A/N: This story's only got a couple chapters left, kind of a relief for me. I may do a sequel, or I may not. I feel as though it wouldn't really be complete if I didn't do it though, things left unfinished for our heroes. But we'll see how this turns out. ONWARD!

A/N 2: Also, before we get on with the story, sorry for the (really) long gap. Haven't felt up to it lately, not to mention that, this being one of the last chapters, I've been working hard to make it the best I can.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 23

Tor awoke in his tent, the heat from the morning sun causing the air to be sweltering hot within the enclosed space. Normally Tor didn't like special treatment because of his rank, but he was very thankful that he had his own private tent, without the body heat of others.

He crawled out of the tent, dizzy with heat and dying for something to drink. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Tor walked toward the lake, making his way around the other neopets. Many were dozing around the fires, now only charred, smoking logs. Most were wounded, being covered in banadages. They watched him as he passed by, as though waiting for orders he didn't have.

He had spent much of his night trying to come up with some semblance of a plan. Everyone was waiting for orders. Nobody else had been told what Tor and Roberta had learned from the thieves and so no plans had been spoken of yet.

The knight splashed some of the cool water onto his face, kneeling at the edge of the lake, immediately feeling refreshed.

"WERELUPES!"

The cry was loud, carrying through the camp easily. Tor shot to his feet, reaching for his sword but finding that it wasn't there. Only the empty sheath.

"Tor!"

He turned just in time to see his sword leave Turk's hand. He caught the hilt, the point facing the ground and swung the blade around in his hand into the correct position. Tor took off, following the other soldiers and overtaking them effortlessly.

"STOP! He's no threat to us!"

That was Roberta's voice and it shocked Tor enough to nearly make him stop in his tracks. He ran wide to see around the others. Roberta was standing in front of two werelupes, creating a shield around the three of them while some of the troops swung their swords at the shield. The blades bounced off harmlessly, but Roberta flinched at every strike.

Tor sheathed his sword used Smoke Step to get closer before Roberta's shield failed. He slammed his fist into a green lupe's back, causing him to fall to his knees, stopping the attack as others saw him fall. Then Tor was able to get a good look at the werelupes.

"Alcasar," Tor exclaimed, shocked. The other werelupe he didn't recognize, but she seemed frightened by the attack. "What are you doing here? Who is she?"

"Tor, Roberta, who are these werelupes?" Master Caradoc demanded, his sword still ready.

"They are not a threat," Roberta said strongly, though she still kept the magical barrier in place. Tor nodded in agreement. "Alcasar is not with the pack. He helped Tor and I find the pack and he helped us to escape."

"And the other beast?"

Roberta looked over her shoulder at the female werelupe. Tor knew that she was thinking the same as him. They had no clue who she was or if she really was a threat, though it didn't seem as though she would try anything. She just looked scared. "Well… I don't know."

"Chain them!" Caradoc ordered. Tor tensed, gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it.

"Caradoc, wait!" he interjected. "They aren't a threat, there's no need for this. Alcasar said that he would help us when the time came."

"Alcasar is a werelupe, in case you hadn't noticed, Sir Tormund."

Tor went to object, but a raspy voice cut in before he could. "Tor, Roberta, it is fine," Alcasar said, turning Tor's head immediately. "We understood that it was going to happen."

"They've no reason to imprison you, Alcasar," Roberta said angrily.

Alcasar shrugged. "Obviously reasons have no importance. Lower your shield."

Roberta grit her teeth, keeping completely still for a few moments. Then her body relaxed and Tor saw the shield dissipate into nothing.

"You two, come with me," Caradoc ordered, indicating to Tor and Roberta. They looked to one another, sharing the same angry expression as Alcasar was put into shackles. They followed Caradoc through the camp to his cabin.

It was like a grand palace compared to the tents that everyone else had. Inside it was nice and cool, probably equipped with charms to keep it that way.

The grarrl took them into what appeared to be a sort of office and sat behind a desk. Tor noticed some copies of the previous battle plans and maps scattered across the top.

"Where were you both last night?"

Tor glanced at Roberta. He hadn't thought anybody was aware of the fact that they hadn't been in the camp, sleeping off their weariness. He clamped his jaws shut stubbornly.

"Visiting friends," Roberta answered vaguely. "Not that it is any of your business, Sir Caradoc."

"Master Caradoc," the grarrl corrected in a harsh growl. "And it is my business when my soldiers disappear."

"Forgive me Master Caradoc," Tor said, "But we are not your soldiers. We do not answer to you. That was made clear when the Kings put us in charge of making plans that you follow."

Caradoc grimaced, showing his teeth in irritation. "Just tell me where you were last night!"

"Roberta did already. We were visiting some friends." Tor said, annoyed. "Gaining information."

"What friends?"

"Very connected ones," Roberta said, once again keeping it vague. "It does not matter who they are."

Caradoc grimaced, an angry gleam in his yellow eyes. But he did not question Roberta any further about who her friends were. "What did you find out then."

Tor was about to answer that, but Roberta beat him, saying, "That information is classified until after we speak to the werelupes you needlessly imprisoned."

"Very well, speak with those two savages! Maybe you will realize what they are!"

"Or maybe it will be you who sees the truth. Neopets like you and I, that is what they are! Not all werelupes are mindless beasts!" Tor shot back. "They do as they are ordered by their king. Do you not do the same?"

Caradoc slammed his fist on the desk, and used his other to point a finger in Tor's face. "Your mind must be clouded by that magic you're using! "And yours too, Lady Roberta!"

Roberta smacked his hand away. "Yours is filled with stereotypical bull feathers!"

"You two are only a couple of mere children pretending to know about things you have o knowledge of!"

"How often do you even leave the comfort of the castle?" Roberta questioned. "Even now this is practically a manor compared to what the rest of our accommodations. You call us pretenders?"

"GO!" Caradoc roared. "Speak with those bloodthirsty murderers you call 'friends'. We will find who is right!"

There were a couple moments of complete silence in which none of them moved, only spoke their anger with their eyes. Then Roberta turned on her heel and fled the room in a stiff manner. Tor followed, containing himself until they were outside.

"What happened to him?" Tor questioned, his ears burning with annoyance. "He was never like that in the past. I mean, Caradoc has never exactly been pleasant, but that was different."

"He was promoted," Roberta answered tightly. "He is becoming power hungry. And he calls Alcasar a beast!"

Tor suspected that this was not her first argument with Brightvale's Man at Arms, not from the amount of anger radiating off of her. "So, what else has he said?"

She didn't even bother trying to lie. "He tried to forbid me from coming to find you yesterday. Obviously I did not listen."

"Good thing you're not one for following orders," Tor remarked. He stopped next to Grayson who was crouched near a fire pit with some others. "Grayson, do you know where the werelupes are being held?"

"Yup. There's a tent out near the lake that they're in. I think that Ebard is guarding them with some others."

"Thanks."

Grayson jumped to his feet quickly and grabbed Tor's shoulder. "Wait, do you really know them?"

"Only one, Alcasar. But neither are threats, I assure you that."

The other lupe nodded, seeming to believe Tor's words. He seemed relieved. "If you say so Tor."

"At least not everyone is as idiotic as Caradoc," Roberta muttered as they walked away. Tor smirked, glad that the sorceress's anger was directed at the 'Commander' rather than himself. He doubted that she would take much more.

Ebard was guarding the tent with Ironscale of Market Town and Guardsman Wade. Ebard and Wade both looked bored, but Ironscale looked intent, as though guarding two prisoners was a great task.

"We're here to speak with the prisoners," Roberta stated with distaste. The three only nodded and moved out of the way, leaving Tor with a small flicker of satisfaction. Most seemed to be more willing to listen to him and Roberta rather than Caradoc. He ducked under the flap of the tent and Roberta waved her wand at the opening. It snapped closed and a golden wall appeared around it for a moment before it died away.

"They won't hear our conversation," Roberta explained for Tor's and the werelupes' benefit. She then pointed her wand at the locks that kept the werelupes from escaping their cages. A bright light streaked through the air and the iron lock was blown to bits. Alcasar jumped out of the cage with a grunt of disgust. The other crept slowly out, very hesitant as though she thought they were going to attack her.

"Alcasar, who is she?" Tor questioned. "And why are you here?"

"This is my sister, Shayla. She managed to escape the pack. We have come with information and to aid in the fight, as I promised I would."

"I'm sorry about Caradoc," Roberta said, looking considerately at Shayla. "There was no reason for him to take you both as prisoners. You are among friends now. What information have you brought?"

Shayla's ears flattened against her head. For the first time Tor noticed that her dark fur had spots that were caked with blood and cuts littered her body. She had obviously gone through much to escape the pack. Whatever had happened still struck her with fear.

"Shayla," he said calmly and warmly. "You do not have to fear anything anymore. Just tell us what you know."

Her amber eyes turned to him inquisitively. "It was your sister who was captured, was it not?"

Tor watched her curiously as he nodded slowly. "It was…"

"And it was you who killed many of the pack in your strive to rescue her. Including my family."

He glanced at Roberta, not liking where this was going at all. "I… yeah. I'm sorry but—"

"Do not apologize," Shayla rasped, cutting off his apologies. He'd had a string of them ready. "You have done a great service, both of you. There are very few within the pack who do not believe everything they are told by whichever mad king is ruling them. Most of those few are too afraid to do anything about it."

"I can see why," Roberta murmured, gazing over the wounds on the werelupe's body.

Shayla nodded. "I barely escaped with my life. It was only thanks to the small number of those who see clearly. They helped me to escape without raising suspicion to themselves.

"Your rescue mission, the way you so easily went against the King, has sparked a sort of revolt within the pack. No doubt that the battle has helped. More are seeing that they are merely pawns in the full scale of things. Some are refusing to fight. They don't last long however. But, the smart ones, like those who aided in my escape, they are working together, forming a group. They are preparing to rise against the King."

Tor felt uneasy at her words. The Assassin always seemed to be aware of everything. Tor had a feeling—though he wasn't positive and possibly only very paranoid—that the Assassin was listening in on them now. He looked at Roberta, wondering if she was pondering the same, but she didn't seem worried, at least not by that.

"There is a certain group," Shayla continued. "One that I am a part of. Tonight they are planning to lead a hunting party, or at least that's what the rest of the pack thinks. They will not be returning to the pack."

"And how is that going to resolve anything?" Roberta questioned.

"Werelupes have run away in the past. When they do, the Leader himself goes to punish them for their betrayal."

"They plan to kill the Assassin when he comes to kill them," Tor finished, the realization hitting him suddenly.

Shayla nodded her massive head. "However, their skills are nothing compared to the Assassin's. They will surely perish on their own. They hoped for me to find you, for help. You will have a chance at killing the Assassin."

There was a while of silence. Tor looked at Roberta who looked thoughtful, as though she already had several plans and backup plans forming in her head—which she most likely did. Apparently she had already decided that they were going to take this chance. So Tor nodded with a determined expression.

"We'll do it."

…..

It wasn't a very perfect plan—that much was obvious with such short notice. That night Tor and Roberta used Smoke Step to get to the location where the ex-pack members were camping, their werelupe friends travelling behind with some back-up on unis. There was no telling if any of them would make it in time.

The werelupes had been expecting them, so rather than attacking on sight there were some quick, surprisingly formal introductions and Roberta explained their plan.

Now Tor was sitting in a tree, wearing a dark cloak that would better hide him than his armor. From his perch he could see the campsite, the seven runaways gathered around a fire. Roberta was somewhere else out of sight on the ground.

And then they waited.

None of them knew when the Assassin would show up; it could be minutes, hours, days even. So there were many flaws in the hastily made plan. Tor couldn't spend days in a tree for one.

To his right there was a sudden cloud of purple that curled away, revealing Roberta. She balanced easily on the thick branch, as though she were standing on perfectly level ground.

"you look tired," she said, holding out a small vial. An energizing potion, Tor recognized. "It's not much, but it's all we have for now."

"It's fine," Tor said, sliding the vial into a leather pouch for later use. He really wasn't all that tired, but Roberta always worried. He had only made it worse with his little stunt into the mines. "Thanks."

Roberta nodded, looking tired herself. "I have to get back. Stay awake."

It wasn't ten minutes before Tor's eyes dropped and he fell asleep up in the tree.

…..

He was woken in a very disrupting way by Roberta. She appeared in the same space she had taken earlier on the branch, one hand clamped over his mouth, using her other to tug on his ear.

Needless to say, Tor glared at her with annoyance. But Her face was serious, even holding a small amount of fear and anticipation and his face immediately mirrored hers.

"He's coming."

Tor didn't understand how she could possibly know that—he scented nothing in the air but her, the werelupes and the forest—but he did not doubt it for a second. He stood on the branch, his sword out and ready. Roberta, wand in one hand and dagger in the other, was already wide awake and ready.

His eyes scanned the forest below, searching for a sign of the one who had been after his life for over two years.

Whoosh!

Tor was knocked from the tree branch and sent flying to the ground below, laughter echoing through the forest. He hit the ground on his feet and dived into a roll with his momentum to keep from getting hurt. When he turned and looked back up to the perched he had been sleeping on moments before, he saw the robed figure of the assassin, his rapier locked with Roberta's dagger.

"Did you two really think you could fool me?" he sneered. "Do you think me so naïve?"

Tor Shadow Stepped up onto the branch, right behind the Assassin, his sword sweeping in a wide arc. Blood welled around the deep gouge that was left. The Assassin roared with pain and pushed Roberta away with a strong pulse of magic, sending the sorceress flying from the tree.

A wide, maniacal grin was on the gelert's face when he turned around. "And who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?"

Tor readied his blade. "You're one to talk about old dogs. How old are you again?"

The Assassin grinned, his yellow eyes gleaming underneath the darkness of his hood. "ATTACK!" he shouted before disappearing into a purple cloud.

Instinctively, Tor did the same lest he be speared by the rapier his opponent wielded.

Werelupes had burst from the trees, snarling with battle-fueled rage. Too many for Tor to count, but they easily outnumbered the small resistance group.

Back-up had better be here soon, Tor thought as he raised his blade and leapt forward—forgetting the Assassin for the time being. Hopefully Roberta could handle that for the time being.

His sword sliced through the thick skin of a werelupe and the beast howled in pain, whipping around with his claws out. Tor took a leap back, and then another when the claws came at him again. There was a second for an opening while there werelupe was recovering from his miss.

But Tor didn't need it. There was a sickening crunch and there werelupe slumped to the ground, his skull crushed from a strong strike of a bone club. Tor nodded at the resistance fighter and they both moved in opposite directions into the fray.

"Watch it Tor!"

He heard Roberta's warning call, even if he didn't see her anywhere, and quickly moved into the Shadow Plane—as he had dubbed it. He turned around and there was the assassin, frozen with the rest of time, his rapier ready to come down on Tor's head.

"Close call," he said to himself as he stepped to the side and back into the physical world.

The Assassin's sword came down into the ground and he snarled in annoyance and pain when Tor's sword slashed into his side. The wound was not deep, the Assassin moving too quickly for the blade to cause any serious damage.

Tor felt the strain on his magical energy that moving so quickly between worlds caused for him.

Don't wear it out, Tor, he told himself. We don't need a repeat of the Steppes.

Roberta appeared on his right and Tor saw her grim face from the corner of his eye. The three stood still and tensed, ready to dodge at even the slightest movement. The battle still rage around them, thicker now that the reinforcements had arrived.

The Assassin grinned.

"Looks like it's high time we get serious."