Hello, everyone! I think this story is going to be a few more chapters. Now that I'm in college, carving out fanfic time has been a little more difficult than it was in high school, but it's well worth it. College itself will be well worth it. I'm putting my efforts toward something great. Don't stop chasing your dreams, dear readers. Hard work always pays off. Hopefully I can update a few times per on-going story over the long weekend. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Past in the Present

Nick was trying to fight off Sonia, who kept flying at him. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He knew how to subtly take control and end the fight. Taking note of the underfloor passage entrance behind him, Nick blocked Sonia's attacks and took steps back as if he was losing ground. He was about five feet from the hatch when Sonia caught onto his plan and rushed to Nick's right side and began going at him from there.

Nick countered her twin knives with his small sword. Steel on steel, hate on hate, betrayal on betrayal. Sparks flew from the intense clashing of metal. Nick pulled away from Sonia and ran for the gun he threw, Sonia in hot pursuit. With a tuck and a roll, Nick grabbed the gun and shot one of the knifes out of Sonia's grip.

"Either your aim has worsened or it's gotten better, sweetheart, because I'm down one weapon and still in one piece," Sonia informed Nick of her observation, seemingly taunting him. "Come get some."

"Sorry, but I've got a girlfriend. You know, the whole loyalty thing," Nick casually replied to Sonia's taunt. "She and I are closer than I thought we'd be. I want her on my side when the end of the world is coming."

"You won't get the chance, Nicholas. It's time to put you down," Sonia claimed as she made a move for Nick's neck. He blocked her fangs with his wrist and grimaced as she sank her fangs in.

"I made a promise," Nick said with a low growl, "and I'm going to keep it!" With that, Nick slammed his wrist, and subsequently Sonia, into the floor and put his weight on the bat. "Say uncle! Tap out! Give up! What am I missing? Oh, yeah. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Sonia gave a muffled response, gagged by the fox's wrist in her mouth.

Finnick ran in to see Nick holding Sonia down and said, "Hey, it's Patsy Batsy!"

Nick asked urgently, "Finn, can you handle her for me? I'm going after Carrots!"

"Yo, man, I've got you," Finnick said as he held up a roll of duct tape. "Got this off the popped weasel."

"How's Savage?" Nick asked as he let Finnick take over holding Sonia down.

"That's a good question. Ah, he's probably fine," Finnick replied nonchalantly. He was getting a little too into the intensity of the brawl in the coalmining district. His response made Nick hope intensely that the rest of the ZPD would be there soon.

"I hope you're right," Nick sighed and jumped down the hole. Getting to Judy and making sure that she was okay was his new top priority. Running down the hall gave him time to reason with himself. He concluded that given Judy and Kristy's relative positions in this dilemma, Judy was in more imminent danger than Kristy.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was standing between Jack and the remainder of her squad. Leona, Maziwa and Diente eventually managed to climb the cliff while Jack was consoling Jasmine. The black and white rabbit begged, "Please don't hurt him!"

"Jaz, have you lost your mind?" Leona snarled.

"I… I will be brave… I won't let you take him away from me! Every breath I've taken has led to this moment!" Jasmine said defiantly, tears running down her face.

"He's using you, Jaz," Leona told Jasmine.

"I would have shot himself over my mistakes!" Jasmine insisted.

"He was bluffing," Diente theorized.

"Cops do it all the time. He's just going to arrest you and send you to some courtroom to be locked away," Maziwa added.

"Jack…?" Jasmine turned to Jack, hoping for a different answer.

"Jasmine, I…I do have to arrest you…" Jack admitted. He didn't want to do it. Jasmine had gotten mixed in with a bad crowd because no one else was there for her. She didn't want to be a standalone, and he couldn't blame her. Jasmine had panic written all over her face. She shook her head in small movements and took tiny steps away from Jack. "Jaz, no! Look, depending on how compliant you are, I can get all of you the most stellar plea bargains in the history of Zootopia's judicial system!"

"Jack, I…I can't…I can't handle prison…" Jasmine sniffled. "I don't want to be locked up by a broken system."

"You could get jobs as cops!" Jack offered.

"Who would take a gang member and a criminal into the police academy?" Leona crossed her arms and demanded for a rational answer.

Jack had nothing solid other than one particular example. He exclaimed, "Your old pal Nick has done it!"

"Nick doesn't have a record," Diente informed Jack.

"You guys, there is more to your lives than just…this. Please… Jasmine, don't do this," Jack begged. "I admit that I neglected you in high school. I admit I sent you mixed signals. I admit that once we parted ways, you were a memory. I own all of that! Please, let me make it right…"

Jasmine said nothing. She looked like she was carefully considering Jack's words. She wasn't sure if she could believe him or if she even wanted to.

"Get him," Leona ordered.

"FREEZE! ZPD! EVERYONE, PUT YOUR PAWS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM! YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST FOR OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!" a deep voice bellowed. None other than Chief Bogo himself, surrounded by Zootopia police officers, arrived on the scene. A wave of blue-clad mammals swarmed the four Mad Cow members. Chief Bogo asked Jack, "Savage, what's the situation?"

Jack shook his head wildly, trying to get any trace of guilt out of his mind so he could answer. The rabbit said, "Officers Wilde and Hopps went on ahead. I was in charge of the diversion."

"Good work," Chief Bogo flatly commended the male rabbit and was about to go towards the warehouses. Jack grabbed the cape buffalo's wrist. "Hmm?"

"Let me speak to the black and white rabbit, sir. I need this…" Jack requested, never feeling smaller in his life than he did right then and there.

"…You've got two minutes. Bring the white and black rabbit over here!" Bogo bellowed. Officers Fangmeyer and Delgato carried Jasmine over to Jack.

"Jaz, please, I want to make this easy for you… I'm going to need you to tell me some things. Why did Mr. Bovina kidnap Officer Wilde's mother?" Jack began an interrogation.

"So that he'd stand down. Family by family, Mr. Bovina wants to crush the ZPD to make it easier to oust the Lynx Administration. He stays in a room with Mrs. Wilde at all times. They're in an underground passage in one of the warehouses," Jasmine told Jack more than he had asked for. "Do you want to know anything else?"

"As much as you know," Jack said, hoping that the law would consider Jasmine's confession as compliance to the completion of the case.

"You're the devil," Jasmine told Jack with a glare of hate and betrayal in her eyes. It was as if she was saying 'How could you?'

"Jasmine, I wasn't trying to use you. I'll fight for you. I'll get you the best lawyers. I—" Jack insisted. He wasn't going to let Jasmine go again.

"But I still love you," Jasmine informed Jack with a small smile. She gave Jack a peck on the cheek and she was taken away.

"You did nothing wrong," Chief Bogo told Jack and started making his way towards the warehouse. Jack kept his feeling of disagreement to himself. Then, his mood lifted when Bogo called back to him, "They are all first offenders who gave us even a little information! I'm sure that the right judge will let them off easy!"

Meanwhile, Nick sprinted down the corridor he found himself in until he ran into a lit room. Directly in front of him was his mother in a cell. Nick exclaimed, "Mom!" He ran to her and started to pick the lock. "Don't worry; you'll be fine!"

"N-Nick, your partner…" Kristy stammered and weakly pointed to a corner of the room. Nick followed her finger with his gaze and eventually found his partner, best friend, girlfriend and soulmate unconscious in the corner of the room.

"Carrots…!" Nick could barely speak. He crawled over to her body and held her close. She was warm. She was still breathing. Nick was relieved that she was still alive. She was limp, though, and looked like she had taken a serious beating.

"She certainly was a challenge. It's no wonder you were attracted to her," Mr. Bovina stepped out of the shadows, rubbing his seemingly sore jaw. One of his arms hung limply. Mr. Bovina took note of Nick staring at it and said, "Oh, this old thing? She managed to dislocate it. She has a knack for using one's own weight against them. Did you ever notice that?"

"I'm going to rip you apart for this…!" Nick growled, his anger rapidly increasing.

"Are you? How…very much like you. I take you into my organization. I give you a home, a lifestyle, a means of survival. I give you the world on a silver platter and you bit the hoof feeding you, Nick," Mr. Bovina said, walking towards Nick in a casual manner. "You ruin any chance of diplomatic relations with Mr. Big for the sake of some short term per capita, flee the scene with Finnick, and leave the rest of us in the fire."

Nick was watching his past unfold before his eyes. He snarled, "Thanks to this little bunny and her big heart, the present is different. If you want power, then go boss some people around in the slammer."

"She's sharp as a tack. She also seemed quite smitten with you. Her sense of justice was a bit naïve, but I've encountered worse. Now…" Mr. Bovina continued talking to Nick as if he was an old friend. He cracked his neck, releasing any tension that built up from fighting Judy. "How long can you protect her while squaring off with me?"

Nick nuzzled Judy's face as he cradled her in his arms. He whispered into her long ears, "I'm sorry I dragged you into this."