***DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia***

Chapter 21: Homeward Bound

The fox, rabbit, and wolf stood in silence under the descending sun in Sahara square. None of them quite knew how to react to what Luke had just said in the video. Even more off-putting was his appearance. His eyes were red and tired. Judy could've sworn she saw flecks of blood in Luke's fur but it easily could've been the poor lighting messing with her mind. Finally, Nick broke the silence.

"So he does hate us. I was right." Nick's voice was flat. Sarah's blue eyes were focused off in the distance while Judy just shook her head slowly.

"It- it just makes no sense." Judy stated. Luke's words continued to ring through her head.

"After a number of weeks of me staying you must hear my words.

I don't need any of your help.

I think you guys are quite bad.

You are like a very annoying gerbil.

For you my bell does not ding."

"It makes perfect sense Carrots." Nick faced the rabbit. "He got the last laugh. He specifically sent us a video to tell us what he thinks of us. How doesn't it make sense?"

"Let me replay the video. Please listen to what Luke is saying." Judy said as she replayed the video. The three of them closely listened to Luke's words.

"Are you sure that's Luke? Because the wolf that's talking sounds nothing like him." Sarah responded after the video concluded once more.

"You see what I mean? It just doesn't make sense at all! He sounds nothing like himself!" Judy answered Sarah while Nick simply shook his head.

"Maybe because we never knew his true self." Nick replied sourly.

"No." Sarah shook her head. "This isn't Luke's true self. On our date the other night he talked about you two. He told me how happy he was with you two. And then Luke just left you without saying goodbye? That's not him. That's not the Luke I know."

"With all due respect Sarah, I'm not sure if you're exactly the one to talk about 'knowing' Luke right now. You just found out the truth about his past." Nick interjected.

"Nick! What's the matter with you?!" Judy shot a stern look at the fox.

"No, it's fine." Sarah replied. "You're right Nick. Maybe I don't know Luke quite the way you do. But I'd like to think I know him pretty damn well. Can you please just hear me out? This isn't normal of Luke." Sarah looked urgently into the fox's verdant eyes.

"Fine, let's get back to the ZPD and see what we can do." Nick finished as the three hurried to the car just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Judy started up the car and the three of them sped off into the night.

"He's got to be out there somewhere." Judy said as they raced towards the city center.

"Try searching the email address."

"Nothing's coming up." Nick clenched his auburn fur in his paws as he glared at the computer screen. Judy sat next to the fox while Sarah sat in corner with Judy's phone, watching the video of Luke over and over again. They had been sitting there for a few hours now, trying to puzzle the situation together.

"Maybe the location is encrypted. The technology department has tried everything and they can't even get in. They're just stumped as we are." Judy commented as Nick slammed his paws down on the keyboard.

"Encrypted? Are you sure? I mean, Luke is smart but he's not tech savvy to the point where he knows how to hide something from the authorities, especially something as traceable as location." Sarah added as she paused the video, taking a look at the ragged wolf pictured on the screen.

"We don't know that Sarah. You saw how Luke hid the story about his past from you. He could be hiding other stuff too. He didn't tell us about his human-past either until we forced it out of him. But we can't influence him to tell us the truth now so who knows what is going on with him." Judy replied while Sarah played the video again.

"I know. But I'd like to think that the Luke we know is right here. But every viewing of this video just discourages me even more. I miss him." Sarah looked longingly down at Luke. She had muted the video now and was simply staring at Luke. His appearance didn't seem to bother Sarah, who just kept clicking the replay button.

"I know Sarah, me too. I miss everything about him. He's such a positive kid that it's so strange to see him like this." Judy walked over to Sarah and unmuted the video. She listened to his hoarse voice and shook her head sadly.

"I miss him too." Nick said as he spun his chair away from the computer to face Judy and Sarah. "I'd never thought I'd want to hear a pun so badly before but right now, to hear Luke say one, it would mean the world."

Judy nodded sullenly before replying; "Yeah, Luke loves puns."

"At least we gave him the satisfaction of a laugh, no matter how poorly phrased they were." Sarah trailed off as she looked down at the video screen. Her eyes shot open which quickly caught the attention of Nick and Judy. "Wait, Luke loves puns!"

"Yeah? What's your point?" Nick asked curiously as Sarah handed him the phone.

"These sentences- we all agreed that there's something off about them, right? Well what if that's intentional? He never said directly that he hates us! Watch the video!" Sarah's voice was full of energy as the three of them played the clip once more.

"Wait, are you saying that Luke's message is a pun?" Nick asked as the video concluded.

"Not a pun. I think it's multiple puns! Or at least he's trying to use clever word placement to communicate with us!" Sarah was on the edge of her seat, her blue eyes were bright with excitement as Nick and Judy shared a glance.

"Alright Sarah, we'll see where this gets us. We haven't gotten anywhere yet so this right now is a good shot. No harm in seeing what we can do. How do you want to start?" Judy asked. Sarah replied immediately as soon as Judy finished speaking, she could barely contain herself.

"We'll break it down sentence by sentence. Let's start with the first and then work our way onward as we puzzle it together. And if it doesn't get us anywhere then it doesn't but we still have to try." Sarah finished to see an approving look from Nick.

"Alright Sarah, we're all yours." He replied as Sarah played the first sentence that Luke spoke.

"After a number of weeks of me staying you must hear my words."

She stopped the video to see what Nick and Judy were thinking.

"I agree. It's oddly phrased. You agree Nick?" Judy asked to see a nod from the fox. He was deep in thought.

"Alright, how many weeks has he been here? I mean, since you two have known him?" Sarah questioned.

"Seven, if I'm not mistaken." Judy answered.

"Alright, so if we rephrase the sentence with that information it would be 'After seven weeks of me staying you must hear my words.'" Sarah replied while shaking her head.

"That makes no sense though. We always told him to tell us what's on his mind so it makes no sense that he would 'demand' to hear his words. We've always listened to what he has to say." Judy added. She too, was perplexed.

"Maybe that's because it's not the way he intended it to be phrased." Nick said, breaking his silence.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked with a puzzled look.

"I mean, why didn't Luke just come out and say 'seven weeks'? Is it possible that he was just referring to the number?" Nick asked. Judy nodded in response.

"That's true. Alright so if we rephrase it…" Judy trailed off.

"It would be: 'After seven you must hear my words'." Sarah said uncertainly. "Is he talking about the time or something? Because that doesn't really get us too far either."

"Maybe it's just the number seven?" Judy suggested.

"Yeah, but seven 'what's'?" Nick asked slightly agitated. It had been a long day and every single one of them wanted to just go home. But he knew they couldn't, not when Luke was out there somewhere.

"Could it be seven words?" Sarah suggested after a few moments of silence.

"'After seven words you must hear my words?' That still doesn't make much sense." Judy said with a shake of her head.

"Maybe because it's not supposed to. Maybe we need the other sentences! Think about it!" Nick's voice had now suddenly filled with energy. "'After seven words you must hear my words.' Perhaps we should try listening to the seventh word of each of his next four sentences."

Sarah played the video once more, saying the seventh word of each sentence as the video went along.

"Help, bad, gerbil, ding? What does that mean?" Sarah asked with a puzzled expression. Nick and Judy simply shrugged in response.

"Help, bad, gerbil, ding." Judy stated.

"Help bad gerbil ding."

"Help bad ger-bil ding."

"Help badger building."

Judy and Nick looked sharply at one another, their eyes widened with fear as the reality sunk in. Judy's paws shot up to her mouth while Nick's emerald eyes flashed with worry. Sarah immediately noticed their scared looks.

"What? What is it?!" Sarah asked alarmed.

"We know where Luke is." Nick said softly. Him and Judy were stunned into silence.

"Where?!"

"Do you have that tooth I gave to you?" Nick asked a wide-eyed Sarah. Sarah hurriedly took the chunk of tooth out of the back pocket where she had placed it yesterday. "Alright Sarah, it's time for you to know where this came from."

"Wait, you got this chunk of tooth from Dr. Meles? The guy who likely has imprisoned Luke?" Sarah's eyes were full of terror.

"Yes! What is it Sarah? Carrots and I have to act fast." Nick replied with urgency.

"We have to get Luke out of there now! Not only does Dr. Meles have Luke imprisoned but Luke and I think he's planning some sort of attack upon Zootopia with a bioweapon!" Sarah's exclamation caused Nick and Judy's eyes to shoot open.

"What?! How do you know?!" Judy asked shocked.

"That lab we went to a while ago in the Rainforest District? It wasn't a drug lab. The so-called 'drugs' turned out to be live virus! When we looked up its characteristics there were no matches of the virus on record. It's completely new and we tested infectivity and it is very infective. Then when you told me to see if the tooth was part of a bear I did a little more looking into it and the tooth had traces of the virus!" Sarah spoke very quickly while Nick and Judy immediately realized the severity of the situation.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Judy questioned.

"Actually, that's why I came to your house last night. Luke and I were going to tell you what we found out about the virus but then after our fight my mind was just so full of other things." Sarah replied.

Nick and Judy nodded understandingly. "It's fine. Alright, Nick and I are going to go get Luke. Sarah, if we're gone for more than four hours then let Bogo know what happened." Judy informed the wolf, who had a frown upon her face the moment she heard Judy's words.

"No! I'm coming with you guys!" Sarah protested. "I can help! I need to let Luke know that I'm there for him."

"Sarah, please, this mammal is dangerous. We can't risk it." Nick answered.

"I can hold my own! I had to pass that sparring assessment just like Luke! Also, you're dealing with a man wielding a bioweapon. You should have someone from the lab down there." Sarah stood her ground.

Nick paused before replying. "Fine. We'll give you a tranquilizer gun to be used as a last resort. But listen to me right now." Nick's voice grew deadly serious. "We don't know what we are dealing with. Should things go wrong in there, I need you to be prepared. If, somehow, it comes down to you and Luke, I need you to promise me that you choose to save yourself. This is not the time to try and be a hero and your blood cannot be on my hands. There are no second chances. By going, you must promise me that you will be prepared for Luke to die in order for you to survive should Judy and I not be capable of helping. Knowing this, do you still want to go?"

"Yes, I'm sure and I promise." Sarah responded bluntly.

"Alright, we have no time to waste." Nick said as the three of them hopped up from their chairs and sprinted out through the door.

"Alright, are you guys ready?" Judy whispered as they stood in front of the large iron door of the grey building. Nick and Sarah responded with nods, tranquilizer guns at the ready. Judy rapped her knuckles upon the cold, metal surface and backed off to the side of the entryway.

"Who's there?" A deep voice called out. The three of them stayed absolutely silent.

As the polar bear opened the door, Nick was quick to fire a dart in the polar bear's neck. His eyes widened after realizing what happened but it was too late. The large, white figure of the polar bear slouched over and landed on the ground with a large thud. Nick, Judy, and Sarah hopped over the unconscious guard and quickly made their way to the staircase that led to the lab.

The three of them ran quietly down the stairs and peered around the corner to get a look at the entrance.

"He's likely to be just behind that door." Nick whispered.

"Alright, coast is clear. Let's go." Judy replied quietly as they ran over to the lab's entrance and tried to open the door.

"It's locked!" Nick said after giving the door a might pull.

"Maybe that bear up there had the keys. Why don't we go and-" Sarah turned around but was interrupted as the knife slashed across her face. She yelped in pain and clutched the side of her face, which began to bleed profusely.

The two large polar bears quickly advanced on Nick and Judy. However Judy was fast. She whipped out her tranquilizer gun and lodged a dart in the neck of one of the bears. He quickly collapsed upon the ground but before either Nick or Judy could shoot again the other bear knocked the guns out of their paws, sending them sliding across the floor. Nick clenched his fist, bracing for a fight as the bear came charging toward him.

Judy darted toward the bear with terrific speed. She launched herself at the bear's torso and made contact with the side of his ribs. The bear stumbled back but still remained upright as he now turned his attention to the rabbit. Her eyes widened as the bear drew the knife, stained red from Sarah's blood.

"I always hated prey like you." The polar bear smiled cruelly as he wound up his arm to throw the knife.

*Thwack*

The knife clattered on the floor as the bear reached his white paw up to find a dart sticking out of his neck. He looked frantically around to see the guns of Nick and Judy still scattered in the corner. He froze when he saw Sarah's piercing blue eyes staring at him from behind a gun. Despite her half-bloodied face, she had a smirk as the bear's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed upon the ground in a large heap.

"Sarah, you saved my life!" Judy exclaimed as she picked up her gun.

"So much for not being a hero." Nick replied, causing a light chuckle from Sarah and Judy.

"Hey, these bears must have been positioned outside the door. One of them had a keychain." Nick said as he slipped the keys off the loop of the polar bear's belt and began to try each one in the door of the lab. After a few unsuccessful tries, he heard a satisfying click but froze before opening the door.

"Guns out and prepare yourselves." Nick instructed as Judy and Sarah followed his lead. He swung the door open, allowing them to be immersed in the harsh light of the lab. Their eyes rested upon the figure in the chair and their jaws dropped. No amount of preparation could've allowed them to cope smoothly with what they saw.

Luke's head was slumped over. His fur on his upper body was caked in blood. His shoulders were swollen and looked like someone ran blades through them. His arms had several bad burn marks on them. The fur around them was blackened. They felt their guts wrench upon seeing Luke in such pain. They sprinted over to his side.

"Luke! Luke! It's Nick and Judy! We're here son." Nick looked up into Luke's brown eyes.

"Mom, Dad, Sarah? You guys came for me?" Luke croaked out. His eyes began to tear up as he let out a weak smile.

"We sure did Luke. Sarah led us right to you after realizing your message was a series of puns." Judy smiled at the grey wolf.

"Can we go home?" Luke asked.

"Sure thing bud." Nick grinned as he quickly loosened the restraints. Sarah, who had stayed silent, ran over to Nick to help Luke up out of the chair.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Judy said as the three began to make their way toward the exit only to hear a familiar voice make them stop right in their tracks.

"Oh that's precious, Luke brought the whole happy family!" The badger grinned deviously as the four of them turned around only to hear the door slam shut.

"Shut it Meles." Sarah spat at the badger.

"Oh wow! She really does have a sharp tongue on her. I can see why Luke left you." He sneered as Sarah drew her gun out and directed it at Dr. Meles.

"Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right now." Sarah's voice was razor thin.

"Do it." Dr. Meles smirked as Sarah pulled the trigger. The badger winced in pain as the dart lodged into his arm. He yanked it out and then stared at his watch for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "I've acquired resistance to the serum. I'm not just going to be knocked out by your little toys."

"Why are you doing this Meles? I know that it's you that is responsible for the production of a bioweapon." Nick asked angrily.

"And how do you know that?" Meles sneered. Sarah promptly pulled out the fragment of tooth from her pocket. The badger's eyes immediately settled upon it. "Clever, very clever. Too bad it won't do you too much good in the end though." Dr. Meles chuckled as he walked over to the table and pulled out a small box of syringes, filled with a yellow-tinted serum.

"Sarah, that's it. That's the disease." Luke croaked.

"One little prick. That's all it takes for your life to be over. As the virus spread, it gets to your head. You start acting crazy and before you know it, this little foxy is tearing the throat out of his precious bunny." The badger smirked. "Then that poor little abomination of a marriage is over between you two."

Nick gritted his teeth and snarled at the badger, who now began to strut over to the group. His beady eyes settled on Sarah. "So, you want to be first in line?" Dr. Meles walked over to Sarah and cornered her against the wall. He took out a syringe and held it up. "One little prick by the needle."

"I'm not scared of you." Sarah's piercing blue eyes focused-in on the badger's face.

"You sure you want to say that to the mammal that holds your life in his paws?" The badger asked dangerously.

"You're right. I don't want to say that. I also want to say that you're a pain in the ass."

*Thwack*

Nick and Judy fired their darts right into Dr. Meles' rear end. The wince of pain that followed was all Sarah needed. She immediately sent her knee into the ribcage of the badger, causing him to clutch his chest in agony. Judy quickly rushed over to grab the syringes. With all her might, she hurled them in the corner of the lab, causing them to break upon the wall. Meles stumbled over to the metal frame of the portal and took the pendant out of his pocket. He slipped it into a small socket into the frame and flipped a switch, causing the portal to illuminate in a bright, blue light.

"You're finished Meles. Don't even bother trying to flee. You'll never get a chance to come back anyway." Sarah called out, catching the attention of the badger. "It's the end of the line for you. It's been like that for a while" Sarah stared into the beady eyes of the badger, not noticing the puzzled expressions of Nick, Judy, and Luke. "You see, that tooth had traces of rabies on it and when Arctos managed to bite you, it spread Meles. It spread to you."

"Don't make me laugh child." Dr. Meles sneered. "As you can clearly see, I'm not showing any symptoms. It never spread."

"Maybe not now." Luke's hoarse voice caused everyone's head to turn. "But you were bitten about seven weeks ago. And you seem to have forgotten about the incubation period of the rabies virus, which is eight to twelve weeks. You're a ticking time-bomb my friend." Luke's smirk caused the badger to be petrified. He was rooted to the spot in fear, now realizing the wolf was right. "If you want to flee, then do it."

"Luke." The badger spoke softly. His terrified expression had now changed to one of a much softer nature. "Are you sure you just want me to go? If I do, you say goodbye to your parents, your sister, and your friends back on Earth. They'll be gone forever. When I go through that portal, it's all gone. Unless, of course, you decide to come with me."

Luke paused. Sarah watched as his brown eyes lit up upon hearing Dr. Meles' enticing words.

"Luke, don't listen to him!" Judy called out but Luke completely ignored her.

"You can take me home? To- to my family?" Luke stammered.

"I can, all I need is for you to come." The badger responded. Luke paused for a moment but then slowly nodded, his brown eyes gazed upon the badger as he stood by the portal. Luke pried the supporting arms of Nick and Judy off of him and hobbled over to the smiling badger.

"Luke no!" Nick called after him.

"Please don't do this Luke! I- I love you!" Sarah shouted as Luke turned back to face them.

"I'm going home." Luke stated bluntly as he walked over to Dr. Meles. His fur captured the blue light from the portal.

"You ready to see your family Luke?" The badger asked warmly.

"Let's make this quick Meles. I want to get home, and my family is waiting for me."

Luke acted in an instant. He left the badger rooted to the spot as he leapt up into the air and swung his leg around. He felt the satisfying contact of his heel with the side of the badger's head. As Luke landed firmly on his feet, he watched Dr. Meles stumble back toward the blue light of the portal. Luke planted his foot on the ribs of the badger and thrust him forward. He watched the terrified look of the badger's eyes as he was cast back into the portal. Without hesitation, Luke reached over to the crystal pendant and clutched it in his paw. He closed his eyes and cast the pendant down by his feet. The world seemed to stop as he heard the crystal shatter into a thousand pieces. As Luke opened his eyes, all he could see was the bright blue light of the portal. He gazed down at the shards of the pendant, knowing there was now no going back. In an instant, he felt the ground rumble beneath him as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Luke felt his body thrown into the wall as the portal frame collapsed into a fiery heap. His brown eyes focused on the wavering flames as his vision faded to black.