Chapter Twenty-Five: The War of Mind
The war of one's mind is a fight that no one but the one who's mind it belongs to.
Four years ago
"How are we going to tell everyone?" Judy questioned pacing back and forth in Nick's bedroom, "I-I mean, not even my parents know."
Nick walked up to her and with a smile answered, "We just tell them, I don't care what they think, I want to be by your side through everything, all the happiness, the sadness, the hardships, the pain, sickness and in health. I want to be there when one of us can't go on anymore and need to be comforted to push through." He held on to her and added, "So we tell your parents first, then the chief."
Judy Pulled away from him and asked, "W-What now?"
Nick looked her back in the eyes and said, "I don't know ..."
"I-It's all going to be different now, i-its over," She spoke out.
"H-He won," Nick murmured, "He beat me."
Judy pulled him back into her embrace and whispered back to him, "I'm so sorry."
Before Nick could say anything else, four officers came around the corner, and one of them said, "Are you detective Wilde?"
Nick removed himself from Judy's embrace and answered, "Yes I am."
"I'm officer Wynne," The wolf replied, "Officers Santiago, Samara, and Scott."
"Detective Nick Wilde and Judy Wilde," He shot back showing him his badge.
"You called in a homicide?" The wolf asked.
"Y-Yes," Nick answered pushing every emotion he was feeling down so he could handle what was to come. "Over here," He added.
The four officers followed Nick and Judy to the room, where Nick opened the door and walked inside. He went to the living room of the apartment and lying in pools of blood were the bodies of a deer and panther.
"My God! Is that Darcy Davis?" one of the officers questioned.
"Yes, he was holding Detective Morgan as a hostage, then he shot him, so I shot Davis one bullet in the head," Nick spoke out with an almost blank expression on his face.
The wolf looked at Nick and said, "O-Okay, we will get this building locked down, and we will have to get another detective on this, seeing as you two were involved in the shooting."
"Understood," Nick answered.
Officer Wynne spoke out, "You will have to stay until another detective arrives, but in the mean time I can question you two on what happened tonight. Keep in mind even though you answer my questions and file reports, I can't take any of it as evidence or take the other of alibies because of your relationship. I'm sure you know this already, but let's just get on with it."
Nick and Judy both agreed, and they followed him to the hall so he could ask them a few questions about what had transpired.
The wolf pulled out his note pad and his pen, and he began to ask routine questions, "How did you end up here tonight?"
Nick answered, "Morgan called me and said there was a homicide at this location and he needed me to come and investigate. When Judy and I arrived, we went to the apartment to see he was being forced to say such things by Davis."
"How did detective Morgan get killed?" The wolf asked.
"When we got into the apartment, Judy and I pointed out fire arms at him and ordered him to let Morgan go, but he didn't he said, 'don't you want to see the body?' I questioned him then he shot Morgan, I immediately pulled my trigger and shot Davis in the head killing him."
"Do you conquer on this?' The wolf asked Judy looking down at her.
"Y-Yes I was there," She answered.
"Well That's all the questions I have for you," He added.
Four years ago
"Nick, please don't screw this up," Judy begged.
Nick looked away from the road for a second then looked back while he said, "come on Fluff, if anyone is going to screw up it's you."
"Hey these are my parents we are talking about," she shot back, "I know them I know how they will react."
Nick smiled with sincerity, "I'm sure they will be, okay, m-maybe not at first but they will come around."
"I hope you're right," She replied placing her paw on his arm.
"Oh Carrots, I'm always right, unless I'm wrong," He chuckled.
Nick pulled into the enormous parking lot in front of the mansion that belonged to Judy's parents.
"Wow, I always forget they have such a big home," Nick pointed out as he removed his seatbelt.
"Not as much room when you put around three hundred bunnies into it," Judy shot back taking her belt off as she opened the door to the rental.
Nick chuckled, and he too got out of the car, and he walked around the front of it Judy the following suit.
"This is it; we tell them tonight that we are together," Judy spoke out.
"Yup," Nick agreed.
The two lovers walked up to the house and Nick happily knocked on the door.
To greet them was Judy's mother who flung open the door and squealed, 'Judy, Nick!"
"Mom!" Judy exclaimed back.
"Judy's Mom!" Mick called out with apparent nerves.
"Come in, come in," She offered.
Nick and Judy walked in through the door way and surrounding them were dozens of bunnies all eager to see their sister, but more importantly to them, the fox.
The bunnies flooded over Nick and pulled him to the ground.
"Judy, they got me! go on without me!" He yelled out.
"Oh no, you don't get out of this!" She shot back with a chuckle. "Kids off now!" She ordered.
"Judy you didn't have to be so rude," Bonnie pointed out.
"Yeah fluff," He agreed. Then sang while he stood up, "Why you gotta be so rude?"
"Come on Nick, let's go see Dad," She almost ordered.
"Alright I like your father, hard working animal," Nick smiled.
The three walked down the hall the other bunnies keeping their distance from Nick, to follow their sister's demand.
they reached one of many living rooms where Stu sat on a couch watching the television.
"Honey your daughters here with her partner from work," Bonnie called out.
Stu looked away from the TV, and he smiled saying, "Judy, Nick so happy to see you." He stood up and walked over to his daughter and gave her a hug, "We missed you." Then he broke his embrace and firmly shook Nick's paw saying, "Nice to see you again too."
"Likewise," Nick replied with a smile across his muzzle.
"It's almost dinner," Bonnie pointed out.
"Oh sorry mom, we couldn't get off work early enough to come down sooner," Judy apologized.
"No no, it's okay," Stu cut in, "Work is work, can't avoid it."
"Lot's of things we can't avoid," NIck agreed.
"Well, should we get for dinner then?" Judy cut in.
"Dinner is ready just need to serve it to everyone," Bonnie answered.
The four got all the kits for dinner serving them their food along side a few of Judy's older siblings who also helped to make it go by faster. Eventually, Nick, Judy, her siblings who helped, and parents were able to eat dinner. They sat at the front of the table, most of the kits already finished their dinner each of them washing their own dishes except for the really young ones who still couldn't
"So you're done having kits are you?" Nick asked while they ate.
"Oh yes, I don't think I can handle anymore, I am getting up there," She chuckled. Then Bonnie leaned forward and whispered to Nick, "He's getting his Ya know ... tubes tied."
"Oh God mom not at dinner!" Judy demanded.
"it's true though," Stu added.
"Dad don't, please don't this is gross," Judy begged.
"Alright alright!" He shot back, "I'll stop." He smiled then changed the subject, "So Judy how has life been?"
Judy swallowed the food in her mouth then set down her spoon to answer, "Oh good, good, Nick graduated from the Academy he's my partner a the ZPD."
"Well that's great," He replied. Stu swallowed some food then asked, "So hon, have you found anyone."
"W-What?" Judy asked.
"Stu, don't," Bonnie ordered.
"Have you found a mate?" Stu asked again changing the subject.
"Dad!" Judy called out dropping her spoon into her bowl.
"What I'm just asking," He added.
"Stuy home you don't have to ask her every time she comes back to visit and certainly not at the dinner table,"
"I don't mind," Nick cut in with a grin looking at Judy.
"Mom, Dad I need to tell you something," Judy blurted her tone changing. Then she looked at Nick and smiled saying, "We need to tell you something."
Present day.
Nick pushed open the door to his and Judy's home, and Judy followed him in. They walked through their living room and into their bedroom. Where Nick began to take his clothes off so he could wash himself, Judy following suit. Once they were stripped down to nothing, the two lovers headed to the bathroom and Nick turned the tap to their tub water pouring into it, he grabbed a plug and stuck it in the drain and the water began to rise. He stepped into the filling tub, and he helped his wife in. Nick laid back Judy laying on his chest and in between his legs.
"You haven't said a word since we were questioned by that detective at the station," Nick spoke out suddenly breaking the silence he referred to.
"I don't know what to say," She answered staring blankly at the wall.
"Judy ... honey," He spoke, "It isn't our faults that we had to do the things we did like you said it's part of the job."
"I know, I killed animals, and I have to live with that, I have for over two years, but I failed you," She replied looking up at his face.
"If you failed me then I failed you," He spoke out right before shutting the tap off the water reaching the desired height. Judy started to cry, and Nick turned her around to face him, and he added, "I'm sorry."
"We promised each other!" She sobbed, "I promised!"
Nick pulled her close to him in comfort. "Shh, calm down, Shh." He broke his embrace and looked at her, he lifted his paw and wiped the tears from her eyes, and he said, "Promises can be made ... but they can't always be kept."
Four years ago
"Don't mess this up," Judy demanded.
"You said the same thing when we went to tell your parents," Nick replied.
"Yeah and look at how that turned out," She shot back.
"Yeah, it ended on a good note of them respecting our desitions," He answered with a smile.
"Yeah after three hours of yelling and being at one another's throats," She spoke out.
The two came to a stop the door to the office of their chief right in front of them.
"How are we planning on telling him?" NIck asked staring up at the door.
"Oh my God Nick pull it together, this is the most important thing in our lives," She grumbled elbowing him in the side.
"More important than your parents?" He asked with a grin.
"Yes, he's our boss, our jobs are at risk," She replied.
"Fluf I didn't forget I'm just being me," He spoke out.
The two had smiled at each other before Nick knocked on the door to hear a loud, "Come in!"
Well let's go," He chuckled pushing the door open.
The two walked into the office and sitting at the desk was Chief Bogo.
"As Wilde, Hopps," The Buffalo spoke, "what is it you need today?"
"Cheif, we came to talk to you about something," Nick answered.
"Is it bad?" He questioned.
"N-No, but we have no choice but to inform you, it's the rules," Judy answered.
"Spit it out then," Bogo ordered.
Nick walked up and cleared his throat and promptly said, "Chief, me and Judy are engaged in a romantic relationship."
The buffalo looked at the two of them then said with a calm tone, "About time you told me."
"W-What?" Judy questioned with shock in her eyes as she looked at Nick then back at the chief.
Bogo chuckled and answered, "You two make it too obvious that you're together, you're lucky Clawhouser is the one spreading the rumor, everyone takes what he says with a grain of salt."
"W-Wait so how many officers know?" Nick asked.
"Probably all of them," Judy answered, they just don't know whether to believe it or not."
Present day
"Having a control of one's emotions is the hardest battle anyone can face. Hiding all emotions will lead to one's own destruction, but having no control will give rise to the same. Darcy did not have control, it eluded him and resulted in him being filled with rage and deceit. Our Moral beliefs are what control many of our actions when one's morality is broken such as Darcy, the things we desire can be confusing, and more often broken. Hoping that what we long for will bring us the peace we are searching for. All though he was not one of honor, we lay him to rest now, in the hope that he will find that peace in the next life."
the furnace lit up with flames and the box that contained the panther began to burn.
"Now we return him to ash from which he came..."
Nick walked down the hall until he came to the room he wished to enter. The hall way was dim for it was close to midnight, the room was dark.
He knocked on the door and heard, "Come in."
Nick opened the door and walked in, he turned on one light leaving it on the dim setting, and he looked at the red furred wolf laying in bed.
"Did you hear?" He asked taking a seat beside the hospital bed.
"T-That you killed Davis?" She answered.
"Y-Yes," He choked.
"Good, I hope he burns in hell," She raged calmly.
Nick blanked out and said softly, "Revenge only consumes what evil has left you."
"W-What?" Olivia wondered trying to sit up slightly.
"Revenge, it's pointless," He answered then stood up to add, "Do you feel any different now that he's dead. I mean of course no one else has to be hurt by him, but do you really feel any different?"
"Nick, He's dead, I'm happy" She answered with a faint smile.
Nick shot back, "You're wrong, this is wrong, if you think that what I did is okay, then I don't know if I want you to come back to the ZPD."
"Come on Nick; He had to die," She added.
"Not like this, He made me kill him in cold blood; I put a bullet in his face while he stood there and took it!" He yelled.
"Nick Calm down the fucker had to die, I would've done it in a heart beat you should've been the same," She ordered.
Nick walked to the door but stopped and said, "If the darkness of this world knocks, don't let it in, for if you do, the evil will consume you and nothing will be able to save you, not even family. The evil will take them from you so they can't stop it from keeping you. I won't let it in again; I won't let this happen to me. My battle with him isn't over, what I did to defeat him, only caused me to lose." He turned the light off and walked out the door, but before closing, he said, "Don't come back to the ZPD. Hatred fuelled, will become a darkness that only evil can destroy, you are that darkness, but I won't be your evil."
Nick pushed open the door to his apartment, on the couch in his living room was his wife, who had fallen asleep. Which made sense it being two in the morning.
Nick grabbed a blanket from the closet and put it over Judy. He turned off the light to the living room then went back to the front door to leave.
He walked down the street for hours thinking to himself, "Can our choices truly be the right ones when it is our loved ones that are in danger or are they a clouded decision that could get the wrong animals hurt? Did I do the right thing?"
Nick kept walking until he heard the scream of an animal.
He looked around to find nothing, so he ran down the street where he heard the scream and when he turned into the alley to see a bear holding down a tiger as he forced himself upon her.
"Stop!" Nick raged. He pointed his gun at the bear and yelled, "step away from the tiger and put your paws behind your back!"
The bear stepped back from the tiger, but instead of putting his arms up in the air he charged after Nick. Nick pulled his trigger making a loud BANG; then he heard two screams that of the tiger who was spooked by the gun shot and the other from the bear who now laid on the ground a bullet in his leg.
"Keep your paws where I can see them!" Nick demanded while he cuffed the bear.
He pulled out his phone and dialed dispatch and asked them to send two ambulances and officers to his location.
He kept the bear down on his stomach the wound to his leg not being lethal and he asked," Miss are you alright?"
She stuttered, "I-I-I o-okay thanks to y-you." She stood up but didn't walk closer to Nick for she didn't want to be closer to the bear that tried to defile her.
"More officers are on their way, and there's an ambulance coming to take you to the hospital to make sure you're alright.
"W-What about me you shot me!" The bear screamed.
"Shut it, they are going to patch you up then put you behind bars," Nick answered with anger.
In the distance, the sirens could be heard slowly then quickly getting louder until they were on the road beside the alley. The officers escorted the bear to the one ambulance where they patched him up and took him to a precinct to be processed. Nick helped the tiger to the second ambulance that he got in to take her to the hospital.
A few of the officers stayed behind to close off the area gather evidence and video footage from the traffic cameras.
Nick picked questions from the tiger once she was calm enough to answer, then he went back to the scene of the crime taking a cab there. He gathered the evidence from the officers who stood watch then he had them take him to the ZPD where he processed the evidence the footage and the interview with the victim. Then he had gone to question the bear.
Nick pushed open the door to the questioning room where he sat in a chair his arms cuffed to the steel table that was bolted to the ground. His wound was covered up and had stopped bleeding.
Nick got into his chair and stared at the bear for nearly five minutes before the bear asked him, "Are you going to ask me something or not?"
"I don't have any questions for you; I am here to give you a deal," Nick answered.
"A-A deal?" He wondered.
Nick grinned this one of resentment for the bear, "Well kind of, I'm here to tell you that if you plead guilty and don't take this to trial, you will serve less time than if they find you guilty in court."
"How much?" He asked.
Nick leaned forward and said, "Well let's put it this way, if you take this to court, I will personally make sure you send the next forty years in prison. For attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted assault of an officer, and anything I can scrounge up to get you a longer sentence. If you plead now twenty years."
"Are you fucking kidding me!" He raged.
NIck stood up on his chair yelling back at him, "No I'm not kidding you useless shit! You tried to rape someone; You know what, I don't care to take it to court I'd love to see you spend the rest of your useless life rutting away in prison!" Nick jumped from his chair, but before he went to the door, he added, "You know even criminals have standards, and animals like you don't last a month in prison."
Nick opened the door, but before he left the room the bear said, "Wait! I-I'll take the plea deal."
Nick turned around and closed the door, he jumped back into his chair, and he opened the file on the table, he flipped it upside down and said, "Sign here."
Nick gave the bear a large pen, and he signed the document which said he pleaded guilty to the crimes he was charged with. Then he left the room taking the paper and pen with him. He put them on his desk and sat down in his chair, wondering what had just happened.
He forced someone to take twenty years in prison without bail. He lied to him, if it went to court he would've gotten half that and a chance for bail after three years. He didn't have to kill him to make him get what he deserved. Nick won that battle, and he would win the next one.
"You beat me, but I beat you ... we both lost, and both won. I killed you in cold blood and ended your terror in this city, but you wanted to to be killed by my paw, but I didn't become you, I won't."
Being a cop can take its toll on you physically and mentally, most don't realize the strain it has to be an officer. They are hated because some become crooked some fall to the darkness they sworn the fight. They become cold and selfish, but those who don't deserve more than hate, putting their lives on the line every day to fight evil and make the world a better place. Some are faced with decisions that go against everything they were taught, but sometimes life has this way of putting problems we don't want to face in our way. So when they face them head on and take down a criminal who needed to have his rain end, a bullet is the only way.
Hello there, well there it is the final chapter, I hope you liked it, if you did leave me a review with your thoughts.
Now I leave you for some time, but this isn't the end of Nick and Judy's story, my version at least. I am planning a sequel to this story, I do not have a name for it yet, but it's in the works.
If you want to know when that is I recommend you follow me here on fanfiction and follow my tumblr to have updates along the way for the sequel my name is simonphillip-dosser on tumblr.
I don't like goodbyes so ...
until next time ...