Author's Note: This chapter is explicit for violence. You've been warned.
Judy's nose twitched. She could smell the damp air and she shivered on the cold, concrete floor. Why was she sleeping on the hard ground? Her eyes fluttered open. A florescent light flickered overhead and she could hear people talking, though she couldn't make out the words.
She tried to sit up but she could feel a heavy chain weigh down on her neck. She tried to look around but her vision was very blurry. She could see a green and red mass in front of her but everything else was just a mass of gray with flecks of purple. She blinked and rubbed her eyes trying to clear them. When she opened them back up she could clearly tell the mass was none other than Nick. She crawled to his side and rolled him to onto his back. He was unconscious but seemed otherwise fine save the muzzle strapped to his face and a chain wrapped around his own neck. She followed both his and her chain to a point where they became one and threaded through an iron loop on the wall. She glanced at her surroundings. Tables were set with a multitude of various lab equipment. Against one wall she could see a grow light shining down and a bed of innocent looking purple flowers.
Judy gasped when she saw the flowers, "Night howlers!" With a jolt of panic Judy began yanking at the chain around her neck but it was no use. When that plan didn't work she began shaking the sleeping fox, frantic to wake him. He mumbled, but what ever drug had knocked them both out was still working in his system.
"Judy! You're awake," a voice called out to her. The voice was friendly, perky even, but it sent shivers down her spine. It was a voice that had already tried to kill her once before. Judy turned and looked up a set of stairs to see Dawn Bellwether. The small ewe gave Judy a friendly wave, "Oh I am so glad you woke up before that nasty fox. I was hoping we could get a chance to talk, you know, girl to girl."
"Dawn! What is this? Where am I?" Judy demanded.
"Oh well, I would think that is obvious. You are in my deep, dark, little dungeon where I am going to take out my revenge on you for ruining my plans and imprisoning me." Dawn never let the pleasant tone slip from her voice as she began slowly clopping down the stairs towards Judy. "Luckily for me, I wasn't the only one who felt that uniting all prey under a common cause was a good thing. I have some pretty powerful friends, Judy, and they helped me get back out here so I can continue my work. As you can see we are almost ready. Soon every single predator will be a walking time bomb to which I have my hoof on the button for all of them. Can you imagine the progress we can make when we are united against a common enemy."
"The only enemy to Zootopia is you!" Judy shot.
Dawn's face grew sad, "You may be right. But still, if this great city of ours needs me to play a villain, then so be it. Our people are adrift in an age of digital conveniences. They've gotten lazy, Judy. My aim is merely to wake them all up. Kick the bee's nest if you will."
"Dawn, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard and I spend all my time with this dork," Judy motioned to Nick.
The ewe stared at Judy for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Oh Judy, this why I like you. You're not afraid to speak your mind, you're driven, you've broken out of that bunny mold. You're just like me. I couldn't stand being just another part of the herd. I had to get out and make the world a better place."
"Oh my goodness Dawn, please stop sounding like a cartoon villain. I'm begging you. Just let us go and turn yourself in. You know this will only end badly for you. One day a SWAT team is going to come breaking down your door. You or your friends will get shot and killed and the city is going to move on with life."
"Ugh, Judy, you just don't get it do you." Dawn sighed, "Alright, fine. I don't know why I even bothered trying to explain myself anyways. You're right, I started monologuing didn't I?" The ewe chuckled before she called up the stairs, "Boys. I think we are ready."
"Ok, so you don't care about my master scheme or anything, that's fine. But I should at least explain what is going to happen next. See, I really do like you Judy but at the same time I'm really disappointed that I didn't get to see that fox tear you apart. So we are going to try that whole savage fox kills the bunny thing again."
Two rams then came tromping down the steps. One was carrying a heavy, plastic bucket full of sloshing water and the other held a baseball bat. The one with the bucket tossed the water onto Nick. The fox gasped as he was awoken instantly. The ram then grabbed the coughing Nick by the scruff of his neck before Bellwether continued.
"However there is a problem, because of you, there is now a cure to our night howler serum. I can't just douse the fox, let him kill you and leave him in a state of permanent insanity. So, we are going to make this a little more fun." Dawn then pulled a wicked looking blade from behind her back. Nick was still in a state of shock as he looked from the lamb to the bunny then to the rams. "When we are done preparing, we are going to make the foxy go nutty but we will give you this knife to defend yourself. I'm hoping one of you will kill the other and then good news; the survivor gets to leave."
Nick was frantically trying to process the words he was hearing. What did she mean by making him go "nutty?" Who was defending themselves with a knife? His eyes quickly darted around the room taking everything in. Oh God, was Bellwether going to make him go savage and attack Judy? There was no time to come up with a plan.
"However, as I said before, I like you Judy but, the truth is, I can't stand predators so we are going to tip the scales to your favor. My hope is that you kill the fox and spend the rest of your days hunting me but failing to stop me at every turn. A bit romantic I know, but I was always a fan of romance. Ok boys, go to town."
Once the permission was granted the ram not holding Nick balled his hooves into a fist and slammed it into Nick's jaw. Nick was knocked out of the first rams hoof with a grunt. Before he could recover the fox received a swift kick in the stomach.
"Please Dawn stop! You don't have to do this!" Judy screamed as she saw a hoof come down on Nick's head. Nick was curled up trying to protect himself from the heavy blows, unable to fight back against the flurry of hooves.
"Of course I don't have to, but I want to."
Judy leaped up to attack the ram kicking Nick but the other ram saw her coming and instead grabbed the chain coming from Nick's neck and gave it a good yank. The chain pulled through the loop and Judy was pulled back towards the wall so hard her head slammed against the concrete. Her vision went dark but only for a moment.
The ram kept a tight hold on the chain with one hoof, forcing Judy against the wall, with the other he grabbed the bucket and flipped it top side down. He pulled Nick's left arm across the top of the other bucket. Nick was too disoriented to react to what was happening but Judy went cold when the other ram reached for the bat.
"NO NICK! GET OUT OF THERE!"
The fox could only shake his head and look up to see the bat come crashing down across his arm and the bucket. Judy heard a sickening crack and time seemed to slow to a painful crawl. The bucket went flying off, cracked in two and Nick let out a blood curdling scream as he clutched his left arm. Judy nearly vomited as she saw his now useless arm dangle, twisted at a grotesque angle. Nick writhed on the ground in pain and Judy thought she could hear his screams turn to laughter. She looked to her partner. His face was twisted into a crazed grin as he laughed maniacally, trying to fight back the pain. His eyes were squeezed shut and tears were spilling down his cheeks. He gasped for air and clenched his jaws as his laughter turned into pained groans. When he opened his eyes again he glared at the two rams.
"Cock suckers!" He spat and growled, "I'm going to rip your faces off!"
Nick barred his long fangs and made to lunge at one of the rams but the other one slammed a hoof down on Nick's back, pinning him to the ground.
"Wow he barely even needs the serum, he seems pretty savage already," Dawn chuckled. At her cue the ram Nick had lunged for reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of deep indigo liquid. Quickly, the other ram yanked the muzzle off Nick's head and the first one uncorked the vial and dumped the contents onto Nick. The two rams then ran to a safe vantage point.
Nick tried to wipe off the liquid before it sunk into his fur, but the attempt was futile as the serum quickly took effect. It started with small muscle spasms that grew in intensity until he twisted and flopped on the ground, his mind trying desperately to stay in control of his body. With his last bit of consciousness he glanced toward his partner. She could see the pain in his eyes as his pupils narrowed into something primal, but there was nothing she could do.
"Oops I almost forgot about this," Dawn called as she tossed the knife towards Judy. She sat on the steps with her head in her hooves like she was excitedly watching a friend open a present.
Nick was growling and hissing as his mind gave way to his savage side. He tried to stand on all fours but crumpled as his broken arm gave way. It bent out from under him at an unnatural angle and the fox howled in pain. He tried to stand again, this time, not placing any weight on the arm. His back arched and he spied the sheep by the stairs. His breathing was ragged as he backed away from the larger creatures and he came to the end of the chain. The tug at his neck caused him to panic and he twisted quickly to look down the chain. That was when he saw Judy.