After the last taped-on electrode was painfully ripped from his fur,
Chit limped across the room, as far from the pizza... that is, Sacred
Wheel... as he could get. "So we can go now, right?"

White robe sighed. "Chit, you admit you were the target our assassins
were sent after."

"But I didn't kill them, and their mission died with them, so we can go."

"And you've seen our secret hideout."

"But since we were unconscious you can blindfold us and then we can go."

"And witnessed our most sacred ritual."

"But since everyone knows about it anyway, we can go."

"So I'm afraid I can't just let you go."

"Why are *you* afraid?"

"But we *will* allow both of you to leave."

"Why am I not relieved? Oh, yeah, it's the way Hopper there is grinning.
What's the catch?"

"We cannot allow others to learn of our existence."

"I won't tell anyone," Chit said. Hopper sniggered.

"No, you won't. [flick] In order that you might not tell of us and of
this place, we will cut out your tongue."

"Er."

"And that you might not tell of it in Squirrel, we will cut off your
tail. And that you might not nod assent when possible descriptions are
told to you, we will cut off your ears. And so that you might not write
of us, we will cut off your paws. And that you may not trace the path
here on a map with your stumps, we will gougue out your eyes."

"Is that all?" Chit sneered, "Aren't you afraid I'll lead someone to you
by sniffing out your trail?"

"Ah yes, I had forgotten, thank you." Chit buried his face in his paws.
"But you will li--"

Chit felt a splatter of warm liquid over his back, and leaped to his
feet. White-robe's headless body lay slumped before him, and across the
room Kara held red-robe at bay with a large, nasty-looking sword.

"I surrender!" Hopper said, raising his paws.

"Kill him!" Chit said.

[schnikt] "Aieeeee!"

Kara rolled her eyes as she pulled the sword out of red-robe's body.
"I'm not stupid, Chit. They'd have hunted us down for as long as we lived
just for *seeing* this place. [flick]"

"So how..."

"I wedged my tail in the door when they took you for the Wheel. [flick]
I *told* him I could out-ninja him. He should've believed me." She wiped
the sword off on the white robe and somehow managed to wedge it under
her harness without gutting herself.

Chit looked at the headless body, lying in a spreading pool of blood.
"Remind me never to doubt you." Then they both ran, as fast as their
paws would carry them.