Foreword: Sorry for anyone who may have wanted lemons, I haven't had much time to think about how to write it without making it awkward. I'll try again and if I get something, I'll update the chapter. As for now I'll just stick to plot development.
Edit: Still no lemons, sorry.
Nick had never had a more relaxing day in his entire life; he was with the love of his life, in a comfortable bed, at home, all without a care in the world. He checked the clock: 6:53 pm. He still had nearly thirteen hours until he had to be at the park to meet Kai. He turned to face Judy. She was lying on her side, exhausted from their day's fun.
If rabbits are good at multiplying, then this fox is a professor of calculus, he mused, before staring towards the ceiling. It was cracked, like most of the fixtures in the slightly worn-down apartment, but the fact that it belonged to them made it special in his heart. Never before had the fox been able to say 'I got that without hustling another animal', and be proud of it.
The television had been running for about an hour now, and Nick was occasionally listening to what was being said. In a recap of the day's events, some foreign dignitary had visited the city and made some minor headline by speaking with the mayor. The dignitary's attire was very regal, and yet seemed amazingly exotic; it intrigued Nick to look at the stark difference between his deep blue and gold uniform with tailcoat and ceremonial sword, compared to Mayor Lionheart's black suit with tie and briefcase.
The news switched to recent developments in the Badgerly case; they had discovered that a second source of blood belonged to an unidentified fox. Nick's heart rate quickened. This was bad news: if they discovered that he was the culprit, there would be enormous trouble; possibly even a death sentence. The very thought made him shudder.
The fox nearly fell out of his bed when he heard a rustling out of his door. Nearly immediately the lock on the door clicked and the door swung open. Kneeling on the other side was none other than Kai.
"W-What the fuck, do you mind?!" furiously shouted Nick, awaking Judy.
"Not at all," was the response, before he shut the door behind himself. Nick noticed that Kai was carrying a case with him, and swung on his back was a very familiar ceremonial sword.
"Where did you get the sword? More importantly, get out. I don't have to see you until at least twelve hours from now," Nick said angrily.
"I was taking care of… diplomatic matters; there is no time to explain now. There has been a change in plans; Mr. Wilkins suspects that you murdered the badger."
Nick's heart nearly stopped.
"Kane? H...How?" The man threw a white cylinder from inside his coat to Nick, who fumbled with it before catching it firmly.
"Inject that. You lost blood at the badger's house, and when they found out it belonged to a fox, given last night's experience with Mr. Wilkins, he believes you and I are involved. While he is correct, it is on a misguided notion."
"Why would I inject thi-" Nick began, before being cut off.
"Antibiotics; blood poisoning is a terrible way to die. He is on his way here now to question you. He does not yet have a warrant, but I suspect that he will take almost anything as probable cause."
"How did Chief Bogo allow him to do this?" asked Judy worriedly.
"He didn't. Mr. Wilkins never asked." He stopped and turned to glare at Nick. "Inject it."
"Stop nagging, I'll do it." Nick uncapped the needle and poked himself; it gave a burning sensation that quickly faded.
"I leave you with two options. The first: I can let you deal with Mr. Wilkins and his lackeys while I continue about my business. We will still meet at 8 am tomorrow, given that he doesn't do away with you."
"What's the other option?" probed Nick, not inclined on the man's wording.
"I can dispatch one of his goons and take him on a chase. This will only give you a stay of execution, unless you can inform Mr. Bogo about Mr. Wilkins' actions. In this case, we will reconvene tomorrow at noon. I would highly recommend this option."
"Why do I get a bad feeling when you say dispatch?" asked Nick with disbelief.
"They are crooked, Mr. Wilde. Those who uphold crime are no better than those who commit it."
"So you're gonna kill him?!" asked Judy. "There has to be another way!"
"The choice is always yours. Alternative options are risky and have nearly no chance of working; Mr. Wilkins is a dog, and a perceptive one at that."
"Well, how long do we have to choose?" queried Judy.
"He will arrive in about an hour. He is avoiding as many cameras and witnesses as he can."
"We've got time then, let's hear the alternatives," Nick interjected confidently.
"Very well. I can kill all of them, but multiple dead officers on your doorstep is very suspicious. If I killed them in transit, word would get out that he last went to investigate you before his suspicious death."
"I didn't want them dead anyways. What's next?"
"You can leave, pretend to be out for a while, but he would break in and wait for you in your home."
Nick only stared at Kai, his brow narrowing in suspicion.
"I can stage a kidnapping, and take you with me; although it would alleviate all suspicion, you would most likely break a bone or two, and I have no means with which to entertain you."
"… You're joking, right?"
"I can put on a disguise and wait here with you in the hopes that Mr. Wilkins will leave if he sees me here. However, given his skills at perception, it will be a very risky strategy."
"You don't even closely resemble any mammal I've ever seen!" Nick said while laughing boisterously.
"Precisely why I suggested two options, one of which was vastly preferable to the other."
"Why don't you just incapacitate one of them and take the rest of them on a chase?"
"When his servant wakes up, what do you think Mr. Wilkins will tell the world? That he can justify his crusade because he was so close to capturing me while maintaining a safe distance? No, one of them must die."
"What about that gene… er… whatever it was, can't you-" suggested Nick, before being cut off.
"No. If your priorities are such that you would rather I endanger civilians by enraging a mutt than take a safer option at the cost of one evil soul, then maybe I should just let you die instead," Kai growled. "Besides, Mr. Wilkins does not care for his followers; even if I broke them over my knee he would rather try in vain for results from his further pursuit than turn back to see their salvation." Nick sighed, before falling silent.
"What's the safest option you can take that doesn't involve killing?" Judy piped up, curiously.
"If you must take a non-lethal option, facing him alone is the most likely to work."
Judy glanced at Nick, who stared back at her. The look in his eyes indicated that he didn't want to take the chance, but neither of them wanted another mammal to die; especially not for their sake.
"We'll do that," answered Judy, after a moment of deliberation.
"Very well then, Madam. I will be attending to my investigations, so if matters get out of hand here, you will be on your own." Kai turned to leave, walking to the door. "Oh, and Mr. Wilde? You did a fairly decent job with the badger; sloppy, but decent. Next time, if you want to kill a mammal, then you must view them as beneath you. They are savage beasts, incapable of knowing right from wrong; the only way to help society is to rid it of these monsters. You must view them as such if you do not want the burden of guilt bearing down on your conscience."
"Get out," Nick said furiously through gritted teeth.
The man opened the door and stepped out, shutting it behind him. After fumbling for a second, the lock clicked shut.
"Who does he think he is, barging into our home like that!" shouted Nick.
"Nick, you need to calm down. He's only trying to help." Judy responded.
"Carrots, he broke in, threatened us, and suggested how I could make a better murderer! He's doing a great job at helping!"
"He gave us time to prepare."
Nick grumbled angrily before falling flat on the bed, to stare at the ceiling. The news was still running, but was now showing irrelevant stories; it helped Nick to drone out the sounds of the city. Judy got out of bed and began to dress in casual wear; although she was allowed to take off the sling, it was still sore, and so she was careful not to jostle it too much. Nick snapped back to reality five minutes later when a pile of clothes smacked him in the face.
"Let's go, dumb fox. We don't have all day."
Nick put on the clothes that Judy threw to him, and the pair sat down at the table.
Now, they would wait.
Across the Street
Several Minutes Later
Kai decided to set up on the two rooftops that had vision of their apartment's interior as well as its entrances; despite the protests of the fox and rabbit, he would not leave their fate up to chance. He opened his case; it contained three things: a high-energy helical railgun, a blue and gold tailored uniform, and a slightly faulty disguise projector. The former had originally been placed as an afterthought, in the event that he would need to perform a long-range, silent and lethal kill. It appeared that now might be such a time. The case was not originally designed for it, but thankfully the gun was collapsible.
The latter two were his first real attempt to blend in to (as opposed to hide from) mammal society. Kai had salvaged a disguise projector from the armory, replacing the broken pieces with parts from the fabricator; it was originally a tool for espionage, to mimic another human to a near-perfect degree of accuracy. The projector consisted of a small box, the size of a hand-held radio, in addition to several wires that had to be routed along the body and strapped in place. It had its limits, of course: the one who used it had to be close to the same height as the person they tried to imitate, as well as relatively similar in body structure. Kai had spent several hours of each of the past few days attempting to modify it to work for human-to-animal mimicry.
Kai had chosen to disguise himself as a gray wolf, namely for two reasons. The first was that a gray wolf would be closer to his actual height and body structure than any other animal; he had noticed a lack of primates, and other animals would not have matched as closely. The second was that wolves could be arctic or temperate animals, and having spent a large portion of his time in both Tundratown and the more moderate regions of the city, Kai would not look out of place masquerading as one. A wolf that he saved from being murdered, Jack, had offered a blood sample with which to program the device when Kai asked.
For the most part, the disguise was successful, except for some obvious defects. When disguised, external features that a human would not have such as a snout or tail would not be physical; if anything grazed these extremities, the object would pass right through. His left ear and tail were cropped short, and his left eye showed Kai's actual visage; instead of an icy blue, the glaring red cat-like eye of his mask was visible. To alleviate these issues, he took to wearing an eyepatch in his disguise, as well as adopting the backstory that the deformities were scars from fights. He would fix the device later, but in the meantime, the current disguise would have to do.
He undid the straps holding the weapon in place, and pulled the railgun from the case before closing it. Kane would arrive soon, and Kai would have to be ready to take a shot if things down below turned awry. After setting it up and facing it towards the apartment, he waited for the cop to show up.
Eventually, Kane, another dog, and a lion pulled up to the apartment complex. As they stepped out, Kai saw that the trio were armed with more than just tranquilizer pistols; he would have to be careful about how he did this. He watched as they entered the building; the whole way up, he could tap into their radio conversation with some mammal back at the station. It made him wonder how they managed to keep it a secret from Bogo; he reckoned the whole station must have known by know. Perhaps Bogo was the only good cop left, aside from the fox and the rabbit.
Eventually the trio came into view from Kai's vantage point. He trained his railgun on them, watching them through the scope. Kane stood in front of the door, while his two lackeys hid on either side of the frame. Kane knocked on the door, but after two minutes no one had responded. He knocked again, this time with more effort; if there was anyone in the apartment, they must have heard. Still no response. Kai had turned his back on their home for maybe two minutes, if that. Where could they have gone? Kane turned his head to the left and right, nodding to his companions, before kneeling to the lock on the door.
"Shit," muttered Kai. He would have to take action if he didn't want them to break in. He stood tall on the rooftop, holding the gun to his side.
"Mr. Wilkins! I hear that you have been mistaking my work for that of someone else," he yelled loudly. The dog stood and turned quickly, drawing his firearm. "Do not bother with your tranquilizer; I am out of your range. You would only hit a civilian."
"I might have a tranquilizer," Kane began before motioning to the dog on his left, "But he doesn't."
In this moment, the other dog took two steps forward, raised his rifle, and shot. What Kai had mistaken for a tranquilizer rifle had, in fact, been a live carbine. The bullet whizzed and, with an enormous amount of luck on the dog's part, struck Kai in the face; had he not been wearing his mask, it could have been a deadly shot. It merely deflected, but the unexpected force caused Kai to fall backwards; the noise of the gunshot echoed between the buildings.
He quickly readjusted, aiming his own weapon towards the targets. He would have to make a fast yet accurate shot. Before he had the opportunity to scope in, he heard a creak. A second gunshot rang out; Kai prepared himself for the worst, but it appeared that the bullet went nowhere near him. As he looked down his sights, he noticed two things. The first was that the three targets were lined up, giving him a clean shot. The second was that the door was open, and that the dog was partly inside the doorway. Kai exhaled and squeezed the trigger.
A loud, high-pitched metallic whine rang throughout the air. In an instant, the fifty gram projectile accelerated to 60,000 meters per second; it carried four hundred times the energy of the bullet that struck him, was quieter, did not sway from its path, and was impossible to dodge. In an instant, it traced a path through the skull of the lion, the humerous of Kane, and then through the chest of the second dog, an inch above its heart, before sailing through the apartment and embedding into the metal piping of the floor. The blood and fluid of the animals could not move out of the way fast enough for the projectile, so it instead cavitated, creating a brief vacuum that instantly collapsed with disastrous results: the lion's head ceased to exist, Kane's arm was nearly torn from his body, and the dog's heart exploded. They all instantly slumped over quietly, with the exception of Kane, who was howling in agony.
Kai quickly collapsed the gun into his case and leaped to the carnage. He stepped over Kane, so as to inspect the damage to the inside of the apartment. It was then that he realized where the second bullet from the dog's rifle had fired. Inside the apartment, on the ground, tranquilizer in paw, was the rabbit. She must have been shot either when she opened her door, or when the trio broke it open. Her breathing was raspy, blood was bubbling at her chest and her mouth, and she was unconscious; she had been lung-shot. Hunched over her was the fox.
"You," seethed Nick, tears flowing unchecked. "This is your fault."
"She will live," began Kai. The truth was, he didn't know if the rabbit would live; he was merely attempting to calm the fox down. "I warned you about the consequences of going alone, and-"
"None of this would have happened if you just fucking left!" shouted the fox. "Now I'm going to lose her."
"You are being irrational. She is only lung-shot, and the hospital isn't-"
"ONLY LUNG-SHOT?!" Nick screamed. Suddenly, a laughter rang out from behind Kai.
"See? You think that you're some vigilante, but you just caused three innocent mammals to die!" Kane said smugly, before laughing. Kai fished out a syringe from his vest before throwing it to Nick.
"Give her this, I have a dog to fry." Nick raced to inject the medication, before turning to face the action. Kane was now standing, clutching his arm held barely to his body by sinew and torn muscle.
"You're nothing more than a serial killer. You never were, and you never will be," Kane spat out before smiling a broad smile. "In fact, I think when I get back to the station, I'll tell-"
Kai punched Kane in the side of his ribcage with such force that Nick could hear the ribs crack.
"'You'll tell' what, Mr. Wilkins? I think you will be hard-pressed to talk without a voice."
He then kicked the dog's knee from the side, knocking him down. Kane stumbled, and put up his good arm in a weak attempt at a defense. Kai swatted it away, before grabbing his damaged arm and tearing it off in one deft motion. Kane shrieked a bloodcurdling cry, before being interrupted by being hit across the head with his recently detached arm. Kai grabbed the dog's throat with his right hand; Kane briefly opened his mouth to gag, which gave the man enough time to plunge his other hand down the dog's throat; Kane attempted to bite down, but his fangs could find no purchase on the man's stab-resistant shirt. Soon, the shrieks and sounds of struggle stopped, even though it was evident that Kane was still attempting to make noise; Kai let go of the dog's throat and tore his left hand out, before dropping a bloody mess of flesh on the floor.
Kane was now spitting and coughing vast amounts of blood, but was silent except for a soft hiss emerging from his mouth, and the sound of his only arm flailing, clawing at the floor.
"Your vocal chords sound so much better outside of your body, Mr. Wilkins," Kai spoke, before cackling maniacally. He leaned in close and softly spoke into the dog's ear: "Allow me to let you in on a secret, mutt. This pain you are feeling is only the beginning. I have so much more in store for you."
Nick had to use all of his willpower to refrain from throwing up at the show of violence that he just witnessed. He focused instead on Judy, to whose wound he was applying firm pressure. Kai turned to them and knelt next to her. Judging from the angle, he could tell that the bullet only hit her lung; he lifted her up, despite Nick's protests, to inspect the bullet wound. It had gone through, although he couldn't be sure if there were fragments still inside. He reached into his jacket for another syringe; this one was a deep crimson color with a milky white suspension. He handed it to the fox.
"If her pulse or breathing stop before an ambulance arrives, give her this. If it does not come to that, burn the autoinjector."
"Why?" angrily questioned Nick. "Why can't you stay here? You made this mess, you will fix it."
"I need to interrogate Mr. Wilkins. He may have no voice, but he only need lips to whisper. He had real projectile firearms, and it appears he might be a part of something bigger. I have to find out how deep it goes, who is supplying him; the details."
"Why do I need to burn this… whatever the fuck it is, if I don't use it?"
"It is unstable, meant only to be used within several hours to a day of its manufacture. If it exists for longer, it becomes prone to destabilizing into something worse."
"Yeah, but… what is it? Why is it red?"
"Time is wasting, Mr. Wilde. Either way, that question is best left unanswered for the time being." Kai walked over to Kane, who had until this point been clawing at the floorboards, and grabbed his arm. He twisted it deftly, and it dislocated with a loud popping noise. "Struggle, Mr. Wilkins, and I will torture you such that when I am done, you will beg me to kill you," he threatened, before slinging the dog over his shoulder and walking out the door.
Kai didn't know why, but he began to feel sorry for the fox, and had for the first time felt remorseful. He shook it off; if he didn't steel his nerves, it could escalate into something dire. He could feel the dog on his shoulder pass out, most likely due to blood loss. Luckily, he had prepared two of the red autoinjectors.
Zootopia Police Department
Precinct One
Kane awoke with a fright in a cold, dark room; his heart was racing, and he was out of breath, but he did not know why. He tried to get up, but found that without his arm, it was extremely difficult. Everything in his body hurt, most of all his arm; he was getting phantom pains that were akin to needles stabbing through his flesh, and there was nothing he could do about it. He attempted to lift his other arm, but found that he was, in fact, bound to a chair that was lying on its side.
He looked around, but could see nothing special; there was a faint glimmer of light coming from behind some blinds on a window, a desk, some filing cabinets… an office of some sort. An office that Kane had been in only 18 hours ago. It was the office of Chief Bogo.
He flailed until the chair fell on its back, and tried to yell for help; all that happened was a loud hiss, and an extreme pain in his throat. He looked to the door, hoping for some semblance of an escape; instead, he saw glaring at him two red slits.
"I see you are finally awake," spoke an all too familiar voice.
"..." Kane attempted to yell obscenities at the man, but could not muster any voice.
"Now, now. You will need to stick to a whisper. I left your lips intact so that you can give me some vital information." The shadowed figure flicked the lights on and lifted the chair into an upright position.
"I'm... not talking," whispered Kane, barely managing to get the words out.
"I expected as much. However, fortunately for me, pain is the best motivator; this can go two ways. The first: you answer every question I ask diligently like the dog you are-"
"Fuck you," Kane hissed.
"Choice two it is."
The man pulled from his belt a syringe and held it in front of the bloody animal.
"Let it be known that I am a generous man; I am giving you a last chance to comply with my initial request. All I want to ask are a few questions and then you can go free; I guarantee that if you do not, the next four hours will be the most painful last hours that any living being has felt in the past three thousand years."
"… Try me," Kane hissed. The man chuckled.
"This syringe is filled with nociceptor agonist. Those words probably mean nothing to you, so allow me to elaborate. When I poke you with this needle, the molecules in this solution will bond to every pain receptor in the injection site and permanently open them… Well, semi-permanently. It lasts about a month, but you will be dead long before then. You will be unable to pass out, and every cell will burn with the heat of a thousand suns. How much pain you feel before you die will depend entirely on how well you answer my questions."
The man first stabbed the needle into the dog's stump arm, before withdrawing it. Immediately Kane felt a pain like never before; it felt like someone dumped acid on his arm, set it on fire and then began to stab it with knives. He began to flail before being held down by Kai.
"Now, tell me. Where did you get your guns?" Kai asked patiently. No response. "Perhaps I need to do a little more… persuasion?"
"Wait, stop!" suddenly whispered Kane.
"So you will speak?"
"No, your fly is down." The dog laughed, or tried to, but instead wheezed pathetically. Kai quickly stabbed the needle into his prisoner's stomach. He lurched over, and would have fallen with the chair had the man not grabbed it.
"You will soon learn that I am not playing games."
Two Hours, Thirty-Seven Minutes Later
Kane no longer had any energy to writhe; he had expended it in the two and a half hours prior. His entire lower body was on fire, and he was broken. It took the man two hours and twenty-five minutes to get him to talk.
"Now, last question. Who else is involved?"
"I… I don't know. Just-"
"Wrong answer." The man prepared to stab him in his good shoulder, before he interjected quietly.
"Wait! Please, no more! I honestly don't know, Retta came up to me one day and told me that she had a group of other cops who-"
"Who is 'Retta'? Where can I find her?"
"She's the raccoon in upper administration, wears glasses, I didn't know her before she came to me that day but she said that I would make a fine addition."
"You never met any other officers, with the exception of the two you went with today?"
"I didn't even meet them, I asked her for backup and she sent them."
"I see. Allow me to make a phone call, there is someone else I would like for you to tell this information to."
"No! No more!"
"The alternative is that I give you the rest of the serum and leave you here until after the weekend, during which time no one will come into this office. You will be here, alone, writhing in agony until someone walks through that door. When that time comes, you will beg for them to kill you."
"… who will you call?"
"Your boss."
"Are you mad?! You want me to talk to him over the phone?"
"Yes, except he will come here, and you will tell him in person."
"In what?" questioned Kane. Kai kept forgetting he couldn't use old slang to convey messages.
"Face to face."
Kai retrieved a burner phone from inside his coat. He proceeded to dial the cell of Chief Bogo.
This has been a meeting long overdue. Thought Kai, as he heard the other end pick up.
Zootopia Central Hospital
Nick was sitting in a chair by the hospital bed. It was strange to think that it was less than a week since both he and Judy were last here. Both times were caused by Kai; this time, his and Judy's roles were switched. All Nick could do for the last two hours was sit in a waiting room until she had been transferred from an operating theater to a room, and now that she was, he couldn't bear to leave her side.
Judy's ears lay down beneath her head, her body motionless except for her breathing. The monitor next to her displayed her pulse and other biometrics, none of which meant anything to Nick except that she was alive. The doctor had warned him that she had fallen into a coma, and might be that way for a while; when he had heard that, it tore him in two.
He was rolling the now empty syringe given to him by Kai in his paw; it turned out that it was, in fact, not red. It was clear, filled with a red liquid that, as time progressed, seemed to get darker and more viscous. Nick had not used it; he had instead given it to the lab technicians to identify. They told him that they would return to him with the results as soon as they were available.
Nick stood and walked to the window, looking towards the horizon; the sun had already long since set, and the glow of the city illuminated the sky. He could see mammals bustling through the streets, with some unseen destination in mind. His mind grew blank as he checked the clock. 11:09 pm. Although he was immensely tired, he dared not fall asleep. As for his meeting with the man tomorrow at 8…
"I'm not leaving..." muttered Nick under his breath to Judy. "If he wants to talk, he'll know where to find me."
A knock on the door. In came a skunk wearing green scrubs with a clipboard in paw. The expression on his face worried Nick.
"Mr. Wilde? The analysis you wanted came back."
"What does it say?"
"The sample appears to be some kind of blood, or blood substitute, we're not sure which."
"What do you mean, not sure?"
"Well, it shares the qualities of most bloods: it coagulates, holds oxygen, contains immune cells, et cetera. However, it hasn't coagulated much in the past two hours, and it doesn't contain any anti-coagulants. The respiration pigment appears to be some analogue of hemoglobin, and the antigen on the blood cells doesn't match any known mammalian family. The 'immune cells', if you can even call them that, act like machines on the microscopic level; we've looked at it under our scope and they don't look like cells at all. They were also extremely hard to sample, since any sampling compound we tried was neutralized by the substance. I… don't really know what to tell you other than that, Mr. Wilde."
"Thanks."
The technician handed him the paper and left, shutting the door behind him. The man wanted him to inject some unknown blood into Judy? What a lunatic.
Kai owed a thorough explanation when they next met.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so delayed, I've been really busy this past week. I've had two projects that I've needed to have working and submitted by yesterday night, tons of memos to write, etc. I haven't had time to leave my computer, so the only food I've eaten was three bags of Cool Ranch Doritos and thirty-seven small pouches of fruit snacks.
Hopefully future updates will come out quicker than this. Also I'll try to get a lemon in this chapter, but this is all I've managed to get done so far.
Let me know how I can improve my writing with a review.
Edit: I'm keeping the old A/N because I think it's hilarious. And no, it's not a lie, I really did subsist on three bags of chips and a box of fruit snacks when I was working on programming projects for a week and a half straight.
