Judy stared into the abyss that was her computer screen. All of her work was done, all of her tasks completed. Now she could go home and be in peace. Or could she? Nick was known to drop in at random times, and even if he didn't show up to chew her out for her abrupt departure from their park bench, her conscience had done a fine job of making it replay over and over in her head all the day long. Work was over, but home was far from appealing. She looked at the clock in the bottom right of the screen. Was it already seven? It seemed like she had confronted the news crews only an hour ago. But no; completely distracted, she had accomplished a day's work with no thought towards what she was doing. She had reached the epitome of guilt and self-pity. She looked down at her desk, sighed, and ran her tongue back and forth across the left side of her upper lip in thought. Still unsure of what to do, she logged out of her desktop, rose to her paws, and grabbed her things. But instead of walking out of the ZPD, she just stood there. Did she really want to go? After all, she had just grabbed everything she needed to go back to her tiny apartment and turn in for the night, but the office felt like home. And it provided a haven from Nick, who was, apparently, taking a day off. Wait a minute. If he was taking the day off, then he probably wouldn't be too interested in what was going on in Judy's life right now. That meant that he wouldn't drop in unexpectedly unless it was really important. Great! She could rest and get a good night's sleep.

But wait. Nick was smart; if he wanted to do something, he'd make it seem like he'd never do that thing, and then, when his "victims" thought he wouldn't do it, he did it. In short, she knew he knew what her thought process was, and he knew she'd draw this conclusion so he could show up and contact her later, when she thought she was safe from him. And on top of that, would she even be able to sleep with him weighing on her conscience? Things seemed to get to her very easily, burrow into her being and make her that much more depressed. Maybe she could sleep at the station...but was that wise? Did she really want to risk it? With her luck, a breakout would happen the night she decided to spend the night at the ZPD. She sighed and weighed the options in her head. Either she could go home, maybe get a visit from Nick, mend a fence, and get her boyfriend back, or she could keep up her petty fears of dealing with an angry boyfriend (which she had expected to contend with at some point) and try to rest in a building full of criminals. Her rationalized comparisons did it: once she looked at the choices, the smart decision was clear. Home it was. She walked again through the office, saying "Good night" absentmindedly to every cubicle with a blue uniform in it and thinking of nothing, just tracking the ground as she walked. Her ears were met with the sounds of the ZPD's seven o'clock reception: paws carrying their owners to different destinations, Clawhauser talking to animals with questions, TVs each carrying different TV channels. Normally, these wouldn't have caught her attention, but tonight…

"Hello, Zootopia. I'm Peter Moosebridge."

"And I'm Fabienne Growley. Today's top story: an officer from the ZPD warns the city that Dawn Bellwether, the original mastermind of the night howler attacks, could be on the rise."

Judy looked up. What? No, she hadn't said that at all!

"Judy Hopps of the ZPD, who foiled Bellwether's last scheme, was interviewed earlier this morning," Moosebridge narrated. "Here's what she had to say."

A shot of the morning's interview followed, and Judy was the center of attention; Clawhauser stood idle in the background, looking around uncertainly.

"In regards to Bogo communicating with Dawn Bellwether, it's a possibility -"

The scene changed, and Growley began to speak.

"Night howler, a potent drug, contains a chemical that turns any animal savage, predator or otherwise. The night howler first became a threat to Zootopia…"

But Judy wasn't listening anymore. They had twisted her words and used them against her. Why did they want to make things sound worse than they actually were? Didn't the city have enough to worry about? But it looked like the real deal, and Judy looked like a doomsayer. Great. Just what she needed. A new layer of woe was added to her mind, and she now trudged through the room in a zombie-like trance: not speaking to anyone, refusing to acknowledge the existence of any other animal. She halfheartedly pushed the front doors open, not paying attention to where she was going.

Thump! Judy stumbled down the steps in a drawn-out fall that was always halfway between losing hitting the ground and recovering. It seemed to go on forever. Finally, she slammed her paws on even footing a few times and got herself back into a standing position. The excitement still running through her, she was temporarily shaken out of her stupor. She looked around. Not much out of the ordinary, however. Traffic was normal, and for the most part, everyone was still at the ZPD. She got into her car and put the key in the ignition. She was about to turn the key and start the car, but something stopped her. Something that said, "You need to take a breather. Just sit in the car for a while, then you can go home when you've got your wits about you."

Judy obeyed the voice. She took her paw off the key and sat there. She breathed methodically, being very mindful of her method. In, out. Three seconds inhaling, three seconds exhaling. She closed her eyes and thought of nothing but bliss. In, out. In, out. She opened her eyes. Everything was fine. She would just go home, eat something quick, and go to bed. If she didn't get rest soon, she would suffer a nervous wreck. Judy turned over the ignition, pulled out of the parking lot, and set her sights on home, where she might be able to make tomorrow turn out better than today.

God...freaking...screw it.

An hour and a half of tossing and turning saw Judy still lying there awake, eyes wide open. All she could see was Nick. There he was on the bench, looking at his paw and letting himself cry freely. It made her despise herself. She looked up at the ceiling, frowning and irritated. She just couldn't get to sleep, all because she freaked out on Nick and left him there. No amount of "It's over, let it go" could ease her mind or calm her body. The guilt was unbearable. Nick deserves better, she told herself. Suddenly, the guilt turned into radical self-loathing. Everything was her fault: Bellwether, Nick, the chief...if she hadn't slacked so much, she could have gotten something done. Maybe she needed to stop thinking about herself and focus on others. But how? She hated herself, and that was all she could think about.

Judy grabbed her phone; it was the one thing that could ease the pain. She unlocked it, hit the phone app, and dialed Nick's number. She knew he would have her caller ID, but she hoped that he would answer it. With each ring, however, that hope shrank. It rang, and it rang again, and it rang again.

"Hello."

Thank God! It was Nick! "Nick, I'm so sorry I-"

"Congratulations. You've been fooled into talking to a machine. This is my voicemail. There's gonna be a beep in about ten seconds. At that point, you leave your message and I listen to it. Probably three days from now. Depends on how busy I am. Here we go. Beep in five, four, three, two…"

One, Judy counted in her head. A beep sounded just when she thought "Zero." She cleared her throat and started her message.

"Look, Nick, it's Judy." She sighed. "Listen, I, uh-"

The other end of the line bumped. Nick had picked up! Judy wasted no time in apologizing to him. "Nick, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me! Whatever I have to do, I'll make it up to you!"

But something was wrong. Nick remained silent. Judy waited for just a few seconds, hoping he would break the silence. Nothing happened. "Nick," she urged him to talk to her. "Please. I know what I did was stupid, and I suppose I deserve the silent treatment, but I'm begging you, please just talk to me. Whatever you feel like saying, just get it off your chest now. We can talk about this."

Still silence ensued. Judy was no longer worried; she was desperate. "Please, Nick. Just talk to me. We have to do this sometime. Why not now?"

And then, solely due to her big ears, Judy heard a noise. It was as faint as a butterfly's wing beating, but she could hear it. A moan. A weak moan. Her heart rate spiked and she was gripped with apprehension. "Nick? Is that you?"

"Nick can't come to the phone right now, Judy."

Bellwether. Chills shot up and down Judy's spine. "What did you do to him?" she demanded.

"Oh, calm down, would you? He's not in mortal peril...not yet, anyway."

"Not yet?! What do you mean?"

"Oh, Judy. Poor, naive Judy. What do you think I've done?"

"If you hurt him in any way…" Judy started. "So help me, if you touch one tuft of his fur, I will tear you apart!"

"Blah, blah, blah, you bunnies love talking out your problems. Unfortunately, this particular problem can't be talked out. Say hello to Judy, Nick."

The phone rustled. "J...Judy…" came Nick's wheezing voice, practically begging for rescue.

"Well, now, our mutual fox friend has found himself in a bind, hasn't he?"

"What's happening?! You sick, twisted-"

"No naughty words, Judy, we don't want to get off on the wrong paw...again." Bellwether cackled.

"What do you want?" Judy asked in desperation.

"Are you familiar with the chemical...theobromine?"

Judy gasped. Nick! "You didn't-"

"Were you about to say 'force feed him chocolate?' Because if you were, you're dead wrong." Something rustled on the other end. "Turns out your boyfriend isn't as scared of needles as I thought he would. Considering his position, he was very calm when I injected the syringe into his bloodstream."

"NO!" Judy cried out. "Nick!"

"It's nothing lethal. Well, at least, it won't be lethal for the next…" A brief pause ensued. "...hour or so. Now, there is a way to get your furball out of an early casket."

"What is it? I'll do whatever you want!" Judy said, not caring about what "doing whatever Bellwether wanted" might entail.

"Well, I have the antidote, so I guess you do have to do whatever I want you to. The natural history museum. Now. Come alone, unarmed. Don't do it for me, Judy. Do it for Nick."

Bellwether hung up. Judy waited for only a moment, standing there in fear, still trying to fully grasp the situation. And then her mind was clear. She knew what she needed to do. She dashed through her door, leaving it ajar, and stopped for nothing. She could risk no distractions, not with Nick in mortal peril…

Wham! She had neglected to watch where she was going and plowed into a rather large hippopotamus. Her paws slipped out from under her as she fell flat on her cottontail.

"Hey, watch it, rabbit!" the corpulent animal protested.

"Sorrysorrysorry!" Judy repeated herself quickly, trying to avoid an argument. "I'mjusttrying tosavemyboyfriend'slife!" She got right back up on her paws and sped past the hippo, who called after her. "Wait, what?"

But nothing could stop her now; her eyes forward, she now saw any obstacles in the way and avoided them with ease. She hopped over tables, dodged around residents, and slid underneath particularly big animals. And there was the door. Putting on a burst of speed, Judy got ready to breach it cop-style, sticking her shoulder out at it. One step, two steps, three steps, four steps, leap! She used her powerful bunny leg muscles to launch herself towards the door, bracing herself for the impact. It tumbled open as she slammed into it, but gave her quite the jolt. She hit the pavement with uneven paws and, knowing she was going to tumble, tucked her head into her chest and rolled over her shoulder, escaping major injury by taking the brunt of the landing with her scapula. She sprang back up and ran to her car, taking her keys out of her pocket as she drew nearer. As she tried to open the door, she fumbled the keys and dropped them onto the asphalt. Not a second had passed, however, before she had picked them back up and shoved them into the lock on the door, accessing her car. The process of putting on her seatbelt and closing the door was but a flurry of movement even to her, and she fumbled the keys again as she turned the car over. Nick wasn't going to die because of her…

Of that she was certain.

The natural history museum. It was still undergoing repairs, and it looked even more frightening when there was barely light outside. She looked around. Bellwether could be anywhere, lying in wait to attack her at any moment with anything. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, nothing had changed from last time, as far as she could tell. She wondered if the tusk she cut her knee on was still stained with her blood, if those blueberries that fell out of Nick's handkerchief were still there. And then there was the pit. Judy could see it. The lights were still on. So many memories. So many terrible memories. She knew Nick had been acting, but she hadn't been immune to the nightmares, the possibilities of how it could have gone wrong, what would have happened if Nick hadn't been shot by a blueberry. She approached, expecting to see Bellwether there, standing over Nick and waiting for the rabbit to show. But as she peered over the exhibit, she saw nothing. Just what had been there last time. What was wrong? Had Bellwether just been playing her, laughing at her hopes to save Nick, when there was really no chance to keep the fox alive?

Movement. Behind a statue. Bellwether. And Nick. The sheep was dragging him along behind her, and he was limp, barely able to groan due to the agony he was no doubt experiencing. It wrenched Judy's heart, and she momentarily began to melt with sympathy. But then she caught herself. Bellwether was there. And Judy was itching for revenge. She laid her ears back and tried to threaten the sheep.

Bellwether merely waved her left hoof. "Ah, ah, ah. Careful." She gestured to Nick. "I hold his life in my hooves. Quite literally, actually, now that I think about it."

"What do you want, Bellwether?" Judy asked. "I'll do anything, just leave him alone!"

"Anything?" Bellwether asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked at Nick, and with no warning, dragged him to the edge of the pit. Judy maintained eye contact with the sheep. What was she going to do?

"Fetch," Bellwether said. She pulled Nick's limp body to the point of nearly falling into the pit, and kicked him in Judy's direction, watching him with an evil smile on her face as he fell to the ground, hitting it and rolling like a ragdoll down into the fake grass.

"NO!" Judy shouted. She didn't even hesitate; she jumped down into the exhibit and ran to Nick, turning him over on his back and assuring him. "It's okay, Nick," she said frantically, stroking his head with her paw. "It's okay, it's okay. You'll be okay…"

"C.." Nick choked, fresh blood trickling from his mouth. "Carrots…"

"Are you two quite done?" Bellwether asked.

Rage overtook Judy yet again. "What...do...you..want?!" she demanded.

"To talk," Bellwether said simply.

"And why would I want to talk to you?"

Bellwether held up what looked like a syringe. "I have the antidote. Honestly, Judy, did you forget everything we talked about on the phone? Or do you just hate me that much?"

Judy's face fell in relief.

"Got your attention now, don't I?" Bellwether smiled. "If you have a nice, civil conversation with me, I'll give you the means to save your one true love." She giggled cutely. "Isn't this fun? It's just like some kind of covert operations deal! Well, now that we can talk, I have something of importance to say."

"What?" Judy asked.

"As you know, our dear old chief of police was arrested yesterday for spearheading the night howler conspiracy. They found the drug in his safe, and he's currently waiting to show up in court for the crime of the century."

"Keep going," Judy said, wanting Bellwether to shut up so she would give Nick his life back.

"Well, there are some things a criminal can know that a cop can't. For instance, did you know that your landlady has been arrested for possession of marijuana...twice? YOu should arrest her, you know, she's a dealer-"

"If there's a point, get to it," Judy spat.

Bellwether began walking around the perimeter of the enclosure. "Well, I happen to know a little bit more about the conspiracy than...probably everyone else. Not only am I a criminal, but I'm also the original ringleader of the night howler distribution. And you know, if you're in charge of something for even the littlest bit of time, you keep yourself in the loop."

"So what do you want to tell me? Get to the goddamn point!"

Bellwether made a face of false pity. "Oh, Judy. Oh, Judy, Judy, Judy." She began to mimic a civilian being placed under arrest. "'No! It wasn't me! It was the one-armed man!'"

The gears inside Judy's head began to turn. "Wait. What are you trying to tell me?"

Bellwether became serious again. "You have the wrong guy, Judy. Bogo's clean."

The claim denied all logical reasoning. "That can't be," Judy protested. "We found the stuff in his personal safe. It was hidden behind a panel in the wall, behind a desk, in Bogo's office. How could he not have at least some kind of influence in the night howler distribution?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would, Bellwether. That's why I asked."

"He hasn't done a single thing against the law in his entire life. He hasn't rolled a blunt. He hasn't gotten a parking ticket. Hell, he hasn't even done so much as steal a pen from work. Him, the mastermind behind a conspiracy to bring Zootopia to its knees? Ha! Gazelle would be a more likely candidate!" Bellwether glanced at the ground. "Actually, that's kind of true. Have you heard what she does with those background dancers of hers when she's offstage? Horizontally challenged, that animal is not."

"Well, if it isn't the chief, then who is it?" Judy asked in desperation.

"Well, who was the one who initially told you that it was the chief?"

"Duke Weaselton," Judy said. "But what does that-"

"Did Duke tell you that the chief had a safe with night howler in it?"

Judy had barely heard the question; she had gone back to helping Nick, holding his hand in an attempt to comfort him. "Yes, he did," she replied.

"How would he have known about the safe?"

"He said he knew the chief had a secret stash of night howler somewhere in his office, so he searched the place when the chief was out to lunch."

"See, the problem with that story, Judy, is that the chief is super security-conscious. His office is so locked up when he's not there that you might as well be trying to break into a military base. No, Duke knew that the safe was there for a different reason. He planted the evidence in the chief's safe."

And then Judy understood what Bellwether was saying. "You mean Duke's behind it all?"

Bellwether cackled again. "Are you kidding me? Duke's too disorganized to even manage his fur, let alone a conspiracy. No, another perp lies in the shadows. And they're the one you least expect."

"The one I least expect?" Judy asked disbelievingly. "Are you kidding me? I don't even know who that is! How am I supposed to pick-and-choose who I think is the most unlikely to be a criminal? And another thing. Why are you telling me all of this? The last time we met, you tried to have Nick -" She stopped. Now that she looked at Nick, she saw, to her dismay, that he was still.

"NICK!" She ran to him and took his pulse. Alive, but barely.

"Uh oh, Judy, looks like the theobromine's working its magic." Bellwether had an evil smile on her face, one that infuriated Judy even more. "You'll have to keep talking if you want him to survive. By my math, you have…" She looked at her naked wrist. "No time left. He has no time left, that is."

Judy was growing very desperate. "Bellwether, please," she begged. "I'll talk with you all you want. Just give me the antidote first."

"Oooh," Bellwether inhaled. "You know, I'd love to, Judy, but I have trust issues with cops. Kinda comes with the job, I guess. One of my occupational hazards."

Judy got even more desperate. "Listen, whatever you want to talk about, I'll talk about. But please don't let Nick die, please."

Bellwether pursed her lips. "Hmmm. I don't know. I mean, he is a fox. And you know the history between foxes and sheep. Actually, I'm surprised you don't turn on him the second you get the chance."

But Judy wasn't listening; Nick was the only thing on her mind. She cradled his head in her hands and started trying to revive him. "Come on, Nick, please. Wake up. Come on…" She began CPR.

"That's cute, Judy, but this antidote is the only way to save him," Bellwether said in a singsong voice. "And let me tell you this, Judy. If you care about him - really care about him - you'll stop groveling and start talking."

Judy heard her; she slowly raised her head and turned to Bellwether, who was gazing down on her like a hawk watching its prey.

"There we go, that's what I had in mind when we planned this! And you know what...for being such a team player…" Bellwether rummaged around in her purse for something, pulling out...what was it? She raised her hand over her head and hurled it at Judy, but the throw was never going to make it. Instinctively, Judy dove; she didn't care what it was, but if it was something beneficial, she couldn't take the chance that it might be ruined. As her paw wrapped around it, she felt its shape: thin. Her spirits raised, she opened her paw and looked at it. The syringe!

"The antidote," Bellwether explained. "Don't use it all in one place. Actually, now that I think about it, you have to use it in one place, right? Otherwise, your boyfriend's done for."

Judy took the protective cover off the sharp needle, frantically grabbing Nick's arm. Once she got a hold of it, she gently pushed it into his vein, injecting the lifesaving liquid into his bloodstream. She lay back on her haunches and waited for something to happen. Slowly, Nick's eyes fluttered halfway open, and he moaned weakly, looking around.

Relief flooded Judy's body. She threw her arms around him and kissed the side of his neck. "Oh, thank God," she whispered, and she began to cry.

"Now, I hope you haven't forgotten your promise, Judy," Bellwether called to her.

Judy turned around with tears streaking through her fur.

"Okay," she whispered. "Fine. What do you want to tell me?"

"Actually, I believe you had a question for me," Bellwether said. "Something about...why I'm telling you this?"
"Yeah," Judy confirmed, choking on a sob of joy. "Why are you telling me this? Don't you want Zootopia to fall into mere fragments of a ruined civilization?"

"Well, of course I do, Judy," Bellwether replied. "But I don't like competition. It's so annoying. Oh, so many times did I encounter it when I was first rising to the top. Of course, for the right price, a certain type of someone would get rid of it. Enter Doug's crew. They were just ecstatic to get the chance to work with me...probably because they liked me. Rams and sheep get along quite well. Anyway, they helped me kill off everyone who tried to kill me or shut me out of the race. That's how I got to where I am today. Well, how I got to where I was before you came along and ruined everything. Thanks for that, by the way.

"Bottom line: I'm not behind all the bad stuff that's going on, and I want to be. So you're kind of like discount hitmen...eh, hitman and hitwoman, I suppose would be more accurate."

"What's my motivation?" Judy asked her "Even if we do this, you'll just fill in the gap."

"Your motivation." Bellwether mused. "How about this: you arrest the one in charge of the night howler distribution, or the both of you will be treated to a death so excruciating that Nick will beg me for another round of theobromine. And I'll oblige. I've gotten Doug to get me some night howler with theo in it. That means that not only does he die slowly, but he tears you apart as well. It's just like I had planned back at your folks' home! Isn't this fun?" She walked around the enclosure, towards the back exit. "See you around, Judy! Don't take too long with the arrest!"

"Wait a minute, Bellwether!" Judy cried out. "You know who it is, can't you just tell me?"

Bellwether stared at her. "Of course not! That would take all the fun out of the mystery!" She waved a hoof goodbye. "So long, Judy!"

Judy focused her attention on Nick, whose eyes were open and darting around, but was barely moving.

"Oh, God, Nick, are you okay?" she asked him.

"Mmmhh," Nick mumbled incoherently.

Judy pulled out her phone and dialed 911. "We've got to make sure you're okay," she said hurriedly.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Thank God," Judy said quickly. "I have an adult male fox in the Natural History Museum who's been injected with a lethal dose of theobromine. I've given him an antidote, but I don't know if it's enough." Her voice broke as she finished the last phrase of her sentence. "Please...he needs help." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay, we're sending a unit. How much theobromine has he had?"

"I-I don't know. It got pumped right into his system."

"I'm sorry. Say again?"

"The-the theobromine was introduced to his bloodstream directly, no ingestion. I did the same with the antidote."

"Okay, thank you. The medics are on their way."

Judy hung up and sighed solemnly, putting the phone back in her pocket.

"Mmmhh...Carrots."

She hurried to Nick's side.

"Yeah, Nick, what is it?"

Nick looked at her and groaned in pain. "They...might be...too late." He could barely talk, but Judy could still hear him. That didn't mean she liked what he had to say.

"No, don't talk like that," Judy said, getting choked up again. She clasped his paw in her own, cradling it in a feeling of deep passion and love. "You can't die. You just can't."

Nick nodded, but only just. "Yeah...yeah...I...can. And I might...We'll...have to...see."

"No. Not yet, you can't." Judy closed her eyes, lowering her head and letting her ears lie back. "Please. Please don't go..."

And as she lay there, comforting the dying fox, she heard the sharp wail of a siren pierce the sleeping city.

There was hope yet.