Chapter 37: Legosi's In A Coma! Trying To Wake Him Up!
It was the next morning. Alex had been at the hospital all night, begging and praying for his friend to wake up. Legosi had been in pretty bad shape when the ambulance had arrived at the hospital, needing a lot of blood. When the white wolf and Jack were asked about what species of wolf Legosi was, Jack immediately replied. "Gray wolf blood will do," The labrador told the paramedic. This was a little strange to Alex. Why would Jack tell them to give him gray wolf blood specifically? Most wolf species could receive blood transfusions from each other, Legosi should be able to receive Alex's blood.
The wolf had stayed up all night waiting for news about Legosi's condition. Jack had passed out and was snoozing in one of the hospital chairs outside of Legosi's room. Alex, however, was too guilt-ridden and stressed out to fall asleep. The doctors patched up the gray wolf's wounds and gave him blood transfusions, even managing to stabilize his condition. But Legosi still hadn't woken up.
Alex knew he couldn't keep the attack on Legosi a secret. His current predicament reminded him far too much of the Leodore Lionheart administration and the Night Howler incident. The mayor's son, Kimba, had been very much against keeping the savage animals a secret from the city, while the mayor feared that it would ruin his career and chances for re-election if he told the public the truth.
Of course, when Alex, Judy, and Nick had broken into the abandoned asylum that was holding the animals, and exposed it to the public, it backfired on the mayor. But Alex knew that Leodore Lionheart had the interests of the people in mind when he made his decision to cover things up. Fear and panic spread through the prey population of Zootopia like wildfire, especially after Judy's speech where she mistakenly assumed the cause of the animals turning savage was because they were reverting back to their savage instincts.
When Judy told that to the press, Alex had felt deeply betrayed by Judy. He had a crush on the gray bunny, and he had opened himself up to her. That was something he hadn't done for any of his fellow cops since Lem. To say that he was upset would be an understatement. In the days following that disastrous press conference, Alex wouldn't even look at Judy, instead throwing himself into his patrols.
Alex reached his breaking point when one day, a small young rabbit had gotten stuck up in a tree and he was called to help get her down. He had held out his arms for the kit to jump into. "I'll catch you!" The cop had promised. But as he got closer to the kit, he saw the fear in her eyes. The wolf realized that the youngling was afraid of him, simply because he was a predator.
He took a few steps closer, but this only frightened the bunny further, driving her further and further up the tree. The kid tried to stand at the very top of the tree, but lost her balance and fell to the ground. Alex had tried to catch her, but while she was falling, the bunny kicked him in the snout and caused him to stumble backwards. The child ended up having both of her legs broken, and when the mother came over to take her child to the hospital, she looked at Alex as if he was a monster. He suffered a blast full of wolf deterrent, and this was his last straw.
The very next day, when everyone was getting their assignments, Alex had lashed out at Judy, blaming her for the worsening state of Zootopia. "Congratulations, Officer Hopps. You not only took away the one thing that I enjoyed in life, helping people… you also destroyed Zootopia," Alex had snarled, before tossing his badge and ZPD vest at the bunny and storming off to his house, falling into a deep depression. He only returned to his normal self after Judy returned to Zootopia and got him out of his rut, telling the wolf that the city needed both of them to work together in order to fix things.
But enough about that. Besides, chaos and panic wasn't always bad. Panic could cause Legosi's assaulter to make a mistake and slip up, inadvertently revealing himself as the culprit. These thoughts were at the forefront of Alex's mind as he walked to the podium after Principal Gon had assembled the entire school in the auditorium. A local news reporter had also been sent to the scene, having been called by Principal Gon to cover the story in order to raise public awareness of the situation. "What are we doing here?" One of the students in the audience asked.
Alex took a deep breath to compose himself and collect his thoughts. Then, the wolf spoke up. "Fellow creatures of Cherryton Academy! Principal Gon and I have gathered you today to tell you of a horrible event that happened on the premises last night," Alex announced.
This caused some tense, nervous murmuring among the students. "Another predation incident?" One of them wondered.
"Last night, one of our students was attacked and brutally assaulted in the courtyard. His name was Legosi," Alex told the crowd. Everyone gasped when they heard the news. "How badly was he hurt?!" Collot demanded. The sheepdog was one of Legosi and Alex's dorm members. "Alive, for now. He is extremely lucky. If Jack and I hadn't found that gray wolf he would have died from his injuries. However, he's fallen into a coma, and he hasn't yet woken up," Alex answered.
The entire crowd fell silent. Legosi was one of the largest and strongest animals in the entire school, and apparently whoever did this to him was able to put him in a coma! Alex mentally grinned as he saw not only the herbivores afraid, but also a large majority of the predator student body. "The police have made me a correspondent to their investigation, which will begin once Legosi wakes up from his coma and is able to give his perspective on what happened," Alex continued.
"Do you have any suspects? Or any leads for the investigation?" a female voice inquired. Alex scanned through the crowd for the source of the voice, and was surprised to see that Haru was the one who asked the question. Alex let out a melodramatic sigh, adding to his little performance.
"Even if the police did have any leads or suspects, I'm not at liberty to disclose such information," Alex replied.
"Wait! Whoever did this has to be in the drama club. And they had to have been-" Bill started suggesting. Alex's cool and composed mask morphed into one of fury and urgency.
"Bill, shut your maw and leave this to the professionals," Alex snarled. Bill gulped and nodded, realizing that his big mouth might end up endangering the investigation.
Haru ran up to the front of the crowd. "Where is Legosi being treated? I have to see him!" Haru insisted. The bunny was extremely worried about her friend.
"That information is classified. I'm not allowed to give it out, what if the attacker learned this information and tried to finish the job?" Alex answered. Haru's head sank, and she dejectedly nodded. Alex walked off stage, before pulling out his phone and writing a new group message.
"Everyone, meet me in the school parking lot. Legosi needs all of us now," Alex texted, sending it to Collot, Voss, Miguno, Durham, Haru, Bill, and Els. He had already informed Judy about the situation and she was en route to the hospital he was being treated at already. The students that Alex had texted quickly showed up at the front entrance of the school. A long, black limousine pulled up to the sidewalk. Alex opened the shotgun door, and took a seat in the shotgun spot.
"Get in," Alex ordered the band of students. Agata beamed at all of the students as they got in, which made Els and Haru a little uneasy. The white dwarf rabbit recognized Agata as the lion who had tried to help her escape from the Shishigumi.
"Good morning, this is the Shishigumi Express. We'll be taking you to Cherryton Colorful Futures Hospital, the most expensive and reliable hospital in the entire city, owned by the Iris Corporation," Agata announced, pretending to be an airplane pilot.
Soon enough they arrived at the hospital. Alex and his friends got out of the car. "Let's go. Legosi needs us!" Haru cried out, before charging towards the entrance to the hospital. Alex guided them to the room that Legosi was resting in. Jack and Sheila were talking with each other, worried expressions on their faces. Judy was sitting in a chair off to the side, sitting with her head in her paws and silently sobbing.
"Sheila? What are you doing here?" Alex asked. He knew the cheetah was someone he could trust, but the fact that she had gotten here before the rest of them was a little concerning.
"Jack called me this morning while I was on my morning jog, begging me to come to the hospital as fast as possible. I knew that something really bad must have happened if he was telling me to ditch school. So I put my speed to good use and got here quickly. Jack told me about what happened to Legosi… I didn't know the gray wolf well , but we were in the drama club together, and I know that he's Jack's best friend," Sheila explained.
The white wolf nodded in understanding before going to see Legosi. Haru, Bill, Els, Collot, Durham, Miguno, Voss, Judy, and Alex then walked into the room. "Legosi… I brought all of your friends here. They're all very worried about you. You gotta wake up and tell them you're okay," Alex pleaded with the lifeless gray wolf. There was no movement or sign that Legosi heard Alex.
The wolf sighed, before grasping Legosi's paw with his own. "Goddammit, Legosi, why did you have to go and ask those stupid questions? And why did I have to leave you behind? If I hadn't, you wouldn't have been attacked!" Alex sobbed. Tears began to stream down his face, feeling like he was the worst animal in the world for letting this happen to Legosi.
Haru was next, climbing onto the hospital bed and sitting on the wolf's chest. She was light enough to not impede the wolf's breathing. "Come on, Legosi, you gotta come back. How am I supposed to be your girlfriend if you're in a coma?" Haru asked. She sniffled, a tear rolling down her face and onto Legosi. She planted a kiss on the wolf's nose and wrapped her arms around him tightly, deeply upset about the wolf's condition.
Durham, Miguno, Collot, and Voss took Legosi's other paw in theirs. "Come on, man, wake up already! We still have so much fun to do together, so many more balls to chase," Collot begged.
"Yeah, you still owe me a few piggyback rides, Legosi!" Voss cried, punghing the wolf's arm and headbutting it for additional measure.
"Legosi, Miguno and I are dating… I want to see you react to that… it's because of you and your relationship with Haru that I even came out as gay and asked Miguno out! You inspired me man, and I can't thank you unless you're conscious!" Durham wept.
Sheila came in and put a paw on Legosi's shoulder. "Legosi, it's me, Sheila from the drama club's dance crew. I know we weren't good friends or anything, but I've started to date Jack… and I know for a fact that you're really important to him. He's beside himself with worry, and I want to get to know you better too, Legosi. You clearly have had a big impact on the labrador's life, and I want to hear about all the funny stories you have about Jack when he was young. Come on Legosi, come back to us," Sheila told the large gray wolf. Legosi still did not move.
"Legosi…" Judy whimpered sadly.
They sat there for hours, talking to Legosi and spending time with him, attempting to get any signs of movement or life from the wolf. Nothing, however, seemed to work. "Maybe we need more animals that are important to him…?" Alex wondered.
Judy nodded yes, hope returning to her. "Yes, yes, YES! That's a brilliant idea! Does Legosi have any living relatives that he's close with?" Judy asked.
Jack hesitated for a minute before responding. "Y-yeah, his grandpa… I can go and get him tomorrow morning and have him come to the hospital," Jack revealed.
Alex stood up and turned to Jack. "Give me his address," Alex ordered. Jack's ears drooped, and he seemed rather nervous.
"C-can't I be the one to bring him here?" Jack stammered.
"NO!" Alex snarled, anger in his eyes. Jack shrank back.
"Alex!" Judy scolded, surprised to see the wolf reacting like this.
"This is all my fault! I'M the reason Legosi is like this! That means I have to be the one to tell his family!" Alex roared at the labrador. The wolf realized he had yelled at Jack, and apologized. Jack whimpered, before writing down Legosi's grandfather's address and hugging Sheila for comfort.
Suddenly, Haru got up from her spot where she was snuggling with Legosi and walked up to the wolf, stepping on Legosi's legs so she could reach Alex. She tapped the white wolf on the shoulder and he whirled around, glaring at her. "Yes?!" Alex growled. In response, Haru decked the cop across the face, delivering a blunt blow to the right side of Alex's jaw. "The hell?!" Alex gasped, staring at the white dwarf rabbit with astonishment and disbelief.
"You're not the only reason that Legosi is like this! Louis is also at fault!" Haru yelled at her friend.
"Louis-senpai?! How is he to blame for this?" Bill wondered.
"Bill, I'm pretty sure you were onto something when you said that Legosi's attacker had to have been from the drama club. Maybe part of the reason that Legosi got hurt like this is because the monster that did this to him got more bold after Louis ditched school," Haru explained.
"You don't know that!" Alex argued. Haru glared at him, and Alex was amazed at her iron gaze of steel that she met his eyes with. Judy must have been doing an excellent job on training Haru.
"I don't, but YOU don't know that it's not true either!" Haru countered. Alex gritted his teeth together before storming off.
Haru knew she had to take action. She had heard the rumors that there was now a deer leading the Shishigumi gang, and she knew in her gut that it couldn't be anyone other than Louis. She had Judy drive her back to her house so she could grab her stuff. Haru raced up the stairs and thrusted open the doors to her closet, pulling out a black latex suit that she had ordered from the internet to indulge in her fantasies. She had found that the latex suit was extremely durable and could take a lot of abuse in her time using it at the gardening club.
Accompanying the latex suit was a long, slender black whip. Haru held it in her paws, before swinging it around. A satisfying crack was heard as she waved the whip around. She had found it to be excellent at restraining large carnivores at that one halloween party that she had gone dressed up as a vigilante to.
She was brought out of her reminiscing by her phone beeping. Looking down, Haru saw that it was a text from Juno. The rabbit had asked Juno to try and persuade Louis to come back to Cherryton over a nice dinner, but the wolf girl had been so flustered by Louis that she had forgot to mention Legosi's condition and how they believed that they needed Louis to help bring Legosi out of the coma. "Sorry that I couldn't make Louis-senpai budge, he's quite stubborn~!" Juno's message read. Haru sighed, before slipping out the window and sprinting towards the black market. It didn't take long for her to arrive at the entrance to the dark alleyway.
"This is it…!" Haru thought to herself. These past few weeks, no… Everything that had happened to her since meeting Legosi on that night where he had come into contact with a Night Howler and imprinted on her. All of that had been leading up to this point in her life. She was going to go in that hellhole and she wasn't coming back without her deer by her side. Haru took a deep breath before letting out a war cry and charging into the dark side of Cherryton.
While Alex goes to meet Legosi's grandfather, Haru risks her life as she storms the Shishigumi mansion and fights off the lions in an attempt to reach Louis! An astonishing secret is revealed about Legosi's ancestry, and Alex somehow knows Legosi's grandfather? Keep an eye out for the next exciting chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!
Chapter 38: Haru VS The Shishigumi! Legosi's Heritage Revealed!