Chapter 2
Ganon swung his trident and sent the sword-wielding mouse flying, making him hit the side of the Abbey. Meanwhile, his horde of vermin began to terrify the residents of Redwall. "Give us your children, we'll make them raiding beasts!" "I heard Redwall has nice food, give us some!" The Demon King turned and roared at his beasts and the Redwallers. "No! Don't harm any of them! This is between Link and I! Stay back if you wish to live!"
Link walked in a world of whiteness. It was quiet. Then from the white around him came Martin. The warrior mouse stepped up to Link and put his paws on his shoulders. "What are you doing, Hero? Why do you sleep? Awaken, awaken and protect my home. Redwall needs you. You hold my sword in your paws. Use it." Then the mouse lowered his paws and walked away from Link, leaving him in the never-ending whiteness.
The young mouse awoke suddenly. All around him, he could hear roars and screeches. One voice he remembered well. "Find him! Find Link and bring his body before me! This eternal war ends now!" The sound of grass being crushed next to his head caused Link to open his eyes. A form stood above him, blocking out the sun. The beast smiled. "You're in for it, Mouse. I'm Captain Streath. Get up." "Can you not take pity on me? For I am injured." The ill-dressed weasel shook his head. "Not a chance. Get up, or I'll make you." Link slowly reached to his side and stood up. "As you wish, weasel." Captain Streath smiled to himself, happily thinking about how his leader would honor him for capturing the warrior mouse. But he would never see his leader again. Link swung Martin's sword and Captain Streath was no more.
Link emerged from the shadows of the west side of the abbey, favoring his right hind-paw and holding his sword in his left paw. He gazed around the grounds, his gaze flicking away from prone beasts, both good and evil. Skipper evaded two ferrets and ran over to him. "You're hurt! I should've known that when that madbeast hit you, something happened. We've lost a lot of goodbeasts, but so has that no-good gigantic pig! Come on, all that are able are retreating into the Abbey! Follow me and stay close." Skipper took Link's right paw and led him towards the pink sandstone building in the distance.
"Retreat! Fall back to the Darke Tower! We shall invade at another time. Come, my horde, let us take leave of this territory-we have what we came for." Ganon galloped away from the Abbey, his horde trailing behind him, pulling a wooden cart. Inside the cart were four sacks, which contained an ottermaiden, two squirrels, and a mousebabe. One of the sacks began to move and a ferret by the name of General Scratch swung at the sack. "Quiet, you! You'll see daylight soon enough!"
The horde stopped in a clearing, far from the Abbey. The sacks were taken from the cart and flung against a tree. One by one, the captives were released. They watched fearfully as Ganon paced back and forth in front of them, glaring at them every so often. "So...are we going to go after the sword-wielding mouse?" Ganon turned to face the lone rat. "Soon, Hastred. Soon, we will march on Redwall again, and this time, he shall not see dawn...or dusk, depending on what time we strike. Now, they must be gathering their dead. Gather a raiding patrol and kidnap him. Go!" Hastred nodded and went to find suitable warriors for his raiding patrol.
"Well, we threw the dead vermin into the ditch. Now, we must bury our dead with respect. Follow me." Skipper and Link turned from the now-filled ditch and slowly walked to the first batch of fallen woodlanders. "...He shouldn't have been out here..." Skipper bent down and slipped his paws under a prone small mouse. "...Wait..." Link stepped up to Skipper and lowered his head to the mousebabe's chest. Then his head shot upwards. "...Skip...he's alive." "What?" Link began to nod. "Yes. He still lives-get him inside-I'll look for others. Maybe others survived..." Skipper wheeled away from Link and ran towards the open doors of the Abbey. The young mouse watched him enter the structure, then began the dreary task of looking for survivors.
In the end, most of the goodbeasts were still alive. They helped each other inside Redwall and Link began to follow them. But he was weary from his injuries, and he did not notice a rat and other vermin following close behind him. In one swift motion, the rat lifted a sword hilt high above his head and leaped at the young mouse, dealing him a blow to the head. The warrior swayed, half turned, and fell, the Sword of Martin falling to the ground beside him. Hastred lifted the blade and swung it around. "We did it! Hurry, tie him up before he wakes." The other vermin brought ropes and wooden stakes and begun the process of binding the young mouse.