It had been ten days since the night I was stabbed, the doctor told me it would take ten days for my wound to heal. Today was my final day there and I couldn't be happier. I wondered about what anonymous' plan was for me and why he wanted to kill me, but I wasn't worried of course. Reason being, was that Nick, Judy, and Britt were going to be by my side the entire time, helping me along the way. At first the doctors wanted me to take it slow for the first few days, but I was tired of taking it slow. I wanted to find this guy and get a little payback. So during the physical therapy process, I had one goal in mind, to beat the shit out of anonymous and throw him in prison. That was the only way I would have peace. "What're you thinking about Tanner?" Britt asked me with a worried expression. I looked into her gorgeous eyes, "what am I thinking about? Hmm, well I would like to get out of this hospital bed." I said with a smirk. "I know handsome, I know." She said as a tear rolled down her cheek. I raised my paw and ever so gently wiped the tear coming down Britt's face. "Britt, what's wrong?" I asked as I lifted her chin with my paw. "This is all my fault, I should have walked out with you, I should have…" she then burst into tears as she grabbed my paw and squeezed. I lifted my other paw to her face and said, "Britt, look at me. None of this is your fault, don't even think for one second that it's your fault." As I kissed her on her forehead, Judy and Nick walked into the room with the doctor in tow. "How are you feeling today Mr. Lionheart?" the doctor asked checking my iv bag and jotting down the information on the health monitor. "I feel great doc, still a little stiff right around here." I said as I circled my finger around my stab wound. "That area is going to be stiff for a while, but as long as you stretch and exercise like we told you then you'll be good as new." The doctor said with a smile. "So does that mean I can finally leave the hospital?" I asked with a smile. "Of course, all you need to do is sign out and you'll be on your way. And pick up a bottle of Tylenol from the drug store, it'll help numb the pain." The doctor said with a smile as he walked out of the room. After I signed the release papers, and got the bottle of Tylenol, we were heading towards Nick and Judy's apartment. "So Tanner, I think you should stay with me and Nick for the time being since you were put into protective custody. That way it won't even feel like were protecting you, it'll just be like us hanging out! Except 24/7." Judy said smiling from ear to ear, as she pulled the suv in front of her and Nick's apartment. "Yeah, that's fine." I said as I grabbed my prescription and headed inside. 'well how bad could it be?' I thought to myself.
Living with Nick and Judy had its perks, but it also has a few drawbacks, so let's pro-con this situation. Pro, hanging out with my best friends 24/7. I love hanging out with Judy and Nick because they are like my brother and sister, they always watch out for me and talk to me if I ever have a problem. Con, we've literally run out of stuff to do. We've literally done everything from watch movies, play board games, and play Xbox to where we've literally started people watching through Nicks window. That's when Nick got an idea and left to go to the police station, leaving me and Judy at the apartment by ourselves. When Nick finally came back, he had a ZPD laptop and a cardboard box with the words 'anonymous case' written in black sharpie on the side. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked as I walked over to Nick and grabbed the box. "Yes it is, since we've got nothing else to do, I suggest we go over the evidence and see if we can find anything we might've missed." Nick said with a smile on his face. "That was very sweet of you Nick." Judy said as she walked over to Nick and kissed him on the cheek. "Anything for a friend." Nick said as he kissed Judy on the lips. We all sat down on the couch and started pulling out the evidence. When I pulled out the first piece of evidence, tears started to form in my eyes. The first thing to come out was the picture of my mother laying on the floor in a pool of blood. I slowly flipped the picture over because I hated reliving that memory, I began to sob as I put my paw over my eyes trying to control myself. "It's ok Tanner, we're gonna get this guy." Judy said as she put her paw on mine. "Thanks Judy." I said with a smile as we kept going over the evidence. That's when I came across the picture of where I was stabbed and that made me think of something. "Nick, pull up all the traffic cams that cover that apartment building." I said. Nick opened up the computer and pulled up the cameras to Britt's apartment, he rewound the tape to the night of my stabbing and played the video. We watched as I walked to my car, we noticed a black van on the opposite side of the street. "There, look at this." I said as I rewound the video a few seconds to show a figure dressed in black getting out of the van and walking towards me. In a matter of seconds, I watched as the knife went into my side, and then out as the figure walked back to the van and got in, then van started and peeled off. "follow the van, try to get a license plate!" I said as I searched through the cameras. I switched to the next camera and paused. "I've got you now. He ran a red light on vine street!" I said as I zoomed in on his face. The figure had taken its mask off and revealed its identity. "He's a tiger, I'd say around the age of 35, medium build, with a scar over his eye." I said as I took a screen shot on the screen. I flipped to the next camera and found the license plate. "T, 0, 2, M, 9, F. Judy, run that plate through the data base." I said as I went to go get a glass of water, then all of a sudden I heard a gasp escape Judy's mouth as I walked back into the den. "What's wrong?" I asked as I set the glass down. Judy turned the computer to face me and I couldn't believe my eyes. The mammal who stabbed me was none other than officer Delgato's brother.
"What the hell!? Officer Delgato's brother? You've gotta be kidding me right?" I screamed as I paced the room. "What if Delgato is in on this?" I asked with sadness in my voice. "There's only one way to find out." Nick said as he grabbed his phone and dialed Delgato's cell phone. "hello?" Delgato asked as he answered his phone. "Hey Delgato, its Nick. I need you to come by my place for a minute." Nick said as he looked at me. "Ok, I'll be there soon." Delgato said as he hung up. An hour passed before Delgato finally showed up. "Hey Tanner, how ya feeling?" Delgato asked as he came to shake my hand, but I just stood there with my arms crossed. "I'm fine I guess, I just have a few questions for you." I asked as I walked to the computer. I turned the computer to face Delgato and asked. "have you seen your brother recently?" I asked as I clicked the screen to life, revealing Delgato's brother's file. "No I haven't, why does this matter?" he asks me with a stern look on his face. I switched the screen over to the traffic cams that I had stitched together to show Delgato that his brother was the one who stabbed me. Delgato's eyes immediately filled with sorrow as he saw his own brother thrust a knife into my side. "Tanner, words cannot describe how sorry I am. How can I make it up to you?" he asked as he looked to me. "All I need is a few minutes with your brother, if you can bring him in to the precinct that's all you need to do, no harm will come to him I promise." I said as I put a paw on his shoulder. With that being said Delgato pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his brother to meet him at the precinct in one hour. When we arrived, Delgato was standing in the lobby with his brother beside him in handcuffs. "Judy, Nick, take officer Delgato's brother to the interrogation room and keep him company till I arrive." I said as I walked to the observation room that sat beside the interrogation room. I waited a good fifteen minutes before finally walking into the interrogation room with a case file in my hand. "Don't let what happened to the wolf happen here." Nick said as he and Judy walked out. I sat down across from Delgato's brother and watched as his brother's eyes followed me. "You're supposed to be dead." The tiger said as I opened the file. "Well, I'm alive and kicking. So great job with that one Mr. wise guy." I said mockingly. The tiger grinned slightly, "the name is Finn, and tell me officer, why am I here?" he said as his grin disappeared. "Who's anonymous?" I ask as I open the case file. "I don't know what you're talking about." The tiger said with a blank expression. "Well that just ain't gonna cut it dipshit. I mean seriously are you so dumb that you can't even remember your own employer I mean, come on!" I said with a smile as the tiger started to shake with rage. "You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that." The tiger said clenching his fists. "Oh I'm sorry does me calling you a dumb worthless sack of shit offend you?" I asked, raising the file up as the tiger swiped at me but failed because he was chained to the table. "SHUT UP!" the tiger screamed, obviously filled with rage. "THEN TELL ME WHO ANONYMOUS IS!" I screamed right back as I slammed my fist onto the table. The tiger slumped into his chair, "I don't know. I've only met the guy once and I was wearing a bag on my head at the time. So I'm sorry, I can't help ya." Said the tiger. "Ok, well enjoy the next 40 years of your life in prison." I said as I closed the file and walked to the door. "WAIT!" the tiger yelled as my hand grabbed the handle. The tiger reached into his pocket and pulled out a calling card. "He gave me this, he said that this is the account that he transferred my money to." The tiger said as he handed me the card. "Thanks, but I'm sorry you still have to go to prison for attempting to murder a police officer." I said as put the card into the file and walked out of the room, leaving the tiger in a rage as he cursed my name.
Anonymous POV
I sat there in silence, waiting ever so patiently for my messenger to return with good news. But I was growing tired and looked at my watch in anger. 'Where the hell is he!?' I thought to myself. I then heard the doors open, as I turned around and saw my messenger panting with his paws on his knees. "Sir! The assassination attempt failed. Officer Lionheart is still alive." The panicked hyena said as I rose from the chair. I let out a sigh as I walked over to the scared hyena. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "And where is our assassin now?" I asked as my claws extended. The hyena swallowed and said with fear in his voice, "he's in the ZPD's custody." I was instantly enraged as I dug my claws into the hyena's shoulder, causing him to scream out. "If you have any good news for me, I suggest you spit it out before I rip your little throat out." I said with anger in my voice. "We received a tip that Tanner is going out with his date tonight and they'll be alone! Please sir, please don't kill me." the hyena began to sob. "Don't worry little one, I'm not going to kill you." I said as I removed my hand from his shoulder. I then looked to the brown bear who was my body guard and said, "Ivan, take care of the trash please." And without a sound, the bear instantly pulled out a silenced pistol and shot the hyena in the head. "Ivan, assemble a snatch and grab team. We're going hunting." I said as I took a seat in the chair. The bear walked out of the room and I was alone, thinking to myself as I extended my claws. The thought of Tanner's blood dripping of my claws brought me nothing but happiness as I took a sip of the whiskey sitting on my desk. I pulled open a drawer to the desk and pulled out a picture that had collected dust for over 21 years. I wiped the dust away from the picture, a tear instantly formed as I gazed upon the little white tiger that I was holding in my arms. 'Don't worry my little flower. I will have my revenge soon.' I thought to myself as I set the picture on top of the desk. "Lionheart, you took away my little girl. So now I'm going to take your little boy." I said as I grabbed the liquor glass and took another sip.
Back to my POV
After what happened at the precinct I decided to go clear my head by going to see Britt. When me, Judy and Nick made it to the apartment I knocked on the door, hoping that she was home. "I'm coming!" I could hear from inside the apartment, 'thank god she's home.' I thought to myself. When the door finally opened, Britt threw her arms around me and kissed me on the lips in front of Judy and Nick. But I didn't care I was happy to finally have this lovely mammal in my arms once again. She pulls away and says, "I'm so glad you came!" She said as she ushered us into her apartment. I went and sat on the couch, I smiled when Britt came and sat beside me. She then leaned her head against my shoulder, as she pulled her legs up onto the couch to get comfortable. "I'm so glad you're ok." She said as she looked up and kissed me on the cheek. "Me too." I said as I pulled her in closer and gave her a kiss on her neck, she instantly blushed as a smile came across her face. I heard an ahem come from beside us, I looked over and there were Nick and Judy with smiles on their faces. "Sorry guys, guess I kinda got a little carried away." I said with a grin. "its ok, so what're yall planning to do?" Judy asked with a smile. "Well I was going to bring it up with Tanner before I asked yall, but since we're all here anyway I thought we could all go out to dinner together?" Britt asked with a smile. "I love the idea." I said as I kissed her cheek. "Sounds fun to me! What do you think Nick?" Judy asked, her eyes locking onto Nick's trying to convince him. "Sounds like a plan." Nick said with a smile as he kissed the top of her head. "Alright then! Dinner it is! Where would y'all like to eat, lady's choice?" I asked as I rubbed Britt's back with my paw. Britt and Judy instantly looked at each other and smiled as Judy said, "How about that new restaurant in Sahara Square called the fox and the hare? It's got a good Pred/Prey food variety?" "sounds amazing! So what do we have to wear?" Nick asked. "Coat and tie, and Nicholas Wilde, I better not see you in that green Hawaiian shirt and tie." She said with a stern look on her face. "Carrots, you think I'd do that to you I'm hurt!" nick said as he placed his hand over his heart. I chuckled and said, "well good news is I have a spare suit in my car, in case of emergencies. I'm gonna go grab it, Nick you want to walk with me?" I asked as I got up and walked to the door. "Let's go bro." Nick said as he followed me out the door. When we reached my car I hit the unlock button and threw open the trunk to grab my suit, but that's when I felt a sharp pain in my neck and I instantly passed out.
'Ok, this shit is getting annoying.' I thought to myself when my brain finally started to kick back on. I tried to move but realized I was stuck, where ever I was. That's when I heard a low thumping sound, I tried to lift my head but it hurt too much as I let my head fall back down. "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise." A low and evil voice said as they grabbed my mane and yanked me back. A light shown into my face, it was too bright for me to see my captor. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" I asked groggily. "Oh my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Eric Sloan, but you can call me Sloan." The figure said. As he let go of my mane my vision began to clear, a white tiger, dressed in a suit as he stood over me. "wait a minute, don't tell me. Your supposed to be some kind of 007 evil villain wannabe?" I asked as a smirk came across my face. "typical, you're just like your father." Said the tiger as he let go of my head letting me get a clear view of where I was. I was tied to a chair in the middle of an abandoned warehouse in Tundra Town. "Alright, Dr. Sloan. What do you know about my dad?" I asked trying to wiggle free. "Well, your father ruined my life. So I plan on ruining his life in return." Sloan said as he walked circles around me. "My father is a great mammal. He would never ruin someone's life, let alone try." I said getting angry. "Well guess what, your father isn't what everyone thinks he is." Sloan said as he pushed my chair causing me to fall on my back. I heard something fall on the ground, I noticed that my phone had fallen out of my pocket. So while Sloan was turned around, I reached for my phone with what mobility I had. I was cut short when Sloan ran over and kicked me right in the spot where my knife wound was, causing me to cry out in pain. I then noticed that my phone was right beside my hand! I picked it up and immediately opened the recorder app to record the conversation. I pressed the record button and asked Sloan, "so why do you think my father isn't a good mammal." I asked as I hid my phone in my sleeve. Sloan turned around and started to laugh maniacally. "Your father is the reason my daughter is dead, the one and only reason. When your father and I first met, I was developing mechanical enhancements for mammals so they can live longer, stronger, smarter. I developed these." Sloan said as he extended his claws, they reflected in the light as he moved them around. "tungsten, one of the strongest metals in the world. I implanted them myself. But these were just one of the many enhancements I had envisioned. But when my daughter was diagnosed with heart problems as a young kit, I quickly went to work. Trying to find a solution, to help her. And that's when it hit me, a mechanical heart that pumps the blood just like a regular heart except stronger. I spent all of my time and research trying to find a solution, and when I finally almost had the final piece, your father had to come along and shut down my work." He said as he clenched his fist. "why did my father shut you down?" I asked. "well, I started doing some… unnecessary testing on other animals while I was trying to find an effective solution, but your father found out and shut me down. A few days later my little kit died of a heart murmur, and it's all because of him!" he screamed as he kicked me in the chest with all of his strength. I fell to the ground in agony as the phone slipped out of my shirt and across the floor. Sloan walked over to where my phone lay on the ground and picked it up, noticing that I recorded the conversation. He let out an evil laugh as he walked over and sat me upright. "You silly lion, you recorded the conversation thinking you might get something out of me?" he said as he clicked the delete button. "Well I have an idea, why don't we call your friends?" he said as he clicked the muzzletime button next to Judy's name and switched the camera around to face me. it rang for a few seconds before the screen filled with Judy and the rest of the ZPD in the background. "Oh no, Tanner! Are you ok? Where are you?" Judy cried. "Don't worry, he's with me. I'm Dr. Eric Sloan by the way." Sloan said as he switched the camera back around to face him. "Why are you doing this?" Judy screamed. "Because, this lions father took everything I had! So now I'm going to take everything of his." He said as he switched the camera back towards me. He extended his claws as he walked over to me and shoved his claws full force into my wrists cutting my carotid arteries, making me cry out in pain. "STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" I heard a voice come through the phone, it was Britt's. Sloan slowly pulled his claws out of my wrists and turned the camera back around to face him. "As of right now you have fifteen minutes to come and save your friend before he dies from blood loss. But I highly doubt you can get here fast enough. And by the time you get here I will be long gone, so I would focus all of your attention on him." Sloan said as he stopped the call and set a timer for fifteen minutes. "See you around Tanner." Sloan said as he walked outside. Time slowly passed as I watched the timer counting down, the amount of blood I had already lost was already starting to play tricks on me. As I sat there, my head hanging as images of my life began to flash before my eyes. The day I graduated the academy, the day I met Judy and Nick, my 21st birthday, seeing my dad, and most importantly Brittany. God only knows how much I wanted to see her again. I lifted my head to look at the timer once more and there were two minutes left. "Britt, I know I'm only talking to myself, but if I don't say it now then I might as well take it with me to the grave. Brittany, I love you." I said as I looked back to the clock. That's when I noticed the sound of a helicopters rotors hovering over my head. I looked up and tried to see the helicopter, but my body was too weak from the blood loss. That's when I noticed Judy, Nick and Britt running towards me. As the clock hit zero. Everything disappeared.
Britt's POV
The heart monitor beeped slowly as I sat beside Tanner, with my paw lying on his. "Nick, please be honest with me." I said as I looked to Nick, who was sitting beside me. "What is it Britt?" Nick said as he put his paw on my shoulder to comfort me. Tears began to pour out of my eyes as I looked to Tanner laying in the hospital bed, "Is he going to make it?" "I don't know Brittany, from the amount of blood that he lost, the doctors have said he has been touch and go for the past few hours." Nick said as he looked over to Tanner. "Well is there anything we can do? I feel like there is something we can do." Judy said as she laid her head on Nicks shoulder. "There's only one thing we can do, and that is hope that Tanner is strong enough to come back swinging." Nick said as he wrapped his arms around Judy as she cried. As I looked at Tanner, all the memories that we've already made were playing through my head as I started to cry. That's when I heard the door open, I looked up and noticed the doctor walking in with a nurse. I immediately got up and asked the doctor, "doctor, please tell me you have some good news." All the doctor did was let out a sigh as he looked me in the eyes. "In Tanners current condition, I'm surprised he has lasted this long. He lost 75% of his blood which results in class 4 hemorrhaging, which results him slipping into a coma. Luckily we were able to transfuse enough blood into his system for him to be stable. But going comatose is a very serious thing that cannot be helped. So as of right now we do not know if Tanner is going to wake up or not. I'm very sorry." The doctor said as his head lowered in sorrow. "It's ok, Tanner will come out of it. I know he will." I said as I walked over to his bed and gave him a kiss on his forehead. As tears started streaming down my face I said with all of my heart, "Tanner, I know you can hear me, please come back to me. I can't do life without you by my side, I absolutely refuse to do life without you! Because you have made me the happiest mammal in the world! You have filled an empty space in my heart that I've been trying to fill for years. I love you Tanner Lionheart! Do you hear me? I LOVE YOU!" I shouted as I finally burst into tears. I just couldn't hold them back anymore, the tears came like a flood as I buried my head into Tanners chest. 'please. Just please wake up.' I thought to myself as I slowly sat back down and laid my head on his bed, as I drifted off to sleep.
My POV
"hello? Can anyone hear me?" I said as I stood in a room completely enveloped in white. I tried to think, but nothing was coming to mind as I started walking through the room. "Ok, there are only two things that this can be. Either I'm dead, or I'm dreaming." I said as I kept walking through the room. That's when I heard the sound of thunder and then a door appearing in front of me. 'I guess I'm supposed to walk through the door?' I thought to myself as I grabbed the handle and pushed it open. I found myself walking through a graveyard and thought to myself, 'why am I here?' I saw a crowd in the distance, I decided to walk over and see what was happening. My paw slowly came to my mouth in shock of what I saw. Nick, Judy, chief Bogo, Brittany, my father, and the entire ZPD police force were gathered around a casket that was covered by the flag of Zootopia. 'No, please god no.' I thought to myself as I walked over to the casket and grabbed the lid. As soon as I lifted the lid, I was in complete shock to find that I was laying in the casket. "I'm dead?" I said to myself as I dropped to my knees. "No you're not dead, you're in a coma." I heard someone say behind me. I immediately got up and turned around, I found a figure dressed in a black robe with a hood on to cover his face and a scythe in his hands. "let me guess, you're the angel of death?" I asked as I shut the lid to the casket. "Yes I am, but before you ask the question 'are you here to take me away' no I am not. God has given me specific instructions to show you events of what would happen if you decided to die." The angel of death said to me. "Wait a minute, God told you, to show me scenarios of what would happen if I decided to die? What kind of sick joke is that?" I asked as I walked over to death and stare into the darkness under his hood. "I can assure you, that this is no joke!" Death said as he pointed to my casket being lowered into the ground. "You want to see something? Look at this!" Death said as he snapped his boney fingers. The scenery changed and I found us in a hospital room. He spun me around and I instantly began to tear up when I saw myself lying in the hospital bed. Nick, Judy, and Britt were sitting by my side, I could see Brittany crying as the doctor came into the room. "look at her face Tanner, you want her to go through the rest of her life alone? What about your friends? And what about your father? If he loses you he has nothing left! He's already lost his wife, he doesn't need to lose you too." Death said as he snapped his fingers again. Two doors appeared, one labeled with life, the other with death. "You have a choice Tanner, to either live and continue fighting for your friends, your friends, and for Brittany, or to roll over like a dog and give it all up. So what's it going to be Tanner Lionheart. Life or death." Death said as he took a step back, obviously giving me space to think. That's when I heard Brittany starting to cry and I looked over to her standing by my bed. "Tanner, I know you can hear me, please come back to me. I can't do life without you by my side, I absolutely refuse to do life without you! Because you have made me the happiest mammal in the world! You have filled an empty space in my heart that I've been trying to fill for years. I love you Tanner Lionheart! Do you hear me? I LOVE YOU!" I heard Brittany say as she laid her head by my unconscious body. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I looked to Death. "thank you for showing me this." I said to death as I grabbed the handle to the door and opened it.