"The tribulations of boredom exist only to make us act." - Unknown
*BONUS QUOTE*
"If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest." - John Chrysostom
Throughout the annals of history, it has been said that the trials and tribulations of life are nothing but tests to challenge one's sense of will.
None knew this better than Nick and Judy. The former had been subject to a pitiful and lackluster childhood, with trauma and despair looming around every corner. On the other side of the spectrum, the latter, whom spent the majority of her life on this earth trying to take charge of the expectations that she had been raised upon, and direct them to a more suitable and reliable future. Together, the two mammals, as friends, as partners, and as mates, took the charge into the battlefield, hand-in-hand, and without hesitation.
The past aside, these modern times were no different.
It had been six days since the incident in Beaverdam took place, where Nick and Judy had walked in on the doings of Iluka Rombahe, the crime-lord of Outback-Island. Though the titular tasmanian devil had ended up getting away, the two tiny officers had managed to uncover a whole new trove of information and intelligence that only further served the cause behind their respective intentions. With a whole new perspective on the purpose of their temporary stay in the wooded heart of the Deciduous-District, Nick and Judy worked hard for the following six days, doing all that they could to put the pieces of the puzzle together. What little they knew was put to use, and their minds labored longingly.
However, the work of a police officer was not so clear cut, it seemed. Though the beginnings of their investigation into the marsupial case were filled with much activity and interest, the six days following the interrogation were marred with relatively little results to show for the efforts of the two tiny police officers. Expecting results to sate their combined endeavors, the lapin and vulpine were instead met with vacant, empty streets: No matter where they looked, there were no marsupials to be found. Not a single one.
After over two weeks of residence in the Deciduous-District, and with constant sightings throughout, Nick and Judy suddenly went six full days without seeing any marsupials on their daily patrols around the streets and alleys of the district. It was as if they had all just vanished off of the very face of the earth itself, gone from sight and mind. Niether of the two officers had an explanation as to why, and it was eating away at their respective minds as it were a festering disease: Like the flip of a switch, the marsupials were there one day, and then gone the very next. On the third day, Nick was the first to notice the marsupial's absence, and after pointing it out immediately to Judy, she noticed it as well.
Though their sudden disappearance was most suspicious, Nick and Judy were left with no other choice but to continue their work.
Following their realization of the marsupial's absence, the two tiny officers returned to work with the intentions to do all that they could manage with what little they had: They strung together theories and ideas, placed suggestions upon their superiors, studied the criminal records of as many documented marsupials as they could, and even took part in the third consecutive interrogation of the platypus that the ZPD had captured in the aftermath of the shootout in Beaverdam. This time around, Nick and Judy were able to bear witness to the stubborn platypus's defeat; He broke down during questioning, and the officers present managed to pry a few simple background questions out of him before he was deemed 'too unstable' to continue with the interrogation session, and was then promptly sent back to his cell. Judy at least found a little bit of some solace in that situation.
Back on the beat, working together to find a solution to the latest investigation at hand; There was nothing else that Judy would rather be doing. Yet, at the same time, it was far more than just the motivation and the intent behind her work that made it all worthwhile: The results and the fruits of her labors were ultimately the deciding factor. She couldn't make a difference in the world if all of her actions led to dead ends, after all. Seeing all of the pieces come together, and the outcome of her cause, was perhaps her very greatest remedy. It was what made the work, the stress, the long hours of labor and setback, all worth it in the end. No great cause should be without an inspiration behind it.
Once, many months in the distant past, when the rabbit and her husband had been working undercover in Jack Savage's financial building, was the last time that Judy had felt that her work was going nowhere, and that her efforts were for naught. She and Nick had been silently working the strings of that case for months on end, yet no matter how hard they tried, it seemed that the finish line was always just one more step out of reach. Judy herself, being such a fast-paced and lively soul, suffered the most during those stagnant times. She felt as though nothing was going her way, and that the future was nigh, for her failure to meet the demands of Chief Bogo's requirements was bugging her.
That all changed when she had incidentally witnessed the meeting between Jack and Vladzotz, however, and after that, things went about as good as she could have wanted. The case was solved, she and Bogo left on good terms, and Judy never had to see that damned financial building again. She had hated that place with every fiber in her being.
Now, in the Deciduous-District, working a case with few leads and fewer hopes, the rabbit officer once again felt as though she were against the odds. With all of the marsupials gone, the credibility and effectiveness of witnesses, patrols, and interrogations dropped tremendously. The only thing that Nick and Judy, along with all of the other Precinct Seven officers that were on the case could rely on was what they already knew, and what they could come to expect. Working long hours with her foxy partner, Judy began to feel a sense of impending haste and expectations. She liked her work done quickly and efficiently. Not like this. Not as though the only thing keeping her going was her partner and his reassuring words. Still, Judy sucked it up as best she could, and continued her work as best she could, as any good police officer should. She had no plans on quitting yet.
Despite all of the stress of their labors, there was at least one sure thing that eased the minds of both Nick and Judy alike: Knowing that their friends and allies at the ZPD head quarters were safe. After dealing with the cleanup of the warehouse shootout earlier that week, the two tiny officers made sure to give frequent calls to their acquaintances back in Savannah-Central, including Clawhauser and even Chief Bogo himself. From them, Nick and Judy learned much about the after-effects of the vile fire that had taken place in Precinct One. Apparently, no one was hurt in the incident, much to Judy's great relief, though a whole lot of considerably useful physical evidence was lost to the raging flames.
Thankfully, Precinct One was safe, for the most part. With their hearts and minds reassured by the words of their friends, Nick and Judy could get back to focusing on their work for Precinct Seven. More time passed, and in the present moment, the bunny and the fox, after just completing a day of mentally-rigorous brainstorming and discussion with their fellow officers, were now enjoying a simple stroll outside. It was the late afternoon, and they were both on break, much to their delight, allowing them to indulge in one another's company and to take a brief moment of rest from their increasingly consistent work involving the investigation of Iluka Rombahe, the museum theft, and the shootout.
Walking around the perimeter of the building, the two tiny officers were able to admire the temperate forest and other foliage that surrounded the precinct. Thick and sprawling oak trees, many of which were truly ancient in age, judging by their great size and the color of the bark, encircled the patch of modern architecture that was Precinct Seven. A cracking old sidewalk meandered among the trees, leading off into the deeper part of the forest before eventually returning back to the parking lot. Nick and Judy followed that path, and as they placed their feet upon the cold concrete, one after another in constant repetition, the two of them found it to be much better than sitting down at some desk.
It had been Judy's idea to take a brief stroll in the first place. Being the energetic little bunny that she was, she liked to get up and stretch her legs frequently, especially after long hours sitting behind a desk, doing paperwork and other menial office assignments. Nick wasn't opposed to it, as he figured that he could use the exercise, simple as it may have been. Still better than ticketing, though. As the two officers, both still clad in their beige colored, Precinct Seven issued police shirts and forest-green trousers, walked around the wooded path in the forest, admiring the tall trees and the sounds of the insects hiding in the brush, they also took to talking over their latest case with one another.
"Don't you think that it's really weird how all of the marsupials disappeared?" Judy found herself asking.
The fox raised an eyebrow "Hm?" He muttered. "Still going on about that, huh? Yeah, it's pretty weird."
"Bugs me how Chief Urzo doesn't think it's enough evidence to launch a raid, though." The bunny claimed.
"Well, it takes a lot to get one of those things going. Can't blame the guy."
The rabbit officer pursed her lips. "But I mean, come on!" She exclaimed. "What more does he possibly need? The museum theft, the Beaverdam shootout, and now this?"
Nick cleared his throat, clearly trying to stop Judy before she went on a rant about stuff that they both already knew, and didn't need any more of;
"Yeah, I guess you'd think all that'd be enough. Still, I have a feeling he'll come 'round soon enough. All it takes is one little accident, and then the floodgates will open." He said.
"What do you mean?"
"Ever heard of that saying about the straw that broke the camel's back?" The fox questioned his smaller partner. "That's us right now. And our work, too... Can't forget that."
"So?" Judy pressed.
"Chief Urzo's dealing with a whole lot right now, I'm sure. With a inner-city crime-lord running around, I bet it's only a matter of time before something big enough happens that finally pushes the guy off of the deep end, and makes him realize that he can't keep putting off this investigation anymore. I bet my tail that'll happen faster than we can hope."
"Good point, Slick." The bunny admitted as she jumped over a sizable crack in the concrete sidewalk. "I suppose time will tell, huh?"
"Always does."
Judy smiled. "Well said." She stated.
"You know you love me." Nick quipped with a grin.
"Kinda hard not to, though you're still a handful sometimes."
"We all have our moments, eh?" He claimed, causing his partner to giggle.
"That's putting it lightly."
"No kidding." The fox added. "Nearly wanted to taze myself when your cell phone went off while we were watching Iluka and his cronies."
"That was an accident!"
"Isn't that the second time that's happened?" Nick asked. "Cuz I'm pretty sure that that's the second time that's happened."
"First! That time in Cliffside Asylum while we were spying on Lionheart was a ringtone, while this one was a vibration." Judy claimed.
"So picky."
Sharing a laugh, the two tiny officers continued pacing through the depths of the forest, eventually making a loop around back towards the police building. Along the way, they kept chatting over various topics, each one more diverse and fulfilling than the last, that was, until the whole marsupial disappearance subject found its way to them once again.
"So, what do you think happened?" The bunny asked her partner, whom sighed audibly before giving his response.
"It's as though they all just packed up and high-tailed it outta here." Nick grumbled. "But that can't be it, we know better... Those marsupial mobbies wouldn't have just left."
Judy nodded. She sighed out loud before deciding to continue the conversation with her own personal vocal statement;
"Right. We've spent the past few days studying Iluka. Learning everything we could about him through the criminal files here. He isn't the kind of mammal to just abandon his projects without any good reason. He wouldn't leave so soon! No, he's still here... Somewhere. Hiding out in a safe place while enacting his nefarious plots. But where?"
Almost as soon as the two of them set foot back on the property of the precinct, another beige-clad officer, a female white-tailed deer, stepped out from a doorway and leaned outside, briefly looking around before eventually locking eyes with Nick and Judy from across the space between them. The deer swallowed, and then called out to both of them.
"Officer Hopps! Officer Wilde!" She yelled. "You two had better come and check this out!"
Both Judy and Nick glanced at one another in curiosity. The latter was about to call out to the female white-tailed deer officer and ask her just hat exactly she meant, and the reason behind it, but before she could, the deer dashed off and back into the interior of the building. Shrugging to himself, the fox stepped forward and made way for the building, intent on following the deer and seeing just what all of the fuss was about. Behind him, he heard his partner catch up and trail him, and from there, the two officers entered the building and set out for the nearest explanation. They asked a few lumbering black bear officers if they had seen where the deer had ran off to, and they had indeed.
The black bears pointed Nick and Judy towards the briefing room, subtly dubbed as 'The Bear's Den' by the officers of Precinct Seven, similarly to how Precinct One's officers referred to their very own building's briefing room as 'The Bull Pen,' respectively. Upon thanking the friendly bears, the two smaller officers then made their way towards the briefing room. Once they arrived, it took the two of them working together to open the comparatively huge door, of which was designed for mammals much larger than them.
Inside their destination at last, Nick and Judy took in the sights around them, including the likes of a small pack of police officers huddled around a TV placed on one of the tables in the corner of the room. Chairs were pushed out of the way, and almost all of them were standing. Clearly, whatever they were watching was quite interesting to them. Across the room, Judy spotted that one female white-tailed deer officer that had called both her and Nick over in the first place. She wondered what was so important to be summoned.
Nick momentarily glanced around the room, eyeing over all of the other officers in the vicinity. Many of them were crowded around the small television; One of those older and somewhat more cube-shaped ones that were around long before all of the world's electronics decided to slim down. The fox always thought it fascinating to watch and admire the progress of technology, and the innovations that stemmed from it. Just a few decades ago, everyone carried around newspapers and books with them, but now, it seemed that all anyone ever needed was their mobile device. Personally, Nick himself liked to watch the world around him during slow moments, instead of spending it all on his phone.
Mammals hadn't been given the gifts of sight and speech only to waste them playing with ridiculously expensive plastic toys, after all.
Back to the present moment, the fox took in the sight of at least half a dozen different police officers sitting around that fat TV, the types of species ranging from beavers to bears, and even a gray fox. Nick smiled to himself, reminiscing on his undercover experience disguised as a gray fox, along with his mate, Judy, who was dyed over so as to look like an arctic rabbit. Those were fun times. Simpler times. Shaking his head, Nick brought himself back to the situation at hand. Approaching the television, he leaned over the side of the box and tried to steal a glance at the screen. He only caught a momentary flicker what looked like a news anchor before one of the other officers got in the fox's way.
"Hey, move it or lose it, pal, I wanna see too!" Nick coyly claimed as he squirmed into a spot just big enough for himself. He heard Judy slip next to him as well.
Staring at the television, the two mammals gazed at the screen as it lit up with an aerial shot of some road somewhere in the Deciduous-District. A massive, dirt-filled crater was centered in the very middle of the street, razing the vicinity. Massive cracks spread out from in and around the hole like bolts of lightning from a thundercloud, branching off into smaller crevices similar to that of veins and capillaries. The section of road where the depression currently stood had been completely obliterated, with big chunks of cement, dirt, and asphalt being piled into the bowl of the crater. Amongst the rubble, the front half of a vehicle poked out from the sea of dirt and other ruin, clearly having fell into the hole.
"What is this?" The fox found himself asking, though none of the other officers around him answered, as it seemed that some sort of newsmammal was speaking out loud;
"Not even twenty minutes ago, on Cedar-Street in the Deciduous-District, a huge sinkhole appeared out of seemingly nowhere, swallowing two cars and destroying the road and surrounding area. There are no fatalities, but a total of three injuries, including one mammal from one of the cars, and the owner of a nearby small business that was effected by one of the cracks stemming from this massive crater. Currently, ZPD police officers are on the scene, trying to keep order and make sense of everything that's happened here."
"W-Woah..." Judy stuttered. "A sinkhole?"
"Interesting. I've never seen one in real life before." Nick claimed. "Think we'll get deployed there, or something? That'd be kinda neat."
One of the other police officers, this one being a male timber wolf, glanced down and stared at the smaller fox with intrigue. "That's the plan." He stated aloud.
"Huh?" Nick murmured, turning towards the wolf officer, whom stood over him as he spoke;
"Chief Urzo wants at least another five officers there. Some civilians got hurt, like the news reporter said, and the paramedics need some assistance tying down the area."
Practically the moment that those last few words left the wolf's mouth, Judy lept forward and grabbed her partner's forearm, somewhat startling him.
"Nick! Let's go help out at the scene!" She requested, her amethyst-colored eyes beaming with hope.
"Carrots, don't we have work to do here? Ya know, with the case and all?" The fox retorted.
"Yeah, we do, but we're still technically on break, right? At least for another hour. We should go and help out! It'll be fun! Besides, I'm tired of doing paperwork. Aren't you?"
Furrowing his brow and pursing his lips, Nick thoughtfully stroked at his chin. "I suppose we can spare the time. We would have probably just spent it eating, anyways." He said.
"See! That's the spirit!" Judy told him. The fox was pleased to see his partner so cheery and excited after so many days of boredom. "Besides, this should be a neat experience."
"Hey, if it helps us get even more on Chief Urzo's good side, then I'm all for it, fluff-butt. Ready to go when you are, I guess."
After a few more minutes of talk and preparation, the two aforementioned officers then set out for their assigned police cruiser, intent on making way to the location of the sinkhole and doing whatever they could to provide assistance to the civilians and other officers already on the scene. Recognizing that the event in its entirety must be a rather unorthodox one around these parts of the city, judging by all of the various reactions that Nick noticed thus far, he figured that there could be a considerable amount of media and press coverage at the area. The fox warned his partner, telling her to stay away from any cameras that might be there, since most of the public population didn't know that the two of them, practically being celebrities, were all the way out in the Deciduous-District, and they might've started to ask questions if it were to be discovered anytime soon.
Eventually, Nick and Judy arrived at the scene, and parked their vehicle in a safe spot just out of reach from the rather harrowing cracks and small crevices that snaked along the length of the road. Stepping out of the police cruiser, the two tiny officers then promptly made their way towards the center of the scene, where a number of other vehicles were situated, and a large gathering of onlookers, including various ZPD officers, civilians, newsmammals, and for some odd reason, a taco truck, stood around the crater's edge.
As they approached the crowd, Nick took note of the fractured pavement beneath his feet: The road had split into dozens of chunks, some small, others quite large, all connected by many cracks, all of which led back to the center of the sinkhole some twenty yards in the distance. Walking closer towards it, the fox simply could not help but muster a joke.
"Try not to step on one, Whiskers, we wouldn't want Bonnie to break her back now, would we?" Nick teased, causing Judy to roll her eyes.
"Oh, hush, you. My mom is one of the toughest bunnies I know!" Judy bit back. "It'll take a whole lot more than stepping on a little crack to break her."
Continuing to the pack of mammals that encircled the crater, Nick and Judy eventually managed to single out one of the higher-ranking police officers at the scene, a big male moose with very large horns. At the sight of the large mammal, the fox thought back the picture of that one long-dead Elktic King that Chief Urzo had shown them earlier nearly a week past. mentally comparing the horns of the two creatures, Nick wondered if that ancient elk was some kind of extinct mammal species, since as the fox recalled, his horns seemed much larger and more exotic than any regular old moose horns. Usually prehistoric mammal species were like that, what with the weird body parts and other additions.
Upon reaching the foot of the moose officer, whom held a thick clipboard under his arm, Judy introduced herself and her partner, effectively earning the moose's full attention.
"Officers Hopps and Wilde, reporting for duty." The rabbit began with a steadfast salute. "How can we be of service?"
The moose raised his eyebrows. "Ah, I know you two! The famous duo that saved the city all those years ago." He stated warmly. "Nice to see you here."
"Always good to meet a fan-" Nick started, but was cut off when Judy stepped on his foot. He silenced himself, but kept on smiling, having expected the act from her completely.
"Nick and I are pleased to meet you, sir. We came here to help with the scene. Anything we can do?"
"Oh, yes, right." The moose started, somewhat flustered as he began flipping through the papers on his clipboard. "Well, you could start by helping interview the witnesses."
"It's a good start." Nick said.
"Agreed." Judy claimed. "We'll get right to it. Thanks!"
Bidding a respectful farewell to the moose officer, Nick and Judy ultimately decided to briefly split up so as to cover more tasks, and to help with the situation that much quicker.
While Judy helped comfort one of the victims, Nick himself spoke with an elderly civilian, a zebra, who apparently held witness to the sinkhole's sudden appearance. The fox then questioned him about the environment before the sinkhole had split the earth, and wasn't very surprised to hear that the old mammal claimed to had felt a peculiar string of tremors before the ground broke open and started cracking. A single thought tugged at the back of Nick's mind all the while, though he couldn't pinpoint it during the discussion.
"Bah!" The old mammal grunted. "These quakes ain't nothin' compared to what I've seen back in my day!"
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what would that be, exactly?" He asked curiously.
"Picture it: The beautiful blue mountains of the woodlands tainted with the machinery of minin' companies! Those stingy suits tried to tear them up for profit. Fie! When they first started drillin' and diggin', they'd drop explosives down the holes they made! Shook the earth like a rattler in a baby's fat fingers! Scared off all the stupid tourists, too."
"Well, if it got rid of the tourists, they couldn't have been all that bad." The fox joked in somewhat of a sarcastic manner, though the older mammal didn't seem to catch on.
"All that bad?" He repeated irritably. "Those corporate yahoos nearly snapped the mountain range in half, they did! Thank the heavens the city government drove 'em out."
"So these mining and drilling companies caused earthquakes back then? Huh... Interesting." Nick muttered to himself as he wrote down what the interviewee claimed.
"Yessiree, they told us locals that there was nothin' to worry 'bout, but you know big-time business, always trying to tell ordinary folk what they want to hear. The minin' and frackin' and drillin' and diggin', day in, day out, just took its toll, didn't it? Once a part of The Painted Labyrinth collapsed because of it, nearly killing some mammals, the city government stepped in and took care of things, thankfully. Now, with these new quakes, I can't help but feel as though one of 'em must still be hidin' somewhere up there."
The old mammal guffawed in amusement, and then continued to chat with the fox officer for a few more minutes before being dismissed.
Staring down at the notes that he had taken during his discussion with the old zebra, Nick pondered over the connection between all of the events that had taken place. He then furrowed his brow, thinking about the recent disappearance of the marsupials, those mysterious tremors that caused the sinkhole, and the correlation that connected them all, and like a spark of electricity had surged straight through him, Nick's emerald-colored eyes widened in sudden realization, and he then balled both of his fists up in excitement.
The fox just barely noticed his partner approach him from the behind. "So, get anything good from the interview?" She asked calmly.
"Well, I sure hope that someone picks up that phone..." Nick began flatly, causing Judy's large ears to twitch in confusion.
Judy blinked. "Huh?" She muttered.
"Because I called it! Ha!" The fox quipped.
"What are you getting at, Nick? Did something happen?" Her ears stiffened in anticipation. "Did you figure out something important?" She asked.
Nick simply nodded his head.
"I think I just realized a little something... Those marsupials must be using those underground caves to move in secret! Men, supplies, stolen goods; All of it! Didn't I tell ya?"
"Yeah!" Judy cried out in agreement. "It would explain why we haven't seen any in the past few days! They must have changed tactics after that fiasco back in Beaverdam."
"Makes sense to me. I just finished talking to an old zebra, and he mentioned something about feeling tremors right before the sinkhole appeared. Iluka must be behind it."
The bunny then narrowed her eyes and trailed off for a brief moment before resuming her previous statement with a single question;
"But how does this relate to these earthquakes? Unless Iluka just so happens to have an army of moles, then I don't see how he could-"
"Dynamite!" Nick exclaimed out loud, snapping his fingers simultaneously. "The ZPD found bunches of it back at that warehouse we crashed, remember?"
"Is dynamite strong enough to cause quakes like this? To break the ground like this?" Judy questioned skeptically, gesturing towards the fractured road beneath her feet.
"No idea." Nick admitted. "But, just like any other force, I'm sure that if there was enough of it, then the rock would have to give way at some point, right?"
"I suppose so."
"Do you know what this means, Carrots?" The fox asked.
"Iluka really is underground! He's using those underground tunnels, t-the, the uh... The..." Judy trailed off, unable to find the proper words to label within her statement.
"Lava tubes." Nick interjected. "Caves carved out by lava flows."
"Yeah, those!" The rabbit finalized.
"All of those marsupials must have set up shack somewhere underground, in that cave system, The Painted Labyrinth. That's where they've been hiding this whole time."
Judy nodded. "Exactly. We need to go and tell Chief Urzo, immediately." She stated firmly.
"That, and our break time is almost up." The fox added in reminder. "Best we head back to Precinct Seven, anyways."
"Good plan. Say though, if they've been down there this whole time, searching for whatever, then how come nobody's seen them? Isn't the labyrinth some kinda tourist place?"
"Beats me. Maybe they're in one of the more quiet areas, farther away from where the tourists usually go. Secret tunnels, perhaps?" Nick guessed.
"Either that or they just made their own." Judy suggested. "That would explain all of the earthquakes, cracks, and sinkholes that have been popping up, as of late."
"Right. We'll figure it out soon enough. Until then, let's go!"
Promptly making their way back to the cruiser that they had arrived in, Nick and Judy turned on the ignition and then made way back for Precinct Seven. After helping out with the details of the sink hole accident, they figured that it was time they made their way back to Urzo with the knowledge that they had unearthed in the earth-breaking event. Eventually, the two of them arrived at their final destination, and then headed towards their temporary superior's office, where they encountered him at his office desk.
"You two again?" Urzo exclaimed upon their entrance, following his previous statement with a sigh. "What is it this time?" He questioned flatly.
Judy entered the room, with Nick following suit. "We think we figured something out, Chief." The rabbit claimed, while her foxy partner simultaneous gave an assuring nod.
"Something real big." He added.
At his desk on the other side of the space before the two smaller officers, Chief Urzo leaned back in his large black chair before clearing his throat aloud and stating hopefully;
"This had better be good."
Somewhere Deep Underground ; The Painted Labyrinth...
"Oi! Hurry it up over there, you slackers!" The tasmanian-devil called out. "Those crates aren't gonna move themselves! Get to it!"
Gripping a shovel in one paw and a piece of map parchment in the other, Iluka Rombahe continued to shout orders out at the small army of marsupials spread throughout the space of the cavern. Some lumbered around, setting up construction equipment, others were hunched over tables, eyeing over maps and other physical data, and the rest were digging away at the walls of the cave with a wide variety of excavation tools, such as pic-axes, sledgehammers, and dirty shovels. LED light poles and a small array of grimy tents were positioned on the outer reaches of the cavern, along with boxes of various explosives. Almost all of the marsupials present wore hardhats for safety, including Iluka himself.
They had transformed the massive cavern into a full-blown dig site.
Meanwhile, the head of the operation, Iluka Rombahe, joined a small group of his associates at one of the tables that had been set up for strategy. On it, a large stack of papers ranging from cave maps to travel pamphlets were all being analyzed and converged over by the marsupials before them. Once by their side, the tasmanian-devil spoke out;
"So, how is logistics coming along, mates? I hope we've gotten some progress since yesterday." He said with an undertone of intrigue.
"Aye, we most certainly have, sir!" One of the marsupials, a lean male dingo, claimed proudly. "Excavation is well under way, and we think that we're closing in on the goal."
With that last word, the dingo leaned forward and jabbed one of his padded fingers down upon the largest map on the table: The topographical layout of The Painted Labyrinth. Directly beneath the canine's clawed fingertip, the outline of a secondary cave system was displayed. Though the map stated that said system was closed off from exploration due to being sealed off, it didn't stop Iluka and his men from trying their hand at it. They had reason to believe that the tomb of their desires was located somewhere in that unexplored section, hidden away from the outside world, and full of long-forgotten treasure that was just ripe for the taking. The tasmanian-devil smiled a wide and toothy grin.
"Excellent. We're getting close... I can feel it!" He stated excitedly. "Keep up the good work, lads. I'll have a yarn with ya in a moment, but I gotta check on the others."
Turning tail and facing the massive wall of rock and rubble before him, Iluka Rombahe placed his paws on his belt and sighed longingly, intent on finishing what he had started.
Hey Everyone!
Once again, I thank you all for reading this latest chapter update of ours. With it, we draw ever closer to the upcoming final chapter of the 6th arc, of which is approaching us surprisingly fast! I have plenty of plans for the near future, but of course, with summer already(?) upon us, time will be in good quantity, so I do hope to be able to perform plenty of writing for you all. That being said, we're quite close to yet another statistical milestone! I'd absolutely adore it if we could reach this next big step on our journey sometime soon, so if you haven't already, please, feel free to favorite and follow this story! I'd like that.
Reviews are also most appreciated. I'd love knowing what all you people think of this latest chapter. In other news, I've recently gotten a whole new trove of fan-art, all of which can be found on my Tumblr account. Feel free to check those out, as all of them are exceedingly well-done, and the artists behind them deserve all the appreciation that they can get. Alongside that, if you're an artist yourself, and have considered the idea of contributing, then you're more than welcome to do so. I appreciate all that comes my way.
Anyways, that's pretty much all I got to say for now. Thanks for reading, as always, and do stay tuned for the next chapter, coming your way soon! :)
'Till next time...
Peace!