Whooooo!
Another chapter. Boy oh boy was this a doozie. Do forgive my lack of spirit as per the usual. haha. I've been up all night because I am DETERMINED to post this.
Anywho, before the delusions of flying hippos raining down from the sky with flaming scythes settles to terrorize my dreams and turn them into frightmares... I'm going to sleep and posting this... in that order. I'm sleep posting. sleep typing... sleep eating. or at least i assume... it would sure explain why the cake i have suddenly looks like a ravenous critter devoured it.
Now... enjoy, fav, follow, review, and grab that strange snack. As i mentioned... i have a cake. caramel frosting and filled with butterscotch pudding.
This was the day, that of salvation or reckoning. Mind and body would be tested, souls strained or torn asunder.
The elephants of Lord Hopps' army marched forward, vast shields raised and a battering ram carried by those behind the forefront. While massive in scope, in comparison to other mammals, they were flesh and blood like any other. Too big to armor completely with plate or mail, their arms and legs were the focus of whoever provided their garb. The shields they carried were the staple torso protection.
If the rebellion could neutralize the elephant's and rhino's numbers, then they might stand a chance at holding out against the massive army until help arrived.
When that might be… was still a profound mystery. The last correspondence said that the coalition was still waiting on word from other regions. That was three weeks before.
If they took too long or couldn't muster the strength before they potentially fell, there would be little to no chance to retake the city, or even approach it's regions. Zootopia would serve the empire of the Shire as a vital foothold in their continued expansion, if they weren't stopped here.
Using a spyglass to look out across the bridge from an angle diagonal to the structure, Silence was looking at the supports, to which painted markings were visible, but only from his side.
In order to gauge the proper range of weapons, they test fired many of them, marking their distance at various setups.
The elephants crossed a point where a bright yellow spot was painted in a structural pylon under the bridge.
The fox have a signal to Valiance, who picked up the appropriate matching color in the form of a flag, waving it high enough for Bogo and his gate guardians to see.
From afar, Wolfard waved a confirmation and told the bull, who had the ballistas at the ready. Built for power, the multitude of spear firing machines could loose five spears per machine, each about six feet long.
The tod kept an eye on the bridge, waiting for them to come close to the second marker.
Their larger feet finally walked steadily over the next marker, prompting Nicholas to signal his mate once more, who picked up and twirled a red flag.
"Fire!" Bogo commanded loudly, alerting the elephants. They braced for a volley.
Over a dozen heavy twangs filled the air, quickly followed by the cacophony of well over a hundred flying spears. They arched low over the landscape, keeping their speed and momentum.
An unfortunate amount missed the target zone, but over half of the spears found it. Dull metal clangs were heard as spears struck the stone of the bridge or bounced from a shield, but many resulting cries and painful screams joined the fray.
From what he could see, three elephants fell into the water, another four fell over within ranks, and maybe seven more were hit or injured. To estimate how many were dead at this point would be pure speculation.
The elephants closed ranks and formed the protective barrier around their ram, continuing the march forward.
"Fire!" came the buffalo's commanding tone once more, another barrage quickly being fired.
The elephants appeared to be stunned and panicked by such a quick second volley. Nonetheless, they halted and tried to weather the storm of metal and wood. The losses nearly equally mimicked the first volley.
Normally ballistas took longer to reload, but in preparation for this day, as well as the assumption that larger prey would be used to assault their gates, the rebellion had to work overtime to make the weapons compensate for their lack of numbers.
By not firing the first salvo immediately, it allowed the defenders to wait for overlapping fields between the ballistas on top the first wall and the ones positioned behind the wall.
"Ready!" the bull spoke in the same loud voice, to which the elephants charged, knowing that if the trend continued, there would be little to breach the gate.
While he couldn't see it well from this distance, the fox tod knew the captain was sporting a disturbing grin. He always did enjoy when a plan was going as planned.
By forcing them to charge, it also broke their tight knit ranks, exposing them to further damage by increasing their speed.
The wall's ballistas were already adjusted to compensate for the closer targets.
"Fire."
Shields tried to raise in defense, but being closer meant less reaction time. The spears, being launched so close and at an angle that offered superior speed with little loss of momentum, pierced flesh and armor both as if it were nothing.
In addition to that, two catapults launched a couple of large clay orbs, arching over the elephants and smashing into the road behind them. As they shattered, black liquid oozed and splashed from them, with small metallic tinks being heard, Like spilling a bag of coins on a stone walkway.
A squad of archers on the wall thusly began shooting fire arrows, to ensure a proper ignition. The pitch, tar, and oil burst into flames, trapping the giant mammals on the bridge and keeping reinforcements from aiding them.
They tried desperately to regroup, getting in too close for the ballista to fire downwards. Less than half of their original numbers upon initial assault remained. They got the ram to the gates, fumbling to properly heave it into the door and cover themselves from enemy fire. A few of them even leapt from the bridge, attempting to swim away.
"Huh…" Nicholas spoke in slight astonishment. "I didn't even know elephants could swim. Ha… learn something new all the time."
Judith also looked on, seeing them give the door a heaving ram. The door splintered and bowed in a decent amount, with archers on the wall releasing volleys below to dwindle their active numbers.
Braving the onslaught well enough, the larger mammals gave the gate a few more hits, caving it in further each time and eventually turning it into scrap, as it burst in from a defining blow.
Looking out towards the bridge once more, both fox and rabbit could see that the fires were dying down, with the next wave of mammals, the rhinos, waiting on the others side impatiently.
"Almost our time to shine?" the grey doe asked nervously. Her mate nodded blankly.
"Once those rhinos break through, we'll need to join the rest," Silence detailed. "They won't likely fall for the same tricks."
Leaving their post, with a couple other mammals to take over for them, the two took off to join the main group.
0000000
Bogo watched as the elephants broke down the door, barely budging, even as the wall shook with their entrance. The remaining number of pachyderms poured through, brandishing their weapons and shields, creating a protective formation in a semi-circle just inside.
He was grinning, an uncharacteristically devious upturn of his lips disturbing a couple who could see. The bull took no pleasure in hurting or killing others, but he was positively overjoyed to be able to be able to outmaneuver his opponents.
The reason for his satisfaction was the plan so carefully devised, that was playing out well thus far. Upon firing only one volley, the ballistas behind the wall were pulled back from their positions, readied for reload. They were built with wooden wheels on the bottom, for mobility. The ones on the wall wouldn't move, but they didn't need to.
Suffice it to say, the ballistas that fell back were now trained upon the gates… and the mammals that had recently breached it. Without a need for a command, the bears of Lord Big's vanguard stood at the ready and fired when ready.
It was slaughter.
Resting only two thirds the distance away, nearer the second gate, the many ballistas has encircled and converged their volley on the elephants. With less than half their original strength remaining, the hundred or so spear shafts obliterated their remaining force.
The polar bears, armored and armed to tooth and claw, closed ranks and pursued a counter attack. Only a dozen, give or take, remained mobile or combat ready.
Half of them gave a defiant trumpet of aggression and charged, while the rest turned tail and ran, lobbing their enormous bodies into the water.
They made quite the splash, drawing attention back towards the massive invasion force awaiting entry.
The fire was fading fast, with the rhinos charging forward much faster than their previous comrades. To the sides of the bridge, small boats littered the water. It was clear to the buffalo that they assumed the gates were broken, allowing their forces free reign to enter. It did not matter if they lost their battalion comprised of the largest mammals, apparently. They had broken the gate.
While the tactics were expected, it did not make them any less daunting to face.
Bogo turned to the nearby spotters and commanders, telling them, "Focus your fire on the rhinos. Pick your targets and fire at will. Keep them at bay for as long as you are able, then fall back to the second tier wall."
"Understood, sir," came the clear cut reply from the soldiers nearby.
"And have the archers in the battlements giving those boats a proper welcome!" the captain called out. "Wouldn't want them feeling left out, right?"
A multitude of nods and affirmative 'sir!'s sounded, with all the troops concerned shouting orders and making necessary arrangements.
Bogo turned to witness what he hoped would come to pass, seeing the rhinos make their charge, leading them straight through the oil and pitch that was burned away. Another small surprise awaited them, to which the first few that powered forward were victim to.
The first few rhinos let out painful wails, tripping and falling in the midst of the sticky black deluge on the bridge. The pots that were launched before had flammable substances for deterrence in them, but also housed a vast amount of caltrops, which were twisted metal barbs that pierced the hoofs and feet of charging mammals.
A couple simply tripped and fell, yelling in pain, while a couple others fell into the water. One even landed directly on a boat, destroying the small craft. Whether any of them died from the event, that was up for debate, but the basic needs were met. The charging rhinos were stunned and halted for a brief time, allowing the reloaded ballistas to give them a barrage, whittling down their strength of numbers.
They recovered quickly, adapting much faster than the elephants by using the flat bottom edge of their shields to scrape along the road, clearing the way of the caltrops. Once the metal nuisances were removed from their charging line, the rhinos picked up the pace and made for the broken gate, the rest of the army close on their collective tails.
Inside the gate, the last of the elephants that charged… fell… at the blade of a closing ring of polar bears, their own long spears dealing the final blows. From what the buffalo could see, the last of those large mammals took down nearly twenty of the Big's polar bears. A sad loss, to be sure, but they would need to rally for the next wave.
The ballistas fired at will, greatly slowing down the army's advance.
"Fall back and prepare to defend the second gate!" the bull yelled back. Instantly, the bears fell back, getting to their secondary positions. The second gate opened, an influx of mammals flooding through to take up defensive positions behind the seemingly invincible line of well armored bears.
As a last resort to slow the advance, so the rebellion could use the time to form their line of defense, a few mammals along the wall began pouring hot flaming oil at the gate entrance. It obscured their vision and disallowed the Shire's forces from going forward for a short while.
"Alright everyone," began Bogo, "Let's all fall back to the second gate. Get those archers and batteries ready. We have an army to stop."
0000000
Though now practiced with a blade, Judith became far more valuable as an archer, at least for the purposes of their current phase in the defense of Zootopia.
She stood atop the second tier of the wall, accompanied by another two hundred mammals at least who were readied for a stout defense. She desperately wanted to be down with her fox, fighting side by side, but the doe accepted the fact that they all had to play to their strengths.
The wait for the forces to breach the dying flames became agonizing. Bows were lifted, the strings making noises as everyone nocked an arrow, including herself. From here on out, it was going to be quality versus quantity. Their countermeasures to deter the oncoming storm were running out, though it was relieving that the greatest threats were being dealt with. If they could diminish the numbers of violent large mammals attacking them, it would go a long way towards evening the odds of combat.
The fire was doused with a swash of water, likely from the mammals in the boats bringing water to the gates.
The rhinos hastily rushed in, making to form a line and hunker down to protect themselves from arrows. According to the plan, the archers were not to fire on the enemy as of yet, so Valiance could only watch as they positioned themselves for a charge. It would be a slaughter for them, to be sure. While Lord Big's polar bear vanguard was a formidable and ferocious force to be reckoned with, fast and deadly for their size as well as indominatible in combat, the closed venue of combat between walls gave the rhinos a favorable venue. They could use their larger size and thicker hide to simply trample onward.
That was the pessimistic way of thinking about anyways, but the grey doe's lips turned upward in a slight grin.
The rhinos, having formed a charging line, began to rush forward, the rest of the Shire's forces hanging back to let them do their damage first. It was as expected, but the defining moment for their gamble was upon them.
"Archers at the ready!" came the call of a nearby commander. "Aim… Fire!"
Arrows were loosed in a swash of wind cutting whistles, the pointed tips of fletched shafts soaring through the air. The larger mammals raised their shields to protect their eyes and other such lightly guarded areas from injury…
...just as planned.
00000000
"...Fire!" Silence heard the commander of the archers yell from below.
As that command was uttered, timing was everything. Through practice and tedious repetition, all the mammals of the rebellion were training themselves to make everything go as far in their favor as it could.
The red fox bolted forward, his two blades raised and ready for combat, a horde of smaller mammals such as himself charging with him. Spreading apart enough, as well as lifting their shields, the bears let the horde of them pass.
They sped onward, taking advantage of the momentary lapse in active awareness from the recently fired volley. The last of the arrows impacted almost uselessly on the rhino's armor, blinding them to what was coming from a much lower angle.
The fox tod darted to the left, avoiding a stomping hoof, dragging a blade through the unarmored flesh of his target's ankles. His was the first bellow of infuriated pain among a resulting cacophony of the same.
While the expectation of most would be that smaller mammals get tread upon underfoot of larger ones, the smaller mammal has had to evolve an acute awareness of the larger, effectively becoming quite adept by instinct to avoid footfalls. By creating a charging force of small mammals to go under the line of sight of the rhinos, the could use their instinct in another fashion. One of which they could potentially cripple their charge.
It appeared to be working well, with many of the big, horned, mammals making missteps or simply falling from the inability to use their legs any further. Unfortunately, a few of the rebellion mammals were getting struck down or crushed under the falling masses of rhinos. Nicholas gritted his teeth in lamentation, knowing well that this was the cost, but unable to fully accept it.
Yelling out a battle cry, he slashed and sliced away at all the tendons and soft flesh he could. He didn't know how much damage he had done, nor could he afford to look back. It was taking a vast amount of his focus and energy to simply avoid and outmaneuver all the large hooves pounding into the ground around him. The only real indication of his success was some painful yells above and yips of victory from behind.
He had to hurry though, since the archers were going to fire a new salvo upon the crippled mass. Their orders were to fire no matter the crossfire that could be incurred, so, he had to vacate the firing line before he heard the call.
Silence broke through to the other side of the group, sheathing his swords and darting to the side, trying to get away at a dead sprint. He finally had the mental room to spare a glance behind him, seeing a relieving amount of his fellow soldiers on his tail. Before turning back to focus forward once more, the fox was able to see that most, if not all, of the rhinos had stopped their full charge, either in an effort to not trip over their own comrades or due to the fact that many had their legs and feet injured greatly.
A horn sounded from beyond the gates, telling the rebellion forces to flee behind the second wall.
With their mission fulfilled, the entirety of the rebellion garrison turned tail to retreat behind the gate, a volley of arrows from the defenders on the wall, as well as a regiment behind it, rained down on the aggressors, keeping them from advancing any further and finishing off many of the rhinos that were unable to move enough to escape.
From what he could see, making his way back to the second wall and passing through the gates, they lost a few more bears to the assault and potentially a couple score of other mammals to the desperate attacks of those left in the rhinos charge.
Hopefully, it was worth it. The two greatest threats to the rebellion's garrison within the city were mitigated. All they could do now was weather the storm and hope the Shire's numbers or morale gave out before the defenders of Zootopia lost their will and stamina to fight any longer.
Another horn sounded, though this time from the enemy. The advance of their troops halted, shields raised and ranks closed. A singular voice called out.
"You have mounted a valiant defense," the unseen mammal spoke, troops parting for his advance to the front, "and as such, have been given an order to give you one last chance to surrender. To submit."
Through the crowd emerged a grey and tan mountain goat, seeming very calm and collected… almost condescending. To punctuate that assertion, his head tilted upwards slightly, as if he were trying to make it so he could look down on those that rested above him. Beady, horizontal eye slits focused on a few mammals on the wall.
A few of those in the rebellion exchanged glances, unsure how to address the situation. They expected unrelenting violence and oppression. Not this strange offer of mercy, though it was assumed by most it would be short lived. If they even considered such an option as surrender, the likelihood is that all the mammals present would be taken to work camps, forced into labor, or just plain executed.
Valiance thumped her foot in ever increasing furious rage.
"Submit?" she called out in question. "We have the advantage here."
The goat's expression became stern and grew in anger, obviously not hearing what he wanted.
"Your resistance is useless," he remarked. "All you are doing is costing lives in this useless conflict against a power you cannot hope to overcome. It is best to give up without defying us further before…"
Raising her bow and pulling the string back to its fullest extent, the angered bunny had a hundred thoughts going through her head. Her mate's voice was at the forefront of her mind with something he said that felt like it was oh so long ago.
It's a right to live, but when someone abuses that right by trying to take it from others, they forfeit the right against any who wish to defend themselves.
That red fox of hers even taught her his mantra before combat, though that line he spoke to her, which had shattered her world before, now gave her comfort in her resolve to never let her loved ones die because of her inaction.
"I DEFY!" the doe yelled out, releasing the arrow.
It flew far and true, both her words and her arrow, cutting through the air and embedding in the neck of the still speaking goat. Missing the throat, he was still able to cry out in pain, slumping down with blood pouring from the wound.
There was a moment of stunned silence on both sides…
… to which was followed a bellowing howl, hoot, and holler of the mammals at her side, their spirits reignited with a furious passion.
Continuing with that momentum, and seeing the nods of those around her, Judith spoke once more, "We will never give in, never relent. We all defy your power… and our voice will be heard!"
"Forward!" shouted a few of the Shire's commanders, the army resuming its flood against the rebellion.
While they lacked the ability to properly break down the second gate as of yet, ladders were being brought in from outside to scale the ramparts and breach their defenses.
The archers responded in kind to defend the walls from such a breach, with soldiers on standby to keep any such enemies from slaughtering their ranged fighters. Silence had found his way to her, remaining by her side and keeping his eyes and ears out for any such trespassers.
"I have your back, Val," he spoke in a soft voice.
Smiling back at him, she said in kind, "Just make sure you keep your eyes off my tail, Silence."
The fox tod clicked his tongue in mock hurt.
"Oh, ye of little faith… I can fight with one paw tied behind my back and still get a good look at your tail."
"I wasn't worried that you would be distracted," the grey doe jibed at him, loosing an arrow at a deer buck that was trying to hurl a spear at the wall. The deer was struck in the abdomen, falling and clutching their wound. It didn't appear to be fatal, but the trampling horde of Shire forces might prove to be so instead.
A ladder clanged against the wall, with both mammals turning to stare at it, then each other.
"Cover me," the fox yelled out, breaking into a sprint forward to meet a mammal that climbed the ladder in record time.
"That much is obvious, but don't get stabbed," the bunny fired back. Silence stabbed the mammal, who was attempting to throw their legs over the wall from the ladder, making them grunt in pain, then fall back into the crowd of soldiers.
"Look who's telling me what's obvious," the tod replied with a roguish grin back to his mate.
Another mammal, a beaver, darted from below the edge of the wall, showing more ferocity than the first, whereas Nicholas had to step back in avoidance of a javelin thrown from below. Unfortunately, it allowed the beaver to gain steady footfalls upon the wall. He pulled out a buckler shield from his back and brandished a jagged axe, taking a diving assault towards the fox.
He easily sidestepped it, bringing up a blade to slice up and under the raised shield. The beaver had good reflexes as well, dropping his axe to make the sword glance off of it with sparks harmlessly. Silence twisted upon contact and tried to use the momentum to bring his other blade to bear upon the stumpier mammal.
The beaver raised both paws to use his axe and buckler to block the blow. With his arms locked upward, the red tod gave the Shire soldier's gut a swift and powerful kick, pushing him back and making him splay out his arms to balance himself. Silence pushed his advantage, bringing both blades into a cross guard, then whipping them outward in a sweeping arc.
The two blades rend his chest armor apart, slicing through flesh and bone, though the tod didn't even give the beaver a chance to fall completely backward. He gripped the remains of his armor, whirling with great effort at the added weight and threw the hefty mammal at the top of the ladder. The beaver impacted the top rung, a bloody gasp leaving his lungs as the ladder shifted away from the wall by inches.
Nicholas gave the dying mammal once last shove in the back, effectively pushing the ladder away from the wall and back upon the crowded horde below.
Judith gave him a soft grin, saying, "Show off."
"Drama queen," he rebuked with a snide smile in turn.
Screams and pained yells turned both of their heads. It was shortly made apparent that their part of the wall was not the only one being breached by a ladder. As the enemy's presence infiltrated the wall's defenses, it only accelerated the crumbling of resistance.
They weren't being overrun yet, but the prospect was aligning with reality too fast for the rebellion's plan to work.
"Incoming!"some mammals yelled from both sides, a large stone object flying in with all the grace of a drunk moose falling over.
It impacted the wall, a few feet away from the gate. The fox and rabbit looked out over the wall, not able to see the bridge below the wall's uppermost edge, though able to see rising structures moving slowly towards them.
Catapults.
Nicholas couldn't ascertain their size with great accuracy, but his summation was that they were of moderate size and power, meant for ranged support instead of breaking down walls. Simplistic in design and made for easy travel mobility, their range was not as far as the city's own defenses.
"Trebuchets!" Bogo called out from his new position behind the second wall, "firebomb the bridge! Take out their siege batteries!"
The Shire catapults fired away a salvo, impacting the area of the wall and gate, causing a spray of rubble and dust. Mammals of both armies were knocked away and injured or crippled by the damage. Any lethalities were a mystery to all at this point, with a cloud of dust obscuring the vision of all.
The city's trebuchets fired back, smaller urns filled with oil and lit aflame soared over the gates towards the enemy batteries. Using different principles and smarter construction, a well made trebuchet could easily fire beyond the range of normal catapults, with greater accuracy as well.
Unfortunately, a cross wind carried the smaller ordinance away from their intended target. A couple shots hit the water, with another impacting the side of the bridge, the oil splashing out and catching a boat in the crossfire.
Up in a tower, overlooking the battle, Honey and Meeko saw the failed shots. With Honey as the spotter, the raccoon used two short flags to relay instructions from above, giving the firing teams directions on how to correct their aim.
More stones rained down from a newly fired volley from the Shire's catapults. Two hit the wall. One hit the gate itself, resulting in a splintered spray and booming crunch as stone met dense wood.
Silence didn't have a chance to see where the others went, as he noticed one stone flying towards himself and his mate, grabbing her and doing the only thing he knew would get them from the line of fire and the resulting damage.
He jumped.
With Valiance wrapped in one arm, the fox leapt from the ramparts of the wall and aimed his landing for the large stack of hay that lie below.
While a softer landing than ground or a paved road… it still rattled the two with the jarring force and multitude of dry and prickly straw.
The tod was about to unfurl himself from keeping his doe safe, until another impact sounded and crumbling pieces of the wall pittered on them.
"Can you let me go now?" The grey rabbit mumbled into his chest fur. He instantly removed his paws from her in flustered nerves, smiling.
For a short few seconds, he could feel her nose wiggle against him and her breath seeping through his russet fur.
With one last heaving breath, the bunny jumped up with renewed energy and made her way to pick up her bow and quiver of strewn arrows.
"Alright, let's get back up…" she began, another barrage of stones shots interrupting her.
One or more of the shots must have hit the right spot, considering the gate blew inward with a sickening crunch and snap of the braces that held it together.
"No!" Nicholas yelped in fury, grasping his weapons and his mate, the two sprinting towards the third and final barrier.
The third tier of the wall was the last line of defense for the gates, though smaller than the first two. With three gates as such, it would allow a city such as the one imagined to perform checks through controlled areas. For their purposes, it was simply a means of trapping and funneling the Shire's forces until they were tired out or delayed until nightfall.
"We have to defend the archers until they can fall back!" Judith demanded of him, to which he looked back, seeing the many mammals that positioned themselves to fire over the wall being struck down by the oncoming horde that broke through the dispatched gate. The polar bear vanguard had fallen back to rest until the next bout, but were making their way forward with all due haste. It wouldn't be enough.
Looking up at the wall, more of their forces were failing to keep the enemy from overrunning their position. Ladders clanged loudly against the other side, more Shire mammals using the wall to set up their own archer volley.
Arrows began to rain down, the tod looking desperately at his mate and her determined expression. She would do this with or without him…
… and he was determined to protect her at all costs.
"Of all the insufferable…! FINE!" he barked, though not in anger at her.
Drawing both swords once more, Silence goaded her to drop the bow and ready herself. Valiance unlatched a small buckler shield from her battle skirt and pulled out a curved short sword. As a smaller fighter having to take on many foes and most likely larger ones, relying on brute strength weapons would slow her down. With a weapon meant for slicing, she could circumvent her opponents and dole out considerable damage.
"To the Blazes with all of you!" the fox tod snarled, charging forward with renewed vigor and determination.
Not to be outdone, the furious grey doe bolted right behind him, letting out as fierce and intimidating a battle cry as she could muster.
The two were an army of their own, surprising many with their ferocity and tenacity. Far they were from invincible but the Shire's forces were perturbed and taken aback by the uncharacteristic display of what they thought the might of their army would incur.
"On your left, Val," the red fox called out, backpawing a blade to guard from an incoming strike at his mate. The rabbit heard him and ducked under both colliding weapons to give a mighty uppercut to the larger antelope they were fighting.
They were not a guardian force for all the retreating archers, but the presence was enough to distract, allowing the bears and other mammals to power themselves to the rescue and give those with alternate weapons a chance to draw arms and join the defense.
Fox and bunny were not alone for long, being quickly surrounded by the oncoming maelstrom of enemies. It was only because of the initial damage they caused and the furious manner of which they fought that gave many pause to engage them at first.
Thankfully, those few short moments of hesitation were all they needed.
Mighty roars echoed across the expanse, followed by a scattered many bears, lions, wolves, Bogo, and any other mammal fast enough to bolt to their aid. They trampled and cast aside the numerous encroachers of Zootopia.
The commanding buffalo carried two battle axes, cleaving through armor, flesh, and bone alike, rending many mammals against him asunder. Most of the polar bear troops carried something that would be a claymore for other mammals, but merely a longsword to them. They bashed their shields against the enemy and cut down a great many Shire infantry, with some even using the powerful jaws and claws they were born with.
Behind all of them were mammals carrying wood and bracing equipment, to which Bogo shouted, "Get that gate sealed! And trebuchets… fire at will! Take those things down!"
Reloading with all due haste, the trebuchets and their teams continued to fire, with signals from Meeko above confirm hits, though they still had multiple units remaining.
From the lack of a bombardment, it was clear that news had traveled of the gate's fall, to which it was likely they didn't want to get their own bombarded.
"Silence!" the doe screeched, pointing towards a Shire camel out of their reach attacking another mammal. The fox reacted instantly, knowing what she wanted to do, as well as having practiced for exactly this kind of situation.
Interlocking his paw through the grip of hers and holding onto her forearm, Nicholas gave as great a heave as his arms could muster, twisting as quickly as his legs could summon the strength to, and giving the bunny enough force to slingshot over multiple fighting mammals…
And striking the offending camel in the head with her feet, pushing off to cause as great an impact as she could. To her fortune, the helm he was wearing was smooth, though not after she was done with it.
Instantly knocked out from the blow, the camel fell in a crumpled heap to the ground. It was unclear to her whether he would survive, what with the blood dripping freely from the confines of the mangled helm.
Judith turned away, unable to concern herself with that prospect currently. She helped the frightened she-wolf gain her bearings and then rejoined her mate in combat.
The trebuchets fired once again, with more confirmed hits relayed by the raccoon and badger above them. If the messages were correct, then all the catapults on the bridge were out of commission, either being on fire or too damaged to fire any longer.
So now, that made the battle a long stalemate until they could push them back… or be overrun.
0000000
Hours later and the gate was braced, the walls were set on fire using the stacks of hay to keep any mammal from traversing the flames, and the rebellion army retreated back to the third gate to shore up their defensive position.
It became a bitter stalemate, made relieving by the fact that the sun had set. Night had fallen upon them, with many predators' greatest strength being that of night vision. Some species of prey could do well within nighttime, but in the overall scheme of things and how many non-nocturnal mammals comprised their army, the Shire's forces were pressed into a tactical retreat until morning.
Using the advantage of night, the trebuchets, along with archers and any ballistas that could be moved into position, kept up a barrage that dwindled their numbers and refused them a checkpoint to return to.
The city couldn't allow them to try sneaking in more siege weapons under the cover of night.
As far as a day of battle could go against an army of the size they faced, the rebellion held their own. While still depressing to consider, the numbers spoke for themselves. A few hundred of their own were killed in the battle with Lord Hopps's forces losing a number that could only be estimated in the thousands.
That still didn't give them room to consider they would win. Most of their best laid plans had already been exhausted and the gates keeping the enemy out were all but destroyed.
For now, fires were started and wounded being tend to, with Nicholas and Judith giving support and care to each others minor wounds…
"OUCH!" the fox seethed between his fangs. "Lay off the brine will ya?"
The rabbit doe giggled slightly at his pain, remarking, "Oh, stop being such a kit."
Using a ladle, Valiance drizzled a mixture of boiled water with salt thrown in on his few cuts and bruises. It would hopefully disinfect the area for bandages. With as many wounded as they had, more widespread and easier methods of medicine had to be implemented, but the grey bunny couldn't chance that her mate would become susceptible to anything that could slow his mind or body.
Luckily for the two, neither suffered anything more discomforting than a minor knick here and prick of a dagger there. One of Nicholas's cuts were a bit long though, prompting Judith to give him proper attention.
"There," she said softly, having wrapped up the cut with a small amount of boiled and dried cloth.
"Alright, my turn," the fox spoke bluntly, grabbing at his mate and finding her most concerning wound. She pushed him away at furst, knowing he was just trying to get back at her. They scuffled and giggled, until Judith squeaked in pain.
"Ugh… my darn shoulder," the doe chastised to no one in particular. Her fox immediately cradled her in his arms, eliciting a blank and unamused look from Valiance. "What are you doing?" she asked, clearly finding his reactive protection unnecessary.
Silence leaned in, using a paw to move aside the collar to her blouse, revealing a small, irritated cut close to her shoulder. Snaking out his tongue, he began licking the wound slowly, making his mate blush and wiggle nervously.
"Wait… Nicholas… others are watching," she whispered to him.
"And…?" he replied blankly. "I'm trying to make sure you are alright." The fox then grabbed a wet cloth, soaked in brine, and dabbed it on her cut, making her hiss.
"Ah… now I see why you complained," she seethed.
Nicholas ignored her relenting comment and smiled at the retribution, placing a patch on her shoulder and letting her move her blouse back over it.
Turning back towards their own fire, fox and bunny picked up a couple of bowls, filled with a vegetable broth.
"How are you doing?" the tod asked, a heavy tone to his voice.
Judith knew exactly what underlined his question. He had trained and fought since he was but a kit, while she only recently over the past several months become accustomed to fighting. A battle was never in her newfound experiences though, to be sure. Her mate was likely worried about all the lives she had to take to protect this city and those that wished to make it their home.
"I don't know," she answered, her voice soft and words sincere. "I mostly feel like I can't comprehend anything until it's over. Until then… it would only hurt me to focus on it."
"Fair enough," came his response, the red fox taking a long gulp of his broth from the bowl, tilting it up until droplets stained his fur. He gasped lightly, upon lowering the bowl and swallowing what was in his maw. "I just didn't want you feeling like you had to justify every life you took in your mind. That's a long and dark road."
"I've had a lot of time leading up to this to contemplate all of that, including dealing with the life I took to save yours," she explained, pausing to sip her own broth. "If we survive this, I'll hopefully have years alongside you to work all of that out and come to terms with it."
"What do you mean 'If'?"
The doe rolled her eyes, saying, "I don't want to accept that we may die, love, but we can't simply believe we won't. It's like saying you could lift a mountain simply because you think you can. It won't make it true. So… don't get me wrong. I have no plans to give up and die."
"Sounds good to me," the red tod stated calmly, leaning over to nuzzle his mate. The grey doe nuzzled back, a small purr leaving her.
For many long minutes, the two simply stared into the fire, watching the crackling wood crumble and become glowing embers. Neither of them were so enamored to notice Honey and Meeko close in, talking rapidly, but quietly.
"Something on your minds?" Judith offered them in question.
The raccoon appeared to burst first, blurting out, "Aid is coming. The coalition we haven't heard from for a while is nearly here to help. We just need to hold out a couple more days."
"How did a messenger get by all those troops?" Nicholas inquired.
"They flew," Meeko replied with a simple shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The fox tilted his head in thought, going, "Ah… a bat, right? I can't think of many mammals that can fly."
"Yeah, you might not want to say that to her face," Honey warned her son. "She got very sensitive about us saying that, too, and made sure to impart to us that she is in fact… a flying fox."
Both fox and bunny gave the badger and raccoon very confused faces, neither having obviously heard of such a thing.
"...a flying…. Fox?"
"Yes," his mother stated once more. "And she told us to hold out just a little longer. So… there is hope after all."
"Hopefully, we can last that long," Judith voiced in a sighing breath. Looking upwards, she felt this newfound twisted knot that ached in her chest. If they arrived only just too late, they would all simply be martyrs to a cause, names on a stone, memorialized for their deaths on the remains of a ghost city.
No… she wouldn't die here. Not until everyone knew the name of this place. The name of the place that would accept all and give them all the rights her homeland never gave the consideration of.
"No…," she spoke, gripping her mate's paw tightly, "we will last. We will endure."
I promise... the flying fox has a point. lol. and I think you all will like it.
I feel bad about this... but considering it's closing on 3am for me and i'm used to turning in... much earlier... I'm going to skip Review responses until tomorrow evening. XD
Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts.