Chapter 69

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The night blazed with an all consuming light, before they were knocked back by an ear splitting blast, the deck underneath them buckling up and almost throwing them off into the waves below. Ears screaming, Nick's night vision was drowned out by the white hot flash from the bow of the ship, crackling as it raced across the water, reflecting across the waves.

He could only stumble back to his feet, paw clasping the now loose rail, struggling to make out what was going on and only able to hear a dull ringing in his ears. Body trembling, he glanced around, barely seeing the large figures around him and… -Judy!? He shouted out her name. "..."

Slowly, one foot in front of another, he stumbled around the hulking figure of Kozlov, trying to look around for. "..."

He saw a bunny's figure! But it was too big. Jack. So where was. "..."

The water!

He stuck his head through the railing. Had she slipped through? Was she in the water? Was…

A sudden tug at his side and his head snapped back, clipping against the railing in a flash of pain he brushed aside as he turned to see... "...!"

Her mouth moved, even as she winced in pain, paws around the base of her ears. His immediately surged forward, wrapping around and pulling her in close. Tight. Holding her there as she panted in and out, then working through her fur, checking for damage, any wounds, any…

A shaking paw pushed him back and off, Judy looking up at him for a second before brushing him to the side, her eyes fixed on up ahead.

Nick turned as she pointed, making out the front of the ship, or what was left of it. A large chunk of the side had been bent out, flapping in the air like a bit of banana skin. In front of that… Nothing.

Just the waves pounding in, filling up the front of the now dipping and listing ship, taking her down, fast.

"-ick…"

He snapped down to her, speaking out as loud as he could. "Judy!" he shouted out, hearing himself whisper.

She gave a blank look, pointing at her ears again before starting to gesture around with her paws. 'Hear… Not… Hurts…'

He nodded.

'How… Jack… hear?'

An eye quirked, Nick glancing at him.

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"Yes, I gathered we're sinking," Jack said, a finger jabbed into the side of his ear. "So maybe if you could get the helicopter in sooner rather than…"

"JACK! HOW CAN YOU STILL HEAR!?"

The hare blinked, turning around to see Nick standing next to him, a confused look on his face. He just responded by sticking a finger in his ear and fishing out his earpiece, surrounded by an earplug like foam collar. "Protects from loud guns too," he smiled.

"JACK!"

The hare flinched down.

"WHEN WE GET OUT OF THIS…"

"-Share a drink?"

"...-RENT A BAR!"

Unflinching and sticking the earpiece in, he nodded, giving a thumbs up. All as the helicopter began pulling alongside the now rapidly listing ship. Kozlov had already swung one leg over the railing, Carmelita beginning to make her way through lower down, holding on tight as a blast of air began washing over them, kicking up salt spray and forcing those waiting for rescue to shield their eyes and brace against the wind.

Strands of fur flew, and then a wolf's muzzle followed.

Nick double took the unmasked sheep, his eyes suddenly widening and jaw hitting the floor as he grabbed Judy by the shoulder and shook her. Judy looked on at their unmasked saviour too, head tilting but not much else.

"JUDY!" Nick yelled, before stopping, facepawing, starting to make some signs with his fingers before throwing them off and turning to Jack. "WHY IS…"

The hare snapped to him. "Oh, you met… -Dave!"

The fox froze mid-shout.

"-Dave Ramses! -PHD! He'd like to apologise for his twins behaviour. Always the black sheep of the family."

Despite the loud noise and his impaired hearing, Nick nodded and turned to Doug. "YOUR ASSHOLE BROTHER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIME HE ALMOST RAN ME OVER IN A VAN!?"

Doug looked at him, shrugging. "Sure."

"RIGHT," Nick said, stepping over only to pause. "WAIT A SECOND…"

Any further scepticism from Nick was cut off as the landing skids of the helicopter skirted along the now heavily tilted deck of the fast sinking ship. Kozlov leant forward and gripped on, pulling it closer before shouting out for the others to get on.

There was a brief pause as, with the exception of 'Dave', they all looked at each other, giving slight gestures and waves before Nick shook his head and pounced up and in after the sheep. One eye kept on him, he glanced down and then reached out to grab Judy as she leapt up into him, passing her along. Carmelita followed along with Po, the fox cop turning back and scanning around, keeping an eye out for any pursuers.

The crew of the boat were present, racing out onto the deck where they could, some making for the lifeboats or a deployed liferaft, others just leaping into the water. None seemed to be making their way towards them and she sighed with relief, making her way to the side as Panda King began making his way onto the aircraft.

A sudden pop and a shrill metal grinding cut through the air, teeth gritting and shoulders hunching down. All as Kozlov and the Panda King looked up to see a cloud of hot black smoke coughing out of the engine's tailpipe. Their eyes all turned forwards, seeing the white figure landing in front of them, tail flashing up and red eyes staring at them. Fury in his eyes, he began ranting…

Not that the still tinnitus bound mammals standing far away under the pounding rotor blades could hear him.

Jack, ears up and straining, did his best, only for 'Dave' to nudge by the side and aim his gun at the lone figure of Shen, before snapping to the side and firing up at a group of wolves leaning up over the tilting side of the boat, sending them fleeing to the sound of his now empty gun clicking impotently.

All as Shen pulled out another set of knives with a flick, the helicopter pilot yelling that they had to get themselves clear, Carmelita growling and shouting for mammals to get out of their way so she could get a shot, and Panda King grabbing Kozlov and in one swift motion tossing him onboard and then kicking the aircraft out and away.

Sparks flew as the knives grazed against its skin, another sharp bang kicking out as one managed to go in despite his effort. The pitch of the motor increased, hacking coughs sputtering out as the aircraft slid down, one skid grinding down the side of the boat, almost flipping the helicopter over before its straining engine managed to weakly pull it up and away.

The Panda King was left there, turning as he tried to focus through the growing mind-fog, paws out and beckoning.

With a heavy flap Shen rose, flying over before perching down, closer.

"You just couldn't help yourself," he hissed.

Panda King shook his head. "Can you blame mammal for taking, when your whole desire was to throw all away?"

"Oh, I see… Blame me for this," Shen growled. "That's all your kind has ever managed, to take down, rip apart, destroy. And assign blame to the likes of me. Well, we'll see who'll have the last laugh, Panda… We'll…" His eyes widened and he leapt up into the air, cartwheeling around to avoid a white hot blast from Carmelita's shock pistol before bouncing forward on his feet and pouncing at the Panda King.

The old bear raised a fist to meet him and they clashed, his strength knocking and shielding him from the flurried attacks, even as the sharp talons cut in, sending clouds of fur and splashes of blood into the air. He huffed and panted, eyes fixed straight ahead as Shen hissed and growled, whittling away at him as the ship beneath them sank. The panda had his feet where the walkway met the former wall, balancing between them to keep himself steady and take the beating.

As Shen did his fighting on the wing, perching on the railing where he could and driving forward, pushing the panda back.

"Why are you even fighting!?" the peacock yelled, flashing his half-bedraggled tail up before pouncing straight at Kozlov's neck, claws out to slice it. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

"Yes," he said, before jumping up and bouncing the shocked avian off his belly and into the air. In a flurry of flaps and feathers he struggled to steady himself, all as Panda King retreated back to a buckled set of external steps. "And look how I chose to use what cards I have been dealt."

Steady in the air, Shen glanced to the side before ducking out of the way of another blast from Carmelita's pistol, the helicopter hovering close by, the mammals inside leaning out and watching on.

"-I have met hurt mammals in past, Shen. Many chose to let go of pain, move on. You still have time to…"

"Well," he cut in, "maybe I don't want to!"

And with that he dove forward, Panda King leaping back and pulling himself up and around a sideways flight of steps. Shen just pulled around the other side, straight towards an incoming fist before ducking below it, one foot grabbing onto a railing and the other a knee. A hiss and whirr of his metallic exoskeleton and his foe was pushed back against the former ceiling, gritting his teeth as he hissed with pain.

Down came another black and white chop, Shen leaping out and away, Panda King slipping back and working his way along the side of the ship towards the cliff edge where the deck began. Behind him, Shen weaved and flew, picking up a piece of half-loose railing and shooting it out like a javelin.

Panda King saw it and ducked to the side, hissing as it grazed across his shoulder, leaving a red gash.

On he ran, on Shen followed. Above them the helicopter stood close by, still sounding unhealthy. Po was fishing in his pants, trying to find the gun he'd taken to give to Doug. Carmelita was leaning half out, firing the odd shot out only for Shen to easily dodge.

All as Panda King finally reached the end of the stairway, freezing as he saw the deck of the ship falling away from him into a sea full of shattered debris and the odd wolf, moving about in lifesaving gear or not.

He closed his eyes and took a breath in.

His body was trembling.

He felt drained.

He felt weaker.

He felt a faint rot all across his body and still tasted sharp metal on his tongue.

He slowly began to turn around, only to pause briefly as he saw a battered box. A hearty punch to break it open and he smiled at the contents.

The sky was lit bright again as another shot was fired at Shen, the bird dodging it before pushing forwards, landing on the knife's edge of the main deck's railing.

In front of him, Panda King stood up and walked forward, onto the same edge as he held his balance. "Is this what you truly wish for? For us to battle here."

"No," Shen mocked. "I WANT YOU TO DIE!"

"Am I not dead already?" he asked. "After tickling the dragon's tail?"

"Well I want you to die MORE!" Shen yelled. "I deserve you to die more! I deserve…"

"To have let go," the Panda King spoke. "Like I let go. Like wise mammals I know, let go."

"You're just saying that so you don't have to pay for all the snivelling little things you've…" Shen began, before leaping out of the way of a shock pistol blast. "-Done! Starting with how you jumped in with joy as a little kid to torture my parents. To destroy their legacy."

"Would it help you if I tell you, I remember now?"

"Yes," Shen sneered. "It does, it…"

"Then I am sorry to say, I lie."

He looked on blankly for a second, jumping forward half in anger and half to avoid another shot from Carmelita. "-I don't care! It does not matter, none of this matters!"

"It does, greatly!"

"You think I care what you think…"

"No, but you should care what you think!"

Shen halted himself, glaring as he held himself back, a shock pistol blast cutting just in front of him.

"-I do not deny the anger, the rage, the burning injustice you feel. But you do not choose to bring it to closure, to right it. You choose to feed it, by spurning me when I presented my fireworks. By building this empire to make yourself king. By ensuring nothing can match you, beat you!"

"Well I'd say it was rather good that I did then, I achieved more than you could ever dream!" he spoke, a smile growing on his beak.

"As traveller from antique land say," Panda King said, gesturing around. "Look on your works, Ye mighty, and despair."

For a second, Shen's countenance faded as he did, his ship now lying on its side, the whole of the front in the water and going down fast.

"-It feel good to feed that hunger, or to wallow in misery. But in end, to do so risks drowning in mire, or hunger growing so long, it consume even you."

"So now what?" Shen half laughed. "I should just… Fly away and away, go and…"

"One option, of many," Panda King said. "Is your choice, let go, or not let go. The important question is, which one?"

"Well," Shen said, "I think it is time to let go… -Of any restraint! If my ship is going down, then I'll drag you down with it!"

And with that he reached in and tore off a panel from the chest of his exoskeleton, slamming down a set of levers. Sparks flew and a shrill whine began growing as the joints across it began to glow hot. He shivered and buckled slightly from the pain as blue smoke began to billow around him but pushed through, a step forward sparking from his feet down onto the metal deck. Same with the next, and the next.

"Then I am disappointed," Panda King said. "And sorry." And with that he brought out the box of flares he'd retrieved and smashed them between his paws. He was lit up in a flash of burning white light, gritting his teeth as he raised his two burning paws in a pair of fists. "But as warrior, if we are two warriors fated to die, then I will honour you, and give battle for the ages."

"Just shut up and DIE!" Shen yelled, in rage and pain as he charged, talons out. Panda King raced forward, shooting out a fist and swinging himself to the side, gripping Shen's talon before it could tear into his paw. He swung himself around, hanging over the edge, trembling from the current coursing through his arms and legs before pulling his foe towards him and sending out another burning punch to his chest.

Shen's talon cracked out of his fist and the bird swept out with his wings to pull himself down and sweep around, tattered tailfeathers whipping around and catching him as Panda King tried to leap over them. Half torn off by the force and carried around him by the sweeping wind, they left whip-like scars and shook his balance off as he landed back down on the narrow balancing beam.

One leg landed true, one to the side, slipping down and out and almost sending him toppling over into the debris field below.

Shen, sparks flying and beak grit as his exoskeleton ground his spin to a stop, leapt out and then flew in to bodyslam the panda under the ribs and push him in. Only for his foe to leap back as if trying to save him the effort. "PALMS OF THUNDER!" -Down his burning palms went, clipping the dodging Shen and sending him skidding onto the edge of the boat. All as Panda King fell down the cliff, only to grab the overhanging rail and, screaming as he held his weight through his burning away palms, swung himself down, bounced off the vertical deck with his legs, and swung himself back up and over in a paw-stand.

His eyes fixed on Shen, the warlord pulling himself back up, twitching and shaking as his exoskeleton sparked, bending the metal beneath his talons as he maintained a grip.

The panda jumped up and somersaulted, feet landing where Shen had just been before a burning paw came sailing down to crush the bedraggled peacock. "FIREY CHOP!"

Shen braced himself, raised his wings, and caught Panda King's chop, screaming as his exoskeleton strained and then held tight. A futile tug from the large mammal and then his captor, talons gripping the metal, pulled him around as if to cast him off into the sea.

Panda King jumped and swung around to beat him at his own game, only for Shen to spin him faster, the panda's legs swinging out from under him and into the air as he was spun around by a creature hundreds of times lighter than himself.

It didn't matter though, the exoskeleton sparking, screaming, turning red where it was overheating but valiantly doing its job until the end. Spinning the Panda King around like a hammer thrower before…

A pull and a punch forwards, Shen screamed, losing grip only for Panda King's other burning paw to grab on and hold tight. A metallic crunch rang out as the exoskeleton was caught out of position, rending itself apart as it killed the momentum it had built up.

The panda, legs dropping down, caught the edge of the railing and pulled back tight, vaguely registering a sharp crack and a sudden unsteadiness in a leg.

He still fought though, bucking back and, with a rending tear, pulling his opponent so hard the punctured and mauled patch of hull he'd been using for purchase was torn clean out.

Shen sailed over him, Panda King bringing him down, glancing him against the railing and throwing him to the sea.

He bounced, his wings opened and tried to flap, there was a splash and Panda King, shaking and weak, looked down and bowed his head, mouthing a few words.

The wind was rising and, turning up, he saw the helicopter coming down. He blinked as he finally saw the identity of the pilot, a sudden warm smile growing over his face, which was met in kind. Kozlov was leaning out of the edge of the helicopter, paw out, Panda King hissing as he brushed off the burning flames from his paws and…

He winced away at the sight.

He could tell that his whole body should be in agony, but it had tuned out for the fight.

He hoped they had a lot of morphine on the…

A yell and a scream caught his attention and, looking back, he saw Shen rising from the water like a burning phoenix, the exoskeleton, his body, everything on fire as his wings flapped so hard he was shedding burning feathers as he went.

It didn't matter though, like a missile he shot up towards the helicopter, a shock pistol shot to his face or Doug finally getting the last gun doing nothing to dissuade him.

Panda King gave the helicopter the vaguest hint of a bow before turning and leaping out into the void, his chest and ribs caving in as Shen slammed into him.

For a second they still rose, Shen pushing on, trying to fly and then trying to dig through Panda King, only for the pull of gravity to send the pair spinning down, fast.

The sea came up and they slammed into it, a blurry blackness.

The air forced out of their lungs.

The cold and salt flowing into their bodies.

The weight of Shen's exoskeleton dragged him down but a twitching talon managed to grip on as together they rose and bobbed on the surface.

The boat was tipping over, fast, caving in over them like a breaking wave.

The stars covered up.

"I took you down," Shen coughed and whispered, dragging himself onto Panda King. Parts of him were missing, the panda couldn't gauge which. "All this time, I defeated you. Look on ye works, ye mighty…" He broke off into a pair of strangled coughs, as Panda King managed to weakly raise one paw and point out.

"And despair?" the panda managed, however weakly as he saw the helicopter so close by. "No… I am king of kings."

And he was.

He was just tired.

And needed some sleep.

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Up in the air, they watched on as the ship capsized, exposing the moon pool, the submersible caught and wedged inside of it. It was already going down, everything was, slipping away fast. What wolves had managed to escape were all around in the water as the helicopter sailed in, closer.

Not that they were its targets for rescue.

They were almost targets in a different sense as 'Dave' finally got the malfunctioning pistol to load up and began to aim, only for the weapon to be yanked away by Jack, the hare stashing it on himself. "I'll take that."

"Sure. I'm sure you'll be highly efficient in using it to its fullest capabilities."

"Leave it, it's over," the hare said, looking over at the terrified mammals in the water, trying to cling on for life. Their ship was down, they were out of the game. Was the one-eyed wolf down there, among them? He still had one talisman, right?

"Not that you have the conviction to ever do so, it's surprising anything got done with your self-restricted input."

"Ahem," Jack muttered, glaring up. "I'll have you knowI non-lethally subdued plenty of them, thank you."

"Who were then consequently exploded, drowned, etcetera," the sheep said, nodding in agreement. "But sure, mollify your consciousness, wash your paws, it was other mammals who pulled the trigger there. Never mind your key role in it, it's okay when others pull the trigger, all you did was harmlessly and non-lethally tie them to the chair."

He looked down at the carnage, face hardening. "I know what I did, it was… It was war. I did my duty. I rescued my friends."

Doug snorted. "You rescued mammals. You didn't do your duty. You never will. It wasn't war for you and it never will be. I think it's clear that you'll never have the guts or capacity to look down a mammal in the face or back, pull the lever, and end their existence permanently. You just play pretend, rely on others for that, and claim it's the same thing. Am I correct in my assumption?"

Jack just ignored him, looking out for any signs of them. He suddenly found that his paw was cold, holding on to the grip of the gun. However many rounds of death in there. He looked up to see a lupine figure floating face down in the water. He and Private Turtle had done more than this thing ever could…

Yet…

Somehow, the small thing held against him felt…

Skye's question rang around in his mind again. What happened when he got to it? Part of him thought he had, but didn't know what to think. Another thought he hadn't, and couldn't think what it would be.

Most of him, feeling tired, weak, unwell, queasy, just felt glad it was over. That he'd dodged or cheated or written off the question somehow, and that would be that.

He was almost glad for some of Doug's other questions as they turned away, pulling him out of his headspace. He was even more so for the screams and yells coming out from behind.

"-WE CAN STILL GO BACK! WE HAVE TO FIND HIM!"

"No, please," Carm said, one paw over the pilot's hand and pulling it, guiding them up and away. Her other held her muzzle as hard as she could, unable to stop the trembling. "He's gone. He did it for us. Please, please…"

"But what if…"

She put her other paw on his leg. "Please Murray. It's over…"

The hippo at the pilot's control looked down at her and trembled, before closing his eyes and pushing on and away. Even before they'd finished the turnaround he was blubbering out like a baby.

All as the mammals in the back sat around as quietly as they could beneath the helicopters unhealthy engine noise.

"-If it's any consolation, that death was a mercy."

A few glares were turned up at 'Dave Ramses PHD'.

He looked around and shrugged. "You're looking at me as if he didn't get a lethal dose of radiation, which would lead to what is genuinely considered the worst form of death imaginable, and that he at least died doing what he considered a heroic sacrifice."

"He's right," Po said, his voice hollow, tears in his eyes. "His death had meaning… Purpose. He died so we could get away. He chose to die awesomely, and he did. To Panda King."

A few seconds and they all nodded.

"To Panda King."

"To the Panda King."

"Panda King."

"To Panda King."

"-P-p-p-p-p-p-PANDA KING!"

"To Panda King.

"To the Panda King."

Nick looked down at the floor. "I hope he saw us flying away, I hope…" He trailed off, shaking his head before slowly looking up. "I hope he knew that the rescue plan was a success. Even if he'll never know how it came about. I… -Thanks Jack." The hare turned up to meet his gaze. "Thanks. You saved our lives but… -That army fox really sent you and Dave here to rescue us!?"

Jack managed a smile before pausing. "Well, kind of an interesting story there."

Nick sighed, body shaking as he held Judy close to him. "I think we have time," he said, as together they flew back towards the city, an idle thought in the foxes mind about what they'd all been up to while they were gone.