Bloody Rain in Zootopia
Darkness. Pure, pitch black darkness. That was all Matt can see right about now. He wasn't made aware of anything else around him. His body couldn't feel anything, his mind cannot process what had happened, and his heart cannot feel the environment around him. But there was one thing he can feel, however: pure, throbbing pain, directly inside of his head.
Painful groans began escaping the assassin's muzzle right as he leans his upper body forward, his eyelids slowly beginning to open. His vision was still blurry, and he couldn't decipher his surroundings whatsoever. It was a bright light at first, but his eyes soon readjust to the dimly lit room he was currently in. The blurriness that affected his vision soon began to clarify, and it wouldn't be long before the fox was able to discern his surroundings, thus noticing the laminated wood flooring, white painted walls, and an antique floor lamp dimly lighting the room. He wasn't sure where he was exactly, but he was sure as hell wasn't inside his safe house.
"Where… where am I?" Matt uttered softly, looking around the twenty foot long by fifteen foot wide room he was in. His head began throbbing harder in pain and attempts to move his right hand-paw towards it. But, there was one small problem. "What… why the hell are my hand-paws cuffed behind me?" he asked himself, moving his hand-paws up along his back carefully and looks back, grunts escaping his muzzle as he began trying to break free from his binds, but to no avail. "Shit!" the fox swore under his breath and relaxes his arms, his hand-paws trailing back down near the bottom part of his back.
With a heavy sigh escaping his muzzle, he leans his head forward and shuts his eyes. His hand-paws were practically cuffed with some sort of strong, metallic binds, the shackles being about half the length of his forearms. He was practically stuck in here with no way out thanks to the cuffs keeping his bound behind him. His eyes open and gaze towards the door fifteen feet to the right, examining it closely and seeing a silver, metallic barricade blocking the other side securely through the door's window. And after seeing that, he knew for sure he was stuck here. He had to get out! There had to be a way! But how could he if his hand-paws were cuffed by thick shackles. Unless…
Eureka! All he needs to do is focus his mind on the shackles and use the strength of his arms to break them. How did he not think of that until now? But no matter, because the vulpine shuts his eyes and began pulling his forearms away from one another as an attempt to strain the metallic binds that were binding his arms. Growls began escaping his muzzle, and with those growls, he began seething his teeth. Under the sleeves of his hoodie, his arm muscles bulged quite a bit from the amount of strength he was exerting from his arms, with veins bulging on his arms because of it. He had to get out of here, for his aunt, for the clan leader, for the other surviving members of his family.
For Jenny….
And the very instant her name came into mind, the fox growls almost loudly and continues to apply more force into his pulling. The rod binding the two shackles together began to bend, and the shackles on the lower portions of his forearms began to crack. And before he knew it, a loud 'clank' following a series of 'clanking' noises were heard the instant the shackles shattered and the small pieces of metal hit one another. Heavy breathing was followed shortly after managing to break the damn shackles off of his forearms, much to the fox's relief. Now he can get the hell out of here like he wanted to. He stands up and reaches for his katana… only to discover they weren't on his belt like they normally were.
"The fuck? Where the hell's my katana and wakizashi?" Matt thought with a pair of legitimately shocked eyes. "I could've sworn they were-" and that's when he suddenly remembered what had happened. "Right… I got ambushed last night. They must've taken my weapons while I was out. But if that's the case, then I'm practically unarmed. Unless…" he continued thinking, suddenly reaching into the inner pockets of his hoodie before feeling something solid inside. He exhales in relief and pulls out the suspected object, which was the dagger that belonged to Jenny. A soft smirk began forming on his face as a response to seeing the weapon, unsheathing the forearm length blade halfway before sheathing the weapon back inside. "Jenny, I am so fucking glad you loaned this to me", the fox continued thinking, placing the sheathed weapon back inside of his inner hoodie pocket. "Speaking of which, I need to check in with her and let her know I'm alright", he added right as he grabs a hold of his phone and presses on the button just under his touchscreen. Unfortunately, his phone wouldn't turn on at all, which meant one thing. "Shit… phone's dead", he scowled with an annoyed expression, placing his phone into his phone case securely and began looking around for a way to escape this holding cell.
He knew for a fact using the door was out of the question, since the damn thing was practically barricaded by what seems to be a thick metal door on the other side. So instead of using the door, the fox began walking around the twenty by fifteen foot room and examines the environment, moving a couple of objects around hoping to find a secret passage somewhere in the room. Unfortunately, luck wasn't at his side. With a heavy sigh, he places his hand-paws onto his obliques and looks up at the ceiling… and that's when his eyes widen slightly with surprise.
The fox had managed to spot a latch to the ventilation passage at the top of the back wall, which the latch appeared to be about two and a half feet long by three and a half feet wide. Noting that it was big enough for him to slide right through, a smirk began forming on his face at his success. Unfortunately, because the ceiling was roughly thirty feet high, he wouldn't be able to reach it without the use of some of the household items in the room. By far, what he can see was only the bed along with a long floor lamp and a two and a half foot tall by four foot wide dresser pressing against the wall where the vent was located. He looks at the bed, then back to the dresser, then back again. Then alas, an idea comes into mind.
He quickly rushes towards the bed and hastily removes the mattress off of the metallic bed frame, leaning it against the wall next to the barricaded door. Almost immediately after placing the mattress against the wall, the fox rushes towards the dresser and picks up the left side of it first. The fox moves the left side a few feet towards the front before moving to the opposite side and doing the same with that one. With the dresser moved away from the wall, the fox rushes towards the metallic bed frame and securely grips the middle portion of it, lifting the decently heavy frame with his muscular arms and moves it towards the back wall as quick and efficient as he could. Placing the frame onto the four legs as he did, the vulpine male leans the bed frame forward to where the front was sitting on the ground and the top part of the back frame was pressing against the wall. The fox uses this opportunity to push the dresser against the frame to keep it in place. And alas, the assassin manages to improvise a way to get to the vents and escape this prison.
The vulpine walks towards the dresser and climbs on top of it, immediately grabbing onto the bars of the bed frame once he got to the surface top of the dresser. Climbing along the bars as he did, albeit carefully, he makes it to the top and takes a seat on the bar. He was about to open the vents, but runs into another obstacle the instant he got up to the top: the four screws concealing the cents. Now what was he gonna do? The fox swore under his breath right before an idea pops into his mind, one that can solve the problem quickly if done right.
With the idea set in his mind, the fox grabs a hold of Jenny's dagger and pulls the blade out of its sheath. He takes a moment to examine the blade at the sharp end of it closely in preparation to using it as an improvised screwdriver. With an approving nod, the fox presses the pointy end of the dagger and began twisting it counter-clockwise on the top left screw, getting the small screw out within a few seconds before moving to the top right. The top right gets removed within the same allotted time, then the bottom right, and alas the bottom left. With all four screws removed, the cover concealing the entrance to the vent crashes onto the floor with a loud 'CLANK', thus allowing the fox to quickly sheath the dagger, conceal it inside of his hoodie, and enter the ventilation shaft.
As the vulpine was making his escape from the prisoner's cell, a pair of polar bears were walking along the hallway towards one of the rooms in the mansion, coincidentally the same one Matt previously occupied. Both of them were burly in built and tall in height. The one on the left was dressed in a navy blue mafia-esque suit, a black sweater being seen underneath the suit's jacket. A golden chain was also worn around the neck along with a similarly colored ring, a red gem being embedded into the ring. The one on the right looked and dressed exactly like the other, with a few minor distinctions. For instance, his sweater was a crimson red color instead of black like his friend's, along with not bearing a single bit of jewelry on his body. His eyes were of a light green color, which shined brighter than his comrade's blue pair.
Both of them arrive to the metallic barricade barricading the door leading into Matt's prison, the blue eyed polar bear reaching for the digital door lock and punching in the code with his right index finger. With a press of the enter button, the sliding metal barricade starts rising upward at a slightly slow pace, loud humming coming from the metallic shield rising into the slot on the ceiling. With the barricade now concealed inside the opening on the ceiling, the other polar bear grabs a key to the wooden door and places it inside of the slot.
"Alright, fox!" the blue eyed polar bear exclaimed as an attempt to grab the fox's attention, unaware that he had managed to escape only moments ago. With the key twisting ninety degrees to the left, the polar bear unlocks the door and pulls the key out, twisting the doorknob in the same direction as he did with the key and gently pressing the door forward. "Mr. Big is ready to-" the bear began, only for his eyes to widen with shock upon seeing the fox no longer inside. He turns to the right and lets out a loud gasp, following a guttural snarl. "Shit! Where did he go?!" he growled furiously before looking up to the right of the room and noticing the now opened entrance to the ventilation shaft. This infuriated both of the mafia dressed polar bears before the light green colored one turns towards the blue eyed one.
"Kozlov! Go get the boss. I'll go scout the mansion for the fox!" the light green eyed polar bear exclaimed, the blue eyed one, identified as Kozlov, nods as a response to the given command.
"I understand", Kozlov replied quickly and began rushing out of the room, but stops after taking a couple steps out of the room, he turns back to face his partner. "Be careful if you run into prisoner, Roman. We don't know what this fox is capable of", the polar bear warned before the light green eyed one, identified as Roman, scoffs with a smirk on his face.
"You needn't worry, Kozlov. I can handle that vermin easily", Roman replied, retaining his smirk before closing his eyes. "But thanks for your concern, comrade. Now start searching for that fox", and with those words, the bear quickly departs from the room and rushes towards the direction they came from, with Kozlov turning to the opposite direction to get his boss.
With the two polar bears grabbing their boss and beginning to scout the mansion, the fox continues to crawl quietly along the ventilation shaft. He occasionally looks left and right whenever he got close to one of the sealed ventilation covers, using the linear holes to look through each room or hallway he happened to pass by. None of the rooms nor any of the hallways (obviously) were of no interest whatsoever. But after crawling for nearly twenty minutes, one room he crosses happens to catch his interest..
The room he manages to stumble upon was located directly below him, filled with darkness with the exception of the moonlight coming from outside. Although dark, he was able to decipher some of the features from within the room itself, thanks to bearing nocturnal vision. For instance, white snow was seen running along the walls and corners of the office and windows, along with several icicles hanging from the bottom of the shelves. The floor itself was made of stone, with two rugs, one about the same width and height as the surface of the wooden desk, and the other being large enough to take up almost half of the floor. His eyes manage to catch a couple linear, slightly curved objects leaning against the wall adjacent to the wall behind the wooden desk. And alas, the two items were his long samurai katana and short wakizashi.
With his weapons found, the fox moves forward a bit and stomps the ventilation cover using his right foot-paw, knocking it to the ground with a loud 'PING'. The fox places his legs through the open hole and drops onto the floor, landing on his feet-paws with a muffed 'thud' before approaching his two weapons. He grabs the wakizashi first and unsheathes the weapon, examining it for a moment before sheathing the weapon and attaching it on the left side. He grabs the sheathed katana and pulls the weapon out of it, examining the blade like he did with the previous weapon before concealing the blade, placing the sword on the same side of the body at an angle about twenty degrees lower than his wakizashi. Now that he got his weapons back, the fox turns to his right and notices the exit, walking towards the wooden door in a calm fashion. But a couple of soft, barely audible 'clapping' noises, along with the office lights and lamps turning on right after the second clap, stops the fox right on his tracks.
"Well, well, well. Now there's a face I didn't expect to see so soon. Nicky, what a pleasant surprise", a soft, medium-high pitched male voice said from behind, the fox turning his head slightly to the left enough to where he can see who it was that spoke, but not enough for the other mammal to see his face.
Apparently, the one who called him 'Nicky' was none other than an elderly arctic shrew, whom had been sitting on a golden leather and wooden chair that can be easily carried by a polar bear's hand-paw. The calmly menacing shrew bore gray fur throughout much of his body, the exceptions being that his nose, feet-paws and hand-paws bore a pink color to them. His hair was a luxurious black color, much like the heavy black eyebrows covering blue eyes. His attire consisted of a black suit with a red boutonniere and black bow tie, white spats, along with an emerald ring wrapped around his right pinky. And behind him was none other than Kozlov, the one who had picked up his boss and brought him in here roughly several minutes prior to Matt's arrival, and Roman. And based on how the shrew was dressed, the fox was assuming he was the one calling the shots, the one both Roman and Kozlov called Mr. Big.
"Out of all the mammals who come to this part of Tundratown unannounced, it had to be you, Nicky. What were you thinking carrying two swords in your possession? Have you come back with the intention to murder me?" the shrew, presumably Mr. Big, began with an unusually calm, almost hurtful tone of voice. Why he was bearing such a tone, the fox didn't know. "I trusted you, Nicky, we broke bread together", the shrew continued, turning his chair to his left slightly and gesturing his left arm in the same direction, the fox's gaze shifting towards the direction he was pointing at.
Much to Matt's surprise, what the male shrew was pointing at was a photo of whom seems to be the shrew's grandmother, which was placed between two red candles that were currently being lit by one of the three polar bears who just entered the room. The elderly female shrew bore a face much more aged than Mr. Big himself, with white and gray hair being brushed and tied back except for her parted bangs. A saddened look filled her expression, her eyes closed and her brows pointing upward. Her clothes consisted of what appears to be an elegantly knitted red sweater of sort along with a white dress shirt underneath. Three fresh roses were placed in front of the photo, the stems being attached on the left side of the ovular stainless steel frame.
"Grandmama made you a cannoli once, and how do you repay my generosity?" Mr. Big asked. "With a rug… made from the butt of a skunk, a skunk butt rug", the instant he said that, Matt silently gagged even though he didn't show it. He did, however, turn his head away from the shrew slightly and shook his head a couple times with a disgusted tone.
"Oh Jesus Christ, Nick. Why the fuck did you have to do that…?" Matt thought within his mind before slightly turning his head to the left, his eyes gazing directly at the photo of Mr. Big's Grandmama for the second time.
"You disrespected me, Nicky. You disrespected my Grandmama, who I buried in that skunk butt rug yesterday morning", Mr. Big spoke while gesturing his left hand-paw towards the picture briefly. Kozlov's eyes look up before closing, his right hand-paw moving to the top of his head, then to the bottom of his chest, to the left collar bone, and finally the right, before placing his hand-paws behind his back. "I told you to never show your face around here again, and here you are snooping around in… uh…" the shrew paused upon examining the fox's clothing, with the exception of the katana and wakizashi he had just gotten back.
The first thing the shrew noticed about the fox was that his torso was covered with a black hoodie along with a dark gray tight fitting shirt underneath the jacket. His eyes peer down towards a pair of midnight black pair of cargo pants covering his legs, with a white fox skull with angel wings sewn on the front part of his right thigh. They trail down towards his black open toe boots, which the leg openings of his pants were tucked into. His eyes trail back upwards towards his forearms, noticing a pair of black samurai bracers covering them and the back of his forearms, with black leather gloves covering his hand-paws to their entirety. They continue to trail upward and notices a black cloth muzzle mask covering his muzzle to its entirety, with faint traces of blood being seen on the left side of it.
"Uh… what are you trying to dress up as? A hoodlum in a wannabe gang, a modern samurai, or…?" Mr. Big asked with a mixture of annoyance, yet mostly of genuine curiosity. The fox merely remains silent, but his jade green eyes gaze directly at the male shrew with a stern, monotone expression and furrowed eyes. Genuine curiosity soon turns into pure annoyance when the silence grew thicker with each passing second. "Seriously, What's with the get up, Nicky?!" the shrew asked a second time, almost with a demanding tone of voice. Matt lowers his head slightly and closes his eyes, a couple soft chuckles escaping the fox's muzzle almost ominously. Oh, how the shrew was in for a surprise.
"You've mistaken my both my identity and my intentions, buddy", Matt replied with a calmly sinister voice, now turning around to face the shrew all while he pulls off his hoodie and removes his cloth muzzle mask. And alas, the face of Matt Wilde was revealed to the shrew and his two guards. His long hair flows freely before the three, with much of it being tied back except for his long bangs and part of the sides of his hair. His cold, jade green eyes gaze directly at them with furrowed brows, and the diagonal slash shaped scar was in the open. The instant they laid eyes of the fox, Roman and Kozlov's began bearing shocked ones, where Mr. Big's on the other hand, remains the same. "And last I checked, I'm not responsible for my damn brother's actions", he added coldly, narrowing his eyes only slightly and noticing the shrew's left brow cocking upward.
"Your brother?" Mr. Big asked with calm, genuine surprise, his brows furrowing and his eyes narrowing just the same. "I never knew Nicky even had any brothers. But then again, with all the lies he's given me, I doubt he would".
"A skilled liar or he just happens to have a way with words", Matt replied with the same tone of voice, the shrew cocking another brief brow at the vulpine before furrowing it again. "Though I have to admit I'm genuinely surprised about what he did to ya. But then again, I am also surprised to learn one of Zootopia's biggest crime bosses easily fell for one of my brother's scams", the fox added prior to forming a soft smirk on his face. "I kinda find it amusing the more I think about it", he finished. Mr. Big was about to speak, but Kozlov immediately takes a couple steps forward and snarls aggressively at the fox.
"Do not speak to Mr. Big in such manner, VERMIN!" Kozlov growled aggressively before attempting to march towards the fox, only for Roman to grab a hold of him securely and prevent him from trying to pick an unnecessary fight. His breathing was heavy at first, but after a couple moments, the bear closes his eyes and began breathing at a much slower pace. With the polar bear now calmed down, he moves back to his spot and places his hand-paws behind his back.
"It honestly doesn't matter how many siblings Nicky has, because once we're through with you, your body will serve as a warning for Nick to keep himself clear of Tundratown", he added with a slight chuckle, the office door opening all of the sudden and watching seven polar bears march into his office. Matt turns his attention towards the group following a slight smirk forming onto his muzzle. "Any last words, Mr. Wilde?" the shrew asked, and right as he did, the fox slowly turns his head towards the crime boss with aggressive, narrow eyes.
"You're more than welcome to try, pal", Matt began, grabbing the handle of his katana and pulling the sword out of its sheath. No sooner did he draw his sword did he lose the smirk that once occupied his face, which was immediately replaced with a frown. "But know that once your minions try, they're all going to die", the fox warned, his attention turning towards the other polar bears who had entered the office merely moments. "As for those about to fight me, you have one chance to back down! Otherwise if you don't, you're all dead!" he growled at the bears, who appear to be unfazed by his own threats. Then again, how could they be if his threats were coming from someone literally less than half their size. But one thing was for certain: they were about to be in for one deadly surprise.
"Oh, Mr. Wilde, you really think you can kill my fellow minions with that sword? How pitiful", Mr. Big merely chuckled with a sinister grin forming on his face. But the smirk didn't stay for long, for within the next five seconds, he loses the smirk and frowns directly towards the fox. "ICE HIM!"
And with that order, the seven polar bears that entered immediately rush towards the vulpine with their claws raised. But when they drew close, the fox suddenly 'vanishes' from plain sight and stops the group dead on their tracks, surprising the hell out of both Mr. Big and Kozlov. Roman, on the other hand, although just as horrified at the sight, remained rather calm, or at least as calm as he could given the bloody circumstances.
"What the hell?! Where did that fox-" one of the polar bears tried to ask, but a long, sharp blade piercing right through the back of his skull and out his forehead silenced him for good. Blood starts gushing onto the floor from both the entrance and exits of the fatal wound, along with some of it dripping down the back of his skull and onto his face. Matt pulls the blade upward and jumps off of the polar bear's back, blood now splattering upward from the wound before the corpse collapses onto the floor.
With the bloody contents spraying out of the body's head and onto the floor, the other group members turn towards the fox with a horrified look on their face. Regardless of how horrified they were, they lose those expressions and quickly frown aggressively towards the fox. They all had one thought in common: that fox was gonna pay for what he did to their beloved comrade. The remaining six of the seven polar bears immediately began rushing directly at the fox, the fox's eyes narrowing slightly and smirking only the slightest. Now it was time to get back to business.
Matt quickly 'teleports' towards the left most polar bear and began slashing his body rapidly, literally hacking his opponent with several horizontal and diagonal slash attacks. As the severed body parts of the fallen minion drops to the ground, another polar bear attempts to claw the assassin, only for the fox to dodge the attack swiftly. The fox quickly severs his attacker in two by slicing his body in two, the blade piercing the left hip right though his right lung. With the blood of his next victim splattering on the floor and parts of the office walls, Matt's eyes fix themselves towards the remaining five and dashes towards them swiftly. He soon starts hacking the others one by one with a series of horizontal and diagonal sweeps, severed body limbs flying across the office like food being hurled in a school cafeteria during a food fight. And before anyone knew it, Matt kills the final polar bear by slicing him in half from the bottom of his crotch, up through the torso, and right through his skull.
With the blood of the final polar bear of the group spilling onto the floor, and on Matt as well, the group has officially been terminated. The eyes of Mr. Big, Roman and Kozlov stare directly at the bloodied stained fox with pure, terrifying horror. Never before had they seen someone kill anyone in a manner like this, not even of this caliber. Hell, Mr. Big himself was literally shaking with widened eyes, with soft, squeaky breaths filled with trepidation. Its honestly ironic. The most feared crime boss in all of Zootopia, whom Nicholas Wilde was frightened of, was now afraid, no, terrified of Nick's younger brother. Now that Matt was mentioned, the fox flicks his sword diagonally to his right, coincidentally getting a few droplets of blood onto the photo of Mr. Big's Grandmama.
"Who… who and what the hell are you?!" Mr. Big asked with a horrified tone of voice, pulling himself back against his own chair close to where he could potentially knock himself backwards. As he was trembling with fear, the fox had grabbed a rag from his pocket and uses it to clean the blood off of his sword with one swipe.
"For what I am, I think its rather obvious, buddy", Matt replied monotonically, bearing a calm frown on his face before sheathing his katana back into its sheath. "As for who I am", the fox continued, pausing only for a moment and turning his attention directly towards the trembling crime boss. "Lets just say I happen to be known as one of the deadliest assassins in all of Kawasabus", and with his identity revealed to the crime boss and his two surviving minions, he turns around and began walking towards the office door.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" Kozlov shouted angrily despite the horrified tone he bore in his voice. Matt merely stops on his tracks and turns his head towards the trembling polar bear.
"Out of this place, that's what", Matt answered with the same tone he bore only moments ago. He began walking towards the door again, only for Roman to quickly sprint towards the door and suddenly blocks the door from the vulpine.
"Do you think we're gonna let you go after what you did?! I don't think so!" Kozlov growled swiftly and pulls his right hand-paw, his claws unsheathed and preparing to kill the assassin with his own hand-paws. Matt merely narrows his eyes at him and moves his left foot-paw back a step, his upper body leaning forward and his right hand-paw clutching onto the hilt of his katana, thus getting into battojutsu stance. The shrew cocks a slight brow upon seeing the stance, but despite his lack of knowledge of it, he knew something had to be done before the entire scenery got bloodier than it already was.
"Enough!" Mr. Big suddenly shouted the exact moment his clenched fists smash against the armrests of his chair, Kozlov's attention quickly snapping towards the crime boss and Matt relieving himself from his battojutsu stance. "Kozlov! We all know none of us stand a chance against him. You'll be slain by his sword right before you try to attack", the shrew claimed.
"But sir, I-"
"Listen to Mr. Big, Kozlov!" Roman interrupted. "The last thing we need is another one of our own killed by Battousai the Animal Slayer's blade", the polar bear added, with Kozlov's angered expression now turning into a genuinely curious one. As for the fox, a light chuckle escapes his muzzle before turning his head towards Roman.
"Looks like someone's been doing their homework", Matt replied with a hardly noticeable smirk on his muzzle, with the eyes of Roman narrowing directly towards the fox.
"Let's just say me and a few others have been keeping tabs on you for sometime now, Battousai", Roman replied lowly, his eyes shifting back towards Kozlov. "Kozlov, you do not wanna fight this fox. He's already killed over three hundred fifty mammals in Kawasabus as it is", as soon as he said this, his words immediately the attention of both Mr. Big and Kozlov simultaneously. How had he been keeping tabs on him? How did he know this mammal's alias in the first place, let alone the number of mammal's he's killed? Although many questions began forming in Mr. Big and Kozlov's minds, the crime boss knew this needed to be resolved before things got even bloodier than they already were. His attention shifts directly at the fox standing near the door, unaware that Roman began walking away from the scene.
"Mr. Wilde, what were your intentions?" Mr. Big asked with an attempt to keep his voice as calm as possible, and although he succeeded, there were hints of fright inside of his voice. The fox couldn't blame him for being so frightened, having already killed seven of his minions. With a soft shrug, the fox turns to face the shrew and remains where he is.
"I only intended on grabbing my weapons and nothing more", Matt answered calmly, his hand-paws moving into his hoodie pockets as he spoke and closed his eyes. "If you hadn't ordered your mammals to ice me, none of this needless bloodshed would've happened", the fox claimed before his eyes reopen with a fierce glare. "But let me tell you something, Mr. Big. Don't try sending any of your mammals after my brother. Because if you do, I will know, and I will not hesitate killing you with my sword… Capiche?" he warned almost threateningly, a shiver being sent down the crime boss' spine from the sincerity of his words, especially with those piercing jade green eyes. He was speechless for roughly twenty seconds, but the silence was soon broken with a soft exhale coming from the shrew's mouth.
"You needn't worry about that, Mr. Wilde. I have no intention on sending any of my minions after Nicky", Mr. Big reassured before forming a sinister grin on his face. "But know this: if Nicky ever steps foot inside of my home again, or in this part of Tundratown for that matter, I will not hesitate killing Nicky, and there will be nothing you can do to stop me", the shrew warned back at the vulpine, the two mammals retaining their glare for at least ten seconds before Matt closes his eyes.
"So let me get this straight. So long Nick stays away from your home and this part of town, he's safe. But if he happens to be snooping around your home or within the area, you and your minions kill him?" Matt asked monotonically.
"Precisely", Mr. Big answered with a sinister grin on his muzzle, bearing his sharp teeth as he answered. A soft smirk forms and a light chuckle escapes the fox's muzzle shortly after the shrew replied.
"Fair enough", Matt replied almost darkly before reopening his eyes narrowly, his menacing green eyes looking directly at the shrew. "Besides, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not responsible for my brother's actions. So if he comes back here on his own, that's his problem, not mine", he added, watching the crime boss' facial gestures slowly turning from sinister to one full of unexpected shock. The shrew did not expect a cold reply from Nick's sibling. But regardless of the cold response, the fox turns towards the door and walks towards it, his right hand-paw grabbing a gentle hold of the knob. "I'll be on my way now. Sorry to waste your time", and with that monotonic response, the fox twists the knob to the left and pushes the door forward, exiting the office and closing the door behind him.
"What the hell is he… what the hell just happened?" Kozlov asked with a genuinely shocked look on his face, bewildered about the conversation that had just occurred. He couldn't even register anything properly anymore since the slayings caused by Matt himself.
"I don't know… but don't mess with that fox", Mr. Big warned. "The last thing I need is for all of my minions and family to end up in coffins", the shrew added before turning towards Roman. "Which reminds me, Roman. I need you to go get Kevin and Ray for me. I need them to clean up this bloody mess", the shrew continued, closing his eyes and moving his right hand-paw from the top of his forehead, to the bottom of his chest, to the upper part of his left collarbone, and alas, the upper portion of his right collarbone. "Kozlov, take me to my room. I need some time to grieve for our fallen members", and with that order given, Kozlov gently grabs a hold of the small chair with his right hand-paw and carefully carries the shrew to his room, with Roman leaving the office and going to fetch Ray and Kevin as instructed.
Roman exits the mansion and enters the back yard parking lot, walking towards one of the polar bear sized black 2009 Sedan model cars and opening the driver's side door. He takes a seat and pulls down the driver's side sun visor, the keys to the car sliding out onto his right hand-paw and placing the car key into the ignition. Turning it forward as he did, a loud growl escapes the engine and turns every machinery inside the car on. The polar bear was about to push the lever to drive, but instead moves his hand-paw inside of his black slacks pocket, pulling out his phone and unlocking it with a single slide of his thumb. He looks over his contacts and presses the icon for the designated contact prior to hitting the dial button on the touch screen. The bear places his smartphone onto the right side of his face and listens to the dial tone, a soft smirk forming on his face right as the recipient on the other line picks up.
"The Battousai's just left Mr. Big's estate. Send someone after him and strike him down when the opportunity knocks", after Roman said those words, an audible grunt was heard on the other line before hanging up, placing his phone into the same pocket he pulled it out from and drives out of the lot, the polar bear continuing about his business as if the call never happened.
Savanna Central/Downtown area, several hours later
The streets of Savanna Central District, Zootopia, were packed with business savvy mammals, many of whom were dressed common business suits. Traffic was heavy like usual throughout the morning along with downtown being clustered with mammals walking the streets and sidewalks. Whether they were heading to work, going out for a jog, or just going out for the hell of it, it was their business and theirs alone. Either way, regardless of what their business may be, it all came down to mammals just living out their lives as peacefully as possible.
But within a Japanese restaurant within the area, a lone fox sits silently in the back of the restaurant eating his meal silently. The fox, Matt Wilde, had been in the Savanna Central/Downtown area for roughly thirty minutes now, having arrived nearly half an hour ago through the Tundratown/Downtown line. Ever since he had fled Mr. Big's estate in Tundratown last night, the fox returned to his safe house and took a much needed shower, along with placing his bloodied clothes in the washer to remove all traces of blood from them. After placing them in the dryer when they finished washing, the fox had placed his phone on the charger and immediately lays down on the couch to get some much needed rest. After catching enough sleep, the fox changes into a clean pair of clothes and headed for Savanna Central.
The fox's attire now consisted of a black hoodie with a tight fitting athletic T-shirt of the same color, with his cloth muzzle mask being removed in order for him to eat. His hood covered his head to avoid any possibility of any potential Zootopia residents from recognizing him and compromising his identity. He continues to wear the same pair of leather gloves along with the samurai bracers he owns. His cargo pants were a dark green color, and as always, the leg openings were tucked into his black open toe combat boots.
Now that the fox was currently, silently finishing his meal (consisting of freshly cooked udon noodles, grilled chicken teriyaki, and freshly steamed vegetables), his ringtone began going off and causing the vulpine to place his chop sticks down and grab his phone from its phone case. His eyes fix themselves towards the caller ID and notice it was Thrandeer calling him. Which reminds him…
"Shit… I was so tired last night, I forgot to call him back", Matt thought within his mind before pressing the answer button on the touch screen, placing his phone on the right side of the head near his ear. "Hey, chief. Sorry about last night. I had to deal with some unexpected business last night, and my phone died when I tried to call ya", the fox said to the clan chief with a calm voice, which was loud enough for the clan leader to hear and not enough for anyone else to hear the fox.
"That honestly doesn't surprise me, Matt", Thrandeer replied over the phone. "I immediately figured that was the case when you didn't call me back. So who was responsible for the said business?" he asked.
"Apparently, it was a couple of Mr. Big's goons that infiltrated the safe house thinking it was my brother, Nick", Matt answered calmly. "I ended up waking up inside one of Mr. Big's rooms later that night without my weapons. Fortunately, however, I was able to get them back without receiving any injury", the fox added.
"Ah, yes. I've heard about Mr. Big through the Ishin-Mirkwood clan's databases on Zootopia. He's one Zootopia's biggest crime bosses in Tundratown", Thrandeer recalled, having looked him up while searching for safe houses for Matt prior to sending him to Zootopia. "Did you kill anybody after you retrieved them?" Thrandeer asked on the other line.
"Seven, unfortunately, not to mention the entire situation was completely avoidable if Mr. Big hadn't ordered his polar bears to ice me", Matt explained prior to hearing a soft shrug escaping Thrandeer's mouth on the other side of the line.
"Perhaps…" Thrandeer replied. "However, there are other, more important matters we need to discuss".
"What do you mean?" Matt asked with genuine curiosity. "Did something happen while I was here?"
"Yes…" Thrandeer began, a soft sigh escaping his muzzle on the other side of the line. "I received word about Katagai's death not too long ago", as soon as the deer said that over the phone, Matt's eyes widen with unexpected shock. Yeah, he wasn't particularly fond of Katagai, but he knew he was one of the few Ishin-Mirkwood loyalists amongst the clan, and he admittedly knew he would die sometime soon. But he didn't expect him to actually die this soon.
"When the hell did this happen?" Matt asked before turning his head to the left and noticing a female waitress, particularly a female honey badger in her mid to late twenties, approaches the table and places his bill on the table before leaving.
"According to our sources, Katagai was killed sometime around the same morning when you left. He was keeping a watchful eye on one of the possible spies at the time of his death, whose name I won't disclose until I've gathered enough evidence", Thrandeer explained over the phone.
"It seems you can't really trust anybody nowadays", Matt replied while taking a look at the bill, which his brunch ended up costing nearly fifteen bucks.
"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case…" Thrandeer replied in agreement on the other end of the line. "However, roughly half an hour ago, we've received rumors about a possible group of Neo-Shogunate ninjas having been sent to kill you in Zootopia. Its possible they may be Orimakishu Ninjas, but we are still unsure of who they are as of right now. But nevertheless, be wary of their presence, Matt", the deer warned while Matt had grabs a twenty from his wallet and places it on the small, black tray containing the bill.
"I understand", Matt replied calmly while placing the black tray back onto the table and waiting for the waitress to return. He places the black cloth muzzle mask back onto his face along with placing his wallet back into his back pocket as he waited.
"Alright. I would advise you to go back to the safe house as soon as possible. As soon as you return and have everything packed, stay there and hang tight until I call you", Thrandeer ordered on the other end of the line. "I will send a chopper for your before nightfall this evening".
"Understood", and with Matt's response, the fox hangs up right as the honey badger returns to his table to grab the check along with the money attached to it. The badger was about to give him his change, but the fox raises his right hand-paw up in refusal. "Keep the change", the fox said to the badger right before he walks across the restaurant to the exit at the front.
Right as he got to the front door, the fox discovers the skies darkening slightly along with mild rain beginning to pour down upon the district. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to make such precautionary measures beforehand. The fox places his right hand-paw inside his hoodie and grabs a medium-small sized umbrella from the jacket's inner left pocket, removing the cover from it and pressing the button on the handle. With the umbrella unlocked from its locking mechanism, the fox hovers the umbrella over his head and walks out of the restaurant, entering an alleyway with the intention to head back to his safe house.
But completely oblivious to the fox, a pair of crystal blue lupine eyes had been watching over him from a fifteen story building right across the street from the Japanese restaurant Matt had just ate at. The one watching him was a Eurasian wolf bearing mainly gray and white fur on his body, with some brown being seen on the top of his muzzle and parts of his face. The lupine was dressed in what appears to be a modern take on a ninja outfit, the top consisting a long sleeve tight fitting black shirt with a sleeveless dark gray kimono shirt worn on top of it. The brown colored cloth muzzle mask he wore covered his muzzle through its entirety, the material being light enough to breathe without any trouble. His cargo harem pants matched the same color as his sleeveless kimono shirt, the leg openings tucked in a pair of black open toe combat boots. A pair of brown samurai bracers cover his forearms entirely along with the back of his hand-paws. Lastly, a pair of chained katanas were attached behind his back, the two sheathed blades being a good twenty nine inches in length each.
As his eyes watch the fox enter a dark alleyway across the street, the wolf's eyes shift towards a building right next to the restaurant his ate at earlier. His eyes gaze around the area for any potential ways of transporting himself from the building rooftop he stood on. It took him a good ten seconds, but soon spotted the signal lights nearby and began dashing towards them, running across them as fast as he could hoping to not be spotted by anybody. The wolf reaches the other building and hides behind a large, rectangular ventilation unit for at least a minute before continuing to follow the fox swiftly.
The rain continues to gradually get heavier with each passing second, but that didn't stop Matt from continuing to walk towards the train station to get to Tundratown. Much like the fox, that also didn't stop the wolf from chasing after his intended target. Swiftly, but quietly, the wolf continues to follow the fox by remaining on the roof. He stops for a moment to look down at the figure holding the umbrella. His eyes notice a busy fox tail swaying left and right gently as he walked along the dark alley. That's when the wolf knew without a doubt he found his intended target. Now it was time to act!
Approaching a fire escape in front of him, which was in the alley perpendicular to the one Matt was walking through, the ninja quickly darts towards it and began climbing down quickly. He grabs the two Japanese swords by the hefts and unsheathes them swiftly, holding both chained weapons while unwrapping the chains binding them. The lupine's feet-paws touch the ground within a matter of seconds and hides behind one of the walls, his head turned to the right slightly as if he were looking directly in Matt's direction, his hand-paws clutching the hefts of the blades tightly.
As for the vulpine himself, the fox continues to walk along the designated pathway towards the train station. His left hand-paw gently grasps the top portion of his sheath and places his thumb on the guard of his katana, slightly pushing it upward and revealing a small portion of his weapon. The fox's eyes narrow as the jade green pupils move left and right slowly, examining the alley like a night guard on patrol in a prison. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was… just yet. All he could do for now was to continue walking along the dark alleyway with extreme caution.
The lupine continues to wait for the right moment to execute his plans, with each second passing nearly as long as a minute. It was almost frustrating, and he was starting to become increasingly impatient. But fortunately, thanks to his strong sense of hearing, the wait didn't last much longer. With the widening of his crystal blue eyes, the wolf suddenly throws one of the swords towards the fox and slashes the umbrella in half. Although he destroyed the umbrella, the blade failed to strike the fox at all, thanks to the fox's having dodged the attack beforehand by leaning his upper body to the right. Right after the attack, Matt draws his sword with his right hand-paw and grips onto the handle of his weapon tightly, all while the ninja pulls on the chain to bring his long sword back to him.
"Orimakishu Ninja?" Matt asked within his mind, examining the clothing for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "No, their colors are black and gray, not black and brown. He must be a Neo-Yaminobu Ninja", the fox added, remaining where he was at without making another move, the vulpine's eyes looking directly at the chained katanas. "However, his weapons are almost exactly identical to the ninja I had killed over a month ago. Coincidence maybe, or is it something more significant?" he thought almost curiously, but now was not the time to pry on the matter any further. No, It was time to focus on the ninja right in front of him. His eyes quickly fix themselves towards the lupine standing a good several meters in front from him. From the moment he saw him, he knew a battle, an entirely familiar one, was bound to happen at any inevitable second….
Vulpine Vibes Pub, a couple blocks away, A minute ago
Loud chatter was heard thought the Vulpine Vibes Pub much like the scent of perfume, cigarette smoke, and alcohol filling the bar. A large number of mammals, the majority being vulpine, sit amongst many of the booths inside the main lounging area of the bar, while several others enjoy the pleasantries of playing pool or having the company of a few women here and there. While it may seem all of them were enjoying the relaxation of the bar, that actually wasn't the case for one of them.
Nick Wilde was sitting in the back of the bar by himself with a bottle of Ballantine's Scotch Whisky in front of him along with a glass cup bigger than a shot glass, but smaller than the average sized ones. The twenty five year old had been there for at least an hour now, drinking straight up whisky he had purchased with nothing but his troubles, thoughts, and sorrows. Dark eye circles can be seen under his eyes, and the sclera of his eyes were slightly red. He still wore the same green Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants from last night with the exception of his jacket, albeit wrinkled from how long it was worn. His fur was completely ruffled and sticking in various directions, almost identical to someone who literally got out of bed. All in all, he literally looked like hell.
Gripped tightly in his left hand-paw was the glass he was using to drink the alcoholic beverage with, which was filled close to the top of the glass itself. But what was gripped on the right was an entirely different story. The object he was holding in his right hand-paw was a photo featuring him and his younger brother, Matt Wilde. The photo had been taken on June 5th, 2001, a couple days before Matt would be taken to the Westmoreland Correctional Campsite. The photo depicted Nick, being seventeen at the time, and Matt, being nine at the time, sitting on a bench at Zootopia Central Park eating Paw-shaped popsicles (or 'Pawpsicles') during a walk in the park. It was the last photo he had taken with his little brother before he had unexpectedly went missing after their mother took him to the correctional campsite. He didn't know what exactly happened to his brother since he'd left, but he hadn't heard from him (or their mother for that matter), since they left. And knowing the fact it was one of the last days he saw him alive for that matter, it genuinely desolated him. While the pawpsicle hustles and other scams helped keep his mind off of the depressing matter, no scam or hustle could ever replace what he truly lost.
As the orange and cream colored fox continues to drown himself in his drunken grief, a fennec fox by the name of Finnick had arrived to the bar and began surveying the pub. His attire was practically the same from, T-shirt and all, yet bore enough wrinkles to show signs of wear. While he bore dark eye circles almost like Nick, his fur was a lot more groomed than his partner's. But now that nick was mentioned, the fennec manages to find him at the back of the room, quickly rushing through the other larger mammals to get to him, ranging from foxes double his height to other mammals nearly seven times his size. And when he got to him, his eyes widen upon seeing the drunken mess his friend was currently in.
"Jesus Christ, Nick! How much of that shit have you been drinking?" Finnick asked with a genuinely surprised, almost shocked look on his face right as the fox places the photo back into his pocket. Yeah, he may have suspected him to be drinking something at the bar, but not expecting him to drink straight up scotch whiskey. But instead of getting a straight answer from the fox, Nick merely lifts his cup down and chugs the entire alcoholic beverage, a shrug escaping his mouth and steps out of booth he occupied. The vulpine merely passes the fennec as if he were never there, not that he could notice him in the state he was in. At first, the fennec looks at the other fox curiously before throwing his arms upward. "What the hell's your problem, Nick?! Why the hell can't you tell me what's wrong instead of drinking like a drunkard on the streets?!" the fennec shouted, grabbing the attention of half the occupants inside of the bar. But regardless of his attempts to getting Nick's attention, the fox merely continues to walk towards the exit as if he never heard him. The front doors open and the fox exits the bar, leaving in silence with mildly pouring rain and a bottle of Ballantine's in hand.
At the Alleyway a couple blocks from the Vulpine Vibes Pub
It was the calm before the storm, a strong, fierce amount of tension fills the air as rain continues to pour heavily in the clouded skies of the late morning. The clouds in the sky have now thickened to the point where not even the sun can be seen in the skies above. Two pairs of eyes gaze towards one another, those of the lupine ninja and of Matt Wilde. Both male predators were silent, their grips tightening around the handles of their swords.
Battle between one another was now inevitable, and it always had been since they crossed paths with each other, the moment the wolf attempted to strike him with one of the chained katanas. The two predators stared at each other for what seems to be hours to them, not a single move made despite the amount of violent buildup of energy that was forming between the two. Then it explodes with a violent growl, the ninja assassin suddenly throwing the same sword he used to destroy the fox's umbrella towards the fox himself. But Matt was no idiot, however, quickly performing a left horizontal sweep as means to block the attack effortlessly, thus knocking the ninja's right katana away from him. The wolf quickly pulls the chain towards him and brings his own sword back to him, tightening his grip on both handles of his blades.
All of the sudden, the ninja starts sprinting towards the fox at a rather extreme pace, nearly matching the pace to that of a bullet fired from a gun. But that didn't intimidate the fox at all. No! That further ignited the swordsman's spirit within him. The fox's eyes narrow slightly towards the ravenous ninja before suddenly darting towards his opponent in an identical pace. Blades start clashing against one another, the loud 'clinking' sounds repeating with blow after blow. Both warriors were bound to kill the other, yet the victor will be decided at the right moment based on their actions.
A loud growl escapes the ninja's muzzle as he continues trying to kill Matt, causing the fox to turn towards his right. He quickly blocks the right katana the wolf suddenly threw with ease, but that didn't stop the lupine from quickly wrapping the chain he bore around the fox's torso, the very same one attached to the ends of the ninja's swords. Fortunately, the fox was able to move his arms before he was suddenly bound in chains by the lupine. Despite the pair of widened eyes the fox now bore, he honestly wasn't surprised by the ninja's actions. Besides, how could you be if this happened to you before and lived to tell the tale? But right now was not the time to mentally answer that himself, especially after seeing the wolf jump the third floor fire escape with the other end of the chain in his possession.
"Oh, for Christ's sake. I don't have time for this deja vu bullshit!" Matt thought in his mind with an audible growl, his eyes narrowing towards the lupine before noticing him pulling on the other end of the chain. His left side starts dragging towards the direction in which the ninja was pulling, but there was no way in hell the fox was gonna let himself get dragged without a fight. He quickly retaliates by grabbing a hold of the chain and began pulling back against it, the muscles on his left arm flexing slightly due to his efforts pulling on the chain.
Unaware to both assassins, a male vulpine bearing a bottle of Ballantine's Scotch Whisky began approaching the alleyway and makes a left turn towards it. The mammal stumbles slightly in his steps, yet for the most part walked as if she didn't have any alcohol in his system. The heavy rain was pouring down hard enough to the point where his footsteps would be difficult to hear under the given circumstances. Either way, the drunken fox continues to walk along the path with little stumbling in his walking, passing pieces of broken glass along with bits of trash along the way.
Right around the corner, and coincidentally unaware to the male fox, the struggle between Matt and the ninja assassin continues to progress, both mammals trying to pull on the chain to see who yanks who towards one another. The wolf was indeed incredibly strong and bore such an identical skill to the Siberian tiger Matt fought back in October. Regardless of the circumstances, however, the fox bore a higher endurance level than the Neo-Yaminobu ninja. None of them were growing tired in the stalemate, but despite that, something needed to be done about this before any of the local authorities spotted them. Matt's eyes were starting to close, and his teeth were gritting against each other out of frustration. He was unsure of how much he could bear with it… but soon spots the lupine's right detachable katana, still attached to the chain. That was when a familiar idea suddenly forms into his mind, and the fox's swordsman spirit reignites, and if his cards were played right, he may get out of this alive. The fox's eyes quickly shift directly up towards the ninja and narrows them directly towards the lupine's eyes.
It was in that moment when the wolf grabs the chain with his other hand-paw while still holding the left katana, and suddenly jumps several feet up in the air from the roof. He quickly performs an aerial spiral and attempts to wrap the chain around his own body. However, the fox had him right where he wanted, and the time to act upon his own strategy came. Matt quickly grabs the chain with his right hand-paw (while still holding his sword nonetheless), and pulls the chain towards him. Quickly grabbing the other part of the chain with his left, he pulls the ninja's right sword towards him and grabs a hold of it with his left hand-paw, holding his enemy's sword with a reverse grip. Now it was time for the kill.
With a loud growl escaping the fox's muzzle, he raises his enemy's blade upwards and leaps forward, his body leaning towards the wolf to add a bit of momentum to his jump. The wolf realizes what the fox had planned all along, and tries to block his own blade with the left katana. The plan, however, fails horrifically when the sword slid off the sharp side of the other blade, and it would end up being the last moment the lupine would ever remember. Matt slices the ninja's body from the upper right shoulder down towards the right side of his opponent's crotch, blood splattering out of the victim's body and spraying the bloodied contents throughout parts of the alley. Unbeknownst to Matt, however, some of the blood manages to splatter onto the clothes of another mammal turning into the alley, a soft gasp escaping his mouth.
He lands onto the concrete ground several feet away from where the ninja's body now lay dead. The fox was nearly drained of energy, and he suddenly kneels down onto the ground, panting for air and holding himself up with his deceased enemy's right katana. His scar already having begun bleeding after the deadly killing, his blood dripping down from his left cheek and soaking the fabric of his muzzle mask. The smell of blood began to fill the air, but it wasn't the only thing Matt's nose had caught. The fox's nose manages to car the scent of another fox along with a strong smell of alcohol in the air, making his eyes widen only slightly in terms of curiosity.
"Huh…." Matt uttered softly from his muzzle, raising his head upward and looking straight as the source of the alcoholic/fox mixed scent. His eyes slowly trail up the other fox's auburn colored feet-paws (the same color as Matt's own), to his khaki pants, his green Hawaiian button up T-shirt, and alas the vulpine's jade green eyes. Matt's eyes widen with pure shock at the sight of the other fox, the same fox he hoped not to see face to face, the one he tried to avoid, and the one who was now covered in the Neo-Yaminobu ninja's blood.
Nick….