Chapter 25 A Fair way to Die

Edited by Anglofalcon

"Oh come on Nick, it wasn't that bad."

The fox held up his paw as he wobbled off the ride, clutching his stomach. "Carrots, not now. I'm going to hurl."

Nick stumbled towards the nearest trash can, readying himself to empty the contents of his stomach into it.

Why did I order that blueberry pie AND tart...he thought, trying to calm himself. He heard laughter behind him as Judy waltzed up to his side, rubbing his back.

"Geez Nick, with all the crazy things we've done while on chases and cases, you'd think you'd be used to rides like that.

"Nothing we've done has been like that," Nick huffed, though grateful at the sudden back rub as it felt like it was helping calm his stomach. He turned his head, annoyed at the cheerful smile Judy had on. "And as much as I like blueberries, I don't like seeing them a second time after eating them."

"Well, if you can't handle that, then that only leaves the rides for kits left."

"Then a kit I will be!" Nick exclaimed raising his paw into the air and pointing at the sky. "Let's go do the Tilt-a-Whirl again." He paused, his gaze narrowing at Judy. "Just don't spin it like last time."

A very bemused smile lit Judy's face. "What ever do you mean, dear?"

"I'm an elk," a nearby mammal stated, casting a confused glance at the rabbit and fox. Nick snickered as Judy turned to try and explain the situation to the mammal, only for the elk to grumble something about 'dumb bunnies' before stalking off.

"So…" Nick quipped. "Tilt-A-Whirl?"

They did the Tilt-A-Whirl again, only after Judy promised not to spin it like last time. She kept her promise, and didn't spin it like she had.

She spun it the exact opposite way.

"I asked you not to spin it like last time!" Nick groaned, clutching his stomach as he stumbled off the ride.

"Oh, but I didn't, Slick," Judy laughed with a coy smile, placing a paw on her hip. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart. You should know that by now."

Nick waved his paw at the rabbit, narrowing his gaze as he stumbled towards a nearby trashcan. "I am never going to ride anything with you again."

"Even riding in the police cruiser?" Judy asked slyly.

"Especially the cruiser," Nick added as he leaned against the trash can, hoping his guts wouldn't find themselves wanting fresh air anytime soon.

"Alright, I'll try to keep your sensitivities to movement in mind next time we go for a drive," Judy said with a mock pout.

"Thank you," Nick muttered, groaning as he unceremoniously laid his head onto the rim of the metal container, sighing contentedly. "Oh...this feels nice." Patting the side of the trashcan, he managed a weak chuckle. "I think this is my new favorite spot here, Carrots. Besides Gideon's food stall that is."

With a roll of her eyes, Judy grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him away from the waste receptacle as he frantically grabbed at it. "Come on, Nick," she huffed. "Let's find you a seat where you can cool off, hot fox"

"As long as it isn't spinning in three directions," Nick murmured, ears down and tail dragging behind him. "Again, how can you stand those rides."

Judy glanced at the ride they had just been on, one where the rider sat in a chair which both spun vertically and horizontally, all while the ride itself spun in a circle. She shrugged. "I guess that's just a ride that foxes can't handle."

They found a bench and Nick collapsed onto it.

"Oh the joys of an unmoving bench," Nick groaned, patting the chair as Judy chuckled.

"I'm guessing you want to stick to something on the ground for a while?"

Nick nodded, "Would I like that? Yes, yes I would."

"We could try for carnival games then, if you'd like."

His head slowly raised from between his knees, "Aren't those the ones where you have to throw darts at balloons and win prizes, or something like that?"

His partner nodded.

"That's one type, but there are quite a few different games to try, that is..." Gazing at Nick, she noticed his frazzled fur, strained look in his eyes, wilted tail and lowered ears. Feeling a sudden stab of sympathy and regret, Judy realized that maybe she'd had a little too much fun at her boyfriend's expense.

"Hey Nick?" she softly stated, letting her paw move to cover his own. The fox let out a low 'hmm' in response. "I just want to apologize for taking you on all those rides. I thought you might have been exaggerating your discomfort a bit."

"It's ok Carrots," Nick slurred, leaning his head forward again so he could look at her more easily. "Just, maybe only one every hour next time. Or maybe we don't ride the one called Fox's Gambit."

Judy winced at the memory. The ride itself was one of her favorite growing up, one where they'd strap you into a seat that nearly continually flipped you head over tail, while the ride itself swished back and forth like a pendulum.

"Sorry," she squeaked out, her ears falling as Nick easily waved his paw.

"Don't be. At least I can say that, for a bunny, you definitely aren't afraid of foxes." He gave her a cheeky grin and a wink as she giggled.

Nick moved his paw and placed it around Judy's shoulder, pulling her tightly against his side. Reaching behind her, she held his paw, gently rubbing it as they sat for a while, each enjoying the peace the moment brought with it.

After several minutes, Nick leaned forward, stretching his arms and letting out a rather large yawn, his tongue lolling out of his mouth comedically. Judy laughed as he closed his mouth, grinning coyly at her.

"So," Nick began, gazing down at Judy. "I thought I heard you say something about tame carnival games we could play?"

Judy nodded as she hopped off the bench, offering her paw to the fox with a coy smile and her ears half folded bent. "I did mention those," she replied, pausing before adding. "If you're feeling up to getting beaten by a rabbit, that is." She completed her sentence by placing her other paw against her hip while motioning him forward with her paw in a classic, 'bring it on' stance.

"I'm already used to that from our sparring matches, you know," Nick laughed, taking her outstretched paw as she helped hims stand, much of his earlier wooziness gone. "But I believe if you are thinking you can beat me, just because you've been to this podunk festival a few times when I haven't, you have another thing coming to you. You are dealing with a master hustler, Fluff."

"Is that a challenge, Slick?" Judy taunted.

Nick smirked at her before walking in the direction of the carnival games, tilting his head over his shoulder. "Just call it a premonition."

As it turned out, Nick actually was quite good at the games they had played so far, and after competing in a ring toss, basketball shoot, dart throw, along with several others, Judy was growing visibly frustrated. With the last game they played being Whack-A-Bug, a game she usually destroyed her siblings at, Nick had easily and effortlessly trounced her.

"I'm telling you Carrots, there's a pattern to where the bugs come up."

"But it is supposed to be completely random," Judy sputtered, her arms flailing in front of her. "You can't predict random."

Nick simply shrugged. "We could always play again if you'd like me to prove it to you."

"No thanks," Judy grumbled.

"Well, we still need one more game to play," Nick stated, shuffling the four stuffed carrots he held in his paws. "As I think we need five of these little guys before we can upgrade to that big one I saw you had your eye one."

One of Judy's eyebrows arched. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Slick."

"Oh I think you do," Nick laughed, leaning down to smirk closer to her. "You know, the one as big as you are and that if you took the stuffing out of you could probably wear as a Halloween costume…"

"Oh hush you," she playfully shoved the smirking fox, who over-exaggerated the push, allowing himself to be shoved several feet over.

Unfortunately for him, a rather large display of plush carrots was in the way of his performance, tripping the fox. A quick stumble and fall later, Nick found himself buried in the fluffy display. Judy couldn't suppress her laughter as Nick tried to pull himself out of the pile of cotton-filled carrots.

"Hey, fox! What do you think you're doing?! Get out of there! I don't want you stealing anything!" the stall owner, a rather old looking goat, bellowed as he shook his cane in Nick's direction.

Judy frowned, raising her paw. She was about to let the stall owner get a piece of her mind, when Nick put both her paws up in a placating manner.

"I'm terribly sorry sir. This was all an unfortunate misunderstanding and I apologize for my clumsiness."

"A clumsy fox, hmph. More likely a shifty one." The stall owner narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you, fox."

Nick dusted himself off before fixing the display, only to have the goat shoo him away, again accusing him of trying to steal one of the toys.

"I'm watching you," the old codger yelled as Judy and Nick walked away, the rabbit wrapping her arm around her fox. "And stay away from that rabbit, you pelt!"

Through her embrace, Judy felt Nick twitch at the insult, though besides that, he was the perfect semblance of calm with the storm he had just weathered. Looking into his eyes, she didn't see any sort of emotion behind them, just his normal 'don't let them see that they get to you' stare he so often wore. He seemed to have noticed her watching him, and gave her a slight smirk.

"Guess someone had a baaad day."

Judy rolled her eyes before hip-bumping. "Should I have known you would say that?"

"I'd hate to see the day I become that predictable, Carrots," Nick chuckled as the pair perused more stalls.

"Oh, looks like we're here already," Nick announced. "Found the last game we can play, Jude the…"

He grimaced as she elbowed him, giving him a very cold glare. "Do not call me that…" she warned, before turning her attention to the last carnival game on the row.

Judy's eyes opened wide. "Seriously?"

Before them, hanging from the top of the stall, was a stuffed carrot that Judy felt could probably fit Nick comfortably inside of it.

"Nick, are you sure you wouldn't want that for yourself?" Judy questioned, her eyes sparkling with a hint of deviousness behind them, which accompanied an equally duplicitous smile. "You could make it your Halloween costume. Wouldn't even need any face paint as your fur matches it."

"Alright, real funny, Carrots," Nick mumbled. "No, this is one of those stands that we can combine the four plushies we have and earn that big one right there." The fox pointed at the large plush as they closed upon the stand.

The bored looking attendant, a light brown colored young rabbit, leaned tiredly against the counter.

"Does the lady want to try for the prize?" the stall manager asked lazily, covering his mouth as he yawned, all while pointing behind him at a stack of metal milk jugs. "If you knock all those down, you can win the 'Big Carrot' prize." The male rabbit made an attempt of waving his paws in excitement, but it came off more as looking like he was surrendering to them.

"Well, shouldn't it be up to the lady's boyfriend to give her tokens of his love?" Judy suggested coyly, laughing as the rabbit behind the counter nearly fell off his stool at her statement.

"You two are dating?" He blubbered, righting himself on the stool.

Judy's eyes narrowed as she leaned against the counter. "Is that a problem?" The doe was frankly tired of the speciest they'd been receiving today. First the goat, and now this rabbit?

"No, of course not," the stall manager murmured, brushing his paw over his ears. "So, do...do you want to play or not?"

"What do you say, Fluff? Think this fox could win his cute little rabbit a prize?"

The manager of the stall stiffened. "Uh, sir. You...you know that a bunny can call another bunny cute, but when other animals do it..."

Nick smirked, "...it's still absolutely true. In her case at least." He jabbed a paw towards Judy who punched him playfully in his arm. Nick laughed and leaned against the counter. "So, how much does this game cost."

The stall manager replied nervously. "It's only five Zoomoleans." Holding a softball in his paw, he extended it out to Nick, who took it, eyeing the small object. The fox turned to make a humorous quip about how much Judy has been costing him lately, when he noticed her attention wasn't on him or the game at all. He followed her line of sight, and frowned.

A small rabbit with a telephoto lens was leaning against a pole several stalls away, snapping pictures of herself and Nick, at least until he spotted the doe glaring at him and quickly darted around a nearby stall, with only his head sticking out from behind the wall, as his camera still focused on them.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Nick said, quickly grabbing Judy's arm as she began to walk towards where the paparazzi bunny had disappeared. "He isn't worth it. Besides, we have a ball to throw at some bottles."

"Or at that camera," Judy muttered, glancing up at the ball in Nick's paw. Nick frowned, folding his arms across his chest. Something was eating at Judy, he could just tell, but here in front of the stall was not a place to discuss it.

Maybe we can ride the ferris wheel next...he thought, hoping that the privacy of a private area on that ride might lead to a fruitful discussion on introducing Judy to the speciest hate he had known his entire life, and that she was about to receive as well for dating a fox.

Opting for humor to help calm Judy down, he tossed the softball a few times in his paw. "Besides, you throw like a bunny, remember? You'd more likely hit that poor pig with a cane than that small camera."

She glared at Nick, causing him to nervously take a step back from the angry bunny, who's eyes stared into his soul. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say...Nick mused as Judy pointed behind him. His eyes followed her paw towards a dunk tank game a good 100 feet away from where they were standing. Before he even knew what had happened, Judy had leaped up, grabbed the ball out of his paw, rotated in the air and threw the ball straight at the target. It nailed the red circle dead center, sending the surprised antelope sitting above the dunk tank toppling into the water below him.

Judy turned around, a very satisfied look on her face as Nick's jaw dropped. "You were saying, Slick?"

"You needed that for you to play the game, Fox."

Both fox and rabbit looked at the stall manager, who was trying to glare at Nick, but suddenly grew a semi-frightened look as Judy cast a disapproving glance at him. Nick couldn't help but smirk.

"I think I want to give this a try, rabbit," Nick stated, leaning over to grab his wallet from his pocket. "You said we only had to knock down the milk jugs, right?" Nick nodded to Judy, mouthing the word, "pen" as he placed his money on the counter. A momentary look of confusion graced her features, before a sly grin appeared on her face. She nodded, reaching into her pocket to press down on a button on a certain carrot-shaped object within.

"What are we doing, Nick?" Judy asked, as with the fox leaning over towards her, it allowed her to easily whisper into his ear.

"Just a second, Carrots," Nick replied. "Just follow my lead and I think this bunny bumpkin will find that foxes live up to their reputation as being sly."

"That's correct," the manager stated, eyeing the pair inquisitively. "Just knock down the jugs and you win a small carrot. Five smalls equal a large."

"Good, that's good. So we just have to knock down the jugs then," Nick murmured, looking down at Judy who pulled her paw from her pocket with a wink. The fox lazily leaned against the counter, smirking at the manager while talking to his partner. "Hey Carrots, remember how we took down that cheetah last month?"

Judy grinned up at Nick, his plan finally clicking into place. "I sure do. I'm sure that mammal hadn't expected the ZPD's two finest officers to take him down."

The rabbit behind the stall's ears twitched, then, in a moment of clarity, his eyes widened and his paw shot up, pointing at Judy. "You're Officer Hopps?"

She nodded. "That would be correct, and the fox here that you insulted just so happens to be my partner, Officer Wilde."

Nick gave the rabbit a lazy two finger salute before turning to face his partner. "So, ready to win your Big Carrot, Carrots?"

Nick placed the four small plush carrots he held onto the counter, then held out his paws with a smirk, matching the coy grin Judy had plastered on her muzzle. Judy jumped up into Nick's waiting paws, grabbing her legs to form herself into a tight ball. Nick took a few steps back from the stall, and focused on the tower of milk jugs.

"Now hold on just a carrot-picking minute," the stall owner blubbered as Nick closed one eye, focusing on the target.

Neither Nick or Judy paid him any attention as Nick wound up.

"One Judy fastball special, coming up!"

Nick took several steps forward before tossing Judy with all his might towards the jugs. As she careened towards the jugs, she turned in mid-air just as she neared the targets, slamming her feet into the bottom milk jugs at full force.

The metal jugs cracked as the entire tower flew backwards, with most of the jugs shooting out past the back flap of the tent. Judy came to rest near the now empty stand, dusting her paws off before hopping up onto the table that separately her from Nick. The stall manager stood there gaping at them, as Judy jumped up and pulled down the large carrot plush hanging above them.

"You..you cheated! You can't do...THAT! Give that back!" the stall worker yelled, pointing at Judy, then at Nick.

"On the contrary, my cute, fluffy friend," Nick replied, motioning to Judy, who retrieved the carrot pen from her pocket. She pressed the play button.

"That's correct, just knock down the jugs and you win the "Big Carrot,"a voice repeated from the pen.

Nick smiled. "You only said to knock down the pens, and you never clarified how to achieve that..."

"It's with the softball of course," the manager blared, pointing at the object that was still near the dunk tank.

Judy waggled her finger at the stall keeper. "I've read each and every sign on your stall, and not a single one mentions using a softball to knock down the pens.

The stall owner's jaw dropped as Judy passed the immense plush over to Nick, complete delight in her eyes as she winked at the stall owner. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart. You should be familiar with that since you've been pulling one for the past ten years." She placed heavy emphasis on the last few words as Nick's eyebrows raised at her statement.

With that, she leapt off the table, walking away from the stand, as she reached for Nick's paw with one paw, and the carrot with the other. Nick passed the carrot along while eagerly taking her paw in his, pulling her paw up to his lips and placing a quick kiss upon it, before turning to smirk at the stall owner who sat blubbering incoherently on his chair.

"Were we too harsh on him?" Nick asked, as soon as they were a comfortable distance away. Judy shook her head.

"Nah. Those jugs were filled with lead and he's been hustling rabbits for years with that game," Judy replied, remembering just how many Zoomoleans her siblings had lost to that particular stall owner over the years. "I think we're the first ones to win that I've heard of in the ten years he's been here. Popular opinion stated he glued them down, but considering the holes I saw below those pins, as well as the rusty metal filings I saw underneath them, he most likely nailed a few of them down."

Nick burst into laughter, nearly doubling over as the pair began heading for the stage where the blueberry eating contest would be held. He wiped at his eyes, still snickering as Judy cuddled against the massive carrot in her arm. "I should be paid for how well I've trained you in the art of hustling," the fox remarked.

"Would you accept payment in kisses?" Judy coyly replied with a jump to her step.

Nick simply grinned. "Why Carrots, that is the only payment I'd take for offering the services of such an excellent hustler as myself."

Judy halted, jumping in front of her fox with her plush carrot placed between them. "Then I think that I want to pay off a little of my debt now, and then the interest later."

The fox chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced at the animals around them. "For some reason, I think your parents are going to find out about us being a couple before we get to tell them ourselves."

"They'll find out either way," Judy grinned. "Now, about that payment, close your eyes."

Nick did as he was told, closing his eyes as a silly smirk crossed his lips.

Judy smiled, then inched closer to the fox, laughing as she quickly brought up her stuffed carrot and placed it against his awaiting lips.

Her laughter stopped when she heard a whizzing sound go straight between her ears, as well as a soft splat sound just above her head. She gazed upwards, her eyes widening in shock as the plush fell to the ground, a bright blue stain dripping down from the top of it.

"Aw Scat!"

Judy turned at hearing the curse, spotting what looked like a zebra about ten yards away placing something into a pocket of his coat. The two mammals made eye contact, causing the zebra to curse again, turn, then bolt away.

"Judy, what's going on?" Nick asked, opening his eyes, concerned when he saw the worried look in his partner's eyes and how her ears had fallen behind her head.

"Night howlers...that zebra has night howlers."

Nick froze as he heard the hushed words Judy spoke before she had sprinted off down the pathway.

"Judy, what's going on!" Nick yelled, jogging, then sprinting, after her.

She turned back to look at him, "That zebra almost hit you with night howlers!"

Nick looked back at the plush toy laying on the ground behind him, recoiling at the sight of the blue splatter dripping down from the plush. He glanced at a nearby family of horses that were staring at him

"Do not let anyone touch that!" He yelled frantically, sprinting off after Judy while pointing at the plushie. The horses nodded, staring at the odd scene of a fox chasing a rabbit. "And call the police!" he added as the youngest horse pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began dialing into his phone.

Thankfully for Nick and his years of living on the streets of Zootopia, he had managed to gain an excellent sense of direction, as well as a distinct ability of memorizing avenues and alleyways in case he ever needed to use them. After walking for several hours around the fairly small grounds the festival was hosted on, he had nearly all the pathways memorized.

He couldn't see who Judy was chasing, but as he watched Judy take a sharp left turn, he plowed ahead at full speed.

That path should curve around and come back out right about…

There!

Nick watched in satisfaction as a zebra burst around the corner only twenty feet ahead of him, the mammal's hooves digging into the dry dirt as he tried taking the turn too sharp, kicking up a cloud of dust. Judy hot on the zebra's tail as the rabbit nearly barreled into Nick as she turned the corner.

"What took you so long, Carrots?" Nick asked, amusement in his voice, though it wasn't showing on his face.

"Took the scenic route apparently," Judy growled, jumping to her right to avoid a pig laying on the ground that the zebra had just pushed out of his way.

"This is the guy we're chasing then?" Nick asked, earning a nod from Judy as the two dipped and dodged through the crowded fairgrounds, trying to keep the zebra in their line of sight. "Either this guy has no idea where the exit is, or he's hoping he can outlast us," Nick stated, grinning as he noticed they were gaining on the other mammal. "How naive of him."

The zebra turned his head, his eyes narrowing as he saw the fox and rabbit chasing him. His hoof slid into his coat pocket and both Judy's and Nick's eyes widened as he pulled a very familiar gun from it.

"Ah great," Nick grunted. He lunged at Judy, both of them tumbling to the ground as the zebra shot off another nighthowler pellet at them.

Judy turned to see where they had just been, gulping at the blue smear in the dirt. Both got to their feet and resumed the chase after Judy gave a warning to everyone not to touch the blue smear.

Now much further behind, the two had to rely upon the sudden shouts and cries of pain of mammals being pushed and shoved in the zebra's desperate attempt to flee.

"He's heading for the food court," Judy gasped, fear tugging at her heart. If he reached the food court, there was little chance they'd catch him.

"That will lead him straight out of the fairgrounds," Nick growled as he pushed himself to run even faster, suddenly thankful at the ice treatments that Bonnie had forced upon him.

They turned the corner that led straight into the picnic area and managed to catch a glimpse of the zebra as he tried darting in between tables and booths.

"Judy, go right, I'll take left."

The rabbit nodded as they split up, opting to run around the picnic area instead of through it.

That stupid longears. She just had to go and do something stupid...the zebra thought as he knocked into a booth made for smaller mammals, just as a family of lemmings jumped away from it. Tripping over an overturned chair, he barely caught himself, but lost nearly all his forward speed as he took several steps forward on all four hooves before righting back to his hind legs.

Boss is going to hate me for messing up again. Why is it so hard to just hit that idiot fox?…

One last table was all that stood in his way as he saw the exit to the fairgrounds ahead of him. Daring to look behind him, he grinned as neither the rabbit or fox cops could be seen.

Finally lost them…

He turned his head forward, his grin still in place, right as a pair of rabbit sized feet connected into the side of his head.

Judy smiled in satisfaction as she landed a perfect double kick to the zebra's cheek. Falling backwards, she spun once in the air, landing gracefully on her feet and a single paw, looking up to see her handiwork. The zebra flew several yards before smashing into the grass, rolling several times before managing to slide onto his knees. He glared up at Judy, wiping his mouth as he stood.

"You kick like a rabbit," he snorted, spitting in her direction.

"I'd call that a compliment," Nick shouted from several yards behind the zebra. The striped animal turned his head, his glare tightening at the fox standing quite non-chalantly only a little ways away. "From the looks of that kick, she was taking it easy on you. Isn't that right Carrots?"

Judy grinned, taking advantage of the zebra's inattentiveness to her to sneak forward several feet, before the zebra turned back to look at her.

"You have nowhere to run," Judy began, keeping her muscles tense. "The police will be here soon, so you might as well just lay down, and put your hooves behind your back."

"And if I don't?" the zebra sneered.

"Then we'll finally have an answer to the riddle of what is black and white, and red all over," Nick quipped, his tail swishing behind him as he noticed the zebra tense. "Your choice," the fox added with a shrug.

"Shut your trap, half-mutt!"

The zebra lunged at Nick, who, despite his rather casual stance, managed to deftly avoid the incoming hoof by falling forward and slightly to his right, kicking his leg out as he did. The fox's foot smashed into the zebra's shin, causing the larger mammal to stumble forward, his muzzle planting itself into the dirt for a second time.

"Don't get up now," Nick teased, though his ears remained flat as Judy ran to his side. "Just move your hooves behind your back and…"

The zebra had other ideas as his back hooves kicked out, nearly catching both Nick and Judy straight in their muzzles. The two stumbled backwards as the zebra stood, then turned and lunged at them again, his hooves flying towards both officers, hoping to catch them together in a wide haymaker.

The height difference was the only saving grace that saved the pair from a concussion, as the zebra's hoof narrowly missed them, flying straight over their heads, but clipping both their ears. Stumbling back saved them from the second punch which sliced the air where they had just stood.

Both rabbit and fox leapt in different directions as the third swing smashed into the ground between them.

"You're quick," the zebra growled as the two officers rolled to their feet on either side of their assailant.

"Good thing too," Judy scoffed, circling the zebra slowly as Nick did the same.

The sound of approaching sirens in the distance caught all their attention. Judy's ears turned in that direction as Nick smirked.

"What do you think, Carrots. Will they taze or tranq him? I'm preferring both at the moment." Nick remarked.

The statement earned a growl from the zebra. "Neither of em," he growled. "Boss is going to hate me anyways for all this and you two ain't worth my time."

The zebra darted towards a nearby food stand, with Judy right in his way. The rabbit dodged to her left as the zebra stomped right through the space she was just in, growling in annoyance as the zebra then changed direction towards Nick. The fox's grin fell as the mammal approached with Nick backing up as the zebra was nearing him at a sprint.

"Now, I know we don't get along, but that's no need for violence, OH MY!" Nick yelped as he jumped backwards and underneath a nearby picnic table, one which the zebra didn't see as his focus was completely on the fox. With said fox grinning, the zebra's head smashed directly into the wooden construct with a sickening thud.

"Looks like someone is a fan of rock music after that headbanging session," Nick laughed, turning to leave the relative protection the table had offered him.

The larger mammal stumbled once to his knees, rubbing his head with his hoof before Judy's feet again slammed into left cheek, knocking the hoofed mammal over once more.

Going into the dirt and grass for a third time, the zebra groaned as Judy offered her paw to Nick who was climbing out from under the table.

"I didn't figure you two would give me so much trouble," the zebra muttered, stumbling to his feet, blinking his eyes several times. Wiping his snout, and laughing as he saw a line of red on his hoof, he shook his head.

"What all in tarnation is going on around here, Miss Judy?"

"Gi...Gideon?" Judy whirled around to see the plump fox jogging towards them. Her eyes went wide. "Get out of here now!"

Nick sent a quick glare at the baker ambling towards them, before turning his attention back to their assailant.

His ears fell.

The zebra had his serum gun pointed directly at them.

"JUDY DOWN!"

Nick rammed the bunny directly in her chest, holding her close as he heard a pop accompanied by a speeding blue blur passing directly over his head. They hit the dirt, Judy groaning as Nick turned to see the zebra's eyes go wide. The mammal mumbled a quick curse word, dropping his gun and taking several steps back before bolting behind a nearby stall and out of view.

The fox was about to give chase, when he heard a series of snarls and snorts behind him.

"Oh no," he heard Judy whisper as a feral roar split the air.

"Savage! There's a savage fox in the food court!" someone yelled a sudden silence filling the eating area.

Nick's head slowly turned towards where the baker had been standing, only to see him on all four paws, a blue stain splattered against his right cheek. His eyes locked onto them.

"Not again," Nick muttered, quickly grabbing Judy's paw and running away from the picnic area as the now savage fox gave chase.

Gideon snarled as he darted after them, with mammals jumping out of the way, over tables and behind stalls and stands as the savage fox raced after the two mammals it was focused on. Screaming mammals fled in all direction, knocking over chairs and tables in their mad dash to escape. A crying baby bunny sat abandoned next to a nearby table, being scooped up by a passing deer as Nick and Judy raced past.

"So, this seems oddly familiar," Nick shouted, chancing a look behind him, gulping as he noticed Gideon, with all his heft and weight, gaining on them. "Have any plans, Carrots?" he asked as Judy yelled for the mammals in front of them to flee.

"Maybe?" she replied tentatively, watching as nearly everyone ahead of them heeded her call of alarm. "Think you can distract him for a bit?"

"It will cost you a few extra kisses," Nick responded. Judy smirked, then as they ran past another stall, the rabbit made a quick jump to her left, disappearing behind a stall wall. "Bring him back to the picnic area!" he heard Judy yell as she scampered away.

"Easier said than done," Nick groaned, skidding to a stop along the path, then flattening to the ground as Gideon leapt above him, the savage fox's claws barely missing him before Nick pushed himself off the ground and bolted back the way he came. Gideon skidded in the dirt, his eyes flashing rage as a low rumbling snarl left his throat before he gave chase after Nick again.

"Get out of the way!" Nick yelled, waving his arms madly at the few remaining mammals standing in the main pathway before him. The last few animals scattered as the two foxes ran past.

Judy, I hope you know what you're doing…

Nick charged ahead, the picnic area thirty yards ahead when he saw Judy's head poke up from above a stall at the end of the path, a large roll of fabric in her paws. "Jump when I tell you too!" she yelled, with Nick giving her a quick nod as he picked up speed, again thankful that Bonny had forced him to use her ice pack remedy.

With Gideon gaining on him, Nick put on a final burst of speed as Judy finished tying one side of the fabric she held to a pole of a nearby stand. Judy sprinted across the pathway, trailing the heavy fabric behind her with it laying flat on the ground.

Their eyes met, and the command was yelled.

"JUMP!"

"So, Bonnie, how have we been doing today?" Stu asked, walking up behind his wife, rubbing her shoulders in an affectionate manner.

The other rabbit hmm'ed contentedly. "Better than last year it seems. I think the pictures of Judy are bringing in more folks though." She waved a few of the newspaper clippings and photos of their daughter scattered around their stand, which was situated more towards the entrance of the carnival grounds.

"I wonder how they're doing," Bonnie mumbled, watching as one of her other sons began serving a customer who came up to their stall.

"Oh, you mean Jude and Nick?" Stu asked. Bonnie nodded. "Oh, I bet they're fine," he laughed, waving his paw.

"Savage! There's a savage fox in the food court!"

The yell broke forth, followed soon by screams and panicked shouts. Within a few seconds, a horde of mammals was spotted running towards the entrance of the grounds, followed shortly by the wail of police sirens appearing outside.

"What's going on?" Stu yelled at the fleeing mammals, grateful when a pig finally stopped at their stand, panting frantically. "What's going on?"

"Fox...savage," the pig gasped, pointing in the direction of the food court. "Chasing a rabbit." The pig, a frantic look in his eyes, stumbled, pushed from behind by a family of goats trying to flee.

The festival had devolved into chaos, yet when Bonnie and Stu looked at one another, only one thought passed through their minds.

"Judy…"

Nick did as he was told, jumping just as Judy pulled the fabric up behind him. The snarling fox behind Nick couldn't stop in time, running straight into the cloth, the force of his charge yanking Judy off her feet as the savage tangled himself in the fabric. Judy rolled to her feet as Nick ran to her side, both now staring at the pile of moving cloth.

"Are you good at tying knots?" Nick quipped as they ran towards the tangled mess of cloth and fur.

She didn't have time to respond as a tearing sound reached their ears. Skidding to a stop only a few feet away from the moving tangle, several claws tore through the fabric, with the snarls underneath becoming more pronounced. With a large ripping sound, Gideon's claws tore a larger hole through the material, allowing enough room for the snarling mammal to jump through, albeit clumsily, landing directly on Nick.

"A little help here!" Nick yelped, grabbing at Gideon's paw that swiped at his neck, while trying to push the snarling mammals head away with his other paw. A sudden yelp, and the weight was lifted off his body as Judy sent a kick directly into Gideon's side. Growling in pain, Gideon snapped his jaws, turning onto his feet as he focused on the rabbit standing before him.

I want you to remember this moment when you thought you could be anything more, than a stupid, carrot farming dumb bunny.

The words reverberated through Judy's mind from 15 years previous as she stared down the savage fox before her.

No, not a savage...Judy thought, backing up and to the side, leading Gideon's attention away from Nick was was struggling to his feet. She took several steps backwards, only for Gideon to charge. He's not a savage at heart. It's just the serum making him this way. Turning on her heels, she fled, hearing the soft thumps of paws chasing her down. Don't hurt him, he's not like the old Gideon...he's changed.

The picnic area didn't provide much room for movement and trying to focus on both paying attention to where she was running, as well as making sure Gideon was following her, caused her to miss an exposed root of the elm tree she and Nick had eaten under earlier. Judy tumbled forward, scrambling onto her feet, only to hear a snarl behind her. Her eyes went wide as she tried to turn, only to grunt in pain as the back of Gideon's paw smacked into her, knocking her towards the baker's own pie stall.

She rolled to a stop, flipping onto her back as she saw the fox stalking towards her. Backing up, she suddenly found her back pressed against the wood of Gideon's stall.

Bonnie and Stu were frightened as they pushed their way through the panicked crowd of mammals, trying to make their way to the now nearly emptied eating area.

"Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing?"

Bonnie looked behind her, startled when she saw little July running after her, tears in the young doe's eyes.

"July, what are you doing!" Bonnie cried, stopping only momentarily so that her granddaughter could catch up to her. "Go back to your father at the stand.

July shook her head. "I want to help Aunt Judy."

Bonnie cast a quick look at Stu, who shook his head before darting forward again, the patriarch of the Hopps' home making much better progress as the crowds thinned.

The three rabbits ran forward, turning around a final stall, their full horror realized as they saw Judy pressed against the back of a food stall, with Gideon Grey, leaping towards her.

"No…" Bonnie yelled as July rounded the corner.

July turned the corner, her ears falling flat behind her.

"JUUUUUUDDDDDDY!"

For the second time, she found herself staring into the angry eyes of Gideon Grey stalking towards her. Nose twitching, Judy's eyes went wide as she looked for an escape. Nick was running towards her, but seemed too far away to help.

Look at her nose twitch...she is scared.

Those words, seemed so appropriate for the second time in her life.

She was scared as the fox scraped a paw at the dirt, preparing to lunge.

Gideon's eyes narrowed, and he let loose a feral growl as he leapt towards Judy, one of his paws hanging above him in the air.

Judy was transfixed at the sight, her memories of so long ago freezing her in place, despite all her police training. She could have rolled to either side. Judy could have rolled forward under the charging fox's claws.

She could have done anything, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the sight of Gideon rearing up in front of her, preparing to deliver what looked like a lethal blow.

She didn't register the fear mixed with angry determination in Nick's eyes as he ran towards her.

She didn't notice the look of horror in her parents eyes, or how Stu's knees nearly gave out at the sight of the feral fox standing above his daughter.

Judy didn't even hear little July screaming her name.

All she saw was Gideon's paw being raised, his claws shining in the sun.

Judy raised her own paw, hoping it could deflect the oncoming blow, closing her eyes and hoping that she'd be able to survive what she knew was coming. She braced for the pain she hoped wouldn't come, as the world seemed to slow. Gideon's claws seemed to float in the air.

Everything went still and quiet, as if the world was holding its breath...

...just as Gideon's claws swiftly descended towards her throat.