Let's get into what shall be colloquially known as the Lang Family arc, because we like putting stories into neat little boxes apparently. That said, I guess we'll call the first five chapters the Big arc? The Beginning Shit arc? The Kristy Elkwood arc? In any case, let's get on with it.

But first, another piece of fanart from malachitecat, this one featuring, among other things, Carla Hyenandez. A pretty good rendition. Find it at art/Zootopia-Fanfiction-OCs-Carla-and-Sam-618390883 or "Zootopia Fanfiction OCs - Carla and Sam" and revel in hyena goodness.

Chapter 11: Picking Up the Scent

Rainforest District

3: 03 PM

"Why is he calling me now?"

Lucy Sang let out a loud yawn as she woke up and stretched her wings. She was having such a good dream too: loads and loads of money, plus the miserable faces of those she took it from. Adjusting the grip of her clawed feet on the hanging branch, Lucy reached up and pulled a tiny phone from inside her jumpsuit. Using a wing to shield her eyes from the sun, she squinted at the caller ID:

Count Cheapskate

"Damn." Giving another yawn, she put the phone up to one of her large ears. "With all due respect, sir, it's like three in the afternoon. What do you want?"

As she reoriented herself with the waking world, it took her a second to realize she was being spoken to. "Huh? Oh, right, right. The job. Yeah, not really my problem this time. Isn't this what we brought in the pyro for?"

She rubbed at her eyes as she waited for the response. "So this one's been a bit trickier than you thought. I know Simon promised that this would be done by now. Take that up with him." An ear twitch. "Then give him another phone! Don't tell me you can't afford it! I'm still not seeing how any of this is my problem, by the way!"

Her fangs clenched tightly. "...Yes, I know who signs my check. Fine, I'll help out. I take it you have a plan?"

The vampire bat had to hold the phone away from her ear at the loud tirade that followed. It startled her so much that one of her feet lost hold of the branch and she had to flap her wings a few times to reattach herself. "Alright, alright! Of course you have a plan! You don't need to get so indignant!"

She could already tell it was going to be one of those days. "Well, don't leave me in suspense. Whaddya got?"

By nature, Lucy Sang was a very cruel and vindictive individual, the result of spending her whole life as an outcast to society. She had seen and done many things that most would consider unforgivable, even against her own family. So she was no stranger to the darker side of mammality. But what she heard next was enough to give even her pause.

For all of two seconds.

The bat burst into loud, cackling laughter, clutching one hand to her side for support. "Wow! That is pure evil! You're really gonna do that to the poor guy?! Oh, oh holy guano that is too much! Ahahahahahahaha!"

By the time she recovered, he had already hung up.

Grizzoli's Patrol Car

3: 10 PM

Unsurprisingly, it was raining. The thin droplets splattered against the windows of the large police vehicle, covering it in water and making their current assignment all the more ironic.

"I apologize in advance for the smell of wet dog, sir," said Jimmy Frost from the backseat, normally the place where suspects would be locked up. He didn't seem to mind though, even strapping Wallace into the seat next to him.

"Don't worry about it. Hardly the worst thing I'm going to be smelling today," Officer Grizzoli replied. The giant polar bear drove the car with a casual grace unbefitting of his species.

"Seems like it would be pretty hard to light a place on fire in these conditions," Judy noted, riding next to him. As usual, she felt tiny in comparison, but she had long gotten used to it.

"It's easier than you think as long as you have the right materials," said Grizzoli. "Even so, we can't figure out what this guy is thinkin' setting up shop here. Maybe he just wanted a challenge? Seems pretty silly given how much easier he's made it for us to find him. Not that we have as of yet…"

Judy held her tongue, resisting the urge to spill their suspicions about the arsonist's motives. Technically, that was still only Nick's theory, plausible as it was. She wasn't obligated to share it with the other officers, right? Until the connection was confirmed, that was only going to muddle the investigation.

There I go again rationalizing to circumvent the law. I'd feel a lot better about my job if I didn't have to do that so much.

Thinking about this conundrum made her think about Mr. Big, which made her think about the crime lord murders, which made her think about what Nick had told them, which made her think about her current conundrum, which made her think about Mr. Big-and now she really needed to change the subject before she drove herself insane. "So where are we heading right now exactly?"

"Old parking garage down on Moss St. It's long since abandoned to the public, but our correspondents in Precinct 4 have told us about some strange reports they've gotten on the place. Loud mechanical noises, old cars appearing and disappearing at random, shady figures, etc."

Sure sounds like a Lady Lang operation alright.

"Aren't you going to ask what this has to do with the arsonist?"

Judy flinched. "O-Of course! I was just wondering that!"

"Really?" Jimmy shifted in his seat. "I thought we already-"

"So you think this place is going to be a target, right?!" Judy asked loudly.

"...Right," Grizzoli said, greatly confused. "So far, most of this guy's targets around the Rainforest District have had 'shady' written all over them. We're still trying to piece together how it's all connected, but we haven't found any direct leads yet." Judy struggled to stay silent yet again, while mentally willing Jimmy to do the same.

Thankfully, he seemed to get the memo. "What about the arsonist's previous targets? Before he started going after the Rainforest District?"

"That's the weird thing. We couldn't find any connection whatsoever between his previous targets. Clothing store, pawn shop, train station, medical clinic, souvenir stand, he got the full gamut," Grizzoli explained. "The only thing they had in common was that they all happened to be abandoned at the time. If that weren't the same story here, we wouldn't be sure if this was even the same guy."

"Are we? It still seems like a pretty flimsy link," Judy noted.

"Trust me, we're sure." He indeed sounded absolutely certain. "I'll tell you more once we get there, but let's just say he leaves a very...distinct...calling card."

The 'Monster Truck'

3: 10 PM

The mission had just started, but as far as Nick was concerned, it was already going disastrously.

Wanting to give the rookies more "varied" training, Chief Bogo had split Nick and Judy between the two patrol cars and placed them with the cadet they were less familiar with, which meant that right when he was starting to get along with Jimmy, now he was stuck with Humorless Hyenandez. On top of that, Officer Delgato was now driving his own car, on the logic that he had a better idea where they were going. While Nick was still reeling from this encroachment on his territory, Fangmeyer twisted the knife by immediately calling shotgun. He had never thought of wolves as ambush predators before today.

Now he was trapped in the back with Carla, who had deprived him of even the satisfaction of getting to "accidentally" kick the back of Fangmeyer's seat by choosing to sit behind him. This left Nick sitting behind Delgato, who he couldn't even see past, literally the worst possible seat in the vehicle.

Overall, a very rough day.

"You okay back there?" Delgato asked. Mockingly, Nick decided.

"I'm fine," he snapped, crossing his arms. "Just because I've got all these 'dingoroo' wounds, that doesn't mean I'm suddenly fragile."

Delgato shrugged. "I'm like three times your size. I always see you as fragile."

"A likely story."

"Where are we going?" asked Carla, as unconcerned with Nick's problems as ever.

"A local Burger Alpha on Misty Blvd. The place just cleared out due to a foul odor complaint."

Nick set aside the seating issue for a moment. Okay, I get the wolf theme, but that's not exactly what I was expecting. "I thought we were looking for an arsonist, not an aromatherapist."

"I know it sounds weird, but this is the best lead we've gotten for a long time," Fangmeyer insisted. "You'll see what we mean when we get there."

"Or smell what you mean?"

"Exactly. But we have to hurry," Delgato said, turning his head for a second to look at him.

"Is that why you just ran that stop sign?"

"WHAT?!" The big cat whirled back around to face the road, panicking. Nick smirked, grabbing his phone from his pocket and getting ready to grab another photo-op.

"There was no stop sign! Relax!" Carla yelled.

Nick shoved the phone back in his pocket and turned to face her, an unsettling stare in his eyes.

It's official: you and I will never be friends.

Grizzoli's Patrol Car

3: 13 PM

"Hey, Judy, can I ask you something?"

The bunny's ears quirked back in Jimmy's direction. "Sure, what is it?"

"What was your first day on the force like?"

Judy frowned. Her story was a well-known one, but that first day was (thankfully) not brought up much. "Parking duty." She shuddered. The previous week had made her never want to hear those two words again, let alone speak them.

"Oh." The arctic fox seemed disappointed. "Guess you didn't go through anything as cool as getting kidnapped, huh."

"Sure I did." If 'cool' was really the word to use here. "But not until my second day. That was when I had my first foot chase through Little Rodentia. Also my last because of the restraining order."

"Nice!" he smiled, ignoring the last part. "What about Nick?"

She noticed he had stopped referring to him as "Officer Wilde". "Not too bad. We pulled over a sloth for speeding."

"...Is that a joke?"

"Surprisingly, no."

"Guess I'm just lucky then. Isn't that right, Wallace?"

He reached over and put a claw under the Wallabeanie's chin, moving it up and down while putting on a falsetto. "That's right, Jimmy!"

"Okay, I have to know. What is that thing and why is it impersonating an officer?" Grizzoli asked, looking back at the stuffed toy as if it were some kind of foreign disease; fascinating, but not something to get too close to.

Judy giggled, just imagining how this scene must look. "Well, it's a long story, but it all started on Outback Island when-WATCH OUT!"

Grizzoli, momentarily distracted by the Wallabeanie, failed to spot the other vehicle as it pulled out in front of them. The patrol car slammed into its side, sending both vehicles careening out of control as Grizzoli slammed on the breaks reflexively. Aided by the already slippery conditions on the wet road, the patrol car hydroplaned and veered off of the side, crashing through a thicket of vines before finally coming to a stop when it plunged into a marsh.

For a few moments, the car just sat there as the officers inside shoved away their respective airbags. For Judy, the impact of the bag could have been more dangerous than the crash itself, but she got out with only minor bruising. As soon as she got unbuckled, the bunny flung herself from the window and onto dry land, bypassing the marsh entirely. Grizzoli, not nearly as nimble, had to trudge through the muck himself, Jimmy riding on his shoulder, and Wallace riding on his shoulder. When the bear emerged, nearly his entire lower half was brown. To complete the scene, the rain was still coming down, even harder now. "This...is not going to look good on my record."

"Forget about that, we have to get this squared away with that driver!" Judy yelled, her mind squarely on the law like usual.

She rushed out of the thicket as quickly as she could, just in time to see the other vehicle, a dark black limousine, pull away and speed off down the road. She couldn't so much as catch a glimpse of its license plate. Growling to herself, Judy stomped back over to the marsh. "Great! Now we have to track down that nice gentlemammal before he sues the entire department!"

"I thought we were trying to find a parking garage. Did that change?" asked Jimmy. He had fit Wallace into his pocket like an actual wallaby in a pouch.

Judy took a deep breath to calm herself down. "No...it's fine. But this is definitely going to make that more difficult. Grizzoli, get that car out of the marsh!"

"But I just came from the marsh!" he protested.

As Jimmy watched the following exchange, it continued to impress him how a two-foot bunny could so consistently dominate much large mammals. Grizzoli was back in the grime and pushing the car within the next minute.

"Wallace says he's sorry, Officer Grizzoli!" Jimmy called out to him. "Right, Wallace?"

He pushed Wallace down into a bow and put on the falsetto again. "I'm sooooooory!"

Grizzoli chose not to dignify that with a response.

Burger Alpha

3: 25 PM

Hiding the patrol car behind a large underbrush, the officers approached their destination. It was as impressive as it sounded: a rundown brick building with visibly overflowing trash bins and a giant wolf mascot sitting on its roof. The wolf appeared to be rearing its head back and howling, though the burger sitting in its mouth made Nick wonder if it was actually choking instead.

A little-known competitive "rival" to Bug Burga, the fast-food chain Burger Alpha was a franchise exclusive to the Rainforest District. Mainly because its palette was so downright unappealing that no one outside of the district would touch it with a ten-foot pole. And the only reason mammals inside the district did was because it, like many other things around here, was owned by Lady Lang. When one of her pack gave you a "recommendation" for the new Burger Alpha special, it meant you had damn well better go buy it before your carcass ended up on the menu instead. Not that they cared if you actually ate the stuff as long as they made a profit, but many felt that the fees were so exorbitant that they needed to get something out of it. For those who didn't want that "something" to be acid reflux, the food went straight into the trash, where it sat in this humid climate for days at a time.

So it wasn't like the place smelled like a rose garden even on its best days, but somehow, it was even worse than usual.

"Yikes, you were not kidding about the stink," Nick groaned, clamping a paw over his sensitive nose. Carla and Delgato were quick to join him while Fangmeyer, being a wolf himself, needed both paws.

"You're not the one who had to spend weeks around this stuff. Don't complain," Delgato chided, his voice nasally.

"And what exactly is 'this stuff'?" He knew he had smelled this somewhere before, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. For someone so used to knowing everything about everything, that bothered him. Not that he was willing to free his nose and examine it any closer, mind you.

"We'll show you," Fangmeyer said, gesturing his head in the direction of the building.

"We really have to go in there?" asked Carla hesitantly. As a natural scavenger, seeing this much discarded food should have been appetizing to her. It wasn't.

"It's fine. We've done this before. Unfortunately." Indeed, Delgato and Fangmeyer made their way inside the building with as much skill as could be expected from such a task. Nick briefly considered just staying put, but his natural curiosity won out and he followed after them.

"You guys have fun with that. I'll be lookout," Carla said, shoving her curiosity into the trash with the rest of the junk. She went off to find a hiding spot without so much as a second glance.

Nick tried to ignore the feeling that he had just been conned and pushed open the doors to the establishment. The interior of Burger Alpha looked even more desolate, condiments and beverages strewn over the tile floors, and a flurry of bugs, that may or may not have been part of the menu, flying around in swarms.

"And I thought it smelled bad...on the outside!"

"Less snarking, more searching, Ham Solo," Delgato said, crouched behind the front counter. Fangmeyer was busily nudging tables and chairs aside with anything other than his front paws.

"Searching for what?"

"The source," Fangmeyer coughed. "And quickly, before I pass out."

Nick padded across the floor, looking every which way for whatever he was supposed to be looking for. Despite Delgato's suggestion, he didn't stop talking. "Could you at least give me a hint? Like twenty questions. Is it a person, place, or thing? Is it larger than a breadbox? Is it-?" Nick suddenly tripped, falling on his face and shoving his paw into his nose. Rubbing his sore snout, the fox looked back at the object that had felled him. "...small, black, and cylindrical?"

Delgato's head shot up from behind the counter. "And he finds it in thirty seconds. Of course."

"Leave it to Wilde to literally stumble over the evidence," Fangmeyer grumbled.

"You're just jealous I have a knack for this kind of thing," Nick replied shortly, reaching for the object.

"Finding evidence or falling on your face?"

"Little of A, little of B." Picking it up in his free paw, Nick turned it side to side to examine it. It was a cylinder, but only the bottom half of one, the top half blown to bits like a party popper. It was clear this object was the source of the overpowering stench, as Nick found his eyes watering up the more he looked at it. He took particular notice of the color palette. It was a black can, but the bottom rim was stark white, creating a pattern that almost resembled...

"It's skunk spray," Nick realized, sticking out his tongue in disgust. He never thought he would have to deal with that foul substance again. There was a good reason he wanted to pawn off that skunk butt rug and it wasn't just the money.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Fangmeyer asked sardonically.

"Can someone just tell me why our arsonist used skunk-in-a-can while I'm still coherent?"

"To put it simply, it's a homemade stink bomb," Delgato replied. "Our guy has a habit of chucking one through the window of any place he targets. As you can imagine, it clears out the residents pretty quickly. Shortly thereafter, he sneaks in and lights the place up without anyone to stop him. But we don't know his MO exactly, as this is the first time we've ever gotten here before the 'lighting up' part."

"Well...that's not entirely true," Fangmeyer said quietly.

Not quietly enough for Nick to miss it though. "Oh? Do I sense a story here?" he asked, smiling innocently.

Delgato sighed...and immediately choked on skunk fumes. "Ugggh. The only other time we came this close was at an abandoned pub in Tundratown. This was back when the arsonist was a lot more erratic, so we were checking out potential targets almost at random. We were lucky to stumble upon the place when we did."

"Or so we thought," said Fangmeyer.

"We did find the first of those cans at least," Delgato continued, "but only because it flew in through the window while we were still looking around. Then Fangmeyer's reflexes kick in and he catches the thing."

"In his mouth?" Nick asked.

"In my paws!" he growled, which sounded much less threatening with the nasally filter. "Anyway, before Delgato and I can even figure out what it is, it blows up in our faces!"

"Ouch." Nick winced sympathetically, while also holding back a laugh.

"Now Fangmeyer, having one of the best noses on the force, takes one whiff and drops like a lead weight. I wasn't so fortunate and had to stumble my way out of the building half-blinded and coughing up my lungs. I thought maybe I could at least catch a glimpse of the guy who did it." Delgato shook his head. "Of course, since the purpose of the bomb was to clear us out, he was already long gone by the time I got out of there. He never came back either. Guess he saw the cops lurking around and knew we were keeping an eye on the place."

"So that's why you guys smelled so bad when you came to visit me at the hospital." One mystery solved, only forty more to go.

"And it's also why we hid the patrol car before we came in here. Our plan now is to lay low and wait for our perp to show up, then ambush him." Delgato took a glance out of the window as if he were expecting to see him right there.

"As much as we really don't want to stay in here," Fangmeyer said, in the process of stuffing napkins up his nostrils, "we can't afford to let this arsonist skunk get away again."

"Not necessarily a skunk," Nick argued. "Could be another mammal that just has access to skunk spray. The stuff's pretty big on the black market in certain circles."

"Whatever! Just hide somewhere!"

Nick shrugged, leaving Delgato and Fangmeyer hiding behind tables and counters while he headed through the back door into the kitchen. The more distance he could get from that can, the better.

He regretted his decision instantly. If he thought the serving area of the restaurant was nasty, the kitchen was much of the same, just taken up several more degrees. It was so bad that he had to tiptoe around the area just to avoid stepping in anything that would require a thorough foot-scrubbing to remove.

But he would look foolish if he went back now, so he put on his best smile and just went with it. Slipping inside of a large cabinet, Nick tried not to think about what it could have been used for and closed the double doors behind him, peering out through the crack between them. Now, this is a good hiding spot. I'd like to see Shere Khan and Balto try to top it.

While picturing the looks on their faces when he caught the "mystery arsonist" they'd been chasing for weeks, Nick's tail swished side to side in excitement. Not enough to disturb the brace, but enough that he felt the tip brush up against something. He wouldn't have paid it any mind, given that he was surrounded by supplies, if it didn't feel so out-of-place with everything else. How many restaurants kept little glass vials in their storage?

He turned around in the cramped space to look at the object.

How many restaurants kept little glass vials attached to a blasting cap attached to...a car lock?

Nick ignored the strange sight of the metallic locking mechanism in favor of the much more worrying component. He didn't know much about this kind of thing, wasn't really his style, but he was fairly certain he was looking at some kind of bomb.

"...He works fast." That was the first thing he said.

The second was a loud, panicked scream, as he burst out of the cabinet and rushed for the door, not caring about anything he stepped in anymore. "Delgato! Fangmeyer! We have to get out of-!"

That was when the explosions started.

Parking Garage

3: 56 PM

It took nearly an hour more for Grizzoli's team to get to their destination after their little "detour". The large bear moved as quickly as he could to remove the patrol car from the marsh and even toed the line between the proper speed limit to get to the parking garage at a fast pace. But it was not to be.

"We're too late," Judy said softly, looking at what was left of their suspected target, now a confirmed one.

The parking garage itself was still standing, so at least the vandalism hadn't been that extreme. However, any chance of someone finding a usable vehicle inside had literally gone up in smoke. Every car in sight was a scorched wreck, though many were clearly nonfunctional to begin with. There were multiple tools and vehicle parts strewn haphazardly around the floor, making the garage's intended purpose completely impractical even without the fire damage.

It was a very recent job, judging by the smoke still lingering in the air, but the actual fire had already put itself out. Whether that was deliberate or not, Judy wasn't sure. "Something very fishy was going on around this place," she observed, surveying the scene. "I'm still not entirely used to the big city, but I know for a fact this is not what a parking garage looks like."

"I think you mean looked like," Grizzoli corrected. "But you're right. This place looks like more of a chop shop."

"A what?" Jimmy asked curiously. He was used to the big city, but not this darker side of it.

"A place where criminals take stolen vehicles to disassemble them, then sell the separate parts for profit," Judy recited, surprising even herself. "Oh...guess I do know what this is."

"Oh yeah, now I remember that term from the textbooks," Jimmy affirmed, nodding in satisfaction.

"Another example of why book smarts will never top actual experience," Grizzoli said, shaking his head. Judy looked down at the tools laying around her, reluctantly admitting that she was still very much a rookie herself.

"In any case, this is just another criminal operation our arsonist has targeted. I just can't figure it out. Is he suddenly going vigilante or what?" Judy kept her mouth shut, trying to ignore the irony. It seemed Nick's street experience topped all else.

"What's that smell?" Jimmy asked, his canine nose picking up something other than smoke.

"It's skunk spray," Grizzoli admitted. "Our perp likes to stink up a target to get rid of any unwanted interference before he torches it. It's like his weird trademark. You'd think someone would've caught the guy in the act by now, but he's a slippery one, I'll give him that."

And against wolves, it's no wonder this stuff sent them running. Judy couldn't keep this a secret anymore. Not after Grizzoli had freely shared so much with them. "Actually...I think I might have an idea what-"

Her ears shot up.

"You were saying?" Grizzoli pressed.

"Hold that thought. I think we have company."

Grizzoli instantly went on alert. Another thing he had learned from experience was to never doubt Judy's hearing. To Jimmy's credit, he picked up on it quickly, shoving Wallace deeper into his pocket in a protective gesture.

It didn't take long for them to hear it too. After all, the sound of a dozen motorcycles rapidly approaching was pretty hard to miss. "Who is that?" Grizzoli asked cautiously, a paw already reaching for his tranq gun. Judy and Jimmy already had a pretty good idea, and they shared a nervous glance as the sound grew closer. Knowing they would be boxed in if they stayed inside the garage, the three officers quickly rushed outside, hoping to make it back to the patrol car.

They only made it half the distance before the bikes drove in, a pair of wolves cutting them off instantly. "Now where do ya think you're goin'?" one of them asked, smiling cruelly. The rest of the pack were quick to follow, coming in and circling the group in a show of natural hunting instinct.

These were clearly the same wolves from the image on Lang's police file and they were even more unpleasant in person. Sporting dirty biker gear and fur that clearly hadn't been given a proper grooming in quite some time, these wolves were the very image of uncivil. Adding to this unfortunate picture was the constant laughs and jeers that rose from the crowd as it surrounded them.

"Well, well, well, now what have we got here?" The apparent leader of the group drove up closer, leering at the officers. He wore tattered jeans and a green and black motocross jacket, marked with the distinct crescent moon insignia of the Lang Family. His bike carried the same coloration, though its distinction was vastly overshadowed by the giant chainsaws attached to either side. The other wolves had rides of a similar caliber, customized with only slightly less vicious weapons like power drills and sledgehammers.

The lead wolf rolled a toothpick around in his jaws, which given his clear lack of interest in hygiene, probably only served to make him look intimidating. "Looks like the ZPD finally decided ta up an' show its face. Sure took ya long enough!" Judy winced. He had a hick accent that made Gideon Grey sound downright pompous.

He looked above her head, seeing the remains of the chop-shop behind them. "But not quick enough! Now we done lost us another one! Boy, that riles me up more than a bull wearin' a red blindfold! GrrrrrrRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRR!" He growled loudly, the sound distinctly like that of a revving motor.

"Watch yer blood pressure, Junior!" another wolf called out in concern.

"Butt out, Billy! I don't need ya remindin' me about ma stinkin' blood pressure!" He said all of this in about two seconds.

"Junior, was it?" Judy asked, slowly stepping towards him. "I'm sorry you lost your...shop," she said, trying to be diplomatic, "but we really are trying to help put a stop to this. So if there's anything you know about-"

"About what, little lady?" Junior crouched down until he was eye level with her. "About our business? About our...finances?" He spat his toothpick into her face. She tried not to react. "Or is this about our momma? Yeah, ev'ryone's been lookin' for her, am I right?"

Jimmy piped in cheerfully. "Actually, yeah, we were hoping we could speak with her! Could you help us out?" Judy's jaw dropped and even Grizzoli, who didn't fully understand the situation, put a paw to his face.

The bunny was getting even more flashbacks about Mr. Big, namely her not-so-smart attempt to threaten him for info. Somehow, Jimmy's lack of malice made it even worse. A rookie mistake indeed. Oh sweet cheese and crackers, WHY?!

Junior reared his head back and laughed, soon joined by the rest of the bikers. The laughter rang loud through the canopy, almost moving the leaves with the force of its might. The three officers looked between each other anxiously, already trying to come up with a way to get out of this mess.

Finally, the wolves calmed down and Junior wiped a tear from his eye. "Ya think we're just gonna bring you to see Momma? That's dumber than shootin' the broad side of a barn just ta prove ya can!" They soon became aware of several loud whirring sounds as the wolves started revving up their bikes, their attached weapons becoming even more threatening in motion. "Oh, we'll help ya all right! Help ya right into tha next life!"

"If anyone's got a plan, now would be a good time for it," Grizzoli whispered down at them urgently. Large as he was, even the polar bear didn't favor their chances. With Jimmy on the verge of panicking, it was up to Judy to think of something. Unfortunately, being surrounded by wolves was one of nature's signature death traps and their technological advancements weren't helping matters.

Wolves...that's it!

"I have an idea," she said suddenly. "On the count of three, everyone howl."

"Have you lost your mind, Hopps? How is that gonna-?"

"Just trust me on this!" she insisted. Jimmy nodded while Grizzoli shrugged, figuring he had nothing to lose.

"HOOWEE, this is gonna be a real show!" Junior yelled, cackling to himself as his twin chainsaws kicked on.

"1...2...3!"

At Judy's signal, the three officers all put their heads to the sky and let out a loud, bellowing howl. The sound was loud enough to outshine even the wolves and their bikes, sweeping across the entire pack. One by one, their bikes went quiet, the motorized weapons coming to a stop. They soon heard nothing at all coming from the wolves.

Especially not howling.

Judy was the first to notice and stopped. Jimmy noticed her vocal departure and quieted down as well. They both had to get Grizzoli's attention to stop him, the bear getting too into the moment for his own good. Slightly embarrassed, Grizzoli crossed his arms. "Well, that was therapeutic, but I don't see how it helped us."

"That...didn't do anything!" Judy gasped, horrified.

"Sure it did!" Jimmy corrected, pointing to the wolves. "They look way more pissed now!"

"We got sick a' folks tryin' to use our instincts against us," Junior growled darkly. "Momma trained it out of us." He and the other wolves revved their bikes up again, even louder than before. "But for that little stunt, we're gonna tear into ya like lunch hour at Burger Alpha! GrrrrrRRRRRrrrrrrRRRRRRR!"

With one last whir of their engines, the biker wolves sped towards them.

Burger Alpha

3: 42 PM

Nick never made it back to the serving area.

The explosion threw him off his feet and into a puddle of a substance he'd rather not identify. Hardly concerned with that at the moment, he quickly scrambled back up and headed for the door, only for a second explosion to sound from the other end. The shaking caused a falling metal beam to oh-so-conveniently bar his path. "Oh, come on! That kind of shit actually happens in real life?!"

Hearing a low crackling sound behind him, Nick suddenly realized that the kitchen was slowly being engulfed in flames. He was lucky the fire bomb had only singed the tip of his tail with how close he'd made that. A few seconds later and Burger Alpha would've had Fried Fox on the menu. (At a different location, of course.)

He wrapped his paws around the beam, trying to pry it away. "Guys! Guys, can you hear me?! Are you okay?!"

"Nick?!" Fangmeyer shouted from the other side. "Delgato's down! We need to get him out of here!"

"Great plan, but first we need to get us out of here!"

He could barely hear anything over the crackling of the fires and his own grunts of exertion, but he was faintly aware of more frantic thumping coming from the other side. "I can't! The front door's stuck! This kind of shit actually happens in real life?!"

"I know right?!"

Suddenly, he heard another noise. A massive crash sounded from the other side, followed by a shout of, "GET IN!"

It was Carla's voice. It didn't take Nick long to piece it together and come to the conclusion that she had just plowed the monster truck straight through the front wall of the building. Which was really badass and all, except he wasn't in that part of the building anymore. Nice hiding spot, Slick Nick. You've gone and outsmarted yourself yet again.

As he continued trying to pry away the beam, the heat finally got to the metal surface and burned his paws, forcing him to yank them away. The fox blew on them frantically, trying to get his tricky fingers back in business before the rest of him got burned with them.

This was, in Nick's humble opinion, complete BS. He hadn't just gotten out of one near-death experience only to fall straight into another. He couldn't afford to wait for help of his own; he needed to get the hell out of here.

He turned around, afraid of what he would see.

By now, the fire had spread significantly, now covering most of the floor and countertops. His only chance of escape now was the restaurant's back door, but there was a veritable sea of fire between him and it.

He coughed, the smoke starting to cloud the room. No time for doubt. If he was going to make a move, he needed to do it now!

Trying to keep his wits about him, Nick made a run for it. A stream of fire lay directly in his path, forcing him to make a jump onto one of the few safe parts of the central countertop. It didn't remain safe for long, and he quickly had to roll across to the other side to avoid the closing flames

As he touched ground again, he became aware that he hadn't quite made it through unscathed. Quickly grabbing ahold of his already hurting tail, Nick patted it down to smother the flames, trying to ignore the pain. He made it brief, as the inferno continued to close in on him like the fires of Hell itself were trying to enact repentance for his sins. Or maybe he was just thinking too deeply into this because what else did you do when you were at serious risk of dying yet again?!

Nick stepped back instinctively as another jet of fire shot out at him, and screamed as his foot came down directly into a patch of hot liquid. Through a combination of adrenaline and just not caring anymore, Nick forced himself to jump through the remaining set of flames blocking his way, immediately falling to the ground and rolling once or twice in an attempt to follow the basic safety procedures he'd learned back when he was still in school.

Real fire didn't have the patience to wait for him to finish though and he got back up, seething in pain from his burnt foot, before practically throwing himself through the back door.

As he landed on the cold ground outside and felt the rain pouring on his body, the relief was instantaneous. Nick gasped for breath, fresh air filling his scorched lungs again. "...Thanks for the less dangerous case, chief...really appreciate it."

If he was well enough to snark, he was well enough to move. As much as he just wanted to lay there for a while, he had to make sure the others had gotten out safely. With some difficulty, Nick managed to get up again and open his eyes, seeing the expanse of rainforest sprawled out in front of him.

And something else.

The other mammal didn't even seem to notice him. Dressed in heavy brown overalls, a black undershirt, and work boots, the creature's head was tilted upwards, gazing almost longingly at the fire that consumed Burger Alpha. It was hard to tell for sure, as it wore a green gas mask that obscured its face completely. Its species was no mystery though, as the bushy black tail with white stripes was a dead giveaway. "So you are a skunk."

The skunk jumped slightly, only just picking up on Nick's presence. He heard a faint beeping sound as he did, but disregarded it. That wasn't what caught his attention right now, as it seemed he had just caught the "mystery arsonist" red-pawed.

Speaking of, his clothing and species weren't the only clues either. Looking more closely, Nick could see that the skunk's paws were almost completely bald, likely the result of many, many burns. Why he didn't just wear gloves, he wasn't sure. Maybe he liked the feeling, or lack thereof. Incidentally, the tip of his tail was also bald, though that one was probably an accident. Even more incriminating was the fact that he happened to be holding what looked a lot like a key fob, the perfect tool to detonate some car lock fire bombs.

Finally, the arsonist locked eyes with him, and though he couldn't see his face, Nick had a feeling he had just spooked the hell out of him. "What?! NO! That was supposed to be empty! What are you doing doing doing here?!" The skunk's head twitched in time with the repeated word, causing Nick to feel pretty unnerved himself.

"What are you, malfunctioning?"

"Don't call me that!" the skunk screamed, clutching his head. "The doctors always said that! Malfunctioning, delusional, deranged! They don't understand stand stand!"

Nick heard the faint beep again and looked for the source. It was hard to tell with his clouded vision, but he could just make out something thick wrapped around the skunk's neck. As he looked closer, he saw a small yellow light flicker off. It can't be…

If he was really looking at what he thought he was, this arsonist was even more dangerous than he thought. Only the most unstable of criminals had to wear those anymore.

But it also meant that he had a plan to deal with this guy. Raising his paws high above his head, Nick put on his best spooky voice. "I am the ghost of Nick Wilde! You killed me! YOU KILLED ME!"

It worked even better than he expected. The skunk reeled back and screamed bloody murder. "No! NO! I'm sorry! I'm sorry sorry sor-AHHHHHHHH!" With a louder beep, the skunk's tame collar activated, sending a powerful electric shock through his body. Who needed a taser when the perp wore one himself? Nick felt a little bad about taking advantage of what was once a predator's worst nightmare, but he was too stressed right now to put much thought into the matter. He shot forward and lunged right for the arsonist, aiming to pin him down and cuff him while he was distracted.

It was a solid plan, but there were three important factors he failed to take into account:

1.) Someone wearing a tame collar was probably more than used to receiving these shocks regularly.

2.) Especially when that someone happened to be as much of a basket case as this guy.

3.) Frightening a skunk was never a good idea, ever.

Needless to say, the arsonist recovered much faster than he expected and, acting on base defensive instinct, reacted to the attacking fox by immediately whirling around and showing him a lifted tail, a noticeable hole in the back of his pants. Even after almost being mauled to death a week ago, and almost burning to death just a few minutes ago, somehow this sight filled Nick with a greater primal fear than anything he had ever experienced.

He let out a pitiful whimper. "Oh god no."

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground again, rolling around and clutching his nose. Tears streamed from his eyes and sounds emerged from his throat that he hadn't made since he was a cub. Nick Wilde knew suffering like no other, beginning to think that perhaps death wouldn't have been so bad after all. The worst part was that this was probably long-overdue karma for the poor skunk who had made more money as a rug than a mammal.

At some point during this sensory trauma, Nick became aware that the arsonist had booked it. And that he was on the verge of passing out again, which was frankly a mercy at this point.

He didn't bother trying to stay conscious. All he heard was muffled shouts in the distance, the crackling of fire, and the sound of flapping wings, before he allowed himself a well-deserved rest.

Damn, was that long enough? Somehow these chapters just keep getting bigger and bigger. We're gonna end up with a 10k one at this rate.

Yes, Wallace has become the team pet. I like to imagine his imitation voice as Mickey Mouse.

Junior belongs to Mind Jack, with his design taking some inspiration from a certain video game that you might recognize. The arsonist skunk also belongs to him, but we'll get more into that later.

We assume most Zootopia fans who are nerdy enough to read fanfiction are also nerdy enough to recognize what tame collars are. If you don't, I suggest you look it up because it would take several paragraphs to do the explanation justice. In short, it's from a time when Zootopia was a very different (and in our shared opinion, much less interesting) movie. But we like to imagine they're still around in some fashion. It just makes too much sense that they were once a thing in this society.