Martin growled as the dark rat shoved him forward into Cynthia. Below him,
the low gurgling rumble of the water through the enormous flood gates shook the
hard muddy ground. Timothy yelped as a thorn plunged into his descending foot.
The rat trooper grabbed him roughly, pushing him fore ward. He looked over at
his own escort and scowled. Where was Tereasa, Peter, and that other rat.
Peter, his very own father's son. His half-brother was off protecting his
sister somewhere. Somehow, Martin knew that they would be back with help. He
didn't know how, though.

A verbal salute broke his thoughts and the positive input the youngster was
trying to instill in himself.

"All hail his majesty, Jenner! King of all humans and rats!"
Captain Lightfoot cried out, his lizard crawling silently in front of the small
convoy. Bloodwart raised his mace and swung it around three times.
"Company, halt!" he croaked loudly.

As a dark shadow passed above them, all heads snapped upward. The armored
rats saluted while the prisoners simply glared. Cynthia and Timothy pressed
closer to their mother, whimpering. Mrs. Brisby placed a hand on both of them,
rubbing their shoulders soothingly. And,as Jenner and his four escorts landed
on the stonework of the dam, Auntie Shrew screamed a curse. Behind him, Martin
heard Paul whisper an obscenity between clenched teeth at the impetuous grumpy
old shrew. Luckily, it was ignored and the group relaxed somewhat.

"Now, my loyal followers!" Jenner boomed, standing up in his
saddle and assuming his "speech-maker's" pose. "We now stand at
the pinnacle of our fight against the humans. Tonight they will pay for their
crimes against rats and all of the other animals of the earth! They've never
taken us seriously before! They've persecuted us and tried several times to
exterminate us! They will take us seriously after tonight after their homes and
lives are destroyed!"

"Just like they did ours!" Lightfoot seconded. The other rats
cheered loudly, raising and waving their swords.

"Captain Lightfoot!"

"Yes, you majesty!" Lightfoot reined his lizard closer to *is
master.

"Take your lizard-riders and proceed toward the dam. Set the explosives
and get back here."

"Yes, your majesty!" Captain Lightfoot and his six riders
slithered toward the wide stone top of the dam. Several of them pulled covered
wagons on tethers connected to their mounts. Judiciously, they climbed down the
steep stone surface, their lizards' claws keeping them suspended high above the
roaring waters far below. Three riders behind the wagons held on to the backs
with their lizards' teeth. Captain Lightfoot's mount held solely onto one with
great ease.

Jenner turned his back to them, grinning widely at Justin.

"Now, Justin my friend, you will see how much I truly have
learned!"

"All you've shown me is how crazy you are, Jenner!" Justin never
flinched when Jenner leaned down at him, glaring and shaking his fist.

"Don't you see yet, Justin? The Rats of NIMH cannot coexist with the
humans! They must be destroyed in order for us to survive!"

"Your wrong, Jenner. We don't have to coexist but we can avoid each
other!"

Jenner smiled ironically, shaking his head. "You know as well as I do
that they would not want to do that. They fear us and after tonight we will
show them how they have every right to!"

"You're going to start a war you can't possibly win," Justin
warned, his voice thick with irritation. "Your foolishness is going to
destroy us all!"

"Kill him now!" Jenner crouched down in his saddle,
groaning. "Why?" he rasped, barely audible.

"They have insulted us! They are insolent! Destroy them!" A
sudden overpowering surge of pain racked his entire body. He clutched the reins
of his nightbird to keep from falling out of his saddle. As the pain subsided
he saw that the sun was lowering just below the cityscape. He quickly regained
his composure and motioned to Fernwell. The small rat jogged quickly up to his
master's side. Jenner held out a hand and Ferwell helped him out of his saddle.
The other batflyers dismounted and stood at rigid attention.

"Fernwell, line the prisoners up and have your rats ready their
firebows. After we blow the dam and witness our first victory, we shall kill
our enemies by firing squad."

"Yes, your majesty!" Fernwell ran off to implement his master's
orders, his oversized armor plates clanking loudly against each other. Mrs.
Brisby gasped in mute horror as she pressed her children closer to her. Justin
and Paul stared at him, stonefaced. While Auntie Shrew muttered some more quiet
curses.

The guards behind the prisoners pulled them roughly apart and into a
straight line in the tall wet grasses. Then, pulling heir bows out of their
back sheaths, the rat troopers lined *p in front of the haggard group. With
their strings tightened, each one pulled out an arrow. And as the tips left
their quivers, they flared like matches that had just been struck.

"My rats are ready, your majesty!" Fernwell stated eagerly. Behind
him, the rats raised their bows and took aim.

Jenner held up a hand. "Hold!" As calmly as he could, he looked
over his shoulder as Captain Lightfoot and his riders came climbing back up the
side of the dam.

"All is ready, your majesty!" Lightfoot called out.

"Excellent!" Jenner turned his gaze to one of his flanking
batflyers. "Bring the remote control!"

The officer saluted and, motioning two of his lower-ranking cohorts, dashed
off to another nearby wagon. They uncovered it and began to drag out the
modified radio car controller.

"Isn't it wonderful what one can do when one exploits the
lame-minded?" Jenner beamed. He smiled wickedly as he first noticed the
prisoners holding hands and some of them, mainly the children, were crying.

"Don't be sad, young ones," he continued to taunt. "You will
soon have no need to cry!"

His Stone glowed visibly and Jenner clenched his teeth. He quickly turned
his attention back to his batflyers. They now had the control sitting beside
him, one of them still pulling out the antenna.

"Will this work, Bloodwart?" Jenner demanded.

"Yes, your majesty!" the other replied.

"All reports ready, sire!" the remaining batflyer said, *jumping
off of the top of the plastic box.

"Excellent!" Jenner forced an arrogant smile, trying to forget the
imposing jewel that he had once depended on. For the first time in many years,
he felt like shrinking down and running off in panic. Instead, he pulled the
collar out of his undertunic and tugged at the strap holding his cape as the
heat rose in his body.

"Now, my followers!" he shouted, spreading his arms wide "We
shall now exterminate those who would seek to destroy us! In doing this, we
shall create a perfect world! Perfect for the Rats of NIMH."

His last words were drowned out by the thunderous shouts of his troops.
Justin braced himself as Jenner turned and,putting his weight completely into
the effort, pressed the button....

Fiery shades of red and violet stretched out wide behind the treetops as the
sun began to dip beneath the shadowy horizon. A shiver went up Thornbranch's
spine as he gazed at the desolate courtyard with its deepening shadows.

We are so much like the humans, he thought sadly. We steal, we govern, we
love, we hate, we live in small communities, and now we have learned to dictate
over others and destroy them if they disagree.

Delgoth stirred, wriggling an itch out,of an ear. He patted his loyal bat's
head. Jenner told him once that his mount would take on the traits of its
owner. He stared down at the swaying seas of grasses and crops on the ground,
sighing.

I hope everyone's ready, he continued, hefting his spear. I can't believe
what has been happening to me these last three days. I once believed in and
shared Jenner's vision. He's an intelligent rat who wishes for the genocide of
all human beings' for a perfect rat society'. And those who would oppose him
would be destroyed. Like the rats of Thorn Valley. A cause that I actually
participated in.

A brief flash of light and a loud call from below snapped him out of his
self-pity. Taking out his telescopic glass, he looked out upon the horizon at
the growing storm of dust and dirt. Up above the towering trees, formations of
leathery winged bats flapped vigorously. The long spears and lances of their
riders shined in the last glimmering rays of dusk.

Putting away his glass, Thornbranch shoved his hand into his belt and pulled
out a small yellow stone. He pulled back his arm, ready to throw. He heard the
rumblings of many lizards' feet and the hideous screams of the bats. Their red
eyes looked like swarms of glowing insects from so far away as they advanced on
Thorn Valley. Closer! They need to get as close as we can let them so we can
take out as many of them as we can on the first strike.

"Wait for my signal, everyone!" he yelled into the trees around
him. Then, he let the rock fly. After a moment it hist the round, exploding
into a cataclysm of sparks. Following the earsplitting boom, the desolate flats
of the courtyard and outlying fields opened to reveal hosts of rat-packed
trenches. Just as the army reached the edges of those very fields, the Rats of
Thorn Valley let their first arrows fly.

Volley after volley of the missiles drilled into the masses of lizard riders
and running troops, creating several piles of carnage and stumbling lizards.

The batflyers above dove in response to the unexpected threat on their
ground-based comrades. Thornbranch waved his arm and screamed:
"Charge!" He stretched the word out as Delgoth leaped from his perch.
Hoards of rat-mounted robins, sparrows, and even a few owls soared into the shocked
group of batflyers. He plunged his spear's jagged edge into the nearest and
brought the pointed end of the shaft into the face of another. Crying out in
agony, the two fell from their saddles and, before they could activate their
snap-gliders, careened into two others which in turn caused a chain reaction of
several mid-air collisions.

"I'm going to kill you. traitor!" Thornbranch snapped his
head upward and found Rotwood bearing down on him, a deadly magical arrow
trained on his head. He ducked as the arrow whistled past his helm and buried
itself into the chest of his wingman. The rapidly rotting bodies plunged
helplessly to the ground. Shoving his spear into another opponent, Thornbranch
reined his bat around to face his former second-in-command. The battle was
joined and he hoped that Jenner was enjoying it. It was either going to the his
costliest victory or his most disastrous loss.