A/N: All song lyrics are from Glory to the Brave by Hammerfall. I do not own that or Ranger's Apprentice. But hey, a girl can dream.

Chapter One: Death of a Hero

"You are a traitor and a coward and a man without honor, Arisaka!"

Arisaka stared at the young man, raised his katana threateningly. "Who are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?"

"I'm called Chocho. I've seen honor among these Kikori warriors, men I've trained to fight you. They are men who understand loyalty and trust. And I see it now in your own men, now that they recognize the true Emporer of Nihon-Ja. But I see no honor in you, Arisaka. I see a crawling, cowardly, lying traitor! I see a man with no honor at all!"

"Chocho? Butterfly?" Arisaka uttered a short laugh, humorless and cold. Then he looked closely at Will, sizing up the smaller, younger man. "Then I challenge you, Butterfly! I challenge you to single combat!"

A hushed silence fell over the Senshi who were near enough to hear his words. They, too, stared at the small foreigner apprehensively. Surely he would not accept the challenge. And yet there was a look in his eyes that seemed to say otherwise.

"Will!" Horace grabbed his friend's arm. "Don't do it. You don't need to."

"Horace is right," Alyss agreed urgently. "You're right about Arisaka, and everyone here knows it. This can all be over right now, without any more bloodshed."

Will turned to look at them both. "It's all right." Horace tried to interrupt, but Will stopped him. "It'll be fine." He smiled reassuringly at Alyss, then turned away to face Arisaka once more, and his voice rang out, clear and unafraid. "I accept."

The Senshi nearest to them immediately backed away, leaving a wide area clear for the contest. Will's friends reluctantly followed suit.

Arisaka eyed Will derisively. "Choose your weapon, Butterfly." He spat the word mockingly.

Will remained unflustered. "I already have." And then his two knives seemed to fly into his hands of their own accord, the saxe in his right hand, the lighter throwing knife in his left.

Arisaka almost laughed, hefting his katana menacingly as the boy took up a fighting stance.

"Begin, Chocho."

Will stood his ground, expecting Arisaka to attack first. And sure enough, no sooner had the words left his mouth than he attacked, charging with his katana held high. Ready for the blow, Will lifted his knives, allowing the blade of the saxe to rest against that of the throwing knife just as Arisaka's sword made contact with them. Startled, not expecting his heavy overhand to be deflected to effortlessly, Arisaka stumbled for a fraction of a second, off balance. It was exactly what Will needed to launch an attack of his own, and he brought his right hand around, sweeping the saxe toward his opponent's exposed side. Arisaka only just managed to deflect the lightning-fast swipe, quickly disengaging himself from such close quarters and taking a step back, where he knew his katana could easily outreach the gaijin's knives. But Will, instinctively counteracting the maneuver, matched it with a step forward, keeping Arisaka well within reach. Sensing that his best option was to attack quickly before Will had the opportunity to do so, Arisaka swept his sword to the left and then immediately to the right in two rapid side cuts, only to find himself blocked by Will's crossed blades both times. Then Will took another swing, this time with the throwing knife in his left hand. But at the same time that Arisaka moved to deflect the thrust, Will's right hand shot out, and Arisaka, less agile than the young Ranger, was caught by surprise as the heavy saxe knife suddenly flashed above his breastplate and buried itself in his throat. The katana dropped from his rapidly numbing fingers. But instinctively, with his last breath, he fumbled for the dagger that he kept concealed at his back and lunged toward his unguarded opponent. And then he knew no more.

Silence reigned at the lifeless body of the would-be usurper crashed to the ground, and Will's friends breathed a collective sigh of relief. But still he stood there, unmoving, with his back to them.

Halt was the first to realize that something was wrong. "Will – "

There were two dull thuds as the saxe and the throwing knife slipped from his slack grip and fell to the ground. And then, as if in slow motion, he swayed uncertainly, twisted to one side, and fell, landing on his back on the hard ground, the handle of a knife visible in the flow of blood that gushed from his abdomen.

"Will!"

None of them knew if the shout had torn from their own throat or from someone else's as they surged toward him as one. Halt reached him first, pulling his former apprentice into his arms.

"Will! Will, look at me!"

Will knew that voice, knew he had never yet disobeyed an order from it, and so he did as it said. But Halt, as well as all of the other faces around him, appeared strangely out of focus. He blinked rapidly, looking up at his mentor.

"We did it." His voice was barely audible.

Halt nodded. "We sure did. You did." He could hear Evanlyn, and then gradually the Senshi nearest to her, calling for a medic. He had to keep Will talking.

"Hey. Gilan'll be proud when we tell him about this one, huh? He taught you that double-knife defense, remember? All those years ago in Celtica. He'll probably start saying he saved Nihon-Ja. As if he needs an even more inflated head, right?"

Will managed a weak grin. "Do you ever… manage to ask… j-just one question? Or does – " He coughed violently, and blood dripped from his lips. " – does it always… have to be m-multiple choice… w-with you?"

Halt had to smile as he realized that Will was throwing his own words back at him. "That was more than one question," he pointed out.

Will tried to answer, but was overcome with another coughing fit, worse this time. Blood poured from his mouth.

"G-guess I won't… be around to… to bother you w-with all th-those questions… m-much longer," he whispered.

Halt shook his head vehemently. "No. Don't you do that. You're going to be fine, you hear me? You'll be fine." He forced himself to meet Will's eyes as he said the words, willing himself to believe them, because he could tell Will didn't.

His voice was even weaker now. "S-sorry, Dad."

Something inside of Halt broke then, and tears began to stream down his cheeks. But he was beyond caring.

Will's dark eyes broke contact with Halt's, searching the other faces around him. "Horace…"

The young knight moved closer so Will could see him. "Yeah, Will?" he asked shakily.

Will gave another weak grin. "Thanks." That one simple word was all he said, but Horace understood the volumes that it meant. He nodded silently, his throat too tight to speak.

"Alyss."

She, too, moved forward, slipping her hand into Will's as she did so, tears coursing down her pale cheeks.

Will squeezed her hand as tightly as he could. "Love you."

"I – " She swallowed hard, struggling to find her voice. "I love you, too."

Satisfied, Will allowed his dim gaze to drift back to Halt. "Dad…"

"What is it, Will?" he managed softly, determined to keep talking as long as his apprentice did.

But Will never answered.

Nothing on earth stays forever,
But none of your deeds were in vain.
Deep in our hearts you will live again.
You're gone to the home of the brave.