Chapter Twelve: It's a Gas, Gas, Gas!

A/N: I got a funny story to share. I went to Disneyland's California Adventure the other day wearing my favorite T-Shirt I got from a shop on Facebook. It's Judy and Nick dressed up as Captain America and the Winter Soldier. I ALWAYS get at least a dozen comments on it when I wear it. My sister's shy about meeting characters for some reason, but we waited in line to meet Captain America. He said he was starring at my shirt for awhile. He noticed "the rabbit" dressed as him. I said "Oh that's Judy Hopps from Zootopia and the Winter soldier is Nick Wilde."

He said "Y'know, that's fitting. They call him 'The White Wolf' now."

I chuckled "or in this case, 'The Red Fox'."

ART IMITATES LIFE – I'm sure most of you have read "Sacrifices" as it's a bit of a sequel to the current story you're reading. During the story, giant red-tailed hawks were snatching up young bunnies and taking them to be eaten. In one scene, Nick saves a child only to be snatched up by a hawk himself. Well, you may have seen on the news today where a fox snatched a bunny up (sorry Zootopia fans, there are no fox/bunny friends in the real world) only for an eagle to come and snatch the fox up for a few seconds before he finally wiggled free.

4:30pm In the Wilde Family Van

Judy was getting impatient as Nick was on the phone. "C'mon Nick! There's not much time until we gotta get back to Zootopia and I want to say goodbye to the kids!"

"Just a moment Carrots." Nick replied. "Wolford sent me a text to call him and I need to see what it's about." He called Tim Wolford's number and Tim picked up. "What's the problem Wolford?"

"Yer daughter's a damn slut! That's the problem!"

Nick was engraged. "WHAT?! Grrrr...How dare you!"

"I found out she got on video phone with my son while he was droppin' a duece in 'da John and yer tramp-y daughter confessed her love, 'den flashed her tits at 'im!"

Nick was enraged. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah! What 'da hell Nick?! Learn how 'ta parent! 'Dat hyena tramp's munchin' carpets one day 'den showin' her goods 'ta my son 'da next! Tell her 'ta make up her mind!"

Nick was getting mad. "Don't talk about my daughter that way! It was your damn son that stirred her up! He was showing off his chest to her first!"

"My son ain't got half a dozen boobs! Get 'dat bitch's hormones in check!"

"Don't you call my Princess a bitch! BARK! BARK WOOF! WOOF BARK!"

"WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! BARK! BARK!"

While Nick was barking on the phone, Judy found a loose newspaper in the back of the van. She rolled it up and went back to the front. She bopped Nick on the snout as he was barking.

"RUFF! RUFF! BARK! WOOF! POW! YIPE!"

"Bad fox!" Judy shouted. "Now give me that phone!"

Nick whined and handed her the phone. "Wolford, Spots told me it was YOU that told her to kiss James in his room! Care to tell me why?"

"Oh! Uhhh 'dat! Well, ummmm...James was depressed and cryin' because we were chaningin' his house around after his mudder died. Everythin' reminded him of her. I thought 'dat if she kissed him, it would bring a good new memory for him 'ta hold onto."

"So you basically pimped my daughter to your son and are now SHOCKED that their teenage hormones are out of control?!"

"Well, I-I-I mean..."

"Don't you EVER ask my daughter to do such a thing again! You understand me?!"

"Y-Yes Hopps! I'm sorry 'bout 'dat! Won't happen again!"

"I should say not! Now, me and Nick are very busy and don't have much time for things like this! Goodbye!" She hung up thew phone and looked over at Nick. "You need to cool your head Nick. You can't just bark your way out of an argument."

Nick smiled. "Thanks Carrots. I guess I wasn't getting anywhere. Speaking of, we're not getting anywhere with the investigation sitting in this van."

"You're right. Let's go!" Judy hopped out of the van and noticed a crowd had formed near the entrance of the grocery store. Some were upset that the store was closed while a few were reporters. One of them noticed Nick and Judy right away.

"Officer Hopps and Wilde! It's me, Rabbecca Longears from BMZ!"

Nick mulled over her for a moment, but then he remembered. "Oh yeah! You're the one that helped Stu bust up the fake virus cover-up!"

"Right! Are you two here to look into what happened at the grocery store last night?"

"We are." Judy replied. "But we can't discuss anything at the moment until we get more information."

"But Miss Hopps!"

"It's Mrs. Wilde now."

"Wow!...You two kissed and made up quick! You can't tell us anything right now?"

"It's dangerous to go on assumptions. Once we have all the information, we'll share it with you immediately. Now if you'll excuse us."

Judy and Nick went past the caution tape to keep back the crowd and knocked on the door. "Excuse me? Officers Hopps and Wilde, here for the investigation."

"Not 'Wilde and Wilde'?" Nick mused.

"Helps keep things from being confusing. If Fangmeyer hadn't quit, she'd still be known as Fangmeyer at work."

Nick nodded. "True. True."

The store owner came to the door. He was a timid, old bunny. "EEP! Another viscous fox!"

Nick just rolled his eyes. "Oh brother."

Judy tried to calm the owner. "Sir, I can assure you, my hus-...partner Nick, is not viscous."

"Oh, I'm your PARTNER now?"

"Nick! I'm trying to ease his nerves! Now, sir, can you give me all the details you know?"

The old bunny was still on edge. "I sent you dang cops the tape! Murray, that's the fox in the tape, was just stocking shelves when out of nowhere, he attacked is fellow co-worker Stan with no provocation! What took you so long anyway?! You were supposed to be here hours ago!"

"Sorry." Judy replied. We had a few stops to make along the way."

Nick asked. "So, are you sure someone didn't use the phrase 'working hard or hardly working' to him?"

"WHAT?! No. Why?"

"When I was a teen, I worked in retail for a short time. That phrase always enraged me."

"No! No! He just...seemed to be in pain for a second and then just went wild!"

"Can you show us the location where this occurred?" Judy asked.

"Sure." the old bunny replied. "The ZBI already cut off the areas with tape."

They walked over to the location. A fallen ladder, some chunks of fur and blood on the floor. "This is terrible!" Judy replied. She then turned to Nick. "Okay Slick, start sniffing."

"HA! That's what you said last night."

"NICK!"

"Sorry."

Nick got down near the bottom of the ladder and started to sniff. "Hmmmm...Yeah. It's very faint."

"Is it Nighthowler?" Judy asked.

"Not sure yet. Too faint." Nick crawled along the ground, sniffing. "It seems stronger towards the wall." Nick crawled over to the wall and found an air vent. He took a big whiff. "Grrrrrrrr!"

The old bunny got scared. "EEK! He's going savage!"

"GRRRRR AHEM! Cough! Cough!...Sorry. Just clearing my throat. Anyway, Jumping Jack Flash!"

Judy was confused. " 'Jumping Jack Flash?' "

"It's a gas, gas, gas!"

Judy just rolled her eyes, "Oh brother! Hmmmm...it's coming out of the air vent. Then hemust have been hit with Nighthowler gas!"

"The video itself showed some kinda gas coming in." said the old rabbit. "Makes sense. Are you sure it's that stuff?."

Nick got up. "My canine nose don't lie. I can confirm that it's definitely Nighthowler."

"Oh no!" said the old bunny.

"In fact, I can smell three distinct chemicals, Nighthowler, Fresanine which is usually a compound agent for mixing two chemicals together and a third one I've never smelled before."

"So it's Nighthowlers mixed in a gas with another agent." Judy replied.

"Yes. The question is 'what'? This is not normal Nighthowler. The other bunnies smelled it and were not affected at all. This fox was targeted. Possibly as an experiment."

Judy pondered some more. "Combine that with the blimp that was briefly visible around town today and...Nick! They're going to gas the city with Nighthowler that only affects predators!"

Nick was horrified. "Even at 10 to 1, prey wouldn't stand a chance!"

"This supermarket was used as an experiment! That also means the fox stock worker is completely innocent!"

"Are you insane?!" yelled the old bunny. "He killed a co-worker!"

"Only because the gas let into the supermarket drove him insane!"

"If I might say something?" Nick replied. "Sir, when someone kills you with a bow and arrow, you don't blame the arrow. That fox was used as a tool by a third party. He may have killed that bunny, but it was out of his control. He's just as much a victim!"

The old bunny thought it over. "Well...we'll let the judge decide that. Anyway, is that it?"

"Yes." Judy replied. "I think we got all the information here except the names of the fox involved and the bunny killed."

"The fox is Murray Pouncer. The bunny is...was Earl Leapster. You say you saw the blimp?"

"A prisoner I questioned did. She said it just appeared and disappeared into thin air!"

"That's impossible!"

"There's some kind of major stealth tech involved. I reported it to my chief."

"Hunh! Guess that would explain that fancy-schmancy tech building blowing up a little bit ago."

Judy was a bit stunned. "I...I'm sorry. What?"

"Ya didn't hear?! It's all over the news! The ZPD sent in their entire SWAT hog team just as the foundation of the building blew up. The entire thing fell over across the highway. Tons of people killed."

Judy started to hyperventilate. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Were there any ZPD officers killed?"

"The SWAT hogs and one cadet. A rabbit. He's in critical condition at the hospital."

Judy fell to her knees crying. "HARVEY! Oh God! I just met him today!"

Nick held her. "It's okay Judy. It'll be okay."

The old bunny patted her on the back. "If it's any consolation, he's a true hero! He went into the building as it was crumbling apart and saved two children and an elderly woman. He protected her with his own body as the building crumbled."

Nick tried to pick her up. "Carrots. C'mon honey, we have to go! We gotta get back in time."

She wouldn't move. "It-It's my fault Nick!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is! I reported back all that information to Swinton and she sent the SWAT hogs and that building to their doom!"

"You didn't know that was gonna happen! Nobody did! Don't you dare blame yourself for doing your job! Speaking of, we have to report this new info back to Swinton. Why don't I take you back to the van and you can call Swinton while I deal with the reporter?"

"SNIFF! O-Okay."

On the way out, Nick noticed an ice cream stand inside the store. "You serve ice cream cones?"

"Yup."

The cheeky fox grinned. "That gives me an idea."

Moments later, Nick and Judy went outside. I'll talk to the press." Nick said. "You rest in the van. Okay honey?"

Judy barely answered. She was too depressed. "O-Okay." She headed over to the van as Nick talked to Rabbecca. His one hand hidden behind his back.

The rabbit approached Nick. "Mr. Wilde! Please! Give us the details!"

"Rabbecca, have I got a scoop for you!"

The rabbit got excited. "Really?!"

"Here!" Nick took his hand from behind his back to reveal an ice cream cone. "It's cookies and cream. Don't let it melt!"

Rabbecca looked upset, but was stifling a laugh.

While Nick was explaining the story to the reporter, Judy got on the phone with chief Swinton. "That's right chief. There were other bunnies in the store that were completely unaffected so the gas HAD to be species specific. Nick is already talking to the press right now...Why not me? I'm...I'm not feeling it right now. I found out about cadet Earlong. How bad is he...in a coma?! Dammit!... I know none of this is my fault and I was just doing my job properly, but I still feel...Y'know what? NO! If this is anyone's fault it's yours! You're the one who put the cadets in danger in the first place!...I don't care what you think!...What?…... Yeah...Me and Nick are running behind a bit but we should be back before seven. We just need to say goodbye to our kids. They're going to close all entrances in and out by that time?! For how long?...Just until the demonstration is over. How long is that? An hour?! Okay. We gotta hurry then! Oh! I got another call. I'll talk to you again soon. Bye! I mean, Officer Hopps out!"

It was Gideon on the other line. "Howdy Jude the dude!"

"Hey Gideon."

"Ya sound a little down in the dumps darlin'. Everything okay?"

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well anyway, Ah just called ta let ya'll know that yer kids are just th' best! I love 'em."

Judy ears went up. "Oh?!"

"Yeah. They're really havin' a huge impact on my little ones lives! Ya already know Wiggly and Petey are little lovebirds, but he got my Ocelot cub, Ollie a girlfriend too! The one he broke up with."

"Really?"

"Ha-Ha! Yeah! Kinda like a trade-off! I guess little ones forgive and forget easier than us adults. But the one Ah really wanna praise is yer special girl Cindy."

"Oh?! Why's that?!"

"Fer what her and Michael have done fer mah...SNIFF!...mah poor little Bean! Michael's become one of his best friends, but that Cindy...she inspires him!"

Judy couldn't believe her ears. "In what way?!"

"Well, Bean was watchin' them play darts and when they were done, Cindy wanted Bean ta throw one."

"...But...But Bean has no limbs."

"A'Yup! But Cindy wouldn't take 'no' fer an answer. She placed one of th' darts right on his ear! Gently, not like...stabbin through the ear 'er nothin'. Anyways, Bean was cryin' that he couldn't do it, but Cindy wouldn't let him stop and th' other kids started cheerin' him on. Even his other brothers and sisters who usually ignore him helped encourage him 'ta go for it!"

"So what happened?"

"Well...I don't know how, but he managed 'ta work his ears so he could grip that dart and he threw it hard and it stuck! In some guys butt, but still..."

"He threw a dart with his ears?! That's amazing!"

"Yup! And it was all thanks 'ta Cindy! Now those two are actin' like snugglebugs. Heck, the closeness of yer family is startin' ta affect my own kids. They ain't fightin' as much! Ah just had 'ta call and tell yew and Nick what great parents y'all have been 'ta raise such great kids. Ah got some nice pics of Cindy with Bean and Michael Ah can send yew."

"Thanks Gideon. To be honest, I've been feeling a little down in the dumps about the news from Zootopia, but you've helped me feel a lot better."

"Think nothin' of it! Hey. Ah know yer in a rush 'ta get back to the city, but if ya want to say goodbye to yer kids, Ah'm takin' them to the fashion store in the mall. Wiggly wants Petey 'ta help pick him out a suit fer mah weddin' ceremony. It's the Humphrey Bear mall, just off the highway on yer way back to Zootopia."

Judy smiled. "Alright! Me and Nick will be there within the hour. I just have one more stop to make."

"Alright Judy! Catch y'all later!"

"Later!" Judy then hung up the phone just as Nick got back into the van.

He looked over at his wife who had a soft smile on her face. "Someone's feeling better! "

Judy blushed. "Yeah. I had a talk with Gideon. Cindy taught Bean, that's the limbless boy, how to throw a dart with his ears."

"Say what?!"

"Yes! She kept putt the dart near him and pointing at it. He finally learned how to do it! Nick, she's a bit violent, but she's not mentally deranged like others think she is. She's most likely autistic! She's smarter than anyone gives her credit for."

"That's incredible! I'm so proud of her."

"Yeah. Apparently, Bean's her boyfriend now."

Nick laughed. "She's a Wilde alright. Not with us for two hours and she has a BF. So are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, but...as much as I hate to admit this, I'm scared."

"You? The great Judy Hopps, scared?"

"Oh PLEASE Nick! I'm not a superhero! That said, I've never been really afraid to take on anything. Until today. Why?!"

"Simple. Because you're a mother now." Nick replied.

The shocked look on her face said it all. "You're right! Nick, I don't want to leave these children behind!"

Judy started to cry as Nick held her tight. "Hey. Hey now. You won't. We'll survive this. We always have."

"It feels different this time."

"Yeah...But what Lionheart's doing is already affecting Bunnyburrow. If he wins, it may affect the entire world! We have to do everything in our power to stop it."

They started to pull apart. "SNIFF!! You're right. Let's hurry. Gideon wants us to all meet up at the mall before we leave and I have one more stop to make before then."

"Two actually. If you don't mind, I'll drop you off so I can meet my...'friend' who owes me a favor."

Judy stayed silent for a moment. "...It's Zeke isn't it?"

Nick was surprised. "Whaaa? I don't know what you're...ummm...yes. Yes it is."

"He murdered my brother!"

"You murdered his." Judy gave Nick a dirty look which told him to back off. "Okay, okay look. Yes, he's a mass murderer. But he only ate bunnies to feed his own kids after his wife starved to death thanks to Stu. I don't like working with him either, but at least he's TRYING to make amends! I need him watching over the city tonight. He can be our ace in the hole. PLEASE Judy. We need his help."

Judy sighed. "Fine. Y'know, there hasn't been a bird in Zootopia in at least three decades."

Nick smiled. "Which is why it will catch the bad guys off guard. Now, let me drive and I'll drop you off at...where am I dropping you off? That penitentiary you mentioned?"

"HA! Fancy name for our county jail." Judy then realized her error. "The county jail! I'm so stupid!"

"Calm down Carrots! What's the big deal?"

"We were just there! We confronted Gretchen, but our suspect, Murray was there too! I could've got both things done and instead we're just wasting time!"

"Relax Fluff. It was an honest mistake. We'll get back to Zootopia in time, I promise."

Nick pulled the van out and they headed down to the jailhouse.

Meanwhile...

A young lamb and her ewe mother got out of their car at the parking lot of the Humphrey Bear mall. Something on the roof quickly caught the young girl's eye.

"Mommy! Mommy! Did you see that?!" said the little lamb.

The mother was confused. "I don't see anything."

"I saw a blimp! It blinked in and out for a second!"

"What?! You're seeing things."

"It's there mommy! I swear!"

Frustrated with what she thinks is the little girls lies, the mother pulled the little lamb along. "Will you stop it? I didn't raise a liar you know?!"

Meanwhile on the roof, a nervous Finnick and Honey popped out of an invisible door, running long ventilation hoses with them.

"C'mon Honey!" shouted Finnick. "We got a half-hour to set this whole thing up!"

"Right behind you!" the honey badger shouted.

Just then, Finnick could see a tiny red light on his shoulder. It was emitting from Travis' sniper rifle. "Aww c'mon man! I'm hurrying as fast as as I can!"

"Not hastily enough." Travis said. "We must prepare this final test within the hour and then be on board for our journey back to Zootopia before the ceremonies commence!"

"Well, all I know is once this gas hits, I'm gonna feel sorry for all the bunnies down there that are going to get ripped to shreds."

"Incorrect!" Travis replied. "It's anyone who isn't a leporidae that will meet their certain demise! Muwahahahahaaah!"

Finnick attached the hose to an air vent. "Well I don't know what a leporidae is, but they're gonna be the lucky ones!"

.