Chapter 19 - Fate found us (Part 2)

A few minutes earlier…

Chip, Dale and Foxglove watched with dread as the flames swallowed up the wooden beams that supported the ceiling of the transept and smoldering debris started to fall down all around them. Thick, suffocating and scalding smoke reached them down there at floor level before drifting deeper into the building. Eventually, the church of the innocents would collapse on top of them.

In an effort to draw clean air in, Dale pulled his shirt up to cover his nose. "Chip, this fire is too intense! Hurry, let's go back to the main chamber!" He nudged his friend twice, but the black nosed chipmunk seemed to be stuck in his spot and entranced by the blazing doors.

"Chipmunk, the situation is getting worse!" Munnin spoke in Chip's mind with uncharacteristic anxiety. "Mephisto's plan was to get the witch's magical power back upon her death and he just did so! That devil just got a physical body again and is doing battle against your friends as we speak!"

"You must finish him before he kills the other sister!" Huggin shouted.

The bard tried once again to pull his friend back to safety, but the stubborn chipmunk shook his head vigorously and refused to take a step back. "Wait!" Chip exclaimed loudly so he could be heard above the grumble of the devouring fire. "Gadget and Tammy are out there with that monster!" The ranger pointed his sword at the wall of fire and beyond. "I won't leave them! We must find a way back to the graveyard!"

"There is none, Chip!" Foxglove replied categorically. "I already searched for an exit, there is none!" The exertion made her bend over in a coughing fit. "Cough! Cough! There is only fire…"

Chip realized he was running out of time, out of options, out of breath. "Dammit! What can I do now?"

The spirit ravens answered. "You've been in this situation before, remember? Surrounded by fire, in the brink of death"

"Saint Pierre, you mean?" He turned towards the bard, and found his friend was looking back at him absently, as in the middle of a trance. "Dale… Dale?"

The ravens seemed pleased. "Oh, Rejoice! You are not the only one who hears voices in his head, not anymore"

"Jerks…" The ranger berated them as he quickly checked his friend up close. Indeed, the red-nosed chipmunk seemed to have spaced out right where he stood, despise the threat posed by the smoke, the heat and the debris that enveloped him and everybody else. He had even started to play the lute with fast-paced notes that appeared at first totally random but soon resounded with some kind of strange harmony. Whatever was happening inside the head of his oddball of a friend, he could only guess. And he could only hope he came back to reality fast.

"So, who are you again?" Dale asked mentally, still unconvinced.

"You might say I'm a member of your family" An ancient, gentle voice answered. "As I've shared the lives of your ancestors for many generations now. I'm that old and ubiquitous lute you remember your grandfather play for money and food, passed on to your mother, passed on to you. I'm your dearest belonging. In short, I'm an artifact made by Braggi, always watching over your family"

"Holy macarroni… Braggi, the norse god of poetry?" The red-nosed chipmunk could barely believe it, and yet, it all made sense in a strange way. "So you are the reason I'm such an incredible artist?"

"Please, talent runs deep in your blood, boy. I only give it a boost from time to time. That and magical powers in times of battle" The lute explained with pride. "This is one of these times, son. This is one of these times when the bards of the Oakmont family shine the most"

"Yes, yes! I really want to help Chip! Tell me quick, what should I do?"

"What else, play me! Play and sing and release my powerful magic! Turn these flames of hell into Nordic ice, like you did before!"

"Before?" The bard suddenly swallowed up, the memories of that night of horror flashing in front of him. He could clearly remember the fire, the screams, the rage, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't bring forward the most important piece to complete the scene. "I… I'm sorry" He stuttered an apology. "What I sang that night… I just can't remember the lyrics or the keys or the tempo. I have tried many times but that memory is all but vanished"

"That's because a magical song doesn't come from memory, but from the heart. Dale Oakmont, you have the heart of a hero, the soul of a bard. Fuse these aspects of yourself together and my magic will flow through you! It won't be the first or the last time!"

"Heart and soul together, you say? Right..." The bard took a deep breath and, inspired by the words of his family heirloom, was able to feel the tingling sparks of ancient magic coursing through the tips of his fingers again. "Yes, the words are coming back! I can feel the song again!"

As the spiritual exchange came to an end, Dale found himself in the middle of the inferno again. The worried Foxglove was clinging to his arm and calling his name, while Chip just kept staring at him curiously.

"Dale…" the ranger started to speak but stopped when his friend raised a paw.

"Say no more, Chipper. I know exactly what to do" Suddenly the bard freed himself from his fiancee's grip and boldly took steps towards the towering flames that seemed to have a life of their own. His eyes shined white as snow as she glanced over his shoulder one last time to give his old friend a reassuring smile. "One minute call for showtime… go look for a safe place"

"Good advice" Chip bowed curtly and then went to Foxglove. "Come on, we need to take cover"

"Why? What is going on?" The confused bat glanced from one chipmunk to the other. "(Cough!) What are you guys planning?"

"Our way out" Chip muttered cryptically as he guided the female bat towards the nearest column. As they made their way there, the hero realized they were one companion short. "Wait, where is Sir Zipper?"

"Sir Zipper?" The rogue blinked in realization. "He is… I can sense him… over there, on that direction, guarding poor Sir Monterey Jack"

"There is nothing left to guard. Hide here Foxy, I'll go and fetch him"

"Wait, Chip!" She managed to reach and hold the ranger by the shoulder. "Humans are coming!"

"Humans?"

"Father Gaspard!" A distraught cry pierced through the smoke. Abel, a young adult human unknown to Chip, stumbled his way forward. His eyes were half-lidded by the heat and his right hand covered his mouth and nose with a wet piece of cloth. "Father Gaspard! Hugo!" He shouted again fighting back the natural urge to flee. "Answer me!"

Behind him, a trio of soldiers known as halberdiers followed. "There is nobody here, monsieur!" The one with the officer's sash pulled Abel back before he stepped deeper into the transept. "Go outside, this place is about to collapse on us!"

"No, no!" Abel struggled to free himself. "The graveyard, we must go to the graveyard!"

"This exit is blocked! Go around…"

One of the wooden beams that supported the ceiling came crashing down on the marbled floor at their backs, with such a bang that the soldier released his grip on the young man by reflex. Abel, in turn, tripped over himself and fell hard to the debris-covered ground, injuring his left wrist and elbow. "Uggh!" He yelped, and upon opening the eyes again he found a bizarre scene.

A bit too close to his face were the petrified remains of Monterey Jack, and a small green fly in minuscule musketeer attire was standing on top and staring back at him with suspense.

"W-witchcraft!" Abel shouted and sprung upright in a beat. "The work of the devil!"

The superstitious human, in a bout of fear-induced aggression, sent a powerful kick at the statue. The ever-loyal Zipper hesitated between evading or taking the blow, thus fulfilling his desire to die next to his friend. At the end, however, he wasn't the one to make the call. The ranger rushed up and seized him aside in the last second, leaving behind him a trail of purple specks and feathers.

"Monty!" The small scout yelled over the shoulder of Chip, watching what was left of his friend be smashed into pieces by the furious giant.

"Stay with me, Zipper!" Chip held the fly against his chest. "Nasty way to go, to be killed by a human". Then, he turned to shout at his other friend as loud as he could. "Dale, it's now or never!"

"Showtime!" The bard, who had followed the actions of the ranger from afar, finally announced. He took a brief deep breath, gave the blazing inferno one last glance before closing his shining eyes, and then began his concerto.

With the opening notes the smoke around him cleared away, and a cold gust of wind alerted the humans of his presence. One halberdier pointed at him with a horrified expression, as if they had never seen a chipmunk in minstrel's attire before. Truly, the veil between these two worlds was being ripped apart in that fire-engulfed church. And, just as the soldier raised his weapon to strike Dale down, the lyrics of the magical song penetrated his and everybody else's mind. Not only the notes of the lute were heard, but an entire and ensemble of instruments and voices unknown for people of the XVII century.

"Cold is the winter snow falls down

mystical lights dance in the sky to the winds of night

Spell of the nature fill all my soul

kiss with your wonderful song my land with love"

- These lyrics caused the temperature inside the church to drop to almost zero -.

"Rage of the winter mold the horizon

cover the mountains forest and lakes

Rage of the winter magical wonder

enchanted fury majestic force"

- These other lyrics provoked an icy wind that smashed against the flames -.

"There are no words to describe the poetry of landscape

I can receive all the magic that my season gives

Tears of winter falling on me freezing my dark side

my heart must be wide fair full light eyes.

Rage of the winter mold the horizon

cover the mountains forest and lakes

Rage of the winter magical wonder

enchanted fury majestic force"

And with these words the bard summoned an epic detonation of a snowstorm that blew up the ceiling and the porch and sent freezing waves in all directions, covering the church, the fountain and the immediate graveyard grounds with a pristine shroud of ice. Mephisto suffered the effects the most, as the magical Nordic ice bit hard into his body and his flames got all but quenched.

Death claimed the devil again. the pit opened ready to snare him down, spent and weak as he was. Although his magical power and life had been dispelled by the winter song, he stubbornly clung to this world by the sheer fear of the punishment he was bound to receive by 'her'.

Everything fell silent again. The bard fell to his knees and then to one side, completely exhausted and drained. Still, he had enough life in him to gawk up at the starry nocturnal sky, the clearest he had seen in a long time. "Awesome!" He mumbled breathlessly while holding the lute to his chest.

Foxglove was the first to leave the shelter. The bat rushed like an arrow to the side of her beloved chipmunk, Chip and Zipper following at a slower pace, still dazed by their friend's display of destructive power. This was a feeling shared too by Abel and the city guards, which had been blown away by the magical outburst and were now struggling to get back on their feet, slipping over and over again on the snow-covered floor.

On the opposite corner of the battlefield, Tammy was unable to give any credit to her eyes. "Chipper… you did it" she whispered fascinated. The cleric glanced at the defeated feline, at the frozen fountain and finally, at her witch comrade. "Yeah! I bet you didn't see that coming, Gadget!" She said with an ecstatic smile.

Tammy's smile faded. The witch, far from being elated by the turn of events, looked demoralized and even perturbed as she contemplated the scene in front of her. "Gadget?" The cleric pulled her companion by the sleeve. "Come on, wake up! The battle is over! We won!"

Little did the squirrel know, that the mouse was reaching for the black-nosed chipmunk via their shared magical link. "Chip? Are you… there?"

The ranger - who on that moment was wading through the snow on his way to the fountain and the battlefield - suddenly came to a halt, much to his friends' puzzlement. "Gadget!?" He answered mentally while glancing ahead eagerly. "Oh thank God, are you and Tammy all right?"

"Tammy is wounded but holding up" She quickly explained. "But me… Chip, my visions are out of control and I've seen this horrible outcome and I don't want it to get real!"

The black-nosed chipmunk was well aware of the power of his friend's premonitions and knew to take them seriously. "Gadget, stay where you are, I'm coming to deal the finishing blow to that monster!"

"No!" Gadget raised her inner voice. "Don't come here! Stay away!"

"What? No, listen…" Here Chip swallowed hard. "Listen, I couldn't save Lawhinie, but I swear, I swear I'll save you! I'm so close now!"

The witch's heart sunk. "Please, no"

"Wait, Gadget…" He began to protest.

It was then that the Nordic ravens barged in again. "Listen girl, we are not going anywhere but forward. This chipmunk is the hero of this tale and he is going to defeat that devil and save everybody!"

Any twinge of guilt the witch had inside was replaced by a blistering animosity. "You fiends…" She seethed. "Stop putting that nonsense in his head!"

"Keep moving, chipmunk. The beast is badly injured, but not dead yet. A bite of our blades will do the deed"

"Chip, listen to me!" Desperation creeped into the edge of her voice. "Please, I just saw you die! I beg you, don't make me watch that again!"

"Are you saying, Mephisto is going to kill me?"

"You end up killing each other. Do you want that to happen?"

Chip's answer came faster than she expected. "And you? you'd get to live?"

Caught off guard, the witch made a pause before speaking again. However, she felt there was no use to tell lies. Her loved one already knew what the answer to that question was. "Yes but…"

"Then, I consider that a fair trade"

"No! No it isn't! Stop!"

The ranger rushed forward at the "Whatever happens, remember I love you"

"Chip!"

The ravens spoke to her one last time. "What's the matter, witch? If he succeeds, and even if he dies, you'll be free to meet again in another life"

"Shut up! I won't sacrifice his life! I couldn't live with that burden one single day!"

A barrage of high-pitched cackle resounded in the mouse's mind as she slipped back to reality. "Urgh!" She flinched, covering her face with the paws. "Enough… that's enough!"

Right at her side, the battered cleric helped her stand steady again. "Gadget? Are you all right? Come on, that monster is coming back to his senses"

"I know…" The witch said and then took her magical cloak off. As the tentacles made a weak attempt to reach their owner back, she tossed it away and extended her arms forward, quite dispiritedly, almost grieving. Next, she began to draw arcane symbols in the air. "Run back to the church, Tammy. Chip and the others need you" She commanded.

Tammy glanced at the discarded silk cloak, then ahead at the frozen remains of the transept and, for her absolute joy, was finally able to see the silhouette of her beloved chipmunk coming in her direction. "Chipper…"

"Go now" The witch commanded again.

The cleric collected herself and her grimoire and took a pair of steps forward, only to stop and look back at her companion. "Wait, what about you?" she asked.

"I'm right behind you" Gadget said before closing her eyes in order to increase her concentration. "Go, I'm counting on you"

"A-all right" The doubtful squirrel left the mouse's side and made her way across the ice-covered battlefield. A feeling of dread - of ominous things to come - surged inside of her and couldn't shake it off, no matter how much she tried.

A few meters behind her, the dragon cat got up into his feet one more time. There were no sinister flames anymore on his gaze, only bright golden irises enveloped by black sclera, a common trait among devilkind. Still weak, he let out a groan that spoke of frustration and defeat. "You dead, forgotten gods, how dare you? My magic… is all gone!"

The ravens promptly explained Chip the truth behind these words. Lawhinie's magical power, which had been returned to that dealer of souls after her death, had been almost completely drained off by the Nordic storm spell. What was now in front of the ranger was nothing but an injured and very mortal beast in its last bouts of breath. One that only needed one finishing blow to die and be sent back to the abyss, and he was the only certified fighter able to strike that definitive blow.

But injured beasts are the most dangerous, the woodland ranger reasoned. Nevertheless, he darted forward - teeth gritted and blades on the ready-, for Gadget's sake. "We have our own deal" He said to the ravens and to Odin himself. "Give me the strength to end this nightmare!"

A gust of wind carrying cold white snow blinded Chip for a moment, but upon blinking, his opponent stood clear on sight again.

The devil beat his wings furiously in an effort to shake off the last fragments of ice and snow that burned through the scales and fur and skin. Engrossed as he was, and with the corner of his eye, spotted the silhouette of the ranger lashing out at his exposed chest with the magical blades. Only the innate feline reflexes saved him from being stabbed in the heart by Odin's champion. "Urghh!"

The ranger sprung backwards, expecting the cat's imminent counterattack. It came swiftly, the razor-sharp claws ripping through the chilly air with killing intent. Chip managed to dodge, if barely, even scoring a small cut on his opponent's paw as he escaped.

The sting of pain caused by only made Mephisto's rage increase a tenfold. "worthless rodent, slave of a dead god!" He seethed, fixing a gaze devoid of flames on the rodent. "You really think you can kill me!?"

The cat pounced on the chipmunk, grazing the hero's left arm but nothing more. "I'll kill you first! I'll kill your friends, I'll kill the witch!" He promised as he got ready to strike again, the smell of blood arousing his senses and warming his body up. "I have no magic left to open a portal to hell, but I can still make all of you pay for your insolence!"

"If you want to go to hell so bad, I'll gladly help you!" Chip shouted presenting his purple longswords. "Stay still and I'll make it quick!" He offered, grinning wolfishly.

"No, I won't go back there in defeat!" The devil cat declared spreading his wings threateningly. "I'm Mephisto, the soul dealer! I'm a master, you are slaves!"

"I'm not your slave, nor is Gadget Hackwrench!" The ranger, stirred by this exchange of words and encouraged by the mention of his beloved blue-eyed mouse, lashed out again at the beast.

This time, Mephisto had a set up a trap. The leathery wings flapped with all remaining might and sent forth a mix of dirt and snow at the ranger, which made him turn his gaze down for a split second. A split second which proved to be fatal. The devil swung his claw at him in a swift horizontal slash.

"Chiiip!" Gadget and Tammy both cried out as they watched their leader and friend being tossed away once, only to be received in the air by a counter swing that made him lose the grip on his magical swords. By the time the chipmunk finally hit the ground, he was already dead. Both girls stood agape, watching the snow turning red around the ranger's mangled body.

The cat let out a victorious laugh as he turned and walked towards his former servant. "You see that, dear Gadget? That chipmunk's demise was your fault. If only you hadn't met him, if only you hadn't told him about me. If only you hadn't abandoned your home and my side" Then, he narrowed his eyes and exposed the fangs threatingly. "But you did, and for that, you must be punished"

"No…" Gadget quivered and took a step back. "No… you killed him! You killed him!" Unable to withstand the sight of her master and her dead friend anymore, she mounted on her broomstick and darted up to the night sky.

Tammy, meanwhile, was left alone with the monster. "Witch! Come back, don't run away!"

Mephisto gave the cleric an amused glance as he spread his wings again. "Don't worry, little squirrel" He hissed in a most disturbing feline voice. "I'll catch her, and I'll make her pay"

With that said, the devil cat rose to the air in pursuit of the wailing witch, which tried by all means to get away from the church, from the graveyard, from her terrible mistake. This crazed action was bound to fail, as the bloodthirsty hunter quickly cut the distance. The smell of her fears and her regrets were as tantalizing as the most juicy meal ever tasted. Revenge was so close, so close!"

Chip blinked again and found himself down on his knees, surrounded by the preoccupied and expectant faces of his friends. "What… what happened?" He asked, running a paw over his eyes. "I kind of…"

"You suddenly spaced out and fell flat on the snow" Dale explained in a hurry. "Then the monster…"

"Mephisto started to act all strange too" Foxglove added in a worried voice. "Jumping and pouncing at nothing and speaking alone"

"What?" The ranger glanced ahead at the fountain and realized the devil cat wasn't there anymore. "Where is Mephisto? Where are Gadget and Tammy?"

Dale took a step aside. "We watched Tammy fall unconscious just like you. Zipper went to her aid. And about Gadget…"

The bard and the rogue looked up at the sky, and the ranger soon followed their gaze. Their witch friend was doing a beeline for the church, followed closely by her winged master. "What the…" Chip whispered astonished. "What just happened?"

As usual, the ravens offered a rushed explanation. "Your witch tricked us all!" They exclaimed in unison. "We all fell in an illusion, you, Mephisto, even us the eyes of Odin! Damned be her!"

"She is going… she is going into the church! Why?"

"We don't know... she wants to die?"

"No…" The ranger sprung to his feet and, without as much as a word, he sprinted back to the transept. "Gadget, what are you doing!?"

Dale and Foxglove got frozen for a moment, then the bard ran after his friend. "Foxy, quick, bring Tammy! He said hurriedly over his shoulder. "I have a bad feeling about this!"

Mephisto didn't feel at all the scorching incandescence of the holy chamber he was flying into, despite the decaying effect it had on his vile body. All he felt with his physical senses was the cold nocturnal air and the lights of the houses he still believed were now below him. Even as his extended claws made contact with the fur of the trembling mouse, he felt only her smoothness, her fear, the darkness of the night and his imminent victory. Gadget, the last sister, had fallen into his grasp.

A burning sting made him blink, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by walls and columns and about to dive into the liquid surface of a stone-carved stoup. About to dive into a bowl of holy water.

There was no way to skid to a halt or change directions. Mephisto and Gadget got submerged and crashed against the bottom of the bowl, much to the astonishment of Abel and the soldiers that bare witness to the suicidal act. While the solid stonework of the holy stoup resisted the impact, its contents reacted and rejected the cursed bodies by igniting into a divine flame whose pure virtuous light enveloped the chamber and altar for a few seconds.

However, as the light faded, the feelings of divine veneration turned into horror as the dragon cat – or its charred carcass – managed to leapt out, shrieking and contorting while holding something small in its paw. The humans cringed and covered their ears and eyes, unable to withstand the horrible scene anymore.

A few moments later, the screams ceased. Mephisto spun around himself one last time and then, crumbled to dust. The ranger arrived at the scene – with unnatural speed granted by the magical ravens – just in time to catch a glimpse of his witch turning into ashes that were promptly scattered by the chilly wind, just like her sister had done before. "Gadget! No!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, reaching for a few specks of dust that were carried on his direction. Eventually, he dropped to his knees in misery and defeat.

"Gadget…" The ranger's thoughts try to reach his beloved one last time. "G-Gadget…"

"We are sorry, hero" Munnin once again intruded. His tone, however, seemed honest and even sympathetic. "She's gone"

Chip gritted his teeth in an effort to suppress the tears. "I couldn't, I couldn't... Is she… is she free?" He managed to ask amid grieving moans.

The ravens made a momentary pause that to Chip felt like an eternity. Then, Munnin spoke again. "No. She and her master are in hell"

This was too much for the black-nosed chipmunk to bear. He let out a pained growl and covered his face in shame. "GRRAGHH!"

Dale was the next one to arrived to the place. He immediately grabbed Chip by the shoulders and scooped him up. "Chip, we must leave! You are surrounded!"

The priests Gaspard and Hugo came right behind the bard, and the oldest one actually glanced down at the pair of rodents as he passed by, opting not to make a move against them. Not against the creatures that had saved his church from the devil and an all-consuming fire.

Abel came from behind a pillar and greeted his companions with great happines."Father Gaspard!" "Hugo! You are alive, praised be God! Praised be the virgin Mary!"

Hugo rushed forward and gave a heartfelt hug to his younger collegue, while Gaspard sent him a nod and a reassuring smile. "Please Abel, this is still the house of God. Keep your voice down"

"I'm just glad you are safe, father Gaspard" the younger priest wiped some tears off his face.

The guards, and specially their commanding officer, were not so overjoyed. "What the hell happened here?" The one in charge asked still in dismayed. "Even more important, it is over now?"

Gaspard glanced around the chamber, now illuminated by the light of the moon. The night was clear, the temperature was on the rise again, and the candles flickered softly. No trace was left from the monster or its remains. No trace was left from the chipmunks, the squirrel or the white mouse that stood boldly against it. There was only peace, silence and snow. "Yes, lieutenant" The old priest fixed his gaze on the altar and closed his eyes with relief. "It is all over now"

Back at the crumbled doors, Dale was helping Chip walk away, one step at the time. "Come on, Chipper. It's all over now. Lets just get the others and take them home"

"She is dead, Dale" The ranger spoke in a flat, monotonous voice.

"… I know" The bard gulped down and then hugged his grieving friend tighter. "She sacrificed herself for us, am I right?"

"Why... just why?"

"When… when we go back home, let's write together a song to remember her" Dale offered. "Something... something about her blue eyes, about her smile, about… her bravery"

"She died to protect me… she gave her life to protect me"

As Dale scrambled to find a good answer, the melodic voice of his fiancée reached his ears. "Cutie!"

The red-nosed chipmunk glanced ahead, and found their missing friends were also hurrying across the now silent battlefield to his encounter. "Foxy!" He stepped ahead to weave back, unintentionally leaving Chip alone with his dark thoughts.

Everything the black-nosed chipmunk had learned about hell from his childhood in Calais up to these past days in the company of the blue-eyed witch whirled madly in his already disturbed mind. Circles, layers, souls of sinners being tortured over and over by demons...

Gadget's sudden scream of agony, imagined or not, made Chip tremble out of control. "Help me" He called out in his mind, and for an instant he couldn't tell if the voice was his or Gadget's. "Help me!" He called again, this time with more resolution. "Remember our deal!"

"The deal?" The silhouette of a giant black raven clouded the chipmunk's gaze. "What of it?"

"I… we killed your snake! Gadget, Tammy, Dale and I! Mephisto is dead! I demand you to keep your part of the deal!"

"Our part of the deal?" The unsmiling Munnin tilted his head forward.

"To save Gadget! You told me you'd help me save her!"

The second raven landed, and his bright red eyes met Chip's defiantly. The ranger didn't flinch or falter, and he himself stood his ground against the murderous spirits he had gotten to know all too well these past weeks.

"You didn't deal the finishing blow" Huggin accused mockingly. "The squirrel did it the first time, and the mouse the second definite time"

These cold facts didn't deter Chip. Instead, his mouth broke into a knowing grin. "I still got credit under the eyes of Odin, you said that yourself, Huggin"

After a pause, the raven made a slight nod and backed off. "Aye, I did. What do you want from us now, hero? Your witch is dead"

"Dead, but it's not over yet. I want you to take me to hell. I swear I'll make things right!"

"You? You want to go to hell?" The ravens glanced at each other, clearly impressed. "You will do that for a mortal mouse, of all things?"

"That mouse is my soulmate and my love! Yes, I will go to hell for her!"

"You idiot. You have no idea what are you saying. You must be a special kind of sinner to fall there"

"My paws are covered in the blood of four rodents already, remember? King Minos won't have any qualms against me stepping there earlier"

"Good point, but how do you plan to take the witch out of there?"

Here Chip made a grimace. "I'll think on something when I get to that point. First I need to take her away from Mephisto. So, will you help me or not?"

Huggin and Munnin glanced upwards, as if listening to someone else's call. A few moments later, they got out of their trance. "The all-father has listened to your request and has granted it. We'll show you the way to the Christian realm of punishment"

"I guess I should say goodbye to my friends" The chipmunk reasoned as he began to wander back to reality.

"Not a good idea. They wouldn't let you take the first step of the journey"

"Which is the first step?"

"Your sacrifice"

Chip frowned, and suddenly realized he had somehow unsheathed the swords and was holding them in his paws with a very strong grip. "When did I… ". In a blink he finally understood what the first step of his journey to hell was. "Sacrifice…"

He also realized his friends were looking at him in daunting silence. Dale, quite concerned, placed a paw on his shoulder. "A-are you all right, Chip? You got kind of lost for a moment".

Tammy, Foxy and Zipper also shared the bard's sentiment. "Chipper…" The cleric started to say, but then froze in horror watching her loved ranger spin around the blades in a swift resolute motion and stab himself with them. "Chipper!"

"Chip!" The party quickly went to his aid, but it was too late. The ranger lied down in front of them curled to one side in a pool of his own blood, motionless with his eyes closed in a grimace. A quick clean death, as expected of a trained fighter.

"Please no!" Tammy pulled the swords off and threw them away. "No, no!" She repeated over and over as she desperately spent what little magic she had left in healing spells. "Please Chip" The young squirrel broke in tears as she realized her efforts were useless. "Don't follow her…"