Chapter 2

Allies from the Past

"He shouldn't be to upset, he's only been separated from her for 10 years aannd three months, four at the most." Nick thought walking through the morning cold of Tundra Town. Nick was nervous, Nick chuckled at the thought of all he had been through and he was never so sure about anything then those times but when it came to confrontation with a friend he was always worried about losing a friend for some dumb argument they would forget in following months, especially a friend as good a Finnick.

As he rounded the corner of the last street the apartment complex he was headed for came into view. The apartment was neither his nor Finnick's, it actually belonged to some old friends. Three sisters all artic foxes, there was Jessica the oldest or just the leader of the three Nick new a lot about them but didn't know that much, Jamie the second oldest, she was the strongest of the three, she hated losing and it didn't matter what games, aruements, or friends especially the last one, and then there was the youngest of the three vixens Jasmine, the one Finnick has a crush on, she was the most and caring of the three, she was also the shyest of them, Nick notice many times that it prevented her from saying what could have been volumes in her life.

Nick stopped outside of the apartment complex his nervousness was really getting to him now, he had been back in Zootopia for a week, he knew he should have come here sooner but he wanted to get his bearings straight and see what's changed in the last ten years. Nick walked in into the apartment, was stopped by the call system that has you call into a specific apartment and get buzzed in. Nick chuckled and pulled out of his pocket a set of keys and unlocked the gate and walked through. He went up three floors and went to apartment 7C, an apartment he knew all to well. Nick grabbed the knob and slowly twisted it, "good it's unlock" he thought. In an instance he through the door open walked in and shut it behind him. He now in the middle of the room and he had four sets of eyes on him, two artic foxes, a fenneck, and to his surprise a very fimiliar oclet. Nick simled, and said.

"Freeze, all of you are under arrest"

"Nick!"

The two vixens Jessica and Jamie yelled running up to Nick to hug him nearly tackling him.

"Well hello to you to" Nick said barely catching himself from falling and finally returning the death hugging grip of the two vixens embrace. He let go to greet the other two.

"Well it's been sometime sense we've seen each other hasn't it, Tiff?" Nick recalled the octet's name Tiffany and how she hated it.

Nick turned to the fenneck to his right and decided to joke with him. Nick bent down and said in a childish way.

"Oh hey there little guy how you doing there?"

Nick was caught off guard and unlike with the vixens he was unable to keep himself from falling backwards as the fenneck tackle him.

"I want my van Nick"

"You'll get it Finnick, I promise, you've only been separated from it for 10 years and like 3 months calm down." Nick was choke as the fenneck was starting to strangle him.

"How long have you been back any way Nick? Cause I see that you only have the keys here to the apartment if you went to the lot, where my vans been parked for the last eleven years." Finnick starting to tighten his grip around Nick's neck.

"Like a week"

"A WEEK!, I'm going to kill you"

Nick knew at this moment he was going to die as it felt like the fenneck was going to break his neck. Nick started to coke and gag.

"Um Finnick is everything alright?"

As if on que Jasmine came out of the kitchen and when Finnick turned and saw he jumped off of Nicks chest and with a smile said.

"Jasmine everything's alright, oh and nick is back finally." Pointing at nick now getting up off the floor rubbing his neck where the fenneck had been successfully choking him. Jasmine turned and looked at him, she smiled.

"It's good to see you nick, are you hungry, thirsty?"

"No thank you I'm good." He turned to Finnick.

"We'll get your van later tonight, all I've done since I've been back is make sure the lot everything at the lot was good. We need to get going in fact if we want to get it registered, the DMV has sloths working at it and we'll be there all day." Nick of course ment no offense to the sloths it's just that they are slow mammals.

"Ok Nick, Tiff wanna come with?" Both Nick and Finnick looked at her.

"Alright I'll come with you two" She said.

"Good let's get going." Nick said.

"Your leaving? But you just got here nick" Jamie said.

"I know but I need to get Finnick's van back, I be long this time I swear. Goodbye Jamie, Jessica, Jasmine."

"Bye" Jessica said

"Goodbye Nick" Jasmine said

"You better come back" Jamie said.

With their goodbyes said they left.

It took maybe thirty minutes to get to the DMV in downtown, and to their surprise they saw a line going down the block and around the corner.

"This is going to be a long day indeed." Nick said.

They got in line and waited and waited and waited, they had no clue how long it took for them to get in the building but must have been around noon. Tiff saw something that got her attention.

"I'm going to go sit down" she said.

"Ok" nick replied.

"You can go sit down to nick, don't want to look to suspicious." Finnick said.

Nick knew he was looked at differently since he arrived and mammals noticed he was wearing his standard multiuse military coat but didn't know why.

"Why?"

"You've been back for a week and don't know, mammals have been worried the returning vets that have PTSD might go ballistic and kill mammals, it's not a pred prey thing because some mammals have been injured by both, it's just that their scared. You can go sit down."

"That's not good it might cause unwanted trouble." Nick said looking back at Tiff now sitting in a chair that could hold an elephant, Nick chuckled at the sight of it. Finnick looked at the chuckling fox towering above him start to yawn.

"You can go sit down, I'll be fine"

Nick looked at him curiously.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, besides your the only one of us that's wearing that coat, I stopped wearing mine after a month, and Tiff got new clothes as soon as she got back, I've stayed in contact with the others and they put it away directly or noticed what it did and then did put it away, so I guess your the only one wearing our colors now."

Nick looked on his left shoulder and saw patch that identified his squad. It was was a circular patch with two rings, on the inner ring was an odd looking mammal of sorts on all four paws in an attack position, some would say it was quite grotesque do to its form and color. It had the head of a red fox with a wolf like snout but as it went down the upper body took on the form of a tiger but it was rhinoceros gray and its front legs were buffalo arms and polar bear paws, as it went back it took on a rabbit like form but had oclet fur it was like this down to its hind paws but it paws had claws which was very unusual, and it's tail was cheetah but with otter brown fur. It's outer ring had two sections of words, the top half, which labeled the the squad in bold capitalized letters, CHIMERAS. It's lower half had bold capitalized words in Latin, FRATRES PER SANGUIS which ment "BROTHERS BY BLOOD". Nick looked at his fenneck friend nodded and went to join Tiff in the multi sized mammal chair.

Hours later Nick and Tiff were still in the same chair but both mammals were asleep. Tiff was on the left side of Nick with her head on his shoulder, breathing peacefully. Nick was slightly tall than Tiff which was odd but no one paid attention, his head was rested on hers and his tail was wrapped around her providing stability and warmth for the two. Then an overjoyed fenneck came with papers in paw. He looked up at the two mammals.

"Ahem, should I leave you two alone so you can catch up with each other?"

Nick and Tiff woke up and looked at how they were wrapped up together and pushed away from each other slightly embarrassed. Nick eyed Finnick for a couple of minutes before speaking.

"So is the van registered?"

"Yes"

The fenneck said over joyed with the fact that he will get to soon drive his van once again. The fenneck looked above the two larger mammals at the clock that rested above their heads and noticed it said 6 p.m.

"Shit! We've missed the afternoon train and it doesn't come back through until 10."

"Guess that means were walking to happytown."

"That will take at least an hour Nick!" Finnick replied.

"If your van is as important to you as you have made it seem then being separated from it just a little longer won't hurt you."

The fenneck drew up an angry expression on his face. Nick smiled.

"Or you can wait the five hours it takes four the train to make its way around Zootopia and that is if there are no delays for a thirty minute ride."

The fenneck huffed out air as he knew nick was right. The hour walk was not bad.

"Alright Nick let's get going."

"Hey you two I've been wondering what's the lot you are taking me to?"

Nick noticed Tiff had a curious look on her face, he smiled at her and his smile through her off guard.

"Its home Tiff its home"

The three left and before they knew it they had entered happy town with a few before dark, with nick in the lead, Finnick following closely behind him, and Tiff bringing up the rear. Nick was leading because he knew about how Happytown has become a low point in Zootopia so he lead them observing everything so they wouldn't run into trouble. They were now less than half a block from the lot and nick saw something that caught his attention so he stopped causing the others to run into him Nick knew his sudden stop wouldn't bring any unwanted attention with other mammals walking along the sidewalk, he pulled a map out of his pocket turned toward the others and looked like a tourist.

"What's the matter Nick have you forgotten where the lot is?" The fenneck said angrily while the oclet behind him was confused about the current situation.

"No, it's just this place sounded much better in the discription".

Nick said this looking at the fenneck and oclet while flicking his right ear continuously. Then both fenneck and oclet caught the ear signal and slowly turned their heads to look across the street and saw a torn up park with a lone mammal sitting on a bench moving their head to make an occasional glance up right towards the lot. They look back at Nick an nod, signaling they've spotted the mammal.

"Ah, now I've found where we are come on"

Nick then lead them to blocks further down and into an alley out the lone mammals view. Nick checking back to make sure they weren't followed by anyone.

"Ok, so you guys saw that obvious hint at hey don't look here I'm trying to hide so my target won't spot me right, we need to see if max has found us." Nick said

"And if he has found us?, what do we do then?, do we let him or run?, and what about the others?, what about James?" Nick saw a face of worry on Tiff, a face that only came out when she was worried about James.

"Don't worry Tiff he can handle himself and he has john to help him anyone who tries to hurt them will have a reckoning". Nick put on a reassuring smile for Tiff, not that he didn't think they couldn't he really did believe it they were able to handle themselves alone they've proven it before, and together they were even better they may have not been Chimera brothers but being actual brothers made up for that. Nick turned to Finnick and lost his his smile for a look with purpose.

"we need to figure out who is watching the the lot and why?" Nick said

"I'll go" Finnick offered

"No, I won't risk it being max and not on good terms, if it is him we may already be in trouble, Jessica and the girls will be good max knows we wouldn't tell them anything so that end is tied up, but he may not be looking for you guys just me, I'll go and figure out who it is."

"And if it is Max and if he tries to get cs13 from you, and learns you destroyed it?" Finnick said angrily.

"He'll leave you guys alone, he knows me well enough to know I wouldn't lie about that" The two looked at nick with biwilderment as he said that to them so light heartedly.

"And what do we do if or when he captures you?" Finnick said in a stern voice.

"Get the van in all the commotion, run, find the others and hide till you know they don't care about you, by the way how have you been keeping in touch with the others?"

"I've... we've been useing false addresses and there's vets in the working in the mail system that help us and don't ask any questions, why?" The fenneck was caught off guard by the foxes last statement, giving him and Tiff a shocked face.

"Because if he's ordered to he'll kill me he will do because he knows I know he has much to lose if he doesn't do it." Nick said looking away.

"You don't plan on coming back" Tiff said as more of a statement than a question.

"It's a greater possibility than me coming back." Nick said looking back at them with a sad face.

"But that will only happen if it's Max. Now stay here and keep a look out." Nick said with a grin to relieve his friends of a sadness that fell on them.

Nick left with haste because of a possible threat that now looms over him and his friends. Nick went around so he could enter the park from the opposite side that is facing the lot. I have to hurry the others are at risk the longer I take. Nick thought.

Nick entered the park with one thing in his mind who is on that bench and what do they have behind them. Nick was so focused on this that he didn't notice he had stepped on an old paper with his right paw it twisted and slipped. His mussels visibly tightened as he fell backwards to the ground. He looked at the bench where the lone mammal sat, he noticed the mammal didn't move in Nicks mess up.

Nick got up looking at his right hind paw and ankle "thank you for your toughness Georgie or I'd be limping no". He sat next to the mammal still getting no reaction. Nick began identifying the mammal, bunny, female, athletic but not in a spec ops or military way, gray and white fur with the exception of her black tipped ears.

"She doesn't look like max sent her but I've been wrong before, I need see what she knows to know for sure." Nick thought

Nick needed to make conversation but there wasn't a way if she asked about him falling he could have gone from there but she didn't, she must be thinking about something very deeply. Then she began to chuckle and he saw his chance to interrogate her.

"What's so funny is it something in the paper?"

Nick almost couldn't keep from laughing when the bunny jumped from relization of him being there. Nick knew he had truly scared her by the look on her face so he put on a concerning look and played along.

"I'm sorry did I scare you? I didn't mean to"

"No, you just startled me that's all"

At this point Nick had crossed any kind of spec ops or military off by looking at her, could she be a common criminal? He looked away to continue the interrogation and make it look as to random mammals were talking to each other.

"So do you come here often?"

"Not as often as I should"

Nick raised his ear because she sounded like she choked out those last words. She sounded like she cared about others he needed to be sure. He saw what was in front of him knew just how to do that.

"Can't say I blame you now that I look at this place, the equipment is so rusted I'm surprised it hasn't fallen apart"

Nick wasn't lying he was actually surprised the equipment was still standing.

"I remember this place when it was actually nice, it would probably be filled with kits, I know it was when I was a kit, then again that was twenty some odd years ago, a lot can change in that time."

Nick regained his focus. He actually started to lose himself there. This had become horrible sense he was a kit.

"This place sounds like it was beautiful."

Nick got all he needed from the bunny. He knew with that last comment and how she said it that she wasn't a killer, she may be planning to rob the lot but she wouldn't hurt any one. Got up turned to leave but stopped.

"Well it was nice speaking to you miss but it seems I must be going, goodbye."

"Goodbye to you to" she replied.

Nick left in a hurry going the way he came to get back to Finnick and Tiff. He hoped she wasn't planning on robbing the lot and if she is hopefully she works alone. Nick couldn't risk exposing himself, she may not work for Max but the threat still exists, and if he exposes himself then he'll have to take Finnick and Tiff and go get the others.

Nick got back to the others and saw that they had made their way down deeper into the alley.

"Ok guys that mammal on the bench doesn't pose a bad threat but we still need to be careful."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY BAD THREAT!"

The fenneck said angrily throwing a bottle at nick that barely managed to escape watching it fly out the alley across the street into the apposing alley where it finally broke on a dumpster.

"She doesn't work for Max but she may be planning on robbing the lot."

"Than we need to go get my van now!"

"No, if we go now she'll know how many of us there are and will get help to back her up which means we'll have an unknown number of assailants on us wanting and don't how many of them are armed and with what. We need to wait until nightfall and we have cover to hide they won't expect that."

"So we'll be hiding here for a little while longer than?" Tiff said.

"Not exactly" nick said with a smile.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Tiff thought. Night had fallen and they were making their way to the lot but the way they were doing is what pissed her off. How did I get stuck in this situation.

Just a few hours earlier Nick took Tiff to a nearby thrift shop and got her new clothes.

"Tiff I need you to look like a criminal so you can break into the lot and trick whoever is hiding out."

"I know but do I have to dress like this?"

Tiff came out I've a dressing room in big dark clothes, up close it was obvious that she was an oclet in clothes for a lager species, but from a distance a mammal would have trouble identifying her.

"Yes, yes you do" Nick said with a smile

Tiff now cut directly into the lot and started heading for the wherehouse. She closed her eyes and exhaled and her ears snapped up and she could hear for an incredible distance. She heard Nick and Finnick get into position on the other side of the wherehouse, and it was muffled by the hood she was wearing but it sounded like the mammal from earlier was calling for help. She was now at the window, opened it and crawled in and shut the window behind her. She turned around and saw Nick and Finnick inside already. She opened the garage door and went back in towards Nick and whispered to him.

"I thick she called for help we need to go."

"No, not yet, go see what you can hear."

Tiff looked at Nick an then at Finnick who now must be his van. Tiff turned and walked partially out of the open door. Her ears flicked up and listened. She heard sirens, horns, and a faint breathing just feet to her right. She turned and walked in and signaled to Nick the location of the breathing. Nick returned singnal by telling her to return to the apartment in tundra town. She nodded and left out of the back of the wherehouse. Nick and Finnick watched Tiff leave.

Nick was in position where he was halfway hidden by the light coming in from outside when a bunny came running through the open door and said the most rediculos and cutest thing ever, which caused Nick and Finnick to turn around.

"Freeze!"

Nick chuckled st how the bunny was trying to be intimidating. He wanted her gone without incident so he decided to intimidate her by saying.

"You shouldn't be here, now leave."

Nick could tell that the bunny was getting inferiated.

"No, you shouldn't be here now get down on the ground and put your paws behind your head."

Her response caught nick off guard but he paid no attention to it. "I need to try harder" he thought. He took a step forward.

"And if I don't,"

"Then I'll have to use force"

Nick chuckled and started to walk forward.

"I'd like to see you try"

The bunny lunged at Nick and he would be lying if he said her speed didn't surprise him. Nick was able to push her away easily. "She is quite athletic, and this is the same bunny from earlier?" Nick thought. Nick was holding back he didn't want to hurt her, but he was holding to much back. She lunged at him again and this time got on his back, there were multiple ways he could have gotten her off but they would have hurt her and nick didn't want that. Then Finnick finally joined in and turned his vans head lights on, catching the bunny off guard, nick grabbed her and through her at a very large stack of boxes. He came to regret doing this because the boxes began to fall, he noticed they would have crushed the rabbit.

"Carrots" he yelled

Nick lunged at her but was to late the boxes landed on both of them. Nick pushed the boxes off of them and noticed the bunny wasn't moving he checked her pulse. "She's just unconscious, good she be fine"he thought.

Then three ZPD squad cars came rolling into the parking lot and stopped just outside the door officers rushing out pointing tranquilizer guns at the fox and fenneck.

"Freeze you both are under arrest!"

Nick now realized by what the bunny meant earlier. She's a cop. "a real live bunny cop, the world has changed" nick thought.

Authors Notes

Sorry this chapter took longer I had some personal matters come up. Questions may have have arose like why didn't nicks ankle hurt or who is Max and why wasn't Nick nocked out too? All these questions will be answered in do time. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.