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The majority of the mammals around seemed to only be there for their own gains. A large tiger, Nick talked to admitted to never paying anything back to the baron. When Nick asked why the only response was baron never called on him to do a job. Judy managed to work her way, unnoticed, between the legs of a zebra who spoke of some strange happenings in the lower levels of the sanctuary. Nick wasn't surprised to find that not everyone was truly aware of what was going on.\n\nThe speakers thumped its loud music, between that and the bodies jumping around dancing and the loud yelling and laughing. It was enough to give Nick a headache. One odd thing occurred to Judy that Nick hadn't noticed until she expressed her concerns to him, Finnick was nowhere to be seen. There was always a chance he just decided not to come to the hideout that day, but Judy thought he might be out on a job.\n\n“Hey, meat!”\n\nThe deep voice cut through the cacophony of noise, freezing Nick and Judy in their tracks. When they looked back they were greeted by a bulky badger in a pressed gray suit. The closer he drew the better of a look Nick got of him. This was one of the biggest badgers Nick had ever seen. Even under the three-piece suit, his muscles bulged. When he sneered all the teeth on the left side of his face looked chrome, a huge scar ran down the same side. What little fur grew over the scar was white and baby fine. The badger threw a huge duffle bag on the ground in front of them.\n\n“Take this to Lavender and make it snappy.”\n\n“Make it snappy. What are you, a fifties sitcom?”\n\n“Listen here, Fox. I'll pop your head like a zit and use the pus as fur-gel for your lady friend here.”\n\nNick smirked and held his hands up. “Alright, alright, jeez you guys need to find your sense of humor.”\n\n“Get yourself gone, puke.”\n\nNick picked up one side of the duffle bag, hefting the strap onto his shoulder. Judy fell in behind him getting the other side. It was almost impossible to tell what was inside the back and he wasn't about to check, at least, not right now. One thing he was sure of was it was heavy and almost impossible to move through all the bodies dancing in the way.\n\nNick grunted angrily as he moved to dodge around a rhino only to get his tail stepped on by a lion. “Everyone get out of the way!”\n\nMammals stopped dancing and turned to look at who shouted. When they saw Judy they all started whispering to each other, moving to let the pair through. One of the wolves even offered to help her carrying it, but Judy assured him that it wasn't necessary.\n\n“How do you like that?” Judy grunted as she slipped under the counter into Lavender's den.\n\n“Like what?”\n\n“I'm famous.”\n\n“Of course, you are, sugar.” A playful voice called from overhead.\n\nNick and Judy slowed their paces looking up at sleek white fox laying out on the table above. His blue eyes gauging Nick, before moving to Judy. In a graceful motion, the fox slipped down from the tall table dropping onto the duffle bag, the extra weight causing it to slip from Nick's shoulder.\n\n“Hey, pal-”\n\n“Pearl!” The fox pointed to his chest, before pointing back and forth between the bunny and the fox. “Patrick and Fiver?”\n\n“How did you know that?” Judy slipped the strap off of her shoulder relieved to have the weight gone.\n\n“Everyone's talking about you two. Besting bad boy Manx, not an easy feat. As for your bunny hubby here, mammals here admire someone whose not afraid to live outside the box.”\n\n“What do you mean?” Nick straddled the duffle bag.\n\nPearl smirked helping himself to a seat on Nick's knee. “Thank you, dear-”\n\n“Hey, buddy.”\n\n“Don't worry, I won't charge you for the privilege.”\n\n“I mean-”\n\nPearl reached up and touched one black finger to Nick's lips. “Shh, I prefer my men strong and silent.”\n\nJudy covered her mouth, stifling a giggle. “You were saying?”\n\n“Oh yes, thank you dear. Up above in the beautiful city of Zootopia, it's not illegal to date or marry outside of your species, but as progressive as we want to think we are, it's frowned upon. The whispers and looks are enough to tear out a faint heart even when it's burning so brightly.” The fox used his whole body to gesture his statement, he rested back against Nick wrapping an arm around his neck, leaning back so their muzzles were touching.\n\n“Now, here we are today. Your handsome Romeo here, not only married outside of his species but married prey. A fox and a bunny, natural enemies coming together to form a perfect union. It's romantic beyond words.”\n\nIn a graceful fluid motion, the fox shift around on Nick's knee straddling him, leaning closer than Nick was comfortable with. “You both are so beautiful that if I had a wish, I would wish that you could create a child together. Someone to truly unite Zootopia.” The fox booped Nick's nose with his finger.\n\n“Thank you for that, Pearl but we gotta deliver this.”\n\n“Oh poo, that's alright. It appears that I have a gentlemammal caller. Fiver, if you ever decide to...come visit. Bring him with you for a big discount. See ya!”\n\nPearl scurried away to intercept a chubby raccoon who was barely able to stand on his own, obviously drank too much. Nick got up from the duffle bag dusting himself off.\n\n“Ugh, I have glitter all over me.”\n\n“Oh don't be such a baby, he seemed nice.”\n\n“I guess your right, sure has some boundary issues, though.”\n\nOn the count of three, they picked up the duffle bag and carried it through the front door of the club. They were topped immediately by a jaguar with a broad chest and large arms. He was clutching a radio in one hand and a clipboard in the other.\n\n“Names?”\n\n“Fiver and Patrick.”\n\n“You're not on the list, can't let you in. Folks here are too busy for surprise visitors.”\n\n“Nah, we're making a delivery for a lazy badger.”\n\n“Carlos, I'm not surprised. That dude never does anything he doesn't want to. It goes down this hall to the second door to the left.”\n\n“Second door, left, thanks.”\n\nJudy worked to swing the back of the duffle bag so they could move it along the hall. The bag got heavier and heavier the further they moved it. Nick counted out loud until they reached the door. A placard with the word 'Supplies' etched on it, hung on the wall to the right of the door. Nick opened the door surprised to see a half a dozen other duffle bags the same size and shape as the one they carried. At the back of the supply closet was another gray door, it stood ajar. The room lead into was too dark too see in.\n\n“What do you suppose is in all these bags?” Nick grunted he pointed to the pile of bags and they both heaved at the same time, stacking it on top.\n\n“Clean bed-clothes I'd imagine.”\n\nNick unzipped the bag, surprised to see a thick roll of bubbled plastic. Upon closer inspection the bubbles were roughly three inches square and full of white pills. Judy opened another one to find the same thing except in the bubbles was a fine powder. A sound, coming from the open doorway, echoed into the room. Nick crept over to take a look, he could hear Judy zipping the bags closed behind him.\n\nThrough the door was a wide open room that was pitch dark. A stairway lead, down into a dark cavern. Nick could hear rushing water from below, there was a smell in the air, something acrid. It was something he'd not smelled before. Another sound echoed up from below, this time, it sounded like voices. Nick, overcome by his curiosity, started down the stairs. Judy followed behind him, both trying to be as quiet as possible.\n\nThe stairway seemed to go on forever. At one point Nick started to believe he was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Just climbing down a neverending staircase until he felt out of the world. It was a relief when he reached a landing the final flight of stairs came to a concrete floor. The area was lit by a dull pale light. It was a large round room with four separate offshoots, large hallways that lead deeper into the compound. Nick cocked his ear trying to hear where the voices were coming from. Judy touched her chest with a flat palm, then snatch it up to make a peace sign. Then she tapped on her ear and pointed to the hall on the other end of the room. Nick followed what she was motioning. 'I hear two people, that way.' Nick nodded following Judy to where she heard the voices.\n\nWhen they entered the corridor they saw a door hanging open. That's where the voices were coming from. They plastered themselves again the wall, Nick looked at Judy seriously. He touched his chest with his palm, reached up and flicked his ear, then made a peace sign. Judy watched him intensely. He pointed a thumb towards the room and finished by making boobs with his hands.\n\nJudy's lips went a skewed, her eyebrows furrowed. Nick started laughing and nudged her in the side. She closed her hand around his muzzle and glared into his eyes. Nick's ears fell back immediately regretting his joke.\n\n“I hate this!”\n\nThe voice was loud enough to cause the both of them to jump pressing their backs tightly against the concrete wall. Nick and Judy looked at each other, Judy mouthed a pair of names. 'Lavender and Honey'. Nick nodded slowly as they kept listen.\n\n“I do too, love, but if this is the only way we can-”\n\n“But it's not. We could run away from this place, from my dad and all of his goons. We could make a life for each other.”\n\n“You're talking crazy, Honey. Your dad would sic his hounds on us. Besides, I don't have any money and neither do you.”\n\nNick looked around the corner into the room. Lavender had her hands resting on the female badger's hips. Honey had her arms wrapped around the others neck. They were sharing a tender glance. Nick could see Lavender was smiling, but Honey had her back to him. There was the quiet sound of kissing before a harsh pull away. Honey turned walking towards the door. Nick ducked back, pressing his back to the wall, his tail puffed up.\n\n“I'm tired of waiting around for my life to begin.”\n\n“Well, I'm here with you and we're together. We just have to be a little more patient.”\n\n“I won't wait forever.” Honey growled.\n\n“Why are you being so cruel to me?”\n\n“I just...you know what, forget it.”\n\n“Maybe I should.”\n\nThe door flew open hammering the wall hard enough to send concrete chips raining down from the wall scattering across the floor. Lavender left in such a hurry she didn't even notice the two mammals hiding in the shadows near the door.\n\n“Lavender, wait! Come back, dammit.”\n\nJudy looked at Nick and patted her chest pointing to the floor where she knelt. Then he patted his own chest and pointed to the door. Judy shook her head and Nick held up his hands making a count of five with his fingers.\n\n“Trust me.”\n\n“Whose there?”\n\nNick backed towards the door, watching as Judy's face fell to desperation. It was too late to stop him, he'd already committed himself by speaking out loud. He disappeared through the doorway strutting into the room like he owned the place.\n\nHoney whipped around to look at him, her eyebrows bent in fury, her fists balled ready for a fight. Nick kept his hands in his pocket giving the room a quick once over. The room looked like a large science lab. The scent he'd smelled earlier had been chemicals being melted down. It was mixing with the smell of ozone from the Bunsen burners. The room was eerily sterile with the exception of the fox and badger. Everything polished as new from the stainless tables to the glass beakers.\n\nHoney lowered her hands, still keeping them balled up ready to defend herself from the smaller mammal. Nick was dumbstruck by how much she hadn't changed. Same hairstyle still rocking the same type of clothes, baggy jeans and tank top of varying colors. He could even smell the soft scent of her, she never used perfume to mask her natural smell. On her left hand, like a makeshift glove was a pair of red fishnet stockings. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they'd once belong to Lavender. The color alone was a dead giveaway.\n\n“What do you want, fox. You're not supposed to be down here.”\n\n“Hey, Honey.”\n\nHoney cocked her head and glared at him, her green eyes going wide. “Nick?”\n\n \n\nWhen Judy heard Nick use his real voice her heart sped up but when the badger spoke his real name, she had to see for herself what was happening. All she could see was Nick's back and the reaction on the badger's face. Stunned wouldn't even describe it. The face slowly melted into a smile, the badger hugged her body fondly at this strange meeting. Judy shifted her ears to get a better listen.\n\n“What are you doing here, Nick? Get fired from the ZPD already?”\n\n“No, but har har, always quick with a joke.”\n\n“Why shouldn't I be? Especially After what you did to Finnick, not once, but twice. Ditched him for your bunny pal, would that be the fiery red head you're roaming around with?”\n\nJudy felt her heart pounding in her chest as she crept back around the corner pressing her back to the wall, anger swelling inside of her. There was a heat radiating from his body, her fists balling tightly. Nick was going to be sorry the next time she was alone with the sneaky fox. Judy couldn't stand it any longer, she ducked around the corner getting up close to the door to watch everything unfold.\n\n“Judy, her name's Judy.”\n\n“Hopps, that's right. First bunny cop.”\n\n“Yep.”\n\nThe badger took a step closer to him, grabbing him by his suspenders Nick didn't raise his hands, he just left them in his pockets. Would he still have the smug look on his face, Judy wondered?\n\n“You're an idiot for coming here, you know that right? I can't wait to tell my dad, he's been itching for a chance to end you.”\n\n“Before he does, just hear me out, please.”\n\n“Why?”\n\n“Because I said 'please'.”\n\nHoney released him and put her hands on her hips, her lips curved down. Judy could see that she was truly considering the fox's offer. The distant look in her eyes as she studied the bubbles churning in the beakers. When she looked back at Nick, she nodded slowly.\n\n“Alright, you have five minutes.”\n\n“I'm sorry for what I did to you and Finnick. When I first met you, my life was such a whirlwind, there was no stability. You helped me feel better, about myself, about everything. You were my safe place, but I'm so emotionally desolate I couldn't bring myself to tell you that. When I finally thought I could, I found out Finnick felt the same way about you as I did. I couldn't let myself be selfish enough to hurt him. I thought the three of us could work out together.”\n\n“So you hid it from me?”\n\n“I did.”\n\n“What we had, Nick...what the three of us had, was special. It was family. Not the type you read about in the newspaper obviously, but I really loved you both. You helped me during one of the most difficult times of my life. My mother was...everything to me.”\n\nNick moved closer looking up at the taller badger, he took her hand lacing their fingers. Judy felt the anger wash away, replaced by a pain in her stomach. When she tried to swallow the lump in her throat choked her. Hearing the truth was bad enough, but seeing the way Nick looked at her felt worse. Seeing how tenderly he caressed her hands, it made her heart hurt.\n\n“I know.”\n\n“Then Finnick went to jail and I leaned on you so hard for support.”\n\n“I took that as my chance to make my move. God, I was such an idiot. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I'm sorry for what I did.”\n\n“Be that as it may, things are different now, Nick.”\n\n“I know that.”\n\n“Then why did you come back?”\n\n“I'm here to gather evidence on your father and arrest him.” Nick cringed, biting his bottom lip.\n\n“What?”\n\n“He's doing bad things, Honey.”\n\n“No, he isn't. He's just making a safe haven for the ones that Zootopia chews up and spits out.”\n\nJudy drew closer to the door, relieved to see Honey pull away from Nick. The badger rested her hands against the table slumping her weight onto them, she hung her head.\n\n“That's what he wants you to believe, Honey. He's robbing pharmacies and hospitals, making chemical compounds for these darts-”\n\n“Shut up.”\n\n“No, you need to hear this. These darts, the ones that he was going to pump into Manx, they'll kill you. It only takes three to put you in a coma you can't wake up from.”\n\n“It's a lie.”\n\n“No, it isn't.”\n\nNick and Honey both turned to see Judy stepping through the door. Honey gritted her teeth and glared from the rabbit to the fox. She gave Nick such a hard shove that he fell back onto the concrete floor. He grunted, shifting to get back to his feet again.\n\n“You son of a...a set up, really?”\n\n“Listen, Honey. I know this sounds crazy, but the other day your dad shot us with these darts.”\n\n“I don't care, Judy or whate-”\n\n“Look.”\n\nJudy opened up her jacket, shifting her bodysuit so the bruise on her chest could be seen. Nick stood next to her with his shirt up as well. One swollen pinprick on his chest, the other on his stomach.\n\n“One will make you groggy, two will make you sleep...”\n\n“Three will make you dream forever and rest in peace.” Honey finished the line, tears welling up in her eyes. “It's Eternal Dream, mom's favorite poem. Oh, daddy.”\n\nJudy rested a hand against Honey's forearm. “I'm sorry, Honey. We didn't want you to find out this way.”\n\n“I didn't want to think he was up to something.”\n\n“We never want to think that the ones we care about are capable of doing wrong.” Judy looked into Nick's eyes, a soft smile coming to her lips.\n\n“Yeah, but what can I do? I'm a prisoner here too.”\n\n\"If you overhear anything you think will be useful, please come and tell us.\"\n\n“Anything else?”\n\n“Keep pretending we're just Fiver and Patrick, goons for hire.”\n\n“I'll see what I can do. I-”\n\n“Are we having a party, pity I wasn't invited.”\n\n“Dad?”\n\nThe baron walked into the room, he had to turn slightly to fit through the door. When he saw the three of them standing in the center of the room a grim look washed over his face. He reached up and nonchalantly rubbed his cheek with his knuckles. If he was trying to intimidate them, he was doing a good job.\n\n“Hello, sir.”\n\n“Honey, you're not supposed to be down here, we've talked about that before. As for you two, you're never invited down here. This place is off limits.”\n\n“I heard someone singing down here and I just couldn't help but to see who it was.”\n\n“Yeah, I come down her to practice sometimes the acoustics are amazing.”\n\n“I just go where he does, sir.” Judy added, punching Nick in the shoulder.\n\n“Well, I suggest you finish up your business down here and get out. Fiver, I want to see you and your husband in my office in five minutes.”\n\nJudy took a step forward. The baron reached down thrusting his hand hard into her chest, stopping her instantly. It forced the air out of her lungs. Nick made a move, but Judy grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything stupid.\n\n“Never. Let. Me. Catch you down here again. Any of you.”\n\n“Yes, sir.” Judy stared up into the baron's cold gaze, her eyes watering as she fought to breath.\n\nAs the pair departed, Honey started singing a sad song. They started up the stairs before it reached a chorus Judy recognized. It was a song she'd heard on the radio years ago. A song about a boy going off to be a soldier and coming back in a box. The darkness of the chamber only added to the sadness. The haunting voice was more like a dirge. With where they were going, it gave Judy very little comfort. Nick took her hand and Judy looked up at him, she could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes.","writing_bbcode_parsed":"Down Once More...
Nick and Judy wormed their way through the sanctuary, keeping their ears and eyes peeled for any information or evidence that might help them bust the baron. The majority of the mammals around seemed to only be there for their own gains. A large tiger, Nick talked to admitted to never paying anything back to the baron. When Nick asked why the only response was baron never called on him to do a job. Judy managed to work her way, unnoticed, between the legs of a zebra who spoke of some strange happenings in the lower levels of the sanctuary. Nick wasn't surprised to find that not everyone was truly aware of what was going on.
The speakers thumped its loud music, between that and the bodies jumping around dancing and the loud yelling and laughing. It was enough to give Nick a headache. One odd thing occurred to Judy that Nick hadn't noticed until she expressed her concerns to him, Finnick was nowhere to be seen. There was always a chance he just decided not to come to the hideout that day, but Judy thought he might be out on a job.
“Hey, meat!”
The deep voice cut through the cacophony of noise, freezing Nick and Judy in their tracks. When they looked back they were greeted by a bulky badger in a pressed gray suit. The closer he drew the better of a look Nick got of him. This was one of the biggest badgers Nick had ever seen. Even under the three-piece suit, his muscles bulged. When he sneered all the teeth on the left side of his face looked chrome, a huge scar ran down the same side. What little fur grew over the scar was white and baby fine. The badger threw a huge duffle bag on the ground in front of them.
“Take this to Lavender and make it snappy.”
“Make it snappy. What are you, a fifties sitcom?”
“Listen here, Fox. I'll pop your head like a zit and use the pus as fur-gel for your lady friend here.”
Nick smirked and held his hands up. “Alright, alright, jeez you guys need to find your sense of humor.”
“Get yourself gone, puke.”
Nick picked up one side of the duffle bag, hefting the strap onto his shoulder. Judy fell in behind him getting the other side. It was almost impossible to tell what was inside the back and he wasn't about to check, at least, not right now. One thing he was sure of was it was heavy and almost impossible to move through all the bodies dancing in the way.
Nick grunted angrily as he moved to dodge around a rhino only to get his tail stepped on by a lion. “Everyone get out of the way!”
Mammals stopped dancing and turned to look at who shouted. When they saw Judy they all started whispering to each other, moving to let the pair through. One of the wolves even offered to help her carrying it, but Judy assured him that it wasn't necessary.
“How do you like that?” Judy grunted as she slipped under the counter into Lavender's den.
“Like what?”
“I'm famous.”
“Of course, you are, sugar.” A playful voice called from overhead.
Nick and Judy slowed their paces looking up at sleek white fox laying out on the table above. His blue eyes gauging Nick, before moving to Judy. In a graceful motion, the fox slipped down from the tall table dropping onto the duffle bag, the extra weight causing it to slip from Nick's shoulder.
“Hey, pal-”
“Pearl!” The fox pointed to his chest, before pointing back and forth between the bunny and the fox. “Patrick and Fiver?”
“How did you know that?” Judy slipped the strap off of her shoulder relieved to have the weight gone.
“Everyone's talking about you two. Besting bad boy Manx, not an easy feat. As for your bunny hubby here, mammals here admire someone whose not afraid to live outside the box.”
“What do you mean?” Nick straddled the duffle bag.
Pearl smirked helping himself to a seat on Nick's knee. “Thank you, dear-”
“Hey, buddy.”
“Don't worry, I won't charge you for the privilege.”
“I mean-”
Pearl reached up and touched one black finger to Nick's lips. “Shh, I prefer my men strong and silent.”
Judy covered her mouth, stifling a giggle. “You were saying?”
“Oh yes, thank you dear. Up above in the beautiful city of Zootopia, it's not illegal to date or marry outside of your species, but as progressive as we want to think we are, it's frowned upon. The whispers and looks are enough to tear out a faint heart even when it's burning so brightly.” The fox used his whole body to gesture his statement, he rested back against Nick wrapping an arm around his neck, leaning back so their muzzles were touching.
“Now, here we are today. Your handsome Romeo here, not only married outside of his species but married prey. A fox and a bunny, natural enemies coming together to form a perfect union. It's romantic beyond words.”
In a graceful fluid motion, the fox shift around on Nick's knee straddling him, leaning closer than Nick was comfortable with. “You both are so beautiful that if I had a wish, I would wish that you could create a child together. Someone to truly unite Zootopia.” The fox booped Nick's nose with his finger.
“Thank you for that, Pearl but we gotta deliver this.”
“Oh poo, that's alright. It appears that I have a gentlemammal caller. Fiver, if you ever decide to...come visit. Bring him with you for a big discount. See ya!”
Pearl scurried away to intercept a chubby raccoon who was barely able to stand on his own, obviously drank too much. Nick got up from the duffle bag dusting himself off.
“Ugh, I have glitter all over me.”
“Oh don't be such a baby, he seemed nice.”
“I guess your right, sure has some boundary issues, though.”
On the count of three, they picked up the duffle bag and carried it through the front door of the club. They were topped immediately by a jaguar with a broad chest and large arms. He was clutching a radio in one hand and a clipboard in the other.
“Names?”
“Fiver and Patrick.”
“You're not on the list, can't let you in. Folks here are too busy for surprise visitors.”
“Nah, we're making a delivery for a lazy badger.”
“Carlos, I'm not surprised. That dude never does anything he doesn't want to. It goes down this hall to the second door to the left.”
“Second door, left, thanks.”
Judy worked to swing the back of the duffle bag so they could move it along the hall. The bag got heavier and heavier the further they moved it. Nick counted out loud until they reached the door. A placard with the word 'Supplies' etched on it, hung on the wall to the right of the door. Nick opened the door surprised to see a half a dozen other duffle bags the same size and shape as the one they carried. At the back of the supply closet was another gray door, it stood ajar. The room lead into was too dark too see in.
“What do you suppose is in all these bags?” Nick grunted he pointed to the pile of bags and they both heaved at the same time, stacking it on top.
“Clean bed-clothes I'd imagine.”
Nick unzipped the bag, surprised to see a thick roll of bubbled plastic. Upon closer inspection the bubbles were roughly three inches square and full of white pills. Judy opened another one to find the same thing except in the bubbles was a fine powder. A sound, coming from the open doorway, echoed into the room. Nick crept over to take a look, he could hear Judy zipping the bags closed behind him.
Through the door was a wide open room that was pitch dark. A stairway lead, down into a dark cavern. Nick could hear rushing water from below, there was a smell in the air, something acrid. It was something he'd not smelled before. Another sound echoed up from below, this time, it sounded like voices. Nick, overcome by his curiosity, started down the stairs. Judy followed behind him, both trying to be as quiet as possible.
The stairway seemed to go on forever. At one point Nick started to believe he was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Just climbing down a neverending staircase until he felt out of the world. It was a relief when he reached a landing the final flight of stairs came to a concrete floor. The area was lit by a dull pale light. It was a large round room with four separate offshoots, large hallways that lead deeper into the compound. Nick cocked his ear trying to hear where the voices were coming from. Judy touched her chest with a flat palm, then snatch it up to make a peace sign. Then she tapped on her ear and pointed to the hall on the other end of the room. Nick followed what she was motioning. 'I hear two people, that way.' Nick nodded following Judy to where she heard the voices.
When they entered the corridor they saw a door hanging open. That's where the voices were coming from. They plastered themselves again the wall, Nick looked at Judy seriously. He touched his chest with his palm, reached up and flicked his ear, then made a peace sign. Judy watched him intensely. He pointed a thumb towards the room and finished by making boobs with his hands.
Judy's lips went a skewed, her eyebrows furrowed. Nick started laughing and nudged her in the side. She closed her hand around his muzzle and glared into his eyes. Nick's ears fell back immediately regretting his joke.
“I hate this!”
The voice was loud enough to cause the both of them to jump pressing their backs tightly against the concrete wall. Nick and Judy looked at each other, Judy mouthed a pair of names. 'Lavender and Honey'. Nick nodded slowly as they kept listen.
“I do too, love, but if this is the only way we can-”
“But it's not. We could run away from this place, from my dad and all of his goons. We could make a life for each other.”
“You're talking crazy, Honey. Your dad would sic his hounds on us. Besides, I don't have any money and neither do you.”
Nick looked around the corner into the room. Lavender had her hands resting on the female badger's hips. Honey had her arms wrapped around the others neck. They were sharing a tender glance. Nick could see Lavender was smiling, but Honey had her back to him. There was the quiet sound of kissing before a harsh pull away. Honey turned walking towards the door. Nick ducked back, pressing his back to the wall, his tail puffed up.
“I'm tired of waiting around for my life to begin.”
“Well, I'm here with you and we're together. We just have to be a little more patient.”
“I won't wait forever.” Honey growled.
“Why are you being so cruel to me?”
“I just...you know what, forget it.”
“Maybe I should.”
The door flew open hammering the wall hard enough to send concrete chips raining down from the wall scattering across the floor. Lavender left in such a hurry she didn't even notice the two mammals hiding in the shadows near the door.
“Lavender, wait! Come back, dammit.”
Judy looked at Nick and patted her chest pointing to the floor where she knelt. Then he patted his own chest and pointed to the door. Judy shook her head and Nick held up his hands making a count of five with his fingers.
“Trust me.”
“Whose there?”
Nick backed towards the door, watching as Judy's face fell to desperation. It was too late to stop him, he'd already committed himself by speaking out loud. He disappeared through the doorway strutting into the room like he owned the place.
Honey whipped around to look at him, her eyebrows bent in fury, her fists balled ready for a fight. Nick kept his hands in his pocket giving the room a quick once over. The room looked like a large science lab. The scent he'd smelled earlier had been chemicals being melted down. It was mixing with the smell of ozone from the Bunsen burners. The room was eerily sterile with the exception of the fox and badger. Everything polished as new from the stainless tables to the glass beakers.
Honey lowered her hands, still keeping them balled up ready to defend herself from the smaller mammal. Nick was dumbstruck by how much she hadn't changed. Same hairstyle still rocking the same type of clothes, baggy jeans and tank top of varying colors. He could even smell the soft scent of her, she never used perfume to mask her natural smell. On her left hand, like a makeshift glove was a pair of red fishnet stockings. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they'd once belong to Lavender. The color alone was a dead giveaway.
“What do you want, fox. You're not supposed to be down here.”
“Hey, Honey.”
Honey cocked her head and glared at him, her green eyes going wide. “Nick?”
When Judy heard Nick use his real voice her heart sped up but when the badger spoke his real name, she had to see for herself what was happening. All she could see was Nick's back and the reaction on the badger's face. Stunned wouldn't even describe it. The face slowly melted into a smile, the badger hugged her body fondly at this strange meeting. Judy shifted her ears to get a better listen.
“What are you doing here, Nick? Get fired from the ZPD already?”
“No, but har har, always quick with a joke.”
“Why shouldn't I be? Especially After what you did to Finnick, not once, but twice. Ditched him for your bunny pal, would that be the fiery red head you're roaming around with?”
Judy felt her heart pounding in her chest as she crept back around the corner pressing her back to the wall, anger swelling inside of her. There was a heat radiating from his body, her fists balling tightly. Nick was going to be sorry the next time she was alone with the sneaky fox. Judy couldn't stand it any longer, she ducked around the corner getting up close to the door to watch everything unfold.
“Judy, her name's Judy.”
“Hopps, that's right. First bunny cop.”
“Yep.”
The badger took a step closer to him, grabbing him by his suspenders Nick didn't raise his hands, he just left them in his pockets. Would he still have the smug look on his face, Judy wondered?
“You're an idiot for coming here, you know that right? I can't wait to tell my dad, he's been itching for a chance to end you.”
“Before he does, just hear me out, please.”
“Why?”
“Because I said 'please'.”
Honey released him and put her hands on her hips, her lips curved down. Judy could see that she was truly considering the fox's offer. The distant look in her eyes as she studied the bubbles churning in the beakers. When she looked back at Nick, she nodded slowly.
“Alright, you have five minutes.”
“I'm sorry for what I did to you and Finnick. When I first met you, my life was such a whirlwind, there was no stability. You helped me feel better, about myself, about everything. You were my safe place, but I'm so emotionally desolate I couldn't bring myself to tell you that. When I finally thought I could, I found out Finnick felt the same way about you as I did. I couldn't let myself be selfish enough to hurt him. I thought the three of us could work out together.”
“So you hid it from me?”
“I did.”
“What we had, Nick...what the three of us had, was special. It was family. Not the type you read about in the newspaper obviously, but I really loved you both. You helped me during one of the most difficult times of my life. My mother was...everything to me.”
Nick moved closer looking up at the taller badger, he took her hand lacing their fingers. Judy felt the anger wash away, replaced by a pain in her stomach. When she tried to swallow the lump in her throat choked her. Hearing the truth was bad enough, but seeing the way Nick looked at her felt worse. Seeing how tenderly he caressed her hands, it made her heart hurt.
“I know.”
“Then Finnick went to jail and I leaned on you so hard for support.”
“I took that as my chance to make my move. God, I was such an idiot. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I'm sorry for what I did.”
“Be that as it may, things are different now, Nick.”
“I know that.”
“Then why did you come back?”
“I'm here to gather evidence on your father and arrest him.” Nick cringed, biting his bottom lip.
“What?”
“He's doing bad things, Honey.”
“No, he isn't. He's just making a safe haven for the ones that Zootopia chews up and spits out.”
Judy drew closer to the door, relieved to see Honey pull away from Nick. The badger rested her hands against the table slumping her weight onto them, she hung her head.
“That's what he wants you to believe, Honey. He's robbing pharmacies and hospitals, making chemical compounds for these darts-”
“Shut up.”
“No, you need to hear this. These darts, the ones that he was going to pump into Manx, they'll kill you. It only takes three to put you in a coma you can't wake up from.”
“It's a lie.”
“No, it isn't.”
Nick and Honey both turned to see Judy stepping through the door. Honey gritted her teeth and glared from the rabbit to the fox. She gave Nick such a hard shove that he fell back onto the concrete floor. He grunted, shifting to get back to his feet again.
“You son of a...a set up, really?”
“Listen, Honey. I know this sounds crazy, but the other day your dad shot us with these darts.”
“I don't care, Judy or whate-”
“Look.”
Judy opened up her jacket, shifting her bodysuit so the bruise on her chest could be seen. Nick stood next to her with his shirt up as well. One swollen pinprick on his chest, the other on his stomach.
“One will make you groggy, two will make you sleep...”
“Three will make you dream forever and rest in peace.” Honey finished the line, tears welling up in her eyes. “It's Eternal Dream, mom's favorite poem. Oh, daddy.”
Judy rested a hand against Honey's forearm. “I'm sorry, Honey. We didn't want you to find out this way.”
“I didn't want to think he was up to something.”
“We never want to think that the ones we care about are capable of doing wrong.” Judy looked into Nick's eyes, a soft smile coming to her lips.
“Yeah, but what can I do? I'm a prisoner here too.”
"If you overhear anything you think will be useful, please come and tell us."
“Anything else?”
“Keep pretending we're just Fiver and Patrick, goons for hire.”
“I'll see what I can do. I-”
“Are we having a party, pity I wasn't invited.”
“Dad?”
The baron walked into the room, he had to turn slightly to fit through the door. When he saw the three of them standing in the center of the room a grim look washed over his face. He reached up and nonchalantly rubbed his cheek with his knuckles. If he was trying to intimidate them, he was doing a good job.
“Hello, sir.”
“Honey, you're not supposed to be down here, we've talked about that before. As for you two, you're never invited down here. This place is off limits.”
“I heard someone singing down here and I just couldn't help but to see who it was.”
“Yeah, I come down her to practice sometimes the acoustics are amazing.”
“I just go where he does, sir.” Judy added, punching Nick in the shoulder.
“Well, I suggest you finish up your business down here and get out. Fiver, I want to see you and your husband in my office in five minutes.”
Judy took a step forward. The baron reached down thrusting his hand hard into her chest, stopping her instantly. It forced the air out of her lungs. Nick made a move, but Judy grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything stupid.
“Never. Let. Me. Catch you down here again. Any of you.”
“Yes, sir.” Judy stared up into the baron's cold gaze, her eyes watering as she fought to breath.
As the pair departed, Honey started singing a sad song. They started up the stairs before it reached a chorus Judy recognized. It was a song she'd heard on the radio years ago. A song about a boy going off to be a soldier and coming back in a box. The darkness of the chamber only added to the sadness. The haunting voice was more like a dirge. With where they were going, it gave Judy very little comfort. Nick took her hand and Judy looked up at him, she could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes.","pools_count":0,"title":"Zootopia: Underworld Chapter 11","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"text/rtf","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"0","rating_name":"General","ratings":[],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"f","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"1","views":"64","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}