Whoa, it has been a while, huh? Sorry about making you wait. There has been a lot going on, you see. So we lost the championships. Feels really bad but I hope we'll do better next year (I keep saying that but we always lose, every fricking year). 3.25 million people watched it and the population is a bit over 5 million so that's about 60% of the whole country, and that's also 3.25 million depressed people. And then I have had a shitload of school projects and exams but luckily summer vacation is starting tomorrow! And not that I am trying to make up any excuses, but my lil sis was on a bicycle accident yesterday and holy crap, she looks horrible! She has a huge bruise on her cheek and her arm is all scarred and her knee –ugh, I don't even want to think about it. She is okay but I'm sure she's going to have scars for the rest of her life. Oh, and her bike broke. It was new; we bought it like two or three weeks ago. And from now on I'm going to make sure she always wears her helmet.

Uh, anyway, here's another chapter. God, this was hard to write.

Disclaimer: You may think that this is unnecessary but have you heard of Anne Rice? Yeah, I don't own Zootopia.

Oh, and I listened to Tdp4 Team Battle Sountrack – Slaughterhouse while writing this! If you want, just search it on youtube and press mouse button 2 (right button) where you should have an option to put it on repeat.

(holy crap I really need to learn to make my AN shorter..)

-Chapter 14-

"Nervous?"

"That's the third time you're asking me that, Carrots."

"Just wanted to be sure."

They were walking in the Ghost town, with fog surrounding them and the abandoned buildings. There was something really creepy yet beautiful about the town, Judy thought as she watched the empty houses.

Their destination, the warehouse, was getting closer each second and soon Nick would finally meet his father. Judy kept repeating all kinds of horrible scenarios in her head of what could happen, but she knew that she was only being paranoid. She had always been an optimist, always, yet now she found it very hard to concentrate on the good things. But she had met Nick's father and he really didn't strike her as the type who would hurt his only son.

"There it is", Nick said and Judy realised she had been so deep in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed the building. It was in every way a normal-looking warehouse and there wasn't really anything unusual about it.

"Does he want us to go in?" Judy wondered aloud as she scanned the area and saw no trace of Piberius.

"I guess", Nick said shrugging and studied the three doors on the wall. There were five doors, all lined up neatly and one of them was way bigger than the others, so he assumed it was for transportation and nothing more.

"D-Do you think we should wait…" Judy mumbled but Nick didn't hear her. The first door he tried to open did not even budge, but the second rolled up easily and they could see the inside of the almost empty warehouse.

There was a person standing nearby, and as he heard the door, he turned to look at the source. He was standing in the shadows but it was clear that he was a fox.

"Nicholas", he said quietly and took a step closer out of the shadows. He was staring at Nick and Nick was staring at him. "You came."

The door rolled quietly back when Nick let go of it.

"My, my, you're grown!" Piberius yelled and got even closer. His arms were stretched out as to hug Nick, but the latter was a little hesitant to respond to the hug.

Judy felt relieved. How could this kind of man even do bad things? It could not be possible. He had killed Markov's men in self-defence, of course that must've been it. Seeing Piberius awkwardly hug Nick made her heart fill with joy.

"I'm sorry, miss… What was it now?" Piberius looked at her.

"Hopps."

"Right, Miss Hopps. Sorry. Is it okay if we go into this room to sort things out? We have a lot to talk with my son, and not that I don't appreciate you being here, I'd prefer to talk without the presence of an outsider", the older fox said. Judy looked at Nick who nodded.

"Okay. I'll stay here", she said.

Piberius thanked him and walked to the storage room close to them, Nick following behind. Judy leaned on the wall with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

The storage room was empty, and there was a foul stench but Nick didn't recognize it.

"Sorry. We should have picked a better place", Piberius chuckled awkwardly. He looked at Nick who seemed unimpressed.

"So. You became a police man", Piberius said.

"Yeah", Nick replied vaguely.

"Is it a good job?"

Nick shrugged.

"It has its ups and downs", he replied. "Like the fact I was fired, a total down", he wanted to add but suppressed the urge.

"You've grown", Piberius said. He wanted to slam his head into the wall from repeating the sentence.

"Yeah. Time does that to people", Nick mockingly remarked and made his father light-heartedly chuckle.

"I guess that is so. Wow, my son - a cop! Couldn't be prouder!"

"Yeah..."

"Are you eating properly? Sleeping enough?"

"I guess."

"You look very tired", Piberius said and his tone changed drastically. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah", Nick claimed. Piberius looked sceptical but nodded anyway.

"Good."

A very awkward silence fell between the two and they both just stared each other.

"Why did you leave?" Nick then asked.

"You know why. It would have been too dangerous not only for me but for you and your mother too if I had stayed."

"No, I mean what was the reason you had to leave?"

"Ah. That was when we had no money and I had no other choice than to borrow it from one man. But I couldn't pay it back, and they threatened to kill us all! But he was a honorable man and would never have hurt you if he hadn't gained anything from it", Piberius explained. "I did it for you. I did it all for you."

"Who was the guy?"

"Just a Fursian man. It isn't important. He found me a few years ago but before he killed me, I managed to convince him to let me work for him to pay my depts."

Nick wasn't sure what to say.

"But about you. How's that bunny? You made a good decision, she'll make a good w..."

"Judy and I are only friends and that's what we'll always be. We're not dating."

"Ah, I see. That's a shame, she has a really nice figure."

"Okay, now you're just weird."

"Sorry."

"Besides, interspecies marriage is still frowned upon, especially if it is between a prey and a predator", Nick said.

"That is true. But so was the thought of a fox being a cop", Piberius reminded Nick.

Only that I am not a cop anymore, Nick thought but kept quiet. He wasn't going to disappoint his father right after meeting him again.

"You look like your mother", Piberius suddenly said but Nick himself didn't see that. He knew he looked a lot like his father but no one had ever said he looked like his mother.

"You think?"

"Yes. You have… There's something about your eyes. They're gentle, like her were. God bless her soul", Piberius said.

Nick was sure there was something wrong with Piberius's sight. He really needed glasses.

"Listen… Son", Piberius said. "What do you say… If you'd move with me?"

Judy was quite bored just standing there, so she had decided to examine every inch of the warehouse. She was upstairs and walked past some boxes that were covered by a white sheet to a huge garage door that was ajar, but there was nothing when she looked in. The next door was closed but she could easily roll it up, only to find nothing again. There was nothing behind the third door either.

She was humming an old song by Gazelle, Whatever Whichever, and leaned on the wall tapping her foot rhythmically on the floor. It had probably only been fifteen minutes and she knew it would take hours for the foxes to sort things out.

Since it was close to midnight, it was very chilly and even though she had her jacket, she was shaking a little.

Another fifteen minutes in and had moved to the other side of the warehouse and was now counting the tiles.

"121, 122, 123..." she mumbled and suddenly heard a clang. Her ears perked up and she looked around but saw nothing. Just as she was going to yell Nick's name, she saw a figure moving behind the window. She wasn't sure what animal it was but it wasn't too big, only a bit bigger than a fox, maybe the size of a dog. But Judy could see that it was not a dog, as the shape of its head was way too different, like the one of a bear's. But it couldn't have been that either as it was too small for that.

The realization hit her like a bus and her heart skipped a beat. It shouldn't have been but it clearly was, she kept thinking. The figure belonged to a wolverine, it was clear. Not just any wolverine. Judging from his footsteps, it was no one other than Markov.

"Wallander! Or should I say Wilde? I've come here to collect my debt! Stop acting like a frightened pussy and come out! трус!" she heard the wolverine yell with all his might. Judy leaned on the wall to catch her breath.

"He's alive..! Why is he alive? Why is he here, why now? Why, why, why…" she asked herself, but then she shook her head and put her hand under her shirt, where she had hid the gun. "No, I'm a cop, for god's sake! I live for this kind of stuff!"

"WILDE! LET'S SETTLE THIS LIKE MEN, SHALL WE?!"

Nick was just staring at the man in front of him when they heard the voice.

"Who is he?" Nick asked but Piberius shook his head.

"It seems we've got company", Piberius said and suddenly he grinned. "I've been waiting for this day."

"Dad?" Nick asked

Piberius took a gun from his boot, an old pistol with beautiful markings.

Piberius didn't know how Markov had found him but he didn't have time to think about that.

"Take you gun", he told Nick who was shocked to the fact that Piberius knew he carried a gun. Perhaps he wasn't senile old fool yet.

"Who is he?" Nick asked again.

"A friend", Piberius replied.

"WILDE, IF YOU DO NOT COME OUT, I'LL COME IN! ONE, TWO…"

A huge explosion shook the building.

"Holy shit, he has explosives!" Nick yelled.

"Language!" Piberius commanded. He walked out of the storage and saw Markov standing in front of the hole he had just blown on the wall.

"Ahahaha, found you!" Markov yelled. Judy could finally see him better and he looked like he had gone through better days. His fur was a mess and he looked like he was losing it any minute. Or maybe he had already lost it. He had an ugly grin on his face and his eye was red, as if it was bleeding. Behind him there was an army of other animals, mainly wolves, wolverines and lynxes.

Judy though she had hidden well, but clearly not.

"Ah, dearest krolik, we meet again", he said. "Your raccoon friend truly gave me hard time. Get her!"

Two of Markov's men started running towards Judy. She took the gun in her hand and got ready to fight if necessary.

"This is your last chance, Wilde. Pay your debts or die!" she heard Markov yell.

"Die? Not going to happen, sorry, pal", Piberius replied.

"So be it", said Markov and before Nick realised, Markov had thrown a grenade at them. Another explosion filled the room.

"Shit!" Judy yelled but saw that both of the foxes were okay. Piberius started firing at Markov's army and Judy was surprised to see that instead of aiming for legs he actually tried to kill them.

"Nick?!" Piberius yelled in the midst of the gunfire.

"Yeah?" Nick yelled back.

"I'M SORRY I LEFT!" Piberius practically screamed.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING THAT NOW?"

"I JUST TOUGHT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW!"

Judy had come down and two lynxes where chasing her, but luckily she saw two barrels that she jumped over and kicked at the lynxes. The other cat fell and cursed.

"HEY MARKOV, THERE WAS A WORD THAT YOU HAD DIED! HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?" Piberius taunted the wolverine whose eyes flashed red.

"Yeah? Well I don't want to hear that from someone whose son is in the police force, traitor!"

"I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I SAID I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM SOMEONE WHOSE SON IS IN THE POLICE FORCE!"

"DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID? HIS ACCENT IS SO THICK", Piberius asked Nick.

"NOT A THING", Nick answered.

Judy was running, unsure what to do as she turned behind a corner. She took a quick look of her gun.

"Should I…?" she wondered when suddenly the lynx appeared in front of her, trying to get her but she reacted instinctively and kicked the lynx. Despite being small, she managed to hit a bad place and the lynx fell down screaming.

"Y-You bitch!" the lynx yelled with tears filling his eyes and tried to crawl to Judy while holding on to his precious jewels. "I-I'm going to kill you!"

Neither of them had noticed they had entered a storage room, but as Judy's back hit the wall, she realized and got an idea. She taunted the lynx and waited until he was really close, and then she jumped over him and shot the button next to them. The door started closing and Judy was going to run away but suddenly fell and saw that the lynx had grabbed her leg, making her unable to leave.

Judy tried to kick him but he didn't even react, only grinned like a maniac.

"You're going nowhere!" he yelled and Judy gritted her teeth as she saw the door closing more and more. Soon they both would be locked in the damn storage.

"I can shoot you!" Judy yelled and pointed the lynx with her gun.

"Really? Do it then", the lynx commanded with his voice full of confidence.

"I could!"

"I doubt so, honey."

Judy heard the distant sounds of Piberius and Nick's gunfire and hoped they were okay. Would Nick be willing to shoot anyone? No, of course not. He wouldn't, at least not to kill.

The door was getting closer to the floor each second and Judy felt her heart beat quickening. She didn't even think when she suddenly threw her gun to the lynx's head, the grip hitting the cat in the eye and he released Judy who darted to the door. She knew she'd have to slide under it and prayed to god she'd make it.

She slid and the door closed, just as she was out but something had stayed inside. She looked at her behind and saw that most of her tail was stuck on the other side, and it hurt a lot.

"Oh man", she said. "Oh crap. Oh crap."

The lynx she had tackled was running closer and his arm was in his jacket, probably reaching for his gun.

"fuck fuck shit damn", she kept mentally repeating as she tried to pull her tail away. She used all of her strength but it felt like nothing was happening, and the lynx was coming closer. She was absolutely horrified.

Suddenly the lynx was stopped as someone launched another barrel at him, the same second when Judy finally felt a horrible pain on her tail and got free. Half of her tail was under the door and she wanted to cry at the ugly mess. She was quite sure tails didn't grow back.

"Nick!" she yelled at her savior but realized he was no fox. As he walked to the lynx and began choking him until he stopped struggling, Judy saw that it was a raccoon.

"Allen!" she yelled as she saw the slender raccoon started running towards her. "I thought you had already..."

"I had other business", Allen said, interrupting her. Despite looking like something that crawled out of its grave, he seemed to be alright. "I heard you were in a pinch, so I came to help."

He flashed her a smile and then he saw Judy's ripped tail.

"Oh."

"Never mind about that! Things are crazy. Markov? Well, it seems he's alive", Judy told. "He's here."

"I know. That's why I'm here. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yes, of course. How did you know to come here?"

"I just did. Do you have a phone?"

"Yeah, but the reception's weak."

"We need to get somewhere high so that we can get it to work", Allen said and as he saw Judy looking at him a bit confused and he elaborated: "I mean, you need to call others for your aid, huh?"

"Others... Who?"

"The police, of course."

"I'm suspended", Judy reminded him.

"For how long? You're not fired, only suspended. Just think of it as a... Short vacation", Allen said.

"So, where do we go?"

"To the roof."

Judy looked up. There were a lot of huge skylights on the ceiling and she was quite sure even opening them might be a bit hard, but at least there were two of them. The next problem was how to get up there without being noticed?

"What if we go outside?" Judy proposed.

"How can we? I came from a window. The yard is full of Markov's minions", Allen told.

Judy nodded and got up.

"Let's start climbing then."

Markov was furious.

No, he was more than furious. There isn't a word to describe how angry he was when another rone of his men dropped on the floor dead. Why was the old fox such a good shooter? And the bunny had not been caught yet. She didn't even know where she was.

Markov and the foxes respectively had decided they needed a small break, and he was trying to catch his breath when he coughed don his paw.

"This is all because of that damn raccoon", he thought.

"У тебя всё в порядке, босс?" asked a wolf who was sitting next to him, with his left arm bleeding. The wolf was carrying an AK-47 with him.

"Заткнись!" Markov yelled and growled. He had to admit, though, maybe he should have waited a bit longer before confronting the damn fox. He was thinking hard.

"Boss!" yelled another wolf who suddenly came into view. Unlike almost everyone, this one had no accent whatsoever.

"WHAT?" Markov snapped.

"Uh, I just, um… The McCoon…"

"What about him?"

"O-or his brother…"

"Just tell me, god dammit!"

"Okay. He's here. He's going somewhere with the bunny."

Markov stared at the ground thoughtful and then got up, changing the magazine on his rifle.

"I see. Make sure they won't see the daylight ever again. Take Avdeyev and Dragomirov", he said to the wolf who nodded and left immediately.

"Volkov!" he yelled at the back where another wolf got up. He had been trying to patch up an arctic fox who had died despite the wolf's efforts.

"Yessir!"

"Let's go."

"Yessir!"

Just thinking about the fox running freely got Markov's blood boil.

"If you fail to kill them, I'll feed you to roaches!" he threatened to the few men who were uninjured.

"YESSIR!" the cried in a pretty nice choir.