The Forum Fan-Fic

[Delthion]

Excellent!

[Gonff the Mousethief]

Look, a whole month later than promised! Well, here is the fourth chapter! I didn't get to use a whole lot of you, but I believe I managed to get everybody in it this time. Chapter 5 will be much more action packed than this one, so sorry for that. And Dan, I was going to send this to you to help check over it, but this was the last day I could because I am having surgery tomorrow and will be out until Monday, when I have a full day, than another one Tuesday, than school. So yeah, very sorry about that. Nevertheless, enjoy!


Chapter 4

Many cries from babes and Dibbuns echoed in the night sky. Tears dropped and heads sunk from the older Abbey folk as well, who sat in shock in the small woodland clearing. Over the treetops, as dark as they was, smoke rose, giving an awful and terrible reminder to what had occurred only hours ago. Gonff looked around at the others. Sky was caressing the heads of horrified youngsters. Peri was looking at the broken wing of James, while Wylder and Treejumper had on a solemn rock together in tears. Jukka was pouring some cold water found from a nearby brook on Faiyloe to wake her, but to no avail. The blue fox turned to look at his bunkmate Tammo beside him. The poor hare seem depressed beyond speaking. Ever since the Belltower he had not uttered a single word, and it seemed he wouldn't for a while more. But above all, Matthias sat with dirt staining his royal Habit, feeling the worse out of all of them. Over and over he mumbled, "Why? Why me, why us?" And "How?" Those were questions not only on his troubled minds, but on everyone's. Gonff sat their tearing up at the thought of all the ones lost at the Abbey. Dan, Soren, Dotti, all of them now dead. But above all, the Abbey itself was gone. How many seasons had it stood, untouched and defending off all who tried to take it over. It was a symbol of hope in Mossflower, some place for tranquility and peace. But it was gone. So were its records, people, walls, and meaning. There was nothing that could be done. That fact alone caused Gonff to curl up like most the rest, and simply, sadly, cry.

Amidst his crying, the blue fox heard a muttered gulp. He turned with his blurry vision to look upon the awakening figure of Faiyloe, now covered with brook water.  Jukka quickly stopped the pouring and let the drowned soul recover.     
"W-, w-, what happened? Where are we?" she spouted out, looking around franticly at the deep foreboding woods. The squirrel also noticed the majority of her abbey family crying, or in deep sorrow.
"After you were knocked out, we got as many as we could to safety, but," cut off Jukka as she wiped her face on her bloodied, dust covered habit.
"The best warriors we had got pushed back to the wall. There, the enemy shot something at it, hitting me from the air and ripping the wall down." James added, sighing in the thought of the loss of life. Faiy sat up, her wide eyes now become a murky ocean like the others. Cornflower and Jukka went over and held her as she bawled louder than any of the others. The blue fox Gonff gazed up at them, and felt another wave of sorrow hit him. Never in his life had he been this helpless, hurt, grieved, or empty.

   An hour passed, and the black night sky still stood, with the light smoke and cheering slowly fading from the upper tree line. A few of the younger Dibbuns faded off to sleep, while a majority still sat whining. The abbey dwellers now just sat in silence. An occasional sniffle, or a cough of defeat sounded, but no one spoke. Now was not a time of fellowship, but of suffering. And because of that, not a single one of them noticed the sleek, silent creature moving just behind their backs. It stalked its way around their small circle of sadness, gathering why they sat where they did. In both its hands were two axes, already dripping with blood, hidden however by its slick shadow. Even if one of them had seen it, they would not be able to make out what it was. Finally, after a good couple rounds, the creature stopped right behind the sulking Cellar Keeper and Friar; Delthion and Groddil. In the small amount of moonlight there was, its axes gleaned as it lifted them up into the air.
A loud crack was heard by everybeast, startling them. Groddil let out a quick shout as a burly Otter suddenly appeared on the log next to him, with two bloody axes stuck right between them.
"Roc?" Gonff asked in a hush tone.
"Aye mate, it be me," the Otter answered with the same style of voice. "Say, what happened? Why are you all out o' the Abbey?" he asked.
Still a bit shocked by the sudden surprise of Roc appearing, many of the beasts gave a worried glance to one another. Quickly after however, James sat up with his broken wing now wrapped in some torn cloth.
"We were attacked by this massive hoard of these black, things. They started to burn and overrun Redwall, so we managed to get only us out. The fighters stayed back, but were crushed to death when they shot boulders and knocked the wall down."
The otter captain sat horrified by the sentry's tale. Tears too began to fill up in his eyes.
"When, when did this happen?" he asked, still struck by the horrid news.
"No less than a few hours back," Mhera responded to him.
Silence occurred for a few minutes more as Roc processed the information.
"It must've been the same band, or some o' their stragglers then," the otter mumbled. A couple of the keen eared Redwallers turned towards him.
"What do you mean?" asked Gonff. It certainly didn't seem that just a group of stragglers had taken over the Abbey. The sorrowful face of Roc turned toward his fox friend.
"Earlier, just before dark, me Holt was attacked. They came and burned down everythin' we had. All our boats, tents, supplies, all o' it. We tried to fight them back, but I couldn't even tell what they were. Before I knew it, I had been pushed so far back, that no o' me crew were still with me. All I could hear were the screams, the agony, and the pain. So I tried to get here fast as I could, but still had to be stealthy. Shocked me to find that the main group had already a made it here."
Sighs of pure grief echoed through the group as they started mumbling off their sadness to the Holt leader.
"Roc mate, so sorry to hear that. Those were some very fine folk," BatLord responded, coming up and patting him on the back.
"Yes, I had a, a great deal of friends there," added Russa, with a following, tearful nod from Amber.
"Th-thank you all. I just hope a couple o' them made it out."
   Just like before, silence endured on the camp. Sky sat, Dibbun covered, asleep along with Mhera, Cornflower, Groddil, and Mask. Those who had not drifted off either lay staring into the rich night sky, or tried to hide their sniffling and bygone tears. Roc, once the fox friar had fallen asleep, went over to the tree by which Gonff sat. The blue fox's eyes were not only blood shot with pain, but also of fear. Roc gave him a hard pat on the shoulder and sat next to him.
"Of all the generations of Redwallers that I have studied about Roc, read and learned about, they all seemed to be able to ward off an attack. Cluny, Gulo, the Marlfoxes, in the past we defeated all of them. Why now have we failed? Why have we failed like this?"
The Otter knew how much Gonff cared for Redwall. He was no warrior, but he would try to preserve it at all costs.
"You know mate, I have no idea. It seems you all had the best o' the best out their fighting. I thought the same o' me Holt. No way could we just be all killed like we were. But it happened. Maybe, it was you all chosen because you all can get it back. Restore it, make it greater than ever before. I know this here lot, and they ain't the ones that back off too easily now," Roc responded with a calm and quiet tone. He turned and saw Gonff now staring into the sky, pondering what he told him. His blue furred face changed from a slight smile, to an almost tearful look. Soon that jumped to a spiteful gaze, but that diminished to just a basic pondering look. A look, which with much practice, always is a sign of something great.

   Suddenly, while Gonff sat thinking, a large rumble of the bushes sounded. Wylder, who had been sunken behind a rather large tree, stood with sword drawn and slowly made his way over. Those watching slowly scooted back not knowing what may be hiding so close. A sudden gasp came from the bushes.
"W-Wylder," it pushed out. James hobbled up and ran to the nearby bush, pushing back the sword-drawn squirrel.
"BANYA!" he screamed, pulling the almost unrecognizable Otter from the foliage. She was bruised so bad she could barely see, scars littered her body like her own fur, and about half of her rudder was gone and bleeding out. Peri and Faiy ran to help her up, while Delthion helped up another creature who was battered beyond belief.

   Both were laid down with their heads on a patch of piled fall leaves. Water was poured on both, revealing past the thick layer of red dust a fox on the verge of death and an Otter coughing in utter pain.
"Rus! Hold still!" Peri said as she poured some of the brook water mixed with a couple of local herbs over two large gashes on both of his bruised legs. "Russa! Go and grab some of more dandelion! Hurry now! Amber, refill this flask please," she yelled while holding pressure with a doc leaf to the cut end of Banya's rudder. The rest who were not fetching errands for the stressed out nurse gathered around and looked in awe at their friends. Whatever torture had been brought upon them in the few hours between the Ravaging of Redwall and their return to the simple folk had been much more than either of them deserved. It seemed Banya had been carrying Rus, with both out of breath from obvious running. But back at the Abbey, something had been brought upon them (Besides a wall of course).

   Rus started to fall unconscious, but Peri smacked him in the face and kept tying old habit pieces around his legs. Banya lay still, gasping for air while James hushed her down. So many emotions ran through everybeast as they all looked upon the situation as hopeful, but did not want their own to die in front of them like this. The two kitchen assistants made it back in stellar time and delivered the ingredients to Peri.

   After a good ten minutes of tying, rubbing, splashing, and, well screaming, Rus and Banya started to mutter out information.
"Th, they took us all," the fox spat out, trying hard to keep down this awful elixir poor Peri shoved down this throat.
"Aye, beat us with our own weapons. Me axes took me rudder, and were used to torture Soren."
The group stopped in shock. Sky had to sit down as tears already started to fly from her eyes. But the two continued.
"Leatgo, they beat him until his whole body was purple, yet he still w, would not wake," Rus continued while nodding for more water. "Rain was taken away and to the pond since sh, she would not stop yelling and crying to Leatgo."
While more cries sounded, Banya told the next part of the tail.
"They had us hung by our feet in Great Hall. Ash, oh Ash. Him and Sandpaw kept, kept mocking those, black things. Finally the one ordering what was going to happen to each of us had gotten enough, and sliced the footpaw off the poor soul. And, and they chopped Sandpaw's tail off as well. Both of them went unconscious and were brought down to Cavern Hole. The same thing happened with Dan and those two who got left behind when you all left, Ashleg and Daskar."
By now, Gonff was back by his tree sulking over the news. Delthion and James stood tearing up, while Cornflower, Rachel, Jukka, and many others started to bawl over the shear horror happening at their Abbey. Roc was leaning against another tree, hitting as he heard what they had done to Leatgo. Wylder went back to his hidden place where cries rang out. But above all, Matthias stood his head bowed and tears just slipping down. If anyone was to be broken, it was him.

   All of it, the crying, suffering, pain, it angered the blue fox. No one had ever gotten away with taking over Redwall and torturing their friends. No. One. If what Roc said was true, then they were going to take it back and free their friends.
"You said they were not dead, right?" Gonff called as he stood and walked over the sufferers.
"Those in there with us were on the brink of dying, but they still were breathing," answered Rus. "I can't say about those who were brought elsewhere, can you Banya?"
The Otter shook her head.
"No, the only one I saw who was taken away yet still alive was Rain. And that was while we escaped. The way we did that, was I had a spare knife in my boot. I was able to shake it out and let if fall to my hand. Rus was, was next to me, so once I was freed I cut him loose. But the guards saw us, and we had to run for it. I carried him since his legs were in such bad condition, and we escaped by running over the fallen wall. Rain was there by the pond, with those same black creatures dunking her in and out with only a gasp in between. Rus said he saw you all start to run when the Ballista fired, so we followed that way and fell when we got here," Banya answered.
Gonff nodded to the both of them, trying hard to think while many more cries exhausted from the mouths of the Redwallers.
"Then we must go back for them!" Gonff shouted up and over the mourning. This caught their attention. "Redwall was founded as a symbol of hope in Mossflower, built by friends, allies, and family. So what if the Abbey is gone? We still embody that! And what would we be showing if we left those who defended our lives, our own brothers and sisters back their? What hope would be brought to them?"
A puzzled and doubtful reaction followed. But it was soon dismayed as the mighty booming voice of Matthias echoed Gonff's thoughts.
"He is right. An Abbot is supposed to protect and offer the welcome feeling of Redwall to all those in need. But it seems that we, us, are now Redwall. No longer to we have an Abbey, but we have each other. And no matter the risk, we should never leave us, or anybeast behind."
Slowly, the hurt, burdened, horrified group nodded their tearful heads.
"Aye t'the two o' you!" Del shouted, jumping up from his log.
"I'm with you!" Cornflower surprisingly said, even as tears still streamed down her face. More and more shouts from those such as Faiy, Rachel, BatLord, Jukka filled the air. For the first time all night, the Abbot smiled.

   Gonff felt a cold paw grab his shoulder. He turned and saw the beaming figure of Tammo standing behind him. A proud glance came upon the Gatekeeper.
"Looks like you made some friends then ol' lad," Tammo told him. Gonff's eyes swole a tad as he patted the back of his Hare friend.
"It looks that way, don't it?"

   After all had agreed to going and saving their friends, James hushed down the group.
"Alright, alright everybeast. Now, this seems like a piece of Redwall history. And whenever a pact like this was made, a list of names was compiled of all the warriors who fought. Now, thanks to Gonff here, there is some extra room here on this old Loamhedge document for all of us to sigh our names. One at a time, come line up and sign your name, then we shall discuss how we should approach this."
Everybeast nodded in agreement to the owl sentry and lined up behind him. But as James began to write with the extra quill he had tucked away in his habit, Rus tried standing and fell right into him! A long line was scribbled onto the ancient paper. A few coups of laughter came from the line as James started to complain.
"Rus! Oh, now look, you ruined my signature!" James busted out has he raised himself from the ground and back to the log where the document was set.
"Well maybe you should try barely having legs to use!" Rus yelled back at him.
The owl stood amazed as the rest of them kept signing the paper without letting him redo his own.
"Hey, let me correct mine please! This will show generations away the fine sentry I was!"
"Well they will see it quite well from that line," Mhera tossed back to James, followed by the first good batch of laughter in a long time.

   Now, after that was completed and stored away in Roc's sack, James accompanied by Roc and Gonff stood in the center of the group.
"Okay, first things first. Who will be our fighters, and who will be the rescures?" James asked. The hands of Wylder, Faiy, Roc, and even Tammo popped up. "That is a fine batch. Each of you will be set to go to a different point of the Abbey with a group of rescuers, which will be the rest of you. Now, where were all of them kept again?"
Banya lifted her battered self up and against a tree.
"Some were in Great Hall like me, me and Rus. Others were taken to Cavern Hole, the Dorms, and to the Pond."
James nodded. With a twist of his bandaged wing, he pointed to the fighters.
"Wylder, you will take your group to Great Hall and free those there. Faiy, you take only, let's say three to the Dorms and free those. Tammo, I will go with you to Cavern Hole in case many of those black things are hiding down there."
"But where were most of them at?" Gonff called out to Rus, hoping he saw something while being carried over the rubble.
The fox took a few moments before recalling the memory.
"Most of them were on the Front Lawns burning extra things they had found, as well as the monster ballista, creating a massive bonfire."
Gonff winked and him and continued to James.
"Well, than we must enter behind the main Abbey building. If not, than the majority will see us and we will be wiped out again. Plus I doubt they will have guards anywhere other than where the prisoners are kept."
James quickly traced the Abbey on his paw and saw how the entrance would work.
"Okay, that should be suitable. The East Wall gate it is then."
"Oh, and James mate, I'll get Rain. I can sneak well and dive in the Pond. There I'll give those brutes a surprise. 'An say, what kind of weapons do we have to use? I o' course got me axes, but what of you, or Del, or BatLord?" asked Roc. James once again struck a thinking pose and looked around at all of the dry eyes around him.
"Well, we have two axes, a sword from Wylder, two knifes from Banya and Faiy, and I guess kick boxing from Tammo. We could, just, um. There is, well,
James started to worry a bit, for this was not something he had planned.
Gonff saw the distress of the sentry and thought quickly of some solution.
"Whoever goes to Great Hall, grab Martin's Sword from the farthest wall. It should still be there. And whoever goes to Cavern Hole, sneak through the kitchens and arm with knives, forks, whatever is still left. The Dorm people, I guess just stick really close to Faiy."
James let out a sigh as everyone started chatting about which way group they would join. While in the midst of that, Banya called Gonff over.
"I don't think me and Rus will be able to make it. Wel'll just stay back here with Sky and the Dibbuns. Here, take this knife and go with Faiy please. Eul probably will be kept in the attic, so remember to check there," the Otter said with a small smile.
"Will do Banya. And don't fear, we will make it back here. Every last one of us."

   The group of Redwallers, minus Sky, Banya, and Rus, all lined up and began their way through the quiet Mossflower trees. It was dead of night, and their attackers were celebrating their triumph. But it was also dead of night to another group, who were about to take the misery brought upon them and turn it into something far greater.

[Rosie Willowwater]

Great chapter Gonff!

[The Skarzs]

I seriously doubt some of them will still be alive after the description of the beatings they received. . .

[Lord Daskar]

Poor Dan, trapped in Cavern Hole with the self-proclaimed King and fake abbot.

I think you messed up here, "while Wylder and Treejumper had on a solemn rock together in tears."

My favorite part was James' scream of horror.

[Russa Nodrey]

Awesome chapter, Gonff!!!

[Lady Ashenwyte]

Great chapter.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Nice chapter dude! Accents could use a little bit of fine tuning, and the stutter needs a teansy tweak. The description of what happened to the beasts now in the Abbey was a little bit tricky to follow at points, but most everything else was pretty straight forward, and flowed well. Good luck with your surgery Gonff, God bless!

[Søren]

Well, now I feel less bad for the ever-darker Mafia stories I have planned. Wow dude, geeat job! I bet the next chapter will be great too!

[Lady Amber]

Great chapter, Gonff!

[Gonff the Mousethief]

Great chapter Gonff!

So glad you enjoyed! Totally didn't write six of the eight pages in two days and mess up millions of times or anything  .

I seriously doubt some of them will still be alive after the description of the beatings they received. . .

Who said any of them were still alive? Banya only saw a few breathing and taken away. Those black things may have a taste of single foot badgers or unconscious squirrels.

Poor Dan, trapped in Cavern Hole with the self-proclaimed King and fake abbot.

I think you messed up here, "while Wylder and Treejumper had on a solemn rock together in tears."

My favorite part was James' scream of horror.

Yeah, I didn't even notice that at all. I'll be sure to fix it! And I truly liked that part as well. This chapter had a lot of James jabbing for sure  .

Awesome chapter, Gonff!!!

I must be doing something good to get three exclamation points! Thank you so much Russa!

Great chapter.

Why thank you! (Sorry about the foot by the way. Gotta add that creepiness somehow).

       Nice chapter dude! Accents could use a little bit of fine tuning, and the stutter needs a teansy tweak. The description of what happened to the beasts now in the Abbey was a little bit tricky to follow at points, but most everything else was pretty straight forward, and flowed well. Good luck with your surgery Gonff, God bless!

Thank you so much Dan! Yes, I have a usual way of placing in those stutters and accents, but I guess I really fell through on those things this time. And those descriptions were quite spontaneous, but that will clear up next chapter. Promise. And my surgery did go well by the way, so thank you very much for that! I'm still stuck on a pudding and yogurt diet so I don't rip any of my teeth out, but I'm recovering!

Well, now I feel less bad for the ever-darker Mafia stories I have planned. Wow dude, geeat job! I bet the next chapter will be great too!

Oh, I can't wait to read those Soren! Thank you so much, I really am happy you enjoyed it!

Great chapter, Gonff!

Thanks so much! I gotta say, I wish you and Russa could be sisters in the story, because there are so many times I wish to use 'the sisters' instead of 'The otter and the squirrel'. But oh well, gotta work with what you got!

[Jukka the Sling]

Really cool chapter.  A couple times it was tricky to tell who was talking, but overall, good!

[Dotti Dillworthy]

I say, impressive chapter as always, Gonff!
Though I wonder what kind of fate has treated me and Bonaparte who are supposedly trapped below the ruins. I hope it's kinda bittersweet or something.

[Rosie Willowwater]

Hey Gonff, do you know when the next chapter will be out?

[Matthias720]

Finally got caught up on this. Nice work, Gonff!