All For Love, And All For One

The shovel head met only empty air, and the grey mongrel was off balance when he saw the doberman snapping at him. As he attempted to jump out of range of those questing jaws, his injured leg gave out from under him, and he felt a sudden flash of pain in his shoulder as the bigger dog's fangs ripped at his flesh. He yelped as he rolled away, then paused as he heard Zira's angry order.

Could it be true? He watched the lioness warily, and slowly rose to his feet, looking around as one by one, the other Outlanders began to back off, leaving them free to withdraw. He let the shovel slip from his jaws, still keeping a wary eye on the big doberman for a moment.

"Daddy?

Quiet though it was, Tramp still heard that single word clearly, and he turned back towards his daughter. He lowered his head, and very gently, nuzzled her ear. "It's alright, Dani. We're getting out of here. All of us," he said softly. Then, very carefully, taking care to not jar her, he gripped his daughter's neck by the scruff, and he lifted her carefully, padding towards the locomotive's door, and the wizard waiting within.

Tramp held his head high so he wouldn't have to drag Dani across the ground any more than he had to, and grimaced as he stood on his hind legs, forepaws braced against Casey's iron side, as Merlin knelt to cradle Dani carefully, one sleeve of his robe forming a soft sling for the small dog. As the wizard stood, cradling Dani, the grey mongrel turned back to gaze at Lady, waiting for her to board before following her.

---

Inside the train, Merlin frowned as he surveyed the injuries Danielle had gained, but he couldn't spare any energy to do anything about them. Healing was strenuous, and he'd already taxed himself greatly. And there was still more to do. So he simply conjured a soft cushion, and gently lowered the injured pup onto it carefully.

"We'll get those injuries treated here, soon," he promised, resting his hand atop Danielle's head for a moment before he stood, and once more gazed out the door, ready to strike at any Outlander who might think to defy Zira's rather surprising order.

Lady lowered her head, and gently grasped the sooty feline by the scruff of his neck. The fur on the back of her neck bristled with unease. It seemed that despite the Outlander Queen's orders, any small flick of the tail, or wayward glance could start the fighting anew. She whispered a "Sorry." to the feline for having to manhandle him yet again, and she was forced to crain her neck in order to not drag his hind legs along the rough earth.

She joined the Tramp, wincing as she saw the injuries the doberman's fangs had inflected on her one time mate. As soon as Dani was on-board, the cocker placed her forepaws on the bottom rung of the stirrups, and hoisted herself up so she was standing on her hind legs with her forelegs balancing out on the stirrups. Carefully, she pulled the feline up, and placed him on the floor of the cab. Before pulling herself into the cab.

Inside the cab, things where just as much a mess as they where outside. Tools where scattered about the floor, and coal had spilled over the flare on the tender's bunker and lay everywhere in a right mess. But, the cocker's brown eyes where concentrated on her daughter, and her daughter alone.

Danielle looked absolutely horrible, and the mother could feel her heart snapping as she saw the condition her baby had been left in. Brown eyes gazed upward as Merlin cradled the pup in his robes, and declared they would have to wait untull they got to the encampment at Pride Rock before they could tend to the girl's wounds.

Lady turned her attention instead to the feline, the strange feline she had deposited on board the train. What a remarkable young man. While at first he seemed to have been a threat, He had done everything in his power to protect the injured cocker. Only god knew what these two had suffered at the hands of the Outlanders.

"Thank you." The graceful spaniel whispered to him, bowing her head. "Thank you, for taking care of my Dani."

Casey's eyes shifted back and forth uneasily. He took note of where everyone stood, as well as different route out of the encampment. Just in case anyone decided to try something at the very last minute. His air compresser continued to beat away, providing a sort of ambient silence to the unease that filled the air.

As soon as Lady had scrambled her furry frame on board, a hiss of air announced the release of his brakes. Then with two blasts of the steam whistle, Casey's drive wheels began to turn. Thick black clouds huffing out of his stack to the staccato beat of his exhaust. However, a new sound acompanied each throb of the exhaust, a strange metallic rattle.

There was something about speed, about movement, that felt secure. Now that they where underway again, a sort of false security enveloped the train. The hard part was over! Somehow, they had waltzed right into Scar's kingdom with the stupidest, idiotic, and downright suicidal plan...and succeeded! A smug smile etched itself across Casey's smoke-box as he rocked side to side, making his way down the line of termite mounds towards the edge of the Outlands. The sun casting large shadows from his exhaust amongst the mounds, and the peering eyes that seemed to stare down from above as he ran the gauntlet.

A few loud whistle blasts echoed around the land, the melodic tone a strange invader, never heard here before, nor would it be heard again, as he put the Animal Villeins to his marker lamps. Aiming his pilot for the Pridelands, and where where he could exchange his magical rails for ones made of iron.

However, his smugness was premature.

Vakasa had done more damage then the ape could possibly realize. The air line he had attacked with the wrench was a brake line that ran from the compresser to the air hose on Casey's pilot. While the air line was isolated, on the pipe was a condensation valve. After venting the compressed air to the atmosphere for so long, the threads on the valve gave way. With a small "Hawoof" of air, the valve broke free and shot upwards. Hitting the loose check-valve that Casey had been putting off getting repaired. His deferred maintenance would cost him dearly, as the brass valve shattered.

This was bad...Very bad. The Baldwin felt a sudden pit in his stomach as he realized that he was no longer getting water to his boiler.

"Guys, oi 'av a problem. Oi h'av no water! me water is gone!" The locomotive's voice was fringed with panic. Looking over his shoulder at the retreting termite mounds. "Oi can last for a mile or so on de water in me boiler...but after dat we 'av ter dump de fire an' stop. otherwise me boiler cud explode. We'll neevr made Priderock."

Once Tramp had made his way on board, hopping rather awkwardly up right on Lady's heels, Merlin let out a sigh of relief. Their audacious, foolish, haphazard plan had succeeded. He turned from the door as Casey began accelerating, carrying them away from the pit, and the termite mounds, leaning on his cane and wiping his brow. He paused to gaze back once more, at the rapidly diminishing Outlanders, and the remains of the flatcar they had used to provide access and escape from the pit.

But Casey's panicked voice drew his attention, and he leaned out the window, craning his neck as he attempted to spot whatever problem the locomotive had noticed. What he saw, and heard from Casey, gave him a sinking feeling. He knew enough about steam engines o know what kind of trouble they would be in without water. And he knew what kind of danger they would be in if they were forced to stop so close to the termite mounds.

Bushy white eyebrows narrowed over dark eyes as Merlin scowled. No, they hadn't come so far, and gone through so much, to fail now! Drawing upon all the magic he still had left at his disposal, he began preparing one final spell. He raised his cane, then brought it clanging down on the running board with a dull clang.

"Oh, blast it all! If it's not one thing, it's another! But if we've got only a mile or so, uh, on what's in your boiler, I guess there's nothing for it. Best get a move on," he stated. With that, he began crafting his spell, reaching back along their route all the way to the Pridelands, and the plain iron rails he'd examined to form his Magic Rail spell. Since he'd been there, he could teleport back, only he'd be carrying far more than usual this time.

"Oh, uh, you might want to apply all the brakes you can, Casey! We'll be arriving back in camp going as fast as we are when we make the jump," he called as his magic flowed outwards, surrounding the locomotive as he prepared to carry them directly to the Heroes' Camp.

Lady knew instantly what it meant when the check valve let go. She was close enough to the gangway that she saw with her own eyes the brass fixture suddenly burst from it's mounting bolts and tumbled to the earth. It bounced off the ground and landed right on the top step of the stirrup.

Now, Lady was a very polite dog, and a very well trained dog. She knew her Ps and Qs and she was very much prim and proper little lady. Part of that was keeping things somewhat tidy and trying to make less waste as possible. It was the same traits that made her place the flowers as close to their original stature after digging up the flowerbed to store a bone.

So, seeing the brass fixture, itself valuable in this land where a locomotive shop was days away, land so close to the footplate, she naturally reached her head out the gang way and grabbed hold of it. Intending to pull the broken check valve inside the cab.

All four paws where planted firmly on the gangway deck, and she clamped the soft muzzle around the lip of the brass fixture and when she pulled herself back inside, she had it firmly in her jaw. She turned to face the Tramp and Merlin, who was now casting his spell, her tail wagging and a small smile on her maw. her back now to the open gangway with the scenery rolling past. her brown eyes almost flashed a bit of laughter. At least one thing went right for them.

That was before Casey applied his brakes, and the sudden run in of slack, be it just on the locomotive, was enough to drop the cocker to her side...slide right out the gangway. With a hapless "yelp", Lady was gone.

Tramp had turned his attention to the injury to his shoulder once he had clambered aboard, ignoring his bleeding hind leg as he examined the gash torn into his hide by the doberman's fangs. The sudden tang of his blood touched tongue, reminding him of the small cut he'd received form one of Zira's claws when she'd tried to claw his face off. He licked at the wound a bit absently as he peered at his shoulder.

Again, he'd been rather fortunate. The bone was uninjured, and it felt like his muscles had escaped serious injury. But he was definitely going to feel it for some time. He raised his head when Casey spoke, feeling the back of his neck bristle at the thought of getting stranded out here, so close to the Outlands. They were in no condition to hold off another attack.

But it seemed that Merlin had other ideas. A small grin found its way to his face when Lady went to retrieve the brass fixture that had fallen right outside on the gangway, but it slipped when he heard Merlin mention brakes. Too late, he was up and moving towards the footplate, only to stumble as the locomotive applied his brakes. He could only watch helplessly as Lady tumbled out of sight.

"Pidge!" he barked, ready to hurl himself after her. But as he steadied himself, the whole train seemed to rattle beneath his paws, and the whole world seemed to skip a beat before it disappeared in a sudden flash of brilliant white light.

Where just a moment before a locomotive had been rolling down its rails, only the dust of the Outlands remained.