Chasing - (Zootopia) [COMPLETED] ✔

[Chapter 1] - The Fall

Officer Hopps and Wilde are in pursuit! I repeat, we are in pursuit!" Her voice yelled into her radio. Judy immediately switched channels, running as fast as she could against the heavy rain and violent winds. "Nick! Are you following?"

"Right behind you, cottontail," a familiar voice replied through the static.

She suppressed a smile.

In front of them, a panther dashed as fast as his legs could go, eager to get free of the cops. In his paws was a large bag. And inside the bag were hundreds of classified letters stolen from the mayor's office, as well as a stash of money. The panther had managed to gain access to the city hall, taking whatever his heart desired.

Judy was just on his tail, Nick following a few feet behind. The sounds of sirens blared from behind them, the rest of the force not far behind.

"Officer Hopps, Wilde, stop now!  That panther is much more dangerous than you could imagine, you will not both chase him on your own!" The voice of Chief Bogo came through the radio.

"We're so close, we are NOT stopping now!" Judy shouted, stuffing the radio away.

It was late at night, and with the rain, wind, and the dark fur of the panther, it was almost impossible to see him. He even wore a black waistcoat, blending him in with the darkness of the night even more. The only light making him visible was that of the moon and the red and blue lights of the ZPD cars behind them.

Judy could feel herself tiring, but she could not stop. She couldn't! Not when she was this close. The rabbit applied what remaining energy she had and began to speed up on the criminal. He was nearly within her grasp, when suddenly, he made a sharp turn left and into an alley. Judy slid on the back of her paws, made a quick turn, and began chasing the panther through the alley.

She jumped over trash bins, old boxes, and whatever junk filled the narrow space.

In the alley, there was a iron ladder leading to the top of a building. The panther began climbing, and Judy shortly after. The rain made the ladder slippery, causing Judy's paws to slip and nearly fall several times. She looked up, rain drops falling to her eyes. Nick seemed to have lost her or ran out of air, because she did not see him following.

She had finally made it to the top of the building and began chasing the panther once more. His energy never seemed to drain as he jumped from building to building. Judy, being a natural-born hopper, found this to be the easiest part of the chase.

From building to building, tailing the panther, she leaped. The storm fighting against her seemed to be growing more and more violent. The rain and wind seemed to pick up and hit against her harder (if that was even possible). 

She began gasping for air, but none seemed to fill her lungs as she continued running. She wiped her eyes clean of raindrops with her arm. He had to stop, he had to, no animal could possibly run this long!

Finally, she made one last leap, expecting to land on the next roof of the building. But she didn't.

Her body crashed against the side of the next building. A sudden shock filled her mind. It was only seconds before Judy began to fall, several stories down, plummeting to the ground.

***

Judy woke up in the hospital. Her head was turned facing a window, golden sunlight flooding into her eyes. Slowly she turned her head and blinked. Beside her, soft, emerald green eyes looked back.

"Hey, Carrots." Nick smiled.

"Nick..." She took his paw.

"How ya feelin?" He asked.

Not well. Luckily, she had only fallen two short floors, and her fall had been fairly broken by a cluster of cardboard that had been tossed into the alley. This resulted in a broken arm, bruised back (almost broken), and concussion that had already passed.

"Fine."

All around her were vases full of flowers. On her desk side lay letters from her large family.

"I got these for you," said Nick, setting a bag of carrots on the desk.

"Thanks, Nick-"

"Judy," he interrupted. "I'm sorry. I should have been there, closer to you. By the time I got there you were on the ground, lying still. I thought that-that you- you w- were-" he began to choke on his own words.

Judy was surprised to see Nick in such pain. It was so unlike him to break down like this.

"It wasn't your fault Nick. I should have waited for you, or stopped chasing all together. I was just so close and-" she sighed. "I don't know what I was thinking."

She raised up and touched noses with him.

"The panther," she began, laying back down. "Did you catch him?"

Nick shook his head. "No, he escaped."
He muttered as if it was his fault.

This wasn't right. Judy could not let him be free in Zootopia. He was dangerous, and he had to be stopped.