The light pitter-patter of Judy's small feet gently bounced off the walls as Judy descended down a flight of stairs opposite a lift. She was getting close to where she assumed Nick would be. Her heart began to race. It had been no easy feat sneaking around the farm even with the camera's disabled, but with a lot of patience and caution; the bunny had found herself closing in on the holding cells after half an hour of careful encroaching.

Setting foot on the bottom step, the bunny froze where she stood and her ears stood on edge, her left ear now sporting a hole through its top. Her gut sank and she suddenly felt faint as she heard and saw what she could only call a nightmare. A seemingly endless corridor of massively heavy doors and a constant low murmur of screaming animals from behind each of them as far as the eye could see, as well as the ear could hear.

Judy didn't know where to begin.

She began by hopping upon each door and opening a small latch that allowed those outside to peek in. But quickly she left this tactic behind after almost having her nose yanked off by either delusional or genuinely savage animals. She realised that X was building his world of savage animals, and by the looks of things he already had hundreds of them. Taking a step back from a particular badger that had almost gotten a hold of one of her ears; Judy sighed as she had to do something she really didn't want to.

She had to willingly call on her new hidden abilities, not all of them but one in particular. She had no method for calling upon them, but now was as good a time as any to learn. Closing her eyes and focussing only on her hearing; Judy found herself squeezing her eyes and focussing really hard on the sounds around her. Her ears reached high above her head as though they were stretching and trying to get longer, and then she felt it. Like something inside her had been holding a stick and gradually applied pressure until it snapped. Judy opened her eyes and could feel the heat around her eye-sockets; she had touched her untapped power, but was for the first time ever in complete control. The world around her seemed to slow slightly and she found herself now able to single out each animal's voice from their individual cells.

Judy continued walking down the corridor, the vibrations from her feet touching the ground pulsed through her entire body and she was aware of everything happening around her. If someone were to drop a pin a hundred yards away; she would hear and feel it. Judy winced as she now had a good idea of what X felt when Nick fired that gun next to his head. She was sure that if someone were to do that to her now she would be rendered unconscious immediately.

She continued her slow but thorough search for one voice in particular, trying her best to ignore the horror around her. When this was all over, she vowed that she would come back and help rehabilitate all of these poor mammals.

And then Judy froze where she stood and her frame went rigged as she turned her head to a door on her left. She recognised the voice within, and it was no friendly voice to her. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before sighing, Judy carefully let go of the tension and abilities she had come to possess and she found herself back to her normal state. The murmured shouts and screams of various animals seemed to morph together again, but she knew which door she was going to open, whether she liked it or not.

Judy groaned and murmured to herself within her head; 'Damn you morality.' And she hopped up on the door, grabbing a hold of the latch and sliding it open.

Immediately the voice from within became clear as day, the voice was stripped from hours, if not days of constant screaming. "Damn you X! I'll have your head for this! We will never be square again! I will get out! And I will kill you! And-

The voice cut out as it stared in total shock at the small, familiar face peeking through the latch in his cell's door. "Well I'll be damned, Judy Hopps in the flesh."

Judy closed the latch and hopped down to the ground, reaching up for the handle of the door she gave it a good tug down before pulling back and with a great amount of exertion it gave way and slowly swung open. The bunny unholstered her pistol and held it in steady hands as she walked carefully into the room, glaring at the animal that stood with his back against the wall opposite that of the door; he was the embodiment of fatigue and pain. Judy could see it in his face and by the way he was hunched over.

"Laurence Climberton, somehow you escaped the fiery pits of hell you monster." Judy snarled on the last word as she clicked the safety on her gun to disable it should the need to shoot come at any moment. "Well, most of you escaped." The bunny added as she glanced at the bandaged stump on his left shoulder, it was bloody and dirty and had not been changed for days, but there was certainly no arm there. His left leg was also mostly bandaged and overall he seemed to be dressed in some sort of light blue hospital overalls.

"Ah," The broken leopard began his response, his voice flooding with sarcasm and irony at this moment as now he stood the captor and Judy the free mammal. "I am afraid you haven't caught me at my best, I would bow but I hurt like hell, and you're right. Not all of me made it. Although I honestly dread to think of what X has done with my arm. You can never tell with that demon anymore." His tone ended in a reflective sense as though he was losing himself in a thought, but Judy knew this was a bluff. Laurence was merely playing it cool as she is his first and likely last chance out of here.

"I'll cut to the chase." Judy began suddenly, not willing to play along to Laurence's mind games. She had no time to let him play dominance as he clearly had the weaker hand of cards in this situation. She was now making all the rules and she knew it. "I am here to get Nick, and only Nick. After that I leave and it's up to you to decide on whether you leave here alive, dead. Or stay in this cell where I found you."

Sighing and dropping his act, Laurence replied, "Fine. You're not the foolish little rabbit I met… How long ago was it? One week? Two? It's honestly hard to keep track in here. Anyways, I will ask once and only once. What do you want from me, little bunny? You single handedly destroyed my lifes work in an instant and yet I still find myself at your will when we both know you should be dead. So in all honestly, it would be a mercy for you to shoot me right here." He raised his right hand to his forehead and tapped it lightly. "And end this bad run of mine. But I want to hear your offer before I make my counter offer. Now, we negotiate, like civilised mammals."

"Simple." Judy responded as she lowered her gun but kept it at hand just in case Laurence got any ideas. "You help me find Nick, and then you walk away from this. You leave Nick and myself alone. You don't come looking for us, you don't seek revenge. You leave Zootopia alone for good. Got it?"

"Hmm." Came His response as he pensively rubbed the roughed up and dirty fur on his chin, feigning as though he were thinking up an answer, but Judy already knew what he wanted, and frankly his attitude was getting old. "It seems a fair deal, considering the both of you are the reason for almost all of the troubles I face in my life, not to mention the crippling and deadly debt I face even if I make it out of here alive. But sure, I will take your offer under one condition."

Laurence's face split into his usual sinister grin, "We kill X."

X's eyes shot open in the pitch black of the night at the subtle glow of a flashing light as he gently sat up from his floor pallet. Years of being forced to sleep on the floor and no true desire to go back to the luxury of a proper bed had left him contempt with a more basic want in comfort. Only the faint illumination of a red, beeping light on his right had woken the hybrid from his sleep.

X rocked his head from side to side, cracking out any tension that was to be found, before blinking his eyes to go from dark orbs to a reflective and almost glowing set, that helped him see clearly through the dark of his master bedroom.

The room was sized for absolute luxury, but X had only the most basic of necessities around himself, the massive room was all but empty.

Standing nude and walking to one corner of the room where he had thrown a pair of trousers from the previous day's work he pulled them back on. His tail poked through its hole at the back, the base of it was that of a cheetah's tail, but as one's eyes followed the length of it they could see where the spots stop, the fluffy end of a fox's tail begins. Doing up his belt he took a deep breath in and out before turning to deal with the matter at hand.

He walked over to the still flashing light with no shirt; X had no intentions of putting one on. He hated how restrictive they were. Were the room not consumed by darkness then one could see the various markings, scars, blistered muscle of the well-toned and fit hybrid had all over his upper body.

Crossing his arms and looking down at where the particular light was coming form on a dashboard he had of hundreds of lights. He smiled in the dark, as the number below the flashing light was that of Laurence.

"A certain desperate bunny has finally come looking for her companion. And has predictably sought help from the least likely source. I should go pay them a visit, although… I think my security needs a good talking to first. I mean, if they can't stop one bunny then what am I paying them for?" X sighed and rolled his eyes as he spoke to no one, before crouching and picking up a voice com device and speaking into it. This device linked to all of his securities individual coms that they kept on themselves at all times. "Emergency meeting in ten minutes. Make sure everyone is there." His two toned voice sounded through in a demanding fashion. And with that X left his room, walking casually, as he went to go put the fear of mortality back into his security forces.

Judy moved at a jogging pace, pistol at the ready, held low by her hips as she checked each corridor they ran passed. Laurence limped behind, still suffering from his injuries but keeping up with the small bunny.

"Remember our deal Hopps!" The leopard grunted between course breathes as he fought fatigue to keep up with the bunny.

Judy's eyes darted around in the gloom of this poorly lit underground maze of tunnels as she gathered her bearings before picking a direction and continuing down a new corridor. "I know, we kill X!" She responded, shouting to no one but knowing that the leopard behind her would hear it. But she had no intention of killing X, Judy was determined that the wheels of justice would take him and she would personally see that X got help. She hated the hybrid monster with every fibre of her being, but he was still half Nick, which to her meant half a chance of saving him. Judy pulled herself from deep thought and added, "You'd just better be right about where you think Nick is."

"Trust me." Laurence started before panting and continuing, "I've been around here as both a captive and a business associate, I know where that monster would keep your fox."

Judy had seen many horrors since arriving at this place, she had been through the terrors of the holding cells, seen the transport room where hundreds of savage animals lay caged and ready to be shipped off around the world to 'various sick and twisted mammals with too much money' as Laurence stated as they passed through. But opening a door and coming out to what looked like a small and controlled reserve was the last straw for Judy. She knew she would find Nick here, because to X, this was a trophy room. And Nick was the monster's greatest prize. The area was about thirty square meters, and made to simulate that of a jungle, not too different from the one separating Laurence's old warehouse from Zootopia. Each corner of the room had a large spotlight, which Judy could only assume simulated day and night cycles, and around the three walls to her left, right and in front of Judy they were made of what seemed to be solid concrete up until about her height and then continued up with thick glass so someone, so X, could stare through at his handy work.

Laurence came in after Judy and noticed that the door had no handle once inside. "Hopps, I'll hold the door, you find Nick and we get out of here." He whispered to the bunny that was already three paces into the room. With how well lit this room was in comparison to the surroundings, he couldn't help but feel as though they were being watched in this room that was clearly built for observation. "And make it fast." He added. Before the bunny turned, gave him a serious look and nodded in understanding. Rustling through a bush as Judy pressed for the centre of this Jungle occupied room to begin her search. Judy spoke out to the universe.

"I'm coming for you Nick, and we leave here together."

The bunny stepped carefully over the raised root of a tree as she neared the centre of the miniature reserve. The shade provided from the plantation overhead made the spotlights come through as a mere gloom, barely enough to see where you were going.

"Right" stated Judy as she took a deep breath and closing her eyes, seeking her abilities to aid her in her search for Nick. And as she next opened her eyes, she could see almost as though there were a torch strapped to her head, illuminating the various shrubberies wherever she looked. She could feel the subtle vibrations of the area around her. Her nose flicked as she picked up a scent, Fox. Her ears stood on high and jolted in different directions like satellites and focused just to her right as she picked up the sound of what she could only assume was a chain being dragged across the floor.

As she turned and began to walk in the direction of the dragging sound, her senses began to morph into one, and it were as though she could see through the wall of plantation and pin-point exactly where the source of the sound was. But her head began to hurt and for the first time, Judy was forced to shake off her abilities. "Ow…" She exclaimed softly as she raised a hand to rub her temple. Not wanting to get distracted she pushed on and slowly emerged into a small clearing.

Slowly crawling back and forth, almost pacing; Judy saw Nick.

Nick turned his head at the sound of someone approaching. It took only a second's glance to recognise that it was Judy. 'Not here, not now, not like this!' his mind screamed the thought as he turned and began to run in the direction opposite to the bunny. Nick didn't get three meters ahead before his neck yanked back and he fell to the floor. He mentally cursed as he felt the tension in his neck; a steel collar, and attached to it was a long length of chain that Nick had conveniently gotten tangled a while back while trying to scope out his confines and hadn't bothered to go back and untangle it just yet. Although now he was wishing he had.

As he lay on his side, his arms propping him into a half seated position, Nick looked down and behind himself to see Judy approaching. He hung his head in shame.

"Oh Nick." He heard her exclaim, it came through as little more than a whisper. His ears fluttered at the sound of the beautiful bunny's voice; he thought he would never get to hear it again. It was therapeutic, but not enough to overcome his immense shame. How he must have looked right now to Judy he could think of nothing other than the word 'pathetic'. Naked, dirty, savage even, and with a collar and chain attached to his neck. He wanted to explain, he wanted to tell her so much, but the muzzle that was connected and linked to the collar and chain gave no room for speech. He deserved this, after all he had put her through, why wouldn't she just turn and leave, leave him to this fate he had set for himself.

She crouched next to him and he rolled onto his knees, his arms handing limply between his legs at some last attempt at modesty while his head hung low. 'Please, leave me.' The fox's mind screamed out, but all that came out was a whimper.

Judy looked over the fox before who couldn't even make eye contact. She reached out slowly to touch his face but he pulled away and let out another whimper.

She began to feel her eyes welling up. "Nick its… it's okay, I am not going to hurt you." Fighting to hold back the tears as she placed a hand under his chin and lifting his face, his eyes still looked away in shame. "I understand now, I know why you did it all. I know now, and I would have done the same thing in your position. You cared for me, cared for everyone close to you. You-

She was cut off as she saw his eyes start to water and the tears running down his face, pooling and falling over the straps of the muzzle.

Placing a hand on either side of Nicks face she begged in one final plea. "Nick, look at me, Please!"

His eyes darted ahead and met hers, and in them she saw years of pain and torment, regret and loss. His whole body shaking as he wanted so badly for this whole situation to end.

"I don't care what you did to get where you are." Judy whispered, tears streaming down her own grey furred cheeks, leaving dark, wet streaks where they flowed openly. "I love you." She kissed him lightly on the nose and threw her arms around him letting her emotions overcome her for a moment. Slowly she felt two shaky and drained arms find their place around her waist as he hugged her right back. She could feel his heart beating against her chest as his body jolted while he too sobbed openly.

Neither had felt as safe and secure as they did now in each other's arms, for days.

Judy backed out from their embrace and rubbed her hands reassuringly up and down Nick's arms as she looked deep into his eyes with a broad smile across her face. His eyes filled once more with hope and a desire to survive. "Come." She whispered, grasping his hands in her own, "Let's get you out of here." Nick started to shake his head furiously with wide eyes as Judy began to pull him up. A beep and the sound of static rang through the air as Nick half stood up before he fell to the floor again, the bunny was just quick enough to catch him from falling flat onto his face. "You can't stand, can you?" She asked as she felt the static transfer from Nick's fur to her own and realised that Nick's collar was designed to shock him every time he tried to stand or raise himself beyond a certain height. Once more the fox pulled away from her and looked away in shame, shaking his head low from a crouched position.

Judy felt another round of tears coming on at the thought of all that X had been putting her Nick through, to humiliate him in such a fashion. "Hey, hey. It's okay." She stated as cheerily as she could, forcing back the lump in her throat, leaning forward so that she was eye level with the fox. "Here, give me your hand." She asked. The fox looking up at her to see a way smile and a welcoming hand in his wait. The shaky left hand of Nick tightly grasped onto Judy's right hand, and she slowly started walking sideways so she could keep eye contact with Nick as he figured out crawling with 3 limbs at a decent pace while keeping a firm grip of Judy. "It's alright, I'm not going anywhere." She assured him with another warm smile. "Now, let's see about getting you untangled and that brilliant mouth of yours free. Judy waited for Nick to make the few steps so that he fell in line with her and so that they could walk side by side, Judy's left hand felt out the chain on the ground and lifted it so they could carefully work backward and hopefully find the start of the chain and see about freeing Nick.

It took some time, but after much circling and untangling around various bushes and trees: Judy and Nick had made their way back to the start of his length of chain. "Perfect!" exclaimed the bunny as she released the fox's hand to run forward and begin investigating where the chain had been bolted to the wall.

Nick looked on at her as she paced around the anchor to his first entrapment, mesmerised. He could not believe everything she had gone through to get him back, he kept telling himself that he did not deserve it; he did not deserve to be so loved, so cherished by someone so wonderful as Judy. Yet here she was, helping him, breaking him free from both his mental and physical prisons. 'And who knows?' Nick thought to himself. 'With a bit of luck, they might actually make it out of here-

Nick's thoughts were cut off as well as Judy's fiddling with the chain as both turned to see where the loud mechanical crack had come from as well as the sudden Dimness.

Across the observation room; Laurence looked up and cursed twice, once for his luck that was quickly turning bad again, and a second time for the bunny that was taking far too long and had now potentially cost them an easy escape and any chance at plotting a surprise attack on X. He crouched low, his one arm holding back the door he hid behind, guarding the bunny's exit as he kept a wary eye both in and out of the room.

Both Nick and Judy then caught eye of a silhouette behind the turned off spotlight at one of the corners of the room. Nick's heart sank into his stomach. This dream of a rescue was quickly turning into a nightmare. It took a mere chuckle from the silhouette for Judy to recognise the two toned monstrosity that stood above them in the rafters where the spotlights had been fixed to.

"Well I have to admit. You know how you can picture something happening in your head, and then obsess about it, playing it over and over. But then it actually happens and it doesn't live up to your expectations? This right here is the complete opposite!" X's voice rang through the air as the spotlights dimmed just enough so he could still make out his captives, and a new light from across the roof fell upon him and illuminated the hybrid above those he spoke to.

Judy's brow furrowed as she found herself carefully moving towards Nick and holding him firmly on both shoulders from behind. "For someone who care's only for necessities, your vanity seems to go unwanting!"

X's laughter roared as it spread across all corners of the miniature reserve. "You're not wrong, prey! But this, this was too good of an opportunity to miss. I am a savage, yes, but I know when occasions call for more, dare I say it, civil conduct."

Judy's voice screeched as she shouted back, "There is not a civil bone left in your body you monster! You-

"You're right!" X shouted back, cutting the bunny off as he began to pace in their direction along the rafter's line. "There isn't a civil bone left in this body." The Hybrid then hopped down deftly, landing with little more than a grunt; into a low crouch with a hand in front of him from the good 8 meter drop. Lifting his head to meet eyes with Judy and only glancing at Nick, the low lighting gave his defined and disfigured face a devilish definition. X stood at his full height, slightly hunched over as he glared madly at the bunny holding the fox. His head tilted back as he began to take a step towards the two of them. "All those civil bones were broken." Judy let go of Nick and unholstered her pistol, aiming it right at X's head as the bunny noticed a red glistening all over the hybrids face, a red substance, blood.

Taking another step and looking deeply into the bunny's eyes; X ran a finger over his blood soaked jawline that was causing the fur on his face to clump together. "They were broken again and again…" Raising the now blood covered finger to his mouth X gave it a single firm lick, refusing to break eye contact with Judy. "And again."

"Stay back!" Shouted Judy, tensing and releasing her arm muscles to keep a steady aim on the monster before her.

Nick reached behind his back with his arms so to grasp Judy's legs to reassure her of his presence. He knew that Judy was now in a deep mind game with X and with his inability to intervene it was up to his clever and brave little bunny to fight back.

"Terribly sorry." X's course voice came back in response as he took yet another step; now a mere four or five step away from the bunny and fox. "I must look an awful mess after having to 'discipline' my security for letting you slip by, Judy." Judy's ears flicked and she felt her fur stand on edge as this monster's doubled voice called out her name.

"I'll bet I look somewhat savage, wild even." X continued as he took another step forward, his arms going up and outward in a gesture of openness. His glare was hypnotic to the bunny, but she broke eye contact with him for a split second to notice the device he held in his hand. And X noticed the glance.

"I'll also bet that you looked something like this when my little tiger puppet attacked you with his forces the other night." He continued with a smirk as he took yet another step. He was now practically within a grasps reach of both the bunny and the fox.

Judy's eyes grew wide as she found X had triggered that dark pit he had placed inside her. She glared at the hybrid and had to shake her head clear and refocus her vision as she swore she could see not X, but herself walking toward her with the device at hand. She looked exactly as she had the other night at Mr Big's mansion once the attack had begun. Ripped clothes, a blood stain smeared across her face, and a metal ring pulling her ear down.

This dark version of herself then spoke out to Judy. "Put the gun down." Judy felt numb and paralysed as her eyes were locked with the monster that was herself. Her arms slowly lowered. She could faintly make out the sound of Nick growling, but that soon faded away, as did the environment around her until she stood in a black void with the version of herself she feared the most.

"Very good." Exclaimed the darker bunny as a smirk spread across its face, now standing close enough to grab the bunny. "This device I hold will set Nick free, and I will gladly do that, provided I get to keep you in his place." The dark version of herself placed a hand on her shoulder and stared deeply into her eyes. "Provided you accept what you have become."

X had Judy right where he wanted her. She was trapped good and proper in his mind games. Nick saw that this was not going well and tried lunging forward and ramming the hybrid that stood in front of them. But X deftly kicked Nick out of the way, hitting a nerve point in the fox's right shoulder that rendered him lying numb on the floor, all while never breaking eyesight with the bunny before him.

"What do you say?" The echoed and drowned out voice of herself called out to Judy as the dark version of the bunny held out the device for her to take.

"I'll say it one time." Judy responded cautiously to the illusion of herself, her voice cracking ad uncertain. Reaching out with a shaky hand and grasping the device. It took everything Judy had to break eyesight with her shadow-self and move in close for a whisper. "I'm not you."

A gun shot rang through the air.

Laurence could only hear distant murmuring through the plantation in the room once X had hopped down to confront Judy. But the gunshot rang clear and true. 'The question is…' the large leopard thought to himself, 'Who shot who.' The bushes before him suddenly began to rustle and Laurence raised his one arm as defensively as his tired body would let him as he stepped back so only his leg held the door open.

The war hardened Leopard almost let out a yelp before he realised it was Judy with Nick's semi-conscious body slung over her shoulders that burst through the bushes.

"Get out and close the door, now!" The bunny shouted out in a mix of rage and absolute horror.

A big thanks to all whom are still following this and any new readers I have picked up recently! The support and feedback is thoroughly appreciated.

This was originally going to be one giant final chapter, but as it neared nine thousand words I though it better to split it. Fear not for I am almost done with the second half and it should be up by monday at the latest.

Have a fantastic weekend. and I'll see you at the end of this wild tale.

Please and Love

Un4gottenSOUL