The train arrived, tensions high within the circus animals as everyone looked outside their carriage windows. Its wheels stopped abruptly in an old abandoned station, covered in vines and shrubbery, high on a hill overlooking the lively city of Guangzhou below. Everyone jolted inside from the lacklustre train driving, unknowing that was only a small inconvenience in comparison to what Laohu had planned for them all.
"Welcome to Laohu's Circus!" boomed a loud, mechanical voice over the train station intercom, causing the animals to exchange nervous glances. The doors to the train slid open, and so did several vines from a cliff wall revealing a sleek, modern circus tent, gleaming under the rising sun and the leafy branches of the humungous trees all around. It was a stark contrast to the run-down station, though a certain eeriness still kept remained. "Assistance will arrive shortly..."
Alex and Gia stepped out first, holding paws as they approached the tent's entrance. "What is this place?" Alex whispered, his voice a mix of awe and dread. "I just hope he keeps his word. This really doesn't give me good impressions."
Gia nodded, her eyes darting around the unsettling scene. The other animals stepped onto the grassy floor outside the train, a look of worry painted across every face. "Let's find Laohu and get some answers," she suggested, her voice steady despite her trembling insides. "Where are all the tigers?"
"Yeah..." Alex replied looking around at the lifeless scene, having an idea of where they might be.
"This is not a very warm welcome," Gia said in a baby voice with a bulged bottom lip, trying to lighten the mood. The early morning light added to the gloomy atmosphere they found themselves in.
"I know right! Must be the altitude..." he joked as he tried to join in with the humour, his mind still wandering to Marty in and out.
Gia laughed, it was good having a small moment she enjoyed in such a turbulent time. She turned her head towards the train, an old Vitaly slowly climbing out of his carriage door. "Hey, Vitaly, is Stefano in there?" she asked him, wondering where the lively sea lion could be. She thought he would be outside by now.
Vitaly groaned, leaning over into the carriage and looking around it, seeing no life within. "No, he's not here. He must've swapped carriages. I do snore sometimes..." he said, keeping his voice low to avoid triggering his lungs. "I don't see Marty either. Maybe they're still sleeping somewhere."
"Oh, yes... okay," Gia replied with uncertainty, trying to be optimistic in such circumstances. Alex looked at them both, deep guilt within. He was trusting his secret violent outrage with a psychopathic tiger he had only recently met, it filled him with truly draining worry.
"What kind of ground is this?" Vitaly asked himself in a wheeze, looking around cautiously at the green, mountainous region. "This is-"
Melman took a deep breath, his eyes wide with wonder at the towering trees and the gleaming tent. "This is... the wild," he murmured, interrupting Vitaly. "It really is."
Gloria let out a sceptical snort. "I dunno, Melman," she said, eyeing the natural surroundings suspiciously. "How are people going to watch us up here? They're all the way down there!" She pointed through a gap in the bushes, down at the city below. "No one's coming up here."
"Patience, Gloria," King Julien chuckled, stepping out of the train with his usual flair. "I'm sure Laohu has thought of everything. After all, he's a tiger, and tigers are known for their... cunning-" His words trailed off as he took in the sight of the tent, its grandeur surprising even him.
No one else paying attention to him, Gloria looked over at what the annoying lemur had to say, her eyes noticed something in his carriage's opened door. Her eyes instantly widened as it came into focus the horror she was seeing. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, everyone looking over at her with concern as she turned her head and squealed with terror. Everyone quickly noticed the cause for her concern, all sharing similar reactions to the hippopotamus.
Maurice, the most unnoticed member of the group, had hung himself in Julien's carriage. The noose was tight around his neck, his lifeless eyes wide open and lifeless, his tongue sticking out slightly. "Oh no..." Alex gasped, stepping forward as if to run to his hanging dead body. Not... Maurice," he muttered with a pain he really had to dig for, almost forgetting the lemur's name.
Julien, on the other hand, looked utterly horrified at the sight of his beloved carriage, "What have you done to it!" he screeched, his hands flailing around dramatically. It was clear to everyone that he hadn't noticed Maurice yet, or maybe he had and was in denial. "Ugh... get down from there, Maurice!"
But as soon as he saw the real horror, his eyes bulged, and he fainted. The sound of his body hitting the floor was like a rock in a quiet pond, sending a ripple of shock through the group. Alex's heart sank, realizing the gravity of the situation. "Guys, I'm going to get him down," he said, urgently. "I think he's... dead. Yeah..." he said, cutting the rope from around the lemur's neck and placing the lifeless body on the grassy floor outside the carriage door.
The group was silent, staring at Maurice's corpse, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. "This isn't good," Melman whispered to no one in particular. "This isn't good at all."
"Was this suicide?" Alex asked loudly and aimlessly, his eyes glued to the dead lemur, as did the horrified faces of the others who were too stunned to speak.
As if on cue, Laohu, flanked by his tiger henchmen, strutted into the station, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Welcome, my dear friends," he said with a purr that seemed to shake the very air around them. Through the huddled animals his gaze fell upon Maurice laying lifeless on the grass, and his expression darkened. "Ah, it seems one of our performers has decided to leave us early," he said coldly.
The animals looked at each other, fear gripping their hearts. "What's going on here?" Gloria demanded, her voice shaking slightly. "What have you done to him?"
Laohu's smile was cold and calculated as he approached them. "I assure you, it was not me. It seems our little lemur friend had an... accident. If anyone is to blame, it is all of you. It seemed he was an outcast within this circus," he said, his eyes flicking over to the slack rope that dangled from the carriage. Everyone looked with genuine astonishment at Laohu as he so casually looked at the dead body with no sensitivity, his henchman also sharing the same apathy. "A tragic end to a promising career... but fear not, for I have grand plans for the rest of you."
The tigers around Laohu looked equally as cruel, their eyes gleaming with anticipation as they surveyed the group of animals. The whole area seemed to be covered with his henchmen now. The air grew thick with tension as the reality of their situation began to sink in.
"Maurice had something going on with the penguins," Gia announced to the group, her thoughts returning to her swift conversation with the then alive lemur. "I think this was to do with that, I must admit."
"See! Listen to her," Laohu said as he pointed to the jaguar, surprised someone was so unhesitant to not go against him. In the end, it did not matter what their opinion they formed of him was, getting them in the tent with little to no resistance was key.
"But... I do not trust you," Gia said slowly and clearly, with a very strong Italian accent. She stepped up to him, and he looked down into her agitated eyes as he towered over her. "None of us do. You're bizarre..."
"Now, now," Laohu said, raising a paw to silence their murmurs of disbelief and fear. "Let's not start off on the wrong paw. You're all here to become stars in the greatest show on earth. The audiences of Guangzhou will have never seen anything like it!" His smile grew wider, revealing his set of sharp teeth. "So, what are we waiting for?" he said as he gave a quick glance at Alex, hinting at him to make it easier for him to get everyone inside the tent. "We'll have a proper burial for your friend when the time is right."
Alex felt a lump in his throat, but he knew they needed to keep the peace for now. He nodded at Laohu, trying to put on a brave face for the others. "Let's go," he said to the group, taking a step towards the tent. "We need to get set up for the first show. Right guys?"
No one moved a muscle. Every circus animal was truly terrified for their wellbeing, any of their emotions completely disregarded by their sadistic new owner. The words of Alex simply had no weight in how they felt about walking into the tent.
"We're not going anywhere," Gloria stated firmly, her voice shaking the leaves around them. "Not until we get some answers."
The other animals nodded in agreement, standing their ground as Laohu's smile grew thinner, his patience wearing thin. "What more can I say?" he asked in a sigh, his eyes narrowing in bewilderment at their discontent. A master of manipulation, his voice became tinged with a slight sadness and hurt at the lack of acceptance from the group. "What have I done wrong? It's kind of offensive, honestly..."
"Like Gia said," Frankie, one of the dancing dogs, said, scoffing at his ignorance. "You're a weirdo, mate." A few circus animals nodded in agreement at the statement, the rest too fearful to move.
"Oh, really. I see," Laohu said, acting as if he was taking in what he had to say with a pinch of salt. In reality, he looked at him with intent, his eyes an empty void as they locked in on a target, keeping a mental note of the dog that offended him.
Gia stepped forward, seeing he was offended by the dog's words, her voice trembling with frustration. "You must understand that this is not a good start, even if it's not your fault. We're sorry, but at least give us time to process this all? I think that would be a good way to get us all to trust you more."
Laohu looked at her, his eyes softening a bit. "Ah, the lovely Italian accent," he said, his smile genuine for the first time. Alex looked at the tiger and winced, intimated by his complements to Gia. Suddenly a fraction of what she might have felt when he cheated dawned upon him, he obviously had not contemplated his actions fully. "Very well. We shall have a moment of silence for Maurice. Afterward, we shall proceed with the grand tour."
"Well, Maurice always wanted to be cremated... I think," Julien interjected, trying to find the strength to shed a tear at his dead friend's expense, a look of grievance was all he could find. "We shall burn him!"
"That makes things easier," Laohu said gladly at the lemur's words, equipping a lighter from his suit he wore so stylishly. Everyone totally disregarded whether Julien was speaking any truth, downright disrespecting Maurice's existence as their minds were too full of assessing what lied ahead. Without a question, the tiger flicked the lighter on and threw it onto the lifeless body of the forgotten lemur, a small flame becoming a large blaze within seconds of making contact with his still fur. Everyone gasped at the action, stepping back and looking on silently in shock and horror at the fiery scene.
"Goodbye, my friend," King Julien muttered at Maurice's body that was slowly cooking away on the grass floor, Sonya the bear comforting him with sorrow. Everyone else watched on, the smell and heat becoming too much to handle as they continued to back away from the lemur bonfire, the henchmen weary of any of them trying to make a sudden escape of the area.
Maurice burnt on some time longer, Laohu tapping his foot in frustrated impatience as the animals cringed at the rancid smell and the last dying flames. "That surely does it?" he asked them all, with hope of agreement.
"Come on, guys. Let's go," Alex ushered them again, hoping they would comply this time. "We will forget about this soon enough."
The circus animals reluctantly followed Alex, their eyes leaving the burnt body of Maurice. The smell of burning fur filled their nostrils, only the beginning of a new, terrifying chapter in their lives. As they approached the opening to the tent, the henchmen continued to scour the surrounding area dutifully.
As they approached the tent, the grandeur of Laohu's Circus grew more apparent. The fabric was a vibrant mix of reds and golds, shimmering in the early morning light. The structure was massive as it leant against a cliff face, easily dwarfing any circus tent they had ever seen. "This is where you will live, train, and perform," Laohu announced, his voice echoing into the tent's open entrance. "The occasional tour somewhere too perhaps, sure, but this is your new home," he told them in a welcoming tone, his arm pointing toward the darkened inside of the tent.
The animals looked at each other, unsure of what to make of the tiger's words. The tent looked impressive, but the smell of burning fur and the memory of Maurice's lifeless eyes lingered in the air, casting a pall over their excitement. They entered the tent and the temperature lowered, their footsteps loud and reverberated by the hard, stone floor within. The inside beheld a large circler seating area where they all currently stood, elevated significantly from the centred performing area. It almost exactly resembled a colosseum.
"This is... different," Melman mentioned, his eyes adjusting the dimness of the tent. It suddenly dawned upon him and the others that half of the ceiling was actually the opening to a large cave on the cliff wall they saw previously outside, fascinated by the ingenious architectural idea in such a remote location for the stationary circus. "Wow."
"Different is good," Laohu said, his tail swishing side to side, his eyes gleaming with something that looked like a mix of pride and malice. "Innovation is the key to success, and this circus will be nothing if not successful."
"It kind of reminds me of that stadium we went to in Italy... remember?" Melman muttered to Gloria as they walked along passed the seating. She nodded along as she took in the height of the cave's ceiling in awe.
"Imagine when this place is lit up, I'd love to see that," Alex said to Gia as they wandered around the seating too, everyone going their separate ways momentarily look around the empty stadium as several henchmen kept watch in the darkness.
"Yes, that would beat this gloomy lighting," she replied, shivering from the cold air. "Ugh, I'm cold..." she complained, rubbing into Alex as they slowed down to a stop amongst the many chairs. He wrapped his arms around her to give warmth to the cold jaguar. They looked to Laohu who stood smugly at the other side of the encompassing seating, awaiting further instruction from him.
The group looked around, taking in the grandeur of the place. The smell of hay mixed with the faint scent of the outside world, reminding them of their past lives in the circus. "So are there any other animals?" Gloria asked, her voice echoed around the place as she continued to take in the undeniable splendour it.
"Oh, yes," Laohu said, his smile never leaving his face. "There is not a lot left now, there used to be. Their... contracts had ended, so I let them leave. That's where you guys come in." His eyes gleamed at down at the ground below as he spoke, the animals hearing what he had to say with relief.
"Are they down there?" Vitaly questioned him, leaning against the top of the tall, stone wall which separated the seats and the performance ground. He pointed at several barred windows on the walls which encircled the floor below. Everyone peered over too, looking at what the tiger was pointing out. "In there?"
"Yes, that's the backstage viewing," Laohu said, his eyes never leaving their faces as they stared into the darkness. "Your few new colleagues are probably preparing for the show, I'd bet," he added with a sly smile. "Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"
"You want us to live down there? Seriously?" Gloria asked him, snarling at the proposal. "In that... dungeon?"
"It's not as bad as it seems," Laohu replied hastily, keeping everyone's trust at bay. "It has windows overlooking the landscape below, too."
"Is it warmer down there?" Gia asked as she and Alex and everyone else regathered into a group. "Why's it so cold and dark in here?"
"Yes! It is," he reassured everyone, noticing a lot of them were rubbing themselves to keep warm. "It's just so difficult and costly to keep such a big place so heated, especially after night. I hope you all understand. Backstage is a lot cosier..."
"Let's go!" Gia quickly stated eagerly in a rush to get down there, the cold blocking her logic.
The group looked sceptical but didn't argue. They had no other choice but to follow the tiger into the bowels of the tented cave now. The air grew colder and more damp as they descended a winding staircase carved into the stone. The rotating walls were slick with moisture, and the smell of moss and earth filled their nostrils.
"Okay, everyone here?" Laohu asked the group who slowly clambered down the wet stairs. He stood in front of a steel door, ready to open it when someone responded.
"We are all here. Just open it..." Gloria replied, bored of his games. Alex stood nervously amongst the rest of them within the stairwell, sheer terror filling his mind for what lied beyond the windowless door.
"Very well..." he said, finally unlocking the heavy metal door, not yet exposing what it hid due to the lack of light. "Ugh, sorry. Why's no one turned the lights on yet?" he asked aimlessly into the pitch black of the mysterious room, attempting to light it up. The circus animals slowly filtered into the dampness of the dungeon, squinting at the blackness that was in front them, hoping Laohu words were to be believed.
With an eventual flick of his paw after everyone had made it across the door, the electric lights above flickered to life, revealing several dank, metallic enclosures. The floor was wet with what looked like rainwater seeping in from the grounds above, and the air was thick with the scent of fear and desperation. The circus animals squinted as they adjusted to the sudden bright light, trying to make out any signs of life, when suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes met their gaze. They were met with a low, pained growl that seemed to resonate through the very walls of the dungeon.
"Is that-" Melman called out in shock, his voice echoing in the vast space. Everyone looked on in panic, their eyes meeting a tied up zebra covered in blood, within one of the cubic cells. It was Marty, their friend, but he looked different—more wild, more desperate. His fur was matted, his eyes sunken, and his gaze was that of a creature who had been pushed to the brink.
"What the hell have you done?" Gloria shouted, her voice shaking with anger and fear.
"Stefano!" Gia exclaimed in mortified pain and tearing eyes, noticing the bruised and battered sea lion in the cage behind Marty's. Stefano remained reactionless, covered in scuffs and scratches, lacing any signs of conscience.
The dense metallic door closed behind them in a slam as the beaten zebra continued to wail out in desperation, the traumatised animals looked back at a foreboding group of suited tigers looking at them intently with psychotic gazes, realising there was nowhere to run. They turned back to Laohu, who was now backed by many of his henchmen from the other side too. Eyes wider than ever, the shocked expressions of each circus performer met one another, knowing they had no fighting chance against the gang of tigers that had entrapped them.
"What's going on here?" Alex demanded as he stepped forward, his voice mimicking bravery and control. "What have you done to them?"
Laohu scoffed in the face of the lion and turned away into the sea of suited tigers, as if their conversation about the deal had never occurred. He knew he was doing the lion a big enough favour already with hiding his violent outburst against Marty. "Put them in the cages... Ideally two per each cell," he commanded his men casually, taking a stand behind them all.
The animals froze, fear and anger coursing through them as the tigers approached. The memory of Maurice's burning corpse was still fresh in their minds, a stark reminder of the horrors they could face. "You- you can't do this," Alex snarled, his fists clenched and ready to fight.
Gloria took a protective stance in front of the group. "You're not touching any of us," she warned, her voice shaking with rage. The tigers approached slowly, their eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought of a challenge. Vitaly tried to step up for his family of circus animals, his breathing deep and quick, only to be defeated by his corrupted lungs that promptly brought him down to his knees once again from the stress of the situation.
"Yeah! Come and get some!" Jonesy the dog shouted with broad boldness, running aggressively with his small legs, a small knife in his paw that he had hidden under his shirt. The tigers looked at the pitiful attempt of an attack as the singular, tiny dog ran fearlessly at the foot of Laohu. The rest of the circus animals froze in uncertainty at the situation, looking on the stupidity of the dog as he was picked up from the damp ground by the large paw of Laohu. "Get off me!" he demanded as he hung from his pinched shirt in the air, swinging the tiny blade around in an attempt to cut the tiger's fur. Laohu shook him around harshly, the little knife eventually falling from his dizzy grasp.
Everyone looked on at the strongly held dog in the paw of the tiger, hoping that was all from the little charade, when suddenly, Laohu gripped the dog's neck and feet and forcefully pulled him in two as he squealed out in agony. His tiny guts and organs dribbled out onto the floor below, splattering amongst the feet of the henchmen. The animals all looked at the brutal execution with utter astonishment horror, especially his fellow dancing dogs who cried out in trauma.
"Jonesy!" Frankie yelped in a mix of shock and sorrow as he watched his friend's lifeless body drop in two onto the floor from the Laohu's paws. The tigers laughed amongst themselves, finding joy in their power over the group.
"That's enough," Laohu said, his voice firm. "You see what happens when you disobey?" He pointed at the bloody mess that was once Jonesy. "Now, into the cages," he ordered, his eyes cold and unyielding. "Fast! Or another dog gets it..."
The animals moved slowly, their hearts heavy with dread. The sight of their friend's lifeless body was a stark reminder of the power that Laohu wielded over them. They were pushed into the cold, metal cells in pairs, the doors slammed shut with a finality that sent shivers down their spines. The sound of the locks clicking into place was the only thing that broke the silence, until Marty's whimpers grew louder from his mouth that lacked a tongue.
"Get comfortable in your new residences," Laohu told them, a murderous smile painted across his face as he opened the metal door once again. "I'll be back down soon to announce our first performers for tonight! Oh, how exciting!"
The animals looked through iron bars at each other in disbelief, their hearts racing. The reality of their situation had just become a living nightmare. As Laohu and most of his entourage of tigers ascended the stairs, leaving them in the cold, damp cells, the cries of the injured and the horrified filled the space. The rest of the tigers keeping guard laughed and prodded at them from outside the cells, their eyes gleaming with the thrill of power as the prisoners backed away.
"What is... what is going on?" Gia asked Alex as he cradled her within their cell, a real struggle to vocalise anything though the emotions crawling within her throat. She looked on, with petrified eyes, to the beaten up Stefano in his opposing cage, Vitaly - now his cell partner - gently shaking the sea lion to try to awake him or check for any sign of life. They then watched Marty who struggled to stay awake and also vocalise any comprehendible words, his bloodshot eyes staring menacingly at Alex, in hopes any other animal would catch on to his desperate attempt of a hint. "This can't be real..."
Alex had no words, only the cold bars to hold onto as he tried to keep his own fear at bay. The fear of someone eventually catching on to Marty's hysterics and his violent ordeal coming to light. Though not his intentions, his own stupidity and lack of rational thinking had led everyone within the dungeon to said dungeon, along with their demise which had already happened or was truly set in stone. He looked into Gia's eyes, filled with horror and confusion, and whispered, "I... Look away, Gia. I'll cover your ears, let me shield you from this all."
Gia nodded, burying her face into his fury chest, her eyes closed tightly as Alex wrapped his arms and paws around her ears tightly. He looked on at the disarray of his fellow circus animals who all frantically moved around their new confinements, unable to bear with the smell of Jonesy's halved body splattered across the stone floor.
"You can't protect me from this," she whispered into his fur, her voice muffled. "We need to escape from here, it's the only way."
Alex's heart sank as he realized the gravity of their situation. "We will," he promised, though doubt seeped into his words as always. "We just need to bide our time, and hopefully an opportunity arises." He on looked to his right as he leant against on the stone wall at the back of their cell, his shoulder against the metal bars that divided each individual imprisonment, his eyes meeting Gloria's which glared on with supressed rage at the lion.
"Alex, this is all your fault," she muttered to him, her voice filled with accusation. Their heads were almost touching, if not for the bars that separated them to Alex's luck. "Look at where we are, thanks to you." Her words were laced with anger and betrayal, the stare from the hippopotamus piercing through the bars at him as she spoke. "Melman's worries were right all along," she stated with regret as her eyes wandered and were unable to stay on the mangled body that was now been swept up into a bucket by one of the henchmen, the blood on the stone floor mopped away by another as if the cold-blooded murder had never happened in front of their very eyes only minutes ago.
Alex felt a heavy weight settle in his stomach. He knew he had made many mistakes, too many to count, and now it had cost them all their freedom. "I know, Gloria," he said, his voice low and filled with regret. "But we can't change that now. We have to focus on getting out of here."
Gia looked up from Alex's chest and gave a sharp glance at her, annoyed at what she had said. "Gloria, it's not just Alex," she said, her voice firm. "We're all here because we didn't see what Laohu was really like. We were all fooled."
"Oh, you're seriously defending this disloyal drug abuser? You, of all animals, should know he has nothing good left to offer," Gloria chuckled at Gia in her cheater's grasp, finding their situation deeply ironic. "We were not fooled! We were manipulated at most. We had no choice."
"Yeah, why are you two still together? It just won't work," Melman added, stepping behind Gloria as he broke loose from his intense dissociation of the current events. The anger at Alex overweighed his intense fear and panic from the disorder of the other animals as they carried on crying and screaming in anguish in a plea to be let free of the damp dungeon.
Alex looked at Melman and Gloria in anger, his teeth gritted. "This isn't the time," he warned. "Look around us if you dare, we need each other right now."
Before he could say anything more, Gia spoke up, her voice clear and determined. "I believed in him, in the hope that he could keep us safe and give us a home, I could feel his truth," she said with a paw on her stomach, her eyes meeting Gloria's and Melman's. "He has done so many stupid things, we all know it and himself especially, yet he has always been the perfect partner for me in every aspect of my life. I like to imagine he thinks the same of me, regardless of his disloyalty." She paused, her gaze drifting to the floor. "Despite everything, I still love him."
The hippopotamus and the giraffe exchanged a look of confusion. "I suppose... that makes sense," Melman pondered to himself, his voice softer.
Gloria took a deep breath, looking away from the couple for a moment. "You stupid jaguar," she voiced, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He's manipulating you, even worse than Laohu to all of us. He only wants you still because you carry his child. He's lucky you're being so soft on him, and he knows it."
"I'm not... stupid..." Gia's quiet voice whispered as self-doubt flooded her head, hurt by Gloria's blunt transparency.
Alex's grip on Gia tightened, his eyes flashing with anger at the accusation. "That's not true," he said firmly. "I love her, and I'm going to fix this."
Gloria's gaze didn't waver. "Fix what? It's no good fixing your sham of a relationship, you've got us all locked up in a murderous tiger's circus prison," she spat. "Fix this first! How are you going to get us out of this?"
Alex looked around the cold, wet room, his eyes reflecting the despair and anger of his friends. "I don't know yet," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "We've all got to put our minds to it, but I swear, I'll do everything I can to get us out of here."
"Well I'll believe that as much as I can, coming from you," she said, referring to his recent behaviour. Gloria backed away from the bars of the neighbouring cell of Alex and Gia, giving one last disapproving look at the two as she turned to comfort Melman who was struggling to keep composed under the distressing scene. The rest of the animals were slowly quieting down now, realising their calls out for help were simply meeting nobody's ears except for their fellow prisoners and those that kept them there unwillingly. Vitaly's attempts at awakening the beaten sea lion remained hopeless, he sat against the cold, stone wall beside his bruised up friend, hoping he would eventually open his eyes in time. He gave a head shake of still no good news to the other animals, though Stefano's regaining of conscience would have only been a slight positive thrown into a bottomless pit of hopeless dread. Most had accepted their unknown fate already.
Gloria's words stuck with Alex - his own too. He pondered how he could save all his friends from their terrible fate for a few moments as the whole dungeon seemed fill with despairing silence. "I guess we should start by looking around for anything that could help us," Alex quietly suggested as he brainstormed to Gia in his arms, trying to maintain a sense of calm in his trembling voice. He looked with his eyes around at the barren setting desperately, hoping to spot anything that could help their cause. "Maybe there's something we can use to pick the locks, or a way to communicate with the outside world."
"It's pointless, Alex. Give it up," she admitted to him, looking into his eyes with acceptance. "Let's just talk about something fun."
He nodded sadly, feeling defeated. He still suspected Laohu's plans had Alex's best interests in mind but he didn't know if he had the luxury of fun anymore. But for her, he would try. "Remember the first time we met?" he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Vitaly really had me pegged."
"Well, of course. I saved you from the crazy lady..." she said knowingly with a grin as he nodded and chuckled. "But I didn't know that then. I thought you was circus... Because you said you were - sly lion, lying like always," she joked at him deservedly, Alex wincing remorsefully at her forgiving nature. "Vitaly was only protecting us, he was always like that. Thanks to you, he has always been a lot more open in life - ever since you brought a new energy to the circus."
Alex rolled his eyes at the memory. "Yeah..." he said with a small smile, realising his first words with Gia were lies. "You shouldn't have believed me," he added with a sigh, the guilt still overwhelming him. "I'd side with him if I saw myself trying to get on that train."
Gia looked up at him, her expression serious. "But I did believe you. You even turned your made up story into reality," she said, her eyes searching his. "And I still do. No one is perfect in the end, but you're the only guy I've ever wanted."
"Yes well, I'm glad you're aware that I'm far from perfect," he admitted willingly to her judgement of him. "But really, if I'd never knocked on the train door that night, you wouldn't be here right now - you'd be safe."
Gia leaned back into him, her voice soothing despite the situation. "But then we wouldn't have had all the adventures we did," she said, stroking his fur softly. "Besides, maybe you've forgotten, we weren't exactly in a better place before you arrived. A few more bad performances and I think we would've all been sent to zoos or places like this. All separated too, most likely. Don't be so hard on yourself, Alex, this is not your fault."
Alex sighed, feeling the truth in her words. "You're right, you guys were pretty bad," he murmured with a smile, hoping she would hear the humour in his words. "Ha ha, I may have escaped the zoo and I'm glad I did but, honestly, I would give anything to be back there right now, along with you and a child we could call ours. It may not be Africa but it would be better than this, for sure."
The jaguar looked up at him, her eyes gleaming with hope. Though he shared the same hopeful glance too, she saw that she had unsettled him with her lack of enthusiasm to find a means of escape. "We can still get out of here," she said, trying to reassure him. "Laohu said he let others out before, we just need to know why."
"Yeah... but do you really believe that?" Alex asked her, his optimism fading. "Trust me, I know a thing or two about lying."
"Well, let's just assume he is being truthful," she carried on positively. "We just need to get on his side, no matter what."
Alex nodded, though doubt lingered in his gaze. He wanted to tell her about Marty and everything Loahu had told him but he knew that, this time, he would never win her back if he did. "But you've seen what he is capable of, right?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. "He's very dangerous and violent. He would probably expect us to act the same way just to gain any sort of kudos from him."
Gia looked into his eyes, her own filled with understanding. "This is our own lives we are talking about," she whispered. "We can't let our fear control us."
Alex took a moment to admire her cunning thoughts, it was a different side of her he had never really seen before. It gave him a newfound attraction to the jaguar, one that surpassed anything he had ever felt before, twisted though it was. "So you'd be... violent?" he asked her with a faulty nervousness, trying to sound unsure at her suggestion. "To... others, to escape?"
Gia took a deep breath and leaned into his chest, trying to hold onto his hope. "If it means our survival and the survival of our baby... yes," she murmured, her voice quivering in disgust at her own suggestion. "I hope it doesn't come to that though, of course. I hope you understand?"
Alex nodded, his arms around her, holding her tight. He knew she was right, confirmed by Laohu himself through their secret conversation. "I do," he whispered back, looking around the almost lifeless dungeon to see if anyone was listening in. He smirked deviously to himself as she pressed her face into his body in shame of her own idea. "I understand just fine."
She cleared her throat, still saddened by her reality. "So much for talking about something fun..." she joked, shaking her head at herself. "Sorry about that."
Alex chuckled in spite of the dire circumstances. "It's okay, Gia," he said, stroking her fur. "You're probably the first animal to try and have fun in this place. I love that. That's why, over everything, I'll always be there for you."
"Well, I'm also plotting against my own friends," she murmured with disappointment, sighing at the betrayal of herself. "But something tells me that's happened in here before. That's what scares me."
"Don't think about it," Alex replied firmly. "They're keeping us here with no information to torture us with the tension. Come on, let's try to talk about something good again."