What if Judy and Nick didn't switch the Night Howler serum?
Just when their luck seemed to be turning around, Judy and Nick were once again struck by another surprise. Only this time, the shocking turn of events was something neither of them could have predicted. The new mayor Bellwether (formerly the assistant mayor), whom they thought was just a small and kind sheep was the mastermind behind the savage attacks in the city. She was the one targeting predators. It was her cronies doing her bidding, making the Night Howlers into a serum that infected all types of predators.
Judy was fast to realize this, as it was suspicious as to how she and the rams found them in the closed museum on their way to the ZPD. Thankfully, Judy didn't give the case to her. If anything, she held it tighter, and tried to insist she and Nick take it to the ZPD instead. But that plan backfired quickly. Their exits were blocked, and their only choice was to run and maybe come up with a plan to outwit Bellwether and her men.
But as the two ran into a closed-off section of the museum, managing to outrun the ram following them, Judy tripped over a tusk display, dropping the case and falling to the floor. She let out a painful cry as she held her injured leg, noticing the tear through her jeans and the blood caused by her cut. "Carrots!" She heard Nick say as he ran back to her. He picked her up as she grabbed the case and carried her over to hide behind a nearby wall.
Well, now that had two problems. There was a power-hungry mayor chasing them, and poor Judy couldn't even walk. How were they supposed to get out of this?
As Nick tended to her leg, they both heard Bellwether's voice call out, beckoning for Judy to reveal herself. They didn't have time, they had to get the case to the police somehow. Judy abruptly held the case up to her friend, since he was the only one between the two of them that could complete the job. "Take the case. Get it to Bogo." She knew it wasn't the best plan, but they were running out of options.
However, Nick refused to just leave her here, understandably. He didn't know what Bellwether and these rams were capable of, and he would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to Judy. "I'm not gonna leave you behind." He argued, pushing the case back to her, "That's not happening!"
"I can't walk!" She whispered urgently.
"We'll think of something." He said, trying to ease her nerves. But could they do? They were outnumbered and surrounded on all sides. It would take a miracle for them to escape unharmed.
While Bellwether continued to try to get them to surrender, they spotted a rabbit mannequin display, almost the same size as Judy. They decided to use it to trick the rams while they made their way out. Nick set it at an angle that it's shadow could be seen, then quickly scooped Judy into his arm while he held the case with his free paw.
It worked for a minute, and though when one of the rams saw it was fake, it caused some confusion which should've bought them some time. Up until they heard the clanging sound of Nick bumping into something.
"Over there!" Bellwether signaled the rams to follow the pair. Nick made a run for it toward the exit, but he struggled to carry Judy due to her limping. She held onto him tightly so she wouldn't fall, but it still slowed him down.
Unfortunately, the ram caught up to them and head-butted the two into an exhibit pit. And even more unfortunate was the gun case didn't fall in with them. Instead it was brought right back into the sheep's hooves, and now Judy and Nick were trapped.
Bellwether laughed as she walked up to the edge of the display, looking down at the two mischievously. "Well, you should've just stayed on the carrot farm, huh?" She said to Judy, "It really is too bad. I.. I did like you."
Judy sat up and glared up at her, trying to keep a brave face. "What are you gonna do? Kill me?!"
"Oh, no. No, of course not." Bellwether chuckled, then revealed the dart gun she had been hiding behind her back, her expression switching to an evil grin. "He is."
Right as the gun was fired, Nick felt a sharp pain in his neck caused by the serum pellet. He fell to the ground with a harsh grunt, holding his neck where he had been shot. "NO!" Judy yelled in horror as she scooted to his side, watching him start to twitch and tremble. "Oh, Nick!"
While Bellwether faked a panic call to the police, Judy stared down as the fox try to maintain control over his mind and body, unsure on how to help him. It wasn't like there was some magical antidote for Night Howlers she could give to him. "No, Nick, don't do this. Fight it!" She urged him, rubbing his back to try to soothe him. But it was no use. He already made contact with the serum, and now they were both screwed.
"Oh but, he can't help it, can he?" Bellwether asked mockingly after hanging up the phone, "Since preds are just 'biologically predisposed' to be savages."
Judy frowned nervously up at her, feeling guilt build up at those words. If she hadn't said something similar at the interview a couple weeks ago, she and Nick wouldn't even be in this situation, and he wouldn't be going savage right now.
She gasped, now seeing Nick direct his attention to her. His widened eyes stared at her menacingly, his pupils beginning to shrink, the affects now completely taking over. And now there was nothing she could do but try to avoid his attack for as long as she could until the cops arrived. She quickly pulled back and scrambled onto her feet, having to limp away due to her injury.
Seeing her run away sent Nick into an immediate rampage. On all fours, he began to chase the limping rabbit with a loud snarl, doing whatever his instincts told him to do. It was hard to get away from him, being that even if her leg wasn't hurt he would still be faster than her. She tossed a nearby deer mannequin in his way to distract him and hopefully keep a distance between them.
Bellwether watched the scene unfold completely amused. It was working out better than she thought. If all went according to plan, Judy would be dead, Nick would be caged like the rest of the savage predators, and prey would finally have the high ground in society.
"Gosh, think of the headlines! 'Hero cop killed by savage fox'!" She taunted, walking around the exhibit to be right above the bunny.
Judy backed up against the wall, gasping in fear as she watched Nick chew and tear up the dummy, showing it no mercy. If that's what he did with just a mannequin, then she wasn't looking forward to witness what he would do to a live animal. She swallowed and looked up at Bellwether with a glare, "So that's it? Prey fears predators and you stay in power?"
The mayor shrugged, "Yeah, pretty much."
"It won't work!" Judy shook her head.
"Fear always works!" She retorted angrily, but then resumed her smug expression, waving the gun around casually. "And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."
Judy didn't have time to give a response, as now she saw the fox beginning to crawl closer to her, poking his head through the fake grass. She gasped, trying to scoot away, but there was no room left behind her. She was trapped.
"Oh, Nick. No..." She whispered sadly, observing her friend's state; his bearing sharp teeth, his shrunken eyes, his flaring nostrils, his low growls. This wasn't the Nick she knew and loved. It wasn't him, she kept telling herself. No matter what he was about to do to her, she kept in mind the real Nick would never do.
Bellwether laughed before her expression went cold, "Bye-bye, bunny."
As Nick closed in, Judy took a deep breath to brace herself for whatever would happen next. If this was how she died, then so be it. Hopefully someone else in Zootopia would find out the truth and stop Bellwether once and for all, so that predators could live in peace again.
Suddenly, she let out an agonizing scream as she felt Nick bite her neck, sinking his teeth into the skin under her fur. Nothing could've prepared her for that kind of pain. She felt a warm liquid roll down the side of her throat, and she knew it was blood.
She choked out a cough, pressing her paws on his shoulders, trying to push him away or at least pry his teeth out of her neck. But her attempts only made it worse and further angered the fox. He growled and pulled her up by her throat, tossing her into the fake grass. Although his actions nearly strangled her, it did cause him to release her, but only for a moment.
Right as Judy tried to stand up, she was shoved back to the ground and pinned down by the savage fox. He began to bite her chest and shoulders, tearing through her shirt with ease, tasting the blood that spewed out with every slash he made. Judy screamed and cried with her weakened vocal cords, placing her paw over her neck to try to prevent blood loss.
"Nick, stop it!" She demanded, despite knowing it was useless. Nick didn't know who she was right now. Hell, he didn't even know his own name. Right now he was on a hunt, and he wasn't gonna stop until his hunger was satisfied. Still, Judy had to do something. She squirmed and threw her legs around to try to kick him away, but no matter how much she moved, Nick wasn't setting her free.
She caught a glimpse of Bellwether, who was staring down at her, rather enjoying the sight of the bunny being mauled. How could someone be so sick and twisted to think this was entertaining?
Judy tried one last time to make this stop, and she prayed it would stall for enough time. She raised her leg up to shove her knee right into his stomach. He yapped and hunched over, in which she instantly seized her chance and crawled out of his loosened grasp, hauling herself away from the fox as fast as she could.
But her efforts were once again unsuccessful, as now Nick was even more irritated. He growled loudly and swiftly grabbed her leg with his teeth, dragging her back towards the wall. Judy cried out desperately, grasping onto random objects that she couldn't seem to hold onto for long enough. Her open wounds left a trail of blood as she was pulled back to the previous spot, where there was already a puddle of thick redness waiting to expand.
Judy felt too weak to continue trying any longer. The loss of blood was getting to her, and any hope she had of being rescued was fading. She stared up at the fox as he gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes at her. She wasn't as scared as she was a moment ago, now she was more devastated than anything. What was Nick going to do if he was ever brought back from this savage state? How was he going to live knowing he killed his friend?
"I'm so sorry, Nick." She whispered weakly, closing her eyes as a tear fell onto her face. All that was left to do now was accept her fate, and hope everything would sort itself out.
Right as Nick was about to finish her off, he suddenly froze. Judy opened her eyes to see him collapse on the ground next to her, seemingly passed out. She tried to sit up to see what was going on, but she could barely move her arms. Luckily, she could see everything from where she was laying.
To her relief, the other officers arrived just in time, and apparently had tranquilized the fox. A couple of them used an emergency ladder to climb down into the exhibit, while Bellwether tried to "explain" to Bogo what happened. It was at this point Judy had to say something while she could. She couldn't let Bellwether get away with her plan.
"W-wait," She spoke up in a frail voice, but it was loud enough for the others to hear. "D-don't listen to her. She's been..targeting p-predators."
Bellwether laughed 'innocently', regaining her guiltless facade. "Don't be silly, Judy. I would never hurt anyone." She looked up at the Chief, "We better get her to a hospital quick, she's not making any sense."
Bogo was about to say something, until he and the rest of them heard the mayor's voice. But it wasn't actually her that was speaking. It sounded more like a recording.
"And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."
Everyone looked to see Judy holding up her carrot pen that she managed to hold on to this whole time, playing back the recording of Bellwether revealing her evil schemes. They all widened their eyes and turned to the sheep, watching her face drop.
The rams tried to make a break for it, but there were too many cops for them to get away. While the ones above were busy arresting Bellwether and her cronies, the two cops down in the exhibit ran to Judy's side to aid her. One of them wrapped a towel around her to apply some pressure to her gashes. The other kneeled down to Nick, pulling out a muzzle from his belt's pouch.
Judy's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the muzzle. She couldn't let them do that to Nick, not when it was the one thing he tried to avoid his whole life. "W-wait, no." She reached her paw out, signaling the officer to stop what he was doing. "D-don't hurt him, please.."
Although they were confused by her request, they obeyed and carefully carried her and Nick out of the exhibit, preparing to take them to the nearest hospital.
—
A little over a week passed since the incident at the museum. Now that Bellwether's plan was exposed, she was put in prison along with the rams that helped her, and everyone knew the real reason for the predators' savagery. Doctors were quick to start working on an antidote for the Night Howler serum, so that all the affected predators could be rehabilitated. It was first tested on Mr. Otterton—the otter that Judy was assigned to find—and it seemed to be quite effective.
Judy had to stay in the hospital as well due to her injuries. She had stitches all over her upper body and on her leg, and it was going to take a while for her to completely recover from what happened. But she didn't care much about her own health. She was more focused on Nick and if he was being properly cared for. To her knowledge, he was fine, physically at least. She wasn't allowed to visit him for the past week, but when she heard that he was going to be given the antidote, she just had to be there to see him.
It took some time for the antidote to kick in, so he was sound asleep in the hospital bed while Judy waited at his side. She refused to leave even for a moment. After spending so much time apart, she wanted to be with him for as long as she could right now. Plus, she didn't want him to wake up while she wasn't there.
After a couple hours, Nick slowly began to regain consciousness, this time with normal-sized eyes and non-threatening behavior. Judy lifted her ears as she heard him move, and for a moment she felt her heart stop. He appeared to be back to normal, seeing as how he awoke like he usually would. But there was only one way to be sure.
As he raised his head and sat up in the bed, he started to become aware of his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a gown of some kind, and he could guess that he was in an ER. But what was most important was the bunny sitting right in front of him.
"Carrots?" He asked quietly as his eyes met hers. She looked so relieved to be with him, like she hadn't actually seen him in ages. He began to wonder how long he was asleep for, and what even happened after he was shot in the museum.
"Hey, Nick." She said, placing her paw next to his, hesitant to actually hold it. "How are you feeling?"
Nick blinked a couple times, having to think about her question. How did he feel? Overall he was exhausted, but much better than he was before. Otherwise he was confused and in need of answers sooner rather than later.
"I— I'm fine." He nodded, now getting a better look at her. And honestly, she was in a worse condition than him. Her fur was matted and out of place, there were bandages covering her shoulders and neck, and there were spots where it looked like they were bled through. Not to mention there were small bags under her eyes that made it seem like she hadn't slept in days. He observed her appearance with concern, knowing damn well this was the work of Bellwether. But the question was who exactly did this to her?
"What happened to you?" He asked worriedly, although he was afraid he already knew the answer.
Judy froze, now staring at the floor. This was the one thing she had been dreading about his recovery. How was she supposed to tell him the truth? "Uh, what do you remember?" She asked, deciding to start with that.
Nick thought for a second, recapping the last thing he could remember before he ended up here. "Well, we were at the museum, and the mayor had us cornered, and then she shot me with a—"
He stopped, coming to the realization that this was caused by him. It had to be the only explanation. After all, that was Bellwether's plan; use him to kill Judy.
"W-was it me?" He asked uneasily, narrowing his eyes. "Did I do this..?"
Judy remained quiet, reluctant on how to answer. She couldn't lie and say that it wasn't him, but she knew how hard it would be for him to hear her say that it was. However, her silence was enough for him to figure it out.
He lowered his head, taking a couple deep breaths as he took in the reality of it all. So it was true, he did this to her. He hurt her just like a savage predator would do. It was miracle she even survived, and though he was grateful for whatever saved her life, he was now having to face the heavy guilt of knowing he almost killed her. If she wasn't afraid of him before, she surely was now, right?
She noticed his reaction, and immediately she regretted her lack of response. It was probably worse than just saying the harsh truth. "Hey, it's okay." She said gently, scooting an inch closer to him as he closed his eyes. He clearly didn't want to see the condition she was in, the damage he caused. But she had to comfort him somehow. "Nick, look at me. It's fine. It wasn't your fault, okay?"
"How can you say that?" He asked, shaking his head while shutting his eyes tighter. "I nearly ate you alive and you're seriously gonna say it's not my fault?"
"It wasn't your choice." She said, trying to remain calm for his sake. But seeing him so distraught like this brought tears to her eyes. "You would never hurt me, I know that."
Nick scoffed bitterly, finally opening his eyes to look at her. "Well, obviously I did." He said, gesturing to her wounds, specifically the one on her neck—that one was the most prominent.
"No, you didn't. It wasn't you." Judy said assuredly, gently touching his arm.
Nick went quiet for a moment as he glanced down at her paw, feeling strangely comfortable with the affection. Then again, it was because of her that he was better at expressing his emotions, through words and actions. He just didn't think she would be at ease when this close to him. Hell, he wasn't even sure she would want to be his friend after all of this.
"What do you mean?" He asked confusedly, furrowing his brows.
Judy took a second to try to word her explanation correctly. It might not have made sense to others, but maybe Nick would understand. "A couple weeks ago, when I came to the hospital to check on Mr. Otterton and to see how his wife was doing, she said something to me. She said it wasn't her husband, that it wasn't her Emmitt." She began, glancing to the side for a moment. "Obviously he was, but he wasn't himself, and she knew that. She looked at him and she didn't see any of Emmitt in him."
Nick nodded as he listened attentively, but he was still lost as how any of this had to deal with their situation. Up until she faced him again, staring right into his eyes with a soft expression. "The same thing happened to me at the museum. I looked at you...and it wasn't you."
It wasn't hard to understand what she meant. Even though he didn't experience realization like that, he knew exactly what she was trying to say. Though the guilt didn't fade completely, it wasn't as crushing as it was a while ago. Maybe she was right, and that's why she didn't blame him. But still, damage had been done, and she was in bandages because of him.
Nick sighed, lowering his gaze once again. "I tried to fight it. I really did."
"I know." Judy frowned solemnly, slowly bringing her paw down on top of his. "I can't imagine what it must've been like."
He stared at her paw as he tentatively held it in his, suddenly needing more physical comfort than usual. "I'm so sorry, Carrots." He whispered vulnerably, "I know you keep saying it's not my fault, but..."
"No, I get it." She nodded, squeezing his paw in return. "And it's okay. I forgive you."
Nick took another deep breath as he realized they were holding paws, which kindled a feeling of warmth on his face for reasons he didn't know. "So, you're not afraid of me?"
Judy was taken aback by his question, since she thought he would know the answer by now—the real answer. But he obviously still needed the reassurance. She smiled faintly and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, "There's not a thing you could do that would scare me away."
They embraced each other tightly, leaving little to no space between them. Judy wiped away her tears from earlier as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder, feeling immense relief and comfort while in his arms. "You know, my offer still stands." She said, a little out of the blue, "I'm still looking for a partner, if you're interested..."
Nick chuckled softly, squeezing her against him. He couldn't deny that they made a great team, that they worked better when they were together. Besides, getting to be by her side all day didn't sound too bad.
"I'd love to be your partner, Carrots."