They had broken out into a run as soon as they had joined forces, rushing off in their group of three to reach Ravenhill as quickly as they could with Tauriel and Athena in the lead, Legolas slightly behind them. They pushed themselves out of the city of Dale and towards Ravenhill, dashing up unstable staircases covered in layers of snow.

They eventually made it to a dilapidated walkway underneath their destination, the dark ruined tower hovering over them. They stopped running when they laid eyes on a cloud of war bats circling the tower before swooping down and making their way to the main battlefield, fear striking Athena's heart at the realisation that they were too late to warn them about the oncoming Orcs.

"No," Tauriel whispered from beside her in disbelief.

"Bilbo was on his way too, maybe he already managed to warn them," she informed her to try and keep some hope alive in their hearts.

The bats flew over their heads on the way to the battle and she watched as Legolas jumped to grab onto the leg of one passing by, being carted off to the ruins of Ravenhill. She watched him flying away, astounded by his actions and the weightlessness of Elves, but soon her eyes landed on something that sent alarm coursing through her—Kili was engaged in a battle with Orcs atop the ruins.

"Kili!" She yelled over Tauriel's whisper, but he could not hear her over the confrontation. "Come on!" She snapped the Elf out of her trance, the both of them sprinting towards his position.

They meandered their way through the ruined fortress in their haste to get to Kili, but something caused Athena to stop in her tracks while Tauriel continued on her journey. Her breath caught in her throat, placing a hand on the shattered wall beside her to keep her steady, her legs threatening to buckle underneath her.

Fili lay on the floor before her, but he was unmoving, his eyes staring at the sky above them.

"No," she whispered in denial, shaking her head to herself as she refused to believe what she was seeing, but it took only one look at him for her to know the truth that she so desperately didn't want to admit.

His smile had faded, his skin had already begun to turn paler underneath the flakes of snow that dotted his cheeks. His eyes devoid of the life that he had once loved. They were too late to save him.

"Kili!" The distant cry of Tauriel snapped her from her daze.

There was no time for her to mourn for her fallen brother, not while there was another that was still in danger. She blinked away the tears that blurred her vision before spurring herself forwards, following the trail of Orc corpses until she rejoined Tauriel.

"Kili!" She cried out in desperation when she stood beside her, her eyes glancing from left to right for any sign of the Dwarf.

"Athena!" She heard him call out in response.

She took a step to follow the direction of his voice but was unable to go any further, a great force barrelling into her and flinging her to the floor underneath. She cried out from the searing pain that shot through her back at the collision, distantly hearing Tauriel's own pained reaction before she shook her head to alleviate the ringing in her ears.

She pushed herself to stand, pulling out her sword when she saw Tauriel engaged in combat with an Orc much larger than the others, only a little smaller than Azog himself. He was far more hideous than any of the other Orcs she had encountered and he was clad in Orcish armour that appeared to be embedded into his skin.

She charged at him with a shout of frustration and pain from both the physical and mental anguish she was enduring. Her sword met the handle of his mace, her arms immediately feeling the weight of Bolg's strength against them. She was easily overpowered, and she knew from that encounter that she stood no chance against him in direct conflict. Her arms threatened to give way underneath the force so she stepped to the side before pulling her sword from his, swinging it at his side as she moved but he anticipated the action and dodged the swinging blade before sending her flying into the wall.

Her head cracked against the stone before she fell to the floor, her sword falling to the ground beside her while she groaned from the impact, raising a hand to her head before pulling it away and gazing at the familiar thick red substance. She turned her head to the side to see Tauriel suspended in the air, Bolg with his hand wrapped around her throat. Without needing to think she shot herself forwards, raising her leg and thrusting her foot into the back of his knee—though it did no permanent damage it did startle him and gave the Elf the opportunity to fight back against him for the time being.

Athena stepped back to collect her sword from the floor, the ice burning her fingertips before Tauriel was thrown her way, she ducked to avoid the flying woman before positioning herself in front of her, her sword clutched in both hands as Bolg's heavy footfalls approached her. He raised his mace menacingly in the air as he approached the injured woman that stood to defend the incapacitated Tauriel, her blood pounding in her ears while she took a deep breath to push down her panic at facing off such a sturdy opponent.

But he never reached her because Kili had launched himself down onto the head of the foul Orc. He was thrown to the stairs almost as quickly as he had latched himself onto Bolg before spinning around and attacking him with his sword.

"Duck!" She yelled when seeing him about to swing his mace, the Dwarf doing so without hesitancy and narrowly missing the blow.

She launched herself into combat with Bolg, hoping that if they all worked together they'd be able to take him down. Despite his size he had fast reflexes, but surely he wouldn't be able to defend himself against three people hellbent on taking him down, right? But she was wrong, and instead she collided with the blunt handle of his mace and was sent tumbling to the edge of the clearing that they stood on, coughing from the power of the blow to her stomach. She was only able to catch her bearings when she felt herself slide off the edge of the precipice, reaching out her hands to grab onto a protruding rock to keep herself from falling over the edge entirely, her lower half dangling in the air while her feet tried to find a place to rest, but the rock was smooth beneath them and she did not have the strength to pull herself up.

The sound of a body rolling beside her caused her to divert her attention to the others, Tauriel now lying beside her with Kili in the unwavering grip of Bolg. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Bolg raise the sharpened end of his mace before plunging it into Kili's chest. She opened her mouth to scream but the words got caught in her throat. Her eyes briefly met the Dwarf's, her eyes screaming the regret that she felt for not being able to save him or his brother while his were only filled with love and forgiveness before they shifted over to Tauriel.

He took his last breath and his body fell to the floor with a deafening thud, her eyes landing on Bolg as he stepped towards the women with his mace raised in the air to finish the job that he had started, but Tauriel was filled with rage and pushed herself from the ground, launching herself at the Orc who had taken Kili from them. After a brief grapple with him they were sent flying over the edge.

"Tauriel!" Athena hoarsely cried out, finally finding her voice as she stretched out an arm to her in an attempt to save the Elf from the fall but her plan backfired when their hands met and she was pulled down with the both of them.

She was sent rolling down the cliff face, her body being flung against the stone and cut against the sharp edges before she came to a stop on one of the many rocks. Her bruised and battered body lay there, her mind fighting off the darkness that threatened to consume her. It took everything inside her to keep her heavy eyelids from shutting, the snow biting at her fingertips while she stared numbly up at the sky above her.

More than ever she regretted the decision that she made to leave them, whether her presence would have made a difference to the outcome she would never know, but she would have rather been with them and fought beside them and fallen with them than live in a world without them. A large part of her was willing for her to give in to the darkness, to allow it to take her wherever it was that she was to go after death. But there was still a spark inside her, a spark that told her to keep going and to keep fighting—to keep living in their honour.

Her head lolled to the side, her eyes resting on the culprits of the distant sounds of raging battle. Legolas and Bolg were engaged in a fight atop a crumbling tower that was being used as a walkway. The more she watched the hideous beast the more she felt anger boiling up inside of her. He had been the reason for Kili's downfall, and though she did not know what tragic end had befallen Fili she knew that it was the Orcs who were responsible.

Ignoring the throbbing in her limbs she pushed herself to sit up, reaching her numbed hand into her boot and pulling out the sole dagger she had hidden there. Her fingers wrapped around the wooden handle, gripping onto her last weapon before she launched herself at the Orc that had Legolas' sword underneath his arm, a battle cry to rival a thousand armies escaping her as she thrust the blade into the top of his head, twisting it until his body went limp beneath her. The tower that he stood on shook under the added weight before the stone began to fall apart.

She had expected to fall with Bolg, but instead she felt a hand grab onto her arm and haul her back over to safety without a second to spare. As soon as her feet hit the ground her legs buckled underneath her, her knees crunching against the snow as she collapsed into a heap on the ground, allowing the agony of losing her chosen brothers to seep into every part of her. She was so lost in the consuming pain that she barely felt the hand that was tentatively placed on her shoulder, choking on her tears while her screams became lost in the wind.