Minerva was laying on her side, her eyes plastered to the bodies of her children, her breathing shallow, while Number Two watched from afar. Standing there, he heard Dice come into the tree and the two locked eyes. She had tears streaming down her face as well, and she sat beside him. Number Two reached out and put his paw on hers, patting it gently.
"You helped her get home, so I'm eternally grateful to you. I just wish she could've come home to what she left," Dice said quietly.
"I know. It's not your fault," Number Two said, "This is...not your fault, okay? She's going to need you. She just lost all her children, and she's going to need you badly. You're gonna have to be there for her, even with how bad you feel."
"I knew she shouldn't trust him," Dice said, "That mouse, I knew she shouldn't trust him. I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach when she said she was leaving with him to help you guys."
"How did this happen?" Number Two asked, "I...I saw a bear outside, is that-"
"The bear came and said that the mouse would give him some rabbits to eat when we got back, and all he had to do was kill the cubs and Minerva when she got back, but when Minerva nor the mouse ever came back, and the bear had already killed the cubs as prepayment, they realized what they'd gotten themselves into and realized they weren't going to get anything out of it. They felt awful," Dice said.
"Paul..." Minerva called out from across the tree, "Paul..."
Number Two told Dice he'd be right back and he bounded across the tree interior over to Minerva as she just laid on her side, staring straight ahead at the carnage.
"What can I do?" Number Two asked.
"...why would he do this?" she managed to whimper, "Why...why would he...this is beyond cruel, this is just...evil. Someone needs to stop him before he gets away with it AGAIN. He can't...he can't do this again, please."
"I agree," Number Two said, "And I think we should head to my Hollow and gather the others, tell my friends what happened and make some sort of plan of some kind, alright?"
Number Two turned to go back to Dice when she called him back to her side. He turned, came back and sat down next to her, looking in her eyes. Minerva crooked her neck up and looked at him.
"Help me," she said, in between soft sobs, "Hel...help me...bury my children, please."
"Of...of course, whatever you need," Number Two said, before turning and heading back to Dice. When he reached her, they sort of glanced at one another before he just headed out of the tree and stood there, looking at the beautiful fall leaves, feeling sick to his stomach. He wanted to cry too. All this time, all this time what had kept him alive, was not getting involved emotionally. But now? Now he wanted to protect these foxes, get revenge for those pups and see Dodger destroyed in the worst way possible. But how...
After a few moments, Dice came out and sat next to Number Two. Neither one spoke, nor did they even dare to look at one another. They just sat there, staring at the treetops, feeling the cool fall air breeze against their fur. Together, they watched a small family of squirrels at a nearby tree gathering food and then scurrying back up the tree to their home. Dice finally sighed and cleared her throat.
"There was nothing I could do to stop it," she said softly.
"I know that," Number Two, "Nobody is going to blame you for their death. Dodger has...he's done some horrible things, but nothing like this. This is...this is beyond evil, this is just...sick. No matter what happens, I am going to find a way to stop that son of a bitch once and for all."
"I had to watch," Dice said, lowering her ears, "I had to watch them die, watch them be gutted and..."
"Hey, you don't have to talk about it," Number Two said, "Really, it's okay that-"
"No, I...I DO have to talk about it. Talking about it makes it real, instead of just a memory in my head like a nightmare I can't wake up from. I watched these little kids...be massacred and...and...there was nothing I could do, do you understand?"
"Surprisingly, I do," Number Two said, "I came from the lab. I've seen awful things. I've watched them torture other rabbits for the worst possible reasons. One friend had his leg torn off, another was blown up, and all under the guise of 'testing'. I've seen awful things, Dice, so you are NOT alone, okay? I am here for you two, alright?"
Dice looked at Number Two and nodded, as Minerva came out of the tree, holding one of her pups bodies in her jaw and dropping it on the ground before heading back into the tree for the others. Dice and Number Two looked at one another nervously as they watched her, one by one, bring out her dead pups. After all had been brought out, they took them to a spot nearby and Dice dug a hole while Number Two pushed them into it. Afterwards, Dice piled dirt back onto the hole, filling it up and together, the three of them sat around the new makeshift gravesite.
"I feel empty," Minerva said, looking down at the mound, "I feel like MY insides have been torn out of me bit by bit, and now there's nothing left. I told them I'd be back, because I didn't know that the last time I saw them would BE the LAST time. I just hope, if anything, that they knew how much I loved them, and that I didn't mean for this to happen. I hope they didn't think what happened to them was their mothers fault."
"They would never think that," Dice interjected, "You know that, Minerva, they would never ever blame you."
"I worked so hard to protect them from the awful things in these woods, and it turns out, I was the awful thing I should've protected them from. The most awful thing there was I lead right to our doorstep. I don't know how one does something like this and goes on living with themselves, but it isn't...it isn't fair," Minerva said, putting one paw on the mound and sighing, bowing her head, "Mommy loves you. Whether you're here or not, she'll always love you guys."
A loud crack exploded overhead, and rain started to plummet down. Minerva looked up at the sky, her eyes shut, letting the rain soak her. After a few moments, she stood up and she started walking. Number Two and Dice looked at one another before he finally called out to her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"You're taking me to your Hollow," Minerva said, "There's no reason to stay here now. You take me there, and I'll help you kill Dodger."
Number Two didn't know exactly how far the walk back to The Hollow would be, but he knew it was their only option. He hesitated, wondering if he should ask if they should wait until morning, maybe she needed to sleep, but he knew that didn't matter now. She likely wouldn't be able to sleep anyhow. So, Number Two and Dice headed up with her, one on each side, on their way back to The Hollow.
After a few hours of walking in the rain, Dice finally stopped and stood under a large tree, simply to get out of the water for a bit. Number Two stopped with her, but Minerva kept going. Number Two looked at her walking ahead and looked back at Dice, but she merely shrugged. He grunted and ran up to Minerva, slipping in the mud in front of her.
"We need to stop!" he shouted, "This weather is intense and we're going to get sick or hurt, we need to rest!"
"I don't need anything," Minerva said, pushing past him.
"This isn't going to bring them back!" Number Two shouted, making her stop in her tracks. She turned back, snarling and lunged at him, snapping her jaw.
"How dare you even-" she started, but Dice walked in between them quickly.
"Stop it!" she shouted, "Just stop! He's right! Doing this to us, to yourself...it's not going to change what's happened! They're gone, and that is terrible and I am so sorry, you can't even imagine the guilt I feel, but pushing ourselves like this isn't going to fix that!"
"You don't....you don't even-" Minerva started, before collapsing into the mud and sobbing. Number Two walked up and put his paw on her head, gently stroking it.
"I know what it's like. You yourself said I have family, and...I was hesitant to admit it, but you were right. Those rabbits ARE my family...whether I like it or not, and I have to say, I like it. I'm lucky to be with them. Losing some of them the way we have, it's been awful, and you feel like you've lost a part of yourself, because in a way, you HAVE. Relationships with others create new parts of you, and when they go away, it feels like that part of you is gone too, but it ISN'T. That's the part of THEM that survives in YOU, Minerva," Number Two said, Minerva now looking up at him, her face caked in mud and tears as he continued, "I wanna help you. I wanna set this right. But pushing yourself like this isn't the way to start it. Do not let yourself become set on revenge, okay? It WILL destroy you."
Minerva nodded and looked from him to Dice, and Dice smiled gently. Minerva realized he was right, and she was lucky to still have Dice, and to have his friendship now as well. She stood back up, slipping in the mud and rain, before finally standing tall and walking with them over to a tree covering a patch of ground where they could sit and wait out the weather. After walking to the clearing, Minerva curled up, and Dice curled up beside her, and in between the two of them nestled Number Two, feeling safe in this new family.
In the morning, they woke and ate what they could find; drowned groundhogs and a dead bird, and some nearby berries for Number Two, before heading on their way towards The Hollow once again. What could Number Two possibly say to Gerry to get him to recognize what Dodger had done? He knew Gerry had a strange attachment to the mouse, and wouldn't want to kill him, but he had to convince him somehow that this bastard had to finally be put in his place. How would he also justify bringing two foxes, one of which everyone knew was the one Dodger had helped betray them with, to The Hollow? Number Two was going to have a LOT of explaining to do, including just the fact that he wasn't actually dead like everyone likely thought.
When they finally arrived at The Hollow, nobody was outside. Number Two told the foxes to follow him, and he let them all inside The Hollow. He lead them down the tunnel and into the halls, finally landing in the large open public space, finding everyone listening to Gerry. Everyone stopped and turned to see what had shut Gerald up. He was staring at the entrance to The Hollow, now lit up bright from the sun outside flooding in down the hall, as Number Two, followed by Minerva and Dice, entered the space, covered in dirt and blood.
"Number Two," Gerry said, a look of absolute shock on his face at seeing his friend alive after all, "Number Two! You're okay!?"
"We have a more pressing matter," Number Two said, shaking some of the dirt off his fur, his voice cold and flat, "Something that we should've dealt with a long time ago. And his name is Dodger."
Gerry stopped and looked at the foxes, who looked utterly defeated, and then back to Number Two.
"Come with me, we have a lot to discuss," Gerry said, before looking at Kevin and Six, adding, "You too, come with us. I think it's time we had a meeting."
Stone lead Kevin, Six and the foxes down a hall towards her personal chamber, while Number Two stopped Gerry in the hall and looked in his eyes.
"You look like hell," Gerry said.
"I've been better," Number Two said, "Gerry, I am telling you right now, because I don't care what reasons you may have, but once we get into that room and start talking, no matter what the outcome may be, with or without your help or agreement, I WILL be killing Dodger."
Gerry and Number Two stared at one another, until Number Two turned and walked into Stone's room, leaving Gerry alone in the hall with his thoughts before finally coming along inside as well.
"You helped her get home, so I'm eternally grateful to you. I just wish she could've come home to what she left," Dice said quietly.
"I know. It's not your fault," Number Two said, "This is...not your fault, okay? She's going to need you. She just lost all her children, and she's going to need you badly. You're gonna have to be there for her, even with how bad you feel."
"I knew she shouldn't trust him," Dice said, "That mouse, I knew she shouldn't trust him. I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach when she said she was leaving with him to help you guys."
"How did this happen?" Number Two asked, "I...I saw a bear outside, is that-"
"The bear came and said that the mouse would give him some rabbits to eat when we got back, and all he had to do was kill the cubs and Minerva when she got back, but when Minerva nor the mouse ever came back, and the bear had already killed the cubs as prepayment, they realized what they'd gotten themselves into and realized they weren't going to get anything out of it. They felt awful," Dice said.
"Paul..." Minerva called out from across the tree, "Paul..."
Number Two told Dice he'd be right back and he bounded across the tree interior over to Minerva as she just laid on her side, staring straight ahead at the carnage.
"What can I do?" Number Two asked.
"...why would he do this?" she managed to whimper, "Why...why would he...this is beyond cruel, this is just...evil. Someone needs to stop him before he gets away with it AGAIN. He can't...he can't do this again, please."
"I agree," Number Two said, "And I think we should head to my Hollow and gather the others, tell my friends what happened and make some sort of plan of some kind, alright?"
Number Two turned to go back to Dice when she called him back to her side. He turned, came back and sat down next to her, looking in her eyes. Minerva crooked her neck up and looked at him.
"Help me," she said, in between soft sobs, "Hel...help me...bury my children, please."
"Of...of course, whatever you need," Number Two said, before turning and heading back to Dice. When he reached her, they sort of glanced at one another before he just headed out of the tree and stood there, looking at the beautiful fall leaves, feeling sick to his stomach. He wanted to cry too. All this time, all this time what had kept him alive, was not getting involved emotionally. But now? Now he wanted to protect these foxes, get revenge for those pups and see Dodger destroyed in the worst way possible. But how...
After a few moments, Dice came out and sat next to Number Two. Neither one spoke, nor did they even dare to look at one another. They just sat there, staring at the treetops, feeling the cool fall air breeze against their fur. Together, they watched a small family of squirrels at a nearby tree gathering food and then scurrying back up the tree to their home. Dice finally sighed and cleared her throat.
"There was nothing I could do to stop it," she said softly.
"I know that," Number Two, "Nobody is going to blame you for their death. Dodger has...he's done some horrible things, but nothing like this. This is...this is beyond evil, this is just...sick. No matter what happens, I am going to find a way to stop that son of a bitch once and for all."
"I had to watch," Dice said, lowering her ears, "I had to watch them die, watch them be gutted and..."
"Hey, you don't have to talk about it," Number Two said, "Really, it's okay that-"
"No, I...I DO have to talk about it. Talking about it makes it real, instead of just a memory in my head like a nightmare I can't wake up from. I watched these little kids...be massacred and...and...there was nothing I could do, do you understand?"
"Surprisingly, I do," Number Two said, "I came from the lab. I've seen awful things. I've watched them torture other rabbits for the worst possible reasons. One friend had his leg torn off, another was blown up, and all under the guise of 'testing'. I've seen awful things, Dice, so you are NOT alone, okay? I am here for you two, alright?"
Dice looked at Number Two and nodded, as Minerva came out of the tree, holding one of her pups bodies in her jaw and dropping it on the ground before heading back into the tree for the others. Dice and Number Two looked at one another nervously as they watched her, one by one, bring out her dead pups. After all had been brought out, they took them to a spot nearby and Dice dug a hole while Number Two pushed them into it. Afterwards, Dice piled dirt back onto the hole, filling it up and together, the three of them sat around the new makeshift gravesite.
"I feel empty," Minerva said, looking down at the mound, "I feel like MY insides have been torn out of me bit by bit, and now there's nothing left. I told them I'd be back, because I didn't know that the last time I saw them would BE the LAST time. I just hope, if anything, that they knew how much I loved them, and that I didn't mean for this to happen. I hope they didn't think what happened to them was their mothers fault."
"They would never think that," Dice interjected, "You know that, Minerva, they would never ever blame you."
"I worked so hard to protect them from the awful things in these woods, and it turns out, I was the awful thing I should've protected them from. The most awful thing there was I lead right to our doorstep. I don't know how one does something like this and goes on living with themselves, but it isn't...it isn't fair," Minerva said, putting one paw on the mound and sighing, bowing her head, "Mommy loves you. Whether you're here or not, she'll always love you guys."
A loud crack exploded overhead, and rain started to plummet down. Minerva looked up at the sky, her eyes shut, letting the rain soak her. After a few moments, she stood up and she started walking. Number Two and Dice looked at one another before he finally called out to her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"You're taking me to your Hollow," Minerva said, "There's no reason to stay here now. You take me there, and I'll help you kill Dodger."
Number Two didn't know exactly how far the walk back to The Hollow would be, but he knew it was their only option. He hesitated, wondering if he should ask if they should wait until morning, maybe she needed to sleep, but he knew that didn't matter now. She likely wouldn't be able to sleep anyhow. So, Number Two and Dice headed up with her, one on each side, on their way back to The Hollow.
After a few hours of walking in the rain, Dice finally stopped and stood under a large tree, simply to get out of the water for a bit. Number Two stopped with her, but Minerva kept going. Number Two looked at her walking ahead and looked back at Dice, but she merely shrugged. He grunted and ran up to Minerva, slipping in the mud in front of her.
"We need to stop!" he shouted, "This weather is intense and we're going to get sick or hurt, we need to rest!"
"I don't need anything," Minerva said, pushing past him.
"This isn't going to bring them back!" Number Two shouted, making her stop in her tracks. She turned back, snarling and lunged at him, snapping her jaw.
"How dare you even-" she started, but Dice walked in between them quickly.
"Stop it!" she shouted, "Just stop! He's right! Doing this to us, to yourself...it's not going to change what's happened! They're gone, and that is terrible and I am so sorry, you can't even imagine the guilt I feel, but pushing ourselves like this isn't going to fix that!"
"You don't....you don't even-" Minerva started, before collapsing into the mud and sobbing. Number Two walked up and put his paw on her head, gently stroking it.
"I know what it's like. You yourself said I have family, and...I was hesitant to admit it, but you were right. Those rabbits ARE my family...whether I like it or not, and I have to say, I like it. I'm lucky to be with them. Losing some of them the way we have, it's been awful, and you feel like you've lost a part of yourself, because in a way, you HAVE. Relationships with others create new parts of you, and when they go away, it feels like that part of you is gone too, but it ISN'T. That's the part of THEM that survives in YOU, Minerva," Number Two said, Minerva now looking up at him, her face caked in mud and tears as he continued, "I wanna help you. I wanna set this right. But pushing yourself like this isn't the way to start it. Do not let yourself become set on revenge, okay? It WILL destroy you."
Minerva nodded and looked from him to Dice, and Dice smiled gently. Minerva realized he was right, and she was lucky to still have Dice, and to have his friendship now as well. She stood back up, slipping in the mud and rain, before finally standing tall and walking with them over to a tree covering a patch of ground where they could sit and wait out the weather. After walking to the clearing, Minerva curled up, and Dice curled up beside her, and in between the two of them nestled Number Two, feeling safe in this new family.
In the morning, they woke and ate what they could find; drowned groundhogs and a dead bird, and some nearby berries for Number Two, before heading on their way towards The Hollow once again. What could Number Two possibly say to Gerry to get him to recognize what Dodger had done? He knew Gerry had a strange attachment to the mouse, and wouldn't want to kill him, but he had to convince him somehow that this bastard had to finally be put in his place. How would he also justify bringing two foxes, one of which everyone knew was the one Dodger had helped betray them with, to The Hollow? Number Two was going to have a LOT of explaining to do, including just the fact that he wasn't actually dead like everyone likely thought.
When they finally arrived at The Hollow, nobody was outside. Number Two told the foxes to follow him, and he let them all inside The Hollow. He lead them down the tunnel and into the halls, finally landing in the large open public space, finding everyone listening to Gerry. Everyone stopped and turned to see what had shut Gerald up. He was staring at the entrance to The Hollow, now lit up bright from the sun outside flooding in down the hall, as Number Two, followed by Minerva and Dice, entered the space, covered in dirt and blood.
"Number Two," Gerry said, a look of absolute shock on his face at seeing his friend alive after all, "Number Two! You're okay!?"
"We have a more pressing matter," Number Two said, shaking some of the dirt off his fur, his voice cold and flat, "Something that we should've dealt with a long time ago. And his name is Dodger."
Gerry stopped and looked at the foxes, who looked utterly defeated, and then back to Number Two.
"Come with me, we have a lot to discuss," Gerry said, before looking at Kevin and Six, adding, "You too, come with us. I think it's time we had a meeting."
Stone lead Kevin, Six and the foxes down a hall towards her personal chamber, while Number Two stopped Gerry in the hall and looked in his eyes.
"You look like hell," Gerry said.
"I've been better," Number Two said, "Gerry, I am telling you right now, because I don't care what reasons you may have, but once we get into that room and start talking, no matter what the outcome may be, with or without your help or agreement, I WILL be killing Dodger."
Gerry and Number Two stared at one another, until Number Two turned and walked into Stone's room, leaving Gerry alone in the hall with his thoughts before finally coming along inside as well.