Alright, don't chew me out for the chapter name. I updated twice in one day! An accomplishment! Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Action

The mouth of the cave didn't look at all that foreboding, in fact it looked welcoming in a strange and eerie way. 'Come in', it seemed to say, 'and I won't eat you whole.' Of course, Thorin knew better than to believe whatever the site before him displayed, because, whatever the cave seemed to think, the orcs inside would eat him whole, as well as everyone else who had accompanied him, which would be the rest of the company. If that happened, so much for reclaiming Erebor.

"So we're heading in there?" the company leader could hear their burglar asking. He ignored the small being and turned to Dwalin.

"You and Gloin are coming with me. Too many and we might wake the orcs (which they could hear snoring from their position) and jeopardise this rescue." Thorin turned to Nori. "You're absolutely sure they're in there because if they're not…" Nori nodded his head, knowing how important the assumption that Thorin's two nephews were here was.

"I would be willing to bet my life on it."

That was all Thorin needed to hear.

"The rest of you be prepared to either flee or fight.," he ordered before casting them all a somewhat apprehensive look, "Who knows how this might turn out?"

Kili was glad the orcs were asleep. He was glad that they could do nothing to them in that state, that they could not force them to do anything to each other. But he was still afraid. Fili was too. He could tell.

Everything ached and, though it was not the fault of his brother, Kili could not help but feel anger and rage. Again, it was not directed towards his brother, more towards the bastards that had done this to them. But even so, his wrath soon abated for he remembered the own rage of the orcish leader. He hoped that he would never have to face such anger again for as long as he lived. Even Thorin's tempers looked tame compared to what he had been faced with.

The young archer longed to reach out to his brother, to whisper a few words so that Fili could reassure him, or he reassure Fili. But he was scared that any such action would result in waking the orcs not on guard, and when the orcs were awake it was never good for them. So he just laid on the ground, in pain and too scared to so much as sit up. Several times he locked gazes with his brother and forced a smile upon his lips, trying desperately to be brave. But inside, he was crumbling away just like a cliff that had been exposed too long to the elements.

He had no idea how much longer he could hold on for; hold on to both life and sanity. He didn't feel like himself anymore and his body had taken just about all the abuse it could.

"Be quiet or they will hear us," an out-of-place voice whispered as the sudden sound of a bone being displaced from the pile of scraps towards the front of the cave. Kili's ears perked at the sound yet he was still wary to lift his head to look. He looked into his brother's eyes though and saw that the blonde was thinking along the same lines. Thorin. They listened for him to speak again just to be sure it was not a cruel joke being played on them by their captors.

"Split up and search every nook and crevice," the voice said again. Kili felt a sense of thrill run through his body. It was definitely his uncle's voice. And he wasn't alone. The brunette struggled to sit up to see better, forgetting his earlier fear as an inquiring sense came over him, and another more childlike feeling. Thorin was here. They were safe.

Fili had to end up helping him into a half sitting position, both wincing at the strain put on their muscles, Kili finally managing to balance on his elbows, leaning against his brother for support. Yet they kept silent for fear of the orcs hearing them . Or at least Kili did. As three dark silhouettes moved progressively towards them Fili called out in a low voice.

"Thorin. Over here." A few sleeping forms stirred at the words but none awakened. The guards were curiously out of sight. All three shadows turned to him.

"Fili?" was the reply. The blonde smiled in the dark.

"Aye. And Kili."

Thorin moved closer as did his two companions who proved to be Dwalin and Gloin. The dark haired dwarf swore as he saw what had been done to them. Kili stared in wonder at the familiar faces. He managed a small smile, but it was tight with pain. Behind them, the snoring of one orc caught again and silence filled the cave.

Thorin cursed silently in his head as they all held their breath waiting for the regular breathing of their sleeping foes to start up again. After a few tense moments, it did. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

Focusing back on what were now his priorities, Thorin took in what he could see of his nephews. They looked, for lack of another way to put it, terrible. He needed Oin to look at them and mentally kicked himself for not thinking of bringing the healer in with him. He needed to get them out of here and to him. He needed to do a lot of things, and looking back upon the pair in front of him he felt both relief and anger bubble around in his stomach. But now was not the time for revenge, not with his kinsmen in this condition, and Dwalin and Gloin looking to him for answers.

"Can you walk?" he asked the pair, forcing his brain to co-operate. Fili grimaced but nodded. Kili looked more doubtful. The youth looked like he wanted to say yes, but seemed to be certain that the small task was pretty much beyond him, at least without help. Thorin sent both his nephews a small, reassuring smile, his nerves stating to rub away as his anxiety worsened the longer they tarried in the midst of their enemy.

Without him needing to give the orders, Gloin and Dwalin swooped in to help the lads to stand. Until this time Thorin had not seen their faces nor their reactions. Both seemed to be trying (and pretty much failing) to hold back their shock at what had befallen their companions, their youngest companions. Dwalin in particular was struggling with his rage. But he held it back as did Thorin, both seeing how scared the two lads already were. There was no need for them to see the wrath of a provoked dwarf with them in this state.

Thorin didn't even know what 'this state' was.

Taking a deep breath, he waited for the soft cries that would come from helping the two to stand. To his surprise (though, if he were being honest with himself, it wasn't all that surprising), no such sounds tore from either dwarf's lips. He felt a surge of pride towards them as he began to lead the way out of the orcish camp.

Halfway to the mouth, he paused to turn to see how the others were faring. Gloin was supporting a pain drunk Fili, guiding his path and keeping him steady. Dwalin was behind them half carrying a half fainting Kili. If the orcs woke now, they would be butchered or worse, Thorin reflected. He kept going.

Between the snores if the orcs and the sound of their feet upon the rocky floor, laboured breathing could be heard within the confines of the cave. They all winced as another bone was sent skimming into the wall. Again they waited for their enemy's breathing to regain its usual sleeping pattern, before moving on. Thankfully they made it past the cave and almost to the rest of the company, before anything went wrong.

A small swallow flew past them, flying between Dwalin and Kili's heads, stirring up a breeze as its wings flapped in time to its own beat. The bird landed upon the nose of one sleeping warg, which then flew up in a growling rage. And then it turned its beastly, yellow eyes upon the company.

Not one member of the group dared to breath.

What felt like ages flew by, and they all thought the warg was prepared to lose interest when the same swallow flew right into Ori, making the timid dwarf jump. The warg started barking at the top of its lungs.

"Run!" yelled Thorin, drawing his sword and falling back to help Gloin move Fili faster. Dwalin had hefted Kili up and over his shoulder before breaking into a run, the youth crying out in pain as he did so. Several of the company's tougher members streamed in at the rear, giving both dwarves some cover, quick to run after him and keep in time with the pace.

They kept up their formation for some time; some at the front, some the back, and the wounded in the middle. It was only when they heard the distinct sound of the now wide awake orcs getting closer that Thorin called for them to stop as he formulated a new plan.

Pushing Fili onto Bombur and Ori, he gestured for Bofur to take his other nephew from Dwalin. The youth had not passed out from the bumpy ride, and managed to stand somewhat unsteadily on his feet. The hobbit came to help support him on the side Bofur did not have.

"The rest of you follow me," he said, regarding the seven warriors in front of him and praying they would be enough, "We will have to fight." The others seemed to understand that, in order to give both Fili and Kili a chance to escape, they would have to hold the enemy back for a long enough period of time.

The regal dwarf gave Bilbo and the three others with his nephews a nod wishing them luck before turning with the others to face the oncoming danger. Here was a chance for him to extract his revenge, yet, as the first orcs - a mix between foot soldiers and mounted warriors - ran towards them, he could not help but let his mind stray back to his nephews. They had seemed so…broken back in the cave. It was unnerving.

They will be fine, he kept telling himself as he tensed for battle, they will be perfectly fine.

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