ZOOTOPIA
APRIL 20

Nick looked at the city of Zootopia from his apartment, the curtains drawn open on his window. It looked so normal and alive, even at night. It was as if nothing had happened whatsoever in the past two days. He had just lost his badge, and so did Judy. He was hopeless, really. He searched for lawyers for his upcoming trial next week, but no one accepted. Each time Nick heard the word 'refuse', he lost another inch of hope. He drew the curtains closed, going back over to his bed. He had woken up in the middle of the night, and he really shouldn't be losing sleep when the entirety of the next day would be spent searching for a lawyer.

He laid down in his bed, his shirt off but his pants on. The pants were lazy; they were pants he hadn't worn for a long time. He used to be so formal when he was a part of the police force, but he had lost all of that.

'Someone out there murdered that cat and blamed Judy for it.'

That was his one and only thought. He had lost his badge due to some asshole framing Judy for a murder. Their trial was next week, and they were sure to get guilty verdicts. He didn't so much care about himself. It was mainly about Judy.

She had spent all her early years being made fun of and pushed to the limit to become the first rabbit cop. Now everything was just taken away because someone out there wanted to ruin her life. Nick needed to find who, but he had no leads. Nothing.

What a stupid rule. Hand in your badge if you kill someone? Nick hated it. It was made when one officer decided to start a massacre on a town, and then simply state they were all criminals with firearms who refused arrest. The politics spent ages debating, and eventually came to the decision that any officer who killed when they had an option not to would hand in their badge.

What was the point of thinking about this? Judy didn't even shoot anyone. Maybe the cat shot himself in hopes of this happening? It was Nick's only assumption. He turned to face the wall, his eyes still open, his mind still working. He had to find out who did this. For Judy.

Nick heard a knock on his door, and was at a mix of anger and confusion. Who'd knock on a door in the middle of the night? Hopefully it was important. Nick threw the sheets of his bed off him, walking over to the door to unlock it.

"What do you need…?" Nick's voice trailed off when he saw who it was at the door.

The cute little bunny, up to his chest in height, looking up at him with red in her eyes. It was Judy. She looked as if she had been crying for the longest time. She slowly stumbled towards Nick and buried her face into his chest fur. Nick looked down at the bunny, an eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong, Carrots?" Nick asked as he stroked her head. Judy let out a sob, and slowly lifted her arms to wrap them around Nick. That's when the Fox noticed a newspaper in Judy's hand. He took the newspaper, also returning the hug Judy was giving him.

"Read the front page…" Judy sniffled. Nick unwrapped Judy, but she kept her head buried into his chest. He raised the paper to eye level, and his eyes widened at the text.

BUNNY COP GONE KILLER!

"Oh… Oh my…" Nick could barely find the words to speak. On the front bore a picture of Judy, and the article. It described the assignment she was on and how she killed the cat.

"Everyone knows… The manager kicked me out of my apartment… I get these judgmental stares from everyone… They all think I'm a killer, Nick… Do you think that?" Judy asked as she looked up at the fox, tears in her eyes. Nick wiped those tears, a concerned look on his face.

"Of course not. We're going to find who did this, okay? I promise," Nick whispered. Judy looked up at the fox for the longest of times, before eventually leaning even further into his chest.

"Hold me," She squeaked. Nick did so, hugging the rabbit closer than he ever thought possible. Lord knows she needed this embracement. Everyone thought she was some disgusting killer now. No one knew the real Judy. The Judy that saved many lives, the intelligent Judy who has stopped criminals that could've destroyed Zootopia, the kind Judy who'd do anything to help anyone.

No one knew the Judy that Nick loved.

Yes, he loved her. He teased her a few times about romantic feelings, but he knew he was in love with her. More than anything. He was positive she didn't return those feelings. It was foolish to solely focusing on loving this one rabbit, but he did it anyway.

Judy eventually left Nick's arms, and slowly walked over to his bed. Nick felt awkward at the fact he had to sleep in the same bed as her, but he was sure she didn't care. Nick opened the page to the full article of Judy's killing.

It was all basic, and was pretty much how Bogo explained it. There was one spot that interested him, however… It said that the cat wasn't shot with his own gun. He was shot by a different pistol to the one he had. This led the city to believe that Judy was now involved with black market dealings of guns.

Nick realized this could be his first clue. The black market for weapons… He knew where that was. Finnick had told him about it before. Maybe Nick could get information on who purchased the gun. He grabbed his black jacket, quickly throwing it on before leaving his apartment. Judy was asleep in his bed; she had practically passed out when her head hit the pillow. Nick entered the elevator, going down to ground level. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the black shades that were supposed to go with the jacket. Nick also pulled the hood over his head. He did not want his identity to be revealed.

The elevator doors opened and Nick stepped out, walking out the main door. If the black market was where Finnick said it was, it shouldn't be that far of a walk. Nick read the rest of the newspaper as he walked. There was one other article that took his interest. It was about a recent prison breakout, and now multiple prisoners were on the loose. Nick would have to watch out for them.

Nick eventually reached the location of where Finnick said the black market was, only to find nothing there. There was a single door, however, and Nick knocked on it.

"I'm here to discuss some weapons," Nick called out. He hoped this was the black market, or he'd have some serious explaining to do. The door opened up, and Nick looked down to see a baby bear, who wore a white singlet and messy shorts.

"Uh… Hey, kiddo. I-I must've gotten the wrong-"

"Are you here for the guns dad sells?" The boy asked. Nick's eyes widened, but he hastily shook his head.

"Y-yeah…"

"You don't look like a cop… Come in." The boy moved out of the way for Nick. It was a small house, well hidden. A large bear stepped out from a messy bedroom to meet with Nick. He looked obese but intelligent.

"Uh, hi, umm… So, I-I'm not here to buy anything… D-do you keep a purchase history or anything?" Nick asked, putting on his best smile even though he felt terrified on the inside.

"Ayup… What do you wanna know about?" The bear asked in a loud, booming voice. 'Not very protective, are you?' Nick thought to himself.

"Well, a black market gun was used to kill a cat two days ago… It was in the newspapers and all. The gun was this one, right here," Nick hastily opened the newspaper article, showing off the picture of the pistol used. It was found next to the cat's dead body, and had the ballistic markings and the same bullet found in the cat, so it was proved that it was the gun.

"Looks familiar… A 1911. We had one purchase of ammo and a silencer for that two days ago… What do you wanna know this for? You a cop?" The bear asked, a glare in his eyes.

"If I was a cop, wouldn't I have arrested you by now?" Nick stated. The bear nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough. Well, the one who purchased that ammo and silencer was-"

"Dad! You're not supposed to say their name!" The child bear interjected. The bear shot a death stare to his child.

"Oh, she threatened to kill me if I said her name? I'm three times her size and weight. I'll be fine," The bear said.

'You really are clueless,' Nick silently thought, trying his best to keep a straight face.

"Anyway, the one who purchased the ammo and silencer was… What was it again? 'Bell Weather?' Something like that," The bear explained. It took Nick two seconds to realize the name he just said, and he felt his throat go dry, as well as his mind.

"Bellwether?!" Nick screamed. She was out there? 'Wait a minute… Don't tell me…' Nick quickly pulled out his newspaper, going to the article about the prison escape. Among the list of escapees was that dreaded name.

D. Bellwether.

"Y-you've got to be…" Nick couldn't speak at all. It wasn't definitive that it was Bellwether was the one who shot, but she was the one that made the most sense. Nick's thinking was cut off by screaming.

"You absolute idiot!"

The screaming was followed by a gunshot, and the bear's chest being hit by a bullet. The bear fell to ground after being shot and the boy ran over to him.

"D-dad!" The boy cried as the bear fell to ground. Nick turned to see who had shot the bear.

It was Bellwether.

She held a pistol in her hand, and her eyes met Nick. She aimed the gun the gun at Nick, and the fox backed away, trying to run from the gun. He thanked the Lord when it clicked, indicating it was out of ammo. Bellwether instead threw the gun at Nick and started running. Nick gave a quick chase. Nick ran into a small room with a mattress, so it looked like Bellwether had been sleeping here. Nick heard a door slam, and looked down the hallway to the right of him. He gave a quick chase, and ran out the same door that Bellwether did.

He was met with an alleyway, and looked left and right to look for Bellwether. He then heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Bellwether, who was waiting besides the door. She held a steel pipe in her hand that had broken off of some water pipes. She swung the steel pipe at Nick, connecting it with Nick's knee.

Nick felt his knee move to the right, and he immediately fell down in pain.

"What a pleasure to meet you here, Mr. Wilde!" Bellwether laughed as she walked around the front of Nick's view. He was on the ground, gritting his teeth in pain as he held onto his dislocated knee. He tried to crawl towards Bellwether, but he moved at the speed of a snail.

"I know what you're going to ask. 'Oh, did that evil Bellwether frame my poor little Judy for murder?' Well, I got your answer. Yes, I did. I was in the bank that day and after Judy told everyone to check the cats, I volunteered. I went into the vault with that pistol, which was silenced by the way, and put a bullet into that little cat's head. I then dropped the gun by his body, and ran out, my face covered with a hood and my voice in sheer terror as I cried 'Oh, what a dreadful sight! That bunny murdered this poor cat!' It was funny seeing everyone's reactions. It was especially funny knowing I had gotten my revenge on you two," Bellwether explained. Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing. This black market supplied her with the ammo and silencer to kill the cat and blame Judy.

"You… Bastard…" Nick growled. Bellwether simply laughed it off.

"Funny thing, though. They'll try to trace the gun to its original owner, only to find it's not mine! They'll find a wolf called John instead… Hopefully he's alive, or that will complicate things for the investigation teams, won't it?" Bellwether simply adjusted her glasses as she said this, a smile on her face.

"Oh, and if you plan to frame me for this in court next week, good luck getting evidence! Without it, they won't believe a word you say," Bellwether smiled.

"Now, let's get on with the fun part. Bye bye, Mr. Wilde!" Bellwether cheered as she swung the steel pipe, smashing it into Nick's face.


Nick awoke in a daze, his mind in a blur. He felt bruises through his entire body, and he felt his dislocated kneecap. He was going nowhere with that out of place. He sat on his behind, holding his leg slightly bent. He braced himself, breathing heavily, before lightly slapping the kneecap. It moved slightly, but the pain was enormous. He gritted his teeth, sucking in deep breaths as he focused on the knee again. He slapped it with a bit more force, and much to his surprise, it moved back into place. The pain still remained however, and it took him all his strength to get up. He gripped onto his knee, hobbling back to the apartment building.

He had a lead now. Bellwether. He needed to arrest her somehow, or get evidence that proves she shot the cat.

The black market purchase record. He needed it. He tried to open the door to the black market, but it was a locked, and the boy inside could be heard sobbing over his father's death. Maybe tomorrow it would be open… Nick needed that record. Nick hobbled back down the path to his apartment building. Tomorrow he would get that record and prove Bellwether guilty.

Hopefully she didn't get it first.


Nick opened the door to his apartment and found Judy still sleeping on his bed. It was one in the morning now. Nick hobbled over to his freezer, grabbing some ice. He put the ice in a spare plastic bag he found lying around, and placed the ice bag on his knee to hopefully reduce swelling.

After about twenty minutes, he took the ice off his knee and felt a bit better. He walked over to his bed and laid down in it, just behind Judy. Nick pulled the sheets over Judy, leaving none for him, but he didn't care. He wrapped an arm around the rabbit's stomach, holding her close to him.

"Nick…"

Nick heard the rabbit speak. She was sleep talking. He raised his head up to look at the rabbit.

"Nick… No…"

She sounded scare. Panicked. She was having a nightmare about Nick. What was it of? Nick didn't know.

"No… Come back, Nick… Don't die…"

Nick felt a wave of emotions hit him. She was dreaming about his death. Why? Her mind wasn't being so kind to her lately.

"No… No, no, no!" Judy screamed as she finally woke up, sitting up in the bed, panicked. Nick wrapped her up immediately, holding her close. He could feel her heartbeat going fast, and he could hear her panicked breaths.

"You're alive… I thought they executed you after you were sent to jail… I thought…" Judy sobbed, burying her face into Nick's chest.

"It's just a nightmare, Carrots. I'm still here. I'll always be here," Nick soothingly said. Judy slightly pushed Nick away, looking into his eyes. He smiled, letting her know he was as fine as he always was. Sure, he had a messed up knee, but she didn't need to know that. Last thing she needed was more stress. She was probably too panicked to hear about Bellwether, too. Save it for tomorrow, Nick decided.

Judy smiled a sweet smile, tears in her eyes. "You'll always be here?"

"Always," Nick promised. Judy looked at Nick a bit more, before leaning forward and lightly pushing her lips against his. It was a soft, gentle kiss that only lasted for four seconds, but it caught Nick by surprised. His eyes widened, and his breathe cut. Judy smiled at him.

"C'mon. You've wanted to do that for a long time, admit it," Judy said. Nick stared at the rabbit for a bit more, before smirking.

"Yeah… You're right," Nick admitted. Judy smiled a bit more, before lying down in the bed. Nick lay down next to her, pulling the rabbit close to him as she snuggled her face into his furry neck.

"I love you, Nick…" Judy softly whispered. Nick smiled at the rabbit, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you too, Carrots…"


A/N: Yes, I am aware how Nick fixed his knee was not how a normal dislocated kneecap is really fixed. It's fiction. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, thank you all so much for your support and kind words! Until next time!