Chapter 5

"A-a-any suggestion would be g-great this moment, mon amie..." Antoine stammered as he readjusted the grip on his found weapon. The sweat from his palm and shaking wrist nearly caused him to drop his weapon, as his bravado began to leave and the cowardice return once more. Gulping aloud, he turned to his companion as the lynx struggled to get to her feet.

Nicole's knees buckled as her weakened joints at last gave out, landing on her rump with legs splayed out. Looking up at the desperate young man, she shook her head despondently. "It's no use. Self-repairs have already taken over my motor functions..."

"W-what are you talking about?" A yipe escaped Antoine's maw as the creature attempted to sweep him aside. He leapt into the air as a vine with barbs not unlike a rose's thorn whipped under his feet. A desperate swing cut into another approaching appendage as the Krudzu beast emitted a horrible screech that pierced the coyote's eardrums.

"Oh! We are doom-ed...! I..." He dropped to his knees as the exhaustion began to set in. Tears began to stream down his face as the weight of too much exertion began to take its toll. "I can't take much more of this..."

–

"Oh my gosh..." The blinding lights of the basement greenhouse caught Sally by surprise as she brought up a hand to shield her eyes. The rabbot beside her cupped her metal arm over her forehead, which provided significantly better cover. Glancing to her friend, she nodded silently... "Whatever they were looking for has to be down here. We have to hurry, they could be in serious danger!"

"Yeah...but why a greenhouse of all places? Sally-girl, you don't think that...?" The chipmunk held a hand silently and cupped her ear, looking toward the artificial forest floor. Bunnie held her hands over her mouth as she noticed the numerous vines twitching and snaking their way through the trees. A loud screech suddenly echoed all around the duo, as they quickly shielded their ears from the sudden noise!

"It's coming from that way, let's hurry!" Sally shouted as they both sprinted off towards the source. No doubt Antoine's in over his head again... I hope they're all right!

–

Great... I bet it was the impact from Antoine slamming into me that caused my repair functions to go into overdrive! Nicole's eyes darted around the scene, looking for anything that could create an opening for them to escape! The coyote guard continued to dance around, making weird exclamations as he dodged the numerous blows from the enraged plant creature, which gave the lynx an interesting idea.

"Antoine! Your left...!" Seemingly on instinct, the young man lashed out with his pipe, dislodging another vine from the Krudzu plant! Her eyes flashed as he turned to meet his gaze, and several translucent beams marked targets on the mutation's body.

"Oh...I am getting where you are coming from, ne c'est pas!" He nearly lost the hair upon his head as another errant limb lashed out at him. Nicole furrowed her brow as he turned to face his foe once more. "Almost f-forgot! Keep your eyes on the enemy!" Nervous laughter emanated from him as he gripped the weapon with both hands firmly.

"Take a deep breath and strike when I tell you! We'll get through this together, you got that!?" She saw his body stiffen as the sharp command took hold and he relaxed his shoulders, taking a deep breath. With a smile she added, "Remember your training with Bunnie. Think. What would she say if she saw you now?"

–

"Oh my stars, I don't believe it Sally-girl..." The two arrived on the edge of the bridge overlooking the small valley, as they witnessed the coyote make his final stand against the Krudzu beast. The stance he took surprised the rabbot, and she beamed with pride. Sally had noticed something else entirely, pointing at the tree in the center.

"Is that...Nicole? Why is she...?" The chipmunk found it difficult to form complete sentences as she clenched her fist. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, both from the humidity and the tide of worry racing through her veins. Feeling Bunnie tap her shoulder, her attention came back to Antoine once more as he deftly lopped off another one of the creature's vines. "Oh my gosh. Is that...?"

I don't believe my eyes... My lessons have finally gotten into his thick head for once!

–

Antoine brought his arm down swiftly as he bounced off another vine with a perfectly timed front flip, slicing the limb in twain! Adrenaline had completely taken over at this point, as he punctuated each of his movements with short forceful breaths and shouts! The only thing guiding his movements were following the lasers that shot out around him, illuminating each target to strike at next.

Suddenly, the Krudzu beast lurched forward as some unknown weight caused it to keel forward, with a half-metal rabbit now latched on its back! The sight knocked him out of his trance immediately as the pipe left his hand, lodging itself in the creature's massive body! "Ah! B-bunnie! It's not what it's looking like, mon cheri!"

"Sally! You're here too! Oh! Thank goodness..." Nicole breathed a sigh of relief as the coyote whipped his head around to see the chipmunk lifting the lynx up to her feet. Bracing her with a shoulder, Sally gave him a silent nod as she slowly moved toward the safety of the bridge. Surprisingly, there was no glare, nor a dismissive comment and Antoine was left quite confused...

"Antoine!" A sudden shout from the rabbot caught his attention as he turned to see her being whipped about by the flailing fly-catcher head of the Krudzu mutation! "A little help here!?"

"Oui!" He darted his eyes around as grabbed the only thing that could be classified as a weapon. Hurling the fallen mobanana through the air, it curved around akin to a boomerang and struck in the side of it's "head", causing it to topple over to the side! "Tsk, it has not fully ripened yet. Too bad for you!"

"Good thinkin' Sugar-Twan! Now let little ol' me handle the rest!" Grasping the plant's exposed neck with her metal arm, she dislodged it from it's mooring in one swift motion, tossing the decapitated head to the side! Green liquid oozed from the opening as the body went limp at last. Bunnie grimaced as she noticed that all present were now covered in the goo of the fallen Krudzu. "Oh, that's gonna take a while to get out..."

Hopping down to floor, she picked up the projectile and after a quick glance, looked up at the now embarrassed coyote standing before her. He stiffly saluted her as he sputtered out, "Y-your mobananas have been found, mademoiselle. Hopefully they are to your liking..."

Bunnie threw her head back at once and guffawed loudly with her good arm now lodged over her eyes. The mirth gave way to tears as she felt a tug on her wrist, with the young man holding a handkerchief at the ready. "Your emotions are making me emotional as well, mon cheri... Here." She could see him wiping away traces of moisture from his face as his outstretched hand began to shake.

She turned to the others sitting on the edge of the bridge who watching the scene unfold. Nicole's "condensation" was forming again and Sally wasn't too much better off, blushing at the sight before them. Taking the cloth from his hand blindly, she blew into it with exaggerated force and turned to Antoine once more with a harsh sniff. "Thanks." Brushing the disheveled hair from her face, she smiled warmly with relief at the young lad who stumbled into her arms. Shaking her head, she propped him up as well to begin their long journey back home. "Boy, we've got a lot to talk about when we get back to Knothole!"