Hello. Got this done slightly quicker than expected. This does dash around a bit so I hope it makes sense. It was just how my brain saw it.

Thank you to Kristy (Guest) for your reviews. They were much appreciated. :)

Warning: There is violence and some cursing.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The wooden door snapped open with less noise than expected.

'We're not just soldiers...we're the elite. We're Musketeers.' Athos stood before them with his sword drawn and D'Artagnan and Porthos stood either side of him.

The shock on the men's faces was apparent and Porthos lunged for one catching him before he could arm himself. Porthos pressed a hand over the man's mouth and broke his neck with a snap. Athos quickly thrust his sword through the other man as the look of 'no mercy' was clear on the swordsman's face. D'Artagnan quickly moved to place a hand over the man's mouth to stop any noise and gently laid the man on the floor.

'Two down,' Porthos said quietly.

The hallway was lit with lanterns and they could see a light coming from the room at the end of the hall. Though the hallway was lit it still took time for their eyes to adjust and they frantically tried to search for the stairs that would lead to the cellar and most likely to Aramis. They moved quietly closer to the lit room, passing deserted make-shift bedrooms along the way. They spotted the stairs that led underground which were opposite to the lit room. They stopped as they heard voices.

'What we doin' tomorrow Renard?' came a voice which sounded sickeningly gleeful to the musketeers.

'I'll slice his back tomorrow,' the heard Renard's voice. 'That'll speed things up especially as he won't be getting water anymore. I'll need you two to hold him again, although I doubt he'll give us much trouble.'

'What did the Duke say that made him howl like that?' another voice joined in and the three musketeers clenched their jaws in anger at the suggestion that Aramis was in serious pain. Aramis never howled. The only time they had heard a howl from the man was during his nightmares after Savoy.

'Can't tell you that Boucher,' Renard's voice rang out. 'You alright, Simon?'

'Fine,' came the response.

'I really hope you're not feeling bad for him,' Renard growled. 'He deserves what he's gettin'. Remember that.' Renard's growl was vicious but Simon didn't flinch. The musketeers, of course, couldn't see that but they deduced that Simon was not happy with whatever Renard was doing to Aramis.

Suddenly, a man appeared in the doorway from where he must have been leant on the other side of the wall near the door of the lit room and his eyes were as wide as saucers.

'MUSKETEERS!' he bellowed and turned back into the room as Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan moved to positions in the hallway where they could see anyone coming out of the room.

'Dammit!' Renard cried as he was alerted to the musketeers.

Shots were fired on both sides but the gloom had meant that no-one was hurt. With the pistols spent there was no time to reload as this fight became a sword fight.

'WHERE IS HE?' Athos bellowed as the swords started to clang. Athos hadn't truly expected an answer.

'Cellar, second door on the left,' Simon had made his decision and Renard charged at him.

'TRAITOR!' the scarred man roared as Simon took a defensive position against him but Renard slammed him against the wall.

The other men charged the musketeers and it soon became apparent that the narrowness of the hall would cause problems. Elbows banged against the walls as the men constantly tried to take stock of each other and their friends. It would be easy to slip and hurt their own.

Aramis was lying down on the straw in his cell. It was now covered in his own blood but it was still better than the cold paved floor. He was actually rather surprised he still had it. He could hear noises from above him but he tuned them out. Any hopes of a rescue had gone when he had found out about his brother's fate. Or maybe it was Porthos making a nuisance of himself, Aramis smiled at his thought.

Porthos was taking on a brute of an opponent. Both men had dropped their swords in favour of fists in the narrow corridor. Porthos pushed his opponent into one of the make-shift bedrooms they had passed earlier and raised his eyebrows as he realised the room was large enough for a proper fight. The man charged as Porthos dodged and then connected with a blow to the man's back. The man wasn't very light on his feet and that made the large musketeer chuckle. During his time in the Court of Miracles Porthos had learnt how to be light-footed, even with his massive frame. His opponent clearly enjoyed secure footing so Porthos decided to test it.

Porthos moved swiftly onto one of the cots in the room daring the man to follow him. Follow him, he did. Porthos grinned as he moved from the cot to another knowing that the cots were unstable compared to the floor. Both men took a moment to gain their balance but Porthos was confident that he would win this.

D'Artagnan managed to manoeuvre his opponent in to a different room and spotted Aramis' saddle and supplies. Some had clearly been opened but he focused his attention on the man before him.

'He's a broken man now,' the man teased. 'Cried and wailed. Your deaths will add to that,' he grinned showing yellow teeth.

'Really?' D'Artagnan raised an eyebrow, doing his best to make sure he didn't show his anger to the man. The man's grin faltered and that was the only opportunity D'Artagnan needed. He lunged forward catching the man off-guard and sliced through the man's side drawing blood.

'Fuck,' the man hissed with pain but quickly blocked D'Artagnan's following attack. For a moment the men were stood face to face, glaring into each other's eyes. D'Artagnan pushed himself away and drew his dagger from his back. The man did the same but the wound on his right side was bleeding freely as blood seeped through the man's shirt and onto the floor. He was breathing heavily but D'Artagnan had learnt not to underestimate such opponents.

Athos was once again facing Boucher in a fight. Having battled on the road both men had an idea about each other's fighting skills as well as their weaknesses. With Porthos and D'Artagnan in separate rooms the men had the majority of the hall. They circled and considered each other as Boucher grinned menacingly.

'Do you wanna know how much he screamed?' Boucher taunted Athos who managed to keep the expressionless mask that he usually wore in place.

'Not as much as you hoped, I'm sure,' a small smile crossed Athos lips as he cocked his head to the right slightly at the sight of the anger emitting from Boucher. Clearly Aramis hadn't been as cooperative and they had hoped.

Boucher lunged as Athos blocked the attack. Both men started to move quickly as the swords clashed loudly and forcefully. Athos smiled as he drew his dagger and Boucher followed suit. Though right-handed Athos had always been taught that using both hands was important. What if you right hand was injured? He was interested to see whether Boucher had learnt the same lessons.

Renard was furious as he held Simon up against the wall. The man had sided with the musketeers for reasons he could not fathom. Why would a man he trusted do such a thing? Before Renard could break out of his own thoughts Simon sent a well-aimed knee into Renard's groin and scrambled away as the scarred man buckled. Simon knew he had to stop Renard from getting to Aramis and give the musketeers time to win their own fights and get to their friend. He was a good fighter and he could use Renard's anger to his advantage.

D'Artagnan continued to fight his wounded opponent who was weakening quickly. D'Artagnan made sure he was on level ground as the man lunged once more almost managing to hit him. Almost. D'Artagnan quickly pirouetted behind the man and struck this time through the man's back. The man dropped his weapons with a clatter and D'Artagnan withdrew his sword, sending the man crashing to the ground, flinching before falling still.

D'Artagnan turned and carefully made his way out of the room. Athos was in a dogfight with the man he had fought on the road, Porthos was nowhere to be seen and Simon was currently standing off against Renard just before the stairs.

Simon looked over and saw D'Artagnan and Renard turned as well. Simon took advantage of the distraction and tackled Renard, pushing the scarred man further down the hallway where he was nearly trodden on by Boucher, leaving the stairs clear.

D'Artagnan ran for the stairs as he knew he needed to get to Aramis.

Aramis could still hear shouting and started to wonder what was happening. He had ruled out a rescue party and his thoughts fell on Simon. Was Simon being tortured because they found out he had helped him? Aramis hoped not but Renard was a vicious bully. He stayed where he lay as his exhaustion wouldn't allow him to move. His body was tired and whatever was happening, it was nothing to do with him. He curled up as tightly as he could as he shivered, wearing only his torn braies in his cell.

Porthos waited and challenged the other man to strike. The man tried to punch but missed as Porthos' punch connected with cheekbone and both men heard the crack. The man stumbled and fell hard on to the floor. Porthos approached carefully but not carefully enough and the man swung his left leg catching the back of Porthos' calf near the knee and sent the musketeer crashing face first to the floor. Porthos got his hands down in time but he was still slightly stunned. The man quickly managed sit on Porthos' back and wrapped an arm around Porthos' throat and started to squeeze. Porthos could feel his airway being crushed and quickly looked around the room. He managed to move over to one of the nearby cots and located a pistol which was underneath. He grabbed the pistol with his right hand and then reached above his head with his left as he managed to grab the man's doublet. With all his strength he pulled the man so he was tipping over his head. The man's grip loosened as he saw the pistol. That was all Porthos needed as the man's weight shifted forward on his back. Porthos managed to bend his knees and push himself up with the pistol still in hand as the other man tried to prise it from his fingers.

Now Porthos was resting on his hand and knees he tightened his grip on the man's doublet and used his leverage to throw the man completely over his head and making him slam into the floor with a loud thud. The man was winded but by now Porthos didn't care. He fired the pistol and red started to spread across the man's chest while his eyes went blank.

Athos watched as he saw D'Artagnan emerge unscathed from his room. His momentary distraction cost him as Boucher managed to slice his left forearm making him drop his dagger at the pain. Boucher loomed grinning as Renard was suddenly at his feet and Athos took the chance to slash back and this time on Boucher's upper right arm.

Renard seemed to forget the men in front of him as he fumed at Simon who looked just as determined. Renard charged his once friend and Boucher and Athos turned their attention back to each other. Athos noticed D'Artagnan dash for the stairs out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention back to Boucher.

The swords clashed again as Athos and Boucher mercilessly danced around each other flicking their wrists elegantly. Athos could see that Boucher was struggling and did his best to ignore his own wound. Athos watched closely and timed his attack. Boucher was faltering and was not covering with his left hand. Athos lunged and caught Boucher's left wrist causing the man to cry out in pain. He dropped the dagger and stumbled back against the wall. Athos wasted no time as he sliced across Boucher's torso and the man fell to the ground whimpering in pain.

Athos glared down at the man and recognised that the wound he had inflicted was fatal as he could see blood now starting to seep rapidly across the floor.

A shot rang out and Athos turned his attention to the room he knew Porthos had entered. He had heard the struggle but had assumed that Porthos would win. He ran to the room to find Porthos sat on the floor next to a body with blood spreading across its chest while Porthos was breathing heavily and his neck was reddening.

Renard was incensed and he considered Simon in front of him. The traitor had to die! Renard attacked viciously as Simon parried back. Both men were coursing with anger but Simon saw Boucher go down and could only assume that the large musketeer would win too. The youngest musketeer was already on his way to Aramis so Simon knew he just needed to hold up Renard a little longer.

D'Artagnan reached the bottom of the stairs and ducked as the guard for the cells swung his sword. The man went to shoot his pistol and D'Artagnan knocked it out of his hands. The man gave D'Artagnan as scared look as the musketeer ran him through. D'Artagnan didn't care whether this man had tortured Aramis or not. He had certainly kept Aramis locked up. D'Artagnan took the pistol and keys from the dead man's belt and rattled the second door on the left. Confirming that it was locked D'Artagnan tried the keys in the lock desperately hoping that Aramis was still alive.

Aramis lifted his head off the straw with a struggle as he heard commotion outside the cell. His heart lifted slightly as he realised that this could indeed be a rescue but his heart sank as he remembered his brothers' fate. He heard a clatter and a thud and a rattle on the door. He could here keys in the lock. Maybe Renard had come to finish him instead?

Renard caught Simon on his left leg and the man yelped in pain as he felt the sword slice at his flesh. Renard then elbowed him in the jaw making Simon stumble but Simon would not go down easily. He landed a blow of his own across Renard's chest making the scarred man growl. They moved closer to the stairs as Simon started to struggle to fend off Renard's attack.

The cell door opened.

'Aramis!' D'Artagnan rushed to his brother who lay there stunned to see his youngest brother. This wasn't possible. D'Artagnan started to unlock the manacles but Aramis grabbed his hands.

'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,' he counted and whimpered in relief while D'Artagnan just looked at him bewildered. Aramis saw the look as tears welled up in his eyes. 'You have all your fingers,' he said with his voice thick with emotion.

'Last time I checked,' D'Artagnan replied as Aramis slumped back on to the straw.

'They didn't have you,' Aramis said in an almost whisper but D'Artagnan realised what must have happened.

'They never had us Aramis,' he said quickly as he finally released the manacles and quickly lifted Aramis into his arms, his own eyes prickling with tears. 'They never had us,' he repeated as Aramis started to sob into D'Artagnan's shoulder. 'We're here now.'

Athos pulled a recovering Porthos to his feet and they emerged into the hallway just as Renard struck. He sliced across Simon's body causing a deep wound on the man's right side. Simon fell to his knees as Renard raised his sword. Renard sensed someone behind him and glanced towards Athos and Porthos and decided instead to descend the stairs as Athos and Porthos ran over to Simon.

Simon felt the pain across his side and for a moment knew nothing else. His hand went to the wound as he felt the wetness of the blood escaping his body. Renard's feet were in front of him and he knew it was the end. Renard would finish him. It was over.

Renard cursed Simon as he jumped the last few steps knowing that the other musketeers would soon be behind him. He realised the cell door was open and held his sword in front of him. The youngest musketeer was holding Aramis in his arms.

'How sweet,' Renard said sarcastically as D'Artagnan and Aramis let go of each other. Renard's sword was at D'Artagnan's back as he then turned to face Renard. D'Artagnan gave himself as wide a stance as possible to try and cover Aramis. 'I want him not you,' Renard said calmly but D'Artagnan just smiled back. Neither man noticed Aramis who was currently fighting the pain in his body.

Athos and Porthos reached Simon as he started to fall. They managed to sit him against the wall near to the stairs.

Simon opened his eyes to see looks of concern and could see that the larger musketeer was panting heavily and his neck was red.

'Go,' Simon managed quietly. 'He needs you.'

BANG!

Renard screamed in pain as the shot hit his right knee as Aramis had picked up the pistol D'Artagnan had left beside him.

'That was a little close for comfort,' D'Artagnan remarked smirking slightly at Aramis who had fired the pistol through the younger man's legs while still lying down.

'D'ARTAGNAN!' the twin roars came as Athos and Porthos heard the shot from above.

'In here!' D'Artagnan shouted back as he moved to take the sword from the now whimpering Renard. Running footsteps could be heard as Athos and Porthos appeared in the doorway.

Both took one look at Aramis and earthly growls emitted from both men. Porthos stormed over to Renard and slammed him against the wall of the cell.

'That is my brother,' he growled in Renard's face. Renard couldn't hide his fear as Porthos let him down and then punched him hard. Porthos' fist connected with Renard's left temple but the force caused Renard's right temple to hit the wall knocking him out instantly.

Athos moved to crouch down next to Aramis who was still looking with disbelieving eyes. His brothers were alive and were in front of him. The Duke had lied but Aramis realised that he had never truly been convinced. He had known that something wasn't quite right. Aramis suddenly found himself in Athos' arms and realised how worried they must have been for the man to show this much emotion.

'We've got you now,' Athos whispered and Aramis couldn't stop his eyes filling with tears of relief and he clung tightly to his friend.

'Quit hoggin' 'im,' Porthos' voice stirred the men after a moment. Porthos' eyes connected with Aramis' and the well of fear that still radiated from the larger man caused a lump to form in Aramis' throat.

Porthos moved once Athos had released Aramis and scooped Aramis up into his arms. Aramis winced slightly but he also knew he wasn't going to be able to walk. Athos and D'Artagnan quickly moved Renard and secured him in the manacles that had kept Aramis prisoner.

'You had us worried,' Porthos sniffed, his voice scratchy as he looked Aramis in the eyes. Porthos carried Aramis out of the cell that had been his prison and Athos locked the door.

'Your neck,' Aramis look horrified at the redness of Porthos' neck where he had been held in a choke hold.

'It's nothing compared to you,' Porthos could see the cuts and bruises and seriously wanted to tear Renard to shreds.

Aramis drew his arms fully around Porthos' neck before mumbling, 'This is not dignified.' Porthos let out a chuckle at Aramis' words and looked down to see a small smile on Aramis' face. D'Artagnan laughed and shook his head while Athos' eyes settled for a twinkle of amusement.

They climbed the steps and suddenly heard ragged breathing.

'Simon,' Aramis tried to climb from Porthos' arm so Porthos gently laid him on the floor. Aramis saw the wound on Simon's right side and winced as Simon looked at him through hazy eyes.

'They...came for you,' Simon sighed quietly. He had struggled to stay awake as he wanted know that Aramis was safe with his friends.

'He helped us, Aramis,' Athos said quietly as Aramis continued to study Simon.

'Made...a...decision,' Simon was struggling to breathe now.

'Thank you, for helping me,' Aramis looked at the man had who helped when he didn't have to.

'Don't be...sad,' Simon looked at Aramis. 'I'm not a...a...good man.' Aramis shook his head but Simon simply smiled. 'I kil...killed innocents...the...the...Quee...lady...because...I was tol...told to. I cho...chose...to...help...you,' Aramis took Simon's hand even though it was slick with blood. 'Did somefin...right,' Simon's weak smile nearly made Aramis collapse himself. His only ally in this terrible place was dying in front of him.

'And we will be forever grateful,' Athos knelt beside Aramis as Porthos and D'Artagnan grouped around them for support.

Simon offered a weak smile as his eyes closed. Aramis' fingers went to Simon's neck as he still felt the faint heartbeat. A couple of minutes later and the heartbeat had stopped and Aramis placed a hand on Simon's chest and felt no rise and fall. Simon was gone.

A/N: Next update will be in a fortnight or so as I won't have time to write. I know I left it in a bit of a horrible place but our boys are back together. :)

Thank you for sticking with this and I will update when I get a chance. :)