All For Love, And All For One

Casey's steam had hit the matriarch. "AAH!!". It gave her first and second degree burns on her skin. That was the last straw. If she couldn't make a scratch on the locomotive, she could almost certainly harm and slaughter the dogs. Screw this. It's time to taste hero blood and flesh. My fur and skin are burning. Shenzi padded towards the pit and slid down the metal. She began to lick her teeth and maw. The burns were doing there best to dissemble herself. If she was lucky, maybe she could survive.

Then when she landed at the bottom it was her chance. "I've had it with you bloody heroes. It's time for some bloodshed and slaughter". She saw DeSoto. Why the bloody hell was he playing games with the spaniel?Seeing her chance, she growled and licked her maw and teeth. This would be fun. The burns were wriggling their way under her fur. They began to sting even more. The burns better heal. Otherwise these heroes will pay.

A bellowing groan left the giant maw as she slams her side into Casey, desperate to stop the hot steam from falling down on her and her comrades. "Damn you," she hissed, her thick skin hissing and burning as she attempted to uproot the massive train, her side heaving with effort. Even something as big as she was had its limits. "Under me," she commanded to Magnus and Griffin, not even knowing if they were effected by the hot steam, only wanting them safe under her huge bulk so she could act as a sort of shield.

The bear swiped at his face as the steam hit him. He hears the cackling-turned-screaming of Griffin from somewhere to his left, which soon turned to cursing from the blue-eyed hyena. From above, Magnus heard Nelleke's order and he obeyed, lumbering between her tree trunk-like legs, dragging the cursing Griffin along with him. If he weren't in so much pain, the scene would've been almost comical to him. "I'll kill you all!" the white maned hyena snarled, spit flying from his jaws, his fur itching with the heat.

"Leave her alone! Stay back!"

In his current state, the fact that the spaniel who had just dropped into the pit alongside them was similar to Danielle in so many ways simply didn't register in the feline's mind. Though she had the same honey fur, the same fluffy ears, the same soft brown eyes he saw every time he looked into Dani's own, none of it triggered any association in Berlioz's mind. Rather, all he saw was an enemy coming for the little cocker-cross; someone who would take her away from him, who - for all he knew - could hurt her.

Even if he had made the connection that this was Danielle's mother, it would have done little to change the charcoal animal's reaction; Dani had never had a good word to say about any of her family, other than her dead brother. He'd seen first-hand the way she had fought off her sister and stood up to her father - his current confused state of mind had managed to twist both of these into heroic stands - and hadn't wanted to go back with them. No way, then, would he make her.

He didn't have time to reach these conclusions, however; hot on the canine's heels came a lioness, one of those big dobermanns, and a hyena. While the latter didn't seem to know what he was doing, and the intentions of the spaniel were open to interpretation, there was nothing at all debatable about the hostility the other two were diplaying. While it looked as though the outlanders were pursuing the cocker, Berlioz didn't doubt that they'd turn on him and Dani in an instant rather than risk them escaping up the crashed rail car. His dirty charcoal fur sticking up in angry clumps, Berlioz hissed and spat as he stood over his friend, prepared to ward off anyone and everyone who came near; knowing even as he did that, besides administer a few scratches, there was very little he could do to defend Danielle at all.

Lady took a step back, brown eyes darting left and right as she looked for any way around the feline that was now standing protectively over her daughter's forlorn form. She had never had good luck with cats, she suddenly realized. However, this was a far and above step from the two Siamese that had done their best to make her life miserable.

She realized however, that this must be the feline that Tramp had spoken of. The kind young man who stood by Dani as she faced off against her father. In a way, the cocker felt a sudden respect for the young man. Here he was, trapped just above hell, protecting her daughter, his love, from a threat. Lady took a gentle step foreword, this time softly as if to defuse any threat she may present.

“Please...that's my daughter.”

It was a good thing she took that step forward, for suddenly a lioness, a canine, and a hyena slid down the upended bulk of the flatcar. Landing in such a way that had she not moved, they would have come down atop the adult spaniel. Lady spun around instantly, placing her body between Dani, the hissing,spitting feline, and these Outlanders. She stood with her back to Belioz, but to one side, as if joining him in his stand.

The graceful spaniel rolled her lips, showing off her canine teeth, and let out a low growl, head held low and legs braced in the classic canine fight stance. Her fur bristling as if to make herself seem bigger then she really was. However, she had no intention of fighting with her claws. She knew she would never survive a teeth and claw fight with these guys. So instead, she fought with something she felt she had more off then these three combined.

Brains.

Lady slowly stepped to one side, like a warship bringing it's cannons to bare. Drawing their attention with her body, away from the two prisoners. She also brought herself in range of a weapon. For littering the pit was a virtual scrap heap of irons that had fallen from the car as it made it's death knell. One of which was a long iron rod, the end bent in the shape of a hook.

Ignoring the pain from the knot on her head, Lady suddenly snarled as she rose her forelegs into the air bounding forward to swoop up the rod in her jaws. Then whipping her head side to side, she flaying the rod like a sword. The end of the rod becoming a deadly spear, swishing in a arch ahead of her as she plunged the iron at the three Outlanders, aiming to bring it across their skulls.

Tramp watched as Lady moved quickly, grasping a metal spanner in her jaws before making her way out of the cab. he nodded a silent promise in response to her whispered plea, then turned his attention back to Zira as Lady disappeared from sight. The Cocker would be on her own, but he couldn't let that fact distract him. The enraged lioness demanded his undivided attention.

He turned back to face Zira when she roared, and a grim, satisfied grimace of s grin crossed his face when he saw the blood running down her injured face. While he'd have preferred to leave both her and Scar trapped in their own pit, he'd at least gotten the chance to strike against one of his daughter's tormentors. He misjudged how fast she could strike, and how far she could reach, and he had to dodge backwards quickly to avoid her grip. He knew if she managed to get a good grip on him, he'd likely not escape it.

"You are MINE."

"I'm flattered, but my heart belongs to someone else," he quipped, smirking a bit. A slight trickle of blood on his lip revealed he hadn't escaped Zira's grasping paw completely. A razor-sharp claw had caught him as he'd moved back, but a quick lap of his tongue proved it wasn't severe. He glanced about, looking for any other tools he could use when he heard Casey's defiant shout, and the hiss of rushing steam, followed by the cries of anger and pain from stricken Outlanders.

Inside the cab, he was safe form the hot cloud, and he took a brief moment to look out the now-cleared window opposite from Zira, noting the group of Outlanders sheltering near the dinosaur. Hoping to provoke them into turning their attention his way, instead of towards Lady, he reached down, grabbed a wrench, and hurled it straight at the bear's injured hide.

Thud! The wrench flew straight and hit Magnus' thick shoulder, making him snarl in annoyance. He had had about enough of this shit, with the mutt biting his nose, then the burning steam, and now he was throwing tools at him. "Hey!" Tramp's plan worked, if he wanted Magnus to chew his head off, or at least attempt to. "I'll rip your hide off!" the bear threatened, moving out of the safety of Nelleke's body and towards the cab's window. Only his front paws and head managed to fit, and his body thrashed for a grip on the window to pull himself through.

"Magnus?!" Curumo was late to the party. It took him a moment to figure out what was happening, but at the sight of his fellow bear friend attempting to crawl into the train window, and Griffin under Nelleke, he understood. Curumo grunted as he rammed himself under Magnus, using his body as a stepping stool so he could climb into the train with ease. "There ya go, Mag" he grunted, using his nickname for his friend.

Ignoring the pain from the knot on her head, Lady suddenly snarled as she rose her forelegs into the air bounding forward to swoop up the rod in her jaws. Then whipping her head side to side, she flaying the rod like a sword. The end of the rod becoming a deadly spear, swishing in a arch ahead of her as she plunged the iron at the three Outlanders, aiming to bring it across their skulls.

A rumbling growl ripped out of Digger's throat as the piece of iron was swung towards her head. With seconds to spare, she ducked. She felt the whoosh of air from the hook like rod swinging over her head as she lashed out with a clawed paw to swipe Lady across her muzzle or face.

Ignoring the pain from the knot on her head, Lady suddenly snarled as she rose her forelegs into the air bounding forward to swoop up the rod in her jaws. Then whipping her head side to side, she flaying the rod like a sword. The end of the rod becoming a deadly spear, swishing in a arch ahead of her as she plunged the iron at the three Outlanders, aiming to bring it across their skulls.

Shenzi saw the iron rod. Instead of ducking like Digger did, she quickly took a few steeps back. Now the rod was aimed at her jaw. She jumped in the air and caught it like a dog playing fetch and jumping in the air. The burns were still wriggling their bloody damn way into her skin. She landed on the ground then she shook her head violently, to do some damage to the spaniel on the other end. This one is a fighter. Just wait, she'll have to let go soon, then SHE'S MINE!




(ooc post: I know the spear is coming and probably going to kill someone, I wanted her to catch the spear and do some damage, sorry Lady.)

“Suck on des! You bleedin bastatd!”

Did that bloody thing just speak? The next set thoughts that Zira had were so incoherent that even she could not relay what they were. The searing hot blaze of steam knocked the lioness clean out of the window in shock and surprise. Blisters started forming themselves. That was the first thing she saw bubbling on her shoulder when her red orbs finally opened. She was speechless with pain and shock. Her pride just as bruised and burned as her body was. Her jaws dropped in shock. The train had attacked her. The dog had broken her face. She could still taste the blood dripping down her muzzle. Her fur bristled on her back.

Now more than ever she wanted to taste Tramp's flesh between her teeth. She knew full well what he was - a distraction away from his mate and the mother of that pathetic pile of bones she'd refused to clean up. But she didn't care. Rising on her ebony claws, the female took to the train again. This time the pads were slow, dragging back a bit as she watched a pair of bears get hurt by the grey dog.

A blink of a pair of clouded black rimmed red eyes was given towards the massive creatures now trying to scramble inside the train. Zira had other plans. No more swiping, no more scraping. Here she was.

Peaking through to the Tramp she offered a sideways glance and a grin. "I'll pick you out of my teeth after i get done with your sweet little girl." With that she lept after the outlanders, pushing into them as she landed beneath the pit. Her walk was a swag, slow, steady. She grinned a sick evil grin at the pathetic lump of golden fur who had yet to move.

While the others were attacking, Zira stepped towards the little furball behind Lady and Berlioz. "You asked me to save your little girlfriend," she told the cat, "I will now. Save her from her wretched existence." She grinned even wider, hoping the cocker mother heard her before she went to raise her claws over the pair; the kitten and the unconscious puppy dog.

"Dani, get down!"
"Leave her alone! Stay back!"
“Please...that's my daughter.”
Recognition.
Consciousness.
It couldn't be. She was dead. Did that mean she and Berlioz were dead? Could they play and romp together with their mothers, with Dutchess and Lady and never again feel...
Pain...

No. Her shoulder hurt. Her eyes were blurred. Everything ached and her stomach let out a pathetic growl.
She was alive alright. But how could she be?

Berlioz hissing caused her eyes to flutter open. She'd never heard him sputter like that. Her ears lifted slightly, eyes blinking in their half closed state. The back end of fluffy, feathery golden limbs hit her eyes as the muffled voices came into her ears.

“Please...that's my daughter.”
"You asked me to save your little girlfriend. I will now. Save her from her wretched existence."

That voice. That acidic voice. "N...o..." She mumbled, stirring slightly. She blinked again. "Berlioz?" Then another blink. A dry throated voice. "M...M...ommy?"

Lady swung the rod back, only to feel it jerk in her mouth as the hyena female jumped in the air and caught it, suddenly lady found herself on the wrong end of a weight game, with Shenzi weighing far more then the cocker mother. Lady let go of the rod, being pulled up onto her hind legs and tossed backwards like a rag doll. She landed on her side, tasting blood inside her mouth.

Lady quickly twisted herself into the air, rolling onto all fours, her chest heaved, brown eyes darting around, a snarl held on her lips. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears. All around her where Outlanders...all looking to spill her blood. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She spied the spanner laying in the dirt between her and Berlioz, as well as the brake rod now in the one hyena’s grasp. Looking up, she could see the form of two other Outlanders, as well as whips of steam clouding above, blocking out the sun.

It began to drizzle. The steam Casey was letting off had started condensing into water, which misted down into the Pit. Lady could feel it on the very ends of her fur.

She saw out of the corner of her eye the blur of golden fur of the queen as she landed. Lady swung around, mouth gaping and chocolaty eyes wide as she saw the lioness, blood dripping from her wounds and skin blistering. Her words cut into the little cocker, and she felt as if Zira had dug her claws into the mother's heart. She saw the paw, claws extended, raise above little Danielle's broken form.

"M...M...ommy?"

Everything stopped. Lady no longer recognized the spitting feline, or the Outlanders surrounding her. All she heard was her little puppy, her baby girl, calling for her. Those eyes blinking, that voice so dry. Memories once locked away suddenly flooded forward. Their first little stumbling steps, The first Christmas with Jim Dear messing with his new camera, walks to the park, bath-time...all flashing by in a millisecond. A lifetime of motherly love.

Lady didn't even realize that she had put herself between Zira and Danielle. The spaniel had leaped into the air, throwing herself over her daughter in a graceful arc. Forelegs pushing ahead and hind-legs raised back. It felt as if she moved in slow motion, feeling each second tick by. Hearing only the steady thump of her own heartbeat.

She didn't feel the pain of Zira's claw striking her, right where her long beautiful ear met the side of her head. The only indication she had been hit, other then suddenly being ricocheted back as she bounced off Zira's form, being the warmth of blood trickling down the side of her head. The whole affair lasting less then a millisecond.

Lady landed on her side, next to Danielle. With her back to the pup. Her chest heaving as she struggled to breath. She struggled to stand on her forelegs, her hind legs still splayed to one side.

“It's okay Dani...mother is here.” Her voice had become a pained wheeze.

Shenzi still had the rod in her mouth. She wasn't going to let go and give the heroes a golden opportunity to attack and rescue this pup. The queen had struck the fully grown cocker. Now she was lying down next to the younger cocker. "Zhira, wjat too doo now? With tje heroes?". She asked referring directly to both cockers who were lying next to each other. Both bleeding and in pain. "Shwould wee pujt dem oujt of dere misery? Or let dem die like dis?". Shenzi's last words where muffled thanks to the rod, but nonetheless was hateful.

(ooc post: I only spelt some words wrong because her voice is muffled.)

Unaware of Dani and Lady's possible impending execution, Casey could feel the water level dropping inside his boiler. He was creating and using more steam then he had water. Inside the cab, the pressure gauge had been steadily falling. The problem with this method is while he was creating a nice screen between himself and the Outlanders, creating that screen was using up all the steam he had available. It was also using up a lot of his water to boil into steam.

Soon he would not have any steam at all. Rendering himself useless as anything but an iron shield. He closed the blowdown valve and almost instantly the cloud shuttered to a stop. Rendering silence, which coming after the defining roar of the steam was a very noticeable silence.

The thunderhead of white steam slowly drifted, curling and roiling amongst itself as it cooled. Rising into the air. As it cooled, it condensed back into water, and soon a very slow drizzle was coming down, almost as a fine mist, upon the Outland's parched earth.

Casey's pressure gauge was almost at the flat peg. He had not enough pressure to move, and not enough pressure to fend. To his great fear it seemed others had already drifted over the the pit. They needed to keep the attention drawn on the Tramp and his iron box, rather then Lady and the two youngsters.

However, Casey had enough steam to blow his whistle.

“Hey...lads...uglies...yall are uglier deen a baboon's buttocks.”

The locomotive spat some lukewarm water out his stack in the direction of the remaining Outlanders. Before yanking open the whistle valve, and giving a long low bay on his steam whistle. Before giving some irritating taps on it. Taunting the Outlanders with his joviality. Inside the cab, the pressure gauge was slowly rising once more.