"The art of pleasing is the art of deception." - Luc de Clapiers
"Wait... You're a bat?" The bunny asked, the question slipping out straight from between her lips.
She had thought back to Nick's advice on the drive to the Nocturnal-District: About how she'd instantly recognize a bat over any other mammal. Since Nick hadn't gone with any physical descriptions of the aforementioned creatures, the rabbit had taken it upon herself to search out for anything that looked extra out of the ordinary for a mammal. With his massive leathery wings, wicked gleaming fangs, huge fuzzy ears and generally unique appearance overall, she had no reason to believe that Vladzotz wasn't a bat. The question seemed to take him by surprise as much as it did the fox standing next to her, whose ears drooped in submission as he swallowed nervously. Soon enough, that disturbing smile resurfaced across the bat's muzzle, as though he were amused by Judy's curiosity.
"Yes, my dear." He dipped low in a bow, spreading his wings wide behind his back as his upper body lowered. It was a polite gesture, but failed to impress Judy. "I am among the last few remaining Desmondontinae, or vampire bats. We live almost exclusively down here in the depths of the Nocturnal-District, where we most prefer to congregate. The vast majority of my kind was obliterated many centuries ago during a particularly nasty scuffle with the surface-dwellers that first colonized these caverns."
Judy's eyebrows raised themselves questionably. Her inner curiosity mixed with her strong sense of sympathy caused her to form her coming words.
"So you're a threatened species?" She asked. "But wouldn't the city-government allow you special protection services, the Endangerment Personnel Program, right?"
"Perhaps..." Vlad mused. "If they knew I existed."
"What do you mean?" Judy muttered, her suspicion beginning to grow.
"I believe I am listed as deceased in the public records, you see. Apparently, they believe I perished in the same fire that claimed the lives of my family, several years ago."
The bat glanced at Nick when he said that last sentence, who took a few steps backward and pressed his shoulders against the nearest wall.
Vladzotz seemed to take amusement in his fear, and Judy had noticed her mate's seemingly distraught behavior around this creature. She figured they must had known eachother at some point, or had gotten involved with one another somehow in the past. She was smart enough to deduce that this bat was some sort of figurehead of an organized crime group, like Mr. Big. Also like Mr. Big, he seemed to know Nick personally. Unlike Mr. Big, however, Nick didn't resort to using his smooth-talking skills in an attempt to mellow the situation - He seemed exceptionally nervous. It aroused her curiosity, but she held her questions, for now. There would be time for answers later.
At the moment, the bunny knew that her and Nick were in danger - It was clear that this bat mammal was the one behind all this chaos.
"What is it you want with us?" Judy asked, her features hardening with determination.
"I like you, rabbit! So eager and exploitative!" The bat claimed, clasping his long hands together approvingly. "When all this is over, perhaps you will walk out of here alive!"
Judy didn't like the sound of that. She especially didn't like how Vlad had refrained from actually answering her question.
"But there is much to discuss." Vladzotz continued. "After all, I would not have, ah... invited the two of you over for nothing, no? Dinner is waiting! Come."
He paced off towards the door, walking on his feet and the folded tips of his wings until he stood right beside Nick, who quickly stepped back as the bat slammed his wings against the door, flinging them open and presenting his two guests with the dark hallway's entrance. He turned around slowly and looked straight at Nick.
"Come along now. My chef, Charles, makes tantalizing escargot. It's quite literally to die for." He said, leaning forwards a bit more in Nick's direction.
The bat then walked into the darkness, down the long recesses of the hallway until he could be seen no more. Judy just stood there for a moment, blinking with confusion. She didn't want to eat, especially not with some crazy bat criminal. She didn't even know what escargot was. What she did know, however, was that there was far more to this whole situation than what meet the eye - Something that had to do with Nick.
At the thought of her mate, she glanced to her right. There, he was straightening his spine out and readjusting his uniform's collar, clearly recovering from his agitation. Granted, Judy didn't like this bat mammal very much either, and she would have gladly called the ZPD in and walked out of here tasers-blazing if she could, were it for her missing utility belt. The personal radio on her shoulder had also been cut, making communication back with the ZPD impossible. She weighed her options.
"Nick, we have no choice but to follow him. He's got us at his mercy, and while we're here, we might as well try to pry some information out of him. We need to know more about this guy before we escape!"
Her partner dusted off his trousers with a sigh. "Carrots, in all my years on the streets, I've gotten into a lot of tight situations. Experienced a lot of danger. Seen a lot of things... Not all of them good. But this place?" He locked eyes with his mate as he gestured around the room. "This is the worst of them all. If we don't escape, we'll die here."
The fox walked down the hallway without another word, following Vladzotz into the darkness. Well, if anything, that confirmed Judy's suspicions - This was a situation that even Nick Wilde himself didn't think he'd be able to talk his way out of. That didn't bode well. But Judy was nothing if not determined to prove him wrong.
Before anything, though, she would need more info. "But wait, who is he?" She shouted out into the blackness before running after her husband.
Judy found Vladzotz and Nick waiting at the end of the hallway, looking from the balcony atop the grand staircase. When the bunny came on the scene, the bat's sadistic-looking smile grew impossibly wide. Vladzotz was no bigger than her, but Judy didn't like the look of those fangs. Still, for as intimidating as his appearance was, Vladzotz's demeanor was nothing but cordial - He nodded his head politely at Judy's reappearance.
"Do please keep in mind the fact that my manor has few lights and many things to trip over, so try not to break anything." The bat's words flowed over the rabbit's ears like underground water - Smooth, cold, and clean. "The dining room is back down the way you came, and should be your first room to the right. Let us go."
And with that, he lept off the edge of the balcony, plummeting with his arms folded against his sides until just a few feet from impact, where his wings shot out harshly, extended to their full length and carrying him afloat, gliding straight down the hall and into the darkness.
The bunny blinked in apprehension, and set down the staircase, bound for the aforementioned dining room. Nick groaned and followed behind. As they walked in silence, the fox wondered if escape was a possibility, as he had not seen any of the bat's goons for quite some time, but soon pushed the idea from his head. Aside from all his other heightened senses, the exception being his muddy vision of course, Nick knew that Vladzotz had incredible hearing capabilities. Both Judy and Nick's good friend, Finnick, had long ears and an excellent sense of sound, but Nick doubted that the two of them combined even had half as good of hearing as any vampire bat did. Not a good sign.
In short, there was nothing the fox could do in this house that the bat couldn't hear. If he lock-picked the front entrance, he would hear it. If he broke a window, he would hear it. If he somehow found a route to the roof and tried climbing down, he would hear it. Nick and Judy were completely trapped and helpless, at least for the moment. In a bout of desperation, the fox pat down all his pockets to see if there was anything left. Nothing - No cuffs, no dart gun, no phone. Just a grimy old flashlight. Nick sighed.
As he and Judy continued deeper into the manor, they encountered various mobsters milling around, carrying boxes of contraband, or talking quietly in the shadows of the branching corridors, though none disturbed them, likely under order by Vladzotz himself. They walked down the hallway until reaching the first room on their right, which opened up into a large dining hall adorned with stained-glass windows, and a long table in the center. Vladzotz was hanging upside-down from a golden chandelier which clung to the ceiling, high above. His wings were wrapped around his body, covering his vest and entire torso, in the same way that he had been when they first encountered him.
Judy saw one of his huge ears quiver upon their entrance, and watched as he unfolded his wings and glided down directly in front of them. Every few seconds he seemed to emit some sort of clicking noise, and as he touched down beside them, his intense red eyes locked with Judy's, causing her to harden her expression with distrust. Vlad greeted;
"Welcome. I had my chef prepare your dishes while we chatted upstairs, but there is much more to discuss now that were are here, and formerly introduced, of course."
He then walked over to the head of the table and sat down in a large wooden purple chair. Both Nick and Judy seated themselves as far away from the bat as they could, but unfortunately had to claim their dishes first, which were placed right next to Vladzotz, who simply smiled wide and stared up at them, unblinking, as they retrieved their food.
When they sat down, the both of them took a closer examination of their food. Judy happened to have been given a salad, cut with shreds of carrots and green beans, while Nick had been given a slab of salmon: A rare delicacy among predators, and very expensive, too. The last time that he had eaten salmon was on an expensive date with Judy. Neither animal touched their food, no matter how good it looked. The bunny saw her mate gazing greedily at the salmon laid out before him, and could tell that he was trying hard not to cave in. Judy, however hungry she was, which happened to be starving, simply didn't trust the bat or his gifts. She refused to even look at it.
Meanwhile, Vlad just sat there, smiling, his fangs gleaming in the dim light of the chandelier. Judy cringed when she caught sight of his red eyes.
"I apologize if you are disturbed." Vlad began. "Most mammals, especially surface-dwelling ones, don't seem to appreciate my kind's presence. I can't blame them. After all, my kind is the only predatory species that must still consume flesh - in the form of blood - to survive. Though history has been unkind to our desires. Did you know the city government once banned the consumption of blood?"
He licked his black lips, almost in anticipation, as he stole a brief glance at the bunny sitting beside him before continuing to speak with a smile.
"Now mind you, all of this was centuries ago, back when hostilities between different species were... Much more open. At the time, the city government was just beginning to form, and apparently had their own definition of what was civilized and what wasn't." He spat, a flash of anger crossing his visage.
Judy swallowed hard. She hadn't asked for Vladzotz to give a history lesson, but at this point, was too wary to question him. Instead, she just listened as he went on.
"They eventually realized that my kind can't survive more than a week without blood, so they cut us a break. Although City-Hall has provided blood donations from hospitals to the remaining vampire bat families throughout the city ever since, it just doesn't taste the same as it does fresh."
He then glanced over at the waiter who had just entered - another raccoon in a cook's apron - with the only thing on his pallet being a single tall glass of red liquid, which he placed directly in front of Vladzotz. The bat nodded his head to the waiter. "But of course," He continued. "Some of us do find loop-holes."
Vladzotz smiled as he took a sip from the liquid. Judy wasn't sure whether it was wine or... Something else. She felt her stomach churn with disgust.
Just before he walked off, the waiter leaned down toward Vlad and whispered something in his left ear, which twitched as the raccoon's words registered. With her sensitive hearing, Judy detected a few choice words, one of them being a name: Lucy. The vampire bat simply nodded his head, acknowledging the waiter's statement.
"Soon." He muttered in response. "Tell her that we shall meet soon... That I have other matters taking priority, at the moment."
The waiter nodded respectfully to his master before vacating the room. Judy wasn't sure what that was about, but she wasn't about to let her curiosity go unremarked. Sucking up the fact that she had to actually look Vlad in the eye and speak with him to get any answers, she chose to ask the first question that came to her mind.
"You said that the ZPD thinks you're deceased... Why? And why haven't you corrected them?"
Judy knew that this bat was some sort of criminal. That much was obvious. Unfortunately, she also knew that she'd have to play dumb to get any info out of her captor.
The bat took another short sip from his glass before replying;
"Well, someone of my particular caliber needs to learn how to stay hidden, yes? Long have I worked alongside all of the other crime-lords in Zootopia, and although my status has been firmly set in stone, the fact that the Nocturnal-District is so far out of the way of the ZPD has rendered my own operations to be quite elusive."
"Crime-lords... You mean like Mr. Big?" Judy asked the bat, who smiled wide, his fangs stained with scarlet.
"Ah, yes... That little shrew does have quite the name for himself doesn't he? But you see my dear, there are more than just him! There always have been! I have ties to all of the most prominent criminal minds in the city of Zootopia, such as Shahaz the Stinger in Sahara-Square, and the jaguar, Al Catpone, over in the Rainforest-District."
Nick had heard those names before. He made himself a mental note to research them once they made it back to Precinct One... If they made it back.
Vladzotz took another sip from his glass. "And of course, who could forget about the very best of them all? The crime-lord of the Nocturnal-District, yours truly!"
The bat said it all so confidently, and had such an infectious smile, that Judy almost found herself smiling back. Almost. She remembered her own lessons on the most prominent criminal figureheads in the city of Zootopia, whom the ZPD dubbed as crime-lords, back during her days at the police academy: Five criminal figureheads, Mr. Big (and Vladzotz, apparently) included, with each one controlling large and powerful criminal organizations in their respective districts of operation. What Vlad said fit in with it all.
Yet there was one problem.
"But the ZPD has files on all of those other mobs and criminals. Mr. Big, Shahaz, and Al - I've seen them before. But I've never seen yours referenced before. Why?"
Vlad grinned almost proudly.
"My dear, as you've so ignorantly claimed on television in the past, anyone can be anything, yes? I am what everyone thinks I should be: A criminal. Or as I like to call it, a business-bat! That's what most surface-dwellers seem to see my species as, at least. Same idea goes for your partner in arms, Mr. Wilde over here. We all know of his misdeeds. They do appear quite petty at first - all those cheap cons - but there have been other things he's done, you know... Things that he's not very proud of."
Judy stared at Nick, who was hanging his head low as he slumped in his seat, his meal untouched.
The bunny wasn't sure what Vladzotz was talking about: About Nick having done things that he's not proud of. She decided not to question it, at the current time.
"You changed the subject." Judy noted. "What you said still doesn't explain how I've never even heard of you." She mumbled to the bat, who smiled wide with pride.
"Well, it just so happens that my associates and I are very good at laying low. The other crime-lords have their work restricted to the surface-world, but being underground makes it all the easier to stay hidden. The Nocturnal-Mob has always prided itself on our clandestine operations, yes, working beneath the noses of the ZPD just as we do beneath the surface of the city."
Judy's mind began putting the pieces together: Formulating a terrifying image of a villainous bat, a kingpin among crime akin to Mr. Big, with his wings encircling the city, casting a deep shadow of crime and terror. Just like Mr. Big, Vladzotz was a crime-lord: A black-hearted criminal figurehead with a penchant for organized crime.
"You were the one who killed that antelope investigator, weren't you?" Judy nearly shouted out loud, jabbing a finger of accusation at the bat sitting before her.
"I thought that was quite obvious, but yes, I had him killed. He was close to figuring out the connection between Al Catpone's smuggling operation and Shahaz the Stinger's precious arms-trafficking. If exposed, he could have completely severed their cross-district trading route! He had to die."
The bat took a deep drink from his glass, draining the cup of its liquid. Vlad eyed the empty container with amusement, if not a slight tinge of faux pity, as well.
"In fact, I think this is his blood." He said nonchalantly before dropping the glass to the floor, shattering the material across the carpet.
The bunny's eyes widened in horror. "Y-You're a monster." She whispered, but it was loud enough for the bat to hear.
"Me? A monster? I'm simply following my instincts! Blood is a staple necessity to a true bat's diet! You are an example of when instinct falls!" He said loudly, sniffing the air. "Married to this deceitful and conniving fox - An atrocity against nature itself! You aren't one to talk, rabbit!" The bat hissed angrily.
His words were filled with so much hate, it seemed to make the air around the bunny burn like acid. He continued his rant as Judy instinctually reached for her dart gun.
"I've spent six years plotting every intricate detail of my glorious plan, but then you show up and marry Nicholas Wilde. It was unexpected, completely altering the layout of what I've spent so much time working on! You would have been dead long before now, Wilde, if this rabbit hadn't shown up! Not only that, but because of your recent little run-in with Mr. Big, he has since attempted to reduce all activities in connection with my mob! You gifted him with a grandchild by saving his daughter's worthless life, then became its godmother, and now, Big has gone soft! With him backing out of our work thanks to the attention of his new brat, the link between the Nocturnal-Mob and the Tundra-Town Mafia will be effected, dividing my income from the surface-world down a fifth from its full potential! This is your fault! I didn't plan on drinking rabbit blood tonight, but I will make exceptions if I must."
Nick immediately shot to his feet. "No! Vlad, listen, it's me you want, we both know that! Leave her out of this." He pleaded.
The bat stared menacingly at the fox, hate burning behind his corneas like a barely contained fire.
"You were brought here to die, Nicholas. No one, especially you, crosses my mob - My family - and gets away with it. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
Nick positioned himself between Judy and Vladzotz. "Please... Don't do this. Just... Leave her alone."
Vladzotz's right ear pricked. He narrowed his blood-red eyes in contemplation.
"Perhaps..." The bat mused slowly. "I may be persuaded to make another offer: You tell your wife what you did, and I'll let her walk free."
Deep within his chest, Nick could have sworn that he felt his heart skip a beat. "No... No, not like that." He stammered. The bat simply bared his fangs in a smile.
"You may have been brought here to die, but seeing the tale retold beforehand may be sweeter still. Go on, Nicholas... Tell her. Once a criminal, always a criminal!" He hissed.
Nick's eyes glazed over, but he kept his gaze locked firmly on the crime-lord. "That isn't important, just take me and let Judy go!"
Upon hearing the fox's words, Vladzotz shrieked horridly with anger and took to the air, his arms flapping hard, the tendons and ligaments visibly stretching beneath the skin on his wings. He flapped over to where Nick was standing, and tackled him to the ground, gripping his head between his claws. Despite being the smaller of the two mammals, the sudden impact of Vladzotz's body colliding with Nick's was enough to knock the fox over.
"NOT IMPORTANT?! You dare claim the death of my family as unimportant?" Vlad roared. "Their blood is on your hands, fox! Never forget that!"
Judy's ears dropped to her back. She found herself backing away from the two of them, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. What did Vladzotz mean about his family's death?
"Nick, what does he mean? Don't tell me what I think it is!"
Nick's eyes glanced over at the sight of his mate backing away in fear. He hated seeing her like this. "It isn't, I promise!" He exclaimed. "It isn't! But..."
The fox trailed off as the bat leaned down and hissed quietly into his ear.
"Go on. Tell her the truth... Or I will do it myself. If you do however, I will spare your precious rabbit. If you refuse, I will kill her slowly, and make you watch."
The fox tried swallowing, but one of Vladzotz's talons was clamped over his throat, crushing his windpipe and restricting his breathing. There was no way out of this one. No help would come, at least not until the ZPD noticed him and Judy to be missing, and in the meantime, Vlad would show no mercy. Nick doubted the bat's words of sparing Judy, but he had to cling to something that would give him hope. He nodded his head in agreement to the bat's terms. Vladzotz smiled wickedly.
"Excellent. I will honor my word and she will walk free without a scratch. Now tell her everything." He finished, leaning away from the fox's ear and glancing at Judy.
The bat then released his hold on Nick and actually helped him to his feet, pacing a few feet back to let the fox have the center of the stage.
"Judy," Nick began. "There's a lot more to my past than you know. There are things I haven't told you... Things that I'm not very proud of. And to keep you safe..." He swallowed hard. "I-I have to tell them to you."
Judy was shuddering. She didn't know what to expect. She'd known Nick for nearly four years at this point, and had been married to him for half that. Even still, she knew that Nick had had a troubled past working for Mr. Big before he started his hustling career. She knew that she may have jumped in rather quickly into the likes of marriage, but she had good intentions: The two of them had been in love. Now, she didn't know what to think. If Nick had such a disastrous secret, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it or not. Judy did not want to know anything that might jeopardize her relationship with Nick, but at the same time, the prospect of her own curiosity got in the way.
She simply had to know. The bunny could only hope that her and Nick would make it out of this situation alive, in the end. She nodded her head, urging him to explain.
Nick steeled himself as he prepared to tell his story, the feeling of Vladzotz watching him from behind sending cold chills down his spine all the while.
Hey everyone!
Buckle-up for the ride, because the intensity is intensifying! You'll be learning a lot in the next few chapters, so prepare yourselves! Although, you won't be meeting Lucy until chapter 62. You'll see eventually, but until then, you can expect to learn more about Vlad and has plans! Stay tuned!
I hope you enjoyed the latest update, and as always, feel free to leave a review, follow, or favorite on my work! They're all appreciated greatly! :D
That being said, I have a question of my own: What do you all think of Vladzotz, specifically? What are your thoughts on him and his work, and his overall character? Throughout the coming chapters and the remainder of the story, we'll be learning more about him and the other crime-lords, too, I might add.
For now though, feel free to drop a review detailing your thoughts! I'd love to know whatcha liked!
'Till next time...
Peace!