"My mission is to rescue, my dream is that one day I won't have to." - Anonymous
5 minutes earlier...
As Vlad landed onto the pavement below, an aching grunt escaping from between the fox's clenched teeth.
"What, too tired to carry me?" Nick grumbled, trying to shimmy his way to freedom, only for Vlad to threateningly dig a few claws against his throat.
"I may be too small to fly us both back to the Nocturnal-District, but I'm plenty large enough to sever your jugular right here and now, if you struggle."
The fox sighed heavily, the exhaling breath escaping his body faster than usual due to Vlad's added weight. Hard to argue that.
After a few tense seconds, Nick saw a light slowly approach and grow in size and intensity as it reared the corner to his left, entering the parking lot and driving up to the two mammals before parking, its wheels emitting a steaming wheeze as it came to a rigid halt.
It was one of those large transit buses, the kind the city used to cart civilians around the downtown area and beyond as they went about their day. It was a helpful service as it was; allowing mammals without the use of their own vehicles to reach their destinations faster and more efficiently. Although the system itself had good intentions, the chaotic mess that was mid-morning rush-hour rendered the transit system about as fast as walking. Now, the only mammals who really used the transit system were the sloths, whose lethargic demeanor made the system work quite well for them.
The bus itself was sleek and long, outfitted to carry many mammals within it. Nick figured it would have worked well enough, as he'd rather have a seat to himself instead of squeezing arm-to-wing next to Vladzotz in some other car. Nick may have been lenient with the choice of transport, but as the bus reeled to a stop, the fox noticed Vladzotz's face don a look of bewilderment, which soon morphed into a frightening facade of frustration. Vlad did not look pleased.
As the doors smoothly slid open, Nick at last lay eyes on the driver, and nearly threw up.
Sitting in the driver's seat was his old 'friend' Sprock the raccoon. Nick writhed beneath Vladzotz's claws in anger, growling at the sight of his old enemy. When the doors first opened, the coon had had his head facing the window in front of him. But when the doors finally clicked into place, the raccoon slowly turned his head to the bat and fox, laughing as if he just heard some sort of joke. However, when Sprock's line of sight rested on Vlad's horrid look of anger, the coon's own expression melted fast.
"What... Is... THIS?! Vladzotz roared, causing fox and coon alike to cringe in apprehension at the sudden increase in volume.
Sprock jumped in his seat, startled by his boss' tone. His lips curled in a frown, and his eyes twitched with fear.
"Uh, ah..." Sprock stammered. "I-I got the ride that you wanted, boss... Right?" He asked timidly.
Judging by the bat's bared fangs, and body shaking with anger, Nick reasoned that this was not the ride he had wanted.
"I," Vladzotz huffed, breathing heavily. "Specifically said," The bat grit his jaw, hissing through clamped teeth. "For you to bring," He began to raise his voice. "THE LIMOUSINE!"
Vladzotz yelled furiously, beads of saliva flinging from his maw as he nearly screamed that last statement. Sprock scrunched up in the driver's seat, wincing at the bat's enraged words. He then unbuckled his seat-belt and and removed himself from the seat, stepping down to the start of the hallway in the depths of the bus.
"I-I'm sorry, sir! All the limos we had were occupied, and on some other missions and whatnot." The coon laughed nervously. "We's had to find us a new ride!"
Vladzotz sighed. "Where did you even get this pathetic automobile?" He inquired, clearly irritated.
Sprock pulled a pistol out from one of the pockets on his blood-red trench-coat. "We's had to stick up the transit station... Got ourselves dis here bus."
He then reached over out of the bat and fox's line of sight, grabbing something from one of the seats. Much to Nick's surprise, he dragged a portly pig to where they could see him.
"We, uh... Also got the bus-driver here. We couldn't just throw him out when we took the bus, cuz he mighta spilled on us, and we'd a' never even made it here."
"Well, what use is he to us now that we've got our ride back to the Nocturnal-District?" Vladzotz inquired hastily, visibly getting antsy.
Sprock coughed loudly and cleared his throat before replying.
"Well, ya see boss-bat, I figured that dis here lil' piggy-" He pressed the tip of his pistol into the pig's neck. "-Could drive us there instead of me cartin' us back."
The pig nodded his head and gulped, raising his head slightly as Sprock's pistol drove itself against his jugular vein.
"Besides," The raccoon continued. "He knows more about the roads here on the surface than I do... He was the one who drove us from the terminal in the first place, but I took over soon as we got closer here, so he wouldn't drive off anywhere else."
Vladzotz glanced momentarily at the pig and back to Sprock, as if trying to decide who he should kill first for being so bothersome and annoying.
Heaving a great sigh, the bat then pulled Nick to his feet and shoved him toward the door, where he tripped on the first step and face-planted into the bus's floor.
"Fine. Let's just get out of here before we make a scene." The bat looked behind him suspiciously before turning his attention back to Sprock.
Nick coughed audibly to get the bat's attention.
"You already made a scene, Flappy-Bat." He muttered disapprovingly before earning a kick to the head from Sprock.
"Now don't you be talkin' mess to the boss's face, ya hear, Nicky-boy?!" The coon shouted.
Vladzotz stifled a laugh before picking his way across Nick's writhing body and climbing onto the bus. His deep voice spoke aloud grimly;
"I don't mind a little attitude. Besides, he doesn't have that much time left, anyways. Let him have his fun."
And with that, the bat laughed darkly and hauled the fox to his feet, pushing him into the confines of the bus before the door slid shut for the last time.
As he tripped over his own feet trudging through the bus's grimy interior hall, Nick took the time to look around at what awaited him within.
He recalled Sprock specifically using the word we when he had referred to stealing the bus, so Nick figured that there must have been at least one more mammal on board.
He was right, for when his eyes finished scanning the inside of the bus, he counted at least two more mammals, not counting Sprock, Vladzotz, and the pig bus driver.
Sitting in the darkest corner in the farthest seat back in the bus, Russ the badger was resting in his chair, smoking a large and smelly cigar.
Since Nick had only seen the back of the badger in pictures, and the claws on his paw when he had choked him from behind, Nick realized that this was, in fact, the first time he had actually laid eyes on the big guy.
His black fur was smooth and silky, surprisingly well-kept in comparison to the few badgers Nick had met in person before. A thick streak of white fur ran straight down the middle of his face; a stark contrast to the likes of his tar-colored sides. His dark suit was trimmed with rows of red, like spilt blood, and the cigar in his mouth emitted a hazy smog from its tip, which clouded around the badger as he reclined in his seat, paws folded behind his head.
Sitting about mid-way down the length of the bus, there was a heavily-tattooed naked mole rat, who sat busy cleaning a revolver. He was dressed more or less the same way as Russ, with blood-colored clothing. He was quite small compared to the seats of the bus, which were big enough to accommodate even the flabbiest of sheep, but he still looked intimidating with that gun, even if it was tiny. His pinkish skin was lined with scars and patchy tufts of fur. Nick made himself a mental note to not mess with that guy.
Soon enough, the fox had reached near the back of the bus, finding himself a seat about half-way between the mole and Russ. He didn't want to get on that mole's bad side, and he also didn't want to be inhaling Russ's cigar fumes, so he found himself a middle ground and made himself comfortable.
Unfortunately, Sprock waltzed over and planted himself in the row across from Nick, no doubt to keep an eye on him as the bus made it's way to the Nocturnal-District. Sprock grinned a toothy smile as he flopped down in his seat, soon pulling out a hip flash and taking a deep drink from it before slipping it away back into one of his pockets. He then winked, and reached into another pocket, pulling out Nick's old pair of sun-glasses, which he promptly placed upon his muzzle and donned one hell of a smug look.
"You asked for it." Was all that Nick had bothered to say before he lunged over and socked the coon in the face, both knocking the shades off of his nose and sending his head slamming into the wall of the bus.
Nick figured he'd earned it: He figured that he was going to die soon anyways, so he might as well go out with his favorite pair of shades.
As the coon clutched his paws to his face and cursed, the fox reached down and plucked his shades off of the ground, slipping them into his own pocket before hurriedly walking away and seating himself closer to the front of the bus. Now, he sat about half-way between the grumpy-looking mole, who was still cleaning his gun, and Vladzotz, who stood menacingly at the front, hovering over the driver as he directed the bus. Nick watched as Sprock picked himself up and paced to the front of the bus, mumbling beneath his breath as he rubbed at his cheek. The raccoon hissed at Nick as he walked by him, but the fox returned the sentiment with a growl of his own. Sprock scoffed, and kept walking.
Nick let loose a sigh before leaning back in his seat, glad that he was at least able to get away with one last act of defiance.
The fox assumed that Vladzotz had heard him tussle with the raccoon, as the bat happened to have outstanding hearing capabilities; but surprisingly, Vladzotz kept his focus trained on the large window ahead of him, staring out and into the distance as he spoke quietly with the bus-driver. Nick couldn't make out what they were speaking of, but he could tell that Vlad was clearly anxious. His large wings were spread out across the width of the hallway, the claws on each of his wings clutching the head of a seat, gripping it tightly as the bus made its way down the sloping and narrow roads of the small mountain they were ascending.
Nick recalled back to his second journey to the Nocturnal-District, where he and Judy had driven all the way to the aforementioned district in search of Russ. The fox turned around and stole a glance at the large badger, who was still sitting quietly in the back of the bus. Nick also caught sight of Sprock, who was leaning over the top of the seat in front of him, glaring daggers at Nick. A flicker of movement caught his eye, and Nick turned his head in time to see the naked mole-rat make his way down the hallway to the front of the bus. His handgun, which was now shiny and clean, was stuffed into his waistband. Guns were rare in Zootopia, but clearly the mob had special privileges.
The mole shuffled over to Vladzotz, and tapped on his shoulder. The bat turned his head around and stared down at the mole with a single blood-red eye.
"What is it, Lester?" Vlad asked, annoyed.
"Sir, I just wanted to explain something to you real quick." The mole cleared his throat audibly. "My jammer has been picking up some activity from a few miles out south-west: Cops, sir. They might be on our tails."
At the notion of possible rescue, Nick's ears perked up in anticipation. He felt his heart beating faster in his chest. Perhaps Judy was intending on saving him!
"What?" Vladzotz let loose a guttural growl of frustration before gritting his fangs and glaring out the window, staring down the road. He continued;
"Their helicopters won't be able to follow us underground, and we all know that none of those officers have ever bothered learning the routes of the Nocturnal-District... If we get there before they reach us, we'll be able to slip away! We need to get back to the manor, now!"
The mole nodded approvingly.
"You're right sir. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can get down to business, eh?" He said as he turned around and eyed Nick, smiling as he met eyes with the fox.
Vladzotz just hissed deeply and nodded.
"Don't lecture me, Lester! I know what I'm doing!"
"Of course you do sir, and I'm sure you'll get us back unscathed, as always." The mole then turned around and paced back to his seat, winking at Nick as he passed by.
The bat turned toward the bus driver.
"Faster!" He growled loudly.
The pig nervously teetered the wheel to the left, driving the bus down the the sloping road. He gulped before replying to the bat.
"I can't! If we go any faster, we could swerve off the edge on a turn! The roads leading to the Nocturnal-District through the mountains are too narrow and dangerous!" He stammered.
Vladzotz growled menacingly at the pig, clenching his claws against the heads of the seats that he held in his grip.
"Fine." He growled. "Open the door! Sprock, take the wheel." The bat demanded.
The pig whimpered and quickly reached over to one of the buttons on his dashboard, pressing it with one of his shaking hooves. The door slid open seconds later, the rushing mountain winds howling through the opening in the bus as it drove down the road.
"Get out!" Vladzotz shouted at the driver.
"Now?!" The pig asked timidly.
"Now."
The bus driver unbuckled his seatbelt, and with a whimper, halted in front of the stairs. Sprock quickly took his place at the wheel. Vladzotz then looked to the portly bus driver standing beside him. Bearing his teeth, the bat flapped up and slammed into the pig's back, causing him to tumble down the stairs and out the door.
Nick gasped, shooting his gaze through the window in an effort to catch a glimpse of the unfortunate pig, but he saw nothing. The fox swallowed hard, slowly turned back forward. He could only hope that the pig had survived, not just for his own sake, but for Nick's as well - He could tell the police, and then help would be on its way! It probably wasn't a very smart thing for Vlad to abandon the driver like that, as criminals typically didn't want any potential witnesses to recall their crimes to the police, but as Nick stared down the vampire bat trying to drive the bus, he could tell that Vladzotz wasn't thinking straight with all his anger. The bat then lightly tapped the same button that the pig had pressed earlier, and shut the door with a smooth click.
With his fangs bared maniacally, and his eyes burning with maddened determination, Vladzotz stared into the dark ahead, hungry for the culmination of his revenge.
Hey everyone!
Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!
I apologize if it's not as long as some of you would like, but for this chapter, I wanted to specifically hone in on the perspective of Nick and Vladzotz as they continued their journey back to the Nocturnal-District. Judy got her time in the spotlight in the last chapter, and Nick got his in this one! The coming chapter however, will be one of both perspectives, and even a little bit more of a certain Flappy-Bat friend of ours.
I can't wait to show you guys what I got coming, and I hope you all continue to read, as things only get better from here!
But for now, let's focus on and enjoy this chapter: What did you all think of it? Do you like how I brought back Sprock and Russ? What do you think of Vladzotz's actions involving the bus driver? Feel free to answer these lovely questions in a review or PM! All are greatly appreciated, of course. Regardless, I thank you for reading and highly encourage you to continue!
'Till next time...
Peace!