Author's Note: Some climax happening. Finally, right? And for those of you freaking out in the comments from last chapter, didn't I promise you a happy ending? Do you guys seriously doubt my honesty that much to think I'd kill Kili after I promised everything would be okay? ;D Guess I gave you good reason though. And I'm kind of glad in a writer-y way that the story affected you that much. :-D Bwahahahahaaaaa...

Disclaimer: Kili, Fili, Bilbo, Bofur, Gandalf, and any other amazing character in this story does not belong to me.

Definitely Late

Kili heard the swish and plop of a head being knocked off, and all his breath left him in a whoosh. But it wasn't his head. He was still alive. He opened his eyes and saw the head of the tall goblin staring up from the floor in front of him. A strange, wet, gurgling noise came from behind him, and the hold on his ropes lessened.

"You won't touch my brother, filth," Fili's voice spat, and Kili heard the goblin behind him fall to the ground. The sudden release of the pressure holding Kili in his position unsteadied him, and he fell forward. He found his face buried in the fur of Fili's coat before he hit the ground.

"Kili? Kili! We're getting you out of here."

The younger dwarf told himself the tears suddenly stinging the back of his eyes were from the pain of the crushing hug he found himself in, and not the tidal wave of relief that threatened to overwhelm him. He breathed a shaky sigh into Fili's coat, and swallowed.

"Tell me quickly, what have they done to you? Are you alright? Can you run?" Fili's voice was steady, level, and quick, though his little brother felt the tremor of worry in his embrace, which, by the way, hadn't diminished. Fili moved a hand to Kili's head to hug him tighter. Kili felt him stiffen, and shift slightly to look down at his brother.

"Your hair," Fili breathed, "Oh...Kili."

"They pulled my shoulders out of place," Kili muttered, his face still pressed against Fili's shoulder, "my arms won't move. And they…they took my hair. Uncle will kill me."

He was thankful that the flaming blush heating his face was hidden. The thought of facing his Uncle like this really was shameful.

"That's hardly fair," Bofur voice said, coming quickly to their side and feeling probingly over Kili's left shoulder. "Hold on, lad; let's get this fixed. Won't hurt a bit, I promise. Ready? Here we go, one, two, three!"

He jerked and Kili was left breathless with the sudden snap of pain. He glared at Bofur, who grinned apologetically. "Sorry, I lied. Thought you'd take it easier. Other one, ready? On three. One, two-"

Kili clenched his jaw in readiness for "three", but Bofur mercilessly snapped his shoulder back into joint before three came.

"Lied again!" Bofur said, grinning not-so-apologetically, "But you should be able to use 'em now."

He was right; the stabbing, fierce pain had vanished from both shoulders, replaced by a dull ache along both arms.

"Good thing, too," Bilbo suddenly piped up, appearing at Fili's side seemingly from nowhere. "It's a mercy he's mobile; don't know how we'd stand a chance if we had to carry him out- hello!" He suddenly was staring at Kili. "What's happened to his hair, I almost didn't recognize him! It's only about as long as mine."

Kili looked extremely embarrassed, Bofur regretful, and Fili like he would gladly rip someone's arms off at the moment. Bilbo glanced between the three for a second and got what he needed to know.

"Never mind, then, we'll hide it! Here, get dressed, we'll cover it with the hood. It still hangs more or less the same around your face; no one will notice."

Kili bustled into a spare tunic from his pack, (his old one was bloodied and lay shredded beyond recognition on the ground nearby) and pulled the teal-blue hood up over his hair. It did look almost the same, Fili thought, gratefully. Bilbo produced his leather coat. Kili smiled with relief, pulling it on and strapping his sword-belt and quiver on over it. He had to accept some help from his brother, but swallowed his pride for the moment. He kept his bow out and ready in his hand.

"Where are the others? What's the plan?"

"Right," Bilbo said, "Follow m-"

His words were cut off by a horrible shriek of recognition. One of the distracted, confused masses of goblins had spotted them, and at that alarm the heads of all turned to the three dwarves and one hobbit. As one, the whole body of creatures surged toward them along the walkways from every side. They were trapped on the platform in the middle. Kili nocked an arrow to the string and released, felling a goblin at the front of the line. The rest just ran over him, rolling closer like an unbreakable wave. Bilbo drew his glittering blue blade, moving closer with the dwarves until they formed a determined little knot.

Kili slung his bow back over his shoulder and drew his sword, feeling Fili standing close by him. Dying in a last stand, with a hood covering his hair, and his sword in his hand…this was incredibly more agreeable than being bent over, -alone, shamed, helpless- for a beheading.

"Wizards. Where are they when you need 'em?" Bofur quipped, grip tightening around his weapon.

"Precisely where they need to be!" a voice boomed, and the torchlight in the cavern momentarily dimmed before a flash of blinding white light flooded the space and a bone-jarring crash rocked the ground, throwing everyone off balance. Large hands seized Bilbo by the arms and hauled him upright, and guided Kili firmly but gently to his feet, and they found themselves looking at the blue eyes and grizzled face of the wizard.

"Gandalf!" Bofur exclaimed, readjusting his hat, which had fallen over his eyes in the blast.

"Don't…even try to deny it," Bilbo wheezed, "You are most definitely late."

The corner of Gandalf's mouth twitched upward and his eyes crinkled with amusement. A movement to his left caught his glance, though. The goblins were stirring. He turned back to the little group.

"The company is safely out of the mountain, and it remains for us to follow them. Run. Run!"

Author's Note: Sorry. XD Couldn't resist a jab at one of Gandalf's favorite lines. Has anyone else noticed how often he yells "Run. Ruuuun!" in Desolation of Smaug, or "Fight. Fiiiiiggght!" Oh man, I love these movies.