Chapter 6: Trouble at the Rainforest District
Tracy, Judy, and Nick were sitting on the backseat of the black car with a single polar bear driving them to the Rainforest District where Manchas lives. For the teenaged cat, she couldn't help but be worried for Mr. Big. Not to mention, her mind was wondering about these intruders. Just who were they? Taking her mind off of them for now as she needed to focus on the case with the rabbit cop, Tracy pulls out her badge and taps the screen. Wanting to learn more about this before learning about King Mickey's grimoire while at the same time trying to figure out what was all that. The flying, the aura, the unusual strength she had, and the sword coming out of the book those two saw earlier. However, she noticed the same envelope icon, but this time it had an X with a number two right next to it. Her eyes widened as she completely forgot that Yax called her and she didn't get the chance to answer. He must've left a message for her about the blacked robed man and what he was.
Tapping on the icon, she was taken to a list. Right below it was The Mystic Springs Oasis phone number which held Yax's message and on the top it said: CARETAKER! URGENT MESSAGE! And right next to those words was the same mouse symbol as the grimoire. Which meant the king must've sent her a message already and she never had the chance to answer it. She wanted to tap on that message, but refrained from doing that as this wasn't the time nor the place yet. Instead she taps on the message from Yax and is given two options in the form of symbols. One symbol was a speaker that said on the bottom: Listen to Message? The other symbol was the same speaker but had a grey rectangle around it as this said on the bottom: Listen to Message by speaker?
She was about to tap the speaker symbol without the grey rectangle around it and listen to it herself, but the rabbit cop, having already watched her pull out that contraption then gets Nick's attention, places a paw on top of hers, stopping her as she looks at Judy who tells the teenager, "I think it's best we all need to hear it for what we're going up against."
Tracy nods in understanding. It was probably for the best they all needed to know. So with that, she taps the speaker symbol with the grey rectangle and the screen changes to the palm tree symbol with a white background as they hear Yax's voice saying, "Hey, dudette! Just thought I'd call and tell you that I found out who that guy was you were wondering about. The guy was an arctic wolf, but from what I learned he was no ordinary wolf as he was not only slim, he was muscular and had grey hair with bangs, and from out of his black robes he had puffy slick pants that was grey with a black sash, grey vest with black trimming, and dark-grey fingerless gloves. Oh, yeah, he even had a bag similar to yours except his was more connected to the back of his pants that I mentioned. Well, hope this message gets to you and good luck out there. Peace out!"
When the message came to an end, two circles and one symbol appeared on the screen while it said Do You Wish To Save Message, Listen To Message Again, Or Delete Message? One circle on the left was the same light-blue with a dark-blue S and on the right shown a red circle with a white X, the same ones that Nick saw. But in the middle, there were curved arrows that formed a circle with the arrowheads in opposite directions. The three mammals looked at one another after hearing the message. Each of them had the same thoughts that ran in their heads. Was it possible that the intruder was the same arctic wolf that Yax described? If so, then why did he drag a fox kid in the midst? What was his motivation and what did he want? Worst of all, did he somehow follow them to the mansion where Mr. Big lives? Every question and yet no answer. However, there was one thing that was absolutely certain. Whoever this mysteriously strange arctic wolf was, he was dangerous.
As for Tracy, she had her own thoughts that didn't match Judy's or Nick's. In fact, she wondered about something else. Could it be that the arctic wolf and the fox kid were like her? Humans transformed into animals upon entering this world. Can it be that they...No, that can't be. That couldn't be possible. Yet somehow the answer became clear. They were not from the same world she was in, but a different world entirely. She even remembered that one word she read from King Mickey's grimoire before arriving here...multiverse.
Was it possible that there were other worlds other than this one and hers? Just what kind of new worlds that were just waiting out there for her to discover and see? The thoughts almost made her smile as her adventurous side was slowly kicking in. But her thoughts were put to a halt for now as Judy said to her, "I think you might wanna save that. We need that evidence in case we run into him."
Tracy nods in agreement as she taps on the light-blue circle with a dark-blue S and it saves the message while it returns to the message list.
"By the way, does it have a camera or maybe a camcorder in there?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Tracy taps on the back arrow as it takes her back to the main screen. "Only one way to find out is by looking. If it doesn't have any, I think it's a good idea for you to use your own phone if it has a camera and camcorder in it. So that way we can get any kind of evidence."
Judy nods as her smartphone actually does have those and it wasn't just a good idea coming from Tracy. It was a great idea. She never knew this cat was that clever. Before the teenaged cat could start searching, the polar bear cleared his throat, then tilted his head after he stopped the car, signaling them that they had arrived at the Rainforest District while the window wipers wiped away the light rain that pelted the car.
The three mammals come out of the car and the polar bear drives away from them, leaving them to the path where they will find Manchas. Tracy pulls her hood over her head to cover it from the rain while she follows Judy and Nick. Getting a little curious about something, she looks up and realizes there are no rain clouds here. "Why is it raining if there are no rain clouds?" she asked.
"That's because there are pipes with sprinklers that run around here which keeps the forest raining. That way it'll be moist and keep the plants healthy," Judy answered.
"Seriously?"
Judy nods.
"Wow!" Her eyes widened with surprise.
Nick chuckled a little and said with a smirk, "Welcome to the next part of Zootopia, kid."
As they continued on their path, they came across a rope bridge that led to a huge tree and a sign with the words "Tujunga" and "Vine". While walking on the bridge, Tracy and Nick looked down, seeing a very long fall which made the teenaged cat gulp some air before the two mammals took their attention away from the long drop.
When they arrive, Judy moves some vines covering the doorbell and rings it. Nick shook his body and feet to get rid of the water while Tracy only shook her feet and took her hood off. "Mr. Manchas," the rabbit cop said. "Judy Hopps, ZPD. We just wanna know what happened to Emmitt Otterton."
The door unlocked as it slowly creaked open while it was still chained locked. A black paw slowly crept forward and the three mammals eyes widened and a voice said in a Spanish accent, "You should be asking…" The black paw moved the door a little, revealing the face of a black jaguar who was Mr. Manchas. "What happened to me?"
Tracy gasped and covered her mouth with both paws as she saw the right-side of his eye closed and bruised while a scar was over it.
"Whoa!" Nick said as he and the two girls looked surprised. "Uh, a teensy otter did that?"
"What happened?" Judy asked the jaguar.
"He was an animal," Manchas answered with fear as he thought back from ten days before.
At the limo, Mr. Manchas was driving to Mr. Big's mansion with Emmitt Otterton in the backseat, wearing a black suit and black chauffeur's cap. Then, he hears scratching and gnawing. Moving the rear-view mirror, he tries to see what that otter was doing, but his green eyes widened with surprise as he saw him tearing up the seat.
"Down on all fours."
He looked back to get a better look, but didn't see the otter. The only thing he heard was a small growl. Then…
"He was a savage!"
He heard chittering and the otter pounced. Manchas screamed as he was losing control of the vehicle, but was lucky enough to dodge the oncoming truck. He skidded the limo off the road and made it come to a complete stop. Quickly jumping out in fear and crawling on the ground while his cap came off, he clutched his injured right-eye and watched with his other eye as the otter climbed on the roof of the limo, then Emmitt looked at the jaguar and snarls at him before running off somewhere on all fours.
When his thoughts of that horrendous night came to an end, he finished explaining, "There was no warning. He just kept yelling about the Night Howlers. Over and over, the Night Howlers."
The three mammals were confused as they looked at one another and Judy shrugged. They were wondering about this "Night Howler" thing. Just what was it exactly?
Nick had an idea on how to get that answer from Manchas as he said to him, "So you know about the Night Howlers, too? Good, good, good. Because the Night Howlers are exactly what we are here to talk about." He looks at the two girls. "Right?"
Tracy nods while Judy said, "Yup. So, uh, so you just open the door and tell us what you know, and we will tell you what we know. Okay?"
Manchas seemed to soften up a little. "Okay," he nods and closes the door, then unlocks the chain.
The two girls looked at Nick who had a smug grin and an eyebrow raised. "Clever fox," Judy said.
"I'll say," Tracy agreed. "Nice move, slick."
She playfully punches Nick's arm hard, making him massage it as he looked at her and said, "Ow! Not so hard."
Judy giggled a little at this scene, then there was clattering as it got the attention of all three mammals. They hear a slight scream coming from inside. "Mr. Manchas," the rabbit cop said as she pushed open the door after it came open by a tiny bit. They looked inside as the jaguar was on the floor, twitching and convulsing horribly while groaning and clutching his head. Manchas wore a simple white tank-top and grey pants.
"Buddy?" Nick said.
"What's the matter?" Tracy asked the jaguar.
"Are you…" Judy asked slowly. "...okay?"
Manchas stops convulsing and turns to face them on all fours, bearing his teeth at them while growling. His pupils were slit and ferocious. The jaguar had gone completely savage.
"That's a huge no." Tracy said.
"Run...Run!"
The three mammals made a run for it to the bridge while it continued to rain. Manchas runs after them on all fours, then jumps and lands on the bridge, making it bounce from impact. "What is wrong with him?" Nick said.
"I don't know!" Judy answered.
All three of them screamed, due to being pushed up by the force, and landed back on the bridge. When they got near the end, Judy quickly ushered Tracy to climb on the bridge, which the teenager didn't understand why but didn't have to think about that as the rabbit cop said to her and Nick, "Jump!"
Nick and Tracy yelp as they jump along with Judy, just as Manchas pounces, but ends up hitting his head on the "Tujunga" and "Vine" signpost. They land on a tree branch with Judy landing skillfully on her feet, Tracy landing on all fours, and Nick...Well, he landed painfully on his stomach as he groaned. The jaguar jumps after them and the two girls quickly take off while Judy grabs Nick's paw as he quickly gets up and she tells him, "Come on!"
They kept on running with the savaged jaguar quickly behind their tail until they came across a log and quickly dived inside and started crawling while Nick gasped. Manchas tried to get them, but couldn't fit as his jaws snapped at them. He quickly backs away and jumps on top of the log. Judy anticipated this and ordered, "Head down!" Nick gasped and Tracy yelped as the jaguar's paw broke through the log and swiped from the inside and missed, then he roared at them and snapped his jaws. While they continued to crawl, the rabbit cop took out her two-way radio. "Officer Hopps to dispatch."
At the ZPD, Clawhauser was showing a handcuffed male wolf, who stood next to a female polar bear that had her paw on his shoulder, a video of a dancing female gazelle as the cheetah asked him while chuckling a little, "Are you familiar with Gazelle, greatest singer of our lifetime, angel with horns?"
He shrugs at him.
"Okay, hold on. Keep watching." The screen zooms out while music was already playing in the background, showing a tiger's body that was dancing right next to Gazelle but had Clawhauser's head while the wolf looks at the polar bear who shrugged at him before he turned his attention back to the cheetah as he pointed at the screen. "Who's that beside her? Who is it?"
"Wow, you are one hot dancer, Benjamin Clawhauser." A computerized voice of Gazelle said.
Clawhauser laughed and hugged his smartphone, then showed the video again to the wolf. "It's me!" he said with excitement as he pointed at the face of himself on the tiger's body. "Did you think it was real?" He looks at his smartphone. "It looks so real!" His excitement completely dissipated and was replaced with disappointment. "It's not, it's just a new app." While he was talking, his microphone was already beeping. Meaning that someone needed an emergency. "Hold on a second."
The moment he pushed the button, Judy's voice shouts through the microphone, "Clawhauser!"
Startled, the cheetah jumped and juggled the microphone for a moment.
Back at the Rainforest District, the three mammals continued to crawl inside the log while Manchas roared and broke through the log and tried to swipe his paw at them again but missed, earning a gasp from Nick and a yelp from Tracy. "Clawhauser, listen to me, we have a 10-91!" Judy said through her two-way radio to Clawhauser. "Jaguar gone savage! Vine and Tudjunja!"
"It's Tujunga!" Nick and Tracy said in unison to correct her.
Judy nearly slipped as she cried, "Whoa!" But Nick managed to save her by grabbing her paw as they kept running. In the process, however, the rabbit cop dropped her two-way radio on the large branch.
"Okay, we're sending backup!" Clawhauser answered through the two-way radio. Manchas kept running after the three mammals, causing the small radio to bounce off the branch and fall. "Hopps! Hopps!"
They pant as they continued running on the path, until Judy pointed ahead and said to them, "There! Head for the sky trams!"
Just when they thought they were about to be safe once they arrive and climb on a sky tram away from the dangerous jaguar that still continued his pursuit over the three mammals, Judy's keen ear's heard a young male voice yell, "Thunder!"
She looks up, only to see a bolt of lightning coming right at them. "Look out!" she yelled.
Tracy and Nick looked up as well and screamed. They only had enough time as all three of them jumped, just as the bolt of lightning crashed on the ground, creating a black scorch, and sent a shockwave which pushed the three mammals forward and Manchas roared as he was pushed backwards from the force. He smacks onto a tree and falls unconscious. The cable of the sky trams rattled and shook from the sudden force, and the lights from the lamplights flickered as if they were hit by a power surge of electricity before stopping.
The three of them groaned after landing so hard on the ground, then Tracy gasped as her eyes looked upwards. Nick and Judy looked up as well as they saw two black robed individuals standing in midair while one possessed a grey aura and the other a yellow. They watched as they slowly descended on the ground and a floating yellow book returned back to the robes of a small individual. The teenaged cat knew who they were. They were the arctic wolf and the young fox.
The arctic wolf stared at the three of them, then he crossed his arms and said with a smile, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? It seems that Mr. Big wasn't lying about a fox and a rabbit who's a cop watching over the girl."
Nick leans in to Judy and whispers, "Carrots, that's definitely him. The one that Yax spoke about in the message."
"No doubt about it," Judy whispers back before she and Nick stand up along with Tracy. The rabbit cop then spoke to the arctic wolf, "Who are you and what do you want?"
The arctic wolf smiled behind the shadows of his hood and chuckled a little. "Getting to the direct approach then, huh? Alright, I'll cut it to you straight." He points at Tracy behind them. "The caretaker behind you has something that I want. Hand it over."
"Stay behind us," Judy ordered Tracy as she and Nick got close to protect her from this wolf. "You're not taking anything from her!"
The smile didn't leave him. Almost as if he knew that she was going to say that. With another small chuckle, he looks at the young fox and tilts his head at them. The young fox took only two steps before charging straight towards the rabbit. She managed to dodge two of his strikes, but he kicked her in the face, sending her flying and landing while sliding on the wet ground. "Judy!" Tracy and Nick said in unison.
They looked back at the young fox who turned his attention to Nick. He brought up his paws in a peaceful manner, hoping to at least talk some sense into him as he said, "Kid, listen, we can talk about this. One fox to ano-"
He didn't finish as the young fox jumped and kicked him at the side of his head, making his body spin then landing hard on the ground.
"Nick!" Tracy yelled as she was about to go to him, but gasped as the young fox stood in her way.
"Well then…" The arctic wolf said as Tracy looked at him and saw another grimoire float out of his robe. The pages flipped and stopped on something that Tracy couldn't see as he raised his paw. "Let's make this quick. I don't have time to be playing around with weaklings, especially little kids like you."
Grey aura surrounded her body, then it flickered and vanished, causing the arctic wolf's grimoire to spark white around the pages.
"What!" he said in shock as he looked at his book and back at her. He raised his paw as a grey aura surrounded her, but again it flickered and vanished while white sparks of white came and went around the pages. "How is this possible?" He thrusted his arm forward and a grey aura surrounded her while the bag lifted slightly. Once again the aura flickered and vanished as sparks of white came and went around the pages for the third time. He couldn't understand why his power wasn't working on her. With an annoyed sigh and nod, he said, "Do this the hard way then." He points at her and commands the young fox. "Take the book from her!"
The young fox began walking towards her with Tracy walking backwards, then the fox was tackled by Judy. She tried to subdue him, but in the process moved his hood, revealing the dark markings on his face and black eyes before the rabbit. "Oh, my God!" she gasped, horrified. When Tracy saw the young fox's face, she too gasped while covering her mouth with both paws.
However, while Judy was trying to figure out what happened to this poor boy, she along with Tracy and Nick saw a yellow book float out from the young fox's robes and the pages flipped. When it stopped at a page, Judy looked at them as she saw weird looking symbols glowed. Just what were those? What she didn't notice, yet Tracy did, was that his paw was forming electricity. "Look out!" the teenager yelled.
Too late to dodge, Judy saw his electrified paw right at her chest as he said, "Thundershock!"
The rabbit cop was hit by the electric force, sending her flying into the air.
"Judy!"
"Carrots!"
They watched helplessly as she crashed on the pole and landed on the ground on her front while grunting as small bits of electricity surrounded her and died.
The young fox rebounded until he was on his feet and facing Tracy again. He starts walking towards her while the book floated back into his robes, but Nick quickly gets up and wraps his arms around him, stopping him in his tracks. They hear a bell ring as a sky tram comes and the fox tells the teenage cat, "Go!"
Tracy didn't have to be told twice as she made a beeline to the sky tram. While she is running, the young fox elbows Nick's gut, making him groan, then quickly turns around and hits him right at the chest as the fox slides a little. The boy turned his attention back to Tracy, but Nick came back and placed his paw on the kid's shoulder. The young fox grabbed Nick's paw and bent his fingers down as they popped. He yelps in pain and the boy kicks him in the gut hard, putting Nick to his knees and ends it with another kick, this time at his face as he was knocked at his back and was clutching his nose.
As he starts walking once again towards Tracy while she was waiting for the sky tram to get closer. Judy managed to recover and quickly charged towards the young fox. He somehow noticed her coming as he stopped and looked at her, but he didn't anticipate as the rabbit cop hopped over and did a frontflip over him until she was right in front of him. "Sorry about this," she apologized.
She tried to kick him in the head, but he easily dodged by moving his head back after looking back at her. Thanks to her training at the academy, she learned a lot of fighting moves when handling mammals who were somewhere around her size or much larger mammals. Throwing some kicks at him, he managed to block them with only his leg and left arm when Judy tried to sweep his leg and kick him at the side of his waist and head, much to the rabbit cop's surprise that this kid had some defensive moves to counter.
Going on the offensive, the young fox threw a left and right hook. The rabbit cop easily dodged those as she grabbed his arm and tossed him to the ground, holding on to said arm. The young fox kicked Judy's head, making her let go of his arm, as he rebounded on his feet. He tried to roundhouse kick her to the head, but Judy dodged as she sweeped his feet and he jumped from that. While she was rolling away from him, he tried to kick her several times. Quickly getting to her feet, she grunted and charged at him, pushing him towards a pole of a lamplight as he tried to stop but the rain made the ground too slick. Putting his paws together, he hits Judy's back two times. When he tried to hit her a third time, she quickly knocked his paws aside and grabbed a paw, then turned him around as his front was facing the pole.
Taking out her handcuffs, she was about to cuff his one paw, then quickly grab his other paw and cuff him to the lamplight, but the young fox pushed her using his back and ran upwards on the pole while backflipping as he was in front of her. When she turned around, he kicked the cuffs out of her hands as it skidded away from her and brought out the handle of his katana. Before he could draw it, Judy charged straight at it and hoped to disarm him. Only for the two mammals to wrestle it with the young fox, kneeing her at the gut, causing her to groan as she refused to let go. As he kneed her in the gut a second time, she tried one last attempt to pull the sword from him. With one good tug, she and him spun as they faced one another. However, the young fox had already grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the sheath as he spun and swung the sword at her, much to Judy's surprise that she only got the sheath and not the sword.
There was a rip and she grunted in pain while clutching her arm. Moving her paw away, she looked, seeing there was a small cut that was bleeding. Luckily for her the cut wasn't deep and to add-in the luckiness of it all, it wasn't too serious. She only had a second to react as the young fox swung his blade, making her yelp a little as she dodged that swing, then there was a near close-call as she moved her head back, seeing the sharp edge glide safely away from her eyes. Bringing the blade of his katana down, Judy was forced to use the sheath to protect herself from the oncoming strike. Much to her surprise, the sheath withstood as it created a small spark after the blade made contact with it.
As he brought down the blade of his own sheath twice, each strike became hard as it easily put the rabbit cop on one knee. When he was about to strike the sheath a third time, then cut her down as she couldn't handle another blow, Judy reacted quickly as she rolled out of the way. Trusting her instincts, the young fox brought down his blade at her back and she blocked it as sheath and blade made contact with a clang. Pushing the sword up, she rolled again away from another swing of his sword, and quickly got up as she slid on the slick ground on her knees while he swung again, this time trying to take her head as she bent back and caught only a glimpse of her eyes from the reflection of his sword. Getting on her feet and turning to face him, she managed to dodge a swipe from his sword that was aimed at her midsection and clashed his sword with his sheath that she took.
While one was trying to push the other, the arctic wolf seemed a little impressed that this rabbit cop could put up a fight unlike the fox. "Not bad…" he crossed his arms. "...for a little rodent."
Judy glared at the arctic wolf. Did he just call her a rodent? That right there was downright insulting! However, that proved to be her downfall when she took her attention away from the young fox. With one push, he brings his sword down and Judy guards it, but that was a feint as he sliced the sword upward and disarmed her, sending the sheath into the air. She quickly hopped and front flipped over him after he thrusted at her, hoping to stab her in the gut. When she was behind him and caught the sheath, she swung it right at his head. Unfortunately, the young fox reacted quicker as he caught it, then he started spinning, carrying Judy as she held onto the sheath while much to her shock that this boy possessed such strength. It was like...like how it was with Tracy.
Nick came too as his nose bled from getting kicked so hard to the face and watched as his head followed the spinning. With one last spin, the young fox grunted and tossed the rabbit cop off of his sheath, sending her sliding on the wet ground while she tried to stop sliding so fast using her paws, but the ground was too slick. However, she was sliding towards the edge with no sign of stopping. "Carrots!" the fox yelled as he wiped the blood from his nose with his arm. Quickly getting up, he takes off in a mad dash, then jumps and slides on his belly, bringing his paw towards hers.
When Judy went over the edge and screamed, Nick grabbed her paw while she grabbed his wrist with her other paw. As she swings slightly from dangling at such a dangerous drop, she breathes heavily, trying to calm her racing heart. Nick already grabbed a bamboo support rail after catching Judy, he grunted as his arm shook and slowly brought the rabbit cop up a bit.
The moment she safely grabbed ahold of the edge while taking her other paw off of Nick's wrist, she sees the young fox with his sword raised and ready to strike. "Look out!"
Nick looked and gasped, then closed his eyes from the upcoming deathstroke as the young fox was aiming towards decapitating his head. But that never came as the arctic wolf said, "Don't focus on them! Focus on the caretaker!" He opened his eyes and sighed in relief as the boy turned his back on them, flicking the blade while marching towards Tracy with the arctic wolf following him.
As the sky tram finally arrived, Tracy opened the door and looked back for Nick and Judy, hoping that they were alright and came back for her. Instead, she finds them near the edge as the fox continues to pull the rabbit cop back up. "Guys!" she yelled.
"Go!" Judy yelled to her. "Don't worry about us!"
Before she could even climb in, the sky tram began moving away from her. "No, no, no!"
With the sky tram moving farther away from her, she was now trapped and at the mercy of the two robed mammals. The arctic wolf chuckled a little and said, "Looks like there's nowhere for you to run now. Why don't you be a good little girl and hand over the book?"
She brought the bag closer to her back, trying to protect the book that was inside as she valiantly said, "I'm never giving you King Mickey's grimoire!"
"Have it your way then," the arctic wolf shrugged. "Take her."
The young fox brings his katana over his head. Tracy slowly backed away and nearly slipped towards the deadly drop. Nick managed to bring Judy up and she tried to run over and save the teenaged cat, but was held back by the fox as he knew that she wouldn't make it in time while she yelled and raised a paw towards her, "No!"
Tracy never felt so helpless in all her life and now she was going to meet her end at the edge of that blade. Neither Judy, Nick, or anyone else in this world was going to help her. Out of fear for not wanting to die here in this world that wasn't her own, she desperately called out while shutting her eyes, "Someone! Anyone! Help!"
The blade descends...clang!
Nick and Judy gasped while the fox's jaw dropped, the arctic wolf's eyes widened with shock, and Tracy slowly opened her eyes. Right in front of her was a ball of light which stopped the young fox's blade from reaching her. What she didn't realize was that the moment she cried out for help, the king's grimoire somehow heard her cry as that same ball of light came out of the mouse symbol and flew out of the bag. The young fox tried to push that ball out of his way, but it refused to budge as they all heard a squeaky but young voice say, "You could've at least called me sooner since I already sensed danger, ya know."
While Nick and Judy looked here and there to find whose voice that was, Tracy's eyes widened. Did that ball just talk to her?
That same ball of light pushed the sword, then quickly uppercuts the young fox's chin, sending him flying towards the arctic wolf as he crashed at his chest and causing him to slide on the slick ground before coming to a stop. The ball of light spun and expanded slightly as it took shape while stardust surrounded it. As it dissipated, there stood a male mouse with his back facing Tracy and facing the two robed mammals along with Nick and Judy, whose eyes widened with shock. His face looked the same as the mouse symbol and what Yax described. However, his body was white with the exception of his face since that was grey and he wore a silver robe with grey trimming, grey belt with a white star buckle, silver gloves, and silver shoes.
"Carrots," Nick said to Judy without taking his eyes off of that mysterious mouse who suddenly appeared. "Please hit me. I need to be sure I'm not seeing things."
Without looking since her eyes too weren't leaving that mouse, she accidentally hits his already sore nose. Nick grunts as he massages it and Judy turns her attention to him. "Oh, I am so sorry." She apologized as she didn't mean to hit him there. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," he assured her as he stopped massaging his nose. "Just needed to know if this was real." The two mammals turned their attention back towards the mouse, clearly not imagining it for either of them. When they came out of their stupor, Nick asked, "Who is this guy?"
"I think...I think that must be…"
"...King Mickey?" Tracy said. The mouse turned to face her as she could tell that he was a bit taller than her. "Are you...Are you actually-"
"Not really, Tracy. I'm just a copy, created by King Mickey's magic. So in a way…" He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm Mickey, but not King Mickey."
Tracy seemed surprised. Not because Mickey was a copy of the actual King Mickey, but because he said her name. "How did you know my name?"
He smiled at her and answered while tapping the side of his head, "Let's just say the king implanted a little memory about you so I could know your face." He stops tapping his head and places his hands on his waist. "Other than that, the king did tell you about me, right?"
This confused her. "Huh?"
Mickey sighed and crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you didn't listen to the message yet, did you?"
She nods her head to him.
Uncrossing his arms, he then said to her, "Well, you might wanna take out your badge and start listening to-"
He didn't have a chance to finish as the young fox came behind him and jumped up, bringing his sword in a downward strike on the mouse. Mickey raised his arm up and a ball of light formed around his hand, stopping the blade as it came in contact with another clang. "Excuse me. Will talk later." Quickly turning around his hand glowed as he thrusted it forward at the boy's chest. "Light!" The young fox was sent back as his feet slid on the slick ground. He only had enough time to defend himself as Mickey clasped the ball of light and it formed into a shape of a sword as he charged straight forward and clashed his sword with the boy's katana. "Sparx!" Mickey said to him. "You need to snap out of it!"
Nick and Judy looked at one another. Was that the young fox's name? It sounded a little odd.
The arctic wolf chuckled and said, "Go ahead. Try and talk some sense into him. It wouldn't even matter, because this is powerful dark magic. So nothing you could say will make him come back."
Tracy, Nick, and Judy were a little shocked about what he just said. Did he say "dark magic"? That couldn't be possible. For the fox and rabbit cop, they knew that there was no such thing as magic. But after what they just witnessed so far, they didn't know what to think except that one word. As for Tracy, from what she experienced so far, magic was the only logical explanation to what's happening since she's been stuck in this world. If there was good magic, then there must be bad magic.
"I see," Mickey gives a small grin. "Well in that case. If mere words won't be enough…" Pushing aside Sparx's sword, he spins a kick at his head, sending the young fox crashing at the bamboo railing. Instead of falling, Sparx's yellow aura surrounds him as he slides to a stop while still in midair. Then, Mickey jumps towards the arctic wolf as he brings his sword up and says, "I'll try this!"
"Nice try." The arctic wolf gave his own small grin and crossed his arms as his grimoire floated out of his robes and the pages flipped, stopping on a page as a grey shield surrounded him and Mickey's sword made contact with it. "Did you honestly think that I casted that spell on him?"
"It was a 50% chance either way, but thank you for telling me."
His eyes looked as they saw Sparx, whose paw had already formed electricity as it was brought back while his grimoire was floating right next to him. Mickey quickly defended himself, just as Sparx threw his paw at him and yelled, "Thundershock!"
Mickey was sent flying by the electric force while his sword was surrounded in bits of electricity before dying. He slid to a stop as he was in midair, then with a flick of his sword, he charged straight at Sparx. The boy did the same as his sword clashed with his. With one trying to push the other, neither side budged. So the boy allowed Mickey to push him with his sword, giving him momentum as he skips upwards to the air, then charges at him with his sword thrusting forward. Mickey parries that attack, but doesn't have enough time to guard as Spark kicks his head, sending him flying to the pole as he crashes back first.
Sparx charges at him, sword ready to strike. The mouse clone cartwheeled while still remaining in midair as the boy sliced the pole clean off and the destroyed pole fell off the bridge. Swords danced as they clashed and clanged as mouse and fox dueled in the air, until Sparx tried to slice Mickey at his midsection, but he jumps backs as he backflips in the air, then the boy quickly gets in front of him and kicks him in the chin as he was sent upwards into the air. He sails up after the mouse and brings his sword down on him, only for Mickey to bring his sword up as Sparx's blade clashed with his and the force sent him downwards to the bridge.
As he backflips and lands skillfully on the ground, he jumps out of the way as Sparx had already went after him while bringing his sword in a downwards strike, then he acrobatically dodges each strike from the boy's katana before jumping over him and barely misses that katana from cutting him. When the two duelists were at a good distance with each other, Mickey gets into a guard stance and Sparx takes his sheath out of his belt, puts his sword back in, and crouches down low as he brings his paw close to the handle.
While the rain continued to pelt on the four mammals and a single round-eared mouse, giving the scene more of a dramatic appearance for the two duelists, the four spectators kept their eyes focused on the two as neither of them made a move. Then...electricity surrounded Sparx as his eyes glowed yellow and the pages of his grimoire flipped and stopped on a page...clank. The two duelists charged at each other at the same time, with Mickey bringing out one hand as a small ball of light formed. Time seemed to slow down as the mouse clasped the ball of light and it formed into another sword, and began to swing the other towards the young fox. Sparx drew his sword as electricity surrounded it and he yelled, "Lightning Sword Barrage!"
Just like that, the sounds of fast clanging came before the spectators while the two duelists stood at one another with their arms moving so fast that not even the naked eye could see. However, what they did see was a dome surrounding them as not a single drop of rain touched either of them, like a spell that no one casted, and sparks danced here and there. The arctic wolf smiled as he seemed to enjoy the spectacle, but for Judy, Nick, and Tracy, they were finding this hard to believe. No one could move that fast, it was impossible. Yet standing before them, they were seeing the impossible happen.
With one last clang of their weapons, Mickey crossed his swords in an X-shape with Sparx's katana in between those blades while the dome dissipated and the rain pelted them once again. The mouse backflipped with the young fox jumping back as he brought his paw back. The pages of his grimoire flipped and stopped on another page, then a light-blue ball with electricity surrounding it formed around his paw as he thrusted it forward and yelled, "Lightning Plasma Wave!"
A wave of light-blue electricity surged towards Mickey, but he brought his right sword back while his left one was at his chest, then he yelled, "Full Counter!"
The moment his blade made contact with the wave of light-blue electricity, the wave broke apart into balls of light while still being surrounded in electricity as they went straight towards Sparx. However, the pages of his grimoire flipped and stopped on a page once again as he said, "Thunder Shield!"
A yellow dome surrounds him as the attack makes contact with it, causing an explosion with some of the electricity going to a few lamp posts and making them pop from the sudden surge, and the force of the explosion made some of the bamboo railings to be blown off while the arctic wolf stood there unaffected by the force and Nick and Judy ducked from the force. Tracy, however, didn't have enough time to duck as she was pushed over the edge and started falling. As she screamed, Mickey turned around and said, "Tracy!" He runs over the edge and jumps after her. "Haste!" His body glowed orange for the moment before he dived headfirst after the screaming cat.
When the screams died down, Judy buried her head on Nick's chest and sobbed while saying, "No!" Nick hugs her, trying to comfort her as he too felt a little sad. Even though they barely knew much about her, Tracy was still their friend. Now she was gone.
However...they heard a small boom before something darted straight up and fast. They looked up and saw Mickey flying straight up with a white aura surrounding him and Tracy's arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. Nick and Judy gave relieved happy sighs as Tracy was alive while the mouse said to the arctic wolf, "You want the book so badly from the caretaker? Come and get it!"
Mickey flies away with Tracy in tow as the arctic wolf looks at Sparx as the yellow dome surrounding him dissipates and he orders, "After them!"
With the order given, a yellow aura surrounds Sparx as he jumps and flies after them.
The arctic wolf chuckles amusingly as he looks at Nick and Judy and said, "Well then, until my puppet deals with them and gets that book, my blood is starting to boil a little after watching that fight." His grimoire floats out of his robe, then he smiles. "So how about we have a little fun while we wait till he gets back."
Back with Mickey, Tracy, and Sparx, the mouse continued to fly with the teenaged cat holding on tightly to him. She looked back and caught a glimpse of the young fox. "He's right behind us!"
"Yeah, I know! Just hold on!"
He flies upwards, then dives downwards towards the traffic with Spark following them. While they were flying as Mickey was hoping to use the oncoming traffic to lose him, cars honked their horns and swerved out of the way of the flying duo. The pages of Sparx's grimoire flipped and stopped on a page as he raised a paw. Yellow balls of electricity surround him as he yells, "Electrical Spheres!"
The electric balls shoot towards them, forcing Mickey to dodge left and right with Tracy yelping. Upon each ball making contact on the road, cars screeched to a halt while others swerved trying not to get hit. In the process, caused each car to crash into one another. Seeing that this was not going to work and not wanting to risk innocent lives, Mickey tells Tracy, "Hold on tight! We're about to go really fast! Hastega!"
His body glows orange again as it mixes with his white aura, then zooms at top speed, creating a small boom as the mouse clone flew away from the traffic. Electricity surrounds Sparx while the pages of his grimoire flip and stop at a page. "Lightning Speed!"
Like a crack of thunder booming on a stormy weather, a shockwave of yellow electric energy shot out as he zipped fast after them while causing the electricity to flicker the traffic lights and making the cars stop in their tracks as their head and back lights automatically shut off.
Mickey and Sparx zip across the jungle here and there, dodging trees and vines while the young fox's grimoire flipped and stopped at another page. Electricity surrounds both of his paws as he lifts them and yells, "Lightning Discharge!"
Webs of lightning shot out towards them, and Mickey caught a glimpse of them and said, "Full Guard!" A white dome surrounds them as the lightning bounces off and hits the trees, causing them to ignite into a small fire. The mouse clone soars upwards above the treetops while the white dome dissipates, but the young fox's grimoire had already flipped and stopped on another page as he followed them.
"Thunder Chain Strike!"
Above the clouds, circles with runes surrounding them with a lightning symbol at the center appeared here and there, something which made Tracy surprised after seeing that. Then one after the other, those circles fired bolts of lighting at them, making the teenage cat yelp while Mickey dodged each one. This seemed to make the fire down below them to get worse from each lightning strike. Bringing out his hand, a ball of light forms as he clasps it and creates a sword once again. He slowed down a bit and timing it perfectly, all the circles fired as the bolts of lightning became one big lightning bolt and he yelled, "Full Counter!"
With a swift of his sword, he redirected the lightning right back at Sparx while he crossed his arms and yelled, "Thunder Shield!"
A yellow dome surrounds him once again as the lightning bolt makes contact with it, causing an explosion while a wave of yellow and electricity surges around everything. "Hold on!" Mickey tells Tracy as he dives towards the trees. The wave of yellow electricity makes it halfway to the city of Zootopia. Upon contact, half of the city's electricity goes out from the sudden surge. Down below the treetops, Mickey and Tracy were on a branch as they looked above and saw a brown cloud had already formed around Sparx after the explosion. Then, Mickey was the first to hear something as he smiled and said, "Well, looks like someone has arrived to pick you up."
This confused her. "What're you-" She didn't finish as her right ear twitched. Standing at attention, her acute ears began to pick up the sounds of sirens. Could it be the police that Judy called in? Looking below, she could barely see police cars coming their way.
The smoke cleared as Sparx already drew his sword and raised it over his head, the runes of his grimoire glowed as it already stopped at a page while the katana glowed yellow and electricity surrounds it. When he noticed that Mickey and Tracy were gone, he lowered his sword and looked here and there. Knowing what was going to happen next once the young fox catches on, the mouse clone looked at the teenager and said to her with a serious face, "Tracy." The girl looked at him. "There won't be much time, so listen to me very carefully. First, no matter what happens, do not-I repeat-do not let anyone have that book. You must protect it at all costs until you give it back to the real Mickey. Second, sooner or later you must bring out your sword and face-off against Sparx, you are the only one who could free him from the dark magic that's possessing him."
Tracy gives the mouse clone a "You can't be serious?" look. She has to fight against him? That's suicide! He was too quick and could easily slice her up in a million pieces. Worst of all, he could fry her tail off by electrocuting her. "Bu-But I-"
"Don't worry," Mickey assured her by placing his hands on her shoulders while leaning down, calming her fear as he could see it in her eyes. "I promise when the time comes, I'll be there to guide you. Just remember one thing when you face Sparx again. Aim at the front of his grimoire."
"Why?" she asked confusingly.
"You'll see," he smiled. "Oh, speaking about guiding you." He presses two fingers on her forehead while doing the same thing to his.
"What're you-"
"Mind Link!"
A circle with a mouse symbol appears on Mickey's forehead, then the same symbol appeared on Tracy's forehead before both disappeared. Taking his fingers down, the girl touched her forehead and asked, "What did you do?"
"I casted The Mind Link spell. So that way we can communicate with each other telepathically." Like this.
Tracy gasped as she looked left and right from hearing a voice in her head.
Mickey telepathically chuckled and turned her head to face him while he smiled and said through her mind, It's alright. I know it'll seem strange, but you'll get used to it. Just know that I'll be speaking to you like this whenever I'm not around you. If you ever need me, just either call me telepathically or shout out my name. Will be in touch through our minds. They heard electricity build up as they looked up and saw Sparx about to slice his sword on the treetops, meaning he finally caught on. "Get ready."
"What?"
"Jump!" He jumps off the branch while holding onto Tracy.
As the girl screamed, stardust surrounded Mickey as the mouse clone turned back into a ball of light and returned back to the king's grimoire with Tracy thinking, Oh no! Don't leave me!
Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you. Just brace yourself.
Sparx slices through the air in a circular motion while holding onto the handle with both paws as he yells, "Thunder Lash!"
A slash of yellow energy mixed with electricity shoots out around him and destroys half of the treetops, but couldn't find either the mouse clone or the caretaker as he had already missed them.
Down below, police cars were on their way to Judy's location. Chief Bogo's car was leading in front of the squad of police mammals. However, that didn't mean he noticed the explosions coming from the distance where the highway was, with reports from the police saying about a thunderstorm that suddenly struck, causing severe wreckage where mammals got hurt. Not to mention, he was hearing from the radio about a massive shockwave which caused half of the city of Zootopia to lose power and a mysterious but small wildfire erupted in The Rainforest District where the firefighters of that area were now dispatched to deal with it before it got worse. He knew that this has something to do with that girl named Tracy. Somehow she was responsible for what's happening to the city. This was going to be the last time he ever puts her with that rabbit and once he finds that cat, he is definitely going to put her-
A flash of yellow with electricity surged above the treetops, making him look upward from the front of his window. "What the…" Tracy smacks into his front window, belly first as she gives a loud mreow. "Ah!" he screamed in surprise, then trees started to fall in the road as it caused him to scream again. He swerves his car left and right, dodging some of the trees that fell on the road with the other police mammals following suit. Tracy could only hold on to the windshield wipers while giving out another loud mreow.
Chief Bogo hits the breaks, causing his car to screech to a halt. In the process, the other cars screech to a halt, but one of them hits the back of his car. The force became so hard that he was lucky his head didn't break through the window. Instead, webs of cracks formed slightly around where his hard head hit it at. He placed a hoof on his head while grunting slightly in pain. Now he was angry. He looks at the window where Tracy was fogging the glass a little from her fast pants, trying to calm her racing heart from falling so high as she was glad that she didn't die.
As her pants slowed down, she wiped away the fog with her paw, only to gasp as she saw the glaring eyes of Chief Bogo while he already leaned forward to where she was at. "Uh, Chief Bogo…" she said to him. "I can explain everything."
She could only flinch as he snorted, making the opposite side of the front window fog.
Meanwhile, back with Judy, Nick, and the arctic wolf, after the mouse clone flew away with Tracy and Sparx went after them. The arctic wolf's grimoire had stopped at a page as he said to them, "Tell me you two. Can you dance?"
Nick seemed confused by what he said while Judy glared at him and said, "Alright, just who do you think you are and what're you playing at? This is not a-"
"Shut-up and dance you little pest!"
He raised his arms up as small grey balls surrounded his arms. Judy gasped in fright and backed up a little while Nick's eyes widened as he said, "Oh boy."
Like a machine gun being fired, the small grey balls shot out of his arms while he maniacally laughed as both Judy and Nick dodge their feet from the deadly projectiles that were shot at the ground with sparks dancing around them. The way they were dodging seemed to be like they were dancing. In a rather silly way that is. "Carrots," Nick said. "I can't keep doing this. You better have some way to get us out of this."
"I'm thinking. I'm thinking." Her eyes were looking at a pole with no lamplight while Nick's eyes were looking at the other pole that still had its lamplight but no electricity. They looked at one another as they had the same idea. "Split-up on three?"
"On three."
"One-"
"Three!"
Nick took off before they did the full count with Judy quickly going the other way. The arctic wolf spread his arms out without looking at either of them while saying, "There's no use running. I can keep at this all day and night until I get bored of you two." The small grey balls tore apart the bamboo railings on both sides as Nick and Judy were now behind him.
As he turns around and faces the two mammals, Judy whispers to Nick, "Get ready to give me a boost."
With a nod from the fox, the rabbit backs away while the arctic wolf said as he readied another volley of small grey balls, "What're you two whispering about?"
Then, he heard something falling from both sides as he quickly looked and noticed the two poles coming down at him. What he didn't realize was that the small grey balls not only tore apart the bamboo railings, they even damaged the poles to the point of breaking and he never took the time to look because he was too busy enjoying himself. As the two poles descended simultaneously. "Hiya!" He jumps and spin kicks the two poles, sending one that did not have a lamplight on it towards the jungle and the other that does over the bridge.
He gives an amusing chuckle while his back is turned. He was about to say "Nice try.", but heard the rabbit cop saying "Now!" and then the fox "Alley-Oop!"
"Huh?"
He turns around, only to see the rabbit cop front flipping and soaring in the air towards his face. Once again, he never noticed that Judy got a running start before running towards Nick fast as he cupped his paws and she jumped on them, getting the momentum needed to make a big leap. Her body made contact with his face, stunning him as he grunted and stumbled a little while his hood came down. Nick was a little surprised that Yax was right about him possessing grey hair and bangs. One good look at him and he could tell that he was no ordinary arctic wolf.
The arctic wolf shakes his head, then looks left and right, looking for the rabbit that just hit him with her body. When he couldn't find her, believing that she somehow went over the edge from the rebound, he smiled and looked at the fox, saying to him, "Looks like your friend was dumber than she was."
Nick gives him a smug grin and points up. "Wanna bet?"
The arctic wolf looks up, only to receive a foot to his face as Judy comes down. She grabbed onto one of his bangs, causing him to yelp slightly as she swung, making him turn around as his back was facing Nick, then kicked him in the chin while backflipping as he stumbled backwards. However, he lost his footing and slipped on the slippery ground as he yelped again and fell on his back.
Taking this as her chance, Judy runs and jumps unintentionally at his crotch. He groans in pain as his eyes bulge while Judy yells, "Nick!" She kicked the arctic wolf's grimoire as it was still in the air and it went straight to the fox who caught it. With a grunt, Nick tosses the book over the bridge, having the same thought as Judy as they knew that as long as that book was near him they couldn't stop him, but take away that book and he was a powerless wolf.
The arctic wolf growled, aggravated from getting hit down below the belt. His glaring eyes stared at that rabbit cop who gave him a smug grin and leaning down with her arm at her leg while her foot was tapping on his chest and the back of her paw placed on the side of her waist as she said to him, "Not so tough now without your book are you?"
With another growl, the arctic wolf's eyes glowed grey as he said through clenched teeth, "Oh yeah."
Judy's eyes widened when she saw his eyes glowed. It was similar the way it happened with Tracy, except hers had a different color. Then she saw the book floating upwards where the fox threw it. "Nick, look out!"
Nick looked as he saw the book floating fast towards him. "Whoa, hit the deck!"
He ducked as the book flew over his head while it opened and the pages flipped. The arctic wolf brought his paw that had his thumb over his first finger in front of Judy. "My turn."
With a flick of his finger, the rabbit was sent sailing in the air while screaming, but a grey aura surrounds her as she stops and is suspended in midair. "Judy!" Nick yelled. The fox's body was then surrounded in the same grey aura as Judy's as he too was brought into the air and he and the rabbit cop were side by side in front of the arctic wolf.
"Well, I'll admit," the arctic wolf said as he flicked the back of his paws, grey aura surrounding him for a moment before dissipating and was back on his feet in an instant. "For little weaklings, no one has managed to put me down that easily." The pages of his book flipped and stopped at a page as a grey ball formed on his paw, then he clasped that said ball, similar to how Mickey did it, and it formed into a dagger as he pointed it at them. "But hitting me below the belt is gonna cost you both your lives." He smiles at them as he continues, "As much as I'm tempted to do that, I'm still in a good mood. So I think I'll play with you two a bit longer since this is getting a little interesting for me."
They heard a loud boom through the distance as all three of them looked and saw thunder blazing downwards yet none of them could see anything. However, they knew who that was through the distance as Judy and Nick became worried for Tracy who was still with Mickey. BOOM! A loud explosion with a flash of yellow and electricity surged above them. Nick had a surprised look while Judy gasped and covered her mouth with both paws as the three mammals saw half of the city of Zootopia lose power from the sudden surge and a bit of smoke over the distance where a fire was being started somewhere in the Rainforest District.
With a small chuckle from the arctic wolf, they turn their attention back to one another as he said to them, "It seems that my puppet is starting to get serious. I wouldn't be surprised if the kid who's with Mickey would survive against a Guardian of Thunder."
There it was again with this "Guardian" thing. First they hear it from Yax and now this guy. Just what is a Guardian and who are they? That question still rang in their minds from Judy and Nick. However, there was one thing they did figure out. It had to do with those books they call grimoires and this magic stuff from what they witnessed so far. Was that what linked these mammals to this so-called Guardian? If so, then where did they come from?
...That was when it hit them. After seeing the clone of King Mickey, he wasn't like the mice they know in this world. So could it be that they...No...No it can't be. It's not even possible! But the answer was right there before their very eyes. For Nick, he wondered who these people were? Are they aliens or something? As for Judy, was this what Chief Bogo said about the "classified information" he mentioned? Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, what did she get herself into? She and Nick looked at one another. Not because they were still concerned for Tracy's safety, but because they had the same thought…
How powerful were these Guardians anyway?
The arctic wolf seemed to tell what those two were thinking as he giggled a little and said, "If you two are still wondering how powerful a Guardian truly is. Let's just say…" He points ahead to the city of Zootopia. "We can easily destroy an entire city with just one spell."
Judy and Nick's eyes widened with shock. Can they actually do that? Oh, what were they thinking. Of course they could do that, it was only a matter of time. Just thinking about it sent chills down their spines as they could almost imagine the countless lives that would be in danger from these dangerous mammals. And this went way beyond the missing mammals that the law enforcement were trying to solve for literally two weeks. Come to think of it, was it possible that he was linked to these missing mammals? If so, then what was his endgame?
"Compared to you and me. I'm more of an apex predator who consumes the weak and fights the strong. But for you two and the rest of the world…" He flicked his arm as Judy and Nick screamed slightly as they were sent sailing forward to the ground and rolled upon landing until they came to a complete stop. "You're nothing more than mere insects that I could easily step on!" The arctic wolf slowly walks to them while the two mammals crawled away from him as the pages of his grimoire flipped and stopped at a page as grey balls surround him, then each of them formed into daggers like the one he was still holding in his paw. "Do you know what I like and dislike about this world?"
"Uh, no, but I bet you're going to tell us," Nick said.
With another giggle from the arctic wolf, he smiled and said, "Having targets to play with!" He tosses the dagger that he had in his paw as Judy and Nick separated and tried to run around him to get away, but the other daggers that were floating around him seemed to have minds of their own, almost like they were controlled by his own thoughts, and several daggers embedded themselves on the ground in front of the two mammals, stopping them in their tracks. As the two mammals ran back while dodging daggers here and there, the arctic wolf continued, "I like to see my victims put up a struggle before I see the despair looks on their faces, knowing that they could never win against me. Other than that, I also like to fight stronger opponents so it'll get my blood boiling." He gets Nick and Judy halfway towards the edge. "What I dislike about this world is not only being a furry freak…" Nick and Judy were confused about what he said as they hopped slightly from each dagger that was aimed at their feet. "I have to trample around with a bunch of weak little pests and rodents." The two mammals jumped from the daggers that were aimed at their lower areas and looked upside down between their legs. "Like you two!" He giggles a little, then he and the two mammals hear another boom as they look through the distance again and see a flash of yellow and what appeared to be treetops that were in the air before descending. Looking back at them, the pages of his grimoire flipped and stopped on another page as he raised his paw and the daggers joined together in a ball. "I think it's time I put an end to this." Judy and Nick looked at him as the arctic wolf clasped the ball, forming it into a dual-sided spear. "Don't want my puppet Sparx to have all the fun with that mouse clone. But y'know…" He gives a toothy grin. "...this'll be my first-time facing off against a clone. So I wonder how powerful he is when he faces off against me and see for myself if he possesses the same power as the king."
Judy and Nick's eyes widened as they looked behind the arctic wolf. Slowly coming towards him while growling was the savage jaguar Manchas, who managed to come too after being knocked unconscious and saw not only the two mammals, but an arctic wolf as well. They turn their attention back to the arctic wolf as he spins his spear on his paw and says, "Oh, I'm gonna have myself some rabbit's feet as my lucky charms and a fox's tail as a souvenir while I dine on some rabbit and fox meat tonight."
Judy cringed in disgust when he said something so gruesome. How sick was this wolf?
"Uh, yeah, before you do that," Nick said. "Can I at least speak my last words?"
The arctic wolf sighed in annoyance as he brought the blade of his spear back. "Fine, get it out."
The fox pointed behind him and said, "Might wanna look behind you, chum."
The arctic wolf's eyes widened when his ears heard growling behind him and his eyes slowly looked behind. Manchas crouches down, then pounces as the arctic wolf quickly turns around and brings his spear up. He was knocked down on his back while the spear was at the jaguar's neck, keeping his snapping jaws away as he grunted and turned his head away.
Nick slowly walks away from the two struggling predators with Judy close behind him while he said to them, "I know you guys are probably busy with each other, so we're just gonna give you guys some personal space."
Manchas roared and lunged at them, knocking them backwards as they crash on a bamboo railing and start to fall while the arctic wolf screams angrily. The rabbit cop manages to quickly grab onto a vine and Nick's paw at the same time as they start to swing.
Nick screams slightly while Judy's ears could barely make out the arctic wolf saying, "...my prey...yours…"
As they started to swing back, the fox grabbed Judy's wrist with his other paw and said to her, "Rabbit, whatever you do, do not let go!"
Judy sees a vine cluster up ahead. An idea starts to form in her head. "I'm gonna let go!"
"No, you, what?" Nick had a shocked expression on his face.
"One…"
"No, I said, listen to me!"
"Two…"
"No, I said do not-" Judy lets go of the vine, sending both herself and the fox into the air. "RABBIT!"
Judy screams as she and Nick land safely on the vine cluster. They looked above the bridge where Manchas and the arctic wolf were, but they couldn't see any of them and they could only assume that they were still struggling up there. Nick looks at the vines he was in, then glances at Judy with amazement as he says to her, "Carrots, you saved my life."
"Well," she smiled at him. "That makes us even since you saved mine and that's what we do at the ZPD-eeaahhh!"
Their safety was cut-short as the vines broke and the two mammals fell. They bounced off three big leaves, then they were falling face-first towards the road below them. Luck seemed to be on their side as a bunch of vines wrapped both Judy and Nick together, entangling them as they stopped a few feet off the ground. Nick pants a little, glad that they were both still alive while they heard sirens and police cars coming their way. Judy was glad that they were coming, because they needed to help them find Tracy and hoped to God that she was still alive with Mickey protecting her.
The police cars stopped where they were at as Chief Bogo was the one who got out first. He walks towards them, carrying what appeared to be some kind of cage to fit-in a small mammal. Nick and Judy were happy beyond belief when they saw Tracy, alive and safe. However, they became confused for two reasons. One: Where was Mickey? Was he out there somewhere still fighting against Sparx? And two: Tracy was inside that cage as she was sitting there cross-legged. Chief Bogo sighed as he placed his other hoof on the side of his waist while he had an unamused look and said, "Well, this should be good."
"Tracy," Judy said as she was the first to come out of her confusion. "What're you doing in a cage?"
Tracy sighed as she had her own unamused look and placed a paw on the side of her face while leaning on it and saying, "Don't ask."
Whoo! That was an epic chapter! Hoped y'all enjoyed that. However, now that the arctic wolf, whose name is yet to be revealed, is after King Mickey's grimoire from Tracy. Is he truly somehow connected to the missing mammals or is it something else entirely? And what about Tracy? Sooner or later she'll have to face-off against Sparx The Guardian of Thunder and must free him from a dark spell that's controlling him. Will she be able to do it? That's to be expected somewhere in the story and the stakes has been raised as the danger is greater than before.
More chapters to be expected later, but I'm not sure when. Till then, I'll see y'all later for now!
