The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

14. Episode 14: The crucible

Author's note: Salutations everyone. My name is Valiant and I have returned. I apologize for the delay I had to take since the last chapter of my story, but I have returned with a hell of a chapter for you to saciate your thirst for Zootopia fan-fiction. Things are a little hard for everyone and i notice that, it looks like every time I turn on the television there are more and more people throwing each other around and another new crisis that threatens the livelyhood of otheres. Never the less I am still hopeful that this time shall come to pass and, until then, I'm happy to present to you more nuggets of story so that you may enjoy yourselves during this long period of isolation. This chapter is long and I do mean long, I had it planned to release it much sooner but I decided to take some more personal time and enjoy the holidays with my family. I shall stop with my writting for now but i will be right back after new year with another chapter of Zootopia and, for those craving some more reading of my material, thret not. I will soon lauch another finished chapter of my second story with Spyro the dragon.

Until we meet again. I wish you all nothing but the best and I'll see you all again next year.

Thanks for all the support, it helps a lot. Now... on with the show!

Episode 14: The crucible

The sun was just starting to show itself over the horizon when Alfred opened his eyes, his anxiety didn't let him sleep very well but he was still feeling far more calm and rested. The gears in his mind were grinding through overtime with all of the scenarios he and the others came up to get a better handle on the prospects of the crucible before turning in for the night. They wanted to come up with a countermeasure for every area and for every other cadet they might have to face up during the exam, there would be no satisfaction for nothing less than absolute thoroughness.

As the wolf began to wake up and turned his body around over the bed, he placed the palm of his paws over his eyes and released a warm sigh, he let his sight get accustomed with the lighting in the room as he began to properly wake up but he didn't raise from the mattress just yet. Alfred turned his head slowly to the right and saw a curious image, Nick was seated over the work chair, he had his feet placed over the desk and his card deck in his paws, the fox was doing his usual shuffling motion with the cards but his face was plastered with an expression of utter disappointment and, with his attention devoted to the cards it would appear that he hadn't noticed Alfred's eyes over him just yet.

Alfred was not sure what was wrong with his friend, on the previous night the fox had gone to bed with a very optimistic and now it was plain to see that he was worried, every time Nick pulled a card from the deck after an artistic set of shuffling maneuvers he grew a little bit more frustrated. After a couple of minutes observing the fox and seeing him take another card from the deck, Alfred cumprimented him, letting Nick know he was awake:

- Good morning.

Nick looked over at Alfred's direction, seeing the wolf's opened eyes while he was still holding the cards in his paws, the only thing he spoke for the time was a retort to the cumpriment:

- Good morning.

That was a little uncharacteristic for Nick. He had nothing more to say than a common daybreak salutation, finishing with those two words, the fox returned to being frustrated with the next card he pulled from the deck. Alfred sat himself up over his bed, the wolf was just about ready to go to the bathroom, give himself a cold shower as to expel all of the grogginess from his sleep out of his body and go to join the other cadets in the final preparations for the crucible, but he was still worried about Nick and just remained seated with his eyes placed over the fox near him. Alfred leaned a little closer to Nick and asked:

- What are you doing over there?

Nick showed the stack of cards in his right paw and answered with a monologue:

- Do you know how long I have had this deck with me?

Alfred raised a brow to that and his left ear twitched to the side as he was very much unsure about the nature of that question. After noticing the expression plastered all over the wolf's face, Nick decided to elaborate more on his question:

- I got this deck of cards from inside a box of my dad's old things after he passed away, aside from his old claw trimer it was the one thing that I considered worth taking. These cards have a very nice feel to them, I learned how to shuffle them in a way that feels unique to me, as such, I am even able to pick and guess the card I get without even looking at it, I like doing it to ease my nerves and I have never been wrong since I learned how to do it. This morning it's different, I have been awake for half an hour and I haven't got a single guess right, I am seriously off my game today, that bothers me a lot.

Alfred remained seated over the bed but he turned around over his seat to face Nick, it was quite evident that the fox was beginning to have doubts about the role he was entrusted with on the night before but he was assured by his friends that they had complete trust in one another, unfortunately it would seem as if that only placed more unwanted pressure over his shoulders. When they left the dorm and entered the crucible they were going to be judged not separately but as a unit, there was a wide margin for error and anything could happen.

Nick placed the deck of cards over the work table and tossed his back side on the chair repost. Alfred could not stand to see him that way, the fox looked beaten, tired and the day had barely just begun, they were going to need to be strong and enter the exam grounds with the best of standings. The wolf directed an eye at the fox and decided to say a few words before they had to get on their way:

- Listen Nick, I understand that you are feeling a huge weight over you right now, but I know you and you do not let anything slow you down. Since you arrived at this academy you have been the best cadet you can possibly be and you have been doing it your own way, what's more, you convinced others, including me, to do the same. This exam is balls to the wall tough and there is a probability that we are not going to be the last team standing, but I do know we are going to do great and we are going to do it with you leading the way.

Nick showed a little smile, he looked over at Alfred and asked of him without leaving his seat over the chair:

- Are you sure you want to put that much trust on me?

- Of course I do. You're my friend.

Nick pushed his back side away from the repost of the chair, his smile did not fade away as he delivered a few words of his own:

- A while back I was told that this place was going to take a lot of grit and determination out of me, I wasn't worried about that. The thing that really worried me was the fact that I was going to cooperate and trust in other mammals to make it all work. I know how to talk and interact with others but placing my trust in the paws of strangers never sat well with me, most of my life I thought that looking out for myself was the way to go, but I am really glad I was proven wrong to that time and time again. Thanks for putting your trust on me dude, I'll do my best.

Alfred smiled and thought about getting up to cumpriment Nick and help him further by getting ready for the test to come, however his planned course of action was interrupted when a familiar voice joined their conversation:

- It's all we can do for now.

The two canines turned their heads in the direction of the voice and found Samuel sitting over the mattress at the top bunk with one of his legs tucked and his ears raised, showing that he had paid close attention to the conversation for an extended period of tie. The three friends were now in the same page regarding their combined efforts to face the crucible, they were more than ready to show the academy faculty that they were an unstoppable combination and if they tripped and fell during it all then at least they would have done so given their all. Nick could feel the levels of stress he was experiencing before gradually diminishing, as his two friends entered the bathroom close by to get ready for the day, the fox gave his card trick one last time and was successful in guessing the card he would retrieve, an ace of spades that he sneakily placed inside his pocket as a good luck charm.

There were still three hours until the beginning of the exam and every cadet was already prepared for what could only be the most important evaluation of their lives, the wait was brutal but well worth. The eight teams of three mammals each was placed in transports and directed to the training grounds at the end of a road out of the town borders that was left closed and untraveled for a long time. The squads were well placed and these were their placements:

Squad Nº Leader/ Supporter/ Specialist

1... Tobias Lionial/ Georgina Somulaina/ Edward Zacks

2... Bernard Mowlniek/ Mathew Strous/ Daniel Nekofaren

3... Thiana Leptocenor/ Sylvia Feetfaren/ Pawl Narlvitts

4... Sandra Markinponce/ Melody Tawlingale/ Helen Clawshmit

5... Duncan Deanerpaw/ Andersen Snoutfanger/ Stanley Oncans

6... Hector Trunkaby/ David Rageraine/ Camile Sable

7... Callie Denville/ Leandro Maneanthall/ Susie Salore

8... Nicholas Wilde/ Samuel Balckner/ Alfred Lupus

Judy was already present to assist on the monitoring of the crucible, she woke up early that day and convinced Samantha ta wait until the exam was concluded before swinging by the academy ground to pick her up, she was transported along with the cadets and placed inside a surveillance room with all the other faculty members which was located near the training zone. The military approved area was enormous, almost as big as a district from the real city of Zootopia and it needed a great deal of workers to maintain the recording devices in working order and take care of the upkeep of the training zone itself. It sure was a lot of work getting everything ready and it all was about to pay off.

Judy didn't have any time to find Nick and wish him and his friends one last good luck before the crucible started, she was quickly directed to the surveillance room where she found major Grover and his assistant already getting in place to watch and judge the rookies who were about to be pegged against one another but there was another presence inside the room among the staff, someone that exuded authority and standed with a posture that was very much familiar to her. This colossal mammal was pointing her claws to every side of the room, directing every other member of the administrative crew with unmatched efficiency and Judy could not wait to cumpriment her.

The bunny walked closer to the huge silhouette in the middle of the room and asked:

- Major Friedkin?

The polar bear turned around and looked down, meeting eyes with the bunny and her very familiar sunny smile. The major adjusted the navy blue cap over her head and placed her body down in one knee to properly greet her former student:

- Well, if it isn't dear ol' cotton tail. How the heck are you Hopps?

Judy gave a little bounce while standing in place to show how excited she was, her ears perked up and she answered:

- I'm doing great! I didn't know you had also been called to take part in the exam.

Major Friedkin showed off a smile and spoke up as she recalled a time when she was a dedicated student in the police academy:

- I was doing another evaluation of a few cadets in another facility up north when I got called to present this exam. I was one of the cadets that went through the Crucible back in the day and that is why they insisted I showed up.

Judy's eyes gleamed with admiration, she pointed a finger at her former teacher before asking of her:

- You went through the crucible? How was it?

- It wasn't anything like this, I can tell you that much.

The polar bear said so as she gestured with one paw to the bustling environment all around her, a cramped room filled with staff and equipment, and began to walk slowly as she told Judy a few more details about her own academy days:

- Back then there were fewer obstacles inside the course, the pistols could only hold two shots at a time so they needed to be manually reloaded and there was no rule about team leader elimination like they decided to implement now. It was every mammal for themselves. My class was one of the last to take on the crucible and it was exhilarating.

Judy followed the major's line of sight as the massive mammal halted her movement and looked straight at the set of screens right in front of her. Judy still had one final doubt that she wanted to get out in the open so she projected her voice and asked:

- How did it go for your team?

Judy didn't mean to pry too deep into major Friedkin's personal matters but the polar bear didn't mind it at all. She squinted her eyes and answered without deviating her eyes from the screens:

- I don't recall exactly how it went. I think half a minute in I took a big paint pellet to the side of the head right when I was exiting one of the buildings. Everything before that is kind of a blur. It was all so exciting, really.

Judy was a little worried after hearing that, but one look into the images displayed in one of the monitors changed her feelings into a state of relief once more. She saw Nick and his squad reading to enter the training course, pumping themselves up as a team, as all the other cadets were positioned and awaiting for the gates in their respective sectors to open so that the evaluation could begin. Friedkin noticed that Judy was a little fidgety as she looked at one of the screens and asked out of curiosity:

- Do you have any stakes in this? I played a bet with Grover to see how many teams would be left standing after a full hour.

Judy turned her head to face her old mentor but she was not sure about how to answer that question, as a moderator she had to maintain a bias attitude towards each and everyone of the cadets. The bunny directed her face back towards the monitors and answered with a moderate air of authority in her voice:

- I don't have any stakes in this exam. All of the cadets show great promise and I know they will all show what they have to offer for the police force in their own unique ways.

It was time. The sun was shining and the weather showed no signs of rain any time soon, the crucible would be realized even with rainy weather to come but it would be more convenient for the cadets and everyone else involved if the skies would stay clear. Each squad was placed by the front of a separate gate leading inside the course's various sectors and they would open as soon as the signal was given, Each mammal was wearing the full attire for the simulated combat with an added detail that would give each one an edge over the competition, each squad mate had a specially design arm strap placed by the right sleeve with color coded markers so it would be easy to differentiate and prioritize every team member. Blue for the leader, green for the specialist and yellow for supporter.

Nick and his squad were giving themselves some final touches and checking their equipment, making sure that their vests and protective goggles were strapped tight and that their pellet shooters were loaded and ready for a scrap. Alfred looked at his two friends and asked of them:

- Are we ready for this?

Samuel was the first to answer with a clenched hoof and great enthusiasm:

- You better believe we are ready for this!

Nick watched as Samuel adjusted the straps on the bag he was carrying over his back and imagined how strenuous it would feel to carry such a large cargo on you for an extensive amount of time like that. The fox extended his paw to call to the deer's attention and ask of him:

- How are you feeling over there Samuel?

He released a loud huff of air and answered:

- Like I'm carrying a freaking closet on my back. Do we even need half of this stuff?!

Alfred was the first to approach him and make sure every gadget was in its place just like he had placed them minutes before they were placed by the gate. As the wolf straightened the cargo over the backside of his friend, he took the time to explain:

- Please be mindful of how you move around. You are carrying plenty of sensitive equipment so you would not be able to maneuver around like the rest of us. Inside this bag there are motion sensors, our back up map of the course, two road flares in case we get separated, all of our back-up ammo, my special radio transmitter, our food, water and a special device for emergencies.

Samuel's ears twitched to the side after hearing the part about the special device he was carrying, Nick was already placed in a ready position but he turned around to check on his squad after hearing that last piece of information. Samuel turned over to the leader of his team, who walked a few steps closer to join in on the conversation, and asked:

- Whoa! I have a "special device" on me? What is it? Did you know about this?

Nick shrugged that question off by raising both of his shoulders and saying:

- First time I hear about that.

Alfred recalled that he hadn't taken the time to explain to both of his squad mates about the last piece of equipment he decided to bring along so he summarized the nature of the item in a rushed amalgamation of gestures and sentences:

- There was the option for the squads to exchange some of their excess ammo pellets in order to take a piece of equipment listed as experimental into the crucible. I took the liberty to fill the forms and place the item inside the support's packaging in case we might need it later.

Nick raised a brow as he took in and asked about the one word in that explanation that really called to his attention:

- "Experimental"?

Samuel pumped his fist in the air and added his own idea to the conversation as he ranted:

- That is police talk for "Really fucking awesome"! What is it and how do I use it?

Alfred showed a frown in order to discourage his allies from performing any rash and careless course of action and placed himself in clear view to speak up:

- "You" won't use it on just any situation, it is for all of us to make use of in case we get surrounded or ambushed, which is very likely. To summarize: This thing is big, is heavy and we only have one of it, so be mindful with it and try not to lose it. You got that?

Nick and Samuel nodded their heads collectively when faced with Alfred's authoritarian voice and the fact that he had put a whole lot more thought into the battle related outcomes they might face while inside the crucible. The squad's conversation was just about done and their preparations were finally completed as a voice sounded off from the speakers held high that the gates were about to open:

- Attention all squads. The Crucible is about to commence. All cadets stand ready by their respective entrances until the signal is given.

And just like that, the gates clanked themselves open all at the same time, the eight squads tumbled in unison inside the training grounds and then, as soon as their entrance was confirmed, they were all sealed inside the massive course. The first thing Nick's squad encountered was a long straight and narrow street that lead them towards a line of buildings and alleyways, the scenery wasn't too picturesque, mostly constructions painted with uninteresting colors and a few sidewalks that all appeared to end up in the same place. The three mammals kept on walking with the same matched pace with their pellet shooters held on firmly in their grasps, Nick and Alfred taking the lead while Samuel watched from the rear, until they got to a large open area similar to a park well illuminated by the morning sun.

- Holy crap! This place is huge!

Samuel yelled out as he and the others found that open space. Nick had to agree with that, the maps and schematics they had reviewed just one night before couldn't hold a candle to the real thing and the outlandish scope of the course had the fox wandering just how much money was spent in building such an enormous testing environment. The trio of mammals had to keep as low a profile as they could, one false move and they could end up on the wrong end of a bad stalemate against any of the other squads, Alfred stepped forth and took a quick sniff of the air around them to make sure they were far from an unexpected encounter. The wind was blowing strong that morning and it was hard to discern any perceptible scents that might alert them for anyone approaching, but by the looks of it they were in the clear for the time being.

Nick took one last look around to certify that they were by the coordinates he had recalled from the map, he turned his head by the corner with the shooter well held in his left paw and reassured his friends that there was no one to be seen or heard nearby:

- Clear.

Alfred continued on the lookout as Samuel leaned sideways on a wall closest to him to take a quick breath before continuing, there was no denying that he was the strongest mammal among the squad, but carrying the cargo around he was entrusted with was taking a lot out of him. The deer took a few long breaths for himself and said:

- Sheesh! Is it just me or is this thing getting heavier by the minute?

Alfred walked two steps closer and placed one of his paws over the backpack while the other paw placed his shooter back in the holster by his left side. Alfred opened the pack and began to roam through its contents while speaking:

- Sorry you got to carry such a heavy load dude, but I promise you won't have to go on like this much longer. Nick!

The fox's ear twitched to the side after hearing Alfred's voice. Nick turned around and asked:

- What's up?

While Alfred continued on his search for the item he wanted, he gestured with his head to a building on the far side of the street and asked of Nick:

- Could you keep a look out on that side of the street? I'm going to get things ready for a quick sensor assessment.

- You got it.

Nick gave a thumbs up and darted to the other side of the street, he placed his back against the wall of the building he had approached and sidled alongside it, the fox's size was of great use in that moment since he didn't have to crouch down to remain well hidden and there was no impediment to his movement range. Alfred continued to search for the one item he wanted to use inside of the backpack carried by Samuel and they remained silent through the process until Samuel's eyes shot open as he saw the long awaited object placed right by the corner of the pack:

- Found it!

The wolf said so as he hoisted a little electronic device shaped like a cylindrical rod he was holding in his right paw in the air and that made Samuel wander for a bit and ask:

- What is that thing? Is that the "Special" thing I'm supposed to be carrying around?

- No. This is a motion sensor. It's standard issue for all the other squads.

Alfred made a motion with his left paw, asking Samuel to follow him, the wolf went on his way with a hasty set of steps and trusted that his friend would follow soon enough. Samuel hoisted the bag over his back once more, after it was thoroughly closed off, and the pair rushed to a position near where Nick was waiting for them. The fox signaled that there was still no sign of any other cadet nearby and Alfred took it as the prime opportunity to prep the device in his paws for the next part of their operation. The three huddled together and Alfred spoke up:

- We are well on our way but we still got to take control of this upcoming sector. We have to plant this motion sensor somewhere nice and hidden and make sure the signal can be well received by our monitoring device. Any ideas?

Alfred and Samuel looked around in order to determine the best spot to plant the device, Nick remained silent near them and thought for a little while before they all heard Samuel's voice saying:

- How about that building over there? We get in, climb a few stairs and plant it near a window. I'm betting no one will think to check up there.

Alfred knew that Samuel's idea had some credit to it but the device had its own limitations when it come to height and positioning, he explained that they had to position it somewhere closer to ground level so that the sensor could pick any movement along with possible ground vibrations more easily. Nick walked a few steps past his two squad mates and pointed in the general direction of an alley to the southwest of their position while saying:

- Let's go in that direction. There should be a safe spot on the next block over, near the heart of this sector where we can hide the sensor and get a nice scanning radius while we're at it.

Nick looked both ways before crossing the street and the others followed soon, while they were on the move, Samuel decided to ask him:

- How do you know that?

Nick was quick to answer as soon as they had reached the other side:

- I have a good sense of direction. Try and keep up.

The trio continued to move with Nick leading the way with a fair head start, but he and Samuel had to cover Alfred from multiple directions while they moved since the wolf was holding the motion sensor with the outmost care using both of his paws and he could not unholster his weapon as fast as before. The squad approached the alley Nick had pointed out a few minutes prior from the left side and Alfred walked in first, ready to plant the motion sensor on the ground. The wolf got down on one knee and cranked a small dial on the base of the device revealing a three pronged claw like mechanism that anchored the sensor firmly to the soft earth beneath him. Within seconds, the device was turned on and transmitting its sonar like data to a simple paw-held device that beeped while the sensor itself detected any motion in the area. The scan of the area around the sensor was underway and Alfred was checking up on it and making a few adjustments as he reported back to the others:

- Okay! We will have the sensor perfectly calibrated in just a little while. We are making great time.

Nick nodded a single time and said:

- We should wait for the motion scan to be completed and see if we can move on to a neighboring sector. We might get a confrontation along the way so we best make sure to restock on ammo before heading out.

Samuel opened the side pockets on his backpack and distributed two paint pellet cartridges to each one of his comrades, they stored the cartridges inside the pouches on their vests for easy access and returned their collective attention to the device held by Alfred. The wolf waited with noticeable anticipation for the recently armed motion sensor to do its job but the information displayed on the screen he was holding came out as worrying. Without taking his eyes away from the device, Alfred spoke up:

- Oh, no!

Nick and Samuel looked at him and Nick was the first to ask:

- What is it? What's wrong?!

Alfred showed the screen in his right paw and explained the reason for his concerns as three other signals appeared on the far scan:

- According to this, another squad has already traversed the borders of our sector. They are advancing in the direction of the main building, likely to get a better visual scope of the area around it and coordinate an attack strategy.

Samuel's ears twitched and try to pick up any sound that could relate to the presence of the other squad but Nick felt more prudent and efficient to ask of their specialist:

- Which direction are they coming from?

- One and a half clicks… that way.

Alfred said so as he pointed to the general direction of the three pings displayed on the screen. Nick had to figure out what to do quickly, he placed a paw under his chin to contemplate on what to do next, in accordance with the planning he and his friends had done on the previous night they wanted to steer away from combat for as long as possible but the unforeseen presence of another squad so soon in their initial sector certainly complicated things for them. Samuel was the first one to suggest:

- Should we double back around? Try and flank past them?

To which Alfred immediately protested:

- Unadvisable. They most likely have a quick runner on their squad. It is possible they already know of our position. Our only hope is to seek a place to hide and prepare for an attack.

Nick agreed with Alfred's line of thought but they would need a very well placed hideout if they wanted to get the drop on the other cadets heading their way. The fox had to continue contemplating their options on the fly, his squad would need to flip the table and become the hunters in that scenario or risk getting trapped and eliminated one by one. The tensions were definitely high and made Nick's heart pound increasingly fast, he took the lead in search of a secure location with his shooter held tightly in both of his paws. The trio approached another wide open area, placing themselves up against a wall, Nick looked around and sniffed the air as he continued on his search but he was interrupted as Samuel asked of him:

- What's the call boss?

Remembering the direction where the other squad was most likely to show up and ambush them, Nick took another look around and drew a simple but effective plan to get a leg up on the competition. He spoke up without turning his head to his friends and said while drawing a cinematic comparison:

- We do just like Obi-wan Kenobi did.

Samuel drew a long list of epic movie moments in his head and asked of Nick meaning is as a light-hearted joke:

- We ride into battle on a weird lizard thing?

Alfred turned around to look at Samuel convinced that his silly question was nothing but a way to ease up tensions. Nick pointed upwards to a window on the third floor of a building nearby and said what he initially meant:

- We take the high ground. Let's move!

With a motion of his arm, Nick signaled his squad to continue following him. The trio proceeded inside the building closest to them and wasted no time looking for the doorway leading to the stairs, the interior of the building was not very elaborate in terms of design, only a few pillars, a counter and a few minor obstacles like barrels and barricades tossed around to incentivize the unraveling of an indoors combat situation with plenty of cover and maneuverability. After Nick and Alfred located the stairs leading up to the next floors, the two called Samuel and started their climb, Samuel was the one having the most difficult since he was the one carrying the supplies but he made the trip up the stairs while keeping pace with the others. Nick suggested that Samuel positioned himself on the second floor while he and Alfred climbed to the floor above in case they were discovered and needed some quick back up.

Samuel opened the door as soon as he arrived at the second floor and signaled with a thumbs up that he would maintain radio contact with the others. Nick and Samuel ascended to the third floor, which was somewhat similar in design to the one before, and positioned themselves by a large window located on the far wall. After getting situated by the right corner of the window, Nick poked his head out and watched for any signs of movement, Alfred, right by his side, went on to do the same but he kept his head lower and had his eyes on the screen of his device for most of the time. The two canines awaited impatiently for a chance to spring into action and that is when a voice came through their ear pieces:

- Guys! Are you seeing anything? Cause I got nothing on my side.

Alfred placed a finger over his earpiece and answered:

- Negative. It would seem like they deviated from their original route to confuse us. I got them right on the very edge of our sensor range.

Nick waved his paw and made a signal so that Alfred would notice him, the fox explained with a series of motions that the wind changed direction and their position was at risk of being revealed. Alfred showed a positive nod with his head and understood that as a request to relay that information to Samuel:

- Samuel, be advised, the wind has changed directions. If they have a good tracker on their squad our chances of being found just increased.

- Understood. I'll keep my eyes open and lay low until you need me. Over and out.

Nick and his squad didn't have to wait too much time, ten minutes or so a new squad of mammals popped over a street corner by the south side of the building revealing a large polar bear as their leader, a medium sized dark panther as the specialist and a long maned stallion as their supporter. Bernard Mowlniek, long time student of the academy combat course, was leading his team mates across the sector belonging to Nick's squad and they were getting closer by the second, not even suspecting that they were being watched from afar. Bernard turned to the panther right beside him with a detection device identical to the one Alfred was holding and asked:

- Daniel, are you sure we're heading in the right direction? We can't afford to make a single wrong turn in here.

The panther looked over the screen of his device and answered:

- I'm sure the signal was coming from over in this direction. There was a large spike in movement around this area just a few minutes ago, it is possible the squad that was placed here entered a building. The manual did say that the tracking gets a little spotty when a target enters and climbs a structure.

Nick could hear some of the conversation from his position but he didn't peeked over the window, least he threaten to prematurely reveal his position. The other squad continued to bicker with one another and they made the rookie mistake of remaining still in the same spot while they did so. Bernard asked the stallion from his squad to walk closer as he asked:

- Mathew, you're the one that got the map. Do you have any idea in which sector we are right now?

The horse was quick to answer without even consulting the map:

- We walked on a straight line from our starting point. We are right in the middle of sector eight.

Bernard wondered for a while in silence and spoke out loud:

- That means we are in the area belonging to Wilde and his ragtag band of rebel rousers. Keep your eyes peeled and look out for their tracks.

The squad took one of the streets and approached the building where Nick and his squad were hiding. Whispering through the radio, Samuel asked of them:

- Did you guys catch all of that?

To which Nick replied with a joke:

- Yeah. No one has ever called me a rebel rouser before. I'm kinda flattered right now.

Alfred made a sign with his fingers telling Nick that they needed a better sight of their opponents, Nick answered to that as he showed his own paws and waved them in the air communicating that he was going to move to the side take the position over at another window. Alfred showed a thumbs up and watched as the leader of the squad rushed with his posture lowered to another window far from their original position, Alfred followed along shortly after to the new position fast enough to catch a sight of their current adversaries walking by the side walk by the west side of the building. Bernard watched as Daniel leaned closer to the ground to search for tracks and asked:

- Anything?

The panther was quick with his analysis:

- There is a faint trail leading through here but it sort of splits into various directions. With the winds changing it is hard to pick up where a scent ends and another begins. There is a faint trace of mud here which leads me to conclude that they have definitely taken this route.

- That's a start, but we still got to figure where they are hiding.

Alfred pointed his shooter at the leader of the enemy squad, Bernard was quite the large target and it was already stablished that if he was eliminated his entire squad would suffer the same fate. Unfortunately, Mathew walked right in front of the line of fire and his huge backpack loaded with supplies prevented Alfred from getting a good shot at his intended target. Alfred hid away once more just in time to see Nick rushing over near his position and ask:

- What do you think you're doing?! We can't risk revealing our position!

- I had a shot and I lost it! Don't worry, they didn't see me.

The discussion continued outside as Bernard's squad kept on the lookout for any traces of Nick and the others. There was a lot ridding on their next move and, with so many structures around, they didn't know where to start looking, that is when Mathew came up with a devious plan:

- I got it!

He spoke up so the others would hear him. Bernard asked with curiosity:

- Got what?

- If Wilde and his squad are actually nearby that means Lupus is tagging along. I have just the ticket to get them to reveal their position to us.

With a wide arched smile on his face, Mathew walked to the middle of the street, his hooves clacking against the hard asphalt, and took a large breath so that his voice would be better projected over a wider area for a longer time. He prepared himself and released a loud impression of a wolf's howl, that surprised his team mates and deeply upset Alfred who found that the worst howling with the most disorganized intonation he had ever heard before. Bernard asked his supporter with a loud whisper of panic and frustration related to the fact that Mathew did not disclose any details of his plan:

- What the hell are you doing?!

- Lupus is a gray wolf. No wolf can resist answering to a howl. We just have to keep our ears in alert for the answer.

Mathew continued his obnoxious howling and Nick took a look over at his friend sitting close by to see as his face contorted in frustration with the increased volume of that sound, afraid that he was actually going to give an answering howl to that poor imitation. Right by his third howling attempt to call to a wolf's attention, Mathew's voice was getting tired but he kept at it until a sharp dose of pressure came right at his chest leaving a yellow stain on his vest:

"THWAP"!

- OUCH! SON OF A BITCH!

Bernard and Daniel immediately retreated to the alley right behind them in search for cover as they saw that their ally had been tagged and, by definition, eliminated from the crucible. Mathew tried to wipe the tag away from his chest in frustration while Bernard asked with some slight panic in his voice:

- Where did that come from?!

A couple of seconds later, they heard the voice of Alfred from up on the third story window coming from a building nearby yelling with extreme displeasure:

- The only thing you managed with that sorry excuse of a howl was to reveal your position. Also: THAT IS A VILE STEREOTYPE YOU DOUCHE!

Alfred yelled as such while ducking for cover by the window, his wild temper surprised Nick who did his best to calm his nerves by placing a paw over his shoulder and saying:

- Okay. Take it easy buddy. Take it easy.

Even if Alfred's actions were rash and guided by impulse, he still managed to successfully eliminate one member of an opposing squad and Nick had to recognize that his friend's aim was impeccable. Bernard had one last squad mate but that did not diminished his resolve, the polar bear made a signal with a wave of his paw to his remaining cohort and the two of them rushed inside the building right across the street, a single glance was enough to tell him that Nick and his squad were located on the third floor and remaining on lower ground would not be ideal for them, the best option was a frontal confrontation.

Nick and Alfred prepared themselves for a scrap, the wolf already had one last shot to work with so he would have to make the remainder of his ammunition count. Alfred positioned himself behind a pilar while Nick ducked behind a metallic barrel further out back, in less than a minute, Bernard and Daniel barged through the door and dispersed three shots each, believing that they had detected hostile movement from their adversaries on their way in. Daniel saw Nick's tail swishing from behind the barrel and fired away having two paint pellets banging against the metal sides of the barrel and the final one splattering on the floor and nearly touching the fox's tail. Nick tucked his tail closer to prevent it from being hit after hearing the second shot striking his cover.

Bernard was not such a good shooter himself, his first and second shots missed the pilar where Alfred was hiding by a wide margin, the third one managed to hit the center of the pilar but it was an accidental shot only fired out of panic. After hearing the interval between the first barrage, Nick and Alfred launched their counterattack, Nick fired two shots that nearly hit Daniel but the panther was limber and ducked behind cover after noticing that Nick had more of a clear shot than him. Alfred tried to fire away at Bernard but the bear was already behind cover, Alfred's single fired shot went to waste and he returned to cover soon after with a frustrated huff.

Bernard and Daniel fired away the last two shots each of them had in their clips in retaliation, Nick thought that it would be the prime opportunity to take them out so he issued an order to Alfred:

- They're reloading. Fire away!

Nick and Alfred popped out of cover and aimed their weapons with the intent of hitting the two other mammals in the room, but Nick's initial hopes for an easy win were blown away as he saw the pair dodging out of the way of their first couple of shots. Bernard and Daniel ejected the empty cartridges out of their shooters and replace them with incredible efficiency. The fox had to fully get back behind cover to get away from a pair of pellets that whizzed right over his barrel. Alfred and Nick looked to one another and the fox spoke up with a touch of concern in his voice:

- Holy crap! These guys are quick!

- I noticed. We don't have the ammo for it and I'm guessing we won't be able to get the drop on them anymore. I guess the time has come to bust out the special equipment, but the regulations say that it has to be authorized by the leader.

Nick thought for a little bit but he was still unsure about his position as a leader, even so, he took in some air and looked back to Alfred showing off a single positive nod as the sign that it was time to pull al the stops. Alfred did not expect the time to come so soon but he was confident that it would work in their favor, he reached for his ear piece and tapped it twice releasing a noise that was heard on the other side for Samuel to do his part. The deer quickly sprung into action by retrieving the item from the very bottom of the back pack, a medium sized metallic box with a releasing mechanism placed on the side, he prepped the equipment and signaled via his communicator piece that he was ready to go, Nick and Alfred got the signal and the fox spoke up:

- I'll run interference, cover me!

Nick peeked his upper body from out of his cover, using the top of the barrel as support for his shooting arm, and launched two more pellets meant to surprise Daniel and flush him away from his hiding spot, the panther rolled away from his cover and prepared to fire against Nick, however, he was not expecting a shot to come from his blind spot as Alfred fired a pellet that nearly tagged Daniel's left shoulder and almost eliminated him from the competition. The panther was not sure in which direction to move and Bernard's poor aim was doing little to remedy the situation, Nick ran to find another vantage point in the room that would allow him to get a better shot at one of his opponents and he managed to arrive on a new piece of cover unscathed after the polar bear had unloaded his entire second clip in an attempt to score an easy hit.

Counting his luck and having in mind he only had one last shot in the chamber, Nick signaled with a fist pump aimed at Alfred who got that as the chance to yell:

- Now Samuel!

Samuel appeared from behind the door, brandishing a huge shield in one hoof and a loaded shooter in the other. His dramatic entrance surprised both of the members of the opposite squad who began shooting his way and didn't hit anything but the metallic outer frame of the shield, the deer noticed the chaos that had ensued thanks to his arrival and fired a single pellet before immediately placing his entire body back behind the mobile covering apparatus. The shield was equipped with a small gap for forward sight near its top edge and it was very difficult to use in terms of mobility so Samuel had to be wary about it. Peeking ahead using the gap in the shield, Samuel saw that the pellet he fired had struck Daniel on his left shoulder, effectively eliminating the panther from the competition, all that was left was Bernard.

The leader of squad two was left at the mercy of the three mammals still gunning for him, it didn't take too long for him to try and seek a better spot for cover and get tagged in the knee by Alfred in the middle of his dash. Nick and his squad were victorious on their first encounter during the crucible and Bernard did not seem too torn up about that as he admitted out loud:

- Darn! I'm out!

That is when a new pinch of pressure hit the back of his head, it was another paint pellet that was fired by Samuel. Bernard yelled out to him:

- Ouch! I SAID I WAS OUT, YOU ASS!

- Sorry! Finger slipped!

Nick's squad exited the building after exchanging one final laugh and Bernard delivered the bad news to Mathew who was waiting just outside, squad two was out of the crucible for good but they were surprisingly chill about that overall, the three mammals went on their way to exit the training course as it was stablished by the rules. Nick, Samuel and Alfred took a single minute to revel in their victory, Samuel raised the shield that protected him against the initial volley of pellets that were fired at him and spoke up:

- Dudes, this thing is awesome! How come we never heard of it before?!

Alfred gestured with his paws as he checked the folding mechanisms on the shield and explained:

- It is like I said: This is a prototype. Special units will implement protective and mobile cover like this one to venture into zones of civil unrest, it will soon replace the normal riot shield utilized by SWAT teams. I thought it would be a great pick for our special equipment slot since we would need to focus more on defense than offense.

Samuel took another look at his secret weapon and asked:

- Why don't we use this thing all the time?! We'll have the whole competition in the bag with it!

Samuel was quick to explain that as well:

- Because it is heavy, impractical, it only protects one of us at a time and I am fairly sure it will take all three of us to fold it back to storage size.

The three mammals then went on to fold the shield and all of his heavy frames into its initial form, a medium sized metal box that was placed back inside the backpack for later use. After they were done with that, Nick decided to make their way to a road nearby that could take them to the next sector in a quicker fashion. After a couple of steps in the direction pointed out by Nick, Alfred halted his walk and spoke up:

- Hold up! I almost forgot. We can't leave without the motion sensor. You guys go on and get the way forward clear, I'll be right back.

Nick and Samuel turned around to face their friend, Alfred was already turning to the direction they had come from and dashing to grab the piece of equipment they had left behind. Nick raised his paw to ask of him:

- Are you sure you want to head back on your own?

- I'll be back in no time. If anything happens I'll call you on the radio.

Alfred absconded from the scene and walked past three separate blocks before arriving at the alley where he had left the equipment right by the start of the exam. He found the motion sensor still anchored on the ground exactly as he had left it and crouched down to carefully retrieve it, however, there was something unusual in the air and Alfred noticed it. A gentle breeze brushed across the alleyway and the wolf picked up a curious scent in the air, two sniffs were enough for him to realize that something was amiss, he wasn't alone.

Alfred was still kneeling down to pick up the sensor but his arm had stopped right before reaching the device, his focus was not on the small tool but on something else, a presence that was somewhere very close by. He took another long sniff of the air and noticed a familiar smell that filled his chest with warmth and comfort, unfortunately, recognizing who was the owner of that scent, quickly replaced the peaceful feeling within him with concern. Alfred unholstered his shooter and aimed it for the opposite end of the alley before speaking out loud:

- I know you're over there.

There was a moment of deafening silence after those words were spoken. Alfred stood still for a moment, aiming his shooter at the very same empty spot right in front of him, he slowly raised from the ground until he was standing straight and his ears twitched as he heard the voice of a female coming from the other end of the alley:

- How did you know I was here?

It was Helen's voice, Alfred was not sure how to feel about that. He had hoped to not meet her at all during the crucible but the possibility of having to face her lingered in his mind for far too long to back down now. He gave two steps back before giving an explanation:

- Your favorite brand of soap. If you intend on ambushing someone, try doing it against the wind.

- Damnit!

Helen's tone of voice, whispered in frustration, made Alfred smile for a bit, he was almost at the end of the alley and nearly placed behind a wall corner for cover, that is when Helen sprang into action. With a quick spin to the side and a single step past the corner where she was hiding, Helen revealed all of herself and fired three consecutive shots at Alfred, it didn't do her much good, he was already far enough to quickly dive away from her line of fire and hide behind the opposite corner, Helen's shots hit nothing but the wall.

That tense moment left the two combating mammals with their hearts beating incredibly fast, Helen had fired away against her friend and her anxiety lead her to waste too much ammo, now she only had two shots left. Alfred was a little weary after his previous encounter and because of his rush to retrieve the motion sensor he had forgotten to ask more pellet cartridges, he slid the one he had inside his shooter out and checked, he only had two shots left. Alfred breathed deeply prepared his nerves and turned back into the alley to fire at Helen in the search for retribution.

Alfred's first shot hit very close to her legs but ultimately struck nothing but the ground right behind her, seeking to hit central mass with the second shot, the wolf fired once more but Helen dodged out of the way in the nick of time and sought her opening to counter. She also fired off her last two shots and while neither managed to tag Alfred she managed to place him in an unforeseen bind. While her fourth attempt at a clear shot missed Alfred's torso her final shot whizzed past his left ear, giving him quite the scare and making him lose his balance. Alfred fell down to the ground on his bottom and Helen landed on her side, the two remained still for a moment, each of them drawing long breaths, Alfred checked his body for tag marks and Helen did the same, he noticed that his communicator was missing and checked around until he found it only a few steps behind him, it was knocked out of his ear as he fell down.

There was a palpable level of uncertainty in the air, the white tiger and the gray wolf were both on the ground just staring at each other in silence until Alfred asked after a couple of seconds:

- Are you out of ammo?

Helen figured that there was no reason to lie in that situation so she just came clean and answered:

- Yes.

Alfred released a small chuckle and said:

- So am I.

Alfred raised from the ground and used both of his paws to wipe off the specs of dirt and gravel that got stuck on his vest, he then turned over to Helen and said with a little awkward smile on his muzzle:

- Guess there is nothing else for us to do in this situation.

Alfred turned around and went to retrieve his ear piece and that is when he felt a couple of strong arms grab him from behind, wrap around his torso and hold his movement forward. Helen's voice sounded off as she complemented his previous saying with her own words:

- Except for the unexpected!

Helen dragged Alfred back into the alley and the wolf flailed aimlessly trying to get himself free, once she stopped moving he was able to get a grip over her paws and squirm himself out of her hold. With a heavy breath and a stupefied look on his face, Alfred stood with a wide stance and looked over to Helen before asking of her:

- Helen, what the heck are you doing?!

The tigress placed herself in a crouching stance, readying to pounce against the wolf again at any moment, before answering him:

- Sooner or later my team will come by to check in on me, all I've got to do is hold you down until they arrive and you will get tagged for sure and without your radio there is no way you can contact the others.

Alfred had to recognize it, Helen's plan was desperate but brilliant, she was seeking to eliminate him from the competition and that would severely debilitate his squad, she was exuding such an intoxicating level of energy and that left him stumped. Half of him was already falling head over heels for her, not wanting to get into a fight, while the other half was screaming in panic, the two were about to square it off and there was no running away from it. Alfred knew that she was way faster than him and could catch him in a matter of seconds, Alfred's only choice was to fight.

Meanwhile, at the control center for the crucible, major Friedkin looked at one of the screens and witnessed the impactful scene of the gray wolf and the white tiger staring each other down in the alleyway, she pointed to the display and spoke up:

- Check that out.

All the other faculty members, including Judy, directed their attention to the screen she was pointing at and the bunny was the first one to ask:

- Where is that?

Major Grover checked the footage label and answered while squinting his eyes to better see the precise numeration on the screen:

- Right in the middle of sector eight. Looks like a full on fist fight has broken out between those two cadets. They must have run out of shots.

Judy looked around with worry in her eyes before asking:

- Should… we intervene?

Grover showed the palm of his paw before assuring her that everything was under control:

- Not to worry officer Hopps, I know these two and they could use a refresher course in combat. I'm sure it will be fine. Let's just watch and see where it goes.

Judy calmed herself, the confidence in the major's words told her that there was no risk either cadet would suffer serious injuries, she simply looked at the screen and waited to see that scenario unfold. Returning to Alfred and Helen, the two mammals were ready to rumble as Helen advanced towards Alfred with the intent of pining him down but he was ready for it, extending both of his arms up and forward and halting her advance. The two stayed locked in that impasse for a few seconds before Alfred showed how strong he actually was, driven by his refusal to let his squad mates down, the wolf began to push against Helen's own might by planting his feet firmly on the ground and walking step after step.

The face Alfred was making at that time showed all of the determination he had with him at the time, all of the strength he was putting on to go against Helen and stand his ground manifested itself externally as he bared his teeth and released a little snarl. The two of them were so close now and Helen noticed all of the will Alfred had on him, looking at the wolf's face, appearing for her so wild and dangerous, but noticing that he was actually holding back and staying in control over his more unhinged side, something she took notice after looking deep into his eyes. There was uneasiness in that fight, but there was also a certain degree of admiration being exchanged by the two mammals, the only thought that crossed her mind was how impressed she was with all that Alfred was showing her in terms of drive and strength, but she didn't have time to be impressed, she needed to get out of that situation and find a way to contact her squad.

With a quick spin to the side, Helen deviated most of Alfred's momentum to the direction he was pushing, she stepped out of the way of his push and he almost tripped and fell down. Helen tried to gain the upper hand at that moment by speaking up and gain a little more time for a better strategy:

- You would do your best to surrender right now Alfred. Without your radio you won't be able to call Nick and Samuel for help. Your choices are very limited.

However, unbeknownst to Helen, he already had a contingency plan for that scenario:

- True. Guess I'll have to improvise.

It was at that moment that Alfred pulled out his own risky trump card for that situation, the wolf drew in the longest breath he ever had drawn in a while and released a long and melodious howl. That made the fur at the back of Helen's neck stand on end and she stepped back for a bit as she witnessed the wolf turning his head over to the sky while he released that incomparable sound. That was the first time she ever heard Alfred howl, it was the first time she heard the howl of a wolf so close, rumors and wild guessing would initially lead her to believe it was nothing more than a loud howler aimed at the sky without any meaning, but listening to it so close gave her more than enough data to understand it better and appreciate its sound. Alfred's howl was somewhat melodious, he had a powerful set of pipes that helped him to project his voice across the streets of the area around them, however, there was something else behind that howl, a pattern, and Helen identified it.

Alfred made so that his continuous howl would raise and drop in tonality over short periods of time, he let out the same pattern of sound for a second time and it didn't take too much effort on his part for his plan to take to its desired effect. Far off, near the center area of the sector, Nick and Samuel were making their way towards the high road area and making sure that their pacing was set to a moderate amount of speed so that Alfred could catch up with them at a later time. That is when Nick's left ear twitched to the side and he turned around to hear the howling pattern once more in the distance while raising his paw and signaling for Samuel to hang on for a second. The fox sounded a short gasp after identifying the pattern on the howl and spoke up as he prepared his body for a long run:

- Alfred is in a pinch! Let's go!

Samuel understood that immediately and promptly followed Nick as the two made their way back to the spot where they had planted the sensor. Returning to the alley, Alfred silenced himself and took a short moment to be proud since it had been ages since he had a lasting and enjoyable howl, he turned his attention back towards Helen as she asked of him:

- What was that?! What did you just do?!

- That was an emergency signal. I thought I might run into trouble when scouting out on my own so Nick and I agreed on an audible signal that was far more conspicuous than an emergency flare. He and Samuel should be around any second.

Helen gave one large step in the direction of Alfred, he took that as an attempt on her part to dish out another attack and decided to step back to preserve the amount of space between them. Helen did not even fathom the possibility of him resorting to something like that, it was a risky gambit that could alert other squads to his presence but he did it anyway and that left her nearly floored. They locked themselves in combat-ready positions as she spoke up:

- That was a really ballsy move. You are aware that my squad or any other could've heard you just now.

- True. But I have faith my guys will arrive here way sooner than anyone else.

The two mammals launched into battle once more. Helen tried to deliver a quick left jab that was aimed for Alfred's upper torso area, something that would push him down and give her the time she needed to call on her squad, Alfred was ready for it though. With a gentle push using the palm of his left paw, the wolf redirected the jab so it wouldn't hit him head on, he then placed his other paw over Helen's elbow, carried closer to him thanks to the momentum of her attack, and pulled her closer to twist her arm to her back and push her against the wall closest to them as to fully immobilize her. With her front to the wall, Helen released a frustrated groan as she beat herself up internally for underestimating her opponent, Alfred could sincerely not believe that was happening.

The wolf released a silent puff of air from his nose in triumph but he was also worried that he might be going a little too strong against his friend. He leaned a little closer and eased his hold on her arm as he asked:

- I'm not… pushing on you too much, am I?

Helen smiled as she remembered that, even though they were both in a competition, Alfred was still the same gentle wolf she knew all too well. She was quick in releasing her retort:

- No, you are not. Which gives me the chance to do THIS!

Just like that, Helen tucked her right leg in and pushed against the wall, propelling both her body and Alfred's backwards so that he would lose balance, release his hold on her arm and make the situation easier for her to handle. The two were now on the ground and Alfred could feel Helen wiggle and do all that she could to get away from him, the wolf did not give up on trying to hold her down. He tried to rise from the ground same as her and reached for a loose strap on the side of her vest in an effort to not let her get too far away, he tried to grab her once more. In the restless mess of the moment, Alfred propped himself up only to drop down over Helen and place his paws over her shoulders to pin her down to the ground. The two mammals were locked in a fierce battle and, even if there wasn't much reason behind it, both of them just refused to back down, it was easy to see that, even if they were combating for the top spot in the crucible, they were still having some fun with it all.

Alfred and Helen went on a back and forth with their fight, getting dirt everywhere and, just when it seemed like the fight would end in a draw, Nick and Alfred appeared with the deer speaking up:

- Alfred! Dude, we're here! What… the heck are you guys doing?!

The combat was halted for a moment as Helen and Alfred directed their attention to Nick and Samuel as the two mammals walked in to witness that unusual scene, the wolf sought that chance to get a better hold over her and yell to his squad mates:

- Guys! She is out of ammo! Tag her!

Nick was about to aim his shooter as he asked:

- Are you sure?

- Yes, I'm sure! Hurry up!

That is when Helen took the chance to do her own take of the unexpected, the tigress tucked her tail to the side and spun around to trip Alfred and get herself back up, but she wasn't done just yet. Trapping Alfred with a well performed neck lock, Helen backed up a bit while using the wolf's body, relatively bigger than hers, as a meat shield. Nick and Samuel were flabbergasted with the daring strategy implemented by Helen, they aimed their shooters searching for an opening but it was in vain, there was no way they could hit Helen without tagging Alfred as well:

- Shit! I don't have a clear shot!

Samuel spoke up.

- Me neither!

Nick confirmed in return. There was little they could do except just watch the specialist form his squad and the tigress stepped away slowly. After getting a fair distance away from the shooters aimed at her, Helen decided to kick up a distraction to make her escape more effective, but first, she decided to apologize in advance:

- Alfred, I'm really sorry.

Still having his neck locked in her hold, the wolf asked confused:

- "Sorry" about what?

- About this!

Helen released Alfred from her hold and, before he could turn around, she kicked his behind and pushed him with the strength of her leg in the direction of his friend, Nick and Samuel were shocked to see Alfred hurdling towards them but neither had enough time to react, in no time at all the three mammals from squad eight were on the ground and Helen was left standing. The white tiger didn't have a lot of time to contemplate her conquest, she had to move. With a quick step, Helen hopped out of the alley and went on her way to contact her team and ask for support along with more ammunition, Nick and the others raised from the ground one by one as Samuel asked:

- What the hell just happened?!

Nick was quick to answer that as Alfred got off from over him:

- Helen just took us down. It's a good thing she didn't have any ammo with her. She could've tagged us all out in a snap.

Alfred stayed seated on the floor for a few seconds as he sigh and spoke up in a whisper:

- She is incredible.

Samuel and Nick exchanged a look, agreeing without words that this was clearly not the time for their friend to get all starstruck over his crush. Samuel approached the wolf and gave a gentle bump to the side of his head before asking:

- So… do you have a thing for strong females or just the ones that can kick your ass?

A little infuriated, but understanding what his friend was trying to convey by that, Alfred raised from the ground and said:

- Shut up! We got to move.

Alfred went on to retrieve the motion sensor as he had come to do earlier, he began to dash in the direction his friends had previously come from as soon as he stored the device away, Nick and Samuel followed close and the fox was the first one to ask:

- Shouldn't we go after Helen? I'm sure we could tag her before she reaches her squad.

Alfred, not wanting to get into another full on battling state of affairs so soon, answered while still keeping his pace on the run:

- Not likely. She probably already contacted her squad via radio, also she is really fast and her squad could have us down and out in an instant if we don't come prepared. Plus, we would only be wasting ammo if we tried to tag her on the move.

Nick and Alfred matched paces on their race towards the high road further off to the west but they also noticed that Samuel was starting to stay behind. The deer raised his right arm to call to the attention of his comrades and speak with a voice gasping for air:

- Guys! Hold up! I'm carrying all we have and then some back here, remember?

The trio made their way to the road as they initially planed and crossed to the closest sector as they intended,, there were a few empty vehicles parked in the middle of the road and they served as suitable hiding spots as Nick, Alfred and Samuel went on their way. Helen and her squad surveyed the alley after rendezvousing to investigate, but Alfred was already long gone, she was sort of glad for that but she didn't want her team mates to notice that. Outside the crucible, Judy and the other teachers continued to evaluate the squads and Judy along with Friedkin continued to be impressed by Nick's progress as he continued to carry his squad towards ultimate success. The remainder of the squads were also note-worthy, each one showed their own ways of dealing with crisis, some were more adept than others when it came to combat or stealth but each cadet ended up learning a little more about themselves and how to be effective in their preferred field of action, the true meaning behind the crucible was showing itself.

One hour later, more than half of the cadets had already been eliminated from the competition, Nick and his squad were taking shelter inside the second floor of a building by the edge of sector four and they decided to take a little time to rest and organize their newest advances against the squads that still remained in their path. With Alfred acting as a lookout by the window that faced the nearby street, the three mammals made a small encampment inside a small building only a few blocks away from the perimeter wall, they stopped their race across the sector to eat and hydrate, disappointingly the only thing they had to provide sustenance were a few protein bars, not too savory but admittedly filling.

Nick and Samuel were eating the bars with a bit of a frown on their stuffed faces while Alfred was patiently positioned alongside the window frame, expecting something to go wrong for them. Nick raised from the ground and approached his friend to deliver him a cylindrical metallic canteen filled with water before asking of him:

- Thirsty?

The wolf turned his head with a little surprise in his eyes before accepting the offer for water:

- Oh… thanks.

He picked the canteen from Nick's paw and gulped three swigs for himself, releasing a satisfied dose of air soon after he was done. He gave the canteen back to Nick and returned to his vigil positioning overlooking the scenery just outside. Nick poked Alfred on the side and tried to convince him to relax for a little while:

- Dude, take a load off and come sit down with us. I'm pretty sure we are far away from anyone else to let our guard down for a bit.

Alfred lowered his ears and walked away from the window, he put his back against the wall and slowly slid down until his body was sat on the floor before saying:

- Sorry if I look a little high-strung guys. I'm afraid Helen and the rest of her squad are going to pop up on us at any second.

Samuel finished eating his protein bar and stored the empty plastic packing inside his pocket, as to not leave any tracks of their presence there as it was discussed before, and asked:

- What happened inside that alley anyway? It looked like you two were having a full on brawl!

Alfred smiled and recounted the event of his epic battle against Helen, how she bravely stood against him, displaying her strength and sheer unpredictability while he hopelessly tried to pin her down. He gesture with his paws pointing to multiple directions while he recalled how Helen got the better of him after all, but there was also a hint of worry as he was ending his riveting tale. Alfred revealed the origin behind his recent state of paranoia, since Helen was her squad's specialist she would be in charge of tracking and analyzing the strategies of other squads, since she knew Alfred well and possibly had his scent memorized after their encounter she would most likely convince her squad to come after them, that sparked a little bit of worry for Nick and Samuel as well but there was no time at all to try and figure out what could be, they needed to keep moving and it all started by deciding where they should go next.

Alfred checked on the digital wrist watch he had on him and figured that there were only half an hour or so until the conclusion of the crucible, they just needed to stay in the game for a little while longer and they would be done. He got up from the ground and decided to approach the window once more and try to identify which would be the best route for them to go, he extended his right paw towards Samuel and asked of him:

- Samuel, can you pass me the binoculars?

The deer asked confused:

- I have binoculars?

Alfred released a sigh and delivered the specific location of the requested item:

- Left side, front pouch.

Samuel searched the indicated spot and picked up a brand new pair of long distance lenses before saying:

- Hell yeah! I have binoculars!

Alfred snatched the item from his friend and went right to searching for any irregularity that might hamper their progress. Nick asked of him:

- See anything?

- Just a few buildings and an empty street. If we hurry we might be able to…

That is when a sudden appearance by the end of a street far away caused Alfred to stop his sentence short. Curious about that, Nick returned to ask:

- What is it?

- We got movement by the end of the road to the south-west. It's another squad!

Samuel and Nick wasted no time with unholstering their shooters and preparing for a scuffle, Nick asked for specifics on their new targets:

- Can you see who it is?

After a slight delay, Alfred turned his face for a quick moment to answer that:

- It's Thiana 's team. They must be searching for any stragglers after taking a hold of their own sector.

Samuel scratched his head as he tried and remember the name that the wolf sounded off:

- Thiana… Thiana… Wait. Isn't she that cute gazelle girl that smoked us during the hurdle race last month?

Nick simply showed a smile and said:

- Yup, that's her. Saby is actually good friends with Thiana.

Samuel also showed a very glad grin after hearing that and went on to babble:

- Oh, dude! She is so smoking hot. When she crossed us by the track I was left with my jaw on the floor! What do you guys think she does to get fit like that?

Nick raised his paw and delivered his assumptions:

- I heard she is into those protein shakes you see in those corny television ads.

That was when Samuel's smile devolved into a murky frown as he said:

- Blergh! Those slops in a jar taste like dirt. It's not even good dirt.

Nick raised a brow after hearing that and asked:

- How would you even know what "good" dirt tastes like?

- Funny story. I just got to tell you later.

Sick of hearing so much noise when they were all supposed to stay hidden, Alfred deviated his eyes form the lenses of the binoculars and spoke up with an angry whisper between his fangs:

- Would you guys hush up already? I'm trying to get a read on the situation!

Samuel and Nick silenced themselves and decided to walk near Alfred so that all of them could get a better gist about their new situation. Alfred narrated what was going on far away to his friends as he returned his eyes to the binoculars:

- I'm seeing Thiana over on the right taking charge while her specialist scans the immediate area around them, they must be following the trail of another squad that made its way around here somewhere.

Nick inquired:

- Any sign of their supporter?

- Can't see that far, but I'm guessing it can be that far behind.

Something changed and Alfred took note of it:

- Hang on! Something is happening!

He squinted his eyes and moved the binoculars more to the left to adjust their focus as he said:

- I think they found something near that building shaped like a warehouse. It might be a clue disclosing the whereabouts of another squad.

That is when the unexpected happened and made Alfred yell:

- Holy crap!

Nick and Samuel had their eyes shot open in surprise after hearing the tone their friend had used, something major had happened. Nick leaned closer and asked with curiosity as he made it look like he was hearing a thrilling story and was on the edge of his seat as he did so:

- What is it?!

- It was a canister. It just exploded into a huge puff of smoke! Must have been a smoke bomb!

Samuel asked with incredulity:

- We could've had a smoke bomb?!

- I think the huge ass shield suits you better.

Nick said so as he joked around, Alfred showed the finger of his right paw as he signaled that he wasn't done yet and neither was the spectacle:

- Hang on! There's more! I think one of them just got tagged. There is a lot of smoke. The supporter just showed up, there are a lot of missed shots going on.

Samuel and Nick exchanged a look as they became more worried about what sounded like a really perceptible threat heading their way. Alfred continued to narrate:

- The smoke is clearing. I think I can see the leader of the other squad.

Alfred continued to observe and he released a small gasp after seeing a large figure stepping out of the smoke, he had to wait a little while before he could see the face of the assailant that lead such an efficient trap against the unsuspecting squad. He whispered and said:

- Oh, my God! That guy is huge!

Nick turned his head to face Alfred and asked:

- "Guy"?! What guy?

- The leader of the squad. It's a grizzly bear!

Nick's ears twitched in parallel to one another as he turned to ask:

- Does this bear by any chance have big brown eyes, a large patch of fur on his head and a scolding frown on his oversized muzzle?

Alfred took some time to analyze the features listed by Nick's question and he turned over to answer him shortly after:

- Yeah. How did you know?

- Because I am pretty sure that's Duncan leading the winning squad.

Alfred quickly turned his eyes back to the lenses to catch a glimpse of the bear, there was no more smoke at the end of the street and Alfred could clearly see that Duncan was celebrating his most recent victory while being closely followed by a large sized boar as a supporter and a dark furred jaguar as their specialist. There was this lingering feeling of dreed in the air, Nick knew that there was going to be one hell of a scrap if they decided to face off against Duncan's squad but Alfred seemed to care little about the possible outcome of a new confrontation, he was just staring through the binoculars with the same stoic expression over his muzzle for a while until Nick poked him on the back and spoke up:

- We better get a move on. If they come this way they might find us.

- Right.

Alfred said so as he placed the binoculars back inside its original spot in Samuel's backpack. The trio exited the building by a side entrance after certifying that there was no one else around, Alfred sniffed the air and Samuel kept on the look out from a different angle, there was a faint scent in the air that Alfred couldn't identify, he gave Nick the 'all clear' sign and they moved on, taking the alleys and backstreets nearby for extra safety. The sector in which the trio found themselves in was designed a little differently from the rest of the areas on the map, as Nick recalled, sector four and its various structures was built with a grid design in mind and its center piece was a huge open area by its south-west corner with four warehouses, a spot where combat was sure to ensue should two or more squads come into ascertaining distance.

Nick remembered the way the sector was shown on the map and guided his squad along a safe route, far off from any open straight ways and enclosed streets that could be used against them, but just trying to stay away from trouble would not do them much good for very long. Duncan and his specialist, the dark feline named Stanley, were already experts in tracking down any mammal thanks to subtle hints left behind, they were able to set a trap for squad three and they were planning to do the same for squad eight so, the bear and his lackeys went right on their trail.

It took little time before Nick noticed that something was amiss as he and his friends crossed sector four, Samuel's ear twitched to the side and he stopped in the middle of the trail before asking to the others:

- Did you guys hear something?

Nick looked over his shoulders and saw the huge silhouette approaching their position from behind. He unholstered his shooter and shouted to his squad mates while preparing to run:

- We got company! Let's move!

Nick and Alfred darted ahead with Samuel following right behind them, holding the straps of the pack over his shoulders as he raced behind them. Duncan and his squad saw the trio running down the street and opened fire against them, the bear ordered for the intrepid trio to be tagged down and eliminated without delay and the tone he used for that order left Nick wondering if there was something else besides the thrill of competition behind all of that. Duncan fired two shots that just narrowly missed Alfred and Nick as the two leaned to the side and dashed into a straight space between buildings, Samuel followed his friends closely and nearly dropped to the ground as he almost lost his balance while carrying the cargo on his back. It was quite the dire situation.

- Do not let them get away! Keep at it!

Duncan said so as he pointed to the direction of the alley Nick and his friends had entered, Nick and his squad were already at the opposite end of the alley and Samuel was ready to dish out some suppressive fire. Two pellets flew by causing Stanley and Andersen to seek cover behind whatever they could find, Samuel turned to hide himself behind the left corner at the end of the alley right alongside Alfred while Nick reserved himself to take cover alone at the left side corner. Nick turned to his friends and spoke up:

- We got to mix things up. I'll head out to that building over there while you guys try and get the drop on them.

Samuel was immediately against that idea as he aired his protest:

- You want to split the party?! Dude, I thought we had agreed on it: You never split the party!

Nick tucked more into his cover as he heard a couple of pellets grazing the side of the wall, the fox reinforced his order by speaking with a more decisive tone:

- We are way too big of a target by sticking together. You saw what they did to Thiana's squad and they are aiming to do the same to us.

Nick tried to fire another shot at them and he nearly got a clear hit, Stanley was ducking behind an old metal waste bin and he peeked his head out to see if he could get a shot when suddenly a pellet struck the lid of the trashcan and the sudden splash of paint along with the loud sound of metal being hit with a fast flying projectile, shocked the jaguar that hopped back, untucking his legs and falling square on his behind and on top of his tail. He didn't seem too affected by that however, the feline wanted to have an interesting fight and it would have been no fun if Nick's squad just got tagged on the first five minutes of the encounter like he had experienced with the squad he had helped to ambush. Duncan didn't think like that, his impatience revealed itself as he shouted:

- What's taking you so long?

Stanley, rising from the ground and taking some time to get the feeling back on his tail, was the first to speak up:

- They're putting up a good fight. And I was afraid this was gonna get boring.

Nick heard that and entered into that conversation with a quip that just popped into his head:

- You should see the tricks I do on birthday parties!

Followed by another shot that hit the center of the can releasing another loud metallic clang that echoed in the air. Duncan tried to open way but he quickly thought that idea over as he remembered that he was going to get tagged as soon as he revealed himself. The bear noticed that there was no cover big enough inside the alley to protect him and he also knew that Nick was a good shot when he had control of the conditions around him. Duncan gritted his teeth and waited for the fox to slip up on the task, that is when Nick signaled his friends by saying:

- Go! We'll meet up later.

Samuel and Alfred reluctantly followed their leader's orders and darted away on to another street, Nick dashed in the opposite direction in search of a good hiding spot that would put some much needed distance between him and his adversaries in the hopes that they would follow his lead and split up in pursuit as well, that didn't happen. As soon as Duncan heard that Nick decided to split his squad up and make a tactical run for it, he signaled to the others and walked nonchalantly until the other end of the alley, the bear looked both sides as he accessed the current situation and his right ear twitched as he heard Andersen stepping close by as the boar stopped right beside him to ask:

- Should we go after Lupus and Balckner? Without a leader they should be easy pickings.

- Leave them be. Wilde is the priority target. We tag him and his whole squad goes as well. I don't have to remind you that we have limited ammo to pull this off.

Andersen nodded and went on ahead to follow Nick's trail to the other side of the street, Stanley did the same by following closely with his grip firmly around his shooter and following the backpack carrying warthog right ahead. Duncan showed a little smile to himself while there was no one around to see it, in truth he was hoping to square off against Nick and prove that there was no possible way that a single fox could push him aside as a next logical choice for a model police officer. A loft sided ambition that was about to be put to the test on that very day.

Not too far from there, Samuel and Alfred were anxiously awaiting for anyone to follow them to the side street leaving Nick with enough time and room to join back up with them and come up with a winning strategy, but something was wrong. The two mammals awaited for about fifteen minutes near a crossroad near the very edge of sector four with sector five and there was no sign of pursuers or fired pellets in their direction which lead Alfred to arrive at one obvious conclusion:

- They went after Nick! I knew we should not have split up like that.

Samuel looked around and arrived at the same conclusion, their leader was left alone with an extremely limited source of ammo against three mammals who were much larger than him and driven by the prospect of taking him out of the crucible. The deer adjusted the straps of his backpack as he prepared for the dash back to where they were previously as he said:

- We got to go back and help him.

Alfred positioned himself right on his friend's path and showed him the palm of his right paw as he spoke up:

- Hang on! If we step into a mess like this without a plan we are just asking to get tagged.

Samuel did not like to be halted that way, he pushed Alfred's paw aside and spoke up, anxious to get into action:

- This is no time to go all soft and thoughtful. Nick is going to get pulverized.

- Relax. I know we need to get moving, but I already have a plan on how we're going to help out.

Samuel noticed the tone that Alfred was using, there was something quite daring being relayed in his voice. The deer raised a brow and spoke with a more calm tone of voice:

- What do you have in mind?

- I'll explain on the way. Get the long range transmitter for the radio and the motion sensor ready, we just might need it.

Samuel complied to that as he rushed right behind the wolf, unsure of what course of action they were about to take against the other squad. A few blocks away, near a large structure in a dense part of the sector, Nick was running and his pursuers were quickly catching up to him as they crossed every street and alley without losing sight of him, as the fox ducked down a piece of cover inside the bottom floor of an open building closer to him to get some air, one thought crossed his head as he drew in a few deep breaths:

"This was a really bad idea."

Duncan and his squad mates kept on the search for Nick and they were prepared to tag him on sight, they had more than enough ammo to do so and they were not worried with the prospect of wasting it during the chase. They started to look around every possible spot where Nick could be hiding but the fox's small size allowed him to slip past their search patterns for a remarkable amount of time. Nick decided to climb the stairs to the next floor and find a way out of that predicament on the floor above but that is when he was spotted, two pellets nearly hit his torso and he had to abandon his previous strategy to access the stairway to run out back to the streets in search of a better defendable position. Nick only had so much ammo to work with and he would have to make every shot count, having that in mind he ducked down under a car and escaped the next salvo of pellets fired against him.

Not wishing to waste too much time with a confrontation that seemed too one-sided, Duncan spoke up so that Nick could hear him loud and clear:

- Give it up Wilde. You're outgunned and outnumbered.

Nick released a little whisper as he pumped himself up for a daring counter-strike:

- But never outmatched.

Like a star from an action movie, Nick dashed from behind the vehicle and fire three shots while on the move, two of which hit their mark as they landed right on Stanley's chest. The jaguar did his best to aim his shooter and get a good shot at Nick as soon as he saw him coming out from his over-sized cover, but the fox was too fast and his risky gambit ultimately paid off. Duncan was livid at that moment, he had lost one team mate and he was now determined to take Nick out himself. The bear launched in pursuit while releasing a disturbing growl of anger that only gave Nick more of an incentive to run faster, Stanley remained behind but he didn't pouted or became enraged by his elimination, he just calmly made his way to an exit gate to await the end of the crucible like all the others who had been eliminated previously.

Nick made his way across more alleys and he was clearly running out of stamina to keep on the run and that is when a paw grabbed his left shoulder and pulled him into a small building, he was expecting a trap so he gasped with shocked but it was actually Samuel and Alfred who were expecting him to pass by. The fox smiled after meeting his friends once more and said:

- Guys! You're here! How did you find me?

Samuel pointed a finger at Alfred and said:

- Thank wolf boy over here. He's the one that found a way to track you down.

Alfred explained that he still had the motion sensor they had used before calibrated into a specific frequency that he used to detect Nick on the device in his paw since he was the only dot moving alone in that sector. Nick and his squad were glad to be reunited but there was not enough time for conversation or exultation, Duncan was banging on the door and they had to get a move on. While dashing away and exiting their hideout through another door, Samuel decide to ask:

- What the hell did you do to get this guy so mad at you?

Nick turned his head and answered:

- Nothing. He is just an asshole!

The trio kept on the run, crossing streets, turning corners and trying their best to stay behind as much cover as they could find along the way, Nick was following his two friends and was not sure where they were all going, even so, he trusted Alfred and was open to suggestions on any plan that he might have to get them out of that mess. After running out of breath with their seemingly endless run, Nick, Alfred and Samuel stopped by a spot by the northern edge of sector four made to resemble a construction site, with the skeleton of an edifice made out of iron pillars, a few unfinished walls and even some mounts of dirt and gravel that would've been used to make cement, it was an optimal spot to hide and get some rest. Alfred pointed to an unfinished brick wall inside the site and the trio hid themselves behind it so that they could talk and catch their breaths.

The three mammals hid their presences for enough time to watch as Duncan and Andersen passed by without picking up their presence. There was a moment of silence until a voice came out:

- Thanks for the help you guys.

Nick said so, even if he was a little short on breath. The fox placed a paw over his chest and was astonished after he felt his own heartrate, he turned his attention towards Alfred and Samuel as the deer placed a hoof over his shoulder and said:

- Don't mention it.

Nick's ears twitched as he heard the heavy steps from Duncan and his remaining team mate coming closer, Alfred took notice of the noise getting increasingly closer and asked:

- We need to figure out what to do next. What is the current situation?

Nick numbered the recent happenings on one paw as he extended each of his fingers:

- Duncan and his lackey still got plenty of ammo left between them, they are thorough, resentful and I also shot Stanley, so he is out of the competition.

Samuel nodded his head as he praised Nick's resourcefulness by simply saying:

- Nice.

Alfred congratulated Nick and decided to tell him about his plan on how to better deal with the two remaining opponents they had and get a leg up on the competition, Nick pointed his ears at the wolf to hear his explanation as he said:

- There is another team close by, I picked them up during the motion scan I left behind. If one of us runs out and plays bait we can get this other team to run interference without them even realizing it.

Nick nodded his head, he was with the idea so far but he had a feeling that they were about to hit a snag on the conversation:

- However… for this plan to work out, Samuel will have to stash his backpack and most of our supplies somewhere else so that he can get around more easily. We will need to grab all of the ammo we can carry and one of us will also need to make sure they split up.

Nick thought about that for a second and drew in an important detail he picked up during his pursuit:

- Andersen didn't sound too keen with having to go after only me, it did look like he was not confident on Duncan's prioritization of me as a target. We get Andersen to follow one of you two out by convincing him that you're a threat not worth ignoring and we have ourselves a solid chance to get it done.

Samuel and Alfred were sold on that idea. The deer and the wolf each pointed at themselves and said in unison without really meaning to:

"I'll do it!"

They looked at one another and decided to enter an argument about which of them should play bait with Samuel starting out by saying:

- Dude, I should do it. Without that pack weighing me down I'm crazy fast. Everyone knows I'm more fit than you, he's sure to come after me.

Alfred argued back at him:

- I'm the one that knows how to operate the sensor. If my estimates are correct, Nick will need you covering him. You're a way better shot than I am.

Samuel replied:

- True, that doesn't mean you're the most qualified mammal in here to get thrown into a possible battle on your own.

Nick wasn't having any of that, he put an end to the discussion and told his friends to make up their minds on the subject so that they wouldn't waste any more time. He put his foot down and said:

- Guys, enough! We have a plan, we just need one of you to kick it off, it doesn't matter who it is.

Samuel and Alfred looked at one another and the deer suggested one easy way to settle that argument:

- Rock, paper, scissors?

The two of them prepared themselves and launched their respective gestures into the quick game. Samuel picked rock, Alfred chose paper. The wolf pumped his fist with that small victory and gave his friends the all-clear to start with their new and improved battle strategy:

- I'll get going, you guys should do the same as soon as they fall for it.

- Hold on.

Samuel said so as he took out an extra cartridge of pellets from his side pocket and gave it to Alfred before saying:

- Just in case.

Alfred accepted the cartridge and exited the site where he and the others were hiding to call to the attention of the enemy squad as he shot a single time without the intention of hitting anything in particular and yelling:

- Hey! Come and get me fellas! I dare you!

Duncan and Andersen looked right at the wolf as he waved his paws in the air and started running away. The warthog took that as a decisive challenge and decided to go after him, he was stopped by the paw of his leader thrown over his right shoulder, stopping his dash. Duncan looked straight into his team mate's eyes and said:

- How stupid are you? This is clearly some sort of trap.

- No way. If we don't deal with the others, Wilde will just keep slipping away. I can take him down, you still have plenty of ammo left on you.

Andersen raced away with great speed after Alfred, even with the heavy pack on his back weighing him down, leaving the bear to soak with the fact that his order had just been disregarded by a squad mate. Nick and Samuel took that chance to race off in the opposite direction, giving them plenty of time to reach the spot where Samuel chose to stash away his backpack, open it up and retrieve all of the remaining ammo cartridges along with the metallic box that was actually their secret weapon, the shield they had used before. The fox and the deer went on their way ready to face off against Duncan while Alfred did his absolute best to keep ahead of his own problems and not get tagged out in the process.

Even if taken through narrow streets and sharp turns during the chase, Andersen kept right on Alfred's trail, trying to find any chance for a favorable shot. Alfred took advantage of all the turns and inclines along the way as he tried to lead the warthog away from the others and into an unpredictable position. After taking a quick look at the bleeping screen on his paw-held device, Alfred followed a straight path forward but he saw that it lead only to a dead end. There was a flimsy put together fence blocking the end of the path, made of wooden planks and nearly falling to pieces on one of its sides. There was a good chance that Alfred would be able to take the precarious barrier down with his own strength, but there was also the risk that he would hamper his own progress and cause injuries to himself by doing so, not to mention all of the noise doing something like that would let out. Putting more speed into his own run and using a medium size garbage container placed nearby as an impromptu platform, the wolf was skilled and agile enough to get enough thrust to jump and vault over the wooden fence, lading safely on the other side.

Alfred looked around and found exactly what he was looking for, another squad that was passing by that sector and, as luck would have it, it was Helen's squad. The white tigress and her team were just wandering by the edge of the sector looking to survive as a unit until the end of the crucible, they were analyzing the path and their surroundings but they failed to notice the wolf and his epic athletics only a few meters behind them. Alfred raced across the street with swiftness and stealth until he was on the other side and making sure that his pursuer was still hot on his trail. Hiding himself inside a building by the furthest side of the street, Alfred was able to catch wind of the conversation that Helen was having with her team mates, a jovial looking zebra with a short mane named Melody acting as their supporter and a large somber looking hyena named Sandra placed as their leader:

- Helen, are you sure this is the right way to go? Not that I'm doubting your navigational skills or anything like that.

The zebra spoke as such and Helen gave both of her squad mates the definitive assurance that they were all heading in the right direction:

- I'm sure of it. There was a loud commotion around this sector and I am positive that there is something to do around here that will guarantee us a top spot in the crucible.

The hyena checked her surroundings and even sniffed the air as she spoke up:

- She is right, Mel. I feel like we're not alone in this sector. Something is about to happen.

That was when Andersen, confident that he would catch Alfred, busted through the wooden fence, reducing the barrier to shambles and assuring his dramatic entrance into the street. Alfred, still hiding away, was impressed with that sight, he wanted his opponent to draw attention to himself and that demonstration of reckless strength did just the trick. The three female mammals heard the loud crashing sound of the fence behind them coming down and jumped with surprise, they then turned around with their weapons ready in paw to access the threat and found the warthog with snorting with frustration and searching around for his original target only to find three shooters aimed straight at him. There was a small moment of silence until Melody asked:

- Who the hell is this lunatic?!

Andersen didn't even bothered to point his own weapon at any of the members of that squad, he simply presented himself by saying:

- I'm Andersen. Andersen Snoutfanger. I sat behind you at "law and status codes."

Melody's ears perked up as her mind sparked and she recalled about the true identity of the mammal in front of them:

- Oh, right. You got all of the assailant codes in the manual right. That was really cool.

The warthog was not sure how to feel in that moment, even so, he took that small bit of praise as he waved his hoof in the air and thanked the friendly comment:

- Thanks.

Of course they were still in a competition and Sandra had to fulfill her job as a leader and issue the appropriate order to the others:

- Light 'im up girls!

Not wanting to take any chances that their newly acquired mark would fight back or run away, Sandra instructed her friends to open fire against Andersen, even if it was attested by Melody's own words that he was a cool guy. Twelve pellets in total were fired against the warthog as he was peppered with shot after shot, he tried to tuck away and raise his arms in order to protect himself out of instinct but that did not stop his thorough elimination from the crucible. After he was almost entirely covered with dots of paint, Andersen tried to make Helen and her friends stop shooting him by waving his arms in a dismissive gesture signaling that he was already done for, unfortunately another shot flied off in his direction hitting him right between the legs. Andersen fell to his knees with a high pitched moan of pain and Helen gasped rushing towards him to apologize seconds later as it was her shot that hit him like that. She felt really bad about that.

Satisfied that his plan had worked, Alfred made his exit as he found a safe route to double back and return to his friends. Nick and Samuel could surely use the help as they were inside one of the warehouses of sector four, locked in a fearsome stand off against Duncan. Samuel didn't even had the time to deploy the shield as he had planned because the bear was on them and refused to give them a second of respite, firing away pellet after pellet and reloading his own shooter with great efficiency only to seconds later duck behind cover and ensure that his adversaries would run out of ammunition soon enough. Nick was starting to become desperate, he called to Alfred on the radio and Asked:

- Alfred, where are you? Did things go alright on your end?

Alfred promptly answered to Nick's question, delivering a quick sitrep of what had occurred. Nick let out a loud chuckle after hearing the end of the wolf's report and that got Samuel curious, the deer leaned in closer and asked Nick while the two of them were ducked behind cover:

- What happened?! Is he okay?

Nick answered:

- He's fine. Everything went according to plan. Alfred guided Andersen towards Helen and her squad. Also… Helen shot Andersen in the dick.

Samuel released a loud guffaw that echoed across the warehouse and greatly confused Duncan. The bear stopped his shooting as he wondered what was happening, but the laughter subsided and he returned to putting the pressure on Samuel and Nick. The fox returned his attention to the radio as he asked:

- Things are a little hectic over here. What's your ETA?

Alfred answered as he continued his walk:

- I'm closing in on you guys. I should be there in…

- Hey! There he is!

Alfred looked over his shoulder and saw that he was followed. In his attempt to sneak away without being noticed, the wolf attracted attention to himself and Helen managed to follow his trail without too much effort, the tigress called on her team and the three mammals went ahead to try and score another easy victory for themselves. After hearing the combined steps of an entire squad coming after him, Alfred felt worry rising within him and decided to make a quick exit, it didn't do him much good since Helen, Melody and Sandra were already chasing him as the hyena sounded off a decisive shout that they had him in their sights:

- I see him! Take him down!

- SHIT!

Alfred ran away as fast as he could to avoid being tagged from behind. Nick was a little worried for the fact that his friend cut halfway through the conversation and asked again via radio:

- Repeat Alfred. What's going on?

- Helen and her squad are after me! I got to lead them further away! Sorry guys, the plan is out the window. I got to keep moving!

Nick turned his radio off after getting the confirmation that Alfred was not going to return to them any time soon, he was going to think fast on what to do next. Samuel turned over to Nick after dishing out two more shots in the direction of their attacker and asked:

- What's up? Where's Alfred?

- He's a little preoccupied at the moment. We're on our own.

- I'm down to my last clip over here! Any ideas?

Nick thought for a little while as he laid down his options, there wasn't a lot of cover out of the warehouse, Duncan was still coming down strong on them and he kept dodging every obvious hit they tried to dish back at him, their ammunition was near its end and the only trump card they had was the shield but it could take too much time to set it up. Those pieces fell into place as he formulated a crazy plan that just might work:

- I have one idea, but it is risky, crazy and it might just backfire on both of our faces.

Samuel raised a brow and answered to that:

- I'm liking it already.

Nick smiled after getting the confirmation that his friend was on board with the idea. Duncan was still trying to get the best of Nick and Samuel but he started to get suspicious as there appeared to be a certain lack of movement at the other side of the warehouse. Intending to flush them out and believing that the tenacious pair were out of ammo, the bear decided to take a step out of his cover and investigate, to his surprise, Samuel got out from behind the cover he and Nick had taken and jumped straight out of an open window nearby, that greatly confused the bear who, seconds later, witnessed Nick rolling out from behind the cover and running away in the other direction. The bear was done with that, he was going to take the fox down once and for all.

Nick dodged and weaved to confuse Duncan even more and the one-track-minded bear only saw that as a futile attempt to gain an advantage. Duncan did not let anything distract him, there was no cover to be seen outside the warehouse and he was sure he could get Nick as soon as he turned the corner, unexpectedly that didn't happen. Duncan turned the corner to the left, brandishing his shooter and ready to disperse paint all over the fox but what he found was a big metal frame planted on the ground and protecting both Nick and Samuel stationed right behind it. The bear launched a malign laugh into the air as he said:

- That's it?! That's your plan? Trap yourselves behind a shield?

He continued to brag internally before he decided to raise his shooter once more and speak with a tone of voice made to sound like he had already won:

- Give it up you two. It doesn't matter if both of you take a shot at me, I got you pinned down on both sides.

Behind the shield, Nick and Samuel were ready to put the second phase of their plan in action. The deer extended his paw and awaited for Nick to plant his right foot over it, the fox prepared to experience a rise in vertical velocity he was sure he had never experienced before and got into position. Ignoring the boasting of the bear on the other side of the shield, Samuel took a breath and asked of Nick:

- Are you sure you want me to do this?

- Yeah. Do it!

Samuel obeyed his friend's request and directed all of his strength to his right arm, Nick directed all of the strength he could to his right leg and the two of them, combining their efforts, launched the most unexpected attack they could come up with. Like a catapult releasing a rock into the air, Samuel tossed Nick into up and away with just one arm, the fox performed an epic leap over the shield and showed that he had his own shooter in one paw and Samuel's shooter in the other. Since he was far too focused on the sides of the shield, Duncan did not know how to react when he saw the fox gain altitude and shoot pellet after pellet over him, three splashes of paint hit the bear's vest and he was effectively eliminated from the crucible. While in the air, Nick celebrated his evident victory, but it was short-lived as he lost his orientation mid-descent and landed on his left side once he returned to the ground.

Duncan growled in frustration as he saw that he had been tagged and Nick raised from the ground after attesting that he hadn't been hurt too badly with his fall, Samuel came out from his cover from behind the shield and rushed over to ask:

- Dude, are you alright?

Nick tossed both of the shooters he had with him aside and placed a paw over his left shoulder, he turned over to Samuel and answered while still showing a little uncomfortable groan in his voice:

- I'm peachy. Just peachy.

Nick walked closer to Samuel and the deer laughed with the crazy antics that the fox came up with in order to secure a win. Samuel leaned in a little closer to help Nick move more easily and asked:

- Hey, how did it feel to get tossed in the air like that?

Nick showed off a little smile and answered:

- Like I was freaking Woodchuck Norris!

Samuel and Nick shared a hearty laugh and, soon after that, a loud howler sounded off in the distance as a voice came through the speakers:

- Attention all cadets! The crucible is over. Congratulations to all remaining squads and please make your way towards the nearest exit.

Nick pumped his fist in the air as the confirmation came that it was finally over. By the end of it all Nick's squad was one of the last remaining. The cadets all exited the training course and were received with plenty of congratulations by the administrators of the exam, everyone was tired and most of the cadets only wanted to go back to their dorms and relax for the day. All of the used equipment was checked, all of the squads and their members were accounted for and the drive back towards the academy was filled with revelry as each cadet exchanged stories about their own times inside the crucible. It all started out as a dreaded experience but everyone came out of it feeling stronger and more prepared than ever for any challenges they might have ahead of them. It was a great day for the ZPA cadets and Judy was satisfied with the results of the exam, she was going to write a very fitting report describing all of the accomplishments and short-comings she and all of the other members of the docent staff had seen that day.

---

Given some time, all of the recruits returned to the academy and were given the rest of the day off. Most of the mammals returned to their rooms to get a shower and relax but a good portion of the cadets were too pumped to stay still for too long and they decided to congregate by the main training field so that they could continue talking amongst themselves. Nick, Samuel and Alfred got quite famous for being the ones to take down Duncan and his squad, the bear wasn't seen for the rest of that day, according to his squad mates he had taken his defeat harder than anyone else. Nick was receiving praise from his friends and from other mammals he had met and faced off during the duration of the crucible, but his attention quickly deviated off from the crowd around him as he saw a small figure carrying some papers in the distance.

The sun was nearly setting on the horizon and Nick saw as Judy was making her way to the exit, he took that as a good chance to get some more time with her and decided to step away from the crowd and go towards her. After getting a little closer he waved his arm and called to her:

- Yo, Carrots! Wait up!

Judy's ears twitched and she halted her walk after hearing the familiar voice calling to her and turned around to meet Nick, she smiled and cumprimented Nick as he stopped just a few steps away from her:

- Good afternoon cadet. Is there anything I can do to help you?

Nick smiled and shook his head after hearing the tone she used at him, still trying to sound like a professional administrator. Trying to pull out some more conversation out of her, Nick asked:

- What have you got there?

Judy showed off the papers she had with her and answered him:

- Just a small sum of the reports I was asked to get for chief Bogo. He also asked me for a few addendums to deliver for the other precincts back in Zootopia.

Nick saw as Judy gestured with one paw to the exit as she said that and he asked with a touch of disappointment in his voice:

- You're… already leaving?

Judy noticed the tone he used and answered to that with a soft and sweet tone of voice:

- Samantha should be here to pick me up soon enough. I'll be heading out any minute now.

Nick gestured with his paw as he invited her to sit at a bench nearby:

- I was actually hoping I could sit down with you. Maybe… talk for a bit.

Judy looked at him and realized what he meant by the tone he used, by the pause he had taken when looking for the right words to say. It was true that thanks to the time that took her to finalize her obligations they hadn't spent too much time together as friends at all, she decided to heed Nick's request and agreed to sit down and just talk to him. She placed the papers safely away inside her bag and said:

- I don't have to go right now. We can talk for a bit.

Nick gesture to a small bench nearby and Judy walked past him so that she could hop right on and grab a seat for herself. The bunny bounced over the comfortable repost of the bench and the fox followed her as he calmly grabbed a spot beside her letting out a satisfied sigh as he laid back and relaxed. Judy leaned forward and directed her eyes at Nick and at the easygoing smile he had on his muzzle, he opened one of his eyes and looked at her little sparkling face as he asked:

- So… what are the news from Zootopia? How's the city been doing while I've been away?

Judy immediately compiled a mental list of the most important things and happenings that unfolded in more recent times. She opted to start by talking about the most important one:

- Well… the new mayor started on a few quality of life projects that have been on hold for a while. According to chief Bogo, mayor Zeinhanart signed a petition that gave small burrowing creatures a new living spot in the savanna, he approved the construction of a new wing for the rainforest hospital and he has officially approved the funding of new law-enforcing tools for all the precincts.

- Sounds exciting.

Judy nodded positively and showed that she was really satisfied with the life improving steps that were being taken by the politicians in the city. Nick looked over to her once more and asked:

- What about you? Any big arrests or life changing cases?

Judy sounded a little giggle and then answered him:

- Nothing of the sorts for now. The most exciting thing I have to deal with during patrols is the usual vandal or speeder. I am, however, taking great notes about many good points that were not covered here at the academy. Have that in mind for when you go patrolling with me.

- Can't wait.

There was a small moment where no words were said between the two, it was quite peaceful as they just remained seated and felt as a fresh breeze passed by. Nick turned over once more and returned to ask:

- Have you heard any news of Finn?

Nick didn't have to wait too long for the answer to that:

- I see him passing by when I'm patrolling the savanna or Sahara Square. He always seems to be busy with something, or usually just wandering around. We don't talk much whenever we meet, just a quick 'hello'. I think he's doing okay.

- That's good to hear. Whenever I'm not around, he can get into a fair bit of trouble.

Another short pause in their conversation ensued before Nick asked:

- So… have you adjusted well in your new place?

Judy turned her entire body over the seat to face Nick and spoke up:

- Oh, my apartment is really coming together. I bought new cushions for the couch, I installed a faster internet line to watch movies at night and even got to put the file cabinet I always wanted to buy for myself right by the corner of my room. I also got a few new things to cook, I'm hoping I can get better at it soon.

Nick showed off a delighted smile as he said:

- Hum… I really want to try more of those delicious pastries you gave me. I also have been meaning to give your little plastic box back.

Judy showed a dismissive sign with her right paw and told Nick not to worry about that, she could always pick the box at a later time. Judy noticed that Nick was leaving a long pause in his speech, to catch his breath and give her a chance to steer the conversation. Judy decided to ask of him:

- So… I saw your friends give quite a show during the crucible. I read the files presenting the descriptions of their general abilities and I was quite impressed. They have the makings of great officers.

- They have much more than just that. Samuel has been a great help to get me motivated on the track and Alfred is a total genius when it comes to technical stuff. They're really great mammals.

- Looks like you three became quite the team together.

- You bet. Samuel is a little crazy but he does get things done. Alfred is a little up-tight but he has learned to get more loose these last few months, plus he's got a good heart. He has been a little out of sorts lately, but I can't blame him too much for it. He has other things to worry about.

Judy raised a brow after hearing that and asked of him:

- What do you mean?

Nick looked at both sides of the hallway before he decided to tell Judy what he meant when he talked about his friend. He leaned in closer and whispered to her:

- Do you know that white tiger that was the specialist in one of the squads?

Judy thought for a little bit until she recalled the struggle that ensued during the crucible between Nick's wolf friend and a certain white tigress. She nodded affirmatively to Nick and he proceeded with his explanation:

- Her name is Helen Felidae. She joined us in a lot of study and training sessions since the beginning of the academy course. She is a really smart feline and… Alfred has a major crush on her.

After disclosing that piece of information, Nick heard as Judy released a loud gasp and placed her left paw in front of their mouth to try and hide away the surprise she felt after learning such a juicy gossip. She slowly removed the paw from her muzzle and asked:

- Really? I saw them fighting during the crucible. Are you sure about that?

- Oh, yeah. Alfred said so himself only a few months ago with all the letters. He also said that he was holding his punches when they were fighting, nothing to be worried about.

- But… romantic involvement between cadets is not permitted in the academy grounds.

Nick raised a finger and said:

- Alfred knows that. It has been eating him inside for the longest time. I'm really hoping he will fess up to her once we complete the entire course. I can clearly tell that those two are going to hit it off together no problem.

Judy smiled after hearing that, but she didn't take too long in her joyful mood before she spoke up with a more serious glint in her eyes:

- Nick.

He looked right at her and asked:

- What's up carrots?

- I was asked to bring over all the files from everyone enlisted in the academy and… I couldn't help but take a closer look at yours. I'm hoping you don't mind it.

Nick merely made a dismissive gesture with his paw and said:

- I'm not worried fluff. My record may be a little spotty during a few stretches of the course but I really came into my own thanks to some hardcore dedication. I'm sure you will find that all of my grades and overall scores have been just fine.

Judy picked up a file holder inside her satchel that was labeled with the name 'Wilde' at its cover. She opened it and went over a few of the details enclosed on the papers:

- You are correct. There are plenty of mentions here about your progress in the course. I also see that you have broken the speed record on the desert portion of the obstacle course, you have been doing great as a team player during practice and you got quite the high score during the shooting range.

Nick showed a little bow without raising from his seat. He believed that the irrefutable evidence of his greatness called for a tiny bit of bragging:

- Thank you. Thank you. You can clap if you must, I deserve it.

Judy smiled but there was more information to be relayed in that file:

- However, I also see a few other points of the report that call to my attention. Small points that major Grover has playfully labeled… "Shenanigans".

Nick stopped cold amid his cocky gestures and directed one eye at Judy. He sat up straight over his spot on the bench while having a uncommon side smile on his muzzle and asked:

- Shenanigans? Like… what?

Judy turned the page and began to recite an abridged list that went back and forth between them, she listed and item and he came up with an excuse:

- There is a note in here about the repeated suspicion of gambling related activities around campus.

- Which I already said: It is only considered gambling if we bet real money on it.

Judy turned the page once more and continued:

- The sudden interruption of your driving exam when you decided to get out of the vehicle to check on the engine yourself.

- I tell you, there was this horrible rattle that sounded every time I turned the engine on. I had to see what was causing it. Bottom line: Faulty transmission.

Another page turn:

- Then comes the matter of the smuggling of various reading material titled as "inappropriate".

- Smuggling is such an ugly word. I prefer to refer to it as… inconspicuous distribution.

One final page:

- Also there is an extensive section in here about a… Snow ball fight.

- That is a funny story! You are going to love it.

Judy closed the file in her paws and shook her head for a few seconds letting out a short puff of air from her mouth while she did so, as soon as she was done, she turned over to Nick and said with a tone that sounded a little off to him in the sense that he could not properly discern her emotions as she spoke to him:

- You really didn't change one bit after getting in the academy. You're still the same fox.

Nick retreated over his seat. He felt like she had spoken towards him with a tone of disapproval, almost like she was disappointed with his behavior after being enlisted as a cadet. The fox lowered his ears and looked at the ground beneath him as he thought about what to say next. He could try and break the ice with a joke but that did not feel like the time to play around, it might just worsen his position. However, upon further inspection, Judy did not look too mad or disheartened about anything, in fact, she was smiling. The bunny placed a paw over Nick's shoulder and said:

- That's really good to hear.

Nick directed a confused look at Judy, he let out a little dash of air he was holding inside his chest out of relief and heard as Judy placed her explanation. The bunny had just taken note of the expression of confusion the fox let out and believed that the intonation of her voice might not have delivered the message she intended to convey. She took in some air and then returned to talk:

- I'm glad that you didn't change the way you act or behave, that is not what you were meant to do anyways. The academy is not here to change who you are it is only intended to make you better, stronger, to make you feel prepared, and I can already sense a different air coming from you. You made some amazing progress Nick. If it was in my nature, I guess I would be a little bit jealous.

Nick wasn't sure how to answer that. He had already heard about the reputation that Judy had gathered when she was a cadet at the academy and to now hear that caused him to become somewhat shaken. Judy raised herself from the bench after placing the file she was holding safely back inside the satchel, she turned her eyes to the exit of the main training building and then to Nick as she asked:

- So cadet, what are you going to do now that you have proudly conquered the crucible.

Nick looked at her and answered with a less enthusiastic tone in his voice compared to before, he was still digesting some of the main details of the talk they just had:

- I… heard that the guys are gonna go out for a bit. Get together and grab a few refreshments before we all have to get back to the grind tomorrow morning.

- Sounds like fun. I guess I should be going by now.

Nick raised from his seat and positioned himself right alongside Judy. He looked at her and asked:

- You're… going already?

- Yeah. I already talked with Grover and Friedkin and they got all of the data they needed for the evaluation in the crucible. My obligations to the academy are officially done. Tomorrow I go back to Zootopia to give all of these to Bogo.

Judy turned around and was about to take her first step in the direction of the exit, but she was stopped as her right ear heard as Nick asked:

- Can't you stay? Just for a little while longer?

Judy turned around and found Nick standing in an awkward stance as that question left his mouth. She thought that was really sweet of him but there was little time for her to remain by the academy and she felt like there was no need to keep Nick from enjoying himself with his friends for any longer. Judy turned around and gave a single step towards Nick as she spoke up:

- I'm sorry, Nick. I don't want to keep my sister waiting for too long. But you don't have to worry, we will see each other again real soon. In no time you will graduate and we will be out on the streets on patrol. I know you will ace the final exam.

She was right, the final exams for the cadets were coming up and after that there was the graduation for all of the new officers. Nick didn't want to say farewell just yet but he knew that Judy already had a lot on her plate and did not want to keep her. He leaned a little closer and Judy got that as the chance to come in for a hug. She smushed her cheek at the side of his fluffy neck fur and said:

- Until next time slick.

To which he replied:

- Take care carrots. See you soon.

Judy slowly separated from his embrace. That warm feeling just threatened to pull her back to his company and to take him up on his previous offer for her to remain just a few more minutes, but she felt like she had to go. With one last paw wave of parting, Judy bid her farewell to Nick and made her way out to the front lawn of the academy, she found Samantha's car just waiting near the front gate and got inside. She tossed the bag she had with her under the seat and got comfortable before turning over to her sister and saying:

- I'm ready.

Samantha didn't say anything. She remained with her paws placed over the wheel and tapped her finger over the frame of the round steering mechanism for a couple of seconds. Judy looked right at her and asked:

- Aren't you going?

Samantha directed her eyes at Judy finally and asked in turn:

- Why did you do that?

Judy wasn't sure about what her sister was talking about, she was half sure she had done something wrong as soon as she entered the vehicle. Judy turned over to Samantha again and inquired with just one word as if she did not heard the previous question:

- What? Did I slam the door too hard?

Samantha reiterated her question by speaking slightly louder and complementing to her idea?

- Not that! Why did you just leave him like that? He was asking you to stay, Judy! He practically begged you to stay.

Judy looked around before turning to Samantha once more and questioning her with a rather loud volume to her voice:

- Were you spying on me?!

- No… no… no… no… Yes.

Judy was beyond frustrated with her sister, the younger bunny bit on her own lips and puffed her cheeks almost as if she was about to explode in a rage, but she contained herself and just released a long puff of air from her mouth, lowered her ears to the back of her head and placed the palms of her paws on her face to try and hide how flustered she was. Samantha did not back down from any of that, even seeing Judy like that was not enough to keep teasing her relentlessly as she poked her sister on the shoulder and said:

- You could've stayed for a little bit longer. I wouldn't have minded. C'mon, you can tell me, you wanted to stay inside that hug, didn't you?

Judy took her paws away from her face and said with a tone that clearly told how tired she was at the time:

- Sam, can you please just drive?

- Okay. If you say so.

Samantha was just about to turn the key in the ignition and turn the engine of her car on when she decided to say a little something extra as she asked:

- You do know you got him eating at the palm of your paw, right?

Judy directed a look that emphasized her emotions and Samantha, understanding her stance without the need for actual words, raised her paws and said:

- Okay. I'll be quiet now.

Samantha turned the engine on her car on and the two bunnies went on, leaving the academy behind and following on their own path. Samantha stayed quiet for a good portion of the drive until they were back inside the proper city limits of Gloversville, she decided to confirm the route they were taking for the day with Judy as she asked without taking her eyes off the road:

- So… are we heading back to the motel for the day? Getting on a fresh start tomorrow?

Judy heard that but she didn't pay the question itself too much mind, she simply looked out the window at all of the houses and stores that passed by as the car moved at a steady speed. Samantha stopped her drive just before seeing the traffic light in front of her turning red, she turned her head to ask again as she called to Judy's attention:

- Jude. Did you hear me?

- Yeah, I did. I'm just thinking that maybe we shouldn't go back and call it a day just yet.

- We shouldn't?

Judy adjusted her positioning over her seat so that her body would be facing forward and added to her previous idea:

- No, we shouldn't. Tomorrow I'll be heading straight back to Zootopia and I do not know when I'll be given a chance to relax like this any time soon. Let's take in the sights, have some fun, maybe we can stop at that little road-side mall we saw earlier to get some shopping done.

Samantha released an incredulous gasp after hearing that. Judy wasn't sure what to make of that so she asked:

- What is it?

- Who are you and what have you done to my sister?

Samantha asked as such, meaning it as a joke of course. Judy laughed and shook her head and the two bunnies went on to have a little fun before heading to the motel and sleeping it off for the night. They visited the mall Judy had mentioned and they enjoyed visiting different stores as they killed time, Judy got a few new books that called to her attention while Samantha showed way more interest in getting some more electronic trinkets for her own home back in Dusendale.

Come the next day, the two sisters said their farewells to one another and went their separate ways. Judy grabbed the express train back to Zootopia and returned to her job at the precinct where she delivered all of her reports to chief Bogo, presented with incredible thoroughness. Samantha was satisfied to return to her own apartment in Dusendale, she cumprimented Damian just before heading inside as he stopped by to present her with news that her air conditioner had been fixed. Samantha thanked the hard working buck and headed inside to take a shower and relaxed as she recalled all of the good times she had with her little sister and all of the remaining intrigue she had surrounding the fox that Judy admired so very much.