Kani and the weasel teacher bible-bash. Actually, this was a fairly difficult chapter to put together, but I am quite pleased with the end result, and everything fit together picture perfectly. :D Next chapter, we're switching gears, and going to start focusing on Alexander for a little while. ;)

Chapter 50

The otter commander was torn.

Torn over the matters presently engaged in.

Torn over the ethics of those matters.

Torn over whether or not it was her place to even question it.

Torn over everything.

And she didn't know what to do about it.

The weasel teacher was being less than helpful about the matter, too. His answers to the series of questions she had been giving him off and on were all indirect, and almost seemed to be avoiding the honest and straight answer, carried out in such a crafty way that the otter commander wondered if she was just imagining it. But more often than not, he wouldn't even answer at all, not willing to even touch the subject. This was usually followed by his urging to forget such "wicked" thoughts and repent of them, thereby remaining steadfast to the teachings of Gemini. For it was Gemini that would see things through as they should.

But the otter commander, for the first time in more seasons than she cared to remember, wasn't so sure of that.

Her "doubts", for lack of a better term, were first aroused when they first arrived at the abbey that was called Redwall. Initially, it had seemed like a fairly routine assignment. Show off the scale of the army and make the wicked realize just how outnumbered they are came first. Then, due to a prompting from the weasel teacher, the wicked were given one last chance to repent, which actually wasn't an uncustomary thing to do, as the otter commander had seen it done several times before. The wicked then denied their one last chance and instead chose to resist, and this did not surprise the otter commander, as she had somehow expected that they would.

This was all very normal routine things for the Quorum of Warriors to deal with, with nothing at all out of the ordinary. It wasn't until after all of this that the otter commander's suspicions began to be aroused as the conflict dragged on. Because first of all, it taking far longer than it normally would to conquer these abbeydwellers. Under normal circumstances, all creatures that refuse to forsake their wicked ways and resisted the Quorum of Warriors was conquered fairly quickly. But this wasn't the case with the Redwallers. Despite being outnumbered, despite being at siege, despite being suppositively overpowered, they had managed to stand their ground, with few casualties, since the very first attack. All the odds were against the Redwallers, and yet there they stood, having lost no land to their attacking army, successfully holding back an army that was usually quite a force to be reckoned with. And the otter commander couldn't figure out how it was done.

They had been here for several days now, gaining no headway against the abbey's forces. And yet, it was the Quorum of Warriors that had the power of Gemini on their side. So how was it that mere wicked creatures that, to her understanding, had no such blessings on their side could hold them back?

Then there had been her own injury, which was totally unexpected. She had taken a Redwaller's arrow to the shoulder, and while it wasn't life threatening and would eventually heal well, it had hindered her ability to command greatly. And that wasn't even the half of it. No commander of the Quorum of Warriors had been injured, regardless of the seriousness of the wound, since the Followers of Gemini's early days many untold seasons ago. The army's numbers were too great the army itself too powerful, to permit it. Furthermore, every commander was blessed by Gemini to not to come to any harm. None at all.

And yet, she had. And by the wicked, no less.

As before, the weasel teacher couldn't seem to provide an accurate explanation, other than to suggest that perhaps it was due to the otter commander's own wicked acts that this had happened, voiding the blessing. But the otter commander knew that wasn't true. She had been perfectly righteous and loyal to Gemini during the whole conflict, and before as well.

So why had he forsaken her?

And it wasn't just her. Several other creatures in the army seemed puzzled and perplexed by all of this, not understanding what was happening. They were questioning themselves and their abilities, and probably the abilities of Gemini as well. They had lost the drive to keep fighting, and as a result, their morale sinking rapidly. They had lost the force, the very power, that enabled them to fight, and fight effectively.

And now the Redwallers seemed to have it.

And now, the otter commander was doubting that Gemini existed at all.

The weasel teacher was venomously against this belief, refusing to even discuss the subject. He assured her that Gemini did very much exist, and that to think otherwise was the worse and almost unforgivable sin that could be committed. He told her to chase all such thoughts from her mind and never think of them again. If he found that she was, he would exercise his power to bring justice to her sins. And his power could be challenged, beaten, nor denied. He was a member of the Quorum of Teachers, after all. Few in the religion were more powerful than they save Gemini himself.

But even the otter commander found herself doubting that.

However, she wisely kept most of these thoughts to herself. It wouldn't do if word got around that she was doubting herself, her beliefs, and above all, her ability to command the army.

So the events of that morning came as a complete surprise to her.

"Attention Quorum of Warriors!" the voice of a fox called suddenly from the walltops of the abbey on the morning in question. "The inhabitants of Redwall like to declare a momentary truce to parley with the leaders of this army, the weasel, and the otter commander!"

The fox had the army's attention alright, as murmuring started to break loose at this announcement. This was a sudden turn of tactics for the Redwallers themselves.

Favoring her injured arm, which still hung in a sling, the otter commander exited her tent and looked towards the abbey. Standing on the ramparts beside the abbey's main gates was the fox in question, which was surprising to the otter commander. She couldn't remember there being any confirmed foxes at the abbey. Beside the fox was the abbot of Redwall, the elderly mouse, as well as the usual compliment of guards that were stationed on the walls. The otter commander stared at them for a little while, with a frown.

The weasel teacher stepped up next to her. "They are up to something." he remarked aloud.

"How can you be sure?" the otter commander asked. "They might have decided that they have had enough." Although, even as she said it, she didn't believe it.

The weasel teacher gripped his staff tightly. "We shall see." he remarked, and stepped towards the abbey. The otter commander followed, mildly curious.

The Redwallers had been looking for them coming, and the two were pointed out as they drew closer to the walls. The two looked up at the Redwallers.

"Are you wishing to surrender?" the otter commander began, almost hopeful. Whatever what was going on here, she didn't want slay a group of creatures that had as much will to survive as these Redwallers. "Do you wish to repent?"

"We will do no such thing." the abbot remarked determinedly.

"Then why have you summoned us?" the weasel teacher demanded coldly. "If you do not wish to follow Gemini, then we have nothing to discuss."

"On this, we disagree." the fox remarked, leaning over the ramparts. "But that is why we wish to talk. On peaceful terms. Just to the two of you, with no other forces lurking nearby to kill any creature."

"I will not discuss anything with the unrepentant." the weasel teacher declared.

The otter commander gave him a look. "But if they wish to talk..." she began.

"They are wicked creatures, and are refusing to repent." the teacher objected. "We have no business to do with them. We will not talk peace with them."

"I did not say we wanted to talk about peace." the fox said. "There is no peace between us, at least not yet. What I said is that we want to talk on peaceful terms. About religion."

The weasel raised his eyebrows at this. "You do not wish to repent and follow the ways of Gemini, but you still wish to discuss religion?" he asked. "Whatever for?"

"It is not so much you we want to talk to, but we know you're going to follow anyway." the abbot commented. "Rather, it is the otter commander that we wish to speak with."

The otter commander blinked and stared up at them in obvious surprise. The army surrounding them, that was naturally listening, began murmuring again.

"If you agree to enter our abbey peacefully, just the two of you, to talk further in private, we'll explain further." the fox explained.

The weasel teacher and the otter commander exchanged glances.

"I want to talk to them." the otter commander stated bluntly, very intrigued by all of this.

The weasel nodded in agreement. "I am admittedly...curious...to hear what they have to say myself." he remarked, glancing back up at the two Redwallers watching them. "We will agree to your terms, abbeydwellers. We will talk."


Isaiah sent away all of the Redwallers milling about in the grounds, curious about what was happening (or present still because about the dispute regarding Kani's sudden promotion to warrior of Redwall earlier), so that there would be undisturbed. The guards remained stationed on the walltops, although Rowe wanted to be present with at least one other creature to keep an eye on the proceedings in case something went wrong. Mathoni and Charles both volunteered for the job, but Kani put a stop to the matter.

"We're inviting them inside this abbey under the terms that they come alone and unguarded." the fox pointed out wisely. "It's only fair that we do the same."

And no one could deny that logic.

So it was only Abbot Isaiah and Kani that awaited the weasel and the otter at the main gates, opened just far enough and just long enough for the two to enter. They were a curious pair; the weasel dressed in his sky blue habit and gripping his staff topped with a large, blue, sapphire on top of it, bearing the apparently trademark tatoos of a teacher, while the otter commander was dressed in the usual copper-colored armor and uniform the rest of the army wore, with one arm in a sling. But then again, if they seemed to be different to the Redwallers, imagine what the Redwallers seemed like to them.

"Hello." Kani greeted with a nod. "To begin, I thought we should all exchange names. I know you already know the abbot, but you probably do not know me. I am Kani Fennix, and I am..." he trailed off in search of an adequate word to describe his connections to the abbey. Isaiah gave him a sideways glance during this. "...visiting the abbey."

"You are the fox the rat spoke of." the weasel deduced suddenly.

Kani blinked. "Rat?" he repeated, lost. Then he, too, made the connection. "You mean the rat mercenary that was following me." he paused for a moment, frowning. "What happened to her?"

"She refused to accept the teachings of Gemini and was disposed of." the weasel replied bluntly.

Kani frowned. "Oh." he said. "I suppose that would explain why no one has seen her scrawny tail since my arrival..."

"What are your names, if I may ask?" Isaiah inquired suddenly, moving the topic away from the more morbid one concerning the dead Aurora. "It would be nice to have something else to call you by other than your species, rank, and overall appearance."

"Name?" the otter commander repeated, and was lost in thought for a long moment.

"Names are irrelevant in the eyes of Gemini." the weasel explained. "We are all his followers. It is not important to know more than that."

"Plagues and pestilence, how do you tell each other apart, then?" Kani asked, bewildered at the idea of living life without knowing anybody's given names.

"I believe you invited us into your abbey to talk about religion." the teacher said instead, getting back on topic.

"You are correct." Isaiah said, and motioned towards the abbey's main building. "If you will please follow us, we can begin once we're inside."

Isaiah and Kani led the way towards the abbey's main building, the weasel and the otter following, the latter still lost in thought.

"Melody." the otter suddenly announced out of the blue.

They all glanced at her, looking puzzled.

"That is my name." the otter explained hesitantly. "At least...it is what I remember my mother calling me. But...but I have not been called that in many, many seasons."

"Since you became a member of the Gemini religion?" Isaiah guessed.

The otter commander lowered her gaze, sensing the weasel beside her giving an unpleasant glare, and nodded. "And since my mother's death." she added.

"Speaking of which, what do the Followers of Gemini believe happen to the dead?" Kani asked aloud as they started up the steps leading into Great Hall.

"They ascend to a higher being, and serve Gemini." the weasel teacher replied immediately.

"Is that all?"

"Need there be more?"

"Well, there must be more to the afterlife than just serving Gemini like slaves."

"Perhaps, but that is only of Gemini's concern."

"Sounds selfish." Isaiah commented as they stepped into Great Hall and started walk down the abandoned, large, room. "Gemini seems to be very concerned about matters regarding him and little else."

"In the eyes of the wicked, it would seem like it." the weasel teacher remarked coldly. "It is not true, however."

"And how do you know that?" Kani asked, stopping suddenly, causing everyone else to stop as well.

"Because Gemini has taught us as such." the teacher replied.

"So you just automatically believe whatever he seems to tell you?"

"Do you have reason to doubt his almighty word?"

Kani and Isaiah exchanged looks.

"Do you have reason to doubt ours?" Isaiah asked calmly.

"Yes. Because it is untrue."

"Why? What makes it untrue?"

"Because you do not adhere to the ways dictated by Gemini."

"See, that's an interesting pattern that I've noticed about this Gemini being." Kani remarked, shaking a claw in thought. "If anybeast doesn't do things his way, they must die, correct?"

"That is correct." the weasel replied.

"Why?"

"Because they are wicked."

"What makes them wicked?"

"Because they do not adhere to the ways dictated by Gemini."

"And why must they die for that?"

The weasel hesitated for a spilt second. "Because they are wicked."

"Why?"

Even the weasel couldn't come up with an adequate answer for that. "There is nothing more to explain." he reasoned finally.

"So, if Gemini tells you to do something, you must do it?" Kani asked.

"What is your point?" the weasel challenged, looking annoyed.

"My point," Kani began, "is simple. The Redwallers believe something different from you. And yet you have a problem with that."

"It is all lies." the weasel stated simply.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because Gemini has told us as such, and Gemini is all-knowing."

Kani nodded inwardly to himself, seeming to be thinking that over. He glanced again at the abbot, who was staying silent. He knew that Kani had a plan for all of this, and was letting the fox go at it.

"What if," Kani began, addressing the subject purposely idly, "I told you that it was actually your religion that is a lie?"

The weasel narrowed his eyes at the fox, and the otter commander's head looked up to meet the fox's gaze.

"Is it?" she asked.

"No." the weasel quickly assured her with a dark tone.

"But how do you know?" Kani prompted.

"Because Gemini has told us as such. He has shown grace to our kind and taught us his ways so that we can be righteous."

"It is what you believe, then." Kani clarified.

The weasel gave him a look, but did not deny it. "You may phrase it that way, yes." he agreed.

Kani nodded, and then grinned. "You know, I respect that." he said. "I respect the fact that you believe in something that I do not. It's your right to believe that, whether or not there's any truth to it at all." he paused, frowning again. "Unfortunately, you can't seem to show Redwall the same courtesy."

"What you believe in is lies, and entirely wicked." the weasel stated plainly. "It is a different matter entirely."

"In your eyes, it would seem like that, wouldn't it?" Kani said with a smirk, using the teacher's own words against him. He started circling the weasel, to the creature's annoyance. "You know, Martin isn't like your Gemini." the fox continued, motioning to the depiction of the mouse of the nearby tapestry. "They do bear a lot of similarities, like they fact that they are both all-knowing, and both are probably all powerful. But there is one thing that makes them stand apart. Gemini is a dictator, who must have everything done his way. Martin, however, is the opposite, and is merely a guide for us mortal creatures..."

"Make your point, please." the weasel growled, growing annoyed again.

"My point is that no matter what anybeast says or tells you, you are free to choose for yourselves." Kani growled in the weasel's ear. He gave the weasel a glare for a moment, then turned away. "My brother told me that."

"We are free to choose." the weasel remarked, perhaps seeing where Kani was going with this already.

"Prove it." the fox challenged, jabbing a claw at the weasel. "If you really had the freedom to choose, then you can choose to spare this abbey."

The weasel hesitated. "I cannot do that." he stressed. "Gemini will not permit it."

"And there lies our problem." Kani said with narrowed eyes. "Gemini is robbing you of your freedom, can't you see that? If you really did have the freedom to choose, then you could acknowledge that the inhabitants of Redwall simply believed differently from you. You may not like it, but you had the freedom to choose what to do about it, and the most logical thing to choose about it would be to just leave us well enough alone. If we didn't want to believe the same things as you, then the logical thing to do is to just avoid us and go looking for other potential creatures to convert. This isn't a matter worth killing innocent creatures over."

"But you are wicked." the weasel argued quickly, determinedly, but lamely. "You must be destroyed."

"But why?" Kani emphasized again. "Gemini's an all-powerful being, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then...if he's really so almighty, then why destroy the wicked? What could a bunch of insignificant mortal creatures be able to do to the likes of him? What is he so afraid of that he's willing to slaughter possibly hundreds if not thousands of creatures and virtually enslave even more for?"

The weasel was at a loss for words again. "He...he is afraid of nothing." he argued. "Gemini is afraid of no beast, mortal or otherwise."

"Then I'll say it again," Kani said, advancing on the weasel, "why destroy the wicked?"

"Because...because they are wicked, and the wicked cannot coexist with the righteous."

"But what does that matter to Gemini? They all die and become his eternal servants, right? Why does he care if they're good or bad?"

"Because...because...they are wicked."

"And what makes them wicked?"

"Because they are resisting the teachings of Gemini."

"And why do you think they resist, hmm? Is it because you threaten to kill them if they don't repent? Did it ever occur to you that all of the creatures you've been considering as wicked might have actually just been fighting for their very lives?"

"If the wicked are not destroyed, they will prevail against the righteous and all will be lost."

"So Gemini really does have reason to be afraid of the wicked, then, hmm?"

One could see the weasel's pattern of thought grind to a halt at this, realizing that he was in a bind. He glanced around, seeing Kani's self-satisfied face pressing into his. He saw the abbot allowing himself a smirk, and he saw that the otter commander, naturally listening to all of this, was now more torn than ever, and was now looking to favor the Redwallers's side than Gemini's. Even the depiction of Martin on the tapestry seemed to be looking victorious about the matter. The teacher was losing the argument.

And the fox knew it. "So if the wicked are such a threat, then why can't Gemini just deal with them himself?" Kani challenged, pressing the matter.

But the weasel was done arguing. "Back away, fox." he growled darkly, gearing up to attack if need be.

"Oh? Feeling threatened, are we? And why might that be? Can't stand the thought that I might actually be right?"

"I said back away fox."

Kani only pressed himself closer, causing the weasel to step back in discomfort. "Make me, weasel."

The weasel had had enough by this point. "That can be arranged."

With lightning speed, he suddenly lashed out at the fox with his staff. But Kani was one step faster, and has the sword of Martin out in a flash and with one swipe, had deflected the blow. He then tickled the nape of the weasel's neck with the blade's tip, glaring at the weasel. The look the weasel gave back was almost murderous.

"You back away, weasel." Kani growled. "Back away and leave this abbey in peace. And never come back or I swear, I will kill you where you stand."

"You cannot harm me, fox." the weasel spat. "I am a member of the Quorum of Teachers and have Gemini's highest blessings. He will not allow us to be slain at the paws of the wicked."

Kani smirked again. He glanced at the otter commander. "Is that true?" he asked.

The otter still seemed torn over the whole matter. But she glanced hesitantly at her own injured arm, and thought about some of her own self doubts for a moment.

"If I could be injured, even though I myself had Gemini's blessings," she began, "Then..." she looked up at the weasel in shock, "...I don't think it is."

The weasel's eyes snapped wide with rage at this, and he let out a mad yell, and swung his staff again at Kani, wildly aiming for the fox's head. Kani was too quick, however, and with a swing of his blade, he had sliced the staff in two. Then, using the butt of the sword's handle, planted it into the weasel's snout, breaking it with a crack. Shocked by both instances, the weasel snapped a paw to his bleeding snout as he overbalanced by the impact and fell onto his back. It was the last thing he ever did, as Kani ended the whole conflict then and there with one stab with the sword of Martin.

All was suddenly silent in Great Hall again.

Panting, Kani looked at the weasel long enough to confirm that he was dead, then removed the sword from the carcass and cleaned the blood off of it on the weasel's own habit before sheathing it again.

"Sorry Father Abbot." Kani apologized quietly.

"Little need to apologize, Kani." Isaiah said in complete understanding, who had turned his head away at the last second so to not look upon the weasel's dead body. "You did what was needed."

The otter commander, however, couldn't take her eyes off the dead body. "You killed him." she repeated, shocked. She glanced at Kani. "But how?"

Kani glanced back at her. "You tell me." he replied.

"The teachers are supposed to be protected from murder. And yet you killed him. With startling ease. That teaching Gemini has given us is not true. But...how? How can that be?"

Isaiah calmly stepped over to her and placed a paw on her shoulder. "If Gemini was really the omnipotent and caring being you claimed him to be, do you really think he would've let this happen?" he asked rhetorically.

The otter commander glanced at him for a moment, then her eyes locked back on the dead weasel. Suddenly, they stated to tear up. "He's not real, is he?" she asked. "Gemini doesn't exist. He never did."

"No." Kani said, stepping towards her. "No, we don't think he does. We don't think he ever did, not like you believed he did."

The otter, once known by her mother as Melody, began sniffling for several moments, then finally broke down and wept bitter tears of anguish, ashamed for the deeds she had done, thought done for the greater good, by a terrible and bloodthirsty false deity that she had been foolish enough to believe in.


The Quorum of Warriors waited patiently outside the abbey for their leaders to return from their meeting, wondering to themselves what the meeting was about, and what was being said. Above all, they wondered what the end outcome of this meeting would be. They finally got their chance to find out when the abbey gates opened, and their commander, along with Kani and Isaiah, stepped out to face them.

Immediately, they noticed that of the two creatures from their numbers that had entered the building, only one was now returning...and a great change in persona had come over her. Murmuring increased significantly at this, as everyone wondered what was going on.

They were not long in waiting.

The otter commander, Melody, stepped forward to address her troops. "Attention everyone!" she exclaimed, holding out her good arm to help call for their attention. "At present, your services will not be required save for one thing. I wish for you to direct your ears to me and listen to what I have to tell you."

"Which is?" someone within the army called out.

"That everything we believe in is a lie."