AN: I'd like to thank all you who commented on the story. It makes me happy that so many people are enjoying this story. And it has surpassed over 700 visitors and is not far away from 2000 views! I think I will be keeping the story at a once per week update schedule going forward.


Chapter Nine

Haunting Faces

Judy could not move. Nick and Bogo looked to her. Richards remained stoic. Xavier just looked at the rabbit in front of him. Jack slowly sat back in his chair, his nose still twitching. He held a paw up to stop it to no avail. He knew that the last two names would not be dead in this reality. Judy's presence here gave Jack the belief. And judging by Xavier's reaction and the fact that no word had come from the other room, he knew he was right. His nose stopped as he spoke aloud, "Better run those names. I bet all eleven are still alive and kicking."

Bogo reach down and grabbed the pad from Judy. She gave a shout of objection, but the buffalo ignored it. He tossed it over to Richards. "Richards," Bogo spoke.

The wolf perked up, but was unable to catch the pad in time. It smacked his shoulder and fell to the floor. He reach down to pick it up as Bogo continued, "Run the names."

"Yes sir." The wolf scurried out of the room in a hurry. Judy finally spoke up, "What game is he playing."

"Your parents aren't dead," Nick chimed in, "Then why say their names?"

"To get at me?" Judy suggested.

"But why then?" Nick asked.

"None of what he is saying makes any sense," Bogo added as he pressed the intercom system, "Xavier you are done, let him stew in there for now."

Not objecting the panda rose from his seat and went for the exit. As he opened the door Jack looked to the mirror and spoke, "How are the parents Judy?"

His voice was not layered with the sarcasm he was speaking with before. It wasn't even confident. It was if he genuinely wanted to know, like he was concerned for them.

Jack knew it was only a matter of time before they came back with eleven still alive mammals. He knew he just had to wait. He knew he was taking a gamble with admitting to murder, but there were no dead mammals at his paws in this Zootopia. He had a clean slate. And he figured now they would believe his story of him coming from another world. He just wanted to get Ness and leave this building, and work on getting home.

A little more than fifteen minutes passed before the door to the interrogation room opened again. Jack watched as Nick, and only him, walked into the room. He closed the large door behind him and jumped into the chair opposite Jack. He was holding a red manila folder, the default for the ZPD, with several papers stuffed inside. He placed it on the table, but did not open it as he spoke, "Why Stu and Bonnie?"

"Why I killed them?" Jack asked. He was rather happy it was not Judy in the room at the moment, but he figured Bogo denied just because of her parents. This was a conversation he always thought he would have with Judy one day. But not in the circumstances he was in at the moment. His nose gave a small twitch.

"Yes." Nick confirmed.

"Well," Jack explained, "I wasn't doing it of my own volition; I was ordered to kill the two of them."

"By who?"

"By a Mister Vincent Valentine."

"And who is this Valentine?"

"He is a panda; the head of one of the largest crime syndicates in my Zootopia. He bought me in an auction after my mother sold me. He didn't treat me like many mammals treat the ones they buy. I was like a son to him. And he saw how I viewed the world. He saw how I hated it and everyone joyful. My mother was the root of all my hatred. Vincent taught me to take that anger and express it."

"Through murder."

"Not at first," Jack corrected, "He just taught me how to make the world feel as I felt. As if everything was against them. The easiest way to do that was to take their happiness from them. Give them nothing but grief, just like my mother gave me. And it was once I was eighteen that he finally let me make someone feel that way."

"The Hopps?"

"Yes," Jack confirmed, "Vincent had been trying to establish a foothold in the burrows for some drug growing operation. But there were laws preventing any random mammal from just purchasing land out there. So he planned to disrupt the community, cause a commotion to allow him to weasel his way in. And what better commotion than a murder.

"He could have chosen anyone, but he wanted to make the biggest commotion possible. Giving him the biggest smoke screen to swoop in under. And what better target than the heads of the largest farm in Bunnyburrow? And why not send a bunny to kill a bunny? No one would think any the wiser to seeing a bunny walking around a place with over eighty million other bunnies."

Jack paused as he got to the next part of his story, "It was simple. The rage I had building up for years, I was finally able to release it all. Stu and Bonnie had barely any time to process that they were dying. But a small kit that snuck into the room because of a nightmare did. What she saw was the worst nightmare any young bun could witness. She was paralyzed with fear, but I couldn't let her escape and call for help. I may have been a killer, but a kit was out of the question. So I made sure she wouldn't expose me. A cut right through her right leg, made a big gash. She screamed in pain and I left. No one ever found out it was me. Poor little Judith Hopps knew, but she never saw me after that day. Not in the flesh, but definitely in her new nightmares.

"I ruined that little bunny's dreams." Jack looked dead into Nick's eyes, "You know Judy well. You know how much being a cop drives her. Now imagine that being taken away from her when she was a kit. By a mysterious bunny that killed her parents. Giving her a permanent limp preventing her from becoming a cop. Should that not kill you from the inside?"

Nick did not respond. Jack looked to the floor and continued, "It did for me. The first time I killed, and it nearly destroyed me. So I did the only thing I could do, I killed more. Vincent had more jobs for me as the years went on. They didn't help me. I saw the Hopps' faces every night. Judy's tormented me the most. Those big purple eyes filled with fear, fear I caused. I took jobs on my own. Trying to bury those faces. But they would always come back every night. I was tormented with no end. And that is when my Nicholas Wilde finally arrested me.

"I thought that was it, I was going to end up behind bars for the rest of my life. Maybe even get the death sentence. Instead that dumb fox didn't do that. He saw the potential in me, said that I could do far more great than I did evil. I did anything to get me out of a prison sentence. All I had to do was to take murder jobs, but not commit the murders. In the few years with the ZPD I prevented twelve deaths. And it was this that finally made those faces that tormented me disappeared. But Judy's always remained. There was no getting rid of that small bun's face. Ever."

Jack stopped talking, and silence filled the small room. Jack's nose was twitching again; he didn't try to stop it this time. Nick hesitated at first, but finally spoke up, "None of them are dead."

Jack looked as Nick opened the file and laid out the papers inside. Each of them showed the mammals he had listed off, save for the Hopps, and each of them was alive and well. None of them were pushing up daisies early. He looked to Nick. Nick spoke up, "I guess I am really much like your Nick am I?"

Jack broke a smile he had long since banished, "Like twins."

Nick gave a laugh, "Then I bet you know he is a very good reader of mammals. And what I can get from you is that you are telling the truth about everything."

"So what now?" Jack asked, "Am I going to be arrested?"

"There is the crux of our problem here," Nick stated. The door opened and in stepped the cape buffalo Chief Bogo. Bogo strode over and stood next to Nick. Bogo spoke first, "There comes the jurisdiction over you Mister Savage."

"You really believe what Nick believes Bogo?" Jack was surprised that the stone faced buffalo would except a story like this. Jack figured he would be off to the loony bin right now.

"Officer Wilde has shown time and time again as a good judge of character and truth. I don't question it since he is usually right. But you did admit to twelve murders. Yet none of them can be proven in our Zootopia."

"What are you getting at?" Jack questioned where the buffalo was going with this.

"You essentially have no criminal record. Yes you did assault officers, but you also help capture a highly wanted fugitive."

No one said anything. Jack looked to Bogo and asked, "So what are you going to do with me?"

"Procedure says I should have you arrested for your crimes. But there are no crimes present here. But you are also a danger to society. Yet, you seem to be reformed. Then there comes the question of your watch."

To emphasize this point Bogo reached into his pocket and tossed something onto the table. It came to rest in the center of the metal table, too far for Jack to reach. It was the Nexus, showing no signs of activity. Jack looked to Bogo and back to the watch, "You are giving me back the Nexus?"

"Under one condition."

"And that is?" Jack didn't like where this is going.

"You head back to your Zootopia."

Jack feared this would be the buffalo's condition. A condition he couldn't meet at this point. Jack sighed, "I'm afraid I can't do that?"

"Don't want to go back?" Nick asked.

"That's all I want to do." Jack disagreed.

"Then why not?" Bogo didn't see the problem.

Jack looked to the Nexus, "Because the Nexus lacks the ability to know where I jump, or where I jumped from. It was complete randomness that brought me here. I came from a different reality where animals were savage and there were these strange hairless creatures running everything. If I attempted to jump again, I may never be able return home."

"So you are stuck here?" All three occupants of the room turned to the new voice. Standing in the doorway was Judy.

"For the time being, yes," Jack answered turning away from the other bunny.

"For the time being?" Nick asked.

Jack looked to the Nexus, "The Nexus contains some advanced computer intelligence system that is currently running calculations on a possible method of tracking jumps. And a possible jump home."

"A what?" Judy asked.

Jack nodded towards the Nexus, "If I can have it, it can explain."

Nick reached forward and pushed the Nexus the rest of the way across the table. Jack grabbed it with his still cuffed arms and brought it into his lap. Judy and Bogo stepped closer to get a look at Jack. Nick remained seated. Jack lopped the Nexus around his right wrist below the cuff. It instantly reacted by reattaching and the waves of energy returned. The screen flashed white and Ness's voice filled the room, "Hello again Jack."