AN: Hello everyone! Here we go with another chapter! Getting close to the end here! Congrats to Zootopia at the Oscars! Very happy about that! Cause we all want a sequel! Thanks to AngloFalcon for his editorial skills! He now has 4 chapters and an epilogue to proofread...then we move on to the sequel! Enough blabber! On to the chapter!

Chapter 11

Wrong Things for Wrong Reasons

The bus ride was mostly silent back to the Monitors' headquarters to drop off prisoners. Sampson whimpered in pain from two gunshot wounds in his abdomen, and the three cops were quietly sobbing over the loss of Hufferson, whose body had been wrapped up and put in the seat in front of them on a makeshift stretcher. He had been fully covered up respectfully. Nick sat next to Judy up front while she napped from the turbulent night. He didn't blame her for needing the nap. She had refused any pain medication while they stitched her up saying that it would affect her senses and prevent her from continuing the mission. Instead, they gave her a few needles filled with a local anesthetic that could dull the pain in the area. He pulled her sleeping form in close and admired her for her strength. Bogo had reported in earlier, stating that it was taking more time than expected to take the precinct but he would join them as soon as they were available. So far, two ZPD Precinct 1 officers had been incapacitated by tranq rounds, but they had ten from Precinct 9 in custody.

The bus came to a stop in front of a nondescript building where several members of the Monitors were waiting for them. The first one off was Sampson, who was carried out on a stretcher followed by the prisoners the last three were the traitor cops still alive.

The rhino stopped and looked at Nick. "Thanks for trying to save my partner. I'll never forget you."

Nick nodded as the rhino got off the bus. The doors closed and it started on its way to their second objective. The research facility under the district. Nick could only imagine the horrors they would find inside. For this phase he had stressed the importance of using non-lethal munitions since there was the risk of hitting the napped animals. Nick rested his head against the padded chair and closed his eyes. Judy had the right idea; the entrance to the facility was over 30 minutes away and it was time for a good nap.

"Get a few winks while you can, ladies and gents," the fox smiled. "30 minutes is perfect for a nap and we will need our wits about us."

He heard one of Mr. Big's animals say, "That's a fantastic idea..." while the rest of the bus shifted into more comfortable positions. Most were heeding the advice, but there was still a few quiet conversations going on in the bus. Nick let sleep take him for the ride there.

Far too soon the bus came to a halt, and they had reached their destination. It was in the middle of a street and they were taking the path down an animalhole cover into the depths of the street. Nick roused Judy who rubbed her eyes and checked her pistol. Nick likewise checked his pistols and rifle to make sure he was set; only two mags of tranq for the rifle left but three for his pistol. At this rate they wouldn't have much left over for the final push on the warehouse. The team of 34 animals filed off the bus and they opened the cargo doors revealing ballistic shields with bullet-proof viewing windows. As they would be in the tunnels, they would need them. Mac used a crowbar to pull up the circular cover with ease, and Nick looked down, squinting. He made sure his earbud was in place before he started to climb down. His paws hit the floor and he found it surprisingly dry. This section had been blocked from drainage of any kind. They were in the right place, that's for sure. Nick took a quick glance around and saw that there wasn't much for cover nearby, just a few piles of rubble and garbage. He looked back up the pipe and saw Judy on her way down. The fox saw a light out of the corner of his eye and only by instinct did he drop to the floor.

Lucky thing he did too, as a bullet screamed past his head. He crawled over to the pile of rubble and sheltered behind the meager cover as the masonry around him continued to explode with impacting rounds.

"Judy, don't come down here!"he shouted into his pawset. "There's no cover. Send me Jack and anyone with the shields. I need them NOW!"

She didn't respond, but he hoped it was because she was busy climbing back up the ladder. He risked a peek and saw a few shapes moving in the dim backlighting at the end of the tunnel. Sucking in breath, he leaned out with his rifle and took a well aimed shot, instantly dropping one figure. This however earned him a new fusillade of rounds that blew chunks out of his cover. One tore through his right arm. He yelped and ducked back behind his cover to examine his injury. Nothing too serious, but it would need stitches. Where the hell is my backup?

As if he summoned it, Jack's massive armored bulk landed heavily with the sound of creaking metal from the pipe leading to the street. He took a few steps forward, not yet firing his cannon as a wolf and komodo dragon landed behind him, brought their shields up on either side of Jack, and began moving forward with him. Together they formed a nearly impenetrable barrier and as the wall approached Nick, the dragon stepped over him and the wall stopped. The dragon looked over his shoulder, "Let's move it Nick!" It was Calvin.

Nick stood up and brought his rifle into the pocket of his shoulder and nodded. He heard other animals dropping in behind him and became aware that Judy was at his side. He looked over at her as she looked at his arm, concern plain on her face and in her ears as they drooped.

"It's far worse than it looks I assure you, like two weeks off of work bad." He said with a smirk. She simply shook her head with a smile,drew her pistol and moved with the shield wall.

Nick being on the left of the shield wall had to switch the rifle to his non-dominant hand. He expected it to feel awkward in his off paws but was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. It took him a moment to find the right position for his cheek but when he did, he quickly peeked out from around the wall looking for targets. He spotted movement, gave it a small lead and squeezed the trigger. His shot went wide but Jack saw it and moved his cannon onto the target and peppered it with darts. The figure stumbled and lay still. They continued down the path behind the wall of armor. Every time Nick heard a round ping off Jack's armor, he glanced at him to make sure the massive animal was still standing. He could smell the powerful musk coming from reptile and mammal alike from the sheer amount of stress. These tunnels didn't have much in the way of ventilation and it was nearly unbearable. Nick risked a glance behind him and saw that the remaining force had dropped in with them, flashlights attached to their weapons, crouching low, stalking. With the dim lighting from the front, Nick could see the glint of the predator's eyes. The sight chilled his bones even knowing that they were his allies. He wondered what the animals on the other side of the wall of armor felt facing such a force. Judging by the sound of lethal weapon's fire becoming more and more sporadic, he figured they were either falling back, or falling unconscious.

Calvin nearly fell stumbling on an incapacitated suspect, but was saved by Nick and Judy reaching out and grabbing his shirt and keeping him standing. He regained his footing as they continued to push. Finally the last of the gunfire subsided as the last gunmen fell. They pushed into a large room that contained an array of gurneys and hospital equipment all clean and showing signs of recent use. One station, however, was covered in drying blood. Around it rested dirty medical instruments and tools. Nick shuddered to think what had been done to whoever had been on that table. The wall of armor approached the only other door in the room as the team restrained the suspects. There were 12 in total lying on the floor, moaning and gurgling.

Judy flipped on the light in the room, making everyone squint against the light. "Okay folks, check yourselves for injuries. Nick, come here."

Nick slung his rifle and walked over to her with a smirk. He sat down on a stool as she stood next to him, looking over his arm.

"Nice job on this one, Slick. It went pretty deep and will need cleaning and stitches. I think we can clean it here. Shirt, off."

Nick shot her a sly glance as she shook her head with a smile and went to find some useful supplies. The fox took the moment to look at the rest of the team as he removed his shirt. They were all looking pretty ragged. Some had their suits torn and blood showed up on a few but it was mostly scrapes from falling in the dim tunnels or acquired at the docks. Nick looked over at Jack who was standing guard over the door into the room and his eyes widened at the sight. Between his armor plate, blood had been seeping out. The front of his armor was peppered with pockmarks from the sheer amount of firepower he had absorbed. Some of those rounds must have made it through his armor. He stood firm on his feet, eye slits facing the door with that terrifying helm, resolute in his training and skill. Judy had begun to scrub his arm and Nick winced at the pain flooding his system.

She noticed his discomfort and pulled out a syringe from her small belt pouch. Nick grabbed her paw. "Carrots, those are for your hip, don't use them on me."

She smiled and sighed deeply. "Nick, we need to get this cleaned so it doesn't get infected. I can't be gentle."

He gulped but looked into her eyes. "Then scrub. Keep those shots, we still have one more stop to go."

Her ears fell when she saw the seriousness in his eyes; there was no negotiation with him. "But...I don't like causing you pain."

He straightened up on the stool. "Better than seeing you in pain. Please, Judy. Keep the shots."

In the end she relented and put away the syringe and continued to scrub out the gash. It wasn't wide but fairly deep. Judy could see bare muscle in the gap and it almost made her sick with sadness at seeing Nick with such a deep wound. He did his best not to whimper in pain but standing this close to him, only she could hear it. She noticed that they were being watched in awe by several of the animals in the room but she paid them no mind and continued her work. John padded over,opened a bag and pulled out a suture kit.

He looked down at Judy. "I have some experience with this...do you want me to do it, or would you rather do it?"

Judy took the kit in her paws. "I have quite a bit of sewing experience. Lots of siblings always ripping up their clothes at play and work."

John nodded and went back to helping one water monitor with a dislocated shoulder, an injury sustained when she fell from the last few rungs of the ladder into the pipes. Scaled claws didn't have much purchase on metal rungs, the rabbit guessed.

Judy's earbud buzzed. "Officer Hopps, this is Chaos Actual."

She put her paw to her bud. "Go Chaos."

"We have secured Precinct 9 with no serious injuries. What is your status?"

She smiled at Nick; the plan was working. "We have some cuts, bruises and Wilde was grazed by a round but we are inside and getting patched up. We will be moving soon. I almost have Officer Wilde all stitched up. Head to the back entrance if you can and keep an eye on it in case any try to make a run for it."

There was a momentary pause, "Understood. Keep your heads down."

She turned her attention back to Nick and finished his stitches. Nick, however, was looking at Jack. She followed his gaze and saw the blood seeping out of his armor. Nick waved her on as he bandaged himself. Judy nodded and walked over to the massive crocodile.

"Jack, are you okay?"

The massive helm shifted to look down to the bunny at his feet. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" his deep voice echoing from within the helm.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't know, maybe it's the blood seeping out of your armor?"

Jack chuckled. "Dear Officer Hopps, we salt crocs have very thick skin. That is merely bullet fragments that slipped through and caused some superficial damage. Trust me, I'm quite well. Are we ready to move?"

Judy looked back at Nick as he was putting his shirt back on, then to the rest of the team. They were all standing holding their weapons looking to her, waiting for her word. She still couldn't wrap her head around these brave animals and their choice to do this. That and she also noticed that they were standing together completely mixed, mammals and reptiles, no hints of any specific divisions.

She smiled at them. "Look around you, what do you see?"

They all looked to the animals next to them, then back at her looking somewhat confused by her question. "Exactly. What did you see? Not a reptile or a mammal, you saw someone you could trust. It is as Nick said, brothers...sisters, mothers and fathers...most importantly friends. Keep each other safe. We will need to bring this to our city and heal the rift that has kept us apart. Let's get this done." She glanced across. "Ready Nick?"

He hefted his rifle back into his shoulder, the muzzle down but ready to be brought on target. "Ready as I'll ever be, Fluff."

They all filed in behind the shield wall and when Jack received the pat on the leg, he bulled the door down...right into a hail of bullets that pinged off his armor. A few rounds hissed by him and a yelp behind them told Judy that one of team had been hit, but she was already following Calvin and John as they stepped in with the ballistic shields. Nick on the left, Judy on the right, they made slow progress and her ears were starting to ache from the sounds of constant gunfire. Her eyes stung from the gunpowder in the air as they pressed on. Suspect after suspect fell to the whine of Jack's cannon and precise shots snapped off by Judy and Nick until they came to the final room of the research facility.

The room was massive and in the center was another saltwater crocodile, likewise kitted out in armor like Jack - they almost looked like twins. The armored croc was flanked by two equally armored Komodo dragons. In their claws was a small blue ball. One for each. Judy had an uneasy feeling about it and she soon found out why. The three armored reptiles crushed the blue balls they had in their claws. Blue liquid dripped from their closed fists and together they let out a hiss that made every fiber of her being recoil in instinctual fear. Even Nick had the look of terror on his face.

Jack only dropped his cannon and drew a wicked dagger from his hip. "Any reptile skilled in close combat, join me if you will. Mammals stay out of this, we don't need anyone going savage. Check the second story of this place...I smell juvenile reptiles here."

Judy was the first to speak. "Jack, we can't just kill them!"

"Look at their armor, Officer Hopps, What do you see?" When she didn't respond, he answered his own question. "Blood, Hopps, running from the armor being planted into their flesh. You saw the gurney in the first room. Some of those tools were not medical in nature. These reptiles are already dead, I assure you, their bodies just haven't caught up to their souls yet."

Three more reptiles joined Jack. A monitor named Vek, a sailfin water lizard, Kess, and a komodo Sa'an. The sailfin had Judy worried since she wasn't much taller than Nick. However a forceful look from her made Judy jump into action and start up the stairs with the rest of the team. As she went, she could hear the fight starting with hissing and something akin to barking. When she got to the top, she found containment cells similar to the ones at Mayor Lionheart's facility. Inside them were several reptiles, young ones by the look of them. They had scars crisscrossing their bodies from beatings and most were naked. Judy couldn't get the door open but Nick was there and she saw that the rifle had a red magazine loaded. Judy flinched for a moment as the rifle blew the lock apart. She was the first one in along with Calvin.

They all pulled back away from her, looking terrified. She held up empty paws and had her ears down. "I'm Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD Precinct 1. These are my friends. We are here to rescue you."

They didn't move but after a few gut wrenching moments, one spoke up from the back. "Judy Hopps? The one who saved the city?"

She looked to the emaciated monitor who spoke. The poor girl barely wore anything and fresh welts lined with blood shown clear on her bruised flesh. Judy nearly burst into tears seeing her like that, especially she couldn't be much older than 8 years, given her size.

Judy nodded to the monitor, and her words choked as she spoke. "That's right, and this handsome fox is Officer Nicholas Wilde." Nick winked at the child hearing his name and put on his best smile for them. Judy continued, "This tall hunk is Calvin and we're...we're here to get you home, away from all of this."

Calvin nodded to them with a smirk when he heard his name. The young monitor waited for a moment then sprinted into Judy's arms. She squeezed but there was so little strength to the child that it finally broke Judy into tears.

"My name is Vira." The monitor spoke through a choked voice and began to cry as they both slid to the floor. The other reptiles in the room then rushed over in a flood, hugging her and Calvin, all crying.

An agonized scream from the center of the room got Nick's attention and he turned to see what caused it. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Vek, who had been fighting the three armored beasts, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, completely motionless. His arm rested a few feet away, torn from his socket with such brutality and tossed like a piece of garbage.

Nick brought his rifle to bare, rested it on the railing and called to Judy. "We've got problems, Fluff, get those hatchlings out of here! Team, sweep the area and find all of the missing. Eggs and all. Get them out! Get them home!"

The team sprung into action and Nick set his sights on the first armored dragon. It was winning in the fight against the sailfin Kess. He waited and waited for the right moment to squeeze the trigger. His paws began to sweat. Come on you, give me a good shot, just one.

With a powerful blow, Kess crumbled to the floor, moaning in pain. The armored dragon bent over to finish the job, exposing a gap in his armor to Nick. The fox didn't think twice as he squeezed the trigger. When he settled his sights back on the dragon it was now looking up at him through those eye slits. He sighted in on them and with hope he squeezed the trigger again. This time the shot had the desired effect and the armored dragon instantly fell to the floor in a heap. No twitch, no sound, as if someone had flicked a switch and turned it off.

He turned his attention to the second dragon who was doing battle with Sa'an. Luckily, the komodo was very quick on his claws and kept moving to avoid strikes. Nick fired a shot that pinged against the armored helm. That was the distraction Sa'an needed and in a flash, he procured a knife as the armored suspect turned to look at Nick only to have the knife slip between the armored plates of its neck. Blood flowed freely, but it earned him a backhand that sent Sa'an into the floor. As the dragon tried to decide what to do, it wavered on unsteady limbs and slowly sank to the floor and stopped moving. Jack had the croc by the head and with a sickening crack, he snapped its neck and dropped its limp form on the floor. He stood there staring at the corpse while Nick rushed down the stairs to check on the sailfin.

She was bloodied and her eyes were already swelling shut, but she had a pulse. He looked up at Sa'an who was dragging himself up off the floor. Finally he looked to Vek lying on the floor, blood still leaking from his severed arm. Nick rushed over to him and lifted his head. To his surprise, his eyes opened.

His golden eyes were dull with pain and blood loss, unfocused and lazy. "W-Who's there?"

Nick choked, "It's Nick, I'm here buddy...relax."

Vek flicked out his tongue and licked his lips. "My daughter...was she...was she here? Vira...her name is Vira."

Nick struggled to keep his words straight as his tears flowed off his snout, wetting the water monitor's face, "Yes she was here. Judy took her out of this place. She is going to be fine, thanks to you."

He closed his dull eyes. "Officer Wilde...don't let her...go to an orphanage. I-I was all she had left, find her a home...please."

Nick pulled Vek's head into his chest and cried. He could feel him going so very cold.

"Nick...are those tears for me?"

Nick let out a strangled chuckle. "You bet bud...they're all for you Vek. E-Every one of em."

He could feel Vek's face contort into a smile through his paws resting on the reptile's face. "That's...the nicest thing...a mammal...has ever done...for me." There was a long pause, "Thank..." Then a deep sigh as the remaining air escaped from his lungs.

Nick laid Vek's head down and stood up wiping his face. "You bet bud...anytime."

Moments passed before Jack's massive claw rested on his shoulder comfortingly. "You did good, Officer Wilde. We all knew the risks, we all made the choice. He believed in you and in this cause. You have given this district hope."

Nick nodded and breathed deeply, "Get the wounded out. Leave no one behind, we carry our heroes with us dead or alive. We still have one more task to complete."

AN: Yeesh...I know...its tough. I'm sorry guys that I keep ramping up the feels, but this whole story has been building up to this moment and we are almost in the middle of the climax. I'm crazy it seems, making the climax of my story stretch over three chapters.

Quick thanks to these individuals with brief explanations because I couldn't have come this far without their support!

AngloFalcon=Editor in Chief!

DrummerMax64=Outstanding support as well as approving my story to feature on AO3 or ZNN!

Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps=Outstanding support for my endeavors and great encouragement!

Travel well

-Keft

*DISCLAIMER*

Zootopia and the intellectual content are the property of Disney. I make no money or gains other than my enjoyment from writing it and experience. Any character names that I have created are free to be used by any other aspiring or experienced writers. Let me know so I can read your work with some of my character names and perhaps even personalities!

The plot and story are works of my own imagination and any likeness to other stories is purely coincidence, please inform me if I have transgressed on anyone else's work so that I may make amends. Likewise please do not infringe upon my story and make it your own without permission of a reproduction first. Thanks for reading!