As she navigated her way through the crowd of animals around her, Judy's mind whirled with a million questions that had very few answers. 'Was Nick filling in the arrest forms with my number?' 'If so, why?' 'Was the price of a piña coladoe from the bar really that expensive?'

This question popped into her head as she passed by one of the tiger waiters carrying the fruity, alcoholic drink. She would drink it, but she tried as much as possible to avoid alcohol. Even a little bit of the stuff tended to give her any one of the following: (a.) a splitting headache, which would make her cranky, (b.) an outbreak of muscle spasms, which would make her look weird, or (c.) a nightmarish stomachache, which would make her have a rough time in the bathroom later that night.

None of those options seemed very pleasant, especially not at a formal gathering.

Avoiding the alcohol, Judy continued her search for Nick. When she finally did locate him, he was standing off towards the edge of the left coat closet, making conversation with some of the bigwigs.

"And so, when my partner and I caught that little weasel in his old apartment building," Nick was saying, "I think his exact words were something along the lines of..."

He then pitched up his voice and imitated Duke Weaselton. Judy had to admit, he was pretty good at it.

"...'Buzz off, ya coppers, and leave me to my business!'"

At this, for some reason, the small cluster of bigwig animals broke into laughter.

Well, Nick would have time to party with the bigwigs later, Judy told herself.

"Nick?" she called out, and, after taking a sip of the water in his glass, her green-eyed fox friend turned to face her.

"Hey, Carrots!" he called out cheerily, but then he noticed the concerned look on her face and then his smile died.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the concern for her evident in his eyes.

Realizing that Nick thought she was mad at him, Judy gave her friend a reassuring look.

"Nothing," she said, "I just was hoping I could talk with you somewhere a little bit more private."

After considering something Nick nodded. "But don't you want to see Gazelle perform? She's getting up there now."

He gestured over to the stage, where the famous pop star was now stepping up onto the platform, microphone in her hoof.

To put it bluntly, Gazelle in formal attire was gorgeous—even more beautiful than she usually was. She wore a dress of the whitest satin, covered from neckline to hem with sequins (sequins were a big, big thing with her). The dress' hem was of a strange design, starting above her knees in front and terminating in a long, flowing train behind her, almost like she was wearing an angel's tunic. In the lock of fur that hung down over one side of her face, small white-and-green flowers were wrapped between the strands, further adding to her beauty. The bangles on her wrists shone like bands of solid sunlight beneath the chandeliers above. The shoes she wore were bereft of the usual attached legwarmers, instead decorated with what appeared to be a decorative flower that covered up her toes. In truth, they were more like sandals than boots, but it appeared that Gazelle didn't mind the slightly lower height.

Blowing her fur out of her face, Gazelle began to sing while swaying back and forth to a vintage-sounding swing melody. Two of the Glits, those buff, muscular tiger compatriots of hers, stood on stage on either side of her, dressed in quite dapper-looking suits. The song was a bit of a change from Gazelle's usual trendy, bouncy pop music, but she was able to sing in this style all the same, the golden notes of her voice floating out over the guests:

In the fading sun I can see your eyes on me

Under this tree, I hear your voice whisper to me

And I close my eyes and I can hear you say

That you'll never let me go and you'll never run away

For a second, Judy was tempted to stay and listen. It seemed that all the guests had begun to sway to the music, and a few couples had begun to dance on the other side of the ballroom. Even from where she was standing, Judy could see that Clawhauser, sitting at one of the tables closer to the stage, was watching Gazelle with a dreamy expression on his face, his head bobbing back and forth to his heroine's music.

Dr. Killdeer, however, seemed to have gone stag (no pun intended), and was busying himself on his phone.

She then remembered Nick's original question—if she wanted to stay and listen to Gazelle.

"Maybe later, Nick," she finally managed, although it was hard for her to break away from Gazelle's performance. "Follow me," she added.

"Can I bring my drink?" Nick asked, a little hopeful. "It's blueberry cocktail," he added quickly.

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Just be sure not to spill it in the elevator," she admonished with a slightly irritated look. She was not mad at her foxy friend, but she was most certainly concerned. But, she decided, he didn't have to know that.

Nick excused himself from the small corral of bigwigs, and followed Judy, barely avoiding tripping over the Minister of Education, a small shrew who could barely see where he was walking anyway.

Over near the edge of the stage, Dr. Killdeer seemed to be busy with his phone, almost like he was playing a high-stakes game of Geometry Crash. His blue eyes were focused intensely upon the screen, almost as though staring at it for long enough and hard enough would cause it to levitate or something. He was so absorbed with his phone that he didn't even hear Judy as she and Nick walked up.

"Dr. Killdeer?" she asked, tapping him on the knee (the only part of the big elk she could reach) to get his attention.

It was this that finally snapped the good doctor out of his own little world. Pocketing his phone rather quickly, he acknowledged Judy's existence.

"Hello, there, little bunny," he said with a smile that, to Judy, anyway, seemed a bit demeaning. "How can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if my partner and I could head up to the tower," Judy explained. "Do you have any idea where the elevator to get up there is? We can't seem to find it."

Dr. Killdeer shrugged.

"Well," he apologized, "I'm sorry to inform you that there is no elevator to the tower. There never has been. The flight of stairs adjacent to the door should lead you up there."

When Judy's response came, her words seemed slightly defensive.

"Sir," she said, "I remember that there was an elevator to the tower. I came here for a school trip when I was younger, and I remember that I went up there in an elevator."

The good doctor chuckled slightly.

"Ah, you young rabbits," he said, as though he were off in some other place in his mind. "You have memories that play tricks on you. I assure you, ma'am, there is no elevator. I am the chief renovator of Steel Mountain Manor; I would know."

He then pointed in the direction of the foyer.

"Head to the front door and look to your right in a small alcove," he began. "The alcove contains a staircase that leads you up to the second floor. Follow a similar staircase on the second floor, and you shall arrive in the tower. It's a nice view of the skyline of Zootopia, and it also has some of the freshest air in the whole State of Animalia."

Judy seemed a little reluctant to trust Dr. Killdeer, but she had to admit, he had a point. If there had been an elevator, he would have known. Perhaps her memory really was playing tricks on her.

"Thank you," she said after a few seconds of mulling that thought over, and she jerked her head for Nick to follow her. Her chenille dress swishing about her, Judy led Nick out of the ballroom, not noticing that Dr. Killdeer had returned to whatever activity he was performing on his phone.

Sure enough, there was a small alcove set into the wall to the left of the front entranceway, just past the arrays of mirrors. A narrow flight of carpeted stairs, equipped with rodent-sized spiral staircases winding up from the newel posts, led upwards onto the second floor. It was obvious that Nick did not enjoy stairs, particularly when he was carrying his blueberry cocktail.

"Hey, Carrots," he called out after they had started climbing, "can you slow down?"

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Nick, I'm not even going that fast," she replied.

"Well, you're going fast enough that my cocktail's going to spill," he explained.

"Can't you just drink it all right now?" she asked, looking a little impatient.

Nick held up his free paw like he was offended.

"Madam," he said, feigning high-class speech, "one does not simply drink a cocktail all at once. One savors it, lets the flavors explode in the mouth. Pacing oneself is a good thing when drinking stuff at a high-society party."

Judy sighed.

"Then how about this," she finally said. "I take your cocktail for you—I swear I won't drop it—and you worry about your own pace. Sound good to you?"

At first, Nick seemed reluctant to part with his drink, but finally, he pawed it over to Judy, who had to grip the piece of stemware with both her paws like she was holding a precious object or something.

As soon as she took two steps, she had to stop.

"Nick, this thing is so overfull, I can't even stop it from spilling out," she said, frustrated. "Why'd you fill this so full?"

Nick shrugged.

"I didn't fill it," he argued. "That wolf who I traded drinks with seemed to hate blueberry. He kept being annoyed with the waiter who was giving him a refill."

"Well, it's dripping on my paws," Judy said, holding up a sticky, paw. She then seemed to be struck by an idea.

"There's no alcohol in this, is there?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Nick shook his head. "You know I can't stand alcohol, Carrots," he affirmed.

She then smiled.

"Here," she said, "this ought to help your case."

Without another word, she lifted the glass to her lips and took a couple of sips. Nick leapt into a panic.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" he yelped, a little shocked that she had actually done what she just did.

Smiling slyly, Judy then finished sipping from Nick's glass and handed it back to him.

"There you go, Nick," she announced with a smirk, "a half a glass of cocktail that won't spill."

With a chuckle, she continued on up the stairs.

"I was drinking out of that," Nick said wistfully, shaking his head and looking tentatively at his drink.

He continued to follow her up the stairs, and, after a couple more bends, they arrived on the wondrously-decorated second floor.

They emerged into a lounge area, with still more richly-attired guests seated on plush, floral-printed couches, chatting amongst themselves as they enjoyed this, the residential floor of the manor. Spacious bedrooms accommodated still more guests who were planning to spend the night at this beautiful old house. The lighting, while less ornate, was definitely just as elegant. Nick had seen photos of this kind of stuff in a movie he could now no longer remember the title of. Something about a giant ship that sank shortly after it left port...

Another flight of stairs later (on which Judy claimed she heard a creepy creaking noise that later turned out to be Nick's feet on the steps) they emerged into the cozy, rustic tower.

As soon as they emerged into the wood-paneled room, Nick realized that this was a place any number of couples would have escaped to catch a few romantic moments. A cool night breeze wafting in from the wide-open doors to the balcony sent shivers down his spine. Wicker chairs, in multiple sizes, equipped with comfy-looking cushions, were arranged in the small space surrounding matching wicker tables. There were no lights, he noticed, but rather small, squarish windows on all four walls. The balcony projected out over the space below, and Nick, even now, could see the glow of the distant lights of downtown Zootopia shining through the open doors.

"Come on," Judy beckoned from over by the balcony. "It's a gorgeous view, slick!"

Nick obliged (after he set his half-filled glass on one of the tables), and stepped over to where Judy was standing, the folds of her dress swishing in the light breeze.

He was stunned at the beauty of the view from the balcony—it was just like Judy described it to him on the ride up. The mountain breeze felt cool and refreshing on the back of his ears, working its frigid tendrils across his body like a regenerative salve. Off in the distance, glittering like the jewels of a thousand crowns, were the lights of downtown Zootopia. Nick took a deep breath, and he could smell the scents of the flowers down on the grounds. It was a spot that lived up perfectly to what Judy had been saying about it.

Sighing on the exhale of his previous breath, Nick leaned on the railing, staring down at the grounds with a contented look on his foxy muzzle.

"Wow, Carrots," he whispered, "you weren't kidding about how nice the view is."

She nodded.

"It's a perfect night to stargaze," she explained, and gestured up to the sky.

Nick gasped as he saw the stars in the sky overhead clearly for the first time in years. Constellations dotted the sky overhead and beamed light down onto the world around them. A couple of shooting stars zipped across the night sky like little laser-lights—the kind that drove felines crazy.

"It's a perfect view of the lunar eclipse tonight," Nick admitted as he took notice of the deep burgundy moon hanging in the sky above. The only lights anywhere near Steel Mountain Manor were the ones inside and a couple of occasional streetlights.

It was a view Nick wasn't sure he wanted to leave.

"So," Judy said, "while I was out busting my fuzzy little butt earning a promotion, what were you doing?"

Nick found himself caught off-guard. Had she somehow figured out what he had been doing on the arrest paperwork? He knew he was trapped, so, rather than lie to Carrots and risk hurting her later, he decided on one course of action.

"I can't lie to you, Carrots," he finally expressed. "I wrote in your badge number on all of the forms for the past two months."

Judy was stunned.

"Why?" she asked, her violet eyes wide with concern.

Nick sighed.

"I guess I thought I was helping," he explained. "I felt that you shouldn't have had to share credit. You're a good cop—better than I ever have been."

Judy blinked and stood silent for a couple seconds. "I... I'm flattered you think that way about me, Nick," she finally managed, "but it's not right that I got all the credit for something both of us did. You deserve that promotion as much as I do."

Nick didn't seem to share those sentiments as he gave a dismissive gesture.

"Let them think what they want, Carrots," he said, a reluctant smile on his face. "They probably only had one badge to give."

"No," Judy affirmed, "you deserve this new badge as much as I do, and Chief Bogo needs to know that."

Judy then raced back towards the stairs down, a determined look on her face.

"Carrots—!" Nick called after her, but she had already disappeared down the flight of stairs.

For a couple seconds, he wondered if he should stay up on the balcony and just let Judy's message for Chief Bogo run its course. Maybe he could forget about the whole issue by not listening to it all.

But then, he felt a little jerk in his heart, telling him that Judy wasn't going to just let this go. He decided it would probably be best if he was with her when she told Chief Bogo. How the chief would respond, however, was another question entirely. Messing with official paperwork at the ZPD was probably a big, fat no-no.

Dismal thoughts of making his name as the janitor of the Zootopia Police Department clouded Nick's brain as he followed Judy down the stairs.

When Nick found Judy again, she was talking at the bottom of the stairs to the tower. The partner in her conversation was a young, pretty lioness officer who wore a dark red dress covered in sequins, accompanied by two large matching bracelets on her forearms. Her bright green eyes darted around nervously, like she was skittish about something. Her tail twitched back and forth like a metronome, make it obvious she was agitated.

"Here's my friend," Judy said as she saw Nick walk down the stairs. "Nick, this is Officer Felicity... um..." It was obvious Judy had a hard time remembering the officer's last name.

"Um, Pryde," the lioness explained, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Thank you," Judy acknowledged. "Officer Pryde, this is Nick Wilde, my partner on the force."

"Hello," Nick greeted the officer. "If you need to get into the tower for some fresh air, it's a wonderful night for a view."

The young lioness shook her head.

"Oh, um, thank you for the advice," she said, fidgeting back and forth, "but I'm not here for a view."

"Then what are you here for?" Judy asked.

Felicity seemed a little anxious as she quietly cleared her throat and leaned a bit closer to the two of them.

"I drank a few too many glasses of seltzer downstairs," she whispered, "and, well, now I've got to go. I've been looking all over for the ladies' room and... I can't find it."

Judy was about to speak again when Nick decided to help out the young officer in a great need.

"If you're in here, you already passed the public restrooms," he explained. "Go back to the upstairs hallway, and they're off to your left."

Felicity made a thankful gesture.

"Thank you," she said as she then made a mad dash for the restrooms.

"How old is she?" Nick asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"I don't know," Judy scoffed. "Probably twenty-something?"

Nick chuckled.

"It's an awfully sad day," he announced, "when an twenty-something-year-old lady can't see the great big sign on the wall that reads 'Restrooms This Way.'"

Nick pointed to a sign pinned up to the wall that indicated the locations of the restroom. Judy snickered quietly.

After they had gone back down the narrow staircase to the main floor, the two entered the foyer and returned to the main ballroom. The important guests and bigwigs from around the city were still partying and making conversation with each other. It was obvious the night was just getting started, and, according to the large grandfather clock in the foyer, it was only now about 9:00. Just three more hours to go.

"I can't see a thing in this crowd," Judy called out, trying unsuccessfully to navigate her way through the throngs of larger animals.

It was then that Nick was struck with an idea. The last time he and Judy were lost together in a large crowd, he had employed a rather unusual tactic to help his partner. It did start to hurt Nick's back after a while, but for Judy, it would be worth it.

"Here," he called out to Carrots, "hop up on my shoulders!"

Judy nodded, understanding. After climbing up on Nick's skinny shoulders (which actually managed to pop a few knots out of his back), she slid her legs around the back of his neck, a piggyback ride.

Everything seemed to be all right, except for one thing.

"Carrots, I can't see a thing through the folds of your dress!" Nick protested. However, with folds of chenille in his face, Judy couldn't exactly hear him. Her violet eyes were too busy scanning the faces in the crowd, desperate to find Chief Bogo.

As Judy took her sweet time trying to find the chief, Nick continued to wait for her. He had to admit, the chenille felt kind of nice on his face. That soft, short fur tickling his whiskers...

"Hey! Wilde! Hopps!"

He heard Clawhauser's voice from across the room.

"Carrots!" Nick called out, "let's go ask Clawhauser where Chief Bogo is. He'll probably know."

"Hmm? Did you say something, Nick?" Judy asked from her seat up on top of his shoulders.

Nick sighed.

"Can you just get off my shoulders, Carrots?"

Judy obliged, and Nick found it far easier to see and hear once more.

"Let's talk with Clawhauser," Nick explained. "He probably knows where Chief Bogo has gotten off to."

Judy nodded, understanding, and, after almost tripping over the hoof of the Minister of Economics, the two worked their way over to where Clawhauser sat behind the table.

His mouth was full of food, and his eyes were rolled back in his head. Obviously he was savoring the flavor of whatever it was he was eating. He almost dropped crumbs out of his mouth as he called out "Hello!" to them.

"Hey, Clawhauser," Nick started to ask, but then got sidetracked by the amount of yellow-and-blue crumbs crusted on the edges of his mouth. "What are you eating?" he asked, a little disgusted by the radioactive color of the frosting.

"It's a blue raspberry donut," Clawhauser articulated once he'd swallowed his bite. "It's gourmet-class; nothing compares to it. A little gooey, but..."

Judy sensed they were getting off subject, and returned to the topic she required information about.

"Clawhauser," she asked, "do you know where Chief Bogo might be? I need to talk to him."

Clawhauser shrugged.

"I don't know where the Chief is," he admitted. "The last animal I talked to was Felicity."

"Oh, you know her?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. She's gonna be back from the restroom in a few minutes. I think she may have had too many glasses of seltzer."

Judy nodded: "We know; she told us."

"You know," Clawhauser said, getting a bit animated, "she's a fellow nerd, too. We were talking for the past half-hour about Fur Wars. I had no idea a conversation about lightsabers and the Furce could be so in-depth. She really knows a whole lot about it all. But I like her, in a completely platonic kind of way."

While Clawhauser was talking about Felicity, Judy's eyes continued to scan the swarms of animals all about her. At last, through a clearing in the crowd of guests (darn those wildebeests for being in the way), she spotted Chief Bogo, talking with a couple of his most trusted officers.

"Never mind, Clawhauser," Judy explained, although she wasn't sure the big cheetah was even listening. "I see him."

Judy gathered up her courage and began to walk over to where the massive Cape buffalo was standing.

That was when it happened.

With an ear-splitting FZZZT, every light, every appliance, every chocolate fountain, turned off at once.

Nick's green eyes widened. He heard an earsplitting shriek of terror from just a few feet away (he guessed it was Clawhauser). Gasps of excitement and panic rippled through the crowd of guests.

"Everyone remain calm!" Chief Bogo hollered in the darkness, in the typical fashion he was supposed to act during a potentially panic-inducing situation.

It was so dark in Steel Mountain Manor with all the lights off, Nick couldn't even see his paw in front of his face. It was an alien, murky, impossibly black darkness that gave Nick cause to wonder if there was a jumpscare imminent.

"Carrots?" he called out through the murmuring crowd. His heart began to pound and he felt his whiskers shivering. The only other time he had been this scared was a few months ago, when he was subjected to a horrifying ZPD Mental Test.

"I'm over here, Nick!" Judy called from somewhere to his left. At least, Nick thought it was his left.

"Where are you?" Nick called again, hoping to hear Judy's voice and use it to find her.

"Try to find my paw!" Judy called out.

Nick began to stumble through the darkness and feel his way around the room, trying to find Judy's paw, a source of comfort in this terrifying darkness.

"Does anyone have a flashlight?" Chief Bogo hollered over the crowd. At least Nick knew the chief wasn't that far away, either.

It was so unbelievably dark in Steel Mountain Manor that Nick was sure that one of the old gold mines in the Canyonlands would be brighter. It was like the darkness had surrounded him, preparing to suffocate him.

Darkness everywhere around him...

A light!

Oh, a blessed light!

From somewhere off to his left, Nick spotted a lit flashlight on someone's phone, the light shining forth and sending his fears back into nonexistence. Although it was too far off the ground to be held by Judy, it was definitely a comfort all the same. He still couldn't see very well, though, which greatly annoyed him. Suddenly, his pant-leg brushed up against something, something furry and soft.

Without a moment's hesitation, Nick Wilde grabbed onto the furry thing, squeezing as hard as he could to ensure that its owner would not leave.

DING!

What was that?

Nick's ears rarely played tricks on him, and unless he was badly mistaken, he had distinctly heard some sort of "ding" noise go off in the darkness. It was like the text-notification sound on his phone, only the source was much larger and easier to hear.

Without warning, the lights all came back on at once, making a loud buzz as they did so. Every animal around Nick winced as they found themselves assaulted by the bright, blinding lights. Several put their arms up in front of their eyes.

"Do you mind?!" an indignant voice came from next to Nick.

Nick looked in the direction of the voice, and he realized he was not holding Judy's paw, as he initially thought, but the end of a rather dignified-looking female snow leopard's tail. She was now looking down at Nick in annoyance and slight suspicion.

"Sorry, ma'am," Nick chuckled nervously as he released the snow leopard's tail. She stepped away in a catlike manner, a insulted expression on her face.

"Nick! Over here!" Judy called out from across the ballroom. He was a lot further away from her than he had been before the power had gone out, he now realized. Following the sound of her voice once again, he finally located her, standing next to the towering bulk of Chief Bogo. The massive Cape buffalo then raised his voice once more.

"Is everyone all right in here?" he bellowed over the murmurs of the crowd.

When no one responded, Chief Bogo nodded in affirmation.

"All right, Clawhauser!" he hollered to the cowering cheetah over by the tables. "Just in case, get your gun ready!"

"Right, Chief!" Clawhauser said cheerily as he went for his holster. Then his eyes widened, like he'd just stuck his paw into a bucket of ice-cold water.

"My gun's gone!" he yelped, feeling every pocket, crack and crevice in his uniform to see if he'd misplaced it. "I must have misplaced it," he finally announced, obviously feeling stupid.

Nick rushed over to Chief Bogo's side, where he promptly spotted Judy, her large ears twitching and scanning for suspicious noises.

"Hey, Carrots," he gasped, out of breath, "was that your flashlight I saw?"

Judy shook her head. "No, but it was just enough light to see by. That's how I found Chief Bogo," she explained, gesturing to the towering police chief who was standing next to her. "What do we do, Chief?" she asked him.

Bogo looked thoughtful for a second, and then seemed to come up with a plan.

"Let's go up on the stage," he whispered to his two best officers.

Gently pushing their way through the crowd, Chief Bogo, Nick and Judy made their way over to the stage. Gazelle was being guarded closely by the two Glits off to one side, having moved out of the way so that the three officers could speak to the crowd.

Bogo's dress uniform, made him look all the more like a figure of authority. Nick and Judy flanked him, equally nervous about what was going on.

"Is everyone all right?" Chief Bogo repeated to the still-shocked crowd.

"Has anyone seen Felicity Pryde?" a horse officer called out from over on the dance floor.

"Last I saw her," Clawhauser answered the nervous horse, "she was on her way to the restroom. Maybe she got lost coming back; this is a very large old house."

A female antelope broke into the conversation from across the room.

"I just came back from the ladies' room," she called out. "There's no one in there."

At this, a ripple of confusion and fear shot through the whole crowd of animals. If no one was in the restroom, then where was the relatively scatterbrained Officer Pryde? Surely she hadn't gotten lost in the hallway, so what was going on?

The voices of the crowd began to get more and more animated. Chief Bogo raised both his hooves for silence.

"Everyone stop what you're doing," he announced loudly. "No one is to leave the premises and communications are considered off-limits. That means no phones, no texting, no anything."

"Chief Bogo?" Officer Trunkaby called out from across the room. "What does this mean?"

"It means," the massive buffalo responded darkly, "that until Officer Pryde is found, this whole mansion is to be considered a crime scene."