Evening My Lovelies

I'm going to apologize in advance for this chapter in case its a bit crap. I'm currently running on about 3 hours sleep in the last 40hrs so I'm VERY tired (hopefully this means I'll actually be able to sleep tonight *prays*)

Notes On Reviews:

pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - His focus right now is going to getting to Aramis so our lovely medic can look over the pup but don't worry I haven't forgotten about Athos, we'll be checking in with him soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - I know! I loved writing Porthos in that chapter so I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Oh, I seriously can't wait to write Athos when he realizes D'Art was alive all along :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Oooh great minds are thinking alike again :) Don't worry I fully intend for our lovely pup to suffer some side effects from his time in the box :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reading/reviewing

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-Four: Rescue II

Despite wanting nothing more than to throw the door open and charge in the former musketeers knew they had to act smart. They hadn't heard anyone else in the room aside from Rochefort and Glenn but that didn't mean no one else was there. So instead Fredrick slowly opened the door, the pair creeping forward inch by inch until the had enough of a view into the room to plan their next move.

Both men felt their blood turn to ice as they spotted their friend crumpled on the ground, covered in blood and beyond alarmingly pale. Neither man was sure how the former musketeer had the energy to even stay conscious let alone engage his captor in conversation but they took it as a sign that they still had time to save him.

A quick glance around the room confirmed that it was just the two of them inside, something which had both former musketeers breathing a silent sigh of relief before sharing a look and silent discussion on how best to get their friend out of this alive.

It was then that, after moving his head in an effort to ease the ache in his neck, Glenn spotted his former comrades by the now opened door. Despite already being crumpled on the floor the sight of his friends allowed the injured man to relax, a faint sigh escaping his lips as he watched the duo slowly creep further into the room.

"Who told you the inseparables were here anyway?" asked Glenn, wincing as another wave of pain washed over him. He was finding it increasingly hard to stay conscious and to speak but he knew keeping Rochefort's attention on him would give his brothers a better chance of getting the jump on the former red guard Captain.

What he wasn't expecting though was the look that passed over said former Captain's face at his question. He wasn't sure how best to describe it but it set him on edge, a feat which was quite impressive given his current condition.

"Why would I tell you that?" mocked Rochefort with a dark chuckle, "It's not like you'll be alive long enough to benefit from the information."

Fredrick and Talbot silently glared at the man at his cold words but both stayed silent as they crept around in the shadows, grateful for their friend for keeping the attention away from them even as they worried as to the damage it was doing to him to do so.

"Can't grant a man's dying wish?" jeered Glenn with more strength than he felt, he could see Rochefort was more amused than anything else with his questions and as much as he would like to put an end to the man's smirk he was willing to sacrifice his pride to keep attention away from his brothers.

Rochefort appeared to think over the question for a moment before chuckling quietly as he shook his head. "Tempting but you musketeers are like cockroaches, always seem to survive what's done to you. There is no way I'm missing seeing Treville's reaction when he finally figures it out -"

The comment about their Captain was the last straw for the two hidden men and they slowly rose from the shadows.

"What makes you think you'll be alive to see it?" growled Fredrick as he stepped into the light, pistol and blade drawn, both pointing directly at the former red guard, who to their great satisfaction, looked thoroughly surprised by their appearance.

Without taking his eyes away from the now scowling rat in front of him Fredrick squared his shoulders, "Talbot get Glenn out of here."

Said former musketeer hesitated only a moment before a groan of pain from his injured friend had him moving to Glenn's side, the man quickly evaluating his friend's injury to figure out the best way to move him before he carefully helped the injured man to his feet.

"Think you can move your feet if I do the rest?" he asked quietly, smiling fondly when his dear friend nodded weakly, a glimmer of stubbornness flickering in his pain-filled eyes.

Once he knew Talbot had Glenn, Fredrick pushed his worry for the injured man down as he waited for Rochefort to make his move.

He didn't have to wait long as Rochefort quickly drew his own pistol from his belt, firing in the former musketeer's direction the moment the barrel was high enough.

Thankfully in his haste, he didn't aim more than pointing the pistol in Fredrick's direction, allowing the former musketeer to quickly dart out of the way, the shot only grazing the top of his arm instead of lodging deep in his shoulder.

As he moved Fredrick mimicked Rochefort by firing back, cursing under his breath when his shot also only resulted in a graze instead of a hit like he had been hoping.

Knowing he didn't have time to reload Fredrick used the brief moment of distraction while Rochefort attempted to dodge out of the way of his shot to abandon his pistol and to charge directly at the former red guard Captain, blade drawn.

Talbot did what he could to ignore the feeling of guilt brewing in his gut as he left his brother to handle Rochefort while he got Glenn to safety but that became significantly harder to do when he heard gunshots pierce the air. Nearly every instinct he had was screaming at him to return to the room and it was only the hiss of pain that fell from a barely conscious Glenn's lips that had his focus returning to the mission at hand.

"We don't have far to go, Glenn," reassured Talbot, although he wasn't sure if they were supposed to comfort the injured man or himself given how Glenn was seriously struggling to stay awake. It was becoming hard to ignore the blood flowing slowly from the man's wound and the amount of it already coating his brother's clothes had the former musketeer extremely worried, although he was desperately trying not to show it. "That kid Tristan will get you back to normal in no time… just hang on a little bit longer."