A/N: ARG My story has progressed to far for it to fit Martin's original two sentences; I'll have to be more careful next time. It will be changed to "your sword" instead of the original "the sword" sorry about this confusion.

Nerae stumbled backwards. This badger knew his name and would then undoubtedly know his reputation. He cleared his throat nervously hoping the badger would believe him. He quickly told his tale in a fast voice that got increasingly faster. The badger ruminated and finally gave his verdict.

"Well I believe you, I have never met a dishonorable mouse, it is like an oxymoron that phrase." He said scratching his head, "But to forge a sword that has the power of the Sword of Martin the Warrior will be quite hard, I only have a small amount of such metal."

"I could get some for you." Nerae said hopefully.

Blindstripe shook his head

"Where could you find metal like that, unless…"

Blindstripe walked to a portrait of his kinsman and removed it unveiling a niche where a blue metal was kept.

"This metal is very rare and nearly as hard as the mineral used in the Sword of Martin the Warrior."

He reached out for Death Singer and Nerae handed it to him. Blindstripe looked at the sword with curiosity.

"It will be done in a week, in the meantime you may stay at Salamandastron."

Nerae bowed himself out. "Thank you milord."

Nerae walked around the town this was his third day here. He enjoyed his time here. He had a lot of training time. He could constantly be found whacking away at a dummy with a heavy wooden pole that supposedly simulated an enormous claymore. Hares also constantly thought a rat had gotten into the mountain and fought him. Only when he had flung him or her to the ground could he talk to him or her and assure them he was no rat.

He had great pleasure in participating in the daily eating contests. Granted he always lost but he loved to watch the hares eat. Managing to eat enormous amounts yet still keeping good manners was a skill Nerae definitely needed to aquire in his new home at Redwall considering he always shoveled down at least three servings each meal in the few days he had resided there.

On the seventh day he was summoned to the Badger Lord's room. He was presented with a magnificent sword. It was shining bright as ever with a completely new blue blade. Its hilt and cross guard had been refitted as well and wrapped with fresh black leather. Nerae was speechless as he was handed a hilt that was black matching the hilt. He strapped it on and slid his new sword, which he dubbed Frost Wail.

He thanked the Badger Lord and walked out of the great mountain, he would miss it. Then April dropped on him, throwing knives. Coincidentally Nerae had been expecting this and brought Frost Wail out and it whistled forward cutting through the knives like paper. He marveled at its strength as he sheathed it and picked up April. He whistled and Liano flew over. After brief orders Liano carried April back over the horizon.

Yuke was happy. Sea Splitter had been remade. With his new sword he strutted around laughing uproariously. But inwardly he was seething. The army that he had come in with had diminished greatly. Half of the army had died from over exertion. He boarded Sea Splitter ordering everyone aboard and they set sail. South they went down the river that went right past Redwall. Soon Yuke thought, soon.

April was struggling furiously, in disbelief and in fury. Half of her store of knives had been but in half. She had managed to salvage the pieced before Liano lifted her. Realizing struggling was futile she relaxed and waited for her fate. She was quite surprised when she landed in Redwall. She quickly ran to her small private forge and remade her knives. Soon she would have her whole arsenal back but it would take ages to track Paol again. She would just focus on defending Redwall if it would ever need defending.

Nerae slid into the camp where Yuke had been a week ago. He cursed to find they had moved by sea. Seeing the forest he headed toward it seeking to ask its inhabitants if they had seen where they had gone. He leaped back in surprise as a green pinecone struck right into the dirt in front of him. If he had not dodged, it would have hit him in the forehead, possibly killing him. These archers were more deadly and accurate than ten Aprils. Nerae raised his hands as a sign of peace. He knew where every one of the squirrels were so he eyed then closely incase a cone should fly out seeking his life. A squirrel jumped down from the trees and walked towards Nerae twirling his sling.

"State your business rat."

"I am not a rat!" Nerae exclaimed going slightly insane, "see how short my tail is! Look at it!" he said shaking his tail in front of the bewildered squirrel's face. Nerae stopped and punched himself.

"Sorry, that has happened to me a lot."

"I can tell." Said the squirrel taking a step back

"I was just asking if you saw a ship and where it sailed."

"Aye I saw one, it sailed down the border line, I believe Paol Ticcur was aboard the ship, funny how he doesn't have that other sword though."

"That is indeed quite odd." Nerae replied.

He felt it better not to reveal his true identity to these cone-slinging squirrels, it may be the last thing he did. He counted forty of squirrels, all with slings and cones at ready.

"That is quite an impressive squadron up there, is it a custom here to greet strangers with two score of squirrels?"

"You can never be too careful," He responded, masking his surprise quickly "how did you know I had two score of Coneslingers in the forest?"

"Mayhap you did not notice but your slings do not exactly match the trees and neither does your fur. I suggest hiding closer to the trunk and spying and only walking out of the shade of the trees to fire."

"That's a good idea, I'll think about it."

Nerae waved good-bye and hurried down the bank. Then suddenly Martin's sentence rose again from the depths of Nerae's mind.

Take your sword and defend the Abbey from the one who nearly took your life. Assume a new name and smite them, along with another who will come from the west.

Everything then instantaneously dovetailed together for him. He needed to enlist the help of Blindstripe and his hares to defeat Yuke and his army from invading Redwall. Fear swelled up with in Nerae. He had to get help fast, who knows how much more quickly Yuke would get to Redwall. Nerae picked up his sword and began to twirl it faster and faster. The piercing screech would be heard for miles around. His sword gained speed shrieking ever louder and louder until an answering shriek answered him. Liano came swooping down. Nerae mounted and commanded.

"To Salamandastron! Make haste an understatement. Go!"

Liano screeched and shot off faster than any mouse, any arrow. Nerae was leaning down and grasping the head of the saddle tightly despite the wind pounding away at his face his eyes were open. Determination showed in them and when he landed at the door step of Salamandastron he shot straight past the guard straight past the townsfolk, straight to Blindstripe.

When the door slammed open he found a hot metal poker right in front of his left eye. Frost Wail came shrieking out as soon as his eyes locked on to the red point, cutting it clean off.

"Nerae, you frightened me." Blindstripe said.

"No time Redwall is in trouble!" Nerae spouted

"In trouble what do you me-" Blindstripe began

"No time Yuke is heading there by boat around the back we need to get there NOW!" Nerae said so quickly that all the words seemed to be stringed together.

He stopped and looked dazed momentarily and punched himself in the face.

"Sorry," He said in a considerably slower voice "Yuke and my ex-army are sailing behind Redwall to launch a sneak attack and we need to help!"

Blindstripe jumped up and quickly put on armor and hefted his hand sledge. He ran out with extreme agility and assembled a thousand or so hares in a blink of an eye and was off. Nerae blinked and rushed to join them. They marched for a day without end. Nerae's adrenaline was still pumping. He saw the hares drinking a brown substance.

"It's called coffee," Blindstripe said, "it is extremely bitter but keeps you awake, I found it on a vermin ship some while back"

"I would like to sample some."

Blindstripe handed him a cup. Nerae drank deeply, the bitterness was overwhelming and he had to struggle to swallow it. He instantly felt energized. He continued walking and when they reached Redwall and he saw his former army.

April was in a dire situation. She was the only one who could fend them off. She slowly picked them off one by one but she knew she would run out of knives before she couldn't make even a minor dent in the vast horde. She slung knives with extreme speed hoping to kill off the ones closest in an attempt to prolong the inevitable.

Nerae's eyes locked on to Yuke and, lifting his arms, screamed "EULALIA!" and rushed forward. The whole army turned and gasped in disbelief as they saw their former leader rushing in to seek vengeance, flanked by Salamandastron hares and a giant badger.

"Attack the hares, attack them!" Yuke screeched and his army advanced. Nerae and Blindstripe were easily clearing the frontline. Every hit from Blindstripe's hand sledge killed ten vermin. Several times entrails got sent into comrades as the force of the blow knocked a hole straight through the enemy. Nerae sword sung death with every movement. Whether the sword found head for gut it did not matter, what the sword was really looking for was Yuke.

Yuke saw his determination and, being at the back of the army, skirted around the abbey quite easily. Suddenly a knife appeared in his foot paw and he screamed and looked up to see a squirrel aiming with another knife.

Nerae looked for Yuke as his sword sunk into another body but did not see him. He shot through the ranks of vermin to the back of the army in search of Yuke. He cursed and ran around the abbey to find Yuke standing, deflecting knives from April. He rushed forward. Frost Wail shrieked a dirge as it rushed for Yuke. Nerae pushed as Yuke brought the strike into a sword lock. Nerae was easily winning. Yuke broke the lock and dived forward. Sidestepping he stabbed down with all his might, piercing Yuke right through the middle of the spine.

With his foot paw he pushed the body off his sword and picked up the Sword of Martin the Warrior. He flipped it up and caught it. He marveled at the sword for a second but then rushed back into the fray to finish the job and with two swords Nerae was in his element and destroyed his former army in a matter of minutes.

When the threat against Redwall had been shattered. Nerae was dubbed Warrior of Redwall.