"The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph." - George Washington
9:40 P.M ; Precinct Four, Rainforest-District...
It wasn't often that Judy caught criminals in the middle of committing a crime, but when she did, the look of surprise on their faces never failed to satisfy her.
As the bunny walked in on Lucy Sang pouring a vial of white powder into a coffee mug on the chief's desk, the brief expression of shock on the vampire bat's face was almost good enough to tempt Judy to pull out her phone just to photograph it. Unfortunately, Lucy quickly pulled herself together, allowing a fanged grin to replace her bewilderment.
"Hey there," She chuckled nervously. "Now I know what you're thinking - should I try to arrest her? - and the answer might surprise you!"
With those last two words, Lucy quickly swiped the mug off the desk toward Judy, raining hot coffee across the carpet. The rabbit acted on instinct, rolling forward to avoid it and immediately leaping onto the chief's desk with her powerful legs. By the time she clambered atop its surface, Lucy was already flapping up to the open air duct in the ceiling.
"Sorry to intrude on your intrusion," Judy shouted as she jumped and grabbed the bat by the ankle. "But you're not getting away that easily!"
Lucy yelped as she was yanked back, with both her and Judy plummeting to the carpet. The landing nearly broke the bunny's grip on her foe, yet she held fast, trying to wrestle the bat into submission as they rolled around on the carpet. Lucy scrambled back and kicked Judy in the chin, severing her hold and allowing the bat to slip away. When her vision cleared, Judy caught sight of her opponent flapping out of the office and down the hall. Rising to her feet, the rabbit immediately gave chase. Her infamous catch-the-bad-guy instincts were in full effect now, and it was well-past time to put Lucy in her place for good. Judy couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.
As she reared around a corner, a large room full of cubicles stretched for as far as she could see. Mammals of varying sizes meandered through the offices, carrying towers of documents and files. Judy quickly spotted Lucy by the trail of chaos she left in her wake - Knocking over stacks of paperwork and swiftly flying around passing archivists.
"Outta the way, losers!" She shouted over the surprised yelps of confused bystanders.
"Stop that bat!" Judy called out as she sprinted after her.
The bunny gazed ahead, and saw that Lucy was making a break for the nearest open window. Lucy darted straight through the opening just as the window was about to be closed shut by a bear officer, causing him to blink with surprise. Seconds later, Judy vaulted over the windowsill, flinging herself into the jungle in pursuit of her foe. Judy was immediately hit with a light blanket of rain that forced her to raise one paw over her brow just so she could see better. The nighttime air was thick, damp, and hot, and felt like breathing gaseous soup. Yet the rabbit powered onward, chasing after Lucy deeper into the jungle until the lights of Precinct Four could be seen no more. Years of endurance training allowed her to easily keep up with the bat - Hurdling over downed logs and leaping across puddles of water, slowly closing the distance as the chase continued across the Understory of the Rainforest-District. Trying not to lose sight of Lucy in the rain and shadows was difficult. Judy knew she wouldn't be able to do this forever.
She pulled out her radio while she ran. "Officer Hopps to dispatch, I'm currently in pursuit of a suspect on foot!"
"What's your location?" Clawhauser's voice immediately responded.
As the rabbit broke into an open clearing, she realized that she had no idea where she was. Lucy had led her deep into the unmarked jungle.
"Uh... West! West of Precinct Four! Just hurry!" Judy replied before latching her radio back to her belt.
Her running came to a halt as she spotted Lucy standing on the far side of the clearing, staring her down as she approached. Judy took a brief moment to better analyze her surroundings. Above was nothing but a vast ceiling of leaves and blackness. Distant rumbles cut the unseen sky with strikes of white lightning that momentarily lit up the jungle through the cracks in the dense foliage. Vines and roots surrounded the muddy clearing like ropes around a boxing ring.
Judy refocused her gaze back to Lucy as the bat stretched her wings out, showing off her slender, well-curved body. "I'm not gonna shake you, am I?" She grumbled.
"Not a chance." The rabbit confirmed.
"Think you could just let me go?" Lucy asked innocently, batting her eyelashes tauntingly. "I didn't even steal anything this time!"
"I don't negotiate with mercenaries." Judy stated firmly. "You can't sweet-talk your way out of this, Sang."
At the mention of her last name, the vampire bat's eyes momentarily widened with surprise, but she quickly masked it with a coy smirk.
"Oh, phooey. I had a feeling you wouldn't fall for that. Can't blame a girl for trying. I guess I'll just have to do this the messy way!"
Grinning maniacally, Lucy lunged forward with outstretched talons. Judy ducked just in time as the bat swiped at her with one leg. By now, Judy was well aware how large and sharp the talons on bat feet could be, and had no intention on getting sliced open. What she didn't anticipate, however, was Lucy immediately reorienting herself in midair and locking both of her thighs around her neck before twisting her body, taking Judy with her. Lucy may have weighed a lot less than her, due to being a smaller mammal, but the momentum against Judy's neck forced the rabbit to roll with her, flipping to the ground with a grunt. Judy tried to breath, but with Lucy's legs locked tightly around her throat, could barely manage a dry gag. She stifled a shriek of pain as Lucy bit down hard on one of her ears, fangs sinking deep into the sensitive flesh. Squirming against her aggressor, Judy rolled the two of them through the mud and down a nearby hill, even deeper into the jungle.
They tumbled past furrows of forest mire, punching and strangling at each other before coming to a stop beside a large, fast-flowing creek cutting through the ground like a blood vessel. An idea suddenly dawned on Judy. Pushing herself toward the stream, Judy submerged her upper body into the water, and Lucy along with it. The cold current was easily strong enough to dislodge the bat, sending her gurgling down the creek a few yards before she flapped out of the water with a shrill gasp.
"Eek!" Lucy stifled, her grip around Judy's neck immediately loosening. "Cold, cold, cold!"
The vampire bat quickly flew to the jungle's canopy before grabbing hold of a vine with her feet and hanging upside down. Down below, Judy coughed and hauled herself out of the river. Her ear stung horribly, but she forced herself to ignore the pain as she pat down her utility belt to make sure nothing had gotten washed away, only to feel a pair of icy fingers flicker up her spine as she realized that her tranquilizer was missing. The bunny frantically checked every last pocket, and found that her flashlight had also been swept away. The only items left were her radio, pocketknife, and pawcuffs. She stared down the creek, and spotted her missing tools bobbing through the water, floating farther and farther away before the tranquilizer was caught on a small outcrop of rocks, leaving the flashlight to drift beneath the water.
Thankfully, the dart gun didn't seem to be going anywhere, but if Judy wanted any hope of winning, then she'd need it back. Lucy was just as skilled in combat as she was, after all. At the thought of the bat, Judy rose to her feet before staring up at her foe hanging far out of reach. She watched as Lucy pulled down the zipper on her chest a bit and allowed the water that had gotten caught inside to drain out, raining down to the forest floor.
"Hey! My suit's only good at keeping water out!" Lucy hissed. "Doesn't help if you dunk me in it!"
Judy pointed a finger at her opponent. "I don't care about your stupid bodysuit! Get back down here!"
The bat simply stuck her tongue out in defiance. Judy growled. With Lucy sitting pretty in the vines above, she'd be able to rest and recover her stamina from the chase - That much Judy recognized. She needed a way to get her rival back down to the ground, or at least a way to prevent her from recovering her energy. Climbing after her was off the table, and there was nothing that Judy could shoot at her with. As her gaze flitted to the ground, her eyes caught sight of some plump yellow fruit casings lying nearby in the shadow of a papaya tree. Grinning with renewed confidence, the rabbit scooped up a few of the largest ones she could find before taking aim. Lucy was still hanging from her branch up above, ringing the water out from her fuzzy ears, and literally licking at her wounds.
She glanced down to the forest-floor just in time to take a papaya straight to the face. "Gah!" She sputtered as the casing knocked her off her perch.
Blinded by rotten fruit pulp, Lucy flapped zigzaggedly back to the forest-floor before harshly wiping the juice from her eyes. She gasped as another papaya came soaring at her, dodging just in time by acrobatically ducking down into a split. With no more projectiles to spare, Judy took a defensive stance, prepared for her opponent to make a move.
Yet Lucy didn't advance. Instead, she stared Judy down with intense hatred in her eyes as she got to her feet. "Ugh." She scoffed. "You're a persistent rabbit."
"It's in my nature." Judy admitted. "But it's my job to bring in crooks like you and Al Catpone, who I know you've been working for, by the way!"
"You think I care about Al? Get real! I'm not in this for his politics." The bat muttered before innocently tilting her head to the side. "Sure, he promised a nice reward for my help, as all good employers should, but I'm doing this for me."
"But why? What could you possibly-" Judy started, but was promptly interrupted by Lucy, who cackled loudly before shrugging her exposed shoulders.
"I want to see what happens! Al says his plan is going to upset the established order, and I like that. It'll create chaos, and chaos creates opportunity! Just imagine the amount of clients I could get if this thing doesn't go south! They'll be lining up down the street just to get a piece of my expertise! If Al's plan goes down the gutter, no big deal! I still walk away with a small fortune for my efforts. But if he succeeds, then I get to drink this city dry for years to come! Either way, I win!"
"And does your master plan to build a better resume involve attacking and drinking from those innocent mice along the way?" Judy countered. "As soon as I heard the reports, I knew it was you. Seems a little counterproductive for a thief to leave an evidence trail, don't you think?"
Lucy casually licked at the blood-spatter dripping down her lips. Judy felt a bit sick in the stomach as she realized that it was her blood, from when Lucy had bitten her ear.
"I'm a vampire bat, genius!" Lucy (who looked tired of having to explain this again) retorted, planting her wings on her hips and leaning forward. "I'd die without a certain amount of blood in my diet. I'm just following my instincts! Don't you take the high-road and blame me for what I can't resist. Thieves rarely hurt anyone, far less kill - Most larger mammals don't even notice when I feed from them while burglarizing their home. It's how my species survived in the old times." Her smile darkened. "It's only rodents that can't handle losing enough blood to satisfy me."
Judy scoffed with disgust. "Alright, I've heard enough." She grumbled as she approached her foe. "I'll make sure to log that as your confession after I bring you in."
"Do your best!" Lucy taunted as she raised her claws defensively. "I always find prey to be so much more tender after a struggle!"
Lucy's high-pitched, girlish laughter scraped across Judy's nerves, yet the rabbit kept her focus as she bounded forward and threw a strong kick toward her opponent. Lucy beat down her wings a single time, dodging the attack while simultaneously jabbing out with her own leg. Judy sidestepped, grabbing the bat's ankle as it sailed past her head, and then threw the bat into the muddy riverbank with an audible splat. While Lucy was busy digging herself out of the mud, Judy made a break for her tranquilizer gun, which was still resting untouched on a pile of rocks about thirty yards downstream.
Behind her, she heard Lucy hiss with anger before flapping after her. "Fun's not over, rabbit!" She called out.
The bunny knew that she'd never be able to reach the weapon before Lucy was on top of her. She needed a way to buy some time. As Judy ran, she leaned down and grabbed a loose bundle of vines before making a few swift laps around a pair of trees, looping them around their trunks. She pulled the middle of the vines back as hard as she could, and just as an unsuspecting Lucy was about to grab her, Judy released her hold on the vines, sending them snapping back directly into Lucy's smaller body like a slingshot. With a shrill scream, the vampire bat was launched away and into the trees, her cries fading as she disappeared into the dense foliage.
Judy allowed herself a slight chuckle, pleased that her plan had worked, and then immediately resumed her sprint to the tranquilizer. After hopping over the stream, she found her dart gun and promptly retrieved it, sparing no hesitation as she raised it back in the direction she had last seen Lucy. Nothing but a dark, empty jungle, the only sound being the quiet flowing of the creek, and the chirping of insects in the foliage. Judy slowly put some distance between herself and the water, walking deeper into the jungle until she could hear it no more. All the while, the rabbit kept her tranquilizer raised high, and close to her body, using her powerful sense of sound to listen to anything out of place. There were more than a few times when she heard something rustle in the distance, yet when she turned to face it, saw nothing. It was nerve-wracking.
Just as Judy started to think that Lucy might have fled, she heard the bat's unmistakable voice directly behind her. "My, what big ears you have! Do they even work?"
The rabbit whirled around and shot a single dart behind her, only to watch it stick into the trunk of a large tree. A few feet to the right of it, some bushes rustled as something scrambled deeper into them, likely her target making a hasty escape. Judy exhaled slowly. That bat had snuck up on her way too easily. She quickly realized that Lucy was trying to mess with her, and make her lose her composure to get her to empty all of her darts, just like she had in that warehouse in Beaverdam. Judy had no intentions on falling for that same trick again. She glanced around, analyzing her surroundings for any sign of movement, and listening closely with her ears.
"Funny, isn't it, how the ZPD sends you into the jaws of danger so woefully unprepared?" Lucy's voice rang out. "Though, I suppose it was you who decided to chase me down."
"Someone has to be ready to do what it takes to stop criminals like you." Judy replied as she reloaded her dart gun.
"Oh, I don't mind!" Lucy claimed, her voice migrating as she flew circles around Judy, just out of sight, yet close enough to taunt. "I could always use a new plaything."
A small stick bounced off Judy's head. She aimed her tranquilizer toward the canopy, scanning for where Lucy had dropped it. She was just toying with her now.
"See? Isn't this fun?" The bat cackled from the shadows. "I'm gonna bat you around before I suck you dry!"
Lucy's voice momentarily seized up as she realized how her last statement had sounded out loud. "No pun intended." She added sheepishly.
"I'm no one's meal! Why don't you show yourself, instead of flapping around like a coward?" Judy shouted back.
Perhaps not her greatest insult, but she only needed to make Lucy angry enough to attack, abandoning her cover and allowing for an easy tranquilizing.
"I'm a professional thief, darling, I don't do head-on confrontation." The bat replied. "Besides, it's so much more fun this way! Watching you stumble around in the dark has been the highlight of my evening. I think I'll try to tap you on the shoulder with one of my lock-picks, next! I'll let you figure out which shoulder, though. You ready?"
Judy stifled a growl of anger, knowing that that'd be exactly what Lucy would want to see from her. She needed a way to turn the tables - To make Lucy the angry one. The rabbit thought back to everything she had learned about Lucy earlier that evening, from her imprisonment at a young age, to her life of crime upon breaking out years later.
She smiled, knowing exactly what to say. "A professional thief, huh? Is that something your brother would be proud of? I suppose you don't have to worry about his opinion though, considering that you killed him before either of you had even turned twenty."
Silence filled the forest for a full five seconds, sending an almost unnatural shiver down Judy's spine. Then, she heard Lucy's breathing harden somewhere close by.
"I... I did NOT kill Leo!" The bat yelled, voice rising with anger. "He was my brother! I'd never hurt a hair on anyone I care for, not my brother, not my sister, not Vladdy!"
Judy's grin widened. She could tell that what she said had struck a nerve with Lucy. Learning some new information about her family didn't hurt, either, though something about the name Vladdy sounded familiar to her. It took Judy a moment to realize that she must have been referring to Vladzotz Fangpyre. The rabbit cleared her throat.
"Oh yeah? Then why'd you get sent to prison?" She inquired, keeping her tranquilizer raised. "Why'd you turn to crime?"
"I was FRAMED!" Lucy roared from the dark. "A friend-" Her voice faltered. "-Killed him and framed me for it... And all for some stupid scholarship that we were competing for!"
Judy's ears twitched, honing in on the source of Lucy's voice, just behind the trunk of a nearby tree, close to the edge of another hill. In the process, though, the bunny could detect the anger and sorrow laden behind the bat's words. She hated to say it, but they sounded truthful. Judy had to tell herself that it no longer mattered if Lucy was innocent of that original crime or not, because she had a long list of more recent ones to answer for, yet as the rabbit slowly approached the tree, she still couldn't help but feel almost sorry for her opponent.
"And I turned to crime because that was all I could do to survive!" Lucy continued her rant. "Do you have any idea how horrible prison is? I wouldn't imagine!"
"The justice system may have made a mistake in incarcerating you, but don't think you're going to get any pity from me, Sang." Judy goaded further. "You've done more than enough in the time since to prove that prison is where you belong, and this time, after I beat you right here and now, I'm gonna make sure you stay in prison!"
With a shriek of rage, Lucy flew from her hiding spot - Rearing around the trunk of the tree and swiping at Judy's throat. The rabbit rolled to the left and pointed her gun toward the bat before firing. The dart sailed over one of her wings and landed in a fat pitcher-plant with an audible plop. While Judy was reloading, Lucy looped in midair before charging back at her foe, crashing into her torso and sending them both sprawling back over the edge of the hill.
The combatants rolled to a stop at the bottom, with Judy's tranquilizer skidding out of her grip a few feet away. Lucy positioned herself atop Judy, raising her claws up with a hiss as she prepared to bring them down on her face. The bunny reacted quickly, pulling one of her legs out before kicking Lucy in the face, sending her spiraling into the air above. But the bat recovered just as fast, halting her midair loop and then bringing her foot down atop Judy's head like a hammer.
Judy blocked the strike with her forearm before pushing against Lucy, causing the bat to flap back before touching down on the ground and then launching herself forward, swiping madly at Judy with the claws on both wings. Judy ducked beneath talon swipes, sidestepped punches, blocked a few knees, and even had to step out of range of a sweep-kick. Lucy was definitely fighting seriously now. The bat then dipped her upper-body down and acrobatically threw her leg toward Judy in an overhead kick. The rabbit blocked the attack, but couldn't stop one of the talons on Lucy's foot from scraping into her face, just above her right eye. Blood began to drip down her brow, interfering with her sight.
She knew that she couldn't go on the defensive like this. Making a sudden break for the tranquilizer, Judy was just about to scoop it off the ground when Lucy landed on her from behind, locked her ankles around her throat, covered both her eyes with one wing, and used the other to elbow-strike against her head over and over. Judy tried prying her off, but the bat's grip was too tight. Blinded, she stumbled around aimlessly, trying to dislodge the bat before she unintentionally walked under a low-hanging branch that knocked Lucy clean off her head. Judy took in a deep gasp of air as soon as she could breath, and clutched tenderly at her throat as she glanced to her foe. While Lucy was rising to her feet, Judy bounded forward and threw a hard punch that landed firmly across the bat's cheek, sending her careening to the left where she stumbled to the forest floor, disoriented, and spat out a small fang from the back of her mouth.
"That's for trying to burn down Precinct One!" Judy shouted before kicking the bat like a soccer ball. "And that's for hurting all those mice!"
Lucy screeched as she bounced off a giant jungle leaf like a trampoline before landing hard on the ground. The bat quickly staggered to her feet, shoulders slumped and legs visibly wobbling. Her expression was more or less a look of pure hatred. Blood was leaking between her fangs, this time from her own mouth, and she also had a black eye. Yet as Judy got to her own feet, she realized just how much pain she was in as well. Her ribs ached from the roll down the hill, her chest hurt to breath, her ear had been pierced, and one of her own eyes was too stained with blood to see. Both mammals were panting heavily, staring each other down intensely.
"Do you... Ever know... When to quit?!" Lucy snarled between breaths, paws clenched with anger.
Even past all her pain, Judy couldn't help but smile. "I can do this... All day. Give up, Sang." She demanded. Lucy simply laughed.
"Oh, I don't think so. Not until I've sucked every last drop of blood from your body. Why do you think I've stuck around all this time? I'm gonna be the one to kill the great Judy Hopps! There's nothing more satisfying than taking someone like you down a few notches! Always on TV, blabbering about hope, and the greater good. It makes me sick!"
With that last word, the bat began to pace forward slowly, all the while continuing her rant.
"News flash, rabbit! There is no greater good! Better to be a free-agent, and work for your own goals! Everyone hates somebody in this city. I'm surprised you haven't figured that out by now!" The bat growled as she lunged forward and planted a knee to Judy's stomach, causing her to gag. "Then again, you are just a dumb bunny, aren't you?!"
Judy coughed as she clutched at her abdomen and backed away from her assailant. "And what does that make you? If everyone hates somebody, then who do you hate?"
"Everyone!" Lucy roared as she lunged towards the rabbit with outstretched wings.
Her pointed black claws raked against Judy's breastplate, leaving a triad of chalk-white marks in their wake. The rabbit swiftly stepped back and out of range of Lucy's talons.
"Why? Is it because you're a predator?" Judy asked firmly. "Is it because you grew up surrounded by hate and prejudice? Is it because you were imprisoned?"
"Shut up!" The bat demanded, throwing out another slash of her claws in Judy's direction.
This time, though, the rabbit was ready. She grabbed hold of her combatant's wrist as it swiped just above her head, just barely grazing one of her ears, and then locked her arm against her chest, immobilizing Lucy.
"You really are a victim, aren't you?" Judy asked, her voice firm, but surprisingly calm amidst the tussle.
Instead of vocalizing her answer, Lucy snarled with hate as she threw her opposing arm towards Judy's exposed face. The rabbit ducked down, and with her free paw, intercepted the bat's strike in midair. Twisting her opponent's body towards her, Judy used all of her strength to hold Lucy in an armlock from behind. Squirming around in an effort to break free, Lucy hissed with anger as the rabbit lifted her off the ground and hardened her grip on her shoulders. The bat thrashed about, but Judy's hold did not falter. She saw the terror that Lucy was trying to hide deep down. It was no wonder that she hated Judy so much - She was the representation of everything she wasn't, and everything she hated.
"I know what drives you - Your anger, your pain! But I also know the fear you've hidden under them... How small you feel deep down. It's because you're afraid-"
The rabbit was cut off mid-sentence as her foe tossed her head back and struck Judy on the nose, sending stars cascading across her vision. Startled, she unintentionally slackened her hold on the bat, who wriggled free before shoving the rabbit over and onto the ground. Disoriented, Judy's vision cleared just in time to watch as Lucy planted her foot against her throat.
"You don't know anything, rabbit!" Lucy hissed. Her voice frayed with pain, which she tried to conceal behind a sneer. "I'm not afraid. Maybe I once was, but not anymore."
Momentarily glancing to the side, Lucy growled beneath her breath, as though the thought of what Judy had said had stirred up some unpleasant memories. The rabbit could tell that her opponent was feeling disgruntled, and had only been getting more and more unhinged throughout the course of their battle. Judy's words had managed to open a crack in Lucy's usual facade of confidence. Now, the bunny could only hope that she could further exploit this weakness to her advantage.
"N-No brother, no family, no friends." Judy croaked, just barely able to speak. "You have no one but yourself. You're alone. And you hate that."
Lucy smiled, as though the rabbit's words were amusing to her, and increased the pressure of her foot against Judy's throat, causing her to retch.
"You're wrong." She claimed. "I'm not afraid, and I'm not alone anymore, either! I've got another pair of wings waiting for me back in the Nocturnal-District. He's all I need. Meanwhile, you're here fighting for your life while your foxy friend dances circles back at Precinct Four, leaving you to fend for yourself. So tell me, who's really more alone?"
Judy nearly sputtered a response, but was unable to speak past the pressure on her throat. Instead, she responded by pulling out her radio and throwing it at Lucy. The device bounced off her forehead, knocking her back and allowing Judy to sweep the bat's legs out from under her, toppling Lucy to the ground. Judy was about to grab her when Lucy scooped up a wingful of soil and tossed it into her face. The bunny stepped back, wiping out her eyes as the bat flapped into the safety of the trees above.
After cleaning her face, Judy's prey-based eyes strained hard against the dark jungle atmosphere. Warm mist lingered thick in the open air, and the moonlight broke through the forest canopy like a spotlight, driving away the darkness. Just where had that bat slinked off to? Every shadow seemed to jump, and Judy's senses were on high alert. Her enemy was a slippery one, that much was undeniable. It took every ounce of the rabbit's willpower not to lose focus. Past the crickets chirping in the foliage, her ears could detect slight clicking noises emanating from around her, but she couldn't pinpoint their source - It seemed to relocate every few seconds, moving swiftly through the jungle, yet slowly closing in. Judy swallowed, steeling her nerves for whatever was to come.
Lucy watched Judy quietly from the shadows, amused at her futile attempts to search for her. Her ears were pretty good, but Lucy's were even better. She let out another click of her echolocation, immediately getting a mental image of the entire radius around them. Compared to that, a healthy diet of carrots didn't stand a chance. In the midst of doing so, she stopped as her brain mapped a part of the terrain that she hadn't noticed before. This part of the rainforest wasn't entirely grounded, and a steep hill to the lower-left dropped off dangerously fast. If it had taken her this long to notice it, there was no way Judy had. Lucy smiled, and began to form a plan. She had to admit, this bunny was an enjoyable opponent. Yet for as weary and beaten up as she was, Lucy had no intention on leaving this fight without a conclusion.
Shifting to the right, Judy tried honing in on the source of the clicking, but couldn't see anything past the shadows and the mist. What little moonlight she had wasn't enough to see more than a few yards in front of her, and even then, the dense plants made it difficult to spot out anything useful. She tried slowing her breathing, but a tight pain caught in her chest, restricting her airway. Resisting the urge to cough, she kneeled to the ground, trying to ease her panting. The past few minutes had been nothing if not taxing, even for a mammal as athletic as Judy. Her heaves were labored and ragged, and her muscles ached with fatigue. Her fur was matted and smeared with mud and plant material, and various cuts and scrapes throughout her body stung into her flesh. She also had a weird ringing in her right ear that wouldn't go away.
On the bright side, she knew that her opponent hadn't gotten off without some damage, either. As she recalled, Judy had managed to give that bat a black eye, drench her with fruit chunks, and even knock out a tooth from the back of her mouth. Their fight definitely hadn't been a pretty one. Lucy may have been just below half her size, but she was a skilled fighter, without a doubt. Still, Judy had a feeling that even now, somewhere out there, that little monster was licking at her wounds and biding her time.
Lucy chose that precise moment to strike, abruptly swooping towards the rabbit from behind and swinging her claws at the back of her head. Weakened as she was, Judy's reflexes were fast enough to let her duck under the attack, but Lucy had expected nothing less from her. The important thing was that now Judy was right behind her in pursuit, both of them heading directly towards the sudden drop she had noticed. To keep her from picking up on it, Lucy turned around in mid-air as she flew backwards.
"Not bad, bunny!" She taunted. "Guess I didn't clip your ears that badly. Remind me to fix that!"
Gritting her teeth, Judy kept her words to herself, instead yelling with vigor as her body was gifted with one last burst of energy. The jungle clearing ahead was filled with nothing but mist and vines hanging from above. It was more than enough space to close the distance and end this battle once and for all. If Judy could grab Lucy and pin her to the ground, the battle would be won. Rushing forward, Judy stomped atop a sturdy root before leaping up and grabbing Lucy's ankle in midair.
"I've got you!" The bunny shouted with triumph.
Yet as their combined weight brought them back to the ground, instead of landing hard on the forest floor, the two of them punctured through the cloud of mist as though they had fallen through a portal to another dimension. As the white vapor rushed past her face, Judy was left staring down at a hundred foot drop to the real forest floor. Her mind cursed itself for being so reckless. How could she have forgotten that they were fighting on the Understory the entire time? The rabbit screamed, holding tight to her opponent's foot as the two of them plummeted towards the ground.
9:50 P.M ; Precinct Four, Rainforest-District...
"Anyone know where Judy is?" Nick asked, glancing around the lobby as he scanned for his partner. "She should have gotten back by now."
"I'm sure she's fine." Chief Bogo grumbled, not lifting his gaze from the warrant paperwork at the reception's desk.
"Perhaps she got lost." Chief Myreme hypothesized. "Precinct Four is quite large."
The fox pursed his lips, not entirely satisfied with that answer, but not arguing against it nonetheless. Judy's absence wasn't the only problem on his mind, after all, and she could take care of herself with ease. Nick stared down at the biggest problem at hand as it quite literally lay resting in his palm: His phone, with the contact number of his mother on screen. Ever since learning of Al Catpone's plot to introduce his drugs into Happytown from those loose-lipped panthers back at the Green Mill Tavern, Nick had begun to feel the urge to call her, if only to check-up on her, and make sure that she was alright. She was living in the middle of a town that had the potential to turn into a war zone within the next three days, after all, if Al's plan to incite violent, savage-fueled protests against the city government proved successful. Nick glanced to his superiors.
"Mind if I take a call?" He asked. "It's... Important."
Bogo grunted through his nostrils. "Make it quick."
Myreme smiled warmly. "Of course not. Go right ahead."
Nick nodded with a grin before pacing a safe distance away, where the chiefs couldn't hear him. He promptly pressed the call button before bringing the phone to his ear.
After six seconds of ringing, the other side of the line went quiet. "Hello? Is that you, Nicholas?" A soft, feminine voice responded.
The fox smiled. "Yeah. It's me, mom."
"Oh, it's so good to hear from you. It's been months!" Olivia exclaimed. "What have you been up to, all this time?"
A slight sigh broke through Nick's nostrils. "Well, it's kind of a long story. To sum it up, Carrots and I were out training the recruits at the ZPA, there was another Night-Howler outbreak, and now we're tracking down the mammal responsible. Talk about a busy work week, huh?"
"I heard about what happened at the academy on the news. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm just glad that you're okay."
Nick chuckled. "Well, I do have a lucky rabbit's foot." He quipped. "But that's beside the point. What about you? Is everything... Alright over there?"
"Compared to what you've been going through, my life is downright boring." Olivia joked. "Just the usual business. Retirement gives you a lot of free time. I've been volunteering down at the local soup kitchen, and I've also been talking to your father more, too. He's been calling much more frequently ever since you visited him."
"Yeah, pops always was a bit of a lone-fox, wasn't he? Happy to have helped him out of his shell." Nick said. "Has he been, uh, good to you?"
"Yes. He's changed, Nicholas, he really has. And it's all thanks to you and Judy."
Nick couldn't help but smile. "That's good." The fox cleared his throat abruptly, refocusing on the purpose of the call. "Just be careful out there, okay? With all this organized crime shenanigans, the streets are more dangerous than ever."
"Nicholas, I've lived in this dump for over twenty years. I'm sure I can survive a bit longer." Olivia assured.
A brief chuckle split Nick's muzzle. "When you put it like that, I guess you're right. I just wanted to, you know, make sure." He spoke softly.
"And I love you for it."
"I love you too, mom. Stay safe."
"Don't worry, I will." Olivia promised. "Good luck with your new case! I'll be sure to bake some blueberry pie for you to celebrate, once you crack it."
"Now that, I'll be looking forward to." Nick glanced back to Bogo, who was tapping his wrist impatiently. "I should get going. I'll see you around, mom. Bye."
At that, Nick ended the call before letting out a contented sigh. Perhaps some problems could handle themselves.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Rainforest-District...
"Gah!" Lucy shrieked. "Let go!"
The bat flapped her wings again and again, but she wasn't strong enough to carry her and Judy's combined weight as they both fell screaming towards the forest floor. Thankfully, this was the rainforest, and there was no such thing as a clear drop in the rainforest. The two of them smacked against a few trees, bounced off several giant leaves, and then plummeted towards a massive network of vines, as if nature itself had prepared a safety net for them. As they tumbled into the vines, the impact finally broke Judy's grip on Lucy's ankle, sending the bat spiraling into the air while the rabbit continued to fall.
After a few frantic seconds of wild flapping, Lucy managed to reorient herself in midair and quickly searched for any sign of her opponent, starting with the point where she would've made a giant red splat if she kept dropping the rest of the way. Unfortunately for her, the rabbit had survived.
A weak groan escaped Judy's mouth. For a moment, she thought she was dead, but as she opened her eyes, her perspective was left inverted - She was dangling upside down from a bundle of vines, swaying slightly in the open air. A good fifty feet below, Judy could see the ground level of the Rainforest-District, with a few cars meandering across winding roads, looking almost like insects from this high up. With the blood rushing to her head, a slight dizziness began to settle over her.
The rabbit knew she couldn't stay swinging in the rain like this forever, and tried to pull against the vines wrapped tight around her arms, but was left restricted, still bundled up like a holiday present. It was just like when her and Nick had fallen from the treetops when they were being chased by Manches. Judy grunted with frustration, straining even more against her plant prison before letting out a gasp of exhaustion and going limp. As she took a moment to catch her breath, she spotted Lucy flapping some ten feet in front of her.
"Enjoying the view from down there?" Lucy asked, a prominent smirk on her face. "Don't struggle too hard now or you might just get a closer look."
It then occurred to Lucy that she was struggling and evidently couldn't escape. Her smirk grew wider. At that moment, Judy ceased to be a trapped officer and started to look a lot like a packaged meal.
"Uh oh, don't tell me you can't get out. That would be very unfortunate for you." She licked her lips for emphasis, eyeing the bunny's neck.
Lucy swooped around and clung to the vines, so that she too was facing upside-down, crawling down towards Judy's neck like a spider descending down its web to a captured fly. The bunny tried to pull away as Lucy clambered down her body, but the bat easily held her head in place, leaning in with a fanged smile.
"I think I'm done playing with you. All this exercise can make a girl real thirsty. I made myself a promise, you know, after we last crossed claws: That I'd sink my teeth into that pretty little neck of yours the next time I got the chance. Time to follow through!"
Judy felt a pang of primal fear flutter somewhere in her chest. Lucy's maw split open with a hiss, revealing a set of large pointed fangs, and the rabbit only had time to gasp as her foe lunged down and sank her teeth directly into the side of her neck. She immediately felt the pain: A hot stinging sensation emanating from directly between Lucy's jaws. The aching spread down the course of Judy's neck as her nerves kicked in. The bunny could practically feel her energy abandoning her as the vampire bat siphoned out her life-giving blood before consuming it, one little gulp at a time.
It might have taken a while, as the holes in her neck weren't big, but even Judy knew that if she didn't do something soon, she'd eventually pass out from blood loss. Gritting her teeth through the pain, Judy used what little fire she had left in her to squirm against her oppressor, who simply pushed back down against her weakened body, immobilizing it. Lucy taunted her prey with an exaggerated mmhm sound from between her lips.
The rabbit felt her heart begin to race, which she figured probably wouldn't help with the blood loss. She tried squirming in the vines again, and managed to shift her right arm a few centimeters. Her fingers groped against something small and solid fastened to her waist. Her pocketknife was still in her utility belt! Using her fingers, she carefully pulled it from her belt before beginning to slowly saw at the vines from the inside with her wrist.
All the while, Lucy continued her feeding, not noticing the bunny's movements. It felt as though the flow of blood in Judy's upper-body was being altered in an unnatural way. The pulsing ebb of her heartbeat seemed to stutter as the circulation of blood in her neck was redirected into Lucy's mouth, robbing the bunny of her life-giving energy. It was a violating sensation. Judy continued to saw at the vines as quickly as she could without drawing attention, but as a dull throb took hold in her head, nearly causing her to black out, she came to the dread realization that at the rate she was losing blood, she'd never be able to cut through all the vines before she fell unconscious.
She needed to buy more time. But how? There was nothing she could say that would convince Lucy to stop. The only thing that ever seemed to give the bat any pause was talking about her loved ones, like her family. At that thought, Judy reminisced to a few choice sentences Lucy had mentioned earlier.
Maybe I once was, but not anymore.
I've got another pair of wings waiting for me back in the Nocturnal-District.
He's all I need.
It all came together like a puzzle, and in that moment, Judy knew what she had to say.
"You don't hate everyone, though, do you?" The rabbit muttered weakly. Her voice was soft, and pitiful, due to her waning energy, but it was enough to garner Lucy's attention.
The bat looked up from her feeding. "Hm?" She growled beneath her breath.
"You said... That you hate everyone." Judy stammered slowly, steadying her sawing rate now that she had Lucy's full attention. "But that's not true, is it?"
The bat narrowed her eyes, and leaned down closer to Judy's neck, intent on ignoring her and continuing her feeding. But she stopped when the rabbit spoke out again.
"I know you work with him... Vladzotz. You told me... Back in t-the Deciduous-District... That you made... A good team."
Lucy's jaw hung slightly agape. A minuscule dribble of blood dripped from one of her fangs, falling all the way to the forest floor.
"Yeah... We do." The bat murmured as her gaze fell away from her prey. Judy took note of the expression of what looked like content across her face.
"But it's more than that... Isn't it?" Judy added softly. "I saw your eyes... When I said his name. I was wrong... About you not having anyone."
The rabbit trailed off, letting out a weak cough. "You said you hate everyone... But not Vladzotz. You don't hate him." Judy proclaimed. "You love him."
A number of expressions flashed across Lucy's face, ranging from surprise to what looked like a brief glimmer of happiness, which to Judy, confirmed her assessment. For the first time since meeting her, Lucy genuinely seemed at a loss for words. Just as Judy had predicted, Lucy became distracted when talking about her loved ones.
"He's... The only mammal I care about." She finally said, her voice nearly as soft as Judy's.
Lucy spoke the truth. After years of living alone in prison, to know that there was someone able to love her, even past all she had done, was a comforting thought. Vladzotz was like her in many ways, after all: Both bats were criminals who had been subject to pain and loss, and took solace in inflicting their anger out on the world. In Lucy's eyes, they were more than just business partners, more than just friends, and more than just mates. Her connection with Vladzotz was something she had never had the pleasure of sharing with another mammal before. He was special to her - A reflection of herself, and an outlet for her best of times.
"You have no idea what it's like." Lucy murmured. "He knows what a horrible mammal I am, yet he still smiles at me." She paused. "We're even planning to have pups."
Judy's vision sank. She'd never seen this side of Lucy before. She realized that for as cruel and depraved as she could be, Lucy was still just another damaged soul - A victim of the world around her. She may have been a criminal, but she clearly still had priorities greater than her next paycheck. The idea of Lucy starting a family with Vladzotz was equal parts sweet as it was terrifying, but Judy didn't linger on that thought for long. She was beginning to feel the vines weaken. Any moment now, and they would give way.
"Maybe you could have lived a normal life - been a better mammal, even - if you hadn't had gone to prison." She stated. "But it's too late to turn back now."
"I wouldn't change a thing." Lucy admitted. "I like where my life has taken me." She said before leaning toward Judy's neck once more. "But I think we've talked enough."
"Oh, I agree." Judy grinned. "The perfect amount, actually."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Judy's knife sliced clean through the final vine, and the whole bundle unraveled. Judy began to fall, but grabbed one of the stray vines before gravity could get the better of her, allowing her to swing to safety to the nearest ledge, which happened to be a road overhanging the girth of an artificial tree so large that it had its own trees growing from it. All those months swinging from bars on the academy's rainforest obstacle course had paid off. Lucy wasn't so lucky. When the vines unraveled, they tangled around her wings, weighing her down as she began to fall.
Judy stared over the edge of the road, down to the forest floor, searching for Lucy. She spotted the sliced vines, but no body. That's when the bat swooped from beneath the ledge, striking at Judy and sending her falling backward. The rabbit rose to her feet before running into the woods, knowing that she was too injured and tired to fight any longer, especially with the blood loss. She clutched at her neck as she shoved her way past massive leaves and stumbled over roots.
"That's the last time I fall for that mushy-talk tactic, you hear me?!" The bat shouted at her.
Lucy's wingbeats closed in on Judy from behind, and within moments, the bat tackled her to the ground, both mammals rolling through the mud before coming to a stop against the roots of a towering banyan tree. While Lucy was wiping the mud from her eyes, the rabbit summoned one last burst of energy, and pulled out the final item in her utility belt - a pair of metal pawcuffs - and quickly latched the bat's ankle to the nearest root before stepping back. She tripped over another root in the process before falling on her back and gasping.
Lucy pounced forward with a hiss, ready to sink her claws into the defenseless officer and finally be rid of her at last, before suddenly stopping in mid-air with a harsh rattling sound and flopping to the ground. The bat warily raised her head, shaking it a single time before staring back at her lower-body and gasping. She tugged on the chain with one leg, growling hard beneath her breath with exertion, yet failing to budge the restraint.
While Lucy was distracted, Judy scrambled out of range before hauling herself to her feet. She stumbled momentarily, her chest aching and head throbbing painfully, but pushed through the discomfort as she straightened out her spine and stared down her opponent, breathing heavily as she watched Lucy rise to her knees and glare at her with hate.
"What are you doing?" Lucy snarled. "Let me out!"
Even for as beat-up as she was, Judy managed to harden her gaze with determination. "Not gonna happen. Playtime's over, Sang. You lost." The bunny paused, noticing the way Lucy's eyes widened with shock. "And now you're gonna go back to prison where you belong."
"No... No!" The bat screamed, yanking on her chain. "I don't wanna go back! You can't just leave me here like this! Get back here and fight!"
"I don't need to. This fight's over." Judy stated firmly as she walked away, not even bothering to look back. "I'll make sure Vladzotz gets a cell too."
Lucy heaved with rage, panting heavily before her inhales faltered as she tried to hold back her frustration. She then let loose a furious shriek before throwing her upper-body back and landing in the dirt. The bat thrashed about, pulling harshly at her restraints as she writhed on the ground and wailed. Tears began to stream down her face. Judy spared a glance over her shoulder, taking a moment to watch Lucy as she pulled against her cuffs one last time before collapsing in the mud, her screams of fury fading into cries of sorrow.
The rabbit genuinely felt sorry for her, but kept her sympathy to herself as she faced forward once more and continued her withdrawal. Now that Lucy was dealt with, it was time to return to Precinct Four to gather a team to formally arrest her. Without her radio, she'd have to make the journey back on foot, or hope that Clawhauser's dispatch call found her first. Judy let out a small sigh of relief, but for once, didn't feel any pride in having successfully stopped another criminal - She had finally achieved her goal of defeating Lucy, but didn't feel any satisfaction from it. And that concerned her more than it should have.
10:15 P.M ; Rainforest-District...
If there was one thing Judy admired about the ZPD like little else, it was the response time.
As soon as she had made her initial call to Clawhauser, he had dispatched an entire squad of cruisers to patrol every street West of Precinct Four, just like she'd told him. Judy made herself a promise to get the cheetah a nice box of donuts as a reward the next time she stopped by Precinct One. Unsurprisingly, the only reason the cruisers hadn't found her and Lucy had been because of their off-road battle in the jungle. After subduing Lucy, all it took was a few minutes of walking down the nearest street before Judy encountered her well-earned backup. She waved weakly at officer Wolford before promptly collapsing to the pavement.
When she woke several minutes later, she was resting in the passenger seat of Wolford's cruiser, with a first-aid kit propped beside her.
"You took a real beating, Hopps." The wolf remarked. "We're gonna need to get you to the hospital."
"No. Suspect... First... Please." She requested, pointing toward the path in the jungle that led to the banyan tree where Lucy was chained.
He didn't look happy about it, but Wolford obeyed nonetheless, pulling to the side of the road and exiting the car. Judy followed, clutching at her ribs and panting softly. They soon reached the foot of the banyan tree, yet the only sign of the bat's presence was a few speckles of blood, and an empty pair of pawcuffs still shackled to the roots.
Something Lucy had said during their fight suddenly returned to Judy's mind - I think I'll try to tap you on the shoulder with one of my lock-picks, next!
Judy's ears sank to her neck as she groaned with exasperation. "Lock-picks." She grumbled bitterly. "Sweet cheese and crackers."
Her vision began to blur, and as she passed out once again, she didn't even try to resist. After foiling Lucy's plan and giving her a well-deserved clobbering, Judy figured she had earned the rest.
Hey everyone!
A special thanks to Dmann693 for helping me beta-read this story, and Berserker88/MindJack for helping me come up with this chapter's title, alongside a few paragraphs. I've been waiting to release this chapter for a long time, and now that Lucy is finally defeated, the finale is underway at last! Hope you stay tuned for what's to come - You won't want to miss it! Not to worry, though, you'll see what comes of Lucy's escape in the next chapter, and what it means for both our villains and our heroes! Her defeat won't go unresolved, and won't come without its consequences and rewards for both sides of the conflict. I know her escape takes away from Judy's victory a bit, but it is still a victory for Judy, and I can assure you that I didn't have her escape just so it can happen all over again. I wouldn't leave her alive just so she can run back and go, "Haha! Time for revenge!" and not learn anything. No, I have something much different in mind. Besides, you all know I'm not afraid to kill/imprison my "darlings", as the saying goes. I just have a special plan in mind for the aftermath of Lucy's escape. Lessons, development, and consequences will come from this. Something tells me that it might pleasantly surprise you. You'll see. Oh, and I'd also like to say that if you'd like to read more in-depth about Lucy's past, you can check out her backstory spinoff, Bloodlines, written by myself and MindJack, who has the story up on his account.
In other news, I have a brand new story in the works: A spinoff/sequel of When Instinct Falls called When Night Falls! It will have scenes taking place both in the past, and after the events of WIF. It's still in development, but coming along surprisingly quick! Keep an eye out for it, if you're interested!
Alongside that, I'm also being interviewed by ZNN! If you'd like to see me talk about my works, and provide writing advice, feel free to keep an eye on their Youtube channel/website. I'll be sure to make a notification here and on my tumblr/DeviantArt about the interview when it's ready, all the same.
Lastly, I'd just like to make mention that the WIF comic adaptation being made by Kikis-art-journey is making good progress! We're about to meet Vladzotz for the first time, in it. If you'd like to check it out, you're welcome to find it on my tumblr/DeviantArt accounts as well. There's also some incredible new fanart of the Nocturnal-District, and Vladzotz and Lucy there.
Regardless, I thank you for reading this latest chapter. What did you think of it? How did you like Judy's fight with Lucy, and all that came with it, like the way she was beaten? I had a lot of fun detailing the action, of course, but also the dynamic between the two combatants, and the more emotional moments sprinkled throughout. Feel free to leave a review! I'd adore knowing what you think of those.
'Till next time...
Peace!