Justin walked towards Nicodemus,
muttering in himself what on earth he was thinking. Wendy would probably kill
him if he ever set foot in her room again. He wanted Nicodemus to tell him that
he made the right decision, although he feared he opposed to Justin's action.
As he reached Nicodemus' room he hesitated to open the door. He took a deep
breath and placed his hand on the latch. He jumped back in surprise when the
latch moved downward and the door swung open, all by itself. Nicodemus was
sitting in his writing chair near his cabinet.

‘Come in my son, and close the
door behind you. There is something I'd like you to see.'

Justin obeyed the words of the old
man and stepped closer. Nicodemus pointed Justin the mirror, the mirror in
which the past and the future could be seen. The mirror started to turn and
before Justin was even able to blink his eyes, he saw a familiar sight. He was
inside the laboratories of NIMH again. He was back in his cage, the cage where
he spend over one year in. He started breathing faster and faster and realized
he was hyperventilating. He started to panic, the way he did the first time he
did when he was locked up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His
breathing started to slow down and a while later he had his breath under
control again. He opened his eyes and looked around in his cage. The cage was
still the same as in his memory; empty, depressing and lonely. Suddenly he
heard a noise; his cage was opened. A big gloved hand reached out for him.
Justin tried to hide from the gloved hand, but there was no place to hide in or
under. The gloved hand grabbed Justin firmly. He felt like biting the hand, but
he couldn't reach the fingers with his teeth. He was caught, the only thing he
could do was surrender. As the gloved hand turned, Justin could see the cages
from a different perspective. He tried to yell across the area, but nobody
could hear him. It was like he couldn't speak anymore. The gloved hand turned
again but this time he faced danger; an injection needle! He tried to escape
from the gloved hand, but the hand was too strong. The more he struggled, the
more firm the hand held him. Justin was panting for breath, sweating like crazy
and his heart was beating so hard that he thought it was beating right out of
his chest. Right before he thought he couldn't bare it anymore, the mirror
started to turn again. The images disappeared and Justin was in Nicodemus' room
again. He stepped away from the mirror, still sweating and breathing heavily.
He turned in Nicodemus' direction. He was still sitting behind his desk,
writing in the Big Book; the book which contained the entire history of the
rats of NIMH.

‘Nicodemus, what was that?' Justin
asked when he finally realized he had been safely in Nicodemus' room all along.

‘That, my son, is what you are
doing to your wife at this very moment.' Nicodemus finally spoke. He put the
feathered pencil down and turned towards his best friend.

‘But I'm... I'm....' Justin stumbled.

‘I know, you are trying to keep
her safe. Away from all dangers. However, you should be aware of the fact that
Wendy has been through more than enough already. She is skilled, more than any
of the rats I've met in my life, to survive. She's the one who will never take
unnecessary risks, especially not now she's pregnant.' He got up from his chair
and walked in Justin's direction. ‘Release her, my son... release her, and let
her decide what to do next.'

‘But... but if I let her decide what
to do next she'll be bound to find Jenner and she'll....'

‘She'll be fine, Justin. She knows
he won't hurt her. You might see Jenner as your biggest enemy, as a villain
without mercy. But may I remind you of the fact that that same Jenner has been
one of my greatest friends. I would have given my soul for him. I believe that
that Jenner, is still something in there. Give them a chance. You will not
regret it.'

Nicodemus gently touched Justin's
shoulder. ‘You love her... but so does he. He will not ever let anything happen
to his daughter, not ever.' Nicodemus walked towards the big armchair in the
center of his room, folded his hands and closed his eyes. Justin nodded and
left Nicodemus' room without a word. The painful truth pierced through his
heart. He had never been so scared in his entire life.

Meanwhile, Nicodemus opened his
eyes again. He got up and walked towards the mirror. The mirror started to turn
again when Nicodemus looked in it. It took him back to the Market Place, where
everything started. He was outside with his older brother Gerald and his best
friend Jenner. They were inseparable, always hanging out with each other. Life
was simple and careless, simply because there were no problems. There was
always plenty of food at the Market Place. Nobody had leadership; they were all
responsible for their own lives. Nicodemus smiled when he saw the three of them
together. Brotherhood would be a good word for it. In case of a fight with
other young rats, you'd never stand alone; your friends were always there for
you. Nicodemus sighed. Gerald was lucky enough not to be caught by NIMH, but it
was a comforting thought that Jenner was there... Although it was a sad thought
as well. Jenner proved to be an excellent member of the colony. He was the one
who discovered the Boniface Estate, made it possible that everyone stayed
together, through good times and bad. But he started to change when the rats
found the Rosebush. He stood up as candidate for the function of Head Council,
and was elected by the majority of the rats. But that was the worst mistake the
rats could have made. Jenner's attitude changed while he was standing in front
of the Council. He started attacking Nicodemus openly with verbal accusations.
He convinced some rats that Nicodemus was dragging the rats to a certain death
in ‘some wilderness called Thorn Valley'. According to Jenner there was nothing
else but starvation, poverty and war. But Nicodemus already provided in food;
the rats were preparing very well for Thorn Valley. They were growing crops
like corn, wheat and oats. The growing-program was very successful, but Jenner
didn't want to know anything about it. He told the rats that the crops would
eventually thin out and leave them with nothing. Nicodemus wanted to tell him
about the Fertilizer, but Jenner just wouldn't listen. He had a plan of his
own; a plan to get sympathy by his voters, so that they would elect him for
Leader one day. But Farmer Fitzgibbon caused trouble for Jenner by contacting
NIMH about rats who didn't seem to get caught in his traps. Jenner feared that
his plans would now be ruined. He tried to convince the rats that they were
strong enough to fight the humans in his extra meetings. Some rats agreed, but
most of them thought that it would be a suicide-mission. He lost most of his
followers and needed something that would made them change their minds. When
Mrs. Brisby came for help to move her house to the safe side of the stone, he
knew what he had to do. He had to get rid of Nicodemus....

Nicodemus sighed. ‘My friend, how
could this have happened? We were so close, so close... I wish I could turn back
time.' Nicodemus walked back to his cabinet where the book was at. He turned a
few pages back and read the words:

‘I learned something crucial from Justin today. Today
he told me that Wendy Elisabeth is Jenner's daughter. I always knew this young
lady was special, and now I know it for sure. Oh I was in shock when I found
out, but there is something positive in this, too. You see, Wendy Elisabeth is
a good person. A very good person in deed. Oh we had our
difficulties at the beginning, but she's changed. If she can do it, so can he.
We can bring the old Jenner back, with his daughter's help. She's our salvation.'

‘Oh, you are our salvation,
alright.' Nicodemus said with a smile on his scarred face. ‘Wendy, my child... do
whatever you think is right, follow your heart.' Nicodemus said as he closed
his eyes. The candles in his room flickered as a mysterious wind was blown
through the room.

Wendy opened her eyes. She was
still inside the room where Justin locked her up. She must have cried herself
to sleep, but she woke up under strange circumstances. She heard Nicodemus'
voice in her dream, a dream about Jenner. Nicodemus kept telling her to do the
right thing, to follow her heart. She shook her head as she couldn't make head
or tail out of it. She heard a noise right outside her door. She sat up on her
bedside. The door was softly opened and there stood Justin. He looked
concerned.

‘I'm... I've been so stupid. I'm so
sorry Sweetness, I shouldn't have done that. You are right. You don't belong
here. You belong in our bedroom, beside me. I hope you can forgive me.'

Wendy Elisabeth took a deep
breath, struggled to get up and started walking in Justin's direction. As she
stood in front of him, she gave him a punch.

‘You lunatic. I really thought you
were serious there.' She softly said.

‘I was, but I... realized I was
wrong. Just understand that I want you to be safe.' Justin said as he softly
stroke through his wives neck fur.

‘I understand and don't you worry
about forgiveness.' She said and she firmly embraced her husband, placing her
head on his shoulder although she had to stand on her toes to do so.

‘But promise me never to do this
to me ever again.' She whispered.

‘I promise I won't.' Justin
whispered back and he softly kissed her.

Later that day, Justin sat down with the Brisby's.
They also decided to live above ground. They had to show the enemy that they
didn't fear them, not now, not ever.