Chapter 21:
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"Everyone, get in the panic room."
The foxes paused, looking over to the concerned badger officer.
"I…" Mrs Fox began, dropping the bread dough she was working on and moving to wash her paws.
"NOT ENOUGH TIME! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"
They jolted up as he waved them on and in, the group moving to the small room that they'd been shown at the start of their introduction. Poured in concrete, a heavy blast door the only way in and out, its own air filter system and a small selection of dried and canned supplies. There in case something catastrophic happened, which by the sound of it was.
They raced in, the badger pulling the door shut behind him before locking it tight. Paw down on his pistol, he glanced over at Mrs Fox. "-You can wash your paws now."
"-Oh, right," she said, looking over to the small walled in toilet area and moving to the sink.
"Is… Is Rattigan coming to get us?" Ash asked, standing up and taking a steadying breath. "Is this it, is this…"
"-I don't know," the badger cut in, waving a paw in front of him. "All I know is that something has gone chaotically wrong at the local Precinct AND our non-fixed communications have gone down." He moved over to a small wall-mounted phone, pressing a large yellow button. "Hello, I…"
They all watched on as, a tremble starting to rumble in his paw, he put the phone down and turned to them. "Wired communications too."
"It's probably a fault with the communications and such, nothing more," Mrs Fox said calmly, her voice and face tensed up. "Either way…"
"-Either way, we're not taking any chances, we…"
A muffled bang rang from outside, the room rumbling slightly. Everyone was silent, Rowan looking around fearfully before his face winced up, starting to bawl in fear. Looking at a computer screen, the guard scrolled around the various security camera footage, stepping back and gulping. "I… I think they fired bombed us, I… -Hostiles, hostiles coming in I…"
He froze, turning away and wincing at the sight. There was a soft pitiful whine before he breathed out, gun in paw. "-G-get behind me," he said, a tremble in his voice that began to firm, fear and horror turning to rage.
"Do you have any more where that came from," Mr Fox said, coming up and standing beside him, paw on shoulder and eyes lingering on the firearm.
Teeth working over his lower lip, the badger shrugged. "Wished that I did."
"So do I," Ash said beside him, Kris beside him nodding.
"Boys," Mrs Fox hissed, walking over and pulling them back and in line.
She didn't do the same to Mr Fox though, the vulpine turning down to their assigned guard. "I had a feeling it would come down to this."
"Not a lot of good it does."
The adult male vulpine smiled. "You say that…"
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Sly kept running, faster and faster. Cane in one paw, Carmelita's shock pistol on his hip, he raced across roofs, leapt across streets, slid down rails and ran across telephone lines. All faster and faster, working his body to the limit as he crossed downtown Zootopia, hoping he was correct, hoping he remembered where he needed to…
He froze as he came up to a large traffic island, turning and peeling to the right. Along the front of the street, roof to roof, shock pistol out to blast into an upcoming window and then racing through an attic, past water tanks and humming ventilation units before blasting out a window to the side and racing along tiles once more.
Rooftops, rooflights, up and down, leaping across streets, weaving past lift-houses and sliding under a hulking AC unit before jumping over and straight through a half rotten timber door, shattering through amidst a flurry of beating wings, squawks and shed feathers. Cane smashing through a timber joist, shoulder breaking through the plastic netting, Sly went into a roll and leapt on without losing momentum, leaping across the next gap with a cloud of pigeons and doves blooming out behind him.
Land down, keep running, at the limit, beyond the limit. Let his muscles and lungs burn. -He'd have the time to recover.
Finally up ahead he saw it. In front of him between two buildings rose an unassuming concrete cooling tower like structure, Sly making his way around it before seeing the outlines of an external ladder surrounded by a safety cage.
He turned and leapt, cane out and hooking on the outside of it, the raccoon soon scrambling up, the sharp cut of steel on his paws as he pushed up and up and up until, finally, he reached the top.
He stared down below, working his way along the concrete rim, working out the locations and directions in his head before, finally, nodding.
Cane stowed away he stepped back, claws raised up, before he charged, eyes narrow, and leapt into the void. The wind screamed past his eyes as he dove, the concrete giving way to blasted rock as he held his arms out and tilted forward. In a flash, the narrow shaft was replaced, the massive cavern of the Nocturnal District opening out around him. Bright lights clustered around the margins, the soft blue-ish glow on the walls, the cold darkness of the great lake beneath him as he plummeted, the whole vastness closed in by the screaming wind. Swarms of bats passed him, swinging out of his way and almost certainly screaming or yelling at him.
Not that he could hear.
Not that he was trying to.
He just looked on before focussing on a small spit emerging into the great lake, a now very conspicuous and worrying glow coming from a set of buildings just a little way on-shore.
Reaching up, Sly pulled his cord, his parasail unfurling behind him and yanking him up. Arms strained and straps cut in around his legs as he was hauled into a fast forward glide, paws at the controls as he set his sights on the family in need.
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"Serves them right," Sarah hissed, watching the guards race into the water, burying themselves in it to douse the flames. She'd wondered how they'd start it all, and the answer had been with a bang. A massive light breaking out above them and then raining down onto the compound. Already hot glows and sparks were coming from the buildings, already she could see the unmarked vans and trucks pull up and around, a burst of gunfire coming out the front as mammals raced from them and towards the compound entrance. Those sheltering, not hit by the flames and there to open the doors for those who were saw it and raised to close down the breach.
Gunshots and grenade blasts entered them as the mammals poured in.
Hurriedly stuffing some of her gear up she set off after them. They needed all the help they could get.
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"How long is this thing designed to last," Felicity asked, the vixen sitting down, holding her sons and nephew tight.
"Against small arms fire and normal mammals, days. Against a rocket launcher or something… -It can hold," the guard said, peering in. "Looks like they have heavy drills and stuff."
"And against those…"
"Hours. Maybe less than one," he grimaced. "If they know where the lock bolts go, they drill those out, it could be single digit minutes or… -Those look like explosives."
He sat back, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"Well there's got to be something," she said.
"T-U-S-K, the army," he exclaimed. "I mean T-U-S-K would have come, had they not… Who are these mammals."
"The goons of Padriach Rattigan," Mr Fox said, standing up and knitting his fingers together. He pushed them out with a crack. "I always thought it would come to this. Me and that Assigned Rat at birth. Foils. Two peas in a pod. Destined to clash. Destined to feud."
"Okay then," the badger said, his voice hanging.
…
"-And the plan?" he continued.
"The plan?" Mr Fox asked.
"The plan you came up with knowing that this confrontation would happen," their guard followed on.
Mr Fox paused, looking over. "It was more a 'feeling-feeling' thing, you know, narrative and all that. I mean I have a few little things in my pocket."
"Like…"
"Blueberries," he said, pulling some out and smiling.
"Blueberries."
"Yes, very important, I even wrote it on my paw to make me remember them." He smiled, showing it off.
The badger blinked at it, walking over to one of the screens.
"What are you doing?" Ash asked, walking forward.
"Making sure that the air quality is not being compromised here. Hallucinogenic gasses, carbon monoxide, no… -It's still normal." He looked back over. "So. Blueberries?"
"Yes," he smiled.
"And what are we going to do with them, drug them with some sleeping pills we have and hope they eat them?"
"Well that's a potential solution," Mr Fox smiled, turning back to his wife. "Do we have any in here?"
She pulled into the small cupboard, bringing out a few small sets of bottles and placing them down. "Cleaning stuff, oil, vinegar, food ingredients, painkillers, disinfectant, iodine… -No."
"Worth a shot," Mr Fox said.
"Let's stick with the gun, and the bullets," the badger said, checking he was loaded. "Stay in the toilet. I'll do my best to fight them off whe… -IF they get in."
For a moment it sounded like they were going to comply. Instead, Kris spoke up. "How many bullets do you have?"
"Twenty."
"How many mammals are out there?"
He grimaced. "Enough to make this very tight."
The silver furred fox stood up and walked over. "Then we need to do our best to give you as much space as possible with what we have."
Ash walked up, looking over at their samples. "Remember chemistry lessons?"
"I do," Kris said, nodding.
"And of course…" Mr Fox began…
"-I'm going to trust your kits on this," the badger said.
"On no, the blueberries will be a big part of this," Ash said, looking over to Kris.
The silverfox nodded. "After all, this is Zootopia, and I like to think I've gone native."
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Sarrahson slid down the slope and raised her paws, racing towards the compound. "I'm with Ratty! I'm with Ratty! I'm with Ratt-Ratt-Ratt-I-Gan!"
A few of the mammals paused, turning to her and glancing at each other as she came up.
"Agent Sarrahson, resistance member, I'm the one who got the tracker in there and found out this location."
"We heard you might be here," one of the mammals began, gesturing to his comrade. The other bear pulled up a special communicator and spoke in, waiting for a second or two before nodding, smiling. "Hmmmm," he said, grin widening. "An interesting surprise."
"I'm here to help," she said, standing up and stomping her foot to attention.
"Da, but we won't…"
"You don't know who these mammals are, or what they are capable of," she growled. "Or that the forces of evil rely on them. They will fight, without honour, without dignity, without regard for mammality. I know one of them, I know how they will work, how he will work."
"What, dumb fox who got his tail blown off…" One of them began.
"-The anonymous vulpine," she hissed. "The howler smuggling little sociopath who can manipulate anyone to his will. Who charmed his way out of the prison system." She shook her head. "It's obvious you need me." She marched forward, into the compound, past the slain and the burning, past the members of crew waiting in position or getting ready. "You're not prepared. You've got no clue what you're up against."
She jumped over the slain slump of a hippo guard, giving him a scant look. He chose his side. He was 'just following orders'. Mammals like him who refused to follow their conscience, or didn't even put in the most basic expected level of effort at being a good mammal.
It just wasn't good enough.
Just like the fellow soldiers sniggering behind her, talking about the 'doom fox' or whatever. She turned on the spot to give him a piece of her mind, only for a set of screams and yells behind her to prove her point more than any words would.
She froze as a mammal screamed a familiar, dreaded, word, twice before he was silence. Her blood went cold before coming back, boiling. She was wrong, there was one word that could.
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The crew retreated back from the heavy security door, the mammals focussing at the small explosive charges fixed over where the internal hinges and locks would be. Looking over, seeing the detonator being wired up, their leader, a proud tiger, stroked his chin. Looking over at the dark furred lion next to him he smiled. Despite everything, despite their, mostly his, repeated failures and humiliations, this was their moment. Everything was on their side now, crashing down, an unstoppable avalanche. Every humiliation would be repaid and there was nothing that they could do to stop it…
"-Hello?"
They paused at the sound of the young-ish voice speaking out.
"I'd advise you turn around now and spare yourself what comes next."
They looked at each other and laughed, chuckling.
"My my," the lion purred. "Who do you think you are, fox?"
"Vulpine."
They looked at each other for a moment.
"The anonymous vulpine."
"Ah," the tiger said. "It's you."
"Yes," he said. "And you know what I was sent in for. Don't you?"
They looked at each other, chuckling a bit. "Some mammal thought it would be a fun prank, huh," one of them asked, boasting and chuckling as he walked closer to the door. "Hey, we want fun too."
"So do I," he said. "Though this time, it isn't going to be a prank. This time, it's for real."
The bear near the front froze, pausing, his head tilting. Then tilting further as the bolts of the door shook open, the massive thing beginning to pull back. Shaking himself out, he raised his weapon and took aim, only for a sudden pop to send him flinching back. He hissed paw to his neck as the mammals got up, ready to charge in, only to halt as he groaned and snarled.
They looked over and froze as they saw the blue staining on his neck.
"Nighthowler. NIGHTHOWLER!"
The bear's eyes went wide, the mammals turned to each other, a yell came out as another pop rang up, slamming into a gnarly warthog who began squealing in panic. Just like the polar bear who closed his eyes, walked forward, mouth opening…
The lion held up his gun and put him down, the warthog beginning to flee only to get the same treatment before he turned. The attacking mammals pulled themselves up against the side of the wall, away from the door and out of view.
"Just because we not meant to kill you," a polar bear growled. "Not mean we cannot hurt you real bad!" They leaned forward, trying to get an eye in to the panic room, one of them starting forward as the door began to close before halting himself, thinking better of it.
With a click the door locked again. The tiger stepped over, picking up the detonator off the floor and clicking it, a ringing crack exploding out as the door shook and creaked. Clearing the dust from their eyes, they saw it slumped down slightly, hanging in its frame but still closed.
"Get something heavy to ram it," he ordered, "and get clothing, fabric, cover your exposed areas."
He rolled them on, watching as they left, turning and scowling at the door. How did they ever manage to… He paused, looking down at the two dead mammals before giving a chuckle, shaking his head. "Apologies for that," he said, gesturing over to the lion and starting to whisper in his ear.
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Inside, amidst the settling dust and screaming kit, the foxes were back around the tubs of chemicals, carefully placing another blueberry down into the vat of boiling nastiness they'd created. Pulling it out, carefully stuffing it into a pea-shooter with a wad of cotton and plastic to stop any backflow, they placed it with the few others they'd already set up, ready.
"Feels good to hit them with their own game," the badger said, squinting at his screen. "Though I think they might have clocked it."
"We… We still got two," Ash said, his voice slightly shaky.
Their guard looked over and nodded. "Appreciated. And don't worry, they had it coming." He glanced in further, then at the door. "-They're going to try and ram it down."
"Why does it open inward," Mrs Fox scowled, as she began retreating back to the safety of the toilet.
"-Because we thought someone dropping a bomb and caving in the house over this was a bigger threat than someone breaking in and battering ramming us," the badger muttered, looking over. "Okay, get back, behind me…"
"-No," Kris said, stepping forward. "You need to be behind us."
"Listen kit," he began.
"-They want us alive, don't they?"
"I…"
Mr Fox walked out, up and in front of him. "Give us this one."
The badger closed his eyes, glancing over to Mrs Fox and sighing in defeat as she stepped out next to her husband, her kit pulled over and held up on her back.
"Right, if you insist," he said, gesturing to a table. "That goes there in front of the toilet door, make it look like we're holding out for a last stand. -We go behind the…" A heavy bang rang out, the door shifting and starting to teeter in its frame. "HURRY!"
He pulled on a mask made of a torn bedsheet, as did the others, Kris and Ash running to grab the peashooters while Mr Fox grabbed a set of glass bottles, screwed tight with a roiling green contents that they'd cooked up together. He handed one to his wife, smiling. "Prepared to give them a taste of your home cooking?"
Shaking, she stiffened her expression before managing a smile, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Even if it's the last thing I…"
There was bang and a shriek as the door jolted forward, beginning to turn, teeter and then slowly collapse forward onto the floor, the dull thud of it slamming down ringing their eardrums. They watched on, eyes widening as something was thrown in, the badger screaming out… "NOW!"
With a shake Mr Fox leant forward and threw one of the bottles out into the lobby, hearing it shatter and a few screams ring out before his world was turned white, his ears screaming and ringing. Shaking back, he managed to look up, the blurry whiteness shaking in front of him as two figures marched in, coughing and sputtering as they held their tranq gun and net guns up ahead.
Hammers hit his ears as both went down, dull vibrations of the badger yelling hitting his skin.
Looking around, seeing his family start to unwince as they emerged from the haze, they shared looks with each other before starting to peek out, Kris leaning forward and blowing a shot out at one of the mammals, a lion.
There were yells, gunshots, and angry tirade coming in amongst chokes and gags. Mr Fox felt his senses, his eyes, his ears, recovering, even as his nose began to pick up something very bad. The chlorine they'd thrown had done its part, but even now it was flowing back in.
"Deep breaths," he warned, looking over to make sure plenty of fabric was wrapped around Rowan, keeping the chemical out of the screaming child's nose.
The badger slipped past them, gun ready, poking himself into the void and firing a few shots, pumping his fist as he retreated back. "Okay, as planned. Move, move."
They formed their protective shield, starting to move out. The outside area was in chaos, blood and boiling bleach and ammonia mix staining the carpet, with the littered corpses of the mammals who'd been put down filling the floor.
Holding their breath, they moved past the chemical, freezing as they saw shifting movement waiting for them at the next door.
Mr Fox grabbed one of the bottles and threw it, letting it splash down hard, the green fumes roiling out and sending the mammals out and coughing.
"That was…" the badger said, his voice muffled as he used his draining breath. "-Garden, the garden."
With a tug he started off, the others following him, quickly slipping through a glass door and into the walled rock garden. Up ahead of them loomed the security wall, while behind them was their home, embers and glows sintering on its roof. Splitting up and taking a deep breath, the badger looked between them. "How high can you…"
The glass behind him shattered and he choked his last words as he fell to the ground, the lion they'd left on the floor, now almost blue in the face, stumbling away gun in paw to find some fresh air.
Mrs Fox screamed, Mr Fox reached in and pulled the mammal back behind the wall of the house with the rest of his family, fingers on the dead mammal's throat before he placed him down, pads pulling his eyelids closed. All around him his family were panting, scared, trembling.
Grabbing the gun, checking it, he gestured to Ash to throw the last chlorine bottle into the lounge lobby, blocking off the way in. He then looked to the kits. "I'll help you onto the roof, you then drag your mother and brother up, I'll follow. We'll get over the wall, and run."
"Where to?" his wife asked.
He shrugged. "Does it matter? We run."
They looked at each other and nodded, Mr Fox and his wife standing ready, paws out. Kris, breathing in, took a run up and jumped, springing off their paws and up in a tall vulpine leap. His footpaws latched onto the edge of the tiles and he held himself straight, turning around to watch Ash follow, bending over as his claw tips tried to find purchase on the tiles. The platinum fox began walking over to help before he saw his cousin's foot-paws hook up and grasp the guttering, sliding himself up.
"Okay cous,'" he began, freezing as he saw his eyes widen.
"Is…" Kris began, only to freeze as he felt a tight grip grab his neck and haul him up. His instincts kicked in, he began to scrabble, he moved his paws up to grab the attackers fingers and twist them tight to…
"-Got you…"
He froze.
No…
No…
"You think you can escape justice for all you've done," she growled, out to all of them, but it was to him. It was to him…
"You," Mr Fox growled, pulling the gun up. Ash screamed, getting up ready to fight. Kris just felt his freezing terror give way to a savage desperation. Getawaygetawaygeta… A needle pushing into his back, a dullness spreading out, a push. He felt himself trip, fall forward, the ground coming up to slam into him, his aunt and uncle coming to catch him, the blackness reaching him before.
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Sarrahson threw him down, bringing her discharged tranq pistol around to slam into the face of his feral little brother. Ash though pulled back at the last moment, skittering down onto all fours, a comic sight given the ludicrous set of clothes he was wearing. -Some kind of made-up super hero costume or something like he was four.
She bared her claws out, ready to take him, only to turn as it clocked that the father had a gun. -She tossed the empty pistol down at him, enough to make him flinch, buy her time to tactically retreat away from the danger area.
She still had to be ready though. Their pouncing abilities were pathetic compared to hers, but they could still reach the roof. Given the sounds of pushing, yells, calls from below, the rest of the forces heading in to neutralise them, he might do it anyway, fleeing to save his own skin and leave his less-guilty family to be caught.
She though just needed to hold the roof.
Gunshots came from below, calls for the kit, Ash, to run.
"Is that who you are?" she called, smirking. "Just a regular sneaky low life like the rest. Ready to leave them there, escape all by yourself, coward."
Standing up, panting in and out, Ash turned as his mother pounced up onto the roof, falling down on it, foot claws purchasing in the gutter just like he did. Screaming kit on her back, her dark furred son raced over with a paw to help her up, Sarrahson charging forward to kick them down.
More calls, more gunshots from below, the serval pushed forward only to freeze as the kit drew out a small slingshot and something small, blue…
"TRAITOR!" she yelled, bouncing up like a spring as it was let loose, its evil toxin sailing past below her. Up in the air she managed to see Mr Fox still firing gunshots from the garden, pushing in before his eyes caught her and aim raised up.
She twisted in the air, hissing as she felt a white hot whip cut past her side. Onto the tiles on all four, shimmying out of the way as the kit let loose another one of his nighthowlers, covering for his mother as they made their way to a point they could cross the wall.
Third one loaded, held in place, she looked down and yanked one of the tiles from the roof, tossing it as best she could. One, then two, then four. Miss, miss, glancing hit. Miss, Miss, hit…
It jolted him in the side, his grip on his slingshot loosening and the vile toxin splattering onto the hard surface below him.
Teeth gritted, she charged forwards on all fours towards him, ready to take him down as he stooped low, got ready, ready to take it or dodge it or…
Looking up she smiled and pounced, springing far over him and lining up to divebomb down on his mother. Hold her tight, stop him from…
"NO!"
Her eyes widened and she looked down to see him springing up to intercept, her body coiling mid-flight only for it to be unavoidable. He gripped on, fist coming up into the centre of her belly and paw dragging down on her leg, twisting her mid flight as she came down and…
-Roof tiles shattered as her elbow crashed down onto it, her world spinning as she began to roll, blurs sweeping past her as she saw the red figure chase, kick, push her towards the edge. Paws out, claws scrabbling and digging in, she hooked herself tight, lower half swinging out as she managed to stare up at him, just in time to see the feral little hooligan rain a kick down on her face.
She yowled, hissing as a second hit before swinging her claws out to try and catch him, finding some purchase on some fabric but nothing she could drag in, nothing she could…
A tile hit her face, then another, then more as she managed to see him picking up the debris and tossing it at her, running away from the fight like the coward he was. It didn't matter, up she got, racing forward. No more pouncings, no more coup-de-grace, she would grab him and drag him screaming and kicking towards what he'd earned.
Even as more tiles were thrown at him, even as he began weaving, dodging, even as her pounces and charges brought her closer and closer, the fox running out of time as…
An explosion ripped through the air, a white hot lance of pain stabbing into her left arm as she screamed out, collapsing and receiving a few kicks to the head for it.
"-Ash!" The fox ran, and she looked up to see his mother standing there, fury in her eyes, gun in her paws. The mother vixen just snarled. "Seems I need to practice my aim," she said, her eyes glistening. "Come, we have to go."
"But…"
"There's nothing we can…" she began, turning and aiming for the wall, only to hitch up.
The vixen's eyes went wide, paw going up to hold the tranq dart hit in her arm.
Her son made to speak, only for one to find him too.
Hissing, Sarrahson stood up, walking over to them and giving them a deserved shove with her foot to check they weren't faking it, as you'd expect. The baby kit she'd been carrying with her was screaming out loud. A look down, she saw the rest of the forces in the small garden, hurriedly grabbing the tranq'd out Mr Fox and Kristofferson.
Sarrahson turned back to those on the roof, dragging them along and sliding them down, the tiger and lion, slightly coughing, receiving them.
With that she went down too, paw out. "Ready to take this fight to the bitter end?" she asked.
They looked at each other, nodding and smiling. "Indeed," the tiger said. "Come, Mrs Felicity will be more than pleased to meet you in the fur."
The serval smiled, a fantastic glow of glee spreading through her despite the throbbing to her arm. -Merely a flesh wound. She nodded, and off she went with them.
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Looking down from above, Sly eyed the mammals moving into the the waiting vans, locking up. His paw rested on the shock pistol by his side. -He'd trained on it at Interpol, though that was a long time ago, and he was never as good as Carmelita.
Which given the history of burnt out police vehicle lots and smashed up Chinese temples was saying something.
Either way, if he could get down close and personal…
Of course, if he was spotted… -Something he was certain might happen given that this was a part of the city where being spied on by bats was the norm not the exception… Then it would not be good.
He tugged his cords, pulling in tight as he saw them push off. Come in from the side, over the lake, up high where they would not be looking. Curve in and drop.
His paws worked on over and brought out his Binnocucom, the transmission thankfully unhindered by the chaos spread over the rest of the system.
"Bentley," he said, seeing the small face of his friend appear up.
"Sly, what's…"
"Nocturnal district kitnap, they have the fox family."
"Right, got your location, I can try and pull a few nearby police units over but it'll be luck and chance. Same if I can find any lights to pull, barriers or… -Look out!"
Sly glanced up just in time to see movement in a vehicle, a window going down, he pulled his cords tight and swung in one direction just as he heard the crack and whizz of bullets speed past him. He fired back with shock pistol shots, peppering the road in front of them. The convoy began wheeling around, slowing down, speeding up, doing its best to dodge the oncoming assault. Meanwhile the raccoon pulled forward, doing the best he could to get behind them, out of the line of fire.
A few more shots came close but he still managed to get passed them, push on around to the rear as he then dove in fast.
-He wasn't going to catch them, at this speed at least.
Instead he began shooting out in front of them, doing his best to scare them, slow them down. -Carmelita had battled these bears had she not, some of them knew the lick of old stingy.
He could only hope that…
-One of them hit, snapping through the outer shell and sending the external lights alight but otherwise leaving it unharmed.
Sly grit his teeth as the feint was over, the truth revealed. The vehicles slammed forward as fast as they could, not caring if they got hit.
The raccoon ground his teeth, pulling up and trading his speed for altitude. "Bentley, are there any extract fans, thermals or anything."
"Not really Sly," he said, frowning. "Your best bet would be asking some of those bats to drag you up."
The raccoon sighed, seeing a conspicuous absence around him. "I don't think I'm very popular with them." He looked forward, spying with his Binnocucom and watching as the vehicles turned off the lakeside road and moved up a track towards a large set of open caverns. "I'll follow on, I'll…"
He was silenced as flashes of light rippled from inside, followed by the land on top slumping down and collapsing in on themselves, a cloud of dust kicking out.
Sly grimaced, ears pulling back as the sound of the detonations hit him.
Eyes closed, he pulled up his communicator, voice bitter. "How's the Nocturnal District Precinct doing?"
"Really bad Sly. Attacked by diggers, mammals fleeing, savages…"
"Rattigans mammals or just regular crooks"
"Ah, the latter."
The raccoon nodded. "I suppose we can help with the diggers, at least."
"These fires are to keep us busy while he works on the endgame Sly," Bentley said, frowning his head. "Let's make sure they don't spread."
The raccoon nodded, pulling off to the side. He didn't like this, any of this, but with the stakes so high, with the potential for Clockwerk to return in a matter of days, if lucky, he wasn't going to be picky. The sooner they could refocus, and take them down, the better.
He just hoped they'd have as much help as they could get.
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Two bears laughed as they tried on the new suits, shimmying their ties against the collars. "Better than old suit, Da?" one asked, waving his gun towards the cowering antelope attendant.
The prey just nodded, shaking, the bear and his comrade walking out of the evacuated tailor shop, helping themselves to gold cufflinks, cash and all they could carry. Fist bumping they jogged out of the building, out into the open air of the Zootopian streets, making their way off and away from the chaos of the main Precinct.
They wouldn't be coming to pick them up, and the other Precincts? -Well, with no prison uniform anymore… What, would they just be picking up every single polar bear they found. Ha, they might try that with foxes, with sheep, but bears like them, what would they…
'Guh…'
One of the bears turned to his comrade, freezing as he saw him keel over, an… arrow in his back? He shook his head, growling and leaping out of the way as another came sailing past. "AGAIN!?"
He turned, only to leap out of the way as a third managed to graze him. The bear leapt down onto all fours, charging forward as he raced into a side alley. A timber fence up ahead, he shattered through, sending a cowering group of smaller rodents screaming away. A hard left, a hard right, up over a chainlink fence. Up to a dead end he turned, slammed through a rotting timber door into the back of some kitchen. Through it, out into another area, a bin store of some kind, the open street up ahead. He began charging towards it, only for a brown figure with a heavy staff to block the way.
The white bear, panting, pulled himself to a halt, giving a smile. "Help brother, crazy mammal with arrow…"
"Oh don't worry," the brown bear said, smiling. "It's only a tranq."
The white bear's eyes widened before he pulled himself up against the wall, under the cover of a fire escape just as another arrow came piercing down at his feet. He looked up and growled at the two red figures up above.
"You again!? Where is your sneaky little yenot!?"
"Busy stopping the thing you're being used as a distraction for," the tall one said, notching another arrow.
"And what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," the smaller, female one, next to him said.
"I…" the bear, Pavel, began. "-I am just humble banker mammal…"
"So," the brown bear cut in. "An equally valid target."
All three chuckled, the bear grimacing. He held up his paws.
"So, you want to fight, da?"
"We'd prefer it if you just stuck that tranq arrow in you and be done," the smaller figure up above said, a smirk on her muzzle.
"And why would I do that?" the polar bear scoffed.
"Well," the brown bear replied. "It's easier than a four on one, right?"
"Four?" the bear asked before following the brown bear's gaze. Eyes staring at the floor, expecting that sneaky little raccoon, they landed on a figure in the shadows. A tall figure in the shadows. Looking at its much larger than-a-raccoon's feet it rose up, meeting glowing red, toned strength, smoke and heat and… -His eyes widening in horror, he reached down, grabbed the arrow and stuck it in his arm.
He settled down, waited, then slumped to sleep.
"Well," the fourth figure said, stepping out, the wolfesses tight red uniform cutting crimson against the dull brickwork. "It seems my reputation still precedes me."
"Not that we'd have it any other way," the red fox up at the top said, getting down. "I'm more impressed that you were able to get your suit on so quick and get out there."
Her eyes narrowed. "I've had a few contacts, feelers out, we sensed something was going on."
"And now it has," the red fox said. "Rattigan has his army back again."
"This isn't about them," she said, her voice shuddering. "He's close, and he'll be bringing back the Thunder Bird soon."
They gave sympathetic looks at her before the brown bear stepped forward. "We can help here, but…"
"Get your allies who can ready. When it comes to it, every ounce of help might make a difference. Hopefully my friends and allies can prevent the rat coming into the city."
"-And if they bring Clockwerk back anyway?" the vixen asked. "Out of spite."
The wolfess cradled her chin. "Knowing the fate of Don Karnage, they know it would achieve nothing, if not their own demise. But you know Rattigan and his crew, their spite."
They nodded.
"Your civilian group can do their part now, capturing suspected polar bear escapees, making it easier for the ZPD to focus on the true main threat. -A friend of mine has her crew patrolling the escape routes into the Rainforest." She saw a mouth open and preceded it. "I've told them to treat them like they may have made a mistake," she said, paws up. "We can deal with the civil liberties issues and stereotyping after we've prevented the return of a demigod."
She pulled up a grappling hook and fired, lifting herself up and away.
The brown bear smirked. "How's it feel to take orders now, Robin?"
He shrugged. "Guess it's how things are now," he said, breathing in and out. "Carry on, and prepare everything we have in case it really does come down to the wire. In case… -In case we get to see what we heard in that black box." He paused, holding himself where he was, before crossing himself.
"Something something no atheists in fox-holes," the bruin smirked.
"At this stage," the red fox sighed, zip-tying the polar bear before preparing to move off again. "Every little helps. Let's just hope it doesn't get to that point, but do everything we can assuming it will."
He finished with a grave tone, before they headed off once more.