Destiny of Merida Bogo Chapter 20
Nick, Judy, and Merida traveled immediately to the Rainforest District to the address where Mr. Big provided the address to. Unfortunately the layout of the territory here meant they couldn't take the car all the way in. So once Merida parked in a designated spot the three of them continued the rest of the way on foot.
His home is in a hollow tree on one of the higher levels. On top of that they had to contend with a bit of a downpour. It tends to rain a lot in this part of Zootopia.
Merida took the lead on this one.
Knocking on the front door of Mr. Manchas's home, Merida said "Mr. Manchas? Merida Bogo of the ZPD. We need to ask you some questions pertaining about what happened to Emmitt Otterton the last time you saw him."
There were footsteps from inside approaching the closed door. Clicking from locks being turned over could be heard and then the door opened a crack. Behind it was Mr. Manchas.
"You…should be asking…what happened to me," said Mr. Manchas, poking his head out of the doorway revealing his now scarred and injured eye.
Nick, Merida, and Judy stood there shocked to see him in such a state.
"A teensy otter did that," asked Nick in disbelief.
"What happened," implored Judy.
"He was an animal. Down…on all fours. He was a savage! There was no warning. He just kept yelling about the Night Howlers! Over and over. The Night Howlers," said Mr. Manchas, clearly traumatized.
Nick and Judy shrugged at each other behind Merida's back not having a clue what Mr. Manchas was rambling about.
Merida decided to play it up. Convince Mr. Manchas that they knew what he was talking about so maybe he'll feel secure enough to tell them what they needed to know.
"So you know about the Night Howlers, too," said Merida, crossing her arms.
That seemed to be the right kind of strategy for Mr. Manchas because he opened the door a bit wider upon a hearing this.
"Very good then. Because the Night Howlers are exactly what we are here to talk about. Isn't that right guys," said Merida, turning to look down at her compatriots.
"Yup," said Nick.
"Most definitely," said Judy, catching onto what Merida was up to. "So you just open the door and tell us what you know and we will tell you what we know."
"Or, if you prefer, you can come down to the station with us and answer a couple of more questions. It'll really clear some things up in this case," said Merida.
Mr. Manchas seemed to consider all of this.
Finally he nodded, saying "Okay."
Mr. Manchas then close the door in order to undo the lock he had there completely.
"Well done, Partner," said Judy, elbowing Merida in the leg.
Shrugging, Merida said "Just got to know how to talk to them."
Their victory was short lived.
There was a shout, something delicate breaking, and a crash from inside the home that startled the three of them. The door slid open a bit showing that Mr. Manchas had in fact unlocked the door, but he was not there.
Something wasn't right.
Signaling for Nick and Judy to keep behind her, hand on her gun as a precaution, Merida said "Mr. Manchas?"
Merida slowly pushed open the door the remainder of the way peering inside.
Mr. Manchas was thrashing and writhing on the ground as if in great pain, struggling against something.
Tentatively, Nick said "Buddy?"
"Mr. Manchas, are you okay," said Judy.
It was exactly as Mr. Manchas had described to them. Down on all fours, reverting back to a primal state. But the downside here is that now it's Mr. Manchas who has become savage and his natural instinctive predatory nature was aimed at them.
They needed to get out of there now!
"Run. Run," said Judy, backing away with haste and making a break for it.
Nick and Merida did not hesitate to mirror Judy's actions. Mr. Manchas was in hot pursuit intent on killing and devouring them.
Running across the long rope bridge they'd taken in the air, Nick said "What is wrong with him?"
"I don't know," said Judy.
All of the jumping around Mr. Manchas was doing is making the bridge unstable, but he was gaining on them pretty fast. Towards the other end of the bridge he was nearly upon them.
Thinking fast, Judy said "Jump!"
Mr. Manchas missed them by a mere couple of inches. The three of them landed on an enormous root, but Mr. Manchas remained undeterred and they were soon on the run again. Mr. Manchas was relentless. At one point Merida got separated from Nick and Judy. They went one way while she went another. She got to a good position while Nick and Judy dived into a log. Mr. Manchas tore at it trying to get to them. Merida took this opportunity to load her weapon and call in for back.
Firing at Mr. Manchas in hopes he'd be distracted enough for Nick and Judy to get away, speaking into her radio, Merida said "Officer Bogo to Dispatch." No one answered so she just kept calling and calling until the person on the other end picked up. "Clawhauser! Clawhauser, listen to me, we have a 10-91! Jaguar gone savage! Vine and Tuh-hunga!"
"Okay, we're sending backup! Merida," called Clawhauser.
Merida was about to respond when Mr. Manchas now turned on her. As she ran to avoid getting mauled and ripped to pieces her radio fell off of her uniform plummeting below.
"Merida!"
By some miracles Judy, Nick, and Merida met back up. In the distance Judy spotted something that could very well save their lives.
"There! Head for the sky trams," said Judy, pointing at the platform.
If they managed to get on one of those then Mr. Manchas would not be able to get them then. They nearly made it too.
The platform was really slippery because of all the water. So when Judy jumped out of the way of one of Mr. Manchas's attacks towards her she slipped and almost tumbled off the edge if she hadn't hung on by her paws. Merida had to think of something quick to help. Nick was the only one to make it to the tram no realizing what was going on.
Opening the door to a tram that just became level, Nick said "Get in. Carrots!"
Nick then saw their predicament.
Trying to claw her way back up, Judy said "Go!"
Mr. Manchas was stalking towards him menacingly.
But it was too late. The tram then moved too high leaving Nick stranded.
Chuckling nervously, Nick said "Buddy. One predator to another…"
Nick didn't have a change to finish cause right then and there Mr. Manchas pounced. Nick cringed with his arms up waiting for the fatal killing blow he knew was coming only it never came.
Nick opened his eyes and found the reason why.
Merida had tackled Mr. Manchas mid-pounce. She'd been out of bullets and did the very last thing she could think of. It was a split second decision. Rolling on the platform Merida wrestled with Mr. Manchas. This gave Nick the opportunity to scoot around the fighting pair to safety and assist Judy in getting up.
Straining to keep Mr. Manchas at bay, Merida shouted "Run!"
At that exact moment Mr. Manchas swiped at her with his razor sharp claws. They cut right through her uniform right into her chest. The force of it sent her flinging backwards headfirst into a light post. The hit left her head ringing and her vision quickly faded to black.
The final thing Judy saw before she lost consciousness was Mr. Manchas charging at Nick and Judy with Merida left unable to do anything to stop him.
Authors Note:
What do you guys think? Should she be taken by the Wolves we know show up or be left there when the Wolves take Mr. Manchas away?