Chapter 36 – Storming the Castle:
Author's Note:
USA Patriot, thank you for the review, like always! Judy's line 'why won't you fucking stay down' is out of character on purpose. Over the course of the last few chapters, Judy has been becoming increasingly more desperate and frustrated, and that'll all culminate in the final climax of this story. It's on purpose, trust me. Continuing on, yes, Blank is sorta like the terminator, but I still prefer the comparison to the Punisher instead. And I'm very glad you like Kat/Katherine, she's one of my favorite characters in this story… it's a shame that she's in it so little.
Also, quick side note, you said that you'll 'get to see Grandpa Wolfard's gun collection now,' but, ah… how should I put this? It's not 'Grandpa Wolfard' it's actually Papa Fritz (that was as awkward to type as it was to read, I have no doubt). Read back over chapter 31, and you'll see that Wolfgang said his father (Beowulf Fritz) owned a collection of guns. Wolfgang and (Gray) Wolfard are related through Wolfgang's mother, which is why they have different last names… so from Wolfard's point of view it would be Uncle Fritz's gun collection.
In any case, I tried to get this chapter out as quickly as possible, luckily, I had plenty of time to type this Wednesday, otherwise you wouldn't have seen this for another week or two. Please, enjoy!
XXX
Blank carried Judy with her as she followed behind Kat. The light gray she-wolf led the way down the winding hallways towards her father's collection of firearms. Kat carried her bow on her back along with her quiver. Eventually Kat came to a stop in front of a door labeled 'no kids allowed.'
Kat tried the handle, but the door was locked. "Damn it, dad," she grumbled, wriggling the handle out of frustration.
"Do you know where the key is?" Blank asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Kat grunted, before taking a step backwards. The she-wolf kicked the door as hard as she could, breaking off part of the frame, and throwing the door open. "We're not coming back here anyways…"
"As far as you know, that is," Blank chuckled as she took the lead, stepping into the dark room. The room was pitch black, even her night vision wasn't working. But Kat hit the light switch, illuminating the entire room with rows and rows of lights.
The room was huge, and packed to the brim with weapons, not just firearms. Everything from ancient Greek weaponry, to the medieval age, to flintlock… the room stretched for so long, that Blank couldn't tell what period the collection stopped. The weapons were stored in chronological order, some in glass cases, others hanging on the walls, and even some on racks in the center of the room. It was more like a museum than just a simple collection.
Blank couldn't help but feel like a little girl in a candy store as she took in the sheer beauty of the collection. She rushed towards the nearest rack, dropping Judy on the floor as she did. The little bunny let out a short, "Hey!" but the hyena ignored her.
Blank ran her paw across a dusty Spartan shield, admiring the bronze texture. Besides the dust, there were scratches and dents in the shield, indicating that it had been used in battle. But there was no rust or deterioration of any kind. Someone had taken very good care of this shield throughout the generations, enough that in the ten or so years it had sat abandoned in this room wasn't enough for it to rust.
"Every single piece is real," Kat said as she padded up next to the gawking hyena. "None of them are recreations. And every single one has been used in combat."
"Impressive," Blank muttered as she managed to tear herself away from the shield. There was still so much more, but she didn't really have time to admire every piece. The night was beginning to wax, now was the best time to make their move. "Show me the most modern pieces in this collection."
"This way," Kat muttered as she headed towards the back of the room, passing by Roman weaponry, full suits of armor, muskets, rifles, a Gatling gun… there was just so much history in this one room.
But eventually Kat made her way to the last section of the room. Blank's eyes narrowed as she saw what she would have to deal with. "Is this it?" she asked, gesturing towards a Garand. The last section consisted of weapons from World War Two, but even then, there weren't many.
"Is this the end of the room?" Kat asked sarcastically. Blank sent a glare her way, causing the she-wolf to roll her eyes. "Yes, this is all there is. Sorry about the 'limited selection.'"
"I guess I'll have to make due, then," Blank grumbled as she grabbed the Garand as well as what little ammo there was for it. Strapped the weapon to her back and pocketed the clips for the weapon.
Kat watched as Blank began wandering around the room, checking out different weapons, trying to find ones that she thought would be useful. In the end, she settled on the Garand that she had already grabbed, as well as a Trench Gun, a Thompson, and a knife that happened to catch her eye, considering she had lost hers.
"Done shopping?" Kat asked with a small smirk.
"Pretty much… though I think I'm going to change out of this uniform," Blank muttered.
"So the flak jacket and trench coat left in my room was yours, huh?" Kat muttered. "Well it's still there, if you want it."
"I do," Blank nodded as she began making her way out of the room. She passed by Judy, who was admiring a Scottish Claymore, but didn't stop to pick her up. "I think everything here's a bit too big for you, Bunny Cop."
"Yeah, I noticed," Judy grumbled as she tore away from the medieval weapon to follow behind the hyena and she-wolf. "You haven't told me what I'm going to be doing, though…"
"Can I trust you to stay here?" Blank asked, pausing in the doorway, but not turning around to look at the rabbit.
Judy thought for a moment, before answering honestly. "No… I don't think you can," she grumbled.
"I thought as much. That's why you'll be coming with us," Blank replied. "In case the ZPD show up."
"… Do I get a weapon, at least?" Judy asked.
"Even if you did, you wouldn't use it," Blank rolled her eyes, before continuing onwards. "Watch Judy for a moment, Kat, while I go and change."
Blank padded away from the two other mammals and retraced her steps through the maze of a mansion until she was in the dining room again. Then she turned and padded down the hallway she knew led to Kat's room. Kat and Judy had followed her for a while, but stayed in the dining room.
Blank swiftly changed out of the uniform Lionheart had given her, before changing back into her original uniform. Letting out a soft sigh as she got comfortable in her old clothes, she made her way back towards the dining room. Her old trench coat was slightly damaged, but her old flak jacket was actually in better shape than the one Lionheart had given her.
"Are you ready?" Kat asked, glancing over at Blank out of the corner of her eye. She was sitting at the head of the huge dining room table, tipping the chair as far back on its hind legs as she dared. Judy sat on the tabletop, swinging her legs over the edge.
"Just about," Blank muttered as she padded past Kat and crouched down on the floor. Spotting Wolfgang's Desert Eagle, she grabbed it, and stood up. She ejected the magazine to see how much ammo the weapon had. Satisfied with it missing only one bullet, she reloaded the weapon and cocked it, before shoving it into the empty holster on her side. The enormous side arm barely fit, stretching the holster to its limit.
She planned on returning the firearm to its owner once he was free. She wasn't sure where Wolfgang's shotgun-sniper rifle ended up, but at least she had his Desert Eagle. Blank cracked her neck, before turning towards Kat. "I'm ready… are you only bringing the bow?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's all I need," Kat replied with a grunt, before rolling out of the chair, letting it collapse against the floor. "Besides, we'll need a stealthy approach."
"Of course… Judy, don't forget the laptop," Blank nodded, before she made her way towards the door.
XXX
The perimeter of City Hall wasn't exactly crawling with guards. As far as the public knew, the building was just a normal government building, and the mayor was just a normal mayor that worked late nights. There were lots of cameras to prevent burglary and other petty crimes, but Blank and her comrades were easily able to bypass them.
The inside of City Hall was a different story than the outside. While the entryway only had a single guard, a ZPD officer who was assigned specifically to do this job, he was easily knocked unconscious by Blank's paws after Judy threatened to scream. She didn't want the hyena killing any more of her officers.
But after they made it past the entryway, they swiftly found that Lionheart had several of his squads roaming the hallways, carrying heavy weaponry. Luckily the small group managed to duck into the bathrooms before they were spotted. "They're patrolling in pairs… that makes taking them out much more difficult," Blank grumbled, slapping a paw to her forehead.
"But I would say that, since Lionheart has at least one personal squad patrolling, he's the only one here," Kat replied, hoping to brighten the situation a bit.
"At least one squad?" Judy asked, glancing between the two larger mammals.
"If Lionheart is the only one here, then he could have multiple squads patrolling until he plans to leave," Blank explained. "But… that gives me some hope that there'll be less resistance once we make it to the secret base."
"True… if all the soldiers are up here, then actually freeing Wolfgang should be the easy part," Kat nodded. "So what's the plan?"
"There's gotta be a control center around here somewhere… if we can gain access to the cameras, we can track the guards' movements… then we can take them out one by one," Blank explained. "I don't want anyone to interfere in our mission."
"Right… I think I know where the control room is," Kat muttered as she pulled her bow off her back and fitted an arrow into the string. "Follow me."
The trio crept out of the bathroom, Kat in the lead, and snuck their way down the hallway, sticking close to the wall. They passed by Lionheart's office, not wanting to go in there until all the patrols had been neutralized. Luckily, Kat was able to lead them into the control room without any interference. They had managed to sneak in between patrol routes.
The control room was empty, thankfully. It seemed that it was only used during the day, when Lionheart couldn't have his personal guard roaming the halls. Since it was empty, however, it was easy for Kat and Blank to monitor the patrols for a few minutes, counting the number of guards and their routes.
"Right… three squads, which means six patrols," Kat muttered, making a mental note of the last patrol's route. "The closest one should be passing by this room any minute now…"
The wolf and hyena got ready, glancing back at the screens every now and then, until they saw the patrol passing by the control room door. The patrol consisted of a badger and a cheetah, both of them oblivious to the danger behind the control room door. The moment they passed by, Kat opened the door quietly and took aim, while Blank snuck up behind them with her knife drawn.
Kat reacted first, loosing her arrow just before Blank lunged forward. The arrow struck the base of the cheetah's skull, killing him instantly, while Blank slapped a paw over the badger's mouth, preventing him from crying out. He struggled in her paws, but she slipped her knife into his throat and twisted viciously until he stopped moving. Then she wrenched the knife free, splattering blood across the floor.
"Well that's one patrol down," Kat muttered, fixing another arrow to her bow. "We have about three minutes until the next one comes this way… are we just going to stay here and keep ambushing them?"
"No, that'll take too long," Blank sighed as she tossed the badger aside and rolled the cheetah over. She grabbed his gun, a nice Barretta model with a silencer attached. Wolfgang's Desert Eagle wasn't threaded for a silencer, and she needed something with a bit more stealth. "We know where all the guards are going, we can get them all before they even realize what's going on."
"That sounds more fun," Kat grinned, licking her lips. "Are we just gonna leave Judy here?"
"…" Blank didn't reply immediately. "We really shouldn't…" she eventually sighed, before heading back into the control room. Kat only had to wait a few seconds before the hyena came back, carrying the bunny in one paw and the Barretta in the other. "Let's move."
The trio slunk through the halls of City Hall, silently executing Lionheart's patrols. No matter how well trained those soldiers were, they really weren't expecting a sneak attack. Which likely meant Lionheart always had them patrolling after hours… they thought it was just a routine patrol, and not that someone was coming for their boss.
It took fifteen minutes for the intruders to eliminate every patrol, leaving the dead bodies where they were killed. There was no reason to move them. But with the task finished, all that was left was Lionheart. The trio circled back around to Lionheart's office, the huge double doors shut tight. They were tall enough to let a giraffe through without having to duck its head, and wide enough to let an elephant through with room to spare.
Blank finally let Judy go, dropping her back onto the ground. The hyena tossed the Barretta she had grabbed off to the side, it was almost empty anyways. And she needed Lionheart alive… for at least a little while. "Get ready," she hissed, pulling the shotgun off her back and pumping it.
Kat nocked another arrow and nodded her head. Judy only nervously shifted the laptop in her paws, unsure of what exactly they were going to do to the mayor of Zootopia. Blank brought the shotgun to bear on where the double doors connected. She wasn't sure if Lionheart had locked the door, but she wasn't about ready to try and open it only to find she was locked out. That would just give Lionheart time to prepare.
Blank fired the shotgun a few times at the door, each time aiming the weapon a bit lower just to be sure she got any locks. Kat blasted through the doors the moment Blank was done and fired an arrow right at Lionheart's shoulder. The lion, who had been taken completely by surprise, was too busy covering his face to protect from wooden shrapnel. The arrow struck him right on the shoulder, causing him to roar out in pain.
He tried to stand, but another arrow from Kat hit him right on his hip, casing his legs to buckle. Clearly, he had never experienced pain like this before. And it's going to get a lot worse for him, Blank snickered as she raced into the room, slinging her shotgun back onto her back as she did.
Lionheart was reaching for a gun he kept strapped underneath his desk, but he barely had time to wrap his paw around it before Blank grabbed his arm and twisted it hard. Lionheart reflexively dropped the weapon he had just grabbed, but the hyena wasn't done yet. She continued twisting and turning his arm, sickening cracks of sinew and bone breaking echoed through the room.
Lionheart screamed in pain throughout the entire process. It was too much for him to even try and break free. With one final pop, Blank managed to tear the lion's arm out of its socket, rendering it worthless. The hyena took a step back, letting go of his arm. Lionheart continued to cry out, but he managed to gather enough strength to lash out at Blank with his good arm.
Blank caught his paw and slammed it against the desk, palm facing upwards. She grabbed her knife and rammed it through his paw and into the desk beneath it. Lionheart roared in pain once again, but the hyena grabbed the back of his mane, and forced his head forwards, ramming it against the desk. "Shut up," Blank ordered, pressing down on his head roughly to keep him down. "I'm going to keep this nice and simple. Where's Wolfgang?"
"Hnng… fuck you, bitch," Lionheart seethed, struggling as hard as he could. He tried to wrench free from her grip, maybe if he was able to grab the knife in his paw with his teeth, he'd be able to remove it… then he could run.
"Wrong answer," Blank growled, as she slammed his head against the desk again. He didn't stop struggling, however, forcing the hyena to introduce his face to the desk again. And again. And again.
She continued slamming his head against the desk until his body went limp. Blood poured from his busted lip and from his nose, and he let out a soft groan, "He… he's downstairs… in a secure vault…"
"What's the password to get in?" Blank hissed, leaning down so that her muzzle was right next to his ear.
"The code for the elevator is three-one-one-seven-four… but the vault doesn't need a code…" Lionheart groaned out again.
"Liar," Blank snarled, but she glanced over at Kat, then jerked her head over towards the wall where the elevator was hidden. A silent command to open it. "What's the code for the vault? You won't like it if I have to come back up here…"
"I'm not lying! The vault is only locked… by a locking wheel… it's easy to open on the outside, but impossible on the inside!" he exclaimed, before letting out a ragged cough.
Blank narrowed her eyes, but backed away from the beaten lion, padding over to Kat, who was just getting the elevator door open. "We've got what we need. Prepare for assault on the basement," she ordered.
"Are you just going to leave him up here?" Kat asked, glancing over at Lionheart. "Maybe we should just kill him."
Don't you see that this is mutually beneficial for the both of us?
"No. No, we're not killing him," Blank growled. "Just in case he's lying, we'll be back for him."
With that declaration, Blank stepped onto the elevator, gesturing towards Judy to hurry the hell up and stop gawking. The rabbit sent a worried glance towards Lionheart… if the lion had seen her, then he made no note of it. But she was so small and standing so close to the desk, she doubted he could see her. So she hopped over to the elevator, still clutching the laptop in her paws.
Kat sent one last glare at Lionheart, wishing that she could just slit his throat, but for some reason Blank didn't want him dead. It didn't make any sense… if anyone should want that lion dead, it would be Blank. But the she-wolf didn't want to piss the hyena off… they still had a compound to raid and her stupid brother to rescue. So she stepped onto the elevator and hit the down button.
XXX
The moment the elevator doors opened, Blank came out shooting. She had selected the Garand as her weapon of choice, slaughtering every mammal she spotted. If Wolfgang was really in a secure location, then that meant there was no fear of friendly fire, as long as Kat and Judy stayed behind her. No one stood a chance against her onslaught, especially considering they weren't expecting it.
Most of the mammals attacked were wearing lab coats… they were the scientists running Lionheart's operations. But they weren't innocent, by any means. They were the ones who developed the mind-altering chips and they were the ones to implant them. They deserved this fate just as much as Lionheart did.
Blank emptied every clip she brought for the Garand into the helpless scientists, and what little agents Lionheart had left. The scientists were completely unarmed, all they were able to do was run. And with Kat picking off the stragglers, it didn't take long for the trio to clear the main room.
"Fan out, look for the vault," Blank ordered as she dropped the Garand and pulled the trench gun off her back. She reloaded it quickly as she padded down the hall. Kat made her way in a different direction. She knew this place a bit better, but still wasn't sure where the vault was. The loss of her chip was impeding her memory a bit, and she could no longer remember the exact layout of the subterranean bunker.
Judy, on the other paw, went in a completely different direction, still clutching the laptop against her chest. She knew she should've been sticking next to Blank, since she was unarmed and all, but she wanted to help as much as possible. The sooner this was over with, the sooner the hyena would let her go.
Judy padded down one of the hallways, keeping an eye out for anything that looked like a vault. She was so distracted that she almost missed a voice calling out to her. "Judy?" a distinctly male voice asked.
The Bunny Cop froze, her mind trying to figure out whose voice that belonged to, and whether or not she should bolt toward Blank. Unable to identify the voice, she slowly turned around… to see another rabbit standing behind her. Or… well, balancing on a crutch.
"Jack?" Judy asked when she recognized the black and gray striped bunny. She wasn't expecting him here! Though, now that she thought about it… she wasn't sure why she hadn't been.
"Yes, it's me," Jack managed a chuckle, before he hobbled over to Judy on his crutch. Now that Judy looked closer, she could see that his injured leg had been amputated. "And yes I've lost my leg… I don't need it pointed out."
"Noted," Judy said. "Um… so… I guess Lionheart didn't kill you, then?"
"Well I'm standing before you, right?" Jack said. "But you're just in time… Lionheart was going to put me through a type of trial tomorrow. And if I failed, then he'd have me killed."
Judy scratched the back of her neck… did he think she was here to rescue him or something? "Well, I didn't exactly come here for you…" she muttered.
"Ah… I figured…"
"Well, I'm here with Blank… the rogue hyena, remember?"
Jack's eyes narrowed and he grinded his teeth together. "Blank? I thought we put a plan in place to have her captured?" he asked, a clear bite in his tone, but he didn't let out a growl.
"Well, Lionheart did capture her, but she escaped… and she evaded the ZPD too," Judy sighed, understanding his frustration. He had been trying to capture the rogue for nearly as long as she had.
"Why is she here, then? If she had already escaped, that is…" he asked, remaining remarkably calm.
"She's trying to rescue someone… and it's looking like she's going to succeed. If you lay low, you should be able to slip out of this place behind us," Judy said. "And then you'll be free from Lionheart too."
Jack seemed to think for a minute, before nodding his head in understanding. He didn't want to die here… his only chance was to lie low. If he didn't hide well enough, Blank would find and kill him, and if he stayed, then Lionheart would have him killed when he failed the lion's test. He had to break free.
"I found something!" Kat's voice echoed through the underground compound. Judy sent Jack one last smile, before racing towards the sound of the she-wolf's voice. Jack watched Judy run, before slinking back into the room he had appeared from to pack for his departure.
Judy came skidding to a stop next to Blank and Kat, before looking up at the huge steel door in front of them. "This definitely looks like a vault," Blank muttered. She padded over to the door and grabbed ahold of the locking wheel. Kat went to help, adding her strength to the hyena's so they could turn the wheel and unlock the door.
After a lot of grunting and brute force, the two managed to turn the lock enough to open the steel door. The door swung inwards, scraping against the ground as it did. Once the door had been opened, both Blank and Kat rushed inside to see…
A huge, white wolf sitting at a desk. He was pawcuffed there in such a position that he could still use a keyboard and a mouse, but he wouldn't be able to move his arms any further. His legs were just as restrained as his paws, and there were chains keeping his torso in place. Some might consider it overkill… but it was nothing when compared to the muzzle attached to the white wolf's face.
"Wolfgang!" Blank called out as she raced into the room, stopping next to him. He looked up at her as best he could with what little mobility he had. But he was unable to say anything.
The hyena hissed when she realized how well restrained Wolfgang really was. She started with the muzzle, removing it quickly, and tossing it aside. "Blank… I can't believe you actually came for me," he said the moment he was able to, looking up at her with a huge smile.
"Of course I came back for you… how was I supposed to survive in the wild without you?" Blank asked with a smirk, before dropping to her knees and working on his pawcuffs. Her jaws would make quick work of them.
"How indeed?" Wolfgang chuckled as the snapping of chains filled the room. Once he was able to move his arms, it was easy to get the chains off of him, allowing him to stand up. He let out a huge yawn as he immediately stretched all his muscles. "I've been in that chair for over a day now! And I've gotten no sleep and no food… I hope we're planning on stopping somewhere for dinner."
"Maybe… Wolfgang, I have a little job for you," Blank said, gesturing for Judy to bring her the laptop. "I can't leave the city… quite yet…"
"No… no, no, no! You can't stay here!" Wolfgang exclaimed, even as Judy brought Blank the laptop. "You have to abandon this insane quest! We need to leave before Lionheart captures both of us!"
"I'm closer now than I ever have been before!" Blank roared, snapping her jaws together in sheer frustration. "I can't leave. There's only eleven of them left… and the Matriarch too. All I need you to do is locate them!"
"I won't do it. I'm very grateful that you rescued me… but I just can't let you do something so foolish," Wolfgang sighed, shaking his head.
"Why does everyone keep fucking saying that?" Blank hissed. "This isn't foolish, this isn't stupid, this isn't just some mission anymore! You're going to trace this email back to its source, and then I'm going to go and fucking kill them all!" The hyena ripped the laptop out of Judy's paws and opened it to the email that she wanted traced. "Do it, or you can leave the city without me! I will search every inch of this city on foot if you don't!"
Wolfgang continued to glare at her for a few minutes, before letting out a defeated sigh. "You're such a bitch, you know that?" he grumbled as he accepted the laptop and got to work. He wanted more than anything to leave this city with her… and the sooner he could do that, the better. If there really were only a pawful of hyenas left… then Blank would be fine.
"Yeah, I know," Blank managed a chuckle as she leaned against the desk and waited for him to finish his trace. Because she wanted nothing more than to leave the city with him… and the only way she could do that was if she killed the rest of her clan.
XXX
Aaaand… Wolfgang's been rescued! He seems to not have noticed Kat yet, though… I bet we'll get a reaction about that next time. And he seems to be bending to Blank's wishes already… hopefully he's right and she'll be fine facing the rest of those hyenas. In any case, we're entering the final stretch. There's about… ten or so more chapters to go. Maybe a bit less. So we're entering the final countdown! Not to mention the fact we've hit 200k words as well!
So, will Wolfy figure out the location of the rest of the hyenas? What will his reaction be to his sister being there to help rescue him? What'll Judy do after she's set free… if she's set free, that is? And what in the heck is Jack going to do? All that and more, next time!