A chapter without a duel? Yep. Don't worry though-the next chapter will have more dueling. Serious duels. Dun dun dun… _

*Chapter 36: Thoughts*

"You have failed me."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" the man growled. "An error must have occurred! Damn him!"

"So what do you suggest now? I still need some time to regain my strength…"

"I have another plan. This one is sure to work."

"Hm… so you say. Not many get a second chance to redeem themselves; make sure you do not fail."

"I will succeed for sure."

"If you fail, you know the consequences."

"I have known them all along, and I am not backing down. Either way, it brings us another step closer to the end…"

"True. Very well; go forth."

"Yes sir."

*****

Max didn't make a sound as he knelt down, tears escaping his closed eyelids. Brandi wasn't fairing much better; she wiped away what she could, but missed quite a few.

Mana indicated to an area on the bank a few yards away. Understanding her meaning, the rest of the group silently moved away, leaving Max and Brandi alone.

Once they arrived in the designated spot, Rue drove his axe into the ground with a snarl. "That's it! Once was bad enough, but they've crossed the line with this!"

"I agree," Will nodded. "This has gone on long enough. We must strike down the rest of the Generals. Or even better, kill the one who is causing this. The leader, if you want to call him that."

"We don't even know where to find him," Claire reminded them. "But if we can somehow discover where he is, then that is a good idea."

"We can't make any decisions yet…" Hope said. "We must wait for Max and Brandi."

"True… by the way, are you feeling better?" Rue asked.

"Somewhat. I must act strong now. Max and Brandi will need it."

"Good point," Neo agreed.

*****

Another death… I've caused another death…Max thought. When… when will it end? When will I be free from this guilt?

"Max…" Brandi walked over to him, and hugged him fiercely. "It'll be ok…"

"You are trying to convince yourself… as much as you are trying to convince me…"

"That may be true… but Max, he wanted it this way. We must remember that. It's not your fault… blame that General. Blame the one who came up with that sick idea. Knowing how they work, our father probably would have died in the end anyway…"

"Brandi… why do we continue to live on? Why not just end it all?"

Brandi had to use all of her willpower to not begin crying again.

"Because our father wants us to live… to experience happiness. If we must die… let us do it while defending the world from these spawns of hell."

Max got up, now dry eyed. "If it must be that way, then so be it."

*****

"There they are!" Gaston said. "Hey guys, over here!"

Max and Brandi walked over to the others in the group.

"We are alright now," Brandi assured before anyone could ask. "We will make the one who did this pay."

"That's a great idea, but we have no way to go about it," Perseus pointed out. "Who knows where he is?"

"We do."

They spun around to see Sarius. Raid, Cyrus, and the Child were also with him.

"You are looking to find the leader of the Generals of Hell?"

"That's right," Hope replied. "Where is he?"

"You will not be able to access him immediately. You will have to go through his most trusted duelists, and they will not be easy to pass. After getting through them, you should find him. Be sure to kill him as quickly as possible; we cannot let the ritual succeed."

"How do we find these guys?" Will inquired.

"It will be tricky. To access the General's dueling arena, you must wait until the day has ended, and is being reborn. Then you look to the lake. If you are one of their members, you are to be allowed in. Then it is a matter of whether your skills are as good as you boast."

"Say what? Must you always talk in riddles?!" Rue complained.

"You will understand soon enough… now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to take care of." Sarius calmly walked off, his companions following.

"What did he mean?" Neo asked. "I'm confused."

"That's new?" Gaston joked.

"Hey!"

"It's obvious enough," Will interrupted. "When the day dies, and is reborn, is midnight. That's literally the beginning of a new day. The lake part is easy to understand. But apparently, only one of the Generals can enter. That kind of ends any ideas of finding them."

"So that's it? We have to give up because of their stupid rules?!" Max snarled.

"…Maybe not," Hope said.

Everyone turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Claire inquired.

"Look at this!" Hope reached into her backpack, and brought out a black cloak, and an orb of fire.

"How on earth did you acquire those?" Brandi asked.

"Remember when I found Zenith's diary at his house? Well, I found these too. I took them, thinking they might come in handy."

"It's a good thing you did," Rue said. "Now we should be able to get into this area of theirs easily!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Will disagreed. "How do we know if this disguise will fool them?"

"We have nothing better to try," Gaston commented. "So why not?"

"I second that!" Rue declared. "All in favor, say I!"

"I!" everyone shouted, except Ruecian, Olympion, and Neo. Ruecian just nodded. Olympion said it telepathically. Neo responded by saying, "Q!"

"Wise guy," Will grumbled, bashing Neo with his book yet again.

"So let's find a good place to stay, and wait for midnight to come," Hope suggested. "We need rest anyway."

"Sounds good to me," Claire said. "Anyone know a good location?"

"I do… just follow me," Max said.

*****

By the time they got to the little hill overlooking the lake, the sun was beginning to set. The water looked like it was on fire as the rays of light began to slowly, but surely, vanish. There was a slight breeze, throwing some cool air to make it a perfect temperature.

Hope couldn't remember the last time she had seen such beauty. It took her breath away. Distantly, she recalled Rue advising her to see the lake when it was sunset. Now she knew why he had told her that.

Everyone else was watching it as well, all immersed in their own thoughts.

So the final battle will come…am I ready? Hope wondered. No, I am not. But I must fight anyway… for Amy. And for the other people of this world. I cannot let anyone else suffer like we have.

Gaston looked at the sky, and could not recall a moment this peaceful that he had ever experienced in his short life. I am unskilled, and I am not sure if I can help. But I must try. I must try, to the best of my ability, to assist my friends in any way I can. Isn't that why I was created? To serve Hope? I have no other reason to live. And I won't fail that purpose. I will never leave her... I will never abandon her… no matter what happens.

Rue remembered the first time he had been to this lake. I was new to this world, as was Claire. The first day we entered Teknisk Wereld, we came here. It's… magical, that's the word for it. It still is… I can feel all of my fear leave me. But what am I more scared of? The battles that are to come, or of myself? I have kept changing violently… my biggest fear is to lose all of my soul. To be devoured by this murderous monster inside of me. All I can do is hope that I will not be consumed by hatred…

Ruecian looked over at Rue. All the time that Ruecian had known his master, he had hardly spoken any words, and he saw no reason to do so now. He knew that Rue knew that he would always back him up. Even if Rue became a monster, Ruecian would be prepared to help.

Claire was worried as well. Rue's other side is taking over him… will these battles prove to be too much for him to handle? He might lose focus on himself… and accidentally release… no, I can't think like that. I will pray that such a thing will not happen… especially now.

Perseus mentally sighed. What happens will happen. We cannot change the past, but we can affect the future.

Max thought over what had happened. Again, I have killed someone. When will we find peace? When can I learn to forgive myself? Probably never. But Brandi is right… if I am going to die, I might as well die doing something noble. If I even have the honor of doing that.

Olympion knew what his duty was. As long as he could assist Max, he was serving his purpose.

Brandi lay back, looking into the sky, ignoring how irritated her eyes were at the bright light. It's time. Whether I want to back out or not, it is now too late to quit. I came into this by free will, and I will not give up now.

Mana clutched her staff tightly. I may not know what the right thing to do is, but I know that I will not give up… not after all that has happened.

Will just looked on. This isn't a story, where everything turns out ok. We could very possibly die… and I am scared of death. I do not mind admitting that. But regardless, I will fight.

Even Neo was acting serious. There are many things I do not understand. I know this too well-Will  keeps reminding me of when I'm being an idiot. This time though, I must act as serious as I possibly can. This is no time for joking... we will have to fight, and we must be the winners. No matter what the cost.

The last ray of light finally vanished. Max got up to start a fire. Everyone else prepared to sleep, except for Will. He got out Loamhedge. If I'm going to die, I'm going to at least finish my book first!

*****

Sarius looked around the forest, cursing quietly.

"No sign of him… Raid, you cannot detect anything?"

Raid shook his head.

"Damn it. Where in the world could he be…?" His eyes suddenly widened. "No. Oh God NO. He had better not have… DAMN HIM!" He turned to his companions. "Change of plans guys. We're going back to the lake."

*****

Will shut his book, satisfied that he had finished it.

"Just as good as any other Redwall book. Gotta love Brian Jacques' books." He brought out a watch that Hope had lent him to keep track of time, and sighed in relief. "It's 11:45… good. Time to get ready." He slammed Neo over the head with his book.

"OW! What was that for?"

"You sleep like a rock, you know that? Now help me wake everyone else up."

After a few minutes, everyone was up, and they were at the edge of the lake. It now looked cold and forbidding.

"So what do we have to do?" Rue asked.

Hope had put on the cloak, covering herself up completely, except her head. Around her neck was the fiery orb.

"Wait for midnight, I guess."

Will looked at the watch. "It's 11:59. Last chance to back out."

"I doubt that any of us will leave after all that has happened," Max pointed out.

"True. Ok, it's ten seconds away…"

Suddenly, the orb of fire around Hope's neck began to shine very vividly. The light was cast upon the lake, and the water seemed to be torn apart. A pit of darkness was shown by the orb.

"So that's all we had to do?" Rue said. "Pretty easy. Shall we go?"

Max stepped forward. "I will go first. Wait for me to call to you before coming down." Then he leapt. They soon lost sight of him.

"So what's keeping him?" Will asked as he looked at the watch again. It had been twenty seconds.

"We can't wait for him. Just look!" Brandi pointed at the pit. It was beginning to close.

"No time to waste!" Rue declared. "Geronimo!" He leapt into the pit, everyone following. Neo barely had time to trip in before it sealed up.

What they did not notice was the pitch-black cat staring after them with its red eyes.

To be continued…