Sixclaw

Part 2, chapter 5

The quiet humming of the hovercraft in the moonlight, slowly moving through the night sky put Deyna to fall asleep once Sixclaw's flask of liquor was empty.

One pilot was asleep, a radio still playing the latest horse racing match clutched in his paws, the other one setting the ship on autopilot so they could also get some shuteye.

As Deyna slumbered, REM sleep kicked in and he started to dream. He dreamed of lavish banquets, and eventually the scene shifted to a dark room. A small beast approached, growing larger as he got closer.

"Who are you?" Yelled Deyna. "Stay away from me! I buried you along with my past, you bitch!"

As the figure approached, Deyna noticed its suit of armor. "Oh, it's just you Martin. You scared the fur off me."

Martin looked over the otter, a menacing figure against the dark background. "Deyna, you have dishonored your entire abbey, and all those who bore the blade before you. Until you prove yourself, you will never wield my sword again.

Deyna woke up with a headache, as the doors to the hovercraft opened, showing a massive wolverine standing in front of the exit. Back into the thick of it again.

"One-Eye is waiting to see you." Said the wolverine. Adrian was a massive creature, exceptionally large, even for a Wolverine, and he commanded massive strength and cunning. The Wolverine was dressed in a crisp button down shirt, and suit pants. Another step towards the demilitarization of Fort Skull.

"How's his health?" Asked Sixclaw. "That procedure on his hand should have happened by now, yeah?"

"Doesn't want to be put under *General, not while there's this assassination business going on."

"Paranoid fucker, isn't he?" Deyna remarked.

"Take us to him, Adran." said Blackpaw, adjusting his spectacles.

"Alright, alright."

The wolverine, ducking his head through the doorways, led them through the dank, winding hallways of Fort Skull, until they reached a mahogany door with a claw shaped knocker on it.

This, adran lifted, and released, letting the stone ring clunk against the wooden door.

The door slowly creaked open to reveal…

One-Eye passed out in his chair.

Blackpaw was there first to break the silence. "Is he dead?" He looked at Sixclaw, who shrugged.

Deyna approached the cat cautiously. before poking him. After that didn't work, Deyna yelled in his face "WAKE UP!" Still, no dice.

Sixclaw rolled her eyes, and pulled out her pager. She only typed the letter "E." Pressing the "Send" button, One-Eye's pager buzzed a moment later, and the cat shifted, fell off his chair, and scrambled to his feet.

"No one saw that!" The wildcat's eye surveyed the room until it landed on the other beasts. "Ah, Deyna. As you can see, I'm back from hell." Said the cat, a smile spreading across his face. "Thank you, Adran."

The immense wolverine nodded, and quietly exited the room. (As quietly as a 4-meter tall behemoth could.)

"Right. Now to business." Said One-Eye, drawing a file from his desk. "Longtail gave me a message, the contents of which are detailed in this folder. Judging from the data our top analysts were able to gather, it appears that this was a coup by the Mechanical Hands."

"Who?" Asked Deyna.

"Some gang. Not important."

"That's a lie." Said Deyna. "I just buried my sister, who was shot to death by an assassin, who then committed suicide. Now tell me about the Mechanical Hands, or I swear to the Gates, I'll kick your ass back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of.

"Fucking hell, alright." said One-Eye. "I used to be from the Utopia. I grew up in a gang, then got betrayed. By my sister. Crabfang brought me here, and the rest is history."

"Yes, and?" Said Deyna. "I came to find out who gave the order to my sister, not to hear the sob story of a washed up warlord."

"We get there when we get there!" exclaimed One-Eye. "Gates, you Redwallers are an impatient lot. Anywhore, the leader of the Mechanical hands is anonymous. Haven't been able to find him yet."

"Don't you have crazy technologies?" asked Deyna. "You should've been able to find him."

"I can't find the fucker if he doesn't show his face." Said the cat. "He's fucking hellbent on keeping that ugly mug hidden. And for good reason."

Sixclaw approached the table. "If we don't stop him, he'll do it again."

"Exactly!" said One-Eye

"Killing all the lords, that's the key for him." continued Sixclaw. "He does that, the kingdoms fall into line and he can live the good life without having to worry about being overthrown."

"That is all." Said One-Eye. "What should we do moving forward?"

Deyna made a noise of question. "How should we kill the sonofabitch?" asked the otter, a scowl spreading across his face.

"We could flatten the place from here." exclaimed One-Eye, pounding a fist on the table.

"No, that would kill thousands of innocent creatures," said Deyna. "Out of the question."

"Deyna, stay out of this." said One-Eye. "Sixclaw, any ideas?"

"What about sending a search party?" asked Deyna, displeased with being told to, essentially, shut up.

"That would qualify as an act of war. Per the Southlands Treaty, Floret would launch a full scale attack at us."

"So what? They've got blades, we've got blades." stated Deyna. "You could overpower them easily."

"Maybe so, but there's another problem." Said Sixclaw, speaking up in support of the warlord. "That city is filled to the brim with gangs. Mobs, Stickup artists, robbers, you name the crime, the Utopia has it." Sixclaw explained. "And don't forget the dope."

"What we're trying to say is, you're taking it personal." Said One-Eye. "That's not what this is. It's out of place." The cat scratched at the scar that cut across his throat. "Gates, how do I put this in a nice way. Fuck it, You aren't going to be any help at all. Taking the killing of your cousin personally will just get you killed yourself."

Now, Deyna was not a bloodwrather. However, he was very close to reaching that state of pure rage when he was informed of this. The otter lunged forward, grabbing One-Eye by the front of his armor and slamming him against the wall, breaking the plaster.

"Hey, take it easy! Take it easy!" said One-Eye, struggling against the otter's grip. "I'm not the enemy!"

But Deyna would not put him down, not until Sixclaw placed a gun to his skull. "Drop him." And so he did, "I'm going on that raid party." snarled Deyna, before storming out of the room.

As the door slammed shut, Sixclaw turned to One-Eye. "How come you let him pin you like that?"

"Eh, not as fast as I used to be."