A/N: So many follows. So many favs. So many reviews! My email keeps blowing up! And thats okay cause it gives me an excuse to stop dealing with work, or the dishes, or something else less important but I'm too lazy to come up with anything... REVIEWS!
Venomheart the Dreamer: What? No faith in the bun bun?
Libious: Thanks! Was really worried about how the fight scene would look.
Camoss: Well, that would be a twist. But nah, simply pissed about them hurting his mate.
Robert Escher: Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, not every chapter can have Trisha ;) especially with her and Sarah's own story! *shameless Sweet Treatment plug*
ebolson: Does seem a bit short, huh?
Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: I hope I never put Judy through that kind of beating again. Bad Fox!
DrummerMax64: Wouldn't mind seeing Nick nail up a lion pelt above the ZPD door myself
Starfang's Secrets: Oooooh, that would probably not go over well, but it would actually be less problematic than him thinking he abused a scent mark. But since rabbit/fox couples are all but nonexistent, it could possibly blow their cover.
Man, a lot of you really liked the fight scene and that blows me away! I'm really happy I managed to do the one proper, so thank you all!
Also, if anyone would like to see some of my other works, "Sweet Treatment" (medical OC drama starring Sundae Hopps and Trisha Rose as a couple) will be updated next and my newest 'A Ghostly Love" about 19th century Judith Hopps and a mysterious manor (No not like Haunted Mansion! that stupid ass movie is ruining everything!)
Disclaimer: So I had planned on going to Disneyworld to try and steal the rights to Zootopia the other day but I found out other friends from Fanfiction were going to be there and I had to abandon my plans. They can never see who I am. No one can know my secret. *Attempts to vault rooftop dramatically. Trips. Bangs shin. Hobbles away whimpering*
Chapter 38 - When it rains...
Sarah had been right. Three days was not nearly enough time for Judy to heal properly. She was barely able to walk without limping every few steps and her ribs were still extremely tender. Deep breaths sparked flashes of pain across her chest, making her involuntarily wince. Luckily the bruising on top of her foot had healed enough that the pain had faded away, though she would need to be careful to taking a blow there as the flesh was still soft.
She was under no illusions. She knew she wasn't ready to get back into the arena. She wouldn't last a warm-up session with a bag in her current state let alone a bout against a seasoned opponent. However their one and only shot at infiltrating the league took place in under ten hours and Judy was dead set on making it to the next location, a recycling plant currently under remodel in Sahara Square. Her only obstacle, besides the aching bones and screaming muscles, was a four foot tall mesh of russet fur and emerald eyes.
"We're not going, Carrots." Judy couldn't help but roll her eyes. They had spent the better part of the last two days arguing about continuing the investigation. Nick had made a few valid points, she had to admit. He felt that the league wasn't a big enough problem to warrant a full undercover investigation for standard illegal fighting and gambling which she had to agree with. The assignment seemed a tad overblown for something as simple as it seemed, though Judy's assessment stemmed from an analytical viewpoint whereas Nick's was solely focused on his mate's safety.
"Nick, we've been over this. We have a job to do and tonight is our only guarantee we'll be able to get our foot in the door." Sitting on the bed, Judy pulled on the leg braces Sarah had provided her to help support her walking. It made her able to feign walking properly though not without considerable discomfort and pain. Her sister had told her they were for helping her heal only, but she wasn't going to let her first undercover mission end on a savage beat down where she could instead get close enough to hopefully serve up Claw on a silver platter. She also strapped on the chest protector and padding Sarah had given her, designed to keep her ribs in place to make breathing easier. All of this went on under her neoprene combat uniform where she then strapped on her gauntlets and other armor pieces. They had saved her hide in the first match and she wasn't going to go without them this time.
Nick threw up his paws in exasperation. "Can't we just call in a raid to break this whole thing up? What's stopping us from doing that? We know where it is. We have enough evidence to bring these guys in." Leaning down next to the chair she was currently sitting in, he locked eyes with hers. "I can't watch you go through that. Not again. I won't lose my mate to some stupid case that means practically nothing to the outside world."
Touched by his concern, her gray paw reached up and caressed his russet cheek, dragging her digits through his fur making his eyes close and a low purr emanate from his throat. "Sweetie, I'm not gonna pretend this is all chocolate and rainbows. It could get dangerous, we both know that. But if I think I can't handle the fight, I just won't do it. I'm not foolish enough to get myself killed just to add a few years to the bastard's sentence." Her face, which had been gazing at him lovingly, suddenly turned pensive. "I can't help but think something else is going on though. Southpaw spent six weeks in there. If there was only this illegal ring to breakup, why not do so then? Especially after cover had been blown."
"You think there's something he kept out of his report?" Nick was busying himself with putting on his black suit. He couldn't stop her from leaving but he'd be damned if she was going alone. They also had their cover to keep so regardless of his personal feelings, he wrapped the tie around his neck and cinched it tight, the businessmammal look complete.
"Honestly? I really don't know." She made a face at the recollection of their dealings with the coyote. "I mean he's a speciest and a jackass but from what I read in his file he's a competent officer and one of the better undercover cops in the ZPD. He's also straight as an arrow according to IA-"
"Wait. You got into his IA folder?" Nick was a little rocked by her admission of getting access to sealed reports. "That could get you suspended, Carrots."
His bunny merely shrugged, unconcerned by the implications. "I wanted to look into him to make sure we were going into this forewarned. Besides, I didn't get into anything. Holton owed me a favor so it was easy to get a copy." Holton was a hippopotamus that worked in ZPD archives. He had access to every file that had ever gone through the system. All the way from jaywalking reports to sealed IA files on even the Chief himself. Everything save for the Black records, those files deemed by the Chief Justice, the mayoral office and the acting head of the ZPD to be too dangerous to release to public eyes. "Best I could find is that he's clean, so either he's under orders not to reveal more information, which personally I think Bogo would have provided to us, or he's gone rogue which is unlikely, or he simply didn't make enough progress to learn anything worthwhile."
Standing and testing her maneuverability, doing a few warm up stretches, she found she could move fairly well but trying to increase her speed proved problematic. She would probably be able to land a few punches, maybe a strong kick before her body decided to give out and would be helpless against her opponent, but she failed to see any other way to get in deeper. "Let's get going, Nick. We need to be on time or the whole thing will have been a wash."
She wasn't surprised that Nick stood in her way, one last desperate plea on his lips. "Carrots. I don't want you to go through that again. And hurting this bad? Don't try to deny it," he quickly said, watching her open her mouth to protest, "I can see the pain in your eyes whenever you move. You're compromised, you're going to get yourself hurt, and you're not even listening to me, are you?"
"Not really. But it's cute how much you want to protect me." Giving him a quick hug and hauling him down for a kiss to the cheek, she straightened her outfit, smoothing the bunches around her braces as much as possible. "C'mon Slick. We have a schedule to keep." Not wanting to disappoint his mate, the tod followed along, though not without letting forth a stream of grumbles of protest.
"Name?" The reception at the newest fight location was a lot more pleasant than the last. As they had rolled up, they had found themselves blocked by a guard gate with a lowered draw arm. With the last location being an abandoned building, security had been much more flamboyant, mammals running around with automatic weapons tossing around threats of death. Now, being in a plant simply being remodeled, the security was actually organized and much less chaotic.
"The name's Faber. Theo Faber." Nick let out a toothy grin, trying his best to appear as cool as he felt with his new shades. While he was worried about his bunny's well-being, he couldn't help but feel a certain thrill about walking into a hostile situation, playing the role of a bored millionaire who spends his days managing underground fighters.
Scanning the list, the hyena glanced up at him from behind his own shades. "List says the name is 'Aaron.'" Nick made an effort to appear overly dramatic.
"He remembered! You hear that, Harley?" He turned to look at the black rabbit beside him who looked genuinely annoyed at his antics. "Ol' Claw remembered my name." With a raised brow at the mention of the boss's name which almost no one actually knew, the hyena crossed the name off the list and raised the bar. The fox and rabbit drove into the parking lot of the large plant in front of them. There was no hidden garage for the cars as a storage hanger directly to the left had it's sliding doors wide open, showing a multitude of vehicles they recognized from the last event along with multiple new ones.
Getting out of the vehicle, Judy had to work hard to conceal a flash of pain from showing on her face. She needed to appear strong, fearing that any sort of weakness could be enough to remove them from the league or give any opponents she might face hints on how to beat her. Nick for his part had to restrain himself from rushing to his mate's side as her knee subtly shook. It would not be noticeable to anyone who was not close by, but his sudden movement would be suspicious and the last thing they needed was to bring attention to themselves.
The duo made their way down the connecting hall from the hanger to the main processing floor. It was along that passage that the two officers noticed the security that had been noticeably absent from the last fight. Multiple mammals were stationed at every other entrance door, automatic rifles in paw. This much firepower, there's no way this is just a fighting league, Nick thought to himself, careful not to show any outward sign of his suspicions, though he could tell Judy was thinking much the same as her eyes darted from armed guard to armed guard, all different species yet all predators.
Eventually they reached the door to the inside of the plant where this time it was a coyote that held the door open for them. Normally that level of hospitality was shown only for the high rollers who wagered an obscene amount of money on the fights, managers and fighters having to enter from the side entrances. However, new fighters were also led through the main crowd, giving those with money a chance at seeing the new blood. Because of her injury, the overseer had been running her fight with John Rambo on some of the monitors as she entered to sway their opinions on the slow moving doe.
Seeing the many pairs of eyes focused on her, Judy attempted to stand as tall and as steady as possible. Still favoring her right side due to a pinched nerve in her calf, she tried to hide it as best she could. Thankfully she was spared from being ogled when they were directed up to the overseer's office. Nick had to assist her several times up the steep stairs, trying to be as discrete as possible. Though they were silent, Nick could still feel the bunny let out several gasps of pain.
Finally reaching the door, they were unsurprised to see their least favorite striped feline waiting for them. Nick had to control the urge to snarl at the cat that had forced his mate into a steel prison to get beaten while making him watch. He wanted to carve the smug sneer off his face and rip his throat out, but he would keep those thoughts to his imagination until his next training session with the bag.
The door swinging wide, the tod and doe entered expecting to see the fluffed mane of the mammal in charge. Instead they were greeted by an enormous black bear, sitting behind a desk, most likely the plant manager's. He looked up from the documents and files in front of him, putting his full attention on the two mammals in front of him.
"Well, well, well. The 'Thunder' returns." Judy shot Nick a glowering look, annoyed more than ever at the terrible nickname idea he had come up with, however the fox was sporting a large smirk and seemed quite pleased with himself. "I'll get right down to it as I am a bear of little patience and zero care for the dramatic. Corday, this was a test to see if you had the guts and the will to see this through. We're not going to put you into a fight this soon as an injured combatant doesn't bring enough revenue. You have a week to heal up. If you can't perform by then you don't need to bother ever showing up to our doorstep again. Now, you're welcome to stay and watch the matches or you can head to wherever it is you call home and rest up. Mr. Faber however, you will stay. I have need of you for the moment."
Casting her fox a hesitant glance, her instincts going haywire at the thought of him being in trouble, she was relieved to see a discrete wink sent her way. She didn't want to leave him but their cover needed to be maintained and for now she was a fighter put on injured leave. She would have no interest in what her manager had to deal and so she must act the part.
Watching his doe leave, Nick had a difficult time keeping himself from immediately following. He knew that if his protective instincts were this bad, it was a miracle she could stand let alone walk away. Her strength always amazed him, both in spirit and body, but to see her accomplishing this when she must be under such strain made him so proud of his mate. All too soon however, as the door closed behind her and he realized he was still in the office with a predator five times his mass, the reality of the situation came crashing down on his head.
"Mr. Faber, we are in a bit of a predicament. One that you could help alleviate." Putting on a cocky grin, one of a mammal used to be held in high importance and always being sought, Nick had a hard time containing both his glee at learning some potentially useful info and his fears that it could cause some major problems with their investigation.
"Whatever you need, I'm your mammal. I've got connections everywhere. Drugs? Money laundering? Females? Or males, too. I'm not one to judge, Maw. Your secret is safe with me," Nick finished with a wink and a toothy grin.
Clapping a paw to his face, the bar let out a muffled sigh. God. Claw was right. This guy is fucking annoying. "Mr. Faber, we are not interested in any of that. One of our managers will no longer be working with us and this has left a gap in our league's system."
"Gap huh? Well I suppose I could check around, see if any of my old gym crews are still operating and get you a new guy. What happened to the old one anyway? He move or something?"
"Or something," the bear snarled, signaling the end of that conversation. "I don't need another manager. I'm assigning his two fighters to you for the immediate future."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This ain't what we signed up for. I'm here representing Harley and that's it. I'm not interested in picking up the slack from some bum manager who ain't even around anymore and babysit his weak links." Nick's bravado lasted as long as it took for the bear to stand and reach his full height.
"Faber. We're not asking. We're informing you that you will be taking on these two along with Harley. Don't like it? Then take your rabbit and get out. Otherwise," he slid a pair of manila folders to the edge of the table, "take these and get the hell out of my office."
Wrestling with his desire to sucker punch the bear and slap a pair of cuffs on him, Nick swept up the two files and left, grumbling loudly. This assignment is a bigger pain in the ass than Wolford's ghost pepper chili. Exiting the door, he stopped at the top of the staircase and opened each file to see what he would have to be working with. The first mammal, a large male gray squirrel, seemed to be alright. Impressive stats and fighting record with a memo note about being a bit submissive to his trainers but tended to avoid managers as much as possible. They could work with that whenever they needed time to do some sneaking around to get any intel they could on the league. Satisfied, he switched to the second folder and opened it. His eyes grew wide and his stare threatened to burn a hole through the photo. Oh crap. Carrots is soooo not gonna like this.
Leaving her fox to fend for himself, Judy headed back down the staircase to the middle floor where most of the betting was taking place. She needed to take it slow and use the railing more than she would like, but with only a week until her next fight, she needed the least amount of strain on her body as possible and right now that meant trading a bit of her pride for safety.
Reaching the mid-floor, she wandered around trying to see if there was any useful information she could overhear or observe from the betting mammals. After a few minutes however, she had to admit defeat. The only thing the high rollers discussed were the betting odds each fight had and complaints from more than a few that fights had to be rigged in some way. She scoffed at that last part, feeling the bruised ribs beneath her vest that caused her to wince with each breath she drew. She determined that if she was to learn anything, it would most likely be the fighters themselves. Prey tended to interact with each other better than predators so she had a feeling it would be more to her benefit to seek out the others.
Heading down to the basement level, just one floor beneath the improvised ring, Judy took note of each storage room she passed, noticing the miniature gyms that had been arranged inside. She paused by one door watching as a goat pummeled a punching bag hanging from the support beams. His speed was rather impressive for a goat, but it was the power behind each hoof strike that gave her some trepidation. Taking down a rhino that had ZPD training was much different than dealing with seasoned fighters who trained their bodies beyond the limit. If there was anything her fight with the ram had taught her, it was that she was not invincible and definitely not the top of the food chain when it came to fighting. If she had not gotten lucky, they wouldn't even be here at all.
Several attempts to engage the other fighters, even one of the few bunnies, led nowhere. It appeared that everyone kept to a strict training regimen and any attempt at conversation was met with suspicion, most likely fueled by a distrust at the motives of other mammals to elicit sympathy or soften towards a future opponent. As such, little to no info was gained by traveling through the fighters pit, other than scoping out the competition, most of whom seemed on par if not better than herself.
After watching several of her potential opponents, noting their strength and speed at the bags, she eventually broke away, deciding that if no one was going to talk to her that she may as well do a bit of exploring. She didn't expect to really find anything as they had only occupied the factory for a couple of days but the saying of 'leave no stone unturned' applied to every investigation. Taking a corridor in the far right of the training room, Judy kept her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, but unfortunately everything seemed to be exactly what it was supposed to be. Removed walls showed exposed pipes and electrical cords while small scaffolds were scattered throughout the halls to work on the ceilings. It was until she had turned down the third corridor that something interesting happened.
A wolf, who she quickly realized was one of the ones who held Nick back during her fight, exited from a side door halfway up the hall. She ducked behind one of the scaffolds, peering between the bars to observe him as best she could without being seen. The canine glanced up and down the hallways, making sure the coast was clear before turning back and pulling out a padlock. Slipping it through the latch on the door, the metal made a distinctive 'click' that echoed down the hallway. Once again scanning the hallway, Judy ducked low, letting the wolf move off. Luckily he headed the opposite direction or she would have been easily found out.
Waiting a full minute in the shadows, Judy eventually felt the coast was clear enough to move further down the hall to the room now padlocked shut. Giving another quick glance further along, straining her ears for any sounds, she was satisfied that she was alone. Examining the lock, she let out a snort. As much as these guys make they could do with a better lock. Glancing around she saw a metal shim on the floor along with a small section of steel piping. Inserting the shim into the bar, she twisted and hauled down tightly, straining her muscles against the solid metal. With the pipe, she smacked it several times before the claw popped loose and the padlock opened. Sometimes it pays to have an ex-conmammal as a mate, she thought with a sly smile. Once again checking to see if her actions had been heard and satisfied that she was still alone, Judy opened the door and slipped inside.
Instantly she realized her mistake. There was not a shred of light anywhere beyond the door, leaving her completely blind. She would normally rely on her hearing in a situation like that, but all that she could detect was a low hissing sound coming from all around her. She was worried it might be gas and quickly held her breath before remembering the wolf came out without a mask. Still she took some precaution, letting herself inhale only a small amount of the air through her nose to detect any contaminants that might be floating in the air. Not feeling any sort of lethargy or sickness overtaking her, she was satisfied she was in the clear and took a few steps forward only for lights to start flickering on. Must be a motion sensor switch, she surmised. As the overhead lights clicked on traveling along the room, Judy's paws slapped to her mouth to muffle a shocked cry.
Heading down to the assigned training areas, Nick couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at what he was being asked to do. The case was becoming far more complicated than they had anticipated, what with Judy becoming injured and now being saddled with two new fighters who weren't in on the operation. If they didn't have the hotel room to fall back to, Nick would pull the plug immediately, finding it far too constricting to get anything figured without blowing unease deepened as he moved down the stairways into the training areas.
Nearly every mammal that viewed him either eyed him as a potential victim or analyzed as someone who might be worthwhile as a manager replacement. What was really disturbing was how insanely built some of the mammals were. The sight of a ewe nearly the same size as Dawn Bellweather putting her hoof through a punching bag had him shuddering at the thought of being stuck in the ring with her. Most of the mammals in fact were smaller than him and, even with his muscle mass and training, he doubted he would last five minutes against any of them. He was very worried for his bunny.
Catching sight of his newest recruit, Nick made his way over to the far side of the makeshift gym. Observing the large gray squirrel backflipping while assaulting a stationary training torso, he had to admit it was an impressive sight. He knew squirrels were normally agile but this one seemed to have advanced far beyond what was considered 'normal' for his species. Launching himself off the wall, he struck the soft neck with his left foot before spinning and striking the head with his right. Nick had to force himself to keep from grabbing his throat from sympathy pain between him and the training body.
Stepping up behind the mammal to get his attention, the fox cleared his throat causing the squirrel to stop his training and spin to face the predator. Giving him a large smile with all his teeth flashing, he was a little surprised to see no sign of fear or even a wince come from the small prey. "So. Rocky. Looks like I'm your new manager for the time being."
'Name's Rocket, jackass," the squirrel snapped, undoing the wraps on his paws. A little taken aback by the harsh attitude, Nick flicked open the file, noting that his name had been put down as 'Rocky' with 'Rocket' as his arena name. Inwardly shrugging, the vulpine figured he might as well play along, keep his fighter happy. "Why do I have a new manager? Where's Paul?"
"Honestly I couldn't tell ya, kid. Maw just handed me your file and said your old manager was no longer working for the league and that I'd be taking over for the moment." At the mention that his old manager was done working, Rocket winced. He knew what that meant even if the new fox didn't. "So. What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?"
Eyeing him as if he had a few screws loose, Rocket simply shook his head. "I need a manager. Someone to hype up my skill to the audience. Not a trainer. And I certainly ain't gonna tell you my weaknesses. A shifty fox you may be, but I'm not some dumb rodent." Holding up his paws in mock surrender, Nick backed off leaving the squirrel to his training session. He still had one more to contact and he was not looking forward to this at all.
Making his way back across the room, he stopped in the center, turning slowly to catch sight of his target. He thought he caught a few flashes of the mammal but while the fur color was right it was often the wrong species. Eventually a small patch of gray sticking out from behind a punching bag gave him a feeling that this was most likely who he was looking for. Hesitant on his approach, Nick wished for a way to reverse time so that they would never have shown up in the first place. To keep cover though, he had to stick to the script and pray that Judy would be able to handle it.
Reaching the door frame, he casually leaned up against it as he watched the mammal remove their paw pads before grabbing a water bottle and taking a long drink before dumping it over their head. "So. I'm Theo Faber. I guess I'm your new manager."
The gray doe turned, showing tall ears and deep green eyes. He couldn't help but shiver as her eyes traveled over his form as if he were a piece of meat. Holding out her paw, she waited for him to take it. "I'm Jade. Nice to meet you, Theo."
Temporarily blinded by even the low amount of light that shone over the room, Judy rapidly blinked to clear her eyes, hoping that the brief flash of the room she had seen was just a horrible product of her imagination. But as the spots swimming before her eyes slowly faded, the blurred outlines cleared and became solid, much to her chagrin. Rows of cages lay within the staggeringly large room. Attempting to count them, she had reached well over sixty before the rows entered areas where the lights were either flickering or simply dead, the corners pitch black. If only Nick were here.
Moving as silently as she could, the rabbit officer kept her paws light and her motions slow so as not to raise an alarm. Coming within view of the first row of cages, it became clear that needn't have bothered. Within each steel contraption lay a wounded or exhausted looking prey mammal. Everything from chipmunks to zebras were stored inside square boxes made of steel blocks and bars designed for their specific sizes. Some were unconscious or sleeping while others simply looked as if they had given up all hope on life, that theirs was over and it was only a moment until the Reaper came for them.
Looking over all of their faces trapped behind bars she had a flashback to the night she and Nick had found the missing mammals. The dark lighting and mysterious faces caused a shiver to reverberate through her, reminding her that even though all she had seen was injured and depressed prey, that did not mean there wasn't a group of fresh and angry predators around the corner, or even another prey like John Rambo.
A few mammals lifted their heads or opened their eyes at her passing yet deigned not to ask any questions or plead to be released. Their cries had gone unanswered for so long they had all but given up. Rounding another corner, Judy found herself facing an immense roll-up door, complete with a metal plate at the bottom. Glancing around and seeing several more doors and a collection of fork lifts nearby, Judy got one of the answers she had been searching. How did they get all of the mammals in the room? It was a loading dock, filled with machinery to easily haul them in and out of tractor trailers for easy and hidden transport. It also explained the hissing sound. She could not see it in the low light but there must be several rows of small air ducts near the ceiling for removing and replacing air in the bay.
While trying to think of way to make that work to her advantage, she heard someone let out a muffled sniffle, as if they had been trying to suppress any sound. Whipping around in a defense stance, Judy was met with an image of a teenage kudu girl, her eyes wide with fear at the bunny's movements, afraid she was going to be attacked. Quickly Judy relaxed and approached the cage door. "Hey, hon. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you." Examining the cage for any sort of locking mechanism or gap for a door, she as dismayed to find everything was in one piece. How do they get them in there? Or out for that matter? "What's your name?"
Wary of the new mammal who was the first prey she had seen outside of a cage, the young kudu took her attempts at studying the cage as a chance she was there to help. "B-Bethany. My name is Bethany." Sending her a warm smile, the rabbit kept running her paws over the metal, trying to find any sort of give or crack.
"Nice to meet you, Bethany. You know, I have a sister named Bethany. She's into ice skating. You much into ice skating, Bethany?" Trying to keep the girl talking, to calm her panicked state while she worked on the cage, Judy brought up some old memories for the teenager to focus on.
"Well, I've been a few times." A fond look came over her face, her eyes showing a glint of a happy memory within. "My parents took us when I was nine. And Roger-" she cut off at that name, a fierce blush coming over her cheeks.
"Oh ho," Judy teased, a smirk and a raised brow making their way towards the girl. "Do you have a boyfriend, Bethany?" With another fierce blush and a smile that would not stay contained, the rabbit chuckled a but. "I'll take that as a yes." Frustrated by her inability to find any way to open the cage, she began gazing over at the fork trucks before easily dismissing the idea. While she may be able to get the doors open, may even get the fork truck running and one of the mammals loaded, the sound would have altered half the security and she would most likely end up in a cage herself.
"You cannot save us, little rabbit." The new voice, deep and old, cut through the silence between her and Bethany's conversation. Turning she found an aged pronghorn staring at her, gray fur streaked across most of his body. One of his antlers had been broken off, leaving a very sharp point. "You should leave before you end up in our nightmare."
"What is happening here? Why are you caged up?" A grim chuckle came from the herbivore, something Judy raised a brow at. Though they had been quiet, the sound of the pronghorn's laugh echoed across several of the cages causing several mammals to start rousing themselves and taking a sitting position. Oh crap. Immediately questions came from all sides, each one louder than the last causing her to cover her ears and praying the guards could not hear the noise.
"Who's there?
"Have you come to rescue us?"
"Get us out of here!"
"Hurry, before they come back!"
"Please. I don't want to have to kill anymore."
That last one gave the rabbit pause, ceasing her attempts to quiet the rest. Hopping over to a young buck, his antlers narrow but sharply tipped, she started to ask him what he meant but stopped at the sight of him. Covered in scars across his face and upper chest, it gave him a deadly appearance. "What did you mean? When you said that you didn't want to kill anymore?" The buck's head bowed and she gasped at the sight of dried blood covering the points of his antlers.
"None of us want to fight, little rabbit. We were all taken from one place or another. Some of us have families, some are from the streets. Where we were from did not matter, nor who or what we are, only that we are prey." Sighing heavily, the mammal forced himself to continue. "While fighters like you compete for money and prestige in this...league of theirs, we fight to survive. They sell our deaths," the word spat like venom from his teeth, "to those monsters above. Late at night after you all have gone home, we're thrown into the pit and forced to kill each other."
Judy clapped a paw to her mouth, attempting to stifle a scream of horror. Looking around, she watched as more mammals roused themselves. A buck with a torn ear. A squirrel missing nearly all of her tail. There was even an armadillo curled up in the corner, blood smeared and dried all over his mouth. "We've all done things we're not proud of, miss." Gazing back at the pronghorn with tears in her eyes, Judy grasped hold of his hoof through the bars.
"I'll get you all out. I swear it." Though his voice had been flat and somewhat cold, the warmth in his eyes betrayed the dead interior persona he portrayed.
"That's a very nice sentiment, miss. But these cages lock at the top and require two fully grown grizzlies to lift the top off of the bars. I'm afraid a small rabbit such as yourself could not possibly hope to rescue us." While there were many things the drove Judy Hopps to succeed, one of the biggest ones was about proving others wrong. Being told she couldn't do something all but solidified her goal to find a way to succeed.
"Oh I'll get you out. Don't you worry about that." A sobering though swept over her, dampening her mood. "Whe-when do you fight?"
"Every night you do. They spend an hour pitting us against one another at random and then we're packed up and shipped off to the next place." Judy paled at that.It's too soon. I can't get a squad organized in time. They'll be gone before they get here and some will still be dead. Seeing the warring emotions on her face, the pronghorn's face dropped. "You can't get us out, young one."
"No, no," she tried to reassure him and the rest of the caged prey. "I can get you out...I just...need time." With loud groans and soft crying most of the mammals sank back to the floor of their prisons. "No! I will get you free. There's just no way to do it tonight. You'd be gone before I could even get the whole thing started."
Further down the rows near the doorway, another rabbit stuck his ears up and twisted them towards the door. "Hey bunny! They're coming back. You better split."
Turning back around, Judy clasped her paw around the pronghorn's hoof again. "I'll be back for all of you, okay? I promise." Facing the young kudu, she made sure her eyes met the frightened girl's. "I promise." Though her eyes were still tearing up, the girl nodded, trusting in the small rabbit. Darting away as fast as her injuries would allow, Judy slipped out the door and replaced the lock before quickly heading back to the training area.
Nick was having a bit of trouble with his newest recruits put under his management. Rocket, who had shown he was capable of great agility and speed along with an impressive hit strength, tended to fight Nick on just about everything. From wanting to see him in action to determine betting odds to refuting the betting odds he was able to come up with. The kid, for he was a kid Nick thought, barely eighteen yet so sure of himself in the world that he was determined to go it alone. Prestige and riches would be his and a fox wasn't going to mess it up for him. Nick couldn't help but shake his head at the ridiculousness of the small mammal. Quick he may be, but there is always someone better. Nick hoped that a mammal came along soon to knock the arrogant prick down a few notches.
The other paw was filled with a whole different problem in the form of a clingy gray rabbit. Jade, who appeared to be a very skilled fighter at the bag, also seemed to be interested in the fox who she had been assigned to. Nick was constantly finding her following him around, trying to get a bit too close when she would show him her techniques. She'd brushed her paw up against him one too many times for it to be accidental and he tried to ask her to stop to no avail. Even telling her he was mated did little to stop her advances. To bunnies, mating was a different matter entirely than to foxes and she apparently had set her sights on him. It was the worst possible outcome, Nick knew. With Jade being so insistent, he knew that as soon as Judy reached their little group, something was going to explode.
And as if the heavens heard him and decided that now was the perfect time to decide 'Hey, let's fuck up Nick Wilde's day even more', Judy emerged from the hallway entrance in the corner of the training area. Spotting her mate, she raised her paw and began heading towards him only to see two paws reach up and wrap around his arm. Catching sight of his bunny just as the gray paws grabbed him, he stiffened in fear, both of what was going to happen to the doe beside him and what his doe might do to him.
"What's wrong, Theo?" Jade may have been acting on normal rabbit desires and drive but she had no idea the depth of the trouble she was now floundering in. Quickly looking around, he spotted Rocket nearby. Shoving Jade away, eliciting a cry from her in surprise, Nick grabbed the squirrel and dragged him over in place of where she had just been.
Pushing through the throng of sparring mammals, Judy had her eyes focused on where she had last seen her mate and whoever it was that owned the mysterious paws on HER FOX. Finally getting through the last group, knocking over a large deer who was surprised at being tossed to the ground by a rabbit, the doe came face to face with...a male squirrel. Currently putting the tod in a headlock. "Yep, Rocket. That's gonna work out well in the arena. Good demonstration." Repeatedly tapping the mammal's arm, signaling a surrender, the rodent eventually let go before muttering a few choice words under his breath about what would happen if the fox grabbed him again.
"Hey Harley! Have a productive walk?" Nick had figured Judy would not be able to learn much from the other fighters. They were here for themselves and most likely knew very little of the operations going on. Having witnessed her coming from one of the plant hallways, he hoped she had found something more worthwhile than the dead-ends he was stuck with.
"Yeah but we'll talk later. Who's the squirrel?" Nick was quite the smooth talker, able to worm his way into anything, hence why they were even part of the league in the first place. He seemed to have lost that charm however with the overly buff prey.
"Oh. That. Seems that one of the managers skipped town, maybe dead I don't know, and I got saddled with his two fighters. I know what you're going to say, Harley," he stopped her mid protest with a raised paw, "but we were out if I refused. Figured we still needed to find out what's happening here."
"Yeah, and I found something really-..." Nick had been keeping an eye out for the other doe to make sure he could keep the two of them from meeting for as long as possible and had not been focused on his rabbit's face. Hearing her trail off, he quickly looked down to see if she was alright, but what he saw made him cringe. Much like the first time in the pit all that time ago, and every time Judy lost control since then, her eyes seemed to glow with a hidden fire.
"Fluff?"
"I can smell her." The vulpine winced at the words as his bunny reached her full height, sniffing every inch of his clothing and fur. "She's everywhere." Her voice was punctuated with low growls coming from her throat, her instincts demanding the other be beaten, perhaps killed to defend her mate from a challenger. The scent telling her she was very fertile also increased her rage as an image of Nick abandoning her for the one with better chances at offspring flashed across her eyes.
She had become completely primal with the threat of another bunny moving in on her mate and was losing all sense of rational thought. "Carrots." The whispered words in her ear went ignored as her nose picked up the scent of the doe who was standing less than twenty feet away, observing the curious rabbit. "Carrots, calm down." All his words were was noise to the rabbit who was now no longer able to understand the world around her, only that there was a threat in front if her that needed to be dealt with.
Realizing how far she had sunk this time, Nick wrapped her up in his arms and tore off towards the hallway at the end of the arena. Several looks were thrown their way at the strangeness of their actions, never having seen a fox clutching a bunny to their chest and high tailing it. He ignored them, his only concern at the moment was getting Judy as far away from the other rabbit as possible. Not only was he afraid she would attack her but the way she was acting she might even kill the doe in her current state. She also was still injured which meant she could get seriously hurt in the process.
Speeding down the hall, Nick kept his eyes peeled for any sort of room or doorway he could hide her in until she came back under control. He silently cursed as one hallway after another seemed devoid of any side rooms. The only door they had found was padlocked shut. All the while Judy was straining against him, her hindpaws pressing hard against his chest. It took two more corridors before he finally found a door. Yanking it open, he dove inside.
It wasn't much, mostly storage , but there were two large desks in there which would help them hide if anyone came looking for them. Unfortunately for Nick, Judy had a much different plan in mind. Leaping from his chest, the gray rabbit who lay hidden beneath a layer of inky blackness, landed on the nearest desk and began struggling to rip the neoprene from her hips. Oh crap, not this again. Nick knew what was going to happen but this was definitely not the time or place.
She let out a few high pitched squeaks as her claws were unable to pierce the strong material. Rolling around on the table, the bunny was growing very frustrated and angry. Nick moved forward and pushed one paw down on her chest while gazing down at her. "You need this, don't you, Fluff?"
His only answer came in the form of a whine. Sighing but giving her a smile nonetheless, Nick grasped her pants with a paw and slid them completely off along with her panties in one smooth motion. Immediately Judy flipped around, standing on all four paws and wiggling her tail. There was no playful smirk, no witty banter. This was a mammal consumed by their instincts and Nick knew the only way to bring her back was to give her what she needed.
Unbuckling his trousers, he stepped in close to the bunny before running his paw along her folds to see if she was ready. Slipping his hard shaft from his boxers, he dragged it up and down her slit, slickening it before positioning it at her entrance. "If we get caught I'm telling Bogo it was your fault," he joked. Impatient with the delays, Judy let out a growl and bucked her hips back, impaling herself completely on him causing the fox to moan in response. "This is totally not fair, Carrots. Using me like this. You just want me for my body," he teased, all the while matching her movements with his own as her squeaks echoed throughout the small room.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes, dark green in shade, was watching them through the crack of the open door. Eyes that stared hard at the red fox with a mix of hunger and greed.
"So what was it you wanted to tell me that was so important?" After Judy had finally calmed down enough to revert back to her normal self, the pair had decided that finding another way out of the plant would be the best course of action. They might be able to explain why he had needed to race off with the bunny in his arms, but with the amount of predators in that part of the building there was no way they could hide the scent of their mating.
"Oh. Yes. That." Judy was suddenly ashamed. Having been lost to her own primal instincts, trapped within herself and the possessiveness that had overtaken her, Judy had all but forgotten the mammals locked up in cages awaiting their deaths for the amusement of a few wealthy and deranged individuals. "That's probably better saved for once we reach the car." Nick raised his brow at the doe, but said nothing.
Being unfamiliar with the layout of the building, the two found themselves wandering down half finished hallways and through cluttered offices. They did find a break room where Judy had to scold Nick for stopping and trying the vending machines in the hope that one of them was still working. After fifteen minutes of aimless wandering, Nick decided to bring up the issue of what had just occurred.
"Carrots, I'm sorry about the doe." He watched as she scowled at the memory of the other rabbit. How the gray fur had taunted her. "I wanted to talk to you about Maw assigning me two other recruits but before I could find you she was hanging off of m-"
"She was on you?!" Nick's shoulders slumped while a sigh escaped his lips. Way to go, Wilde.
"It's over, Carrots. Okay? We're alone out here. It's just you and me. We just handled your possessiveness back there in the supply closet." Noticing a sign mentioning an exit up ahead and to the right, Nick had them turn the corner before glancing back to his mate. "If you really need another demonstration of my loyalty to you and to work off a bit more of your possessive nature, we can do so at the hotel." Giving her a sly wink, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face at the way her ears blushed bright red, even through the dye.
The end of the hallway revealed a stairwell that would normally take them to the employee parking area, but that part of the building closed off, the doors wouldn't open. Thankfully, as they were on the ground level, their exit door was under no such restrictions. Carefully checking to see if the panic bar was attached to any alarms or security monitoring, Nick cracked the door to see if there was anything directly outside of their position. Pulling out his phone, he switched the camera view and poked it above the door as much as he could, utilizing the device as a makeshift periscope. "Alright, coast is clear."
Making their way quickly from the side parking lot entrance, the two dashed to where they had originally entered the building, slipping between shadows as often as possible. It wouldn't do to be caught by security so far away from the event, especially now that Judy knew they had something to hide. Once they had gotten close enough, the two began a casual walk out in the open, looking as if the two mammals were simply headed out. Since neither had any matches currently, their early departure wouldn't be considered suspicious.
It was when they got back to the car that Judy was forced to recall the horror of what she had discovered. Nick listened patiently, seeming to absorb the information without much feeling, yet Judy could hear the grinding of his teeth and see his grip on the wheel becoming almost painfully tight. He had remained silent for nearly all of the time she had been talking but when she reached the point about promising to rescue them he found his voice.
"Why didn't you tell me all this back at the plant? We could have saved them, Carrots!" Knowing this would be his exact reaction since it had been her own immediate thought at finding the caged mammals, she sighed while trying to calm the vulpine.
"No we couldn't, Nick. We'd have been able to open one cage using the fork truck, maybe two, before being discovered. I know you're good at cover stories, but there isn't a single one that would have saved our lives if that had happened."
"But they're going to die. The next set of matches isn't for a week."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Judy's sudden outburst had Nick cringing, nearly jerking the wheel to the side. "I just condemned a bunch of mammals to death because I found out about this too late. We wouldn't be able to organize a raid this soon and if we got caught trying to free them they might just kill everyone, including us. And I just spent the last twenty minutes getting fucked in a supply room over some irrational feeling about my mate being taken away rather than focusing on the bigger picture."
"Hey now, that's not fair, Judy." Reaching across to her side, Nick stroked her ears trying to keep her mind calm. The sincerity in his voice and also the use of her name helped. "You're dealing with something no one ever has before. You can't expect yourself to always be in control, you know this." Patting her knee, Nick signaled to turn into the hotel parking lot. "Let's get upstairs. You start a shower, I'll report in to Bogo and then I'll join you. Sound good?" Sniffling, Judy nodded, needing to feel her mate wrap around her and promise everything would be okay.
Chief Bogo walked into the bullpen, head down as he consorted the files in front of him. The usual pounding on the tables went unnoticed as the buffalo moved to stand at the podium. He hadn't even needed to utter the cry to settle down as his officers saw the change from his normal mood and instantly went silent. As his eyes swept over the room, an almost palpable wave of rage seemed to emanate from the large mammal. "We have a serious problem."