Chapter 24: A Passionate Speech To The True Villain! A Primal Expression Of Love
The three of them ran through the museum exhibits, not bothering to stop and look at the exhibits. To Alex, every single moment passing was another moment where the Night Howler afflicted animals had to suffer. Alex was carrying the case. As they approached the exit, a voice called out, "Judy! Judy!"
The wolf, bunny, and fox stopped in their tracks and turned to the source of the voice. Mayor Dawn Bellwether ran towards them with two guards. "Dawn?" Alex asked in surprise. He didn't expect her to be here. "Mayor Bellwether!" Judy exclaimed. They met up with her. "We found out what's happening. Someone's darting predators with a serum. That's what's making them go savage!" Judy told her.
"I'm so proud of you, Judy! You did just a super job!" Bellwether chuckled. "Thank you ma'am." Alex and Judy chorused. "I'll go ahead and take that case now, Alex." Bellwether said. Alex moved to hand her the case, but then froze. Dawn reached out to take it from Alex, but the wolf recoiled and leapt backwards.
"How did you know we were here?" Alex whispered as horrified realization dawned on his face. Judy and Nick sensed something wrong and came to the same conclusion as Alex, beginning to move away from Bellwether as well. "You know what, I think this evidence should be taken directly to the ZPD. Wouldn't want to break the chain of command, eh?" Alex nervously chuckled.
They turned around only to see a large, menacing ram standing in front of the entranin ce, blocking their only means of escape. "GO!" Alex yelled, and the three heroes bolted. "Get them!" Bellwether hissed. The three rams chased after them, with Alex, Judy, and Nick ducking into a closed section of the museum.
As they were running, Alex heard Judy let out a cry of pain. Worried, the wolf turned around and saw her clutching her leg and limping. Nick was dressing her wound with a handkerchief Judy had given him. "You know first aid?" Alex whispered. "A Scout is always prepared. Even though I got kicked out of that troop I never stopped pursuing that passion." Nick solemnly said as he bandaged her leg up.
Alex noted the blueberry juice stains on the handkerchief. Too bad they didn't have any blueberries. They could swap one of them out for the night howler pellet and dispose of it. "Take the case. Get it to Bogo." Alex told Nick. "Come on out, Judy…" Bellwether's voice called out. "I'm not leaving either of you!" Nick whispered. "Nick, I can't walk!" Judy hissed.
Alex spied a statue of a primal warrior rabbit carrying a spear, and slid it in front of a wall that was illuminated by the sunlight, casting a shadow on the wall. The wolf then scooped Judy up and held her over his shoulders, beginning to move out with Nick. As they silently crept through the museum, Bellwether spoke. "We're on the same team, Judy! Underestimated, underappreciated... Aren't you sick of it? Predators may be strong and loud, but prey outnumbers predators ten to one. Think of it. Ninety percent of the population united against a common enemy. We'll be unstoppable." Bellwether announced.
Alex heard shuffling, and then Bellwether shouted "Over there!" That had to mean they'd been spotted. The fox and wolf began to sprint for the entrance, but the largest of Bellwether's rams cut them off and rammed them into the nearby pit exhibit. In the chaos, Nick dropped the case containing the Night Howler gun. Alex groaned as he sat back up.
Bellwether chuckled as she walked over to them, looking down on them with a triumphant expression. "Dawn… why? Why would you do this?" Alex sadly said. "Oh, Alex. You're so naive. Predators have been taking advantage of prey like me since the dawn of time. It doesn't matter whether they stopped eating us. They'll always look down on us and treat us as inferior." Dawn sighed, a tone of loathing in her voice.
Alex stood up and glared at her. "How DARE you! I have NEVER looked down on someone for their species!" Alex snarled. "Maybe not you, but everyone else does. You wouldn't believe what I've been through." Dawn retorted icily.
"The people of this city believe in you, trust you! And yet you're doing this to them!? If you drive the predators out of this city, then it'll collapse!" Alex argued. "Shut up. It'll be better for everyone!" Dawn shot back, and loaded the dart gun from the case. She then looked at Judy. "Guess you should have stayed on the carrot farm, huh? It's too bad, really. I did like you. We could have been partners. Allies." Dawn wistfully said.
"What're you going to do, kill me?!" Judy defiantly said. "Oh, of course not. HE is!" Dawn snickered as she aimed the dart gun at Nick and fired. "NO!" Alex roared, and dove in front of Nick, taking the bullet for him. "Well, that works too." Bellwether mused to herself, pulling out her phone and calling someone. "Alex! NO!" Judy screamed.
Alex grunted and growled, seeing that Bellwether had her back turned to them. "Nick… go." Alex heaved. With a newfound strength, he grabbed the fox's green shirt and hoisted him into the air, tossing him out of the pit. "GO!" Alex howled, knowing there wasn't much time left before he succumbed to the night howler.
"Yes, police?! There's a savage wolf in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down! Please hurry!" Bellwether said in a faked tone of distress and panic. "Alex, don't do this! Fight it!" Judy begged her wolf friend. "Oh, but he can't help it, can he? Since preds are just 'biologically predisposed' to be savages." Bellwether cackled evilly.
Alex grimaced as he felt his bones begin to ache, and writhed on the floor in pain. "I… I'm trying to fight it! Judy… I want you to know that…" Alex panted. His voice was replaced with a scream as his bones and skeletal structure began to rearrange itself, his existence wracked with agonizing pain as his bipedalism was transformed into quadrupedalism. "I… I love you, Judy." Alex whimpered. He was going to say more, but his vocal chords disappeared, making everything he tried to say come out as a snarl or growl or other undignified primal noise.
His eyes, usually a bright blue, turned blood crimson red. Judy looked at him in fear. Her best friend in Zootopia was going to kill her and there was nothing she could do about it. "Think of the headlines! 'Bunny Hero Cop Eviscerated By Former Partner Gone Savage'. It will shock the world!" Bellwether exclaimed. "That's your plan?! Prey fears predators and you stay in power?!" Judy yelled as she got on her feet and began to run. Spying a fake primal deer mannequin, she picked it up and tossed it at Alex.
The wolf caught it hungrily and began to slash it to shreds. Judy then collapsed in the grass, and couldn't move as Alex advanced on her, snarling menacingly. "Yeah, that's pretty much the plan." Bellwether replied. "It'll never work!" Judy shouted angrily. "Fear ALWAYS works!" Bellwether countered.
Alex leapt at Judy, his jaw clamping around her leg. Judy screamed preemptively, closing her eyes and waiting for the immense amount of pain that would accompany her dying. She felt Alex's teeth poking at her leg, but the poking sensation quickly receded. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to see the wolf had recoiled, and he was whining and whimpering to himself as if what he knew he had just done was wrong.
"A-Alex!?" Judy gasped. The albino canine turned his head to look at her and slowly crept forward, almost as if he was afraid of her. Tentatively, he sniffed the rabbit, and then sniffed again. Pressing his snout up to her paw, and running it across her arm. Then came a lick. "Roooodeeee…" Alex grunted.
"What!? What is happening!?" Bellwether hissed. "Roodee… Roodee… Rarex ruv Roodee…" Alex whined, giving Judy a lick. Something clicked in Judy's head. Was Alex trying to say he loved her? The kind of behavior that Alex was currently exhibiting was in line with ancient canine behaviors, she had read a book about it once. Many animals did imprinting back in the primal days. Maybe he had imprinted on her?
The ZPD busted in and Alex snarled, barking and getting in front of his bunny. "Mayor Bellwether, you're under arrest!" Bogo's voice bellowed. Several officers came and pointed tranquilizer guns at Alex. "No, wait! He's not going to hurt me." Judy yelled. "Hopps, get away from Alex!" Bogo commanded.
"If he was going to hurt me he would have done so by now." Judy argued. Alex hissed and snapped his teeth together, pointing in Bogo's direction. "DOWN, Alex. Bogo is our friend." Judy ordered. Amazingly, the wolf stopped his aggressive motions, though he didn't look too happy about it. Scooping up Judy and getting her on his back, the white wolf leapt out of the pit, Judy clutching his chest tightly.
"Those two are coming with me!" A powerful feminine voice said. A rainbow colored skunk waltzed into the room. Alex yipped happily and his tail wagged, almost as if he recognized this skunk. "You must be Officer Hopps. It seems my son has gotten in quite the predicament thanks to you. Let's hope that his current condition is reversible. If it is not… then there will be hell to pay. My name is Doctor Iris Stenchington, and I am Alex's mother." The multicolored skunk told Judy.
