“Arthur and Mr. Ages are on
their way.” Justin said as he sat on the edge of his desk and Jonathan stood
on the chair. The others sat and stood around the room.

“Oh, Jonathan, there is
something I wanted to take care of.” Justin said.

“What’s that?” Jonathan asked
and was suddenly hugged by Justin.

“Welcome home, old friend.”
Justin said warmly. Jonathan hugged him back.

“Its great to be here with all of
you and to be able to call this home.” Jonathan replied. Jonathan then walked
over to Tim.

“Son, I don’t know what to say
to you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you over the years. I hope you can
forgive me for the time I’ve missed. I would give anything to go back and make
it up to you.” Jonathan said, trying vainly to hide his emotions.

“Dad, its okay. There’s nothing
to forgive. Your here now and that’s all that matters to me.” He said and
hugged his father.

Rose was suddenly overwhelmed.
Not at the love and joy she felt between Timothy and Jonathan, thought it was
very strong, but by the sudden terrible anguish and desperate yearning she felt
from both Killian and Dante who stood stoically and silently watching the
father and son. She knew the origin of Killian’s pain, but she couldn’t
imagine what Dante’s father must have done to create such equally deep wounds
in his son.

Jonathan and Timothy then sat
next to Rose on a large couch. Jonathan looked at his wife. He hated himself
for not being there for her and the kids, he knew her lifespan would be so
painfully short compared to his. He was deprived of even being able to share
that short time by her side. Only one short year together and that was it.
Now she was old and frail. Yet from that one short year he grew to love her
more dearly than he imagined possible for him to love another. Now he had been
reunited with her just to soon lose her forever. He began sobbing and held her
tightly.

“Rose. My sweet, beautiful, delicate
flower. I’ve missed you so much. When I was trapped I tried to reach out to
you. I just wasn’t strong enough. I wanted you to know that I wasn’t dead.
But I just couldn’t do it.” he sobbed.

“Jonathan, my love, I always
knew. I’ve waited all these years, just for you.” She said reassuringly.
Suddenly the door burst open, causing everyone to jump with alarm. Mr. Ages
burst into the room and immediately doubled over, with his hands on his knee’s
panting like he had just run the Boston marathon. Jonathan left his wife and
son on the couch and walked up to Mr. Ages who was still panting so hard he
couldn’t stand straight or speak. Jonathan laid down on the floor and looked
up at his old friend.

“Well, Ages. You don’t look any
worse for wear. How are you doing, old timer?” Jonathan asked. Mr. Ages
could only manage a thumbs up.

“Glad to hear it.” Jonathan
said and helped Mr. Ages to a chair.

“Jonathan? How can you be
alive?” Mr. Ages asked, still panting.

“As soon as Arthur gets here
I’ll explain everything.” He said.

“Good Gravy! Jonathan Brisby!”
Arthur shouted when he walked though the door, he instantly turned around and
left the room and sat on the floor, then a moment later he peeked in and saw
Jonathan still standing there.

“Have a seat my friend, we have
very important things to discuss.” Jonathan said, his smile leaving his face.
Justin locked the door and took his seat behind his desk. The mood of the room
suddenly turning very grim.

“Now that we are all assembled I
can tell you all that I learned from Owen.” Jonathan sighed. “Killian and
Dante. This is going to be very difficult for you most of all. The force
behind this enemy is Jenner.” Jonathan said. There were gasps of astonishment
and anger from everyone. Killian grimaced.

“Will we never be free of that
man?” He asked in frustration.

“He probably survived in a way
similar to mine. As to the origin of his army.

Justin, Arthur, Ages. Do you
remember back to when I married Rose and had my first child?” He asked. They
nodded. “Do you remember Jenner’s response when I informed the citizens of the
rosebush about it? He was ecstatic when he learned it was possible for us to
reproduce with natural’s and have our NIMH genes remain dominant, he
immediately put forth a proposal to the council. He suggested that we start
capturing female rats from the countryside and begin a program of forced
breeding to build up our small population. He even offered to capture female
mice for Mr. Ages and myself. He was shot down instantly by the council, but
it turns out he went ahead and started a rouge colony with the help of a hand
picked number of cronies, of which Sullivan and Owen were members. But his
colony is dying. They need the resources of Thorn Valley to survive.”
Jonathan said. The room was silent.

“That is the most terrible thing
I have ever heard.” Mrs. Brisby said in astonishment.

“Unfortunately it get worse.
Jenner now has tapped the Power to an unknown degree. He will do everything he
can to take Thorn Valley away from us. Dante and I have come here from Vermont
and the entire way I have been aware of a presence ahead of us, which is
Jenner, but I have also been aware of a second presence, coming toward us.
Dante, I think its your father. I think he also faked his death in the
accident at the lab.” Jonathan said, looking sympathetically at Dante. Dante
had no visible reaction to the news.

“Who is your father, Dante? Is
it anyone we’d know?” Mr. Ages asked.

“My father was...is Dr. Erhard
Schultz. Your creator.” Dante said without emotion. Everyone froze with
shock, mouths hanging open.

“Let me start from the
beginning...” Jonathan said and related the tale of Dante and how he was
connected with the twenty eight of NIMH. Dante only occasionally interrupted
to fill in a missing piece. When they had finished, the room was still in dead
silence.

“Why are you helping us?”
Arthur asked.

“Because I’m a part of this, a
part of you, a part of all of you. Whether you like it or not. I know this
place from top to bottom. I saw its creation through your eyes. Thorn Valley
is like home to me and now that home is in danger.” Dante replied seriously.

Rose was shocked. She had seen
humans before from a distance on the farm, but to be in the presence of one,
even an altered one was very alarming. For a moment she had to fight back the
primal instinct to flee at a human presence, but she managed to suppress it.
She remembered the pain she had felt from him and Killian. Though different of
species they were both capable of the same deep emotions and experiences. She
also remembered that in this very office not twenty minutes before, that same
human had saved her life and Justin’s also and he had brought Jonathan back to
her and had saved Cynthia’s life out in the woods. She could also sense that
neither Dante or Killian were being deceptive in their feelings about the
revelations of their father’s returns. In both their hearts they deeply cared
about Thorn Valley and they would not betray it.

“We have Dr. Schultz who wants
to kill us or enslave us again. Jenner who wants to kill us and enslave us,
steal the stone and most likely then follow through on his burning desire to
destroy the human race and he has an army that out numbers ours by more than
four to one odds. I’d say were are in a bit of trouble.” Jonathan said.

“We do have one thing they
don’t. We have the stone.” Rose said. Everyone looked to her.

“Jonathan is here now, perhaps
he can use the stone now that he can use the Power.” Justin said hopefully.
Jonathan suddenly realized where Justin was going with his train of thought.

“He’s right. I’m sure I can do
what needs to be done without you putting yourself in danger.” He said to
Rose. She frowned.

“I know what you are both
getting at, but remember I’m the one most experienced with its use.” She
relaxed and then smiled at them both. “I know you are both looking out for my
safety. But you must remember that the value of one life is nothing compared
to the lives of hundreds. If the time comes, I will use the stone, no matter
what the cost, if it means saving all that I hold dear. But try it if you
can. With three enemies to fight we may need more than one person to use it.”
She said.

“That’s probably why Owen and
the others tried to kill us all. They wanted to kill everyone who could use
the stone.” Jonathan said.

“It just occurred to me, the
reason that all this is happening at once is that perhaps Jenner knew that Dr.
Schultz was coming to attack Thorn Valley. So Jenner is actually here to
protect it so he can have it for himself. He must be planning to fight Dr.
Schultz right here at Thorn Valley. That is going to be very bad. The only
possible benefit is that hopefully they might kill each other.” Justin said,
then looked to Killian and Dante.

“Hey, I’m sorry, guys.” Justin
said apologetically.

“No need for apologies. It would
be the best possible outcome.” Killian said.

“I chose to be here on your
side, as one of you. He won’t get any support from me.” Dante said.

“But if Jenner has these powers
why did he need an army to conquer Thorn Valley? Unless...unless he was going
to use the army as a diversion. To get Mrs. Brisby to use the stone and after
stopping the army had worn her out he would step in and there would be no one
strong enough to stand against him.” Killian said.

“That may well be his plan. I
have no doubt that he would sacrifice his army to conquer us. Then we must
really be on our guard and speaking of guards. Killian, with Owen dead that
makes you the new Captain of the guard.” Justin said. Killian was startled
for a moment. He looked Justin in the eye. He could see the enormity of what Justin
was offering, he was willing to trust the security of Thorn Valley to him, the
son of Jenner. Killian suddenly beamed with pride.

“Yes, sir. I will defend Thorn
valley to the death.” Killian said with excitement.

“Good man, I always knew I could
count on you.” Justin replied, then walked over to Jonathan and he took the
stone and placed it around Jonathan’s neck.

“Good luck, my friend.” Justin
said.

“Thank you, Justin.” he
replied.

“Arthur. How is the
Sanctuary?” Justin asked.

“Everything is good. The people
are safe and adequately supplied.” he replied.

“I just worry that if it becomes
necessary for them to flee, that since the enemy knows all about us. He will
have the hidden exit surrounded to prevent anyone from escaping.” Justin said
with concern.

“He won’t hurt them, he does
want them alive. We just have to make sure that it doesn’t come to that.”
Dante said with determination.

“Excuse me, what exactly is the
‘Sanctuary’?” Jonathan asked.

“The Sanctuary is the end of the
two miles of natural cave that was carved by the water that feeds the lake, we
discovered them when we were building storage space into the wall of the
valley. We have a monorail train that goes to the end and back, that’s our
last refuge in case of attack. We have the bare essentials to start over
somewhere else stored there, with food, tools and technical equipment that
could be easily carried. The caves are also used for storage, and contains
several green houses and the reservoir that powers the hydro-electric dam that
gives us our power.” Arthur replied.

“That’s amazing.” Jonathan
said.

“Mr. Ages, are the medical staff
and facilities ready?” Justin asked.

“Yes, everyone and everything is
ready.” Mr. Ages replied.

“Tim, I want you to go to the
Sanctuary.” Justin said.

“Justin, no! I want to be here
where the action is.”

“I’m sorry, Tim, but as
vice-president the people will need you to lead them if anything happens to me,
we both can’t be in danger at the front. I know you’re a man of action, but
the good of the community must be first in your mind.” Justin said. Tim
looked angry, but eventually he nodded his head in agreement.

“Is there anything else to
discuss?” Justin asked, no one responded. “Everyone return to your posts.
Keep me informed of developments.” He said and everyone quickly left the room.

“That was informative.” Jenner
said.

“Master, they know our plans.”
Mercy said with concern.

“It is of no matter. We will
continue according to plan. Dragon will deal with Jonathan Brisby and when the
time comes I will deal with Mrs. Brisby. I do find this Dante person
fascinating, though. Imagine, to be willing to give up his human form to join
with them. He is a wild card in these proceedings, he has the Power and he
must be dealt with cautiously.” Jenner said. Mercy wanted to say something,
but she knew that Killian was a very sore subject with the Master.

“What troubles you?” He asked.
She jumped when he spoke.

“Master, what will we do about
Killian?” She asked. To her very great surprise he sighed.

“As you well know, Mercy. We
all make choices in life and we must be willing to live or die by those
choices.” He replied.

“Yes, Master. I know.” She
replied sadly.

“I know your heart, you alone
serve me without duplicity. Not even Patrick serves me so faithfully. You
alone will would stay with me till the bitter end.” He said.

Mercy was concerned by what he
meant by that.

“Master?” She asked.

“How long till the army is in
position?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Two hours.” she replied.

“That is not good. They should
have been in place an hour ago.” He said with annoyance.

“They have been delayed by the
darkness and unfamiliar terrain.”

“My enemy is near, the people of
Thorn Valley must not interfere in my battle with him. When the army arrives
have General Jabez lead the attack and have One through Five provide magical support.
I must lie in wait for the good doctor.”

“Master, what shall I do?” she
asked.

“You must save the lives of as
many of the full-blood people of Thorn Valley as possible.” He said.

“Yes, sir. I will do my
best.” She responded.

“The time is late. We must go.
In a few hours world history will be written. All that remains to be seen is
in whose handwriting it will be.” He said.

“I want to speak to Snap.”
Justin said as he and Killian were leaving the office.

“Are you sure? He’s pretty
distraught.”

“Yes, we can’t afford to have
him out of action right now, I need to know if he can function or not.”
Justin said. Killian led Justin to the door of the room where Snap was kept.

“I’ll return to the front. I
don’t think it will help him to see me.” Killian said.

Justin went inside, he found two
guards standing at the door. Justin dismissed them and walked over to Snap.
Snap sat on the end of a bed with his head in his hands. Justin grabbed him by
the collar and pulled him to his feet and pushed him against the wall.

“What were you thinking when you
killed him? He knew important information. If Jonathan hadn’t been there to
read his mind, we wouldn’t have known that Jenner was behind this attack, not
knowing that little detail could easily have cost us our lives. Who gave you
the right to be his judge, jury and executioner?”

“Jenner?” Snap asked in
horror.

“Yes, Jenner and your little
lack of self-control nearly helped him in his plan to attack us.” Justin said
angrily

“I’m sorry, Sir. He tried to
kill you and the Brisby’s. He deserved to die.”

“Look, Snap. I know you want
Jenner dead more than any of us, I know you want to avenge your father’s death,
but you have to use your head. This is Thorn Valley, people have rights, you
don’t just kill people when you feel like it, even enemies. What’s wrong with
you, I thought you had more intelligence than that.”

“When we were out in the hall,
Owen said to me that if we didn’t surrender, we’d all die like dogs, like my
father did. That was just to much for me to endure.” Snap said. Justin
released him.

“Sullivan served Jenner, but in
the end he made his choice and tried to undo what he did, it cost him his life,
but in laying down his life he saved mine and possibly the entire community.
Your father died a hero, Snap. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Thank you, Justin.” Snap said
and sat on the bed again.

“I need to know, can you still
do your duty or are you going to go crazy again? We need all guards at the
front. Can I still count on you?” Justin demanded. Snap stood and saluted.

“Yes, I can do my duty, sir.”

“Good, you will report to
Captain Killian for orders.”

“Killian? Can we trust him?”

“Snap, Killian is not Jenner,
his sense of duty and loyalty runs as deep and as passionately as yours. I
trust him and so should you.”

“Yes, sir.” Snap replied.

“When this battle is over, there
will be a tribunal to decide what disciplinary action should be taken for your
actions. But given the circumstances, I seriously doubt you’ll get more than a
slap on the wrist for what you did. Remember Snap, if you ever do
anything like that again, I will personally see to it that the court throws the
book at you. I will not tolerate anything like that ever again. Is
that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Return to your duties.”

“Yes, sir.” Snap said as Justin
led him out the door.

After the meeting broke up,
Dante found himself left pretty much to his own devices, except for Justin’s
instruction to be at the gate when the alarm was sounded. He wandered the dark
and empty halls. His wandering eventually brought him to the cafeteria. It
was deserted, but plenty of food had been left out for the defenders. He
inhaled deeply and was overjoyed to smell coffee. He found a rat scale mug and
poured himself some. It was good, really good even though he had to make do
with non-dairy creamer, he then loaded a tray with various foods he found,
soup, sandwiches, spaghetti, but the oddest thing he found was grain. He had
certainly eaten things made with wheat, but he had never had wheat as an entree
before.

“When in Rome.” He said and dug
in. At a nearby table he found a discarded newspaper. He laid it out before
him as he ate and read it with great curiosity. The articles were of no real
interest as they mostly dealt with the mundane day to day affairs of Thorn
Valley, what he did find interesting was the entertainment section of the paper.
To his surprise there were two comic strips and a crossword puzzle and in the
place of the movie section was the music and theater performance section. He
was surprised when he saw the play that was advertised and was more surprised
to see who it was starring in the lead.

“May I join you?” Asked a
friendly feminine voice. Dante looked up to see Cynthia Brisby standing at the
table with a tray of food, she was still covered in grime and grease paint with
bow and arrows strapped over her shoulder. He quickly stood.

“Certainly.” He responded and
sat back down after she sat.

“I want to thank you, Dante.
You saved Carl and I in the woods and my family’s lives in the office.” She
said and smiled.

“Your welcome, but no thanks are
necessary. After all, we are in a state of war, we must all look out for each
other.” He replied.

“True, but I give credit where
credit is due.”

“How do you feel? You took a
bit of a beating back in Justin’s office.”

“A few bumps and bruises, but
nothing broken.” She said and after a few moments of thought she spoke again.
“If I may ask, how did you meet my father?”

Dante stopped and thought for a
while. How much did he dare tell her? He thought about the terrible guilt
that Jonathan had always felt because of hiding the truth about himself from
his family and here he sat, facing the smiling face of the youngest Brisby, the
one who knew the least about her father, was he going to lie to her or keep her
in the dark. But as he thought about it, this wasn’t about Jonathan. He was
hesitating to speak about himself. Did he want her to know the truth about
himself? He might be dead in a few hours, what did it matter?

“How much time do you think we
have?” He asked.

“An hour, maybe two.” she replied.
While she ate, he told her the entire story about himself and of everything
that he and Jonathan had been through the last few days. She listened wide
eyed with amazement. As he spoke he drew out his wallet and showed her his
drivers license.

“This is the real me.” He
said. She looked at the small plastic card in amazement. She looked at the
picture and then at him. Even for how remarkable the transformation was she
could still see the shadow of his former self in his current look. She saw the
birth date. He was chronologically older than any of the eldest members of the
community by several life times. Even the late Nicodemus would have been
younger than him, yet Dante seemed to her to be only about Tim’s age and
maturity. He was in college when she was born. She knew that humans age
differently and that certainly put it in perspective. She handed the card back
to him.

“Its amazing you can be that
old.” She said in astonishment.

“Old? Its going to be a long
time till I’m old. Well, how old are you?”

“I’m five years old.” She
replied. Dante froze with shock. She smiled.

“Dante, for those of us with the
NIMH genes its about four years from birth to full adulthood. Which may not
seem like much compared to a human lifespan, but its much longer than the
entire life span of a natural rat or mouse, my mother is perhaps six years old,
but she is an exception to the rule. Bear in mind we still have no idea what
our life expectancy is so we don’t know what percentage of our life is spent in
childhood. Those that came from NIMH still appear young and healthy.” she
replied, amused by his surprise. “You explained why your here now. What about
after all this? What will you do?” She asked. After he recovered his voice
he responded.

“I don’t know. The race to get
here and fight has been so all consuming that I hadn’t really given that any
thought. Ask me again when this is all over.” He replied.

“How do you like being one of
us?”

“Its not so bad, a little
disorienting at first. I lost over five and a half feet of height and about
one hundred and sixty pounds of weight. I like the greatly increased senses of
sight, hearing and smell. There’s nothing actually bad about it. But there
are some things that are really annoying.”

“Such as?” she asked with
amusement.

“The tail, its going to take
some getting use to. I nearly got it caught in a door earlier and lets not
forget these.” he said and grabbed his nose and one of his whiskers.

“The human nose is so small that
you just don’t notice it, but having a muzzle instead is really a nuisance,
with it I’ve lost nearly a full quarter of my field of vision. A bigger
annoyance are the whiskers, because they are constantly moving. Since I am not
accustomed to them my attention is always being drawn to them. I’m sure that
in time I’ll get used to them and won’t even notice their there and on top of
all that I see that the once simple act of combing my hair is going to take a
lot longer now.” He said. She chuckled.

“You know all about me. Tell me
about yourself.” Dante said. She smiled shyly and began telling him about
herself and her family.

“...and for the longest time
people just thought I was stupid. But Mr. Ages finally figured out what the
problem was. It was because I had mixed parents. My siblings and I are a mix
of normal and altered genes. Teresa, Martin and Tim matured faster than full
NIMH gene children, so when I didn’t share their accelerated development they
just thought I was dumb, but I was maturing slower, like the full NIMH gene
children. So in time I reached full maturity. But it was very frustrating as
a child being thought of as stupid. But in a sense I can’t really blame them.
We Brisby children are the only mixed gene people in the community. There just
wasn’t any way of knowing what the hereditary effects of mixed genes are and
their effects on development.” She said with a hint of bitterness in her
voice. He opened his mouth to speak but suddenly the P.A. system came to life.

“To battle stations! The enemy
has reached the valley!” They heard Justin shout. In a flash Cynthia and
Dante were on their feet heading to the entrance. When they got near the area
was crowded with guards, everyone with a bow and a sword. A series of
staggered barricades had been erected in the hall to the main entrance. They
had to force their way to the front of the pack. At the entrance they found
Justin, Killian, Rose and Jonathan. Dante noticed that Killian was wielding
the now rat-sized shotgun and bandoleers in addition to his sword.

“Mother, what are you doing
here?” Cynthia asked in alarm.

“It might be necessary for me to
use the stone, dear.” She replied.

“But mother, the strain might
kill you.” Cynthia said weakly. Rose just smiled and hugged her.

“Cynthia, you shouldn’t be
here. Its not safe.” Jonathan said with concern. Her angry look startled
those standing nearby. She readied her bow and got in line with the other
archers.

“Jon, she’s not a little girl
anymore. This is where she belongs.” Justin said sadly. Jonathan looked to
Cynthia.

“I’m sorry, Cynthia.” He said.
Her angry look faded.

“Its all right. I understand.”
She said and smiled at him. Killian interrupted the scene.

“Guards! Listen carefully. We
will now take our positions. We will line up in three rows on each side of the
entrance. At my command you will begin volleying shots and at my command you
will withdraw from the field into the entrance. We do not have the forces to
repel them on the field of battle so we will fight a defensive battle. We can
do more damage when we make them fight on our terms. Go!” He shouted and the
troops marched out and formed six lines of ten each. Rose waited at the
entrance.

“You be careful, Jonathan
Brisby. I don’t want to become your widow a second time.” She said with tears
in her eyes. He held her tightly and kissed her.

“Rose, my love, Don’t worry.
I’ll be back in just a little while.” Jonathan said as he and Dante left the entrance.
Rose couldn’t suppress a shudder at Jonathan’s words. Those were the exact
same words he uttered that terrible day when he had left their cinderblock home
for the last time all those years ago.

Dante walked up to where Justin
and Killian were standing. Using his binoculars, Killian could see the enemy
army approaching. Out in front were four figures, three were wearing
medallions, the numbers they bore were ‘2, 4 and 5’ and the forth was a huge
armored rat with a sword.

Dante knew that they would not
be walking into enemy archers without some form of protection. He could even
feel it. He instantly knew that the only way the Thorn Valley guards were
going to have a chance was if he could neutralize the magical strength of the
enemy. Jonathan had to be ready to deal with Jenner and Dr. Schultz when they
showed themselves. Killian and the others had only conventional weapons. He
with his powers and his sword would have to be the equalizer.

“Killian, let me go ahead. They
are going to have magic on their side. I will be able to even the odds if I
can destroy their chain of command.” Dante said with absolute seriousness.
Killian just looked at him in amazement.

“Killian. He isn’t joking, he
can do it. Justin and I have seen him in action. I can sense the enemy has
shielded itself from our arrows. I could undo it but I need every bit of
strength I have for when Jenner and Dr. Schultz show up.” Jonathan said with
conviction. Killian looked at Justin and Jonathan, two of the greatest heroes
in the history of their people. They both honestly believed that Dante could
just walk up to the enemy alone and gut it of its most powerful leaders. He
looked at Dante. The mouse had a look of absolute confidence and determination
on his face.

“I hope for our sakes that you
can really do as you say.” Killian said.

“Have no fear of that, my
friend. As soon as the enemy is within arrow range, begin firing. Don’t worry
about me, hurt them as much as possible for as long as possible. I’ll look
after myself.” He replied.

“Good luck, Dante.” Justin and
Jonathan said. Dante turned and began walking toward the oncoming enemy.
Behind him he heard one last voice.

“Be careful, Dante.” Cynthia
Brisby called out.

Dante marched alone toward the
enemy, the only light coming from the roaring bonfires that dotted the valley
floor. Why am I doing this? He asked himself. Thorn Valley isn’t
my home, as much as I want to pretend, these are not my people. To them I am
the enemy, Humanity. They just want me here to fight for them. They don’t
care about me.

My only connection to them
are stolen memories of their lives, none of it is real to me. On top of all of
this I will have to stand against my own father. A man obsessed with
destroying this side effect of his work. But wasn’t that what he always did.
His touch destroyed everything and everyone it came in contact with. Now he
was trying to destroy the one thing he created that had survived his kiss of
death. These people, this civilization was now fighting for its very
survival. Death and/or slavery is all that awaits them if they fail. Why
would they not seek out every possible source of help? Jonathan hadn’t forced
me to come here. I came of my own accord. I could have said no when he asked
if I would help him. I could have left him when we arrived at the park, but I
willingly followed. I am here because I want to be. All my life I have never
fit in, I have never had any sense of belonging, being wanted or needed. To
father I was nothing more than an experimental subject. Aunt Rita looked after
me not out of love, but only out of duty to her late sister. I am here because
I feel I am one of them and I will be one of them truly afterward if they will
have me. Dante thought as he neared the enemy leaders. The armored rat
raised a hand to his army when they saw Dante approach. To Dante’s surprise
the entire army stopped. Dante walked boldly up to them.

“You have given us an ultimatum,
now I give you one. Surrender or flee now and avoid bloodshed. Fight and you
will all perish.” Dante said with disturbing sincerity. The armored rat
roared with laughter. He crouched down so he could look Dante face to face.
He pointed the tip of his sword at Dante’s chest. Dante saw Two step back a
few steps.

“The mighty Justin sends a
little white mouse to deliver his threats.” He said and laughed, those nearby
also began laughing, including Four and Five, Dante used their moment of
distraction to strike. The strange white haze descended over his vision, he
quickly reached out and grasped the rat’s sword blade with his bare hands and
snapped it off, then he did a lightning fast spin and drove the broken blade
through the rat’s armor, into his chest, he gasped and fell back dead, then
with blinding speed he drew his sword and slew Four and Five before they even
had a chance to act. The entire army took a step back.

“Who will dare to dance with the
little white mouse?” Dante taunted, looked around and pointed it at Two and
began walking toward him, Two began walking backwards.

“Attack him, you fools!” He
shouted at his army. The soldiers suddenly overcame their collective shock and
attacked. He cut through the enemy as he relentlessly pursued Two. Suddenly,
Two hurled a huge ball of fire in his direction. It incinerated the rats in
its path, Dante managed to dive out of its way. He threw several more as Dante
neared him, each one burning a terrible path through the enemy army. The enemy
continued to attack him and he continued to cut them down, to him it seemed
every enemy was moving in slow motion. He was nearing Two, he could see panic
growing in the rat’s eyes. The army now began falling back from their
presence. Leaving the two of them in a large circle. A large area opened up
behind Dante, as those rats didn’t want to be on the receiving end of anymore
of Two’s attacks. With each of his steps forward, Two took a step back.

“Two, you pathetic, cowardly,
unimaginative fool!” A harsh voice called out from behind him. He turned
quickly. One strode out into the open area.

“Help me, One.” Two pleaded. A
sword materialized in One’s hand, he walked up to Two and ran him through with
it.

“How you got to be Two I’ll
never understand.” He said with contempt and faced Dante. Dante saw that
there was no mocking or amusement on his face. He knew how dangerous Dante
was.

“Dragon!” One shouted. A
guttural growl responded from the darkness behind the army.

“Go forward, destroy Jonathan
Brisby.” One commanded. Suddenly Dante saw an enormous shape leap out of the
darkness high above him. The cat leaped over the entire army. His landing
caused the ground to shake. The cat began running toward the defenders of
Thorn Valley. Dante realized that Jonathan was going to get his chance to get
even with Dragon after all. Dante looked to One.

“I have a feeling you are going
to be more of a challenge than Two, Three and Four and Five.”

“Absolutely.” One replied.

A wave of sheer terror went
through the defenders at the sight of Dragon leaping out of the darkness. He
was now rushing toward them. Jonathan had felt the defensive shield of the
enemy fall just moments before. Dante had accomplished his task. Now Dragon
had to be dealt with.

“Guards, fall back!” Killian
commanded.

“Wait, leave Dragon to me.”
Jonathan said and began walking forward.

“Jonathan, no!” Justin called
out.

“I know what I’m doing.” He
replied. Rose just closed her eyes and prayed that he would return from this
encounter with Dragon. Dragon slowed to a walk as he approached the frightened
defenders. He saw Jonathan and paused.

“We’ve got a score to settle,
cat. You ruined my life and took me away from everyone that I loved.”
Jonathan said. His eyes began to glow and the stone slowly began to glow
also. Dragon let out a terrifying roar and raised a taloned paw to strike
Jonathan down. Jonathan just raised his hands. Justin, Killian and Cynthia
rushed forward to vainly protect him, but as they neared him they were suddenly
thrown to the ground by the heat and intensity of the energy discharge that
erupted from his hands. When the smoke and fire cleared, all that remained of
Dragon was his charred skeleton. Still intact, his paw still upraised. The
defenders, after overcoming their amazement all cheered. Jonathan, singed and
exhausted collapsed to the ground. Killian quickly picked him up and rushed
him to the entrance.

“I think I was a little excessive.”
Jonathan said apologetically to his wife.

“I don’t care, how are you?”
She asked with great concern.

“I’m fine, but I can’t believe
how weak I feel. I know you warned me about this. I just had no idea.” He
replied weakly and noticed that his shirt was smoldering where the stone had
rested against it.

“Jon, are you all right? Still
strong enough for more when the time comes?” Justin asked.

“I’m ready for anything. Don’t
worry about that.” Jonathan assured them. He just wished he could convince
himself.

“Here they come!” Killian
shouted to the defenders.

“There is no need to die
tonight, human. The Master is willing to spare you if you will serve him.”
One said with sincerity.

“No.” was Dante’s reply.

“Why must you all be such
fools?” One asked with annoyance. Their discussion was interrupted by a
blinding flash of light coming from the direction of the defenders, followed by
the smell of burnt cat.

“Dragon has served his purpose,
Jonathan Brisby is now to weak to wield the stone. The defenses are
weakening. You cannot triumph. This is your last chance to surrender.” One
said.

“No.” Dante repeated.

“So be it. Army, forward!
Attack!” One shouted and began slowly advancing at Dante.

Dante saw the army suddenly
surge forward toward the defenders. He wanted to help but he had a little
problem of his own to deal with.

“Archers begin volley. Fire at
will.” Killian shouted. Suddenly in addition to the archers on the field, the
windows on the levels above the entrance opened and archers appeared and began
firing also. The archers rained down arrows on the swiftly approaching enemy.
Undeterred, the enemy charged forward over the bodies of the dead and wounded,
slowed only slightly by the barricade and spikes. Killian gave the order for
the lines to start falling back. Killian and the others got to the entrance
and sealed and barred the thick wooden doors seconds before the enemy reached
them. They could hear the enemy pound against it and hack at it. The
defenders fell back to the staggered barricades in the main hall.

“Where’s Cynthia?” They heard
Rose cry out in alarm. Killian looked at Justin with concern.

“She wouldn’t have been
foolhardy enough to stay out there alone to help Dante would she?” Killian
asked. Justin nodded sadly.

“Of course she stayed out there
alone to help Dante. She’s a Brisby, its in her blood.” He replied.

Cynthia crept stealthily through
the shadows as she evaded the enemy army which had gathered to try to break
down the doors at the entrance to the living area. Far in the distance she
could see Dante and a rat engaged in a fierce duel. Dante you saved many
lives today, mine included. You must be mad to think that I will just let you
stay out here and die. I know you told us to leave you behind, but I owe you
to much to do that. She thought as she silently and invisibly made her way
toward the battle.

Dante quickly realized that he
was fighting an equal. Owen had been good, but One was better. One had speed
and reflexes equal to his own and also had the additional advantage of size and
strength. One was able to match him blow for blow. One drew first blood while
Dante dodged his powerful swing. Dante leaped back holding his gashed arm, it
wasn’t cut deep, but it startled Dante, this is the first time an enemy had
connected with him since his encounter with Three. He took several cautious
steps back. He cast a quick glance at the entrance to the living area. The
enemy army had not broken through, but they were certainly trying their hardest
to do so. Dante moved in closer to One. They exchanged a quick flurry of
strikes that the other blocked, they both jumped back. Dante turned and
attacked, he dodged One’s swing and stabbed One in the abdomen, as Dante ducked
and pulled back, One swung his sword and gashed Dante’s right ear. Dante
attacked and One grabbed Dante’s sword by the blade and it instantly grew red
hot and broke it off at the middle. Dante cried out in pain and released it.
One kicked Dante so hard he went tumbling backward. I must keep him
occupied, as long as he’s concentrating on me, he can’t help his army. Dante
thought to himself as he struggled to his feet. One came charging toward him,
he ducked and dodged several furious sword swings. Then as he dodged a swing,
Dante quickly reached up and grabbed One’s sword arm and twisted it, then broke
it, causing One to drop his sword. With his good arm One struck Dante across
the face with a stunning blow. He then picked up Dante and threw him back.
Dante landed hard. Dante was trying to get to his feet when One rushed over
and kicked him in the ribs, causing him to collapse to the ground. One grabbed
Dante’s tail and with a great burst of strength, he lifted Dante off the ground
and began spinning him over his head by the tail and then violently slammed him
down onto the ground. The blow knocked Dante senseless. One retrieved his sword
and stood above the battered body of Dante.

“You should have joined us, you
fool.” He said and put his foot on Dante’s neck and raised his sword high.
Dante could only look up helplessly at the rat. His life flashed before his
eyes, well not exactly his life. It belonged to a rat named Tom, who
was a plumber and a member of the 22. I’m going to die and someone else’s
life is flashing before my eyes. That’s just perfect. He thought as he
waited for the sword.

Suddenly, an arrow struck One in
the chest. One looked up and then collapsed to the ground. Dante turned his
head and saw Cynthia Brisby step out of the shadows.

“Dante, are you all right?” She
asked with great concern. He smiled weakly.

“I’ll live, thank you.” He
replied as she helped him to his feet. He retrieved One’s large sword and
looked toward the defenses. The enemy had just about broken through the
doors. They moved as fast as they could, but Dante was still so weak he needed
Cynthia to give him support. From a distance they watched helplessly as the
invaders broke through the doors. They immediately heard the sounds of fierce
fighting and shotgun blasts coming from inside. Cynthia and Dante increased
their pace. Dante suddenly stopped.

“Cynthia, I have to do this
alone. There are still to many of them.” He said. She was startled when she
saw his eyes begin to glow bright white. He lifted the sword and seemingly
with restored strength, strode forward into the enemy as before and began
cutting them to pieces. Cynthia watched in amazement as after several minutes
of this punishing two front attack, the invaders began to retreat, soon the
defenders emerged from the entrance and again began firing arrows at the
enemy. Dante and Cynthia took that opportunity to rejoin the ranks of the
defenders. By now the enemy army had been reduced by far more than half, they
fled rapidly now. They had almost gotten out of the area illuminated by the
bonfires when suddenly an immense presence materialized in front of them. It
was the now human sized Jenner.

“I’m disappointed, I thought I
had made it clear that I expect you all to fight to the death.” He said and
with a wave of his hand he incinerated his army, then he stepped over their
remains and approached the defenders.

“Jenner!” Killian exclaimed.
He was quickly joined at the front by Justin, Jonathan and Rose. They all
shuddered in horror at their own particular memories of Jenner.

“Killian?” Justin asked and put
a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Killian turned quickly to face Justin.

“I will not betray you. I will
not betray Thorn Valley. If you have any doubt as to my loyalty then strike me
down here and now.” He said with obvious conviction. Justin met his gaze.

“Killian, I trust you with my
life.” He replied with absolute seriousness. They turned and watched Jenner
stride boldly toward them.

“Jonathan, give me the stone.”
Rose said softly.

“Rose, I can take care of him.”
Jonathan said, his fatigue very obvious.

“You can’t and you know it.
Please, Jonathan, there isn’t much time.” she pleaded. He looked at her with
a look of such utter sorrow that it brought tears to her eyes. She kissed him
and gently took the stone from around his neck. He held her tightly as they waited
for Jenner. Shortly Jenner stood before them.

“I see the welcoming committee
has come out to see me. Justin, so good to see you again. I wish to thank
you, my friend.” Jenner said with what appeared to be sincerity.

“Thank me? For what?” Justin
asked.

“You were right about
everything. Had I killed you on the farm, we all would have perished the next
day at the rosebush. I freely admit that I was wrong about the Plan. Our
people have thrived here. But now a greater enemy is coming quickly to destroy
you, submit to me and I will protect you. Without my help you and your loved
ones will all perish. But with me, then there is nothing that could stop us or
harm us ever again. I really don’t want to see you all killed.” He said, then
looked to Killian.

“Killian, my son. Join me and
all is forgiven.” He said. Rose felt Killian’s resolve waver just for an
instant as he heard his father utter the three words he had waited most of his
life to hear, but he quickly steeled himself and his uncertainty turned to
rage.

“Join you? I have made it my
life’s work to escape you. I am not your son. Your son died with his throat
slit by your own hand. I am not the son of Jenner, I am the son of Nell, you
are a butcher, murderer, coward and fool!” Killian shouted in anger. Jenner
maintained a look of aloofness, but Rose could feel genuine hurt from him. He
turned and stormed off into the darkness.

“The other guest to this party
will soon arrive. Mrs. Brisby, you have the power to defeat one of us, but not
both. You must all submit to either I or Dr. Schultz. So choose wisely.” He
said threateningly.

You paid a terrible price the
last time you underestimated me, Jenner. Now you will pay an even higher price
this time. I am not the helpless, frightened little field mouse I was the last
time we met. No, your evil turned this mouse into a lion. Rose thought to
herself. She looked to the remnant of Jenner’s army, now huddled together,
cowering in the presence of their master. At least for the moment her loved
ones were safe. She looked at the stone, a faint glimmer appeared in it.

A loud rumbling came from the
clouds over the valley. Suddenly a powerful bolt of lightning struck the
floor of the valley, leaving in its wake, a man.

“I guess that’s dad.” Dante
said.

The man raised his hands to the
sky.

“Thorn Valley at last! I will
now remove this ‘Thorn’ from my side!” He shouted and he held out his hands
and powerful arcs of power leapt from them, striking the walls of the valley,
causing showers of stone to rain down on those below. The man turned toward
the defenders. He was wearing a white lab coat, brown slacks and blue shirt
and on his face were a pair of battered horn rimmed glasses.

“Yep, that’s dad.” Dante said
quietly.