Chapter 25

Nick felt his body fighting against him, his mind the only line of defense, the only thing keeping him from becoming... whatever it was that slept beneath his skin.

If I can just find a way to get the pills in my pocket without him noticing. But Nick saw how quickly that elephant and zebra grabbed Judy and Stacy. By the time he even tried to pop a pill in his mouth, they'd be on him.

Nick had to question if this was somehow live, if the camera was catching every single moment for Zootopia to see. No, that wasn't possible, not the way he was recording it. No, he'd find a way to upload it though. And then what? The city would be thrust into chaos, just like he'd wanted since the beginning.

Nick threw himself to the right, to where he was least likely to be seen reaching into his pocket. Suren was savoring every moment, too caught up in his little production to notice Nick's hand slip into his pocket. The pills, those heavenly things moved around in the crumpled little baggie as he tried to pick one out.

There it was. One of the pills slipped into his paw, ready to fix this problem. For now at least. But Nick had gotten too focused, what with fighting his own body and trying to force himself to get a pill out, that he didn't notice Suren getting closer. Before he knew it, a foot collided with his stomach, and the pill was out of his hands. Suren reached into his pocket and grabbed the baggie, laughing grimly as he continued his recording.

"No way are you getting out of this one, Wilde. I don't care if you're the slickest con man alive, there's no hustling anyone anymore." The black wolf peeked around the camera. He wanted to see Nick change with his own naked eye. "You're going to be the worse thing that happened to Zootopia since the nighthowlers. Even worse, if everything goes as planned."

"You're locked up–" Nick ground his teeth and groaned in pain. "You're locked up in here with a fox going savage." He breathed for a second. "Seems a bit dangerous to me."

"Oh no, Nicholas," Suren said. "You're going to attack the closest living things to you. And it just so happens that a bunny is one of those closest things. This won't just be a predator going savage. This will be a bloodthirsty monster breaking its way through anything that it wants." Nick's eyes were wild as he stared up at Suren, but the wolf continued anyway. "How sad. The ZPD protected the identity of their infected officer, only for him to go savage and kill one of their finest officers. What a tragedy, and it'll send the message that no predator can be trusted, no matter who they are."

"Judy," Nick whispered to the bunny, not even looking at her. He didn't want to scare her. "Stacy." There was only one way out of this, and it would not be pretty. Judy would never forgive him, Stacy would go back to hating him, but this was the only way out, the only way to save the only two officers that could tell this story. He just hoped– no, he prayed– that Judy would know what to do when he enacted this plan. "Now."

Nick pulled himself up and flipped the switch to Savannah Central. Seconds later, the lights in the plant went out. Nick had little time to do this before the emergency lights kicked on. The sound of tasers firing burst in the dark, the flash of electricity almost blinding. Nick let go, let his mind give into the serum. It felt painful, like he had a migraine, then nothing.

Nick felt no pain, nor did he feel emotion. He simply watched through his eyes as his body moved for him. With his night vision, he could see the panicking faces of many of the prey that worked for Suren. He watched Judy and Stacy escape their captives. Stacy fought off a few mammals while Judy hopped on Suren and took his camera. The two officers left the room as quickly as possible. Judy looked back at him with sadness in her eyes. Nick almost felt something. A small pang.

But it was gone in a second, and his anger came back, his instincts taking over, his bloodthirsty appetite insatiable.

It was all a blur from there. A blur of fur and claws and yelps and tasers and chasing. Nick tore his way through the crowd of Prey, all of them trying to escape the room, but to no avail. Nick pounced and bit and clawed his way through each individual mammal in the room. Suren grabbed the tranquilizer and shot Nick. For a second, and a second only, he felt the prick of the needle. But it was gone with another burst of adrenaline.

There was a sick joy that came with this. The thrill of the hunt, the excitement of the chase, the adrenaline from the pain. It was all so good, and Nick let himself fall deeper and deeper into the wild rage that was the savage predator. But there was one little sliver inside of him, one tiny piece of Nick Wilde that kept this beast from doing one thing.

Killing.

He bit and snapped and broke and tore, but he left them all alive. He wouldn't allow himself to cross that line, not yet, not while he still had something left within him. But it was getting harder. His vision started getting darker, and that meant he would soon be gone. Nick Wilde would be nothing but a memory, and all that would be left was the fox.

Suren angrily kicked and screamed, but Nick pulled him to the ground, his jaws clamped tightly around the wolf's leg. He didn't let go until the leader of Prey was unconscious. The wild animal stared around at all of the mammals in the room, all with horrible injuries, either moaning in pain or unconscious.

But there it was, that urge. The urge to cross the line. His vision got even darker, he needed to get out of here before it was too late. The door opened, and the fox saw a bunny peek through. He was starving. He hadn't eaten, and what was a successful hunt without a meal? He pounced and the bunny was beneath him in a heartbeat. The fear in her eyes was not satisfactory, not like the others, but the fox was hungry, and the fox had to eat.

But his vision got even darker and darker. He didn't feel the kick of a white wolf, but he saw the wolf stare at him with panic. He needed to feast before it was too late. But the fox couldn't fight it anymore. The darkness in his vision, he'd been wrong. It wasn't the urge to kill.

It was the tranquilizer.

Just as that realization kicked into the fox's mind, everything went dark.

He had not feasted.

What a waste of a hunt.

Chief Bogo stared down at Stacy, the white wolf looking like she would have rather been trapped in that room with Nick.

"Why have you told me this?" Bogo asked, his gaze petrifying.

"You deserved to know, especially since it's no secret anymore. I wanted to be the one to tell you, not Judy or Nick."

"And you felt the need to not reveal this when you did decide to leave Prey? To me, it seems suspiciously that you knew they would get caught, and quit to get out of a prison cell." Bogo leaned back in his chair a bit. "Still, you did save Hopps from Wilde, and you assisted in stopping Prey, so I suppose I won't throw you in a jail cell." Bogo sighed and shook his head. "I've gotten way too soft."

"Before you even ask me, Chief." Stacy set her badge down on his desk. "I think we can both agree that I don't deserve this badge."

"I think that's for the best," Bogo said. "Hopps was already here, I'm not sure if you knew that. She seemed pretty upset about finding out, and yet she came to tell me that she wouldn't have been here without you. And I have to admit, you were good help and followed orders without question." Bogo grabbed the badge. "Still, I cannot trust someone who was previously working for the very people that could have killed hundreds all for the sake of removing predators from Zootopia."

"I understand, Chief," Stacy got up out of her chair, feeling like she really should have been put in jail. Still, now that she was free, she could turn her life around, prove to everyone that knew that she was a better person. And she would start with Judy. "Thank you for giving me a second chance at making things right." The white wolf walked out of the room, suddenly feeling lighter without her badge and the guilt that came with it.

Nick could hear before he could see, his eyes droopy and unresponsive despite his will to see his surroundings. But the beeping was coming from a heart monitor, annoyingly keeping a steady rhythm, each beep making his head throb with pain. Finally, he willed his eyes to open to see that he was in a hospital room, not that it was much of a surprise, thanks to the monitor.

What was a surprise were the straps that kept his paws and feet down. He felt his heartbeat quicken its pace, the monitor matching the noise, making his panic worse. He looked down at his mouth and realized that there was no muzzle hooked around his head. And the heart monitor might make the doctors think that he was going savage and put a muzzle on him anyway, so he laid back and forced himself to try and calm down. His breathing became long and slow, and the monitor started slowing down with it.

He closed his eyes and there was a small flashback shoved into his mind. Him standing in front of a mirror, making sure he looked good for the day. How silly he was back then, caring about how he looked for mammals, for those who would rather him not even exist. No, he'd learned quickly not to try and get noticed or care about his appearance. But he looked away from the mirror for a second, and the moment he glanced back at his reflection, he saw himself with a muzzle strapped on, tears staining his cheeks, paralyzing fear in his eyes. The next thing Nick remembered after seeing that was crying in the corner of his bathroom, his mother running in and comforting him, fruitlessly asking him what was wrong.

Nick blinked and he was back in the hospital room, fighting back the tears that wanted to crawl down his cheeks. He wasn't going to let this happen. He wasn't going to let his past try and haunt him now, not when he was already trying to recover from letting himself go savage. He still didn't understand how the doctors had managed to calm him down. Maybe Judy had found his pills and given him one. Or maybe he was still savage and didn't know it. Maybe if someone walked into the room, he would go crazy and try to attack.

He heard the door open and anxiously awaited seeing a doctor with a muzzle in his paw. When he saw a certain bunny police officer walk in instead, he immediately relaxed, not only because his friend was here, but because he didn't go savage again.

"Hey, you," she said with an awkward smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I probably should be," Nick said. "I'm guessing you gave me one of my pills?"

"Yeah." She looked back at the door. "I didn't tell anyone, either."

"Well, I suppose that's good. What happened to Prey?"

"After you passed out from that tranquilizer–"

"That tends to happen."

"We turned the power back on, called for backup, and, yes, I slipped you one of your pills. Don't worry, you severely injured quite a few of them, but you didn't…" Judy sighed. "I knew what you wanted to do when I saw that look in your eye, but... we could have found another way. You put yourself in a lot of danger by doing that."

"And you. Don't forget you, Carrots."

"Why did you do that?"

"There was no way I was going to be able to fight that. So, I harnessed it. You may think otherwise, but there was no way out of that. We were surrounded, and I was already losing grip. I knew you'd find a way to help me."

"Doctor Andrew is coming." Judy looked down at her paws. "He says he may have the cure."

"When I called him, he said it might take months for one to be made."

Judy shrugged her shoulders, "He wouldn't explain anything, and I didn't ask. You can ask him when he gets here, I suppose."

Nick laid his head back and closed his eyes. He looked tired, upset, troubled by something. Judy watched patiently as he opened his eyes back up.

"Once I found out that I was the one who'd been behind the kidnappings, it all sort of clicked. It made sense. But after being gone for so long, it's like those memories faded. Like my brain recognized they weren't my own and deleted them. It's hard to form a cohesive thought about when I was actually the kidnapper, when I was that version of myself. But I think I can sort of remember how it felt. It was like watching a first person film. Like you were safely inside a theatre, watching these horrible things happen around you.

"But turning savage like that, it was similarly different, as weird as it sounds. I was... hungry. Hungry for blood. I could see everything happening, I couldn't control my body, couldn't feel any pain, but... I tasted the blood in my mouth when I bit them, felt satisfied when it touched my tongue. It sickened the part of me that was awake, but that predator in me, that savage part of me enjoyed it. Think of being without a meal for a year then getting a small crumb. It only makes you hungrier."

"Nick," Judy put her paw on his. "Stop. That's not who you are, you know that."

"But it's who I would have been centuries ago. It's who I became... yesterday, was it? Or what I became is more realistic."

"Listen to me, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you are not a savage. You were infected by a serum that made you what it makes bunnies and anything that ingests it. You're a good mammal, Nick, a good friend... a good friend." Judy looked down, like she'd realized something, then shook it off. "You need to understand that you're not a monster. I don't care if you're a fox, or a hustler, or even a savage... you're Nick Wilde, and I... I care about you."

"I don't think I want to be a fox anymore." Nick didn't even seem to be talking to anyone but himself now. "I stopped wanting to be one when I left Zootopia."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't want to make so many jokes or be sly all the time. Then I felt bad that I started losing my jokes and sarcastic quips."

"You still made those when you came back."

"I know, it's just... it took me years to completely absorb that motto of not letting anyone see that they get to me. The best way to do that was to be cynical and sarcastic. A lot of the few mammals that wanted to be my friend, I ended up pushing away because they could never learn much about me, never really knew me. I never tried to be a friend, I just cared about myself and making enough money by hurting people.

"All I had was Finnick and my mother. Everyone else was just an associate, including Rick, as close as I am to him. Then what do you know, a rabbit comes into my life and becomes my best friend in the span of a few days. Of course, we took a good few months apart from each other after that conference, but still, we just became even better friends after that.

"And would you looked at me, a cynical, thirty-three year old fox, rambling to that very bunny like an old man in a home."

The fox chuckled at himself, staring up at the ceiling with that smile he always carried.

"You don't need to stop being a fox. In fact, being a fox that saves Zootopia, that was one of the best officers at the ZPD, that sets an example. One that will stop all foxes from having to go through the stuff you did."

"So, you basically want me to be you." He grew a toothy smile.

"No, Nick, I want you to be you. Be sly, make stupid jokes that get on my nerves. Trust me, I'll shoot back with some of my own."

Nick almost got one of those jokes out right then until Doctor Andrew came into the room, looking like he hadn't slept in days, but still seemed rather energetic.

"Mr. Wilde," said the antelope. "Good to see you're awake and... strapped down? How ridiculous. Let's say we get those straps off of your arms. How does that sound?"

"Like I'm going to have a needle in my arm. Jeez, Doc, straps, needles–you could at least take me to dinner first." And that was when Judy started to regret telling Nick to make those jokes.

"Yes, very amusing, Mr. Wilde," said Doctor Andrew in a very unenthusiastic voice. He reached into his coat and took out the very needle Nick assumed he was getting, taking the cap off of the slim metal needle and tapping the syringe.

After pushing slightly on it to make sure it worked, he wiped Nick's arm with a disinfectant, then inserted the needle promptly.

"I suppose this would be a bad time to ask if I'll have any undesirable side effects?"

"As with any medication, Mr. Wilde, but they will subside rapidly," Doctor Andrew removed the needle and put everything up. "I did get permission to give you this cure, by the way. I just figured I would come down personally so that some idiot wouldn't lose it." Andrew straightened his lab coat a bit. "I would assume it's safe to remove these straps now."

"Um," Nick said as Andrew started towards him. "I'm glad you're confident in your own work, Doc, but are you absolutely sure this will work? What if it's a dud?"

"Would you really like a scientific explanation to how I managed to procure your anecdote?" Andrew simply unhooked each strap, leaving Nick to sit up and rub at his wrists.

"Well, I'm no Peter Poker, but I like to learn new things."

"I wouldn't mind knowing either," Judy added.

"Well, in that case," Andrew cleared his throat. "First, I used the sample of your blood and cross-referenced it with the current nighthowler cure, as well as the blood of other victims. What I noticed about your blood was that the serum reproduced at a slow rate and merged with the nearest blood vessel. It managed to remain inside of it without the body recognizing it as a threat and sending white blood cells to attack it. After figuring this out, I simply used a similar effect with the cure. All I did was mutate the cure to where it would do the exact same thing: merge with your blood cells, or at least the ones that were infected. Each cell of the nighthowler serum won't be able to reproduce fast enough to continue infecting you." The doctor looked down at his watch. "Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be. Congratulations, Mr. Wilde, and nice to see you again, Ms. Hopps." And with that, Andrew walked out of the room.

"That guy needs some sleep," Nick said with a raised eyebrow. Judy nodded in agreement. "And to stop drinking energy drinks. Honestly, that's why I stick with coffee."

Judy rolled her eyes, "I think it's time we get out of here. Let's sign you out and get something to eat."

"Wait," Nick said, hopping out of the bed. "What is the ZPD going to say about the majority of Prey being in the hospital?"

"Well, nobody knows the extent of their injuries, and they won't because that's classified information. It's not like the members of Prey can say anything, given that they're going to jail the moment they recover."

"And Suren?"

"Wasn't badly injured at all. He's already in lockup."

Nick and Judy both knew that they were still keeping a secret from Zootopia, but at this point, Mayor Lionheart had even told Chief Bogo that nobody was to know about Nick. For now, that was probably best. Right now, she just wanted to spend some time with her friend.

And hopefully, there would be no dramatic interruptions from some other anti-pred group.