This was a stupid idea, Judy thought to herself. She felt intensely sick to her stomach and wanted nothing more than to turn back around and collapse right into Nick's arms and cry her heart out. She didn't know why she ran away like she did. Her feet had a mind of their own and swept her out the door and down the hall before she even grasped what had happened. She knew deep down that his fling with Carla was a mistake and Nick even admitted such, but she couldn't shake the shock of hearing it from their own lips of the elicit rendezvous.
She stumbled along the street in the oversized nightgown, her eyes not really focusing on where she was going but rather trying her best to avoid the multitude of mammals rumbling along in the early morning rush to work. She was jostled to and fro by the larger prey, ignorant of her presence and talking in urgent tones on their cell phones. Others who were more aware gave her odd looks and some even seemed to recognize her based on the billboards and signs strewn across the city with her mug.
Panic settling in as she felt hundreds of eyes leering and judging her for reasons she couldn't fathom. She dived into a side alley, leaning hard against the sleek façade trying to catch her breath. She knew that Bogo would not allow this to slide and the moment they found her, she'd probably be put down under strict lock and key until this Oates issue got resolved. Not to mention the future of her career; she was already considered by the chief to be somewhat of a loose cannon, despite her star track record of solving dozens of cases. Her reputation alone was probably the only thing saving her from being outright disavowed.
The first thing she noticed was the putrid stench of ammonia. Her nose twitched irritably at the burning nature of the odor. She traced it up the walls of the building to several bulky shapes that protruded off the sides of the structure. She realized she was right beside the Twin Market towers. She cocked her head curiously at the packages perched up high. What sort of animal could have the height to reach and affix those things up there?
Before she had a chance to contemplate it further, she heard a ruckus further down the alley between the tower and the larger office building just beside it. She began to sprint down the grungy area the moment she heard shouting and the sound of something being hit. She rounded the corner to find Tony Fledermaus, the fruit bat that had presided over her last cage match with Raymond. He was being beaten to a pulp by several marmots, their brown fur bristling as they wailed on the defenseless bat with sticks, clubs and other instruments of pain. One was even using his teeth to gouge holes in Tony's skin.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Judy shouted furiously.
The three varmints ceased their attack and turned to look at her. "What's it to you? We're just taking care of a no good-for-nothing bat here!" One exclaimed.
"My cousin Louie got drained of all his blood because of these assholes!" Another said, testing the nature of his baseball bat by slapping it on his palm.
"Help…me…" Tony croaked, struggling to even move a few inches away.
The third marmot kicked the bat hard in the ribs. "Shut up! All you bats are the same! Looking to run at the first sign of danger but ready to stick a knife in our backs when we're not looking!"
"He's a fruit bat!" Judy tried to educate, as if it were completely obvious. "He doesn't drink blood you idiots. That and I wouldn't let you attack a real vampire bat even if you wanted to!"
"Wait a minute," The first one had a curious look in his eye, "I think I recognize you. Yeah…you're that bunny cop…" He began snapping his talons. "What's her name?"
"Hopps?" Another suggested.
He clicked his tongue, "Yeah! Hopps! Officer Judy Hopps!" His scowl turned menacing. "Freaking bat lover! We know you care more about them than you do about your own city!"
"What? No!" She defended.
"Don't lie to us!" The second marmot spat, venom laced in his voice. "You are in cahoots with those bats! I saw that article on ZNN! You were even caught planning with their leader!"
Judy inwardly cursed that silly reporter, Stinkman, and his false interview he had with her. She also knew that without further contact from Oates, he had run that story with the picture Oates supplied which would be pretty damning in this circumstance. "That's not how it is." She tried to explain.
"Enough of your lies bunny!" The first varmint interjected. "You'll get exactly what's coming to you!"
"You will not attack an officer of the law!" Judy warned, crouching slightly in preparation to fight. "You will be arrested and tried."
"Oh no!" He said in mock horror. "Too bad you'll be too dead to tell anyone who killed you! Get her!"
As one, they stepped over the trembling form of Tony and rushed Judy, all standing abreast to prevent her escape. She leaped at the last second, landing squarely on the forehead of the middle marmot, smashing his snout in, drawing blood with the impact. She hopped off before ducking low and sweeping her feet around to trip up the one on the right. Judy was about to rise up until her hind paw got tangled up in the gown and she tripped onto her side.
Within seconds, the third was upon her, slamming the bat onto her ribs and head mercilessly. She scrunched up into a fetal position, her arms and legs brought inward to protect any vital areas. The other two came up beside the third and proceeded to unleash their weapons onto her battered form. A few moments seemed like millennia under the onslaught and she felt her body finally giving away to the punishment.
Before she knew what was going on, she felt the abuse stop and heard anguished chattering noises. Chancing a look up, she saw several spines impaled into each marmot. More spiraled through the air and lodged themselves into the trio. One sliced through the eye socket of the second and he fell backwards onto the cobblestone dead. The remaining two scrambled on all fours out of the alley with their tails tucked behind them, one cradling a shattered nose.
Shakily getting onto her front paws, she gasped in pain at the agonizing throb coursing through her body. She felt the slow trickle of blood flowing through her fur in several places but was unclear as to just where the open wounds were located. A firm hand helped her get onto her feet and she was face to face with a rather surly porcupine. It took a few moments to recognize him from the cage match.
"Quill?" She asked tentatively.
"That's me." He gruffed; staring off behind her where the duo fled, he advised "Knowing their kind, they'll be back and in bigger numbers. You should head on out if you want to live. They won't be happy to see you still here."
"Thank you…for saving me." She bowed slightly, still feeling woozy.
He paced over to Tony, who had fallen unconscious. He knelt down to lift the comatose bat over his shoulders, taking care to press down his quills to avoid injuring his friend. "Don't worry about it. I hate those bastards just as much as you do. Now that Mr. Big is gone, our family is all we got left. We have to take care of each other."
"Mr. Big?" Judy wondered anxiously. "What do you mean gone?"
"You didn't know?" Quill wheezed, the dead weight of Tony getting to him. "A bat found him the other day and sucked him completely dry of all his blood. Last I heard she was being held in the ZPD jail." He gave her a meaningful look.
"No one told me." She murmured. Noticing his expression, she probed, "Do you believe I had something to do with this? Do you think I am with the bats?"
He sighed heavily, "I don't know what to think Hopps. What I do know is that Mr. Big put a lot of faith and trust in you and in honor of his death, I should do the same. However, do not come find me or Tony again. We are going to be disappearing until this whole bat debacle blows over. Good day to you."
With a nod and a little adjustment of Tony, he plodded out of the alley and down the sidewalk bordering the main road, garnering a lot of stares and hushed whispers from the surrounding crowd. Realizing the gravity of what she was just told, she hobbled haphazardly out behind Quill, looking in the opposite direction to find the most expedient route to the station. Meandering her way through the milling crowds going about their daily business, oblivious to the turmoil in her heart, she slowly made progress toward ZPD headquarters.
Trudging through the rotating glass doors of the front foyer, she tried her best to look as casual as she could, despite looking like a complete wreck in a torn nightgown. Clawhauser was the first to spot her as she made her way across the vestibule. "Judy! O-M-Goodness! What happened to you? You look like something the cat dragged in! I mean…I am a cat myself, but you know what I mean! You look awful!" He scanned the empty space around her and remembered something was missing. "Where's Nick, Carla and Jimmy? Why aren't they here with you?"
Wincing at the pain of trying to force herself to walk despite her wounds, she put a paw up to placate the frantic cheetah. "Benjamin, please, just don't ask questions right now." She paused as she added like an afterthought, "And don't let anyone know I'm here."
He stared at her, a donut still enveloped in the folds of his chin, dumbfounded and unsure of what to do. Protocol slamming into his brain like a thunderbolt, he popped onto the mic situated at his chair, words tumbling out, "Bogo! Bogo! Officer Hopps is here in the station and she's alone! I don't know what she's doing or what she wants! She looks awful!"
"What?! Get her in my office now!" A booming voice bellowed through the mic.
"Erm…Yes sir!" He fumbled, dropping the device onto the floor with a clatter as he staggered out from behind the desk podium. He surveyed the atrium, not seeing a single hair of the grey bunny. He groaned in misery as he began to start asking any colleagues nearby if they had seen which direction she went.
The moment she heard him on the intercom with Bogo, she swore loudly before dashing across the foyer. She made a beeline straight for the autopsy room. More than anything, she had to see if what Quill had said was true. If it was, then why did the Chief and everyone around her, including Nick, hide the fact that it was Mr. Big that had been the one Rouge killed? Was it because of both her ties to Rouge and Mr. Big that they denied this information from her? What were they fearing she'd do if she found out?
Plowing into the room, startling Raina in the process, she walked down the rows of tables until she found one with a miniature cadaver placed atop of it. The sloth was still in the process of turning towards the door where Judy was no longer occupying, a rising screech of alarm. Disregarding the extended reaction, Judy leapt up to the table top and swung the white blanket off the corpse, allowing it to float to the ground. Lying before her was the deceased body of Mr. Big, skinnier than she had last seen him and pale beyond all recollection. Two massive puncture wounds were visible in his chest, from teeth far bigger than he was.
She took a step back, her mind not comprehending what she saw before her. If what Quill said was true and a bat had killed Mr. Big, then Oates was also telling the truth that Rouge was the one that did it. With rising determination, she lowered her eyes to the diminutive crime lord, letting her paw drape across his face to close his eyelids. Saying a small prayer for him, she jumped off the table, crying out in pain upon landing, her injuries sending shockwaves through her limbs.
"What…are…you…doing?" Raina asked laboriously.
"To get answers." She fired back.
Adrenaline assisting in fighting back the tears of moving, she stomped out of the lab and down the hall. She could hear shouts out near the front entrance. Someone had got a call out to Nick and the others for she could hear Carla and Jimmy within the mix of voices. They were gathering a search party and were going to fan out and tackle all sections at once. She knew there wouldn't be much time but she had to confront Rouge personally.
Standing on tiptoes, she put her paw on the print scanner and smiled as the door matched her paw with the one in the database and opened with a satisfying click. She glanced at the clock and realized there was a shift change occurring as the morning crew took over for the evening in the prison. Taking the opportunity, she swiped the ring of keys from the wall hook and stalked past the rows of cells until she got to the one with the bat she was looking for.
"Why'd you do it?" She raged, rattling the bars of the cell.
"Why'd I do what?" Rouge flustered, stretching out her wings as if waking from a peaceful slumber. With lazy eyes, she turned to face Judy, interest evident.
"Kill Mr. Big. You sucked him dry of every bit of blood!" She shouted at her.
"Is that his name?" She simpered.
"You know damn well it was!" Judy jabbed a finger through the bars. "Don't think we haven't noticed you conducting your bats to isolate and attack the four crime lords in Zootopia. We have seen the pattern and you are actively hunting them down. Why?"
"You speak as if I have that much power over my brethren." She aggrieved dolefully. "I was starving, as usual, and I needed something to eat or I would have died."
"Then pick something bigger!" She shook her head quickly. She couldn't believe she even blurted something like that out. "No, I mean, couldn't you have waited until the blood bank opens in two days?"
"Can you go without eating or drinking for days either?" Rouge shot back, slithering towards her on all fours. After being met with silence, she huffed, "I thought so. As much as your blood bank is a solid idea, the fact remains that it is not open for business and in the meantime my people are starving. We are dying by the dozens unless we take what we can from the mammals here."
"That's considered an assault and in your case with Mr. Big, murder." She crossed her arms. "And you still haven't answered my question why you are targeting the four major crime lords of Zootopia."
"What makes you think I know anything about that?" Rouge began to pace back and forth in the tiny cell. "I was just going after a target of opportunity, going after the easiest meal that I saw."
Judy didn't believe that for one second. If Mr. Big was an easy target, then where was Koslov, Tyron, Raymond and the multitude of other polar bears that were his bodyguards? Something did not add up with her story. Remembering something Olivia Stipe mentioned she faced Rouge, "You're afraid of them." At an unreadable look from her, she clarified, "I think you fear them banding together into a force that you can't beat. So you're picking them off one by one before they can get organized."
Rouge gurgled in response, mirth evident on her face. "What funny notions you get Judy. I knew I liked you for a variety of reasons but I didn't know humor was going to be one of them."
"I'm not being funny." Judy thumped her foot loudly.
"Well if you want me to be more cooperative as an interrogation suspect, I would start with a proper thank you." She demanded.
Her thumping stopped. "Excuse me?" Her ears flicked off in the direction of the jail entrance, she could hear hooves pounding down the hallway. It wouldn't be long now.
"For helping you catch the culprit that was stalking you from within your very own department." She sniggered.
Judy paused, "Detective Oates escaped. We were unable to apprehend him."
"How curious you defer to him by his proper title still, after what he's tried to do to you." Rouge mused, her perpetual leer never leaving her twisted maw.
Judy shook her head to diffuse her thoughts, "This is beside the point." As a quick amendment, she added, "Thank you, though, for tipping us off to him but we would have eventually discovered who it was anyway without your help."
"I'm sure." The bat stopped pacing, her cackles aggravating.
"You seem to know a lot about Oates, about how this city works and more. How is it that you know all these things? Is it because you've been stalking us all from up high?" She asked.
Judy knew she was leading the question a bit, half in hopes that Rouge would vindicate her suspicions and agree with her. With an admission of guilt, she may have a leak in the bat case where she could try the lot of them as a collective whole and banish them legally from Zootopia. It was a risky and bold move but it's not like there wasn't some precedent for it.
"Because this is so similar to where I lived." Rouge revealed cryptically. "Oates was there but Bellwether was much nicer to me."
Judy's growing attention to the impending footsteps halted abruptly as she turned her full attention to the aged bat. "What do you mean? How do you know of Bellwether?"
Seeing an opening, Rouge rolled back onto her haunches. "Release me and I will tell you everything." She inclined her head toward the ring of keys dangling on Judy's paw.
"No, you tell me everything first." She bargained, slipping the keys behind her back, out of view.
Rouge feigned disinterest, indicating with a wing tip the hall leading to the detective offices. "Suit yourself Judy. Something tells me that whoever is coming for you will probably lock you away in a special prison of your own and then you'll never know the truth of things."
Judy saw the stalemate and she knew she was not going to convince Rouge any other way in the short amount of time that they had left. The booming footsteps resounded down the room; she had seconds left to act. She bit her lower lip hard, for once unsure of what she should do. If she released Rouge, then Chief Bogo would most likely fire her and quite possible arrest her on the spot. If she didn't, then she probably would have no more leads on the case with the bats and how to put an end to their menace. Judy realized now that despite all previous encounters, Rouge was no friend to her.
A loud bang from the hall forced Judy to turn. Rouge saw the opening and reached out for her. With a claw stuck in the gown, the bat dragged the rabbit to the bars and ripped the keys from her paws. "What are you doing?" Judy yelled, trying to shove off from her grip.
Snubbing the question, she pushed Judy to the ground with the key ring in hand. In seconds, she had the proper key into the lock and the door unlocked before Judy could recover. Swinging the door wide, Rouge pounced atop the bunny, the entirety of her fetid bulk pressing heavily on Judy's chest. She was large by common standards and it was quite evident with her covering all of Judy's body. The bat's heated breath wafted over her sensitive nose, causing Judy to almost gag from the smell.
"Thank you muchly." Rouge grinned. "I do want you to understand something; I do consider you a good friend, one of the few in this forsaken city." She opened her mouth revealing her rows of teeth, two extended more prominently than the others. "Do remind me to thank Herbert for me. He was very helpful. I now know the location of what's left of this so-called Night Howler serum."
"The janitor?" Judy mouthed. Her expression turned vile. "You lied to me!" She tried to squirm from underneath the oppressive bat. "You liar! You had no intention of telling me anything!"
Rouge drew back genuinely hurt, "Judy, that stabs me deep in the heart that you would say that. I always keep my promises." Bogo, Nick, Carla and Jimmy led the charge into the cells. Each made eye contact with Rouge, hunkered over Judy with fangs bared. She swiveled her neck back to the rabbit, "But now is not the right time to tell you. Don't worry about me. I'll come find you when I'm ready."
Gasping from the sudden release of pressure, she began coughing as she twisted over onto her side to see Rouge surging down the hallway. She scampered up the walls, skittering along the ceiling before dropping to the floor, evading gun shots the entire way. Rouge swooped low under an aimed punch from Carla before sweeping her up off her feet, flipping the hyena in a somersault before landing hard on the floor.
"Stop that bat!" Bogo roared, stabbing a finger hoof in the direction of Rouge's exit. Nick gave one last, lingering look at Judy, wanting nothing more than to rush to her side and check to see if she was all right. At a glare from the chief, he relented and filed out quickly with Jimmy in tow, guns raised. Carla groaned, using the wall to steady herself before giving a brief nod to Bogo before engaging the pursuit.
"Chief, I can explain." Judy exhaled loudly, grimacing from the pain just now creeping back into her muscles.
"You damn well better Hopps!" He boomed; glaring down at her from above with his beefy arms crossed. "In fact, I think you better explain first just why exactly you are out of the custody of the protection we put you under."
"Custody?" She stood aghast. "I'm not some prisoner, sir. I am a police officer and I should be given the proper amount of respect of one who has done good works for the ZPD and this city."
"No, respect is giving to an officer that follows the law and adheres to the tenants of the force!" Bogo corrected. "Not to someone who blatantly disobeys orders and continually causes a pain in the ass!"
Ignoring the slight, she pressed, "Sir, I have reason to believe that these bats are being masterminded by Rouge and are coordinating attacks across the city to eliminate the four major crime bosses of Zootopia."
"You mean the very bat we saw you release just a few moments before?" He snorted.
"I know how it looks but it wasn't what it was!" Her ears dropped, it really did look pretty incriminating with the circumstantial evidence.
Rubbing his forehead, feeling the onset of a raging migraine coming on, he groaned, "Hopps, I appreciate your fervor in wanting to solve cases but I cannot so easily sweep this under the rug." She opened her mouth to speak but he rolled over her protests. "Yes, we knew about the coordinated attacks on the crime bosses which is why we placed Stipe and Longneck under our protection in the first place. Your partner Wilde discovered this out by your own admission if you recall."
"Yet you had reason to deny me the courtesy of letting me know it was Mr. Big that had been attacked last week!" Judy rammed her fits into her hips with anger. She would have looked quite menacing if it weren't for the fact she was so small. "You had Nick, Carla and Jimmy lie to me this entire time that they knew nothing about his death!"
"Due to your previous connection with the criminal, I deemed it prudent to have that information classified." He pointed at her. "It seems you proved me right by doing exactly what we witnessed here today by setting her free. If I didn't know any better, I would wager you had something to gain by having Rouge kill Mr. Big."
"That's not how it was!" Judy held her paws out in supplication. She felt she was sliding down a slope she couldn't climb up. "She had vital information for me about Bellwether-"
"Who is already behind bars." Bogo interrupted. "You have deliberately defied my orders time and again Hopps and now you are concocting absurd conspiracy theories to cover up the fact that you purposefully came here, escaping your protective consort, to release a known killer back into the populace. Your job was to stop these attacks from happening and now you're perpetuating it further!"
"Sir, if you were to just let me explain!" She wanted desperately to relate her position but that was destroyed the moment Clawhauser stumbled in, seemingly having run the entire distance to relay his message.
"Chief Bogo!" He cried out, clearly out of breath. "Herbert was just found lying unconscious near the evidence labs! They've been broken into and the Night Howlers were taken!"
Bogo clenched his jaw hard, grinding teeth as he considered his next decision. The moment she heard the awful news, Judy shrunk back from the chief's wrath. She knew it was all over for her. He slowly pivoted his head to face her. "Your badge…now." His tone commanded no resistance and would tolerate no refusal.
"But sir…" She began.
"Badge!" He thrust his hoof out to receive it. "I don't care anymore of your past accomplishments. I don't care about your being the public face of the ZPD. You have proven time and again that you are willing to bend the rules to suit your own personal code of ethics. Now with a murderous bat on the loose with the savage-inducing serum at large, released by your paws, I can no longer turn the other cheek on your account. As of this moment, effective immediately, you are suspended from duty without pay until such time we set a court hearing for your testimony on these incidents. Now hand me your badge."
Clawhauser was riveted to the spot at the entryway, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. He couldn't believe his ears and his heart yearned for Judy in that moment. With tail swishing agitatedly, he somehow felt responsible for this turn of events, as if it was his fault that Judy was being suspended. He could see her lower lip quivering from the very thought of losing the one thing that gave her purpose, the singular job that gave meaning to her existence.
At length, she yielded and placed a paw in Bogo's hand. "Yes sir." She was defeated. "I don't have it on me as you can see. Just ask my partner Nick for it when he gets back. He'll retrieve it for you from the apartment you confined me in."
He flapped his ears petulantly at her final, flippant remark. "Don't think I do not care for you Judy. I do. However, do not try my patience with Lionheart."
"Excuse me?" Her ears perking, she looked up at him curiously. Clawhauser placed both paws over his mouth in shock at Bogo's slip of the tongue.
The buffalo's face contorted oddly as he realized the brain lapse. "Enough! Clawhauser! See to it that Hopps is detained and escort her to the garage for transport back to Hyenandez's home. She is to be under house arrest until further notice." After observing her visible injuries further, he changed the order, "On second thought, take her to Mercy Hospital to get treated first. We will hold her there."
"Yes sir!" He jiggled from the sudden movement to rush in and gently grab Judy by the arm. Bending as he walked alongside her, making sure not to make eye contact with the chief, he whispered, "I'm sorry for this Judy."
She met his gaze. "I am too."
"So what did you say to James to get them to release us?" Judy hissed, trying not to attract the attention of Skye who was leading them through the halls that would dump them out of the outer wall and into the city interior.
Before Nick could answer, Skye flicked her ears back and responded for him. "It wasn't a matter of what he said but more a matter of who he is."
Dawn and Judy both looked at him in confusion, "What is she talking about?" She asked.
"Looks like I suddenly have a son!" Skye lilted, finding great humor in this.
Judy's eyes snapped back to Nick, "Is this true?"
He bowed his head slightly in affirmation, his focus lost on the ground immediately in front of them. "The DNA test proved it. James seemed to recognize me almost at once and ordered it done to prove it."
"But that doesn't explain why he allowed us free." Dawn huffed, raising her bruised arms and torn clothes. "It didn't seem they were the least bit willing to free us earlier!"
"He wasn't going to initially." Skye answered, unlocking a barricaded door, watching as the metal plates slid into the wall.
"I told him he was no father of mine if he did not release the one I loved." Nick stated flatly, without looking at Judy.
She was a bit taken aback at his stance on the matter. Granted, their relationship had been a bit rocky these past few weeks but she never doubted his love for her. She just never realized how far he'd go to defend that love. She moved to put a paw on his arm for comfort. Noticing the motion, he shuffled a bit further away but kept following Skye out into the secured, double-doored room that would deposit them outside.
"It is indeed quite remarkable that a predator would stick up for you." Skye remarked with a hint of wonder in her voice. She turned around to face them, her paw casually rested on the tranquilizer gun on her hip. "After seeing how vehemently Nick fought for your freedom, James was convinced to set you free."
"Yet you are an armed escort and we're still not free of our collars." Judy picked at the device around her neck.
"Well, you are prey after all. We have to keep some precautions in place." She smirked.
"How comforting." Dawn mumbled under her breath.
"Now that you have been given lease to roam about the city, may I welcome you to Zootopia." Skye indicated behind her with a flourish as the second set of metal bay doors slid open.
Ahead of them lay the main street which looked remarkably similar to one they knew back home in Savannah Central. The clouds promenading above covered the sun which cast a slight pall on the entire scene. Tons of tall buildings flanked the streets with multiple predators bustling, going about their business for the day. Huddled in small groups here and there were meek prey, the lights on their collars visible even from this distance as they walked in the shadows of the high risers.
Skye gave a contented sigh as she beheld the city street, "Isn't it a glorious paradise for predator and prey alike? Do you see how much better life is with prey contained like this?"
"I don't see how it is." Judy commented defiantly.
Ignoring the bunny's attitude, the silver fox motioned for them to follow as she led them to the city's heart. "So you said you wanted to see the chief of our ZPD here? Is that still correct?"
Judy nodded, "Yes, if that isn't against some regulations that you have."
Skye glanced back behind her, gauging if the rabbit was being sarcastic. "Not yet." She threatened passively. "It isn't a far walk, just don't lag behind or I will shoot you and drag you myself."
"She's a charming mother." Dawn snarked, relishing the effect it had on Nick.
"It's not something I asked for." Nick shot back, vexed at the ewe. "I was happy enough with my true mother."
"I bet she was a real peach too, just like your father." She mocked, unknowing of the nerve it would strike.
"Nick!" Judy cried, shocked as he backhanded the sheep across the face, knocking her to the ground. Several collared prey shied away from them, quickly making their way across the street to maintain distance from their group. Skye merely looked on with mild interest.
"You know nothing of my mother!" Nick snarled, fangs bared. "She was the most important vixen in my entire life. She raised me to be the fox I am today, something my father failed to do when he ditched my mother and me."
"Something he does regret to this day." Skye informed.
"He could have fooled me!" He rounded on her, green eyes glinting. "I honestly didn't want to come here and I would have been better off not knowing he was still alive. In fact, it was easier to think he was dead because then it saved me from the pain of knowing he still lives without a single, damn care in the world over the pain and grief he caused this family! The only reason I attempted such a crappy hustle to lie to you initially was to get in here on Judy's account!"
"It was rather unconvincing." Skye leaned back, arms crossed, an amused look on her face.
"So why did you come here Nick?" Judy nudged, wanting him to say what she wanted to hear. As much as their relationship was tense recently, she still wanted to know that everything was okay between them.
His expression softened as he turned to face her directly. "Because of you." Even this got a raised eyebrow from Dawn. "I've made many mistakes in my lifetime but the worst mistake I ever made was hurting you." Without asking, he took her paws in his and looked her straight in the eyes, ignoring the stares of everyone around them for he didn't care about them at all. "I knew from the moment you suggested it that it was a horrible idea to release Bellwether and have her guide us here to this Zootopia. I remember what it was like before my mom whisked me away from this awful place to live in the new, better Zootopia. This was a place full of bad memories that I did not want to come back to. I only chose to come to protect you because I did not trust that sheep."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence." Dawn muttered as she picked herself up off the ground, gingerly nursing her sore cheek.
Judy blushed as she became self-aware of the stares they were getting, not just from Skye and Dawn but from every predator and prey who was witnessing this moment. Shyly, she spoke, "Nick, thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. I've been going on what feels like fumes for the last few weeks and I'm simply exhausted. I missed having you as my anchor."
"This is truly fascinating." Skye marveled. "I was at first disbelieving when James said he saw a fire burning in your eyes but now I'm convinced he knew what he was talking about." She clicked her fingers and pointed at them. "Now I know what he meant by letting you go free. He wanted to see what you'd do and how you two would interact given the current climate within Zootopia."
"Don't patronize us." Nick frowned. "As far as I'm concerned, I should share the same fate as her. I would like a collar as well."
"Nick!" Judy did not wish this horrible fate on him.
"I mean it." He held up a paw to stall the forthcoming objection. He took the collar of his police shirt and lowered it to reveal his neck. "Put one on me right now. I will share in her misery."
Skye regarded them long and hard before uncrossing her arms. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. As moving as your speech was, I am not one to disobey my husband. He gave me strict orders to keep you free from the collars and to keep your friends controlled with them. If you wish to change that, then you're going to have to take it up with him."
"Then let's go back now. Why waste time here?" He put his paws out, gesturing back the way they came.
The vixen shook her head, "He's a bit busy at the moment trying to quell-"
She didn't get to finish as two rams bolted out of a side street, running full speed towards a nearby parked car. "Death to predators!" They both shouted as they slammed into the car, heaving it up off the cement and hurtling towards the four of them. Dawn screamed in terror as she hit the ground quivering. Nick leapt atop Judy, pulling her down with him, covering her body with his. It sailed just inches over their heads, clipping the top follicles of fur on Judy's ears in passing.
Skye clucked her tongue as she sidestepped the flung vehicle, letting it crash into another across the street, drawing screams from several bystanders. With the deftness of her species, she rushed over behind an adjacent car that was parked beside the one that was tossed. Clambering up onto the hood, she bounced down and drop kicked the larger ram in the face. The second one made a swing at her which she easily ducked under before sweeping her foot out to trip him onto his rump.
The first recovered quickly and grappled the vixen by the tail before swinging her around above his head before smashing her into a nearby lamp post. Seeing the brutality of it, Judy was incensed that these rams would be attacking like this, regardless of them being prey or predator. Wriggling out from Nick's grip, she bounced up onto her feet before charging headlong into the second ram, just now getting up off the ground. He turned one second too late as she hopped into the air, feet first, and collided both hind paws into his chest.
"What in the heck?" The first ram yelled, his face tracking the movement of his buddy as he flew through the air, smashing into the nearby store front window, shattering it to pieces. "What are you doing attacking us for?" He locked eyes with the hare, gesticulating with his hoof to his own collar. "We're on the same team you dumb rabbit!"
"And I don't care much for this senseless, stupid violence between predator and prey. You don't just go around attacking people because of who they are!" With a short sprint and jump, she soared through the air feet first.
She never got to finish her attack as the light on her collar turned bright red, giving her a petrifying jolt to her nervous system. She flailed in the air before hitting the pavement hard, her body twitching uncontrollably. The ram just shook his head at her ineptitude of being able to circumvent her emotions when being aggressive with the collars on.
He was rumbling over to check on his buddy when Nick vaulted onto the sheep's back, trying in vain to perform a stranglehold on the brute. The meaty neck was a bit too thick for him to get his entire arm around and only served to make the ram angrier. He swerved around, trying to shake off the fox, his stubby front hooves wobbling fruitlessly to gain purchase on his fur. With a savage cry, he backed up quickly, slamming Nick up against the building and knocking the breath out of him.
"You're going to pay for that fox!" He sneered, watching as Nick slid down the wall gasping. He raised his hoof to punch him square in the snout in hopes to break in his skull but was suddenly writhing on the ground in agony.
"And thank you for ignoring me long enough to get close." Skye spat a wad of blood onto the ground, holding up in plain view a device that looked quite similar to a television remote. Slipping it into her pocket, she whipped out her gun and aimed it at the broken window. The second ram had his hands raised; having just come around from being unconscious. Slowly taking her sweet time, she opened up her flip phone and began dialing a number with her free paw. After a few moments a voice came on the line, "Yes James, we were just attacked by two rams in the middle of broad daylight."
Recovering from the sudden jolt from the collar, Judy wobbled up on all fours. The ram was convulsing right in front of her, his anguished shouts echoing down the still road. Predators stood watch in silence as prey were enraptured with fear but could not find the strength to run or look away. "Skye…please stop hurting him. He doesn't deserve this."
Snubbing her request, the fox turned her back and continued to talk on the phone. "I understand, and they are being punished for it."
Nick began to use the wall to assist in standing; he caught on to the distress this was causing Judy. "Skye, stop this." His nose twitched as he could smell burning wool and flesh.
"Are you sure?" Skye asked urgently, an anxious expression on her face. "There are many witnesses and Nick is with me."
Judy got to her feet and took a step toward the slender fox, "You're killing him! Stop the collar now!" Smoke was emanating from underneath the collar, the ram was gurgling on the frothing blood spilling up into his mouth.
"Yes, they're all here and-" Skye looked around quickly, she did not see Dawn. "Stop right there!" She pointed the gun at Judy who was getting a bit too close. Turning to Nick she queried, "Did any of you see where the ewe went?" They all looked around and realized that Bellwether had taken the opportunity to escape. She was nowhere in sight.
Nick advanced on Skye, claws out, "I don't care who you are and what relation to me, I am still a cop in the ZPD and I will not tolerate you simply murdering a citizen!"
Casually shifting her aim back to Nick, she held the phone in the crook between her shoulder and ear and raised the remote with a waggle. "Don't tempt me on doing the same thing to your one, true love." This elicited a growl from him, but he did indeed stop his forward movement.
Judy ached in her heart that she could do nothing to stop the horrible scene from unfolding before her. You just didn't kill criminals because they did wrong. You arrested them, tried them in court, jailed them and hopefully in time, rehabilitated them. This sort of barbaric torture was beyond her scope of tolerance. No matter what option or avenue she could take right now, it would result in her electrocution. The ram's partner stood horrified as his buddy was croaking and thrashing on the ground, his eyes popping, movements getting weaker and less drastic with every passing second.
Refocusing back on the conversation, Skye resituated her phone back on her ear, "James, the sheep has disappeared. Yes, yes, I will go find her. What do you want me to do with the two rams?" After a moment, she shut her eyes tightly. An expression of regret passed her face, as if she was not agreeable to the decision James had made on the other end. "Yes, I'll do just that. I'll text you when it's done."
With a click, she put the phone in her pocket before turning to the ram still standing in the remains of the window he had flown through. He had his hands raised as she casually walked up to him. She held the remote up to begin the process of electrifying him to death. Before she could start, he blurted, "Please! I don't want to go out like that! Just kill me quickly."
She gave him a pointed look, considering his request. "Very well. You'll at least be unconscious when you go." Both Judy and Nick screamed as she un-holstered her gun, raised it and fired.
So I knew this would be a pretty intense chapter in both arcs but deciding which to give the bigger face time to wasn't exactly a hard decision. I knew a lot had to happen with Judy in the past to get her to the point where we have her start following the breadcrumbs that'll lead her to the sixth (or old) Zootopia. Since she left the apartment with no direction, I knew I needed to get her in a direction where she could come by this vital info drop from Rouge, so making the bat victim be Mr. Big made perfect sense because of her past meetings with the mob boss. Having Fledermaus and Quill return as bearers of that info was icing on the cake for me. The hardest part to write was definitely the scene between Rouge and Judy, I needed to structure it in such a way that the small 'old Zootopia' drop didn't seem forced nor did it give enough away to Judy given what she knows later about the place further down the timeline. Finally, we come to the first key decision Bogo makes that puts him on a clear path to the big mistake he makes that forces Judy away from Zootopia. Him dropping Lionheart's name was a nice bit of tease about his backstory. The second arc was a bit more simple but the primary thing I wanted to establish here was how drastic this old Zootopia was compared to the one we know and what passes as the 'norm' for mammals living in it. A gut wrenching scene but one that clearly shows just how bad it's gotten for all citizens involved and indicates to the reader the tension beneath the surface that is waiting to explode.