Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter. Nothing to jot down on this note, except please enjoy. This one's based on one of the best scene's of the game.
"I just saw her riding on outta here." said Stu, as he came with three ostriches.
"Alright, let's go find her!" said Gideon, getting on one of the ostriches.
"I'm coming, too! Judy, you can ride with me." Stu said, as he and his daughter got on another ostrich.
"Hold up! I'm coming with, in case of more bandits." Danny said, riding on an ostrich of his own.
"Bonnie, you get Vicky and the Ottertons back to town, once the mess inside is sorted out! We'll meet you there, once we've found Clem!" Stu called to his wife. "Alright, now we can go."
Nick, Gideon, Danny, Stu, and Judy rode down the road.
"Look! There's ostrich tracks. We're on the right path." Gideon pointed to the fresh made tracks left in the mud, which created prints as the road turned to pavement.
"Stubborn kid." muttered Nick.
"Does she usually pull stunts like this?" asked Stu.
"No, this is a first. Not sure what's going on." said Nick.
"Yeah, of course not. Dumb fox." Judy whispered to herself.
Call it a girl's intuition, but Judy got it. She thought it'd be pretty obvious Nick wouldn't.
"Whoa, wait. Path's blocked." Stu called, as the ostriches stopped short of debris, blocking the main road. "I don't think she went this way."
"Wait, look. More tracks, back there." Gideon said.
To the right, there were more tracks, leading to a side dirt trail, off the main road, and down into the forest.
"Clem, what're you thinking?" Nick muttered to himself, as they continued down the road.
The group marched down the road, which sloped down a hillside, and towards a small plateau, made of small cliffs. Suddenly, a molotov was thrown in their path, startling the big birds.
"Whoa, whoa! Bandits! Everyone, take cover!" Stu shouted, as the group quickly took cover behind fallen tree logs, and abandoned cars.
"Stu, you and Jude cover us! Gideon, you, me, and Danny move up, get the jump on them!" said Nick.
"Right behind ya!" said Gideon.
The rabbits concentrated on the bandits on the left cliffs, while the foxes snuck up on the bandits on the right cliffs. Nick open fired on one deer bandit with a molotov, making him drop it, and burning the bandit to a crisp.
One weasel bandit on the left cliff aimed at Nick, only to be taken out by Stu. Nick nodded thanks to Stu, while continuing up a small house-like shed. Nick snuck behind another weasel bandit inside the shed, and took him out with his shiv.
Nick ducked, as another deer bandit open fired from the left cliffside, only for Gideon to take them down, with his rifle. Two more raccoon bandits open fired where Judy and Stu were hiding, in the space between the cliffs. Danny and Nick jumped down, ambushed them, and took them out with their shiv and bat.
"Alright, the coast is clear!" Nick called. "Bring the ostriches!"
"Not bad there, son." said Stu, as the group got back on the ostriches, and continued riding down the path.
"Not a bad shot yourself, ol' timer." said Nick. "Just gotta hope those bandits didn't get Clem, though."
"Look, more ostrich tracks down the road. I don't think they got her." said Gideon, pointing down the road.
Continuing down the path, the group made it out of the forest, and towards a large ranch. The ranch had a farm gate, a fence surrounding the property, a barn, and a two story farmhouse. Above the gate, a sign hung that read, 'Hopps Family Farm'.
"Oh, great." said Judy.
"Look, by the house. There's our ostrich. She's gotta be there." Gideon pointed to the ostrich, their reigns tied to a balcony railing.
The group stopped by the front of their house, and got off their ostriches. Nick was the first to walk in through the door.
"Of all the places Clem had to run away to." muttered Judy.
"I know being here is bringing back memories, bad ones, but we won't stay long." reassured Stu.
"So, this is your old homestead." said Danny. "Pretty fancy for farmers."
"Dan, for once, hold off the snark remarks." Judy glared.
"Okay, okay. Sorry. Geez." Danny rolled his eyes.
"Clem! Clementine!" Nick called.
"I'm up here!" Clem called, from the second floor.
"C'mon, Jude. We'll go get her." said Nick.
"We'll keep a lookout, down here." said Stu. "Besides, reckon you three need to have a chat."
Judy and Nick headed up the stairs, looking into the many rooms, until they found Clem in Judy's old room.
"Is this all you had to worry about, when you were a teen, Jude?" Clem asked, reading Judy's old diary. "Boys, movies, deciding which low-cut shirt goes with which bra? Also, you had being a cop on the brains, in almost every page. Bizarre. Sorry, but I got bored."
Judy couldn't help but blush. "It was stupid kid and teen stuff." she said.
"Get up, we're leaving. Let's go." said Nick.
"And, if I say no?" Clem retorted.
"Do you even realize what your life means? Huh?" Nick asked, sternly. "Running off like that?! Putting yourself at risk?! It's pretty stupid, if you ask me."
"Well, I guess we're all disappointed with each other, then." said Clem.
"What do you want from me?" asked Nick.
"Admit that you wanted to get rid of us, especially me and Judy, the entire time!" said Clem.
"That's not true!" said Nick.
"Really? Then, what're you so afraid of?!" asked Clem. "That we're gonna end up like Leo, Manchas, and Honey? I can't get infected. Me and Judy know how to look after ourselves."
"How many close calls have we had?!" asked Nick.
"A lot. But, we've come out okay so far, haven't we?" asked Clem.
"Which is why you and Carrots will be doing a whole lot better with Gideon!" said Nick.
"This is about them, isn't it?" said Clem.
"What?" said Nick.
"Vicky told us about Cassie and Abby." said Clem. "And that-"
"Clementine!" Nick shouted, sternly. "You are treading on some real thin ice, right now."
"Look, I'm so sorry about your family, Nick." said Clem. "But, you're not the only one who's lost mammals you care about, too."
"Your just a kid. Carrots is a Firefly." Nick stated, sternly. "You two have no idea, what loss really is!"
"And just what do you know about us, Nick?!" said Judy, glaring at Nick.
"I know that you chose to just up and leave your family, for some stupid, hopeless cause, at the time." said Nick.
"I didn't leave them! I joined the Fireflies, for the sake of my family." said Judy.
"Nick, before this all started, I had over 275 brothers and sisters. It was a big family, but I loved all of them, each and every last one of them. They all had families, too. You wanna know what happened? I lost each and every one of my siblings! Even their families, just gone! They were either killed, or turned into Savages! I'm the last one left! Yeah, dad and mom were against it, when Dawn approached me to join the Fireflies, and you know what I did? I told them off. I called them two of the most selfish, bitter prunes for their stereotypical ways against predators, and how they never had faith in me, when I wanted to become a police officer. I even went far to blame them for what happened to all my brothers and sisters. It's like Honey said, we're shitty mammals."
"Were you ever married, Carrots?! Are you a mother, yourself?! No! Mammals like you wouldn't leave that behind." barked Nick. "So, how could you even grasp what I lost?! You'll never understand that, you dumb rabbit!"
"Nick, back in Boston, when I was bitten, I wasn't alone." Clem said, her voice shaky. "My best friend was there. Her name was Angel, and she got bit, too. Even back when the pandemic hit, my mom, she sacrificed herself to save me from a Savage. Don't you get it, yet?! Everyone that I loved and ever cared about, they're either dead, or left me! Everyone, except for Judy, the Ottertons, even Danny, and-"
Clem pushed Nick. "Even fucking YOU! So, don't tell anyone else that they don't know what loss is, and don't tell me I'd be safer with someone else, because the truth is, without you or Judy, then I'd just be more scared!"
Nick had a hardened, but sad look on his face. "Your right. But, you two are not my wife and daughter, and I sure ain't your husband and father."
Judy and Clem's faces looked crushed.
"This is just a job, to me. Well, now my part is done. It doesn't work that way, anymore. The world doesn't work that way, anymore. So, you're both just gonna get used to it. So, we are going are separate ways." Nick said, glaring, and making every word he said a reality.
The door burst open, as Stu, Gideon, and Danny came in, holding their guns towards the hallway.
"Get it together, guys. We ain't alone." said Gideon.
Nick looked out the window, and saw a couple of antelope bandits sneak inside.
"I saw two just walk in." said Nick.
"There's more inside, already." said Stu.
Judy and Clem stood close to Stu, their spirits crushed.
Nick was the first to move up, taking cover behind the railing as the two antelope bandits moved up the stairs, going into one of the nearby rooms to their left. Nick snuck in, and grabbed one of the antelope, holding him at gunpoint, as the antelope had his rifle fixed at him. Nick shot down the other antelope, then proceeded to blow the other's brains out.
Down on the first floor, one of the bandits lit a smoke bomb, for cover. Nick and Gideon took behind cover, waiting for the bandits to come to them. One arctic fox bandit came slowly up the stairs, but Nick grabbed him. Nick guided the bandit back down to the first floor, and as the smoke cleared, he open fired on the remaining two bear bandits, landing two, clean head shots. Nick finished off the arctic fox next, ending the threat.
"Alright, it's clear." said Nick.
"Let's get back to the birds." said Gideon.
Nick took out his shotgun, and stepped outside, scanning the area.
"Outside's all clear." Nick called.
The group stepped outside, and got back onto their ostriches.
"Need a hand up, Jude?" Stu asked, extending his arm.
"I'm good, dad." Judy said, quietly.
"You okay?" Stu asked.
"I said, I'm okay." Judy insisted.
The group rode out of the ranch, and back out into the woods. It was a long, quiet ride back. Luckily, there were no more bandits to fight, nor any Savages. However, a quiet, and sad awkwardness hung in the twilight air.
Nick looked to where Clem was riding on her ostrich. Then, he saw where Judy was riding with her father. Nick sighed, feeling sad and guilty himself for having to do this to them, no matter how many times he told himself in his head that it was for the best.
The group finally made it back to Bunnyburrow, and through the walled gates that led into the town. There, Vicky, the Ottertons, and Bonnie were waiting to greet them. Judy was surprised to see at least eight little bunny toddlers beside Bonnie.
"Are those...?" Judy gasped.
"Yep. Turns out your ma was expecting more, when this virus hit. We didn't realize it, until later, after... you left." said Stu.
Judy hopped down, and ran to greet her new, little siblings.
"Well, I'll be..." Nick whispered.
"Lovely set-up, eh, Nick?" said Gideon, mentioning around the town, all lit up with lights. "You kids are gonna be able to watch movies, tonight."
Oscar, Alan, and the young Hopps kids beamed with excitement.
"So, Gideon. Where is this lab of theirs?" asked Nick.
"It's all the way out in the University of Eastern Colorado." said Gideon.
"Go Big Horns." Nick muttered. "Which building is the lab?"
"It's in the science building. It has a big dome-like roof, looks like a mirror. Hard to miss." said Gideon.
"Clem, get off your ostrich, and give it to Gideon. You can ride with me or Judy." said Nick.
Judy and Clem looked back to Nick, in utter surprise.
"If it's okay with you guys, Gideon, me, Judy, and Danny are gonna hang onto these fellas." said Nick. "That is, if you still wanna come with us, Dan."
"Hey, I got nowhere else to go. You guys are okay, I guess." Danny shrugged.
Nick looked to see Clem and Judy still staring at him. "Well, go on. Don't make me repeat myself. Hop to it. We gotta move."
"What're you doing?" Gideon asked, confusingly.
"Your wife kinda scares me, a little." Nick smirked, jokingly. "I don't want her coming after me."
"Sorry for stealing your ostrich." Clem said, sincerely.
She handed the reins to Gideon, then sat behind Nick on his ostrich. Judy climbed back onto her dad's ostrich.
"Wait, guys. Come back to our house with us. We can discuss more, at least." said Gideon.
"Ah, you know me. My mind's all made up." said Nick. "University of Eastern Colorado. Science building, with a mirror-like dome roof. Shouldn't be too hard to miss. As for you, bro. You take good care of that wife of yours. She's a keeper, and I think you two'd make great parents, someday."
Nick turned to Stu. "Your daughter will be safe with us, Mr. Hopps. Promise." he said.
"Please, just call me Stu, son." Stu smiled, genuinely.
"There's a place for you, here. Y'know?" said Gideon.
"There's a place for all of you, here." Vicky said, genuinely.
Nick nodded. "Who knows? We'll give it some thought, on the way up there." he said.
Judy nodded, agreeing. "You guys good?" she asked to the group.
Everyone nodded.
"Oh, hold on a sec." Clem got down, and hugged Oscar and Alan. "I'll see you guys real soon. Okay?"
"We'll miss you, Clem." said Oscar, and Clem climbed back up on Nick's ostrich.
"Take care of one another. Y'hear?" said Emmitt.
"Adios, Emmitt. Look after those kids." said Nick, smiling. "Adios, to you too, lil' bro."
With that, Nick, Clem, Danny, and Judy rode out of the gate, and back onto the road. Their families and friends waved back, seeing them off, and hoping for when they returned, as the gate closed for the night.
...
On the road, Nick turned to Judy.
"Hey, listen. Carrots, Clem, just so we're clear about back there..." Nick started, but Judy stopped him.
"Say no more, Slick. I know what you're gonna say. There were some parts you were right about, too." Judy gave an accepting and understanding smile.
"Those things are not any easy to admit. Wasn't for me." said Clem, hugging Nick's waist.
"Thank you, kindly." Nick smiled back.
"Ugh!" Danny groaned, and rolled his eyes for the dozenth time. "The sooner we get to Colorado, the sooner I won't have to listen to this mushy crap."
Nick just smirked, while Judy and Clem chuckled, slightly.
"I can still hear you, y'know!" Danny called.
It looked like it was gonna be another long hike...
Well, guys. That's it for this chapter. Next one might be more lengthier, or not. It'll depend. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I hope the little action and emotion in this makes up for it.
Also, the name, Angel, she's gonna be an OC filling in for the role of Riley in this crossover. There will be a chapter or two based on the DLC chapter game, The Last of Us: Left Behind.
I own nothing, except a few OC's, minus Daniel. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this crossover fanfic. Hope you enjoyed it, so far.