Chapter 21:

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The corridor was quiet, the only sound coming from the pair of footsteps running along, muffled by the thick carpet on the floor.

"Nick?" Judy quietly asked, as the larger Fox passed by her and peered at a window, before jumping up onto the shelf. His collar still shinning orange, he knelt down and grasped the bottom of the window and attempted to pull it up, his straining arms only managing to lift the bottom pane up a few millimetres before it jammed still, rattling in its frame. He huffed and let go, only for his ears to prick up as Judy jumped up beside him.

"It helps if you unlock the top lock too," she softly said, before leaping up to the top of the bottom pane and releasing the small brass lock, smiling as she did so. Nick smiled back, heaving as he lifted the window up and Judy jumped through, before following himself. Judy landed into the thick snowbank legs first, burying herself up to her neck in it. Looking to her side, she saw Nick shoot down head first, arms outstretched as if he were in a dive, and burying himself down to his waist with a satisfying crunch. His legs and tail, sticking comically out, quivered a bit before the entire bank exploded in a flurry of white powder. Standing on all four limbs, Nick shook the snow from his fur and clothes as he stood up and held out a paw, pulling Judy out of her own hole. Silently, the two stood up and walked out into the open. They were surrounded on all sides by tall buildings, warm orange and red glows shining from their windows as night slowly approached. In front of the two lay a large cobbled courtyard, with a host of cars and vehicles lying around. The only way out, apart from climbing up one of the many fire escapes and into a building again, was via a narrow gated exit to one side.

"Judy," Nick began as he looked down at her, "you open the gate, I'll hotwire a vehicle and get us out of here."

"Us?" Judy asked curiously as they walked onwards, before her tone hardened "Or you."

Nick chuckled slightly, rolling his eyes. "You got me there, Fluff."

Judy sighed and stopped for a moment, looking down at the floor. Nick carried on walking for a few seconds before registering this and, pausing, he looked over his shoulder to see her messing about with the snow with her feet. "I'm sorry," she glumly began, before looking up and speaking out more confidently, "I still have a duty. Trust, Integrity, bravery… I swore an oath Nick. I have to bring you in. And I know… I know you're angry about that Cub getting a nasty first shock but…"

She trailed off into silence as Nick walked back to meet her, his arm gently extending to cradle her head, he placed his claws beneath her chin and tilted it up so that her eyes met his. "I get it," he shrugged, before his gaze and tone hardened slightly, "And I wasn't angry."

Judy smiled, before blinking with confusion, "then… then why did your collar to orange?"

Nick stood up and began strolling over to the parked vehicles, scanning each one to see which would be easiest to hotwire. The Limo's, cars and trucks would provide him shelter from prying eyes but would all need breaking into, adding time and danger. A moped or something would be much quicker to hotwire, yet it would leave him exposed for identification, and he needed secrecy if he planned on returning to Honey's. It was a tough call, but he was distracted as Judy spoke again.

"Are you angry?" she asked, her tone harsher now.

"No, I'm not. What makes you think that?" Nick replied as they reached the nearest vehicle, a small and battered snow speeder. Jumping onto it, He extended his claws and began fiddling with the lock trying to worm the loosely fitted mechanism out of its fixing. He tried to focus on the task at hand in silence, his face wearing a stone cold expression while his collar shone orange, showing his simmering emotions beneath.

"Your collar is orange."

Nick eyes flickered down towards the side of his neck briefly and he snorted. "For the record, I am not mad. Just... upset. Sad, regretful, grief maybe... but not angry."

"Then why is your collar orange?" Nick ignored her question. Frowning, she put on an authoritative voice and commanded, "Nicholas Wilde, I demand that you-" The fox interrupted her with a short bark of bitter laughter.

"You know, Carrots, for a ZPD officer you really have little idea how Zootopia works. Did no one ever tell you about the collars?" When Judy didn't reply, he continued, "I thought so. You really have to give the tops credit for their brainwashing. No, Hopps, these collars detect more than just anger. They detect emotions. Fear, lust, happiness, anxiety, excitement, anger, sadness, even pain... Everything and anything that gets our Pred hearts beating fast. Ow!"

Nick jerked his paw back as he accidentally poked himself on a sharp object. He sucked the wounded appendage for a moment before resuming, "But of course, no one cares. As long as we Preds are kept in check and prey can live on obliviously, it shouldn't be an issue that needs addressing, right?" He said all of this without any expression on his face, but the scathing tone of his words and the orange light around his gave his true feelings away.

"What, what were you feeling?" Judy asked, suddenly very quiet, and curious.

"I was sorry for him," came the sad reply, as Nick's collar flick red for a second, a minute Zip… sounding out and causing him to flinch as the entire event played out again in his mind once more. He bent down, and began to focus more and more at the task at hand, eyes and ears pulled down as he tried to leave it all behind him, although the memories still trailed and replayed in his mind despite his best efforts. They were banished, however, when he heard the soft sound of feet landing on the metal of the snow speeder and, pricking his ears up out of curiosity, he looked to his side to see Judy standing level to him. She looked up to him, her eyes sad and her face contorted with confusion, as she raised a paw ready to comfort.

"I didn't know," she said softly, as her paw remained raised, but its offer untaken. "I thought it only went off if Preds were angry, or super excited. That's what everyone says, even the instructors in the academy. Why don't you tell more people this? It could get fixed."

He looked away bitterly, but he could still sense Judy by him, the sound of her breath, the smell of her scent, and he subconsciously glanced at her, her paw still out. He flicked back to the speeder, only to steal another glance at the little bunny beside him.

"We do, often," Nick finally said, shrugging as he did so before his voice turned aggressive, hundreds of memories of insults, hateful comments, snide remarks and poor behaviour replaying through his mind. Looking back at Judy, his collar still shining orange as it had done throughout the night, he spilled out his reply with his voice raised, as angry as he dared let it be. "It's not like the prey care! Or believe! Or would even spend time or money trying to improve these vile things! They just like to make like miserable for us Preds because it makes them feel good! I mean, even you don't trust us without them. You said it yourself, find a way to fix it! Not find a way so we don't have to wear them!"

Judy, taken aback by Nicks sudden aggression, shot back her reply while her nose twitched furiously. "Hey! I'm trying to be nice here."

Nick turned to face her, muzzle still wrinkled with lines of aggression, before they released and he chuckled. Judy looked on perplexed, confused at his sudden mood change, before she resigned herself to his sarcastic takedown. "Oh yes, yes. Very nice. I'm Judy Hopps, I'm here to protect all the mammals, except poor wittle cubs who get electrocuted for the evil crime of being too excited on their birthday! I'm the one who hates backwards attitudes to foxes but carry's Fox repellent, a Taser and thinks my kind are all bad and don't know a word with more than two syllables!"

"Well the past evidence I'd seen at the time supported those ideas quite well," Judy retorted.

"Oh yes, oh yes, all the horrible nasty Foxes in my bunny books and bunny nursery rhymes and bunny cartoon shows who all wanted to cook me in a pot!" Nick shot back, more whimsical than angry at this point.

"What even is your problem?" Judy snapped, "I wanted to comfort you, I wanted to help…"

"NO YOU DIDN'T," Nick barked, interrupting Judy as he turned away from the ignition switch, banging it out of frustration. His right eye twitching slightly as his collar flashed red, the Zap… ringing out for several bone shuddering seconds as pained groans escaped his painfully bared teeth. The shock releasing him, he held up his palm to silence Judy while taking several deep breaths in order to calm down and then continuing, his voice laced with a slowly simmering anger. "You don't want to help me; you want to arrest me. Even then, do you know how much 'help' I've been offered over my life. All this tacky advice about calming down, taking it chill, mellowing out, 'learning to love the collar…'" Nick scowled as he remembered that one, spitting spitefully on the cold ground before he relaxed and turned back to the lock, muttering out the rest of his response. "All by Prey mammals who've never been hurt or mistreated or insulted or even touched a collar. I always ask them, what do you know? Have you ever worn a collar? But they say no, why would I ever do that? When I suggest that it's so they know what it's like, they scoff and turn away. They don't care, the Prey never cares, not really. They just want someone to look down on." Silence filled the air for a moment, Nick focusing as hard as he could on digging out the lock while Judy stayed silent, thinking.

"This prey cares," came a soft reply, "and I believe, and I think it needs fixing. If you guys are punished for empathy…"

"And grief," Nick interrupted almost casually, as the lock finally flicked out of its mounting. As he cut the different wires with his claws, he continued speaking in an almost light hearted voice, as if he were offering silly suggestions to some problem. "…And sadness, and fear, and terror, extreme pain is a doozy. Happiness and joy are real bummers too. We only rarely get shocked for that last couple, you do need to be very, very emotional, but even the warning…" Nick stopped and sighed, before his mock chirpy tone faded and he continued in a sad, tired, weary tone. "It's always there, telling us that these things are bad and wrong. That it isn't right. That we need to stop feeling right now and kill our emotions, or we'll be in line for a punishment. Knowing the noose is around your neck and getting tighter, I think that part is just as bad as the shocks…" Nick went quiet, body slumping as he bent down. Holding the wires up with his hand and, opening his jaw, he stuck them in his mouth before biting down hard.

"Yeh, all that," Judy apologetically replied, "we're… we're turning you into unfeeling monsters…" She paused for a moment, before her eyes shot open with embarrassment. As Nick pulled back, spitting out the wire insulation he had bitten off, Judy began to frantically speak. "not monsters… uhm, killing machines doesn't work, I mean you guys used to but uh, I don't think you enjoy being called chompers…"

"Do you guys like being called cute dumb bunny's?" came Nick's sarcastic rhetorical question as he fiddled around with the newly bare wires, his voice surprisingly warm, with a suppressed chuckle at the end as he took a bit of joy at insulting Judy back.

"No," Judy replied suddenly, before she began to nervously mumble. "I…Uh… Look," she said, finally finding her confidence and speaking softly but frankly. "We remember the past and you guys, I know you don't eat us anymore but, you're scary. There, I said it. I'm sorry if it hurts but I'm just telling the truth. I have two hundred and seventy-five siblings who I care about more than anything else in this world and, I'd do almost anything to protect them. Even collar Preds if I thought they were a risk, but the one you have on is too harsh."

"Do you think I'm a risk," Nick said emotionlessly as he continued touching wire to wire, only for a sudden spark to flash out, spooking Nick and causing him to stumble backwards. Slipping on the floor, he fell painfully onto his back with a thud, only to glance to his right and see Judy.

"Have you ever hotwired a car before?" she sassily asked.

"I've seen it done on TV," Nick replied innocently, as Judy pulled him up by the paw before moving to the front of the speeder.

"I learnt how to do it in the academy," she said, as she began picking out the wires of the ignition, "and the Jury's still out on if you're a risk or not. So for now, I'll go for the safest option."

"That's how every Prey generation works Fluff," Nick sighed forlornly as he stood up, "and nothing changes. Everyone accepts that we'll go nuts without these things but, they've never given us a chance. Never, ever, not once since these things were first invented and installed and, if anyone brings it up, the Prey just say, 'we'll just stick with the safe option'. I mean, would you give me a chance?"

Judy paused, looking Nick in the eye before standing up. "If it weren't for these savage attacks…" she began, before pausing in thought and turning back to the task at hand.

"And If I'm right? If Lupus savage is causing them?"

"I'd..." Judy's voice withered off into nothing as she mulled over the subject while Nick looked on silently, his eyes half lidded with annoyance at both her and himself for asking such as stupid question. He was about to speak out when his nose twitched slightly then, with his ears picking up and scanning about worriedly, he turned away and began strolling off into the courtyard. Taking increasingly deep breaths, his eyes widening as he did so, his mouth began to tremble open with fear.

"Nick, are you okay" Judy enquired, looking over from her work on the ignition and both curious and concerned about Nick's sudden change in behaviour. He suddenly shifted around and stared at her, his collar beeping up to orange as terror took over him.

"It's the Wolf!" he shouted desperately, "Lupus Savage! We've got to go!"

"But…" Judy began, but Nick was already charging across the courtyard to the gate. She turned down to the wires at hand and held two together. They sparked, and the engine suddenly roared to life, Judy almost getting thrown off by the vehicle's sudden vibrations. Landing on her back on the rear seat, she looked up and saw the black silhouette of a medium sized mammal on the fire escape landing above her. She couldn't see much from here, only his large furry feet, his bushy tail, his trench coat, his long snout and the rifle he was holding up and taking aim down. Judy glanced forward to Nick, charging forwards toward the metal gate at the other side of the courtyard and out in the open like a sitting duck. Within seconds, she jumped forwards and, grabbing the throttle, gunned it. The roar from the engine was ear-piercing, echoing around the courtyard and causing the Wolf to flinch slightly as he took his shot.

Nick was charging towards the gate when the scream of the engine beckoned from behind him. His eyes remained forward, however, as he fixed them on the thick bar that kept the door bolted shut. It was only when he felt a yank on his left cheek fur, before seeing a tranquiliser dart dash onto the floor in front of him, that he turned around to look at the scene behind him. The snow speeder was accelerating across the courtyard, the thin layer of snow kicking up into a wide screen behind it. Judy, barely reaching the controls, showed no intention of slowing down while, up on a fire escape far above, Lupus was angrily cursing his miss and reloading his rifle. Glancing to his side, Nick grabbed a wooden pallet with his paws and swung it around just as Lupus took aim and fired again. Backing up against the cold hard gate, Nick felt the wood jolt as a second dart buried itself deep into the planks. Cowering, he hid almost the entirety of his body beneath the shield; bar his arms which were raised and pushed up at the heavy bar, dislodging it just as another dart sailed through Nick's arm fur, the fletching scratching the skin below. Pushing back on the gate with his back, Nick swung it open revealing the side street behind.

"Get on" came a shout, and Nick held out a hand and clung on to the speeder as it sailed past. The force yanked his arm, straining each muscle and tendon while almost pulling it clean out of his shoulder. The wind was suddenly whipping past him as he pushed up with a leg and swung over and onto the seat behind Judy. His breathing was rapid, collar dangerously orange, and he looked around with a smile before realising what Judy had just done. She'd just saved him.

"That was on hare-brained escape plan fluff," he joked ecstatically, before looking down at the Bunny. Slumped in the front seat, a large tranquiliser dart buried in her back, she managed to blub something incoherent before finally slipping out of consciousness. Nick immediately grabbed her, pulling her tight into his lap, before he bent over pinning her there. Arms and feet taking over the controls, he sharply turned right down a side street and out of any immediate line of fire.

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Motoring down the empty street, Nick slowed down as he examined each and every control on his speeder. He began snaking at various speeds, trying to get a feel for the steering while he tested some gear changes, the loud metallic squeals evidence enough of his lack of practice with these kinds of vehicles. Glancing down at his now green collar, Nick turned ahead and began formulating a plan. He had to get from Tundratown to the rainforest district without being tracked or seen by police or the traffic cams, or giving Savage time to catch up. The idea of calling Finnick to pick him up was tempting, but it was dashed when Nick realized that he likely didn't have his van with him and, in any case, it gave Lupus easily enough time to track him down. He had to make the journey himself, somehow getting through one of the tunnels that connected the two districts without being seen. I took a bit of time, but Nick realised what he had to do, his collar turning orange again from his worry.

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Glancing left and right, Nick gunned it and roared forward, speeding down the road before sliding to the right, cutting a corner and pushing out a spray of white powder in his wake. The buildings whipped past him, close on either side, as he shot out into the main square of Tundra Town. The Snow Bank to his right, Kozlov's restaurant to his left, Nick got in line with the traffic with the aim of keeping himself incognito as long as possible. It seemed to be working, as Nick exited the square and began driving along the exit road, right past a heavily armoured T.U.S.K van travelling the other way. Nick looked away as it roared past sirens blaring, hoping they hadn't recognised him, only to flinch down as he heard tire squeals from behind him. Looking back, Nick's eyes opened in horror as he saw the three furious Boar's in the driver's seat, the dreaded Razorbacks themselves. before he turned forward and went full throttle. His ears jolted back from the force of the wind, its deafening scream racked his brain as he turned into the middle of the road and began shooting past car after car, weaving past those to his right and narrowly dodging those racing past the other way on his left.

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The Razorbacks van, meanwhile, began shimmying in and out of the traffic, overtaking cars before getting back in lane moments before a vehicle shot past the other way. Despite Nick having the width advantage, the elite team were catching up. Their leader, a battle hardened grey tank, grabbed his tranquiliser minigun and opened his sun roof, taking aim and ready to fire, his weapon spinning up as it trained on the back of the Fox up ahead.

"Sir, It's too dangerous, he has Hopps" came a cry from below. It's owner, a young Terracotta Boar, was studying Nick and Judy intently through his binoculars, before he pulled them down and slammed his fist into a button on the dashboard. "All ZPD units, block the western exits to all Tundra-Rainforest tunnels, Copy?"

"Copy squad 1," came a static reply from the other end. "Over."

The grey Boar, sitting back down and closing the sun roof turned to his driver, a brown and white Boar concentrating intently on the road ahead. "Roni. Keep on his tail, we trap him in the tunnel. Don't do anything too risky!"

"Affirmative sir," came the reply, as the Driver pulled in behind Nick as the road began snaking around a set of steep cliffs. Up ahead, the entrance to one of the tunnels kept peeping into and out of view as they got closer. As they passed the final exit before the tunnel, the leader chuckled to his crew, before folding his arms and looking on.

"We've got you now, Wilde," he proudly grunted, only for his eyes to widen in shock as Nick charged straight on and off the road as it bent left with the cliff face. He left the tarmac heading straight for a bluff above a cliff, picking up speed as he did so before he launched into the air. The three Boars looked on horror struck to their right, as the dinky speeder sailed through the sky before narrowly landing on the other side.

"That lunatic chomper is still on this road," Roni cried out as slammed his foot back down, the van roaring around the bend and fast approaching the landing spot, "he's still heading straight into the trap."

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Nick was frozen as he sailed through the air, barely keeping his terror under control. As he began falling, time seemed to slow and it seemed like he could almost feel the static in his collar preparing to release. A discharge at this speed would likely send him tumbling off his vehicle in a lethal accident, although not making the jump would also have the same end result. Nick closed his eyes and braced, ready for the impact as the ground came up to meet him. The speeder slammed into the ground with a thud, Nick thrown forwards and barely keeping himself together as the soft snow slowed the still falling vehicle. Finally finding traction, the buzzing treads at the back kicked up a flurry of snow, pushing Nick through the tidal wave of powder his landing had kicked up and back onto the road. The Razorbacks had seemed cautious, for some reason avoiding a take down. Feeling something move in his chest, Nick looked down and realised in shock that the reason, Judy, was still nestled safely in his chest.

"Carrots!" he shouted out in panic, as he released one hand from the handle bars and rested it on her. "I… I forgot you were… I could have… you…" he began to stutter out, before he looked up and saw his destination. Pulling off the road again and putting his foot down, Nick careered off the tarmac and drove almost parallel to the precipice, slowly moving towards the edge. Bracing himself, he turned sharply to the right and launched himself off the cliff, sailing over the short gap and landing hard on a rail viaduct. The rail tunnel up ahead, unguarded and unmonitored, lay open and empty as Nick charged through into the pitch black. The looming pinprick of light far ahead getting larger at every second, Nick began to weave left and right, getting a feel for the position of the rails and sleepers, before finally launching himself off the track as he burst with a thud into the humid warmth of the rainforest district. Flying through the air, Nick braced for a final time as he jumped off the speeder and gathered up Judy's limp body in his arms, before crashing into the waiting lake below. There was silence, for a few seconds, before Judy floated up to the surface alone, a small dart still sticking awkwardly out of her. She stayed there, bobbing up and down motionless, as the rain fell around her relentlessly. Suddenly the water burst open, great waves being splashed up and out as Nick, coughing and spluttering, rose to the surface. His eyes wide and fur and clothes dripping wet, an orange collar shining out in the twilight, he recoiled in horror when he spotted Judy.

"Judy… Judy!" he began to shout, as he grabbed her and held her tight.

She coughed violently, water spraying out of her mouth, before several smaller, drier coughs rang out. Nick's tense face relaxed in a wave of relief as he cradled Judy in his arms and beneath his muzzle, all the while slowly making his way to the shore.

"Word of advice Carrots," Nick weakly joked, "Underwater shocks ain't fun."