep him anywhere near aloft. Dropping into a nose-dive, he tore off through the skies, ignoring the burning pain as he closed in on Ori's falling body. Catching the boy around the waist Bofur snapped his wings back to stop their fall, but his left wing was too damaged and gave out under the strain. He flapped wildly, trying to right himself, but in the end he could only slow their descent. They collided with the ground hard- Ori crumpling in a broken heap, while Bofur rolled off to the side with his already injured wing sticking out at an unnatural angle.

Before Bofur and Ori had even hit the ground, the rest of the Company was racing towards them. Bilbo ran next to Thorin, desperate to get to his fallen friend. The prickling on the back of his neck returned and he disappeared from Thorin's side, reappearing twenty feet ahead. A tiny part of his rational brain realized he had teleported, but instead of dwelling on that fact, Bilbo focused on the prickling sensation and did it again, bouncing ahead in short increments until he reached Ori's side.

"Ori!" Dori collapsed beside his brother as the rest of Red Team convened around the fallen bodies. The others were not far behind. "Come on, little one, please be alive!"

The youngest Rill took a rasping breath, blood specking across his lips as he exhaled. Ori's skin was charred and blistered, with great gaping cracks running along his joints. The right side of his body was crushed from the landing, limbs akimbo and ribs shattered beyond recognition. His eyes were open, blown out from fear and pain, but still focused. All of the power had left Ori's body and he stayed conscious with sheer force of will alone.

"We need Oín now! We need a healer!" Dori's voice was frantic.

"Oín is down. We left the boys with him." Thorin panted at he ran up, dropping to the ground at Ori's side. "How bad is it? Should we call an ambulance?"

"It's too late for medicine," Dori whimpered. "He needs a miracle..."

"S'okay, Dori..." Ori croaked, his voice slurred with pain. "Did we win...?"

"I think so, little one." Dori reached out to comfort his brother, but realized any touch would cause more pain. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be... we won..." He coughed and the broken ribs shifted visibly in his chest. "Nori here...?"

"I'm here," Nori knelt at his brother's side and forced a smile. "Hey there, hero..."

"Not a hero... Not a Super..." Ori tried to shift his weight and let out a mewling cry. "Hurts, Nori..."

"I know it does. We're gonna figure something out, all right? We always do." Nori scrubbed a hand over his face, brushing back the tears that were pouring from his eyes.

Blood seeped down the side of Ori's face from an unseen crack in the top of his skull. It soaked into the fabric of his hoodie and stained the ground a deep crimson. "Dwalin...?"

"I'm here, lad," Dwalin's voice broke and his hands shook as he looked down at Ori. "Don't ya dare leave me!"

"Not gonna give up on you..." The words were taxing and his eyelids fluttered closed. Only the gurgling stutters of Ori's breath could be heard over the quiet sobbing and prayers of the Company.

"Stay with me! Yer gonna be all right!" Dwalin looked around frantically for any sign of help, his eyes falling on the faintly glowing runes shining through the burnt flesh of Ori's hands. "Take my regen power! Listen to me, Ori... I need ya to take my hand!"

"No..." He managed weakly. "Would take more than powers... Would take feelings..."

"I know that!" Dwalin cried, his eyes pleading. "Please, Ori! Don't make me force you! I'll touch the runes myself if I have to... Just take my hand!"

Ori forced his eyes to focus through the pain and mustered all of his strength to move his hand. "I'm sorry..." His fingers wrapped around Dwalin's wrist.

Dwalin's body went rigid and convulsed from the sudden strain, but his regeneration powers managed to keep him upright. The fingers Ori had wrapped around his wrist slowly began to heal, the burnt skin flaking away to reveal unmarred flesh. The new skin continued to spread up his arm, healing the broken bones and knitting the tissue back together. As the regeneration continued, Ori's ribs mended together with audible clicks and the burns gave way to healthy skin. His breathing became more level, deep breathes replacing the raspy sounds of collapsed lungs. After a minute, Ori released Dwalin's arm and let his hand fall limply to the ground.

"Ori?" Dwalin was ghostly pale and shaking, his face pinched with worry. "Come on, lad. Wake up."

The corner of Ori's mouth twitched and he opened his eyes. "Dwalin..."

"Welcome back to the land of the living." He managed a weak smile and reached out to brush the sooty hair back from Ori's face. "Ya used my powers to heal, now tell me what I was feelin'."

"You were worried, but also... Love," Ori breathed, his eyes sparkling in wonder. "You love me."

Dwalin leaned down and pressed his forehead to Ori's own. "That I do, lad."

…

"Is everyone accounted for?" Dís' worried voice came over the coms.

"A little battered, but alive," Thorin replied with a tired grin.

"Fee and I are fine, mom!" Kíli declared into his com. "Stop worrying so much!"

"I'm glad to hear that, boys." There was obvious relief in her voice. "But please keep off this channel unless it's work chatter."

"Sorry, mom," Fíli said, elbowing his brother in the side. "You know how clingy Kíli gets after a fight... He needs his mom- OUCH!"

Kíli whistled innocently, pretending he hadn't just punched his brother in the arm.

"Obviously your sons are in high spirits and just as obnoxious as always." Thorin rolled his eyes. "We'll confirm that Smaug is down, then head back to base."

"Roger that. I have visual of Smaug over the hill to the south. Be careful and I'll see you at home, Teams."

Thorin took a deep breath and looked around. "All right, Red Team, head south and get a read on the Smaug situation. Just because he isn't moving doesn't mean he's dead. Be careful!"

Bombur gave a joking salute and grabbed Dori's arm, pulling the other man away from his brother. "Ori is fine and we've got work to do."

Dori cast a worried glance back, then nodded. "Let's get to it then." He joined Bombur and Bifur as they set off in the direction of the dragon's fall, Gloín and Loni falling into line behind them.

…

"Doing all right, birdbrain?"

Bofur looked up at the thief and shook his head. "Not particularly. Oín better wake up soon."

"He will and we'll get that wing of yours fixed up," Nori promised, regarding the obviously broken wing with a frown. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Sore from the rough landing, but I'll live." He let out a pained breath. "Never really hurt my wings before... feels worse than any other break I've had."

Nori sat down beside Bofur and hesitantly took his hand, pressing a kiss to the bruised knuckles. "Thanks."

"For what?" Bofur glanced up from their joined hands with a raised brow.

"Keeping your promise." He shrugged and flushed slightly. "You saved my brother and got yourself back in one piece... more or less."

Bofur's lips curved into a slight grin. "I would have promised anything after yeh kissed me like that."

"Yeah, well, I just..." Nori trailed off awkwardly.

Bofur shifted his weight, wincing at the pull on his wing, and rested his head on Nori's shoulder. "We'll figure it all out later."

"There's nothing to figure out. I wanna be with you."

…

Oín came to in the wake of the battle and let out a low moan at the pain in his head. He was typically the one healing injuries and tended to stay out of the fighting. At the sound of his waking, Balin knelt down at his friend's side and offered him a concerned smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I was run over by an avalanche." Oín carefully prodded the lump on his head and winced. "That was unpleasant."

Balin managed a soft laugh. "Bolg knocked you out. So, it might as well have been an avalanche."

"I hope someone returned the favor."

"You can be certain Thorin and Dwalin made their displeasure known."

"Any excuse for those two to hit something," Oín replied with a slow roll of his eyes. "Since we're having this banter am I to assume that everyone lived?"

Balin's smile faded. "We almost lost Ori."

Oín closed his eyes against the thought. "Then we were lucky. Luckier then we have right to be."

...

"We won," Bilbo whispered, not quite believing it himself. "It's over."

Thorin glanced over at him with a slight smile. "It appears that we managed to slay the dragon and all lived to tell the tale."

"But Ori... He came so close to..." His words were drowned out by a watery laugh.

"Are you all right, burglar?" Thorin raised a brow. "You seem... hysterical."

"I'm quite fine. Really. It's just that I'm not used to things like this is all. Ori is my friend and I thought I was going to have to watch him die."

"But he didn't die."

"But he could have! I'm not certain I'm cut out for this life." Bilbo rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You did well today." Thorin placed a hesitant hand on the other man's shoulder. "You got the injured to Oín, you didn't draw unnecessary attention to yourself, and you did whatever you could to help. I could ask no more of you."

"I teleported again," he admitted. "Right after Smaug fell. We were running to get to Ori and I teleported."

Thorin blinked, his grasp tightening in surprise. "Do you know how you did it?"

"Not precisely. But we thought Ori was dead and there was this tingling on the back of my neck... The first time was an accident, but after that I just focused on the feeling and kept doing it. I wasn't going very far, but I was making it happen."

"Could you do it again? Now?"

"I don't believe so." Bilbo frowned in thought. "It's like I could feel myself being pulled forward because Ori's life was at stake. The moment he was healed the feeling went away. I don't quite know what to make of it."

Neither did Thorin, so he said nothing.

…

Red Team circled around the remnants of Smaug and approached with caution. The dragon lay in a broken heap, wings snapped off and neck severed from the fall. Metal scales littered the ground, torn from his body as he skidded across the rough earth. Smoke billowed from several large gashes along Smaug's torso, sparks crackling along the exposed electrical boards.

Bifur walked up to the dragon's head and kicked it soundly. The toe of his boot made a resounding clank against the metal, but Smaug didn't stir.

"I think you're right, Bifur," Loni agreed with a nod. "I think Smaug is welly and truly dead."

Gloín climbed onto the dragon's corpse and began tearing it apart, panel by panel until the main computer was revealed. "Just to be safe, we'd better make sure he stays that way."

Dori drew back his arm and slammed his fist into the computer, the force of the punch shattering what was left of the mainframe. For good measure he added a second punch and then a third, continuing until the computer was dust, and he was sobbing uncontrollably, and Bombur stopped his hand.

"I know," Bombur said with a kind smile. "But we're all alive and Smaug isn't. Let's go home."

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A/N: Ori lived, Dwalin loves Ori, and Bofur and Nori made some headway. Also, Thorin had a conversation with Bilbo and didn't douche it up. I would say things are looking up. Perhaps the worst is behind us?