Judy and Nick must have walked for an hour at least. It seemed the trail of Night Howler petals was a long one that was taking them near the outskirts of town. Judy wondered if they were here by accident, or if whoever was behind this had intentionally left them so that they would be discovered. It was hard to tell. The petals were scattered in a disorganized pattern and most of them were spread far apart, so much so that it was sometimes hard to find the next one.

Soon enough they were walking into a forest, and by now they knew they weren't in the city anymore. It was dark and desolate, somewhere no one would go unless they were up to no good. They must've been getting close. They continued to follow the path, Judy being careful not to step on any of the petals, since the last thing they needed was for her to be affected as well.

Judy pulled her phone out to use its flashlight. It was far too dark outside to wander blind. Nick might not have needed it since he was gifted with night vision, but she was a different case. She also wanted to be prepared, in case things went south and they needed a way to contact help.

The deeper they got into the forest, the more frequently the Night Howlers appeared. Suspicions were rising, as well as curiosity. Who would need this much of a surplus of toxic flowers? This was no doubt the mammal who turned Nick savage. And against Judy's instinct to turn back and report what she's seen, she chose to move forward. She was close to discovering the truth, she could feel it. No way she was going to turn back now, not when this was the chance she was waiting for this whole time.

As they got closer to a pair of bushes, they briefly stopped. There were noises coming from ahead. It didn't sound like voices, but rather..snarling? Were they hearing it correctly? They shared a quick glance before continuing their path, curious to see what was going on.

Well, there were definitely other mammals there. But not in the way Judy expected. As they passed the bushes, they both widened their eyes, coming across two rows of metal cages, all different sizes appropriate for the mammal inside. But none of these mammals were..aware. All of them were on all fours, baring their teeth and flailing their tails about to and fro. Some of them were calm, just laying in their cages licking their paws, while the others seemed angry—very angry. To no surprise, they were all predators, big and small.

Judy covered her mouth, hardly believing what she was seeing. It wasn't her first encounter with savage predators being held captive, but this time it felt much more cruel, considering they were in tight cages with no room to roam, and they were out in the middle of nowhere with no proper care. Whoever did this was far less considerate than the former mayor, Lionheart.

Her flashlight triggered some reactions from the predators. The first one to notice was a mountain lion, who threw its paw out from between them bars to swing it at the bunny. Judy yelped and immediately jumped back out of its reach, startled by its attempts to scratch its way out of the cage. Nick narrowed his eyes and growled lowly at the mountain lion in return.

"Shh." Judy said to him, gently pushing him back so he wouldn't get attacked by the feline. "Keep it civil."

Nick quickly calmed down, but only a little. He still had to keep his guard up in case anything happened. And judging by the way the predators were staring at them and shaking their own cages, he had no choice but to be just as threatening.

The two remained close as they walked by the rows of cages. The fox continued to glare at them, silently warning them not to try anything, while Judy chose to tune out the sounds of loud growling and hissing. She continued to use her phone as a light source, but also decided to start recording what she was seeing. One may never know when they will need evidence later, is what she learned at the academy. So when it came to potential crime scenes, she was always filming anything and everything.

Once they made it through, the trail of petals finally stopped. And just a few feet away was a wooden shed in the middle of the trees. "This must be where they're hiding." She said quietly, to not alert the savage animals behind them. "You wait here, I'm gonna go see what's inside."

Nick didn't listen to her at first, and just continued following her as she moved ahead. But then she stopped and turned to him, which caught his attention.

"Nick, please. Just stay here, I'll be right back." She said, pointing at the ground so he would know not to move from the spot.

He frowned and whimpered, taking a small step closer to her. She knew he didn't like the idea of her going in by herself, and honestly she wasn't so crazy about it either. She never explored uncharted territory without her partner. But right now, she needed him safe. Who knew what was awaiting them in that shed.

"Please. It'll only take a minute, I swear." She said sincerely, petting his head.

Nick grumbled and reluctantly sat down, which she took as a sign that he was finally giving in. She gave him a small assuring smile before she walked toward the shed, tuning out his quiet whimpers from behind.

Her steps became much slower as she was approaching the shed door. From what she could tell by observation, it wasn't old. In fact the wood looked fresh. It must've been built pretty recently, but not very well since there were nails out of place and some of the slats were crooked. Whoever built it was either in a hurry or knew nothing about construction.

Judy took a deep breath as she reached for the door, gently pushing it inward to reveal the inside. Several discarded papers were scattered everywhere, as well as more Night Howler petals. There was a whole pile of them beneath the desk on the other side. She was careful not to step on any as she walked in, while keeping her phone's camera in focus so the footage wouldn't be blurry later.

She walked to the desk, where she found even more papers piled up, and some were pinned to the wall. But what was most disturbing was what was written on the papers. Many of them were describing plans of "revenge" and contained lists of items needed to create a new Night Howler serum. Along with these papers were photographs of Judy and Nick, clearly taken from a distance so that neither of them were aware they were being seen.

Judy gasped quietly as her eyes averted to each picture of her and her partner. Whoever was behind all of this definitely had it out for the two of them. Maybe that was revenge mentioned on the papers. But who would want revenge on them? And why? They never had intentionally hurt anybody, there was no one who was holding a grudge against them.

Unless...

No, it couldn't be.

Judy shook her head, taking a step back. It couldn't be true. Not after all this time. It just wasn't possible, even though it made the most sense.

She ended her recording and took a couple pictures just in case, then pocketed her phone. She had all the evidence she needed, and now she had to get Nick and leave. It wasn't safe to be here. Whoever the mastermind was obviously wanted to harm them.

But right as she turned around to leave, she froze in place when she saw a figure pushing the door open. Her eyes went wide they came into view, and were now more recognizable. The white ball of wool atop her head, a little golden bell around her neck that jingled every time she walked, and piercing green eyes that once watched the city tear itself apart.

Judy would know her anywhere.

"Bellwether?!"