Sixclaw

Chapter 38

FORT SKULL

"Well what are we gonna do now?" said Crabfang, looking at the printed analytics. The scrawny amputee was currently undergoing surgery, as Coggs tried to attach a prosthetic arm to what was left of Crabfang's shoulder.

"They outnumber us 50 to one now." said Deyna, rubbing a paw across his eyes, which were red from the restless, dream-filled nights that the otter had been endeuring since he arrived at Fort Skull.

"Where's One-Eye?" asked Red. "It don't feel right holding a meeting without him."

"He's still resting. The same as yesterday, and the day before that." said Blackpaw, who was attempting to run diagnostics on the prosthetic arm. "Stay still, Crabs! This arm isn't going to attach itself."

"The thing shocks me every time you connect a nerve, it's impossible to sit still." said Crabfang, fidgeting.

"Well the more you move, the longer it will take, so sit still, dammit!" said Coggs.

"Why are you even bothering?" Said Deyna. "We'll all be dead in a week anyway."

"You don't know that." said Sixclaw.

"How could you not understand? You saw the data. The Dragon Queen has fifty thousand troops. We have fifteen hundred at last count. We don't stand a chance." said the otter.

"One-Eye would know what to do." said Blackpaw

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." said One-Eye, who had woken up and dragged his tired body to the conference room.

"Well well well, look who finally got his shit together and showed up." said Nimbalo, sharpening his battleaxe.

"Shut up." said Crabfang. "Don't you go talking about the boss like that, you runty bastard."

"Both of you shut up." said Coggs. "I'm trying to work here!"

"I think One-Eye actually has a good idea." said Sixclaw. "Maybe, if we managed to get the families to Redwall, we could hold the Dragon Queen's forces here until we've battled to a stalemate. That should buy the creatures that escaped enough time to raise an army and finish what we started."

"That could work, but how the hellgates will we do it with the resources we have now?" said Blackpaw. "And I don't suppose anyone would fancy telling Bootbrain and Longtail that you want to do a near suicidal attack on the entire enemy force."

"Bitch please." said One-Eye. "Longtail's had a death wish since his family died. He'd probably welcome Vulpuz with open arms."

"And Bootbrain?" said Deyna. "If Bootbrain doesn't join the attack force, we're missing a third of our troops, and that doesn't spell good fortune for our mission."

"He will probably fight with us, the War has taken something from all of us, but at least Bootbrain has a chance of getting back what he lost."

"What did he lose?" asked Deyna.

"About five thousand gallons of gasoline." said Blackpaw. "That's why he joined the Skullians."

"Uhh… what's gasoline?" asked Deyna.

"Gasoline is what we use to power our vehicles. Bootbrain gets it at Oil City, and then brings it back to us." said One-Eye.

"One-Eye, do you think you could get Bootbrain and Longtail to join us?" asked Sixclaw.

"Actually Sixclaw, you should do it." said One-Eye. "Diplomacy is something that most of my officers have a severe lack of, and it is a very important part of being a commander."

"Why me?" asked Sixclaw.

"Just do it." said Crabfang. "Please?"

Coggs finished attaching Crabfang's prosthetic, and stood up. "How does it feel?"

Crabfang stood up, exercised the arm's range of motion, then turned around and punched a five inch deep hole in a stone column. "Excellent." The scrawny cat buckled on his curved sword and his armor.

One-Eye gave Crabfang a toothy smile. "Alright, we have a week to prepare, so we need everything we can get. Coggs, make as many guns and weapons as you can."

"I can make guns, but we have very little ammunition." said the brown fox, who started getting his tools.

"Alright then." said One-Eye. "Sixclaw, Crabfang, pack a bag. Deyna, you too. We're going on a trip to the Bullet Farm."

A/N

And with that, the trio heads out to the mysterious place called Bullet Farm. I have had the introduction of Bullet Farm and another location called Oil City planned for a while, so it is very exciting to finally bring them into the story. Anyway, on to the review responses!

ElvishKiwi'sREALfavoritesister:

Thank you so much for all the reviews. I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it.

Keva Strongbow:

Starting out with the funeral was something I thought of randomly. After playing with the storyline a bit, it finally made it into the story. The thought of someone crashing their own funeral is funny to me for some reason. I have no idea why.

Sebias:

The prosthetic arm, as well as Crabfang himself will be very important in the future. I'm not telling why, but it will be. The blood donation scene was a nice touch in my opinion, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

R&R!