Chapter Sixteen: Let it Rain

AN/ Looks like even Disney agrees with my assessment of Finnick's relationship with Judy. I'm doing a friendship campaign with them in "Disney Heroes: Battle Mode" and Finnick accuses Judy of stealing his "hustle partner" away from him. Yeah, yeah. The game's totally non-cannon, but it's nice to see an official writer come to the same conclusion. In the friendship campaigns, you get a ton of little Zootopia stories with the characters interacting with each other.

Stu and Bonnie's little side adventure just came to me as I was writing the chapter and I love it.

See if you can catch the Peter Griffen joke.

Congratulations! You're at the climax of the story and the semi-climax of the entire arc! About one or two chapters left.

5:28pm at the Humphrey Bear Mall

Nick was fighting off bunnies with a lead pipe in one hand while holding a bleeding raccoon under his arm with the other. The small mammal had made it to the food court but was once again attacked.

Finnick and the Pretzel Palace workers cheered on. "C'mon Nick! You can make it!" Finnick shouted. Despite being cuffed, the fennec fox was able to open the window just in time to bring in Nick and the raccoon.

"I wish Carrots had left her first aid kit." Nick said. "I was just deputized back for one day and I'm in my casuals." He looked up at the beaver. "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Unnnhhh...yeah! In one of the drawers here!" The beaver opened the drawer and fished out the first aid kit while Finnick took some of the paper napkins and wet them with the soft drink dispenser.

"Good thinking Finn!" Nick replied and he wiped off the bloody bites and scratches with the wet napkins. "It's not standard procedure, but I'm glad I cuffed your paws in front of you."

"Sometimes a man's gotta make up for his sins." Finnick replied.

The beaver handed over the first aid kit. "Here you go! That was good work with the pipe. Where'd you get that?"

"Let's just say you shouldn't use the sink any time soon." Nick replied. He then checked on the victim. "Are you okay sir?"

"I'll live." The raccoon replied. "Thanks for saving me. I was told to come over here thanks to some bunny. She must be the only rabbit not infected!"

"That's my Judy." Nick replied. "We found a cure. She's going to try and add it to the sprinkler system."

"Will that work?"

"Don't know until we try it."

Finnick pointed over at an upside down trash can. "Nick look!"

Nick looked around. "What?"

"That trash can. It's moving!"

Sure enough. There was an upside down trash can inching it's way towards the Pretzel Palace. It was obvious that the people inside couldn't see and were going by sound. They were crashing into chairs and tables and the entire trash can was surrounded by bunnies attacking it and trying to knock it over.

"Over here!" Nick shouted. He had the window open a tiny crack. "Follow my voice!"

Nick and the others watched as the folks inside tried to make it over. They encouraged them as much as possible. "To your left! No! Your OTHER left! That's it! You're about to hit a table. Go to your right! Now back to the left! Almost there!"

Finnick surprised Nick by grabbing the pipe and opening the small window. "What are you doing?!" Nick shouted.

"I can help!"

"They're not close enough. You'll get yourself killed."

"Hey! You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

"Winning a limbo contest without bending?" Nick joked.

"Kiss my ass!" Finnick shouted. He jumped out the window and knocked two bunnies out with the pipe. Two more jumped him and he was able to roll them off and throw them back. Finnick then kicked the trash can over to reveal a mother Ewe and her two lambs. "Get inside!" Finnick shouted just as he got piled on by a bunch of angry rabbits.

"FINNICK!" Nick shouted. He pulled the sheep inside and quickly jumped out to help Finnick out. The cuffs were holding Finnick back and he was starting to get bitten. Nick quickly threw the bunnies off Finnick and made a run for it back to the Pretzel Palace. A bunny leaped and bit into Nick's arm. The fox yiped as he threw Finnick through the small window and bit the bunny to make it let go. Nick then made a leap for it inside and the others closed the window just as the bunny leaped again and smashed into the glass.

Nick was furious at Finnick "What were you thinking?! They were almost here!"

"I got big ears Nick. I could hear the kids whimpering. When I knew it was kids in danger, I had to help."

"Crazy fox." Nick replied. He then got out his keys and uncuffed Finnick. "Next time you do something that insane, you'll need to have your hands free."

Finnick was pleasantly surprised. "You're the best, man." Then, Finnick was almost immediately tackled by the two little lambs he saved. They hugged and kissed Finnick.

"Thanks you so much mister!" said the youngest lamb.

Finnick smiled and rubbed her head. "Aww! It wasn't nothin." This tender moment was interrupted by a banging sound as the bunnies outside were starting to pile up outside of the Pretzel Palace.

Nick was real concerned and quickly got on the phone with Judy. "Carrots, I hope your plan is coming along because we're in trouble over here!"

"I'm almost here!" Judy replied. She was dragging a really large bag full of Night Owl bottles behind her. "I had to make a stop at the drug store. I'll explain later."

"Be careful Fluff." Nick replied.

"Not my style." Judy replied as she hung up. She raced over to the back entrance only to be stopped when she saw a pile of savage bunnies attacking a horse. She quickly fought off the bunnies and got them to run away except two that surprised her. Her parents, Bonnie and Stu were two of the bunnies savagely biting the horse. "Mom! Dad! No! Stop!"

She tried pulling them off, but they'd just shove her aside and go right back to attacking the screaming equine. "I don't have any choice." Judy pulled her mother off and shot her with a tranq, putting her down temporarily.

She then puller her father away but he shoved her down hard again. Judy had enough. "Alright. No more Mrs. Nice Bunny!" She punched her father hard in the face, knocking him down. "Damn! That felt pretty good!" She pounced on top of him and started punching him in the face.

POW! "That's for not believing in me!" BAM! "That's for letting grandpa and little Jimmy die!" SOCK! "That's for letting hawks into Bunnyburrow!" WHAM! "And that's for Michael!" WHOP! "And that's for.."

Her arm was stopped by her mother who had quickly awakened from the darts effects. "Judy dear!" Bonnie said in shock. "What do you think you're doing to poor Stu?!"

"Oh! Umm... Sorry mom. He and all the bunnies have gone savage. I'm just trying to subdue him."

Bonnie didn't believe her. "Uh-hunnnh. And how did you get me out of this savage spell?"

"With a tranq dart. It's still sticking out of your shoulder."

Bonnie was shocked as she finally noticed the dart. "EEP!"

"Sorry mom. I guess I did get carried away. I better help that horse you two were attacking."

"Goodness gracious! We were attacking him?!"

"I think you were trying to eat him. You have his blood on your mouth. Dad too."

Bonnie wiped her mouth and saw the blood. "Oh dear! Well you better go help that horse and stop beating up your father! That's my job!"

Judy chuckled. "Okay." She quickly ran over to the horse. "I'm sorry sir. Are you okay?!"

"They practically bit me to death!" The horse said.

"I just came from the drug store and I have some gauze and some antiseptic. Hold still."

As she was cleaning and wrapping the horses injuries, the horse noticed the rest of her large bag. " 'Night Owl'?! I think you should be worried more about injuries than people getting the common cold."

Judy finished tending to the horse. "That's not what it's for. Watch."

Judy went over to her mom and dad. Bonnie was still punching Stu. WHACK! "And that's for betting our entire farm on an appearance from Gazelle!"

"Okay mom! That's enough!" Judy said. "Let me bring dad back while he still has a face. Oh! And by the way, don't worry about Gazelle. Bobby says she'll be there no matter what."

"Well don't tell your father that. I want to watch him squirm."

"Now let's see if Hans is right and good old 'Night Owl' will do the trick as good as a tranquilizer."

Bonnie held Stu down while Judy opened his mouth and poured the medicine in. Stu still struggled and growled for a bit, but eventually got groggy and passed out. Not a minute later, he came to. "Wh-what happened? OW! Why does my jaw hurt?! Why is my face all puffy and swollen?!"

"The Big Cheese was using this mall as an experiment for his Nighthowler gas that can make just certain species go savage. In this case, it was bunnies. You, mom and everyone went savage and started attacking all the non-bunnies in the mall including this horse over here."

"Hi." waved the horse. "I have a name by the way, it's Wendell. Your dad ate a small chink of my flesh!"

Stu was surprised. "What?! No way!"

"You have my blood on your mouth!"

Stu wiped his mouth with his sleeve and saw the blood on it. "My God! I'm so sorry sir! If it's any consolation, you have a delicious aftertaste."

"...Thanks?"

"That still doesn't explain why face is all swollen and hurting."

Judy quickly came up with something. "Ummmmm...well, we accidentally found that sedatives negate the effects of the gas and some people uhhhh...are having a bad allergic reaction to the gas."

"Ooooh! That would explain it...WAIT! There are savage bunnies everywhere?!"

"Don't worry. They ignore other bunnies. If you can, try to find a safe zone and help get some people to safety. Wendell, head to the food court. The Pretzel Palace is a safe zone. Find a weapon along the way to defend yourself."

"Alright. As long as I don't become the food in the court." Wendell said as he ran off.

Judy went back to her parents. "Remember they won't attack you because your bunnies. I'm gonna put the rest of the Night Owl in the sprinkler system. Now Go!"

Bonnie then remembered something important. "The young ones! They went to go meet Santa Paws!"

"Stupid early holiday sales!" Stu shouted. "We better hurry or they're going to EAT Santa Paws!"

Bonnie and Stu head towards the middle of the mall. "Wait!" Bonnie said. "Are we in the middle of an adventure?!"

"Looks like." Stu said. "Exciting and romantic isn't it?!"

Bonnie blushed. "Sh-Shut up! I'm still mad at you! You better hope you get that ten million or else we're through!"

Meanwhile, Wendell had made it to the food court and quickly realized there was a problem. "Finally! I WOAH!"

The entire Pretzel Palace was surrounded by savage bunnies trying to get in. Nick and Finnick had managed to rescue a few others and now it was attracting a bunch of the bunnies and the glass was starting to crack. "Sorry bud! We're all filled up!" Nick said. "And the remaining pretzels have all gone stale under the heat lamp anyway!"

Wendell took off running to find new cover and was being chased by more savage bunnies. Nick quickly got on the phone to Judy. "Carrots! We're in trouble here! Are you almost done?!"

"I just got the to the water reservoir!" Judy replied. "Now...do you know anything about working a sprinkler system?"

"WHAT?! No!"

"I'll just Zoogle it."

"ZOOGLE IT?!"

"Relax! You're in a safe place right?!"

"Wrong! We attracted too many bunnies and now the glass is cracking!"

"Well, if there's one thing you're good at, it's attracting bunnies."

"Very cute Fluff, now PLEASE HURRY!"

Meanwhile, Bonnie and Stu Santa's workshop in the middle of the mall. "Look! There's the kids!"

"They're all trying to get in that chimney!" Stu replied. "What's going on?"

"Is there someone out there?" A voice from inside the chimney asked. "Get me the ho-ho-hell out of here!"

"It's Santa Paws!" Bonnie said. "He must not be a bunny!"

"I'm a moose!" Santa Paws said from inside the fake chimney. "And please do something! This thing's just made of cardboard!"

Stu was upset. "A moose? Well that's just dumb! Santa Paws is always played by a furred mammal. Hence the name 'Santa PAWS'!"

Santa Paws was furious. "Now's not the time to get technical you asshole!"

Bonnie was surprised. "Wow! Santa's got a potty mouth!"

"...Can I please get a different pair of rescuers?"

Just then, Stu came up with an idea. "Bonnie! I have a plan. Follow me."

"YOU have a plan?" Bonnie replied in surprise.

"It can happen. Crack open this display of plush dolls."

Sure enough, one of the displays around Santa's workshop for taking photos was a big bag of plush animals behind a glass display. Bonnie took a chair and smashed open the display. Plushies started falling out everywhere. "Okay. Now what?!"

"Now we distract them so the moose can get out. Grab any non-bunny plushies." Stu grabbed a big, stuffed lion doll. "Hey kids! Look! I got a big, bad lion! Come and get him!"

As some of the bunny children ran towards Stu, he threw the plush lion as hard as he could in the opposite direction. It landed on top of a popcorn vendors cart. The bunny kids were climbing each other to try and attack the plushie.

"It worked!" Bonnie shouted. "Stu, you're a genius!"

"I am?...Yeah! I AM! Try and throw a plush somewhere they'll have a hard time reaching."

Bonnie grabbed a plush wolf. "Look at the doggie kids! Come get the doggie!" She threw it into the giant Christmas tree and the kids started climbing to get to it.

The moose was finally left alone. "You're all clear!" Stu said. "You can get out now."

The moose climbed out of the fake chimney. "Two rabbits?! How did you not turn savage?!"

"We did. Our daughter brought us back. It's a long story. Let's go!"

"Wait!" Bonnie said. "What about our kids?!"

"They're only a danger to others right now. We need to find a safe place for the moose!"

"Alright dear." Bonnie replied. They then started running away from their own kids. "By the way, I really like how you're taking charge!"

"Really? Thanks dear."

"Stu...I was gonna put you on the hook for awhile, but Judy told me Gazelle is coming to your stupid 'Wedding-Palooza' no matter how much you raise."

Stu was relieved. "Really?! That's fantastic!"

"I'm still mad at you!" Bonnie replied angrily. "But...I know you only wanted to help bring money to the farm and didn't mean for it to get so out of hand. Plus, I gotta admit, this hero side of you is attractive."

"Aww my baby Bonnie!" Stu grabbed Bonnie's paw and gave her a quick kiss while they were running.

They all stopped when they realized that a group of savage bunnies were running towards them. "Oh no! Back the other way!" They ran the other way only to see their kids had stopped taking the bait and we looking to maul Santa. Stu saw a small gondola in the middle of the main floor offering a bunch of bootleg game systems. "There!" He shoved the Santa moose inside and dropped the fake roof down on him as best he could.

"That's not gonna hold long." Bonnie said.

"It's the best I can do." Stu replied. "Get out of here Bonnie. I'll try to hold them off as best I can."

"No way!" Bonnie replied. "If this is our last stand, then it's together!"

"You're pregnant! The bunnies will ignore you if you don't fight them. Just...go sit on a bench for a bit."

Bonnie didn't want to leave her husband. "But honey!"

"GO!"

Bonnie ran off. Tears streaming from worry.

Meanwhile, Judy was still trying to get a hang of the plumbing system and was getting frustrated. "Stupid Zootube! It's taking forever to stream! Oh forget it! Where's the water supply?"

She finally found the intake to where the water is going. "Okay! Just need to drain some of this out and add the cold medicine and tranquilizer."

Bottle after bottle of the cold medicine was poured into the reserve tank. "Sweet cheese and crackers! This is taking forever! C'mon Judy. Hurry!"

"C'mon Judy. Hurry!" said Nick. The Pretzel Palace was barely holding up now to the onslaught of savage bunnies wanting to get inside to main and maul. Nick shoved Finnick inside the cupboards with the children.

"What the hell are you doin'?!" Finnick asked angrily.

"Someone has to protect the children and you are the only one that can fit in here."

"You might get killed!"

"Even if it's just for today, I'm a cop Finn. Protecting citizens is my job. Even if it costs me my life."

"...Nick."

"What?"

"...You've always been like a son to me. I love you."

Nick smiled and held back tears. "I love you too buddy."

"Just an FYI. If we live through this, I'm gonna deny everything I just said."

"Of course." Nick chuckled. Just as he heard the glass cracking. "Oh no!"

Meanwhile, Stu was ready to fight his own kids. "Alright boys, time for a spanki-AAAH!" They knocked him down and started scratching him while some of the others were tearing into the gondola.

Meanwhile, Judy finished adding to the reservoir. "Night Owl's in. Tranqs are in. That should be it. Now how do I turn it on?! Why am I talking to myself?! What do I?..." She then noticed the fire alarm on the wall. "Of course!"

The fire alarm was high on the wall. Judy tried jumping up and smashing it with her elbow, but to no avail. "This mall is 90 percent bunny, you'd think they'd make these things bunny size!" She looked around and found a loose piece of pipe to smash it open with.

Nick and the others were being invaded by the bunny scratchers ("Ah! He said it") in the Pretzel Palace while Stu was about to be ripped to shreds by his own kin when Judy pulled on the fire alarm. "LET IT RAIN!" It was old and took all of her strength to pull it, but it finally went down.

A ringing was heard throughout the mall, causing the savage bunnies to be distracted by the sound and look up just as the sprinkler system started. A diluted mix of water, cough medicine and tranquilizer rained down from the ceilings and onto the savage bunnies and mall patrons. Some of it fell into the bunnies mouths while the others sniffled the chemicals that were splashing around in the air. It was feint, but just enough. A few bunnies passed out. Others just stopped in their tracks, confused. As if they were waking from a slumber.

10 year-old Jason Hopps was biting on his dad's foot when he finally came to. "Ummm...dad? What the heck am I doing?"

Stu got up and patted his son's head. "Nothing son. It's okay. Thanks to your big sister Judy, everything's okay!"

Bonnie ran over and gave her husband a huge hug. "Hey! Careful now!" Stu said. "You don't wanna squeeze that belly full of our babies!"

The other bunnies that were attacking the Pretzel Palace came around. "Where am I?!" said one of the bunnies.

"Welcome to the Pretzel Palace!" Nick replied. "Would you like to try our soggy cinnamon bites?"

The zebra laughed and gave Nick a hug of joy. Finnick and the kids came out of the cabinet. The mother Ewe gave Finnick a big kiss for his troubles. Nick quickly got on the phone to Judy. "Carrots! It worked! It WORKED!"

"I know!" Judy said happily. "I saw it all on the monitors back here. The fire and police department have been alerted and they're cautiously opening the doors. The cops have tranqs at the ready in case there's some uncured stragglers."

Nick let out a big sigh of relief. The current nightmare was over. "Thanks dear. Meet us outside. Okay?"

"Sure thing darling." Judy replied.

Just then, Nick got a tap on the shoulder from Finnick. "Hey Nick?!"

"What's up Finn?"

Finnick's ears drooped. "Let's...Let's go see Honey one last time."

Nick quickly became solemn. He started to sniffle. "Okay...okay."