SAVAGE FOX

Based on Zootopia. What would have happened if Nick had been darted for real ? And afterwards ?

The characters, the places, the universe, etc. and the elements from the film are the sole property of its creators. I do not own anything.

/!\SPOILERS/!\ so if you didn't watch the film but want to read this story... Don't. Unless you don't care being spoiled. Anyway, you're adults. Or almost.

Notes :

A short three-chapter story about Judy and Nick. Haha, no joke !

Sorry for the (numerous) mistakes and clumsy/hideous turns of phrase, English is not my mother language. I'll do my best !

Rainbows, pandas and unicorns x3

Chapter 1 : Darted

Judy and Nick heard their pursuers getting closer, scrutinizing every corner of the museum. What could they possibly do ? They might manage to escape, but what if they did not ? And if they did, what then ? What could they possibly do against the new mayor ? They had no proofs...

In a rush, the fox put a rabbit statue to lure them and ran closer to the exit, stealthily going the length of the great wall, carrying his partner. He stopped at the corner of the walls and stared at her.

"Look. If anything goes wrong, don't worry for me."

"What ? But..."

"Do what you have to do."

But Judy was not convinced. She was worried. For him. Why would she not ? He was her friend and partner, they were trapped here together, with the mastermind of the predators attacks at their heels, of course she was worried ! She could not let him here alone if it went wrong.

"Carrots", he whispered with a genuinely worried look, his paws on her shoulders.

And, suddenly, without even knowing exactly what made him do it, he leaned closer to the rabbit and quickly left a peck on the corner of her tiny mouth. She barely had the time to react to anything, he took her off the ground again and ran.

Holding her in one arm and the case in the other, Nick rushed towards the exit of the museum, running as fast as he could. But the ram quickly caught them up, and quite easily. When he banged them with his horns, the fox dropped the case. They fell down, finding themselves in a deep large pit-like with false animals, grass and bushes, sand and stones, trees painted on the circular wall.

They heard the ewe's satisfied mocking laugh, she appeared to be quite smug.

"Well, you should have stayed In the carrot farm, huh ? It really is too bad, I... I did like you", she said with a deceitfully saddened voice.

"What are you going to do ?", Judy challenged her. "Kill me ?"

The mayor had a brief laughter, which really did not sound good. Really not.

"No, of course not !", she answered, before pointing the gun at the fox. "He is."

She shot at him right in the neck, making him fall on the ground.

"No !", the bunny shouted, rushing to him. "Oh, Nick !"

The fox shook and groaned, then started to pant heavily... Like Mr. Manchas had, right after being darted. So, that was it ? That was what he meant when he told her something could go wrong ? But... She could not let him here, alone and not being himself, she had to do something !

"Yes, police ! There's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum ! Officer Hopps is down ! Please, hurry !", the mayor wailed, faking worry perfectly.

Meanwhile, Judy was trying to find anything that could prevent Nick from going savage. She did not want to believe it... He was shot. He could not attack her, he could not become an enemy, not after everything they did, not after they solved the case. She could not lose him now.

"No... Nick, don't do this", she tried to persuade him. "Fight it !"

"Oh, but... He can't help it, can he ?", Bellwether provoked her cynically. "Since preds are just... Biologically predisposed to be savages !"

Well, she knew what words to use to get to Judy. Actually, she used her words, the ones she had ignorantly stated at the conference. The ones she had been thinking for real during a moment. The ones that gave prey a reason to fear predators. The ones that had fueled Bellwether's plan to make prey dominate and lock predators up.

Suddenly, Nick started to growl, showed threatening teeth and glanced at Judy. She let a whimper out and started to run away, limping because of her injured leg. She threw him a fake fawn he bit and scratched, ripping it into pieces, violently and mercilessly. Like a real savage animal...

"Gosh ! Think of the headline", the mayor carried on. "Hero cop killed by savage fox !"

"So, that's it !", Judy exclaimed. "Prey fears predator and you stay in power ?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It won't work !"

"Fear always works !", the ewe retorted. "And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

The officer would never have expected for that. No one would have. Using fear to make prey discriminate predators and make their existence a living hell. This had been her plan all along.

The rabbit jumped when she saw her partner appearing out of the grass, snarling, staring at her with threatening eyes, showing his pointy teeth. This was not the pacific – though former hustler – fox she used to know. He was completely changed. He would really attack her... And she was cornered between him and the wall, with nothing to defend herself. The only fact of thinking she had come to need the fox repellent for real made her sick, she wished she would never have had to think that. Anyway, she did not have it. She was helpless.

"Oh, Nick... No", she moaned with a trembling voice, whereas Bellwether gave a sneering laugh.

"Bye bye, bunny !"

Ears lowered, staring at the fox with a fear she had never felt because of him before, she quickly thought about something she could do. Play for time. It was the only thing she could still possibly do until Bogo and his team would finally arrive. And she truly hoped they would come fast, because the only option for her was... Violence. She had to respond. "Do what you have to do", she remembered he had told her. The circumstances forced her to.

Inwardly asking him for forgiveness, she gave a hard kick on his maw, making him step back with an angry roaring. She started to run again around the pit, trying to hide from him, avoiding him. She wished she would never have had to do this with him, it felt so unusual. It did not make sense !

"Run, rabbit, run*", the mayor laughed at her, putting the gun back in the case. "You won't avoid him much longer."

A few minutes after, which seemed like hours for her, Judy finally saw her colleagues surrounding the pit. While the polar bear and the tiger were getting the fox under control, the two rhinos helped Judy climb back up and the others kept an eye on Bellwether and her partners.

"All right", Bogo started. "What happened there ? Mayor Bellwether ?"

"I don't know, Sir", the ewe pretended to panic. "I saw this fox become savage in a sudden and attack miss Hopps, out of the blue !"

She was disgustingly good at pretending to be anxious. It was revolting.

"Chief Bogo, that's not what happened at all !", the bunny protested.

"Hopps, I did not ask you..."

"She shot him, Sir !"

"What are you saying ?", the buffalo sighed.

"The predators didn't just go savage like that, they were shot with a serum ! And she just shot him. She planned to dart all the predators to make them savage and get rid of them !"

While she was trying to argue, she could hear Nick's roaring stifled by the muzzle the officers had put him, she could see him struggling furiously against them, trying to bite and scratch. And looking at her with this gaze. A gaze she had never seen for him. A threatening, scaring gaze. That was not him...

"Get in a car, Hopps."

"But, Sir..."

"Enough ! Get out of here, I'll listen to your version of the facts when you're less under the shock."

She knew it was not about not wanting to listen to her, but it was about her. He knew she would be traumatized to be attacked by a friend, so she could try to justify it by any possible way, including accusing the others. But what he did not know was that she was very lucid about it, she was right.

"Fine. You don't believe me ? At least, look in there", she challenged, pointing the case.

Though annoyed, Bogo grabbed the case and took the gun out of it. He frowned.

"And where is your evidence, Hopps ? This gun is empty", Bogo said with his usual authoritative tone. "It's her word against yours."

In fact, the proof was not in the gun. No one saw what had happened. Bellwether seemed to enjoy that. She gave a taunting smile at Judy, who would have gladly punched her face at this moment. But she could not do that. Anyway, she did not have to.

"Well, actually...", the officer started with a quivering voice.

She showed the carrot pen and rewinded it until the key moment : "Fear always words ! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

"It's her word against hers, Sir."

"What ?", Bellwether exclaimed in surprise and fury.

Judy would have rather said these words with the same satisfied smile than when she had trapped Nick before. But she really was not in the mood to smile. Her friend, her partner, her sly fox was fastened and muzzled, neutralized by her stronger co-workers, struggling and snarling endlessly. She could barely handle the picture, she felt so sick and also guilty. She feared him and had to be violent with him.

The rabbit stared at the mayor with a challenging gaze and gave a faint and completely feigned smile, tears filling her eyes, voice trembling.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart..."

*Nooope, this was absolutely not a reference to Pink Floyd's Breathe (DSOTM)...

So ? What did you think about it ? What will happen then ? What will Judy do ?