Breathe in.
Breathe out.
As Nick fled down the empty tunnel, he found the world curiously quiet.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
His footsteps seemed muffled and far away. Judy was running just ahead of him, shouting into her little radio. He couldn't hear her at all.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Gmork was chasing them, the terrifying wolf gaining on them, eyes bloodshot from the Fox Away Nick had doused him with. Though, for some reason, that bothered the fox less than whatever was going on with his hearing.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Something was wrong. Missing. But what?
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
They were approaching the mouth of the tunnel. They had been sprinting for nearly a minute. Nick was in excellent shape, having learned to love running from his time on his high school's track team. He ran regularly, not only to keep in shape, but also because being able to rapidly vacate an area was a necessary skill in his morally ambiguous, not to mention legally questionable, line of work.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
His blood should be pumping by now. The familiar rush in his ears was completely absent. His breathing, by comparison, seemed mind-numbingly loud.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The tunnel finally ended. As they burst into the perpetual downpour of the Rainforest District, the answer dawned. He couldn't hear his blood pumping because it wasn't. He'd had his heart obliterated, then replaced with some mysterious abomination.
Off the witness.
The words struck from his memory so hard he nearly stumbled. Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the mammals chasing them. The wolf that had ordered his death, with the bear that had carried out his execution running behind.
His murderers.
"I need backup, now!" The world rushed back, his dark reverie broken by Judy's frantic voice. He turned forward again, eyes glancing at the rabbit as she ran ahead of him. She had pulled a few yards away. She looked over her shoulder, realized the distance between them, and slowed down until she was once again within arm's reach before turning forward. Nick watched her back, eyes wide, stunned to realize that the only reason she hadn't already escaped this nightmare was because she was choosing to stay with him.
"Two assailants, a wolf and- ahh!" A bullet went whizzing by, only inches away. The duo ducked and tensed, turning to see Gmork with his arm up as he ran, pistol pointed squarely at them. The fox turned forward and lunged, grabbing Judy's arm and dragging her into an alley.
The two kept running, only losing a little momentum from the sudden shift.
"Judy! Are you still there?!" Clawhauser's terrified voice called. Judy raised the little radio again.
"Still here, Ben! We're being pursued by two mammals with firearms! Lethal rounds! I have a civilian with me!" Shouting into the radio, Judy did a fantastic job expressing the gravity of their situation.
"I need location!" The answering shout seemed to stump Judy, the rabbit glancing around at the unfamiliar alley. Nick, however, knew exactly where they were.
"Corner of Boscage and Sunland! Heading towards Shady Place!" he barked. Judy glanced back at him, looking for confirmation. Seeing the absolute surety on his face, the rabbit nodded and turned back to the radio.
"Did you get that?"
"Got it! Backup en route. Try to hang on!"
Bang!
A round clipped Judy's ear, sending an agonized jolt through her body. The distraction stuttered her steps, causing her to trip. She went down, barely catching herself in time to keep her head from bouncing off the pavement.
Nick, not remotely prepared for Judy's sudden stop, skid to a halt well ahead of her. Turning around, he saw Gmork lining up another shot. Without a thought, Nick raised his own weapon and opened fire.
Gmork stopped in his tracks, ducking and throwing himself to the side to take cover behind a nearby dumpster. The grizzly bear, who had just entered the alley behind his superior, jumped back out.
After four shots, Nick stopped. Nearly holding his breathe, the fox waited anxiously, watching for any signs of movement.
Judy picked herself off the ground, hurrying to Nick's side. She quickly took in the fox's fearful features: wide eyes, ears pinned back, twitchy gun paw. Best not to startle him.
Reaching out, she gently touched his arm. It took a second, but Nick was eventually able to tear his gaze away from the alley to look down at her. Even though the rabbit's upturned face was a little scrunched up, she was doing her best to appear calm. It reminded Nick that he should at least try to remain calm, too.
"C'mon." She jerked her head towards the end of the alley, then tugged on his sleeve, trying to get him moving again. After a quick glance down the alley revealed that their pursuers were still out of sight, the fox let the rabbit lead him away.
As the smaller mammals disappeared around the corner, the grizzly stuck his head back into the alley. Seeing the coast was clear, he trotted into the, for him, narrow space.
His boss was sitting on the ground behind the dumpster still, so he made his way over. As he approached, his nose twitched as he picked up something. A deeper breath confirmed it. Blood. Lots of it.
Gmork sat on the ground, one paw clutched around his right inner thigh while his other was digging into a pouch on his side. As the grizzly watched, blood seeped from between the wolf's fingers and poured onto the ground. The bear, a combat veteran, knew immediately that the wolf's femoral artery must have been nicked for that kind of flow.
Gmork yanked a short belt from the pouch. As he wrapped it around his thigh, he glanced at the enormous mammal standing over him. "Fox got a lucky shot. Figures." He grimaced as he pulled the belt tight. The blood pouring from his wound slowed to a trickle. Worrying, but not immediately life-threatening. Not waiting for the bear to respond, he continued, "I can't trust you. Give me your shotgun and your Rush." When the bear hesitated, the wolf glared. "Now."
The bear crouched down, reluctantly placing his shotgun next to the wolf. Then he pulled a simple pen sized cylinder from a vest pocket. Gmork snatched it as soon it was in reach. He pulled one end off, revealing a needle. Holding the pen up to his eyes, he began to carefully twist a small control. "I need you to control yourself, so only a half dose."
The sullen bear suddenly perked up, looking much more intent. When Gmork waved him in, the enormous grizzly leaned forward quickly, obviously eager for whatever was in the syringe.
Without warning, Gmork grabbed him by his fuzzy ear and squeezed. The bear's surprised shout was abruptly cut off before beginning again when the wolf slammed their foreheads together. Gmork held him there, fierce yellow eyes burning into the grizzly's brown.
"Bring me that fox. Alive. Your life depends on it." The wolf slammed the needle into the bear's neck. He watched the much larger predators pupils shrink and expand, dilating wildly under the drug's effects. When the pupils finally settled into predatory slits, only then did he let go. Shoving the bear's head away, he shouted at the soldier as he settled down on all four limbs.
"Go! Now!" The grizzly took off on all fours with a throaty roar. His speed nearly tripled, he raced after Nick and Judy.
Nearly a block away, Judy's ears twitched. Turning to look over her shoulder, she eyed the alley uneasily. She raised the radio once again, "Ben, any word on that backup?"
"Sorry, Judy. The traffic lights in your area are down. All the cruisers are stuck in traffic. We have units on foot, but they need more time."
Judy's response died in her throat. Seeing her eyes widen, Nick turned to follow her gaze. What he saw was probably the most frightening thing he had ever seen. The grizzly bear, now down on all fours, was pounding after them at tremendous speed, his face blank and hostile, huge, dagger-like teeth bared in a ferocious snarl.
"...move. Move. Move-move-movemovemove!" Judy reached back and grabbed Nick's paw, using it to drag him after her. The bunny took off at top speed, nearly pulling the fox off his feet. He just managed to keep his footing, pumping his legs as hard and as fast as he could to keep up with the young, athletic bunny. The fox let her lead him while he threw a terrified glance over his shoulder. Without a doubt, the bear was getting closer.
"The bad thing is gaining on us!" he called. Judy looked over her shoulder. Terror gripped her as she realized that Nick was right. They couldn't outrun the bear. Not in a straight line. "We have to get inside!"
"No!" Judy shot down the idea immediately. "There might be people inside. It would put them in danger!"
"We're in danger!" Nick shot back. Seeing the rabbit ignore him, Nick offered a slightly different idea, "We need to go where he can't follow!"
"Where?!" Judy called back angrily. Desperately. Nick looked ahead, trying to match what he was seeing with what he remembered. They were still on Boscage Avenue, heading east towards Shady Place plaza. They were just about to cross a familiar bridge…
"This way!" Pulling her to the left, they crossed the narrow street. They squeezed into a narrow alley, a brick wall on their left, a chain link fence on their right. Nick pulled his free paw from Judy's grip, then used it to shake the fence as they ran. It only took a few seconds to find what he was looking for. "Here!"
It was a hole in the fence, only about a foot high. Still, it was enough for the small mammals. Nick hurried Judy through, then squeezed in after her. They were standing on the edge of a concrete canal, a steep, flat slope giving way to a shallow but fast-moving stream. Nick had just turned to continue leading them away when a racket behind them drew both their attentions.
The bear was squeezing into the alley after them, rattling the fence as he ran. Eyes widening, the duo turned as one and began hurrying down towards the water.
"Where are we going!?" Judy asked as they rapidly approached the river. Behind them, the monstrous grizzly found the hole they had gone through. Trying to force himself through, he was stymied by the hole's size. He pulled his head out and began trying to force the opening wider with his powerful paws.
"Drain pipe. That way!" Nick pointed to their right. Then he jumped into the water. It was only three feet deep, but the current was strong enough that he was forced to swim rather than wade. Judy paused just before she herself would have fell in. She looked to where the fox had pointed. Sure enough, about forty yards away, on the other side of the bridge and on the opposing slope there was a drain pipe. She couldn't gauge the pipe's diameter from this distance, but it sure looked small enough to stump the bear.
Hearing the noise shift behind her, the bunny turned to check on the bear's progress. To her surprise, the bear was no longer trying to tear through the fence. Instead, he was running back the way he came. Judy watched him go, trying to figure out what he was doing. Then it dawned on her.
He's going for the bridge!
"Nick!" She turned and began running along the water's edge towards where the fox had been swept along by the current. "Nick! Come back!"
Nick had already crossed the river, pulled along by the water until he was under the bridge. He was pulling himself onto the smooth concrete on the other side when he heard Judy's shout. Spinning around so fast he scattered water droplets everywhere, he saw the rabbit frantically waving her arms. Turning to look where the bear should have been, the fox was confused and dismayed to discover it missing.
Then it landed in the canal, throwing water into the air. Two sets of wide, horrified eyes, one green, one violet, landed on the beast as it thrashed around. By the time it got its bearings and turned towards them, the fox was already running up the slope. The bear gave chase, completely ignoring the rabbit shouting and waving her arms.
Nick was experiencing a new level of fear. Primal in its depth, it reached right into the very core of his being and squeezed, threatening to snuff his very sense of self. He was sprinting up the incline towards where it met the concrete beams supporting the bridge, seeking salvation in the narrow spaces.
But the bear was faster.
It was gaining.
He was going to die. Torn apart.
No!
The bear was on him. Nick was slammed to the ground, the breath forced out of him. A huge paw lay across his back and shoulders, pinning his arms, and the gun, to the concrete. Turning his head as far it would go, Nick laid one terrified, green eye on the bear above him.
The grizzly leaned in, nose inches away from his prey's, and roared.
"HRAAAAUGH!" As the hot, putrid breath flowed over his face, Nick couldn't look away from the maw of daggers on display above him.
I'm going to die.
If Nick hadn't been so focused on his impending demise, he would have felt something shift in his chest. His fur began to stand on end as a fuzzy, crackly something sparked into existence, then started to grow into-
But then a blue and grey blur slammed into the side of the bear's head. The bear, temporarily disoriented, lost his footing on the slick incline. As the beast went tumbling into the shallow water, the blur, still mid-air, resolved into a familiar bunny cop, both legs still extended from her powerful double kick. A quick tuck and spin later, Judy landed with all of her usual grace on four paws.
She crawled the short distance to Nick since it was easier than walking on the steep slope. She noticed how puffy he was, but thought nothing of it. If she had been that close to a gruesome death, she thought, her fur might stand on end, too!
Seeing the shellshocked look on his face, she put a paw on his shoulder, not really noticing that his fur fell back into place as she did. "Can you move?"
Nick looked up at his savior in awe. "You saved my life," he said, somewhere between amazed and bewildered. Judy would have said something, but her attention was pulled away when she noticed the grizzly was regaining his feet.
Noticing her shift of focus, Nick turned to look. He immediately started to scramble away, crawling up the gradient with three paws, the gun still held tightly in his fourth.
Judy moved with him, trusting that he had something in mind. As they approached the top of the incline, the rabbit thought she understood. The underside of the bridge was made up of numerous concrete beams, placed narrowly together on a three foot high ledge to support the road above. The spaces between, hopefully, would be narrow enough to escape the bear.
Nick made it to the ledge first. As he clambered up, Judy turned to check on their attacker. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw it was already running up the incline towards them. Spinning around, she put her paws under Nick's feet and shoved upwards, all but throwing him into the narrow space. Then she jumped in after him, clearing the space just as the grizzly slammed into the ledge behind them.
Judy landed just ahead of Nick, who was still in a heap from her sudden, unexpected shove. Reaching down, the bunny grabbed the fox's wrists and started dragging him away from the ledge. The slightly disoriented fox started to get himself together, managing to get one leg under him.
Then a huge, clawed paw wrapped around his foot and squeezed. Nick collapsed, screaming from the sudden, intense pain. Judy looked up, horrified. The bear had shoved his head and one arm into the narrow space, his savage, bloodshot eyes locked onto them as he started to drag Nick back out.
Judy let go of Nick's wrists and jumped on the bear's, wrestling with the thick limb. When nothing else worked, desperation took her. Driven by Nick's screaming and the bear's snarling, she pressed her face to the huge fuzzy arm and sank her teeth in as far as they would go.
The bear's snarling ratched up at the unexpected pain. The arm bucked up once, twice, but the rabbit stubbornly held on. Nick was dragged nearly into the air then slammed down, feeling like every bone in his leg had been shattered.
Failing to throw off the rabbit, the bear twisted his arm and slammed it into the wall. If it weren't for the narrow space limiting the strength of the blow, Judy would have been instantly crushed to death. Instead, she was knocked out, the bunny slipping off the arm to fall bonelessly to the ground.
With that annoyance taken care of, the bear dragged the fox closer. Nick, wide-eyed with terror, finally managed to get hold of himself long enough to raise his arm, pointing his stolen pistol directly at the grizzly's face. The bear paused, staring at the barrel. For an instant, everything was completely silent.
Then Nick pulled the trigger.
The first shot was deafeningly loud in the enclosed space, setting Nick's ears ringing. The bear jerked, a splash of red spilling across his forehead.
Nick continued to pull the trigger. The gun spat fire three more times, and the bear twitched with each devastating impact. The last one was the worst, with the bullet striking square on the grizzly's nose. The soft tissue exploded, dotting Nick and most of the tight concrete surroundings with scarlet.
There was a moment that came afterward that would stick with Nick for the rest of his life. The gun was empty, the slide cocked back. The bear was still, his face covered in blood. His eyes though, his eyes were still sharp. They glared at Nick, conveying all of the hatred and contempt and anger they possibly could. Then the moment passed.
Slowly, almost regretfully, the grip around Nick's leg slackened. The grizzly slipped away, disappearing below the ledge.
The fox was left on his back, the still smoking gun held up in one paw. He leaned back, resting his head on the cool concrete while he lowered his arm, shakily dropping the spent firearm on the cement next to him. He closed his eyes, raising his arms to cover his face with his trembling paws. He took a few, shuddering breaths, for the first time really feeling everything. His twisted leg throbbed, his chest felt like it was caved in, and his tail was bunched up under him in the most uncomfortable way.
But, all of that was okay. Because it meant he was alive.
I'm alive. I thought I was going to die, but then I lived. I'm alive. I'm alive.
His thoughts continued like this for awhile, the fox trying to get over the trauma he had just suffered like he would any other emotional upset.
"What?!" Then Judy woke with a start, sitting up and shouting. Nick's entire body jerked at the unexpected noise, the fox tearing his paws away from his face to glare at the disturbance in surprise. When he saw that it was just the bunny cop, his expression relaxed and he settled back into his previous position, resting with his palms over his eyes. The rabbit, on the other paw, looked around with undisguised terror. "Where's the bear!?"
Nick grunted, slowly dragging one paw from his face to point down, over the ledge. The rabbit looked where he pointed, crawling to the ledge to get a better look. Sure enough, the bear was splayed out at the bottom of the slope, half in the water, head bobbing in the current.
Seeing the awkward position of the body and the gruesome smear of blood running down the concrete shelf, the bunny came to the only conclusion she could. Sitting back on her haunches next to Nick's feet, she asked, "Is he dead?"
Even though it wasn't really a question, Nick answered anyway, his voice slightly strained, "Probably."
His candid reply seemed to confuse the bunny. "How?"
"I shot him. In the face. A lot." Each addendum came out more strained, until his voice was nearly cracking. "I shot him in the face a lot! I-" The fox cut himself off with a strangled sob, slapping his paw over his mouth to muffle the sound. The bunny turned and crawled up so she was by the fox's side, watching with concern as he forced himself to relax with a few harsh breaths. Eventually, he got himself under control. Sliding the paw over his mouth down so that it cupped the back of his neck, he croaked out, "How are you?"
Judy let him change the subject, seeing how the usually cool and collected fox was obviously struggling. Kneeling next to him, she reached a paw to the back of her head, wincing as she found a tender spot. "I'll live. I think."
"That's good," he snarked, though his tone revealed some genuine relief.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I'll live, I think," he parroted back, though somehow, it seemed darker when he said it. When it seemed like the conversation would die, Judy cast about for something to say. Looking back at the corpse bobbing in the river, she thought she found something worthwhile.
"Thank you for saving my life," she said, softly. It stayed quiet for a while. Just when Judy was going to give up, she noticed the fox's lips quirk into a smile.
"All in a day's work," he said with something resembling his usual smug tone. Judy was confused for a second, then her eyes widened in realization.
"Did… did you just steal my line?" she asked, incredulous. Nick threaded his fingers behind his head, tilting his head down to look at her. It was amazing how smug he could look with bloodshot eyes.
"Yep. Felt good." His smile widened as she put her paws on her hips, tilting her head and glaring.
"I'm the cop. I say 'all in a day's work'!"
Nick shrugged, as though to say 'oh, well!' "Too late. I got to it first."
Judy held a paw out and waggled two fingers in the 'give it here' gesture. "Well, give it back."
Nick gave her a flat look. "That is not how it works. It's like a muffin. I can't give it back once it's gone, can I?"
Judy leaned back, looking thoughtful. "So, what you're saying is… you owe me a muffin."
"What?! No!" Nick spluttered. "That's not even-"
Judy held up a paw, cutting the fox off. "Hush. I'm going to call dispatch and let them know where we are. Then we can talk about that muffin you owe me."
A few blocks away, a bland looking delivery van pulled up in front of a familiar alley. A black wolf quickly limped out, pulling himself into the passenger seat without comment. A raccoon in an orange safety vest sat behind the wheel. He started driving as soon as the door was closed.
"What's the word? Why haven't I heard anything?" Gmork demanded to know.
"Grizzly's dead. The cop's are moving in. We lost it," was the raccoon's succinct answer.
"Son of a bitch!" Gmork slammed his paw into his window so hard the glass cracked. He took a single, calming breath. "Take me to Ruby. It's time to put on the Suit."
Author's Note:
Many thanks to my wonderful collaborators : Gamer4COD; RandomNobody37; Hebbocake; DragoLord19D; Chesterization; and Rieth89!
Especially to DrummerMax64 and whichever one of you is 'CIA' on Google+. Y'all did great.
P.S. My friend Chesterization got in a car accident. You should send a 'Get Well Soon' note in the PMs.
