Hey guys, Last here

Been a little while since the last update, got caught up in a couple of ideas that just didnt fit into this story, go check them out and let me know what you think.

So without further ado, here's chapter 15

Chapter 15

Running. He was running. The wind rushed through his fur as the ground flew by beneath his paws. He could smell the earth, the grass, the flowers, the trees. But for some reason he couldn't make out where he was, everything was a blur. Even so he didn't feel scared. No, everything felt so very right. There was something deep inside him that was revelling in letting loose.

Climbing. He was climbing. He could feel his muscles tensing as he hauled his body upwards. He could feel the texture of the rock face beneath him. He could smell stone, and snow, and ice. The wind howled viciously in his ear but he couldn't feel it. His body was rejoicing as it pushed itself to its limits.

Hunting. He was hunting. The night was quiet, he could hear the slight rustles of his prey. Silently he approached. His mind was floating, running backseat to his instincts, which urged him onwards. Suddenly his prey appeared in view, he couldn't make out what it was, and he pounced. Claws bared, fangs wide, he tore into the unsuspecting mammal. Blood filled his mouth as he thrashed the animal held in his jaws. It fell lifelessly to the ground at his feet and he went to feed.

Asra awoke with a scream, he glanced around frantically, he didn't know where he was. Everything was white and clean like at the hospital but it clearly wasn't. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and flinched bearing his fangs. The colour of red on black seemed familiar as Asra slowly recognised Noct. Everything from before he slept came back to him.

"Good morning" said Noct leaning back in his chair, he was sat in front of a computer screen on one side of the room "you looked like you were having an… interesting… dream"

Noct took in the boy's reaction, a slight whimper, ears falling flat along his head.

"Was it blood?" the panther asked slowly.

Asra looked up in shock, time and time again people kept guessing what was going through his mind, first was Mr Wilde and now it was Mr Noct.

"Our instincts have been pulled right to the forefront of our subconscious" said Noct looking on knowingly "when you sleep your subconscious often takes control while you dream. You'll dream of living wild, travelling, killing… I've had enough of those dreams myself to recognise what you woke up from" the panther smirked "just be glad that it was just your instinct to hunt. Finding a mate is one of the deepest instincts and… well…"

Noct chuckled as the pup flushed red in embarrassment. He pushed his wheelie chair over to another desk where there was a series of complex gadgets, Asra could only recognise a microscope he'd seen in a picture once. Taking a quick glance down the eye piece, Noct wrote a few notes on a piece of paper next to him before sliding his chair all the way over next to Asra.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Noct as he pressed a paw against Asra's wrist to feel his pulse "It's Sunday morning now by the way"

"I'm feeling better but not much" said Asra slowly "it didn't feel like I slept for very long"

"No, it never does" said Noct sadly, he cheered up as he read through the notes he made earlier "I took some blood earlier and we've finally gotten all the drug out of your system so at least things won't be getting worse. The next step is trickier… for me not for you, you'll be asleep for most of it"

Noct lifted Asra up of the bed and carried him out of the laboratory. He didn't go far, just to the next room down. This one seemed more like what you would expect from a hospital. There were several more strange machines and more beds but the thing that stood out was up against the back wall. It was cylindrical and several meters long, Noct could easily lie down inside it. The bottom was metal and other materials while glass sides completed the odd tube.

Not a tube thought Asra as they approached it not a whole one anyway

There was actually a large oval opening in the top and Noct lowered Asra into the pod. The floor of it was actually soft and comfortable as Asra laid back. Noct was tapping away at one end of the cylinder, there was a computer screen built into it. Asra suddenly felt like he had sunk into a wonderful warm bath despite the fact he was still bone dry.

"Feel cosy?" asked Noct glancing over "it works a bit like an incubator" Noct reached into the pod and pulled out some medical sensors which he began to attach to Asra's body "There we go" dancing lines of data began to appear on the computer screen "now listen to me Asra"

The jackal tilted his head back to look up at Noct quizzically.

"I'm going to give you something to make you sleep and when you wake up you will be better, one way or another. Now this process may take several days, I'm letting you know now before you go to sleep so it doesn't come as a shock"

Noct walked to one of the cabinets at the side of the room and returned with a pill and a glass of water. Asra trusted Noct completely now, the panther had done nothing but help the pup, and Asra felt closer since Noct knew what he was going through. The pup quickly took the pill and, given how tired his body was still, drifted off to sleep. Noct waited a few minutes anyway before he walked over to one of the side tables. There were several plastic pouches full of different coloured liquids arranged in a row next to an IV drip stand. Gathering them up Noct pulled the stand over to Asra. Noct deftly connected the IV stand's needle into Asra's wrist as well as any doctor could before attaching the first of the different pouches.

He watched the light blue fluid flow down the tube into Asra's wrist, and from there the rest of his body, to make sure there were no complications. Satisfied with the setup so far Noct nodded lightly to himself and went to drag a chair over next to the pod. He sat there silently watching the screen showing Asra's readings for around five minutes or so, not taking his eyes off it for a second, when his phone went off.

A quick check showed that it was Nick again.

"Now what can I do for you Nick? Don't tell me tonight's cancelled?"

"What? No, no, I just remembered that I never gave you a time. Can you get there for seven?"

"Hmm" Noct did some calculations "yeah, should be fine, I've just started Asra's proper treatment. He should be stable by then and I can leave him alone"

"That's great news, listen, could you do me a favour and wait for me outside Moonlight when you get there?"

"I guess" said Noct raising an eyebrow "want to escort me in so I make the right impression this time?"

"You got me, something like that anyway, I'll see you at seven then, te videre"

"Te videre" said Noct closing his phone.

There was a long time till he needed to go meet Nick and Judy and Asra's drip would need changing several times before the treatment reached its stable stage. The panther returned to sitting in silence, he had more patience than you could ever imagine, and was vigilant for any changes in Asra's condition.

Rennie Lamane was humming tunelessly as he wiped his paws clean on several pieces of tissue paper. Once he was sure his fingers were spotless he buttoned up his white silk shirt. He was checking his appearance carefully in a full-length mirror in his private rooms located beneath the Blue Tide nightclub. When everything looked acceptable to his savage eyes, the lion turned for the door.

His eyes passed over the bed with a cold indifference as he walked past. The beautiful cheetah he had been toying with was sprawled naked across it. She wasn't moving and large parts of the sheets were stained red with blood. It was difficult to tell if she was alive or dead just by looking.

He had grown tired of her now, as he always did, and barely spared her a glance as he left the room. Rennie stepped out into a large private lounge area, sofas, tables, a more reserved style than the club beyond. Waiting for him was a black rabbit buck dressed in a full suit with two wolves stood behind him.

Rennie gestured with his head back towards the room he had just left and the wolves moved off in silence. A few moments later they returned carrying the cheetah between them. Rennie and the rabbit did not pay any attention to them as the wolves disappeared back into the nightclub. The buck was busy opening a briefcase that had been resting on one of the nearby tables. He turned back to Rennie holding a vial of bloody orange liquid, the instinct releasing drug, Dusk.

"Punctual as ever Carlos" said Rennie as he took the proffered syringe.

The lion rolled up his sleeve and quickly injected himself with the drug. Rennie stood there with his eyes closed for nearly a minute, feeling the changes in his body. The lion's muscles all tensed and stretched his shirt, his lips pulled back into a silent snarl, and the atmosphere around Rennie became far darker and more dangerous, a thick bestial aura that would unnerve any sane mammal.

"You need to be at your best" said Carlos packing away the briefcase again "as the boss's plans start to move you will need to put on a good show"

"Of course," chuckled Rennie "the greater our show of strength, the more support we will gather from the dregs of society"

Carlos picked up the briefcase, nodded once to Rennie, and headed in the same direction the wolves had gone back towards the nightclub proper. Rennie walked over and reclined on one of the sofas, he pulled out his phone and placed it down in front of him. There was a clock on the wall opposite him and Rennie sat there and stared at it.

The seconds ticked away as the hands of the clock slowly moved onwards. Finally it showed 12:36 and Rennie reached out for his phone. Just as he picked it up there was an incoming call from an unknown number. Not daring to be slow Rennie accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.

"How goes Zootopia, Lamane?"

Rennie trembled slightly at the voice, there was only one mammal he had ever met who could scare him, and that was his boss.

"Progress is good sir" said the lion, the rush of Dusk helping keep his voice steady "our influence is spreading, Dusk is starting to make its way into the hands of common criminals. Soon things will come to a head and Zootopia won't know what hit it"

"Excellent, and the research?"

"Dr Ramstein has been more than cooperative, that mad scientist has become obsessed with the information we gave him. When he's not performing rather excessive experiments his performance has exceeded expectations. With luck he should have completed a more powerful, stable version of Dusk within the month"

"Ramstein is certainly proving the right mammal for the job… begin phase 1 at your leisure however wait until his research bears fruit before moving onto phase 2"

"Yes sir" said Rennie grinning slightly, he'd been waiting patiently to get things started.

"Also… I hear the Shade is in Zootopia… find them… I would like to know who they are…"

There was a click and the call ended. Rennie finally let out the breath he had been holding in. He had been lucky enough to be chosen to spearhead the boss's plans for Zootopia. This had been a huge boost to his status, right now he was in charge of the Zootopia branch and could do as he pleased. If his Boss's plans succeeded then Rennie would never have to fear his authority being threatened ever again, he would essentially be the boss's right hand. Of course, if anything went wrong…

Rennie shivered at the thought of what his boss did to people who disappointed him, things that could shake even an apex predator like himself while full of the confidence Dusk gave you. The lion shook his head a few times, he'd long since learnt not to think about failure when dealing with his boss, only by focussing on success could you keep the pressure from wearing you down.

Rennie leapt to his feet with a growl, since things were starting to move then he should probably 'put on a show' as Carlos put it. Striding out of the private lounge, the underground nightclub went quiet at Rennie's appearance. It wasn't till he seated himself in his usual place that the noise picked back up again. The lion beckoned and Carlos drifted out of the shadows.

"Put out some feelers" said Rennie seriously "The boss wants to find the Shade and phase 1 can be started whenever"

Carlos nodded once and headed for another group of mammals high on Dusk. The black rabbit was Rennie's most trusted subordinate, one of the few who had travelled to Zootopia with him, and often dealt with the actual logistics of any orders.

Rennie relaxed back in his seat, everything was going according to plan, he had no need to stress or worry. A part of him wondered who the next girl to take his fancy would be. Another part however could not stop thinking about his conversation with his boss.

The Shade huh he thought I almost feel sorry for you, nothing good ever comes from Mr Albicauda taking an interest in someone…

The internet is a virtual society and, like its counterparts in the physical world, it has its secrets. Lawlessness, shadows, an underbelly that few know of, a darknet if you will. Here you can find anything, though you have to be careful, lest you get found yourself. Weapons, drugs, animal trafficking, blood sports, assassinations, the darknet can provide this and so much more.

The ways into the darknet are varied but elusive and everchanging. Data, servers, everything rotates and is replaced, completely untraceable. Even if the authorities manage to stumble upon a method of access, they won't be able to do much with the information they can gather. Like the dirt and grime in the cracks and corners of the world, the darknet will never disappear.

Despite having anything a criminal could ever need, it is not so easy to use the darknet unless you already know what you are looking for. There is no way to search, and often if you aren't expected then you cannot access anything, leading to layer upon layer of secrecy.

There was one person, who went by the user name [3], that did not follow the rules. Even in a rule-less place like the darknet. They went where they pleased, watched what they wanted, explored the digital world to their heart's desire.

They never did anything, never inquired about services or products, never interacted with anyone. They simply were passing through, the darknet had long since become used to the mysterious [3]. It would become a topic of conversation for dwellers of the darknet if their sites were visited by [3], some even went so far as to consider it good luck.

Most of those who thought this way were newer to the darknet, the longer you were there the deeper you would delve and the less you were seen. So those who remembered [3] from a decade or so ago merely hid themselves away in their sanctuaries and did not tell these new animals about the dangers.

It used to be that a visit leaving only the sign [3] would be enough for sites to close down or halt activity for months. And that was only if [3] left any traces at all, the scariest thing for someone on the darknet was to lose their anonymity, and years in the past there were many incidents of consequences falling upon mammals who were so sure they were safe and unknown.

[3] was the username of one of the greatest technological geniuses of all time. A master of the digital world who could find anyone and anything, no matter what stood in their way. A mammal who used to work with the enigmatic and elusive Broken Clockwork.

Bakari leant on her elbow with a very bored expression on her face. She was tapping away with her other hand as pages of information scrolled past on her six computer screens. Now that Noct had returned, suddenly, everything she normally did for fun just didn't keep her interested anymore. Her mind was stuck in the past, remembering all the exciting things she used to do with Broken Clockwork.

Everyday had been another challenge for her and her skills, a problem she could push herself to her limits with. Nowadays she just browsed both the internet and the darknet, nothing was difficult for her.

With a sigh Bakari wished, not for the first time in the last few days, that Noct would contact her with some work he needed help with. Unfortunately, as she knew, it would take a while for news of Broken Clockwork to spread. After all the only people to know were herself and Mr Big, who was not in the habit of spreading information. The only sign that Broken Clockwork had returned was that tiny flickering light atop the doorway of their office.

Bakari's tufted ears twitched as she scrolled through reams of data, nothing interesting caught her eye. It would seem that no one had noticed that little light flickering in the darkness yet. If something didn't happen soon Bakari might just get so bored she had to… go outside.

She shuddered at the thought and curled up on her chair. No, something had to be done, and since no one else knew anything then it would be up to her.

Bakari quickly pulled up a tab and accessed the darknet. The information would spread fastest here, since it was here that most of Broken Clockwork's clients and targets dwelled. While most of the darknet was isolated and mysterious, there was one place common to all, a single message-board.

Bakari clicked her knuckles a few times and set to work, within ten minutes she had wrested administrator control of the message-board from whoever ran it.

Ten minutes she thought disappointedly I must be rusty.

Bakari quickly wrote up a message, it had to be a bit subtle, she wasn't just going to shout to the world 'Broken Clockwork is back!'. Otherwise who knows who might turn up in front of Noct with a job, and she definitely didn't want to annoy the panther.

[3] – Nostalgia – pinned message

Beneath the shadows of the twins, a long lost light flickers in the dark, the clock that never chimes

There were always eyes watching the message-board, new postings were never missed, especially ones that were pinned and thus would not be removed. Within minutes the post had been viewed over a hundred times. Since the post was pinned no one could comment or reply to it however many new threads appeared discussing the post.

There were many things about the post that attracted people's attention. The main one being that it had been posted by the mysterious [3]. [3] had always been drifting around the net but they had never ever done anything before. Conspiracy theorists abound and soon there were threads with hundreds of posts all picking apart the wording Bakari had used.

This wasn't what Bakari was looking for though as she idly scrolled through the posts. There was nothing that caught her eye for several minutes before she paused her scrolling.

[Bastille] Tick… Tock Tick

The light of the screens were reflected in the caracal's eyes as she slowly grinned.

Nick idly adjusted his tie, since Noct had returned the fox had found himself dressing in suit and tie as he used to with Broken Clockwork. He'd been wearing it all day and only noticed it wasn't his usual casual setup around lunchtime. Nick wasn't going to change but this did let him give Judy plenty of warning that she might want to dress up a little.

He had planned everything out with Judy the day before and she'd sent a message this morning stating that she had sorted everything on her end. Now, as Nick leant against the wall near the bottom of Moonlight, all that was left was for Noct to arrive.

He didn't check for the time, Noct was due to arrive at seven, therefore Nick knew that when the panther arrived… it would be seven. And Nick had arrived fifteen minutes early so he didn't have that long to wait. And if there was one thing that Broken Clockwork and god knows how many years spent hustling had taught the fox, it was patience.

Nick spent the time going over the plan in his head, trying to predict how Noct would react. That and simply watching the world go past. This was a hobby/skill drilled into him by the streets of Zootopia, any little detail you can pick up about the city and people around you could be vital to your own profit or survival.

Since Moonlight was away from any major centres, it was on the border of Savanna Central and the Rainforest District, there weren't very many pedestrians for Nick to watch so he was focussed on the cars driving past.

After coming to the conclusion, for the sixth time, that the mammal driving past was compensating for something, Nick was starting to get a bit bored.

It was then that he heard it, faint for sure, but it could not be denied. A deep, base rumbling in the distance. Nick's ears pricked up, the rumbling was rapidly building to a deafening roar as the vehicle responsible approached.

Nick almost missed it when it first appeared, the car was so sleek and low to the ground that parked cars could block it from view. He caught glimpsed of black flashes as the car drew ever closer but it wasn't till it was almost upon him that Nick got a good look.

A very good look in fact as the sports car pulled up right next to him at the base of Moonlight. Nick nodded his head in appreciation as he ran his eyes along the bodywork.

"Like what you see" came a voice as the window scrolled down.

Nick raised an eyebrow as he saw the driver, Noct had an extremely smug expression on his face as he watched the fox's reaction. Nick wandered after him as Noct pulled the car round into the little parking area reserved for customers at Moonlight.

"You really don't do things by halves" said Nick as Noct climbed out of the driver's seat "I don't recognise it, what make?"

"New Jaguar Z-type" said Noct leaning against the black sports car "I need to show some sort of species solidarity, right?"

"Well it's a damn fine car, that's for sure"

"You want one?" asked Noct, he chuckled at the shock on Nick's face "I reckon you have enough birthday presents stocked up to warrant it"

The panther watched a terrible war of emotion occur on his brother's face, desire, frustration, joy, guilt. Eventually Nick calmed down and sighed.

"Nah, I'll have to pass on that" he said running a paw along the side of the vehicle "it'd be difficult to explain where I got it from, pay's not bad as a cop but nowhere near this" Nick glanced over at Noct with a smirk "I wouldn't say no to taking this thing for a spin sometime though"

"You ever need a fancy car for a special occasion, just let me know"

Together, after Noct had locked up the car, they headed for the entrance at the bottom of the building. The entrance hall wasn't that special, Nick had never looked into what else was in the building but it seemed to be either offices or flats. Moonlight, on the top floors, was the most interesting thing in the building.

They had a little bit of good luck, the lift was waiting at the bottom and they walked straight in and hit the button for the top floor. They stood in silence as the lift slowly rose, nowhere near the speed of the elevator in the Chrysalis Tower, but Nick and Noct would often not say anything when they were alone, they could read each other well enough even without any words.

Click

"I know you are escorting me to make a good impression on JJ, but really?" said Noct glancing over at Nick from the corner of his eye.

"Well, that's part of it" said Nick a bit sheepishly as he raised his left arm which was now handcuffed to Noct's right one "buuuuut, I'm also trying to pull a hustle on Judy, so humour me okay"

"You need help hustling the rabbit?" asked Noct a bit sceptically.

"Judy is a sly bunny, honestly, I swear she must have some fox in her" Nick looked over at Noct confused as the panther snorted and suppressed a laugh "What'd you call her anyway?"

"JJ" said Noct calming down "unless you want me calling her Short-stack?" Noct rolled his eyes as Nick's hackles rose unconsciously "that's what I thought"

Even with the speed of the lift, they reached the top floor moments later. The doors opened to reveal the lush, shadowy scenery that made it seem like you had just walked out into the rainforest. Being a Sunday, the place wasn't quite as busy as it had been on the Friday when they had met up with Finnick. But Moonlight was rather popular and was nearly full anyway.

"Evening boys"

Nick and Noct turned to find Albert looking their way as he prepared a cocktail for the hyena sat at the bar.

"The usual?" asked the tapir as he picked up a tumbler and started to shake it.

"Like we'd have anything else" smirked Nick "Could you bring them to the Bamboo Grove? Our hands are a bit full"

Albert glanced at the handcuffs and snorted but waved them on through. The sight of two animals handcuffed together, but moving completely unrestricted, drew quite a few stares. However after seeing an angry, tiny fox with a baseball bat a few days earlier, the regulars were starting to get used to odd things happening in Moonlight.

Nick found himself getting rather nervous as they approached the wall of bamboo, it took everything in him to remain calm enough that Noct wouldn't notice anything.

I could always pass it off as nerves about hustling Judy he thought before mentally shaking his head like Noct would fall for that

By the time Nick had finished distracting himself with his thoughts, they had already walked through the bamboo. And then both the fox and the panther stopped thinking much at all. As Nick expected, and Noct certainly didn't, there were two mammals waiting for them, not one. And Nick and Noct found them so stunningly beautiful that it took their breath away. Nick's gaze was locked on grey and purple while Noct's was filled with white and icy blue.

"Bruma…" he whispered.