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VIII

It's Never Perfect

Almost dawn. Almost time for Blackheart and his army to meet their demise. The sun wasn't beginning to rise just yet, but it wasn't so dark outside now. All the hares could see more clearly, despite the fact that some of them were just now waking up. It was fairly windy this morning, and some of the cool air from the sea was blowing against the long-eared creatures' faces. But none of them seemed to care in the slightest. All that mattered was breaching the fortress so they could free the slaves. For most of the hares, anyway. But for Becker, his primary concern was filling his mouth with as many carrots and mushrooms as possible.

"Stop stuffin' your fat face, Becker!"

The plump captain swallowed hard as a chewed-up carrot slithered down his throat. "You should be lucky dear Saron! I ain't even considered swipin' your food from ya since I woke up! 'Sides, shouldn't you be proud that wot's goin' in my belly is good for me?"

"Not if it all comes back out, wot! Don't come cryin' to me when some vermin punches you in the gut an' you end up throwin' all this food back up!"

Becker burped before he tossed two mushrooms in his mouth. "Which is exactly why I'm eatin' so much: this might be my last meal!"

Saronso scoffed. "Or maybe your last meal will be you chokin' on yer own bile. Ever think of that?"

The lieutenant wearing his red Long Patrol coat with a dark green collar snickered as he watched the two beasts bicker. "You two should just fuck each h'other and get it h'over with."

The two captains looked at the lieutenant with shocked expressions. "And jus' wot makes you think that I would even consider matin' with this sack of crow dung that dares call himself a hare?!"

Becker spat out some carrot chunks as he laughed at the indignant hare. "C'mon ol' gel! Everybeast knows that females as pretty as you just pretend to hate beasts like me, wot! 'Sides, last time I checked, somebeast was a bit, err...moist when she planted her bottom on my face!"

The lieutenant couldn't help but laugh after hearing the captain's vulgar comment, which made Saron snort heavily as she began to make a fist.

"Explain to me how I could possibly be attracted to you, Becker! In case you've forgotten, I hate you!"

Becker finished off the rest of his mushrooms. "Exactly my point! You love that you hate me! Yer hatred of me brings you happiness! Without me, your life would be boring an' dreary an' you'd prob'ly end up being as dull as Floswirth. Oh sure, you hate me now, but it won't be long 'afore we end up sleepin' beside each other. One thing will lead to another and...well, you know."

The lieutenant shook his head as he folded his arms and chuckled. "Gotta h'admire that twisted logic of his, eh?"

Saronso sighed heavily and rubbed her head. "If I agree with you, will you shut up until we get back from battle?"

Becker wagged his tail. "See, Harstow? You could learn a thing or two from me, wot!"

As Saron watched Becker stuff his last carrot into his mouth, she smirked and slowly walked over to him. "I was serious when I said not to choke to death."

"And just wot would I ch--"

Becker let out a wheezy groan when Saron punched him in the throat just as he was starting to swallow a large carrot chunk. The fat hare dropped the top of the carrot and started to cough horribly as the orange vegetable was lodged in his gullet. He slowly collapsed to his paws and knees as he tried to cough up the carrot chunk before he wound up choking on it. Lieutenant Harstow swore and started giving the plump hare the Heimlich maneuver, while Saronso just stared at the two hares. She waited until the carrot chunk flew out his mouth before she walked away chuckling to herself. As she walked around the dirt-covered path on the huge cliff, she passed several hares who had just finished urinating all around a giant boulder. The leader of the group, a corpulent hare clad in a green and gray jacket, backed away from the boulder and exhaled.

"Now then, you lot should be fine! Always good to relieve yerself before goin' into battle!"

"How come?" asked a female hare.

A foul-mouthed hare with tan fur answered before the sergeant did. "Why the fuck else? So we don't shit ourselves when the vermin come chargin' at us with a fuckin' lance, wot!"

The sergeant nodded. "That's right, Ozgin. Nobeast wants to piddle themselves when they're too busy dodging arrows and clashing swords with searats!"

"Half of us aren't even wearing pants, Sergeant," said a male hare who was naked from the waist down, like dozens of other hares.

"Nevertheless, voiding yore bowels in the middle of battle...well, it can get messy. Let's just leave it at that. Can't tell you about all the hares I've commanded who were red in the face 'cause they had to charge into battle with lumps in their trousers!"

"Plus you ain't gotta worry about defilin' yoreself when you die. If a hare knows he or she's gonna die, he or she may as fuckin' well take a shit before they reach the Dark Forest. Nobeast wants to bury their best mate with shit spillin' out their bum."

"If, Ozgin. If somebeast dies today," said the sergeant.

"C'mon, Sarn't. Every fuckin' beast here knows that some of us ain't gonna see Salamandastron again. That's just a fact."

The sergeant didn't say anything, in large part because Ozgin was right. But the group of corporals under his command was all young and still had a long life ahead of them. The last thing he wanted to do was scare them all off by saying that all of them might die this very morning. Then again, some of the young corporals in the Long Patrol were already aware of this, such as Tike Bonson, who was busy pacing back and forth as he breathed heavily. The other corporals, sergeants, and lieutenants were sitting or standing beside one of the large caves formed along the edge of the colossal cliff overlooking the fortress. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, the young soldier was having second thoughts about heading into the fortress with the rest of the Long Patrol. Attacking that small group of vermin all those days ago seemed like a warm-up for what he and the other beasts were facing.

"Relax, Tike, you'll be fine. It ain't like you haven't been in battle before," reassured Honward.

Morson cut in. "Yeah. Plus, we ain't runnin' into a fortress filled with babes. After all, I'm sure you couldn't possibly live with yourself if you ever had to kill a young vermin with a dagger in his paws."

"Let's not start that again," Stanno warned.

"He's right, Lieutenant," added Hon, and for a moment he almost retched, realizing he actually bothered showing Morson some ounce of respect. "Today's not the day to start bickerin' with each other. The enemy's out there, not in the Long Patrol. You can get back to pissin' everybeast off once we return."

"If we all come back," Stanno mumbled.

Stanno's older sister snorted. "Now don't tell me you're startin' to get nervous, wot! I thought me an' Morson raised you to be tougher 'n' that!"

"Not bein' nervous, just bein' realistic. We got lucky back when we were dealin' with those vermin who attacked the Guosim. But this?" Stanno shook his head. "Somethin' don't feel right."

"You mean, other than Corporal Bonson lookin' like he's about to shit all over himself? You should take Sarn't Oflal's advice, wot! Better shit now so you don't leave a trail when we're marchin' to the fortress! Last thing I need is to get your waste all over my footpaws!"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant," said the corporal with irritation. "Like you said, we ain't slayin' babes like you always do, so wot do I have to worry about?"

"The vermin that want to cut off all yer limbs and feed 'em to ya, for starters," said Frenquil.

Stanno was getting tired of the argument that was about to ensue, so he set the record straight for everybeast. "Morson, Frenquil, Tike gets it. There's gonna be blood an' guts and other nasty shit we don't like to see. But that's just how it is, so he'll get over it. Sarn't Honward, Corporal Bonson's a grown beast now; he's not a fuckin' leveret, so stop coddlin' him."

"I'm not codd--"

"Shut up. Tike, the best way to get past your jitters is to tell yourself over an' over again 'I want to live,' not 'I don't wanna die.' If you keep thinkin' you're gonna die, guess wot? You're probably gonna die. Reason why we lose corporals like you is 'cos they think they're not gonna make it, and they usually don't. That or they're just too damn cocky and get blinded by their overconfidence. So stop worryin', Tike. You'll be fine if you tell yourself you'll be fine."

Everybeast got quiet after that. Morson and Frenquil couldn't help but stare at their younger brother with smirks on their faces. Maybe he didn't act the same way they did, but he knew how to be assertive when the time called for it; all Langroves did. Tike stopped pacing back and forth and sat down on one of the large rocks inside the cave. The young corporal was still nervous, but his heart wasn't pounding so much, and his legs weren't shaking. He nodded slowly as he looked at the young sergeant.

"Okay...thanks, Sergeant."

"It's my pleasure."

The small group of corporals, sergeants, and lieutenants started to get ready, whilst elsewhere, a small team of runners and archers were talking to each other in a dark cave. Most of these hares had no ranking; they were allies of the Long Patrol, but weren't official recognized. Most of them relied on stealth and guerilla tactics, while others were astounding archers whose skills were capable of making the late Broddigan Quarles look like an amateur. They had no official title, but most hares referred to them as the "Shadows," due to how furtive they could be. The leader of the group, an acrobatic hare clad in dark blue clothing, scanned all the hares in the caves and growled.

"Where's Dusk? I need all members present--"

It was subtle, but the hares saw it. The leader's eyes dilated for a brief moment. His body shook for a split second as he grabbed his dagger, and then gradually lowered it. The leader didn't like to show fear in front of his soldiers. And the only thing that scared the stealthy hare was the fact that some of the soldiers he commanded could be sneakier than him. And Dusk just so happened to be that hare. He didn't know how or when, but the crafty gray creature snuck behind him before the leader caught his scent and body heat. He snorted and remained calm.

"So nice of you to abruptly join us..." mumbled the leader.

Dusk didn't say anything. He walked over to the other stealthy hares and sat down. Dusk was the only beast wearing a hooded cloak that covered most of his face. He was also the only hare with fur so dark it was almost as black as his clothes. One of the leader's hares finished checking the arrows in his quiver and exhaled.

"So wot's the plan, Crowslayer?"

The Crowslayer sniffed. "First, we're gonna take out the lookouts in the watchtower. Sergeant Honward said there's probably only two, so that should be easy. We're all gonna sneak around the wall, take the same route Jenner and Menner took last night. We climb up the walls and take out the guards 'afore any of 'em see us, savvy? We all take our positions on the wall walk, set up our bows, slings, wotever, and then we take out the vermin from above. Remember: try to kill the vermin guarding the slaves; they have to be dealt with first in case they panic and try to take hostages. After that, feel free to slay any vermin you see."

The Shadows nodded before one carrying a crossbow scratched his face. "How many beasts are there?"

"That's the tricky part. Could be sixty vermin, could be three hundred. However many, we need to prepare ourselves for anything."

Dusk looked up at the Crowslayer and blinked. The brown hare sitting next to him snickered and bumped his right shoulder against his left one.

"Ah know yew must be thrilled, eh, Dusky? Finally get ter try out them new daggers ye found!"

The Crowslayer seemed to be staring directly at Dusk. "Do not put any of yourselves at risk when you don't need to. Stay on the wall walk unless you absolutely have to jump into the bailey."

"Wot if somebeast is in--"

The Crowslayer held up a paw and shook his head. "Their problem, not ours. The Shadows care about the Shadows, understand?"

The hare who spoke up suddenly remembered the Shadows' code and blinked before he agreed with his leader. "Right...sorry, sah."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember your role in this group, Rondar. Now everybeast check again to make sure all yer weapons are in order. We're moving out soon."

There wasn't much discussion after that. Once the Crowslayer gave his orders, his hares would usually follow them without further questions. The Long Patrol was still preparing, waiting for Lord Urthquake to give the command to rush down the Blackheart's deadly compound. But the blue-striped badger was still talking to some of his high-ranking hares. Some of them weren't exactly favoring the beast's "surefire" plan, even if it wound up working in the long run. Colonel Sanjoy and Clannin were standing in front of the giant badger, whilst Major Fenson and Watson stood at his side.

"What am I missing, Colonel? The plan seems flawless to me," said the badger, with irascibility in his voice.

"We still don't know how many troops are in the compound, let alone slaves. Even if we attack 'em head on--"

"We won't, Clannin. After the guards in the watchtower are taken out, Tillus and his troops will sneak along the fortress the same way Honward did last night. They'll climb onto the wall walk and provide cover for us with their slings and bow and arrows."

Major Watson scoffed and folded his arms. "The Crowslayer? I must say, leaving our paws in the fate of that inclement creature is a mistake, wot! If there's one thing I know about Tillus Krikslat, it's that he's a sociopath, sah! Nothing good comes from workin' with sociopaths!"

"He and his team have helped us before, and they will continue to help us--"

"--until they get bored with us and choose to side with somebeast who can offer them grander rewards," interrupted Sanjoy. "They're mercenaries, sah. Smart and as combative as they are, they don't care about this army. How can we trust beasts who don't care if we live or die?"

"Because I'll castrate them all if they even think about betraying us. Now...after Tillus' soldiers are in place, I'll break down the gate. While Tillus and his crew are slaying vermin up above, we'll be in the bailey setting the slaves free and cutting down anybeast in our way. Fenson will take a team into the tunnels and free the slaves down there, while the rest of us will stay up top until the coast is clear. And then I'll personally sever Blackheart's head clean off his shoulders."

Needles cleared his throat and awkwardly shuffled his footpaws in the dirt. "Can't exactly do that without knowin' the conditions underground. We don't know how many slaves are in there, how many guards--"

"It's simple, Fenson: you see a vermin, kill him or her. You see a cell full of slaves, you free them. You keep doing that until the tunnels are empty, are we clear?"

The hares didn't say anything for a brief moment. All they could hear was the sound of the waves crashing down on the beaches. Urthquake suddenly groaned as he rubbed his eyes and shook his head. It was right then and there that the colonels and majors noticed that the badger was disheveled. His fur was messy, his head was covered in sweat, and his eyes looked like they were turning red, despite the fact he wasn't being filled with the Bloodwrath.

"Um, m'lord? D'you sleep last night?"

"No, I didn't." Urthquake didn't even try to lie. "Why?"

M'Lord, p'haps it would be best if we wait another--"

"No," the badger growled. "We've waited long enough, Clannin. We chose not to invade Blackheart's fortress last night, and a slave ended up getting tortured to death, and another one was eviscerated. There's no telling what Blackheart will do if we let him live for another day. We know what the plan is; the sun's almost up. So let's cease all this prattle and slay Blackheart before he harms another slave."

There was no further discussion. Just as Sanjoy opened her mouth, Urthquake walked over to the boulder his trademark axe was resting against and picked it up. The grumpy, tired badger stomped past the majors and colonels, his huge footpaws thudding against the ground and making it shake. Watson exhaled while Clannin shook his head. But Fenson Pickett tried to justify Urthquake's actions, as always.

"Ah, he's just grouchy! I'm sure he'll be fine, wot!"

Clannin glanced at the major. "Who said I was worried about him?"

---

The grog and wine did its job. It always did. The vermin who hadn't puked all over themselves passed out on the ground and didn't wake up. The fortress was littered with vermin who were snoring or mumbling in their slumber, and slaves who were shivering and trying to escape before the guards woke up. Some of Blackheart's lieutenants, such as Nelldyne and Trilden, were still wide awake and examining all the compounds. The weasel with the burned face stopped at the compound that was mostly filled with babes and snorted. He looked through the palisades before he spat at one of the babes, hitting him on the face. Nelldyne snickered before Trilden walked past him.

"You think they want some milk?"

"We don't got no milk, Nelldyne. Only water, grog, an' some wine."

Nelldyne reached underneath his plaid green and brown tunic and started to grope himself. "What're you talkin' about? Got a fresh supply right here! Li'l salty, but I'm sure if we get all the troops to pitch in, we'll have enough milk to feed all these babes!"

Trilden stared at Nelldyne in horror as he rubbed himself with his paw. He glanced at Nelldyne's disgusting grin before he slowly turned and walked away, shaking his head.

"Fer fuck's sake..." he mumbled.

Nelldyne just laughed evilly, seriously wondering if he should feed all the slaves in the fortress his warm, thick "milk." Blackheart hadn't seen or heard what Nelldyne proposed, but even if he had, he wouldn't care. He didn't care about the condition of the slaves--or his troops for that matter. He wasn't even concerned about the state of his fortress. The mouse's body was still trapped beneath the head crusher, the decay already setting in as flies buzzed around the toothless, eyeless body. Nobeast even bothered to scoop up the squirrel Blackheart gutted, and his messy corpse was lying on the ground decaying as well. The black ferret only cared about one thing right now: the rabbit sitting in his longhouse shivering uncontrollably. Blackheart, on the other hand, was standing proud and tall in his home, trying to decide with cape he should wear with his tunic and shorts. He couldn't decide between the black cape, which symbolized how cold-hearted he was, or the crimson one, to show all the slaves that he "painted" his own cape with the blood of his enemies.

"What do you think, slave? Everybeast has to try something different every once in a while," he said, reaching for the crimson cape.

The rabbit didn't answer. She just looked away, unable to keep her eyes off the dead squirrel lying in the other corner of the building. Blackheart smiled as he lowered his paw and instead went over to the black cape.

"Nah, I'll just stick with black! I hear red's not exactly a lucky color."

And so the ferret went ahead and put on his black cape before adjusting the belt tied around his waist. The proud vermin was about to head outside to go wake up his troops when he faced the rabbit sitting near his bed and walked over to her.

"Now you give your ruler a nice kiss 'afore he goes to work!"

The ferret was just about to bend down and plant his nasty lips on the slave when he noticed she was still shaking and staring at the corner. Blackheart blinked and noticed that his slave was fixated on the corpse. He faced the cadaver as well and sighed as he shook his head.

"I see you've spotted my previous treasure! Shame that, real sweet beast, just like you."

Blackheart grinned as he started to rub the rabbit's head. Just the touch of the ferret's paw made the rabbit shiver. She was fully aware of what that one paw could do, especially after last night.

"Pitiful cunt she was. Got drunk one night while I left her in the room. Unfortunately, I passed out right next to her, an' I just so happened to be carrying a dagger. You wanna know what happened next?"

The rabbit didn't answer. She knew Blackheart would explain in a few seconds anyway.

"She took her own life. Can ye believe that? What kind of despicable beast does such a thing? It's by far the most dishonorable, most ghastly thing anybeast could do! ...It really was a shame, y'know. The cunt was expecting a babe. My babe. But instead, she chose to try and cut open her own belly, rip my pride and joy right out of her. No worries though! That's what you're here for!"

The rabbit shouted when Blackheart wrapped his paw around her ears and yanked them upwards very hard. The innocent creature started to breathe heavily as Blackheart growled and got in the slave's face.

"You will give me a son, do you understand? That squirrel over there might not have been strong enough to carry my offspring, but I know ye won't disappoint me. 'Cos if you do, well...perhaps I'll toss you out to the rest of my troops, an' they can all take turns stuffin' their cocks in every fuckin' hole on yer body! Would you like that?"

This time the rabbit answered, albeit her voice was so soft an ant wouldn't have heard her. "...No."

Blackheart let go of the slave's ears and laughed as he patted her on the head. "Good! Now you stay put! I'll be back to check on you soon."

The black ferret stood up and headed for the door, while the rabbit looked down at the bruised ankle that was chained to the wall. The slave couldn't leave even if she wanted to--not unless she tried to chew off her own footpaw. Blackheart exited his longhouse and took a huge whiff of the salty sea air and the stench of all the beasts around him that could use a hot bath. He exhaled with a smile on his face and started to walk off his porch. Today was going to be a good day; he could tell. It would be another glamorous day of pillaging and seeking out more wanderers on the coast who would "gladly" participate in building his fortress. All he had to do now was wake up all his soldiers. He probably should've woken Bannak and Cojin up first, but the ferret didn't feel like climbing up the tall tower. Once again, the two weasels were lying together, with the heavier of the two resting on top of Bannak with his mouth open. Bannak awoke once again to find that his mate was drooling all over his face. He grumbled and rudely shoved the heavy weasel off his body before he sat up and rubbed the slobber off.

"Wake up...s'near dawn," the weasel grumbled.

The bigger weasel snorted and exhaled as he tried to get more sleep. Bannak didn't feel like dealing with his mate right now, so he just exhaled as he reached over and grabbed his tunic. The vermin lazily put on the red clothing before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his sword. Bannak struggled to stand up; he knew he drank too much fish head grog last night, but it was worth it. Fish head grog was rare around these parts, and the weasel was lucky enough to get the last two bottles in stock. Bannak turned around and rubbed his eyes, hoping his vision would be clearer once he reached the edge of the watchtower. Bannak noticed that the sun was beginning to rise in the distance. Maybe the heat would make him more alert this morning and put him in a better mood. The weasel smacked his lips and looked down at the ground. And then his eyes grew wide when he saw an entire platoon of hares standing right near the gate.

"Wot--"

Cojin heard a meaty thunk, followed by Bannak grunting and collapsing on the floor of the tower. He grumbled to himself as he slowly rolled over and scratched his head.

"Wot the fuck d'yew want now, Ban...Bannak?"

Cojin noticed that his footpaws were warm. His vision cleared, and the large weasel could see Bannak lying on the floor, an arrow sticking out of his chest and blood pouring out of the wound and oozing towards his footpaws. Cojin started to panic.

"Bannak?!"

No response. The arrow tore right through the flesh and bone, just barely missing his heart. He wasn't going to get up again. The panicked Cojin panted as he stood up and started to shout.

"Oh shit! THERE'S--"

Cojin groaned after an arrow went through his abdomen. Half a second later, a second arrow went through the back of his neck, silencing him forever. The hare on the ground clad in black lowered his bow and nodded at the Crowslayer.

"They're down, sah."

Urthquake exhaled and signaled for the Crowslayer and his troops to move. All of them began to climb the fortress wall, taking the same route that Honward and the two runners took the other night. As the Shadows began to disappear from their line of sight, Needles looked up at the growling badger before flicking his eyes at the gate.

"Wot now, m'lord? We have to knock that gate down fast before those vermin find out their lookouts are dead, wot!"

Urthquake started to walk backwards before he snorted. "I got that covered."

Needles (and the rest of the hares) moved out of the way when Urthquake sprinted to the wooden gate as fast as his muscular body would take him. He slammed his body into the gate so hard that he left a dent in it and caused the gate to crack. Some of the vermin locked safely inside the fortress heard the loud disturbance and shouted or snorted as they instantly woke up. Trilden and Nelldyne glanced at the gate and could've sworn they thought they heard lightning. The shaky Clemson immediately looked up at the watchtower and couldn't see Bannak or Cojin. Worried, he walked over to the fox wearing a spotted gray bandanna and spoke to him.

"Go-go check on Bannak and Cojin. They shoulda told us if somebeast--"

Clemson and the fox shouted again when Urthquake ran into the gate a second time. The fox didn't need to be told twice; he hurried over to the stone stairs leading up to the wall walk so he could run to the watchtower. Blackheart had heard the commotion as well and was stomping towards Trilden and Nelldyne with a scowl on his face.

"What in the name of Hellgates is that racket?!"

Trilden wasn't taking any chances. "Nelldyne, go in the tunnels an' get all the soldiers ready. Tell Gilmar we're under attack!"

Blackheart scoffed. "We don't even know who it is!"

"Then by all means, open the gate and give our visitor a hug," said Trilden snidely.

Blackheart looked at his second in command as if he were about to chop off one of his limbs. Urthquake ran into the wooden gate again, waking up even more vermin. Like Trilden, they didn't bother taking any chances and immediately got their weapons ready for when the enemy breached the compound.

"Who d'you think it is?"

"The slaves' families come seekin' revenge?"

"Redwallers?"

"Corsairs?"

"Fuckin' 'ell, we're in trouble if the Red Sand tribe's out there!"

All of Blackheart's soldiers kept speculating as they neared the gate and prepared to face their unseen foe. So far, the badger's plan was working. The vermin were so anxious about what was on the other side of the gate that they weren't paying attention to the wall walk. As a result, nobeast saw the Shadows as they stealthily climbed into the fortress near the guard tower. By the time the fox with the gray bandanna detected the hares, he was falling to his knees with three throwing knives protruding from his chest and abdomen. The Crowslayer looked at all his hares and silently gestured for them to spread out along the wall walk so they could find their targets. It wouldn't be long before Urthquake bashed the gate in. Blackheart, irritated as opposed to being afraid, boldly walked over to the gate with a cocky grin on his face.

"Enough of your whining! I'll settle this right now so the lot of you can stop shittin' yer trousers!"

Blackheart took out his cutlass and began to shout.

"I am Blackheart! Ruler! Tyrant! The grandest slaver who ever lived! Leave this place now, or be slain!"

Urthquake only needed to say one word, and then the arrogant beast would shut up for good.

"EULALIAAAAAAAA!!!"

All the vermin gasped, even Trilden. There was no mistaking what creature was on the other side; only badgers could bellow that ferociously. Some of the vermin dropped their weapons and were tempted to try and find an alternate route to escape. Blackheart was staring at the gate with wide eyes, his cutlass suddenly feeling heavy, his legs suddenly shaking. Nelldyne sprinted towards Blackheart after appearing from the tunnels and exhaled.

"Gilmar an' Ikker are ready, Lord! They...sah?"

Blackheart couldn't hear anything. His legs were still shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were slowly filling with tears. He whimpered like a tiny Dibbun, unable to find his courage. Then again, Blackheart wasn't courageous to begin with. Nelldyne raised an eyebrow when he noticed how frightened his lord was.

"Sah? What's wrong? Why...um, sah?"

Nelldyne couldn't help but look down at Blackheart's legs. The black ferret was so focused on the beast on the other side of the gate that he seemed to lose control over his bladder. Blackheart whined as yellow fluids began to soak through his shorts and quickly traveled down his right leg. Nelldyne could even see the small puddle forming in-between Blackheart's legs and around his footpaw. Blackheart didn't even notice that he wet himself until after the deed was done, and even then, it was clear that wet shorts were the least of his problems right now. Shivering, Blackheart slowly lowered his cutlass and began to move backwards.

"No..." he said, in a voice so quiet an ant couldn't hear him.

Urthquake started to snarl as he began to hack away at the busted gate with his magnificent axe. Some of the vermin could even see the edge of the huge weapon as it pierced the wood and sent fragments of it to the ground. Blackheart couldn't take this. There was no way he could face somebeast like Urthquake. The fearless, maniacal tyrant turned around and ran. He ran as fast and as hard as he could until he reached his longhouse. Then he stomped inside and slammed the door, locking it.

"Blackheart?!" shouted Nelldyne.

"That fuckin'--EVERYBEAST!! Spread out an' get yore weapons ready! NOW!"

Another bang. Two vermin carrying spears ran in front of the gate and pointed their weapons directly at it. "Whoever that beast is, we'll run 'im through the second he gets in!"

And just like that, the hacking and banging stopped. Nobeast spotted the Shadows yet--which was good, since all of them had taken their positions and had their targets in sight. Trilden snarled as he took out his cutlass and stared at the gate.

"Fuck it anyway. If I'm dyin' today, I may as well take as many beasts as I can with me!"

"Will somebeast please tell me--"

"There's a badger on the other side of the gate, Nelldyne! Prob'ly other enemies too! He's gonna break in any moment now!"

At that moment, the scarred weasel had the exact same expression as his cowardly lord. He started to breathe heavily as he stared at the gate and pulled out his cutlass.

"You can't be serious mate!"

"It's either that, or a large fuckin' hare. Either way, there's no way we can stop this beast from gettin' in!"

So the vermin stood there and waited. Some were panting and sweating, only half-dressed; some were whimpering and found it difficult to hold their weapons; some were staring at the gate with a scowl, knowing they were going to die today. But they were just like Trilden: if they were gonna die, they may as well try to take the beast down with them to Hellgates. So they waited, and waited...but nothing happened. Urthquake hadn't banged on the gate in over a minute. A couple of vermin were beginning to wonder if the beast on the other side was just playing a huge joke on all of them. That had to have been the case; why else would the badger unexpectedly stop? A few vermin lowered their weapons and looked at each other, confused. Even Trilden and Nelldyne exchanged glances of bewilderment.

"Err...is he still there?"

The rat carrying the spear at the gate snickered as he walked up to the wooden structure. "That's right! Run 'way in fear o' Blackheart an' his minions!"

That's when Trilden felt faint tremors in the ground, something that implied a stampede was coming. But the tremors were occurring periodically and grew louder and louder with each second. The ground beneath his footpaws felt like it was shaking a little, and the disturbing booming sound from beyond the gate kept increasing in volume. Trilden stared at the gate with wide eyes. The badger was coming.

"GET BACK--"

Too late. The rat didn't have enough time to squeal before Urthquake knocked the gate down, flattening the rodent standing behind it. The other rat standing beside him was smart enough to back away from the gate before it squashed him too. Urthquake burst into the compound with a mighty proud roar, one that he knew everybeast would hear and tremble over. Nelldyne and Trilden started to back away when the badger was in full view. The beast was clad in blue armor that covered most of his body, and he had a rare blue stripe going down his muzzle. The axe he wielded was big enough to chop down trees in seconds. His eyes were red with fury, and some of the vermin could've sworn the badger was frothing at the mouth. And to top all that off, he was bigger, taller, and stronger than Trilden, the largest soldier in Blackheart's army. The badger looked at the vermin in front of him and growled menacingly, with saliva dripping from his lips. He struck before the vermin could fire. The other rat carrying the spear was sliced in half with ease, and the weasel just behind him was backing away before he met the same fate.

"EULALIAAAAA!!"

"Give 'em blood an' vinegar!!!"

As if their situation couldn't possibly get worse, now dozens of hares were storming into the fortress behind their brawny leader. Now Trilden was really worried. He started to run backwards, alongside Nelldyne.

"Back! Back! BACK THE FUCK UP!!!" he shouted to his troops.

And so began the battle for Blackheart's fortress. More hares were pouring into the compound. Dozens of them ran over the broken gate and dispersed throughout the bailey, while others charged forward alongside their leader.

"Take 'em," commanded the Crowslayer.

The Shadows fired their arrows or threw their large stones or rocks at their targets. The fat earless searat guarding one compound was struck in the head with an arrow. The two weasel brothers with blue eyes went down after their skulls were shattered with a heavy, solid stone. Trilden didn't even notice what happened because he was too busy trying to fend off Sanjoy and Clannin. They attacked the huge weasel simultaneously; the male colonel struck at the large beast with his sabre while Sanjoy tried to thrust her rapier into the beast whenever he let his guard down. But the beast was faster than they thought, and he wielded his huge cutlass as though he had been training for a battle ever since he was a babe. Sanjoy watched as Trilden lost his footing for only a half second. But that was all she needed. The colonel shouted as she jabbed the rapier forward, only to have the weapon knocked from her paws. The ugly fox who just saved Trilden tried to slash his axe at the hare with no strategy or skill whatsoever. Sanjoy dodged every attack just by moving backwards or sideways at the right moment. She tripped the fox when he stumbled over his own footpaws before jumping on top of him and snapping his neck.

Captain Qwuintuff, as always, turned battles into entertainment. If he was going to die today, he may as well have some fun before he went out. He toyed with the vermin, made them tire themselves out before he even bothered to strike them. The captain weaved this way and that until a gray rat was sweating from exhaustion. Then he sliced off his head with his sabre and snickered as he kicked it along the ground. Two vermin tried to strike him at the same time, but the crafty hare took out his dagger and tossed it into a ferret's eye. As he started to scream and holler, Qwuintuff ducked and used his sabre to slice right through the weasel's leg. The weasel shouted, and Qwuintuff rolled out the way so he could retrieve his dagger from the ferret lying on the ground. The weasel snarled after receiving such a deep cut on his leg and snorted as he looked at Qwuintuff in the distance. He started to walk to the long-eared beast, not caring that he was losing too much blood from his leg. By the time he reached Qwuintuff, he was on the ground letting out his final breath. The weasel had no idea that the hare just sliced his femoral artery wide open.

Qwuintuff left the ferret who lost his eye alone until another hare came by and put the beast out of his misery. Several arrows flew into the bailey, taking out at least seven vermin and wounding another five. One of the wounded beasts was cut down by Sergeant Honward, and Tike took out another using his throwing knives. The corporal quickly sprinted to the corpse and removed the knives before a weasel tackled him down. The snarling beast punched Tike in the face multiple times before he took his sword and prepared to cut Tike's throat open. Desperate, Tike took out one of his thin throwing knives and shouted as he stabbed the weasel in the forehead. Unfortunately, he forgot that the knives weren't suited for stabbing, and he soon found himself struggling to remove the knife from the slain beast's skull.

"Damn it--again?!" he cried.

Morson slashed a fox in his chest and abdomen before kicking his body away and looking down at Tike.

"Fuckin' up already, Corporal?!"

Tike glanced up at Morson and saw the hare snidely smirking at him. Without thinking, he sprinted forward, picked up a fallen vermin's spear, and shouted as he threw it right at Morson. The hare shrieked and quickly dodged, jerking his body to the right and out the spear's path. Somebeast shouted and fell to the ground, and Morson turned around and saw a rat collapse only a few inches away from him with a spear impaled into his chest, thanks to Tike. Morson turned and looked at the corporal with wide eyes for a brief moment, before Tike gathered his other throwing knives and continued fighting. More arrows and rocks flew into the bailey, slaying even more vermin. The infuriated Nelldyne looked up at the wall walk and saw the Shadows running around and relocating. The scarred weasel spat on the ground before he hurriedly snatched a crossbow from a ferret's dead paws. The ugly weasel aimed for the biggest hare he saw and fired, hitting the beast right in the chest. Rondar saw the hare go down and swore vehemently.

"Shit! Everybeast spread out; they're onto us!"

"THERE! UP THERE, YOU FOOLS! There's hares on the wall walk!" screeched Nelldyne.

More vermin had taken a notice to them and were rushing for the stealthy hares already. Dusk and the others could see some vermin climbing onto the wall walk, while others were busy taking the stairs or using ladders. The panting Rondar reloaded his crossbow and took down a fox who was about to reach the Crowslayer. Rondar immediately put another shaft into the crossbow. Somebeast snarled, and the next thing Rondar knew, he was shouting and feeling intense pain in his left footpaw. One of the soldiers had climbed up the wall and ambushed Rondar when he wasn't looking. Rondar looked down and started to take out his dagger, but the ferret was already on the wall walk grabbing him. They tussled for a moment before plunging off the structure, screaming. Both of them fell towards one of the compounds, and were dangerously close to the palisades that were pointed at the top. One beast fell into the compound with a hefty grunt and thud, and the other beast fell right onto a palisade and was impaled through the spine. The beast immediately coughed up blood as his arms and legs twitched. He let out a couple of whiny, soft gasps before he suddenly stopped moving.

The beast in the compound looked up at the dead body before watching as the beast's weapon slid from his fingers. The ferret grinned as he crouched down and picked up Rondar's crossbow.

"I'll take that," he growled.

One of Urthquake's lieutenants kicked in the compound's door. He was slain only a second later, cut down by the same crossbow Rondar was using only minutes ago. The ferret quickly rushed out of the compound and joined in on the fight, while a fox sprinted into the compound and slammed the door shut. Clemson whimpered as he held his sword and had tears running down his face. He couldn't take it anymore. Vermin were literally flying in the air from Urthquake's monstrous axe. Limbs were scattered in every direction, and Clemson had to watch as some of the beasts who were friendly to him died in horrible, gruesome ways. He couldn't die. Not here, not now, not like this. The last thing the fox needed was to be butchered like a wounded animal only fit to be its predator's meal. He backed up towards one of the walls, and some of the slaves began to mock the fox.

"What's wrong? Too much of a coward to face yer own death?"

"SHUT UP! You...this-this wasn't s'posed to happen..."

Clemson shook his head as he sobbed. He wasn't paying attention to the slaves chained up behind him, with their paws unbound. A mouse was so close to Clemson that he could see the scars buried beneath his fur. He could also see the dagger sticking out the side of Clemson's waistsash.

"Least ye could do is go down fightin', not sittin' in here blubberin' like a fool," said an otter.

Clemson sobbed again. "I can't...I can't die like this," he whined.

The mouse crouched down behind the vulpine took no chances. He swiftly swiped the dagger from the fox's waistsash and immediately stabbed Clemson in the back twice. The fox shouted as he fell to his knees, and then the mouse stabbed him right along the spine a third time, causing him to holler. Panting, the mouse dug into the wounded fox's pockets and fished out the keys for his ankle collar. The other slaves told him to hurry up as he undid the chain bound to his footpaw. Suddenly, there was a click, and the collar opened up. He was free.

"No...no," whined Clemson, as he dragged his bleeding body across the ground.

The mouse picked up the dagger and pounced on the vermin. Then he snarled as he began to stab the fox over and over again without mercy. He was no different than the other beasts who tortured him and his friends. He stood by and watched as that monster known as Blackheart crushed his brother's head in a sadistic torture device. He didn't deserve to live; none of the vermin did. The mouse stopped stabbing Clemson when he stopped screaming. The rodent tossed the keys at the otter who spoke up earlier.

"Unlock everybeast! We gotta get outta here an' help the other slaves!"

And so he did, and once everybeast in the compound was free, they all stormed out roaring as they assisted the Long Patrol using weapons they procured from fallen vermin. Some of them even used their bare paws and footpaws, and were more than okay with biting out the enemies' jugulars or digging their thumbs into their eyes. Now the slaves and the hares were fighting against Blackheart's forces and winning flawlessly. But at some point in the battle, everything began to go wrong. Maybe the vermin realized they were losing and wanted to go down fighting. Maybe the vermin thought they'd have a slight chance at victory if they grew a spine and fought back. Nobeast was certain, but once Needles entered the tunnels, he knew in his gut that Urthquake's plan was backfiring horribly. Slaves were screaming and shouting furiously, and by the time the major and the four lieutenants he brought with him reached the corridor, he knew why. Gilmar and the one-eyed ferret Ikker were opening up the cells so they could slay all the slaves. All the other vermin were doing the same, despite having no real reason for doing so.

"Kill 'em all! If we're goin' to Hellgates, we're takin' all these slaves with us!"

The major and lieutenants didn't hesitate. They headed straight for the vermin shouting "Eulaliaaaaa!!" at the top of their lungs. One guard turned his head for a split second and was pierced in the heart with Lieutenant Harstow's rapier. Ikker snorted as he carried his giant axe and got into a brief battle with two lieutenants. They both attacked the oversized beast with their swords, hoping to tire Ikker out. But the large ferret wound up knocking one of their swords free, seconds before splitting the hare's head open. The other lieutenant crouched down and quickly slashed at Ikker's left leg. The giant ferret bellowed in pain and tripped over a dead slave. The lieutenant didn't bother giving him a chance to get back up; he shouted as he drove his sword into Ikker's forehead. Meanwhile, Needles was stomping his way towards Gilmar as the tattooed rat walked into a cell where a few moles were huddled together in the corner, waiting for the rat to get it over with.

"You cowards can't even face somebeast your own size, can you?"

Gilmar turned around and saw Major Fenson standing across from him with his rapier in paw. The rat huffed and shook his head before he took out his own rapier.

"Fuck it. Prob'ly gonna end up dead anyhow. May as well have some fun 'afore I go!"

The two beasts fought, their thin weapons slicing and clacking together as one beast tried to stab or slash the other. Needles found himself walking backwards as the tattooed rat kept moving forward, panting and swinging his rapier wildly. He knew the corridor was narrow; he was trying to use it to his advantage. Fenson parried three attacks before Gilmar lunged at him, forcing the hare to hop backwards. There was a brief pause, and then both beasts whacked their weapons together simultaneously. Needles swiftly twisted his paw and sword around, but Gilmar saw the impending move coming and whacked Needles' rapier. The rat was so close to the hare that he managed to grab Fenson's paw and the rapier hilt. The rat snatched the weapon away, but before he could kill the major, the hare took out his dagger and side-stepped the rodent. He stabbed Gilmar in the midriff before rolling over and snatching his rapier back off the floor. Gilmar snarled as he went to his knees and held his side. Needles was about to impale him when Gilmar took out his whip and swatted Fenson with it, as though he were a fly.

Fenson blocked the whip with his rapier, and it went flying again. Gilmar took out his own dagger and roared as he charged towards the major. Both of them started to fight with the short weapons now, stepping lightly as they clashed daggers together. Fenson knew he was at a disadvantage; Gilmar still had his rapier and his dagger. He backed away and watched as Gilmar lunged forward with his rapier. He backed away again, and the rat did the same thing. Then the hare stood still, as did Gilmar, and the two beasts stared at each other, waiting to see who would move first. This time, Fenson moved forward, and Gilmar tried to slice his neck open with the dagger. Fenson parried, side-stepped the rat, and stabbed Gilmar in the left arm, causing him to drop the dagger. Gilmar howled in pain before Fenson headbutted him and punched him in the nose, knocking him down. Needles found his rapier a few feet away and quickly picked it up just as Gilmar was beginning to stand. The hare roared as he ran to Gilmar. The rodent grinned widely before he lowered his rapier and stuck it forward like it was a spear. But Fenson saw the move coming already; he slid to the side of Gilmar before he could even blink.

Gilmar quickly spun around, but the major was already behind him. It was over shortly afterwards. Needles got close to the rat and thrust his rapier upwards, stabbing Gilmar just below the chin and driving his rapier into the rat's brain. There was a faint gurgle, and then Gilmar dropped his weapon. The major removed his weapon and let the slave captain's body fall to the floor. The major started to rub sweat from his brow as he calmed down. He looked around the tunnels and began to feel overwrought. Three of the four lieutenants had been slain, and the major had no idea how many slaves had been killed over the past several weeks.

"Harstow...free the slaves," said Fenson, still out of breath.

The lieutenant glanced into several cells and could see that a majority of them were filled with bodies that had been stabbed, sliced open, or hacked apart. He looked at the major in the same upsetting expression and shook his head.

"H'Are any still alive?"

Back on the surface, things were just about the same. Becker and Saronso were fighting side by side against a furious and sweaty Trilden, trying their best to knock the beast's cutlass from his paws as he backed away and parried all their attacks. Becker slashed down; Trilden hopped to the right. Saronso slashed to the left; Trilden hopped back. The two hares slashed simultaneously, and somehow, Trilden found a way to parry the attack. Going on the offensive, the huge weasel started to whack at Becker's sword, hoping to chop off the fat hare's paws. Another hare tried to help the captain, but he wound up getting his head lopped off. Becker lost his footing for only half a second and lowered his sword long enough for Trilden to punch him in his right cheek. Becker shouted as his body was hurled against a palisade and blood began to pour out his mouth. Trilden attacked Saron without an ounce of hesitation. The hare was getting tired, but she knew she could take him if she kept her footing. But she was moving slower than Trilden--too slow. Trilden parried one of the attacks, and then immediately slashed his sword at Saronso and sliced her neck open. The captain grunted and dropped her sabre, and Becker shouted when her blood sprayed all over his face.

"SARON!!"

Becker rushed forward and grabbed her body, whimpering and panting as he started to drag her backwards.

"No, no, no! Just--please!"

Blood was gushing out of her neck and getting all over his paws. She couldn't even breathe properly; it felt like she was drowning. Becker found a spot behind a compound and set her body down gently.

"Don't-don't do this to me! You're gonna be--"

Becker shouted when a fox threw a knife at him, the blade hitting him right in his arm and causing him to drop his sabre. The corpulent hare left Saronso's body and snarled as he charged towards the fox with the same ferocity as Urthquake did when he bashed down the gate. The fat hare knocked the fox down and got on top of him. Then he took one of the beast's knives and jammed it into his throat, causing the vulpine to spit up blood. Becker panted as he picked up his fallen sabre and sprinted to the bleeding Saronso. But it was too late. The wound she received was too grave; her neck had been cut in half. Any further and Trilden might've cut the hare's head off.

"No..."

Becker couldn't even mourn yet. There were still vermin all around trying to kill him. He heard another fox roaring and sprinting his way. Suddenly filled with a strong bout of adrenaline and anger, the distraught hare started roaring and snarling as he began to hack the fox apart. The two runners, Jenner and Menner, were holding their own as they fought against Blackheart's vermin. But some of them had reached the wall walk, and one of them was armed with a spear. The Shadow who saw the vermin attacked him too little too late; the ferret had already tossed his spear. Menner heard Jenner shout after the ferret threw his spear. He turned around and saw the beast lying on the ground with the spear protruding from his stomach. But like Becker, he didn't have time to mourn. He could only fight until it was all over. But everytime one vermin went down, more seemed to appear. Trilden was killing hares left and right, determined to drag as many souls with him into the afterlife as possible. The slaves who had joined in on the fight, although angry and ready to deliver the much-needed comeuppance to the vermin, were weak from the constant beatings and malnutrition.

Even the Shadows were struggling now. They were trying to cover the Long Patrol, but there were more hares and slaves than there were vermin. One Shadow tried to hit a tall weasel in the neck with an arrow, but he wound up hitting a hare in the back of the head because he got in the way at the last second. The Crowslayer's second in command flung a huge stone into the crowd, hoping to disarm Trilden. He ended up cracking a hare's jaw, which led to Trilden bifurcating the stunned hare seconds later.

"Shit...there's too many!"

"Not our problem. Keep firing," ordered the Crowslayer.

"We're hittin' our own--"

"Like I said, their problem, not ours. Just keep launching--"

The hare the Crowslayer was talking to gurgled when he was hit in the chest with an arrow. Tillus swore and had to pull out his daggers when he realized that more vermin were storming the wall walk. Somewhere back on the ground, Nelldyne was busy killing any slaves that were aiding the hares. After all, a majority of them weren't as fit as Nelldyne was to use a weapon. The weasel pinned a female mouse to a palisade and proceeded to stab her in the groin multiple times, watching as she whined and groaned as the blade tore through her genitals. Nelldyne grinned and showed off his nasty teeth as the rodent moaned quietly and slid to the ground, dead. The weasel turned around and screamed when he was nearly beheaded by Urthquake's devastating axe. Not wanting to lose his head (or any other body part), the weasel quickly backed away, unintentionally heading right into a compound that had been freed of its slaves. Nelldyne didn't even try to kill the badger; he just panted as he backed away and ducked so the axe wouldn't touch him. But Urthquake was ten times stronger than Nelldyne.

It wasn't long before Urthquake swiped at Nelldyne's paws and knocked the cutlass from his grasp. The vermin looked at the badger with wide eyes as he proceeded to make a fist with his right paw. Then the Badger Lord bellowed and punched Nelldyne in the left cheek. To Nelldyne, it felt like somebeast just whacked a tree trunk against his head. As Urthquake hit him, blood flew from his mouth. His black and yellow teeth were so rotten and fragile that every single one of them broke away from his gums and went flying. The weasel's cheekbone and jaw shattered. As the cheekbone broke, it shifted upwards beneath Nelldyne's eye socket. The bone was forced upwards with so much force that it wound up pushing Nelldyne's eye right out of the socket. The whole process took only a second to happen; the next second, Nelldyne's body was flying towards one of the palisades. His toothless corpse collapsed to the ground with the left eye dangling out of the socket by its optic nerve.

Everybeast was ganging up on Trilden, but nothing seemed to be working. Sergeant Oflal and four of his corporals were all trying to take the heavy beast down, but Trilden seemed to be taking each blow nonchalantly. He had already been slashed four times and stabbed once, but he wasn't slowing down. Menner tried to hop on Trilden's back so he could plant his dagger in his throat, but the weasel roared and flipped the hare over his head. He landed on his back with a brutal thud, and before Menner could get back up, Trilden stomped on his throat, crushing the tracheae. Trilden shouted when an arrow went into his back, but he reached behind him and quickly took it out. The second the arrow was gone, Sergeant Oflal shouted and stabbed Trilden in abdomen with his sword. The weasel shouted and groaned, but shortly afterwards, he used his cutlass to gravely wound the sergeant. His blade tore right through the sergeant's coat, fur, fat, and flesh, and a fine mist of crimson and yellow flew from the sergeant's stomach onto the ground. Sergeant Oflal shouted and took a few steps back, dropping his sword as blood and fat dripped from the gaping wound in his torso.

It wasn't until Urthquake started to attack that Trilden realized he was in trouble. Urthquake was swinging his axe madly, not caring which beast was in the way of his deadly weapon. The hares backed away from the duo as they fought; the last thing they needed was to get torn in half when Urthquake was under the Bloodwrath. So the hares and slaves either stood by and watched or began to deal with the rest of the soldiers. Trilden was trying to hold his cutlass properly, but his wounds were getting to him. Trilden was slowing down significantly, and trading blows with this massive badger was only weakening him. He never had time to strike the badger; he could only parry his attacks and back away, hoping that his paw was strong enough to hold his cutlass. But it wasn't. Eventually, it was knocked from his paws, and Trilden was defenseless. So the mighty weasel snarled and bashed his head into Urthquake's. The badger grunted, and then shouted when Trilden bit down on his paws so hard he drew blood. Urthquake dropped his axe, and the weasel started to punch Urthquake in the nose repeatedly.

The badger hopped backwards and blocked two punches of his own before he bashed the weasel in the jaw, causing him to bite his own tongue. Urthquake snarled and hit Trilden in the gut four times before stomping on his left footpaw and smashing a fist against Trilden's right eye socket, shattering it. Trilden shouted as he was suddenly blinded in one eye, but he didn't stop fighting the badger. He spat blood in the beast's face before punching him in the jaw twice and the head again. Urthquake was getting tired of this. He punched Trilden in the stomach so hard that he damaged the solar plexus. Trilden let out an airy gasp before Urthquake grabbed the weasel's throat and dug his claws into the flesh. All he needed was one hard tug, and then it ended. Urthquake pulled out a chunk of the weasel's throat, which made the beast vomit up blood as he let out a disturbing gurgling sound. Then he slowly fell onto his back, never to get up again. The badger dropped the chunk of the vermin's throat before he started to look all around.

The hares could see it in his eyes. He was still under the Bloodwrath. Blood was all over his armor and head, his eyes looked red and feral, and he was still frothing at the mouth like a rabid creature that needed to be put down. The badger stomped this way and that, sniffing the air and looking at the corpses, snarling and trying to find his main prey.

"WHERE IS HE?!" he shouted, in a voice so guttural it was almost demonic.

That was the main question. All the vermin seemed to be dead except for Blackheart himself. There was no way he could've escape; not with so many creatures around. That's when several hares heard somebeast grunting and whimpering, followed by another one sniffling and whining.

"STAY BACK! GET THE FUCK BACK!"

Urthquake sprinted and grabbed his axe off the ground. Several hares and slaves were confronting the evil slaver himself as he stepped out his longhouse. But there was nothing they could do to him just yet, because he was holding his rabbit slave hostage and had a dagger at her throat. Blackheart was a wreck. He couldn't stop sniffling and shaking as tears came from his eyes and mucus ran down his nose.

"No...look what you've done! Y-y-you've ruined it! My beautiful fortress...RUINED!"

"It's over! Jus' spare yourself the humiliation and let her go!" demanded Qwuintuff.

"NO! I-I'm getting out of here! Y-yer all gonna get outta my way and let me leave!"

Everybeast had a shot at Blackheart, but the ferret kept jerking his body in different directions. They couldn't risk killing Blackheart without harming the innocent rabbit too. But Urthquake was still under the Bloodwrath. The moment he saw the ferret, he snarled and stomped towards him. Blackheart gasped and whimpered as he started to head up the stairs to the wall walk backwards.

"I SAID STAY BACK!!"

"...Do you think I care? Do you think one slave matters to me?"

The rabbit didn't know who scared her more: Blackheart or this badger. Sure, Blackheart had a dagger to her throat, but this badger was drenched in blood, was drooling incessantly, and was staring directly at her with fiery eyes as he carried a humongous axe. She wasn't sure if this badger was completely sane.

"You do care! Why else haven't you killed her?!"

Urthquake snapped at him, and some spittle came out his mouth and got all over Blackheart and the rabbit.

"What's one more fucking slave? You and your vermin have already killed so many! WHAT'S ONE MORE FUCKING SLAVE?!"

Urthquake got closer to the ferret and let out a growl so feral that it frightened some of his own hares.

"Go on, slay her! Cut her throat open! I'll take much pleasure in killing you afterwards! Oh, it'll be such a joy, Blackheart! So go on...KILL HER! WATCH WHAT HAPPENS!"

"Don't you dare tempt me! I-I-I mean it! I'll--"

The two beasts stopped talking when a faint and meaty thump filled their ears. Blackheart started to breathe heavily when he noticed that the slave suddenly became very still and stopped moving. Urthquake blinked as he looked at the rabbit and the mysterious throwing knife that appeared in her forehead. She slowly closed her eyes as a thin trail of blood began to skitter down her face. The ferret's slave suddenly became too still for him and he swore as he dropped her body, and then realized that she was dead. Blackheart looked up at the badger and noticed that a dark gray hare wearing a cloak was standing beside the blood-covered badger. He glanced up at Urthquake and nodded, at which point the badger growled and took a step forward. The only reason why Blackheart didn't piddle himself was because he already did so earlier. He shrieked and tried to run away, but Urthquake had already grabbed him. The tyrant let out a muffled cry as Urthquake's burly paw covered his entire face. The badger snarled as he smashed Blackheart's face into a merlon, breaking his nose and knocking a few teeth out.

"Please...please don't--"

The ferret squealed when the badger broke one of his legs just by kicking at the right bone hard enough. He let the ferret go and watched as he collapsed to the wall walk, a complete and sobbing wreck. He tried to stand up on his right leg, but Urthquake stomped on the footpaw, shattering some of the bones with a sickening crunch. Blackheart was lying on the stone walkway, still blubbering and shaking frenziedly, fearing what the Badger Lord would do to him.

"Mercy, please! Do--URK!!"

Urthquake dropped his axe and grabbed the ferret with both paws. He lifted him up into the air and turned him around so he could look at the "maniacal" leader in the face.

"You don't get to use that word," the badger snarled.

Blackheart whimpered and tried to wiggle out of Urthquake's grasp as the badger started to walk towards the edge of the fortress, right over to the incomplete section missing the merlons.

"ALL OF IT!! I'LL LET YOU HAVE IT ALL!! Please! Please--we-we could be partners! We could rule the coasts together! Slaves, treasure, land--you can have it all! You can even have the fortress! JUST DON'T KILL ME!!"

Urthquake smirked as he stared at the sobbing ferret. He was crying so hard that the badger's own paws were getting wet with the tears rolling down Blackheart's face. He held Blackheart over the edge of the castle, just above the jagged rocks and the waves below.

"You deserve worse than this. But I can't stand the sight of you for another minute. You don't even deserve to be buried on land; your corpse would defile the earth around you. So I'll let the sea be your grave!"

"Please don't!"

"Make sure you tell all the vermin in Hellgates that Badger Lord Urthquake of Salamandastron sent you!"

"NOOOO!!"

Urthquake let go, and gravity took its course. The fearsome slaver and bloodthirsty ruler screamed one last time as his body quickly plummeted to the jagged rocks below. One moment he was screaming, and then everything went silent after Urthquake heard a disgusting splat and crunch. The badger saw a red mist burst from Blackheart's body after he landed on the rocks. His body was broken, the bones having shattered faster than thin ice. The waves began to crash onto the rocks and soaked into the ferret's cadaver. Soon enough, his corpse would be carried out to sea, and nobeast would ever see or hear of him again. Urthquake panted several times after looking down at Blackheart's body and started to shake. The Bloodwrath was starting to go away, and all the wounds and stress of the recent events were starting to kick in. The Badger Lord sat down on the wall walk hard and huffed, feeling weary enough to fall asleep right there on the stone. Urthquake blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes--which were now back to their original color. He sat there on the wall for a while before he exhaled and lowered his paw.

He was exhausted. His eyes were still slightly red from his lack of sleep. And while he wasn't grouchy anymore, he wasn't in much of a talkative mood right now. Urthquake slowly got to his footpaws and dragged himself over to his battle axe. He picked it up and looked at it and all the blood coating the metal. He knew his precious blue armor and the rest of his body looked exactly the same and that he could use another bath. But as Urthquake looked at his axe and armor, he could hear various sounds coming from the bailey. Crying, laughing, and chattering, slaves thanking the hares for freeing them, beasts mourning those who had just been slain, and more. The Badger Lord looked down at all the bodies and all the blood that had been spilled. Urthquake may have killed Blackheart and his crew, but he still had lots to do. And he didn't have the energy to do it all. The Badger Lord rubbed his eyes again and sighed. It was going to be a very long day...

"H'Are you all right, m'lord?"

Urthquake removed his paw and turned to his left to find Lieutenant Harstow standing beside him. The blue-striped badger paused for a brief moment before he nodded his head and looked back down into the bailey.

"Yes...I'm fine," he lied.