Nicodemus stared at his once so
cherished friend. He shook his head. Why hadn't he seen it coming? Jenner used
to be so friendly, helpful and loyal. Though he had been the same towards the
Irish Kenmare's. And we all know how they ended up. Nicodemus sighed. ‘Perhaps
we were all wrong about you from the start, but I cannot imagine that this was
all an act. You were sincere once, I know that much, but can we trust you
enough? Is there a possibility that you might fall back into that trap?'
Nicodemus' thoughts went back to the Market Place where the entire story began.
Good memories filled his heart. Jenner had been like a brother to him. He
wished it could be like that again, although he knew too much had happened for
that.

 

Jenner started to turn and moan.
He was having a nightmare. He was back at NIMH again, and he was locked up in a
cage. But he wasn't the only one in there. The cage was also home to a dozen
barn-rats. They approached him, showing their teeth. He recognized Gloria in it
who had a huge gap under her chin, the same place where Jenner had almost
decapitated her. He wanted to escape, but there was no way out of the cage. He
already felt the cool cage-wall against his back.

‘Jenner, you're having a
nightmare, wake up.' Nicodemus said while he gently shook his once so loyal
friend.

Jenner woke up with a gasp, trying
to remove the bandage that covered his eyes. Nicodemus stopped his by pushing
his hand away.

‘It's alright, you're safe.' He
said, while he placed Jenner's hand on the bed again.

Jenner took a deep breath,
apparently he was still waking up.

‘Nicodemus? What brings you
here.' Jenner said with a bitter tone in his voice.

‘I'm here to pay an old friend a
visit.' The old rat said.

‘Old friend... right.' Jenner
answered and he turned his head away from Nicodemus.

‘Jenner, where did we go wrong?'
Nicodemus asked.

No answer.

‘Jenner, please. What did I do to
you that made you change this way.'

Still no answer.

‘Jenner... you owe me an answer.'
Nicodemus said again. He didn't give Jenner the impression that he was going to
leave any time soon.

Jenner turned his head and faced
Nicodemus again, although he himself couldn't see.

‘I owe you nothing. But if you
insist, it is you. You are the reason why we went wrong.' Jenner said.

‘Then tell me what I did, so that
I can make it better.'

‘It's too late for that. You
should have thought about that sooner.' Jenner snapped.

‘Too late for what?' Nicodemus
wondered.

‘Too late for recognition, too
late for giving me what I deserved. I earned the leadership. I was the one who
figured out how to escape from NIMH.'

‘Yes, you did figure out how to
escape, but so did Justin. The two of you made a wonderful team.' Nicodemus
said.

‘Wonderful team... right. And what
did you do? You didn't do anything! You are a saint as it comes to fighting.
You'll never fight back, even if the enemy is on top of you! I saved your sorry
ass when your eye was scratched out near the Boniface Estate.'

‘Yes, you are right. I hate
violence, and I'm weak as it comes to a confrontation. But the rats of NIMH
chose me to be their leader. I voted for you, but most votes count. I'm sorry
it turned out that way.' Nicodemus said.

‘You voted for me?' Jenner asked,
wondering if the old fool was telling the truth.

‘Yes, and so did Justin. I
happened to know that.' Nicodemus said.

Jenner was silent for a while,
letting that known fact sink in.

‘Most votes counted, Jenner. What
could I have done? I didn't want to be the leader in the first place, heck I
had rather stayed normal. A normal rat's life is a lot easier. But I had to
take the part of the leader, simply because they wanted me to.'
Nicodemus said again.

‘But you could have resigned, you
could have given the part of the leader to me. Especially at the Rosebush!'
Jenner yelled.

‘No, that's where you are wrong,
my friend. Your lust for power had been overwhelming during that time. You
would have risked all the rat's life's if you would have become the leader back
then. The rats of NIMH needed a leader who wanted to keep them alive rather
than sending them to a certain death.'

‘A certain death? Is that what you
think I wanted? I wanted to fight back! We earned everything we had down
there.'

‘I disagree, my friend. Everything
we owned was stolen!' Nicodemus said, raising his voice.

‘We deserved it! After everything
they've done to us! All the years they took away from us! All the pain they
caused us!'

‘Jenner, you are right on that
point. They did put us through a lot of misery and they took our freedom away,
but fighting back isn't the right solution. We deserved a lot, but no stolen
goods. We deserved a happy and honest life. A life where we were able to stop
running, where we didn't have to look over our shoulder all the time. A free
life. We deserved a safe environment that we could pass on to our children, and
they to their children. A life without humans, an independent life.' Nicodemus
said. ‘And I think we have succeeded.'

‘Oh really? What about all the
snakes, the owls we don't know, puma's and all other scum.'

‘They are much less dangerous to
us than NIMH was. According to Mrs. Brisby, NIMH actually came by the day after
we left the farmyard. They completely exterminated the Rosebush.'

Jenner didn't say a word. Of
course he knew Nicodemus was right, but he needed luxury.

‘We would have all been dead by
now. Was that worth it? Even if we had a plan to fight back, we wouldn't have
stand a chance against the poison they used.' Nicodemus said. ‘I'd better leave
now, you need to rest.' The old rat stood up from his chair and gently squeezed
Jenner's shoulder. Jenner still didn't say a word. He was exhausted. All he
wanted to do was sleep, but he was afraid of the next bad dream.

 

Justin walked down the Hallway
towards his own room. He wanted to find some clothes for Wendy. She was able to
leave the hospital this afternoon already.

‘Justin! Thank goodness I found
you!' Brutus said, panting for breath.

‘Hey, have you been running the
marathon or something, you look terrible.' Justin said, in his normal casually
way.

‘No, I've been looking all over
for you.'

‘Did something happen?' Justin
asked, thinking about Wendy and Joshua immediately.

‘You bet something happened! The
rats have found out about Jenner.' Brutus said.

‘So they are not very
comfortable?' Justin asked.

‘No, they are furious with you!'
Brutus claimed.

Justin sighed. ‘And what do they
want me to do about it?'

‘They want you to make him leave.'

‘The man can barely stand! He
can't even see! How can they expect me to throw him out on the streets. It
would kill him.'

‘That's exactly what they want.
They want him dead, and I cannot blame them! I mean, he had almost killed me,
and what about Simon's family? They are out to get him! If you don't throw him
out, they'll be bound to kill him themselves.'

‘Call in a meeting, now! I need to
explain a couple of things before accidents happen.'

‘Yessir! Oh and... I've seen some
activity back at the old tree. I think we haven't killed them all.' Brutus
said.

‘I didn't expect you to. The
barn-rats are stupid, but they are not that stupid. I'll ask Jenner how
many barn-rats he took with him. How many were killed during the fight?'

‘Thirty-two, sir.'

‘Good, and stop ‘sirring' me,
Brutus, it's kind of annoying.'

‘I'm sorry Justin. I'll call in
the meeting.' And Brutus left the room.

Justin took a deep breath. ‘Now
look what you've done. As if you weren't popular enough already.' And he went
downstairs as well, heading for the main Hall.

 

Jonathan and Caroline walked up to
the Brisby room, hand in hand. Nanny had taken care of the fact that the
children were back in the room, without knowing why Justin had given her the
assignment for it. They asked her time and time again why they needed to go
inside, but Nanny couldn't give them an answer. She herself wasn't even
up-to-date about Jonathan's return. The children tried to amuse themselves with
a game.

‘I wonder what happened.' Martin
suddenly said. ‘I guess they killed someone again.'

‘Martin! Don't say that!' Theresa
growled at her younger brother.

‘Well, I guess that's the reason
why we have to stay inside. I mean, we weren't allowed to get out of the room when....'

‘That's enough! Don't upset Timmy
and Cynthia.' Theresa snarled.

‘When can we see Wendy?' Cynthia
said.

‘‘I hope soon. I cannot wait to
see the baby.' Timmy said.

‘And give her the pancakes!'
Cynthia said, while she licked her lips. She was over fond of pancakes.

‘But what if someone's dead again.
Mom isn't here! Perhaps she's....'

‘Martin, shut up!' Theresa said,
but it was too late.

‘I want my momma!' Cynthia cried.

Theresa wrapped her arms around
her little sister but she felt like crying as well. She wanted to leave Thorn
Valley as soon as possible.

Suddenly the door opened and Mrs.
Brisby peeked around the corner.

‘I'm back and I have a surprise!'
She said, but she was the one who was actually surprised. Surprised by the
serious looking faces, that was.

‘What's going on in here? Did you
have an argument?' She asked.

The children got up, all crying
now, and embraced they mother. ‘We were so worried about you! We thought
something had happened to you.' Theresa sobbed.

‘Well, I'm fine. Please don't be
sad. I have someone with me, look!' She said and she pushed the door open a bit
more. Jonathan entered the room. Love filled his heart as he saw his beautiful
family together.

The children stepped away from
their mother and looked at Jonathan with open mouths.

‘Who is that mommy?' Cynthia
asked. She was far too little when Jonathan disappeared, so she didn't remember
him. The other children did, but they couldn't believe their eyes.

‘Is that really dad?' Martin said.

‘Yes, Martin, your father is
back.'

‘But you told us he was dead!'
Theresa said.

‘Yes, we thought he was dead, but
he's just been... somewhere else.'

‘Where?' Martin asked.

‘Your father was....' Mrs. Brisby
stumbled, but Jonathan filled her in.

‘I was staying at the barn rat's
barn. The cat hit me over the head so I lost my memory. It's pretty hard to
explain, but....'

‘So you suffered from amnesia.'
Timothy suddenly said.

‘Well, yeah... where did you learn
that word?' Jonathan said while he frowned his forehead in a mixture of pride
and confusion.

‘I'm already five.' Timothy said.

‘Well, yes, of course....' Jonathan
said, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.

‘And I'm two!' Cynthia said,
raising three fingers.

‘No, you need to raise two
fingers! Not three!' Theresa whispered angrily. 

Jonathan started to laugh a bit.

‘Do you want to live here again?'
Cynthia asked, resolute as always.

‘Eh... would you want me to?'
Jonathan said, but regretted his question immediately.

Theresa nodded at her sister.
‘Yes, I guess so.' Cynthia said while she shrugged. 

Jonathan sighed of relief. ‘You
too, Timmy?'

Timmy nodded and ran towards his
father. He embraced his legs firmly.

‘And what about you, Martin?' Mrs.
Brisby asked her oldest son.

Martin looked at his mother. ‘If
you want him to.'

‘Yes, I want him to stay, Martin.'
Mrs. Brisby said.
‘Then I guess he can stay. But can we now see Wendy?' Martin said.

‘Yes, we are all going down to see
Wendy now.' Jonathan said, and the entire Brisby family left the room.

 

The Main Hall was packed with
rats. Luckily it was big enough. Justin stood on the platform, with Brutus
standing on his left side and Gabriel on his right. He cleared his voice before
speaking. ‘Dear rats of NIMH, today we've gathered to talk about the current
situation. I know this is not the situation you've hoped for, however, we feel
that the situation is under control.'

‘Then who's we?' A voice
yelled.

‘"We" are Brutus, Gabriel and
myself. But there are more rats that support this situation.'

‘Brutus! This man tried to kill
you!' Another voice yelled.

Brutus cleared his voice and
stepped forward. ‘I know that, but at the state that he's in now, he won't be
doing much harm.'

‘He's terribly injured.' Gabriel
said, supporting Brutus' argument.

‘We don't care about that! He has
to leave! He's a danger to our society!'

‘I understand your concerns, but
they are irrelevant right now. A lot has happened in the old tree. Jenner
doesn't have any followers amongst the barn-rats anymore.' Justin said.

‘Because they're all dead?' A
third voice yelled.

‘No, not all of them. Jenner has
confirmed, a moment ago, that there were sixty barn-rats. We've managed to kill
thirty-two of them. Which leaves us with a total amount of twenty-eight
barn-rats. They should and will be killed.' Justin said.

‘What if it's a trap? What if
there's more than sixty?' Another voice yelled.

‘Of course, we are cautious. I do,
however, tend to take his word on it. He's got no reason to harm us anymore.
He's got a bigger concern now.' Justin's thoughts went to Wendy.

‘What concern?' A large gray rat
wondered.

Justin looked at Gabriel and
Brutus and nodded. ‘His daughter.' He said.

The crowd all suddenly talked and
screamed at once. ‘SILENCE!' Brutus screamed on top of it.

The sounds changed into soft
muttering. ‘Thanks, Brutus.' Justin whispered.

‘His daughter is Wendy Elisabeth.
Please, keep quiet, I know it's a shock. They only just recently found out
themselves. That's why Jenner wanted Wendy Elisabeth with him. They both
managed to escape when things got out of hand. Jenner has killed a member of
the barn rat community, but only to protect his daughter, our Wendy.'

‘So that's it, then? He's killed
one barn rat and he's welcomed back with open arms?'

‘I never said that. In fact, I
have no idea what to do with him, either. A part of me hoped that Jenner
wouldn't have survived his injuries. But since he has, he's here and he's in
good hands. We are not the kind of rats who would let another rat die without
giving that rat a second chance. Nicodemus would have done the same thing. I
know that I haven't been able to show you what I'm worth, but I ask you to have
a little faith in me. That's all I ask right now. Don't worry about your
safety. I'll take care of the barn-rats and Jenner. Just give me a
little time. You won't be sorry. I promise.'

A soft clapping was heard at the
back of the Hall. More clapping followed and shortly after that, the entire
crowd started to clap. Justin stepped down from the platform with a small smile
on his face. He needed a plan, fast!

 

‘Hello there baby-boy. How long
have you been awake? Oh, look at you, you look so much like your father! Do you
want to sit with mommy?' Wendy stood near the baby-bed, wearing her bathrobe,
as the Brisby family came in.

‘Can I see the baby?' Cynthia
immediately said when she saw Wendy.

‘Oh, hello Cynthia. What a
pleasant surprise! Of course you may, please sit down, all of you.'

The Brisby family sat down. Wendy
was very pleased to see Jonathan and Mrs. Brisby together. She gave Jonathan a
wink.

‘We have a surprise for you!'
Cynthia continued as she took a small package out of her skirt-pocket.

‘Wow, thank you! What is it?'

‘It's pancakes, Wendy. We had them
three days ago.' Theresa said.

‘Pancakes, that's wonderful!
They're my favorite!' Wendy said laughing. She knew three-day-old-pancakes
weren't healthy to consume anymore, though she loved the gesture.

‘Martin, if you hold the pancakes,
I'll get Joshua.' Martin nodded and took the pancakes.

Wendy returned back a minute
later, with Joshua in her arms.

The mice-children were over-exited
to see the baby-rat. They all wanted to take a look at Joshua. ‘Look at his
tiny hands!' Theresa said.

‘Yes, and his tiny feet!' Timmy
said.

‘He's got funny ears.' Cynthia
chuckled.

‘Can I touch him?' Martin asked.

‘Sure you can, Martin.' Wendy said
and Martin gently touched Joshua's small face.

‘Can we play with him?' Cynthia
asked.

‘That might take a little while.'
Wendy said smiling and she took the baby over to Mrs. Brisby and Jonathan.
Without warning, she placed the baby into Jonathan's arms. She gave him another
wink. ‘Perhaps you'd like to practice a bit again?' She said with a naughty
smile.

Jonathan started blushing and so
did Mrs. Brisby, but they both enjoyed holding the little boy.

‘You know what? I'll go check if Nanny
has some lemonade.' Wendy said and the children nodded.

 

Justin walked up and down his
room. He needed to come up with a plan. He lit the candle on his desk and sat
down. He took a drink of water from his cup and started writing some strategies
down. As he wanted to pick up his cup for yet another drink, he accidentally
knocked over his candle. It set the paper on fire immediately. He didn't
hesitate and emptied his cup on the fire, which extinguished the fire without
an effort. ‘Hmmm, fire. That's it! Fire! Let's burn the bastards out! They'll
be taken by surprise and they'll be an easy prey. Besides, the old tree will be
useless after that.' Justin got up and decided to inform his army that same
afternoon.