Chapter 72
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Robin, Little John and Duke stood inside the crowded flat, looking on with the rest of the crowd at the TV or their phones. It didn't matter which one, they were all fizzing, the title of the ZNN Emergency Broadcast system suddenly turning on.
The red fox slipped a paw into a pocket and brought out a bit of paper, scribbling on it before passing it to Little John. The bear saw it and passed it down to Duke, the weasel silently reading it out.
'Controlled from the ZNN Building. Enemies did something there earlier, Marian was looking into it.'
The weasel scrunched it up and hid it in a pocket, just as the screen changed. The group looked on to see a rat. Tired looking, weary, as if exhausted after fighting and losing so many battles. He adjusted the camera a few times before giving up, stroked his tie and took in a breath, speaking out. "H-hello… My name is Dr Padriach Rattigan…"
On he went, starting to talk about how he was wanted, framed. Most of the mammals knew about him at least in some way, the ZPD had been talking about a dangerous rat criminal, at least partially involved or trying to profit off of the previous Anonymous Vulpine case. That or some of the other cases of nighthowler pellets being found in different places.
Robin stepped forward, saying that he'd heard about a bunch of attacks or raids at ZNN, how that was probably them hijacking the public address system. He'd just got out the words Reichstagsbrand when the pictures began showing, all of the mammals shying away in some form of disgust.
Robin and Little John gave a glance at each other, holding paws, nodding, breathing in and waiting. The fox looked down at the weasel too, a for once serious face on the small mustelid as he looked up and nodded, steeling himself for when it was over.
"I finally came back to this city, despite the risk of arrest and murder by the deep state, to end this. -Many of you will have already followed me via my blogs, my messages, you know who you are, you brave souls and I want to say thank you…"
"That's us!" Conway shouted, the others starting to look around and nod in agreement.
"Thank you so much, for your faith then, and for coming out tonight…"
"This is it, we've finally reached it," the badger agreed, turning down to the prey kits. "You may not have heard, but this guy and his intelligence leaks are what first brought us all together."
"-Already, a few valiant heroes have lost their lives, I'm sure some of you in the Rainforest heard of what went on…"
"I got a text warning about a car fight," the cacomistle said. "And explosions high up in the cloud forest. Something has been going on guys…"
"We cornered none other than Chief Bogo himself, caught red hoofed. Only, this enforcer of the law sees himself above it, just like the rest of them."
The screen flickered away and was replaced with what looked like a desk cam recording. The mammals all looked on in confusion, anticipation, and then in increasing shock and horror at what went on. All the mammals began shouting in outrage, even Little John, Robin following on to at least seem like they were acting like any normal mammal would act in this situation. All while their hearts beat and they racked their brains about what was going on, what to do, how to sort this all out…
As the video finally came to a desperate close, the room left in silence.
Jesús, his paws over his chest, snapped to it. "If we are not going to fight now, if we are not going to fight for those innocent children… Children like my own… When are we!? There are kits we gotta save!"
"HELL YEAH!" Shenzi yelled, racing to a knife block in the kitchen and pulling out the biggest one she could.
"Take the frying pan," the badger said, "give the smaller mammals the knives."
"Yes sir!" She said, doing just that as the wheelchair bound mustelid turned to the prey in the rooms.
"You see, this is who those mammals, those who run this society, really are. They scowl at us, hate us, think themselves above us. As they prey on our kits, the innocents, and cover each other's tails." He closed his eyes, breathing out. "A fight for the very soul of this city is going to take place tonight. I know it. Either we fail… And evil wins. Or we win, and we make a new world. A better world. The world we started here. Today!" He gave them all a look. "We're the predators here, we're the ones who go into battle, who…" He froze for a second, lip trembling before speaking again. "-Who might die for a future we will never see. But that is who we are, that is the great contract, and we'll do it. For you. You don't have to do anything, you can go home. But if any one of you want to fight alongside us…"
"Cuss yeah!" one of the goats yelled. "Cuss the ZPD!"
"Y-yeah," one of the homeless mammals agreed, the others joining in. Knives were being handed out, along with other weapons. Pans, a blowtorch, a saw…
Three mammals in the crowd, looking at each other, seemed helpless to do anything to stop it.
"-Wait!" Duke yelled, suddenly climbing on top of Little John. "Hold up just a second…"
The room went quiet, the mammals looking at him.
"...Yes?" the sea otter asked.
"-Listen, I been in trouble with the ZPD a lot," Duke said. "I been in that big office too, with that big buffalo… It looks… Somethin' looks wrong about it." He gestured back to the screen, where the video was looping again… Only it was still on the disturbing images, not back at the office again. "I don't know what…" He said, rubbing his brow. "But… -Imagine if the mammals doing all the sick stuff knew Ratty was onto them, but the ZPD would join him if they knew the truth… What would be the best way to kill two birds, heck, three birds!" He gestured around to them. "With one stone. If they got some actors in, set up that last scene there, and tricked Rattigan into seeing it, thinking it real. That way, they get their enemies to kill their enemies. It's the perfect hustle!"
The other mammals looked on, unconvinced. "That sounds far fetched…" The badger said. "But there's an easy way to test it."
Duke's ears perked up. "There is?"
"We look for any clocks or anything when the video comes around again, any faults in the video. I know for a start AI stuff does weird things with paws or… -Ah, here we are."
On they watched, Chief Bogo at his office again. "I know that tiger cop," Shenzi growled, pointing at her.
"Ah, time there. That was twenty minutes ago," the sea otter added.
"Weather outside seems the same as it is here," a third mammal agreed.
Duke nodded. "Right, seems legit."
"Yes it is!" the badger said, driving his wheelchair out to the door, a homemade flag planted on top of it. "Packmates, today we show the world what mighty predators can do!"
A sea of arms and cheers went up, the door opening and the mammals marching out.
At the back, Robin sighed, glancing at Duke. "Good effort."
The weasel nodded, as Little John spoke. "It's not legit, is it? -The Chief…"
"The cut off seemed pretty suspect," the fox began, as a text came in. "Marian. Apparently a bunch of the swing bridges in the Rainforest are locked closed, stopping the ZPD from moving their forces back from the stuff by the docks. She's already on her way though, I'll tell her to meet us here." As he texted in, he wiped a face down his paw.
"Right, just need to try and work out a way to stop a mob of peasant mammals from trying to break into the headquarters of the corrupt city leadership and law enforcement, to rescue a bunch of innocent children and loot the place…" As the words rang out, his ears fell. He looked up to the bear. "Johnny, what happened to us?"
The bear could only shake his head in response. "Hey, Robin? Are we the bad guys?"
The fox could only bury his muzzle in his paw. "Sometimes I think that back in those big anti-wealth protests ten years ago or so… Someone saw it was mostly the middle class out there and made a wish or something that the lower class would develop a collective identity and fight the power. Just a shame they used one of those cursed paws to do it."
"I feel ya," the bear said, looking forward. "But I'm going with them. We're not giving up, right?"
"No," the fox said. "We're not. If we can save just one group of mammals… Just one group."
"Let's do it," Duke agreed.
Off they went, joining the crowd as they marched along, stomping down the decks and banging on doors as they went. Mammals peaked out, quickly told what was going on. Many wilted, turning back in, but others still joined the ever growing crowd. Predators, prey, some old, some young… The creeping feeling grew under Little John's skin that all they'd done with their attempts was make the mob far more accessible for its aspiring members.
Indeed, he could swear it had already doubled in size as they began to make their way down the first steps of stairs, more angry mammals joining in. Some were saying they had cars, ready and waiting, to ferry them to the city centre. All the more necessary given that the ZPD would likely be suspending public transport…
"-Why don't we get a bus?" Shenzi yelled out, Conway pausing to look at her.
"What… They'll be stopping the buses, they…"
"You don't think that out of all the bus drivers in the city, there isn't one on our side?" She yelled, her paws wide out.
"I… Well there's probably tons, but what's our chance of finding one?"
"Besides," another mammal, a ram who'd started to tag along with the group, said. "They're driving all this time. They won't have seen it…"
"Did it get the radio too?" someone else in the crowd asked, as another asked when anyone had ever heard a bus driver listening to the radio in the bus.
"LISTEN YE IDIOTS!" Shenzi yelled out loud. All eyes were on her. "There's something stupidly obvious you're ignoring. We take a bus."
"S-steal a bus," one of the goat kids said, half nervous and half excited.
"Ha, well, borrow one for a bit," she smirked. Mammals began looking around, nodding in agreement, volunteering to be with Shenzi when they attempted the commandeering.
At the back, Duke shuffled down to Little John's ears. "If ye really think this is a trap, I could try and get the wheels of the thing. Make us run out halfway there…"
The bear gave a silent nod, the weasel holding on as his carrier began jostling, parts of the crowd turning back the other way, towards where the busses tended to stop.
All as Robin, half carried by the crowd, was pulled past him. The bear lent forward and picked him up, hoisting him on his shoulders like a kit up on a ride. "How's the view up there?"
"We'll see…" He began, pausing as a mammal thrust up some binoculars.
"-Get the weasel on top, you'll be the highest one out of us. Scan for the bad guys."
"Yeah," Robin said, giving a salute. "Great thinking."
"-No need to be sarcastic," the mammal grumbled, turning and walking off. Robin passed the items to Duke as the weasel climbed up on top, the trio of mammals starting off on their way.
"-Remember to duck," was all the top most one could say as he looked around, seeing mammals on the other buildings coming out onto the concrete decks or their own balconies to see what was going on. Noise and soon chants were echoing around, drawing out curious mammals or even families.
"Go on!" A voice pulled them up, and they saw a tiger cub and his little sister up above. The older one must have been no more than ten, the younger might have been half that.
"You can do it!" the girl said, smiling and waving as the others cheered and waved back.
On they went, turning around a corner and heading across the bridge to the stairs and lift. Some mammals were already pinging it, the door opening…
"-WHY THE CUSS IS IT FULL OF TOMATO JUICE!?" Somebody yelled, Shenzi calling back.
"We were de-skunking it…"
"That's not how…" Someone else began, only for a rush to the stairs by the side to cut him off. Mammals were funnelling down it, only the badger in his wheelchair and Conway, running escort, going for the lift.
The bear, fox, weasel threesome passed them by, the two upper mammals gripping on tight as they began making their way down, the open sides not helping. The weasel could almost imagine them all toppling over. What a way to go. Falling down onto the hard concrete and splat. Right in view of that little play area there, those little kits getting a real introduction to the whole mortality of mammals thing. Them and those two white wolf cops there, jumping over and waving their guns and…
Duke blinked, pointing out. "GUYS!"
He was jerked away as Robin turned up to look at the sight, wincing as the weasel's claws grabbed onto him tight to stop him being thrown clean off. Through scrunched up eyes the fox still saw what was going on, the officers screaming out at the kids, ordering them to get down, starting to cuff and muzzle… He shook his head, he couldn't believe cops had got this bad. He couldn't… He slapped himself, looking down to Johnny. "Fire stokers, Two-O-Clock."
The bear looked over, frowning as his ears were pulled by the mammal on top of him to keep him steady. He saw what was going on and then yelled out at the top of his voice. "HEY! EVERYONE! AT THE PLAYGROUND! THEY'RE TAKING OUR KITS!"
Out he pointed, the crowd on the stairs halting, turning to it and then taking off in a blind roaring fury. The bear felt himself pulled forward in the new found torrent of mammals, feet pounding past fast as they started racing and turning, tripping and slipping, the bear saw the flow start to speed up around him and reached out, grabbing hold of the handrail and holding it so firm it was almost pulled out of the concrete. All as the mammals around him collapsed forward, into each other or into the wall, pancaking onto the ground in a landslide of fur and swear words.
"AAAAHHH, CUSS!" He could hear Shenzi somewhere down below, she and the others groaning as they tried to get back up. A glance behind him and the bear saw mammals still standing at the next landing up. Just. Those at the front were holding on, teetering forward from the pressure at the rear as calls to back up rang out, not that they seemed to be having an effect…
Little John glanced back down. Four kids, all cuffed and muzzled, a growl growing in his throat as one wolf cop kicked a raccoon boy and the other turned, looking at the pile up and laughing.
The growl blew out into a roar. "HANG ON!"
Duke and Robin had no time to question it as the bear slammed his elbow into a loose metal fence between the stairway and the outside, knocked it out of the way, and then mounted the top of the sloped concrete panels of the stair column, sliding himself outside and into the void.
"J-Johnny…" Was all Robin could say as he tried to work his way down to a more secure position, Duke scurrying right off his back and gripping hard to the bear's shirt. "Care…" The ursine swung around, legs flying into the void and the fox almost cast off. He kept his grip though, kept it as the bear wrapped his arms and legs around a pillar running down the outside and began shimmying down, fast.
Eyes closed, Duke almost thought they were falling, only to be then jolted down so hard he felt like his claws were about to be ripped out.
Up and down he bounced a few times before he dared open his eyes. They'd reached the ground level… Or at least the concrete podium over the parking underneath. And there, in front of them, were the wolves. Dressed up in ZPD gear, or at least what looked like it to a mammal not too familiar with it, they had the cubs over their shoulders and were holding them tight, running out of the playgrounds small gate and ready to race off to wherever they planned to take them.
"What the…" A familiar voice said from behind them, the pair turning to see Conway and the badger exiting the lift.
Both had their eyes on the scene at the playground, the wheelchair bound mammal grabbing his flag off his back and pointing it forward like a lance. "CHARGE!"
He whirred forward, Conway shooting out ahead on all fours, a few mammals who'd made it down the stairs joining him. Not least Little John who, planting Robin and Duke off of him, pulled out a retractable quarterstaff and pushed forward, feet pounding on the floor as the small group of vigilantes charged out at the kitnappers, the wolves seeing what was coming and panicking. They dropped their charges and fled, racing straight out to a nearby set of stairs, the crew of mammals after them in hot pursuit.
"I…" Duke began, "we'll get 'em kits, riiigghhhhhtttttt?"
He stared slackjawed as Robin, pulled out what looked like a set of sticks from under his shirt. Only, with a flick of a switch, it extended out into a small but lethal looking composite bow. Pulling an arrow from the inside of his trousers, he notched it, nodding to Duke before pushing off in a completely different direction.
"I… I'll get the kits, okay!" the weasel yelled, bounding along as fast as he could. "Don't believe this, don't…" He froze as he saw the first one, a small deer of some kind, her head dashed against the stoney surface and a layer of red burning out, trickling around her and onto the ground. All she was doing was sobbing, wailing out, no muzzle on her mouth but thick cable ties around her limbs. "Okay," he said, paws out. "Okay, not gonna hurt ya. Gonna save ya, ya hear? I'm just a big dumb… I'm just a weasel, y'hear?"
"Mama…" She bleated out. "Mama!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get ya to ya mama," he said, scurrying round to her bound hooves and resting a paw on them. With the other he reached to the knife he'd been armed with at the badger's place. About the smallest in there, though it was still a broadsword for him. He worked it under the plastic and began sawing, back and forth, back and… With a snap it came loose, the weasel going to her legs. "Okay, when I get this off, take the knife," he told her. "Then you go to one kid and start cuttin' em free, I'll go to the other and…" He paused, his cutting freezing for a second before resuming. "No wait, I'll keep cutting. But you can pick up the coon boy and just take him back to his mother, you got…" With a pull he cut through the plastic, the doe's legs free.
And with it her, as she raced off crying, Duke just left there.
"-That…" He said, before throwing the knife down in anger. "If I were your teacher that'd be a fail then and there!" He yelled.
He turned back to the others, grabbing his knife.
"-Good job!"
He turned up to see the badger, still in his wheelchair, whirring forward, the lance still pointed.
"Hey, you got a knife?"
"No," the mammal said back.
"Well… Well just go to where the coon boy can climb up and wheel him away…"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm needed at the front, I'm…"
"No yer not ya dingus!" the weasel yelled. "What are ya gonna do, point em with your stick?"
"Heck yeah I am!" he yelled back.
The weasel facepawed. "Who do you think we're fighting, the sloths?"
"What kind of leader would I be if…"
"-I think they went down that way. That's just stairs, right?"
"...Right," the badger said, turning his chair around and making for the raccoon kid. All as Duke grabbed his knife again and rushed for a rather more composed looking beaver. He'd just worked off the muzzle on his head and was starting to nibble through his arm bindings, Duke going for his legs.
"I'll free the other end, got that?"
"-Y-yes," he sniffed.
"-And THEN you work on one half of the grey fox, I do the other."
He nodded, "T-thankyou."
"Your pleasures…" the weasel muttered, freezing as an bang rang out from where Little John and the others had pursued the wolves.
It echoed around the towers, ringing out amidst the sunset orange concrete, the eyes of all mammals turning to where it had come from, the weasel's fur raised.
And then Conway came racing back, fur raised and terrified. "What's going on?" the badger asked, turning to look at him, only for him to shoot straight past as if he weren't there. He wasn't the only one, others followed, whipping past him and jolting the wheelchair as they went.
Duke gulped as he saw Little John, the last among them, far behind, limping as he went and teeth grit as he clutched his upper leg.
"Hey!" the badger yelled, glancing around and finding himself alone, exposed. He turned down. "Get on, get…" he hissed as the raccoon boy squirmed and made his way close, the mustelid freezing as the sound of echoing boots rang out.
He, Duke, the kits, all in the crowd turned as half a dozen riot gear clad polar bears marched up the stairs, eyes blacked out by their specs and spiked clubs in their paws.
Except the one holding the assault rifle, which he waved in front of him, smiling as they marched forward. He aimed it and fired, a cloud of dust blasted up from in between Little John and the others. The bear froze, turning back, making his way around… Then back towards them only to leap up as his leg was peppered in blasted up grit and stone. Grimacing, the bear looked at them and backed off, another shot nipping at his feet to make sure he'd got the message.
Duke glanced back, the others had regrouped at the bottom of the stairs. Shenzi took a step forward only for the concrete in front of her to explode up, fear on her face.
All as the invaders marched forward.
Robin was nowhere to be seen.
The raccoon was finally on the badger's lap, the wheelchair turning but too slow to escape. Not that it mattered as a single bullet was fired into the wheel.
Duke glanced at the grey fox and raced forward for his legs, starting to cut. "You run you hear me!" He shouted, seeing the polar bears, the two wolves hiding behind them, marching forward. "You run for cover, you…" He froze his sawing and looked up to see the shivering beaver chewing through the vixen's hand paw bindings. "You idiot!" was all the weasel could scream as he cut faster, faster, the boots were pounding and he looked up to see the attackers on top of him as his knife cut through and the vixen's legs kicked out, knocking him off balance. The world spun and his head slammed into the ground, stars in his vision as he saw her, front paws free, shoot across to safety, the beaver following paw in paw only for him to scream out as his tail was stomped on.
He briefly registered a sneer in a russian accent and a shadow growing around him before his muscles exploded, eyes wide, on all fours and springing this way, that way, across the ground and right into the armoured boot of the mammal. It didn't matter though, he climbed up, under his trousers and to the first bit of flesh he saw. He reached for the knife and he didn't have the knife anymore so he opened his jaws and bit!
"BLYAT!" The whole world shifted as he was kicked up and down and around, a beating coming out where he'd just been as he raced up, up, biting and clawing as he went. He wasn't going to let the jerk get away with this! That jerkwad thought he could take somebodies kids! Cuss no, this weasel was the one who was gonna take some kids away, and that bear was due for a rapid fire fixing as soon as he…
A crushing slam cracked his spine backwards and squeezed every last drop of air out of his lungs, Duke freezing where he was. Only for it to repeat again, his grip failing. Down he slided, starting to tumble, a final punch just grazing his side as the kick of adrenaline surged through him again.
He turned and raced down, seeing the lip of the boot and racing over it, at the bottom and wheeling around, darting away as fast as he could.
"Where is he? Where is…"
"I think he went over there…"
"SHOOT HIM!"
"I can't see…
"HELP!"
Eyes springing up, Duke snapped to three O'clock and raced towards the nearest bit of shelter he could find, slamming into something and panting in and out. In and out. Muscles trembling as he wasn't dead yet. He wasn't dead yet and he glanced around, seeing the attacking mammals marching on, calling and yelling, having left them behind. Two of the kits were back and, in the case of the beaver, re-tied and muzzled. There was one more mammal though, screaming as he was tossed back and forth, back and forth… Duke growled as he saw the badger, currently being passed between two wolves, a newly arrived white furred lynx in the middle… Playing piggie in the middle with the screaming victim.
Duke retreated back, growling. He was under that guy's wheelchair, he clocked that now. And as he wiped his paw down his face he glared at them. Oh, if they thought what he planned for that one bear was savage, then they…
He froze as he saw the red on his paw, turning down to look at his front.
He was covered in it.
He'd… He'd really done a ton of damage to that guy, hadn't he.
Haha! Whatever worried feelings he was feeling he'd had about the blood covering were gone. He was a monster! He was going to rip them up! He was a terror! He was covered in tomato sauce, it was tomato sauce from the wheelchair wheels, wasn't it.
Duke grumbled, retreating back and watching. Where had that dumb hero fox gone! Now of all times.
The bears had their line, the wolves passing the kitnapped mammals to the third in their group before he raced off, leaving them to pull out some grenades and chuck them.
There were screams and shouts from the mammals at the bottom of the lift. Duke couldn't see them but he flinched none the less, waiting for the explosion that never came.
Instead a pair of loud puffs rang out, the weasel relaxing a little as he realised it was teargas. He could see the clouds now, hear the coughing, only… His nose twitched. Something smelt terribly familiar, and why did the clouds…
It didn't matter though as, the gun wielding bear providing cover, the invaders started their retreat in haste.
Duke, leaning out, grimaced as the new-found roars and growls began to come up from the crowd at the base of the stairs. His fur stood on end and he pulled himself behind the wheel, waiting for them to go down on all fours, waiting for the nighthowler to take effect, waiting for them to tear into each other and…
-Only they weren't.
They were still standing there, only far angrier, louder, cursing and hissing, marching forwards out of the teargas, all stoked up and ready for a fight.
A few more rounds of gunfire caused them to halt just a bit, Shenzi, Conway and Little John holding the line as the attackers made a hasty retreat.
The weasel looked at them, eyes fixing on the bear with the gun, just passing by. Close… Coming up… The tiny mammal felt his heart beating faster and faster in his chest. He looked around, he didn't see that stupid hero fox anywhere!
His muscles twitched and he charged forward, spine down and body buckling, rippling, racing forward as he cut the distance and leapt, gripping on at the gun mammal's hips and then scrabbling around, over his back. A swear was yelled and paws and elbows shook to try and knock him off, Duke pushing into the unreachable zone on his back and then charging over the bear's elbow as he turned and fled, yelling and screaming as he went.
Duke just saw the gun, still in paw, and leapt down, arms out and wrapping around both it and the white paw gripping it tight. Claws dug in, he saw another massive paw coming down through the corner of his eye, ready to tear him off, and so he bit down hard, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth.
A scream, the paw he was on reared up and shook, he bit down again, then again, and then the world tumbled as the gun was dropped, Duke riding with it. Paws out to capture his fall, the hard metal slammed up into his ribcage, the weasel spluttering up a mist of blood as the air in his lungs was forced out.
Shaking, a recovering breath in, he turned up to see the bear halting where he stood, foot up and stomping down to crush him.
He gripped the gun hard, worked his foot onto the trigger and pushed, his ears erupting in pain as the gun bucked up and flew back, taking him with him. Red hot flash, red hot flash, red hot flash, scraping and sliding across the rough concrete, a paw exploding in pain as it was caught between the floor and his ride, tearing the skin off the top. Every second every part of him was shaken apart until suddenly it stopped, the sliding gun pulling him along before it tipped up and tried to throw him.
The little weasel refused to let go, only to see the world spin and a crashing pain to hit his head, his back and then side scraping against the sandpaper like concrete until he lost his grip, rolling across the floor until it stopped.
It stopped…
He lay there, gaze resting on the floor surface out in front of him and the last of the bears running down the stairs far away. The shaking, echoing, vibrating stairs…
His ears perked up as he heard the rumbling coming, the roars and growls echoing up with it, before his bruised body was lifted up, screaming in pain as he was yanked up against the chest of the running wolf.
"LET'S GET THEM!" Conway roared, Duke noticing that even though he was screaming it at the top of his lungs, it didn't sound like that. It was muted down, amidst the ringing of his ears and background noise of the enraged mob.
"It's cussing out!" Shenzi screamed in another not-roar, tossing the gun in front of her and turning to Duke as they ran. "YOU IDIOT! SAVE SOME FOR THEM WHY DON'T YOU!?"
"IT'S TOO GOOD FOR THEM! BEAT THEM TO A PULP!" Was Conway's response.
"MAUL THEM!" Someone else replied. And then, from some way back, Duke heard a familiar voice.
"RIP THEM LIMB TO LIMB AND WEAR THEIR MOTHER CUSSING PELTS!"
For all Duke imagined what Little John would sound like mad, that was not it. He looked up again, at the mammals, the predators but even some of the prey. Claws were out, horns lowered, saliva dripping from the corners of mouths. And the smell, he knew the smell. Under the reek of the teargas, Nighthowler.
They weren't savages, but it had done its job. They were going to be savage.
Looking down, Duke saw them crest the stairs, the attackers down below, trying to get the kidnapped victims into the van and take off. Only things were not going to plan. Arrows peppered the vehicle and a few of the bears too. Those that were injured were pulling themselves into the back, the screaming victims already inside. Those not injured, trying to use their riot shields to protect themselves from the oncoming arrows, pushed in after them. Four were left out, then three, then two, then one as Shenzi lunged forward on all fours for the kill.
The bear brought a fist to her face, the loud crack ringing out and making Duke wince. Head up, the hyena toppled back towards Conway and the others, the mob splitting to get around her and giving the last bear enough time to get in and lock the door, albeit with an arrow in his shoulder for his effort. The engine revved and started, all as angry fists began clawing at it, punching through the quickly broken windows or ripping off the wing mirrors. Duke flew from Conway's paws, landing on the bonnet as the wolf began one-two-ing the windscreen, not caring how bloodied his paws were getting. The van lurched backwards, fighting away the straining mammals trying to keep it still. The windscreen washer sprayed up into the wolf's face. He tore away at the two wipes and redoubled his effort until a shake left then right caused him to slip off and away, rolling onto the floor.
A sharp turn and a squeal and the van began spinning around, Duke grabbing a small hole for grip and yelling as his body swung up and out, the thin metal slicing into his fingers.
And then it stopped, the engine revved up, and the van lurched forward, picking up pace, taking its occupants away from the mob as fast it could.
A glint in the corner of his eye and Duke saw an arrow fly down, hitting the wheel and causing the van to start to shake, swerve, the sound of squealing tires and brakes ringing out. Another thud, ringing against the metal side of the van, cut through. And then a third arrow hit the rear tire and Duke held on as he felt the vehicle swerve around, bucking up as it hit the kerb and then slamming into a lamppost, the weasel looking on as he slid off and flew into a…
.
Robin raced forward as fast as he could, legs burning as he saw the bears and wolves piling out of the van and fleeing. None seemed to be carrying any of the hostages, instead pulling away their wounded, limping and struggling as they went. One of his paws still gripped his bow, ready in case any of them did try it.
Instead, one bear had found a metal shutter to a shop or something and lifted it up, his comrades smashing through the glass door and piling in as fast they could. The fox would have skewered him with an arrow were it not for the fact it'd slow him down in getting to the wounded. Besides… He glanced behind him at the advancing mob, two dozen or so seconds behind him. Something was wrong, something was scary… He'd seen mobs before, but this…
A shrill rattle pulled his attention back forward, just as the last wounded bears got through, the one holding up the shutter letting go and allowing it to slam back down to the ground. Robin was certain they'd be piling all sorts of stuff down or jamming the mechanism to hold off the pursuers, as the pursued high-tailed it as fast they could.
They weren't his target though.
As he skidded to the crumpled van, eyes lingering on his missed shot, the hollow arrow digging into the metal panelling, he slammed his fist against it. "You okay in…"
He froze off as he heard the bawling and crying. Of course they wouldn't be, and of course they wouldn't be in any state to give a more accurate answer.
"Y-yeah…" His ears shot up as a familiar but very unexpected voice rang out. "We're hurting… But nothing is too badly damaged."
"Okay," Robin said, making his way around. Was there a key anywhere or… He froze as he saw the small figure slumped against the base of the wall, racing down. "Duke! Duke? Are you okay?"
Slowly the weasel's head shifted, a very slow blink rolling across his eyes as the injured mustelid focussed in on the fox. He'd taken one heck of a beating for sure, bloodied (and tomato sauced?) all over, a deep cut on the inside of one paw and the fur completely scraped off the outside of the other.
All superficial, there were far more serious things that could have happened.
With two claws, Robin pinched one of Duke's toes, a weary yet still angry snarl coming from the smaller mammal. "Whatchya do that for?" he hissed.
"Making sure you're not paralysed," the fox said, moving over to look around his neck, feeling for any damage.
"Oh, right…" he slurred, as a thick roll of wrapped up bandage was pulled around his neck like a cushion.
"I don't think your neck is broken, but I can't tell. I'm reinforcing it like this, and I'm going to get you in a recovery position. If anything hurts…"
"-Howlers…"
Robin paused. "Nighthowlers?"
"In… teargas…" the weasel managed to get out before bucking down, spitting out a mist of blood before pulling in a haggard breath. The fox just nodded, carefully lifting him upright and laying him in a nearby old plant pot, out of the way and in the recovery position.
Just as the trampling crowd arrived.
Robin turned to see them smash full into the van with enough force to cause two of the wheels to leave the ground, if just for a second. It rested back down on all fours, only for the true assault to begin. Fists pounding, mammals climbing up and jumping on it, others trying to tear it apart… Some other mammals went for the shutter the bears went through but, as expected, it had been jammed closed.
Not that that stopped them trying to brute force it.
A sudden metallic shriek pulled Robin back to the van. On the other side, one of the panels had developed a hole, and mammals were piling in to try and tear it away and open like the lid to a sardine can, no matter how cut up their paws got. The fox moved over to help them, only to be yanked to the side and pulled up by a cheering Conway. "LOOK AT WHAT THIS MADMAMMAL DID!"
Heads turned and fists were raised, roars and snarls coming out. All the louder as the side of the van was pulled clean open, two terrified kits and the badger pulled up and hoisted up high. Robin could only look at them as he was carried closer. The terrified kits he could expect, but the badger. Sure, he was thrilled at first, but as time went on… The vulpine could see something dawn on him. Not something big or shocking, but definitely an unease. As he gathered that something was wrong too.
The fox knew what it was.
All this time the enemy had been keeping a paw in Nighthowlers. For what? He didn't know, until now at least. The final can of petrol to toss on the bonfire, to stoke it up and burn down the city.
And the fox didn't know if he could put it out, didn't know if…
"WE SHOWED THEM!" Came a familiar and unfamiliar roar from his side, Little John limping up, despite what looked like a hell of a lot of pain etched on his face. There was a bullet wound to his leg, superficial, but not something he'd normally be racing about on. "YOU SHOWED THEM ROB! JUST A SHAME THEY'RE NOT HERE FOR YOU TO TURN THEM INTO PORCUPINES!"
"JOHN!" Robin yelled, as the bear reached over to take him, to parade him around.
"LET'S SAVAGE THOSE…"
"I need your help!"
The bear paused, teeth mid snarl. "WELL JUST SAY IT!?"
He leant down and whispered into his ear. "Low levels of nighthowler in the teargas, that's why you're so mad, they want us all mad!"
The fox was jolted away, John holding him at length with both his arms. Rage was still etched into his face, but also a growing horror, self awareness, and grim determination. Shaking his head, he pulled himself back in. "What…" he said, doing his best to keep his voice level and calm. "Can we do?"
"Shout out loud: Everyone. The fox here has worked out their plan. Calm down and listen!"
The bear nodded, placing the fox on his shoulders. Paws free, Robin stuck them in his ears and braced as the bear let out a deafening shout.
"EVERYONE! THE HERO FOX HAS WORKED OUT THEIR PLAN! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!"
The roars and cries died down, the crowd of mad, enraged faces swallowing down the edge of it and stopping their crazed actions to give him a moment of attention. All before they'd go back to their carnage.
"The guys who attacked us didn't just hit us with teargas. There was diluted nighthowler in there…" That had an effect, the mammals were blinking, a definite edge taken off their fury and replaced with fear, worry… It then began dripping back in though, the fox pushing on before he lost all his ground. "Not enough to make you go savage, but enough to make you furious!"
"DAMN RIGHT WE ARE!" Someone yelled, and the crowd erupted again. Fury, rage…
Robin was about to speak, only for Little John to beat him to it. "THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT!"
"THAT'S WHAT THEY'll…" Conway began, only to be cut over, Little John marching forward, arms out wide and claws on full display.
"IF WE KEEP MAD, THAT'S HELPING THEM! DO YOU WANT TO HELP THEM, HUH? DO YOU WANT TO HELP THEM, OR DO YOU WANT TO MOTHER CUSSING BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME!"
Robin held on tight as Little John wavered, trying to pull a breath back in. That had got to him, pushed through his self control. The fox glanced at the wolf, fearing it might do the same, spark them off against each other and make the whole mob tear itself apart.
A dozen or so emotions crawled across the wolf's face before he hissed out. "That makes sense! So what do we do, huh? What do we do!"
Robin stood up. "However hard it is, however much it's rippling through your veins, however much you want to charge out or act in rage, you need to keep it down. We need to think through this calmly, search for clues, see if there's anything else we can use to find out what they're trying to do."
"It looked like they were trying to take our kits and leaders!" Someone yelled, a round of sneers and cheers of agreement rising up.
"-Then why the nighthowler!" the badger spoke, eyes turning to him.
"Maybe they want us fighting each other, don't want us uniting!" a ram yelled. "Think you're just idiot predators and we're all Bellwether goons."
A loud rumbling began rising up, the mammals looking at each other in agreement.
"-Okay, so let's think this through, no shouting!" the badger spoke out. "What next?"
"-Hey, I found this radio."
All eyes turned to the shattered and ruined remains of the van, mauled and torn apart, and the cacomistle on the exposed dash, a small metal box in his paws.
"-We can use it to trick them!" Robin yelled, slipping off of Little John and making his way over. He held it close only to pause. "Can anyone do a good Russian accent, with a deep voice?"
"Why the…" Someone began, before a different voice cut through.
"How about this? Very good, da." Robin blinked before pumping his fist, waving the sea otter up.
"Okay," the fox said, grabbing the antenna. "I'll make it sound like it's on the fritz. You pretend to be these guys fleeing us, the van is badly damaged but not dead yet. It won't be long though, there are fast cars coming up, so you're asking them 'what to do.'"
"Right," the sea otter growled. "I'll…"
"-You'll need to act," Robin cut in, standing off at the glare he got. "We need not just rage, but fear, confusion, panic… I know it's hard, it's not your fault…"
"-Fine," he snarled, before his eyes widened. Shaking his head; "let me just." Closing his eyes, the mammal took a breath in, a breath out. A breath in… He nodded.
Robin flicked on the radio, the sea otter frantically yelling out. "They had gun! We got problem, van losing fuel, their cars coming, do not have long…"
"-Which unit?" Came a very russian sounding voice.
"-Just from Happytown Heights, we…"
"You know where nearest Precinct is, not too far! Just do plan!"
"-Drop kits off at Precinct…"
"-NYET IDIOT! Make them think you do, just drop mammals off anywhere you like. Then once idiots start attacking, get car and carry on!"
The sea otter paused, only for a whisper in his ear from Robin to spur him on. "Carry on where, where…"
"Just pick any store and start looting!"
"But what about kits…"
"You dump kits idiot!"
"No, kits ZPD have…"
"ARE YOU MORON!" A yell came through. "ZPD have no kits. We make idiots think ZPD have kits, and pretend to be ZPD attacking them, so idiots and ZPD fight and we pick city CLEAN! What part do you not understand…"
Robin paused, trying to think of something, only for the sea otter to spurt out a response. "But in video Rattigan…"
"Rattigan pretend to be persecuted freedom fighter to dupe idiots! We all know he is big boss of Tundra Town Mafia, where… -BLYAT!" The radio cut off, fizzling into static.
A silence filled the air, Robin looking up to see the mob looking on, silent. Simmering with rage. Fury. One began yelling about what was that, and another about how they'd been tricked. Soon roars and fury and yells began to spring up and out. Not at anyone or anything, just at the sheer rage at it.
"I BELIEVED HIM!" Conway yelled. "I BELIEVED…"
"BELIEVED WHO?" Came a yell as Shenzi, with a very swollen jaw, turned up at the crowd. The wolf faced her.
"RATTIGAN WAS LYING TO US THIS WHOLE TIME!"
"WHAT!?"
"THOSE WEREN'T THE ZPD TAKING THE KITS! IT WAS HIS MAMMALS!"
"WHAT THE CUSS!" She yelled, turning to the van. "WHAT THE STINKING CUSS!"
"HE WANTED US AND THE ZPD TO FIGHT SO HE COULD LOOT EVERYTHING!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM! I'M GOING TO PULL HIS ARMS OUT! I'M GOING TO…"
"QUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"
The screamings and shouting was silenced, paws over ears as all the mammals turned to Little John, the bear holding his throat with a paw. "We're not helping him anymore…" He croaked, wincing. A look at Robin and the fox took over.
"-But we're not stopping him just yet." He grimaced, his eyes looking around. Not at the crowd, but at the city beyond. "I don't know how many others have seen that message. I don't know how many others like you he tricked. How many are on the march like we almost were. But we have to get the message out, to save all the other mammals like you. And many of them might be howlered up and mad, it's going to be hard, we have no evidence but…"
"-I recorded that thing on my phone."
Robin blinked, looking down. "THANK YOU JESUS!"
"Damn right you do," he said, holding his phone up.
Robin nodded. "Send it to everyone you know. Everyone, send that to everyone you know!" He turned to all the mammals, looking on at him. "We need to spread this, to counteract Rattigan's transmission…"
"-Or replace it."
His head snapped as a familiar voice rang out, a vixen racing towards him. "I came as soon as I could."
"Always appreciated it," he sighed. "We've got a confession that the whole ZPD kits thing is fake, we need to get it out…"
"-If we get it to the ZNN building, we could replace Rattigan's transmission with it."
Robin blinked. "Yes!" He turned down to the crowd. "Many of you are under the effects of a mind altering drug, so please… Think this through. It could be very dangerous, you could get hurt, far more than any of you already have…"
"I… I can manage," Shenzi said, as a round of agreement rang through the crowd. Robin nodded.
"Very well, we…" A round of buzzes began ringing out, the fox looking down at the Cacomistle and then back at them. "Send that message out as much as you can first, asking others to spread it. Five, ten minutes, then we move."
"-Good thinking," Little John said, nodding. "I think I can feel the edge coming off this stuff."
A few murmurs of agreement rose up.
"Right," Robin said. "And it's still a long way to the ZNN building, and who knows how bad this will get. But together, we'll show the world what we can do, together. Pred and Prey. Am I right?"
He raised his fist, and a grin grew across his face as the other paws were raised up with him, rounds of cheers and whoops coming up. Tinged with anger, sure, but he was happy.
"Great! Now first off, get on your phones and start sending!"
That they quickly did, all as Robin slipped down to check on Duke. The weasel was sitting up where he'd been left, in pain but being tended to by Marian. The fox walked up to him and smiled. "You did good, very good."
"Yeah," he smiled. "Don't go cuss it up."
"Wouldn't think of it," he said, as a new voice turned up.
"Hey…" The fox turned to see the badger, currently in Shenzi's paws. "Thanks…"
"It was nothing…"
"Nothing!? You came in with a bow and arrow and just… Just…" Paws out, he shook Robin's paw hard before sighing. He gave a glance at Duke, then Little John, then Robin. "I'm guessing you knew something was up with Rattigan before this."
They all nodded.
"Well… Thanks for not being total jerks about it… It… All this hurts. -I was just trying to save my world, my people! All of us were! What the messages were saying was coming true, we looked out of our windows and saw all that cussed up stuff going on… What else were we supposed to do!?"
Robin began to open his mouth only to shut it, paw coming forward. "Happens to the best of us. Fool me once, shame on me…"
"Well, we're not gonna get fooled twice. We're going to repay him double for tricking us."
"-You're not…" Duke stuttered. "-Not gonna demand you go along to the ZNN building or whatever?"
"I… -No, no…" he said.
"Stay here," Marian said, gesturing back at the towers. "Make sure everyone knows the truth, and hold the fort with those who don't come with us." Her ears pulled back. "Even if we get through, this city is going to go through hell tonight. Keep your part of it, and your people, and your neighbours, safe. Sound good?"
"Yeah," he said, glancing at Robin and reaching out with a paw. "Give them your worst, uh…"
"Robin," he said, shaking.
The badger smiled. "Tucker."
A giant stupid grin grew on the fox's face, Tucker's head tilting. "Anything…"
"Can I call you Tuck?"
"...Sure," Tuck said, letting go. "Why not."
Robin Hood nodded, turning to the mammals and waving his paw. "With me! Oooodellallly!"