Gregor stared into the darkness. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes – he could do this. It was possible. He clicked his tongue. He tried to empty his mind, like Henry had told him, focus only on the sensory input. The sound. Click. Click.

"There is some trick to make it more complicated. Some sort of substitution." Gregor furrowed his brows when his ears picked up the voice from outside the little separated area designated for humans in the code room. "Found it not, have we, found it not", a different voice replied now.

Gregor sighed. The problem with focusing on sensory input only was... exactly that. He got sensory input. Sensory input he didn't want. Frustratedly, he opened his eyes again. There was really no quiet place in this entire palace, was there? Well, maybe Ripred would know one. But Gregor didn't want to ask Ripred. The rat would just pick on him more, and diminish his accomplishments, as always. So, for the lack of better options, Gregor stood up. He decided he could just as well go check on Lizzie.

Yesterday, after Ripred had addressed her as "Princess" for the first time, the entire code team seemed to have rejoiced. They had instantly accepted her into their rows, and, as happy as Gregor was, to see his sister so appreciated, he thought they were putting to much pressure on her.

He knew Lizzie. Once they had hammered it into her head that she had to break this code, she would start stressing herself out over it, in fear to disappoint. And as expected, she had not left the code room since. Even when he had offered to take her back to the hospital to their parents and Boots for the night, she had refused.

"I can't leave, Gregor", she had called, eyeing the code team around them, "They need me here." And that had been that.

Nerissa had been kind enough to inform his parents Lizzie would be staying in the code room, together with Gregor. He knew he couldn't just leave her alone to sleep here, not even with Ripred around. And besides, his parents would definitely freak if they found out he had left his not even nine-year-old sister with a giant rat for a babysitter. So they had moved into the code room together.

To his surprise, Gregor had found that would be less of a problem than he had originally thought. The room was, in fact, equipped to accommodate code team members of all species, including humans. It even had little separate bedroom-areas for everyone, and he and Lizzie had moved into the one reserved for humans.

Solovet had apparently also found out where he had gone, after his training, and only half an hour after he had first arrived here, two soldiers had appeared in the door, saying they had been tasked to guard him, to "prevent further escapades", one had said.

Gregor had not known how to feel about that at first, but before he even had the time to react, Ripred had appeared behind him, calmly telling the guards they weren't needed. "I'll watch him", he claimed, "Tell Solovet that, won't you?"

The guards had exchanged a glance but finally disappeared. They hadn't reappeared either, so Gregor thought Solovet trusted Ripred to guard him. The only thing he didn't know was whether he liked the thought.

And of course, this next morning, his sister had been up earlier than him. Gregor had slept like a rock, after the ordeals of the last battle. He hadn't had much time for rest in general, recently, so he had been insanely tired, and naturally, the last one to get up.

Now, he determinately stepped through the curtain that separated the little bedroom-cove from the main code room and was greeted with the sight of Lizzie, sitting in the middle, surrounded by the code team. They seemed to be explaining something to her.

"Hey, everyone", he mumbled, still a little drowsy. He had not even eaten breakfast yet, only quickly done his morning routine, and then proceeded to practice echolocation.

"Oh, there he is, our sleeping beauty", Ripred's mocking voice sounded and Gregor instantly wanted to turn around and disappear in the bedroom again. But then something caught his attention, something powerful enough to stop him. The smell of food.

Only five minutes later Gregor sat on the floor with Lizzie and Ripred, stuffing himself with all the food he could get a hold of. He hadn't eaten since his dinner in the arena, and only now realized he had been starving. The rest of the code team had disassembled, they had already eaten, only Lizzie and Ripred had remained.

"So", he threw Ripred a glance, "what happens now? Do I need to go to training again or is there going to be a battle soon?" Only when he noticed Lizzies large, worried eyes, he realized the thought of him going into battle probably scared her.

But before he could open his mouth to reassure her he would be okay, they suddenly heard a crowd of distressed voices from outside the room. Then footsteps closed in on them, hasty footsteps.

Gregor didn't need to look at Ripred to know something must have happened. He instantly sprung up, quickly ran back to his bedroom to grab his sword, and stepped outside the room, ready to face whatever danger had come upon them.

But instead of armed soldiers, speeding into battle, he almost ran over a woman in the attire of a doctor. "I'm so sorry", he mumbled, she only nodded in his direction, before calling out to two other doctors who had followed her, "We have room in the hospital, not much, but it will accommodate them. Take them this way."

Before Gregor could ask who she meant, the female doctor ran ahead, and her colleagues soon followed. But they weren't alone. In shock and disbelief, Gregor watched more than a dozen nurses carry what he counted to be eight stretchers past the code room, towards the hospital. On each lied a heavily breathing, twitching mouse.

Gregor twirled around as he heard a frightened scream behind him, only to stare into Lizzie's huge, fearful, blueish-green eyes, peeking over Ripred's shoulder.

"Shh, don't be scared", the rat mumbled now, "they are taking them to the hospital, not to their graves. They are in good hands now, trust me, humans have many flaws, but their knowledge in medicine is not one of them."

Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Ripred's fur. "Okay", she mumbled, but she was still visibly trembling.

"They... live..." Gregor's gaze darted away from his sister when he heard another voice, behind Ripred, and instantly recognized the black mouse who had stepped out into the hall now.

"Yes, they live. Not many, but these ones live. And with them will live your species", Ripred addressed Teslas now, who was still almost unbelievingly staring after the long out of sight mice.

"S... species?", Lizzie poked her head up again, now staring at Teslas. "Why... species? Are there not many mice left?" Gregor felt his heart skip a beat. Never in a million years could he find the words to explain to his faint-hearted sister what kind of atrocities the Underland-mice had had to face.

Ripred and Teslas exchanged a glance too. "Let's... go back inside, Lizzie, okay?", the rat stepped back into the code room, with Gregor's sister still on his back, closely followed by Teslas and Gregor.

As soon as they sat back down in front of their empty plates, Lizzie climbed off of Ripred's back and approached Teslas. "Why did you say that?", she asked once more, and Gregor's throat tightened. How would he explain...?

Teslas sighed. "You... you are right, there are not many of my species left. So I am happy for every living nibbler I see." Gregor saw the sorrow in his eyes and thought he understood why everyone always said the survivors of any sort of catastrophe weren't necessarily the lucky ones.

Lizzie was quiet for a moment, and Gregor prayed she wouldn't ask what had happened to them.

"How... how many are... not many?", she finally wanted to know, and the black mouse lowered his gaze. "As far as the humans and all of Regalia know... we are... sixteen." Lizzie's eyes widened and she gasped, as she took his words in. And Gregor too, couldn't help but freeze in shock when he heard the number.

"The eight you saw just now", Teslas started counting, his face grim from pain, "then add me and the nibbler Cartesian, whom your brother and his friends saved in the Firelands, and at last, the six pups the Regalians fished out of their river, some time ago." He was silent for a moment, as was the entire room. "That is all."

Gregor felt his head spin. That was all. All that was left of an entire species, a species who, granted, only had counted two colonies in total, if he recalled correctly, but they had been a species nonetheless. An innocent species. And beyond that, the very species that had saved Luxa's life, after she had gone missing in the Labyrinth. Without them, Gregor realized, she would be dead now. And all this... this death because of... what? A... mood? A completely ridiculous, baseless grudge the Bane bore?

Lizzie interrupted his dire thoughts by asking the one question he had hoped she wouldn't. "But... why? How can there be only sixteen left of an entire species?"

Ripred and Teslas exchanged glances. "She will not let this go, we might as well tell her", Ripred finally mumbled. Before Gregor could protest, he had scooped Lizzie up with his paw and sat her on his lap. "Because", he sighed, "Because the white rat, the Bane, who we are at war with, chose to – entirely unjustified, of course – blame all his problems on them."

Lizzie stared up at him silently for a few moments, before finally speaking – "So he... killed them?" That's it, Gregor thought, she will certainly fall into another panic attack from this. But apparently, he had underestimated his sister.

Ripred only nodded. "Yes, Lizzie. He killed them."

The silence, that followed his words, was deafening. Nobody dared to speak, not Teslas, not Ripred, not Gregor. He had no idea how long it lasted, before no other than Lizzie, his fragile, anxious, sister, who was almost nine, but so small and thin she looked six or seven, broke it.

Turning her head at him, she spoke – "Nerissa said you have to fight someone, according to a prophecy. Is he the one? The Bane?" All Gregor could do was nod. Lizzie was silent for a moment before she finally took a deep breath, as if to gather her strength. "Gregor... please don't let him win."

He stared into her way too serious and mature face, before finally understanding. "I won't", he replied, and in this very moment he swore to himself he would keep this promise. If he had to die to fulfill it, he would. But ridding the world of a creature like the Bane was worth that. Who knew how many more he would kill, after all, if Gregor let him live?

He had never before given much thought to how he would or wanted to die. Understandably so, Gregor was fourteen. Death wasn't something a kid his age gave a lot of thought to, usually. Because usually, at this age, it was way too distant, way too abstract. But ever since he had read the Prophecy of Time, it had all of a sudden become way too real, way too imminent.

His trip with the others had left him little time to think, but now, the realization hit him that, if he would have to pick, this was the way he wanted to go. Protecting the people he loved.

Gregor determinately clenched his jaw. "Never in a million years, Lizzie. You can count on that. You all can."

To everyone's relief, Lizzie had dropped the topic, after her question had been answered. Instead, she started asking Teslas about his inventions. The black mouse willingly talked, and Gregor's sister was visibly fascinated by the things he described.

"Why aren't you working on anything right now?", she finally wanted to know, and Teslas hesitated. "I... my workshop is – was – back at my colony." He lowered his gaze. "I had to... to destroy it, so that the rats wouldn't get a hold of any of my inventions."

"Oh... I'm so sorry...", Lizzie mumbled, stroking the fur on his arm. Gregor bit his lip as well. Henry had mentioned Cevian had told him something along the lines, but seeing how devastated Teslas was at the thought of his workshop, he still felt incredibly bad it had to have come this far.

"Hey", he suddenly had an idea, "maybe you can get a new workshop, here in Regalia? I'm sure they could use your help with something."

Ripred threw him a mildly surprised glance. "That is not a bad idea. Maybe you should go talk to Vikus about it." Teslas looked back and forth between them, before finally nodding. "I had not the chance to talk to him yet, maybe I should indeed", he mumbled. "Though I think, for now, I'm most useful here, in the code room. After all, who will take my place? Cartesian is in the nursery, with the pups. They are related to him, so he cares for them."

Ripred pondered for a second but finally nodded. "It is settled, then. You stay until the code is broken. Say, Lizzie", he suddenly addressed Gregor's sister again, "Would you not want to go and meet the babies? Your sister will be there, most likely, and you could meet the other nibbler your brother rescued."

Gregor instantly saw she wanted to go, but then anxiously glanced around the room. "But... what about the code? Don't I need to work on that?"

"Nonsense", Ripred already jumped up, picking her up and placing her on his back. "You can get back to that in a minute. Nobody said you can't take half an hour or so off."

"I'll stay here", Teslas announced from behind them. "I... I've seen them only yesterday." Gregor threw him a glance and wondered if they reminded him too much of his own family.

"Wait, I'll come", he hurried after Ripred and Lizzie, who were already on their way out. "I needed an excuse to leave this room anyway." Ripred didn't object, and Lizzie was happy, so Gregor could finally leave the almost suffocating atmosphere that had built up in the code room.

The trip to the old nursery didn't take them long, and there waited not only Cartesian, Boots, and Dulcet with the six babies, but also an eager-seeming Hazard, who instantly ran to greet the newcomers.

"Hello, Gregor! Hello, Ripred!", he called, smiling up at them, before finally spotting Lizzie, who had instantly ducked on Ripred's back, as soon as she had seen other humans. "Oh, hello, you!", Hazard called up to her, standing on his tiptoes to get a better look, "You don't have to hide! They are mice, they won't bite you!"

Gregor had to suppress a grin at Lizzie's almost mortified face. She could be so confident when she knew what she was talking about, but when it came to meeting new people, she could never express any of it.

"Lizzie, hey, remember Hazard? I told you about him, the boy who had an Overland-mom and an Underland-dad, who we met in the jungle, last year?", he tried to persuade her, and managed to pique her interest indeed, as she slowly raised her head a little. "Really?"

"Yes!", Hazard called, smiling up at her. "Are you related to Gregor? What's your name?" In Lizzie's place, Gregor nodded. "She's my sister. My... other sister." His gaze fell on Boots, who lied sleeping, curled up with the mouse babies. "Come on", he finally addressed Lizzie, "why not introduce yourself?" In Hazard's direction, he added – "She came to see the babies!"

The boy's face instantly lit up. "I can introduce you to them! I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you!" The prospect of that finally gave Lizzie enough courage to climb down from Ripred's back, and cautiously shake Hazard's hand. "I'm... Elizabeth. Lizzie... if you want", she mumbled so quietly Gregor almost didn't understand it.

"Nice to meet you, Lizzie!", Hazard smiled, "I'm Hazard. Just... Hazard", he grinned a little, "Now come! To meet the babies!" To Lizzie's embarrassment, he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to where Dulcet sat with Cartesian and the six little mice, watching the scene.

As the two kids ran off, Gregor finally tore his gaze away from them to look at Ripred and realized he was smiling. "Wait... Hey, you... you did this on purpose!", Gregor threw at him, but Ripred only shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about." His smile remained, though.

"Nonsense", Gregor shook his head. "You brought her here because you knew Hazard would be here, and because you thought they would get along." Gregor realized he sounded accusing, even though, if his suspicion was true, Ripred had done a good thing.

The rat only shrugged. "Whatever you say." But Gregor was certain of it. The only thing he didn't know was why Ripred denied it.

Gregor was staring at Hazard and Lizzie, in a corner of the code room. They were looking at some of the code together. He shook his head in disbelief. Sure, they were the same age, and they did remind him a little of each other, but Lizzie had never before made a friend so fast.

His gaze wandered over to the other corner, where his dad sat, with Ripred and Teslas. They were also deep in discussion, probably about some science-stuff.

After he had introduced Lizzie to the baby mice, Hazard had insisted on coming along to the code room, to help. To Gregor's surprise, his sister had seemed really happy about it, too. Ripred had carried them both, on the way back, and not for a moment had they seized chatting.

Lizzie was only ever so deep in discussion with her school friend Jedidiah, and he had needed months to get her to open up like this, from what Gregor remembered. But here she was, his socially anxious sister Lizzie, smiling and talking to a boy she had only just met, like they had been friends their entire life.

Back in the code room, a surprise had awaited them in the form of Gregor's dad. He had originally wanted to check on Lizzie, but instead, his kids had found him and Teslas in the middle of some kind of experiment involving rope and different stones. None of them had bothered asking what exactly they were doing, but his dad seemed to be having fun, so Gregor was happy too.

Now, Gregor's gaze was caught by someone stepping through the curtain. It was Nerissa, and she brought with herself dinner. In a heartbeat, everyone was assembled around the trays of food. Gregor's dad, Lizzie, Ripred, Teslas, Gregor himself, and the rest of the code team. Nerissa sat down with them too, and on Teslas' request, described how human scouts had discovered the eight mice from earlier in a cave in the Firelands, apparently hiding from the Bane.

From what Gregor understood, they had all been from the colony at the Fount, and they had successfully run away while the rats had escorted the rest to their death. Ever since then, they had stayed there, and all of them had bad poisoning from the gasses in that part of the Firelands. "But our doctors say they will all live", concluded Nerissa and smiled. Gregor audibly sighed and saw Lizzie was relieved too.

After they had all finished eating and Gregor's dad had gotten caught up in some conversation with Teslas again, Gregor noticed Hazard hadn't gone back to chatting with Lizzie. Instead, he stared at the floor.

"Hey, are you okay?", he asked the boy, who looked up at him. "Gregor...", he bit his lip, "You... you were traveling with Luxa, right? Do you know where she is? I haven't... seen her yet..."

His question threw Gregor off entirely. I had wanted to go and ask as well, he thought, and a wave of guilt inundated him when he realized he had neglected to find out where his friends were, to this point.

Determinately, he stood up. "I'll ask Solovet. She said Luxa was here, in Regalia. Maybe she's busy, or something." But even Gregor had trouble believing his own words. No, it couldn't be that easy. Something was off here.

Like on cue, Ripred rose up too. "Oh, you know what, I'll come along. Hazard, you'll keep Lizzie company, won't you? If we're going to see Solovet, I can just as well ask her if she needs me to do something other than sit in here all day."

Gregor opened his mouth, confused what Ripred was up to, but the rat shoved him out of the room faster than he could say goodbye to anyone. Irritated, Gregor wanted to protest, but Ripred kept dragging him along.

Where is he going, Gregor asked himself, growing more and more worried by the second. Surely not to Solovet... right? Just when he opened his mouth to ask, Ripred finally shoved him through a curtain into some dark room, Gregor had never been to before. A wave of fear suddenly hit him, what was the rat planning to do with him in here?

"Ripred...?" Gregor could barely see, from what little light fell in through the curtain, but he saw the silhouette of the rat before him now. "Gregor, Luxa is not in Regalia."

It was as if Ripred had hit him over the head with a baseball bat. He blinked a couple times, trying to comprehend what he had said, "N... not in...?"

"No." Ripred sighed, before sitting down on his hind legs. "While you were in training, I searched the entire palace for fresh traces of her scent. She is not here." Gregor felt his heartbeat quicken. This was impossible. "But Solovet said –"

"Gregor", Ripred interrupted him, "Solovet can not be trusted."

Gregor stood before the rat, so still as if he had turned to stone. "W... what?" Sure. He had never liked Solovet. She had caused the plague, which had almost killed his bond and his mom. But... why would Ripred be doubting her trustworthiness?

"She... she was... pardoned", he mumbled, "even put back in charge... what reason would she have to... to do anything that would... would threaten her credibility... again?" Before his inner eye, Gregor saw Henry's bitter face. He had fought so hard for a second chance, for the trust of his loved ones, and here Ripred was, claiming Solovet, who had just so happened to have... her second chance thrown at her, would risk it again?

Ripred sighed. "I know what you are thinking. You are thinking of Henry. But you can not compare Henry to Solovet, not in this case. See", he sighed, "with Henry, he feels guilt for what he's done. But Solovet...", the rat chuckled, "As hard as it may be for you, you have to try and think like her for a moment, to understand where I'm coming from. Granted, and I'll say this here and now, nothing of what I say from this point on is proven, by any means. It is speculation on my part – besides the fact that she lied about Luxa. But still, I urge you to hear me out." Gregor had barely ever heard Ripred so worried. He just nodded.

"Good. So – Henry feels regret for his actions. He knows what he did was wrong, he seeks atonement. But in Solovet's own eyes... creating the plague was not a crime. It was her means to serve her people. Can you follow so far?"

Gregor swallowed. It was hard to imagine anyone thinking like that, but yes, he could. With someone like Solovet, he could.

"Good. So, where does that leave her? As the traitor? No." Ripred paused. "In her eyes, Solovet is not the traitor. She is the betrayed. Arrested and thrown in prison for something she herself didn't even perceive as a crime, by the very people she had her strongest connections with."

Gregor slowly but surely started to get a bad feeling about all of this. "That's not good", he mumbled, and Ripred hummed approvingly. "Exactly. This arrest, this one and a half year in prison, the constant fear of a trial... I am almost positive it severed any emotional connection she's ever had to Regalia and its citizens. And that, dear boy, is what makes her so very dangerous."

Gregor desperately tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "But... she seems so... normal", he mumbled, "And, Luxa is her granddaughter... would she really put her at risk? Her own family?"

Ripred sighed. "That is the one thing I haven't the slightest clue about. Her goals. Or why she lied about Luxa. All I know for certain are two things, Gregor, and I want you to pay attention now. Close attention. Got it?"

Gregor nodded and Ripred continued, "First – I need you to remain unsuspicious in her eyes, at ANY COST. You hear? Solovet is many things, but she is not stupid. You need to promise me you won't let any part of this conversation leave this room. And don't even think about doing something as reckless as trying to spy on her or anything. I'll have that handled. Somehow. You... you just pretend like it never happened. Got it?"

Gregor bit his lip. His heart was pounding with fear now. Could he just... do that? Go and see her again and act normal? Do... nothing? Then again, what choice did he have?

As Gregor nodded, Ripred continued. "And second – I want you to think carefully every time, from now on, about whether you can blindly trust what she says. If you're unsure, come to me. Or actually, always come to me. She asks you to do something? Go somewhere? Double-check. This city can not afford to write off yet another crucial member as "unaccounted for". Especially not the one who is supposed to kill the Bane."

Gregor kept chewing on his lip as his mind reeled. "Okay", he heard himself say. "Good. That would be all", Ripred took his first step towards the curtain.

"Wait", Gregor called him back, "Can I at least tell Ares?" He would not keep something like that from his bond. Ripred sighed. "If you make sure nobody hears you... and if he promises to follow the two rules... sure."

With that he stepped through the curtain, leaving Gregor alone in the dark room, with his head still spinning from confusion and disbelief.

The darkness was engulfing him entirely. Gregor thought he was staring up, but he was not even sure if he was awake. He was lying in his bed, had he been sleeping?

After he and Ripred had returned from their little talk, earlier, the rat had announced Solovet had made a mistake, and Luxa had actually run away again. With the Death Rider and Howard. But, he had insisted on keeping that a secret, so that the Regalians would not think their queen had abandoned them.

"She's in good company, don't worry", Ripred had assured them all, "The Death Rider and my friend Kismet are with her, they are two of the strongest warriors the Underland has ever seen. And Howard, he is a doctor. I'm sure you'll all see her again soon."

Were they really with her? Henry, and Kismet, and Howard? Gregor didn't know. All he knew was that he wanted to see her. He would be called into battle soon. He wanted to see Luxa before... before what? He died?

And if I see her, he thought, what will I do? A million thoughts swarmed his head, if he would get to see her again, what would he do? Gregor knew he wanted to do many things, tell her many things, but what he actually WOULD do, he didn't know. So he shut the thoughts of her out. He focused only on the silence.

Click. Practicing echolocation had become a relaxation technique, as of recently. Click. The sound illuminated the ceiling. There was a little indentation, directly above his head.

Click. Click. Gregor had stared at the ceiling for nearly five minutes, repeatedly clicking his tongue, before his mind had finally processed he could actually... SEE it.

He sat up so fast he almost knocked his blanket off the bed. It was entirely dark around him. He could not see in the dark. Or... could he? A rush of adrenaline suddenly jolted through his body and he took a deep breath. Had he been dreaming? There was only one way to find out.

Click. He saw the opposite wall now. His sword that he had leaned on the wall, his backpack next to it. Gregor felt his heartbeat triple. He clicked his tongue again, this time, tilting his head right. Click. There was the other wall. Lizzie's belongings were scattered, and the bed they had brought in for her. Wait... the bed. Gregor furrowed his brows and clicked his tongue again.

The bed was empty.

His excitement about his apparent breakthrough was instantly replaced by fear. It swept over him like a tidal wave, and he immediately stood up, clicking his tongue some more to get his bearings. Where even could she have gone? He was about to exit the human room when he suddenly heard a voice – "Better now?" It was Ripred.

Now he sat back down on his bed and carefully slid the curtain that separated him from the main room open until he was able to see Ripred through the crack. The rat was curled up on his side on the floor. Huddled in the curve of his body was Lizzie. "Yes. I feel better next to you. You're so warm", she mumbled. She sounded sleepy.

"Slow, deep breaths." Ripred had his eyes almost closed, and Gregor knew Lizzie must have been having another panic attack. But why hadn't she come to him? Why had she gone to Ripred?

"Want to try a few more math problems?", the rat asked, but Lizzie shook her head. "Just want to sit here."

Gregor could do nothing but watch the almost absurd scene. His little sister, who jumped at her own shadow, snuggled up against a giant rat, and Ripred, who seemed to loathe almost everyone, who always slept alone even when other rats were available. Together, now.

"How did she die? The one who was like me?", Lizzie suddenly asked. Gregor frowned. What was she talking about? How did who die? When had Ripred known someone like Lizzie before?

"Hm? Lumen? At the Garden of the Hesperides", Ripred finally responded. "I know about that. Gregor told me", Lizzie turned to stroke his fur. "The dike broke and there was a big flood. So she drowned?"

"I tried to get there." Ripred shook his head. "Too late." Lizzie lowered her gaze. "Her name... it means "Light", doesn't it?" Ripred nodded and she was silent for a while before she asked on – "And your wife? And the other pup?"

The rat suddenly seemed to stiffen up. "Lumen's brother Nox, "Darkness", as you might have guessed, was lost too. And...", he almost looked like he was clenching his jaw, "And... Whitespur... she... she was never my wife, not officially."

Lizzie looked up. "But she would have been, had you had a wife?" Ripred sighed. "It was not... She would have never been my wife. Not her." – "But... she was the mother of your pups", Lizzie tilted her head a little, "She must have loved you. And you her."

Ripred exhaled audibly. "That was not the issue. She and I, it was what... doomed her, in the end. You see, she was not just anyone. Whitespur was one of Gorger's top generals at the time. Ambitious, powerful, smart – but there was also always this... this tenderness in her, too. She was with Gorger, but she was not like him. Her tenderness... I think she secretly wished for more opportunities to express it. But those opportunities were limited, of course." Ripred chuckled, "You two would get along, you know? In fact, were I to choose any rat for this spot in the code room, I would choose her."

Lizzie was silent for a long time. "She couldn't be your wife because she was Gorger's general?" Ripred nodded. "I always thought it was funny, he had originally tasked her with eliminating me. Only that didn't exactly go as planned, as you might have figured."

Lizzie giggled. "You fell in love instead." Ripred sighed. "We... did. The top general of Gorgers and the lowly, delusional, grumpy social outcast. Who'd have thought, right?"

Lizzie laughed some more, punching him lightly, mumbling he was so much more than that, before she eventually fell silent. "Is she... Whitespur, is she... dead?"

Ripred shifted to look at her. "She...", he hesitated, before averting his gaze again. "Whitespur... yes, Lizzie. She died that very same day. I lost... them all. All gone. No chance to even... say goodbye." There was a long pause, then the rat continued – "I went off alone for months. I wanted to die. I tried to. But it takes a lot to kill me."

Lizzie remained silent, and Ripred finally spoke on – "That day, the day they died... I had always known I didn't like the way things were, that's why Gorger hated me as much as he did. But that day, I actively decided, I promised myself, it all had to change. And if nobody else would work towards it... I would."