Aramis had just prayed saying that he would give himself to God when he heard something explode. He had no idea what could make a noise loud enough to be heard even where he was.

What difference does it make what or where it is, he thought. I will be dead soon, he continued despondently.

Shortly after the explosion, he heard another sound,one that caused his head to whip rapidly around to look at the door to his cell.

Almost disbelieving, he watched as Athos swung the cell door open, keys dangling from his fingers, having stepped over the body of the guard stationed not far from his was right behind him.

"How..." Aramis began, only for Athos to quiet him, saying, " D'Artagnan has ptovided, shall we say, a little distraction. We will explain later. We need to move now," reaching down with a key to unlock Aramis' shackles. He swore when he saw the shape Aramis' wrists were in.

Once his hands were released, Porthos reached out to assist his brother to his feet, his efforts coming to an abrupt halt as Aramis let out an agonized cry of pain.

"Porthos growled, "I knew Rochefort would hurt him!" before asking Aramis, "How bad is it?"

"I can walk," he said with determination, but his voice shook with reaction.

Porthos looked highly doubtful, but once more tried helping his brother up. Aramis hissed in pain, but stubbornly persisted.

Once he finally made it to his feet, Porthos wrapped an arm around his shoulder to assist him, but Aramis cried out again.

Porthos, now worried sick at what could be wrong and exchanging a look with Athos, shifted his helping arm to Aramis' waist, and they silently began to make their way out of the cell and down the corridor. Athos led the way, pistol drawn.

Incredibly, it seemed to Aramis, they encountered no guards until they had arrived near the little-used back entrance. But his body began to betray him as he struggled to keep up with his brothers. Pain was shooting through his body from what he had endured at Rochefort's hands the past few days.

Their luck seemed to run out when two Red Guards, snarls on their faces, appeared and began stalking towards them, pistols a moment later, the snarls were abruptly changed to shock, as one was taken out by a suddenly appearing and fast-moving d'Artagnan, and then the other by Athos.

They moved through the door as quickly as possible, afraid that the sound of the pistols would attract other Red Guards.

Once they made it through the door, Aramis' body finally gave out, and he collapsed. Porthos caught him before he hit the ground, but he had already lost consciousness, his body now totally limp.

"Let us get him back to the Bonacieux home. Rochefort has obviously taken out his anger on him," Athos said, face grim, and eyes very worried now.

Porthos lifted his brother up into his arms, and they continued their escape. Sticking to the sidestreets and back alleys, they encountered no more opposition, closing the door behind them after Constance welcomed them into her home.

She took one look at Aramis and said, "This way," leading them down her hallway to d'Artagnan's old room when he had lodged with them.

Laying him down gently on the bed, they quickly but carefully divested him of his clothing, exposing the results of Rochefort's jealous wrath upon his captive victim.

There were cuts, burns, slashes scattered over a good portion of his body. But it wasn't until they had decided they had better check in back also that they saw the worst of the mad Comte's handiwork.

Bold angry red marks slashed their way into and across the flesh of his back.

"He flogged him!" Porthos angrily burst out. "I'll kill him!"

Athos and d'Artagnan were no less incensed, but didn't utter a word. Their eyes, however, expressed horror and anger, and a silent promise of retribution that now dwelt in all of them's hearts.

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Once they had cleaned and bandaged his damaged body and given him some of his own pain medicine, his weary eyelids closed in the sleep his captivity and pain had denied him.

Aramis slept for several hours after the escape.

Finally awakening, he looked up into the worried eyes of his brothers.

His first words were to ask about Anne and their son.

"They are still at the palace, Aramis," Athos told him. "Rochefort emptied it of everyone else except his Red Guards. I believe they are still unharmed."

Aramis' face looked agonized at this news.

"She is all alone with that monster! I have to go..."

"Aramis, you are in no condition to go anywhere. We will take care of the situation," Athos said.

"She needs me. She probably thinks I'm dead already," the marksman continued. "I have to...," trying to lift his legs off the bed.

"Aramis, please. Lie down. We will get to her. I promise you," Athos swore.

Porthos and d'Artagnan echoed his promise. Aramis could see that he was going to get nowhere. They would not allow him. He sank back down onto the pillows, even the small amount of movement exhausting him.

But when his brothers had prepared their weapons and were heading for the door, Constance with them, he spoke up again.

"I am coming with you."

Athos, a look of slight exasperation on his countenance, responded, "Aramis, we have been over this already. You are in no shape to come with us. You can barely walk. How can you fight..."

"They will not get close enough to me that I will need to fight hand-to-hand," he said persistently. "Can you, any of you, shoot a firearm like I can?"

Aramis hadn't meant it as a boast, just fact. They all knew he was the best shot probably in the whole of France.

Still, Athos denied his coming once again. "We will not risk losing you, brother."

And then Aramis said quietly, "Once you leave, I will make my own way to the palace," his eyes pleading with them to understand that he had to come.

At this, Athos heaved a big sigh in defeat. "You know we cannot stop you once we are gone." Another sigh, then, "Very well, you may come. But please, Aramis, for our sakes, be as cautious with your life as possible. We nearly lost you once. We do not wish to face that prospect again."

Aramis, knowing how much his brothers loved him, nodded. Then, swinging his legs slowly and carefully over the side of the bed, he stood, trying his best not to sway to the side as he stood arming himself in preparation.

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As you've read, I was not really happy with who rescued him. I understand that a lot of fans loved it, but just personally, I really didn't like the uncalled-for sarcastic comments the writers gave Milady, when he had just been expecting guards to be coming to drag him off to one of the most horrendous forms of execution ever invented.

I also think our guys would have come up with an alternate way for them to be able to get into the prison, so they could come and rescue Aramis. They could be very inventive during the series. This is just my take on that way.

The ending chapter of this tag will be a 'little' different, too.