"Miss Silverarm!" Kali hummed and opened her eyes to find the small, blurry silhouette of Bilbo standing inside her cell, "Your cell door was unlocked already, why are you still here?"

 She hummed and sat up, putting away her smoldering pipe, "What ever do you mean?"

 "You door," he waved the keys, "It was never locked. Why hadn't you left? Had you not known it to be unlocked?"

 "I don't belong with the Company, Bilbo," Kali didn't move from her spot on the floor, "Leave and lock me in." Lock me in like Celedir failed to do again.

 "Not this again-" Bilbo placed a hand on his hip, "We've no time for this. Why won't you come?"

 "I'm half elf, Bilbo," she told him, "Now go on, call me an outcast and tell me how much of a disgrace I am."

 "You are not a disgrace, Kali Silverarm," Bilbo snapped, reaching down and grabbing her, pulling her to her feet, "Do not listen to what others tell you. You're strong and stubborn just as a dwarf should be. Now come on, you're leaving whether you wish to or not."

 Kali found it best not to argue with Bilbo anymore (who knows how much he's changed since he left Bag End). She began speaking in a defeated tone, "Very well. Go free the others, I will keep a look out."

 And that is exactly what she did. Kali stood by Bilbo's side, looking every-which-way for a sign of movement (of which there was none, as the elves were above having a feast of some sort if Kali remembers correctly) and soon all the Company was free and Thorin was seething, "What is the elf doing from her cell?"

 Kali glared at him, deciding that, since Thorin thinks her an elf, that she shall begin acting as such, "I am helping you to not get caught and beheaded. Follow the burglar now before I alert the guards that the dwarves are free from their imprisonment."

 Dwalin looked to his right, "The stairs! You first, Ori!"

 Bilbo shushed him, "Not that way, down here. Follow me."

 Everyone willingly went, as quiet as they could, where the hobbit went. Weaving down staircases and across stone walkways, several dwarves began groaning. Kili was the most audible, "I don't believe it; we're in the cellars!"

 Bofur blocked Bilbo's path, "You were supposed to be leading us out, not further in!"

 Bilbo sighed, "I know what I'm doing!"

 Kali held a finger to her lips, "Shh!!"

 Bilbo waved an arm, hushing his voice even more, "This way!" soon they were all standing before a stack of sideways barrels, "Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!"

 Dwalin gave Bilbo a very nasty look, "Are you mad?! They'll find us!"

 Bilbo became frantic, shaking his head and hands, "No, no, they won't, I promise you. Please, please, you must trust me!"

 Bilbo looked at Thorin for help. Thorin, hearing commotion out in the distance, gave the hobbit his help, "Do as he says."

 The dwarves stopped arguing and helped each other into the barrels. Kali took a step but was stopped by Thorin's arm, "You stay here."

 "And get caught?" Kali ducked under his arm and away from his grasp, "They think me a dwarf, you think me an elf. Either way, I seem to be screwed so I believe I'll take my chances of being screwed with all you fools."

 As she said this, Dori hoisted her into a barrel that was over Kili and next to Bofur. Kali righted herself and soon all the dwarves had their heads poking out from the top of the barrels, watching Bilbo with curiosity, "What do we do now?" Bofur asked.

 Bilbo grabbed the lever that was off his left, "Hold your breath."

 "Hold my breath?" Bofur repeated (the other dwarves, however, had done just that and held their breath), "What do you mean?"

 Bilbo pulled hard on the lever that was in his hand, the trap door it worked opening up beneath the barrels. As they rolled down into the river, the dwarves all yelling as the barrels fell and hit the water

Kali was completely submerged in water for at least thirty seconds before the buoyancy of her barrel kicked in and she was once again above water, spitting and gasping for the waterless air her lungs needed. 

 Thorin pulled his wet hair away from his eyes and looked around, smiling, "Excellently done-" his smile fell when he couldn't find the hobbit, "Master Baggins?"

 "He's left himself in the cellar!" Ori's statement made all their gazes look back at the trap door above them.

 "Curse that halfling," Kali muttered, rolling her eyes, "He'd forget his own feet if they weren't attached to his ankles."

 "That may be," Thorin looked at her, "But at least he tells us the truth about himself."

Thorin, I swear-"

 Kali stopped her threat when Bilbo fell into the water next to her. He came up spluttering just as Thorin nodded at him, "Well done, Master Baggins."

 Bilbo could only gasp out one word through his half-drowned state, "Go."

 Thorin maneuvered his barrel forward, "Come on, let's go." Every one of the dwarves begun slowly paddling, moving their barrels forward to escape the palace. Just as the tunnel ended, they were covered in blinding sunlight. Thorin was the only one who's vision cleared enough to warn about the oncoming waterfall, "Hold on!"

 Kali blinked once, finally able to open her eyes. She took a deep breath to prepare for the fall but not in time and ended up inhaling a large dose of river water as the rapids pulled her barrel under. She coughed violently, coming back above the surface. Her throat and nose burned, as did her eyes. A combination of the harsh sunlight and rushing water was too much.

 "Holo in-annon!"

 "NO!" Kali shouted, looking around for the source of the command. She'd found it came from Legolas on the shore behind them, "They're closing the gates of the river!"

 Indeed they did. Around a bend of the river was a heavily guarded lookout post and Thorin, who was at the front of the pack, had just reached the small set of barred gates as they closed, "No!"

The barrels began piling up in the small archway, unable to follow the current. The elven guards above unsheathed their swords and readied their bows. The dwarves watched in horror as they were all taken down with long, dark arrows. Some of their bodies fell into to water and sank, their blood dying the clear current. Bofur gasped, "Watch out! Those are orcs!"

The lead orc shouted something at the others and immediately the orcs began jumping on the dwarves, "We're sitting ducks down here!" Kali shouted, shoving aside a large, slimy orc that had grabbed onto her barrel. Maybe they can't swim.

Kili took her shout as a command, apparently, for as soon as Kali shouted this he'd pulled himself from his barrel and leaped onto the orc-ridden shore. Dwalin was the first to notice, "Kili!"

Fili looked around wildly and Kali told him what had happened, "He's gone to pull that dammed gate lever!"

The orcs were swinging at Kili left and right as he neared the lever and Kali hadn't even noticed she'd gotten out of her barrel to follow him until Nori yelled out, "Kali!"

Unarmed, Kali was really no match against the orcs but at least some diverted their attention over to her instead of Kili. He can make it, she told herself over and over again as she pushed orcs away, towards the river. I hope you bastards drown!

The sword that someone had thrown to Kili was dispatched into the ribcage of an orc and Kili continued hopping up the steps to the lever. A short axe flew between Kali and Kili, burying itself into the forehead of another orc that had taken off after Kili.

In the back end of a twirl Kali caught sight of the head orc, an ugly thing with a lopsided head. There was metal bashed into his skull (making it lopsided) and his left eye was really milky white. He had a large bow in his hands and he was drawing the string back, aiming straight at Kili.

Again, Kali's body was acting without the permission of her brain beforehand. Battle lust was the only explanation anyone could offer for what she did. There was shouting and running, the dodging of elven arrows and orcish swords all mixing in with the blurring green scenery.

Kali heard the arrow before she felt it. It whizzed through the air, hurtling towards her, he force of it slicing straight through her knee jerked her, almost sending her flying off her feet. All sounds became muffled and all Kali was alert of was the numb spreading pain through her leg, inching both down to her foot and up into the rest of her. It was unbearable and Kali collapsed in a sweaty, cold, panting mess. Someone called out to her, perhaps it was Balin, Fili, Kili, possibly even Bombur (who never spoke once to anyone), her senses blurred just like the scenery and made it hard to tell. 

*

Kili had heard the others shouting, but he ignored them, keeping his eyes on his target. He needed to get to that lever, and ducking and swerving seemed to be the only thing allowing him to get up those steps. There were elves attacking the orcs, paying no attention to him as he ran. And then there was more shouting from the dwarves in the river, pushing Kili to move faster through the danger. They're cheering for me! They must be-! He was shoved roughly forward in the middle of his thought, away from the lever he was headed for. Kili braced his fall with his hands, the shock jolting up his wrists. Hissing from the sharp discomfort, he pushed himself over onto his side to see who or what had caused his fall. 

Kili's heart stopped when he saw Kali. She was frozen, locked in place with an arrow protruding from her right knee. With a groan she fell backwards and Kili stumbled to his feet, "Kali!" the lever! he reached up and wrapped his arms around it, pulling down with all his weight. When the gate successfully opened and the barrels began moving, Kili scooped Kali up, "Kali!"

Kali groaned angrily, "Put... put me down!" she rolled from his grasp and stumbled towards the river on her own, her knee refusing to work at all (let alone correctly) and Kili watched her slide back into her barrel. She shouted out when the arrow's shaft broke off on the side of the barrel and she slumped over, heaving.

"Kili!" Fili shouted at his brother, urging him to move faster. Kili jumped into his own barrel just as it went over the waterfall.