Chapter 13 – The trap (part 2)
"Nay, ye blasted ghouls! Back to yer hellhole!"
Monterey Jack's greatsword tore through an entire line of undead in a single swoop. Skulls and limbs and rags and flesh fell like rain and the knight couldn't help but curse inwardly again since at least half of his victims had been dear comrades once.
The fact that Zipper and Patrick were missing since the earthquake jolted the ground below and the cloud of dust hid the sky above added another slab of concern on Monterey's shoulders. Now that the wind had carried the fog away the only thing he could tell for certain is that neither of them were among this last group he had been forced to kill almost blindly and whose writhing forms were now scattered around him in a full circle. Despite the knight's best efforts, these pieces tenaciously tried to reach him. Some half-chopped torsos were still crawling aimlessly, some skulls were still moaning and the mustachioed mouse couldn't wait for the moment to wake up from this hellish nightmare.
His strained muscles told him this situation was, in fact, reality. As far as he could tell, he was the last survivor of Rouen's battalion. A single knight against a never-ending horde of undead folks. But, if this would be the last day in the life of Monterey Jack, he would make sure to take many of his former companions down to hell with him, damned be all.
These hopeless thoughts were interrupted by the sight of yet another party of zombies which rushed in four legs in his direction. Monterey Jack again sent the giant sword up and got ready to suit actions to words. "Oi, rabid critters! want a devour ol' me? Tsk! I swear death wont haf me th' nicht!"
For his absolute surprise – and even disappointment-, these undead rodents just passed by without giving him as much as a second glance. "Huh? Wait! Where are ye going?"
The mouse, tall as he was, looked at the distance and soon found the grim reason he was disregarded like one would disregard leftovers from an entry plate. Not far from the remains of what once was the cage wagon, an isolated group of musketeers – or so he thought - were tenaciously holding their ground, outnumbered as they were by the army of the dead.
"The wagon… Oh good lord, may wee lass Tammy is safe" He whispered hoping against hope.
It was on that moment of grief that a witch suddenly made her apparition at the big mouse's side and got a jump out of him. "Sir Monterye! I'm so glad to find you still alive!"
"Sweet Jesus! G-Gadget!?"
"In the flesh!" She winked playfully, but all she got from the knight was a haunted stare and a hung jaw. "Oh, my bad! I just wanted to tell a joke to soften the shock but it seems the result wasn't what I expected" She shrugged.
The bulky mouse spent a full two seconds to gather himself before answering. "So, yer alive and…" His eyes went down to the girl's wrists. "…free. Girl, did ye-"
"Oh, no no no!" She quickly waved that trail of thought off. "I'd never! I only work with harmless illusions, as my parents would have desired if they had contemplated the possibility of her daughter becoming a witch. Hmm, anyway, the situation here is the work of an evil necromancer… perhaps even more powerful than my sister"
"A necromancer?" Monterey raised his brows at the idea of some other, more sinister sorcerer hiding nearby. One capable to raise the dead from their tombs and command them from afar to prey on the living as he saw fit. The mere thought of a being with that kind of unholy power made him sweat cold. Who in this world could be brave enough to oppose it?
"Sir Monterey!" The blonde mouse called again, this time in a more hurried note. "I need your urgent assistance! Our friends are in danger and surrounded by these undead creatures, and I fear they won't hold on much longer! Please, tell me where my magical cloak is!"
"Our friends?"
"Chip, Dale…" The witch rolled her sky-colored eyes up as she counted with the fingers. "Foxglove, Tammy. So, where's…"
"Lil' Tammy is with ye? Oh, what a relief! What about Zipper?"
"Sir Zipper? I haven't seen him yet… neither alive or dead"
"Oh pally, where art thou!" The knight lamented to the skies.
"I bet he is ok, though!" She raised her palms asking for calmness. "Sir Zipper can be as resourceful as a certain chipmunk I won't mention on this moment. Sooo… my cloak?"
"Cloak? What cloak? Do ye mean the black cloak with the octopus inside?"
Gadget nodded eagerly.
"Aye, Right!" He snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. "I put it in one of the wagon's compartments before leaving for this place"
"The wagon?" Gadget looked over her shoulder. "You mean my cloak was almost at hand the whole time?"
"Err, if by hand you mean secured with stripes and stored below our tools and provisions, then yes"
"Hmmm, I see. Gustav must be so scared! I better go and release it immediately"
"Wait, lass! I'll go with ye!"
"Oh, but I'm already there! Come join us quickly, is not safe to fight alone, no matter what a certain chipmunk says" She pouted.
A chill ran down Monterey's spine as he witnessed the blonde mouse in front of him vanishing into nothingness without so much as a goodbye. "Ach! An illusion?" He rubbed his eyes to make sure. Factually, the only living being in that patch of ground was himself. "Gee, I swear that girl can be as scary as her sister sometimes!"
The knight heaved upwards his greatsword and gave a last look at the night sky to offer a prayer. "Ye hear that, pally? Do not fight alone, come back to me". Then he bravely charged to where the battle was still raging on, to where Gadget's friends were fighting for their lives.
The blonde witch hurriedly finished the spell so her senses could take in again the turmoil around her. At first sight it seemed like Chip and company had succeeded to keep the zombies at bay as the spiked boot of teamwork fell on these wretched foes. Truly, as amazing a couple Chip and Tammy were on the battlefield, they couldn't hold a candle to Dale and Foxglove. The bat and the red-nosed chipmunk knew and complemented each other perfectly, as if they shared some telepathic link that let them share thoughts, ideas and actions. Not only Foxy could follow Dale's lead in a combo of kicks and blows, but the exalted bat senses could predict any incoming retaliation and dodge or warn her boyfriend accordingly in the blink of an eye and without any whisper of a word. If someone had ever needed evidence of the existence of real soulmates, Dale and Foxglove were a shining example.
Also, and unlike Gadget who had enjoyed a pretty quiet and secluded life until recently, both couples were experienced brawlers. The witch could only wonder how many misfortunes her friends had endured to become so skilled, so battle-ready and so eager to solve problems with violence.
Chip in particular worried her the most. Despite the fact their time together could only amount to a few hours of a single night, she wouldn't deem him as a violent person. Yes, he carried knives then – and bow and arrows strapped to his back - but not once he started a fight by himself. All the contrary, he only drew his blades in order to protect her and his friends and when he did so he fought with an ice demeanor and a steel gaze, showing neither hate or fear, simply building his way in battle like a chess player would do. She could say the brave chipmunk was willing to sacrifice himself if needed. Chip tonight was a wild beast overwhelmed with killing intentions. Hate born out of fear reflected in his face, as if some dreadful fate – even more dreadful than falling and standing again as a zombie - would fall upon him the moment he stopped slashing down his enemies.
"Kill them, chipmunk! Kill them all!" Huggin cried out.
"Split that skull in half! Yes, just like that!" Munnin celebrated.
"Gadget is their next victim, see? Will you let them tear her clothes off and devour her?"
"I won't!" Chip growled and threw himself at the zombies in front of him in such a brash way that even Tammy hesitated to join him again. He rushed between a pair of zombies, swords slashing out to both sides, cutting them down. Then he jumped and brought his blades up in a circular maneuver, only to let them fall at a third monster with extreme violence, effectively chopping its arms down. The wailing zombie couldn't do anything else but to try to bite back at its attacker, but the blades went up again and he got itself impaled.
As Gadget studied more closely the actions of her enraged friend she noticed that each swing, each chop and each parry made with these magical swords was followed not only by a trail of sparkling purple feathers, but also by a pair of raucous otherworldly voices that incited him to commit greater acts of brutality against the living corpses in front of him.
It was the gift of clairvoyance granted by Mephisto which let her overhear the echoes of these sinister words and which clearly came from the magical weapons he so tightly gripped.
"No… They are hurting him. These blades are hurting him!" The witch focused to reach her friend through an illusion in the same way he had reached Monterey previously. "Stop! Chip, stop! Don't listen to them!"
It was useless, Chip didn't fell for the trick. The swords didn't allow it. Still she insisted doubling on her effort to the point of provoking herself a headache. "Calm down, Chip! You are not like this!"
This time, a dissonant cackling laugh made up of two entwined voices answered her. "Caw caw caw! He can't hear you, witch! Worry not, we'll take good care of your boyfriend!"
"Just… who are you?" The mouse asked with the fur on her neck standing on edge.
"Who? We are the eyes of Odin!" The beings cried out full of pride. "We are the ravens, we are the blades and we are in control again!"
"Ravens? Odin's ravens?"
Another stream of raspy laughter assaulted Gadget and made her lose contact with the nordic beasts. "Youch!" She shrank back in pain.
It took her one second to hear the sounds of battle again, and half of another one to set on her next course of action. Quick as an arrow she ran towards the remains of the wagon and started rummaging through the mess of wooden planks, iron bolts and dispersed debris. "Possessed! You are possessed" She mumbled as her face got red with suppressed anger. "No, scratch that! You didn't even fight back, you let yourself be possessed! Why, why on earth would you do something that…"
Her words trailed off as soon as she felt the unmistakably smooth texture of silk. At last, there it was, her heirloom. The black silk cloak was hidden in a rectangular wooden box whose lid and bottom got loose in the high-speed crash. Monterey Jack had spoken the truth, as she found the piece of cloth wrapped in a few too many leather stripes and… a padlock... "Wait, a padlock? Come on, he didn't mention that!" Her ire reached a new level, as demonstrated a rapid involuntary eyelid twitch. "Oh, why are males such big liars!"
The safety contraption wasn't much of a rival for a prodigy mouse used to tinker with instrument and mechanisms since childhood. A pair of seconds later that last hindrance was tossed away like garbage together with the leathery strings. She then picked up the mantle, unfolded it and put it on her shoulders in a single spin while beaming a most triumphant grin. After so many ordeals, the last reminder of her father was again in her custody and would never let it part again, this she solemnly swore as she fastened the cloak around her neck.
Gustav, the guardian octopus who lived in the extradimensional space accessed by the folds of the cloak greeted the witch with a hearty tentacle hug.
"Hello Gustav!" the blonde mouse caressed a slimy appendage as it twirled on her forearm. "Yes, it's been a while! You have nothing to fear anymore… I won't let anyone take us apart!"
The tentacle seemed to dance in response.
"Now Gustav, please hand me my grimoire"
No more than a heartbeat later a fourth tentacle emerged from the black bottomless mantle with a black book of spells tightly secured in its grip. The last time Gadget had made use of her grimoire was on that disastrous night back in the village of Saint Pierre when she weaved a spell to make an entire cloud of bats lose their voices. She recalled how dangerous the situation was, with so many people who wanted her dead, and how Chip stood by her the whole time, even offering himself as a shield when the entire cloud came down onto them like a waterfall of curled fangs and blood-chilling shrieks. Oh, how different was Chip now from the gallant chipmunk who protected her back then. Gadget could almost imagine the Chip from today running past her only to get a better chance to hunt these bats down.
That trail of thought only irritated the girl up a notch. "Stupid, so stupid! What was he thinking!? Didn't he learn anything from my tragedy?" So irked she was she put the hood on only to hide her flustered face. Now only the tip of her muzzle and wild bangs of blonde hair were visible, which made her look sinister. "Never mind, I'll fix it. I'll fix you" She declared as she levitated the grimoire up to eye level and magically made the pages turn by themselves. "One cannot succumb to violence if there is no threat to deal with, correct? I just need to recite this spell and…"
Some weird noises, as if somebody were choking on a piece of meat, drew her attention towards a pair of zombies who were coming at her one disheveled foot at the time. They were an inquisitor mouse and a tall rat musketeer, both suffering from missing arms and broken legs. Dawdling survivors from a previous clash of weapons, most likely. This time the witch didn't feel overwhelmed with fear or admiration like in the first encounter. This time she greeted these undead rodents with a wolfish grin. "Aha! Test subjects!"
Dale swung the lute at an ugly zombie's head and knocked it up to the sky. "Nice, darling!" His girlfriend cheered as she picked the still moaning head mid-air and threw it at high speed at another zombie who on that moment threatened to jump at Tammy from behind. The squirrel turned around just in time to see the treacherous cadaver crumbling down with a second skull buried on its chest. Unfortunately, the youngest member of the party took one second too long to recover from the shock of watching a mouse with an extra head where the heart should be. This soon proved to be a fatal error as another feral musketeer used this distraction – and revulsion - to pounce and tackle the girl down.
"Eerk! Get off me!" Tammy cried out as the monster forcibly straddled her. The girl barely avoided being bitten on that very moment by punching the musketeer right on the jaw, dazing it long enough to crawl away some steps. However, just as she was about to stand on her feet a second zombie gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her back to the ground. "No! Help! Someone help me!"
"Hey hero, your young mistress is in danger" Huggin warned with fake concern.
"Huh?" Chip, who was already defending against a trio of reckless ravenous corpses by himself, looked over his shoulder at where the cleric should be. The ranger's face turned ashen as he saw the girl pinned down and held by the shoulders by an undead priest. Another blood-spewing corpse was already slithering on top of her ready to deliver a fatal bite.
"Tammy!" He immediately turned around to assist her but the moment he did so one of the forsaken opponents fell on him with ill intentions. The moment Chip felt the foul-smelling breath on his neck he threw himself to the ground while rolling forward in order to end up on top of the monster who despite being crushed under the weight of the chipmunk still refused to let the ranger go. "Tammy, hold on!"
"Chipper! Help me!"
"Guys!" The bard rushed to save his friends. That attempt, however, was cut short by a number of zombies of different species, sizes and trades who formed a circle around Chip and Tammy and maintained it in a display of discipline not seen before. Astoundingly, each and all of them refrained from attacking the badly armed red-nosed chipmunk as well as refrained from joining their comrades in the struggle to subdue and devour the ranger and cleric at their backs. They simply kept their ground and waited for the evil deed to be done and the screams of their victims to cease. "Let me pass!" The bard threatened to club one of them with his silver lute, but the legion of teeth and claws made him recoil take some steps back. "You monsters! Open the way!"
The bard was about to charge again blindly when he heard the warning shout of Foxy high over his head. "Dale! crouch down!" Quite baffled, he looked up. Foxglove pointed behind of him with trepidation. "Crouch down, I tell you!"
Dale looked over the shoulder and barely had time to dive down as a massive shadow rushed past him. "Whoa!"
"Good move, lad!" Monterey Jack applied breaks and swung the greatsword forward with all the strength and fury he was capable of. "Raaargh!" His growl was akin to a lion's and his strength made the blade whistle a shrill sound as it cut through the air and through the zombie's rotting bodies.
The undead guardians literally disintegrated under the force of the slashing sword and their guts and blood rained down all over the battlefield. And yet the knight wasn't done with them. He used his own momentum to spin around, take one step forward, dug his heels firmly on the ground and send the blade again in a furious horizontal slash that cut clean off the heads of the zombies who had Tammy and Chip pinned down, together with every other inquisitor and musketeer unlucky enough to be in its trajectory. "Die, basterds!" The mustachioed mouse said amid gritted teeth as the greatsword finally came to a halt with the edge tracing an arc on the ground. The knight took a deep and loud breath in, gripped the greatsword again with both paws and lunged forward to mow down the remaining zombies who strangely stood their ground even if they had no chance against the mouse's righteous fury and his sharp blade. By the time Monterey came to a halt there were no more zombies left in that battlefield. They had either found a second death or were writhing back and forth in pieces at the feet of the knight. Soon their hollow screams would cease forever.
Dale bounced out of excitement while Foxglove descended to give Tammy a helping wing. "Wowie zowie! That was amazing!"
"Just amazing, darling?" Foxy shook her head with an ecstatic grin. "It was incredible!" Once the squirrel was firmly hanging from her shoulder, the bat turned towards their savior and smiled to him with gratitude. "Thank you, Sir Monterey, you saved us!
Tammy smiled weakly at Monterey as her friend picked her up. She was outright shaken and visibly scared, but miraculously unhurt besides some scratches in her arms and legs. "T-thanks" She managed to say amid tears.
"Think nothing of it, wee lass" The cold, blunt tone in which the knight addressed her made the trio of friends blink cautiously. Monterey Jack was tense and wary, twirling his moustache with one paw while squeezing the grip of the resting greatsword with the other one. He paid no heed to them, not a single glance, as his whole attention was focused on the black-nosed chipmunk in front of him.
Chip made short work of the moaning rodent carcass that stubbornly clung to his neck and stood straight to face the brooding knight eye to eye. Both disgraced warriors studied each other for a long second in which everything around them seemed to blur away. A long second in which there were no enemies, no friends and no pain whatsoever. Only fiery eyes, mutual contempt and yearning for retribution. Still, none of them took the next, obvious step. They both knew, deep down, there wouldn't be turning back once their weapons pointed again at each other.
Tammy glanced from Chip to Monterey and back, growing concerned and fearful. "Is… is anything wrong, Chipper?"
The knight and the ranger finally spoke up, at the same time and with the same words. "Tammy, get away from him"
There was never a doubt in the cleric's heart as to whom to obey. She quickly went to Chip, reached out and took his arm. "Here am I, Chipper" The fluffy squirrel then looked up at him and whispered. "Please, don't do anything rash. He came to help us"
The way the squirrel searched for protection on the arms of the murderous chipmunk instead of him broke Monterey's heart a little.
Dale also stepped back carefully and joined the ranger's side. "Oh… eh, let no one say I partake with the jailer of my girlfriend"
Foxglove landed right behind her lover. "Dale, please! Don't make him angry"
"Hmpf!" Monterey scoffed at them. "I reckon ye don't trust me anymore"
"You reap what you sow" Chip acidly reminded him.
"Aye, yer right" The big mouse sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat, much to the chipmunk's surprise. "I've been mulling about that the whole day. The path of righteousness has forced tough choices upon me. I betrayed my commander Julien Montblanc in order to help you on that terrible night. I then betrayed you to gain the favor of cap'n Lefevre again. Aye, for him and for my untarnished name I lied and caged and delivered you at the doors of the inquisition" Here he took a deep breath before continuing. "All of that done in the name of justice, but what did I got as reward? Look, I'm trapped with you in this garden of hell! I've been forced to kill my fellow musketeers over and over again, fearing my only true friend has shared their fate and I'll have to strike him down at any moment out of mercy! I don't know if I could… kill my friend Zipper… The only friend I have left"
Silence fell on that patch of the battlefield after that heartful discourse, with the guilt-struck Monterey Jack bringing a shaky paw to his forehead and Chip and company gazing down to reflect on the words and their significance. It took the knight quite some time before he got able to find his voice again. "I want to… I want to get out of here"
"Golly guys!" A most familiar voice came from high above. "You are making Sir Monterey cry!"
"Gadget!" They all shouted in unison at the sight of the blonde witch riding on her broomstick and garbed again in her oversized black silken cloak, very much like the first time Chip met her. The only detail that made this occasion any different was that the girl was wearing her hood on, which gave her a more sinister aura.
"No, no, I'm not crying" The Scottish mouse clarified while quickly wiping away a tear. "I just got some dirt in my eye"
"There, there" She made some circles around them and finally landed gracefully at the side of the Scottish mouse. "Everything is going to be fine" She said as she patted the wide shoulder of the knight. "We are all together now!"
Chip was the first to protest. "Wait, wait! That ruffian was ready to deliver you to the inquisition this same day, Gadget!"
Tammy, as expected, gave Chip her support. "Have you forgotten what that lizard musketeer said to us? Monterey Jack captured Chipper and sent him to Rouen's gallows!" Her own eyes welled up as she squeezed the ranger's arm. "He could have died there! Now are you asking me to forgive his captor?"
The emboldened Dale also spoke up. "Right! He kept my fiancée locked up in that cage the whole day! I used to think he cared about us, but he is clearly our enemy!"
"Dale, hold on!" The pink bat blushed. "Actually, being in that cage was my own choice"
"What? But, why?"
"Oh, you see…"
The witch couldn't believe what she was just witnessing. "For shame, guys!" She pulled her hood off, wiped her bangs out her face and walked towards Chip and company quite vexed. "Are you really judging him for doing his job? Monterey Jack is a knight, what else would he do but to try and arrest us? We are not exactly model citizens, you know? Well, except maybe for Foxy, but you get the point" Then she turned back to face the big mustachioed mouse again. "Each of us live our lives doing the things we think are right. It would be wrong of me to resent you because of the actions you've taken, law enforcer, So I won't hold any grudges against you" She then tossed one bang aside and adopted a pondering pose. "Besides, despite all your efforts, me and my friends got reunited again. Despite all odds we finally found each other and I think that's what matters most"
Gadget's companions looked at each other and realized how true these words were. So busy they had been fighting for their lives to even appreciate for a moment the significance of being in each other's company again. To support each other through these dreadful moments after many days stranded in their own private nightmares. "She is right, she is right!" The bard squealed. "Even though we are still trapped in this horrible place, I feel nothing but joy because you guys are here at my side" He pulled Foxglove into a heartful embrace. "I love you all, guys!"
"Aww, cutie!" She said as she smooched him.
"Hear, hear!" Chip raised his fist approvingly, which in turn caused Tammy to giggle a bit.
"Ye bonzer party of pals, ye all" Now it was the turn of the big Scottish mouse to speak his mind, and he did so acidly. "Zipper considered ye pals as well, and he is still out there somewhere, probably fighting for dear life while you are here singing victory! Ach! enough chitchat. I'm off to save him! Wait for me, pally! Help is on the way!"
"Wait, Sir Monterey!" Foxglove's ears sprang up. "I still hear murmurs on the distance. Gurgling moans coming and going. It's not safe to go alone"
"Hpmf! Surely a few corpses who got lost on their way here. Avoid their bites and ye'll be fine. It's all it took for some comrades to join the dark side"
Gadget, always the scholar, heard that and brightened up. "Oh, so the old manuscript about zombies from my dad's collection was accurate. Wonderful!"
"Now that's downright scary" Monterey shook his head.
Suddenly Foxglove became very still. "Shush, everyone!" She pleaded. "I hear more howling sounds and also I hear… a multitude of treading noises. A stampede?"
"Stampede? Please tell me you are joking, lass"
The ranger knelt and placed the palms flat on the ground. His expression quickly became as tense as Foxglove's. "The ground is shaking with footsteps" He stated as calmly as he could. "I can only say they are many. Too many and they are coming this way"
"Shouldn't we then be running away for our lives? Move, people!" The bard prodded his friends to hurry up.
"Nay lad, it's useless. There is no place to hide to. Never fear, I can take on all of them! Let them come at me!" Monterey said as he cracked his knuckles.
"Hey hero" Munnin whispered in the back of the chipmunk's conscience. "Why don't you take your women to that abandoned rodent palace?"
"We see no zombies there" Huggin seconded. "And the fat mouse can help you put the doors back in place and hold them shut"
"Yes, the palace!" Chip tapped his palm with a fist. "We can still make it back to the inquisition palace! Let's take shelter there!"
"Right!" Both Foxglove and Tammy nodded.
Monterey, on the other hand, refused to follow. "I won't hide while Zipper is in trouble! No way in hell!
"You cannot help Zipper if you die here, dolt!" The ranger and the bard pulled him by the shirt. "Just go!"
"There they are, guys! Oh god, it's a whole army!"
The cleric couldn't be more correct. More zombies than she could count, more than any of them had seen that night, came into sight as they congregated on top of the hill. Musketeers mixed with inquisitors mixed with smallfolk. Their fleshless tails whipped back and forth impatient and then, just as if someone somewhere gave them the order, they came forth in a sudden rush, some upright and swaying back and forth as if they might tip over with every stride, others hunched and scrambling in all fours.
"Back to the palace!" Chip commanded. "Run!"
"Right, right!" Monterey finally obeyed.
Chip had barely taken a pair of steps when he noticed Gadget hadn't moved a single inch. Instead, she was simply drumming fingers against her leg in an oddly relaxed posture, facing the incoming horde of monsters with nonchalant indifference.
"Gadget? What are you doing?" The chipmunk tapped her shoulder.
"You shouldn't worry anymore, Chip. I have everything under control. I'll be back in a jiffy, ok?" The becloaked witch winked at him a second before leaving to face the hunger-crazed monsters alone.
"Gadget, wait!" The ranger shouted as he sprinted towards her.
"Chipper, come back!"
Monterey held the squirrel firmly by the shoulder. "Tammy, ye crazy, lass? Stay close to me!"
"No, let me go! Chipper!" The squirrel girl called one last time before being shoved back by the strong arm of the knight.
The ranger got to the witch's side just as she started weaving her paws in a series of intricate figures. "You've got a last card up your sleeve, correct?" He said as he stepped in front of her and drew her swords while adopting a martial stance. "I know you do. You are the most amazing girl I've ever met". He added as he gripped his swords more fiercely. In response a flow of feathers leaked off the edges.
The witch granted him a faint smile but kept her eyes closed in deep concentration. "I told you to stay back"
"No way, we are a team!"
As she felt the summoning of magical forces got ready to blast off, she asked her friend one last question. "Do you remember the cloud of bats we fought together in Saint Pierre?"
"Of course I do, I could never forget it" He answered over the shoulder.
"Will… Will you protect me now like you did it back then?"
"You know I will!" Chip said amid gritted teeth as the dark eyes sparkled purple with resolve. "I swear I'll kill everyone who dares to hurt you!"
It was an answer that made Gadget bit her lips in grief. "I was afraid you'd say that"
These words hit the ranger hard. "No, wait. I didn't mean that. Look, if we survive tonight I'll explain everything to you" He whispered as he braced for the incoming strike.
"Who says we won't?" The witch opened her radiant eyes and released the spell she had been sewing this whole time upon the army of zombies. The very next second her foes stepped aside and ran past Chip and herself as if the pair were nothing more but a boulder in the way of a torrent of water. Monterey and the others were spared in the same fashion. This was just the first effect of the witch's spell, as immediately after the zombies turned on each other and started devouring themselves. The promised battle quickly devolved into something more akin to a free-for-all match in which the undead decided to satiate their rabid hunger with other undead while living flesh was of no significance.
Chip himself stood agape at the raw violence of the scene unfolding in front of him. "H-how?" He asked as he quickly lifted a foot to dodge a wailing head without nose that came rolling his way.
"Sorry for the unsightly display" Gadget said flatly as she passed by him and kicked the skull back to the cannibal orgy in a highly detached manner. "It couldn't be helped. They won't bother us anymore, though. Come on, we must find our small friend Zipper"
"Gadget!" Chip insisted. "What did you just do?"
She folded her arms on her waist and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "What did I do? Well, I cast upon our undead enemies the most powerful illusion I've ever woven" She explained while a smile of satisfaction grew on her face. "For the first time ever I was able to trick not only sight, but also other senses like taste and sound and smell. Now these zombies believe each one of them is eating a tasty piece of roasted beef. Even better, we have become effectively invisible for them"
"Roasted beef? How did you know they would fall for that?"
She just shrugged. "Why, trial and error method, of course! A pair of subjects I came across before were of much help"
"I see… still, you have left me speechless"
"Everything is fine now" She smiled as she came closer to him. She took the ranger's paws on hers and squeezed them. "Chip, you don't have to fight anymore, you understand? The battle is over"
By the time Chip found his words the rest of the group had joined Chip and were just as taken aback as him. "Does your spell will fade if we get too close?" A most wary Dale asked.
"Not really" Gadget stated as she pulled her broomstick out her magical cloak. "In the world I created for them we are as interesting and desirable as a pile of rocks"
"I see…" The bard scratched his head as he witnessed how an undead inquisitor mouse munched on the disemboweled femur of a musketeer. "Oh, this will surely give me nightmares later"
Both Foxglove and Tammy already were covering her eyes. "I can't take this horrible scene anymore!" The squirrel shuddered. "They are eating each other and we are in the middle of it all! Let's just leave this place behind!"
"Agreed!" The whole party nodded.
As they left the carnage behind, Monterey Jack came to a disturbing conclusion. "How interesting, most of these undead musketeers used to march on the vanguard line, which was commanded by cap'n"
"Is Patrick among these bewitched zombies?" Chip asked as he helped the blindfolded Tammy jump over a twitching headless torso who was blocking their way.
The big mouse stopped and took another good look around him. Even as a veteran of a hundred battles and two hundred adventures, this level of butchery gave him shivers from head to toes. "Nay, mate" He said as he overcame the revulsion. "Mah cap'n isn't among these voodooed chaps"
"Perhaps they are together, Zipper and Patrick" Dale added pacing two steps ahead already.
"We can only hope" The knight seconded and made the jump over the torso. He staggered a pair of steps after landing. Precision jumps had never been his forte.
Foxglove and Gadget, meanwhile, had taken to the air hoping to get a better view of the garden and even spot more survivors. The wall quickly came into view, and beyond its gates flickered the lights of oil lamps and candles coming from the bordering neighborhood's houses. How bizarre, the bat thought, that humans and smallfolk living on the other end of the wall could spend this same night totally unaware of the horror that came to pass only some meters away from their beds.
"Up here everything is so different, isn't it?" Gadget said while closing her eyes to feel the wind caress her face. "The night sky always soothes me"
"It sure is a stark contrast against all the suffering down there" Foxglove commented, then glided closer to the witch. "Suffering you've caused as well" She accused.
"Me?" The mouse blinked. "Do you mean Chip's suffering?"
"No! I mean these zombies… the way you make them eat each other, it was simply cruel!"
"Oh, that!"
"They used to be people, you know? We could… we could just escape and hide, like Chip said!"
"I… Sorry, I don't really share your opinion, friend" She shook her head and gripped the broomstick tightly. "I don't regret anything, because I did what I did for Chip's sake"
"For Chip's sake?" Foxglove raised a brow. "How so? You put him in harm's way when you decided to stay instead of escape"
"I assure you the situation was always under control! I just couldn't stand the idea of Chip wielding these horrible swords one more minute, so I decided to end the battle myself. Swiftly, mercilessly… Like Lawhinie would do""
"And yet Chip stood ready to die for you, didn't he? It reminded me of that battle against my father back in Saint Pierre"
Gadget bit her quivering lips at that memory and the bat could tell her heart was racing. "No, it was not the same. Not at all!" She exploded. "Haven't you seen how much has he changed in this few days? The way he willingly abandons himself to rage and hate? The way he relishes with each killing blow he sends? That's not… That's not…"
"That's not what?"
"That's not the Chip I got in love with!" She suddenly confessed.
"Oh God!" The bat gasped shocked. "I'm sorry, I thought…"
"Don't be sorry" She wiped a tear off. "I shouldn't have said that, should I? Anyway, to answer your question, I don't care if I made these necromantic puppets suffer more than the social norms of this country allow. I did it to stop Chip from hurting himself and I'd do it again!"
Foxglove noted a bit of desperation creeping into the edges of the witch's voice. "Uhm, got it" She said as lightly as she could, then concluded it was best to put some distance between her and the fuming m
The rogue bat and the wit kept on flying in somber silence. Gadget sunk in thoughts about the nature of Chip's magical swords and how these used her name to influence him. She also wondered if revealing her feelings that way would give the chipmunk some trouble. "In this life at least…" She muttered suppressing another tear.
"There!" Foxglove announced out of a sudden. "At the base of that large flowerpot!"
"You are right! There he is!"
"Oh mother…" The bat gasped at the grim scene unfolding down there. "Gotta warn Monterey Jack at once!"
"Sir Monterey! Sir Monterey!" She called as she dived towards her companions. "We found Zipper!"
"Thank goodness!" The bulky mouse sighed in relief the moment he heard these words. "Where, lass? Where is he?"
"To the east, behind that flowerpot! Quickly, he is in the middle of a battle and is losing!"
"Ach, mah poor pally! Hold on Zip, help is coming!"
Monterey Jack shouted an indecipherable battle cry and broke into a run, leaving behind everybody else. "Wait, Monterey!" Chip managed to grip the edge of the knight's shirt as he was leaving, but it slipped out the chipmunk's fingers. "Dammit! Foxy, how many zombies are there?"
"Only one!" Foxglove said with dread as she landed next to him. "It's… captain Lefevre"
"Oh no..."
Monterey Jack felt a shiver run down his spine as the field behind the garden ornament came into sight. Musketeers from Rouen laid dead everywhere around him. Zipper's fellow scouts Asmund and Grimkell were among them. A detail the knight soon discovered but couldn't quite comprehend was the absence of zombie remains. Quite the contrary, every one of these corpses had perished only once, perished permanently by blade injuries. "What just happened here? A mutiny?"
"Monty!"
Monterey Jack turned around and his heart immediately skipped a beat, for he found his dear friend Zipper engaged in a duel of rapiers with none other than captain Patrick Lefevre, who stormed the little fly with a series of lightning-fast cuts and blows. "What in God's name?"
"Monty, help!" The scout pleaded again almost out of breath. He could barely keep the guard up, much less strike back at his opponent.
"Cap'n! What the hell are ye doing!?" Monterey demanded as he joined the battle on the scout's side with an air cutting swing. "Zipper is on our side!"
The bloodstained lizard opted to dodge and retreat one step back, as the slender rapier was heavily outmatched by the knight's two-handed sword. He then adopted a defensive stance, while his lips curled up in a mocking grin. "Sir Monterey Jack" The hissing tone was now heavier, creepier. "Making a big entrance, as always"
"Monty, I knew you'd come…I knew it" Zipper dropped to the ground exhausted, injured and defeated.
"Pally!" The knight turned to catch his scout friend, barely managing to do so before the fly hit the ground. Curiously, Patrick made no attempt to interfere with the timely rescue. In fact, he snickered and crossed the arms expectantly.
"What in God's name is happening here, cap'n?" Monterey glared at Patrick as he nestled the small insect in his arm. "Explain yourself!"
"Orders, Sir Jack" He grinned playing with the rapier's tip. "I followed orders like a good soldier would"
"What orders?" The knight demanded to know.
"A simple one. No one leaves this place alive!"
"The captain has gone crazy!" Zipper flinched. "He killed Asmund and Grimkell… he killed the survivors…"
"Sir Monterey!" Dale, followed closely by Tammy, called as soon as he spotted the big mouse. "Phew! Did you find Zipper?" The breathless chipmunk asked a second before realizing they weren't alone. "Oh cripes! It's the lizard!"
"Oh, you must be that minstrel I've heard so much about!" Patrick deduced by the multicolored outfit and the strapped lute. "I see the lovely innkeeper is with you as well"
"Captain Lefevre…" Tammy cautiously moved towards Monterey.
"Lass, please take care of Zipper, he's wounded!"
"Yes, at once!"
The cleric squirrel whispered a prayer from her mother's spell book she had memorized during these days of captivity in the bowels of the river boat. For Monterey's amazement and Patrick's displeasure, her paws began to radiate a white and divine light. A more powerful version of the 'cure wounds' spell she had used in Saint Pierre was cast upon Zipper, who welcomed these feelings of peace and warmth as the blade injuries he had sustained in his desperate battle were healed in a breath-holding display of white magic.
"So, it turned out the young girl you so stubbornly defended was, in fact, a witch" The captain berated at the mustachioed mercenary just as the divine light faded and the shadows of the night enveloped them again. "Now you must feel stupid"
"Nay, cap'n" The knight offered a prideful grin. "After witnessing this I actually feel like everything I did for her was worth the pain I got in return. But you sir, how deep have you fallen!"
On that moment Gadget and Foxlove descended to ground level. At the sight of them the lizard commander couldn't help but chuckle amused. "Oh, even the lovely witch and the lovestruck bat are here! So that only leaves one chipmunk missing…"
The cold sharp edge of a sword punctured the musketeer's back as soon as he finished to talk. "I'm right here, Patrick" Chip said darkly and with narrowed eyes as he fought the urge to backstab his long-time nemesis repeatedly and mercilessly.
"Humph! Sneaky as always, like the devious criminal you are" He said with scorn as he held his scaly paws up. "Looks like you got me now. Or perhaps is the other way around?"
"I hardly believe so" Chip retorted. "We have you surrounded, murderer. It's over!"
"Why cap'n!?" Monterey Jack shook his fist. "Why did you turn on your own soldiers?"
"Orders" He shrugged first, then shook the head suddenly and violently. "Orders, orders, orders!" A behavior that made Foxglove pull Dale closer in fear.
"Whoa! This lizard really lost the marbles!" Dale said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.
"I reckon this whol' situation was too stressful for him" Monterey wondered.
"No…" Zipper, who was still in the care of Tammy, rose to his knees. "You don't get it. The living corpse of Arlo bit Patrick in the arm moments after the earthquake hit us. I think Patrick himself is becoming a zombie!"
"Crikey…"
"Captain Lefevre!" Gadget jumped off her broomstick and defiantly walked towards the musketeer. "Who gave you the order to kill your own soldiers?"
"Master did it, of course!" The frantic lizard answered in a fit of sanity.
"Master?" Monterey frowned. "Who are you talking about?"
"Mephisto?" Gadget mumbled, hoping she were wrong for once.
"No! Not that devil!" Patrick retorted with an offended expression in his face. "Someone more powerful, someone more glorious: Enzo Moretti!"
"Who?" Everyone except Chip asked in confusion. The black-nosed chipmunk merely raised a brow, as the memory of that name in that littered bounty notice struck him.
"That's ridiculous!" The ranger finally spoke up. "Even Dale's bounty is greater than his!"
Gadget, on the other hand, was willing to believe. "Chip wait, perhaps he's telling the truth! I kind of remember…"
"I can still hear him" Patrick interjected. This time, he took a step back while his gaze kept fixed on the blonde witch. "He is now urging me to kill you all"
"Hey, stay still!" Chip ordered taking a step back as well. "You'll hurt yourself!"
But the ranger's own demons had a different opinion. "So what? Let the fool stab himself!" They suggested, and Chip found it was a tempting idea.
"Enzo… master is…" The lizard kept mumbling as he took yet another step back. This time, the tip of the fabled blade pierced the ribcage and lungs. "Hrrgh!" He grimaced but still kept going backwards, as if pushed by some invisible force.
"Cap'n!"
"Chip, don't do it!"
"Gurrggh!" Patrick spat out black blood from the mouth the moment the murderous blade protruded out of his chest.
"I couldn't help it!" Chip negated with the head. "He just let himself fall on my sword!"
"Oh god!" Foxglove looked away. "He's dead!"
Tammy and Zipper stared at the scene perplexed.
Suddenly, a hissing laughter broke the silence. "Heh heh… Heh heh heh!"
For everybody's horror, Patrick raised his head again and looked around with his pupils constrained and the neck bent in a strange unnatural way. Then he snapped maliciously at Gadget. "Master has spoken! He wants you dead, witch! You'll join Lawhinie in the grave!"
"Lawhinie!?" These words took away the female mouse's composure. "What have you done to her? Answer me!"
"She is now surrounded by dolls" The musketeer spoke cryptically. "She wants to kill my master Enzo, can you believe it? Stupid witch, master is dead and so am I! Soon you two will be dead too"
Swift as a lion the undead Patrick Lefevre unsheathed his rapier and pounced at the witch which was caught totally off-guard. Fortunately, Monterey Jack read the movement just in time to step in and protect Gadget with his own body. The musketeer never reached them, though, as Chip managed to hold him by the tail in the last second.
Gadget blinked astonished. Not at the sight of the lizard who stubbornly tried to take one more step on her direction, but at the fact that Chip had actually thrown these evil swords away to protect her.
Patrick turned towards the hero who kept holding him back ungracefully. "You little... paws off my tail!" he seethed as he thrusted his blade at the chipmunk's chest.
The bold - but unarmed – chipmunk let the scaly appendage go and rolled to one side to avoid get stabbed. Huggin and Munnin didn't let their host down, and so the discarded swords turned into a flurry of purple feathers that materialized again in the ranger's paws. He welcomed them unconditionally as he raised to his feet and presented a fighting stance. "I won't let you hurt her, Patrick!"
With the cursed blades also came the old sting of wrath and wickedness, feelings he embraced altogether if only to protect the life of the mouse of deep blue eyes and fearful expression who stood in front of him. "I won't let you …" He claimed with a hissing voice and bared fangs. "I won't…"
"No, Chip…" The witch felt her heart break again. "Don't…"
"Die together, then!" Patrick cried out.
The ranger and the musketeer exploded into motion and jumped at each other's throats. With the clash of blades came the hateful glares and cursing threats. Despite the fact the musketeer was outnumbered in weapons two to one, his innate dexterity and flexibility balanced the scales. He worked his wrist up down expertly to block the chipmunk's chained blows and retaliated with just the same degree of rage.
On Patrick came in a rush, with Chip barely able to fend off the humming strikes despite being assisted by the ethereal ravens. Sharp blows rained on him from every conceivable angle, and instinct alone had Chip parrying and twisting away from the assault. He needed an opening to strike back, perhaps force one in exchange for an injury, and such opportunity quickly arrived in the form of a stab he allowed to connect right above his left elbow. The chipmunk's teeth clenched as he braced to receive the painful and burning sensation, but refused to concede a step back. Instead he used this opportunity to send both his swords down and up again looking to impale the lizard right on the waist.
The shrewd Patrick guessed the maneuver correctly and stepped aside while keeping the rapier embedded in his hated enemy's flesh. Chip's gambit failed and had to jump one step back to get free. The grimaced expression he made as he lifted his left arm again was too much for his friends to bear.
Tammy pulled the knight's shirt histerically with one paw as she protected Zipper with the other one. "Are you not going to help him, Sir Monterey?"
"Don't you dare interfere!" Chip roared as he stole a glance at his companions. "I'm about to end this once and for all!"
"I agree!" Patrick smirked. "You kids wait your turn"
"I'm sorry, lass" Monterey shook his head. "I'm not one to interfere in mano-a-mano duels. You must have faith on your pal Chip"
"I do! It's just…"
"Guys, guys!" The bard called out. "Chip won't likely lose to one single zombie, right?"
"Patrick is different" Zipper rose up from Tammy's embrace. "He can't be killed. I tried… many times"
Zipper's words become true as Chip fooled Patrick again with a dual horizontal slash that sent both swords from right to left and forced a desperate parry with the slim rapier. The brute force of the blow sent the weapons in an arc that broke the opponent defensive stance. The ranger then sprung forward and hit the musketeer on the chest with a charging shoulder. It was a dirt trick that made Patrick stagger back a full second. A frame of time long enough for the ranger to step in and slash him across the chest with his returning right-handed longsword. "Gotcha!"
The ranger's companions gasped in unison first as a gush of black blood poured out the lizard's injury and again as he suddenly stood firm just in time to block Chip's finishing move. "Hah!" Patrick grinned as his rapier flew to meet the left sword one millimeter away from his neck. "It's useless, Maplewood!" He gloated. "My master has made me immortal! Mere swords can't kill me, I'm invincible!"
"Rrgh! Goddamn bastard…" the chipmunk cursed as he jumped back and parried the lizard's retaliatory strike.
It was then that Gadget noted hints of tears welling up on the chipmunk's fiery dark eyes. At first she thought the pain from the arm injury had become unbearable but then quickly dismissed that idea as another explanation ringed in her mind. Someone was again drowning her beloved friend in a pool of painful emotions for some evil unfathomable reason. She knew who the culprits were and she wouldn't stand for it any longer.
Gadget made use again of her demonic gift to enter Chip's mind. "Chip, it's me, Gadget! Please answer me!"
And again, the bird-like voices answered on behalf of the ranger. "He is busy, witch!" One answered while the other snickered. "Give him a minute!"
"No!" Gadget raised her inner voice. "Tell me what are you doing to him! Why he doesn't answer me?"
Both ravens laughed raucously, like a pair of theatrical villains eager to brag about their latest nefarious scheme. "You are dying to know, don't you? We can give you a glimpse of what keeps him fighting so viciously"
"What keeps him fighting so desperate"
The Nordic ravens shared with the witch the image that hammered the ranger's thoughts over and over. A most hideous scene, in which she saw herself as the last victim of Patrick Lefevre. The immortal lizard had killed everyone, and was standing over her prone body victorious. The ravens had even added gruesome details like a pool of blood that tainted her robe, her cloak and her hair. The same blood tainting red the musketeer's boots and cape. And Chip, poor Chip on his knees crying out of impotence and grief.
"How dare you…" Gadget said growing furious. "How dare you two create this horrible illusion to torture him!"
"The fool deserves it!" Huggin hissed. "The chipmunk thought he could be make us yield to his will"
"He thought he could control us, and make certain we didn't take more lives together with him. He thought we would play by his lame rules"
"Chipmunk might have learned how to prevent us from taking over his body, but little does he knows we found another way to make him taste blood and enjoy it"
"We control his emotions now! His hate, his fears, his love for you and you alone. He is willing to murder to keep you safe and we sure will take advantage of that sentiment!"
Gadget felt like crying too upon these cruel revelations. "Why!?" She asked again. "Why do you want him to become a murderer so badly?"
The voices turned serious, even solemn as they answered that last question. "There is a snake in our father's garden, and this arrogant chipmunk pledged himself to slay it in exchange of saving you from your devilish deal. The moment this snake, your master, is no more in this world, the contract you signed will burn to ashes and you will be as free and mundane as the rest of these pathetic mortals"
Gadget's mouth fell open, barely believing what she had just heard. "So that was Chip's plan all along? To kill my master and set me free?"
"Pfft! Sure, he can try to" The ravens now sounded like holding their laughter. "And you'll see him became a quick snack for your hellish overlord"
"I'd never…"
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it!" They quickly announced, and the mouse took offense at that comment. "Hate and bloodlust will turn our furry host into the devil's merciless slayer. This 'torture' as you call it, is now bearing fruit. Did you see how your friend summoned us into his grip to murder this hated enemy? Failure is not an option to him, as failure means to him the gruesome image in his mind will become true"
The blonde was close to losing her self-control completely. "You monsters… You are hurting him, you are twisting him and driving him mad! I will- I will never forgive you!"
"All for your sake, witch! All for your sake!"
"No!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and found herself back in the battleground, next to her companions who got startled by the sudden scream and quickly took her by the shoulders, lest she fell to her knees shaking like a leaf.
"Gadget, are you all right?" The very concerned Dale asked while patting her paw insistently.
"I'm fine, I'm fine" She assured them while running a paw down her face. "Oh God, what I'm gonna…"
"Chipper! Look out!"
The commotion unwillingly caused by Gadget made Chip glance at her for a split second. An opening which Patrick used to send the rapier past the magical sword's cross-guard and puncture its wielder's fingers. The chipmunk winced in pain and dropped the sword on reflex, but kept enough of his wits to retaliate by sending the opposite sword at his foe's neck. The lizard barely had time to recoil the rapier back and send it up again to block the attack. Both blades clashed again, both opponents grabbed each other's wrists and twisted them. Any last trace of chivalry was thrown away as they got locked in a manner of strength contest fueled by raw hate. Chip knew he had to subdue the musketeer right there, to bring him down to his knees and cut that sneering head, or else he would do the same to him and Gadget would be left defenseless. Not against Patrick, but against her master and her contract. He had to win, he had to live and he had to kept going.
Then it happened.
A booming explosion on the distance turned the night sky into day with a blinding light, followed by a ball of fire that ascended to the heavens and caused a heat wave so fierce that knocked down everybody unfortunate enough to be out on the streets at that late hour.
The entire city of Paris woke up. The entire city of Paris screamed in terror as they gazed at the tongue of fire that twisted and twirled up all the way to the stars. The entire city of Paris then fell to its knees praying for mercy, for they thought the end of times had arrived.
And Gadget could only mutter a single word. "Sister…"