I'm not dead! And neither is this Fanfic!

The Replaced

Ok so a Lion's mane is too strong of a word to describe what she is seeing. The Hyena has long hair around his neck in the same way a Lion would, but it's much shorter than a Lion's. Where the Lion's mane would reach past his shoulders, the Hyena's reached less than half of that. The hair also didn't change like a Lion's, it stayed the same color and pattern as the rest of his body. The mane isn't the only thing unique about him. His paws has feline claws, incisors are larger than normal and his coat is a lighter variation of the dark brown that is standard. But everything else is Hyenidae.

Wolodarsky did not tell them about any other guests, and whether that was because he didn't mention them on purpose or if they arrived after he left was not important to the overall goal of helping Kris as well as apprehending Owen and anyone else who helped him.

Once she got over the shock of seeing a Hybrid, Judy's attention shifted toward the other occupants of the room. The bitch who she assumed is his mother, obviously took pride in looks. Her fur was meticulously groomed and her clothes lacked any loose fur sticking to the fabric. She was dressed in a button up and pencil skirt which had been ironed and pressed, and high heels. Standing by her side is a Lion who's own mane has darkened with age. He has a broad chest and strong physique which spoke of his hard work and dedication. Owen had his attention was on Nick and the middle aged Skunk doe, who gazed despairingly upon her todd. The boar stood by his lonesome and wore a biker getup and a bright red neckerchief.

"Get Away From Me!"

Judy turns to see Nick stiff-arming who she assumed to be Mandy, addressing her with a snarl and glare. When her attempt at embracing him is blocked, she instead grabbed the paw that had denied her and turned it so that she can nuzzle her cheek into the palm. She held on as he tried to pull away.

"Don't be like that, I said I was sorry."

"Sorry?! You think that sorry is enough?! Did you think that I'd wait for you?! That you can come back anytime you want and pretend that nothing happened?!"

"I'm not going to pretend that what I did was okay, but I do think that we can work things out and restart with a clean slate. I can earn your forgiveness and hopefully get back to where we were."

Every time Nick takes a step back, she takes a step forward.

The dark feeling which was momentarily forgotten resurged with a violent intensity. Everything but Nick and the Interloper blurred into white noise. The feral side of her is like a little sprite standing on her shoulder, whispering things into her ear, urging her to protect what was hers.

The Interloper wants to tempt him.

The Interloper is trying to steal your Mate away from you.

The Interloper is going to tear apart your Home.

Get rid of the Interloper.

"Get Away From My Fox!"

The authority in her voice surprised the mephitid enough for Nick to slip away from her and put a little bit of space in between them. Once he was within reach Judy snatched his paw and brought it up to her nose, taking a deep whiff of his fur. Her fur bristled and a scowl marred her face when she picked up the Skunks scent clinging to his. The female's smell on him is wrong. Disgusting.

It was a direct challenge.

A burning hatred formed for the one who tried to take her Mate, the stench forever ingrained in her memory.

It was during this exchange that everyone took in the appearance of this strange Bunny. She may be still wearing plain clothes but she still had her polyethylene vest on as well as her service belt. The polished and shining badge proudly stood out, declaring to all of her chosen profession. The small piece of metal triggered recognition among the group and along with the pulsing wave of her fur raising aura caused their guards to go up. However one of them was too aggravated to notice such details.

"Your Fox?" Judy met the Interloper's challenging gaze with equal if not greater intensity.

"Yes, MY Fox. And he clearly doesn't want to be touched by you, so please.. give him his space."

Her head held high, ears standing tall and alert, teeth grinding against each other, paws resting on her hips, and narrowed eyes stared back unflinchingly. Her demeanor left no room for compromise, and dared her enemy to try to defy her.

Everyone could practically see the sparks flying, and they waited with bated breath.

The tense silence was cut by someone climbing up the ladder. An older Badger made his way out of the hole in the floor and once he saw Nick, he lit up like a Christmouse tree.

"You're here! Ha Haa! I was sure that you wouldn't, but here you are." The relief in his voice was as clear as day.

He closed the distance with arms wide open and went in for a hug. Both Mandy and Judy thought that Nick would reject it like he did with the Skunk but instead he made no move to intercept, letting himself be grabbed.

Clive let go of the todd after crushing his lungs (maybe it's a Badger thing after all) and urged him forward "C'mon we don't have much time to lose."

"Nobody's going anywhere." There's no way that Judy's going to let anyone out of her sight right now, much less roam around freely. Not when anyone here could be a danger to the Officers who are on their way. She just needs to hold out long enough for backup to arrive.

Nick, who knew what was about to happen, pulled away from Clive to stand next to Judy. He put himself in a position to get in the way of anyone stupid enough to attack her.

"Everyone in this room is under arrest. Owen Skip for grand larceny, and everyone else for aiding and abetting a known criminal and harboring a fugitive. I don't know if that thing with the shotgun over there counts as reckless endangerment or premeditated mammal slaughter, not to mention any other presents that is left in the house."

With the flash of metal from a pair of cuffs, Owen decided that now was the best time to make his getaway. But his mistake was one that almost everyone makes: thinking that he could outrun a Rabbit. Just two steps before he was tackled to the ground with his paws pinned behind his back.

"Everyone, on the ground! NOW!"

With Owen already apprehended, not much could be done to guarantee both their and his freedom/safety. But their obvious advantages such their superior numbers, size, and weight is enough to embolden the group.

"It's eight against two."

"Owen's on the floor and I don't think that Mandy, Mary, or Clive will fight me."

"I don't need to fight you, just her." That fanned the flames, feeding it and making it burn that much hotter.

"You think that I'll let you get even close to my Mate?" The emphasis on the word 'Mate' stunned Mandy and Mary. The significance of the word is something they knew of, and had been something that Mandy had tried to attain.

Hearing him declare his claim on her to the Interloper assured her of his loyalty, but he wasn't the one that worried her.

"You were going to make me your Mate!"

"Were. Past tense. Obviously that's not going to happen now."

It wasn't the first time he got something he wanted by manipulating someone's emotions. After all: he who fights fair, dies first. And if this back and forth with Amanda eats up enough time he will absolutely do it.

Off in the distance, so faint that Judy had to strain to even hear the shrill wail of sirens approaching. Some shifting motion in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was the Warthog, and he is slowly moving his hoof behind him. It didn't take a genius to make a decent guess at what he is reaching for. A bright red neckerchief in this area probably means only one thing, the suid in the room is (or works for) a gun dealer, and more than likely armed himself. So the first move to make is to incapacitate the biggest threat by the way of the Wild West: a quick draw. Just not the part where the other mammal is dropped.

"Move your hooves away from your back!"

The vindictive part of Nick got some satisfaction from seeing the boar at gunpoint. They ran for so long from both sides of the law and now there is no more running, they had been caught in between the iron sights of a cop. And he helped them get caught.

Stan is in a jail cell now, and Kylie is on his way if he wasn't there already, and Owen is cuffed and ready to go. Kris and Agnes didn't deserve whatever they went through but that part is almost over. Samuel and his family didn't wrong him so there was some sadness for them but they chose their side. He moved on from Mandy a long time ago, and Mary was just bundled in with her daughter.

Maybe sometime soon he can put everything behind him and never look back.

The boar moves slowly to comply, and she addresses the others. "Maybe you'll get away if you run but you'll have to leave three of your mammals behind and whatever is not on you. And since you've been here for awhile we can still get trackers to hunt you down, then we can add resisting and evading arrest to your charges."

They didn't run, instead they began to get down on their stomach with the pig.

"Paws behind your head."

That pissed Nick off more than he can imagine. Disregarding the fact that they really didn't have a choice, he expected some kind of resistance from them. When none came, he wanted to scream. He wanted to pull his fur out and throw things and rage out. The only thing stopping him from doing so is his instinct. Now it's not the time to throw a temper tantrum like an unruly kit, not while his mate is in a potentially dangerous situation like this one. So in lieu of a hissy fit, he turned to his words to be his dagger.

"So I'm the only one you'll leave behind?"

Mandy wanted to saysomething, anything, but what could she say? A whine leaves her lips.

It wasn't quite as satisfying removing the Interloper directly, but hearing that cry soothed her possessive instincts knowing that she won. He had made his choice and he chose her. It only made sense because once the Interloper submitted to her, she had retained the rights to be her Mate.

"What is down there?" Nick would've tried to look over the edge but he chose not to, not while there is someone nearby who might want to push him over.

"Just Kris and some medical supplies."

Regardless of the answer, they would have to wait. There was no way that either of them would leave the other to watch over them alone to check what was actually down there.

"Nick? Could you pat down the suid?"

The todd approached the prone swine cautiously. He wasn't exactly eager to get close to the bigger mammal but not searching him will be a bad decision so he went ahead did what he was asked.

At least, he tried to but no one said that it was a good idea for someone whose forty pounds is against someone who's between two and three hundred pounds

Honestly he should have expected something like this but it was still too fast for him to react. One moment he's reaching for his waistband the next he's being held in the air by his neck and being used as a shield.

"Nick!" "Nicky!"

Nick thrashed and failed in the suid's grip.

"Stop squirming!"

He didn't. He scratched and tried to reach down and chomp down on something but had no luck.

Being restrained like this is making Nick essentially rabid. The longer it goes on, the louder he gets with his snarls, growls, and countless other sounds of aggression and the more he struggles. When he realized that he could reach his attacker's face with his hindpaws he started to incorporate kicks into his struggles.

Judy couldn't get a clear shot, not with Nick flailing around like he is.

"PUT HIM DOWN!"

"Put Your Tranq Down!"

One lucky swing manages to connect with his snout. Filled with frustration, the Warthog pitches Nick at Judy like a baseball, knocking her down and giving him an opportunity to escape.

While the Judy was trying to untangle from Nick, the boar bolted full speed toward freedom and for a heavy mammal he sure could move. When Judy was able to get up and follow him, he had already gone out the back door and disappeared into the neighborhood of tightly packed houses. She didn't bother trying to chase him down, she trusted the abilities of the trackers at the ZPD. Being a suid which have a great sense of smell, he should know just how effective a good nose is.

What was more important now is the sounds of growls and fear.

On her return, she was surprised to see that Nick and somehow managed to corner everyone and had prevented anyone to leave.

What was remarkable to Judy was that he did this in his feral state.

End Note

I read a comment from... somewhere... that Zootopia's release date is basically a furry holiday now and that made me laugh.