It was still dark when Justin stepped into the morning air, the sky covered with black clouds. A group of rats waited several feet from the entrance: Orion, Castor, and the six rats chosen for the mission. Orion had chosen Max, Archer and, much to Arthur's chagrin, Brenda. Max and Archer were well-experienced guards and had proved themselves very resourceful in the quick move to Thorn Valley. Max was also one of the colony's largest rats, almost as big as Brutus. Castor had chosen his brother, Pollux, Mason, with a fresh bandage on his hand, and Dietrich. Justin was a little surprised at his choices, but approved of them, nonetheless.

Each of them was dressed in a sleeveless black uniform, carrying a bag of supplies that included everything from rope and electrical tape, to bandages, food rations, and small flashlights that had originally been human key chains. Each of them also had a sword as protection from predators, also to use as a crude crowbar or lever, should the situation arise. Justin watched as the two crows paced nearby, occasionally stretching their wings. Their mode of transport was two Easter baskets, stripped of their cheerful decorations. They were large enough for four rats to fit in, though small enough for the birds to carry without much effort. Justin and his men were a slightly heavier load than the Brisby family, but Jeremy had assured him he and Tiffany could handle the burden.

"Captain," Justin said to Orion. "If you don't hear from us in three days, assume the mission is lost."

"Orion tried to make light of his grave words. "I won't have to worry about that, sir," he said. Justin looked over the group again.

"Make no mistake, gentlemen," he nodded toward Brenda. "And lady, we are in the fight for our lives; the fate of this colony rests with us now. Anything you've ever done before has simply been a training exercise, and I expect you to perform better now than you ever have before, and when this is over, you will be decorated a hero upon your return."

Slowly, Orion shook his head. "I think we should change your title from 'Governor' to 'General'," he said. Justin turned to him.

"When I get back, Orion," he began. "I want to see Jessica standing by your side."

"We'll find her," the two shook hands, and Orion noticed the cloth tied around Justin's wrist. "Good luck."

Castor stood by, nodding silently to the rats as they climbed into the baskets. Justin climbed in with Brenda, Max, and Archer and, once everything was secure, signaled Jeremy with a thumb's up.

"Good to go," he said gravely, and the second group did likewise. The birds flapped hard, taking off and going far in the sky, turning back and diving at the baskets. They gripped the handles firmly with their talons, Jeremy's mate taking the lighter of the two, ripping them from the ground as an eagle pulled fish from a lake. The sudden force of lift-off was the drop of a roller coaster, the rats shoved down by the g-force and, after adjusting to the weight they carried, the two crows made their way to the Fitzgibbons farm.

"The sun'll be up soon," Justin said, pulling his bag from the basket. "We need to hurry."

Dietrich gripped his stomach, looking dizzy. "I think I'm gonna throw up," he said sickly.

"Aw, air travel too much for you, little buddy?" Max laughed, slapping him on the back. Dietrich stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance.

Indeed, the flight'd had a negative effect on most of them, and the grounds whipping by at such high speeds had only increased the feelings of vertigo. They landed just below Jeremy's nest, where the two exhausted crows settled after dropping the baskets. The rats planned to cross the railroad bridge from there, infiltrating the farm while protected by darkness.

"All right," Justin threw his bag over his shoulders. "From here-on-out, we're on our own Brenda," he turned to her. "You and Archer stay here as backup. If you don't hear from us by tomorrow night, one of you needs in investigate the situation. If, by one more day, you still don't hear from us, go home, regroup from there.

They nodded silently.

"Right now," Justin continued. "Work on getting those baskets out of sight. This area should be fairly safe—otherwise Jeremy wouldn't have nested here—but none the less, be careful."

"You be careful too, Justin," Brenda told him. "There's a family waiting for a new father back in Thorn Valley; don't do anything reckless and leave her widowed again."

"My thoughts exactly." He winked at her, smiling for the first time that day. "I'll do my best."

"Let's go, let's go," Pollux muttered. The only one who heard him was Mason. "I'm bored, let's go."

"Are we ready?" Justin looked at them, Dietrich, and Max.

"Hey, I was born ready," Max said glibly. "Let's go get that pain-in-the-ass Ages outta here."

Justin readjusted his bag, almost chuckling. "Sounds good to me."

They set out, crossing the grassy fields toward the bridge. After being in the dark for so long, their night vision had naturally adjusted to the blackness of early morning. The air was cool, but it wasn't as bad as the wind chill the flight had created. They moved quickly, in a straight line with Justin at the head, followed by Max, Dietrich, and Mason, Pollux bringing up the rear. Although they'd been galvanized by the mission itself, they were all tired from the hasty departure, and most of them had had trouble sleeping the night before. Not from fear or nervousness, but anticipation, and by the time they reached the bridge, their quick jog had slowed to a fast walk. They were starting to shiver from walking through dew-covered grass, looking forward to the warmth of sunrise.

After a while, Mason tried to break the silence, by his unfortunately crass sense of humor. He moved next to the rat walking in front of him.

"Hey, Dietrich," he said. "The other day, I went up to my girlfriend and said, 'You know, I'd like a little pussy', and she said, 'Me too, mine's big as a house!'"

Dietrich just stared at him, apparently not getting it, though most likely not caring.

"Cause, you see," Mason continued. "I wanted a little one, but hers was…'big as a house'."

"Good God," Max rolled his eyes, glancing at Justin. "Are all the young ones like that?"

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked. "Are you telling me your hormones never had control of your mouth before?"

"At least I was a little more clever," Max scoffed. "He'll never keep a girl with a mouth like that."

"Ah, youth," Justin said. "Young, dumb, and full of come." They laughed to themselves.

"What was that?" asked Mason.

Justin shrugged. "Nothing."

"Huh? Whatever…so, anyway, what I was saying was how I wanted a quickie, but she thought I was talking about her physically…" Mason continued on, dissecting his joke to Dietrich all the way to the outskirts of the farmhouse.

(****)

"What's it look like?" asked Max. The group had reached the forested perimeter of the farmhouse, far enough from any real danger, close enough they still hid within the trees.

"Not too good," Justin observed the clearing through a telescope. "It looks like a full-blown military maneuver."

He moved his sight to anything that didn't belong there. "The helicopter's almost right next to the house, and the rosebush is completely gone. The ground's all tore up, and there's a few trucks, a few tents. There's a couple trailers—two connected together. It looks like there's about eight or ten men altogether, though it's hard to say."

"So, how are we going about this?" questioned Pollux. Besides Justin, he was the highest-ranking rat there.

"Well, it doesn't look like very many of them are up yet," Justin told them. "There's only a couple of them walking around—looks like guard duty or something." He turned to the men behind him. "We should be able to circle around to Ages' without any trouble—there doesn't seem to be anyone wandering around that area. We'll see what he knows, then go for the entrance under the kitchen, maybe listen in on what they're saying. That's going to be the tricky part, though—getting to the house. We'll have to be damn careful, but I think we can pull it off."

Max's shoulders rose, then fell. "Sounds good to me," he said.

Justin handed him the telescope, turning to Pollux.

"You agree?" he asked.

Pollux shrugged. "Sounds fine."

"I'm open to any other suggestions, if you think-"

"I said it sounds fine, Justin," he said. "I'm sure there's no other ways of going about it."

Justin eyed him, then Max. There was a flash of adventure in his eyes, one that hadn't been there for a long time. "Then, let's go."

(****)

As expected, the group had made it to the thresher with no trouble. They knew of accessible entrance Elizabeth didn't, the lid of a rusted-out metal lunch box hidden beneath the machine. It hung on a single hinge, softly groaning as the wind pushed it back and forth. It was large enough for rats to enter, and Dietrich waited there while the others ventured inside to find Ages. The small cave was completely dark, and the group pulled out their flashlights. Long, eerie shadows leapt from the narrow beams, light bouncing from the green and amber glass bottles towering above them.

Justin and the others moved slowly, the only other sounds loose gravel beneath their feet, and their cautious breath as it drifted into the chilled morning air. Justin and Pollux moved their lights in wide arcs, illuminating the books, tubes and vials that littered the area. Rope and string was tied everywhere, canisters of powder stacked in every corner, on every table. There was paper all over the place, a thousand pages covered in Ages' cryptic script.

Justin moved to a large object dominating the room. It was a human's kerosene lamp, and he began opening a box of matches to light it.

"Put the matches down."

Justin and Pollux swung their lights to a dark corner of the room, seeing Ages crawl from what looked to be a closet.

"Why were you hiding?" Justin was both relieved and annoyed. "For a moment, I thought you didn't make it."

Ages shielded his eyes. "Quit shining that damn light in my face."

They pointed their lights to the ground.

"Do you have any idea what's been going on here?" the old mouse continued. He sounded stressed, his voice cracking.

"Why do you think we're here?" Justin asked him.

"For all I knew," the mouse nearly shuddered. "The lot of you could have been one of those men, stringing a fiber optic down here, looking for specimens."

"What do you mean?"

"That's all they've been doing," Ages explained. "All day long, those men from NIMH have been setting up traps, all over the place, catching anything within a hundred yards of this place, taking them in and doing God-knows-what to them. I don't know how many they've caught; rabbits, squirrels, they even caught Dragon, and I'm not sure, but I think they may have even captured some of the Brisbys."

"No, they got away," Justin knelt before the old mouse. "That's how we found out about all this."

"Thank God they're all right," Ages sighed. "All I know, is there have been animals going into those trailers, but nothing has been coming out."

"What are they doing?" asked Pollux.

Ages shrugged. "I don't know, but all day long, I've heard Schultz shouting at her men, over and over, to 'collect specimens'. I've been hiding ever since, and I haven't slept, or eaten a thing since yesterday morning, just hiding in that cramped closet, hoping none of those thundering footsteps came too close."

"So, they're working out of trailers," Justin said, nearly to himself. "That complicates things."

"What do you mean?" asked Ages.

"We were hoping to listen in on what they were doing," Justin explained. "But I don't know how we'll accomplish that, if they're cooped up in those trailers."

"I'm not sure," Ages said. "But, I could hear men going in and out of the farmhouse most of the day; that stupid storm door can be heard for miles when it slams shut." He scratched his head. "Why would you want to listen to anything they say?"

"We need to figure out their plans," Justin told him. "They're obviously onto us, and we've got to either figure out how they did, or what they plan on doing."

Ages almost laughed at the thought. "What do you think you can do against them?" he said hopelessly.

"We'll do whatever we can, damn it," Justin snapped. "Who knows, maybe this will be a dead end, and they'll pack up and go home, but if they do have other plans, we have to at least find out what they are, then we'll figure out a way to combat them."

"What, just you and three rats?" his voice was scornful. "What could you possibly do, Justin?"

"We have two more standing by, and one waiting outside."

"Oh, well then, by all means, my dear boy," his voice was still sarcastic. "Let's lead a full-scale assault on all the humans of NIMH!"

"What do you want me to say, old man?" Justin demanded. "We had no idea what was going on, other than the few sketchy details the Brisbys gave us. All we knew was that we had to find out NIMH's plans, then get you out of here. So, you can either come with us and try to help, or we can leave your cranky ass here to face those men."

Ages waved his hands in frustration. "Stop with the theatrics, Justin," he said. "Of course I'm coming with you, but I am not throwing all my research away."

"We can't take this whole lab, Ages."

"I don't care about the lab, Justin," Ages said. He pulled out a large, corked vial filled with yellowish-green liquid, holding it with both hands. "All I care about is this."

Justin studied it silently for several moments, then, "Is that what I think it is?"

"If it's not," said the old man. "Then, this is as close as anyone will ever get to duplicating it, but this is all I have. I'll need the med lab in Thorn Valley to make more, and I'll need my notes. I haven't been able to test it yet," he continued. "But I think it will work."

"You 'think'?"

"Justin, I haven't the time nor the equipment, let alone subjects to test it on, but yes, I fully believe I have recreated the serum used on us by NIMH."

Justin's fist tightened. "Don't give me," he said quietly. "Or especially her, any false hopes, old man."

"And don't you question my abilities, boy," Ages snapped back.

"How many notes are we talking about?"

"Enough to fill one of those bags you have on your bag, as well as something extra to cushion the vile. It's plastic, but it still needs to be protected."

"Max, you got the extra bag?" Justin turned to him.

"Yo, right here boss!" the big rat tossed it to him.

Justin handed the sack to Ages, saying firmly, "Get what you need and hurry up, we've gotta get moving."

(****)

Schultz stood on the porch, dressed in green fatigues, watching her men scour the yard and field, looking for anything they could find. Directly in front of her was the helicopter she'd flown in, placed dangerously close to the wooden farmhouse. Off to her right was the mobile laboratory, an extra-wide, air-conditioned trailer, retrofit for her scientific studies. Scattered around were the Jeeps her men had come in, one far out on the land, two men probing the area. So far, she was pleased with the operation, at least, for the most part. She'd hoped to catch a few animals, knowing their loud entrance had scared most of them off. No matter, as the evidence they'd collected already was fascinating enough as it was.

She smirked at her own accomplishment; years and years of nothing had finally paid off, some confirmation that one of her most successful experiments still existed. But, how in the hell had they'd known we were coming? She thought about it, drinking coffee in the early morning hours, contemplating as she watched her men work. Overall, aside from that one mistake, she was still satisfied. They won't be ready, next time.

Her smile turned south, one she saw a company vehicle cruising up the driveway, the black town car obviously dispatched from somewhere in the military. Someone was paying her an unscheduled visit, and she waited to see who it was with her hands planted on her hips.

"God dammit," she muttered, then turned and went inside.

"I think she's back inside," said Justin. The rats and Ages had made it under the kitchen, undetected, and were using the hole cut in the floor to listen to the conversations. So far, it had been nothing but small talk and the names of those checking in.

Valentine stood by the kitchen table. "What is it?"

"It's that brown-nosing prick, Stavros," Schultz said with contempt. "He's on-site."

Stavros was personal assistant to Colonel Sinclair, Schultz's boss, the man with the final authority on the NIMH project. Young and completely by-the-book, he'd easily earned Schultz's hatred.

Valentine's sigh was gruff. "Son of a bitch." He shared his boss' sentiments for the officer.

Justin perked up. "This sounds interesting."

"What is it?" said Max.

"I'm not sure," Justin replied. "But, it sounds like someone Schultz doesn't like too much just arrived."

The front door opened, infamous screen falling shut with a clatter.

"Shut the door," said Schultz, before Stavros could speak. "The air's on."

"Dr. Schultz," Stavros began.

"What is it now, Stavros?" she stared at him. "I'm a busy woman."

"Dr. Schultz," Stavros repeated. "I've been sent to write a report on your progress with the project," he crossed his arms. "I went to your office yesterday to find you gone; why was I the last one to be informed of this sweep-and-clear?"

"Because, Stavros," her voice was almost sarcastic. "You are on a need-to-know basis, and you didn't need to know."

"Dr. Schultz, regardless of the inactivity you've experienced the past few years, this project is still a high priority," he sighed. "I am to be notified of all classified activ-"

"Well, now you know," she said impatiently. Valentine glanced at her curiously, but stayed silent.

"Who authorized this sweep-and-clear?" the deskman demanded.

"All the information you need can be found in the folder I sent to your office, Stavros," the woman informed him. "You were probably in such a hurry to check on me that you didn't see it lying there."

He cleared his throat. "Well, Dr. Schultz, regardless of what you think of me, I'm here to give you news that's either good or bad, depending on how you look at it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dr. Schultz-"

"Quit fucking calling me 'Dr. Schultz'!" she shouted. "I know who I am, and I heard you the first time."

"Sinclair has made a decision," Stavros continued, unfazed. "About the NIMH project. Unless you have credible and substantial proof of advancement in your research by the end of this quarter, the project will be terminated, and you and your men will be reassigned."

"Substantial proof?" Schultz was infuriated. "I am this fucking close to relocating, rediscovering the Beta test group! You'll get all the Goddamn proof you need then."

"Are you positive about this information?"

"Do babies shit their pants?" her tone was biting. "Yes, I'm positive! Do you want to see my evidence, Stavros?" she continued. "There was a colony of who-knows-how-many rats living under this farm that suddenly vanished the day before we arrived. When we dug deep enough, there were enough electronics to warehouse a fucking Radio Shack outlet: wires, motors, fans, pumps, pulleys, you name it. It was there. We ran blood tests on the farm cat, and it came up showing traces of tranquilizing agents."

"What does that mean?"

"The rats drugged the damn cat, Stavros!" Schultz shouted. "They drugged it so it wouldn't attack them. These rats are smart, they're thinking. They knew we were coming and they went AWOL. If you need any more evidence than that, I have their damn DNA match from the stool samples we found down there."

"You're certain these are the Beta rats, how can you be sure?"

"Because, each group we went through had a signature gene injected into them, and once the mixture took, they mutated, adopting the gene we planted."

"I don't understand," Stavros rubbed his neck. "Why haven't you been able to duplicate this? How's the progress with the Pi group?"

"The Pi group is no different than the Omega," she said. "There's been nothing."

"Why is that, Schultz?"

"Because they mutated," Schultz snapped."You Harvard prick, they mutated while we were still giving them different mixtures. This was only the second group; we have to know what caused the initial mutation. We were being cautious after the Alpha escape, too cautious. We were experimenting with too many mixtures on the fly. We don't know how the mutation started, what affected it further, but if I can get my hands on just one of those little bastards and cut him open, I can duplicate the mixture from the source."

"Is it possible the Beta group may have mutated to the point Alpha group did?" questioned Stavros.

"I have no idea," Schultz snapped. "Why are you so concerned about the Alpha group when the Betas are right under our noses?"

"Because, I got curious, Schultz," said the deskman. "I took the surveillance tapes and reviewed them. I have no idea how you let those…things progress to the point they did, but, frankly, they scared the shit out of me. If these rats-"

"Stavros," her voice was flat. "If these rats turned out anything like the Alphas did, then they wouldn't have left a trace, either. The dosage we used wasn't nearly as powerful, and even after a thousand generations, I doubt it could ever reach that level."

Stavros ran his hands down his face, both frustrated and anxious. "This whole project," he sighed at last. "Just gives me the creeps…this genetic tampering is the stuff nightmares are made of. Personally, I don't give a damn how much Sinclair likes you, or your project, and I hope this whole operation gets locked away."

"Well Stavros," Schultz gave a cool smile. "That's why you're in the office, pushing pencils while I'm out here getting my hands dirty with rat shit."

"You can keep your rat shit," said Stavros, making his exit. "I'll be by tomorrow, to pick up an updated status to give to Sinclair."

"I'll be here," said Schultz, in mock joy. She watched through the kitchen window as Stavros drove away, a dust clouds in his wake.

Nearby, Valentine watched his boss with suspicious eyes, deciding to test the response. "Do you think he was being serious?" he asked. "About not seeing your report?"

Schultz looked, contemptuously, at her underling. "What, are you starting to question me, too?"

"No, its just…Stavros is so by the numbers; I'm surprised he let something like this slip by him."

"Like I said, he was probably on his way out when it landed on his desk. Who cares?" she crossed her arms, shrugging. "Do you have the coms up yet?"

"Yeah, but all the connections down here were shit; I had to hook in upstairs. We're up and running."

"Good," she smiled. "Where at?"

"The master bedroom," he said. "But I still don't know why you-"

"All in good time, my friend," said Schultz. "Show me where they are." With that, she and Valentine moved upstairs, out of hearing range.

(****)

Justin crawled from the peephole, joining back with the others. The expression on his face was concern, and at the same time, confusion. Alpha group? He thought. Beta, Pi, Omega; what are they talking about? What did it all mean? It seemed obvious Schultz was in over her head, that somewhere, somehow, the doctor had don't something she shouldn't have, and now this man, Stavros, was on to her. And while it was bad for her, it was great news to the rats that NIMH would be shut down, even if it still made no sense.

He called it the NIMH Project, he thought. It would be terminated, and Schultz would be reassigned. What did that mean? Terminated…project…test groups…

The more he thought about it, the more bewildering it became.

"So," said Max. "What's going on? What did she say?"

There was a long pause. "I think," Justin said at last. "That this is far bigger than we ever anticipated."