And another chapter. Not long now until the end. This chapter's full of action, but its all winding down in preparation for the end.

More or less. ;)

Chapter 63

The moment Kani charged the blockade, they fired their arrows at him. However, Kani was ready for it, and had the shield he had grabbed before leaving the barracks up and before him, blocking all of the arrows. At this point, it was clear that the blockade of royal guard members had made a critical error by having fired all of their bows at once, leaving no one else prepared to fire an arrow, meaning they all had to stop and take time to reload. They quickly moved to do this, but not fast enough, for in a heartbeat, Kani was upon them.

Ramming into the ranks of the first row of blockading soldiers with his shield, still riddled with the arrows that had been fired, Kani pushed them aside, and then he was in the fray of them. Panic broke loose, and those who could get the chance to rearm their bows didn't dare fire, due to the close quarters of the opponent. Their only other option was to fight Kani in hand-to-hand combat with the only other weapons they were armed with, which were daggers, as they had been trained that would be the most ideal weapon to use in close quarters.

And it was. Yet Kani and the sword of Martin he was using seemed to be working out just as well, if not better. Scarcely using the shield for more than a battering ram to try and break through the ranks of the blockade, usually working to knock a fox or two out cold when it struck right, Kani was using the sword everywhere else, using it to disarm his foes of their daggers, to lash out at them with the sharp blade of the legendary sword, or to ram it's hilt into the jaws of his foes, working to either knock them out as well, or to at least stun them enough to deal them a more decisive blow. It wasn't Kani's intent per say to kill any of these creatures in the blockade, but he wasn't afraid to, either. In the first few moments of the scuffle, two already lay dead, with a third wounded severely enough that he was likely to follow. Kani, for the moment, had few qualms about the matter. He just wanted this over with.

From the top of the small staircase, Methusael watched to scuffle anxiously, tensed up to react if need be. For the first few minutes of the battle, it was still anyone's conflict to win. Kani, as aggressive as he was being at the moment, didn't seem to be making much headway at first, but then, neither was the blockade of creatures. A few moments later, once the blockade began to overcome the initial shock of the assault and began to get their act together again, it seemed like they were going to overwhelm Kani. But then, another minute later, the tables had turned, and Kani, just one creature with a vengeance, was rapidly overwhelming them.

The blockade quickly saw that they weren't winning this fight, and their training said that they should retreat, flee to another location, and regroup and try again. But they had nowhere to flee to, and anyway, Methusael had ordered them to stand their ground in that blockade no matter what. It didn't matter how loyal they were to Methusael to obey that order, they had to either way for their own safety, because they knew with Methusael in his mental state, that if Kani didn't kill them, Methusael likely would if they disobeyed.

It was to no avail, however. In a few more minutes, the scuffle was over. Seven of the fifteen lay dead, two more severely wounded, while there were five out cold, and one that was still conscious, but too dazed to fight back and was merely forced to one side. Leaving Kani free to mount the top of the stairs, victorious. The fox had faired the battle well. The only signs he bore that he had been in a scuffle was his disheveled orange fur, the fact he was out of breath and sweaty from the exertion of the battle, and that his clothing was lightly splattered with blood, none of it his own.

He had to be exhausted from fighting so serious a battle against such unfavorable odds, but if he was, he hid it extremely well, and face Methusael at the top of the stairs in the same manner he had before the scuffle had broken loose. Giving his sworn enemy a stern glare, Kani motioned to the fallen members of the blockade.

"You have no one left to hide behind, Methusael," he remarked, advancing forward, "you have no choice left but to fight me."

Methusael stepped back as Kani advanced upon him, but he otherwise seemed unfazed by this turn of events. "Very well," he remarked, accepting the challenge and raising his sword and assuming the proper stance, "I almost prefer it this way, anyway."

Kani paused long enough to toss the shield he had been carrying aside, then he too raised his magnificent blade and readied himself to fight. "Winner takes all?" he asked.

Methusael nodded. "Winner takes all."

There was another brief paused as the two foxes gauged their opponents. Then, both with a yell, they were suddenly upon each other and fighting to the death.


At the end of the path leading up to Midnight Castle, positioned in such a way that they could see the castle, but not be seen themselves, the rest of Angola's forces waited anxiously. Their assignment was fairly simple, and pivoted on whether or not the royal guard stood down peacefully. If they did, then they were simply to wait until they were let in from the inside, then help sort things out. If they didn't, then they were to be the backup support, to come running in ready to fight if it came to that. Thus far, neither had happened, but the long delay for a verdict many said was probably a good thing for now.

Amulek was technically the one in charge of the forces predominately composed of mice, but as Adah had insisted on being a part of the takeover (as she felt entitled to it, or so she said) and the fact that it should come to a fight, Adah's knowledge of the castle's interior would prove useful had earned her a place as second in command of the forces, there as really more of a consultant and advisor to Amulek, should he need it, but it was satisfactory enough for Adah.

Still, she watched the castle up ahead with anxious eyes, awaiting for some sign of progress. Nervously, she crouched down behind the rock she was hiding behind, and twiddled her claws. Amulek was going anxious too, but it hid it much better, as he was more used to it. Seeing the vixen's anxiety, he sought something to tell her to soothe her.

"They're bound to be inside the castle by now." he pointed out finally. "If it was going to come down to a fight, we would've heard it by now. They're probably just gotten held up letting us in."

"Yes, probably." Adah agreed, and tried to force herself to relax. "I'm just...worried. If this doesn't work out..."

"Hey, Moroni has pulled off much zanier ideas than this before and we all got out of it okay." Amulek interrupted. "No reason this shouldn't work out either. Besides," he motioned to the castle gates, "no one has fired on our little group of diversionaries yet."

Sure enough, the Quorum of Warriors still stood before the gates, ready to attack, but having not done so yet, while the guards stationed at the castle did likewise. They simply stared at each other, as if daring each other to make the first move. It actually only worked to worry Adah further. What if somebeast got antsy and accidently did something to attack without thinking? That would spark an unwanted battle, and who knew what kind of damage would be done before it was brought back under control. She didn't want to see any more creatures die.

She had seen enough die already.

Amulek seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I do wonder if they can keep this up for much longer." he murmured aloud. "It must be unnerving to be practically staring each other down for so long."

Adah groaned in frustration at this. Amulek, seeing that he wasn't helping, quickly shut his mouth.

They were wondering just how much longer this was going to go on, when movement could be seen on the balcony that overhang the castle's front gates. More creatures had arrived, but who they were, and what they were doing couldn't be determined from this distance. Fortunately, they didn't need to figure it out, as faint shouting was heard amongst the ranks of the royal guard, and then they must have stood down, for the Quorum of Warriors visibly relaxed as well. A few moments later, the front gates themselves opened to permit the quorum access to the castle. Amulek and Adah brightened their expressions visibly when they saw this.

"Well, there you go!" Amulek declared, rising and starting forward, signaling to the troops to follow. "They're standing down. And not with a shot fired, it looks like!"

"Good." Adah said with a heavy sigh, hurrying to keep up with the mouse. "Maybe Methusael will also give up without a fight then."

Amulek shook his head, however, doubtful. "I don't know, Methusael has worked pretty hard to get this far. Something tells me he isn't going to just give up."

"I hope not, because that would mean someone would have to fight him." Adah remarked, looking frightened at the idea.

"Like Lord Kani." Amulek remarked, then blinked, and gave Adah a teasing smirk. "Is that it? You think your boyfriend can't handle such a fight?"

Adah blushed at the mention of her and Kani's relationship, but she did not deny it, and in fact corrected Amulek. "No, I think Kani is more than a match for Methusael."

Now Amulek's expression turned to one of puzzlement. "Then...I don't understand. What are you so worried about?"

To this, Adah gave no answer, and did not speak again until they were all safely in the castle.


The two foxes lunged at each other and swung their swords that the head of their opponent, perhaps due to some fighting instinct, or in an attempt to end this fight quickly. But they swords merely clashed together, stopping the planned blows before they could reach the flesh of the opponent. Methusael pushed Kani away from him, helped by the fact that Kani willingly broke away. They had been fighting in the hallway that ran alongside the study for long enough that they had lost track of time. Thus far, neither of them had managed to even touch their opponent. Methusael was too skilled, and Kani was both too skilled and too exhausted from his fight with the blockading royal guard. Having reached another stalemate in the battle, they backed off and started circling each other.

"Tired, Kani?" Methusael asked questioningly, seeing that Kani was panting heavily, his fur drenched with sweat. "What is your drive to keep fighting, then, I wonder?"

"Do I really need to tell you?" Kani asked darkly, still determined despite being so exhausted. He planned to keep on fighting until he either won, lost, or simply passed out from wearing himself out. "You know why I'm here."

"To stop me." Methusael replied, smirking at his opponent in mocking. "To drive me out. To take back the throne that is traditionally yours. To seek revenge."

"All of which I plan to do, Methusael."

"I didn't say you couldn't try." Methusael's grin grew bigger as an evil glint formed in his eyes. "But I highly doubt you're any more worthy to take the throne than I am. You weren't even leader enough to take the action that was really needed to be done to stop the Angolian rebellion. Plagues and pestilence, you weren't even leader enough to guide the mice to victory after you escaped my cunning trap to kill you. You turned and ran instead, tail probably tucked beneath your legs." he chuckled at the growl Kani was making by this point whilst baring his teeth. "Oh come off it, Kani. You know it's true. The only reason you've even gotten this far is because of another creature's work. No matter how you look at it, Kani, you always had another creature to step you through this. But not anymore. So what makes you so sure that you can stop me now? You couldn't stop me before, no matter how determined you were. You didn't even have enough determination to save your poor brother..."

The insults finally making Kani's anger snap, the fox let out a bloodcurdling roar, and with a snarl, lunged at Methusael. Caught off guard, Methusael backed up until he bumped into the closed door of the study, holding up his sword in self defense. Kani hacked away at the blade as hard as he could, his anger driving away the normal tactics of a sword fight and on down into mindless hacking. Seeing this, Methusael sought a way to use it against Kani, and succeed by reversing the hold on his sword and driving up against Kani's sword in such a fashion so to drive the blade to one side and pin it against the side of the door's frame.

Not to be beaten, Kani strained to try and free the pinned blade, trying to drive it in whole variety of directions, nicking the latch to the door more than once, bending it out of position slightly. Finally, fed up, Kani lashed out with one leg and kicked Methusael square in the chest, slamming the other fox against the door of the study. The lock weakened as it was, the door immediately sprang open, allowing Methusael to be thrown to the floor. Without loosing pace, and his sword now free, Kani surged into the room after Methusael, and went to run Methusael through while he was still on the floor.

Methusael anticipated the move, however, and quickly scrambled back up and onto his paws, backpedaling away from Kani, searching for an advantage to use against the angry fox. His movements were stopped when Methusael backed up into the desk of the study. Before he even had time to think about stepping around it, Kani was upon him, sword at the ready. Methusael quickly blocked to blow with his own sword, but there was little he could do to stop the punch Kani dealt him with his free paw, throwing Methusael backwards, to fall onto his back on the desk.

He quickly rolled off it as Kani swung his sword at him, the action saving him for the moment, and allowing Kani's sword to hit the desk instead, leaving a long cut in it's woodwork. Rolling off the other edge of the desk and onto the floor, knocking over the desk chair and various items on the desk in the process, Methusael straightened in time to see Kani vault over the desk and come charging at him. Methusael quickly worked to block the blows sent his way with Kani's sword, until finally their swords interlocked.

Kani used this moment to shove Methusael into the stone wall next to the large window that sat behind the desk and to drive their two interlocked swords closer to Methusael's face, who tried to resist and push them back, but he had whacked his head against the stone wall when Kani pushed him, and his head ached to the point that he wasn't finding the strength quickly enough. Regardless, he was keeping Kani at bay for the moment.

Now it was Kani's turn to mock. "More trouble than I'm worth, aren't I, Methusael?" he asked.

"Hence why I wanted to kill you from the very first day." Methusael spat back. "I didn't care how it was done, I just knew that I couldn't succeed so long as you lived."

"But what about all of that poppycock you were saying earlier about how I couldn't do anything on my own?" Kani grinned, twisting Methusael's insults of before back at his foe. "Obviously, you have it wrong, Methusael. It was you who couldn't do anything. Your plan was never destined to succeed!"

"Maybe, but I'm not going to let you have the satisfaction of beating me!"

And with that, he threw Kani off of him, driving their swords apart. Kani backed up, still mad, but in better control of his impulses, and chose to continue the argument instead of continuing the sword fight.

"I'm not about to let you win either, Methusael." he growled as Methusael pushed himself off the stone wall he had been driven up against. "You don't deserve to live! You murdered my family! And I will avenge them!"

"Is that what this is about?" Methusael repeated, a little surprised. Despite the circumstances, he had to chuckle. "Ever so naive Kani. If this is really what you want, then you have the wrong creature."

This revelation brought Kani up short, and he stared at Methusael in surprise. "What? What are you saying?"

"Exactly what I just now said. If it's revenge for your mother and brother that you want, then I am not the creature you should be seeking it from."

Kani shook his head, in denial. "No." he muttered. "It was you! It was your plan! You killed them!"

"I may have arranged for their deaths, Kani," Methusael said, grinning, clearly enjoying the idea that he knew something Kani didn't, "but I wasn't the creature who carried them out."


Juniper had never really thought about it before, but it actually was pretty lonely down here in prison. Nobody to talk to except for maybe the passing insect and yourself. Easy to see how this could be considered punishment. Easy to see how it wasn't unheard of for creatures to loose grasp of their sanity while down here. Imprisonment in the dungeons was very effective for what it set out to do, maybe even more than intended.

It was also boring.

It was added by the fact that Juniper knew that he wasn't likely to stay here long. He hadn't done anything wrong, except for siding himself with Methusael for as long as he did before he figured out the truth, and given the circumstances, he didn't think anybeast was going to hold that against him. He also knew that there was no way Methusael was going to be able to keep control of the castle for much longer than a day. Either the now more numerous mice would stage a takeover, or the already mutinous royal guard would overthrow the idiot.

So he just needed to be patient and wait. Hopefully, before nighttime tomorrow, it would all be over, and he would be a free beast yet again.

It was just boring to wait.

Fortunately, he needn't wait long.

The better part of the evening since Methusael had ordered him down here (which Juniper was half-surprised by, having expected Methusael to sooner kill him than bother imprisoning him in a castle he couldn't hope to maintain control over) before he could hear increased activity somewhere above him. It was hard to make out what exactly from the distorted sounds he was hearing. Even though he was in the cell closest to the entrance into the dungeons and thereby was in the best position to hear what was happening elsewhere in the castle, he couldn't make out what was happening. But it was clear that whoever was in the castle at the moment was moving around a lot, as if in preparation, as these movements were much too quiet to be part of any battle.

Juniper wasn't waiting for much longer before he heard the heavy metal door that usually barred the entrance to the dungeons swing open on it's rusty hinges, followed by the light pattering of pawsteps as more than one creature headed his way. They came into view presently. At first, Juniper saw a pair of foxes from the royal guard, and for one fleeting moment, thought that Methusael had changed his mind about locking him away, then realized that these weren't the same two creatures that had locked him away, but a different pair, and they seemed more optimistic. Better still, following behind them was a group of mice, who were interacting peacefully with the foxes.

By the time they had arrived at Juniper's cell and proceeded to unlock it, he had already guessed what had taken place.

"Master Juniper, good evening, I'm Hyrum." one of the mice greeted once Juniper was out of his cell. "We were wondering where you had gotten to."

"Aye, rubbed Methusael's fur the wrong way." Juniper replied in explanation, grinning weakly. "I take it, then, that it's over now."

"Yes, Methusael's control over the castle has been safely relinquished."

"How many harmed in the process?"

"None, so far, but no one has actually found Methusael yet, at least not that has been reported yet. For right now, we've been focusing on seeing to it that the royal guard stands down, which they have been doing quite willingly thus far."

"Good, I would've ordered them to stand down either way." Juniper said, relived, while rubbing the back of his head with one paw. He headed for the exit, the others following. "So, tell me what I've missed."

"Nothing much, we entered the castle stealthily, which probably sounds malicious, but fortunately, it never came to that." Hyrum explained, hurrying to keep up with the speedier fox. "Once it was clear that you were missing, Captain Moroni and Lord Kani ordered that you be found. I do not know where his lordship has gotten to, but Captain Moroni requested that he speak to you once you were found. Last I saw, he was in the entry hall."

"Good, we'll head there, then." Juniper said, as they reached the exit to the dungeons and stepped out into the castle itself. "As for Lord Kani, I somehow think we might need to worry about him. Best gather together a party to search for him, all of them armed."

"You think he crossed paths with Methusael?" Hyrum asked.

"I don't think, I know." Juniper corrected. "Kani has no other reason to be missing."


Kani's first reaction to Methusael's revelation that he was not the creature who had spilt the blood of his family, at least not directly, was that the fox was lying. Trying to throw Kani off. Buy time. He tried studying Methusael's face for any confirmations of this, but it was hard to read. However, Kani then remembered something he had very nearly forgotten.

"Your vermin mercenaries." he murmured aloud, then gave Methusael a glare. "Where are they?"

Methusael shrugged, clearly not happy about the subject. "Probably halfway to the eastern sea by now." he confessed. "They made it clear that they weren't planning to stay."

"Knew a lost cause when they saw one, eh?" Kani quipped, but was quickly serious again. "Whatever the case, are you implying that they murdered my family?"

"Sais and Grim?" Methusael repeated, then laughed at the idea. "They weren't even under my employ yet when Hax was murdered. It couldn't have been them."

"Then who was?"

Methusael grinned cruelly. "It doesn't matter." he said. "We ultimately had a difference of opinions and...parted ways."

"Are saying that you murdered the real killer?" Kani growled menacingly.

Methusael shook his head in refusal. "I wouldn't even waste my dying breath telling you the answer to that, Kani."

And then, this time, it was Methusael who let out a yell, and threw himself at Kani. Kani, caught off guard, quickly started backing away, raising his sword up protectively to block Methsuael's reckless blows.

"You shouldn't even be a member of the royal family!" Methusael yelled as he swung his blade again and again. "It should've been me! It should've been my whole family line! No Fennix should have ever been the ruler of this land! They aren't truly of royal blood! It was my family, the Redd family, that are the true rulers! And that should've never changed! But it did! Just because of some stupid aunt!"

Kani was silent throughout the tirade, letting Methusael go on for awhile whilst blocking blows at the same time, until he finally got leverage enough to throw off Methusael's blade, then planted another kick to Methusael's chest, making the fox back up. It was then that he added in his two bits.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe it wasn't meant to be for you to be the leader?" Kani asked with a bark. "I mean, look at the mess your brief reign has brought you! If I can be incapable of ruling a land, you certainly can be!"

"Then, by your own logic Kani, it wouldn't matter who did rule!" Methusael snapped. "We would both be just as bad!"

"In that case, someone else would have to step in and intervene!" Kani argued.

"But there is no one else! It's just you and me, Kani! There is no one else in all of Angola that would be capable of ruling a people!"

But as Methusael said it, Kani suddenly realized that wasn't true, and for a moment, all of his other emotions was replaced with both surprise, and a sudden sense of understanding. "That was what Mormon was trying to accomplish." he murmured to himself.

"There is no third creature, Kani!" Methsuael repeated. "We have no choice but to accept that only one of us two can be the ruler!"

Kani, however, knew that also wasn't true. "No matter what anybeast says, Methusael, we are still free to choose," he said, something he had first heard from his brother Hax, "which means there is always going to be a choice."

And with that, he charged Methusael, and the two were fighting again, but this time calmer, with a bit more dignity and not so recklessly. They circled the room a couple times over, occasionally tripping over things that had been accidently knocked over during their fighting. Finally, at one point, during a moment where their swords interlocked, Kani gave Methusael a push, knocking him over. Falling to the floor beside the desk, Methusael quickly worked to get back up, but Kani moved to stop him, anxious to end this fight. His opponent wasn't going to let to let that happen, however, and grabbed an empty wine glass that had been knocked off the desk at one point during the fight and broke, and drove it up to stab the jagged broken edge into the inside Kani's upper thigh.

Kani let out a yell of pain and yanked the offending piece of crystal from his leg, and despite favoring that leg somewhat, turned to resume the fight, swinging his blade more fiercely at Methusael now. He quickly drove his opponent back behind the desk and before the window that sat behind it. It quickly became clear that they had moved too close to this window when Methusael's sword, having been deflected by Kani at one point, struck the window, and cracked it, sending a spiderweb of fractures across the single pane of glass. As the two swung their swords again at each other, Kani struck the pane, and this time it completely shattered, sending shards of glass scattering everywhere as the study was opened up directly to the outdoors, allowing a gust of wind in, as well as the light from the rising sun.

Amongst the ruins of the window, the two backed off for a moment, and stared each other down. They were both growing exhausted from the long sword fight, Kani especially. Thinking this could be used to his advantage and starting to see that maybe he couldn't hope to beat Kani, Methusael sought some way to end the fight.

"Give it up, Kani!" Methusael exclaimed at his opponent, trying one last time at reason. "We don't have to keep fighting like this, you know! One simply has to back down! I meant what I said about how there can only be one of us to become the ruler of the land! But even if what you said is true, only one of us can win! It'll be easier if you just surrender! C'mon, Kani, you have nothing left to loose!"

"Neither do you!" Kani argued back, not at all swayed. "And all of the odds are against you! Even if you do manage to beat me and slay me, what would that get you? There's no creature left in the land that's stupid enough to follow you! You will have no place to run! No place to hide! You will simply be captured, and be made to face justice! If anybeast should surrender, it's you, Methusael! But I don't plan to let you to surrender! I plan to make you pay for the crimes you have committed to me, and to Angola!"

"If you think I'm just going to stand still and let you finish this with one fell stroke, Kani, you can forget it!" Methusael spat back. "I will keep fighting until I have breathed my last gasp of air! Until my heart pumps my blood for one final time! I will not give up and just fade into the night peacefully!"

"I don't expect you to!" Kani exclaimed back. "I wouldn't have this any other way, and you know it!"

"Then come and get me, Kani!" Methusael replied, edging on his opponent. "Come and slay me!"

And Kani came, charging suddenly and without warning. Methusael quickly reacted by raising up his sword to block the oncoming blow, just like all of the times before. But only this time, it proved to be the last time for this particular sword. It had withstood the stronger and better sword of Martin very well up until now, but this time, the blow the opposing sword had to offer it simply proved too much. With one blow from Kani's blade, Methusael's sword snapped in two, and the broken portion of the blade clattered to the floor. Alarmed, Methusael quickly brought the remaining jagged portion of the blade still attached to the hilt to point at Kani, but Kani slapped it out of Methusael's paw with the flat of Martin's blade, sending the remains of the blade sailing out the broken window. Then, just as Methusael had time enough to watch the hilt spiral out of sight, Kani slammed into him, spun the enemy fox around, and slammed him into the wall beside the shattered window, pressing his blade against Methsuael's throat.

"So be it." Kani growled menacingly.


Getting out of their tower room was one thing. But as Sais and Grim quickly learned, getting down off the roof of Midnight Castle and to the ground undetected, and then away to safety, was quite another. To get out of the tower room, they had something to climb down from that worked like a rope, but they didn't have anything like that now, and even if they did, they wouldn't have anything to tie to. Furthermore, enemy forces were now swarming all around the castle now, both in and out, and it was proving to be quite difficult to figure out how they were going to get away undetected.

"Well, oh fearless leader, how are we going to get out of this one?" Sais asked sarcastically, as he followed Grim across the roof of the wing they were on.

"Be quiet and let me think." Grim growled, who was starting to loose patience with anything that pressured him.

"If only Aurora was here." Sais remarked, peering over the edge of the roof cautiously. "She would have some kind of an idea. At least one better than trying to jump, anyway."

"We may have no other choice, Sais." Grim replied, and motioned the ferret to come closer before pointing a claw to the roof of the barracks, which sat much lower than the roofs of the other sections of the castle. "That roof is the lowest one there is. It will be the safest one we will have to jump from."

Sais looked at it for a momentum gauging the two-story height they would have to jump down to less-than-level rocky ground. He didn't like it. But he also had to admit that they had little other choice.

"All right, let's try it." he said in submission.

They headed towards the roof in question, walking across the wing that attached to the shorter barracks, then jumping down from it's story-taller roof to the roof of the barracks. Like when they climbed down from their tower room, they landed on the roof perfectly, and without losing balance. But their luck ended there.

As their misfortune would have it, there happened to be an open window in the space dividing the roof of the wing they had just jumped from and the roof of the barracks. At this window happened to be a party of mice, one of which happened to be looking out the window the moment Sais and Grim made their jump to the roof of the barracks. Crying out and raising the alarm, the mice quickly gathered the window to find someway to deal with the two vermin that had appeared seemingly from nowhere. Two of them happened to be archers, and had their bows ready before Sais and Grim could, a first for the two mercenaries, but certainly not impossible.

The next logical thing to do would have been to ask the two vermin to surrender, but when it seemed clear that they would not, one of the two archers fired his bow regardless not being told to, and fired off an arrow as a warning shot. It zipped between Sais's legs, surprising the ferret enough that he jumped in startlement, and lost his balance, beginning to fall over. As he fell, he grabbed Grim's arm to try and stabilize himself, but ended up just pulling the weasel along with him.

By this point in time, the other mouse archer fired his bow, his arrow grazing Grim's back. The weasel let out a roar of displeasure before Sais, in his fall, pulled him over, and onto the slant of the barracks roof. They skidded down the tilted edge and on off the roof, hitting the ground two-stories below hard, and entirely not in the way they planned.

Sais managed to hit the ground somewhat on his footpaws, but landed wrong, and the impact ended up breaking his right leg with a frightful crack of bone. The resulting pain was bad enough that Sais yelled and doubled over, completely immobilized for the moment. Grim faired less well, landing hard on his side. Unlike his ferret companion, he didn't break any bones, but he hit his head hard enough on something that it left a nasty gash on his brow, which bled freely.

Enraged, Grim immediately clamped a paw to his brow, and despite his injured back protesting, whirled to face his companion angrily. "Now look what you have done!" he exclaimed. "Your clumsiness has ruined everything! We're lucky to be alive, at best! We're..."

He trailed off when he noticed suddenly that their fall had not gone unnoticed by the ground forces either, and therefore, they both were not surrounded by mouse and fox warriors, all of which were armed and were aiming their weapons at the pair.

"...in big trouble." Sais hissed through clenched teeth to finish Grim's statement, gingerly probing his injured leg.

One mouse pushed his way through the encirclement of the surrounding creatures, and looked the situation over.

"Well," Moroni remarked finally, not bothering to hide his grin of amusement, "look who decided to drop in."

A few moments later, the two vermin found themselves caught and in the barracks dining room, their injuries treated for the moment, but also very tightly bound, and were in the midst of being interrogated.

"So, you are two of the mercenaries Methsuael had hired for his services." Moroni remarked, circling the pair.

"Yes." Sais remarked, wincing frequently. His broken leg had been set and braced, but it still hurt like crazy, and he had been given nothing for the pain as of yet.

"However, we terminated our employment with him shortly before your attack." Grim added matter-of-factly. "It was clear we had nothing more to gain here."

"So was it you two, in addition to your third companion, who attempted to assassinate Kani all those weeks ago?" Moroni asked next.

"Aye." Sais replied. "And for your information, mouse, our "third companion" is named Aurora. And don't bother asking where she is, because we don't know."

"Oh don't worry, Lord Kani already told me." Moroni assured them. "She's dead."

This brought looks of surprise from the two vermin, though they had already started to suspect as such.

"Now, are there any more of you?" Moroni asked.

"No." Grim said. "Mercenaries don't typically work in much larger groups than this."

It was a point Moroni did not argue. "Clearly, you had been hiding in the castle when we came along to take over, and tried to escape." he surmised. "So I'm curious, have you been hiding in the castle for all of this time?"

"No." Grim answered.

"Up until you and your kind laid siege to the castle, we had just been hiding in the woods." Sais explained.

"Then how did Methsuael relay instructions to you?" Moroni asked. "Did you come to him, or did he come to you?"

"Neither." Grim replied.

"Then how did you receive your instructions?"

Grim glanced at his questioner for a moment. "By messenger."

"Messenger?" Moroni intrigued. "Who was the messenger?"

Sais and Grim exchanged looks.

"We honestly don't know, mouse." Sais admitted.

"There was never any need for an identity to be revealed." Grim explained.

"Always wore a cloak this one did." Sais added. "Hid his features well. Never spoke, either. Reckon it was a fox, though. Certainly was tall enough. Couldn't have been Methusael in disguise, either. Walk was all wrong. Lacked that self-confident swagger."

Moroni pondered this for a moment, not liking this. "We need to find this messenger." he deduced, and turned to some of his mice. "Spilt up, and look for any clues about this messenger. See if you can find Kani, too, he might have a few ideas." he turned back to the vermin. "If you have anything else to tell me about this messenger, now would be the time."

Sais merely shrugged, and Grim made no motion or response.

"Very well." Moroni said with a sigh, and turned to leave. "Lock the pair of them up in the dungeons, but see to it that they get whatever medical care they might need. I'm going to help search for Kani..."

It was then that Grim spoke, and offered one last observation he had made about the messenger that he had always kept to himself until now.

"He is a she, mouse."


"Any last words Methusael before I relieve you of your head?" Kani asked darkly, pressing his blade tighter against Methusael's throat.

Methusael tried to swallow, but remained calm. "Nothing that I wish to say to you Kani." he remarked. "Nothing that I haven't already said, at least."

"Very well." Kani said, and moved to make the final blow.

It was then that search party that had been sent out in search of Kani arrived at the study and entered. Among them was Mathoni.

"Kani!" he exclaimed in surprise at the situation.

"Keep back!" Kani barked at them. "I must do this alone!"

"Then just do it already, Kani!" Methusael said. "Don't leave me in suspense! Or are you going to make my death slow and painful?"

"Don't tempt me." Kani growled, turning his attention back to Methusael.

"Kani!" Mathoni exclaimed again, this time in more of imploring manner. "Don't..."

"I said, keep back!" Kani called again.

"Kani, ignore them and focus on me!" Methusael said again. "Are you going to kill me or not? Seeing that my life hangs in the balance, I'd really like to know!"

Kani pressed the sword tighter against Methusael's throat, slowly, before stopping again, suddenly. If he pressed much harder, he would either crush the fox's windpipe, or cut it open.

"This is what you wanted, wasn't it?" Methusael asked, resigning himself to his fate. "To kill me. To slay me. To use that blade to spill my blood. To seek your revenge."

Kani hesitated, and looked at the blade in question for a moment, remembering suddenly that this was the sword of Martin that he was wielding, a blade that wasn't even his.

"Kani," Mathoni said again, also hesitant. "Are ye really goin' t' kill him?"

There was nothing more Kani wanted.

But he also remembered what this blade was supposed to represent.

Peace.

Not warfare.

Not bloodshed.

That was what Abbot Isaiah had told him.

It was what Hax had told him as well.

"I already have the traits of a warrior." he murmured to himself, then looked with glaring eyes into that of Methusael's, and added, louder, "This sword was not meant to shed defenseless blood."

And with that, he removed the sword and left Methusael free, allowing the fox to fall to the ground, gasping for breath, rubbing at his throat.

Kani looked down at him for a moment. "Be thankful that I am better creature than you are, Methusael." he remarked with narrowed eyes. "That I have a compassionate heart that you will never have."

Methusael merely returned the glare. But Kani didn't care. Feeling surprisingly at peace, Kani turned his back on his foe and faced the party that stood in the doorway of the study. Mathoni stood slightly apart from them, giving Kani at first a bewildered look, then realizing why Kani had done what he had done, grinned in understanding and support.

Then, just as quickly, the grin was replaced with an expression of alarm.

"Kani, look out!" the young otter exclaimed, pointing behind Kani.

Without hesitating, Kani spun around, used the flat of Martin's sword to knocked the concealed dagger Methusael had pulled out and was about to stab Kani with, then ran Methusael through, pinning the fox to the frame of the broken window. Methusael gasped in shock at the pain, and grabbed at the blade protruding from his gut with both paws, feeling his own blood, warm and sticky, gushing from around the edges of the sword. He gaped at Kani for a few moments, opening and closing his mouth several times, trying to find his voice.

Finally, giving Kani an almost puzzled look, he asked, "What happened to your compassionate heart?"

"You tried to stab it." Kani replied bitterly.

Methusael looked at Kani blankly for a few moments, his eyes becoming blurry, then laughed, finding Kani's response humorous. He kept laughing as his life rapidly drained out of him, like his blood drained out of his wound. He was still smiling by the time he was gone forever. With one tug, Kani pulled the sword free, and let Methusael's lifeless body fall to the floor, blood pooling around it.

A long silence as everybeast present stared at the dead body in shock.

"Methusael, you silly beast." Kani finally murmured, rubbing at his face with one paw. "I was going to let you live. So, in turn, you forfeited your life trying to get in the last say in the matter."


A little later, the group escorted a slightly numb feeling Kani out of the study, and down the hallway outside, Mathoni standing beside his fox friend.

"The castle's yores, matey." the young otter was telling him. "The royal guard has completely stood down without firin' a shot. They're all wantin' t' serve ye again. We found Juniper in the dungeons, and freed him, an' he's been helpin'. Also got wind that we captured th' two vermin mercenaries that tried t' assassinate ye! It's all over Kani! Ye did it. Ye freed Angola!"

"Yes, your lordship, you have saved us." one of the members of the royal guard remarked.

"Did I?" Kani asked, who wasn't so sure anymore.

Before anyone could come up with an answer, a shout interrupted them.

"Kani!" Adah exclaimed, running up to the fox and grabbing him in a hug, kissing him on the cheek. "Here you are! I was starting to worry! I thought something had happened! Did you find Methusael?"

"Yes." Kani replied numbly, barely acknowledging Adah's presence.

"And?"

"He's dead." Mathoni replied for Kani.

"Oh good." Adah said, relieved. "Did he, uh, tell you anything?"

"Only that he wasn't the one who carried out the deed that killed my family." Kani replied, and mentally started pondering on who it might have been.

"Kani!" Moroni exclaimed, also arriving suddenly. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Hello captain." Kani replied weakly.

"I don't know if you heard, your lordship," Moroni continued, "But we caught the two vermin mercenaries. I took the liberty of interrogating them, they're the only two that were left."

"Anything else?"

"Just how they stayed in contact with Methusael. By messenger. We're searching now for any clues of who it might be, but I'm honestly not too hopeful. All we know about this creature was that the species is fox, and that it's a she."

"A she?" Kani repeated, and then suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

A she.

A female messenger.

Who delivered messages to the mercenaries.

Clearly in league with Methusael.

But hadn't been seen in awhile.

Then Kani remembered Methusael's cryptic clue about the real killer of his family.

The fact that they had a disagreement.

And it then all clicked.

Without warning, Kani spun around and grabbed the offending creature, slammed the creature against the wall, and took the sword in his paw, still stained with Methusael's blood, and pressed it the creature's throat as Kani stared in shock at the panicked eyes of this creature.

The others were surprised at this action.

"Kani, what..." Mathoni began, moving towards his fox friend, but Kani interrupted him with a shout that revealed all.

"It was you!" Kani exclaimed into Adah's frightened face. "You killed my family!"