Chapter Eleven: The Chaos Begins

A/N: Just a word of warning. It gets a bit dark on and off from here on out. Lionheart isn't going to be too happy with the Adviser's plan B.

"Run towards the roar,' the old people used to tell the young ones. When faced with great danger and when people panic and seek a false sense of safety, run towards the roaring and go where you fear to go. For only in facing your fears can you find some safety and a way through. When the world rattles and the end seems near, go towards the roar."

―Michael Meade

4:20 pm At the Sheddingfur Technical Building in Zootopia

Panicked animals were running out of the building as the SWAT hogs busted into the main labs. "ZPD! We need all head staff to remain in the building! Any civilians need to leave now!"

Chief Swinton watched from her office with cameras attached to the officers. "Let's hope officer Hopps tip is correct and we're not ruining these people's lives."

In the higher-up offices, the CEO of the company is getting worried and is on the phone with the Adviser. "It's Carl Sheddingfur sir. They're here! If they connect the tech of my company to you and the blimp, I'm ruined! You promised me my company would flourish under Lionheart's rule!"

While the CEO's voice was in a panic, the Adviser's voice was cool and calm."Relax. We already had a backup plan is case this happens to wipe out anything connecting me to you."

The wolf wiped his brow. "Oh thank God!...How?"

"I'm merely going to blow up the building with all of you in it."

"WHAT?! NONONONO!"

"Oh yesyesyesyes! We've got a ton of C4 hidden around the underground parking garage. I hate hurting other predators I assure you, buuut you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a another call to make. Good day!" CLICK!

The CEO freaked out. He quickly got on the phone and got on the speakerphone all throughout the building. "ATTENTION! EVACUATE NOW! THERE ARE BOMBS IN THE BUILDING!"

If people weren't in a panic before, they were now. They almost knocked over the SWAT hogs on their way out. One of them quickly got on the radio with Swinton. "Chief! There's been a bomb threat! What do we do?!"

"Whoever put that call out is likely trying to escape in the panic. Keep going!"

Meanwhile, the Adviser got onto another call. "The Sheddingfur deal has been discovered. Execute plan B."

The CEO ran out of his office in a panic. "Can't go downstairs! No time!...The company helicopter! I have spare keys!" The top of the building was only three flights up while the elevators were at the bottom and filling with SWAT hogs/ He ran up the flight of stairs as fast as he could. On the last flight, it happened.

KRAKAKABOOM!

The entire building shook along with the streets nearby. The first floor crumbled and fell apart, killing everyone still remaining on the first floor along with the SWAThogs on the elevator which snapped and fell. Rubble was starting to blow out of the building as it started to lean.

Swinton was horrified looking on "Dear God! NO!"

The CEO fell back as the building started to lean. "NONONONONO!" He got back up and quickly ran up the stairs. He got to he top of the building and saw the helicopter. "YES! Thank G-" It then started to slide as the building was collapsing. "NOOOOO!"

He ran as fast as he could and managed to leap into the helicopter. He had moments before it slid completely off what remained of the building. He quickly started the engine and the blades sped up. Before he could take off though, it slid off the side...and he managed to get it flying. "YEEEESSS!" He screamed. "I'm alive!" He watched as the building fell onto the city below.

Swinton was in absolute despair as she watched the building fall onto the highway it was located near. Fortunately, no nearby buildings suffered in the destruction. Her tears fell down as she watched the horror onscreen. Higgins tried to talk to her, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Chief! We do we do next?...Chief Swinton?"

She could barely speak. "I...I told them to keep going...This was on my watch! They're dead! All of our SWAT hogs are dead because of me!"

"Chief! Snap out of it!"

Swinton couldn't look away as the building fell. But then, she saw the helicopter flying away. It was the one thing that finally snapped her out of it. "I WANT EVERYTHING WE CAN GET IN THE AIR TO FOLLOW THAT CHOPPER NOW!"

She stood up and finally took command. "Get all nearby officers to help evacuate the area and begin the search for any survivors! We need to rescue as many people as we can! Whoever is in the copter, that bastard's gonna pay!"

Higgins made an observation. "If this is the beginning, what the hell is the rest of the day going to be like?!"

Meanwhile, in the Wilde family van...

Nick was looking out the van when he noticed something. "Is that the grocery store?"

"Yes." Judy replied.

"Then why are we passing it?"

"There's a stop I need to make first. It's just up ahead."

Judy stopped in front of the carrot stand. One of her brothers was attending it and bored out of his mind. Judy sighed just looking at it. "It's depressing for me to even look at. This is where I ended up after my big screw-up with the press that nearly destroyed the city. I retired to selling carrots at this dump. Stay in the van. I have to do something dangerous."

"Dangerous for me?" Nick asked.

"No. Dangerous for me."

Judy walked past the carrot stand only to be stopped by her brother Jessie The same foster brother she once had sex with in her teens. "Judy! How are you doing?"

"Fine! Fine. I'm just picking up a few flowers off the field."

"I hear you got married. Congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

"I'm engaged myself. You remember Luann Tanfur two houses down?"

"Oh yeah! Is it serious?"

"Very. We're going to have to go your route and just adopt though. She found out from her doctor that she's infertile."

"Aww. That's a shame!"

"Yeah. She really wants kits. She loves playing with our little brothers and sisters like their her nieces and nephews. They're even calling her 'Aunt Luann'."

"Aww. I know how it is. Me and Nick are looking for a surrogate father so I can have some biological children."

"The call to get knocked up got too strong hunh?"

"Yeah. If you'll excuse me." She grabbed some blue flowers and headed back to Nick.

Nick was listening in on the whole conversation from the van. "Hmmmm..."

Judy cam to the van and gave the flowers to Nick. "Flowers for me Fluff?" Nick replied while acting all girly. "How thoughtful!"

Judy chuckled. "Oh shut up! This is the dangerous part. You know what these flowers are?"

Nick took a more serious tone. "Yeah. I recognize these bad boys. Nighthowlers."

"Nick dear, you have a much stronger sense of smell than I do. You took a course in the academy recognizing the scents of different drugs."

"Best course I ever took! Man! I got so wasted. And I got graded to do it! They never used me much for drug cases though. Why bother when you have wolves?"

"When we get to the grocery store, I need you to find the scent of nighthowler in the air. But I need you to recognize it first, so give them a big whiff. I'm gonna stay out of the van as you might go a little savage for a few seconds."

"Sweet biscuits ! That is dangerous! Alright Carrots. Hand them over and back off."

She handed him the nighthowlers and headed back near the stand. She watched the van. It only took about ten seconds before the van started to shake and she heard a roar. "RrrrrrRRRRAAAAGH! RRRROOOOOWWWLL! AAAAGH...Aaaahhh!...Unnnggghh..."

A moment of silence happened. It was followed by a familiar voice. "Judy?"

"Nick!" she gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I'm all good. Can't say the same for our upholstery. I left a few scratches."

Judy came back to the van. "You got a good whiff of the scent then?"

"Yeah. I threw those flowers out fast."

Judy got back in the van and drove off. "Bye Jessie!"

"Bye Judy!" Jessie replied back.

Judy then looked over at Nick. "Sooo...what was it like?!"

"It started with this feeling of...of pure rage. Rage and pain in my head. Then the savage part of me took over and I blanked out for what felt like only a second. Then I woke up with a huge swelling of anger and then it passed."

"Can you imagine what it was like for poor Emmet Otterton? That rage and pain lasted for weeks."

Nick looked sad. "Yeah...Hey, I was thinking. You wanna skip that red rabbit deal?"

Judy was surprised. "You have another bunny that can boink me?"

"Maybe. I was giving it some thought. What about Jessie?"

"WHAT?! Why him?! He's grey! He looks nothing like you!"

"And him and his wife want kids. Carrots, I've been so selfish! I've only been thinking of making the children to look like me and I didn't think about what was best for the kits in the first place! Look at poor Petey. Today, he found out he was inbred and that his uncle was also his father. Not only that, he was forced to make meth and was partially, albeit involuntarily responsible for his death. These kits are gonna look at me and it won't take long before they know I'm not their blood father. I'd rather they know up front!"

"Nick! Are you serious?"

"Yes. I love you Judy. It pains me that these children would not be mine biologically, but it would pain me more for them to not know the truth."

"Nick you are a saint!" Judy said as she jumped up to give him a hug and a kiss. "But you don't have to go through that. I have a better idea."

"Oh?"

"I'll be the surrogate mother to Jessie and Luanns kits. I just need to get that feeling of giving birth out of my system. This way, everyone wins."

"Except you Carrots." Nick said solemnly. "I'm not dumb. I remember what happened when Bonnie tried to be a surrogate mother."

"I'm stronger than her." Judy replied. "Besides, if I recall, they pulled those kits from her that same day! It was way too soon! Also, I wouldn't want to just never see them. If we're gonna do this, we need to become close friends with Jessie and Luann. "

"Yeeah. We also might wanna let them in on this whole thing as well."

Judy chuckled. "Alright. We'll come back later this week and discuss it with them. You really don't mind if me and him?...Y'know."

"It's a little different. You've done it with him before. We'd be providing the couple with a family."

"You're such a wonderful person Nick."

"And besides, I'd be saving $10,000!"

Judy punched Nick in the shoulder and they laughed as they headed to the grocery store.

Meanwhile...

Bogo was still in the restaurant. Most of the predators had left or were conversing. He had a moment to himself and was eating a slice of pie from the leftovers in the fridge. He was watching the news from the TV stuck high above the bar.

"All ZPD officers have been called to the scene of a horrific incident as the Sheddingfur Technical Institute building exploded from the base of the garage and fell onto the highway below. Death tolls are unknown at the moment but could be in the hundreds or possibly thousands. However, we did find out that all SWAT hogs that were in the building are either missing or presumed dead. A company helicopter fleeing the scene is currently being chased down by two other ZPD helicopters. It is believed to be piloted by company CEO Carl Sheddingfur who is now under investigation. In other news, there may be an upset in the election today as polls are showing a huge uptake for a write-in candidate he's well known as..." CLICK!

A depressed Bogo turned off the TV. He buried his head in his hooves in frustration. "Swinton, you damn fool! When you hear of a bomb threat, you make sure everyone's out of the building! You don't keep pushing forward!"

"AHEM! Excuse me sir?" said a lone voice.

Bogo looked up and was shocked at what he saw. Dozens upon dozens of predators were in the restaurant and looking at him for guidance.

A wolf spoke up. "What happened out there...that ain't us! We don't want any part of Lionheart's agenda anymore! We'll...we'll listen to what you have to say. We wanna protect this city too!"

"YEAH!" said the crowd.

A smile came over Bogo. "Good! We have a lot to cover. Everyone please sit down if you can find a chair."

Meanwhile...

The ZPD had gotten to the scene of the disaster. It was an absolute mess. Officers Clawhauser and Delgato along with rabbit cadet Harvey Earlong were helping keep back the civilians. McHorn joined Trumpet and Krumpanski in moving away rubble to look for bodies and survivors.

There were road blocks and caution tape all around, but that did not stop the citizens from crowding around both in worry for their loved ones and just morbid curiosity.

"Please disperse!" Shouted Clawhauser. "This area is off limits and dangerous!"

Delgato followed up. "We will let you know of the status of your loved ones as soon as we can! Please stay back!"

A panicked chipmunk mother ran up to the cadet. "My husband and children are inside! They were taking a tour! Has there been any sign of them?!"

Delgato got on the radio. "Dispatch. Any word on any chipmunks being retrieved from the wreckage?"

"Let me see..." Francine said as she looked over the growing list of casualties and survivors. "No. No chipmunks yet."

Delgato looked back. "I'm sorry ma'am. No word yet."

The chipmunk tried to push past them, but Clawhauser stopped them. "I gotta get in there! My babies! My husband! PLEASE!"

Harvey had enough. "I'll check for them ma'am. I'm small enough to fit into tight spaces."

"GOD BLESS YOU!" The chipmunk screamed. "My kids names are Billy and Amy!"

As he was running away, Delgato screamed for him. "Get back here cadet! That's an order!"

"I can do this!" Harvey yelled. "I have to!"

Clawhauser held back the crowds as Delgato tried to stop the cadet. "Come back here! You'll get yourself killed!"

The lion leaped for the rabbit, but cadet Earlong was just too fast. He managed to slip through the crowds by the wreckage and wriggle his way into the cracks of the rubble.

He coughed as the rubble filled smoke entered his lungs. "COUGH! COUGH! HAACK!" He shouted for the children "BILLY! AMY! ARE YOU IN HERE?!"

"OVER HERE!" Screamed Amy. "PLEASE HELP MY DADDY!"

Harvey reached the children who were nestled down near a body. "I'm cadet Earlong of the ZPD! I need to get you to safety now!"

"Not without our daddy!" Billy cried. "Help him mister! He's not breathing!"

Harvey could see for himself that the father's bottom half was crushed under the rubble. He checked for signs of life. "No pulse. I-I'm sorry."

Amy cried over the body. "No! NOOO! I WANT MY DADDY!"

"I'm sorry! We have to go now! This building is still falling apart! Your mother is waiting outside!"

He grabbed the little girl who wouldn't let go of her father. "Billy! Follow behind me!"

"Y-Yes sir!" said the boy.

As Harvey carried the girl, she screamed for her father. "NOOOO! DADDY! DADDY!"

"He's gone! He'd want you to live. I have to get you to safety!"

As he was running, an elderly squirrel lady grabbed his ankle. "Help me! My leg is crushed!"

"I'll come back for you! I promise!"

He came to the small opening. "Billy, I need you to be a good big brother. Your sister keeps fighting me. You go out first and help pull her out, okay?"

"O-Okay sir!" The boy climbed through the small crack and stopped halfway. "C'mon Amy! Mommy's waiting! She'll know what to do!"

Amy resisted, but Harvey shoved her into the crack and Billy pulled her out to the other side. "We're through!"

"You're mom is near a fat cheetah!" Harvey shouted. "RUN!"

"Okay! Thank you officer!"

Knowing they were safe, Harvey went back for the old squirrel. "Hold on ma'am! I'm coming!"

"Thank you!" she screamed. "God bless you!"

Meanwhile outside, Chief Swinton was talking to Delgato. "He ran inside?!

"I couldn't stop him!" Delgato replied. "He was too fast!"

It was then that the chipmunks came running toward their mom. "Mommy! Mommy!"

"MY BABIES!" she screamed. "You're safe! Oh bless that bunny! Where is he?!"

"He stayed inside to save an old lady!" Billy said.

"Where's your father?" she asked, which caused Amy to cry uncontrollably. The mother knew what was up. "GERALD! SOB! It's okay babies. It's going to be okay."

Sitting in a police car nearby, Swinton was surprised. "He's still in there saving people?! HA! I knew my plan to use cadets was a good one! What a her-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the section of building that Harvey was still in collapsed in on itself.

"HARVEY!" Delgato screamed.

Swinton gave an order. "I want all rhinos and elephants pulling rubble off that section immediately!"

They worked swiftly and still with great care. Huge sections were lifted only for others to fall away. Though they were warned to stay away, other elephants and even a giraffe came in to remove the rubble. As they removed the last of it, they could hear some coughing. "He's alive! Shouted a rhino, but he was wrong. The coughing was coming from the elderly squirrel. Harvey's limp, lifeless body was covering her. "He saved me!" cried the squirrel. "H-He shielded me with his own body!"

"We got a few ambulances filling up here ma'am." Swinton said. "We'll get you and cadet Earlong on them right now! I NEED MEDICS OVER HERE!"

Clawhauser cradled Harvey's limp body in his arms and ran towards the ambulance. Tears flowed over his cheeks. "Please don't die! Please! MEDIC! WE NEED HELP! HE'S NOT BREATHING!"