ZOOTOPIA
APRIL 21

The sunlight beamed through the cracks of the curtains covering the windows in Nick's apartment, awakening the fox. Nick rapidly blinked as he awoke and the first thing he noticed was how painful his kneecap was. The second thing he noticed was that his arm was wrapped around the stomach of Judy. He slowly slid his arm away, swinging his legs over the side of his bed making sure not to put too much pressure on his knee.

When Judy wakes up, Nick would have to tell her that Bellwether was behind everything. Then they'd have to go to the black market to get a purchase history as evidence. Then they'd have to find a good lawyer… It shouldn't be that hard, but Nick had a feeling Bellwether would make it hell for him. The day looked cold; clouds loomed overhead and there were some puddles on the sidewalk. Not many animals were walking, most of them just drove.

Nick went to go make coffee, but he didn't have any. Another thing he'd completely forgotten. With no job, and Finnick not accepting Nick into his business anymore, Nick wasn't getting any money. Judy had already been kicked out of her apartment and she was already in a living hell. How long would it be until Nick suffered that same fate?

Judy… That's why Nick was determined to put Bellwether away. Not only to remove a threat, but to prove to Zootopia that Judy wasn't a killer. How quickly animal's opinions change on one another once the media burns them… It disgusted Nick.

Nick heard Judy groan, and he knew she had woken up. The rabbit turned her head to look at Nick, her tired eyes and her down face making the fox feel worse. She forced a smile, however. Anything to keep Nick going.

"Morning, Carrots," Nick said as Judy stood up.

"Where were you last night? I was worried," Judy asked as she walked over to the fox, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, that newspaper article you gave me had one very interesting detail in. The cat was killed with a black market gun," Nick explained. Judy sighed sadly, looking down at the floor.

"Yep… And everyone thought I was doing black market dealings, which did not help…" She groaned.

"So, I went to the nearest black market, just down the road, actually. Finnick told me about it a long time ago. Turns out the gun belongs to someone else," Nick explained. Judy looked up, hope in her eyes.

"Who?" Judy asked.

"I don't know that," Nick said, causing Judy's happiness to deplete.

"But I do know who fired it and killed the cat," Nick said. Judy's hope picked back up again, and Nick loved seeing the spark in her eyes. The fire of finding a clue or catching someone, it was something Nick had never seen in any other animal. It's what made Judy so special.

"Well, there was a massive prison breakout a couple of days ago… Among those escaped prisoners was Dawn Bellwether," Nick explained. Judy's eyes widened and she felt a weight in her gut heavier than anything as she gasped.

"Are you…"

"Yep. Bellwether stole the gun off someone, purchased ammo and a silencer, and when you left the knocked out cat in the bank, she was there. She took that opportunity to kill the cat, and blame it on you," Nick explained. Judy couldn't speak or blink. She was completely paralysed. BellwetherShe was the reason.

"That… That bitch! We need to report this to the ZPD immediately!" Judy yelled as she ran for the door. Nick grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"They won't believe a word we say without evidence. We just got our badges taken away, they'll think we're scraping the bottom of the barrel," Nick said. Judy reluctantly nodded, sighing in frustration when she thought it over.

"Okay, so where can we get this evidence to prove me innocent?" Judy asked.

"The black market. If we go down there, I'm pretty sure they'll have a purchase history or something. If we get that, the police will actually believe us. I expect Bellwether to be there though, so we'll go check it out tonight when it's dark," Nick explained. Judy nodded in agreement, before finally, for the first time a long time, smiling with happiness. She threw her arms around Nick, holding the fox tight to her.

"Thank you so much, Nick! I love you so much!" Judy cheered. The rabbit was basically hanging off the fox's neck. Nick returned the hug, feeling happy at the rabbit's utter joy. It was something that was so good to see.

"We'll clear your name, Judy. I promise…" Nick whispered.


Nick put on his black coat, turning off the last light in his apartment as Judy and he stepped out into the hallway. They made their way to the elevator, going down to ground floor. Nick had to admit, he was scared. What if Bellwether found them? He'd make sure that Judy was safe, at least. They walked out into the rainy outside, turning left to the black market. Judy seemed excited, but she had a weight in her stomach that she couldn't describe. Bellwether was hopefully alone… Maybe Judy could arrest her? She might have gotten tougher in the police force, but Judy spent 100 days in tough basic training, and although Nick hadn't done the 100 day course, he was tough as well. They could take on Bellwether easily.

But Bellwether wasn't that stupid. She would defiantly have some sort of back-up. Maybe some tough prisoners that broke out alongside her? That was probably the case. If that was so, Nick and Judy would have to sneak in, grab the purchase history and make a break for it. Nick realized that by going at night, it probably gave Bellwether more time to grab the paper… He would have to steal it back if she did. Nick spotted the black market building, and saw and heard no one outside it.

Nick pressed an ear to the door, and could hear only breathing. It sounded young, however. Too high pitched for Bellwether or any tough prisoner. It was probably the child bear that Nick saw yesterday. Nick didn't take the risk of knocking, however. There was a likely chance that Bellwether was in there.

Nick tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Hold on, I can open it," Judy whispered as she approached the door knob. "They teach you how to pick locks in training. This seems like an easy one…"

"I think there's a cub in there, so try your hardest not to scare him," Nick whispered to the rabbit. She continued to pick the lock with her claws for about thirty more seconds, before finally a click sounded, and the door was open. Judy quietly snuck in, and immediately spotted the young bear behind the counter. Judy smelt the rot of a corpse, and saw a large bear, dead on the floor. He looked as if he had been there for about a day. Nick saw the body, too, and realized it was the cubs dad.

"H-hey, kiddo…" Judy whispered to the cub. The young bear looked up, and his eyes filled with rage.

"Get out of my father's store!" He screamed, before raising the pistol he had been hiding in his lap, aiming it at Judy's head.

"Hey, hey, don't!" Nick yelled as he stepped in. The bear recognized Nick, and instead pointed the gun at him.

"What are you doing here?! You got my dad killed!" The cub screamed.

"N-Nick?! What's he talking about?" Judy asked in panic.

"No, I didn't mean to! It was the sheep's fault! I'm trying to catch her! I'm trying to avenge your dad!" Nick explained. The cub hesitated, his eyes widening.

"Y-you… You're serious?" The cub asked.

"Yes. I am. Now please, give me the gun," Nick softly said. The cub stuttered for a bit, his breathing getting heavier. He finally gave in, lowering the gun. Nick slowly took in his paws.

"Good… Now, I need you to help me," Nick said. Judy has never seen Nick like this before… He was determined. Serious. He was really fighting for her… It made the love Judy had for Nick stronger.

"Do you have some sort of purchase history file? A piece of paper that has the things that animal's bought from here?" Nick asked. The cub nodded, going under the counter and grabbing a worn out folder.

"Dad kept a record so he could track anyone that owed him money… Here it is. I hope it helps," The cub said as he handed Nick the worn out file. Nick opened it up, and as expected, the most recent purchase was Bellwether, with three bullets and a silencer. The one who purchased the gun was someone called 'John Rodwell'

"John Rodwell… That was the wolf who killed his wife, wasn't it? We arrested him," Nick asked Judy. The rabbit nodded.

"Yeah, we got the call from the wife, we got there, and he had already shot her five times… He gave up pretty easily, though. Immediately put his paws up," Judy informed. Nick quickly looked for a place to put the folder away, but he heard some footsteps on the wet puddles outside.

"Nick, we've got company. Three rhinos, coming this way," Judy whispered. Nick turned to the cub, and gave him the folder.

"Hide this. We'll come back for it," Nick whispered to the bear. He nodded, taking the folder and opening the back door. Nick sneaked to the side door that led away from where the rhinos were coming. He slowly opened the door, signalling Judy to follow him.

When he opened the door, he was met with a large bear hiding beside the door. The bear stopped Nick in his tracks, and he kicked the fox back into the building.

"Nick!" Judy cried as Nick stumbled back. The front door burst open and the three rhinos charged in, one of them grabbing Judy by the arms tightly. The bear that had kicked Nick picked him up off the ground, holding him by the arms as well.

"Hello there, you bastards!" A voice called out. It was Bellwether. She walked in through the front door, smirking as the rhino and bear held both Nick and Judy hostage. They struggled, but to no avail.

"Well, it's lovely seeing you two here. How's the knee doing, Mr. Wilde?" Bellwether asked in a sarcastic tone. Nick snarled at the sheep, struggling in the bears grip. "I have one little question for the both of you… Where's the damn purchase history folder?"

Nick stayed silent, and so did Judy. The sheep gave Nick the death stare to end all death stares, but Nick didn't break, instead glaring back at Bellwether. "Well, if you two aren't going to say anything… There's going to be consequences."

Nick and Judy kept silent. Bellwether snickered, reaching into her jacket to pull out a pistol. The pistol. The one that killed the cat, the one John purchased.

"This has one bullet in it. Who wants to take it?" Bellwether asked. Before Nick or Judy got the chance to speak, the child bear came out of the door behind the counter. He spotted Bellwether, and his eyes lit up with rage.

"You… You killed my dad!" The cub cried. Bellwether aimed the gun at the cub, a glare in her eyes.

"Where's the purchase history file? Tell me!" Bellwether yelled. The cub glared at the sheep a bit more, before charging at Bellwether in hopes to attack her. Bellwether simply grinned, readying her finger on the trigger. Judy took notice of this, and her eyes widened with fear.

"No!" Judy cried, but she was helpless as Bellwether pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight through the cub's chest. The young bear fell to the ground alongside his father, grunting in pain, soon to be dead.

"You psychopath!" Nick screamed, struggling more to get to Bellwether. Judy couldn't even speak as she stared at the bleeding cub, her eyes wide with terror and her chest heaving with panic. Bellwether threw the gun behind her back, sighing in annoyance.

"And that was my last bullet. Guess I have to do this the painful way now," Bellwether said with annoyance. She went up to one of the rhinos, and the large mammal handed her a knife. Bellwether inspected the knife in her hands for a bit, before looking over at Judy and Nick. They both felt a chill down their spines as Bellwether walked over to them, a grin on her face more terrifying than anything.

"So, who shall receive the punishment?" Bellwether asked. "Actually, I'll decide. Don't want you two desperately crying in my face. Hmm… I'll go with…"

Slowly… Ever so slowly… Bellwether pointed the sharp weapon in her hand to one of the animals. She grinned as she looked at her target, and couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll go with you," Bellwether said as she pointed the knife at Judy.

Judy slightly gasped, and she felt everything in her body skip. Nick's eyes widened in panic, and he started struggling even more.

"No! Don't do this, please!" Nick begged as Bellwether slowly walked over to the rabbit, readying the knife in her hand. She placed a hand on Judy's shoulder, bringing the knife closer to her stomach, inch by inch. Judy tightly closed her eyes, trying to get back, but the rhino behind her made it hard. Nick couldn't let this happen! He could only do one thing… One thing to save Judy. One thing to make sure she was safe.

"Take me instead!"

Bellwether froze, her icy stare looming towards the fox. Judy gasped, looking at Nick. "N-Nick?! What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm making sure you'll be safe, Carrots!" Nick cried. Bellwether giggled, letting go of Judy's shoulder to instead walk over to the fox. She smirked in his face, a smirk that pissed off Nick.

"Why, aren't you just the knight in shining armor, hm?" Bellwether hissed. Nick glared at the sheep. Judy struggled even more.

"D-don't hurt him! Please, he doesn't deserve it!" Judy cried.

"Oh, there's nothing you can do to change his decision. If he wants to die, he can die…" Bellwether whispered. Nick braced himself for the pain, and Judy couldn't take her eyes away from this madness. Nick took a deep breath, eyeing the sheep.

"Do what you're ab-" He was cut off by Bellwether suddenly thrusting the knife into his stomach.

"NICK!" Judy screamed in desperation as the sheep pushed the knife into Nick's stomach. The fox grunted in pain, shutting his eyes tightly as the sheep pushed the sharp blade into his stomach. Bellwether's evil stare turned to Judy.

"Say… How'd that little saying of yours go again?" Bellwether asked. "Wasn't it something like…"

"Blood," Bellwether hissed as she pushed the knife further into Nick's stomach.

"Blood!" Bellwether started lifting her voice as she pushed the knife further, causing Nick to wince even harder and double up in pain.

"BLOOD!" Bellwether screamed as she pushed the knife as far as it could go. Blood trickled down Nick's stomach, and he slowly felt his consciousness leave him.

"And…" Bellwether finally took the knife out of Nick, and the bear let go of the fox. Nick immediately fell to the floor in pain, and blood started leaking onto the floor.

"Death."

Judy felt tears in her eyes, and her throat was dry from her screaming. She struggled harder than ever before to get to Nick, who lay on the ground in pain, blood leaking from his stomach. Bellwether clicked her fingers, and the rhino released his grip on the rabbit. Judy immediately kneeled down to Nick, quickly taking off her jacket to place on the stab wound.

"Let her mourn. I'll be dealing with you later," Bellwether hissed as she walked off. Judy was looking into Nick's eyes, which were opening and closing rapidly.

"Nick, look at me, please! You're going to be alright!" Judy desperately cried with tears in her eyes. Judy got up, wrapping her arms under Nick's arms, trying to pull him with all her might, but to no avail. Instead, Nick grunted more in pain. Judy immediately released her grip on him, trying not to hurt him anymore. The rabbit frantically looked around for a phone, and she remembered there was one on the way to the black market. She sprinted her hardest to the pay phone, and immediately used her coins to dial the ambulance. She quickly explained to them that her boyfriend had been stabbed. She needed to get back to him as soon as possible; he'd be bleeding out by now.

Once the ambulance was on the way, Judy quickly ran back to the fox. He still laid on the ground, his breathing in shudders. He felt cold, and his eyes were empty. Judy saw that the blood was leaking through her jacket, and she quickly took off her shirt, not giving a damn she was shirtless as she placed the shirt atop the jacket. She needed to slow the blood loss, and if the blood was leaking, it was starting to go at a quick rate.

Judy heard sirens wailing in the distance, and she thanked all that is holy the ambulance were fast. "You're gonna be okay, Nick… Nick?"

Nick's eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft and low. His pulse was slowing down and he was getting cold to touch. "No, Nick, stay with me!" Judy begged. Nick was unconscious, and that was really bad. The ambulance stopped outside the black market, and paramedics poured out with a stretcher. Nick's breathing was getting softer.

He was dying.

Judy's eyes were welling with tears at the thought of losing Nick. He was lifted onto the stretcher and taken into the ambulance truck. Judy quickly hopped into the back of the truck with Nick as it took off.

Judy held Nick's paw, rubbing her thumb over it. "You'll be alright, Nick… Please don't die…"

Nick wasn't waking up. The paramedics were putting all sorts of stuff on him, and Judy hoped they could save him. They had to.

The ambulance quickly arrived at the hospital and Nick was taken into the surgery room. They wouldn't allow Judy in. She begged, but she would have to wait until tomorrow to know if Nick was going to live. Judy was shirtless and cold, but she didn't care. All she cared about was Nick.

Judy knew she could do one thing to help Nick. Get that purchase history file. Bellwether had completely forgotten it, much to Judy's advantage. Judy began sprinting back to the black market, and she was there pretty damn fast. She looked away from the dead bears and quickly went through the door behind the counter. She was met with a bedroom; obviously for the bear family.

Judy began frantically searching, opening every drawer, looking under everything. She started to hear footsteps outside, and saw that a rhino was returning. The same rhino that held her hostage when Nick was stabbed. He carried a knife in his hand.

"Crap," Judy silently cursed, before frantically searching even more. The rhino opened the door just as Judy found the file behind a cupboard. The rhino spotted Judy with the file in her hand, and he grinned with delight.

"You got nowhere to go," The rhino threatened. Judy made a run for the door, but the rhino swiped at her with the knife, cutting her cheek. Judy yelped in pain, staggering at the cut. The rhino grabbed her by the neck and Judy struggled to get out of his grip. She knew that rhino was about to stab her in the back; an instant death. Luckily, the rhino's grip wasn't as strong as last time and Judy escaped. She sprinted out the black market towards the hospital, leaving the slow rhino behind.

Judy felt the cut on her cheek, and realized he had split her cheek. Lots of blood leaked, but it wasn't that bad. Judy hugged the file in her hand; thanking all that is holy she made it out alive. She entered the hospital, shirtless, a cut from a knife on her cheek and a file in her hand, and she was smiling.

"Nick, I swear…" Judy whispered to herself as she looked at the file.

"I swear I will take down Dawn Bellwether."


TO BE CONTINUED…