"That is unacceptable!", Gregor watched Luxa standing before the Death Rider, hands to her hips. "I am not LEAVING now! Not before –"

Surprisingly enough, Aurora approached her from behind. "This mission was to save Stellovet, was it not?"

Luxa turned to her bond, mouth agape in protest, but the outcast raised his voice now. "Yes. Luxa, you were complaining earlier about how I dragged you and your family into my feud. Well, now, you have to take your family – and Hera with her pups – home. You have to fly with them and protect them. You have what you came for", he glanced at Stellovet who stood beside her brother, "let me and Death finish our own objective."

Luxa wanted to protest, her whole posture was defensive and determined, but she had run out of arguments.

"You need to go... now, before they notice the fliers are gone and send reinforcements", the outcast urged, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her towards Aurora.

Luxa unwillingly approached her bat but glanced back. "You want to take them all on your own?", she asked hesitantly, and Gregor suddenly realized that it wasn't just pride and stubbornness, that made her want to stay – she was worried about the Death Rider.

But he simply grinned. "Death and I are more than able to take down a few rats, you don't have to worry about us."

"Last time we saw you, I heard you complain how you weren't able to fight anymore after you had lost your eye", she mumbled and Gregor listened up. She had a point.

But the outcast simply chuckled. "I did. But...", he exchanged knowing glances with Thanatos, "I solved that problem. For good."

Howard now frowned. "How do you... SOLVE something like that?"

The Death Rider grinned. "You know what?", he chuckled at Luxa, "I'll tell you the next time we meet. Kay?"

Luxa bit her lip and looked away. "If... you are indeed as strong as you say. If... there WILL be a next time..."

He smiled again, this time his expression was mischievous, yet a little solemn. "Oh, you aren't getting rid of me that easily. I have no plans to die... anytime soon." He turned away from them and fastened one of the pockets around Thanatos' lower body.

Gregor suddenly listened up. I have no plans to die... he had the weird feeling he had heard that phrase before... somewhere. But he couldn't begin to remember where.

"Alright... then", Luxa sighed and clenched her fist. "Your battle is yours. If Tonguetwist is indeed the reason... why you became an outcast, I can hardly deny you the right to kill her."

She climbed onto Aurora's back. When Howard wanted to mount up behind her, Ares asked if he wouldn't want to ride with Stellovet on his back, because he assumed he wanted to stay close to his sister and Hera had her own pups to carry. It had taken the outcast a couple hits with his black blade, Gregor could never remember its name, something with Char-, that Thanatos had brought with him, to destroy the shackle around Hera's foot, and she claimed she was fit to fly.

Howard hesitated, but then took Stellovet to ride with him on Ares, dismissively eyeing how Gregor mounted up behind Luxa on Aurora. Thanatos exchanged a few words with the bats in their tongue to make sure they knew the way, and then the three lifted off.

"Fly you high!", the Death Rider called and raised the black sword in the air to salute them.

"Fly you high, Death Rider!", Luxa called, "Fly you high!", Gregor shouted as well, Stellovet followed. Howard remained silent at first, but apparently, his sister had elbowed him, causing him to add his own, little enthusiastic "Fly you high."

Aurora, who had lifted off behind Hera and Ares, had just exited the tunnel that led to the prison cave when Gregor heard the first angry screams. The claw of a leaping rat missed Aurora only by inches before she gained altitude and left them behind, hissing and screaming of anger and frustration.

When they, at last, exited the area around the arena, leaving the echoing calls of the rats behind finally, Gregor allowed himself to relax for the first time. Ares led the way through a few tunnels, Gregor had no idea where they were going, but he had learned to trust the instincts and sense of orientation of the bats, over the course of his last few quests.

They flew for maybe half an hour, and throughout the entire time, he remained silent. There were a hundred things he would have wanted to talk about to Luxa, but he had no idea how to start a conversation, after what they had just gone through. Gregor almost felt like he was wasting an opportunity to talk to her, but he couldn't bring himself to speak up.

When the bats flew out of the opening of a tunnel into the cave with the familiar lake, Howard called for a break. Hera wasn't strong enough to fly for a long period of time, and Ares and Aurora weren't at their full strength either, after days in chains.

The bats fished and Howard lit a fire to grill the food. Gregor was halfway through his first fish when he suddenly realized something – "It was not a trap", he concluded, "Dalia did not free the bats to lure us into a trap. You were wrong!"

Something within Gregor was happy. He still saw the frail, gentle face of the young woman before him, and even though he had witnessed her betrayal himself, he found it hard to believe she was entirely evil. She must have had a reason, he thought.

Howard shrugged. "Even if so... she is a traitor, is she not?"

Ares and Aurora exchanged glances but didn't say anything, Hera was occupied talking to Stellovet, who sat next to her, feeding the babies pieces of fish. Gregor realized they must have had the opportunity to grow close before the rescue party had arrived.

Luxa remained silent as well and avoided his gaze. Gregor decided not to press for an answer, he knew the whole topic of betrayal was sensitive for her, ever since the incident with Henry, and he didn't want to upset her more than necessary.

"Do you think he will be okay?", she suddenly asked, and Gregor was confused for a moment. His thoughts had circled around Henry and for a second he thought she meant him, which would have been hard to answer since Henry was dead – but then he realized she must have meant the Death Rider.

He thought of the outcast, how he had slain the rats during their breakout attempt – and was suddenly entirely certain he would be fine.

Gregor's mind took him back to when he had asked Ripred that same question about Hamnet, in the Vineyard of Eyes, and his response – "Don't worry about him. He can look after himself", Gregor smiled at her, "he survived probably years out here without any help from the rest of you – us."

Luxa looked up, Gregor thought she remembered the words. "You are right. Maybe I worry too much."

"I think the Death Rider is the last person we should have to worry about", Howard spoke now. "After all", his voice sounded slightly mocking, "didn't he himself say he had "no plans to die"?"

Luxa looked down and Gregor suddenly asked himself if the line had sounded as familiar to her as it had to him.

In a quieter moment, when Howard and Stellovet were occupied, he approached her again. "I really don't think you have to worry about him."

Luxa nodded. "It's not like I even have a reason... at all."

Gregor suddenly recalled their conversation in the jungle, what she had revealed. He hesitated, but then asked – "Does... he still remind you of that dead person, like back in the jungle?"

She started kneading her hands. "He... a little. Though, it's not like that is of any importance. They just share a few traits, that is all. Though, if this trip has proved anything, then that they were as different as they were similar."

Gregor looked at her lowered head, the nervously folded hands – and suddenly asked himself if she meant Henry. Hadn't he himself compared them as well, when the Death Rider had interrupted their conversation about Luxa's cousin, in this very same cave?

He wanted to ask but hesitated to bring up Henry again. What did it really matter, honestly, if it was him or someone else?

"Well, anyway, we should get going soon. I think Howard is almost done with... whatever it was he was doing", Gregor glanced in his direction, trying to determine what it was, and saw Howard standing next to Stellovet, helping her place the pups on their mother's back.

"Maybe she is not so bad", Gregor suddenly remarked, looking at Stellovet, and to his surprise, Luxa nodded. "I do not know her very well, to be honest", she looked down at her hands again. "Neither do I really know any of them, except Howard."

"Well", Gregor tried giving her an encouraging smile, "maybe you can get to know them soon."

Luxa looked up at him and returned the smile. "Yes. Maybe."

Henry focused his senses on making out every detail, down in the arena, maybe a hundred feet below where Thanatos was cowering, in a niche in the wall of the huge cave. There were lit fuel bowls down there, but his echolocation was much more precise than his eyes.

He suddenly saw Luxa's worried face again, and it stung in his chest, bittersweetly. It was nice having her worry for him, then again – it wasn't really him who she was worried about.

Angrily, he shook his head. Now was not the time to deal with all of that. He had a mission – and a plan.

"You sure about this?", Thanatos asked one last time and Henry grinned, watching the rats below conducting a frantic search. Up here, they could not even smell them. "And you aren't? You know we can defeat him. It's... us, after all. We are the Death Rider", Henry confidently claimed.

Thanatos hummed in approval. "You have a point. But what about the rest? Dalia and... Tonguetwist?"

Thanatos had asked about the sliver rat, immediately after the others had left, if she was the same Tonguetwist that had won his trust and enticed him to betray his own people. Henry had simply nodded.

Thanatos' only reaction had been – "Well, in that case, she is all yours." Quieter he had added – "Seems like I am not the only one going up against the demons of my past today", and Henry had given him a crooked smile. "I wish you were." Thanatos had hit him and the exiled prince had sighed, "Maybe it is for the best if we slay our demons together today. Whatever Tonguetwist even wants with Longclaw... and the other way around. Like, how did those two even find each other?"

Thanatos had simply shrugged, "evil attracts evil, I guess", was his only theory, and Henry admitted it was not the most important thing in the world to find out, even if he was curious.

He was way more interested in Dalia's motive, and whether she had had some sort of plan of her own, or if it was a true change of heart. Thanatos had not been able to say, but Henry was sure the flier could see how much the topic genuinely upset his bond, so he had promised to try and find out, once they had dealt with Longclaw.

They would need to find something to do with Dalia anyway, leaving her here was out of the question for Henry. The rats would instantly kill her, he thought, no matter if Longclaw lived or died.

Now he was staring down at the huge brown rat, in the middle of the arena, yelling at his followers for still not having found them. Dalia or Tonguetwist were nowhere to be seen. "Ready?", he asked Thanatos, and instead of an answer, his bond spread his wings and lifted off.

All rats in the entire arena – Henry estimated it to be maybe a dozen, froze instantly, when the black flier touched down amidst them, seemingly unphased by their number and the fact that they had done nothing except to look for him, ever since he had vanished.

Henry knew he should be scared – any rational person with even the slightest self-preservation instinct would be – but he wasn't. Not now. All he felt was pure and utter desire to end it – here and now.

Longclaw stared at Henry as he confidently strutted towards him. His followers had long encircled them, so there was no turning back from this, even if the exiled prince would have wanted.

"I hear you were looking for me!", Henry called, spreading his arms. His two swords were tied to his back now, and Mys was back at his hip. Thanatos and he had stolen them back before they had made their plan, immediately after the group had left.

Longclaw showed a toothy grin. "I was. You know, I almost started to worry you had slipped through my fingers again... but no, that's not why you are here now, is it?"

Henry grinned back. "I am here...", he threw a short glance around, "to do exactly what you want me to, actually."

A confused murmur spread through the crowd of rats around them and Henry's grin widened. He spread his arms like he was talking to all of them – "You might not like it, but I know what you want! I know you all remember me – you were all there, in the audience, you all cheered for me, did you not?", he called out to them and more murmur arose. "Those of you who have not seen a single of my fights should raise their hand now!"

A quick glance around showed Henry not one of them had raised their hand. Some were even looking away, like in shame. He grinned widely.

"See? That's why I know you all really only want one thing from me – you want to see me fight!"

The murmur became excited now, and Longclaw hissed angrily. Turning back to Henry, he looked down at him, condescendingly – "And you... are here, because you wish to fight?"

That was the cue he had been waiting for. Henry stepped forward, tugging at his right glove. "Oh, I will fight. I – we", he threw Thanatos a short glance, "– will fight, and celebrate the final, fiftieth victory in this damned arena. The one you robbed me off – do you even have ANY idea how much that odd number frustrates me, like, who in the world calls themselves the champion of FORTY-NINE battles? How does that even sound?" Some of the rats giggled, only silenced by Longclaw's death glare.

Henry took another step forward. "We, the Death Rider, will fight for your entertainment one last time. But we will not just fight anyone", he continued, stripping off the glove at last. Taking another step closer, Henry raised his glove above his head, for everyone to see.

"Dear audience, today, we – the Death Rider – present to you, a one-of-a-kind special, a spectacle like none of you have ever seen. Witness what will surely be the greatest battle in the history of any establishment of this sort! The greatest champion you have ever had, victor of forty-nine battles, the Wielder of Fire, and the Man Who Fights At The Side Of Death – Yours Truly!", he took a short bow, "... against the one and only –"

Henry raised his hand with the glove even higher, before theatrically tossing it on the ground, directly before Longclaw's feet, "... gnawer who thinks he deserves to BE YOUR KING!"

After the gauntlet had landed at Lonclaw's feet, the room was grave-silent for a moment. Then, deafening cheering sounded, the rats around them were ecstatic. Henry's little speech had woken their appetite for a good battle, and one thing was for sure – this would be one.

Longclaw himself stared at Henry with narrow eyes for a moment, as if silently acknowledging the masterful strategy behind it. If he challenged him to a fight in the arena, their battle would be guaranteed certain conditions, nobody would dare interrupt and it would be once and for all to the death, it was Henry's attempt at preventing the gnawer from playing foul.

Slowly he bowed and picked up the gauntlet, grinning cunningly. "Very well... if that is what you want... so be it." With that, he tore the glove to shreds.

Longclaw attacked immediately and without hesitation. Henry had expected it, still, the rat was so fast he barely made it onto Thanatos' back. In the blink of an eye, he decided to fight this fight with his normal sword instead of Charos, as the long double-hander was hard to wield from the air.

He broke an ignifer-pellet over it and lit it on fire, while Thanatos was circling above Longclaw's head. They did not have to talk anymore to be in sync with each other – "Nice speech", the flier remarked quickly, and Henry just grinned, before he dove down, charging at their opponent.

The rest of the rats had indeed cleared the arena and taken their seats on the bleachers, Henry saw more had come than there had originally been. But had had no time to focus on that now.

Longclaw was fierce and a highly skilled warrior. Henry had to use his sword to deter him from leaping at them more than once, though he was never fast enough to land a hit.

For a while, they circled around him, but it quickly became obvious this was not the correct strategy for this battle. "He is too fast", Henry gritted his teeth. "Let me down and we'll attack separately, from both the ground and the air."

"Are you sure?", Thanatos sounded worried. Henry parried the next hit from the rat and managed to barely singe his fur with the burning blade.

"We have to put on a good show too, or we'll lose the audience, and when that happens, they will all start attacking and our plan goes down the drain."

Thanatos couldn't really argue with that. When Henry leaped from his back, he jumped straight at their opponent, flaming sword in both hands, shouting his most menacing battle cry.

Longclaw dodged at the very last second, and from then on the battle changed. The prince and the gnawer were circling each other on the bottom while Thanatos attacked over and over from above. It was clear that this was the way to go, as Longclaw had to split his attention between them, which made it harder for him.

Still, he was an incredibly skilled fighter, and both Henry and Thanatos were soon bleeding – the exiled prince from a gash across the side of his stomach, the flier from a wound he had received when the gnawer had dug his claw into his leg.

But likewise, Henry had landed a few hits himself – the gnawer's right arm was a gashing wound, the fur was burned – Henry had sliced at it to defend Thanatos when Longclaw had grabbed his leg. Further, he had managed to leave a burn mark across his face, a direct hit, that had made the big rat cry in pain.

Overall, the battle was very equal. Henry had his echolocation and the burning sword, to keep his opponent at a distance, and there was Thanatos, with his ability to fly. Longclaw himself was a versed fighter, apparently used to battling multiple opponents at once.

A memory of a similar fight – against a single rat, on foot – flashed in his mind, and for a second he saw Goldfang again, the triumph he had felt when he had managed to defeat her, and the anxiety that battle had brought. He had never fought a rat on his own before. Now, after so many victories in the arena and the sparring with Kismet, the thought not even frightened him anymore. How far he had come, Henry thought, and smirked.

In fact, the battle seemed to be way too equal for Longclaw's taste. Henry had hoped he would have enough respect for the rules of his own arena to fight fairly, but then again – it was Longclaw, so he wasn't really surprised to find that wasn't the case.

Henry was so focused on the battle that he made the mistake to not notice the rat that had approached from the entrance of the arena. Longclaw slowly retreated in her direction, and before Henry noticed, he had taken the item she held out to him – and emptied it over his head.

The sensation of cold water to his face startled him for a second, and hadn't Thanatos seen what was going on and dove down, to dig his claws into Longclaw's outstretched paw, Henry would have surely been a goner.

The rat cried in pain and the exiled prince gained a second to realize what had happened – unbelievingly he stared at the still smoking sword in his hand – the rat had extinguished the fire.

But Thanatos couldn't keep Longclaw at bay for long, and when he leaped at Henry again, the exiled prince raised the sword to block his attack, but the huge gnawer simply caught the blade in his claw. His eyes stared down at Henry triumphantly when he tightened his grip – until the metal blade shattered into pieces in his grasp.

For a second, Henry stared at the handle he was still holding in his hand, unbelievingly, all that had remained of his sword was a jagged piece of steel, shorter than even Mys.

In the last second, he dodged the gnawer's talons and rolled off to the side, still trying to comprehend Longclaw had just destroyed his sword, the one piece of equipment he still had from before his exile. But the battle left him no time to dwell on it.

Henry knew he needed to fight on, he needed a new weapon. He had already extended his hand to the handle of Charos when he suddenly perceived something in his back. He was barely able to stop, before running directly into the blade the rat, that had given Longclaw the water bucket earlier, held to his back.

"Oh no, no, no... Silverchild, you leave that sword exactly where it is", the almost pleasant voice rang in his ears and Henry immediately knew the battle was over.

The audience had apparently realized the challenger was defeated too. Their cheers for their leader were deafening.

Longclaw now approached, his smug grin was almost unbearable. When Thanatos landed closeby, Tonguetwist only pressed the blade – Henry's own old dagger – into his bond's back harder, chirping "If you so much as attempt to take another step closer, flier, he will die."

That put Thanatos out of action, he would never risk the life of his bond. Not even if it meant the death of Longclaw.

Henry's mind was reeling, he refused to die like this, to this rat, the very same one that had already killed him in the eyes of his friends and family. She might have taken that from him, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of taking his life too. Besides, he wasn't ready to die regardless. Henry saw Luxa's hopeful face, he saw Teslas, Curie, Kismet... he was yet to see them all again. Then he threw a glance at Thanatos – all their plans came to mind, the unfinished saddle he hadn't properly seen in action yet, crossing the waterway, going on new adventures...

No, Henry knew for sure he was not ready to die. And he would not – he had no plans to.

He tightened his grip on the handle with the broken remains of his sword. What would Kismet do, rang in his ears, like always in situations like this, ever since he had trained with her.

"Oh Silverchild, this is a fine mess you have gotten yourself into", Tonguetwist snarled. "You are surrounded, with a knife to your back. If I were you, I'd give up!"

If I were you, I'd give up! He suddenly heard the words in Luxa's overjoyed voice, when she had managed to corner him in a pretend-fight, back when they had been just children. Then, Henry smirked.

He raised an eyebrow condescendingly, turning his head in Tonguetwist's direction – "If you were me, I'd be ugly!"

It worked. For a split second, a confused and insulted expression appeared on her face, she lowered the dagger a little – and in that moment, Henry raised his hand and rammed what had remained of his sword with all his strength into her neck.

She sounded a surprised shriek, that soon turned into a gurgling noise, as blood started dripping from her mouth. Henry stared her in the almost unnervingly blue eyes, he found he was relishing the unbelieving expression in them. She had truly thought herself invincible, he thought.

"Small tip, distractions can be deadly, as someone much smarter than you once told me. But I guess you learned that the hard way", he smirked. "I'll make sure to greet your daughter, you told me so much about, if I ever meet her, from you!"

With his words, the life faded from her eyes and her body fell to the ground. She was dead.

Only when she was lying motionlessly at his feet, Henry realized the arena was dead-silent. Then, a sharp, pained cry pierced the silence, the exiled prince barely had the time to turn around when Longclaw leaped at him, naked fury and hatred in his eyes.

He wouldn't have been fast enough to dodge, hadn't Thanatos rammed the gnawer in the side, throwing him off course. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!", Longclaw screamed, baring his teeth.

Henry's hand reached up for Charos and this time no silver rat hindered him from drawing it. He leaped to the side to dodge another incoming attack and saw Thanatos diving for him. He recognized the maneuver from their training with Kismet and anticipated the flier lifting him off the floor, by the straps of the sheaths of the swords.

They unanimously sounded a shrieking battle cry. Thanatos gained altitude, flew a loop and sped up, before tossing Henry directly at Longclaw. The rat was unfocused now, having witnessed the death of who the exiled prince presumed had been his lover, or at least a close familiar, and the two managed to catch him by surprise.

When Henry flew at him, Charos outstretched, he had no time to dodge. The black blade tore a gash right across his torso, forming almost a perfect "x" with the old scar, Thanatos had made, all those years ago.

Henry had to let go of Charos to roll off, but when he stood again and picked the blade back up, he saw Longclaw was a goner. The gash was so deep Henry saw some of his guts spill out. He staggered a few steps towards the exiled prince and Thanatos, who had landed behind him and then collapsed on the floor, his claw still reaching for them. The look that froze on his face when he died, was not far from Tonguetwist's last expression, a mix of unbelieving and hatred.

But that hatred was forever extinguished now, together with the life in his body, like it should have been a long time ago already.

The rats around them were dead silent for a moment, most likely unable to believe their leader was actually dead. But Henry knew they would attack soon, attempting to avenge him.

He looked at Thanatos, they needed to get out of here. His bond understood and when Henry started running and leaped up, legs spread, he caught him, only seconds before the first furious rat had caught up to them. It screeched in frustration and Thanatos quickly gained altitude to escape their claws for good.

"Where too?", he asked, and at first, Henry glanced around, looking for a way out of the giant cave, but then he remembered something – "Dalia", he muttered, "she is still here somewhere."

Thanatos understood. He dodged the rats and flew a circle, still unsure where to go though.

"The prison", Henry said on a hunch. He could honestly not imagine a scenario in which she hadn't ended up in prison as well, no matter if they had discovered she had freed the bats or not.

Thanatos dove into the tunnel that led to the cave with the prison, immediately followed by their pursuers. This would be close. "You ready?", Henry asked, patting his head encouragingly, his flier nodded. "It's whatever. Nothing against flinging you at Longclaw." Henry just chuckled.

They reached the prison hole a little ahead of the rats only to see new guards had been posted – for a new prisoner.

"You were right", Thanatos called, as they saw a lone figure sitting in the pit, arms wrapped around herself. When she noticed the commotion, she raised her head, and Thanatos just about managed to grab her arm before gaining altitude again.

Dalia shrieked and the flier had an even harder time dodging the rats who were still after him, with the additional weight, especially in the narrow tunnel, but eventually, they reached the exit and soon soared high in the air, maybe a hundred feet above their pursuers.

Henry glanced down and saw the rats break into panic, they were visibly disoriented without their leader, without a goal or purpose.

It is over, he finally thought, glancing at the broken handle of the sword he was still firmly gripping.

It is finally over.