The Makers tunnels were very interesting places. If you didn't know where you were going you could, and quite possibly would find yourself lost forever. If you did, however? They made for an incredibly quick and effective method of transportation, even with their rather uneven terrain. Of course none of us knew where we were going, but a few of the undead locals were more than happy to guide us. That was the only reason we had managed to beat Mollenoch's army to the kingdom, and even that was only just barely.

Our return was met without fanfare. If someone like Meryll or even Sellas were with us, we likely wouldn't have gone unseen, but Samson and myself had largely made it our jobs to go unnoticed. As for Jebediah? Well, going unnoticed simply came naturally to him. His name (and not even his real name) was much more famous than his face. Of course his legend had also come with a general description, but that was hardly useful. Descriptions of heroes tended to be greatly exaggerated. If you went by the word of the average mouse, you would think that the humble farmer was permanently consumed by dark flames which which he had kept from burning himself through sheer intimidation.

Word spreads surprisingly quickly through the citizens of the kingdom, but not quickly enough, it would seem. Nobody appeared to have any idea what had happened. So far as they knew, we hadn't yet met the enemy forces on the field of battle, and that once we did, we would surely defeat them with relative ease. I could only imagine that at least a few of the mice had their suspicions that something was amiss. Namely the watchers of the overcity, who could surely see the many augmented mice standing in tightly knit formations in the distance. This wasn't the sort of view that most had access to, however, and no alarms were risen. They had likely just assumed that this was all a part of the great hero's plan.

Jebediah had quite a good view as well from his place outside the heavy, closed gates. His expression was implacable as always, and one would never think from it alone that he was looking at a vast army of mice who were out for his blood. He could have just as easily been looking at the grass or the sky, even if the later didn't exactly offer much calm comfort these days, either.

He wasn't alone, of course. Myself and Samson were also there, standing at each side, slightly behind him. As much as I would like to claim that our own expressions were similarly stoic, I doubt that that would fool anyone.

"There sure are a lot of them." The farmer finally said, after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"Yeah. There are." I replied. There was another little pause as I struggled to find the right words. "You know, you don't have to be here. I know you feel guilty over those who lost their lives, but that wasn't your fault. You did everything that you could. Both Mollenoch and Gwendolynne said that they have no interest in hurting those who surrendered, and I believe them. I'm pretty sure they'd make an exception for you, though."

"I'm sure you're right." He nodded. "If I remain here, they'll surely kill me, and it will accomplish nothing." He actually chuckled a little at the idea, "If anything it might actually boost their morale a bit."

I nodded in agreement, but couldn't help but notice that he had yet to move from his spot. I was about to ask why, as was Samson, in likely far less polite terms, when he continued to speak. "It's funny. I can't say that I'm a particularly brave man. In my line of work, bravery tends to just involve foolishly defying the odds which inevitably catch up with you. I'm not one for grand, noble sacrifices, or giving up everything for a principle. Lives are far, far more important than principles, after all. Without them, principles can't even exist." He paused once again, also seeming to struggle to find the right words. "Have you ever heard about people finding themselves too scared to move, like when facing a powerful predator? Even though not moving would put themselves in even more danger? I think it's sort of like that, but also kind of, strangely, the opposite."

He looked out across the windy field, across the rows and rows of heavily armed frontline soldiers, many holding their simple pipe rifles but others carrying large weapons which even with their augmented bodies required both hands to lift. Near the rear a thin mouse in white was struggling to load their weapon, having placed one of the half-rings of ammunition draped over their shoulders into the top of it, trying to then wind it around, in preparation to fire. They bore an expression of visible, anxious frustration as it repeatedly jammed, only finally working when a comrade of theirs removed the belt of bullets, turning it around, at which point it effortlessly rolled into place. The still nervous civilian gave their helper an appreciative nod, but said nothing. Towering over them were the three dark lords, their eyes still empty and vacant, standing stiffly, awaiting their instructions. Beyond them sat the great metal platform, where the box headed Vania stood idle, and the half-machine Gwendolynne watched, eagerly. Further behind them stood their robed and masked leader, with the now animated Claire alongside his elevated, mechanical throne.

"I can't seem to bring myself to walk away." The farmer continued, with another chuckle, "It's funny, isn't it? Even now, I feel like I could effortlessly take as many steps forward as I wanted... well until... you know. But the very idea of stepping back, turning away? It feels completely impossible."

"You said yourself that it wouldn't accomplish anything." Samson said.

The farmer nodded in agreement. "Yup, I did and I very much meant it. It's funny, I never asked for this, and I was never really qualified. I just kind of did what was expected of me, and things naturally happened as a result. There was never any real chance of success, and, yeah, you're right. I shouldn't feel too guilty, not that a little guilt is such a bad thing. Things just happen sometimes. Pretty much always, in fact. I did what I could, and I struggle to think of how I could have done any better. This was always a fools errand, and I just followed along because, well... maybe because I'm just a fool."

He smiled a little wider. "But, all of those people in the city? They really believed in me. Counted on me. They gave a mission to me, and nobody else. They believed that a normal person like me was something special, and, well... I just can't betray that trust. I know that it's all over, in principle, but I still need to see it through to the actual end. What can I say? I guess I'm just not one to leave a job half finished, no matter how ill-advised that job might be." Jebediah said. "You two should go, though. You both helped a lot, but there's no sense in you dying here. Honestly, it's likely just my fool stubbornness keeping me from running away. There's no need for anyone else to share that fate."

"You're not the only one with a job to do." I said. "It's my job to enscribe the events of this war, and I wouldn't be very good at it if I left out the most important part.I guess I'm not one for leaving a job half finished, either." I sighed, "No matter how stupid that job might be."

The farmer gave me a polite nod, not the type to undermine anyone's decisions. Both of us then looked to the one-eyed mouse.

"What?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, uh, I was just wondering why you are still here... I figured that maybe you had some sort of speech to make?" I replied.

"Nope." He shook his head. "I can't say that I do."

I blinked. "Why, then?"

"I don't know..." He sighed, "Does it matter? I don't know why I joined you dolts in the first place, I don't know why I didn't run off at the first sign that nobody but me had any clue of what we were doing, and I don't know why I'm here now. Again, what does it matter? Clearly, I'm just an idiot, and prone to making terrible decisions. Isn't that enough?"

The farmer chuckled. "If you say so. I'm hardly in a position to judge the unwise decisions of anyone else, after all."

In spite of his earlier claims of having no sort of speech to make, it was clear that the the one-eyed mouse had something to say. "I lied to you. All of you."

"Really?" Jebediah raised an eyebrow, giving the matter some thought. "Hmm, you might need to be more specific. You've never been the most talkative of sorts, or quick to volunteer information, which, in truth, should make it easier to narrow down. Still, I'm coming up blank."

"My name isn't Samson. It's Samuel." he sighed.

The farmer looked to him, giving a slight nod, but clearly not understanding.

"Smirk?" The one-eyed mouse replied, clearly annoyed at having to state that nickname aloud. Still no response. "I used to be the court magician serving King Leon? I helped him summon the dark overlord which almost destroyed the kingdom?" Still more blank stares. "I tried to kill Jerin on several separate occasions?"

Jebediah frowned a little bit. "I'm afraid that I've never been one to follow local politics." He gave the matter a moments thought, smiled a little and shrugged, "Well, I can't honestly say that I approve of all of that... but I'm sure you had your reasons. All's well that ends well, I suppose. Who am I to judge?"

Samson, that is to say Samuel could only stare. "So, that's it? You don't even care that I've been lying to you since the moment we met?"

"Well, names aren't all that important." The farmer replied, lowering his head and sighing deeply, "Or so I would like to tell myself. You see, I also harbor a deep and terrible secret. One which I should have revealed long ago, but I was too much of a coward to do so."

Both myself and Samuel looked to him, both of us very much surprised.

"My true name, that is to say my birth name is actually 'Jeb'. The idea of a proper name requiring multiple syllables wasn't my fathers. It was my own." He shook his head, "I just didn't like it... 'Jeb' just sounds so flippant, yet it felt arrogant and disrespectful to undermine my own parents judgement in favor of my own. Instead I concocted this elaborate deception, and you were all innocent victims of it." He took a deep breath and smiled, "Whew, you know, it actually feels pretty good to get that off of my chest."

"What? Nobody cares about that!" Samuel sighed, shaking his head again. "So what, is that it? I just made some grand confession and it doesn't matter at all?"

Jeb frowned, looking slightly hurt. "That's rather hypocritical of you."

"How about you?" Samson, at least the man formerly known as Samson said to me. "You're the great historian... isn't the revelation that I'm actually some evil mastermind big news to you?"

"Um..." I fidgeted a little, avoiding looking at the obviously angry mouse who, to be honest, I was still just a little bit afraid of. "I might have... already known from the beginning."

The one-eyed mouse just stared and sighed, shaking his head. "Of course you did. I guess it never really mattered, did it?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that." I replied, "I'm sure it would matter a lot to some people. It's probably for the best that Meryll isn't here. I strongly doubt she would be nearly as forgiving of the whole business involving the attempted murder of the last hero."

Samuel chuckled a little, "Yes, I suppose you're right about that. It's a good thing that she isn't here." He looked up, eyes scanning the horizon, taking in the vast number of heavily armed mouse soldiers. "For more reasons than one."

A long silence followed, finally broken by the farmer who was calmly taking in that same view. "Well, confession is good for the soul, as they say. it's unhealthy to keep things bottled up. It's best to finally have them out in the open." He hmmed, "Still, after opening up like that, it seems a shame for the three of us to just die here..."

"Four. There are four of us." I said.

The farmer tilted his head towards me, looking rather confused before looking the opposite way over his shoulder. He let out a surprised squeak at the sight of Dave standing directly alongside him. It was rare to see him so flustered, but he quickly collected himself. "Um... has he been here all this time?"

"Yeah. He fell down into the sewers along with us, and survived without injury." I replied, to which the silent mouse nodded twice, presumably in agreement, but honestly, there was no real way to tell for sure.

"I... see." Jeb said, still adjusting to the unexpected presence of the strange ally. "Well, I'm glad to see that you are safe, but you should probably leave this place. You've been traveling with us for quite some time, but I, truthfully, should have sent you back to the city long ago. A battleground is far too dangerous a place for someone of your... condition." The farmer struggled a little bit to find that last word.

Dave once again nodded in agreement, but didn't move a single step.

"Didn't you hear the man? Go home! Otherwise, you're surely going to die!" Samuel growled at the blank faced mouse who responded with his usual reply. "I told you to leave!"

The one-eyed mouse roughly shoved the mute, naked male, or at least he tried to. Technically, I suppose, the act of shoving comes from the shover themselves, regardless of how effective it is. In this case, however, it wasn't very. Samuel seemed surprised by this, and tried again, not just giving a single forceful thrust with his paws, but putting his entire body into it, his booted feet digging through the dirt as he pushed forward using all the strength that he could possibly muster. Dave, however, simply watched obliviously. He might as well have been a brick wall, for both as much as he had moved and as much concern as he had shown over the 'attack'.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Fine, whatever!" Samuel panted, "Stay here and die, if you want! See if I care!"

Dave nodded twice in agreement.

"Well, good to see that that matter has been resolved." Jebediah said with a shrug, "As I was saying, it does seem like a shame for us all to just die. I don't suppose that there's anything we can do?"

"Sure. There are four of us, after all." Samson said, finally regaining his breath,, "All that we need to do is fight through their entire army, defeat three cybernetically enhanced dark lords, his two generals and finally beat Mollenoch himself."

"Hmmm... when you put it that way, it does sound like an awful lot of work." Jebediah nodded before looking to me. "You said that they showed you a lot of their weapons and technology. I don't suppose that you learned anything helpful?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Not really. There was just so much of it, and I'm not exactly an engineer. Most of the stuff they showed me was just terrifying." I said, "Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have a big, red self-destruct button or anything like that, which would shut down their entire army."

"A pity." Jebediah nodded. "I can see why they wouldn't build such a thing, as I couldn't really imagine what practical purpose it would serve, but it would have been incredibly helpful for us."

"It's possible that they weren't quite as forthcoming with their information as they implied. Any significant weaknesses could have been kept from you." Samuel interjected.

"That's certainly possible." I said, even if I was a bit skeptical of that fact. "Is there anything at all we can do? Maybe one of us could sneak away and get behind the army? Launch a surprise attack from behind?"

"With just four of us here, clearly in their sights, I'm sure they'd notice if a quarter of our group were to disappear. Maybe if there were ten of us, one could slip away, but I don't really see what one person could accomplish anyways." Samuel replied.

"Yeah, you're right." I sighed, "That's a stupid plan. We'd need something a lot more clever than that."

To my surprise, the one-eyed mouse shook his head. "No, I disagree. Clearly there is no clever plan that could overcome a situation like this. As I said before, if all it took was a clever plan to defeat an overwhelming force, nobody would bother to create armies." He actually smiled slightly, at least the portion of his mouth which wasn't always smiling did. "What we need is a plan so completely stupid that no sensible mouse could possibly see it coming."

"Hmm... that sounds rather challenging. I have no doubt I could come up with a perfectly average bad plan, but I don't think I'm creative enough to come up with an impressively stupid one." Jebediah said. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

"Well, there's always surrender. Hoping that they show mercy on us?" I replied. It was not a totally implausible idea. I imagine that it would go well for Samson, and Dave, at least but admit to being a little skeptical of how forgiving Gwendolynne in particular would have been towards either Jebediah or myself.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the smartest option." The one-eyed mouse nodded.

"Well I guess that's out, then." The farmer said, much to the confusion of Samuel before he clarified, "Oh, I'm sorry, we're still looking for the stupidest plan that we can think of, aren't we?"

To my surprise, Samson actually laughed. "Yes... yes, I suppose we are." he said before sighing, "Well, I guess that just leaves one thing: Rushing into the enemy, and hoping for the best."

"That certainly does sound like quite the stupid plan. I can't imagine anyone expecting it to work." Jebediah nodded, "I have little doubt that it will take Mollenoch by surprise. Still, I wish we had more than one combatant here."

"What, seriously?" The one-eyed mouse glared at him, "After all this, you still don't intend to actually fight?"

"What can I tell you?" The farmer smiled a little, "I have to be me."

"Well, if it helps, I could try to use my dagger a little." I said, "...but I can't imagine that I'll be very good at it."

"Congratulations. You both have accomplished the impossible: You've made the dumbest plan imaginable somehow even less likely to succeed. It's quite impressive, really." Samson smiled, "Oh well, On your orders, 'brave leader'."

Of course, Jebediah was never really the sort to give proper orders. He was just one to walk a path, and let others decide whether or not they chose to follow, and for whatever reasons, they usually did. Perhaps he was right. That he was just a fool, making him, ultimately, the perfect choice to lead a fools errand. That said, I've seen far too much evil done by intelligent mice to think poorly of fools. I know full well that there are far, far worse things that a person can be. As he stepped forward into the battlefield, towards the shining weaponry all pointed in his direction, today was no exception. All three of us followed alongside him.

<3~

Across the field, the shadow king watched the small group intently through his iron mask. "It would seem that I need for you to dirty your hands for me once again."

The cyborg mouse general smiled up to him from her place alongside his elevated throne, "That's okay." She said, "If they get too dirty, I can always just make myself some new ones."

Beep, came the predictable response from his other subordinate.

A pause. "So, you still choose to follow me?" He said.

Gwendolynne nodded and closed her eye. "To the ends of this world, and beyond."

Another beep of confirmation.

Mollenoch nodded as well. "Very well. Accept surrender from anyone who offers it, and see that they are unharmed."

The mechanical mouse smiled a little bit wider, asking a question which she already knew the answer to. "And what of those that resist?"

Another brief pause. "Leave none alive."

That was the moment that the forces of their shadow king should have began their final advance and claimed to mouse kingdom. Instead, all hell broke loose. A line of explosions tore through their front lines, catching everyone off guard. Naturally, those caught within the conflagrations were quite terrified, aside from the very few that were killed outright, and Claire was quite shocked herself. Neither the shadow king nor his generals showed any signs of concern, however. If anything, Gwendolynne looked to be unusually happy in regards to the sudden turn of events.

The flock had just begun another pass, but their element of surprise was lost, and countless weapons were then trained on the exposed airborne targets, only for the gunmen to find themselves pelted by a barrage of stones, arrows and spells which even their own impressive armor could do little to defend against. These didn't cause much damage, however, just enough to distract and briefly delay. That was when the countless, armed, technologically inferior mice swarmed in, shouting excitedly from all sides.

I could only look on in shock as one of the brown birds fluttered down to my side. "We are glad to see you are still safe, love. It took a little time, but we all split up and found the scattered mice. Some were more easily convinced than others, but we gave very impressive and rousing speeches to motivate them and awaken their inner warriors!"

Despite my obvious surprise, I couldn't help but smile. "Wow... I'm impressed. You'll have to tell me what you said later, so I can make a note of it."

Note from the future: They couldn't remember what they had said. Not even a little bit. I guess the reader will have to leave it up to their own imaginations.

"Your timing is perfect." I said.

"Hmm, not really. It feels like an hour ago would have been a lot better. It certainly would have saved us a lot of stress." Jebediah said.

"Yeah. Really, it was just short of the worst possible timing. I don't see how that could possibly be considered perfect." The one-eyed mouse nodded in agreement. The bird huffed in annoyance and flew away. It had more explosives to drop, anyways.

"Well, it would seem that the plan has gotten just a little bit less stupid. I'm sure we'll find a way to make it work, anyhow." Jebediah nodded, and he continued his walk forwards.

"Wait. If you don't intend to fight, what exactly do you plan to do?" I asked him.

He smiled in response. "The same thing I always do, I suppose: Blindly improvise my way through things, and assume that it will all work out."

Even Samson smiled a little at this. It was hard to argue, given the farmer's past track record. Both he and I had our own jobs to do, however, as we rushed off into the increasingly chaotic battlefield. I had no shortage of notes to take, and as for Jebediah? He simply continued his slow walk towards the enemy, as though he were taking a leisurely, summer stroll.

Mollenoch's forces immediately found themselves at a disadvantage. Their ranged weaponry had relied heavily on organized battle lines, and a clear division between ally and enemy. They not only only had bullets, but an abundance of explosives as well, both thrown and projectile based, which in a hectic battle would pose as much of a danger to their own allies as the enemy. Many still attempted to utilize them, often having little choice in the case of those armed with larger weapons, where the soldiers had little else on them. The results were as expected: Occasionally quite effective, but more often than not a mistimed or miss aimed shot would catch their own teammates, often themselves, in the residual blasts. This was just a temporary setback, however. The front line elites in particular were well versed in combat tactics and simply had to adjust, and still had their abundant strength and constitution, in addition to simpler melee weapons, which were significantly more advanced than anything from the mouse kingdom.

<3~

Augustus leapt across the battlefield, Tanzra atop him, stopping before a great, silver furred figure who was currently being bombarded by the birds explosives. These seemed to be have disappointingly little effect on the gigantic beast.

"Heh. He doesn't look that tough, does he, Augustus?" She grinned, reaching down to scratch the ear of the smiling cat. "Come on. Let's show that overgrown fur-ball what a real 'lord' is capable of!"

Tanzra raised her spear and the orange cat let out a loud battle-mewl and nodded his head, rushing forward towards the mechanically augmented Fury,

<3~

"Hmmm, I was hoping to face the shadow king himself, but it seems that this lady here insists on getting in our way." Reginald said, tapping his bat against his open paw.

"Indeed. Perhaps we should have come up with some sort of points system?" Archibald replied, tossing a stone ball up and down. "A way for us to figure out who contributed more to the battle?"

"Yes, that would have been useful, wouldn't it?" The batter nodded. "Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure things out later. In the meantime, we should probably deal with this. It's not exactly the opponent that I had planned to face, but it's certainly an impressive looking one."

"Oh, what opponent are you talking about?" A feminine voice asked from behind them, as both turned to see the rather confused, blind bard standing there.

"Ah, Miss Bard!" The pitcher said, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't even know where 'here' is!" She said with a smile and an awkward shrug. "Oh, sorry, if I'm interrupting anything, just let me know, and I'll go... somewhere, I guess?"

"Oh, no, not at all." The batter replied, "Your company is most welcome, but do try to keep your distance. This might get a bit ugly."

Annabelle nodded and grinned, even if she didn't really understand what 'ugly' meant. She took a seat where she stood, and removed the wooden instrument from her back. She then began to gently strum across its strings, as the two eternal rivals readied themselves for the battle to come.

<3~

"What an honor." Sellas smiled, giving a small curtsy. "I wasn't expecting to encounter a celebrity."

Midnight stared blankly in response, not acknowledging the words in the slightest.

"Your reputation stated that you were much more talkative. What a pity. I would have loved to exchange insights with one such as yourself, but then, I suppose this is hardly the time nor the place, anyways."

She was, of course, not alone. The remainder of the Starman cultists stood alongside her, although even with their recent training and improved gear, they failed to show even a fraction of her confidence.

"It is clear that the hand of the Devourer corrupts all that it touches." The older woman sighed and shook her head. before calling back over her shoulder. "There is no need to fear, my acolytes! We do not fight alone! The greatest force in the universe stands at our backs, and will surely lead us to victory!"

This bolstered the morale of the cultists significantly, even if only briefly. In the face of those terrible, green eyes lined with wires and circuitry it was difficult to believe that any sort of God could allow such an abomination to exist, much less one that was on their side.

<3~

"I guess that makes you my opponent?" Samuel asked, looking to the strange box-headed mouse. She stood as she always had, arms drooped to her sides, slouched, seemingly oblivious to his presence, or really the presence of anything else for that matter.

Beep.

"I... have no idea what you just said." The one-eyed mouse, sighed, "Well, I guess we should get this over with..." He paused and frowned, "Aren't you going to take out a weapon or something?"

Beep.

It was clear that she wouldn't. She wore no clothing or accessories of any kind. Nowhere to hide even the smallest of blades. She just stood, seemingly unguarded, not even taking a proper martial arts stance. Still, Samuel was very much hesitant. Maybe he knew that one doesn't obtain a nickname like "The Obliteratrix" for no reason. Maybe he knew that she wouldn't have risen to the position of General if she couldn't fight. Maybe it was his own fighting experience, his natural instincts telling him to be wary. Or maybe it was just his natural pessimism.

Either way, for whatever reason, no matter how open, helpless and completely defenseless the mysterious enemy may have looked, he had a strong suspicion that he was about to be in for a very, very bad time,

<3~

The shadow king himself stood and watched as his two generals rushed into battle. Well, maybe the word 'rushed' didn't quite apply to Vania, but it certainly did to Gwendolynne, as a long blade instantly extended from her inner wrist, and she launched herself forward at a blinding speed, propelled by jets of blue flame from her legs. She didn't so much run as fly cross the grass, laughing as she effortlessly cut through any mouse who stood in her way, slicing through shields and armor, turning mid-charge to launch a salve of rockets into a charging group, completely annihilating them. None could even lay so much as a finger on the general, but of course she had no real interest in those that she perceived as small fries. Her eye went wide as she saw her real target, the farmer casually strolling forward, scythe lazily swiveling across his shoulder.

"You!" She screamed at him in her semi-digitized voice. "You're mine, Reaper!"

The farmer blinked as the general rushed towards him at an impossible speed. Many of our nearby allies saw this, and some tried to come to his aid, only to be effortlessly cast aside, some more gruesomely than others. She was just about upon him, when suddenly the platinum angel found herself knocked off course, spiraling upwards before coming down hard behind the farmer. It was only her mechanically enhanced strength and reflexes which allowed her to land properly on her feet, with a deep skid in the earth. She looked down at her left leg, surprised by the deep gash torn in it, which had completely destroyed the engine.

"Hey," Meryll smiled, stepping up alongside Jebediah, a replica needle in hand, rested over her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late. Mind if I tag in here?"

Gwendolynne chuckled. "Sure thing. I've been having a pretty rotten day. I could use a good laugh."

The farmer smiled to the armored mouse as well. "Oh, not at all, but do be careful. She seems to be in a rather foul mood, for some reason."

"Heh. I always am." Meryll said, pointing the long, narrow blade towards her opponent. As for the mechanical mouse, with a flick of her metal wrist, a series of jagged teeth emerged from either side of the extended blade. With another subtle motion, an engine roared to life, the metal edges running along each side of the weapon so quickly that they were little more than a blur. The armored mouse backed up a single step, put off by the intimidating weapon for just a moment before grinning wide and charging the enemy general.

All the while, Jebediah had continued his walk through the enemy forces. He largely went unmolested. Many of the cybernetically enhanced mice had seen him and considered taking a shot, but they ultimately failed to do so. Some were distracted by other combatants, and some were clearly afraid to, convinced that if they raised so much a paw against him, their very souls would be consumed when he inevitably cut them down. For others, maybe it was something more primal. An innate sense of destiny, and a knowledge that this wasn't their fight. Even as mice on either side fell and died around him, even as explosions rang out from all sides, the army practically parted to allow his continued walk, where a tall, masked mouse stood to meet him.