Nick first noticed the oddities around Judy's 8-year anniversary on the force; a lingering smell of sulfur and Myrrh, an oddly shifting shadow that seemed to follow her around, or the sound of something dragging.
He'd normally have chalked it up to stress. Judy had been on an absolute tear the last year, as if she were trying to right all the world's wrongs in one go. He'd have happily ignored it and self medicated, except he was absolutely positive Judy was smelling, seeing and hearing the same things he was.
But where he felt a growing sense of dread and an almost overwhelming urge to hide from... whatever, Judy seemed to just be driven harder. She was burning herself out, and Nick was becoming worried.
That worry came to a head when Judy did the unthinkable, the one thing she'd never done during their entire career together: she took leave without being told to by Bogo.
"Hey Fluff!" Nick fought down the urge to snarl at the smell coming from the shadowed corners of their shared cubicle, even as he saw her tail flash in alarm and her ears track to the same unnaturally deep shadow. "I just found out you were sticking me with Landry as a partner for next weekend; I thought we were friends?" His smarm was rewarded with an almost heartbroken look on Judy's face.
The melancholy was gamely fought down and replaced with her own trademark 'banter' grin. "Serves you right for swiping all the blueberries from my dessert the other day." She turned back to her computer and began typing. "But it's for a good cause; I'm moving out of my old place and I need the time to get my... to get everything in order."
Nick watched her posture with a seasoned eye; there was some truth in her words, but her tension showed it wasn't the whole truth.
"You want some help?" he offered while absently studying the shifting shadow that his partner's ears were tracking. "Pretty sure I can get Bogo to banish me for the weekend if I get another sing-along going."
Her ears and tail flicked in a mixture of mirth and, oddly enough, regret. "He's likely to banish you to the Traffic Enforcement Division if you get the Fangmeyers going on another rendition of 'Long eared Country Bun'." She turned to face him with a warm smile. "Thanks, but this is something I need to do on my own."
Nick wasn't deterred, and decided that he would at least help her with her furniture in his own way. He went onto 'Dregs List' and started to shop for a new (to Judy) living room set. He was pursuing love seats when he came across a listing for a small single bed frame and mattress, desk and chair. The photo that accompanied the listing was of Judy's North-End Efficiency apartment, with the listed pickup date as the day before she was supposed to go on leave.
He made a quick call to the Hopps farm.
Nicholas! How are you and Judy doing? Bonnie Hopps could be heard beaming through the speaker.
"We're doing good right now Missus Hopps." Though technically true, Nick felt the bile rise slightly at the misdirection.
Ah-ah-ah! What have I told you? It's Bonnie.
"I've no desire to incur Mamma Wilde's or Grandmamma Big's wrath from on high, so you'll just have to endure my respectful courtesy."
The matronly doe gave an indulgent huff. If I must. So what prompted the call? Judy's all but been blowing up the phone this last week wanting to talk to everyone.
Nick almost felt his stomach drop. He'd lost enough friends, some on the streets, and a couple on the force, to recognize when someone was getting their affairs in order and saying their goodbyes. If it hadn't been for the odd sensations he knew she was experiencing, he would have been certain she was going to commit suicide. It still felt too close to that for comfort.
"I think she's just feeling more homesick than usual. I was hoping you might have some advice on something special I could do at my end to brighten her day up."
Bonnie hummed in thought. Nothing comes especially to, ooh! Nick perked up in hope. It's nearly the 10th anniversary of her graduation from Podunk Community College. Maybe you could take her back to her Alma Mater.
Nick smiled at the idea. "I might just do that. Thanks Missus-" he chuckled at the ahem on the other end of the line, "Bonnie."
With a clue in paw, Nick spent every spare moment over the next week researching. It was a long shot, but Podunk was the only clue he had at the moment. One thing he ran across was a local legend about the road connecting the towns of Charity and Podunk; specifically about where they intersected with Deerbrook County Road 66.
The first recorded incident was from 150 years ago when the mule deer Land-Baron Jedediah Hart founded the township of Podunk after 'surveying the Crossroads'. He netted a number of unusual and unlikely boons over the next 10 years before he was found beheaded in his palatial plantation house. Every door was locked, and there were no signs anyone had entered or left. Neither his head, or the town's fortunes, were ever recovered.
In the centuries since, there were a number of individuals who were either unknown or in dire straits before making a pilgrimage to the insignificant farming town. Such notables as Opera Virtuoso Pigannini and Zootopia's former mayor Madeline Swinton from 40 years ago all paid a visit to the unassuming locale before receiving lauds and honors for 10 years. In every case, the individual either mysteriously disappeared or died gruesomely.
Nick wasn't necessarily a religious or superstitious mammal, but he'd learned long ago that ignoring legends was a good way to get your tail bit off.
Every other moment not spent in research, was spent with his friend. He could tell she was torn between wanting to push him away, and the desperate need to not be alone. He made it as unfair a battle as he could by indulging in her every whim and postponed city experience. By the end of the week, it felt as if they had lived an entire life in a few short days.
Early Saturday morning, Nick was woken up by the oppressive sense of something malevolent in his apartment. He had curled up around Judy on the couch after binge watching 'Animalian Pickers'. She was still shivering in his arms.
"You can't take her!" he hissed through bared fangs. "You'll have to go through me, and you can't do that; can you?"
"Clever boy." A sibilant whisper came from every corner and shadow at once. Even his natural night vision couldn't penetrate the penumbral darkness, though he caught glimpses of something; a deer's graceful leg and hoof, a luxurious fox tail, the flutter of pigeon wings, and something writhing like his worst fever dreams.
"You're right of course; I can only take a soul willingly given, either by act or pact." A creature stepped elegantly out of the shadows and sat in the chair across from him. It was terrifyingly beautiful; a perfect amalgamation of every sensual feature of every species, joined together into one unnatural whole. "You were very nearly mine, if it weren't for your happy accident with the rug."
Nick remembered that day he had concocted that foolish plan. He remembered how it seemed like the right choice at the time, and only in hindsight was he able to admit that it actually was. It had been so unlike him, and it saved him from becoming a Made Mammal who would have been irredeemable in Judy's eyes.
"Sorry to disappoint."
It shrugged. "Oh well; collecting a tainted soul isn't nearly as satisfying as a pure one given willingly. Hers was sold for a chance; just the chance to prove she could be a police officer and, 'make the world a better place'." It leered at Judy. "You know full well what I mean when I say, a deal is a deal; and the Devil always gets their due."
Nick thought back ten years ago, and remembered the upset vote that passed Lionheart's MII against all odds and political common sense. Judy's deal hadn't just been a chance for herself; it had paved the way for city-wide reforms that made life better for so many mammals.
"How about another deal-"
It raised a delicate five digit claw tipped paw. "I am constrained by pact and word older than this world to inform you; once a deal is struck, it cannot be undone. The selling of one's soul, taints it beyond forgiveness." It leaned forward and leered at Nick through a perfect bone ridge resembling teeth and fangs. "You are of course welcome to make a deal, but all it will do is add to my tally of souls, not spare hers."
Nick felt a shiver run through his fur, and a crazy thought entered into his mind. A part of him rebelled at the idea, but in a moment of introspection it was the same kind of crazy idea that this, this Demon had admitted spared his soul.
"How long?" It quirked a perfect eyebrow at the question. "How long until her debt is due?"
It sneered and stood up. "Before the Blood-Moon sets tomorrow night. Then I will come for her. You are welcome to try and stop me, but I have enough willing acolytes in this wretched city and beyond who will gladly bloody their paws for a single favor, or just a stay of my scythe for a short while. One way or another," it extended it's paw as it stretched impossibly to brush one of Judy's ears, "I will have her soul."
Nick curled protectively around Judy as she shrieked and flinched in her sleep. When Nick looked around, the apparition was gone. All that was left was the faint musky sulfurous stench, and the absolute conviction of what he needed to do.
...
Dawn broke over Zootopia and Nick roused his drowsy friend with a fresh breakfast. "Morning Judy."
She blinked myopically at the smiling todd. "Morning Nick." She yawned and stretched. "Thanks for hosting me, now that I'm moved out of my old place."
"Yup. On to a better place, right?" He saw her wilt at the comment. "Tell you what; I already called in to the Precinct saying I was coming down with something." He gave a faux wicked grin. "Clawhauser promised to make it something good so Bogo wouldn't question it. What do you say? You and me, together to the end! We'll make a day of it."
"Nick, you really shouldn't. Besides, I have... somewhere to be." Judy looked forlornly at the table.
"I know, heading down to Podunk." Judy's head snapped up in alarm. "Your mom mentioned it's the 10 year anniversary of your graduation." He heard her sigh in mixed regret and relief. "How about I give you a ride to your old hopping grounds, and you show me the sights? You did make an awful big deal about the difference between Podunk and Bunnyburrow."
He turned around with a plate of sweet-potato hash browns, and saw the same mixture of regret and relief he was becoming used to.
She relented with a sigh. "And by 'give me a ride', you mean 'lounge in my passenger seat and snark the whole way?" They grinned at each other. "Alright, but I do have something to take care of tonight; so when I say we're done, we're done. Got it?"
Nick smiled and held up a paw in a two digit salute. "Got it, Scouts honor."
Once breakfast was finished, they went to the lot where Judy had parked her Jalloppy of a truck, and set off on the 300 mile road trip. Nick kept Judy distracted with endless banter, inane jokes, and the occasional observation of the simple beauty of the rural counties. It was mid afternoon when they arrived in Podunk. It was a modestly sized town of mostly white tail and roe deer, though there were a few cougars and wolves scattered throughout.
They toured around, visiting the various hangouts as well as the Community College campus, which was closed between semesters. The day wound down as the weather started to turn. Nick and Judy decided on dinner at the Johnson Roadhouse on the outskirts of town. They were into their second beer while listening to a local Blues Band perform when Judy stood up. "Gimme a minute Nick; little does have little bladders."
"TMI Fluff, but you take care of what you need to do." He waved towards her absently while watching the band, as well as a particularly tipsy raccoon try and sing along.
He waited until she was out of sight, then dropped all the money left in his wallet on the table and left. He waited in the shadows for a minute before he saw a rabbit doe sneak around the side of the building and get into Judy's truck. He also spotted the drunken raccoon stumbling out of the establishment and headed towards a parked pickup truck.
He caught up to and caught the stumbling mammal. "Hey buddy, you don't look so good."
"I'mb vine. Just godda... godda..."
"You just gotta lay down is what you need to do. Tell you what," he pawed the mammals truck keys, "how about I give you a ride, and you can sleep on the way. That sound good to you?"
The raccoon swayed and smiled. "Hey, thas right negbored, kneeboard, thas mighty kind-a you."
Nick had the mammal sleeping in the passenger's seat in short order and was speeding down Route 66.
He arrived at the Crossroads just as Judy pulled off onto the shoulder. She turned to look at the truck that parked behind her, though the roiling storm clouds covered the full moon and the headlights ruined her night vision. She squinted as the lights and engine were turned off, only to squawk in alarm as a break in the clouds illuminated a swaggering fox.
"Nick!" She hissed fiercely while looking around. "You can't be here!"
"Yes I can," he stated with an obnoxious pedantic aire. "This is a public way. As long as I'm not impeding traffic, I have every right to be here; just like you," he looked at the deepening darkness of the crossroads propper, "and just like you. Hello again."
Judy spun to face her tormentor and her shame. The Demon was more definitively feminine this time, looking like a perfect blend of deer, hare and fox.
"Well hello to you too Nicholas. Come to see your dear friend off on her journey?" Beneath the snide tone was an undercurrent of rage. "You should cherish this gift, little Judith; where you're going, happy memories are the only joy you will have for as long as you can cling to them."
Nick draped an arm over Judy's shoulders. "Actually, I'm here to offer you a gift: a two-for-one deal."
Judy tried to pull away. "No Nick! You can't!" Tears poured down her face as she looked at her friend. Her protests were halted at the warm smile on his muzzle.
"Your terms?" There was now only pure avarice in the demon's voice as shadows writhed behind it.
Nick locked eyes with the ageless entity, a smug grin plastered on his muzzle. "My soul, right here, right now."
It hungrily licked its lips. "Your price?"
Nick tightened his hold on Judy, who desperately returned the gesture. "Where she goes, I go." He looked at the crying doe at his side again. "Like I said; you and me, together till the end."
Judy hiccuped and nodded, then wrapped his waist in a bone creaking hug and wept.
A soundless flash of lightning touched down in the center of the crossroads. "The deal is struck and accepted." Once they could see again, Nick and Judy saw a shadowed path leading into the deepening night, while ominous thunder rumbled in the distance. "I hope you are prepared for what awaits you both."
Judy took a ragged breath and stepped beside Nick while keeping a paw in one of his. "I was so scared that I was going to go alone. How can I say 'thank you' for this? You're going to Hell because of me, and I'm grateful."
Nick chuffed a laugh and squeezed her paw. "I've been in hell, and that," he jerked his muzzle towards the ominous road to perdition, "isn't it." He looked at her until she looked up. "Hell was years spent alone on the streets living paw-to-maw. Hell was being alone in a city of 13 million. The day I met you, was the day I left Hell behind." He looked at the shadowed path winding into the darkness. "Whatever that is, as long as you're with me it couldn't possibly be Hell."
For the first time in a month, Judy positively beamed at Nick. "Alright Partner; whatever that is, wherever it leads, we'll face it together." They stepped fearlessly onto the shadowed path.
In that instant, the demon truly saw that the two mismatched mammals were carrying a glimmer of hope into the one place where it could not, should not ever exist.
"NO!" It bellowed in rage, just as a flash of light and blaring horn distracted it. When it regained it's focus, the shadowed path was closed, taking Nick and Judy with it. The Demon abandoned all pretense at mammaldom and spilled out onto the crossroads, intent on avenging itself on whatever was nearby. It was brought up short by the form of a raccoon, backlit by the truck's headlights. "You!"
"Me." The diminutive procyon sauntered casually towards the nightmarish abomination of the Crossroads. "I had worried about that boy, but he turned out quite nicely. Wouldn't you agree?"
It's only response was an inarticulate roar, though the monstrous mass flinched away from the racoon's approach. It finally shrank back into it's more androgenous form. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"Introduced the light of hope to your little dark pit. Won't that be a sight." The small mammal turned a guileless smile towards the demon. "And to think, I could have never done it, if it weren't for you." All signs of mirth and mercy vanished from his smile, replaced by unfathomable contempt while lightning flashed around them. The night was tinged with angry green light and the growing roar of the wind. "You might want to find shelter. Feels like a storm's coming."
The demon gave one last impotent shriek before vanishing into the shadows. The raccoon gave a snort before a tornado touched down, erasing every trace of the crossroads.