Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 25 - Cruise Control
In the waters outside Zootopia, a large yacht meandered through the darkened ocean on a peaceful night. It wasn’t a particularly large vessel, however, you still could get lost if you weren’t careful.
Many would view a trip around the ocean on a yacht as a luxurious experience. The peaceful seas, delicious food, and enjoyable activities would make anyone wish for this amazing experience. However, that’s not what the mammals currently on board the vessel wanted. They only wished to be off this boat and wanted nothing more than for this experience to end.
It turns out that Nick’s dark counterpart had been leading the latest Chinese assault, but now that the invasion had been thwarted, he and his remaining forces were attempting to retreat. They had been cornered by US and Zootopian forces, and to avoid being killed or captured, they had taken hostages at a nearby pier. Friendly forces then pulled back, fearing for the lives of the hostages. The hostages were bundled onto a yacht, which then slipped anchor and headed out to sea.
Facing a dangerous situation where innocent lives were at stake. Heroes were called upon to rescue the hostages, and eliminate the hostiles. Specifically, Nick, Judy, Jack, & Skye would be undertaking this mission. They were all geared up & ready to get out in the field.
As the yacht passed under a large cloud, it was shrouded by darkness, and the moonlight couldn’t provide much illumination. Undercover of darkness, a small zodiac boat made haste towards the hijacked vessel. Carried aboard the vessel were the rabbit & fox pairs that would soon stop the yacht in its tracks.
“How are Kion & Jasiri doing?” Judy asked as the boat continued its advance.
“They should be fine,” Jack said. “No serious damage. I tried to make them rest a bit, but they are really determined to get back out and into the fight as soon as possible.”
“That’s what happens when your home is threatened. Nick and I feel the same way.”
“Well, so do me and Skye.”
Closing in on the vessel, Skye cut the engines, otherwise, the sound would alert the Chinese guards. Jack prepared a crossbow with its bolt fitted to a rope and fired into the side of the vessel. The bolt dug in and held firm. The other end of the rope was then attached to a small winch, which pulled the boat closer to the yacht as Jack cranked it.
Nick was ready with his bow and silently fired an arrow, hitting a Chinese guard in the head. The fox then turned the bow on some lights and a security camera, destroying them & shrouding the area in darkness. The zodiac boat pulled up to the yacht, & the group of mammals used grappling hooks to clamber up onto the deck.
Moving forward, the team downed another Chinese guard and quickly hid the body into a supply closet nearby. The group then headed into the vessel, looking for the crew quarters, since that would be the most logical place to keep the hostages. Another Chinese soldier came down the hallway, but before she could react, Jack had already shot her with a suppressed weapon.
The team then split up to cover more ground, Nick, and Judy heading to a lower deck, while Jack and Skye went to an upper deck.
Nick and Judy continued through the ship’s halls, weapons at the ready, ears, and eyes scanning for hostiles. The pair soon came upon a large group of Chinese soldiers, all gathered around a central area. Assuming this large group was guarding the hostages, Judy radioed her allies while Nick kept a lookout.
“Jack, Skye” the rabbit whispered. “We’ve located the hostages.”
“Ok, we’ve found a security room,” Jack said. “I can see the whole vessel from here, I’m sending Skye down to assist, I’ll provide overwatch.”
Judy terminated the call and gave a nod to Nick. The pair took cover, lined up their shots, & fired.
Bullets & arrows struck enemy soldiers in the head, instantly killing them.
The other soldiers Were slow to react, and the 2 warriors were able to put enough shots in 2 more Chinese soldiers to put them down.
The other enemies took cover and returned fire, shots flying back and forth. A few more Chinese soldiers arrived and began to press their advantage, slowly moving towards the fox and rabbit. But this act left their rear flank exposed, and when Skye appeared behind them, she emptied a magazine on the group, taking out 3 hostiles.
“Mind if I join you?” Skye said, joining her friends. She didn’t like leaving Jack all alone, but the hostages came first.
“Heads up,” Jack said through the radio. You have more hostiles incoming. 2 from the hallway behind you, 3 from the hallway to the left at the junction.
The trio spun around and aimed their weapons down the hallway. When the enemy soldiers turned the corner, weapons drawn, they stood no chance.
3 more enemies came into as the group reloaded. However, they were eliminated just like all the soldiers before.
Now that the area was clear, the bunny and foxes went to work on opening the crew quarters cabins, using their weapons as tools to reach the handles of larger doors.
“We’re with the ZPD and ZIA, we’re here to rescue you.”
Once the hostages understood the situation, they were told to keep in their cabins while the team regained control of the vessel. But letting the hostages know they were being saved certainly calmed them down. But all of a sudden the boat was thrown into darkness, & even stopped moving. The only light came from the full moon.
“Damnit, someone cut the power,” Judy said, flipping on her night vision goggles.
Skye and Judy took up positions to defend the hostages while Nick went to join Jack, who was already moving to the breaker room.
The fox found his way onto the main deck, but as he rounded a corner, suddenly a gloved fist hit him in the face. His bow was plucked from his hands and thrown to the other side of the deck. The fox was slammed about, dropping his pistol as he attempted to unholster it. His taser was also thrown away, the enemy wanting to disarm him completely. He finally got a good view of his adversary. It was his counterpart, rifle on his back, geared up, and ready for a fight.
Nick kicked his dark counterpart back and quickly tackled him. The fox flipped the dark warrior over and managed to get the rifle off his back to try and use it himself. But the other fox would not let this happen, grabbing the weapon. The 2 shoved and fought over the gun before Dark Nick pushed both foxes over a countertop and into a small snack bar area that was used to serve guests. They hit the floor hard, losing grip on the rifle and causing it to slide under a large freezer in the snack bar area. The 2 got up, and Dark Nick kicked his enemy away and drew his sidearm. He fired, but the ZPD fox sidestepped and ran as quickly as he could, with his armed enemy having to track him with the firearm.
In a flash, Nick flipped over a metal counter table in front of him, hid behind it, and pushed with all his strength towards the dark fox. The table was for larger mammals, meaning the officer had trouble moving it, but the bullets simply indented the table as they struck. Nick slammed his opponent into a wall, struck his arm, grabbed the sidearm, hopped back, and pulled the trigger.
The gun clicked. All the bullets had been used up. Before Nick could do anything else, his counterpart shoved the table back at him, disorienting the fox, and followed up with a few melee strikes.
The fight stopped for a moment, both combatants taking a step back to size up their opponent and breath.
Nick looked over his dark counterpart. The evil warrior didn’t pack a melee weapon, but his claws were long & sharpened.
It was now a strict paw to claw battle, and it would only end with one of them defeated.
The 2 mammals clashed together, claws and fists flying everywhere. Each combatant combining attacks and dodges into a fast-paced combat sequence.
Dark Nick swung his tail up & used it to stun his enemy before shoulder charging the ZPD fox and causing him to stumble back and slam into a large metal machine that was up against the wall.
There was a whirr from behind Nick, and he quickly realized he’d hit the machine’s on button when he was thrown against it. It was a large ice chipper machine, probably for creatures bigger than a fox.
The fox grabbed a small cooking knife from one of the prep tables and threw it like a throwing knife.
Nick’s counterpart wasn’t expecting this and had to quickly dodge out of the way. At this moment, Nick charged into his opponent and threw him against the wall. He followed up with a series of punches and strikes, scoring plenty of hits on the dark fox.
The ZPD officer then grabbed his counterpart and pushed him against the ice chipper machine.
The fox kneed his dark rival in the center of mass, stunning & disorienting him. In that second, with all his might, the ZPD officer threw his dark counterpart headfirst into the ice chipper. Screams quickly turned into low gurgling noises, as the top half of the dark fox disappeared into the device. The chipper soon ground to a halt, dripping and overloaded with material.
Nick breathed heavily, it was over, the other fox was gone. But Nick noticed that his enemy had dropped a communications device during the scuffle, which he quickly recovered.
“I think that was the hardest fight I’ve ever had,” Nick said to himself, grabbing a popsicle out of the freezer before leaving the snack bar, and heading to join the rest of Heroes.
The yacht was cleared, and US warships moved in to recover the hostages and take the vessel back to port.
Nick, Judy, Jack, & Skye were all commended by their friends for the exceptional work they displayed.
The Chinese had once more tried and failed to take Zootopia, & had suffered heavy losses. Another dark hero had been defeated, bringing their numbers down even more. This seemed like a time for celebration, but there were more pressing concerns. Analysis of the communications device recovered from Dark Nick revealed a disturbing recent transmission.
“Situation is too hot. To many hostile soldiers in the vicinity. Too far away from safehouses. Won’t put intelligence gathering operations at risk. Attempting to retreat via sea.”
This could only mean one thing. There was a network of Chinese spies in Zootopia.
Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to wear a mask!
