"You are NOT going alone Olivia!"
"I HAVE TO! Just… LET ME GO!"
Mark and Holly were holding me down as I was desperately trying to get away, to go hunt down those fuckers that took Nate, to find that fucking bitch of an Overseer and make her pay for taking the only thing that matters to me. Holly had insisted that I take them, along with the entire Guardian force to storm the Burrow, but I was afraid of what might happen to him if an army showed up.
"We… we want to get Nate back just as bad as you 'livi, but you're acting… suicidal."
"If I show up with an army, they… they might… they might KILL him! I have to go alone!"
"No you don't! What if they're using him to get to you, to hurt you! We don't even know what you did to get them so riled up!"
"That fucking Overseer killed my mom! You heard her recording, maybe she wants to kill me too! And I will fucking let her if that means saving Nate!"
"Olivia, what… what are you saying?"
"Can't you see Holly? I'm fucking nothing! Nate, he's the stronger one! Did you see him in there? I would've slaughtered half the Burrow for what they did to him. To the both of you, but he didn't. Why? Because he's better than that! Better than me! He's what this world needs, he's the hero it needs, not some stupid rabbit that does nothing but kill more than helps! He's already working on a plan to restore the wasteland and what am I doing?" I felt tears burning down my face.
"You have done so much good 'livi, can't you see?"
"I saved Hope just to have them get attacked again! I wasn't there when the mayor was kidnapped, I wasn't there to stop the Red-Necks from burning Beaverton, I wasn't fucking there to stop Nate from being taken! He lost his arm because of me, innocent mammals have died because of me. There's still a fucking Burrow filled with cannibals and I didn't even fucking try to save those who existed only to feed them! I should have done something, but I was too fucking scared!"
"We're all scared 'livi. Those things, they weren't your fault. How could you have saved Beaverton if you didn't even know it existed to save? Weren't you still fresh out of the Burrow when that happened? And how could we know that the mayor would get kidnapped? We didn't. Shit happens all the time out here, and most of the time we can't do anything about it, no matter how hard we try. But this, rescuing Nate, this is something we can do together, this is something we can do something about. You need to trust us 'livi."
"I… I…" The tears were rushing full stream now. Every little bit of pent up anger and sadness that I had been feeling erupted at once. My body was shaking as the images of Nate being tortured caused me to break down even more. Holly and Mark grabbed me and started to hug me, their own emotions mixing with mine.
"You say you're nothing, that Nate is the better mammal, but if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be. We've told you countless times how much of an improvement you have made on him, how you're his reason for existing. You need to stop tormenting yourself over this. If he lost you, I'm not sure if he would even be able to do all those things you want him to. That is why we all need to work together to save him."
"But… I'm afraid, what if we show up and he… he…"
"Then we think of a plan."
"Blanche." Mark had been quiet this whole time, I could tell that his brother being taken was hurting him as well, he was just better than I was at hiding it.
"What about her?"
"She's small, she can sneak in with you Olivia."
"W-what if they discover her?"
I felt something land on my shoulder. "Those ass-twats will never see me coming."
It wasn't until now that I realized it wasn't just Holly and Mark with me. Blanche, Drake, Jasmine, and all the Guardians were there with us. Even Holly's mom stood with them, all looking at us with concern in their faces. Even Logan was showing it, and for him to show that, he must really care.
Mark sniffed a few times, wiping his own tears away. "I… I actually have a book that might help. It's called 'Now You Don't', a book on magic tricks."
"H-how will that help?" Magic tricks didn't seem like the best solution at the moment.
"Well, it tells how to modify clothing to add more hiding spaces, and even tunnels between the arms to allow for slight of paw tricks, if I can modify your clothing…"
"Then they'll never find me! That's fucking brilliant!"
"What… what about the rest of you?" Sure that sounded like a plan, but what are two mammals going to do against a whole Burrow?
"We'll think of something 'livi. Suffice it to say, you will not be doing this alone."
"T-thank you… and… sorry. I… it seems like when one bad thing finally looks good, something worse comes along."
"That's life in the wasteland, figured you'd learn it by now, being the biggest trouble magnet I've ever seen."
"Now's not the time for that Blanche." Holly responded with an irate voice.
"She's right…"
"'Livi?"
"Everything bad that happens is because of me. I had to leave Hope to prevent the Legionaries from hurting them to get to me. I save Jasmine and bring her back to the only mammals I thought could help her, and it starts a rift between the Guardians. Every time I get mad or upset, bodies follow. I really don't try to seek out trouble, but it seems to find me. After this I… I'm not sure if I should even keep trying."
Holly gripped my shoulders hard enough that I was feeling stinging pain through my arms and neck. "Do NOT say that! If you stopped trying, Hope would have been gone. Jasmine would probably be dead, and all these raiders and slavers you killed would still be killing and raping countless innocents! You have done so much to help people, but every time something bad happens, you seem to lose grip on that."
"I… I'm tired of it. I don't want to hurt mammals, I never did, but I just… it seems so… easy. Pull the trigger and you never have to worry about it again. What if… what if we save Nate and this feeling keeps growing, what if I find I start to enjoy it, that I become… one of them?"
"We will never let you slip that far 'livi."
There was a sudden commotion in the crowd that grabbed our attention. I was still tearful, but it was running its course for now, my eyes burning from the dry winds that were picking up. I looked towards where the noise was coming from and saw two Stalkers holding down a familiar cream colored rabbit. Logan moved over to the stalkers as I got up to get a better look. I needed a distraction.
"Stalker Grimmer! Why isn't he in the transport with the other prisoners?"
"Sir! He was unconscious so we thought…"
Overseer Kerrigan had dried blood around his mouth, and as he talked I could see the broken teeth from my punch to his face. He spoke slowly, his words slurring from the injuries.
"I hope that fox is skinned alive."
Nate was missing, and this fucker was still alive? How is that fair? It should be HIM who is being tortured. It's HIM that should be dead! I got up slowly. Holly tried to say something, but my mind was clouded. It was all his fault. If he never abused Nate, he would have grown up to be strong enough to not even need me. He was the one who broke him, he was the one who hurt him. If we hadn't come here to save his fucking Burrow, Nate would still be here with me. Instead we get dragged from one Burrow to another. These fucking Burrows and their Overseers. Are they all so corrupt? Are they all so blind to the hurt they cause others?
"Heh, I bet that fucking pred got tired of you, went to find himself another whore."
"Stalker! Shut him up!"
Logan's orders weren't fast enough. My mind was so foggy that I needed to do something to clear it, otherwise I will end up getting mammals killed from my stupidity. I still had my pistol on me so I drew it and before anyone could react, I shot the Overseer. I wasn't going to kill him, although I wanted to, I really wanted to, but I also wanted him to live long enough for Nate to return, for Nate to show him how much he really is the better mammal.
Logan ordered the Stalkers to grab me, but they hesitated long enough for me to get face to face with the rabbit who was clutching his leg in agony. I grabbed him by the ears, yanked his head back and shoved the barrel of my gun into his mouth. I was close enough to see the fear in his eyes, real fear. I could smell it too.
"I want to kill you. Oh how I want to. I know what you did to Nate, to Mark, and to their… mother. I'm sure you had a part in killing their father too. You are despicable. You call predators filth, but that is only so you can hide your own. You see this scar on my face? I would've been dead if Nate hadn't jump in to save me. That metal arm of his? He lost it trying to protect me a rabbit! When I first met him he was terrified of me, you know why? Because of my species. YOU made him that way! YOU instilled a fear of prey into him that was so deep rooted it took its toll on him. Hell, foxes in general are so looked down upon that the seed you planted blossomed into such an irreparable mess that I'm surprised he even made it far enough for me to meet him! Now? He's the strongest mammal I know, the most caring, kind hearted. Do you even know kindness? No, I don't think you do. What was the last act of kindness you've ever done?" I slowly pulled the gun out of his mouth to let him speak.
"Not killing him when I had the chance."
"Looks like that's two of us." I whacked the butt of my gun against his temple, knocking him out cold. I put my gun away and stretched. "I needed that. I really did."
"Get him cleaned up and onto the transport, now!" Logan had a bit of disbelief in his eyes before he snapped back to his normal self. He glared at me. "I'm just going to chalk that up to stress."
"Better make sure he stays out of it until you get him away from me. Anything else out of that fucker's mouth, I will shoot him again, and it won't be pretty."
Holly ran up to me and grabbed me by the arm before slapping her paw against my face. "Don't scare us like that 'livi!"
"Ow! Sorry. I just… I really didn't like him."
"He never did know when to keep his mouth shut. I would be lying if I said he didn't deserve that. Glad you didn't kill him, otherwise Nate would not have been happy."
"Why does he even want him to live after all he did?"
Holly's mom spoke instead of her daughter. "You said it yourself Olivia, pulling a trigger is easy, but it's not always the way. If you kill someone that won't send the message of compliance, it simply tells everyone they need a bigger gun and better protection. That's how all wars are. If we simply sat down and worked things out, maybe this 'wasteland' would never have existed."
"I… I've tried to talk, but sometimes I think they don't want to listen, or maybe, they do but they're so deeply rooted in their own ways that they can't change. Don't doctors say something about killing an infection at the source before it spreads? That's how I see the hate in the world, an infection that has spread so far that to most being sick is the norm."
Holly's mom knelt next to me and put her paw on my shoulder. "My dear, you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Sure you can easily kill of an infection by destroying the host, but once you're done, there wouldn't be anyone left to be sick, you would just be alone. You need to stop looking it like that and instead try to be the doctor, and start being the vaccine. I haven't gotten to know this new Nate much, but I can already tell that's what he is doing, that's why he let that demented husband of mine live. If he killed him, it wouldn't solve anything, it would just be another body. He needs to learn from him, to find out why he is the way he is. There's no helping Elijah, even I know he's beyond redemption, but Nate can learn how to better handle others like him, to shield others from their corruption. Only by blocking hate can we truly be rid of it."
"You make it sound like he can simply eradicate all the hatred and evil in the world."
"No, he can't. No one can. Hate has existed since the dawn of time, and hate will exist until the last breath, but it doesn't always have to be in control. I read that the great city of Zootopia was a haven for all species, big and small, predator and prey. Sure there was still hate, we can see that with what remains, but up until the war, it sounded like hate was in the minority."
"Yeah, but hate ended up winning. Otherwise the Burrows wouldn't exist and we would all be happy."
"Mammals let go of themselves, they allowed the hate to grip them, that's why the world ended. In its ashes we need to start anew, to forgive and rebuild. If you killed everyone with hate in their heart, we as mammals would cease to exist. Remember that my dear."
"I… thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, don't you have a boyfriend to rescue?"
Holly's mom was very wise. She was also surprisingly calm with everything going on. I wondered if she lived with her husband's hate for such a long time that she was immune to its effects. She was right. I had to stop being so careless with pulling my trigger. Yes, there are mammals who I know won't back down. Baird, Overseer Kerrigan, King, to name a few. Those are not just sources of hate in the world, but tumors that are eating away at its life-force. Baird is dead, I'm sure the Overseer will never live to see freedom, and King… I doubt we will be seeing him anytime soon the way Nate humiliated him. I just needed to be better, to do better than I have been. I had a feeling it was going to be much harder than it sounds.
Holly's mom was also a surprisingly good seamstress, taking bits of clothing and modifying my own as per Mark's instructions. He was shaking, showing how concerned he was for his brother, but he was doing everything he could to not show it. A single tear here and there told me how hard he was trying.
When the modifications were done and Blanche had a 'test run' in it, which tickled immensely, we gathered our stuff and loaded into the Tac-Lifters. The plan was to have me and Blanche get dropped off a mile or so from the stadium, hopefully out of view of any Legionary that might be watching, and to travel on foot. I modified my Pip-Boar to maintain a signal between a set of communicators that Logan and Holly had. If something happened to me, it would alert them and they would come running.
In the meantime, Logan was going to establish a squad of Agents and Stalkers with stealth technology to sneak in and take out all the Legionaries nearby. I could tell that Logan was immensely concerned about Nate's safe return. He already lost one Chief, I don't think he was ready to lose another one. None of the Guardians were.
I made sure my pistol was fully loaded, but I left behind my bag and my plasma rifle. I wanted to try to pass off as harmless to them, maybe I could get their guards down and find a way to take advantage of the situation. That and I was afraid that if I showed up armed to the teeth, that they would take that the wrong way and hurt Nate. I didn't even know if he was uninjured, though with his arm missing, I hoped that was the only thing they did to him.
"Please 'livi, don't do anything stupid." Holly yelled out to me as I exited the Tac-Lifter at my drop off zone.
"I got most of my aggression out on that rabbit, I'll be fine, t…"
"Don't say it 'livi! Do not say those two worrisome words!"
All I was going to say was 'trust me'. Those two words did have the tendency to cause trouble, so maybe it was a good thing. I set off towards the stadium, retracing my path that I had once made what felt like ages ago. Dusk was settling in, and that made it even more familiar since it was nighttime when I first left. It got me thinking.
"You holding up okay Olivia?"
"Yes I am Blanche."
"You're fucking lying. I can tell. Want a drink?"
"What? No! Why did you even… never mind, I forgot who I was talking to. What… what if I screw this up? What if I get Nate hurt, or even killed because of some idiotic mistake? What if I… lose it again?"
"I thought you said it was out of your system?"
"I thought you said you can tell when someone is lying?"
"Well fuck. We're fucked, aren't we? Well, at least I'll go out doing what I do best, drinking and killing."
"You ever, get tired of all the killing?"
"It's all I know. Yeah, I admit that there are times I regret it, but then I just drink those regrets away. Best thing about fighting drunk, half the time you can't remember shit."
"Haven't you ever tried to find another way out? Find some other solution that didn't involve killing?"
"Yeah, but then I lost my tail so I never tried again."
"But you got your tail back, twice, couldn't you have tried again? Knowing that some things are never forever?"
"You know, I actually did try. Unfortunately it always came out as an angry little bitch. That day, when I yelled at Nate before I turned into… this. I didn't want to. I knew how much you cared and I still thought of that day you… forced your opinion on how I treated him."
"I… I've regretted that ever since. I'm sorry for doing that to you."
"No, don't be. It was an eye opener. Killing and drinking, I thought that was what made the world go round. Have a problem with someone? Drink it away or just kill them, works wonders everywhere I go. The two of you showed me that there is more. From the outside, you two are so drastically different. I actually thought a few times that you two were just in it for the pleasure. So very few mammals settle down these days, they just find who they can, use them until they grow tired and find someone else. That's how the world works, but you two. When I saw how much you two really cared for each other, I… I don't think my tiny brain was able to handle there being something else, so I just did what I always do when my brain tells me something I can't understand. I kill it with booze. Not being able to drink for a few weeks let my head clear a bit. Honestly, me turning into a raisin did wonders for me. Maybe I should've hugged a nuke a long time ago."
"You know that it's a thousand to one odds that you got ghoulified, right?"
"Eh, then I would have been dead and I wouldn't have had to worry about going such a long time without a drink. Which reminds me. That North, or Nick, or whatever the hell his name is now, he promised me some booze to wash away this annoying sober feeling, so you better not get us killed."
"I make no promises."
When we got closer we both stopped talking. It would be a dead giveaway that something was wrong if I was caught talking to myself. We slowly crept through the sea of tents where I remember seeing my first mammals, and my first experience of the savagery of the world. There was an awful smell that almost caused me to vomit and my heart sank when I discovered its origins. Next to a burnt out fire lay the decomposing corpse of a mammal. Her body was naked, all her belongings, even her underwear, stripped from her body. It was the cheetah that I saw get killed. I felt just as helpless then as I do now. I still had no idea why Overseer Marsh wanted me so badly, but what if she was waiting for me? What if she wanted me dead and killed me before I could even find out how she got the door open, why she was so desperate to get me that she took someone close to me. How the fuck did she even know about me and Nate?
"Someone wasn't in a good mood."
"I saw her get killed."
"What?"
"When I first left the Burrow, I was scavenging these tents for something useful. That's when I saw the fire and heard the talking. I thought I found my first sign of life, that the world was not as bad as the Burrow made it seem to be. She… her wagon broke down, and her husband was hurt. I remember it so clearly. She begged for their assistance, but what did they do in return? Killed her. That wagon, they were carrying… a warning. A note that told of the impending Red-Neck attack on Beaverton. I… if I wasn't such a coward, if I wasn't afraid of getting killed myself, I could have helped her, I could have gotten that warning to Beaverton before it was too late. This… this is why I can't call myself a hero or a savior. I couldn't even muster up the strength to save a helpless mammal."
"This world is cruel. You're just lucky it wasn't you at the end of that encounter, or else that would be your body rotting there."
"I just feel so… helpless sometimes."
"We all do. I felt like that for months when I lost my tail, and then you came along and gave me that hope again. You just need to wait, someone will come along and bring it to you again."
"I think I like sober Blanche. You're barely swearing and actually a good conversationalist."
"Don't get used to it. The second I find something that will get me sloshed, my 'conversation' days are over."
"Guess I should make the use of it. But not right now. We have company."
Up ahead were three Legionaries, two wolves and a fox. Despite the white coat, seeing another fox made me think of Nate. I hope he was okay. I wasn't sure what to do. On one paw, I could sneak up and take them out and find a way into the Burrow without being seen, but on the other paw, there might be more of them beyond the entrance. I couldn't take that chance.
I told Blanche to keep her mouth closed and ears open as I slowly stepped out into the spotlight, my paws in the air. My gun was tucked away under my shirt since I left my belt behind, and I could feel the cold metal against my body, reminding me I wasn't completely helpless.
"I'm here, and I came alone. Where's Nate?"
One of the wolves motioned with his gun. I think he wanted me to get closer, but he wasn't saying anything. I kept my paws in the air as I slowly walked towards him until he motioned me to stop. The ghostly looking fox walked up to me and started to pat me down, his movements seemed erratic. Fuck, he would find both my gun and Blanche. She must have been aware of this because I felt her wiggling throughout the added tunnels in my clothing. Thankfully it was dark, because none of them seemed to notice the constantly moving bulge under my clothing. Then he found my gun.
He slowly took it from me and dropped it to the ground, as if he lost his grip on it. He didn't seem all there to me. Then he did something I didn't even think of. He grabbed my Pip-Boar.
"Hey, that's not a weapon!"
Ignoring me, he dug his paws around for the latch to unlock it. If he took it off of me now, it would send a signal to the others and they would come storming in thinking I was in trouble, which technically I was, but it would risk getting Nate killed since I didn't come alone. Damn it! There was no good reaction. Kill them, I risk Nate, don't kill them, I risk my back up getting Nate killed. Fuck this.
"Pip-Boar, kill."
I ducked down and grabbed my gun and planted a bullet into the foxes head. I expected him to drop dead, but instead he grabbed his own weapon and started to fire wildly. The two wolves joined in and I managed to get their heads, but they didn't stop either. What the fuck?! It was almost like they were… no. Back outside Burrow eighty-eight, we were attacked by what looked like Legionaries, but instead they were…
"Corpse Engines! They're fucking Corpse Engines!"
"What the fuck?" Blanche was tunneling through my shirt, probably trying to find a way out to join the fight.
Since I knew what I was up against, and pushing all the questions that were now forming in my head out again, I aimed for the chest. Just as I thought, once the bullet penetrated and killed the pilot, the fox dropped dead. I managed to do the same to the two wolves, barely making it out of their wild fire.
"Fucking Corpse Engines! Why the hell…"
A sharp pain hit my back. I felt all my muscles seize up as I fell to the ground. I had been electrocuted by a stun baton. I saw shadows in the spot-light surround me. The pain hit me again, and again. I was fucking down! Why the fuck did they keep doing that? I felt Blanche writhing in my clothing as the electricity must be getting channeled from her tail. It hurt, but they wouldn't stop.
Then it went black.
I've gotten knocked out so many times in such a small period of time that when the world turns black, I knew I would awake to something bad, and this was no exception. Once I was able to open my eyes, I was in a dark room, my body bound to what appeared to be a medical table. It wasn't the first time I woke up like this.
A light flickered on, nearly blinding me in the darkness. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was behind a curtain. This… this was the auditorium. I recognized the stage. It was the most dilapidated area in the Burrow. No one ever used it unless there was some kind of public announcement, like when one of the water recyclers broke and we had to mandate a water ration until it was fixed. I used to play around on here, pretending I was Jack Savage, trying to stop some evil doer. That was until I tripped on one of the loose floorboards and twisted my ankle. My mom never let me come back unless it was to be part of the audience.
I heard a groan come from near me as I tried to move my head. It was Nate. He was tied down to a similar table, his mouth gagged. I saw bandages where his arm was missing, dark red from all the blood they have soaked up. He was alive. I tried to talk to him, but I realized my own mouth was gagged. It looked like Nate was trying to tell me something, I turned my head and saw another table, but before I could figure it out, I heard a voice, and not one that I was expecting.
"You're awake. Good. Good."
That voice, I knew that voice, but, how?
"You are a very hard rabbit to track down, you know that?"
I tried to say something, but the gag was preventing me.
"What was that? Guards, remove her gag. I want to hear what she has to say. This should be… entertaining."
A rabbit walked over to me, dressed in a security uniform. Since when did the Overseer let rabbits… I recognized her instantly. Her face looked lifeless, but I knew that darkened brow, that pale face.
"H-Heather?" It was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. I hated that woman just as much as I did the Overseer. She made my life a living hell all because I suggested a tiny little thing that would have made our jobs so much easier.
"I'm afraid not Olivia."
"What are you… Mr. Felwick?"
"In the fur. Surprised?"
"But… what is going on?" I saw Nate trying to struggle against his bindings. "If you fucking hurt him, I swear I will use your hide as a glove!"
"Tsk, tsk. Always the rebellious one, aren't you? Still got your mother's fire in your eyes I see. A shame really, if you were born a rodent, then I would've liked you."
"What the fuck are you talking about? Did the Overseer put you up to this? Where is the fucking bitch?!"
"My, my. No wonder all these mammals had such trouble getting a hold of you. Here I thought they were all an incompetent lot. Well, what's done is done. As for your precious Overseer, take a look for yourself. Guard."
Heather slowly walked away before returning with that other table, rolling it between me and Nate. There was someone on it as well, a grey furred rat who was wrapped up in rope and then bound to the table. It was Overseer Marsh. Her eyes locked onto mine and they looked almost apologetic.
"What is going on?!"
"Keep your tone down, please. No need to get all worked up. And here I thought you would appreciate being cleaned up. Do showers even exist anymore up there?"
"What are you…" I looked down at my body. I wasn't wearing my normal clothing, instead I was in a Burrow jumpsuit. My fur did look much cleaner, but I couldn't help feeling dirty.
"It was rather amusing watching the fox while we stripped you down and cleaned you up. A fox. You should have seen the looks on the residents when we dragged him in here. He was unconscious but many of them were still too scared to get close. He could swallow any one of us whole if he chooses to."
"Is that why you are forcing these rabbits to guard us? In case he gets free?"
"Oh heavens no. Those rabbits are worthless, every last one of them."
"Then what…"
"You've met Higgins and Marshal before. Show yourselves."
Heather, and another rabbit both walked up to me as they slowly took off the chest plate on their armored security uniforms. Normally their jumpsuit would be directly underneath, but instead, there was a large opening in their chest, and inside… sat two mice.
"C-Corpse Engines? But… but how?"
"Like I said, you were a rather difficult rabbit to catch. After many failed attempts, I found a… different approach. I knew about the Corpse Engines, but that was the extent of my knowledge. When one of the Legionaries returned telling me how a giant bear with a glowing rodent in his chest killed the rest of his team, well I just had to know how to make my own."
"Why go through all of this? Why for me? And how the fuck did you even hire these fuckers?! Do you even know what caps are? I sure as hell didn't!"
"Caps. Such an unruly yet interesting form of currency. It was harder to get that damn door open then to get those Legionary fellows to come to my 'aid'. You should have seen it, Overseer Marsh was in tears that you ran away. She ignored her duties as Overseer, locked away in that office of hers. She blamed herself for your disobedience you know? Did you also know it was her fault your mother died?"
"How the fuck did you know that?!"
"I know everything, child. You see, my ancestors were mammals of great importance, it's just that no one knew it yet. They not only worked for Burrow-Tec, but they helped found it! Because of that, the main access codes for the entire system were passed down from generation to generation."
"Then why not simply leave? You rodents didn't seem to appreciate us rabbits much."
"Appreciate? No, more like despise. Not just your species, no, all mammals who were larger than us. That's what started the war you know?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Seems my ancestors work continued to go unnoticed. Shame. I'll have to fix that. You see, ever since civilized society began, rodents have been stepped on, kicked, and overlooked. You ever hear of a rodent mayor? A rodent president? No. It's always a larger species. A lion, a sheep, even a rabbit. We got tossed to the sideline, given the menial tasks. They even had the gall to throw us into a prison! Little Rodentia, more like Prison Rodentia. Anything to keep us in check. They told us it was for our own protection, but we were nothing more than serfs to everyone!"
"You make it sound like you were there."
"If only. I would have made a few changes, like Tundratown. Why did the rodents blow that place up? Why not drop a nuke in the middle of the city? It would have made for a much more enjoyable show I think."
"Rodents… wait, are you telling me?"
"Rodents started the war. Didn't I say that already? What is it with you rabbits and your selective hearing? Yes, rodents are the ones responsible for the war, responsible for the Burrows, for everything! My ancestors planned to regroup in thirty or so years and then take over the world, rebuild it so that rodents were on top and everyone else was groveling to us! It would have been a utopia!"
"Sounds more like slavery to me."
"Slaves? Perhaps, but slaves are forced to work for their owners. No, the rodents had plans, plans to subjugate through reconditioning! That's what the Burrows were for, to experiment on all the other mammals, to find ways to break them, to shape them into someone who is willing to follow, a willing slave as you will. Alas, something must have went wrong because all communications with the outside were cut off before the first thirty years. Even the door codes wouldn't work, an automatic lockout prevented that. At least that was until you cracked the code. Rather brilliantly I might add. I guess you rabbits were good for something."
"If rodents hated the larger mammals so much, why put rabbits here in the first place?"
"To maintain its disguise. Having any Burrow populated by a singular species would raise questions, so they had to improvise. Rabbits just happened to be the next closest size to rodents."
"Just another Burrow-Tec lie."
"Perhaps, but one that eventually worked to its advantage. Over two centuries later, my plans to continue the rodents work are well on their way."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You see my dear, mammals are such stupid creatures. The larger they are, the smaller their brain I think. When these Legionaries arrived seeking some bounty, they found my initial scouting party. They had told me how dangerous the world up above was, and most of them didn't make it back, those that did told me of monstrous creatures that were directly above us, ghouls I think the Legionaries called them? Well, I knew that I needed some kind of help, preferably the disposable type. I'm not stupid, in a non-rodent world, you need non-rodent help. Since I had no idea what caps were, and the currency of the past was worth just as much as toilet paper, I struck a deal with them. Food, supplies, slaves. Oh yes, they were happy to take some of our rabbits. I have no idea what they did with them, but they were worthless to me. You never had any friends here, did you? So I'm sure you won't care that all of Seventy-Six's rabbits are either dead, turned into those Corpse Engines, or in the paws of the Legionaries."
"You… fucker! You monster!"
"It was monsters like your ancestors that caused this. Stepping on all the little people like they did."
"Is that why you came after me? To make me pay for the 'crimes' my ancestors committed?"
"Oh heavens no. I can't blame those today for the actions of the past. Actually, yes I can, but not you! No, not you. Your punishment is so much more deserving."
"What the fuck did I do to you?!"
"You escaped. You showed outright defiance to the system I was slowly building. Yes, you heard me right. I was planning on continuing my ancestors work. My parents, their parents before them, all the way back to the first of my family that were locked away in here. We knew one day the doors would be opened, and the world would need to be rebuilt. We just wanted to be the first to do so. You ever wonder why the rabbit population kept declining year after year? How rabbits that should reproduce en masse are now limited to one child a birth? Science my dear. Burrow-Tec wasn't dumb. If a population of rabbits remained unchecked for long enough, even if the initial sample was small, we would be swimming in them. You can't maintain a population like that without resorting to extreme measures, so they had added chemicals to the water. Harmless, except for the fact it was designed to target a lagomorph's reproductive genes, basically limiting their child birth. It started out with rabbits having three to four at a time, but over time the chemicals decreased that. In a few more decades, I think rabbits would have been born infertile."
"That's horrible!"
"That's advancement. Imagine if mammals couldn't reproduce without a rodent saying they can? Imagine a chemical that only a rodent could counteract? In a few hundred years, we could have all the larger mammals wiped out! We would rule unabated!"
"You're insane."
"No, I'm simply a free thinker. Just like you I'm afraid. Now, enough chit chat, let's get down to business."
"What are you planning to do to me?"
"Use you as an example. Guard, the curtain if you would."
Heather, or rather the thing that used to be Heather, slowly moved towards the side, out of my view. Moments later the curtain was drawn, revealing a packed audience. All the chairs had been outfitted with those risers used for rodents to see in a rabbit crowd, but with the exception of the Corpse Engines, there were no rabbits.
I heard gasps and murmurings from the crowd. That's when I also saw the makeshift cages hanging on the walls, I saw movement in each of them, rabbits? No, they were too small.
"I see you notice the prisoners. Damn shame really. It seems not all rodents share my dream, some were even rather outspoken against my elimination of them all. I had to make them an example, or else it would be that much harder to control everyone. You understand. Guard, podium."
The other 'rabbit' came over and Felwick walked onto his paw as he was transported over to the large podium in the middle of the stage. He tapped on the microphone and then began speaking.
"I have gathered you all here today to witness the birth of a new age!" Many of the rodents cheered, but not all of them. "When I told you that defiance has no measure, that the rodents were the supreme race, did I just sit back as the larger mammals took over? No! I purged this place of those horrible rabbits who have more often than not stepped on us on 'accident'. I call lies! They stepped on us for their own pleasure! To remind us that the bigger they are, the tougher they are but no more! I told you that I would bring back the one who got away, and here she is! Olivia Springs, the rabbit that tried to defy the rodent race!"
Those who cheered before let out a larger one, their tiny yells echoing throughout the auditorium.
"I also have here the Overseer that tried to hamper our years of work! There has always been a rodent as an Overseer, and that rodent has always been loyal to the cause, except for her! She had the audacity to fall in love with a rabbit! And what did that rabbit do? She shunned her! She played her for a fool as she slept with every other rabbit in the Burrow! Even love is not safe from these oppressors! Her killing Jessica Springs was supposed to be a wakeup call, but no! She chose to instead look after her child like her own. Then that rabbit grew up and defied her, defied us all by escaping! Through blood and sweat I worked to not only overthrow this coward of an Overseer, but also brought back the defier to show to all of you that defying a rodent will not go unpunished! We will show the world that if you mess with a rodent, you will suffer!"
Despite the diminutive size and voice of a rodent, nearly three hundred of them, enclosed in a small space and riled up by this fucker made for a near deafening noise. After a few moments Felwick calmed down the crowd and continued to speak. All I wanted to do was squeeze him until he popped.
"Now my friends, I will show you what it means to cross a rodent! What is the most identifiable part of a rabbit?"
The Corpse Engine walked over to me and pulled out something that glimmered in the lights.
The crowd shouted at once: "Their ears!"
No. Please no, not that. I felt the Corpse Engine grab my left ear and pull it taught. I heard muffling coming from the direction of Nate. The Corpse Engine was pulling it so hard a pain shot through my head.
"YES! Now I will take away that! I will take away part of what makes her a rabbit! Will that change her species? Alas it will not, for even without her ears, she will still be a rabbit, but she will be a rabbit who remembers what happens when she interferes with a rodent!"
I felt the metal of the sharp object as it slowly bit down on the base of my ear. That pain of it being tugged amplified. I felt blood dripping as my ear was slowly separated from my head. The pain was unbearable, and I had to clench my teeth just so I didn't scream. I didn't want Felwick to have the pleasure of hearing it.
"See? Look upon Olivia Springs, look upon the humiliation! You see how she still defies? How she will not give us the satisfaction of a scream? Her other ear will surly do the trick!"
I felt the sharp edge touch the base of my other ear. I closed my eyes, expecting the pain to continue, but it didn't.
"What are you doing guard? Finish it!"
I heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. The tool falling to the ground. I heard a muffled scream coming from behind me before silence. Then I felt something on my chest. I opened my eyes and looked down at both the blood dripping down the front of my face, and at Blanche, covered in blood of her own.
"B-bout time…"
"Aw hell, I'm sorry Olivia. On the plus side, you look kinda bad-ass with a missing ear. Just saying."
"Who the hell are you?! What are you?!" Felwick sounded flabbergasted.
"Name's Blanche, ass-twat, and you just injured a friend of mine." I saw her glance towards where Nate was. "Two friends of mine, and I ain't having any of that."
"Guards! Get her!"
"These slow ass bodies? You ass-twats don't even know how to operate them properly!"
"GET HER!"
Before Blanche left, she sliced through all the bindings, freeing me. I had already lost a lot of blood, so I felt woozy, and slightly unbalanced without my ear, but I still managed to jump off of the table. I spotted a pair of tin snips on the floor, covered in blood. I grabbed them and ran over to Nate. The 'Heather' Corpse Engine stepped in front of me, but Blanche was right, they didn't know how to operate this thing, so I barreled into her, knocking her off the stage.
She dropped something, and at first I thought it was a weapon, but then I saw it was my Pip-Boar. I thought they would have left it out there like Nate's arm. Idiots probably know just as little about what it can do as I did. Either that or Felwick thought it might have something useful on it. Hell, it could have and I wouldn't know. I slapped it on my wrist.
I heard Felwick calling for backup, or at least I think I did, missing an ear was playing havoc with my hearing, all the blood pooling in it didn't help much either. I reached Nate and clipped his bindings as well. There were tears in his eyes, and after he was free the first thing he did was hug me.
"I-I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault sweetie. We need to get out of here."
An explosion shook the auditorium.
"What the hell is going on!" Felwick sounded pissed.
I looked and saw both rodents and rabbits, all dressed in security gear flood into the room. I wager that all the rabbits weren't rabbits anymore. They surrounded the auditorium, blocking all of the exits. I looked around and saw no escape. Then I noticed Overseer Marsh, tears falling from her face. I hated her, knowing she killed my mother, but… part of me felt it was wrong to just leave her here like this. I went over with the snips and held it over her.
"Don't, move."
Her face turned from sadness to horror as I brought the tin snips down and cut her bindings. She removed her gag and stared at me, mixed feelings on her face. She went to speak but I couldn't hear her, everything sounding distorted. Then I collapsed.
"Olivia!"
I felt woozy, my brain beginning to cloud. I heard another explosion but it sounded more like an echo. Ten 'rabbits' stormed the stage, overwhelming us. Without his arm and weapons, Nate was only able to knock down two of the Corpse Engines before they grabbed him and started to drag him away, all the while Nate was desperately trying to escape their grasp. Then I heard something I have only heard once, something that I hoped I would never need to hear again.
"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?"
"Y-yes!"
I only ever had to use this once, and even then I had no idea what was happening. This time, I knew exactly what was happening. I felt my body become alert, I felt my muscles strengthening, I felt… alive. Time ran like normal, but I was still faster, stronger than I ever was in B.A.T.S. I jumped up and grabbed the snips, and charged at one of the Corpse Engines holding Nate. He didn't have time to react as I cut the straps, letting the chest armor drop to the ground and grabbed the small rat inside. I yanked him out, throwing him as hard as I could against the nearest wall. His now lifeless body slid down the wall. The other Corpse Engine let go of Nate and took a swing at me but I jabbed the snips right into the arm, tossing it aside as I kicked the Corpse Engine off the stage. Two more came at me, but then I noticed the stun baton on the body of the first one I dealt with. I grabbed it and charged at the two, shoving the baton into the chest of the first as I jumped up and wrapped my legs around the neck of the other. It wouldn't kill the one inside, but it did give me time to tear off the armor and shoved the stun baton right into the cavity.
Then an explosion clear as day occurred as smoke billowed into the large room. I heard guns firing as I saw Logan and all the Guardians who could fit storm into the room. Mark and Holly were with them, and Holly was grinning like a mad woman as she had… was that a… Nuke Tube? Oh please don't tell me they gave her one… she's gonna kill us all!
Holly took one look at me and screamed my name, rushing over to me along with Mark. I went to join them, but I felt the chemical rush starting to wear off. Then I felt faint again as collapsed under my own weight. I heard Mark and Holly arguing to each other, but I couldn't understand it.
I felt as if I was about to pass out. Again.
"Olivia, time to get up."
Huh?
"You're going to be late to school again."
School? What is she… I felt a blanket get pulled from my body as bright light hit my eyes. I tried to open them but the light was blinding. Was I still in the Burrow? Why was it so bright? I finally got my eyes to obey me as I opened them and let them adjust. I was in a room, but not any room that I recognized. It had bright wallpaper, flowers of various shapes and colors plastered it. I was in a bed, a bed I didn't know, in a room I'd never seen before. Standing at the foot of my bed was someone I knew. Or at least someone I had known.
"Olivia sweetie, time to get up. You'll miss your bus again."
"Mom? Is… is that you?"
"Who did you think it was? Your father had to leave early on a business trip again. He tried to wake you but you've always been a stubborn sleeper."
"F-father? What… where am I?"
"Oh dear, are you coming down with a fever? Here, let me check." She placed her paw on my forehead. It felt so… real. "Oh my, you're burning up child. Were you up all night playing that dreadful game again? I will never know what you and that father of yours see in it. Why can't you do something like reading? That's a nice hobby that doesn't get your body so worked up. Okay, you can stay home from school today, but I'm calling your teacher. You're not going to get out of homework that easily."
"What are you talking about? Where am I? Who are you?"
"You're delirious dear, I should call the doctor."
She left the room. I felt fine, minus this whole surreal event going on. Last thing I remember was being in my Burrow, passing out because of… my ear! There was a mirror hanging on the door at the far side of the room. I jumped out of the bed and ran over to it. My ear, it was still… what the fuck! My ear was there but… I looked like a kid again! My scar was gone, and I was dressed in a pink and purple outfit that looked two sizes too big for me. I saw the reflection of a window in the mirror and turned and ran to it. Large purple curtains covered it and I flung them back.
Everything was so… green. There were houses, all of them intact. Green, lush grass in every yard, and large, full trees dotted the side of the street. A large yellow bus pulled up near where I was as a bunch of mammals of various species, all kids, got onto the bust. It stopped at my house and I saw my 'mom' run out, step onto the bus then off of it again as it drove away.
What the fuck was going on? I looked like I was ten, but I felt like myself. I had already seen my mom in hallucinations and dreams before… a dream, that's got to be what it is. I ran over to my dresser drawer and started to pull them all out, trying to find something to tell me it is all a dream, that none of this is real.
"Olivia Springs! You have a fever, get back into bed young lady!"
"This is a dream! You are not real, none of this is real!"
I saw her pull out a small pre-war phone as she dialed a number and then held it up to her ear. "Yes, Doctor? My daughter, she's not feeling well, I think it's serious. You can see her immediately? We'll be right there." She put away the phone. "Get dressed, we're taking you to the doctor."
"I'm not sick! I'm asleep, or unconscious or something! There was an explosion, and my ear, it got cut off and…"
"That's it young lady, you are not allowed to play that disturbing game anymore! I'll have a talk with your dad when he gets home, until then, I'm taking away your games. Now get dressed."
"But… but… what the fuck is going on?!"
"Swearing? That's it, you're grounded young lady. We're going to the doctors but after that, you are not to leave your room unless it's for dinner or school."
She stormed out. I have never seen my mom so angry at me… no! This isn't real! But, if it's not real, how do I wake up? I feel so… I feel like myself, but everything around me is wrong. I… I should go and get dressed, maybe something will happen to snap me out of this, to wake me up. Maybe once I'm at the doctors…
I closed my eyes for a moment and when they opened I was not only dressed in a purple and white dress, but I wasn't in that room anymore. I was in a large white room, and sitting on a not so soft medical bed. My 'mom' was sitting on a chair near me, looking rather upset at me. Once again, that wasn't a look I was used to seeing on my mom. My real mom. It was very hard for me to make her angry, that's my first clue that this wasn't real.
My second clue was when Mark walked in, dressed in a white lab coat. He looked at me, and then looked back at the clipboard he was holding.
"Mark! Thank goodness you're here, tell her this isn't real!"
"Olivia! Doctor Valiant is trying to say something."
"Yes, well the blood tests have come back. Physically she's fine. She is exhibiting signs of a viral infection, but there are none to be found. Have you considered… psychiatric treatment?"
"She's not crazy doctor!"
Mark wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to my 'mom'. "My brother runs a place nearby. You should stop by and see him. You won't get charged for your first visit, I promise. I know how hard this can be on a child."
"I am not crazy! Mark, you remember me, right? You've always saved my ass from getting almost killed?"
"Olivia, watch your language! I'm sorry doctor, she has been playing this game and I think it has affected her. Maybe seeing your brother will be a good idea. Come along Olivia."
Damn it! What the hell was going on? I didn't want to see a…
Once again I closed my eyes and the room changed. This time I was in a more mellow looking room. Browns and yellows filled it in both the wallpaper and the decoration. Sitting on the couch in front of me was Nate, dressed in a rather sharp looking suit. I ran over to him and hugged him, knowing that if anyone would know it's me, it would be him. I tried to kiss him but my mom yanked me from him. It was that look, that look of discomfort in his face, that wasn't my Nate.
"I haven't even started the questioning, but I can already tell what's wrong with your daughter."
"What is it doctor?"
"Depersonalization disorder. Or at least a form of it. Mammals with this disorder tend to feel detached from reality, not knowing what is real and what isn't. Often while the brain tries to find a place in the world, it will attach it to something that those affected have a passion for. Tell me, is there anything your daughter tends to do a lot of?"
"No she's a rather… actually, there is this one game she has been playing a lot. I forget the name of it, but I never liked it. Her father got her into it. It's full of shooting things, and a very dark atmosphere."
"I have seen cases like that before. Olivia wake up!" His voice changed at the end, like it was breaking.
"What did you say?" Did I hear wrong?
"I said, I have seen cases like that before. It's relatively rare, but treatable." His face distorted into panic. "Olivia wake up! Please!"
"There! You did it again!"
"Olivia shush, let the doctor speak. You said it's treatable?"
"Yes." He started to write down something and then handed it to my 'mom'. "Take three of them twice a day for two weeks. If we don't see improvements we may have to try something else."
I glanced over to the note. I saw Nate's hand writing alright, but it wasn't a prescription. It read: Olivia Wake Up! I knew it! This wasn't real! I knew if anyone would show me this, it would be Nate. My Nate.
Suddenly one of the windows burst open as a gust of wind flew in.
"Sorry, these windows have bad locks. Been trying to get someone to fix them."
I had an idea. "Can I close them? That wind felt nice and some fresh air might help."
"Fresh air is always good. I tell many of my patients that a nice brisk walk does wonders. Make sure you shut it forcefully, or else it won't latch. The glass won't break so don't worry about that."
I got up and slowly moved towards the window. I peeked out and saw I was three floors up. If this was a dream like I think it is, a sudden event might wake me up. If it isn't a dream and I really am crazy, then I couldn't live with these false memories. I took a few steps back.
"You must be afraid of heights. Here, I'll get it."
I looked towards my mom. "I'm glad to have seen you again, even if you aren't real. I miss you."
"Olivia what are you…"
I took another step back and then bolted. I heard both of them scream my name as I jumped out of the window. I felt the wind rushing past my face as I fell, a pain slowly formed in my head as my vision blurred. I was getting closer and closer to the ground. I closed my eyes.
I woke up gasping.
"Olivia!" Nate, the real Nate hugged me.
My ear, or what remained of it, burned. I looked around as my vision came back. I was still in the Burrow.
"What… what happened?"
"Mark had to stabilize you, but that damn X-700 crap was messing with his medicine. He had to put you under while it wore off. Meanwhile that damn rodent went and locked himself in the Overseer's office."
"Nate, are you… are you okay?"
"Yes, yes I am Binky. But your… your ear…"
"Look who's talking armless."
"Well she's fine." Holly tried to say jokingly, but I saw the tears in her eyes, they all had them.
I slowly tried to lift myself up and the others helped. My head throbbed where my ear was and I reached up and felt it. It stung to the touch.
"I had to cauterize the wound. Your… there's no way to save your ear, I'm sorry."
"I'll just get Tuskgen to make me a new one. You said Felwick is in the Overseer's office? Let's go say hi."
"The Guardians have escorted everyone out. It seems that everyone was in this one room. All the Corpse Engines have been disabled and their pilots taken into custody. Logan is with the others getting everything ready. When he saw I was okay, and made sure I got another dose for my heart… well I don't think I have ever seen that wolf cry before."
"Wait, Logan cried?"
"Only one or two tears, but that's pretty impressive."
"Guess he does like you after all sweetie."
The office was located just down the hall. It seems that twice now in one day we were standing outside an Overseer's office, ready to break down the doors to snatch that fucker out of there and make him pay. Of course, Felwick wasn't technically the Overseer, so this should be easier.
I hooked my Pip-Boar up to the terminal and started to hack, but that's when I realized something was wrong. There was no power to the terminal. Fuck!
"The power's out! The door is sealed!"
"I'll get some explosive charges brought up!"
"You're not going anywhere!" Felwick's voice echoed from the speakers.
"Felwick! Open the door and we won't kill you!"
"You ruined my plans! You ruined centuries of planning! And for what? So you can step all over us again? NO! There are things that I know, things that you will not be able to stop! Plans that us rodents have laid out are starting to unfold as we speak! If the rodents can't have this world, none of you can!"
"What the hell is he…" The power to the terminal flickered back on, but when I went to hack it I noticed something disturbing. It didn't display the standard Burrow interface, but rather a different one. It was a map. It showed this Burrow and it was flashing red. Lines connected to Burrows all over. Eighty-Eight, Ninety-Three. Dozens of other Burrows I didn't know about. Red lines started to form as and they connected with the other ones, they flashed red as well.
"What the fuck is that?"
Nate looked over my shoulder. "Oh no. It's… he's triggered a controlled meltdown in the Burrows!"
"Wait, does that mean this…"
"Somehow they are ALL connected! He's going to detonate ALL the Burrows!"
"How the hell? I thought they lost connection to all of them?"
"You think Burrow-Tec didn't have a backup plan? They knew that there was a possibility that our domination would fail, that others would rise up against us. They created a backup link just for this plan! One that could never be severed naturally! In twenty minutes, this world will be dead along with all of you!"
"You are fucking mad! You are…" I heard a gunshot over the speaker. Silence told me everything. "We've got to stop this!"
"This terminal is locked out from the office one! I can't hack into it from here!"
A quiet voice came the floor. "Maybe this will help." Overseer Marsh walked over to the side of the office to where a storage closet was. She pressed a button and the entire rabbit sized door open. She walked in and a moment later came back dragging a bag behind her. "This was some of the stuff you left. Remember this?" She pulled out a small device. It was one of my remotes!
I plucked it from the bag. "Yes! But… Fuck it has to be attached to the computer inside!"
"Olivia, catch!"
I turned and Holly tossed me my plasma gun. What was… oh! It would take too long to melt a hole large enough to enter, but I didn't need that big of a hole. I blasted until there was a hole large enough for a mouse. I quickly programmed the remote.
"Blanche! Put this on the computer inside!"
Blanched jumped off of Nate's shoulder and onto mine, grabbed the remote and leapt through the hole. I will admit, she did it rather gracefully. A moment later she was back.
"We only got fifteen minutes!"
"That's enough!" I started to go through it. This system was one of the most difficult ones I have seen. "Damn it! It's too complex! I need more time!"
"How about another paw?" Nate had a Pip-Boar as well, but it wasn't his. It was too small.
"Where did that come from?"
"One of Corpse Engines still had it. Quick, get me connected!"
I took the Pip-Boar and did a copy command for my Hackatron. Thankfully it was a rather slimline program so transferred quick. After connecting it to the remote, which I never tried having two operating one at the same time, I gave it back to him. He had to have Mark hold it as he worked.
We tag teamed the hack. Every time one of us was blocked, the other found a back-door. We kept bouncing back and forth until Nate was finally in.
"I'm in! I… there, the connections are severed but… fuck!"
"What?"
"The other Burrows are safe, the connection between them is severed for good, but I can't get past the block for this Burrow! We've got eight minutes till it blows, there's no stopping it! We've got to evacuate! Logan, come in! The power core is about to go nuclear, get those birds off the ground! We've got less than eight minutes! Everyone, we need to get the hell out of here!"
"Olivia!" The Overseer was dragging a large bag behind her.
"There's no time! Leave your stuff, we've got to go!"
"It was your mom's!"
My… mom's? I grabbed both her and the bag and we ran as fast as we could. Mark had to give me an adrenaline shot because I was starting to feel lethargic. We were out of there and there were only a few minutes left. There were disabled Corpse Engines scattered outside the Burrow door. I had no idea how large the explosion was going to be, but I was afraid we weren't going to make it, but sitting in the middle of the stadium was Zack and Jasmine, and a Tac-Lifter ready to take off. I tossed the bag on and Nate helped me up. Once we were all on Nate shouted to punch it.
We lifted up so rapidly I thought I was going to throw up. I never felt these things move so fast. I saw the other Tac's in the distance, heading towards the Guardian base to the north. Then I heard the noise. I turned to see the entire stadium imploding on itself before finally exploding in a bright fireball. A shock-wave pierced the sky, destroying all clouds in its path as smoke and debris emanated from the stadium. We were far enough to not be in imminent danger from it, but the shock wave did shake the Tac-Lifter enough that coupled with everything I have been though, I did vomit.
"My… home." The Overseer sounded very saddened by what she had just witnessed.
"It was never a home. It was prison."
"What will I do? Where will I go?"
"I heard your message. I hate you for what you took away from me. For killing my mom out of sheer jealousy, but you also did take care of me, even if I didn't know it. I'm not sure if I will ever forgive you."
"I… I haven't even forgiven myself. I don't deserve it after what I did. What will you do with me?"
"Like I said, that was a prison, one that you have been in for far too long. There's so much to this world, so much more than it appears."
"I… I have an idea."
"What is it Nate?"
"After seeing what he almost did to the Burrows, I now know how much of a danger they are. Even though I disabled their links, each one of them has the potential to become a weapon, to detonate suddenly and without warning, killing who knows how many in the process. That map showed one near Precinct One. I can't let that one detonate. After we get back I'm going to form a squad of Guardians whose sole purpose is to track down and evacuate every single Burrow. We need to power them down and disarm whatever controls the detonation sequence. I have had no good experiences from a Burrow, and I have seen more in one life than I ever thought I would see. I want them gone. Every single one of them. Who knows how many other mammals are suffering like we did?"
"But what about the Overseer?"
"You… I have no Burrow, not anymore, and I don't deserve this title. You can just call me… Tara Marsh. But yes, what are you getting at?"
"My mother was killed by an Overseer, so as long as Olivia can't forgive you, I don't think I can either. However, you have knowledge of Burrows that even we don't have. If you want your freedom, then you need to earn it, and you can do that in one way. Help us. Help the Guardians track down and gain access to the Burrows. Use your role as an Overseer to locate and disable the power cores with assistance of one of our technicians. Do you agree?"
"I'll help. I will do this to help atone for my own sins, and maybe, just maybe, one day I can find my own place here. I will always remember your mother Olivia Springs. I loved her, I really did, and what I did to her, it will forever haunt me, and I accept that."
"Maybe one day I'll forgive you."
"I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I know I wouldn't."
The rest of the ride was quiet. After all of this we needed to relax. So much has happened in such little time, but it was finally over. The reason for the Legionaries coming after me was gone. If what Blanche told us is true, and their payments become null and void, then I will never hear from them again. Between them being turned into Corpse Engines and the Red-Necks taking out their base, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone did.
I felt something bump my leg. It was the bag with my mother's belongings. I picked it up and looked through it. The first thing I picked up was a book. No, it wasn't just a book, it was a photo album, and in it was filled with pictures of me as a baby. And my mom. I flipped through it and every page was filled with pictures of us. There was one thing that stood out though.
"That was your father."
"My… father?" I stared at the brown rabbit with white splotches on his face. I never knew my dad. The picture was of my mom and him holding me. I think I had just been born. "What happened to him?"
"He… I thought it was an accident. He was a mechanic in the power core. One day there was a malfunction, and it… he made sure everyone, rabbit and rodent, was able to leave, but he wasn't fast enough. The doors sealed and the room was filled with radiation. He didn't make it. I… please don't be mad, it wasn't my fault, really, but I found out, about a year ago. It wasn't a malfunction. It happened again, you remember Willy? Good rabbit, kind and gentle, even with the rodents. The same thing happened with him. I traced it back to… it was an abandoned terminal, no one knew about. Someone had overrode it from there, and set it off. I had the terminal destroyed, but I never found out who did it, but now… I think I know…"
"Felwick." He was dead and I still found hate in my heart towards him. I turned the pages, trying to get my mind off of it. "Why isn't my dad in any other ones?"
"He… it happened two days after that picture was taken. I'm sorry."
I turned back to that picture. A family. One that I never got to know, who never got to see me grow up. I didn't even know my father yet I missed him. Tears started to fall and hit the picture. I wiped them off, and felt something on my shoulder. It was Nate's paw. I looked up and saw everyone looking at me. Holly, Mark, Nate. Blanche and Drake were flying outside. There was Jasmine and Zack piloting. Even back at the base, I still had Onion. My real family was gone, and I missed them, I truly did. But I had a new one now. They may not be bound by blood, but they are still mine.
My family.
—
Fallout: Zootopia After Show
Featuring:
'Stripes in the Morning'
[Stripes]
"Good morning Zootopian Wasteland! This is Stripes with Stripes in the Morning! Well, that was it folks, the big reveal! The return to the Burrow where it all began! Now, I am sure that Felwick being the main villain was a bit of a surprise, but I had him planned ever since the beginning. Unfortunately, I think I could have done a better job at hinting towards him being so, and I do apologize for that. Now, there are still two more chapters, but folks, the story is pretty much over, only a few bits to wrap up, but sadly, that will not wrap everything up. Yes, I could have kept this story going on another hundreds chapters with all the stuff I have in mind, but just like life, the story has to end sometime, and I really do hope these last two chapters give you that sense of closure. If it doesn't, well, you haven't seen the last of me yet. Now I told you that I had a special episode for you today, so let's begin.
"Rodents. Probably the last mammals you would have thought to start the war, isn't it? You've seen them scurrying around the big city, risking their lives getting squashed by the larger mammals, having some kid pick up their car thinking it was a toy. Even within their own homes of Little Rodentia they were not safe. The walls did little to keep larger mammals out, and when they did enter? Well, even a rabbit and a weasel, two relatively small mammals, could cause some major damage within the small town. To be honest, it was completely inevitable that the rodents would get tired of this and retaliate. Unfortunately, no matter how strong willed they were in terms of starting a war, it was still very hard for them to make any major dent in the larger world that surrounds them.
"Even Mr. Big, notorious crime lord, could only extend his influences so far without the help of larger mammals, such as his friend and bodyguard Koslov. The problem with that to many rodents is that they didn't want to have to rely on the very mammals that looked down upon them so. That's when the plans were hatched by Felwick's ancestor, Reginald Thornweaver. Now, Reginald was not the first rodent to try an uprising. No, it has happened before, but was usually ended before it can begin. When A single elephant can wipe out an entire rodent army with a single step, let's just say that any direct attempts in the past were never successful.
"Reginald was one of the aids to the mayor of Zootopia at the time. He was also responsible for public relations among the smaller populace. Reginald was smart, clever, and above all, he was patient. His plan was simple. To feign external threats to the city, to make people scared of an unknown enemy. Sure, he could have painted another country as an enemy, or even found ways to enforce the intolerance between predator and prey, but that would give the world a clear enemy. He needed chaos, he needed confusion. Having the anonymity of an enemy would play into both those. He spent the better of ten years slowly laying plans within a system that catered to the larger species, all the while acting like an innocent rodent, and allowing those to step all over him.
"Then, at the hight of the anxiety, Svalbear demonstrated their newly developed nuclear weapon. It was all over the news within hours, and that, coupled with the already heightened fear that Reginald had sewn, threw the world into chaos. Every nation developed their own versions of nuclear weapons. This accelerated Reginald's plans ten fold. He was finally able to move onto phase two. Him, along with other staunch supporters, created Burrow-Tec.
"On the surface, Burrow-Tec looked like a savior. Providing shelter and technologies that would save mammal-kind from destruction. He even had Burrows built for all shapes and sizes. A Burrow filled with elephants, rhinos, and giraffes. Some with singular species such as just rabbits. Others with varying populations of predator and prey. Over a hundred Burrows were built, and possibly even more. Den-Tec, a foreign knock-off of Burrow-Tec was established in other countries and tried to produce their own versions of their Burrows called Dens. However, Reginald, as the CEO and founder of Burrow-Tec, did not like this competition because while Burrow-Tec was in reality a glorified testing system, designed to find the weaknesses of all larger mammals and learn to control them with it, Den-Tec was actually trying to save mammals.
"Den-Tec did not last two months before Reginald, with his political ties still intact, managed to convince the world that Den-Tec was a secret training facility for foreign espionage. Burrow-Tec swooped in and devoured all of Den-Tec, and in the process, expanded their own influence over the globe. Things were accelerating at a pace that even Reginald wasn't expecting. Then, the construction of the Tundratown Burrow began.
"The Tundratown Burrow was going to be the largest, most exuberant Burrow to date. With hundreds of feet of earth, rock, and ice above it, it was also going to be the safest Burrow of them all. That is why it was designated as Burrow One. It was going to be the Burrow where all political heads would reside. The Zootopia Political Council, which included the Mayor. The heads of the military, and even the president. It was designed to have secure links to the outside world, to assure those who made it to the safety of the Burrows, and those who didn't but still survived that things would only get better at it's darkest hour.
"During it's construction it was supposed to be kept a secret to prevent any sabotage. The people were told that their leaders would be kept safe if the war finally reached their shores, but Burrow One was kept a secret for the time being. At least, many thought it would be. Reginald and his team started to spread rumors, slowly revealing the location and intention of the Tundratown Burrow. In reality, this Burrow wasn't going to be the safe haven that many thought it would be, but rather ground zero for an apocalypse.
"No one was all the wiser on that fateful day when the rodents detonated a nuke within the limits of Burrow One. No one had also noticed that the rodent population of Tundratown suddenly shrunk the night before. When the smoke cleared and the destruction layed bare, the rumors had spread just enough about the true purpose of Burrow One that the nation took it as an attack on their liberties and retaliated against any and all who they thought were responsible. Mammals started to kill each other, nations launched their own nuclear weapons against those they thought were responsible. In a blink of an eye, the world crumbled. Fear and hatred, emotions that many mammals have tried their best to subdue took over. Savages with nukes. The world didn't have a chance.
"When the dust finally cleared, many cities had been wiped off the face of the planet. Millions were dead. Millions more were left homeless, defenseless. The radiation poisoned the world and gave birth to a new one. One filled with ghouls and mutants. Deathwings and shellbacks. Violence became law as the first raider group was formed. Those who survived tried to cobble together a new life, but it was hard. Even those not affected by the war directly faced problems. Towns in the middle of nowhere were cut off from the rest of the world, left to fend for themselves. Heavy winds caused lingering radiation to spread across the globe, reaching places that were hundreds of miles from the nearest impact. Tundratown was left flooded, it's walls withstanding the impact of the explosion as the ice melted rapidly. Evaporation from what is now known as Darkwater caused radiation storms and poisoned rain to fall all over the former city of Zootopia. The world had ended. But with every ending, there is a new beginning.
"Protectors of the new world arose from the ashes. The Steel Guardians continued their work in the east. The Reborn Mammal Coalition, or RMC, was formed in the West. The RMC, while not as heavily equipped or trained as the Guardians, stood for peace in the western reaches of the nation where lawlessness roamed free. They believed that mammals were given a second chance. Whether by fate or through religious atonement, the RMC exist to rebuild society and establish laws to prevent anything like this from happening again. Though, just like the Steel Guardians in the past, the RMC are often split on how it should be done, causing strife within the ranks. But that hasn't stopped them from fulfilling their duties to reestablish a working society.
"The world was, and it still is torn apart. Heroes rise and fall just as easily as villains do. The world may never return back to it's former glory, but with mammals like Olivia and her friends, Nate and his Guardians, Mayor Swift and her ideals, and any mammal willing to lend their paw or hoof to make this world a better place helps, even if not everyone realizes it.
"So folks, that's it. Yes, there is still two more chapters to go like I said, with Sunday wrapping up the story, but this is not the end. There will be plenty more where this came from, but not until after the new year. I have a ton planned for you all, between my own little stories, and stories that will be worked upon by both Max and I, we plan to bring you so much more than this story had to offer, but this will most likely be my magnum opus of the Fallout Zootopia world. I can't imagine any other story being as long as this one was, but then again, I never thought this story to expand as far as it did, so you never know. Any maybe one day, one of you talented authors will expand my world so much further than I had. It's been done before, and I am sure it will be done again. So, until next episode, take care everyone!"