Chapter 7 - Fixing what is Broken

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"Judy, you can see him now." Will said to her.

The doe did not even bat her eyes as she slid off the bench in the hospital lobby and followed a large margin behind both Wolford and Bogo. The events from a few hours ago left her feeling cold, confused, and afraid. She had so many questions, but she could not utter a single word.

The only thing that ran through her mind was how she found Nick… and the pain from seeing what looked like a nightmare cast over him.

Like a demon destroyed his body, leaving only his soul to cry out…

Bogo opened the door, and Judy gasped yet again as she laid her eyes on the fox inside the brightly-lit room, lying motionless on the hospital bed. The sight of seeing Nick on the bed, barely breathing, the excessive equipment hooked up to him, the torn flesh and dried blood over his ears and hands, all of it weighed Judy's soul down like an anchor. Her face had run dry from all the tears, but she couldn't help but continue to sob as she walked up to the bed and clutched his neck.

"Judy, careful!" Wolford said quickly, stepping closer to the bed.

"What have they done to him?!" she said with her face still in his fur. She'd be further matting his fur had her eyes not been stripped dry of every scrap of moisture.

"Judy, don't…" he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "His body has gone through a lot of change over the past week. We need to let it adapt, or he might not recover."

Judy looked up at the wolf. "Will he be okay?" she asked him with pleading, amethyst eyes.

Not wanting to hurt her feelings any greater, "We can only hope for the best…" he said to her with a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "And you need to take a breather. Can I drive you home?"

"No, I'll stay here for the night. I don't wanna leave him again…"

Will gave her a small nod before heading out the door, leaving Judy in the room with her friend. She hopped up onto the bed next to him and gently caressed his tattered neck fur with her paw, watching his chest slowly rise and fall from his relaxed breathing. She looked down at his hands. They were now completely metal, starting from his wrist down. All of his original flex points were there, and his tendons were now more mechanical. His wrist had a small cuff around it, with a couple loose wires hanging out, and behind that, the metal met flesh, bound together by stitches. Aside from his hands, the rest of his body appeared to be normal fox biology. Yet his ears were scathed, teeth were missing, dried blood splatters ran all over his body… Judy began to shed more tears as she remembered the horror she endured earlier that day, and the past six without Nick. Though it had been one day shy of a week, she still missed him greatly. And now, the rabbit didn't know what hurt more: knowing he was tortured and experimented on, or the lack of knowing his condition. The fact that now she couldn't possibly know if things could go back to the way they were left her with a knot in her stomach.

Bringing herself to break the feeling of dread, she looked over and saw a light switch. She reached over and flicked it down, leaving only the floodlights from the side of the building to shine through the window right above the bed. The doe then lay her head on his chest, listening to him breathe and let his chest rock her to sleep as he did so. She doubted her own ability to rest, yet she tried anyway. A futile attempt, but it was all she could do while she waited for him to wake.

To see his eyes…

To hear his voice…

To see him smile…


Just as she expected, she lay with her eyes closed and a resting mind, yet her senses were still active. She could sense the blue twilight outside the window. Earlier in the night, she put one earbud in her droopy ear and just let the music play at a quiet volume so she could distract her thoughts and maybe find some rest. She shuffled around constantly trying to get comfortable, until she relaxed leaning up against Nick's left side, with her head partially on his hip and one ear flopped over it.

"I wish I could feel it all for you
If I could, I would take back all that you've been through
And I would find a safer place for you to run
When you've come undone

I wish I could take the pain away
If I could, I would paint for you a brand new day
But for now, you've gotta hold on through the night
I know we'll survive

Oh, no, I'm never gonna let it go
I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting

Oh no, I'm never gonna let it go
I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting

Nothing's gonna bring us down, nothing's gonna take us out
Nothing's gonna stop us now, nothing's gonna stop us now"

While in her state of half-sleep, she felt something oddly warm on her shoulder. Without feeling startled in the least, her right eye opened just a little so she could get a glimpse of the sensation she felt. She saw Nick's glistening, metal paw. 'Just his paw…' she mused inside her head as she closed her eye again. 'Wait… his paw?' Both her eyes flashed wide open as she now realized what happened.

'Nick moved his paw!'

She accidentally tugged her earbud out as she quickly rotated around and looked at the fox with wide, purple eyes and perked-up ears. The sight of his barely opened emerald eyes and small smile sparked a sense of happiness inside her she could not comprehend.

And when he spoke… she began to cry tears of joy.

"Hey, Carrots." he said in a weak voice, still smiling.

After he finished, Judy leaped into his neck without hesitation, causing him to grunt. She clutched it tightly, wanting to hold him forever. The joy she felt consumed every other emotion.

"I've missed you so much, Nick!" she cried into his neck. "So, so much!"

"I missed you too, Toot-Toot." he replied, bringing his arms around to embrace her. "It feels so good to see your face and hear your voice again."

She sat back up and placed her hand on his cheek, looking into his eyes. "Wh-what have they done to you?" she asked as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Who did this to you?"

"Can't remember much right now. It's all a blur, really." he replied. "But just… savor the moment for now, okay? It's been too damn long."

She nodded and lay back down on his chest. "I've been so scared this week, Nick. After you were kidnapped and I got that call from you… It's just been so terrible…" She began to sob yet again, bringing her paws to cover her face.

"It's over, Judes, okay? I'm here now. I'll be fine." He placed his paw on her head and began to stroke her ears. "We'll be fine…"

"Please, don't go…" she pleaded with her face partially buried in his arm, while also clutching it tightly with her arms.

"Never again." he replied. "I will be right here, always."

And with that, Judy drifted into a quiet slumber, followed closely by Nick. She felt a peaceful serenity she had dearly missed. She finally had her cherished fox friend back.


Later that morning, the sun was charging through the window, bringing a relaxing warmth to the room. For both the fox and the bunny, the sun had never felt so radiantly beautiful. A new day, a new start, had begun. Bogo and the nurse, a cheetah, came in to see the two awake and talking to each other. Judy was sitting on her knees, looking at Nick with wide eyes as if he was telling a captivating, fantasy tale.

"You're up faster than I expected." the female cheetah said to Nick.

"Yeah, me too." he said with his 'sly fox' attitude. "With what they've done to me over the past week, I'm actually surprised I'm still breathing. Yay for me?" He raised his hands a playful manner to go along with his crafty voice.

"Alright, Mr. Wilde, I'm gonna need to do some tests on you to make sure you'll come out okay, alright?" the nurse asked.

"Be my guest." he replied with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

Judy looked to Bogo as he spoke in his traditional gruff voice "Hopps, I'll also need to speak with you on this matter. Come with me." He turned and left the room, while Judy looked to Nick again, hesitant to go after being away for so long.

"I'll be right here, Carrots… alright?" he reassured her. "You go talk to Buffalo Butt, and we can get coffee or something later." The sincere smile on his face never failed to make her feel warm inside. "Sound good?"

"Okay…" she replied as she slid off the bed and started out the door. Before she left, the doe turned to give him one last wave and said a quiet 'Bye', and he returned a salute as she left and the nurse began to take tests.

After she left, she wanted nothing more than to be back in the room with him. The separation was hard to bear, especially after so long. 'He'll be fine.' she reminded herself. 'He's with doctors, and there's no danger here. We're gonna make it through this.' A general feeling of sadness overcame her, but she fought to keep her head up.

Bogo led Judy into a small room with greyish-blue carpet and an oak wood desk with nothing more on it than a lamp, a cup of pens, and a small stack of folders. There it was again; the slight intimidation of being in the office with the buffalo.

"Have a seat." he said, pointing to the chair as he moved around the desk and sat in the chair on the other side. The small rabbit climbed up the seat with little difficulty and decided to stand rather than sit. She had a feeling that this meeting was not gonna be very long. Bogo let out a sigh and faced the doe. "I will assume you know exactly what we will be discussing, Hopps." She simply nodded. He nodded as well. "Good. Now, we are certain Wilde will be in peak physical condition within a week or two," Bogo took one of the folders from the desk and opened it in front of him. "probably back on the force in under a month. I will assume you'd like to help with his recovery?"

"Yes sir." Judy replied without hesitation.

"Alright." He began to write in the folder he had. "So, can we agree on you work mornings on parking duty, and in the afternoons, assist the nurses with your partner's recovery?"

"Um, parking duty, sir?" she asked. Parking duty was the least favorable job she could be given. She never liked doing it, and with Nick in his current state, it felt more daunting than ever.

The buffalo sighed yet again. "Hopps…" he started with a soft and understanding voice. "you and I both know that detective work is harder and produces less desirable material when the officer is under stress, especially this intensely. We also know that you and Wilde have a relationship that exceeds the boundaries of 'friends' or 'partners,' and as such, I cannot condone you going back to high-level investigator work this soon. Do you understand?"

Judy wanted to argue. This didn't seem fair, but deep down, she knew he was right. "Yes, sir." she replied with a sigh and her eyes down.

"Excellent." Bogo rose from his chair and moved around the desk. "Now, Dr. Doyle has something we think you need to see. Follow me." He walked out the door and Judy followed closely behind him. They passed by Nick's room, and she could not comprehend how disappointed she was to see the door closed. She fixed her eyes in front of her again, and she saw a meerkat in a doctor's uniform talking with a bunny nurse. The meerkat took notice of Bogo, and told the bunny they'd discuss it another time, whatever the matter happened to be.

The meerkat walked closer to the buffalo. "Chief." he greeted in a very formal manner, demonstrating a slight British accent to boot. Despite the fact that meerkats were regularly smaller than rabbits, this one stood just an inch shorter than Judy, minus the ears.

"Doctor." he replied with a nod. "And this is Officer Judy Hopps."

"Pleasure to meet you, Doyle." Judy said, offering a pawshake, which the meerkat kindly obliged to.

"Pleasure to meet you as well. I've heard a lot about you, Ms. Hero of Zootopia. You've made quite a reputation for yourself, I'd say."

"Thank you." she replied with a smile. Between the voice and the formal appearance, his presence felt almost just like the mammal from the Dr. Zoo show with the time-travelling phone booth, and this brought a certain charm to the meerkat.

"Cut the formalities, Doctor." Bogo interrupted. "Let's get down to business."

"Ah, yes. Follow me, Officers." The meerkat turned around, and as he did, Judy noticed a scar on the left side of his head, a straight line going from right behind his ear down to his neck. It looked like an old scar, but it was distinct nevertheless. Judy was very hesitant to ask about it, and before she could, he had already led them to his office.

The doctor opened the door using the magnetic switch on the lower end of the door to release the latch, and switched on the light. Judy followed him inside, and Bogo behind her, having to crouch a bit to fit inside. On the other side, the room was very spacious, complete with a desk, two chairs in front, one in the back, and a couch in the corner with a nearly full bookshelf behind it, facing the desk. The carpet was the same greyish blue that all the other rooms had, and the ceiling lights were light bulbs concealed with a smoky glass globe around each one. A mounted light-wall with x-ray images on it was on the wall next to the couch, set between the desk and the seat. The blue and black sheets on the light-wall appeared to be Nick's, and the metal claws he has. No more than two seconds of observing, and they already made her stomach turn ill. They brought her back to when she first found him. Torn, bleeding, broken…

"Over here." Doyle beckoned before Judy could reanimate the thoughts further. "Now, we took some x-rays on Wilde shortly after he arrived. We discovered that his bones have all been infused with an unknown alloy. His whole skeletal structure is augmented to be stronger and denser while retaining the same weight and size. It's most definitely titanium-based, but is not the real thing. My theory is that they altered it to be anti-corrosive or to lower toxicity, thereby decreasing the chances of heavy metal poisoning, maybe even accept bone material to cover it in a sort of enamel. His paws and feet have been completely amputated and replaced with mechanical parts. The hydraulic tendons over his fingers are wired into his nervous system, so he can move them just like normal, and his feet run off of their own servos in the joints instead of the hybrid setup his hands have. This may allow him to run faster on two feet, and perhaps even faster on all fours. How the mammals that kidnapped him managed this whole process in under a week is beyond me."

While Bogo remained expressionless and sedentary, Judy's stomach began to turn even further, and she was starting to feel light-headed. But she did not waver and continued to listen to the doctor.

"The system he has also uses parts that require no external lubrication. They are designed to eliminate the need to add liquid to allow the parts to move freely. But the general nature of any mechanism like this probably demands he clean them himself every now and then. Dirt, dust, water, dried blood, perhaps, will cause problems over time, especially for his feet. He shouldn't need to wash them any more than he normally would, though."

Judy noticed a concentrated amount of metal around Nick's wrist, in the shape of a cuff. She remembered observing this last night when she was with him. Curious, she asked, "What's that around his wrist?" as she pointed to it.

"That is the anchor. It keeps the artificial hand attached to his arm." he replied. "It contains the joints and the self-sustaining battery for his paws. I was able to do a bit of looking, and found that there's also a small computer in there. Quite powerful for its size, and seems almost unnecessary. I have theorized that it's either a regulator for the battery or diagnostics for the devices if errors occur, but even then, it's a lot of power for something that simple. I'll see what more I can figure out about this."

"Alright. Just… don't break it or short it out or whatever. I don't want him in any more pain."

"You have my word, Miss Hopps." Doyle said with a humble bow.

"How long before he can resume duty?" Bogo asked.

"His body has gone through a rapid amount of change over the past week, and so we need to let it adapt." the meerkat replied. "We're not gonna let him even try to walk for a few days. I'm surprised he's as awake and active as he is today. I'd say… two weeks? It all depends on how well he can walk over time. We're still not a hundred percent sure on his motor skills with his paws either, so we'll also have to see how well that'll play out."

Just then, Dr. Doyle's watch beeped. "Excuse me, I've got another patient I have to meet with." he said as he checked his watch and moved to the door. Bogo and Judy followed. "I'll try to keep you guys updated on his condition throughout the week. We'll see each other soon."

"Sounds good, Doctor. Thank you." the doe said to him with a smile as she left his office.

"No problem, Officer." He shut the door and started down the hall with a goodbye wave. "I'll see you around."

Judy replied with her own salute as they parted ways. Bogo went back to the precinct, and Judy remained in the hospital so she could see Nick later.

The tests that the nurse, later discovered by Judy to be Doyle's assistant, had a lot of things she needed to go over with Nick, so the rabbit was not able to go see Nick for the remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon. Judy remained in the hospital for nearly the whole day, talking with other doctors, family that was visiting and decided to drop by, and she got choked up telling Jackie how she found Nick in the old building and how scared she was when she saw him. She made a mental note to ask Bogo what they did with the bobcat so she could interrogate him, since he and the mysterious raccoon are the only individuals Judy has linked to Nick's condition. She also made a point to ask Wolford regarding tracking down the raccoon. He can't be hiding too well after they found one of his multiple places of operation. He's got a base somewhere, and Judy is determined to find it.

Somewhere, somehow, she'd find justice for her partner.

…Or will it be vengeance?