Chapter 25

It was the strangest sensation, running full-pelt through the woods with no light. It was by sheer luck that the pine marten didn't trip over any roots or run straight into a tree. Before, he had always been able to see these things, and now, he might as well have been blind.

Behind him, Miru could still hear the roaring of Zurzak, and was convinced he'd soon feel the wildcat's claws sink into his back.

But the more he ran, the quieter Zurzak's screams became. Yet Miru ran on, feeling the familiar sensation of his feet slamming into the hard earth, branches scratching at his arms and face, the wind blowing through his ears...

Finally, the gasping pine marten could run no more, and leaned forward with his paws on his knees. He heaved in as many gulps as he could... and suddenly became away of how silent the woods had become. Gone was the sound of screeching, nor were there any hints of pursuing footsteps.

Zurzak wasn't following him. At least not yet...

Swallowing, and wiping sweat from his neck and forehead, the pine marten stumbled onwards, realizing he would have to find a hiding place or-

-he heard something.

Blinking, Miru stretched out an arm and felt the rough bark of a tree, and huddled down next to it, trying to calm his battering heart. The frazzled pine marten strained his ears to find which direction the sound was coming from, fearing the worst. As he listened, however, he realized that it couldn't possibly be Zurzak. It sounded much too high-pitched to be the wildcat... and it sounded like gasping... and sobbing...

Suddenly getting a good idea of who the sound belonged to, and which direction it was coming from, Miru eased himself to his feet and set off, his eyes growing used to the darkness. Within moments the sobbing became more pronounced. Careful not to upset any fallen branch or bump into any trunk, the pine marten stealthily made his way to the source of the sound: Rocc, curled up at the base of a tree, crying as if his heart were breaking.

Despite this, Miru's first instinct was anger towards the squirrel. He hadn't tried to fight Zurzak like his friends had. He hadn't even tried to help them. All the cringing little brushtail had done was drop his sling and run off! Noticing a stick just by his footpaw, the seething pine marten stooped down, picked it up, and snapped the stick in two.

Rocc gasped and squealed, jerking his head upwards. "Who... who's there?" he stuttered, eyes darting about in their sockets.

Miru stepped into view, his own eyes hard as diamonds.

"You left us."

Hardly looking relieved to see that it was only the pine marten, the trembling Rocc got to his feet. His wide eyes and cheek-fur were damp with tears. "I didn't mean to! I was scared."

"And do you think I wasn't?" Miru snarled, taking a step forward. "That monster is after me, you had nothing to worry about! None of you did, and yet it was poor Marok and Soilburr who stayed and fought and were struck down! And I stayed too! I didn't go running the first moment when things got hard! You coward!"

Sniffling, but also glaring, Rocc took his own step forward. "Coward? What about you? You say that you stayed, and yet here you are! Where are Marok and Soilburr now, eh? Did you teach them a magic trick on how to become invisible? No, you ran too! Any fool can see that! You didn't try to stop and help them, even after they risked their necks for you! No, you took to your own feet and ran too! Well you can call me a coward all you like, at least I know I'm not a hypocrite! A lying hypocrite!"

Without thinking, Miru lifted his right arm and gave the squirrel a back-pawed slap, just like how he had seen his father give an upstart soldier so many seasons ago.

Smack!

Rocc staggered, clutching his cheek and staring at the marten with wide, burning eyes. He then shot his own paw out, raking Miru's face with his sharp dewclaws.

Scratch!

Hissing and stumbling back, the pine marten made a fist, pulled back his arm and shot it forward with all the strength he could muster - making direct contact with the end of Rocc's nose.

WHAM!

The squirrel, taken by surprise, lost his footing and fell backwards, landing on his rump with a thud.

Neither creature moved after that, aside from their chests heaving, and Rocc clutching tenderly at his bleeding nose.

Miru stood over the squirrel, thunderstruck at what had just transpired. He, Miru... he, the former frail prince... the sickly pine marten who once could barely hold a spoon in his shaking, bony paws... had just toppled another living beast...

Somehow, reason returned to Miru, and the young marten's eyes watered as he realized that he had struck down a creature he once called friend.

Placing a paw over his mouth, Miru whispered, "Oh, Rocc... I'm so sorry..."

"No," the squirrel responded, his voice slightly nasally as he staunched the bleeding. "I'm the one who should be sorry." He sniffed, and looked up with wet eyes. "I didn't have any reason to run. You did, though. The wildcat's after you..."

The pine marten shook his head. "But the doesn't mean... I shouldn't have hit you..."

"I scratched you," the squirrel shrugged, a small smile playing about his lips. "I'd say we're about even."

As inappropriate as it was, Miru found himself giving a brief smile as well. He then extended a paw down and helped Rocc to his footpaws. "Alright then... what do we do now?"

Rocc, after making certain his nose had stopped bleeding, said, "Well... we came out here to find Skip. Only now we're separated from Marok and Soilburr. We have no weapons, no light, and we have no idea where we are. Oh, and there's a crazy wildcat somewhere out there that'll probably kill me before carrying you off... by the way, could you explain again just why he's after you?"

"In all honesty, I don't know," Miru replied quietly. "I think he told me once why he was, but I've long forgotten it. All I know is that it seems he's been after me all my life, for whatever reason, and chances are I won't be rid of him... unless.."

"Unless I refresh your memory," said a voice that didn't belong to either squirrel or marten.

...a small smile began to form on the lips of Skipper, causing Rasouk to smile wider-

-until the otter suddenly spat in his face.

The fox squawked and rubbed furiously at his eyes while Skipper teetered to his feet and headed towards the den's exit-

-only to be seized by his rudder and flung into the opposite wall.

"That ain't nice, Skip!"

Slightly winded, Rorac growled in response, "Less than what you deserve, fox!"

The otter stumbled forward, only to be struck in the face by Rasouk. Snarling, Skipper whirled his arm at the fox's head, knocking his foe down. The fallen Rasouk, however, was not bested yet. He lunged forward and sank his teeth into the otter's leg.

Bellowing in pain, Rorac pounded his fist on the fox's back, and when he felt Rasouks' jaws loosen, he yanked his leg free and slung his rudder around, catching the fox in his midriff. Rasouk gasped for air, holding his stomach. Skipper pounced, wanting to pummel every inch of that damn fox's body!

But Rasouk was no stranger to brawling. He managed to lock his legs around the otter's waist, grabbing Rorac's neck with one paw and twisting his ear with the other. Choking and growling, the otter sank his claws into the fox's back, and soon the two were rolling about in the dirt, locked in combat, punching, kicking, biting, scratching, scowling and grimacing.

Finally the two were separated after they each simultaneously pushed the other away. In separate corners, the two animals caught their breath, glaring across the den at each other.

Rasouk sneered, saying, "You don't fight half as well as I expected you to."

"Let's say I'm trying not to kill you," rumbled Rorac. "I want you to suffer. Just like you made me suffer!"

"I made you suffer? Oh come now, we both know that's a bald-faced lie! It was you, yourself, that made you suffer, not me. You were the one who killed that squirrel. You were the one who ended that poor creature's life just when it was starting to get good. You were the one-"

Rorac howled with rage and lunged. Rasouk, however, lunged as well, only off to the side. The otter missed the fox by inches, and soon Rorac found Rasouk's arm locked around his neck, while the fox's free paw grabbed hold of the otter's arm. Rasouk held the otter's neck far tighter than he ever had before; he was very close to throttling Skipper.

In his normal state, Rorac would have been able to throw the fox off of him. But now, after barely surviving a savage fight with Zurzak, weeks of lying in bed and growing soft, and being knocked on the head, the otter was not in the best of shape. Fruitlessly tugging at Rasouk's arm with his free paw, the otter swayed about, the world starting to go blurry before his eyes.

Finally he gave up and knelt down, scrambling to find something to hit or stab the fox with, a rock or Rasouk's knife. But neither of these things seemed to want to materialize to assist Skipper. Grunting, the otter did all that he could do: stagger back to his footpaws and slam himself and Rasouk backwards into the wall as hard as he could.

The fox grunted on the impact, but still held fast.

Rorac repeated the process, again and again, and finally felt Rasouk's grip loosen.

It was all the otter needed. He yanked the offending limb from around his neck and threw the fox off his back. Only to collapse next to him on the ground.

The two creatures lay there in the dirt, breathing deeply, covered in scratches and bruises. They lay there for uncounted minutes, before Rorac choked out,

"You... betrayed me."

Rasouk turned his head to stare at the otter. "Wh... what?"

"You... betrayed - me," the otter repeated. He did not look at the fox, but stared up at the ceiling. "You told... my secret... after you... promised..."

Rasouk blinked, and guiltily looked up at the ceiling as well. "I didn't... mean to. ...He... Zurzak... forced it... outta me. ...It's... hard to be brave... around... him."

Rorac slowly shook his head. "You still... betrayed me."

"Skip..."

"An' don't call me 'Skip.' I'm not a Skipper anymore." The otter paused, taking a few more deep breaths. "My whole world... is gone. Thanks... to you."

The fox rolled himself over onto his side, his face almost sad. "Rorac... I didn't mean to tell Zurzak your secret. He forced it out of me, honest. And what's more, he seemed to have already guessed about you. He told me he saw you coming from here one night. You must not have seen 'im. And he already knew your name when he asked me and... well... he just seemed to know how to ask all the right questions. And there were those claws of his.

"Admit it, Sk- er, Rorac. You were scared of 'im, too. You were ready to go in there, into the abbey, and get your pal, weren't you? But then as soon as Zurzak was outta sight, you were able to get brave again, no? You were able to resist him when he wasn't around, but he never left me alone. There was no chance for me to get my nerve back.

"But... what's done is done, Sk... Rorac. We can't go back and rewrite history. The only thing we can do is decide what we're going to do in the future. And now," the fox continued, sitting up and leaning over the otter, "is the time to decide where we're going to go-"

Whack!

"Ugh!"

Rasouk fell limply on top of Rorac. The startled otter shoved the unconscious fox off of him-

-and saw a grimly grinning Marok standing over him, holding the one and only sword of Martin in his paw, a beaming Soilburr by his side.

"Wha...?"

"Hello, there, Skip!" was all the mouse said as he and the mole helped Rorac to his feet.

"Hurr, you'm certainly look'm loike you'm been 'it upside ee head with ee gurt hammer!" chuckled Soilburr.

"What...? How...?" Rorac was flabbergasted. He hadn't heard the two come into the den, how were they able to just appear out of thin air?

Seeming to guess the otter's thoughts, Marok explained, "We wandered by and found the entrance to this place, but thought it wasn't such a good idea to just come barging in. So Soilburr here dug another tunnel. We were able to walk in all nice and undected!"

"Hurr, you'm never heard us'n once!" said Soilburr, grinning ear to ear.

Finally getting a hold of his senses, Rorac seized the two youngbeasts by their shoulders, causing them to wince. "What are you both doing outside the abbey? Why did you follow me? Don't you realize how much danger you two could be in?" Suddenly he realized something. "Where're Rocc and Miru? Why aren't they with you? Did something happen? Tell me what happened!" he yelled, shaking the mouse and mole.

"If you'd stop asking something so many questions," Marok groaned as he released himself and Soilburr, "we'll tell you!"

Getting a hold of himself, the otter took a step back. "You're right, you're right... I'm sorry. But, please, tell me! Quick."

"We know, Skip," Marok said softly. "Martin told us. Everything, Skip. We know what happened with the squirrel, and with the fox, and with the wildcat."

Rorac squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face away. Even though he already expected them to know all about him, he still couldn't look at them... wait, did Marok say that Martin, and not Miru, had told them?

"And we want you to come to the abbey with us."

The otter's eyes opened and he turned his face back to stare at them, stunned.

What?

Marok gripped Rorac's paw, looking up at him with steady eyes. "It was an accident, Skip. You didn't mean to harm anybeast! You don't have to leave Mossflower just because of an accident. You're still a Redwaller, Skip, you're one of us!"

"But I..."

"Talk to the abbot. Talk to Streamsleek. They'll help you. They'll counsel you. They'll understand, just like I understand, and like how Soilburr here understands, and Rocc and Miru..."

"...Where are Rocc and Miru?" the otter asked quietly.

Marok swallowed. "We had a run-in with the wildcat."

"What?"

"Rocc and Miru ran off," the mouse quickly said. "Miru threw his lantern at the cat, he caught on fire, and they ran off before he could get them. It was dark and we couldn't find their tracks-"

"Well I will!" Rorac hurtled towards the den's exit without a backwards glance.

Marok made to follow the otter, but was stopped by Soilburr.

"Hurr, shouldn' we'm tie up ee fox?" the mole wondered.

The mouse glanced at the still-unconscious form of Rasouk, hesitated, and shook his head. "There's no time, we have to follow after Skip! Come on!"

The pine marten's eyes widened, and his paw was seized by Rocc, who screamed, "Run!" And Miru found himself being almost dragged along by the squirrel, his already tired legs feeling like they were about to fall off.

How did Zurzak do that? How was he always able to sneak up like that? How could such a big creature move with such stealth?

The forest seemed to have grown much thicker, for now even more branches and bushes and rocks impeded the squirrel and marten as they raced through the woods. It was like everything was trying to enclose on them, bar them from any escape from the pursuing wildcat.

"Dernwyyyyyyyynnnnnn!"

The bloodcurdling cry made Miru run faster. He no longer cared how scratched and bruised he would have to become in order to escape that thing. His wrist hurt from Rocc's grip on it, and several times the squirrel would yank him in a different direction, trying to throw Zurzak off the trail. Miru thought his entire arm would rip right out of his socket any time soon.

He would even find himself having to climb over logs or narrowly missing a boulder as they ran. He could barely see anything, but it seemed Rocc had better night-vision than the marten, so Miru allowed the squirrel to take the lead. Part of him wondered why Rocc didn't try to get them up a nearby tree, but realized that would take too long; Miru had never been a tree-climber and Rocc knew it. They had to remain on the ground.

Suddenly the marten was abruptly pulled down when Rocc tripped over something, and the two youngbeasts found themselves tumbling down a hill. Miru managed to grab hold of a rock sticking out of some moss, but Rocc lost his grip on his friend's arm. The next thing the marten heard was a loud splash, and was suddenly aware of the sound of running water.

Rocc had fallen into a river!

Realizing this, Miru released his hold on the rock and slid down the hill, managing not to fall in. He could barely make out Rocc's head floundering in the water, hanging desperately onto a large branch overhanging the bank.

"Miru!" the squirrel gurgled, splashing frantically.

The pine marten positioned himself as firmly as he could on the bank, reaching out as far as he could. "Grab my paw!" he called over the rushing water. "Grab my paw! Hold on!"

"Miru!" the squirrel screamed again, and Miru realized that Zurzak was yet again upon him.

Without a backward glance, the pine marten dove into the water next to Rocc.

For a brief second, everything was muffled and calm as the water closed in over Miru's head, and then things became loud and frenzied as he resurfaced: Rocc was screaming and gasping, Miru himself was coughing and heaving, the cold water was splashing and foaming... and up there on the bank, stood a towering mass of black, roaring out those now dreaded words: "Little prince!"

All of that was gone in a flash as the current carried Miru off. And as the pine marten struggled to stay above water, trying to remember all that he had been taught about swimming, he was suddenly swallowed by the river, back into that quiet, indistinct world... where all was cold and dark.

A/N: Again, sorry for such a short chapter, but hey, at least you didn't have to wait long for it. And heh, I guess I'm starting to like all these cliffhangers. I hope to keep you all on the edge of your seat until the end. ;)

Also, fun fact: that last bit with the river was actually inspired by the movie "Return to Oz." If you haven't seen that, I strongly reccomend that you do, because it is an awesome movie. :D