GUILDENSTERN: It must be indicative of something other than the redistribution of wealth. He flips a coin to Rosencrantz, who looks at it.
ROSENCRANTZ: Heads.
GUILDENSTERN: A weaker man might be moved to reexamine his faith. If for nothing at least in the law of probability. He flips another coin to Rosencrantz.
ROSENCRANTZ: Heads.
GUILDENSTERN: Consider. One. Probability is a factor which operates within natural forces. Two. Probability is not operating as a factor. Three. We are now held within un- sub- or super-natural forces. Discuss.
- Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Nick's thoughts were a tangled mass of confusion, painful memories and disbelief.
He knew his father had finished that coat. He knew his mother was gone. But he couldn't deny the evidence right in front of him or the feeling of his mother's embrace that lingered, fresh in his mind. The inescapable conclusion had been bouncing around the interior of his skull all day, but he'd stubbornly refused to let it stick.
Nick glanced back at the half-finished jacket. John Wilde would have finished it if he could.
The only reason Nick had any chances in his life had been because of his father. After his mom had died, John had been more than just Nick's dad. He'd been his lifeline, the foundation that let Nick cobble together some semblance of a normal life.
Even after things had taken a turn for the worse, it was John's legacy that had kept Nick going. His father cast a long shadow in Nick's life. A shadow that was absent in the dusty bins and counters of the long abandoned shop.
Nick would find no answers here. A part of him regretted coming here, of the dreadful knowledge that what he knew and what actually was were not the same. But there was one last place he had to go, just to be sure.
With one last glance at the dusty, sepulchral interior of the shop, Nick turned and stepped out of the tailory and back onto the street.
The night was cool but not cold, Nick was thankful for that. The long walk to the docks would have been miserable otherwise.
The first thing the fox noticed as he approached the Wilde Times was an empty lot where the clinic should have stood. It looked exactly as it had before they'd set up Honey's "practice" there. Just a rough, gravely plot of land littered with crumpled newspaper, and cigarette butts. Nick walked to the center of the lot, idly kicking an empty beer bottle to the side.
"Damn … " Nick muttered to himself.
The fox started towards the warehouse ahead. With his keen vision he could make out the building down the road and across the bridge. It looked as dilapidated as he remembered, but knew that didn't mean much. They'd intentionally kept the exterior of the Times as it was to help camouflage its true purpose.
As Nick walked, he again wondered why he was out here. He couldn't explain it, but since realizing how radically things had changed he'd felt compelled. The fox was driven to see firsthand, to verify that everything that he'd built in his life, everything he'd strived and worked for had vanished. Maybe this was his way of starting to try and comprehend what had happened. Eliminate all possibility of denial.
Nick felt cool cobblestone under his paws as he stepped onto the bridge.
What was the next stage supposed to be? Depression? Anger? Well, either of those would be a welcome change for the fox. He felt numb, drained. Exhaustion weighed down each step the fox took, his tail dropping low to brush against the dirt and gravel on the bridge. Nick resolved to look for somewhere to sleep as soon as he was done. Maybe he could curl up under the bridge and-
"Nick … Nick?"
The fox all but jumped, whirling around to try and determine where the voice had come from. But before he could locate it, he heard the voice – Judy's – right behind him.
"Oh Nick! Nighthowler's aren't wolves … "
He spun around again, and his ears told him the rabbit should be right in front of him but his eyes saw nothing. No bunny cops, just an empty bridge.
"... they're toxic flowers."
The voice was trailing down the side of the bridge Blinking in confusion, Nick froze to the spot for a second. He heard Judy again, this time from the ditch below. The fox moved to the edge of the bridge and looked down.
"… targeting predators on purpose and making them go savage."
Down below Nick could see an old lawn chair, and upturned bucket and a discarded paper soda cup, but again failed to see Judy.
"Wait! … waitpleasestop …"
Judy's voice moved under the bridge, the echoes muffling the sound and making it tricky for Nick to make out more than a few words.
" … Never forgive me … don't blame … ignorant … small-minded …"
If he wanted to hear more, Nick would have to climb down into the ditch himself. He took a few quick steps to the edge and then stopped.
What the hell was going on? What was he doing?
His senses were at war; he neither saw, nor smelled Judy, but he definitely heard her voice. Was definitely hearing her voice below him. Maybe he was going mad, starting to hear voices? What would he do-
"… horrible friend … hurt you …"
Nick clearly heard the distress in her voice, the hitch and half sobs. This settled the internal debate, the fox deftly moving to the end of the bridge.
"… you were right all along …"
Nick jumped over the side and slid down the ditch. When he reached the bottom, he turned to look under the bridge. He felt his jaw drop as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.
The bright light of the afternoon sun shone through the tunnel under the bridge, clearly silhouetting two figures – both of whom he recognized. The first Nick recognized as Judy, dressed not in her uniform but in a pink flannel top and jeans. But the second figure … Nick had seen the fox before.
He'd seen this fox smiling at him out of a picture frame. It was him.
Nick blinked in shock and disbelief, unable to tear his gaze away.
As Nick felt the warm breeze of a summer afternoon blow down the tunnel to ruffle his fur, he watched as Judy thumped her head against the fox's chest. Nick watched as the other fox drew her into an embrace, not able to make out his softly spoken words.
At this Nick shook his head and glanced around him. It was pitch black all around him, behind him. A cool night on the docks.
But on the other side of that tunnel? Judy and the other fox stood in the light of the afternoon sun. Nick watched as they broke their embrace and scampered up the far side of the bridge.
Nick moved up his side of the bridge, pausing at the top. Ears and nose twitching, Nick couldn't make out any sign of the fox and rabbit he'd seen. Nick bolted to the edge of the bridge and looked down to see …
A ditch, dark and empty. No sun. No rabbit. No fox.
"The hell …" Nick backed away slowly, shaking his head. "Come on … keep it together Nick."
Nick took a few deep breaths to try and steady himself.
Nick growled in frustration and felt a strong urge to get as far away from that bridge as possible. He'd read enough Sheepen King to know this was bad. And Nick already had plenty of reasons to question his sanity; he didn't need any more. With a last look over his shoulder, Nick bolted for the warehouse.
The fox slowed to a walking pace when he got close to the building, his head still abuzz trying to understand what he'd seen. This struck him as a particularly cruel turn of events. Just when Nick had begun to accept the reality of his situation he went and saw … whatever that was.
And then it dawned on him … he did know what that was. Judy had told him about the Night Howler case at the hospital. About how they'd fallen out after a bungled press conference and later made amends. But that was supposed to have happened more than a year ago, how could he have seen it?
All of this just served to reinforce the feeling that he was lost, that he didn't belong here. Not here in this – Nick wasn't sure what this was. Another version of the world he knew?
That other fox … that other him had treated Judy so tenderly. It was one thing to be told he'd forgiven Judy, and another to see himself do it.
As distracted as he was with his thoughts, Nick didn't immediately notice the wolf idly leaning – arms crossed – against the passenger side door of a sedan that was parked in front of the warehouse until he spoke.
"Need a lift?"
While Nick blinked in surprise, the wolf raised an eyebrow and gave a friendly smile.
It was the same wolf Nick had run into after fleeing from the apartment, the one he'd thought was crazy for claiming to have been a cop. Nick felt his hackles raise. He didn't like being followed, especially not by someone who probably had been a cop. And Nick had more than enough surprises for the evening.
Nick had a strong impulse to bolt, but noticed that the wolf had made no motion towards him. His relaxed stance told Nick the wolf wasn't looking for a physical confrontation. And if the wolf had really intended to arrest him, he wouldn't have so carelessly given himself away when Nick had been distracted. The wolf wanted to talk, it seemed.
"Do I have a choice?" the fox asked after a beat.
The wolf gave a half-hearted shrug, the smile on his face unfaltering.
"Course. I couldn't force you if I wanted to – I'm retired, remember?"
Nick gave the wolf a suspicious look. The wolf returned it for a long moment before sighing and glancing at his feet.
"Ok, look … Bogo asked me to keep an eye on you. I think he figured you might try and slip out of the hospital or something. I'm just supposed to make sure you're safe and don't do anything stupid."
Nick studied the wolf's face carefully – either this guy was a top tier liar or was being earnest.
"It's past midnight … don't you have a family?" the fox asked, indicating the gold band around the wolf's finger.
"Yeah I do, but my mate and the pups are off visiting my in-law's. And besides, they can manage without me … they're off to college soon."
A wistful smile stretched the wolf's muzzle.
"Huh, where does the time go?"
The wolf and fox stood silent for a moment, the ambience of the city – a distant siren, the muffled drone of far off traffic – washed over them.
"So … why'd you come here?" the wolf enquired.
Nick was surprised to find that the question came from the wolf, for the fox had just opened his muzzle to pose it himself.
"I uh … I had to see this place again. Had to sort some old memories out. How'd you find me anyway?"
"I followed you from your dad's shop."
The wolf smiled at the surprise on the fox's face.
"Give me some credit kid … I was a detective. Not that it was that hard to piece together. There aren't many foxes named Wilde."
Nick's gaze narrowed and he scrutinized the wolf.
"What do you want? If you're not here to arrest me, then what are you doing?"
"Look, I don't know you from Todd. Just your reputation. Or should I say, Officer Wilde's reputation."
The wolf fixed his gaze on Nick and continued:
"When I talked to Bogo, he seemed to think you might not be the same Nick he knew. And he said something about Cliffside."
The wolf looked down and seemed lost in thought for a minute.
"About thirty years ago, Bogo and I responded to a call at the asylum. We found a leopard inside, completely nuts. Never seen anything like it … The guy was on all fours, snarling. Feral. And he had this shock collar on that kept zapping him, whipping him into a frenzy."
This sounded all too familiar to Nick, and he couldn't help but let the surprise on his face show.
"The guy leapt at Bogo, tried to maul him. I had to tackle the cat, and it was a hell of a fight. It's how I got this little number."
The wolf pointed at a notch in his right ear.
"See, the ZPD trains you to subdue mammals, not animals. We were lucky to get through it with just a few scratches and a bite or two.
"The poor bastard died not too long after we subdued him, something in his system didn't like the tranquilizers I guess. We never found out how he got down there or got the collar.
"But we did find one thing. And it's bugged me for thirty years."
The wolf paused, scratching at the back of his neck.
"Forensics got a fur sample, found a match. The guy was a teacher at a high school in the rainforest district. No criminal record, just gave the sample as part of his teaching certificate.
"Bogo and I went down to the school to tell them what happened to their teacher, but when we got there …"
The wolf looked back at Nick, a haunting look in his eyes.
"The principal was surprised told us the leopard wasn't missing. He was teaching chemistry at that very moment. She took us down to the classroom, and sure enough there he was.
"The leopard who tore my ear and leapt at Bogo was wearing a pair of goggles and doing a demo in front of the class."
"What did you do?" Nick asked.
"We apologized to the principal, and high tailed it back to the morgue. The leopard's body was still there."
"The hell ..."
"Yeah, no kidding. Officially we listed the leopard as a John Doe who died of a drug overdose. Simple enough on paper, but I'll be damned if a case like that doesn't stick with you."
The wolf turned to face Nick, eyes narrowed.
"So that's why I'm out past midnight following a fox around the city. What ever happened to you happened to that leopard. And I aim to find out what."
Author's Note:
So, uh … yeah. Been awhile, hasn't it? How are things?
Finally got through my writer's block and stopped being a lazy ass. I'm so sorry this took so long to get out, but I want to reassure you that this fic is not dead. Thank you all so much for your patience, and I will do everything I can to get chapters out much more quickly.
I wasn't completely idle though! I've been editing a bunch of stories and working on some other cool projects you all might want to check out!
For example, I've been doing a collab story with a couple other awesome authors, Nehkles and SarcasmIsOurStrength. They've written a bunch of cool stories that I urge you all to take a look at.
The collab story's called Under Grace and it's much fluffier than Darkly, which makes it a lot of fun to help write. Check it out! You can find it on FF and AO3.
Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter early next year. XP
(Before anyone freaks out, that was a joke)