Ten minutes earlier...
You seem surprised to see me.
Is that why you think I'm here? If I still wanted you dead, I would have buried you on the edge of Sahara Square by now.
Why should you believe me? I suppose I haven't given you much reason, have I? I did truly hate you, at first. Part of me still does, to be honest. You're a living reminder of the worst day of my life.
Well, I do have a little while before Swinton's goons come to pick me up, so now's as good as time as any to make my confession. Here, hold the phone for me. I might need to use the gun in case anyone shows up. Make sure it's recording. Is it still recording? Good.
So… where should I start?
How about when I was first inducted into the Court of Hearts. It was nine years ago, about a month after I assumed my position of CEO of the company. A full decade after I married Meredith, in fact. Not many mammals now this, but it was an arranged marriage. In fiction, arranged marriages were rarely a good thing, but in this case it was good. We'd liked each other before the marriage. I liked it when she played the piano. She liked it when I wore pink. We both liked books, especially those Victorian ones with the plucky heroines. That library I always make you clean was a wedding gift to her, did you know that? I can still see the look on her face when I showed it to her, just after we got back from our honeymoon.
Fuck it, I'm getting off track. I'm just not used to remembering my wife without that pole in her body. Goddamn truck…
Anyway, about a month after I became CEO, Mayor Swinton, Theodore, invited me to his private lounge in City Hall. The other members were there, too. Llamadeus. Bisoniing. Tilda. There wasn't some fancy schmancy initiation, if that's what you're wondering. We all just sat down with the world's most expensive cocktails and just talked. Actually, Theodore and the others talked while I just mostly listened. It was the same thing, really, just worded differently depending on the mammal, but the subject matter was the same. Congratulations, welcome to the club, I've no doubt you'll make the collars bigger and better than ever, I know you won't disappoint us. That last one was Theodore. He was the most passive-aggressive of the bunch. Might have had something to do with the fact that the collars were still killing people and it was only a matter of time before the people caught on and started forming protests.
Back then I was younger and a lot more eager to please, so the next day I decided to do a little research. In the company archives I found numerous cases of fatal electrocutions, miscarriages and accidents, all dealt with discreetly. It was evident that the Swintons were trying to protect their supremacy by suppressing knowledge of these risks.
Believe it or not, that bothered me. I cared a great deal about making a profit, but I never wanted our products to actually hurt people. But alas, I did nothing about it. What could I do? The Swintons would just shove it under the rug everything else. Maybe even destroy my career for trying to rock the boat. I was the CEO of one of the greatest conglomerates in the world, but even I didn't have the power to go against the Swintons. If I'd blown the whistle, nothing would have changed. Nothing.
And besides, it was not my problem. I was a privileged plant-eater with a big cock and no concern about politics. It didn't affect me, so why should I care about it?
So for five years I just… went with the flow. After years and years of research and testing, I convinced Theodore that nothing could be done to limit the risks posed by products designed to shock people. Charming pig that he is, he ordered me to find another solution or prepare for an early retirement. I looked for a solution, came across an inventor called Dr. Cogsworth, and learned that he had discovered a way to override free will. But he needed a way to stop the victims from acting like lobotomized mental patients, which was a bit outside his specialty. So I introduced him to Theodore, who soon brought Slothfeld and his Night Howler plants into the mix, and thus the new Project Twilight was born.
I felt good. Damn good. I'd aimed to please, and I'd pleased him. Not to mention the massive profit and popularity boost that would ensue from introducing the next generation in predator-pacifying technology. Almost made up for the doubts I was still having. Almost.
Another two years passed, during which we refurbished the basement floor of Founder's Mount Asylum. We'd planned to move Cogsworth in there while Slothfled collaborated with us in Boarland, but of course, stuff happened. Cogsworth died in an 'accident', something to do with working for Bellwether on the sly, and Slothfeld was about to be arrested for selling chemical weapons on the black market. So Theodore faked his death and had me smuggle him to the asylum. Believe me when I say that I knew nothing of what was going on in that place, and I was happy to keep it that way. The less I knew, the easier it would be for my lawyers to bail me out if things went wrong. Kind of ironic now that I've said that, considering that I was the first to know when things went wrong.
Anyway, about six days after sneaking Slothfeld into the country, Meredith and I were driving down to Tiana's Palace and passing by your family's car and that semi…
… that semi t-boned the two of us through a store window.
… You don't really remember that crash, do you? You were out cold until they took us both to the hospital.
A sudden, massive impact and a big deafening crash and the next thing I knew Meredith was… she was almost dead. This big fucking metal pole had flown off the semi, shot right through your car and into ours, hitting her in the side. Sometimes I still hear the blood dripping on her seatbelt buckle. Funny. I remember the strangest things, the worst things, and yet you remember nothing. I envy you for that.
Woolton was the first to show up, even before the rescue services. He was a trained combatant and survivalist, so he would have known how to help her. He could have stabilised the pole. Applied pressure to slow the bleeding. Anything that could have increased her chances.
But his masters had a reputation to protect, didn't they? They couldn't let it get out that a faulty collar had caused our deaths. So instead that callous piece shit went to the truck, where the driver was already dead. Fixed the faulty wiring in the collar. Left Meredith to die. I begged him to come back. I screamed at him until I lost consciousnesses. The last thing I remember was her final heartbeat.
It wasn't until the day after I woke up in the hospital that I heard that I wasn't the only survivor. The pole had missed you by inches, smashing through your window and hitting my wife instead. I couldn't stop thinking of how different things may have been if it had hit you instead. There were times when I spent hours staring at the ceiling, praying that your injuries would kill you so life would seem fair again. But you didn't. You even left the hospital before I did. I never learned your name, and I didn't want to.
With you gone, I had nothing left to distract me from the memories of my wife's ruined… mangled body.
My wife, dead. Your parents, dead. All because of their collars, all because of them!
Losing her ruined me, Ben. I spent half a year sitting before the piano in her empty library. I drank a fair bit, to get away from the pain and the loneliness, but it never lasted. I caved to Tilda's recommendation that I talk to Dr. Lemming, but it never did any good. Not when the cause of Meredith's death and my pain was something that would not be addressed. I stopped going to work. I wanted nothing more to do with the devices that killed my wife. It was about seven, maybe eight months ago, when I finally worked up the courage to put an end to it.
It was a rainy night. I sat down at my desk. Played Clair de Lune on my phone, Meredith's favourite music. I drank an entire bottle of sherry, and then I put this very gun under my chin.
That's when she came.
One minute the door to my balcony was closed, to keep out the wind and the rain, and the next minute it was open. She was standing just inside the room, dripping all over my carpet, dressed all in black. When I saw she was a feline, I thought of you, and I asked who she was. She asked if I had something better to do. I told her I didn't. She held out a black case, this case, and told me this.
"With this box, you will have the power to tear this Wonderland apart."
Then she left the case on the floor and left.
When I opened the case, I found a modified collar, several vials of Night Howler serum, and several vials of its antidote. A document explained what the vials were.
I don't know how she knew I wouldn't report it to Swinton, but she was right. I kept the case locked in my desk drawer, and over the next few days I contemplated what I would do. It was around that time when we were finalising the plans to start making predators go savage. Swinton, who had replaced her father by then, approached me with some news she felt might interest me. I'd vented to Lemming about you more than once during our pointless sessions, so Swinton had decided to track you down. She obviously thought that helping me take revenge on you would help cure my… ailment.
That self-righteous bitch. When she suggested we make you pay for Meredith's death, I wanted to strangle her with my bare hands. How dare she try to shift all the blame onto you, when it was her lackey who abandoned Meredith? How… fucking dare she?!
And just like that, my decision was made.
The night after I spoke with Swinton, Cheryl came to see me again. She had Sedor with her, and a few rodents. Together we drew our plans.
In secret, I gathered a team of mammals who shared our views, engineers and chemists who could reverse engineer the serum and collars and manufacture dozens of them within a few months. Cheryl got in contact with an organisation, mercenaries and killers who could infiltrate the city and commence raids to apply the collars to selected herbivores. Sedor and the rodents spied on Woolton and the other members of the Court of Hearts, with the intent to pick them off one by one.
Lemming was the first. I tricked him into staying at the office after hours, claiming that I wanted another session with him. Cheryl attended the appointment in my place, and I heard he was quite a work of art when she was done with him.
When I told you why I showed up at Bug-Burga the day Woolton was killed, I lied. Woolton was next, and I wanted to watch. First I recommended that we make you the next target. Then after speaking with you, I drove round to the back and entered the building through the back entrance, where Woolton was already waiting in that stupid wolf disguise. He hadn't expected to see me, but I explained that I was there to see the demise of the mammal who killed my wife. The arrogant prick had no idea I was talking about him, or that I was distracting him long enough for Sedor to grab him from behind. He did get a lot of blood on my suit, but God, it was so worth it. And we saved your life in the process, so no, you have no right to judge me for that one.
Bisoniing and Llamadeus were harder to get to, so we settled for getting to them during the main phase of our plan. Bisoniing got done in by his own entitlement, but Llamadeus's death was entirely my doing. He did a little digging and realised that there was a traitor in the Court of Hearts, so I shot him and the computer for good measure. As for how Cheryl and her rodents were able to infiltrate City Hall, that was me, as well. I helped them. Then I just sat down, had a few drinks with Elba, who knew nothing of this, and waited for the endgame.
Well, this confession has gone on too long already, so I think I'll stop here. I won't say any goodbyes, I have no family left to say goodbye too. The collars saw to that. I may see Meredith again, or go to a very different place than her, but all that matters is the justice I've given her. What that means is by the time you receive this confession, I'm likely already dead.
Just know one more thing because you denounce me as a complete monster. I gave them a chance to stop this. I warned them that their plan would not end well. We create our own monsters, and then those same monsters come back to haunt us.
Leaning against the door, Pottermass reached between Benjamin's paws and pressed down on the screen, ending the recording.
The cheetah stared with unblinking eyes at the hippo. When Pottermass had first broken into the storeroom with some kind of skeleton key, Benjamin had initially felt pure terror, thinking that he had finally come to finish what he'd started. Now he had no idea how to feel.
"So… it was you." Benjamin spoke. "And the callousness and the hate… it was all an act?"
"More or less." Pottermass said.
Benjamin put the phone on the shelf he had been pressing himself against for the past ten minutes. His other paw maintained its tight grip on the folded chair beside him, the only item in the room that could be used as a weapon.
Pottermass crossed his arms, the gun pointed aimlessly at the floor. "From this point onward, I've got two options. Option one, I wait for TUSK to retrieve me so I can escape apprehension along with Madam Mayor."
"Ok. So, if you're gonna wait, could you maybe please wait somewhere else?" Benjamin nervously tapped his fingers together.
Pottermass smirked and gave another careless wave of his gun. "Option two, I leave immediately and call the other helicopter."
"Other helicopter?"
"The one used by the mercs. You know, the ones who committed the first attacks. They've been given orders to evacuate me should I want it."
"And are you?"
"Depends." Pottermass said. "You survived all by yourself for three days on a mountain crawling with psychopaths, and then took out a full grown psychopathic TUSK commander. That's pretty impressive. This organisation, it's always looking for new recruits. They know what it takes to survive, and you have it."
Benjamin's paws began to shake. No, no, no, you're wrong. Cunninghorn was a one-time thing. A one-time thing!
"The thing is, Benjamin, there's little for you in Zootopia, and there will be less still with all your friends going to jail. Come with me and I'll send you away in the second helicopter. They can give you the future you've been seeking your entire life, free from the poverty we've inflicted on you."
Benjamin already knew what his answer was. "I'm sorry, Mr. Pottermass. But I can't take you up on your offer."
Pottermass looked as apathetic as ever. "Didn't hurt to ask. I'll leave this with you." He reached across the storage room, holding out the black case. Benjamin cautiously accepted it. "Keep the phone, too. Give it to Bogo when he comes back and show him my confession. The evidence should be enough to give the prosecutors a leg to stand on until they crack the data disk. I've got a helicopter to catch."
He turned around and grabbed the door handle. Benjamin felt a sudden jolt in his chest and spoke up.
"Sir."
Pottermass paused.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
Pottermass didn't turn to look at him. His tone was weary when he responded to his former cleaner. "It is. I've had enough, Ben. I'm done with this. All of it."
"But you've got lawyers who'll help you get off, you said it yourself. Wouldn't having a short prison sentence be better?"
"Haven't you been listening for the past ten minutes?" Pottermass asked.
"I have. What you've done to this city is horrible. But I can't say I'm a better person if I don't try to stop you from doing what I know you're about to do."
Pottermass snorted. He waved a thick finger at Benjamin. "See that? That, right there, is why I've forgiven you."
He walked out the door and shut it behind him.
Benjamin grabbed the phone, stuffed it in his pocket and ran out the room himself. He saw Pottermass nearing the end of the hallway, heading in the opposite direction of the lobby, walking like a mammal with a purpose. Benjamin took a step forward to try and stop him when he heard the bellowing trumpet of an elephant. He froze and looked back down the hallway. At the end of that hallway was the lobby, where Bogo had stayed behind to deal with Trunchbull.
"Mansa." He whispered.
He looked back to Pottermass, unsure what to do, only to see that he was already gone.
He never saw him again.
It was almost twenty minutes later when Commissioner Elba ran out the elevator on the windy rooftop just in time to see Mayor Swinton clamber into the passenger side of the waiting helicopter's cockpit.
"Tilda! Wait!" He yelled over the roaring, whirring blades of the helicopter.
The only other mammal inside, other than the pilot, was Pottermass, who promptly scowled and aimed a gun at the water buffalo.
"Don't you dare shoot him!" Swinton shouted.
Pottermass relented and holstered the gun, allowing Elba to limp up to the helicopter. "Tilda, you can't run from this! You know they'll find you!"
Swinton wiped the blood from her nose and flicked it onto the rooftop. "Not where I'm going."
"Please come back! Cheryl's down and the rodents have turned themselves in! It'll be better for you if you turn yourself in!"
Swinton shook her head and began to ease his hooves off the edge of the helicopter. "No. Never."
"I'm begging you, Tilda! Come back with me! Tell them the conspiracy was your father's idea! I'll vouch for you! I promise!"
Swinton pushed him away. His bad leg gave out, dropping him to the ground. He stared up at the pig as she took her seat and put on a headset. "It's too late for that, Morgan." She said grimly. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you more. But I have to go."
"Tilda, please!" He forced himself back onto his feet.
It was no good. She wasn't even looking at him any longer as the helicopter lifted up and away, taking Tilda and her underling with it.
The sky was a beautiful scarlet streaked with little traces of the long night that had passed. The first streaks of true sunlight were rising like the helicopter as it tilted and began to turn toward the south.
Pottermass turned his tired eyes away from the approaching dawn and fixed them on the pilot and the pig in front of him. Swinton was dabbing at her nose with her dirtied cardigan, wiping away the blood before it could dry. When she was done, she tossed the cardigan behind her onto the floor in front of Pottermass's feet.
Pottermass went to turn on Clair de Lune, but then he remembered that he'd left his phone with the cheetah. Damn it, he should have brought a MP3 player or something. He wanted one last happy memory of Meredith before he played the final move.
Benjamin, he thought, and thought back to the time he'd caught the feline trying out Meredith's grand piano. He should have expected that Benjamin's curiosity would get the better of him. It was a beautiful instrument. He'd bought it for her for their fourth anniversary. When he'd heard Benjamin play, he hadn't known the tune, but he had known the lyrics the cheetah had murmured. Always on my Mind, that was it. The Gazelle version. Meredith had loved all her songs.
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died,
Give me, give me one more chance,
To keep you satisfied, satisfied…
He looked down at the tiny blue glass pellet in his hand, the instrument of his final act of justice. It looked almost like an amethyst in the scarlet glow of sunrise. Try as he might, he couldn't feel sorry that Zootopia had survived the night. For all its faults it had been his home, and with the Swintons no longer in power, it now had a real chance to become the utopia it had always strived to be.
Little things I should have said and done,
I just never took the time…
He closed his eyes, envisioning Meredith playing the piano and singing in Benjamin's place, and crushed the pellet in his hand.
"We should get there within fifteen hours. Maybe ten if we don't make any fuel stops." The pilot said, oblivious to the hippo convulsing behind him and the mayor.
"Good." Tilda said huskily. She stood in the seat with her back straight, putting on the regal façade of a pig who hadn't just lost everything. "Don't make any fuel stops if it's possible. I have some choice words for my father when we get there."
The pilot shrugged. "No promises, ma'am. It's a long way to Roarcadia."
"I know. I'm just glad it's finally over, thank God. If there even is a god."
The hippo stopped his convulsions and got up from his seat. He parted his massive jaws, exposing his meter-long razor sharp tusks, and lunged for the pilot.
Elba was standing at the edge of the rooftop helipad, silently watching the departing helicopter, he heard the elevator open.
"Morgan!"
He heard Starlight's voice, and he barely had time to form a look of delighted shock on his face before the vixen threw herself into him.
"Morgan! Oh, thank God! I thought you were gonna get yourself killed!" Starlight's familiar voice warmed his heart as she embraced his waist, pressing her lovely muzzle into his abdomen, a sob vibrating against his hide.
Elba let out a shuddering breath and hugged her back, ignoring his bad leg as he lifted her clear off the rooftop. "Starlight!" He breathed, so happy to have her back that he forgot about Swinton and Cheryl. All this time worrying himself sick, and now he finally had her back!
"I'm so sorry! I never should have left! I was so stupid!" She whimpered like the distraught little girl he'd saved from Roarcadia all those years ago.
Elba caressed the back of her head, gently pressing her ears against her snowy white scalp. "Don't be silly. If you hadn't left, you may not have a family right now."
Gabe also looked happy at the reunion, but the gun in his paws immediately reminded Elba of current events. "Elba, where's Swinton?"
"She's gone." Elba said simply.
Gabe saw the shrinking helicopter and cursed, stamping the ground. "Fuck it all to Hell! Come on. We can still track her down if we hurry!"
Starlight pulled her face away from Elba's body and saw the helicopter for herself. "Er… should it be wobbling like that?"
Elba blinked and looked again at the helicopter. It was indeed swaying erratically, high above the pond between City Hall and Precinct One.
"What the…" He whispered.
It was too far away, a silhouette against the crimson dawn, so no-one had any idea what was going on. Elba watched with a sickening in his stomach as the helicopter started to descend, violently spinning on the way down.
"Er… I think it's coming back." Gabe said.
Elba's followed the helicopter's path to destruction. It dropped down below the rooftop, and Elba ran to the edge to see it spiralling closer to the side of skyscraper they were standing on.
No…
"It's going to hit the building!" Starlight yelled.
No…
"Oh, shit. RUN!" Gabe grabbed Elba's arm and pulled, yanking him to the floor and away from the edge of the rooftop.
When he heard the helicopter crash a second later and felt the ground shake beneath his body, he frantically crawled back to edge and looked straight down.
After that, shock overwhelmed him and everything went vague. He didn't even remember Gabe and Starlight fleeing the scene when the ZBI arrived, and his being escorted from the building on a stretcher.
Two hours later, when he was lying in a hospital bed with the ZBI guarding the door, a memory came back to him.
Swinton was sitting at her desk, clothes crisp and hair styled to perfection, fiercely proclaiming her worth as Mayor of Zootopia. Then he'd joked about almost seeing the words 'Siege Perilous' atop the backrest, the words carved into that infamous seat at the mythical round table. Only the one who was worthy could sit on that chair without risking death.
In the heart of Zootopia, high above a colony of ambulances and police cars, the tail of the burning helicopter protruded from what was left of the mayor's office. There was no greater proof of her unworthiness than that.
