R U N

[Tarzan]

Tarzan nodded at Flynn's suggestion. Though he did not have his spear or any weapon and a group of pissed off Lions is not something you would just run into without preparation. Tarzan survived being smart after all.
"I can help. Though I don't feel great about it. I will help safeguard Jasper. I'm just glad Jane is not here to see this."

[Zamora]

Zamora gives a deep groan as she shifts to her feet, feeling a warm trail of blood begin to work it’s way from her hip. Coming to a sliding halt like that had torn up her leg, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her. There was too much to do. Too much at stake. Broad arms tighten carefully around the unconscious creature in her grip, pale eyes beginning to flick about.

First, there’s Marahute. There’s a wash of relief in Zamora’s expression at the sight of the eagle. She was wise, not to mention strong, like the flow of nature in avian form. Zamora trusted her with her life, and at the moment, trust seemed to be all that was left in the world.

Next, there was Marahute— wait. That’s not right. Are there two now? This one is darker. It’s only when Nevada’s scent hits the Pit Beast does she realize what’s happened. Her beloveds were blessed, they could shift forms at will. Despite the shape, this one was Nevada. Another person she could trust.

There’s a grunt as Zamora returns to Nevada, gently offering Kanzi to the feathery form. A chatter here, one of frantic thought. The children were safe, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Pale eyes glance to Marahute, an almost pleading look to them.

“Safe? Get safe?”

It seems she’s asking Marahute to get her family and the surplus of children to safety. Broad hands carefully cup Nevada’s avian face, and split lips press gently where beak meets feathers between his eyes.

“Be safe.”

With that, she turns, pushing her way towards Pride Rock. She had faith in Nevada and Marahute, but there was someone she’d lost track of.

She was going to get Jasper.

——

Dhall, wanting to ensure safety, had followed Mulan, but stayed a few paces back when it came to their decision. Fate had already shown them to not have blind faith in a monarchy; she wouldn’t cloud their response with her presence. When a verdict is reached, however, she speaks up in an even tone.

“Prepare your prisons if you must, but I would highly encourage preparing as many hands as you can for a medical response, and make space to do so. We’ll need more than a fair judgement after this, and it won’t do anyone any good if a verdict is found in a courtroom of corpses.”

Molten gaze shifts back to the ramshackle camp, a soft noise escaping frowning lips, “I’ll do my best to get back to my supplies, bring aboard everything I’ve got that’ll make half a decent bandage or splint. Focus on finding as many medics as you can, we’ll need all the trained hands we can get.”

”I’d go to wander the crowd and find my lo- Rapunzel, and anyone else who needs to get the hell out of dodge.”

“Is that the healer girl that you follow about all starry-eyed? We’ll need her, too. And you’ll need more than a cooking utensil to get to her, if she’s still out there.”

There’s a soft crack, and Dhall pulls a part of her stone shell away from her molten core, and offers the stone to him. It’s obsidian. Warm. Sharp as any honed knife would be.

“You walk amongst predators and madness, Rogue. Step lightly, but firmly, and do not hesitate. Your wits and your focus are the only things standing between you and a bloody death.

May your steps be relentless.”

——

“Sir, you hit your mark, straight through the chest. There’s no way she’ll survive that.”

Frothing anger wasn’t something to startle most Geck. Gaggling around large, aggressive predators had a bit of a.. desensitizing effect, really. The only thing that bothered Huela at the moment was that she didn’t know how to fix the pod’s problem. If she understood the mechanism, she’d already be on it. But The Gourmand guarded that secret, and she respected that. Even if it means she felt a bit useless at the moment.

Unfortunately, lost focus would be a nail in a coffin. The little creature had been marked for trouble, after all. And Huela hadn’t noticed the lioness still intent to collect.

There’s a sharp noise as claws slam against the side of The Gourmand’s pod. With nowhere to properly grab on, the Predator is quick to be swept up by gravity, but it seems she’s still done something.

The only evidence that something else had been on the side of the stone was a splash of blood, and a small figure rapidly plummeting towards the ground.

[The Gourmand]

The Gourmand lifted a hand to grab the armrest and steady himself from the hit. For a moment, he just appeared annoyed, then eyes widened and he quickly turned his head to either side of him as if looking for something. He locked in on the sight of blood and followed the direction it appeared to be smeared in. If his adrenaline hadn’t started pumping then, he may have commented on the amount of people falling off this worthless rock today.

Two instincts hit him simultaneously; kill and dive. His thumb pressed hard into a button on his throttle, causing the big turret on the underside of his pod to fire rapidly, blowing craters out of the solid stone. Of course, the destruction was wild and indiscriminate because he wasn’t even looking where he was aiming and the majority of his attention focused on pulling the gear shift up. He had to go faster if he stood even the smallest chance of grabbing his -- acquaintance. The Gourmand put his body weight against the lever. Something dark appeared below his neck, right where a necklace of teeth sat… but that wasn’t a necklace. The teeth parted slightly and a second mouth let out a guttural growl of exertion.

Something gave a clamorous clang and the lever pulled forward. It sounded like he broke something. Regardless, now able to go at full speed, he took his finger off the trigger and drove the pod straight down. But he had taken too long getting in gear and wasn’t able to catch the small alien, though he wasn’t far behind. He pulled up at the last possible moment, a burst of steam from the bottom of his vehicle sending up a flurry of dust as he braked hard, stopping only a foot over the ground.

Blip... Blip... Blip... Blip…

It was only then the Gourmand noticed the searing heat coming from the dashboard his belly was pressed against. He sat back to avoid being burned and looked down, now aware of the soft warning sounds his pod was giving. He checked the charge; 74%. Then he spotted the red beeping lights; “Overheat”. “Internal Damage”.

… “Containment Compartment Leak”.

His eyes widened. That was referring to the compartment he kept the magical pearl he used as a power source. Being exposed to the pearl’s magical energy would slowly cause him to fall ill and now the compartment meant to keep that energy contained was leaking. It didn’t serve much of a danger to anyone else, as they were not bound to the pearl’s magic like he was. But the Gourmand himself was in trouble.

Deciding it was more important to press on for now, he slowly moved forward through the clearing dust, eyes quickly twitching this way and that for a sign of his friend.

[Deleted]

Two elders were also in attendance of the trial-turned-bloodbath; one alive, one dead.

Both women had been content to stay on the outskirts of the mandatory meeting; neither one had been with the Freedom Fighters long enough to know everything that had happened in recent events.

How glad Imelda and Tala were now that they had kept their distance.

The two women exchanged a horrified glance as secrets, horrendous secrets, were spilled, sparking outrage and causing friends to attack friends, even family to attack family.

"The queen has gone insane!" Imelda gasped, voice soft in her unease. "This whole thing is insane!"

--

Tala's usual soft expression was nowhere to be found. It had been replaced instead with a hard, serious one. Regardless of the chaos, a switch had flipped inside her that seemed to bring a deathly calm over her.

"This is not the way for an army to be...wrestling for power, corrupted hearts...we cannot stop this, Imelda," she said grimly, "but we can do our jobs. Come. Let us see if any of these creatures has the sense to help us with the wounded...and the dead."

Tala did not like to think what they would find of the poor lioness who was pushed from great height.

--

Beside her, Imelda nodded, and wrung her bony hands as she walked with Tala, giving the gathering a very wide berth to stay out of the firing range. It would not be easy to get through the outraged crowd, but if they could at least get people out, they could be treated.

(ooc; if anybody sees the ladies and wants to help wounded allies, got your back right here)

[Jasper]

It had taken everything in his will and body for him not to outstretch a paw to stop that boy in his tracks. He knew and understood why he didn't want to follow him but it wasn't like there was much of a choice. If his own aunts were attacking him, did he honestly think he stood a chance trying to fend for himself?

Ears flattened and his muzzle crinkled trying to compress down his feelings of irritation before he parted his jaws to speak but it was stopped short. The sound of a lioness' roar had caused him to snap his jaw shut, turning to see what was going on and if he needed to brace for another attack. However as dust was kicked up and more gun fire released from Gourmand's pod happened he found him instinctively crouching down, and when something thudded close to him, he back reeled as far as possible. Thinking it was some of the heavy rock debris that had begun to clatter down around them.

But it's not that. It's something else. It takes him a moment before he realizes what it is.

Or more, who it is.

He feels a hard pang of agony in his chest. Huela. Mismatched hues looked down at the geck, hesitant to move but his body acts before his mind really can comprehend what he's doing. He moved closer, inspecting for signs of movement, life, anything but his mind was going to fast to process. He moved to clamp his jaws over the tiny creature carefully before pressing the geck onto his wide back. Nestling her into his thick fur to where she can't slip off of his back before turning his eyes back to the cubs. Huela was injured, he had seen the damage and he was sure her blood was now staining his fur.

They didn't have time for arguing who would follow who. Afua would either follow or be left behind, he had to focus on Kopa and Kiara.

He shook his head lightly, it seemed like the only one who had sense right now was Kiara. He moved quickly, nudging Kiara forward with an almost parental type of push before attempting to take the three down the backside of Pride Rock and down to safety sticking close to the smallest of the cubs.

[Huela]

Alright, think. What happened? Where are we?

There was... a lion. Yeah, okay. Then there was pain, and.. a fall. A long one. Then there was impact. That had hurt, a lot. There was a bounce, then nothing for a moment. So tired... —no, focus! If we sleep, we die. Stay awake! What was next? ...A sharp gust of steam and dust, the smell of overheating machinery, then... teeth? Ah, crap, the lion survived. And now... fur? Were they really still trying to arrest her? After all this? There’s no time for that, gotta get back...

There’s a groan as orange eyes struggle to open for the first time in what feels like a year. Limbs seem to test themselves one by one, as if taking stock. Right leg, arm, and wing, screaming in pain. Not good. Left arm and wing seem okay, left leg... not responding. That’s really not good. Dazed gaze searches carefully, attempting to make heads or tails of the situation. Through the dust and mental fog, she does recognize something, however. A hulking, terrifying figure amongst the chaos. Searing machinery and massive weapons.

That was safety.

Huela grunts as she tries to prop herself up on her only good arm, sharp teeth flashed in a grimace.

“... You can’t take me. Your queen’s a crazy bitch... Fuck the monarchy, I’m... going home...”

[Flynn Rider]

OOC: Please forgive me for the massive word count. Everything in the first section is important to the ongoing thread; the rest is a bit of a solo journey the muse needed to take. I've spoilered some of the (in my opinion) more graphic descriptions in that section, so if you're adverse to the mention of blood or injury, I'd recommend avoiding them. Again, please forgive me; the muse wanted to go, so I didn't hold back. Thank you, and please enjoy. -Flynn 

---

Eugene… That’s a knife.

Eugene knew exactly what he was looking at, despite coming from the molten core of a forge queen. An obsidian knife. Sharper than most metals, leaving a finer, deeper cut. One of Flynnigan Rider’s tales had the hero being gifted a knife similar to this by an ancient king, who told him that it would cut through the darkness like a beam of light. The legendary hero then went on to slay the evil cult taking over that land, save the beautiful maiden, and (of course, because it’s a Flynnigan Rider story) get the gold.

This… This wasn’t a situation Flynnigan Rider was ever in.

Eugene Fitzherbert was charting unknown territory; savings lives in the midst of a bloody battlefield.

And now he had a knife.

“You walk amongst predators and madness, Rogue. Step lightly, but firmly, and do not hesitate. Your wits and your focus are the only things standing between you and a bloody death. "

"May your steps be relentless.”

Y’know, Flynn really felt like he was really garnering some respect from the people around him. He bowed slightly to Dhall, and responded, “When it comes to Rapunzel, anything less would be disrespectful. Thanks.” Glancing to the others, he grinned a bit before starting to walk backwards through the crowd. “Not a lot of time to waste. Go find Jasper! We’ll meet back on board our ticket out of here!”

And then Eugene turned and ran.

---

Run.

RUN.

Come on, Eugene, we need to MOVE!

The crowd was wild; friends were at each other’s throats, while those who had little to no patience with each other found this an easy opportunity to lash out violently. One of the angrier members of the mob turned to Flynn, sword in hand, looking for someone to take out any pent up rage. The dexterous rogue, running full speed towards the larger man, noted the bloodlust in his eye and kept his eyes focused on getting around or through him. The swordsman shouted something Flynn couldn’t understand, and raised his sword hand, swinging downward to catch Flynn with the blade.

Leaving a big enough opening to slide through and keep running.

Swinging his satchel higher up on his back, Flynn fell into a slide, dodging the sword slash by a few inches, and picked himself up running again. No time to fight and die; Eugene needed to get to Rapunzel. He heard some yelling from behind but paid it little attention.
Lightly but firmly, and always relentless.

Reaching the medic’s tent, Flynn burst through the open flap, and with swelling pride, found Rapunzel towering over two unsavory (and unconscious) Freedom Fighters, frying pan in hand. Stopping to catch his breath, there was little time to react before the brunette tackled him with a massive hug. “Eugene! Thank goodness you’re safe! These two tried to steal my equipment, and well, I guess they haven’t seen how handy we are with frying pans.”

Flynn simply smiled. “You are one heck of a princess, Blondie. Now, come on, Silver has his shi-”

“EUGENE, LOOK OUT!”

The rogue had barely a breath to push Rapunzel out of the way before he felt a sword handle in the middle of his back. Rolling across the ground, Flynn came face to face with the burly thug from earlier. “Oy, thought you could get away from me, did ya? Well, now I’m really mad. Mad enough to break you into two, bucko!” The sword glinted, and Flynn could see red on it. What the hell is going on? It’s almost like…

His thought cut off as the man charged. Flynn rolled to the right, watching as the man burst into a table of delicate medical supplies. “Rapunzel, get out of here, now!” He couldn’t tell if she did leave or not; he had to make sure this brute didn’t go after her.

Turning in a rage, the sword-wielder attempted to swing multiple slashes at the smaller man, but Flynn’s years of quick reflexes came to help. Using his frying pan to swipe away sword strikes as well, Eugene’s mind kept going to the knife on his side. It’d be quick… One simple stab right below the collarbone would stun, then-

No. We gave up that life a LONG time ago. There’s a way we can handle this withou-

The next few moments flashed before Eugene’s eyes. In later retellings, he only remembered brief flashes of what happened when he got the straight scar on his chest...

SPOILER: Click to show

-A lapse in concentration-

-The frying pan flying across the tent-

-A warm gash in the stomach-

-Eugene on the ground, watching blood stain his clothes red-

-The thug standing above, cackling in delight-

-But no scream in the tent-

Hah, she must have gotten away after all. Good. That’s more important than anything.

Even more than the life she gave back to you, Fitzherbert?

...Yeah.

Sound began coming back. “...Any last words before I rip you in half?”

A glance around. A head of brunette hair, clutching a frying pan, moving slowly towards the guy.

Wait.

What the HELL is SHE still doing here? She could get hurt, or worse or-

Or save both our lives.

“HEY, cat got ya tongue, Rider? Cumeon now, I’ve haven’t all day.”

Flynn glanced up. The almost-ogre looked down at him with a wicked stare. A plan began to formulate, but there was one last thing needed. His hand moved slowly but firmly towards the warm knife on his side.

The rogue flashed his assailant a warm, Flynn Rider smile. “Wow, how did you know I had a planned final speech?”

The massive man looked confused. From the corner of his eye, the captured thief saw a loosening in the man’s sword hand, slackened from shock. It had to be-

“NOW!”

SPOILER: Click to show

A flash of a knife moving through a single ray of sun from an opening in the medical tent went unnoticed by the large thug. Blood oozed from his wrist as Flynn slashed the knife with force across it. The thug’s hand opened in shock, leaving the sword to clatter to the ground. The loud crash of a frying pan meeting a human skull followed suit.

The man fell to the floor, head resting to Flynn’s left. Reaching over to check for signs of life, Flynn felt an exhale and, internally, sighed in relief. No one needed to die today. He’d stand with a triumphant cheer and keep moving.

The sudden weakness in his chest reminded him why that was a pretty piss poor idea.

“Eugene,” Rapunzel whimpered quietly as she dropped down beside him. “Out of all your ideas, that was probably one of the stupidest. Stay still.” Quickly laying her hands beside him, she muttered something under her breath, and a slight healing magic began to flow across him. Eugene felt… heh. It still ached, and it probably wasn’t completely sealed, but he could move.

A cough was followed by that slight smile the princess was familiar with. “Yeah, I know Blondie. Good thing I’ve got you to bail me out all the time.”

She huffed, and wrapped his arm around her neck, earning Rapunzel a slight protesting sound from Flynn. (Not that he minded being close to a pretty lady; his fake reputation among the men and women trying to kill each other was at stake!) The two made their way out of the tent and moved as swiftly as they could to the airship.

[Afua]

Afua stops walking, he was half way down the path that leads behind the giant rock. His ears swivel forward as he turns back to his best friend.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go with my sister,"

“You don’t have to do shit. No one is forcing you to go with that murderer. Only reason you really are going is because your sister is asking you to” he glares back at him

"How about you follow us?"

The frown still hadn’t left the young male’s muzzle as Kopa asked the question.

“Why? You gonna continuing following Jasper? cause if so no way” he watches as Jasper leads his friend down the path scooting aside to let him pass with a glare. Reluctantly he trails along behind so he could be able to talk to Kopa more.

[John Silver]

The ursid’s cybernetic eye zooms in on Rapunzel and Flynn as they make their way towards his ship quickly he moves to meet them half way. “Ye two good to go?” He shoves an random thug out of the out of the way as he guards their way to the longboats.

“Where’s Mulan? She should be the only one whose missing” he frowned looking across the mayhem that used to be his allies. “We’ll Get yet patched up at best we can Flynn, hang tight lad” his brow furrows upon sight of the wound 

[Jasper]

Jasper's eyes narrowed, brows knitting together in frustration. After everything Nala had done? After the betrayal and the deceit, the lioness queen had been so ready to cause? After she threw a child - his child - off the cliff? All of that and this cub still bared his fangs at him. Jasper knew what he'd done was wrong, he wouldn't deny that. But to act as if he were the only one at fault here when they all knew the truth-

Something broke through Jasper's frustration and forced his focus. A sound, cutting through the roar of the rebellion like a knife causing the slightest twitch in his ear. He barely even noticed Huela wriggling out of his grip, as every fiber of his being stood on edge, instincts screaming as he strained to understand the source of the noise. It sounded close, so very close for him to be able to catch it above the din of the crowd. Crunching, cracking, breaking...

Breaking.

Jasper's haphazard entourage had taken to fleeing down the backend of Pride Rock; it was an often overlooked path used by the lions to reach its inner depths for safety. It was also concealed by rocky overhangs and precipices. In the Gourmand's enthusiasm for violence, many of these had been damaged in the gunfire. It had been exactly what these already precarious boulders had needed to begin shifting. It was like the rumble of a stampede as the first few rocks fell, not so heavy but to be of concern. His body turned on the thin ledge, ready to jolt to action when he saw it.

One of the more defined overhangs began to crack and break, tossing down pebbles at first but soon would be boulders bigger than the cubs themselves. Sickness stirred in his stomach as he threw his colossal form into the cubs. All three, Kiara first then Kopa and Afua being sent down the side of the ledge and to safety as all hell came down. The geck too had fallen with them, the loud thud of rocks was what Jasper heard first, and then searing pain through his form.

His back legs did not respond and as he tried to breathe in, his lungs repulsed hacking out spittles of blood the painted the rock side red. His vision buckled, brows knitting as he turned his head to access the damage. A boulder about half his size had crushed his back. He hadn't even realized he was laying flat against the ledge. He didn't register anything as his gaze began to wonder. The earth felt like it shook again but he wasn't sure if it was, in fact, the earth or him...

This isn't it. This can't be it. There's still so much to do, there's still so much I have to make right...

They have to know. Kanzi and Kiara have to know, about Nala, about Simba, about me... They need to know how much I love them, Shani needs to know... Boso... Boso needs me- They need me-

It's getting cold...

Zam... Zam you tried so hard...

I can't keep awake...

Nevada... Oh god Nevada... I promised. I promised I'd never leave you again. I swore I was going to be there for you.

Jo... Johael... Maybe I'll see...

Mulan, Huela, Hikaru, all of you... You were my friends... is this how it's... it's really going to..

= C R A S H =