When you have no time restraints and are able to think clearly and unobstructed, you can come up with many logical and sane plans to combat any problem. Then there are times like this when you only have six seconds to think and decide to throw logic and sanity right out the window and do something that, when you look back at it later in life, you wonder how the fuck you even managed to come up with that solution and live to tell about it. This was one of those fucked up times.

There were six mammals in front of me, half armed with guns, the other half getting ready to throw their javelins. Behind me was an unknown number of mammals barreling down the stairs, armed with who knows what and willing to do the same. Thankfully this was imminent enough of a threat that I was able to activate B.A.T.S. before the first bullet and javelin started their short trajectory towards my sudden death. My gun only held eight rounds, and there was no way I would be able to find the time to reload in the middle of this shit storm, and even if I could, that alone would take at least half of my time under the serum. So I decided to do the next best thing. I pulled out two grenades.

Above me, the ceiling was high enough, giving me plenty of room to attempt to jump out of the blast. I popped the tops of both grenades and pushed the buttons. I simultaneously tossed one grenade forward towards the one set, and the other behind me where I was now able to make out something reaching the final staircase to where I currently was at. Once the grenades left my paws, I crouched down and pushed myself upwards with all my might. As I reached the apex of my jump, the serum had finally worn off.

"Fuck! Grenade!"

I was not sure if anyone of them heard that in time, but not even a second after those words started to echo through the hall, were they drowned out by a large explosion. The force of the explosion sent me at least another foot up in the air, and I could feel some heat licking at my feet. Then I felt pain coursing through my side as I started to fall back towards the ground.

I landed with a loud thump and tried to lift myself up. The pain was starting to shoot to my legs and arms. I placed a paw where the pain originated and returned with blood. My blood. I don't know if it was a bullet or some stray debris created by the explosion, but something had hit me. It hurt like hell, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Even if I did manage to kill or incapacitate my aggressors, that still left Bailey. That fucking elephant who was torturing a defenseless elder. Come on Olivia, get up!

I slowly stood up, gripping my side with my paw as I took a look around. Through the doorway, the three gunners were down, showing no signs of movement. Two of the three tiger's that wielded the javelins were also down, although I could tell at least one was still breathing, his chest slowly heaving at each breath. I would deal with him later, from the looks of it, he was not going to get up anytime soon.

"M … Miss … are you … alright?"

The voice was breaking up, with an almost painful sounding buzzing between the words. I looked towards the voice. Laying on the ground halfway up the stairs was Onion, sparks flying from his chassis. Did … did I do that? Fuck, please tell me I did not do that! I started to run towards Onion, completely forgetting why I was even here when I felt something wrap around my neck. It tightened so quickly and I started to struggle breathing.

"You fucking cunt of a rabbit! You come in here, kill my men, and for what? For WHAT? To rescue some fucking buffalo who should have died years ago!?"

I tried to tell her to fuck off, but the rope around my neck was tightening as she spoke. The world started to go fuzzy.

"Oh, don't you die on me rabbit, I ain't done with you yet!"

As she spoke, her trunk waved and lifted me off the ground, sending my flying down the hallway towards where she was. I flew past her and slammed into the concrete wall at the end of the hall. I think I felt some, if not all my bones break. She unraveled the rope from my neck as I slid down the wall and fell limp to the ground. I tried to speak, but I was having trouble catching my breath.

"Elevated Heartbeat Detected. Vital Signs Decreasing Rapidly. Total Systemic Failure Imminent. Recommended Action: Proceed To Nearest Medical Treatment Facility."

"B … Ba … t …" I could barely speak. I tried to get B.A.T.S. to activate, but I could not form the words. What good would it do me anyways? I could barely move, and even if I did manageto activate it, I didn't even know where my gun was, yet alone be able to lift my arm to fire it. This was it, my luck ran out. Fate won, I lost. Fuck you fate.

"Vital Signs Reaching Critical Levels. Activating Emergency Procedures. Warning! Prolonged Use Of Experimental Serum X-700 May Cause Mental Deterioration. Do You Wish To Proceed?"

Whatever the fuck it just said, it's better than dying now. I used all my remaining strength to carefully form the right word.

"Yes."

If the chemicals used when I am in B.A.T.S. was akin to a euphoric feeling, this was more like having my brain smashed by a slice of lemon wrapped around a brick! I felt all the pain in me vanish, my senses alerted further than I have ever felt. I gained unsurpassed focus and clarity. Despite the fact that I knew some of my bones were broken, I managed to get up was ease. I saw Bailey's face melt from her sadistic grin and reform into one of horror.

"How? You shouldn't be able to move! How the FUCK are you moving!?"

I was right about not having my gun. I must have dropped it, along with my bag when she grabbed me. That did not matter. I may be the size of a rabbit, but I felt like a rhino. The elephant's face became awash with anger once again as she lifted the rope again. Unlike under B.A.T.S., time seemed to move normally, everything happening at once, only I felt stronger and faster than I have ever in my entire life. The rope came sailing towards me, but I did not try to dodge , I ran straight into it.

I knew that despite me feeling stronger, there was still no way I would be able to physically take on her, so I decided to use herself as my weapon. I jumped up as the rope reached me and I flipped through the air while grabbing it, aiming towards the side wall closest to me. With rope in hand I bounded off the wall, flew behind he, and ricocheted myself off the other hallway wall back towards her. With the rope firmly gripped in my paws, I jumped again, and again until I landed right a few feet in front of her. Now I was the one with the smile.

"How … you … fucking … little …"

Those were her last words as she struggled to speak them. I had literally jumped circles around her, causing the rope to wrap around her own neck. I was standing there, gripping the rope as she tried to struggle. Under any other circumstances, she probably would have been able to overpower me, but I think I caught her by surprise so badly, that by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late. I just stood there, keeping the rope taught as she dropped to her knees, struggling to get the rope loose and attempting to breath. Then she stopped struggling. Like a massive stone, she collapsed, causing the hall to shake. I let go of the rope and looked at my paws. They were red, the friction of the rope had torn away fur and flesh alike.

Normally the other chemical would have worn off by now, but I still felt, alive. I turned towards the only other door in the hallway and entered through it into the main hall. I ran up towards where the buffalo was in the middle of the stage. I saw no-one else. The rest were either dead or had scattered. The buffalo looked much older up close, but he was not hanging his head anymore, rather he was looking at me, eyes wide. I could not tell if it was from thanks, or fear. I realized that he was in such a position that my entire fight with the elephant was visible to him. I went to try to untie him, but the knots were very tight, and I did not have anything to cut it with me.

"Allow me."

I was startled when the buffalo said it so clearly, like he had not just been tortured. Then she shocked me when he closed his eyes and I saw his muscles start to bulge as he flexed them. He let out a small grunt as the ropes binding him snapped into pieces. He could have done that this entire time?!

He stood up and casually wiped his pants as he knelt down and held out his hand, "Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Maximilian Lazlo, and I am in your debt."

I went to shake his hand when a large explosion occurred behind me. I turned around and saw the main hall doors had been blown open and from the smoke at least a dozen large shapes appeared, each of them wearing massive armored suits and all of them pointing guns at me.

"Wait! I can …"

That was all I could say before the chemicals finally wore off. These chemicals did not just fade away slowly, they simply vanished, instantly bringing back all the pain that they were keeping at bay. My legs sagged beneath me as I collapsed onto the ground. This time, I managed to do so face up. I remained conscious long enough to see that I was now surrounded by these behemoths, but there was nothing I could do. Then everything went black.

I felt as if I had been shattered into a million pieces. I was too afraid to open my eyes, knowing that the worse had finally happened. I heard, noises that I could not recognize. They sounded organic, like a worm struggling through the water soaked earth. Some noises got closer as others drifted farther. I heard the rhythmic beat of something float in front of me, only to drift away. Everything felt, cold. It wasn't a chilling cold, but rather a lifeless one.

I could feel my body, but it did not feel right. I tried to move an arm, but it felt distant. My legs felt as if they were distant from not only myself, but from each other. Suddenly, I felt one of my legs move closer, and then the other one, each leg alternating between close and far. Was I walking? I did not feel like any movement I knew of. I tried to turn my head, my eyes still shut. My head turned, and continued to turn. I tried to move my arm to stop it but I had trouble telling it what to do. I dared to open my eyes.

I was floating. I could see a bleak and unending sky. I kept turning but could not find any land, just sky. Why could I feel my head spin, but not the rest of me? I tried to stop the slow spinning, why couldn't I move my arm? Then I saw it, my arm, just floating there, disconnected from my body. The rhythmic beating passed by me again, it was a heart. My heart. I started to panic. What was going on? My eyes started to focus through the bleakness. As the clouds parted, I could see all of it, all of me, just floating there. My arms and legs, organs and bones, everything removed from each other like some horrific jigsaw puzzle.

I tried to scream, but my voice was gone. I wanted to cry, but there were no tears. There was nothing but silence. Then I felt it again. The worms had resumed their crawling, only it wasn't worms. I saw as my torso floated past my heart. Red, bloody tendrils slowly emerged from my torso, wrapping themselves around my heart. I could see them, feel them pull my heart into its empty cavity. I could soon feel more and more tendrils, each of them seeking out their missing pieces. My torso found organs, my legs found their bones. I could see an invisible and stitching them all together. I watched as my own body was put back together, piece, by, piece.

Soon there was nothing left but my body and my head, both floating in this empty sky. Then I felt something new. My heart started to beat inside my own chest. Faster. Faster. I could feel every blood cell flowing through my veins as they reached out to fill my body with life. I saw my own body reach its arms out as it floated towards me. It wasn't completed. It wouldn't be complete until it had it's, my head. As it approached I saw those bloody tendrils start to extend from the neck, lashing out towards me. I should be glad, I should have wanted it, to be whole again, but at that moment, there was only one thing I wanted to do.

I closed my eyes and screamed.

I woke up screaming. I tried to get up by my arms and legs were strapped down to something. Panic was racing through my body. Bright lights were shining down upon, blinding me. I tried to focus past the lights, but they were to blinding. I looked around, but all I could see were shadows within the brightness. One of the shadows moved towards me.

"Calm down! Calm down! Will someone PLEASE sedate her?"

I did not recognize the voice. Everything seemed unfamiliar. The noises, the smells, everything was out of place. The last thing I remembered was death. An explosion causing other, and myself pain, both physical and emotional. Tears started to fall as I felt a small prick in my arm and my body's reactions slowed down. I felt helpless. Just like I couldn't control my panic, I now could not control my emotions. I felt the fur around my face get soaked as the tears fell.

Everything I had done, everything that I wanted to do, it was all for me. I did not stop to think of the dangers I could have put my Burrow into by opening the door. What if the radiation was still abundant and it ended up killing everyone? I did not stop to think about those I killed. Did they have family, children who depended upon their care? Worse of all, in my selfish attempt to keep me alive, I hurt my only real friend I had left. I wanted to find him, I wanted to make sure he was ok. I wanted … to sleep.

"Are you awake?" The voice was calm.

"What … where am I?"

"Someplace safe. I can assure you. Now please, take it easy. You are still healing." I could hear genuine compassion from his voice.

I took a look around. I was in lying in a bed, but this time my limbs were free. The panic from before had subsided, and my eyes felt very dry. I blinked a few times until my tears did their best to moisturize them. The room was very plain. Nothing on the walls, no furniture but a small nightstand with a lamp. It was also very clean. The cleanest room I have seen since leaving the Burrow. Next to me, dressed in all white, was a badger.

"I need you to take it easy for a bit. Here, let me help you."

He gently placed his paw on my arm as I tried to get up. My legs felt weak, but there was no pain in them. I put one foot on the ground, then the next, the badger supporting me the entire time. My knees did not want to stay, and my entire body caused them to buckle as I fell to the ground. The badger tried to catch me but missed. He knelled over and helped me get up.

"I got you. You have been bed ridden for almost a week, your motor functions will need to adapt."

A week! I tried to step forward at the news but my knees buckled again. This time I landed on my ass and just sat there, both from the shock of what he told me, and the fact that I may have just broke my butt.

"Where am I?"

"Like I said, you are safe. Please, wait there. There is someone eager to see you."

He walked out as I did what he said, I just stayed here, my brain wrapping around the fact that I had been where ever this place is for a whole week! I remembered saving the buffalo, and I remembered getting my ass handed to me by a very mean elephant. A lot of the events were foggy in my head. There were explosions, and then I was surrounded by large figures, and then there was …

"Miss! You're finally awake!"

"Onion!"

I tried to get up again, I wanted to wrap my arms around that floating ball of circuitry, but I only succeeded in falling. Again.

"Onion, what happened? Where are we? And how? The last I remember, you were lying on the ground, barely functioning."

"It's a long story Miss …"

"One that you will find out soon enough."

There was something familiar about that voice. I looked towards the doorway to see an aging buffalo standing there. He was different this time. He looked much healthier, and was dressed head to hoof in an unfamiliar uniform. It was a black and looked as if it was made of some hardened material. Covering the uniform was a large maroon coat that was left unbuttoned. His once broken horns were now dressed in large metallic ones. He did not look like the helpless old buffalo anymore.

"Let me formally introduce myself. I am Chief Maximilian Lazlo, leader of the Steel Guardians."

Once I was able to get up and move on my own, Chief Lazlo lead Onion and myself through something that reminded me of the Burrow, only sharper and cleaner. The walls were made of metal, and every so often we would pass some sturdy metal doors. This whole thing reminded me of when Jack Savage snuck into a secretmilitary base to steal top secret weapon plans. Onion floated up to me and I decided to break the silence.

"So what happened to you Onion?"

"Well Miss, after your bout with the elephant, these Steel Guardian fellows showed up. I think they saw me when they were checking to see if any of those poor bastards you killed were still alive. At first they were going to just leave me, but when the Chief here heard me trying to call to you, he told them to bring me in as well."

"I did not know what to make of that little robot of yours. We figured that he might have held some information we could have used, so we brought it in to be repaired. Unfortunately, that robot has quite the mouth on him. He kept calling out for a 'Miss' and 'Olivia'. Since I was not familiar with that name among my captives, I figured that he must have been calling for you."

"I thank you for repairing me Sir, but I would inform you Miss that their attempts to access my memory banks failed each time."

"We stopped because between your incessant yammering and the fact that you nearly knocked out a few of my men with that stunner of yours, most of them were ready to deactivate you and use you for a kickball."

"I am glad you're okay Onion, and thank you for getting him fixed. He's all that I have."

"You are welcome miss. I saw how you took down not only that entire gang, but how you managed to take out their lieutenant with such ease after being so badly damaged, I did not want to see what would happen if we didn't return him in one piece to you."

Was I really that good? I don't remember a lot of it, only that my Pip-Boar had … wait, my Pip-Boar!

"Where is my Pip-Boar?"

"We had to remove it in order to set your bones. Don't worry, that, along with all your belongings, are safe and will be returned to you shortly."

"Ok then, last question. Where are we?"

"Now that, is something you should see for yourself."

We reached two very large doors. On either side of them were two enormous elephants, both dressed in that mechanized armor. They saluted as Chief Lazlo approached and one of them turned and touched its armored trunk towards a panel. A red light turned green as the doors slowly swung open. The doors lead to the outside. We passed two more giants, this time rhinos, as the doors closed behind us. We walked down a short tunnel that started to narrow as I started to see some light from the outside. The sky was still cloudy, although I could tell that it must have been midday or early afternoon. In the distance I saw massive tree's that reached far above the cloud cover. Nearby was the flat lands that I was all too familiar with. There were buildings, but they were more scattered, not bunched together like where I found the theater.

"Welcome to Steel Guardian Outpost Zeta."

We walked out into the opening and I saw where we came from. It was a … gas station? The doors we had left seemed to have lead from a small shed. Near it was a large building, large enough for a rhino, and a row of fuel pumps. I recognized these from the History of Modern Technology books that my mother gave me when I was young. Places like these were used to fuel up the many now abandoned cars that I have seen since leaving the stadium.

"Tell me Chief, how did you manage to find yourself in that predicament?"

"As you can tell, I am getting old. While my men still respect me as their leader, they would rather me sit behind some desk while they take care of the hard work. I wanted to show them that I was still fit, that I could lead them just as well from the field as I could from some dusty desk. I decided to take a small patrol with me to clear out some small gangs that had been popping up. Typically, these small gangs were disorganized, often fighting among themselves more than against us. These guys were different however. It seems that recently, a few gangs, including the Gray Quills, had been assimilating these rouge gangs into one larger, more organized one. We did not realize how far their influence had spread until it was too late.

"It was getting dark and my team said that we should head back, to try again in the morning, but I was too damn arrogant. I wanted to show them that I would be able to finish this mission. If the Steel Guardian's leader turned tail and ran, that would give the rest of them a bad impression of me. The Steel Guardians were founded on honor, made to be a shield against all forms of evil. I should have listened to them. Shortly after nightfall we were ambushed. Despite all our training, all our technology, my team was no match for their viciousness. If only I had a bigger team. If only I had listened and completed this patrol the next morning. They would still be alive.

"I tried to avenge my fallen comrades, I fought with all I had, but there were too many of them. Bailey, their lieutenant that you killed, she was able to strike me down with that whip of hers while the other tried to hold me down. I managed to break a few arms, but I was overwhelmed. I was there, in that theater, for days. They wanted information from me, and she tortured me for hours on end to try to break me. While my bones may be old, my mind is sharper than ever. She never did get what she wanted."

"And what was that?"

"The location of all our outposts. You see, during the war, the original Steel Guardians had built hidden outposts like this one that served as a shelter and an armory. Every one of them was stocked with weapons, ammos, supplies, everything that you needed to make it through a war. The largest one, built beneath ZPD Precinct One, deep in the heart of Zootopia, used to be our main headquarters until we were run out by our own."

"What do you mean, run out?"

"That is a long story, but suffice it to say, be careful, not every Steel Guardian is your friend."

"How will I know? I mean you all look alike, no offense."

Chief Lazlo snapped his hooves together and a small rabbit, dressed in a solid black armored jumpsuit, ran over carrying a bag. I looked at him. He was the first rabbit that I have seen since I left the Burrow, at least, the first living one. He held out my bag in one paw, and then held out his other. In his paw was my Pip-Boar.

"We had our engineers modify your Pip-Boar. It seems that most of it was still in factory default mode, so many of its features were disabled. We took the liberty of enabling most of them, including updating your personal friend-or-foe scanner. Every Steel Guardian, no matter their affiliation, wears special identification tags. Embedded in these are special codes. I uploaded every code from my group into it. If you meet up with any of the good guys, it will show up as a green blip on your screen. If it's not green, well you might want to avoid them."

"Friend-or-foe scanner?"

"Yes, every Pip-Boar has one. It takes in account the environment, previous encounters, and your vitals and creates a data structure that attempts to identify a target as friendly or aggressive. It is not perfect, but the more you use it, the more accurate it becomes. All of our Exo-Armor has it. We even have a few Pip-Boars among ourselves, but nothing that is in such good condition as yours. May I ask where you got it?"

I thought about it. Did I really want to give away the location of my Burrow to some strangers? Sure I saved their leader, and sure they healed me, so I doubt I can call them my enemies. Despite their tough looking suits, most of them have given me a wide berth. Did the Chief over exaggerate my encounter with the Quills? He did seem rather impressed. I could use that to my advantage if needed.

"I am actually from a Burrow."

"A Burrow? I haven't heard of an occupied one for nearly a decade. That explains the condition. It doesn't however, explain how you took out that entire gang like that. Even B.A.T.S. isn't that reliable."

"Let's just say I am a very fast learner."

I don't know if he found that funny or what but he let out a loud laugh. "I like you rabbit. Tell you what. Normally we have lengthy selection processes when it comes to new recruits, but you have proven yourself quite capable. I would like to officially offer you a position in the Steel Guardians. How about it, recruit?"

Me? A Steel Guardian? They did have access to weapons and medical technologies that I am lacking, and that place looks very safe. It would also be nice to have some more protection then to just rely on my luck. It was a very tempting offer, but I need to get to hope. Besides making sure that Bo and his family made it safe there safe, this would not feel like home. I needed to be someplace that needed me, not just wanted me.

"As tempting as the offer is, I think I shall decline."

"Are you sure? We have everything you would ever need. Even if you did not want to see more combat, there is still plenty to do around here. We also need capable members to help us secure the other outposts before someone else can misuse their contents."

"I have previous engagements that I need to take care of, and I have been away for too long already."

"Then I will not pressure you anymore." He snapped his hooves again and the rabbit returned with another small bag, "This is a thank you gift from us. It contains med-packs, some military rations, and ammo for your weapon."

"Thank you. The help will be needed on my journey."

"Also, just in case you need help, or change your mind about joining us, we have programed into your Pip-Boar our private communications access. As long as you are within broadcasting range, or near a broadcasting tower, you can contact us."

I took the bag of supplies and went to put then into my backpack when I remembered something. I dug into one of the side pockets and took out the identification tags I found on that downed vehicle.

"I found these on some of your men. I am sorry they did not make it."

He took them from me and looked at the names. "Thank you Olivia. I will make sure that these get sent to their proper places. These men died bravely trying to rescue me."

Chief Lazlo, along with the rabbit and both guards at the door saluted me. I copied them and returned the salute. I thanked them again before heading out. I took a look at my Pip-Boar and pulled up the map. It seems they also updated my map because west of here was a name of our destination. Hope.