Hello everyone. Sorry for the little delay, I've been doing some side stuff: Dirt Rally, school, etc. Anyway, I'm just taking my time. Here's chapter 6, don't know when next one will be out but trust me I haven't forgotten this story.

2nd Edit: May of goofed on this chapter, as for some reason I may of posted the ENTIRE rough copy instead of just this. Re-uploading just to make sure.

Escape from the Asylum

I quickly gathered my composure and began my efforts to escape. I exited the containment chambers and saw that the two goons that I put down were still sleeping.

"Sir, 5 hostiles each are coming up the two stairwells to your left and right."

"Copy. How the hell do they know that I'm here?"

"They don't. Apparently when the alarm was reset, it caused a glitch in their system. Whatever that glitch was, it seemed that it was brought to Lionhart's attention."

"So they're just checking if there's something wrong, like… a malfunction, right?"

"You did leave a body down stairs, correct?"

"Yeah, and I hid it. So what?"

"Sir, may I remind you that you're dealing with animals, not humans. Especially when the apparent species that's after you is a wolf."

"What are you trying to say, AAL?"

"Sigh… Sir, they can pick up scents 10x better.."

FUCK. No really, fuck. How could I forgotten that? That really caught me off guard to know. Here I was thinking that I've been in control this whole time, but the minor details that came to fruition just now made my situation a lot worse.

"Alright… time to get physical. Which group is coming first, left or right?"

"Right sir. Then in 45 seconds time, the left group will show up. I suggest you taking out the group on the right, but keep in mind, you only have 30 seconds to take your targets out. By my calculations…"

"I only need 30."

I darted to the right to where the guards would show up from the stairwell. I entered the door, looked over the railing and saw them, walking up at a brisk pace. I had to be careful since I didn't know what to expect. Would they shoot first and then ask questions? Or would they shoot first and then eat me? Minor stuff made me chuckle right before a throw down. I know that I could facing death here every time the opportunity presents itself, but sometimes… you gotta have a little fun.

I knew hiding wouldn't work because they would just sniff me out, so that wasn't an option for me. I had my pistol on me, but they only carried blank cartridges. It's only purpose was to put fear in the enemy, and in case they didn't take it seriously, the blanks were used as another fear tactic. I never used the blanks in combat, but tonight was going to be a first.

As I looked over the edge, I could see the first wolf a floor below me, along with the rest that were a couple paces behind him. I guess he was the shortest straw out of the bunch, since he looked nervous to whatever he might be facing. And rightfully so. I pulled my gun, and right as he turned the corner and looked up, I shot him square in the chest. He shouted in pain, and was sent backwards towards the wall. He slowly slouched down onto the floor, and just to make sure he wouldn't do anything heroic, I put another shot into his kneecaps. Remember kids, shoot anything that has a cap on it. The other four were alerted, and hurried to my location.

Now it was time to get really dodgy.

Once I took care of the first one, I put my pistol away. These wolves were about the same size as Ivan, my "chauffeur." That being said, I turned the corner to see the first one in line out of the four. I dove and tackled him. In a split second, I batted the gun from the next wolf, which caught him off guard. I was trained to not think in combat too much in combat, and mainly rely on reacting. Always get ahead of whoever you're up against. Once I batted the gun out of his hands, I got up and used him as a shield from the gunfire from the other two goons. I could feel the impact hitting my chest, but not as bad as my "bodyguard" in front of me. He body became numb, and I threw towards the two as it sent them both backwards, tumbling down the stairs and screaming in pain.

Not having to worry about those three, I started to walk back up, and I noticed the second wolf that was wincing on the floor looked at me and said "Who… who, are.. the.. fuck, are you?"

"I'm just a ghost, and I'm your worst nightmare." And knocked the son-of-a-bitch out. Suddenly, another voice rang and it was the first guard. "You… you won't get away… with this."

As I approached him, I was going to say something snarky until he passed out. I couldn't think of one since AAL came thorough.

"Sir, the other 5 from the left have made it up the stairwell. You should.."

"I'm on it." I wasted no time and sprinted as fast as I could while pulling my TDR out. I set the range to medium and hid behind the wall near the door opening.

I peeked around the corner and could see the five in a diamond formation, 2 on the side 2 in front and on in the middle. Hmmm, maybe I could get 3 in 1? I decided to take a risk and changed my range to long. What I was about to what really ballsy. Without thinking, I pulled around the corner and lined my sights at the first target. I was hoping that the increased range would make my bullet travel farther than usual. Here's hoping.

Click. Thump. Thump.

The back guard was caught off guard as he saw his two buds fall to the ground, and the other two aimed their sights to the door and opened fire. Great idea Howard, just fantastic. As I could hear them getting closer, I decided I was going to rush it. I grabbed my pistol from my waist, peeked around the corner again, and took cover while taking a breath.

Then, I opened the door and threw my pistol as hard as I could to guard to my left. As soon as I left go, I slide tackled the other guard to my right. Losing his balance, he fell to floor and I was able to get up and knock him out. The guard on the left was still wincing in pain when I threw my gun, and once he able to regain his senses, I knocked him by punching him straight in the nose.

Finally, there was the last one guard, who was still checking on the other two. I don't know if he was trained for guarding or just a medical expert. He had a gun on him, so I could only assume both. Suddenly it dawn on him that he was the only one left standing in the hallway with me. He stood slowly, and slowly turned around to see me. He was scared, but I was going to make sure he was scared no more.

"Don't worry, this will be over all soon." I said as I punch him in the gut and put him in a headlock to slow down his breathing. Yeah, it might have been wrong to knock him out as his body language told me that he gave up, but there were 10 hostiles. I'm going to make sure those 10 hostiles are out of my way.

"Sir, may I remind you there are still two more hostiles, and they appear to be Lionhart's bodyguards. I would sug…"

AAL was then cut off, and soon, the entire power system inside went completely dead. The hallway was pitch black, hell, everything was pitch black now. I tried to contact AAL but there was still nothing. I went to check on my VRWristband to see if that was still functioning, and to my dismay, it too was dead. What the fuck is going on?

"Whoever you are, you're good at what you do" said a voice that I couldn't make out where it came from. It sounded like Lionhart though.

"Lionhart!?" I shouted. I wasn't getting scared, but I was starting to get nervous. As much as I used the darkness for my advantages in combat, right now I was in the worst type of scenario. No AAL, dead gear, and a voice that I couldn't figure out where it came from. Great.

Suddenly, the lights came on, and Lionhart was standing right in front of me. He was bigger than me and possibly stronger than me in the sense of mass.

"Take him" and those were the last words I heard before someone from behind knocked me unconscious.

Roughly 20 hours later…

FUCKJUSTHAPPENED? That was the very first thing that came to mind once I regain consciousness. And then, bam. A single bright light opened up. Apparently I had a bag over my head, and once I could finally adjust to my surroundings, I felt myself strapped to a chair, tied up with no way out. My bandana was also pulled down, exposing my full fleshed face and my identity. I still had my gear though, but what bother me the most showing my face in front of the Mayor.

"Well, well, well.. I see you've taken a nice nap, haven't you?"

"How long.. long was I out?"

"20 hours or so. The effects from a tranquilizer bullet usually puts most of our kind to sleep for a good hour or two… but, obviously as you can see, it had a different effect on you."

I knew he was hinting at something, so I asked, "What do you want?"

"Well, I have many questions, so I'll just keep it short. Name, alias, and what the fuck is your purpose being here?"

I didn't want him to know who I was. He was no longer of my concern and I didn't want to expose myself to someone with that much authority. I couldn't just stay silent, otherwise I would be a dead man.

"Well…?" Lionhart spoke to them like he was in a hurry, so I simply blurted out,

"Howard Clauson. C-L-A-W-S-O-N." I would figure that spelling my name to emulate a real animal would help my chances, but it didn't as Lionhart gave me a scorn look, like if I was insulting him. "What am I? Well, uh… see, that I would have to expla.."

"I don't have time for garbage talk, Mr. Clauson. I already have 14 mammals locked and now I have someone that knows exactly where they are, so if you think I'm going to go easy on you, you're in for one fucked up night."

I gazed at him, and I could tell he wasn't fooling around.

"And what are you going to do to me if I don't talk?"

"Frame you for the kidnappings. Just look at you, no one has

"It'll be the blood from your head if you keep this smartass attitude up."

"No no, I'm not being a smartass. I'm being serious. See, when I went into the containment corridor and saw those animals, I saw something well… telling, might I say."

Lionhart squinted, which came to a surprise to me. I was expecting him to lurch over the table and rip my eye sockets, but now he was perplexed. *I have intel that you don't have, ha-haha-ha-ha-ha* I sang through my head. His curiosity was showing on his face.

"…What are you trying to say.."

"Do you believe that these mammals are going wild by nature?"

"Well, I can't directly answer that. We don't know what's causing them, and if the public found out that they were held captive here, the city would go into complete chaos. That's why I'm holding you for further questioning. Who are you working for anyway, Mr. Big?"

"Who? I'm not working for anyone."

"Then why are you here? A random species like you doesn't show up to Zootopia and the first thing he does is break into an asylum. How did you even know about this if you've been here for… for.. you didn't even say?"

"About maybe 2-3 days, I think" I replied. It did feel rather quick how all of this was playing out, but sometimes you just meet the right people that tell you a bit too much.

"TWO DAYS? THEN HOW…" As Lionhart shouted, I interrupted him, finally explaining how I managed to get here.

"Look, I come from a different world and I got transported here. I then met a cop who told me about the missing mammals case, and I took shelter in a van which happened to bring me here. And no, I don't have a golden horseshoe up my ass for how incredibly lucky I am."

Lionhart looked at me as if I was a crazed man, fitting perfectly with the whole cliché of being crazy in an asylum.

"You're bluffing…"

"The cop was first rabbit officer Judy Hopps, very nice might I say. And the driver of the van? Ivan."

"…shit. Shit, shit, shit!"

"Am I bluffin.."

"Shut the fuck up! I knew having a rabbit officer was a bad idea. They told me she wouldn't be a problem and somehow she found you roaming the streets?"

"And keeping 14 mammals hostage isn't?" I said vey sarcastically.

"One more smartass comment like that and it'll be your head in the paper."

There was a knock on the door and was one of the facility workers, who chimed in at the worst time. Lionhart's patience was being tested and he didn't want to be bothered. "Excuse me, Mayor may I have a word with you? This is important.."

"Not now ma'am."

"But sir, I think I may have found something intriguing about the mammals. You need to see this for yourself."

I looked at the mayor and just tilted my head slightly, saying nothing. The mayor sighed, complying. He got up and told one of his bodyguards to guard the door from the outside. Alone, by myself. Great.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes, make sure Clauson doesn't leave this room."

He shut the door behind him and went on his way. How the hell was I going to leave the room if I was tied to the chair? I was getting the impression that the Mayor wasn't really bright. He looked knowledgeable, but looking smart won't get you anywhere if you're smart yourself. I didn't know how long he might be gone for, but if I could imagine, probably a few minutes which may seem like hours. I decided to rock back and forth, at least trying to attempt to free myself. I didn't do me any good once I fell over onto my side since it caused too much noise. The guard heard this and saw me lying on the floor strapped to my chair. He called me an idiot, and proceeded to turn around. Well great, this is how I'm going to end my life. Here, in an asylum.

But then I heard voices, coming up from behind. Eventually they were getting louder and louder, but as I looked around the small room, there was nothing but a ventilation shaft opening behind me. It hurt to stretch all the way around to see that it was there, so I didn't even bother to stare at it. I just kept my face looking ahead, with my head on the ground. Then, a crash and the voice grew clearer to me.

"Well Carrots, this definitely doesn't look like the place. Maybe should of listened to me and gone to the left instead, huh?"

"Shut up Nick. Who knows, this could be one of the missing mammals."

It was Judy. God damn, it was Judy and I couldn't be more thankful right now to hear her voice, especially since it sounded like Rachael's.

"Officer Hopps?" I said, "Is that really you?"

"Wait, did that thing just talked? And how does it know your name?" said the unidentified voice. I couldn't make out what who it was, but Officer Hopps did mention the name "Nick" so I could only assume that he was questioning me.

They both quickly ran around the chair to see me. It didn't matter that my identity wasn't concealed, I could care less at this point. Lionhart knew he captured a new species, and was sure to expose me out on it.

"Howard…" Said the rabbit, talking like she was in disbelief. I couldn't blame her. Leaving her with more questions rather than answers is not a good thing, and it's even worse since I left her thinking I wasn't real.

"Clauson. Howard Clauson." I said, breaking a slight smile. I was trying my best to ease the mood because I didn't know if they were going to ditch me or help me. "Look, I know this may be a lot to take in, especially for your friend… the fox here."

"Hey, I'm not just some fox, the name's Nick. Nick Wilde. I'm also a cop, see this badge?" I glanced my eyes towards his shirt to see a sticker. I could only roll them in disgust and puff out a small chuckle.

"Yeah… sure you are." Judy finally broke the mindless banter, as she wanted to know who, what, or how I got here.

"What are you doing here?! Are you one of them?! The intel that we were given only stated 14 mammals but you're clearly.."

"Human." As I cut her off, finally revealing what the hell type of species I was. Judy was confused as well Nick.

"A what?" said Judy. "What's a human?" as she glanced towards me then to Nick.

"Hey don't look at me Carrots, I'm keeping my lips sealed on this one."

"Well gee Nick, I thought you knew everyone."

"I said I knew everyone, not 'everyone that wasn't a… uh.."

"Human.." I said again with a hint of curiosity. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Were on the missing mammals case, but more importantly what are you doing here?"

I didn't know what to say. Should I tell them the truth and say that I too was looking for the mammals, or lie that I was taken away by Lionhart's henchmen. Either one wasn't a good answer since both lead to another question afterwards. I then remember thinking about doing the right thing, and lying to a cop for the second time probably wouldn't end well for me.

"I'm also here on the missing mammals, but it's complicated."

"Is that so? Is that why you left when I asked who you were?"

I could sense a little a guilt in me when she said that.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah that's why. Look, I don't have time to explain it fully, otherwise I'm putting the both of you in danger. Someone could return any minute right now. It's a long story, trust me. Just… please, untie me. I'll cut you a deal, set me free and once this blows over, we can talk in private, the both of. Your friend here looks trustworthy enough."

Judy gave me a look and rolled her eyes at Nick, like if she was trying to tell me that Nick wasn't trustworthy. I mean, you're with a cop and you're not handcuffed, I can only assume you're either interning or her partner. Though, that would be on hell of an internship to grab I will say. I could see Judy was thinking long and hard about whether to untie me or not. I disappeared from her sight once so I wasn't on her trustworthy side. I wouldn't blame her to be honest. I was powerless right now, and she almost came to a conclusion until I said, "Lionhart is here. Why he's here, I don't know. If you needed any intel for the ZPD, well… there you go. Now, please?" I sounded like a criminal in desperation.

Her ears perked up when I mention the word Lionhart, which I guess was a good trigger cause I assumed she was just going to leave me here.

"Well, I guess luck is on your side today. We have a deal" she said with a smile.

Thank the lord and all his doings. Judy went around back and untied the knot behind the chair. I got up and put the chair back on all fours and sat back down, pretending as if I was still tied.

"I'll catch up with you guys later, after this blows over, I need to stay low to avoid some heat. Just… trust me, I know this all sounds strange but I'll explain it all. You guys should go, now!" I said exuberantly, seeing that Lionhart made his way to the door. Judy nodded, and both her and Nick left in an instant.

Lionhart opened the door and sat down, giving me a look like he knew I was right about something.

"Well… you were right. This isn't a natural shift in an animal's behavior."

"You saw the gun markings too I presume?"

"What gun markings? You're telling me that someone's deliberately shooting these innocent victims and making them savage?"

He gave me a serious look, and I really didn't know what to say. I was telling the truth, but at the same time he thinks I'm just bluffing. So, I decided to go by his rules and say, "Well, I mean… you did say I was bluffing."

Lionhart was now pissed. I wasn't trying to be a smartass anymore, but I guess I slipped a little bit when I said that. Then again, I was just saying what he told me. He got up and looked me in the eye. Just a bit closer kitty, just a bit closer…

"I'm going to warn you one last time Clauson, keep this up, I will claw your head. And don't think I won't do it."

"Well, that's awfully rude of you Mayor. I don't like the mindset of your thinking, I mean, what would happen if the press found out that you killed an unidentified species?"

He was about to say something in return but I cut him off, "Oh yeah, wait, it would have been just some kind of accident and your hands would be clean. Gee, how did I not see that? I really need to straighten my head a little bit."

As soon as the words "little bit" left the tip of my tongue, I got out of chair and grabbed Lionhart's shoulders and head-butted him as hard as I could and as quick as I could. "Ow!" shouted the lion. The guard blocking the door instantly turned around to see what was going on. I lunged across the table to pass Lionhart, who was still trying to regain his senses. I saw my gear lying on the ground and crouched down to pick it up. In the meantime, the door had opened and the guard was overlooking me, ready to shoot.

Death was right in front me, yet again. So it figured to him. Without thinking, I bit his leg which caught him off guard. I didn't even think twice about biting someone or something, but when there's a gun pointed at your head, you'd be surprised how crafty and desperate people can be. I was little bit of both, but mainly crafty.

The guard dropped his gun, and I tackled him into the wall. I wasn't worried about knocking him out, I wasn't worried about causing a commotion, and I certainly didn't care if everything went to hell real fast.

I need to get out. Fast.

With the two down, I quickly grabbed my equipment from inside the room and I tried to connect to my coms., but unfortunately they were still dead. Well shit, this makes it a lot more interesting. I got up, and ran. I needed to find the stairwell that I came up in, otherwise I would be doing some serious parkour outside. I could hear Lionhart trying to figure out where I went, but I was gone from his sight. I did get to hear him talk about the missing mammals, and soon thought of Judy and her partner Nick. God bless those two. If they were checking out the missing mammals, then their escape would be awfully difficult.

I passed a window to see it was still night out. Man, I really was out for 20 hours. Bastard wasn't kidding. Soon, I found an entrance that lead to some stairs, but as soon as I looked over the railing, there were guards coming up. Shit. I had to find another way out. Behind me, I could hear more voices coming my way. Trapped, or so I thought. I looked at the window and pretty much said fuck it. It's going to cause a stir, but if the pot full of shit wasn't stirring right now, it definitely would be in a second.

I bashed though the window and barrel rolled off onto the roof's sloped edge. I didn't have time to think about my next move, only time to act. And then suddenly, I was falling. It was about a 2 story drop, but that wasn't my concern. My concern was where I landed. Remember how I mentioned that Cliffside is on a cliff? Yeah, there isn't much room between the building and edge, and I knew if I missed that spot in between, I would be dead.

I hit the ground, and my force of movement made me roll over the edge. I was now hanging on for dear life, and if anyone was going to save me this time, it certainly wasn't going to be Judy and Nick. It took all my will power to pull myself up just after hitting the ground. I didn't break anything, but I was fucking sore. Once I pulled myself together, I got up and tried to find a vehicle. There was no way in hell I was going to leave on foot. As I turned the corner, there was a black van sitting nearby. It almost looked like the same one I came in here before. I checked the window, saw that there was no driver or passenger, and to my luck, the key was in the ignition. I could hear in the background that Lionhart's goons were still close on my tail, so I started up the engine and navigated my way around the building. It was sketchy, since I was close falling over the edge a couple times. I had to be careful but at the same time to be diligent as well.

I saw the bridge, and floored it. The gate guards were standing in my way but I didn't care if they got hit or not, cause I wasn't slowing down. They shot through my window and I did my best to navigate through the gunfire. Eventually, they all got out of the way, seeming that their life was too valuable to die. Who would want to go out by being hit by a speeding van when you could have easily moved 2 feet away? Yeah, no one want's go out like that.

I escaped. I looked behind and saw that no one was chasing me. Holy shit, I done it. If I ever have to experience what going through an asylum was, I can go on with my life saying that it was terrible but for different reasons.

My next move was to find out where Judy Hopps lived, as I told her I would explain, well… what the fuck am I doing here, essentially. Remarkably, the van had an outlet station that could charge any electronic device, and so happened that I could plug in my VRWristband. I didn't know what it would do, but I figured it was worth a shot.

And yet again, just my luck… I heard a static through my ear. "AAL. AAL?" hoping to hear from him.

"SIR! Oh thank goodness you're alive again, I thought you were dead!"

Feeling relieved, I could concentrate on driving. "No AAL, I'm fine. We're still here in the new world, Zootopia."

"Well that's good to hear. Do you have any details in the time when the electronics went dark?"

"Little, but I do have to ask you a favor."

"Anything sir."

"Look up where Judy Hopps lives."

"Why sir?"

"She's the reason why I got out of here alive. She and a fox both helped me escape, but I had to make a deal with her that I would have to explain.. well, you know."

"Is it time?"

"Yes. It's time."

It was finally time to tell her who I was, where I came from, and what I know about the missing mammals case. The people back at the asylum knew who I was, and it was time to open up. No more hiding. No more disappearing and trying to leave questions. It was time to answer the questions that most people have about me, and I knew Judy would be the one to at least understand. I don't know how she's going to take it, but I can only assume the worst.

"Okay sir, I'm on it."