AN: I won't go into much detail, but due to some family business, chapters may not be coming out as frequent in the next few weeks. I hope you all understand and stick with this story during this time. I plan to get back on my regular schedule afterwards.


Chapter Seven

My Zootopia?

An unmarked police car sat in a dark alley shadowed by two apartment buildings. Two officers sat in the car and watched the building across the street from them. One was a rabbit, the other a fox. Judy Hopps gave a groan in annoyance, "How long have we've been sitting here?"

She slammed her head into the dashboard of the car, her ears laying on the surface. Nick Wilde, who sat in the driver's seat, gave a chuckle, "Nearly four hours Carrots, and probably more if Earnest doesn't make an appearance."

He lifted the binoculars he was holding back up to his eyes and peered at the apartment that the tiger they were after currently was inside. Nick had good night vision, but the binoculars helped distinguish heat signatures. Something he couldn't do. Judy just gave another groan. Not looking to her he spoke, "You wanted to do a stakeout. You practically begged Buffalo Butt for one."

"Yeah," Judy picked her face up and looked to her partner, "but I didn't think this one would take that long."

"It's a stakeout, Fluff," Nick looked to the gray bunny next to him.

"Yes," she stated knowing full and well what the word meant, "but I did read up on Earnest, and he usually doesn't stay in one place for that long. That's why I thought we would be done sooner."

"Then maybe he knows we're here," Nick added looking back to the target.

"Then we would have already been captured by his goons if that were the case," Judy stated looking to the building across the street. Her poor night eye sight hindering her greatly from getting a good look. Not wanting the silence to fill the void again she asked, "Any movement?"

"Nothing yet." Nick answered still using the binoculars.

Wanting to return to a casual conversation Judy spoke up, "You saw that thing with Ben today right?"

"What?" Nick looked to Judy, "The thing in the office today?"

"Yeah." Judy affirmed, "Do you think he's gay?"

"Think?" Nick turned back, "As much as I think the sky is blue."

"Come on, be serious Nick."

"What's there to talk about, if he is he is. Nothing wrong with that. Why so curious, were you thinking of asking him out?"

"N-No!"

"Then why?" He glanced at her.

Judy gripped her ears in her paws and played with them slightly, "I just wanted to be sure I wasn't the only one that thought it."

"There's nothing wrong with it," Nick shrugged, "Anyone would be grateful to be in a relationship with that cheetah."

A streetlight across the road erupted in a shower of broken glass, the light dying instantly. Judy perked an eyebrow up, "You saw that right."

"Yep."

Nick set the binoculars on the console as the building across from them lit up with activity. Every single light on all three of the floors turned on all at once. Taking action first Nick exited the car. Judy shouted in shock, "What are you doing?!"

The red fox looked back to her, "Just call in the back-up. Say Earnest is on the move."

As Nick turned back to face the building the lights on the top floor lit up like a lighthouse, the other lights dimmed. A shockwave detonated from within the building. Shattering every window in the building. The buildings nearby took damage as well, cracked windows and superficial cracks on the masonry. The windshield of their car shattered. Judy jumped back with a yelp of surprise. The lights had died as soon as the shockwave blasted. Not wasting a second, Nick rushed across the silent street and to the front entrance.

With a huff of annoyance Judy grabbed the radio, pressing the button she spoke, "This is Officer Hopps and Wilde. An incident just occurred at four four two Rivera Drive. We need immediate response. Earnest Tyger detonated some sort of explosion. He may be trying to escape. Repeat, need immediate response."

Not waiting for Clawhauser to respond and relay the message Judy jumped from the car and hopped across the street. Joining Nick at the front entrance, tranq guns raised and ready to fire. Not wasting any more time they rushed in.

Jack felt cold concrete ground as his senses started to return to him. The blinding light and numbing hum subsided and he got to his knees. He inspected the new world he found himself in. He was in a building, one that looked to be in the middle of construction. Metal beams were erected in patterns marking off rooms, yet no drywall had been put up. The floor was still the poured concrete; it looked only a few months old. The windows had the remains of glass in them, freshly broken out. Even a few of the metal beams around him were bent away from where Jack knelt. He saw faint hints of the beams being superheated. He stood up and saw a burned spiral in the floor around him. He spoke, "Successful jump Ness?"

"Yes Jack. Energy levels have been reduced, but still functional. I would advise finding a power source just to replenish the reserves."

Jack looked to see that the Nexus had shrunk. The portion on his hand had disappeared and the gauntlet receded slightly. It still pulsed with energy. Jack's ears picked up on movement across the floor. He saw a body on the floor stir, a tiger pushed themselves off the floor, "Who the hell did that?"

The male tiger got to his knees and scanned the floor. He was wearing black dress pants and a maroon button down shirt. His yellow eyes landed right on Jack, whose white fur stood out like a sore thumb in the half-light filtering the broken windows. The tiger snarled as he stood up, "You are going to make a nice snack bunny."

Jack backed up in pace with the tiger as he moved closer and closer. His back hit one of the metal beams. The tiger smiled and leaped, charging on all fours at Jack. Balling his paws into fist the Nexus formed several crystal shards, the sound of snapping glass filled the room, and reformed. It coated his entire arm with hard blue glass. As the tiger closed the gap Jack swung with his right arm making contact square on the tiger's open maw.

Another shockwave blasted from the impact, cracking the concrete floor and sending several of the nearby metal beams out of their bolts. The tiger was sent flying backwards. His body rolled as it smashed through several of the beams, bringing them crashing down. His momentum was finally stopped by the wall on the other side of the room. His body was depressed into the wall. There were also a few craters on the floor where his body had impacted it at high speed. Jack saw the tiger go limp. Fearing he had killed him Jack rushed over. The crystal gauntlet disappeared as he hopped up into the tiger's lap. He reached up and placed a finger on his neck. He felt a pulse. Jacks sighed with relief and stepped down. His ears picked up on another sound. More footsteps, perhaps more goons like the tiger.

Jack spied the staircase leading down not that far away. He ducked behind one of the still standing beams. It was wide enough to hide his small frame. He watched from the edge as a fox entered the floor. Not just any fox, Jack knew this red fox from any other. It was Nick. Jack went to move, but stopped when he saw someone else join the fox. Jack felt his heart stop upon the sight of the other officer. His breath caught in his throat, and his legs felt weak. Standing right behind Nick was a mammal he did not want to face. A face he would never forget. Amethyst orbs filled with sadness and fear flashed in front of him. It was Judy Hopps.

Jack never knew she became an officer; he thought the injury he left her with would have prevented any such career like that. It hurt him to do that, he crushed her lifelong dream of being an officer in less than a minute all those years ago. The old Jack wouldn't have given a second thought to doing it again, but it burned this Jack from the inside. He despised his old self; he never wanted to face the ghosts of his past. And right now he saw the biggest one.

Nick broke the silence that seemed to have lasted years to Jack, "Earnest Tyger, this is the ZPD you are under arrest."

Jack looked to the unconscious tiger he just planted into the wall. Not wanting to expose himself to Judy or Nick, who he was happy see both still alive. Perhaps Vincent and Francis hadn't gotten word of his killing of Hoover yet. But he also wondered how much time had passed since he jumped to the other world. Judy was an officer now. He heard her speak; her voice was like knives to his ears, "Nick over there."

Jack heard the two of them walk towards him and Earnest. Jack knew he would be hidden from them if he stayed put. He pressed himself against the beam, his ears standing straight up to hide behind the pillar. He kept his breathing low to not make that much noise. He saw the two of them approach the tiger. Judy spoke, "Looks like whatever he detonated backfired on him."

Jack noticed one thing about Judy, she didn't have a limp. He knew very well that he cut her right leg good enough to give her a permanent limp. Now she showed no sign of the injury. Nick spoke up, "I don't think it was the explosion that did this Carrots."

"Why's that?"

Nick sniffed the air, "Because there's someone else up here."

Nick spun around with his gun primed to fire. Judy looked around, her gun still pointed to the ground. Nick's sense of smell was far better than hers. She asked, "Got a scent?"

"Bunny." Nick answered. Judy rolled her eyes and gestured to herself. Nick corrected, "A buck."

Nick stepped forward and Judy followed right behind, her weapon raised.

Jack listened as the two officers neared him. He wasn't quite sure what Wilde would do if he saw it was him. But he was very afraid of what Judy would do, there is no way she would forget his face. He needed to leave now, but he needed to avoid their guns. Going for the stairs would be a death sentence, even if he could get there he still would have more floors to go down. Nick and Judy were taking their time, checking behind each of the metal beams that were still standing. Jack was smack dab in the middle of the undivided room, but he saw one option that could prevent them from giving him chase, the window. There were many options; all of them were broken open so there was no threat of glass.

He felt the presence of Nick right over his shoulder, not daring to wait Jack sprung from his hiding spot. The fox ordered, "Freeze."

A demand that Jack refused to follow as he closed the distance to the window. Nick raised his gun, "Freeze or I will shoot."

Still Jack ignored the request. Judy took the initiative and bolted after Jack. Nick fired. Jumping up and onto the ledge of the window Jack dodged the dart. He teetered on the edge, being mindful of the broken glass still in the frame. Judy was closing the gap as Nick aimed for another shot. Giving a quick salute Jack stepped over the edge, the dart flying just over the tips of his ears. Reaching out with his right hand, now coated in crystals, he grabbed the side of the building. Sparks flew as he slid down the side. Judy now perched on the window sill, "Stop, you are only making this worse for yourself."

She took aim, but Jack acted fast. He pushed off the wall with his legs and fell the rest of the distance. Bringing his crystaled fist to the floor a small boom greeted his superhero landing, the sideway cracking around him. Jack stood up in the small crater he created completely injury free thanks to the Nexus' healing properties. He did feel a bit warmer as he spied a lose dart on the ground next to him. Four long lines had been gouged into the side of the building leading away from the third floor. In the window he saw Judy already aiming her gun for another shot. Jack spoke, "Sorry Hopps, but I have to be somewhere else."

She fired another shot, Jack brought his arm up and a blue barrier formed in front of him. The dart harmlessly bounced off the shield and to the ground littered with broken glass. Seeing this as his time to leave Jack began to run down the street away from the bunny and fox. Nick joined Judy at the window as he asked, "You did call for backup right?"

"Yeah, Clawhauser should have dispatched someone here already." Judy answered. To confirm her statement she could hear the sound of police sirens on the horizon. She looked down the street to the fleeing buck; there was no way their tranq darts would reach him now. She looked out the window to see no possible way for her to get down like the rabbit did. He was sporting some strange type of tech. The fact he was able to produce a wall in front of him and survive a fall like that was evident. She stepped down from the window and rushed to the stairs, Nick following right behind.

She feared that the white rabbit would slip away before backup could arrive. And if he had any connection to Earnest then this whole stakeout would have been a bust. Yeah they got Earnest, but not his partner. Judy stopped at the top of the stairs; Nick narrowly missed falling down the steps. He looked to Judy, "Why are you stopping we have to get that guy."

Judy spied the unconscious Earnest across the floor, "I'm faster than you."

"And?" Nick asked before he saw where Judy was looking, "Go get him Carrots."

Nick moved away from the steps and rushed towards the tiger. Not wanting to give the rabbit anymore of a lead Judy rushed down the stairs.

After passing several alleys he could have turned down Jack hopped down one of them. He chose not to turn down the first one he saw. He needed to put as much distance between him and Judy at the moment. He stepped to the side and behind a green dumpster. He rested, trying to bring his breathing and heart rate down. His ears picked up on the sound of encroaching police sirens. The area would soon be blocked off, he needed to move soon. Or maybe disappear.

Sensing his intentions Ness spoke up, "I really suggest you not jump anymore Jack."

"Why not? This obviously isn't my home. Judy isn't injured. This is not my Zootopia."

"That may be the case, but there are the dangers of jumping again. As I said before if we jump again we may never have another chance to return to your Zootopia. Random jumping lowers our odds exponentially. It would be best if we stay here for the time being."

"Why would it be best, the ZPD are going to hunt me down?"

"But you don't have a record here Jack. You might not even exist in this reality, evident by the unscathed Judy."

Jack didn't respond pondering the possibility. Ness continued, "I know I said that I lack the information on mapping the realities we jump to. Neither do I have a way to track where we come from or go. But since we have jumped twice already, I think I have a way to do so."

"Really?"

"I'm already running some calculations. It may take some time, but I believe I can work out a way to find your Zootopia and send you back there. I just ask that we stay here for that duration. At least this world is like your own and not like the one we just came from."

"Ok," Jack stood up and called off the energy he had been channeling into his palm. As he stepped out from behind the dumpster he heard footfalls coming down the street. He ducked back behind, trying to not make a sound. Peering over the edge he didn't see anyone, but he did heard a voice, "I know you are out here buddy," it was Judy.

Jack tensed up as he saw her appear in the entrance of the alleyway. Her gun was raised, primed and ready to fire. Jack remained still as Judy stood on the edge of the passage. She did not enter, yet she blocked his only real exit. The alley didn't open to another path until further down. A distance Judy could easily shoot him at before he could escape. He elected to stay where he was, hoping she would pass him by, allowing him to escape. No such luck seemed to be on his side as a police cruiser stopped in the middle of the road right behind Judy. She turned to see two wolves pile out. Jack recognized them instantly, Evan and Richard.

Richard stood by the car while Evan walked up to Judy, "What do we got?"

"Nick has Earnest, but there was a white rabbit with him. He got away-"

"Call in a perimeter setup," Evan barked back to Richard.

Not caring about the interruption Judy continued, "I lost him, but he is on foot. He is armed with some sort of weapon, I haven't seen him fire but he can counter and block tranq darts."

"He shouldn't be far," Evan spoke as he entered the alley. He pulled his gun out aiming down the long stretch of cobblestone, "Do you think he went down this one?"

Judy followed the wolf with her gun raised, "I heard a small noise from here, I expect he is."

Jack tensed up as he heard the two officers step closer and closer to him. They would see him no doubt; he would have to fight them to escape. He did not want to end up in the paws of this ZPD. He felt they were only hunting him down because of whoever that tiger was back there. He braced himself against the wall of the alley as he heard them enclose on his hiding spot. He saw their faint shadows appear around the corner of the dumpster. Pressing his legs into the wall he fired off of it towards the other one. He turned and angled himself midflight and bounced off the wall at the last second before he would cause injury. With his momentum conserved he fired himself like a bullet into the gut of the wolf, taking him to the floor. Jack didn't waste a second as he ran down the alleyway towards the cruiser and the other wolf. Hopps shouted behind him, "Stop right now!"

She aimed and fired another shot. Jack produced another wall behind him that stopped the dart. Richard struggled to pull his gun out. Jack jumped up and closed the distance to the car, landing on the hood. He slammed his feet into the wolf knocking him to the floor as well. Judy rushed forward and performed a similar maneuver over the car and landed right next to Jack. She raised her gun, ready to fire a dart, "There's no place for you to run buddy."

Jack turned and faced the face he hadn't seen in years. His smile wavered, "Really Judy, you don't know who you are dealing with."

She fired, but the dart never hit Jack. Judy stared in awe as Jack's crystal coated fist was presented in front of her. His smile returned as he opened his hand, a shower of glass dust and tranq fluid fell to the floor. Judy stepped back shaken by the reaction speed and power of the rabbit it front of her. Jack spoke, "I don't want to hurt you Hopps, but I can't let you take me-"

Jack stopped as he felt a pin prink on his right shoulder. He looked down to see a dart imbedded in his flesh. He already felt the numbing effects of the dart take hold. Looking down the street Jack saw Nick lower his tranq gun. Jack looked back to Judy, "That's the second time he got me."

Jack fell to the floor as his body lost consciousness. Nick rushed over to Judy as Richards began to pick himself off the floor. Evan let out a groan from the alley as he too started to get up. As Nick got closer he asked, "You ok Carrots?"

"Yeah I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked stowing his weapon away. He saw the expression on her face, "Something's worrying you."

Judy looked to him, "It's just the rabbit."

"What about him?" Nick asked looking to the comatose white rabbit next to them.

Judy didn't answer. She looked to Jack, and then back to Nick, "Something just feels...off about him."

Nick quickly responded with a shrug, "Let's get him back to Central. See if we can find a reason why."