Chapter 2:

.

AN: Many thanks to the great artist Dai, who did a fantastic companion piece to this story, displayed over on the AO3 version.

.

Stepping off the bike, Sly waved his driver farewell as he took off, a spray of dirt kicked up as the wolf swung around and charged off towards the smoking haze of the Rainforest District. The raccoon couldn't help but look at it for a second or two, a grimace in his stomach, before shaking it away. There was nothing he could do, yet.

And if there was something he could do, the mammals who could help him do it were those he wanted to see just for the sake of seeing them.

And so he turned, making his way up towards the hill he'd been directed to. At first he thought it was just a quarry or something, and then maybe a logging site. But then he began seeing the personal effects among the torn up tree. The signs of a family life. A young family's life.

Teeth baring, his eyes fixed on a picture of six foxes. Four red, two silver, three adult and three children. One of them a face he recognised. A father. A missing mammal, taken by a criminal little…

"SLY!?"

He turned up, freezing as he saw a pink hued hippo, standing at the crest of the hill. From the van next to him, a wheelchair pulled out, Bentley waving at him.

The raccoon just stared at them, before charging forwards, so fast he felt his chest begin to burn and his toes tripped over the roots and rocks on the path until finally, after too long, they launched themselves at each other. Sly jumped into Murray's belly and was held there tight, the massive hippo spinning around with joy. "YOU MADE IT BACK! YOU MADE IT BACK! WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! SLY… -SLY!? -SLLLLLYYYYY!?"

In a panic he held the raccoon out at arm's length, head lolled over and legs and tail drifting in the breeze.

"SLY!?"

A few murmurs and he coughed, taking in a breath of air. Then another. His eyes slowly flickered open as he looked up, whispering out. "I may have lost some tolerance for your hugs there."

"Oooops, I… I…"

Murray placed Sly down next to Bentley, the black striped mammal shaking a little as he steadied himself on his feet, paw on the wheelchair for balance. A paw up and smile given to the hippo, he turned to the turtle next to him and grabbed his hand, holding it tight as he leant over, forehead touching forehead. "I missed you guys…"

Slowly Bentley leant forward and took the raccoon back in a hug, holding him gentle but tight. They didn't say anything, no tears were shed but, in the end, as they parted, Bentley had one thing to say. "It's impossible to convey how happy I am that this day finally came."

"Me too," Sly said, smiling. "Two and a half years of waiting…"

"Six on our end," Bentley said back.

The raccoon nodded, chuckling. "Well, you're still going to outlive me."

"Only highly more likely to. Slightly less highly more likely, but…"

"-The point still stands," they said together.

"-So how was ancient egypt?" Murray asked. "Get to fight and battle with some of your ancestors? Enjoy your time, or…"

Sly laughed, shrugging. "Oh, do I have the tales to tell. -As do you guys, I believe."

"Many," Bentley nodded, pausing as a group of figures walked out around them.

"Busy recruiting," the raccoon asked, looking up at the she-wolf and skunkette emerging.

The latter just stared at him, blinking. "So… That's the happy camper, in the sarcophagus. In the sarcophagus from the future, in the past, that's a stasis booth. It's him. Your friend."

"Nah," Murray said. "Friend is really lowballing what this mammal means to us."

"-Indeed," a new voice spoke, and Sly's ears pulled back. He looked up, shivering a little, as he saw Carmelita standing there. Battle hardened, older, her face… Relief or anger, he couldn't tell.

He just trekked up to her, silent, the pair soon nose to nose. In the background Bentley was suggesting the others return to their work, carry on, give the two some time.

Even the wind seemed to die down, a silence filling the air as they looked into each other's eyes. Two sets of chocolate brown irises, staring at each other after so long.

Up her paw slowly reached, brushing the side of his cheek fur. "You look younger."

"I am. You look more beautiful."

"How can I ever trust you again?"

They held each other at that distance for a second or two before reaching in, muzzle brushing against muzzle, arms wrapping around backs. The two hugged tight, the cop fox's eyes watering and silently dripping down, soon joined by those of Sly.

What could be said.

What was there not to say.

Through time and space, through heartbreak and betrayal…

"I missed you," she said. "I dreamed of you. I imagined you by my side so many times. To cheer me on, to be there for me, annoy me, to tell me what I needed to hear." She choked down a sob. "So I could tease you when you deserved it."

"Yeah," he whispered. "You're good at tha…." He broke off, ear flicking away as Carm pulled back her sharp claws. "Uh, was…"

He winced up as he felt a firm paw slap him underneath his tail. "Naughty Coon…"

"Yeah, I figure…"

She pulled in a breath. "It's been so long. I know why you did what you did, I still hate that you didn't trust or tell me. It's been too long for me to still be mad."

"I didn't want to cause you any pain or…"

"-You thought it'd be better if you kept up the lie. Thought your secrets would be less painful. Tccchhh… Muchachos tontos…" She whispered, shaking her head. "Todos iguales."

"Yeah, that's the old Y chromosome for you."

She gave a snort. "No, it's muchachos tontos like you. I know a girl with a Y in her who's about the opposite of that."

"... -Well I trust she's still just as insufferably annoying?"

Carmelita was silent for a few seconds.

He gave a wobbly smile. "Touche."

"It's not an excuse you know," she chided, pulling back and placing a finger on the end of his nose. Her eyes were glistening, misted up and sad. "I… Things have changed while you've been gone."

He nodded. "Penelope?"

She paused, blinking. "Escaped from prison, still missing."

"Bentley?"

She let out a sigh. "About the same as me."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"Truly."

"And what will you do now?"

He stood there, the wind picking up a little. His eyes flicked over to the devastation of what was once a house, a home, where a family lived. "Rattigan has one of them. Egyptologist, I thi…"

"-Linguist," she said, looking down. "The rest are safe."

He seemed to crumple a little, a ragged sigh of relief coming out for a second before he turned back up. "Then I'll work to bring that family back together."

"And what will you do then?"

He looked at her, silent for a second. A gaze cast back at the van, at the haze coming from the city behind. He looked back at her. "What do you want me to do?"

And then it was her time to crumple up a little. With a sigh. A sob. A laugh. Whatever it was, she shook her head ever so slightly before looking at him. "I suppose I was hoping you would answer that for me."

He nodded, before slowly pulling himself into her. Mouth opening, muzzle twisting as hers did too, muzzles softly sliding over each other and gently gripping. Teeth didn't lock and hold, tongues didn't dance over the daggers, electricity didn't flow. Instead they gently rocked and danced inside as chest moved against chest and tails wrapped around legs.

They pulled apart, muzzles side by side once more, holding each other tight.

"Time heals many wounds," she whispered, patting him a little. "I suppose, we can start again."

"Figure it out as we go along, I guess…"

"I guess…"

They leant forward, sides of their muzzles rubbing against each other for a second or two before just standing there, silent, embraced.

A few seconds or minutes or hours or so passed before, with a sad sigh, Carmelita let go, the group walking down once more. "You met Dr Karen Soren," she began, gesturing over to the skunk.

"H-hi," she began. "So, that sarcophagus thing. From that Clockwerk thing. How-why-what-when?"

"It's… It's a long story," he shrugged, slowly pausing. "Bentley?"

"Yes?" He moved out, turning around to face him.

"Clockwerk?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. He's still a threat."

The raccoon wilted back, ears dropping. "I… I thought I…" He sighed, "I guess that's the world we live in, right?"

Bentley looked at him for a second, pausing, before speaking out. "Rattigan's trying to bring him back. In the short term, we beat him, but in the mid to long term…"

"How?"

"Horcruxes."

"-Okay, explain…?"

"We discovered Clockwerk's operates on a somewhat decentralised system, or at least one with emergency backups running a continuous consciousness as it were," the turtle carried on, typing away at his computer screen. "Small items, similar to…"

"-I took that from Rattigan."

"Have you got it now?"

Sly shook his head. "I left it with some of your thief net contacts. Max and Conor?"

The turtle looked at him, scratching his chin.

"-Uh, Max was a torch key raccoon, Conor a Silverfox. Probably know him by…"

"Eifeelsogud?" He asked, before turning and slamming his head hard onto his desk. "Oh gaaawwwdddd…"

"What? What's…"

"-You're picking that back up from him," he said, turning and pointing. "If I go there, he'll be playing Mareilion songs. I know it."

"Uhhhh…" Sly began, before filing that tit bit away for future use. "-Right, so that's good, right?"

"We were after that particular item for a long, long time," Carm said. "Though thankfully, it turned out to be a dud. Soeviet scientists researching it and combating Clockwerk were able to break it over thirty years ago. It still contains his essence, but can't as far as we're aware regenerate him."

"Regene…" The raccoon began, before turning to Bentley.

"Each one of them had the opportunity to pool on a reserve of energy and rebuild his prime body if destroyed," Bentley narrated. With a few taps, a map of the world appeared, zooming in on the Svalbard islands. "Carmelita discovered the remains of such at the Bolvangar site, here." A few more taps and a new picture came up, Carm marching over, fur on end.

"That is classified! How did you…"

"-I hardly think that needs an explanation," he said, pointing at himself. "Uh, Sly?"

The raccoon blinked, breaking away from the sight for a second. "Yeah, yeah, just…" He turned back to it. The twisted metallic thing, like a screwed up piece of paper, yet with so much recognisable. Beak, eyes, talons.

It was him.

"Ironically," Carm said. "It seems that Neyla's betrayal did some great good in the world. After putting the parts together, his conscious as it was tried to gain command of it… -Only for our destruction of the body to leave him in a lurch. Not enough energy to complete the job."

"-Unless someone provides him with such," Bentley reminded, tapping on the keyboard. "There are a number of such items around the world that we know of." He began working. "The one we've been chasing came from the Neildelienes site in Armyeenia." He pressed a keyboard and it zoomed to the region in question. "Dr Silverfox, who you saw, was one of the first western archaeologists able to come in and visit the site. Hence Rattigan's interest in him, and his attempts to coerce and then force his cooperation."

"I guess he kitnapped him to get it," Sly nodded.

"-No, Silverfox didn't have it, it was picked up by the Tsar's armies over a hundred years ago, and passed through Ratsputin to the Tsar's relatives, to students, Clockwerk cultists and then a resistance as it were trying to take him on. After they failed, one of them, Kozlov, kept it on his person, even after the battle of Krakarov. Rattigan came to this city to take it off of him. Dr Silverfox though might have had useful knowledge, hence why he was pulled in too. Eventually kitnapping, but such unsubtle methods only came after an attempt to use his son's false imprisonment and the potential for legal help as an area of leverage fell through."

"Son… He… -He sent a kit to jail to get his father to help out!" Sly yelled.

"No, his son was sent to jail on false pretences in the first place. Rattigan just tried to keep him there longer and make the case against him seem more severe in able to leverage him. It would have worked too, were it not for the intervention of a rag-tag group of vigilantes just after convincing him otherwise."

"...These wouldn't be 'The new Cooper Gang', would it?"

"Annoyingly, yes. I see you've met them."

The raccoon nodded. "Let's call them the Merry Mammals for now."

"Right, right…"

"-The son did get out, right?"

"Yes," Bentley said with relief. "He even tried to help get the item to us, part of a distraction he convinced the Panda King and Kozlov to orchestrate."

"-Panda King is here!" Sly yelled, voice suddenly turning up in joy. "Ha, are any of the others? Dimitri, the Guru, the…" He paused, face turning down as he saw the looks on Bentley and Murray. The hippo looked like he was about to burst into tears. He looked over to Carmelita, seeing the look on her face.

He shook his head. "No… What…"

She held him tight. "There was another group after it," she said softly. "ELSA. Or rather, L S A. Lord Shen's Army. A warlord, who came from the same part of China as Panda King did. He captured us all, then chose to kill us with radiation. Panda King…" She trembled. "He broke the machine, even though he knew it would kill him. -The rescue mammals came just after, and when Shen tried to stop us fleeing, Panda King… He…"

"I… I know," Sly said, his voice a whisper.

"-He died to save us," a new voice said, Sly turning to see a striped jackrabbit by the door, a swift fox vixen following along. "He… You should be proud of him. -Sly? Wasn't it?"

"Yeah…" the raccoon said, voice hushed.

"Jack," he said back, softly. "Jack Savage."

"Skye," the vixen added.

Sly nodded along. "Thanks… Thanks for saving my friends." And with that he leant forward, shaking their paws. He turned back to Bentley, sitting down on his seat and resting there. Quiet for a second.

Two…

He jerked up as he felt a small cold hand over his fur, looking up to Bentley.

A much larger, warmer, hand rested down on his other side and he saw Murray there.

All as Carmelita walked to his back and rested a paw on his shoulder.

The raccoon looked between them, eventually turning forward, gripping his friend's paws just a little tighter and nodding on.

"Shen had his own talisman, part of a plan to gain two and triangulate the rest, destroying them or shooting them into space to prevent Clockwerk returning and usurping him," Bentley said, typing along. "His originated from the mountains of New Guinea." An area was circled on the map. "Though now it's currently either at the bottom of the sea, or in one of the wolves fleeing the sinking craft. Jack's handler, however much we distaste the idea of a military mammal getting involved in this, is racing down there to try and intercept it if it comes on-shore. All while I try and find out if any coastguard mammals or such nearby were compromised by LSA's Countessa inspired brainwashing program." He tapped the hard drive before moving on, the screen zooming into an area in northern Pakistan.

"We believe another horcrux is located somewhere in this area, due to it being the base of the cultists that Kozlov faced off against. We've also gathered that another, in hindsight quite obviously, was once located near the ruins of Greater Zebrabwe. However we believe it was discovered in nineteen-oh-nine and, while being transported to the British Museum, was intercepted by Clockwerk. He attacked the ship it was on, we presume the SS Waratah, after she left Deerbun, killing those onboard and leaving it adrift to sink. The whereabouts of the talisman after that are as of yet, unknown."

"So… We find Shen's or the Pakistan one, join it with the one I recovered and we finish him. For good this time. No backsies, no attempts that go nowhere, we finish him," Sly hissed.

The three looked at him, his fur on end, his claws digging into the table.

After a second or two he deflated, paws coming up and wiping down the front of his muzzle. "Sorry, I… -Sorry, just I…"

"I know," Carmelita said.

He snapped around, glaring at her, only for it to fade after a second or two, the raccoon shaking his head. "Sorry."

With that he slipped away. "I tried to get back there, get Rattigan, get that fox he had. Return him home, to his son. Fix that family… He'd already moved out."

Carmelita nodded. "Tonight has been hell for this city."

"So I gathered. I…"

He froze as he heard some panicking from outside. The others did too, Carm moving out first. Sly followed, pausing as he saw the swift fox vixen on the phone, holding it to hear desperately trying to speak into it or…

"-What do you mean!" she yelled, tears in her eyes. "I… I can't, the line…"

A second later she threw the phone down, almost catapulting it into the ground but holding on, other paw gripped up and holding her face tight. "No… -Nonononono…"

"Skye?" Jack asked, "what…"

She turned to him. "It… It was from Nick. I couldn't make it out, the line was just… -But I heard him say my mother… I heard him say dead… At city hall. What was she doing there!? She wasn't tricked like them, she wasn't…"

"We'll check it out," Carmelita cut in, moving forward and grabbing her paws. "Don't worry."

"But my mother…" she began, tears in her eyes.

"We'll take Dr Bloom's car back to the city centre. I'll come with you," she flashed her badge, turning over. Sly saw a blonde she-wolf standing there.

"-Please," Skye said, "there must be some mistake, there must be, but the line…"

"On it," the wolf said, pulling out her keys and blipping her vehicle. Carm turned, guiding Skye along. Frozen there for a second, she looked around fretfully before finally glancing down, seeing Jack holding her paw and starting to guide her on. Together they raced into the vehicle, Sly offering a wave to Carmelita as they got in and headed off.

With that, he returned to his two gang members, and Dr Soren. "If you have a spare glider, I could get that re-rigged and start heading out," he said.

Murray nodded. "Yeah, we got plenty of supplies Sly. Anything else you might want?"

He paused for a second before smiling. "Right now? Toothbrush and toothpaste. And later, a whole lot of junk food."

"On it," he cheered, looking over to see Bentley carrying on. Searching through profiles of mammals and the odd non-mammal in the files, slowly being brainwashed. The turtle froze it as they got to a koala.

"It might interest you to know, he owned you as a curio for a number of years."

Sly looked on, nodding. "He has good taste."

"Need I remind you what that thing looked like on the outside."

"He sees the inner beauty."

"Debatable," Bentley said, before carrying on looking through the videos.

Sly nodded. "Anything I can do to help."

"Not right now, but… -Dr Soren?"

"Yes?" she answered.

"Can you get Sly up to speed with the last six-seven years?"

"How up to speed do you want?"

"Core basics, big things, anything needed to stop him making any embarrassing faux paus."

"I… Okay, I'll do my best."

Sly nodded, pausing though as he grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste from Murray, handing over his bag so his parasail could be re-attached. They stepped out together, Sly pausing as he once more took in the sight of the ruined house.

"Kit getting framed for murder or something, then this, then his father getting kitnapped…" He grit his teeth a little. "Rattigan's gonna regret this."

He squeezed out the tube and pulled the brush up to his mouth, starting to vigorously brush it down.

"I know," Dr Soren noted. "-Though it wasn't framed for murder. Nighthowlers were found in his school locker, a 'prank' by another student and not even originally aimed at him as it turned out, which was then pounced on by a DA with a bone to pick. He used a loophole in the Nighthowler act to screw him over."

"Ni-owler?" Sly mumbled through his sudding up mouth. "Wha tha… Wools?"

The skunk looked at him for a second before shrugging. "Okay, that makes as best a place to start as any."

.

.

.

.

Flashing her badge for the however-many-th time, Carm gave a gesture to Clara for the car to move on, finally arriving in Watering Hole Plaza.

The great screen had been turned off, she guessed for respect. After the chaos and celebration of the riot before, it was now dead, empty, a miasma of death filling up her nose.

The figures of policemammals standing around, or crouched, holding themselves, were interspersed by the trash and scorch marks and listless bodies scattered around like thrown corn. She paused as she saw a beaver in a prison uniform curled up, shivering, crying into himself. A massive rhino cop stood by him.

Looking down, the vixen saw that he'd dropped what looked like a cafeteria tray or something, only it was being used to carry…

She turned away and gagged, hoping that the thing she saw would burn itself out of her memory soon enough. Pulling to a stop and getting out, she saw that it wouldn't be the case. There were tens, hundreds, thousands of little red splatters or marks. Blood from wounds or chunks of flesh, or the wreckage of small mammals caught in the chaos.

You always saw a few here, there, but…

She was cut off by the sound of mammals hurling, Skye and Clara bent down and emptying their stomachs. She couldn't blame them. She'd had years to get used to the stench of blood, but this…

It got worse as they and Jack began to move forward, trying to jump or dodge the stained markings, only to find the stairs up to city hall painted.

"Up here," Carmelita said softly, guiding them up and around a garden area.

A skunkette in an orange prison uniform walked out, grim and uneasy, another tray with a mangled something of a something on top.

They averted their eyes as they walked in, Carmelita flashing her badge to the dead-eyed cop and entering the main hall.

"-Wait…"

They turned around, the bear cop said. "Nick and Judy said you might…"

They nodded as he sighed. "They're… They're over in that corner." His eyes turned down to Skye. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Carmelita couldn't help but look at the swift fox vixen, shaking like a baby's rattle, fur on end and ears peeled back. Jack held on to her tight, looking more scared than he ever had during his rescue of them or the battle at the ruins of the tree.

She and Clara moved next to her, paws out, and guided her forward.

Step.

After step.

After step.

She, and the bobcat next to her, were covered in sheets, but things were visible. Brown paws below, a sandy tail, mottled grey on top with a black tip. Just like the vixen's.

Her head tilted a bit and she stood there, Carm walking on and over. "Is it…"

"Go ahead," she whispered.

And Carmelita did, pulling the sheet back. Still, silent, a dead face looked out. Tired, worn, hurt and with fraying fur, all pulled up into an expression of subdued shock or terror or even, and Carm wasn't sure here, pleading? As if in the crush she'd been begging for someone or something to come down and rescue her, or just release some of the pressure so she could suck in a lungful of air, quench the growing burning in her chest, stay the black fringes in her vision.

Her face was restless, not someone who'd come to accept what was coming and taking it peacefully. Instead she'd been concreted in place, seeing the express train come from miles away, and being unable to stop it.

The red fox vixen bent down and looked at the face, Skye's face reflecting so much in it, and saw the small wet tear tracks from the corner of her eyes. "I'm…"

There was a giggle.

Carm froze, turning over to Skye.

The younger version of the fox she saw down below gave another giggle, then a short laugh, her paws up and tight around her muzzle, her eyes started to glisten. And then the giggles turned into soft sobs and she fell to her knees, pulling Jack into a tight hug and starting to pet him.

He didn't object.

He just let her stroke him tight as she half cried, half laughed, shaking her head.

"I… Is it not…" Clara began, Skye shaking her head.

She pulled in a long sniff, glancing at the dead vixen and then looking back at the wolf. "She's… She gave birth to me."

Clara looked at her for a second before kneeling down. "But she's not your mother," she said back.

Skye nodded in agreement. "I… Nick grew up around her and knew who she was, so I guess… I guess he guessed… -Guessed I wanted to know." A small laugh burst out of her. "Stupid fox, stupid phone line, that's… that's the most scared I've… Joint most scared," she corrected, looking down at Jack. She pulled him in tight. "Don't worry, I was scared for you too."

"T-thanks," he said. "Do you want to talk about it or?"

She gave one glance back at the dead vixen. "I… No. No, I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Carmelita asked.

Skye's tailed flared out, her voice kept a tense level in comparison. "I'm good," she said, slowly getting up. She looked at the vixen, eyes fixed. "Alice…" She paused. "Mum, I… -It is what it is, I guess." And with that she turned, walking away. Carmelita pulled the cloth back over Alice Fawke's face, letting the mammal rest in peace. She gave a glance to the figure of the bobcat next to her, before joining the others on the way out.

They exited city hall in silence, the grim cleanup still carrying on. "I…" Clara paused, looking uncomfortable. Finally though she huffed, looking over to one of the cops. "Do you need any help?"

He nodded, the she-wolf silently joining him in pulling more corpses over to the train station for storage, sorting, removal. The remaining three slowly made their way towards Precinct One, pausing when a familiar voice called across.

"Guys?"

They turned to see Nick, jogging across. "It… You okay Skye?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she answered softly. "You gave me a real fright there."

His head tilted.

"The line was messed up, I didn't hear the word bio in front of…"

"Oh god… I'm…"

"Don't worry."

"Skye…"

"Shhh…" She held him tight. "Thank you. I… I appreciate the sentiment, or whatever."

He nodded. "You good."

"Yeah."

"You sure…"

She gave a short harumph, but pulled it back. "Yeah, I…" She shrugged. "Not gonna like having to answer that one over and over."

Nick looked at her before nodding.

A few seconds later and Jack spoke up. "Where's Judy?"

Nick's ears immediately fell back. "She… She got the news that one of her cousins or something made his way down here and is somewhere… The family couldn't get in contact with him so…"

"Oh god," Carm said, paw over muzzle.

Nick nodded, leading them on.

"-Couldn't… Couldn't he have got out, just lost his phone, or the line's are too busy," the interpol fox began.

Nick glanced back. "I tried telling her that… Trouble is she's not a dumb bunny."

They nodded in agreement, moving on.

"-I… -She said herself, she only met him once. When we were at Bunnyburrow, but…" Nick shook his head. "Bunny families or something, doesn't matter she only met him once, doesn't matter he was into this conspiracy stuff even back then and she had to kinda warn him but… -But… But bunny families, man… Bunny families…" He wiped at his eyes. "So she's just running herself ragged, after everything, just trying to find a clue or a hint or… Or any part of him left or…"

He was cut off as Carmelita came up, a paw on his shoulders.

"I… If she keeps going, I…"

"We'll be there for her when she's ready for us," the red vixen said.

They'd been walking through more of the devastation, more dodges and detours made until they finally found her. Stalking from bits to pieces, eyes glazed over and dead as she looked at each one. Seeing if it might have a bit of bunny in it. Her paws, hand and foot, were stained red. Flies, already starting to congregate around some of the piles, were on them.

"Judy…" Nick began, the bunny turning up to him. Her gaze settled on Skye.

"Are… Are you…"

She nodded. "Didn't care for her, but thanks for letting me know."

"I'm… I'm sorry," the bunny said, turning back to her work. The other mammals grimaced as she leant down to an unrecognisable mass on the floor, bits of fur here or there sticking out. She pushed her paw in, pulling out the stained form of a wallet. A look in and she placed it back on top, the drivers licence for a hyrax on display, moving on once more.

Studying a pile.

Shaking her head, moving on.

Studying a pile.

Shaking her head and moving on.

Studying a pile, reaching in and…

"-Judy," Carm said softly, the bunny snapping to her, glaring mad with her teeth bared and on display. Angry, huffing, she calmed down after a second or two before wiping her brow, not even caring about what kind of filth she got over her face and turning down, leaning in and carrying on with her task.

Moving to another pile.

"It'll take days," Jack began.

"-We don't have days," Judy said back, choking down a sob. "Eight O'clock tomorrow, unless something changes, they'll be getting in the street sweepers… Disinfectant, for all the small bits left, I…" She threw her paws out, painting spots on the ground and scattering the flies around her before they congregated back on. "I…" She sobbed. "I get it, but… -I can't let me cousin end up like that. I can't! He… What's left of him needs to go back to the burrow, what's left of him…"

Nick walked up and held her tight, wincing as the blood staining on her coated up his police blues but holding firm. She choked up a sob, nustling her head into his chest. He wrapped his tail around her, rocking the bunny ever so softly. Ever so gently.

"-I…" She began. "I can't, I… -It's not fair, I… I might have already seen him! I might have… -Might have not recognised or… -But I've got to try. I've got to try…"

Closing his eyes, Nick nodded.

All as Skye walked up to a figure on the ground, looking in, sniffing, turning away and wincing. "Not… Not a bunny," she said, moving on.

Judy, slowly untucking herself, weakly looked on as Skye, a look of pure revulsion on her muzzle, reached in and pulled out the phone of another. The screen came to life, a fennec fox flashed on screen. This time Nick shivered. It wasn't Finn, that guy was too smart to end up in this…

But might be unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire.

He set the thought aside as Skye left the phone on his body and walked on.

"-Skye," Judy began, the queasy looking vixen turning to her.

"We can help sort those who… Who have a chance to be recognised. So they can be taken in, right? So that the families will have something…"

"-And if we spot any bunnies…" Carmelita began, Nick walking forward. Jack too.

Judy turned between them, increasingly frantic. "No, no, this isn't your…"

"-As long as it's yours," Nick said, "it's ours." He sighed, walking on to his grim task. "When you're done. We're done."

Judy winced up. "I… I hate you guys."

And with that she moved on. The mammals together slowly making their way through the plaza.

.

.

.

"They've informed Nick and Judy about you," Bentley said.

Sly, coming back in, nodded. "Was it eventful or…" He trailed off, eyes lingering on Murray.

"They've got it bad Sly. Real bad out there, the vixen who thought she lost her mother… It's complicated, but okay. But Judy Hopps, you know…"

He nodded.

"-Right, a cousin or something was in the riot, they can't find him. Hundreds died from a crowd crush or trampling…"

Sly shivered, almost falling to his knees.

"They've been scouring, trying to find something of him, but… But…"

The raccoon looked up, his face hardening. "And Rattigan did all this as a distraction. Tricking these mammals like this, so what… To pick up gold and goods, and bits to try and bring Clockwerk back. Because he thinks he can take him over. Because he's that arrogant." His paw gripped his face. "I… I tried to get Rattigan with my cane, I got the necklace but he slipped out." His paw slammed into the side of the van. "I could have ended this. I could have told that little species confused egomaniac exactly what I thought of him, then thrown him in a cage and taken him to the ZPD in person."

"-While I agree with your sentiments," Bentley said. "We all know that Rattigan isn't one to listen."

"Don't care. I'd have worked in as many insults in there as I could."

The others nodded, Bentley pausing as he brought out his phone. Dialling in, after a few seconds…

.

.

A good way south, next to a car whose engine was still warm, Lt Vixen pulled up her phone. "I'm afraid you're not going to be happy." Looking forward, her eyes lingered over the beach in front of her. Debris was washed up, along with large numbers of wolves. Those injured or weak were kept together, too few guards keeping an eye on them. Plenty others, with time to get on lifeboats or try something, had made it ashore and got into the woods.

Every now and again a boat or helicopter would fly in and drop off more, from the bulk freighter that had suffered a catastrophic ammonia nitrate explosion. At least, that was the cover story. She was thankful most had landed south of the Zootopian border, USA territory so no issue with getting them locked away tight and secure.

But plenty couldn't be found.

Her eyes looked back to the small fishing boat making its way back out. Whatever a Lundisk registered vessel had been doing out here, it had been first on the scene and done its best to carry mammals back to shore. Not that it could do much, given that its crew had been one tiny mink. While he'd wanted to keep it to those most injured or without flotation devices, he'd had to get some able bodied survivors on to haul those unable to on as well. Some had stayed on on each trip, but one had fled as soon as he could.

One that sounded very much like the description of Shen's main lieutenant.

He'd jumped ship, ran into the forest, and so far dodged any sweeps or hunts. She'd managed to push a few of the local cops into hunting for him, or any other forest flee-er, rather than just those at the beaches, but she didn't hold much hope.

He was out there ad from what she heard he still had the Talisman he'd had earlier.

And to add insult to injury, her commanders had noted an aircraft of some kind flying in even before he made landfall. Not long later, it flew out again, fast. Beyond their vision. Gone.

Sure, it might be a coincidence or a mis-reading, but she felt it in her gut and relayed it to her questionable allies.

Whatever his intentions were, whatever his other resources or goals may be, he was beyond their reach for now.

.

.

Bentley put down his phone and sighed, rubbing his brow. "That was our best shot."

"You… You still have others," Sly said, muzzle flashing up a little. "We'll always have Pakistan."

"We'll see," Bentley said. "What most disturbs me is who might he be working for."

"-Well maybe he's now head honcho of LSA?" Murray suggested. "Only now it's, uh… Lupine Supreme's Army?"

"Maybe, though I don't think they're much of an army now," the turtle grumbled. "But he could be selling that thing to a rogue government or something, which I'd rate as almost as bad as Rattigan having it."

"-Didn't…" Karen Soren began, the skunk leaning in slightly. "-Didn't he give himself some brainwashing, that would stop him?"

"Give the boss an outcome that meets his objectives," Bentley murmured. "Though now that he is the boss… -Or he's working for another."

"Maybe he lied about it," Murray cut in. "Or faked it."

"-Logically the most realistic answer," the turtle agreed, "but there's the track record to prove he underwent it. Again, with that very flexible wording, so it might have been going after something the boss wanted but he wanted to."

"-But that would still involve the destruction of Clockwerk, right?" Sly asked.

"Or the rendering of him unable to be brought back and challenge Shen," Bentley countered, "there's a lot of flexibility there for the taking. And it did a good enough job of getting his boss to trust him, he's done it for years. Look there, there, there, on and on and…" He froze.

"Uh Bentley?" Murray began.

Sly looked at the hippo, then down at the turtle. His mouth was agape, part wobbling, and slowly his hand moved forward and mouse clicked on a file entry before Sly could read it.

A video flickered on to life, static at first, but then revealing the chair, set up to hold a small mammal while being processed. A very small mammal.

Sly's eyes went back, a look of horror on his face. "Oh god. Bentley, I'm sorry…" He sniffed in, wiping his eye before leaning down, paw on his friend's arm. "I am so, so, sorry…"

He didn't react. He just stared ahead, a fragile female voice speaking out. "Please… I want to go…"

"-Nah, you don't. You want to pool all your skills with that fine Le Paradox fella, don't you? Help him take down that legendary crew hogging all your glory."

"No," she spoke back. "I… They're my friends. Sly, Murray, Bentley! I'll never betray them, never. -And they'll come and rescue me, Bentley will hack this ship to dust, Sly and Murray come in and make a big speech and spectacle and whack your butt… They'll rescue me, they'll rescue me. I know they will."

A slow chuckle escaped from the wolf, operating the machine. "Ah, cute. -By the way, Miss Penelope, you seem to really like Bentley, right?"

The faint humming sound in the background began to increase.

"I love him, I…" Penelope closed her eyes, the mouse wincing away. She looked awful, blue dungerees and yellow sweater stained and damaged, her fur dishevelled and uncleaned, her whiskers grown out and bags under her eyes. She strained against her restraints, eyes shut.

"Ah, but you'd help Le Paradox, for him right…"

"No, I… Hurting them would hurt him…"

The humming got louder, the mouse shaking and pulling. "You know, the way you say it, he's the main guy among that crew, the real whizz…"

"He'll find you…" She squeaked.

"Odd though, isn't it, that it's called The Cooper Gang…"

"They joined them! We all did, we…"

"Underappreciated…"

A tiny squeak came out, the beating of the machine turning up and up and up.

"Isn't that right, underappreciated, under valued, outshone. I could make him the legend he deserves. No, you could! Pull him into the spotlight, the master hacker, world famous. Above the Cooper Gang, so far above even famous hackers like The Druid everyone will forget him. You can get Bentley what he deserves…"

"-What he deserves is…" She cried a little.

"You can do it…"

A broken sob escaped her.

"Work with Le Paradox, you can free him… "

She began screaming as the machine pulsed and pulsed and pulsed…

"He'll be so grateful. You'll come back together and…

"-No, no, please, no that's wrong! He is mistreated, he… -That's wrong - it! He deserves better, but…"

The machine began to scream, she began to scream, the wolf...

It went dead, the video turned off. Sly's paw was on the mouse. His gaze rested on the date on the file, just a few months after she vanished.

Shaking, he turned down to Bentley. He was just still. Looking at the screen, as if it'd been the medusa.

"I… I…" Sly wiped his paw with a muzzle. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know if it's good or bad or…"

Finally, he turned to him. "She fought," he said, his voice cracking. "She fought so hard. But I… It was me… It was me that…"

"No…"

And then he broke out a sob, leaning forward. Sly, in their youth, had seen him panic countless times. Seen him fumble, or get frustrated and have a tear-filled meltdown, or his voice go quiet and disbelieving.

He had never seen him cry though.

Until now.

The turtle threw himself forward, a wretched wail coming from his mouth as Sly and Murray ran forward, holding him tight. Cradling him. Saying it was okay, saying he'd be okay, the raccoon channelled everything they'd done for himself during his night terrors and flashbacks of that one terrible, terrible, night on his eighth birthday and repaying it in kind. Repaying it to his wailing, shaking, distraught friend.

"We'll find her," he said softly, tears falling from his own eyes. "We'll clear her name, and make it right. I promise. I promise… I promise Bentley, I promise…"

.

.

.

Carmelita stepped out of the showers with Judy.

Dead on their feet, the vixen only mildly noted a slight envy that the bunny had a spare change of clothes in her locker.

Carm, in contrast, had her regular get up in a sealed bag, ready for a deep clean. Clothing was so scarce, she'd gone as far as donning a spare prison uniform, for lack of anything else. Something that Jack had resorted to as well. Skye had put on her clothes again, despite how soiled they were. She felt it was more dignified.

Besides, Carm had her badge to flash if anyone questioned her and Jack… Well Jack was certain he would manage.

Nick met them, tired as ever, dressed back in the suit that Lord Shen's lieutenant had dressed him in. Amidst the smells coming in and lingering around, the faint whiff of sewage was unnoticeable.

They sat down together, tired, broken.

Finally Carm looked at Judy. "I'm sorry."

"-D-don't be…" she muttered, shaking her head. "We… Lot's of mammals will have something now, it doesn't matter if… It doesn't…"

She was pulled by Nick into his newly exposed chest floof, the fox opening the path and guiding her head in. It rested there, and she began sobbing, the fox holding her close and gently rocking her broken, tired form.

A new figure emerged, the group looking up to see Dr Clara Bloom. She'd gone back to the natural history museum to pick up some spare clothes, the wolfess looking down at them. "I can take you home," she said quietly, "if you want."

"Muchos Gracias Doctor Bloom," Carmelita said, glancing over at Jack and Skye. "The civilians especially. I think Miss Skye would want to see her mother very much."

She nodded, a tear dripping from her eyes.

"C-come on," the wolf said, her own voice on edge.

Jack and Skye got up, walking over.

"You two?"

Nick looked at her. "Debrief with the Chief," he said. "We'll get a cruiser…"

Clara nodded, pausing. "I'm… I'm really not a fan of cops, so… -Well, you've earned this." She pulled up her arm into a wobbling salute, before leading off with Jack and Skye.

Nick, Carm and even Judy managed a goodbye.

Quiet filled over the area for a bit, Carmelita pulling out her phone and dialling a number. "Do we have any update about… Damn. That's bad, I… Is everything okay, Sly?" Nick looked on as her face almost broke down with whatever she was hearing, tears beginning to trickle out. "Tell him I'm sorry too. And… And once this is done, we will rescue her. Okay, I… -Can you put him on?"

A moment passed, and she was crying some more, spilling out more apologies and more promises to make it right.

In the end though it calmed down. "Is… Is Sly still in there?"

A moment passed.

"I… If the answer is no, you might want to…"

"-Understood," she said. "When he's ready."

A few seconds passed before she nodded, turning off the phone and slipping it down.

Finally, Nick spoke. "So, Sly mentioned how he got into that thing yet? How he obviously battled or stole something from our Clockwerk guy and…"

"-No," she said. "All we know is that it seems, at first, he thought he'd killed him back whenever it was, only he failed… He's been through a lot, so we're not going to press this. They've all been through a lot. -They've just learnt that Bentley's former lover, who betrayed them leading to Sly's disappearance… She didn't do it willingly. Shen & Co were hired to brainwash her, that's why she did it…"

Nick's ears went back. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"I am too," Carmelita agreed. "I am too."

They were largely silent after that. Nick noticed that Judy had fallen asleep in his arms. The sky was lighting up, dawn approaching.

Finally, Bogo walked in, tired, dead on his feet, broken. He looked at them. "Dismissed… -Except for you, Officer Fox. I… I had a call from your superior."

"Barkley?"

"That Badger says I need to understand what this is all about, and requested you do it."

"-Coward…"

"Somehow," he groaned, "I'm inclined to agree. If you want…"

"-No," she said, hauling herself up. "Your office, now…"

Bogo nodded, the two heading up and in, closing the door behind them.

A few seconds later, Nick lay down next to it, ear to the door. At first, his phone was out to record but then, seeing Judy waking up, he put it away.

"Why are you spying on them?" she asked.

He looked back at her. "Fluff… These last twenty-four hours, I've handled who knows how many corpses… Directed a bunch of prisoners in a rooftop drone attack…" He paused, looking up as the door opened, Bogo and Carmelita staring down. "I've fought off a massive mob attacking the ZPD, crawled through sewers, escaped a sinking ship, escaped a radiation chamber, escaped who knows how many firefights, been kitnapped, learnt… -Well what Bogo is about to learn, had family friends kidnapped, feared for my mothers life, nearly been trampled by an elephant I once tried to buy a jumbopop from, been in a car crash, narrowly avoided being thermited, been dressed up while unconscious by a one-eyed wolf, told a friend her mother was killed in a crowd crush and had to break up a fight between two mother-cussin' squirrels." Shaking, he stood up, walking in. "And now the Chief is going to learn something stupid and infuriating, and if I have any hope of surviving… I'm required to witness his reaction to it…" He collapsed to his knees, looking up at the Cape Buffalo, prostrate and broken, paws and claws clutching back into himself. "I need this…"

Bogo glared at them before sighing, pulling out a chair and lifting them up to sit together, the two limply watching on with dull reddened eyes as Carmelita sat Chief Bogo down and began explaining everything.