Going to make this an extended chapter to help move it along. Thanks for reading :)

Skye watched as Jack rushed down the walkway towards the front entrance of the stadium, "What is he trying to accomplish? I swear sometimes he's thickheaded."

William yawned and nuzzled himself on her arm which helped to calm Skye somewhat, "Well, I guess you're safest here. We'll get you out of this soon enough and then you can go home and hopefully recover."

The cat began to vocalize various meows and trilling as though he was trying to communicate to her, "Come on William, I know you're still in there. Talk to me."

He slowly blinked at her, "Mmm...meow?"

Skye gave an encouraging smile, "Hmm? What are you trying to say?"

He twisted around playfully, "Meow...meow!"

Her ear twitched hearing something that sounded familiar, "Did I hear something?"

"Meow...ma..."

"Wait a minute, say it again." Skye requested to him.

"Ma...ma."

The arctic vixen met his gaze at him in shock, "Mama?"

William stretched his body and continued to purr, "Mama..."

Suddenly Skye felt somewhat uncomfortable with William calling him his mother, "No William, I'm not your mom."

The cat stared at her for a moment, "Meow?"

Skye saw his eyes gradually returning back to his normal appearance, "William?"

He struggled to control his vocal cords to utter the word, "S-Skye..."

She returned back to her smile, "Yes William, it's me."

Confusion grew on his face, "Huh? Skye?"

"Welcome back." she greeted.

He got up from Skye's lap, "What happened?"

"You became savage because of those drugs they injected you with, but somehow I feel that the tranquilizer may have helped your body get rid of it."

He took a look around in his environment, "What are we doing in my dad's car? Wait...what are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on you, your father told me to do so."

The cat held his head feeling the remnants of a nasty headache, "Oh God, I remember getting kidnapped by these two tigers. They took me into this dark room and pricked my arm after that..."

He could vividly remember the look on his father's face when he was being taken away, the brief moment of panic on Jack's face when they met in the warehouse before it all became blurry, "Where did he go? Tell me Skye, I can't let him run off again!"

Skye empathized with him but knew also that it wasn't safe for him to go running around for Jack, "I'm not letting you go anywhere this time, you're going to stay here until your father comes back."

"I don't want to leave him by himself against those two! He's going to need my help!"

"You can't do shit and you know it. You're smarter than this William, stop being a brat and stay inside this damn car!" she growled.

He sneered, "You're not my mother, I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

The cat reached for the door handle behind him only for Skye to grab his arm, "Oh no you don't, you'll only make things worse for everyone!"

He attempted to tug his arm away from the vixen, "Let me go, I swear Skye I'll-"

"Do what? You going to hurt me? Don't forget I'm more than capable of defending myself especially against you." she emphasized by applying pressure on his arm.

William gritted his teeth, "I'll take my chances, you can't separate me from my Dad, not after all the things that happened to us."

"Just listen to me, Jack told me specifically that if anything were to happen to him that he wanted me to take care of you."

He quit struggling, "Huh?"

Skye took a deep breath, "Listen...I know why you're panicking. I realize that the thought of losing any more family is traumatizing, but Jack is risking his own life to make sure yours is safe. If it wasn't obvious before, then it should be by now."

"But I don't want him to die."

She smiled assuredly, "He won't, he'll be back pretty soon alright? I'm sure he'll be super happy to see you back to normal."

William wasn't totally convinced by her consoling, "Are you sure?"

"He's a tough dude, he'll be fine."

She opened her arms offering a hug in which William would accept, "Thanks for being here Skye."

She patted his back, "No problem."


Ben walked close behind Judy giddy by the prospect of achieving their plan, "I must be dreaming, Judy fucking Hopps herself. I should pinch myself...ow, nevermind I'm awake."

"Calm down honey, we're almost there." Vanessa told her mate as they approached the main stage.

With the presence of the police officer with them, they were able to slip through layers of security and staff without arousing much suspicion despite the two's sinister intentions.

Judy forced herself to remain calm as she knew the two could end her life at any moment, "Are you going to let me go after this?"

Vanessa chuckled, "You wish, we're going to take you to a nice secluded spot in the forest and slowly torture you until you're begging for a quick death."

Ben laid a paw on the doe's head, "That kind of stuff builds up an appetite, maybe we'll have a nice juicy rabbit for dinner. It'll help clean up any evidence left behind."

The doe was waiting for Nick to show up any second now and save the day but the farther they walked the less likely it seemed he would make any sort of timely rescue, "You won't get away with this, killing an officer of the law would have the entire department after you."

The tigress glanced back at her, "Will it now? Awesome, we can scope more prey officers out into the open. One by one, we'll pop them like the vermin they are."

The music grew louder signalling that the entrance to the main stage was approaching, of course there were a security guard that was in the way, "This is easy, just one guy between us and glory. Alright Officer Hopps, be a good little rabbit and tell the nice gentlemammal that we need 'special' access." Vanessa instructed her.

Judy didn't want any more lives to be risked than necessary even if it meant possibly loosing her own, "Fine."

"Excuse me, I'm sorry but we need to get up on stage." the doe told the lion.

He shook his head, "Sorry ma'am, but I'm not allowed to let anyone in here until the concert's over."

Vanessa rubbed the doe's shoulder, "But we really need to go up there, perhaps...I can change your mind?" she suggested with a wink.

The lion groaned, "I'm not accepting any favors either."

Ben drew out his gun, "We really have to hurry, Officer Hopps is authorizing our access to the stage."

"H-Hey, take it easy I'm just here to make a living alright? Please don't shoot!" the security officer said shrinking back.

Vanessa asked him, "So...may we enter?"

The lion looked towards the doe who nodded her head, "Just do it, please."

"F-Fine..."

He let them through, "Don't do anything stupid!"

"Trust me, we won't!" Vanessa yelled back.

Judy could see the band members singing away on stage and her anxiety shot through the roof, "Guys, you're making a huge mistake. You'll give yourself away on the cameras and everyone will see who you are!"

"Well we're not going to be the special guests on stage...you are." Ben said handing her a piece of paper.

The doe wasn't sure what they wanted now, "What's this?"

"Look, it's easy...go up on stage, read out what's on the paper and you'll be done." Vanessa explained to her.

Judy glanced at the paper, "I-I can't read this out loud! It's very obviously an anti-prey speech!"

Vanessa snickered, "Uh hello...remember who we are? Besides since you'll meet your end soon enough I highly doubt that this is going to be a big deal for you anyways."

The officer looked forward towards the stage, "Nick, if there's ever a time to show up, it's now."

"Come on, we ain't got all day!" Ben growled.

Judy's grip on the paper threatened to tear it apart, "Okay."


"Now where could Judy be? She shouldn't be too difficult to spot, perhaps if I asked an officer."

Jack wasn't familiar with the interior layout of the stadium having been here only once before to see a soccer game with his son, right at the turnstiles one ZPD officer was standing at attention, "Ah um...afternoon officer, have you happened to see Officer Hopps at all?"

The wolf shook his head, "Nah, she's probably posted somewhere else in the stadium. Say, aren't you Agent Jack Savage?"

The buck gave a coy smile, "You're speaking to him."

"I figured so, the stripes gave it away. I gotta say, I've heard stories about you and I think you are like the most badass bunny ever!" the wolf said in a enthusiastic manner.

It had been months since anyone had gushed over him, it brought him back to his days when he was considered the 'superspy' at one point in his career, "Oh heh, trust me most of those 'stories' are either false or greatly exaggerated."

"Don't be so humble Agent Savage, you can kick serious butt when you need to."

Jack sighed, "If you say so. Hate to be a bother but would you mind if I slipped through, important manners pertaining to the ZBI and all."

The wolf's tail wagged, "Yeah, of course! Don't let the boss know though, he'll be pretty mad if he knew about this."

"My lips are sealed. Greatly appreciate it mate." Jack thanked the officer.

"No problem and good luck with Officer Hopps!"

The buck's ears perked up, "Um...excuse me?"

"Hey I'm not saying anything, it's just since you asked for her I assumed that...you know." the wolf suggested raising his eyebrows.

Jack at this point decided it would be best not to raise a ruckus and merely smiled, "I'll say hi for you."

"They still believe that Judy and I are an item huh?"

He wasn't naive in believing that in the months after his last 'conversation' with Judy that it would erase any sort of gossip of the two, particularly since neither of them disclosed the incident that occurred between them, Nick, and Skye. But despite that, Jack wasn't going to allow any harm to come towards Judy if he had any say in it. At the same time deep down he secretly hoped that Nick would make it to her first so that any misunderstandings would be corrected.

"Hmm, this officer seems troubled. Perhaps she may know something."

Jack ran for the tigress, "Excuse me, have you happened to see Officer Hopps?"

She meekly nodded, "I have."

The buck sighed in relief, "That's good to hear, do you know where she is currently?"

"She's been taken."

A surge of fear enveloped him, "No..."

Fangmeyer seemed on the verge of breaking down in anger, "They took her to the stage."

Jack controlled himself from alarm, "Please show me."


"Fuck, fuck, fuck...Carrots where are you?"

Nick ran up and down the corridors of the stadium, hoping for any glimpse that the doe is safe and sound but the longer he ran the more desperate he became, any rabbit that he happened to run by caught his full attention. Only to be dashed by the fearful look in their faces seeing a fox with a determined look on his face.

"Calm down Nick, she's just walking around making sure that there is no trouble. She's safe...she's safe." he repeated the mantra in his head.

The red fox had to slow down as he was running short on breath, "Whew, okay I need to stop for a second..."

He soon found himself back one of the hallways leading to the bleachers where he heard the crowds cheering away for the band, "I hope she's not in there, it'll take ages to find her."

Suddenly the music stopped and on the giant screen he spotted a familiar sight walking towards center stage, "Wait...Carrots?"


Judy slowly walked on the stage, and the crowd noticed her appearance. As she was well known and well regarded by the city the audience assumed that she was some kind of feature and starting cheering her name, "Judy Hopps, Judy Hopps!" they chanted.

Their chanting caught the band members by surprise, "What's going on, why are they saying her name?" Quentin asked the others.

They shut off their mics to avoid any eavesdropping, "I have no idea."

Ray spotted the nervous looking doe, "It's her, she's on stage for some reason."

"Officer Hopps? Is there something wrong?" Pierce asked.

Judy gave them an apologetic face, "I'm so sorry guys, but...I have a message." she said looking back towards the expecting tigers.

"Um...what? I'm sorry but could it wait?" the deer said scratching his head.

She shook her head, "It can't, please you must understand it's something I have to share. For our sake."

Pierce was apprehensive about letting the officer interrupt their concert but relented, "Okay? Please make it quick."

He gave her the mic, in which Judy reluctantly accepted it and took a deep breath, "It won't take too long."

It occurred to her that all of the members were considered prey in Zootopia so it made it that much more painful for her to deliver the speech in what was supposed to be their biggest gig in their young careers.

Judy cleared her throat and switched on the mic, "Good Evening citizens of Zootopia and to you visitors from other countries. Today I have something to tell you."

She read the next few lines and began to shake from the impending humiliation and fear, "For several years now the ZPD has been promoting an initiative that allowed prey to enter it's ranks with preferential treatment, and it is how I was selected to join the force..."

After taking a moment to collect her bearings she continued the speech, "But I am here today to tell you that it was a mistake, that this initiative is...is..."

Her paws began to shake violently and her breathing quickened as the words written on the paper refused to leave her mouth, "T-That this initiative is..."

She gave the band a remorseful stare, "Wrong."

There was a moment of silence among the crowd before scattered talking erupted among them, "You may wonder what I am talking about...I'm talking the injustice that predators had faced for so long." she continued against her will.

"Predators had been a minority in this city for many years and continue to shrink proportionally and with that we prey are now the biggest force in every arena of society..."

Quentin ran to her, "Please stop, Judy Hopps."

Even with his limited knowledge of English the other rabbit recognized that the speech was directed against prey, "D-Don't read it."

It was obvious that the speech was upsetting him, "I can't Quentin, if I don't then others might get hurt."

Pierce grabbed the piece of paper from behind her, "Look, where Quentin's from...rabbits aren't exactly um, popular."

Judy decided at this point there wasn't much she could do to keep the hostile tigers happy anymore, so she instead opted to stay on stage at least where she would be safe for the meanwhile, "What do you mean?"

"Quentin joined our band at the last second as a way to escape our country's prejudice, and now that he's famous...he can't return home." Pierce admitted.

The thought of not being able to come home was almost completely foreign to the police officer who had many family members and friends that were always waiting for her return back at Bunnyburrows, "But why?"

Pierce shook his head, "His own family told him to flee."

The deer wrapped his arm around Quentin's shoulder and held him close, "For better or for worse, Ray and I are now his only family."

If it weren't for the fact that Judy was in a captive situation right now she would've asked for more information but time was short, "I...I can't imagine anything like that happening to me. I'm so sorry Quentin."

"It's okay, I have Pierce and Ray." he replied with a hopeful smile.

Judy realized that the only reason why Quentin was able to even leave his home was his newfound success as a musician, the doe knew that if she delivered the entire speech then the young buck's career and his bandmates as well would be put at risk. She knew what she had to do.

Switching the mic back on she looked back to the crowd, "I have something else to say."

The crowd almost immediately went back to silence reflecting general respect for the officer, "What I said earlier was false. A lie that was forced upon me by forces that wish to destroy the peace and harmony we had fought for all these years and even now. I did not intend to interrupt these young gentlemammals' performance and I do apologize for it."

Judy took a pause to build upon her thoughts before speaking again, "You may have heard this many times before but the message is the truth; prey and predator can and should coexist. Not just for your sake, but for your family, friends, and the rest of the city. We all benefit from this, no matter what your personal beliefs are. Without it, we have nothing. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your concert." she said giving a short bow before returning the mic to Pierce.

The deer watched as she walked off the stage again, "Officer Hopps?"

Despite what she was about to face Judy didn't want to cause any further disruption, "It's fine, please keep going on with your concert. I'll be waiting in the back for when you guys are done."

Pierce had a moment of doubt before deciding to disregard it, "Alright, we'll talk more later then."

Judy merely smiled, "Have fun."


Nick could see in the audience's faces ranging from touched to surprised and everywhere in between, "Well, this is quite the scene you just made fluff. Don't know why you decided to do this in the first place but it's better than that press conference from before...backstage is probably where I should go."

The fox was sure at that point that Judy was safe since she was with other officers and seemingly in a secure location but he still wanted to reunite with her just for some reassurance.


"Agent Savage..."

Jack inspected his gun, "Jack's fine."

"I know you're an agent of the ZBI and all but, are you sure you can handle this?" Fangmeyer warily asked.

"When I first became part of the ZBI, one of things I was taught was that we must uphold our duties to the best of our abilities. And...I don't want her to be killed." he admitted.

The tigress remembered seeing Jack when he was prim and proper in contrast to his more casual current look, "I've heard about you and her before when you guys first met. Are they true?"

"Some of it was speculation but yes, I will admit at the time feelings did develop between us."

His reply piqued her interest, "So...what are you going to say to her?"

"A heartfelt apology, and hopefully we split on peaceful terms." Jack told the tigress.

"Apology? For what?"

Jack cocked his gun, "For everything I put her through."


Judy maintained an upright, proud posture as she walked back towards the tigers, "Sorry guys, but I'm not going to be your mouthpiece to destroy our city's peace. Do what you want to me but you'll understand that no one is willing to do anything you guys say."

Vanessa crossed her arms, "I'm disappointed to hear that Officer Hopps...very disappointed."

Ben smiled, "Oh well, we'll find another way to spread our message. But first, we'll need to get rid of you."

Judy wasn't going to retreat with the band returning back to their concert, "I won't let you."

"Dumb bunny." Vanessa muttered baring her sharp teeth.

"That's quite enough."

Judy peeked behind the tigers and lost her breath for a half-second, "Jack?"

The buck's strict frown remained, "Long time no see Judy."

He aimed his gun at them, "Now, keep your paws up and allow her to come with me and nobody gets hurt."

Ben realized too late he had his gun holstered in his pants, "Probably shouldn't have put my gun away..."

Vanessa thought on it then raised her paws, "Fine, you can have your girlfriend back."

"I need the radio too." Judy also demanded.

Jack nodded at Judy as she walked past quickly snatching the radio from Ben never taking her eyes off them in case they tried something, but Jack was ready to fire any moment. Though content with her standing by his side he remained cautious.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked the doe.

At the moment Judy was too occupied with figuring out the situation to focus on Jack, "No, but I have a feeling they'll try to do something if we let our guard down."

"So? Are you going to let us go?" Ben asked the two rabbits.

"Of course not, but if you do anything out of line I will shoot." Jack warned them.

Judy grabbed her radio, "Attention, we have two suspects on hold at the east stage entrance, need assistance to detain them, over."

"Copy that, sending units your way."

"Where's Nick?"

Jack shrugged, "No idea, I'm assuming he's looking for you as we speak. Once he gets here we'll arrest the two and then I'll take my leave."

"Alright, it's good to see you safe and your son as well."

The buck agreed with her sentiment, "The same for you, I was worried that I was too late."

She couldn't withhold a small smile that crept on her face, "You were right on time."

Several more officers rushed into the area, "ZPD! Stay where you are!"

Jack maintained his aim until the other officers were able to cuff them successfully, "And so are they."

They watched as Ben and Vanessa were detained by the other officers, one of them Fangmeyer who seemed more than happy to hold them under arrest.

"You poor schmucks think it's over, but I'll tell you right now...it sure ain't." Vanessa told the two as they were escorted away.

As soon as the buck saw that the threat was neutralized the tension in his body disappeared and was replaced by fatigue and relief, "This was easier than I was expecting."

"Yeah, it was easy..."

Jack noticed her suspicious expression, "Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing, let's go meet up with Nick." Judy told him.

He nodded, "Time to wrap it up."

"Officer Wilde this is Officer Hopps speaking, rendezvous at the front entrance of the stadium immediately."

"Glad to hear you are safe, I'll meet you there ASAP."

As they walked down the hallway Jack decided there was no other time than now to converse with her, "Sorry for asking but...are you still mad?"

Judy looked at him, "Hmm?"

He cleared his throat, "Uh...you know, about earlier."

"Oh! Well...I guess not anymore. To be honest I didn't expect to see you again so I'm still kind of surprised." she admitted.

"I must apologize."

The buck stopped and hung his head down, "For what I did to you, it was foolish for me to lead you on like that. I should've realized right from the beginning that what was I doing at the time was idiotic. But I didn't listen to myself or to anyone else. I was blinded by infatuation. But it interfered with both our careers and led to fighting between us, and Nick as well. Something that didn't need to happen."

Judy wasn't sure how to react to his apology, "Um..."

"I betrayed both your's and Nick's trust. I feel that even with both of you acting cordial with me I suspect that both of you still do not wish to trust me which I feel is justified. But at least let me say that not at any point I wished harm on either of you two, and I promise not to make any more rash decisions again."

She could see that his remorse was genuine, "I accept your apology Jack."

"I'm glad we were able to solve this peacefully." Jack gratefully said as they shook paws.

"Water under the bridge, plus I have to say sorry too for egging you on." she said a little embarrassed.

Jack chuckled, "It's okay, don't get hung up over it. I do have to say that I still think you're a sweetheart, and anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."

"We were pretty good partners I have to say." she commented.

He thought back on it, "Eh...so-so."

They shared a brief laugh, "You know, I'm grateful for helping me back there. I wasn't sure if I was even going to make it." Judy thanked him.

"They wanted us both Judy, but I couldn't give them the satisfaction. It was the same with Hunter, I just didn't want injustice and hatred to win."

Judy couldn't help but notice his new appearance, "You grew out your fur huh?"

He grabbed some and pulled it down, "Just the top part, what do you think?"

She tapped her chin, "Makes you look younger, I don't know if it fits you though."

"It definitely gets a mixed reaction, but I happened to fancy it."

"What did Nick say?"

Jack paused for a moment, "Er...he said I looked more attractive."

"Really? Huh."

He noticed her shivering, "You cold?"

She waved it off, "A bit, we are sort of outside right now since we're outside the concert grounds, but nothing I can't handle."

He smirked, "Alright then."


Nick spotted the two rabbits casually chatting with each other, "Well well, I'm guessing you two kissed and made up huh?"

Judy saw that his face denoted a relaxed demeanor rather than a hostile one as last time she and Jack were talking together, "Not the first part, but yeah, long story short he basically said sorry."

"I hope that this doesn't cause any trouble for you Nick." Jack said vigilant of the fox's reaction.

"Hey, seeing her safe and sound is more than good enough for me." Nick told the buck.

"Am I correct in guessing that this means you forgive me?" the buck appealed to the officer.

Nick looked at Judy, "Well Carrots, what's your take on this?"

The doe imitated the fox's smirk, "I think that he's earned our mercy."

"If she's good with it, then so am I." Nick confirmed to Jack.

The buck held his paws together in gratefulness, "Thank you, that's the most I wanted to hear from both of you."

Jack glanced at his watch, "I should get going, my son is waiting for me."

"For sure, we should catch up later, maybe grab a couple of beers." Nick offered.

"It does sound tempting, but for now I'm going to spend my time with William until he heads off for college."

Judy cheerfully smiled, "Wow! Congrats!"

"I'm quite proud of him, but also a little sad to see him go."

Nick patted his shoulder, "Hey, you gotta let the kid go at some point right? He'll be fine on his own, he's a smart one."

Jack's ears fell down, "I know that, but it still feels like I'm going to be missing something in my life."

"You'll find something to fill it." Judy showed compassion for his sorrow.

His smile returned albeit a small one, "Thanks Judy, I'll make it an effort to find it."

"You know, there's one thing that still bothers me." Nick told the two.

Jack's ears perked back up, "What's on your mind?"

"We still haven't found that rogue officer who's been working with Vanessa."

The buck scratched his head, "A rogue officer?"

"Vanessa told Nick earlier that someone in the ZPD was basically looking to recruit more officers into the Pathfinders. Though since she's going to the precinct now I don't know if that means this mystery officer might try something." Judy explained.

Jack frowned, "Have any idea who it may be?"

Nick and Judy pondered it, "I mean the only ones who knew about this operation was you, Skye, me and...wait."

The two rabbits were startled by Nick suddenly dashing off, "Wait where are you going? Nick!" Judy yelled as they chased after him.