Chapter 43 Allies or Enemies
Edited by Euphonemes
AN: A HUGE thanks to Koraru-san, Ake'cheta(knoton13), Bluelighthouse, OceRydia and Ziegelzeig for letting me use them in this story. Please check out their DeviantArt pages as they are all amazing artists and more importantly, wonderful friends. ^_^
Eliot didn't need to be told twice. His nostrils twitched in the stale air, sniffing for the freshest air stream meandering into the cave. Nick sauntered up to Judy's side, his arms crossed, leaning against the cavern wall.
"Eliot here has the best sniffer this side of Mississipony River. He'll find which path is the best to take, no problemo."
Judy simply nodded, watching the wolf work as he took cautious steps towards the main path. Her amusement stalled when Eliot halted after barely any steps. Ears perking, he abruptly turned and headed back down the tunnel the way they came. Nick pulled away from the wall, following his friend.
"What the...Eliot? What are you doing?" Nick heard laughter behind him, the barely flickering torch alighting Judy's face, showing her amusement at the scene.
Judy held back a snort, yet a coy smile graced her lips in the dancing torchlight. "Seems like someone's sniffer might be broken."
Nick shook his head. "He's never been wrong before."
The group parted for the wolf, dividing the confused mammals as his pace quickened. Halting once more, Eliot straightened and waved Nick towards him. The fox barely made it a few steps before the wolf was off and running.
"We don't have time for this…" Nick grumbled as he jogged, Judy by his side with Chloe joining them.
"Eliot's nose is never wrong, Nicholas." Chloe's voice was calm, but chiding in tone with an aura of knowledge, as if she'd seen this before. It wasn't long until the group came back to the stream issuing from the wall of the cave. If it weren't for Chloe grabbing Eliot's tail, the canine would have jogged right into the murky water and crumbling sandstone.
Nick huffed, annoyed and grumbling as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Eliot, why did you lead us to this...stream."
Coming out of his daze, Eliot blinked back the surprise, cocking his head as he scratched his chin. "Uh...I'm not sure. The air just smelled less stale from here?"
Nick nursed his growing headache. Judy walked forward, placing a paw against the wall near where the water gurgled forth from its hole. Bits and pieces of dirt and rock fell as she scratched around the hole until a large clump plopped into the stream, damming the entire area. Judy pressed her paw against the plug, waiting several minutes until water began seeping around the blockage until, finally, it exploded past her paw, the rabbit leaping out of the way of the gush of water and soil spilling out onto the pathway.
"Where's that bear we freed…" Judy mumbled, scanning the group in the diminishing torchlight. A large black bear stumbled forward, raising his paw. "Whatcha need, Miss?"
"Judy?"
The doe looked to Nick with a smile. "I think Eliot has found us a way out that won't be a challenge."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "You're going to need to explain this one to me…"
"Pipes."
"Pipes?" Nick repeated, staring at the now more-sizable hole.
Judy nodded. "At my family farm, we have to pipe in water to where some of our fields are. This hole is acting as a pipe for the water that is coming from above us...from above ground."
"Still," Nick interjected, holding up his paws. "Only a teensy little otter could shimmy their way up that opening, and what if they are stuck? They'll drown."
Judy's smile broadened. "Yes, but blocking this showed me how much open area is behind this teensy hole." The doe looked at the bear. "Can you pound this wall a bit for me, por favor?"
Shrugging his shoulders at the odd request, the bear did as told and began hammering at the wall where Judy indicated, right above the now larger hole.
"This rock is barely rock at all," Judy continued. "It's basically sediment that the river above has pushed here by force. This all used to be underground rivers for what is now above us. And a cavern this big requires a lot of water to form. And if it hadn't come in from the entrance…"
Nick grinned. "Then it would have had to come in from somewhere else...say, here."
Judy nodded.
"Clever bunny."
"You know you love me."
Placing a paw on Judy's shoulder, he leaned in and gently kissed her lips. "More than you know, mi amor." Judy's lips chased his, not wanting the feeling of bliss to end, and she pouted inwardly as they parted. Though she wouldn't allow him to move away any further than their lips no longer touching. She leaned into the tod, letting her head rest against his chest, relishing how quickly his heart beat at her touch and equally gleeful at how he wrapped his arm and tail around her shoulder and legs. It made her want to lean up again, to press her lips against his own once more yet, the atmosphere around her brought her back down to earth.
Now was not the time for such things.
"So, tell me Judy," Nick stated as he watched the bear slam his large paws against the wall, and unaware of the conflicted bunny by his side. Large clumps of sediment and even small rocks were tumbling out of the stream, and cracks were splitting the wall around them. "How do you know there is a passage behind this seemingly solid wall of rock and stone?"
Judy's laugh filled the empty tunnel. "You learn a lot as a burrower, Nicholas. Especially when helping your family dig a new section for your warren. We've run across our fair share of underground streams. The dirt and 'stone' around this area is too much like river silt and sediment piled up." She pointed at the darker coloration of the area around the gurgling rivulet. "This was all sediment from a river, or whatever is feeding this stream, from above. Larger sediment plugs a hole, and the water just, finds a way around it, creating a larger tunnel."
Nick looked more closely at the wall, the light from the torch revealing large rocks surrounded by, what now at closer inspection, did indeed look like silt deposits.
CRACK!
Judy's ears and Nick tail jumped up at the loud splintering sound echoing through the chambers around them. The eerie noise caused nervous glances to be shared around the group. Nick slowly walked back from the wall as a slow rumbling sound sent flecks of dirt and stone down like rain. Judy and Nick motioned for the group to head up from the stream as more pieces of wall tumbled down.
Once the wall steadied, the bear looked at Judy, a bit of nervousness in his gaze. She nodded. "One more good one, por favor."
He raised his paws and, after a moment's hesitation, slammed them against the wall. It gave way with a terrible cracking sound, and the wall crumbled into a void behind it.
The only sound that was louder was Judy's whoop of delight. "Yes! It worked!" The rabbit binkyed, leaping into the air only to be caught by Nick. She blinked in surprise before his lips met hers, her arms wrapping around his face quickly as the kiss deepened.
"Awwwww! Pumpkin, look! That is what we need to teach this other fox and bunny couple to do! Here you two, let me put you together like Don Wilde and Capitán Hopps!"
Eyes widening in alarm, Judy leapt out of Nick's arms while the fox raced over to halt his fellow Don, who was busily trying to get the fox in the scarf to hold the white-furred doe in his arms.
Rolling her eyes, Judy went back to gazing into the hole. She didn't know how much erosion would have taken place, or how long the stream had been running into this tunnel, but her bet, and Eliot's nose, had paid off.
Clear of all the blockage, years of sediment, water and debris flowed from the wall and down the passageway. A few minutes of spilling soil, silt, wood and foliage passed until the stream slowed, and, what was more surprising, light trickled down the tunnel that had just been revealed.
Judy was grateful for the tunnel to have cleared, as she anxiously looked behind her, deep into the darkened tunnel and worrying if they'd been heard. Was the guard supposed to have checked in already? Was a host of soldiers already marching towards them? Should they begin preparing a defensive line, but with what? The weapons they had were small, and swords are no use against guns in long, empty tunnels.
The doe felt a paw on her shoulder, the warmth of it instantly calming. Looking up into the eyes of Nick, he seemed to be thinking the same things, but…
...his smile let her know everything was going to be okay.
Judy turned around to face cheering mammals, with Nick's smile buoying her spirits. "Gentlemammals, we've found your escape route."
Woops and cries of praise rang through the cave as mammals flooded towards the new opening. Starved for freedom, they pushed and shoved, anxious to be the first to bite into that delectable fruit. Over the din and cry of the imprisoned mammals, another type of shout had Judy's ears flicking back towards the tunnels.
"Nick?"
"Yes?" the fox asked, turning to see what was bothering his bun. Just as the pathway to freedom was lit by a dim spot of light, the tunnels that led away from the prison now also held a soft glow of flickering flames. At the tunnel's entrance, a deer and mountain lion stood, guns raised at the fleeing crowd.
Her worst fears realized...they'd been found.
Click.
The gun fired, and a thunderclap burst through the shouts of joy, distorting them into screams of panic as mammals pushed blindly away from the sound of death. One of the two bullets tore into the left arm of the bear. He roared in pain, nearly covering the sound of the second bullet ricocheting off the walls. Footfalls from deeper within the cavern echoed around them, as well as shouts from the two guards guiding the way towards the escapees.
Judy immediately went into Capitán mode, shouting orders to the group."Get out of here, now! Eliot, lead these mammals to safety while Nicholas and I distract them, hurry!"
With a salute as crisp as one of her solders, Eliot began organizing the mammals into a steady stream, helping them into the upturned opening and picking up ones who slipped in the mossy and slimy stream they waded through.
"You jerks!"
Judy's head whipped around, following the trajectory of a rock that whizzed past her ears. It bounced harmlessly off the wall near the mountain lion, but did cause the big cat to flinch. Another rock sailed past, and this time Judy saw her assailant. The bunny who had been arguing with the fox in the cell earlier already had a third rock in her paw, attempting to throw it as the fox with the scarf held the struggling bunny while running towards the exit.
"Let me at them! Nobody shoots at my vilain renard*!"
"Rocks…" The thought struck Judy as the next bullet nearly nicked her ear. The path was strewn with debris from knocking out the wall, and if that rabbit could throw them…
"Nick!"
"Yes?"
Can you take them down if I provide cover?"
"Cover? Cover with what?" the exasperated fox shouted as a third mammal joined the two firing upon the group. A Behind them, a sheep bleated in pain before falling silent to the ground, crimson blood dyeing the wool around the new hole in his skull.
Judy deftly flicked the rock up with her foot, then with a swift kick smashed it towards the deer. She was rewarded with an ugly snap. The deer let out a guttural bleating sound as his gun-toting arm splintered. The gun tipped and wobbled before firing, shooting the mountain lion in the shin.
"This cover!" Judy shouted as the third mammal looked on in shock at his companions, both writhing in pain. That opening was all Don Wilde needed as he sped towards the group while rock after rock flew past his head. He trusted that Judy knew what she was doing, even if some of the rocks were coming quite close to his head and at dangerous speeds.
Nick needn't worry for too long, as he was on them a second later, crushing the hilt of his blade into the deer's skull, sending him into an uneasy slumber. Nick leapt against the opposite wall to gain height before planting both his feet into the mountain lion's jaw, snapping the cat's head into the rock behind him. He crumpled to the ground as the third guard, a fellow fox, drew his sword. The sound of tempered steel was sliding across leather when a whistling sounded in Nick's ear and one last stone caught the mammal in the forehead. Eyes crossed, as if he wanted to see the pain, then his body slumped to his knees, then to the ground in a haphazard heap of fur and flesh.
Nick quickly checked for pulses, letting out a sigh of relief when he found them on all three. Judy quickly joined him, searching them as the bear from their group lumbered up, tying off a makeshift bandage around his arm made from the tattered remains of his shirt sleeve.
"Make sure to protect this group when they're up. We don't know where that tunnel may lead, so the group must remain silent. Have Don Fanghanel lead you back to Zootopia, comprende? And once everyone is out, find a way to block this tunnel!"
"Si, Señorita."
Passing along the weapons from the unconscious guards, Judy and Nick watched as the bear turned and joined Eliot. The two kept their conversation short before the bear gently picked up the deceased ram and disappeared into the cave exit.
Eliot watched his friends as the last of the mammals escaped. "You two are coming with us, no?"
Nick shook his head. "I'm sorry, amigo. But with all this noise we've made here, as well as these estúpidas guardias* firing off their guns, we'll try and cause a diversion to allow you to escape."
"But…"
"No, Eliot," Nick commanded, a fiery glint in his eyes and in his words. "Lead them to Zootopia, discreetly, if possible. Besides…" Nick shrugged, his canine whites flashing a smile in the darkness, "We still have to pay a visit to the leader of all this."
"Nick's right, Eliot," Judy sounded, affixing the fox guard's dagger and its sheath on her own belt. "Once you get to Zootopia, I want you to contact Weidii and Valorie. They'll be able to contact Admiral Wilde and Sergeant Clawhauser about this mess. We'll need their support when we make it back to Zootopia."
"When you make it back…" Eliot repeated, hope sounding in his words.
"Yes, when we're back," Judy repeated with a light smile. "Now go, you have Chloe and the others to defend."
Nodding quickly, the white wolf disappeared up the cavern as the sound of more voices rushing towards them filled the tunnels. The fox and bunny looked around them, the sudden quiet compared to the prior battle creating an ominous feeling in the cold, humid air.
Nick eyed their surroundings while picking up the dropped torch from the guards. "I can hear at least three sets of voices, and know by that look you're giving me that you can hear even more…"
"Eleven."
"So eleven against two," Nick huffed. "That doesn't seem fair."
"For them, maybe," Judy replied with a smile, one which Nick's teeth couldn't help but join.
"How did I know you would say that?"
"You know me too well, perhaps?"
"I want to know you better."
"Fight now, flirt later, Nicholas."
"How about distract now, flirt too?"
Judy shot Nick a frustrated glance, though the glint in his eyes was all too familiar. "What's the plan, slick?"
Nick walked towards the nearest guard and pulled at an arm. "Grab the other, would you?"
Together, the two plotted and planned in the dark, dragging the guards down the vacated cave towards their own cell, away from the escape tunnel. Once all three were slumped against the wall, Nick and Judy managed to dash behind a rocky outcropping before a veritable earthquake of paws rumbled into the intersection.
"Where are they?"
"Where's Lucas, Sam and Solider?"
Nick and Judy cautiously glanced from their corner, spying the group of soldiers looking about.
"Over here!"
The group turned as one down the other path, surging forward at a fast trot.
"They must be down this way, hurry!"
Once the last of the guards' steps disappeared, Judy and Nick cautiously darted back into the intersection. Nick took a cautious sniff, wincing at the smell and waving a paw in front of his nose.
"Ay caramba, one would think they would know what a bath is."
Judy snickered. "Strong enough scent to lead us out of here?" Nick nodded immediately before grabbing Judy's paw and leading her off into the darkness.
Eliot scampered out of the hole, pushing aside the vines and tendrils covering it while holding Chloe in his arms, breathing in the fresh air. The other prisoners were idling about the area, a few finding a nearby blackberry bush and devouring the berries by the pawful as others drank deeply from the clear, fresh pond above the tunnel. The mood of the group was like day and night, with the foreboding gloom of a prisoner replaced by the joyful freedom of the escaped.
"We did it, Pumpkin!" Eliot said, nuzzling his wife as she held him tightly. Neither noticed their dingy appearance or coarse, matted fur, simply choosing to revel in the feelings of hope that were springing forth.
"We did," Chloe replied, "Though I hope that Capitán Hopps and Don Wilde will be safe. Don't...don't forget what they asked us to do."
Eliot's ears perked up as the final escapee exited the tunnel. The bear was somber, holding their deceased prisoner as he looked to the sky, closing his eyes and shedding tears. Of joy or sadness, or both, neither wolf nor thylacine could tell. "I wish I could go back down there and help them," Eliot whispered.
"You know they can handle themselves."
"I know, Pumpkin."
"Do this for them, then."
Eliot nodded once before gently placing Chloe on the ground. "Now how to close this tunnel?" The white wolf examined the scenery. The river roiled past the edge of a nearby cliff. Most of the mammals were gathered in small groups next to the pond, milling about in a semi-daze. Behind him, the mountain loomed tall, pines and shrubs hiding its summit from view. To his left, the fox and bunny from earlier were arguing once more, something Eliot resolved to fix as he watched the bunny try and hug the fox, only for him to try and pull her off of his chest. To his right…
Eliot smiled. "Perfecto!"
A small shack stood, its doors' metal hinges rusted with age and wood covered in brambles and vines. Yet the aged hut still showed one item that piqued his interest...that of a skull and a word: explosivo*.
"Perfecto!"
Eliot happily made short work of the rotting door, tearing it off its rusted hinges and tossing it aside like a limp rag. The inside of the room was a ghastly sight, now awash in a mid-afternoon sun it hadn't seen in ages. The floor moved, incredible numbers of cockroaches and insects scattering, hiding from the brilliance of the outside as Eliot stepped into their domain.
"Where are they, where are they…" Eliot scanned the room, tipping over boxes and scattering their contents across the floor in his frenzied search. He wisely avoided lighting an old lantern still hanging from a rotting crossbeam, instead letting his eyes adjust. The noises outside, including many raised voices and shouts, meant nothing to him when he finally found a box of what he was looking for.
He delicately lifted several of the red, wax-wrapped sticks in his paws, tail thumping behind him at an increasing rate.
"Eliot? Eliot!"
Only the voice of his dearest broke his trance. Looking back at the opening, he saw Chloe blocking the light, a nervous expression upon her face.
"What is it, Pumpkin?"
"Some mammals have shown up outside. They surrounded everyone and I...I don't know who they are and…"
Eliot shot past her quicker than a rattlesnake's strike, bounding through the door with a growl on his lips and dynamite in his paws. All of the rescued mammals were huddled together, surrounded by a circle of predators. The coyotes, lycaons and wolves all had their fur painted an assortment of varied designs and shapes. Their clothing showed they were from local native tribes, though the weapons in their paws and eyes boring into the approaching wolf caused Eliot a moment's pause as he ground to a stop a safe distance away.
"Which one of you startled my Pumpkin!" Eliot growled as several of the painted dogs stepped forward.
"Are you the leader of this group?" one of the lycaons asked as he stared down Eliot.
"No, and you better get going after how you've scared my Pumpkin or I'll-"
His words were cut off as a brisk wind cut through the clearing, bringing a chilled breeze from the mountains above to the group below. An involuntary shudder ran through the huddled mass of rescued mammals as a coyote stepped forward, two tomahawks in his paws, eyes glowing bright as the shadows around him darkened.
"Are you with Don Wilde and Capitán Hopps?" the coyote asked. There was no emotion to his words, but a clear edge of danger tingled inside Eliot's heart.
"Yes," Eliot gulped. "Who are you?"
The coyote nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer as the oppressive feeling of darkness fled the clearing and pond. Eliot could only stand, confused, as the coyote plucked several sticks of dynamite from his paws, before tossing them to a nearby painted dog. "Tell me, white wolf, where are the Don and Capitán now?"
"They said they were going to distract the guards and go through the cave to let us escape through there…" He pointed towards the opening at the edge of the pond, moving slightly to keep himself between this unknown predator and his wife. Chloe had snuck behind him, hugging Eliot's waist as she looked at the group in front of them.
Again the wolf's words were met with a voiceless nod as the coyote tossed the sticks to his fellow warriors. "Pàk'ínk patúlpatúl wanáynakt."*
"We will," the lycaon replied, before turning to his tan companion. "Come on, Atom. Let's have some fun."
The other painted dog grinned, tail wagging as he produced flint from a pouch on his waist. The two trundled off towards the exit tunnel as the coyote turned back to face Eliot.
Eliot stared in alarm as the tanner wild dog lit one of the sticks and eagerly tossed it into the hole.
"NO!"
Eliot charged forward, only to be halted by a tomahawk to his throat. He took a step back as a loud explosion ripped through the air. Dust, soot, rocks and debris flew from the tunnel's entrance as the sound of collapsing rocks rang in everyone's ears.
"Now Nicholas and Judy's wishes are fulfilled," the coyote stated simply. "I trust they will find a way out safely."
Eliot blinked at the familiarity the coyote spoke with towards his friends. "Who are you?"
The coyote smiled.
"I, am Ake'cheta." He waved his paw towards the warriors gathered around him. "This is my tribe…" The coyote centered his gaze back upon Eliot.
"And we," he stated, a glint in his eyes as he clasped a paw onto Eliot's shoulder while several warriors walked into the shack behind them. "...are going to cause some mayhem."
AN: So, was the wait worth it? Do you like the cameo's? Does this answer everyone's question of where Ake'cheta went to? Lots of craziness coming up in the next chapter, which, I mean, I'm giving Eliot dynamite so...yeah. XD On a more serious note, I know I'll get questions about their escape method through that silt tunnel, and yes, before anything else, they do exist. Rare, but they do happen and here Judy just took her knowledge of burrowing and applied it. I hope it makes sense as geologically, it is valid what happened. ^_^
Translations:
vilain renard: (French) Naughty Fox
estúpidas guardias: Stupid Guards
Explosivo: explosives
Pàk'ínk patúlpatúl wanáynakt: Close that tunnel