Game without Duty
#3 of Project: SENTINEL
A new chapter! Yay!
I apologize for any grammar mistakes or mistyping; English isn't my first language, and I'm still improving, but I think I'm fairly decent at it.
A collab with Rainbows and Twilight!
Check the original HERE!
This time, we get something more.. exciting! Also, tons of references!
So, here it is! My third chapter!
He woke up surrounded by blood. The whole room was painted in it; the distinctive color visible even in the dim light provided by the cheap bulb overhead. Shadows danced around him, laughing and toying with him, daring him to step towards, and through, the door in front of him. The dancing, flickering lights caused his head to pound.
He took the daring step, and the whole room froze. Absolute, maddening, silence fell upon the blood soaked space; the beating of his heart, suddenly, unbearably loud.
A furious growl erupted in his ears, startling him into taking a step back out of instinct. Too late, he noticed the gangly limb grabbing his throat and lifting him up with little effort.
His eyesight blurred almost instantly, and he coughed blood as the grip tightened. An ear-shattering scream echoed in his head as blackness started to seep in his sight. The only thing he could see was the monster's face.
That of a baby. A softly smiling baby, with his... Her? Eyes closed.
He gurgled, blood seeping in his mouth, and started to cough, choking on his own life force.
The face bent down in front of his, and everything stilled, even the screams.
He stared at the angelic, blood stained face of the cherubim, feeling a sense of emptiness seep in his body, chilling him in a mind-numbing coldness.
The child opened his eyes, and a gaping abyss stared back.
He screamed, and died.
Liam Reed woke up with the sunlight wafting in his apartment, showering it in a golden hue. He didn't pant, nor was he sweating; he was perfectly calm, if not a bit stiff from all the traveling that had been done the day before. He sat up and yawned, stretching the sleep out of his limbs and purring as the bones popped in a cacophony of sounds. Looking behind, he watched the tracking receiver pulse with a faint blue light, signaling that no one was present in the personal space of Nick Wilde.
The tiny thing was a wondrous fruit of Alan Fisk's mind. The Australian Shepherd was a genius; you could spout shit about anything, and everything, that came to your mind at that moment, and given enough time and materials, he could make it out of scratch. The transmitter had been installed on Nick, with the fox being unaware of said 2-millimeter disk planted underneath his fur collar.
The transmitter worked with impulses. Every 30 seconds it would send an impulse with a maximum range of 1 spherical meter. If someone, during the night, were to approach Nicholas' personal space, the transmitter would emit an enormous impulse, covering an air space of 35 kilometers. The receiver will pick up the signal, and emit a shrill beeping sound, alerting Liam that someone, maybe unpleasant, was near the transponder, and promptly relay coordinates of the transmitter to him.
Of course, the device could go off in only two ways. The first was a direct command from Alan's stratospherically advanced computer, useful in case the range of the blast was too far away from the receiver. The other way was based on the biological processes of the mammal the transponder was attached to; If corticosteroid levels reached a certain threshold, the device activated.
The cat's paw caressed his neck, massaging the stiffness away as he headed for the thermos that Nick lent him the day before. When the fox came to mind, the past dinner talk also knocked in his head.
While eating the pizza, they had talked about Liam's 'mission' in Zootopia, of his so-called research on the remaining Night Howlers that were still around. Nick then pointed out that they knew about a new agent coming from Animalia, but they didn't receive any info on who the guy was.
Nick's reply was unsurprising, seeing that the whole thing was actually a lie. Alan's modification of the documents was done in a last-minute sort of thing, and while being near perfect, the ingenious furball forgot to write out about his species. So the ZPD knew his name, but not his aspect, and that was a bit comforting for Liam; the fewer mammals were aware of his presence, the better.
The coffee felt wondrous on his tongue, and he couldn't help but let out a small moan as the caffeine started to work. He heard an almost silent snuffle coming from his earring, and he smiled softly; Alan had finally run out of fumes and fell asleep, probably on his workstation. Hormone modifications allowed the dog to stay awake almost always. The need of sleep shrunk to just 8 hours per week, normally slept in one chunk for greatest effect, though he napped from time to time during the day just in case a long haul was ahead.
Sometimes the dog overestimated himself, and he ended up falling asleep without even noticing, something that baffled Liam to no end.
Finishing his cup of coffee, he picked up his sleeveless hoodie and headed for the bathroom, preparing himself for what he felt was going to be a long day ahead.
A yawn, followed by the sound of satisfaction, came from Liam's earpiece, "Mmm, morning, Lee." There was a squeak, followed by rapid taps on a keyboard. "I must have nodded off- sorry." Alan yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Liam snorted in amusement, and pushed his hands forward, easily passing through the incoming herd of moose. Nick followed, trailing just behind his tail to avoid collision with the mammals. "That's an understatement; It's 8,20 AM" The cat muttered, a hint of mirth spilling in the tone.
"WHAT?" Alan yelped, there was a scraping sound as Alan scrambled for a timepiece. "I need an alarm!"
Liam' snorted again, much stronger, and he could feel the inquisitive stare of the Fox behind him. "You have a computer that runs on quantum computing, and you still need an alarm?" The mirth turned into disbelieving amusement, and the cat shook his head in exasperation at the sputtering that came from the other end.
They were heading for the precinct so Liam could talk to Chief Bogo about his arrival and consequent case about the Night Howlers; He will blatantly point out that the best chance was to discuss the whole thing with both Officer Wilde and Hopps.
Irritated by the continuous rustling coming from the earring, Liam directed his attention on the Fox now beside him. "Nicholas."
The vulpine didn't turn his face, but his ears flickered in the cat's direction, acknowledging him. "It's Nick." was the short reply.
Nodding at that, the feline gestured to the precinct in the distance. "What can you tell me about Chief Bogo?" The cat wanted knowledge about this cape buffalo, and how to get in his good graces; the better mood he's in, the higher the chances of him approving his presence in the ZPD, and thus, making it easier protect Nicholas.
"He's an ass." Started Nick, and Liam let out a startled chuckle at the unexpected response. Smirking, Nick continued. "But he's a no nonsense guy. He loves his job and wants it done correctly. Carrots described him as 'a tough cape buffalo with 2,000 lbs of attitude'; Gave her a hard time at first, until she slapped the Night Howler case right in Mr. Buffalo Butt's face, and convinced me to join the Blues." There was pride in his words as he talked about Hopps, and Liam could feel the fondness of the Fox for the bunny.
"Speaking of, where is Officer Hopps?" The cat didn't exactly want to meet the bunny, but seeing that she was partnered with Nick, he would have to befriend the rabbit. Plus, she was the one who solved the whole case he was 'working on', so it would make sense that he would be interested in meeting her.
"Knowing Carrots, she's already in the precinct, babbling Clawhauser's ears off on what to do today." The matter-of-fact tone dictated that he was talking out of experience.
They entered the precinct, and, confirming Nick's statement, there was Judy Hopps, a gray bundle of energy and hero of the ZPD for solving the feral animal's case, babbling to a... Plump cheetah. "What the fuck..?" The not-so-silent whisper came out before he could block it, and Nick's amused snort was even less.
"Welcome to ZPD precinct number 1, headquarter of the police force in Zootopia; but you already knew that, didn't ya, pal?" Nick spread his arms to include everything in the building, turning around and giving Liam a lazy smirk. He pointed behind himself, to the two still yapping mammals.
"The dumb bunny over there is my partner, Judy, and the cheetah is Benjamin Clawhauser." He then motioned for Liam to follow him, prompting the cat to do so. The still chatting animals paid them no heed, too focused on the argument of the conversation, when Nick appeared behind Judy and poked her sides, causing her to squeal and jump about twice her height in surprise.
When she landed, she spun around and punched Nick on the arm, eliciting a groan from the Fox, who cradled his arm in pain. "I've told you a thousand times; don't do that, you dumb fox!" The way she pouted, face alight with redness from her embarrassment, was adorable. Liam smirked at the interaction, before coughing to attract their attention.
Clawhauser squeaked out in reflex and leaned on the counter while Judy's ears sprung up as she turned to look at the black wildcat. Throwing an inquisitive glance at the fox, who shrugged and gestured at Liam.
"He's the officer from Animalia coming over for the Night Howlers still around. Why don't you help me show him where Bogo is, Carrots?" She smiled at the news and nodded, before extending her hand, meeting Liam's own halfway.
"Officer Hopps, I can't wait to work with you, Sir." The cat's smile widened slightly at the enthusiastic tone of the rabbit and shook her hand.
"Lieutenant Reed, likewise, officer."
"She's cute," Alan quipped, "If she were in Animalia, I might commit to that..."
Annoyed by the sudden quip from the Shepherd, Liam shifted, turning his right ear to the side, and allowed himself a slight smug smirk. He couldn't talk back, but that didn't mean he couldn't do things to get the same message across. And what better message than pointing the earring's camera to a donut-munching cheetah?
Alan whined as the camera moved, "You are evil. Why the sudden protectiveness, or are you just jealous?" Liam could feel the devilish smile on the dog's face, and flickered his ear in annoyance once more. He knew that he was acting a bit childish, but he really didn't want to hear Alan's sexual opinion on every single animal that they may interact with. DEFCON 0 really made the dog relax, something that Liam couldn't do.
Bogo's door was open for everyone to see, the cape buffalo working on something on his computer, squinting his eyes in his glasses and frowning thoughtfully. Mumbling something, he reached below the desk to grab a yellow folder and spilled the content onto the desk. A quick but sharp knock on the door attracted his attention to the entering trio, causing him to raise an eyebrow at them when they snapped into a salute in front of his desk.
Liam took point before anyone else could. "Lieutenant Reed, reporting from Animalia regarding the remnant of the Midnicampum Holicithia."
The cape buffalo's eyebrows rose even more at the declaration, until he spotted the shining silver bar on his belt, next to his pistol. The engraved acronym for Animalia Police Department glared at him, daring the Buffalo to deny its existence.
"He's very butch. I know a few guys who would be all over that." Alan noted idly. The yell of "FINISH HIM" resounded in the background. Liam tapped his microphone twice to show his assent on the statement.
Bogo reached below his desk once more. "I have already arranged a folder with everything on the Night Howler case that our expert is knowledgeable of." He dismissed the salutes of both fox and rabbit and handed another mundane yellow colored folder with a simple "LT" wrote in black, thick marker.
Liam picked it, opened it and sifted rapidly through the whole document to get the major details on the whole thing.
'Night Howlers contain psychotropic chemicals that have deadly effects on animals exposed to them. However, concentrated amounts of the plant's chemicals will cause larger animals to become savage if they are exposed, causing them to lose higher reasoning functions and violently lash out at anything that moves.'
"Seems familiar, doesn't it?" Liam nodded, both to Alan and Bogo for different reasons. He put the folder in his shoulder bag and turned to the cape buffalo.
"I'm going to start my research as soon as I've been updated on the whole case, that means Officers Hopps and Wilde's personal opinions on the matter." He pointed at the duo, one perking up and the other giving a lazy nod. He missed Bogo's frown.
"A team has already been informed of their role. Wolfovitz and Delgato will aid you in the case and answer whatever question you will ask as best as possible. I can't afford to lose my best officers to this case; There has been a marked increase in crime across the city since Bellwether's plot, and I need Hopps and Wilde at their best." The cat stopped by the door and turned around, a small, innocent smile on his face.
"That wasn't a request."
Bogo blinked in surprise at the authoritative tone coming from the cat, before frowning and leaning on his desk, looking at the cat straight in the eyes.
"Excuse me?" he asked, slowly.
Nick and Judy watched in awe as Liam walked nonchalantly to the ticking-bomb that was the cape buffalo and fished out a sheet of paper, and handed it to him.
"That was an order." The purr was loud enough for the fox and the rabbit to hear. The cat could feel his smile turning into a smug one as Bogo's eyes scanned the paper for anything that could allow him to yell bullshit, but he didn't find anything.
"Get rekt!!" Alan exclaimed loudly, whether he was saying it to Liam or to whatever game he was playing the cat knew not. He flickered his ears at the sudden outburst from the dog but allowed his smile to widen a fraction. Bogo's frame seemed to deflate in surrender and gave a weary sigh as he finished reading the sheet.
"I will assign Hopps and Wilde to your case, Lieutenant" He handed the paper back to the cat with a displeased grunt, before turning his attention to the two small mammals. "Tell Clawhauser to give you the keys for a four seater. You will keep patrolling while answering whatever questions the the LT might have."
Liam's lips pursued in an amused smile; The Buffalo still fought when it was clear it was a losing battle. The patrolling was actually a bonus; he'll be in the same car as Nicholas, making his job thousands of times easier, so Liam counted that as a victory.
"Is there anything else, Lieutenant?" Asked a frowning Bogo, and Liam shook his head, smiled amiably, and turned 180°, gesturing with a hand to the small mammals to follow him. "That is more than enough, Chief."
Liam dismissed his glare and smiled at the two wide-eyed, gaping mammals. He rested a paw on their shoulder and guided them outside the office, closing the door with a single foot.
It was good to be a super soldier with a genius dog backing you up.
"What was that?!" The slight hysteric voice of Judy Hopps didn't reach outside the SUV, but it sure did attract the attention of the mammals inside it. Liam's eyebrows went up, amused at the wide-eyed look that the rabbit was giving him.
"What was what?" He asked, before looking down at the opened folder in his lap; the whole document on the Night Howler flowers and their properties was a bit disappointing.
'The night howlers are small-medium flowers that have six violet petals and several yellow pistils and stamens. Night Howlers are grown from root bulbs, which can be mistaken for onion bulbs.
Night Howlers contain psychotropic chemicals that have deadly effects on animals exposed to them. However, concentrated amounts of the plant's chemicals will cause larger animals to become savage if they are exposed, causing them to lose higher reasoning functions and violently lash out at anything that moves.
The night howler's chemicals can even affect animals that do not have a naturally violent or ferocious disposition - as evidenced by their ability to turn non-predator animals, such as rabbits, aggressive.'
This was the most interesting part of the whole document, and it disturbed Liam a bit; the similarities between the Night Howler formula and the Valahraoin regarding the mental assault were high.
"I think she meant the verbal beatdown that Mr. Buffalo Butt took just ten minutes ago." Explained an ecstatic Fox from the driver seat. He kept shifting, grinning from ear to ear since they got the keys to the SUV. The cat made a sound of comprehension.
"That, Hopps, was an assertion of power." He sifted through the papers until he found an image of a Night Howler; small-medium flowers that have six violet petals and several yellow pistils and stamens, just like the report said. 'It's incredible that such a tiny thing can cause so many problems..' He mused, looking out of trunk's window.
"Bogo wanted to put me with a different team, counting on the fact that I didn't have a say in the matter. What he didn't expect, was for me to have written permission from the APD Director; that allows me to make choices, such as choosing what team should aid me in my case if I deem it necessary." He stated, and took out a map of Zootopia, stretched it above the papers, and marked, with pins, possible places in the city where mammals could be trading the flowers by illegal means.
"I still think that that was unnecessary, sir. I'm sure that the other team was more than capable of handling this situation," said Judy, joining the cat in marking specific places; Cliffside Asylum, Dantville, Palma Bluffs, Saibah and Little Rodentia.
"Indeed, but, as I've stated before, I want you-" He pinned both officers with a pointed stare. "-two to help me in this case. You have shown incredible capabilities on your last case." Judy and Nick blushed and puffed up respectively under the cat's praise. Even if the whole Zootopia knew of their ordeal, if felt good to have their efforts to be acknowledged by a higher ranking officer.
"Plus," the cat continued, "You're directly involved with this Night Howler affair. You personally know their effects and have a clear opinion on the matter, which I would like to hear soon, possibly somewhere quiet." The duo nodded in agreement, and Nick turned right, drove around the square and started the turning trip from Troop St. to Fruit Market.
Nick waved a paw dismissively as the car rounded the corner. "We could always meet up at my place. Carrots could come over for dinner with us." He suggested as he slowed to a stop at the traffic light.
Liam gave a hum of confirmation and wrote "Dawn Bellwether" on the top right corner of the map. "That's a good idea, Offi-" The cat was interrupted by the radio crackling to life.
"To all units, there is a 10-10 in progress, twenty's Pack Street. Multiple 10-32, this is a hostage situation! Use extreme caution!" The urgent voice of Clawhauser blared out of the speaker.
Nick and Judy sprung into action, Nick gunning the engine, while Judy turned on lights and the siren. Liam frowned, acknowledging the situation; 10-10 meant fight in progress, with multiple mammals with guns holding hostages.
The sound of typing reached Liam's ears, "Liam, don't show your hand just yet. I have a feeling that we'll need the ace" The cat rolled his eyes at the dog's reasoning and tapped twice with a bit of emphasis as if to say "Duh!".
"Hopps, Wilde." Called Liam, gaining the attention of one, and the ear of the other. He looked directly into Nick's eyes from the rearview mirror with narrowed eyes. "No stupid shit; We take it nice and slow, the easy way. I don't want stupid stunts or life-risking situations. Understood?" He declared each point with a cutting motion.
The duo nodded, serious looks on their faces as they speeded down the road, cars moving out of the way hearing the shrill sound of the siren.
'I fucking jinxed it, didn't I?'
There were four hostages. Three prey and one predator; A ram, a doe, a rabbit and a dog. Three were bound to chairs, which sat back to back. Was it mentioned that bombs, primed to go off as soon as the weight disappeared from the chair, were under each mammal? The fourth hostage, the doe, was to be used as leverage by the seven moronic mammals that had robbed the unfortunate jewelry store. The goons were currently tearing across Downtown Zootopia with two dispatch units hot on their heels.
Liam growled in frustration at the situation and readied the WP99. Sitting on the edge of the SUV's window, he signaled Nick to steady the car as much as he could , raised the gun, and-
"Fuck!"
Liam's attention was diverted from the van ahead to the other unit, and frowned when he saw the lion inside it holding his shoulder in pain, blood staining the blue uniform. A bike sped ahead of the car, and the cat's eyes widened as the coyote on the backseat raised an MP-2 in his direction.
"UZI!"
Liam bent quickly inside, almost ending face first on Nick's lap, making the Fox swerve dangerously for a second, stupidly avoiding the volley of bullets coming from the sub-machine gun. The bullets slapped against the windshield trying to penetrate the thick bulletproof glass, but to no avail; The non-lethal policy, unfortunately, only applied to the ZPD.
"This is getting out of hand, fast!" Judy cried as Nick sharply turned to the right, wheels screeching from the friction, holding onto the backseat of the SUV. Liam leaned his head outside, only for him to jerk back inside as the bastard on the bike fired another volley in his general direction.
"This is getting annoying, fast." He snarled, and shot a few bullets in the direction of the bikers, the resounding crack from the gun irritated his ears, and it gained the shocked attention of the female rabbit inside the car.
"Lieutenant, you're using lethal gun?!" Her voice contained a note of disbelief at his retaliation on the criminals. Liam fired another four rounds in response, catching the passenger in the shoulder and in the back; the coyote slumped on the driver, who started to swerve alarmingly due to the sudden deadweight.
"They're firing lethal rounds at a police officer's car; they have injured an officer, and almost killed another one, additionally they're holding a hostage to use as leverage for an escape. They dictated the rules, Hopps, I'm simply playing the game." Another round hit its mark, and the bike's front wheel exploded with an absurd bang; the bike flipped on itself, the two animals flew over the vehicle and landed in a rolling heap.
"Johnson! Rhinowitz! Take care of those idiots!" Liam yelled hastily to the other unit, and he received an equally hasty " 10-4, Lieutenant!" from the radio.
The cat noticed the other unit stop near the thugs with the corner of his eye, and checked how many bullets remained in the gun.
"Seven rounds left. Guess It'll have to do for now." He raised his head and frowned as the back door of the van opened, revealing a smirking black bear. The mammal looked at the Police's car and turned around. Liam could see him pick something up, something big, as the other mammals inside the van were giving him space.
Liam's frown melted to gaping disbelief as the bear leveled the revolving barrels of an M61-A1 Vulcan at them.
'You've gotta be shitting me.'
" TURN LEFT!"
The moment Liam roared those words, the machine gun went off. In the 6 seconds it took for Nick to complete the maneuver, over 800 rounds had been deposited on, in, and around the vehicle, causing major damage to the cruiser. Fortunately, all three occupants were, for the most part, unharmed.
"These guys aren't playing around, that's for sure." Nick ground his teeth as he accelerated, planning to use the moment of respite from the gatling gun to gain the space advantage.
"Sweet cheese and crackers! How did they manage to get their hands on that?!" Judy leaned over in between the seats to gape at the damage that the SUV sustained; The car had been riddled with holes that, fortunately, didn't hit the tires.
"My question is, why are they using so much force for just jewelry?" Liam's voice was a bit strained as blood started to seep through his hastily tied bandage. The regeneration factor will heal the wound, as long as it was free from objects in the harmed limb.
"You're hurt!" The cat stopped fumbling with the bandage to look at the rabbit beside him, giving her a pointed stare. "No shit.."
"Can we please concentrate on the idiots we're chasing?" interfered Nick, turning right once again and appearing slightly behind the van. The face on the mammal driving the vehicle at their sudden appearance was priceless. Even more so when Liam pointed the WP99 on the tires, and scored two clean shots on them, destabilizing the van and causing it to flip on its side.
The van's remaining occupant immediately exited the vehicle as fast as they could, but the bear was instantly put out of the game by Nick and Judy's tranquilizer darts. Another one was shot by Liam's Glock 17, sending him into a muscle seizure because of the dendrotoxin.
The last two criminals entered the nearest building with the terrified doe, turning around the corner as Liam shot the last five bullets at them, hitting nothing but concrete, eliciting a growl of frustration from the feline
"Hopps, cuff these three and check in with Johnson and Rhinowitz, see if they're done, and tell them to haul their asses here." He ordered the rabbit as he re-loaded, who nodded sharply and grabbed the handcuffs Nick offered,
"Wilde, you're with me." He gestured the Fox to follow him and jogged up to the corner. Stopping at an arm's length from the end of the wall, he started to slowly rotate around it, gun pointed with a steady grip.
"Clear."
The entire alley was empty, and everything was in order, save for the smashed door on the left. Frowning at the blatant hint to follow them, he picked the Glock from the barrel and extended it to Nick, whose eyes widened in surprise at the weapon.
"It's better than the one you've got. 20 shots, releases a powerful toxin that blocks muscles for some hours; One dart is enough to debilitate a tiger, and you can switch between semi and auto-fire." The cat laid down the basics for the custom gun to the vulpine, "Don't lose it." he ordered, handing him a magazine.
"Got it." Nick answered by chambering the first dart.
Liam nodded and turned around, gun high, muscles ready to leap into action, and walked through the door, Nick in tow.
"Let's flush these assholes out."
Is it good? Is it bad? T** hank you for your patience in reading this, I appreciate it!**
Also, I do not own Zootopia, just my own OC's!