No one left the area.

Kira’s heart swelled when she realized that not one creature in the crowd had gone into the forest around them. They all looked at her with raised chins and defiant eyes, and she knew they were ready.

“We need to make a base of operations,” Kira mused, thinking out loud.

Everyone immediately set to work, gathering stones and wood and building a wall in record time. Lions placed stones in the paws of mice, and wolves dragged sticks to where lions and cats were stacking them. Each creature coexisted perfectly, and it made Kira sad and angry that they had been forced to go at each other’s throats. She glared at the structure towering over them all imposingly, determined to tear it down.

Kira cleared out a large patch of dirt and began discussing plans with Maximon and a few other creatures.

Suddenly, Laila approached, along with what looked like all the birds who had bene held prisoner.

“We need our wings freed,” the hawk said. “We don’t know how to get them off. You need to free yours, too.” She nodded to Kira’s vibrant, caged wings.

“You’re right,” Kira realized. “You haven’t been able to pick the lock on them?”

An eagle shook his head sadly. “We all tried, but even my hook claws can’t get through.”

Kira thought for a moment, then walked into the forest and returned with a stick. The birds all looked at her, confused.

“I’m going to set fire to the stick and see if the bonds can melt off,” she explained. When half of the birds took a fearful step back, she reassured them, “I’m going to try it on myself, first.”

She gathered her light magic into a ball. Using her magic felt awkward and weird, but Kira was sure she could do something as simple as start a fire. All she would need is light and some heat…

With a bunch of concentration, a tiny flame appeared on the edge of the stick, soon turning into a burning blaze. Kira held it up to her metal straps, wincing a bit at the heat.

The metal bubbled, then turned red hot and moldable. Kira lifted the torch away and struck it with her back paw, and it broke.

One down, three more to go, Kira thought, glancing at the other wires on her wings. She determinedly held the torch up to the next wire, feeling her heart lift as it broke just as easily.

Her wing stretched out at last, after six months of confinement. Kira grinned and whooped, and the birds glanced at each other excitedly. Kira finished off the other wires on the next wing, and the avians made a line for her to get their wings freed.

After about ten or so minutes, every bird was chirping and flying around above their heads, singing of their newfound freedom to the world. Laila watched them from the ground, a tiny smile on her face.

“Thank you, Kira,” she said.

“Anytime,” Kira responded, flexing her own wings open and closed. She longed to be up there with the birds, but she knew that she had plans to make. She turned back to Maximon and the other creatures.

“Now we have air support,” Maximon hissed. “This should give us more chance of success.”

Kira gazed at the map of the arena, showing the above view and from the side.

“We shouldn’t storm through the vent, since that would be too crowded, and it would be hard to fight in the tight hallways,” she said.

Maximon and the others nodded.

A raven that reminded Kira of Gael tapped one talon on the middle of the arena. “Why don’t we start in the middle and go outwards? That way, we catch them by surprise, humiliate the Announcer and all the guards in front of everyone, and then topple the walls from the inside?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Maximon nodded appreciatively. “We could have the birds drop smaller animals onto the audience, and then have the moles tunnel in from the sands. Then the rest of us flood through the tunnels and pounce while everyone is distracted from the air assault.”

“We could have the moles start tunneling now,” a deer suggested. “Then we’re ready to strike whenever we want to.”

Kira nodded, flicking her tail thoughtfully. “I’ll tell them right now.”

She found all the moles digging ditches in the shade around their base, in case of flooding.

“Excuse me,” she said.

They all turned and looked at her attentively.

“We have a plan to get in,” Kira began. “We need you guys to tunnel under the arena walls and into the sands, so that we can attack from the middle and go outwards.”

“We can definitely do that!” one mole said in a gravely yet high-pitched voice.

“We’ll get to work right away,” another one added.

Immediately, they all began digging rapidly into the ground, soon disappearing into the dirt.

Kira gazed up at the feathered figures in the sky, then spread her wings and soared into the wind. She would tell the avians, and then the rest of the creatures, and the plan would be all set.

Her stomach was left behind where she’d been standing, and she couldn’t help but let out a cry of joy as her wings carried her through the clouds. It had been so long since she’d flown, she’d almost forgot what it felt like. Once again, she found herself wondering how she had survived without wings for most of her life.

The teasing wind was back, ruffling her fur and throwing her around like an old friend she hadn’t seen in years. It whistled in her ears, playing a song of joy and wonder. The damp clouds embraced her as she flew into them, flapping to go higher and reach the birds.

They were making corkscrews and loopty-loops as if it was the most natural thing in the world, spreading and folding their wings with liquid grace. Kira felt like a fish on land compared to them, with her wobbly wingbeats and off-balance turns.

“Hey everyone!” she called, hovering in place in the middle of them all.

It took a few minutes, but finally she held every bird’s attention.

“We need you guys to be our air support in the plan to attack the arena,” Kira explained. “You’ll have to carry a bunch of smaller animals into battle and drop them in the arena sands.”

The birds all looked at each other, then back at Kira, nodding and screeching in agreement of the plan. Then they returned to diving and playing with one another.

Kira sighed in relief, glad that they had a solid plan to take down the arena. She had been worried that they would be scrambling around, trying to organize everyone and meditate arguments from the other creatures. Despite being hardened prisoners and fighters, the animals collaborated quite easily with one another.

She spiraled down to the ground, slightly reluctant to leave the sky after months of imprisonment. The base was almost finished, with only a roof left. It was big, thought it didn’t have enough room for all the creatures. It was only meant to hold supplies and weapons.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Rogue?” she called, weaving through the crowd of creatures, looking for her friend. “Where are you?”

“Over here,” Rogue said, approaching her from the side of the base. “What do you need?”

“I want you to organize the animals and bring them to the front of the base,” Kira told him. “We’re going to announce the plan to break in and destroy the arena.”

“Isn’t it crazy,” Rogue mused, “how just a few hours ago, we were trying to break out of the arena?”

Kira smiled dryly. “Ironic.”

“But yeah, I’ll do that,” Rogue assured her. “Just go to the front. Everyone will be there in no time.”

Kira went to the doorway of the building, where Maximon and Laila were waiting.

“Rogue is getting everyone together,” she said.

Laila examined her claws. “We’re going to take down those tyrants like chicks.”

Maximon was gazing at the top of the arena, a calculating expression on his face. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking. His tongue flickered in and out of his mouth.

The other creatures all congregated in front of the entrance, waiting expectantly for her to speak.

Kira took a deep breath and began, “We came up with a plan to break into the arena and destroy it from the inside.”

Everyone became more interested, some making sounds of interest. All eyes were glued to Kira, and her ears flicked nervously. She continued, “The first step involves the birds, who will carry any animal that will fit in their talons over the arena and onto the sands, where they will begin causing chaos throughout the crowd. The moles have dug tunnels into the sands, so the rest of us who aren’t small enough to fly can come in and continued the attack. After everyone has been subdued—I ask for you not to kill unless you absolutely have to—we open the gates and tumble the walls with whatever we have: our bare claws, fire, the guards’ own weapons if we have to. And when we’re done, everyone will know what happened here, and how we rose up to stop it!” She finished by jumping on her hind legs and spreading her wings, and everyone cheered.

After the din died down, one mouse raised his paw tentatively. “How will we make fire?” he squeaked.

“I can make fire,” Kira said. “With my magic. We just have to be very careful when handling it. The plan begins at midday.”

Everyone murmured in agreement, then split up to discuss who would go together. Kira stayed at the entrance to the base, answering questions and getting reports from the moles about the progress in the tunnels.

The sun finally reached its peak, and the birds assembled in a line around the arena with their designated creatures, waiting for the signal to go. Kira waited until they were all in position, then threw a ball of rainbow light into the air. The birds spiraled up the clouds and then dove, straight towards the arena.

“Go!” Kira shouted, and all the remaining creatures spread out and ran into the mole holes.

Kira herself flew above it all, making sure that no one was left behind before flying towards the arena sands. She passed stunned guards, some with slash marks on them, watching the spectacle in the arena.

Kira coasted over the last wall and was greeted by shouts and screams, along with the smell of blood. Flashbacks triggered in her mind, and she shook her head to clear them. A sense of panic was pounding in her chest, but she did her best to ignore it.

I’m not a scared little kit anymore. I can fight without cringing and cowering like a baby seal.

She shook her head once more and then dove into the crowd.

The confusion was so great, it was easy for Kira to take down animal after animal. They didn’t even realize she was next to them until it was too late, and they were being slammed into the seats. She didn’t have time to calculate how much force to use that wouldn’t cause them permanent damage, and she knew many of them probably wouldn’t make it out alive.

If they wanted to be fine, maybe they shouldn’t have come to this torture house, she thought bitterly, pushing a cat to the ground and stomping on its chest.

She flew from attacker to attacker, slashing and biting quickly, then using their weight to push herself off and land on the next animal.

Suddenly, there were more shouts, and she paused momentarily to see all the other creatures rushing onto the battlefield, yelling for vengeance. She smiled triumphantly, and her eyes flickered to the Announcer trapped on his “throne”, who looked extremely terrified of the animals circling below him, growling and hissing.

“Take this, eel eater!” Kira cried, then launched off the ground and onto the alligator, abandoning the battle.

His eyes widened as he began to topple off the platform. “No! No! I’m sorry! I didn’t—please—”

“You could’ve left any time, or defended those poor creatures you sentenced to death,” Kira snarled. “But you didn’t, and now you have to pay.”

He howled, then fell into the waiting clutches of the creatures below. Kira looked away, knowing that the other animals would not stick to their no-killing policy for the Announcer.

She looked around and realized that every creature in the crowd was collapsed on the stands, some twitching and moaning, and others perfectly still. There were many wounds on the prisoners, but no losses. It was a victory.

“We did it!” someone said, and everyone cheered at the top of their lungs.

“Now we raze this place,” Kira said.

----------------------------------------

It took until sunset, but it was worth it. The biggest creatures rammed into the base of the walls, scattering dust and bricks as it began to crumble. Kira burned everything she could with fire, which was all of the stands, the Announcer’s throne, and the rooms for the guards.

The moles dug holes underneath the foundation, and soon the entire structure was falling, and they were stomping it into dust. Everyone would make sure it never rose again.

They gathered once again at the entrance to the base, exhausted but victorious.

“Thank you all,” Kira said. “We finally have our freedom, and each of you played a vital role in gaining it. Now, at last, you can go back to whence you were taken from, or start anew from here. Farewell, and whether or not we’ll cross paths again someday, I don’t know.”

“What about us?” a doe asked.

Kira was startled by the question. “What do you mean?”

“You’re our leader,” the doe said. “What should we do without you? Who will take over?”

“Yeah!” a lizard—the one that was next to Anala’s cell, Kira noticed—chimed in.

The other animals shouted in agreement.

Kira was torn. Here was a whole crowd of creatures asking for her guidance, and she was younger than over half of them. She needed to save Deya, and Cyalia as well. But what would these creatures do? They would be scarred forever, physically and emotionally. They were different from the others, having killed and fought for years, making them outcasts.

Then an idea struck her.

“There is a Dragon destroying the continent,” she revealed. “A Black Dragon, bigger than any other Dragon you’ll ever see. He burned my village, and maybe the whole Fox Lands. He might rampage on the other Lands any time now, with his army of creatures from the Myth Continent. You could help stop him, and protect the other creatures from his tyranny.”

The animals looked at each other, disputing among themselves.

“It’s true!” one animal shouted. “I’m from the Myth Continent! I saw the Black Dragon firsthand, and it was he who transported me here and then threw me here when I didn’t follow his orders!”

There was no hesitation then. Choruses of “We’ll do it!” and “Let’s show those eels whose boss!” echoed through the crowd. Kira smiled, then turned to leave.

“Wait!” a mouse said. “What about a leader?”

Kira paused, then rotated back and scanned the crowd.

“Anala?” she called.

The tigress limped forwards from the walls of the base. Remnants of blood and sand were still stuck in her slightly tattered fur, but a fierce, alert look was in her eyes.

“Would you lead these creatures against the army of the Black Dragon?” Kira asked.

Anala looked at the hundreds of animals gathered in front of them. Her tail twitched slightly.

“I would,” she said strongly, lifting her chin slightly. “If they would follow me, I would lead them with my best abilities.”

“I’d follow you!” a cat called.

“Me too!”

“So would I!”

Kira smiled at the astounded tigress, who clearly hadn’t expected such a warm welcome. “There you go. Treat them well, my friend.”

Tears of gratitude bubbled up in the corners of Anala’s eyes. “Thank you, Kira.” She hugged the white fox, and Kira hugged her back.

“I’ll see you again,” Kira promised. “Someday.”

“Someday,” Anala agreed.

Kira finally left, walking to the trees and disappearing under their cover.

She hadn’t made it two hundred feet before a voice called, “Kira!”

“What now?” she said, feeling slightly impatient as she turned around. But instead of finding a clingy crowd of creatures, she was greeted by Rogue, Laila, and Liraz.

“We’re coming with you,” Rogue said firmly.

“You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Kira warned. “I have to break into an underground prison—”

“That’s our specialty,” Liraz interrupted, grinning his adorable smile.

“And I have to defeat the Black Dragon,” Kira continued. “I don’t even know where to start—”

“Which is why you need us,” Laila intoned, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be a dummy. We’re not backing down.”

Kira gritted her teeth at the smug expressions on their faces, but she knew Laila was right.

After a long staring contest, Kira sighed and gave in. “Fine. But you have to listen to me when I want you to do something, and you can’t get distracted.”

“Deal!” Liraz chirped, fluttering ahead of them. “So where are we looking first? There’s so much ground here, I don’t know how we could search under it all! And there are worms everywhere in the ground, I would know! Do you think if I dug under here I would find a worm? What if…”

Kira sighed, knowing she would have to live with Liraz’s endless chatter from now on. But she was glad to have her friends with her.

It was going to be a very difficult mission.