Damn public transportation
Author's Note-Regrettably, this chapter ended up much shorter and more similar to the original then I intended. Meant to introduce several ideas here, but unfortunately most of them got pushed off to the next one for various reasons.
Also, I wanted to give a quick thank you to all the people who've read, favorited, fallowed, etc., really appreciate it that so many people take the time to read my work.
Review Responses
1-1 Marines-No worries regarding Lionheart. Sorry about misunderstanding your comment on Bogo, didn't actually know degenerate was considered not PC. Huh, I'd heard of MOABs before, but didn't know they worked that way, just that they were non-nuclear and made a really, REALLY big 'Boom!' Thanks for the comment on Khan and yeah, he's meant to be semi-reliant on Bagheera for support and to keep his crazy in check, even if he isn't fully aware of the later. Possessive is a pretty good word for it, the sad thing is Ari wants to hang onto what's left of his family, but it leads him to pushing away a potential surrogate family in the Fangmeyers. Without spoiling, you kinda called it that Bagheera's got some hard times ahead. Lily and Fabienne really did just get a massive middle finger from the universe, we can only hope for the best. Thanks for the nice comment about the Balto reference. As for Turner, he's actually an OC; he's kind of a combination of Nat Turner, and Jim Jones, a folk hero from Australia, with a little Viktor Reznov mixed in. Having written all that out, I just realized I put a lot of thought into a character who'll probably only appear in one brief passing mention. Thanks for the comment on Judy, I wanted to keep as much of her kind/optimistic nature as I could in this setting, even at times she'd probably wish she see could just look the other way. Reptile PMCs, hmmm, interesting. Also, the EweTube comment really made me smile.
Ahsokafanboy1138-Thank you for checking out my story. On the polar bears, I was actually using their canon names from the movie, and to be fair some polar bears do live in Russia. Sarafina is Nala's mother from Lion King, though she's only in it for about 2 seconds. Someone noticed the Rikki Tikki Tavi reference, yay! The Tavi in my story is an OC descended from Rikki, just in case you were curious.
Renars738-Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I'm glad that the 'humanizing' of Khan and others came through well. Oh, international politics, not sure just how deep into that I'll delve, lord knows the last thing Mammalia needs in outsiders meddling in their brewing troubles. Thanks for the comments on the Militia approved education system and the unfortunate news broadcast. Glad you liked the chapter.
Just a Crazy-Man-Thank you
#*#*#
Nick reached for his shoulder mounted radio as he made it to the bottom of the stairs. "We need-OH SHIT!"
Bagheera leapt down at the trio, slashing at Nick's chest. Like Skye, Nick's body armor protected him, though his radio was smashed and both his bulletproof vest and fatigues were ripped open. As the lieutenant stumbled back, Tavi's kukri was thrown from his inner pocket and slide across the floor.
Seeing a train pulling into the station, Nick tried to scamper away on all fours, looking over his shoulder to see the crazed panther coming after him. Suddenly a brown blur sprang onto Bagheera's back, taking the shape of Tavi as the mongoose sank his teeth into the panther's shoulder.
Bagheera roared in rage and swung at Tavi, striking the mongoose with the back of his paw and flinging him into the air. After a brief flight, the mongoose landed hard and rolled into the steps, bashing his helmeted head into the bottom concrete stair.
Seeing the panther move to finish his militiamammal, Nick steeled himself and threw his ruined radio at the panther. Not waiting to see if his move had worked, the fox turned and dashed toward the train. An enraged snarl informed the officer that his trick had indeed worked, encouraging him to run faster. Nick was almost on the train when a mouth closed around his head. Bagheera's jaws snapped shut on Nick's head, only stopped from killing the fox by the lieutenant's helmet.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Nick screamed as he was dragged off his feet and violently thrashed around as the panther tried to gnaw through his helmet. Quickly reaching up with his paws, Nick frantically clutched at the strap's buckle.
Nick finally managed to get his helmet off and scrambled onto the train. The crazed panther briefly continued to chew the kevlar headwear before flinging it aside and chasing the vulpine officer into the train on all fours.
The red fox fled done the front car's aisle as the train started to move, surprised prey commuters fleeing the car around him. Finding himself cornered at the end of the car, Nick drew his beretta but was hesitant to fire on a fellow predator. "Sir, please," Nick tried to reason, "Snap out of it. Don't make me do this!"
Bagheera crouched in preparation to pounce, when suddenly the rebel bunny appeared behind him. She slashed at the panther's left hind leg, causing him to collapse, screeching in surprise and pain. The rabbit's purple eyes locked with Nick's green ones as she yelled "Run!"
Ducking under the megafauna seats, Nick sprinted past the crazed big cat. Once the fox had passed the panther, Nick moved back into the aisle and he and his erstwhile enemy ran toward the car's exit together. Bagheera's wound wouldn't leave permanent damage, but it served it purpose of slowing him down while the smaller mammals made their escape.
Nick slammed his fist into the door open button as soon as it was in arm's reach and he and Judy rushed through the door before it was even fully open.
As the now hobbled panther resumed his chase, squirrel housewife, hiding in a corner, turned to the homeless raccoon beside her. "Just don't move, they're leaving."
The surprised vagrant turned to the squirrel with a raised eyebrow, "Wait, you saw all that, too?"
Rushing in the next car, Nick stumbled as the train began to slow down. Judy turned just in time to see the officer fall right on top of her. The surprised mammals stared at each other, their faces inches apart, for several moments.
"What the hell?" Judy and Nick turned to find a surprised pig staring at them, a pawful of other prey commuters gawking at the disheveled pair.
"Predator Militia, this is everyone's stop," Nick announced as he climbed off of Judy. The train passengers began to grumble, some slowly shuffling toward the door, until the moment a crazed, bloodied Bagheera appeared in the car door window, banging furiously on the thin barrier. Nick glanced over his shoulder then back at the train passengers, "Get the hell out, now!"
With the train now fast emptying, Nick watched as his maddened superior pounded on the door. He turned to the bunny held out his paw. "Truce?"
"Truce." the purple eyed rabbit said, shaking his paw, "What are we gonna do?"
"I've got an idea," Nick said pulling a pair of zipcuffs for large mammals from his belt, "You hit the open button, I'll cuff him to a seat as he comes through."
Nodding, Judy moved to the button, looking to the lieutenant as he attached one end of the zipcuff to a leaning pole, laying the other in the aisle. When he gave her a nod, Judy pressed the button and dashed down the aisle away from the big cat. Meanwhile, Nick crouched under, trying desperately to make himself as small as possible. He held his breath as the panther hobbled past.
Nick weighted until the panther's right hind paw was over the zipcuff, then sprinted toward the black cat. As quickly as he could in his semi-frantic state, the fox tightened the cuff around the crazed commander's ankle and sprinted away. The surprised cat quickly rounded on Nick as the fox darted toward the opposite end of the car, only just avoiding the angry panther's claws.
The two small mammals watched as Bagheera thrashed and pulled on the cuffs. Knowing the he could still free himself they waited nervously for the next stop, which was mercifully soon. One the doors where open wide enough to fit through, emerged into the empty subway station, both breathing a sigh of relief when the train continued with Bagheera still in it.
Both small mammals took a moment to catch their breath, a silent agreement insuring their truce still held. They hadn't forgotten their recent animosity, but for the moment were willing to let it slide.
#*#*#
Tod knelt diligently beside Skye, the barely conscious captain groaning every now and then. Thankfully, the nearest ICB officer, Lieutenant Yogi, seemed to be a pretty smart sort and had set his bears to clear the way as Ma'ii called for a medevac. Copper stood beside his friend, ready to help if need be. "How's she doin'?" the coonhound asked.
"Her right foreleg's broken, so are several of her ribs," Tod reported, sighing helplessly, "I'm not a doctor, I can keep her stable and that's about it. That evac needs to get here quick."
Cooper turned to Ma'ii to get a report, meanwhile Finnick attempted to explain the situation to Grizzoli.
"Just wha'tha hell happened, sergeant?"
"Well, we were just comin' up to meet with the general...and then he went completely fuckin' crazy and tried to eat the captain." the desert fox explained candidly. His expression became less certain, but he nonetheless continued. "I...I think he went savage, sir."
"Savage?" Grizzoli said disbelievingly, "That's just old prey propaganda, sergeant. Predators don't really go savage."
"Yeah, that's what I thought, but..." Finnick faltered, then glanced at the news crew he'd noticed after the whole commotion. "Ask them, they probably got it all on film."
Meanwhile, the remainder of Nick's team, and some of Yogi's Intensive Care Bears stood watch at the subway entrance.
"We should get down there." Brocktree said, looking toward the subway, "The lieutenant and Tavi probably need our help."
"Word came down from the Regulators," Ma'ii said, having just gotten an update about Skye's evac, "They say they'll handle this, we're just supposed to secure the perimeter."
"Screw that!" Brocktree snapped back. The hot blooded badger was moved to enter the subway, Russell standing as if to follow when a black van pulled up, cutting off the militiamammals. Three hyenas in the familiar black uniforms and red arm bands of the Regulators filed out. At the same time, a militia ambulance finally arrived.
By the time Skye had been loaded up, the Regulator team emerged from the subway, a semi-conscious Tavi in tow. The female corporal who seemed to be in charge regarded Finnick as her teammates passed the mongoose to his own comrades. "The private seems to have a mild concussion. You should load him on the ambulance too."
"What about Lieutenant Wilde and Kipling?" the sergeant asked, "What the hell happened down there?"
"I'm afraid we only found the private," the female hyena answered, already on her way to load up with her teammates, "You'll be updated on your lieutenant's status at the soonest opportunity."
As the Regulator team left without another word, Fennick articulated his feelings on the situation as best he could. "Fuck!"
#*#*#
Judy and Nick made their way further into the station they'd pulled into. Neither was quite sure how to proceed from there. Nick glanced at the rabbit and noticed a familiar weapon clutched in her paw. "That's not yours."
"You can get a new big knife." Judy responded without looking at Nick.
"No, it's not mine either." Nick explained, "It belongs to one of my militiamammals; Private Ajay Tavi. The mongoose."
Judy stopped and turned to face Nick, "The one who pointed an uzi in my face?"
Nick stared back, unmoved, "Well, no offense, Carrots, but you are a terrorist."
"Uh, no. I'm a rebel," Judy corrected, "fighting against that junta you think are a bunch of heroes."
"They are heroes!" Nick snapped. The fox took a breath and shook his head, "You wouldn't understand, dumb bunny."
"I understand that a Militia officer killed my grandpa and taunted my mom about it," Judy bit back, "I understand your generals have turned Mammalia into a police state and innocent prey live are living in fear of power mad thugs with guns."
Judy took a breath to calm herself, before adding sarcastically, "But what do I know. Like you said, I'm just a dumb bunny."
Nick had to admit, he was a bit taken aback by the bunny's rant. He found himself thinking of the ram who'd been shot outside his window when the Militia took control. But he also thought how the Militia freed his father. "The world's not perfect. We predators know that better than anyone, Carrots."
"Stop calling me 'Carrots'! My name is Judy!" the irate rabbit shouted.
Just then, the two mammals heard several weapons cocking. They glanced over to see several armed prey with shotguns trained in their general direction.
"Don't either of you move." a dark grey warthog barked.
"Whoa, easy guys," Judy said, stepping forward, just able to stop her nose from twitching. "I'm part of the Prey Liberation Front."
"Oh," the warthog said, with a nod. Just before aiming his shotgun right between her eyes. "We don't like the PLF!"
Both small mammals were grabbed and their respective weapons quickly taken. As they were dragged out of the subway station, the warthog announced, "You're both now prisoners of the Anti-Predator League!"