Author Note:

I really enjoyed writing this chapter (In fact, this is one of the few chapters that I wrote in one day straight), so I hope you all like it!

Waycaster: Yep, thought it was about time my name was correct grammar-wise. Though, it's weird sometimes because I'm used to seeing it the other way. XD *Dramatic drumroll* Yes, I do believe that this is the first time that reptiles have appeared in TGW. I doubt that we'll get to see them again, but who knows, we might. I'm glad that you found Baglarr interesting! And no, I haven't introduced him before chapter 50. He's a new guy. :-P

Abrahem: Oh, so you did think that Bugfoot killed the other chieftain. I see. That makes a lot more sense now that I think about it. :-P Thank you for pointing out the vole/hedgehog thing, btw, my editor and I must've missed it the first time 'round. XD Yep, after a few reunions and such, the plot should lead all/most of the PoVs to Salamandastron. Btw, I like your word ["Beastanity."] XD

The Grey Coincidence: Glad I caught ya by surprise! Oh man, that would be awkward if Nightwrath and co sailed across the seas and then figured out that Tragg and the others were free and running about on the mainland. XD

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VERMIN CAMP

Describing Captain Hookarm as 'utterly furious' wouldn't have done it justice. Not by a long shot.

"What th' fur were ye thinkin'!?" He demanded, barging into Baro's tent. He barely stopped to register the fact that Blue-Eyes had returned and was currently talking with the wolverine emperor. The two creatures turned from their conversation to look towards the angry rat.

"Hmm, good evening, Captain." Blue-Eyes said, completely unfazed that he had been interrupted. "What's this all about?"

"I'll tell ye what all of this is 'bout! That, that… imbecile," he pointed a claw at Baro, "He ordered his beasts t' retreat when we were so close t' th' top of th' crater! Fer all we know, right now, we could've been in that mountain, sipping a nice cup of grog an' celebrating our victory, but no." He slammed his fist on one of the thick wooden polls supporting the tent. "Ye had to ruin everythin', didn't ye, yer Emperorship?" He practically spat the last two words out. "King Bloodfur is twice the ruler ye'll ever be. No wonder ye and yer kind are stuck in th' Lands of Snow an' Ice. Nobeast can put up with ye!"

Baro Steelclaws' eyes narrowed, his voice had an icy tone to it. "How dare you? Do you think you can come into my tent and try to pin your own failure on me? The audacity!"

If Baro hadn't been many times the size of him, Hookarm would've plunged the end of his hook deep into the emperor's throat and ended the matter once and for all. He was still entertaining that notion, stacking up the odds of his own survival, when Blue-Eyes suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and half pushed, half led him back out of the tent.

"Ahem, do accept my sincerest apologizes, Emporer Steelclaws. Would you be so kind as to let me and the captain step out and have a word?"

Once he judged they were out of earshot, Blue-Eyes whirled around and glared at Hookarm.

"What in the world were you thinking?" he hissed. Though he spoke in a low tone, his words dripped with disdain. "We can't break the alliance yet. Bloodfur would have your head if he knew you were going to destroy the alliance, and possibly make enemies against Terramort."

"B-but that lying chuck of fur is th' bloody reason my attack failed! Not only that, but now he has it where my own soldiers think that I'm an idiot. They think it's my fault that everythin' was blown t' 'ellgates!"

Blue-Eyes sighed and shook his head sadly. "Indeed. I think that he set you up to fail. I suspected things would evolve into something like this. I've tried my best to prevent it, but you and Baro can't seem to stop butting heads for more than three seconds."

"But what are we going t' do now? How can we make sure that he doesn't send a few of his creatures to slip a blade between our ribs when we're not lookin'?"

"Because I trust that King Bloodfur wouldn't sit calmly and let our dear wolverine friend go unpunished if he killed two of his top captains. I've been with him from the very beginning of his reign. I know how his mind works."

"Hmph. Fat lot of good that would do me if I was dead." Hookarm snorted. Glanced around at the other beasts milling about the camp, he lowered his voice and added, "Maybe it would be wise t' take matters into our own paws…"

Before the one-armed searat had even finished talking, the tall weasel was shaking his head. "I don't think that would be wise at all. And make sure that you drive any other foolish ideas like that out of your head. We'll take care of Baro at a later date. Right now, we need to focus on using him to our advantage." He smirked. "Once Salamandastron falls, I'll actually help you to get rid of that overly-cunning fleabag. But for now, this is what we must do…"

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SALAMANDASTRON

"We sure taught them a lesson! Wot wot."

"I say, those vermin are probably still running for their bally lives, don'tch ya know?"

"They'll think twice about trying to taking our jolly mountain again!"

Lord Rockfur and his paw-picked force of fighters had withdrawn back into the mountain once it was evident that the vermin had had enough, and were running for their lives. The younger hares were chattering up a storm. They were proud of their victory.

Lord Rockfur smiled sadly to himself. How many more of these loyal and brave hares would die before this was over? Would these wars never end?

"How well do you think we did?" Urthblaze asked. Rockfur turned to look at the younger badger in the eyes.

"You all did a marvelous job," Rockfur replied, giving Urthblaze a soft punch on the shoulder. He gazed at the other hares, a pleased look on his face. "All of you did. You've made me proud."

"Thank you, sah."

"It means a lot, sah, coming from you. Wot wot."

"We never would have done it without you." Urthblaze wiped dried blood and dirt off his arm with a rag. They were all filthy from the fighting, so some of the officers had sent for freshly soaked rags for them to clean themselves with.

Rockfur grunted as the wound on his arm began to throb painfully, and he clutched it with his other paw, trying to stop any blood from oozing out. The injury was deep, caused by a skillful axe blow, but the Badger Lord had quickly wrapped it before any of his Long Patrollers had a chance to notice it. His arm would most likely be out of action for a few weeks, but he doubted it would be anything serious. Still, he would report it to the healers once he was sure that his hares' injuries were taken care of.

"Hmm, maybe I'll let you all do the fighting next time. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing. I should get around to retiring one of these days." Seeing their horrified looks, he rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Relax. I'm joking. I'm old, but not that old."

"Correction," Urthblaze grinned, holding up a paw, "You are 'that old', but I'm afraid that we wouldn't let you retire until you were stone deaf, and had mold growing out of your ears."

"Eh?" Rockfur cocked his ear, trying to keep a straight face. "What was that? I can't hear you?"

Their merrymaking was interrupted as they all heard the sound of footpaws thumping urgently from the tunnel ahead. A few moments later, the shape of Colonel Brewster came flying around the corner.

"Sah!" he gasped out upon seeing the Badger Lord. His tired legs nearly gave out underneath him. He would have fallen if Lord Rockfur hadn't hurried forward and held him up gently.

"What is it, Colonel?" Rockfur asked, "What's the matter?"

"Charlie is missing! Nobeast has bloody-well seen so much as a glimpse of him since this morning! I'm afraid that something terrible has happened to him. One of the other cadets, Lagworth, has also vanished, sah! I-I don't know what to do…"

His voice trailed off as they heard another set of running paws, though this time they came from the other end of the corridor.

"Lord Rockfur, sah!" the female cadet gasped out, "Private Eric said to fetch you! A party of vermin bearing a white flag of truce are coming. They said that they want to talk to the lord of the mountain!"

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"Are you sure this is going t' work?" Hookarm asked, shooting a glance at Baro and Blue-Eyes. "What if that badger decides to put the safety of his mountain first, and let us kill th' 'ostages?"

"Oh he'll listen." Baro replied. "He and his hares share a strong bond of loyalty. That's one of the reasons they are such an effective fighting force. They'd be willing to die for each other. Alas, as in many cases, their strength is also their weakness."

Hookarm glanced up at the looming shape of the mountain's gates. Even though he had gotten over his initial anger toward Baro, nothing was forgotten. He rubbed the sharpened end of his hook with a claw. "Hmm, let's 'ope so."

The three leaders were accompanied by a score of searats and ermine. The soldiers cast anxious glances at the carcasses of their dead companions littering the mountainside, impaled by arrows or other projectiles. They hoped that things would go better for them then it had gone for their fallen comrades.

They all started with surprise as Salamandastron's gates swung open with a mighty screak. One of the vermin, a fox, at the sudden sound had dropped his spear. A long, intense glance from Baro's eyes made him hastily retrieve it and stand to attention.

Lord Rockfur and a little more than a score of hares filed out of the mountain. It was easy to see that the Patrollers were prepared for anything, and that they were keeping their weapons at ready. If any ambushes or trickery was planned, the vermin directly in front of them, white flag or no, were going to be the first to die.

The Badger Lord of Salamandastron walked a few paces ahead of his guards. He was still dressed in his armor that he had worn in the skirmish, though, the blood and filth stained on it made him look even more formidable. His left arm was bandaged, but aside from that, he appeared to have no other obvious signs of weakness.

Ever the straight-forward one, Rockfur tilted his head and rumbled out in his deep voice, "So, I'm assuming that you've finally realized how un-wise your attack on my mountain is, and you wish to surrender, correct?"

Baro Steelclaws chuckled, walking forward so that the two leaders were only a few feet apart. "Oh, I don't think so. And even if we did wish to stop the siege, do you think I'd come and ask your permission to?"

"Listen, I have more important things to do with my time than sit here and bandy words with the likes of you. Could you get to the point?"

The wolverine paused, as if considering the request, then nodded. "I think I could do that. Though, I had been hoping to do a bit more boasting and the like, but I guess I shall, as you so nicely put it, 'get to the point'."

He gave his vermin a signal, and two ermine came forward, bearing a large sack.

"Show him." The Emperor commanded, and the two soldiers obediently ripped open the top and spilled the content out, revealing a very confused and disheveled Lagworth.

"What's going on?" The big cadet asked groggily. He squinted his eyes as he tried to get used to the bright sunlight. "What's happening?" Seeing the familiar face of Lord Rockfur, he began to slowly stumble toward him. He stopped as he felt a pair of blades touch his throat and his shoulder blades. "What's going on?" he repeated, desperately looking at Rockfur, "Sah, what are they going to do to me?"

"That, my dear lad," Blue-Eyes interrupted, making his way to stand beside the hare, "is entirely up to your Badger Lord."

Rockfur's face lit up with anger. "You– you, utter vermin," he growled, taking a threatening step forward, "If you harm so much as a patch of fur –" he stopped as Blue-Eyes drew his long rapier in one smooth motion and set his blade on the back of Lagworth's neck.

"Kindly step back, badger. If I'm forced to, I'll kill him right where he stands."

The edges of the Badger Lord's eyes went from light pink back to white as Private Eric came forward and gently pulled his master back a few paces. "Easy, sah," the hare whispered, "We jolly-well wouldn't want you to do something rash, now would we? Wot wot. Let's listen to what they have to say."

Once Baro was satisfied at the distance between Lagworth and Rockfur, he continued to announce his terms. "So this is the deal, Lord Rockfur, I have a hostage, two in fact, that I believe you'll want back. After all, my resources tell me that one of the two cadets that I have is none other than the son of your colonel."

Rockfur's paw gripped his still-sheathed sword's handle. He'd have to try to stay calm for the hostages' sake. If he lost his temper here, they'd be facing certain death. "Get to the point."

"My deal is this: I purpose a duel, a duel that will decide the fate of the two young ones. Both of the champions will meet on equal ground in between our forces and, if your victor wins, we'll release the hostages. The fight will be to the death, of course."

"And what happens if your champion wins?" Rockfur asked.

"Absolutely nothing," the wolverine replied, "The only thing we'll gain is that one of your best champions will be slain."

"You're putting a lot of faith on your champion," Lord Rockfur commented. "May I ask who would be representing your side?"

Baro smiled. "Well, me of course. I haven't been in a good duel in seasons. I think I would enjoy it, actually. It would take place this evening."

The Badger Lord was silent for a few moments. He slowly nodded his head. "Alright, I agree to your terms. Now get your smirking, gloating faces out of here before I order my archers to send a few volleys after you to help increase your speed."

"Thank you, Lord Rockfur." Baro bowed his head smoothly, the action reminded Rockfur of a snake. "I shall greatly –"

"I said get out of here!" Rockfur barked out, unable to keep his anger in check for much longer. He would've given anything to be able to drive his blade through the wolverine's heart. There was a tensed silence as creatures on both sides bunched up and readied their weapons, waiting to see how either side would react first. Baro stared at Rockfur for a few long moments with his piercing glare, then, finally, he turned and silently plodded back away from the mountain, his vermin close behind.

As his captors began to lead him away, Lagworth struggled weakly. But then, he submitted himself to the soldiers and followed them meekly when he realized resistance was futile.

His and Charlie's fate would be decided by the outcome of the duel. One way or another, it would be decided.