Of all the stupid things he had done in his life (of which there were many), Robin quickly decided this was at the top of the list.
Between the fact that he had horribly miscalculated his jump to where he almost met the wheels of the train, had grabbed onto the ladder on the side of a container in such a way as to nearly dislocate his arm, and having not totally recovered from his scuffle with the silver fox, this was turning out to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. Throw in the fact that it was night time and the metal was cold as all hell, and he didn't know why he decided this would even work.
As he had jumped, Judy had called out something to him, but it was lost as he was carried swiftly away on the train. He looked at the ground below him and saw the ground speeding by, the fear of falling making him haul himself up the ladder and onto the container. Robin glanced back, crouching on the top, to see Nick's pickup driving on the tracks behind the train, keeping pace a safe distance behind. With a nod he knew they couldn't see, the fox began to push forward against the wind, flinging himself over the gaps between cars and carefully stepping through the containers of coal, keeping to one side and holding onto the edge so he wouldn't sink down into the cargo.
The silver fox was sitting inside the empty car he had landed in once Robin found him, propped against the back wall below him. Robin jumped from the car he was on, bringing a clump of coal with him. The silver fox looked up and shoved himself away just as Robin landed where he had been a moment before. "You're one stubborn sonofabit-" the silver fox started, cut off as Robin lashed out and kicked his muzzle. He grunted and held his muzzle as Robin went for another kick, the silver fox catching his foot and shoving it away. Robin fell to the ground after spinning into the edge of the car, both foxes quickly scrambling to their feet.
"Why are you even a part of this?" Robin asked, standing in a boxer's stance.
The silver fox scoffed, taking up what seemed like a modified jiu jitsu stance, body held low and arms slightly extended. "You have no idea what we're trying to do, do you? Nature's all out of whack, and we're just trying to fix it. Natural order."
"Natural order changes with natural progression," Robin replied. "Things are the way they are for a reason. Why fight it so much?"
"Because it's not working!" The silver fox spat. "But this would. If you would just fucking die!" The silver fox lunged for Robin, who sidestepped him and grabbed the back of his shirt, spinning him around and throwing him to the opposite wall, where he landed with a thud before slowly pushing himself off the ground. Robin was already to him, though, kicking the side of the fox's head into the metal wall before crouching down and giving him a harsh punch to the jaw, the silver fox weakly trying to grab at the red fox before falling limp, eyes shutting as he lost consciousness. Robin immediately began rifling through the fox's pockets, sighing in relief as he found the dog tags, tucking them safely into one of his zipper pockets. The reynard turned to the cars leading back to the pickup, only to freeze as something was thrown at him from the left.
The black SUV from before was back, slightly ahead of the car he was on, several mammals throwing the back doors open and getting ready to jump. They were all smaller, the largest being a coyote, the smallest being an otter, each one giving Robin a death stare. "Oh, come on!" he shouted, staring as the first passenger, the otter, leaped onto the side of the car and scrambled over the side, launching himself at Robin.
Robin jumped back, letting the smaller predator fly into the metal wall of the car, falling down with a thud. Another fox, an arctic one, boarded next, swinging a punch from behind Robin. He spun around to face the attacker, barely missing the blow as he grabbed the smaller fox's arm and used his momentum to swing him around, slamming him into the car's side. When the smaller fox bounced back forwards as a result, Robin raised a foot and kicked forward, sending him back into the wall, where he collapsed to a seated position.
Robin glanced at the SUV, watching in horror as the coyote prepared to jump on next, only for the vehicle to swerve as gunfire sounded from behind them. The pickup pulled up behind the SUV, Judy leaning from the passenger side window with Robin's P99, taking careful shots at the tires of the vehicle ahead of them.
"Just fuckin' throw me, ya daft shit!" Robin heard, turning his attention back to the SUV. The coyote reared back with something in his grip, a black bundle of armor and metal showing inside.
"No," Robin said. "No, no, no!"
The coyote threw the hare from before over the gap between his vehicle and the train, who landed with a heavy thud as he crashed onto his side, scrambling for his flamethrower. Robin stepped forward to attack, just as the fox behind him wrapped his arms under his armpits and locked fingers behind his head. "Smoke this bastard!" he called out, turning to put Robin in front of the hare as he did so. Robin grit his teeth and shifted his right foot to hook around the fox's leg, pulling it forward and pushing himself backwards to make the two fall down, the smaller tod crying out and letting go as they landed and Robin's injured side aching from the impact. Robin rolled to the side and immediately charged at the hare, reaching him just as flames began to spew from his flamethrower.
Robin grabbed the hare by the neck and slammed him against the metal wall behind him, but the tank on his foe's back kept him from doing much harm. The hare swung his flamethrower, smacking Robin in the side and making him yelp at the hot metal as the heat seared through his clothes. The arctic fox ran up to the two and swung again at him, but Robin ducked down and grabbed his shirt collar, shoving him into the hare. The two stumbled back as Robin turned, hoping to reach the back of the car this time, but was stopped by the otter tackling him. He clawed at the reynard's eyes, but Robin's longer arms held him at bay as he rolled the two over and punched the otter in the face. This dazed the smaller mammal, and Robin took advantage of this by standing up and grabbing his tail, swinging the otter around and sending him into the arctic fox and hare, sending the group into the corner yet again, and giving him just enough time to catch his breath.
"Catch!" someone shouted, making Robin turn to see the coyote hurl a ninja-style dual-edged sword at the car, the object bouncing off one of the walls and to the far side.
"Are you outta your damn mind?!" Robin hollered, turning to take the weapon – surely it wasn't meant for him, but it would do. The silver fox was back up, though, and had beaten him to it. "Who brings a sword to an ambush?!"
The silver fox charged at Robin, sword raised. He swung down as he reached striking distance, the double-edged shortsword missing Robin by inches as he ducked, punching the silver fox's side twice before he swung it horizontally. He aimed too high, though, and another duck sent the blade over the red fox's head, Robin quickly standing up and kicking the fox's other side before punching the left side of his head. The fox swung around with the blow, coming around and stabbing at the red fox. Robin saw this coming and sidestepped the attack, grabbing the silver fox's wrist and ducking under, twisting his foe's arm and bringing him down as he lifted the sword arm into the air, adding a quick kick to the back of his knee to force him lower. Robin then placed his other foot against the silver fox's head and pushed, sending him crashing to the ground and freeing the sword, which he grasped firmly in his right paw.
Robin turned to the group that he had sent in the corner, all three now on their feet and facing him. The hare leveled his flamethrower again, leaving Robin little time to react. Judy fired from the pickup, rounds pinging off the hare's armor and making him flinch, leaving Robin just enough time to rush forward, kicking the otter away before he swung his sword at the hare's flamethrower, severing the line connecting the tank and the gun assembly. The hare had no time to react as Robin gave another kick forward, shoving him into the fox before he spun to face the otter and silver fox.
Robin took a fist from the left, spinning around with the blow as stars filled his vision, barely able to see a fifth mammal on the car, this one being the coyote. His heart fell as he backed up and regained his bearings, eyes darting around as he began to get surrounded. A blur of gray caught his eye from behind the group, and the coyote fell to the side as Judy landed in his place. She immediately spun to face the silver fox and otter, sidestepping with Robin so they met in between the group of hostiles. "Thanks, Hop Along," he said. In the back of his mind, there was an unsettling feeling – Judy, being a rabbit, didn't have the natural night vision of a predator. The sound of the train, which was easily a deafening one to him if he didn't try to block it out a bit, was also a hinderence.
She was out of her element, and it bothered him. But as she quickly showed, that didn't make her helpless. "Just shut up and fight," she responded, jumping forward to take on her share of enemies, the fox she faced letting out a cry as her feet met his chest with a forceful kick.
Robin grunted and gave a nod as he leveled the shortsword with the group ahead of him, the hare throwing his now-useless flamethrower at the fox and dropping the tank from his back. Robin spun around the assembly, jumping forward and swinging for the hare's leg.
More gunfire came from the left, making the coyote duck down before climbing up the car in front of them, grabbing pieces of coal and hurling them at the pickup. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw Nick swerving to avoid letting the windshield break from the impacts, shouting "Will you stop throwing shit? I'm trying to drive here!" The SUV slowed down in front of the pickup and another mammal jumped from it, onto Nick's vehicle, before it got pushed out of the way. Nick shouted angrily before his truck slipped out of sight, the coyote jumping down and past Robin. The only light source there was for Judy to use was now fading away, making the worried feeling he had for the rabbit grow.
Robin raised up the sword and shoved upwards as the arctic fox tried to punch him in the head, the foe's fist colliding with the edge of the weapon. He cried out and immediately withdrew his arm, stepping back in clear agony as Robin swung at the hare, the tip of the sword scratching a line on top of the painted motorcycle helmet. The hare launched himself at Robin, nearly sending him to the ground as he held onto the fox's shoulders and began to headbutt him, Robin collapsing and dropping the sword as he raised both arms to protect himself, darkness filling the edges of his vision and a faint pounding in his ears.
The weight of the hare vanished as Judy let out a grunt, having been thrown into the armored mammal and knocking him off of Robin. She scrambled up and moved to jump back into the fight as her foot was grabbed and she was sent to the floor by the hare. Robin rolled and rose up to help her, only to be stopped by the silver fox as his shoulder was grabbed. Robin was spun around and narrowly avoided a punch to the face, the otter wrapping around one of his legs and biting at it – thankfully, his boots kept him from feeling much more than a little pressure.
Robin punched the silver fox's stomach several times, forcing him backwards, before reaching down and grabbing the otter by the back of his neck, squeezing harsly at a pressure point to make him go limp before turning and hurling the otter at the coyote, who was currently poised over Judy, holding her in place as the hare grabbed the bloodied sword. "Get her, Abe!" the coyote shouted, stumbling only slightly at the impact.
Robin charged at Abraham again, grabbing the wrist that held the sword and yanking it backwards a kicking the hare's knee. Robin pulled the sword free as the silver fox wrapped his arms around the taller reynard's neck, but Robin again hooked one leg around the other's and fell backwards, using the impact to roll free. The otter jumped for Robin again, but he spun around the smaller mammal and let him crash into the arctic fox, turning to help Judy once he'd regained his sense of direction, and his breath.
Instead, the rabbit began to rapidly kick at the large canid's stomach, making him grunt in pain before he let go of her neck. From sheer force of her kicks, he began to stand upright, before Judy rolled to her back and pushed off the ground, kicking him savagely in the jaw and sending the coyote toppling to the ground. It wouldn't surprise Robin if she had knocked the poor mammal out.
"Hopps, get out of here!" Robin shouted, pointing to Nick's pickup.
"No way," she coughed, one paw rubbing her throat. "Not until you do!"
"Don't fucking argue," Robin hissed, shoving the rabbit to the edge of the car. "You can't see as well as us, or hear as well as you normally could. You're going to get hurt if you stay, now go! Get the pickup to the back of the train, I'll meet you there!"
Judy didn't argue any further, seeing sense in Robin's demand, turning and jumping into the bed of the pickup as Nick drew it closer. There was an unconscious mammal in the back seat, a female weasel from the looks of it, and Nick's fur was ruffled, but he otherwise seemed okay. Judy shouted something as Robin turned to the attackers – four on one, with the fifth slowly pulling himself together.
Robin grit his teeth, running to the front of the car and attempting to climb up the ladder to the top. He felt claws brush against his tail as he climbed, and looked down to see the coyote holding the otter in his grasp, poised to throw. Robin waited until the otter was being sent into the air to push off the container, landing on the ground and rolling before spinning around and chucking the sword at the coyote, listening to his pained howl as he sprinted for the back container. He reached it and began climbing up with no opposition, save one fox briefly grabbing his foot before being kicked in the face hard enough to send him back down.
When Robin reached the top of the carrier, he began forcing his way to the back of the train, running along the roofs he encountered before leaping over to the next car. He couldn't hear anyone behind him, but he didn't dare look back in case he stumbled.
When he reached the final car, Robin could see the pickup behind the train, keeping pace just a short jumping distance away. A weight came over him from behind as he reached the halfway mark, though, the hare from before tackling him to the ground and swinging the sword down to him with a wild cry. Robin rolled over to throw him off, scrambling to his feet and pushing forward only to be swiftly tackled again. He hissed and rolled over, the hare again on top of him and swinging the sword down. Robin caught his arms mid-swing, stopping the blade inches from his face. Robin pushed up, forcing Abraham's arms up before giving him a savage punch under the helmet, knocking him backwards and making him release the sword. Metal clattered as the weapon fell away and off of the car. Robin pushed back on the hare, shoving his knee between the two and pushing again.
Abraham rose to his feet at the same time as Robin, charging at the fox. Robin took a deep breath, finally able to feel all the pain filling his body after a brief respite, throwing himself to the floor behind Abraham as the hare swung high for him. Robin rolled onto his back and kicked at his foe, making the hare stumble forward, dangerously close to the edge. Robin scrambled to his feet again and raced to the edge, grabbing the back of the hare's armor and pulling, spinning him around and sending him to the ground, where he began to slide towards the edge.
The hare grabbed onto a small groove on the top of the car and began picking himself up, Robin turning and readying himself to jump to the pickup. Pain shot through his back as something struck him, nearly sending him over the side before he regained his balance and spun around, noticing one of the hare's shoulder pieces now laying between them.
"C'mon, lad, give me all ya' got!" the hare shouted, pounding a fist into his palm as he stood.
"You're crazy," Robin shouted back, glancing back at the pickup to gauge his jump. Another blow to the back, and Robin teetered too close to the edge for his comfort. He spun around, fists raised, to see that the silver fox was now standing with Abraham, both staring him down. Robin took a deep breath and took a boxing stance, staring back. "Come on, then," he shouted, taking a few steps forward. He knew he'd miss the pickup if he was hit just as he jumped, something he didn't want to risk.
The fox ran forward first, bringing up his leg to kick Robin, but the red fox caught his foot and jabbed at his neck but hit lower than he wanted, making the silver fox stumbled backwards and collapse. Abraham charged at him, punching his side right as his ally fell, Robin grunting and holding his side with one arm as the other caught the hare's other fist. Robin then pulled him close, bringing up a knee to his face, causing a satisfying crack to be heard from the helmet.
Robin then spun the hare around and grabbed the back of his helmet, pushing him forward and down, smashing it into the metal roof of the train car with another loud crack. He looked up just in time to catch the silver fox's foot being sent to his face, making him spin around and collapse to the ground, stars briefly filling his vision again. He stood as the fox tried another kick, Robin again catching it but this time lifted his foe's leg higher and raising his knee, hitting the fox between the legs and letting him fall down as he let out a cry filled with pain, writhing on the roof. Abraham was rising to his feet again, spitting something out as he turned to Robin, revealing a break in the visor to the helmet that showed one amber eye filled with a fire of rage.
The hare charged at Robin once more with what could've been a war cry, the fox meeting him head on with a quick knee to the chest to stop him, before punching the hare's sides as he latched onto the fox's leg. Robin brought down his elbows onto the hare's back, hoping for the impacts to get through the armor. His attention was drawn away as the pickup honked from behind, Judy shouting at him.
"There's a tunnel ahead, you have to jump!"
Robin turned to look ahead of the train and, sure enough, there was the entrance to a tunnel not far ahead, the entrance of which came low enough that Robin knew it could take his head off if he wasn't careful. He snapped his attention back down to Abraham, who was pressing against him with all his might and eventually managed to push the fox, making him lose his balance and sending him onto his back. The fox growled and rolled over, putting all of his weight against Abraham to force him to lose his grip. Robin tugged his leg free and rolled to the side, rising up and racing for the end of the car.
Abraham gave one last attempt, though, darting forward and grabbing Robin's tail, making him yelp and holding him in place. "I can fit in that tunnel, let's see if you can, too!" he hollered in a malicious voice. Robin pushed backwards, into Abraham and making him lose his grip again, before spinning around and kicking the hare in the head. This sent him over to the edge of the container, arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance. Robin reached out to grab him, hoping to throw him to safety, but the hare fell backwards just as he was within reach.
Robin had no time to grow upset about this, though, as the train tunnel was very close. He charged to the back of the car as quickly as he could and, with all his hope being put into this jump, flung himself to the back of the pickup.
He collided with the roof of the vehicle, before sliding into the bed of the truck and hitting his head against the back door. He was suddenly shoved towards the front of the vehicle, though, as Nick slammed on the brakes, sending him to the front of the bed.
The moment his head met the metal, he lost consciousness.
~ óÓÒò ~
I had to go back and make a few changes to this chapter, as a few things bothered me and a few others were pointed out by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps. So big thanks to them, and if you haven't read any of their stories and are somehow this far into mine, what're you waiting for? Go read them! Great works.
Since we're on the topic, I also recommend checking out the stories by Blenderguy15 and Sophie Ripley, as they're also amazing writers. Also expect more chapters from the past to be updated to be... Well, better.
More and more changes, even to this. Writer's block sucks, for the record – but I think I've finally gotten something worth putting out for you guys.
- N'yrthghar