Episode 11 – Hungry like the Wolf

"So, did you notice how those guys we met last week had a bunch of catchphrases?"

The car started, and then stopped, rocking them both forward.

"Catchphrases?" Judy asked, giving her partner a quizzical look. "What do you mean by that?"

Start, stop.

"Like, Momotaros was saying stuff like 'I have arrived!', or 'Let's go, go, go!' every time he did something." Nick explained as he put his new pointed sunglasses away. "I was wondering if we should have something like that."

Start, stop.

"I really don't think we need to have catchphrases." She responded. "I think we're charming enough as we are."

"Obviously, but what if we had something cool we said before fighting a monster?" Nick wondered.

"Like what?"

"How about 'It's about to get wild!'" There was a silent pause as Nick admired his own work. "Get it, because-"

"I get it."

"Oh, you don't like being excluded, I get that." Nick said, before thinking again for a bit. "How about 'Don't mess with this city!'"

"That one's kind of too generic." She admitted.

"Yeah you're right." He said. "How about-"

She quickly flicked on the car's radio. "-And that was Durat Durat. In other news, famous celebrity chef and critic, Gordon Hamsley, has arrived in Zootopia today on a special visit."

"Gordon Hamsley?" Nick questioned. "The really angry guy who always yells at his staff?"

"I think that's who they mean, Nick." She said, as traffic started to move again.

"He's come to our wonderful city from across the sea, in order to test if our own professional chefs are all they're cracked up to be." The newscaster continued to explain. "Hopefully his infamous spicy attitude will be satiated by our fine cooks. His tour begins in only a few minutes."

"Trust me, I've seen Heck's Kitchen." Nick said. "That guy is one mean porcine, nothing can satisfy him."

"Yikes, he sounds like a really scary guy."

The rest of the drive had been rather normal, aside from Nick continually trying to suggest catchphrases. Judy tried to ignore them to the best of her abilities.

They strode into the station, Nick still trying to suggest catchphrases. "Okay, how about," He moved in front of her, walking backwards. "'We'll end it with a r-" He bumped into someone behind him, and fell over.

"Oh gosh, I'm really sorry!" The wolf apologized, trying to help the fox up. He was met with a swipe to his paw.

"I don't need your apologies." He grunted, getting up on his own.

"No, seriously, I'm really sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." Wolford continued to apologize.

"I don't think you get it," Nick continued, brushing off the dust from his uniform. "I don't need your apologies, specifically."

The wolf's ears drooped, and he walked off.

"Nick, that was really rude!" Judy scolded. "Why do you act like that to everyone you don't know?"

"Years of not being able to trust many people." He halfheartedly explained. "This isn't even a trust thing; I've just never liked Wolford."

"What?" Judy wondered, confused. "Why? He's one of the nicest mammals in the station."

"That's the reason!" Nick exclaimed. "He's too nice! A guy like him probably hasn't seen any hardships in his life!"

"Just because someone didn't have your life doesn't mean they haven't had any hardships." Judy explained. "He's probably just a really nice guy."

"Nobody is that nice without a reason, Carrots." He continued. "He probably has some other motivation behind it."

She rolled her eyes. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late for roll call."

The two quickly ran to the bull pen, and took their seats. It turns out, they could've probably talked for another few minutes. Bogo was late, something he usually never was. It took about five minutes later than usual for him to show up.

And when he did, he hurried through the assignments, quickly saying each of them with only a brief explanation. And as usual, the fox and rabbit were the last two left… except for today, where Wolford was also left behind.

"You three are probably wondering two things." Bogo calmly started, with no papers left in his hooves. "The first is why I was late, and the second is why Wolford is here, instead of with his normal team."

"You got that exactly right, sir." Nick joked. "Except, I was also wondering what that pungent stench is, it smells like wet dog in here."

"Quiet Wilde." Bogo snapped. "I can answer both of those searing questions very easily. I was late because I was talking with the manager of Ode De Le Fume about a robbery, and Wolford is here because I'm assigning him to your team so he can assist you in the robbery."

"Oh man!" The fox and the wolf let out, in wildly different tones. The fox planted his face into the desk, while the wolf's ears perked up.

"So," Judy started, trying to move things along. "What happened at Ode De Le Fume?" She asked.

"All of the food in the place completely disappeared." Bogo explained. "Poof, vanished. No trail, nothing. Which is why I'm assigning Wolford with you. His sense of smell is excellent, he should be able to detect any scent the perp could have made."

"So why didn't you just send him and Delgato?" Nick asked, looking up from his desk.

"Because you two are best at these strange occurrences." Bogo explained. "They seem to follow you around everywhere you go."

The two gulped.

"Dismissed!"

The three walked out of the bull pen. "Oh man, I never thought we'd be working together!" Wolford declared, placing his paws on their shoulders, having to duck a bit. "Isn't it great to be trying something new?"

"Yeah sure whatever." Nick dismissed, pushing his paw away.

"He doesn't like being touched by mammals he doesn't know." Judy excused as they headed out of the station.

Wolford chuckled as he approached the cruiser. "What are you laughing at?" Nick questioned, a bit annoyed.

"Oh, nothing, I just can't believe I get to ride in the Bunny Mobile." He said.

"The what?" Judy also questioned.

"It's what everyone calls your car." Wolford explained. "Didn't you know that?"

"Obviously we did not." Nick said.

"Man, they gave you guys a Pachyderm Model cruiser. Only the best officers get those." He continued, looking around the vehicle. "What a beautiful machine. Kept in good shape, too."

"Thanks." Judy said. "I take it in for a tune-up every six months."

"She also cleans it every week." Nick chimed in. "She's a bit obsessive." The rabbit nudged him in the shoulder.

"Anyway, I always ride shotgun." Nick explained. "So get in the back."

"Hey, just consider me a guest, I'm not going to interrupt your dynamic." Wolford said, opening the back door and sliding into one of the seats. He had to duck a bit.

"'Dynamic'?" Nick wondered as he got into the passenger's seat. "What do you mean by that?"

"He means the way we interact with each other." Judy explained, starting the car.

"Oh." Nick let out, putting his sunglasses on and turned to the wolf in the back. "Well, don't mess with it."

"Don't worry, I won't."

The three stepped into the restaurant, a pleasant aroma filling their nostrils. The place was covered in purple velvet, an absolutely beautiful looking restaurant.

"What is that smell?" Nick wondered. "It smells like…"

"It's a perfume that's designed to smell like a mixture of roses, daisies, and the smell of fresh baking." Wolford explained.

"That's one heck of a sniffer you got there." Judy exclaimed.

"One of the best in the business."

"Too bad you can't smell yourself." Nick said quietly.

"As it happens," Judy said, nudging the fox in the side again. "I happen to have some of the best ears in the business!"

"Alright, yeesh." He said, rubbing his arm. "I'll just have to say it even quieter next time."

A sharply dressed skunk with a pencil thin mustache ran over to them. "Are you the officers here to investigate the theft?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, we are." Judy said, pulling out her notepad and carrot pen. "Can you tell us exactly what happened?"

"I can't, actually."

"Well, can you point us to someone who can?" Nick asked.

"I can't do that either!" The skunk said, distressed. "Nobody saw anything! One of the chefs returned to the kitchen, and everything was gone!"

"Why was there nobody in the kitchen?" Judy asked. "That's very dangerous."

"Everyone was busy attending to Monsieur Hamsley." The manager explained. "We prepared the meals in advance for him."

"You mean, TV celebrity chef Gordon Hamsley?" Wolford asked. "Why is he in Zootopia?"

"He's doing some kind of restaurant tour." Judy explained. "Weird that this happened at the first place he went to."

The wolf thought for a second. "Can we see your kitchen?" He asked.

"Sure you can." The skunk said. "But you won't find anything."

"We'll see about that!" Wolford said, running off towards the kitchen, the other two officers following him.

He swung open the kitchen doors, as was greeted by a plain white kitchen. He sniffed around a bit, moving down the kitchen as he did.

"You getting anything, wolfy?" Nick asked.

He sniffed. "Tofu, carrots, lots of vegetables…" He stopped for a second. "Pig?"

"Pig?" Judy wondered. "Why can you smell pig in a kitchen?"

"Maybe one of the chefs is a pig." Nick suggested.

"That might be it." Wolford said. The doors slammed open again, and the skunk walked in.

"Have you found anything?" He asked, tapping his foot. "We have to open in a few hours, and we don't have any time to restock!"

"Perfect timing!" Wolford said, walking up to the skunk. "Do you have a pig under your employment?"

"No, actually." The skunk said. "We've never had a pig working here."

"Well, scratch that one off." Nick said, the wolf's ears drooping a bit.

"But, we did recently have a pig guest."

"Hamsley." Judy announced. "Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that the food went missing at the same time he showed up!"

"It couldn't have been Hamsley." The skunk said. "We kept an eye on him the entire time!"

"He could've had some partner in crime." Nick suggested. "He could've snuck into the kitchen and stolen the food while everyone was paying attention to Hamsley."

"All we have to base this off is a pig smell, though." Wolford said. "We need to get a bit more evidence before we go blaming anyone."

"Wolford's right." Judy exclaimed. "I think this calls for…"

"Don't say it."

"AN UNDERCOVER MISSION!"

"You said it." Nick said, facepawing.

"That's a great idea, Hopps!" Wolford complimented. "It's too bad we don't know where he's going next."

"Why don't you just check his website?" The skunk suggested. "It has the entire schedule listed."

All three of them looked at each other. "I guess this is just kind of a publicity stunt." Nick said, pulling out his phone.

"Alright, now that we've got a lead, it's time to go…"

"UNDERCOVER!" The wolf and the rabbit yelled, pumping their fists into the air. Nick slapped his phone to his face.

"We can take my car!" Wolford announced as they left the kitchen. "It's not as cool as yours, but it's much less conspicuous."

"That's a great idea, Wolford!" Judy said. "Do you have any undercover clothes we could wear?"

"I have a sheep costume."

"Considering the next restaurant," Nick said, putting his phone away. "I don't think a sheep costume is going to cut it."

"Where is it?" Wolford asked.

"Buffalo Bill's Fine Cuisine and Dining."

The two gritted their teeth. "That place is fancy with a capital F." Wolford said.

"I don't think any of us have clothes that will make us fit in." Judy said, shaking her head.

"Police resources." Nick chimed in. "I think that's going to be the only way we can do this."

"Alright, let's do this." Judy said, pumping her fist.

"I hate this." Judy said, crossing her arms.

"I feel the same way," Nick said, fiddling with his tuxedo. "But it was your idea."

"But this dress is awful!" She said, tugging at a flowing purple dress that seemed about three sizes too large. "How can anyone wear this kind of stuff?"

"Some women just aren't as productive as you." He said. "Besides, I think it looks nice on you." He nudged her in the shoulder, causing her eye to twitch. "This tux is way worse anyway." He continued. "It is way too itchy, and I think it's too small."

"Quit complaining back there." Wolford said from the front seat, adjusting his mirror to get a look at them. "They were the best we could get on short notice." The wolf was also dressed in a tuxedo, which also seemed to be bothering him. "And they definitely are all the right size, this is just how they're made."

"Rich people are weird." The rabbit said.

"I know, glad I was never one of them."

The car stopped, and they got out. It was some kind of sports car, well taken care of, with a silver sheen. They turned to the large restaurant, a crowd of mammals swarming it as a limo parked up. The door swung open, and out stepped a large pig, dressed in a chef's uniform. It was Gordon Hamsley. Following him was a small goat, dressed in a suit and small spectacles.

There was a cheer as he walked towards the entrance, but the pig seemed to just ignore it.

"Alright," Judy said, trying to figure out how to walk in the dress. "What are our undercover names?"

"Lupes," Wolford said, pointing to himself. He then pointed to Nick. "Vulpen," He then pointed to Judy. "And Pyonia."

"'Pyonia'!?" Judy quietly yelled, the fox chuckling a bit. "Who came up with that!?"

"That's what we were given." Wolford shrugged.

Judy rolled her eyes, and they walked towards the restaurant. The rabbit tried desperately not to trip on her dress. They got to the crowd and waded through it, getting to the front door.

Nick waved up to the large rhino bouncer. "Hey up there." He greeted. "We have a reservation."

The rhino held up his clipboard. "Mr. Lupes, Vulpen, and Ms. Pyonia?"

"That's us!" Wolford said.

"You three are the only ones reserved now, why'd you want to come here when Hamsley was showin' up?" He asked.

"We wanted to go on a breakfast date." Nick lied.

He eyed the three of them, then snorted. "Okay, step right in." He opened the door.

The three stepped in, and admired the incredibly large, two floor restaurant. "Yikes, do you really need two floors in a restaurant?" Nick quietly questioned.

"This place gets pretty busy some nights." Wolford explained. "They need two floors to fit everyone."

"Greetings." Said a panther waiter who walked up to them. "May I take you to your seats?"

"Yes, please." Judy said.

They were walked over to a table covered in a large, white tablecloth. Luckily for them, it was only a few table over from where Hamsley was seated. His table was crowded with different foods, most likely the restaurant's different dishes. Right now, he was carefully eating a lobster dish.

The table was also surrounded by what seemed like every employee at the place. Even from the distance they were seated, they could tell they were all nervous.

"Wow, it's like they're staking their entire restaurant on this." Judy said, looking at her menu.

"They basically are." Nick explained, also flipping through his menu. "If he gives them a bad review, the place is pretty much dead."

"Do people really take his opinions that seriously?" Judy asked.

"Guy has three TV shows, and a chain of high class restaurants all over the world." Wolford stated. "The guy takes this stuff really seriously, and people take him seriously as well."

Judy stared at the fox, who had got a bit of a grimace. "Oh, that's not good." He said. The other two officers turned to the pig's table. He was trying to cut into a bit of lobster, unsuccessfully.

"It's feckin raw!" He yelled, with an odd accent. "How do you expect me to eat slop like this!?"

A buffalo, most likely the manager, started up. "We are so sorry about this, Mr. Hamsley." He apologized. "Our lobster is usually never like this. We'll get you a replacement one in a minute." He slapped one of the chefs, a leopard, on the back, and motioned towards the kitchen. The leopard quickly ran to it.

"You know, I don't think we're going to get served." Nick lamented.

"We're not here for the food, remember?" Judy scolded. "We're supposed to be keeping an eye out for the food thief."

"Yeah, but I never get to go to places like this." He said. "We usually just have take out for supper."

"I'm not much of a cook myself, honestly." Wolford chimed in.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the kitchen, everyone turning towards the door as the leopard chef ran out.

"ALL THE INGREDIENTS ARE GONE!"

"WHAT!?" The manager yelled. "How is all the food gone, we just restocked!"

"It's just... all gone!" The chef explained.

Judy slammed her head against the table. "Great." She mumbled.

"Another one!?" Hamsley yelled, standing up. "How do you expect to get anything positive out of me, if you can't even keep your gosh danged food in the cupboards without it getting knicked!?" he quickly stormed out of the building, the manager desperately trying to stop him.

He fell to his knees, and began sobbing.

"Wolford, can you smell anything?" Judy asked.

He sat up, and began to sniff around. He quickly ran to the kitchen, swinging open the doors and dropping to all fours to get a better smell.

"There it is, pig again." He said, standing up.

"Okay, so now we know it can't be Hamsley." Nick said. "We watched him the entire time, and he didn't get up once."

"What if the criminal is using him as a distraction?" Judy suggested. "Without Hamsley knowing."

"That would certainly make sense." Wolford deduced. "He's probably using his magnetic personality to distract mammals while he steals the food."

"New plan." Nick stated. "No more undercover stuff, we need to act as guards at the next place."

Wolford checked his phone. "The next restaurant is the Guppy's Galley by the docks. Pretty good seafood place, actually."

"I'll call up the manager and tell him to meet us." Judy said. All three of them nodded as they ran out of the kitchen.

"Excuse me!" A meek voice called from behind them, causing them to stop and turn around. It was the goat from before. "Do you three know where Mr. Hamsley went?" He asked.

"Uh, he left a while ago." Nick explained. "You're his assistant, right?"

"Yep." The goat said. "Mr. Trammer, assistant to Gordon Hamsley." He shook Wolford's paw. "I'm the guy who writes down what he thinks of the restaurants so he doesn't forget."

"That's an oddly specific job." Wolford stated.

"Why weren't you with him when he left, then?" Judy asked.

"Bathroom break." Trammer explained. "It's just like him to leave me behind though, guy barely notices I'm there most of the time." He sighed. "But, I still have an important job! Better go to the limo!"

He quickly rushed off. Nick and Judy looked at each other, and shrugged rushing off. Wolford looked at his paw, and took a sniff. He then followed after them.

"So, yer sayin' me restaurant's gonna be robbed?" The old polar bear asked.

"Yes." Judy said frankly. "Well, we suspect it's the next place to be robbed."

"There is a very high chance." Nick stated.

"And why should I believe yeh?" The polar bear asked, tapping his cane on the pavement. "Ye say yer police officers, but ye ain't dressed like them."

The three looked at their formal wear. "We were on an undercover assignment." Judy explained. "We haven't had a chance to change out of our disguises yet."

The fox pulled out his badge. "Real police badges, though, so you have to believe us."

The bear rolled his eyes. "Very well." He said, adjusting his cap. "Guard the kitchen, but if I sees any of you messin' with this event..." He looked them in the eyes, and flipped up his eyepatch, revealing a perfectly fine eye. "I'll have you cooked for Hamsley's second course."

"Uh, we promise not to mess with anything." Judy said as they backed off a bit. The bear scoffed, and headed off towards the front of the restaurant. The three headed through the back door, and into the kitchen.

"Alright." Judy started as they entered the kitchen. "I'll guard the front entrance, you two guard the back."

"What!?" Nick yelled. "Why do me an wolfsbane here have to partner up?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, this does seem like an odd idea." Wolford admitted.

"Well, for one, I am currently in a horrible dress." She started. "I can't exactly fight someone most likely five times my size in it. If the theif comes from the front, then at the very least someone out there will try to help stop it. The back way is the more likely option for the theif, since no one will notice him coming that way, and you two are less confined in your outfits than me, so obviously you'll have more of a chance."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Nick said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Also, I want you two to have some personal bonding time." She said smugly. "Good luck!"

The fox watched on in anger as the rabbit walked to the other side of the kitchen. He sighed. "Alright, Wolford, I guess we're partnering up for a bit."

"Sounds good to me!" He responded back, slapping the fox on the back a bit too roughly.

They headed to the back door of the kitchen, and waited. "So," Wolford said, trying to spark up a conversation. "Nobody in the precinct actually know much about you besides Judy." He said. "Why don't you open up to anyone else?"

"It's really none of your business." Nick replied. "Judy's the only person who really understands."

"But if you never tell anyone else, she'll be the only one who understands."

"I said this was none of your business." The fox said, a bit more forcibly.

"Alright, I have another question." Wolford continued, the fox rolling his eyes in response. "Why, exactly, do you hate me?"

"What makes me think I hate you?" Nick asked back.

"You called me 'wolfsbane' a few minutes ago." He answered.

"I give everyone nicknames."

"Then there's your multiple jokes about me smelling bad, and the fact that you insulted me this orning when I was trying to be nice." He continued, the fox's ears drooping a bit. "And by the way, that was totally your fault."

"Alright, you want to know why I hate you!?" Nick said, angry. He walked away from the door. "It's because you're you, and I'm me."

"That doesn't exactly clear it up."

"You're Maxwell Wolford, an outgoing friendly, respectable guy!" He said, mockingly. "And I'm Nick Wilde, a former conman who can barely even trust himself, and whose life is barely clinging to a single thread." He continued, growing more upset. "You haven't seen the things I've seen, done the things I've done. I hate you because you aren't me."

"You know, you're right." Wolford admitted, the fox turning around, confused. He had expected Wolford to be angry, but he seemed... contemplated. "I haven't seen or done the things you have. You have every right to not like me. But I can also tell you feel this way about a lot of mammals."

Nick's ears twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can tell you don't trust a lot of people, period." Wolford said. "And that is a major problem. The only person you seem to trust is Judy, you don't even trust yourself. If you don't trust others, you'll never improve on how you see yourself." He continued to explain. "So, just this once, trust somebody besides her. Trust me."

The fox took a deep breath, and opened his mouth. There was a sudden crash from behind the door. They dashed through and looked around, spotting something climbing out of the dumpster on the other side of the alley.

"Hoink, stupid dumpster!" It said. The creature was a large, pink monster, with a head that resembled a distorted pig, and a more realistic pig head decorated on its chest. It continued to climb out of the dumpster awkwardly. "Thank goodness everyone's payin' attention Hamsley, or I'd-"

The creature turned around, and spotted the fox and wolf staring at it. It let go of the dumpster, and fell onto its back. It writhed on the ground for a bit before getting up "SOO-EE! What're y'all doin' back here!?"

"We're looking for a food thief." Wolford said, crossing his arms.

"And I think we just found it." Nick continued for him. The two pulled out their tasers, and aimed them at the monster.

They quickly fired, the wires plugging into the monster and giving him an electric shock. Despite the shock, the monster continued to stand there, and sniffed the air. "What's that smell?" It asked, not noticing the Tasers. "Smells like bacon!"

"What is that thing?" Wolford asked.

"I am Tabu!" The monster announced, patting itself on the stomach. "Predatory Beast Man, master of the Pig-Fist!"

"Oh great, one of these guys again." Nick muttered.

"Wait, do you know what he's talking about?" Wolford asked, confused.

"Uh, no, no I don't." He lied. "Just go tell Judy that we found the theif, I'll keep him busy."

"You sure?" Wolford said. "He's like four times your size."

"Just go do it."

The wolf rushed back into the building. "Alright, hoggles, it's time to pull your pork." He held up his wrist. "ZOO ON!" He slapped the button, and transformed.

"You're a Zooranger!?" Tabu yelled, stepping back a bit. "Master Long told me you were trouble!"

"Yeah, we're even more trouble than the last time he showed his ugly mug." Red said, pulling out his blade. "Now let's see how much trouble we are to you!"

The fox rushed at the pig, and leaped up, slashing him directly in the chest. Tabu was flung directly into the dumpster, and then bounced back, hitting the fox with his bulk.

Red was flung directly into the doors, and into the restaurant. He got up to see the pig monster coming in, and laughing. "My beautiful bulk is stronger than anything you can throw at me!"

He tried to get up, but he was a bit dazed from the surprisingly hard hit. "NICK!" Judy yelled, running over to him.

"Wait, what?" Wolford said, also running up.

"Great." Red groaned. "Another mammal we have to tell our secret identities."

"We're the Zoorangers, Wolford." Judy explained as she helped her partner up. "You can't tell anyone else about this."

"Don't worry." Wolford said. "I'm great at keeping secrets."

She nodded, and transformed into ZooBlue. "We're not gonna let you steal anymore food, pighead!" She twirled her daggers around, and pointed them towards the monster.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" He joked. "FLAME BREEZE!" He yelled, and a stream of fire protruded from the pig nose on his chest, striking at the two's feet.

The two leaped backwards, and started stamping their burning feet, trying to get them to cool down. "You aren't gonna make me into a cooked rabbit!" Blue yelled back.

"Why would I want a single cooked rabbit, when I can have all of this!?" The monster yelled, motioning towards the rest of the kitchen. "Predatory Beast Art, Swine Suction!"

The mouth of the pig head on its chest opened, and a sudden, powerful suction began to pull through the room. Doors and cupboards clattered open, fish tanks in the corner began to tip over, all the food in both being pulled towards the monster's stomach.

In a few seconds, the kitchen was completely empty.

"OH COME ON!" Red yelled, looking around the empty kitchen.

"Thanks for the food!" The pig yelled. "Now it's time for my exit! Whaddya think?" It rushed past the three faster than one would expect a pig to move, and went straight through the entrance to the dining hall.

The group quickly followed it. When they entered the hall, they saw it standing in front of Hamsley's table. "What in the world are you?" He asked rudely. "You're like some kind of cruel mockery of a porcine."

"That's basically what I am!" The monster replied. "Now gimme your food!" He began to clutch at the pig chef's food, and stuff them into his chest mouth. He felt something hit him in the back, and his actual head fell face first into a bowl of lobster bisque.

He got his snout out of the bowl and turned around to face the rangers, who were now both holding smoking blasters. "Can you guys stop messing with me!?"

"Messing with you is kind of our jobs." Red replied, pulling out his blade, and Blue pulling out her daggers.

"Alrighty then!" The pig said, rubbing its cloven hands together. "If it's a fight you want, whaddya think of this?" He pulled out what appeared to be a long weapon made of sausages, each connected by a small chain, and each end ending in a large hook.

"Sausage Bomber!" It yelled, twirling the sausage weapon above its head. Pieces of the weapon began flying off of it, flying around the boat-themed restaurant and exploding.

"Everyone, get out of here!" Blue yelled. It only took a few seconds for all the workers to disappear, but Hamsley stayed.

"This is the most interesting thing that's happened all day, why would I leave?" He said, arms crossed as he relaxed back in his chair.

"Some people are so stubborn." Red muttered, before rushing at the monster, blade ready. He attempted to strike the monster, but Tabu responded with a swing of his weapon, slashing the fox himself and sending him flying.

He landed directly on a table, which broke immediately. "Alright, hambone." Blue said, twirling her knives. "Let's see how you deal with me!"

She rushed towards the pig herself, which deftly turned into a slide as she went in between the monster's legs, and under the table behind it. Using all her strength, she kicked the table upwards, where it slammed into the monster's back, the deafening sound of many dished breaking resounding through the empty restaurant.

The monster burst upwards, smashing through the table. "Look what you've done!" It yelled, scrambling to the floor and picking up a fish. "You're ruined this perfectly good fish fillet!" He sat up and stamped the ground, pointing towards the rabbit. "I was gonna eat that!"

She ignored the monster, and walked up to the passive chef. "Mr. Hamsley, you really need to get out of here!"

"Why?" He asked. "Do you think that awful thing is going to do anything to me?" He motioned towards Tabu. "It looks like someone in a bad rubber suit, what could he possibly do?"

"BAD RUBBER SUIT!?" The pig monster yelled, knocking the rabbit out of the way and glaring at Hamsley. "I'll show you what this bad rubber suit can do!"

He stuck the nostrils of the head on his chest directly up to the chef's face. "Predatory Beast Art, Snorting Wind!" A strong wind came from the nostrils, blowing the chef directly out of his seat and into a wall.

Hamsley shook his head, and got up, a bit dazed. "Cripes, enough of this." He moaned heading towards the door. "I can tell when I'm not bloody wanted."

Tabu turned back to the rangers. "Now then, where were we?" He pulled out his sausage weapon, which had somehow managed to regenerate its sections. "Oh yeah, me kicking your bacons!"

"Sorry, but we're the ones doing the cooking." Red quipped back. They both pulled out their blasters, and fired at the monster rapidly. It blocked the first few shots by swinging its weapon around, but couldn't keep up with the rapid fire, and began taking hits.

A shot to the monster's face caused it to let out a squeal of pain, and drop the weapon to the ground. Blue quickly ran over and grabbed it from the floor, and tossed it into the air. "Looks like we're getting some cold cuts!" She said, leaping up and slicing at the sausages. In a few seconds, they were all reduced to slices of meat, which flopped to the ground.

"HOOOOOINK!" The monster let out, clutching at the slices of meat. "MY BEAUTIFUL SAUSAGE-CHUK!" He dropped the slices to the ground, and squeezed his hoof-like hands. "I guess I'll have to resort to my forbidden technique!" He yelled. "Pig-Fist Art, Regurgitation Reinvigoration!"

The pig head's mouth opened, and Tabu stuck one of his hands into it, pulling out a silver fish. "Fish Boomerang!" He yelled, throwing the fish at them.

"Fish what?" Red said, before being smacked in the face by a fish. It hovered in the air, spinning around and slapping the fox in the face, before heading back to Tabu. The fox shook his head. "That hurts a lot more than it looks."

The pig stuffed it back into his stomach-mouth. He patted his stomach, and let out what sounded like a laugh, but also like an oink. "You two can't stop my plan, I'm too strong for you!"

The two looked at each other, and then back to the monster. "What is your plan, anyway?" Blue asked.

"I feel like Long could come up with something better for his monster to do than just steal food. "Red said.

"I'll tell ya what I'm plannin'!" The pig yelled, slapping its stomach. "I've created the ultimate pot roast under the city, and when I fill it up completely, it'll explode and destroy the whole damn place!" It laughed for a few seconds. "Whaddya think of that!?"

"So, you're going to blow up the city…" Red started, deadpan. "With food."

"Exactly!"

The Zoorangers looked back at each other, and sighed. "Let's just finish him already." Blue said, pulling out the rest of her weapons, blasters hanging by her thumbs.

They tossed the weapons into the air, which formed into the Zookaiser. It landed in their hands, and they pointed at the monster. "Get ready to kiss your pork goodbye!" Red yelled as they aimed at him.

"I don't think so!" The pig yelled. "Let's see if you can catch me first!" It began hopping around the room at speeds unexpected for a creature of its size, the rangers trying to keep the large cannon aimed at him.

"We can't get a hold of him!" Blue yelled, the monster deftly managing to leap out of the way every time they got their sights on him.

Suddenly, an idea hit Red. "WOLFORD!" He yelled. "WE NEED YOUR HELP!" He looked around, Wolford was nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go!?"

"Why do we need Wolford right now, Nick?!" Blue yelled.

"He can get a hold of the monster so we can shoot it!" He explained.

She dropped the cannon. "Do you know how bad of an idea that is!?"

The two started to argue, which Tabu took notice of. "Chance!" He whispered to himself, tiptoeing towards the exit. He looked back at the two once he reached the door. The two were no longer paying attention to him. He let out a cross between a snicker and an oink, and sneaked out the door.

Blue heard the door slam, and quickly looked around the room. "Awwww, cheese and crackers!" She yelled. "He got away while I was trying to tell you how dumb that idea was!"

"Oh, so you're blaming it on me?" Nick said, untransforming.

"Yes, I am, actually." Judy said, also untransforming.

"Well if Wolford was here, we wouldn't have been arguing anyway!" Nick excused. "Where is he?"

The door slammed open again, Wolford walking in. "You guys do know that the pig guy is escaping, right?"

Nick glared at him, and stomped over. "And who's fault is that?" He asked, seething.

"Uh, yours?"

"No," Nick said, facepawing. "It was YOURS!" He poked a claw directly into the wolf's chest. "If you were here, we could've stopped him. What were you doing, anyway?"

"I was evacuating the area before anything serious went down." He explained.

"Well, because of that, the monster's going to cause even more trouble!" Nick yelled at him.

"What?"

"He's preparing a bomb under the city." Judy said, walking up to them. She pushed Nick away from the wolf. "If it blows up, the entire city will go up in smoke."

"Exactly." Nick said, trying to get closer, only for the rabbit to push him back again. "This is your fault, wolfsbane."

The wolf's ears drooped. Judy looked back and forth at the two. She probably couldn't help at this point, Nick seemed genuinely convinced that this was Wolford's fault, and even if she told Wolford it wasn't his fault, it might end up making Nick even angrier.

She was nearly having a panic attack, she had no idea how to handle this kind of situation. Sure, her and Nick fought and argued a lot, but it was mostly in a friendly way. This was boiling down to Nick completely hating the wolf.

Even worse, they were running out of time. Who knows if Tabu had enough food to finish the bomb. She quickly pulled out her phone, and opened to the page detailing the tour. There was only one stop left, the Insectes De Fantaisie.

"There's only one stop left." She explained. "Tabu will probably be there. Let's go!" She ran out the door, quickly followed by the other two officers.

They drove down the road in Wolford's car. Insectes De Fantaisie was located all the way in Sahara Square, so it wasn't exactly a short drive.

It was also a very silent ride. This was probably the longest Nick had ever stayed quiet – while conscious, that is – and it was making Judy incredibly nervous. Was his anger at Wolford that strong? Why did he hate Wolford so much, anyway?

Either way, the silence was causing her anxiety to act up. She needed to say something.

"It wasn't your fault, Wolford."

She slapped her mouth as the fox glared at her.

"No, this time, it was my fault." Wolford said, Nick quickly turning to him.

"No, it really wasn't." Judy said. "It was mostly my fault, actually." Nick turned to look at her again, confused.

"No, it was mine." Wolford continued. "If I hadn't been… helping people… we could have beaten him. I just ended up making it worse."

Nick laughed. "Looks like Mr. Perfect here is finally having some of his own hardships." He gloated.

"Nick…"

"Let me have this one, Carrots." He sighed. "It's not every day I get to gloat about being right."

"I can make it up to both of you."

The two looked at Wolford. His expression was a mix between sadness and confidence. "I'm going to fix everything."

"How, Wolford?" Judy asked.

He stayed silent.

Judy punched Nick in the shoulder, and pulled him by his tuxedo sleeve. "Why do you ACTUALLY hate Wolford?" She whispered.

"It's a mix of self-loathing, jealousy, and really not liking his preachy attitude." Nick whispered back.

"So, it's less you hate him, and more yourself."

"In a roundabout way, yes, but he preached up a storm when you left us alone in the kitchen." Nick said. "Guy loves the sound of his own voice."

She pushed the tuxedo clad fox away, and rolled her eyes. "You do know this attitude is going to jeopardize your career, right?" She said. "You're going to have to work with people you don't like every now and then."

"Fluff, I've been doing that for decades." Nick retorted. "I am VERY good at hiding my contempt."

"Then why can't you do it just this once!?" She said, frustrated at the fox. "You're acting like a little kit, I thought you would've learned better than that by now!"

The two continued to argue, but Wolford ignored it. He looked back down at his paw, and clenched it.

"I'm going to fix this."

The car stopped, and the three stepped out onto the hot sand. By this point, the sun had set, making the yellow and green lights that shone out of the restaurant, which was shaped like a large bee hive, even more noticeable.

"Yuck, this place is really tacky." Judy said, genuinely disgusted.

"The food's absolutely divine, though." Nick said. "Their anthill special is incredible."

"I'm a vegetarian for a reason, Nick."

"I thought you were vegetarian because you were a rabbit."

Wolford stomped off towards the restaurant, the two following behind him. "So, what's the plan?" Judy asked.

"He probably doesn't have one." Nick said. "Probably winging it." He could tell this wasn't the case, just by the completely determined expression. He was just saying that because he felt like being a jerk.

It wasn't a good feeling, though. When Wolford admitted that it was his fault, a sudden, massive weight fell onto Nick's subconscious. He knew it wasn't Wolford's fault either, it was completely, utterly his own fault. But his pride seemed to be blocking this out, and he just couldn't say it. It was killing him.

Maybe he was too good at not letting his emotion show.

They walked up to the bouncer, an elephant this time. Guess it made sense for bouncers to be big animals.

"Names." He asked, pulling up a clip board.

Wolford pulled out his badge. "Officer Maxwell Wolford, with officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde." The other two quickly pulled out their badges, surprised at Wolford's act. "We have reason to believe that there's a dangerous criminal in there."

"Oh, uh, go on in then, officers." The elephant nervously said, opening the door for them.

They stepped into the restaurant. The carpeted floor had a yellow and orange honeycomb pattern, and a variety of lights shining out of the building via a ring of spotlights hanging from the ceiling. Much like the last few locales, the place was barren, aside from Hamsley sitting at a table, surrounded by chefs, and the manager, an anteater.

"You do know we don't actually have a reason to think there's a criminal here, right?" Judy asked. She got no response, the wolf simply eyeing the table. He began to stomp towards it.

"Yikes, he got really intense." Nick said as they trailed behind him a bit.

Wolford walked up to a familiar goat standing near the table. "Oh hey, you're the nice folks from before!" Tramming said. "What brings you here?"

Without warning, Wolford socked the goat in the side of his mouth, knocking him to the ground. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL, WOLFORD!?" Nick yelled.

"What are you doing!?" Judy continued for him, her paws covering her mouth.

"I should have known something was up." Wolford said, lifting the goat back to his feet, before hitting him again. "I thought that pig smell from you was because you were hanging around with Hamsley."

"What?" The goat said weakly, getting to his feet. "What are you…?"

"But the smell wasn't because you were working with Hamsley," Wolford continued. "It's because you were working with the food thief."

"That's ridiculous!" Tramming said, backing away. "Why would I be working with a monster?"

"When did I mention a monster?"

Silence broke through the room. The goat looked around nervously, backing away a bit. Nick and Judy quickly ran to the other sides of the goat, leaving him with nowhere to run. He gulped, and looked around.

Tramming then let out a laugh. "Hate to say it, but you're wrong!"

Wolford's ears perked up. "What?"

"I wasn't working with the food thief…" He said, his voice suddenly becoming deeper. His body twisted and contorted, eventually forming into the grotesque visage of Tabu.

"I AM THE FOOD THIEF!" It squealed. He pulled out his now regenerated sausage link weapon, and spun it around, knocking the officers away. "Whaddya think!?"

"My own assistant turned out to be a bleedin' monster." Hamsley lamented, still sitting in his seat as everyone else ran away. "I need to get a better interview system. Preferably one with 'Are you a bloody monster or not?' on it."

He let out a scoff, and got up from his seat, slowly walking towards the exit.

"What is with that guy?" Nick asked himself, watching the chef exit as he got up.

"Ha ha HOOINK!" The monster squealed as the three got up. "Y'all three ain't no match for me!"

"I say we taste test that idea first!" Nick said, transforming into ZooRed and pulling out his blade.

"Yeah." Judy followed up. "We're gonna be the ones smoking your ham!" She transformed into ZooBlue.

"Let's get this potluck started then!" Tabu yelled, swinging his sausage links over his shoulder.

"Hold it right there, Tabu." A voice from across the room said. Everyone turned their sights to the owner of the voice.

It was Long.

He strode towards them confidently. "So we meet again, Zoorangers." He chuckled. "I wonder how much stronger you two have gotten since we last fought?"

"Strong enough to beat you." Red said, pointing his blade towards him. "Hopefully." He muttered under his breath.

"Is that so?" Long said. "If you're so confident in yourselves, I'll give you another free shot." He stretched his arms out to his sides, readying himself for the attack.

"Master Long, why are you…?" Tabu started, confused at the dragon warrior's actions.

"Don't interfere, pig." He snapped back. "Do it, ZooRed, strike me with everything you've got!"

He sighed. "Alright." He pulled out a golden ZooTag, and plugged it into the Zoolizer. The Solar Flare Saber appeared in his hand.

The fox spun it around, attempting to get some momentum, and then leaped into the air, flying towards Long. He brought the blade directly down on him, slicing through the dragon.

"is that really the best you've got?"

Red looked up. Long hadn't been harmed at all by the attack, not a single scratch in his armor, despite the blade definitely going through him.

"I will admit, you have gotten stronger." Long said, staring down at the terrified fox. "But not strong enough to impress me."

Long delivered a swift kick to the fox, launching him across the room and crashing into multiple tables. He then dashed towards ZooBlue, and smacked her face first into the ground.

"Great job, Master Long!" Tabu said, clapping. "Now, let's finish them off for good!"

"No, that job is for you." Long said, pulling out a small red object. He tossed it towards the pig monster, it striking it directly in the chest-head's snout.

The monster began writhing in pain, letting out horrid squeals. Red got up just in time to see what was happening. Tabu's head dissolved into his body, as the head on his chest began to grow and shift up to where the old head was, resembling more of a head, and giving it more of a hunched stance. Its nose shifted to resemble the Chaos badge, pointed and a bit unnatural. The head stretched out a bit, and gained two small tusks. Its bulk grew significantly bulkier, its stomach puffing out a bit more.

"CHAOS TABU!" It yelled, before letting out a monstrous oink.

Red gripped his muzzle in disgust. "I never want to see that again."

"Rinshi!" He yelled, swiping his disgustingly fat arm through the air. "Arise!"

The carpeted ground began to crack, and then burst open, tons of the undead monsters leaping from the purple glowing pit Tabu had created. The crack closed shortly after. Some of the Rinshi held spears, while some had nothing, but all of them began hopping.

Blue lifted her head up from the ground, seeing the new monster and the army. "Well isn't this just fantastic." She groaned, getting to her feet and pulling out her daggers. She dashed into the army of undead, and began chopping through them

Long placed his hand on Tabu's shoulder. "You take care of them, I'll ready the bomb."

"But there's not enough food yet!" Tabu said.

"It doesn't matter." Long replied. "It will still destroy a large chunk of the city if it goes off. It's better to just get those two out of the way."

"Alrighty then, sir!" Tabu said, saluting. Long vanished in a burst of flame. He turned to the Zoorangers fighting the group of Rinshi, Red having joined at some point. Tabu walked over to a table, and laid down on it, watching them fight. He'd let the Rinshi tire them out before he struck.

"These guys are still really weak." Red complained, slashing through a few Rinshi rather effortlessly. "You think they'd make the minions stronger too."

"Are you really complaining about the monster being too weak?" Blue replied back, confused. She leaped into the air and pulled out her Rabblasters, blasting through a handful of undeads before landing.

"I mean," Red pulled out the Vickscannon, and blasted through a few more Rinshi. "When you put it like that, it sounds stupid." He pulled out a red ZooTag. "But would it really take that much effort to make guys who don't go down in one hit?" He plugged the tag into the gun.

"BRING THE HEAT!
BURNING HEART!
BOOM BOOM!
VICKSCANNON!"

He fired the cannon through the last few remaining Rinshi, instantly vaporizing them. Unfortunately, the blast continued, and fired through the wall of the restaurant.

"Oops." Red let out meekly.

The pig monster clapped, causing the rangers to turn to him. "Great first course!" He said, awkwardly getting off the table. "But I feel the next course will be even better! FLAME BREEZE!" A burst of fire came out from the monster's oddly shaped nose, and scorched at the ground in front of the two, causing them to step back a bit.

"You can dish out the heat," Red started, aiming the Vickscannon at the monster. "But can you take it?" He fired a fireball directly towards the pig. Before it could hit, Tabu's mouth opened wide, ridiculously wide, wider than should have been possible, and the fireball was sucked into it.

The monster tried not to yell in pain from the fire it had consumed, but it was obvious as the pig's entire body started to turn red, steam visibly pouring from its ears. After a few seconds of struggling, the pig leaned back, and shot the fireball back at the two. The force of it was so strong that it knocked them directly through the walls of the building.

They landed with a crash, bodies smoking from the blast. Red struggled to get up, seeing the pig monster walking through the hole in the wall. "Alright, don't shoot stuff at him." Red noted, standing up alongside his partner.

"Then I guess we'll just have to take a more up-close approach!" Blue said confidently, daggers in her hands.

The pig let out a laugh, wiping its disgusting mouth with its flabby hand. "Come try it, rabbit!"

She rushed at the pig, leaping into the air and striking at its stomach. Instead of jabbing into the monster, the knife simply pushed its skin inwards. Upon realizing what was happening, the bunny's knife sprang out and clonked her right on the head, launching her off.

She clattered to the ground, the knife shortly following her, sliding across the ground. She shook off her daze, and looked at the laughing monster. "HO HO HOOOINK!" It laughed, patting its stomach. "Whaddya think? I'm an invincible pig, not even a butcher's knife could cut through this!"

Blue picked up her dagger, and headed back towards the fox. "I guess we're going to have to get the big guns out." She said, turning to him. "Not literally, I mean."

"What?" The fox said, before realizing what she meant. "Oh, you mean THAT." He plugged a golden ZooTag into his Zoolizer, summoning the Solar Flare Saber.

They both gripped onto the handle. "STARRY NIGHT SLASH!" They both yelled as they leaped into the air, preparing to strike the monster. They brought it down onto its head, only for it to be stopped by the monster's thick head.

Tabu snorted, and thrust his head upwards, launching the two away. They crashed into the ground again, the Solar Flare Saber vanishing as it hit the sand.

"Whaddya think invincible means!?" The monster let out, laughing. "Now it's finally time to prepare this meal!"

"Are you sure about that?" Asked a voice from behind him.

Tabu turned around. It was ZooSilver, still shrouded in a cloak, and with the same voice changer effect as last time. "Because I'm fairly sure it's time for your dawn to end." Silver said, walking closer and pulling out the Eclipse Thruster.

"But it's night time." Tabu pointed out.

ZooSilver ignored the pig, and rushed towards him, spinning the guard of the blade. "HOT HOT SUN" The gravelly voice of the blade let out. Silver slashed at Tabu, the bursts of fire only seeming to bounce off.

"Boy, you guys need a dictionary!" Tabu mocked. "I'm invincible. IN-VIN-CI-BLE!"

"Hmm." Silver grunted. "Then I suppose I'll have to be a bit more precise." Silver placed its paw on the guard, and spun it again.

"HOT SHINE ECLIPSE"

A purple glow shone through the blade, and Silver began to jab it into the monster rapidly, and at lightning fast speeds. In only a second, dozens of holes had been poked into Tabu's body, purple smoke pouring from them.

It shrieked. "How did you…!?"

"Eclipse Mode gives me incredible precision and speed." Silver explained. "Using it, I was able to find all of the weak spots on your body. You are now completely vulnerable." With that, Silver slashed at the monster, launching him back towards the other two.

The monster got up, and turned to face the Zoorangers, who were aiming their blasters directly at his face. They fired simultaneously, launching the monster backwards a bit.

It got up again, and looked back and forth as all three rangers closed in on him. "H-hold on, can't we talk things out!?" It pleaded.

"The time for talking is over." ZooSilver said, preparing the blade by plugging in a silver ZooTag.

"Yeah, you probably don't have anything interesting to say anyway!" Red shot back, as the two rangers combined their weapons into the Zookaiser.

ZooSilver's blade began to glow multiple colors, as they moved it around in a clockwise motion. ZooBlue and ZooRed prepared the cannon, locking it onto the monster.

"ANIMAL KINGDOM BLAST!"

"COSMIC ECLIPSE SLASH!"

They fired the finishers at the exact same time, Silver's much faster attack striking the monster in the back first, and then the Zookaiser's laser strike hitting it in the front. This caused an absolutely massive explosion.

The smoke and fire quickly cleared, leaving the pig monster standing in place. "Even with both your finishers, you…" He paused, and looked at himself. His skin was starting to bubble.

"What the hell ham!?" Tabu yelled, before exploding with a squeal into a pile of goop. The only things remaining besides the pink goop were a small red object, and Mr. Tramming, who was unconscious.

"Your night is over." Silver said, sheathing their sword.

"See?" Red said, pointing towards Silver. "We need a catchphrase like that!" Blue rolled her eyes.

"My work here is done." Silver said, turning away from them. "You must deal with the giant form by yourselves."

"Thank you, Silver." Blue said. "You've really helped us out recently."

"Yeah, why don't you just, y'know, join us?" Red suggested. "It's make this whole thing a lot easier."

Silver grunted. "It… It isn't time for that." They said. "I'm sorry." They leaped off into the city, leaving the two Zoorangers behind.

"What's that guy's deal?" Red asked.

"I dunno." Blue said, turning to the now floating red object in the middle of the pool of goo. "But I think we have bigger problems to deal with right now."

The object dashed into the distance, Tabu suddenly reappearing outside of the city, nearly blocking out the moonlight with its new size. "HO HO HOOOOOINK!" It laughed, slapping its stomach. "Time to smoke this city myself!"

"Let's cook this guy's bacon!" Blue said, the two pulling out the ZooTags for their mechs.

They summoned them, and in a few seconds, ZooRobo was formed in front of the pig monster, sword drawn.

It stomped towards Tabu, and attempted to strike with its blade, only for it to bounce off, completely ineffective against the pig's thick skin. Tabu let out a laugh, and slapped its stomach again. "How many times are you idiots gonna do this until it gets through your skulls!?" He yelled. "You can't hurt me!" He slapped the robot with his palms, knocking it backwards.

"We'll see about that." Blue said to herself. "Red, let me take over for a second."

"What?" He said, confused. "We can't do anything against him!"

"Don't worry, I've got an idea." She said. The cockpits rotated around, putting Blue in the front. ZooRobo put away its sword.

"ZOOROBO, USAGI MODE!"

"Alright, porker, let's see how you deal with this!" She jerked the controls forward, causing the robot to dash directly in front of the monster. The robot began jabbing the monster rapidly, landing what seemed like hundreds of punches in only a few seconds. None of them seemed to harm Tabu, however, only causing his flab to bend inwards.

"Seriously?" Tabu said, before headbutting the robot away.

"Great plan." Red sarcastically said.

"I think I did enough." Blue said confidently. "Now it's your turn, Red."

The controls switched back to Red, ZooRobo pulling out his sword once again. "ZOOROBO, KITSUNE MODE!"

"What!?" He yelled.

"Just hit him!"

The fox sighed, and swung the sword at the pig monster. Remarkably, it actually seemed to harm him, an explosion of sparks knocking the pig to the ground.

"ACK!" He yelled. "How'd you two do that!?" He questioned, trying to get up.

"It's called tenderizing." Blue replied back with a smirk.

"HOOOINK!" The monster squealed, getting to his feet. "I guess I'll have to play the looooong game, then!" He pulled out his sausage link weapon. "The foot-long game, that is! SAUSAGE BOMBER!" He pulled a section of the sausage weapon off, and threw it at the robot, it exploding once it hit.

"Oh, there's no way I'm losing to unhealthy food products!" Red yelled.

Tabu pulled out a few more sausage pieces, and threw them at the robot. ZooRobo responded by slashing them out of the air before they could hit. The monster stepped back in shock at his attack being blocked.

"Time for a barbeque!" Blue said, the robot moving closer.

"ANIMAL KINGDOM Z-CROSS CUTTER!"

The robot followed this yell with three quick slashes. A vertical slice through the monster's head, a downwards diagonal strike through its midsection, and finally, another vertical slash through the monster's lower section. A faint outline of a Z shined through, as ZooRobo finished with a jab to the monster's gut, causing it to fly backwards.

It crashed into the ground, and unsteadily climbed back up, laughing. "You may have beaten me, but your city is still doomed!" He yelled, hysterical. "My food bomb will still explode, even without me here!" The pig began to tilt over. "WHADDYA THIIIIIINK!?" With those final words, Tabu exploded into a massive burst of fire, which cleared quickly.

"Oh." Red said with a grimace. "That is pretty bad."

In a flash, ZooRobo had disappeared, and the two were standing just outside the restaurant, where they had summoned the robot.

They untransformed, and turned to the hole in the building. Wolford was running out of the hole, and towards them.

"That was amazing!" He yelled enthusiastically. "That robot was incredible, where'd you get it?"

"Interdimensional god person." Nick flatly replied. Wolford gave him a stare.

"He's actually not joking about that." Judy assured. "But we have more important things to talk about right now."

"Like what?" Wolford asked. "You beat the monster; everything should be fine now."

"Incorrect, wolfsbane." Nick said. "His food bomb… thing is still somewhere in the city, and it's going to explode soon."

"We need your help." Judy said to Wolford. "Can you smell anything?"

He sniffed the air for a second. "Nothing but sand." He said.

"Sand has a smell?" Nick muttered to himself.

"But I do know where we can start." He assured. "The sewers. If the bomb was in the city, it would be noticeable, so it must be under the city."

"Good idea!" Judy said, kneeing him in the leg.

"And lucky for you two," Nick started, thumbs in his collar. "I happen to know my way around the sewers."

They stared at him for a second. "I'll tell you later, we need to hurry!"

It had only been a few minutes, but Judy had quickly realized how bad this was going. For one, no one brought a flashlight. And second…

"Uh, I think we need to head…" Nick started, trying not to sound confused. "This way…?" He turned down a walkway, the other officers following him.

Nick didn't exactly seem to know where he was going.

"How can you…" She nearly tripped, the clothing was also becoming a bit of a problem as well. "How can you see where you're going? It's pitch black!"

"Fox eyes!"

"I have night vision too, Nick." Wolford said. "I can't see anything either."

"Well, I…" He stopped. "I'm completely lost, alright?"

"Well, this is a problem." Judy groaned, sitting down against the sewer walls.

Nick sat down next to her. "I'm really sorry." He whispered. "It's been years since I've been down here, I guess I just can't remember the layout."

"it's okay." Judy assured, placing her paw on his shoulder.

"It really isn't." He said. "I've been an awful, awful person today."

"Nick-"

"No, I need to get this out of my system." He said, standing up. He faced Wolford, and took a deep breath. "I have been such a massive asshole to you." He admitted. "I've insulted you, called you names, blamed you for things that were one hundred percent my fault, and now…" He started to tear up a bit. "And now I'm the reason why hundreds of mammals are going to die. I guess that's karma for you…"

He placed his paws on his face, and started full on crying. Judy got up, and walked over to him. "Nick…"

"Everyone trusted me!" He sobbed. "I'm supposed to help save people, and here I am, dooming them! I'm such an idiot, if I had never blamed Wolford, this wouldn't be happening!" He slapped himself in the face.

The other two officers backed away in shock as he continued slapping himself. "Nick…" Wolford tried to stop him, but the fox swiped at him. The wolf took a deep breath, and socked the fox in the face. "Nick, stop it."

The fox rubbed the side of his face, and looked up at the wolf. "Yes, most of this was your fault, but it's not over yet." Wolford declared. "Get up, and let's go find and stop that bomb."

Nick got up, and rubbed the side of his muzzle. "Alright. I'm sorry for that." He said.

"It's fine, I'm just glad you opened up to someone for once." Wolford admitted. "If you can't open up to people, these kind of problems happen, and-" He paused for a second, a smell wafted through his nose.

"And?"

"Tofu. Vegetables. Seafood."

"What?" Nick said, confused.

"Follow me!" Wolford ran off. Judy shrugged, and the two ran off to follow him.

They followed him through the sewer, twisting and turning through the tunnels, until eventually they reached a large open area. In the middle of the room sat some kind of stove like object, which glowed with a horrible, red aura.

"The bomb." Judy muttered, looking at the massive object.

"Okay, so how do we disarm something like this?" Nick asked, walking towards it. He tried to tap it on the side, but the heat burned his paw.

"I think it's pretty easy." Wolford said, walking around it. "How else do you disarm a stove?" He spotted a large cord, connected to a generator in the corner.

"You have to unplug it." He tugged at the cord, it instantly unplugging.

The bomb rumbled, and a grid on the front opened, tons and tons of food spilling out of it. Nick sniffed, looking at the pile of food. "I guess we won't be returning the food, huh?"

"So, back to what I was saying before," Wolford started up, walking up to Nick. "You need to open up to more people. It's no wonder you have self-loathing issues, keeping your emotions bottled up can only lead to disaster."

"What are you, my therapist?" Nick replied.

"You don't have a therapist." Judy said.

"Wait, really?" Wolford said. "You should probably get one. I think the chief would be able to set you up."

"I'll!" He raised his paws to the air, sounding frustrated. He then took a deep breath, and lowered them. "I'll consider it."

"Alright, now that we've got that all cleared up," Judy started. "I have some questions for a certain goat."

"What were the last things you remember before you blacked out?" Judy asked the goat sitting at the table with her and her partners.

"Well, I remember, um…" He tapped his chin. "I remember getting off the plane, and then someone tapping me on the back. I turned around and…"

"There was a monster in golden armor, right?" Nick finished.

"Yeah!" Tramming said. "He asked me about some odd things, like, contempt, and hatred at my boss. I told him I didn't actually have any hatred for Hamsley, and he got really upset." He continued. "He pulled out some kind of… statue… thing, and jabbed it into my head. Then I blacked out, and woke up here."

"He was trying to manipulate you." Judy stated. "Long is good at those kind of things."

"You know him?"

"Uh, kind of."

"You can go now, Tramming, we have everything we need to know." Wolford said. The goat nodded, and walked off.

"So, all we need to do now is file the report, right?" Nick asked, Judy nodding in response.

"I just want to say, before we separate," Wolford started. "It was a pleasure working with you both. You two are some of the best officers on the force, and seeing you in work was wonderful."

They blushed a bit. "Best officers?" Judy asked. "Do the others really think that?"

"Yeah! You might not know it, but you two solved some amazing cases over your careers." Wolford continued. "I feel like you two don't understand how great you really are, even with your… quirks."

"Thanks, Wolford." Nick said. He reached his paw out. "I'm sorry about everything that happened today. I hope we can become fuh…"

"What?"

"Fruh… fren… frieeennnndsss?"

"Yeah, of course we can be friends!" Wolford said, shaking his paw. "It'd be a pleasure." After a rather awkward pawshake, he stood up. "Time to head home. See you guys tomorrow, probably." He gave them a nod, and headed out of the restaurant.

They sighed. "What the hell was that?" Judy asked.

"I'm not good at that kind of stuff, sorry."

Nick laid down on the couch. "Do you really think I need a therapist?" He asked the rabbit in the kitchen.

"Probably, actually." She answered. "That was scary, Nick. I'm starting to get worried about you."

The fox sighed. "If you're suggesting it, I probably will. I'll talk about it with Bogo tomorrow."

"I have some other things I wanted to talk about." Judy said, walking over to the couch with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Did you notice something… different, about that monster?"

"Not really."

"I mean, different compared to Bellwether." She extrapolated. "Bellwether seemed completely in control while she was a monster, but Tramming didn't seem to realize what was happening when he got taken over."

"Maybe it's a willingness thing?" Nick suggested, causing the bunny to give him a confused look. "I mean, Bellwether probably wanted to break out of prison and kill us, but Tramming said he didn't actually have any hatred for his boss."

"Interesting theory."

"Other question," Nick started, sitting up, nearly causing Judy to spill her cup. "Who do you think Silver is?"

"What?"

"He has to be somebody under there, right?" He said. "So who could it be?"

"Hmm." Judy sighed. "It's probably someone we know; how else would they realize we're the Zoorangers?"

"Let's think about who was there when Silver showed up." Nick suggested. "Wolford and Lupina. It has to be one of them."

"As much as I would love to have another lady on the team, we don't have enough evidence to suggest either of them." Judy said. "Them being there means nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"It's the only lead we have, though." Nick said, twisting around to sit on the couch.

"Who knows." Judy responded. "I've had enough of today though, we can talk about this later."

"Alright." Nick said, watching his partner walk to her bedroom. "Goodnight, Carrots."

"Goodnight, Nick."

Long smashed the rock he was standing near with his fist, it instantly shattering under his strength. "I didn't even get to see Savage." He lamented.

"I see somebody isn't planning their game very well." Enter said, walking up to Long from behind him. "I don't see what that little escapade had to do with anything."

"I was trying to get them to summon Savage, to judge his power." Long explained. "But it didn't work, what did I do wrong?"

"Looks like you might need to plan a little better." Enter chuckled. "I have a brilliant plan developing, I'm going to have you beat in no time."

Long growled, and then swung at Enter, who vanished as he turned around. He roared in anger, looking around for the digital creature.

"Someone seems angry." Another voice said from behind him. He turned around to face Kyuemon.

"I don't entirely appreciate my privacy being invaded, fox." Long snapped.

"What exactly is this… Savage, you and Enter were talking about?" Kyuemon asked, stepping towards him.

"It's something one of Yogostein's monsters discovered." Long explained. "Some kind of powerful super form for them. Needless to say, it… intrigued me."

"and it seems Enter found it interesting as well." Kyuemon finished for him. "A game, though? You do realize there's more important things going on, right?"

"I don't conform to your plans, fox." Long snapped back. "I'm doing this for my own amusement, not anything you care about."

"Your own amusement!?" Kyuemon said, sounding angrier. "You baffle me, Long."

"I have my reasons, fox." He said. "Leave, I have some planning to do."

"Very well." Kyuemon replied. "I have work myself." He disappeared in a burst of dark energy.

Long clenched his fist. "Savage…"

"You will be mine."

I feel like you guys needed a shorter episode after last week's… absolute behemoth. So, here's a shorter one, though it isn't that short.

I'm not entirely sure I did a good job displaying the arc here, but exploring Nick's emotions is fun. It's not really shown in the movie, but what Nick does would turn him into a complete emotional wreck. I may be projecting some personal issues onto him, though.

Anyway, writing standard cop stuff is pretty fun, I should do it more.

Next time, parent problems.