Nick finally got the pleasure of meeting Marco. He was a huge bull, five times as big as Nick, twice as big as Jac, and he had a big, heavy, gold ring through his nostrils. He had an overall tough air about him, but the vibes he put off were definitely... odd.

The first time Marco stopped by to see Jac, Nick had just taken a beating and was lying in a muddled, half-awake heap in the corner, still protectively guarding his painful broken bone as best he could. Jac had just finished with the daily pounding, and he was laying on the medi-bed, in complete zen.

"Jac."

Both Nick and Jac sprung at the voice in fear- (Jac because he had nearly been sleeping on the job, and Nick because he was afraid of everything these days,) until Jac noticed his guard friend and he grinned widely.

"Hey, Marco! Why aren't 'cha guarding that big 'ol mean lion back there?"
Marco's expression was still blank. "Jac, what are you doing?"

"What'da'ya mean?" Jac asked, sitting up a bit.

"Nicholas Wilde isn't technically a Savage, but you still much guard him like he is one. Bellwether won't be pleased if she catches you."

By this time Nick was staring at the scene, completely taken aback by how calm Marco sounded. Besides his rough exterior, he didn't seem as cruel as Jac.
"Aw, don't be like that, buddy! I've got him under control. One-hundred percent!"
"How can you be sure?" Marco asked, turning to the pretend-sleeping fox in the corner. Marco saw through him in an instant and he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "He is fooling you right now, Jac. Did you honestly think he was sleeping?"

At that Jac whirled around to face Nick, who immediately curled in on himself tighter and winced, knowing the gig was up. Damn Marco, damn him.

"You tryin' to do something?! You messin' with me?! Well, I thought I taught you your lesson yesterday, but if it didn't stick-"

"Jac, what are you doing?"

A long pause ensued before Jac, flabbergasted, pointed at Nick. "I'm teaching him a lesson, obviously. How do you keep Mr. Lion under control in his cell? You ask him nicely not to bite or kill?" Jac sneered, although he looked a bit confused. Marco grunted.

"I do the proper cell procedure and I keep him cuffed. We are only here to guard them, not 'teach' them anything, Jac. Bellwether hired us to do a job, not get sidetracked. He's not even moving, Jac!" Marco's voice raised during the last sentence, and based on Jac's shocked face, it wasn't something that happened often.
Nick decided Marco was alright, and he slowly loosened up, glancing at the two giant predators.

"Yeah? You know why he 'aint movin', Marco? You know why? Because I taught him a lesson!" Jac reasoned, face flushing. "And now my job is easier, and he's learned his place, and everything is fine."
"You were about to beat him because he was pretending to sleep, Jac."

"Get out! Don't you have your own Savage to guard?"

Marco raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Jac, just remember that all these animals we are guarding- they are here because they're predators. Remember that we are predators too, and maybe show them a bit of respect. They didn't do anything to deserve this."

Jac growled. "Doesn't mean we can't have fun, Marco, god."

The bull, still standing in the doorway, opened his mouth to respond, but Jac cut him off. "No! Leave. You've got a job to do, too, Marco."

Nick watched with horror as Marco slowly, reluctantly began to retreat back down the hall and Jac turned to the fox with the cruelest grin he'd ever seen. All teeth. He started cracking his knuckles and walking towards Nick's cowering form.

Shit.

It wasn't difficult whatsoever to get to Cliffside, especially after seeing the secret exit out of town and a dark forest to hide in nearby. It was still as gloomy as ever, which put Judy's already-low spirits down just a tad, but the thought that Nick was going to be safe soon- that was all she needed to get right back up with a determined smile on her face.

Lightning split across the sky in terrifying, webbed bursts of light. It gave her seconds to map out where to do, since without the lightning it would be too dark to see anything. Even the usual lampposts had been turned off, presumably after the asylum had been 'shut down' by the Bellwether.

Judy waited for another bolt to light up the sky, and when it did, she quickly took in her surroundings. Guards- still Wolves- were hiding in nearby bushes, obviously armed. The bridge across looked more rickety than usual, but Judy had been sleeping on a rickety bed in her apartment and she wasn't going to let that slow her down.

Thunder rumbled and Judy dashed through the darkness, carefully going over the bushes and not nearby, side-stepping into her own bush and flying across the bridge faster than she had ever gone before.

Nick was the only thing going through her head.

"Carrots, what're you doing? You do know that breaking into an abandoned, government-property hospital jail for infected Predators is illegal... right?

Judy shushed her brain and Nick. For the past few hours, Nick's voice kept coming back to her. She didn't know quite yet if she was worried about being schizophrenic or if she was just telepathically communicating... because friendship?
Either way, she was just glad to hear Nick's voice- it didn't matter if she was crazy or not.

She quietly edged over to the drainage- the way they had gotten in last time- and started the long, smelly, dark journey into the ex-hospital room. With a deep breath she scrambled up and prayed that all of this would go smoothly.

When she got to the room and slowly, carefully pushed open the door, it was a bit different than she remembered. The cages seemed to be about the same size, but each cage had what looked to be a larger, non-savage predator guarding each Savage that had been chained. (Although each guard was calmly eating lunch inside the cage, or they were doing something else to waste time. It wouldn't be difficult to get past them.) The locks and security on each glass door had been upgraded somehow, and the entire place just looked a bit off.

Judy quietly crouched to the ground and looked into each cage. There was a lamp in each section, so it was lighter than it had been when she had first come here with Nick, but it was still dim. Each savage looked to be chained somehow- most to a medi-bed but some to the wall, where they had a bit more roaming freedom.

She hopped through the cages silently, glancing into every one before moving on. Judy held her breath when she saw Mayor Lionheart- Savage- in a cell being guarded by a bull. That must be why he hasn't been responding to the pres about the re-elections lately! Judy thought, quickly running to the next few cages and glancing at the report taped to the front, along with a name and a picture of the predator before they had been shot with Night Howlers.

Wait.

Judy froze, nearly tripping over her own feet with a sudden sinking realization.

If Nick was shot up by the Night Howlers, and he was now in an asylum guarded by, well, a guard... and Nick was still Savage... how the hell was she supposed to sneak him out without getting killed?! If she was caught, Bellwether would get to her if the guard didn't snap her neck, and if she managed to free Nick, he was still a predator and he'd probably eat her!

Softly groaning, Judy continued down the hall. There was no turning back now. She'd just have to figure it out as she went along- it was her specialty.

Nicholas Wilde, Fox.

Judy skidded to a halt when she saw Nick's picture on the glass door and she almost giddily jumped when she saw a tiff of his red fur. "Nick!" She whispered, surprised that there wasn't a guard in his cell. Nick's ear perked up and Judy happily-quietly- tapped on the glass. "Nick!"

Nick uncurled himself from under the medi-bed and slowly looked up, not at all surprised. Judy gasped when she saw the blood and her eyes widened at the claw marks across his face. Seeing his arm twisted in an odd angle, and seeing darker bruises on his face and back... this wasn't what she had expected.

He wasn't Savage.

She was still gaping at him, wondering why this happened. Why didn't they just leave him alone to rot in a cell? Why do this when he clearly wasn't Savage anymore? How did he change from Savage into normal? Was there a cure? Why was Nick giving her that look?

"Nick, what happened?" She whispered urgently. Nick smiled sadly.
"You know, you can give it up already."

"Give what up?" Judy felt lost.

"I know you aren't real, Carrots. I like the thought, though. Thanks, anyway, but you can stop."

Judy was speechless. "Nick! It's me? What are you talking about? I'm here to bust you out, just hurry and help me- we don't have much time!"

"That's new. Usually you just stand there and smile. What's the fuss this time?"

"I'm getting you out, you dumb fox!"

Nick shrugged, wincing as his shoulder bounced his clearly-broken arm. Then his face morphed into sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Judy..." Without letting her interrupt at all, he continued, and Judy was shocked as tears began rolling down his face. He sat down against the metal wall and wrapped his arms around his legs, burring his head into his knees and sobbing. "I'm sorry!" He choked out, collapsing into rushed apologies and anguished sobs. Judy was absolutely stunned.

This wasn't what she had been expecting. Not at all. The thought hadn't even passed through her mind that Nick had thought she had died, but suddenly it all made sense; he had been a Savage when she escaped, and if she was presumed dead on the news, it would obviously have reached Nick.

She felt her eyes water at the thought of Nick, waking up in an asylum, thinking that he had killed the only one who had believed in him. And then they obviously beat him, too. Miserably Judy wondered if they were torturing him. She broke down at the thought.

"Nick, it's me! I'm real! You didn't kill me!" She said, not realizing how loud she was getting. Hot, frustrated tears flew down her face.

Nick wasn't listening, however, and he started moaning in agony, putting his paws over his ears to block out the noise.

And before Judy could say another word, there was a burst of white-hot pain in the back of her head, and the last thing she saw was Nick, still curled in on himself, before the world faded into darkness.

She had failed.