All For Love, And All For One

Haki was about to bark at the ape for disrespecting her clan's leader before she felt a sharp pain hit her heel.  Her back leg drew up but she regained footing quickly.  It felt like a slice had been cut into her tendon, but in fact she had received no laceration, but a minor burn.  She did not see it, nor did she try.  The large female just turned around, sneering.  Luckily for her, she had three more legs to spare and she could still move quite fast.  The skin on her leg was tough, but the smoldering stinging would remain for a long time.  Didn't matter - it was her front you had to worry about.  Now that Haki had turned her body around to the mutt, she could see her challenger.  When one might have expected her to jump, the female just narrowed her eyes.  Haki was not hasty; she was thinker, perhaps to a fault.  Indeed, the female hyena was still pissed as could be at Lady and it overran whatever hate she might have thrown Tramp's way.  Female rivalry ruled supreme.  Therefore, the smaller canine was still Haki's primary target.  Besides, Haki had one of her subordinates laying around to abuse.

"Waffle; take the mutt.  He's not worth my time," Haki threw over her shoulder.

Then she began to side-step the larger dog, honing on Lady and the younger animals.  Haki lowered her head and the dark brown fur on her spine stood straight.

"I'm sorry; did you think you were done?" Haki growled, "Perhaps I'd admire your bravery if it were not so vain.  I'll come after you before I begin to clean up the damage you caused my home."

The predator growled before sprinting forward, her head far out in front of her.  Haki snapped her jaws open and shut, making a "crack" each time her teeth collided.

~*~

"Hmm?" Waffle groaned as he leaned back up.

Waffle got up before he began smiling.  The male happily obliged to the order from his superior.  Not that he was loyal in any way shape or form, but the idea of attacking something sounded fun no matter what.  Waffle ran out in front of her, crossing her path as he did.  The male stood still for a moment, smiling at the Tramp and he anticipated his one-liner.

"I'm about to rock you - like a hurricane!"

With that, Waffle did what he does best; charge into battle recklessly.

Berlioz squirmed as he was suddenly hoisted into the air, every feline instinct he possessed rebelling against being picked up by a dog, and it was only with great effort that he resisted the urge to struggle violently. He, too, had heard the crack and jumped to the conclusion of gunshot; and like anyone else with any sense, he had no desire to get shot either. As much as his dignity suffered from being carried like a little lost kitten - or an imminent snack - Berlioz was also aware that this was, perhaps, his one single chance to get out of here alive.

Where they went from there, assuming they somehow made it all the way to safety, would be a question all of its own; but premature as it was, the charcoal feline didn't give it more than a moment. There would be plenty of time for it later, when they knew how bad things were.

What he did know now was that, without Lady scooping him up as she had, he would have become Zira's chew-toy for sure. Still, he hated how his fate had suddenly been snatched out of his paws, leaving him incapable of doing anything for himself. Twisting, Berlioz struggled to try and see if the Outlander queen was gaining ground, but only found that Lady's long ear was blocking his view as she bounded up the crashed railcar; and then suddenly he was being flung unceremoniously over the end. Caught by surprise, the feline hit the ground hard, and lay stunned for a moment until he was aware of being snatched up once again. His head spun from the rough treatment, and Berlioz lost track of exactly what was happening.

He heard the shuddering crash as the flatcar crashed to its grave at the bottom of the pit behind them, but dazed as he was he couldn't place what had caused the sound; he was, however, aware of the hyena closing in on them. The sooty feline gave a yelp that might have been meant as a cry of warning; though dangling from Lady's maw as he presently was, there was nothing he could do otherwise.

Avoiding the big ape's lunge had been an easy task for the grey mongrel since the big brute was at least partially crippled. But he hadn't done as much damage to the hyena as he could have hoped for. Instead, the spotted creature merely ordered yet another hyena to get in his way. He padded around so that Waffle was between him and Vakasa, keeping his eyes fixed on both enemies as he risked a glance at Lady.

The tear on her ear looked nasty, but it didn't look like it was at any risk of permanent damage. Unfortunately, with two hyenas and a gorilla to tend to, he couldn't take Dani just yet. He focused his gaze on the apparently crazed hyena in front of him, smirking around the coal scoop in his jaws, then lunged forward as the creature, swinging the shovel straight at Waffle's face. If he continued his reckless charge, the hyena would get a face-full of hot metal.

He'd have to trust Lady to keep out of the other hyena's way until he'd dealt with this one.

It seemed that just because they where on the surface, they where still not home free. The cocker saw the other Hyena join the primate. Seeing Tramp turn his attention to them, she wordlessly agreed. She turned her head, the feline still dangling from her jaws. To see the first hyena approaching. Lady swung around, her back now to the Tramp. And gave a low threatening growl from behind Berlioz's scruff.

With a young feline hanging from her jaws, her own daughter draped across her back possibly stirring, and the side of her head bloodied, how much of an imposing threat lady would cat was up to debate. But the spaniel mother felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She lowered her head, neck now strait, and gently placed the feline on his own paws. Lowering her body so that her stomach just brushed the earth, likewise she carefully cast off Dani.

She stepped between the two. Head lowered, and her lips curled to bare her sharp canine teeth. Eyes nerrowed.

Lady stood, with Berlioz and Danielle between her and the Tramp. She had joined Tramp to create a perimeter around their pup and the feline. Ready to attack any who tried to enter. On the other side of Vakasa and Waffle, Casey sat...escape just out of reach.

After a few minutes of struggling and pushing, the large brown bear was freed from the window and landed on the ground in a heap, narrowly missing Digger and Curumo. "Ugh...thanks," he grunt. There was no way in hell he would try that again, and besides, the cocker was by the pit now anyways. "Come on, let's show em what we can do, screw the train," he grumbled before getting up and lumbering towards Lady, letting out a low roar.

Once the bear had freed itself from the window, Merlin felt it was safe enough to reposition himself. He was starting to feel the strain of holding conjured rails in place, and he felt it was time to do what he could to help speed things up. As Magnus headed around the locomotive, both windows closed and locked, leaving thick sheets of plate glass between the inside of the cab, and the Outlanders outside.

With that done, Merlin's body softened, and he staggered a bit, leaning on his cane before steadying himself and heading towards the door. Seeing the Outlanders circling the two dogs, well, three, and a young cat, he raised his hands, and lifted a number of coal stones out of the tender before setting them alight with a burst of fire from his cane. Then he sent the flaming rocks streaking down towards the Outlanders like small meteors.

Then he gestured behind him, and all of the scattered tools still inside the cab lifted into the air, forming a small cloud of metal right behind the wizard, ready to be used to attack, or defend, at a moment's notice. He'd show them no pack of mere beasts could match him!

"The hell?!" Vakasa turns his eyes skyward to see what was it that was whizzing past him, nearly hitting his shoulder in the process. "Aw,come on!" he snarled, now having to dodge right and left or risk being struck by the so called meteors. He shot a glare into the train cabin at Merlin, and made to move forward, hoping to put a stop to the wizard's magic.

What the hell was happening? Alpha's liquid chocolate eyes followed the movement of the train across the Outands. And... a train car lying in the pit? Was something happening with the tomcat and the pup still back int he pit? He'd have thought... they would have died by now. What the hell was a train doing in the Outlands in the first place?

Alpha was certainly going to find out though. Teeth bared, he turned to face the two hyenas guarding him - both of them staring at the sight with open jaws. Alpha rolled his eyes slightly. "Idiots..." Alpha muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly. It had nearly been a whole month, and the hyenas still had to follow them all around. And most of them were rather stupid, Alpha had to admit.

So, without a word, Alpha ran off to join in the chase off the train. A faint 'hey!' sounded from behind him. So, they had finally snapped out of their stupor. Great. Now let's see if they're smart enough to run after the train and not ME. Alpha thought, snorting a bit at the thought. If they couldn't see that he was trying to help, only hell knew what they would tell Scar or Zira. Soon, Alpha heard three other sets of pawpads hitting the barren ground of the Outlands. 

As Alpha continued to run, he began to wince every stride or so. Even if it had been so a few weeks since they were let out of the pit, it didn't mean that everyone was in tip-top shape. Alpha was just surprised he was even as good as he was now from all the time spent in the Pit. Muscles not having been used in such a long time felt sore just from the beginning of the run. Who knew if he could keep up with the train.

As Alpha slowly drew nearer towards the train, even with his stumbling here and there, Alpha gave a small nod towards the others, to let them know that he was still on their side. Alpha didn't know who trusted them anymore  - he was sure more than one of the others felt distrust toward the ones recently in the Pit.

Brown eyes carefully studying the train, Alpha let out a loud, angry bark as his eyes fell on Lady. Of course. The Heroes. Who else would even think that they could come in the Outlands without a scratch on them? But what she had with her what was that stopped Alpha's barking abruptly. The tomcat and the dog from the pit? They were... rescuing them?  Alpha narrowed his eyes slightly. Annoyance at the Heroes flared up in him. Sure, he was glad that those two were getting out of the pit. None of the children really deserved it - hell, maybe him and that lioness were the only adults really in the Pit, who knows.

But Alpha knew that Zira wouldn't let this go without anger, and without at least one of the Heroes getting seriously hurt. And what a stupid plan, really. Alpha snorted inwardly. Bring a whole freaking train to rescue a dog and cat. Totally not going to get the attention of the whole army. But nevertheless, if Alpha didn't participate, Zira would have her word against him.

So as quickly as he could, Alpha's eyes scanned the area for the enemies. Lady, of course, with the cat and dog... he didn't really want to go for them... that grey mutt... and that wizard. Hell, he didn't really want to go for the human anyway... especially with what he was doing now. Teeth bared, Alpha leaned in closer to try to get closer to the grey mutt and snap at him. Sure, others were trying to fight him already. But adding up the odds, with Alpha, they should have a better chance at getting the grey mutt, even for only a few bites and claw marks. 

Wait... is that train alive? Alpha's eyes widened a bit as he looked closer at the train. Better keep a lookout in case... it? ... tries anything.

It was 5 seconds of clarity that saved Zira from being smashed into the ground like the termites she stepped on. And 5 seconds was apparently all she needed. The spanner had smacked her. Fury still raged within her mind but defeat was setting in with her bones. Her mind was a blur of curses, fire that shot through her mind. But she ached; she burned, she was too sore to continue. She let out a muffled groan and a growl before she lifted her head and saw the damn flat car. She yelped, as girlish a squeal as she could possibly muster, and tossed herself away from the flatcar, clinging to the dirt. Her ear folded back, her eyes closed.

The was it; fury died.
All this for a damn puppy.

“Fine,” she growled over her shoulder, “Fine. Take her. Take the runt.” She lept from the hole with feline agility, claws sending her scurrying up the wall and landing with a good amount of grace on the solid earth. It was like a zombie coming back from the grave. She stumbled, paused a few times before almost collapsing and catching herself. Her jaw parted as she took in gulps of breath. She was a heartless witch but she knew when she’d been bested. She spotted everything. The frenzy, the disorganization.

Her jaws parted; “ENOUGH.” Her voice howled at the top of her lungs. “Enough you bastards! Leave it be! You’ll just end your lives instead of theirs!” Her eyes narrowed.

That doesn’t mean the next time I see you, I won’t eat you alive in front of your mate and children. She thought, glaring at Lady before she skulked off into the distance. Limping as she went.

(Zira has peaced out.)

The cocker spaniel almost jumped out of her skin when the Outlander Queen suddenly emerged from the pit. Zira had come up alongside where Lady was standing, and the spaniel turned to face her, forelegs braced and lips still curled.

The adrenaline was starting to ebb, as she found herself now stationary, a sitting duck back to back with the Tramp. Another dog was already approaching from Casey's side. She was not a fighter, but here she was penned in, and she would not give up those two without...

Enough you bastards! Leave it be!

Huh?

Well...that was unexpected. Here, it seemed they where about to be pinned in for good. With Casey and Merlin ready to jump in, Tramp with his scoop and Lady bearing her teeth. The spaniel allowed her growl to vanish, although she still held her head low and her eyes narrowed, giving a threatening glare at the queen. Had they really just beaten the Outlander army into submission? With their stupid little plan! No, Zira's unspoken threat read clear to the mother as she slowly stepped back. They where lucky...just lucky.

Lady slid backwards, still holding her pose, untull she stood between Dani, and Berlioz. It was only then that she dropped the snarl entirely, looking over her shoulder at the Tramp. Who was still holding off Waffle with the coal scoop.

"L-lets go...while we still can." Her voice was just above that of a whisper, spoken only to the Tramp, so that only he could detect the gut-wrenching fear that was present in the spaniel's tone.

Vakasa grimaced at Zira's yelling, and he backed off like an obedient puppy. "Yes, Queen Zira" he mumbled before turning to look at the others, seeing if they would obey her. "Foot hurts anyway" he muttered to himself, limping towards the larger termite mound to nurse his foot, and hopefully try to get a bite to eat.

Crash. Bang. Destruction. Mayhem. Everything met her ears with a muffled sound. She felt it like she was under a few hundred pillows. Muffled, light but heavy. Was she dead? Alive? Clinging to life? Her stomach hurt. Did one who was dead's tummy hurt?

She blinked a few times, dust and such sprinkled over her eyes, looking up towards her surroundings. Berlioz was with her. Was she still in the hole? No, it felt different beneath her body. Her once golden fur touching the ground that was not the muddy outland soot. She looked at the back of a section of fluffy, caked with mud and grime, feathered legs. It couldn't possibly be...she was dead. So was she dead? But her tummy hurt. She was thirsty and sore. Dead puppies didn't need water.

Her lips parted as a couple of pathetic dusty coughs poured from her maw. Her whole body shook violently as she did so. Her eye was the only thing that spotted her father. Suddenly things started to clear. "Daddy?" She gasped as loudly as she could. Which was barely over a whisper.

Her mother was dead but she'd saved her. Her father who she'd cursed out not so long ago was there protecting her.

What was happening...

Casey raised a lamp iron eyebrow at Zira's command. He had stood, with his drive rods bristling, cylinder's hissing as steam was slowly eking in, ready for the throttle valve to be whipped open and set him into motion. The dust was still settling from the flat car collapsing into the hole, and it seemed that they where at the final push. Surrounded on all sides. He heard the tools clatter around the cab, and the for a breif second held his tongue as he felt the klegs of coal leave his tender. Old habit, coal was expensive and it was not the railroad way to waste it.

His pressure gauge was still slowly rising. He was at operating pressure, and soon the needle would pass the center line, and the saftey valves would spout off to blow away excess steam. His air compressor was still clicking away merrilly to overcome the loss of air from the broken brake line that the ape had inflected.

It seemed here was a stand off. Tramp and Lady surrounded by the Outlanders, with Merlin ready to provide some sort of cover and himself ready to highball out of there. But Zira's command had changed all of that. The locomotive felt tense, as if any small flick of the wrist or swish of a tail would cause him to burst into motion on his conjured rails.

It was only when Vakasa obeyed the queen's order that he felt himself back of, the handle on the blow down valve slowly cycling back down to secure it.  The locomotive scowled, lamp iron eyes narrowed.

“ENOUGH.” “Enough you bastards! Leave it be! You’ll just end your lives instead of theirs!” "L-lets go...while we still can."
Shenzi saw Zira get out of the rubble. It was her cue to get out and stay away from the queen. The broken shards of wood and metal pierced their way into Shenzi's flesh. The blood make rives and trails down the fur.  Finally, Shenzi had got out.  Then she began to climb the flat car.  She tried to use her claws like spikes so she could make it. It was a failed effort the first time. 


Finally, four minutes that seemed like forever, Shenzi had made it to the top.  The steam engine was moving, which meant one thing: the heroes had got what they wanted, which in this case was a puppy and they were leaving.  


(I owe you Lady, sorry about it being so late and all. ) 

Haki's head removed itself from the small dog's level.  The female hyena didn't turn, but her eyes flicked in the direction of the all-too-familiar commanding voice.  Haki's gold eyes widened in disbelief.  Was she being called off?  For a brief instant, a defiant expression crossed her brown face.  Why?  Why?  Surely the army's will couldn't be broken so easily?  This was surrender, and Haki wasn't ready to surrender yet.  However, if there was one thing Haki knew, it was her place.  Whether she liked it or not, Zira was the boss and if Haki was half the solider she thought she was, she needed to obey.  Her defiant expression melted away into one of acceptance.  Dark paws padded backwards on the dusty ground as the female hyena backed off, allowing the enemies some space.  Only for a few seconds of quiet contemplation did she take her gaze away from the rescuers and their rescuees.  Lifting her powerful head, Haki continued to glare down the heroes from a distance.  Oh no, Haki promised, she was never going to forget this damage to her home - as crude a home it was, it still belonged to her and Haki felt dishonored by the invasion.  If any of her allies had sense, they wouldn't forget it either.  Haki wasn't prepared to remove her gaze until the enemy was well out of sight.

~*~

"What?  No fair!" Waffle whined, whipping his around to the lioness who emerged from the pit like the walking dead.

He turned his head back, his jaws agape.  Waffle thought Zira liked violence.  Now, Waffle didn't like 'violence' himself per say, but he had been looking forward to fun game with the doggy dogs.  Pouting like a child, Waffle didn't budge a first.  Once more, he turned his neck to look at Zira.  When he looked forward again, his ears folded down.  Swiping his paw over the ground, Waffle kicked some dirt up before falling back.  Red eyes were narrowed and his lower lip stuck out as he walked elsewhere.

"I never get to do anything," he grumbled.