Continued from Chapter 52
trrrrrrCLUNG!
"Well darn," Judy said plainly as a prison door in the holding area of the ZPD slammed on her. Nick was led into the cell opposite hers.
"You two keep y'selves company, Chief Bogo'll be down to talk to you shortly, shorties," Officer McHorn said; the rhino walking off with heavy footsteps.
"That was uncalled for," Nick said, chuckling.
"Well, we had a good run, Piberius," Judy smirked, looking at her black-furred hands. "But they finally got us."
"That they did, my little jewel," Nick winked.
Judy sighed in exasperation, though she didn't dislike the compliment. "C'mon, even when I have an alias you can't use it?"
"A lot of good it will do us now," Nick kicked back, sitting on his prison bed.
Chief Bogo walked into the room with his hands behind his back. "Well well. If it isn't Amethyst and Piberius. Seems like your vigilante days have come to an end."
"Took you long enough," Nick smirked, kicking his feet playfully.
"Right?" Judy smirked. "We've been at this for a good four or five years now, at least!"
"Shut your mouths!" Bogo glared at each of them in turn. "I'm going to throw the book at you two. I'll find every charge, every endangerment, every trespass that we can prove on you two and you two will rot in the Zootopia Detention Center!"
"Aw, you're breakin' my heart, Chief," Nick yawned. "What'll the mayor think about that?"
"The mayor has nothing to do with this," Bogo sneered. "Don't expect him to pardon you once I read him the list of everything you've done."
"You mean like saving the city over and over," Nick's eyes half-lid.
"Some appreciation for you..." Judy sucked at her teeth and shook her head.
"The only big thing we can even prove you did is put away that Canid Virus psychopath," Chief Bogo huffed. "But other than that, you've just had the fortune to be at crime scenes before we get there. Other than that, you're nobodies, nothing! You especially, fox. You're not even on our records!"
Nick got up and held the bars. "That's because I'm a good boy."
"Aw, yes he is," Judy added in a playful voice.
Chief Bogo huffed in annoyance. "And you!" He turned to Judy. "Just wait till the DNA we just took from you comes back. I can't wait to know exactly who you are, if you're in our books. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me and save me some time?"
Judy developed a surprisingly serious look. "You've never done me any favors, Chief, so I don't see why I should start helping you now."
Chief Bogo froze and his jaw dropped an inch. A wave of understanding crashed over him. "...Hopps?" His pupils shrunk. He grabbed at the bars of her cell, his face exploding into rage. "JUDY HOPPS!?"
"Ding ding," Judy said, smiling with her eyes half-lid. "Told you I wasn't just some token bunny."
"You...!" Bogo released the bars and swung his arm through the air in anger. "You don't know when to quit, do you, you insane little mammal!? We've had to clean up all the messes you made through your reckless behavior. Your little train incident, the supposed alliance between Mr. Big and the ZPD."
"Yeah, that was all me," Judy wore a half-smile, but it then turned into a frown. "But I told myself I was going to make this world a better place, and I have been."
"Yes, well, your lawless gallivanting around the city is over now, Hopps," Bogo sneered. "I'll see you at your sentencing." Bogo stormed off.
Judy sighed and leaped back onto her prison bed. "Hey, you think Honey will bust us out?"
"Well, we don't check in with her too often, so I doubt she'll even notice we're gone for quite awhile," Nick sighed.
"She doesn't read the news?" Judy winced.
"Sheep propaganda, remember?" Nick smirked. Judy rolled her eyes. "She's probably trying to figure out who put the "ram" in the rama-lama-ding-dong."
"Well boogity-boogity-shoo," Judy said in disappointment, twisting her mouth. "...You know what's really sad, Nick?"
"What's that, Bun?" Nick stretched.
"This bed is more comfortable than the one I had at Pangolin Arms," Judy huffed.
"Wow, that is sad..."
One month later, Chief Bogo was sitting at the desk in his office, rubbing his temples. Karen Skippel, an arctic hare Technical Officer at the ZPD, headed into the room with her iPawpad ready.
"Your report, Skippel?" Bogo said wearily.
"It's actually worse than I thought, and I'm kind of paranoid," Karen said in her somewhat boyish voice. "Compared to last year at this time, crime has risen by five hundred percent."
"Five hundred..." Bogo said quietly. "And long term prospects?"
"Averaging out that increase in crime rate over this month, we're looking at maybe close to ten times the incidental crimes this year compared to last year," Karen said. "If things don't get worse."
"We're completely swamped and understaffed," Chief Bogo grumbled, standing up and looking out his window. "Clawhauser is on the phone for almost his entire shift, taking calls and dispatching units." Karen remained quiet. "How is it that just those two tiny mammals manage to keep Zootopia under their paws? Surely they wouldn't make that much of a difference in a spree of crime like this..."
"Piberius and Amethyst? I'm not an expert on psychology, sir," Karen said, "but it might have to do with... their unpredictability. They're a deterrent to crime because criminals never know when they'll show up and they know they're in for a painful shock and or a sleep, usually ending with them in jail."
"But they're breaking the law, they're breaking procedures," Chief Bogo shook his head. "What can I do now? I've done my job. I've done what I'm supposed to do." Chief Bogo looked at Karen, and Karen blinked, seeing that the Chief actually looked worried. "I'm bound to the law. But is the law keeping me from doing what's proper?"
Karen stammered a bit. "I... I cannot objectively weigh in on this, sir."
"Indeed," Chief Bogo huffed. "Where are we with those two?"
"The reports on them are still being compiled," Karen shook her head. "It's slow going, because everyone is busy trying to stem the tide of the crime wave we're under." Karen sighed. "And you know I can't do the report because of a conflict of interest."
"Officer Skippel," Chief Bogo said, his voice becoming gentle. "What do you think of Amethyst and Piberius?"
"I um... well, I..." Karen grit her teeth, her eyes darting around.
"Permission to speak freely granted," Bogo said softly.
"When I looked up the information on that rhino Grit Hornbody for his sentencing..." Karen looked off to the side, "I was shocked to see the amount of murders he was wanted for. He was a hitmammal for a crime lord. Then, he went rogue on his boss, so he became even more dangerous. Those two vigilantes quite possibly saved my life, and I was so hesitant to give them credit because of how they did their work..."
Chief Bogo closed his eyes and thought, then opened them. "Can we get the mayor involved?"
Karen shook his head. "We're obligated to give him our report before he can pardon them..."
"What am I to do...?" Chief Bogo clenched his fists. "I can't just release them. If I do, faith in the police and the judicial system will be torn to shreds, and it's already been damaged by our lack of ability to halt this crime wave."
"If they could have broken out of jail, I'm sure they would have by now," Karen said pensively.
Bogo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Yes. I'm pretty sure they would have."
"Kinda feels weird to see my natural fur color again," Judy said wistfully, looking over herself in her jail cell. "I'd gotten used to being black."
"What was it they said?" Nick pondered. "Once you go black you never go back?"
"Well, not like I had a choice in the matter," Judy laughed.
"Hi you two!" Benjamin Clawhauser said, coming down to visit them in their holding cells. "Doing okay in here?"
"We're fine, Clawhauser," Judy smiled.
"You know, it just warms my heart that you two are always in such a good mood," Clawhauser said. "I don't think I could do so well in jail."
"Eh, I've got good company," Judy smiled. Nick winked and clicked his teeth.
"That is just so nice," Clawhauser said. "Well, I'm going to be even more company tonight if you two don't mind."
"I mean, I wouldn't expect you to leave if we said so," Nick chuckled. "You're the guard for tonight?"
"I am!" Clawhauser nodded. "Everyone's having to pull more hours because of the crime wave affecting the city." Nick and Judy both hummed in disappointment.
"Really sorry you couldn't be on the ZPD right now, Judy," Clawhauser said apologetically.
"Stuff happens," Judy smiled. "We did all we could."
Abruptly, the lights flickered twice.
"Ooh, the signal!" Clawhauser said excitedly.
"Huh, is there a thunderstorm?" Nick wondered.
"If there is, I can't hear it," Judy shook her head. Clawhauser started backing up against Nick's jail cell.
The lights completely shut off.
"Oh no!" Clawhauser said in a forced voice. "I am afraid of the dark and something appears to have cut power to the station! And it just so happens our emergency lighting is on the fritz as well! It is a shame my night vision isn't as good as a fox's."
There was a jingling sound and the sound of two heavy doors opening.
"Nick!?" Judy said as she felt a paw on her wrist.
"Let's go!" Nick said.
Judy resisted. "I can't go! I'm not going to get Clawhauser fired because of this!"
"You'd rather rot in jail?" Nick's eyes widened at the unseeing Judy. "Let's go! This is all obviously part of some sort of plan, you dumb bunny!"
"He's right, Judy!" Clawhauser said in a loud whisper. "You two have fun. And run fast, 'cuz Officer Cheetahmin is supposed to make a show of chasing you!"
Judy's unseeing eyes widened as she was yanked away by Nick.
A trio of raccoons burst into a bank, all drawing stun guns. Screams broke out among animals both big and small.
"This is a robbery!" The tallest of the three raccoons said, waving his stun gun. "These things are set on' elephant', so no one make any funny moves! Lemmy! Jerry! Get the caaa-AAA-GAGAGAGAGA!" The raccoon fell onto the floor, twitching.
"Funny," Nick said in his full Piberius costume, twirling his electric rod weapon and posing with it. "Mine's set to 'annoying small mammal that's reinforcing his species stereotype.'"
"It's Piberius!" One of the underling raccoons wailed.
"Isn't he supposed to be in jail!?" The other one shrieked.
"Who cares!? Shoot him!" Both of the raccoons aimed their stun guns and fired.
"I was supposed to be in jail," Nick said. "But that wasn't really working out for me." He spun his staff at a high rate of speed and entangled the barbs of the stun guns on the ends of them before they reached them. Splitting apart his staff at the halfway point, he yanked with both hands and the raccoons found themselves disarmed. "Amethyst? If you'd be so kind."
"Coming through!" Judy burst onto the scene, again sporting black fur. She unsheathed her sword and leaped cleanly around, carefully nicking both bewildered raccoons.
"Amethyst too!?" One of them said in despair as he grabbed at his nicked arm in reaction.
"Poke!" Judy said, poking the zapped raccoon gently on the shoulder with her tranquilizer-soaked sword. She cleaned it, posed down on one knee, and sheathed it. "Blade of Tranquility... eh, you know the rest."
The two standing raccoons slumped to the ground and all three of them fell into slumber.
"Amethyst and Piberius!" A female hippo bank teller said in awe. "Thank you so much!"
"We've called the police," a male ferret said worriedly. "M-maybe you two should go?"
"Got it!" Judy said energetically. "Ready to get out of here, Tibby?"
"Tibby?" Even from behind his mask, Nick made a movement with his face that looked disgusted. "Yeah, ready when you are, 'Ammy'."
Judy just laughed. "See you guys!" She casually threw a small spherical object into the air, and Nick thrust his reformed staff into it. A large burst of purple smoke rushed out in all directions, and when it cleared, the two were gone.
"Those two are so cool!" The hippo excitedly said, her hands close to her chin.
"Yeah, I wonder if they'll make comic books about them or something?" The ferret scratched at his ear with one claw.
Mayor Vince Mousawitz calmly took the small podium, waiting for the crowd to die down so he could speak uninterrupted.
"It's become common knowledge that the vigilantes known as Amethyst and Piberius have escaped incarceration one month ago today," Mousawitz said in his very deep, rich voice. "Subsequently, we have seen a harsh drop in the crime rate that spiked immediately following their imprisonment." Mousawitz paused, taking a deep breath. "Upon reviewing the supposed crimes of Amethyst and Piberius, especially given what we have learned of their true identities..." Mousawitz closed his eyes, but then opened them intensely. "I have decided to give both of them a full mayoral pardon."
There was sharp gasping and immediate questions flew about the room.
"Does that mean they are above the law!?"
"Will you be releasing their identities at this time?"
"Does the ZPD work with these vigilantes?"
"Is this part of some conspiracy?"
"Please, hold your questions to the end," Mousawitz gently held out his hands and moved them slightly downwards repeatedly in a "simmer down" gesture. "We will not be releasing the identities of Amethyst and Piberius out of respect for not wishing to put them or their families in danger. And no, they are not above the law. The ZPD is still ready and willing to take them in should they cross the line."
"But don't their actions blur that line, mayor Mousawitz!?"
"Let me say this," Mousawitz said, furrowing his brow. "Those of you watching this program, those evildoers who would think to do Zootopia harm. Whatever dark corners of our fair city you lurk in, know that in an even darker corner, Amethyst and Piberius lurk. Think twice before you engage your plots, because you know that they can find you where the ZPD cannot. They are watching. They are our guardians. Now. Any questions?"
The image of Mousawitz froze.
"Aw, why'd you pause it?" Judy sucked at her teeth as both of them reclined on Nick's couch in his apartment. "I was getting chills! Mousawitz is such a great speaker!"
"Text from Honey," Nick said, looking at his phone. "She's tracked a group of sheep that are smuggling illegal electronics to the Port Krill shipping yard."
Judy thrust her head back onto the couch in frustration, squinting her eyes shut. "Sheep!? Really!? Like, seriously!?"
"Hey, bad guys are bad guys," Nick clicked his teeth and got up, tossing his phone on the couch. "Let's go take 'em out."
"At this point, I'm thinking of interrogating one of them until they admit that there is a sheep conspiracy, even if there isn't," Judy mumbled, launching herself off of the couch and grabbing her gear. "Just to shut Honey up."
Nick pointed dramatically at the door with a big grin, his brow furrowed. "Off we go, Amethyst! To the sheeping yard!"
"You did not just say that," Judy's voice was completely deadpan and she shot him a disparaging look.
"Aw, c'mon," Nick winked. "You know you're crazy about me."
"I kinda am," Judy half lid her eyes and smiled fondly. "You certainly drive me crazy."
"Drive, huh," Nick rushed out of the apartment with her. "Hey, you think we should get some sort of cool car?"