Before we start: We are halfway there, thank you for joining along the way

Disclaimer:

The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artist as well.


(The song Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents

A Zootopia fanfiction

Wild times with Wilde

(Song ends)

Chapter 6: One step ahead?

Earlier that day, inside cellblock A of the Zootopia Penitentiary

This cellblock was reserved for larger inmates, such as elephants, tigers, lions, and many polar bears. A siren came. The sound lured the inmates to the large reinforced steel door. They waited, hoping to find out what happened behind it. Then came the sound of fighting and tranquilizers darts being shot outs. After a few banging noise, the metal door swung open. The constant-droopy-ear bunny prison staff, who Judy had met half an hour earlier, stepped in. He was still wearing the same blue prison staff uniform and the same worn bunny track shoes. On his face were still the pair of glasses and a hospital mask. The only change was the tranquiller handgun wedged onto his belt. A polar bear wearing gas mask soon entered the cellblock as well. The bunny snapped his fingers. His free hand demanded something from the bigger predator. The bear gave him two collar-unlocking devices. Compared to the one in Wild times, these had been heavily modified. They had longer pieces and lens that resemble gun barrels. They were no longer held together by duct tape. The plastic look may suggest that these were mass-produced. With each device in his hands, the rabbit announced to the inmates. "Brothers, it is time to rise." He then nonchalantly strolled through the cells, aimed the devices and pulled the trigger at certain cells. He only picked those with predators in them. The device let out a buzz after every trigger pull, releasing a coded signal that unlocked collar and cell door simultaneously. The released inmates (except for the polar bears) were dumbstruck for a moment. "Why would a prey do this exclusively for them?" Noticed their doubt, the rabbit said, "No time for hesitation my brothers; this opportunity won't last forever, go!" The polar bear stood behind him made way and instructed the inmates to run through the door. Though still doubtful, the predators took the suggestion and ran outside of the cellblock. The moment they stepped into the main hall, they saw a riot stood in the way of their freedom. A few masked predators of different sizes (mostly polar bears) and the inmates were fighting back the security officers and wardens. Darts and punched were thrown at equal measure.

Once cellblock A was clear of predator inmates, the rabbit walked to the camera in the corner. He took off his mask, showing his cat nose and teeth. His fangs were shown even clearer the moment he grabbed onto his scalp and forcefully yanked it out. Like a scene from a horror movie, parts of his scalp came right off, dragged the pair of floppy ears with it. However, underneath the removed scalp were not blood and flesh, but rather white fur and a pair of cat ears that were stuck tight to the real scalp. The cat ripped the combination of fake fur and latex out completely and tossed it on the floor. Alex looked straight at the camera. "Let this be a lesson to you all." He pointed one of his devices at the camera. "Never, ever corner predators, for we will fight back with all of our might. If you see us as nothing but beasts" He grinned, like a malevolent antagonist in one of those cheap action movies, "then beasts we shall be." He then tossed one of the devices straight to the camera. The impact destroyed both. He then turned around and told the polar bear. "Go help them. I can take care of myself."

When the bear left, Alex pulled out his phone. He asked the remaining inmates, "On the scale of 1 to 10, what was the ham level of that performance?" Confused, the inmates just looked at him, expected him to answer that question himself. "I personally think it deserves an eight-ty." He turned on the checklist app. "Okay, let's see what else is on the list. Spam request, check; Riot, check; Mind screwing, check; Send Koslov's message, check; Give the greatest performance since Ham-let, check, please. Yup, all the distractions are in place, time to close the curtain and bolt the hell out." He bowed, "See ya, no hard feelings right?" he told the remaining inmates with a smile.

He took off his stolen track shoes before exited the door. The riot was still going on outside, but that did not concern him. He turned to a vent nearby and opened it with a screwdriver on his belt. He did so while humming a tuneless song. The cat crawled into the vent and worked his way out. In the heat of everything, he forgot to take off his fake rabbit tail.

Around 8 PM, Judy, chief Bogo, and some ZPD officers were in the surveillance room of the Zootopia Penitentiary. They had just witnessed the few seconds before the camera in cellblock A was smashed. "How did that happen?" Chief Bogo said. His tone indicated an accusation instead of a question toward Chief Warden Douglas.

In a gruff voice, Douglas answered, "I've asked myself the same damn question the last few hours. Who would have seen that coming? The little grunt has been working for us for nearly a year. His paperwork checks out, or at least it is very well forged. He shows up on time, never leaves early. Only take off days for good reasons." The Chief Warden shook his head as he piecing everything together. "With the work of a prison staff being undesirable; a prey that willing to work the early shifts as a staff, a cook and even a mechanic from time to time was a godsend." Douglas pointed upward. "You don't deny godsends. He'll be pissed if you do. Mark's not exactly a goody two-shoes, but always polite and pleasant."

Chief Bogo said, "You should have been more careful."

The other Chief slammed his desk. "Don't give me that attitude Bogo! I have been doing this since before you learned how to spell your name." He straightened his uniform. "Of course, I had my doubt. All the wardens had their eyes on him for 3 months, and he didn't do anything suspicious. He made no contact or even held a conversation with any inmate during his time working here. He doesn't abuse substances. Hell, he is too much of a weak sauce that he couldn't drink alcohol. Well except last week but who care? Bottom line, I have not seen anyone, I mean anyone, worked for a long period in a crappy job just to prepare this. And I have seen railroad tracks built under prisons cells in my time."

Chief Bogo said, "Why did you allow him to wear a mask?"

"His profile stated that he had cleft lip. He even has picture and doctors' reports to show for it. Here." He gave Chief Bogo a picture of Mark Lago with the malformation. Alex's half a day effort with the computer paid off, as Bogo felt uneasy at how real it looked. Bogo then passed on the image to the officer in the room. "Egh" was what Judy could utter at the sight of it. "See? That's why I allow him to wear that, spare the nightmare fuel for lots of folks."

"Still, you hired him." The buffalo continued, arms crossed.

"Hey, hey, I know, I know. I'll take my god damn responsibility, okay? Hop off my nuts already. Complain and criticize all you want, I ain't seeing you doing any help. The wardens and I have to hold them off, by ourselves. 67 escaped, but that could be zero if you and the ZPD had help."

An elephant officer had an answer to that. "About that, sir. Our system was under attack from an influx of automated request messages transmitted from all parts within the city. He spammed our system with so many random and incoherent recordings marked as requests for help along with false emergency signals that it was impossible for us to distinguish your call from them."

Douglas paused and widened his eyes. "Holy shit, you completely lost me at the influx part. But, heh, sound like we all have underestimated this cat. Right, Bogo my boy?" Douglas gave the chief a grin before standing up. He moved to his work corner. "Now, would you excuse me, I have to write some reports. Lucky that nobody died from this so I can at least drink in peace tonight." Douglas turned on one of the computers and started typing.

Conversations between the officers began to break out. A horse said, "Now finding him is gonna be even more of a pain. What if he could just disguise himself as any prey?"

The hippo beside Bogo said, "What should we do now chief? Frisk everybody?"

Chief Bogo said. "Silent, we need to round up the escapees first. They are all without collars, there is no telling how many salvage attack is going to happen."

Douglas then yelled, "WOULD YOU ALL PISS OFF? MY DAY IS BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT YOU. GET OUT OF HERE!"

Afterward, Chief Bogo and the ZPD then contacted other wardens within the prison. From the information given by these wardens, the ZPD officers had accumulated a list of escaped inmates. They started the process of tracking down the escapees. Judy instantly volunteered to track Nick Wilde the moment she saw his name. With all of his other officers taking care of larger and more dangerous predators, Bogo allowed her to take on someone "close to her size". Judy then stayed in the prison while her other colleagues either head home or take on their cases. She talked to the rhino warden in charge of cellblock D. "I want to check on Wilde's cell." The warden agreed and personally led her to the cell. He left the scene exactly how Nick had left it. The door was still open, no sign of forced entry or exit. The warden then stood outside of the cell. His eyes were watchful of the other cells, which still have the same number of inmates as the day before.

Judy walked around the glass cell, carefully observed every item. She checked under Nick's pillow, nothing. She checked under the bed, nothing. The toilet tank, she noticed that it had been opened recently. She lifted it up; there were traces of prison food floated above the water. That made her curious, but not enough to prove anything. She then looked at his wall. The newspaper with Nick's face on the front page had disappeared. Her curiosity grew as she starting to peel the duct tape off one news articles. She flipped it over. It was then she found out scribbles behind them. They were not random notes, but rather, instructions. She read the message on a newspaper piece.

"21st July is the day. When you hear a siren in the distance and the guard has left, use the universal key card to get yourself out first. Don't worry about your block mates; they will only slow you down." She ripped another news article out, behind it read, "Use the screwdriver to open the vent nearby and crawl inside. Use the ventilation map I have given you a few day ago to get yourself out of the vent and to the courtyard." She ripped another one. "It's not over yet. Go to the woods nearby and find my old gym bag, inside are some clothes, camping supply, keys and a gift. You probably have to spend some time outside so find a good hiding spot. It's nice that ZPD don't hire predators, or else this would have been a little more difficult. Afterward, get to the address written on the ventilation map. Don't use taxis or public transits, walk, and try your best to avoid the fuzz. Just because they are focusing on bigger threats and me, doesn't mean you don't have to be careful." Another one read, "You are taking a different path from the riot. Once the door is open and the coast is clear, turn right, you will see a vent. I probably have placed a machine screwdriver in the trashcan for you. It is in a box of donut". Another piece of article was just an instruction on how to assemble a universal key card. She had a look at the cell door, the lock was just a magnetic scanner; it did not require swiping. As long as one had the right signal and placed it near the scanner, the door would make way. There were a few notes written on the instruction sheet as well. "These parts are waterproof, so feel free to wash off the food that got stuck on them, keep them dry when you assemble them, though. I have checked the warden schedules, no surprise contraband check this week so just hid it under your pillow or something." It boggled her mind that someone who was not bold enough to pull a 100 dollars credit fraud could create something like this. She read the back of the final article. "Once in the courtyard, go to the bushes next to the big transformer, it should provide you with some cover. Go to the back of the transformer and feel the cinder block floor there. Two of them should come loose, take them out, below is a tunnel I have dug a few months back, go through it and you are free." Upon finishing it, Judy dropped the articles on the bed; her head looked up, avoided looking at "Alex's guide to escaping the prison". "How long had Nick been involved in this?" She then remembered the masked predators that showed up during the breakout. Bach Mieu let them in and helped them. "How big was all this?" It seemed, the world around her was getting more and more chaotic each day. Judy shook her head. She then started bagging the newspaper articles for evidence. Chief Warden would want to look at them.

And look at them he did. "Son of a bitch!" He shouted and slammed on the table. "Oh kid, you have just earned yourself a spot in solitary confinement." He put his computer to sleep and reached for a drawer under the director desk. He pulled out a notebook and started writing down something. "Lesson learned." He said while scribbling.

Judy then leaned forward. With hesitation, she said, "Sir, can I make a request?"

He pointed his pen at her, "Depends."

"Can I have a copy of Mark Lago's profile?"

"Why would you need them" he tried to read the nametag "Hopps. They are useless anyway."

She tilted her head rather innocently. "Hum, maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Okay", he opened another drawer and fished out the document she needed. "Take this and leave. It's getting late."

She nodded than saluted the Chief. "Will do sir, will do."

She slowly exited the room while her eyes scanning through the boxes of text. She came across something that made her smile smugly. "Recently moved, huh? If he really is a good boy as Mark, reporting this is something any law abiding citizen should do." It was nearly nine when Judy exited the prison, but she did not want to go home. How could she sleep when a possible lead had been discovered? She immediately went to Mark's new place. It was a rundown apartment, quite similar to her. She knocked on the door, hoping to gain access.

An old doe opened it and asked. "You're looking for someone, dear?"

Judy smiled, "Um, yes, I'm Nick Wilde, Mark Lago's friend. He told me to come here." Lying to an old lady. That was a new low for her. In the back of her head, she was expecting a rejection, so that she could stop right there and leave.

But alas, the old lady said, "Oh, yes, I remember. Though, I was expecting a boy."

"It's short for Nikoletta, a lot of animals get confused as well. I think my parents hate me sometimes."

"Oh, I see. Don't think that way dear. They just tried to get with the time with the weird names. Well, did Mark give you the key?"

Judy's hand rubbed the back of her head. "He forgot."

The doe shook her head. "Kids these days, so forgetful. Here, I have been waiting to give you this, all night." Her trembling hand dropped the key on Hopps hand.

The rabbit was taken aback. "Really?"

"No, it's just something I always say to scare others. I was just enjoying my evening, with some tea. Anyhow, come in, it's getting late; a bunny like you should not stand too long in the street at night."

She nodded before entering, "Thank you, madam."

The doe then led the way, headed for the apartments upstairs. She found room 203 and told Judy. "This is it."

Judy bowed and said, "Thank you so much for your time."

The doe said, a cheery grandma smile drew across her face. "It's all right. You should get some sleep, the boy won't return until noon."

Judy's mind thought, "Something told me that he won't return, period."

Judy stepped in. This apartment had roughly the same size as her, but slightly smaller. It had all the basic needs, bed, fridge, microwave, and a desk. Next to the door was an end table with a letter. She turned on the light and read it. "Hello Nick, welcome to the rest stop. Sorry, I could not be there. With the city most likely be on my no-longer-existing-tail, it is better for me to disappear for a while. Anyhow, take whatever you need and have all the rest that you can. When the coast is clear, go to Honey's safe house. Don't worry. I'll get you all out of this mess." Judy then recalled the three predators within Wild times. She also vaguely remembered not seeing their faces in prison.

She then inspected the place. Under the pillow was a first-aid kit; the fridge was stocked with premade food, predators exclusive. On the desk were a neatly placed collar-unlocking device and a shock collar with a post-it note. Judy picked up the collar and read the attached message. "This is a mock collar, its light may be on, but it won't hurt you. You will probably need to run a lot, so use this unlocking device for distractions." Judy put the collar-unlocking device and the collar into her evident bag. She then put both in the trash can and covered it with a box of pizza.

She was then thinking about ways to ambush Nick. Her first thought was to wait outside, waited for Nick to come in the room, and then find some way to lock him in. Afterward, she came up with ten other ways. However, all scenarios had Nick stay away from that collar-unlocking device. Judy sat on the chair in front of the desk. Her arms crossed and her feet were constantly tapping the floor. She needed to come up with the best possible plan to tackle this.

Judy focused too much on making the plan that she forgot to keep herself awake.

It was six in the morning

Judy's sensitive ears woke her up at the sound of twisting the key. What plan of attack did she pick again? Judy did not remember. Nick stepped in. He was wearing a white trench coat, black khaki pants, and a wide brim fedora. The exhausted Nick took off the hat and threw it on the end table. He looked to the right, and Judy was still sitting on the chair. Her face at that moment mirrored his perfectly.

(The song Chaser from Paprika OST begins to play)

Nick instantly ran out of the room and headed downstair. He had been running for so long that the shock from his collar did not bother him anymore. Judy jumped from the chair while shouting, "Nick, stop right there." That woke some of the neighbors up. However, since it was Sunday, no one bothered going out and complaining. As a result, Judy pursued Nick without being obstructed by randomly opened doors.

Nick opened the front door and jumped on the pavement. He ran straight through the middle of the street. There were not that many cars, so Nick could avoid them easily. Judy exited the apartment the moment Nick was on the other side. Nick ran for a while until the "Little Rodentia" was in his way. He looked both sides. He knew that the longer he kept himself on Main Street. With the likelihood of a patrol car showing up rose, he decided to climb the rodent's resident fence as quickly as he could. Once over the fence, he jumped down, carefully avoided a terrified group of mice. He then quickly walked his way toward a collection of mice-sized apartments; he needed to go high to avoid possible charges of mouse-slaughter. Judy did not bother with climbing; instead, she went for a sprint then slid right through the entrance of Little Rodentia.

She said after getting back on her feet. "Nick, stop resisting arrest!" He did not make any remark, just straight up climbed on one of the apartment building and hopping from one to the next. As he did so, the building started to topple, like giant blocks of domino. "Does anyone of these guys know the concept of foundations?" he shouted in his head. Fortunately, the building fell backward; and before any of them could hit the ground, Judy was there, ready to catch one. With Judy busy putting the buildings back to where they were, Nick had the chance to increase the distance. He saw the Rodentia morning subway train and decided to hitch a ride. He jumped on one of the train carts and sat there casually. He looked down at the passengers down below and inside the train. "Beautiful Sunday isn't it?" He sat there perfectly still, occasionally ducked his head down to avoid overhead tubes. He turned to his left, waiting for Rodentia Main Street to show up. Once it does, Nick bid the passengers adieu and dropped down to Main Street. With the wide-open road and most of the resident had fled to other parts of town, Nick ran straight for the exit.

When the West entrance was a few steps away, Judy emerged from the side of a crossroad. She tackled Nick to the ground. The two tumbled to the ground for a bit. They stopped when Nick lied face down on the ground. Just as he was about to raise his head up, Judy pinned it down, while her other hand handcuffed him. "Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."

(Song ends)

With the pressure put on his lung, he struggled to cry out, "Listen, Judy, just this one, please. Please help me."

"I can't Nick. You know damn well I can't. " She said while keeping the pressure on him. The restraining technique learn from the academy was doing its work.

As she was about to resume stating his rights, Nick said, "No, I'll turn myself in. I admit what I did with the park was wrong. But what I have nothing to do with the attack last week."

"Not this again," Judy thought.

"I was framed. You are an enforcer of justice, then how can you let such injustice happen? Do I not deserve any of that because I'm a fox? " That line grabbed her attention. "Judy please, the real culprits of the savage attacks are out there, somewhere. And everyone is getting hurt because of them. It's not prey or predators, it is everyone. If you are not doing it for me, then do it for them."

Judy bit down her teeth, her mind played back the protocols, rules and definitions learn from the academy. They always calm her down, giving her some form of certainty and control. "An arrest is the act of depriving someone of his or her liberty, usually in relation to an investigation or prevention of a crime." She was not taking away her friend's freedom; she was just following orders. And scratch the friend part, he was a criminal, nothing more, nothing less, the chief said so. A criminal who may have some distance connection to all the conflicts that was going on. She had the warrant, the badge, and the power. She was just doing what was right, right?

She looked to her right, hoping that would somehow give her answer. It did not. It was just a glass door of some rodent's shop. The only thing that door gave her, was a reflection of her pinning Nick to the ground. The scars on her cheek stung again. This time, though, she felt the cut ran much deeper inside. "Do you truly believe them?" She asked herself.

After some thought, she sighed, "Fine, I'll help you solve this case." She hopped off his back, gave him to chance to stand up. "Thank you, Judy, thank you," Nick said, with the same enthusiasm as a homeless mammal receiving kindness from a priest. She unlocked the cuff on Nick's right hand. "But you must be by my side at all times." She instantly locked the cuff onto her right wrist.

Nick looked at the chain tether between them. He tilted his head, "Heh, you think that I cannot drag you around with this?"

She pulled her hand, dragging Nick's down. The sudden yank made Nick slouched down. Before he could react, Judy punched him across the jaw. Her fist might be smaller than Alex's, but the strike was significantly stronger. The blow knocked him to the ground. The area of impact was numb for a solid two seconds. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She said while dusting herself.

The pain finally kicked in and Nick was rolling on the ground, "Ugh, god, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Her ears drooped down, her hand covered her mouth "Oops, I'm sorry, I was just trying to prove a point."

"By punching me in the face?" He said with his hand still on the cheek.

She kneeled down, trying to help him up. "I'm so sorry."

The two of them backed at the resting stop. Judy was rubbing some oil on Nick's face, helping him avoid bruises and swellings.

Nick said, "You don't have to do any of this, you know."

"No, shush you. I caused it, I'll fix it."

Nick tried changing the subject while waiting for Judy to finish, "You managed to get here before me. That's quite a feat."

She shrugged. "Well, you know, that's what officers do."

He chuckled, "Heh, yeah right. Still, can't believe that they let you be a meter maid for that long. Imagine how many cases would have been done with you around."

Her cheeks heated up at the compliment. "Thanks, that's really flattering."

"No I'm serious, I'm not sucking you up so that you would give me an easier time." He made a face, after a quick replay of that line in his head. "That's line had just landed somewhere horribly wrong."

Judy smirked, "Heh, still, I'll take previous the complement. Can't say that they don't have good reasons to do so. I mean, just look at me. I'm way too small to be any of use to the force. They originally took me in as a mean to "level the playing field" and shut the mayor up. She really wants to help us, little guys." She dipped the cotton with some more oil. "And now, well, they just want it as a cover up for treating me as a meter maid all that time. They allow me to take your case because you are close my size and not as dangerous as bigger predators." Her hand movement got slower. "Dad always said: "carrots can just be carrots". No matter what kind of dirt you use, how hard you tend it, it won't turn into a potato."

"Judy, just don't. I know we haven't met for a near fifteen years, but that doesn't sound like you at all. Sure, unlike what Zootopia said, you cannot be anything, but how do you know if you can't be that thing when you haven't even tried." He looked straight into her eyes. "And I saw you tried and succeed." The line made her ears perked up. "I want to see your rhino colleague chase after me in the Little Rodentia. I'm pretty sure he is going to cause more mouse-slaughter than I ever could. And I could have gotten away with it." He changed his tone at the last sentence. "Don't beat yourself up, you climbed the elephant sized ladder from the bottom to the top, you deserve some recognition."

Judy chuckled. "Recognition coming from a criminal. Don't know if that ironic or not."

"Eh, take it any way you want. Also, Carrots, are you sure that this much oil is needed? My face is getting heavy from the stuff."

Remembered what she was doing, Judy tried to maintain her composure, she fakes brushed his face some more, "Almost. There, feeling better?"

Nick rubbed the side of his jaw, "My pride still hurts but thanks anyway"

"Don't mention it."

Judy had a look at her phone. They had wasted enough time. It was better to get back to the case. She took out the letter Alex left behind and handed it back to Nick. "Oh, your friend left this note behind. Sorry, I read it for investigation purposes."

"Nah, it's fine." He scanned through the letter. "It's nothing too special anyway. Sorry, not today, Alex." He balled the letter and tossed it in the trash. Her heart sank at the moment. She hoped he had not seen the devices. To avoid suspicion, she faked a, "Huh?"

"I'm pretty sure he wanted to get me and the gang out of this mess. The gang can leave if they want, but I won't. I promised to turn myself in when we unmask the culprit, and that's that."

Judy's hands move to her hips. "You know, never have I seen criminal so enthusiastic about not getting away."

"Then I shall gladly be your first." He bowed.

"Oh, Nick. This is not the time." She rubbed her forehead.

Nick snapped his fingers, "Okay, serious face." He cleared his throat. "So, do you have any lead on the matter?"

She shrugged, "Not much beside somehow an engineer is responsible for a series of attacks that ties to biology. And somehow, someway, without collars, predators can't control themselves." She tilted her head. "To be honest, now with me saying it aloud, I'm not buying any of that. But chef Bogo says then chief Bogo gets."

"Heh, and now because of me, the kid is a terrorist to everyone. I saw the news, didn't think he had the gut and was that stupid to pull a stunt like that."

"How did he do that, though? Planning ahead an elaborate escape plan and accompanied him were dozens of bigger and armed predators. Where did he get them? Are you sure that he is not some kind of underground crime lord?"

Tha rang a bell in Nick's head. "I'm sure that he is not, but I think I have an idea who is. Judy, I think it is about time you meet Wild Times main backer."


Author note:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.