AN: I'd like to thank all who have read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. The Runaway Rabbit has hit a few milestones. Over a 1000 views, breaking a dozen follows, and has hit its two month mark. Two months and we have reached Chapter Eleven. Eleven is a very important chapter to this story.

Chapter Eleven is important to the entire story itself. This is related to how the story was first conceived. I joined Fanfiction long ago, but never wrote or read anything on the site. It was not until I saw Zootopia that I decided to read Zootopia fics, and afterwards think about writing my own. The first idea I had for a story was a human in Zootopia one. But, as I planned that one out I didn't like the way it was going with the human character with a device similar to the Nexus. I then decided upon using Jack as my main character. The first idea for the story was to have him get the Nexus and end up in Zootopia right after Judy's first day as an officer. The story would then follow Jack, Judy, and Nick through the events of the movie.

I canned that idea, seeing as I did not want to do a retelling of the movie we all saw. There would be no twists or turns that I could impart as an author. That was when I decided to change it up and use that human story I first envisioned and replace the human with Jack. And that is what The Runaway Rabbit became. But the significance of Chapter Eleven is that in the human story it would have been Chapter Number ONE. Chapters One through Ten were made to establish Jack, the Nexus, and several other things. But Chapter Eleven was the first chapter I ever thought of for this story.


Chapter Eleven

Tropic Thunder

The sun had begun its descent, turning the sky an array of orange, pink, purple, and darker blue. Judy stepped out the entrance of a small clothing store in Savanna Central. The drive to the CAPE store was silent. Jack had pushed himself to the edge of the seat to look out the window. Nick took the other side. No one saw it fit to speak after what transpired in Tundratown. The cruiser was parked in front of the store as Judy walked around the car. She threw the bag of items she just purchased to Jack as she got into her seat. He lazily opened and looked to the items inside. He spoke meekly, "Thanks Judy."

Jack grabbed a simple white t-shirt with blue accents on the edges. He put it on and threw his jacket into the bag. There was also a pair of blue denim jeans and a plaid long sleeve shirt colored black blue and white in the bag. Judy spoke as she turned the car on, "No problem."

She checked, and once she was good she exited the spot and drove with no destination in mind. Jack set the bag on the ground. They came to a red light, "There was something I found back in Tundratown."

Nick and Judy looked to Jack. He didn't look at them; he just kept looking at the bag. He continued, "It wasn't a night howler serum, but it was something else. Baily wasn't faking. Something made her go savage, but it wasn't night howlers."

"What could of it have been?" Nick looked to the rabbit next to him. Judy was looking as well. She missed the light turning green, to which a car in the line let out a honk of annoyance. Judy returned to the road and drove onward. Jack explained, "I found a paw print in the snow," a hologram appeared in the air amongst them of the muddy paw print he was speaking of. Jack continued, "The soil matched that of the Rainforest district. I found a depression in the snow, like the barrel of a gun pointed directly at the house. Yet it was too far for any normal shooter to make a shot with a pellet with night howler serum."

"Then what could it have been?" Nick questioned.

The hologram faded as Jack answered, "I'm not sure, but I was able to track a car that originated near the print."

"Where did they go?" Judy asked this time.

"Arum Drive in the Canal District."

Judy looked to the streets outside, and once finding what she wanted she made a quick right turn, "Nick activate the beacon."

"No backup?" The fox asked as he opened the glove compartment.

"I don't want to waste resources if this isn't exactly true. And don't want to scare whoever did this away with a large police presence if it is."

"So a ping just in case we are in danger," Nick caught on to what Judy was planning.

"Exactly," she confirmed. Nick found the device, a small black box. He pressed a button on the side of it and a little red light on the top of it blinked and faded slowly. A second passed before it blinked and repeated the process. Nick stowed it back where he found it as Judy headed towards the Rainforest District.

Jack looked to the two, "You are actually believing me?"

"Why would you lie to us?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not that, I just didn't think you would trust me."

"It's the best hunch we got in this case at the moment Jack," Judy stated.

The sun had fallen below the horizon and the moon began its ascent as the cruiser with two bunnies and a fox turned onto Arum Drive. The sky began to fill with stars with the aid of little light pollution. The moon was at a first quarter, providing some light along with the limited streetlights that corralled the outskirt street. There was no rain at the moment, but a plume of clouds was not that far off. A roll of thunder echoed from them as they advanced towards the rainforest. The desolate road followed the landscape, cutting through the jungle around it. The land rose to the right and fell to the left. The trees populated the right the most, and large rocks filled the left more.

The road turned left and exposed another straight stretch of road. Ness chimed in, "The point where the car turned off is coming up."

Acknowledging this Judy turned off the headlights of the car and slowed down. She remained at a crawl as an opening in the trees appeared. One paved by cars, where the grass had been uprooted exposing the moist jungle soil underneath. She pulled the car to the side next to the road, blocking it off. Judy shut the car off as everyone undid their seatbelts. They stayed within the car as another clap of thunder signaled the encroachment of the storm.

"So what's the plan?" Jack was the first to ask.

"Stick to the shadows," Nick answered, "the beacon is still on, we will only scout."

"If we find anything," Judy continued, "We will call it in. If these guys have any savage based weaponry we don't want to lone gun it."

Jack nodded agreeing. He stood up and grabbed the handle of the passenger door. He stopped when the cruiser was bathed in white light. All three of them watched as another set of headlights came from the other end of the road. They lowered themselves into the shadows of the car to not be seen, but the car did not pass them by. It came to a stop on the other side of the street a few feet forward. The lights remained on as the passenger door opened and closed. A figured walked in front of the bright beams of the headlights. Passing shadows formed as the figure crossed the street and walked to the cruiser. Judy watched as the mammal approached her side. Nick and Jack looked to the now distinguishable timber wolf.

He got to the window and tapped on the glass. Judy cracked the window slightly; Nick moved his paw to his tranq gun. Jack began to channel energy into his palm. The wolf coughed before speaking, "Are you ok officers?"

"Yes," Judy answered, "Why are you out here sir?"

The wolf gave a chuckle. He rubbed the back of his head with a paw, "Me and some friends got a bit lost. We were trying to get to a buddy's place," He turned and looked to the clouds lingering overhead, "But the storm seems to have messed our GPS up." He turned back to Judy, "Been trying to backtrack for about twenty minutes now,"

Jack noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned slightly to see it, a flash of lightning aiding. He didn't react to the sight of more wolves shuffling through the jungle trees towards them. Acting quickly Jack dove from his spot; he shot his bolt of energy right at the key in the ignition. He fell into the area below the driver's seat. The key turned and the cruiser started. He concentrated on the mass of energy and directed it towards the gear shift. In one fluid motion the car was put into reverse and Jack slammed both of his paws onto the gas. The car lunged backwards, sending Nick and Judy forwards as the car's speed increased. The wolf standing next to the cruiser reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. He fired shots at the fleeing cruiser.

Bullets impacted the resistant windshield glass, causing it to spider web. Judy recovered and gripped the wheel, controlling the car down the road. The shot of electricity had turned on all the systems of the car. The headlights most noticeably. The radio system seemed to take a brunt from the charge and was unresponsive. Judy shouted at the rabbit at the pedals, "What are you doing?"

"Saving our lives," Jack said still in his position at the gas. He removed himself and let Judy take hold. Nick reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the beacon. He pressed another button on it, the red light became solid. He set it to the side as a pair of two headlights appeared in front of the cruiser, and gaining ground. Judy slammed on the brakes. Sending Jack tumbling back to the ground, as well as Nick. She shifted into drive, the tires spinning as she performed a U-turn. Dirt kicked up in their wake as the two pressuring cars narrowed the distance. An array of step ladder of lightning arced overhead.

Jack jumped into the seat with Nick as Judy began to drive down Arum Drive away from the two cars, which were now joined by two solitary headlights, motorcycles. The cruiser had the speed advantage over the tailing cars, but the lighter cycles could easily overtake them. Judy pressed the gas down as much as she could. The street was curved; turns taken too fast would send them tumbling off the road. And this section of the Rainforest District was edged with a steep cliff face overlooking the brown waters of the canals below. The storm overhead roared to life and rain began to blanket the ground. Judy took caution as much as she could with the now slick roads.

Jack looked to the back as more bullet fire hit the car. The back window looked like the front, and then a bullet hit a back tire. Judy fought the wheel for control of the car, a fight she was losing. Charging energy in both of his hands Jack slammed them onto the seat in front of him. He closed his eyes and felt around the car cloaked in the energy. He concentrated on the ripped wheel and pulled the broken rubber together. He also pulled some of the asphalt off of the road. He reformed the blown tire. This new one coated with the pieces of road in spikes. It had better traction and was more resilient. He called off the energy as Judy regained control of the car. She reduced her speed as a sharp bend formed in the road. The car leaned, squishing Nick and Jack against the passenger door.

Jack froze when he saw another pair of headlights emerge from the depths of the forest encircled by the bend. They were moving too fast for him to prevent what was to happen next. He released what energy he had into the front of the cruiser as the car slammed right into the side of them. The tires lost traction and the cruiser and the car were sent off the road into the rock and gravel populated area.

Jack felt weightless as they fell the short distance to the ground. He was slammed into the cushioned seat of the car. The wind was knocked out of his lungs, and he felt something pop out of place. His chest was burning as the cruiser flipped and slammed him into the ceiling. Nick was smashed on top of him. A tree was the next surface the tumbling car hit. It hit the tree at an angle that caused it to jump to the right, into another tree. Jack felt like a stuffed teddy bear in the grip of an overactive infant.

The cruiser slammed into the ground, its momentum spent as it came to a grinding halt on its roof. Jack felt warmth encapsulate his body as he felt himself no longer moving. The rain was still falling, maybe even heavier now. Over the sound of the downpour he heard glass cracking and metal creaking and scraping. He also heard rocks tumbling and smacking into each other. He picked up on another sound. The screeching of tires, gravel crunching underfoot, and the clatter of guns being loaded.

He opened his eyes and let in a breath he didn't know he was holding. The storm raged more, the bolts of lightning and booming thunder more frequent. They sounded as if they were right above them, watching the spectacle below. His lungs burned with the introduction of something that was forcefully taken from them. He lowered his breathing as he looked to the state of the cruiser. The metal wireframe partition was bent and what was currently covering him in the back of the cruiser. He couldn't see Nick or Judy from his position. He refrained from moving as he heard the footsteps of the wolves close in. He shrank into the shadows as best as he could as he heard one of the them speak. It was a gravelly voice much like the ground around them, "Check the car."

The cruiser groaned as weight was applied to the front of it. A second voice quickly responded, "They're not here."

"Fan out," the graveled voice ordered, "They couldn't have gotten far on foot. Those damn ZPD must not survive."

Several other voices confirmed the order and quickly made off from the wrecked cruiser. Jack could still sense the presence of some of the wolves. To confirm this, the obvious leader spoke, "Torch the car."

Without waiting for a response Jack heard this one walk off. He heard two wolves make their way back to the road. Seeing this as his chance to make an exit, Jack grabbed his scrap metal blanket. Electricity sparked across it as he pumped it full of energy. He released all the stored energy in one pulse forcing the ruined partition into the floor made ceiling of the cruiser. It slammed into the seats and remained there. His stunt produced very little sound, barely audible over the relentless rain and thunder. He stood up and crossed to the front of the car.

There was no sign of Judy or Nick, just as the wolves found the cruiser. Jack figured they were thrown from the wreck amidst the various tumbles it had performed. Not wishing to be found by the wolves ordered to burn the evidence; Jack exited and moved further from the road. His fur was quickly matted with water, the trees providing little shelter. He figured the two made their escape that way. He had to find them before the wolves did. The sound of a bullet firing pierced the onslaught of rain. Instinctively Jack lowered one ear and the other pivoted to locate the noise. He jumped into a sprint before his ear stopped in the direct direction of the noise.

Nick had come to first after the crash, a boom of thunder stirring him awake. He cursed himself for not seeing something like that coming. He was lying in the gravel beneath the small cliff the road sat on. He could see the upside down cruiser not that far away. It was battered and bent in, Bogo would not be happy they wrecked the cruiser specially made for him and Judy.

The car that had driven them off the road was wrapped around a nearby tree. No way had the driver survived that crash. He could hear cars not that far away. Even though his body protested it, he stood up. As he did he spotted Judy not that far from where he landed. He couldn't spy Jack. He didn't get that much time to search as he heard the cars closing in. He rushed forward and scooped up the limp form of Judy and ran deeper into the sparse woods. He hoped Jack was fine and able to protect himself. The cars stopped and Nick continued onwards, slipping behind a thick trunked tree. He finally got a chance to inspect himself and Judy. There were no visible bruises, but his body still hurt.

The gray rabbit in his arms began to stir. Nick set her down as she blinked her eyes. She looked to him and asked, "What happened?"

"Car crash Fluff."

She stood up, but fell to the floor grasping her left leg. Nick caught her, "You ok?"

"Yeah," Judy answered as she leaned against Nick for support. It was just like back at the Natural History Museum nearly a year ago. Nick asked, "Can you walk?"

Not answering Judy removed herself from the red fox and took a few tentative steps forward. This resulted in her falling to the ground as pain spiked up her leg again. Nick was quickly at her side, "I'll take that as a no."

"Yep," Judy seethed through the pain. Nick knelt down and scooped her up again. He held her in the cradle position and he began to walk further away from the wreck. He had to put as much distance between them and the wolves. He had to give the ZPD enough time to respond to the distress signal the beacon released before the crash happened. He maneuvered around one of the few trees. The rain was making the ground slick and mud was forming into small rivulets. Nick hoped a mudslide would not be added to the events of the day. He spoke as he trudged on, "We have to keep moving, they will find us."

"They?" Judy was still not quite awake yet.

Nick could feel his clothes already sodden with the deluge of rain the storm was producing. He answered, "Those wolves are still coming for us."

Judy did a quick look around and it finally dawned on her that there was someone missing from their party, "Where's Jack?"

"I don't know."

"You left him!"

A large bolt of lightning hit the ground nearby them. Nick jumped back, dropping Judy to the ground roughly. She gasped in pain, landing right on her injured leg. Nick's fur felt a bit puffier from the excess electricity in the air. He jumped over to Judy, picking her up again carefully. He answered, "There was no time. If I searched for him we might not have been able to get away."

"They could kill him Nick." Judy interjected fearing for the other rabbit.

"He has the Nexus he can care for himself."

The bang of a gun sounded out behind them. Nick dove to the ground as the bullet whizzed by. His arms were cut up by the rough gravel. He looked up to see a large gash marred the trunk of the tree right next to him. He looked behind him to see three wolves. All of them had guns and were training their sights right at him. Nick struggled slightly as he ran at near full speed, not caring about the terrain anymore. He heard one of the wolves shout, "They're over here."

Another bullet was embedded into a tree as Nick turned and ran further from the road, closer to the cliff that fenced him in.

Jack had not seen the wolves yet, but he heard them clearly now. Shots rang out every so often, but nothing followed. Nothing that he feared at least. He did not want to hear a scream of pain or a shout of satisfaction. Either meant that either Nick or Judy, or both of them, had been hit. It was troublesome to distinguish the bullets from the lightning at times. The wet terrain was also proving hard to keep pace with them. It was in the flash of lighting that he spotted something ahead, one of the wolves.

Charging up the Nexus he formed a gauntlet of crystals as he closed the distance. Jumping high he slammed his fist right down on his head. The timber wolf was brought to the ground. His face planted firmly there. Jack was sure he heard something crack. He didn't care what it was. This wolf was dangerous, planning on murdering him without mercy. Jack took the gun as his other hand was coated in crystals. He looked it over, it looked like a modified ARK 44. An automatic lethal class gun with a clip size of thirty. He snapped it half with ease and tossed pieces to the side. He continued in the direction, seeing that he was getting close, now that he was finding wolves.

Rushing towards the edge of the forest he found himself on a small cliff outcropping. It jutted from the land, the darkness blocking out the waters below. He looked at the cliff side from his vantage point. The ground sloped down to where another jut like the one he was on formed. His ears picked up another gun shot. This one was accompanied by a scream. He looked towards the cliff downhill as he saw a red figure tumble onto it. At the edge of the forest line he saw a gray one. Jack stepped to the edge, but froze up. His heart sank as he watched one of the wolves reach down and sink his sharp claws into one of Judy's legs. She screamed in pain. Nick rose from the ground, a limp on his left leg. A gash ripped through his uniform and blood was flowing from it. Quickly swept away in the rain rolling off his body. The fox jumped forward and began to claw at the larger wolf. The wolf used Judy as a club and slapped Nick with her. The fox was swept backwards onto the cliff.

The wolf tossed Judy like a doll towards the fox. She hit the ground right on her injured leg. She screamed as the injury was aggravated. Three more wolves filtered from the depths of the forest. Each with ARK 44s trained at the two cops. Nick shuffled over and grabbed Judy. Her leg was ripped and mangled. The wolf that had attacked her swatted blood coated gray fur off his claws. A crack of lightning introduced him, "It would seem that we are graced with the presence of the ZPD's finest officers tonight gentlemen."

Jack could taste the sarcasm in the tone of the voice. The wolf lifted his arms up as if presenting in front of crowd and expected a roar of applause. The other wolves gave him what he wanted. The wolf, Jack could pick up on the graveled voice, spoke, "Their finest and stupidest cops. Jumping headlong into a wolf den," he began to pace back and forth at the edge of the cliff, "You guys just don't know when to quit. And now we are going to kill you."

"What for," Judy spat out with pain.

"Don't you see actions movies Miss Hopps?"

The wolf paused expecting a response, one that no one gave. He shrugged, "If I told you my evil plan then you most certainly would escape through some convoluted way. And armed with that information you would prevent months of work from being successful."

Another pause, "So no. I won't divulge in your questioning. I'll kill you and we will slip back into the darkness allowed to complete our goals unhindered."

The wolf reached to his belt and pulled out a pistol. This one primed with bullets. A blast of thunder echoed out. He aimed at Nick first, "It's a shame, you could have been a part of this weeks ago."

The ground erupted right next to the wolf knocking him to the side. The gun clattered to the graveled floor and fell off the cliff to the waters several hundreds of feet below. The wolf fell to the ground, supporting himself on one knee to stabilize his momentum. He looked to the crater formed in the ground right where he was standing. At the center was a rabbit. A white one. His arms and legs were coated in blue crystals. The other wolves raised their guns.

Jack blasted a bolt of lightning at the three of them. Sending them flying backwards, losing the grips on their assault rifles. He rushed forward and slammed his feet into the chest of the first one to recover. He heard ribs snap as he pushed off and delivered a kick to the head of the next one. The wolf fell to the ground as the last one picked up a gun and pulled the trigger. The bullets harmlessly impacted a barrier Jack projected between him and the wolf. The wolf continued to fire, until he ran out of bullets. He looked to the ARK in his hands and then back to Jack. The rabbit smirked as he pushed his arms forward. The barrier responded by moving forward pushing the wolf off the cliff and to a deadly drop below. Jack turned to see the leader was standing between him and the fox and rabbit.

A flash of lightning lit up Jack's face. The blue glow of the crystals and the Nexus still illuminating him in the inky blackness of the storm. He spoke, "You made an unwise choice going after mammals I would give my life to protect from harm."

"And who exactly are you."

"It's like you said wolfy, why waste my time divulging that information to you when I could end it now."

"Mighty big talk from a dumb bunny."

The wolf reached to his belt and pulled out a thick serrated knife. He brandished it in his hand, the blade glowing in the dim light. Jack smirked as he did the same. A blue translucent knife befitting of his size formed in his right paw. The wolf made the first move and charged forward, and Jack mimicked. The wolf lunged forward to stab Jack, the rabbit rushed to the side with a powerful jump. He took the opportunity and planted his knife right in the wolf's leg.

The wolf jumped away from the attack. He went to grab the knife in him, but he only grabbed at blue smoke as the blade dissipated in the air. He looked to Jack to see a new knife had already replaced it. The wolf snarled, "Nice parlor trick rodent."

The wolf remained resolute, waiting for Jack to move this time. Jack stole a quick glance at Nick and Judy. They were still where they were. Nick was watching trying to tend to Judy's wounds. His efforts having little to no effect. Judy looked to be on the cusp of unconsciousness. If the blood loss was not stopped soon she would have no chance of survival. Jack had to end this now. He rushed forward. The wolf grinned with his white fangs as he mimicked Jacks movement.

The wolf went to strike right at Jack with his knife, but his blade never made contact. He sliced the ground as Jack dove right between his legs. The wolf heard movement behind him. He turned to see Jack had jumped up and he slam the knife right into his chest.

Jack stepped down as the wolf reach to the knife. It evaporated into blue mist and left the open wound. Blood poured from the cut as the wolf felt to his knees. Jack spoke, "You picked the wrong rabbit to mess with."

The wolf looked to Jack, "W-What are you?"

Jack closed the gap. He looked the wolf dead in the eye, "I'm just a dumb bunny."

Jack fired a large bolt of energy right into the fresh wound. A loud boom of thunder rocked the forest. In the distance unstable land gave way and cascaded off another cliff side. A few of the trees behind the wolf began to be wrapped with orange flames. Flames that had trouble spreading over the wet wood and endless rain. A cauterized hole, far larger than the one he put through Hoover, now adorned the chest of the wolf. His lifeless eyes gazing off into the distance. His body fell to the side.

Jack turned to see Nick and Judy look on with a multitude of expressions on their faces. Fear, shock, amazement; were a few that Jack could pick up on as he walked towards them. A blue dome formed over the three of them making an umbrella; shielding them from the rain. He knelt down next to them, "Are you guys ok?"

"You killed them." Judy stated.

Jack rolled his eyes and he channeled energy into his palms. The crystals had receded. His paws glowed a soft gold as he spoke, "Give me your leg Judy."

"What for?" She was hesitant to go near the rabbit after the display. Jack sighed, "It was because of me one Judy's life was ruined. I can stop you from losing yours."

"How?" Nick asked.

"The Nexus has healing capabilities," Ness spoke up, "It can heal cuts, bruises, and gashes. Minor injuries, major are out of the question."

Judy looked to Jack. Without a word she presented her damaged leg. Jack gingerly placed his hands on the blood soaked fur. Still Judy protested the contact with a hiss of pain. She began to scream as warmth encapsulated her left leg. She watched as the blood faded away and the flesh began to stitch itself back together. It was still a painful process, but it was over soon. She flexed the limb as the heat faded away. There was still pain, but duller now. There were patches where fur was missing and still marks of the wolf claws.

Jack turned to Nick as the glow returned to his paws, "How 'bout it Nick?"

Nick set Judy to the side as he presented his still bleeding bullet gash. Nick didn't show any signs of pain as the abrasion was healed. Jack stood back up after the process was over. He looked to the two, "Are you able to walk."

Nick answered by getting up himself. Judy still leaned against Nick for support, but fell to the floor when she tried to walk. Nick caught her and scooped her back into a cradle hold. Jack spoke, "You might have to go to a hospital Judy. I can heal as much as I can, but if there was anything that happens to the bone I can't fix that."

"Fine," she answered, "Let's just get back to the road. Back-up should be here soon."

With no other objections Jack took the lead with Nick holding Judy right behind him. The blue barrier umbrella hovering over them as they walked back into the forest and towards the road.