Chapter 20

Blueprint

"That's enough, Jenner," Justin firmly said.

Chris's chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily, sweat beading his brow and leaking down his body, which was still vibrating from the sword clanging, his bones rattling. He could feel eyes all over him after that humiliating loss against Jenner, and what came with that were whispers crossing from one rat to another. If this didn't make him wish he could disappear on the spot, he didn't know what else would.

Ignoring what Justin lobbed at him, Jenner directly said to Chris, "That would've been the end of your life there had I the intention of slicing your throat." He then lowered his practice sword. "Don't take it the wrong way, but your swordsmanship was sloppy. You're better off embarrassing yourself less by leaving the sword fighting to the professionals. You'd only get killed in the end."

Chris felt his jaw clench, hot mortification washing over him. At the same time, a shiver of unease raced down his spine at the rat's wording. This guy was really off to him.

Whether by instinct or not, Chris found his eyes locking with Mrs. Brisby's. He could see the fear swirling in her eyes for him, her hand over her mouth. His throat tightened. He felt like a fool for almost giving her a heart attack, and she had enough on her shoulders as it was. What's more, he had looked like a fool while dueling Jenner…

What had he been thinking?

A messenger came by to inform Mrs. Brisby, Chris, and Justin that Nicodemus was ready to see them in the library, so the trio made haste there. Mrs. Brisby was relieved that Chris wasn't injured, but he seemed a little off, even after they left the training area. It didn't take a person to guess why that was. The duel with Jenner was not his best moment, but the field mouse knew he had tried. All she wanted to do right now was cheer him up, just like he did for her a while ago.

While striding through the corridors, Mrs. Brisby grazed her hand against Chris's to grab his attention, and it worked. "Don't let Jenner get to you," Mrs. Brisby softly said. "He was in no position to say those words to you. You were trying, and that's all that matters, Chris."

There was silence, but then a tiny smile ghosted over Chris's mouth. "You don't think I was foolish to duel Jenner?"

The same smile appeared on Mrs. Brisby's mouth. "You were brave to do something a lot would be hesitant to do, and all that matters is that you didn't get hurt." She threaded her fingers through Chris's and gently squeezed his hand. "That is a very encouraging thought."

Mrs. Brisby was a little worried that her words and gestures weren't enough to lift Chris's spirits, but the smile that grew a little more on his face was enough for her to know that it exactly did just that, making her heart leap like a deer, especially as he then returned the squeeze. Stars above, she truly was falling for this man more and more.

Chris felt much better after that small talk with his friend, even when a little stab of shame pricked at his chest, and his body was spent. If not for that conversation, he probably would've felt all negative about that duel all day, but it was nice to have the support of Mrs. Brisby. Even Justin managed to cheer him up and reassure him some, too, as they were migrating to the library. That was all he needed to swat the duel off to the side to the farthest space possible in his mind.

It wasn't long before they and Justin reached the library's double doors. The same parchment and bookbinding glue smell hung in the air. Books were still weighing down the shelves and piled on the ground or tables, and some new parchment littered the tables and benches, blank or splattered in ink. Nicodemus, Mr. Ages, and an unknown rat were seated at one of the tables, waiting for them—with Mr. Ages' leg sprawled out on his separate bench.

The rat stranger's fur was sandy-brown, his irises a bright blue color, and he wore a gray tunic with white sleeves and a light brown belt fastened around his waist. Muscles corded his arms, and his gaze was very contemplating. Whether or not he was flabbergasted to see a tiny human, he did not show that as a calm expression adorned his face.

"A pleasure to see the both of you again," Nicodemus greeted Chris and Mrs. Brisby.

"The pleasure's ours, Your Majesty," Mrs. Brisby responded.

Nicodemus then gestured to the unknown rat. "This is our chief engineer, Arthur. Mr. Ages thought he should join us regarding moving your home, Mrs. Brisby, and I'm sure you and Chris heard his name being mentioned once."

The rat, Arthur, dipped his head in greeting.

Chris remembered Justin and Mr. Ages speaking of him yesterday when he and Mrs. Brisby were in the underwater elevator with them. Seeing him here now was kind of exciting, considering that this rat was mostly the one who made that underwater elevator possible. If he could help make that, he surely could help move the Brisby home.

Chris extended his hand out to Arthur. "Nice to meet you, Arthur. My friend and I heard a couple of good things about you."

"Nice to meet you too, Christopher Fitzgibbons," Arthur replied as he took the tiny human's hand, and they shook on it.

Nicodemus flourished his hand at one of the unoccupied benches and said, "Please, have a seat."

Obeying, Chris and Mrs. Brisby sank into one of the benches, but just as Justin was about to, one of the double doors flew open. Isabella made her way into the library, but before she even thought of doing anything, the young rat was startled when she saw that there were others in the library, and because of that, she tripped on her dress, flopping onto her front. Mortified, Isabella hurriedly tried to scoop up her papers and a couple of books that were now scattered on the floor, and in a flash, Justin came to her rescue and helped her accumulate her items.

"S–sorry," Isabella stuttered.

"It's quite alright," Justin kindly assured her. "No need to apologize."

Isabella's eyes flared, and they met with Justin's. If her face didn't have fur, she likely would've been blushing at that moment.

"H–hi…" She said shyly to the Captain of the Guard.

Justin chuckled in response as he handed over her belongings. "Hello, Izzy. How's the reading coming?"

A bashful smile pulled at the young rat's lips. "It's fine. I finished the Third Reader last week. Now I'm on the Fourth."

"The Fourth Reader already?! You're getting quite grown up!"

A small giggle left her lips, resulting in her almost dropping her papers and books again.

Mr. Ages cleared his throat irritably. "Justin, we must get on with the meeting," he reminded him before turning his attention to Isabella. "Young lady, would you mind coming back to the library later? We have an important and private matter to attend to."

While Chris thought Mr. Ages didn't need to be stern with her, he was also right. This was confidential—for now, at least.

Isabella shook out of her stupor and cringed. "Sorry!" She apologized once again. "I didn't mean to intrude." It looked like she was about to say more, but when she picked out Chris among the group at the table, her eyes lit up. "Hi, Chris."

Chris flashed a lopsided smile. "Hi, Izzy. Great to see you again."

"Ah, I see you two are acquainted?" Justin asked with curiosity.

Chris nodded. "Mrs. Brisby and I met her a little after you left the library yesterday."

Isabella nodded as if to confirm it. "Uh, before I go, I actually have a question for you, Chris, concerning my studies on human history."

"We really must continue with the meeting," Mr. Ages said, getting a little more impatient.

"I promise it's only one question…"

Chris saw no harm in this and told Mr. Ages, "It's okay, Mr. Ages. One question won't harm anyone."

The old mouse looked like he wanted to protest had Nicodemus not cut in to say anything. "Much time won't be wasted with just one question," he agreed with the tiny human. His gaze then landed on Isabella. "Go ahead, child."

Isabella gazed at Nicodemus's eyes in wonder for what lasted a few seconds before drawing her line of vision back to Chris. "What were things back then like for humans before inventions like the lightbulb?"

"Ah, that's a good question," Chris began, chewing over that question and thinking of an appropriate answer. Eventually, he said the first thing that came to mind. "Well, way back then, humans mostly gathered or hunted their food as any animal would, but then they realized that they could do much more, like growing crops. Since lightbulbs hadn't been invented yet, humans had to resort to fire as a light source, but sometimes, using fire ended badly as things would usually catch aflame. Surviving wasn't very easy either, as there were many ways people could've died, like natural disasters, wars, wildlife, and so much more. However, with some well-known people who invented helpful things for humans, we slowly began to thrive better. To this day, even with the current inventions, people are still trying to invent things to improve our living situation, just like the rats here are."

All the while Chris spoke, Isabella eagerly scribbled notes on one of the papers in her possession, eating up all this information like it was a tasty dessert. Once he was done talking, she flitted her gaze to his with a thankful look on her face. "Humans and rats really do have their similarities, whether anyone wants to admit it or not."

Chris could agree with that.

"Thank you, Chris, I appreciate it." Isabella's eyes switched from one rat and mouse to another currently in the library, and her voice turned a little timorous. "Thank you, and sorry again. It was nice to see some familiar faces. I'll make my leave now. Again, sorry, and thank you." She awkwardly curtsied while clinging to her items and quickly shuffled out of the library, almost tripping on her dress again.

Justin shut the door behind her once she was out of sight and returned to the others. He plopped down on one of the benches that was across from Chris and Mrs. Brisby's, sitting professionally like Nicodemus, Mr. Ages, and Arthur was (it was sort of the case anyway for Mr. Ages. Still, his cast mainly was preventing him from doing that).

"Let us begin," Nicodemus said, the meeting set in motion. "As we know, the Great Owl has advised Mrs. Brisby and Mr. Fitzgibbons to seek us for help moving the Brisby home, and it will be our mission to be sure that it is moved as safely as possible without any possible hiccups." His eyes then lingered on the tiny human and field mouse. "Did the Great Owl, by any chance, mention anything else as far as moving the Brisby home?"

Chris opened up his memories like a box, trying to remember word for word what was exchanged between him, Mrs. Brisby, and the Great Owl. There really wasn't anything that stood out to him other than the advice to find the rats so they could move the house to… At that moment, the familiar feeling of remembering important information came over him, and he grasped it mentally as if it were a string before it could slip away and leave him waffling. Mrs. Brisby seemed to have recalled it as well as they briefly slid their gazes to each other: the Great Owl had mentioned something.

"Yes, he did," Mrs. Brisby began. "He said that the house must be moved to the lee of the stone."

"That was basically the last thing he said to us before he left for his nightly hunting," Chris added. "We didn't understand what he meant by that, and we still don't." His eyes then jumped from Nicodemus to Justin, Mr. Ages, and Arthur several times. "I don't know if that would be of any help, though."

Chris began to suspect that maybe it was some kind of riddle they needed to crack, but perhaps it was just him making it more complicated than it needed to be. Surely, the Great Owl wouldn't have disclosed something like that for no reason, right? He highly doubted it was some twisted ploy, which made him conclude that those exact words were meant to be a code of some sort for the rats.

"I think I know what he meant," Nicodemus spoke up. "In a broad sense, lee means the sheltered side. A bird flying over Mrs. Fitzgibbons' garden would notice something most of us would miss."

His warted hand then fished out a fancy-looking pencil from the inner pocket of his robe before using it on a piece of paper on the table. With pencil making contact with the paper, Nicodemus began sketching out something. To Chris and Mrs. Brisby's awe, the sketch lines began to glow golden by some kind of magic, the same color as Nicodemus's mysterious eyes. It was like the sketch was being shaped from a forge rather than graphite.

"When a farmer plows a field, sometimes there are large objects the plow will need to weave around, like a large rock."

That made Chris's eyes goggle, and he slowly connected the dots. "You mean like the rock that's beside the Brisby home?" The one I'd been on a few times now? He wanted to include but left it at that.

"Precisely."

"So the rock… could very well keep my home safe then," Mrs. Brisby comprehended.

Nicodemus nodded. "When it's time for it to come out, the plow will eat up what it can to tidy the field, even around the rock—close on each side. However, it can't reach them on each end, which leaves triangles of unplowed land. Mrs. Brisby's house is beside the rock, making it open and vulnerable to the plow. But if we can move it a few feet so that it lies behind the rock—in the lee–then she and her children can stay in it as long as they need to."

"So that's what the Great Owl meant by the lee of the stone," Chris managed to word out as he raked his hand through his hair, amazed and almost smiling.

This was genius. Why didn't he ever think of this? Either way, if this could work, they needed to get on with it right away for the safety of the Brisby family.

"Yes," Nicodemus confirmed, "and from the air, the way the owl saw it, the garden would look like this."

The rat scanned over his sketch, and after he did, he slid it to the middle of the table for the others to look over, and they all did just that. Chris poured his eyes over the glowing sketch—which then dissipated to familiar graphite lines—coming to understand that it was a map of the garden. For a rough sketch of the garden without a reference of some sort, this was pretty spot-on regarding how it was in real life, like the stone.

Nicodemus then brought his glowing gaze onto Mrs. Brisby. "My dear, would you show us where your house is buried?"

Mrs. Brisby narrowed her eyes a little in concentration as she studied the drawing, pressing her lips into a thin line until finally, her finger landed on where her home was located. "This is where it is," she informed everyone. "It's easy to find if you look close enough; it's a cinder block."

"I've seen it before," Arthur got across. "In fact, I thought about bringing it in, but I decided it was too long a haul."

"Do you think it can be moved to that spot here and be buried again?" Justin asked as he tapped his finger on the spot that would likely be the saving grace for the Brisby home.

Arthur stared at it with a calculating look, but when his response fell from his mouth, there was no hesitation to be heard in it. "Yes, that shouldn't be hard."

The knot that Chris felt in his stomach tugged free, slowly flooding with relief, and it seemed that Mrs. Brisby had felt the same way.

"How long will it take?" Nicodemus then questioned.

Arthur thoughtfully kneaded his chin. "Depends. With a party of ten, a couple of hours. With twenty, maybe an hour."

"We can spare twenty, but that will still take too long. We'd also be taking a big risk with a certain problem on our hands."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "Yes, that is an issue. We'd have to work at night, but even so…" Worry lined the space between his brow. "There's just no cover at all. It's wide open."

Chris and Mrs. Brisby glanced at each other. Chris felt he knew what they were talking about, especially after his and Mrs. Brisby's conversation the other day with Justin on the River Whisper. He felt his insides knotting up more and more.

This was about Dragon.

His thoughts were proven correct when Justin started spilling out: "We'll have to take care of Dragon."

"Yes," Mr. Ages chimed in, "but with this leg"—he waved his hand over his cast that hugged his leg—"I can't do it. I'd never make it to the bowl, much less get back again."

It felt like something sharp, like scissors, had cut through their hope into filigree shreds. Chris had almost forgotten that the cat would be a significant problem. With Mr. Ages' cast, he definitely couldn't slip any of that sleeping powder Justin mentioned the other day into the cat food. So what now? They needed a plan B.

"Though I know this is not a good idea, we could always try obtaining some cat food," Justin put forth. "He might eat that, even on the porch, because he knows it's his. Maybe tonight I could go in through the attic and down to the kitchen…"

"Wouldn't that draw attention to my family, though?" Chris commented, his thinking cap on. "They keep it in a metal cabinet, and it does make noise when opening and closing."

"I agree with Mr. Fitzgibbons," Mr. Ages said in a weary tone, "and even if we wanted to do that, you couldn't get to it without a crew."

"This may put off moving the block until tomorrow night," Arthur came in, sounding almost small and a little defeated.

Chris pinched the skin between his eyes, and a sigh spilled from his mouth. This couldn't be it… It just couldn't be. It was radio silent for about thirty seconds… until…

"There is another way," Mrs. Brisby suddenly said almost quietly.

The others placed their eyes on her with anticipation, waiting to hear what she had to say.

The field mouse took a deep breath. There was a pause, but she then said precisely this: "I volunteer… for Dragon."

Chris's heart plummeted to his stomach. No. She couldn't mean what she was saying… was she?

"What?" He managed to say, making sure he heard that correctly.

Mrs. Brisby kept her composure and tone evenly. "If Mr. Ages could get into the kitchen… Jonathan, so can I. If you give me the powder and show me the way, I will try putting it in Dragon's bowl."

Chris's breath hitched quietly, and he seemed not to be the only one surprised that she wanted to do this, except for Nicodemus, whose face was neutral. His throat tightened, making him think back to when he and Mrs. Brisby helped Jeremy get untangled from his red yarn… the same day Dragon tried hunting them down like a tiger. That day almost killed them, and he dared not think about what could've happened had the cat clawed his friend to death.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Brisby!" Justin's words immediately flew out of his mouth, and his head rotated to Nicodemus. "Nicodemus, this is no job for her."

Mrs. Brisby kept her face steady, sitting in a way with her hands folded over her lap that would make Queen Elizabeth II very proud of her. "You forget, I'm Jonathan's wife and mother of his four children. If you, Arthur, and others in your group can take risks to save Timothy, surely I can, too. And consider this: I don't want any of you to be hurt—maybe even killed—by Dragon, like what happened to Jonathan and Mr. Ages. But even more, I don't want the attempt to fail. Perhaps the worst that will happen to you, with luck, is that you will have to scatter, run, and leave my house unmoved. But then what will happen to us? Timothy, at least, will die. So if there is no one else to put the cat to sleep, I must do it."

The words had fallen from her lips as easily as drops of rain from a storm cloud. This was the definition of someone speaking from the heart, and Chris had to admire that about her as he turned those words over in his head to analyze. She was willing to do this even when she knew how Jonathan died. Mrs. Brisby wasn't just a widowed mother. She was someone with a good and brave heart, going as far as to sacrifice herself to make sure those around her were safe, especially her children.

Even if it means it'll kill her.

Mrs. Brisby then settled her field of vision on Nicodemus. "Please, let me do this."

A few heartbeats passed before Nicodemus finally gave his answer. "As you wish." His gaze then swung to Justin, Mr. Ages, and Arthur. "Though, she is right, of course. We can't deny her the right if she chooses to take the risk."

Chris breathed out a hushed breath before directing his voice to Mrs. Brisby. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Mrs. Brisby nodded without a second thought. "I'm more than sure; I know I want to. If I don't, what then? I have to do it. It's the only way."

"Maybe I should help you–"

The field mouse immediately shook her head and clapped her hand over Chris's. "No. I have to do this alone. I don't want to see you get hurt, either. Your family would be devastated if anything ever happened to you. My children would… and I would. And it's like you said: sometimes, taking a risk is what we need to do."

His heart hiccuped when his advice was repeated somewhat from her mouth. A part of him wanted to make her reconsider… but another part of him knew better than that. If this was what her mind and heart were set on, he had no business stopping her. This was her choice, not his.

"Okay," he finally said. "I support your decision."

A weak smile hovered over Mrs. Brisby's mouth. She squeezed Chris's hand in gratitude, and Chris returned the gesture.

Seeing that Mrs. Brisby was firm about not changing her mind, Justin let out a yielding sigh, but he seemed to understand her motive. "Alright," he said delicately. "We'll go to the west side of the farmhouse at dusk."

Mrs. Brisby's eyes said it all: she appreciated that no one tried to veto her decision. "Thank you," she courteously said before whispering under her breath, "Oh, I must be crazy…"

"Be warned, Mrs. Brisby, that the danger is great," Mr. Ages spoke, not beating around the bush.

"Yes, I am aware."

At her reply, all Mr. Ages did was nod.

"Then it's settled," Nicodemus benignly declared. "Mrs. Brisby will volunteer as tribute."

Unbeknownst to them, someone had been overhearing their discussion. Seeming to have enough information, they crept away on silent feet from the double doors, and the group in the library was none the wiser.

A/N- Hi, everyone! I finally reached the 20th chapter for this fanfic! Woo! Okay, so as far as this fanfic goes, I believe that it'll end at around twenty-something chapters, but anything can happen. I'm super excited to continue working on this fanfic, and we're getting there near the end, guys! It's pretty wild that we're almost there, and I've been at this for 4-5 years now!

I would also like to bring something to everyone's attention though, so please bear with me on this, and no, I am not pointing fingers at anyone here. So I'm all for constructive criticism—writing and art—that's how I can learn and grow as a person. I'll even admit that my oldest chapters could use some rewrites, edits, and such. Heck even when I've improved as a writer there's still some things I might be able to improve on and might need to fix in the future. Everyone has their preferences when it comes to fanfics and that's okay, not everyone has to like the same thing. However, just flat out being negative about someone's fanfic with nothing good to say about it is an a-hole move and can hurt someone's feelings as there are people who work hard on what they do, especially for a passion. So, all I can say is that if you don't like what I or anyone else puts out then you're better off being on your way and keeping your thoughts to yourself, but if you do like what I or anyone else puts out that's great, I'm happy to hear.

Don't let the negative people affect you; you don't need them. Keep on doing what you love to do as there are people who will support you and love what you do. Keep on pushing as in the end good things will come for you ^^

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter, and I will see ya guys later!

Reviews:

ric castle: Lol, and an interesting choice of music, but I like it!

STG96: You could definitely say that! I have never seen The Last Samurai, but I will definitely check it out when I get the chance!

Fan Boy 101: It certainly is! And don't worry—you'll definitely get to see more of it in the future!

userse31: Yup, it did, and I hope you liked the read!

Godzillafan1: Thank you, and you can guarantee that!

Bailey Radcliff: Aww, thank you so much! I'm glad you're still enjoying it! Yeah, Chris definitely had it rough there, but don't worry, karma will definitely come sooner or later for Jenner for sure. And yes, I do plan on doing a sequel after I finish this fanfic. It'll be a duology.

Guest: Quite possibly, anything is possible indeed!