Hidden behind his large body, Bogo's tail swished from side to side. It was still sluggish, but a clear improvement from the last time he tested his ability to move. He couldn't try moving the rest of his body, not with a homicidal bear in the same room with him.
To the buffalo's relief, the infuriating bat Levvar had took off midway through the cable car's journey through Founder's Mountain. The cut he'd made was still bleeding slightly, and the bat had made more than a few jokes about bleeding him dry in between licks. He only stopped after he suggested severing Bogo's other jugular and Benjamin threw a pebble at him. An angry growl from Sedor prompted the bat to vacate the cable car and make his own way to the asylum citing that he needed a urine break, anyway.
Benjamin was sitting beside Sedor, weighed down by the bear's big gloved paw on his shoulder. His eyes were on Bogo, but he appeared to be lost in his own thoughts. Bogo wished he could move, so he could tell the cheetah he was sorry. Two days he'd spent on this mountain, scared for his life, pursued by Sedor and God knows how many other crazies. He didn't deserve that. It never should have happened in the first place. If only Bogo hadn't talked Elba into taking him to the safe house. If he hadn't led Cunninghorn right to the kid and then let that bastard get the drop on them…
Small bright lights shone through the windows and across his eyes, and the cable car swayed as it slowed to a stop. So this is it, Bogo thought. The belly of the beast.
Sedor stood up, leaving his captured quarry on the seat, and pulled the door open. He stepped out, and he then stopped and sniffed the air.
"Ok, we're here." Benjamin said. "Now can we please treat Bogo before that bite gets infected?"
Sedor said nothing. He kept his masked snout turned upward, sniffing hoarsely.
Benjamin stood up. "Look, I'd rather not leave this cable car until I know what you're going to do with us! Can you even talk at-" He stopped, his ear twitched, and Bogo heard it, too.
Somewhere above them, someone was firing a machine gun.
Sedor acted swiftly, turning around and pulling the cable car door shut. Before Bogo could wonder how he would keep it shut, he heard something big and heavy being pulled up next to it. The bear made a loud grunt, probably a warning not to do anything stupid, and disappeared from sight.
Benjamin pulled at the door, but it only moved a few centimeters before stopping. He looked through the window. "Darnit. He's put it up against that metal bit sticking out."
He knelt down beside Bogo, big brown eyes swimming with apology. "I'm sorry, Bogo. I never meant for any of this."
Bogo blinked. "… I'm sorry, I'm confused. What part of this mess is your fault?"
The cheetah gasped. "Wait, you can speak?!"
"I could feel it wearing off for the last hour." Bogo grunted when Benjamin threw his arms around him, only to gasp in pain and let go. ""Ow, ow, ow! Ribs! Oh, thank goodness! The file said the effects weren't permanent, but I was so worried! Are you okay?" Benjamin lightly smacked his forehead. "Sorry, stupid question. Can you move anything yet?"
"I can still move my tail. Not much use without any flies to swat with it." Benjamin covered his mouth as he giggled. How he could still laugh after everything he'd been through, Bogo would never know. "I should be asking if you're okay."
"Ribs. Probably not busted, but I don't think I should do that again. Thank Cunninghorn."
"Bastard." Bogo muttered. "He's dead by the way. Got mauled to death by whatever bit me. Couldn't have happened to a nicer dick."
Benjamin did not look as happy as Bogo felt. He hugged himself as he stared at the floor between him and Bogo. "I led him to that monster. I wanted it to stop him from chasing me. I didn't really mean for it to kill him. Even with the venom, I didn't think it could."
"Don't do that. He brought this all on himself. Let's see what else I can move." Bogo tried the arms first. They were stiff and heavy, but he managed to prop himself up on his elbows.
Benjamin held his shoulders to keep him steady. "You should get a part in Zoo Bloods. You'd make a pretty good corpse."
"And never live it down for the rest of my life? No thanks." Bogo found he could move his legs as well, and slowly shifted until he was sitting against the wall. "So, what the hell was that thing?"
"Thing?"
Bogo shakily held his arm out, showing him the bite. "The thing that did this to me."
"Oh, that." Benjamin sat down next to him. "You're never going to believe me."
"After everything I've been put through on this damn mountain? I'm a buffalo, not a buffoon."
Benjamin briefly smiled at that. "Good point. The other night, I found a hidden stash of information under the church in the town back there. It was all stuff related to Roarcadia."
"Roarcadia? What does that have to do with this?" He pointed to the teeth marks on his forearm.
"A lot. Turns out, it's only the second time they tried out Project Twilight." Benjamin blinked. "Hang on, I've got one of the reports with me. I figured I might need some proof." He pulled a folded-up report from his pocket and handed it to Bogo.
Bogo barely started reading the first paragraph before they heard a crash.
Benjamin shot up and ran back to the window. "Omigosh!"
It took some effort for Bogo to get up, but at least he was able to stand. The collar on his wrist beeped when he saw what was happening on the platform outside.
McHorn, reduced to his tank top and covered in numerous cuts and bruises, had tackled Sedor through a nearby door with enough force to tear it from its hinges, and now the two of them were roughing it out on the stone floor. The bone shears lay in the corner, just out of Sedor's reach, and a shotgun was pinned between their massive bodies as they fought for control of it.
"Captain!" Bogo couldn't believe it when Judy Hopps jumped up in front of the window, standing on top of the metal crate that kept the door from opening. "Captain, are you alright?"
"Hopps?!"
"Sir, I can explain!"
"Don't care! Go help McHorn while I try and get this thing open!"
Judy hopped off and took off toward the brawling megafauna, just as Sedor managed to extricate himself with a punch to McHorn's chest.
"Ben, help me push!" Bogo grabbed the handle and the edge of the door and pushed with all the strength he could muster. Benjamin joined him in his efforts, grabbing the handle with both paws and pulling. There was a nasty scraping sound as the crate slowly and surely began to budge.
"Need some help?" Came an unfamiliar voice from the other side of the door, and then the door started opening a little faster.
Through the window, Bogo could see Sedor holding his own against his officers. McHorn was kneeling on the floor, visibly winded as he clutched his chest, as Judy kept the great bear occupied. She hopped, rolled and bounded off the metal crates in the room, many times missing a direct hit by the skin of her teeth. Only one mammal had ever beaten Sedor in a fist fight, and right now Sedor was running on pure Twilight-induced madness.
And he only had to hit the little bunny once.
He very nearly did just that on the next swing, striking Judy with a glancing blow that separated her from her tranq gun. Judy dropped to the floor, clutching her arm, and made to retrieve her fallen weapon, only for a vampire bat to swoop down and beat her to it.
"Too slow to stop us, Cuniculus!" Levvar called, laughing as he flew high above her reach.
"I really hate that bat." Bogo whispered as he pushed harder against the crate.
Behind her, Sedor picked up his shears and strode up to her. Judy sensed his approach, too late to evade him before he grabbed her. Bogo's collar beeped red as Sedor opened the big black shears around Judy's neck.
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" McHorn bellowed as he grabbed Sedor's arm and twisted, making him drop the bunny. He forced the limb behind the bear's back and wrapped his other arm around the neck.
"Subject #2. You returned just in time."
McHorn and Sedor stopped in the middle of the headlock and looked up at the speaker fixed to the wall above their heads. Sedor growled, the ugly sound twisted so it sounded almost like a name.
"I was beginning to think you'd perished from malnutrition, Knave." Levvar spoke, all humour gone from his face and tone.
Benjamin looked up at Bogo, who had already come to the same conclusion. "Slothfeld."
"I see that you've recovered much of your past since you escaped from your cage. Tell me, does this jog your memory?"
A child's voice came from the speaker, and Sedor became completely still in McHorn's grasp. "Uncle Sid? Uncle Sid, help me, plea-" The voice cut off.
"Do you recognize the voice of your godson? Of course you do." Slothfeld said."And if you thought the experiments on you were abysmal, believe me, they are nothing compared to what I will do to little Morris if you don't do as I command. Luckily for you, my instructions are quite simple. Kill the other subjects. Every last one of them. Kill the other mammals in this place. Deal with the traps. It doesn't have to be in that order. After that, when I give the order, you will stand back and do nothing as I walk out of here. If you try to come after me, Subject #15 here will start cutting pieces off of little Morris. I'll tell her to save the tongue for last, so you can hear him better. If I don't see a body in five minutes, Morris loses an ear. Understand?"
The speaker fell silent, leaving a low rumbling in its place.
"Oh, boy." Levvar dropped the dart gun and fled into the tunnel.
It took a moment for Bogo to realize where the rumbling was coming from. Sedor was shaking in McHorn's grip, the sound growing louder and louder until he roared, wrenched his arm free and threw the rhino over his head. Then he threw himself on McHorn and sank his teeth into the rhino's throat.
"MAC!" Bogo roared.
"No, stop!" Judy ran toward the bear, firing her gun uselessly.
The unseen mammal assisting with the blocked door cursed. "Shit! Can you take it from here?"
He didn't wait for an answer before running toward the skirmish. Bogo recognized his blue hoodie from the Arctic House Incident but that meant nothing to him, not when Sedor was atop his friend, jaws locked around his throat while he hit him over and over, blood flying from the blades with each swing.
"You bastard! You bastard!" Judy torpedoed herself into Sedor's head, knocking the mask and hat from his head, followed by Gabe stabbing him in the shoulder, the tip not even sinking an inch thanks to the armor beneath the coat. The distraction was enough for McHorn to punch him off and roll away, leaving bloody smears in his wake.
Bogo squeezed through the gap in the door, bellowed a wordless vow of vengeance, and felt Benjamin's paw grab his sleeve and hold him back.
"Bogo, no!" He begged, eyes wide with terror. "You'll trigger your collar!"
Bogo looked at Benjamin's pleading eyes, then down at the bright red light on his collar. "Damn it." He growled.
"Keep at it, Hopps!" The feline in blue shouted, drawing their attention back to the fight. He and Judy were dodging Sedor's attacks while at the same time drawing him away from McHorn. He was slicing at the bear with his kukri blades whenever he got close enough to make a hit, searching for a weak spot in the body armor. Sedor was on all fours, blood-stained teeth bared to the point the gums were showing as he swiped and lunged at the smaller mammals, succeeding in sending the feline rolling across the floor. His face was exposed now. As good a target as any for Judy's dart gun. But Bogo understood the problem. Sedor was moving too fast for her to get a good shot.
"Carrots!" Bogo turned his head and saw the fugitive Nicholas Wilde in the doorway.
"Nick?!" Benjamin cried.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Bogo said.
Nick was knocked aside as Higgins came barreling through the doorway, charging over the fallen door and tackling the bear himself.
Bogo looked again at the collar on his wrist, and then he picked up the kukri and moved himself behind Sedor as he grabbed Higgins by the belt and shit and lifted him above his head. Benjamin ran to the side as the hippo soared past him and hit the side of the cable car. An ominous creaking sound came from the grip above.
Bogo seized his chance, wrapped the arm with the collar around Sedor's neck and slid the kukri under the strap.
Sedor froze.
"There's C4 inside the collar, rigged to blow if any attempt is made to cut it off. That's what your Queen said." Bogo spoke into Sedor's ear. In the headset the bear was wearing, Bogo thought he heard a female voice. "If you ever want to see your godson again, you'll hold still and let my officer tranq you. Got it?"
Higgins was on the floor, his large face bruised and bleeding from the numerous punches Sedor had dealt him. "Take the shot, Hopps."
Judy didn't hesitate, hitting Sedor in the neck just under the hinge of his jaw. The collar beeped with a different, higher tone than before.
Sedor snarled at the pain of the needle piercing his flesh… and then he pulled out the dart, grabbed Bogo's arms and wrenched them apart.
Bogo staggered back, the collar falling from his wrist to the floor between them.
It hit the stone with a clatter, and still it didn't explode.
"What the-"
Sedor spun round and roared as he grabbed the buffalo, tackling him into the side of the cable car, shaking the entire carriage. The grip holding the car to the cable creaked again.
"Sir, watch out!" Judy loaded another dart as she raced over to help, distracting Sedor with a kick to the head. Sedor grabbed the bunny, threw her towards a wall and thrust the bone shears at Bogo's gut. Bogo grabbed the shears and redirected them away from his body as they continued to struggle.
"Bogo, the cable car!" Benjamin ran forward and grabbed Sedor's arm, trying to wrest the shears away from him. Sedor pulled away at the same time Bogo tried to pull him down, toppling the three of them into the cable car.
Bogo heard a crack over their heads, and the cable car shook. He locked eyes with Benjamin and saw the dawning horror on the cheetah's face.
"Get the hell out of there!" They heard the fox holler.
It was McHorn who appeared, panting and dripping blood as he reached in and dragged Benjamin out by the tail.
A second later the carriage broke free.
The world span around them in a blur of metal, glass and stone. Bogo thought he collided with Sedor several times on the way down. He didn't remember the moment the carriage stopped rolling down the side of the tunnel.
The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back on the carriage's crumpled ceiling, the air knocked out of him. He had to turn his head to see through a smashed window and spot Sedor lying on the rocks nearby, having fallen out of the open door during the fall. He was dimly aware of his friends and allies shouting his name.
The bear stirred, and then slowly got to his feet. Saved by both his armor and his species' natural resilience to death, no doubt. The coat had been ripped apart in the fall; the right sleeve sleeve, and everything between the shoulder and belt had been torn away; Bogo could see the armor now, a suit of black plates that looked like plastic. It didn't even look military grade. An abstract of scratches, dents and bulletholes covered the chest. Sedor staggered, either from the fall, the tranquilizer, or both. Bogo willed himself to move. He turned over onto his stomach and started to crawl for the open, contorted door, cursing the bear for getting rid of his guns earlier.
As he reached the door, he looked back through the smashed window and saw that Sedor was gone. Bogo stared at the empty tunnel beyond the window, and then decided that the bear's decision to leave him be was no longer something to be surprised at.
He had more important things to worry about now.
