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Chapter Eleven: The Purple Haze

OutbackIsland, originally named StagSteepleIsland, is located just west of Zootopia off the coast of the Rainforest District. The name was changed at the turn of the century in response to the Great Marsupial Migration, taken directly from the country of origin from which the bulk of the immigrants came. As the years went on, the immigration process become more streamlined, and with it the need for the island facility diminished. It eventually closed down officially in the 1940's, left to be reclaimed by the island's natural ecosystem. It remained that way for thirty some odd years until the Zootopian government saw fit to revive the facility. With the booming population growth came a sharp rise in crime. The prisons were already over-crowded, and so the need for a new larger scale facility arose.

The new Outback island would address this problem, no longer as an immigration center, but as a maximum security prison. OutbackIsland Correctional opened officially in 1983, and remains in operation to this very day. It is considered both the largest and most dangerous prison Zootopia has at it's disposal. The mere mention of it as a sentencing option is enough to reduce most criminals to hysterics, begging to be placed anywhere else. The feeling of hopeless pervades the cold, harsh facility, felt even by those merely looking at the island from a distance. To this day, no mammal has ever escaped it's jagged and torrid shores.

It is here, on this stormy night, Evard Stoat found himself trussed and gagged. Two rams dragged him down a hallway as he desperately wriggled for freedom. The procession seemed to go on for hours, Stoat eventually becoming too tired to fight back as they passed from corridor to corridor. Deeper and deeper into the unknown and lost bowels of the prison, where even the rolling thunder could no longer be heard. After what seemed like an eternity the rams arrived at a very secure looking door. Spending several moments opening the myriad of locks, the duo dragged the small mammal into the room. They quickly and carelessly tossed the stoat on a medial slab in the room's center, before abruptly turning and leaving without a word.

Stoat shuddered at the feel of the icy steel that lie under him. His eyes darted around the room, trying to get some sense of where he had ended up. The room was cold and clinical. Made of steel and concrete. Dull grey was nearly all he could see no matter where he looked. The only oddities he could make out was a single security camera and an odd vent in each corner of the ceiling.

It was quiet for a long while. Aside from his own panicked thoughts, Evard could only hear his heartbeat which steadily increased with each passing moment. Finally he heard hooves clacking against the cement floor. They grew louder and louder until a ram loomed over him. He was old, and his face bore the wrinkles of a mammal who spent most of his life angry. His dead blue eyes bore holes into Stoat, and the intimidation was made worse by the flurry of claw scars running down his face. There was only one mammal Stoat knew with a mug like that, the warden.

"You nearly screwed things up for us you little runt." He growled.

The Stoat could only whimper weakly.

"We laundered so much money your way, we made you rich, got you over here." The ram sneered. "But it wasn't enough, you wanted every mammal to know who you were. Typical Pred."

The ram slapped the mammal hard across the face, causing him to emit a muffled yelp of pain.

"Now we don't have anymore time." The ram turned away. Stoat watched as he paced back and forth. "Some cop gets to digging, probably that rabbit." He snorted. "And despite our best efforts to hide it, they'll find a trail." The rage in the ram's eyes caused the ermine to shudder.

"They'll find out how far back the counterfeiting goes, who was helping it along, and most importantly the cargo we had you ship in." The ram turned back to the stoat. He sharply reached out and grabbed him by the neck. Evard began crying, his pleads for mercy muffled by the gag.

"But we'll make do wont we?" The ram produced an electronic key, which he used to disable the ermine's tame collar. Unhooking the device from the stoat, he carelessly tossed it across the room with a loud clatter.

Smirking evilly, the ram grasped Stoat's face, squeezing it uncomfortably. "Can't have that little nuisance interfering with our test results can we? It might kill you too quickly." The ermine's eyes went wide with terror, and he began to struggle violently.

The ram released his grip, allowing the stoat to thrash even more aggressively. His desperate flailing caused him to fall off the table, hitting the floor hard. He had little time to recover from the pain before another jolt came from a hoof kicking him in the stomach. He clenched his teeth in agony.

"Doug my boy! You ready to light this candle?"

The ermine could now see the wall across the way. It housed a massive observation window, which several sheep and a few other prey mammals were seated behind.

"Yes Mr. Wooligan, come on in and we'll fire up the emitters." Was the meek reply from the sheep in the center of the window.

Wooligan gave a last glance at the ermine. "Consider this a mercy, you wouldn't have lasted much longer in here anyway." He grinned before spitting on the ermine.

Wooligan made his way to the nearby door, and entered the observation room. Securing the air lock tightly, he took a seat next to Doug.

"Alright son, let's see what your new brew can do." Wooligan grinned nearly ear to ear.

"Yes, were all quite eager to see Mr. Ramses." Another ram added.

Doug began to carefully began to adjust various dials and knobs on the panel in front of him. "Alright sirs, prepare to witness the full potential of concentrated night howler."

The rams heard a weak hissing at first, but nothing noticeable changed in the chamber. It was only when Doug adjusted a large dial, the hiss suddenly became a deafening blast. They could now see the corners of Stoat's room rapidly filling with a deep indigo cloud. Stoat seemed to notice quickly, thrashing even more violently than before. His screams were almost loud enough to penetrate the gag as the thick smoke moved closer and closer.

It had only taken about thirty seconds before the smoke fully enveloped the chamber. The haze was so thick, the assembled prey were barely able to make out the silhouette of the ermine as he struggled on the floor. The screaming continued, but it became more strangled and interlaced with hacking and coughing behind the gag.

"Exposure time forty five seconds." Doug noted coldly as the others continued to watch.

The silhouette of the Stoat began to spasm, his screams becoming more guttural as his body tensed against his restraints. It was only a few more seconds before snarling and screeching could be heard loudly and clearly. They surmised Evard, in his frenzied state, had managed to eat through his gag.

"One minute and two seconds, night howler delirium has taken affect." Doug checked the various readings on the panel. "Adrenalin should be through the roof, and brain activity should be restricted to primal functions."

Wooligan rubbed his hooves together as he watched the silhouette thrash. "That's the fastest transformation we've had on the gaseous form yet."

"Yes, it's quite wonderful." The other ram piped up.

"This mix is the most potent version of the formula I've ever created, and the effects are two-fold. Not only are the affected twice as violent, but their sense of pain is dulled significantly which keeps them fighting longer, making them a perfect weapon." Doug noted, adjusting the dial and lowering the gas to a more steady stream. "With their mind locked in that primitive and frenzied state, there would be very little that would dissuade them from attacking other mammals with reckless abandon. Maybe size differences or smells...but it's a trifle of a factor."

For five more minutes the Stoat continued to thrash and shriek. Then suddenly, the shrieks became gurgled. The mammal's body became rigid as he arched his back sharply, painfully straining against something unseen.

"What's happening?" Wooligan muttered.

"His heart is giving out." Doug responded.

The shadow gave a final, powerful writhe before slumping into the floor. It wheezed weakly a few times before the only thing that could be heard was the hissing of the gas.

"Six minutes, fourteen seconds." Doug noted. "Subject succumbed to over-exposure to the night howler gas. Time of death..." Doug looked at the clock on the panel. "Twelve twenty-seven A.M." He sighed, turning the gas off. With the turn of a few more switches, the hiss was now replaced with the sound of fans. Underneath the powerful buffeting winds, the gas began to disperse.

"...And that's it? No trace of the howler?" Wooligan asked.

"Tomorrow all they'll find is an ermine who died of heart failure." Doug nodded.

"Can we guarantee that transformation speed across the board or..." Wooligan lingered.

"Every mammal is different, and it depends on the gas concentration. But generally with this much gas in a space the difference between mammals is negligible." Doug responded.

"What about the over-exposure time?" Another ram added.

"That's a little more tricky, again it depends on the mammal and unknown factors. But eight times out of ten it usually ends in heart failure." Doug replied.

"Perfect. We can start moving then. I'll have the other rams put him back in his cell. Then we can start prepping for the big plan." Wooligan said with glee, clapping his hooves together in excitement.

"We still have an actual field test to run." Doug interjected.

"Ugh." The third ram groaned. "Mr. Ramses, she's not worth wasting out time with."

"We need her." Doug was adamant. "She deserves a place back in the fold."

"We are going to risk further exposing ourselves before our big plan goes off all for an old flame of yours Doug?"

"I suppose she deserves at least one more chance despite her failure the first time around." The voice had come from the ram in charge. He was seated in the back of the room, partially bathed in darkness. The only visible lighting from above his neckline was the dull orange glow of a smoldering cigar.

"But-"

"Shut it Mouflon." The head ram bitterly responded. " At the very least allow it for Doug's sake. He does love her after all."

"Are you sure it's just Doug who loves her?" Wooligan asked, eyeing the head ram.

"Arthur, we are going forward with what Doug wants. I-" The older ram paused, the embers from his cigar danced as he flicked the ash away. "I couldn't care less either way." He uttered.

Mouflon crossed his arms. "This is foolish. We'll just increase our likelihood of being caught. Have you thought about just contacting her directly, I could arr-"

"No." The head ram stated sharply. "She has to have no mammal to turn to but us. It's the only way to ensure she'll play ball."

Doug looked down sadly. "Yes...as much as I don't want to threaten her, w-we...we can't risk her spoiling it all."

"Well..." Mouflon muttered. "We may have a few more... problems than we anticipated in that department." The ram coughed awkwardly.

"And how is that Mouf?" Wooligan asked.

"Well, as you already know our boys have been keeping an eye on Dawn from time to time. They watched her apartment in the earlier months of her release, but their efforts to monitor her at work were dampened by Wilde and Hopp's surprise stake-outs." Mouflon explained.

"And?" The lead ram was getting impatient.

"Well it seems in that time she's forged a strange...erm..."Mouflon paused, scratching his chin in contemplation over how to properly word the rest of his sentence. "relationship with a wolf at that job of hers."

The lead ram laughed uproariously at Mouflon's words. "That's golden! Mouflon you are a card sometimes, honestly!" He continued to chuckle.

The other mammals in the room fell silent as their leader's laugh died away. As the realization slowly came over him, he eyed Mouflon suspiciously.

"You-?" He muttered. "You're serious?"

Mouflon nodded reluctantly. "His name is Vernon Hunter. I've run the preliminary background check on him but I've come up with nothing. No connection to Dawn other than working with her, yet she called him a _'friend'_at the apartment investigation."

The cigar smoking ram slammed his hoof hard against his arm rest, causing Arthur and Doug to jump.

"Dawn couldn't possibly have a friend in the world at this point, especially a wolf of all mammals. There has to be an angle!" The leader growled.

"Again, I found no connection other than that they both grew up in the Meadowlands." Mouflon shook his head.

The ram paused, seemingly trying to recall a lost memory dredged up by Mouflon's statement. "Hmm..." He uttered, flicking more ash from his cigar. After a few moments the ram dismissively shook his head. "Well, no matter. Dawn will see his true nature during our little field test and that problem will be solved."

"There is more, unfortunately." Mouflon added.

"Well, out with it then, we have to get Doug back in his cell before morning." The ram blew out a large puff of smoke.

Mouflon sighed, rubbing his temples. "As you know, I've been keeping tabs on her location through the prisons computer system. But since the fire it has been changing to a different hotel each week." He muttered.

"And..." The lead ram mused.

"I had some of our boys check out the most recent address, and she wasn't there." he crossed his arms. "I suspect Polaraski is suspicious of how the information got out, and has been keeping her true residence to himself."

"So why not just send out some of our guys to monitor her? Follower her home from work. We know where that is." Doug added.

"They would be too easy to spot, it's a wonder no one has grown suspicious of the rams we've had monitoring the Bug-Burga intermittently." Mouflon waived his hoof dismissively.

"So what are you proposing?" Wooligan asked.

"Well..." Mouflon glanced over at the now still body of Evard Stoat, two rams now dragging his corpse out of the chamber. "How much of that gas would it take to put down a polar bear?"