[AN

Hey guys! New chapter is there. Time to make a long trip to the past to better understand the present, so you can try and guess the future.

PS: I'll be on a vacation starting tomorrow, I don't know if I'll be able to write much in the two weeks to come, so you may have to wait a bit for the next chapter. And promise, I didn't do it on purpose (*crosses fingers behind his back*)

Enjoy!

AN]

"Stop, please! I can't... I can't… breath…" The young panther was rolling on the floor, clutching at her stomach, desperately trying to find her breath among her bursts of laughter. The culprit was standing next to her, a smug grin plastered on his muzzle, arms crossed on his chest, head high and back straight, proud of himself.

They had met a couple months ago, on their first day of high school.

He had always been kind of a lone wolf, not completely asocial but not really at ease with mammals. His species didn't help either, as most kids would rather avoid him or be quite aggressive towards him, prejudices taught by their parents just too strongly rooted within them. He didn't care at all, having been taught the exact same fears and general distrust by his own parents, so that he could understand and better cope with it.

Teaching a kit to learn to stay alone and accept bullying was a heartbreaking task, and he had spent many nights crying. But he had grown since, and gotten accustomed to his situation. If life was going to be hard, then he simply would have to be harder, both in mind and body. This had been his motto for the past years, and it had helped him times and times over, from denying a bully its prize of seeing him shiver and cry to actually beating the crap out of one and stealing his money as a vengeance.

The black panther in front of him was different though. On their first break, he had decided to stay in the classroom while the others went outside to take a break and breathe fresh air, simply staring at the courtyard through the window. Seeing him stay behind, she had looked intrigued, and with a shrug had turned her back to the door and walked straight to him.

"So, momma's boy's already trying to take the lead in his studies? Or are you just afraid the bugs in the grass might eat you?"

He had readied a venomous comment in reply, but shut his muzzle as soon as he had turned his head. She was smiling. A large toothy smile greeted him. More by obligation than by choice, he was more mature and adult than most, and already viewed the world more in black than in white. But the young female in front of him just irradiated such a naïve joy that even he was taken aback. Putting on a smug grin, he decided to play along.

"Jealous of the bugs cause they could get a bite of this foxy character and not you?"

Her smile had turned saucy, and she gave him the once over twice, feigning biting her lower lip in interest, before locking her gaze at him.

"Well, you look tasty enough for a quick snack…" She got a little closer and leaned over him, revealing her fangs and licking them loudly. The fox didn't move, but still gulped.

"Too bad you're so skinny, I prefer a little more meat on the bones."

With that last jibe, she had winked at him and quickly made her way outside, laughing all the way at the perplex expression on the fox's face. It took him several seconds to recover from his surprise, but still found a way to let a smile grace his features and chuckled lightly.

"This year looks promising at least."

Three years. For three years their friendship had grown, though an external viewer would have doubted the veracity of that word. The panther was following the fox like his shadow, obeying his every wish like an obedient dog. Of course, he had never given her any direct order, but each time he would say out loud he would like such or such thing, he would get it as soon as she could get her paws on it. Food, money, a slave to do his homework, name it and she would get it.

After their first awkward and flirtatious meeting, the duo had quickly formed a bond, which was quite the sight for their fellow students. None of them understood why the black feline wanted to befriend a sly and conniving fox, but she didn't care about their thoughts and opinions. She was free to do whatever she wanted, and doing the exact opposite of what the majority wanted her to do was always a pride and joy of her. That what freedom meant to her and her teenage rebellious spirit.

Near the middle of their first schoolyear, they had welcome a new student, a transfer from another school, another black panther. A young male who had been fired from his previous school because of his rather spirited behavior, as they had been told. To the fox, this was just a politically correct way to say he was a violent looser. On their first break that morning, this new student, simply self-nicknamed Claws, tried to go dominant on the young female.

Of course, one of the duo's friend, a young spotted caracal, tried to intervene, but ended with three large gnashes on his arm, courtesy of Claws, making clear to anyone why the bully called himself that. It was the fox who saved her, twisting the offender's wrist so hard the panther ended up on his knees, his pained yelp echoing through the entire courtyard. When a monitor, a giant grizzly bear, finally came here and separated the two, Claws threatened the fox to finish this little talk later, outside the school. The tod didn't seem moved, as he simply brushed his shoulders like he was dusting the comment.

The enraged panther wasn't seen again inside the school or in its vicinity. Most believed he had been fired by the school superintendent, the only rational behavior to adopt when a new student sends another student to the infirmary on their very first day. The truth was learnt later on, and was in fact much uglier. Claws had been attacked the same evening by an unknown mammal, the aggressor using the cover of the night to sneak and attack by behind, and spent the next three weeks at the closest hospital.

An anonymous call brought an ambulance to the scene later that night. Upon arriving, they gasped in shock and horror. The panther had lost on ear, visibly torn apart by fangs if the marks were anything to go by, both his heels had been sliced and he was bruised from head to toe. Worse of all, his back had been shaved and a message had been claw-carved in his skin:

"The bill comes due"

The only reason the boy was still alive was that all his injuries had been cleaned and bandaged. The mammal responsible for this macabre act was clearly sending a message, and the panther had to live to let it sink for good. When the newspapers and TV news divulged the conditions in which the young Parker, the panther's real name, was found, a young female panther gasped in shock.

The following day, upon arriving at school, she was greeted by her fox friend like nothing had happened, but she couldn't get rid of the dark feeling clutching at her guts. With a shattering voice, she had asked him if he was responsible for this, or worse if he was the culprit. The fox's smile had faltered and a seriousness she had never seen to him replaced his usual smug attitude. His golden eyes had locked on hers and she had seen the conviction and restrained fury behind them.

"Nobody hurts my friends."

This both did and didn't answer her question, as she didn't know, and never would, if the fox had done it by himself or not, but something was made clear that day: he cared for his friends, and was ready to hurt to protect them. Something new arose in her and settled in her chest: a sense of respect, and a need to pay him back.

Thus began her dependence towards the smug fox, growing perniciously like a cancer.

OoO

Before she could realize it, her respect had turned to mild admiration, and the need to pay back had turned to a need of recognition and approval. Whatever the fox wanted she made her mission to get it for him. On their second year, when he started selling light drugs inside the school to make some side money, she had helped him, testing the waters with students and finding potential clients.

When his little business grew outside the school, she had helped too. Hitting the gym to better be able to defend herself, though deep inside she knew it was rather for him, she helped get rid of some mammals not happy with the fox impeding on their territory. Within the next two years, the fox and his faithful associate had managed to build a small but profitable business, covering three whole neighborhoods, focusing on light drugs.

Time passed, and the exams got closer. Each student would now have to choose which college they would be willing to join. The young panther was completely lost. She was a good student, gifted in most domains, but she just had forgotten to think of her future, so focused she was on the fox at her side. The thought of losing him made her heart ache, but following blindly could make him mad at her, even repelled for her lack of personality.

The choice was made for her however, when the fox invited her over his student room one Saturday. He was standing tall and proud, the back straight and the head high, looking at the world through the window. She was sitting on his bed, fidgeting her paws in nervousness.

"I'm leaving the city."

The sentence was short, blunt, and oh-so hurtful for the black feline. A part of her wanted to scream, another wanted to cry, another wanted to follow, but none could take predominance on the others, so she just stood speechless. The fox turned his back to the window and fixed his glare on her, before coming closer and taking her paws in his.

"I will come back. Meanwhile, I need you to be strong."

The words meant nothing to the feline. Not joining the same college was one thing she could cope with, as she could see him the evening or on week-ends. But leaving the city? This was completely different. With what little strength she could gather, she asked the only thing occupying her mind.

"Why?" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, addressed both to the fox and to herself. The fox squeezed her paws.

"I can't stay. This city holds nothing for me. Being a fox I will be denied lots of opportunity for no reasons that prejudices against my species. I won't live my life in shackles and chains. I will build something so great it will endure for decades, and I'll show the world what I can do. Who I really am. But I can't do it here."

The first tear escaped the panther's eye, but was quickly and gently wipe by the fox.

"I will come back to you. I swear." With that last sentence, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. The tears were now flowing freely from her eyes, but a new warm had settled within her chest. He had always been different. More driven. More greedy.

Freer.

Right and wrong were foreign concept to the tod. Not that he was violent or aggressive, but it didn't matter what means he had to go to, to obtain what he wanted. The end justified the means. In a way, she could relate to his will to take what he wanted from the world, instead of crawling for the crumbs others would deign give him.

In that very moment, this drive, this inner strength, this indomitable will, washed over her and comforted her. He had sworn, so he would be true to his word. With a timid smile, she had nodded, and rested her head against his chest. He could have laughed, or mocked her, or even stepped back, but he didn't. He had hugged her back, whispering in her ears.

"Will you wait for me?"

There was only one possible answer for her.

"Always."

She was standing there, the door firmly held in one paw, the other hanging to her side like a lifeless limb, giving him the once over again and again, completely mesmerized by her friend.

She had always been attracted to him, without any romantic feeling of course. It was just his attitude, his confidence. It had drawn her to respect him, and follow him wherever he would go. Years have passed, and her respect had turned to admiration, and even some kind of idolatry, the fox becoming her very world. When he had told her he would leave the city, she had been hurt. The void in her soul had been so deep nothing had managed to fill it.

But as promised, he was back. Two years, nearly day to day, and he had come back to her. For her. He had grown. Taller, strongly built, an aura of power exuding from his very being. Dominant. A true predator. The black panther found herself on the verge of tears under the row swirl of emotions that menaced to flood her.

The fox seemed to see it, as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them and gently taking her paws in his.

"I'm back."

Her breath caught in her throat, her heart jackhammering in her chest, the panther couldn't say anything, completely frozen, still trying to understand if it was just a dream. More by reflex than coherent thought, she took a step back, inviting him inside her house. The fox smiled and silently obeyed, finding himself the way to her living room and sitting on her sofa, waiting for her to come to him. Of course, she didn't disappoint, and nearly ran to his side, sitting close to him, her eyes never leaving him.

She still had difficulties believing her eyes. He was there. He was back, like he had promised so long ago.

"So, how have you been?" The fox smiled at her, trying to snap her out of her reverie. But forming words was still too much for her in that instant. All she could do was stuttering a few vowels, which earned her a hearty laugh from the fox.

"Waouh, you've made progress since last time I saw you." With a wink and a few deliberately slow moves with his paw, he pointed to himself then to her.

"Me fox. Sly. You panther. Dumb. Remember?" His smile was contagious, as hers finally found its way on her muzzle.

"Me remember now." Pointing at his arms and then belly, she added. "Still skinny. Little snack."

The glass now broken, both laughed easily. The following silence was not unwanted nor unnerving, the fox taking his surroundings while the panther still eyed him from head to toe.

"You can do it, you know?" The fox's words hung in the air for a second or two, before he was lifted from the sofa and crushed in a strong hug. She was taller and stronger than him, so his hind paws were now floating above the ground. That didn't seem to bother him though, as his paws joined behind her neck and brought her head on his shoulder. He could feel the first salted drops wet his shirt, but didn't care.

She broke the hug after some time and gently settle him on the sofa again.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I missed this." She smiled, and it was time to satiate her curiosity.

"So, where have you been? What have you done? Are you staying this time? Tell me everything."

The fox chuckled at her behavior.

"Hey, if I tell you everything today, I'll need to leave again to have something more to tell you later." The panther feigned pouting, but he saw in her eyes that she wouldn't let him go without knowing what he had been up to the past two years. So he told her everything. How he had hit the streets of a small city two hundred miles from Zootopia, named Growlsburg, a one-hundred percent predator city. She smiled at the name, but let him talk.

OoO

The more the fox told her, the more nervous she had become. He had basically joined one of the gangs, made its way to the top, sold it to a bigger gang, and done it again until he had become one of the most feared and renown mammal of the city. All because he wanted to, and could. He had obtained money and fame, and more importantly a name. Red. Not very original, but to him it was one of the finest gift he could receive. It meant mammals had recognized him. He had become more than a fox. More than a mammal. A symbol.

The panther was frozen in shock. Since the incident with Claws she had known the fox wouldn't stop until he had what he wanted to, no matter the means. Deep inside, she had always hoped he would choose another path. But now, hearing his story first paw and with such confidence in his tone, it was harder than she had thought. Especially considering her own choice of life…

"Well, enough with this foxy boring mammal. What are you doing with your life?" The fox was now looking at her with such an intensity in his eyes she froze for a second or two.

"Hmmm… I-i-i-i..; hum…" The voice wouldn't escape her now dried throat. The fox smiled and took her paw in his.

"Don't worry, I already know. I want to hear it from you." There was no malice in his voice, no hard feelings, no resentment, only pride. She gulped, and used her training to gather the strength to answer.

"I've been taking law courses, and will join the academy next year. I'm becoming a cop."

The fox smiled, a genuine smile, completely out of phase with the situation. He had just boasted about being a criminal, and she had revealed wanting to be a cop. Two friends joining opposite sides of the law, facing each other without animosity, talking about it like they would about the weather.

"Great! I'm sure you're rocking everything, am I right?" She only nodded, her smile now a bit forced. But the fox wasn't done.

"I'm sure you'll make a great cop. Can I be there for your graduation? I'd love to see you stand proudly on the stage as valedictorian of your class." This was too much for the black feline, who shivered before raising and turning her back to her guest.

Her mind was empty, unable to cope with what she had learnt. He was still as smug and charming as before, but she couldn't help but think he was hiding something. How could he be willing to support her choices when it meant she would have to go after him? How could he smile at the prospect of losing their friendship?

A paw in the middle of her back interrupted her thoughts.

"I knew you would choose this path. You had it in you since the beginning. It's all right." This was the last straw. The panther turned and emptied her lungs.

"NO IT'S NOT ALL RIGHT!"

She tried to take a few deep breaths, before speaking again.

"Ho-how c-can you… be… so… so…" She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Slowly releasing the air in her lungs, she opened her ice-blue eyes and met his burning golden ones. The anger she saw only added fuel to her own.

"How can you spit on our friendship like this? How can you mock me like this after being gone for so long? How dare you?" She had clenched her fists and was shaking. Any sane mammal would have backed away from her, but the fox wasn't any mammal. Instead he took a step forward and yelled back.

"How dare you accuse me of mocking you? I'm dead serious! Why wouldn't I be? Why do you think I'm here? Why do you think I came to you, even if I knew what you were up to?"

Her anger subsided, replaced by shame.

"Then why are you here?" The whisper escaped her lips, before she closed her eyes, afraid to look at him and waiting for the blow to strike. His answer took her by surprise however.

"I wanted to see you."

He then led her to sit on the sofa, his paw once again on her back.

"I promised, remember?" She nodded slowly.

"Did you think I didn't mean it?" She shook her head.

"But… what…" She sighed. "What will you do now? What will we do?"

He didn't answer at first, putting his head on her shoulder and sighing.

"We could help each other, you know."

He let the thought sink. She mulled over it for several minutes, the silence growing between the two mammals.

"How?" If he hadn't been so close, he would have missed her whisper.

He tilted his head so his chin was now on her shoulder, and he whispered in her ear.

"Do you trust me?" The feline shivered, but nodded eventually.

"I'll make it work. I won't leave you again." He stopped for a few seconds, and asked the question that would seal her fate.

"Are you with me?"

Something in her brain had just been short-circuited by his presence, so close to her she could feel his hot breath, the confidence and natural strength emanating from him, and the trust he was putting in her.

Locking her eyes on his, she realized that there was only one possible answer for her.

"Always."

His plan was simple: he would help her get rid of his rivals, and both would rise from it. The main reason why she accepted, and in truth the only reason, was his promise to avoid spilling countless liters of blood to reach his goal, which would only be possible if she were there to help him, and took care of the bad guys, the others, before he did.

Even if she still had difficulties wrapping her mind around the idea, he had been true to his word. For ten years he had sent her evidence to catch various criminals, from petty thieves to crime lords. With his help and her dedication, she quickly became one of the main assets of the ZPD and was promoted to sergeant earlier than usual. Of course, every shining victory for her meant a darker victory for him in the shadows of the criminal underworld. As long as she could keep seeing him, she was okay with it.

They had seen each other at least once a month. Red had treated her to diners, movies, walks in the parks, even whole week-ends to the countryside. On the third year of their collaboration, on one such week-end, he had dropped a bomb: he was in love. A red vixen, a bit younger than him, daughter of her professional thief he helped put behind bars and thus who didn't mind his shady side and business. The panther hadn't believed it at first. Not that she was jealous, as she had never been in love with him, but she hadn't imagined him falling for a women.

But years passed, and the couple endured. Several months after their wedding, which the panther attended as guest of honor of course, Red had invited her to his home. On arriving, the feline saw why: the vixen was pregnant. After the usual congratulations and a friendly diner, Red offered his wife to go and rest while he would clean. Using the time alone with his friend, his smile had disappeared.

"I'm going after Big".

This was it. After all this years, his ambitions were so close to be rewarded. The final obstacle to his life-long dream of power and posterity was the artic shrew's empire, rivaling his. To his surprise, the black feline hadn't seemed moved by his blunt and to the point declaration. Instead, she had just sighed and her shoulders had drooped.

"So, it's happening after all…" was all the words she could manage to speak, or rather murmur to herself. Red was stunned for a couple seconds, but quickly caught on her distress.

"I can do it. I will win." She snorted and couldn't help but yell at him.

"For f***'s sake, you're about to be a goddamned father! Don't you have more than your pride to live with now? Do you really wish to put her and your child in such danger just so your ego can grow a bit more?" She was now shaking, and the first tears had escaped her eyes.

This was the first time she had talked to him like this, and it shocked the fox, who froze for a short moment, before he quickly recomposed himself.

"This is EXACTLY why I have to do it now. They'll never be safe as long as he is in the game. If I don't take him out now, I won't be able to protect them."

The two predators had argued for hours, but in the end nothing could deter the fox from his objective. He truly believed Big would not hesitate to go against his wife and kit to harm him.

Time proved him right, in a way.

Fear destroyed the fox's brain, and he accumulated the mistakes, until he had only two options left: be sent to jail for the rest of his life, or flee and try to come back later. Of course, he chose the latter. That evening, the panther frowned on hearing the doorbell, as she wasn't expecting visitors. Certainly not a crying vixen and the baby she carried in her arms.

A part of her died that night. For months she was down to the gutter, focusing all her anger towards the red-furred coward on the criminals she chased with renewed vigor. Her new ruthless methods, though not to the taste of her chief, proved more efficient as ever. Another couple years and she earned a new promotion: joining the ranks of the ZBI.

More years of hard work led her to the top of the ladder: head of the ZBI division of Zootopia. Few knew her real age, but she was over sixty by now, with forty years on the force, protecting her city. All recognized her as a very deserving mammal and all looked up to her. None however knew that deep down, the only recognition she could care for was the one she would never get.

"You know I didn't have the choice, right? I couldn't protect any of you anymore."

The panther was frozen. It was happening again. He had come back to her. For her. And as she had so many years ago, after his two-year-long trip outside Zootopia, she couldn't think properly, couldn't move. Even breathing was becoming an arduous task.

Something had changed in him, she could feel it. He was still exuding the same aura of confidence and power, his eyes burning with determination. But something else was looking at her behind the emeralds. An icy presence that made her shiver, her fur standing on edge. For the first time in so many years, but more importantly for the first time while standing by his side, she felt fear. Genuine terror for the being that once was her universe and her reason to live.

He took a step forward, then a second, and a third, until she could feel his hot breath on her chin. She was still taller than him, he had to raise his head to look at her in the eyes now that he was that close, but she felt small and frail. His natural presence paired with this now cold and resentful soul brought a single word in her mind. A word that had been forgotten to most mammals throughout their evolution, with only one species using it, with less meaning.

Alpha.

She was standing in front of an apex predator. Cold, calculating, remorseless. He took her by the arm and led her to her living room, his grip gentle but firm, letting her set the pace but making her understand she didn't really have a choice in the end. He made her sit on the sofa, and got behind her. Resting his paws on her shoulders, he leaned close and whispered in her ear.

"Did you wait for me?"

In that very instant, she understood she was done for. She had never been able to face him, not that she had wanted to in the first place, but inside she had always known she would have never found the strength to oppose him. That day, after forty years on the force, she was as powerless as a kit. It shook her to her very core.

Never before had she felt so vulnerable.

She had joined the ZPD, climbed the ladder, overcome any obstacle sent her way, until she finally reached her current job. As the head of the ZBI, one of the most powerful force of the city and its surroundings, she had become herself one of the most powerful mammal in and outside Zootopia. She led professionals in every possible domain, and gave orders that could sentence mammals to death if she had to. Even the mayor was afraid of her, and followed her orders without much complaining.

But this mammal. This fox. The very fox behind her, the danger emanating from him, the icy grip he had on her shoulders and heart, this was something else entirely. This was a threat like she had never faced before. And truth be told, she wasn't strong enough. She tried to gather whatever inner strength and courage she could, but he spoke again, his voice a sultry whisper.

"I will reclaim what is rightfully mine. And I want you by me side once again." He stopped for a couple seconds.

"Are you with me?"

The last of her defenses shattered for good, and her spirit broke. There had always been only one answer for her.

"Always."

OoO

"I need labor, and you will help me."

The fox was looking straight at her, his piercing gaze locked on her eyes like he could reach her very soul.

"How?" was her unsure answer, her voice still shaking.

"I just told you. I need mammals. Professionals. Loyal, no matter if it is to money."

She let the words sink, and finally understood what was expected of her.

"You want criminals we haven't caught but know about?"

"I need thieves, hackers, spies, killers. You will help me gather a team, and I'll do the rest."

The black feline gulped. A list of names appeared in the back of her head, too quickly for her own sanity, except for one category.

"I know not of the latter."

"Find one." His tone let no room for refusal, and she nodded timidly.

"Good. I'll see you in a week. I believe it will be enough to find their names, right?" The last word carried a threat so intense she took a step back.

"Y-y-yes. Yes, it will."

With no further words nor looks, he departed, leaving behind a broken husk of a mammal.

The feline's heart hurt. She was torn. A big part her life was spent with the fox. He had shaped her into the mammal she had become, both by his presence and his absence. Time was unable to get her out of her dependence. Still, even during their professional collaboration, for no better word could describe this period of her life, all she had done was for her city and the citizens it sheltered.

Time had come for her final choice. Her job, her city, her honor, or her fox. Her devotion could not be split anymore.

The following day, the list Red had asked for was ready, except for killers, as none have been roaming free for years now. Also, she still hadn't decided what to do with this list. She took the next three days to look back on her life, weighing every moment and decision that had led her to this situation. Finally, she made her choice. It required contacts long forgotten and help from outside the city, but she was ready for his next visit.

When she met Red again, she gave him the list. He took it, checked the name and made mental comparison with what he had gathered on his side. His assumptions had been right. Smiling to her, he came closer and took her paws in his.

"Time for the final act, my dear friend."

Forcing a timid smile on her muzzle, Patricia knew she had lost before it even began.