Chapter 37 Brawl for it All
Edited by AngloFalcon & Eng050599
The cruiser couldn't go fast enough for the bunny as she raced it across the Meadowlands towards their destination.
"Turn left here!" Nick shouted, causing the rabbit to jerk the wheel suddenly, tires screeching and smoke bellowing from the massive vehicle as it raced in the new direction, sirens wailing and lights flashing.
"Please make a U-turn and proceed onto highlighted route"...the mechanical voice of the GPS sounded.
"Take a right in three blocks on Zephyr Way, then keep straight for fifteen blocks and we'll be there, Carrots."
Zephyr...Zephyr...Judy thought, scanning the road signs hanging from stop lights...Zeph-ah, there it is!
Yanking the wheel again, she nearly lost control of the cruiser as the rear of the car began sliding past their intended turn, though with an expertise that came from hundreds of hours at the helm of the cruiser that Nick had nicknamed "The Bunmobile", she managed to curve it back and revved the engine as they sped down the road.
Bogo would probably kill us for this...Nick thought as he watched the speedometer going past 70. Normally Nick would just skirt the rules around Bogo so he wouldn't get either Judy or himself in trouble. Today, though, they were flagrantly violating several laws in their mad dash to The Cloven Hoof to rescue Wolford.
He glanced at his phone and checked the timer he had begun as soon as they had left Furzer.
Gotta get there faster...he thought with a grimace, realizing as the time hit five minutes that Wolford had just been hurt again.
Jenna would be devastated if we can't help him in time...Judy thought, mirroring the worry in Nick's eyes. They've only been dating a few months and she just barely moved to Zootopia to be closer to him.
"Recalculating..."
"Why did you want me to take this route?" Judy asked, both partners keeping their eyes glued to the road as it curved to the left and sloped downward as the cruiser raced down a hill.
"We never changed the GPS from shortest distance to fastest route," Nick replied. "The route it was going to take us on would have taken us directly through downtown Meadowlands during their annual Sheep Day Parade. We'd never had made it through."
"Clever fox," Judy grinned, as she spotted their destination in the distance and straight ahead of them. The road curved slightly to the right, leaving the dingy and dirty building known as The Cloven Hoof directly in front of them.
"Should we make it a drive in?" Nick asked, trying to lighten the otherwise repressive worry hanging above their heads. It would do neither of them any good to enter this situation with concern muddling their thoughts.
"Tempting, but no..." Judy replied as she slammed on the breaks as they neared the seedy establishment. Several rams and elk standing around outside smoking jumped at the sudden appearance of the cruiser, as if they hadn't been aware of it tearing down the street towards them with both lights and sirens blaring. The mammals ran inside as Judy and Nick opened their doors, standing on the ledges installed on the doors so that they'd be able to stay hidden behind them in any sort of standoff.
The pair trained their tranquilizers upon the outside of the building, awaiting the arrival of Delgato and Fangmeyer before proceeding into the bar. Judy checked the cruiser's clock, noticing they had arrived within eight minutes, leaving two left before Wolford would have to make a more elongated trip to the emergency room.
Nick's ears flickered as he searched the bar for any sign of movement on the inside, keeping a growl in his throat as the curtains covering the windows up to seven feet up prevented him from seeing anyone hidden within.
The sounds of the detective's cruiser could be heard racing towards them, but both their gazes were trained upon the door as it opened, a massive bison stepping just outside the door and into the sun of the afternoon. Both instantly trained their weapons upon the mammal as they noticed him holding the limp form of Wolford, still partially concealed within his ram disguise.
"Put Wolford down gently, and put your hooves in the air!" Judy shouted. "Do it now!"
"Stay calm my friends," the bison stated, raising his hooves along with the unconscious Wolford.
"I don't think I'd want to be your friend, friend," Nick replied, looking for a clear shot. As the bison held the wolf in his hooves, Nick didn't want to risk accidentally hitting his colleague. "Now as my partner said, put the wolf down, hooves up, and on the ground before I decide to see how high my taser can go."
"You mean put him down?" the bison replied, Nick finally noticing the reason as to why the mammal's voice sounded so odd.
He was speaking through a muzzle.
"Yes, put him down, down!" Judy again shouted as she heard the sound of squealing brakes signaling the arrival of Delgato and Fangmeyer.
"Of course, you can have him," the bison replied, "after I have finished with him."
A loud snapping sound rang in their ears as the bison bent one of the wolf's fingers at an unnatural angle, gaining an instant whimper of pain from the semi-conscious mammal.
"Down on the ground now, I said down on the ground!" Judy shouted, only to hear the laughter from the large furry mammal enter her ears. The bison turned and reached for the door as she and Nick fired at the same time, both darts hitting the mammals back and mane.
The bison shook himself, dislodging both darts and, before they could reload, he disappeared back into the building with Wolford still in his grasp. They heard one final shout from the mammal before he disappeared completely.
"Fifteen minutes officers. His time is ticking!"
"We have to go in there!" Judy shouted, Nick nodding along with her as they jumped from the ledges they had been standing on and onto the ground, Judy signaling to Nick for them to cautiously approach the building from the right side as the sound of car doors opening signaled the arrival of their backup.
"What's the situation, Hopps, Wilde?" Delgato shouted, as he and Fangmeyer quickly joined their fellow officers near the bar on the opposite side of the door.
"Unknown amount of assailants and civilians inside the bar," Judy responded. "We hit the bison with tranqs but he just shook them off. He still has Wolford and broke another of his fingers and said he'll kill him in 15 minutes."
Delgato grabbed his radio. "Dispatch, this is Detective Delgato. We have the suspect cornered inside a building. Suspect is still holding Wolford hostage. What's the ETA on our backup?"
Clawhauser's voice sounded over the device, filled with concern. "Roger that Delgato, TUSK Team's ETA twenty minutes out. A crash is blocking the main road into the Meadowlands so they have to take a detour."
"Too long," Fangmeyer growled, his teeth clamped together in a snarl. "I want the son of-"
"I do too," Delgato said, cutting him off. "That bison will get what is coming to him. As well as the suspect we are here for.
"Guys," Nick chimed in as he and Judy approached the door, his weapon trained on the window to see if anyone was looking out through the curtains. "This place has a back entrance, as well as a rooftop exit. If we don't go in now, we could lose both him and Harold."
A piercing howl from within shattered their conversation, causing Judy's blood to run cold.
"Enough talk, I'm going in!" Judy shouted, reaching the door.
"Hopps, wait!" Delgato shouted too late, as Judy kicked open the door, the wood splintering at the force of the kick. In a moment she was in, quickly followed by Nick while Delgato and Fangmeyer growled their annoyance and rushed in after them, the tiger calling it in.
"Dispatch, suspect may be fleeing the building, breaching the building now."
"ZPD! Everybody, down on the ground!" Nick and Judy bellowed at the same time as they surveyed the room looking for the bison or their zebra. They were greeted to the stares of about twenty five mammals, all glaring at them while holding a loose assortment of improvised weapons from around the bar. Judy noticed several elk putting on modified brass knuckles over their hooves, while others held baseball bats or pool cues.
"I was wondering when you'd join us." The voice of the bison sounded as he walked forward, spreading the crowd at his approach. Alongside him walked a zebra, the one that had plagued Nick's childhood and now had been trying to kill him and Judy.
"Harold," Nick began, aiming his dart-gun at the zebra. "You and Mr Jesse McFurry over there need to come with us."
The zebra spat in annoyance. "Why don't you make me, pelt?!"
"You have one last chance to come peacefully," Judy said, her warning earning chuckles from the assembled mob.
A moose in the group guffawed loudly. "Well isn't that cute coming from you."
Nick groaned.
"Oh, now you've done it. Bad idea number one - calling Carrots here cute."
"Well then let's add another bad idea, pelt!" the moose bellowed.
"That's two bad ideas," Nick commented, bringing his dart gun up as he watched the moose approaching from the side, the tall mammal winding up his arm, holding a whiskey bottle. "That's three…"
Pfft
Nick shook his head as the moose stared down his muzzle at the tranquilizer dart sticking into his cheek, several seconds passing before his eyes rolled back and he tipped over backwards. "Three strikes and he's out."
Nick turned to see Judy reloading her dart gun. "I had him, Carrots," he grumbled.
"Nobody calls me cute," he heard her rumble, as they both refocused their guns on the bison holding the wolf officer in front of himself like a shield.
Both sides stood there, glaring at each other. Nick knew that if they could keep the group occupied, then backup could arrive and they could prevent Wolford from sustaining any more injuries, but the fox's hopes were dashed when the Zebra snapped his hooves together, laughing darkly.
"Remember boys, whoever can skin the rabbit gets 25 grand, the fox...50. And if you can get me both...100."
"This is going to suck," Delgato growled, as the four officers began firing as the mob rushed forward.
"So, how are the new trainees coming along hon?"
"Fairly well for being as green as they are," the coyote responded into her phone as she drove down the street. The Zootopia Defense Force emblem on the side of her car gained several friendly waves from passing mammals. She sighed thinking of how the day had gone at work. Several trainees fresh out of ZDF boot camp were sent to her for advanced training and hadn't quite met her expectations. "Though I wish the instructors would train them better in paw to paw combat during basic as even a blind badger has better footwork than most of them."
A chuckle was heard over the phone as she turned the corner, her eyebrows rising in puzzlement when she saw two patrol cars outside of a familiar seedy location, their lights flashing on full alarm.
"Gotta go Dave, something's up at The Cloven Hoof."
"What's going on, Carol?" Dave asked, before the sound of breaking glass shattered the peaceful calm of the afternoon.
"Gotta go!" she shouted, hanging up her phone before stopping her car and running over to the mammal who she had seen flung through the window, shards of glass scattering on the asphalt.
"Delgato?" the coyote muttered, helping the tiger quickly to his feet before staring through the broken window while carefully avoiding the sharp splinters on the ground.
"Carol?" he replied, blinking at the small canine before rising to his feet. "Boy am I glad to see you. We could use another trained paw right about now. TUSK is across town and won't be here for a while."
Several more crashes, as well as yelps, bleatings and other sounds, came from inside.
"What's going on and who is us?" She asked, incredulous.
Both heard a rather large, pain-filled bellow come from inside, their gaze turning to see an antelope flying across the room, as a grey bunny's foot firmly connected with his muzzle. He twisted limply through the air before crashing into an already overturned table, where he slumped to the floor unmoving.
Carol rolled her eyes. "I should have known," she growled, before the two predators rushed inside, finding pure chaos to greet them. Roughly ten hooved mammals were already splayed about in rather awkward positions on the ground with one or more darts sticking out of them, while about a dozen more were focused in three different areas. Carol quickly noticed the red blur that was Officer Wilde dodging and weaving around the swings of baseball bats with practiced ease, occasionally striking out with a paw to redirect a blow that, more often than not, hit another assailant rather than himself.
"I was wondering where you went!" Fangmeyer growled as he drove his elbow into the gut of an elk holding him from behind, ducking as the caribou in front of him swung at him with a wild haymaker that whistled over his head, instead striking the elk's chest, who crumpled backwards before Fangmeyer leapt between the caribou's legs, sending both of his feet directly between the larger mammals legs. The caribou groaned as he clutched at his lower region, as a grey and blue blur smashed into the back of his head, knocking him out cold.
"Need some help, Fang?" Judy shouted, leaping to the side as a beer bottle nearly crushed her skull.
Carol looked over at Delgato who saw a pair of water buffalo trying to corner Officer Wilde. Holding in her frustration, she dashed forward as Delgato went to help his own partner, the coyote reaching the two hulking mammals just as they had the fox cornered and were snickering.
"Hey, buddy...I have a question for you…" Nick stated, seeing an approaching figure, jumping up behind one of the large mammals, with relief as one of the buffalo raised an elephant-sized vodka bottle above his head.
Nick grinned, "...have you looked below you recently?" The pair stopped, staring at the fox, blinking in surprise after seeing nothing near their feet, when Nick saw a coyote in a khaki uniform appear above the buffalo. The ZDF officer quickly struck the water buffalo on the wrist with a paw, then snatched the bottle from the mammals now numb hoof. She twisted in mid air, and slammed the bottle down on the the buffalo's skull before jumping forward, using his face as a launch pad and slamming her elbow into the base of the skull of the other buffalo. Both went down, slumping against each other as Carol landed next to the fox.
"Officer Wilde."
"Carol," he replied, both nodding before sprinting off to find new opponents, with Carol jamming her elbow in the back of the knee of a deer swinging a beer bottle at Fangmeyer. As the mammal fell backwards, she flipped the overbalanced mammal over her back in a modified shoulder throw, slamming his head into the hardwood floor and snapping off both his antlers in the process.
Nick, meanwhile, avoided being tackled by two rams coming after him from around a pool table by sliding under it and against the wall on the other side. The two circled the table, snickering at believing they had cornered the fox between them.
Nick simply grinned. "So, which one of you ladies wants to play?"
The nostrils of both rams flared before the two mammals scrapped their hooves against the ground and charged the fox. Pulling off the same move as before, Nick slid under the table, then turned, positioning his body as he heard the loud crack from the two rams butting heads a few feet in front of him. Stumbling back groggily, they heard a whistle from under the table, turning in time to see Nick spring up from under the table, his paws clapping over the ears on one ram, while his left foot snapped up into the other mammals chin. The second ram fell to the floor unconscious, while the former stumbled drunkenly, his ruptured eardrums wreaking havoc on his equilibrium. Nick struck out quickly with a quick jab and an uppercut combo, sending the ram to the floor beside his compatriot. .
"Guess that was a baaad move on their part," Nick laughed before jumping over the two animals, using their heads as springboards to get on top of the pool table.
In the room was pure chaos. Carol had her legs around the neck of an elk, applying pressure to his carotid arteries, and slamming her elbow into his muzzle to keep him distracted while Fangmeyer and Delgato had teamed up, each grabbing two pool cues to beat back the mob of mammals trying to get close to them.
Judy...Judy...where are you Judy...ah there!
Across the room by about 30 feet, he spotted the rabbit and grimaced. With the bounty on her head as well as his own, a group of about five mammals had surrounded her while she stood on a large table, so the fox could barely able to see her through the crowd. His partner looked soaked, standing in a pool of something, liquid flying off her ears as a camel attempted to grab them, only to find the rabbit stomp on one side of his wrist while kicking the other side, an audible snap filling the air as he howled in pain.
What to do...what to do...Nick thought as he glanced around for anything quickly, especially when two of the mammals at the back of the group facing off against the tiger and wolf officer saw the fox and began heading his way.
I hate beer… Judy thought, reprimanding herself for the umpteenth time after a llama had showered her with a bucket of Boar's Light. This will take forever to get out of my fur...she grimaced while stomping on the wrist of a camel, her other foot striking out in a low roundhouse kick against the trapped limb, breaking his wrist before jumping away from a kudu attempting to grab her. She stubled a bit on the wet table, though quickly regained her bearings as another mammal learned that it was not wise to approach her from behind as they suddenly found their face meeting her feet in a very unpleasant set of double kicks to their chin.
A slight bit of panic went down her spine as she watched most of the mammals step away from the table, one flicking out a lighter while sneering at her.
"Anyone else up for burnt rabbit?" he snarled, flicking the lighter on. Judy grimaced, realizing what he was going to do and prepared to jump when a voice shouted above the din, her ears turning towards the sound of it.
"Hey Carrots! Fastball special!"
Judy turned, seeing a red ball flying towards her. Instincts kicking in, as well as certain memories of a scrap with a certain fox, caused an instant reaction from her. Pivoting onto her paws, Judy spun, kicking the pool ball at a near perfect angle to crack into the snout of the kudu, the ungulate dropping as fast as his lighter. She barely had any time to react as another pool ball flew towards her, again thrown by her fox. With a grin, the pattern repeated, the fox throwing the balls as Judy redirected them with kicks into the faces of nearby mammals.
She had to wince slightly at the beating that her feet were taking from the hard plastic, but the tactic worked, and the moves caused those gathered around her to duck for cover, allowing her to jump towards Nick. As she passed over the head of a crouching mule deer, she kicked a final black ball into his open mouth.
"Eight ball, corner pocket!" Nick yelled as Judy joined him on the pool table, both studying the remaining mammals in the room. The room had cleared out substantially, with several more mammals laying prone on the ground, while others who had been floored were getting groggily to their feet. Judy looked up at the fox, only to find his lips meeting hers in a quick kiss.
"Have you been drinking Judy?" he asked with a smirk as he again went to looking around the room.
"Not the time, Nick," the doe responded, though she did feel a bit of heat flowing into her ears.
"Think we can keep this up until TUSK comes in another…" Nick glanced at his phone, "fifteen minutes, Fluff?"
"Probably not," she grumbled. Both of them had graduated valedictorian due to the extra training they had put themselves through, Judy to show a bunny could become a police officer while Nick wanted to prove himself a worthy partner of his best friend on the force. Even with all that extra training, Judy was beginning to breathe hard, while Nick did his best not to begin panting. "Doesn't mean we have to let them know that though."
Nick nodded as he saw one of the elk that Carol had apparently used as a practice dummy for an armbar - judging from the way he was holding his limp appendage - moving towards the door, fear in his eyes as he limped out and into the street, glancing over his shoulder continually.
"Or…" Nick said with a grin, "we can just see how many we can convince to get out of here on their own, so we can refocus on the two we're here for." He jutted his thumb towards the bison and zebra who were still standing at the back of the room, arms folded across their chests as they glared at the fox and rabbit on the opposite side of the room from them.
"Sounds like a plan," Judy stated as the loud bellowing to their left signaled an attacking moose. The angry mammal swung a pool cue at them, both smaller mammals jumping easily over it as he lost his balance from the overswing. Taking advantage of the poor swing, Nick was able to reach out and grab the overbalanced mammals ear and yanked hard, pulling his head into the pool table, stunning the moose instantly as Judy leapt forward and slammed both her feet into the side of the moose's jaw, sending him spiralling to the floor in a heap. Nick held out his fist and Judy quickly bumped it with her own as they watched the two water buffalo from earlier crawl to their feet and stare at them with loathing in their eyes.
"So, what plan is it this time?" Judy asked, picking up a pool cue twice her size and offering it to Nick while still holding it herself. "Double-threat tango? Loosey-Goosey? The Flying Fox? The Caerbannog Bunny?" she asked with a smile as the two officers slammed the wooden pole against the pool table, snapping it in half, then repeated the measure with the second cue as before on the table, keeping the thicker portions as makeshift batons. "I mean, as much as I'd love taking these guys out..." the rabbit trailed off as the first of the two buffalo reached them, throwing both of his meaty arms into the air before crashing them onto the table where he had thought the rabbit and fox were.
Instead, he saw both had landed adroitly on his outstretched arms, providing the perfect runway for both smaller mammals to bolt up. The buffalo raised his arms to shake them off, only to watch as they pushed off his arms, leaping at each other, crossing directly in front of the larger mammals face before they swung their modified cudgles into either side of the buffalo's temples. The sudden shock collapsed the mammal a second time as they landed on opposite ends of the table.
Judy let out a heavy breath. "...I'd much rather get back at Harold for trying to hurt you."
"And I at that bison for hurting Wolford," Nick added as the second buffalo halted his advance towards the vulpine and bunny, actually taking a step back before he made a beeline for the door.
Or would have made for the door if not for the sliding kick into the side of his knee that came from Carol, the coyote snapping the buffalo's kneecap instantly. The ungulate fell to the floor, meeting a well placed knee to his cheek on the way down from the female canine, knocking out the mammal before he even hit the floor.
Carol gave Nick and Judy a wry smile and a thumbs up before dashing away, a nearby elk leaping out of the way, rather than facing the much smaller mammal.
"Well, I had a plan involving the piano, a certain good looking bunny's powerful legs, a good deal of luck and Harold's face over there," Nick chimed in after watching several more of the hooved mammals in the bar start sprinting, or at least limping for the door, toppling over chairs or running into each other in their haste to exit the building. "And my idea still seems to be holding as our suspect appears to not be fleeing at all."
"Good," Judy stated, watching as the last two mammals, two deer who were looking rather less smug than before, surrounding Fangmeyer and Delgato found their faces hit with twin pitchers of beer. The stunned mammals then found themselves on the floor, the tiger and wolf easily subduing the duo and slapping pawcuffs on them, before Delgato flipped over a nearby pool table and placed it on top of them.
"Stay!" the tiger growled, pointing a rather large and sharp claw at both of them. Wisely, both mammals nodded furiously as Delgato and Fangmeyer were joined quickly by Carol.
"Over so soon?" Fangmeyer grinned, wiping his lips of a trickle of blood dripping down from a cut on his nose.
"Main course is up next," Delgato growled, cracking his knuckles as he reached for his taser and approached the last remaining standing hooved mammals in the bar.
"So the kitty has come to play," the bison stated smugly, still holding onto the limp form of Wolford in one hoof
"Go easy on him Blane," Harold chuckled. "Try not to tear his pelt, it will make a good rug in my living room."
Delgato growled and raised his taser, but was halted by a small paw on his leg. Looking down, he saw that he had been joined by both Nick and Judy, both staring ahead at the bison and zebra.
"As much as I'd enjoy beating the snot out of him for hurting Wolford," Judy stated darkly, glaring at the bison. "I don't think Logan," she pointed at Wolford, "would appreciate it if we ended up tasing him."
"Fine," the tiger growled. "Anyone have some tranq darts left?"
The shaking heads brought out a chuckle from the bison. "It would appear as if you've lost your advantage then," he stated. "I have no need of this mutt anymore."
With the same casualness of his voice, the bison threw Wolford into Fangmeyer, knocking both animals to the ground before stomping forward. Delgato let out a roar and met the bison halfway. With anger clouding his vision, the tiger let loose a haymaker that would have toppled most mammals, yet all it did to Blane was knock his head to the side momentarily before he straightened it.
"That was a good punch for a kitten," the bison commented, cracking his jaw back into place. "Let me show you what a real one looks like."
Carol, Judy and Nick dashed forward as the bison slammed his clenched hoof into Delgato's stomach, causing the tiger to wheeze and eyes to widen, before a second hoof smashed into his left shoulder, spinning the feline around. It was then the three smaller mammals leapt upon the larger bison, Carol grabbing one of his arms and twisting it back while Judy and Nick pulled out their batons, swatting at the bison's left calf as they slid underneath him. They couldn't do much damage to him, but they could keep him occupied until a better opening presented itself.
They turned to see Delgato leaning against a table, clutching his chest, his breathing haggard and unsteady as well as spotting a certain striped mammal inching his way along the bar, pass the form of the bison trying to shake off the coyote that now had a death grip around on the bison's exposed back mane, digging her elbow into a pressure point on the mammals lower back.
"Fangmeyer!" Judy yelled as she and Nick again assaulted Blane's left knee, trying to force the larger mammal down. The wolf was busy checking the pulse of Wolford, but glanced up at the sound of his name being called.
"Harold's trying to get away!"
The wolf turned and glared at the zebra, a snarl escaping his lips as he leapt towards the escaping equid.
A yelp from above caused both Nick and Judy to turn back and face Blane, when a large furry grey object slammed into them. The three mammals rolled across the ground, Judy pinned underneath Carol's larger form while Nick struggled out from underneath the somewhat larger mammal, only to be pushed back to the ground as Blane's hoof snatched him by his neck and slammed him against the wooden floor.
"You seem to have caused a lot of trouble as of late." Blane glared at the fox, his voice coming out raspy through the muzzle as he lifted Nick into the air and threw him against the far wall. Nick yelped as his back made contact with the wood, taking the breath from him as he watched Blane reach down again towards Judy.
"Leave her alone!" Nick gasped, pawing at his throat as he watched him lifting his partner from underneath Carol, the coyote shaking her head while pushing herself up.
"Oh, you care for this lagomorph?" Blane asked, turning his attention from the squirming rabbit in his hoof, kicking at his wrist while desperately trying to loosen his hold on her.
Nick stood, then raced forward.
"You can have her then," Blane shouted, before throwing Judy above Nick. The fox's eyes widened as he saw Judy flying towards a nearby dart board.
Leaping up, he managed to barely make it into Judy's flight path, knocking them both sideways and tumbling to the ground. Heavy hoof-falls started towards them until the shadow of the bison blocked out the light from above.
"It would appear this is the end for you."
Blane reached down, only to rear back and stumble to his knees with an anguished shout. Both Nick and Judy looked down to see Carol jumping away from the back of Blane's left leg. The coyote's jaw was covered in crimson as she spat out a hunk of flesh, grimacing at the handiwork her fangs had done to the bison's hamstring, or what remained of it…
Both rabbit and fox wasted no time at the brief respite. The pair launched into action, deftly avoiding the flailing arms of the bison as he attempted to grab them, as they struck their batons into certain points along the bison's side and armpits. With a particularly painful groan after a strike from Nick, the bison swatted the fox away with a semi-limp arm, the fox whimpering as he struck an overturned table.
Judy's control over her rage had reached its limit as she saw Nick rubbing at the back of his head, coughing up specks of blood. After the weeks they've had of dealing with murderous zebra's, aimed at hurting the one she held most dear, Judy finally snapped.
Nobody hurts my fox!
Judy bolted forward, leaping up and smashed a double kick into Blane's face, only knocking the bison backwards slightly, but the movement was enough. As soon as Blaine's weight shifted to his ruined leg, it buckled and he fell heavily to his knees. Upon landing, she saw Carol standing at the opposite side of the bison, and offered the coyote a nod before both females ran forward. Leaping into the air, both mammals turned in a complete circle, bringing their right legs around before smashing both into Blane's skull.
The bison never saw it coming.
The force of the assault seemed to shatter time, as for the briefest amount of moments, all in the bar was still as the bison's skull was caught between the two kicks. Then, as time shook itself awake, the bison's head turned in Carol's direction, before the larger mammal slid to the ground opposite of Judy, collapsing in a lump of dust and debris that flew up as his hit the floor.
Carol stared at the rabbit across from her with both a look of pride and worry. She hadn't expected Judy's kick to be even more powerful than her own, as she had taught Judy this technique herself.
I'm going to have to get in more leg days...she thought, before her attention was quickly devoted to the howl coming from the other end of the bar, only for it to be quickly followed by another which was soon cut off.
The coyote turned just in time to see Fangmeyer howling, and Harold's hoof connecting with the wolves neck, sending him sprawling to the floor.
In a flash, the coyote, rabbit and fox were in front of the door as the zebra tried to leave, finding himself cornered by two of the mammals as Carol went to check on Fangmeyer.
"It's over Harold," Judy stated, drawing her taser as she and Nick cornered the zebra. "Give yourself up and come quietly."
The zebra spat on the ground. "I ain't never giving up to some fleabag and his bunny-hunny toy." The equid reached into his pocket, just as both Nick and Judy pulled the triggers on their tasers.
Their shots rang true, and the zebra spasmed as electricity coursed through his body. After several seconds, the shaking stopped, the zebra laying huffing on the ground.
"Give me a reason to hit you again," Nick growled as he spared a glance at the two injured officers in the room that he considered his friends. They were his adopted family, and one that after twenty years of living basically alone, did not want to give up. His eyes fell upon the rabbit standing shoulder to shoulder with him. His partner, his life…
...his everything.
His paw tightened upon the grip of his taser, daring the zebra to even flinch towards them.
"Eheh," Harold chuckled, trying, and failing at pushing himself up to his hooves before collapsing back to the ground. "I should have known it would come to this."
The zebra shook as he brought his hoof to his mouth, a small, semi crushed blue pellet in it.
Both Nick and Judy's eyes widened as the zebra shoved the pellet into his mouth and bite down.
The results were nearly instantaneous as the powder in the pellet burst onto Harold's tongue and lips, absorbing into his system within seconds. Arching his back, the zebra let out a horrible whinny as his limbs began to thrash against the floor.
Both Judy and Nick took a step back, then another; giving the zebra plenty of room for what they knew was coming next.
"Carol," Judy stated, her ears swivelling towards the sounds of sirens coming towards them from outside. "Help Delgato in getting Fangmeyer and Wolford out of her please."
The worry in the doe's voice was enough for the coyote, who nodded before helping Fangmeyer to his feet by standing under his arm, before beginning to walk over to Delgato who was stumbling towards Wolford.
Another whinny sounded from the zebra, though one that didn't sound...normal.
After being in the presence of three savage mammals, both rabbit and fox knew something was wrong.
Harold began thrashing more violently, falling onto his chest and face, a bright blue foam forming around his lips as his eyes widened and rolled to the back of his head. A cloud of blood and blue mist burst from his throat before a heavy moan left his lips, his head slumping to the ground.
Judy spared a quick, wide eyed look at Nick, before the two cautiously approached the larger mammal as a guttural wheeze came from him. Careful to avoid stepping on any of the blue tainted spittle shot from Harold's gaps, the two approached him as he gave a single, long groan, his head slumped to the ground.
Being closer to his chest, Nick leaned forward, placing his paw over Harold's heart, checking for a pulse while Judy did the same by holding onto one of his hooves. Spittle and foam still frothed from his mouth and down his muzzle, covering his neck in the blue tinted foam.
As the sirens were joined by the sound of screeching tires and the hoof-falls of mammals in heavy riot gear burst into the room, tranquilizer guns drawn and led by Sergeant Wimbley, only one thought passed through the minds of both mammals, forming into two words spoken at the same time by both of them.
"He's dead…"
AN: A big thanks to Eng050599 for allowing me to use his OC Carol in this chapter. She was quite fun to write and hopefully I wrote her well for you Eng! :) Also thanks to WildeHoppsofBakerStreet in allowing me to use his OC Jenna, Judy's sister, in this story. Hope you spotted that little cameo as she'll be appearing again later. And again, a huge thank you to AngloFalcon, Engo50599 and Zeronone for helping me write this chapter. Couldn't have done it without you guys, so again, thank you. ^^ Lots of folks to thank for this chapter, but they all helped out so much and deserve the praise readily!
In regards to the action in this chapter, I hope it was easy for you to follow and that you could 'watch' this chapter as much as read it. I've been looking forward to this scene for a long time, and hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Though with Harold gone, is the threat over? Or will both Judy and Nick figure something fishy is going on...