FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"...And we still don't know how many victims there were, and neither how many mammals are trapped inside of the mall at this very moment. However, we know that many mammals were not able to escape before the exits have been blocked." The mammal on the screen said, as he narrated the events that were developing on the New Den Plaza, as he explained how the place was seized by suspicious mammals and that the entrances had all been blocked and that now a number of mammals were stranded inside.

"Many mammals are already considered missing, and among them are the sentenced criminal Dawn Bellwether, who slipped away during the chaos, a number of officers of the ZPD who were offering support for the security of the mall, and ZNN employees Victoria Vulpen and Cameron Beagues. The ZPD has formed a perimeter around the mall and they are now deciding on how to proceed..." The reporter continued and the one who had been watching the news continued to look at the screen of the old television.

"Dammit..." Zillah Ferron said as she stood on her chair, looking at the screen. The ferret was deep in thought, with her familiar standing next to her chair. Both the mammal and her bird looked at the screen, although Cory was probably looking more out of curiosity than true interest in what was being show.

Zillah, however, had true interest in what she was seeing, and as she looked, she thought hard. At some point, she reached for her glasses and removed them from her face, looking even more intently at the television.

Her eyes then changed color, turning into a neon-green coloration. She looked at the television, as her face was one of focus. Her features changed as she continued to look. After nearly five minutes, she groaned s she looked away, placing her glasses back on her face.

Her eyes had changed back to their regular coloration, and she panted a bit.

Suddenly, she turned the television off and got up of the chair.

"Cory, we are going to the mall!" She said; her face full of determination as she looked at her familiar, who looked back at her.

---

The situation was tense and developing on the New Den Plaza, as the mall had been take and sieged.

An unknown number of mammals now were inside of the mall, seemingly taken as hostages by the many mammals that were forcing the place closed. The main entrance had been blocked, and so were the other entrances that the ZPD tried to force open, only to find out that the doors wouldn't budge.

A perimeter was form around the mall, with someone watching all of the possible entrances and exits. All of them stayed in there and waited.

Around the determined perimeter, many mammals had gathered and now looked at the mall. Many of them were curious mammals who wanted to see what was going on in there, as the new mall being take and everyone inside made hostage was kind of a big deal. However, among them were also some mammals who were either friends or relatives with the ones that were still missing and, presumably, inside of the mall as hostages. That, of course, not to mention the great deal of mammals that were in there as reporters, covering the sudden event that was developing, that included the guy from the ZNN and the guys from the other tv crews.

The ZPD had been swift to act once they heard that the mall had been siege, as they were quick to bring on reinforcements from other districts and to set up a base of operations to be able to deal with the situation. Soon a big tent was place there to serve as their base of operations, complete with a few tables and some equipment that was bring by the tactical teams to help on everything. They even got the support of the special T.U.S.K. unity, who were more than willing to help them on the development of the event, and to help solve it as fast as it was possible.

Now a number of officers were working in and out of the tent, all of them trying to better understand what was going on and how to deal with the situation. Delgato and Rhinowitz were now finishing taking statements from other mammals who had managed to escape the mall before it was sealed. They all said the same thing, that the mall was seize by a whole group of crazy mammals with weapons, and some of them even insistently asked about their friends and familiars, which were in there with them as the mall was siege, and that had gotten lost from them on the rush to get out. The two officers wished that they could do anything to help. Unfortunately, it was beyond their reach.

Just as it was beyond their reach to help Judy's family.

The bunny was inside of the tent, and she was standing on a big chair as she was looking at her phone, which she had placed on the big table that was in front of herself. She only stood in there, her ears folded behind her head, and looking anxiously at her phone as she nervously fumbled with her own paws.

She continued to look at the phone as if it could ring on any moment, bringing her news of anyone that could be inside the mall.

Her family was in that place when it was seize. So were her neighbors. And Benjamin. And many of her fellow officers and friends.

She had tried to get news from them, to hear if they had got out of the mall before the ones who took it blocked all the exits, but they were not among the ones who escaped. This left only one option: they were still in the mall, probably as hostages of the ones who had taken over.

She tried to call them through their cellphones, but with no success. It seemed that none of them could answer. She even thought about calling the Oryx-Antlersons, but she realized that she never truly caught the cellphone of either of them. She felt even a bit ashamed, but she never truly had the need to learn their cellphones, once they lived literally next doors with her.

As a result, she only stayed where she was, with her phone placed over the table and looking at it, waiting anxiously for the phone to ring and let her know if her family and friends were okay. Meanwhile, all that she could do was wait and pray that they truly were...

"Oi, Carrots?" A voice suddenly caught her attention, and she looked to the side to see a familiar fox walking on her direction.

"Nick!" She exclaimed as she immediately jumped out of the chair and ran to him. As soon as she reached him, she pulled him into a very tight hug, putting her arms around his waist and holding it as hard as she possibly could. She felt like she should hold him and not let go.

"Carrots?" Nick said, as the bunny once more proved to be quite strong for her size. "Carrots, you are kind of turning me into an hourglass here."

With this, Judy let go of him, however, she was still glad that he had escaped with no actual wounds save from a light bruising.

"Where is Bogo?" Judy asked, and the fox looked back at her.

"It will take a while more to get the Chief out of the van. When the guys tried to crush it like a can they managed to bend the front in a way that the steering wheel is now pinning Buffalo Butt's chest." The fox explained, "They say it will take a while to be able to cut it enough to let him out... So, any news from your parents?"

Judy's ears dropped again, and she looked down as she shook her head. Nick cursed under his breath at this.

"Just what kind of guys take over a mall full of mammals?" Nick asked, and the answer came:

"Usually terrorists, but sometimes robbers might also do that."

Nick and Judy both turned to look at whom it was, and they found McChill looking back at them. He looked at the fox.

"So, I see they got you out of the van." He said, and his tone was not exactly caring. Nick looked back at him.

"Yeah, they had to cut through the metal to open space for me to pass through. Luckily I didn't get wounds." The fox said, "Guess I was lucky."

"Yeah... amazing how some mammals can be quite lucky." The bear said, and he continued to look down at the fox. Nick could still feel the common antipathy that was usually on the eyes of the polar bear as he looked at him. Still, Nick didn't let himself be fazed by this in the slightest.

"So, McChill." Judy said; wanting to diverge the situation from the path it was taking. Now was just not the time for that. "There is any developments on the situation? Any news from the inside? Or any demands from the ones who took the mall?"

The polar bear looked at Nick for a few more moments, before he sighed, and looked at the bunny as he spoke:

"Nothing coming from the inside." He spoke, "We cannot contact our guys on the inside. There is something wrong with the radio. Maybe they have something to jam the signal or something. Also there was no contact of the ones responsible, no demands or anything. At least not yet."

"What could they possibly want?" Nick asked.

"The obvious, I guess." McChill said, "Money or to make some form of statement over something."

"Not sure about that." Nick said, as he remembered what happened a few hours ago. "These guys didn't stroke me as the type who cared about money."

"Yeah, you would know the type, wouldn't you, Wilde?" McChill looked at him as he spoke that, and Nick was pretty sure that there was some kind of insinuation behind these words. Judy was quick to cut them off.

"There were golems among them." Judy said as she caught the attention of the two. "The enforcers said that they are a type of familiar that mages use. So, I guess it is safe to assume that there are mages involved in this."

"Agree." Nick said.

"Yeah, if we can even trust the word of these two foxes." McChill said, and this caused Nick and Judy to look at him.

"Amazing how even a situation like that does not makes you stop being the dear speciest jerk that we all know and love." Nick said, and McChill glared at him for a while, and he said:

"I'm just saying that they are not being totally honest." The polar bear said, "I do have the feeling that there are other things that they are not saying, and that they are not being honest with us. You can't help me from mistrusting these two pelts."

Nick and Judy both looked at the bear, both of them wanting to say something at him. However, someone beat them to it:

"Once more you commentaries can be quite offensive, Officer McChill."

All the eyes turned to see the two enforcers standing in there. Marceli looked as serious and professional as always. Emilia was standing next to him, and she looked a bit more upset as she looked at the bear.

"So, you guys talking about us?" The vixen said, and the bear looked at them for a while.

"Well, just imagining what kind of information that you have been upholding." The bear said, and the foxes looked at him.

"I must admit, we have not been telling you all that we know from the beginning, and maybe we should have, considering what is happening now." The black fox said, looking at the mammals on the room, who all looked back at him as he spoke. "This is a matter that involves mages, as it is probably already clear to all of you. As such, this matter concerns the Association. We are now offering all of our help to you in this matter."

"Well, that is really good to know." Nick said to them, and Judy was already coming forward:

"So, any plan to help the ones inside the mall?"

Before either of the foxes could answer, someone came into the tent.

"Something is happening!" The mammal in uniform said to the ones inside. They shared a look among themselves, and soon they were going outside to see what was going on.

The mall was pretty much the way that it was on the last time they checked. It was with the doors blocked, and the place looked like it was still lock down. However, now there was a new feature that was coming in sight, and it was a single mammal walking forward, coming from the main entrance.

He looked like some big bear, wearing long brown pants and a pink shirt, and he was walking forward in steady steps, apparently in direction to the crowd.

"What is that?"

"Did someone else managed to escape?"

"Could it be one of the guys who took the mall?"

These and more questions were asked as the mammal walked in direction to the crowd, all under the eyes of the group of mammals, as well as of the members of the ZPD that had pulled their guns and were pointing it at the mammal. They were ready in the case of anything, and some of them were even shouting instructions for the mammal to stop and identify himself.

However, the big predator ignored them, and continued to walk at their direction. Once he got closer, something strange started to happen.

It was as if the image of the bear was flickering. It was as if the very image was somehow shifting and changing focus. Suddenly, the image got out of focus, and when the focus returned, the bear was no longer a bear. Instead, it was a golem roughly shaped like a bear.

This caused a reaction from the crowd, as many gasped and talked among themselves on what had just happened, and the cops now were urging even more for the figure to stop where it was.

Of course, the golem continued to walk in direction to the crowd, and this granted the cops to pull the triggers and fire darts at it. The darts flew and collided dully with the stone body of the golem, falling uselessly to the ground.

The mammals who had come out of the tent were looking at the golem that was coming their way.

"What the heck..." McChill said as he looked at the approaching thing. "Another one? What are these?"

"Golems." Judy answered to him, "Mages fabricate them to use them as familiars to perform tasks."

"Yeah, like taking over malls and taking mammals as hostages." Nick said, as they looked at the approaching golem. The enforcers were standing next to them. "Didn't we told you about them five minutes ago?" He asked, and this caused the polar bear to growl as he looked at the fox.

Suddenly, the golem's head turned to their direction, and it changed slightly its course, now going to them. This caused the mammals to tense a bit, and McChill even pulled out a dart gun and pointed at the thing as it walked to them.

The golem stopped when it was a few feet away from them, and McChill took it as a sign that the thing was going to cooperate. He started to give a few instructions to the golem (you know, the traditional "paws on your head" and "on your knees"), but he was completely ignored, as the golem continued to look at the enforcers.

The golem then raised its arm, and showed that it had something on its stony paw.

Marceli looked at it with a raised eyebrow, and he walked forward.

The fox passed under the roadblocks that was in there to delimit the perimeter.

"Hey. Hey!"

"Uncle Marcel!"

"Mr. Mieczyslaw!"

Marceli ignored them, and he walked to the golem. He stopped when he was really close to the thing, and the golem looked down at him. The thing even leaned forward, bending over as it offered its stony paw (and whatever was on it) to the tod.

Marceli looked at it for a few moments, and back at the golem.

Slowly, he reached out, and picked out whatever was on the golems paw.

As he did, the golem straightened itself, and turned around as it began to leave; walking back to the place it had come from.

Marceli kept his eyes on the golem as it walked back, seemingly not caring about the fox anymore. Once it was at a certain distance, Marceli himself turned around and walked back to the others.

All of them were looking at the fox, and many of them looked like they wanted to know what that was all about.

Marceli stopped near them, and he looked at his paw, at the thing the golem had gave him...

---

The hallways of the mall were deserted.

The place was quite ominous now that there was no one in there. That, of course, to the two mammals who were sneaking around as they moved across the place.

Ben had to use many of his natural skills to be able to move across the place. All the while Gazelle followed him from behind, her hoof squeezing on Benjamin's paw as he led her across the empty hallways of that gigantic mall. The tac-tac sound of her single high-heel hitting the ground sounded almost deafening. The other pair had been lost while she was running.

"Wait. Wait, please." Gazelle said, as Ben stopped. She took this chance to reach out for the shoe she was using and removing it. She would rather be barefoot.

Soon the two were walking again, this much with more silence, since gazelle took of her shoe. Still, Gazelle seemed to be walking with a little difficulty, and Ben kind of noticed it. However, he refrained from saying anything, as now there were far more pressing matters to deal with.

Ben was able to guide her in across the empty halls that were almost like streets, all the while they remained close to the stores so Ben would be able to peek through the corners to see if the coast was clear for them to proceed. In one or another occasion, he would end up making her stop as he saw a group of mammals walking around, which included these crazed mammals who kept calling out "rock n' roll" and stuff, and the emotionless mammals with weapons made of stone.

Ben was a very good guide, as he made sure to hold Gazelle's hoof all the way and keep her close to himself at all times.

Under normal conditions, Ben would be squealing in delight as he saw himself that close to his idol. However, this was not time for fanboying, as she needed him to be a cop and to keep her safe. He could adore the paw that held her hoof later on...

"Is that music?" Gazelle said, and Ben stopped, looking at her for a few moments. He then listened, and it indeed sounded like music. More precisely, it sounded like an electric guitar.

What was that?

Who could be playing music in a situation like that?

Ben's cop instincts told him that he should investigate. However, he did not wanted to leave Gazelle alone in a situation like that. So, his only option was to take her along.

The two mammals moved as silently and stealthily as they could. The music became louder and louder as they got closer, and Ben could notice the strange rhythm that the music seemed to have.

They finally got close enough that they could just peer over the corner and see what was going on.

They saw a group of mammals in there. Some of them were being hold by the others, while a wolf with blue and purple died fur and claws played a guitar.

Ben and Gazelle both looked at the scene as they saw the development, as the wolf played his guitar in the rhythm of some unknown rock. All the while, Benjamin could notice that the mammals that were being hold were starting to bob their heads up and down with the music, as if they were enjoying it.

Ben felt Gazelle's grip on his paw loose up a little bit. He looked at her to see that she now had a hoof on her head, and she seemed to be a bit woozy.

Ben blinked at her, and noticed a strange feeling on his own head. It was a strange feeling, but at the same time, it was so... familiar.

Suddenly, the wolf howled as he finished his guitar solo, and put a paw up. On cue, the mammals being hold all tossed their heads up and howled with him. And not a single one of them was a wolf!

The music stopped, and Gazelle shook her head.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked her, and the popstar simply nodded, but she still seemed a bit woozy.

"Now, are you all guys ready for rock n' roll?" The wolf said, the mammals were now release, and all of them put their paws up as they cried out:

"Rock n' roll!"

"Oh yeah, puppy!" The wolf said to them. "We are going to rock this whole shopping, my dear fans!"

The animals all cheered for the wolf. Ben looked at them for a few moments, and he was able to quickly understand what had just happened.

The wolf had just took control of them!

"Well, it seems that we have full control of the situation." The wolf said happily. "Guess you guys don't need to use a disguise anymore, right?"

Disguise?

On cue, the mammals that were holding the other ones down started to get out of focus. Their images blurred and changed, and when they focused again, they were no longer mammals, but beings made of stone that were sculpted to resemble mammals.

Ben gasped and covered his mouth with his paw, while the wolf said something about "it being better au naturel". Ben quickly ducked to hide himself from view as his mind processed what he had just saw.

Golems!? What are golems doing here!? Why there are golems here!? The cheetah thought, and Gazelle looked like she was about to ask him what was going on and what they just saw, however:

"Rock n' roll!" A voice suddenly came from behind, making the two turn around to see three dingoes coming on their direction.

Ben could have let a curse for having allowed himself to fail to notice the problem approaching him and Gazelle. However, now he was more focus on keeping the popstar safe, as he swiftly put himself between the incoming dingoes and the gazelle, who looked in fear.

The first dingo jumped on them, his claws ready, but Ben reacted quickly, as he grabbed the dingo's paws with his own and spun, using the dingo's own momentum against himself. The second dingo already was coming their way, but Ben saw it and he swung the first dingo, hitting the second one and sending them both to the ground. When he looked up to see the third dingo coming his way, Ben immediately took a fighting stance, and as the canine tried to come for him, the cheetah dodged his punches and bites, and delivered an uppercut to the jaw. The canine was sent off his feet and landed heavily on the ground, knocked out could.

Ben stood in there on fighting stance for a moment, before his eyes widened in shock as he realized just what he had done.

O.M. Goodness... I actually did this. I wish that Josh and Marcy were here to see it... Ben thought as he looked at his own paws.

"What is going on!?" The wolf's voice suddenly broke the two out of the amazement of what Ben had done. "There are someone watching the show from hiding? Golems, get them!"

"Run." Ben said, taking Gazelle's hoof. "Run, now!"

Soon, they both were running, and the sounds of stony steps was coming behind them. The golems had sighted them, and now were on pursuit.

The two mammals ran as fast as they could to run from the creatures that were now chasing them.

While they ran, Ben noticed that Gazelle was having some problems to keep up, as it almost seeming that she was starting to trip. Ben barely thought about it before he took Gazelle on his arms and sprinted in running, carrying her as they ran from the golems.

It was a bit hard, and Ben was starting to tire, as they turned a corner, Ben was quick to enter into an abandoned store with broken windows. As he got inside, he threw himself into a corner, holding Gazelle close to himself and told her to be very quiet.

The two mammals practically held their breath as they heard the heavy steps come in. Then there was a silence, before the steps started over, this time going away from the store.

They still held their breaths for almost a whole minute after the steps vanished, and they let out a sigh of relief.

"They are gone." Ben said, and he looked at Gazelle, who he was still carrying on his arms. He immediately blushed, and apologized as he let her down.

"It's okay." Gazelle said, "If you hadn't done that, I'd probably would have tripped and fell."

"Yeah, I noticed." Ben said, looking at her feet. "Did you hurt your feet while you were running?"

There was genuine concern on his voice, and the look on his face told her that he was truly worried that she had gotten hurt.

"It was when I lost the other pair." She said to him. "I gave a misstep and I think I managed to bruise both of my ankles."

Ben looked at her feet, and he noticed that she flinched a little as she moved them. Ben felt really bad for seeing that his idol was like that, and he thought about what he could possible do, if anything at all...

Wait...

There was something that he could do to help! But...

Gazelle noticed the shift on the eyes of the cheetah, as it suddenly seemed that he was thinking on something. Gazelle looked at him, and was about to ask him what was on his mind, but as she shifted on the ground she was sitting, she flinched as she felt a sharp pain in both of her ankles.

Ben snapped out of it and looked at her, seeing the pained look on her face.

This seemed to make the cheetah make up his mind.

"Okay, I guess I can help." Ben said, "Just, hold still." He said, as he got on his knees and crawled to her feet. Gazelle looked as the cheetah looked at her feet, before reaching out and placing his paws on her ankles gently.

Gazelle flinched. Yes, the cheetah had just saved her life. However, she was still self-conscious of someone touching her, especially being a male.

Ben held her ankles gently, and he closed his eyes.

A few moments passed.

"Are your ankles better now?" Ben asked, and Gazelle looked confused at him.

"Not really."

"Damn." Ben said under his breath. Gazelle looked at him, wondering just what he was trying to do...

"Come on, Benjamin. You can do it." The cheetah said, seemingly to himself. "Just focus." He said, and he took a deep breath. Closing his eyes again, he placed both paws on the ankles of the popstar once more.

A few moments passed, and then, Gazelle saw a glowing coming from the cheetah's paws, and she felt a feeling on her ankles, as if someone was pouring warm water on them. The feeling was unexpected, but it was pleasant, and it was soothing to the painful throbbing that was coming from her twisted ankles.

After a few more seconds, the glow subsided, and Ben removed his paws.

"How about now?"

Gazelle looked at him, and back at her ankles. Tentatively, she moved her feet, and found out that the pain that she was feeling had disappeared completely.

"They are... much better." She said, looking at the cheetah. Ben was actually able to smile at her, although it was kind of a nervous smile. However, he noticed something else.

The wound on her leg, which was even still leaking some blood.

"May I...?"He asked, gesturing to it. Gazelle looked at the cut on her ankle and back at him. She nodded.

Soon, Ben was placing a paw on the wound on her leg, causing her to flinch as someone touched her thigh. Ben looked at his own paw as he focused, and his paw glowed once more. The same feeling that was on her ankles now occurred again, on the local that the cheetah was touching her. It was a soothing.

After a few seconds, the cheetah removed his paw, and revealed that there was no longer a wound in there. The blood was still there, as well as the tear on her jeans, but there was no wound to be see.

Gazelle looked at it, placing a hoof in there to feel her leg, and confirm that there was no wound left in there. She looked at the cheetah once more, and she looked at his paw. She saw that it was glowing with a certain pattern, and she soon knew what it was.

Magic Circuits.

She looked at the cheetah. Ben looked away, as his hand went dim and he now seemed that he didn't wanted to look at the popstar.

"So... You are mage." Gazelle said, unsure of what to speak next, and she instead decided to state the obvious. The cheetah still didn't looked at her in the eyes.

"Well... ex-mage, actually. I gave up magecraft seven years ago." Ben said, deciding to be honest and direct.

"Oh... Right." She said, and there was a brief silence as she thought of what to say next.

"Think those things will come back?"

"Not sure." Benjamin said, "Probably not unless they are given orders to do so. Golems aren't really famous for having ideas of their own."

She nodded, "So, you gave up being a mage to become a cop?" She said, and the cheetah shrugged.

"Well, I gave up being a mage because... well, it was something that happened that made me think that being a mage wasn't for me." Ben said, and Gazelle noticed immediately that this was a subject that the cheetah was not comfortable with. "I didn't planned to become a cop, but I found out that it was something that I really wanted to try, and I found out that I actually love doing it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there is something that feels me with pride for knowing that I'm helping other mammals." Ben said to her, and he added, "Some mages are not very keen on doing that, unless it benefits them on some way."

"Yeah, I heard something like that around." She said, and she looked at Ben, "Well, I'm pretty sure that not all mages are like that. I mean, you helped me just now, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm an ex-mage." Ben said to her, "The whole point is that I kind of gave up acting like mage."

"So, if you were still a mage, you would not have helped me?" She asked, and Ben seemed genuinely surprised by this question.

"Of course I would!" Ben said to her. "I mean you are... I mean, I am... I mean... Huh..." The cheetah seemed to be trying to figure out something smart to say. However, he only managed to get a bit flustered and flumpty. Gazelle had to admit that it was kind of endearing, as she giggled. This caused the cheetah to blush even harder.

There was a silence, as it seemed that the air had become a bit less heavy. However, they were still deep into trouble, and both of them knew it. They were still strand in a mall that was full of golems, and of these crazy mammals.

"What is wrong with these mammals?" Gazelle asked, looking at Ben. The cheetah looked back at her, and he said:

"That wolf was doing something to them." He spoke, and looked at the Gazelle, "You felt it while you heard his music. It was some kind of mental interference."

"You mean, like hypnosis?" She asked, and Ben nodded.

"Yeah, not really hypnosis, but it was some kind of suggestion that he made by combining magecraft with his music."

"Why didn't I became one of them?" Gazelle asked, all of sudden remembering how that music made her feel strange, and now seeing that feeling with more dread.

"Maybe because you only caught the music at the final." Ben explained, "Maybe you need to listen to the music from beginning to end before ending up like these guys."

She nodded. "And, it didn't affected you?" She asked, and Benjamin shrugged.

"I felt something strange when I was hearing the music, but I don't think it would have affected me." He said to her, "I still have my Magic Circuits, there is a whole process involving resistance. Sorry, I'm not really good at explaining things like that."

Gazelle nodded, and she sighed as she leaned back.

"Too bad you are no longer a mage." She said to Ben, causing the cheetah to look back at her. "If you were, you could probably help us out of this whole situation."

There was no malice in her voice. There was no irony or anything. She was merely saying something that was on her mind. Ben could notice it only by looking at her, but still, the words she spoke had an impact in him.

Ben looked away, as he reflected on what was just said.

"... You're right." Ben said, absently minded, as he continued to reflect, Gazelle looked at him, all of sudden worried that she had said something that really upset her rescuer.

"You are right." Ben said once more, and he rose his head. Gazelle could see that his face had morphed, and now the big feline had a look of determination on his eyes. "Come with me." He said to her, and soon he was taking her deeper into the store. They were away from the windows now, and on the back of the store. This way, they were definitely out of sight from the outside, and the only way from someone finding them was if they entered the store to look for them.

Gazelle looked around as she saw that the cheetah had taken her, and she had to admit that she was glad to be in a place where there was no chance of them being found by the golems or by the crazed mammals.

Ben was pacing back and forth, and it almost seemed that he was trying to convince himself from doing something.

"Okay Ben, this is no time to have doubts." The cheetah whispered to himself. "You have to do it. You gotta do it for Gazelle! For Gazelle! For yourself! For all of the other mammals on this mall! You can do it! You can do it!"

Gazelle looked at the cheetah as he did this. After a few moments, the cheetah stopped, and took a deep breath, before he let out a huge sigh. He stood in there for a few moments, before he took his paw to his mouth and bit at it hard.

Hard enough to draw blood.

"¿¡Qué estás haciendo!?" Gazelle gasped as she saw the cheetah doing that to himself. She felt her blood turning cold as she saw the blood leaking from the wound all over the paw of the cheetah.

Ben soon removed his paw from his mouth, a little of blood still staining his face. He whimpered as he held his paw, which continued to bleed.

Ben fell to his knees, and Gazelle was about to go to him, when his expression changed from pain to a determination (although there was still pain on his eyes, if one were to pay attention). Looking down, Ben placed his bloodied paw on the ground, and started to move his fingers.

Gazelle looked as the cheetah now used his own blood to draw something on the floor.

A circle.

A few lines inside of the circle.

Symbols made with blood here and there.

Soon, it was done. It looked like some kind of magic circle, like the ones you saw in series and online games.

Ben looked at it for a few moments, and he closed his eyes, putting the same bloodied paw over that circle. He then started to chant something in a language that Gazelle didn't understood.

After a few moments of chanting, the circle started to glow in a red hue.

Gazelle looked with wide eyes at all that was happening before her. The cheetah continued to chant for a while, and then, his eyes opened, with that same determined look in them, as he now spoke in clear English:

"By the power of the pact that ties our fates, I call out to you now." Ben said, looking at the red glowing circle of his own blood. "Cursed twin-headed scourge. Red eyed menace. White slithering horror. Come to me now!"

With this, the circle glowed more intensely for a few moments. Soon, white colored smoke started to come out of the circle. And in great quantity.

The smoke gathered and condensed, forming a specific shape. A shape that was long and slender, it curved and twisted as if it was a thin body. The upper part of the long body divided into two parts, and each one of these parts had two glowing dots on them, as if they were two pairs of red stars.

The smoke condensed even more, and soon, it was becoming more and more defined, almost to the point of being solid.

Soon, the white smoke started to clear, disappearing in the air. However, as it did, there was something left on its place, as now there was really something solid in there. Something thin, and scaly.

Gazelle almost tripped and fell back as she looked at the creature that had just materialized in place.

It was a big snake. It was so big that it its elongated body was thicker than Gazelle's own torso, and so long that it could easily involve all of Gazelle easily. The snake was of a completely white coloration, with two pairs of eyes that were red and glowed. Yes, two pairs of eyes, for the snake had two heads, which came out from the neck that bifurcated into two necks for the creature.

It was with most of its body wrapped in a small pile, and it had both its heads raised so it was taller than Ben, who was kneeling in front of it.

The cheetah looked up, at the twin heads of the snake, which looked back at him with a hint of intelligence.

"Benjamin." One of the heads said suddenly, startling Gazelle.

Dios mio! It talks!

"Zass. Slizz." Ben said looking at the two heads of the snake. "I need your help, guys."

"Well, that is-sss pretty obvious-sss." The other head said, "It makes-sss a while sss-since you sss-summoned us-sss like this-sss." It said, looking at the cheetah, in particular at his bloodied paw.

"Even more with your own blood."

Ben held his bloodied paw, and the snake looked around.

"What a place to sss-summon us-sss, by the way. Not that we are complaining, but..."

However, the snake stopped as it caught sight of the animal with horns in there.

Gazelle felt a sense of dread as the two heads of the snake locked in her. There was a huge silence in there as the snake looked at the horned mammal.

"I-is-sss that...?"

"Yes." Ben said, "Yes it is."

The snake soon was slithering in her direction. Gazelle gasped as she leaned backwards, her own instincts causing her to fear that big and strange snake. However, the creature had no intention of harming her.

"Miss-sssss Ga-zzz-zelle." The head said, "We are both big fans-sss of yours-sss."

It spoke with a lot of respect, and this surprised Gazelle.

"We really love your mu-sss-sic." The toher head said, "And, if you allow us-sss to sss-say, you are even more beautiful in per-sss-son."

Gazelle blinked as she looked at the big snake. She was unsure of what to do with what was happening at that moment, however, she was able to muster a:

"Huuuh, thank you?"

"Guys. Guys!" Ben said, suddenly snapping the attention of the snake and popstar back to himself.

"Guys, the mall is being attacked. There are golems and some wolf using mental interference to turn mammals into crazed maniacs. Gazelle and I are stranded in here, and who knows how many more are." He explained as fast and objectively as he could, looking at the two-headed snake as he did so. "I need you guys to help me get us out of here. Can you guys help?"

The snakes looked at him, and they let out a "shshshshsh" that somehow sounded like some short of weird chuckle.

"Benjamin, you sss-should already know that you don't even need to as-sss-k sss-stuff like that." One of the heads said, and the other continued:

"We will always-sss be here to help you. Always-sssss."

Ben looked at them, and he nodded.

"Good. Now, I think that there might be some way that we can get out of here, maybe some of the lateral doors." He said, "We are going out to look for a way out, and maybe we might also find other mammals who had not been captured and that could need help. Gazelle, you will have to stay here and hide until we come back, think you will be okay?"

The gazelle looked back at him, the way he looked at her, with genuine concern, caused her to relax a little bit, and she nodded.

"Right. Stay inside and away from the door and the windows until we return." He said to her, and he turned to the snakes "Boys, let's go."

"Lead the way, dear cheetah."

Soon, Ben and the two-headed white snake left the place behind, with Gazelle promising that she would wait for them to return.

Soon Ben was sneaking around once more, with the snake now slithering silently behind him.

However, that travel was not as silent as Ben could possibly have hoped.

"Sss-so, Ga-zzz-zelle, huh?" One of the heads said, and Ben looked back at them

"Yeah, Gazelle."

"How interes-sss-ting to have run right on her, right?" The other head said, "Maybe even convenient."

"It is not really convenient at all." Benjamin said, "She got lost from her friends while she was being chased, and she was very scared when I found her."

"You had the chance to be her knight on sss-shining armor, didn't you?" The first head said, and Ben looked back at them.

"Guys, please, this is serious."

"Think sss-she will give you an autograph when all of this-sss is-sss over?"

"An autograph? Sss-she sss-should probably give him her entire collection sss-signed as a reward."

"Guys!" Ben said, raising his voice slightly, but then slapping his paw over his mouth. There was a brined silence following this, and in this silence, they were able to pick up a sound.

"Let me go! Let me go now!"

"What is that?" Ben asked, as he sneaked around and the snake followed him.

As they peered over a corner, they were able to see the reason of that screaming.

"Let me go!" Dawn Bellwether said as she squirmed within the hand of the rhino-shaped golem that was carrying her. "Let me go!"

The golem was not alone, as there was another one coming right behind it, and this one was carrying an unconscious fox. Meanwhile, a few more golems were coming, as they were surrounding a small group of mammals, all of them looking scared.

"Oh, boy." Benjamin said, and the snake was peering over the corner as well, with its two heads.

"Yeah, they look like they are in a pickle." One of the heads said, and Ben looked at what was going on.

"We gotta help them." The cheetah said.

"Let me go now!" Bellwether demanded once more, but the rhino-shaped golem that was carrying her gave no mind to her squirming or her demands, as it only continued to carry her, leading the group that was taking them.

However.

"Hold it right there!"

This voice suddenly made them all stop and look at the source of the voice. They all saw a pudgy cheetah looking at them, a determined expression on his face.

There was a brief silence, before the cheetah spoke:

"Let them all go in this instant!"

Ben knew that the golems would not listen to them, but the training he got from the ZPD made him order this kind of thing.

The golems looked at him for a few instants, before one of them started to walk in his direction. Its weapon was raised and ready to strike the cheetah.

Many thought that who was in a pickle now was the fat feline. However, Ben surprised them as he moved his paw to a store with a broken window on it. It was a home decoration store, and the front window, which was broken, showed a good assessment of furniture. As Benjamin pointed his paw at the store, his paw glowed as his Magic Circuits activated.

With a gesture, one of the big nightstands that was in there started to move, and in a second, it was floating.

With a gesture, Ben caused the thing to fly and stop in front of him. Then, with another gesture, he sent it flying straight into the golem that was coming at him.

The nightstand was enough to force the golem backwards. The nightstand itself broke to pieces, and a few cracks appeared in the stone body of the golem.

Immediately, the white snake came out of hiding, and the head of the left breathed out a cloud of purple smoke. The golem was getting up when the cloud hit it, and the right head, by clicking its fangs, produced a spark, which ignited the cloud, generating a small explosion.

It was not too strong, but it was focalized enough that it was able to shatter the golem completely.

This caused the group to jump back, and the golems to form a perimeter around them.

As the smoke cleared, Ben and the snake were ready to try again, but they stopped when they saw that the golems were now threatening the hostages. Two of the ones who were with the group picked up two of the hostages and were now holding blades of stone to their necks, just as the one who was carrying Dawn Bellwether was doing with the ewe.

The snake looked ready to advance, but Ben was quick to make them stop. The heads looked at Ben, and saw the worried expression on his face. This was enough to make them stop and look, as the golems now had them in a standoff, as they now held the hostages as an advantage.

Meanwhile, Krys groaned as he slowly came to himself. He felt himself suspended in the air, and he looked around, seeing the golems. He then saw one of them holding the ewe and pointing a blade to her throat.

The fox groaned, as he reached out and removed the fingerless glove from his right left paw. As he did, it was possible to see a runic symbol that had been tattoo on his paw pad. It was now glowing in an orange coloration.

With a sudden movement, the fox twisted his own body in a way that he was able to escape from the grip of the golem.

"Sowilo!" The fox cried out, pointing his left paw at the golems head. Immediately, a flame ignited in his paw and formed a fireball, which immediately shot forward at pointblank, hitting the head of the golem and exploding it.

The group all turned to look at the fox, and the fox was more than quick as he jumped out of the now headless golem, which fell to the ground unmoving, and jumped right into the golem that was holding Bellwether. He had his left paw ready, and the rune on his pad glowed as another fireball formed into it.

The fox immediately thrust his paw forward, and the result was a fiery burst on the head of the golem, which shattered upon the impact. Dawn Bellwether was drop to the ground while the golem stumbled backwards, before falling to the ground unmoving, just like the other one.

"Dawn, are you okay?" The fox asked, and the ewe was still getting up.

She was a bit shaken, but she was able to see the canine-shaped golem that was approaching with a spear made of polished rock, raised and ready to attack.

"Look out!" Bellwether said as she pushed the fox off on the moment that the spear thrust forward. The spear missed the fox, but it hit Bellwether on the stomach with a sickening sound, like a watermelon being chop. Her eyes widened as she felt the piercing pain, before the spear was quickly pull out, and the ewe fell to the ground, blood leaking profusely from her wound.

"DAWN!" Krys cried out in horror, just like many of the mammals around, especially when the golem turned back at them.

However, the golem had no time to do anything to them, for immediately; a strong gust of wind came, hitting it so hard that the golem was fling away.

Everyone blinked as they looked at the golem that was blown away by wind, before they looked to the place where the wind seemed to have come from. They saw three mammals in there, a ewe, a kangaroo, and a possum, all of them looking at the scene before them. The ewe, in particular, had her hooves raised, and it was almost possible to deduce that she was the one who had done the thing with the wind.

As they looked at the three new mammals, suddenly a roar came, and the eyes all turned to the source of the roar. They looked right on time to see a tiger charging at them, with long sickles coming out of his arms.

The tiger swung one of the sickles, hitting the golem right on the face and opening a gash on the stone. This did not destroyed the golem, but made it let go of the mammal it was holding. With a swing of his other blade, he hit the other golem that was holding a hostage, and made him also let go of the prisoner.

As the tiger fought, the three mammals also watched.

"Hey, no hogging all the fun!" The kangaroo said, as she pulled out a pair of daggers, which's blades started to glow. One of the blades glowed on a yellowish-orange, while the other glowed in a shade of blue. She immediately sprinted forward, in a bound that would actually be bigger than what a kangaroo would normally do.

As soon as she was in the middle of the golems and hostage, she swung her blades at the golems, and they sliced through their stone bodies like a hot knife slicing through butter. With each swing of her blades, a piece of the golems fell out. Either it was an arm, rendering the thing incapable of fighting, or it was a head, causing the thing to fall to the ground unmoving.

The hostages took this chance to jump and scramble out of the way; as they let the two mammals fight all they wanted. However, it was hardly even a fight, as the tiger showed to have great skills with the sickles, and the kangaroo proved that she had great skill with these deadly knives.

Soon, the golems had fallen and were all out of combat. Pieces of them laid around, sliced clean from their stony bodies, as the kangaroo and the tiger both stood in fighting stance. Soon, they both relaxed, with the glowing going out of the daggers of the kangaroo, while the sickles of the tiger started to... melt, and reveal that they were made of water, which flowed back to two bottles that the tiger had strapped to his waist.

"Water sickles, huh?" The kangaroo asked as she looked at the tiger. "Nice trick." She said, smiling at him, and the tiger looked back at her.

"Look out!" One of the mammals cried out, and they turned around in time to see one of the golems, the canine-shaped one that had been blow away by the wind, coming to them with a raised spear.

Before they could get into fighting stance, two jets of liquid flew through the air and hit the golem on the back. Immediately, the liquid started to hiss as it started to eat through the stone that formed the body of the golem. The creature stumbled and turned back. The two-headed snake that was with Ben looked at it, as one of the heads opened its mouth and squirted two more jets, coming from two spots near it's fangs, as it aimed for the golem once more.

The golem was hit square on the chest and some on the face, with droplets of the acid falling around, hissing as they ate through the ground. The same way, the acid ate through the stone that formed to golem, making it stumble backwards. Soon, however, the golem was falling on its knees, as the stone that formed it was eaten away by the powerful acid, and soon, it was falling to the ground, as the acid melted its chest and head.

There was a long silence in the place, as everyone took all that had happened.

Police training kicking in now, Ben bolted forward, with his snake right behind him. Soon, he was standing before the two mammals who had fought the golems, and he was saying:

"I'm Officer Benjamin Clawhauser, from the ZPD, are you two okay?"

"Yeah, all fine. These weaklings didn't managed to..." The kangaroo was saying, "What, Benjamin Clawhauser? _The _Benjamin Clawhauser? Oh, boy, we've been trying to contact you for a while! Say, would you be interested in joining-"

"Have you seen Gazelle?" The tiger asked, cutting the kangaroo before she could finish her own question. "Have you seen her!?"

Ben blinked, and he looked at the tiger. He took only a few seconds to recognize him.

"It's you!" He said, as he now recognized Tyson as one of the tigers that was with Gazelle.

"My brother and I were trying to get Gazelle out of here, but we got attacked and we got lost from her. Have you seen her?" The tiger insisted, sounding that he was really worried about the popstar. No wonder, since she was his friend, and she his responsibility from the moment they left her home together.

"Indeed." Said the snake, causing everyone to look at it, some really surprised that it could talk. "Sss-she is-sss hidden in an sss-store waiting for us-sss to come back."

"What?" Tyson said, "You left her alone?"

"We couldn't bring her with us, it would be too dangerous." Ben explained to him, "But don't worry, she is safe."

"I need to go find her, now." The tiger said, and this was on the point of starting a discussion. However, another voice broke their concentration.

"Dammit!"

Everyone turned to look, and they saw that the ewe and the fox were both kneeling by Bellwether's sides. The ewe had her paws in her chest and they were glowing.

"It's not working. She is not healing!" The ewe said, sounding distressed, as much as the fox looked.

"The weapons must have some kind of curse in them." The tod said, as he looked at the bleeding ewe, who was now unconscious. "She is losing a lot of blood. We need help here!" He said, turning to the crowd, and everyone looked at them.

"Help?" Someone on the crowd said, looking at them, "For her? Not a chance."

"If we don't stop the bleeding she might not make it!" The fox urged, and the same mammals looked with indifference.

"Good, that is what she deserves after what she done."

Krys gave that mammal a glare that made him wince. However, his attention was mostly turn at Bellwether, who still bleed profusely. He and the ewe still tried to stop the bleeding, but with no success. Some of the mammals looked at it, including the kangaroo and the possum who were with the ewe.

However, it was Ben who rushed to their side. He felt a lurching on his stomach as he saw the blood, but he was able to hold it back. He leaned over and inspected the wounds.

"She is hurt pretty bad." Ben said to them. "Oh, I wish I had paid more attention to the first aid lessons."

"Why are you so worried with her?" Someone on the group asked, a bear. "You are a predator too, why do you care about her? Didn't she caused problems to you two years ago?"

She did, and Ben knew it well.

That ewe showed that she could be as evil as Rudolph Hittler and Genhorse Khan. She persecuted thousands of innocent predators, almost tore the city apart, and "thought it would be better" if Benjamin was not at the front desk of the ZPD. Still, Ben knew that he could not just let her die. It was not correct.

It was not what Bogo would want.

"I'm helping her because she is still a mammal, and I cannot simply let a mammal die. It is not right." Ben said to them, his face full of determination, and it seemed that it was enough to shut up the bear and anyone else. Meanwhile, Tyson had also been hearing to the thing, and what Ben said had an impact on him.

He too faced a very hard time during the time that sheep was in power. He and his brothers would have easily lost their jobs if Gazelle had not been on their side. Still, it was very hard to walk around the city and interact with anyone as everyone thought that they could be ticking time bombs.

He disliked that ewe with all that he had. Still, the words of the cheetah were true.

Letting someone else die out of spite was just not right.

"Hey." Tyson said, stepping forward, and causing the three mammals to look at him. "Let me try."

As he said that, he started to make gestured with his paws, and the water from the bottles on his waist moved and enveloped his paws.

As he came closer, he knelt as well, and the water on his paws started to emit a glow of its own. The mammals all looked as the tiger closed his eyes and focused, making symbols with his paws while he chanted something that sounded like a form of meditation mantra. In seconds, the tiger was placing both of his paws over Bellwether.

As he did, the water around his paws glowed a bit more, and everyone looked at it in expectation.

After nearly an entire minute, the tiger removed his paws. They were still envelop in water. Some of the water had stayed in Bellwether, dampening her clothes and her wool. However, as the water leaked from her body, taking the blood with it, it was reveal that the wound was completely heal.

The small ewe groaned as he slowly came to herself.

"Dawn?"

"Dawn!"

She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw were not one, but two familiar faces.

"Krys... Lana?"

"Oh Dawn!" The fox said, leaning over and hugging her, "I'm so glad that you are okay!"

"Why is the fox glad she is okay?" Someone in the group of mammals asked.

"Why would anyone be glad for that ewe being okay?"

"Well, I am glad that she is okay!" The other ewe said, getting up and looking at them, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"We got a problem with that ewe." One of the mammals said, "Do you know she almost tore the city apart? Doesn't that bother you, missy?"

"First of all, I'm not 'missy'. My name is Lana Bellwether." The ewe said, and many looked surprised when she said that name. "And, despite what Dawn might have done, she is still my little sister, and I am glad that she is okay."

"Crap, there are more of them!" someone said, and Lana only rolled her eyes as she turned to the tiger, thanking him for saving her sister.

"Don't mention it." The tiger said, and Dawn Bellwether was looking at him, her expression was hard to read, but it was clear that there was no anger or contempt on her eyes. "Now, I need to find Gazelle. Where did you left her?" He asked, turning to the cheetah.

"On a fashion store on that direction." He said, "But, we still need to find a way out."

"Well, you won't find it around here." Someone from the group said, "These walking statues are everywhere, and so are those crazy punks. They are covering all exits."

"Maybe it would be better if we all stayed together." Krys offered, causing everyone to look at him. "I mean, there are safety in numbers, right?"

"I have to agree with foxy boy." Lana said, "After all, as far as I understand, we are all on the same boat. We might as well work together in paddling it out of trouble."

Everyone shared looks, and it seemed that they were agreeing. Forming herds has always been an efficient defense mechanism in nature.

"Alright then." Krys said, and he knelt next to Dawn. He took his fingers to the contraption that she had around her neck, and chanted a few words. The next thing that was hear was the sound of the contraption unlocking and falling to the ground.

Bellwether gasped as she fell the thing slip out of her neck, and she even took her hooves to it to make sure that the thing was off.

"K-Krys?"

"Hey, what are you doing, fox?" Someone asked, and Krys simply ignored them, as he now worked on the cuffs that chained the ewe.

"We are all working together, right?" The fox said, as she somehow managed to unlock the cuffs that were holding the ewe, letting them fall to the ground. "So, I guess it is only proper that all of us are in position to do something to help." He concluded as he unlocked the fetters around the ewe's ankles, truly freeing her.

Some of the group talked among themselves, unsure if they could trust that ewe at all, and wondering if the fox was making a wise decision. The ewe herself looked at the fox, and he looked back at her.

"It's okay. I trust you." He said, and she looked at him for a few moments, before looking away. Some of them had raised eyebrows as they looked at this scene.

"K-Krys... I'm really glad that you think I can help, but I don't really think I'm gonna be of any use." She said, and Lana walked to them. "I mean, I don't even have..."

"These?" The other ewe said, showing her hooves to the smaller one. Dawn Bellwether looked at the hooves of her sister, and saw that they had... chalk. Some pieces of chalk of purple, yellow and red colorations.

Her eyes widened.

"Lana!" The ewe said, snatching the chalk from the other one's hooves. "How did you..?"

"I passed by your house yesterday." Lana said, looking at her sister. "Got those from your workshop. By the way, you need to improve the security on it, if I could get in so easily then so could others. It is not good for a mage's reputation to have a workshop that can be so easily invaded."

The smaller ewe continued to look at the chalk as if it was a precious treasure, and the others on the group were listening, but they were not sure of what to make form what was being said.

That was when Benjamin decided that he should take charge.

"Okay, everyone." The cheetah said to the group. "From this point on we are a group, okay? This means we help each other. Now, let's stay together and keep our eyes and ears open. Now, everyone come with me." He said, and soon that unlikely group was following the cheetah.