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IX

Remember When This Was Easy?

It couldn't be a more perfect day. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, warming up all the hares and providing much-needed radiance to the gloomy area. The waves from the sea were crashing upon the rocks and the sandy beaches nearby, the sound of which was soothing and could put even the most frustrated beast at peace. No ravenous crows had tainted the sky--at least not yet--so that only left the seagulls that were far away at sea, turned away from Blackheart's fortress after his soldiers spent so much time hunting them all down. The sky was clear today, the light blue color going quite nicely with the yellow sun and the occasional white clouds that drifted along the way. No toads were nearby, no Red Sand vermin, no pirates ships bobbing up and down in the sea--nothing perilous at all, short of the unfinished fortress that was permanently put out of commission. Anybeast walking outside right now would be relishing such a nice day, getting the most out of it while they still had time. But Sergeant Stanno Langrove wasn't just "anybeast." He was a member of the Long Patrol.

And he was covered in blood. The hare was tired from all the fighting and the chaos that ensued not too long ago. And by the time Blackheart was dead, the hare just wanted to lie down in the sand and take a nap. But he couldn't, not with all these bodies around that needed to be disposed of. He helped some of the gallopers toss the vermin bodies out to sea before he finally collapsed and sat down hard against a wall, breathing heavily as he tried to force himself to stay awake. He looked down at his tan tunic with a few tears in it before looking down at his paws. The sergeant exhaled as he rubbed his paws against the ground to get some of the blood off. He knew he should've been celebrating with some of the corporals, reminiscing about all the soldiers he managed to kill, about all the neat sword tricks he performed while dueling with the vermin. He knew he should've been crying or feeling a lump in his throat, upset that he just lost a good friend or somebeast he knew. But he wasn't. He was just tired. So tired that he was tempted to fall asleep right now.

...Until he glanced across the bailey and saw Captain Becker sitting down on a bench as he looked down at Captain Saronso's corpse. The corpulent hare's ears were lowered, and the captain looked like he was under a state of depression. He didn't appear to be crying, but Stanno had a feeling he was forcing himself to hold all the tears in. The sergeant glanced around the bailey and saw more dead hares lying on the ground. He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, finally remembering why he was tired. The hare didn't seem to notice Sergeant Issarck as he walked over to him and looked down.

"You doin' all right?"

Stanno looked up at the other sergeant and exhaled as he slowly stood up. "I'm fine...I guess. Jus' a li'l exhausted."

"You didn't get wounded, did you?"

Stanno shook his head. "...How long's he been over there? Becker, I mean."

Issarck shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't think he'd be so h'upset t'be honest with you. Didn't those two hate each h'other?"

The other sergeant scratched his head. "Doesn't seem like it. ...Maybe one of us should go talk to him, wot?"

"Well, I would, but," started Issarck, before he picked up a fox's corpse with a hefty grunt, "we still got bodies to dump in the sea. Prob'ly shouldn't try to cheer up ol' Becker reekin' of fox blood."

Stanno sighed. That was just Issarck's way of saying he didn't feel like talking to him because the conversation would be too awkward.

"All right, I'll talk to 'im."

The two sergeants departed, with the younger one walking across the bailey so he could reach the captain and try to bring his spirits back up. He tried to ignore all the other beasts around him, the slaves hugging each other after being freed, the Long Patrol soldiers arguing with the Shadows, the soldiers trying to patch up or lick their wounds, and those digging the proper graves for all the hares slain today. Stanno just headed straight for Becker, stepping over the corpse of a searat with no ears. He approached Becker slowly from his side, but the plump hare didn't seem to care. He just flicked his eyes over at Stanno, blinked, and went back to looking down at Saron's body. Stanno looked down at her corpse and scowled. He hadn't seen her die, and he had no idea that Trilden mutilated her neck so horribly.

"Shit...I'm sorry," he immediately said, before he wound up talking about how bad the wound was.

Becker didn't say anything or move. Stanno didn't say anything either. He just stood there, looking down at Saron and looking over at Becker. The sergeant really was sad when beasts like Saron died, but after being in the Long Patrol for over four seasons, he didn't know what to say any more when it happened. "I'm sorry" wouldn't work. "Get over it" was just ignorant and callous. "He/She went down fighting" didn't mean anything to him anymore. Sometimes, Stanno wouldn't say anything. He'd just approach a friend who lost somebeast, give him or her a hug, and then leave. So Stanno felt very confused right now. There was a brief and very awkward silence that followed; neither hare had said anything for an entire minute. Stanno twiddled his fingers before he looked at Saronso's body again and tried to remember the good memories and traits about her. But before he could say anything, Becker finally opened up.

"She hated me..."

Stanno had never heard Becker speak so softly before. Even when the hare told him about how he lost his niece to a bunch of ferret mercenaries, Becker still spoke with a strong, boisterous voice. Now it sounded like he didn't even know how to talk.

"She told me...she said those very words just a few hours ago, Stanno..."

"You know she didn't mean it."

Becker blinked and sniffled. "Why wouldn't she hate me, Stanno? I never respected her...I was rarely nice to her...I always teased her. I was an arsehole to her, Stanno. It's that simple."

Well, at least we both agree on that, said Stanno, in his mind. Sometimes he hated being a Langrove. His family always had a bad habit of running their mouths. Stanno, thankfully, was the one hare who knew when to keep his mouth shut. Stanno stared at Becker as he let out a shaky breath.

"You...you wanna know wot I regret the most, Sergeant?"

"That you were so mean to her?"

"No...well, yes, but more than that."

Stanno saw the plump hare close his eyes for a while. When he opened them back up, there was a warm tear running out of each of them. He wasn't bawling or making any noise, just letting the tears flow from his eyes and run down his face. Stanno's ears started to droop. Even if the captain wasn't sobbing hysterically, he couldn't recall Becker ever shedding tears like this.

"I never said I was sorry," he said, his voice cracking.

"Becker..."

"Not once...not once did I say those words to her. An' if I did, I was drunk or I didn't mean it. No matter wot somebeast does to another beast, somehow, they can still make up fer that...they can still say that they're sorry."

Becker wiped some of his tears away before he finally looked up at Stanno Langrove. "I-I can't do that now. It's too late. Saron's dead. She died hating me, Stanno...she'll never know how sorry I am now..."

Becker exhaled as a few more tears began to run down his face. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his left paw and shook his head.

"I really do hope your brother and sister learn from my mistake...I really do hope that they tell you how sorry they are for all the annoying, cruel shit they've done to you. 'Cos there may come a time where they'll finally want to apologize...but it'll be too late."

Becker looked back down at Saron's corpse as more hot tears began to come out his eyes. Stanno just stared at Becker, unsure of what to say next. So he chose to say nothing, and simply turned around and walked away. For one reason or another, those words seemed to bite at him, gnawing away at his fur and flesh like dozens of giant ants crawling all over his body. Stanno suddenly felt like he should try to get his brother and sister to be nicer to everybeast, and to stop being such jerks. And yet, something told the hare that the possibilities of that happening were very low. Stanno huffed and shook his head, wondering if a day would come where Morson and Frenquil would be put in the same position as Becker, only they were looking down at his corpse. As the hare was having his mull, he heard Major Watson shouting at the Crowslayer and two of his cronies. The sergeant quickly hurried over to the squabble before it became hostile.

"I warned him...I warned him it was a mistake usin' you an' yer team!"

"It's a little too late now. The hares are dead, so bury their bodies and be done with it."

"What the 'ell's goin' on, Major?"

The major turned and glanced at Stanno before huffing. "These renegades are tryin' to get us all killed, wot! Some of our hares are dead 'cos of this beast an' his murderers!"

"What are you talkin' about?"

"Friendly fire," said the Crowslayer simply.

"There is nothing friendly about killin' your own teammates!"

The Shadow with a thick accent shrugged. "Couldnae be helped, mate! Too much of a kerfuffle 'n' wotnot!"

"If you knew you were shootin' yer own hares in the back by accident, you should've stopped firin' an' came off the wall to help us!"

Stanno growled as he stepped dangerously close to the Crowslayer. "So that's wot you mercs do now? You don't care about anybeast, do ya? You just wanna get yer reward an' then leave, no matter how many casualties you leave behind!"

The Crowslayer faced Stanno now and blinked. "This is not our fault at all. Your 'wise' and 'noble' leader is to blame. You wanna know wot that badger made us do? He took us all into a room with blackberries all over the floor and told us to squash 'em all with our footpaws. Then he threw in three times as many blueberries and told us not to squash a single blueberry, even by mistake. Well, guess wot? There were too many fucking berries on the floor. At some point, there were more blueberries than blackberries. How do any of you expect us not to crush a few blueberries by complete accident?"

The Crowslayer shrugged. "It was bound to happen. Get over it."

"I won't get over it! Who's to say you won't slay twice as many hares the next time we're in battle?! You and your Shadows are all safe up in the--"

"Safe?"

Tillus' voice was rising. Stanno started to back away; he could sense a fight about to break out and didn't want to get punched in the jaw first.

"Wot d'you mean, 'safe'? I lost five Shadows today! My second in command is dead! A young hare barely even old enough to hold a crossbow got impaled through the back! So stop standing there actin' like you're the only creature who lost somebeast today!"

"I suppose that's why yer friend here killed that rabbit? Blackheart roiled you so much by slayin' your hares that you were willin' t'kill an innocent slave just to get to 'im, wot!"

Dusk, naturally, said nothing. He simply turned his head slightly and stared at Major Watson. Even with the cloak and hood on, the hare could still see Dusk's pale eyes. The Crowslayer was about to say something when the hare with the thick accent chuckled.

"So we slew a few fuckin' hares! Not our fault yew an' yer stripedog cocked everythin' up an' yew responded by whinin' like some cunt who took it up the arse."

And that's when the punching began. Sergeant Stanno saw it coming a while ago; he was on top of the major trying to pry him off the loudmouthed Northlander in mere seconds. The Crowslayer just stood there and watched, blinking a few times to see if his Shadow was capable of giving Watson a proper beating. But after a while, the hares noticed that the fight was pretty one-sided, and Watson was doing a majority of the punching. After nearly breaking the Northlander's nose, Tillus exhaled and finally hopped in, grabbing the Northlander by the ears and pulling him out from underneath the major. With a frustrated yell, Stanno jerked the major backwards, and the two collapsed onto the ground together. The major grunted and thrashed about as he tried to pry away from Stanno's grip, but eventually he gave up and stared at the Crowslayer and the Northlander.

"I'm disappointed, Major. I expected your loudmouth sergeant over there to attack Errol. Guess the emotional toll of today is really getting to you."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!! Don't think this will go unanswered! You hear me?!"

The Crowslayer scoffed while Errol slowly grunted as he began to get to his footpaws. He stood up and wiped some of the blood off his face before spitting on the ground. A fragment of one of his teeth came out, but the braggart simply sniffed and ignored it. He glanced over at Watson with a scowl before he walked away with Tillus, knowing he couldn't best the major in a fair fight. Sergeant Stanno finally let go of Watson, and the belligerent hare stood up and started to pant and wipe the dirt and other filth off his clothing. Stanno glanced up at Dusk, who was looking back at both of them with those pale eyes of his, as though he wanted to say something.

"Now wot's your fuckin' problem?!" Stanno asked.

Dusk moved his head only slightly, blinked, and then turned around and walked away. The sergeant shook his head as he stood up and sighed. Meanwhile, the major was still breathing heavily as he wiped his clothes.

"Fuckin' sick of those Shadows an' that leader of theirs. I swear...one day, they're gonna be the death of Urthquake. We should get rid of 'em now before anythin' else happens."

"And by 'get rid of,' you mean...?"

Watson didn't answer. He just flicked his eyes at Stanno before he exhaled and walked away, leaving the sergeant alone again. This was certainly turning out to be an eventful day already. A tyrant and his army slaughtered, over twoscore hares lay dead on the ground, one of Stanno's captains had finally broken over the death of his "friend," and now Stanno had to worry about those Shadows and his major clashing with each other again. Stanno rubbed his head and started to walk along the bailey when somebeast started to laugh at him.

"Well now, looks like somebeast is havin' a guid mornin', wot!"

It was gallopers Elonv and Lakler again, both of whom were carrying vermin corpses on their shoulders so they could properly dispose of them at sea. Stanno rubbed his eyes.

"You two seem rather jolly today, considerin' wot just happened."

Lakler laughed. "That's exactly why we're jolly mate! We're still breathin', ain't we? Wot kinda soldier wouldnae be happy t'be livin' after all the chaos that jus' 'appened?"

Elonv slammed his vermin corpse on the ground and huffed. "Lakler's got a point mate! No sense in all this fightin' with each other. We rescued a buncha slaves, didn't lose too many hares, and we slew a merciless tyrant an' his whole gang, wot! Sure, we lost some friends, but that was bound to happen. We cry, we bury the bodies, we get passed it."

Stanno looked at the gallopers and envied them. They made it sound so easy, yet everybeast here was making everything complicated. Perhaps Elonv and Lakler were the lucky ones; they didn't have any family, and they didn't have many friends in the Long Patrol. Maybe that made it easier for them to accept losses. Or maybe they were no different than the Shadows and the Crowslayer. Stanno was seriously hoping for the former; the last thing he wanted was for Lakler and Elonv to turn into sociopaths like the Shadows. In some ways, maybe Elonv was right. They had lost hares before, lost friends, lost family, even lost battles. Why shouldn't they get past it all now?

"Hey, Lakler! Let's switch bodies; there's no way I can get this weasel all the way up those stairs."

The Northlander shrugged and dropped his body. "Wotever ye want mate!"

So Lakler walked over to the corpse of a weasel whose neck had been violently ripped out, while Elonv walked over towards the dead rat Lakler was just carrying. As soon as Elonv hauled the corpse over his shoulder, he sniffed and groaned with disgust as he dropped the cadaver back on the ground and backed away with his nose plugged. Lakler looked at the disgusted hare and started to howl with laughter.

"Sorry mate! Forgot t'tell ye he shit hisself, wot!"

"Wot d'you mean, 'forgot'?! You know I hate this fuckin' smell!"

"We've been 'round battlefields fer several seasons now, Elonv, an' ye know 'ow much the battleground stinks after we get through slayin' all these vermin! Not like they c'n help themselves when they're dead bodies loosen their bowels. Ye should be used tae the stench by now!"

"Don't mean I like it! C'n we trade back?"

"Nope!"

The Northlander laughed again as he lifted the weasel's heavy body and slowly began to carry him towards the stairs. Elonv looked down at the rodent's corpse and grimaced before looking up at Stanno with some form of hope.

"Absolutely not," he quickly said.

Elonv groaned as he picked up the body and slung it over his shoulder. He turned his head away from the cadaver before swearing to himself.

"Fer fuck's sake..."

Then Elonv started to walk away. Stanno blinked as he stared at the galloper quickly hurrying to the stairs so he could dispose of the corpse as fast as possible. All these hares were going through a myriad of feelings, yet Elonv's biggest concern was tolerating the stench of a rat's soiled trousers. Stanno didn't understand how he and Lakler did it. Were they always this optimistic and carefree? Stanno didn't know. And the more he thought about it, the more it irritated him that he couldn't be so carefree either. He shut his eyes and exhaled. The weariness was beginning to set in again, and the sergeant felt like he just wanted to lie down and sleep. Maybe he'd wake up and everybeast would be back at Salamandastron celebrating and eating huge feasts and getting drunk. Maybe his brother and sister would finally start being nice to everybeast. Or maybe--

"Yore the Long Patrol, aint'cha?"

Stanno turned and faced the mouse who was a slave at one point. But he was free now and no longer had to live in fear of Blackheart or any of his minions ever again.

"Yeah, Sergeant Stanno Langrove."

"I see. I just thought with the clothes you were...well, you know."

"A slave like you."

"Right. Anyways, I just wanted to thank you and all the hares really. A lot of us were on the verge of giving up hope...then that badger over there came along and just...it was like a miracle. All this time we were thinking about...um..."

"Takin' your own lives."

"Yeah...but you guys came and now we're free."

"...You don't sound very happy."

The mouse looked down and rubbed his left arm. "Well, my brother died last night. And after all the shit Blackheart did to us, I was kinda hopin' to kill him myself."

"Wot happened--"

The mouse pointed behind him to the head crusher device. Stanno grimaced when he saw the rodent's mutilated corpse with all the flies buzzing around it. The hare looked back over at the mouse before he exhaled and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry."

"He has a daughter, y'know? Cute little thing...always askin' him to tell her stories about his life back at Redwall...always beggin' me to teach her how to swim like an otter, even though she knows I can't swim well. How am I supposed to bring that back to her?"

"You don't," Stanno said bluntly.

"If I don't bring the body back, she's gonna think I'm lying to her and that her father just ran off and abandoned her."

"If you do bring the body back, you'll traumatize her. Is that what you want?"

"No, but..."

The mouse sighed heavily and shook his head, realizing he needed to change the subject. "Ye got a family?"

"Yeah, my brother an' sister are part of the Long Patrol too."

"No, I mean yore own family. A son or a daughter maybe?"

Stanno started to lower his ears. His family never even crossed his mind until just now. "Uh...got a wife, yeah. A son too."

"When'd you last see 'em?"

"Last season," he lied.

"...If I were you, I'd try to see 'em more. Considering what's happened here today, if you don't see 'em sooner than later, you might not get to see 'em again until the afterlife...and I'm sure you don't want that."

Stanno didn't say anything. He just stared at the mouse until he finally walked away so he could try to thank other members of the Long Patrol. Now the sergeant was forcing himself not to break out in tears. He couldn't remember the last time he saw his wife and son, the last time he picked berries and caught fish with his leveret, or even the last time he mated with his loved one. He was starting to forget what her scent even was after being surrounded by the stench of death and the noisome smell of sweaty, dirty hares who don't bathe as much as they should. His brother and sister told him countless times to erase those images from his mind; they were only a distraction now. And they were right. Even now, Sergeant Stanno wanted to drop his weapons and just leave. He wanted to go home, sleep beside his wife, play games with his son and teach him how to wield swords so he could defend himself in the future. ...But he couldn't. He made a pact just like the rest. It was his duty to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, and to rid this country of all evil.

He didn't even realize he was walking to his brother until he noticed that he was only a few feet away from him. However, before Stanno could say anything, Corporal Bonson walked by and sparked the lieutenant's attention.

"Hey, Corporal!"

Tike blinked and glanced at Morson as he walked over to him. "Wot is it now, sir?"

Morson blinked and paused. "You saved me back there. ...I didn't even see that arsehole 'til after you got him."

"Yeah."

"....Guess you got some balls after all, Corporal."

"I guess so."

Stanno stared at Tike and Morson as they got quiet. Suddenly, Morson mumbled and slowly turned his head away from Tike as he folded his arms. He meekly kicked the dirt a few times, almost as if he were embarrassed that the corporal saved his life. He flicked his eyes at Tike multiple times as his only way of communicating, and as his only way of saying the words Morson needed to say. Tike scoffed and shook his head.

"You're welcome, arsehole," he said bitterly.

The corporal walked away pissed off at the lieutenant again, while Morson simply remained in the same position. Stanno stared at his older brother as he shrugged his arms.

"Wot?"

"You almost got slain today?"

"Yeah, an' Corporal 'Morals' saved me. Wot of it?"

Stanno looked at the hare's arms and noticed that they were quivering slightly. Morson was trying to hide it, but Stanno could tell as he looked at his brother's fur.

"You all right?"

"I'm fine," Morson snapped.

"Then why are you shakin'?"

Morson blinked and looked down at his arms. He unfolded them and scratched his right ear. "S'nippy. We are by the sea, in case you've forgotten."

"...Are you sure you--"

"I said I'm fuckin' fine, Stanno! Why the fuck wouldn't I be?!"

"'Cos...forget it."

He didn't have time to deal with his brother. Stanno quickly walked away from the lieutenant before he started running his mouth. He was tempted to talk to his sister instead, but if she had the same attitude as his brother, then there was no need to bother. Stanno stared across the bailey and could see Frenquil talking to another lieutenant. She wasn't dead, and she didn't look wounded. That was all he needed to know. As Stanno dragged his tired footpaws along the ground, tempted to walk into a compound so he could get some sleep, he came across a group of hares who were crowding around Stink Mouth and a hare lying on the ground. He knew he should've ignored the group entirely, but curiosity got the best of him, and he could hear one of the hares panting heavily. So Stanno walked over to the small group of six hares and stood in the middle of them all. Then he looked down and swore quietly.

"H-hey...hey, Sarn't! Come to give me support, eh?"

Sergeant Oflal was lying on the ground breathing deeply, his stomach cut wide open from Trilden's cutlass. The medic was on his knees trying to fix and soothe the sergeant's wound, but Stink Mouth looked just as tired as Stanno did. He didn't even seem to be trying anymore.

"Yeah...support," said Stanno quietly.

Ozgin and some of Oflal's other corporals were looking down at their leader, hoping he'd pull through. But some of them had come to the same conclusion as Stanno. One of the corporals couldn't even look at his sergeant this way; he was sitting against one of the palisades silently sobbing to himself. Ozgin seemed to be fine; she was looking down at the sergeant with a stern expression, whilst another female hare was looking down at the bleeding creature with tears in her eyes. Sergeant Oflal took a long breath and grunted when the hare across from Hollis wrapped more bandages around the sergeant's abdomen.

"This isn't working, Lieutenant! He won't stop bleeding!"

"I know," said the medic, in a strange, sullen voice.

"We-well can't you seal the wound? Ju-just heat up a sword; won't that work?" asked the teary-eyed female corporal.

"No. Even if that stopped the bleeding, the shock could kill him anyway."

Sergeant Oflal let out a weak laugh. "Oh, don't you worry ol' gel! Hehe, no need for tears; it's a scratch! Just...it-it's a big scratch, but a scratch nonetheless!"

The sergeant turned and faced Lieutenant Hollis Brennly with a weak smile on his face. "C'mon, Stink Mouth! Tell 'em I'll be fine. I'll be...I'll be up on my footpaws in a week or so, yeah? Ain't like I lost a limb! All my organs are still intact! So...Stink Mouth?"

The medic wasn't saying anything. He slowly looked at the sergeant's stomach wound and saw more blood soaking into the freshly applied bandages. Even if he wasn't bleeding profusely, he'd end up getting an infection and he'd die a much slower, more agonizing death. The chubby medic blinked as he turned and looked at Sergeant Oflal in the eyes. He'd done this before several times. But Stanno could tell that he still wasn't used to saying the words.

"Yore going to die."

The female corporal sobbed and started letting out her tears. The other corporal across from Hollis stopped trying to bandage up Oflal and sat down on the ground hard. Ozgin swore and turned around, placing her paws on her head and looking like she wanted to punch a wall. As for Stanno, he just stared at the mortally wounded sergeant and the medic treating him and started to breathe heavily. This could've been me, he thought. Shit...that could be me lyin' on the ground bleeding out. Sergeant Oflal stopped smiling and looked at the medic, suddenly afraid. He looked like he wanted to yell at Stink Mouth, or plead for him to say something different. He looked like he was about to start crying hysterically and cursing fate for putting him in this position. The sergeant took several shaky breaths and shut his eyes as the fatigue set in. He took a deep breath and winced when he felt more pain in his midriff. Then he opened his eyes and whimpered quietly.

"Is it gonna hurt?"

"Wot?"

"Does it hurt when you die? I don't...I just--"

"No, it's...yore gonna be a li'l cold at first, but after that, everything goes warm...an' you fall asleep," said Stink Mouth.

Nobeast else seemed to be saying anything. Ozgin still wasn't looking at her sergeant. The crying female corporal was hugging the other male corporal who tried to save Oflal. He was more shocked than saddened, but ultimately, he felt the same as Stanno: tired and upset. Stanno exhaled as he looked at Hollis. He couldn't understand how that hare could go through this time and time again without losing his sanity. Surely the medic had a breaking point? Everybeast did, even Urthquake. And yet, despite Stink Mouth's sorrow, something told Stanno that he'd be over it in another week or two. He might even be fine come tomorrow.

"Do you have any family?"

Oflal shook his head. "No."

"Not even--"

"No, Stink...Hollis. Jus' all the beasts around me."

Sergeant Oflal started to cough up blood and groan in pain as the wound irritated him even further. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Hollis' left paw as if he were hanging off the edge of a cliff and clutching the paw for dear life.

"You...y-you said it wouldn't hurt."

"It won't if you stop fightin' it."

"You fuckin' said--"

"Go to sleep, Oflal. ...Just relax and close yore eyes. You'll be fine."

Stanno watched as Hollis rubbed Oflal's paw and tried to comfort him. The dying hare took a few deep breaths and stopped fighting it. He could already feel himself becoming tired, and he knew he'd enter a sleep he wouldn't wake up from.

"...Do you...d'you think it's nice? The Dark Forest, I mean."

"I'm sure it is mate...I'm sure it is."

"Yes...a nice, peaceful forest...peace..."

Hollis held onto the sergeant's paw until his chest stopped rising and falling, and his paw went limp. The sergeant slowly closed his eyes and sighed. And then he was gone. The medic blinked and looked down at the lifeless paw still wrapped in his paw before he slowly released it and let it fall to the ground. The female corporal who was crying had begun to settle down now that she had accepted that her sergeant was gone, but she couldn't stop the tears from coming out. Stanno kept staring at the body and breathing heavily as he was bombarded with dozens of feelings all at once. He had always wondered how he'd die, and he had always hoped for a peaceful death, or at least dying after he said goodbye to his loved ones. But as he stared at Oflal's corpse, all he could think about were all the grisly, disgusting, vile ways he could be sent to the Dark Forest. Worst of all, if he died like Oflal did, he wouldn't be able to say goodbye to his wife or son. Ozgin finally turned around after her sergeant passed and exhaled. She still didn't look very upset; she must've been ignoring what just happened.

"Well...guess we should all be glad Sarn't Oflal voided his bowels before he went, wot? Last thing we need is to bury him with shit caked all around his bum."

The four hares stared at Ozgin with shock or disgust, especially Stanno. Ozgin looked over at the hares and shrugged.

"Wot?"

"You're a fuckin' bitch, y'know that?" said Stanno.

There goes that mouth again. Stanno knew he probably shouldn't have said that, or at least he should've used kinder words. But he said it, and everybeast heard it. And unsurprisingly, his choice of words got the corporal a bit upset.

"An' who the fuck are you t'stand there an' talk to me that way?!"

Here we go, thought Stanno. The corporal stomped her way to the sergeant and got in his face.

"Wot, you think jus' 'cos I ain't bawlin' an' my eyes ain't red that I don't give a fuck my sergeant's dead?! You honestly think I don't care?!"

"Ozgin--"

"Shut the fuck up, Lillen! All you cunts should be ashamed of yerselves--you think this is wot the Sarn't wanted: us whinin' and sobbin', thinkin' about how he died? You think he wants us to mourn him? NO! He would want us to fuckin' remember him for who the fuck he was, fer all the kind shit he did fer us! You all disgrace him for actin' like this an' for not fillin' yer minds with all the happy thoughts about him!"

Stanno said nothing. He normally didn't resort to getting into fights with females, but right now, especially on a day like today, he really wouldn't mind smashing his fist into Ozgin's nose.

"As for you, Sarn't, you don't ever call me that fuckin' word again, wot! I don't care if yore a sergeant; I'll fuckin' smash yer teeth down yer fuckin' throat!"

I'd really like to see you try, thought Stanno. This time the hare was smart enough not to say those words out loud. But he still couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Corporal--"

"Fuck you," snarled the corporal, before stomping away.

The sergeant closed his eyes and slowly turned his head away, trying his best to stay calm before he ended up saying the wrong thing to another hare who didn't deserve it. Lillen and the male corporal saw Ozgin stomping away in fury and slowly stood up. They wiped some of their tears away before they began to follow her.

"We'll go talk to her," reassured the male corporal.

After the two corporals left, Stanno slowly opened his eyes and looked down at Stink Mouth, who was still looking down at Oflal's body. He sighed and sat down on the ground before looking up at Stanno with a scowl.

"Was that really necessary?"

"...I guess not."

Hollis shook his head. "You Langroves and yore fucking mouths. ...S'pose we're all a bit emotional here today though, wot?"

"Somewhat. D'you know how many we lost?"

"Includin' Sarn't Oflal? Fifty-five."

Stanno's eyes grew wide. "You gotta be shittin' me!"

The medic shook his head. "No. Might be fifty-six, depending on the condition of Jadden's arrow wound. But who's to say."

Hollis sighed as he stood up and picked up Oflal's body as well. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta tell the gallopers to dig another grave."

The sergeant watched as the medic began to walk away with Oflal's body, leaving him alone once again. Sergeant Stanno shut his eyes and planted his paws on his scalp, ready to fall down and sleep until all this mess was over. Not just collecting the bodies from Blackheart's fortress, but all this violence and death that seemed senseless at this point. Stanno exhaled as he slowly walked along the ground, even though he seriously wanted to stay still until he lost consciousness. Somehow, Stanno ended up walking along to a compound that had a few hares inside and the Badger Lord himself. Maybe I should...no, fuck it, he thought. Keep walking.

"Sergeant!"

Ignore him, Stanno thought.

"Sergeant Stanno!"

Keep. Walking.

"SARN'T!"

FUCK!!!

"Wot is it, Needles?"

"We need somebeast else's vote on something right now. Come on!"

Before he could even protest, the major was already dragging him into the compound. Besides the Badger Lord himself, Colonel Clannin and Sanjoy were there, and Captain Qwuintuff was present as well. Nobeast else was inside the compound except for a slave sitting against the wall with a huge belly. Stanno looked down at the slave as the major led him right to her and let go of his arm.

"What...does she have a disease or somethin'?"

"I'm expecting a babe," said the female mouse quietly.

"That's...that's good, right?"

"No, it's not, Sarn't! These vermin spent months planting their seed inside of her. Months! An' now she's pregnant," said Qwuintuff.

"Which means she's goin' to have a hybrid," said Clannin.

"So...so what, do you guys intend on cuttin' the babe outta her?" asked Stanno.

Stanno looked at the other four hares, none of whom answered. Urthquake was still staring at the mouse, deep in thought over what he should do about this slave.

"I can't...I can't have this child. This...this monster..." said the mouse as she touched her stomach.

"Absolutely not! That thing will eat you alive from the inside out, wot! Probably tear you in half once you deliver the li'l devil!"

"You're not helpin', Captain!" shouted Needles.

"I don't care wot kind of babe she's having. We're not cuttin' it out of her; that's insane!" shouted Stanno.

"I agree," said Sanjoy. "Even if he or she does grow up to be evil...it's a babe. Wot honor is there in slayin' a helpless beast before it's even out of the womb? And let's not forget, you guys are suggesting cutting open this mouse's stomach! Hasn't the poor beast been through enough already?!"

Clannin looked at the other colonel and nodded. "You have a good point, Sanj. Cutting her open is ludicrous; she probably won't survive the process."

"Thank you!" shouted Major Fenson.

"...But I do not think the babe should live."

Stanno scoffed. "So we let this mouse have the child, and then, wot, we just bash the babe against a boulder?"

"Why not?" said Qwuintuff casually.

"'Cos it's a fucking babe, Captain!" shouted Sanjoy.

"Sanj...think about it. This isn't just some vermin babe. This is going to be a hybrid: half-mouse, half...wotever. We don't even know which creature's seed is the one that got her pregnant. Could be half-rat, half-ferret...you've any idea wot a creature that's part mouse and part fox would look like?" asked Clannin.

"We can't do this. We're not doing this. It's three against two; tell 'em, sah! Killin' this babe is dishonorable and savage!" shouted Needles.

Urthquake wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at the rodent with a plump stomach. The badger blinked, his eyes still red from being exhausted. He looked into the mouse's eyes for a brief moment, and then watched as she turned away and looked down at the ground as a tear fell from her left eye. Then the badger grabbed the mouse's left and right arms and looked at her wrists. She had multiple scars on them that were just beginning to heal, and something told Urthquake that they weren't caused by the vermin. The blue-striped badger closed his eyes and let out a heavy, deep sigh.

"You don't want to suffer anymore," Urthquake said grimly.

"...I just...I want to be free," said the mouse quietly.

The five hares stopped arguing and stared at the large badger. He stood straight up as he picked up his axe.

"M'Lord...wot are you doing?" asked Needles.

Stanno could hear it in his voice. It sounded more like he was saying, "No...please don't do this."

"I truly am sorry this happened to you...but this is the only way to help you and get rid of that monster growing inside of you."

All the hares' eyes grew wide when Urthquake began to raise his axe.

"I know you'll understand."

"NOOOO!!!" shouted Needles.

Urthquake slammed the axe down. With a sickening squish and crunch, the mouse was nearly cut in half by the badger's vicious, enormous weapon. Urthquake closed his eyes and exhaled harshly as he was coated with warm blood. Some of it splattered onto Stanno and Needles as well. The hares looked down at the beast the badger just slew and wanted to vomit. All except for Qwuintuff. Stanno panted and gagged, feeling bile rising up his throat. He slowly backed away from the Badger Lord and exhaled, forcing himself to swallow whatever vomit started to fill his mouth. Sanjoy whimpered while Major Fenson took several deep breaths and finally spoke to Urthquake.

"Wot the fuck did you just do?!"

"...This...this is not wot..." started Clannin, before he lost his train of thought.

"I can't believe you...wot the fuck is wrong with you?!" shouted Sanjoy.

Urthquake didn't answer. He kept his eyes shut for a moment before he exhaled again and opened them back up.

"You just killed that innocent mouse!"

"I put her out of her misery," he said, before slowly removing his blood-stained axe from her body.

"We all agreed that the babe had to be dealt with, didn't we?" asked Qwuintuff.

"That does not mean we wanted the mouse to die too!" shouted Clannin.

"Wot else could Urthquake have done?"

"NOT THIS!!" shouted Needles.

The hares couldn't stop freaking out. Stanno just stared at the mouse's cadaver and whimpered again as he occasionally glanced up at Urthquake. He seemed hurt by his decision, but his face was still sullen, as if it were something he needed to do for the sake of protecting others. The sergeant wanted to open his mouth, but he truly didn't know what to say now. And after his encounter with Ozgin, something told him that keeping quiet was a better option.

"Out of the dozens of things we coulda done, you chose to slay this beast jus' so she wouldn't have the child?!"

"Exactly. It's that simple."

"You didn't even give that babe a chance. It could've--" started Sanjoy.

"It wouldn't have. We all know that," the badger interrupted.

"How many fucking times are you gonna resort to killin', sah?! Do you ever bother to try an' use your brain anymore?"

That irritated Urthquake. The badger looked down at the three hares shouting at him and snorted at them. He started to walk towards them, his massive footpaws thudding against the ground and making it shake. The two colonels and major, despite their bravery, were smart enough to know when to back away from a pissed-off badger. So they all began to slowly walk backwards until Urthquake nearly had them all pinned against the palisades.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?! Some scum, some vermin, some picayune scoundrel only fit to be sent to the Hellgates?! I am your fucking Badger Lord! I make all the decisions and you all follow them!"

"You had no right to take that slave's life, sah! You can't keep--"

"That...thing inside of her would've turned into another vicious warlord! You all know that! Is that what you all want: to be running around Mossflower several seasons from now scooping up limbs from trees and skinless corpses from the beaches because the babe we spared grew up to be a monster?! And even if it didn't, who would want a fucking hybrid child? Redwall? Pah! It'd be Veil Sixclaw all over again! The hares still stationed back at Salamandastron? They wouldn't have the time or patience to look after it! These slaves? All these slaves would look at that babe and be reminded every single day of all the beasts who tormented them, who starved them, who raped them! That hybrid wouldn't have fit in anywhere and you all know it! It would've ended up dying anyway!"

"...So this is wot we do now: slay innocent vermin babes before they allegedly turn into the next Cluny the Scourge?" asked Needles.

The badger snarled. "Don't you dare take that tone with me! None of you said one single thing back when I slew that pregnant ferret in Mossflower! Nobeast said anything about it, except for Corporal Bonson! I slew her for the same reason I slew that mouse over there: to prevent another monster from being born and scorching the earth with its evil! It's that simple! The fact that you're getting upset now as opposed to getting upset all those days ago just shows how much of a hypocrite you all are!"

"...You had no right," said Needles quietly. "You know you didn't."

Stanno just stood by and watched as the badger and three hares kept arguing. Captain Qwuintuff was doing the same, feeling very awkward as he scratched his head and looked back and forth at Stanno and the arguing creatures. The sergeant stared at the group shouting at each other before looking over at the mouse who had nearly been sliced in half. The blood was oozing out of the massive wound, and all the fluids within her belly seemed to be spilling out uncontrollably. The sergeant blinked and dragged his footpaws along the ground, walking out of the compound nonchalantly. The other four beasts were so busy shouting that they didn't even notice him leave. Once the sergeant exited the compound, he was done. He didn't talk to anybeast else; he didn't get himself into more arguments; he didn't try to rectify any situations. He walked over to a wall that was far away from every other beast, and then sat down. The sergeant closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath as he tried to relax. He had never felt so glad to sit up against a sturdy, uncomfortable wall before. The hare was just about to fall asleep when he heard somebeast's footsteps, followed by the sound of the same beast sitting down beside him.

"Go away, please," said the sergeant, almost drowsily.

"Hmph, last I checked, you don't own this wall, Sarn't."

Stanno opened his eyes and saw Sergeant Honward sitting beside him. "Oh, it's only you. Come to bitch an' yell at me too, wot?"

Honward shook his head. "Jus' tryin' to relax is all."

"Hard to do with all of this around us," said Stanno, spreading his arms out to show off all the mess within the fortress.

"True...but you know how some warriors are. Beasts like Dusk an' the Crowslayer? They don't care about the thrill of it. Hell, stuff like this irritates them. They just fight and kill 'cos it's an urge they can't ignore. But they like to be silent, all nice and neat. And after they finish, they move on with their life."

Honward sighed and cracked his neck. "But then you got beasts like Urthquake. They get excited to kill, excited to fight; they feel compelled to spend their whole lives in battle. Just sayin' the word or even coaxing them to think about it stimulates them. Not fightin' irritates them. And when they do fight, heh, they enjoy the hell out of it. They're loud, they kill as many as they can, they don't care who sees 'em, hears 'em, or even joins in. And once the battle's over and all the screaming stops, well--"

"You're left with a huge fucking mess that needs to be cleaned up," finished Stanno.

Honward chuckled. "More or less, wot!"

Stanno shook his head. "That's the thing, Hon. I'm gettin' tired of all these messes, of all this madness, of all--"

"Slow down now, I know where you're goin' with this, wot! And let me tell you, sayin' you wanna retire is the last thing you wanna do! It's a curse. 'Cos sometimes, somebeasts retire permanently."

"Not retire, just...just settle down. I guess everythin' that happened today finally hit me. I still want to be a member of the Long Patrol, but maybe I could be stationed at Salamandastron. I could be a scout and patrol the mountain and coasts, searchin' for intruders or incoming pirate ships. I wouldn't be movin' around the country so much either, so no need to worry about gettin' lost."

"And you'd be able to see your family more often."

"...That too."

Honward sighed. "I can't do that mate. Scouting 'round the mountain's a bit too boring for me. I can understand why you'd wanna do it; it's not as dangerous as walkin' alongside Urthquake and gettin' into wotever battles he starts."

"You and Tike never considered doing it?"

"All Tike and I need are each other. As long as we're still buddies, we'll be able to get through anything! 'Sides, a lot more exciting to go 'round explorin' the country and bein' with the Badger Lord, wot!"

Stanno sighed and started to close his eyes. "I suppose so..."

Honward glanced at Stanno and frowned when he saw the hare's head slowly turn the other way and lower slightly.

"Are you seriously about to sleep right now?"

"I'm tired...jus' let me nap for a li'l while. Wake me back up when the funeral starts."

Honward shrugged and stood back up. "All right then."

Sergeant Honward walked away from the exhausted hare, which led to Stanno exhaling with much relief. He tuned out the sounds of everybeast talking, shouting, crying, whooping with joy, laughing, and making other raucous noises. Suddenly, everything was silent, and the sergeant finally lost consciousness and began to dream...