Authoress Update: Say, I was looking at my word count the other day, and this whole thing is just slightly short for NaNoWriMo! Lol, no wonder I never made the deadline last year!
I admit, guys, I got sidetracked. See, I was at work at the cleaners, where I stand and daydream for entertainment. And my mind whipped up a cute little Bleach-fic. I decided it could not go unforgotten, and well, a quick pit stop turned into quite a lay-over! If you like Hitsuzu fics, check it out (Shameless plug!)
The Future Is Wild!
By Nefertanya dragongurl Ahhotep
Chapter 25: Begin the Beguine
Rev stared into the silent distance, his eyes fixated on a wispy contrail as it melted like spun sugar back into sky. He had been sobbing his heart out, again, when a warm sandy breeze brushed his hunched shoulders. It had felt so much like the touch of his mother; he had no choice but to raise his head-just in time to see a sleek, dark jet sail over towards the abandoned city. That had been an hour ago, and still he stood in his own backyard, brimming with a once dormant curiosity, but held back by a fear of the unknown.
"The city's abandoned!" Rev puzzled internally. "Who could possibly be heading there, and why? Could they be thinking about finally reopening the university!?"
"No,they'reprobablyjustdoingaflyovertodeterminewherethebestdemolitionpointsare!" Rev spoke bitterly, his beak pulled into a pout. But still….
But still, there was a chance, still a hope, that whatever dangers the government officials had deemed present were no longer there, or perhaps grossly misrepresented! If the university opened again, the students and faculty would need lodging…and Food!! He could get another job as a delivery boy-and with his speed, he could command top dollar!
"Heck, why don't I just open my own place? After all, I can literally deliver an important document before the ink does dry!"
Fwoom!
The little runner was startled out of his dreams of financial security by the muted boom. In the direction of the city, a massive cloud of dusty smoke was billowing upwards. Was it really just demolition duty after all?
Rev squinted his eyes, which, unbeknownst to him, were glowing opaque neon red. Something…. something didn't feel right. Somehow, he could sense a familiar presence. But who would he know would be blowing up the city?
"Whattheheckisgoingondownthere??"
Chapter 26: Shall We Dance?
Ace hacked and gagged on concrete dust as he rose up over the prone figure. "hack hackYou okay, doll?"
"koff koffI thought I told you koffto never call me doll!" Lexi slowly rose on one elbow, covering her mouth in an attempt to keep breathing in any more particles.
"Sorry, musta had the sense knocked outta me." He quipped dryly as he pulled her to her feet. "Tech? Duck? Slam? You guys okay?"
The coyote calmly walked into the clearing, the heavily shredded garment the only clue to the disaster just moments prior. "And that, dear Chief, is why I insisted on leading."
"Yea, go on and just lead us to certain doom!" Duck raged; his arms flapping wildly as he bounced up and down in one spot. "Because that's just what I think when I think of leader- walking into booby traps and releasing massive explosions!!"
"Shut up, Duck! We still gotta account for Slam! Anybody see which way he went?"
"#!!"
The quartet looked up to find a very confused, purple Tasmanian Devil hanging by the seat of his pants, which had snagged on the foot grip of a telephone pole.
"Well, looks like we found him." Lexi quipped. "But how do we get him down?"
The telephone pole obliged the young lapin-by snapping under the stress of Slam's additional weight. Slam plummeted to the ground, and fortunately, Duck still had the sense to 'Quack' before becoming a pancake.
"Does dat answer your question?"
The lady rolled her eyes as the genius muttered something along the lines of '…be careful what you wish for…' as Slam released a weak groan.
"Ok, gang, let's get back on track. Tech, what happened here? Was this a trap, or another extra credit project?"
"Well…If I had to wager a guess, I'd say the former, though I truly cannot rule out the latter-or if it was simply a pent-up energy source like a busted steam main. What I do know is that my device worked, and did indeed pick up a large source of electromagnetic fluctuations."
"And dat's why you t'ink it was a trap?"
"Precisely. If I was Vinn-and thank O'kulumbo I'm not- I'd want to distract my enemies away from me by creating false trails. As for the explosives, if they didn't kill us, they'd tip him off to our presence."
"So true, 'Doctor' Coyote!"
A tiny man with outrageously large eyes appeared on a nearby rooftop. He panted heavily, and looked tired. This was due to his ridiculously short legs, which required him to jog everywhere just to keep up. Dark circles were set in fearfully pallid complexion, a testament to many hours spent awake in feverish pursuit of scientific glory. A lazy, deranged smile split his face, and a malevolent gleam shone from his blood-shot eyes. He was exulted. He was deranged. He was….
"Professor Vinn Price." Tech's golden eyes darkened considerably.
"Oh yes! So sorry, to have kept you waiting!" Every few words seemed to be accompanied by a gasping sound, like a fish that had flopped too far from the water.
"How could you have know we were coming?!"
Oh, you forget, 'Doctor'," Vinn Price wheezed, "I too, spent a significant amount of time here! In fact, being a full-fledged professor, I had access to places your feeble mind could only dream about! That is, assuming you dream of things other than doggie bones!" And he laughed, a nasally, wheezy, annoying sound.
"Such a pleasurable fellow." Ace quipped sarcastically. " I can't imagine why you've never introduced us before!"
Tech growled, ears flattened and teeth bared. Normally, he wasn't one to let his canine instincts be so visual, but he'd spent so many years being the object of humiliation by 'colleagues' whose claim to fame was a secure connection to the 'old-boys' club1.
"Ooo, bad doggie! Bad, Bad!" Price wagged a finger at Tech, clearly pleased at the canine's reaction. "We mustn't growl at our betters like that!"
"Betters?!" Tech spat. "Brine shrimp have a higher IQ that you!"
"Oh, no, that will never do!" Price wheezed. "Bad doggies must be punished!" He picked up a large black box and pushed a button. Immediately, Tech began to whine as his body convulsed.
"TECH!" Ace cried in alarm, bolting towards his new friend.
"N-no!" Tech guttered through clenched teeth. "E-el-lectric…s-st-ay..back!"
Vinn let out a wheezy laugh as he pressed the button again. Tech collapsed as the painful shock sensation ebbed away, leaving him panting. Cautiously, Ace kneeled over him, and was surprised to see almost no signs of physical damage.
"So, are we going to be a good doggie?"
"Jah-osh n'aa gonchan za'paa2!" The coyote snarled, his eyes bright white with fury.
The man's pale cheeks flushed red with anger. Though he certainly hadn't a clue what was said, he was quite sure by the tone he'd been greatly insulted! "So, you don't want to play nice, huh? Well, maybe I don't want to play with you anymore!" A look of pure malice spread over his face. "But maybe…. HE wants to!"
Price flipped open a small latch with his thumb and flicked the toggle switch it had kept hidden into an upright position. A deep growl rattled the concrete beneath the feet of the six heroes….
"Hoo boy." Ace said in a tiny voice.
'Old Boys' Club – Despite public assurances of equality, few anthros occupy high-level positions. Much like the 20th century 'glass ceiling', this discrepancy is often downplayed and ignored in general, and calls to its existence are treated with a kind of embarrassed apology.
Jah-osh n'aa gonchan za'paa: Due to the family nature of this story, we will not be translating this, and allow to reader to invent one.
Argh! Another cliffhanger?! It's only b/c I love u guys so much!!