"Hey...your Majesty." The ever-present baton banged on the outer bars of his cell door. "Look alive in there. You've got visitors."

It was hardly the first time he'd ever received that particular mocking dig—that would have been, what, in grade school at Sahara Central?—and it would surely not be the last. And despite everything, he couldn't help squaring his shoulders and sitting up straighter on his cot, for it did make him feel more respected, with more authority, even though he remained a prisoner.

Many had believed him possessed of just such vanity and arrogance, believed all lions secretly carried it in their hearts no matter how much they denied it or how well they hid it. But he had always seen it not as superiority, but an understanding of responsibility. He and his kind had held power for a very long time, as long as civilization if the old stories were true, and it wasn't simply because of greater strength, a hunger for power, an innate ferocity and bloodthirstiness, or a clever maneuvering of the masses into a position of leadership. It was because of a natural confidence...a strong, moral sense of right and wrong...a determination to see justice done...and an ability to inspire trust, faith, and service from others.

Some lions—many, if he was honest with himself—were sadly willing to abuse these traits, take advantage of the rest of society, making all sorts of false promises and deceptive claims in order to gain something for their own aggrandizement. It was often said the term 'sleazy politician' had originally been coined because of lions, and even the most average and lower-echelon maned feline in Zootopia was capable of such manipulation and guile if he wished it—to get the chance to laze about with others at his beck and call, if nothing else. And while they had a better reputation for kindness, compassion, and generosity, lionesses could actually be worse if they put their minds to it.

Yet Leodore Lionheart had always known such acts and mindsets to be wrong, to be unworthy of one of his talents and intelligence. He had been determined from a young age, and especially upon graduating from ZSU near the top of his class—political science degree clutched firmly in paw—to do right by the city and its mammals, to prove why so many were still willing to give handsome, regal-looking lions the benefit of the doubt. He was, he knew, exceedingly attractive as well as charismatic...but none of that mattered if it were not employed in the name of the public good, if he were not selfless rather than selfish. If he looked like a king, then he needed to earn the obedience, respect, and goodwill that went with such a title.

Slowly his ears drooped and laid back in his chestnut mane. Well. Now we know just how strong those principles weren't, when you were pushed to the wall.

Sighing, the former mayor set aside his copy of Fancy Cat and regarded the policewoman beyond the metal barrier with a world-weary, saddened gaze most unlike the calm, friendly, personable demeanor he usually adopted—especially for the press. "I see. Well then, I do believe I am at your immediate disposal, Officer...Swinton, isn't it? As I don't have any other pressing engagements monopolizing my time." He managed a small, lopsided smirk.

"Funny." The blond-haired pig reacted to his getting her name right though, probably without even being aware of it—standing up a bit straighter herself, tugging her uniform shirt smooth, and adopting a proper posture and gait as she moved to unlock the door with the key ring kept at her belt.

"I remember you," he added casually, as if only making conversation. "I presided at your graduation ceremony from the police academy, didn't I?"

"Yes." Swinton paused, then shot him a sardonic look as she swung the barred door open and stepped aside to allow him to pass, her other hand meaningfully gripping the handle of her nightstick. "And when Chief Bogo assigned me to jail duty, you were the one to approve the transfer."

The irony wasn't lost on him, but Lionheart only smiled (if a bit tightly), smoothing out his own blue prison garb before striding out into the corridor. "And I stand by that decision, Officer. You are a credit to your department, and I'll be sure to let Bogo know that the next time I see him."

He meant it to be a genuine compliment, but whether it was his phrasing or something in his tone or even the way he walked, Swinton narrowed her eyes frostily, slamming the cell door just inches behind him. Unable to help himself, the lion flinched visibly. "That's nice. I'm sure he'll appreciate a good word from a convicted felon." She didn't grab his arm, but she did deliver a rather forceful push to the back of his shoulder. "Come on."

Wincing, the lion felt his smile falter even further into a very weak and timid example indeed. And that, Leodore, is a reminder of why you were never the real brains at City Hall...

By the time the two of them had reached the immaculate, white-walled visiting room, Lionheart had managed to recover his dignity (something else he felt befitted his stature and appearance), and also started to wonder just whom his visitors were. Visitors in the plural, Swinton had said. So it wasn't Bogo, who always came alone, or Gazelle come to make a peace offering (she would not have been alone, always accompanied by at least one of her burly, looming backup dancers, but he hadn't met with her since she first became the spokesmammal and welcome ambassador for Zootopia). So who? Reporters, again?

For a moment of mingled distress and shame, he began to fear it was his parents—elderly, but still quite strong, and strong-willed—or almost as bad, his brothers. He didn't know who would be worse, and he didn't think he could face any of their cynosure and disappointment in him. But then a thought occurred to him, one that caused hope to actually flare in his breast...

And it turned out to be absolutely right. For on the other side of the table, perched on a high-legged chair to keep her eyes at the proper level, was the very familiar, blue-clad form of Judy Hopps.

Lionheart stopped—luckily well inside the room, so when Swinton slammed the barred door behind him and took up her suspicious, watchful post, it didn't come close to hitting him this time—and stared at the rabbit. There was no possible way he could forget her, of course. Not only had she been the valedictorian in her class at police academy, and the first rabbit assigned to the police force under his Mammal Inclusion Initiative, but she had been the one to personally lead his arrest at Cliffside.

She was also, he saw, accompanied by the slender, rather shifty fox who had been with her that cold, windy night above the waterfall, sauntering out as confident as any feline and seemingly unperturbed by the looks shot him by any of the cops on duty, even Bogo. He vaguely recalled the news reports in the months after Bellwether's arrest, one of which had mentioned that a fox had aided in the sheep's downfall and later attended police academy. He hadn't realized the fellow had been partnered with Judy, though it made sense in retrospect.

It also made him wary. When he had given his request to the warden, passed on through the Cape buffalo, that he wished to meet with Officer Hopps, he had hoped to meet with her alone. As unlikely as that was—even after the Pred Scare had ended, with the explanation proving it had nothing to do with biology or an inherent danger in meat-eating mammals, no one was likely to trust him for a good long time to come, certainly not a small bunny—he had counted on the resourceful, brave young lapine to dismiss any concerns raised by Bogo or other members of the ZPD. And he had believed if he did get her alone, even with guards standing outside the room, he would be able to persuade her, turn on all his charm, appeal to her sense of justice and civic-mindedness, to get her to do as he asked.

But with this cynical, suspicious, distrustful fox at her side...?

After a few more moments, Judy cleared her throat and spoke. "It's been a while, sir." She seemed to hesitate over the last word, but went on gamely enough. "I wish I could say it's good to see you again. But I do have a pretty big caseload back on my desk at City Center, so maybe you can move things along and explain why we're here?"

The fox pursed his lips and observed, casually, "As dashing as your countenance is, Leodore—may I call you Leodore?—I think what Carrots is saying is we don't want to be staring back at it any longer than is strictly necessary. And if we really wanted to, we've got your mugshot back at the precinct to fulfill all our needs."

For a moment Lionheart bristled instinctively, he could even feel his mane puffing. But then he forced himself to calm down and, shooting the vulpine a deprecating look, he seated himself at the table. Trying not to be conscious of his handcuffs, he clasped his paws before himself and adopted his best conciliatory, contrite expression.

"Forgive me, I wasn't expecting anyone other than Miss Hopps. In fact I am frankly surprised she even agreed to meet with me at all." Although he kept his voice low and modulated, he couldn't fight back the tightness in his chest and throat. Steady. This is important...too important to overplay your hand and ruin things now.

"I wasn't going to," Judy admitted. "You haven't exactly done much to inspire trust lately." Indeed, ever since he'd entered the room she had been watching him warily—not so much the way prey had been eyeing predator during the crisis (and for much longer, truth be told), but the way a good cop eyed a dangerous perp.

He'd expected this, and launched into his rejoinder at once. "Look, I know you have no reason to believe anything I say—"

"True," the fox—Nick, was that his name?—interjected.

"—and that after what I've done, I don't deserve anything but exactly what I've gotten—"

"Right again!" His voice was even more flippant now. Although Lionheart restrained his temper by sheer force of will, he couldn't completely hold back the growl in his voice, or stop from clenching his fists in a manner that made ripples pass all the way up his arms so that his shoulders strained at the prison uniform.

"—but, I would appreciate it if you would try to see things from my position here."

Hopps shot the fox a meaningful, dirty look, but when she turned back to him her violet eyes didn't lose much of their hardness. "And why exactly should we do that?"

Lionheart clenched his jaw now. "Do you really think," he said, as softly as he could manage, "that anyone, even you, would have made a better decision if you'd been in my place? Surely you can admit that what we were facing was not something they cover in political science and government management classes—or police academy, for that matter."

A beat. "No, they don't," the rabbit replied, just as softly.

"Anyone who isn't biased—against me, against lions, against predators in general—would tell you that prior to this, I was doing an excellent job at running this very diverse, very large city. Anyone who is even a bit realistic would acknowledge that politics is the art of compromise, and sometimes compromises are dirty by necessity. Corruption is often unavoidable in the halls of power—but I ran a good, clean campaign, I did not fill City Hall with relatives or mammals to whom I owed favors, and in fact I removed a great deal of corruption. The Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Supervisors, is this ringing any bells, Hopps?"

He paused, then added quite firmly, "And since you graduated at the top of your class, I am quite certain you know all about Chief Bogo's predecessor, who was implicated in at least five counts of bribery, ten counts of negligence, numerous violations of procedure and fair dealings with the public, speciesism, perjury, and blatant disregard for the actions and attitudes of the officers under his command. That blue line you hear tell about? Well it was rather thick, not thin at ZPD! I personally fired that greedy, worthless ass—" He meant that literally, as Chief Jack Hemion had been an unprincipled donkey so determined to do things his own way that Lionheart swore he was the source of that particular stereotype of stubbornness. "—and it's because of me he's currently in a cell here while Bogo is your superior."

Judy's gaze, if anything, became even flintier, but then she nodded once, emphatically, before planting her paws on the table before her. "I don't deny any of that. You have done much good for the city. But need I remind you—"

"Yes, I am well aware of how I have hurt Zootopia! Even though that's the last thing that I wanted." He hadn't intended it, but he ended up shouting this, the words echoing quite prominently in the otherwise empty room. He just hoped the officers could also hear the pain in them...and that it was absolutely real.

Whether they did or not, both of them were only gazing at him silently, perhaps a bit stunned or else waiting for him to continue. And after working to steady his breathing, and keep his voice from breaking, he did so, much more quietly.

"You know I had nothing to do with what happened. I told you so the night you arrested me—but I understand how bad it looked, what else were you to think?" He couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice and didn't bother trying; Bellwether had played them all so very well for fools, and he was the King of Fools. "Now that you know about the Night Howler, though...I would hope you would understand. Of course I was thinking of my career, who wouldn't in my place? But did it ever occur to you that perhaps the reason that mattered to me was because I was desperate to save this city...that I couldn't do so if I lost my position...and that I didn't trust whoever might follow me to do it in my stead?"

Gripping the edge of the table until he heard the plastic creak warningly, he managed a mirthless laugh. "And didn't I warn you what would happen if the news got out as to just who was 'going savage' and who was not? That we didn't know why it was happening or how to stop it, let alone cure it?" He hated to use the 'I told you so' argument, but considering how Zootopia had nearly dissolved into anarchy and chaos, prey against predators, fear and hatred sweeping everywhere, and all of it orchestrated and presided over by a ruthless, calculating demagogue who would do anything to retain power for herself and those like her...

Judy stirred at last and nodded woodenly, her expression sober, pensive, and unsurprisingly a bit stricken. "You did, and you were right," she said, mollified and matter-of-fact. But her voice shook a bit with her next words. "And I did my part to help with that too, even though I didn't mean to."

Heartened by what seemed a bit of sympathy in those encouraging words, Lionheart pounced on this. "Exactly! As I said, I was trying to protect the city. Do you have any idea what would have happened if I had not held those mammals—for their own good, I might add!—in a facility where they could be kept safe, studied, given all the help medical science could offer, instead of out on the streets where they would have gone on a killing rampage?! Do you think a regular hospital could have handled them, or kept them from hurting themselves or others?

"If I had contacted the families of those involved, to let them know their loved ones were as safe as they could be under the circumstances, and to ask their permission to keep them restrained, how many do you think would have said yes? How many would have demanded I release them into their custody, to some hospital closer to them or even into their own homes, because 'it'll be fine, he would never hurt his family'?" His stilted sarcasm was rather cloying and snide now, even to him. He tried to dial it back. "How many, even if they had agreed, would have been able to keep it secret so that the press didn't get hold of it? All it would have taken was one. And if the truth had come out sooner, we would have seen the same thing we did, only maybe worse...hate crimes, rioting, terrorism..."

Now it was Nick who cut him off. "Are you honestly trying to say this is all just a bum rap? That you weren't just looking out for number one, like everyone else in this world, that you're 'not a crook', and you should just be released from custody and—?"

"No, of course not!" the lion scoffed. "Whatever you think to the contrary, I have far more integrity than that." At the fox's skeptical look, he waved a huge paw, the links of his handcuffs swinging and reflecting the cold, antiseptic light. "Mr. Wilde, was it? Let me speak to you, predator to predator. I saw that rather ill-advised press conference your partner gave. So I know you understand how easy it is for someone to be swayed to think the worst of mammals like us...to make assumptions on facts not in evidence, to use the legal vernacular. I would think you, of all mammals, would understand what I have been subjected to here. But, that does not mean I intend to circumvent rule of law."

He glanced from Nick, who was the one looking grim with jaw clenched tightly now, back to Judy—who, he saw with a flush of guilt, was looking rather horrified and upset at the mention of that disastrous press conference where a few thoughtless words from her had divided the city. "Whatever my reasons and justifications, and however good, noble, and well-intended they may have been, they were still illegal. I may have done it for the right reasons, but it was still the wrong thing.

"I was still an accessory to kidnapping, I obstructed justice by concealing what I was doing from Bogo, I misappropriated government resources, and I violated due process. Believe me, I know. I am not innocent here. That is why I did not resist arrest, and have not retained a lawyer for anything more than assuring my rights are protected and my trial will be fair. I may not have a leg to stand on, but that has not stopped high-powered defendants before. Surely you noticed I wasn't fighting tooth and claw against the system?"

The question was rhetorical, but Judy answered it anyway. "As a matter of fact, I did. I just thought you'd seen the writing on the wall and knew there was no point. But you're saying you think this is justice?" Her tone was dubious, though whether at him admitting such a thing or it actually being just, he wasn't sure.

"Yes and no. I think the city needed a scapegoat—that Bellwether wanted me to take the blame for her crimes, so she could take over and out of misguided vengeance against me—and what I had done made me the easy and only real target. I think everyone was so willing to believe in the corruption of politicians, and my conflict of interest as a predator, that they were quick to judge me, to write me off so it looked like something was being done, the system was working. But that doesn't mean I was faultless and didn't deserve some kind of punishment."

He took a deep breath, looked from one cop to the other, but mostly focused his imploring eyes on Judy. "I'm going to do my time, pay my debt to society. And when I am released from prison, I intend to do everything I can to make it up to the mammals of Zootopia." Including you, Miss Hopps, he thought fiercely. For though he couldn't admit it aloud, he had deeply admired her for her achievements at the academy, and been pleased she was the first beneficiary of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. That she had been a boon to the ZPD was unquestionable, after what she had done to stop Bellwether. If he could manage to win even a modicum of respect back from her...

For a long time, no one spoke, the only sound being a soft "hum" Nick made under his breath and the squeak of the rabbit's chair as she shifted about uncomfortably; he couldn't tell if this was because his words had made her feel guilty for doubting him, or because despite them she still intended to refuse any leniency with him. "That's very kind of you to say, sir." This time she uttered the term of respect far more sincerely. "But while I'm very glad to hear it, I didn't have to. Because Nick here had already convinced me to come and hear what you had to say."

Lionheart's jaw dropped...but when he finally managed to turn and look at the fox, the smug and lazily dismissive look that seemed to be his default expression had been replaced by one of serious, calm acceptance. "That's right, Lionfart," he deadpanned, and it was a testament to how stunned (and grateful) he was by the other predator having defended him without him knowing it that the lion didn't snarl at that hated nickname. "You see, everything you said dovetails rather neatly with what I'd told Carrots here not too long after Bogo shared your request with us. As soon as we knew someone was actually targeting predators to go 'savage', and we saw what this was doing to the city, I started questioning what we'd been told, and what we concluded. As soon as we knew your woolly little assistant was behind it all, and had stood the most to gain all along, you looked a lot less guilty. And I had a lot of time to think about things from your side, while I was at the academy."

Nick paused, glanced at Judy, then actually smiled warmly. "I just thought it'd do Hopps here better to hear it from the lion's mouth, so to speak."

Again, silence descended, lasting so long he was afraid Swinton would come and say his time was up before he could finally tell them why he had called them here. Privately, the feline took back every negative thought and judgment he'd had of the fox. Then at last Lionheart said, gently, "Thank you. You have no idea what it means to hear you say that."

The rabbit glanced at her partner and smiled a little. "I think I do. But as heartwarming and important as it is to hear your side of the story, what I don't understand is why it took you so long to tell us...and why you did, if you aren't trying to convince us to get you out of jail."

The former mayor nodded slowly. "Well now, the first is quite simple, I wanted to make sure that a cure had been found and the city was safe again. I knew that was paramount to everything else, and no one, not even you, would listen to me until that had happened regardless. As for the second...because understanding where I am coming from is essential if you are to help me with what I do want."

Both of them blinked several times at this. Then Judy continued, "And that would be...?"

Lionheart took a deep breath, let it out, and rumbled, "There is one further reason why finding the cure was so important to me, personally. Yes, I was trying to protect myself. Can you blame me, when I myself am, as I told Dr. Honey Badger, a very large and potentially dangerous predator?" His words started coming out in a rush as he confessed his fears and worries—partly to arouse enough sympathy that they would understand his motivations, but also because he simply couldn't help himself.

"Do you have any idea how terrified I was that I could be—in fact, likely would be—the next target? Do you know what it's like to imagine yourself losing control, intelligence, sentience, everything...regressing back to our savage past, where instinct and hunger and bloodlust governed all, and only a heartbeat separated you from tearing a fellow mammal to shreds instead of lazily lounging by a waterhole?"

Even now, thinking about it had the feline so frightened that he could actually smell his fear musk in the air, something that had never happened before in his life (at least not for many years), but which he'd become quite familiar with in his visits to Cliffside. Even aside from the repugnance (but somewhere, buried deep down, secret attraction...) of such a mindset, for someone like him to lose control of himself was a personal fear that made his nightmares all the darker, more twisted and sweat-soaked.

From the looks on both their faces, his visitors knew exactly what he was talking about, but somehow it didn't surprise him when it was Nick who said, "Yeah, actually we do. But other than making it so we have to take our nice, new uniform pants to the laundromat, what's your point?"

"Just this." Again he took a shaky breath, pulled himself together. "Not only was I afraid for myself...I was afraid for someone else I care about. Not only was I trying to protect myself, I was trying to protect them. And not only was I trying to learn what was causing this, to find a cure, so as to help the city, I was trying to learn it to cure someone who mattered personally to me, someone who I had already seen go through the very thing I feared."

Judy sat up straight, ears erect, whiskers twitching. "What are you talking about? We rescued all fifteen mammals, and none of them had any connection to y—"

"There weren't just fifteen savage mammals," Lionheart said, softer than ever now. "And they weren't all at Cliffside."

Dead silence greeted this pronouncement.

Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Swinton wasn't listening in, Lionheart went on. "Didn't you ever stop to wonder how I knew about the savage cases? Didn't you ever wonder who Patient Zero might have been?" He reached across the table toward Judy, dared to take her paws in his, as he poured his heart and soul into his next words, as he became more and more frenzied and intense in his efforts to convince her. She had to know, she had to help him, everything depended on it! If she didn't...he would be truly broken. He would be dust.

"Please, Officer Hopps...Officer Wilde." He directed his words at the fox as well, but didn't take his eyes off the rabbit, though. "Please. I need your help. I do need out of prison—but only temporarily. Only I know where this last mammal is, and only I can be allowed to bring him the cure. If you let me do this, in secret, without any of you knowing who he is...after which I will return quite meekly to my cell...I'll do whatever you want. Make restitution. Refuse to run for office again once I've served my time. Whatever you want."

"You should do that anyway, Leodore," Judy said—but it wasn't snapped, demanded, or hissed...it was said gently, with sympathy and caring. Her paws squeezed his back, and those huge purple eyes of hers bored into his. "And as much as you've shown you aren't to blame for this, that you don't deserve all the hate and distrust you're getting, I wouldn't be doing this for your sake. If I do it, it'll be to help that last mammal."

Meanwhile, Nick leaned in from the side, and he was smirking again. "Consider it done, your Highness. I'll send a bill and expense report to your re-election campaign."

Ignoring the regal terminology again, he brushed the fox aside. All right, maybe I don't take back everything I thought about him. "I wasn't planning to do that anyway." As the other predator stared at him, startled into silence once more, he pressed on. "I only made that offer to show you how very serious I am about this deal. I'll agree to whatever stipulations you do want, I'll sign the paperwork, I'll call my lawyer off, I'll get on my knees and beg Bogo if I have to. Or you." His voice was breaking now, and he didn't fight it anymore, he didn't stop the tears that he felt welling up in his eyes from running down his cheeks and falling to soak the fur of both his and Judy's paws.

"Please. I'll do anything. Please, say you'll help me."

He broke off in a sob...one that turned into a shaking, shuddering gasp of tearful relief, as he could see in the rabbit's softening gaze what her answer was going to be.


(A/N: So...yes, after all this time, not only am I writing fanfiction again, it's for Zootopia, something I never thought I'd do. Mostly because I love the movie as is and didn't feel I could add anything to it, or that whatever potential the world and characters had, I was more interested in what Disney had to say on the matter in future sequels. But also because I couldn't figure out what story to write, what to focus on, how to approach the movie's themes and subject matter. I finally did though, so here I am!

This story will be much shorter than my other works—I'm not sure how short, and it will likely grow with the telling as usual, but it definitely has a very tight plot and close character focus which will keep things relatively briefer. And as you can see, it's mostly Lionheart-centric. To anyone who knows me this should be no surprise. But also to anyone who knows me, you can see I am not going easy on him any more than I did Tai Lung. [Not that I compare their crimes at all, but both of them are characters many fans of the respective movies hate and/or refuse to give any leniency or forgiveness.] There will also be plenty of stuff for other characters to do, and lots of fun with Nick and Judy including hints at their possible romance for those who want that sort of thing. ;) I should also warn you though, for those who are new to my work and may not have seen it on my profile, that as a gay writer I have chosen to make this story be very much centered on a gay pairing, albeit with nothing prurient or explicit being shown, so if you don't like that sort of thing even in theory/as a basis for a relationship, you should probably turn back now.

Lastly, along the way I'll be doing my usual thing of pointing out shout-outs and sources if I feel a need to, but I'll also be explaining animal puns thanks to the universe in question. This chapter contains one in Bogo's predecessor as Chief of the ZPD, Jack Hemion. Not only is a jack a male donkey, but the taxonomic name of the Asiatic donkey, or onager, is Equus hemionus. Considering Bogo's own name is Swahili for buffalo, it seemed fitting—surnames relating to species is apparently a feature of the Zootopian world. Also, I can't move on without noting that Lionheart's bit of recognizing/remembering Swinton is a subtle nod to her having been the Mayor [and actual ringleader of the anti-pred conspiracy instead of Bellwether] in the original script. Though there's also another reason she's in the story... R/R!)