Well, seems it's been forever and a day, but at last I'm back in circulation! Merry Christmas, and enjoy... if you dare.
"I am the fire that purifies the universe, Tommy. The weak may hate me and curse my name… but eventually those who survive in my wake will be stronger for it.
"I know you hate me… but like it or not, you're only becoming the warrior you are because of me."
Lord Zedd, Saban's Go Go Power Rangers Vol 8
Two Hours Before the Concert
A food delivery truck rumbled across a bridge stretching out into Polar Strait, to a high-security holding facility known colloquially as Alpacatraz 2.0. Over the span it rumbled, bumping as it passed the juncture of two drawbridges.
"Slow day?" asked the reindeer driver, holding out a clipboard to the security guard at the last checkpoint, just before getting off the bridge itself.
The arctic wolf shrugged. "Eh, no news is good news, especially around here. Everyone's been tense with the rumors going around that this Obearon creep has some link to Bellwether."
The deer nodded, then reached for something in the passenger seat. "Well, this might brighten your guys' day. Coffee?"
The guard gladly accepted two steaming mugs. "I don't care what they say about truckers; you're okay with me any day."
Answering with a nod, the deer drove on. The guard turned away, then jolted a little as a strange thud sounded outside the guard shack. He poked his head out quizzically and looked around, but saw nothing amiss.
"Hey, Mel, will ya close the window before my coffee turns into a slushy?" asked his partner, a bison.
Mel shrugged as he drew back in and closed the window, unaware of the eyes that peered at him from beneath the truck's luggage compartment. "Thought I heard something, but it must have been snow kicked up by the truck." He took a sip of his coffee and frowned quizzically, like a gourmet trying to describe a particularly delicate dish. "What flavor is this? It's got an aftertaste that's almost floral."
The bison chuckled. "You should've been a barista," he joked, downing half his coffee in one toss. "It's caffeine. Who cares what else is in it?"
On the outside of the shack, off to the side where Mel couldn't have seen it, clung a small wireless speaker, turned inward to the side of the building. The creature which had thrown it had already withdrawn into hiding beneath the luggage portion of the truck.
The vehicle pulled into the loading dock, there to remit its cargo. The driver quickly got out and grabbed the nearest cart.
"Hand me all the boxes marked 'Staff appreciation,' he ordered. "We're behind schedule and I want to get them moving as soon as possible. Boss's orders."
The other staff, none the wiser for the scheme, didn't argue with the order.
One hour later
Inside the prison, the director was contending with – in her personal estimation – the lowest form of animal life ever to slither the planet: a lawyer.
"We received no notice of an appointment or change of -" she protested firmly.
"This is the notice," her undersized opponent shot back, holding up a paper defiantly as if it were a crucifix meant to cow some unholy monster into submission. It was printed on official government stationary the warden knew well, and bore a quite recognizable mark. "Signed by the governor in plain black and white. I'm Miss Bellwether's new defensive counsel, and I demand to see my client in private right now."
"You'll forgive me if I verify," the warden replied coldly. "As for a private meeting, you are no doubt aware that Bellwether is to be kept under the closest scrutiny."
The vixen glared. "And you," she retorted, "are no doubt aware that she still has constitutional rights. Do I need to take action against this place? Because I will do it; you just try me."
The two stared one another down for a long moment before the warden's secretary stuck his head in. "We're unable to reach the governor or Bellwether's previous lawyer," he reported.
"Typical," sniffed the lawyer. "Are you going to keep this up all day, or can I get on with doing my job?"
The warden lost the staring contest. "Fine," she sniffed in annoyance. "You can have your consultation or whatever you want to call it, but I'll have guards monitoring the door."
At this the arctic vixen nodded. "So be it," she agreed.
The vixen was escorted into a room where she had to wait some time before Bellwether entered. The door closed firmly behind the sheep.
"I don't recall asking for a new lawyer," the sheep answered testily.
Her defender smirked. "Your previous attorney is indisposed for the foreseeable future. Something about photos certain parties were never meant to see. I was chosen as a replacement."
Bellwether huffed. "Do they really think I'll get a wholehearted defense from a predator?" she asked testily.
The vixen studied her claws. "Let's not get personal," she replied coolly. "Whatever you had in mind for your operation, you're my business now. That means I've got your back until further notice."
"And just how safe am I with you watching my back?"
"Let me put it this way," Vanya smirked dryly. "Anyone else who wants to stick a knife in it won't stand a chance."
"Very funny." Bellwether took a seat. "So, are we going to go over paperwork or plan a defense strategy?"
Vanya checked her watch, then took a soft drink out of her messenger bag. "Actually, we're going to wait. Even as we speak, one of the mammals watching us is turning on everyone else in sight in a manner with which you should be most familiar. The same thing is happening in the security room while a friend of mine sets up a quick little bypass into the prison's electrical controls."
As she spoke, she downed the drink and shook the empty can to make a surprising rattling sound. Then she sliced the label off the can with a neat swipe of one claw. A quick twist popped the can easily apart, disgorging a collection of parts sealed in plastic… along with a pawful of familiar-looking blue spheres.
"My darts!" Bellwether exclaimed.
"That depends on how well you get along with my boss." Vanya calmly unwrapped the hardened ceramic parts and assembled them into a blow gun with a small ammunition clip attached, into which she inserted the darts. It wasn't nearly as sophisticated as some weapons she'd worked with, but the trick of hiding it was as good as anything even Medwing the Miraculous could have devised. Whatever Cudd was paying his prop manufacturer, he should double it.
"How well I-?! But it was my plan!"
Vanya studied the weapon and shrugged cavalierly. "We should have a clear shot at an exit now, and the door should be unlocking… now."
Her voice just failed to mask the sound of the lock clicking free. She raised a paw for Bellwether to hang back, then slipped to the door and cracked it open just enough to look out.
"Exactly as planned," she all but purred, waving for Bellwether to follow. She slipped out the door, and after a moment pushed her scowling face back in.
"Do you want to get out of here or not?" she snapped, jerking her head impatiently.
Hesitating only a moment more, the ewe followed after her. She nearly jumped out of her wool when she existed and came face-to-face with the limp form of a female elk, decorated with some red badges that were definitely not standard issue for corrections officers.
Vanya smirked as she helped herself to the guard's radio. "What's the matter? Never saw one before? You left enough of them around the city. Here." She passed the radio to Bellwether, heedless of the smears on it. "We'll want an ear to the ground in case they manage to surprise us."
Bellwether glanced around nervously. "Where's the…?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry. Whoever it was is off attacking or being attacked by guards in the other direction. It's all part of the plan."
The vixen headed off down the hall, alert but as confident as if she'd been walking through her own house. Without realizing it, Bellwether's voice dropped to a terrified whisper as she hurried to keep close behind. "What happens if the plan goes wrong?" she asked, realizing for the first time how so many citizens had felt when her plan was in full sway.
Vanya glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "I still wouldn't worry. You don't look like a fast runner, so there's my escape plan."
A frightened whimper escaped Bellwether's throat, and for an instant she stopped.
"Better keep up," Vanya advised, turning her eyes back to the front. She did allow herself to roll them, however, at the ewe's cowardice. "Whatever Obearon liked in you, it sure wasn't your guts."
The halls ahead of them were deserted – a fact that didn't escape Bellwether. "Where is everyone?" she asked.
Vanya laughed. "Dealing with the trouble my friends have arranged. Right now, half the employees on duty are going crazy from 'staff appreciation' snacks arranged by my boss." She jerked a thumb at a heavy door nearby as someone on the other side as a mammal wrestled with the lock and swore. "My friend at the controls is providing her own games to the festivities, too."
Bellwether's blood ran cold as they rounded a corner and passed another solidly locked door. This one shook with screams and pleading, mixed with the roars of some unidentified beast. Even more chilling than the thought of what was happening on the other side – and what might happen if it reached their side – was the low chuckle it all elicited from Vanya.
The sound of a radio crackling made her jump, but it wasn't the one she held. Vanya took a much smaller one from her pocket and held it up to her ear. "What's up?"
Bellwether listened attentively, but couldn't make out what the other party was saying. Vanya, however, nodded once, snapped off a quick reply that sounded like some other language, and pocketed the radio. Then she cocked her weapon.
"Looks like we're going to have some fun after all," she remarked cooly.
Judy Hopps ran desperately through the halls of the mansion, scrambling in her mind for a solution as to what to do. In training exercises at the academy, she had determined her top speed was between thirty-five and forty miles per hour, depending on the day, with do-or-die crises pushing her up to forty-five. That would make her faster than any of the mammals behind her except the deer.
Unfortunately, all it would take was one reaching her to buy the others enough time to catch up. She yanked off the sash around her waist to free her legs, throwing it behind her on the off chance the deer might trip. The lack of any stumbling or crashing sounds behind her told her this had not worked.
Gotta think, she thought to herself. Gotta think gottathinkgottathink…
She spotted a fire door and darted through. Stairs! Yes! She slammed and locked the door behind her; that would slow them down at least until the bear or rhino got to it. Then, bringing her agility fully into play, she began to ascend top speed up the open stairwell, bouncing and swinging off walls and rails, hardly touching the floor at all. Below her, she heard the door crumple and smash open and knew it was time to break off her ascent. The best she could figure, she had gone up five stories. Landing in a crouch, she slipped out the nearest fire door and slammed it shut too. If the mammals below her didn't turn on each other or lose interest, at least it would take them some time to track her down.
The problem was, how could she get back to the ground floor without risking another bad run-in? She had to get back to Nick and the vixen he'd be meeting – in her agitated state she had little mind for names – and get them out of there before going after Poisson and Cudd.
She paused a moment to shoot off a text to Chief Bogo, informing him of the situation. She considered telling him who Obearon was, but decided against it. She'd made the mistake once too many already of underestimating an enemy; better to hold a card or two in reserve until she knew the psycho's hand was empty. Then she set herself afresh to finding a path back down… and her eyes fell on a ventilation grate. She ran to it, tried to hook her paws into it, and found exactly no purchase.
"Rrrgh!" she shouted in annoyance, waving her fists. Then she yelped as her paw struck something hard at her hip. In the excitement she had all but forgotten about her gun, but now she looked and saw the matte black pistol. She unholstered it and gazed upon it for one brief moment, the Chupacabra on the side gleaming in a contrasted ebony gloss. Then she steeled herself, flicked off the safety, and pointed it at one of the screws holding the grate solid.
The blast fairly deafened her, but when she opened her eyes from their involuntary closure, there was a good-sized hole at the corner of the grate. She still didn't hear any mammals following, but she couldn't bet on that lasting long, Flicking the safety back on, she rushed to the grate and used the gun's barrel to lever the opening wider and then yanked off the barrier. Using her phone's light, she peered into the shaft; straight down.
"Here goes," she uttered to herself, slipping in and beginning a barely controlled descent.
Nick gulped. He had been hoping for a nice – well, maybe not nice, but at least private – one-on-one talk with Taelia. Fessing up to her entire band, with all of them staring intently at him... that wasn't something he had bargained for.
Come on, Wilde, he told himself. You handled Mr. Big and his polar posse, right?
'Actually, no,' noted a voice in the back of his head. 'Judy handled them last time. You almost got yourself and her deep-sixed.'
He hated it when reality got on his case like that. To make matters worse, that feeling of deja vu he got from Vicky was stronger than ever. He tried to focus on the others, but that helped little. Isabelle looked as ticked as the hyena, albeit less intimidating (like that said much). Xavier and Nicole looked angry, but mostly disappointed. Ellen looked kind of in the middle, and Taelia... brr. He'd been ready for the stoney expression with just a hint of deep wounds underneath; Heaven only knew how many times he'd put that look on female faces. This time there was something different, though, and not just because he was ready to admit he felt bad about it. There was something off in her eyes, or rather behind her eyes, as it seemed. Just thinking that sounded pretty weird, but that was the best way to put it. He'd seen it before, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out where.
"O-kay, where do I start?" he asked, making a pretty weak attempt to sound cheerful.
"Try the beginning," Xavier answered with an edge in his voice.
Taelia cleared her throat. "Xavier, if you don't mind?"
The wolf coughed, accustomed as he was to taking the lead. "Right. Personal matter," he amended.
Taelia took over, staring Nick dead in the face. "Pick up wherever you started lying to me," she told him. "And I want the truth this time; all of it."
Nick gulped. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Well, to begin with, I didn't want to be a cop since I was a kid. I mean, I wanted to do something respectable with my life, but..."
It took what felt like forever to pour out his story. The swindling, Judy's little blackmail stunt, as much as he was allowed to tell about the Night Howler case... At first he'd been scared out of his mind, but two things happened as he went on talking. One was that the more he said, the less it felt like an interrogation. He was really emptying his soul this time, like he had when he told Judy about his attempt to join the Junior Ranger Scouts. The other was that the longer it went, the less tense they all seemed; most of all Taelia. Her creased forehead smoothed out, her tense posture relaxed, and whatever was off about her eyes seemed to diminish. Her ears, which had been flat against her skull with distrust, eased into a gentler, more sorrowful position. They were still down, but it was some progress at least. Her eyes, meanwhile, still had that off look about them, but at least she didn't seem angry.
Finally, she sighed. "What about the store?"
Nick wished Judy was there to fill in for him. Technically, he wasn't sure how much he was allowed to tell – and as accustomed as he was to ignoring the rules, he was pretty close to being an officer to risk it all now. Still, he decided he owed her at least the short version.
"Well, Judy was trying to get some info on someone. I don't think I can say who, but her efforts were getting nowhere and she thought maybe I could charm the information out of this person."
"Olivia Poisson," Taelia filled in. Everyone stared at her, but few more so than Nick. "I figured it out when we got here and I remembered you talking about 'the richest skunk in Zootopia.' Who else could it be?"
"Ah, right." Nick tugged on his shirt collar. "I set up a business meeting which turned into a date – which, by the way, was not even close to being my idea – and Judy decided I should get some Pwasson's Passion products to spruce up."
"Like the Alpha Male cologne?" asked Taelia, folding her arms icily.
Xavier blinked. He didn't say anything out loud, but he exchanged a glance with his wife. Alpha Male was the kind of stuff he usually reserved for their anniversaries. If Nick were the type to use it for fake dates or even start-up relationships, Xavier for one would be more than ready to put him out the closed door.
Nick coughed. "It was a blind grab; honest. There was a two-for-one sale, so Judy said I might as well grab an extra bottle. I didn't know. I've never even used that brand before."
Taelia was almost satisfied; almost, but not quite. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" she asked, making a sweeping gesture of her arms.
It seemed so obvious a question that Nick immediately suspected a trick of some kind. Part of his brain immediately began trying to turn the facts into a passable excuse.
No. No, no, no, he thought to himself, pulling back from that so-familiar slope. Not this time. He took a deep breath, let it out, and gave his answer. "I didn't expect it to be important," he confessed. "To be honest, I never expected things to get this serious between us. I didn't think I'd actually care about going on seeing you, but… I do care – more than I've let myself care in a long time."
Silent stares greeted him, especially from Xavier. Taelia's face just looked wounded.
He pressed on. "Hey, I know what I did was wrong. I have no excuse for that, just like I have no right to expect you to forgive me, but…" he tried to think what else to say, and found that there really was nothing else. "I'm sorry," he finished, feeling that it was a pretty weak apology in light of all he'd done.
Silence reigned for what was probably no more than fifteen seconds, but felt like a year. Oddly enough, Nick wasn't waiting breathlessly on a reply like he might have anticipated. He felt like a deflated balloon, but the funny thing about that was that being so empty and limp came with another kind of release. For those moments, he feared nothing. He had nothing to hold in, and nothing could flatten him more than he was. Taelia could tell him to get lost and never talk to her again, and he'd be able to take it like the cop he was trying to become. For once in his love life, he'd actually done it right.
"So that's it?" asked Vicky, spreading her paws out in unbelief. "You yanked her around, got her thinking she really mattered to you, but now you're sorry and that's just it?"
Nick felt like someone had stabbed a knife through him with those order, but to his surprise Taelia came to his defense, whirling on the hyena with a wrath beyond even the hurt and confusion she'd let on so far.
"Vicky," she snapped almost rabidly, "would it kill you to shut up for five minutes so I can think?!"
To Nick, the outburst came as a surprise. To the band, it was hardly less surprising than if Taelia had jumped up and slashed the hyena's face with her claws. Outbursts like that were not even close to the vixen's style. Taelia herself hardly seemed to notice, unless closing her eyes and pressing her fingertips to her forehead was meant to somehow reset her personality. After a long time, she opened her eyes ready to tell him to get lost... but she couldn't. When she saw his face there was just something so genuine about him – so deeply and truly sorry for the way he'd hurt her – that the angry words died within her.
She knew it could be a trick. Other guys had told her they were sorry, or that they really loved her, and then turned out to be lying. Nick had just admitted a history as a professional liar - literally. She knew all that... but she also knew she couldn't go on living in anger or pain like this. She'd had that knife in her chest for a long time once before. She couldn't – she wouldn't – face that nightmare again.
"I forgive you," she said at last, tears springing to her eyes. It was the hardest thing she had ever said in her life, but the relief it brought when she had said it was like nothing she'd ever experienced. She had to rub a forearm over her eyes as she continued. "I don't know if I can trust you anymore, and I know I'm not going to forget what you put me through, but if you're serious about all the things you told me, then go do it."
A weight seemed to lift from everyone in the room. No one knew how to explain it, but it was as if the air had suddenly grown lighter and clearer. For a moment, Nick could only stare, and if he hadn't been such a pro at reigning in his emotions me might have been tearing up himself. Regardless, he did smile. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I really mean it. That's… that's huge."
"Yeah, well you'd better live up to it," Vicky put in, still cold as ice.
Taelia looked up from wiping her eyes and started to ramble. "Vicky, I said to shut up. Why am I saying stuff like that? What's going on?"
Nick wasn't sure either, except that he must have shaken her up good. He fished in his pockets and brought out the old bandana. "Uh,,, will this help?" he asked, offering it to Taelia.
The other band members all eyed him with varying expressions as Taelia rubbed her eyes. It was Xavier who spoke next.
"Nick, what you just did… that's big," he said slowly. Then his voice took on an edge. "So you'd better be serious about it."
Nick looked up at the wolf, then from one set of eyes to the next, before coming to rest on Taelia's. "I am," he promised.
Nicole, meanwhile, was eyeing Taelia with a concerned gaze. "Tal, you don't look up to a party," she said gently. She turned to the others. "You guys get out to the sales table. I'll get her somewhere quiet and be with you in a bit."
"I could…" Nick offered before realizing that under the circumstances, offering to take Taelia home might send a few wrong messages. Then there was the other obvious problem. "Actually, I can't. I came with the cops."
Vicky raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
At that moment, however, a banging sound from a grate in the wall arrested their attention.
"I could use a little help in here!" came a voice inside.
Nick dashed over and began a futile effort to pull it loose while the others looked on in confusion.
"Who's in there?" asked Xavier, puzzled.
"Officer Hopps, ZPD! We have to go, NOW!"
Xavier didn't waste time on further questions. "Vicky, help me out," he ordered, stooping down and pulling Nick away. Between his muscle and the hyena's, it was only a moment's work to pry the cover free and bring Judy into the sound room with them.
"What's going on?" asked Isabelle, voicing their unified confusion. "Why were you in the vents?"
Judy dusted herself a little. "Because Obearon is turning the party into a bloodbath. We have to get out of here."
Well, that wasn't quite the note I planned to end this chapter on, but somehow I doubt you all will object. Besides, I wanted to post something for Christmas, so here you are.
Readers of my OC Albums series may recognize Medwing the Miraculous as a bat illusionist who worked for the circus in which Vanya spent her early years. I won't get long-winded about it, but if anyone hasn't read it yet he's mentioned – briefly – in chapter one of her Album. Something to read while you wait for my next chapter. :)
I actually looked up the fastest known speeds for all the animals involved in Judy's chase through the mansion, just for this chapter. My sources indicated rabbits can go up to 45 mph (that's 72.4 kph, btw), which would allow Judy to outpace most of the animals threatening her in this chapter. Deer, however, can run 50 as reported (yes, they can actually outrun horses, evidently). I made a point to put Judy in the higher echelons of rabbit speed, seeing as she wouldn't – and couldn't – settle for less from herself.
Easter Egg Answers:
The use of drawers as a locking mechanism was a nod to National Treasure 2, as was the trick of hiding a lock lever in a coat of arms. I think I was mistaken in referencing both National Treasure movies, as I believe both of these were in the second movie.
The animals chasing Judy are all derived from morphs used substantially by the Animorphs, with Jake having notably picked up a rhino, Rachel's favored grizzly morph, Cassie's horse, and the deer as a nod to Ax (because Zootopia has no centaurs or aliens). I would have put in a tiger and a wolf for Jake and Cassie respectively, but I've been trying to roughly maintain the prey-to-predator ratio seen in the movies. Kind of ironic that the deer would be the biggest threat to Judy under the circumstances.
I actually couldn't find the Hobbit reference in the previous chapter, so if anyone finds it please let me know.
Merry Christmas!