A/N: Told you it would get good, here we go~

Sam sighed, frowning to himself as he held his head in his paw, looking at his lunch forlornly. It had been another crappy morning at school, had been one of many for the past month since he started going here. The only thing he had going for him was lunch and recess, everything else sucked. He missed the Orphanage badly, or rather, the school there. He had more friends and all the teachers were nicer and more understanding.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" The young kit's eyes looked up in surprise to see his best friend Winnie taking a seat across from him, folding up her cane and set it on the tabletop.

"Wait, Winnie? What are you doing here? And uh... how did you know where I was sitting?" Sam asked, his ears perking up as his demeanor changed from seeing a familar face. He bit his lip, hoping she didn't take the questions the wrong way.

"Grandparent's day." Winnie smiled, her paws tracing her tray and felt for her fork. "My Gram asked what I wanted for lunch and I told her I wanted to come see you. So, here we are. Oh and she told me where you were sitting and when I got closer I could hear you sighing." She grinned at him, her eyes focused on the direction of Sam's voice.

As if to emphasis the point, it wasn't long before Gram took a seat next to the kids, and she slid them both two freshly baked cookies from the cashier line that she snagged for them.

"How are you doing, Samhain?" Gram asked kindly, smiling at the kit who returned the smile.

"I'm doing okay, Gram. I just miss the school in the Orphanage." Sam admitted to them, nibbling on the cookie and sighed heavily. "The teachers around here are a bit impatient with my dyslexia, and I still haven't told Dad. I've been lucky that I could at least get my homework done and not have questions asked. But the low test scores are kinda starting to add up..."

"You need to tell him." Winnie responded, blowing on a bit of her green beans and forked them into her mouth, chewing slowly.

Sam groaned, shaking his head. He looked at his food dejectedly, starting to frown and pushed his tray away.

"Hey, Sammy. Look at me." Winnie said gently, tapping the side of her head. "I may not be able to see, but I can tell you're frowning. Come on, smile. Me and Gram came here to see the happy go lucky Sam that I grew up with."

The young kit sheepishly smiled, unable to stop himself since Winnie was always able to make him feel better despite how he was feeling. He finished off the cookie given to him by Gram and hummed.

"So... if I tell Dad, do you think he'll let me go back to school with you, Mrs. Haffer and Mrs. Fauna?" He asked her, his voice hopeful.

Gram 'hmm'ed while Winnie tilted her head in thought.

"Ah, there's my handsome grandson!" The kit was wrapped in a hug from behind and he smiled widely as Marian sat next to him, patting his head.

"Hey Grandma, we kinda need your advice."

"Dyslexia?" Marian asked, forking some of the potatos from Sam's tray of food.

"Wha-?" The kit blinked, his mouth falling open, even Winnie and Gram were surprised.

"Your school calls me instead since they know your father is a busy mammal. I received a few calls about your tests." She pat his head gently, trying to assure him he wasn't in trouble. "You inherited from your Grandma's side, kiddo. It'll be okay, we'll help you through this."

"...Thanks Grandma."


"Nick?"

"Hm?"

"You've been quiet for a while, are you holding up okay?"

A sigh was her answer, the Fox looking up from the fourth folder out of twelve others, his eyes hardened before he relaxed. The duo were currently taking a short break at the Shanghai to sort through all of the files before deciding the best course of action was to investigate John's apartment and then looking into the evidence locker.

For the past half hour, Nick had been browsing through every folder and picked up small details that really stuck out here and there. It was like trying to put the pieces of a large puzzle together, but with the very vital parts missing. Sitting back and rubbed his face with a paw, looking at Judy for a minute who held a concerned gaze.

Checking the clock on his phone, he noted the time was about 2:49 PM.

"We should get going." Nick replied, closing the folder and put it in the stack. "And don't worry about me, I'm going to be okay. Call me crazy, but I think I've gotten over it and made my peace. I just want to see this through and get this guy."

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Judy muttered, thanking Yuuko when she brought them two drinks to go. "Nick I'm not going to mince words, I'm worried for you."

She blew on the drink, her eyes never leaving his and gently cut him off before he could argue. "I don't want any lies, any secrets, no 'Wilde Charms' of the... past kind. I've trusted you with my life, and all that implies. I want to know that you trust me too, and that you will follow by your word and keep this by the book and to not let your past, or emotions pertaining to your late father get in the way of what's really important here."

Nick was silent for a few minutes, clearing his throat. "Well, now I know where the Chief gets his speeches from." He smiled, reaching over and gently took her paw in his, giving it a loving squeeze.

"Judy, I promise that I will do as I told the Chief. I'm a mammal of my word, such is my nature as a Fox." He told her, his voice never wavering to signal he was serious. "I trust you with my life as well, more than I have with anyone, even Finn. If there's anyone out there that can keep me from going back to my past, it's you."

"That and my mother, she still scares me even after all this time." He chuckled, and Judy noticed a slight shiver, causing her to smile.

"Alright, fair enough. No more buttering me up with that smile, you devil." She winked, her grin matching his when they scooped up the folders and headed off to the Squad Car. "I'll make sure that you'll be a good fox, promise."

Nick chuckled to himself, leaving Yuuko a tip and left to join his friend... girlfriend...?

The thought made him pause, his paw on the handle but soon shook it off and climbed into the vehicle. Without another word, the pair left off to head to John's abandoned apartment.

After a little bit of driving, Nick was the first to break the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Look, I'm going to acknowledge the Francine in the car." He spoke softly, Judy's eyes on the road who merely snorted in amusement. "I know I overreacted with the Chief. And I also know that it was probably too emotional for me to handle at the moment. But I promise that I'm fine now, I just needed to clear my head and rethink it all."

"And also, this morning kinda-"

He was cut off by his phone going off for a text message. Pulling out it out, he clicked it on and saw he had a message from his mother.

"Could you and Judy come over for dinner tonight after Sam's badge ceremony? He wanted to spend the night, so I'll pick him up from school. Also I want to talk to you about something serious tonight."

"Hoo boy," Nick chuckled, causing Judy to raise an eyebrow. "Mom wants to spoil Sam tonight with a sleepover for his good job as a scout. And she also apparently has something serious she wants to talk to me about."

Judy nodded, lightly pressing the gas pedal down to continue on after another car passed by them and took a turn. The fox quickly texted back that they would love to join, and shut his screen off, pocketing the phone and looked out the window. After about ten more minutes of driving Nick felt his heart-rate quicken for about the upteenth time that day as he realized what they stopped at, checking the address of John's apartment and realized for the first time that the addresses were one and the same.

"Son of a..." Nick muttered, swallowing down the knot in his throat when Judy turned off the car and they got out.

Wilde Times...


"Yes Sir. I see them, have them in my sights and they are entering the building as we speak."

"Oliver Winston is entering from the roof. Just like you requested of him, he's going to meet with them."

"I'll keep you updated, let me know when. Rouge One out."


Nostalgia ran through Nick as he let his paw slide over the arcade machines. Most were smashed up by random bricks thrown by passerbys and ruffians. There was even one nearly flattened by a piece of the roof that had rotted and fallen.

Tartarus, Mario Kart, Master of Tartarus Rush, Mortal Kombat and a few others Nick couldn't remember dotted the area. Those were pretty much the only ones left that weren't smashed to bits. It was surprising they had kept up this long... maybe he could pull them out to see if they still worked. Shaking it off, Nick swept his flashlight over the dusty place, suppressing a cough and waved his paw to clear the area.

"Welp, take a good long look. This used to be a fun hang out in it's hayday." Nick said quietly, his throat tightening. "Sorry you had to see it in this state. I was barely a toddler before Mom had to shut it down, so it's not like I have anything to compare it with."

"It's okay. Maybe one day it could be restored, lots of good machines still here." Judy replied, being careful to avoid shards of glass and machinery that littered the floor while she looked around. "Pretty... glum for a first date, huh?"

"Heh, yeah..." Nick rubbed his neck, both of them jumping as a loud crash sounded right above them in the apartment section.

Thinking quickly, the pair nodded and quietly took the stairs up; stopping at the door to the apartment loft. Nick on one side with Judy on the other, they both drew their guns and after a moment of pause, kicked the door open and rushed inside.

"ZPD!" Nick shouted, his eyes scanning the decrepit remains of the living room.

Their only answer was a cough as a bit of rubble moved in the corner and shuffled away as the mammal sat up and rubbed his head.

Oliver Winston.

Nick tightened the grip on his gun and glared, keeping the weapon trained on him feeling his earlier anger start to boil again before he took a breath and calmed down. Albeit only slightly.

"Freeze, Winston!" he barked, his fingers twitching as he tried to keep his gun steady.

Winston gave a cough, glaring right back and waved them off. "Put tha' down yeh daft fool, Ah'm getting too old fer having ah gun to me head."

Neither lowered their firearms, the pair sparing a glance at the other as Winston slowly rose out of the rubble, grunting when he pushed up and got to his hindpaws with his cane. He really looked quite older than the picture that the pair was shown earlier today. He coughed and wheezed again, shaking himself and brushed off the sheetrock dust clinging to his fur, popping a cigar in his mouth and lit it, focusing his gaze on the two.

"Care fer 'un?" He held out a small package to them, who merely frowned.

"...You're a wanted terrorist and you're offering us a-" Nick bit his tongue, changing his wording at the last second. "A freaking cigar?"

"Ah'm dead anyway, why not enjoy 'un last smoke?" Oliver shrugged, hobbling over to the abandoned couch where John lay a few months prior. The fox felt his blood boil a bit from the casualness the bobcat was using toward them.

"We are not friends. You're a wanted terrorist. A mammal wanted for crimes against mammal-kind. So stop asking like we want to sit down and chat with you. The only chat you'll be having is with the cell door you'll be locked behind for the rest of your life." Nick spat, causing Judy to look at him with concern before the fox took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.

Oliver chuckled. "Well, S'see you inherited that famous glare from yer father. Tone of voice and conviction matches quite well too when he was yer age. A good mammal, good friend."

"...You knew him personally?" Judy asked, trying to keep Nick from saying or doing something he would regret. She gently placed a paw on his firearm, lowering it so he wouldn't accidentally shoot the mammal. Nick allowed it, his fur still slightly bristled, yet his face was beginning to calm down a little more.

"John Wilde was an old buddy of mine... and yes ah know ah'm wanted for his murder, but believe me when ah tell yeh this: He asked me to do it." Oliver blew a ring of smoke, leaning foward, replacing the cigar in his mouth, crossing his paws over his cane and looked at the pair.

"Kid, Ah'm not gonna mince words here, me time is short an'way. What ah say right now, stays between yeh and yer lady friend. Or perhaps Chief Bogo if his records are still as spotless as they were last ah checked. Me crew and ah have been keeping tabs on all that we could, and fer now... trust Bogo, he's a good mammal. Keep yer friends close and yer enemies closer." Oliver looked at him with a serious expression, taking a long drag of his cigar, puffing the smoke from his nose, sighing.

"Nicholas..." Oliver spoke with a gentle voice and for the first time, Nick could have sworn that he could hear the voice of his own father. "He wanted yeh to have this when the time was right, it's a folder of his files he recorded a while back before he died. Trust me when Ah said, there are a lot of corrupt mammals in the world that still want to use the Nighthowlers. Bellwether was just one of many ring leaders in this. Since John's death, Ah've been watching over you with a dear friend of mine."

His eyes glazed over, remenicining as he held up a paw with a USB drive. "Take this, bring them down. You're all we can rely on, the last of the Wilde clan that can take this organization down. He sacrificed his life and the possibility of a happy one just to take them out, that is why he could never see you again. Ah'm not going to pretend to know his exact wordings, it was ages ago... but you meant the world to him. And so did yer mother, oh Lord did he talk about her. Ah can tell ye this much, Ah've never seen a mammal more in love than John was with Marian. His true thoughts lie in that drive. Treat it with care."

Nick gently picked up the drive, turning it over in his paw. He bit his lip when he saw the engraving on the back of a small heart. J & M...

"And Miss," Oliver gently nodded to Judy, who stood straighter in response. He raised his cane, pointing at the small black box strapped to her chest opposite her badge. "Make sure yer body cam footage is well preserved, would'n do Nick any good to be blamed for my death."

"Your..." Judy repeated, her eyes going wide at his implications as he reached into his pocket.

"What are you-?!" Nick began, but was silenced by the sight that it was a phone Oliver was going for, pressing a single button and a jolt of static sounded as if from a walkie-talkie.

"Vivian, sweetheart..." Oliver spoke softly, his eyes starting to water with tears yet he had a smile on his face. "Passed on the torch... go on, beloved. I will see you later."

He closed his eyes, leaning back in the couch. "...I love you too, Vivian."

Before either police officer could even ask what he meant, the window from across the room to the right shattered, causing Nick and Judy to duck. The sound of something whizzing past caught their ears. With a grunt, Oliver slumped over on the couch, a pool of blood forming from a bullet wound to the head. His face still at peace...

"Sniper." Nick growled, taking cover with Judy near the window next to the one that had been fired through, trying to peek out to see if they could spot the sniper.

"Clawhauser, we need back up and we need it right now. We have a Sniper at our location and we need evac for Oliver Winston, he was shot down by the sniper and didn't make it." Judy started radioing the Station.


-An hour or so later-

"So... run this by me again." Bogo crossed his arms, grunting as he surveyed the area. "He was killed by a Sniper that shot from this window." he pointed to it, noting that glass was all over the floor. "And gave a message to you from your father?"

"Yes, Sir." Nick nodded, frowning. "You don't believe me?"

"We have had reports come in of a single gunshot from over 59th Street. That's nearly..." He scratched his chin, frowning himself as he took in the distance. "That's one hell of a Sniper to be able to make a shot from that far away."

"I didn't kill him, I swear on my Mom's grave." Nick replied as he received a knowing look from the Chief.

"Nick!" Judy frowned in disapproval.

"I mean it. Officer Hopps' footage will support what happened, and also..." He looked around as Oliver's body was carted out and other officers were busy taking pictures and notes of the crime scene. He gently pulled the buffalo aside, speaking quietly. "He gave me a drive that belonged to my father, he said it holds the truth of what he's been doing all these years."

Bogo sighed, rubbing his face. "I told you, Officer Wilde. You-"

"My father has been taking down ring leaders trying to continue on Bellwether's schemes. Maybe even before her time too." Nick cut him off, gaining the Chief's attention. "Oliver said that there are other's still out there trying to use the flower."

"...You two, stay in town until further notice. We cannot have this investigation impeded by you two skipping the city for whatever reason. That's the last thing we need is the F.B.I. pointing the blame at you two. Yes you took down a terrorist, but they're a bit... agitated that they were unable to take him in for questioning. Especially their agent Jack Savage, he was appointed to this case for the past few months and you two have made more progress than he has." Bogo crossed his arms. "We will review Officer Hopps' footage and will be in contact shortly. The last thing we need is the F.B.I. locking you up, Wilde. I took an oath to not let my personal feelings get in the way of my job, but... I'm putting my trust in you for this. If what you say is true, this would be the big break we needed since Bellwether herself has gone silent."

"Yes Sir." Both Nick and Judy nodded, giving a small salute.

The pair left the building, wary of all the eyes of the few F.B.I. forces and a few of their own coworkers on them as they climbed into the Squadron car. Checking the time to see it was nearly 5 o'clock and started up the car, deciding to make a quick stop at home before to shower and change before Sam's badging ceremony.

A/N: I sincerely apologize that it took so long to get this out, I had extreme writers block and work piling up and getting busier. Finally able to get everything smoothed out and hope this new chapter will make up for it.