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Chapter One
La RocHas JoUrNalFroM the Sacred Book
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of the Mus:
I, the mystical and revered La Rocha,
look down now upon the remains of the onceprosperous city of Atlantia. It has been a
fortnight since the battlea mere two weeks,
yet it feels like two thousand years. Below
me the city smolders. The factories no longer
produce, and the streets no longer bustle with
Atlantias fortunate citizens, who so recently
went about their business, blissfully secure in
the guarantee of safety and prosperity.
Safety purchased at an unspeakable cost.
The rats who dwelled here were not directly
to blame; they were ignorant to all of it. But
then, if they never thought to wonder or
investigate, do they not share a fraction of the
guilt? The Atlantian citizens only knew that
their emperor, Titus, had arranged a peace
accord with the feral cats that provided the
rodents with comfortable lives and untroubled
minds. They never bothered to ask the true cost
of that peace.
Now the city is overrun with the refugees
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seen Titus since the bugs had sealed him within the
beautiful palace, but he could imagine the craggy old
rat at turns pacing in fury over his imprisonment,
then dissolving into weeping ts, grieving the loss of
his city and mourning the end of his regime.
And maybejust maybelamenting the wickedness
of his death deal with Felina.
Today the crickets had been relieved of their duties;
they had been ordered to take their leave by Firren,
who now stood before the palace with Hopper and
Prince Zucker.
Hopper was still smarting from the insult delivered
by the mouse in the town square. The resentment
in those little black eyes stung more than any battle
wound Hopper had endured. Did he really deserve
such contempt?
As he looked around at the waste and the chaos, it
was hard to be sure that he didnt. Most of the grand
buildings of Atlantia had been stormed by rodents
desperate for shelter. Some had been set ablaze and
were still smoldering. The stalls and carts of the
market were toppled and broken, and the streets
were lled with litter of all sorts. Nearly everything
of value had been stolen, swept out of the city in
the exodus, and the rodents who remained cowered
in their hiding places or crept through the city with
frightened expressions on their gaunt faces.
Zucker, who always seemed to know what Hopper
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Chapter Two
WHeN tHey arrIVed IN the town square, a
crowd had already gathered. Hopper felt a plummeting
in his chest at the sight of the small mouse whod
sneered at him earlier. Many of those present were
refugees whod been freed from the camps during the
raid. He recognized Driggs, the hefty young squirrel
whod fought beside him in the hunting ground. He
also spotted the brave old lady mouse, whose name
Hopper had since learned was Beverley. During their
trek from the refugee camp she had faked an injury
in order to steal the guards dagger. She still wore the
apron shed used to hide that cleverly appropriated
blade, but now it was lthy and tattered. When
Hopper caught her eye, she smiled at him; the kindness
in her expression did wonders for his morale. But he
noticed that she was much thinner than shed been
two weeks ago. Her eyes seemed tired, and she moved
gingerly, as though every action was taxing to her. . . .
Living in the aftermath had clearly taken its toll on
her. On all of them.
Only a few who had gathered were Atlantian
citizensmost of that population had quit the city
the minute they learned of the end of Tituss secret
peace treaty. Still, a handful remained, among them
the merchant whod once tried to sell Hopper his
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Chosen One,
There is still so much to be done.
Have faith and be strong, for I
shall come for you.
It was that simple. Faith. And from it, strength.
What these rodents needed was something to believe
in. Maybe if they had that, everything else would follow.
Hopper looked out over the waiting crowd. He must
make them believe in him. And for that to happen, he
needed to believe in himself.
There is much to be done, he boomed, the words
of La Rochas note echoing over the crowd. We must
have faith and be strong. We have liberated the camps,
but clearly, this has left us with an even greater battle
to be won. We need to have faith . . . in ourselves,
and in one another. If we work together to rebuild,
a whole new Atlantia awaits, where all rodents will
be safe and welcome. But if we fail to unite in this
worthy cause, we are all doomed to live in fear. Or die
in it, he added silently.
The rodents murmured among themselves, mulling
this over.
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Take us there!
Yes! Lead us, mouse!
Where is this wondrous place?
Hopper beamed. Its far away from here, but we will
make the journey together! We will seek sanctuary
there, and I know they will allow us entry.
How do you know? someone in the crowd
demanded.
Well, because . . . , said Hopper, preparing to
reveal to this gathering the shocking truth. Because
although I came from above, like most of you, I have
since learned that I was actually born of tunnel
dwellers. And not only was I born of them, but as it
turns out . . . He paused to allow a modest shrug.
I also happen to be their foretold leader. I am the
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Chosen One of the Mus tribe. And it is to their
fortied dwelling place that I am going to take you.
The cheering stopped abruptly and was overtaken
by an angry gasp, followed by a grumble of disbelief.
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Hes a Mus? someone shrieked.
He wants to take us to live among monsters!
another cried out.
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The Mus are barbarians, a hostile voice shouted.
And that would make their Chosen One the most
barbaric of all.
Id rather take my chances with those mangy cats!
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The Mus are Atlantias greatest enemy!
They most certainly are not!
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Chapter Three
PINkIe?
The name escaped Hoppers lips in a whisper. For
the briefest of seconds he thought his sister was
approaching through the crowd. But as the stranger
drew nearer, Hopper could see that this golden-caped
creature was not his acid-tongued, bite-rst-askquestions-later sibling.
Sage! he cried, jumping down from the platform to
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meet the leader of the revered Mus Tribunal. Hopper
hadnt seen the council members at the camp raid
or the hunting ground, and with good reason. The
three elders were philosophers, not warriors. Hopper
assumed theyd remained behind in the safety of the
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Mus village, strategizing and planning for whatever
would arise in the aftermath of the battle.
He grinned now, fairly certain that the one thing
they most denitely had not imagined would arise was
that Hopper would be bringing a whole gathering
of displaced Atlantians and nomad refugees to live
among them while the great city was being rebuilt.
How are you? Hopper gushed, throwing his arms
around Elder Sage. Hows Pinkie? Hows Pup?
When Sage replied with a grim shake of his head,
Hopper felt the panic seize him.
Are they hurt? Hopper asked anxiously. Didnt
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I believe in. But Pinkie has gone too far. Shes turning
the village into a police state. Were practically living
under martial law.
Two more terms with which Hopper was not
familiar. He guessed what it all boiled down to was
just Pinkie being Pinkie. Now that shed put herself
in charge, she was ruling with nothing less than an
iron paw, and there would be only one law: hers.
Pinkies always been the bossy sort, Hopper
observed.
Oh, this is much, much worse than bossy, moaned
the beleaguered elder. She has taken an if-youre-not_
with-Pinkie, youre-against-Pinkie stance. Many Mus
citizens have been forced to go against their beliefs
and principles just to keep from being turned out into
the tunnels to fend for themselves. He paused for a
long moment, then placed his tiny paw on Hoppers
arm. We were hoping you might be able to talk to
her and convince her to just . . . to just
To just get over herself? Zucker nished.
Precisely! said Sage. We followed her into battle,
and she proved herself a strong leader. But now that
the ght is over, we feel she needs to let us govern as
we always have.
With all due respect, said the prince, the ght
is not over. Not yet. As heinous as Tituss agreement
with Felina was, it did at least guarantee safety in the
tunnels. Now its a free-for-all out there. Those cats
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Chapter Four
_
It took soMe doINg to get the Mus elder to even
consider leaping onto the speeding metal monster,
but at last Hopper and Zucker talked him into it.
What if it takes us to the wrong place? Sage asked,
his whiskers twitching with trepidation. Such a
swift and evil thing! How do you know it wont carry
us to the dwelling place of some great demon?
Doesnt going to see Pinkie fall under that category? Hopper muttered.
The Chosen Ones gured out the migration
patterns, Zucker informed Sage proudly.
Actually, one of the pages of your Sacred Book was
a subway map, Hopper explained. So it was only a
matter of matching the numbers to the tracks and
the platforms. According to my calculations, the next
train should be along any moment.
You speak in a foreign tongue, said Sage, shaking
his head. But as you are the Chosen One, I suppose
I shall have to trust you. And if your miraculous
understanding of these speeding things was indeed
gleaned from the book of La Rochas prophecies,
well, then surely I have nothing to fear. The mystic
provides the answers to all lifes mysteries.
Yeah, Zucker snorted. That La Rocha really knows
his stuff.
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the great Dodger, the brave and valiant Mus leader
whod gone to his death ghting against the devilish
Atlantian general Cassius.
My father died a hero, Hopper reminded himself
now. And here I am, shaking in my boots, dreading a
conversation with my own sister.
Summoning his courage, he knocked. The door
opened and a sentry mouse poked his face out.
Hoppers eyes were instantly drawn to the uniform
the sentry wore.
The guards military-style jacket was obviously
brand new. It was clean and crisp, trimmed with heavy
silver braid and accented with decorative buttons.
And it was pink!
Pink. For Pinkie.
Hopper turned to Sage with an incredulous look.
Seriously?
Sage replied with a grim sigh. She works quickly.
Welcome, said the guard, although his voice was
anything but welcoming. Do you have business
behind this wall?
Uh, yeah, said Hopper, jerking a paw toward Sage.
He lives here, and Im Pinkies brother.
I thought Pup was her brother.
Im her other brother, Hopper snapped. Now
please let me in so I can have a word with my sister!
The guard scowled. Gonna need some identication.
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