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Chapter Thirteen

“One Minute Before Midnight"

By

Furry Sith Lord

Lyon edged closer to Tyger as his brother stood with his arms crossed at his chest and his ears lowered in aggravation. Tyger had been ignoring Lyon because of the remark he made but Lyon seemed to not notice. Ben chuckled how much Lyon was like his dad while Tyger, no matter how much he refused to accept it, was like his father.

“According to the members of C.I.Z.A. the army will attack tomorrow, presumably around noon.” Lou said inro a microphone that fed a signal to the ear pod that Dash had hidden in one of his ears. “Tell Bear as soon as you can but make sure no one else knows. I don’t want to blow his cover… yet.”

Inside the city, Dash wrote a note on paper and hid it under his slave collar. It was the only place he could hide it without putting it in a bodily orifice. The humans only allowed slaves to be dressed only in their fur and though he had become used to it; it left no place to hide anything.

He ran and knocked on the office Bear occupied. He entered and his breath let out a thin mist as the air conditions were running at their max setting. Bear sat leaning back in a chair dressed in a pair of boxer shorts that had head shots of him printed on them. It was an official pair of merch from the movie he starred in.

The giant polar bear turned to look at him and smiled as Dash looked around nervously. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that they were alone.

“My son, BH, has snuck out to try and get to a movie theater to watch my movie. He’s so obsessed with me that I’m not sure exactly how to take it. When I indoctrinated him I think I may have gone too far now that I think of it.” Bear remarked and Dash removed the small note and handed it to him.

Bear took the note and put on a pair of reading glasses as he sternly read it. He quickly crumpled the note and used a lighter to burn it till it burned into ashes in an ashtray on his desk.

“This is serious. I haven’t had enough time to set my plans in motion.” He remarked to himself then turned to address Dash. “Find Maxx and get him here as fast as you can. Don’t take no for an answer and hurry, we're running out of time.” Bear ordered. Dash saluted and ran out to the usual places he knew Maxx congregated.

Maxx sat at a picnic table in a local park he liked to sit at. He had a notebook that he used to keep track of the stories he told. He was busy trying to think of a new movie to convert into one of his stories. He had told so many that he was running out of ideas. He hated being the storyteller now that Bear had arrived.

At first he enjoyed the revery that the humans gushed at him but since Bear had slammed him against the floor he now lost the love he once had. He thought about his wife and calves and wondered if they even thought about him. The humans no longer allowed him to work as a blacksmith because the storyteller had a higher calling than making tools.

He wanted to use a forge to help clear his mind. He knew that if he returned to modern society he would not use a forge because such primitive things were replaced by modern machines.

Oddly he enjoyed being a primitive blacksmith and storyteller but Bear had taken that away from him. He was afraid to leave because of what would be done to him if he did. He would probably be humiliated by becoming a pet like the humans did to the other species they captured. Humans did not see themselves as being a species like the other species that lived on the planet. They saw themselves as a superior race and all other species were below them.

BH, Bear, and himself were the only exception because they had been convinced by the charm of BH that they were special. Bear was the Gawd they believed in and worshiped and BH was his prophet. He was the storyteller to teach them whatever The Prophet and Gawd wanted them to know.

Dash ran up and grabbed Maxx’s hoof and pulled on it urgently. Maxx stopped daydreaming and looked at the small bunny.

“You need me?” He asked and Dash frantically nodded as he continued to pull. Maxx allowed himself to stand and be led by the teen rabbit. Dash had no strength to do anything to the large bull but Maxx allowed the lad to manipulate him.

Leggo and Merrik sat waiting outside of the boardroom that the members of C.I.Z.A. sat in discussing their plans. Leggo had tried to eavesdrop but the room was well insulated and his caine ears could not hear anything. He finally gave up and sat back next to Merrik as he examined the time squeak toy tiger he had from his tail waggin meal.

They had taken the bottle of White Out that he stole to paint the toy to look like a white tiger, like his son. His paws were stained white as the sun dried toy had the white out staining them.

“I have one of Lyon back home.” Leggo remarked as Merrik rolled his eyes. “For some reason they give more lions than tigers. Lou had taken my first lion and had it painted to stop me from making a mess but the second one I was able to paint myself. Do you think I’ll have to wait a long time until I get another one?”

“You know you can go inside McAlphas and ask for a specific one, right?!” Merrik replied irritably.

“Really?” Leggo replied as a big smile crossed his maw. Leggo began to wag his tail rapidly and Merrik had to fend it off to prevent from getting hit.

“Were you dropped on your head when your mom scruffed you as a pup?” Merrik asked as he covered his eyes as he gave up trying to fight off the rapidly wagging tail. He flinched slightly as it hit him and Leggo began to talk to the toy saying he could now get other tigers to be its friend. Merrik rolled his eyes then shook his head in disbelief.

“Can you stop playing long enough to plan something?” Merrik whispered irritably. Leggo stopped and leaned closer to Merrik all the mirth he had been showing vanished.

“What do you think I’ve been doing the whole time? Lou is keeping them busy while I have my orders from him to follow.” Leggo whispered. Merrik laughed softly as he leaned in closer.

“I thought you were the Dom when you played together.” Merrik replied sarcastically.

“We take turns, though to be honest I’m better at it. Still when we make love every thrust I make causes him to moan so softly that it makes me go into a frenzy. Even as a sub he has his ways to manipulate. I expect he will give in and Sub for C.I.Z.A. but once he lures them into submission it will be too late for them.”

“What of the humans?” Merrik asked.

“I dunno but my sons will deal with that. That is why he has Tyger watching them because his brilliance is equal to my husbands, if not better. This way he is tackling both sides by seeming to divide himself. While he seems busy with C.I.Z.A. he is actually dealing with the humans through Tyger.

“We have less than a day, so they had better think of something soon.” Merrik cautioned. Leggo held up the painted tiger and held it close to his face as he eyed it closely.

“What makes you think they haven’t?” Leggo remarked. Merrik sighed and the door of the boardroom opened and they were motioned to enter.

Merrik jumped quickly as Leggo rose in a deliberate slow manner. He had no intention of jumping at the whims of C.I.Z.A. even if Merrik was brought to heel. Lou was right that Merrik would betray them as soon as he could. His last speech before they were called in was all part of Lou’s plans.

“Gentlefurs,” Leonidas remarked. The view screen was off as the board watched them. Leggo wished his husband Lou were still on the screen. The sight of Lou might have given him courage but his tummy made him feel weak. It bubbled like a cauldron and it made him feel fear.

“We have come to an agreement.” Leonidas said though he had not specified who had come to the agreement but Lou had ordered him to play along so Leggo would obey because Lou did know best in these situations.

“We are sending both of you inside the city as decoys. Your tasks are to convince the… pets… to take cover and hide so that they don’t get hurt in case the invasion starts.” Layla stated though she did not look at either of them.

“We’ll have to hurry because time is very limited.” Merrik muttered. The board seemed to ignore him and Leggo thought about how he could get the job completed. He realized that they could not send them in mute because they could never accomplish the tasks if they were. He voiced his thoughts and the board looked at each other and muttered among themselves.

“Talk to your husband about that,” Ol’ Ben replied. He was a coyote that sat at the table wearing a suit. “Remember that the humans are not to hear you speak. If they did they would be instantly alerted to our plans and put everyone in jeopardy.”

“That goes double for you.” Merrik said as he elbowed Leggo in his ribs.

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Leggo whined. He rubbed his ribs and gave a sad look at Merrik.

“You leave immediately and your husband will meet you and go over any last minute instructions. Just know we are attaching cameras to your fake slave collars. We need you to send us video feeds of their camp.” Leonidas ordered.

“To address weaknesses in their defenses so the army can get a better attack formation.” Merrik accused and the board smiled but remained silent.

“We need every excuse to make the army wait a bit longer before they attack. Even they are not as reckless as charging in without knowing what to expect. The humans shoot down any drones they try to send in so they agreed to let us delay them slightly. This was the best that our best negotiators could manage.” An old looking otter replied. Merrik knew that his name was called Jonah.

“My husband could have done much better.” Leggo remarked.

“Layla and your husband WERE the negotiators.” Leonidas retorted. Leggo nervously rubbed the back of his head.

“Why are you still here?” Leonidas remarked then shouted at them. “Go, go, go, go!!!” Leggo slowly rose as Merrik jumped up and they both left the room as two guards escorted them back to the van.

The van sped as they sat in the back and had to hold on tight to avoid falling out of the seats. Neither said anything but Merrik glanced at Leggo occasionally wondering if there was more he knew than he was telling. Lou was far too clever to reveal everything to C.I.Z.A. Leggo seemed bothered by the meeting but Merrik wondered if they had been expecting this and Leggo was merely acting.

They jumped out the van as they arrived at the van Lou had their boys using. Lou stood with Tyger and Ben and Leggo rushed over and knelt as he hugged them.

“Look what I got!” Leggo said as he showed the poorly painted tiger squeak toy to Tyger.

“Is that me?” Tyger asked, but Merrik detected something in his tone. He thought that Tyger might be trying to play along to keep his dad happy. Something lingered in the boy’s scent. Embarrassment or sadness, maybe both.

“I didn’t know you could buy these separately. Merrik told me, so now I can have one for each of you. You and your brother.” Leggo said as he hugged the toy. Merrik saw a slight smile on Tyger’s maw as Lou shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s a minute before midnight furs,” Lou remarked as he tried to take control of the situation.

“No it’s not,” Leggo countered and Lou sighed deeply.

“That is a saying in the military meaning that the war is about to begin. We have very little time to be fooling around.” Lou retorted, making sure he angrily said the last part at Leggo directly. Leggo looked as if he wanted to crawl inside his fur as Merrik chuckled to himself.

“At least we know who really is Dom.” he muttered under his breath so that only Leggo heard him. Leggo lightly punched Merrik on the upper part of his arm. Merrik said a soft ‘ow’ and rubbed his arm annoyed.

“Alright boys, we're running out of time. Strip down to your fur and put on these collars. They are fake but look authentic.” Lou ordered as he held out two collars as Leggo and Merrik began to undress. They each took a collar and put them on while Lou walked behind Leggo and gave his husband a playful pat on his butt.

“I hate it when you leave but I love to watch you go.” Lou said playfully as Leggo rapidly wagged his tail.

“Why do they get away with playing like that?” Ben whispered to Tyger.

“Because they’re better at it than us.” Tyger replied bitterly. Lou walked over and ruffled their hair then kissed each of them on their heads.

“We were the same when we were your age. You get better with more practice.” Lou reassured them.

“Father! Something’s going on inside.” Lyon yelled as he pulled open the door of the van. He had been monitoring while the other van pulled up.

Dash nervously looked around as he held Maxx's paw for support. Maxx had brought him to the underground tunnel that was being used as an escape tunnel.

Maxx had been explaining that he was being sent on a mission by Bear, the incarnation of Gawd

Dash took careful note so the camera in his collar would record everything about it to help the team outside.

“Dash you are amazing! This is just what we need to get the species to safety.“ Lou exclaimed and Dash heard him through his ear piece. Lou must have stepped away from the microphone because everything was silent after that.

“Are you sure you'll be alright?” Maxx asked and Dash nodded vigorously. He hadn't really heard what Maxx said as he was focused on Lou.

“I'll be back in a couple of days so you Obey Bear and stay out of their way. I don't trust him at all so keep your eyes and ears focused and write down for me everything that gets said or happens. Understand?” Maxx asked and Dash nodded vigorously again.

“Don't worry Dash. I'll tell you everything to write.” He heard Tyger through the earpiece. This made him breathe a sigh of relief. Maxx seemed to take that as a good sign although he knew nothing about Dash's real purpose in the camp.

He heard a sudden scuffle over the earpiece then Tyger arguing with his father for control of the microphone. Dash lowered his ears because this never seemed to end well as they argued.

“Don't be sad, I'll be back soon I promise. “ Maxx replied, mistaking the ear lowering for something else. Dash forced a smile and waved as Maxx turned back and smiled at him as he followed a group of Humans on their mission. Dash nervously waited then once Maxx went out the opening Dash hurried off back to the house he was staying in.

He casually walked down the street looking around at the species and humans walking about on their daily business. He was looking off to the side when he saw a human step out in front of him trying to get his attention. Dash quickly stopped and lowered his head submissively as the humans made the pets do.

“Hey Bunny, I got great news!” Shimoan said as he smiled broadly. It was strange he was not holding his favorite spear as he always did. He was one of the main hunters in the clan and he was usually sent out to find food and supplies but since his wife was pregnant he had been staying closer to home for the approaching birth.

“Hanny gave birth this afternoon and we now have an 8 pound little girl.” Shimoan said proudly. Dash shook his head in surprise and flinched then smiled back. Shimoan did not notice as he was searching inside a sack he was carrying.

As time progressed the humans had become friendly with their slave pets. Although they made up new names, the pets were forced to respond to them. They developed a form of mutual respect between them in the form of Stockholm Syndrome.

Dash was naturally friendly with everyone so everyone had come to know him. Especially since he belonged to The Storyteller Maxx and now was given to Bear. Since he now belonged to The Incarnation of Gawd, everyone wanted to get on Bear’s good side.

“Here, for you.” Shimoan said as he pulled a drying carrot out of his bag. The carrot did not look so good as it was nearly dried out as it had several cracks and the coloring around the cracks was white. Dash hoped he would not have to eat it in front of Shimoan but luckily he moved on to someone else as he began to tell his good news.

Dash quickly put the carrot in his pocket, to throw away later, and hurried on towards Bear’s office. Dash’s breath froze as he entered and Bear was lying on a sofa in his boxers. The air conditioners were running full blast but it was known that the amount of coal needed to run the electricity was dangerously low. Even with the humans and pets not using any electricity at all, in order to keep Bear from getting sick it still used a large amount of power.

“Come in my son.” Bear said as he forced himself to slowly rise. He had been trying to conserve power by having the air conditioners running in shifts and he waits until he can no longer stand it before he puts them back on.

Dash went to a notepad and began writing what he had learned. Tyger was occasionally telling him what to write so he had to go back and erase what he previously wrote. Once it was finished he handed the note to Bear as he waited patiently. Dash chuckled a few times because Bear scratched his butt while he waited. Seeing Bear in only his boxer shorts and scratching his butt made Dash think of him as being like a father. Lou had always been like a father to him and he had never seen him do that. He only knew what he saw on television and movies.

“Thank you,” Bear replied as he took the note from him. He read it a few times carefully to make sure he understood what was being explained. His demeanor became very stern as he understood the implications.

“Tell them that that may be a problem.” Bear explained. “From talking to the humans I’ve learned that there were some that were suspicious that Dash suddenly appeared and no one knew who he was. Most assumed that he had been overlooked. However, having two full grown wolves suddenly appear… I don’t think that can be easily brushed aside.” Bear explained.

“Dash ask him if he has any idea how we can get dad and Merrik inside.” Tyger asked but his voice changed to disgust when he said Merrik’s name. Dash obediently wrote the question on the paper and Bear read it carefully. He scratched his chin as he thought for a few minutes.

“Can you sneak me the collars and have them rush in as clueless reporters? I figure they charge in and they surrender. I put the collars on them then the humans will have no idea what they are actually up to.” He finally suggested.

“Excellent that should work perfectly.” Lou replied. Tyger nodded reluctantly as a fear that the humans might hurt his dad nagged at him then another thought occurred to him.

“What about the army? Will they just let two reporters just walk in?” Tyger asked and the groan of surprised from Ben encouraged Tyger.

“I doubt they’ll care as they prepare to invade.” Lou replied.

“May I make a suggestion?” Leggo said and Lou went away from the microphone so Dash could not hear them. Tyger heard bits and pieces as he tried to focus on Bear and Dash. He felt Ben put his paw on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze and he reached to squeeze his paw back.

“It’s a good idea but could have some really bad repercussions.” Lou said. Bear stared at Dash waiting to see if anything else was gonna get said.

“Anything?” He finally asked and Dash shrugged. He wrote that they were arguing and Bear sighed deeply.

“Guys we don’t have time for this! We need to act and we need to act yesterday.” He said sternly and loud enough to silence Leggo and Lou.

“Do what you feel is right. You know I trust you and I know you’ll handle the situation.” Lou finally said and Leggo nodded as he ran off to collect supplied and disguises so that they looked like a reporter and a camera fur when they get stopped.

Once Merrik and Leggo were dressed and equipped they stood ready as Lou examined them closely. Merrik wore jeans and a t-shirt with a baseball cap backwards as he held a large camera. Leggo frowned as he was dressed in a business casual suit, he always hated dressing up and wished he could be the camera fur. He also held a small duffel bag that had a microphone attached to a cord that came out of the bad strapped across his chest.

“Good luck,” Lou mumbled as he tried to hide his fear. There was a lot riding on this and he had put too many species that he cared about at risk for this plan. Even if it was for the greater good he did not like it.

Merrik and Leggo saluted playfully though Lou did not recognize the silent sarcasm then they ran towards the entrance. A couple of military officers on guard duty watched them silently as they ran towards the gate. Leggo heard the soldiers mocking their stupidity to try to enter for a story. The army let them go and made note that they would either be part of the hostages or cannon fodder when the invasion started.

A couple of humans on guard duty ran to block them as they ran through the gates and Leggo yelled questions pointing the microphone at the humans waiting for responses.

“How are the hostages? Will you be releasing them?” Leggo yelled as the humans pointed spears at them. They were quickly surrounded and Merrik lowered his camera and raised his paws in surrender while Leggo kept up the act by asking even more questions.

“Are you worried the army will invade?” Leggo shouted then he was struck by a human across his maw by the blunt end of a spear. A small trickle of blood flowed and he wiped it as Bear casually approached holding a slave collar in each paw. Both he and Merrik acted the part of looking scared even though they knew the collars were the fake ones they tossed to Dash and he gave them to Bear.

“Strip,” Bear ordered and they reluctantly began to remove their clothes. Leggo flexed as the humans stared at him.

“Au natureland beautiful baby.” Leggo said then he suddenly made himself go mute as Bear slapped the collar on his neck. Merrik fidgeted silently as he played his part of the nervous camera fur dragged into this situation by the clueless reporter.

“Don’t worry boys, all your questions will be answered.” Bear said then he began to manically laugh making the humans join in while both Leggo and Merrik continued to play the part as they looked around nervously.

To Be Continued…